Controlling Crowds In The High Peaks
By Mike Lynch
DEC is relying on education and the efforts of partner groups to deal with the increasing number of hikers who have been coming to the High Peaks region.
High Peaks Wilderness
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Rangers locate missing hiker near Elk Lake
By Mike Lynch
Forest rangers found a 49-year-old Saratoga County man alive but exhausted Wednesday, July 5, after he spent two unplanned nights in the woods after getting lost near the summit of Nippletop Mountain.
High Peaks Overuse Issues
By Mike Lynch
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has been grappling with how to deal with the increasing number of hikers in the High Peaks in recent years. I wrote a series of articles about the subject last year, and we will continue to report on the issue again this summer. Above are some photos that illustrate…
Popular Owls Head Trail Closed On Weekends
By Phil Brown
The trail to one of the most popular small mountains in the High Peaks region is now closed on weekends because of problems with parking and hikers. Owls Head in Keene has long been a favorite with families and people looking for a short hike with a great view. The trail to the summit is…
Adirondack Ski Season Draws To A Close
By Phil Brown
On Sunday I spent the day skiing in the backcountry. On Monday I hiked up Baker Mountain looking for wildflowers. Yep, it’s mud season. Although I had two good ski days last weekend, my season is at an end. I skied the Whiteface Memorial Highway on Saturday and several trails in the High Peaks on…
Spring Skiing On Mount Marcy
By Phil Brown
The equinox occurred on March 20. The baseball season opened on April 2. Nevertheless, spring has not arrived on the top of Mount Marcy. I skied Marcy this past Monday and found good conditions from Adirondak Loj all the way to the summit (see videos below). With this week’s rain and warm weather, conditions won’t…
Adirondack Wilderness Advocates Issues Boreas Analysis
By Phil Brown
Adirondack Wilderness Advocates has sent the Adirondack Park Agency a detailed paper, replete with photos, maps, and charts, arguing for a Wilderness classification for nearly all of the 20,758-acre Boreas Ponds Tract. The 46-page document also contains recommendations for several other lands recently added to the public Forest Preserve. The first half of the document…
Pinned Steps: A Suitable Way Up Bedrock Trails?
By Phil Brown
The Adirondack Explorer‘s November/December issue is in the mail, but Mike Lynch’s story on deteriorating trails in the High Peaks is already gaining attention on the Adirondack Almanack, the Explorer‘s online journal. The article, headlined “Trails showing their age,” notes that a combination of poor design and heavy use has led to severe erosion on trails.…
Trails showing their age
By Mike Lynch
Observers say more money is needed to repair and maintain an antiquated network of hiking routes. By MIKE LYNCH When many of the High Peaks’ trails were cut more than a century ago, the work was done by guides and hired hands. Keene Valley’s Orson “Old Mountain” Phelps created the first trail up Mount Marcy in 1861; Verplanck Colvin’s survey workers cut routes up…
Panther Gorge rocks
A coterie of climbers tames the cliffs at one of the wildest, remotest, and most sublime locales in the High Peaks. By ALAN WECHSLER Four and a half hours after our 4:30 a.m. departure from the Garden trailhead in Keene Valley, my two climbing partners and I dropped our packs and looked around. We were surrounded by cliffs: free-standing pillars, tiered walls, slabby…