Northeast Wild

  In most years, you can find peak fall foliage in the higher elevations of the Adirondack Park around the end of September and in early October.  By Indigenous Peoples'/Columbus Day weekend, the bright red and orange leaves of the red and sugar maple trees will likely have dropped to the ground, but the yellows of the birches and the golds of the beeches may still be evident. Thanks to climate change, in recent years the best colors have been persisting through to the holiday which falls on October 14 this year - perhaps a little bit late for peak in higher elevations in the Adirondacks? After that date, the colors should pop in the lowlands and the Hudson River Valley. Although there are a multitude of great paddling spots in the northern and western parts of the Adirondacks, for this article I will limit the choices to the areas south and east of Indian Lake, and add some choices outside the Adirondack Park that are easily accessible from the greater Capital District. 14-mi...

  The inspiration for this article came from a question recently asked on a Facebook paddling group. A family, new to kayaking, wanted ideas for places to paddle in the Adirondack Park that would be an easy drive from the Capital Region. There was a wide range of responses, some of them good, and some of them not so good. Since there was not a lot of background and details offered by the original poster – like ages of the children, type of kayaks being put to use, and how much time they had spent using them locally – it made it more difficult to suggest appropriate paddling locations. I could only assume that they had little experience, so a smaller lake or pond with minimal motorboat use seemed like the best choice, since they would be less likely to have issues with the wind and boat wakes. A stream or river with little current could also fit the bill. Here are some of the responses that folks made and my thoughts on each.   THE GOOD Take a lesson. It’s never a bad idea...

Nov 30, 2015 - PUTNAM POND canoeing. Got well below freezing overnight. 1.5-hour morning paddle around the perimeter, some ice around the edges & coves. Lots of ducks, some C geese. Drove up the road a bit & hiked to nearby LOST POND. Interesting loop around the rock-lined pond, water level low exposing some beaches. Temp did not get much above freezing today. 4.3 miles, 2.3 hours. Nov 29 - Drove over to PUTNAM POND & paddled to a campsite in the dark with snow flurries, set up camp. Apr 28, 2015 - PUTNAM POND. Paddled around the perimeter of the pond with shores of red & white pine, hemlock & some birch. Hike to TREADWAY MTN (5.2 miles round-trip, 900' net el gain). Varied woods on the way, an area of leafless hardwoods allowed the sun in, much of the last mile over open rock incl. rose quartz. Far-ranging views to Green Mts, snowy Mt Marcy & Great Range, Crane Mtn, Pharoah Lake, Crab Pond, Glidden Marsh (spent 2 hours enjoying the summit area). ...