New Book on Dack's

[RTSpoons]

Just brought a new book titled: "At the Mercy of the Mountains" True stories of survival and tradedy in New York's Adirondacks by Peter Bronski at Barnes and Noble.

The book has chapters on various incidents in the Dacks from years ago right up to the present. The stories vary from climbing accidents, lost hikers, plane crashes, etc. The beginning provides some history of the Adirondack's. So far the book has been quite interesting.

Check it out.

[Skyclimber]

I'm waiting for my reserved copy from Amazon that I ordered a couple months ago. I have been quite excited to get it and read it, as it sounds so interesting.

[pico23]

Sounds like a similar book on the whites/presidentials.

That was a good read, I might have to pick it up. We got a few more bookshelfs so we need more books

[Skyclimber]

I'm not a reader but if the book is good and interesting, then I will sit down and read it cover to cover. This one sounds like it is one of the best in a long time. I want to read the chapter of when Ron Konowitz and the group, unfortunately were caught in the Avalanche on Angel Slide of Wright. That's one of the reasons I bought it.

[redhawk]

I'm in the midst of reading the same book ... picked it up on Sunday at Barnes & Noble in Colonie Center. Good read ... I didn't realize how many mishaps there have been over the years!!

Dibs??

[redhawk]

Another Great Book

here's a great read:

"Notes Collected in the Adirondacks 1895 & 1896

Audio Review

Interesting for anyone who would like to compare the area of raquette Lake today to 110 years ago..

Hawk

[Mavs00]

By the way, I finished the book in the OP. It's a very good read.

[HappyCamper]

I hadn't come across it yet so thanks for the rec, my copy is on its way.

[johnstp]

Just finished it. Awesome!

[fingerlakes59]

great book!

I finished mine last night! A great read. Was hard to put down.

Anybody know of similar books, told in a similar manner?

[WinterWarlock]

I finished mine last night! A great read. Was hard to put down.

Anybody know of similar books, told in a similar manner?

Do you mean SAR type books, or more ADK focused?

If the former, read Death in Yosemite...serious SAR team out there.

There was another thread somewhere about ADK books...

Scott

[para46er]

Posting check test!!!!

[Trailpatrol]

The Book

The book arrived from Amazon in today's mail. I am in the middle of another book on life in Siberia during the Soviet era, so it will have to wait a few days. Thumbing through it though, I found 1 glaring mistake, so far.

Bronski says the search for Douglas Legg took place in the "Summer, 1961" Legg vanished on July 3, 1971. It is a date I will always remember.

Be safe,
Hans

[Bill I.]

My back was hurting last Saturday, so I read pretty much the entire book that day. It should be required reading for anyone heading into the backcountry. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on David Boomhower. I had heard his name mentioned numerous times, but I never knew the details about what happened.

And it's disquieting to consider just how many skeletons might be out there in the woods--literally.

The book could have greatly benefited from some basic fact-checking, however. Trailpatrol pointed out one error in the previous post. I noted several more as I read:

• New York is not a New England state, even though Bronski insists that it is throughout the book.
• I doubt that New Hampshire had built an "auto road" to the summit of Mount Washington prior to the year 1837 (p. 17)
• Lake Tear of the Clouds, technically, is the source of Feldspar Brook, not the Hudson River. It is, however, the highest pond in the Hudson River watershed. Verplanck Colvin did indeed visit Lake Tear in 1872, but he can't be credited with its discovery (p. 18) because the pond was in plain sight for anyone standing on the summit of Marcy. In Colvin's own field report, he mentioned that it appeared on existing maps at the time as a tributary to the Ausable River. Colvin's contribution was correcting the maps to show that the pond flowed toward the Hudson, and that it was "the loftiest known and true high pond-source of the Hudson river." He named it Summit Water.
• Hoffmeister should be about 5 miles northeast of Wilder Mountain, not south (p. 73)
• The Five Ponds Wilderness never had 600 miles of trails (p. 187). Trust me, I've walked all of them.
• Indian Lake Road, in the Moose River Plains, does not become a "snowmobile track" between Squaw and Indian lakes (p. 255)--you can drive all the way to Indian Lake, conditions permitting. The portion beyond Indian Lake is in the West Canada Lake Wilderness, so it is not a snowmobile trail at all. The area where the dead hunter was found, "1 mile south of Little Indian Lake," (p. 258) is squarely in the West Canada Lake Wilderness, and not the "invisible boundary" with the Moose River Plains Wild Forest. The road itself is the boundary.

Yes, these are all minor details. But as you read the stories and pick up on these little mistakes, you have to wonder what else the author might have reported in error. As compelling as these stories are, I found myself taking them with a grain of salt. It didn't help when I looked through his bibliography and saw that a good portion of his research was apparently done on Google. Our own Colden46 is listed as a reference...

And for the record, the benefits of technology aside, Carl Skalak is an idiot. The source of his problems was not the fact that he activated his brand-new beacon twice in the same month, but that he actually planned to go canoeing from the end of an unplowed road in November, right when Adirondack waterways normally begin to freeze. In all of his seemingly meticulous planning--leaving his blood donor card with the ranger et. al.--he apparently never bothered to check the weather, because as far as I can tell nothing happened to him that was out of the ordinary for November. I have been caught in a few November snow showers myself on the East Branch of the Oswegatchie, so I know what the experience is like. That helicopter from Fort Drum should have dropped a pair of snowshoes to him and a note that read: "See you in April."

Overall, I rate the book out of five.

[Trailpatrol]

I found 1 glaring mistake, so far.
Bronski says the search for Douglas Legg took place in the "Summer, 1961" Legg vanished on July 3, 1971. It is a date I will always remember.

Be safe,
Hans

I e-mailed Peter Bronski and got a very prompt response. He admits they missed the Legg date and it will be corrected in any future printings. I can appreciate an author who takes the time to get back to you on corrections.

Be safe,
Hans