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‘Study river’ for 30 years By Phil Brown A few years ago, my friend Brian Mann and I canoed from Jones Pond to Osgood Pond and followed the upper Osgood River as far as we could—to a small dam, beyond which the river is un-navigable for miles. This spring we returned to paddle the lower…
Should it be included in the Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers System? By Phil Brown I knew the Little River was wild. I could tell that by looking at a map, where it appears as a blue squiggly line winding through a vast wetland. In the section I planned to paddle, the Little crosses under…
Explorers paddle and hike to Sagamore By Dick Beamish It was the most blasé great-blue heron we’d ever encountered in the Adirondacks, or at least the most single-minded one, so focused on the task at hand that it didn’t notice as we coasted by about two canoe lengths away. The tall, elegant bird was poised…
A hiker’s tribute to an old friend By Phil Gallos Mount Baker was one of those places to which we’d go to play when we were kids. It was one of those places which we’d explore at least once a week: cliffs and ledges and old tote roads, quarries and dumps and intermittent streams. It…
Lake George on Foot Great hikes in 4 nature preserves By Ruth Lamb Over the past 15 years, the Lake George Land Conservancy has preserved more than 10,000 acres. The purchases have protected wetlands, forests, ridgelines and lakeshore and saved habitats of great blue herons, peregrine falcons and bats, among other wildlife species. They’ve also…
To most outdoors lovers, the Ausable River conjures up images of fly-fishermen casting into idyllic pools. By Michael Zeugin
Untrammeled by man—that was a key phrase in the Wilderness Act, which established the national wilderness system just over 40 years ago, before genderinclusive language gained currency. (Incidentally, the man who coined it, Howard Zahniser, was heavily influenced in his thinking by his experiences in the Adirondacks.) It’s also a phrase that could aptly characterize…
By Dick Beamish There’s much to be said for hiking the Low Peaks—the more modest Adirondacks well under 4,000 feet. Being less traveled, these trails offer greater solitude. Looking out and up from the lower summits can be as awesome as looking down from the higher ones. Because the distances and elevations are less, these…
15 miles to paradise Trek through old-growth forest leads to remote Sand Lake By Phil Brown This backpacking trip was about creating memories. Because in a few weeks he’d be gone, off to Germany for 10 months to study at the University of Wurzburg. If that’s a big step for a 19-year-old, it’s also a…
Paddlers enjoy day full of wild, unmarred beauty By Dick Beamish On Dave Cilley’s new waterproof “Adirondack Paddler’s Map” there seems to be almost as much water as land in the Saranac Lakes region, which is where we’re bound with our 17-foot Kevlar canoe and my 12-speed bicycle. It’s a sunny morning in June, and…