I had planned to start the NPT on Friday 9/12 but due to potential rain in the forecast I made a last minute decision to start Thursday 9/11 instead. I left the Lake Placid History Museum at 8:53AM. I was carrying a 12L Salomon vest and a hip belt with all the supplies I'd need for the hike. I was inspired to break the trail into four sections as Roland did. Section one went off without any major hitches and I enjoyed the runnable trail around Cold River and a stunning golden hour over Long Lake. At the lean-to before Tarbell Road I transitioned to my second food bag and got out my waist lamp and head lamp. I went to charge my inReach and realized in my haste of a last minute early start one of my power banks was nearly dead. I was bummed to realize this but had a second one fully charged. This meant I'd need to be careful with phone battery and if anything, let my watch die to spare the inreach and phone.
Section two brought me through night one. I had a bit of trouble navigating around O'Neal Lean-To and getting back on trail after Lake Durant. This made me a bit nervous about getting lost during night two when I'd be less alert, but I realized that if I positioned my headlamp a bit better I could pretty easily see the trail markers. The night was absolutely stunning. I was treated to starry skies over open meadows and the moonrise over Tirrell Pond. By the time I got to Wakely Dam it had gotten pretty chilly but I was able to keep moving which kept me warm enough. The sun rose as I approached Cedar River area. I was a bit nervous about this section as I had heard that it was often flooded and keeping my feet dry and in good shape was one of my biggest concerns. The Cedar River area marked the end of section two and I spent 10-15 minutes transitioning to my third food bag and doing foot care at a campsite before continuing on.
The trail between Cedar River Flow and Piseco was beautiful and runnable. I truly lucked out with very dry conditions. I decided I'd try and take a nap sometime between 12PM and 3PM that day so that I could sleep during the day when the temps were a bit warmer and hopefully not need to stop at night. I pulled over at Spruce Lake Lean-To and set my alarm for an hour. I rested for probably 35 minutes before gathering my things and heading back out on trail. Earlier that morning I had been experiencing some new pain in the hamstring insertion point just below both of the backs of my knees. I had taken some Tylenol which seemed to ease things up, but after a few miles post-nap, the pain returned and worsened. I was scared about heading into a chilly second night alone and being unable to move quickly. I called my friend Scott to tell him I might be done at Piseco, and he reassured me that I was just going through a rough spot and to take it one mile at a time, not to worry about the future. I told him I'd try but was convinced I'd be done. I then called my friend Theresa. She also told me that I should keep going and helped me decide to go 3 miles past Piseco and if things got worse, to turn back. Having a plan lifted my mood and hitting the 100 mile mark soon after getting to Piseco also had me hopeful. I took a bit more Tylenol before heading back into the woods but was still feeling like my legs might be done. About a mile or so into the woods I got a bit sleepy and decided to take a 5 minute dirt nap in a little sunny spot. Closing my eyes with the sun on my face felt so good. I woke up 4 minutes in and started moving again. I took a minute or two to warm up, moving quite slowly, and realized the Tylenol had kicked in. I committed to seeing the night through and began running, trying to get as many miles in as I could before the sunset. I could still feel the pain in my legs but I knew I'd be able to deal with it, plus everything else was hurting way worse now which helped make the back of the knees thing less of a shock. I stopped a few miles down the trail to bag balm my feet for the last time and get out my lights for night two.
At Silver Lake Lean-To I switched to my final food bag. For some reason in my planning docs I had noted that the last food section would be 17 miles when in reality it was 25. I was worried I'd run out of food but luckily I'm not so great at eating to plan so I had a solid backup. The section from Silver Lake to Benson Trailhead seemed to last an eternity. I had changed the batteries in my headlamp though so navigation was immensely better and I didn't get lost once. I lucked out again with dry conditions and was able to rock-hop over West Stony Creek. The road walk into Northville was absolutely brutal and having never been to Northville I had no idea what exactly I was looking for, for a finish line. I continued my way down bridge street and finally saw the arch and my friend Katie waiting underneath.