Charley scrambled up into the passenger seat of my pickup truck and fastened her seatbelt. We had just finished breakfast and were headed out of the hotel parking lot on our way to the State of Maine Sportsman’s Show at the Augusta Civic Center. Her father Thomas skipped breakfast that morning and was already there, getting our booth ready for the opening of the show. Charley was already preparing to become a Junior Maine Guide and no doubt would be following in father’s footsteps when she reached adulthood. She certainly is on the right path, displaying an amazing amount of knowledge and skill in the outdoors 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 out a crack on the passenger side. I explained it took a good whack from a tree branch while creeping down an overgrown winter road up in the north Maine woods during a moose hunt I guided a couple of years ago. Charley looked pensive as she studied the windshield then looked over at me said, ‘I bet this truck has a lot of stories to tell.’ I hadn’t ever really thought of that and Charley was right. This old guide’s truck certainly does.
You have probably heard the adage, ‘Behind every great man is a great woman’. I can attest that behind every Maine hunting and fishing guide stands a great truck. I don’t think make and model factor into the equation – it is the heart and soul of the truck that matters. I know that sounds 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 half a dozen moose and literally tons of bears for clients without complaint. It has summited the highest peaks of the North Maine Woods and launched my Grand Laker canoe all over Eastern Maine on gravel launches that most respectable trucks wouldn’t dare. It has cut down many tires on unforgiving woods roads and been mired in deep wet snow. It has pulled other guide’s trucks out of ditches and received the same favor. It has carried fathers and daughters, mothers and sons on first time fishing vacations. It has ferried many multi-generational families on big game hunting trips. It has proudly hauled tons of firewood to the lodge’s wood stove to keep sports warm.
My guide’s truck bed is stained red from moose, black bear and whitetail retrieval operations. The paint on the body is a few shades lighter than it used to be, decorated with ‘guide’s pin striping’ and chances are that the tail gate takes an extra nudge to lock in securely. It carries a payload of tree stands, bear bait and miscellaneous equipment deep into the woods regularly and has towed boats thousands of miles. It endures numerous surgeries every year. Front end parts are replaced regularly, suspension and steering components on a guide’s truck do not last long. It’s lifeblood of oils and fluids are changed at twice the rate of a civilian truck. It boasts over 257,000 miles on the odometer.
I’ve watched my old guide’s truck age with grace, never letting the many dents, scratches and cracked glass prevent it from performing. A guide’s truck does not know vanity; it simply can’t afford to. I know my truck will let me know when it is ready to retire and I admit I do not look forward to it. My clients’ memories and experiences are embedded in that truck as much as the photos I take for them with their harvests and trophies. But until that day, I know that when I load out the next trips equipment and turn the key, this old guide’s truck will be ready; eager to work and generate a few more stories for clients.