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Should the state bill careless backcountry users for searches? By Kelly de la Rocha When Stephen Mastaitis of Saratoga Springs started a winter hike up Mount Marcy, he never dreamed he’d be coming back down in a helicopter. The fifty-eight-year-old lawyer and three others began the day hike bright and early on a February morning,…
By Michael Virtanen On a mostly sunny Monday with the blue-black water on the quiet bay rippling lightly and glistening, my wife got the hang of a new sport in roughly the time it took to push off from the dock, brace her paddle shaft across the eleven-foot board for balance, and stand up. Outfitted…
The Clintonville Pine Barrens is a quiet spot. Most of the people who hike here live a short drive away in communities such as Ausable Forks, Keeseville, and Plattsburgh. Occasionally, the barrens attract hikers from farther afield. Commenting in the trail register, a visitor from Toronto described them last year as “a dream place.”
Text and photos by Mark Bowie Though short, shallow, and lazy, the Kunjamuk River doesn’t lack for grace or beauty. For an overview, prospective paddlers would, ideally, fly over it in an airplane; barring that, they could try Google Earth. Either would reveal the serpentine and remote nature of this small waterway and the difference…
Critics say a state panel has done little over the past 25 years to protect an Adirondack jewel once renowned for its clean, clear waters. By George Earl Lake George has long been renowned for the clarity and purity of its water. The thirty-two-mile-long lake supports a productive lake-trout fishery, serves as a direct source…
By Tom Woodman Years ago my wife and I sat out a week’s vacation in our Adirondack cabin, watching a lovely snowscape evaporate into the dripping fog of a winter thaw. We tried to buck up our spirits by declaring that this scene was not really dismal. It was a different kind of beauty. This…
The round trip to Raquette Falls is an ideal ski in winters with a dearth of snow. By Phil Brown By early January, we were desperate. We had enough snow to ski the Whiteface Mountain toll road, local golf courses, and a few easy trails, but that was it. As the ski-less days dragged on,…
Adirondack Council voices support for huge resort in Tupper Lake, revealing split in environmental movement shortly before the APA approves the project. By Brian Mann The Adirondack Park Agency’s decision in January to approve construction of a massive new resort in Tupper Lake angered many environmental activists. David Gibson, one of the founders of Adirondack…
By Phil Brown The spruce grouse is likely to vanish from the Adirondacks, perhaps within a decade, if the state fails to take steps to help the species, according to scientists. In a draft recovery plan issued in February, the state Department of Environmental Conservation recommends both manipulating habitat on private timberlands to favor…
Despite lack of snow, most cross-country facilities manage to stay open. By Rick Karlin Donald Preuninger and Brian McDonnell have something in common: they both took over cross-country-ski centers before one of the warmest and driest winters in recent memory. But they aren’t complaining about the weather—not too much, anyway. “I can’t tell you we’re…