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By Explorer archives
Want proof that Peter O’Shea is a serious naturalist? Pay close attention to the section titled “Wildlife and Changes Around a Homestead” in his new book The Great South Woods II. The homestead is O’Shea’s “own humble abode” in the northwest Adirondacks hamlet of Fine. He acquired it in 1973, moved in shortly after, and…
By Explorer archives
Inspiring stories of female winter 46ers who defy extreme conditions to conquer the High Peaks, experiencing unexpected transformations.
By Explorer archives
When I finished the three-page introduction to The Ardent Birder I concluded, with a yawn, that while very sweet and even tender the book seemed far too basic for an experienced birder like myself. But I found the bordering-on-theprecious tone disarmingly honest and refreshing, and the arrangement of material suggested by the contents meticulously sensible,…
By Explorer archives
On Page 65 of this excellent biography is a photograph of Howard Zahniser in front of Hanging Spear Falls, on the Opalescent River. Snapped by the Adirondack conservationist Paul Schaefer in 1946, it provides a compelling visual reminder of the role of the Adirondacks in the story of wilderness preservation in the United States. Zahniser…
By Explorer archives
Dennis Aprill has come out with another book for people looking to hike outside the High Peaks. His first guidebook, Paths Less Traveled, focused on smaller mountains (less than 2,800 feet). Short Treks takes the concept a step further, describing 20 easy hikes that require no summit climbing. Silver Lake Bog, the Hudson Gorge, Lampson…
By Explorer archives
In her fifth work about the Adirondacks, author Sandra Weber has written a children’s book about her adventures in the High Peaks with her 11-year-old daughter, Marcy. The two trekked 60 miles over 11 days, climbing Mount Marcy and Mount Marshall, hiking to Indian Pass and Avalanche Pass, and camping at Duck Hole. They were…
By Explorer archives
According to a North American meteorology book I once had, the United States is affected by 13 storm tracks, and 10 of them are capable of working their nastiness in one manner or another on the Adirondacks. Perhaps that is why, as the popular saying goes, if you don’t like the weather around here, wait…
By Explorer archives
The Black River flows southwest from the Adirondacks, draining North Lake. It takes a sharp turn at Forestport to continue northwest outside the Adirondack Park. I had to convince the Explorer that a review of Michael Doyle’s The Forestport Breaks really belonged in an Adirondack magazine. It does, because the history of Forestport, with its…
By Explorer archives
Who needs another bird book? Adirondack birdwatchers, and birders elsewhere in North America, have good reason these days to feel as if they’ve been thrust into an Alfred Hitchcock film. Bird books! Bird books! Everywhere we turn, new ones batter our senses, flashing pretty covers, darkening horizons by their sheer menacing numbers, clamoring for our…
By Explorer archives
Untrammeled by man—that was a key phrase in the Wilderness Act, which established the national wilderness system just over 40 years ago, before genderinclusive language gained currency. (Incidentally, the man who coined it, Howard Zahniser, was heavily influenced in his thinking by his experiences in the Adirondacks.) It’s also a phrase that could aptly characterize…