Peter Grubb Hut in Norden, California

Just below Castle Peak in California's Round Valley, a simple hut sits along a popular hiking trail. Signs identify this cabin as the Peter Grubb Hut, a memorial for a young man who loved the outdoors.

Peter Grubb attended Galileo High School in San Francisco during the late 1930s. He was a star student who was involved in outdoor activities such as hiking at a time when that was a much less mainstream activity. He graduated in 1937 and went to Europe on a bicycling trip with a friend. He died there, evidently from an infection, although the exact details are murky.

His grieving friends and family built this trail hut in his honor in 1938-39, under the auspices of the Sierra Club. It consists of a large cabin containing a woodstove, a sleeping loft, attached storage rooms for firewood and maintenance supplies, and a detached outhouse. It lies just west of what was to later become the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

For decades, weary hikers have taken advantage of its shelter. It is particularly popular for wintertime use on snowshoe or ski trips, as the shelter and woodstove are especially attractive then.