Broadwing_Blog

Doug and Jack Raft the Grand Canyon

7/28/2022

We recently returned from a sixteen-day rafting trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon Over the years we have led ten or so wilderness ventures together throughout North America, but on this one we joined Canyon Expeditions as participants and were under the leadership of their fine guides. It had all the elements of what makes a great, and we mean GREAT, trip.
It had fine people. Nineteen folks, mostly retired with a range of expertise from medicine to teaching. We laughed and cried together and gelled as a group in ways we always hope for but rarely succeed at.
The six guides, three men and three women, had decades of experience and their love of the canyon was clear in everything they did.
We had nearly perfect weather. No rain, (to the detriment of the water levels), with daily temperatures ranging from the low sixties, to a couple of days in the low nineties.
And then there was the Canyon. It is a stunning environment whose beauty changes daily in ways you can’t anticipate. Photos, of which I took hundreds, don’t do it justice.

0 Comments

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

12/15/2020

0 Comments

Here's the first article I ever had published as an ambitious 27 year old trying to establish NCCC's Wilderness Recreation Leadership Program. The program was finally established in the summer of 1979.

Journal of the New York State Outdoor Education Association
Spring/Summer 1977
Wilderness Recreation Education: We Need It Now!
By Jack Drury

What is Wilderness Recreation Education? Today’s accepted definition of wilderness comes from the 1964 Wilderness Act in which Congress used the definition, an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”1 Recreation is often defined as the wise use of one’s leisure time. If this is the case, then Wilderness Recreation Education could be defined as instruction in the wise use of one’s leisure time in an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man. Or, in a more condensed form, it could be the instruction in leisure activities in the natural environment that has not suffered from the impact of man.

The basic objectives in offering a Wilderness Recreation Education program are: (1) to offer students an opportunity to be involved with direct learning in the outdoors; (2) to instill an understanding of ways to exist within and enjoy the wilderness environment; and (3) to develop an awareness of and appreciation for the need to conserve and maintain the wilderness environment for generations to come.

As the length of the work week decreases in our nation and the efficiency of our productivity increases, people are finding more and more leisure time in their lives. The average per capita income is rising, just as the number of working hours is decreasing. In meeting the special problems related to increasing incomes and increasing amounts of leisure time, there is a growing responsibility for our society through educational institutions to provide for the development of recreational skills in all individuals. Millions of people have turned to our wilderness environment to spend their leisure time, thus putting increased pressure on our limited wilderness resources. Since 1940, the U.S. population has increased 63 %, while trail use in many wilderness areas has increased by 1000%! 2

Recreation Equipment Inc., one of the largest outlets for wilderness recreation equipment, has pointed out that in 1971 their increase in sales over the previous year was more than its total sales in 1967. This would seem to indicate that there were more people using wilderness areas for the first time than the total number of people using such areas in 1967.3

Future demands on our wilderness resources will increase. The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation conservatively estimates that hiking will increase 78% from 1965 to 1980.4 Wilderness camping has more than doubled since 1970 in our National Parks.5 Today, there are an estimated 10 million hikers trying to use a limited amount of wilderness.6 The result is a series of related problems, the most serious one being safety. Many individuals swept away by the popularity of wilderness recreation, have not had any formal education in the ways of the wilderness. The result has often been accidents and tragedy. In the Adirondack Mountains alone, there were over 100 search-and-rescue missions conducted during the last two years with several deaths reported.7 Two deaths were attributed directly to a lack of knowledge about the outdoors. The individuals were ill prepared, lacked basic knowledge, and in one ease, had poor leadership. Two individuals died of hypothermia also known as the ‘Killer of the Unprepared.”

This past winter there were a number of spectacular rescues which fortunately avoided tragedy. Senseless tragedy was avoided only because of the greater responsibility assumed by State Rangers who have increased their surveillance of individuals using wilderness areas. Tragedy was not avoided, however, when Stephen Thomas became lost in the Adirondack High Peaks last April never to be seen again. One week later, Michael Caruso drowned on the Raquette River. In both incidents basic rules of wilderness travel were broken.

Injury and loss of life are one result of lack of Wilderness Recreation Education, but nearly as important is the growing destruction of our wilderness areas, often unintentionally done, through lack of knowledge. Many wilderness users do not realize the impact they have on the environment. They often unknowingly erode trails and litter and destroy natural vegetation, especially along lakes and streams. These wilderness users consume vast quantities of firewood and pollute wilderness watersheds with detergents and human waste. These careless actions take a high toll on the environment and take away from the great values inherent in the experience.

The past winter I spent 21 days cross-country skiing and snowshoeing across a large section of our Adirondack wilderness. It was depressing to travel through beautiful woods only to come upon a lean-to in which someone had torn up a portion of the floor to start a fire or to see someone’s garbage strewn around the campsite. Other’s thoughtlessness detracted from my own wilderness experience.

There is a definite need to inform people of the proper outdoor procedures so that their negative impact on the environment will be limited. First, we must develop and promote exemplary behavior patterns for wilderness living. Second, we must develop a wilderness ethic through which individuals can appreciate and learn to care for our wilderness resources. Without the development of exemplary behavior patterns and a wilderness ethic, all of the wilderness areas that Congress has set aside for posterity seem doomed. Paul Petzoldt, founder of the National Outdoor Leadership School, has stated, “Classified wilderness regions are not being threatened by mining, timbering, or ranching interests; the destruction is coming from those very people who fought so gallantly to get the (Wilderness) act passed. All the study, thought, and effort was devoted to putting a legislative fence around primitive areas rather than developing techniques for their proper use and conservation.”8

With the increasing number of people interested in taking advantage of our wilderness areas, we have another complex problem. Not only do we have abuse of the wilderness, but we have overuse, with too many people often crowding together to create an urban setting within the wilderness. This not only increases wilderness abuse, but greatly detracts from the value of the wilderness experience. While education alone cannot remedy this problem totally, it is noteworthy to point out that studies have shown that the carrying capacity of a wilderness area (the number of people an area can hold before the wilderness becomes damaged and loses its natural character) is more than doubled if campers have experienced a program in wilderness recreation education!

These are some of the problems in wilderness recreation. A vocational, avocational Wilderness Recreation Education program could help meet these problems head-on. Through Wilderness Recreation Education, individuals could acquire the skills necessary to pursue wholesome outdoor recreational activities without overtaxing our wilderness resources; individuals could acquire the leadership skills and knowledge of the dangers often involved in outdoor experiences, how to avoid or how to handle them, should they occur; individuals could learn the exemplary behavior patterns necessary to preserve wilderness areas, thus allowing large numbers of people to make use of our wild outdoors, yet still maintaining the natural wilderness experience. An important by-product will be increasing the carrying capacity of wilderness areas, thus limiting or preventing overuse.

Unfortunately, there are not enough outdoor education programs today that are helping to meet these goals. We have a critical choice - we can work, through education, to prevent the tragedy and destruction occurring within our wilderness areas or we can have government agencies regulate our wilderness resources until they resemble a large Central Park rather than a true wilderness. Restrictive regulatory measures are already being taken by the National Forest Service, National Park Service, and state wilderness management agencies. But these policies are unfortunately, though necessarily, more concerned with controlling numbers of people than with educating the public in wise use of the wilderness areas. The day has already come where we must reserve space in a wilderness camping area and we can only camp in specific locations. Unless we carefully educate, the freedom of wandering through wilderness areas and appreciating their splendid wonders will be lost. No longer will wilderness be, “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man…”

We must not let this happen. Sound programs in Wilderness Recreation Education can no longer be seen as vague, distant options. They are basic and become more of a critical need each year. Our future and that of our children depend on it!

FOOTNOTES
1.   Howard Zahniser. 1964 Wilderness Act, quoted by ed. Melville Bell Grosvenor in Wilderness U.S.A. (Washington, D.C., National Geographic Society, 1973), p. 10.
2.   Harvey Manning, “Where Did All These Damn Hikers Come From?”, Backpacker, 10 (Spring, 1975), p. 39-
3.   Ibid. p. 38.
4.   Robert C. Lucas and Robert P. Rinehart, “The Neglected Hiker”, Backpacker, 13 (February, 1976), p. 35.
5.   “In His Own Words”, People, (June 7, 1976), p. 54.
6.   Maurice H. Pomeranz, “Backpacking Becomes Big Business”, Backpacker, 5 (Spring, 1974), p. 32.
7.   “32 Search and Rescue Missions in High Peaks Area Conducted in 1974”, Lake Placid News, (December 5, 1974).
8.   Paul Petzoldt, The Wilderness Handbook, (New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1974).

0 Comments

Life Gets Away From You

1/16/2018

0 Comments

We haven't posted anything here in a number of years. I thought I'd post that we're extremely busy in the outdoor recreation field. Between guiding, providing shuttles, Doug working on restoring the St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower and my work with Adirondack Community-based Trails & Lodging which is morphing into Adirondack Hamlets to Huts, and of course spending time with grandchildren, life is extremely busy and rewarding.

The snow conditions are currently excellent and we spend as much time as possible either alpine or cross-country skiing.

As you plan your outdoor adventures keep us in mind whether it is for a guided trip, a shuttle, or additional outdoor recreation services.
Enjoy the winter!
Jack

0 Comments

Becoming 46ers Part 2

8/15/2015

1 Comment

Sandra Geisinger completed her quest to become a 46er yesterday on Whiteface Mt. Congratulations Sandra! It has been great fun helping Sandra and her husband become 46ers and I will miss working with them.
Best wishes Sandra and David!

1 Comment

Becoming 46rs

8/9/2015

3 Comments

Over the last two summers I've had the privilege of assisting a couple, Sandra and David Geisinger, finish their 46. (The 46 peaks in NYS over 4,000 ft) Last summer we summited Marshall and Gray Peaks on one trip and Haystack on another. This year we have climbed Allen Mt and David finished his 46 on Iroquois Peak last Saturday. Sandra will finish on Whiteface next week.

Congratulations David!
One to go Sandra!

3 Comments

Want to Leave No Trace? It's harder than you think.

2/16/2015

0 Comments

The New York Times shared a recent article regarding wildlife research that shows that recreationists do indeed have an impact on wildlife even in winter. Check it out HERE.

Thoughts?

0 Comments

Coney Mountain Tupper Lake

10/2/2014

2 Comments

After a trails meeting in Tupper Lake today my colleague, Joe Dadey, and I hiked up nearby Coney Mt. We noted that of the four cars in the parking lot two were from out of state. One from Florida and one from Alaska. Seeing the ADK license, we were not surprised that the mother and daughter from Alaska were also summer residents of Tupper Lake.

It was a great day to be outdoors!

Having hiked Goodman Mountain a month earlier we pondered the idea of Tupper Lake creating their own version of the Saranac Lake 6er Program. Perhaps they could call it the Tupper Lake Ten. It might include:

Mount Morris (Big Tupper)
Coney Mountain
Goodman Mountain
Mount Arab
Panther Mountain
Floodwood Mountain
Iron Mountain
Frederica Mountain
Mount Matumbla
Moosehead Mountain

Some of these are on private land and if they aren't viable perhaps others could be substituted. I know that I have been to the top of seven of theses peaks and they are generally very easy and have great views. It would complement the Saranac Lake 6er Program nicely.

What do you think?

2 Comments

Goodman Mountain - Named after a Mountain of a Young Man - Tupper Lake, NY - Jack Drury

9/3/2014

0 Comments

I wanted to hike up Goodman Mt as soon as I read about the trail dedication last week. I was fifteen years old when Andrew Goodman and his two young colleagues went missing. The movie Mississippi Burning brought it all back when it came out in 1988. Andrew Goodman and his colleagues were true American heroes. The least I could do was climb the mountain named in his memory. My colleagues Joe Dadey and Duane Gould joined me on this short (3.2 miles round trip) fairly easy (<600 ft ascent) climb. I encourage you to do the same and try to think back to 1964 and think if you would have been brave enough to do what Andrew Goodman and many other young men and women of that era did.

0 Comments

Haystack Mountain - High Peaks Wilderness Area - Adirondack Park, NY

8/21/2014

0 Comments

Story to follow soon.

0 Comments

Essex Chain Lakes Management Complex - Draft Unit Management Plan, by Doug

7/17/2014

0 Comments

Essex Chain Lakes Management Complex Draft Unit Management Plan

Public Comment Opportunity

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation will be accepting comments on the Draft UMP until July 25, 2014.
Complete information can be found by clicking here to open the DEC page about this plan.

Doug's formal comments to the DEC are posted below. Be sure to send your own comments before the 7/25/2014 deadline.

July 17, 2014

Josh Clague, Natural Resources Planner
625 Broadway, 5th Floor
Albany, NY 12233-4254

lfadk@gw.dec.state.ny.us

RE: Essex Chain Lakes Management Complex - Draft Unit Management Plan

Dear Josh Claque:

This letter contains my comments on the Essex Chain Lakes Management Complex - Draft Unit Management Plan. I found the plan to be well written and comprehensive. Although the plan is moving quickly, it is obvious that a lot of effort has been expended to put it together. Overall the plan has many positive proposals that I support, it also has some proposals that concern me and may even be precedent setting. These comments reflect my thoughts on both what I see as positive about the plan and what I am apprehensive about. In all cases these remarks are offered as practical and constructive comments.

II. NATURAL RESOURCES AND PUBLIC USE
A.2. Biological
a. Vegetation
Please note that while exploring the area last fall I identified a stand of Phragmites near 8th Lake. It is just off the four-wheeler trail that leads to the lake.
Coordinates:
N 43 degrees 53.019’
W 074 degrees 13.352’

c. Fisheries
The following is quoted from the Public Use section:
“However, fishing will likely be a popular activity.
The Essex Chain Lakes and surrounding water bodies are fairly accessible. As access to this area is improved, fishing pressure can be expected to increase in the short term. Experience with similar acquisitions, such as the Whitney Wilderness Area in 1998, suggests that public use will begin to level off as public curiosity is satisfied.”
This statement is significant to the public’s use of the area in general, not just in regards to fishing. It seems that many of the more restrictive proposals in the plan are based on concerns about the level of use in what could be termed the “curiosity phase”. Indeed public use of areas such as Whitney, Lows Lake and Lake Lila have leveled off. Over time, the more restrictive proposals in this plan will not be necessary or even relevant. It may be argued that in the future the plan could be amended and restrictions eased, but we all know that this is difficult to do and rarely happens once a plan is in place.

B.1. Gates
I urge the Department to use natural barriers in place of gates wherever possible. Even as of last fall there seemed to be an over proliferation of gates in this complex. These man-made structures should be carefully considered with natural barriers such as rocks, timbers and plants used whenever feasible. As “old roads” become impassible to vehicles existing gates should be removed.

B.2. Motorized Access and Parking Areas
a. Near Hudson River and Iron Bridge
Moving this parking lot closer to the Hudson River is a practical and sensible decision.
b. Deer Pond
Although I recognize that parking lot size can be utilized to control public use, parking for 10 day use vehicles and 15 overnight vehicles at this site is totally inadequate. Due to the widespread use of small solo boats now commonly paddled in the Adirondacks, even most small groups will have multiple vehicles just to transport their boats. The parking inadequacies of the Lows Lower Dam site is a prime example of what occurs when the parking capacity of an area is undersized as related to the actual carrying capacity of the area being accessed. There is plenty of room for adequate parking at the Deer Pond site, please use it to expand on what is proposed.
c. Outer Gooley
Designation of a 6 vehicle existing parking area in the vicinity of the former Outer Gooley Club is a practical and sensible decision.

B.4. Camping
b. Camping Permit System

Utilizing the Adirondack Interpretive Center as the location where permits are issued for camping at the 13 designated primitive tent sites in the Essex Chain Lakes Primitive Area which require a permit is a good plan for the initial opening of this area. Various other systems were used during the “curiosity phase” when the afore mentioned areas were first opened. In each of those cases it was found that once the initial influx of users leveled off that these systems were no longer necessary. Even though the plan calls for a review of this reservation system at the end of the 2014 season, I would also suggest that the language in the plan be changed to allow for a comprehensive re-examination of this system at the end of the 2016 camping season or at least no later than the end of the 2018 season when the hunting camp leases expire.
The limitation of camping to a 3 night maximum is unnecessary. Current Forest Preserve regulations requiring a camping permit for more than 3 nights at one location are adequate for addressing this concern.
The prohibitions of camping at large for the Essex Chain Tract are unnecessary. In almost all Adirondack Forest Preserve units the vast majority of camping takes place at designated sites. The few campers that camp legally in undeveloped sites under current regulations are rarely a problem. Current regulations are adequate to address environmental concerns related to camping in undeveloped areas.
Here is a statement from this section of the plan that is a concern; “…, and the maximum day use and overnight group size is 8 people.” While an overnight group size of 8 people does have precedence, limiting day use groups to 8 people is unprecedented and is not acceptable. In fact, further in this plan in the section titled Promulgation of Regulations a day use group size of 15 is proposed for enactment as regulation. The discrepancy between these two sections leads me to believe that the reference to an 8 person day use maximum in this section is either an error or a last minute addition to the sentence. A day use group size of 15 is acceptable. Please address this and let me know what the actual intent for day use group size is.

c. Fires
Although I personally always carry a cook stove and use it for almost all my cooking in the backcountry, I still find that the prohibition of fires on the shoreline sites in the Essex Chain is an unnecessary rule. I believe that the campfire ban in the Eastern High Peaks was a practical and necessary management tool and has made a difference there. The situation there is much different than what is found in the Essex Chain. The High Peaks have been heavily used for decades and camping use is year round. In addition the forest types found there differ greatly and are more fragile than those found in the Essex Chain. I have camp in many of the Forest Preserve units that are primarily accessed only by canoe and kayak users. In all cases I have rarely if ever seen the degradation mentioned in the 32 year old citation from Cole, Dalle-Moll. In fact I believe that the conditions stated in the opening paragraph of this section describe more front country locations than they do back country. It is fair to point out that camping on these sites will primarily take place during the short warm season in the Adirondacks. There are many months each year when these site will lay fallow and rest.

I have camped in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario and the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area in Minnesota. Both those places have existed for decades and receive much more use than the Essex Chain will get. Fires are still widely used in these places and there is little sign of the degradation that is feared to occur here. In the Boundary Waters fires are kept very small by a regulation that restricts their location to within the small iron fire grate that is permanently installed at each campsite. I realize that there are those in the DEC and the APA that would feel these types of units do not meet the natural standards set forth in the APSLMP, but if they were to see these units in action they would feel differently.

In addition to all this, the regulations proposed in the plan regarding fires are confusing. Some places they are allowed and some places they are not. The public will struggle to understand and accept the differences.

VI. DETAILED MANAGEMENT PROPOSALS
1. Public Motor Vehicle Access
I am please to see that providing access to both the Chain Lakes and primitive area trails for persons with disabilities is a priority.
The CP-3 parking area to be located west of Fifth Lake is ideally sited. In fact when I explored the area last October I identified that same area as a possible location for this use. I also support and am pleased with the proposals outlined in section 4. Accessibility.

6. Trails
c. Mountain Biking
I am pleased that the Chain Lakes Road (North) and the road to the Iron Bridge have been temporarily designated for mountain bike use through September 30, 2018. I encourage the Department to expand mountain bike use during this period to all the trails identified on Map 10. Equestrian and Mountain Bike Use. Further, I strongly support the permanent designation of mountain bike trails on all the units in this Management Complex.

8. Floatplanes
The lean-to site on the north end of Tirrell Pond in the Blue Mountain Wild Forest is an example of the degradation that can occur on campsites used by floatplane customers. With the concern about user impacts on other campsites in this complex it is important that the floatplane only sites be closely monitored and the exclusive use of them be re-examined periodically. Language calling for this review should be added to the plan.

Additional management considerations
In order to properly maintain and fund the stewardship of this complex I strongly encourage Lands and Forests to work with the Division of Operations to establish a Maintenance Management Plan to be included in section VI of this plan.

The number and variety of new user policies and restrictions proposed in the plan will be confusing to the public. I encourage the Department to streamline and standardize the rules and regulations proposed for the different units in this plan. In almost all cases the current Forest Preserve regulations, if properly enforced, are adequate to address user impacts

As former commercial forest lands with a complete network of roads, the character of this complex well fits the classifications that have been assigned to the various parcels. I am pleased that this plan allows a diversity of citizens and user groups to access the property. People with disabilities will be well served by allowing the access outlined in this plan.. The road network is a fantastic resource for mountain biking and I am happy that this activity is being study for permanent inclusion in these areas.

Thank you for consideration of these comments.

Sincerely,
Doug Fitzgerald
NYS Licensed Guide
Broadwing Adventures

Mountain biking along the Cedar River

0 Comments

<<Previous

Doug and Jack Raft the Grand Canyon

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

Life Gets Away From You

Becoming 46ers Part 2

Becoming 46rs

Want to Leave No Trace? It's harder than you think.

Coney Mountain Tupper Lake

Goodman Mountain - Named after a Mountain of a Young Man - Tupper Lake, NY - Jack Drury

Haystack Mountain - High Peaks Wilderness Area - Adirondack Park, NY

Essex Chain Lakes Management Complex - Draft Unit Management Plan, by Doug

Essex Chain Lakes Management Complex Draft Unit Management Plan

Public Comment Opportunity

Doug's formal comments to the DEC are posted below. Be sure to send your own comments before the 7/25/2014 deadline.

Jack Drury
& Doug Fitzgerald

"Like" us on Facebook Page

Links:

Archives

Categories

Essex Chain Lakes Management Complex Draft Unit Management Plan

Public Comment Opportunity

Doug's formal comments to the DEC are posted below. Be sure to send your own comments before the 7/25/2014 deadline.

Jack Drury & Doug Fitzgerald

"Like" us on Facebook Page

Links:

Archives

Categories

Jack Drury
& Doug Fitzgerald