OldMan
New member
Superb photos, with apparently great weather and very little haze (?); many thanks!
I made a similar trip a few years ago with my brother, who was recovering from back surgery, and we really appreciated not having to carry camping gear, like Mats and MEB.
Some of us who post here worked in the huts, but rarely does anyone who posts here stay in the huts. So, what were your overall impressions of the huts, food, bunks, ambience, croo, etc.? Our OH Association bestows a "latchstring" award to the "best" croo each year; did any of the six hut croos that you visited stand out?
Thanks!
The only day with little haze was really the last day, Friday. It was certainly the pick of the week for me.
As for the Huts... the Croo at ALL the huts were excellent. I guess I was most impressed at Lake of the Clouds (the largest hut) at their efficiency in dealing with such a large group of hungry hikers at meal time. The meals in general were pretty consistent between the 5 huts. After a long day hiking all the food tasted good. The soup, fresh baked bread, vegetables, and fresh salad were great. The main course was good. I guess I'd rate it about the same as you would find at a Diner.
Bunks in all the huts are the same, a 5" or 6" or so vinyl covered foam mattress, over 6' long (I'm 6'1" and fit fine), bunk width on a wooden frame. Bunks are stacked 2, 3, or 4 high in some huts. Some of the top bunks have very little head room so watch out sitting up in bed! You are given a pillow with a pillow case and 3 blankets. I'd check the pillow case and turn it inside out. Most of the ones I had were not very clean. I brought a sheet from home to sleep on and usually put one blanket under me and one on top. I was comfortable enough to sleep through the night. However.... if snoring bothers you, bring some the ear plugs. I heard little girls, boys, men and women all snoring. I'd say 30% of the folks there were snoring, maybe even me but I couldn't tell as I was a sleep ;')
The huts vary alot on space and views...
The Greenleaf, Galehead, and Zealand huts have the most space in the bunk rooms. Lots of places to hang your gear and cloths to dry. Mizpah was very cramped. The bunks filled every corner of the bunk rooms, leaving no place for gear. Lake of the Clouds was similar to Mizpah, except in the bunk room I was in, they left out one of the bottom bunks so there was plenty of storage there for gear and to hang wet cloths. Mizpah also had an odd smell in the hut. It kind of smelled like it use to be a smoking lounge in years past. Very strange.
I missed what the views are like at Greenleaf as we were in the clouds most of the time I was there. Galehead has a great view of Mt Garfield at sunset. Zealand has great views sitting on it's front deck and of course Zealand Falls, right beside the hut, is a great place to soak your weary feet. Mizpah doesn't have any views. The best views are of course at Lake of the Clouds.
My favorite hut was Lake of the Clouds and my least favorite Mizpah.
