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A post to let hikers know that yes, the NET can be done during Fall, just have rain gear! ;-)
We used a home made map: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1la...Yo&usp=sharing
And the very precious pdf file guide from http://www.parkshikes.com/adventures/new-england-trail/
It would be great to have a crowd sourced app like the ones used on the PCT, AT, etc. (Hikerbot, Guthook)
It looks like you thru-hiked it. How did you get water on the ridges and how did you find campsites?
I'm sure water wasn't an issue for them this year!
I know the NET could be dry but I don't remember any stretches too long up on the ridges without coming down to a road crossing or at least down off them.
Only 3 official camp areas in CT but from what I hear thru hikers usually aren't frowned upon... If camping was "allowed" then there would be locals camping everywhere with fire pits and what not... there already is in a lot of places along with graffiti on rocks and stuff in the populated areas. There is a good bit of private land it passes through and gets pretty close to houses but there are tons of places that would be good stealth spots that are out of site.
Hi All,
I'm considering hiking the NET this year but there is just one question: how did you get across the river there near Mt Tom, where it says, no river crossing provided...? It even says that in the pdf but no hit as to how to get around it.
Thanks and thanks for sharing your hike.
KenD
that's one of the downsides with the NET, besides the road walking, is that there is no crossing for the CT river. On a thru hike your only option is an unmarked road walk of many miles to the nearest bridge... If your not against getting a ride, the Uber availability in the area is very good and that's how I got across. It was a 15-20 minute ride so it's a long walk if you have to walk it...
There is one other river with no provided crossing as well, the Westfield River. I know people have forded that one but it was over my head when me and my buddy tried. We got about half way out with water up to our shoulders, holding our packs over our heads. The flow of the river didn't seem to strong but it was too sketchy trying to swim holding our packs. It didn't seem like it would be over our heads for long but we made the decision to turn around and end the hike there that weekend. We were section hiking so it wasn't the biggest deal, picked up the next weekend on the opposite side on the river.
I definitely will ford the Westfield River next time but I'll be prepared with a blow up tube for my pack to swim that short bit over my head, and I would recommend that to anybody else trying. Maybe we tried crossing in a bad spot or when the water was high but we were looking for a good spot to cross for a while and it wasn't marked at an exact place to cross the river like the AT is... unless I missed that.
There are some places where the official NET does a long road walk but there are legal trail options you can take instead, that for one reason or another aren't part of the official NET. You also might want to consider looking into the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail where the official NET cuts away from it for a long while, doing a lot of rural/dirt/back road walking when it gets close to the Quabbin Reservoir area. I actually did the NET through that section and it's not bad but I hear the M&M trail is more scenic with less road walking, and it reconnects. It's another one of those funny things where certain parts weren't able to be part of the official NET. It's to bad cause it could be so much better. They wanted it to connect with the AT originally but NH didn't want nothing to do with it so it technically stops at the border... but everybody knows to keep going to Monadnock. There actually is no official "end" to the NET marked up there and just a sign that says "through hikers this way!" as the NET becomes the NH M&M Trail.