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Day 98

Oct 5th, 2009 by parryphrase

From Hazard’s notes:
Day 98: August 15, 2009
Travel:
From: Hanover, NH
To: Trapper John Shelter, NH
Beginning: 10:45am
Ending: 6:00pm
Number of miles hiked:
a) Trail – 16.7
b) other – .2 each way to Moose Mtn Shelter, .3 to Trapper John Shelter.
c) AT Mile Marker – 1753.2 cumulative
Weather:
AM & PM: Another sunny and hot day. We’re on a roll.
People: Short and Sweet & Greybeard, Crocstar!, Joe Kickass, Rattlefoot, Pooh & his daughter.
Animals: Nothing new.
Money: $25 resupply, $1773 cumulative.
Notes of the day:
AM: Woke up around 7am and went upstairs where S&S and Greybeard were already stirring. We had promised to stack wood before breakfast in thanks for their hospitality so we laced up our boots and joined Greybeard outside. We worked for a good 30 minutes making a sizable dent in the wood pile before S&S called us in for breakfast. She had made a spread of pancakes and turkey sausage with orange juice. Spoon and I discussed our plans for the day including the need to get to the grocery store and where we were headed tonight. Shortly after breakfast Crocstar called me and he said that he had made it into town and was at the post office. We needed to get moving to make it out of town in a reasonable time so we asked Greybeard to take us to the grocery store. On the way we passed Dartmouth College and while sitting at a stoplight we spotted Crocstar on the side of the street. We pulled over and told him it was good to see him and what our plans were for the rest of the day. He had had a crazy last couple of days even pulling a 30 mile day through VT to try and make it to Hanover by today. Today he still needed to get some chores done and then was going to take in a cup of coffee somewhere and just have a breather from rushing down the trail the past few days. We said goodbye and hoped we would see him up the trail soon. The local grocery was actually a food co-op loaded with local and organic foods. Unfortunately we would be buying none of those things and resupplied with the usual. After we repackaged our food we headed out toward the soccer fields where the trail disappeared into the woods. The trail leaving Hanover was tough because it wasn’t marked very well, a lot of trees had fallen across the trail, and it was steep. It got so bad that we managed to get ourselves turned around and found ourselves back at a signpost we had past a few minutes ago. We actually were going in circles. How frustrating. The DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club) used to use orange and black blazes to mark the AT along their section but now that is no longer in practice. We saw some of the blazes while hiking but most have all but faded away.

PM: The trail took us up knotted ropes, across boreal bogs, dense pine forests, and lush green meadows. Not bad for our first day in New Hampshire. We climbed up to the top of Moose Mountain (elevation 2,222) and got a brief look at the surrounding mountains. We then headed down to Moose Mtn Shelter which had a side trail that reconnected with the AT. Spoon has been so intent to hike the whole trail (purist) that we hiked to where the side trail rejoined the AT and hiked back south on the side trail to reach the shelter. Once there, we had a few snacks for a late lunch and read the register. It looked like a lot of people were headed to Trapper John Shelter tonight, at least 5 mentioned in the register. Guess its going to be a full house tonight. I went to make use of the privy and when I approached it I was amazed that it was a huge throne that you stepped up onto where you sat in between 4 large tree trunks holding a roof over your head. It was really a sight to behold and a sight you could see from where someone had set up their tent, so I was quick. We continued on down the trail past Goose Pond and then uphill to Holts Ledge where we got another spectacular view. We headed down toward tonight’s shelter and arrived at the side trail for it at the same time as Ringo, an older hiker, and blazed past him hoping there were still spots available in the shelter. When we got there we were surprised at how many people were standing around the shelter, talking and having a really good time. Something seemed off and it wasn’t until I noticed the Long Trail Ale’s a bunch of people were drinking, the McDonald’s wrappers lying around, and the assorted baked goods spread across the ground that I knew this was Magic! An AT thru-hiker alumni named Pooh had packed in these delicious treats for us and brought his young daughter with him. He was a delightful guy to talk to and was full of good information and tips for the trail ahead. Plus you really can’t go wrong with a guy that brings black and white cookies (although not from New York). Just as I was taking a big bite from my Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Crocstar comes walking into camp and Spoon and I greeted him excitedly and commanded him to partake in the festivities. He happily obliged and took a beer and claimed some pastries because the food supply was about gone and Pooh was going to make his way back to his car soon. We thanked him for such a great surprise and awesome generosity. Since we had eaten so much food (I had 2 burgers, fries, apple slices, and reserved a black and white) Spoon and I decided we didn’t need to cook dinner and we retired to our sleeping bags early. None of the people hanging around the shelter planned to sleep there so the three of us had lots of room to spread out.

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