Date: 2011-07-22
From: (105) The Mountain After Pomfret Road

To: (106) Tigger's Playhouse, Hanover, New Hampshire
Miles today: 17.9

Wanting to get to Hanover early so that I would have time to do chores, I woke up at 4:20am and was hiking by 5. My pace was strong, and after drinking several liters of water from the streams I passed, I managed to get rid of my headache. I listened to music while I hiked despite my iPod claiming to have died hours prior (it is a beast and kept playing at 0% battery for the rest of the day), and ate the last of my food. My pack was so light without food that I didn¢t have to buckle its waist strap, which was nice because the day was another scorcher and I was dripping wet with sweat. After several miles of walking down the road I passed Deadman, the 70 year old diabetic on the trail. It was the third time I had passed him on my thru hike (he caught up while I had Lyme Disease), and as always he was shocked to see me, exclaiming that he thought I would be finished the trail by now, not coming up from behind him! Shortly after stopping to talk to Deadman, I crossed the Connecticut River and entered New Hampshire, the second to last state of my journey. I entered the town of Hanover, and walked down the street to the Dartmouth College campus, mesmerized by the energy and buzzing of all the college students (and girls), when I saw a filthy and shirtless man walk out of one of the buildings. It was Captain Planet (he stuck out like a sore thumb, with his facial hair, pack, kilt, and sheer grubbiness contrasting sharply with the surrounding campus), whom I¢d finally caught up to again after my zero day at Portrait¢s. He had immediately picked my filthy form out of the crowd as well, and came over to say hi.Captain Planet and I relaxed outside on the campus for some time, sipping soda and watching girls go by (We used the trail rating system, aka every girl was a ¢Trail Ten¢, the joke being that after so long on the trail all women look hot¢¦ But I¢m sure they had nice personalities too¢¦). After several cups of soda, I called the ¢Tigger¢s Playhouse¢ Hostel and arranged for us to be picked up in a few hours by the shuttle. We used our spare time wisely. First we got more soda. Then we went to a nearby outfitter for supplies. I needed socks, but the outfitter did not have men¢s in my size so I bought bright green women¢s socks instead (They are super cute and match my shirt). The outfitter gave both of us a snickers bar and soda with our purchase, which we ate and drank. Then we went to the town¢s pharmacy, where I bought batteries for my head light, new shoe insoles (I¢m gellin¢ like a felon), and more soda (it is delicious and I can¢t stop). Captain Planet bought Coconut water (he thought it would be healthy or something) which tasted horrible (I didn¢t try it but took his word for it). The last thing we did in town was walk to the Co-op grocery store. During the walk Captain Planet kept trying to give away his coconut water to the people we passed, but nobody would take it. The students at Dartmouth are no fun (Picture a young bearded man wearing a kilt flagging people down and asking them if they would like to try some coconut water). After buying food at the Co-op, we found our ride to the Tigger¢s Playhouse Hostel with its owner, a woman named Karen. In the car already were two other hiker¢s named ¢Whoop¢ (a noise he makes and was inevitably named after) and another guy who¢s name I can¢t remember and I am too lazy/socially awkward to ask. Tigger¢s Playhouse was an awesome place. In addition to shower and laundry, there was a freezer full of pizza and ice cream, TV with movies, soda, and more. There was also a fifth hiker there, an older guy named Chupa.That evening I ate a ton of food and ice cream (and yes, more soda¢¦ it is the heroin of the Appalachian Trail) while watching ¢Forest Gump¢ on the TV with the other hikers. It was a great movie for someone hiking the trail (¢One day it started to rain, and it kept on raining...¢). Then we all ordered Chinese food and feasted (despite having snacked all day I still ate a ton). All of the 30 mile days I¢d been doing had left me so thin that I had had to wear a pair of bright blue girl¢s shorts from the hiker box while my clothes washed (None of the men¢s shorts fit me), so I figured my immense hunger was probably my body trying to catch up on calories.That night Captain Planet and I returned to our sleeping quarters (a trailer in the backyard nicknamed ¢The Tank¢ because it was enclosed, old, and metallic), where we watched TV and eventually fell asleep (Chupa slept in another camper called "The Tee-pee, because it was shaped like a triangle).It had been an awesome day!