Many of us in our chapter know Jack from his work at ADK, primarily his involvement in the renaissance of fire towers on public land.The following will give you an idea of the rich fullness of his life.

At the age of seven, Jack was invited to sing in the Choir of Men and Boys at the Washington National Cathedral while attending the St. Albans School on the cathedral grounds. Later as a Boy Scout and achieving Eagle Scout he was introduced to caving, hiking, mountain climbing. Singing was always central to his life; baritone - music from liturgical to bluegrass.

Outdoor adventure found Jack everywhere he pursued academic achievement: Washington and Lee (BA) - hiking and backpacking the Blue Ridge Mountains, Masters in organic chemistry from the University of Washington - hiking in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, PhD in chemistry at Ohio State University - exploring and mapping Kentucky caves. As a research chemist at Eastman Kodak in Rochester,

Jack was introduced to the Adirondacks. Not just a Winter 46er, he went on to become the 31st person to summit the high points of all 50 states in 1994. It's been a pleasure and an honor to have known Jack and to have collaborated on fire tower projects with him. Jack's unique skill of bringing people together and getting things done led to the restoration of forest preserve fire towers starting with Blue Mountain, Azure, and Hadley. Fire towers captured the imagination of the hiking public.

Once those first few fire towers were rehabbed for public access due to Jack's effective advocacy, lobbying prevailed to save those slated for removal, friends groups brought love to the structures via work projects, and most importantly: The Adirondack Mountain Club Fire Tower Challenge. Jack was an original challenge project designer introducing thousands of hikers of all abilities to the wonder of a fire tower hike.

Jack's 2001 book Views From On High, now in its second revised edition helps hikers prepare for and enjoy their fire tower hikes. It all started with Jack. At the age of 70, Jack married Tillie, his long-ago high school prom date and classical oboist, and together they rounded up their 1950s Boy and Girl Scout friends into a group they called Ancient Scouts of North Atlanta. The Ancient Scouts continued to meet annually, reinforcing old friendships and enjoying new adventures.

Jack died Saturday evening, March 9, 2024, in Ogdensburg, New York, while in the diligent and loving care of Tillie and the staff of the nonprofit St. Joseph's Home. It is fascinating to read tributes to Jack from all the corners of his life. So many people have been touched by him in so many ways. It's an enduring pleasure to have known Jack and to have sampled Tillie's latest vegan creations from the kitchen while Jack and I worked on his book's second edition. Here's to Jack and a life well lived.

- Jim Schneider

- K-2 Basecamp Trek August 2023 K-2 is the second highest peak in the world and is known by many names: Mt Godwin-Austin, Chogori, 'the Savage Mountain'. It is located in northeast Pakistan in the Karakoram Range. The mountains here are wilder, more rugged and less inhabited than the corresponding ranges of the Hindu Kush or the Himalayas.

The trek up the Baltoro glacier to K-2 basecamp is a journey of unsurpassed beauty and unforeseen surprises. Tom Rosecrans, owner of Rocksport Indoor Climbing Gym, traveled to the region with his daughters to see for himself if it truly is, as Galen Rowell called it 'The Throne Room of the Mountain Gods'.

Join us for a fascinating PowerPoint presentation describing the topics of Bioregionalism and Environmental Connectedness Theory. Tom will add to his presentation with environmental quotations and by bringing his traditional handcrafted items many of which are in exhibits and headed to permanent collections.

Bioregionalism is a philosophy that suggests political, cultural and economic systems are more sustainable if they are organized around naturally defined areas. These are large, geographically distinct areas of land with common characteristics such as geology, soils, landform patterns, watersheds, regional climatic features, and native animal and plant spe- cies. Living within the limits and gifts provided by a place, creating a way of life that can be passed on to future generations, increasing autonomy and independence within communities will strengthen sustainability.

The Theory of Environmental Connectedness suggests that if humans feel a part of nature and are more connected to the natural world, they will feel a responsibility to care for nature and protect it.

About Thomas Mowatt: Professor Thomas Mowatt is retired from teaching science at SUNY ADK and has dedicated his life's journey to connecting people and nature through education. He has worked as a forest fire investigator, K9 dog handler, grant writer, environmental educator and Adirondack Guide to name just a few. He has a special interest in historic preservation and is currently restoring a 1910 log cabin in Clemons, NY. He is a frequent speaker in our area on many scientific topics.

What is it?

• We know from research and data that trailhead stewarding works. It reduces NYSDEC Forest Ranger callouts. It helps hikers have a more enjoyable experience when properly prepared. It helps avoid the avoidable resource impacts and minimizes the unavoidable resource impacts.

Where?

• We work in the Buck Mountain-Pilot Knob Trailhead parking lot on the east side of Lake George.

When?

• Our primary focus is on weekends during July and August in the morning.

How?

• There will be a virtual training event at the beginning of May. You can sign up for as many or as few shifts as you wish. We're very respectful of your time. We have a storage shed with our material next door at the fire station for convenience.

Why?

• This trailhead launches hikes by mostly new, novice, and visiting hikers. It is much more impactful to reach this audience to achieve an enduring public land stewardship mindset - more so than at other trailhead locations including the High Peaks region.

If interested, contact:
  Jim Schneider
  ADK Glens Falls-Saratoga Chapter
  518-421-4975

In the winter of 2009 Kris Walker was on the path to living out his dreams in the mountains. But, that year, just before the birth of his first son, he also lost a friend in a fire fighting accident. Simultaneously becoming a father and reckoning with the precarious nature of life brought a quick end to his budding dreams as an alpinist.

Fourteen years later, after he had hung up his crampons, seemingly forever, he was back on Rainier. This time with his 14 year old son. Getting to that point was a process. It was a long process which often felt too short. It was deliberate yet mostly serendipitous. Kris would like to share that process with you, along with his endearing relationship with the Adirondacks, and how it has helped form a framework for life, both in and out of the mountains.

There will be some hard skills to take home for winter mountaineering, as well as mindset insights, tips, tricks, and lessons learned adventuring with a young family in the mountains.

No registration required.

• Swede: 09/11 - 12/15 Hunting Season Closure
• Stillwater: 10/10 - 12/20 Hunting Season Closure
• Spruce: 10/21 - 12/03 Hunting Season Closure
• Gore: 11/22 - Until end of Ski Season

These Fire Tower trails will be closed for public access inclusive of these dates.

Therefore, the Adirondack Mountain Club Fire Tower Committee will disallow any climbs during the closure period. Please be respectful of the private property that this trail traverses. It is by the generosity of the landowner we have access to this awesome hike and its fire tower. Abuse and bad behavior risks future public access. Please plan ahead and prepare.

Come hear from Lenore and Jack Reber about their time joining the Sierra Club for a camping trip in the backcountry of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument! They each led a llama that carried their gear to a water-hole campsite, last occupied 10,000 years ago! Jack and Lenore will share the story of their week spent hiking among the multi-colored formations and in and along the Escalante River. 

Lenore and Jack are retired teachers who travel, hike, paddle and snowshoe and are presenting their third ADK program. They divide their time between Saratoga Springs and Indian Lake.

No registration required.

The Fire Tower Committee of the Glens Falls/Saratoga Chapter of the ADK Mountain Club has approved the addition of the Buck Mountain Fire Tower to the Adirondack Mountain Club's Fire Tower Challenge effective September 2, 2023.

For more info on the fire tower, view: Long Lake News article

For more info on the fire tower challenge, view: Fire Tower Challenge

Trailhead stewarding at the Buck Mountain-Pilot Knob Trailhead. We talk to hikers about public land resource protection and the 10 essentials for every backpack, every hike. What's in your backpack?

The 7 Leave No Trace Principles guide our stewarding message.

View:   The 7 Principles

Kim Brown and Jim Schneider presented the ADK GF-S Buck Mt.Trailhead Steward Progam to the Pilot Knob Association - a very attentive and interested audience.

Folks were engaged and asked many excellent questions and were impressed by our dedication to volunteer stewardship and protecting public wildlands.

Our friends at SUNY ESF Newcomb Campus have reopened the trail to the Goodnow Fire Tower. View their facebook page at: facebook.com/ESFNewcombCampus

Therefore, effective May 25, 2023, the Goodnow Fire Tower has rejoined the Adirondack Mountain Club's Fire Tower Challenge.

If you have any questions or need any trail or fire tower information feel free to send an email to firetower@adk-gfs.org

Maintenance vehicles and/or heavy construction equipment are in operation on the mountain at all times. Remain aware of your surroundings and obey all posted warnings. The fire tower is not accessible. Remember the challenge rules: 'Climbing each tower itself is not required, nor in fact recommended, for those towers that have not been restored for safe public use'.

If you have any questions or need information feel free to contact the Adirondack Mountain Club Fire Tower Challenge committee: firetower@adk-gfs.org . Happy fire tower hiking!

During spring mud season, trails are particularly vulnerable to erosion. The spring thaw creates mud that penetrates much deeper into the soil than the surface mud created by summer rains, and trails are thus more easily damaged by hikers' boots.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation institutes a voluntary trail closure in the Eastern High Peaks during this time of year that asks hikers to refrain from traveling above 3,000 feet.

Here is a big way you can help: if you encounter a muddy patch on the trail, walk right through it! Skirting to the edges widens trails and creates even more mud, so help out your fellow hikers and stick to the trail. This is where good footwear comes in handy!

ADK Buck Mountain Trailhead Stewards are dedicated volunteer education professionals who enjoy engaging with the public, sharing their knowledge, and helping them have safe, successful outdoor experiences.

They are comfortable working in the back country wilderness, sometimes alone and/or in challenging weather conditions, and see their role as active stewards of the Forest Preserve and ambassadors for ADK. Knowledge of ADK’s mission and goals, principles of Leave No Trace, and NYS DEC regulations are required. and must be at least 18 years of age.

Full Position Description: View
To apply: Apply

Jayne Bouder, long-time, and one might even say legendary, leader for the Glens Falls – Saratoga Chapter has 'hung up her boots' and retired from leading. We thought this was an appropriate time to share an appreciation for Jayne from the many people on and off the trail, as Jayne was a noted bushwhacker

Please review the March Newsletter tip text   to view all the tributes to Jayne from our chapter members!

The Adirondack Mountain Club is nothing if not for the stories of members; we are our stories. ADK at 100 years has lost so many stories; more are being lost each year. It is ironic that this storied organization does not have a formal history program, a commitment via human and financial resources or at least a mention in its guiding strategic plan.

Recognizing the need to capture Adirondack Mountain Club oral history - a dedicated group of passionate volunteers from throughout organization has banded together to make this a reality. Funding has been provided by generous donations from ADK chapters.

What is ADK Voices?

We are a group of ADKers from across New York State and New Jersey working in collaboration with OurStoryBridge, a nation-wide platform, resource and toolkit for producing a crowdsourced community story project emphasizing audio history and sharing. Using OurStoryBridge we are recording short stories (five minutes or less) of ADK chapter folks, ADK staff - past and present, stories of the past and stories of the present for use as historical record.

The recorded stories will be publicly accessible on a website we are currently building with the expectation the ADK administration will link ADK Voices to adk.org. Our group is proud and excited to bring this member-directed, chapter-driven project to reality.

Do you have a story to tell? Send an email with a summary to: trails@adk-gfs.org

Go to the new website: https://www.adkvoices.org

These bear-proof canisters are required in the Central High Peaks Zone and are essential to use on any backcountry overnight adventure to any backpacking or canoe camping destination.

8.8 inch dia. X 12 inches long, weight 2.7 lbs.

Designed to slip into your backpack. Backpackers Cache (Garcia Manufacturing) and Bear Keg (Counter Assault) are the only two bear resistant food containers approved for use in the Central High Peaks Zone.

Rental Rates ( We have the best rental price! ):

•   1-3 nights $5.00
•   4-7 nights $10.00

Call Jim Schneider 518-421-4975 to reserve your canister rental.

Rentals are available exclusively to ADK Glens Falls-Saratoga Chapter members

• The Cascade Ski Center was purchased; Goggins Road property has an interested party.
• 60+ outings are scheduled for the Fall Weekend/Centennial Celebration, Sep 23-25, 2022 in Silver Bay.
• Kate Hacker, from the Niagara Frontier Chapter, was elected to serve on the ADK Board of Directors. She will represent the Club membership.

The ADK mission statement has changed and is no longer stated as a 'member directed' organization.

As per the change in ADK bylaws approved by ADK membership, member representation in ADK governance now focuses on the lone board seat allotted to the Advisory Council representative - the representative of ADK membership.

If you have any comments, thoughts, concerns, suggestions regarding ADK in any way, shape or form, please let Jim Schneider ( trustee@adk-gfs.org ) know and he will communicate them to Kate.

The next Advisory Council meeting is May 17, 2022.

The Adirondack Mountain Club Fire Tower Committee has officially included SWEDE MOUNTAIN in the ADK Fire Tower Challenge effective August 13, 2021.

Public access is due to the hard work of Warren County folks and community leaders. Most importantly, the trail traverses private property to access the tower. The landowner requests hikers stay on the trail at all times. Please respect private property.

The trail is closed to public access September 10 - December 16 due to hunting club leases. Climbs during the closure period will not be accepted toward the challenge.

Swede Mtn Details: View PDF

• Historic Bridges of the Adirondacks (May 19, 2021) Video
• Alaska the Last Frontier (4/21/2021)  Video
• Forest Pests Impact on Adirondacks (3/24/2021):   Video
• Hiking Adrians Wall (11/18/2020):   Video
• Modern Threats to ADK Waterways (9/23/2020):   Video

Views From On High 2nd Revised 2021 Edition is now available from ADK. New material includes extensive Catskill and Adirondack trail and fire tower updates through winter 2021 including:

• Poke-O-Moonshine - New Ranger Trail with its hiker friendly stone steps, switchbacks and scenic reroute.
• St. Regis: - New trailhead from Spring Bay of Upper St. Regis Lake. Combine a paddle trip with a fire tower hike.
• Hunter: - We love loop hikes! So, we put together this very interesting route combining the Spruceton Trail and the Devil's Path for an 8.8 mile loop.
• Red Hill - NYS Department of Environmental Conservation teamed up with New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the town of Denning, with support from the State's Environmental Protection Fund and constructed a new trailhead and information kiosk on Denning Road.

Purchase book: ADK Mtn Club Publications

Fill out report if you hiked Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area. Have you hiked in the Pharaoh Wilderness Area? If you haven't what you will find are beautiful lakes and ponds, quiet solitude, great backpacking, easy walking, and delightful swimming. When you come back, let us know what you found. We are particularly interested in flowers, animals, trail and lean-to conditions, and just about anything notable either good or bad. Your Glens Falls-Saratoga ADK Chapter has adopted the entire Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area.
Please send send an email with the information to Jim Schneider at: metadatajim@gmail.com

• Unusual Animals
• Unusual Plants
• Trail Conditions (blowdown, beaver activity, signs missing or incorrect, etc.):
• Lean-to Conditions:
• Other:
Or mail your report to:
• Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area
• Glens Falls-Saratoga Chapter ADK
• P.O. Box 2314
• Glens Falls, NY 12801