Retreat to the Georgia Jungle

Just before dawn Screech Owls say their final “good night.” And nearby chickens crow “good morning,” led by Dr. Bronner, Papa Rooster to a brood of nearly 40. I lie fully awake in my elevated nest eight feet above the brushy forest floor. My comfortable, compact cabin affords a 360 degree view of towering pines, sweet gum and live oak trees.

Hostel in the Forest, Brunswick, Georgia, is my quiet, spiritual refuge for a couple of weeks. It is a natural sanctuary of 147 acres protected by a not for profit 501c3 land trust.

The Hostel has been welcoming international travelers for nearly 50 years. It was established by my good friend Tom Dennard in 1975, when he was a long haired, backpacking, world traveling, recent law school graduate. Sitting beneath the boughs of an enormous water oak tree he conceived the notion of a natural retreat only a few miles from the busy, beachy south Georgia coast and light years from the madness of contemporary suburban life. I am now one of more than 17,000 HitF “members for life” attracted from virtually every corner of the world.

Each day time flows smoothly but quickly. Fresh coffee gets brewed early in the kitchen. Overnight stays include an abundant, vegan friendly dinner but guests (all called members) provide their own daytime meals. In keeping with Forest-friendly policy whatever “you pack in, you pack out.” And, no one objects.

As I crawl out of my bunk just after dawn, the onsite staff is already stirring. Resident land managers Eddie and Kate have kettles brewing, are collecting eggs and surveying the Hostel grounds. An additional staff of five begins to appear. Like all the others who have volunteered to work here through the years, these naturalists are limited to brief 1-3 month shifts. They cook, clean and compost as part of their complementary stay. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, a virtual human beehive which keeps the Hostel humming under the invisible oversight of a dedicated Board of Directors.

Today I will swim and paddle in the quiet lake after I do a little carpentry on the extensive elevated boardwalk system. I will have three nourishing meals on a large screen porch, do a bit of cleaning, chat with new arrivals around the fire pit and catch up on some reading, writing and resting in my tiny cabin in the woods.

And you can do it too at Hostel in the Forest any day, all year long. To learn more check out foresthostel.com.