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.
Phil Brown
Phil Brown edited the Adirondack Explorer from 1999 until his retirement in 2018. He continues to explore the park and to write for the publication and website.
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.
Outer Gooley farmhouse condemned
By Phil Brown
June 27, 2019
The state Department of Environmental Conservation, which manages the forest preserve, said in a 2016 management plan that it would leave the building in place until deciding its fate.
Paddlers envision ‘hydraulic jump’ on Saranac River
By Phil Brown
June 25, 2019
The advocacy group AdkAction and two local paddlers, Tyler Merriam and Scott McKim, have asked the state for $404,000 in Downtown Revitalization Initiative funds.
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.
New ADK map updates High Peaks Wilderness
By Phil Brown
April 28, 2019
The High Peaks Wilderness has grown to 274,000 acres, absorbing the Dix Mountain Wilderness, Boreas Ponds, and other adjacent lands. A new map reflects those additions.
E-bikes charge into the Adirondacks
By Phil Brown
March 20, 2019
In 2017, some 34 million e-bikes were sold around the world, mostly in Asia and Europe.
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.