The Menunkatuck Trail is a wonderful 16 mile Blue Blazed hiking trail in Guilford Connecticut. It is also the final part of the bigger 225 mile New England Trail. which stretches 200 miles from the Connecticut Shoreline to the top of Massachusetts.
In 1639, the land around this trail would become the Plantation of Menunkatuck and was home to the Menunkatuck band, whose name may refer to the fertilizer generated by the abundant menhaden, a fish in the herring family.The Menunkatuck were led by a female sachem, often referred to as the Squaw Sachem, Shaumpishuh. She was sister to the Grand Sachem Momaugin, who signed the First Treaty with the English planters at New Haven in 1638. In 1639, Shaumpishuh signed a deed that conveyed use of all the land of present-day Guilford .
A large portion of the Menunkatuck Trail passes through or near protected wetlands: bogs, swamps, vernal ponds and marsh lands. Wooden walkways are planned to allow easy passage over some of these which flood or become muddy often.
Note: For purposes of the FKT, the route begins (or ends) at the TH on Durham Rd (Rte 77).
Comments
Adding a note to indicate that the Menunkatuck is a fantastic trail and that both the male and female FKT's are fantastic performances. Debbie Livingston and I did this trail as part of our NET (plus Monadnock) End-to-End ending on 06/24/2020 and it was hellish. With the 18+ miles coming at the end of a 240+ mile trip, we were in agony. We were out of food, nearly out of water, nearly out of light (down to one), and batteries had died on our iPhones. It took us 6+ hours in the dark and we finished shortly after 12:00 A.M. It was ugly.Â
We went back a few weeks later on 07/04/2020 to run it in daylight (joined by Laura Becker) and it went much quicker. We had to prove that the trail wasn't haunted or possessed. We weren't able to beat a time, but enjoyed the run. Our effort was strong and proves that the fastest folks are indeed fast.Â