A secret location, one to two hours by boat, with a short hike over some hills, over some mossy rocks and through the woods. To arrive here. A tiny, log cabin sitting on a private lake with views of ice-capped mountains and valleys. Glaciers rumble, groaning and creaking above and a waterfall pounds down the opposite mountain between rainbow rocks. Mountains tower overhead and dance and twist and turn in the different lights. Across the pond, a moose wanders past. 

Inside the cabin is a note from the owners inviting nature lovers who stumble across it to stay a night, to treat it with respect and enjoy the magic of these surroundings. There is a guest book to sign. Handwritten notes of thanks, adventures recorded, sketches and inspired poems from visitors dating back to the 80s. It records the family who began it all back in the 60s. When I sign my name and leave a drawing of the mountains, it feels like I am joining a club, a guardian of a secret paradise. 

To share something so beautiful without expectation of something in return, is a rare act of selfless generosity. The beauty of this place is evident, but it is also the beauty of the humans who made it. A place built on kindness. A place to restore.

A night I will never forget x