Bulldog Camps

Bulldog Camps
Bulldog Camps
	sporting camp
	Nickname(s): Enchanted Pond Camps
	Motto(s): “A Traditional Maine Sporting Camp”
	Bulldog Camps Location within the state of Maine
	Coordinates: 45°26′33.36″N70°11′26.30″W / 45.4426000°N 70.1906389°W Coordinates: 45°26′33.36″N70°11′26.30″W / 45.4426000°N 70.1906389°W
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Somerset
Established	1880’s
Elevation	1,447 ft (441 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	04945
Area code(s)	207 243-2853
FIPS code	23-025
GNIS Feature ID	563166
Website	"www.bulldogcamp.com".

Bulldog Camps
Bulldog Camps
	View of the dock at Bulldog Camps
Location	Enchanted Pond, Maine, United States
Type	sporting camp
Land	16 acres
Campsites	7 cabins
Facilities	lodge
Water	yes
Fires	yes
Operated by	Darren Savage
Website	"www.bulldogcamp.com".

Last updated March 17, 2019

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Bulldog Camps (formerly known as Enchanted Pond Camps) on Enchanted Pond is a traditional remote Maine sporting camp in the western mountains that has attracted visitors for over a century. Located in Upper Enchanted Township, near Jackman, Maine, United States, the camps were established by Henry Patrick McKenney in the 1880s as a set of logging camps, were converted into an active sporting camp in the early 1900s, and remain a current member of the Maine Sporting Camp Association.

Enchanted Pond is a mountain pond in the U.S. state of Maine. Situated in the Western Maine Mountains in the Northwest Somerset Region, the pond is located in a deep mountain valley between Coburn Mountain and Shutdown Mountain. Near its southern end, the pond is distinguished by two rockslides from the exposed cliffs of these mountains that extend down into the water along both shores. Enchanted Pond is fed by mountain springs and Little Enchanted Pond, and is the primary source of Enchanted Stream which flows into the Dead River, a tributary of the Kennebec River. Development on the pond is limited to a small set of sporting camps at the northern end of the pond and one remote camp on the southwest shore, both a part of Bulldog Camps. There are no islands in the pond.

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 38th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. It is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest respectively. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes. It is known for its jagged, rocky coastline; low, rolling mountains; heavily forested interior; and picturesque waterways, as well as its seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. There is a humid continental climate throughout most of the state, including in coastal areas such as its most populous city of Portland. The capital is Augusta.

A sporting camp is an establishment that provides lodging, meals and guide service for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation and usually consists of a set of “camps” or cabins accompanied by a main lodge. Some also offer primitive outpost cabins. Traditionally found in forests and on lakes in remote locations throughout the state of Maine, sporting camps are a popular lodging destination that have offered a unique outdoors experience to sportsmen across New England and throughout the United States for over a century.

Namesake

The 800 ft. cliffs of Shutdown and Coburn Mountains that rise up abruptly from either side of Enchanted Pond used to significantly resemble the profile of two bulldogs looking across the pond at one another. The pond was nicknamed "Bulldog Pond" and since the camps on its north shore were the only ones on the lake (as they remain today), they were donned with the seemingly unusual name.

The Bulldog, also known as the British Bulldog or English Bulldog, is a medium-sized breed of dog. It is a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose. The American Kennel Club (AKC), The Kennel Club (UK), and the United Kennel Club (UKC) oversee breeding records. Bulldogs were the fourth most popular purebreed in the US in 2016 according to the American Kennel Club.

History

The camps were originally established in the 1880s by H.P. McKenney who ran the place as a logging camp for many years and it is the historic site of McKenney’s famous log sluice built to run his logs from Bulldog to the Dead River, saving him a significant amount of mileage to the mill compared to his old route. A wooden dam was constructed at the outlet of Enchanted Pond in order to hold the water back until it was needed for the drive in the spring, although there was much speculation as to whether or not his sluice would actually work. In the spring of 1900, the first load of logs were guided into the sluice with success and the remnants of the old dam and sluice can still be found at the outlet of the pond.

Logging operations came to an end at Bulldog around 1908 and the place was immediately transformed into an active sporting camp. The camps were popular with anglers and sportsmen as the popularity of the region grew with visits from such notable figures as Henry David Thoreau and President Theodore Roosevelt. The Great Depression hit hard and business dropped in the 1930s and 1940s. The camps changed owners several times and in 1957, a couple by the name of Ruel & Hazel Orff bought the place and breathed new life into it, offering the traditional American Plan along with boat rentals, guide service, and float plane fly-in service. Unfortunately the main lodge burned down in the autumn of 1973, shortly after a change in ownership, and for the next few decades the cabins were available to rent on the housekeeping plan only.

Henry David Thoreau was an American essayist, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, yogi, and historian. A leading transcendentalist, Thoreau is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience", an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was an American statesman, sportsman, conservationist and writer who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He previously served as the 25th vice president of the United States from March to September 1901 and as the 33rd governor of New York from 1899 to 1900. As a leader of the Republican Party during this time, he became a driving force for the Progressive Era in the United States in the early 20th century. His face is depicted on Mount Rushmore, alongside those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. In polls of historians and political scientists, Roosevelt is generally ranked as one of the five best presidents.

Bulldog Camps transforms into a winter wonderland December-March. BulldogCampsWinterCabins.jpg — Bulldog Camps transforms into a winter wonderland December–March.

In 2005, current owner Darren Savage bought Bulldog and spent the next several years restoring it to its current state. One of the original 19th century cabins was converted into a new lodge and once again people can enjoy three home cooked meals a day on the traditional American Plan. As the camps had never been open during the winter before, all of the cabins were renovated with new roofs, porches, wood stoves, propane heaters, and full bathrooms with hot running water. A road was built down into the camps that were previously only accessible via 4x4 trail, hiking trail, or float plane. In 2009, the camps gained ownership of a remote camp on the southwest end of Enchanted, the only other building on the pond. This cabin, known as the “Warden’s Camp” was built in 1960 by the chief pilot for the Maine Warden Service and is rented out along with the six cabins at the main camp on the north shore.

The camps bring in the fisherman and ATVers in the spring, annual family vacationers in the summer, and hunters and leaf peepers in the fall.

Fishing & Hunting

Once believed to be bottomless, Enchanted Pond was eventually found to be little over 200 ft. deep, making it easily the deepest lake in the region and a great place to catch bright native brook trout in crystal clear oligotrophic waters.

Hunts are run in the fall from the last week of August through the first week of December and include hunts for bear, whitetail deer, moose, coyote, grouse, woodcock, and rabbit.

External links

Bulldog Camps on Enchanted Pond

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References

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