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By Phil Brown
St. Regis Canoe Outfitters recently published two full-color, waterproof maps for paddlers: “The Whitney Wilderness” and “The Raquette River.” Both are a convenient size—24 inches by 18 inches—and fold up like a brochure. The scale for both is 1:50,000. Though less detailed than U.S. Geographical Survey topo maps, they are more than adequate for paddlers.…
By Phil Brown
I took this photo of Big Brook early Friday evening while driving between Tupper Lake and Long Lake on Route 30. If you’ve driven that highway, you’ve probably admired this scene. And if you’re a canoeist, you’ve probably wondered if the brook can be paddled. It certainly looks inviting. Several years ago, I succumbed to…
By Phil Brown
As mentioned in a prior post, I encountered hellacious alder thickets on Negro Brook near Onchiota this month. However I maneuvered my double-bladed paddle, it got tangled up. I ended up grabbing branches to pull myself through. At the time, I wished I had a short paddle to get through the jungle. A few days…
By Phil Brown
Have you ever taken in the vista from Iroquois Peak? Paddled up the Opalescent? Skied across frozen ponds near Fish Creek? Followed Don Mellor on an ice climb above Chapel Pond? You can read about all those adventures and more in the forthcoming Adirondack Explorer’s Annual Outings Guide, an anthology of recreational stories from past…
By Phil Brown
The Bloomingdale Bog Trail starts near Saranac Lake and ends eight miles later near Onchiota. Following an old railroad bed, it is ideal for jogging or mountain biking. I recently went to the trail with a different purpose in mind: canoeing. This is an idea I had for a while. Negro Brook flows under the…
By Phil Brown
With the arrival of spring, the Adirondack Explorer is shifting its recreational focus from skiing and snowshoeing to paddling and hiking. The May/June issue, which we are finishing this week, includes my account of a canoe trip on the Grass River that Carol MacKinnon Fox and I did last year. Or were we on the…
By Phil Brown
The Adirondack Explorer has published a multisport guidebook to the former Finch, Pruyn lands to let people know of the many recreational opportunities on tracts that had been off limits to the public for more than a century. 12 Adventures on New State Lands: Exploring the Finch, Pruyn Tracts has something for everyone: the hiker, the paddler, the…
Though on private timberlands, County Line Flow and Fishing Brook are open to the public as a result of Nature Conservancy deal. By PHIL BROWN The Adirondack Park has its share of uninspired names for lakes and ponds. Think of all the Mud Ponds, Grass Ponds, Deer Ponds, and Moose Ponds scattered over our topo…
By Mike Lynch
Guideboat makers carry on a craft born in the Adirondacks in the mid-1800s. By MIKE LYNCH Building a traditional Adirondack guideboat is a complex task, with ribs carved from spruce-tree roots and with thin hull planks held in place with several thousand tiny tacks. It can take many weeks to complete one. “I grew up working with…
Citing unanswered questions, state’s highest court sends trespassing suit against Adirondack Explorer back to lower court for a trial. By KENNETH AARON The six-year-old navigation-rights dispute between Adirondack Explorer Editor Phil Brown and a group of property owners has been sent back to State Supreme Court Justice Richard T. Aulisi for a full trial, which…