enlarge Photos by Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Sunshine glitters off the water of Second Roach Pond as a kayaker paddles from Medawisla Wilderness Camps earlier this month.

ABOUT THIS SERIES

Sunday: The Appalachian Mountain Club has far-reaching plans to make thousands of acres of Maine woods into a national destination for backcountry recreation. Today: We canoe across three remote ponds, dragging our boat down a rocky river that rarely sees human footprints. Tuesday: A wrong turn takes us off a new 17-mile mountain bike trail as we explore a rocky route between two sporting camps. Wednesday: A plan to follow a proposed hiking route off the Appalachian Trail becomes a bush-whacking challenge to get off a mountain before dark. Read the Northern Exposure series

ABOUT OUR REPORTER AND PHOTOGRAPHER

TUX TURKEL is a staff writer who covers business issues, including tourism, energy and real estate. A graduate of Emerson College in Boston, he has won several state and regional awards for reporting and has worked at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram for 27 years. In 1997, he and three other journalists reported the Forgotten Water series for the Maine Sunday Telegram, tracing the 130-mile Eastern Maine Canoe Trail from the New Brunswick border to the Penobscot River.

DEREK DAVIS has worked in photojournalism for 10 years, the past three at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. Previously he worked as a staff photographer for the Journal News in Westchester County, N.Y. He is a graduate of the University of New England in Biddeford.

Northern Exposure is a collaborative effort of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, pressherald.com and News 8 WMTW. Tonight on News 8 WMTW at 6, Steve Minich examines plans for "nature-based tourism."

More information on Medawisla Wilderness Camps.

through heavy mist on Second Roach Pond, but Shannon LeRoy

was already on the water, guiding a dawn moose hunt. The aim

was not to kill a moose, but to spot one. That would be a thrill

for parents and two children from Massachusetts, who had risen

early for the experience and were waiting in a canoe.

Moose spotting is a typical activity at Medawisla Wilderness

Camps, which was purchased last August by the Appalachian

Mountain Club. The camps have been operating since 1953. The

AMC bought the camps from Larry and Shannon LeRoy, who had

owned and managed the property since 1992. A passionate

birder and naturalist, Shannon LeRoy now manages the camps

and runs projects for the AMC.

This year LeRoy is running the AMC's family camp program in

the Maine Woods. Ten adults and seven children were here two

weeks ago. They canoed, hiked, took nature walks, built

birdhouses, explored vernal pools and learned to fly-fish. If

children have fun, the AMC figures, they'll appreciate wild places

and want to protect them.

"That's what we want," LeRoy said. "We want the great times. We

want the memories."

On a recent morning, LeRoy climbed into a kayak to guide a

small group to Hinkley Cove, on the north end of the pond. It's a

great place to spot moose, she said. Over the years, she has

seen bear, coyotes and their pups, otters and once, 18 moose

during a single visit.

On the route, we caught a good look at a loon, saw an eagle,

deer and common merganser ducks. But no moose. Nature is

unpredictable and LeRoy has come to treasure the remoteness

and quiet beauty of the cove.

"It cleanses the soul," she said.

The family didn't seem to mind. They planned to try again later

in the week.

"It was great, so pristine," said Kathleen Earley.

Earley and Dave Steele are AMC members and had come with

their 12-year-old daughters after reading about the camps on

the club's Web site.

Energetic hikers, they didn't let rain stop them from walking up

3,644-foot White Cap Mountain, the highest point on the

Appalachian Trail between Mount Katahdin and Bigelow

Mountain.

Medawisla caters to groups and families. It has seven cabins --

with indoor plumbing, a kitchen and wood stoves -- that sleep

between one and 10 people. It even has scheduled electricity,

until the generator is shut down at 9:30 p.m.

The cabins are set in a row across from the Roach River. Family-

style dinner is served in the building where Shannon LeRoy once

lived and home-schooled three children.

The camps are a short drive from Kokadjo and are open most of

the year. A typical full-service rate for an adult, including meals,

is $120 a night.

Staff Writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6462 or at:

tturkel@pressherald.com