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Your cover for the July/August issue of the Adirondack Explorer was disgraceful in that it seemed an overtly staged, slanted, and shortsighted depiction of a perceived wrong. It was also a demonstration that the Explorer continues to be anything but balanced regarding the rail-trail issue. Phil Brown’s article was only slightly more balanced. Ripping up…
Tom Woodman’s editorial on management of the Park [“End piecemeal management, March/April 2016] hit the nail on the head. Creating a new Backcountry classification is necessary to adjust to the many influences on the Park that have changed and will continue to change. The growing popularity of biking is a good example. In classifying lands,…
I am watching the Shingle Shanty Brook/private lands issue with great interest. I paddled that route about ten years ago and remember it well. What may be more interesting to you is that here in Florida, where I live, we also had a struggle to keep a public paddling route open. It took about ten…
I must say that I agree with Bill Ingersoll’s Viewpoint [“Greens take the wrong road,” July/August 2016]. And I disagree with the major Adirondack environmental groups about the Boreas Ponds if they want to create a substantial expansion of the High Peaks Wilderness (which I do) but want to keep a six-mile access road into…
Dennis Sullivan’s thoughts about “arranged” walks are intriguing [Letter to editor, July/August 2016]. Two years ago, I walked coast to coast in England along Hadrian’s Path and had the same excellent experience he described. A similar arrangement in the Adirondacks might boost the economies of many of the villages. I disagree with George Locker’s comments…
By Tom Woodman Reporting in this edition of the Explorer shows the challenges facing the state as it tries to keep up with recreational pressures in parts of the Adirondacks. It also points to strategies that can help us preserve the natural character of the region and still serve the hundreds of thousands of visitors…
In New York City, only bicycles with solid tires ridden by children under twelve are allowed on the sidewalks. The reason? A moving bike can injure and kill. And each year many do. Mixing bicycles with hikers on steep, narrow, and rocky Adirondack trails is a bad idea because the two activities are incompatible with one another. However, I do…
I read the article “Moose inspires idea for trail” [May/June 2016] with great interest. The Algonquin-to-Adirondacks trail, which is proposed to promote a wildlife corridor, could also provide economic benefits to nearby villages and hamlets. I’ve backpacked many times in the Adirondacks, including the Northville-Placid Trail. I also enjoy long-distance treks that enable hikers to spend evenings in B&Bs or inns…
Bill Ingersoll’s “A flawed trail plan” [Viewpoint, March/April 2016] refers to the “inexcusable gap” in the state’s proposal for the North Country National Scenic Trail between North Creek and Minerva. The NCNST must cross the Hudson in this vicinity, where the only public bridge is at North Creek. Using this bridge would result in having “to route the NCNST along a portion of…
I just read in the Ithaca Journal about your lawsuit over public access to navigable creeks and rivers in the Adirondacks. We attempted to canoe the Beaver River from Lake Lila but were surprised to find our access blocked by a severe warning posted by private-land owners in addition to a log over the creek. We were aware from our map…