It’s official — the deposit is down, and this fall we’re heading to the North Maine Woods for our first black bear hunt.
I’ve been chasing whitetail in Pennsylvania for years, but a bear hunt has been sitting on my list for a long time. There’s something about the North Country — the remoteness, the size of the animal, the skill it takes — that kept pulling at me. So when the chance came to book a guided hunt with a lodge that knows that country cold, we said yes.
Where we’re going
We’re hunting with North Country Lodge out of Patten, Maine — right on the edge of the North Maine Woods, in the shadow of Mount Katahdin. It’s a family-run operation (Brett & Aliza Gerrish), and that mattered to us. We didn’t want a factory; we wanted people who treat a hunt like the once-in-a-lifetime trip it can be.
Our week is the second week of the bear-over-bait season — September 6–12, 2026. We arrive Sunday afternoon and hunt hard through the week, sitting bait stations in the long Maine evenings and hoping a good bear steps out before last light.
What it actually takes (the honest version)
If you’ve never looked into an out-of-state bear hunt, here’s the real picture beyond the deposit. As non-residents, we still need a Maine Big Game License and a Bear Permit on top of the hunt package — both available through Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife or over the counter in town. You need a prior hunting license or hunter-safety certificate to buy them. And gratuities for the guides and kitchen staff aren’t part of the package — these folks work hard, and they earn it.
None of that is a complaint. It’s just the stuff nobody tells you when you start dreaming about a trip like this, and I’d rather lay it out plainly. If you’re thinking about your own hunt someday, knowing the full cost up front is half the battle.
Why we’re doing this
For us, a trip like this is never just about the hunt. It’s about getting off the grid for a week, putting the phone down, and being somewhere wild enough to remind you how small you are and how good God is. It’s the quiet of a tree stand at dusk. It’s a shared meal at a lodge table with people you just met. It’s the kind of memory that doesn’t show up in a feed.
That’s the heart of what we’re building here at OurFIREFamilia — a life that’s rich in the things that actually matter: family, faith, and a few good adventures along the way.
Follow along
I’ll be documenting the whole thing — the prep, the gear, the licensing headaches, the long sits, and (Lord willing) the harvest. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to put together a guided out-of-state hunt, this’ll be a front-row seat.
More to come. The countdown is on. 🐻