Along the NET-Cohos: The Journey Begins in the Driveway

Sikorsky's factory in Stratford, where they make Black Hawk helicopters.

Although the New England Trail feels remote, it's really a suburban trail with almost nowhere to camp legally, so the typical hiker is not a backpacking thru-hiker, but a dayhiker like myself. If your goal is to dayhike the entire trail, driving will be a significant part of the experience. On the plus side, you will find yourself driving through towns and along roads you never gave a second thought to previously, and saying things like, "Oh, so this is what Durham looks like," or "Northford?? What is Northford?" To dayhike the New England Trail is to explore the string of towns the trail crosses.

West Rock Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross in New Haven

For the NET spur, I've found a particular route I enjoy driving, one that gets me off the expressway and lets me see Connecticut. Google emphatically tells me to go north up the Wilbur Cross and I-91 all the way to Berlin and then back south on the expressway Route 9 through downtown Middletown. Ugh. What's the point? To save a few minutes of driving, assuming there are no accidents on the highway?

Accident shuts down the highway in Hamden.

So I stay on the Wilbur Cross just until Exit 63 in North Haven and then follow Rt 22 east to Rt 17 north. I like Rt 17. It's a picturesque two-lane highway with little traffic and few lights. The GPS Droid Lady on my phone goes apoplectic at times, frantically trying to reroute me back to the fastest, crappiest route. I make her shut up with the volume button and ramble on down the road listening to my favorite tunes.

I like Route 17 through Durham

Old barn along Rt 17

Turning onto Higganum Road

Another road I've grown fond of is Higganum Road, which heads straight east from Route 17, crossing the flat floor of the Connecticut Valley, with farmland on either side, until it abruptly starts winding up the forested hillside of the Eastern Highlands.

Higganum Road crossing the Connecticut Valley floor

After reaching the plateau, Higganum Road continues on and turns into Candlewood Hill Road, with more farms, woods, and the occasional house. This is sooo much better than I-91.