I drove by King Phillip's Spring last weekend. Yes, it really is closed. Strange to see the absence of the pipe that used to attract so many people carrying water bottles and jugs. In my original post on this subject, I reported that the state … [Read more...] about Spring again
Is Lows Lake Wilderness?
The Adirondack Park Agency voted Thursday (May 14) to hold public hearings on classifying Lows Lake and adjacent state lands as Wilderness. The APA did so in part to placate environmentalists upset by the agency's recent decision to allow floatplanes … [Read more...] about Is Lows Lake Wilderness?
The awakening woods
Last weekend (May 9) I hiked to Owl Head Lookout in the Giant Mountain Wilderness with my friend Lynda. The early wildflowers were out in force. When we stopped to admire a red trillium, Lynda referred to it as a "wake-robin." I didn't know that … [Read more...] about The awakening woods
Gunning for moose
The state Department of Environmental Conservation estimates that five hundred moose live in the North Country. Since moose tend to avoid census takers, the figure involves some guesswork, but it seems clear that the population is growing. Do we … [Read more...] about Gunning for moose
Nun-da-ga-o Ridge
Last weekend I joined Alan Wechsler, the outdoors writer for the Albany Times Union, and three other friends on a hike along one of my favorite trails, the six-mile loop on Nun-da-ga-o Ridge in the hills above the hamlet of Keene. Normally, you begin … [Read more...] about Nun-da-ga-o Ridge
Fish or flower?
Early-spring flowers are blooming on Baker Mountain, the small peak just a few miles from our office in Saranac Lake. My favorite is trout lily, a yellow flower that grows on a longish stalk. Ruth Schottmann, a wildflower expert and the author of … [Read more...] about Fish or flower?