December 2020

To the Mountain

My hometown of Morrisonville, on the Saranac River, is a five-minute ride away from the stores and fast-food joints of Plattsburgh. But follow the river west and those same five minutes bring you to the brink of the vast Adirondack Park.

Looking Up

It’s Erik Danielson’s 30th birthday. He strides purposefully, pack on his back, along a shoulder of Route 3 near Ampersand Mountain. He’s doing one of the things that makes him happiest.

Homeward Bound

We launched the long war canoes on the St. Regis River, at the put-in just above the low dam in Keese Mill. The river is quiet here and the color of iced tea and we had it all to ourselves as early summer bugs—both physical and metaphorical, blackflies and the on-going pandemic—kept crowds at bay.