The Quonset hut still stands
The world-war-two surplus Quonset hut is still standing just above Emerald Lake. I don't know when it was originally erected; like the tin shack at the summit its history on the mountain predates mine. The door is gone now. I remember hearing stories of it being pressed into service to carry injured sliders off the glacier; but I don't personally know if they are true or not. The fireplace is still intact, though a few of the rocks are missing from the chimney. I stick my head in at the door briefly, but I do not enter. With so much beauty out of doors, why crouch in the gloom?
Perched on a rock a few yards from the entrance to the Quonset hut I meet again the man who'd been muscling the large pack up the mountain at the back of the group of young hikers. He is relaxing and reading a book. When I salute him this time he returns my greeting pleasantly and puts his book down. He seems inclined to chat, so I stop for a few minutes.
Turns out he's a coach for Canada's cross-country Olympic ski team. The handsome young people I'd seen are the athletes; this is a training exercise for them. They are already at the summit of the mountain. I can see them tiny but distinct against the skyline over a thousand feet above us. They first came to Utah in the fall of 2001 in preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics. They were so impressed with the mountains that they've been returning for fall altitude training ever since. This is just their morning warm-up; they have other work scheduled for the afternoon. They will do a similar hike every day during their training camp.
I'll admit that it did my heart good to hear that. I was still the slowest thing on the mountain, but at least it was Olympic athletes that were so casually blowing me off the trail.
And I'm glad I hadn't voiced my opinion on their choice of hiking clothes and gear!