The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
State’s study of bruins in High Peaks sheds new light on these creatures of habit. By MARY THILL Three guys dressed in moss green and shouldering black shotguns are given wide berth on High Peaks trails. Hikers’ eyes widen as they let the men file past on the well-trodden path from Adirondak Loj to Marcy…
Painter Paul Matthews draws inspiration from the Adirondack landscape. By KAREN BJORNLAND It’s late afternoon, and the big sky over the High Peaks is thick and gray. The dark clouds could crack open any moment and spill their cold rain. But artist Paul Matthews doesn’t mind. In his studio high above the hamlet of Keene,…
The Saranac River and adjoining lakes create a delightful paddling trip. By DICK BEAMISH It can be a leisurely six-hour trip, starting a block from our office in Saranac Lake village. Or, if you’re a champion paddler and like to make waves, you can churn through this eleven-mile loop in an hour and a half,…
Phil Brown ascends the Diagonal ramp. (Photo by Mike Virtanen) How two novices scaled the Park’s biggest cliff By PHIL BROWN I’m lying in bed at 4:45 a.m. The alarm hasn’t gone off yet, but I won’t be going back to sleep. I’m climbing Wallface today. For this I blame my friend Mike. We did…
Lazing along the West Branch of the Sacandaga River. By TOM WOODMAN For the casual and experienced paddler alike, one of the great joys of canoeing in the Adirondacks is to ease your way along a flat, meandering stream through open country. Though maybe not as well known as some northern routes with similar character,…
Editor Phil Brown paddles through private land to assess the navigability of Shingle Shanty Brook and connecting waterways. If open to the public, the route would enhance the trip from Little Tupper Lake to Lake Lila. By PHIL BROWN If you love paddling in the Adirondacks, you put up with the portages. You might even…
Easement deal opens trail to the scenic summit of Loon Lake Mountain. By PHIL BROWN I’m hiking with two professional photographers, and I’ve come to the conclusion that photographers are not like other people. They see things we don’t. Like the way the late-afternoon light strikes the bud of a striped maple. Or the beauty…
By TOM WOODMAN Consider the cairn. A pile of rocks. For the hiker, these are usually pretty simple constructs: Stones placed at intervals to show the best route across open terrain. They are balanced and arranged just enough to make clear they are manmade guideposts, not accidental heaps. Many summits boast slightly grander stacks celebrating…
By Phil Brown
As snow melts below, skiers go up high to find great spring conditions on Algonquin and Wright. But things could be better. By PHIL BROWN It’s a balmy day in mid-April, and we’re following Ron Konowitz on the trail to Algonquin Peak, the Adirondacks’ second-highest summit. The snow has been melting for days, exposing roots…
Palm warbler. Photo by Jeff Nadler Climate change, other threats put boreal species at risk By PHIL BROWN A few years back, Brian McAllister received a phone call from a man who wanted to see a boreal chickadee. That’s not so unusual, except he was calling from California. “He flew into Montreal and then Saranac…