We had under seven miles to go to get to the car and a motel. We were on a mission!
We had to climb 700 feet and after that it was "all" downhill to Raymond Brook TH.
A loon sang throughout the night and I caught this picture in the morning of it shaking out a leg.
It was a day of bad bridges...
And good, even new bridges!
We began the long downhill with high hopes for speed. I "remembered" it as a gentle grade with mostly smooth trail through dryish woods. Ha! I only remembered the couple hundred good feet apparently. The trail dropped 1300 feet over several miles with really difficult footing and a number of steep areas.
One of the most fun things is this historic ski rescue shed from the 1930s. Yes, this is a ski trail. You can see how much snow was typical by the height of the shed.
I also forgot about this beaver flooding. The trail used to go right through that area (I know because there are blue discs on trees out in the water). Now it crosses the dam and climbs up to a ridge on the far side. Still mostly marked with flagging ribbon. Things happen slowly here. I would think that in three years it would have been marked with discs.
One more interesting encounter. There was a team of four researchers from the health department out doing a population study on deer ticks. She wanted to tell us all about it!
Another quarter mile to the car, motel in North Creek, shower, lunch (tuna melt for me, burger for Bill), laundry, sorting, blogging, etc. No one can trash a motel room like a couple of hikers!
Despite the elevation challenges, we finished around 1 pm. Not too shabby!
New York, Adirondacks, North Country Trail, Botheration Pond to Raymond Brook TH. 6.5 miles
 | See Longest Day |
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