Years ago, I worked at a moose check station with biologist Lee Kantar out of Kokadjo. Many hunters passed by, but one vehicle still stands out. It had a platform built in the bed of the truck and four camp chairs bolted down — two in front, two in back.
That was their hunt: driving around on logging roads, scanning the landscape from their truck seats and hoping to spot a moose from their elevated positions. They probably had road sodas, too. This type of hunting was lame then, and it’s lame now.
So when I see outfitters posting photos of successful hunts that show wall tents, moose quarters and hunters hauling meat out of the woods, I get excited. For me, a real moose hunt is about the wild, hands-on experience and skill — not just driving until you get lucky.
While backcountry hunting is common out West, where terrain demands it, many Maine hunters don’t hunt this way. I know people who will spend hours using a trailer, ropes and a chainsaw winch to haul a whole moose out of the woods. It would be far easier to quarter and pack it out, I often thought.
Some Maine hunters don’t even know how to skin and quarter a moose, let alone a deer. That’s why I’m glad to see guides showcasing this style of hunt in our state. Too many people spend their entire week road-hunting — driving, glassing and wondering why they haven’t seen anything.
One outfitter taking the backcountry approach is Jerod Kronholm, co-owner of Big Mountain Outfitters. He has been hunting moose for about 20 years and launched his business in 2018. His team primarily guides in wildlife management zones 1, 2, 4 and 5.
“Most of the people that call us have been applying for 20, 30, 40 years, so they already have a good idea of what they want,” Kronholm said. “By the time they call us, they’ve usually spoken to four or five other guide services.”
What sets his operation apart is focus. Big Mountain Outfitters is moose-only — they don’t guide bear hunts or anything else. “That’s the biggest component to my business. It allows us to spend way more time scouting for someone’s hunt,” he said.
Many of their clients have hunted moose in Maine before, often from the road, and they’re ready to try something new. Kronholm says the biggest reason people stick to vehicle hunts is fear — they don’t know what’s involved in packing out an animal that large.
“When someone actually quarters out a moose and realizes it’s really not that hard, especially when you have four or five people to help you, they never go back,” he said.
In addition to packing out the moose, Big Mountain Outfitters benefits from a streamlined process for handling and preserving the meat. Partnering with Westbrook Deer Processing, a butcher with a mobile walk-in cooler and a tagging station in Clayton Lake, they can tag and chill a moose within hours.
When tagging stations are closed, hunters would otherwise have to figure out how to keep meat cool in 70-degree weather. The Clayton Lake cooler is only about 35 minutes from their camp, so the meat is handled quickly — far easier than driving all the way to Ashland to tag the moose.
Kronholm is selective about the clients he books. Physical ability and expectations matter in the backcountry. He and two other guides are paramedics, so they understand health and safety in the field.
At camp, hunters stay in private wall tents with wood stoves, extra-large cots and a dedicated cook. “All of our meals are prepared — you don’t have guides doing that,” he said. “That leads to fatigue. If a guide has to get up at 3 a.m. every day, it’s not going to be a fun week for them.” The tents are stocked with firewood when clients are out hunting. It’s a full-service setup, even though it’s remote.
Kronholm takes vacation from his regular job every fall to focus entirely on hunting from September through November. To guide in the North Maine Woods, outfitters must carry insurance and hold a commercial-use permit. Those operating in Zone 1 also need a special outfitter permit. Big Mountain Outfitters meets all of those requirements, one of only a few fully permitted operations in the region.
The September bull hunt was difficult this year across all zones, with lower success rates compared to last year. “The drought was a big key component, and the conditions we had during the hunting week itself were just warm and also with variable winds,” Kronholm said.
One of their hunters had 10 different bulls approach at various times but was winded each time. Experience, however, allowed the guides to focus on the dark, cooler areas of the forest. When they moved into cedar bogs, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees — and that’s where many of the moose were found — in low, wet pockets that held water.
“That’s where you needed to be hunting,” Kronholm said.
Hunters need to adjust to changing weather conditions and, because ATVs aren’t allowed in the North Maine Woods, be prepared to pack out their moose on foot. Success often requires leaving the roads and crowds behind. Kronholm is passionate about this style of hunting and hopes to see it grow, though he believes it hasn’t been promoted well.
The backcountry approach offers a sense of accomplishment that a road hunt simply can’t match. It’s about embracing the whole experience, from the quiet of the wilderness to the labor-intensive but rewarding process of packing out a large animal.
