# Back to the Basics - Outback in Maine, a/o 8/3/11



## billski (Aug 3, 2011)

I sorely needed to disconnect from this too-complex world.  I needed total separation.  No news, no shop talk,no politics, no daily tasks, no traffic, no noise, no artificial lights, no air conditioning, just the basics.  I wanted to live for the moment.  Tent camping was not in the cards.  I needed a bed to sleep on and a roof over my head.  I searched for many months for just the right place.  I have tried in the past and failed.  Finally heaven was found.

This sporting camp ins 30 miles outside of Greenville, Maine.  Road maps are a joke.  Towns are not towns, the unmapped roads are better than the mapped roads.  Topos are useless for any man made object..  Logging has been king for many years, greatly changing the landscape.

You get to the camp by taking the only road north for 20 miles.  The road conditions deteriorated as I went on, finally ending in gravel.  10 more miles on logging roads.  No signs, junctions with no destination.  A good compass was in order.  

So here's the camp situation.  It's a cluster of cabins, on a secluded lake with no other settlements for many, many miles.  Cabins are simple - a space for the wood stove and a couple chairs, and another space for two beds.  Very, very basic plumbing.  Water is gravity fed and hot water is minimal.  If you like Motel 6, this would be a serious step down.  For me it was perfect.  Lakefront.  All the fly fishing you want to do.

The world revolved around three meals a day, all called out by the large brass bell on the "dining hall".  You can hear it from the lake or from the cabins.  Heat the cabin with wood if you want. 

Generator electricity ran right after each meal, for about an hour, to run the dishwasher.  No cell phone, radio, internet, TV.  I successfully resisted the urge to bring my iPOD.  I put the keys of my car away.  No intention to move about with anything except human propulsion.    

The people the camp attracts are very quiet.  No parties, no late nights.  Essentially sunrise to sunset living.

First day, I plotted to hike a bit of the AT.  The region I selected is a part of the 100-mile wilderness.  But with the AT six miles away on a very sketchy dirt road, I elected to bike to the trail head.  A great move.  Up to the top of White Cap.  The views from this mountain were just incredible.  Katahdin to the north, others all around.   I met only one soul when biking there - a guide.  

On the AT "you are never alone"  I met a dozen northbound through hikers from all over the world - New Zealand, Germany, Tennessee, Georgia, Maine, D.C.  And a couple of section hikers.  This wilderness is nothing like I've ever experienced before.  I thought I had been in wilderness in other New England mountain ranges, but this was incomparable.  One AT hiker said, "you can take pictures, but it's impossible to describe".  That is simply the honest truth.  Rather than feeling alone or lost, you begin to feel as if you are one with the earth, one with nature.  Living for the here and now has great benefits and clears the mind.


The next day I tried tracing an old carriage road, long since abandoned.   I was trying to make it to the Little Lyford AMC camp.  I only got half way before the beavers had me beat.  After that, I managed to walk around the lake, mostly on old logging roads.  With no markers or hiking maps, I was left to "bushwhacking" on the myriad of old roads.  The GPS was necessary at that point.  The next day was a bike ride to AMC Medawisla.  9 miles each way through gravel and small rocks, over a couple mountains along the way.  Pretty cool.

But other than the AT, these were only small parts of each day.  The wildlife, oh the wildlife.  People spend $80 to go on a "moose safari".  We just sit on a chair and wait a while.  The number of moose was incredible.  Cows and calfves, Bull moose with big racks.  Young bulls.  Loons up close and personal.  Oh the list goes on.   Sit on the dock and the grazing moose come to you, no need to pursue them yourself.

On the day of my departure, one of the college kids who works there came into the lodge with quite a shocked look on her face.  She had come out of her cottage to walk about 30 feet to the lodge.  Out of nowhere, this moose rounded the corner in a full gallop.  It saw her; she had no time to react.  The mood skidded and stumbled, stopping about one foot from her head.  It then ran off the other direction.  The huge skid marks on the grass left testimony.

Another guy was in the bathroom one morning, feeling someone was watching him.  He looked out the window and there was moose staring at him.  At night you'd hear splashing outside and sure enough it was a moose just outside my cottage.  I could go on.

Speaking of wildlife, when I would come out of the woods, people from town on day trips had a funny reaction.  It was like I was the wildlife they were looking at.

I didn't fish but a lot of people did.  Only fly fishing for brookies.  I did a lot of other hikes unmentioned here.

I wasn't on a paved road for six days.  It became very easy to get used to this.  In fact, no motor car driving at all.  When it was time to leave, it was like leaving an old friend.

That is all I can write for now.  I might add more later, but for now, here are a few pictures.

The camp never advertises.  Relies entirely on references.  If this sounds like you style, contact me by PM.



















































































Guess Who?


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## Nick (Aug 3, 2011)

Great post and report. I'm getting that "gotta get away" feeling a bit too. 

I love the wood on this railing: 






Looks like an awesome trip. I went on a cruise in February and while nothing like this in any way imaginable the one nice thing about a cruise is the inability to use a phone or the Internet (unless you go to the cafe on the ship) - and it is really nice to just really unplug for a bit. It's really hard for me to do, especially nowadays. 

Great moose shots also! I'm actually starting to get very anxious for some outdoors time right about now. I might be taking a long weekend trip soon up to NH with my wife for a low-key couple days, but it probably won't be in a cabin


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## wa-loaf (Aug 3, 2011)

Very nice. What lake is it on. I gather it's not Moosehead.

I'm headed up to Maine next week. Going to spend a few days at my old summer camp. Not quite as remote, but on an island in the middle of a lake. No electricity or running water for 4 days.


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## billski (Aug 3, 2011)

wa-loaf said:


> Very nice. What lake is it on.


West Branch Pond.  What they call a "pond" would be a lake down in the flat lands.


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## wa-loaf (Aug 3, 2011)

billski said:


> West Branch Pond.  What they call a "pond" would be a lake down in the flat lands.



I'm from Maine so familiar with what a pond is. I think Moosehead and Sebago are the only ones that count as Lakes ... :lol:


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## thetrailboss (Aug 4, 2011)

That's my kind of vacation.  Hope that you got up to Baxter.  That place is amazing.


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## billski (Aug 4, 2011)

thetrailboss said:


> That's my kind of vacation.  Hope that you got up to Baxter.  That place is amazing.



Thanks for the thoughts.

Been to Baxter previously.  Hate to say this out loud, but it was just as good.  I don't need peaks any more, though they are fun.  Besides, my accident made it not a good idea to climb boulders any more.


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## Warp Daddy (Aug 4, 2011)

Nicely done Bill , back in the day when we XC'ed------------------- Little Lyford was a storied place


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## bigbog (Aug 4, 2011)

So Bill..._you devil_,
You snuck in and out of a small part of my neck of the woods!  Well not _mine_, but my indoctrination to the Maine woods was my grandparents owning a camp at the very NE tip lot of LilyBay(NE bay of Moosehead) from late 1940s to 1972.   Spent every summer from Jr.HS on up there..  One of those pics is definitely taken on 2nd W.Branch...looking up at WhiteCap Mtn.   There are three of the West Branch ponds, not of any importance..   Pics on top of White Cap Mtn?   Kealihers(sp?)? on 1st Branch (Pond)...y/n?
Hope the trip went without a flat-tire or two...or punctured exhaust...;-)
Yes...X-C, tele, or just skin up and descend many of those smaller mountains....  Tons of woods & water up there.
Nice pics....camp/lodge in on Big Lyford as well....also in on a few little more remote Yoke Ponds(amongst dozens of other waters)..fwiw.


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## billski (Aug 4, 2011)

bigbog said:


> So Bill..._you devil_,
> You snuck in and out of a small part of my neck of the woods!  Well not _mine_, but my indoctrination to the Maine woods was my grandparents owning a camp at the very NE tip lot of LilyBay(NE bay of Moosehead) from late 1940s to 1972.   Spent every summer from Jr.HS on up there..  One of those pics is definitely taken on 2nd W.Branch...looking up at WhiteCap Mtn.   There are three of the West Branch ponds, not of any importance..   Pics on top of White Cap Mtn?   Kealihers(sp?)? on 1st Branch (Pond)...y/n?
> Hope the trip went without a flat-tire or two...or punctured exhaust...;-)
> Yes...X-C, tele, or just skin up and descend many of those smaller mountains....



That's great!  You lucky dog.  Vacation in paradise!  Definitely taken on 1st.  I left off the number because I didn't think anyone would care.  Apologies to the moose!  Pics on top are all at White Cap.
The Kealihers continued to pass it down the family, Next to Betsy who married a Stirling.  Her son runs it now. 

I'm smart enough to drive slow and not do any sharp turns which rip the sidewalls.  I parked it after I got there.  No holes in my bike tires either!  Just dumb luck.

I can't imagine how tough winters are.  I'm already planning next year's return.


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## bigbog (Aug 4, 2011)

Must have been nice to be able to find trail(s) for MTBing, one can get so many nice views.   You've got the science on the driving, just have to really slow down and avoid the cut rocks and potholes.  Tough to get a lot of moose/deer/bear pics in mid-summer as they come out in numbers as the sun sets...and as loggers have cut more in the last 20years...the animals are denning that much further away from the original main roads..... 
Not of any importance, but fwiw..over on the western side of Moosehead..._Wilson's _Camps near Rockwood and the _Pittston Farm_...~20mi north of Rockwood and at very western tip of Seboomook Lake..are nice.  Jen & Bob have gotten the Pittston Farm totally off the grid...solarpanels & all.  http://www.pittstonfarm.com ...(Has a few webcam lenses...often fun to check out...deer or moose often walk right in for dinner)  Easy way up there is up #201 to approaching Jackman, then east on #15(?) to Rockwood, then up ~20mi.  In a wonderfully wild area that I love...of the state...cater to snowmobilers and plenty of snow up there..more than a few mountains to skin up & descend.


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## billski (Aug 4, 2011)

Umm, we had moose all day and night.  The dawn and dusk watch was simply not necessary here.  Wandering within about 30 feet of us all day.  It's the pond were the "moose safaris" come to watch moose (after fleecing them for $80!)  It's kinda funny.   After the safaris leave the moose come out!


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## bigbog (Aug 4, 2011)

That was good Billski...*Also nice to totally escape the sounds of traffic, aside from that of a remote logging truck now & then.
Yeah...;-) that can happen....they don't like crowds of people...


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## billski (Aug 4, 2011)

*no mo trucks*



bigbog said:


> That was good Billski...*Also nice to totally escape the sounds of traffic, aside from that of a remote logging truck now & then.
> Yeah...;-) that can happen....they don't like crowds of people...


Hey Bob,

AMC bought thousands of acres around there, they call it the "Roach Pond Tract".  They bought land at KIW and also at Medusula.  They bought and operate two camps (LL and Medu.) in these areas, with WBPC in the middle.  They now offer camp to camp XC in the winter.  Eric is psyched.  No more logging.  Managed forest use.  There will be logging in select locations, but it's over for now in the White Cap region.

Bill


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## bigbog (Aug 5, 2011)

The AMC's work/ambition is terrific...but the hut-thing is for developed lands(ie suburbs..imho)..winter-tenting/camping is what many true wilderness skiers do, not what the Latte crowd around Vail or Telluride do.  There's a lot of beautiful terrain other than bumped-up or flattened out stuff done artificially.
Also, what has to be prevented is over-development...specifically _camps_...publically owned...as in the case of PA and most of the other NE states...development was allowed to overrun wilderness = wild animals lost or in conflict with development = the endless suburb...where animals always lose...ie have turned their states into sterile habitats for humans only.
Often....organizations, run by burb-dwellers of southern NewEngland, want to impose their way of living(public AND private retreats!) onto others(example = Mainers...or )...so they can create their version of wilderness.
Areas aren't _wasted_ just because no one has "utilized their full potential"...ie by turning them into a Coney Island or Cannobe(sp?) Lake Park. ...Doesn't mean that they won't be...cuz the developers have the cash and they own their share of lawyers and most of governments.


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## billski (Aug 6, 2011)

Hi Bob,

Not really sure I get your point.  There has to be some middle ground here, just as we must share land with XC skiers, hunters, fishers,  backpackers, ATV, speed boats and snow machines.  Given the millions of acres of land in the north Maine Woods, this seems like an insignificant dent.  In some ways, Baxter State Park is too.   Shelters, marked trails, rangers, offices.  I was reading an interesting piece on conservation in the wilderness last night.  
If  you look at north maine woods for example, the vast majority of forest has experienced at least one lumber harvest.  Since 1971, there are hundreds, if not thousands of logging roads criss crossing in a serpentine fashion throughout the forests.  There are no longer any "wilderness" areas remaining.

The current movement is to prevent the "development" of lands into little mini-preserves, with well-intentioned city dwellers attempting to preserve a small piece of paradise.  For themselves.

Look at Greenville in the past ten years.  Go north on Lily bay road - the number of developments sprouting up , so called estates is startling, if not to say frightening.   Speaking of which, Plum Creek, is the scariest of them all.

So no, very few of us will ever experience wilderness in it's true fashion.  Even still, to get the city folk out to experience at least a resemblance to wilderness is useful.


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## bigbog (Aug 7, 2011)

Bill..I think you're right about what sounded like my previous edge against all private enterprising....of development here & there....
I think my beef is with government, both state and federal...letting environmental standards slip via political corruption towards big pockets...along with the same globally
pushing worldwide woodlands to their brink..in placees.   I think some western skiers get the same feelings when faced with the opportunity to work/live here in the East vs the West, not just in the size of the mountains and quality of snow...it's the space _between_ those mountains that is developed by Starbucks and PapaGinos(no firm brand hate), shopping centers...etc.  Some are happy as a clam if there are 4 to 5 bumped up trails every season...and then there are some all-mountain skiers that would kill if their favorite mountains were to turn much enjoyed wild lands into Killington access roads(Good for Killington area!) along with gambling on every corner(NOT that I don't like gambling..just not everywhere)..and to flatten everything and clearcut in favor of bumping up the trails for the intermediate crowds from Dallas, Atlanta, and Miami...
$.01


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## Abubob (Aug 9, 2011)

Sounds wonderfully rustic. Did they rent bikes or did you bring your own? And how could you NOT fish!? (Unless you're like me and you're the world's worst fly fisherman.:razz

Maybe you could tell us about your dining experiences - if any?:beer: The food was good, bad or indifferent? The waitress was surly, silly or charming? I'm only asking because your said life revolved around the meals so I'm just courious.


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## billski (Aug 9, 2011)

Abubob said:


> Sounds wonderfully rustic. Did they rent bikes or did you bring your own? And how could you NOT fish!? (Unless you're like me and you're the world's worst fly fisherman.:razz
> 
> Maybe you could tell us about your dining experiences - if any?:beer: The food was good, bad or indifferent? The waitress was surly, silly or charming? I'm only asking because your said life revolved around the meals so I'm just courious.



I brought my bike.  I figured I would use it just to get to the trailhead which was three miles away where the roads are too rough for my Civilian Unappreciated Vehicle (CUV).  But once I discovered that logging has ceased in the area, I was all over the place.  I wished I had real mt. bike tires.  I had a "crossover".  Lots of the gravel roads had sharp stones.  I was sure there would be a tire blow out.  Lucky me.

Frankly, I don't really care for fish.  They would take your catch and cook it up for you if you wanted.  So it never really had appeal, just as hunting doesn't.  To each their own.

Dining.  You have to remember, this is a camp.  While they have a waitress, she might as well be your daughter.  This is probably their first job.  Definitely a bit shy about it, but a hard worker nonetheless. You basically have your own table for your stay.  They have the table set, your favorite drink, etc.  It looks more like a lodge, not a restaurant.

Everyone is treated more like family.  You end up having the waitress hang around and talk with two or three tables about something like getting run over by a moose or where to find good berries or how to follow logging roads to get somewhere.  Or not.

there are no menus.  They have only one entree each night.   But if you don't want it, they will make  you something else.   Tables remind you of home, with the plaid table clothes, but a nice wildflower in a vase, picked from the nearby field.

What really describes it is "comfort food".  Not a place for vegetarians though.  Steak, Cornish hen, ribs, Thanksgiving dinner, applesauce, corn on the cob, mashed potatos, pancakes, bacon, waffles, oatmeal, etc.  Great lunchtime soups and bread.  This is like home cooking.  The only difference is that someone loads your plate and  you can get seconds and thirds if you really want.

Breakfast at 730, lunch at 12 and Dinner at 6.  Being the blabber I am, I went into the kitchen and chatted up a storm, learned a lot more local buzz.  

I often went out for the day, so they made me a "box lunch"  A couple of sandwiches, fruit, granola, pickles, a cookie or two.  

What I mean by life revolved around food. Look at is this way.  No refrigerator, No food storage, we wanted someone else to do the cooking.  I brought snacks and ate almost none becuse they would stuff you.

Your cottage isn't much more than a bunk house with indoor bath and wood stove.
30 miles from town.  I didn't start my car the whole time I was there.

I spent 99% of my waking hours outside, as did everyone else.  1% of my time taking a nap when my active life caught up with me.

Bring your own booze.

Did this help?
Bill


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## billski (Aug 9, 2011)

p.s.,  There was nothing to rent.  Canoe, flatboat are free.  Not those usurious fees that other camps have.  No tours but a LOT of back country knowledge - remote ponds with great fish, roads, trails, mountains and how to get up them.  Forget guidebooks.  No "activities."  
I found myself plotting out the next day that night before the electric went out.

Bring your imagination and explorer's hat and attitude.  It's not about staying inside all day.  You could do that and read a book, but for me, I'd go crazy.  To each their own.


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## WoodCore (Aug 9, 2011)

Looks like an awesome place! It's so nice sometimes to fully disconnect from everyone else so that you can re-connect with yourself.


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## billski (Aug 9, 2011)

I really have to warn you that they work hard to keep things quiet.  That's who they want and that's who want to be there. No partees, rowdy behavior.  

Put your car far away and throw the keys away.  No reason to lock anything.  The don't entertain you, and you don't stay up late, but you will get up early.  Nothing can describe fog on the pond at 5AM and hear only your breathing and some critters splashing around in the pond.

Disconnect you will.  In fact, Leave your iPod and DVD player and computer at home. The other "campers" are like-minded folk, It really gives you a chance to attach to nature.  This is NOT for everyone. It's not tent camping, but nothing is luxury.  

When I say basics, I mean basics.  Remember this was a fishing and hunting camp 100 years old.  All the curmudgeonly old men are long gone.  It's run by a young crew.

Going hiking or biking or fishing?  You'd better be able to be self - sufficient and have your wits about you.  It's quite easy to get lost, even on logging roads.  Yes, there are plenty of deer flies in the woods, but you can deal with that.


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## Abubob (Aug 10, 2011)

billski said:


> Did this help?
> Bill



Oh, yeah. It sounds like what vacations ought to be.


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## tomcat (Aug 13, 2011)

I live about 45 min from Greenville and XC the AMC trails quite a bit.  Nobody around away from the huts, Great place.  I explore the Moosehead region quite a bit winter and summer.  Anyone want to move up here.  Our place is for sale. 45 mins to Greenville.  55 to Bangor.  Very cheap living close to town but in middle of nowhere.


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## bigbog (Aug 15, 2011)

Yeah I'm a AZ_mainiac..._tomcat_, I'm in Bangor.  One thing I heard this last weekend, before heading over to check out my sensor-cameras on Farrar Mtn(above 2nd Roach Pond)....is that the Maine AMC "has built a few huts up on Farrar Mtn"...I didn't check out the higher elevation terrain so I have no idea about the legitimacy of spoken word(by NMW administrator = manning the Jo-Mary gate...
Maybe the Nahmakanta Wilderness thing is going to fly, with Roxanne Quimby...?(No idea on this...)


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## billski (Aug 17, 2011)

bigbog said:


> Yeah I'm a AZ_mainiac..._tomcat_, I'm in Bangor.  One thing I heard this last weekend, before heading over to check out my sensor-cameras on Farrar Mtn(above 2nd Roach Pond)....is that the Maine AMC "has built a few huts up on Farrar Mtn"...I didn't check out the higher elevation terrain so I have no idea about the legitimacy of spoken word(by NMW administrator = manning the Jo-Mary gate...
> Maybe the Nahmakanta Wilderness thing is going to fly, with Roxanne Quimby...?(No idea on this...)


I biked to nah over nine miles of logging road. It is a pretty compact place with very new cabins. It strikes me as a place for people that want wilderness but want someone to hold their hAnd. Not dissin it. To each their own.  Me? I can get lost very well with no help thank you very much!  

yeah there are a couple of outback housekeeping cottAges.  Then again outback means different thins to different people.   God, I miss thAt place already.  Make it snow so I can take my mind off of it....


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## bigbog (Aug 18, 2011)

I hear ya' Billski....much nicer to have certain places to jump/pedal off from without resting beside cabins or a dining hall every 10 miles..


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## bigbog (Sep 8, 2011)

Just jumping around some threads tonight.
In the fall there's a _Fly-In_ in Greenville....loads of outfitters fly in with their favorite planes...a few concession stands...everyone ends up having a few brews at the few pubs/small-restaurants in the town/village.   
Moosehead Lake is the largest around...people from lower towns built their camps on/near  the lake to escape (usually) on weekends...since the beginning of the 20th century.  Back when many of the ponds' waters were essentially unfished(with 25 trout/day limits)...the primitive camps courted fishermen/any outdoor people.  Funny that tenting/camping came around as a family activity, in mass appeal, from the 60s on.  Areas away from urban-center highways place a demand on a little different type of vehicles..._rugged tires, clearance..._etc, where once you get down near larger towns/cities...the need for the efficient and/or high-performance vehicles' demand becomes high.
DeLorme's coverbound Maine Atlas & Gazateer is *the* Bible...topographic/GPS featured...for driving, walking/hiking/paddling-portaging around up here.  Yeah...logging takes its toll in areas, but it's surprising how nature recovers.  I usually take a little time to drive around and where replanting should happen but isn't...I take some pics and email a couple parts of the state's environmental sector of state gov't.  Compared with other states...Maine's state gov't bends over backwards...a lot more could've been done for decades...but then there are areas where replanting is done.  More so now than in some past years....
Some nice areas for ascending/descent(downhill and/or tele)...then the traverse=x-c gear is needed...backcountry is just a step off the roads once you get above Greenville's lattitude.
$.01


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## billski (Apr 5, 2012)

Bump.  Planning a trip back this year, early August.  Off the grid.  Period.

PM me if you want more info.


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## Nick (Apr 5, 2012)

Watch out for those bears this time around Billski!


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## speden (Apr 5, 2012)

Looks like a nice place.  Notice many ticks in that area?  They're predicting this could be a bad year for ticks due to the lack of acorns in the fall.


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## tomcat (Apr 6, 2012)

Since I moved to the center of Maine (45 mins south of Moosehead) 6 years ago, my dogs have had a total of three ticks and I had one and I'm outside A LOT.  When I lived in PA I would have to check myself after every field crossing and every outing and sometimes would get 4 or 6 a mountain bike ride or hike.


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## bigbog (Apr 14, 2012)

Speden, as tomcat mentioned...with as much brush & growth throughout the woods...the colder winter, spring, and fall temps tend to keep the deer tick population down<--(*I am just guessing on this.), up here, in comparison with milder year-round climates, but they are out there.  We'll see..


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