Sometimes veering off the beaten path pays off

As you probably know by now, I have a tendency to wander off trail; and not always with positive results.

We had heavy rain last night and resulting in the Jack Lake Trails being very mucky today.

We headed onto a side trail that seemed a mite dryer.

The lichen-covered rocks looked like they were covered with drifts of snow.

The woods are dotted with some very high boulders.  I marveled at the resilience of a fern growing out of a crack in the rock and also that it is still fresh and green in late November.

I often come across the ruins of bike ladders and ramps in the forest.  

Once more I ended up blundering around in the woods.  Wendy was supposed to be helping me find trails but really would lead me to logs that she wanted to chew.  I relied much more on the GPS app on my phone to give me directions.

I was fumbling my way along when I thought I saw something.  A board ?  A hunter's blind ?

I walked toward it ...you're not going to believe what I found.

 See it ?   Let's go closer ...

and closer.

It was an amazing structure towering over the forest floor.  There was even a room on the side with a wood stove.  A very steep staircase went up the side of the tree leading to the upper rooms.  

I met the young man who had been working on this structure for six years with a friend and asked if he lived there.   He laughed and said he didn't but it was a fun hangout.  

I'm not sure I could ever find it again and I hope that not too many other people do.  I'd hate to see it vandalized.

This place is far from roads or even noticeable trails.  How the heck did they cart the windows and lumber in !    It's clearly a labour of love. 

You never know what you're going to find off the beaten track in the woods and isn't that wonderful !