enlarge Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

West Branch Pond Camps is located midway between Medawisla Wilderness Camps to the north and Little Lyford Pond Camps to the south, both of which are owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club. The West Branch owners hope to profit from outdoor enthusiasts attracted by AMC’s promotions of activities such as cross-country ski trips.u FEFF

enlarge Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

West Branch Pond Camps consists of nine weathered cabins on West Branch Pond, across the water from the 3,644-foot White Cap Mountain.

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.

"We have no intention of selling," he said.

It's a persistent rumor, though, and you can see why after visiting the camps.

Nine weathered log cabins are strung along the edge of the 125-acre pond. Across the water, towering over the south shore, is 3,644-foot White Cap Mountain. The 91-year-old dining hall -- tilted and rotting with time, dinner bell mounted on the roof -- looks out at the mountain. We pull in the driveway, and there's a moose standing in the cove.

This is one of the most scenic sporting camp settings in Maine, to my eye.

The camps are halfway between Medawisla Wilderness Camps and Little Lyford Pond Camps, both of which the AMC owns. The property is surrounded by land the AMC has a contract to buy.

But Stirling said the camps are profitable. He has a loyal customer base, more than half coming from southern New England.

There's also a lot of history here.

Members of Stirling's family have run the camps for four generations, since 1880, when it was a moose-hunting camp. Recently married and planning a family, Stirling operates the camps with his wife and mother. He hopes to pass the business along to his children.

Instead of selling, Stirling hopes to profit from his relationship with the AMC. His winter business has doubled since the AMC started promoting West Branch Pond Camps as a way station for cross-country ski trips between the sporting camps. Keeping the West Branch Pond Camps in private ownership, he said, will retain a diversity of experiences for visitors to the region. It also reflects the AMC's mission to encourage economic development alongside recreation, by forming partnerships with local business.

"I can't think of a better example," Stirling said.

Summer rates at West Branch Pond Camps are $90 a night for an adult.

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

tturkel@pressherald.com