Hanover, NH

Man, did it rain last night! The tin roof made for a very loud exciting evening! After such a long day yesterday, I decided I would sleep in this evening and sleep in I did..... I don't think I got out of my bag until 8:30 or so but when I did I hit the trail. The late start meant I wouldn't have much time in Hanover so I took off.

Of course, when I hit W. Hartford, I just had to stop at the Village Store and eat a large Pomfret and 2 powerades too! I was hoping to enjoy the lawn and chairs a little longer when rain reared it's ugly head again. So far I have dodged most of it but it looked like it would get me this time. Rather than sit on their porch in the rain, I threw on my gear and headed out which turned out to be a mistake because about 15 minutes later while hiking uphill (towards the interstate) I threw-up a mouthful of my lunch (sorry for the gorey detail without warning). Nothing serious. I just didn't give my food time to settle. No matter, I was still glad to have stopped and enjoyed the town food!

After hiking uphill a bunch, I finally reached the Happy Hill Shelter (which was actually pretty cool... as a side note, this is the place Sy asked me to bring him camping while looking over my shoulder during my trip planning). It was a stone shelter, was in better shape than most, and even had a lantern and bow saw available for visitors to use. I stopped for a drink when a man and his dog came bounding out of the woods. He had been out looking for mushrooms. He showed them off (orange and black varieties) and then bounded off again. Kind of eccentric but it is cool to mee the locals and get to chat with all these people who are so friendly with the hikers.

Eventually I came out on Elm Street in Norwhich which had two positives and one negative. + Beautiful homes! Holy crap. The street looked like a walk through a history book..... beautiful. + Watermelon trail magic! - Walking on asphalt....crap. The hike down Elm Street was steep and the surface, of course, was very hard on the feet and it continued even further (another mile or so) in Hanover.

Connecticut River, which is also the VT/NH border

The bridge crossing from Norwich, VT to Hanover NH.

Once I got into Hanover, I stopped by the DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club) but didn't find them to be much help so I called the Sunset Motor Inn. A really nice old guy answered the phone and offered to pick me up at the CVS since the bus wasn't running. He also offered to let me use the motel's laundry machines since they didn't have a coin-op option. That was pretty nice of him. It turns out he has some BYU connections. I think one of his daughters graduated from the Y.

I was just glad to have an evening if warm food (a calzone, ceasar salad, and a Dr. Pepper) and talk with Anne and the boys. It was nice to get all of my gear clean and dry too... not to mention me (the shower was great!) Tomorrow I will do a few chores and resupply before hitting the trail again.

Trail Names - Peanut, Wrongway

Mileage - 4.8 to W Hartford, 9.3 to Norwich, .2 blue blaze at Happy Hill Shelter, .5 in Hanover