JustinHEMI05
New member
Date(s) Hiked:6/16-6/19/06
Trails(s) Hiked:Northville-placid trail, between Long Lake and Lake Placid
Total Distance:About 40 miles
Difficulty:Very easy in some places (long lake-cold river valley) then very difficult (cold river valley past duck hole)
Conditions: Wet. Rained the night of the first day. Didn't rain rest of time. Much blow down.
Special Required Equipment:None really but be prepared. There is no way off the trail from long lake to duck hole which is 24 miles. Then the trail access from duck hole is about 8 miles and very difficult.
Trip Report:
Started out from Long Lake Friday morning. It was a very easy hike along the lake. A lot of mud and swampy areas here. Stayed at the Plumleys lean to the first night. Not another soul around except for some people on the lake. I was surprised to have a lean to site on this lake to myself on a friday night. Woke up to rain. Decided to give it an hour before I started hiking again because I really hate packing up camp when its raining (which is probably why I will never truely be ready to hike the AT
although I think I could get over it). Well the rain finally stopped so I went for a quick swim then packed up camp. As I was packing up, thie elderly couple paddled up in their canoe. They told me that they had just paddled 16 miles that morning and were tired and were going to call it a day. The paddled all through the rain. We got to shooting the shit a bit and they told me that they did the NPT end to end to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary 15 years ago! Now I did some quick math and realized that I am talking to some 70 somethings that just paddled all morning in the rain and have been paddling for about a week now from Saranac lake. WOW. They are in great shape and I only hope I can be like them someday. They will probably live to 100 they way they stay active. They mentioned they don't even own a TV because they are never home to use it. They are always out paddling, back packing or something! AWESOME I thought. Oh, and the man is somewhat famous on the trail apparently. They named an out house after him at duck hole... The Nat Wells House of Muse they called it. And sure enough, thats whats on the door. Anyway, I headed out for the trail. The next few days were much of the same. Me, alone, in the huge Adirondack forest. I didn't see another soul the entire weekend. I saw lots of deer, frogs, and snakes. No bears fortunately. I did pass through some interesting old logging camps and Noah Rondeau's old hermitage. It was kinda neat standing in the place that a famous old hermit used to call home. And what a lovely spot he picked. It was on a grassy knoll above the Cold River and some of his "junk" is still lying there. I am glad people havn't been walking away with souvenirs. I really enjoyed this part of the hike. Although rugged, it travelled up the cold river valley, hugging the river most of the way. What a great river. Many swimming and fishing opportunities along the way. I stayed at the Seward lean to the second night which was right on the bank of the river with a swim hole a few feet away. From here it was on to duck hole where I stayed the last night. I did meet a couple 20 somethings that hiked in from the trail access area to stay the night. This was a beautiful place to call home for the night. Great swimming too. Unfortunately, the old log dam that holds the pond in may not last much longer, and the NY DEC isn't going to do anything about it. It will be ashame to lose this great spot when that dam goes. Its only a matter of time. There are stories of a black bear acclimated to people around duck hole to the point that he would walk right into camp and take your stuff right in front of you. Well, I didn't see him nor did my bear canister. So lucky me I guess. I finally headed out monday morning. It was slow going at first because from duck hole, the first mile or so of the NPT is very rugged and very vertical. But after that, it returns to its normal ups and downs with the occasional steep grade tossed in for good measure. All in all it was a fun 4 days on the trail and can't wait to do other parts of it. I just wish I had the time to do it all at once. Check out some of the pictures I took here: http://jecrocker.phanfare.com/album/74320
Justin
Trails(s) Hiked:Northville-placid trail, between Long Lake and Lake Placid
Total Distance:About 40 miles
Difficulty:Very easy in some places (long lake-cold river valley) then very difficult (cold river valley past duck hole)
Conditions: Wet. Rained the night of the first day. Didn't rain rest of time. Much blow down.
Special Required Equipment:None really but be prepared. There is no way off the trail from long lake to duck hole which is 24 miles. Then the trail access from duck hole is about 8 miles and very difficult.
Trip Report:
Started out from Long Lake Friday morning. It was a very easy hike along the lake. A lot of mud and swampy areas here. Stayed at the Plumleys lean to the first night. Not another soul around except for some people on the lake. I was surprised to have a lean to site on this lake to myself on a friday night. Woke up to rain. Decided to give it an hour before I started hiking again because I really hate packing up camp when its raining (which is probably why I will never truely be ready to hike the AT
although I think I could get over it). Well the rain finally stopped so I went for a quick swim then packed up camp. As I was packing up, thie elderly couple paddled up in their canoe. They told me that they had just paddled 16 miles that morning and were tired and were going to call it a day. The paddled all through the rain. We got to shooting the shit a bit and they told me that they did the NPT end to end to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary 15 years ago! Now I did some quick math and realized that I am talking to some 70 somethings that just paddled all morning in the rain and have been paddling for about a week now from Saranac lake. WOW. They are in great shape and I only hope I can be like them someday. They will probably live to 100 they way they stay active. They mentioned they don't even own a TV because they are never home to use it. They are always out paddling, back packing or something! AWESOME I thought. Oh, and the man is somewhat famous on the trail apparently. They named an out house after him at duck hole... The Nat Wells House of Muse they called it. And sure enough, thats whats on the door. Anyway, I headed out for the trail. The next few days were much of the same. Me, alone, in the huge Adirondack forest. I didn't see another soul the entire weekend. I saw lots of deer, frogs, and snakes. No bears fortunately. I did pass through some interesting old logging camps and Noah Rondeau's old hermitage. It was kinda neat standing in the place that a famous old hermit used to call home. And what a lovely spot he picked. It was on a grassy knoll above the Cold River and some of his "junk" is still lying there. I am glad people havn't been walking away with souvenirs. I really enjoyed this part of the hike. Although rugged, it travelled up the cold river valley, hugging the river most of the way. What a great river. Many swimming and fishing opportunities along the way. I stayed at the Seward lean to the second night which was right on the bank of the river with a swim hole a few feet away. From here it was on to duck hole where I stayed the last night. I did meet a couple 20 somethings that hiked in from the trail access area to stay the night. This was a beautiful place to call home for the night. Great swimming too. Unfortunately, the old log dam that holds the pond in may not last much longer, and the NY DEC isn't going to do anything about it. It will be ashame to lose this great spot when that dam goes. Its only a matter of time. There are stories of a black bear acclimated to people around duck hole to the point that he would walk right into camp and take your stuff right in front of you. Well, I didn't see him nor did my bear canister. So lucky me I guess. I finally headed out monday morning. It was slow going at first because from duck hole, the first mile or so of the NPT is very rugged and very vertical. But after that, it returns to its normal ups and downs with the occasional steep grade tossed in for good measure. All in all it was a fun 4 days on the trail and can't wait to do other parts of it. I just wish I had the time to do it all at once. Check out some of the pictures I took here: http://jecrocker.phanfare.com/album/74320Justin
