Boating rallies planned for Weller Pond Saturday
By Mike Lynch
Paddlers are planning to congregate at Weller Pond Saturday to show their support for making the water body, along with Little Weller Pond, motorless.
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Protect wants motorboats banned from Weller Pond
By Phil Brown
Protect the Adirondacks wants motorboats banned from Weller Pond and Little Weller Pond near Middle Saranac Lake. If you agree, you have until Friday to submit comments to the Adirondack Park Agency. In a draft unit management plan (UMP) for the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest, the state Department of Environmental Conservation did not ban motorboats from the two ponds, but it is proposing to impose a 5-mph speed limit.
DEC proposes put-ins along upper Hudson
By Phil Brown
Soon after the state purchased the MacIntyre East Tract, Brian Mann and I explored it by paddling the Hudson and the Opalescent rivers. We launched our canoes beneath a bridge over the Hudson and took out at a spot where the river abuts the Tahawus Road. From the bridge we paddled down the Hudson through…
Paddling The Lower Bog River
By Phil Brown
In the nineteenth century, the Bog River’s reputation for remoteness attracted numerous writers of the day, who invariably depicted the headwaters as dismal, lonely, and insect-infected.
Outfitter Publishes 2 New Maps For Paddlers
By Phil Brown
St. Regis Canoe Outfitters recently published two full-color, waterproof maps for paddlers: “The Whitney Wilderness” and “The Raquette River.” Both are a convenient size—24 inches by 18 inches—and fold up like a brochure. The scale for both is 1:50,000. Though less detailed than U.S. Geographical Survey topo maps, they are more than adequate for paddlers.…
Don’t Be Fooled: Big Brook Is Not Flatwater
By Phil Brown
I took this photo of Big Brook early Friday evening while driving between Tupper Lake and Long Lake on Route 30. If you’ve driven that highway, you’ve probably admired this scene. And if you’re a canoeist, you’ve probably wondered if the brook can be paddled. It certainly looks inviting. Several years ago, I succumbed to…
Sneak Paddle Can Be Useful On Adirondack Streams
By Phil Brown
As mentioned in a prior post, I encountered hellacious alder thickets on Negro Brook near Onchiota this month. However I maneuvered my double-bladed paddle, it got tangled up. I ended up grabbing branches to pull myself through. At the time, I wished I had a short paddle to get through the jungle. A few days…
Lots Of Adventure In ‘Explorer’ Outings Guide
By Phil Brown
Have you ever taken in the vista from Iroquois Peak? Paddled up the Opalescent? Skied across frozen ponds near Fish Creek? Followed Don Mellor on an ice climb above Chapel Pond? You can read about all those adventures and more in the forthcoming Adirondack Explorer’s Annual Outings Guide, an anthology of recreational stories from past…
Negro Brook Has It All: Thickets, Blowdown, Rapids
By Phil Brown
The Bloomingdale Bog Trail starts near Saranac Lake and ends eight miles later near Onchiota. Following an old railroad bed, it is ideal for jogging or mountain biking. I recently went to the trail with a different purpose in mind: canoeing. This is an idea I had for a while. Negro Brook flows under the…
Paddling (And Spelling) An Adirondack River
By Phil Brown
With the arrival of spring, the Adirondack Explorer is shifting its recreational focus from skiing and snowshoeing to paddling and hiking. The May/June issue, which we are finishing this week, includes my account of a canoe trip on the Grass River that Carol MacKinnon Fox and I did last year. Or were we on the…