History, and a Nice Menu

I’ve long had an interest in the history of Shenandoah National Park, just a few hours west of us. This past weekend, we found a way to get up close and personal. On a last minute whim, we decided to take a quick overnight trip to Doyles River Cabin. The cabin was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1936–the same year that the Park was established–and is now managed as a rental property by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC).

As you probably know, the CCC was created during the Depression as a way to provide employment, housing, and food to young men that were facing grim job prospects. CCC “enrollees” were paid roughly $30/month to build roads and bridges and cabins and more. They were responsible for the handful of older structures still standing in the park (most of the buildings were removed when settlers were forced out to create the park; more on that here).

CCC boys leaving camp for home. Photo courtesy of Oregon State University, public domain

CCC Company 2530 Building a road. Photo courtesy of Edmund R. Golladay, public domain

Meal time at Camp Roosevelt, just up the road. Photo courtesy of Oregon State University, public domain

CCC Camp Kitchen Crew. Photo courtesy of Oregon State University, public domain

A CCC Barracks. Photo courtesy of Edmund R. Golladay, public domain

CCC laying stone for a road, 1933. Photo courtesy of National Archives, public domain

The CCC wasn’t confined to the park; they did work all across the US. In addition to roads and bridges and cabins, they also planted trees, built flood and erosion control projects, erected fire towers, stocked trout—basically did whatever they could to improve the infrastructure of the country.

More than three million young men enrolled in the CCC, including some that later went on to great notoriety–like baseball Hall of Famer Stan Musial and Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager (I’m imagining fireside chats about curveballs at the speed of sound).

Stan Musial in 1953, from Bowman Baseball cards, public domain

Chuck Yeager in front of the Bell X-1, 1940s. Photo courtesy of US Air Force, public domain

Doyles River Cabin is a primitive (no power or water) one-room structure, but it is sturdy and comfortable and in a great location. It also has a lovely covered porch and a beautiful view. PATC has done a nice job maintaining it, and we were thrilled that it was available on short notice.

The hike to the cabin is just a half mile from Skyline Drive, so we figured we could carry some fancy food (shocking for us, I know). We brought a small cooler bag full of our dinner, along with some frozen water bottles to keep things cold (figuring we could drink/dump the water before heading home). We did most of the food prep ahead of time, including cracking and freezing some scrambled eggs in a Nalgene bottle for Sunday breakfast.

We dropped our food and overnight gear at the cabin and then headed down trail another mile or so to Doyles River Falls (very pretty, despite the low-flow conditions). We shared the trail with a bunch of friendly folks, and saw quite a bit of bear scat. The black bear population is growing in the park, although we weren’t lucky enough to see one on this trip.

After our hike, we spent time lounging around the cabin and soaking in the view.

Souzz loving the hammock

Contemplating…

For dinner, we fried up some trout (just as the CCC might have done), made our favorite frybake French potato dish, Potato Gratin Savoyard (probably not what the CCC would have done), and enjoyed steamed mussels (definitely not what the CCC would have done).

Cheese and prosciutto from our favorite local wine shop, Arrowine

Raw Acacia Honeycomb honey, from the Savannah Bee Company

Souzz assembling the Potato Gratin Savoyard, a backcountry favorite of ours

More prep

Fried trout, anyone?

Cooking on the nice stonework

Cooking trout

Potato Gratin Savoyard, ready to be baked

Done!

Potat Gratin Savoyard, done!

As we cooked dinner, we admired the stonework and hand hewn logs that make up the cabin, as well as the beautiful view of the night sky. It’s amazing to think that Doyles River Cabin has been providing cozy nights under the moonlight for 80+ years. The cabin looks fantastic for its age–which apparently is only a compliment if you are talking about a cabin (ask me how I know).

Souzz and our little cooler

Nice night sky

colors changed by the minute

Something magical about a fire

Breakfast sausage (and eggs in the bottle to the left)

Packing up

There’s something rewarding about finding an adventure close to home—and even more so when it includes a bit of history and a nice menu. And we have the mussels to prove it.