The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
Climbers retrace history on Chapel Pond Slab By Phil Brown A rock climber could spend a lifetime exploring the Adirondack Park. The guidebook Adirondack Rock describes more than 1,900 routes (and the number is growing) on cliffs and crags scattered throughout the region. But you have to start somewhere, and for many climbers, that place is…
By Phil Brown Several years ago, the Defenders of Wildlife abandoned a campaign to reintroduce gray wolves to the Adirondacks after a study suggested that the region’s original canid was the red wolf, not the gray. Now a new study of canid genetics—billed as the most thorough of its kind—suggests that…
Restoring cougars would help forests One need look no further than the Department of Environmental Conservation’s 2010 Strategic Plan for Forest Management to find the rationale to restore cougars to the Adirondacks. The plan details the destructive impacts and biodiversity loss of New York’s forests from superabundant white-tailed deer, a herd now estimated at more…
At first glance the proposal might seem irresistible: a development that would bring affluent residents and visitors, resurrect a cherished ski resort, create jobs, and revive an Adirondack region that desperately needs new vitality. But we long ago moved beyond the first glance at the Adirondack Club and Resort proposal in Tupper Lake. And, sadly,…
By Tom Woodman Some cultures have rituals in which individuals venture out into the wilderness to test their character and attain higher levels of being. In the Adirondacks we have a version of this rite, but it’s not reserved for a special few. Anyone who ventures outdoors between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day takes part,…
By Phil Brown There are some things that you expect to find along the trail to Duck Hole in May: mud, black flies, and wildflowers and hobblebush in bloom. And some that might surprise you, such as two middle-aged men schlepping canoes. They were Donald Perryman Jr. and Rick Cerminara, both of Saranac Lake, both…
Like most people, I’ve stood beneath starry skies gazing in wonder at the heavens. There are objects and phenomena out there beyond our comprehension. Adirondack night skies host mesmerizing celestial light shows. I’ve seen such beauty: the moon rising through and backlighting layers of clouds, casting blue light into eerie forests; meteors and comets streaking…
Lake Placid residents create Xoona website for outdoor athletes who like to compete without the hassle or expense of entering races. By Susan Bibeau It’s two o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon, and I really should be at the Explorer office designing the next issue. Instead, I’m taking a run on one of my favorite…
Attorney says a public interest is at stake in dispute over paddling on Shingle Shanty Brook. By Kenneth Aaron If a court rejects New York State’s effort to intervene in the trespassing case against Adirondack Explorer Editor Phil Brown, the state will go to bat for paddlers on its own, a lawyer representing the state…
Landslide triggered by spring rains threatens homes and rekindles debate over upland development. By Brian Mann O n a rain-soaked May morning, Port Henry Mayor Ernest Guerin met with Governor Andrew Cuomo next to a washed-out road in his village. Guerin came to ask for state and federal help for…