In the 21st century, escape is tough. As our attentions scatter across various screens, and our lifestyles bend to fit the fences between us and our neighbors, it can be tempting at times to simply drop everything and flee into the woods.
But of course, the life of the hermit has largely gone extinct — especially in America, which has long been unkind to those who make their homes on unsanctioned land. In 2013, law enforcement tracked down Christopher Thomas Knight, a Maine resident who had spent 27 years living alone in the woods. Slowly, as Knight was reintegrated into society at age 47, society pressed him to play well with others. Even as technology makes it harder for us to hold onto our personal time and space, being seen as “antisocial” is never a positive thing.
Still, there is deep value to be found in seclusion. When you can really get away to someplace quiet (and, ideally, off the grid), endless chances open up to connect with your thoughts and surroundings. It’s why Knight’s story, while exceptional, feels strangely relatable. He wasn’t lonely — he was communing with the world, and himself. “What did he do for a living?” wrote journalist Michael Finkel in 2014. “He lived for a living.”
We can’t all take a permanent camping trip. But honestly, we need to unplug more. Perhaps Henry David Thoreau is a good model — it seems he remained a lively presence at Concord dinner parties even as he found time to get down to the pond. But even if you’re not ready to write this century’s “Walden,” consider checking out massretreats.org, the home of the Western Massachusetts Retreat Association.
The website details 13 members’ retreats in the Massachusetts towns of Deerfield, Montague, Colrain, Leyden, Shutesbury, Rowe, Savoy, Hawley and Plainfield, plus one in New Lebanon, New York. All are intriguing sites, but the most off-the-grid location is certainly Temenos, a non-denominational retreat center that sits atop Mount Mineral in Shutesbury, about a 30-minute drive from the centers of Amherst and Greenfield.
The retreat takes its name from a Greek word that refers to the sacred space around an altar or shrine. The 70-acre property was purchased in the early 1970s by a pair of Quaker activists — the wonderfully named Teresina and Joe Havens — then established as a nonprofit in 1980. In addition to a seasonal lodge that accommodates large parties for family events, workshops and ceremonies, Temenos also features four small, year-round cabins. To take the center’s slogan to heart, these cabins — which are available to rent for the day, overnight, or weekly — are “where the spirit unfolds.”
Visitors from all over the Valley and the Northeast come here. They drive up the access road in the summer, or park at the bottom in the winter and snowshoe in for three-quarters of a mile, pulling supplies on sleds. It’s a fairly steep hike, up and out of the rest of Shutesbury, but the destination nevertheless feels insulated and lush in all seasons, tucked in by hundreds of acres of forest and occasional glimpses of the Quabbin Reservoir.
In the warm months, people jump in the pond and enjoy the mineral-rich cold springs (there are also trails, a firepit, and a meditation pavilion). In the winter, guests may be more tempted to stay put in the insulated cabins, warmed by woodstoves. Resident director Elizabeth Witham, who lives on-site, provides dish towels, blankets and pillows at the beginning of each rental; visitors bring their own sheets and pillowcases.
These are intimate quarters, and as rustic as they come. Don’t expect electricity or flushing toilets (although the outhouses are awfully cute). The four small cabins — called Knoll, Mu, Pine and Thrush — vary in size, and each has a unique layout with its own quirks. But all four have either a porch or a deck, and all were constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s to offer clean, lovely views of the glades and groves of trees that keep the top of Mount Mineral so blissfully quiet.
Keep it small; keep it simple. Those values are written into the bylaws at Temenos, and they extend to aspects like the pay-it-forward checkout process (during which time, departing guests clean their cabins based on a checklist provided by Witham). Most modern bells and whistles never made it up the mountain here; these lovingly built, well-maintained little buildings are stripped down just enough to provide for some serious rest and introspection.
For those interested in paying a visit before committing to a rental, Witham makes herself available for tours on request during the work week. But if you’re anything like this writer, a few simple photos of these serene, local cabins will be enough to spark the familiar question: isn’t it time I got away?
Temenos is located at 65 Mount Mineral Road, Shutesbury. There are four cabins, the smallest accommodates one or two people, the largest, one to six. They are each furnished with beds, a table and chairs, a two-burner, propane-fueled cook stove, a wood-burning stove, seasoned fire wood, a kerosene lamp, multiple tea light holders, pots and pans, dishes and utensils.
Rates are set on a sliding scale from $45 to $75 for one adult, $15 for each additional adult and $10 for each child 3 to 16 years old. There is a two-night minimum for weekends. The cabins also can be rented by the week. For more information visit temenosretreatcenter.org, call 413-367-9770 or email 65mountmineral@gmail.com.