When the winter blues bite.

Old Vermont Barn waiting it out….

Old barns are plentiful in Vermont. This old working barn sits in the Stowe area waiting for spring. The Black and white image speaks to the mood as we reach the ending days of winter.

Hitting us hard….

Winter blues have hit hard this year.  The weekends that were available were colder than we like to camp.  Yes, we are wimps especially when it is -15.  Imagine the scenario:  you head out into the wilderness; it is a beautiful brisk January day with the sun as high in the sky as it goes during the winter.  It is warm and every cell in your body is energized to spend time in the trees. 

Arrival at camp is later in the afternoon, but it is still bright with about an hour and a half left to gently relax into your evening.  Setting up camp in the cold is seamless and finding what’s for dinner is just a matter of opening the refrigerator and grabbing a pot and the cook stove.  But as you are sitting down with the hot leftover stew made the week before, the real cold starts to set in.  Even inside the camper, with insulated walls and warm clothes it is just cold to the bone.  The dog, a summer dog right to the core, is already in the upper bunk curled into the sleeping bags. 

The Sun….

The sun has descended, no heater in the truck but you are tough, hunkering down is not a stretch for you at all. The refusal to concede is high on the list.  “We won’t die, it’s only 20 degrees”.  Now THIS is laughable.  Camping at 20 degrees, believe it or not, is actually not awful with the right gear and a dog to keep you warm. 

The morning brings a shine to the metal on the camper, and a bit of frost on the interior.  It is a hustle to make your breakfast and coffee.  You may be thinking, “A hot breakfast would be lovely”.  Sadly, the hot food truck DOES NOT show up in the Green Mountain National Forest.  So, the insulated coffee mug and a bagel or yogurt it is. 

All of this sounds wonderful right?  Managing 20 degrees is quite nice although brisk.  If you are lucky enough to be camping next to a stream and wake up to crackling ice on that stream and a little snow falling, even better.  The beauty of the cold is what keeps you coming back time after time. This is also what most of us crave in the last months of winter in Vermont. 

You have enjoyed the beginnings of the season with expectation. The excitement of the first snow, those HUGE snowflakes that make you stand outside arms out, tongue out as you look up to the sky and smile as if you were 5.  By the end of January and certainly the end of February, YOU ARE OVER IT!!!!.  The snow has had to be shoveled way too many times but hasn’t been deep enough to snowshoe (some people don’t ski).  The days have been short with fewer sunny days than you would like. 

Nature speaks to you…

Nature begins to call you in your sleep.  It whispers that it misses you.  It asks you to find a way to get outside.  “Do what you can” it says.  “Brave the cold,” it says.  That is when you begin the planning and are ready to jump in headfirst into the cold whatever it takes.  

Then, January and February weather does what it does and brings the coldest days.  Those days of negative temps (Fahrenheit) that freezes the skin after 10 minutes.  Those temperatures that make you grab a pitcher of hot water to throw in the air and watch it freeze.  Now those are just WAY TOO COLD. 

So, what is it a body is to do when the winter blues reach up out of yet another snow storm and grab you by the turtleneck and shake you until you faint?  I am always open to suggestions but a light lamp isn’t enough.  But I believe in the planning of an overnight camping trip and being prepared by packing the truck to run, nearly at a moment’s notice.  The temp is above 20 with a low still not in the single digits and YOU GO!

You grab the dog, the truck and your food, no this isn’t a country song, and you just GO. 

The alternative is to wither away, wish it were summer, wait until conditions are right and everything is perfect, and you let yet another opportunity slip away. 

And…. I am out !!!

Pardon me while I close out so I can start packing the truck…. Who is with me?  I am out of here . . . . .