We hiked to the cabin via the Snow Peak Trail #10. It appeared we were the first to use it this year. The road to the trailhead had a few small trees blown over and had to be moved, otherwise was in great condition all the way to the trailhead. 

We saw quite a bit of bear skat on the trail and did hear a young bear near the trail, but did not visibly see the bears. The trail was bare and easy hiking for the first 2 miles, the last 1+ miles was covered in snow and required snow shoes. There were several spring run-offs near the cabin that could be used for filtering water. 

The cabin was great and provided shelter from hail/rain storm and a very windy first night. However, we had a blue bird-day for hiking to the top of the peak, snow shoes were not required. 

We were lucky to secure two nights at the Snow Peak Cabin in that tiny window between winter snow and summer bugs.  We left the Sherman Pass trailhead at about 11am, which meant the snow was softening.  On the return we hit the trail earlier in the day, and there was less post holing.

Pretty close to 7 miles each way sticking to the trail, which had a few downed trees, and 2-4 ft of snow based on altitude.  We took it slow with our dogs and the snow, hiking for 6-8 hours which included swimming through snow cones of softened snow on the trail.

It was 50/50 on snowshoes, since the trail was pretty packed, and snowshoes don’t always help when the snow is hollowed out from below.  For me personally, post holing with snowshoes on is a special kind of irritation that I personally despise.

The cabin was exactly as advertised, which was so much more than we expected.  Deep, deep gratitude to the BCHW, and all the other volunteers that made it possible and maintain it.

Early season conditions on this hike to snow peak cabin. snow continuous except for SW facing aspects in a few stretches. Used snowshoes and glad we had them. Navigation straightforward with combination of prior tracks, ribbons marking trail. Took Sherman Loop trail from Highway 20 trailhead (the S Kettle trail was sun exposed and slushy)
Stayed at the snow peak cabin which was a real treat: Great location between snow peak and baldy, in great shape with wood stove and propane stove and full set of kitchen gear, solar lights, cots and pads. Need reservation at rec.gov.
Weather was unsettled first day with sun, clouds, strong winds and graupel squall, then cleared that evening and bluebird next day perfect for jaunt up snow peak (boots and poles were sufficient) with big vistas.
Saw only one other couple on the trail heading in as we headed out.
A great time in the Kettle Range.

I can't even begin to count the number of times I have hiked to & past Snow Peak Cabin, but this was only my second time spending the night there. I am very bad at advance planning to make a reservation for the cabin, which I think can be reserved up to 6 months in advance of a trip. But I am good at hitting refresh on the reservation website every so often to check for a cancellation, and I couldn't believe my good luck when I found a cancellation that corresponded with the full moon!

I did this as a solo trip with my pup. On the hike in I met the people who had the reservation just ahead of me, plus a large group of snowshoers who were exiting a dayhike (including two of our local WTA ACLs!).

Once I arrived at the cabin, I felt like I had the entire Kettle Crest to myself! There were some high clouds on the hike in that cleared beautifully for moonrise, then moved back in later into the night. It was a bit cloudy but gorgeous on the hike out on Tuesday, and I only met two folks on trail on my way out (USFS staff heading in to do monthly maintenance checks on the cabin).

The place was in excellent shape: fully stocked for firewood, TP in the outhouse, plenty of cooking supplies (although I opted to pack in my own). It was nice & clean inside without any indication of the rodent problem I've heard rumors about from others. For awhile one of the cots was broken but I discovered it has been replaced, and there were even some camp chairs stashed inside for extra seating. There is a propane cooking stove, but I didn't check it since I brought my Jetboil. It is so nice to have access to a cabin for a January trip!   

Headed up for our cabin reservation on Saturday - this is a lovely spot that I definitely plan to return to. We snowshoed in via the summer route because the winter sno park wasn't being plowed yet. The road to the summer trailhead was a bit sketchy with a good amount of snow on it and some downed trees (including one blocking most of the road that essentially had a car-shaped cutout on one side), but we made it! Glad I had a shovel in my car for if needed.

We wore snowshoes from the start - there were quite a few patchy spots, but there was enough snow to not need to ever carry them. They were very helpful higher up as the trail seemed to be rocky underneath, which would have made for unpleasant postholing without snowshoes, and the snow got deeper as we went to the point where you'd posthole every step without them. The larches were mostly past prime but still golden and beautiful - I had no idea there were so many out in this area. 

It was 3.2 miles to the cabin, which was cozy and wonderful. It is single group-use by reservation. While it looks like you can reserve it for up to 6 people, there are only 3 cots and honestly it would be crowded with more than 3 people (I wouldn't try to fit more than 4, and 2 people was perfect). Here's my track of the summer trail in (with a very short bit of wandering near the cabin because I wanted to see what was around the corner, but you'll see the sign as you approach and can skip that bit): https://caltopo.com/m/1R1GDTT

The cabin was stocked with wood and propane for the coleman stove. We melted snow for water without issue. There was mouse poop on the plates and whatnot - seems like a mouse likes the "kitchen" corner. The carbon monoxide alarm was beeping like it was low on batteries, so the next person up should bring a 9-volt battery to replace it - I left a voicemail mentioning this to the rangers, so it's also possible they will take care of it. The solar lights worked, but I brought some twinkly lights to use instead. Very nice to have an outhouse.