Valerie's Thru Hiking Journal 2004

VAL'S JOURNAL

Pre-Hike Preparation

I don't remember exactly when the idea of hiking the Northville-Placid Trail came into my head. I do know it was shortly after I started backpacking. The appeal of it had nothing to do with accomplishment or getting a patch. I just had a great desire to spend 10 days on the trail, it seemed very romantic to me. Also, being that I got into backpacking by myself perhaps I needed to do this to validate my experience.

Being very cautious in nature I gave myself 2 years to prepare. I wanted to make sure I had the physical and mental fitness to complete it. A motorcycle accident resulting in a shoulder seperation in September 2002 delayed me a year. In April 2003 I could barely carry a empty pack.

The few months before I started the NPT I hiked long distances almost every weekend. I wanted to make sure I could do back-to-back 16 mile days. I also wanted to make sure my dog Gerard was up to par. As the start day approached I was confident we could do it.

9/10/2004

The morning before I was to start, my wonderful brother David followed me up to Lake Placid so I could leave my car there. He then drove me all the way down to Back to the Basics. Upon meeting Dan and Kim I immediately felt at home. Despite being urged to stay my brother had to get home. After he left kim mad a delicious dinner. We ate, drank beers and chatted. I had a hard time pulling myself away from the conversation but finally I went to sleep. In the middle of the night I was woken by a screech. At first I was a little scared and then I figured it must be a screech owl...how appropriately named. I quickly fell back to sleep.

Day 1 Benson-Whitehouse Approximately 16 miles

Dan woke me up at 0630 and Kim made a delicious breakfast...eggs, bacon, sausage and bagels. After eating I packed up and Dan and Kim drove me to the trailhead in Benson around 0900. After pictures and goodbyes Gerard and I were off. As I headed up the road I could hardly believe was finally doing this.

The first day was a fairly easy but long hike. Early on I got a strange pain in my left knee when I stepped a certain way. It ended up bothering me for several days. The first day it was the worse making me yelp at times. It really worried me. I remember thinking"why now?"

I passed Rock and Meco lakes just getting glimpses through the trees. I felt no need to hike into them because I had been to them before. I stopped for a lunch break at Silver Lake. After Silver lake there was a pretty waterfall. I also saw a huge bearprint in the mud near there. Canary pond is beautiful with a couple nice campsites. The Mud Lake lean-to was occupied by teens. Its a nice lake but very difficult to get to the water there as the shore is muddy and boggy. I pushed on to Whitehouse where I knew my friends Redhawk and Gary were going to meet me. I was pretty beat when I got there and took a rest. I pumped water at the Whitehouse Bridge. When I got done I saw Gary and Redhawk coming down the trail. I cooked while Gary chopped wood and Hawk got a nice fire going. Redhawk brought me a beer(mmm) and Gary saved me knee by getting me some duct tape out of his jeep. We chatted a lot as I ate dinner. They left around 2130 and as they crossed the bridge they called me over. The stars in the sky that night were amazing from the bridge...the sky was perfectly clear. At around 2200 I went to sleep.

Day 1 Benson-Whitehouse Approximately 16 miles

Trail-Marker

Falls by Silver Lake

Bear Paw Print

Day 2 Whitehouse-Fall Stream Approximately 13.5 miles

I woke up around 0700 with a headache and knew it was a dehydration headache. From then on out I paid very close attention to drinking enough water. After pounding down some water and a luna bar I felt better. I was on the trail by 0900 with my knee wrapped in duct tape.

Priest's vly is really beautiful...an oasis of life. I stopped at the Buckhorn stream for water. I wanted to stop at the Piesco store but that grumpy fat guy didn't want me coming near the store with Gerard because his ill-behaved mutt was barking so I said fine and continued on. Fantasies of plotting my revenge made the roadwalk go faster. The road walk really sucked. Looking back it was the worse part of the hike.I foolishly turned down a ride. When I got to the end of Haskell's Road my feet were very sore and I had blisters on the inside of my knee from the duct tape. Finally I got to Fall Stream which had several nice campsites. I soaked my feet and cleaned up in the stream. That was a very pleasant evening. I got a nice fire going and the stream babbling was very soothing. I ended up melting my techwick shirt in the fire that night but it ended upo making an excellent ace bandage for my knee. I went to sleep around 2100.

Crossing the Sagandaga River

Priests Vly

Camp at Fall Stream

Day 3 Fall Stream-West Lake Approximately 16.5 miles

This was a more difficult days hike. It was long and there was lots of mud and blowdown on the trail. The West Canada Lakes is a gorgeous region and one of my favorite wilderness areas of the Adirondacks.

I crossed the Jessup River and was expecting something bigger than what I found. It was my first visit to Spruce Lake and I was not disappointed. There was a huge beaver dam on the Sampson Bog outlet. Once I got to South Lake I felt like I was home having visited this area of the WCL wilderness often. As usual the area aound South Lake was very muddy but some new trail maintainence made the going easier. I saw lots of moose prints in the area. By the time I got to the first lean-to on West Lake I was pretty exhausted and it was getting late. I had not seen a single person that entire day but when I got to the lean-to there was a sleeping bag and a pack there. Having had my heart set on staying in that lean to I decided I would stay there anyway. After about an hour a guy showed up. I must've scared him because he packed up and left. I was very happy to have that lean-to which is one of my favorites in the Dacks. I took some beautiful pictures there of the sunset. That night was another star-filled night.

Spruce Lake

Sampson Bog Outlet

South Lake

South Lake Bridge

West Lake Lean-to #1

Day 4 West Lake-Wakely Dam Approximately 16.5 miles

This was probably my hardest day of hiking.This was probably due to the accululation of miles hiked over the first 4 days.

I woke up on West Lake to a mist rising with blue and pink skies. I did a little exploring around the shore and took some pictures before starting my hike. A small loon arrived but was mostly quiet. The hike over to Cedar Lake was pretty muddy. As usual I heard Cedar Lake before I saw it. The loons there are always very vocal. Most of the hike hike around Cedar you can't see the water but you often hear the loons. There was also more moose tracks. I ate lunch at Ceadar Lake LT#1 where I have spent a few nights in the past. The forest from Cedar Lake to the Moose River Plains was very nice with large stands of spruce. Often the trail was along the Cedar River which I learned can be paddled up to the Carry lean-to. The trail was poorly marked in spots though and a few times I was worried I was no longer on the NPT. As I neared the Moose River Plains I saw lots of deer and bear sign. Towards the end of the hike it was an old gravel road and was hard on the feet. The last mile on the Moose River Recreational Area road I did with my sandals. Wakely Dam can be reached by car and there were several campers there. Several older gentlemen were so sweet to me. When I went to sign the register book it fell apart on me and fell on the ground. One of the men came running over to pick it up for me and kept calling me maam. I was very sore that night and had no energy to start a fire. My feet throbbed. I was very grateful when I layed down.

West Lake Sunrise

Later West Lake sunrise

Cedar Lake from lean-to #1

Moose Track near Cedar Lake

Early Fall Color at Cedar Lake

Day 5 Wakely Dam-Lake Durant

The 6.5 mile roed walk to McCane's was not as bad as everyone said it would be. Much better than the Piesco road walk It was gravel and much more scenic. I did it with my socks and sandals on which probably made it better.

When I got to McCanes there was a sign that said "Trail Closed" but there were three men in the driveway who were very friendly and directed me behind the garage. Once again between McCanes and Stephens Pond I saw LOTS of moose tracks. A vly about a mile past McCanes which was supposed to be crossed on boardwalk and bridge had to be waded through. The boardwalk was gone and the bridge was about 2 feet under water. I got soaked here. I tried to skirt my way around on shrub stumps and fell in up to my waist. Thank heavens I was meeting my brother soon. The heater in his truck would proove very useful in drying my boots. I did have to stop several times though to wring out my socks. Even with that it was a very easy day of hiking. I think I was just getting used to it. 0.6 miles past Stephens Pond I ran into my brother who was hiking in to meet me. We hiked out to Lake Durant together. After relaxing and talking a while I took a very long shower. He cooked me a delicious dinner of steak, potatoes and rabi. It was so good to hear music. I ended up sending a lot of stuff home with my brother that I really didn't need and that really lightened myh pack. I also was resupplied with food and fresh clothes for the 2nd half of my hike.

It seemed from here on out everyday got easier. This day wasn't too bad eventhough there was the only real ascent on the NPT.

Pond along Cedar River Road

Where did the boardwalk and bridge go??

Blue Mountain over Lake Durant

Tirrell pond had a sandy beach and cliffs on the other side. Float planes were landing on it and the DEC was by the O'Neil lean-to putting in a bridge. The ascent over Blue Ridge did get pretty steep at the top and it was steeper going down. Funny, once I ascended and descended the ridge my knee stopped hurting. Maybe it just needed to be stretched out. Just before I sterted to climb there was a nice grassy meadow area. I camped on Sandy Creek which had no designted site so I found a suitabe spot a ways from the trail and water. I did not have a fire. It was a very warm night. What I thought was a people herd path to my site was a deer herd path. I went to sleep hoping I wouldn't get trampled that night.

Tirrell Pond and Tirrell Mountain

Mother Nature rolls out the red carpet

Meadow before Blue Ridge

Camped by Sandy Creek

Name of Adirondack Thru-Hiker: Valerie A B

Address: 198 Chamberlin Hill Rd, West Sand Lake NY 12196

How many in your NLP party: 1

Date of Departure of thru-hike: 9/11/04

Departing From Northville or Lake Placid: Northville

Estimated Days to Complete thru-hike: 10

Pets backpacking with you: 1 standard poodle

Why the NLP trail hike: The idea of a 10 day hike really appeals to me. I can't wait to spend 10 days in the woods.

Highpoints you expect along the NLP: Loons at night, possibly seeing other wildlife, meeting other hikers.

Possible disappointments along the NLP: No loons

Weight of pack upon departure for thru-hike: 50?

Backpacking and trail background: I backpack just about every weekend throughout the Adirondacks.

Item you feel you will miss during your hike along the trail: Music & conversation

Favorite food upon Adirondack departure: Steak

Food you think you will crave upon reaching Lake Placid: Steak, seafood, and potatoes

Favorite beverage before your thru-hike: Margaritas or Beer(wheat beer)

Tent or Lean-To for your backpacking accommodations: both

What you think the weather will be like: warm days, cool night, mix of sun and rain, (maybe even a little snow).

What would you as a thru-hiker like in accommodations at completion: warm bath, being able to sleep outside comfortably.