This Time Lapse of a Guy Building a Log Cabin by Hand Is Incredibly Soothing

Even if you've never had the urge to pull a Henry David Thoreau and ditch the hustle and bustle of the real world for a secluded cabin in woods, you'll still probably get a kick out of this mesmerizing time lapse of a dude singlehandedly constructing a fairytale log cabin in the Canadian wilderness.

Eat your heart out, Lincoln Loggers.

In the video, self-described "outdoorsman, photographer, self-reliance educator" Shawn James captures himself completing the off-the-grid outpost in rural Ontario, from the first tree he cut to the last floorboard laid. The fact that he did it all by himself is incredible, but once you discover he also did it all by employing primitive techniques almost entirely without any electric or power tools (there's no power at the site, after all), you get a sense for just what kind of skills the guy has, and the work he put in.

Once James felled all the trees for the logs, he began building on a foundation of sand a gravel, stacking notched logs to create a living space that measures 10 feet by 20 feet. You'll see that he strategically torches the wooden boards before placing them on the roof. According to his description, it's an "ancient primitive technology" unique to Japan known as sou sugi ban, which is meant to waterproof and preserve the wood by hardening it. You'll also notice all of the detailing work -- from the front door handle to the trap-door "refrigerator" -- is done with simple handheld tools and fashioned from wood.

Since it's legitimately off the grid, James says it'll exist without any source of power for the foreseeable future, and he'll continue to use the wood stove for both heating and cooking. The project is still in progress, too, so stay tuned to his YouTube page for updates. And if you're at all interested in learning to construct your very own mini cabin in the wild, James's page is also flush with some very informative tutorials.

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Joe McGauley is a senior writer for Thrillist. Follow him @jwmcgauley.