It's a lot easier looking back than trying to predict the future, which is why this Sunday, the last of 2008, is a good one for a thumbnail recap of outdoor stories I remember for one reason or another, saving the crystal ball predictions for next Sunday.

The article that drew the most e-mails was my hike to Lower AuSable Lake in June. It wasn't supposed to be so controversial, as I had planned just a mellow piece on the four-mile hike to what I had read was a beautiful lake. The trip, however, didn't go as planned; along the way I was harassed by Ausable Club security people because I was a writer, and they didn't want their place or the trail (really a truck road) publicized. I chose to write the story anyway, and actually downplayed what really happened.

Judging from reader response, I was not the only hiker who felt uncomfortable there. Many others had experienced problems while using that road, a state-acquired access to major High Peak trails. As part of that deal, the state (you and I) pays part of the Ausable Club's taxes for the right to use the access!

Last winter was a tough one, snow-wise, especially in the Adirondacks, and as a result, we lost more deer than most of us had first thought. The deer-hunting results for the Northern Zone may reflect this. They were to be out by Christmas; tallying is now done by computer and the season has been over for weeks, yet I haven't received anything from the Department of Environmental Conservation. Unfortunately for the deer, this winter is starting like the last one.

The Plattsburgh Christmas Bird Count results are in, and 59 species were identified — 9,403 birds according to Count Coordinator Judy Heintz. The real find was a northern hawk owl, a rare species for New York. Whether it's due to global warming or something else, for the first time I heard a flock of Canada geese over my woodlot in the Adirondacks in December, and that was two weeks ago. That same week, I saw a couple of great blue herons flying overhead, though every pond and brook in the immediate area was frozen. A week or so ago, a reader from Plattsburgh sent in a photo of a robin.

Lake Champlain issues were in the forefront this past year, with focus shifting slightly from lampreys to cormorants and invasive species. There has been some cormorant control on the Four Brothers Islands off Willsboro, with the Nature Conservancy and DEC working together on egg oiling. The fish-eating cormorants have increased to the point of nuisance status.

Early in 2008, to combat the spread of fish diseases, DEC enacted a regulation that forbids live bait fish from being transported from one watershed to another. In the spring, another regulation was passed requiring firewood to be limited to delivery in a 50-mile radius from where it was cut, and camp wood, sold near state campgrounds, to have signs on it certifying it was locally cut. I wonder how many wood cutters have complied with these new regulations?

Also covered in 2008 was my hike on the new trail up Lyon Mountain — a little longer than the original, but a lot easier. Another apparent success, at least locally, is the new Youth Mentor Hunting regulation that allows 14- and 15-year-olds to hunt big game if they are accompanied by a licensed adult hunter. There was a story on this, as well.

All of these stories can be found on our Web site, www.pressrepublican.com. Go to the search box and type in Dennis Aprill. All of last year's articles should appear.

Field Notes
The year 2008 also marked a change in ownership of a major North Country outdoor supplier — The Wooden Ski and Wheel, just south of Plattsburgh.

I have known Ed and Maureen Gardner, the original owners, for years, maybe decades, and they are a class act. It was never easy getting out of the store without a philosophical discussion of some sort with Ed. They always pertained to some outdoor issue on his mind.

I wish them well, and Ed, I hope you now finally have time to hike the Appalachian Trail. I wish I could join you.

E-mail Dennis Aprill at: daprill2000@yahoo.com