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). June 8, 2026 - BEAR SLIDE & mountain hike. Hudson River Special Management Area. Started from the Town Line parking area next to the river. Up the accessible gravel woods road passing 2 campsites & a view of the goal, a lookout ledge on a small unnamed mountain (how about Bear Slide Mtn). Mosquitoes, worse by Buttermilk Brook and the slide. Went up the side of the slide. Bushwhacked up NE side of the mountain - steep. From the top, dropped down SW & hunted for the lookout ledge. A few blackflies met me but soon left, a light breeze. Lovely view S & W with Hudson River below, Hadley Mtn. Turkey vultures flew by. Went down the east side - very steep, precarious. Temp rising thru the 60s into the 70s, sunny, low humidi...

  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...