Adirondack Mountain Guide

[HockeyPuck]

I'm a AMC 4000 Hiker in New England looking to expand my radius into the Adirondacks. Are there any guidebooks that cover the region that you can recommend?

I've looked at the "Adirondack Trails" series (on-line) which seems to cover specific regions. Is there a guide similar to the AMC White Mountain Guide that covers all the Adirondaks?

Thanks in advance

 

[Peakbagr]

The Adirondack Mt Club currently has a series of 7 guide books that cover different regions of the ADK. The Club is in the process of combining them into 5 guides and the new editions should be out by Autumn.
One of the main reasons for updating the guides that that the 5 National Geographic tearproof maps don't completely correspond to the current lineup of the Club's 7 guides. And NG is revising their 5 map set and ADK is lining up the 5 new guidebooks so they correspond with the upcoming mapset.

If you are interested in the High Peaks you can get the ADK's guide to the HPs or wait until the new edition comes out later in the year.

Alan

 

[Gremlin]

Yup. You can get them, or order them through EMS.

 

[Rik]

I'm a AMC 4000 Hiker in New England looking to expand my radius into the Adirondacks. Are there any guidebooks that cover the region that you can recommend?

I've looked at the "Adirondack Trails" series (on-line) which seems to cover specific regions. Is there a guide similar to the AMC White Mountain Guide that covers all the Adirondaks?

Thanks in advance

There are no books. The Adirondacks are currently closed for renovations.

 

[HockeyPuck]

There are no books. The Adirondacks are currently closed for renovations.

Somebody should write a book about that!

 

[Peakbagr]

Kevin,
I was at and ADK Board meeting last weekend and they went thru all the changes. No idea on your question but my sense is that the changes are ones being made to consolidate information rather than revise.

 

[TCD]

ADKs guidebooks have always provided some info on the "Peaks without maintained trails." Lately, there has been a little more info, herd paths shown on maps, etc. But I never needed any other books to reach those peaks.
The Discover (McMartin /Ingersoll) series is nice for a little more background, historical info, etc., if that's what you want. The ADK guidebooks are more "clinical" and are clearly better if you are looking for a book to help you "get the job done."

 

[Tom Rankin]

ADKs guidebooks have always provided some info on the "Peaks without maintained trails." Lately, there has been a little more info, herd paths shown on maps, etc. But I never needed any other books to reach those peaks.
The Discover (McMartin /Ingersoll) series is nice for a little more background, historical info, etc., if that's what you want. The ADK guidebooks are more "clinical" and are clearly better if you are looking for a book to help you "get the job done."

FYI, I would not run out and buy McMartin's book at this point. It is getting out of date for the herd paths and there are plenty of other references for the official trails.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Of course, the "trailless" peaks in reality have rather well-defined trails. It would be useful if some phrase like "unofficial trails" were used, and a section in the High Peaks guide was given to describing these frequently used routes. For the hiker unfamiliar with the ADK's, it would also remove the illusion that some of the peaks were bushwacks.

In the winter, they ARE often bushwacks. Most of them are not marked in any way and they tend to disappear in the Winter.

However, more and more of the herd paths are being adopted. For instance, I have heard that Lilian Brook (Hough), Tabletop, Marshall, Street and Nye, and most likely others are being maintained by various people, many of whom are known on this board.

 

[Nessmuk]

FYI, I would not run out and buy McMartin's book at this point. It is getting out of date for the herd paths and there are plenty of other references for the official trails.

Huh? "book"? There are 11 books in the series each covering a different portion of the Adirondacks. While it is true that Barbara passed away a couple of years ago, and she has not personally updated anything for a time before that, you can't really say the books are out of date.

Bill Ingersoll has several years ago taken over ownership of the Discover the Adirondacks series of 11 books and with the assistance of a few hiking partners have updated several of them, at the rate of almost one per year. The historical information about the trails and settlements originally written by Barbara is still valid and interesting, and has been added to recently in each of Bill's updated editions. Each new printing has updated trail information, including many new trails never before reported, not just updates of major trails found in other books, plus new destinations not found in the previous editions by any other publisher.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Huh? "book"? There are 11 books in the series each covering a different portion of the Adirondacks. While it is true that Barbara passed away a couple of years ago, and she has not personally updated anything for a time before that, you can't really say the books are out of date.

I was referring to the High Peaks guide. I thought the OP was interested in bagging the 46, but he does not come right out and say that. My wife and several other people I know own 'the book', but never reference it. They seem to praise it as a great historical work, kind of like reading what life was like in the ADKs 100 years ago. I don't know anyone who has a newer edition. Thanks for mentioning the updates. (When I said don't run out and buy it, I was referring to the older copies).

A lot of what I post is 2nd hand information. I consider myself a collector of (apparently useless) facts.

 

[WBB]

You may also want to consider online resources. One of the best is: http://www.adirondackjourney.com/

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

The Adirondack Mt Club currently has a series of 7 guide books that cover different regions of the ADK. The Club is in the process of combining them into 5 guides and the new editions should be out by Autumn.
One of the main reasons for updating the guides that that the 5 National Geographic tearproof maps don't completely correspond to the current lineup of the Club's 7 guides. And NG is revising their 5 map set and ADK is lining up the 5 new guidebooks so they correspond with the upcoming mapset.

If you are interested in the High Peaks you can get the ADK's guide to the HPs or wait until the new edition comes out later in the year.

Alan

What I heard last weekend is the National Geographic/ADK map series will be updated for release in Fall 2011, and ADK's guide books will be consolidated (revised?) and released in Spring 2012.

By the way, what are "BB's and Wikilocks"?

 

[DSettahr]

I would say that before you run out and purchase guidebooks, you should have a sense about what it is you are looking for in visiting the Adirondacks. Unfortunately, for many people, when they think about the Adirondacks, they only think about the 46 High Peaks... which is a shame because there is so much more to offer.

First, a few comments to put things into perspective: The Adirondack Park is 6 million acres, and is the largest park in the contiguous states. It is larger than Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Glacier National Parks combined, and is also larger than the entire state of New Hampshire. At more than 2,000 miles, the trail system is also the largest in a single area in the entire United States.

The Adirondack Park, and it's sister park, the Catskill Park to the south, are unique in several ways. First, they aren't all publicly owned. Both parks are a mixture of public and private lands, which is rare for a park. The Adirondack Park strives to be a great example of conservation and preservation of resources on all lands, regardless of ownership- a model that other communities can aspire to. Secondly, the state land within the Adirondack and Catskill Parks is protected as "forever wild" under the New York State Constitution. No other parks in the world have the same level of protection.

So what do you want to do?

I want to climb big mountains: You're looking to visit the High Peaks. There are 46 of them, and they range in difficulty from easy day hikes (like Cascade and Porter), to 20+ mile round trip ascents that involve following unmarked herd paths and are often done as overnights (like the Seward Range or Allen). Most of the peaks are located in the High Peaks Wilderness Area, and most of the rest are in the Giant Mountain and Dix Mountain Wilderness Areas, and two are in non-wilderness areas. Only two of our peaks are above 5,000 feet (Marcy and Algonquin), so they aren't as high as the Whites, but what our mountains lack in height they more than make up for in terms of accessibility (or lack thereof). Keep in mind, though, that this is a popular area- unless you time your trip for midweek, you're going to encounter lots of other hikers (even in the winter!). There are some out of the way spots in the High Peaks that don't get lots of visitors, but overall, solitude is hard to find here.

Your best bet as far as resources go would be to invest in the Adirondack Mountain Club's Guide to the High Peaks Area. A good supplement to this would be the Discover the Adirondack High Peaks guidebook. As others have stated, the ADK's guidebooks tend to be more technical in nature, listing distances in terms of miles, and focusing mainly on the physical characteristics of the trails, while the Discover books tend to include a lot more of the history and aren't as exact in their trail descriptions, and describe travel times rather than linear distances. If the Discover series is out of date, it's because it's largely been the work of a single man over the past few years! Both books are excellent in their own way, and complement each other nicely. The one drawback to the Discover the Adirondack High Peaks book is that it doesn't include all of the High Peaks- Whiteface and Esther are included in a different book in the series (Discover the Northern Adirondacks).

As far as maps go, there is a variety of maps available, but the best all around hiking maps for the Adirondacks are certainly the National Geographic ones. You want the map for the Lake Placid/High Peaks area. These maps are waterproof, tear resistant, and in color. The resolution is a bit small, so they aren't the best for bushwhacking, but they'll get you through hiking on trails pretty nicely. Note that, as with the Discover Series of books, the High Peaks Whiteface and Esther aren't included on the High Peaks Map... you need to get the Saranac/Paul Smiths Map for those mountains.

The internet is also full of resources. WBB is correct in mentioning Adirondack Journey, which contains detailed trail descriptions and maps for each of the High Peaks, as well as suggestions on routes and tips for hiking each mountain or set of mountains. This is an invaluable resource especially for the "trail-less peaks."

I also highly recommend joining the message boards at ADK High Peaks. These message boards are dedicated to hiking in the Adirondack High Peaks. Views from the Top has some good information on hiking in New York, but you can't beat the forums at ADK High Peaks for thoroughness and the breadth of information.

I want to find solitude away from other people: The High Peaks Wilderness Area, which contains the majority of the High Peaks, makes up only about 7.6% of the public land in the Adirondack Park. The Park has soooo much else to offer besides the "big mountains," but few hikers ever take the time to visit the rest.

In particular, the Five Ponds Wilderness, the West Canada Lakes Wilderness, and the Siamese Ponds Wilderness all offer excellent opportunities for backcountry recreation outside of the High Peaks. Each of these wilderness areas is characterized by an extensive trail system that takes you into the heart of the wilderness, with numerous tent sites and lean-tos at which to spend your evenings. The topography of these areas consists mainly of low, rolling hills (with a few mountains), and numerous beautiful backcountry lakes and ponds. Visitor use levels in these areas is also significantly less than the High Peaks, allowing for a much greater sense of solitude.

And that's just a start. You could spend weeks in each of these three wilderness areas, and still not visit all that they have to offer... but the park has even more! The park has 18 different wilderness areas, and 17 different wild forest areas. Wild Forest is different than Wilderness in that higher levels of impact are tolerated- for example, you can ride mountain bikes on some trails in wild forest areas.

If you're interested in visiting some of the trails less followed in the Adirondacks, I highly recommend joining the message boards at ADK High Peak's sister site, ADK Forum. While the discussion at ADK High Peaks tends to be High Peaks centered, the discussion at ADK Forum typically focuses on areas outside of the High Peaks region (there's also some great debates on contentious Adirondack issues!). ADK Forum is a great resource for those areas of the Adirondacks that don't get as much use.

As for which guidebook to get- there are many. Both the ADK and the Discover series encompass the entire park, but it can be confusing to figure out which book to get for a particular area. Your best bet would be to ask on ADK Forum for suggestions on a place to visit, and recommendations for a guidebook to invest in for that area.

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[DSettahr]

I want to hike long distances: You're in luck, the Adirondacks can offer this too. In addition to the extensive trail network that can be found in the High Peaks, we have two long distance hiking trails: the Northville-Placid Trail, and the Cranberry Lake 50, and more trails (like the Adirondack section of the Northcountry Scenic Trail) are being planned.

The Northville-Placid Trail is a 120+ mile long trail from Northville, at the southern edge of the Adirondack Park, to Lake Placid, in the north. Along the way, it traverses some of the more remote places in the Adirondacks, like the Silver Lakes Wilderness, the West Canada Lakes Wilderness, and the Cold River Area of the Western High Peaks. While it is primarily a lowland trail and significant climbs are few and far between, it is a true backcountry trail and the remoteness of the trail requires a fair amount of experience in order to hike it safely.

The ADK has a Guidebook to the Northville-Placid Trail, and this is probably your best bet for information on the whole trail. The guidebook comes with a paper map, but if you want to use the National Geographic Maps on the trail, you'll need both the Lake Placid/High Peaks and the Northville/Raquette Lake maps.

As far as internet resources for the NPT, ADK Forum has an entire subforum dedicated to the trail, reading through old threads there would be a great place to start. There are also two websites dedicated to the NPT, NorthvillePlacid.com, and NPTrail.org. Of these two, NPTrail.org seems to be updated more regularly, and the information is more recent.

The Cranberry Lake 50 is a 50 mile loop trail that circles Cranberry Lake in the northwest Adirondacks, passing through the Cranberry Lake Wild Forest and the Five Ponds Wilderness. As a loop trail, it's nice in that you finish where you start- there's no need for a second car (or a ride) as with the NPT. It does have some remote sections (particularly on the south side of Cranberry Lake, in the Cowhorn and Olmstead Pond areas).

Because the trail is so new, resources for hiking it are limited. The Adirondack Mountain Club's Guide to the Northern Region covers this area, but some of the sections of the CL50 were cut after this book was published, and so they aren't included in the book. The National Geographic's Old Forge/Oswegatchie Map also covers this area, but again, because it is so new, not all of the CL50 is shown on this map. There is an official website for the trail, CranberryLake50.org, which has information. You can also order a brochure on the trail from that site, which includes a map.

I want to paddle: The Adirondacks would be a serious contender for claiming the title of Paddling Mecca of the Northeastern US. In the north and west Adirondacks especially, numerous opportunities are offered for paddling, both easy day trips and extensive backcountry trips. In addition to one wilderness area that is managed specifically for paddling recreation (the St. Regis Canoe Area), we have numerous ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers that are all open to the public for canoeing and kayaking. Many of these areas are posted against motorboat use, ensuring a quiet, peaceful, and safe journey.

Perhaps the best guidebook for the paddling in the Adirondacks is the Adirondack Canoe Waters: North Flow. It's a bit out of date, but rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds don't change as quickly as trails often do, and it's a very comprehensive guidebook to paddling in the northern Adriondacks. There is also the Adirondack Paddlers Guide, available from St. Regis Canoe Outfitters. As for a map, you probably can't do any better than the Adirondack Paddler's Map, a waterproof, tear-resistant, color map covering paddling destinations in the northern and western Adirondacks.

We also have an extensive section of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, a 700+ mile long paddling trail that starts in Old Forge, NY, and travels through NY, VT, QC, NH, and ME all the way to Fort Kent, ME. The Northern Forest Canoe Trail Guidebook covers the entire trail, and contains useful information about the Adirondack Section. To cover the Adirondack Section of the trail, you'd want to get NFCT Map 1, Map 2, and Map 3.

I'm a patch hound. What else does the Adirondacks have to offer me? You're in luck, because in addition to patches you can receive for completing the 46 High Peaks, 46 High Peaks in winter, and the NPT and CL50 long distance trails, we have several other "challenges" for which you can receive a patch upon completion.

Perhaps the most well-known is the fire tower challenge. The fire towers played an integral role in forest protection during the early days of the Adirondacks. None are in operation anymore, however (they've all been replaced by airplane flights), and many have been removed. There are a number still standing on mountain tops, however, and they make worthwhile destinations. In order to receive the patch, you must climb 18 of the 23 mountains with fire towers in the Adirondacks, and all 5 mountains in the Catskills with fire towers. One of the best parts about this challenge is that it is family and kid-friendly- many of the mountains are easy enough to climb that they are excellent hikes to bring young children on. For more information, the Adirondack Mountain Club publishes Views from on High, a guidebook to all of the fire tower mountains in the Adirondacks and the Catskills.

There is also the Adirondack Quest- a challenge designed to encourage hikers to visit areas other than the High Peaks. To complete the quest, you must complete 50 individual day trips. As part of these trips, you must visit at least 15 individual wilderness areas, and at least 15 individual wild forest areas, and no more than 2 trips should be to the same area. Definitely a challenge to aspire to- but the nice in is that this is also family and kid friendly. Apart from the visitation requirements, there are no requirements as to how far you need to hike, or how many mountains you need to climb- you just need to visit the areas on a day hike, whose length and difficulty is of your choosing! For more information, you can check out the Website for the Quest.

And finally, there's the hundred highest. If the 46 high peaks aren't enough for you, you can try your hand at climbing the next 54 peaks to complete the hundred highest mountains in the Adirondacks. Be warned, though- while some of these peaks have trails and are easy hikes, many are completely trail-less, and expert backcountry navigational skills are necessary. Many of these mountains aren't for the amateur hiker! There is a guidebook to these peaks, called The Other 54: A Hiker's Guide to the Lower 54 Peaks of the Adirondack 100 Highest. It's currently out of print, but my understanding is that there is a new edition that will be out this spring.

Whew. As you can see, there is a lot that the Adirondacks has to offer. Go ahead, take the plunge. You'll find that recreation in the Adirondacks is unparalleled by any other northeast destination, and you won't regret it!

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

Impressive - I'll have to go there. Wait a minute.... I'm leaving for Lake Placid in an hour. See you there!

 

[Tom Rankin]

What I heard last weekend is the National Geographic/ADK map series will be updated for release in Fall 2011, and ADK's guide books will be consolidated (revised?) and released in Spring 2012.

By the way, what are "BB's and Wikilocks"?

BB - You are reading one - a Bulletin Board, an old name for posting online to a variety of forms. Sort of a pre-cursor to the internet, but never mind right now, right Pete?

Wikiloc - A place to post track logs and pictures, which are tagged to go together.

Paradox is the master of Wikiloc on this BB!