Finally bought it...

S

Steve Steffy

Well-known member
14 acres up in Northern Maine, just west of Caribou. The bad part is the 15 hour commute from Pennsylvania, but it will be worth it in the long run. Planning to put a small cabin on the property and use it as a hunting/trapping camp and an all around get away. Work will commence in the spring with some grading and site prep. And yes, I did kick some black ducks off of Caribou Stream that runs through the property last time I was up there.

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Steve

Congratulations. That looks like the kind of a project a guy could really put some effort into and get a great amount of satisfaction and enjoyment. I hope we get to see your vision come to life in pictures.

Eric
 
Congratulations! That is some gorgeous country you have. I too look forward to seeing the work that will be done on it.
 
Great, congrats! I hunted along sections of Caribou Stream in the late 70's, I might have walked through your property a lifetime ago. You'll have fun there. Best part of the trip between PA and The County is the lack of traffic and speed limit on 95 north of Bangor. Signs say 75, but it's really just a guideline. ;-)
 
Good moose country. Make friends with your neighbors who grow broccoli, as the moose do a number on broccoli fields and the owners will be happy to have you shoot one if you draw a permit.

Great country for brook trout and landlocked salmon. The Fish River Lakes are justly famous; the Aroostook River below Caribou is a real sleeper for trophy brookies. All the Fish River and Aroostook River tributary streams hold brook trout and landlocked salmon. You are also in striking distance of the Allagash River and a huge number of northern trout lakes.

And have I mentioned partridge and woodcock?

Not a part of the state I know well as it's a long way from me, but you will surely enjoy it. You'll need a small trailered boat--something like a 16' aluminum with a 15-25 hp is about right. And start collecting yard sale canoes to stash at remote trout ponds and ducl marshes.
 
That's great, congratulations Steve! Had to look Caribou up on the map, that's way up north. I bet there's some good mustelids up there!
 
I lived in Washburn for 4 years. The waterfowling is pretty good up there. Goose hunting can be insane. They are literally everywhere. I stood in the Aroostook River one evening picking up my decoys and had at least 300 geese lift off from the field above and land all around me, close enough to touch. One of my most memorable moments afield. Good luck and Enjoy.
 
Thanks Blake...Plenty of both once I learn the lay of the land a wee bit more.

Eric...you know, the hard part right now is deciding if I want to build a small cabin from the trees on the land, go buy the lumber and build it, or go strike a deal with the local Amish folks up there. Plenty of options...There will certainly be pictures as things move along. I promise Dani...lots of pictures when I start building.

SJ...That's really cool that you are familiar with Caribou Stream. I'm looking forward to exploring it more over the years. I absolutely love the lack of any traffic above Bangor...it's like somebody flipped a switch and it turns into wilderness. It's great! That's why we went so far north.

Capt. Rich...Thank you...the taters are unreal up there. They're huge!! Big deer too...just not very many of them. There's more moose than there are deer that far up.

Jeff...My one neighbor I met already...his name is Mel. He wears a patch on one eye and doesn't tell his wife he's staying at camp when he leaves. He sounds like a fun guy. Good info on the fishing...the grouse, or pahtridge, man they are everywhere! Looking forward to heading to the Allagash. Moose tags...ugh, sore subject. My fianc? actually drew a tag this year. Of course I got to be her sub permittee. Unfortunately the deer I smacked with my new truck at 75 mph in Massachuesetts had other plans for that moose hunt. Over $13,000 in damage and I'm still waiting for them to finish fixing it. Needless to say that $700 moose tag went to waste. We did shoot a grouse though.

John...Thank you, and you bet there are some mustelids. I plan on hitting them hard season. I was going to trap up there this year, but well...I don't have my truck back yet and don't really want to trap out of the Corolla rental I'm sporting. You're welcome to come up there and trap when I get things up and running the way I'd like.

Nick, Washburn is just down the road. And I have seen a pile of geese up there. They were so thick they were flying around thinking they were snow geese. I'll definitely be searching out some duck hunting honey holes as well.

Steve
 
Brook trout, black ducks, partridge moose and trapping. I?m not sure there can be a more perfect spot!
Have fun!
 
Thanks Tod and Carl. It really was a dream come to fruition. All the cards just happened to fall into place this past year. With some hard work and due diligence of course.

Brad...you know I've been eyeballing those mountains. There's a pretty good view of Katahdin on the way up to the property. It is definitely on the radar for a future ascent.
 
Steve, the AT portion is rocky and rough for a hiking trail. The trail kinda scrambles over big granite boulders. The summit plane is covered with trails wandering around but the actual summit is marked by the iconic sign. I haven?t done the knife edge but gather it?s airy. I?ve seen people rock climbing on the north face but think it?s rather remote. Enjoy anyway.
 
Steve Steffy said:
Thanks Tod and Carl. It really was a dream come to fruition. All the cards just happened to fall into place this past year. With some hard work and due diligence of course.

Brad...you know I've been eyeballing those mountains. There's a pretty good view of Katahdin on the way up to the property. It is definitely on the radar for a future ascent.
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I 've spent a lot of time in Baxter State Park, which surrounds Katahdin. A week every spring for 30+ years, minus one year canceled by Covid and a few years I was living out of state. Katahdin is a great hike, but there are better routes than the AT. You definitelyu want one of the trails that will take you up from Chimney Pond. One of the most spectacular mountain landscapes I have ever seen, and I spent a whole summer working trail crew in the Tetons as a kid.

Make a trail head parking reservation, or stay inside the park at a campground if you want to get on any of the trailheads for Katahdin in a summer or fall weekend.

Puy Katahdin on your bucket list, but some of the surrounding mountains offer fabulous hiking and views of Katahdin. For serious all day grunt hikes, as difficult and long as Katahdin, Doubletop and Traveler are fantastic. So are the Owl and Mt. OJI. Lots of easier hikes to small peaks with great views. In Baxter State Park, the Sentinel is a great half day hike suitable for anyone. In the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, check out Deasey Mountain.

Closer to home for you, look at Deboullie Mountain in the Deboullie Public Reserved Lands. Great canoeing--and brook trout and landlocked Arctic charr fishing--up there, too.

Was thinking about you today as I drove down a dirt road to a project site (alas, with no shotgun or dog in the truck) and saw 4 single partridge crossing the road within a half mile stretch of road. Sure wish I could have run a good flushing dog along that road edge on my way back out!
 
John...did you go after any critters at your Adirondack camp this year? Stay in touch as far as coming up to Maine goes. You would love it!


Brad...I have watched some videos of that knife edge...that sure looks like fun, and yes pretty airy. I'd love to give that a go, but doubt I would try that in winter conditions.

Jeff & SJ...More great info. So many mountains so little time. It's been a while since I've researched Katahdin. Where is Chimney pond in relation to the Knife Edge? I really want to climb all 14 of the 4000 + footers since I've already done all 46 in the Adirondacks, but other mountains are certainly not out of the question. We'll probably climb more when we are able to stay up there longer.
 
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