"I tell you," she sighed, "we are the poster children for Murphy's Law" - a reference to the old saw: Anything that can go wrong, will.
But lounge around for a weekend in one of Rankin's cabins and you're more likely to think she's the luckiest person alive. Located just a few hundred yards from the peak of the pass at the top of Mill Creek Road - the cut-off between Anaconda and Wise River, which intersects with Highway 1 just a couple hundred yards east of the Anaconda Smelter Stack - and directly across the road from the parking area for the Mount Haggin winter recreation access, the Sugar Loaf Cabins offer a rugged sense of remoteness belied by year-round, drive-to-the-door access - and some of the best soup you'll find in the state, courtesy of Jean.
We stayed in that cabin with a group of friends over Memorial Day weekend a couple years ago, and found it a wonderful place to relax, play games, gaze at the stars by night and shoot off for day-trips on the nearby Big Hole River.
The other cabin is actually a duplex: one unit with four single beds, and one with two singles and a queen. Both of those units offer sparsely equipped kitchenettes consisting of a two-burner propane stove, a mini-fridge, a coffeemaker, some random cookware, and disposable plates and serving utensils. There's no running water in this building, and the bathroom is located about 100 feet - or, according to my wife's count, 53 paces - from the back door, in a heated shop.
We stayed in one of these latter units over a recent, cold December weekend. About a foot of snow had already accumulated in the area, and as we made our approach late Friday night, a fresh blanket of powder made for nervous driving up Mill Creek Road - a guardrail-free mountain thoroughfare that is less than avidly plowed in the winter.
Given the new snow, it was a good thing the cabin was only a couple hundred yards off the road; even my four-wheel-drive truck proved squirrely in the snow. Yet once we wove our way back into the trees, it was easy to imagine ourselves lost in the deepest reaches of the Montana wilderness.
The cabin itself reinforced that illusion, to some extent. Even with the propane heater cranked up, the floor remained chilly underfoot throughout our stay; some warm slippers would have been good to have along. Trudging through snow to the bathroom in the middle of the night wasn't what I would call pleasant; but, as the price for the sense of peaceful quietude and isolation we gained that weekend, it was a fine bargain.
And thanks to the enthusiastic crowd of volunteer groomers at the Mount Haggin cross-country ski area, the skiing on the following day was nothing short of spectacular, with soft yet fast snow arrayed in such an extensive web of pathways that we were able to cut fresh tracks the entire afternoon.
When Jean Rankin and her husband, Keith, bought the 160 acres where the Sugar Loaf Cabins and Soup Shack now sit back in 2000, it was bare land - a blank slate for an idea.
"We'd always had the idea of doing something like this," said Keith. "One day my wife was driving up here on her way to work, and she saw a for-sale sign. One thing just led to another."
Over the course of three winters before they bought the property, Keith and Jean counted cars and canvassed visitors in the parking lot of the Mount Haggin recreation access, which is frequented by snowmobilers and cross-country skiers from Deer Lodge, Anaconda, Butte and Dillon.
Eventually, they committed to buying the land. Keith himself built the cabins and all the other buildings on the property by hand.
He's not finished. He hopes to have a new lodge built by next winter, and aims for three more cabins, including one that will sleep up to 20 guests.
Keith and Jean's biggest draw is the Soup Shack, a minimal restaurant they run out of a small cabin attached to their house. Ironically, the Soup Shack was an afterthought.
"When we first opened, we were just renting the cabins," said Keith. "But in the first six months we didn't have a single rental; so we opened the Soup Shack as a way to get people in the door, as a form of advertising."
Jean runs the kitchen, where she produces four to six different soups every weekend day over the winter. She rotates more than 90 different recipes through her pots. So far, every one I've tasted has been delicious.
In fact, I'm already ready for more. My wife and I plan to spend New Year's at the cabins. I can hardly imagine a better start to 2007.
If you go
Sugar Loaf Cabins and the Soup Shack are located on Mill Creek Road, 11 miles south of Highway 1, between Anaconda and Wise River. Prices for the cabins range from $75-$150 per night. The Soup Shack is open to the general public every Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., from the first weekend in October until the end of March, excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas. For more information or reservations, visit www.Sugar Loafcabinsandlodge.com or call 406-491-3748.Joe Nickell is the Missoulian's arts and entertainment reporter.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)