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The Markley Hut is part of the Braun Huts network.  This particular hut is one of the least strenuous to get to but still an interesting adventure.  I went with my girlfriend, Lauren, and was armed with a GPS, some burly backcountry Nordic skis that make alpine skis want to watch their waists, too much food, too little experience, and even less knowledge of the terrain.  Luckily, some semblance of a trail surfaced as we followed Express Creek Road.  After an hour or so of skinning uphill and learning how to use the GPS, we upped the ante on our navigating and veered off the trail to find the hut.  This called for a celebratory peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

 
We had two perfect sunny and warm days although I think Lauren wore her mittens and hand warmers for the entire hike.
 
Just me being a sap for the scenery; it is an awesome picture though, isn't it?
 
Here's a picture of part of our hut, our surplus of firewood, our skis, and Lauren trying to blend in with the skis by standing as erect as possible.
 
 
Yeah our backyard had a lot of snow, but that didn't stop me from commandeering some marshmallow skewers from nearby trees.
 
The best part of this picture was the complicated structure I had to build in order to balance the camera in exactly the right spot.
 
In the "bathroom" I found several axes and decided it would be a good idea to try my hand at some wood chopping.  I fared pretty well, and Lauren really got the hang of chopping after I started "being annoying" by refusing to play yet another round of Travel Yahtzee.
 
The fire was my department, and I really had it going after using about seven Aspen Times Sunday editions for kindling.  The hut itself ended up being much more luxurious than I had expected and as far as amenities went, barring the toilet and absence of shower, it was better stocked than my apartment.  I certainly don't have that many potholders.  We melted snow for our water supply, which for anyone who has yet to experience that, a lot of snow sure doesn't make very much water.
 
Now the way down was interesting.  Yes our skis had metal edges but they were also about 200 centimeters long and only about 50 millimeters wide.  Needless to say I went straight down out of pure macho pride and ended up wiping out more than...well more than Lauren to say the least.
 
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