Guide to the Great Outdoors 2021

Short and Sweet

I have never been a long-distance hiker. Planning and commitment are needed to tackle the big peaks, and if I’m honest I have never shown a particular aptitude in either of these areas.

Early last spring, in places where it was normally loud, it was often nearly silent. There was little automobile traffic and few open businesses. And people, if they left their homes at all, were not stopping to chat.

Lost and Found

The shiny, clean Subaru pulled over and a friendly voice from behind a surgical mask asked, “Everything OK? You need a ride to the next stop?”

50 Hikes

Autumn leaves created a kaleidoscope on the muddy trail as I slogged up Owls Head Mountain in Long Lake, in October 2015. I was 49 years old and facing major changes in the coming year. In February I would turn 50, and I was less than thrilled about the milestone.

For the Record

Fifty-nine years ago in mid-July, Peter Welles hiked the Adirondacks’ 46 highest peaks in 11 days. The 22-year-old was never alone on the trip, tackling the first half of the expedition with his dad, Gillette “Toots,” and then the rest with friends from Camp Pok-O-MacCready, in Willsboro, where he had attended summer camp.

A Reel Challenge

Fishing has become a part of my life’s fabric. It wasn’t always—in fact, it’s only been since last spring, when COVID-19 made our family full-time residents of Blue Mountain Lake.

Blue Line to Blue Line

Big things are worth doing. They create defining moments of your life. That’s why, when I heard about the 240-mile Trans Adirondack Route, I knew I had to do it.

And Nature for All

As a child growing up in the South Bronx in the 1960s and ’70s, I dreamed of one day exploring the outdoors and traveling to scenic natural spaces around the world. Where would an inner-city kid like me get the idea to venture into the great outdoors?

A Healthy Obsession

Kayaking is a sport I picked up at midlife. And while I wouldn’t exactly say learning to kayak was part of a midlife crisis, it did represent a departure for me, as I had never self-identified as an athlete.

On Sale Now

February 2026

Meet Lake Placid’s Tate Frantz, a top ski-jumping contender at the Milan-Cortina Olympics—plus Fourth Lake ice hockey, North Creek Ski Bowl lore, brews at Lake Clear's historic Charlie’s Inn and more!