I'm back! Did you miss me?

No, eh? Aww, you don't mean that!

Just walked out of the upstate New York woods Monday afternoon after 11 glorious days of hiking the complete Northville-Lake Placid Trail, 123 miles through the heart of the magnificent Adirondack Mountains.

Amazingly, we--my friend BB and I--did not see one other single soul for the last three days. On Columbus Day weekend no less. Can you believe that?

In fact we passed only 8 other backpackers the entire way. And just a handful of dayhikers, and a few campers at the two state parks we stayed at.

As for camping, well, you know how much I like to have a lean-to all to myself. Space. Peace and quiet. All that good stuff.

The N-P Trail didn't disappoint. We had an empty log lean-to each of the six nights we chose them. Incredible. Snug, dry, well maintained.

The scenery was top shelf. Dozens of pristine lakes and ponds, streams and rivers. Dark woods of spruce and fir. Colorful canopies of beech, sugar maple, red maple and birch. The leaves were a bit past their peak but brilliant nonetheless throughout the walk.

The treadway was muddy (a possible understatement here) much of time, so boots and socks stayed damp. A very active beaver population ensures frequent detours as they creatively alter the landscape and trailway, challenging both hikers and trail crews.

Four or five days of cold rain at first were matched by clear blue skies and temps in the 60s and 70s later on. Cool nights made for fine, if a bit frosty, sleeping, especially in the open front shelters. Perfect hiking weather all in all.

Deer sightings were frequent. A few chattering squirrels and chipmunks. Plenty of honking Canada geese. Owls and woodpeckers, chickadees and white throated sparrows. But no moose, dammit.

At 6.6 million acres the Adirondacks are big, big wilderness. With a capital W. A place you've got to explore if you haven't yet. And a good way to do so is to take an extended trip along the Northville-Placid Trail.

BTW, my sincere thanks to the dedicated folks at the Adirondack Mountain Club for a) building the N-P Trail way back in the late 20s, and b) maintaining it as a top notch wilderness experience. Terrific work! (My new member dues are on the way...).

I've got nearly a gig of digital photos and pages of notes to sort through. So they'll be more to come on this latest adventure...

What kind of cool outdoors stuff have you been up to lately?

End of the trail after 11 days and 123 miles.

Adirondack lean-to at Moose Pond.

Magnificent Duck Hole in the High Peaks Wilderness.

Busy beavers regularly alter the already muddy trail route.

Trailside cascade.

Evening light over the Cold River.