617 - Ausable Chasm
Today I traversed a web of steel beams high above a canyon.
Or should I say chasm?
According to the AskJeeves.com, a chasm is a deep, narrow fissure into the Earth, while a canyon is a wide, often large, gap in the Earth. Both are formed by varying intensities of water.
Today’s adventure, as you may have guessed, was in a chasm- more specifically, Ausable Chasm. This place was located about 45 minutes south of the Canadian border, which makes it just about as upstate New York as you can get.
Now whenever people roll their eyes at me and say they’re from upstate New York when I ask if they’re from New York city, I can say, “Well, I’ve been more upstate than you.”
The wildest thing about this place is that it’s completely private. As in, they have a tier list of prices with add-ons to determine how much of the canyon you want to see. Want to hike the top? $20. Want to hike to the bottom? $40. Want to go across a bridge? $60. Want to jump off the cliff and kill yourself? Sure, I’ll do that for free after looking at these prices.
Deemed “The Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks,” this 500 feet deep, two mile long stretch of land, could easily be a state park in today’s day and age. But in 1873, a bunch of Philly businessmen got their greasy, cheesesteak hands on it before New York could see what was going on- and they’ve held onto it ever since.
This, my friend, is precisely why there aren’t many National Parks on the east coast. All the unique landscapes got bought up before public land became a thing. Thank god Teddy Roosevelt came along and created the National Park system so that landscapes could finally be protected by the government. Else we’d have tier list pricing on every goddamn canyon in the United States.
Anyway. I’m getting sidetracked. These kinds of things drive me up a wall. IT’S PLANET EARTH. A PLANET FOR ALL HUMANS. HOW CAN YOU OWN A FUCKING CANYON? (Chasm.)
But all formalities aside, we were here and ready to explore, no matter the cost.
Alara and I spent a good portion of the day moving up and down the steel staircases and walkways embedded inside of the chasm. The whole setup made you feel like a spider crawling in a crevasse. One moment you’d be close to the water, the next, back on the outskirts looking over a deep edge.
Photography wise, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I didn’t get a single shot of the chasm that I enjoyed. The good news is that I got two photos that contain more ferns that I’ve ever seen in my life:
Both of those photos were taken in a baby chasm to the left of Ausable Chasm. A solid case of the student outshining the master.
But yeah. Not a single photo of Ausable Chasm in this blog post about Ausable Chasm. Such is the way of the photography game.
Actually… you know what? I’ll throw this one in for fun. The roots emerging from the rocks got me good:
Next stop… Montreal!
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
*Please note this page contains affiliate links.
