Finishing the NPT June 22nd

I woke up at 0500, still raining, I go back to sleep. At 0600 (wow! a record for me on this trip) it's still raining. If it is cold and wet all day, I'm going to skip Wanika Falls. (Wanika Falls is a side trail off of the Duck Hole to Lake Placid section of the NPT. It's at about the halfway point of the section and is only .2 miles to the falls) It's also cold so I'm getting my money's worth from this trip. 90 degrees the 1st day, cold and rainy the last! Still - I think I prefer it cold instead of hot. I'll start the day with rain jacket and pants then see how it goes. I've bandaided the 4th toe of left foot. It must be rubbing in the boot. I'll have to get water one more time as by the end of breakfast I'll only have a liter or so left in the bladder. At 0700 - breakfast in bed to stay warm. I've done everything I can from inside the sleeping bag. The sky is still solid gray and it's still raining. I haven't even heard the ducks or loons this morning. However, a female hummingbird did fly in - attracted to my red Walmat fake CROC's. It might have been the same one who visited last night. But now it's time to fetch water and pack up.

1750 - Arrived at the Lake Placid trail head at this time. What a day. the trail guide describes the trail as "very rough' and "the hiker should not expect to make good time here". What an understatement! There should be warning signs - Trail From Hell! My usual hiking speed this trip has been 1.5 - 2 MPH. I've been doing 13 mile days in about 7.5 hours with 15 minute AM and PM breaks and half an hour for lunch. From Duck Hole the trail runs north along the side of a gorge. It involves continuous root climbing - most times only a boot width wide. Given the rain, they are also slippery. When not root climbing, the trail is very rocky and steep. Slipping could break an ankle if you didn't actually fall down the gorge wall. So, I go carefully. Where the trail does level out, it's completely overgrown with brush. Not so much a hike as a bushwhack. Again, lots of rain and brush dumping water on me too. Have to go slow here too cause you can't see your footing when pushing thru the brush. Could be rocks, mudholes, fallen branchs, holes or any combination thereof. My morning break should be at the Moose Pond Leanto, only 3.9 miles from my 0810 starting point at Duck Hole. By 11am I reach the place the guidebook says I go around a beaver dam. Since the book was published, turns out the little guys have built an even bigger dam just upstream from the one described in the book. The trail is covered with water so the rangers have flagged the way with surveyor tape. I saw in the Duck Hole trail register that the ranger caring for this section was here just 2 days ago and I've been following his tracks in the mud since Duck Hole. I see that along with the surveyor tape, the tracks go right up the the big beaver dam and we're supposed to cross the dam. OK, I'm a little leary but what the heck. It's still raining and the beaver haven't been nice enough to put in steps or level walkways so I go carefully. I get to the middle and stop and take a couple of pictures, trying to keep the camera dry. I realize that I'm soaked thru to the skin and the soft camera case is damp. I'll have to get the camera into the bear canister (I've been carrying it im my rain jacket pocket) as soon as I get to the leanto. I get all the way across and find myself in a brushy beaver clearing. No sign of a trail. I search for a worn path thru the brush, nothing. I look for more surveyor tape, nothing. I beat around the clearing looking for the tracks I've been following, nothing. Panic sets in. I get under a pine tree and pull my guide book out of my rain jacket pocket. The guide doesn't describe this 2nd dam, so no help there, the map scale is too small to be of any use. Unfortunately I didn't have my panic totally under control. I decide, from the map, that the trail follows the stream the beaver have dammed up so I struggle over to the downstream outflow of the beaver dam and finally see the surveyor tape. But here's another beaver dam! Smaller than the one I just crossed and the surveyor tape is on the other side. (I can see my mistake now, hindsight is 20/20. A good example of panic at work.) So I walk over the top of this dam and finally see a trail marker. Still fuming over the lack of trail markers, I march off. Pretty soon I realize I've seen this scenery before. I pull out my compass and sure enough, I'm going south! How the heck did I get turned around. I've come a good distance which I now have to recover. I get back to the big beaver dam and cross it again. I get to the other side and try to put brain in gear. I pull ou the guide description, the map, and stand next to the last surveyor tape marking the end of the dam. Then I realize my mistake - I needed to go upstream, not downstream. I head across the clearing to where I think the tail may be and with just a little scouting, find the trail marker. Finally! But I've lost an hour or more on this error. I trudge on and in short order, arrive at the Moose Pond leanto at 1pm. Five hours to go 4 miles. Big unhappy face. There's still 8 miles to the trailhead and 1.5 miles into Lake Placid village. I take off my pack and dig out a food bar. Eat that, take a drink, eat another food bar, drink more water. I open the bear canister and wipe the outside of the camera off with my fleece hat and wrap it up and put it in the canister. I cinch the canister on really well and pack everything up to go. I've only been resting 15 minutes but I'm getting cold, time to move on. While resting I've read the guidebook again for notable features. At 6 miles is Wanika Falls turn off. The guide describes lots of streams, steep and muddy places and bridges. Of note was a bridge at 8.5 miles and a tote road at 10.5 miles. So on I trudge, the way not so steep as the 1st 3 miles but still overgrown and rough.

I pass the trail junction for Wanika Falls about 2pm. It's only .2 mil to the falls but I don't have the energy. A little after 2pm I meet a hiker coming in. He's dressed in a wicking Tee and shorts. He's covered 6 miles in the rain but looks fresh as a daisy. I'm soaking wet and my feet are starting to hurt. It's still raining and I'm wondering why he isn't cold. Anyway, we speak for a moment and move on. I know Wanika Falls is the 6 mile point so I expect to see a "notable" bridge in about 1 - 2 hours at 8.5 miles. The trail has eased up some and I am back to doing about 1.5 - 2 MPH but there's still lots of holes, rocks, mud holes and stream crossings. Several streams have logs over them, some have a built flattened log bridge, some are just rock hops. A few times in the rain, my feet slip off the wet rocks or logs and I'm ankle deep in water or mud. After 2 hours I begin to fret cause I haven't seen any notable bridge. I'm expecting a suspension bridge or something but nothing remarkable has popped up. I'm dissappointed and am wondering just how fast I'm going? I get to a wide stream/bog/river? which might have been Snow Brook. This is a wide expanse and has some logs across it but no bridge. I follow the ranger's tracks (I am assuming these are the same tracks I've been following all day) across a muddy bit to some logs. They're not a bridge, just some logs that have been tumbled into a somewhat stable position that hikers are using to get across the water and mud. Because everything is wet and slippery, I avoid using the logs when I can, walking the round, slipper logs can be hazardous. So I follow the tracks to the mud, intending to bypass some/all of the logs. Big Mistake!!! I take a couple of steps and start sinking fast. Next thing I know, I'm hip deep in the center of the stream, knee deep in mud and sand and sinking. I let out a yell but of course there's no one to hear. I start thinking furiously about all the ways I've heard of or seen on TV to get out of quicksand. Finally my foot hits something solid. I brace against it and pull my left leg out ot the muck, get turned around and thinking light thoughts, fight my way out of the bog and back to where I entered. I'm breathing heavily, covered with mud to the knees and my boots are full of mud and water. At this point I should have sat down and as best as I could, rinsed out boots, socks and pants. But I didn't do that. Big mistake again which I'll explain later. I et up on the log and cross very carefuly. I'm thinking this is where the bridge should be! On I trudge. I'm beginning to think I've wandered into the 1st level of hell. No bridge, no tote road, I have fallen into a cold, rainy, muddy, never ending trail from hell. The trail has become easier, less brush, more level but still lots of mud holes and stream crossings. I keep telling myself to stop whining. Lots of people have had it a lot worse. Anyway, I'm doing this for fun! Aren't you having fun yet? Finally, I hear cars! Cars? Where's the bridge? Where's the tote road? Doesn't matter, here's the trailhead and the register. Yeah! I've made it! I sign out of the trail and head to the village. It's about 1.5 miles and I get to Main St and the Art Devlin Olympic Motor Inn. I get the last room, a king for $122. I don't care. There's a free newspaper available which I take. when I get to the room i spread the paper out and start peeling the muddy boots and socks and pants off. Then off with the rest of the wet clothes. I put on my sleeping clothes and take the boggy smelling boots, socks and other stuff out on the balcony. The rest of the pack stuff is spread out to dry. The trash compactor bag liner for my pack did not keep water out. Thankfully most stuff was in baggies. I called Randy and talked with him about my trip and picking me up. By the time I hung up, I was shivering with cold. I signed out of the train at 1750 so I had been hiking 10 hours with just a 15 minute break. I got in the shower, when I get out I look at my feet. They're a mess. The mud had sandpapered my skin on my heels. the bandaids and moleskin were soaked off. I carefully moleskin and bandaid my feet. I feel better now I'm warm and dry. The clothes I brought as "town clothes" had stayed clean and dry. I dry off the clogs and put them on and head out for dinner. A nice family neighborhood place about a block away where I had steak, mashed potatos and a glass of wine. I felt better but my feet were really protesting so I hobble back to the room. I'm in bed by 9, watch a little TV but by 9:30, I'm lights out. I had to get up at 11:30pm to take some asprin, my legs were really aching.

Lessons Learned
1. Panic kills. Need to take a breath and remain clear headed.
2. Mud in boots is serious. Take the time to clean my feet.
3. Read and understand the guide book. That's what you bought it for. Don't assume, read and understand the directions.