Bradford Camps 2008 Newsletter

Bear hunting was steady and successful. We had a 50% success rate with 11 bear taken. Once again we had a 100% retrieval rate which is very unique for a bear hunting outfit, and something of which we are very proud. Moxie even helped find a bear! Most of our hunters came from South Carolina , home to Moree’s Sporting Preserve. This is a great place to enjoy in the fall and winter for fishing, shooting and relaxing. Their link is on our website for those interested and I can personally guarantee a good time!

Karen and I spent a great day on the upper Penobscot River with Pro Guide Gary Corson. It was one of the three days of fishing Karen and I had last year (THAT will change!). We flew in and had the river to ourselves and caught numerous trout between 12 and 14 inches. Karen had a view of an enormous male in full spawning colors, but unfortunately missed the set. We look forward to offering this type of experience to you this year. You still have to set the hook, though. The plane will offer you many new places to fish, and a very smooth ride to get there! September fishing will be greatly enhanced by our airplane.

The bird population this year was the best we have ever experienced in our twelve years of running the camps. 10 flushes per day were common, 20 flushes each day was not unusual. Dick Mosher guided Otis King and Kenny Grindlay in the middle of the month; during five days they had 94 flushes! With another fairly dry June this year we should see comparable numbers of birds this fall.

We also had one of the best deer seasons in a while. The great story of the month was Adam Berger’s first deer: a four-point buck taken with one shot on Thursday. He was hunting from a blind with his dad, and saw the deer first, took aim and fired. The perfect shot made for a very happy Adam, father Bruce, grandfather Ted, and guide Igor! Paul Lomedico, Dan Cahill, and Doug Hamilton also were successful. Paul is simply the luckiest hunter alive (I mean very good), Dan Cahill saw three deer and only hunted one hour! Doug Hamilton shot his deer on the last day, also his first deer!

Here are some pictures from last fall. It goes down in life’s memories as one of the best. To pass along to the next generation the passion for hunting camp and all that goes with it has been one of my life’s goals - - now fulfilled. To be there when Adam took his first deer was the topper.”

Twelve tons in the hold, ready for another season of liquid refreshment, thanks to your friends at the Free Shoveling Society!

It is the end of February as I write this, and I cannot wait to get back to camp. Karen and I have had a nice winter so far and have been very busy traveling to see family and friends. We actually are glad to be home and settled for a few weeks after all the excitement. You might think that all this snow will make for a later ice out, but as of February it is still too soon to tell.

The camps are currently experiencing one of the snowiest winters on record, at least in recent history. It seems every week I watch another storm come through, mostly wet stuff down here in Kittery , but feet after feet of accumulating snow up in the woods. I have been thanking Will Atkins and Milt Hall time and time again for building the cabins strong enough to take the snow load without worry!

On our time off Karen and I had the chance to visit Washington , DC , which bears mentioning. We had a glorious time there with our greater family and we lavished ourselves in the museums and restaurants about town. We were deeply moved by a few places, namely: Mount Vernon and the George Washington Estate, the Mall and all the very somber monuments to presidents and to wars, and Arlington Cemetery . I was overcome with many different feelings watching the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Feelings of patriotism and grief swam to the surface as I stood “at attention” in respect to the guards and to whom they honored.

I am heading up to camp in a few days for a large part of the month of March. This is my time when I enjoy getting the camps in order for the season. It is a special time of year for me because I get to experience the camps over a long time, without the hustle and bustle of our usual camp life. I will be working hard on cabin improvements, mainly with a paintbrush, firewood for ice-out, and getting the kitchen and dining room ready. I will also be working on a garage out back for better storage and to clean up the camp yard a bit. The only way in is by snowmobile and all supplies are hauled in that way. Oh yes, and Karen is coming too!!

One thing that does worry me about this year’s snow is its effect on the deer herd. It seems that deer numbers were just beginning to show some signs of recovery, but the snow pack will be hard on them. With so much snow, they are unable to move around much, become weakened by lack of feed, and concentrated for easy predation by the coyotes. There is a deer task force that has identified the two main issues of habitat and predation as the leading factors to deer herd success in northern Maine . Habitat will improve ONLY with a long term plan adopted by the landowners, but the coyote problem might be dealt with sooner, with the right legislation. It is interesting to note that bear predation also plays a significant role on the deer herd, particularly in the spring.

In the guides camp: 15 below, Red Sox opening game against Oakland – broadcast from Japan, 2 to 4 more inches expected during day, cribbage in the cabin a good idea – ice out looking later and later! Red Sox Win!!! Truly more snow than we’ve ever seen here! A record setting winter!

Reed Pond

Progress continues for the effort to reclaim Reed Pond. Last fall two biologists spent a month at the camp fishing for what is left of the dwindling Charr population. Three were caught: two males and a female. They were flown out and a hatchery spawn was attempted, with some success. Our hopes are for more success this summer and fall. Once a viable population can be retrieved from the pond (or at least our best effort made to do so), the smelt population will be eradicated, and the original, native brook trout, native charr, and native dace will be brought back. Bradford Camps has been volunteering all the flying required for the effort. Federal money matches private money two for one in this project. From a philanthropic point of view, this project has a lot of bang for the buck. It is a relatively inexpensive project, around $50 thousand, so small donations play a very big part, especially from private sources. Please contact us if you would like to participate with financial support.

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CLEAR WATER

The statistics about water are constantly quoted. Water covers most of the earth’s surface. The human body is mostly water. Life on other planets is considered impossible without water. Every third story in the news includes water; rain, snow, drought, flood and monsoon keep water flowing in our minds. Controversies include the expansion of aquifer depleting wells and discovering that some bottled water is just town tap water, keeping plastic bottled water in our awareness as well. A bottle of water and a cell phone keep people double fisted from toddlerhood to the senior center. While we globally warm, we simultaneously quench an ever growing thirst.

The first vacation that Igor and I took together was a canoe trip on the Penobscot and Allagash. Enough water to float the canoes and to drink were essential to the trip’s success. We started the trip with 2 milk gallons of frozen water, and then turned to nature to provide for our thirstiness as we paddled. My most vivid memories of the trip include paddling a fully loaded canoe through miles of moving water in an exceptionally beautiful woods, carrying all the gear from the same canoe through the woods, battling my first black flies, catching my first brook trout on a fly rod, and breaking in my new all purpose sierra cup with gulps of water, martinis and olives, and our favorite cocktail: rum and tang.

Canoe camping is forgiving to the heavy handed packer, as weighty luggage stowed properly just glides along for the ride (note disclaimer of this statement regarding those times of portage duty). In hindsight, if I had to pare down my packing to only the essentials, the sierra camping cup still makes the top ten gear list every time.

During my Kung Fu/Grasshopper woods apprenticeship, Igor repeatedly demonstrated the importance of remaining hydrated by dipping his sierra cup in for a drink of water on an as needed basis. With my active imagination fueled by descriptions of backcountry trips gone bad from giardia, I was far more cautious regarding my own dipping. Not that I have any reason to question the veracity of Igor’s water wisdom, I am just that much more cautious where water consumption is concerned. Often enough for me we found fresh spring water to fill the cups.

Over the last dozen years, guests arriving at camp frequently travel with their own cases of bottled water. Given the recent news coverage of the enormous costs of bottled water transportation, the inability of plastic to decompose in landfills, the questionable sources of some of the purchased water, and most recently the potential for toxins to leach from the plastic into the water, I anticipate that Chad may be lugging fewer cases of water from car to cabin, and the sale of the stainless steel camp cup may be on the rise.

After all, every discerning water connoisseur and Bradford Camps guest should happily note the refreshing taste and abundance of our local H2O. It is tested annually and it is delicious. It is politically correct at the moment – we have no plans to bottle and label it as Munsungan Designer L’eau. And it’s free!!!

So in the interest of water enjoyment plus a good gesture toward the planet’s better health, come to camp and tap in. Plus, it’s a lot harder to extract your martini olives from a plastic bottle than from a camp cup! Cheers!

“Nature is a damp place over which large numbers of ducks fly ---- uncooked.”

Oscar Wilde

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BRADFORD CAMPS FLIGHT SERVICE

DAILY FLY-OUT DESTINATIONS!

Fly out after breakfast, be back by dinner, tell fish stories all night!

In 1947 Jack Ahern made his first trip to the Maine Woods; since 1956 he has been a regular at the Bradford Camps. Over the years, Jack realized that there is a great deal of history that could be either lost or recorded for future generations. The older guides, camp owners, and guests were eager to reminisce and dig out old photos of the days gone by. It was a labor of love for Jack Ahern, a fifty year Bradford Camps veteran who interviewed countless people, many of whom are no longer with us. This is a rare glimpse into our history. The book will be available in the Bradford Mall or by mail. Cost is $25 plus shipping. Hats off to Jack, and enjoy the history!

For aviation enthusiasts this is a great weekend to hear the story of my grandfather’s three careers: large Russian airplanes, American clipper ships, and helicopters. Fly in to our lodge (seaplane base ME3) or drive in. There will be plenty of time for hangar talk, fishing, and relaxing. All guests get a seaplane ride with I. I. Sikorsky, III! Newly designed slideshow!