Before the expedition I had a conversation, or several conversations as it were that went something like this.

"Where are you hiking?"

"The Northville to Lake Placid Trail."

"Where's that go?"

"From Northville, New York to Lake Placid, New York - You know - in the Adirondacks."

"Is that the one that is on Route 9?"

"Uh . . ., it goes through the woods."

"How far is that?"

"133 miles."

One does not need to read this account to learn all about how far it is and where it runs. The Adirondack Mountain Club publishes an excellent guide that gives all of the information to answer any questions one may have about the trail. This section of this document is a simple factual accounting of how Jerry and I broke the trail into manageable pieces, how much time it took to do each. Unless you're planning to hike the trail yourself it offers the reader nothing approaching enlightenment or entertainment.

Saturday 7 July 2001. We started at the end of the bridge over the Sacandaga River in Northville. At this point it's not clear if it's river or lake but it connects the village of Northville with NY Route 30. It was 10:51 am and we carried only daypacks with a little water and a snack. We arrived at Upper Benson at 2:32 pm and commenced to jockey cars. We were using a two-vehicle leapfrog method so that we had a car and supplies at each end of each segment. We had to drive back to Northville, pick up the vehicle there, drive to Piseco, drop off a car, and drive back to Upper Benson. This jockeying took us until a quarter past five in the evening and we didn't start walking again until 5:56 pm. We stopped for the night at 6:55. As near as I can figure we were at the point where Goldmine Creek crosses the trail. My best estimate is 12.3 miles in 4:40 of walking.