Nomad Life - Day 23

This morning, I woke up at a more normal time for me (0600).  During the night, I'd heard movement in the house and thought that Eileen might have had another EMT call - she explained later that she'd stayed home all evening but had been taking care of something during the night.  Since Eileen was about to depart for a paddling weekend, there wasn't much time for visiting, relaxing or dog walking.  Instead, she motored around her house, collecting items for her trip, coordinating with paddling friends and making sure her home was clean.  I was able to assist with the latter task but mostly tried to stay out of her way.  We did have a few moments for breakfast (fruit) and pleasant recapping of our few days together, fortunately...  By 0800, her paddling partner (Will) had arrived to pick her up for a drive to Cranberry Lake - I said my goodbyes and then went back inside the house to finish packing and do some blogging.  I also let my daughters know about my upcoming Nomad Life plans and made arrangements with Elizabeth to see her later in the day.  After my car was packed (1000), I departed Potsdam - it was a bittersweet moment because I wasn't sure when I'd next be able to return.  My initial route consisted of NY-72, NY-11B and NY-458 - on this latter road, I found the cheapest gas prices in the entire area at the Gulf Station in St. Regis Falls (1045).  Continuing from there, I got on NY-30 and, by 1130, was in the town of Paul Smiths and parking on the campus of the eponymous college.  My goal for being there was to locate part of the Jackrabbit Trail (which I've skied on a few different occasions) - specifically, the point where it crossed through the area south and east of the Paul Smith's Visitor Information Center (VIC).  To find this elusive trail, I ended up using a cross country ski map sign (one clue) and a website with some other road names and landmarks (many more clues).  Armed with this information, I moved my car down to the State Boat Launch on Osgood Pond (accessed via White Pine Road).  Once there, I was able to confirm that I was in the correct place by asking some locals - they pointed me back down the blacktop (from the parking area) towards the trail crossing.  I walked to the place they indicated and, by 1145, was hiking in the woods.  I initially made my way towards the north and west, intending to link up with the VIC's cross country ski trails, and this took me past the Church Pond Lean-To and a disk golf course.  Through this section, I enjoyed lower temps (70s) and sunny or overcast skies.  There were a lot of birds in the area and I enjoyed listening to one lonely-sounding loon who was out in Church Pond.  Before long (1210), I was able to cross NY-30 and connect the section.  Backtracking towards my car, I crossed White Pine Road and continued towards the east and south.  Up to that point, the trail had been well marked and I thought I'd end being able to follow it easily.  This didn't turn out to be the case and I soon found myself in a "no man's land" between White Pine Road and CR-31 - there wasn't a single blaze or sign anywhere nearby.  At one point, I thought about turning around but then I remembered the AT hiking strategy I'd used to ensure I'd know where I left off my last hike and started looking for a firm landmark.  I found one, CR-31 itself (a bit west of Jones Pond), by 1255 and was back at my car by just over 20 minutes later.  I should note that the last part of the hike was on an access road that returned me to the State Boat Launch.  Altogether, I hiked 4.8 miles (2 new miles of the Jackrabbit Trail) in 1.8 hours.  Back in my Subaru, I resumed my drive towards my next overnight destination: Danby, VT.  Along the way, I listened to audiobooks and ate a light lunch (chips).  The next phase of the route included NY-86, Old Military Road and NY-73 - the latter highway took me through the Adirondacks and the Keene Valley before I reached the Northway (I-87).  Most of this trip was slow going, either because of the many turns, climbs and cautious drivers, but I also had to contend with a charity bike race for a lot of the drive.  Once on the Interstate, though, I made great time to US-9 (exited near the town of Underwood), which allowed me to resume my quest to locate all of the sections of the North Country Trail (NCT).  While following the highway towards Schroon Lake, I completely lost cell signal (it had been intermittent before that) and had to rely on visual cues and common sense to find the first checkpoint I knew was in the area: the Route 9 Dirgylot Hill Wilderness Area parking lot.  That was accomplished by 1440 and, after noting the little NCT sticker on the sign (the only indication I was even close to the correct place), I headed south on US-9 again.  Passing through Schroon Lake, I turned east on to Alder Meadow Road and followed it to the end.  I'd hoped to go farther but the road conditions (and some signs) told me that people were supposed to stop - the "parking lot" had minimal clues and maps but I deduced that I was close to Crane Pond and that the NCT followed an old forest road beyond this (to the east and north).  Backtracking to US-9, I drove north until I could get on NY-74 and followed that road east to Paradox, where I hoped to close the loop on another section I'd missed during my visit in May.  Once on Letsonville Road (north side of NY-74), I had a big choice to make: trust Google Maps or the NCT Maps page.  I opted for the latter and turned (tentatively) on to Fleming Pond Road (gravel).  At that point, with no cell signal and no indication on Google Maps of there being an actual, drivable road, I was trusting my logic of being able to connect to the same road on the opposite side of Flemings Pond [sic].  Thus began one of the longest gravel road drives since I'd first tried something similar in September 2019.  During the whole ordeal, I kept telling myself that I could turn around any time it didn't look safe.  But I kept passing fish camps and small cabins - some with people in the yards - and never ended up backtracking.  At one point, though, I encountered a partially fallen tree that looked like it was too low for my car to clear with its rooftop carrier.  I gingerly made an attempt and was successful - this saved a LONG detour (whew!).  While weaving in and out of small ponds (which I rarely saw because of the trees and lack of Google Maps clues), the road eventually seemed to improve and it became clear that I was actually on the (aptly named) Stoney Lonesome Road that I knew would connect me with Corduroy Road and NY-74 again.  Fortunately, all of my assumptions and efforts proved worthwhile and I was able to navigate (still without cell service) all the way to Ticonderoga.  Success: I got 5.5 miles for the first segment of NCT and 8 miles for the second; all that's left between the Long Trail junction with the NCT and I-87 are some shorter hiking sections!  Thankfully, I had cell service by the time (1350) I rolled into town (near the Super 8 I'd stayed in earlier in the week).  Since I wanted to make sure that I was able to pick up dinner before arriving at my cousin's, Elizabeth's, house in Danby so made the choice to follow the Google Maps recommended route: NY-22 to Whitehall and US-4 to Rutland.  In the first segment, I found that I was also following the Empire State Trail (24 new miles) and enjoyed the open sky views of the southernmost part of Lake Champlain.  After Whitehall (1635), I ordered dinner (turkey and cheddar sandwich, chicken bacon ranch sandwich, Caesar salad and brownie) from Panera (1635) and then made excellent time (speed limit time = 65 mph) to Rutland.  Even better, I went inside the Panera, grabbed the prepared food and was back on US-7 (headed south) in less than five minutes.  As a result, I reached Elizabeth's house in Danby almost exactly at the time I'd told her (1715) and, relieved, settled into a table in her kitchen to eat our evening meal.  For many years, Elizabeth generously allowed me to use her Vermont vacation home as a headquarters for my AT hikes - after I moved to New Hampshire, I didn't use it as much but made day trips to visit Elizabeth several times.  However, neither of us had been there since 2023 and it felt good to be back.  We were joined by Elizabeth's dog, Ivy, and we had a great time eating, talking and relaxing.  Before long, I looked at my watch and noticed that it was already almost 2230!  We were both tired and, after I figured out the lights and plumbing again, I was able to get in my bed just after 2300.  I didn't fall asleep immediately, though, because I wanted to finish some reading, Duolingo and puzzles.  Finally dozed off by 2330.  What a day!