LOCALadk Magazine

20 Summer 2015 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk JESSICA: I first learned about the Northville-Placid Trail over twenty years ago, probably from college friends who had hiked it. The thought of the trail was intriguing, and I kept it in my head as something to do "later." Time passed; I married my husband, Kevin, and we had two sons, Elliot and Casey. By June of 2014, the boys were eleven and eight, ca- pable of hiking over ten miles at a time while carrying packs, and up for stretching themselves by trying a longer backpacking trip. "Later" had arrived. For our kids, the Northville-Placid Trail presented an impressive-sound- ing goal – over 100 miles! Additionally, they seemed to appreciate the descriptions of a somewhat less traveled trail. Even though we told them to expect a sometimes muddy and rugged trek, they looked forward to the experience. As the names suggests, the trail stretches 133 miles from Northville in the southern Adirondacks to Lake Placid in the north. Until recently, the first ten miles have been a road walk from Northville to Godfrey Road in Upper Benson, but this section has now been re-routed onto trails. At the time we were planning our trip, I was unable to find good information about the new section of trail, so we started our hike in Upper Benson. Kevin and I have learned from experience that trying to cook anything in the morning slows us down considerably. Since we had a limited number of days at our disposal and did not have time for endless lingering, we decided to forgo hot breakfasts and just eat something cold. We correct- ly figured this would facilitate getting out of camp quicker in the morn- ings. CASEY: The first morning, we had ProBars for breakfast. They were dense, and full of oats and nuts. I could usually only eat about half of one. We packed our bags and started down the trail, away from Silver Lake lean-to. In no time at all, I found an old stick and used it as a cane. We crossed a long boardwalk. I lagged behind with my mom, while my brother Elliot and Dad went ahead. Our dog Watson was distressed that we were apart, and she repeatedly ran back and forth between us. With all her bounding through the woods, running between us, and exploring, she probably RAN five times as far as we WALKED. But then again, she Generations of Perspective on the Northville - Placid Trail By Jessica and Casey Seem With photos from Jenna Demayo and Jessica Seem

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