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A Proposal - Annual Get-together / Hike - NET

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    • A Proposal - Annual Get-together / Hike - NET

      Hello Hikers,

      I am creating this thread mostly for my Connecticut and Long Island friends who join the annual MLK weekend hike, but all are welcome to join the potential hike and discuss. My proposal is that we do an annual weekend hike of the New England Trail (Now officially a National Scenic Trail) with the end goal of completing the entire trail.

      Here are my thoughts...
      • Some of these sections could be done on MLK weekend, but I admit I would prefer more prime season hiking. At a minimum maybe a weekend every Fall. I am good most weekends September to November, but the holiday weekends are always booked for me (Labor Day and Columbus Day), so that means a two-day, Saturday & Sunday hike. An easy 16 - 20 mile section each hike seems like a reasonable goal to me.
      • I have no preference NOBO or SOBO, but starting NOBO in Guilford would be easier access at the start for most.
      • The CT part of NET has only a few designated camping spots, so I suggest we find convenient lodging along the trail for the initial sections. (Slack packing!)
      • I like to hike alone, so in some sections we could set up a system where most go NOBO, I do the section SOBO, we meet in the middle, spend a night, and trade keys and meet at the end of the hike on Sunday to swap back again.
      • The New England Trail is 235 miles long, so at an 20-mile annual rate I am pretty sure I would never finish it. I'm OK with that if that is what most people want to do. But, if we did two weekends a year and finished in six years, well I'd like to think I will be there. Or that at least the rest of you would carry my ashes :) If we did two weekends a year, I suggest we consider a Spring weekend (yes, buggy and muddy) and a Fall weekend. But MLK weekend could still be a reasonable choice for some sections, so we still have that option too.


      What do you think? I do not have the NET guidebook, but if there is interest I will get it and map out an idea for the first weekend.

      Scott
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • I'm tentatively on board, with the caveat that between work and kids I have often have a very hard time keeping any weekends clear.

      Also, you may want to post this to You Got This! on FB, as a few members there are familiar with the trail and I think at least one member is very well versed with the whole thing.
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • Sarcasmtheelf wrote:

      I'm tentatively on board, with the caveat that between work and kids I have often have a very hard time keeping any weekends clear.

      Also, you may want to post this to You Got This! on FB, as a few members there are familiar with the trail and I think at least one member is very well versed with the whole thing.
      Assplug! :)

      Thanks for the tip, but I will let the core group discuss this here first before reaching out.

      Yes, it may take work to find agreeable weekends. That is partly why I left summers out of the equation. Your schedule would have priority since you are still working. Once we are all retired, every day can be a weekend :)
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • LIhikers wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      I'll be retired soon. Last day will be April 25. But as I get older, the thought of long car rides becomes less attractive.
      OMO, congrats on your upcoming retirement. I hope you can make the transition easier than I am. I find it tough mentally to not be doing what I did for over 50 years.
      Congrats on the retirement. Well earned. They all are.

      LIhikers , sorry you struggle with transition. I sort of did. For about a week. I had been out sourced a few times and was financially set for retirement so on the last lay off, I decided to retire. I also had let my skills stifle and with how computing changes so fast, I knew a job would probably be Remote and hard to even acquire (all the companies had shifted stuff). Plus, my parents were both injured and I was needed 3 or 4 days a week for a few hours, just helping them. Once they got better, then my sister was suddenly stricken and passed in 2 months. Then it was 6 months working 7 days a week on her affairs (she'd neglected things. I strongly encourage everyone to review your Will/Trust/All POA/ Final directives.....once a year and decide if it makes sense and what you'd want). So with so much going on, I didn't have much time to miss my old career! I do have lunch once a week with two of my old coworkers. Just the other day while driving back from 12 hours of doing orienteering setup work, my buddy commented "isn't it amazing how we now wonder how the HECK did we ever have time for a dang job!?".
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork

    • LIhikers wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      I'll be retired soon. Last day will be April 25. But as I get older, the thought of long car rides becomes less attractive.
      OMO, congrats on your upcoming retirement. I hope you can make the transition easier than I am. I find it tough mentally to not be doing what I did for over 50 years.
      I only did it 38 years (43 if you count grad school) so it should be a breeze, right?

      And April 25 is also my birthday.