Beautiful Colorado mountain cabin with ham radio access at the foot of Mt. Princeton

My wife and I had a great time at Ken's cabin. The location is fantastic. Super quiet in a private area out in the woods, and extremely radio quiet. Speaking of the radios, I never ran more than mid power on the Force 12 yagi and I broke through BIG pile-ups into Europe, sometimes on the first try, without sunspots and solar flux at a low 70. Chasing SOTA contacts was a breeze and I was constantly getting complimented on what a nice strong and clear signal I had on the bands. The cabin is homey and comfortable. Ken had the woodpile well stocked, but we did not need it. My wife loved that the kitchen and supplies were well stocked, along with having a washer and dryer. A fun bonus is the bird food provided and the bird and critter show outside the large dining room windows. It was very entertaining! The Buena Vista area has something for everyone. We hiked, Jeeped and ziplined this beautiful area. There is river rafting, fishing, mountain biking, hunting, ghost towning, nice restaurants in town, and more 14’ers than anywhere else in the USA,. We look forward to our future visits!

Ron K6CPR

Originally I found Ken’s ad in QST magazine and was interested in the ham shack. I had been very active 40-50 years ago starting in my teens in Minneapolis. I kept up my license (WAOJKT) but haven’t been active for many years, and I was intrigued by all the new technology and the great “shack.” I enjoyed fiddling around a bit learning more about modern ham technology, but given the low point of the sun cycle we did mostly non-ham tourist activities and just relaxed at this very nice cabin. The area is beautiful and we enjoyed our daily excursions, as well as the mountain roads to and from the Denver airport.

Dave Hutchison, Phoenix, AZ

Three of us fellows holed up for a week in this mountain cabin in September 2019, not having a clue what to expect beyond the website info and photos. Well, it’s a delightful place, sort of rustic but not really. It’s a cosy home with everything one could need. We each even had our own private bath! The weather was wonderful, warm days and chilly nights. The cabin has excellent wifi, despite its remoteness. The small town of Buena Vista was fine for provisions, offering both affordable eateries and a good supermarket. Ken Eigsti's explanatory tour of his ham equipment and his delight in his avocation was a highlight of our week. Each day we explored somewhere interesting by car. One day we toured a fish hatchery to the south, one day we toured the National Mining Museum in Leadville to the north, one day we tried a local mineral hot springs in the foothills (soothing and fun). Otherwise we mostly read - I polished off a fine regional novel by Kent Haruf - cursed US politics on the TV screen, and generally hung out. The kitchen proved well equipped, beyond our modest cooking adventures. I can well understand how plenty of guests book this mountain chalet regularly. It’s a wonderful refuge, in a rugged and beautiful part of the US.

Peter Mose, Toronto, Ontario

I thoroughly enjoyed my week in July at your Lost Creek Cabin in Colorado. The location, by the Collegiate Range of San Isabel National Forest, makes car trips to and from the cabin scenic all by themselves. I used USGS quads and AllTrails to pick out a set of hikes. Your cabin's convenient location meant that my drives to the trailheads were short. Each hike was a brisk, low humidity, blue sky venture into the National Forest, with the typical Colorado scenery we pine for back East. The luxury of cabin home base (compared to backpacking my wife and I often do) meant that after hiking I could sample Buena Vista's local food, whiskey, and ice cream. Then I could return to the cabin for a relaxing sit on the porch rocking chairs as evening descended. There was so much to do in the area (hiking, rafting, all terrain vehicle trails, ghost towns, local music, etc) that I operated the excellent ICOM station with multiple HF beams only a fraction of the time I expected to. Your personal instructions for setting it up and disconnecting got me on the air quickly and rigged for lightening safety afterwards. Finally, the cabin is a wonderful and homey place to be, with lots of room, complete (and furnished) kitchen, TV and internet, lots of family presence in the amenities and decor, and total peace at night. Best wishes to you and your family, and thanks for making this superb cabin available! 73,

Scott WE3Q

We really enjoyed our stay at the Lost Creek Cabin in Colorado. The cabin is very nice with all the modern amenities expected in today’s world. Our family of two adults, one teenager and two pre-teens, had plenty of room to spread out and not get in each other’s way. The location is nested in the San Isabel National Forest and only a few neighbors were nearby, reminding us that there was civilization close. There is plenty of area to take a nice walk and enjoy the peace and quiet. The small wildlife plentiful and relaxing to watch during the day. There are rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels and numerous wonderful birds to observe, including hummingbirds. When we needed supplies or wanted to do some shopping, the town of Buena Vista is very close. There is plenty of shopping, parks and restaurants to choose from. Plenty of 4x4 trails and hiking trails are within a close distance as well. The radio’s in the shack are top notch with excellent instructions for operation and the antenna setup is impressive. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance get on the air due to time constraints and the realization that more education on operating this level of equipment will be necessary. Perhaps during our next visit, we will get a chance to use the equipment and make another attempt to climb Mt. Princeton as well.

Austin Morris and Family

First I would like to say thank you Ken for the use of your cabin, it was a very restful week. My wife and I took our telescope to the cabin hoping that we would have clear night skys. We had three good nights of clear skys and it was very dark night with no moon. We looked at a few planets, and found them to be almost too bright to view. If you are able to bring a telescope you should have a lot of fun watching the night sky.

Sue and Roy K0SPW and K0REW

After a few years of e-mail exchange with Ken we could finally find a suitable time for our trip to Colorado and Buena Vista. In the Lost Creek Cabin 2700m above see level we had a fantastic 2 weeks holiday. We were not at all prepared for such a powerful experience that it was. The white peaks against the green pine forest and the autumn yellow aspen trees was stunning. The quietness and proximity to the animals gave a relaxation and rest that is difficult to find elsewhere. Besides natural beauty, our bike tours on rented MTB gave us both strength and gusto. To sit a while in the morning or evening and play with Ken's fine and well-functioning radio station did not make things worse. The kindness we met by Ken and Cheryl, neighbors and the city's population makes the journey to something you would like to do again.

Anders SM4KYN and Ingela, Sweden

We weren't even in the door when my heart filled with the peace present here. The cabin is an affirmation of good family times share. You can feel the love. Amazing views and God whispers everywhere. This is our first visit and we are busy planning a return trip with children and grandchildren. "God willing and the Creek don't rise"

Jay and Kate Finn - Rock Island, IL.

We usually vacation in the Blue Ridge of NC but the attraction of the higher altitude and the fantastic ham shack made the trip to Colorado seem like a great idea. This is a place to truly relax and do little, if you so chose. One of the nicest amateur radio set ups I have ever seen! The solitude and quiet is refreshing for someone that travels on business almost endlessly. We enjoyed Independence Pass, and Cottonwood Pass if you want to see some high elevation, both >12,000 feet. Check out Aspen if you want to see the high rent district and Leadville for the mining region. Jill particularly liked the supply of bird seed Ken has in the cellar and the huge supply of beautiful birds in the area. Jill had the chipmunks and the Chickadees eating from her hand. The humming birds (4-5 at a time in many different colors) would swarm the hummingbird feeder so you better pick up a bag of sugar at the store on the way in for the week! The woodpecker got his share of the sweet water from the hummingbird feeder as well! Brown, black and grey squirrels sit side by side with the birds in the bird feeders! The place is well equipped including the wireless. (I avoided that for 5 of the 7 days!) We enjoyed the stay and are sure you will too!

Chuck WB2LBE and Jill from SC

We had such a good time at the cabin! We had the total experience - hiking in the area, enjoying the local wildlife and using your well-equipped ham radio station. The cabin itself was exactly what we had envisioned. Everything we needed was there - we had space, comfortable bedrooms and bath facilities. We had the option of cooking for ourselves in your complete kitchen or heading out to the enjoyable restaurants in Buena Vista and Salida. We had a great visit and would love to rent it again.

Fred KT5X and Debby Maas

Our family decided to spend our March 2013 Spring Break at the Lost Creek Cabin, and we are sure glad that we did! We loved that the cabin was secluded and remote at the foot of Mount Princeton, while also providing easy access to town and all of the area’s recreational activities. The cabin itself was wonderful, and the wood stove and open fireplace on the cold nights were just perfect while enjoying a book or the available WiFi. For those like my wife not inclined to build fires, heat is also easily available from the furnace. We loved eating our meals while watching the birds, which included Jays, Nuthatches, Juncos, Wrens, Woodpeckers, Chickadees, and even a lost Robin. Our favorite visitors to the feeders however had to be the Tufted Eared (Abert’s) Squirrels, which looked like a crazy rabbit-squirrel hybrid. The cabin is only a 5-minute drive to the hot springs at the Mount Princeton Resort, which we really enjoyed after our morning hikes. Our favorite hiking trail with the kids was the Agnes Vaille Trail and waterfall, again only about 10 minutes from the cabin. Lost Creek is also remote enough that it gets really dark, with spectacular views of the Milky Way and stars after the moon set. Okay I’d be remiss not to mention the world-class radio set-up in the loft, where no expense has been spared. The station was really the icing on the cake of a great family getaway. We’ll definitely be coming back!

John Grimm K0YQ

In October my wife and I stayed at the cabin, my wife and I both agreed, it was one of the best vacations we have had. If not the best! We had a great time exploring Buena Vista and the surrounding area. The scenery was beautiful and all of the people we met were extremely friendly. The cabin is appointed better than most including the Ham shack! I found I did not spend as much time as I planned on working the radios because there was so much other things to do. Ken is one of the most hospitable hosts we have met! He answered all of our questions and gave us some pointers for flatlanders to watch out for. The shack has detailed instructions to operate the equipment. The StepIR as awesome! Eating breakfast in the front room overlooking Mount Princton was difficult because I couldn't take my gaze off the mountain long enough to eat, it is a stupendous view! Overall you can't go wrong staying here, even if you do not plan to use the radio shack.Ken, we will be back in the future! Thanks for the use of your wonderful cabin!

73,Todd & Mary Beay KB9VUP

My family and I stayed at Ken’s Lost Creek Cabin for five days in August, 2012. The cabin exceeded our expectations! The cabin is the perfect place to visit if your goal is a restful vacation close to beautiful mountain towns with plenty of activities AND a first class amateur radio station. Ken’s station is top notch, no expense has been spared. I operate mostly CW and I like to chase DX. My goal was to work as many EU, AS , OC and AF countries as I could. I operated a total of about 10 hours over five days and I worked over 30 countries all running 100 watts or less! I also wanted to work D64K before they went QRT on the second day of our stay at the cabin. In the two days they were active, I worked them five times, all running barefoot. The most impressive contact was with 6W/M1KTA in Senegal. Dom had a new Elecraft KX-3 running 5 watts on SSB. I decided to give him a call running near QRP, at 10 watts, and got him on the third call. We took Ken’s advise and went for a trail ride at Mt. Princeton stables. We saw some of the most beautiful forests, rivers and views imaginable. Bill, our guide, was a pro. He knows the area like the back of his hand, he has decades of riding experience and he is a ham. Ken is a great host and a good guy. I highly recommend Ken’s Lost Creek Cabin.

Bob Novak KØOK

We had the pleasure of staying at the Lost Creek Cabin during 12-18 August 2012. The first night we stepped out the front door about 10:15 pm, looked up between two tall pine trees, and viewed Ursa Major (better known as the Big Dipper) hanging straight down perfectly framed between the trees - as if attached to a well post. The two stars in the cup directed us to the North Star. This was the most profound sighting of the dipper that we had ever seen. It was almost low enough to reach up and touch. Each star, as well as other stars in the clear night sky, was more brilliant than any diamond. The ham station was a pleasure to operate. Ken provided detailed instructions for the equipment and antenna connections. Operating was done mostly in the morning to avoid afternoon thunderstorms, which happen occasionally this time of the year. Most mornings we checked into various nets and made some DX contacts, e.g. Indonesia, Brunei, and Austria. Operating was done on the 17, 20, and 40 meter bands using both the Force 12 C39XRN (4 bands) and the SteppIR (8 bands) antennas. Some comments from participants on a Florida net included: "awesome signal", "extremely strong signal", "I can't believe how loud your signal is", and "your signal was so loud it almost blew me out of the shack." Every one came back to me on my first call. The SteppIR was excellent and easy to operate. In addition to operating the station, we took one day to go over Cottonwood Pass and into Taylor Park. We drove about five miles north and spent the day along the Taylor River above the Taylor Reservoir fishing, observing the wild flowers, and just sitting beside the stream. On other days we did sight seeing in the beautiful mountain area and enjoyed an afternoon at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. We also enjoyed just being the cabin, which is well furnished. The area is very quiet and we enjoyed watching the birds, including humming birds, come the feeders for their daily grub. We look forward to another stay sometime in the future at this beautiful mountain location.

Alvin NØAY and Thyra WAØTFL Yorke

We had a very enjoyable week at the cabin, even though the radio conditions were quite poor while we were there. The ham shack is very well equipped and I was hoping we would have good propagation, but such was not the case. However, we did enjoy our day trips to Leadville and Salida, as well as exploring the Buena Vista area, enjoying several of the restaurants in the area. The cabin had all the necessities for a good stay, including a comfortable bed and well equipped kitchen."

Bob and Linda Peterson W7UT

This was our second trip to your cabin and once again we had a great time. No ham radio this time but on our last trip I spent one night into the early morning hours just listening around for several hours on CW. What an awesome ham shack for great armchair CW rag chewing. This trip our 10 year old daughter skied for her first time at Monarch. Very nice family oriented ski resort. We hiked, biked, enjoyed the hot springs and ate at some marvelous restaurants all week. Our two favorite restaurants this time were Eddy line at South Main in Buena Vista and Amicas in Salida. We enjoyed Asian Palate in Buena Vista also. We made a great find in Salida, Ploughboys, a small town natural food store. Met some locals and got some fresh local eggs, meat and veggies. No trip to Buena Vista is complete without a cheese tasting and tour at the Jumping Good Goat Farm in Buena Vista. They just had over a hundred new baby goats. What fun! Any time of year is fun and their cheese is awesome. They are a must see for us every trip. We can’t wait to come back soon.

Mike-Former WN6BZA-1972

We had a terrific time at Lost Creek. My wife really enjoyed all the critters that came to the feeders. I think we may have run through half of your seed supply. We enjoyed seeing the antelope most days too. On the radio end of things it was a great week. I’m mostly a qrp cw guy so I had a lot of fun playing with your gear. It is well documented and I didn’t have any trouble getting on the air. That StepIR is something. I may “need” one. We hiked up Mt. Elbert on Tuesday (might as well go for the tallest one…right?) It was hard on our Ohio lungs, that early in the week, but we made it. Your advice on places to visit was very helpful. The Cottonwood Pass drive was really nice. We would love to make a return trip next summer.

Doug and Gale LeVan K8ZN

I really enjoyed my stay there over the weekend! The weather was cool, clear, and beautiful and I enjoyed the couple of hikes I took around the area the day before the contest. The kitchen was certainly well equipped and it was nice to be able to have all the condiments and other sandwich accessories such as deli mustard available for use. The ham shack was great and all the antennas worked very well during the entire contest. That 40 meter yagi and the 80 meter sloper dipoles got many stations in the USA and Canada to come back to my 5 watt signal on the first call! And the upper bands were a lot of fun to operate also. Having 3 separate Yagis all working well allowed me to call stations in the "search and pounce" mode with rarely ever having to wait to rotate the beam! I hope to return some time in the near future for another very pleasant contest weekend!

Bill, W8QZA

Jay, KØGEO

Oscar, EA1DR and I decided to rent Ken's Lost Creek cabin for the CQWWDX Phone Contest. We had been in the US several times before, but never to the Colorado mountains. We exchanged several emails with Ken before our arrival, and he provided us with a lot of helpful information about how to pack for our trip. Ken always answered our emails within hours, which was greatly appreciated. The map that Ken sent to us made it easy to find the cabin. The cabin is perfect - comfortable, and very well decorated. It has everything you need, so you have to take basically nothing. It's like when you leave your home to visit a good friend. The heating system works great for the cool nights in the Rockies. The radio room includes two top-of-the-line operating positions suitable for single op, multi-single or multi-two contesting. The cabin now has high-speed internet access with Wi-Fi. The location is perfect for radio, with wide-open takeoff in all directions, except west, which is blocked by Mt. Princeton. We were very loud in Europe, with many unsolicited comments about our strong signal. Ken is an excellent host. He helped us by supplying propagation advice. He was always available for us by telephone or VHF. Ken is a true gentleman. Don't forget to explore the area with its beautiful scenery, including the towns of Buena Vista, Salida and the ghost town of St. Elmo. This experience is highly recommended. Lost Creek cabin is your place for a wonderful vacation.

Fernando, EC1CT

Our ham adventure to Colorado was in September 2004. I found the ad for Lost Creek Cabin in QST, contacted Ken, WØLSD, and we were on our way shortly thereafter. We arrived several days before a contest weekend (unlike Ken, I'm not a contester -- more of a casual DXer). We found the cabin to be well appointed, with a full kitchen, living room, bedrooms, sun porch, and all the other comforts of home (It's more of a home than a cabin -- Ken had lived there for many years before moving into town). The cabin is just a short drive to town. Buena Vista has all the tourist amenities, including restaurants, a fine grocery store, gift shops, and even river rafting in the summer! The ham shack has everything a ham could want, from HF to VHF, much more than my shack in 6-land. I used the 756Pro, along with the antenna farm to go with it, mostly on 20 meters. I'm not much of an operator, but the station is a full contest station (with lots of awards posted on the walls for contests won from this QTH). The highlight for me was working a ham buddy, Ray, W9EC, in Lompoc, CA (our hometown) just after the end of the contest. I had to brag to Ray about the station at WØLSD! Ken has added much more equipment since 2004. And don't worry about your YL enjoying the trip -- my XYL liked Buena Vista so much that we moved from the California coast to Buena Vista just a couple of months after our stay at Lost Creek!

Rick, WA6NUT

Lost Creek is a great place to get away from the stresses of the city. The combination of a great ham radio location and mountain sightseeing is hard to beat!

John, WØDC

Lost Creek Cabin provides an excellent balance for a vacationing ham family. The cabin itself offers great accommodations, and the location affords endless opportunities for enjoying nature. The ham station is well equipped - even for serious DXers, and all aspects of station operation are well-documented. The updated website gives the potential ham operator and family about as good an "inside peek" as you could expect from a web document. Mr. Eigsti is very cordial, and willingly answers any questions the potential renter may have.

Jim, WS6X

From Jim's wife, Elaine: The cabin was comfortable and warm. We enjoyed the birds and deer right outside our windows. Of course, seeing Mt. Princeton right behind the cabin was wonderful.

We discovered Buena Vista, while on a road trip in 1989. We knew from our first impression that we wanted to go back and explore this beautiful valley. We saw Ken's ad for Lost Creek cabin in QST, and booked for one week in September, 1990. We've come back to rent Lost Creek every year, since then! Lost Creek cabin has become a home away from home for us. Lost Creek is an outstanding value. You don't have to be a radio amateur to thoroughly enjoy a vacation at the cabin. We've recommended Lost Creek to several non-ham families, and they have all returned with high praise. There's plenty of room for a large family or for multiple couples to be comfortable. Buena Vista has some fun restaurants and art galleries, and the residents are really friendly. Add to this the fact that Ken is one of the greatest people on the planet, and you can't go wrong.

Bob, WØBV and Kate, KØYV

Enjoyed our time immensely at Ken's Lost Creek Cabin. It had all the comforts of home, and Ken made sure that whatever we needed was provided (including birdseed!). A beautiful location that is surrounded by mountains - Buena Vista has great restaurants, shopping and a really neat coffee shop. All these things contributed to a vacation we'll always remember. We look forward to going back soon, but not alone. Next time, we'll bring our grandchildren. With so much for them to do, we know they'll have the time of their lives there! Also, for you ham radio operators - operating Ken's 1st class amateur radio station was a real pleasure. Can't wait to go back.

Bob KS9W & Sandy Stolberg