Voices from the Trail
Category: Northern Forest Explorers
Inaugural Adirondack Youth Paddling Symposium Set for July 15-18
The inaugural Adirondack Youth Paddling Symposium is set for July 15-18 at the Paul Smith’s College Alumni Campground. Presented by the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT), Matt Burnett Guiding, St. Regis Canoe Outfitters, Adirondack Lakes & Trails Outfitters and NRS,…
Northern Forest Explorers: Big Water, Small Paddlers
Our trip began in sunny weather on a Monday morning in late June. Our new Northern Forest Explorers t-shirts came in and they looked sharp. For this trip, we had quite a few people who had not done this route…
Northern Forest Explorers 2022: Big Water
On the day we started, it all seemed like a good idea. We put our boats and gear together at the Saranac Inn boat launch on Upper Saranac Lake, said goodbye to parents and family, and got everything loaded. Ruby…
And Into the Forest We Go
Some months have passed — and seasons changed — since our five-day paddling trip from the beginning of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in Old Forge, NY, to Long Lake, NY. Though there was certainly magic to our travels, in…
Still the river flows
It was 2020. A worldwide pandemic had emerged, which changed the nature of school work and play around the globe. And still the river flows. The memory of our really efficient and engaged Northern Forest Explorers trips still bring a…
Pearsall Foundation supports trip scholarships for kids
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) is grateful to the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation for its support of the Northern Forest Explorers (NFE) program. NFE connects kids with the outdoors in a powerful, immersive way. Our guided NFE…
Rendezvous on the Raquette
As we admired the sprawling view down Long Lake toward Round Island, I looked around the parking lot and did some mental math: nine paddlers, with an average age of 12, all cramming their gear into dry bags and saying…
Northern Forest Canoe Explorers bushwack to the Northville Lake Placid Trail
There was no easy way forward. Tangles of overgrown beeches, witch hobble, and fallen spruce loomed in front of us. Miles of cobbled riverbed, at times too shallow to paddle, at times too deep to wade with a full pack, lay…
A Peek into the Life of a Northern Forest Explorer
From the rapids of the Androscoggin, down the meandering Clyde River, across Blue Mountain Lake and through the quick water of the Connecticut River, the Northern Forest Explorers travel. Nine trips set off last summer with 10-14 year-olds spread out…
Northern Forest Explorers: Reflections on Year One
By Roger Poor Roger Poor, NFCT Youth Program Director offers a “you feel like you’re there” summary of the 2011 Northern Forest Explorers season. “T minus one month and counting. Another last minute trip to the Adirondacks, gotta hit up…