Seven weeks remain until New Years Day.

My vacation time is rapidly getting depleted for the year, the nights are long, but I want to do a few more trips, probably tacked onto holiday weekends so to minimize the time burned up of my remaining vacation. Much could change between then in now, the weather is definitely a wildcard with extreme cold, snow and rain potentially requiring changes to the plans. There are other weekends I could tack time onto to take off, but it gets difficult with family celebrations and other things happening during the month of December.

East Branch Sacandaga River – Black Friday through Cyber Monday

I am thinking I will likely head up to the East Branch Sacandaga River come the day after Thanksgiving. By then hunting season will be winding down in the Northern Zone, and being off of NY 8 I won’t have to worry about snow or bad road conditions, though if the snow is deep I might want to reconsider. It’s been a few years since I’ve camped up that way, and while I don’t enjoy the road noise, there is always a lot to explore up that way and it could be pared with a hike in Lake George or Warrensburg-area. I’ve never been up Prospect Mountain, and it might be a fun hike before heading up to camp for the balance of the week through that Monday, which I would have to take off from work.

Charles Baker State Forest – Friday December 22nd through Christmas Day

I am thinking of taking a three-night trip on days leading up to Christmas to Charles Baker State Forest in Brookfield Madison County. While off-road trails are closed to mountain biking during the winter months, I could ride some of the forest roads or hike or ski. Also go down and spend time at the Rogers Nature Center in Sherburne, hike or bike the Chenango Canal Trail and other roads nearby. Probably camp at the Horse Camp as that’s lower elevation and not so cold — and the risk of snowy and icy roads is less compared to Cherry Ridge. While Cherry Ridge is plowed most of the way to campground, that road is only plowed for emergency vehicles and is quite steep unlike that of the Horse Camp which is a blacktop county highway. But certainly plans could change based on the weather.

Rensselaerville State Forest – Friday December 29th through New Years Day

I am going to be sole director in my unit on that final Friday of December, so I can’t take that day off, however I am hoping I can leave the office early at 2 PM for a three-day weekend at Rensselearville State Forest that isn’t too far from my office — only about a half hour and get set up before it’s too dark out. Worse comes to worse, I can set up on Saturday morning.

But the idea is if I camp there it’s not far from home, but I can have some nice winter nights camping, assuming it’s not too cold or wet. If it’s snowy that’s fine, the road is plowed year round and I can dig out the campsite that is unlikely to be in high demand. And it would be fun to wish away the old year, and ring in the new one camping up in the wilderness, with a good fire waiting for mid-night to roll around.