The Adirondacks and its vast domain which encompasses many different regions. These regions each have their own draw, whether it’s rolling mountains, jagged peaks, old-growth forests, or shimmering lakes. This makes the region ideal location for recreational activities including swimming, biking, hiking amongst others. In order to educate the next generation on the value of the park, the next generation must be exposed to what the Adirondack Park has to offer from a young age. There are many initiatives to get young kids into nature. With the Adirondacks being a premier place to recreate, summer camps have popped up all over the region with the goal of exposing kids to nature and educating them on it.

Several different institutions help run these summer camps, including Boy Scouts of America, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the YMCA. The list of camps in the park is extensive, but I’m personally acquainted with a few of them. The first of which I will mention is Camp Chingachgook, a YMCA camp located at Pilot Knob on Lake George. My experience with this camp is not one that a typical camper would have due to the fact that we attended with our middle school and our “counselors” were in fact our very own teachers. Although it wasn’t a normal summer camp experience, the experience with nature was still there. Its location on Lake George allows for campers to recreate in the water, around the camp on land, or deeper in the woods of the Lake George State Forest.

The other camps which I have been to are run by the DEC. One of which is is Camp Colby which is located just north of Saranac Lake on Lake Colby. Camp Colby’s location at the edge of a large Adirondack town and the forest allow for campers to feel within nature without feeling uncomfortable. The camp offers hiking, swimming, paddling, and overnight trips on its own property, while still being within view of the local hospital. The opportunities there allow for campers to learn valuable lessons like constructing lean-tos, starting a fire, and cooking food over the fire. Another DEC camp in the Adirondacks is Camp Pack Forest, which is a few miles north of Warrensburg. This being a state-run camp as well, it offers similar activities to Camp Colby, although in a more isolated environment. The opportunities presented to children by summer camps allow them to be better educated on the environment, nature, and activities within it while still enjoying themselves.

Works Cited

“Camp Colby.” Camp Colby – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, https://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1877.html.

“How the hell do I take these things off,” I yelled out to my visibly annoyed dad.

“I showed you four times this morning. How can your fourteen-year-old brother figure this out, but you can’t.”

“Fine, but you’re gonna be waiting a while if you won’t help me.”

After a good ten minutes of my younger brother and dad watching me struggle to rip the skins off the bottom of the skis and click into the bindings, I was ready to finally enjoy the rewards of our work. It was time to ski down our trail and back to my grandfather’s front door. The dream of making a ski trail by spending our summer trimming tree limbs, taking out dead trees, and moving fallen debris to form a homemade trail was about to be realized in the purest form.

This type of skiing is considered backcountry skiing only accessible with special gear called Alpine Touring gear. This form of skiing has been becoming increasingly popular recently and experienced a boom over Covid. This is how my family and I got into it and began to explore other parts of the ADKs known for backcountry skiing. Backcountry skiing has become an increasingly growing sector of the ADK winter activities, and this past winter continued growing thanks to restrictions on the number of skiers allowed at regular ski mountains.

The ADKs, can offer this activity all winter long and have some of the best late-season backcountry skiing conditions in the northeast. While not solely specific to the ADK region, the Guardian reported the boom in backcountry skiing, which saw gear sales up 76% from the prior year and an estimated more than one hundred thousand new skiers. In a year where most sectors of the economy regressed, the backcountry skiing community saw increases in sales and number of skiers, an impressive feat. My family was among the new community of backcountry skiers and was able to see parts of the ADKs we don’t usually explore during the year. Two of the main attractions for backcountry skiers in the ADKs are the whiteface memorial highway and the Bennies Brook Slide (pictured below). This winter, I tried purchasing an uphill pass to Whiteface but was unsuccessful as they had already sold out, something they had never done before. Bennies Brook Slide saw an increase in viewership of its website of nearly 50%. Both of these things are signs of dramatic increases in this now-not-so-secret way to explore new parts of the Adirondack wilderness.

Sources:

Guardian News and Media. (2021, March 5). Backcountry skiing sees resurgence – and the deadliest week for avalanches since 1910. The Guardian. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/mar/05/avalanches-deadliest-week-skiing.

Lynch, M. (2015, November 17). 5 backcountry ski trails in the Adirondacks Worth Exploring. newyorkupstate. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.newyorkupstate.com/adirondacks/2015/11/backcountry_ski_trails_adirondacks_ny_winter_skiing.html.

Need an escape from life’s constant hustle? Would you prefer to relax in a lounge chair on a white sand beach or on a lake surrounded by forest? If you chose the latter, you’re in the right spot at the right time!

Welcome to your weekend trip to the Adirondacks! This is an interactive journey where you and three friends plan your escape to the wilderness! Intrigued by an option? Keep reading and make sure to keep a tally of how much you’ve spent on your trip! The Adirondacks offer a wide variety of travel options that cater to multiple audiences with varying financial backgrounds and adventure goals, making it a unique place to visit; however, access to the park without a car or ownership of property in the park present accessibility challenges.

All packed and ready? Let’s hit the road!

(Disclaimer: You don’t have your own car or own a home in the Adirondacks)(Clarification: Trip length is 4 days, 3 nights. You can go on this trip with up to three other people and split the cost. Prices have been adjusted.)

First things first, you’ll need to find a ride to the park. Let’s start from New York City and meet in Lake Placid. Here are a few options:

A) Amtrak from NY Moynihan Train Hall At Penn Station to Westport ($40 – $60 per person) (Rome2rio)

B) Your friend who is going to Montreal is willing to give you and your three friends a ride to Westport on their way up (Approximate fuel cost = $28 – 40 total / $7 – $10 after dividing per passenger) (Rome2rio)

Almost there! You just need to get from Westport to Lake Placid. Unfortunately, there is no direct connection between Westport and Lake Placid through shuttle. You either …

A) Uber (standard = $52 – 72; XL = $86 – $114 total / $13 – $18; XL = $22 – $29 per person)

B) Hitch hike (free)

Welcome to Lake Placid! Now you have to find a place to stay for the weekend. Would you rather…

A) Stay in this cozy Boutique Hotel for up to 4 guests ($194 per night / $48.5 per night per person before taxes and fees) (Airbnb)

B) Relax in this luxurious waterfront Airbnb ($2,145 per night / $536.25 per person per night before taxes and fees) (Airbnb)

C) Set up camp (no amenities) in the McKenzie Wilderness (free year round) (McKenzie Mountain Wilderness)

D) Meadowbrook Campground (with amenities) ($18 per night / $4.5 per person per night) (Meadowbrook Campground)

Enjoyed your adventure? I hope you did! Sadly though, Monday is right around the corner and it is time to make it back. Don’t forget transportation back to New York City!

The Adirondacks offer a wide variety of activities and accommodations, providing flexibility to those who either want a calm weekend in a cabin or an adventure in the deep forest; however, for those without a car or home in the Adirondacks, planning is complex and trip expenses can add up quickly, preventing many from appreciating its beauty. Of course, this hypothetical trip was highly simplified. For example, food, activity, and gear expenses were not included. Moreover, there are a multitude of cheaper options that were not included. Feel free to comment below what your total trip expenses were!

Works Cited

Airbnb. “Vacation Rentals, Cabins, Beach Houses, Unique Homes & Experiences.” Airbnb, 2021, www.airbnb.com/rooms/51594021?adults=2&location=Lake+Placid%2C+New+York%2C+United+States&previous_page_section_name=1001&translate_ugc=false&federated_search_id=4c844afd-aced-40ed-84ea-3d4998892449&guests=1.

Department of Environmental Conservation. “McKenzie Mountain Wilderness.” McKenzie Mountain Wilderness – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, 2021, www.dec.ny.gov/lands/105647.html.

Department of Environmental Conservation. “Meadowbrook Campground & Day Use Area.” Meadowbrook Campground & Day Use Area – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, 2021, www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24482.html.

Rome2rio. “Pennsylvania Station (New York City) to Westport – 5 Ways to Travel.” Rome2rio, 2021, www.rome2rio.com/map/Pennsylvania-Station-New-York-City/Westport-NY-USA.

I consider myself to have had the luxury of growing up in a small rural town in northern Vermont. The distinctive “outdoorsy,” perhaps unorthodox, learning experiences I had while in elementary and middle school stick with me today as I attend a Vermont college and see the benefits they had on my academic career and personal values. One specific activity my small class of 19 students and I went on was planting saplings along a creek in middle school. Black Creek, which is just 2 miles from the Fairfield Center School, extends through the town of Fairfield, connecting to the Missisquoi River in Sheldon (to the north) and ending in Cambridge (to the south). Black Creek runs mostly through farm fields, and has little tree coverage along the sides due to the grazing pastures where cows tread heavily to access drinking water. Our (literal) field trips to plant along the creek-bed have lasted in my memory, proving the importance of this activity. Taking young children on school field trips to plant riparian buffer zones along creeks and streams can not only teach children valuable lessons about stream ecology and climate action but is also a fun and memorable way to positively influence the environment.

I live along a section of the creek where there are few trees (see Image 1). The water is murky, shallow, and warm (see Video 1). The lack of trees results in erosion of soil when cows walk down the bank to drink. As I have learned in my Ecology/Evolution class, having tree coverage on a stream increases shading which cools the stream, allowing for increased O₂ concentrations and an improved environment for wildlife. A riparian buffer zone is a treeline along the bank, where tree roots hold the soil in place against erosion.

On our trips, my class spent the day planting Pine, Spruce, and Dogwood saplings which grow in sandier soils and are found locally. Our teachers for the activity, the farmer whose land we were on, and a local knowledgeable parent, instructed us on where to and how far apart to plant, how deep to dig, and how to make sure the sapling was firmly in the ground. However, I just recently noticed how our saplings failed to grow to maturation, and I am left wondering why. Did we middle-schoolers not plant them correctly? Were these species inappropriate for the location? Did cattle trample them before they could establish? Did other plant species outcompete the saplings?

The school trips I took planting saplings in my hometown as a child stuck with me. I still remember jumping on shovels to sink them into the ground and tugging on saplings to confirm their stability. The lesson about riparian buffer zones and how I can easily maintain the environment is one I have remembered since I was 12 years old, proving this hands-on learning was incalculably valuable.

Hound hunting, a practice that Alex Smith briefly touched on, still exists in a few states, including Vermont although it has been outlawed in many states in America. I am not the biggest supporter of this practice, and I believe that this method of hunting should be banned in all 50 states. There are many reasons that these states have ruled to outlaw it, as it is harmful to the hounds that are trained to hunt, it disrupts the population of bears, and the dogs are very very hard to tame.

The hounds that are often used in this practice are typically not treated well in any manner. Since hunters typically rely on hunting for either food or income, the hounds are treated with very little mercy, and often rely on their performance to live and be protected by an owner. They are frequently dumped at municipal animal shelters or left in the woods if they do not perform adequately. Quarrels with the other species (in this case hounds and bears) can end in injuries or death to the other species. In turn, hounds mauled by bears can suffer broken bones, punctured lungs, or other serious injuries. The image below depicts how the hounds are typically transported, in a manner that is not very safe, nor comfortable for the animals. It is relatively cruel to the animals to be moved to their destinations in this enclosed manner.

The bears are also affected differently with this style of hunting in comparison to traditional ways of hunting bears. Often, the bears are chased before periods of hibernation. If they are chased for prolonged periods, they can lose a lot of the extra fat they store to keep them warm during their lengthy hibernation. They can experience severe physical stress due to the loss of their fat layer and additionally, overheated bears can die and pregnant bears can lose embryos.

Hound hunting has been an extremely hot topic in the news lately. There has been a lot of controversy around this issue after Morgan Gold posted a video on TikTok of Butch Spear, president of the Vermont Bearhound Association, approaching Gold in his driveway and asking for permission to retrieve his hounds from Gold’s property. The dogs wound up there in pursuit of a bear. Gold reported on the incident after it had taken place, “They couldn’t call their dogs off my property. They had to physically pull the dogs away from the tree before they could settle them down and get them away from the bear.” The kicker is here, Gold did not want these hounds on his property and Spear could not control them to not chase the bear onto Gold’s property, thus proving that it is very hard to control and contain the dogs when they are out in the field doing what they are told to do. Due to these three reasons, in my opinion, hounding should be outlawed in the fifty states.

“Facts about Bear Hounding.” The Humane Society of the United States, https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/facts-about-bear-hounding.
Grace Benninghoff Sep 12 2021September 12, 2021, et al. “Viral Video Draws Attention to Debate over Hound Hunting Laws in Vermont.” VTDigger, 13 Sept. 2021, https://vtdigger.org/2021/09/12/viral-video-draws-attention-to-debate-over-hound-hunting-laws-in-vermont/.

As old rail lines fall out of use across the nation, towns and counties face questions about what the cleared paths can be used for.  Many towns have embraced the uses of rail trails for biking, walking and even snowmobiling during the winter.  The conversion of old railways has become especially popular in the Adirondacks as a way to give bikers a safe place to ride without being on major roads.  With 34 miles of bike trail and 56 miles of winter snowmobiling track from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake, to Old Forge(Adirondack Rail Trail) folks are able to use free and easily accessible trails away from noisy streets.  Rail trails are also powerful because concentrating people on a low grade trail is beneficial in preserving wilderness trails elsewhere.  The stretch of rail from Lake Placid to Old Forge however is not the only railway that could be redone for pedestrian use.  The Chateaugay railway for example, ran from Saranac Lake to Plattsburgh and was initially built in 1883 mainly for transporting iron ore.(Nashua City Station) Due to the high variability of use and range of benefits to both people and wilderness, towns and organizations in the Adirondacks should consider the idea of converting more railways into trailways.

In the past several decades, concerts about folks using snowmobiles and ATVs in wilderness areas have been raised due to the noise and polluting nature of such vehicles.  Drivers and bikers in the Adirondacks have also often been at odds.  Many roads in the park are incredibly narrow meaning that bikers can create long chains of cars unable to pass.  By giving bikers and snowmobilers alike a safe place to enjoy, with minimal environmental impact, everyone wins. Thus, taking advantage of other old, unused trailways for this purpose could be extremely beneficial. One famous example of a successful rail trail system goes from Pittsburgh all the way down to D.C.  The Great Allegheny Passage is known for its scenic routes, with challenging enough terrain, and plenty of places for long distance bikers to stop. One of the most impressive successes of this rail trail is the economic rebound of old mining towns along the trail.(Amy Kapp, Rails to Trails Conservancy)  By catering specifically to bikers and large groups, many small businesses such as bakeries and cafes and hostels have been able to stay afloat.  This system could be exponentially more beneficial in the Adirondacks where millions of folks already come each year. It would be tougher due to the disconnectedness of railways, however, with some significant work, many of the slowly dying towns in the park could be connected and given a possible economic boost during the warmer months.  And who knows? Maybe a hot chocolate stand for snowmobilers would be a hit! These conversions are not cheap by any means, but they can have rebounding economic successes so rail trail systems should definitely be considered by local governments.

Kapp, Amy. “How the Great Allegheny Passage Transformed a Region: Rails to Trails Magazine.” Rails To Trails , Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, https://www.railstotrails.org/trailblog/2020/may/12/how-the-great-allegheny-passage-transformed-a-region/. 

 Cosgro, Matthew D. “The Chateaugay and Lake Placid Railway Company.” Nashua City Station Railroad History, 2021, http://nashuacitystation.org/history/the-chateaugay-and-lake-placid-railway-company/. 

Speculator, NY bills itself as an “All Season Vacationland.” This slogan appears on two identical signs on Route 30 and Route 8, welcoming motorists to the hamlet (see figure 1). Despite what these signs advertise, the majority of tourists and non-permanent residents only come in the summertime. Most are drawn to the summer pleasures of swimming, fishing, and watersports on Lake Pleasant. However, Speculator has a smaller but robust winter tourist season, centered mainly around alpine skiing. Speculator’s Oak Mountain Ski Center draws tourists between December and February. Oak Mountain has only 22 trails and 1 quad chairlift (Oak Mountain Ski Center). Despite being a modest ski hill, Oak Mountain keeps Speculator’s tourist economy humming through the winter months and proves that it truly is an “All Season Vacationland.” Oak Mountain is a microcosm of the larger Adirondack alpine ski industry. Going back to the Gilded Age Great Camps, the Adirondacks are mostly a summertime tourist destination. Alpine skiing, and the lodging, restaurants, and outfitting required to support skiers, maintains a vibrant winter tourist season. Although the Adirondacks draw most tourists to the region in the summertime, winter alpine skiing is another essential part of the region’s tourist economy, demonstrating the Adirondacks’ versatility. 

Although there are many smaller ski hills in the Adirondacks like Oak Mountain, larger ski mountains dominate the region and compete with the best ski resorts in the Northeast. Gore and Whiteface are the two largest ski resorts in the Adirondacks. Gore Mountain has 4 peaks and 121 trails. Since Gore covers a large geographical area, it has long ski trials. The longest is 4 miles long (VisitAdirondacks.com). Gore was a popular ski mountain when the “Snow Train” brought skiers up from New York City and Albany in the early 1900s (Kelly). Although Gore is a large and well-established mountain, Whiteface is the premier ski resort in the Adirondacks. Whiteface is dubbed “The Olympic Mountain” because of its height—at 3,430 feet, it has the highest drop of any ski mountain east of the Rockies (VisitAdirondacks.com). Whiteface is also an extensive ski resort: it has 12 lifts to service its 90 trails. Because of its proximity to Lake Placid, Whiteface hosted the alpine ski events of the 1980 Olympics (Kelly). Gore and Whiteface both have snow making infrastructure, ensuring the quality of the runs and extending the length of the season from late November to March (Kelly, VisitAdirondacks.com). Gore and Whiteface are also both state-run ski resorts. Oak Mountain is privately owned (Kelly).

It is clear that ski resorts in the Adirondacks are a significant draw for winter tourists. The wide variety of ski mountains and hills provide opportunities for winter recreation to skiers of all ages and abilities. The steep drops of Whiteface and the glade skiing of Gore challenge the summer visitor to the Adirondacks to consider what the region is like in the winter—it truly is an “All Season Vacationland.”

Works Cited

Kelly, Caitlin. “A Wild Experience: New York’s Adirondacks.” Men’s Journal, A360 Media LLC, 29 Nov. 2018, www.mensjournal.com/adventure/wild-experience-new-yorks-adirondacks/.

Oak Mountain Ski Hill. “Https://Www.oakmountainski.com/.” Oak Mountain, Oak Mountain Ski Hill, 2021, www.oakmountainski.com/.VisitAdirondacks.com. “Epic NY Skiing & Ski Resorts | Official Adirondack Region Website.” Visitadirondacks.com, Adirondack Regional Tourism Council, 2018, visitadirondacks.com/recreation/downhill-skiing-snowboarding.

Alex Smith’s words of “hunting to feel connected to the nature,” got me thinking for a while: What is the role of hunting in the ecosystem? What kinds of impact can it have on animal populations? – Can hunting be “justified” as conservation? Some say hunting is a critical wildlife management tool, some argue it is just a euphemism for killing for fun.

Regardless of its righteousness, I believe that the subject of hunting is important because exploring what “hunting” is, allows us an important opportunity to think about what we are living upon every day.

When I asked myself “can hunting be a conservation?” I was not sure. First of all, conservation is defined as the act of preserving, guarding, and protecting biodiversity, the environment, and natural resources. According to (Nelson, 2021), hunting does not fit the definition when only talking about a single animal, but it gets important in a broader sense of hunting particular species or protecting the vast diversity of organisms in the area. As we have read in one of the articles on hunting, it acts as a funding resource for state wildlife agencies’ conservation funds. For instance, about 59% of funding, $3.3 billion, came from hunting and fishing-related activities (Rott, 2018). Furthermore, hunting does a great job in controlling prey species such as deer and elk, preventing them from having population explosions due to reduced predators. This allows to balance the populations across the ecosystem and impede over-grazing, for example. In fact, the Nature Conservancy considers the overabundance of deer in the eastern US to be the greatest threat to the forests – even more than climate change (Nelson, 2021)!

However, what’s interesting is that the major reason why the predator populations have been declining (that leads to an increase in herbivore populations) is again, because of hunting – quite contradictory. Moreover, (In Defence of Animals, n.d.) argues that because state wildlife agencies are funded by hunters, their programs are in place to manipulate habitats and artificially bolster “game” populations while ignoring “non-game” species. This will then lead to unbalanced ecosystems by favoring some species for “conservation,” and ecological disruption as well as skewed population dynamics.

Although it may not always be the case, we should still note that the conservation efforts are currently facing the dilemma of having to encourage hunting for sake of keeping the agencies funded. And to combat such a situation, another funding system that is not too hunting-dependent should be installed so that we can practice “real conservation” by a support from people beyond hunters. Furthermore, I think that, as conservation enthusiasts, it is very crucial to learn about hunting in thinking about the future of conservation and coexisting of humans and wildlife. It is also important to learn about where and how the meat reaches our tables to rethink our relationship with wildlife and nature.

If anyone’s interested, I have found a video on YouTube that contains scenes of hunting down and dissecting a deer (see below) – although it’s in Japanese! But the video will certainly make you think about what hunting is, and what we are living upon today.

Works Cited

“In Defence of Animals.” Hunting – the murderous business. n.d. https://www.idausa.org/campaign/wild-animals-and-habitats/hunting/

Nelson, Rob. “Untamed Science.” 15 August 2021. https://untamedscience.com/blog/hunting-and-conservation/

Rott, Nathan. “National Public Radio.” 20 March 2018. https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593001800/decline-in-hunters-threatens-how-u-s-pays-for-conservation

Wagner, Greg. “Nebraskaland.” 30 August 2021. http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2021/08/why-hunting-is-so-important/

My boots grip into hard rock. Basin Mountain summit. The wind rushes over my head. I reach out to stop my hat from flying over the cliff.

“Imagine how much power we could generate if we had even just one windmill up here,” ponders my socialist sister Sarah. A student of the environment, in search of a Masters Degree in Environmental Education, she tends to fixate on sustainable energy and the elimination of fossil fuel consumption.

“F**kin’ metal towers would wreck the entire scene. Forever wild, baby,” grunts the wizened mountain man chowing on a PB&J sandwich, uninvited to the conversation, but joining it nonetheless.

The debate over wind power in the Adirondacks is not new; its complexity and corresponding debates reveal nuances of environmentalism and Park politics.

The Forever Wild Clause of the New York State constitution makes development within the Adirondack State Park a formidable challenge (Adirondack Council). Nonetheless, per the Adirondack Explorer, “locals are finding ways to go green despite the extra layer of zoning protections on public and private lands in the park” (Craig). 

The Adirondack Park Agency’s (APA) guidelines for structures over 40 feet, such as cell towers, have not been updated since 2002 and are intensely restrictive of mountain-top structures (Craig). So my sister’s dream of a palisade of power on the ridges isn’t likely to come true any time soon.

That is an oversimplification of my sister’s complex opinion. Her point is that we must find a way to both protect the immediate wilderness, wildlife, and spiritual nature experiences while also recognizing the long-term benefits that could be achieved through the construction and use of windmills. Windmills would prevent fossil-fuel combustion and help limit global climate change – as well as reduce power costs for local communities in the long term.

Some residents of the Park, such as Luke Dailey of the Concerned Citizens for Rural Preservation group, argue that wind power would “have many negative health, environmental and economic impacts” (Dailey). Other residents, such as Forest Gaillan, argue that windmills “would forever scar the landscape and beautiful views of the Adirondacks” (Gaillan).

That windmills would change the aesthetic value and appeal of the wilderness is effectively universally accepted – both my sister and Bill McKibben ( proponents of windmills in the park) acknowledge the reduction of natural beauty they would cause. However, while for some the potential change reflects a reason to avoid the mills, for others it supports windmill construction. In a 2005 article, McKibben writes: the Adirondacks “​​led me to fall in love with the world outdoors. Which is precisely why I hope those wind turbines rise on the skyline, and as soon as possible” (McKibben). He expands on the idea, saying that wind power is one way to limit the global climate catastrophe; protecting the environment and people at-large is more important than the visual appeal of this one specific slice of wilderness. While one might have to sacrifice some precise beauty, the protection of the wider outdoors and planet is more important.

I understand the worries and arguments of anti-windmillers. I understand the worry about the impact on the wilderness experience, the fear of birds being trapped in the blades, the nerves about renewable energy changing local economies.

But I also know that the leaves changed later this fall. That each fall seems to get warmer and warmer – noticeably. I know that Thanksgiving skiing is a question this year – it never used to be. I’ve read climate science, heard the predicted impacts of climate change, and feel the effects myself. And the effects of global climate change are so much bigger than when I’ll be able to ski. Whole nations may flood, refugee crises may overwhelm international relations. People will continue to starve – but at far greater scales.

Given that, I am willing to have my Adirondack vista interrupted by a large, spinning fan, generating power without releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

While I recognize that I’m not a park resident, and my role as a stakeholder is less-than-obvious, in a globalized world facing global climate change, we’re all universal stakeholders.

Literature Cited:

“Constitutional Amendment Process.” Adirondack Council, 2021, www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/new-york-state-constitutional-amendment-process-153.html. Accessed 28 Oct. 2021.

Craig, Gwendolyn. “Climate goals meet green energy in the Adirondacks.” Adirondack Explorer, September/October ed., 2020.

Dailey, Luke. “Wind, solar farms would scar the Adirondacks.” National Wind Watch, 30 Nov. 2018, www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/11/30/wind-solar-farms-would-scar-the-adirondacks/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2021.

Gaillan, Forrest. “Wind turbines will ruin the Adirondacks.” National Wind Watch, 12 Jan. 2017, www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/01/12/wind-turbines-will-ruin-the-adirondacks/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2021.

A quick google search of “Adirondack great camps” yields dozens of articles describing compounds filled with taxidermy and exposed wood and stone (typical rustic decor.) Without fail, almost every article also mentions Japanese fans. Upon recognizing this consistent outlier, I went down a rabbit hole searching for the answer to why, in such a white, remote location, Japanese fans were such a staple. As it turns out, the answer connects back to many of the central issues of the Adirondacks: isolation, cultural conflict, and admiration of the outdoors.

In 1853, Japan famously ended its period of social and economic isolationism, exposing Japanese markets and culture to the rest of the world. Almost immediately afterward, a “Japanese Craze” swept the Western world (Jenn M). Europeans began purchasing Japanese paintings, furniture, and clothing, and folding fans became a staple accessory for Victorian women of all social classes. The industrial revolution meant Japanese goods could be produced in mass quantity and purchased by the average consumer. 

Americans weren’t exposed to Japanese culture until the 1876 Centennial Convention in Philadelphia (Ujifusa). Visitors to the event were exhausted by the dull predictability of Victorian-style exposés: a reminder of decades of bitterness from industrialization and the Civil War. The Japanese exhibit offered a refreshing shift East, which consumers devoured. 

Cities filled with smog, disease, and immigrants were recipes for claustrophobia and the need to get away.  Much like the Adirondacks, Japanese art offered a contrast to the chaos of American cities. Paintings and decorative fans depicted harmonious, minimal, and natural scenes, and had an artisanal feeling compared to Western commodities. American cultural homogeneity, coupled with wealth, fueled the Adirondack japanophilia that ensued. The reasons elite New Englanders obsessed over Japanese culture were the same as those that caused them to visit the Adirondacks. For those with summer homes, their perceptions of Japanese culture embodied everything they wanted from their Adirondack lives. 

On its surface, love for another culture is harmless, if not admirable. Yet superficial obsession over other cultures is problematic, the reasons for which we, in the age of cancel culture, are familiar. The isolation of places like the Adirondacks allows its inhabitants to pursue whatever type of fantasy they want, from appropriation to homogeneity. While some fetishized Japanese culture, others used the Adirondacks as an escape from immigrant-filled cities, proceeding to exclude non-white visitors from their camps and country clubs. The example of Japanese decor is a prototype for the ways racial and economic privilege allows people to appreciate selective aspects of other cultures. Without embracing or understanding them fully.

Works Cited

“Chapter 21: Birth of the Great Camp, Chapter 22: Haute Rustic.” The Adirondacks: A History of America’s First Wilderness, by Paul Schneider, H. Holt and Co., 1998, pp. 241–276.

“File:Anglo Japanese Furniture 1875.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 29 Oct 2020, 18:40 UTC. 29 Oct 2021, 15:55 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Anglo_Japanese_Furniture_1875.jpg&oldid=506661126>.

“File:Brise Fan LACMA M.78.108.10.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 21 Jan 2019, 17:42 UTC. 29 Oct 2021, 15:56 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Brise_Fan_LACMA_M.78.108.10.jpg&oldid=335756712>.

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