DEC Contact: David Winchell | David.Winchell@dec.ny,gov | (518) 897-1248 Ray Brook Press Office | R5.Info@dec.ny.gov | (518) 897-1200 May 10, 2017
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DEC Issues Muddy Trail Advisory for Adirondack High PeaksHikers Should Temporarily Avoid High Elevation Trails |
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As a new season of outdoor hiking and recreation on public lands in the Adirondacks approaches, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) urges hikers to be cautious and postpone hikes on trails above 2,500 feet until high elevation trails have dried and hardened. Spring conditions are present throughout the state and the lower elevations of the Adirondacks. However, backcountry trails in the highest elevations are still covered in slowly melting ice and snow. Steep trails with thin soils can become a mix of ice and mud as the ice melts and frost leaves the ground, making the trails slippery and vulnerable to erosion by hikers. DEC asks hikers to help avoid damage to hiking trails and sensitive high elevation vegetation by avoiding trails above 2,500 feet, particularly high elevation trails in the Dix, Giant, and High Peaks Wilderness areas in the northern Adirondacks. Please avoid the following trails until trail conditions improve:
Hikers are advised to only use trails at lower elevations as these trails usually dry soon after snowmelt and traverse deeper, less erosive soils. DEC suggests the following alternative trails for hiking, subject to weather conditions:
DEC’s website contains information on backcountry conditions in the Adirondacks at (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7865.html). |
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