The New England Trail

After realizing that yes, maybe we could do this hiking thing (just on a much smaller scale than the videos we'd been watching), we were looking for inspiration. Yes, there are countless day hikes and weekend trips we are grateful enough to have access in our area within a several hours' radius. But then we came across some videos about New England Trail, one of 11 national scenic trails "intended to showcase our country's spectacular natural resources and beauty," as the National Park Service discusses on their website here. 

The 215-mile New England Trail is a lot more manageable than say, the Appalachian, which runs from Georgia to Maine. It's in our own backyard, running from Long Island Sound in southern Connecticut up into Massachusetts and the New Hampshire border. As I've spent 19 years in Connecticut and lived in Massachusetts until my late twenties, this entire area holds a special place in my heart and mind. It's literally our "stomping grounds." 

We took a look at this map and wondered if we might just be able to, over time, hike this in sections and feel a true sense of accomplishment. 

At some point we may do overnight hikes, but right now we don't have much gear and need to just "get our feet wet," so to speak. I'm not even sure how many miles in a day I'm capable of hiking (never mind our kids!). But you have to start somewhere. So at the beginning of September we embarked on the first of our section hikes of the New England Trail.  


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