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This weekly report of outdoor recreation conditions in the Adirondacks is compiled each Thursday afternoon and fully updated by Friday afternoon.
Contribute Your Knowledge: Add a comment below, or send your observations, corrections, updates, and suggestions to adklmanack@gmail.com.
Learn and practice the seven Leave No Trace principles. Carry out what you have carried in. Do not leave gear, food, or other items at lean-tos and campsites. Do not litter. Take the free online Leave No Trace course here.
BE PREPARED! Start slow, gain experience. Carry proper safety equipment and weather protection and bring plenty of water and lights, and a map. When on the trail, stay together, monitor the time, and be prepared to turn back. Accidents happen to the most experienced people. Be prepared to spend an unplanned night in the woods in cold temperatures. Always carry food, a space blanket, emergency whistle, first aid kit, fire making tools, extra clothing layers and socks, a map and compass, and the knowledge to use them. Inform someone of your itinerary and before entering the backcountry or launching a boat check the National Weather Service watches, warnings, and advisories here. Follow Adirondack weather forecasts at Burlington and Albany and consult the High Elevation, Recreation, or Lake Champlain forecasts.
Divers, amateur geologists, anglers and anyone with curiosity about what lies beneath the waves, will enjoy the new water depth map of Blue Mountain Lake. The printed contour map reveals dramatic underwater terrain. Sharp cliffs tumble into cavities, giant glacial erratics are scattered about, and unseen underwater ridges link some islands while deep holes separate others.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the Adirondack backcountry.
Consider for a second a fish that can live in turbid, low-oxygen water. Can breathe through its skin. Eats almost anything. Has a wickedly effective defense mechanism. And is a really focused parent. Plus, it’s good to eat.
Registration for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) 26th annual Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshop opens Monday, June 17.
The annual Hendrickson Hatch Fly Fishing Tournament has been set for Saturday and Sunday, June 1-2 in Malone.
It’s tempting to simply view fish scales as armor, but there’s more to them than that. They provide camouflage; they also play a role in locomotion. For scientists working on the recovery of American Shad in the Connecticut River, scales provide a record of a fish’s life history and a way to measure the success of restoration efforts.
Fly fishermen from across the country and Canada are set to convene in Wilmington on May 16 – 18 for the Ausable Two-Fly Challenge.
Monday, April 1st, is opening day for trout fishing. Currently, rivers and brooks in much of the Adirondacks are dangerous or difficult or impossible to access due to deep snow and ice. Rivers and brooks in the Southern Adirondacks and eastern valleys are open but there remains some patches of ice and snow along the banks, and water temperatures are extremely cold.
My advice to nine-year-old wanna-be trout anglers is: “Do not wear a sweater.” Repeat: “Do not wear a sweater.”
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