by Mike Bouscaren
Wakely Dam 32.6 Mile Trail Run
Saturday July 23rd, 3:38 a.m., I'm lying in the tent, eyes open, thinking, COFFEE.
Out in the dark with headlamp I light the small propane burner for a boil and brew up.
Holding the coffee in both hands, stocking hat in the folding chair I stare at a billion stars, a soulful pale full moon, and the twinkling water of Lake Piseco.
Today is going to be a good run.
Before the start 45 full of beans runners mill about for a picture, a few words from Jim H the RD, and we're off for Wakely Dam, 32.6 miles up the trail. The Northville-Placid Trail ( NPT) runs 120 miles mostly North in the Adirondack State Park - they claim it's the largest state park in all 50 states.
This run is unassisted, as in BYO. No crossroads, no aid stations, what you need bring with you. I have a 70 oz camelback loaded with 800 calories of SPIZ powder mixed in water on ice, a hand held 24 oz bottle with 300 cal of same, and another hand held with green tea on ice. Fanny pack contains five boiled potatoes in salt, orzo made in chicken broth in a 12 oz. nalgene bottle, a ProBar, three flasks of Hammer Gel, a bottle of M&M's, ziploc bags with ginger pieces, electrolyte tabs, advil, and iodine tabs for water stops along the way. Extra pair of socks and bungwad, handkerchief, desert hat with cape and desert shirt to keep nasty deer flies from sucking blood, full length tights.
After a DNF at Laurel Highlands I'm humbled, hungry, and hopeful.
I will go along the NPT with full concentration and utmost speed, consistent with the rolling judgment of conserving energy to allow a strong finish.
The trail is technical, with fewer rocks and roots than Laurel Highlands, but with much arboreal blowdown that forces circuitous re-routing through thickety woods to regain the trail proper. Some fallen trees can be stooped under, some climbed over. There's ample mud in places, a lot of planks through marshy areas and foot sucking mud you can miss if you skip on rock tops or step on bushes.
Nearly all of it is runnable. I walk most of the hills. But for looking down to good foot placement there's great scenery. I miss most of it in survival instinct. I take two diggers, neither one hard. This run gives me another chance to exercise conscious breathing cycles that help propel me more efficiently and with greater relaxation. At one spot I'm scuttling along, breathing rhythmically, thinking how fine it all is when I get clothes lined by a fallen tree at head height I fail to see because I'm looking down. No blood but a nice bruising raspberry on my chin, thank you very much.
Just beyond mile 16 I see I'm several minutes behind my eight hour finish pace, but think that's ok on account of all the fallen trees - I'm going as well as expected.
I make two water stops; one at mile 13 where both hand held bottles get replenished and I begin fueling from the camelback, and the second at mile 23 from a spring coming out from under a cottonwood or poplar tree, where I fill only one hand held. At about mile 20 the camelback is dry and I load it from the two hand helds, now purified. I finish with no water left, according to plan.
By mile 27 I come upon a park ranger who reassures me I'm still on the NPT ( follow the blue markers on trees ) and it's 5.7 miles to the dam. The barn smell is palpable now, and I step up the pace. I'm running up most of the hills now. The last two miles are on a dirt road and I'm going as hard as I can across to the finish. Yes, yes, yes.
My time of 8:39 is more than I'd hoped but a 67th percentile finishing place is well within my historical range of 50% to 80%. I'm happy with this.
I drive home that afternoon, for a round trip of 525 miles.
This was a good one. I'm looking forward to the next.