Excerpted from a longer essay:

My brother Mark and I have taken an early June fishing trip together for 39 consecutive years. This year will be the 40th anniversary of our first fishing trip to the North Woods of Maine.

We have had some great fishing over the last 40 years and made memories that will last a lifetime.

On one particular adventure, my youngest brother, Joe, was with us. We hiked into Clifford Pond, near Rainbow Lake. There was an old trail to the pond at that time, but it was not well marked. I caught a nice 18-inch brookie within the first hour of fishing, but that was the only fish any of us caught.

I always like to stay until dark, figuring there will be a flurry of fish activity at dusk. We ended up staying too long and lost the trail between Clifford Pond and the West Branch. My brothers were pretty mad at me for not heeding their advice to leave a half an hour earlier than we did!

We did have flashlights, and knew that if we headed downhill we would be going in right general direction. After an hour of wandering around in the woods, I made the announcement that I thought we should build a fire and spend the night right where we were.

Mark said, “Are you ##!*$# crazy?” so we stumbled around in the woods until we found Horserace Brook. I knew that the brook emptied into the West Branch of the Penobscot.

We followed the brook down toward the river and eventually heard vehicle traffic on the Golden Road. You can imagine what it was like, slogging in and next to an alder-choked brook in the middle of the night with two brothers cursing me for having to stay just a little longer at the pond. As a stroke of luck, I left the brook to see if it was better going away from the brook and came upon the trail.

Once we hit the trail, everyone’s disposition improved. We were at the truck in a few minutes and on our way to my camp at Chesuncook. When we got there, my wife, Ruth, had a pot of baked beans and fresh biscuits made for us. We dug into that meal like a pack of ravenous wolves.

I have to admit that sleeping with a full belly in a nice soft bed next to my sweetheart was a lot better than sleeping in the woods on an empty stomach without as much as a blanket to keep warm.

It is a memory never to be forgotten! I did give Mark the trout as a peace offering when he left for home the next day.

 

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