Years back - as few as twenty or so- the mountains contained a sprinkling of quaint little cabins, mostly built by horse people, who were the only ones that had the equine power available to haul the tools required for such a construction project. At any time of year finding one of these little gems was a treat. In the winter it was cause for celebration.<br><br>Lock? I never saw a lock on any of them. The idea was that you replaced what you used and didn't destroy what you didn't own. Besides most folks knew who owned the cabin. Yes it was on public land and I suppose technically it shouldn't be there according to some Forest Service rule. Funny thing was nobody really cared. Most in fact liked the idea that you could go out and build one for yourself if you wanted to.<br><br>Of course these were the days when we didn't need so many regulations to keep us from "spoiling the wilderness". This was also the time when the air and the land was cleaner and the water didn't need to be filtered. Most of these cabins were in what is now designated wilderness areas so obviously they didn't hurt much of anything by being there. <br><br>I think it's really to bad that so very few of these cabins still exist. I know of a few that do and keep following leads on more. Because you really haven't lived until you've skied hard all day to reach a destination where you could set by a warm fire burning in a stone fireplace and throw your bag on a wooden bed, not caring how much it snowed or how hard the wind blew through the night.
