Traveling Backwards with Adirondack Sports

By Laura Clark

This month is the 25th anniversary of Adirondack Sports magazine’s publication in June 2000. Glancing backwards through the looking glass, denim outfits were all the rage, geocaching had just been born, Faith Hill’s Breathe and Madonna’s Music topped the charts, Putin had just been elected (yes, it was that long ago), How the Grinch Stole Christmas began its long reign as a perennial top box office smash, and Rod DeHaven and Deena Kastor were selected as US Olympic hopefuls.

So… What were YOU doing? While I can’t always remember what I ate for supper the day before, founder/publisher Darryl Caron reminded me that on that particular Memorial Day weekend I was hiking up Wright Peak and afterwards penned the following note: “I picked up a copy of your new magazine at Noon Mark Diner in Keene Valley. Had I read it beforehand, I would probably have picked another mountain, since your News Briefs said, “Avoid trails above 3,000 feet until mid-June.” That was back in the earlier days when info online was spotty at best and outdoor websites were few and far between. And so it began.

In the second issue, July 2000, Darryl responded to my reader letter with an editor’s note: Laura’s been recruited, read her Trail Running article on page 8. Thankfully, Darryl also sent along a copy of that article, which I have no memory of having written. I do remember my next one for the August 2000 issue, however – a blow-by-blow description of experiencing the Battle of Saratoga from a foot-soldier’s perspective by hiking along the Saratoga National Battlefield’s Wilkinson Trail, still one of my favorite spots to explore!

To my mind, it was that sense of immediacy that formed the best feature of the new Adirondack Sports magazine. Before then, especially for someone like me who was new to the area and was not attuned to the “…if it’s the second weekend of May, it must be time for Prospect Mountain Road Race… mentality.” All upcoming events, destinations and more for multiple outdoor sports were listed and described in full detail, with contact information. And I did not have to join multiple running clubs to partake, even though I joined anyway to support them. Sort of like having your own coach/personal assistant, brought to life even more by the Summer and Winter expos. The only danger, was getting too greedy and trying to explore every event and visiting every destination out there. Nowadays, such access seems like a given, but back then it was huge.

Another factor in the success of Adirondack Sports is its local and regional appeal. We get to read about places we may have hiked, families we may have met, and athletes we may have encountered. While armchair running is a fine place to daydream. It does not always fit into our busy lifestyles. There is nothing like entering a local event and encountering folks you already know – and meeting interesting new people. True confessions: For about 20 years, I have squirreled away each month’s issue against the possibility of running out of things to do, places to go. Finally realizing that each month presents endless new opportunities, I have rejected the practicality of an archeological treasure hunt through my files, now relying on the online back issues: adksports.com. I guess some things have changed.

Best of all, Adirondack Sports is about us and how we continue to expand our enjoyment of Upstate New York and all of the events and year-round destinations it has to offer. Who would have guessed back then that snowshoe running would become a cheap alternative to risking life and limb traversing icy roads, that triathlons would move beyond an indoor pool and offer many variations on the triple theme: with skating, skiing, biking, and kayaking real possibilities – and that tracking your environmental footprint should be a component we should all consider. We held fast during Covid, thriving and evolving outdoors despite, or because of, the many restrictions we confronted, proving once again that our love of nature, sport and friendship was paramount.

For a publication to survive, it needs to be relevant to its readers, and advertisers too. Sometimes, I think I should work my way through all those back issues and write up a history of our brief moment in time for those who come after us. 

If you’d like to read the June 2000’s premier issue and back issues for the past 15 years, visit: adksports.com/back-issues. Cheers to traveling forwards with Adirondack Sports!

Laura Clark (snowshoegal133@gmail.com) of Saratoga Springs is an avid trail runner, ultramarathoner, snowshoer and cross-country skier. She is a children’s librarian at the Saratoga Springs Public Library.