ADK (Adirondack Mountain Club) has released a new addition to its authoritative collection of hiking guidebooks entitled Peaks and Ponds, Adirondack Day Hikes.
Authored by Cat Hadlow and Bobby Clark—two ADK staff members—this brand-new collection of thirty-seven classic and lesser-known trips honors ADK’s 100-year legacy of teaching people how to explore and protect New York’s public lands and waters. It interweaves snippets of ADK history as it leads hikers to beautiful and remote spots throughout the park—places such as Moss Lake, Catamount Mountain, Tirrell Pond, and Kipp Mountain.
The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) invites the public to help celebrate the 10th year of their flagship event, the Lake George Hike-A-Thon, to be held Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Early-bird registration for the event opened 8 a.m. Monday, March 7th and will continue until March 31st, during which time free event t-shirts are offered with registration. Special edition anniversary tie-dye shirts are also available to purchase.
Eager to claim their spots in the event, 250 people registered just in the first hour after early-bird registration for the event opened; nearly 700 people are expected in total.
It’s Sunday evening (March 6) and we just came home from the movies in Old Forge in a howling wind with the temperature at 55 degrees which breaks the record of 43 degrees set in 2004. The power was off a couple times during the movie but came back on, so we didn’t lose much of the plot. As this weather (with changing temperatures) came across the country a few tornadoes touched down across Iowa and one near Des Moines killed 7 people including two children.
This string of unsettled weather is now going through the southern part of New York with quite a bit of red showing on the weather map. This warming trend and the rain overnight last night pretty well whipped many of the snowmobile trails and most of the paved roads they had been using which also bared up. There were some washouts in the Moose River area that the snows this week filled in nicely by the groomer. These were those frozen culverts that I mentioned last week which will have to be repaired before opening in May.
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) is hosting virtual screenings of the World Tour Paddling Film Festival. The annual festival showcases the very best paddling films of the year and is now screening in living rooms everywhere. A portion of proceeds from ticket sales benefits NFCT stewardship and programming.
“We’re excited to once again offer the year’s best selection of paddling films to the NFCT community,” said Karrie Thomas, NFCT’s executive director. “Whether you’re in it for the exploration of secluded quiet waters, or the adrenaline rush of big wave whitewater, the film fest has something for everyone.”
Our crew has a lunch policy. “Not a rule mind you, just a policy” put forward years ago by John Rosenthal. Lunch may not be taken before noon, seating should be comfortable, in the sun, and out of the wind. Given we had been skating for hours on incredible black ice, we were euphoric and ravenous. The speck of dirt called Diamond Island in Lake Champlain’s Narrows would have to do. Then, I saw the loons. I almost missed lunch, and the next day would be one I will always remember.
You would have to be like an Ostrich that hides its head in the sand not to have heard or seen what is happening to the democratic country of Ukraine. The invasion of the Russian army was done under the orders of their leader, President Putin, to take over this country (which did nothing to provoke this attack.) So far, Ukraine has held their ground and kept the Russians from taking over any major cities or toppling their government. Over three million residents have fled the country to the west into Poland, Hungary, and other neighbors to the west with nothing but the clothes on their backs. If you just listen to Fox News and former President Trump (both who have given praise to what President Putin has done), you need to watch a different channel. My prayers go out to the army and the people of Ukraine who are defending their country and their homes.
On a brighter note, one of my amaryllis has its last bloom. This bloom is from one of the three bulbs that I planted in the garden for the summer. I dug up these bulbs when I put the garden to bed, cut off all the green leaves and put them in a cool place in the cellar for over a month. I repotted them just before Christmas and two of the three produced tall shoots with four blooms on each. You could try the same thing if you have an amaryllis that now just has big green leaves.
Gov. Kathy Hochul today designated March 5-6 and March 12-13 for free snowmobiling by all out-of-state and Canadian snowmobilers. During these promotional weekends, the requirement to register in New York is waived for properly registered and insured out-of-state snowmobiling enthusiasts wishing to explore New York’s 10,500 miles of snowmobile trails. The Governor also announced up to $4.2 million for snowmobile trail maintenance and grooming will be distributed to local partners across New York State.
The day dawned as blue as a robin’s egg and comparatively mild, but big snow and bitter cold was in the forecast. So I had a choice. I could spend the day attending to the tough but essential details of North Country living, laying in firewood, fueling the tractor and shoveling the existing snow off the roof of the old garage. Or I could do the totally irresponsible thing and go for a hike.
Ninety minutes after this dilemma had presented itself, we were at the trailhead of Coney Mountain in Tupper Lake, strapping on the ’shooz and reading a history of the little peak on the kiosk by the trail register.
There were multiple reasons for being there, one being that I was doing “research” for a 2023 Explorer piece I’m working on about the Tupper Triad, a three-mountain challenge that includes Coney, Goodman and Arab.
Some people could be making maple syrup this week with the above normal temperatures we are going to get and some more rain. The rain we got last week is still running off in places even with the below zero temperatures we’ve had since then. Several folks to the east of Whiteface Mountain in Jay and Au Sable Forks on the West Branch of the Ausable River had a couple ice jams that flooded several residences and washed away some vehicles when they broke loose. Some of those vehicles could be in Ausable Chasm or even out in Lake Champlain as they rolled down the river in the ice flow.
Recently, I was reading about the log river drives and thought if they had logs in the South Branch of the Moose River Stillwater by Camp Nine this year, those logs would be gone and headed for Lyons Falls. They had a couple scares when they had the river full of logs a couple of years ago, but the ice held until the spring break up before going down river. I looked out last Friday morning and water was four inches deep going across my driveway, so I knew something was wrong with the culverts. Actually, the culverts were fine, but the snowpack was damming up the water before it got to them.
For more than a few Adirondackers, buying groceries is more complex than it ought to be, because the simple act of loading bags in the hatchback is complicated by the presence of skis, snowshoes, spikes and myriad other vaguely medieval looking winter gear left there for the express purpose of impromptu adventures.
Don’t try to tell me I’m wrong about this. I’ve been in the grocery store parking lot. I’ve seen your cars. But it’s OK, because I maintain that you haven’t lived until a previously unnoticed trailhead causes you to slam on the brakes on an icy road, affording the people behind you one of those all-too-rare chances to test out their wintertime evasive driving skills.
If you are into time travel and are blessed with a good imagination, I suspect you would enjoy skiing the Jackrabbit Trail as it passes along Old Mountain Road, a trace that, at somewhere around 230 years old, has to rank as one of the most ancient remaining pieces of still-identifiable pieces of Adirondack infrastructure.
The historic route between North Elba and Keene, it is more easily accessed from the Keene side from Alstead Hill Lane, where it gradually gains elevation and traverses a beaver-assisted wetlands as it becomes increasingly pinched between the rugged backside of Pitchoff and the shoulders of Black and Slide mountains in the Sentinel wilderness.
After hosting the World Snowshoe Championships in 2017, Saranac Lake officials were inspired to keep the joy of that international experience alive by creating and hosting a new snowshoe-themed weekend called the Adirondack Snowshoe Fest set for Friday – Sunday, February 25-27. Participants will have the opportunity to snowshoe at the Dewey Mountain Recreation Center and the Paul Smith’s College VIC . These two venues cater to the outdoor recreational sport and offer varied, uniquely Adirondack experiences. Dewey Mountain trails twist and turn up the gentle slopes of the mountain, which is a short drive from downtown while the VIC allows explorers to enjoy the extensive trail network comprised of wide, well-marked paths that skirt ponds, dip through open forest, and cross wetlands on boardwalks. Both venues will be offering a variety of snowshoe-related activities and experiences, as well as other winter outdoor activities suitable for all ages.
This festival is ideal for those new to snowshoeing as well as those who are advanced in the sport, and will consist of both adult and youth 5, 10 and 15k races. Folks who wish to take part in this year’s festival can register online at the link here: https://www.eventbee.com/v/adk-snowshoe-fest-2022#/tickets. Guests will also have an opportunity to take part in a slew of other fun winter activities including a Children’s Snowshoe Scavenger Hunt & Icicle Obstacle Course, a Snowshoe Disk Golf Tournament, an axe throwing demo, winter fat tire bike demos, local music, beverages and grub, and much more.
All are invited to bundle up and gather with family and friends to enjoy a day of fun winter activities during the 20th annual Frozen Fire and Lights celebration in the town of Inlet on Saturday, February 26. The free event serves as Inlet’s winter carnival, boasting an array of family-friendly activities that have proven to be crowd-pleasing ventures over the years including cardboard sled races, kite flying, face painting, a kids’ stuffed animal workshop, fireworks, and much more.
Guests are also encouraged to take advantage of Inlet’s all winter long specials including all-day free trail access for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, free access to Fern Park’s enclosed ice rink for ice skating and free access to the sledding hill located at Fern Park (situated at 11 Loomis Road in Inlet.) Folks are welcome to bring their own equipment or check out the skate, ski and snowshoe rentals available at Pedals & Petals in downtown Inlet. » Continue Reading.
It was minus sixteen this morning (Monday, February 14). I was feeding the birds just after sunrise and the trees were popping and snapping as the water that collected in their cracks was expanding very loudly. Last night the deer didn’t come through to clean up the fallen seeds from the feeders, so the blue jays took advantage of the opportunity. They were working on those and carrying them off to a safe place for hiding. Yesterday I banded my 50th blue jay since the first of December. They keep coming in from some place and the others move south. The highest count I can get at any one time at the feeders is sixteen, but I know there are many more than that if they all came together.
I mentioned before how the jays fill their beaks with seeds and fly off with them to store somewhere, just in case I don’t feed them anymore. Their beaks are full of sunflower seeds or corn when I catch them in the potter traps. They are so full, in fact, that you can see it while I have them in hand and they can’t chirp (or bite) while their beaks are full. Most times, I can see the seeds and they let me band them, and measure a wing. They also usually let me check for age by looking for bars on the outside feathers of the wing before they go out the window to freedom. And they are still holding those seeds when they are released by the way. Blue jays are one of the most placid birds in hand while banding them. Very often they just lay still and watch what you are doing with their big black eyes. However, their feet are active and grab on to anything that touches them, like your fingers, a pencil, or the banding pliers…and they have a fairly good grip.
Nearly $33,000 awarded to athletes and organizations in the Olympic region
Three competitors at this year’s Winter Olympics received a boost from the Uihlein-Ironman Sports Fund at Adirondack Foundation.
The Uihlein-Ironman Sports Fund (UISF) was established by the Henry Uihlein II and Mildred A. Uihlein Foundation, Ironman North America — now known as World Triathlon Corporation — and Adirondack Foundation. These local organizations have teamed up to help athletes from Lake Placid and the Olympic region achieve their sports dreams, and to help nonprofit organizations that foster and promote life-long sports and healthy lifestyles for local kids. The fund awarded nearly $33,000 in grants and scholarships this year.
Ferd’s Bog hike results in peaceful serenade from White-winged Crossbills
This string of unsettled weather is now going through the southern part of New York with quite a bit of red showing on the weather map. This warming trend and the rain overnight last night pretty well whipped many of the snowmobile trails and most of the paved roads they had been using which also bared up. There were some washouts in the Moose River area that the snows this week filled in nicely by the groomer. These were those frozen culverts that I mentioned last week which will have to be repaired before opening in May.
» Continue Reading.