A man paddleboarding on Long Pond near the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Gorman Chairback Lodge. Near Greenville, Maine.

I love spending time in the Maine Woods, and thankfully my job takes me there most years. One part of the state I’ve made a point to visit every winter the last several years is an area of woods, wetlands and mountains between Moosehead Lake and the 100 Mile Wilderness section of the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Mountain Club has spent the last decade or so acquiring 70,000 acres of forest here as well as a trio of sporting camps that they’ve spruced up and opened to the public. In the winter, it’s a magical place to cross-country ski from lodge to lodge, stoke the wood stove, and watch some beautiful winter sunrises. Despite enjoying years of winter trips to the AMC Maine Lodges, I had never been in the warmer months, but now I have!

A couple of weeks ago, I made a visit to Gorman Chairback Lodge with some photographer friends with the goal of creating some new outdoor lifestyle imagery to freshen up my collection of Maine Woods photos. We spent one long day, 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., paddling canoes and kayaks on Long Pond, hiking on the Appalachian Trail into Gulf Hagas, and then returning to Long Pond to try our hand at stand-up paddleboarding, which was new to all of us. Despite the voracious black flies (you can see them as individual specks of light in the above photo,) we really had a great time exploring the area and making pictures. This place is definitely worth a summer visit.

Ashley Reed and her husband Dan (above) and Ben Williamson (below) were all making their first trips to this part of the state and it was great to see their enthusiasm for the recreation opportunities we had.

Of course, one of the benefits of lodge life is the opportunity for post-hike relaxation.

Besides having great models, I also benefited from the superb production expertise of Peter Dennan of Pedro+Jackie.

Check out more from the shoot here: http://ecophotography.photoshelter.com/gallery/New-Work-AMC-North-Woods/G0000iKPXR.bHnEU

Cheers!
-Jerry