EDITED TO ADD: Post #58 of this thread, 7/8/2015, has attached a text description of the Route as of that date, a GPS Track file, and an overall map of the Route. Message #60 adds some minor updates as of a trip I took in October 2018.
Off and on over the years I've looked at the South Taconic Trail (STT) along the Mass/NY border as it approaches the Appalachian Trail (AT) just South of Jug End, and wondered about a Northwest passage from the AT to the STT.
Such a crossing would create a huge loop since the trails are linked on the South at the CT/MASS border or even further South, making for wonderful multi-day trips in this area.
Once you get to it from the AT, a portion of the Jug End Loop Trail puts you on a nice S-to-N trail paralleling close to the STT to the West. Access from there would be over, or in the passes between, Mt. Darby, Mt. Sterling, or Mt. Whitbeck. Obviously East Street (or Mt. Washington Rd) would have to be crossed.
[Updated later: more recent maps have shown very little private property remains to get around]
[Updated to add: I am going to try to annotate my posts like this as we learn more, rather than simply clarifying further into the thread.]
If anybody has bushwhacked all or parts of this Northwest passage I'd like to hear some tips. Old paths and woods roads, game trails, and just open woods without brambles are what I'll be looking for.
Off and on over the years I've looked at the South Taconic Trail (STT) along the Mass/NY border as it approaches the Appalachian Trail (AT) just South of Jug End, and wondered about a Northwest passage from the AT to the STT.
Such a crossing would create a huge loop since the trails are linked on the South at the CT/MASS border or even further South, making for wonderful multi-day trips in this area.
Once you get to it from the AT, a portion of the Jug End Loop Trail puts you on a nice S-to-N trail paralleling close to the STT to the West. Access from there would be over, or in the passes between, Mt. Darby, Mt. Sterling, or Mt. Whitbeck. Obviously East Street (or Mt. Washington Rd) would have to be crossed.
[Updated later: more recent maps have shown very little private property remains to get around]
[Updated to add: I am going to try to annotate my posts like this as we learn more, rather than simply clarifying further into the thread.]
If anybody has bushwhacked all or parts of this Northwest passage I'd like to hear some tips. Old paths and woods roads, game trails, and just open woods without brambles are what I'll be looking for.
Last edited: