Whiteface loop
The forecast today is for upper eighties with high humidity, but at the moment it’s cool and breezy. I’m sitting on the front steps of the Explorer in Saranac Lake, waiting for my cycling partner, Tom Boothe. By Susan Bibeau.
Outdoor Recreation
All Stories
Portage to paradise
By Phil Brown There are some things that you expect to find along the trail to Duck Hole in May: mud, black flies, and wildflowers and hobblebush in bloom. And some that might surprise you, such as two middle-aged men schlepping canoes. They were Donald Perryman Jr. and Rick Cerminara, both of Saranac Lake, both…
Most Poke-O climbing routes to reopen
By Phil Brown
Every spring, the state Department of Environmental Conservation closes routes on popular rock-climbing cliffs where peregrine falcons are known to nest. Once it’s determined exactly where the falcons are nesting, some routes are reopened. Recently, DEC biologist Joe Racette said it has been confirmed that falcons are nesting on the Nose on Poke-o-Moonshine Mountain. As…
‘Explorer’ denies trespass
In answer to lawsuit, editor contends the public has the right to paddle on private waterways connecting public lands. By Kenneth Aaron In answer to a trespassing lawsuit, the editor of the Adirondack Explorer contends he had the right to paddle remote private waterways that link two pieces of state-owned Forest Preserve, and his lawyer…
A peak at Peaked Mountain
Though turned back short of summit, snowshoers find trek in Siamese Ponds Wilderness is the height of adventure. By Susan Bibeau I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I lived in the Adirondacks for close to fifteen years without owning a pair of snowshoes. My husband and I have been such avid skiers that I never…
AG backs paddlers’ rights
Eric Schneiderman moves to intervene on behalf of the state in lawsuit against Explorer editor. By Kenneth Aaron Another party wants to join the fray over public access to an idyllic stretch of Adirondack waterway: New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. Schneiderman’s office has asked to intervene, on behalf of the state, in…
For every man, an island
Author and his crew find fantasies can come true on Forked Lake. By Jack Ballard It’s the dream of many an American, from freckled grade-school girls with missing front teeth to smartly attired executives in the Financial District who pounce on deals like pickerel on perch. Ah, to traipse the shoreline of one’s own private…
Video: Mount Arab snowshoe
By Phil Brown
The Explorer‘s intern, Evan Williams, climbed Mount Arab recently with his father and captured the adventure on video. Arab is a small summit west of Tupper Lake. It’s a great destination if you’re looking for a short, easy hike. The hike to the 2,545-foot summit is only a mile. The Friends of Mount Arab have…
Dance to benefit bike trails
By Phil Brown
The Fellowship of the Wheel, Vermont’s largest mountain-bike club, will host a dance and raffle at the Echo Center in Burlington this month to raise funds to help maintain more than a hundred miles of trails that are open for public use. The Singletrack Dance and Fundraiser will be held on Friday, April 15, from…
Winter is hanging on
By Phil Brown
Winter hasn’t ended yet. It has been snowing off and on since early Tuesday. Driving from Plattsburgh to Saranac Lake last night, I found myself in a blinding snowstorm. The new accumulation has amounted to only a few inches, but it was enough to inspire me go for a short ski through a pine forest…