Started at the Lake Placid depot just before 4pm Saturday 8/9. I carried all my own food and gear and had a starting pack weight of 13lbs without water. I brought 10,000 calories of food and divided it into 4 bags.1 bag for apx every 35 miles. Minus time for sleep I figured this would give me about 200-250 calories an hour. Food was a mix of gels, powders, chips, nuts, and some misc snacks. I also carried 2 small power packs, charging cable for phone and watch, 2 additional pairs of socks, rain jacket, long sleeve shirt, tape, knife, water filter, 3 soft flasks, tube of desitin, and privy paper. I planned on sleeping as little as possible so I only packed a small emergency bivy to sleep in. After adding my water the pack was just over 15lbs at the start.
Prior to my start I figured it would be easier mentally to break the trail down in 4 sections. My goal was to keep my mind focused only on the section I was currently on. The first section started at the Lake Placid History museum and ended at Catlin Bay on Long Lake. Apx 35 miles. I sat down in the lean-to and pulled out my next bag of food and moved my trash to the back. I was already very tired from being up all day, but the 5 mins I sat down and the fresh snacks helped to wake me back up and I got moving.
Second section started at Catlin Bay and ended at Wakley Dam. About 1 mile after Catlin Bay I really started to get tired. I knew there was a good climb coming up and I told myself I had to get up and over that before going to sleep. Around mile 44 I could no longer keep my eyes open and was just about to take a dirt nap when I came across the Chickadee Brook LT just after 3am. I took out my bivy, took off my shoes, and climbed inside. I set my alarm for 7am. Sounds of the forest waking up and the sunrise had me up before my alarm. I felt surprisingly good so I got up and got ready. Total sleep 2.5 hours. I changed into a fresh pair of socks. Applied some desitin to some chafing areas and was back on the trail at 6:30. I made it to Wakley under some intense afternoon sunshine. Found a picnic table in the shade and pulled my next bag of food out, ate a few snacks, put my feet up for 5 mins and then headed out.
Section three was Wakley to Piseco. Up until Wakley all the trail had been new to me. I had run Wakley to Piseco two weeks prior so it was nice to get on a familiar trail where I could plan water fill ups better. I was moving much slower through this section then I had wanted to and I really had to fight staying awake. I needed to stop and sleep but wanted to get to the end of this section. The road in Piseco was an absolute death march sleep walk. I managed to make it to the trail head at route 8. I had originally hoped to make it an additional 3ish miles to Hamilton LT but that was not happening. I made it about 100' into the trail and got out my bivy and laid it out on the dirt. I am not sure of the exact time but it was after 2am. I set my alarm for 7am. Again however the sounds of the forest and some trucks passing by on the road woke me up just before 6am. I felt pretty good so I got up. Total sleep 3.5 hours. I changed into my last pair of socks, added a lot more desitin, switched over to my last food bag and was on the trail by 6:30 again.
My final section was Piseco to Northville. This would be my longest section at just over 40 miles. I had ran this section before as well. The year prior I ran it northbound. On fresh legs it took me just under 10 hours. It would take me much longer this time. I had woke up starving and went through about 1500 calories the first 2 hours. During my run the year before I had remembered this section having a lot more options for water. As the day went on so did the increase in heat and my unquenchable thirst. About 3pm I ate my last snack. I now had to go 15 miles and almost 6 hours with no food. There was also a decent amount of accent in this last section that I had forgotten about. I was able to continue moving and walked into Northville just after sunset.