How do you feel about camping in mouse poop that could give you hantavirus? My husband and I, our friends, and our babies went on a XC ski cabin trip up to Blacksmith Fork Guard Station mid-February 2024. Since it is a guard station our expectations were low but this was FAR below our expectations especially for $79 a night. (See update at the bottom).
Upon arriving, we realized there was so much mouse poop on every horizontal surface we saw. On the counters, table, floor, window seals, counters in the kitchen, on the mattresses, under the mattresses, dresser, fridge, oven range, in kitchen drawers and more. It wasn’t just a small infestation. It was a big one. That wasn’t it, the cleanliness of the place was extremely poor. The fridge and freezer had mold in it.
Before our trip, I called the ranger to ask about the cabin and get more details. We were expecting to use some of the things the ranger said we could use but because of the poor maintenance of the cabin we were not able to. I was told there were propane lights we could use there and instructions on how to use them, upon arrival we read the instructions which said to install a mantle for the light. There was only one mantle in the cabin so we could only have one room lit. Since we had never used propane lights before we did not know they needed mantles and were not informed to bring any if they aren’t provided. I was told there were dishes to use there but they had mouse poop on them (they had butter knives but I don’t think they had spoons/forks). Don’t plan on using their dishes for eating if you go. I was told there would be instructions on how to use everything with propane but there wasn’t any info on how to use the propane fridge. (Which was fine because it was so nasty we just kept our food in the snow outside). I was told the beds are sanitized between guests. I’m not sure how they sanitize them… they did not look clean. They had pet hair, mouse poop, and lots of yellow stains on them. On one mattress, it looked like a human (or dog) had peed on it. In previous pictures it looked like there was a plastic waterproof cover on the mattresses but there was not when we went. There was one unset mouse trap under the kitchen sink, but no other measures to keep the mice out. We understand there are mice in mountain cabins but this was excessive. We had containers to keep our food in and that keep it safe, thankfully. The next morning, there was even more mouse poop in areas we had cleaned up the night before. The mice also got into a closed bag of popcorn left on the counter. It was a challenge to not be able to put the babies down on the ground to move around. It was also hard to keep them clean and away from the mouse poop. I would never have gone especially with our baby if I'd known the state of the cabin.
The good: it was fun to be outside. It snowed so we had fresh snow to play in and get out of the cabin. The furnace kept the place warm (almost too warm in the main room and not quite warm enough in the side bedroom unfortunately) and there was plenty of firewood so we did not have to haul in our own.
If you decide to face the mouse poop, read up on how to properly take care of it (i.e. not sweeping) to avoid getting Hantavirus. We cleaned up and left the cabin better than we found it but it needs a LOT more help. I’m sure mice have taken over already since we left. Please be aware before going. There hasn’t been a review in a while and not many winter reviews so hopefully this will help someone. I took pictures of a lot of it and will include them in my review.
Update: I called the ranger station after getting back and informed them of the issues we had there. They were grateful to know what was going on and said they would get someone up there to fix those issues with the cabin. They said they need to know about that and were grateful I called. The ranger I talked with was very patient and listened to my concerns and addressed them well over the phone call.