The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
Phil Brown edited the Adirondack Explorer from 1999 until his retirement in 2018. He continues to explore the park and to write for the publication and website.
By Phil Brown
When Matt Horner, one of the region’s best ice climbers, fell on a route at Chapel Pond last winter, he had to stop working for a while. For Matt, work is guiding and sculpting, usually in rock and metal. Matt has recuperated well enough to resume his artwork, and his latest piece was unveiled Thursday…
By Phil Brown
Adirondack North Country Association announces that its next Bike the Barns tour will take place on Sunday, October 1. During the tour, cyclists will stop at farms in the Champlain Valley to sample their foodstuffs. Alan Wechsler rode in the first Bike the Barns tour last fall and wrote about it for Adirondack Explorer. Click…
By Phil Brown
The historian Philip Terrie has written a book on Adirondack mammals, but he has never seen a moose in the Adirondacks. He is not alone. Although as many as a thousand moose (no one knows for sure) live in the Adirondack Park, you have to be lucky to see one. Jeff Nadler, a nature photographer…
By Phil Brown
Jay Harrison lives at the base of Crane Mountain, but he probably spends more time on the mountain’s many cliffs than in his house. The guidebook Adirondack Rock devotes no less than seventy-three pages to the rock-climbing routes on Crane. This is thanks to Harrison, who has participated in about 350 first ascents in the…
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is warning visitors to beware of aggressive bears that have been approaching hikers, rock climbers, and campers in the Chapel Pond area and the Dix Mountain Wilderness. The department recently killed one of the bears. Read DEC’s news release here.
By Phil Brown
State environmental conservation officers recently rescued a young bald eagle that had been living in a boathouse on the channel between Mountain View Lake and Indian Lake in the northeastern Adirondacks. The injured bird was turned over to a wildlife rehabilitator and eventually will be released into the wild. Click here to read a news…
By Phil Brown
An 18-year-old man fell more than a hundred feet while climbing the waterfall between the Cascade Lakes on Sunday afternoon. The state Department of Conservation reports that he is believed to have suffered multiple fractures and internal injuries. He was flown to a hospital in Burlington, Vermont.For more information on this and other incidents, click…
By Phil Brown
Bike Trail Upgrades Part of Governor Cuomo’s Adventure NY Initiative More than 1.5 miles of bike trails, including a new loop opportunity, have been added to the Beaver Brook Trail Network in the Adirondacks, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Regional Director Bob Stegemann announced today. The trails are part of the Wilmington…
By Phil Brown
Rock-climbing guide Will Roth was rappelling down a cliff near Chapel Pond with two clients this week when they saw a bear below—climbing toward them. The climbers yelled and clapped their hands, but the bear kept coming, its claws scratching the rock like fingernails on chalkboard. When the bear got within fifteen feet, Roth tossed…
By Phil Brown
One item that caught our eye in the latest forest ranger report was the rescue of a U.S. Forest Service employee near Boreas Ponds. The federal employee activated a personal locator beacon after his vehicle got stuck near Boreas Ponds. Here is the item in the ranger report in its entirety: “Call for Assistance: On…