Your One Special Place
I am writing this on Tuesday, May 10th at about 10:30PM. In three short days I will be heading back to the Northville-Placid Trail (NPT) for a one night, 24 mile trip…and I can’t wait.
We all have that one trail we love. The one place that holds only fond memories. We can’t explain it, we just love it. I suppose it's kind of like a pair of jeans that fit just right, or your favorite beer, or how you like your chicken fried (this might make a good song).
The NPT is my comfortable pair of jeans, my cold bottle of beer, my fried chicken.
Especially this time of the year!
I spent three consecutive Memorial day weekends (2012-2014)
hiking this trail with my friend Whoopsie. Sure, we heard about the black flies (so
vicious they will carry you off), the unpredictable weather (sleet one moment, unbearable heat the next), the mud and slop (that has been rumored to devour grown men). But this is when we had time to hike together and the NPT
was where we wanted to be.
The NPT is located in the southern portion of the Adirondack Park in New York State. The Adirondacks cover six million acres, yes 6 million acres. To put that in perspective, Glacier, Yosemite, the Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon could each fit within the Adirondacks.
There is a wonderful resource, Wild River Press, that has an entire guidebook series, Discover The Adirondacks, dedicated to help you find your special place within the Blue Line (the term blue line is used as a reference for the boundary of the park). I hope to someday meet and hike with the editor, Bill Ingersoll.
What makes the NPT my place?
I often reminisce about our first break at Rock Lake (picture right). I recall staying in Hamilton Lake Stream lean-to and listening to a torrential rainstorm one night. I have vivid memories of seeing all of the 'firsts' as we traveled down the trail; Silver Lake, Mud Lake (picture upper left), the chimney, and the list continues. We laughed and enjoyed everyone one of our miles on the NPT…well, almost every one of them.
In fairness, we had moments when the black flies drove us nuts, we
did indeed experience some temperamental weather (picture left), and our pants were muddy. But those
are not what my memories are. My memories are of the blue disks that mark the
NPT, the meals we shared after a day on the trail, and of the feeling of finally
making it to Lake Placid.The Northville-Placid Trail will always hold a special place in my heart, and I get to hike there this weekend. Life is grand.
Where is your favorite place to hike?
Why does it hold such a special place in your heart?
What is your favorite beer? (I love Long Trail IPA)
I hope to see you on the trail,
Rob
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