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about
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Sonny and adkfoothill@yahoo.com
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Hello from the mountains! Early Summer |
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Newsletter
Spring 2011 Special Rate Group Events
May 14, 2011 $30 ea
Stalking the Adirondack Ostrich: Ferns & Flowers of the Adirondacks June 11, 2011 $30 ea
June 11, 2011 $70 ea (limited enrollment)
Adirondack Byway: A Raquette Falls Hike & Paddle July 16, 2011 $45 ea (limited enrollment)
The Complete Hiker: Fun and Safety in the Wildlands August 13, 2011 $30 ea
High Peak Jaunt: Views from the Summit September 17, 2011 $30 ea (limited enrollment)
Adirondack White Tail November 17-18, 2011 $125 ea (very limited enrollment)
Snowshoe Round Pond Esker & Bogs February 4, 2012 $20 ea
Individuals are invited to register for these group event Prices do not include meals or lodging.
We are please to once again offer very special discount rates for these programs in the Saranac Lake / Lake Placid / Tupper Lake areas. These events are listed at less than half-price in honor of our ongoing committment to outdoor education and our decades-long affiliation with the New York OutdoorsWoman, Inc. Please click on our Education page to read about program content. Unlike the camp-style setting of our regular programs, these special events combine your pre-arrangements for accommodations and meals with our outdoor practice sessions. Winter seemed, for the most part, to bring abundant snow to the Adirondacks. Snowshoeing and back-country skiing conditions were wonderful. We had abundant ice on the lakes for ice fishing...as always, we caution that NO ice should be considered completely safe. Planning, measuring, testing, and proceeding with caution can save your life.
Well, with winter over, we are looking forward to summer as it arrives in the mountains and on the waters. Migratory birds have returned, and the sound of rushing or trickling water is everywhere. As you may have heard, we had extensive flooding of low-lying areas, but the high waters are receding. Geese and loons have returned. Traveling hardened trails in the High Peaks is practical any time after Mothers Day. Our guide service recommends avoiding softer Adirondack trails until Memorial Day. Boots displace soil, especially when it is wet. This has been extensively studied and reported on. William Harlow wrote, in Backpacker Magazine, that each boot track might displace one ounce of soil. That equals 120 pounds of soil per trekked mile. Four hikers could displace one ton of soil by the end of a 5-mile hike! There are a few “hardened” trails that can bear spring traffic. Check out our Hiking page for featured trips.
Trout season is open, and the water is cold and clear. Anglers have stored their jigs and tip-ups. Reels and rods have been dusted off. Tackle boxes and kayaks are showing up in and on cars and trucks as skis disappeared. Our guide service offers great fishing get-aways. Some folks like to fish from the comfort of a pontoon boat, others like to spend time on remote ponds accessible only by canoe. We love to show young people how to fish. Choose your personal paradise by checking out our Fishing page.
Spring flowers begin to bloom by the end of April, somewhat later in the Alpine fields of the High Peaks. The air is cool, the sun is warm, and earthy scents are pleasing. Early flowers include trillium, trout lily, spring beauties, Dutchman’s breeches, pale corydalis, violets, columbine, and lady slippers. Check out our main pages to register for spring flower hikes and paddles.
Enjoy the season! Late summer (from 2010 )
Angling and paddling in the area: Lake Colby is a favored site for rainbow and brown trout, and broodstock salmon. The Saint Regis Canoe Area offers 58 bodies of water, over 18,000 acres inaccessible by motor. Fishing is superb, especially in spring, for brookies and lakers, splake, landlocked salmon, and rainbows. The Saranac Lake chain, host of three ESPN Great Outdoor Games bass fishing competitions, also offers pike, panfish, rainbows and browns.
The Tupper Lake basin provides access to the Ten Rivers area, including the Cold River, Raquette River, Beaver River, Marion River, Oswegatchie River, Saint Regis River, Bog River-Grass River and the Saranac River.
The headwaters of the Saranac River accumulate from more than 37 lakes and ponds. The Saint Regis Wilderness Canoe Area is the only specially designated canoe management area in New York State. Popular routes include the “7 Carries” and “9 Carries” routes. The Raquette River – Tupper Lake waterway stretches over 18 miles. The Saranac Lakes Chain connects three major lakes with miles and miles of wilderness shorelines and many shoreline and island campsites.
Peaks and treks in the area:
Wonderful day-hikes abound in the area. Summits, waterfalls, wilderness stream and pond shores are available for every level of energy and interest.
Forty-six Adirondack High Peaks have summits above 4000 feet (nearby Lake Champlain rests at near sea level). Twenty of the peaks do not have maintained trails to their summits. Becoming a ‘46R’ by ascending all of the High Peaks is a real challenge and an honor. Only one of the Peaks has a roadway to the summit…That means your family and friends can drive to the summit to meet you after you have earned the peak. Contact us for more information.
The High Peaks section of the Adirondacks includes the following Forest Preserve areas: the High Peaks Wilderness, Dix Mountain Wilderness, Giant Mountain Wilderness, Hurricane Mountain Primitive Area, McKenzie Mountain Wilderness, Sentinel Range Wilderness and Wilmington Wild Forest.
Department of Environmental Conservation regulations include the following:
The Bear Facts
Bears are common in the Adirondacks, as the largest resident population in the East. Bears are intelligent and curious, and will investigate anything new or that has an interesting odor that implies food. Feeding bears encourages them to become nuisances or create a downright dangerous situation. Preventing bear encounters:
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