Craig NTP

CRAIG'S JOURNAL OF HIS 2004

THUR-HIKE ALONG THE

NORTHVILLE-LAKE PLACID TRAIL

7-9: Drove forever today. Left from home about 7:30am. Drove to Albany so Sean could drop off his library books (what a nerd) and headed to Lake Placid to leave the car. We got up there, left the Jetta, made a quick trip to EMS, and headed south. We got to Piseco to get Kelly and were at Back 2 Basics earlier than I thought. The place was great and Kim and Dan went out of there way for us. Pizza, drinks, snacks…. It was great. I am really nervous but excited about tomorrow.

7-10: Woke up and got ready. Kim made us a huge breakfast which included bacon (I think she read my diary). We all got stuffed and headed out to the trail head. We signed in about 10:30am and we were off. My pack rode much better than I remember. I bet I don't say that on day 7 or 8. We lost Kelly for a little while. She was up ahead of the rest of us and just disappeared. We saw another group and they said they had not seen her pass by. Mike and I dropped our packs and back-tracked about ½ mile and found her. Just a small wrong turn. We were following the 10 day itinerary, but decided to push on to Canary Pond for the night. What a great spot, everyone should check it out. Not bad for the first day, just over 10 miles. I am feeling good after the first day. Only 112 miles left….

7-11: We were up by 7:30 and on the trail by 9:30. Right before we left, we met a nice guy with a great dog (Maggie). He looked in better shape than most of us and he was in his 60's. It was another nice day; sun, dry, warm, somewhat flat…… easy going so far. Sean seems to be hurting a bit. He was slowing down more and more as the day went on. We got to Hamilton Lake Lean-to and the place was pretty boring. No good sights and lots of bugs. After a heated 5 minute debate, we decided to push on to Piseco. The last four miles finished Sean off quick. His feet and back could not hold on and he jumped ship in Piseco. (His poor girlfriend drove up in the middle of the night to get him, she probably hates Me and Mike.) Mike and I got a hotel room for the night and crashed (Oxbow Motel is a great place. The owners are great and the place is in a great location. Check it out if you are passing through.) The fried food and beer for dinner was a nice touch to a crappy day!

7-12: And now we are down to 2, just Mike and Me. We woke up to fresh coffee and banana bread in the motel office (yeah, we are really were roughing it.) We walked the road to the PO and I got the rest of my food. We were off. The trail started out ok, but got pretty hairy quickly. This was the first section where the trail was really rugged. I am glad that Sean jumped off, he would have been in trouble on this part. We got to the first Spruce Lake lean-to and it was taken by a camp group (and the leader had more toys and gadgets than I could believe). We pushed on to the second lean-to and that was taken by the same group. Soooo, we pushed on to the third and took it. The lean-to was in a great location with a great view. It was grey all day and finally started to rain when we got to the lean-to. I think that I slept about 5 minutes the whole night. The bugs were terrible. Overall, I am doing ok. A little bit sore, very sleepy, but still feeling good about this whole thing!! NO RAIN TOMORROW PLEASE!!!

7-13: We were up about 8am, if you can call it waking up. I feel like I was up all night. No rain last night or this morning!!! We hit the trail about 9:40am and it was terrible. Lots of mud, bugs, and trees all over the trail. We got to the Cedar Lake Lean-to about 5 to find a family had already made it home (and they looked like they stepped right out of a L.L. Bean catalog.) It is day four, and we smell, we are dirty, and we look like a couple of hermits. Personally, I think that we scared them. They suggested a lean-to about a ½ mile back from where we came, so we made camp about 200 yards from their lean-to (out of spite) and tried to clean ourselves up. Cedar Lake was nice and we saw 3 loons float by. It was very hazy and hard to see the view, but I bet it was great on a clear day. I stuffed myself with food because I knew tomorrow would be crazy (and I wanted to make my pack as light as possible.) The trail has been a bit more taxing than I thought. This is no walk in the woods. I caution people who think that it is. I am doing well though. The feet are tired and the knee is holding on better than expected. Took a big fall on my shin today but I think it's ok, just banged up. I hope tomorrow goes by fast.

7-14: I woke up to another grey and hazy day. I really hope that the rain holds off, the last thing I want to do today is walk 19 miles, let alone 19 miles in the rain. The first few miles went by fast, until we hit the road. It seemed like we walked forever on a dirt road, which then turned into a paved road. My feet really took a beating with so much road walking (future hikers, BRING A GOOD PAIR OF SNEAKERS IF YOU CAN!!) During all of this, the rain began; the first “serious” rain of the trip. It was pretty miserable for a few hours. We got to McCanes and figured we had about 3 miles to Stephen's pond. By this time it was after 6pm and we had been hiking since 9am. We were on the trail for about ½ hour and reached 75 feet of swamp with no bridge. So, being the adventurers that we are, Mike and I walked knee deep through mud and water to cross it. (At this point of the trip, we were a bit frustrated and pissy.) We got to Stephen's Pond after 8pm and I was ready to sleep for a month. I pumped water, barely ate, and jumped into my tent for the night. I almost wished that a bear would visit so I could beat it up to release some aggression from the day (oh yeah, lots of very large bear tracks seen on the trail for the last 2 miles). Today was the most physically and mentally taxing day of my life.

7-15: I guess my body is getting adjusted to this stuff because I woke up without an ache or pain?? It was very surprising. I am looking forward to the 8 miles today!!! We stayed at camp until about 12 and slowly rolled out toward Tirrell Pond. It was pretty slow going all day. We are both just taking it slow (to recover and to enjoy the hike). We passed through a state campground and I saw myself in the mirror; very scary! We left about 2:30pm and pushed on to Tirrell Pond. The rain held off but it was still very wet on the trail. We got to the lean-to just after 5pm. I was a bit ahead of Mike and noticed a box located in the lean-to (a type of box I have seen many times in my life). I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me because how would a 12-pk of beer end up in the middle of the ADK mountains??? I carefully approached, (so not to scare it away), reached my hand in, and discovered 11, COLD, beers!!! The ADK Gods are looking down on us today! Lets just say after having a few rough days, that gave us a much needed boost! (I want to personally thank the glorious person who was dedicated enough to lug a 7-lb box of beers into the wood, barely touch it, and leave it just for Mike and I. You are truly a wonderful person and I hope one day to meet you and shake your hand!!!) We still could not get a fire going to dry our boots and clothes so we have another fun day of wet gear to look forward to!! Tirrell Pond was beautiful while we were there. The sky was dark red and black and it looked amazing on the water. I could spend a month here and be perfectly happy. What a great day 6!

7-16: I guess that little fall a few days ago on my leg was worse that I thought. I woke up with swelling, bruising, and blood covering the front of my right shin. This is where my addition to Tylenol began! We headed out about 9:40am and within about an hour, the rain was pouring down. The trail got really fun at this point too; it seemed like we climbed a mountain for 3 hours and got to the top just as the rain really began to pour. Going up was not too bad, but going down was hard. Very wet, slippery, and lots of fallen trees. It was slow going for a while. Mike and I have been hiking in wet boots for days and it is starting to abuse our feet. We got to a trail crossing near Long Lake to find Kim (from Back 2 Basics) waiting for us to drive us into town. Definitely another plus that helped boost us up. A quick stop at Stewarts and we were back on the trail. We got to the lean-to about 5:30 and relaxed. It rained a lot more that evening. We turned in and were asleep when we had a visitor at midnight. Some guy showed up with his dog and crashed in the lean-to with us. It was a bit strange that someone had been hiking in the dark for a few hours. He did not talk much to us, but snored enough for all of us.

7-17: Today began sunny but got a bit dark as the day went on. Not much rain but we are still wet. I would do anything for a pair of dry boots. You can tell that it is day 8, we are moving pretty slowly. Our feet are pretty messed up, especially Mikes. They look scary. The terrain was crappy today too. Lots of mud and LOTS of rocks and roots in the trail (also helping out the foot situation.) We got to Cold River about 6:30 and relaxed for about an hour. We are tired, wet, and sore. We met a nice older guy who stopped by. He was out with a group of kids. Cold River is a very nice place. Great scenery. My leg is killing me at this point, Mike's feet look like shredded wheat, but we are going to finish this. With all of the pain, soreness, wet boots and clothes, snakes, etc… I am so glad to be here doing this. Less than 25 more miles!!!

7-18: I told Mike on this day we could say, “We are done tomorrow” but neither one of us said anything. Maybe it was because we wanted to enjoy the rest of the trip….. or maybe we were worried that it might not happen (more of the first option I think.) Today we go to Duck Hole, a 12 mile hike that will probably take us a month. The first 6 miles were not too bad, the last 6 were rough. Lots of up and down, rocks, bridges out, downed trees, mud, etc. We were able to see Rondeau's camp (the ADK hermit from the early 1900's). I love the ADK's but 37 years living in the mountains… that would be tough. We snapped a few pictures and we were off. It seemed like it took us forever to get to Duck Hole. We got in about 6pm, very tired and ready to relax. I did not eat much, just pumped water (in the rain), set up my tent (in the rain), and went to sleep (in the rain). We quickly learned that the lean-to had a number of snakes that had called it home. I was not happy, but at that point, I just wanted to go to sleep. HINT: if you are in a sleeping bag and also get into a 55 gallon garbage bag to help keep dry during a serious rain storm, you can still get very wet. Duck Hole is a great place in a great location. I wish the weather was better to see it.

7-19: The last day….. I can not yet tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing. We headed out and found the most terrible 4 miles of trail so far. It was just crappy. Mike took 2 big falls; one put him flat on his back. It took us until almost 11am to get to Moose Pond lean-to and we took a small break. Mike's feet are messed up. We headed out and it was slow going for a while. With about 6 miles left, we decided to speed things up, even though we were both in rough shape. We basically ran for an hour and a half and covered a lot of ground. The last mile and a ½ was slow going, but at about 5:17pm, we saw the end. I was happy, excited, and sad all at the same time. After a few pictures and the stripping-off of nasty socks and clothes, we were on our way to a gas station for Gatorade and to McDonalds (to help get those lost pounds back.) It is hard to think that over the last 10 days, we hiked over 122 miles.

Thoughts: I am so glad that we did this. It was an amazing experience that pushed me (physically and mentally) further that I could have ever imagined. It is hard to believe that the conditions could be so bad, but Mike and I were in good spirits for most of it. I want to do this again, but stretch it out longer (maybe 2 full weeks). There were some spots I would have liked to stay at for a while instead of pushing through to the next stop. Overall, this was a wonderful experience.

For anyone who thinks that this is just a walk in the woods, PLEASE THINK AGAIN. This trail requires preparation, dedication, and skill.

NP SURVEY

Name of Adirondack Thru-Hiker: Craig Lamb

Address: 16 D Village St, Willington, CT 06279

How many in your NLP party upon departure: 4

How many in your NLP party upon completion: 2 (Craig & Mike)

Date of Departure of thru-hike: July 10th, 2004

Date of Completion of thru-hike: July 19th, 2004

Departing From Northville or Lake Placid: Northville

Actual point of Completion: LP

Estimated Days to Complete thru-hike: 10-12

Actual Days to Complete thru-hike: 10

Pets backpacking with you: None

Why the NLP trail hike: Love the ADK's and have always wanted to do a long distance trip.

Would you do it again?: YES!!!!

Highpoints you expect along the NLP: Peace and quiet. Being with friends in the woods.

Actual highpoints you experienced along the NLP: Lots of wildlife, good conversation, lots of time to think, peace and quiet. (And finding a few beers at the lean-to on day 6!!)

Possible disappointments along the NLP: Rain and blisters (hopefully no knee problems.)

Actual disappointments along the NLP: Lots of rain, wet boots and socks, sore feet, banged up shin.

Weight of pack upon departure for thru-hike: 40-45 lbs

Backpacking and trail background: Many high peaks and multi-day hikes.

Item you feel you will miss during your hike along the trail: Toliet.

Item(s) you missed most during your hike along the trail: Toliet & Cold Drinks other than water.

Favorite food upon Adirondack departure: Peanut M&M's

Food you think you will crave upon reaching Northville: Anything fried.

Food you actual craved upon completion: McDonalds

Favorite beverage before your thru-hike: Gatoraid (any red flavor)

Favorite beverage you craved upon completion: Gatoraid

Tent or Lean-To for your backpacking accommodations: both

Tent or Lean-To for your backpacking accommodations:

Tent (6x's )

Lean To (2x's)

Motel - 1X - due to problems early one

What you think the weather will be like: Mix of sun and rain throughout the week.

What was the weather actually like: 2 days of sun, 2 overcast days with some rain, 6 days of rain…...

What would you as a thru-hiker like in accommodations at completion: ???

What would you as a thru-hiker like upon your return to civilization in accommodations: Good slippers, a lazy-boy, and a shower.

Friends you made along the way: Scary bearded guys on the night of day 7, weird 65 year old Boy Scout leader and his troop (that flew into the woods), and the snakes living in the Duck Hole lean-to.