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By Phil Brown
In the March/April issue of the Explorer, Mal Provost wrote about a long whitewater trip on the Middle Branch of the Moose River. Not being much of a whitewater paddler, I opted for a long flatwater trip on the same river earlier this week. From Thendara, outside Old Forge, you can paddle down the Middle…
By Phil Brown
The Middle Branch of the Moose River is not the wildest river in the Park, but try telling that to the American bittern, the osprey, the various ducks, and the kingfishers I saw when I explored the Middle Moose on Monday. Starting in Old Forge, the Middle Branch more or less parallels Route 28 and…
By Phil Brown
Last week’s snowstorm notwithstanding, this is paddling season. In fact, the additional snowmelt from the storm will improve paddling on Adirondack rivers. This is a good time of year to explore the West Branch of the Ausable River on the outskirts of Lake Placid—a river that attracts schools of trout fishermen but is often overlooked…
6 whitewater trips to whet your appetite By Mal Provost There is a time for all things, and the creak of winter will soon give way to the creeks of spring. Whitewater paddlers, rejoice! The Adirondack Park abounds in whitewater. Oddly, many folks think of running whitewater as a sport strictly for the young, hardy,…
By Phil Brown
You know we’re in between seasons when you go backcountry skiing one day and canoeing the next. Last Friday, I skied Mount Marcy with Ron Konowitz. It was so warm than I stripped down to my T-shirt on the ascent. On the summit, we met Keith Kogut, a music teacher in Saranac Lake, who was…
By Phil Brown
Those of you who have been following the saga of Shingle Shanty Brook may be interested in an article that appears in the latest newsletter of the Sierra Club’s Atlantic chapter, written by Charles Morrison, the former director of natural resources at the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Morrison and two other Sierra Club members…
By Phil Brown The Brandreth Park Association is digging in its heels against those who contend that the public has the right to paddle through private land to avoid a mile-long portage between Lilypad Pond and Shingle Shanty Brook in the William C. Whitney Wilderness. Judson Potter, the association’s president, says in a letter to…
By Tom Woodman As we head to Indian Lake for our exploration of the Jessup River, weather is on our minds. The forecast calls for storms by midafternoon, but as we arrive before 8 a.m. the sun is breaking through the overcast and the thermometer reads 54 degrees. Moisture from overnight rain adds a rich…
By Phil Brown
Don’t expect the state Department of Environmental Conservation to reach a quick decision on the Sierra Club’s request to force landowners to remove a steel cable that stretches across Shingle Shanty Brook. In a recent letter to the club, DEC Regional Director Betsy Lowe says the department plans to provide “a comprehensive response” to the…
By Phil Brown
In a post yesterday, I reported that Heartland Forestland Fund would donate 2,661 acres to the state under a plan to modify a conservation-easement agreement in order to allow hunting camps to remain on timberlands in the northern Adirondacks. I now have a map of the lands in question, shown above. Most of the land…