Outdoor Adventures with Gary Lee - Vol. 332

We got some much-needed rain, and we need more that’s for sure. I had an inch and a half which brought the water up in my pond a little, the rest was soaked up by the fallen leaves and the dry ground. A little more came last night I guess from the tail end of the nor-easter that came up the coast doing much shoreline damage in North Carolina and New Jersey.

Hurricane Erin is still growing in the Atlantic Ocean, and it looks like it will turn out to sea like the others have but the outer edge of this storm will again hit the coastline of several states. This will cause rip currents and coastal flooding again just like the last two. This is followed closely by Hurricane Jerry which is headed in the same path as Erin. 

Out on the coast of Alaska they were hit by two storms. The storm that was once Typhoon Halong, a powerful tropical system that formed in the northern Philippine Sea earlier this month, skirted by Japan without making landfall and then crossed the north Pacific Ocean. This storm moved through northern Alaska Sunday night and pushed into the Arctic Ocean early Monday, leaving communities to pick up the pieces in its wake. A state of disaster declaration was issued by Governor Dunleavy Thursday to address damage in Western Alaska caused by another powerful coastal storm earlier in the week that brought extensive flooding damage. 

On Friday I attended Adirondack Wild’s 16th Annual Membership Meeting at View in Old Forge. Dave Gibson went through this year in review, introduced staff, board and advisors. Treasures report given, membership report and a program report on projects around the park. After lunch Dave gave a power point program on his new book, A Force of Nature: Paul Schaefer’s Adirondack Coalitions followed by discussion. Then Chad Dawson gave a program on Wilderness Management: Stewardship and Protection of Resources and Values, 5th Edition, 2025-Updates since the 2009 edition, followed by questions. 

The Award Ceremony followed this: Champion of the Forest Preserve to Chad Dawson for his book a photo of Elk Lake which is the cover of the book by Ken Rimany. Then the Wild Stewardship Award was given to Sunita Halasz, coordinator of the Adirondack Climate Outreach and Resilience Network (Acorn) , another beautiful fall photo by Ken Rimany. Third was the Paul Schaefer Wilderness Award to Aaron Mair, former Sierra Club Board Chair, former Forever Adirondacks Campaign Director, and founder, Timbuctoo Mountain Club received another beautiful photo of Elk Lake by Ken Rimany. All winners give very inspirational speeches after receiving their awards. I received their Wild Stewardship Award in 2012, and I have followed their programs about the park ever since. 

On Sunday I traveled over to Willsboro to meet with the family of my Sister-in-Law Ruthann who passed away a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful day and the leaves once you got over the hump on the Blue Ridge Road all the way to Willsboro were spectacular. It was nice to see all the family children, grandchildren, brother, and friends from the community at her home on Willsboro Point. Lots of hugs and some tears that day, great food, and visits with family. We walked down to the lake and took a family photo of my sisters Wendy, Patti, and me with Vermont in the background across the lake. We said our goodbyes, and I picked up a bag full of acorns as they were like marbles all over the lawn. 

The ride home was very pretty as the sun was going down on the colorful leaves and I stopped for a photo at Roaring Brook Falls, and a couple shots at the Buffalo Farm. The clouds over the high peaks at the Newcomb viewing area were beautiful and when I got to Long Lake the sun painted the lake blood red as well as the sky. From there to home, it was ‘watch out for the deer,’ as I saw eighteen from Blue Mountain to Inlet and may have missed seeing a few along the way.

Time to put up the Saw Whet Owl nets as they are on the move, but that’s another story. See ya. 

Photo above: Roaring Brook Falls