Date: 2005-05-31
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: light rain

As I awake to another morning of rain, I can officially say that it has rained every day that I have been in Vermont: 11 straight days.Moving on to New Hampshire then. This morning I am just a few miles away from a trail town I've been looking forward to from the start: Hanover, NH, home of Dartmouth College. Before I get there, I walk through Norwich, Vermont. The trail from Norwich to Hanover is a road walk, and it is on this very public part of the trail that I realize one of many problems I am going to has with my "re-entry" into the civilized world. Not being able to go to the bathroom wherever and whenever. Enough said.If anyone is looking to have a low-budget thru-hike, today I play a big money saving move: camp at the nearest shelter to town, drop down into town, take care of business, then hike out the same day. Hanover is a great town to do this in, as lodging is costly. Another "hiker vortex," I can feel the pull of Hanover. It is finals week at Dartmouth and the young people are trotting all over town. It has been a long time since I've seen so many people my age, an even longer time since I've seen clean, well-dressed, good-looking people my age! The Dartmouth Outing Club allows thru-hikers to use Robinson Hall. Here there is a register and an information board, in addition to a telephone and internet connection. I work at updating trailjournals until my eyes are bugging out, then I check out the town. The book store is huge and I am able to buy a descent book for a change. One thing I wish I'd lined up in my maildrops is some good books. I'm not sure what I was thinking mailing myself lipton noodles and snickers, but assuming I'd find bookstores in the trail towns!Hanover is connected to Lebanon and West Lebanon with a free shuttle service, so I jump on the public transportation just for fun. Lots of shopping areas, fast food, supermarkets...the side of America that I've been sheltered from for the past months as most of the amenities in trail towns are ma and pa shops. Today I am in search of a new battery for my music, as the wiring went haywire in my charger a week ago. I survived a week without tunes, and I've decided I like walking down the long green tunnel better with my music. Technology on the trail can turn into a hot debate, and normally I don't bring music into the backcountry. "You are missing the sounds of nature," a disapproving passerby pointed out to me the other day. My response is that a thru-hike is different than a short backpacking trip. A week in the trees, no music for me. Six months in the trees, much of the hiking in solitude, music is the one thing that has kept me from loosing my marbles!That is all I really accomplish in the afternoon. The pubic transportation is nice, but not fast. I got the scenic tour of Hanover and the surrounding cities! I return to Robinson Hall to retrieve my pack (I was having a little separation anxiety, but secretly I hoped someone would steal it!). I make a couple phone calls from Robinson Hall, then I follow the white blazes through town and into the woods, with one short stop at Ben and Jerry's. Can't forget them. Ever. The shelter is just one mile out of town, so I pack up a pint of ice cream for dinner. A real treat compared to the usual pot full of lipton noodles! I get to the shelter just as the sun is setting and I must admit that I'm a little disappointed no one else is there, I wanted to show off my ice cream.