The First Creek Cabin on Berthoud Pass is one of the few non-reservation cabins in the Colorado high country and apparently one squatting stoner was gaming the system for the past few months before federal authorities evicted him from his makeshift home.
According to the Denver Post, Christian “Moe” Rison was charging skiers $10 bucks to spend the night in the cabin he claimed was his home. In fact, neither the cabin nor the land on which the structure was built was owned by Rison. In fact, the federally sponsored Tabernash Civilian Conservation Camp built the cabin back in 1933. The First Creek Cabin was actually the first of many mountainous structures erected by the CCC for the Colorado Mountain Club.
Rison, who had moved all his belongings into the cabin, was hoping to retain squatters’ rights before a US District Court decided he was not eligible for anything of the sort. In fact, the court ruled that he has been illegally occupying the federally owned land. Court documents indicate that there had been a long list of complaints citing “that guy” living in the cabin.
Upon further investigation federal authorities cited Rison for occupying federal property as well as possession of marijuana paraphernalia. Seems as though the poor guy didn’t even have enough dough for the dispensary…
Find the entire Denver Post article here: Squatter takes over public cabin near Berthoud Pass, charges people to use it