Scouting the Cedarlands
We had been hiking for more than an hour on the Skyline Trail—thrashing is more like it—when a bug flew into my eye and got under my eyelid. By Phil Brown
Outdoor Recreation
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First photos from Duck Hole
By Phil Brown
This spring, I paddled Duck Hole, a wilderness pond surrounded by high mountains. Getting there was not easy—the trip entailed four carries totaling about two miles—but it was worth it. I wrote about my adventure for the July/August issue of the Explorer in an article titled “Portage to Paradise.” Today that trip is no longer…
31 guests stranded at Adirondak Loj
By Phil Brown
Since Hurricane Irene drenched the High Peaks region, more than thirty guests have been stranded at Adirondak Loj, unable to leave due to a washout on the only road to the rustic inn. The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK), which owns the Loj, hopes that the road will open in a day or two, but with…
Bad news for the backcountry
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is starting to get assessments of storm damage in the backcountry in the High Peaks region, and the news is not good. “Every place we’ve looked bridges are gone, trails are eroded, and there’s lots of blowdown,” said Tom Martin, the department’s regional forester. And eroded may be an…
After Irene, where can you hike?
By Phil Brown
With the most popular Wilderness Areas in the Adirondacks closed, many people are wondering where they can hike this Labor Day weekend. Forest rangers have yet to reconnoiter all of the backcountry, but it’s believed that the central and western Adirondacks largely escaped the wrath of Irene. Yesterday the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced…
DEC closes High Peaks trails
By Phil Brown
With Labor Day weekend approaching, the long-range forecast calls for sunny skies, but that will be of little consolation to people who hoped to hike in the High Peaks. Because of damage caused by Irene to trails and backcountry infrastructure, the state Department of Environmental Conservation has closed the eastern High Peaks Wilderness, Dix Mountain…
Marcy Dam bridge washed away
By Phil Brown
The rains from Irene washed away the bridge over Marcy Dam, one of the most well-traveled crossings in the High Peaks Wilderness, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC spokesman David Winchell said the crossing is now impassable. He does not know when the bridge will be replaced. The bridge is used by…
Ideal idyll for cyclists
By Ethan Rouen When the snow and rain and then more snow finally disappeared this spring, my wife, Kim, and I were desperate to get on our bikes, so a thirty-mile loop around Moriah sounded like a perfect way to spend Memorial Day weekend. The loop is described in Charles Hansen’s outstanding 25…
A foothold in the past
Climbers retrace history on Chapel Pond Slab By Phil Brown A rock climber could spend a lifetime exploring the Adirondack Park. The guidebook Adirondack Rock describes more than 1,900 routes (and the number is growing) on cliffs and crags scattered throughout the region. But you have to start somewhere, and for many climbers, that place is…
Ranger Report: Death and other misfortunes
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has released its midsummer Ranger Report. It includes the deaths of two hikers in the High Peaks. The victims were middle-aged men who suffered a heart attack on the trail. Also notable is the ordeal of two young men who set out on a canoe trip from Henderson Lake…