Misc. Gear Logistics

There's quite a few comments we can make under this topic. The pictures above speak a lot, too. Let's start from the top left. We brought our small sled inside to be a container for the snowshoes. When the encrusted snow melted, it was contained in the sled. We could then dump the melted water outside without soaking the wood floor. As a courtesy and as just plain common sense, visitors should sweep up their snow off the floor into a dust pan before it melts. A little vigilence in that regard goes a long way.

There's the obligatory smoke detector and fire extinguisher inside the yurt. Be forewarned that the woodstove will almost immediately kick off the smoke detector. There was no way for us to override the sensitivity of the smoke detector so we were forced to remove the detector's battery. This is NOT a good idea. However, it was either remove the battery or listen to the squeal for our entire trip.

I really don't like the little pimpy fire extinguisher. I couldn't find a "service date" on it. It looked quite old. Typically, the smaller fire extinguishers don't perform well as they age. You can turn them upside down and tap gently on the bottom to free up some of the active ingredients. I'd feel a lot more comfortable if this extinguisher had a service tag on it and I'd feel even more comfortable if it was a decent size. You'd get maybe 30 seconds--a minute at most--out of this little toy.
That's not a very comforting thought should something go wrong inside the yurt.

Here's a photo of the handy dandy axe. It's an antique Tru Test I found at a thrift store in Challis for $3. It's not much of a looker but it wails on kindling and does a decent job of splitting half round into smaller pieces. A good hefty axe is hard to find these days. We highly recommend you bring one to the yurt. Fire management would have been a real hassle without this axe!

There's a a great boot dryer next to the woodstove. It made us smile to see it. Kudos to State Parks for including such a great touch in the yurt. It's SO much fun to put on warm socks and boots in the morning. This makes winter camping a pure joy and delight. Little things like that boot dryer are really special amenities and very much appreciated. Many Thanks to whoever decided to include the boot dryer!

Don't forget the reading material. It's all too easy to think "Gee, I already have too much stuff," and delete the reading material. These yurts are a fabulous place to enjoy the warmth of a wood fire and cozy up in a snuggly futon with a good magazine or a friendly book. You'll really kick yourself if you fail to include at least some token reading material. On our first trip, I decided to bring along the history of Island Park. I thought it was a fitting tribute to the heritage of the place--learn some history while hanging out in a yurt. The yurt is a true palace compared to the primitive log cabins of the Island Park Pioneers!

You don't need a cooler. A small plastic tub makes a great cooler. Simply cover it with snow outside. Voila, a cooler. Some people think they need a cooler to prevent things from freezing. Maybe yes, maybe no. We'd trade the convenience and light weight of a plastic tub over a bulky cooler any day. We had no trouble keeping our food items at the correct temperature during our two night visit.