Group hopes to bring huts to Talkeetna Mountains

A small group of hikers makes its way through the Talkeetna Mountains, carrying only their personal gear. There is no need to haul backpacks stuffed full of tents, sleeping bags, food and cooking utensils. All the basic necessities, along with comradeship, await them at a cozy cabin down the trail.

This is the vision of the Alaska Mountain and Wilderness Huts -- a circuit that would allow people to hike or ski from one cabin to the next, where they would find a soft bed, warm food and the company of other travelers from around the world. And the Talkeetna Mountains could be the home of the first such circuit.

"Right now you can work through the Park Service or Alaska State Parks and rent a cabin. Then you have it all to yourself and it is a wonderful experience," said Gar Carothers, a board member of the AMWH. An entirely different experience, however, can arise out of sharing housing with other families, people from the Lower 48, Europe and New Zealand, he said.

"You're going to get a cultural experience in addition to a wilderness experience," Carothers said. "We feel there is value in that, too."

In 1998, the group formed a nonprofit organization and defined its mission -- to bring a European tradition of hut-to-hut travel to Alaska and to promote wilderness education and stewardship. Helping others understand that mission has been one of many challenges, however.

"A lot of people don't understand what it is all about," Carothers admitted. First, there is the basic concept of a hut. For many Alaskans, the term draws to mind a small, tarp-covered lean-to. In the European tradition, however, the word applies to small lodges, often staffed with a caretaker who keeps the fire going and even cooks meals for the guests.

AMWHA's vision is of small cabins, slightly larger than Alaska State Park public-use cabins, that would be designed to house between eight and a dozen people. At one time, Carothers said as an example, a group of Alaskan hikers could find themselves sharing a hut with a family visiting from the Lower 48 and a couple from Europe.

Eventually, as more huts were added to an area, hikers or skiers could book the huts over the course of several days or weeks so as to be able to travel from one to the next. Because basic necessities would be provided at the huts, even winter travel would be feasible.

The cost, Carothers said, would depend on the services offered, but he imagines it would be more than the $25 fee for a state cabin but less than the cost of a hotel room.

When the hut group gave a presentation to the Mat-Su State Parks Citizens Advisory Board, musher and advisory board member Martin Buser was able to share his experiences of traveling hut to hut as a child growing up in Europe. Carothers said Buser described being able to mush dogs along the circuit.

Toby Riddell, also a member of the advisory board, was present at the meeting and said he believes the European tradition could fit into Alaska's wilderness.

"I think it's a great idea," he said. He said one of the primary advantages he identified was the role of a hut caretaker as an interpretive guide who could help educate travelers on the backcountry and Alaska's resources.

One person at a time, the vision is catching on. The group now has 160 members, including Mat-Su residents, and has received resolutions of support from various trail and recreation boards and advisory committees from around the state, including the Mat-Su State Parks Citizens Advisory Board.

Earlier this year the group received a stamp of approval from the National Park Service in the form of a $16,400 loan that could be used to build the first hut in the Talkeetna Mountains.

Gaining money and members has just been one challenge for the group, however. A more immediate, and perhaps frustrating, obstacle has been finding a site.

At one time, the AMWHA had a spot picked out in the Chugach State Park for Alaska's first hut. When that fell through, the group located a site in the Archangel Valley of Hatcher Pass. That, too, recently fell through.

"Basically, we have said, as it was being proposed to us, it seemed like a good idea and that we would support a trial program and see how it works," said Dale Bingham, area superintendent for Alaska State Parks in Mat-Su. "We do have certain concerns about where it is placed."

Bingham pointed out that the concept is entirely new to the state and Alaska State Parks. Currently, Hatcher Pass is equipped with several small mountain survival huts, but nothing similar to what the AMWHA is proposing.

Bingham said the location of a full-sized hut would have to be conducive to handling the eight to 12 clients it would hold at a time.

"Some of the areas, we didn't necessarily agree on," Bingham said of Alaska State Parks and AMWHA. "Others, we did both agree on."

Earlier this year, the AMWHA had an optimistic schedule of perhaps beginning construction of the first hut in Hatcher Pass next summer. While the group is not back to square one, Carothers said, it is rethinking where to place the first hut.

"We haven't written off the Talkeetna Mountains," Carothers said. "But we have pulled back on our timeline."

Carothers said the group will continue to scout possible sites in the Mat-Su Valley, including on the west side of the Talkeetnas. Once a site is chosen, the group will begin to more aggressively raise funds.

Despite the recent setbacks, Riddell said he believes the group has a good chance of eventually bringing the hut system to Alaska.

"These guys have been after it for a few years," Riddell said of the AMWHA. "And I think it is very suitable for us."

More information about the Alaska Mountain and Wilderness Huts Association is available by calling (907) 279-4663, writing to 3039 Alder Circle, Anchorage, AK 99508 or by visiting the Web page at www.alaskahuts.org.

The group's e-mail address is mailbox@alaskahuts.org.