The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
By Phil Brown
Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates filed a friend-of-the-court brief this week in the lawsuit over the state’s plan to remove 34 miles of railroad tracks between Lake Placid and Tupper Lake and create a trail for bicycling, hiking, snowmobiling, and other pursuits. ARTA joined the suit on the side of three state agencies being sued: the…
By Phil Brown
When the snow finally stopped this week, we had about three feet of powder in Saranac Lake. On Thursday afternoon, I decided to check out the ski conditions on Baker Mountain, a small peak on the outskirts of the village. My idea was to ski up the hiking trail and then descend through the woods.…
Even as debate over how the state should classify newly acquired lands continues, creative ideas from state and local officials point to exciting ways for local communities and the Park as a whole to benefit from the expansion of the Forest Preserve. The state’s phased purchase of sixty-five thousand acres of former Finch, Pruyn and…
Infamous murder revisited By Betsy Kepes It’s been over one hundred years since a search party found Grace Brown’s body in the bottom of Big Moose Lake, an overturned rowboat floating nearby. In 1906 the face of the man who walked away from that remote bay would become familiar to many Americans as he sat…
By Phil Brown
A snowshoer from India charged with abusing a 12-year-old girl in Saranac Lake has rejected a plea bargain, choosing instead to put his fate in the hands of a grand jury. In a case that has attracted international attention, Tanveer Hussain, 24, of Kashmir faces charges of first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, and endangering the…
The right side of history By Amy Godine The publication of a new book about the Underground Railroad in the Adirondacks, focusing on its supporters and their good work in the Town of Chester in Warren County, rides a high wave of public interest in this dramatic chapter of our history. No bookstore lacks a…
If you’re looking for a book that showcases the beauty, the tranquility, the recreational opportunities to be found in the Adirondacks, don’t get this one. But if you want unvarnished stories from some of the region’s most remarkable, if often nearly anonymous, older citizens, it’s for you. In We Were There: World War II Stories…
By TOM WOODMAN A morning of cold drizzle and thick fog may sound like a time to curl up by the fire and mourn the passing of Indian summer. But for Jeff Allott and some friends this November Saturday the weather is a sign of winter coming and just right for preparing Otis Mountain for…
By Phil Brown
After the first snowstorm of the season, our editor visits one of his favorite sections of the Jackrabbit. By Phil Brown On a few occasions I have skied the Jackrabbit Trail the full twenty-four miles from Saranac Lake to Keene, but like most people I usually ski only a section of the trail on a…
Mike Lynch’s article [“Building on tradition,” September/October 2016] was a fine report on an inspired (and inspiring) group of guideboat builders, but I’d like to add some thoughts. Guideboats typically have three caned seats, not one or two, and the boat is rowed from the bow; the middle seat is for solo rowing, or for…