If, like me, you have read many novels and seen many movies in the “cabin in the woods” genre–including the extremely meta 2011 film Cabin the Woods–you may think that two days and nights alone in a cabin in the woods infallibly leads to a terrifying clash with a Bigfoot, a psycho killer, or a clan of inbred cannibal hill people. I’m here to report that I recently spent two days and nights alone in a tiny cabin in the woods and wasn’t assailed by so much as a single spider.
I rented this adorable cabin at Smith Creek Village, in the backcountry of Silver Falls State Park, about 90 minutes south of Portland. I’d hiked the park’s best-known trail, the 7-mile Trail of 10 Waterfalls, before, but I wanted to do it again and to hike a couple of the backcountry trails as well. The cabin was the perfect base of operations. Not only was it less tiny and more plushy on the inside than I expected, and very quiet and comfortable for sleeping, but it was just steps from several trailheads and less than half a mile by a pleasant trail to the Village’s restaurant. In addition to hiking, I did some reading, writing, and relaxing. I’d like to go back–maybe in the winter, when I the cabin would be extremely cozy. Until the Yetis show up.