HOPE – Dozens of women headed to the woods this weekend but contrary to stereotypical profiles, there was no screaming when worms were put on fish hooks as bait, no lagging behind during a hike and no cries of “The water’s cold!” while canoeing.

More than 85 women from all over New England landed on the shores of Lake Megunticook to become outdoorswomen, learning skills as basic as popping up a dome tent to the technical art of fly-tying. Women from teens to elders gathered at Camp Bishopswood over three days for the sixth annual Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Weekend.

BOW is a national program, sponsored in every state and adopted in Maine in 1997. It received legislative authorization this year through the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Organizer Dorcas Miller is an expert outdoorswoman and has written three books on outdoor living and experiences.

“Many women never had the chance to learn how to hunt, fish, canoe,” said Miller. If they have, it may have been a frustrating experience learning from a husband or boyfriend, or maybe Dad took her brothers out hunting and she never was invited along, said Miller. “She may never have steered a canoe from the stern because she’s light and always got stuck in the front.”

But Title IX, which guarantees females the same sports opportunities as males in high schools and colleges, has changed all that, said Miller. “Girls today are getting more exposure and participation in team sports and that spills over into outdoor activities,” she said. “The daughters of my friends are out there kayaking and doing all sorts of things that I’d never heard of at their age.”

For other women, the BOW program provides a path to return to their heritage.

Vesta Billing, a BOW volunteer, said that as a girl growing up in Maine, it was essential that she hunt. “It was just a part of our lives. We hunted to eat,” she said, sitting quietly Saturday in the camp lodge. But as she grew up, Billing also grew farther and farther from her outdoors heritage. “The world is going so fast and people are so busy.”

“This is a reconnection,” she said. “And three days of networking with other women is very appealing.”

The goal of BOW is to offer hunting and fishing lessons along with outdoor recreational skills. “We’re not trying to make bloodthirsty women,” joked Lisa Kane, a natural science educator at DIF&W who was an instructor this weekend.

“We find that women are looking to get out and do stuff on their own,” said Kane. “They learn new skills and hone existing ones and also are finding their partners are really supportive. The husbands are now saying, “My wife went to that. I used to be able to get away to fish and hunt. Now she’s going with me!”

Camp Bishopswood’s 70 wooded acres and Lake Megunticook provided the perfect classroom for three days of instruction.

Classes included firearms and range safety, basic fishing and fly-fishing skills, fur-bearing animals and trapping, basic canoeing, archery, hiking, backpacking and camping, bird hunting, muzzleloading, map and compass, decoy carving, fly tying, campfire cuisine, landscaping with native plants and orienteering.

DIF&W provided in-kind support, such as marketing, instructors and equipment, while other costs were covered by admission fees, donations and a few grants.

Diane Reynolds of Hampden, a retired schoolteacher, has been coming to the outdoors weekends since their creation and this year graduated from student to volunteer instructor.

“This has enriched my life in so many ways,” she said. Although she has been fly-fishing and hunting extensively with her husband – Reynolds shot a moose, deer and bear all in one season, all with one shot each – she finds special enjoyment in sharing her love of the outdoors with other women.

“There is such a lack of competition and an abundance of patience,” she said.

More than one participant mentioned patience as the reason they came to the retreat rather than learning the skills from their husbands or other men.

Anita Perkins of Connecticut said, “Guys are just not as patient. My husband tried, but it was like when your dad tried to teach you to drive. It just didn’t work.”

Kimberly Shipp of Morrisville, Pa., said this was her first trip to Maine. “I just wanted to learn something new in a noncompetitive atmosphere.”

Miller, who has taught outdoor skills to both men and women, said that as a generalization a women’s group is more supportive. “The women I’ve taught come with a real eagerness to learn because they haven’t had the opportunities before. They come with the confidence to try something new that may be intimidating,” she said. “They’re less intimidated about asking questions and they don’t feel foolish about inexperience. With other women, it’s just more fun.”

She said that during classes, women are “more vocal about it. They’re always encouraging one another.”

Along with learning new skills, the peaceful setting at Camp Bishopswood allowed busy women to “get away from it all.”

Kelly Supple is a physician in Presque Isle who took the Maine Guides course this summer and loves fly-fishing. “I’m here for personal enrichment,” she said, acknowledging that a three-day getaway is a great prescription.

Miller agreed. “It’s like being an adult and getting to go to camp,” she said. And for women, “it’s particularly nice to have someone else cook the meals and clean up.”