eXpeditions

Summer & Fall eXpeditions 2009

Canoe the Blue ~ a B.Y.O.B (boat, that is) Field Trip for Adirondack Museum and Wild Center Members

June 20th, 2009   9:00 a.m. – 2 p.m.  Join Adirondack Museum Curator Hallie Bond, and a Wild Center Naturalist for this member only field trip.  Come take advantage of natural history, and historical interpretations of this area while enjoying abundant wildlife and beautiful scenery of Blue Mountain Lake. Blue Mountain Lake was a popular travel destination in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This paddling excursion will visit Potter’s resort, the site of the famous Prospect House and the Church of the Transfiguration, built in 1885. We will paddle past Thatcher Island, Crane Point, and Kallet’s Island before visiting Osprey Island to enjoy a small snack and hear tales of shipwrecks. We’ll tour the 1900 steamboat Tuscarora and paddle across the lake to the Hedges where we will explore this 1880 camp and enjoy a gourmet lunch. This will be a day long 9am-2 pm, six mile flatwater paddle trip.  Participants will meet at the Blue Mountain Lake Public Beach. 

This program is open to Wild Center and Adirondack Museum members only, and is $40 per person and includes lunch at The Hedges.  This is a B.Y.O.B. event (bring your own boat), PFDs are required. Participants need to bring their own snacks, appropriate clothing/bathing suits, water shoes, camera, binoculars, sunscreen, bug repellent, rain gear, paddles, and water for a full day. Additional information including directions to the launch site will be provided upon registration.

To register: Please contact Susan Arnold, Membership Manager, 518-359-7800 x 120  Space is limited and preregistration is required.

June 20th 8:30–10:30a.m.  Enjoy a morning walk at The Wild Center with Summer Naturalist and North New York Audubon Intern April Costa. Learn the basics of birding – identification, using a field guide as well as how to attract birds to your own back yard. A spotting scope will be used to view birds on the Raquette River from Oxbow Overlooks. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides (we have some for use), appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. Meet at 8:30 am at The Wild Center public parking lot.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

June 25th 8:30-10:30a.m.  This is great habitat for boreal species such as boreal chickadee, gray jay, and black-backed woodpecker.  The area encompasses a large bog wetland area and cedar woods with sedge marsh and coniferous woods. Easy walking along an old rail-road bed. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides, appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray and water.

Directions: Meet at 8:30 a.m. at trailhead/railroad bed on County Road 55 in Bloomingdale NY
From Saranac Lake: Take Rt 3 East towards Plattsburgh. Bloomingdale is approximately 6 miles from Saranac Lake. At four corners stop in Bloomingdale – go straight onto CR 55. Bear Left at the Church on CR 55. Railroad bed is about 1 mile – parking and pull-offs are noticeable on either side of the road.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

June 27th 8:30–11:00a.m.  Please join Summer Naturalist and Northern New York Audubon Intern April Costa for an interpretive hike focused on mountain habitats and birds on Whiteface Mountain. We will stop along the way to look at the forest types and transition as we go up the mountain.. At the summit, be prepared for a short hike – ¾ mile. This is a great opportunity to check out the alpine ecosystem as well as maybe see or hear the rare Bicknell’s Thrush. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides, appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. 

Directions: Meeting place is The Candy Man in Wilmington at 8:30 am Take Rte 86 from Lake Placid to Wilmington (Approximately 10 miles). The Candy Man is located on the right side at the four corners in Wilmington – from there we will carpool to the summit via the toll road.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

July 2nd 8:30–10:30a.m.  Enjoy a morning walk at The Wild Center with Summer Naturalist and North New York Audubon Intern April Costa. Learn the basics of birding – identification, using a field guide as well as how to attract birds to your own back yard. A spotting scope will be used to view birds on the Raquette River from Oxbow Overlooks. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides (we have some for use), appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. Meet at 8:30 am at The Wild Center public parking lot.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

July 9th 8:30–11:00a.m.  Please join Summer Naturalist and Northern New York Audubon Intern April Costa for an interpretive hike focused on mountain habitats and birds on Whiteface Mountain. We will stop along the way to look at the forest types and transition as we go up the mountain.. At the summit, be prepared for a short hike – ¾ mile. This is a great opportunity to check out the alpine ecosystem as well as maybe see or hear the rare Bicknell’s Thrush. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides, appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. 

Directions: Meeting place is The Candy Man in Wilmington at 8:30 am Take Rte 86 from Lake Placid to Wilmington (Approximately 10 miles). The Candy Man is located on the right side at the four corners in Wilmington – from there we will carpool to the summit via the toll road.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

July 11th 8:30-10:30a.m.  This is great habitat for boreal species such as boreal chickadee, gray jay, and black-backed woodpecker.  The area encompasses a large bog wetland area and cedar woods with sedge marsh and coniferous woods. Easy walking along an old rail-road bed. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides, appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray and water.

Directions: Meet at 8:30 a.m. at trailhead/railroad bed on County Road 55 in Bloomingdale NY
From Saranac Lake: Take Rt 3 East towards Plattsburgh. Bloomingdale is approximately 6 miles from Saranac Lake. At four corners stop in Bloomingdale – go straight onto CR 55. Bear Left at the Church on CR 55. Railroad bed is about 1 mile – parking and pull-offs are noticeable on either side of the road.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

July 16th 8:30–10:30a.m.  Enjoy a morning walk at The Wild Center with Summer Naturalist and North New York Audubon Intern April Costa. Learn the basics of birding – identification, using a field guide as well as how to attract birds to your own back yard. A spotting scope will be used to view birds on the Raquette River from Oxbow Overlooks. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides (we have some for use), appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. Meet at 8:30 am at The Wild Center public parking lot.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

July 23rd 8:30-10:30a.m.  Explore the amazing Bloomingdale Bogwith April Costa.  This is great habitat for boreal species such as boreal chickadee, gray jay, and black-backed woodpecker.  The area encompasses a large bog wetland area and cedar woods with sedge marsh and coniferous woods. Easy walking along an old rail-road bed. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides, appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray and water.

Directions: Meet at 8:30 a.m. at trailhead/railroad bed on County Road 55 in Bloomingdale NY
From Saranac Lake: Take Rt 3 East towards Plattsburgh. Bloomingdale is approximately 6 miles from Saranac Lake. At four corners stop in Bloomingdale – go straight onto CR 55. Bear Left at the Church on CR 55. Railroad bed is about 1 mile – parking and pull-offs are noticeable on either side of the road.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

Whiteface Mountain Ecology Exploration

July 25th Time: 8:30–11:00a.m.  Please join Summer Naturalist and Northern New York Audubon Intern April Costa for an interpretive hike focused on mountain habitats and birds on Whiteface Mountain. We will stop along the way to look at the forest types and transition as we go up the mountain.. At the summit, be prepared for a short hike – ¾ mile. This is a great opportunity to check out the alpine ecosystem as well as maybe see or hear the rare Bicknell’s Thrush. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides, appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. 

Directions: Meeting place is The Candy Man in Wilmington at 8:30 am Take Rte 86 from Lake Placid to Wilmington (Approximately 10 miles). The Candy Man is located on the right side at the four corners in Wilmington – from there we will carpool to the summit via the toll road.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

July 29th 9:30a.m.–3:30p.m.  Join Adirondack Museum Curator Hallie Bond, and a Wild Center Naturalist for a paddling and walking excursion that will explore the site of 15 years of industrial and agricultural activity in the Adirondack backwoods on the Bog River.  The excursion will address the industrial hey day of the Horse Shoe Forestry Company, Verplanck Colvin’s exploration of the Bog River in the fall of 1873, and the post Low era of changing land use.  Come take advantage of natural history, and historical interpretations of this area while enjoying abundant wildlife and beautiful scenery.  This will be a day long 9:30-3:30, three mile flat water paddle and a two-mile round-trip walk mile.  Participants will meet at the Bog River launch site.  This program is open to Wild Center and Adirondack Museum members only, and is $20 per person.

This is a B.Y.O.B. event (bring your own boat), PFDs are required. Participants need to bring their own lunch, snacks, appropriate clothing/bathing suits, water shoes, camera, binoculars, sunscreen, bug repellent, rain gear, paddles, and water for a full day. Additional information including directions to the launch site will be provided upon registration.  Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

To register: Please contact Susan Arnold, Membership Manager, at sarnold@wildcenter.org or call 518-359-7800 x120

July 30th 8:30–10:30a.m.  Enjoy a morning walk at The Wild Center with Summer Naturalist and North New York Audubon Intern April Costa. Learn the basics of birding – identification, using a field guide as well as how to attract birds to your own back yard. A spotting scope will be used to view birds on the Raquette River from Oxbow Overlooks. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides (we have some for use), appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. Meet at 8:30 am at The Wild Center public parking lot.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

August 1st 8:30–11:00a.m.  Please join Summer Naturalist and Northern New York Audubon Intern April Costa for an interpretive hike focused on mountain habitats and birds on Whiteface Mountain. We will stop along the way to look at the forest types and transition as we go up the mountain.. At the summit, be prepared for a short hike – ¾ mile. This is a great opportunity to check out the alpine ecosystem as well as maybe see or hear the rare Bicknell’s Thrush. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides, appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. 

Directions: Meeting place is The Candy Man in Wilmington at 8:30 am Take Rte 86 from Lake Placid to Wilmington (Approximately 10 miles). The Candy Man is located on the right side at the four corners in Wilmington – from there we will carpool to the summit via the toll road.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

August 6th 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.  Enjoy a morning walk at The Wild Center with Summer Naturalist and North New York Audubon Intern April Costa. Learn the basics of birding – identification, using a field guide as well as how to attract birds to your own back yard. A spotting scope will be used to view birds on the Raquette River from Oxbow Overlooks. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides (we have some for use), appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. Meet at 8:30 am at The Wild Center public parking lot.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

August 8th 8:30-10:30a.m.  This is great habitat for boreal species such as boreal chickadee, gray jay, and black-backed woodpecker.  The area encompasses a large bog wetland area and cedar woods with sedge marsh and coniferous woods. Easy walking along an old rail-road bed. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides, appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray and water.

Directions: Meet at 8:30 a.m. at trailhead/railroad bed on County Road 55 in Bloomingdale NY
From Saranac Lake: Take Rt 3 East towards Plattsburgh. Bloomingdale is approximately 6 miles from Saranac Lake. At four corners stop in Bloomingdale – go straight onto CR 55. Bear Left at the Church on CR 55. Railroad bed is about 1 mile – parking and pull-offs are noticeable on either side of the road.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

August 13th 8:30–11:00a.m.  Please join Summer Naturalist and Northern New York Audubon Intern April Costa for an interpretive hike focused on mountain habitats and birds on Whiteface Mountain. We will stop along the way to look at the forest types and transition as we go up the mountain.. At the summit, be prepared for a short hike – ¾ mile. This is a great opportunity to check out the alpine ecosystem as well as maybe see or hear the rare Bicknell’s Thrush. Please be prepared with sturdy walking shoes, binoculars/field guides, appropriate outdoor clothing, bug spray, and water. 

Directions: Meeting place is The Candy Man in Wilmington at 8:30 am Take Rte 86 from Lake Placid to Wilmington (Approximately 10 miles). The Candy Man is located on the right side at the four corners in Wilmington – from there we will carpool to the summit via the toll road.

Registration: Please email Sally Gross or call 518-359-7800 x116.

The Racquette: Four Rivers in One with Mike Prescott

August 19th  1:00pm  Join Mike Prescott as he tells the story of following the paddle strokes of George Washington Sears, an 1883 explorer,  as they explore the Racquette River from the headwaters to the St. Lawrence. Through contemporary and historical photographs discover the unique history of the Racquette River, from the days of logging to the construction of the many dams and reservoirs that are present today.  This project has been part of Mike’s work with the Racquette River Corridor Project (RRCP) to help in the development of responsible stewardship and the recreation potential of the Racquette River.  This program is free for members or with paid admission.

For more information and to register contact Sally Gross at sgross@wildcenter.org or 518-359-7800 x 116.

Canoe Trips with The Wild Center and The Adirondack Museum: St. Regis Lakes Canoe Trip

August 29th 10:00am - 3:00pm  Join Adirondack Museum Curator Hallie Bond, and a Wild Center Naturalist for this member-only field trips. This trip begins on dry land exploring the history of Paul Smith’s.  After lunch, the watery portion of the trip involves six miles of flatwater paddling.

This members-only trip will be a wonderful mix of historic tales and informative natural history including evidence from the Ice Age.  These are B.Y.O.B. events (bring your own boat), PFDs are required. Additional information including directions to the launch site will be provided upon registration. Cost: $30 per person and includes lunch at Paul Smith’s College. 

For full trip descriptions and to register contact Susan Arnold at sarnold@wildcenter.org or call 518-359-7800 x 120. 

To view current Wild Center events visit our new interactive event calendar.