Date: 2011-07-29
From: Ruby Slippers' Art Studio

To: 5.0 miles past Velvet Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: light rain

(In which I nero out of Hanover)I sleep in until 9am, glad not to have been woken up early as I feared I might be, and still get up shortly before Freight Train and Plan B. I emerge from my tiny private room to find Ruby Slippers already returned and quietly writing letters. When we are all up she makes pancakes for us, and I use of some of my grade B syrup to transform the otherwise ordinary pancakes into something decadent. Freight Train opts for Raisin Bran, but I convince her to try some maple syrup on it, hoping that I can finish the bottle before Millinocket.After hanging around to eat and chat with Ruby Slippers we are ready to get back to Hanover, and since a ride doesn't seem to be forthcoming we head out to the bus stop. "OK, that was weird," Plan B says once we are out of the condo complex. "I think that she didn't want us to leave," Freight Train observes. "I think that she's just lonely." After 45 minutes of waiting to see a bus Freight Train finally calls the number on the sign, only to have a bus suddenly appear.Back in Hanover I stop by Pat's work to say hi. He works in a "hostel", though unfortunately it is not the kind that puts up hikers, since it is run on special grant money to house hospital patients who do not need to stay in the hospital. I consider Hanover to be the friendliest town on the AT, and the only thing preventing it from being my favorite is the lack of a good hostel, not just to provide worry-free lodging, but as a central hub for hikers to run into each other. With plenty of friendly people in town there are plenty of places for hikers to stay, but the best towns are the ones where nearly everyone stays at the same place and can all hang out together.Were there such a place I would probably stay and zero, liking the sound of a lazy social day with maybe a movie, but since there's not and it's supposed to rain I decide to head out to at least the first shelter rather than sit alone in a coffee shop while it rains outside. The first shelter is only a mile out of town, and walking up to it at 2:30pm I see a sleeping figure. I can guess who it is before I get close enough to tell, and sure enough it is Cimmaron, whether in for a nap or out for the night I can't be sure. Arrow, who is sporting a new lightweight pack, and then Portable G show up shortly after me, and Arrow shakes his head to see Cimmaron sleeping again.Rather than stay and have to be quiet all afternoon or wake Cimmaron I decide to hike on, but Portable G and Arrow decide that anyone hoping for quiet time to start at 2:30pm is being unreasonable and choose to stay. Having heard that Dartmouth students often show up on Friday night to drink and have a good time, I expect that Cimmaron will be in for an unpleasant awakening regardless of how quiet Arrow and Portable G are.Rain clouds loom overhead, but the cool pre-rain weather is some of the nicest to hike in and I make good time, wondering if I can make it the 10 miles to the next shelter before the rain comes. I get my answer around halfway; it begins, light at first, and rather than wait for it to rain harder and soak my clothes, I quickly set up my tent on the first available patch of ground off the trail, once again glad to have a sleeping pad that doesn't require me to be choosy.As soon as I am safe inside my tent it begins to rain harder, and I am glad to be able to stay dry for the night, hoping only that the rain lets up for a bit before dark so that I can hang my food bag. It's the first time that I can remember that I've stopped and set up my tent by 5pm, and stopping so early and by myself means that I can eat, write in my journal and still have plenty of free time left over, a nearly unprecedented event. I decide to watch a movie, having loaded one up on my iPod for just such an occasion, and may even have time after that to read, listen to music, or maybe even achieve that novel sensation of boredom, though I rather doubt it.