Backpacking on the Northville Placid Trail (NPT)

kwc

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Mar 31, 2016
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The weather forecast looked and my wife was more than encouraging (is that a red flag?), and I really needed to get out onto the trails to see how much work I need to do on myself before hitting the trails with some unnamed BCP scallywags later on this year. It would also be a test of my new REI Flash 55 backpack. The original plan was 4 days, 3 nights, on a roughly 40 miles southern section of the trail. Ended up doing it in 3 days, 2 nights, simply because I pushed myself to go longer the first two days. So I am bit sore today and I need to do some more extended trips over the next couple of months.

After the first couple of miles you drop down to this view of Mud Pond, a shallow beaver pond
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Another view of the pond



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one of the many rocky water crossings that I encountered along the way
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cool fungiB1C3A3DA-1227-4F43-A76D-EB84EFF37EA3.jpeg

Stoney Creek that you have to wade across, ankle deep
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one of many vlies that you encounter along the trail
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Silver Lake
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flowering tree along the way, found near a boggy area
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The wood plank bridge through the bog
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the area around that plank bridge
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Another vlie 781B9D74-CABD-4AE8-B458-237D4DCC2833.jpeg

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an Adirondack mud pit … figured this would be good practice for the scallywag adventure
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Pink Lady Slipper
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Suspension bridge over the West Branch of the Sacandaga River (we canoe this same river several miles to the west of here)
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The river
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Old fireplace on the north side of the river after crossing the bridge … there used to be some sort of hotel or lodging here long ago
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Another vlie
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Some blowdown along the way. There was a considerable amount of blowdown in the one part of the trail on day two which slowed me down a bit
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another suspension bridge, this one going over Hamilton Lake Stream. Very bouncy with some missing planks
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As you get closer to where I was ending my trek in Piseco, you come across this beauty of a water/beaver pond/swamp. Just before you cross on these logs you have to navigate over some slippery rocks, roots, and logs.
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And after managing to stay upright for many miles I slipped on one of those logs before crossing and this was the result. It’s only a flesh wound.
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Much of the trail has not had very much maintenance over the past few years. Some sections were very good, most were in dire need of some work. In true Adirondack fashion there are no switchbacks so the trail goes straight up or straight down which leads to excessive erosion from water running down the trail during heavy rain. And even though the air temperature was never more than 68 degrees, it was very humid/muggy in there and you are in the forest much of the time.

Night number one I tented in an off trail campsite that was on my Gaia map. Night number two was spent at the Mud Lake lean to (not to be confused with the Mud Pond that you encounter early on in day one) where I was serenaded by owls and the loons in the middle of the night.

I saw five people during my hike, 2 day trippers on day one and a group of three day trippers on my last day.

And then it started to rain when I was on y way home. Glad I was out of the woods then. Bugs were bad in some areas, not so bad in others. Mosquitoes most of the time with some deer flies appearing towards the end of my last day. Head net was used much of the time. And the backpack worked out fine.
 

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Straight thru th bog insead of dry crossin…may hav ta put it on a tshirt fo scatman.. it’s his motto
 
Nice @kwc ! Good training for your summer trip. Describe the bug situation pls…. Black flies bad or?
 
Nice @kwc ! Good training for your summer trip. Describe the bug situation pls…. Black flies bad or?

Hardly any black flies at all. Mosquitoes were around, mostly in the muddy low lying areas. There were some pesky deer flies near the Piseco TH. I wore my head net quite a bit. There was a breeze at the Mud Lake lean to so the bugs weren’t much of a bother.
 
Just grab hold of my kilt along Bog Creek then. There might be a small towing fee though. I take payments in Stouts and Porters. :D
I’m not grabbing your kilt … how about you carry me? Then you can really earn those Stouts and Porters. :)
 
I’m not grabbing your kilt … how about you carry me? Then you can really earn those Stouts and Porters. :)

As long as you understand that the carrying fee is twice as much as the tow charge. :)
 
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