Decorative Hardware

My two boys and myself had been planning to take a hike up to this little mountain lake for a couple of weeks now, and I thought today would be a great day to do it.  The lake was about seven miles from the trailhead, so the sooner we got started the better.  I figured it would take us about four hours to get there, and with eight and nine year olds tagging along, I wasn’t quite sure how long it would take us.

As we neared the top of the mountain it was starting to snow.  The boys were getting tired and wet as the snow started falling harder and harder.  I was beginning to get a little worried that maybe I had made a bad decision and told them that we had better turn back.  With six miles left and seven inches of new snow, I thought that maybe I should come up with a quick alternative.  About half way down, I spotted a small cabin tucked hidden away in some trees. 

I knocked on the door but nobody answered.  I had to get us inside, for the boys were cold and shaking.  The exterior door locksets were fastened well to to the door, so my other option was to break open one of the windows.  With plenty of firewood I knew everything would be ok.  We were a little hungry, but at least we were warm.