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DEC creates a trail for skiers that loops through former Finch, Pruyn timberlands near the Goodnow and Hudson rivers. By Phil Brown Since the state purchased the Essex Chain Lakes a few years ago, I had been meaning to try out the ski touring in that region. My initial idea was to ski on old…
By Phil Brown
The winter started out promising with a good snowfall in December, but later in the month rains washed away most of the snowpack. We received a bit of light, fluffy powder the week after Christmas, but not enough to make most trails skiable. And so, not for the first time in recent winters, we opted…
Brandreth Park’s attorney says appellate decision in favor of Adirondack Explorer threatens private-property rights. By Kenneth Aaron The Brandreth Park Association and Friends of Thayer Lake contend that a recent court decision upholding the right of canoeists and kayakers to paddle through their remote Adirondack parcel threatens to upend private-property rights in New York State. In January, the…
The Adirondack Park’s frozen cliffs offer some of the best ice climbing in the country. By Phil Brown The Adirondack Park has thousands of rock-climbing routes, many of them stellar, but it will never rival such climbing destinations as Yosemite Valley in California, New River Gorge in West Virginia, or the Shawangunks in downstate New…
By Phil Brown
On Friday afternoon I checked out the cross-country trails at Dewey Mountain in Saranac Lake. As expected, the groomed trails were in fine shape, but I was more interested in the ungroomed, rougher trails that lead to the top of the mountain as they more closely mirror conditions likely to be found on many backcountry…
Local officials see mountain biking as an economic boon and want to expand opportunities for riding in the Forest Preserve. By Phil Brown The Adirondack Park Agency’s promise to consider allowing mountain biking in the Essex Chain Lakes Primitive Area has generated a broader discussion—with much disagreement—of the place of bikes in the Forest Preserve.…
Purchase of MacIntyre West Tract opens up Lake Andrew as a destination, though the state has yet to mark the route. By Phil Brown After writing about the state’s acquisition of the MacIntyre West Tract for the last issue of the Explorer, I was eager to explore it, and Lake Andrew seemed like the logical…
Essential trail etiquette for snowshoers to ensure safety and harmony with skiers, including staying to the right and avoiding ski tracks.
If you’re heading up St. Regis Mountain, bring your skis and your snowshoes. By Phil Brown Last winter, my daughter Becky and her fiancé, Joe, wanted to climb one of the Saranac Lake 6, so we snowshoed up St. Regis Mountain. Although I like St. Regis—with its marvelous views of ponds and lakes—I am not an enthusiastic snowshoer. I mean, snowshoeing is…
The state bought OK Slip Falls from the Adirondack Nature Conservancy in 2013, opening the trail the following summer. The conservancy acquired the falls in 2007 when it bought all of Finch, Pruyn & Company’s 161,000 acres for $110 million. The OK Slip parcel is now part of the Hudson Gorge Wilderness Area.