Glossary

Aiming off. Deliberately aiming to one side of a target that sits on a linear feature, so that when you reach the feature you know which way to turn. Aim exactly and a small error leaves you guessing.

Air mass. A large body of air with roughly uniform temperature and humidity. New York sees continental polar (cold, dry), maritime polar (cool, damp), maritime tropical (warm, humid) and continental arctic (severe cold).

Alpine vegetation. The arctic-alpine plant communities on the highest Adirondack summits, growing on a few inches of soil. Damage from boots is measured in decades, which is why parties stay on bare rock above treeline.

Anaphylaxis. A rapid, life-threatening allergic reaction: hives, swelling of lips, tongue or throat, wheeze, collapse. Treated with epinephrine into the outer thigh, and always evacuated even after a good response.

Antlered deer. In New York, a deer with an antler of three inches or more. Antlerless deer generally require a Deer Management Permit.

Article XIV. The 'forever wild' clause of the New York State Constitution, protecting the Forest Preserve since 1894. Constitutional protection, so change requires a voter-approved amendment.

Back bearing. The reverse of a bearing, used to check you are on line or to return the way you came. Under 180, add 180; over 180, subtract 180.

Baitfish, certified. Bait purchased from a certified disease-free source with a receipt. Required on many New York waters. Personally collected baitfish may generally be used only in the water where they were taken.

Basic Requirements exam. The general knowledge examination every guide licence applicant must pass, whatever activities they guide. DEC allots 90 minutes; 197.6(b) lists its subjects.

Basic Water Safety. One of the three certifications required by 197.3(a)(7), since renamed Community Water Safety. Whitewater guides may substitute department-approved whitewater guide training with documentation.

Beam. A boat's width at its widest point. A wide beam gives initial stability.

Bear-resistant canister. A hard container for food, food containers, garbage and toiletries. Required in the Eastern High Peaks Zone from 1 April to 30 November under 190.13, and far more reliable than a hang anywhere.

Bivouac. An unplanned or minimal overnight camp. A deliberate bivouac in a sheltered spot, made while the party is still warm, is a far better outcome than an unplanned one in the dark.

Blaze orange. Fluorescent orange or pink hunting clothing. New York requires a minimum of 250 square inches above the waist, visible from all directions, when hunting deer or bear with a firearm.

Book time. The standard northeast hiking estimate: two miles per hour on the flat plus thirty minutes per 1,000 feet of ascent. A floor for a fit party, to be multiplied by 1.3 to 1.5 for clients.

Bow / stern. Front and back of a boat.

Brianna's Law. New York legislation requiring a State-approved boating safety certificate for every operator of a motorised vessel, of any age, from 1 January 2025. Separate from the guide licence.

Camping (197.2(b)). 'The overnight occupancy of lands, utilizing temporary shelter, such as a tent, or leanto, or occupancy without structural shelter.'

Canoe Area. A State land classification for water-based wilderness, chiefly the St. Regis Canoe Area. Wilderness rules apply.

Capacity plate. The plate stating a boat's maximum persons, weight and horsepower. A legal limit, and one to reduce below in rough or cold water or with inexperienced paddlers.

Cape. The hide taken for a shoulder mount. Cut well back behind the shoulder: a taxidermist can trim and cannot add.

Catching feature. Something across your line of travel that tells you you have gone too far: a river, a trail, a road, a sharp change of grade.

Cathole. A hole for human waste, six to eight inches deep in organic topsoil, at least 150 feet from water, camp and trails, filled in and disguised afterwards.

Char. The group that includes brook trout and lake trout, distinguished from true trout and salmon by light spots on a dark body rather than dark spots on a light one.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD). A prion disease of deer. New York restricts importing carcasses and parts from other states, which matters to any guide whose clients travel to hunt.

Cold shock. The involuntary gasp and hyperventilation on sudden cold water immersion. The first minute is what drowns people, which is why a PFD matters more than swimming ability.

Concentrate or disperse. The core low-impact judgment. In popular areas concentrate use on established sites and trails; in genuinely pristine areas disperse so no new site forms.

Conduction. Heat loss by contact with something colder, above all the ground. Insulation underneath a casualty comes before anything else.

Contour interval. The elevation difference between adjacent contour lines, printed in the map margin. Commonly 10, 20 or 40 feet in New York, and it must be read every time.

Convection. Heat loss to moving air stripping the warm layer off the skin. Countered by a windbreak and a shell layer.

Crampons. Rigid spikes strapped or clipped to a boot for steep ice and frozen slabs. Without self-arrest training they are a hazard rather than a safety measure.

Cryptosporidium. A waterborne protozoan present in New York surface water. Removed by a 0.2 micron filter or boiling, and notably resistant to iodine.

Deadman anchor. A buried stick, stuff sack or snowshoe used to anchor a tent in snow, where pegs will not hold.

Declination. The angle between true north and magnetic north at a location. Always west in New York, roughly 10 degrees on Lake Erie to about 14 in the northeastern Adirondacks.

Deer Management Permit (DMP). A lottery-issued New York permit for taking antlerless deer in a particular Wildlife Management Unit.

Designated campsite. A DEC site marked with a yellow 'Camp Here' disc. The 150-foot setback in 190.3 does not apply at one.

Direct pressure. The first and usually sufficient treatment for bleeding: hard, sustained pressure on the wound.

Draft. The depth of water a loaded boat needs to float.

Eastern High Peaks Zone. The most regulated part of the Forest Preserve. No campfires at all, canisters required 1 April to 30 November, no glass, pets leashed, day-use parties capped at 15 and camping parties at 8.

ECL 11-0533. The Environmental Conservation Law section that licenses guides: the definition, the exemptions, the five-year term, the badge requirement, revocation, and the annual published list of guides.

Emerald ash borer. An invasive beetle behind New York's rule against transporting untreated firewood more than 50 miles from its source.

Evaporation. Heat loss as sweat and wet clothing evaporate. The winter reason to vent before you sweat rather than after.

Fetch. The distance of open water over which wind blows to build waves. A long lake aligned with the wind is a different body of water in the afternoon than it was at dawn.

Field dressing. Removing the internal organs of a game animal promptly so body heat can escape. Temperature, not technique, is what makes or ruins the meat.

Fishing (197.2(c)). 'The taking, killing, netting, capturing or withdrawal of fish from the waters of the State by any means, including every attempt to take and every act of assistance to any other person.'

Flash to bang. Counting seconds between a lightning flash and its thunder, divided by five for miles. Thirty seconds or less means the storm is within about six miles.

For hire (197.2(e)). 'Providing or offering to provide services to the public at large for which compensation is demanded or received, directly or indirectly. Compensation does not include reimbursement of actual expenses for travel, meals and lodging.'

Forest Preserve. The State-owned land inside the Adirondack and Catskill Parks, protected by Article XIV. Roughly half the Adirondack Park is private, so being inside the blue line proves nothing about access.

Forest Ranger. DEC's uniformed force responsible for Forest Preserve law enforcement, wildfire and backcountry search and rescue. Camping permits under 190.4 come from them; statewide dispatch is 1-833-NYS-RANGERS.

Freeboard. The height from waterline to gunwale. Overloading eats freeboard, and freeboard is what keeps water out.

Free Fishing Day. A day each year when anyone may fish New York fresh water without a licence. All seasons, sizes and limits still apply.

Frostbite. Freezing of tissue. Never rub it, and never thaw a deep frostbite in the field if there is any chance of refreezing, because a refrozen limb is far worse than a frozen one.

Frostnip. Superficial cold injury: a white waxy patch, numb, skin still soft. Rewarm with skin contact, then fix the reason it happened.

Giardia lamblia. The waterborne protozoan behind most backcountry gastrointestinal illness attributed to water. Removed by filtering, boiling or chlorine dioxide.

Guide (197.2(f)). 'A person who offers services for hire, part or all of which includes directing, instructing or aiding another in fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, whitewater canoeing, whitewater rafting, or rock and ice climbing.'

Guiding (197.2(g)). Providing those services for hire. Secondary assistance such as carrying and cooking is not guiding when carried out to assist a licensed guide.

Gunwale. Pronounced 'gunnel'. The upper edge of a boat's side. Never step on one.

Handrail. A linear feature you follow rather than navigate: a stream, a ridge crest, a lakeshore, an old woods road.

Heat exhaustion. Pale, sweaty, cool skin with normal mental status. Shade, rest, fluids with electrolytes, and cooling. Usually recovers.

Heat stroke. Hot skin with altered mental status: confusion, aggression, collapse or seizure. A medical emergency. Cool aggressively and immediately, and evacuate urgently.

Hiking (197.2(a)). 'Traversing lands within the State by foot or snowshoe for the purpose of pleasure or exercise', excluding travel entirely within a city or village and travel connected to another regulated activity.

Hunting (197.2(d)). 'Pursuing, shooting, killing or capturing (other than trapping) wildlife... and includes all lesser acts such as disturbing, harrying or worrying, whether they result in taking or not.'

Hypothermia. Dangerous lowering of core temperature. Mild brings shivering and the 'umbles'; moderate brings confusion and apathy as shivering stops; severe brings rigidity and a barely detectable pulse.

Immersion foot. Trench foot. Tissue damage from prolonged wet and cold above freezing. Prevented entirely by dry socks and taking boots off at breaks.

Index contour. The heavier contour line, usually every fifth, that carries the elevation figure.

Invasive species. Non-native organisms that displace natives. In New York waters: zebra and quagga mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, hydrilla, water chestnut, spiny waterflea, Asian clam, round goby. Clean, drain and dry.

Lapse rate. The rate air cools with elevation: roughly 3.5 degrees F per 1,000 feet in moist air, up to 5.5 in dry. A 4,000-foot summit runs 15 to 20 degrees colder than the trailhead before wind.

Lean-to. A three-sided Forest Preserve shelter. First come, first served, free, not reservable, and shared up to capacity with other parties who arrive.

Leashed tracking dog. A New York special licence permitting a handler to track wounded big game with a leashed dog. Worth knowing a handler locally before the season.

Lenticular cloud. A smooth lens-shaped cloud over a summit, indicating strong winds aloft.

Lifeline. A rope run from the ground to a tree stand that lets a hunter stay attached to their harness during the climb, which is when most stand falls happen.

Mud season. Roughly April into May, when saturated high-elevation trails erode badly. DEC asks hikers to stay off trails generally above 2,500 feet.

Muskellunge. A large pike-family fish with dark markings on a light body. The lower halves of both cheek and gill cover are scaleless, and it has six to nine jaw pores per side.

Naismith's rule. The ancestor of book time: an hourly rate on the flat with a fixed addition per unit of ascent.

Norovirus. The virus most likely to take out an entire guided party. It travels on hands, not in the water bottle, so hand hygiene, not filtration, is the defence.

Northern pike. A pike-family fish with light bean-shaped spots on a dark body. Cheek fully scaled, lower half of the gill cover bare, five or fewer jaw pores per side.

Orographic lift. Air forced up a mountainside, cooling and condensing. It is why summits make their own cloud and rain while the valley stays sunny.

Painter. The line at a boat's bow or stern, used for tying up and lining.

Part 190. 6 NYCRR Part 190, Use of State Lands. Contains the 150-foot setback and elevation limits (190.3), the permit thresholds (190.4), and the Adirondack Wilderness rules including the High Peaks (190.13).

Part 197. 6 NYCRR Part 197, Licensing of Guides. Definitions, licence requirements, fees, examination subjects, guide identification and revocation.

PFD. Personal flotation device. Type I offshore, II near-shore, III flotation aid (the paddling standard), IV throwable, V special use and approved only when worn.

Physician's statement. The statement of physical condition required by 197.3(a)(6) and 197.4(b), signed and dated no more than thirty days before submission.

Postholing. Sinking knee-deep in snow without snowshoes, leaving holes that freeze and endanger everyone behind. Snowshoes or skis are required in the Eastern High Peaks Zone above eight inches of snow.

Primitive tent site. A designated backcountry site, often marked with a disc. In the Eastern High Peaks Zone the only lawful camping between 3,500 and 4,000 feet.

Public vessel for hire. A passenger-carrying vessel licensed by the USCG or New York State on marine, coastal, tidal and Great Lakes waters. Operating or assisting on one is exempt from the guide licence.

Radiation. Heat loss radiating away from the body, mostly from an uncovered head and neck. A hat is not a small intervention.

Reach, throw, row, go. The order of water rescue methods, ranked by risk to the rescuer. Entering the water is the last resort.

Rest-step. A climbing technique that momentarily locks the rear leg so the skeleton takes the load and the muscle rests. Slower per step, far more sustainable.

Rock and ice climbing (197.2(h)). Ascending or descending rock, or rock partly ice-covered, steep enough to need technical technique and equipment. Excludes gear used only as a safety measure on foot trails during another guided activity.

Rule of threes. Roughly three minutes without air, three hours without shelter in a hostile environment, three days without water, three weeks without food. It fixes the order of priorities.

Sauger. A close relative of the walleye, distinguished by the absence of the white tip on the lower lobe of the tail.

Scale. The ratio of map distance to ground distance. At 1:24,000, one inch is 2,000 feet; at 1:25,000, one centimetre is 0.25 km; at 1:62,500, one inch is about one mile.

Sinter. The hardening of stamped snow as crystals bond. Stamp a tent platform out and wait about twenty minutes before pitching.

Special regulations. The county-by-county exceptions in the New York freshwater fishing regulations guide. Where a water is listed, they override the statewide regulations.

Spur. A short ridge running off a larger one, and the classic wrong descent in poor visibility.

STOP. Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. The procedure when a party is lost or a situation has changed. The first step is the one people skip.

Summit fever. The pull to continue toward an objective as the margin for error shrinks. The reason a turnaround time is fixed before the trip, not judged on the day.

Suspension trauma. The rapid deterioration that follows hanging motionless in a harness. A reason to carry a knife or strap cutter within reach in a tree stand.

Temporary Revocable Permit (TRP). A discretionary DEC permit for temporary use of State land or conservation easement land, requiring liability insurance. Ordinary guiding does not need one; organised events, base camps and special access may.

Terrain association. Maintaining position by continuously matching map to ground rather than by instrument. The everyday method of a competent navigator.

Thwart. The crosswise brace in a canoe. A brace, not a seat.

Tier I climbing (197.2(i)). The unrestricted sport. Requires three years' experience averaging 30 days a year, 10 days in the last twelve months, and ten multipitch climbs led, all in a notarised resume.

Tier II climbing (197.2(j)). Single pitch, not more than 150 feet, top rope only. Requires 60 days of top rope climbing, ten in the last twelve months, and a recognised course or three years of instruction.

Top rope climbing. Climbing where the belay stance, anchor or protection point is placed directly above the climber, reached by a route on which technical climbing is not required.

Tourniquet. A band applied high and tight to stop life-threatening limb bleeding. Note the time and do not loosen it. Modern practice does not treat it as a last resort.

Trim. How a boat sits fore and aft. Level or slightly stern-heavy handles best; a bow-light canoe blows sideways in wind.

Trip plan. The written record left with a responsible person not on the trip: party, vehicles, route, times, equipment, and the time after which they should call for help.

Turnaround time. Sunset minus a safety buffer minus the descent time. Fixed before departure and announced to the party.

Umbles. Stumbles, mumbles, fumbles and grumbles: the field signs of mild hypothermia, and usually the first thing a guide notices.

Vermiculation. The worm-like squiggled markings on a brook trout's back and dorsal fin, and one of the reliable ways to tell it from a lake trout.

Wading belt. The belt cinched tight at the waist over waders, which is what stops them filling in a fall.

Walleye. A large-eyed, low-light-feeding fish with sharp canines and a white tip on the lower lobe of the tail.

Whitewater rivers (197.2(k)). The ten named river segments for which a whitewater guide licence may be issued. A licence covers only the rivers printed on it.

Widowmaker. A standing dead tree or hung-up limb overhead. The campsite hazard most often missed, and it gives no warning.

Wild Forest. A Forest Preserve classification that can absorb more use: motor vehicle access on designated roads, snowmobile trails, and bicycles where allowed.

Wilderness. A Forest Preserve classification of at least 10,000 acres managed to appear untrammelled. No motor vehicles, motorboats, float planes, bicycles or other mechanised equipment.

Wildlife Management Unit (WMU). The unit by which almost every New York hunting season, implement rule and permit availability is set. The first question of any hunt is which one you are in.

Zone of fire. The arc a hunter may safely shoot into, roughly 45 degrees ahead when walking abreast. Assigned out loud before setting off, and never swung across.

1-10-1. Cold water immersion: about one minute to control breathing, ten minutes of useful movement, one hour before losing consciousness. There is more time than panic suggests, and the first minute is the one that kills.

30/30 rule. Lightning safety: act when the flash-to-bang count is 30 seconds or less, and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before returning to exposure.

150-foot rule. 6 NYCRR 190.3: camping is prohibited within 150 feet of any road, trail, spring, stream, pond or other body of water, except at a designated site. The same distance applies to catholes and washing up.