Northville-Placid Trail

“Anyone know of a good place to eat and resupply in Long Lake.”

“Try looking over at The Views From The Top Forums they should be able to help you out there.”

“Thanks for the info”

“I’ll be hiking the Northville Placid Trail end to end (122 miles) from August 29 through September 7. This will be my first “long distance” thru hike. When I get back I’ll try to get a trip report and some pics out ASAP. I can’t wait. Just hope my legs hold out on my 20 mile day.”

“best of luck”

“9 more days!!!”

“I've hiked with you zak. Me thinks your legs will hold out just fine.
Is Sherpa Man going with you?”

“Yeah Sherpa is joining me. The only day that really worries me is the 18.8 mi. day about half way through the trip. I'm also not use to hike more than three days straight. I guess I better not forget the vitamin I.”

“By the way I bought a new cartridge for my water filter. It works like a dream now.”

“8 more days!”

“T - 7 more days!
Food I ordered has arrived. All systems go.”

“Oh brother, you're starting to sound like Adventurist with the countdowns. ;o)

You're saying "7 days to go!" but you really mean "I'm going and you're not, nanananana!!"”

“Sooooooo...you're saying that you are now going to attempt to hike the whole N-P trail in SEVEN days???”

“Burrur,
Nine days and one night.”

“Here's the plan.
8/29 - Friday Night - Upper Benson to Silver Lake - 7.4 mi.
8/30 - Saturday - Silver Lake to Hamilton Lake Stream lean-to - 10.85 mi.
8/31 - Sunday - Hamilton Lake Stream lean-to to Spruce Lake - 16.2 mi.
9/01 - Monday - Spruce Lake to Cedar Lake - 13.4 mi.
9/02 - Tuesday - Cedar Lake to Stephens Pond - 18.8 mi.
9/03 - Wednesday - Stephens Pond to Tirrell Pond - 8.0 mi.
9/04 - Thursday - Tirrell Pond to Catlin Bay, Long Lake - 12.0 mi.
9/05 - Friday - Catlin Bay to Cold River - 11.4 mi.
9/06 - Saturday - Cold River to Duck Hole - 11.3 mi.
9/07 - Sunday - Duck Hole to Chubb River Bridge, Averyville - 12.0 mi.
9/07 - Sunday afternoon - heavy drinking in Lake Placid ;)>”

“oh yeah almost forgot Nananana!!!”

“Five more days until my vacation!!!”

“YEAH!!!!!!!”

“Burrur,
lumberzac
09:02:12 PM
08/22/03


It must be chilly where you live. lol”

“"Burrur,
lumberzac
09:02:12 PM
08/22/03


It must be chilly where you live. lol"
Buddur
02:58:30 AM
08/25/03

must be.”

“Hey! Lumberzac, have you seen what's up with Viewsfromthetop???”

“Yup. I was going to get some trail reports from there. Guess I can't now.”

“Four more days. Food & supplies all bought & ready to be boxed up for mailing.”

“Just one more day.
Is it Friday yet? I need to get on the trail.”

“Taking off this afternoon!!! I'll post a trip report and pics as early as I can when I get back. NPT here I come.”

“Looks like great weather, low temps and perfect hiking on the NPT. If you have a pair of binoculars, look for me waving to you from the top of Nippletop on Sunday!”

“I'll need some really strong binoculars. I'll be arriving at Spruce Lake on Sunday about 60 miles away.”

“I'll try and get a trip report and some pictures in the next few days.”

“We want a trip report!!!!!



8)”

“Hey! What happened to the pictures and Trip Report???”

“Sorry this has taken so long and is not complete as of yet, but I have had little time to write since I have gotten back from my trip. I've had to catch up on things at work and at home first. Hopefully I will have the trip report finished some time tomorrow night and have pictures up soon after. So here is what I have so far.”

“Upper Benson to Silver Lake lean-to
I met Sherpa-man's and his dog Tahawus, A.K.A Goat, at their house at 1:00 PM. We ate some subs that I had brought while we prepared some essentials for our trip; a flask full of Gin and a flask full of Spice Rum. The sky was covered with dark storm clouds that spit out rain off and on every few minutes. With the weather conditions looking poor we took our time. At about 2:30 or 3:00 PM we drove off for the trailhead. At the trailhead Sherpa-man realized that he left his trekking poles at home (the funny thing is he did the same thing last year when we hiked the Upper Benson to Piseco section). Not wanting to hike the trail without his poles, we raced back to Sherpa-man's house. An hour later we were back at the trailhead and our journey began.
About a 1.5 miles in, we ran into a south bounder finishing off his through hike from Lake Placid. As it would turn out this solo gentleman would be the only through hiker we would encounter. We talked for a few minutes and we were off to Silver Lake lean-to.
It wasn't too long and we arrived at the lean-to unoccupied. We unpacked out gear and B.S.ed for a while until it got dark and we went to bed. The bears were quite noisy, but far away, that night as they called to one another. It felt good to be back in the woods.
Distance: 7.4 miles”

“Silver Lake lean-to to Hamilton Lake Stream lean-to
We were awakened at about 4:00am to buckets of water falling from the sky. Fortunately the lean-to roof didn’t leak. We uneasily fell back to sleep. We re-awoke a few hours later to find that the rain had stopped. After the all-important cup of Jo, we were on the trail heading toward Hamilton Lake Stream. After about a mile we were soaked through and through as the result of the early morning rain and dense over growth on the trail.
We soon entered a small grassy area that once was a beaver pond. I stopped dead in my tracks as Sherpa-man said to me, "Bear." Sure enough across the grassy area stood a black bear. The bear stood on its hind legs and stared at us for a brief second. From the height of the grass on the bear and on our selves we judged it to stand about 6'-0" on its hind legs. As I reached in the side pocket of my pack for my camera, the bear turned around and ran up the hill that was behind it. We never saw it again. I was rather disappointed that I could get a shot off with my camera. We stood there for a moment discussing how fortunate we were to see this bear, and in broad daylight. (Please note that this was not in the Marcy Dam area. The area we were in was the southern Adirondacks where bears are very afraid of humans. Most bear sightings during the daytime are little more than seeing a black object running away in the woods. This type off encounter was quite rare).
We continued to hike for a ways in near complete silence, hoping for another similar sighting. After a while of hiking we stopped to rest at Canary Pond. We ate some food and took some pictures at this beautiful body of water. Before too long we were back on the trail.
Our next stop was at Mud Lake. This body of water is duly named; as one approaches the lake's shoreline. We sat in the lean-to and ate lunch while reading the lean-to's register. After we refueled the gas tanks, we were off for White House, our next stop. The fist .2 miles were up a gentle to moderate grade, followed by a 3mi decent into the Sacandoga valley. At White House we crossed a suspension bridge over the Sacandoga River. The other end to the bridge was a small clearing with a large fireplace and chimney which are the reminisce of a girls camp.
From White House we headed up a steady but easy grade. At about 2 miles we crossed a second suspension bridge that went over Hamilton Lake Stream. After crossing the bridge we met an older gentleman with glasses that had coke bottle lenses. We talked and found that this man was quite long winded. When we finally said our good-byes, I found that my leg muscles had started to tighten up. After about a 100ft or so of discomfort, my legs loosened up and I was able to get pack to the pace I had been walking the rest of the day.
After about .3 miles we reached Hamilton Lake Stream lean-to. The lean-to faces away from the trail. Hamilton Lake Stream was down a steep embankment in front of the lean-to. We took off our packs and grabbed our hydration bags and water filter and headed down to the stream. After pumping water we headed back to the lean-to, boiled water for mountain houses, ate dinner, hung a bear bag, and went to sleep.
Distance: 10.85 miles”

“Hamilton Lake Stream lean-to to Spruce Lake lean-to number 2

The following morning was down right cold. Temperatures must have dropped into the 30's over night. Luckily it wasn't cold enough for the hydration bags to freeze. With the cold morning we had trouble getting up which resulted in us being an hour late (I have no idea how any one can get out of there sleeping bag when winter camping). The morning was clear and the sun at least was warm. We packed up and headed up the 4miles of trail toward Piseco for our first of three drop boxes.

We picked up our drop box at a local motel in Piseco. After packing our bags it seemed like they doubled in weight. We then headed through Piseco (population about 300) toward the trailhead to Spruce Lake. We entered a forest containing mostly 20 to 30 year old hard woods. After about a mile or so the hard woods began to get older until we were in a forest of giants. This section of forest contained Shagbark Hickory Trees that had trunks that were 2' to 3'-6" in diameter.

Before too long we forded Fall Stream and later crossed into International Paper property. The trail was up and down for a few miles as we passed some small vleis and an old abandoned lumber camp. The trail narrowed and started to become muddy in sections. We than entered an area full of mud and plank walkways. Shortly after we arrived at Spruce Lake lean-to no. 1. We sat at the lean-to for a short while for some well needed rest. We then decided to check out the shoreline. There was a small muddy "beach" near the lean-to containing a 12' rowboat. We were hoping to use the boat to do some fishing, but our enthusiasm was short lived due to the fact that there wasn't a paddle or ore to be found. Disappointed we walk back up to the lean-to to get our packs.
Throwing our packs on our backs, we hike a mile up the rough trail to Spruce Lake lean-to no. 2. The lean-to was on a small point that looked out across the water. Nearly every direction we looked we could see man's impact on the area. Saw down tree stumps littered the area, as well as refuge piles that contained garbage from 20 to 30 years ago. This was somewhat surprising considering that the closest road was some 10+ miles away. Although the area was scarred by man, the intrusion of civilization was over shadowed by the feeling of wilderness due to the fact that we were the only beings on the lake at that moment in time with the exception of three loons that were swimming across the lake from time to time. In fact we wouldn't see another human for about another day and a half.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the lakeside and tossing a few fishing lines into the water. When night came, the temperatures began to drop again. That night was cold but not as cold as the night before.

Distance: 17.2 miles”

“Spruce Lake lean-to number 2 to First Cedar Lake lean-to

The morning sky brought rain. We decided to wait a while for it to stop. Fortunately it only took about an hour. Unfortunately it made the trail muddy. The trail followed the lake almost to its inlet before it veered away and headed toward the West Canada Lakes. After about 3.25mi we crossed a bridge over Sampson Bog outlet. We took our packs off and decided that this was a good place to do a little fishing. I headed back over the bridge and down an embankment to the base of some falls in the outlet stream, while Sherpa-man stood on some rocks and fished the bog. After a number of casts I felt some tugs on my line and reeled in a 6" bullhead. I scrambled up the embankment to show Sherpa-man and to gloat at the fact that I caught the first fish. My gloating was short lived because about five minutes later Sherpa-man pulled out a 10 to 11 inch brook trout. I complemented him on his nice catch and he placed the fish back in the water to be caught some other day. We casted in a few more times with no luck. So we decided it was time to move on.

The trail then lead through a new growth pine and spruce forest. The small spruces soaked us thoroughly as they still contained water from the morning's rain. The trail continued through the pines and spruces as the terran went up and down until we caught our first glimpse of Mud Lake (part of the West Canada's) through the trees. The trail then cut slightly back into the forest and went down a slight grade were we reached a bridge that crossed the West Canada Creek at the outlet of Mud Lake. The trail then went up a short steep grade. At the top was the West Canada Creek lean-to. We stopped long enough to read some entries in the log and then were on our way down the trail. Shortly we arrived at South Lake. Along South Lake the trail turned to mud and we were forced to detour around the really deep spots. We finally reached a large log and heavy timber bridge that crossed the outlet of South Lake as it flowed into Mud Lake. The trail on the other side of the bridge wasn't as muddy so we no longer needed to take quite so many detours.

After about another half mile we reached the lean-to on "Big" West. The shore of West Lake contained many rocks and boulders that stretched out into the water. A small path lead to a point just past the lean-to where we could rock hop out into the lake. The point offered views of some cliffs along a ridge on the opposite side of the lake. We then returned to the lean-to for some lunch. After eating it was back to the trail.

In no time we reached a clearing that was the site of the former rangers station and French Louie's fire place.

The next section of trail followed an old tote road through a pine forest. The soft ground felt good on our feet and we were able to make good time. The close to 4 miles between the clearing and Cedar Lakes seemed to take no time at all. At the edge of Cedar Lakes was a tent site. We again took off our packs and tried our luck fishing. Sherpa-man caught an eight-inch brookie on his first cast. I missed a couple on my first few casts. The action then slowed so we moved on.

The trail broke away from the lake and after about two miles we reached the first Cedar Lake lean-to near the outlet of the lake. The lean-to was surrounded by black berry bushes. As we walked down to the lakeside we encountered some bear scat in the middle of the trail. We returned to the lean-to and read the register. There were no mentions of bear encounters in the log. One entry said that the up coming trail was littered with blow downs and it to the individual 7 hours to get to the lean-to from Wakely Dam. Reading this we decided to make supper and go to sleep early so we could get up early and make it to Wakely at 12pm to meet a fiend that had our next supply drop.

At about 11:30pm, we were awakened to someone yelling and blowing a whistle. We soon realized that it was some campers down the trail from us being raided by bears. It was decided that I should go check our bear bag while Sherpa-man held onto his dog. I grabbed my headlamp, put on my camp shoes, and headed toward the bear bag, which was in the same direction as the other campers. I approached the tree that our food was hanging from and shinned my headlamp up toward the bag to make sure it was still there. The bag was unmoved. I then shined the lamp around to check for movement in any of the brush around the tree. When I was satisfied that there wasn't any thing in the general area I returned to the lean-to and unsteadily fell back to sleep.

Distance: 12.4 miles”

“So far so good!

That's a lot of typing!”

“only six more days to type up. :)”

“Here are some photos from film role 1 of 4 from the trip. More to come latter.
Enjoy.

Pictures”

“First Cedar Lake lean-to to Stephens Pond lean-to

We had set our alarms for 5:00am so I was surprised to be awakened at 5:30 by Sherpa-man. He was awakened minutes before by what he thought was a bobcat. As I slow pulled myself out of my sleeping bag Sherpa-man headed out of the lean-to to get the bear bag. As I was fumbling for my headlamp Sherpa turned around and said, "It's snowing."

I looked back at him and told him, "bull sh*t," as I turned my headlamp on.

Sure enough there were a few small white flakes falling from the sky. Initially I thought it was ash falling from the sky from a campfire, but the ice crystals inside my hydration back confirmed it to be snow.

Sherpa-man finally went to get the bear bag as I went to water some vegetation. Just as I was finishing three high pitch screams came out from the woods near the lean-to this was followed by the distinct call of an adult bear a few feet further away. Goat, the great guard dog that she was, hid behind me. It seemed that mama bear had decided that baby bear had gotten too close to people. Sherpa-man quickly returned with the bear bag. He was able to confirm that the "screaming" from the bear cub was the same as the noise that woke him up. We packed up with out interruption and hike on down the trail, in the dark with headlamps glowing.

When we passed our only neighbors (the ones that had the night visitor) their campsite seemed rather comical. The site looked completely out of place, with African Bush Tent and Tekki torch glowing. I half expected to see Jane Woodall and her gorillas to emerge out of the tent. We silently continued down the trail toward Cedar River Flow.

The trail weaved in and out between the Cedar River and the surrounding forest, with occasional views of Snowy Mountain the first high mountain we could see. For those that are not familiar with Snowy, it is considered number 50 in the top 100 tallest mountains in the Adirondacks. Snowy is actually taller than Nye and Couchsachraga and nearly as tall as Cliff and Blake.

The major blow downs turned out to be greatly exaggerated. We encountered only about 4 fallen trees along the 5.5 miles of trail between Cedar Lake and the Carry lean-to on Cedar River. We felt obligated to stop at the Carry lean-to because it is our destination for our annual canoeing, fishing, and drinking trip in the spring.

The rest of the trail was old tote road until we reached the Moose River Plains road that led to Wakely Dam. We arrived at Wakely at about 10:00am (two hours early for our supply drop). We sat around for a while until it started to warm up. At around 11 we decided to wash under the dam. Sherpa-man went first. When he returned it was my turn. As I entered the water in the spillway I think the initial shock of cold water made my heart stop for a moment. I quick wet my self down and got out and returned to a picnic table that we had taken over. We then lied in the sun until our supplies arrived.

Our friend arrived at 12:30, a half-hour late, but all was well because in addition to our supplies he brought two subs and a six pack of ice-cold beer. We ate our subs and drank our beer and hung around Wakely until 2:00pm.

We then started down the six miles we had to hike down Cedar River road to McCane's Farm. Half of the road is dirt and the other half was paved. This section was probably the hardest on our feet. About 2mi down the road we encountered a read DEC pickup that was heading toward Wakely Dam. The truck stopped and we talked with the ranger for a short time. The ranger looked and sounded like he would be more at home on a beach in California than in an old red pickup on some back road in the Adirondacks. We said good-bye and continued to walk toward McCane's.

When we arrived at McCane's Farm, we took a brief standing rest, knowing that we still had another 3.5 miles to the Stephens Pond lean-to where we planed to stay for the night. After a seemingly endless meandering trail through the forest were finally arrived at the lean-to. All three of us slept well that night.

Distance: 18.8 miles”

“Sorry this is taking so long. Here are some more pictures.

Northville-Placid
Trail - roll #2 - 8/29/03 - 9/7/03 ”

“Stephens Pond lean-to to Tirrell Pond North lean-to

With Wednesday being a short day we slept in, not hitting the trail until 10am or so. The first half of the trail was mostly down a gentle grade. This section offered very little to look at so we walked fast. About 2 miles down the trail we had our selves a close encounter with a fawn. The fawn stood only about 20 feet from the trail and starred at us showing no fear at first. We stood and starred back trying not to make any sudden moves as not to scare it away. I finally decided I had to try and get a picture. As I reached for the side pocket of my pack, the fawns stood up alert. A split second later it bolted into the woods. I never even managed to get my hand on the camera.

After about another 2 miles of hiking we arrived at the Lake Durant State Camp Ground. Most importantly hot pay showers. This was are first chance to take a real shower and rid our selves of the dreaded smell of trail funk. After showering we filled our hydration bags at one of the water spigots that were spread throughout the campground. We then made our exit through the front gate. We crossed route 28 and we re-entered the woods.

The remaining trail for the day was up and down with a few more ups than downs. At about 2 miles we reached Tirrell Pond. The clouds started to role in as we approached Tirrell Pond lean-to south. We still need to walk the 1.5mi trail along the shore of the pond to get to the north lean-to. About 3/4 of the way around the shoreline opened up and we were able to get our first glimpses of the ledges on the side of Tirrell Mountain. As we approached the north end of the pond the shore turned into a 50 foot long sandy beach. A rowboat lay in the middle of the beach. I lifted the boat but there were no ors or paddles. I turned around and headed up the well-worn trail to the north lean-to.

The area around the lean-to showed signs of over use. There was a round area with about a 50 foot diameter with nothing but bare ground. The trees were stripped of all of there lower limbs. On the opposite side of the baron circle from the lean-to was about a cord of wood, cut, split, and stacked.

After taking off my pack I walked back down to the waters edge to take a few photos. After I took one picture the clouds opened up and started to drop their load. I ran back to the lean-to just in time to miss the heavy downpour.

It was about 4:00 in the afternoon, so left with nothing else to do we sat down and read the lean-to logbook. We learned that rich tourists from down state would pay the sea plane company in Long Lake to fly them to Tirrell Pond to do some "real wilderness camping, deep in the woods." We had to laugh. The trail from Rt. 28 to the north lean-to was only 3.5 miles. This was practically on the road, especially when considering this section of trail to that of the area from Spruce Lake to Cedar Lake was anywhere from 9 to 14 miles from the closest road. So we continued to read about the "city folk's exploits in the woods." All was a good chuckle (especially one that discussed an encounter between a through hiker and some guys that flew in to fish and drink beer. Apparently the through hiker drank most of there good beer during there stay together) until we reached a part where people had been leaving food in the lean-to for the next group to stay there. A few pages later people had said they had a bear visit the lean-to a couple of nights over Labor Day weekend. At the sight of that we double and triple check the lean-to to see if anyone had left us some food. Fortunately the only thing that had been left was a role of toilet paper still in its paper wrapper.

The rain wasn't letting up so we cooked dinner and were in our sleeping bags by 7pm. The rain hammering on the roof of the lean-to kept me up throughout the night, but at least we didn't have any visitors, human or creature.

Distance: 8.0 miles”

“Tirrell Pond North lean-to to Catlin Bay lean-to, Long Lake

The rain had ceased by the time we woke up just before dawn the following morning. It was just getting light out when we got on the trail. The scrub along the sides of the trail already had us soaked after the first 100ft. After about a quarter of a mile we reached an open swampy area that offered a nice view of Tirrell Mountain. We stopped to look at nature's splendor. Just seconds after we stopped we heard a group of coyotes howling from the area near the lake. Minutes later we heard them again only this time they were closer near the lean-to. Sherpa-man decided that we should get moving fearing the safety of his dog, an easy meal for a group of coyotes.

The next few miles were almost flat with and occasional up hill. The next few miles contained some longer but still fairly easy to moderate grades. The next mile was or so contained longer moderate grades. After about 5.5 miles the trail steepend as we made are way up the Blue Ridge, the only mountainous hiking we would do on the whole trail. At about 6 miles we reached the highest point on the trail (just over 3000ft). The top of the ridge was a fairly open hardwood forest that may have offered some views of Long Lake if we weren't in the clouds.

The decent off of the ridge was fairly easy with the occasional slip in the mud or on one of the many half log bridges over some of the mud holes. Once the trail started to level off it merged with a narrow dirt road. It was at this point the sun made its appearance, as it burned off the cloud cover. After about a mile the trail veered off the dirt road and cut around a swamp. It was at this point that we started to hear the sound of traffic on Rt. 28N. The sound of cars teased us because we ended up hiking about another 2 miles before the trail came to the road. The last .2 miles were almost entirely on plank bridges.

When we reached Rt.28N we took off our gaiters and walked the 1.5 miles down the highway to the village of Long Lake for our final mail drop. By the time we reached Long Lake we were almost completely dry. Our first stop was Stewerts for coffee and danishes. After our breakfast we headed over to the post office. When we open up the supply box we realized that we had sent too much food. So we took the remaining food from our packs and passed it in a pile. Next we sorted through the new food and made to more piles. One for food to take and one to place back in the box and send home. After we finished packing our bags and the box we mailed the box home. Our next stop was to a laundry mate that we saw on our way into to town. We loaded up a washing machine and went and ordered a pizza from the pizza shop that was next door. We ate our food while we waited for our close to finish. The next and most important stop in town was to the bar for some beverages of a refreshing nature. After 4 beers each we started back towards the trail. We didn't make it too far when we passed a liquor store. We decided that we were still thirst and bought a small bottle to fill our flasks. After that we walked up the road with out any incidents.

The trail to Catlin Bay was only about 1.5 miles, so we reached the lean-to in no time. At the lean-to we started a fire, drank from our flasks, and just enjoyed life.

Distance: 15.0 miles”

“Sounds cool...

Pics look good...I love all the lake shots...”

“

Northville-Placid
Trail - roll #3 - 8/29/03 - 9/7/03

 

Northville-Placid
Trail - roll #4 - 8/29/03 - 9/7/03

”

“Here is the rest of the trip report.”

“Catlin Bay lean-to to Cold River lean-to number 3

The next morning we had something new that was awaiting us, dry cloths and hiking boots. This was the first time since we started our trip that this was the case. It hadn't rained since the morning before, so the vegetation was dry also. The first 6 miles of trail ran along Long Lake. This could have been quite nice if the trail had run closer to the shore. When the trail came close to the shoreline we could only catch small glimpses of the lake. Maybe later on in the year when the leaves had fallen from the trees the views are better. None the less it was still good to be on the trail.

We eventually broke away from the seemingly never-ending lake and started to head for Shattuck Clearing. The trail was for the most part on level ground with the occasional mud hole that was easily negotiated through. At about a mile before Sattuck Clearing we reached an area where the beaver had backed water across the trail. Studying the area for about five minutes we came to the conclusion that the only way to pass was to go right up through the center. For the first ten feet or so we were able to balance on logs before the sunk into the muddy water. The next few steps resulted in having to wade through knee deep water. This was the end of our dry feet for the rest of the day. When we got to the other side, we both did a quick leach check. Finding no little nasty bloodsuckers we headed up the trail.

As we got to Shattuck Clearing the trail joined up with a horse trail for a brief section before cutting left into the woods. There was a brief decent and we crossed Moose Creek by way of suspension bridge. The trail then climbed up the bank on the other side of the creek and leveled off for the next half mile. At the end of the half-mile we came upon a second suspension bridge. This one crossed Cold River. The dog wouldn't cross this bridge due to the fact that the walking surface was open steel grate. Sherpa-man was forced to carry here across the span. Once we were on the other side we were surprised to see that the lean-to was to our immediate right. We took off our packs and removed our still soggy boots.

Once we had settled in the fishing rode came out. We fished along the rocky (read large boulders) shore for close to two hours. I managed to catch one 4" trout while Sherpa-man caught nothing. At least the scenery was nice. We spent the rest of the day exploring the general area around the lean-to. As the sun started to set we were forced into our sleeping bags as temperatures began to drop.

Distance: 11.4 miles”

“Cold River lean-to number 3 to Duck Hole lean-to

The air was cold the following morning, but the sun in the cloudless sky was warming the air quickly. About half of the trail ran along Cold River, which offered ever-changing views of the river, and of the Santanoni Range. Our first stop along the trail was at Big Eddy. At Big Eddy the river widened to about 30 feet across. A jet of water flowed into the pool creating a large backwater, hence the name. We rock hopped for a little while before heading back on the trail.

Two miles past Big Eddy were arrived at Miller Falls. At this point the sun had increased the temperature dramatically. We decided to take a swim in the large pool below the falls. I removed my shirt, boots, and socks, and climbed some rocks and jumped into the pool. As I hit the water I immediately discovered how Cold River got its name. I quickly swam around a large boulder that protruded out in the water and swam to shore. After pulling myself out of the water I walked out onto a large rock slab and sat in the sun to re-warm my body and drip dry. Once fairly dry I put back on my close and we resumed our journey to Duck Hole.

We hiked the next 4.8 miles quickly and only stop briefly at the Ouluska Pass lean-to to eat lunch. At that point the trail cut up a hill and left the Cold River valley. At the top of the hill was a small clearing, which was the former site of the home of Noah John Rondeau, Mayer of Cold River City, population 1. We stopped and took some pictures around the site and then followed the trail back into the woods.

The trail continued through the forest gaining elevation over the next 3 miles with short and easy grade changes. Eventually the trail passed Mountain Pond and the trail leveled off before merging with a horse trail. The next .4 miles on the horse trail were almost entirely down hill to Cold River lean-tos 1 and 2. We stopped at the nicer of the two lean-tos for a short break. Neither lean-to was in particularly good shape, and each contained the fowl stench of porcupine feces. At the lean-to I repositioned my hydration bag in my pack so I could take a drink. It had been pinched over not allowing any water to flow since Miller Falls. After taking a long and needed drink of water we, bolted down the trail not stopping until we reached the Moose Creek bridge about .1 miles down hill from the lean-tos. After crossing the bridge we resumed a normal pass and hiked the remaining mile to Duck Hole.

At Duck Hole we arrived at a trail junction. The sign for the NP Trial pointed through a small clearing. At the other side of the clearing the trail turned rough. We followed the rough trail for nearly .5 miles when it met Roaring Brook. At this point we realized that we had definitely missed the Duck Hole lean-tos. Amazingly this was the first and only misread of the trail on the whole trip. We turned around and hiked back to the trail junction. From there we walk down a hill toward a large clearing and Duck Hole. Once in the clearing both lean-tos became visible. We unloaded our packs at the almost brand new lean-to.

Sat around in the sun for a few hours around Duck Hole before we decided to go pump water. I walked down near the dam and started pumping. When I was about half way done, the sound of hikers was heard coming from the trail from Bradley Pond. Shortly after two hikers appeared. We take to them for a while and found out that they had come up to Duck Hole, from the Bradley Pond area, when they couldn't find an open campsite. So for the second time on the trail we had neighbors, only this time we actually saw them.

Shortly after the sun sunk be hind the mountains, the cool night's air set in. We then climbed into our sleeping bags for the last time on the trip and went to sleep.

Distance: 11.3 miles 12.3 with our mistake”

“Duck Hole lean-to to Chubb River Bridge, Averyville

We awoke before sunrise to yet another cold morning. A heavy fog was lifting on the water. Silently we packed our bags, in part because we didn't want to disturb our neighbors, and in part because we realized that this was our last day on the trail.

The trail was rough and thick with brush for the first 3.9 miles as we arrived at the Moose Pond lean-to. The lean-to was high above the pond, which offered good views of the Sawtooth Range and of Three Peaks. After Moose Pond the trail conditions improved. After 1.6 miles we took a detour to see Wanika Falls on the Chubb River. The falls towered above us as the water rushed off of Street Mountain (I definitely will return when I climb Street and Nye). After Wanika Falls there was very little to look forward to except the end of the trail and a few small vleis. As a result the final 7.7 miles went fast as we only stopped once to take some last scenic pictures. With about 1.5 miles to go being a smart a$$ I had to ask, "Are we there yet. I'm tired."

To which Sherpa-man replied, "Well I guess we will just have to turn around and hike back to Upper Benson."

If it wasn't for the fact that we didn't have any supply drops set up, it didn't seem like that bad of an idea. The last 1.5 miles went too fast, because before we knew it we were at the trailhead. Our journey was over.

Distance: 12.0 miles


Total Distance 124.35 miles
Total people we encountered on the trail 18.”

“Cool Deal...I definitely looked forward to reading your trip reports every morning.

Thanks Lumberzac.”

“Oops...that was me.”