Ben Eiseman Hut, Vail, Co.

They call it a “road” to Ben Eiseman
But trust me, please heed my advice, man
The path is all bumps
It bruises your rumps
Take a Jeep, be known as a wise man

Our luck in last minute booking of 10th Mountain Division huts is overflowing this year, so we thought we would parlay that luck into getting to a slightly less smoky, cooler, and higher altitude to view the Perseid meteor shower. As the limerick above notes, the last 5 miles to the hut were a doozy to climb in Suzie’s Subaru Outback. Not the worst four wheel drive road I have ever ridden, but certainly the worst in an Outback. We slowly snaked our way up the road, like reading a white water river while kayaking, trying to pick the best route through the rocks and massive ditches and ponds left by recent rainfalls. My white knuckles had to be pried from the steering wheel after taking an hour to traverse those last five miles, but it was worth the trip.

We were told by the 10th Mountain Hut staff that this was the best hut to view a meteor shower from. With an almost unobscured view of the western sky both from outside on the massive deck and from inside through the two story windows of the hut, they were right! The meteor shower didn’t disappoint on both nights as long as we stared up, through the least smoky part of the sky caused by the western wildfires. The smoke made the sunsets extra colorful, hues of red, orange, and brown amid the glowing ember of the sun as it was snuffed out on the horizon by the thickening smoke.

Positioned near the Gore Range and being the easternmost of the huts sitting north of Vail, the Ben Eiseman hut is a massive building, at one time used as a hostel so an attached dorm room has about a dozen beds in it. A dual kitchen, two long picnic tables and many cushioned seating/bed benches engulf the main room along with a mud room to use in the winter.

We took a ridge hike during the day to see the Gore Range, Mount of the Holy Cross, and views of the Vail and Beaver Creek ski areas. On our way back on the same trail, now looking down at the ground more than out at the scenery, we were once again surprised to find some later season mushrooms festooning the forest floor. Fly Agarics, Porcini King Boletes, and a new mushroom I hadn’t identified before, Fragrant Hygrophoropsis which has a distinct and lovely smell of gingerbread. Though late season, we managed to find a few Porcini that were worth harvesting and eating that night. The other two mushrooms are pretty, but poisonous or not good to eat.

If you want to visit this hut in the future, bring a high clearance four wheel drive vehicle and a good driver and you will have a pleasant and uneventful stay. Happy hiking!