Combat Cabin Fever with Outdoor Activities
Combat Cabin Fever with Outdoor Activities
The winter lull has hit and those of us who love the outdoors sit there wondering, “Now what do I do?” The hunting season has closed, spring Turkey season doesn’t open for a few months, and you are itching to do something outside but you just don’t know what there is to remedy your cabin fever!
Well, let me throw a few ideas your way. Ideas that might be great for you as an outdoor individual as well as some ideas that might be great for a family to do together!
Cabin Fever Option #1
Snowshoeing. That’s right, take a hike in the snow!
I’m not sure if you’ve paid much attention to what’s out there for snow shoes, but the big, bulky snow shoes of old look very different nowadays! They aren’t the bent willow saplings that are weaved with rawhide anymore. Modern snowshoes are compact, colorful, and size adjustable.
Hop on Amazon and look at your options. You can find snowshoes for as little as $30 or spend up to a couple of hundred! Regardless, having a pair of snowshoes come February will open up a door of fun and refreshing outings that you may not have ever thought of before. Walking in the snow could be fun again instead of a tiring, exhausting, chore.
The counties of Iowa have some great hiking trails that many only consider during the “fair weather” months of the year. Why not jump on those during the winter and early spring months? Get out of the house and take a walk/hike to take in some of the amazing scenes that you might only see during those times of year.
Cabin Fever Option #2
Shed hunting. Take a hike and find some antlers! If you’ve taken me up on the previous idea, just add this to it!
Deer begin to lose their antlers in February. They will do so over the next few months preparing to grow a new set starting in May. These antlers can be found in a variety of places. Bedding areas, feeding areas/food plots, fence crossing, deer trails, and many more. All lying on the ground for someone or something to find.
What do you do with them? That’s up to you! If you are crafty, antlers can be made into knife handles, buttons, decorations, and even whistles! Some use them for dog chews. And others sell them for a little bit of cash.
For hunters, if you are finding sheds to bucks that you recognize, it’s a good sign that particular buck made it safely through the hunting seasons and you can be looking for him when the next one rolls around!
Cabin Fever Option #3
Maple Syrup. Gathering and processing maple syrup is a fun and beneficial activity! My family has been gathering and processing maple syrup for about 10 years now. It’s something that we look forward to every year. And the product of our efforts we enjoy and share through the months following.
When the spring temperatures reach above freezing during the daytime and below freezing during the night, you better be tapping your trees to gather their sap. That’s the weather conditions that you need to be watching for in order to know when to start.
Most of the supplies that you need to begin to tap trees you can find easily and cheaply on Amazon. Personally, I only bought my spiles (the object you tap into the tree) from Amazon. The rest of the items that you’ll need, you just might have lying around in your garage.
After the spile, you’ll need some sort of hook that can be screwed into the tree as well as a bucket to catch your sap. I use a regular plastic 5-gallon bucket.
Once you have your supplies, find a south-facing side of a maple tree and pick a spot about 36 inches up from the ground. Drill an upward hole four inches to six inches deep and tap your spile into the drilled hole. Place your hook below the spile and hang your bucket on the hook to catch the sap that will drip from the spile. You might consider adding a plastic tube from the spile into your bucket to make sap gathering a bit more accurate.
At the peak of the run, I’ve gathered as much as 3 gallons in one day from a large maple tree!
Once the sap is gathered, you must start the long process of boiling it down. 5 gallons of sap will bring you about 1 pint of syrup. I do most of my boiling on an outdoor gas stove. Once it gets close, I bring it inside to finish the process. Generally, when your sap begins to “foam” rather than boil, you are at the point of syrup!
Cabin Fever Option #4
Trout Fishing. Believe it or not, Iowa has some incredible trout streams that begin to open up pretty early in the spring. The trout hatcheries will post their stocking schedules and you can make sure to be present when those streams are stocked.
Iowa has also, in the spring, chosen to stock a few select lakes around Central Iowa in the past. These are areas of the state that traditionally don’t have streams that could sustain a population of stocked trout. However, at this time of the year, the water in the lakes is still cold enough to support trout.
To fish for trout, you can be as complex as you need or as simple as you need. It just depends on what brings you the most satisfaction. Personally, I just have a simple fishing rod with anywhere from 5-10 pound line on it. With a small hook and some simple bait, you could be pulling a delicious meal from the water!
So if you are outdoorsy, your fun does not have to end when hunting season closes in January. There are still “seasons” to look forward to as well as the activity options that come with them!
Try something new this year. Get yourself and your family off the phones and enjoy what is around you. All you need is some warm clothing, a desire to do something and a method of transportation. Cabin fever doesn’t have to knock you down. Instead, let it be a motivator to get you up!
Good luck!
by Ryan Graden
February 2024
