When is it OK to stack rocks on the trail?
By Phil Brown
July 19, 2019
Once used to mark the way, cairns nowadays often are seen as monuments to the ego and a blight on the wild landscape.
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Outtakes
Trap Dike is an exhilarating, potentially risky scramble
By Phil Brown
July 1, 2019
It’s more than a hike. Some might call it a scramble, but that seems to undersell the risks. On the other hand, calling it a rock climb makes it seem more difficult than it is.
Judge delays snowmobile bridge
By Phil Brown
June 17, 2019
DEC wants to build a bridge over the Cedar River as part of a snowmobile trail connecting Indian Lake with towns to the north. Because the Cedar is classified as scenic, the green groups assert that building a bridge for motorized recreation is unlawful.
A new trail for mountain biking novices
By Phil Brown
June 4, 2019
BETA built this gem of a trail on land purchased by the Lake Placid Land Conservancy in 2017. The 100-acre parcel is now known as the Three Sisters Preserve.
Wilderness trust buys a new Adirondack preserve
By Phil Brown
May 29, 2019
The property includes eight or nine peaks above 1,000 feet, five ponds, and extensive wetlands along the North Branch of the Boquet River. Peregrine falcons nest on cliffs on Eagle Mountain.
Should we stop rescuing people in wilderness?
By Phil Brown
February 12, 2019
I was intrigued by the essay “The Case Against Search and Rescue,” by Robert Kruszyna, a New Hampshire resident. I later learned he is a physicist who has climbed mountains all over the world and helped write guidebooks to some of the Canadian ranges.
Park officials seek comments on backcountry ski trails
By Phil Brown
January 28, 2019
The APA proposes to adopt guidelines for three types of trails: ski touring trails, for rolling terrain; backcountry ski trails, for steeper terrain; and skin tracks, for accessing slides and other skiable terrain (often using climbing skins). Currently, few trails in the Adirondacks are designed for backcountry skiing.
Adirondacks Walk of Fame: who’s who, who’s missing
By Phil Brown
January 10, 2019
The new Adirondack Welcome Center off the Northway in Queensbury honors 21 people in an Adirondacks Walk of Fame. They include artists, inventors, athletes, an escaped slave, and a vice president of the United States.
Check the ice before skiing on ponds
By Phil Brown
December 31, 2018
All was not lost in recent thaws. We went pond skiing in the St. Regis Canoe Area three days last week and found the conditions ideal: a few inches of fluffy snow over solid ice. The carry trails between the ponds had just enough snow to ski.
Adirondack Park poised to allow wider ski trails
By Phil Brown
December 17, 2018
The Adirondack Park Agency has tentatively approved new criteria for ski trails intended to enhance the experience of backcountry skiers in the forest preserve.