Hike100 Participants
Date completed: 10/16/2021
Home base: Cromwell, CT
Miles: CT Sections 4, 5, 6, 19-21
MA Sections 1-8
And various favorites in between with friends and family. Ragged Mountain, Chauncey Peak, and Lamentation, Penwood are constantly on repeat for quick weekend hikes.
Describe the NET: What’s great about the NET is there are trails for all types of hikers with varying degrees of difficulty, in distances that can easily be tailored for your time.
Trail Story:
I wasn’t too focused on completing a distance goal this year so much as I was focused on completing more sections north to the New Hampshire border. I started 2021 with sights set on the Massachusetts border, and when I hit that goal quickly I needed to keep up that momentum. Turned south to Guilford and worked on Sections 4-6, which was another quick check off the list. The Massachusetts sections have been incredible. The Mt. Tom range was brutal, but it didn’t prepare me for the Holyoke range, which we had decided to do in one straight shot (sec 7/8). I underestimated that stretch. Completing section 8, totaling my mileage and adding it to the various other sections that I frequent between longer trips, I reluctantly gazed at the 97 on my calculator. I decided the best way to meet the challenge of 100 miles was at my favorite spot, Ragged Mountain, on a humid October morning to watch the sunrise. That photo is attached to this submission. I can’t wait to complete the remaining sections in MA, and continue north to the summit of Mt. Monadnock. Thank you so much for taking such great care of these spaces, and encouraging so many to love and enjoy nature.