Adirondack Life

I bought it in the haze of mothering a toddler and a baby, when gear wasn’t so much about me, but necessary tools to feed, transport and entertain my kids. I picked the brand because it’s known for its sturdy, rugged packs. And this one was my favori

Colden is cliffy. Algonquin is steep. Marcy is the biggest of big girls. Gothics is the gnarliest of gnarly boys. And then, south of the High Peaks, in the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest, between the towns of Minerva and North Creek, overlooking

In some circles the term “peak-bagger” is disparaged, the belief being that checking summits off a list in record time distracts from appreciating the natural world. But there are folks out there, like Erik Schlimmer, whose brains are wired to system

Ron Johnston has become pretty handy with what he calls his “bear nuisance gun.” The town of Webb police chief has on several occasions needed to fire the weapon, an orange-handled pistol/noisemaker called a Screamer Siren, to scare off black bears t

One of the unvarnished joys of summer is savoring a fireside meal cooked under the stars and served on the finest foil. But if your al fresco cheffing game has grown stale, here are a few fresh takes from the new Campfire Cookbook: 80 Imaginative Rec

The lifespan of an Adirondack summer isn’t much longer than a mayfly’s—practically as soon as you’ve worked up a solid sandal tan, the maple trees have sent up their first orange early-warning flags. So to help you live your best Adirondack life this

Barkeater Trails Alliance (BETA) is a member-supported nonprofit organization committed to improving and maintaining existing ski-touring and mountain-biking trails while promoting and advocating for expansion of human-powered opportunities in the gr

I could feel the excitement grow as my dad and I stepped out of the car and we made our way down to the riverbank. Much of the day had been spent driving, and we were eager to catch our first glimpse of the Opalescent River. Swatting away the cobwebs

Back in the day when people listened to music on iPods, I stood at the base of Chapel Pond Slab and spun the click wheel to Kind of Blue. Although a novice climber, I had it in mind to free-solo a route called Empress—that is, climb it without a rope

SKITTLES ON WATER awash in white. That’s what the colorful whitewater kayaks look like in the raging flow of dam-released rivers. From April through October, top paddlers gather for the Class lll to Class V+ rapids on rivers around the Adirondacks. S

Last year, I tagged along as the Friends of Hurricane Mountain joined volunteers scattered across the state to honor fire towers and observers by lighting the towers’ cabs at 9 p.m. on September 1. (St. Regis and Stillwater fire towers also participa

They stood outside of Izzy’s Deli, in the center of North Creek, 15 trekkers about to embark on an experiment. Under the spring-lit morning sun, they waited for pictures to be taken, then one of them cut the ribbon that marked the beginning, and toge

Here are four of the 140 destinations in Eastern Trails, the Adirondack Mountain Club guidebook I author. Over five editions, the list’s grown from 87. I’ve only been on board part of the way, but I’ve also grown—in fondness for this range of places,

Bird expert Joan Collins calls this waterway “very boreal.” David Olbert, of Cloudsplitter Outfitters, in Newcomb, says it “gives a very remote feeling without being actually remote.” Photographer Johnathan Esper describes its natural beauty as “stup

The burgeoning interest in backpacking, camping, and climbing has greatly increased pressure on mountain-tops, trails, camping areas, and leantos. The results have been the development of herd paths on trailless peaks, damage to fragile alpine vegeta

Hamilton County hosts the ADIRONDACK BOREAL BIRDING FESTIVAL June 6–9, offering guided outings and seminars at the height of breeding season. Destinations include Lake Pleasant’s Fawn Lake trail, Long Lake’s Hitchins Pond, Piseco’s Fiddlers Pond and