Three Bears' Cabin at Raccoon Creek

 Some years ago, in the mists of a freer life, I hiked down a long, snowy lane through a remote quadrant of the Allegheny National Forest.  Much to my surprise, it led me to a beautiful little cottage in the woods.  The place was completely snowbound, so I spent some time hanging out on the broad front porch, watching the woods.  I felt like a bald Goldilocks, peeking in the windows, poking around the outbuildings, picking my favorite chair to sit in... Today, at Raccoon Creek, I had a similar experience.  

 

 I've been curious about the eastern tip of the park.  On the map, it looks like there's a good, big stretch of woodland where there are no trails.  This part of the park is rough terrain, very hilly; it's the area to the immediate right when you come through the park's main entrance at US-30.  I decided to bushwhack through the area to see what's up there.  In the back of my mind, I had the idea that someday I might join "The Friends of Raccoon Creek" and volunteer to blaze a nice loop trail through this unvisited segment of the forest.  

But today was not a day for bushwhacking across steep, trackless hills.  I've often said that March is the worst month for hiking because the temperatures are just warm enough to make the leftover snow very slick.  Today felt like a march trek.  And so, I followed a forest road that led up into the area.  At the end of that road--perhaps a quarter mile in length--I came across this little farmstead.  

The place is obviously not abandoned.  It doesn't have the forlorn look of a forsaken house.  Also, there were birds hovering around the feeders in the side yard and a new air conditioning unit on the other side.  I was pretty sure that I had the place to myself, but not sure enough to approach the house.  I didn't want to get attacked by a dog, so I didn't get any closer than the the middle picture.  I'm guessing it's either a summer home or a place where park employees or volunteers live during the high season.  Clearly, it was a farm at one time.  There's an old barn up behind the house, and a smaller stable on the hillside to the right, not visible in the middle photo.  There's a little pond to the left--also invisible--with a wooden pier.  It's not much architecturally, but it looks like heaven on earth to me.  

I double-checked the maps, and this place is well within the park's borders.  Imagine it!  A place like this at the end of a long dirt lane in the hills, surrounded by protected public lands!  What I wouldn't do to disappear here.  Nothing but trees, and snow, and views out over wooded valleys.