Northeast Wild

  The good: no cell service, lookouts to bushwhack to, free primitive camping.  The bad: people who don't appreciate nature (best to visit Mon-Thu before Memorial & after Labor Day weekends if you prefer tranquility & being one with nature). Nov 2024 - Lake George Wild Forest: Site #3 (Pike’s Beach) in the Hudson River Special Management Area is no longer a designated campsite. Repairs to Campsite #4 have been completed and it is now open.  May 21, 2023 - NUMBER SEVEN & HUCKLEBERRY MOUNTAINS hike from the end of Alden Ave, SW of Warrensburg. A relatively recent addition to the Forest Preserve with no marked trails but lots of old logging roads makes for fairly easy access to this area. Started by going past a gate & soon made a L on a lesser dirt road (going straight on the better dirt road soon leads to private land - guess how I know). The old logging road is quite obvious for at least 1.5 miles. A beaver pond is on the L - saw ducks & gees...

  May 2022 - Although I have paddled in upstate New York every month of the year, I can't say that I look forward to dipping my blades in the water in winter, or the fringe weeks before and after winter, when I can otherwise opt to hike or cross country ski, snow conditions permitting; plus I don't think it is a really good idea to sit on one's butt for all twelve months of the year. Low-elevation ponds and lakes that are located south of the Adirondack Park are usually ice-free by early April, whereas those within the Adirondacks tend to lose their cover of ice by mid to late April. Streams and rivers generally open up a bit sooner. This year seems to be progressing normally – in early April, there was open water but still a fair amount of ice on Lake George (elevation 315 feet), and most Adirondack lakes above 1,000 feet elevation were still locked in. There are several good reasons to get out for an early-season paddle, and one very good reason not to. The Go...