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Skiers take Pine Pond Trail through quiet woods and along wild stream to a frozen lake ringed by mountains. By Phil Brown I once met a man on the Jackrabbit Trail who was skiing to Lake Placid as part of an arduous loop. He had skied from the end of Averyville Road outside the village…
After five years of public debate the Adirondacks are on the verge of seeing a new rail trail that should prove to be an important tourist draw and a recreational opportunity in keeping with the natural beauty it will traverse. But at the same time, the state government may settle for a compromise that will…
On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed legislation creating Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first effort to set aside a large undeveloped tract, protect it solely for its scenic and natural appeal, and make it available to the public. Exactly what Grant and the Congress had in mind for Yellowstone was unclear, as…
By Tom Woodman “Lake Placid control: experimental craft, eight, four, one Echo Mike preparing to take off…” Driving to meet Ed McNeil this morning I worried that after thirty-six years in journalism I might be in danger of violating one of my important rules: never whimper. And as I hear Ed’s voice in the headphones…
I am writing to express my disappointment with the location of the parking area for the Essex Chain Lakes. It has two bad options: 1. Portage for about a quarter-mile, then down a steep bank, put your canoe in on Deer Pond, paddle two hundred yards across the pond, take out, and portage again for…
Reading your article “An Easier Way to Allen,” [July/August 2015] stimulated memories of how I climbed Allen to complete becoming a Forty-Sixer in June 1960. I and my climbing partner did not use any of the customarily described routes to Allen then or now. Here is how I recall what we did. In 1959, we…
Paul Post’s article “Fuel for Debate” [July/August 2015] quoted Matt Dempsey, a spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, responding to a report by environmental groups about the threat to Lake Champlain caused by trains carrying oil tankers along the lakeshore. Dempsey said: “The biggest issue with this report is that it doesn’t distinguish…
It was with great pleasure that I read the article “The joys of summer” by Joseph Mercurio [May/June 2015]. At first, I just noticed his name and thought that it sounded somewhat familiar. Then, as I read on further, I realized that he was writing about an experience we had both shared back in the…
I love walking in the woods with our dog. All of us who do, however, must acknowledge that dog/wildlife encounters are often not pleasant for one side or the other. I gather from the article about the bear mauling a hiker in August [“Hiker mauled by bear,” September/October 2015], Eric Spinner’s dog, Pippy, was off…
The largely abandoned Wardsboro Road near Lake George connects the present with the past. By David Thomas-Train The midsection of Lake George, known as the Narrows, is so tightly squeezed with steep mountainsides that there are no highways along its shorelines; without such access, most of that stretch of lake is bordered by state land.…