The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
By TOM WOODMAN Spend a half-day with Brian DeGroat and you’ll notice he uses the word connection a lot. Not in the texting-tweeting-digital-everything sense of the word. As executive director of Camp Pok-O-MacCready and its Outdoor Education Center, he’s the leader of an ever-changing community where mobile depends on muscles, not bandwidth. What he and…
For years, volunteers have assisted DEC in responding to accidents at Adirondack cliffs, but at first their help wasn’t always wanted. By DON MELLOR Forest Ranger Rob Mecus got the call at 3:15 in the afternoon. A climber had fallen on Wallface. Rob had been at his Adirondack post for only a couple of years, but he knew what all longtime local climbers…
In early June 2016, Editor Phil Brown enjoyed one of his most memorable canoe trips in the Adirondacks: He spent the morning paddling around lovely Boreas Ponds, taking in breathtaking views of the High Peaks.
Greetings, dear readers, and thank you for joining us for this exciting moment in the history of the Adirondack Explorer. Since you are reading this, I know you have opened the cover of the new-look Explorer and ventured this far into a publication that we have redesigned in the hope of serving you even better. As you read, you will find that we…
Carol and Phil enjoy a wild ride and hike and swim on trip to Lows Ridge. We almost forgot about the rock climb. By PHIL BROWN Carol says I come up with my best trip ideas at the breakfast table. Since this was the last day of her Adirondack vacation, I felt the pressure to suggest something special. She likes to swim,…
Advocates say 400-mile route from the Adirondacks to Algonquin Park would promote international wildlife corridor. By ALAN WECHSLER The two-year journey of a seven-hundred-pound moose named Alice has inspired plans for a long-distance trail that would connect the Adirondacks to Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park. The Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A) Trail would combine existing hiking trails, rail trails, main roads, and back roads to…
By Mike Lynch
The state, local towns, and individuals are taking steps to adapt to life in a warming world. By MIKE LYNCH The Adirondack Park is already experiencing the impacts of climate change. Lakes and ponds are covered with ice for fewer days than they were a century ago; spring is starting earlier in the lower elevations; and storms are becoming more intense and frequent.…
While hiking Split Rock Mountain, guidebook author revels in views of the Champlain Valley, signs of wildlife, and reflections on the past. By DAVID THOMAS-TRAIN Split Rock Mountain, the locale of an ancient boundary between nations, is the exotic and mysterious Far East of the Adirondacks. It’s home to rattlesnakes, bobcats, eagles, and peregrine falcons and the scene of a marital murder, a…
The state’s top tribunal is expected to issue ruling soon in lawsuit filed against Explorer editor after he canoed through private property. By KENNETH AARON A lawsuit sparked by a canoeist’s paddling through private land in 2009 may finally be nearing an end, as New York’s highest court heard arguments in March on whether the…
This January morning in Wanakena couldn’t be more different from the day two years ago when a violent turn of nature broke the historic heart of a community. Today, a bracing wind moves over the dry, cold snow that covers the homes, walkways, and riverbed of this former mill town. The Oswegatchie River flashes in…