7/23 Day: 115
Winnituri Shelter-Hart House
Total miles:16.5
It's been the most eventful day in recent trail memory. We woke with anticipation of getting some new gear. Around 7:30 a.m., we left camp trotting down the trail to the South Pomphret, VT post office. Dawn finally got some new shoes, and my phone problems would be remedied. The postman was extremely nice, but had no knowledge of where the box with Dawns shoes were. After about 5-mins of frantically pondering what do we do now, Dawn looked over and saw her zappos box in a corner beneath several other stray packages. While organization was not their strong point, they were very friendly about the matter. Dawn pranced around like a little girl who was getting ice cream as she tried on her shoes for me.
At this point, it began to get really hot. Before we left we both filled all our water containers and drank as much as we could. Still, I didn't feel like I could out drink the amount of fluid I was losing. Thankfully, most of our day was spent in the shade of the forest.
The most talked up part of today was the White River. Every southbound hiker has told us of the bridge we could jump off of, and the extremely generous trail angel who lives by the bridge. We hurriedly changed into our sandals and ran over to the to join our friends Lucky B and Acorn. Dawn wanted to hold hands as we jumped off the bridge. I had my doubts but not wanting her to be afraid as she jumped I relented and agreed. It would prove to be a pivotal mistake. As we jumped, I jumped further than she did, thus pulling her off center and causing her to land flat on her butt at the bottom of a thirty foot fall of water. As I swam for the surface invigorated by the rush, I found my wife spitting up water and a very visibly pained look on her face. Step number one of any aquatic emergency is to extract the victim from the water. I grabbed her torso and started swimming us both for shore. To my relief, she was okay but a little sore and shaken from the experience. A few tears and some tender hugs later, we moseyed back to the house and decided to sit down for a while to let her process what had just happened. About that time, a thunder storm began to blow in and the trail angel invited us into his house to wait out the storm. Waiting out the storm turned into staying the night and breakfast in the morning. What a blessing! This day has gone from awesome to terrible to awesome again. I'm super glad it's ending on a high note, and with us staying dry. Life goes easy.
7/24 Day: 116
Hart House-Hanover, NH Thayer House
Total Miles: 10
It rained most of the night but our new palatially sized tent kept us dry. We packed up our gear, leaving the tent to dry in the sun, and went inside Mr. Harts house for breakfast. He was so nice, even remembering how much I had said I liked my morning coffee. We walked in and had a full size meal of eggs toast and bacon, washing it down with plentiful amounts of coffee. After thanking him for all his hospitality we got moving at 9:00am.
The walk to Hanover, also the second to last border crossing, was super easy. Only made difficult by a few swarms of bugs, and some puddles. At the beginning of our day we had ambitions of slowly making our way through town and doing at least 17 miles for the day. This plan was quickly aborted as we learned of the overwhelming amount of thru-hiker orientated services. First, we hit up a pizza place for a free slice. Then we went to "The Green," which is a large park in the middle of Dartmouth college. As Dawn napped in the sun we learned of a list of local trail angels that will take hikers in for the night. We hit jackpot when we snagged a spot in Warren Thayers basement. He warned us that there would be another group of 4 hikers but that there would be plenty of room. His home was amazing! It was three story's tall and we had full access to his kitchen, bathroom, kuereg, porch, refrigerator, and laundry. To top it all off, he and his wife treated us to burgers for dinner on their porch. It turned out that we would be the only ones staying with them, which meant they also gave us a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. We truly felt like their home was fully open to us. We've had encounters where we really didn't feel completely welcome in a home but they truly made us feel welcomed. Our night ended with Dawn scooting two mattresses together so we could cuddle close. Life goes easy.
7/25 Day: 117
Hanover, NH-Trapper John Shelter
Total miles: 16
I awoke this morning at a loss as to where I was. I looked around, saw Dawn and remembered that I was staying in a basement. We've been on the move for 117 days now and the places seem to blend together. I walked upstairs made some coffee and took up Warrens offer to raid his pantry. I found some nice granola cereal, and settled in for a delightful meal with a table and chairs. A little while later Dawn made her way up. Unfortunately, she declared that I had taken her favorite cereal. Since I was in the middle of eating the last bowl I offered to trade her for the Cheerios, but she let me keep it. I think my wife will make the best possible mother. She is always so willing to give of herself and save the best for the people she loves. I've truly married an amazing woman.
After breakfast, it was slow going but at 9:30am we did get moving towards the trail. Warren gave us a ride back to where he had picked us up and off we went. The trail out of town was pristine. Mostly because it was covered in pine needles. Pine needles are the trail equivalent of walking on memory foam. We hiked until 2:00pm, and stopped for lunch at a trail head parking lot. At that point, it was 15-miles to our destination, but we still thought it was manageable. At 4:30pm, we came upon some trail magic and the idea of hiking another 9-miles at that point went out the window. After a few hot dogs and some orange soda, we hiked 2.6-miles to this shelter and called it a day. Finishing early our first day out of town always puts us on a good rhythm of getting early starts. Life goes easy.
7/26 Day 118
Trapper John Shekter-Stealth camp
Total miles:22
Last night was one of the best nights of sleep I remember getting in a long time. It cooled off to about 50F and the humidity was minimal. Normally, I'm having to get Dawn to wake up but this morning I found myself the one clinging to my sleeping pad.
After only 3-miles of hiking, we came across Bill Acerly's residence. His house lays 20-yards off the trail and is notoriously known for its freezer full of free ice cream. Bill wasn't there to greet us, but a note told us where to get the famous ice cream. We sat around for about a half hour ate 2 servings each and moved on.
Our big climb for the day was Smarts Mtn. This mountain is the same height as Vermont's tallest A.T. peak, but will quickly be dwarfed in the coming days as we traverse the high peaks of the White Mountains. It even gave us our first taste of what's known as iron ladders. This is where the trail is to steep to walk so holes have been drilled and iron rebar is shaped and placed into the rock to form a ladder. For all the work we put into climbing it, the view was well worth it.
The rest of the day was pretty tame with the exception of one more large hill to climb. At dinner, we had hiked 19-miles and since it was only 5:20pm when we got to the place we planned on stopping we decided to eat and move on. This was probably a good decision since the camp ground was full of teenagers who should have been made to hike twice the distance they had done so they would have been more peaceful camp mates. We did another three miles to a road, crossed it, and found the first well hidden tent site we could find. Our friends from England who also hiked on after dinner came and joined us in our little oasis. Sleep should come easy tonight. We're pretty tired.
7/27 Day 119
Stealth camp-Wolf Mtn
Total miles: 17
Today is our first day in the Whites. We broke camp at 8:00am and started heading for our biggest mountain since TN. Mount Moosilauke being our first of many ascents. Just before we started the climb a thunderstorm blew in. Thankfully, there was a shelter at the bottom to use while the storm blew through. Not only that but the shelter was also sheltering some day hikers who gave us some brownies and apples to help pass the time. After about 2-hours the storm passed, we said our goodbyes and started climbing. By the time we made it to the peak it was pretty foggy, but awesome none the less. Besides, the weather channel said it would be bad weather today, but nice for the rest of the week. The trip down the other side was daring at best. How anybody envisioned a hiking trail where we climbed down at is beyond me. At one point we decided to stow our trekking poles and use a more hand-to-hand technique to safely descend the mostly vertical trail. Arriving at the bottom felt like a serious accomplishment, and motivated us for the rest of the Whites. The problem was that since we had to wait out the storm earlier we would not be able to make it to our intended destination without night hiking. Of which I hate to do. Thankfully, Dawn was willing to forgo the night hiking and we found a nice little spot by the trail. It's currently thundering in the distance, but hopefully we won't experience any exceptionally bad weather. Life goes easy.
7/28 Day:120
Wolf Mountain-Comfort Inn Lincoln, NH
Total miles:12
We got a good start on the day. Lately, we've gotten into the bad habit of eating breakfast in our tent. Not that I'm afraid of bears coming to the smell, but more concerned about mice smelling any crumbs left behind. As we slung our packs on it began to sprinkle. Soon, the trail was in full rain storm mode and the sky was really letting us have it. Just before we reached a side trail lighting struck very very close. The atmosphere turned from cloudy grey to extremely bright orange and purple followed by what sounded like the earth exploding. The rest of our day, if we stayed on the trail, was going to be spent on a exposed ridge line that would be terrible in a thunder storm. We came to a side trail called Gordon Pond and bailed off for town. One side trail led to another and soon we didn't really know where we were. Thankfully, my phone had service and we were able to use google maps to guide us to a road. I seriously felt like Bear Grilles at the end of one of his shows when I walked onto the road. The feeling of safety became very real. In only a couple hours time we were laid up in the Comfort Inn enjoying hot showers, and free coffee.
Since we took a side trail down the mountain to escape the severe thunderstorm, it does mean we passed a small portion of the trail without summiting Mt. Kinsman. At this point, we have no plans of hiking back up the side trail we took to cover the ground we missed and basically doubling the miles. Right now, I'm enjoying chocolate milk and pizza which is our favorite town meal on the trail. Thank God for a side trail, safety, and for a warm dry place to sleep. Life goes easy.
Our new tent
No comments:
Post a Comment