Plan for spring, or lose it

By Dave Stebbins
Turley Publications Columnist

If you’re like me and don’t like hitting the trails during the heat of the summer with all the sweat and biting insects, then your time is just around the corner.
On my calendar, the first day of spring is March 1. The spring season has three months, March, April and May. Why cut any season short such as spring, and place the first day way ahead like March 20? Therefore, fall comprises September, October and November and is also a great time to hit the trails with cooler weather and nearly the absence of annoying bugs. Both of those seasons give us six months of comfortable and nearly insect-free trails.
Don’t procrastinate like I do. I get up early on a beautiful Saturday morning and know I want to get out in the wild. Where should I go, I contemplate. Do I want to mountain bike, hike, or fish? Then I start pulling out all kinds of maps to help me decide. Now my kids are up, the sun is rising and I fix them breakfast. An hour goes by and still I’m pacing thinking about where to go and start making coffee. Now the worst part, my wife gets up. That can only mean my precious morning is utterly wasting away at an alarming rate.
I should have long been on the trail by now.
Here we go, panic starts to set in. It’s like 10 a.m., but I at least made it out the door. However, now I am standing at the back of my truck flipping through hiking books and more trail maps. The sun is high, it’s getting warm out, and then even more, the worst part is that out of the house come my wife and kids. They’re already dressed and getting into the minivan on their way to Wal-mart or somewhere. Now I’m stuck all alone. But hey, at least now I am sitting behind the wheel. But still aimless.
Well that settles it, it is now getting close to lunch and my poorly planed beautiful Saturday is half wasted. I have one last chance to start my truck and press on that gas pedal. Now, because it’s so late, I have to resort to going somewhere close by, instead of a more remote area like northeast of Quabbin or the Berkshires, I have to settle for someplace close to home like Brimfield State Forest or Nipmuck State forest in nearby Union, CT. Not that there is anything wrong with outings in those places, but, it’s just that often I prefer larger and more remote woodlands.
Don’t let this happen to you. I am not saying you need to plan out the whole warm season until next Labor Day, but at least start planning your March and April. If you’re getting itchy for spring trout like me, then write down the streams you want to hit and try not to let the weather stop you.
Get the stocking report each week as it comes out and get out there. Myself, I don’t get in line for stocked trout, the wild ones taste better, much better. You’ll find me deep in the small mountain creeks trying to fool some tricky brook trout. I thank God in heaven for making such places and such fish.
If hiking or mountain biking is your thing, then start laying out maps and writing down those places you wish to visit. Make a list and stick to it. Try new places. It’s always exciting to hike or bike new wilderness areas you have never seen before. If you need a detailed map of a particular state park or forest, contact the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and they will send you one, or you can print nearly all trail maps from their Web site. I challenge you to find a map of Oakham or Petersham State Forest though. Oh, how I wish they would print a map for those two areas. If you need some hard to find trail maps that are not provided by the state, and are looking for some beautiful remote areas for spring hikes, check these websites and request a map: http://www.northquabbinwoods.org/, http://www.thetrustees.org/
The worst thing is to want to get out and have a fruitful spring and hike and bike and breathe in that new air, and never really get out, then it’s gone. And now you’re getting ready to load up the family in the family truckster like Clark Griswold, for your “family vacation” at some expensive crowded hot beach. And as your driving there, you ask your wife, “where did spring go?”
Well, spring isn’t even here yet. Don’t lose it. It’s three months long. Keep track of time and enjoy every day, and get out...or before you know it you’ll find yourself waking up one morning staring at the ceiling, with your wife yelling at you, “Hurry up and get ready, we’re going to be late for my mother’s, it’s Thanksgiving you know! Hello?!
Good talk, I hope to see you out there.
P.S. If you’re interested in mountain creek fishing for wild trout, drop me an email.

Dave Stebbins lives in Wales. He can be reached at: stebbins777@gmail.com.