Fall Foliage Biking or Backpacking Trip to the Harry Gates Hut

About Gravity Haus Overnight Experiences

Gravity Haus creates best-in-class experiences that welcome our community to spend time in reverence of the great outdoors, where you’ll embrace your inner adventurer, disconnect from the grind of daily life, and develop relationships with your fellow Gravity Haus members as you create memories outside, together.

About This Trip

After hiking nearly 8 miles to the hut on day one, kick off your hiking boots and unwind with dinner courtesy of Slope Room, before gazing at the stars from the deck overlooking the Sawatch Range.

The next morning, enjoy breakfast and coffee before heading out on a guided day-hike to New York Mountain - we'll lunch along the way! There will be plenty of downtime to explore or rest with a book on the deck. Dinner will again be from Slope Room.

On the final morning, after more caffeine and calories at the breakfast table, you'll make the journey back to the trailhead, to mark the completion of your trek.

About the Hut

The Harry Gates Hut is reminiscent of a refuge in the Austrian Tyrol, standing at the edge of a meadow above scenic Lime Park and against the high ridgeline of the Holy Cross Wilderness. Spacious windows look out on sunsets lighting spectacular Avalanche Peak, one of many summits in the Holy Cross portion of the Sawatch Range. Built in 1986, Gates was the fourth structure added to the 10th Mountain system. It is the largest of the 10th Mountain-owned huts, with a handsome deck and welcoming facade.

The hut was built with funds from the Gates Foundation as a memorial to the late Harry F. Gates, an outdoorsman with a deep and abiding love for the mountains. Harry Gates was also a soldier of the Tenth Mountain Division who enlisted in 1943, serving in Company B of the 87th. Harry was severely wounded by mortar and machine gun fire while fighting in the Po River Valley of Northern Italy. He received a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Combat Infantry badge. After the war, Harry worked for the Gates Rubber Company as Vice-President until his death from cancer in March 1955.

Highlights

2 Weeks Prior

• Virtual pre-trip orientation meeting, where you’ll "meet" with your guides, fellow trekkers, and review all details in preparation for your trip.

September 13

• 9 am Meet at trailhead for gear check, introductions and departure
• Trek to the Hut with a picnic lunch stop along the way - ~7 miles, +8,200'
• Arrive at hut and relax! Explore your new surroundings, grab that much needed nap, play card games, read - this is your time for you!
• Après drinks and snacks
• Supper at the Hut by Slope Room - Chef Jason and his team prepared all items in advance at Slope Room for an elevated dining experience
• Take in the almost full (September 17) moon post-dinner from the patio. Relax under the stars, embrace being disconnected and the feeling that you're part of something much bigger than the life you left behind at the trailhead.

September 14

• Breakfast at the Hut with Unravel coffee
• Guided hike to to a local peak, with a stop for an en plein air lunch along the way!
• Après drinks and snacks
• Relax, take 2!
• Supper at the Hut by Slope Room - Chef Jason and his team prepared all items in advance at Slope Room for an elevated dining experience

September 15

• Breakfast with Unravel coffee
• Hike down to trailhead
• ~2:30 pm - back to vehicles