Authors note: I will not name the guide, but if you search my website, you will find my articles about my 2021 moose hunt.

In mid-June, thousands of people found out if they were the lucky recipient of a Moose permit. A year ago, my dad and I found ourselves fortunate enough to get a permit. What happened next sparked 8 months’ worth of calls and emails with guides, the Maine Professional Guides Association, hunters, wardens and investigators.

When Dad and I were drawn last year, I reached out to the guide that we used in 2021 and he assured me that we would be able to guide us again. I sent him a deposit and didn’t think anything of it.

When we showed up on the Sunday prior to the start of our September hunt, he was either still drunk from the night before or severely hung over. He admitted that he had had too much whiskey the night before. He informed us that he was going to be training another guide who had not hunted in Zone 2 before. We didn’t mind because in 2021, there were a ton of guides at camp, and they were all helping each of the hunting parties try to be successful.

But, this was different and we soon realized that we were the only people at camp. As I looked around the lodge, there was no food or drinks. The second guide showed up and had brought some water and some snacks. It was the only food at the lodge.

As a writer, I started journaling each of the days that we were there. I also sent daily updates to a friend and fellow hunter who was heading out on his hunt the following week.

Day 1: Guide slept most of the day. Argued with me about where we were going. I watched us on OnX get further and further from where we wanted to hunt.  Lost our spot for evening hunt to others due to this.

Day 2: Guide admitted he had not scouted. Said to use my app to figure out where we should go. Drove all day.  I have to help the second guide know where to go.  Food at the lodge was reheated and cold. I am so sad to think that this could be the last moose hunt that Dad and I go on together.

Day 3: Guide doesn’t know how to use his electronic called.  At daybreak, cranked it full bore and started with the turkey calls.  Then coyotes and called in a pack!  The other guide is just as frustrated as we are.  He said this was not what he signed up for.  Guide made sexist comments about me only being willing to talk about shoes, hair and bras.  I called him out on it and things got incredibly uncomfortable. Second guide and I heard one bull grunt in the afternoon and it was heading our way. Guide walked down the dirt road AT us and yelled asking if we had heard anything.  Blew any hopes of a hunt.

Day 4: Saw cow and calf. Started to rain.  Discouraged and disgusted, we are heading home.

The next Sunday, while on the treadmill, I posted the worst picture I had taken of myself and gave a quick recap of the days we were up there.  Before I finished my workout, it had gone viral.  View and comments were adding up fast. More than 175,000 people saw that post in the first few days.  It has now surpassed 250,000 views.

I started getting DMs from hunters who had horror stories about their moose guides.  Some reported being pressured to make bad shots. Others had ill-prepared guides without the necessary equipment to get a moose out of the woods. Others sent me photos of fly-infested campers and food being left out or reheated all week.  There were so many stories of hunters who paid thousands of dollars for miserable experiences.

One commenter suggested I contact the warden service about my hunt.  Folks from the Maine Professional Guides Association reached out as well. It was on a call with them that I received a fascinating bit of information; the guide that I had hired and paid was no longer a guide and in fact a convicted felon who had spent time in jail.  I tried to keep my composure as my head was reeling. How could this have happened? There was no way for me to have known this or checked to confirm his guide status.  Currently, there is no way for the general public to confirm the guide they hire is a qualified, legally registered guide.

I ended the call and contacted the warden service. I spoke to a few people there and the case got elevated to the investigator in northern Maine. I sent copies of Facebook messages between myself and the guide, my cancelled check and provided written testimony of how the days had gone. We talked on the phone several times. Finally, I got the call where he said, “there was not enough evidence” to move forward because I had no proof that the guide had handled a gun and broke the law.  The second guide was a legally registered Maine guide and while I did not know we were hunting on HIS license, and him being there made the hunt legal.  I was told that I could bring a case to civil court to try and get my money back but that was all that could be done.

I was shocked, disappointed and in disbelief; this man had completely conned us out of money and a decent attempt at a hunt, and he got away with it.

This moose hunt may have been the last one that Dad and I have together.  We each had more than 20 points before we were drawn and the odds of us being able to wait another 20 years is impossible. We will keep applying but we absolutely wont be heading to the Allagash.

So, if you are lucky enough to be heading out for a moose this fall, I hope you have done some research.

A moose hunt can be an once-in-a-lifetime hunt.  I would hate for more people to lose money and blow their permit on an unprofessional guide.

From one hunter to others, good luck to all! May you aim true and fill your freezer.