They’ve done an amazing job restoring the old Rangers cabin at the Hunter Mountain Firetower. Beautiful wooden Adirondack lodge style furniture, and the Firetower Stewart had a fire going and I some nice blue grass music playing in the background. As I guess the stewart stays overnight there sometimes, they even had the kitchen restored and the bedroom. While today was fairly warm – 50s with a bit of a windchill – the small size of the cabin meant it was toasty even with the door open.

I love how those old ranger cabins cram so much into such little space. I wouldn’t mind having a house that size. No room for junk. Either use it or take it out to the burn pile. I also like the nice wooded slat board walls and ceiling that are durable, easy to maintain and clean. Your not going to accidentally put a boot or some heavy object like a dresser through the side of the wall. And if it breaks its relatively simple to repair and you can than use the broken board for heat in the woodstove.

I also really like the idea of wilderness living at a place only accessible by ATV, snowmobile or side by side. You can live with much less of a road that way, which discourages trespass, be farther away from others so your not bothering them with the smell of smoke, livestock or noise from guns. That said, moving livestock on and off the mountain might prove to be a challenge with a truck. Even small livestock like hogs and goats might be challenging to move on a rough road in a four wheeler trailer. Plus most mountains lack decent soil or even grasses for grazing.

At any rate, definitely check out the Hunter Firetower on a day it’s open and staffed by volunteers – namely summer weekends. The hike along the Spruceton Horse Trail is relatively quiet and prestine. Less steep than other ways up the mountain and much less used but it is a few miles longer. I really enjoyed seeing it and it’s very inspirational. I just wish I had taken pictures inside. Maybe next time.