By Mitch Lee
As a 10-year-old in the spring of 1976, all I wanted to do as the snow was retreating was move all over the woods and check on my old haunts.
Just the smell of the earth as my new boots plunged along the mushy forest floor was enough to make me feel as if I had Super Hero-like powers.
My dog Mutt was just as enthused as I was to scramble up the backside of Seventh Lake Mountain and see what sorts of fun we could have for ourselves.
I started out at a jog, weaving around any snow that lingered in the darker areas and avoiding overtly muddy areas as best as I could.
As we zig-zagged through the woods we must have looked half-crazed.
When the snow started to creep in around us and the bare ground started to disappear it became more difficult to find a good path.
It was as if we were in a maze.
Mutt was not as good at following the thawed ground pathways and cut through the snow wherever she wished.
But I held fast to only the bare ground as I dashed back several times on areas I had already covered.
When we came to the top of the slope and it seemed we were hemmed in by snow at every turn, I used a long stick to vault myself from one Island of open ground to the next.
When the stick broke in two and left me rear-first in a pile of dirty snow the game was finished—the mountain had won.
As the dampness creeped through my blue jeans I caught my breath and filled my lungs with the spring air.
Through the trees I could see Limekiln Lake, white and still covered in ice.
The ice would hold on a while longer as a reminder of winter.
Mutt came over and collapsed beside me and chomped on some snow to quench her thirst.
We both sat and enjoyed that first spring day with our jitters almost gone.
Our quest was not over however as we had to plot a course down the mountain on the open ground and see if we could find some places we might have missed on the way up.
It takes hours for ten-year-old boys to rid themselves of the Spring jitters, growing up Adirondack.
Mitch Lee, Adirondack native & storyteller,
lives at Inlet. ltmitch3rdny@aol.com