Northville-Placid Trail!

“It is easy!” “We can hike it in a week” he said. “You are going to love it!” Since our hike in the spring, my friend Trail Dawgz had been emailing me information about the 138-mile Northville-Placid Trail (NPT) that he had partially hiked in the 80’s. Despite lots of travel and hiking this past year, it didn’t take much arm twisting for me to start figuring out how to squeeze in one more long-hike in the Adirondack Mountains. Sealing the deal was the coincidence that my dearest friend, Kate could give me a lift up to her home state of NY on her way back from vacation and we could catch up with each other’s lives enroute. Trail Dawgz first two statements turned out to be incorrect but oddly enough he was right about one thing. I did love it! How do you love a trail that is often ankle deep or more in mud, extremely wet, sometimes poorly blazed, has frequent blowdowns to clamber under, over or around, is virtually unmaintained, and for Pete’s sake isn’t even available on the GPS hiking app, FarOut? Just kidding about the app though at times it certainly would have made navigation easier.

Spent several extra days with my friend since Trail Dawgz had some family commitments before being able to start. A bonus for me since not only did I get to extend my visit with Kate, but we attended a NRBQ concert at the legendary Levon Helm Studio in Woodstock. Excellent music and venue!!! Took the north bound Adirondack Amtrak to Westport. Beautiful scenery especially traveling along the Hudson River and then Lake Champlain. Definitely love this very civilized way to travel and wish it were more available to me. Trail Dawgz met me at the station, and we drove to upscale Lake Placid for a pre-hike meal at of all places, the Redneck Bistro. Two words that don’t seem to go together but tasty vittles none the less. Trail Dawgz had arranged for a shuttle to the start in Northville for the following morning since the plan was to leave his vehicle at the trail terminus for the conclusion of the hike. A suitable camp site was found several yards up the trail.

Piseco Bob promptly picked us up and drove us the several hours journey to Northville with a stop at the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake to leave a resupply box. Also left another resupply box with Bob since we would be passing his home in Piseco pretty early on. Bob was such an interesting and amiable fellow, filling us in on the history of the area and offering good trail intel. We got going around noon, so was a short day.

The first 3 miles or so was a road walk but it is part of the trail, so I was keen to hike it although not my favorite trail surface. Soon into the woods and passing Mud Lake. Ran into a few day hikers and before too long the crossing of West Stony Creek. It looked like it could be rock hopped though my hiking friend Yappy had warned that it was a slippery crossing. She had hiked this trail several weeks before us. Anyway, slipped off a rock and got my shoes wet and to be honest they never completely dried out again for the remainder of the trip. There was a newish shelter on the other side of the Creek that made a great first stop.

Day 2 was lovely with Indian summer sunny skies and the trees putting on an encore performance with their colorful foliage. The trail began to reveal itself and I liked it.

Ended up at Rock Lake and being a hot day and the water feeling warm, a swim was a refreshing end to the first full day of hiking. Had a nice view of the lake from my open tent. The sunset was epic and Trail Dawgz with his knack for photography captured the winning photo of many taken. Barred Owls heard throughout the night.

Though the trail was often wet and boggy, the perfect weather and scenery certainly made up for any discomfort. Constantly wet feet did lead to me developing a big blister on the sole of my foot and although nasty looking, it was not particularly painful especially with the judicious use of moleskin and a hiker’s best friend, duct tape. The trail was well blazed with blue discs except when it wasn’t which seemed to be in areas where some direction was needed the most. Trail Dawgz had the map, I carried the trail guide and though no FarOut available, the Gaia and Garmin GPS apps. on my phone proved useful for navigation.

Mud Lake (the 2nd one) had a shelter that provided a great lunch spot and had a nice rocky beach for the 2nd swim of the trip. Ended the day at Whitehouse on the West Branch Sacandaga River. Great suspension bridge over to the ruins of a chimney from a girl’s camp that once sat on the banks of the river. We backtracked and set up camp on the other side. This river was a little cold for me, so I just soaked my feet and wiped off as much dirt as possible with my bandana. Very relaxing spot.

Next up, about 5 miles of trail and then back on to the always tough road walk into Piseco and a stop at Bob’s workshop for resupply. Piseco was a pretty little hamlet with friendly locals and easy to see why Bob had spoken so highly of it. Chatted with Bob and a couple just completing their hike while loading up our food and charging electronics. Rummaged through Bob’s hiker box for a couple of useful items such as toilet paper plus made a deposit of things no longer needed. Bob certainly offers a wonderful service to hikers, and I am so grateful for trail angels such as he! A bit more road walking before heading back into the woods.

Tough afternoon and when we got to our destination at Fall Stream, Trail Dawgz realized one of his Croc camp shoes must have fallen from his pack and he had also misplaced yet another hiking pole. We figured the hiking pole was about a mile back where we had stopped for a break. Bob had gone to some trouble to get the pole for Trail Dawgz since he had forgotten his at his car. Notice a pattern here…..chuckle! I still had some gas in the tank and no pack on my back so was able to hike fast to retrieve it. Was hoping to locate the Croc also but no luck. That evening, Pax, the pup decided my spacious and comfortable tent was much better accommodation than his blanket and cowboy camping setup. I was happy to share with such a handsome and cuddly beast.

Hiked through some boggy areas today though bog boards provided stability unless they were rotted out as often was the case. Feet remained wet! Spruce Lake Lean-To was a great lunch spot and a line hung to dry out damp clothes and gear.

At least some nice sturdy bridges in the Sampson Bog area. Water was plentiful all along the trail and never necessary to carry more than a liter.

Over West Canada Creek and on to delightful South Lake, The Lean-To was a fine spot to stop for the night. Great swimming beach and cocktails enjoyed after the swim and before dinner. We had found a mini bottle of gin in a previous lean-to and mixed with some lemonade was not too bad. No need to abandon pleasant civilities just because you are in the backcountry. Loved listening to the coyotes yipping back and forth.

Not much remains besides a trail bearing his name and a decaying chimney indicating that French Louie, an eccentric guide and hermit once inhabited the area in the late 1800’s. Today was fairly remote hiking though transitioned to logging roads and we ran into more people as we approached Wakely Dam. Cedar River lean-to was occupied by a father and daughter who had canoed in with an abundance of supplies and the next campsite was filled with a huge group of guys with a humungous tent and even more supplies and equipment. I felt the tough 17 miles today though worth it to camp next to the scenic dam with picnic table. Only campsite shared with others.

Rain was in the forecast for the following day, but it started a day early and continued on and off throughout the day. Despite usually being very thorough at packing, I had forgotten to bring my raingear from home and had to quickly come up with an alternative while staying with my friend. Today I got to evaluate the budget Frogg Toggs I had found at Target, and they performed quite well. Trail Dawgz took off fast and I didn’t see him again until much later though Pax walked back several times to see what was taking me so long. My blistered foot and yesterday’s 17 miles rendered me a bit lame and slow, so I was very surprised to reach Stephen’s Pond lean-to and no Trail Dawgz or Pax. We had some previous communication via text and my Garmin InReach but no response from him while I ate lunch. Figured they had just kept going and was saddling up when he and Pax arrived. He had missed a turn in the trail and walked several miles on an alternate logging road thereby allowing me to get ahead. With heavy rain expected and no lean-to in close hiking range, we decided to stay put.

I’m pretty good at getting a fire going but Trail Dawgz proved to be more proficient at the task than I and despite wet wood got a roaring fire started while wearing his remaining Croc and one of my Xero camp sandals. Wet shoes placed around the fire and clothing hung to dry!

Altra Lone Peaks have been my go-to hiking shoes for several years now, but I learned tonight my brand-new pair were not particularly fire resistant especially when interesting conversation makes you forget about them next to the blazing fire. Despite some serious damage, I was able to hike on with a toasted shoe though now completely impossible to keep dry. At least not my blistered foot shoe.

Rained all night and I smelled smoke in the lean-to throughout the night but just figured it was the rain damping the fire out. As I sleepily stumbled out of the lean-to to relieve myself the next morning, I noticed a smoking root under the shelter floor. Trail Dawgz had used a grate hung on the outside shelter wall to boil some water on the fire last night and replaced it after use. We figured a spark must have fallen from the grate on to ground debris and smoldered all night. Used up my water to quickly extinguish the problem. Lessons learned for sure. Be careful with fire friends!

Heavy rain today and we decided to make a beeline to the nearby hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake where we found dry accommodations at Blue Mountain Lake Inn. What a fantastic stop this turned out to be. It was the last open weekend of the season for the rustic inn and innkeeper, Meredith welcomed 2 soaked and dripping hikers and an even wetter dog. She allowed us to do laundry, drove us to the nearby diner for always appreciated town food and helped with all our minor supply needs. She prepared a delicious and huge multicourse breakfast the next morning before driving us back to the trailhead. A disability had not stopped Meredith from being a successful innkeeper and an accomplished downhill ski racer and she entertained us with stories of the history of the inn and her family’s deep ties to the area. Such an inspiring and lovely young woman. I loved the stay here!

It had become apparent that I was not going make my booked flight home so took the opportunity while in town to change flights before heading back to the trail. The hefty penalty to make the change irked my inherited thriftiness, but such is life, and I bit the bullet and pulled out the credit card. Also disappointed to learn of missing an impromptu family get together at home. A drizzly and gloomy day but cleared up by the time Tirrell Pond lean-to was reached. Really cool that many of the lean-to’s had canoes for use and I regret that we never took advantage to paddle around any of the ponds. Reminded me of similar opportunities on the AT in Maine that I never utilized either.

Pretty and colorful fallen leaves covered a muddy and boggy trail and sometimes it felt like walking up a stream. We had not expected to stop in Blue Mountain Lake and there was little resupply option there anyway, so today’s hike took us off trail for the road walk into Long Lake to pickup of our resupply at the Adirondack Hotel. Another opportunity to enjoy a delicious town meal in the hotel restaurant. Heavy rains that struck the northeast this year caused severe flooding in Long Lake and sad to see the terrible destruction, though appeared recovery was ongoing.

We had previously met another hiker that highly recommended the Catlin Bay Lean-to on Long Lake, so that was the destination for the evening. Temperatures had cooled and my swimming days were done though it was an attractive swimming spot for the brave.

Long Lake was certainly appropriately named as we followed it for some distance. The trail weaving back and forth from the shoreline and up and down over rolling hills. It remained wet with multiple blowdowns to negotiate, sometimes hard to follow with the leaves covering the path and blazing nonexistent in some areas making navigation difficult.

Destination for the evening was Cold River lean-to #4 with its fantastic view of the fast-moving churning river.

The trail followed the scenic Cold River with opportunities to view from high above. Also began to catch glimpses of the popular High Peaks in the distance. One of the most interesting areas today was the site of the “Hermitage” where the renowned hermit Noah John Rondeau once lived his secluded life. Evidently much of the remains have been plundered though interesting artifacts can be still seen.

Not easy hiking today but eventually Duck Hole was reached. Once a body of dammed water but now being reclaimed by vegetation since the dam is evidently deteriorating. The fairly new lean-to provided shelter for the last night on trail.

Today was one of the toughest days for me. We started off by making a wrong turn, somehow got off trail and hiked in a big circle. Resorted to using my gps apps to bushwhack back. Once back on the trail, this segment is described in the guidebook “..as difficult as any and the going can be slow”. Perhaps an understatement! The path was narrow with many roots and rocks, a big drop off and steep grade. Multiple stream crossings, many once spanned by bridges that are now a decaying pile of lumber on the bank. One such crossing was where Trail Dawgz fell off a log and got a soaking. Certainly not the easy coast to the finish line.

NPT is definitely not a heavily used trail and perhaps why maintenance so spotty. We only saw 3 other thru hikers and other than the Wakely Dam area, a handful of day hikers near road crossings. No difficult elevation changes but plenty of other challenges that are totally worth taking on to experience this wonderful backcountry journey. If you enjoy solitude as I do, you will like this trail and I highly recommend giving it a go. I especially loved the opportunity to swim in the many beautiful lakes, particularly the first week when the weather was perfect.

Much gratitude to Trail Dawgz for encouraging me to hike the NPT, for being such a fun hiking partner and good friend. In addition, a big thank you for the use of many of Trail Dawgs excellent photos. Yes, despite perhaps being one of the most challenging trails I hiked this year, I did love it! Cheers!

“Make time to free yourself and find a bit of nature.”

Katherine Keith

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