Date: 2004-07-30
From: Philadelphia, PA

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Alright, back to the trail.I left Houston yesterday afternoon, and flew into Philadelphia on my first leg of the flight back to the trail. It felt good to actually get back on the plane and start heading up north again! This morning, I jumped on another plane heading to Manchester, NH. I arrived around 9 a.m., and really didn't have a stringent plan on how to get up to Gorham. Well, Manchester is about 120 miles south of Gorham, so I decided to hitch hike. I was a bit anxious about it, being as how I didn't know if I'd actually make it all the way in a single day, but it seemed like the more adventurous way. So, I headed out of the airport about 9:30, on foot (I'm really not sure about the proper protocol on trying to get a hitch out of an airport, with new Federal regulations, etc), and an off-duty airport shuttle driver pulled up and offered me a ride out to the interstate. A ride without even having to throw out the thumb! Awesome. Once I got to the main road, I jumped out on the entrance ramp to get another ride. A few minutes later, this guy in a convertible comes jetting across the freeway, and pulls to the side of the road. I started to head over that way, and he suddenly starts backing up...on the ENTRANCE RAMP of the freeway, to get to where I am. Great, this should be interesting. After I get into the car and we start heading north, he admits to me that the only reason he really picked me up is that he has a niece my age, and would hope someone nice like him would pick her up if she were ever to do something as "stupid and dangerous" as hitch hiking. He then proceeded to talk about how dumb, stupid, and ridiculous it was for a girl to be out by herself doing something like this for about 4-5 minutes, making sure to reiterate the word "stupid" as much as possible. Yes, this coming from the man who cuts across 2 lanes of traffic going 50-70 mph, and then backs up on an entrance ramp to a freeway. This was the guy calling me stupid. Needless to say, I found it humerous. After about 10 miles, he drops me off, and I find my way back onto another entrance ramp to a freeway. Two or three minutes later, another gentleman picks me up, and also admits that he did so, mainly, out of concern for me. Of course, we begin to talk about hiking and the outdoors, and he comes to respect what I'm doing, and talks to me about some of his old hitch-hiking, biking, and traveling days. After bringing me up the road about 40 miles, he drops me off, and bids farewell and good luck. As I am making my way back onto another entrance ramp of a freeway, a mini-van with two ladies pulls up beside me, and they ask where I am headed. I mention The White Mountains, and they said to hop in, because that's where they're headed! So, we start making our way up, and they mention that they're going to this Christian Festival called "Soul Fest," up in Lincoln, NH. Well, Lincoln, NH is about where I needed to switch direction and start heading east, so it worked out pretty well. After dropping me off in Lincoln, I started to cross the street, and another car pulls up and asks where I'm headed. It turns out that he's passing by the exact intersection I need to get to, and takes me up. He is accustomed to seeing a lot of hikers come through, as he works in the Lincoln, NH Outfitter Store. So, we chit chat for a bit about the area, and he drops me off at the rt. 16 road intersection, and takes off.I cross the street, once more, to get to the side I need to be, throw out my thumb, and an 18 Wheeler pulls over! He's headed right through Gorham, and has no problem with taking me up. I couldn't believe my luck. I hop in, and we're on our way. Sidenote: it's almost as difficult climbing in and out of an 18 Wheeler as some of the hiking has been so far, especially in a sarong! I arrived in town about 1:00, which turns out to be about 3 1/2 hours of travel time on the road. Ironically enough, driving directions given by yahoo.com call for the trip to take a total of 3 hours, so I didn't do too shabby. I do believe that I can now consider myself to be the best hitch-hiker ever. I'm planning on heading out of Gorham on August 1st, but haven't decided on which direction just yet. Either way, it will be tough, as I have not hiked in a month. At least the weather will be decent!