The Adirondack Climbers Coalition is urging its members to submit comments to the state Department of Environmental Conservation to ensure that the rock-climbing community’s voice is heard as DEC prepares changes to the High Peaks Wilderness management plan. The ACC is concerned about DEC’s plan to ban parking along the shoulders of Route 73, which passes by many of the region’s premier climbing cliffs. “Don’t reduce parking. In fact only increases in parking should be considered,” ACC President Will Roth writes in a notice posted on the group’s website. DEC is proposing to build two parking areas near Chapel Pond >>More
Raising Kane
It’s scary to get lost while hiking. It’s worse when you have children who depend on you to deliver them safely out of the woods.
Trout Fishing in the St Regis Canoe Area
As Tim Rowland and I paddled Little Clear Pond toward the St. Regis Pond carry in the early afternoon in mid-May, we noticed a group of anglers had gathered at the take-out. Two men were loading large backpacks into what looked like a Radisson canoe, a popular fishing boat that is propelled with oars like a guideboat. Behind them, two other men were standing at the edge of the woods, holding cans of beer, catching a break. The men looked slightly beat from hauling their large load of gear on the quarter-mile long carry. The group had spent the past >>More
APA fast-tracks proposals for High Peaks
The Adirondack Park Agency board voted Thursday to fast-track a number of proposals for the High Peaks Wilderness and Vanderhacker Wild Forest, including tens of thousands of acres of newly acquired state lands. Some environmental groups contend the agency is moving too fast. Among other things, the proposals call for parking lots that would allow easy access to Boreas Ponds; new hiking, biking, ski, and equestrian trails; new campsites, canoe launches, and kiosks; and relocating the trailhead for Cascade Mountain. The APA and Department of Environmental Conservation will hold two public hearings on May 23: 10 a.m. at DEC headquarters, >>More
Tupper Lake guide dies days after being hit by tree
Well-known Tupper Lake guide Vanessa “Lynn” Malerba has died just days after she was hit by a tree while camping in the Pharoah Lakes Wilderness in the eastern Adirondacks. Marlerba, 60, had been tent camping with three other people on Rock Pond Friday night when she was hit by a tree. After being rescued by forest rangers and local firefighters, she was flown to a hospital in Vermont, where she was in critical condition. She has since died, according to the Vermont Department of Health. Time of death and other details were not available. “Everybody in Tupper Lake is talking >>More
DEC hopes to reroute Wright Peak Ski Trail
Several years ago we skied two High Peaks in spring with Ron Konowitz. We did a few laps in the bowl on Algonquin Peak, climbed over Wright Peak, and descended the Wright Peak Ski Trail. The Wright Peak trail is one of the few trails designed for down-mountain skiing in the Adirondacks. It was built in the 1930s, fell into disuse, and then was restored in 1980s by volunteers, including Tony Goodwin, the longtime executive director of the Adirondack Ski Touring Council. But there was a problem. After a mile or so, the ski trail converged with the Algonquin hiking >>More
DEC proposes put-ins along upper Hudson
Soon after the state purchased the MacIntyre East Tract, Brian Mann and I explored it by paddling the Hudson and the Opalescent rivers. We launched our canoes beneath a bridge over the Hudson and took out at a spot where the river abuts the Tahawus Road. From the bridge we paddled down the Hudson through Sanford Lake (a widening of the river) for a mile to the confluence with the Opalescent. We then went up the Opalescent, enjoying a great view of Allen Mountain, one of the remotest of the High Peaks. After lunch, we drifted back down the Hudson >>More
Tupper Lake woman critical after being hit by tree while camping
A 60-year-old woman from Tupper Lake is in critical condition after being hit by a tree early Saturday morning at Rock Pond near Putnam Pond Campground. The woman was rescued by forest rangers and local fire fighters who removed the tree that had pinned the woman, according to a state Department of Environmental Conservation. Storms raged through the North Country Friday night. High winds knocked down trees and caused widespread damage, including power outages. Three forest rangers responded after DEC Dispatch received a call asking for assistance from the state police at about 1 a.m. Unable to drive to the >>More
DEC proposes parking area for Chapel Pond Slab
Chapel Pond Slab is one of the most popular rock-climbing venues in the Adirondacks, in part for its long, moderate routes, in part for its easy access. However, parking can be a problem. Most climbers park just off the shoulder of the often-busy Route 73. The state Department of Environmental Conservation aims to fix things. In a draft amendment to the High Peaks Wilderness management plan, DEC proposes to build two twenty-car parking areas along Route 73 and expand the Round Pond parking area located just down the road (to twenty-five cars). DEC says climbers will be able to use >>More
Skiing Goodman Mountain in Tupper Lake
Conditions were optimal for skiing in the Adirondacks on March 15, when Explorer editor Phil Brown and I hit the trails near Tupper Lake. The area had received a series of snowstorms over the prior days and weeks, meaning the snowpack was a few feet deep. We started off the morning by skiing Coney Mountain, then hit Goodman Mountain at about noon. Phil then continued on to ski Arab Mountain, finishing off the Tupper Triad, three mountains promoted as part of a local hiking challenge. All three mountains are pretty small, but they aren’t skied very often. This day, it >>More
