Towns and Trails

Building adventure into your daily life

Hurricane Mountain, an Adirondack Winter Hike

When the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released a report calling for the removal of the fire tower on Hurricane Mountain, Jess and I just happened to be sitting around trying to figure out what to do with our day. Trail heads to this peak are about a 5 minute drive from...

A Day in the Life

Not much going on around here today. It’s snowing outside and this is the scene inside:

My Search for the Perfect Daypack: Osprey React Review

Wanted: The Perfect Day Pack. Must excel in casual, urban outings AND day long outdoor activities. Must be big enough to fit my laptop and a change of clothes for the former...

Tips for Winter Cycling

Although bike commuting is no longer a part of our daily routine here at Towns and Trails, Planet Green offers some helpful tips for those who tough it out during the cold winter...

Ants In My Pants

I wouldn’t quite classify this as an “Adirondack adventure,” but it’s been consuming a lot of my time over the past few days, so I felt compelled to write...

The Giving Tree: Christmas Tree Recycling

As I mentioned in my dump post from the other day, we no longer have the luxury of curbside recycling. Turns out it’s not a big deal for every day items, but it posed an...

Video: World’s tallest building, meet world’s highest base jump

The Burj Khalifa officially opened in Dubai earlier this month. At 2,717 feet it is now the tallest building in the world… and at a cost of $1.5 billion dollars, I’d...

Video: James Franco cast as amputee mountaineer Aron Ralston

You may know him from such hits as “Pineapple Express,” or “Milk,” or the “Spider-Man” series – but for my money, nothing beats his performance...

Adirondack International Mountainfest to take place Jan. 15-17 in Keene Valley, NY

The 14th annual Adirondack International Mountainfest takes place January 15-17, 2010. This year’s fest will include instructional clinics from local and guest guides, as...

Dump Day

It’s no longer just trash day at our house… it’s dump day! Now that we live out in the sticks, the luxury of “free” weekly trash and recycling removal...

Towns and Trails: Our 5 Favorite Pieces of Gear from the Last Decade

I love lists, and I love gear. So naturally coming up with an end-of-decade list of our favorite gear was something I just had to do. (Ok, ok, TECHNICALLY it really isn’t...