Face Time: Gary Cobb — Mr. Outdoorsman

There are people who appreciate the outdoors and then there are people like Gary Cobb of North New Portland, who live and breathe the outdoors.

He has loved the outdoors since he was a boy. He and his wife, Betty, of 52 years, started and operated a successful boys’ wilderness camp for 17 years in a remote area of Maine. They instilled the love of the outdoors in their own children and those whose lives they touched.

One piece of knowledge Gary Cobb would share with young outdoor enthusiasts is to “strive to conserve our natural woods and waters of Maine.”

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife recognized Cobb in September as one of three men in Maine to receive the Lifetime Outdoor Achievement Award. He was nominated for his work involving the Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust.

Name: Gary F. Cobb

Age: 74

Married: wife, Betty.

Town: North New Portland

Job: Maine Sporting Camp proprietor-retired

How did you come to love the outdoors? I was born and raised in a family that hunted, fished and worked in the outdoors. I first hunted with my grandfather when I was 10 years old and shot my first deer. A huge influence was my eighth-grade teacher, Mr. Thompson. He was a true outdoorsman and explorer and I patterned much of my teaching after him.

I was 16 years old when my parents bought Pierce Pond Camps. That was a huge endeavor for my family considering it was across the state — about a four-hour drive. My sisters and I stayed in Lee with my grandparents while school was in session. I tried to catch a ride to the camps every weekend. I was awestruck by the beauty of the pond and the old cabins. I started guiding as soon as I could and got my guide’s license when I was 18.

Have you instilled your passion for the outdoors in your children? I believe so. They grew up amidst the operation of a boys’ wilderness camp and both worked at Pierce Pond Camps as soon as they were able. Our son, Andy, is now the third generation to run the camps. Daughter Jennifer has worked as a wilderness trip leader and her family spends as much time as they can in the woods and at Pierce Pond. I think they both realize how fortunate they were to grow up in this setting.

How did you share your outdoor skills, love of the land and water with others? Primarily through the boys’ wilderness camp, Wilderness Bound. It came naturally to me to teach outdoor skills . . . cooking over a fire, fly fishing, tree identification and such. At Pierce Pond Camps, along with fishing and hunting, we initiated other ways for people to enjoy the outdoors, such as nature weekends with experts who taught flower and tree identification. A former camper and artist, Bryan Nash Gill, led mushroom-gathering expeditions. We had a geologist come to talk about the glacial history. We explored the Dead River area and around the watershed where I knew of old logging camps. I often took hunters to check out old settlements and search for cellar and well holes.

Did you and your family ever rough it in the wilderness? We lived two winters at the camps when the kids were young. We bought a house in town when Jennifer started school. It wasn’t exactly roughing it. We were very comfortable. We had no electricity and had to haul our water from a hole in the ice. The only way to get there was by snowmobile, but we had company many weekends.

Our family vacation every year was camping for a week on an island in the Upper Pierce Pond with the Wilderness Bound campers. I wouldn’t exactly call that roughing it either. Those were wonderful days.

What accomplishments are you most proud of? I was always interested in the history of the area, and put it together into a book: “The History of Pierce Pond.” I learned to fly a plane — always a goal of mine. Conservation has always been a priority for me and I am thankful I had the opportunity to work on legislation such as fly-fishing-only laws on small ponds. I feel very fortunate that I spent some years showing young men the best parts of Maine, such as the Allagash and St. John rivers, Mt. Katahdin and the Bigelow Mountains.

What was your involvement in the Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust? I knew it was important to do something, because development was coming closer and closer. I invited a group of interested guests, landowners and state officials for a meeting in Portland. The trust has been very successful and continues in the mission to protect the Pierce Pond watershed for future generations to enjoy.