“When despair for the world grows in me/…I come into the peace of wild things/who do not tax their lives with forethought/of grief.

Fall is in the air, and in the kitchen. This time of year the Adirondacks is ablaze with fiery colors and warm kitchens. Schroon Lake, with its shimmering blue lake located right off Main Street, is perfect for leaf peeping and eating fall treats.

Most Adirondack challenges involve doing one activity, usually hiking, over and over. If you happen to like the activity, trying to earn the corresponding patch really becomes a checklist of cool places to visit, and the bragging rights aren't bad either.

Birding and setting up camp

Any chance to spend time in Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest is an opportunity to be grasped, so I was glad when work took me that direction a few weeks ago.