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By Phil Brown
A state forest ranger last week killed a black bear that had been harassing people at the Eighth Lake State Campground. This was the first nuisance bear shot by the state this year. In 2009, state officials killed seven bears (a camper killed an eighth). Clickhere to read the full story in the Adirondack Daily…
By Phil Brown
Six men filed suit in federal court this week to force the state to allow the disabled to fly into wild lakes by floatplane or helicopter. The plaintiffs contend that banning aircraft from tracts of Forest Preserve classified as Wilderness, Primitive or Canoe violates the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. Before the adoption of the…
By Phil Brown
A rock climber from Lake Placid fell to his death yesterday evening at the Upper Washbowl Cliff in the Giant Mountain Wilderness. Dennis Murphy, who was thirty-five, slipped while walking along the top of the cliff after ascending Hesitation, a classic route on the popular climbing cliff. Murphy and his partner, Dustin Ulrich, planned to…
By Phil Brown
The common loon is an icon of the North Woods, a symbol of wilderness, and sometimes the object of harassment. On June 12, two teenage boys frightened a loon off its nest on Sixth Lake, in Inlet, and struck the nest with a canoe paddle, breaking an egg, according to the state Department of Environmental…
By Phil Brown
Although you can’t learn rock climbing from a book, you’ll find a lot of rock-climbing manuals at EMS in Lake Placid, the Mountaineer in Keene Valley, and other outdoors stores. These books are no substitute for experience, but they do reinforce lessons you’re likely to hear from professional guides and veteran climbers. I own several…
By Phil Brown
Lindsay Facteau recently sent us this photo of a wildflower that she and her boyfriend found along the road in Duane in the northern Adirondacks. “I thought this flower was a trumpet flower, but looking at other flowers, I guess I was wrong,” she said in an e-mail. “Can you tell me the name of…
By Phil Brown
Rock climbers risk their lives in pursuit of their passion. So they’re a tough bunch. Just listen to this snippet of dialogue between Jecinda Hughes and Josh Wilson. “You’re getting to the midway point of your rope, honey,” Jecinda yells to Josh. “Thanks, babe,” Josh replies. “That’s OK—I’ve got only about ten feet to go.”…
By Phil Brown
We were shocked to hear of Dennis Aprill’s death over the weekend. Dennis was the outdoors writer for the Plattsburgh Press-Republican and taught journalism at Plattsburgh State College. The newspaper reported that he died Saturday from pancreatic cancer. Dennis, who was sixty-three, had just published the third edition of his guidebook Good Fishing in the Adirondacks.…
By Phil Brown
Ed Ketchledge, the man responsible for saving the alpine vegetation in the High Peaks, died on Wednesday at eighty-five. Ketchledge taught or touched the lives of many of the scientists working in the Adirondacks. He also authored the book Forests and Trees of the Adirondack High Peaks Region, which many hikers use to identify trees…
By Phil Brown
In the July/August issue of the Explorer, I describe a short hike to the Stillwater Mountain fire tower. Once the tower is rehabilitated, this will be a nice outing for the general public, but the state Department of Environmental Conservation warns that the tower should not be climbed in the meantime. DEC spokesman Stephen Litwhiler…