Weather: Low: 35° High: 65°
Equipment/Food: See picture
Trip Report: Started the day out at 6:22am thinking I would attempt at least the one way and if I felt good I would turn it into an out and back. Started my run right after sunrise to avoid having to deal with a headlamp. I'd only run small sections of the North Country Trail through McConnell's Mill SP and Lake Moraine SP so I figured it was best to start with some daylight so I could avoid tripping early into the attempt. The first half of the one way was pretty uneventful, kept my pace to my goal and felt strong. Low temps were a blessing and kept me from having to worry about stopping early for water. After getting into McConnell's Mill I could really start to sense the heat of the day coming on, that plus a later spring meant that there wasn't much tree cover. McConnell's Mill was technical enough that I ended up needing to send many of the downhills to recover time I lost on the uphill. The last few miles before the parking lot I started to feel the distance on my legs, but nothing that a break and snacks wouldn't fix. I rolled up to the Hell's Hollow parking lot to finish the one way attempt at just after 12:14pm making for 5hr 52m 33s. After a short sit next to the river, some snacks, and cameling up on water I decided I would give the return trip a go. After stopping for a solid 10-15 minutes I was feeling my knee a bit more so I decided to get some good ole vitamin I into the system, which did wonders. I was able to get through McConnell's Mill pretty good, I could feel my pace slowing, but I still felt motivated to run. After leaving McConnell's Mill SP and getting back into Lake Moraine SP it was a challenge to stay hydrated, the last 15 miles I felt like I must have stopped 3-4 time to get water/snacks. With under 8 to go I realized that I was mildly dehydrated and I needed to mass intake carbs. Thankfully I had enough in my pack and did just that. The last 5 miles were slow and steady, but at that point I was starting to feel some of the suffering from the muscle aches to the dehydration and felt like I was checking my watch every 30 seconds. At that point I felt like I was in a loop, everything I ran by seemed the same. Once I got into the section of the NCT that passes through the Jennings Environmental Center, I realized that I was right near the end. From there I finished up at 12h 57m 52s and was treated with a lovely sunset on the drive home.