Our Backcountry Retreat - The Opus Hut

Crunch.  Crunch.  Crunch.  Crunch.  The sound of our snowshoes digging into the hard-packed snow was all we could hear in-between our heavy breathing.  At 10,000+ feet, the air was thin, making the incline up Ophir Pass seem even steeper, and our over-stuffed backpacks seem even heavier.  It was only a 3.5 mile trek to The Opus Hut, but our journey felt like it was taking an eternity.  It didn't help that the hut was nowhere in sight; all we could see was the trail going up, up, up.  We occasionally stopped to catch our collective breath, rest our burning quads, and take a swig of water.  The air temperature hovered around 10 degrees Fahrenheit, yet we were sweating as though we were in the middle of a heat wave.  All except puppy, of course.  He bounded up and down the trail with the exuberant energy of a child on Christmas morning.  I guess this was our Christmas gift to him.

Since we had two weeks off over the holidays, Mouse and I decided to take a little trip into the backcountry.  Considering it's the dead of winter here in Colorado, many people might deem this crazy.  Not for us.  Nope, in our minds, this was the perfect time to dust off our snowshoes, load up our backpacks, and head to the Southwest portion of the state for a hut trip, which is exactly what brought us to this sweaty, quad-burning, breathless point in time.  We were headed to The Opus Hut, near the top of the Ophir Pass.  During the summer months, the road we were slowly making our way up is open to traffic, taking one within 100 feet of the hut.  During the winter months, no such luck.  The road is nonexistent, nothing more than a cross-country ski and snowshoe path, meaning anyone wanting to stay at the hut must earn the right to do so.  And that was exactly what we were doing - earning our right to stay at this hidden gem of the San Juan Mountains.  So, we huffed and puffed, and just kept putting one foot in front of the other, until we finally caught a glimpse of the hut.  It was only a speck, and we had many switchbacks to navigate before we could finally rest, but it was the glimmer of hope we needed.

I'm not going lie, when we finally reached the hut, and were able to shed our cumbersome snowshoes, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.  We were lucky, it only took us 3.5 hours to make the 3.5 mile trek up the pass, but my quads and back weren't feeling so fortunate.  We had opted to pack in our own food which, when combined with our winter clothes, basic supplies, and necessary box wine, had made for surprisingly heavy backpacks.  We were only staying two nights, but it felt like we had packed in enough weight to last us a week.  None of that mattered now, though.  Now it was time for us to reap the rewards of our hard work, pour a hearty glass of wine, and settle into our remote retreat.

For those unaccustomed to typical backcountry accommodations, The Opus Hut could seem a bit basic.  It's definitely not for anyone expecting Hilton-like luxury.  But, for those of us used to roughing it in less-than-ideal situations, this hut is a backcountry dream come true.  With running water, composting toilets, a working kitchen, solar power, and comfortable beds, it is downright palatial.  And, of course, the views are unparalleled; no one will ever wake up at a Hilton to see such pristine, untouched wilderness.

So, we spent the next two days relaxing, reading, and simply hanging out as a family.  Butters was overwhelmed with having so much wilderness and freedom at his doorstep that he ran and played non-stop, like the puppy he is.  Mouse and I opted to keep things a little more low-key.  We did our fair share of snowshoeing, but we also enjoyed the opportunity to take things down a notch.  After the whirlwind of the holidays, it was exactly what we needed.  And, luckily, with our bags at least 10 pounds lighter, the 3.5 mile trip back to the trailhead and our car was much less painful.

Click here to see the photo album from this trip.