Date: 2008-06-21
From: Thistle hill shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Temp: cool in the morning but warming upAwake at 445am. I laid there wondering why I'm awake at this time. I got up at 500am stuffed everything in the pack and put a pop tart in my pocket then T Bear and I were on the trail by 530. Pushing hard to Hanover today because I have to pick up some maildrops and the P.O. closes at noon. So we had to do 14.6 mile before noon. At many points the trail was overgrown and wet from the rain and dew last night. In the first 15 minutes of hiking our feet were soaked, I mean squishy sock wet. At times we walked through waist high wet grass and other time there were small trees crowding the trail all wanting a piece of you. It might as well been raining because I was wet head to toe. I stopped at Happy hill shelter to change my socks and a hear a voice say hello. I look up and see a young lady probably 25. Her trail name is Tinkerbell. I remember reading trail entries at numerous shelters we stopped in, and Yeti said he had met her also. There aren't many women hiking solo out here so it would be hard to forget if you met one. We talk for a few minutes. She said she was meeting her sweetheart in Hanover in 3 days so she had some time to kill. She did most of the trail in 2001 and was back to finish it up this year. She has been plaqued with knee problem lately so she's been taking it easy. We said goodbye because we had a time schedule to keep and headed up the trail. On the trail We saw bear tracks and bear pooh and wondered if it was close by. I had my camera ready just in case, but no bear sightings today. Once we got to Norwich it was all road walking to Hanover. There was a nice bridge that represented the Vt/Nh border. Another state down two more to go. We got to the post office at 1030am. Not bad for doing almost 15 miles. When I came out with the four packages, they were almost stacked over my head. Toddy Bear got a picture, he really got a kick out of that. I want to say thank you to my Dad, my Sister Beth and my Beautiful Wife for the maildrops, but next time 1 box, 2 pounds or less. I probably had 25 pound of food between the four boxes. Thats my whole pack weight. I sent most of the food ahead to Gorham and some I sent home, but most I split with Toddy Bear. There were 3 outfitters in town but none of them were spectacular. We kind of got what we needed but wished they had more of a selection. T Bear did a resupply at a local shop. He said there was alot of organic foods and he got the mac n cheese to try it out. I notice there was quite a bit of "Green" thinking going on in town. Its always nice to see a town concern about saving the environment. We went to Ben and Jerry's to get a milkshake and wait for Mrs. Kimlaw to pick us up. Not long after we finished our milkshake she drove up. We introduced ourself. put our bags in the car and she drove us back to there home. They were extremely nice and they made us fell right at home. We pretty much ate all through the day and we had sushi, something we have been craving for a long time. We got to talk to their son Paul about "The White mountains". He was really knowledgable about all the trails through there. I wish I could take him with us as a guide. It was a great day. This was the best trail magic I've had on the trail. I want to thank the Kimlaw's for taking us in and letting us use there home to get cleaned up and felling more civilized.