The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
By Phil Brown
The Middle Branch of the Moose River is not the wildest river in the Park, but try telling that to the American bittern, the osprey, the various ducks, and the kingfishers I saw when I explored the Middle Moose on Monday. Starting in Old Forge, the Middle Branch more or less parallels Route 28 and…
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is standing by its decision that the fire tower on Hurricane Mountain should be torn down to comply with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. DEC’s recommendation apparently is at odds with the wishes of the Adirondack Park Agency board, whose members indicated last month that they’d like…
By Phil Brown
Hamilton County officials are livid over the state’s plan to close the Moose River Plains Recreation Area to motor vehicles, saying it will hurt the region’s economy, intensify political tensions, and harden stances against land acquisitions by the state. “It’s one of the worst ideas I’ve seen in recent times,” said Bill Farber, the chairman…
By Phil Brown
State biologists have confirmed that peregrine falcons are nesting on two popular rock-climbing cliffs, Upper Washbowl and Poke-o-Moonshine. The discovery of the nest on Upper Washbowl means that cliff will remain closed to climbers, but the routes on Lower Washbowl are now open. Upper Washbowl boasts twenty-one routes, including some of the best moderate multipitch…
By Phil Brown
Because of the state’s fiscal crisis, the Department of Environmental Conservation doesn’t plan to open the roads in the popular Moose River Plains Recreation Area this year. The large tract of state land, located between the hamlets of Inlet and Indian Lake, has forty miles of dirt roads and 140 primitive campsites. The sites are…
By Phil Brown
In this age of climate change, it’s nice to know that April showers still bring May flowers. This afternoon, I took my customary jaunt up Baker Mountain and found many wildflowers in bloom, including spring beauty, trout lily, red trillium, saxifrage, yellow violets, and Dutchman’s breeches. I am always amused by the last flower—both its…
By Phil Brown
Last week’s snowstorm notwithstanding, this is paddling season. In fact, the additional snowmelt from the storm will improve paddling on Adirondack rivers. This is a good time of year to explore the West Branch of the Ausable River on the outskirts of Lake Placid—a river that attracts schools of trout fishermen but is often overlooked…
By Phil Brown
I took advantage of this week’s snowstorm to get in one last (?) ski. After work Wednesday, I met Ron Konowitz at the Whiteface Mountain toll road, and we skied up the highway 3.5 miles, as far as the Lake Placid Turn. We were surprised to see that one side of the road had been…
By Phil Brown
You’ve got to be fast to take part in the Great Adirondack Trail Run. The Mountaineer will accept the first sixty applicants to sign up for the 11.5-mile race this Saturday and expects to fill all the slots in just twenty minutes. The race will be held Saturday, June 19. Participants will run through the…
By Phil Brown
Below is the latest Forest Ranger Activity Report, received today from the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Region 5. It covers the period of April 4-18. Hamilton County Town of Wells, Siamese Pond Wilderness Area On Sunday, April 18, 2010, at 6:45 PM, DEC Dispatch received at call from Hamilton County Dispatch reporting a missing…