The People of the Land Trust: Jessica Reece and John Gilchrist

John Gilchrist and Jessica Reece at Frog Lake.

Jessica Reece and John Gilchrist are another hut master team at the Truckee Donner Land Trust’s Frog Lake Backcountry Huts, managing the huts in February and April this year.

 “When we heard about the opportunity to be hut masters at Frog Lake, we knew it would be a perfect fit for us,” Jessica said. “The place speaks for itself.”

 The couple comes to the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts by way of Salt Lake City, where John worked for Backcountry.com and Jessica was a pharmacist, skiing, mountain biking and climbing whenever they could. 

 “For John and me, life at Frog Lake has been filled with rewarding work, endless views, snow time, and meeting stupendous folks from all around the area,” Jessica said. “We’ve loved getting to know both the visitors from out of Town and the Truckee locals, and appreciate their high psych for adventure and senses of humor.”

 The two typically start their day at the huts at sunrise, brewing coffee for guests in the Eschenbach Backcountry House with the glowing Frog Lake Cliff greeting them each morning. 

 “On warm days (and on really cold days with extra special sunrises), guests can be found on the south side of the lodge, admiring the cliffs and sipping hot coffee, before they head into the kitchen to whip up breakfast, say pancakes on the griddle,” Jessica said.

 Guests head out to ski and John and Jessica go to work around the property. Everyone finds themselves back on the Eschenbach House’s back deck at sunset to soak in the last rays of the day.

 “A day in the life at Frog Lake is filled with as much excitement and as much relaxation as one could possibly want,” she said.

 Time at the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts has given John and Jessica a renewed sense of passion for conservation as well.

 “Humans need connection with nature. It’s rejuvenating for the mind, body, and spirit. I see it in the faces of everyone that shows up,” Jessica said. “They have that same ear-to-ear grin I feel walking to the stone house in the early morning.”

She went on to describe the transformation she sees in the guests starting with their long trip in to the huts:

 “With each step, a layer of stress is replaced … first by the presence of extra weight in their bags, and eventually by the small details, the bright green lichen on the trees, the sparkling snow, that tree bark that looks like an alligator,” she continued. “Those smiles can’t lie, and those smiles, that feeling – they are worth protecting.”

To learn more about the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts and the nearly, 3,000 surrounding acres protected by the Truckee Donner Land Trust, Northern Sierra Partnership, The Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, click here, or to join Jessica and John in supporting the Truckee Donner Land Trust, click here.