The Pharoah Lake Wilderness – A Recovered Jewel
This lightly-visited tract may not have same cachet as the much larger Siamese Ponds, West Canada Lakes, or Five Ponds Wilderness areas (much less the High Peaks Wilderness), but its charms are equally alluring.
EXPLORE! Ausable Marsh
A hidden gem in the Town of Peru is the Ausable Marsh encompassing 660 acres of the Ausable River delta on the shore of Lake Champlain.
EXPLORE! County Line Lake
EXPLORE! County line lake on the line between the Silver Lake Wilderness and Shaker Mountain Wild Forest.
EXPLORE! John & Clear Pond Loop
EXPLORE! the John and Clear Pond loop in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness.
EXPLORE! Bailey and Marion Ponds: A Study in Contrasts
EXPLORE! Bailey and Marion Ponds in the Hoffman Notch Wilderness.
EXPLORE! Moxham Mountain
EXPLORE! Moxham Mountain in the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest.
EXPLORE! Second Pond near Gore Mountain
EXPLORE! Second Pond, the one near Gore Mountain, in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness.
EXPLORE! Haystack Mountain
EXPLORE! Haystack Mountain in the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness. Instead of being a High Peak, this Haystack offers a panoramic view of the High Peaks.
So Much Work to be Done
McMartin was an outspoken advocate for trails….This “Short History” attempts to defend that position by arguing New York State has never developed a master plan for hiking trails, and that the hiking trail network as it existed during her lifetime happened more or less by historical accident….we are debating many of the same topics that occupied much of her career. Thus there is a timeliness in posthumously publishing one of her final essays now.
Trails in the Mountain Pleasure Grounds
….So, how did all these routes get to be state trails? The Laws of 1895 authorized the state to lay out paths in the newly created Adirondack Park. There is little evidence that anything was done at that time. In 1909 Governor Hughes advocated trails and roads to give greater access to the “mountain pleasure grounds.” As it turned out, recreational trail building by the state began a few years later, not because of Hughes’ plans, but in a rather circuitous way.
A Short History of Adirondack Trail Building
Hindsight is wonderful! With what we know about the Adirondacks today and what we know about building trails, we could devise the most wonderful trail network, one that would protect the fragile slopes of the High Peaks, take hikers to mountaintops all around the Park, and ameliorate problems of overuse and under-use….
A Message to the Adirondack Wilderness Community
When I moved to Upstate New York in 2013, acquaintances kept telling me about the Adirondacks, how magical they are, with their steep-sided mountains and layers of forest, mirror-calm lakes and clear-flowing creeks; bears, moose, loons. Having lived most of my adult life in the West and coming to New York from interior Alaska, I was skeptical, but hopeful. Could there really be such a large protected area in the Eastern U.S.?…
Cotton Lake: The Wilderness No One Knows
Seeing a potential wilderness designation in an area otherwise classified as wild forest often requires an active imagination and abundant optimism. However, neither trait is needed for one section of the Black River Wild Forest: the under-appreciated “Cotton Lake Wilderness.”
This term refers to a mostly undeveloped section of forest between the Black River and the main branch of Little Black Creek, which I first proposed for a wilderness reclassification in 2006.
The Company I Keep
…The animal seemed in no hurry to flee. I was the only human present on this entire wilderness lake, and he had nothing to worry about from me. So, realizing I might be here a while in observation, I grabbed a can of maple-flavored mead from my stash behind the tent and made this my Main Event. This was something to celebrate!…