What was the biggest thrill: awaiting the moose that would appear nightly for some lakeside dining, munching placidly on shoreline grasses? Or watching a bald eagle skim the water's surface before swooping up to the highest reaches of a dead pine? Or was it the float-plane trip above Churchill Lake and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway?

Such were the sights and experiences distilled from a memorable trip to Bradford Camps on Munsungan Lake, deep in the Maine North Woods, accessible only by plane or a long, dusty, overland drive along logging roads from Route 11 in Ashland.

The remoteness of Bradford and other similar backcountry destinations -- and the time, distance, and planning required to reach such splendid isolation -- are a big part of their attraction. A number go back to the turn of the century and beyond, and bespeak a tradition of the outdoors that is being sustained by the Maine sporting camp.

A number of these lodges were built to accommodate upper-class gentlemen eager to sate their desire for rugged hunting and fishing experiences. They would arrive by train, some on private cars. Other camps were built as more primitive outposts by North Woods outdoorsmen and their families.

Those who remain now cater to outdoors lovers of all stripes -- anglers and shooters, to be sure, but also paddlers, hikers and mountain bikers, even birders and other wildlife watchers.

A new book we would certainly recommend for those interested in such an experience would be Alice Arlen's "In the Maine Wood's: An Insider's Guide to Traditional Maine Sporting Camps" (The Countryman Press).

Readers not only get the who, what and where of almost 80 camps, but each profile comes with short, first-person accounts from owners or others associated with each lodge. Local lore, flora and fauna reports, even favorite recipes, are part of Arlen's delightful mix.

We were heartened to see the Bradford Camps deemed worthy of a write-up. The eight cabins on the north side of Munsungan Lake, north of Baxter State Park, are located on the cusp of the Aroostook and Allagash watersheds.

Under the new ownership of Karen and Igor Sikorsky -- yup, he's the grandson of the helicopter designer -- the fishing and hunting at Bradford remain spectacular.

(Bradford also operates a more remote, floatplane access camp on Big Reed Pond, where one can fish for the rare blue-back trout.) The Sikorsky's also offer hiking, canoeing, whitewater rafting trips -- and, at the end of the day, great dinners. "We're big eaters up here," Karen said with a chuckle. "So good food is very critical."