A public-relations exec shares his tips on how to create and live in an off-the-grid cabin
I found the cabin of our dreams while I was skiing Colorado backcountry. Sheltered by aspens and perched at an elevation of 10,200 feet, the 800-square-foot structure is completely off the grid. It has no electricity, no running water, no furnace. What it does have is spectacular views of the Rockies, but even better than the vista is the fact that the 40-acre property is bordered by national forest land on one side and wilderness on the other. Outside our front door is a 400-foot bowl, and above the cabin are three 1,500-foot-long powder bowls that rival any of Colorado’s best heli-skiing experiences.
As a partner in a public-relations firm, I’m as much a modern multitasker as the next plugged-in, caffeine-jacked exec. Having a second home that’s off the grid, as you can imagine, forces me to slow down. To heat our cabin, we use a wood-burning stove, and we cook our food on a propane range. Candles light the two small rooms, and in the winter, we melt snow to make water. If I spend even one night in our cabin, I feel completely revitalized. Indeed, some of my best ideas come when I escape for a little while, because, up there, the rigmarole of daily life just melts away.
We bought the place about a decade ago, a stressful decision at the time because my wife, Kirsten, and I were starting a family. Our children are 10, 8, and 5 now, and we’re expecting our fourth soon. Someday they’ll all join us on skis in the amazing powder outside our cabin. After all, we bought the place for them. We knew that this sort of opportunity—regular people with normal means buying a place in pristine wilderness—was going to disappear quickly. In a generation, our children might not have the same opportunity. Knowing that my kids will inherit this place makes the view even richer. Here’s a look at our favorite escape. — As told to Steven Russell; Photographs: Michael Brands/Redux Pictures and JP Greenwood
THE PLAN The elements of an off-the-grid cabin
Woodstove The Newhards heat their hideaway with a cast-iron stove, which warms the cabin to T-shirt temp in a few hours. “We open the stove doors and watch the fire,” says Newhard. “It’s what we call backcountry television.” Older cast-iron stoves, however, lose a lot of heat through their chimneys, says Allen Davis of Lehman’s, an Ohio store specializing in self-sufficient living. Modern wood-burning stoves make a better investment because they use up to a third less wood than older models. A cast-iron stove, such as Vermont Casting’s Dutchwest ($1,230), with a glass window and side-loading door for longer logs, works well for smaller cabins. lehmans.com
Propane Oven and Range Without access to natural gas or electricity, the Newhards rely on propane for cooking. They use an old Galaxy four-burner range with an oven, and they’ll typically go through three 40-pound propane cylinders every winter. “One of our favorite meals is spaghetti with venison or elk sausage,” says Newhard. “Kirsten also uses the oven to bake fresh bread.” The cabin came with a wood-burning cookstove as well, but the Newhards rarely fire it up because it overheats the cabin when the woodstove is also going. Canada-based Heartland Appliances makes both propane and wood-burning cookstoves, and the company does all of its own stamping, polishing, porcelain detailing, and nickel plating, which gives its stoves a rustic 19th-century appearance. heartlandapp.com
Propane Refrigerator In the winter, the Newhards turn off their refrigerator and use it for dry storage, keeping it stocked with pasta, dried beans, popcorn, and energy bars. “We’ve also learned to store our bottled wine there, because the corks blow when the cabin gets cold, and the fridge provides insulation,” says Newhard. When they switch on the refrigerator in the summer, they have storage for creature comforts such as fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, and cold beer. Servel’s six-cubic-foot propane-powered offering features a small freezer and sells for $1,295. gaiam.com
Lighting The Newhards light their cabin mostly with candles—they are quiet and inexpensive and provide a cozy glow. “But we have to be careful,” says Newhard. “After all, we’re living in a wooden structure in the middle of a forest.” If he ever wants more illumination than candlelight, Newhard brings out his five small Coleman two-mantle propane lanterns, which he hangs on hooks around the cabin. Although their burning makes a hissing sound, he says they work much better than battery-powered lanterns that succumb to the cold. coleman.com
Outhouse Fifty paces to the north of the cabin is the bathroom: an outhouse. Newhard keeps a sealed bucket of calcium oxide (a.k.a. lime) there, and asks every visitor to toss a small scoop of lime into the 15-foot pit after each use to help the composting process. Building and health codes wouldn’t allow for such a rustic structure to be built today, and would require that the outhouse have a propane-burning incinerator, such as the $3,000 model made by Storburn. storburn.ca
Security Newhard padlocks the cabin’s door when he’s not there, but he leaves a window unlocked—backcountry etiquette in case of an emergency. “If someone were desperate and had to get in there,” he says, “they could probably figure it out.” A squirrel that lives between the roof and the ceiling certainly has. “He was there before us, and we’ve granted him amnesty.”
Water During the winter, the Newhards melt snow in a 10-gallon pot on the woodstove to make water. They do this to avoid using the cabin’s pipes, which can burst from freezing if left unattended. In the summer, Newhard uses a 3.5-horsepower Yamaha pump to draw water from a nearby spring into a 250-gallon tank; the water flows to the kitchen sink via a gravity-feed system. If anyone desires a shower, there’s a solar shower on the south-facing deck. For an off-the-grid solution in an environment warmer than Colorado, you can buy a submersible pump kit connected to a solar panel for year-round water. $1,825, gaiam.com
Penn Newhard, 43, lives in Basalt, Colorado, with his wife and children. He is a partner in the public-relations firm Backbone Media.
I found the cabin of our dreams while I was skiing Colorado backcountry. Sheltered by aspens and perched at an elevation of 10,200 feet, the 800-square-foot structure is completely off the grid. It has no electricity, no running water, no furnace. What it does have is spectacular views of the Rockies, but even better than the vista is the fact that the 40-acre property is bordered by national forest land on one side and wilderness on the other. Outside our front door is a 400-foot bowl, and above the cabin are three 1,500-foot-long powder bowls that rival any of Colorado’s best heli-skiing experiences. 
Lighting The Newhards light their cabin mostly with candles—they are quiet and inexpensive and provide a cozy glow. “But we have to be careful,” says Newhard. “After all, we’re living in a wooden structure in the middle of a forest.” If he ever wants more illumination than candlelight, Newhard brings out his five small Coleman two-mantle propane lanterns, which he hangs on hooks around the cabin. Although their burning makes a hissing sound, he says they work much better than battery-powered lanterns that succumb to the cold. coleman.com 
