There is not much humor in Half the Way Home. In its 236 pages, not one anecdote directly involving the author elicits laughter. Whereas Lewis Spence describes a loving if fundamentally Victorian relationship between a boy and his grandfather, Half … [Read more...] about Half the Way Home
A Mountain View
Sooner or later, we all come home—if not literally, then spiritually, emotionally or psychologically to a place that had a role in shaping us. One day, without realizing it, we are there. And we confront the forces that made us what we have become. … [Read more...] about A Mountain View
Ski and Snowshoe Trails in the Adirondacks
Not every classic stands the test of time—not when the public’s tastes keep changing. For nearly a decade, cross-country enthusiasts have relied on Tony Goodwin’s Classic Adirondack Ski Tours for advice on where to ski in the Adirondack Park. The … [Read more...] about Ski and Snowshoe Trails in the Adirondacks
Portrait of Healing: Curing in the Woods
It was a Saturday in November 1994 that I met Victoria Rinehart to take her and a group of her nursing students on a walking tour of the cure cottages of Saranac Lake. As we tramped the streets, I told her what I could about Saranac Lake’s history as … [Read more...] about Portrait of Healing: Curing in the Woods
Perspectives on the Adirondacks: A 30 Year Struggle by People Protecting Their Treasure
Barbara McMartin is an Ivy League-educated mathematician. I recall her mentioning once that she began hiking the Adirondacks systematically and obsessively as relief from preparing for doctoral orals at Columbia. I raise this not so much to assert … [Read more...] about Perspectives on the Adirondacks: A 30 Year Struggle by People Protecting Their Treasure
The Extraordinary Adirondack Journey of Clarence Petty
How can one man do so much in just 97 years? Clarence Petty is of one of the most interesting and important people ever to carry a canoe, bushwhack through the backcountry, or dedicate his life to protecting the Adirondack wilderness. And he has … [Read more...] about The Extraordinary Adirondack Journey of Clarence Petty