That is .. interesting. Those appear to be douglas fir in front of the shimmer. They have a fairly even branch distribution so we ought to be able to get a ballpark height for the thing even if he didn't recreate or go closer.
I wouldn't automatically dismiss this as a hoax. That's something of a cop out. As long as we're saying "unknown", we don't have to prove what it is or isn't. We should equally try to prove whatever it is, holding the standard for "weird" and the standard for "normal" to the same level.
Unless it is some sort of camera / lens issue, I, too, don't want to "meet" that in the woods.