Hunting Season (moose and grouse)

Moose hunters began arriving on the 26th and 27th of September. Wayne's clients, Tom "Hunt the World" Hunt (MA) and Steve Hargraves (ME) were in for a week of hunting a bull in zone 3. Tom is a big game hunter who has hunted all over the world - his phylosophy this week: "go big or go home!" Wayne will do his best to call in a trophy bull of 55" or better... Opening day and it is raining, again. Wayne called in two bulls but nothing "trophy class." More rain on day 2 - Vinny and Peter Grosso (back for Peter's THIRD moose hunt) came in with a 19 point wide-racked bull taken from across the lake. Mark Morris (OH) and Jeff Billings (VT) who are with the gang in cabin 6 got their cow in zone 3. Wayne called two more bulls but nothing Tom would take. James Guerrette (Frenchville, ME) took out Wayne, Tom, and Steve. James has been photographing moose for two months and may be able to help. Again, no trophy bull, yet. Sanborns took a 1000 lb. bull, and the Norm Cloutier party brought in 700 lb. bull.

Mark Morris, from cabin 6, has been sharing his many delectible delights with us: smoked wild turkey from Ohio, smoked venison hams, lake trout dip, snapping turtle soup... All our hunters have tagged out, except Wayne's clients. While they are a bit discouraged, there is still plenty of time to call in a big bull moose and Wayne is determined! He scouted several 50" + bulls in zone 3 throughout the season but it seems they've run off to breed cows and are no where to be found! On the last day of the hunt we tried to "double team" the moose - I went out too. We saw one small bull in the morning, then the rain came. It was to be a dry week for Tom. Wayne was disappointed - he was sure he could fill Tom's tag with a nice bull, yet it wasn't to be. These are the weeks that break your heart for your client and you always wonder if they felt you did your best, even though you know you gave 100%. One thing we can say for sure, Tom was a gracious client and he and Steve we count as friends after a week of hard hunting. Tom wrote after the hunt "Owners Wayne & Tenley Bennet provided us with rustic but comfortable cabin accommodations, excellent meals and enthusiastic camaraderie all at a very fair price. They really went above and beyond our expectations and I will hunt with them again someday. Despite the lousy weather, they showed us a total of 17 Moose. Wayne called in four bulls early in the hunt which I passed on at less than 50 yards. ... I’ve had the pleasure of hunting with rock stars and presidents and have negotiated with presidents to promote and legalize bow hunting in Africa. I rarely talk about these things as all this experience does not make me a bit better than anyone else. My point is that it has given me an understanding that selective hunting benefits conservation and holding out for an exceptional trophy means you sometimes go home empty handed – that’s the reality of trophy hunting." - Thank you Tom for the kind words - you are an amazing sportsman!

Wayne pulled our docks out of the water on the 5th - winter is coming!

We enjoyed a busy second week in October - Vicky Foster (MA) and friends returned for a week of grouse hunting, along with NAVHDA friends Kevin Harris (ME), Lon Ruddock (MA), and Boyd Cooke (CT). It was Chad Wheeler's first stay at Fish River Lodge with his dad - they came to hunt the elusive ruffed grouse all the way from Virginia! Dinnis Libbey and company (central ME) hunted with us for a few days early in the week. I missed every one's mid-week tales when I got a call that my daughter Miranda had given birth to my second grand daughter, Nellie, at 7:30 a.m. on the 6th. Nellie was a month early and weighed in at just under 5 lbs. Both she and Miranda were fine but Nellie had to spend her first days at Maine Medical Center's newborn intensive care unit (NICU). I ran down for a quick visit the 7th-9th and got to meet Nellie, spend some quality time with Acadia, Miranda, mom and dad before making a quick run home to get ready for our next gang of moose hunters...

Sandy and I each set bear traps on the 11th. This is our first attempt at trapping bear. We intentionally waited until later in the season to get started expecting the sows and cubs will have begun denning up. Although the stops on our traps permit a smaller bear from escaping, we figured our timing would reduce or eliminate smaller bears from tripping the set and potentially missing an opportunity for a larger bear. We check our traps daily, which is fun because we also get out grouse hunting in the morning, looking for beaver flowages to trap later this fall, and observing the progress of the many moose hunters.

Bob Willey (classmate from Mt. Ararat, Topsham, ME) and son Cameron along with Gary Pulsifer and his son, and Bill Quimby arrived on the 9th to get an early start - they will scout moose and get a feel for the extensive road system before their zone 3 bull hunt begins on the 12th. Also in camp: Jim Potteiger party (Freeport, ME) zone 3 cow; Jack Lamb (NC) and John Bryan (Yarmouth, ME) zone 3 cow; Deanna and Steve Brown and daughters (returning after last year's hunt came to a quick end when Steve ruptured a disk in his back and never got to hunt - permit reissued) zone 3 cow; and Art and Dennis O'Connor along with Dennis's wife and son Devan and brother Patrick for a zone 3 cow. Dennis has hunted with us before - this is his second permit.

Opening day of moose and all our hunters were out of camp by 5:00 a.m. - a good sign since the best hunting occurs just after sun up. Jerry, Sandy and I got a later start - we needed only to check our traps. The phone rang at 6:40 - it was Wayne. Dennis had already passed up on one cow and killed another just 10 minutes in to the hunt! He made a perfect 248 yard shot as determined by the range finder! Ironically, we caught up to Wayne and the O'Connor party shortly after they'd loaded their moose. On the way out we also happened upon Jack and John as they were loading their moose! Back at the lodge Bob Willey and Company pulled in with a 34" bull - not a bad opening day!

I took Dustin (Jerry and Sandy's grand son) up on the hill to hunt grouse over Gracie. He missed one bird but got another, and a red squirrel. He was a happy little hunter before heading home!

Tuesday was moose skinning day! And Alli treed her first racoon, which I shot and will make a hat from it for Acadia. It now rests peacefully in our freezer. Checked traps (no bear) and beaver flowages - we have an extensive list! A tradition at the lodge is moose heart after a successful hunt, so we had a gathering of hunters down for dinner and made mashed potatoes and gravy and corn to accompany the delicacy.

Wednesday evening the Browns connected with a cow - we were all nearby that evening (Willey and Company, Wayne and I) and were able to help them drag it out, gut it, and load it. More moose heart for dinner... All our hunters were tagged out by Wednesday! NICE!

More trap checking, no bears. We're starting to think ALL the bears have denned up! Next year we'll rethink our strategy...

One of my long-time clients - Dewitt Davies (NY) - was up to hunt grouse for a few days. Dewitt first hired me as a guide when his daughter Lynn was a student at Bowdoin College. Lynn has since graduated but Dewitt still plans a grouse hunt each year. Over the three-day hunt we moved 53 birds. Dewitt got his limit on Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday proved challenging - it was breezy and the birds were flighty! Very difficult to get a shot at them, although he did bag one elusive grouse that day. I brought Dewitt along to check the bear trap each day, but...no bear.

It snowed about 6" on the 22nd. I was able to get out to scout deer on the 23rd. We did see some sign but it won't be easy hunting - they're hanging out on the beech ridges. That means hunters will be doing some strenuous HIKING to get to them!

I continued checking the trap through the 29th when I pulled it. I will DEFINITELY rethink when to set the trap next year! From the 23rd-31st we caught up on housekeeping, wood stacking, raking, office stuff, bills, paperwork, etc.; things we had put off or didn't have time for since the start of hunting season. We'd been running since the start of bear season two months ago. No complaints though - this is the work we enjoy most (the guiding and running the lodge part). We have a few days "off" from our lodge duties (although we still have our "real jobs" to go to each day) and treated ourselves to a "vacation" of sorts and went scouting deer when we could. We hunted opening day on the 31st with no luck, but we enjoyed our hike up the ridges!

The trees are naked and only beech leaves shiver in the cold wind. We've had our first snow fall. Deer season opened on the 31st. By the time it's over we will have celebrated Thanksgiving, with Christmas on its heels! Enjoy this fall season while you can - it's almost winter again!

If It's September, It Must Be Bear Season!

It's huntin' season! Our season's first bear hunters arrived on August 30...Bob Watkins (MA), Steve Mudgett (MA), George Skolfield (my dad - Great Island, ME), David Labbe (Brunswick, ME), and Duane Webber (Cundy's Harbor, ME). Mom and Aunt Teri joined their husbands for this hunt and took advantage of the opportunity for their own mini-vacation. Uncle David provided dozens of lobsters, Steve brought dozens of ears of corn (and a BOX full of tomatoes from their family farm stand) and mom baked a delicious blueberry cake to add to our lobster feed - we ate until we could eat no more! Then we settled in for "orientation" - Wayne and I provide instruction and back ground information to our hunters so they will be well prepared for their hunt - we talk about what we've done and what the hunters can do to increase their chance for success.

Opening day dawned overcast and windy. Not perfect bear hunting conditions. The guys practiced their archery and firearms shots - Bob was dead-on with his stick bow, and Steve too with his compound. The others brought "big guns" and checked their sights. No excuses for missed bears! Wayne and I sharpened our knives, checked and rechecked our gear - we will be prepared for whatever the evening hunt brings. Out of camp by 2:30 while mom and Teri to Madawaska Marden's for a hunt of their own - a bargain hunt! Dropped guys off and finished bait run. The long wait began at 4:15 when Wayne pulled in for a visit before driving back to his guys for his own wait... A shot rang out at 4:30! Only an hour in to the hunt and already a shot! It could be David, or Duane, we waited for the radio call...it was David. He shot at a "nice bear". Wayne and I grabbed our fanny packs and went in to pick up his bear, or track it. No blood at the site but a good bullet hole in a root beyond the bucket. It was likely a clean miss but we checked for blood and found nothing. David was disappointed he'd missed (this was from the guy who originally wanted to only sit and hopefully SEE a bear - we had to convince him he might as well buy a bear tag and shoot a bear if the opportunity presented itself). David assured us it was a "nice" bear. We took the memory card from the camera on his site. Later, back at the lodge we can look at the chain of events captured by the camera... We sent David back up in the tree stand to finish that evening's hunt. Wayne headed back to sit near Steve and Bob, I waited until 7:30 then "rolled along" to pick up Dad, then Duane and David (who were watching moose in a clear cut). We all met back at the lodge; Steve had a nice bear come in but couldn't get a good bow shot so passed it up. We checked the camera memory chip... yup, a bear had come in - we had two pictures of it, a yearling, then more pictures of us as we searched around the bait site. Since there are definitely bigger bears coming to that site it is just as well David missed!

The hunt continued during this full moon week, which typically causes the bears to feed later in the evening, since it never is truly dark (sun sets as moon rises). We tried a morning hunt after trail cameras showed a bear on Steve's site at 9:24 a.m. on the 1st! Temps unseasonably warm, in the upper 70s; we're in a full sweat by the time we finish dropping off hunters and baiting sites. Guys were seeing lots of moose as they walked out of their sites, or at their sites - Steve had a very large bull come in one evening. "The Big 'Un" (bear) showed up at Bob's site at 6 p.m. on the 2nd. Bob "Smoke Stick" Watkins was experimenting with his raspberry smoke sticks and while the 350+ lb. boar came right in to the site he never presented a long bow shot for Bob even after 10 minutes of cruising the site, but Bob was very excited to have seen this bear! David had to leave on the 2nd, he has lobster traps to haul.

As the week wears down things get serious. Bob's smoke sticks seem to be working but he only has enough for himself and Steve, so Duane and I improvise by making pots for a honey burn. We'll try that tonight on Dad and Duane's sites... "Big 'Un" came back! He arrived at the site at 6:30 and Bob took a shot. The bear was not 15 yds. from his stand. Bob drew on the bear but was unable to make full-draw with his long bow and did his best to line up the shot - WHAP! The arrow struck the bear! The bear ran off and after looking in vain for blood, all Wayne was able to find was the broken arrow. It appears the arrow struck the bear squarely in the shoulder blade. Bob was crushed! He is an amazing archer and was so disappointed that he was unable to make a good shot. Steve had another bear come to his site but no archery shot presented. Duane and Dad saw no bear. BUT, they both loved the experience and can hardly wait to try again next year! After dinner we watched Bob's custom long bow promotional video, the one where he makes all kinds of trick shots, including shooting disks and clay targets out of the air! We sent Bob and Steve home with pictures of the bears they'd seen that were captured by our trail cameras during baiting season.

Bill and Kathy Bernier arrived in the middle of all this bear hunting stuff for their two-week vacation, and to do some fishing.

Our seond week bear hunters cancelled - this slow economy is killing all of us. Their business was down so they couldn't afford a hunt, others had lost jobs. It "trickles down" and affects us too. So, when Joel Guimond of Track Down Kennels and Lodge (Wallagrass, ME) called looking for a guide, I jumped at the opportunity to work for this legend of a bear guide! I worked with apprentice Paul Gagnon to guide Roger, Ken, Matt, Justin, and Lucas on an "ATV hunt." We would all use ATVs to commute to the sites. I don't know, but I think the guys enjoyed the ATV riding almost as much as the bear hunt! By week's end, all had seen bear. One had killed a pretty "V" necked bear, another had a similar experience with a bow to Bob's...arrowed the shoulder; some passed up smaller bears while others had large bears show up just after "legal". Often, as our hunters were out, Paul and I would wait at 1st Lake Wallagrass until it was time to pick up our hunters. We'd listen to the geese, watch the trout rise, and enjoy the sight of the changing foliage. We'd build a little fire just to pass the time and keep the bugs at bay until temps cooled with the setting sun and it was time to collect our hunters.

I was so impressed with Joel's operation, his guides, and the entire experience. Their facility is first-class, wife Rena runs a tight ship in the kitchen - the food plentiful and delicious. Guides keep busy every morning skinning bears, filling bait buckets, doing chores around the facility, repairing or washing vehicles, and getting ready for the day's hunt. After the hunt they gut bears, have some dinner, and if there's time, sit around the camp fire with their clients to swap tall tales! I hope I have another chance to work for Joel in the future - it was a real treat!

On the night of the 10th, after returning from Joel's, I found Wayne at our game pole with a beautiful 250 lb. boar with a perfect white "V". He was so excited to have killed such a pretty bear and put some nice meat in the freezer for winter. Kathy and Bill, and Grant were there to celebrate with him. Now we can look forward to bear stew and roasts!

Did I mention we had more truck troubles (along with the broken CV joint)? Yup, transmission went in the green truck, got it back, then the gas tank leaked so we had to get a new one. The gray truck also had its share of repairs. With the help of Bill Bernier (who loaned Wayne his truck the night Wayne shot the bear) and neighbor Mike Michaud (who loaned Wayne his truck the night the Greouxs shot their bears) we were able to keep our transportation schedules!

Dan Daigle delivered 6 cords of wood on the 13th. With help from Grant and Jim Jandreau we'll have it put up "early" this year (earlier than December I'm sure!)

We had two "characters" stop by for a visit on the 16th - Herve Pelletier (Topsham, ME) and his son Alvey (Norway, ME). They were camping and fishing at St. Froid Lake and wanted to find us - Herve used to work with my grandpa! It was like meeting long-lost cousins! Herve was charming and the two of them kept Wayne and I in stitches for hours! Kathy and Bill had us down for dinner that night.

We made bear stew on the 17th and shared with Kathy and Bill. Jerry and Sandy arrived for the weekend and surprised us with lobsters and some of Sandy's canned goods - yum! Wayne and I snuck away for an afternoon of ATV riding on the 20th. We rode through Dickwood trails to Carter Brook trails, and on to Herman Guimond's camp to look at the amazing view of Spaulding Pond. Larry and Joel Guimond arrived too, for the same view and while we each had snuck away for some quiet, we ended up reflecting on our love of the St. John Valley, the beauty of the vast views. Wayne and I expressed our gratefulness to the Guimond family and their generosity in sharing so much of their land with others. On the way home we stopped at Wallagrass Stream and built a fire and roasted hot dogs for dinner as the sun was setting. We got home just in time to greet Kevin and Jason Geroux (Old Town, ME). Kevin won a 1/2 week hunt we'd donated to the Penobscot Youth Conservation Association. They're up for their hunt. Kevin is quite a sportsman and shared many stories of his caribou hunts and fishing trips in Labrador and Newfoundland. Skye Sutherland (NY) is a business woman and artist who came to visit family and also "get away from it all". She was intrigued by the bear hunt. Kev and Jason's hunt started on the 21st. I stayed home to make dinner and visit with Skye and her labrador retriever, Zack. At 8 p.m., in typical fashion, Wayne's truck rolled in for dinner. But instead of parking the truck, they backed to the game pole...they had two bears! Kev shot a yearling but Jason got a nice 200 lb.+ boar, with a white "V"! We celebrated their successful hunt until Monday turned to Tuesday. Eldon Jandreau (Portage, ME) will do their taxidermy work.

We've had a couple of frosts up in the hills, but here on the lake we received our first hard frost on the 26th. It looked like a dusting of snow! Wayne and I got up early to scout moose - we saw two bulls, three cows and a calf along with a bunch of grouse. Moose season should be good! As September winds to a close, we turn another page...bear season is behind us - moose is yet to come...

...out came the sun and dried up all the rain...

The month of August turned out to be PERFECT for vacationing in northern Maine! We FINALLY got to enjoy sunny days and warm temps. The Johnston family - Steve, Diane, Hope, Noah, and Ivan - from Maryland joined us for a "Family Summer Camp Experience". The entire famlily enjoyed participating in paddling instruction, map & compass exercises, plant and tree identification, animal tracking, an "expedition" looking for fossils (with success - I think Steve carried home about 50 lbs. of fossils!), a campfire and family dinner. In the evening they went "moose hunting" and saw several cows with their calves. The week culminated with a scavenger hunt utilizing all the skills Hope, Noah, and Ivan had developed during their stay. Hope definitely received an A+ for her efforts and drew a beautiful admiral butterfly! We enjoyed watching the Johnston family work as a team while paddling as they discovered their individual strengths and developed new skills. They left Maine with increased confidence to go out and explore nature on their own! Larry Converse, his wife, and grand daughter Casey came for a brief visit too. They paddled and fished, and after breakfast on the 8th I took Casey out for a paddling lesson on Fish River. She is a confident paddler and developed new techniques while we were out, especially as the wind kicked up on the way back to the lodge! Larry's goal is to take Casey on an Allagash River canoe trip in the near future. I think she'll soon be ready!

Edgar Satterfield and his fishing buddy Mike spent their "first trip" away from home when they came up in early August. We assured Edgar's mom we would keep a watchful eye on them - although they were gentlemen and did just fine on their own! While the fishing was slow, they enjoyed some excellent adventures, especially one evening when they missed the road home from 1st Lake Wallagrass and towed their boat and trailer back to Eagle Lake via the ATV trail!

The Dubreil (CT) family returned to Fish River Lodge with their young grandsons - we certainly enjoy watching as another greneration becomes acquainted with the St. John Valley. Gloria Lebrecque's (CT) and her parents Lou and Germaine Levesque's (CT) extended stay came to a quiet close on the 15th. Gloria always looks forward to her time at Fish River Lodge to reguvinate her spirit and spend quality time with her mom and dad.

As our vacationers vacationed, Wayne and I combined our duties at the lodge and jobs with establishing this season's bear bait sites. Trail cameras sent by "Santa Bill" Beecher (TX) last Christmas made the baiting job all the more enjoyable as we got some amazing pictures of numerous bears at our sites. We'll enjoyed comparing photos (hundreds of photos!) from 2009 with photos we'll have from at the sites in years to come.

Mom and Dad Skolfield and dear freinds Ron and Mim Webber spent the week of the 10th with us. They enjoyed day excursions on their own then shared the evenings with us. It was a treat having someone cook for us for a change - many evenings we enjoyed dinner at their camps. Then one night we had a "pot luck" at the lodge to use up leftovers - Mim's "moose balls" were excellent in sub rolls topped with cheese! The weather held and we enjoyed many sunny days well in to the month. We hosted Mike and Lolita Collin's for their 49th anniversary dinner with friends who were celebrating their 43rd anniversary. All enjoyed a very relaxing evening with lively conversation.

On the 14th Norman Roy (aka Norman King) of Dunedie, FL stopped by to meet us. He is the son of Joseph King who guided here back in the 1920s. We have several photos of Joe King hanging in the lodge! Joe also helped Charlie Wiles build the lodge and log camps. Back then the property was known as Charlie Wiles Lake View Camps.

Jerry and Sandy Whitcomb moved their "ice palace" up to Eagle Lake in anticipation of ice fishing season. They parked it next to Ol' Number 9 camp. Until it goes on the ice they will use it as a camp and base of operations while transporting bear bait this fall and running their trap lines.

Throughout the last weeks of August Wayne and I continued preparing our bait sites - adding bait regularly, brushing out walking paths and shootling lanes, changing stand set-ups. We enjoy the hard work, preferring it over our "real jobs", but are equally appreciative that we have jobs during these slow times. I got stuck at the bottom of a muddy hill to one of our bait sites on the morning of the 23rd. The truck wouldn't go in to 4-wheel drive (CV joint broke) so I had to walk out, 8 miles, to Sly Brook Road to call for help from Lakeside Grocery. Wayne was downstate so I called Steve Daigle and his old Ford pulled my old Chevy up the hill which was slippery as snot! We finished the bait run, and headed home - my legs were tired!

On the 26th Steve took Lilly Tuell and I out to dinner at Swamp Buck. It was Lilly's last day of work at the print shop before she starts college at USM. The Ross family (MA) stayed the night with us on the 28th. They're up to drop their son off at UMFK.

It rained all day on the 29th but that didn't dampen our spirits - the ATV club hosted a big steak feed at the public beach pavillion. An excellent turn out assured that it was a successful fund raiser for the club. After cleaning up a few of us hearty souls stuck around for the bon fire, under drizzly skies, then retreated to the lodge for a "night cap".

August 30th, marks the official end of summer for us - vacation season is over as our bear hunters begin arriving!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

What’s the weather? If you’re wondering, we’ve probably endured the same weather you have if you’re reading this from the northeast. And I apologize for not writing sooner! It’s been a very busy summer despite the weather…

Let’s back up to mid-May: Long-time friend Malcolm Charles and his friend Dwight Violette were up for some spring fishing during the week of May 19th. Mike and Bob Daubec (Worcester and Paxton, MA) fished the 18th-22nd. We woke to frost on the 19th then clouds rolled in and the following days were partly sunny and windy. Wayne and Grant jacked up the lodge on the 22nd and got the deck level again and made a huge improvement to the front wall in the living/dining room. It still has its famous tilt but isn’t nearly as noticeable and now we can open the doors without taking them off the hinges! The Babine family joined us over the long Memorial weekend, arriving on the 23rd. I enjoyed seeing three generations of Babines here at the lodge: Dan (grandpa) and Mark (dad) enjoyed watching baby Eve explore on the grass under sunny skies. We got out the lawn chairs – our summer season is officially underway!

My grand daughter Acadia, daughter Miranda and soon-to-be son-in-law Tyler joined us for Memorial weekend too. Ernie and Paula Smith (Bucksport, ME) – friends form the “old days” when we all went to Greenville, bought Warden Jim Fahey’s camp in Portage. They surprised us with a visit and we welcomed them to the neighborhood! The 24th dawned sunny. Bronwyn Babine took a swim – our first swimmer of the season! Later Acadia and I took the ATV to town to ride with the club in the Memorial Day Parade. Just as the parade formation broke in front of the American Legion, the skies opened and it poured! We made a run for the lodge! Wayne was out fishing with Maurice Pollard and a friend. Tyler towed some stranded boaters across the lake when they sought refuge here at the lodge during the down pour and their motor was acting up. Later rain turned to quarter-size hail – Tyler waited it out across the lake at their camp and Wayne and his fishermen holed up on the porch of the cabin on Fish River. Meanwhile, up the hill across route 11 a tornado tore through town snapping trees like match sticks and toppling a tractor trailer rig and gravestones. It ripped a 2 ½ mile swath of destruction. Fortunately no one was injured. May ended with a few sunny days but the wind continued. The lodge’s most loyal client – the legendary Joe Decker from Jersey – arrived on the 26th. Joe was our first guest when we took over the lodge in 2005 and we celebrate each passing year with Joe’s return. He showed us how to put out the dock and fish the lake the first year we were here. Joe always catches fish and although the fishing had been slow, he managed to bring some in every day. Finally on the 28th temps reached 68 degrees after days of temps in the 40s and 50s. Brian Stevens (West Haven, CT) and Dave Hughes (Stratford, CT) settled in on the 30th for a week of fishing, followed by the John Buccos (Fonda, NY) party. He was joined by fishing buddies Eugene Rescott and Joey Cristo (West Sand Lake, NY), and Irv Sewell (Averill Park, NY). John entertained us with stories of Irv’s exploits over the years (builder of fine firearms, pianist, prize fighter, rodeo cowboy, and sportsman) and Gene’s skills as a race car mechanic. John himself is quite renowned and is the owner of the largest maple syrup producer in New York State! While it was an “on again/off again” week of fishing every one caught salmon and brook trout. Wayne took Joey over to Blake Lake the last night of their trip. They had a hard time catching their limit. After losing count after 28 brook trout in the 14-16” range, they each struggled to catch their one, 12” fish!

Brian Stevens wrote after their stay “This past week has been awesome and went by too fast. Wayne and Tenley were great hosts and the lodge and camp was comfortable and rustic, just what you want when going to northern Aroostook County, Maine. The home cooked meals were top notch and we’re looking forward to going back to get the “Big One”. Total fish caught: 45 salmon and 67 brook trout.” Not a bad week at all!

And did you see Wayne’s picture on the FRONT of the NORTH WOODS SPORTING JOURNAL? They used a photo we’d sent a year ago for the cover of the June issue!

JUNE: Our dog Alli had a visit with the vet on June 1st. She returned home after her morning run sneezing constantly and then her sneezes produced blood spray. While on her daily romp she had managed to shove a stick up her nasal passage! The vet removed it and she recovered quickly. We enjoyed our first camp fire of the season on the 4th. We woke to another frost on the 9th and a high of 58 degrees. Since the ice went we’ve had cool temps, high wind, overcast or rain almost daily. We’re hopeful June offers better weather. Harold Hutchins and friends were up to fish the 7th-14th. They had a slow week of fishing – I think Brian and Dave caught all the fish last week! Acadia celebrated her seventh birthday on the 10th. Mary Ellen Chasse’s Ashland Methodist Church group joined us for dinner on the 10th and on the 12th we hosted a dinner party for retiring school teach Dick Fortin (Fort Kent Community High School). He and 49 of his friends and colleagues joined us at the lodge for a dinner party that wore on well in to the evening, even as it rained. When the rain let up the party spilled out on to the deck and down to the fire pit. The last of the evening’s revelers left at 2:00 a.m.! A great time was had by all. The dinner was a success because Steve Daigle, Jesse Jandreau, Linda Englehardt, and Dave Kelso helped serve and clean up. Many hands make light work!

On the 13th I headed south to visit my grandpa. I had written in May to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He has spent several weeks in the hospital and then was moved to Amenity Manor in Topsham, Maine. Since he can no longer live unassisted, I drove down to Brunswick to help mom and dad and Miranda clean out his apartment. It broke my heart cleaning out his apartment but I suppose it is a much easier task to complete while he is still with us. It was a very sad weekend, although the highlight was spending time with grandpa. He looked so frail at the nursing home seated in a wheel chair, wrapped in a blanket and drifting in and out of sleep but I enjoyed my time quietly sitting with him and telling him stories of what we’d been doing at the lodge. Tears fell like rain as I kissed him good bye. Mom called on the 16th, grandpa had passed away. It was the same day my brother-in-law Bill (Denver, CO) had surgery. He has been diagnosed with liver cancer. He now needs your thoughts and prayers, as does my sister Heidi and niece Sami. This has been a tough spring for our family and the miles that separate us makes it that much more difficult. But if you recall, last year my mother brattled breast cancer. Her treatments were tortuous but she is bouncing back with a new, full head of hair. She is a survivor! What keeps Wayne and I going is the arrival of our guests. We look forward to making new friends and enjoying the return of our seasoned guests that have become like family to us. They are our sunshine on even the grayest of days.

It was hazy, hot and humid on the 18th, the day the moose permit lottery was held in Fort Kent. Wayne and I went and recognized many of the names that were drawn although we were not among them. However we did appear on the front page of the Bangor Daily News the next day – a gentleman sitting in front of us was drawn and we appeared in the back ground of the photo! We’re looking forward to guiding Denis O’Connor (Greenville, ME). He will return to hunt moose again with us as one of the lucky permit winners. We spent the next couple of evenings folding, taping, and sticking address labels on our 525 moose brochures. We sent them to all zone 2 and 3 permit holders south of “the County” and all non-resident permit holders in zones 5 and 6. The Andy Payne party (Milford, NJ) spent the week of the 20th at Fish River Lodge. Jerry Whitcomb his wife and grandsons spent several days with us while he was up in our neck of the woods delivering bear bait. Earl and Gene Burgess returned to fish the 21st-25th. You’ll remember Earl and Gene – they hunted moose with Wayne last fall. Wayne’s cousin Tasha, husband Pete, and their baby daughter Kaylin joined us for a couple of days at the end of the month.

June passed much too quickly. It rained almost daily. Wayne and I continue working our second jobs. He’s cooking at the nursing home in town and I still work for Steve Daigle at Paper Signs Ink – the print shop in Fort Kent. My job is more “full time” than “part time” so between work away from the lodge and keeping up with running the lodge, most days it seems all we do is work and sleep! Every once in a while we can sneak off for an evening fish. We welcomed back John and Sue Chasse and their grand daughter Savanah on the 27th. John is famous for his “trash can turkey”. Dirck and Joanne Brandt (Mt. Desert Island, ME) snuck away from the “rat race” on the coast to enjoy a few days of peace and quiet here in the St. John Valley, arriving on the 30th. If you’re looking for a quiet “get away”, the slow pace of Aroostook County and calming effect of Eagle Lake is just what you need to re-charge your batteries!

JULY: Since the 4th fell on a Saturday it was a very busy day for us saying “so long” to some and welcoming others, which meant cleaning cabins! We got busy right away in the morning so we could have all the cabins ready for guests as they arrived…the Bragdons, Lou and Germaine Levesque and daughter Gloria, the Calverts, and Devoes. Wayne’s mom delivered Kaitlyn to spend the next two weeks at the lodge with us. John prepared his famous turkey on the beach, using an aluminum trash can as the “oven” (the trash can is used ONLY for baking turkey!) When it was done everyone gathered at the lodge for a pot luck supper, then a fire down at the beach, and fireworks! Unfortunately, after Wayne and John hauled their pyrotechnic show over to Duck Point and set up for their show, it started to rain, and rain, and rain. They tried to light them but many were too damp so we enjoyed half a fireworks display! The rest we fired off on Sunday the 5th. Throughout the week all the Calvert, Devoe, Chasse, and Bennett girls kept each other company, swimming tubing with John, paddling, giggling, and just plain having fun – girls being girls! Our dear friend Shawn Pelletier was home for two weeks and introduced us to his lovely girlfriend Jamie. They were both out from Washington State and home visiting family. We took the afternoon of the 11th off and drove in to Duboullie with Shawn and Jamie for an afternoon of fishing. We each caught several brook trout but the most exciting part of the trip was the drive home. We saw 6 bull moose, a cow and calf, a bear and a fox!

Lou Levesque joins us often in the evening to watch the Red Sox or catch up on the news. Gloria enjoys relaxing with her knitting and we sometimes find her rocking and knitting in the lodge. The weeks after the 4th of July holiday are generally slow since most people have already vacationed. It’s a great time to plan a vacation at Fish River Lodge because there are fewer guests here and you’ll nearly have the place to yourself!

On the 13th Lindy Howe, Kevin Quist, Larry and Irene Murphy, and Dave Bell joined me for a meeting to begin planning for our “Snow Dog Adventures” dog sledding school we will host this winter. We will offer 3, 5, and 7 day dog sledding schools January – March. We’re all very excited about this new venture and look forward to sharing our enthusiasm for dog sledding with others. Wayne and I drove down state to attend grandpa’s memorial service on July 15th. He is buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Dresden, along side his wife Avis. While it was a melancholy day honoring my grandfather, it was also a day to spend time with family and friends we’ve not seen in a long time, some for many years. We found comfort in the tie that bound us together, my grandpa.

In my personal journal I find many entries that read simply: “Rain, work.” July weather has been no better than June. As we now say…”If you’re going to mold, you might as well come up and mold with us in paradise!” The locals are also saying “it will stop raining when it starts snowing”. We fear the truth in that!

Finally, we had a full day and two half days of sun on the 19th-21st but then more rain and overcast skies. So far the highlight of my summer has been a visit from my dear friend Mary Heald (Litchfield, ME). She, Dan and Dan’s son Ian drove up hauling a horse trailer to spend a few days with us. She was kind enough to bring her horses Rea and Quincy so we could ride. Only those who knew me before Fish River Lodge know how much I LOVE horses and riding. I had my own horses for nearly 20 years and sold them only because we moved to Eagle Lake. So you can imagine how much I’ve missed my horse and “horsey friends” from down state. I looked forward to Mary’s visit for three weeks! Finally the day arrived. My heart was full of joy seeing Mary, catching up and just spending time together, watching the horses graze as we talked, and riding! The weather didn’t really cooperate. We worked very hard at the print shop on Friday, the 24th so I could get home early and ride with Mary. The day started out sunny. By the time I got out of work it began raining! So we enjoyed drinks with the horses and were sheltered from the rain under the awning on Mary’s trailer. We did get to ride the night before and after waiting all morning Saturday for the rain to stop, we finally headed out in the drizzle, then got rained on but we had a very enjoyable ride just the same. I’m hoping next summer I can lease a horse for a few months. I’d forgotten what good “therapy” they are for me. Miranda celebrated a birthday on the 18th and mom’s birthday was the 24th.

The Stevensons spent a few days with us. Dorothy Procks (New Britain, CT) and her family were here the 23rd-25th – they enjoyed playing fetch in the lake with Gracie and ATV rides. Although Wayne assured them the ATV was “fine” one afternoon even when the “low battery” light was on. They called from Old Mill Marina – the ATV was broke down. We all had a good laugh when Wayne returned, towing them home.

The last wee of the month was like “old home week”. Mike and Sharon Bolduc (Fairfield, ME) and her sister Deb and husband Tom Endyke (Litchfield, NH) we up “molding” with us. Actually, the week of July 27th was the best week of the summer yet. While many days began or ended with rain most were dry and we even saw some sun. Melissa and David Smey, their Westie “Sophie” (Brooklyn, NY) and aunt and uncle Randy and Deb Murasso (Andover, CT) and cousin Megan and her husband Scott spent the same week here. Melissa was surprised one day while out for a walk when they saw a small bear scoot across the road! Sophie will soon participate in her first agility competition. She and Melissa practiced the “weave poles” beside the lake in preparation.

July has come and gone and summer slips away. Today is dad’s birthday – happy birthday dad! We spent this past weekend getting ready for this week’s guests: Edgar Satterfield and his fishing buddy (Poland, ME), Johnston family (Ellicott, MD), Crosby family (Sharon, MA) and Dubreuil family (Clinton, CT). The day started with sun, then clouds and it is raining now. I took the Johnston family paddling this morning. Mom and Noah (10 y.o.) in the green canoe; dad, Hope (11 y.o.) and Ivan (4 y.o.) in the red canoe, and I in the kayak paddled up the Fish River. I had to send Alli home after making a stop at Duck Point. She was swimming along with us! We saw an eagle high overhead and looked for turtles on logs. We didn’t find any turtles. The water is very high. Three times this month Wayne had to pull the dock to higher ground as the lake level rose. Maybe, just MAYBE, the weather will improve in August. Otherwise, the locals may be right…”it will stop raining when it starts snowing!” C’mon up and mold with us!

Spring Has Sprung!

It's May 17, already! We're enjoying all of natures colors - green flora every where, purple and gold finches, sparkling blue water - it's such an explosion of color after many months of living in a monochomatic world. Today it was overcast and windy with a high of 54 degrees. We spent the day cleaning cabins then headed to Fort Kent for groceries. We hosted our first spring fishermen of the season last week - Larry Converse, Greg Gordon, and Mike Carcia - all from Connecticut. They had a good week of fishing bringing in a 4 lb salmon, several other salmon in the 1 1/2 - 3 lb. range and several brook trout 16" and longer. But let me back track a bit and fill you in on what's been going on since the 1st of April...

On April 2nd we could see open water along the shore. Wayne snowshoed through the woods to take a few casts in the river, just because he could. Rarely is there open water this early in the season. Although he didn't catch a fish he enjoyed watching two bald eagles and an otter, and found a set of lynx tracks. The week of the 6th was quiet here at the lodge. Finances are very tight and we're scrimping and saving trying to keep up with the never ending stream of bills. A week of wind and rain and temps in the upper 30s and lower 40s did nothing to brighten our spirits. My journal entry from April 10th says we had about 12-16" of snow on the ground. The mouth of the river is opening wider, as if yawning after a long winter's sleep. On the 11th Wayne and I headed south to Brewer to attend the Maine Profession Guides Association banquet. On the way down we planned extra time to stop in Smyrna to visit the Amish harware store. If you have time on your way north or south it is worth the extra time and effort to visit this quaint community of Amish. The store contains many items in addition to hardware - they have a nice assortment of pantry supplies - flour, sugar, beans, herbs and spices; and boots, gloves, belts, purses and cutlery. I bought a new paring knife and a small bag of malted Easter eggs. A young man rang up our items on an old fashioned, hand crank cash register. The store was lit with sky lights and a woodstove was used for heat. The community also has a furniture store we've been told but didn't have time to visit it, along with a harness shop, tin roof manufacturing, and storage shed builders. Many of the homes had buggies parked in front with horses tied along side. On the way back to Interstate 95 we saw a horse drawn buggie driven by"grammy" with her grand daughter along for the ride. I fell asleep around Millinocket where there were still patches of snow. I woke in Old Town where the gress was greening - it was like I'd slept through winter! The banquet was a wonderful social event after such a long winter. We enjoyed renewing aquaintances with guides from all across Maine. Along with 14 others, I was awarded a new Marlin .45-.70 stainless steel guide model for selling $1500 worth of Super Raffle tickets last year. Now I have two of these special edition guns with the MPGA logo etched on the stock. One I will present to my grand daughter, Acadia, on her 16th birthday (in 2018!) We celebrated MPGA's 30th anniversary and honored many of its founders. Since the future of hunting and fishing belongs to our youth, we raised enough money at the banquet to send several children to Maine Conservation School this summer. A common theme throughout the evening's presentations was the importance of sharing our hunting and fishing tradition with today's youth. So, find a kid and take him or her hunting and fishing! On the drive home, as we wound our way toward Winterville, we came upon a yearling moose in the middle of Route 11. He did not want to share the road so we had to follow him for over a mile as he trotted along in front of us until finally "pulling over" and letting us by.

Easter Sunday was spent quietly beside the wood stove enjoying our malted eggs. Mike Michaud and later Ron and Travis Toussaint paid us a visit. I called home and got to talk to Nana Pat and Grandpa Armand too. It snowed on the 13th. By the 14th we were able to do a little raking around the lodge driveway to clean up a winter's worth of wood chips and bark. Juncos and house finches have arrived and are eating sunflower seeds from the feeders almost as fast as we fill them. We held our first-of-the-season ATV club meeting here at the lodge on the 17th. It was very well attended and we're all eager to get out on the 1,100 miles of interconnected trails in "The County"!

On the 19th we took our snowmobiles on the last ride of the season. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of riding under sunny skies with temps climbing to the mid 40s - in some places there was still snow to our knees! We rode until our tanks were nearly empty. We attended an Aroostook County Conservation Association meeting on the 21st with George Pooler, a fellow guide from Wallagrass. The mission of ACCA is to restore the whitetail deer herd in northern Maine. We enjoyed an informative presentation by Peter SeeHusen of Quality Whitetail Consultants and dealer of Whitetail Institute food plot seeds. After Peter's presentation I, along with others attending, were convinced that with a unified and concerted effort on the part of private and corporate landowners, we can establish food plots that will enable our whitetail to survive our long winters.

Through out the month Wayne and I continued working our part time jobs - he cooking at the nursing home and me learning graphic design at Paper Signs Ink. On the 24th and 25th I assisted Steve Daigle at the Top of Maine Trade Fair in Madawaska where he had a booth promoting his print shop. It was without a doubt the booth offering the most fun to attendees. We shared space with Judy Bossie (Moment In Time Photography) and superimposed portrait photos on various backgrounds, then printing 16" x 24" posters. It was a great family activity at the show! A downpour in the evening of the 24th and big wind on the 25th started breaking up our ice. It was the making of an early ice-out. It was interesting watching large plates of ice float by etched with last winter's snowmobile tracks. As soon as the lake opened up the loons moved right in! On the 27th we woke to calm water and sun sparkling on the LAKE! What a sight to behold after being iced in for so many months to watch the sun reflect off the ripples on the water! That same day Wayne started jacking and leveling cabin 4. It will be our winter home next season. We have been anylizing our expenses versus our revenue stream and have to make some tough decisions if we are to continue operating Fish River Lodge. One tough decision we made will be to close the lodge after Christmas next winter. We will move in to cabin 4 and continue winter operations, just without the lodge. We will continue renting cabins in winter and hosting guests with the exception being the "lodge" will be cabin 4 until spring. As we get to the task of remoding the inside of cabin 4 it will be done to accomodate us living there as well as being a central gathering place for our guests who want to visit with us. In addition, we will change our focus from providing lodging to snowmobilers and put more emphasis in our marketing efforts to attracting ice fishermen, cross country skiers, snowshoers, and dog sledders. We have partnered with Lindy Howe and Larry Murphy, local dog mushers, to offer 4-day and week-long sled dog schools where "students" will learn all aspects of sled dog training, care, and nutrition, and will go on excursions with a team of dogs during their stay. As much as we wish we could continue "business as usual", we must be nimble during these economically challenging times if we are to remain sucessful. Then of course, come spril 2010, we will move back in to the lodge through fall.

Anyway, back to spring "springing"! Here's a great story...The evening of the 27th was relatively warm so after dinner I went out on the deck to watch the "icebergs" float by. One in particular caught my attention. It's ragged edges formed a floe about 20 feet in diameter. There atop the "berg" were five unusually perfect "cubes" of ice. I pondered what "natural" occurance would result in five cubes on a berg? They were cut too perfectly to have occured naturally... suddenly it dawned on me...those cubes looked familiar...they were of the same sizes and shapes as the ice Wayne cut when we put our ice shack out on the lake back on January 4th! And as I looked even more closely I could see that they were left melting on that berg just as we'd layed them out to block the wind under our ice shack. At that moment I had gone out to watch icebergs and at that moment those cubes floated by on a westerly breeze, last touched by me in January! Amazing! Later that night when we let the dogs out before bedtime we heard Alli barking like only Alli does when she's alarmed. As Wayne started up the driveway he saw a cow and calf moose trot across our parking lot! They must have wandered down from the hill looking for a bite of tender grass.

On the 28th I began raking. I started out wearing a turtleneck and fleece but as temps rose I shed the fleece, then traded the turtleneck for a tank top! Temps soared to 68 degrees! I got our flower bed cleaned out and began raking around cabin 6 and across the front of the lodge. After two truck loads and five wheelbarrow loads of debris dumped on the hill the property was starting to look tidy again. I had to rake around a few snowbanks but they were melting fast! The ice cubes floated by again today, on an easterly breeze... Grace has rounded up collection of tennis balls. One was so covered in burdocks it was unrecognizable! I picked the budocks off and she joyfully rolled the ball down the hill next to the lodge, retrieved it, and let it roll again and again. Alli stretched out in the sun, oblivious to Gracie's game. Last count, Gracie's collection included 5 tennis balls in various stages of balding.

We declared official "ice out" on April 29. On the 30th I raked around the rest of the lodge, around cabins 5, 4, 3, and 2. That afternoon we took the canoe over to Pennington Pond. Wayne caught a couple 15" brook trout and released both. On the way home he asked what we were going to have for dinner? With the cupboards bare and refrigerator empty, we wondered why we hadn't kept at least one of the fish! We found a box of beans and rice and a couple pieces of frozen chicken. It was a good dinner and the trout are still in the pond to be caught another day. Back at the lodge as the sun was setting we were entertained by a large beaver "cruising" back and forth along the shore. I guess after spending so many months under "hard water" it was happy to swim where ever it's heart desired.

After working all day then going back to Fort Kent for groceries we stayed up late on May 1st finalizing our presentations and agenda for our guide study sessions. Earlier in the spring we canceled our usual guide course due to lack of interest. Then as May approached we were approached by more and more prospective guides from the area to help them prepare for the guide exam. Since Wayne and I have both attended guide schools and successfully completed testing requirements we agreed that we would hold a two-day "study group". We had seven participants who put us through our paces. Local trapper Jerry McLaughlin helped us on May 3rd when he gave an excellent presentation on trapping.

On May 5th I started "opening" cabins. Wayne put away our winter stuff...snowmobiles, plow truck, sled dog box, ice auger, snowblower, shovels, roof rake, and ice chisel, and tidied up around the shed by neatly stacking last fall's bear bait barrels then he put our dock out. Back to Fort Kent on the 8th for more groceries - this time to feed our first group of spring fishermen - yippee! It is the start of another year which always begins with spring fishermen! Larry Converse, Greg Gordon, and Mike Carcia arrived in the afternoon of the 9th. We love welcoming back our guests not seen in a year! They have become family - "Uncle Larry", "Uncle Greg", and "Cousin Mike"... We all woke to a heavy frost on the 12th. I got another couple of cabins ready. Russ and Carole Dyer and their son Danny arrived later that day to spend a few days fishing. Wayne put our boat in the water. The dining room was lively with conversation well in to the evening as we all shared "fish stories" and other tales. On the 13th I went on an excursion to Square Lake in search of fossils at Limestone Point. I brought Alli and Gracie along. We explored the point and found many nice specimens but left them for others to find although I did pick up two small ones to learn more about. I wish I knew more about geology - there are so MANY interesting rocks at Limestone Point! On the 14th I surfed the web and learned the fossils were the remains of an extinct class of echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins...). Their origins in the class Crinoidea. These sea critters spent their lives fixed to the OCEAN bottom (yes, this area was covered by sea water 500 million years ago!) There in the stone were the remains of the stalk columns, preserved for 500 million years, give or take.

On the 14th we were hit with strong winds and gusts to 52 m.p.h. It was not a good day to be on the lake so Larry and friends decided to fish the streams. Their adventure began when they tried to get back to the lodge for dinner. The dirt access road was blocked by downed trees. Mike was prepared and had a machete in his truck. At dinner they shared pictures and video of each taking a turn with the machete to chop through the trees enough so they could be pushed off the road. That night at dinner we awarded "Honorary Logging Degrees" to Larry "The Logger" Converse, Greg "Eager Beaver" Gordon, and "Machete Mike" Carcia. They enjoyed a pretty decent week of fishing and weather; we enjoyed their friendship

I learned Grandpa Armand is in the hospital with pnumonia and a low oxygen count. These are the times when I hate being so far from "home". Please say a prayer for my grandpa. Even as he lays in the hospital he is curious to know what's going on up here at Fish River Lodge.

So here it is, the middle of May. The sun is setting and Wayne has just left to play basketball tonight. Tomorrow we are expecting Bob Dauback and a friend from Massachusetts, and Malcolm Charles will be arriving with a freind from southern Maine. They will be here to enjoy some fine salmon and brook trout fishing. Spring has definitely sprung here in the north country. Fishing season is underway!

Still in Winter's Grip

While many look forward to the first day of spring, we're still held tight in winter's grip. March in northern Maine is just the end of winter, not nearly the start of spring. And March for Wayne and I is also a time for celebration. On March 6th we celebrated our 3rd anniversary. He surprised me by sending a beautiful bouquet of roses to work and then we went to China Garden for dinner. We left for Fort Kent in a snow storm but by the time we finished dinner it had changed to rain. The roads were a mess and we were glad to get safely back to the lodge. Except when we entered the lodge it was full of smoke and the wood stove was "belching"! There was no chimney fire but Wayne climbed up on the roof and discoved our stove pipe had rusted through and water was dripping in to the woodstove making it smoke, the smoke was backing up in to the stove pipe and would ignite and "belch" smoke through the damper of the stove in to the lodge! We let the fire in the stove burn down and spent the next hour airing out the lodge. The next morning Wayne ordered all the parts needed to replace our old stove pipe.

Wayne decided to pull our ice shack off the lake while conditions were good. A series of cold days and nights in the single digits had hardened previous slushy conditions so he was able to easily pull the shack across the crusty snow with his snowmobile. The pull was easy across the lake but as he ventured up on shore and over a snow drift the shack lurched and tipped. Just before dark on the 10th I was in my office returning calls and emails when I heard Wayne open the kitchen door latch..."Hun, can you help me? The ice shack tipped over." "Tipped over?" I questioned, "Yeah, it's tipped on its side." he grumbled. I put on my snow pants, boots, anorak, and gloves all the while envisioning the ice shack leaning at an awkward angle simply needing to be pushed "level" as he pulled it with his sled. As we made our way around cabin 7 toward the beach all I could see of the ice shack was its roof facing us! It had tipped completely over and was laying on the downhill side of the drift! It was then I began wondering how he and I were going to right it alone, and if we did, what would keep it from toppling all the way over on its other side? When I asked Wayne what the "plan" was he suggested that as he pushed it upright I "catch it" as it came over. Hmmm. I contemplated the idea and while doing so could only imagine the pain of a broken arm or dislocated shoulder, twisted knee, or all of the above if the shack were to flip over on me. I decided not to catch the shack, rather I prefered to work along side Wayne and hope it didn't flip completely over the other way. If it did, we'd figure that predicament out next. As it were, we both pulled and then pushed and the shack neatly righted itself. Actually, it was too bottom-heavy to flip again. I though it might be a good idea to just leave it there on the beach for the time being. But after floundering in the snow we discovered it was sitting right on top of one of our rental boats! Plus it would be wiser and safer to tow it up on level ground.

Wayne celebrated his birthday on the 12th. I surprised him with a store-bought cake I picked up on the way home from work the night before and hid it in my truck. I also gave him a picture. It was a picture I took of Wayne fishing at the warden pool on the thoroughfare to Square lake. He is in his waders and reflected in the water. At work we "photoshopped" the picture to look like a watercolor. It is truly a piece of art! Wayne loved it! That night we began packing for our long anticipated ice fishing trip with a gang from Eagle Lake. In years past we've missed the trip because we were exhibiting at the Wilton Sportsman Show. This year we chose to "sit out" the show. With the downturn in the economy we suspect there will be few from western Maine venturing to Aroostook County to vacation.

Our trip began at 5:00 a.m. on the 13th when we woke to a chilly zero degree morning. By 6:00 the sky was brightening with the promise of a sunny day. Wayne picked up some fresh-caught smelt given to him by Ron Albert - Ron fishes for smelt every morning at 3:30 a.m. - he's retired. Then we met everyone at Tamarack Inn for breakfast - Mike & Geneva Michaud, Ron & Margaret Soucy, Justin & Denise Raymond, Reed Devoe & Morgan, brothers Ron and Dana Laferrier, brothers Bert & Cory Simard, Buck Labbe, Bruce Dube, Clayon Fournier, and Fred Michaud. We all had our MURS radios on and the chatter began! I'm sure if I had taped the conversations I could make a million selling it as a comedy show! We got on the Pinkham Road at Portage - it was in good shape most of the way. We took the 522 Connector to John's Bridge Road and it was glare ice. Wayne avoided a jack-knifed trailer with his quick hands! The road in to Barry Ouellette's logging camps was glare ice too, and so was the parking lot and anything that had been plowed! We all unpacked our gear and slip-slided as we moved in then departed for Ross Lake. Our small tote flipped several times on the icey lake surface but we managed to get everything in place and set up by 1:00 and lost only a partial bag of wine - which Fred all too eagerly finished emptying for us. With no fish caught in the first hour Mike declared it was time to move, so we all packed up like a bunch of nomads and moved, set up again, and started fishing again. We all had shelters of some sort on the ice and were glad for that. The wind was so strong we had to tie ours off our sleds to keep it from collapsing! When we tried to make sandwiches the wind would blow our bread out of our hands and ham off our sandwiches! By nightfall several togue and about a dozen whitefish were landed. Wayne caught a 17 1/2" and 18" white fish and I lost one. Back at the logging camp we enjoyed a big spaghetti feed then settled in to watch American Logger on Discovery - we even had satelite TV!

Saturday the 14th dawned sunny, cold and windy. We woke for a big breakfast prepared by Wayne and Clayton. No one lingered over coffee - we immediately loaded gear into frosty totes and climbed on to our frosty sleds for a day of fishing on Chamberlain Lake. First we had to cross Eagle Lake. Sleds were overheating due to the lack of snow cover on the frozen lake. We rode over as much crusty snow as we could find but it wasn't enough. Fortunately we gave the sleds a break just in time at the adandoned steam engines. What a sight to find two huge locomotives in the middle of the north Maine woods. Back in the day (1927) Edouard Lacroix, a Canadian logging industrialist, conceived the idea to haul logs from Chamberlain Lake to south-flowing waters. Eagle Lake flows north to Canadian waters, Umbazooksus Lake, 13 miles from Chamberlain, flows south to waters that would bring logs to mills in Millinocket. One of the engines was purchased used from Rutland Railroad, the other from New York Central. They and enough steel for a 1500 foot bridge across the Allagash were hauled in by Lombard haulers over the winter while the lakes were frozen. The new railroad was called the U&EL line (for Umbazooksus and Eagle Lake).

Justin Raymond (works for Irving Woodlands) took the role of tour guide and shared lots of information on the railroad and old days of logging. Clayton Fournier took a group photo of us at the engines and then we moved on to get set up on Chamberlain for another day of ice fishing.

The clear sky made it possible to see Katahdin rising to our south. What a sight to look over one shoulder at Katahdin and the other shoulder at a pair of eagles soaring overhead! It was a slow day for us but others caught togue and brook trout. We cooked hotdogs on the ice and the afternoon sun felt so warm when we could get out of the wind. It seemed much like a day at the beach - our shelters were cabanas as we "sun bathed" all over the ice. Chamberlain has to be one of the most spectacular ice fishing spots in all of Maine!

That night Wayne and Clayton put on their chef's hats again and made us a feast of grilled filet mignon, baked potatoes, and corn. An evening of stories, laughter, and card games followed. The younger guys went cusk fishing on Eagle Lake. Margaret and I went out to check on them and were amazed to watch a million stars in the clear night sky. We counted six jet liners pass overhead and wondered where all those people could possibly be going? One thing for sure, there are few more beautiful places in the world than where we were standing!

Sunday morning we "broke camp". The drive back home was over muddy roads softened by the rising sun as we left the logging camp. Further north the Pinkham Road was still frozen and light snow fell. That the roads are starting to break up indicates winter is slowly losing its grip. Back in our Town of Eagle Lake Ron and Margaret had all of us over to eat up our leftovers from the trip for lunch. Slowly our ice fishing adventure came to a close.

The week of the 17th we were very busy at the print shop printing and binding 250 town reports for Wallagrass, 200 targets and timing sheets for the biathalon, (and mailing) 1200 brochures for a fire wood company, 500 brochures for the university, and lots of FedEx returns for Radio Shack to name a few. Another ice shack mishap on the 18th. While Wayne was sanding the driveway the truck slid on an unsanded section and knocked over the ice shack again! no real damage to truck or shack and Wayne used the bull dozer this time to right it.

Wayne's work schedule has been cut back so he started "spring cleaning" the lodge on the first day of spring - he washed all the logs in the dining room and living room - I could tell as soon as I pulled in after work - I could see the shine on the logs from outdoors! He mopped floors, vacuumed and dusted. He spent a few afternoons ice fishing as the season came to a close and caught some nice salmon and brook trout.

On the 22nd Dave Despres and Cliff Fletcher (www.overthecliffproductions.com) came to spend a few days at Fish River Lodge to shoot an episode for their "Sporting Camps: Comfort and Cuisine" series. They were refered to us by Eldon Jandreau who is a dear friend, fellow guide, and taxidermist from Portage. They are also working on a documentary about moose and bear with Eldon.

That afternoon we took them out to ice fish. The day before Wayne had caught 5 brook trout and a salmon so we knew just the right spot to set our traps. While Cliff and Dave filmed we set out five traps. The wind drove us in to the comfort of Ron Toussaint's ice shack to keep warm. We watched and waited and checked each trap after the flag would go up but each time only our bait was stolen. Later they filmed an otter on the ice shelf at the mouth of the river. Had it been stealing our bait, or was there a large brookie under the ice? We would never know for sure. For dinner Wayne prepared a traditional chicken stew and ployes. He expertly played the role of "chef" explaining the recipe, preparation tips, and tradition as he was filmed. I made a "depression era" chocolate cake from a recipe handed down by my great grandmother Effie. It contains no eggs or milk and is a delicious and moist cake recipe. Finally at 9:00 we sat down to enjoy our creations with our new friends. Dave shared stories of his adventures around the globe and many stories from closer to home. His mother was born in Eagle Lake and he now owns a camp on Portage Lake.

On the 23rd they filmed the ice road which connects the two sides of town in winter. It cuts a 45 minute trip down to 5 minutes! While venturing off the ice road Wayne broke through the snow and got stuck - Cliff and Dave enjoyed another adventure filming Wayne and Ron Toussaint as they unstuck the truck. Later Wayne, Cliff, and Dave met me at work and we drove over to Larry Murphy's "Valley View Kennels" so they could film Larry and his dog team. We have teamed up with Larry to offer dog sledding adventures and figured the show would give us both excellent exposure when the series aires. That night for dinner they filmed Wayne making his scrumptious rosemary roast pork loin, oven roasted Aroostook potatoes, and maple glazed carrots. I made an apple crisp for dessert. The next morning we bid Dave and Cliff well with their show and made plans for a reunion in the summer, with Eldon, Dave, and Larry along with their families.

On the 26th I attended an Aroostook County Tourism meeting and learned that we have mapped 1,100 miles of ATV trails! This is exciting and we're hopeful will put Aroostook County "on the map" bringing ATV riders in from far and wide.

The weekend of the 28th we exhibited at the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club's sportsman show. We always look forward to seeing friends old and new, especially after the show on Saturday when Lila and Carroll Ware and the Club host a social and dinner at the Northeastland Hotel. This year we had dinner with Yvan and his partner from Domaine Pipmuacan, a hunting and fishing lodge located on Lac Richard, 100 miles north of Chicoutimi , Quebec. Another thing we enjoy about going to and from the show is seeing the deer in Ashland and Portage. We counted more than two dozen each day during our commute. I also saw my first robin in Eagle Lake on Sunday morning. While we were at the show, Dave Kelso, a local friend, caught a 37", 17 lb. togue! He brough over pictures and video to show us on Tuesday.

We got another storm and 8" of snow on the 30th. We still have about 18" of snow on the ground although it is melting fast and at least two feet of ice on the lake. The last day of the month Rocky Bard (friend from Wallagrass) presented us with a gorgeous, handcrafted shelf with moose antler hooks for hanging coats and caps. He tells us he made the shelves all winter and is now giving them to family and friends. We were honored to be counted as a friend and proud to hang his shelf in the lodge.

March is like having a favorite uncle come to visit - the kind that makes us laugh with his antics. We look forward to his arrival, enjoy his visit, but by the time he leaves we are weary and glad to see him go... It rained all weekend and April showers are a good sign that warmer weather is on its way! By the end of April we will be counting the days (or hours!) until Eagle Lake is free of ice and we can begin welcoming our first spring fishermen!

The Best is Yet to Come

Where have you been? Too cold for ya? As I re-read my January entry I realized all that talk of cold probably scared some of our winter friends away. Although it was cold in the lodge, our cabins are better insulated and are warm in winter. Only Wayne and I, in an old log lodge not at all "winterized", tough out the coldest days huddled near the woodstove. But we've gotten used to the cold and it is only when temperatures plunge well below zero that things get chilly indoors. That's why we always greet the arrival of February with open arms and welcome the warmer, longer days she brings. Early in the month I was very busy working at Paper Signs Ink, helping design and print brochures and banners for Joel Guimond's Track Down Kennels and Sean Lizotte's Allagash Guide Service. They headed down to Harrisburg, PA for a 10 day sportsman show. They returned with reports of lots of interest in our region. Scott Cyr (who helped us guide bear hunters in September) brought some friends over to ice fish on the 6th. While the fishing was slow they did hook on to several brook trout over the weekend. Between cooking at the nursing home and snow storms Wayne continued shoveling roofs. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI - my sister turned 46 in Colorado on the 10th. Wendy Beaulieu (Lewiston, ME) and a friend spent a long weekend with us, arriving on the 13th. Wendy was born in England where her dad had married and decided to raise a family after the war. Wendy moved to the States 17 years ago and decided to come to "The County" to see the land her father loved so much. They took a day-trip to Grand Isle, the town he grew up in. Wendy seemed to love the area too - I guess Aroostook blood runs in her veins too. Long-time guests Steve and Barb Ellis (Windham, ME) were back this year to snowmobile. The riding was excellent although Barb came down with a "bug" and rested in bed a few days. We enjoyed meeting a group of four couples who rode in from the Limestone area over the long Valentines/President's Day weekend. Larry and Tina Huckins, Larry and Gayle Rector, Laurin and Sandra Peers, and Craig & Christa. The ladies choose a destination every winter where they ride in on snowmobiles but don't have to cook. We were fortunate they chose Fish River Lodge this year. We had a great time meeting them and enjoyed their stories and good humor. To give you an idea of the humor we enjoyed, Larry Huckins wrote in the guest book "my wife ran over me with her sled this morning!" True story - apparently they hadn't gone 1/4 mile from home when Larry rolled his sled and right behind him came Tina, who drove right over him as he wallowed in the deep snow! Later in the ride her saddle bag popped open and she left a trail of underpants. No one was injured and they all made it here in one piece.

Throughout the month Wayne used the ice shack after work and caught lots of smelts. On the 21st we got to go ice fishing together. Wayne packed lunch and we decided to drive the truck out to the shack rather than take the snowmobiles. It was 15 degrees with gusty wind. We started up the ice road to the camp and had only gone about 1/2 mile when we were stopped by a stuck truck. It seems the ice road had turned to slush in several stretches along the road and the more it was driven over the worse it got. Coincidentally, the slush spots were in the same places some people had chosen to ice fish in the days before. Folks drive on to Eagle Lake from "away" and use their vehicles to keep warm while they fish. No problem, except they drill their ice fishing holes in and right next to the ice road. They enjoy a day of fishing, go home, and leave us with a ruined section of ice road as lake water floods up through their holes and soaks the surrounding area, turning snow to slush and ice road to mush. So, we returned to the lodge, packed our lunch in to the tote and took the sleds down to the shack. We caught smelts for bait and fished for brookies. By nightfall we had caught three brook trout, the largest 14". We helped Jim and Cheryl Jandreau move to their new house on the 22nd as a big storm rolled in. I enjoyed an unexpected day off on the 23rd when the storm hit. Steve called to tell me to stay off the roads and take it easy at home. No problem, although I didn't stay off the roads. I took Gracie and Allie for a ride through Quimby Village to see how much snow had fallen. It was an interesting trip - the road hadn't been plowed and there was about 8" of snow on it! Back at the lodge I stoked the woodstove and enjoyed the relaxed pace of the day, read some, and took care of Wayne while he was sick with that stomach bug.

Sometime in the night on the 25th Rita and Bill Whesler (Tofte, MN) and Jim VanHouton Alamogordo, NM) arrived. I saw straw from their dog truck in the parking lot on my way to work. We weren't expecting them until later in the day! They must have made good time driving out from Minnesota for the CanAm sled dog races. Rita is a perennial favorite for the race. She is the first woman to complete the grueling 250 race course, finished 2nd in 2007, 7th in 2008, and is expected to win it one of these years. Her mentor, Jim VanHouton, is a legend in his own right. He trained the winning 1966 Fur Rondy team driven by Joee Reddington and owned by US Army General Carver; he raced famed New England musher Doc Lombard in Alaska and beat him; was a friend of legendary Alaskan dog musher George Attla; and helped establish the 1st Iditarod by coordinating efforts with the US Army to assist in putting in trail and building bridges for the race. He is also a “retired” sled builder and built the sled Bill will drive in the 60 mile race. Wayne got them settled in cabin 3 and shoveled more roofs. After dinner Rita, Bill, and Jim came down to the lodge to visit. Rita presented us with a pair of beautiful pottery bowls decorated with moose.

With another mid-week day off on the 26th and nothing planned. Rita invited me to run dogs with her - an offer I couldn't turn down! It was Thursday before the race and Rita wanted to give the dogs a chance to "stretch" after their long ride and loosen their muscles before the race. We drove over to Lonesome Pines Ski Area to run the dogs on the Heritage Trail (a railroad bed turned multi-use trail). We got Bill's team on the trail first then proceeded to hook up all 12 of Rita's racing dogs. They barked and banged in their harnesses, anxious to get going. They were definitely the strongest team Rita's brought to Maine! About a mile from the ski slopes the dogs remembered where the trail came up from the route 161 crossing and surprised us by taking a quick "gee" turn and ending up in someone's back yard and on their woodpile before we could get them stopped in all the confusion! We had all we could do to turn them around and get them back on the trail - they wanted to run! The rest of the trip went well and we saw Jason Barron (Iditarod veteran from Montana) running his team; they looked good too. Being a former sled dog racer is like being a recovering addict! Racing gets in your blood and given an opportunity, I can't say "no" to the offer of a sled ride behind a team of dogs. I am definitely a recovering dog addict! That night we had dessert and a beer with Jim, Rita and Bill in their cabin and "talked dogs". We're all excited for race weekend, anticipating a good showing by Rita though none of us discussed it.

Friday before the race was MISERABLE! Temps warmed to 46 degrees and it rained. While the sun still shined I volunteered to wash windows outside at the print shop - any excuse to enjoy the warm temps, even if it was ruining all our good snow! It was 40 degrees when Wayne and I went to bed at midnight. We woke Saturday morning to a stiff breeze and temp of 20, by midnight it would drop to -11, a 50 degree temperature change in 24 hours! Everything that had been plowed was a sheet of ice! At the race start we helped Rita get her team ready - Jim had the stomach bug and was so sick he could hardly get out of the truck. Rita gave me the honor of riding her sled to the starting line as she helped lead the team, assisted by CanAm volunteers and an ATV attached to her sled to hold the dogs back. ...10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...off they ran down Main Street in Fort Kent, taking the first of many steps down the 250 mile race trail. After packing the truck and wishing Jim well, we returned to the lodge. Jim headed to Lonesome Pines to wait for Bill to finish his 60 mile race. By 1:00 that afternoon we were loading our ATV and I hit the road, headed to Portage to help John Kalaeta and Gee Landry at the Portage check point. It is always a busy check point being the first one in the race. Teams are still relatively bunched up and somewhat running as a pack with only hours separating the first and last teams. This year it was a particularly busy check point. We had 9 teams parked before sun set and all of them in by 7:00 p.m.! By 8:00 p.m. we began guiding the first teams out, using our ATVs to control the speed of the teams and keeping them to a walking pace to the checkpoint exit. There they were counted down and released to run to Rocky Brook logging camps, the next check point roughly 50 miles away. I had a chance to visit with Rita after she fed her team and learned Bill placed 18th in his race after loosing his team and walking 5 miles to catch up to them! While he snacked them on the trail and was returning to the sled he stepped off the edge of the trail and went to his waist in snow! The dogs lunged, pulled the snow hook and off they went! At least Bill has an interesting story to tell of his first race! All teams were out of the Portage checkpoint by 1:00 a.m. except one. I was relieved of my duties but chose to stay and watch the CanAm video with other volunteers working the "late shift". When I got home at 2:30 the temperature had dropped to -11. We woke early the next morning to check race progress on the internet. Rita was expected at Maibec check point any minute! When she arrived she was proclaimed the race leader and projected winner! Calls came in to the lodge and we called friends in Minnesota to discuss the race and Rita’s progress. Bill came down to the lodge to check her progress and we shared the good news with him. Then we learned Jim had been admitted to the hospital. He'd become dehydrated and required 3 bags of IV fluids! He would be fine but they wanted to keep him for observation. Being in the hospital must be torture for Jim - he's a dog addict too!

Throughout the weekend we enjoyed visiting with four adventuresome ladies from The County who stayed with us for a mid-winter "get away". They shared stories of their travels around northern Maine camping and canoeing together. Karen Umphrey (trip leader and registered Maine guide) is from Masardis, Carole Wilson, Sharon Lester, and Debbie Adams are all from Presque Isle. Sunday night they invited me to cabin 1 for and extended Happy Hour. It started daily at 4:00 p.m. at the lodge, Sunday it spilled over to 6:00 p.m. The sporting camp business is mostly a man's world. I welcomed the opportunity to have some "girl time" and laugh and share stories with my new friends while Wayne played basketball - a Sunday evening ritual for him through the winter months.

The race continued through Sunday, the 1st of March and in to the wee hours of Monday morning. Rita departed the Allagash check point at 10:45 p.m. Sunday and ran through the night. Her team slowed and she ended up placing 3rd, just hours behind race winner Matt Carstens of Whitefield NH and Jason Barron of Montana. Rita was thrilled with her finish and knows what to do next year to improve. She has attained "elite musher" status and earned the respect of her fellow mushers, although we have known for a long time that she is capable of winning too! Monday night we celebrated at the lodge and then Tuesday night attended the awards banquet at Lonesome Pines. I always enjoy race weekend as it gives me an opportunity to renew friendships with fellow mushers. I've not raced dogs since 2003 when I finished the 250 then sold my team in 2004. But in my heart I will always be a dog musher. I am able to give back to the mushing community by coordinating our Eagle Lake race in January and volunteering at the CanAm. Someday, since I still own all my mushing gear - sleds, harnesses, ganglines, snow hooks, the works - I hope to have a team again, someday. If not for racing, for the sheer joy of running dogs! Rita, Bill, and Jim packed up, said "so long", and headed back to Minnesota Wednesday morning. We were sad to see them go but look forward to next year when they will return for another shot at winning the CanAm 250!

It's March 8th. Today Wayne and I took advantage of the unseasonable warmth and went snow shoeing. The phone is ringing when we return - we answer hoping the call is from snowmobilers, ice fishers, cross country skiers, or snowshoers looking for winter lodging. Dog mushers welcome too! Rather, the phone has been ringing a lot in the past few weeks with calls from spring fishermen and summer vacationers but that's okay too. I guess everyone has cabin fever and is looking forward to the longer, warmer days to come. But winter isn't over yet. Some of the best days of winter occur in March. Snowmobiling will continue in to April and the month of March offers excellent off-trail riding opportunities. We can ice fish on Eagle Lake right through the end of the month - imagine ice fishing with temps in the 40s, or snow shoeing and cross country skiing in your shirt sleeves! C'mon up - the best is yet to come!