Thursday, 16 August, Day 37, 9.8 miles, The
Johnson Family, Hanover NH, by Crocadilly - Walking into NH..officially. J Today was a relatively easy day and an epic
day too marking my own half way point on this adventure and also the crossing
of another state. I walked with Rampage, Mango and Tailbone the ten miles into
Hanover, New Hampshire. Papa Wolf had dropped us off and walked in the opposite
direction towards us with the boys so that Mango and Rampage could walk
together for the first time in awhile. It was a lovely leisurely hike and I
stuck with Rampage and Mango. It was a beautiful cool day and the terrain was
amazing - relatively flat and soft paths through woodland. I really enjoy
pushing myself to see how fast I can do miles but other days I just love to
take it slower and soak up my surroundings and when you can it is worth doing.
We only had a ten mile day and the whole day to do it! The weather is
definitely on the turn and I am seeing more and more leaves on the floor that
have turned the autumnal hues of red, orange and yellow. After the bizarre
winter and spring we have had very dry summer it will be interesting to see how
fall turns out! We caught up with Papa Wolf and the furry boys and headed to
the Vermont / New Hampshire border. On the way we passed some lovely houses, a
couple of which had the hiker boxes out front and had provided snacks for
thruhikers, weather information and water and even treats for the four legged
hikers! It is wonderful to see how good humanity can be! At one house owned by
the Brains' (who are former thru hikers) they had provided lots of goodies and
a pair of old hiker boots filled with flowers adorned their lawn - fabulous and
something I must remember to do with ours! And so we went down the hill from
the woods into town. It is strange hiking with all of your kit through town -
the border lies on a fabulous bridge crossing an expansive river and it was
glorious despite the heavy traffic! There wasn’t much time to reflect on the
passing of another milestone as it was so noisy and busy. We took some photos
and headed off to the house where we were staying for the evening. On the way
we went to Dan and Whits a fabulous store which provides free sandwiches to
hikers. They gave us two free burgers and an assortment of packed Kaiser rolls.
Mine was tuna salad which randomly I had been craving for all day! Love how the
trail randomly provides! The folks were so friendly and we hung out in front of
the store chatting to all the people popping into get their groceries. The rest of the walk to where we were staying
took us through the delightful downtown of Hanover and looking at all the shops
and bars I got excited at the prospect of visiting this place at leisure over
the next 24 hours. There was quite a troop of us staying at our hosts house,
camping in the back yard. We enjoyed a lovely barbecue including burgers, dogs
and corn and a relaxing evening.
Friday, 17 August, Day 38, Our first zero day in over two
weeks, Super 8 Motel, White River Junction VT, by Crocadilly - Today we had our first zero day since we left Salisbury over 2 weeks
ago and it was very much needed. I thought this was a long time to go without
having a day off. That was until I started to talking to other thru
hikers….many go longer without a down day. Sometimes even whole states!! Makes
me feel exhausted just thinking about that! Knowing I have the day off has
suddenly made my body stop running and all I want to do is sleep and enjoy the
delights of the area. My knees hurt, my body aches and my brain is whirring- I
am mentally and physically exhausted but absolutely thrilled and overcome with
how far I have made it and that I am out here and overcoming everything that I
was struggling with earlier in the year. I must admit to having a lump in my
throat at crossing the border between Vermont and New Hampshire yesterday - I
have made it across five states, have gone over 400 miles but in myself I feel
I have come so much further both mentally and physically!! Having gone
the entire time with just bug bites suddenly spider bites have appeared, I have
a burn/rub mark that goes all the way around my waist from my back pack (not an
uncommon ailment but one that has taken me by surprise since I have not
suffered from such a thing so far) and a heat rash all over my body which is
just super itchy and again has come something of a shock especially since if
anything I am now sweating less and the temperature and humidity have both
decreased substantially! However, last night I slept great for the first time
since I got on the trail! I still find myself sleeping restlessly, waking
between being too hot and then too cold, fidgety and having the weirdest
dreams! Last night I crawled in to bed and barely my head hit the pillow and I
was asleep! I woke only once to the painful whining of a couple of dogs down
the road from where we are staying! (so glad none of our dogs bark and yap like
that - would be highly irritating!) The day didn't go completely as planned, as
happens frequently on the trail, so is to be expected and easily handled. I was
along with everyone else hoping to walk into downtown Hanover, the home of
Dartmouth College and enjoy the small shops, bars, restaurants and boutiques
and quaint houses of this pretty historical town, have a good meal and just
relax and enjoy the sights. Instead, as wonderful as the Johnsons are, we felt we kind of overwhelmed our hosts
having stayed longer than anticipated…the additional 7 folks in their backyard
did not help the situation…eek..poor Johnsons. So we decided to go to a Super 8
motel just down the road, off the thruway where we have decamped for the rest
of the day with Mango, Rampage and Tailbone. Trying to find cheap accommodation
with dogs on the weekend unexpectedly turned out not to be an easy task. We
decided that we should move on as so many of us have been staying at the house
and we should probably leave them in peace. So here we are!! I have enjoyed the
sleep and the McDonald's for lunch but I was looking forward to the trail town
especially as it is one of the most hiker friendly towns on the trail and they
supply you with lots of free food! But these things happen! Its fun hanging out
with everyone regardless of the location and maybe resting and taking it easy
was the best thing for all of us. Especially Rampage who, having been
incredibly sick yesterday, is thankfully on the mend now - still not great but
we believe over the worst of it! We managed to go to Eastern Mountain Sports
and pick up Tailbone a much needed sleeping bag since we will imminently be
hitting the whites and much lower temperatures and more variable weather. I
also got some calagel which is a welcome relief for the itchy skin and has
definitely been the highlight of my day!! So all in all a good relaxing day and
able to catch up with parents and bills and the blog!
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