When I was a teenager, if you were deemed “hyperactive” or a “troublemaker,” the solution was Outward Bound.
Not that the outdoor education group was solely focused on taming wild spirits, but that’s where southern families sent theirs. And for good reason, going to the woods to learn survival skills is effective in that way.
I almost took a semester off college to do it, thinking it would settle my soul. Had they had these micro cabins then I might have given more weight to the decision, especially since I was already in Colorado, where the Outward Bound chapter just built them. I feel a tinge of recidivism bubbling up.
The wood and steel structures blend nicely into the rocky and evergreen terrain. Designed in part with help from architecture students from the University of Colorado, Denver, the 14 cabins are perched on a hillside outside of Leadville.
They’re erected on stilts to keep their impact on the ground low, yet have insulation and electricity in some of them so that the occupants can withstand a winter retreat. Inside these 140-200 square foot cabins are two beds, desks and storage for their personal effects. The porches face the Arkansas River Valley and get plenty of natural light.
Plans to build a community gathering building are in the works, and after that, it’s off to Moab, their largest school, where they intend to build more of these.
They’re generally intended for the OB staff, but friends and family can rent them for $8 a night.
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