Pack Canoes - A Surging Trend

By Alan Mapes

My first boat was a pack canoe, an Old Town Rushton 12-foot model, made of fiberglass and weighing 35 pounds. That was remarkably lightweight in the early 1970s. For the past 20 years, I’ve paddled sea kayaks, but this spring I returned to a pack canoe. READ MORE

Southern Adirondack Lakes - Hidden Gem of a Ride

By Dave Kraus

It’s been a long couple of socially distanced months for all of us. “Stay home!” and “Flatten the curve!” flash from portable signboards along the highway. Only now are upstate enthusiasts getting back out together to enjoy their favorite outdoor sports. But even now, social distancing is still a priority. READ MORE

Alice Green

By Jack Rightmyer

Dr. Alice Green, the Executive Director of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany that she founded back in 1985, has been an activist and a fighter for racial justice for most of her life. She’s been a prison reform advocate, a civil rights activist, and today she is at the forefront in changing the way many police forces in our country have brutalized the poor and people of color. She attributed much of her perseverance to some of the personal qualities she has acquired by participating in sports. READ MORE

Salute to NICA’s 2020 Graduates

The National Interscholastic Cycling Association middle/high school mountain bike season was canceled due to Covid-19. This was a great disappointment to the senior student athletes who trained hard over the winter months to be prepared to race this spring. They are great young riders who each put time into the program. Let’s give this group a proper send off! READ MORE

We’re All in this Together!

By Skip Holmes

This year has been one of the most significant challenges for those of us who are engaged in our choice of sports or fitness activities. Several earlier attempts to write this article have left me wondering what the result would be or how to even begin. READ MORE

Pharaoh Mountain

By Rich Macha

The 46,283-acre Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area is located east of Schroon Lake. The wilderness area contains many ponds and small lakes as well as numerous small, rocky-topped mountains, but only two of those mountains have trails to their summits – Pharaoh Mountain (elevation 2,556 feet) and Treadway Mountain (2,208 feet) – both are worth hiking. READ MORE

A More Balanced Strategy for Covid-19

By Paul E. Lemanski, MD, MS, FACP

The Covid-19 pandemic in the United States was projected – in a worst-case scenario – to infect as many as 214 million and kill as many as 1.7 million. By June 15th, approximately 120,000 have died. This apparent success (it ain’t over till it’s over) is in part a result of a massive effort on the part of state and federal governments to reduce transmission of the virus via masking, social distancing, hand washing, quarantine of identified cases, as well as the closing of non-essential business/commerce, and keeping folks at home – and thus not congregating. While apparently meeting initial success, the strategy has had other deleterious effects on the economy and healthcare delivery that also pose a significant threat to the health of our population. A more balanced approach is needed. READ MORE

Empire Orienteering Club - Social Distancing Meets

By Tom O’Grady

Many competitive and recreational sporting events have been canceled or postponed, so it seemed like 2020 would end up being the year that wasn’t. The primary reason is that the events require participants to compete against each other and there are many opportunities for contact with participants and spectators. A solution for some tech savvy race directors has been to put on virtual events. READ MORE