The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
Each year hundreds of people hike to the summit of Rooster Comb for its great views. Far fewer reach the summit by scaling its cliffs, but the mountain has a long and storied rock-climbing history. Whether you hike or climb to the top, the 2,788-foot peak offers a wonderful vista of the lower Great Range, the Brothers, and Johns Brook valley.
By Mike Lynch
Climate change poses a threat to moose and other life forms—plants and animals—at the southern edge of their range in the Adirondacks. By Mike Lynch On a warm day in June, state wildlife biologist Ben Tabor knelt in a dark forest in the northern Adirondacks, peering through his binoculars at a dark shape a few…
Iowa Pacific’s plan to store empty tanker cars on tracks near the High Peaks alarms environmentalists and sets state lawyers to scrambling. By Phil Brown The Iowa-Pacific rail company took state officials and environmental activists by surprise in July when it unveiled a plan to store hundreds of drained oil-tanker cars on its tracks near…
For centuries Lake Champlain has been a thoroughfare for history. Naval engagements helped determine the outcomes of the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. In the nineteenth century, a thriving iron industry used canal boats to transport ore down the lake and the Hudson River to Troy. And today fishing and pleasure boating strengthen the…
Trail around pristine lake appeals to hikers, runners, and equestrians and is featured in the Adirondack Explorer’s new guidebook. By Phil Brown When I suggested to my girlfriend Carol that we jog around Cascade Lake in the Pigeon Lake Wilderness, she endorsed the idea without hesitation. Not only is Carol a trail runner, but she also…
With the acquisition of the MacIntyre East tract near Tahawus, the public now owns 12 miles of shoreline along the upper Hudson and the Opalescent. By Phil Brown Brian Mann and I had been on the water for several hours when we came to a fallen tree stretched across the river. We pulled over to…
By Mike Lynch
Scientists say that climate change is disrupting the biological cycles of plants and animals. By Mike Lynch Scientist Curt Stager walks along the edge of the woods, his flashlight shining into the shallow water of a leafy, roadside pool on a dark night in Paul Smiths. It’s late April, and he’s out looking for spotted…
Forest Ranger Scott Van Laer tracks down the remains—and the stories— of aircraft that crashed in the Adirondacks over the years. By Kenneth Aaron As I made my way up Seward Mountain with Scott Van Laer last October, trying to find the wreckage of a Piper Cherokee that slammed into the peak in 1970, I kept thinking that the search would go…
By Mike Lynch
Scientists question whether the Adirondack Park has enough habitat and prey for a wild cat adapted to boreal climes. By Mike Lynch A fellow carnivore scientist once showed Cristina Eisenberg the skeleton of an animal and asked her to identify it. Looking at the large hindquarters and feet, she guessed snowshoe hare. Told she guessed…
Landowners appeal dismissal of trespass suit against Explorer editor, contending constitutional property rights are at stake. By Kenneth Aaron The Adirondack landowners who sued the editor of the Adirondack Explorer after he paddled through their property are taking the case to New York’s highest court, saying a lower court’s decision infringes on their constitutional rights. The Brandreth Park Association and the Friends of Thayer…