73 LAKES

I’M A TOURIST, A FLATLANDER, born and raised in a limestone valley of the Appalachians. How could I, someone who drives hours north to reach the Blue Line, ever begin to understand the communities, ecologies and histories of the Adirondacks?

Restriction might grant clarity, I thought, so I focused on 250 Adirondack lakes. I drove to some. Hiked to others. Visited quite a few in musty books from the 19th century. Learned about others through the tall tales of locals.

Here you’ll find 73.

Think of what follows as a collage, pasted together from what I learned and what I witnessed.

1 ON ALMOST EVERY DRIVE NORTH, THE FIRSTAdirondack lake I saw was plastered on a billboard. Six real-estate agents dressed in business casual stood thigh-deep in the water, everyone smiling, waving to the camera. They’d been standing there for quite some time, or so it seemed. Water had wicked a good distance up each person’s pants. Stuck in the sand in front of them, a sign said SOLD.

gullible flatlanders, like myself, I was