Almanack Contributor Seth Jones

Seth Jones is the Adirondack Mountain Club's Education Programs Coordinator. He has worked for ADK since 2008 and is a former High Peaks Summit Steward and Johns Brook Lodge Hutmaster.

Seth has a B.S. in Conservation Biology from SUNY ESF. He enjoys a variety of outdoor activities that includes paddling, fly fishing, hiking, skiing and photography.


Thursday, November 13, 2014

#507 Fund Honors Ketch, Protects Summits

Ketch with diapensia trainingIn August of 1968, Edwin Ketchledge finished climbing the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks and received his 46er number, #507. Dr. Ketchledge (“Ketch”) was no ordinary peak-bagger. He was a professor of botany at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, an active member of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK), later a President of the 46ers, and a researcher very much interested in the fragile ecosystem found on the Adirondack High Peaks.

Dr. Ketchledge began experimenting ways to help the alpine ecosystem recover from trampling caused by hikers in 1967. His research began on the summits of Dix Mt. and Mt. Colden. He began by transplanting Deer’s hair sedge, one of the rare alpine species, to see if it could successfully colonize impacted areas. It could not. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, June 22, 2014

Summit Steward Julia Goren: A Rare Alpine Flower

Julia Goren on SummitEvery June I try to make it up to the summit of either Algonquin or Marcy to take in the vibrant colors of the first alpine flowers in bloom.  I usually see lapland rosebay, a pink alpine rhododendron, or Diapensia, a deep green mound with petite white flowers.  If I make it over to Skylight I might even get a glimpse of the alpine azalea, a small, deep pink flower only found on Skylight’s summit.  I also usually see another alpine flower, one even more rare and colorful than the ones already mentioned.

This flower will talk to you about her special, fragile home and even answer your questions about which jagged peak you see off in the distance.  To many, this alpine flower’s name is Julia Goren, a human, but in the alpine ecosystem of New York, she could be considered the rarest and most beautiful alpine flower of them all. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Short History Of The Northville-Placid Trail

Northville Placid TrailThe Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the completion of the Northville-Placid Trail (N-P Trail) this year. The N-P Trail, originally called The Long Trail is a north-south foot path that traverses through the heart of the Adirondacks from Northville to Lake Placid. This 135-mile, long distance hiking trail has captured the hearts of many throughout the years.

The N-P Trail was the first major project that ADK sponsored after the organization’s formation in 1922. One of the objectives as a newly formed organization was “to open, develop, extend and maintain trails for walkers and mountain climbers in the Adirondack Mountains,” as stated in the certificate of incorporation. What better way to do that than to build a trail that runs the length of the Adirondacks? Why pick Northville to Lake Placid though? Why not Lake George to Keene Valley? » Continue Reading.



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