View Full Version : New England Trail thruhike 2017 journal and report
Hi all,
I got back from thruhiking the NET Guilford CT to Monadnock NH about a month ago and finally got around to posting my journals and some pictures on Trailjournals.com. I figured I'd dump the link here for any and all interested, since there is a definite lack of information on the trail. I really enjoyed my time out there and figure anything I can do to provide information and encourage people to get out hiking is a good thing. Most of the sections are pretty thinly travelled -- this is a great trail for finding some solitude close by home. I think most people would be surprised by how beautiful the hiking is in central CT and MA -- the trap rock ridges through CT have become some of my favorite hiking. Beyond that, resupply is readily available and accessibility is excellent. While camping is officially not allowed, there is general acceptance of thru-hiking as long as you can stay stealthy and are wise in your site selection. There are plentiful options for the practiced stealth-camper willing to set up and pack-out quickly and forgo fires.
http://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/580278
Here's the link to my journal. Sometime soon I'll go back in and do a gear list. If anyone has any questions about trail conditions or logistics, feel free to post them here.
Moose
Nice hike! Tried doing this last year but in the opposite direction and ran into issues because of drought conditions, and had to stop.
My only logistic questions would have been for the ~27.8 mile spur from Route 77 to River Road (Connecticut River), but it appears you skipped that section.
Mouser999
11-08-2017, 14:47
Hope you liked the bog bridge at the Conn. Mass. Border installed by volunteers of the Pioneer Valley Hiking Club.
We are the adopters of Section 1 and 2 in Mass. New waterboards were installed this Spring and more work was done this past weekend. AMC CREW help with the install. More maint was done this past weekend
Great write up. Thanks for taking the time to report and share.
I stayed at the lean-to at Royalston Falls mid Summer and had a blast. I went back in late September on a bikepacking trip and encountered crackheads (or very dubious characters) squatting in the shelter. I didn't stay.
Did you encounter anything like that?
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AllDownhillFromHere
11-08-2017, 18:02
Does this tie into the MA Midstate Trail at all?
...I'm close to finishing section hiking the NET -- just have the last 7 tenths of a mile by Royalston Falls. glad to see you define this NET thing as continuing north to Mt Monadnock. Will you head even further north on the Sunapee Monadnock trail next?
So -- is the section from the NH border north to Mt Monadnock reasonably well blazed? I've saved that little northern piece for my next hike. and do you think hitch hiking from Mt Monadnock back to Royalston falls is... impossible?
Mouser999
11-09-2017, 12:45
Steve, we are doing the Mt. Tom traverse on 12/16. contact me if you want to hike.
Ed
Another Kevin
11-09-2017, 17:50
Steve, we are doing the Mt. Tom traverse on 12/16. contact me if you want to hike.
Uh, you've hiked with Steve before? I've learnt NOT to hike with him or Malto - they're just too fast for me. :)
ho ho, guys. i managed to hike the Mt Tom Area, and the trail south to the Westfield river, a few weeks ago. Pretty section, except for the part just north of the Westfield river. It is logistically a pain in the ass to hike between the CT river and the Westfield river.
Thanks all for the replies and comments! Also, thanks to Mouser and the Pioneer Valley Hiking Club! I was very happy to find the bog bridge... I got there around sunset and it was beautiful. Also, the clear water underneath the bridge was a welcome sight after several long, dry miles.
My only logistic questions would have been for the ~27.8 mile spur from Route 77 to River Road (Connecticut River), but it appears you skipped that section.
Yeah, that bit is interesting to me... River Road/Middletown terminus is actually only 15mi from my house... I considered starting from there. In the end, I wanted to linearly end-to-end, and from the Sound to Monadnock sounded better. I didn't plan to try to hike that spur off the Mattabessett, though in reality it would likely be doable with Uber or hitching.
Does this tie into the MA Midstate Trail at all?
Nope, the Midstate trail seems to run east of the Quabbin, near Westminster/Leominster. The NET runs close to the reservoir's west bank, next to Rt 202.
...I'm close to finishing section hiking the NET -- just have the last 7 tenths of a mile by Royalston Falls. glad to see you define this NET thing as continuing north to Mt Monadnock. Will you head even further north on the Sunapee Monadnock trail next?
So -- is the section from the NH border north to Mt Monadnock reasonably well blazed? I've saved that little northern piece for my next hike. and do you think hitch hiking from Mt Monadnock back to Royalston falls is... impossible?
Nice! Its a beautiful section, you really feel like you are approaching northern New England in that area. Little Monadnock and Gap Mtn. are excellent, and very close to Troy, NH (3-4mi on either side). The blazes on the NHMM trail are frequent but old and... oddly shaped. They are not 2x6 inch white AT blazes, they are more like small white squares, 1.5x1.5 inches... Some areas can be very difficult to follow unless you are paying very close attention. Specifically, the roadwalk along NH119 -- it takes a sharp right (NOBO) onto Old County Rd., then veers without warning onto an old woods road. The map at https://nhmmtrail.org/get-on-the-trail/map is excellent. I also used your composite map posted elsewhere for my hike -- thanks for that resource, it's very useful!
Moose
https://nhmmtrail.org/get-on-the-trail/map embarrassed me into putting that map onto Maprika as well since it is so nice... it is there/gps synched now. ...so, good cellphone/gps maps of the New Hampshire section now, as well.
Haha, well I still found your composite map to be super helpful. I downloaded a .jpg of it to my phone for my maps -- all the other sections I annotated paper maps with resupply notes and took pictures on my phone.