It seems like it was just yesterday, and it was April 5^th, the first day on the calender I spend out in the wilderness camping. It was the wilds of Chenango County, camping at Balsam Lake with there still being a fair bit of snow on the ground in parts, and the pond was well frozen. It would be over a month until the leaves returned to the Adirondacks – I would go up to the Adirondacks two times after the 5^th, and there would still be no leaves on the trees and ice still around.

Where did the summer of my 30^th year go so fast? I guess there was many great adventures as my camera and dwindling checking account would suggest. And there would be another year of trips and places and small towns to see on my 31^st year, as soon as the winter relents in April. But in the mean-time there will be be winter. The camping gear has been packed away or is in the process of being packed away, the readily-burnable styrofoam plates and camping cooler have already been locked away in the attic. Christmas lights that kept the campsites cheery over the months, are now hung in the apartment, and inverter in my truck is just doing do light duty, keeping my cellphone charged during shorter road trips.

I thought about getting a snowmobile and spending more time in the back country in the winter, but put it off in favor of doing the lift kit on my truck next April. Winter is cold, and even with a sled, I don’t know how much camping I would do at any rate. Winter nights are long – something I learned on my last camping trip, when there was 15 hours of darkness with the sun setting around 4:15 PM. My snowshoes will work well enough for the occasional winter trip – I think I’d rather save the gasoline for more warm weather trips once the snow melts.

As much as anyone, I am looking forward to April after a few quite, solemn months, where I will spend  writing new code for my blog, doing essays, and making up new maps. Winter is a good time to think about the next year’s adventures. Sitting by the warm radiator with a book beats sitting in the cold snow in darkness. April I will get the lift kit and the 35s on my truck, and be out on my first adventure – most likely to the Finger Lakes National Forest. It should be fun.