The caterpillar is brightly colored, with black and yellow stripes and a red head. It also has tufts of hair along its body, which often cause an allergic reaction in humans if touched.

While on our way back from Canton, we spotted a small fawn walking along the side of the road. After seeing us, it ran into the woods where its mother was waiting.

We'd just climbed the "Back in the Saddle" (northeast) slide on Saddleback and wanted one more climb; Gothics West Face slabs looked gnarly. A bit over 600' of elevation gain on steep terrain was the perfect end to our day. For those who are familiar with Gothics, this face is just to the right of the cable route if looking at it from Saddleback Mountain.

The red line is for photo inset reference ONLY, not as a defined route; conditions change by day.

This was leg 1 of a day-climb up Gothics Rainbow Slide (East Face), South Face (Original Route 5.4) and North Face (Finger Slide 5.1). Full pictures and story are located at this address:

http://forums.adkhighpeaks.com/showthread.php?t=21847 or at www.mackenziefamily.com/46/46r.html on the Slides and Bushwhacks page.

The neve was good to solo the Original Route on Gothics. There was some open rock and ice surrounding the crack, but pristine conditions on route. The red line is for photo inset reference ONLY, not as a defined route; conditions change by day.

More photos and pictures at: www.mackenziefamily.com/46/46r.html on the Slides and Bushwhacking page.

You overnight in Panther Gorge, 11 miles from the nearest trailhead. Awakening to an overcast morning with the barometer dropping, you take a chance. Climbing through the cliff band you climb into the mist; visibility disappears. It feels more like climbing in 'Middle Earth' than the Adirondacks...

More text and photos at: www.mackenziefamily.com/46/46r.html

A winter climb up Mt. Colden's West Ramp Slide, the southern-most slide in Avalanche Pass. Nothing like a winter bushwhack of one of my favourite mountains.

Text and pictures at: http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16773

Climb of the Bottle Slide (and technical Bottleneck route) in 2013 with Phil Brown, editor of Adirondack Explorer news-magazine.

More at Adirondack Almanac: http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2013/06/hitting-the-bottle-on-giant-m…

Very cool fungus found in the woods by my house. I couldn't identify it, but there are many different types of fungi in the North Country.

EDIT: This fungus is possibly Dryad's Saddle, a type of shelf fungus. It is very young, making it hard to identify.

Male ruby meadhawks have a bright red body, while females have a brown to orange color. Meadowhawks are found throughout the Northern US, but are very hard to identify.