At first, I was hard-core team old Finder icon. Viewed alone, I still think it looks a little goofy. But alongside the rest of the system UI and other Dock icons, the new one is growing on me.

I haven’t installed any betas yet, but even with just watching the keynote and scrolling through screenshots of Liquid Glass I’m already giving side eye to iOS 18, which now looks sort of dated. 👀

Looks like I’ll need to make an update to my Alt Text Generator shortcut! 🤞that it’ll accept images!

The image contains text titled “Shortcuts Get More Intelligent.” It explains that shortcuts are now more powerful and intelligent with the integration of Apple Intelligence. Users have access to new intelligent actions, including features for summarizing text and creating images. It mentions that users can tap into Apple Intelligence models either on-device or via Private Cloud Compute while maintaining privacy. It gives an example of a student using a shortcut to compare lecture transcripts with notes. ChatGPT can also be utilized to provide responses in shortcuts.

Oops! Apple published all its newsroom posts at once instead of as they appear in the keynote! www.apple.com/newsroom/

Happy WWDC to everyone who celebrates! I hope all your OS wishes are granted. My “coverage” will be more subdued this year. I’m excited to see what’s in store for us, but not in the same way as years past. I’ll contain my hot takes to this thread. 🧵

Sundays are for friends and a great day for up, particularly out on Cloudspin Cliff in Wilmington! We enjoyed splendid views of @whiteface_mt all day as we topped out climb after climb. Thanks Dakota, Louisa, and Bill for such a fun day.

Wright, Algonquin & Iroquois Peaks

So many stories and laughs were shared on this amazing day in the mountains. @sekoshan rocked it out all day, summiting three more high peaks in her training for a trek in Peru. I know she’ll do great!

Nick Heer: ‘Apple ‘Fandom’ in 2025’

I am, as ever, looking forward to seeing what is being announced tomorrow, albeit with the understanding I will be watching a slick infomercial possibly containing concept videos. It is hard to see how one could be a fan of a multi-trillion-dollar company. I am just a customer, like a billion-plus others.

Heer nails it.

Giant Mountain via the Ridge Trail - 6/6/25

Today was Day 2 with @sekoshan as she prepares for a long hike down in Peru. I guided her up Giant Mountain along the Ridge Trail today. Compared to yesterday, today was far more humid, wet, and cloudy. But we still had a great time on the trail!

5.8 miles, 3000 ft of elevation gain, 6 hours car-to-car.

No warm-up like we had yesterday on Colden! This trail is steep from the beginning, rising 600 feet in the first .5 miles to a lookout. You do nearly 1000 feet of elevation gain for each of the 3 miles to the summit, popping in and out of the woods onto the rocky ridges. It’s one of my favorite routes because you get views all the way up!

The trail was in superb condition on the way up. Mud and blowdown was basically a non-issue. We were way more wet from sweating in the muggy weather than any water/mud on the trail.

Clouds rolled in just as we were reaching the summit, but we got a short window view down into the valley before getting socked in. We knew rain was imminent and that the descent would be harder on wet rock, we opted not to continue to Rocky Peak Ridge, saving our legs for the McIntyre Range tomorrow.

Rain did indeed start coming down about halfway back to the car. It soaked the rock quickly, and we took our time to avoid slipping. Rain coats went on to avoid getting chilly and it was quite pleasant.

Bugs were out, but not too bad. Some swarms knew the summit, but nothing a little bug spray couldn’t handle. The mosquitos kept biting through the rain.

We saw 17 people on the trail, with a few still headed up as we were coming down.

Timeline:

  • 6:45am - Started from Route 73
  • 7:30am - Giant’s Washbowl
  • 9:00am - Roaring Brook/Ridge Trail Crossover
  • 9:45am - Giant Summit (3 hours)
  • 10:15am - Left the summit
  • 11:00am - Roaring Brook/Ridge Trail Crossover
  • 12:15am - Giant’s Washbowl
  • 12:45am - Returned to the trailhead (6 hours)

Colden from Loj, 6/5/25

I had the pleasure of guiding Shannon and Susan up Colden yesterday from the Loj. We had a splendid day with great views despite Canadian wildfire smoke, and the rain even held off for us!

We opted to do it as an out-and-back via the Lake Arnold Trail. ~13 miles, 2734 ft of vert, 10 hours car-to-car.

Trails were in really good condition — some of the best I’ve seen for this hike. Basically no blowdown left, and even the trail near Lake Arnold wasn’t as muddy as usual. Some slick rock near the summit was our only challenge, and only when coming down.

Trails were quiet for most of the day. We saw two people headed out to Skylight, and another couple we leap frogged with up and down Colden. Once returning, more groups were headed to the Avalanche Campsites and Marcy Dam.

Timeline:

  • 6:45am - Departed from Loj
  • 7:45am - Marcy Dam
  • 8:30am - Avalanche Camps/Lake Arnold Crossover
  • 10:00am - Lake Arnold
  • 11:15am - Little Colden
  • 11:45am - Colden Summit (5 hours)
  • 1:30pm - Lake Arnold
  • 2:45pm - Avalanche Camps
  • 3:30pm - Marcy Dam
  • 4:30pm - Loj Trailhead (~10 hours)

These three peaks provide lots of technical challenge. Steep climbs, exposed rock faces, and lots of winter blowdown. But the incredible views from the heart of the lower great range made it all totally worthwhile. It’s amazing what our bodies can do with a little gumption! Congrats to Meg on peaks 40-42 on her 46er journey!

Strong legs and great conditions turned our two-peak day turned into a four-peak day! Gotta love those long days in the mountains. Congrats to Meg on peaks 37-40 on her 46er journey!

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#176]

Pretty classic list this time.

Is there a better way to spend the first sunny day in a while than questing up Chapel Pond Slab? We think not! Empress (5.5 X) was a total joy with Shane. We even spied the incomparable Will Roth on Regular Route!

It’s the summer of sending! Book your own climbing adventure today — both group instruction and private climbing days available on our website. Link in bio.

📸: Gripped Photo

@newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk @adirondackclimberscoalition #lifeisbetterwhenclimbing #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

A man in a red jacket stands with folded arms beside a silver Subaru on a forest road with trees and mountains in the background. License plate reads KTG 9908 DELTA. Climber ascending a rugged rock face secured by a rope in a sunny mountain landscape surrounded by greenery and a clear blue sky. Climber ascends steep rock face using ropes surrounded by greenery under a clear blue sky with a small cloud. Climbing rope stretches down a steep rocky cliff face surrounded by dense green trees in a lush forest setting. A climber ascends a steep grey rock face with a rope trailing behind wearing a helmet and backpack surrounded by a lush green forest. Climber ascends a steep rock face using a rope under a clear blue sky with sparse clouds and surrounded by some greenery. A climber ascends a rugged rock face secured by a rope under a clear blue sky with some trees visible at the base. A climber ascends a steep rock face using rope and gear under a clear blue sky.

John Gruber:

Ever since I started doing these live shows from WWDC, I’ve kept the guest(s) secret, until showtime. I’m still doing that this year. But in recent years the guests have seemed a bit predictable: senior executives from Apple. This year I again extended my usual invitation to Apple, but, for the first time since 2015, they declined.

I’m so curious if Apple had declined before or after Gruber wrote ‘Something is Rotten in the State of Cupertino’. Either way, rotten indeed.

I had the pleasure of guiding Bill and Bev up Mt. Marcy for them to reach the top of New York State for their high point journey! We lucked out with incredible weather with spectacular views clear across to Vermont. Bill regaled us with tales of their climbs across the world. He and Bev are so impressive and dedicated, showing us how it’s done into their 70s. I can’t wait to hear about their next adventures, including Mont Blanc this fall. Wow!

@rockandriver_official

Tom and I nabbed the rest of the Dix Range (Dix and Hough) yesterday to tick his 27th and 28th high peaks! The weather was glorious, though the black flies are officially out in full force. But even those little buggers couldn’t keep the smiles off our faces as we traversed that gorgeous range. We summited via the Beckhorn trail and then went down Lillian Brook for a 12.5 mile day in just about 11 hours.

Big thanks to Curt, a volunteer herd path maintainer who we met on top of Hough and who was continuing to clear the significant blowdown in the range!

@newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

Looks like Mac Virtual Display uses Sidecar tech from the iPad. You can’t connect to both the Vision Pro and iPhone Mirroring at the same time.

The image shows an alert message on a screen, with a background of tall trees in a forest. The message reads: “Unable to Connect to iPhone Mirroring. Jarrod’s MacBook Air is currently using Sidecar.” Below the message is a “Try Again” button, and there is an icon of a smartphone above the text.

📺 Finished watching: The Last of Us (season two)

🍿 Finished watching: Fountain of Youth

🆕📝 ‘Sam and Jony skepticism’

Jason Snell brought words to the feelings I’ve been feeling about the OpenAI + io partnership.

Tom and I only planned on hiking Macomb, but it was so nice that we went out to South Dix and Grace Peaks as well! He’s well on his way to becoming a #46er with these being 24-26/46 summits for him. Great way to spend the 133rd anniversary of the Adirondack Park. 👌

A person with a red backpack takes a photo at a wooded trailhead with a sign indicating various peaks.

@newyorkoutdoorguides #nysoga @lakeplacidadk #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

I’d love to see an org chart of how people and responsibilities flow between OpenAI, Lovefrom, and io. Sounds like some folks are heading directly to OpenAI via io (Hankey, Tan, Cannon), while Ive remains independent yet oversees all design at OpenAI’s via LoveFrom. It’d make an excellent Decoder.

🔗 Apple unveils powerful accessibility features coming later this year:

Accessibility Reader is a new systemwide reading mode designed to make text easier to read for users with a wide range of disabilities, such as dyslexia or low vision. Available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, Accessibility Reader gives users new ways to customize text and focus on content they want to read, with extensive options for font, color, and spacing, as well as support for Spoken Content.

I have high hopes that this will be a big upgrade to the ‘Speak Screen’ and ‘Speech Controller’ features.

Finished reading: Brian’s Hunt by Gary Paulsen 📚

Thus ends the Hatchet Adventure series. They sure do make you want to escape to the woods.