Yes, it means he wanted to talk to people, but he couldn't because there were no people near the lodge. Without more context, I don't know why he stayed at the lodge. Maybe he had no way of leaving. Maybe he was being paid to stay there, and he wanted the money more than he wanted to talk to people. Maybe if he left the lodge, something bad would happen. But from the one sentence there, it sounds like he felt he couldn't leave.