Date: 2009-09-06
From: NH

To: VT!!!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hey everyone, I'm currently in VT visiting my cousin Amy, her husband Chris, and their beautiful daughter Julianna. My Uncle John and my sister Katherine came up and got me off the trail. I took a zero day yesterday. I bought a pair of new hiking boots on the way to Chris's sister's birthday party. Stayed out pretty late at the party shooting horseshoes and talking with all the cool people about my adventures on the trail so far. Most people want to know all the basics, like: How do you get food and where do you get water? Do you like go into towns? How often? Do you have a water filter? How far have you hiked so far? Are you crazy?... That is the question. Am I crazy? Most definitely yeosh maan. Every single person on this trail is absolutely nuts. What kind of "normal" person would hike for 6 months anyway? ME me Oh oh me! So, this morning I'm getting back on the trail just northeast of Hanover, NH. I have about 40 miles left in New Hampshire and I'll be in Vermont. The White Mountains of New Hampshire held their name to fame as being very challenging as well as beautiful. I bagged some more of the 4,000 footers as I followed the trail through. I missed a few on the presidential range, but they'll be there for another day. Squatch, Miss Step and I all stayed at my Uncle Jim and Jayne's house in NH for a couple days attempting to wait out bad weather. We got hit with 75mile an hour sustained hurricane force winds with gusts of 90miles per hour up on top of Mt. Washington. Had some great views from up on top South Twin Mtn. Last time I was up there, there was zero visibility. Then Miss Step, this SOBOer Hunter S., and I got nailed by a 55mile an hour crosswind mixed with rain on the Franconia Ridge from Garfield, up Lafeyette, down to Little Haystack Mtn. The ridge is all above treeline and we all felt what it was like to get near hypothermic. It was cooooold!!! Then I stayed at Chet's hostel in Lincoln, followed by a stay at my friend Norma and Drew's house. We had fresh vegetables out of their garden and played with her kitties. She came for a little hike up to Lonesome Lake where we had a lunch together and said our goodbyes. Then that night Miss Step and I had a sunset we will never ever forget up on top of South Kinsman. It was simply amazing. The last 4k mtn leaving the Whites for me going Southbound(SOBO) was Mt. Moosilake which I was up on top of early in the morning and I can't even describe the amazing view from up there! Absolutely breathtaking...YEAH, ITS TIME TO MAKE MY WAY OUT OF NH NOW!!! Took longer to get through NH than most, but I really enjoyed the journey. Thanks Uncle Jim and Jayne, Norma, Chet, Uncle John, Amy and Chris and of course my MOM<3 for being patient with me and my lack of specifics when it comes to sending those food packages. I thank you all very much and I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!! I love you too KK! Things will look better if you keep your head up and keep moving forward. Just like for me on the trail... If you keep your head down as you hike, all you see is the mud, the rocks, the roots... but if you look up, and around you you see the trees, the creatures of the forest, and the pretty views that you'd miss if you just kept your nose to the ground all the time.I will continue to keep this as updated as possible. I'll be telling you of all the mud in Vermont next. Yay. The trail has been very good to me. I am nowhere near ready to go home or anything. I'm drawn back to the woods. So, I keep heading south to Virginia. Hopefully I'll get there before the snow flies!