Our goal is happy people. Whether you seek happiness in a backcountry hut experience, by lessening your impact on the planet, or by understanding the mind of contentment, we seek to support your journey the best we can.
History
The Vagabond Ranch site has a history of connecting with and caring for nature in a joyful way. The Vagabond Ranch has been site to many different activities over the years. The Ute people were native inhabitants of the area. The Trapper’s cabin dates back to 1865. Sometime after this the land was homesteaded and a boundary was created. The Homestead cabin on the south side of Willow creek is a remnant of this period. When it is open for guests you can stay there and imagine what life was like for the homesteaders. The Bunkhouse, constructed in various stages by campers from Vagabond Camp, reportedly began as a stagecoach stop between North Park in Wyoming and Middle Park in Colorado. Some of the original building with its ax hewn logs can still be seen. We believe that the Wranglers cabin dates back to the same era. The site has been used for ranching and to house Gilsonite miners over the years. In the 30’s and 40’s it was a hunting retreat to a wealthy industrialist who made it available to Denver youth at risk. His dying wish was that it continue to be made available to Denver youth. He was buried on the property and his estate eventually sold it in accordance with his wishes to the Pavek’s, who coined the name while using it as a base for Vagabond camp that took youth on tours around the West. After the camp had closed the Kelley’s bought the property and poured resources into preserving and winterizing the buildings and creating a private family retreat. The first solar panels were installed in 1991. We are beginning the next phase in the history of the Vagabond Ranch, which will be unique and carry on some of the traditions begun over the years. Read the Blog entry Memories of Vagabond Ranch Camp by Thomas Leeming, a former camper.
Location
Click the map icon to view road, topo, and google maps of Vagabond Ranch Huts. The Vagabond Ranch Huts are surrounded by the Arapahoe National Forest at the southwest corner of the Never Summer Wilderness Area. Nestled at the foot of Cascade Mountain to the east and Gravel Mountain to the south, this wild and gentle basin looks west towards majestic Parkview Peak. As the crow flies we are approximately 6 miles west of Grand lake 3 miles east of Willow Creek Pass and 10 miles north of Granby. In winter we offer the only accommodations on the Grand Lake Trail System.
Description
At 9000 ft elevation, the Vagabond Ranch sits in the alpine meadows and wetlands that border the confluence of Willow and Bill creeks. It is home to many forms of wildlife including Moose, Elk, and Beaver. Off property trails follow meadow and stream to the continental divide, and alpine tundra, vistas, and lakes.
Landform Feng Shui
The land itself at Vagabond Ranch Huts seems to awaken wisdom and compassion. Feng shui master Eva Wong said, “The landform here is gentle, it is a good place to learn meditation.” The landforms surrounding Vagabond Ranch draw in, contain, and release a positive flow of energy which invites our minds to calm down and our hearts to open. Read More »
Planning
Improvements are designed with appreciation for history, natural beauty, and sustainability, which naturally awaken us to interconnectedness.
Partners
Josh Weinstein and Jeremy Mercier are working to bring the best of mountain recreation, contemplative practice, and sustainability together at VRhuts.
Jeremy Mercier has worked as a builder, 1994-Present. Owner of August Building LLC. Special area of interest in green/sustainable building practices. Built several truly green homes over the last decade from zero energy to very low use. Has worked and continue to promote energy efficiency in the building industry. 2009-present, Caretaker/partner at Vagabond Ranch. Time spent exploring the Never Summer mountain area for future snowmobile/ski guiding and remodeling current structures to lower energy usage and overall comfort. 2001, Level One Avalanche training through Vail Mountain Rescue. 1976-present, snow worship, Avid snowmobiler and snowboarder. 1994-97, Amateur Snowboarder. Sponsorship brought on the chance to compete in several snowboarding events taking first place in many of the boarder cross events.
Josh Weinstein has a Masters of Divinty from Naropa University, 2003. Guiding Experience: He completed the NOLS Instructors course 1989 and Wilderness EMT 1994. He worked from 1991 - 1998 for the San Juan Hut Systems where he was trained as a back country ski guide. He skied and paraglided in the 2000 Banff Film Festival People's Choice winning film "A Higher Calling". in 2004 and 2007, he lead the Tao of Skiing program for Outdoor Leadership Training Seminars. 2009 to present he has explored the back country ski terrain around Vagabond Ranch Huts including Cascade Peak, Gravel Mountain, and Ruby Basin.
Resident Practitioner
If you are interested in living in meditation retreat at Vagabond Ranch and leading daily meditation e-mail joshhw@mac.com.
Name
We have chosen to keep the historical name Vagabond Ranch, and mean it as a place devoted to supporting direct experience, honest inquiry, and non-attachment. A vagabond wanders, without permanent residence. The Latin root of vagabond means "purposeless wandering." Reminiscent of a wandering pilgrim, the meditation book Journey Without Goal, or the meditation practice of aimless wandering, the Latin root implies a life devoted to inquiry and non-attachment. Beginning in 1383 in England being a vagabond was punishably by law and for the next 500 years the term developed a negative connotation. By the 19th century a vagabond was associated with bohemianism. Many notable intellectuals have lived a vagabond lifestyle choosing to devote their lives to understanding rather than ownership. According to wikipedia, "Examples included Henry David Thoreau, Michael John Arthur Bujold, Walt Whitman, Leo Tolstoy, William Hazlitt, and Thomas de Quincey.[2] A notable 20th century vagabond was the Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos." Whether we have a permanent physical residence or not, we can all learn from the contrasts between mental attachment and freedom. Our notion of a vagabond, like a Shambhala Warrior, is someone brave enough to experience life as it is.
Vision | History | Location | Description | Feng Shui | Planning | Partners | Resident | Name
Vision
Our goal is happy people. Whether you seek happiness in a backcountry hut experience, by lessening your impact on the planet, or by understanding the mind of contentment, we seek to support your journey the best we can.
History
The Vagabond Ranch site has a history of connecting with and caring for nature in a joyful way. The Vagabond Ranch has been site to many different activities over the years. The Ute people were native inhabitants of the area.
The Trapper’s cabin dates back to 1865. Sometime after this the land was homesteaded and a boundary was created. The Homestead cabin on the south side of Willow creek is a remnant of this period. When it is open for guests you can stay there and imagine what life was like for the homesteaders. The Bunkhouse, constructed in various stages by campers from Vagabond Camp, reportedly began as a stagecoach stop between North Park in Wyoming and Middle Park in Colorado. Some of the original building with its ax hewn logs can still be seen. We believe that the Wranglers cabin dates back to the same era. The site has been used for ranching and to house Gilsonite miners over the years. In the 30’s and 40’s it was a hunting retreat to a wealthy industrialist who made it available to Denver youth at risk. His dying wish was that it continue to be made available to Denver youth. He was buried on the property and his estate eventually sold it in accordance with his wishes to the Pavek’s, who coined the name while using it as a base for Vagabond camp that took youth on tours around the West. After the camp had closed the Kelley’s bought the property and poured resources into preserving and winterizing the buildings and creating a private family retreat. The first solar panels were installed in 1991. We are beginning the next phase in the history of the Vagabond Ranch, which will be unique and carry on some of the traditions begun over the years. Read the Blog entry Memories of Vagabond Ranch Camp by Thomas Leeming, a former camper.
Location
Description
At 9000 ft elevation, the Vagabond Ranch sits in the alpine meadows and wetlands that border the confluence of Willow and Bill creeks. It is home to many forms of wildlife including Moose, Elk, and Beaver. Off property trails follow meadow and stream to the continental divide, and alpine tundra, vistas, and lakes.
Landform Feng Shui
The land itself at Vagabond Ranch Huts seems to awaken wisdom and compassion. Feng shui master Eva Wong said, “The landform here is gentle, it is a good place to learn meditation.” The landforms surrounding Vagabond Ranch draw in, contain, and release a positive flow of energy which invites our minds to calm down and our hearts to open. Read More »
Planning
Improvements are designed with appreciation for history, natural beauty, and sustainability, which naturally awaken us to interconnectedness.
Partners
Josh Weinstein and Jeremy Mercier are working to bring the best of mountain recreation, contemplative practice, and sustainability together at VRhuts.
Jeremy Mercier has worked as a builder, 1994-Present. Owner of August Building LLC. Special area of interest in green/sustainable building practices. Built several truly green homes over the last decade from zero energy to very low use. Has worked and continue to promote energy efficiency in the building industry. 2009-present, Caretaker/partner at Vagabond Ranch. Time spent exploring the Never Summer mountain area for future snowmobile/ski guiding and remodeling current structures to lower energy usage and overall comfort. 2001, Level One Avalanche training through Vail Mountain Rescue. 1976-present, snow worship, Avid snowmobiler and snowboarder. 1994-97, Amateur Snowboarder. Sponsorship brought on the chance to compete in several snowboarding events taking first place in many of the boarder cross events.
Josh Weinstein has a Masters of Divinty from Naropa University, 2003. Guiding Experience: He completed the NOLS Instructors course 1989 and Wilderness EMT 1994. He worked from 1991 - 1998 for the San Juan Hut Systems where he was trained as a back country ski guide. He skied and paraglided in the 2000 Banff Film Festival People's Choice winning film "A Higher Calling". in 2004 and 2007, he lead the Tao of Skiing program for Outdoor Leadership Training Seminars. 2009 to present he has explored the back country ski terrain around Vagabond Ranch Huts including Cascade Peak, Gravel Mountain, and Ruby Basin.
Resident Practitioner
If you are interested in living in meditation retreat at Vagabond Ranch and leading daily meditation e-mail joshhw@mac.com.
Name
We have chosen to keep the historical name Vagabond Ranch, and mean it as a place devoted to supporting direct experience, honest inquiry, and non-attachment. A vagabond wanders, without permanent residence. The Latin root of vagabond means "purposeless wandering." Reminiscent of a wandering pilgrim, the meditation book Journey Without Goal, or the meditation practice of aimless wandering, the Latin root implies a life devoted to inquiry and non-attachment. Beginning in 1383 in England being a vagabond was punishably by law and for the next 500 years the term developed a negative connotation. By the 19th century a vagabond was associated with bohemianism. Many notable intellectuals have lived a vagabond lifestyle choosing to devote their lives to understanding rather than ownership. According to wikipedia, "Examples included Henry David Thoreau, Michael John Arthur Bujold, Walt Whitman, Leo Tolstoy, William Hazlitt, and Thomas de Quincey.[2] A notable 20th century vagabond was the Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos." Whether we have a permanent physical residence or not, we can all learn from the contrasts between mental attachment and freedom. Our notion of a vagabond, like a Shambhala Warrior, is someone brave enough to experience life as it is.