Beautiful spot on the lake.

Beautiful spot on the lake.

bring battery lights if you are there at night. keep shoes on when on the porch...seems like nobody takes care of the old cabin.... beware of wood stove by bedrooms... views are great and the squirrels are fun inside and out.

bring battery lights if you are there at night. keep shoes on when on the porch...seems like nobody takes care of the old cabin.... beware of wood stove by bedrooms... views are great and the squirrels are fun inside and out.

As they say, the "Crown Jewel" of the Bitterroot Valley rentals. Wonderful views, nice weather, regularly checked and cleaned out house.

As they say, the "Crown Jewel" of the Bitterroot Valley rentals. Wonderful views, nice weather, regularly checked and cleaned out house.

We have rented many many USFS cabins and lookouts over the years. They are always a treasure. It’s so much fun exploring new areas. This particular stay was....less than ideal. Beautiful cabin, beautiful location. The problem was that there wasn’t ANY dry wood. The only wood available was in gigantic rounds and soaking wet. I’m pretty sure it had sat all winter uncovered. We ended up spending $60+ buying wood in town in order to keep even one fireplace going and it was still freezing inside. There are serious gaps around all of the doors that could use a little TLC. Okay, we can deal with that. Then, the propane stove had a gas leak. We turned it on and NOTHING would light, yet we could smell the propane leaking out. Left windows and doors open forever to air it out and shut everything down. My husband actually installs gas lines and he suspected packrat damage (the one living in the kitchen - gross). We attempted to cook outside and on the fireplace with our cast iron pots and it worked but was less than ideal. Typically I precook a lot of our food before these stays if its rustic but I had expected a stove to use. Oh well. The biggest issue for me was the firewood. The expense of staying is getting higher and not having firewood available (that is supposed to be there) is kind of a pain.

We have rented many many USFS cabins and lookouts over the years. They are always a treasure. It’s so much fun exploring new areas. This particular stay was....less than ideal. Beautiful cabin, beautiful location. The problem was that there wasn’t ANY dry wood. The only wood available was in gigantic rounds and soaking wet. I’m pretty sure it had sat all winter uncovered. We ended up spending $60+ buying wood in town in order to keep even one fireplace going and it was still freezing inside. There are serious gaps around all of the doors that could use a little TLC. Okay, we can deal with that. Then, the propane stove had a gas leak. We turned it on and NOTHING would light, yet we could smell the propane leaking out. Left windows and doors open forever to air it out and shut everything down. My husband actually installs gas lines and he suspected packrat damage (the one living in the kitchen - gross). We attempted to cook outside and on the fireplace with our cast iron pots and it worked but was less than ideal. Typically I precook a lot of our food before these stays if its rustic but I had expected a stove to use. Oh well. The biggest issue for me was the firewood. The expense of staying is getting higher and not having firewood available (that is supposed to be there) is kind of a pain.

Such a soulful spot. Plenty of room with lovely views and access to an easy 3+- mile hike to a waterfall. We did a pretty thorough cleaning- the place really needed it. It felt good leaving it better than we found it and hope that notion continues. All but one of the propane lights were outside our skill range to light - assuming operator error here. The kitchen stove is unreliable and slightly scary but it works. Beware that the front burners are never really off. The lack of firewood was a bit concerning since it snowed almost the whole time, but we burned lots of bark and wished for a tool to break down the huge rounds. I’m sure when there’s plenty of wood people burn a lot of it. This spot is a gift and I hope with all the folks visiting, they embrace leaving the place clean - “Leave No Trace” ethics apply here. Thankful for the opportunity to stay and have this experience. 💙

Such a soulful spot. Plenty of room with lovely views and access to an easy 3+- mile hike to a waterfall. We did a pretty thorough cleaning- the place really needed it. It felt good leaving it better than we found it and hope that notion continues. All but one of the propane lights were outside our skill range to light - assuming operator error here. The kitchen stove is unreliable and slightly scary but it works. Beware that the front burners are never really off. The lack of firewood was a bit concerning since it snowed almost the whole time, but we burned lots of bark and wished for a tool to break down the huge rounds. I’m sure when there’s plenty of wood people burn a lot of it. This spot is a gift and I hope with all the folks visiting, they embrace leaving the place clean - “Leave No Trace” ethics apply here. Thankful for the opportunity to stay and have this experience. 💙