Camp/cabin In Maine (house, purchasing, living)

[jim65970]

HELLO....VERY INTERESTING FORUM I HAVE FOUND...i am interested in a small remote, secluded camp/cabin in mid maine....i have found a lot of properties and plan to visit maine in the next 2-3 months....i have never been to maine but from what i see it is rather wide open...i plan to live there most of the year without working....i would appreciate anyone who could enlighten me as to what to expect, conditions of winter season & general information which would allow me to make good decesions concerning purchasing a camp in maine
many thanks in advance
best
jim

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by jim65970

HELLO....VERY INTERESTING FORUM I HAVE FOUND...i am interested in a small remote, secluded camp/cabin in mid maine....i have found a lot of properties and plan to visit maine in the next 2-3 months....i have never been to maine but from what i see it is rather wide open...i plan to live there most of the year without working....i would appreciate anyone who could enlighten me as to what to expect, conditions of winter season & general information which would allow me to make good decesions concerning purchasing a camp in maine
many thanks in advance
best
jim

If I were you, I'd find a place that has a large blueberry field near it and someplace good to hibernate for the winter.

But seriously, make sure your cabin has a wood stove. Access to a plowed road is good. Stock up on food. Insulate the cabin. Get plenty of reading material.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by AustinB

If I were you, I'd find a place that has a large blueberry field near it and someplace good to hibernate for the winter.

But seriously, make sure your cabin has a wood stove. Access to a plowed road is good. Stock up on food. Insulate the cabin. Get plenty of reading material.

And several cases of whiskey!

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by jim65970

HELLO....VERY INTERESTING FORUM I HAVE FOUND...i am interested in a small remote, secluded camp/cabin in mid maine....i have found a lot of properties and plan to visit maine in the next 2-3 months....i have never been to maine but from what i see it is rather wide open...i plan to live there most of the year without working....i would appreciate anyone who could enlighten me as to what to expect, conditions of winter season & general information which would allow me to make good decesions concerning purchasing a camp in maine
many thanks in advance
best
jim

A person could that all of that without really being way out in the boonies.

I am very near the freeway, but you go walking 20 paces into the forest from our backdoor, and you find yourself under a thick canopy, and you can not see the house any longer. We have many clearings, where a person could camp, and see a lot of wildlife, but see no sign of humans; and really only be 100 yards from a paved road.

One of my neighbors took me down to his camp last summer. A mile up the road is his 'driveway' [a dirt path], 200 yards down that and his camp is on the river bank. From his tent camp site all you see is thick forest and river.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Maine is bigger than the other 5 New England states combined. From my back yard to the next paved road is 42 miles through the woods. Most of my neighbors are moose and bear. You don't have to go very far to be out of sight and nicely secluded.

We just had a record winter for snowfall. We know what to do about that and it wasn't a big deal until it all melted. Then we had a record flood.

If you want to be really remote, study up on getting a ham radio license. It isn't hard to do and you don't need to learn Morse code any more.

[Maineah]

Once I went out in the woods. The stream read my mind. We were watched from above but couldn't see anyone. The splinter in my foot was round and pointed. Froglegs taste better in June.Quit asking me ....I DON'T KNOW...

[jim65970]

thank you for your input....i know what you mean....only reference i have is that is that m any years ago i had a camp in pa at the end of a deeply rutted jeep trail up a mountain side where my cabin was on a 2 acre level area....all side of the montain went up except for the trail coming up or down....to me that is remote !...never saw another person when i was living there...perhaps i am stretching the seclusion factor a bit for m aine but from what i see of your state & it openess & sparse population i dont think that would be a problem.....also i noticed that many many structures what ever they many be are on some kind of road off a major or side road.....so one road services several properties.....just trying to get some decent info here...that all...so thanks to all for an help
best
jim

[jim65970]

hello....seems you are a serious writer on this forum.....have a question...would appreciate your thoughts.....i found a camp which claims is seasonal....it is located approx 200 yards off a maintained secondary road....int he interest of getting in & out of the camp during winter are there plow services available to service this access road tot he camp...is this something commonly done ?...also what are your thought on mud season ..this is something i didnt know or even thought about
many thanks in advance
jim

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

A person could that all of that without really being way out in the boonies.

I am very near the freeway, but you go walking 20 paces into the forest from our backdoor, and you find yourself under a thick canopy, and you can not see the house any longer. We have many clearings, where a person could camp, and see a lot of wildlife, but see no sign of humans; and really only be 100 yards from a paved road.

One of my neighbors took me down to his camp last summer. A mile up the road is his 'driveway' [a dirt path], 200 yards down that and his camp is on the river bank. From his tent camp site all you see is thick forest and river.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by jim65970

hello....seems you are a serious writer on this forum.....have a question...would appreciate your thoughts.....i found a camp which claims is seasonal....it is located approx 200 yards off a maintained secondary road....int he interest of getting in & out of the camp during winter are there plow services available to service this access road tot he camp...is this something commonly done ?...also what are your thought on mud season ..this is something i didnt know or even thought about
many thanks in advance
jim

Maine is a land of 'micro-climates'. 20 miles North of me, the snow banks got to two foot deeper than here. 20 miles South of me had bare ground while I still had two foot of snow. And some areas have already gone through their fiddlehead season, where mine started two days ago.

If you only have a 200 yard driveway, that is all that you need to focus on. That 200 yards.

I have a 300 yard driveway.

I contracted a local sand / gravel / stone / concrete guy to build a driveway for me. He has four quarries, each with a rock crusher, so he has a huge surplus of crusher 'dust'. He had four dump trucks running loops all day, bringing in crushed rock, a dozer smoother it out and and vibrating roller packing it down. They built up the driveway three foot above the surrounding forest, and they did it 40 foot wide, and they finished in one day. 300 foot long, 3 foot tall, and 40 foot wide. He charged me $3k.

Our driveway is now higher than the surrounding forest, and pretty solid. The water mostly runs off of it, and being that wide it is easy to find once a foot of snow is on the ground.

For the most part, when snow is falling, I go out and drive our little commuter car up and down the driveway. With each pass I go four inches to the side. I pack down a 12 foot wide path. And this has worked well for us.

In two years, there has only been a few times, when the snow fell fast enough and hard enough in one night, that it was too deep to drive a front-wheel-drive commuter up and down the driveway in the morning.

Look around and you will likely see neighbors who each have a 20-year old pickup with a blade. Most folks around here have one, they only drive it in the winter. Most of them would plow your driveway for you, for a few bucks.

Our forest is mucky, rutted, holds water all year around, and guaranteed to get stuck in. 'Mud season', well, don't do it. A solid driveway that is well above the muck is [IMHO] the best answer.

The truly 'best' answer would include a french-drain put in on either side of the driveway, to carry the water run-off far away.

After this past winter, we are considering a front-loader. So that we can scoop, pick-up a couple yards of snow, and haul it somewhere else.

[jim65970]

thanks so much for your very informative and educational reply...3k for what you described seems like a fair price....didnt think these accdess roads/trails were soo wide tho.....i was thinking of the same thing as you do...drive my car & pack the snow down....also...i think the snow wont be as much as a problem as the mud you described....not much fixes mud except installating a decent driveway such as you did....whereabouts are you in maine ? the properties i have been looking at are mostly in mid maine...from burlington on the east to athens onthe west...milo on the north & the bangor area to the south....not sure i would be there all winter tho....i live in south florida and have a small 2 efficiency house a block from the beach in lauderdale by the sea....we are a small self contained town sandwiched between fort lauderdale & pompano beach....been here 31 years....but....i have a call in my head to go north.....always enjoyed the peace & solitude of being in the woods....time will tell i suppose what i really do...
thanks for listening & for the advise...much appreicated ! !
i send you my very best intentions
jim

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Maine is a land of 'micro-climates'. 20 miles North of me, the snow banks got to two foot deeper than here. 20 miles South of me had bare ground while I still had two foot of snow. And some areas have already gone through their fiddlehead season, where mine started two days ago.

If you only have a 200 yard driveway, that is all that you need to focus on. That 200 yards.

I have a 300 yard driveway.

I contracted a local sand / gravel / stone / concrete guy to build a driveway for me. He has four quarries, each with a rock crusher, so he has a huge surplus of crusher 'dust'. He had four dump trucks running loops all day, bringing in crushed rock, a dozer smoother it out and and vibrating roller packing it down. They built up the driveway three foot above the surrounding forest, and they did it 40 foot wide, and they finished in one day. 300 foot long, 3 foot tall, and 40 foot wide. He charged me $3k.

Our driveway is now higher than the surrounding forest, and pretty solid. The water mostly runs off of it, and being that wide it is easy to find once a foot of snow is on the ground.

For the most part, when snow is falling, I go out and drive our little commuter car up and down the driveway. With each pass I go four inches to the side. I pack down a 12 foot wide path. And this has worked well for us.

In two years, there has only been a few times, when the snow fell fast enough and hard enough in one night, that it was too deep to drive a front-wheel-drive commuter up and down the driveway in the morning.

Look around and you will likely see neighbors who each have a 20-year old pickup with a blade. Most folks around here have one, they only drive it in the winter. Most of them would plow your driveway for you, for a few bucks.

Our forest is mucky, rutted, holds water all year around, and guaranteed to get stuck in. 'Mud season', well, don't do it. A solid driveway that is well above the muck is [IMHO] the best answer.

The truly 'best' answer would include a french-drain put in on either side of the driveway, to carry the water run-off far away.

After this past winter, we are considering a front-loader. So that we can scoop, pick-up a couple yards of snow, and haul it somewhere else.