The Wealth Gap in the Adirondacks

       This was a weekend of surreal experiences for me, the foremost probably being sitting in a castle dining room while bona fide lawyers argued a case for us. In fact, I felt in an almost constant state of awe during my time at Litchfield. Beyond acknowledging the existence of Great Camps in the Adirondacks, we haven't talked too much about them in class. Seeing Wenonah and Litchfield first hand proved a very real juxtaposition to the way I've come to think about early settlements in the parks- as rugged homesteads whose occupants struggled to survive through harsh winters and thin soils. It's one thing to acknowledge the power of absentee influence on the park, and quite another to see the physical evidence of big money's effect on the landscape. The wilderness that proved an almost insurmountable challenge to poor settlers simultaneously served as a place of leisure for the wealthy-an escape from the crowded, polluted city (and piles of horse poop, according to Peter Litchfield). I suspect that the class divide in the park between upper and lower was especially pronounced because of this. Even with the emergence of the middle class, the park long remained a place either for the very wealthy or the very poor. That gap has closed considerably today, but our trip this weekend reminded me how pronounced it still is,