Norm L'Italien's Last Season

[D J Hayes]

I'm sure many folks on this forum know Norm from the Allagash. He's loaded and launched alot of canoes over the years and this is a nice tribute from Maine Public Radio I thought I would share.
All the best Norm!!

After 40 years of outfitting river trips, a mainstay of the Allagash is retiring

Norm L'Italien, owner of Pelletier's Campground in St. Francis, has outfitted and shuttled countless paddlers seeking adventure and solitude on one of Maine's most iconic rivers.

www.mainepublic.org

 

[VA paddler]

Norm gave us a ride to the top of the St John’s 20+ years ago. My buddy’s Virginia-plated truck had an anti-logging sticker on it and before we left Norm’s lot, he provided some good advice. Pretty safe here, eh? But everyone here makes their living cutting trees. Maybe peel that one off just to be on the safe side… (paraphrasing, of course…)

 

[sweeper]

We have used his services for 20 years and never had a problem.
My cousins lived across the highway from Norman and they got us started in canoe tripping.

Thank You Norman

 

[ReluctantFarmer]

Definately a fixture. 2/3 of my Allegash trips were him or his associates.

Presumably he has someone that’s going to take over? The trip isn’t as popular as it once was but I’m sure there’s still plenty of interest. As of last year it was for sale and I never heard if there was a buyer.