Heart of Darkness: Hiking the Adirondacks at Night
Standing on a shelf of rock looking toward the High Peaks, I realized my mistake. I had no headlamp, no source of light, and the sky was already a bruised shade of purple and red. Shadows crept over...
View ArticleBarefoot Hiking in the Adirondacks
Wynde Kate Reese sets off for a day hike that will take her to the top of Rooster Comb Mountain in Keene Valley. She’ll pick her way over gnarled tree roots, pine needles and rock for several hours...
View ArticleSwede Mountain: A Southern Adirondack Fire-Tower Scramble
More than a century after it was erected on top of Swede Mountain, in Hague, the metal fire tower still stands. In its early days the only folks who scaled it were up there to spot fires; now anyone...
View ArticleA Cut Above: Trail-Builder Luke Peduzzi
"I ’m not good with a paintbrush or anything, but I’m pretty good with an excavator.” Luke Peduzzi cracked the beer he’d tucked in his coat pocket at the trailhead. It hissed, shaken from the pedal up....
View ArticleSkills: How to Start a Fire
The science of combustion is enough to make an indifferent student of chemistry’s eyes glaze over, but starting a fire comes down to a couple of simple rules: start small and keep the air flowing. And...
View ArticleHiking: Panther Mountain
This cyanotype of two gentleman picnicking atop Panther Mountain was captured almost 130 years ago by Grotus Reising. Panther, near Tupper Lake, a short scramble with extraordinary summit views of the...
View ArticleHiking: Mount Adams
Mount Adams is a dazzling but somewhat difficult hike, with a distance and gain in elevation similar to the High Peak of Cascade, even though its elevation is some five hundred feet less. The post...
View ArticleOne-Night Stands: Adirondack Mini-Excursions
Sometimes an extended getaway can seem like such a commitment. What if you’re only in the mood for a quickie? Whether you’re down for some easy-access backcountry or you prefer a bed at the end of the...
View ArticleBike the Barns
Adrenaline junkies should look elsewhere; Bike the Barns is “a tour, not a race,” says BikeADK’s Doug Haney, organizer of the fully supported event. The post Bike the Barns appeared first on Adirondack...
View ArticleThree Flatwater Adventures on the St. Regis River
16-Mile Level on the Middle Branch: This stretch has remote boreal habitat where endangered spruce grouse were recently reintroduced and, if you’re up for a short hike, rewarding views from the top of...
View ArticlePole, Pedal, Paddle: Saranac Lake Revives the 3P
“Three P” races that include skiing, biking and paddling have existed for decades—out West in places like Crested Butte, Colorado, and Bend, Oregon, but also in the Adirondacks, from Tupper Lake to...
View ArticleExplore 5 Central Adirondack Communities on the TOBIE Trail
My TOBIE trail adventure last summer was perfectly planned—in my head, at least. The post Explore 5 Central Adirondack Communities on the TOBIE Trail appeared first on Adirondack Life Magazine.
View ArticlePlaying in the Dirt: New Mountain-Bike Trails around the Adirondack Park
Careening down dirt trails on two wheels—usually after a quad-busting, lung-searing uphill slog—has become one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities in the Adirondacks. The post Playing in the...
View ArticleMassawepie: An Off-the-Beaten-Path Fall Outing
Massawepie is an Iroquois term that means “lake by the marsh”—the source of the name being obvious, with the Massawepie Mire virtually touching Massawepie Lake. The mire is the largest boreal peatland...
View ArticleLate-Season Riding at the Ausable Chasm Bike Trails
And then there are the mountain-bike trails he has spent more than a decade creating near Ausable Chasm, all bearing the names of classic heavy-metal bands and tunes. “That’s what I grew up with,” he...
View ArticleFree Skate: How to Build a Backyard Ice Rink
For some Adirondackers, the ultimate in North Country living is being able to ski out the back door. But for Harold Slater, in Jay, it’s about “putting your skates on in the house and heading right out...
View ArticleZero to Jackrabbit: Taking on a Legendary Adirondack Trail
What challenge could you present that tricky knees and rising blood pressure could overcome? What would get the spirit racing toward a goal while also providing opportunity for a comfortable bed at...
View ArticleJohn Dillon Park: Opening the Woods to the Differently Abled
Just north of Long Lake, at the end of a dirt road and beyond an ornate gate, is a campground like no other in the northeast. The post John Dillon Park: Opening the Woods to the Differently Abled...
View ArticleWhat I Didn’t See on the Way to Pine Lake
When I told my 16-year-old daughter I was going on a seven-or-so-mile round-trip hike alone last September, she acted like I was marching to my doom. The post What I Didn’t See on the Way to Pine Lake...
View ArticleHeart of Darkness: Hiking the Adirondacks at Night
Standing on a shelf of rock looking toward the High Peaks, I realized my mistake. I had no headlamp, no source of light, and the sky was already a bruised shade of purple and red. Shadows crept over...
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