When it comes to adventurous fun my philosophy has always been too much is never enough, so when I look back at the highlights of the past 12 months, as I typically do when the calendar is about to flip, I can honestly say that 2016 was a terrific year and I hope next year is even better.

Whether treading on familiar ground or exploring new territory, life in The Great Outdoors is filled with surprises – most of them happy, though a few turn out to be learning experiences. Expect the unexpected and you’ll never be bored.

It also helps to introduce novices to favorite pastimes so you can vicariously experience thrills as if for the first time.

January

For decades my first and by far coolest (literally) adventure of the year has been the annual New Year’s Day run-swim from Mystic to the icy waters of Fishers Island Sound, and Jan. 1, 2016 was, as always, an exhilarating way to start the year. I’ll write more about this madcap event next week in hopes of attracting more acolytes.

The perfect contrast: A week later I glided on cross-country skis over scenic trails in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

February

The shortest month of the year was nevertheless packed with activities, starting with kayaking from Esker Point in Noank to Fishers Island in New York to view migratory seals that congregate off Hungry Point.

Weather permitting I make this 8- to 10-mile paddle several times each winter, and what made this year’s outing particularly enjoyable was bringing along a buddy, Steve Kurczy, on his maiden cold-weather voyage. After I assured him we could survive submersion for several minutes if we flipped over we enjoyed a memorable escapade among dozens of harbor seals that bobbed a few yards away. No lingering – not just because we didn’t want to intrude on the marine mammals, but because the wind and tide were kicking up.

Another favorite migratory expedition brought me back in my kayak to the ice-choked Connecticut River between Lyme and Essex to view bald eagles that fly down for the winter from Canada, the Gulf of Maine and other points north.

Because the winter was so mild I made maple syrup much earlier than usual.

The previous frigid year I didn’t get around to tapping trees until it was almost March, but this past February the sap started running several weeks early and so I hastily summoned friends for the annual ritual. Nothing in the world tastes better than pancakes cooked in a cast iron skillet over an open fire, topped by freshly made maple syrup.

March

Peak time for cutting and splitting. By the end of the month I’d amassed about 15 cords – enough to heat our house at least three years. Firewood is like fun: You can never have too much.

April

Our son, Tom, was visiting from Washington State, and he joined our friend Bob Graham and me on a whitewater kayak adventure down the Salmon River in East Hampton, punctuated by a successful plunge over a 4-foot waterfall at a broken dam.

A week later Tom came along with another bunch of friends on an icy climb into New Hampshire’s Carter Notch and atop 4,832-foot Carter Dome. Luckily, I brought along a rope that proved instrumental in getting us and another group of hikers down a glacier-like steep slope.

May

Keeping a string alive, my friend Ian Frenkel and I won the tandem sea kayak division for the fifth year in a row at the 5-mile Essex River Race in Essex, Mass.

Later that month Tom and I took a two-week trip through the Northwest that included running along and swimming in Lake Tahoe, backpacking and camping in Yosemite, cross-country skiing overlooking Crater Lake, hiking at Mount St. Helens and kayaking in the Pacific off the Oregon coast.

June

Harvest time for more than 200 garlic bulbs I planted the previous fall. Yum!

July

A return to Rangeley, Maine, for kayaking and a hike with friends up Saddleback Mountain. The stunning, panoramic view from the 4,121-foot summit always takes my breath away. Then again, it could be the altitude.

What better time, in mid-summer, to think about winter sports? Fabricated an Adirondack-style chair out of old downhill skis.

August

Persuaded surfing pal Spyros Barres to put away his board and join me for surf kayaking near the Weekapaug Breachway in Westerly.

September

Outings included an 18-mile kayak circumnavigation of Fishers Island, during which Ian Frenkel and I somehow managed to stay upright while inadvertently “bongo-sliding” through the notorious Race tidal rip; a 28-mile paddle from New London, around Plum Island to Long Island’s Orient Point and back, barely skirting the treacherous Plum Gut; and an extraordinary viewing of hundreds of thousands of migratory tree swallows at Goose Island on the Connecticut River in Lyme.

October

Another western sojourn, with my wife, Lisa, and our son, to Utah, where we exulted in hikes in Arches and Canyonlands national park. Tom and I also paddled down some challenging rapids on a 14-mile stretch of the Colorado River.

November

Steve Kurczy and I demonstrated how to cut down a tree with an old-fashioned, two-man saw. Quieter, and perhaps a bit slower than a chain saw, but infinitely more satisfying, not to mention a good upper-body workout.

December

Thanks to an extended warm stretch in late fall, I continued my rock-moving and wall-building operations. Dusted off the cables and come-along winch to drag one particularly obstinate boulder into place.

Throughout the year made time for running, biking and swimming in the company of friends. Exercise is often a social occasion.

So here we are again, approaching a new year. I have a few bigger trips planned in 2017 that I didn’t manage to get in during 2016.

Happy holidays, everybody, and best wishes for a fun-filled 2017.