Hidden deep in the woods of Maine are dozens of spots that outdoorsy folks have been visiting for generations. The names roll off the tongue comfortably — Tim Pond Camps, Libby Camps, Cobb’s Pierce Pond Camps, Red River Camps — but the places themselves remain a bit mysterious.
They are, after all, located in some of the state’s most remote and wildest areas.
Maine is full of these special places, and hunters, anglers and bird-watchers have heard of many of them, whether they’ve actually visited or not.
Thanks to his latest book, “Maine Sporting Camps,” George Smith has made one thing perfectly clear: No matter how remote these camps are, no matter how much time you have to spend on dirt roads to reach these backwoods paradises, you can, in fact, get there from here.
Smith, the former executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and now a writer who produces a BDN blog, highlights several dozen of the state’s traditional sporting camp in the 222-page book published by Down East Books.
One boon to curious readers: Turn-by-turn driving directions to each of the mentioned camps, which helps demystify them and helps make those remote locations seem more accessible.
Smith highlights 15 camps as among his favorites, and those destinations receive a more in-depth treatment. About 60 others receive shorter entries, but the basics — location, directions, price structure and what kinds of recreation are available — are still included.
Smith and his wife, Linda, write about many of the featured sporting camps. The duo are travel writers, and those entries — sometimes framed in a a “he said, she said” format — often focus on the ambiance, feel and food one can find at each establishment.
In other chapters, essays by others, including camp owners or their guests, take center stage. The fact that Smith shares the spotlight with others in a book that has his byline on the cover is a good move: Deciding to visit a camp based on one person’s opinion can be a crap shoot. Listening to a few different opinions — even if they’re all positive reviews — offers potential guests a bit more confidence.
At the back of the book, another list of about 40 sporting camps that weren’t featured in the book are listed. The book never claims to be an end-all, be-all guide to the industry, and the list of those remaining camps — complete with website addresses — is a helpful addition.
The book isn’t without its shortcomings. Or, to phrase it more delicately, if you’re one of those people who want to open a book about Maine sporting camps and somehow get to vicariously visit those special spots, you might be left wanting.
One problem: Aside from the striking cover art, there are no photos or artwork in “Maine Sporting Camps.” It’s a guidebook, pure and simple. You won’t get a glimpse of a picturesque shoreline. You won’t see a photo of the well-worn wooden floors of the main dining room, nor see family portraits of present-day owners.
Visiting a Maine sporting camp is such a treat for the senses, the lack of breathtaking pictures is a glaring absence.
The book also sometimes struggles to maintain its identity because of the same techniques mentioned above. The voices change so often — sometimes George Smith, sometimes Linda, sometimes a teenage guest, sometimes a visiting guide — that the structure seems a bit haphazard.
Some chapters are all Smith. Others have three voices talking about the same set of camps from different viewpoints.
Treating “Maine Sporting Camps” as a resource is not a bad thing. If you’re looking for a consistent approach to each of the highlighted camps, it can be a bit jarring.
But overall, Smith does what he set out to do: He celebrates the perseverance of those who uphold the tradition of these classic Maine camps, and offers outdoorsy folks a variety of options to explore in the coming years.
The reader surely will come away from the book with a few more spots to check out on their next staycation.
