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An Adirondack lean-to or Adirondack shelter is a three-sided log structure popularized in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York which provides shelter for campers. [1] Since their development in the Adirondacks, this type of shelter has seen use in a number of parks throughout the United States, such as Isle Royale National Park in Michigan and Indian Cave State Park in Nebraska, as well as in parts of Canada. It is similar to the Nordic laavu.
The Adirondack lean-to was developed by guides of the region as convenient camps to house hunting and fishing parties. The earliest of these shelters were quickly and crudely built but they still offered shelter from the elements.
As the Adirondacks developed, so did the lean-to structures. The previous temporary structures were replaced by sturdy log structures. Made from what was available, balsam or spruce logs were commonly used. Cedar has replaced these species as the primary log, due to its natural rot resistance and easy workability. Some High Peaks lean-tos do not have fire rings in front of them.
"The official New York State Conservation Department model [was] constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps." [2]
The state of New York owns or controls more than half of the 6 million acres (24,000 km2) in the Adirondacks. Most of this is protected by Section One of Article 14 of the state's constitution, known as the Forever Wild Clause: “The lands of the state, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands”.
Adirondack lean-tos have been the unique exception to this clause. There are several hundred public lean-tos in the Adirondacks and along the Appalachian Trail. [1] These refuges are generally open to the public on a first-come-first-served basis. [3]
The Adirondack Park is a park in northeastern New York protecting the Adirondack Mountains. The park was established in 1892 for "the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure", and for watershed protection. At 6.1 million acres, it is the largest park in the contiguous United States.
The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It consists of 700,000 acres of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, 287,500 acres (116,300 ha) or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by the state as part of the Forest Preserve; it is managed by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Another 5% is owned by New York City to protect four of the city's reservoirs in the region that lie partially within the park and their respective watersheds.
A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization dedicated to hiking or mountain recreation. They are known by many names, including alpine hut, mountain shelter, mountain refuge, mountain lodge, and mountain hostel. It may also be called a refuge hut, although these occur in lowland areas too.
The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1922. It has approximately 30,000 members. The ADK is dedicated to the protection and responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve, parks, wild lands, and waters; it conducts conservation, and natural history programs. There are 27 local chapters in New York and New Jersey. The club has worked to increase state holdings in the Adirondack Park and to protect the area from commercial development.
A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing structures open on one or more sides are generally used as shelters.
New York's Forest Preserve, comprises almost all the lands owned by the state of New York within the Adirondack and Catskill parks. It is managed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
The Slide Mountain Wilderness Area is, at 47,500 acres (19,200 ha), the largest tract of state-owned Forest Preserve in New York's Catskill Park, and the largest area under any kind of wilderness area protection between the Adirondacks and the southern Appalachians. It is located in the towns of Shandaken, Denning and Olive in Ulster County.
A wilderness hut, bothy, backcountry hut, or backcountry shelter is a free, primitive mountain hut for temporary accommodation, usually located in wilderness areas, national parks and along backpacking and hiking routes. They are found in many parts of the world, such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, northern Russia, the Alps, the Pyrenees, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Huts are basic and unmanned, without running water.
The Patriots' Path Council is a not-for-profit organization that establishes ideals in youth to help them make ethical choices by instilling values of good character, citizenship, personal fitness, and guidance. It serves members in the counties of Morris, Sussex, Somerset, Union, Hunterdon, and parts of Middlesex in New Jersey. It was established in 1999 with the merger of the Morris-Sussex Area Council (1936–1999) and the Watchung Area Council (1926–1999). On February 6, 2014, Patriots Path Council absorbed several Scouting units from the dissolved Central New Jersey Council (1999-2014).
The Blue Ridge Wilderness Area, a unit of New York's Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park, is located in the towns of Arietta, Lake Pleasant and Indian Lake in Hamilton County. It is roughly bounded on the north by NY 28; on the east by Route 28 and private lands immediately west of this route; on the south by private lands immediately north and west of Cedar River Flow; and on the west by the Lake Kora and Sagamore Lake properties and the South Inlet of Raquette Lake. It contains 19 bodies of water covering 275 acres and features 15 miles of foot trails and three lean-tos.
The Dix Mountain Wilderness Area is the name previously given to an area of New York's Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park located in the towns of Elizabethtown, Keene and North Hudson, Essex County. It was roughly bounded on the north by NY 73, on the east by the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87), on the south by Blue Ridge Road and on the west by Elk Lake Club and Ausable Club lands.
The Five Ponds Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of New York's Forest Preserve, is located in the towns of Fine and Clifton in St. Lawrence County, the town of Webb in Herkimer County and the town of Long Lake in Hamilton County. It includes 1,064 acres (4.3 km2) of private inholdings, 99 bodies of water covering 1,964 acres (7.9 km2), 57.9 miles (93.2 km) of trails, and 14 lean-tos.
The High Peaks Wilderness Area is the largest wilderness area of the Forest Preserve in the U.S. state of New York. It is located in three counties and six towns in the Adirondack Park: Harrietstown in Franklin County, North Elba, Keene, North Hudson and Newcomb in Essex County and Long Lake in Hamilton County.
The Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of New York's Forest Preserve, straddles the Essex County-Warren County line in the towns of Ticonderoga, Hague, Horicon and Schroon. The county road along the east shore of Schroon Lake forms the western boundary; to the north, private land and NY 74 form the boundary. The state land boundary forms most of the remaining perimeter except for a stretch of NY 8 on the south.
The West Canada Lake Wilderness Area is an Adirondack Park Forest Preserve management unit in the State of New York, USA.
The Debar Mountain Wild Forest is a 83,405-acre (337.53 km2) tract designated as Wild Forest by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the northeastern Adirondack Park, just north of Paul Smiths, in Franklin County. The area includes 61,500 acres (249 km2) of state land and 60,600 acres (245 km2) of conservation easement land. The area is served by state routes NY-3, NY-30 and NY-458.
Balsam Mountain is one of the High Peaks of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. Its exact height has not been determined, so the highest contour line, 3,600 feet (1,100 m), is usually given as its elevation. It is located in western Ulster County, on the divide between the Hudson and Delaware watersheds. The summit and western slopes of the peak are within the Town of Hardenburgh and its eastern slopes are in Shandaken. The small community of Oliverea is near its base on that side. Most of the mountain is publicly owned, managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as part of the state Forest Preserve, part of the Big Indian-Beaverkill Range Wilderness Area in the Catskill Park. The summit is on a small corner of private land.
Balsam Lake Mountain is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It is the westernmost of the range's 35 High Peaks. Its exact height has not been determined, but the highest contour line on topographic maps, 3,720 feet (1,130 m), is usually given as its elevation.
The Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Observation Station is located at the summit of the mountain of that name in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It comprises a steel frame fire lookout tower, the observer's cabin and privy and the jeep road to the complex.
Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, spelled Pokamoonshine on U.S. Geological Survey maps, and sometimes known as just Poke-O, is a minor peak of the Adirondack Mountains. The name is believed to be a corruption of the Algonquin words pohqui, meaning 'broken', and moosie, meaning 'smooth'. It is located in the town of Chesterfield, New York, United States, on New York state Forest Preserve land, part of the Taylor Pond Wild Forest complex within the Adirondack Park. Due to its location next to the pass through which most travelers from the north enter the range, it has been called the "gateway to the Adirondacks".