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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.…
By Tom Woodman Maybe as you’ve hiked an Adirondack trail you’ve come across a trail crew of the Student Conservation Association and wondered about these young people doing the heavy lifting that makes your hike accessible and enjoyable: placing boulders for steps, digging water bars to keep the path from washing out, building log-and-stone cribs…
In August I rode the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Ididaride bike tour out of North Creek, along with five hundred other cyclists who came from far and wide. A grueling ride like this attracts only a small fraction of the general bicycling population—most greatly prefer the gentle and peaceful environment of a bike trail. When I looked at all the cars…
I was delighted to see your story on the gentleman who is helping political refugees attend Adirondack summer camps [“Refuge in the Adirondacks, July/August 2015]. I first encountered the magnificence and lore of the Adirondacks when I began work in 1957 at Adirondack Woodcraft Camps, a private camp near Old Forge. I would venture to say that summer camp for…
Two years ago, three of us drove to Saranac Lake and boarded the tourist train to Lake Placid. It was a wine-tasting trip featuring local wine, snacks, and a disc jockey. A lot of fun on a Saturday night. I gave my daughter and son-in-law an anniversary present of a railroad trip from Utica, including a tour of a local…
This is in response to the story “State supports rail trail” [July/August 2015]. I applaud the state’s proposal to convert the thirty four-mile section of historic rail corridor connecting Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, and Tupper Lake into a world-class recreational trail for biking, walking, hiking, improved snowmobiling, and all-around enjoyment of our wild and beautiful Adirondacks. As a taxpayer, however,…
I felt a personal connection to your story on the forest ranger who hunts for wreckage from plane crashes in the Adirondacks [“Dean of plane wrecks,” July/August 2015]. I helped to find a plane wreck on Blue Ridge near Lewey Lake about fifteen years ago. It was a C45 that crashed on a low-level training flight in September of 1944.…
A railroad company that three years ago won permission to haul stone from a former mine at the base of the High Peaks has changed course and come up with a breathtakingly bad idea for use of that line. The Saratoga & North Creek Railway says it plans to haul out-of-service oil tanker cars through…
Hordes climb Algonquin each year, but far fewer hikers continue along the ridge over Boundary Peak to Iroquois. Most people don’t know what they’re missing. By Phil Brown Carol’s friend Emily wanted to do a big hike, something spectacular. It didn’t take me long to hit on the idea of climbing Algonquin Peak and Iroquois Peak and returning by…
On Rooster Comb cliffs, climbers immerse themselves in wilderness and history. By Phil Brown Each year hundreds of people hike to the summit of Rooster Comb for its great views. Far fewer reach the summit by scaling its cliffs, but the mountain has a long and storied rock-climbing history. Whether you hike or climb to…