Charley, the daughter of a fellow Maine guide, scrambled up into the passenger seat of my pickup truck and fastened her seatbelt. We had just finished breakfast and were leaving the hotel parking lot for the 2023 State of Maine Sportsman’s Show at the Augusta Civic Center. Her father Thomas had skipped breakfast and was already at the complex getting their booth ready for the opening of the show. Saturday morning is usually the busiest day of the three-day event.
Charley was already preparing to become a Junior Maine Guide. There was no doubt she would be following in her father’s footsteps when she reached adulthood. She is certainly on the right path, displaying an impressive amount of outdoor knowledge and skill for a youngster — a testament to the time she spends with her dad on the water and in the woods.
“What happened to your windshield?” she asked as we pulled into the Civic Center parking lot, pointing to a crack on the passenger side.
I explained that it had taken a good whack from a tree branch while creeping down an overgrown winter road in the North Maine Woods during a moose hunt I guided a couple of years ago. She asked why I didn’t get it replaced. I told her the truth — it would most likely get cracked again during the upcoming moose season and I would wait until it got bad enough to fail state inspection.
Charley studied the windshield for a moment, then looked over at me.
“I bet this truck has a lot of stories to tell.”
I had never really thought about it that way, but she was right. This old guide’s truck certainly has its fair share of tales woven through its career.
You have probably heard the adage, “Behind every great man is a great woman.” I can attest that behind every professional Maine hunting and fishing guide stands a great truck. I don’t think make and model matter much. It is the heart and soul of the truck that counts. That may sound funny, but after thousands of hours in the driver’s seat and tens of thousands of miles guiding clients, I believe it.
My old guide’s truck has hauled more than a dozen moose out of the North Maine Woods. It has transported tons of bears for clients — literally — without complaint. It has climbed the highest peaks of the North Maine Woods and launched my Grand Laker canoe all over eastern Maine at gravel launches most respectable trucks would not dare attempt.
It has cut down many tires on unforgiving woods roads and been mired in deep wet snow. It has pulled other guides’ trucks out of ditches and received the same favor in return. It has carried fathers and daughters, mothers and sons on first-time fishing vacations. It has ferried many multigenerational families on big game hunting trips. It has proudly hauled untold cords of firewood to the lodge’s wood stove to keep clients warm.
The bed of my guide’s truck is stained red from moose, black bear and whitetail retrieval operations. The paint is a few shades lighter than it once was and the doors and bedsides are decorated with “guide’s pin striping,” a visual testament to how far and deep a good guide will go for clients. Chances are the tailgate takes an extra nudge to latch.
It carries tree stands, bear bait and assorted gear deep into and out of the woods. It has towed my fishing boats thousands of miles around Northeast Maine. The truck bed also hauls ATVs in spring and summer and snow sleds in winter. It endures numerous surgeries each year. Front-end parts are replaced regularly because suspension and steering components on a guide’s truck do not last long. Its oils and fluids are changed at twice the rate of its civilian peers. The odometer now shows more than 285,000 miles.
I have watched my old guide’s truck age with grace, never letting dents, scratches or cracked glass prevent it from doing its job. A guide’s truck does not know vanity. It simply cannot afford to.
I am certain my truck will let me know when it is ready to retire and I admit I do not look forward to that day. My clients’ memories and experiences are embedded in that truck as much as the photos I take for them — smiling and triumphant with their harvests and trophies.
Until that day comes, when I load the gear for the next trip and turn the key, this old guide’s truck will be ready to work and ready to create a few more memories for clients — and a few more stories for me.