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Through its news reporting and analysis, the nonprofit Adirondack Explorer furthers the wise stewardship, public enjoyment for all, community vitality, and lasting protection of the Adirondack park.
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June 26, 2014
Adopted fifty years ago, the Wilderness Act reflects the nation’s growing appreciation of unspoiled lands. By Philip Terrie On a warm September day in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed what is now recognized as one of the most significant legislative acts in American environmental history. This was the national Wilderness Act. Before then, federal lands,…
June 24, 2014
After days of rain, a family beats the blahs by climbing Debar Mountain, a former fire-tower peak in the northern Adirondacks. By Lisa Densmore Ballard SOME DAYS I need to go hiking. I don’t want an epic outing, just some time in the woods to clear my head, enough of a climb to exercise my body,…
June 24, 2014
Roaring Brook Falls is just one of many superb routes to be included in a new book on Adirondack climbing. By Phil Brown IN SOME RESPECTS, Roaring Brook Falls isn’t such a great climb. The rock can be loose, mossy, or wet. And there are places where you can’t find cracks to insert protective gear—cams…
June 23, 2014
While Lake George, Lake Placid, and Old Forge thrive on visitor spending, many Adirondack communities continue to struggle economically. By Brian Mann Drive through Lake George, and you can see evidence that tourism is booming. Traffic is heavy, especially in summer when Lake George runs full-throttle. There are plans for a major hotel and a reinvention of downtown that includes…
May 12, 2014
ON HISTORIC land alongside a well-trodden passage between two lakes in the northern forest dwells a storyteller. She has practiced her craft before audiences from school kids to prisoners for many years, sharing tales of her own creating as well as traditional stories from around the world. There came a time following the illness and…
May 2, 2014
Governor Andrew Cuomo has touted the $47 million land acquisition as a boon for the Park’s economy, but questions and challenges remain. By Brian Mann TWO YEARS AGO, when Governor Andrew Cuomo revived the massive Finch, Pruyn land deal, first engineered by the Adirondack Nature Conservancy in 2007, he shifted the terms of a long-running…
April 30, 2014
I’ve hiked Goodnow Mountain only once before, while working on my guidebook Hiking the Adirondacks. I wonder if anything has changed in the five years since.
April 30, 2014
Hundreds of tankers regularly roll past Lake Champlain, raising fears about an environmental or community disaster. By David Sommerstein ON A SUMMER night last July, the charming French-Canadian town of Lac Megantic literally exploded. A tanker train carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire, incinerating much of the downtown and killing forty-seven people.…
April 30, 2014
The purchase of 8,500 acres completes the third phase of Finch, Pruyn deal; next up are two large tracts adjoining the High Peaks. By Phil Brown THE STATE HAS completed another purchase of former Finch, Pruyn timberlands, totaling 8,500 acres, and though the deal is not as momentous as previous Finch deals, bigger things are…
April 22, 2014
Paddlers in inflatable kayaks find thrills and spills in heavy whitewater on the Hudson River: by Phil Brown FROM TIME TO TIME I’ve played with the idea of putting together a list of quintessential Adirondack adventures. It would include, for example, climbing the Trap Dike on Mount Colden, skiing Mount Marcy on a bluebird day,…