New England Trail Hike #1: CT Section 12, Middlefield--Middletown

The New England Trail is broken into approximately 20 sections each in both Connecticut and Massachusetts. As we don't have an inordinate amount of time to hike, and don't really possess what we need for overnight camping gear at the moment, we decided to take on this trail by hiking a series of section day hikes, point to point, in no particular order. 

What made us choose New England Trail, CT Section 12 (Middlefield-Middletown) to start? Nothing in particular, aside from the fact that it was enough of a drive (30 min.) from home to make it feel a little unfamiliar, and enough of a hike (around seven miles) to be a challenge. Or maybe too much of a challenge -- I wasn't even sure the kids could reasonably hike seven miles. 

That first day, we learned a LOT. 

Our plan with these hikes is always hike south to north (don't ask me why). This involves taking two cars and driving to the northernmost part of the section, leaving one car, then going to the southernmost part and start hiking north from there. Upon completion, we come out at one car, then drive back south to get the other car. Right away we learned that Google maps does not seem to be as accurate as Apple Maps when it comes to finding side of the road trailheads that don't have a physical address. On the New England Trail website's section map you can ask for directions to parking areas. Viewing Google  Maps on my Android has not always been as successful as when my husband runs this through Apple Maps. Several times now I've been brought to a destination close, but not quite (or sometimes as much as a mile or two down the road). 

Since we were going by my phone, we had trouble finding the parking area. This lead to frustration and the kids immediately getting annoyed that we couldn't even seem to start. Finally we parked as close to what we thought was correct as possible, at a cemetery (which still ended up being off) and then drove to the southern end of CT Section 12.

There we encountered our first brush with the necessary evil of a road walk. Not all road walks are that bad, but this one was particularly busy. It kind of puts a damper on things when you have to start out your nice foray into nature with speeding cars and a nerve-wracking intersection. I know, sometimes it's the only way to connect the trail. I also know -- if you're not a purist, you can just skip that part  of the trail and start in the woods. But I'm kind of a purist. 

After risking life and limb at an insanely busy intersection (I believe it was Route 66 in Middletown), we crossed into a restaurant parking lot, confused. Only after looking to our left did we see the friendly blue blazes indicating the New England Trail in Connecticut. We took a sharp left and were immediately rewarded with the cool shade of the woods. 

Once we made it to the woods, the next realization dawned: recently as I've gotten more into hiking, I've downloaded the AllTrails app (free, not premium version). But I don't think it always has the very latest information. You can essentially pull up any trail on the app and navigage as you're hiking. But the New England Trail appears to have been rerouted in places (usually to a ridge line or more difficult path than the former trail). There were times my AllTrails app was telling me I was going way off trail, and I started to freak out...only to realize after a quarter mile that we were on track and all was well. 

That first day, we bit off a bit more than we could chew. This section of trail includes Mt. Higby (it's a Connecticut-variety mountain, meaning it's not quite 900 feet) and a ridge walk that dips in and out of the woods. The first part of the trail, getting up to that ridge line, is steep. Also -- it was 85 degrees, an unseasonably warm September day. And, we soon realized, we didn't bring enough water. 

What did I tell you? Newbies. 

Once up on the ridgeline, there are some great views of the surrounding areas, including Interstate 91, a quarry and Hubbard Park in Meriden to the west. My son, who is very safety-minded, did not like how close you were on the trail to a steep drop-off. It's something to consider if you're hiking with small kids (grip their hands!). We did see a few kids about 3-4 years old up there. Every kid is different and every parent knows their kids and what they can handle. 

Out on the ridge in the sun, it was HOT, and after stopping to eat our packed lunch more and more silly mistakes became apparent. One large water bottle per person wasn't quite enough...especially because my daughter had been sneaking water in the car on the way there (why???) and everyone had chips to go with their sandwiches ("Maybe no salty foods next time?" my husband suggested nicely). 

Of course, when you're thirsty, all you can think about is being thirsty. For awhile we did get a respite, as the trail headed back into the woods, and shade. But as the miles ticked on, my youngest became more and more irritable. 

It's tough when you want to push your kids and know in part that they are milking things for your sympathy, but you also want to be safe and make sure you don't truly dehydrate anyone. We searched for a happy medium. I would say we could stop for a water break in another mile. Then the mile after that. 

The trail meandered lower and lower, and past the backyards of a few houses. One area sadly looked as if it had been adopted by some locals as a make-shift dump. After a while, we could hear cars on the road. We eventually came out of the woods for road walk #2. 

This was not all that nice. We had to walk over a mile. It's been a number of months since any of us had done a hike that involved any kind of elevation, and certainly not close to seven miles' worth. Everyone's feet hurt. We had to cross the highway on a very narrow bridge and then cross another dangerous intersection. Then we couldn't actually find the trail, which wound its way behind a little pond. Our maps weren't quite right...which is why our car was parked kind of near the trailhead but not quite. 

I'm not gonna lie -- after our first week, I was not sure how this section hiking thing was going to go. It was pretty clear we were out of shape, and it was pretty clear we had a lot to learn. But lest you think this was not much more than a Saturday spent torturing ourselves, there did seem to be a sense of satisfaction on everyone's faces and in their voices as we recounted the day over dinner. So what if it was hard to get out of our chairs after eating, since we'd stiffened up so much?