2021 Book Review #19: New York Adirondacks

 

My sister Hope, who is 5 years younger than me, and also loves the Adirondacks (in fact, she lives on the edge of the southern ADKS in the central part of NYS) gave me this non-fiction history book for Christmas several years ago.

It's the type of book that I've slowly read through, depending on where I'm hiking or kayaking/camping/staying/visiting, etc.  I finally have read through all of the sections!  It's a fascinating book guide.

Summary

This guide aids experienced mountain hikers and campers/paddlers, as well as first-time visitors to our beloved mountains called The Adirondacks.  The Adirondack Park is comprised of 6 million acres.  It is considered the largest park in the lower 48 states.  It's bigger than Yellowstone National Park and Yosemite National Park. It's even bigger than the state of Rhode Island! The State of New York owns less than half of it.  The rocks found in the Adirondacks are the oldest rocks in the East. (but not in the world...Greenland holds that honor!).

The book is divided into 10 major sections using the different regions of the Adirondacks. Those regions are:  

1. Far North Region (north of the actual High Peaks): this includes DeBar Mountain, Lyon Mountain, and Silver Lake Mountain.  I've not climbed those as they are over 3 hours north of my house
2. The High Peaks Region (includes the eastern High Peaks, western High Peaks, Dix Mountain Wilderness region/Keene Valley region; Whiteface Mountain area, Lake Placid Village; Giant Mountain Wilderness area; Sentinal Range Wilderness Area; Hurricane Mountain Primitive Area (one of my fave climbs is Hurricane Mt!); Jay Mountain Wilderness Area (I climbed Jay several years ago and it's a fave); McKenzie Mountain Wilderness Area (I've climbed Ampersand Mt in this region); and other smaller areas in the High Peaks (I've climbed many smaller mountains and deep woods hikes in these areas as well as 3 High Peak mountains). This region is what makes the Adirondacks most famous to people out of our state.
3. Hudson River Region: this includes the primitive area, the canoeing, fishing and rafting areas. I've hiked some easy deep woods hikes in this area as well as kayaked on some small lakes here.
4. Champlain Valley Region: this includes Ausable Chasm (I've been there twice) and the Hammond Pond Wild Forest area.  Again, this is rather a long day trip so I've only hiked a few times in this region.
5. Lake George Region: This includes the village, the lake (what most out of staters flock to), the Lake George Wild Forest (I've hiked many trails here); the Pharoah Lake Wilderness area (I've climbed 2 mountains in this area); and the Schroon River/Schroon Lake area (we've kayaked and hiked in this area). This area is only 45 minutes from our home so we hike here often. 
6. Southern Adirondacks Region: this is where my family camp was when I was growing up as well as where my mom was born and raised and my dad's parents retired there as well and dad had a family camp there in the 1940s when he was growing up.  This is the area where I've done most of my hiking with my husband and daughters and some family members.  This area includes: Wilcox Lake Wild Forest (very remote!); Silver Lake Wilderness area (again, very remote and hardly populated but has some awesome hiking trails!); Ferris Lake Wild Forest area; Hudson River Recreation Area (great for camping, fishing, paddling).
7. Central Adirondack Region:  (this is by far my absolute favorite region of the Adirondacks and where we rent a cottage every summer on Long Lake) This region includes The Siamese Pond Wilderness region (I've hiked a few trails here...very remote); Blue Mountain Wild Forest area (we've climbed Blue Mountain one of the top 100 highest mountains in NY); Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest area (I've climbed Vanderwhacker 3x) and the Hoffman Notch Wilderness Area.
8. West Canada Country Region: this includes the Blue Ridge Wilderness area; the Moose River Recreation Area; West Canada Lakes Wilderness area; Jessup River Wild Forest area, and the Black River Wild Forest area.  This is where I've done some hiking and camping and there are many beautiful deep woods trails and good fishing/hunting in this region.
9. Fulton Chain of Lakes Region: this includes the Ha-de-ron-dah Wilderness area; Fulton Chain of Lakes (wonderful group of lakes for boating, swimming, camping, etc); The Fulton Chain Wild Forest area (good hiking here); The Sargent Ponds Wild Forest area (I've climbed 1 mountain here); Pigeon Lake Wilderness area (I've hiked in this area as well); Independence River Wild Forest area (3 hours north-west of our home so we never go although my parents took me through there as a child); Beaver River Canoe Route; Stillwater Resevoir area (Ive camped/paddled and hiked in this area). 
10. Northwest Lakes Region: we have rented cottages here and I've hiked several trails and mountains in this region.  It's quite far from my home so we only hike here when we stay in Long Lake. This region includes: William C Whitney Area; Lake Lila Primitive Area; Saint Regis Canoe Area; Cranberry Lake Wild Forest (3 hours north from my home so i've never hiked there); Five Ponds Wilderness area; and Pepperbox Wilderness area.  These last 2 I have never been in.

Each section/region of this book includes flora, fauna, places of interest and the history behind them.  It includes maps.  You can learn about places to camp for backcountry camping (rugged) or state park campgrounds; you can read about day-long or week-long mountain climbs.  The book also contains some of the local peoples favorite fishing spots.  It also includes a section about the natural history of the mountains as well as some of the mountains' features.

This is a very comprehensive guide that I highly recommend if you plan on visiting our beloved Mountain regions. 

I will refer to it often, especially when venturing out on a new to me area.

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for any age over 7.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.