Hiking the New England Trail: A Unique Trail Through Suburbia #2/2

Friday, ar!h 2"

rd
2#$2
%&ld Hart'ord (d), Tari''*ille, +T to ,e-t'ield (i*er, ,e-t S.ring'ield, A/
%2#)0 1ile- today/
After getting a nice sleep in my own bed, a warm shower, and being stuffed with good pasta last
night, I got dropped of at the trail by 7:30am to begin my day-hike. tarted off with some nice
!iews of "ewgate #rison, and some more abandoned chimneys in the woods. It was a hot one for
$arch today, with the high being 7%& in the bla'ing sun. I actually used my buff as a neck
protector to keep me from getting
sunb
urn on the back of my neck. (hankfully my !isor helped keep the sun out of my eyes during the
day of e!en more interesting ridgeline and suburban hiking. )a!ing been *ust a bit o!erconfident
in my trail bla'ing abilities - I ended up doing o!er + miles through the )oward Alcorn ,ildlife
#reser!e that I really didn-t need to do, but it-s all good hiking and I got to see another scenic area.
I en*oyed crossing o!er into $A and getting to see the markers change, and the bla'es go from
.lue to ,hite /the $A section following the $etacomet-$onadnock (rail is part of the original
Appalachian (rail and thus it is white bla'ed0. )a!en-t really been running into anymore than a
handful of people each day, but that-s not really a bad thing - this really is a hidden trail, and thus
has not been o!er-hiked like other trails.
(
he highlight of the day was ending up at the ,estfield 1i!er in ,est pringfield, $A and
successfully fording it2
+AUT2&N: E*en in the guidebook they only re!o11end 'ording thi- 'a-t 1o*ing ri*er
during 3E(4 low water %whi!h it wa-/ and u-ing good 'ording -a'ety te!hnique- %whi!h 2
did u-e, a- well a- ha*ing hiking .ole- to hel. -tabili5e 1e again-t the !urrent/) At 67$8 tall
and $9: lb- %that in!lude- 1y .a!k weight/ 2 only went u. to 1y wai-t, but e*en that had a
*ery -trong .ull, and had 2 -li..ed it would ha*e been an annoying 'loat or -wi1 to the other
bank) Thi- ri*er i- be-t done by hit!hing around it)

I originally had my brother set to pick me up at 7pm from the unoco tation on the north side
of the ri!er. )owe!er, my brother and I had both been 3$(-s on a !olunteer ambulance crew for a
number of years - and on his way to get me, there was a bad motorcycle crash right in front of
him, so he stopped and assisted the local 3$(-s in taking care of the in*ured parties. )a!ing done
something much more useful than ferry me around to play !agrant in the woods, I felt *ust fine
about being picked up !ery late from this day4s hike.
Saturday;Sunday, ar!h 2<
th
;2:
th
2#$2
%=a. Se!tion- >ay?- @ 'illing in the *oid/
I took these two days to get work done and to a!oid any weekend hikers that would interrupt my
near-solitude on this trail. I did howe!er do a few small day hikes to ensure the continuity of my
path from the shore to the summit.
onday, ar!h 26
th
2#$2
%,e-t'ield (i*er, ,) S.ring'ield, A to +a1. A (attle-nake Bnob, Holyoke, A/ %29)C
1ile- today/
cored an early morning drop-off at the ,estfield 1i!er by my brother. (he temperatures for the
day ended up being perfect to hike in. unny and mid-50& seemed to help speed me along, as did
the fairly moderate terrain and better bla'ing than the southern part of the trail. I ended up adding
about + miles to the day4s already long hike, by deciding to take a side hike through the scenic
)ugh $c6ean
1eser!oir. ,ith the sun beating down now with around 70& and being low on water - I hoofed it
till I found a road run-off and treated myself to 3 6iters of teripen4d hydration e7cellence while
sitting on some grass. 8ue too the trail being un-bla'ed for about 90 miles through some ladies
property - I took the 1obert :rost /orange bla'ed and well maintained0 trail around that area and
met back up with the $-$ at the $t. (om ;unction. Absolutely beautiful !iews and pleasant
bree'es greeted me while hiking up $t. (om. I en*oy the cooler weather to hike in, and around
<pm proceeded to go through some e7cellent wooded sections with nice ridgeline !iews. =ame out
of the seemingly deserted wilderness onto >nderwood 1d., and passed under I-?9 and headed for
the =( 1i!er boat-ramp. I had a !ery kind fellow backpacker pick me up and shuttle me o!er the
=onnecticut 1i!er to the trailhead on the other side.
.y the time I arri!ed at the )istoric $t. )olyoke ummit )ouse, the wind had picked up, and
the temps were dropping rapidly. (he woods belonged to me, and I was fortunate enough not to
see a single person during my entire time in the
)olyoke
1ange. After coming off of $t. )olyoke, and en*oying some stunning !iews from .are $t., I
hustled off the mountain at 5:+@pm and crossed the )olyoke 1ange tate #ark "otch Aisitors
=enter on my way into the "orwottuck and 6ong $t. area.
,ith darkness settling in, temperatures dropping, and my body getting ready to take a break, I
set up a stealth camp along the trail *ust before the 1attlesnake Bnob
sceni
c o!erlook /a great !iew but not protected from the wind0. (he temperature Cuickly fell to <%& by
%pm when I stopped to set up camp. )ad some cold ramen and tuna D which is my EI4m la'y and
don4t care what I eatF food of choice. I turned in for the night under my !ery comfy Go6ite <0&
>ltra 8own Huilt, and a few lonely stars twinkled down on me as I settled into sleep mode.
ar!h 20
th
2#$2
%+a1. A (attle-nake Bnob, Holyoke, A to Ho1e/ %$9)9 1ile- today/
>p at 5am before the sun, and packed and hiking by 5:30am in time for a beautiful sunrise at the
1attlesnake Bnob !iewpoint /where another tarp camper had set up for the night, and was buried
in his sleeping bag when I walked up and took a photo from the !iewpoint0. 3n*oyed an e7cellent
mi7 of scenic ridgeline walking and old
wood roads through the controlled tree cutting areas. )ad a nice !iew of the Amethyst and .uffam
.rooks as I walked along them to the !ery nice .uffam :alls.
I took a steep climb up to $t. Irient and then #o!erty $t., before winding near the homestead
of the late ,alter .anfield, the founder of the $-$ (rail. ,alked along #ratt =orner 1d. while
bordering the Atkins 1eser!oir on hutesbury 1d. ,hen I got to the end of hutesbury 1d., I
reali'ed that while the hiking was interesting, and the !iews well worth the hike - I was *ust still
caught up in the mental dance of work issues and other commitments. o, I did the only thing I
could think of. I sat and ate a nickers bar. ,hile it didn-t sol!e life-s Cuestions, I did en*oy a
break, and I decided that with only 70 odd miles left to go, my heart *ust wasn-t really into the
hike. I decided to wait a couple weeks and then come back and finish it up later in the season. In a
few weeks, the weather will ha!e truly turned warmer, and I will once again yearn for a few days
of nature, with a clear head and my focus on the trail.
o *ust like that, I hitched a ride into Amherst for a pickup to go home. I en*oyed a pint of local
brew and a burger in the pub while in Amherst, and then caught up on reading other peoples
*ournals in the library and thought back to all the fond memories I had last year while thru-hiking
the A.(.
,hile this hike will end up with a rather large number of 'ero days in-between its start and
finish - it is still a !ery challenging and e7tremely uniCue look at the hills and forests around the
towns that we spend our li!es li!ing in. (hat-s all for now, I4ll return soon to finish this story2
Thur-day, Duly :
th
2#$2
%(eturn to Trail at Shute-bury (d) to Shelter in ,endell State Fore-t, A/
(he weather has turned beautiful, and I picked a few days to finish up the "3(. I dri!e up late in
the day and parked in the employee parking lot at the state forest /:JI: I called ahead and obtain
permission to do so while out on my hike0. I got to the shelter *ust after dark, and had it all to
myself, with only the nearby babbling
b
rook to keep me company. (he temperatures ha!e become much warmer at night, and I4m
sleeping almost too hot in my homemade @0& synthetic Cuilt. I4m e7cited to get back on this trail
and continue heading northward. I4m slowly coming to the reali'ation that the $assachusetts
portion of the trail seems to be better maintained and better signed than the confusing =onnecticut
portion that ga!e me so much hassle a month ago. (he woods are Cuiet tonight, and I sleep like am
home.
Friday, Duly 6
th
2#$2
%Shelter in ,endell Fore-t, A to (oyal-ton Fall- Eean;To, A/
I woke up bright and early and was hiking by @:30am in the cool dark of the morning. A few
miles of winding trails brought me abo!e the !alley floor and to a nice o!erlook that showed the
morning fog slowly in the !alley below. (he hiking
was beautiful all day long, and I was constantly engaged with e!er changing scenery. (he trail
crossed a few streams along the way, and e!en took me o!er a bridge. (his portion of the trail
certainly doesn4t seem to ha!e any water issues like I had in the early southern part of this trail. I
passed a local fa!orite of rock climber4s, and en*oyed seeing the :arley 6edges and their beautiful
o!erlook of the ri!er !alley below.
(he blueberries were *uicy, and the trail well marked and cared for. I
knew that I needed to do some big miles to finish by tomorrow afternoon.
$y brother was going to dri!e up and meet me at the trailhead parking
before $t. $onadnock and hike the mountain with me. ,ith the miles
flying by, I actually en*oyed e!erything about hiking today. I knew that I
wanted to get to the shelter at 1oyalston :alls tonight, and with that goal
in mind I continued on with the hope of seeing the falls before night set
in.
(he trail had a number of reroutes and changes in this part, but all of
them had !ery good signage and were well thought out and maintained. I
wound my way through some nice trails around mid-day, and came upon
a !ery une7pected sight. 1ight in front of me was a trail shelter still being
built2 And what a !ision it made, fresh and clean and *ust begging me to
come and check it out. ,ith the shelter calling my name I went o!er to
in!estigate, and upon calling out I was warmly greeted by two !olunteers
workers who were still putting some finishing touches on this beauty. (he shelter is now called the
1ichardson-Klogar =abin and is located on tratton $ountain in "orthfield, $assachusetts. I!er
9,000 hours of !olunteer labor went into this building, and it shows it off proudly. (e-er*ation-
are required and !an be 1ade on the NET web-ite) (he !olunteers happily told me all they
could about the area and the cabin. As it turns out, am and .arbara actually donated some of their
own land to the (own of "orthfield on a =onser!ation 1estriction. (his essentially means that it
will not be changed, and that the cabin and trail will always ha!e a route on their property. It is
ama'ing indi!iduals like these that help hiking trails all around the country to e7ist at all. My
thanks to all, for the effort put in to make this shelter!
,ith a hearty thank you and a signature in the guest log, I mo!ed on and continued to head for
the falls. I was on a mileage mission D the weather was perfect and I *ust really felt like walking. I
was still e7cited from getting my first !iew of $t. $onadnock from the field in front of the
1icherson-Klogar =abin, and I made great time in co!ering the remaining miles to the falls before
night.
As I approached the (rustees of 1eser!ations 6ean-(o at 1oyalston :alls, I was surprised to see
another hiker in front of a bla'ing fire. (his was my last night on the trail and the first time I4d
seen anyone else camping out, aside from the hiker at unset 1ock. I introduced myself, and found
out that this gentlemen was out for a few days *ust staying at the shelter
and e7ploring the falls and local forest trails. )e encouraged me to Cuickly set up my gear and go
e7ploring at the falls before the light faded. I dropped my pack, drank some water, and grabbing
my camera I started off down the trail that would bring me to the waterfalls.
(he daylight held out long enough for me to get some really cool !iews along the stream, and
snap some photos of the larger waterfalls. After some scenic touring was done I headed back to set
up
camp, eat, and get some rest in preparation for finishing the trail the ne7t day.
Saturday, Duly 0
th
2#$2
%(oyal-ton Fall- Eean;To, A to 'ini-h at t) onadno!k, NH/


It was another early morning, and I was hiking before my friend from the day before had awoke. I
followed the trail eagerly, and en*oyed a Cuick stop at a local bakery in townfor a egg and cheese
sandwich. As I en*oyed the breakfast and the morning hustle and bustle of this small trailside
town, I called my brother and coordinated a time and place to meet for you *ourney up
$onadnock. $eeting me around noon, my brother and I set off with lightweight packs to
complete the trail and en*oy some time up on the summit. ,ith it being the weekend, other hikers
were e!erywhere as this was a !ery popular mountain to summit.

(his mountain is so popular in fact, that Eit is a magnet for hikers and is said to be the worlds
third most climbed mountain, following Japans Mount Fuji and Chinas Mount Tai. /") #arks
and 1ecreation: $onadnock tate #ark0.
(he big thing about $onadnock, aside from its ob!ious beauty and relati!e easy access, is also
that it is a difficult and challenging mountain. It seems out of place for such a mar!el to be in such
close pro7imity to roads and houses when reaching the bottom. (he actual footpath is essentially a
dry ri!erbed going up the side of a mountain.
6arge slab rock and loose dirt comprise the noticeably difficult climb the top. (he ascent to the
summit is still fairly fast, since the actual trail is only a one or two hour climb from the road.
>sing the ,hite trail, we made the summit and basked in the glow of a beautiful day in the
mountains. nacks finished, and !ictory high-fi!e accomplished, we descended to the car so that
he could dri!e me back to ,endell tate :orest and drop me off at my car.
SUA(4: (his trail is impressi!e. I4!e li!ed right near it
for 9@ years, I4!e biked on it, hiked on it, and trail-ran on it.
)iking any part of it is cool, but getting to hike through the whole
trail in *ust about a week is an ama'ing e7perience. I think
anyone who lo!es a good hike in "ew 3ngland will en*oy this
trail. !"#$#%, thi- trail i- not really ready 'or thru;hiking,
and both logistics and trail closures make section hiking the only
really feasible route right now.
#lease !isit: www.newenglandtrail.org for more information on
camping locations, maps, trail updates, and general information.
(hanks for following along on this trip with me2 I hope you
en*oyed it, because e!en with the bumps I had along the way, this
was an e7perience worth ha!ing. "ow enough reading, get
outside and go for a walk2