Mike Patterson is the owner, head guide, and chief cook and bottle washer of the "Wilds of Maine Guide Service." An avid outdoor enthusiast, Mike's love of paddling started with earning his 'canoe merit' badge on the way to becoming an Eagle Scout. A native Mainer of Belfast, Maine, he worked in the shipbuilding industry following graduation from the Maine Maritime Academy in Marine Engineering. After 23 years of spending all his vacation and weekends on the water, he turned his real passion into his full-time profession. It's been fourteen years and millions of strokes since.
Mike is past president of the Professional Maine Guides Association and a 17-year veteran Boy Scouts of America leader. He is featured in Canoe & Kayak's Special Anniversary Issue of October 2003, and his articles have appeared in National Geographic Adventure, November 2002, and in Paddler Magazine, May/June and July/August 2002. Over the years he has been a whitewater canoeing instructor for the Appalachian Mountain Club, and winner of the Northeast Divisional Championship for canoe poling. He continues to offer instruction in poling - see our Schedule. His other pursuits have included mountaineering, ice climbing, and cross-country and downhill skiing, including instructing for Maine's ski resorts.
He's usually found paddling somewhere nine months of the year with guests and friends, and wife, Shauna. In November and December he's helping folks make their Christmas merrier by operating a Christmas tree and wreath lot. January finds him in the office and barn getting ready for the next paddling season, but he still finds time to participate in his winter pleasures of skiing and snowshoeing.
Course he's always ready to talk about rivers, or his favorite haunts in Maine. Call or email anytime:
Mike is past president of the Professional Maine Guides Association and a 17-year veteran Boy Scouts of America leader. He is featured in Canoe & Kayak's Special Anniversary Issue of October 2003, and his articles have appeared in National Geographic Adventure, November 2002, and in Paddler Magazine, May/June and July/August 2002. Over the years he has been a whitewater canoeing instructor for the Appalachian Mountain Club, and winner of the Northeast Divisional Championship for canoe poling. He continues to offer instruction in poling - see our Schedule. His other pursuits have included mountaineering, ice climbing, and cross-country and downhill skiing, including instructing for Maine's ski resorts.
He's usually found paddling somewhere nine months of the year with guests and friends, and wife, Shauna. In November and December he's helping folks make their Christmas merrier by operating a Christmas tree and wreath lot. January finds him in the office and barn getting ready for the next paddling season, but he still finds time to participate in his winter pleasures of skiing and snowshoeing.