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Adirondack High Peaks Journal is an audio journey to the 46 High Peaks of the Adirondacks. Day and overnight trips on the trail act as the framework for a discussion of Adirondack history, controversial issues, stewardship efforts and generally, life in the woods. The program is written, researched, and produced by WNBZ News Director Chris Knight, who starting in June of 2002 began climbing all of the 46 High Peaks. Along the way you'll be able to hear every footstep, every birdcall, and listen to some interesting people all with something to share about the High Peaks. Chris is a former Assistant Forest Ranger in the High Peaks, and has also worked for the Adirondack Mountain Club, the Appalachian Mountain Club and the National Park Service. That brings in mind a disclaimer: the routes used and attempts made at various summits are not necessarily recommended for the first-timer (listen to trip 2). It's also worth mentioning this program is not intended to bring more people to the High Peaks - it's to educate, inform and entertain. We hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to e-mail any comments.

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Verplanck Colvin and Surveying the High Peaks

Click here for Audio of Trip #1

This is the first program in the series which answers the question, what is the purpose of this program? Fittingly we begin with talk of Verplanck Colvin, possibly the most important historical figure in the exploration of the High Peaks and the Adirondacks altogether. Join me and a friend in a day trip up Mt. Colvin and Blake Peak as we encounter a few confused hikers, some patches of snow, an original Colvin survey marker, and our limitations after a long winter of not using those hiking muscles.

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Knowing Your Limits in the Backcountry

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The fearless foursome crossing Marcy Brook (Click for a larger view)

In June I set out with family members and friends on a trip to the two highest peaks of the Adirondacks - and as it worked out neither were climbed. Instead we bailed out for Mt. Colden, a shorter distance from our campsite in Avalanche Camps. This was a two day trip which tested the decision making skills of our group. As you'll hear from those we talk to, making sound judgments about travel in the High Peaks is an important and, in many ways, a life or death skill.

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On the Rocks, Off the Vegetation!

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Being a summit steward on an Adirondack High Peak can be a challenge. Not only are you battling the elements and the bugs, you're also dealing with large numbers of hikers who all want to trample the vegetation - not really, some just don't know any better. This trip takes us along the spine of the McIntyre range - Wright, Algonquin and Iroquois. Along the way you'll meet two summit stewards and many other folks. Though Marshall is also part of the same range, we'll be saving that for a special program coming along in a few weeks.

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Super-hiking the High Peaks

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An Oregon man broke a decades old record in the High Peaks this year by climbing all 46 in a span of three days, 18 plus hours. But you may have heard about it already. Why? It wasn't publicized in many ways as you'll learn. And that's just what irks a number of Adirondack locals and purists. We'll talk to Ted "Cave Dog" Keizer about his adventure and the response it elicited. My journey in this program takes us over the Lower Great Range - Lower and Upper Wolfjaw, Armstrong and Gothics - about as many peaks as I'd take on in one day.

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Mud, Bugs and Glory - Trail Work in the High Peaks

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It's 80 plus degrees. The bugs are swarming. I am helping a volunteer trail crew move a pit privy . . . who could ask for anything more? This trip explores the world of trail maintenance in the High Peaks answering one main question - who in their right mind would sign up for such a detail? The answer . . anyone who cares about the mountains. We'll hike to the top of Cascade and Porter today, and make a side trip to a trail project off of the Northville-Placid Trail. Along the way you'll learn there's no shortage of trail work that needs to be done in the High Peaks and no shortage of enthusiastic people that are willing to do it.

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Life in the Woods for Adirondack Women

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Follow along on a trip up Esther Mt. - the first and only High Peak to be named for a woman. We'll talk to Sandra Weber, author of The Lure of Esther Mountain and find out what was so interesting about this mountain that made it the subject of her first book. Susan Dineen of the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mt. Lake also clues us into life for Adirondack women - locals or visitors - and what a contrast it was in some cases to the Victorian standards of the mid to late 19th century. Esther is also our first trail less peak - interesting considering the amount of development that's been built up around it over the years.

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Guiding in the Adirondacks

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This journey brings us to the top of Street and Nye, a pair of "trailless peaks." The subject of the program is guiding in the Adirondacks, as Bill Nye was one of the most famous of Adirondack guides. Learn how well hotel and independent guides got along (if it all) from author Chuck Brumley. His book Guides of the Adirondacks: A History is one of the most extensively researched and comprehensive books on the subject - including page upon page of biography for numerous guides. Listen to the cool waters of Indian Pass Brook as we scramble to the top of Street and Nye and wonder why so many people seem to get lost on these mountains.

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Managing the Wilderness

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After nearly thirty years the High Peaks Unit Management Plan was finalized in 1999. In the years since, numerous new regulations have slowly been implemented affecting day and overnight use into this popular recreational area. In this trip to Phelps and Table Top we'll consider the causes, effects, and future of this management plan. We'll talk to several people along the way - a representative of the Adirondack Club, an Adirondack Guide, and several ordinary hikers - to learn just what some of these new regulations have meant to them.

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Weather and Climate in the Mountains

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The view from the top of Big Slide Mt., which we climb in this journey, is an impressive one. But what will the view, the forest, and the conditions and the mountains themselves be like in another 100 years. If global warming continues at it current rate, as you'll hear from author Bill McKibben, things could be dramatically different. In this edition of Adirondack High Peaks Journal we'll also talk to Ray Brook meteorologist Bob Kampf, who's been keeping weather and climate data faithfully in Ray Brook for more than 45 years. This hike brings us up Big Slide via the Brothers, a popular and spectacular hike.

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TR and The Upper Works

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Climbing Allen Mt. as a day hike is one of the longer and most unanticipated journeys for many pursuers of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks. For those reasons it's often left as the last one on the list. During our trip up Allen in this program we'll think about the connection that Teddy Roosevelt has to this southern part of the High Peaks - his ramble up (and quickly down) Mt. Marcy, a day and a half before he would become President. We also will take part in one of TR's favorite activities - birdwatching. And the trip also includes a tour of the Upper Works, a long since abandoned mining operation, now a deserted collection of crumbling buildings.

Where's the trail to Allen? (Click for larger Picture)

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The Names of the High Peaks

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What's in a name? That is the subject of this edition of the program. Join me in a discussion of how many of the High Peaks of the Adirondacks got their names, and what it's like to try and name a mountain these days. In doing the latter we'll talk to a member of the Adirondack 46r's who's been working to change the name of two High Peaks in the Dix Range to honor a pair of Adirondackers. We'll also talk to a Tupper Lake man working to name a mountain just outside the High Peaks for a slain civil rights activist. And along the way we'll journey to Sawteeth, one of my favorite High Peak names.

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Forest Fire in the High Country

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2002 was a busy year for those fighting fire in the Adirondacks. It also marked 99 years since some of the largest forest fires in the history of these mountains ravaged 400,000 acres. In this edition of the show, we'll travel to a shoulder of Noonmark Mountain en route to two High Peaks (Dial and Nippletop). On this slope of mountainside a good size fire broke out in the summer of 1999 and eventually consumed 90 acres. Though small in comparison to some of the historical fires of the Adirondacks, the visit provided a unique opportunity to learn about how fires are managed in these mountains and how much the Noonmark site has recovered since it burned. Regarding the former we'll talk to DEC Captain John Streiff and Forest Ranger Director Andy Jacob. As for the ecological look at the Noonmark site, we had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Ken Adams of Plattsburgh State and the Miner Institute in Chazy.

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Adirondack Rock and Ice Climbing

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As we pass the half-way point in the journey to the 46 High Peaks we take a look at some of the history, issues, and concerns around technical climbing in the Adirondacks. In a conversation with climber, guide, teacher and author Don Mellor, we'll learn why the Adirondacks are such a special place to many climbers and what effects that affection has brought to bear. On foot we'll travel to Giant of the Valley and Rocky Peak Ridge on a snowy October Sunday, of course nearby one of the Adirondacks busy climbing areas - Chapel Pond. Having climbed 24 of the 46 at this point, you'll hear in the introduction that the show will be taking a brief hiatus, which doesn't mean you won't hear from us this winter, but that we are extending High Peaks Journal into next year.

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Mt. Marshall

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In this first of two special winter editions of Adirondack High Peaks Journal we'll travel through Avalanche Pass on skis, one of the classic trips in all of the Adirondacks. Our destination: Mt. Marshall, a trailless peak of the McIntyre Range. We'll also take a look at the topic of avalanche through a basic avalanche safety course I attended recently. Wax up your skis and join me!

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Whiteface

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Whiteface Mountain is what many people think of when they imagine winter in the Adirondacks, as its home to a popular and world-class ski resort. And of course Whiteface has been the site of many other interesting "developments" through the years, unlike other High Peaks that have retained that forever-wild character. One interesting development at Whiteface is the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, which consists of two facilities - a summit observatory and another research building. We'll talk the people conducting and organizing this interesting research during a ski journey up the Whiteface auto road.

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Cliff & Redfield

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In this journey, our first of the 2003 summer season, we'll travel to Cliff and Redfield, a pair of trailless peaks in the heart of the High Peaks Wilderness. You'll also learn about the ongoing efforts of Adirondack commuities to try and control those annoying and legendary Adirondack black flies. Bring your headnet and bug dope!

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The Tahawus Land Deal

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On this trip to the three peaks of the Santanoni Range you'll learn more about the recent acquisition of a 10,000 acre parcel at the southern gate of the High Peaks Wilderness . The property, closed to public access for decades, contains numerous small mountains, trails, ponds and other water bodies such as Henderson Lake, part of the Hudson River headwaters. It is also the former site of a historic mining community once visited by then Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt. We'll talk to a key party involved in brokering the deal - Joe Martens of the Open Space Institutue - as well as nearby residents in the Town of Newcomb for their thoughts on its implications

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Noah John Rondeau - Life of an Adirondack Hermit

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We'd be remiss to talk about the Adirondack High Peaks and not mention one of its most interesting and curious characters - The Mayor of Cold River - Noah John Rondeau. The historical accounts of both he and his hermitage on the Cold River provide a glimpse into a wilderness style of living that has come and gone. We'll talk to William "Jay" O'Hern author of Life With Noah about the interesting perspective he took on Rondeau's story. We pair discussion of Noah with a trip to the nearby Seward Range - the westernmost of the 4000 footers.

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The Adirondack's John's Brook Lodge

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For years the Adirondack Mountain Club has introduced many rookie hikers to the wonders of the High Peaks through a rustic lodge located along the scenic John's Brook in Keene Valley. In this episode we'll learn more about the history of John's Brook Lodge as we make our way across the Upper Great Range. Saddleback, Basin and Haystack, the three mountains we'll be climbing, offer spectacular views and some of the most rugged terrain in the region.

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Trip 20 - Reflections on Mt. Marcy - The State's Highest Peak

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Mt. Marcy, highest in the state, was first climbed in 1837, long after many high points in other Northeastern States had been conquered. For example, Mt. Washington in New Hampshire was climbed in 1642 by Darby Field. Why were Marcy and the rest of the High Peaks passed over for so long? We'll try to answer this and many other questions surrounding Tahawus or Cloudsplitter through converstations with author Sandra Weber and former forest ranger Peter Fish. On the trail, we'll hike not only Marcy but it's neighbors - Skylight at Gray.

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Trip 21 - Coming Full Circle - Finishing Off the '46

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Our two year journey to the 46 High Peaks of the Adirondacks comes to a close with this journey to the five peaks of the Dix Range. As you'll learn its a trip that brought me full circle to the first mountain range I explored in the Adirondacks with my college outing club. Just too bad the weather couldn't be as good this time around, as you will hear. During the program you'll also hear from the head of the Outdoor Program at St. Lawrence University, which has been using the Adirondacks as a base for leadership and recreational programs for nearly a dozen years.

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