Date: 2017-07-13
From: Norwalk, VT

To: Stealth site on Mink Brook island, NH
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

7/13/17, Mink Brook Stealth Site, NHMiles hiked: 1438.3, Miles to Katahdin: 433.6, Miles to go: 751.5I awoke this morning to a text from Marguerite and was surprised to find that it was 7:45 AM. I'm pretty sure that's the latest I've ever slept on the trail. Being nice and dark and quiet in the basement, Grapenut and I had slept late. Marguerite had texted to find out if I planned to wait out the weather before heading out. I went and looked out the window and was disappointed to see monsoonal rains. Obviously, she had been looking at the radar for the Hanover area. There's nothing worse than walking in the rain right after you've showered and laundered your clothes, so Grapenut and I were in no hurry to head out. Warren told us to hang out as long as we liked and invited us to have coffee with him. I think, since he works home alone, he likes having thru hikers to visit with. He even offered to loan us his spare car if we wanted to go resupply. Who does that!? Who offers up their car to complete strangers? We graciously declined since we would be walking right past a couple of stores. What a great guy!It looked like the rain would pass through by noon, so we busied ourselves with changing our beds, washing the sheets and towels that we'd used, and sweeping the basement floor. Warren was so impressed that he said we had earned the "Best Thru Hikers"'award for the day. The rain eventually let up and Grapenut and I headed out. As usual, I really liked my new friend. He was a young man who finished up his university degree a semester early and left to hike the AT with money he had saved up while working during college. First stop was Dan & Whit's General Store in Norwalk to resupply. The store also offers free day-old sandwiches from their deli to thru hikers, so we were set for second breakfast. We then followed the AT through Norwalk, across the Connecticut River, and into Hanover, NH. Another state completed - woo hoo! Hanover is home to Dartmouth College ($72K/year tuition! yikes!). Despite its Ivy League roots, Hanover is one of the most hiker friendly towns I've visited. People stopped us on the street to inquire about our hikes and wish us luck. The bakery offers a free donut to thru hikers and the pizza shop offers a free slice of pizza. We, of course made the rounds. At the bakery, I ran into Moonshine, Chlpmunk, Prometheus, and Honey Stick. I hadn't seen any of them since PA, so it was very nice to see them again. Grapenut and I walked around town and the college for awhile, enjoying the atmosphere of a small college town, with its coffee shops, pizza places, pubs, and co-eds. Eventually, somewhere around 3:00 PM, it was time to move on. Grapenut was sticking around to meet up with a friend, so we said our goodbyes and I followed the trail through town toward the woods. It was a gloomy day, the woods were soaked and dripping, I knew that Warren would be happy to put me up another night if I asked, and I knew that Sitting Bull, Hoops, Wizard, and Pluck would be rolling into town today. It would be so easy to wait for them and spend another day hanging out. I was beginning to feel the pull of the town vortex and needed to get going. So, I stuffed wool in my ears and put on blinders such that all I could see were the white blazes on the telephone poles; thereby, blocking out the Siren's song of Hanover. As I reached the end of town and entered the woods, I came across Moonshine, Chipmunk, Prometheus, and Honey Stick heading out of town. They invited me to join them at a campsite they'd heard about from some SOBOs on an island in the middle of Mink Brook, about eight miles north of town. They planned to build a fire and spend the evening together. I had planned to hike another 2.3 miles to Moose Mt Shelter; but, it sounded like a nice evening. We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking through damp, gray woods. It would've been a good day to hike with Peppa Pig. There were many muddy puddles in which to splash through in our boots. Eventually, we reached the fabled island in the middle of Mink Brook. It was as described, with room for all of us and for Dance and Fresh, who also joined us. We had a pleasant evening hanging out by the campfire. Everyone was most pleased when I produced a large bar of chocolate to share around the fire. Moonshine said that the chocolate was one of the best things about hiking around me and 1st Sgt. Thru hikers are so food motivated. I am now in my tent listening to the brook bubbling. I'm going to have to add the 2.3 miles that I didn't hike today to tomorrow's hike; but, that's OK. The companionship was well worth it.