Canoe camping, Follensby Clear Pond: 06/26/2016

At 12 and 8, our kids are the perfect age for camping. After some island camping at Lake George last weekend, we headed north to one of my favorite parts of the Adirondacks for some canoe camping this weekend.

Lake George island camping, Fork Island: 06/18/2016

In the 35 years that I've been exploring Lake George I've done a lot of paddling, hiking, motor boating, sailing and water skiing, but I think the best way to really soak up the beauty of the lake is camping on one of the islands. There's nothing like going to sleep at night and waking up in the morning with the lake lapping at your campsite, surrounded by water. No cell phones, no tv, no distractions, just you, the lake and the mountains.

With a perfect weather forecast last weekend, we loaded our family's boat with paddling and camping gear and headed north from Bolton Landing up into the Narrows.

Sleeping Beauty Mt: 06/12/2016

We've done Sleeping Beauty as a family hike in the past, but on a cold (temperatures in the low 50s), blustery mid-June Sunday the kids' enthusiasm level for hiking hovered between 0 and 1 on a ten-point scale. So the kids stayed with the grandparents while Beth and I did the hike. Win - win.

Chapel Pond Slab, Regular Route: 06/04/2016

Back when I first started climbing, my first multi-pitch lead was up Regular Route on the Chapel Pond slabs. With its comfortable belay ledges, exciting but non-intimidating exposure and wonderful views it's a great first lead. It's also a route I've returned to many times for the sheer fun of easy climbing (5.5 on the Yosemite Decimal System) on a long route (6 pitches) in a superbly scenic setting. But Saturday's climb topped them all, when my wife Beth and I led our 12 year old son up Regular Route for his first multi-pitch climb.

Shelving Rock Mtn: 05/21/2016

We've had a bit of difficulty getting our hiking days in this spring. It seems that we've had commitments when the weather's been good, and when we're free the weather's been lousy. I thought we'd finally break that pattern last weekend. Five days out the forecast for Saturday looked stellar. Next thing I know, it's mostly cloudy, chance of showers. Unwilling to keep the hiking boots in the closet any longer, we headed up the east shore of Lake George to hike Shelving Rock Mountain anyway. The gamble paid off with a great hike, beautiful views and tons of spring wildflowers.