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Alfred Cooper is walking toward the morning light along the South shore beach of Katahdin Lake. He is getting an early start on a hunt. Alfred Cooper was the last guide who lived at Katahdin Lake year round with his wife Sue and their family of three boys. He would often describe how amazing it was for his family to meet so many interesting people who traveled there from all over the United States. In this painting the reflections of the Katahdin Birches in peak foliage create a tranquil quiet to the crisp morning air. 

Michael Recalls, " I set up my easel on the south shore beach of Katahdin Lake at 5am one morning to capture the Alpine Glow, the pinkish orange light of the morning sun that illuminates the top of Katahdin. I noticed two dark shapes walking on the shadowy beach toward the camp. When they came closer I was amazed to find they were two moose, a mother and her year old calf who was almost as big as her. They kept walking toward me and eventually turned right up through the camp trail staying in the camp's back meadow for about an hour before moving on. I was teaching a watercolor plein air workshop through Maine College of Art at the time and a women artist got so excited that she edged too close to the calf who was between her and the mother. She was trying to fill the viewfinder of her instomatic camera with this once-in-a-lifetime subject. I'll never forget how the whole peaceful scene changed to impending doom when the mother's ears turned down and her head decended toward the women. She was going to charge and I was about to see my student trampled right before my eyes. Knowing the signs of what was going down, Alfred Cooper was already running toward the women shouting from the other side of the camp for her to step back. I heard the 'click' of the camera as she slowly stepped back to give them their space. When she did this the moose' countenances changed back to the peaceful demeanor she had before and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. At breakfast, not wanting to make much light of how close she had gotten to being trampled by the moose, I asked the leading question, ' You must have captured an awesome shot of the moose?' and she replied 'yeah, but I just discovered that I forgot to put film in my camera'. True story. If fact there were many events like that one that always reminded us of how nature was always in control and we were living in a wilderness environment. But the one thing that I was aware of the most is how the Maine Guide, in this case Alfred Cooper, looked after us from the moment we hiked down the Katahdin Lake trail to when we returned to our cars." 

It is still like that today but with a new Maine guide, Holly Hamilton. The Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps and their staff do an excellent job looking after their guest's every need, including their safety.