For this trip, we had perfect weather! It turned out that the forest had grown in on the trail (former railbed) enough that we were generally hiking in shade. The Air Line Trail itself was pretty straight but curved enough that generally, one could only see a few hundred yards ahead.
The hike from the Airline Trail to the camp site in Mashamoquet Brook State Park turned out to be a bit more rugged, with some incline to it. In the end, we backpacked about 8 miles each day, our longest 2 day trip to-date. Additionally, the swimming areas was about 0.8 miles from the campsite, so we got an exta hike in doing that. Take a look at our actual trail as recorded by ASM Keith MacNeal's GPS:
Trimble Outdoors -
map and notes uploaded by Keith MacNeal
GPX file
MappingSupport
While at the group site, we selected a camping area off in the woods a bit. A Cub Scout pack had a good chunk of the main youth area, and they invited us to their campfire.
This was our 42nd consecutive month with at least one overnight camping trip.
Narrative originally posted on Trimble Outdoors by Keith MacNeal:
A nice easy hike through farmland. The Airline Trail follows the path of the Airline Railroad, once the fastest route between Boston and New York City. The full trail runs 50 miles from Pomfret to Hebron, CT. Details can be found at ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp. Details on Mashamoquet Brook State Park can be found at www.ct.gov/deep/site/default.asp. It is a very nice camping area with a swimming area.
If you like geocaching, there are many caches stashed along the trail and a few in Mashamoquet Brook State Park.
TO TRAILHEAD: There is a gate with room to park a few cars near the interection of New Hill & Station Roads in Hampton, CT.
Page updated 5/16/21
J. Froimson
