First hike with the dogs on a balmy 5 degree day (we've been having a real cold snap!).  The afternoon light at this time of year is lovely against the snow.  

Khyber's Slide on Upper Wolfjaw Mountain. Hunting early season ice with Dan Plumley and Loren Swears. The pitches run up to WI3 grade ice.

Have you ever attended a nature walk that included tree hugging, candy and a human-sized emerald ash borer? Thanks to the nine students participating in the St. Lawrence Sustainability Program this fall, 20 girl scouts from the Canton and Hermon-deKalb have. This nature-based lesson took place at the Sustainability Farm and focused on teaching the girl scouts about sustainability, invasive species, and the carbon cycle.

The permanent St. Lawrence Orienteering Course officially launched Friday, November 3rd! The course begins at the Wachtmeister Field Station, near the Kip Trail, and highlights some of the interesting geologic features in the surrounding forest. Thanks to everyone who came out to test the course, despite wetter than wanted conditions. We enjoyed seeing students and community members share map and compass skills and bond over a shared appreciation for time spent out wandering the woods.

http://www.summitpost.org/marcy-s-great-chimney-aka-empty-tomb-all-ryle…

Three rock climbs on Mt. Marcy. Full details above.

One of the best kept backcountry secrets is a large vertical trap dike capped with a diagonal car-sized capstone on Mt. Marcy. It is set in a northeastern facing cliff deep in Panther Gorge and looks like a pencil-thin shadow from the summit of Mt. Haystack. This is Marcy’s Great Chimney.

walking to the neighbors to find a strange boy in the wild climbing a new tree.

We had great weather and great attendance at our Bike Parade on the Remington trail this weekend, the final event of our Trails Series this fall with the Canton Recreation Dept. The Remington trail, a beautiful 3 mile paved loop at the Partridge Run Golf Course outside Canton, is a great spot for biking, birding, and alien encounters - at least it was this week.

Had a great time exploring the Downerville State Forest trails with a friend (and a few pups) this past weekend. The weather continues to be unseasonably warm, but we weren't complaining and the dogs enjoyed splashing around in Harper's Falls. The beech leaves are still hanging on, but most of the others have fallen by now and the open forest was a beautiful sight.

This was the third week of this year's Fall Trails Series, and the group spent a beautiful afternoon exploring the St. Lawrence University Kip Trail. We also talked about the Community Ash Tree Survey - a local effort in response to the arrival of emerald ash borer - and mapped some of the many ash trees on the trail. As a bonus, we spied a porcupine in a large red oak along the way!

http://www.summitpost.org/panther-gorge-mt-marcy-anorthofright-5-9/1005…

A long multi-pitch rock climb up the overhangs and obvious white streak of Mt. Marcy's white scar. Steven St. Pierre and I added this route to Marcy on August 27. 2017. ...another 20 hour day in Panther Gorge, but well worth the effort. Follow the link above for a full report and photographs.