Date: 2006-06-29
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Moose Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: light rain

Day 115 Up early and out by 6 AM, but Restless and Two Shoes were gone before me. Drizzled some but quit before I got to Hanover, NH, the home of Dartmouth College. The campus is classic New England, with a large commons. 2:15 PM...I am at Velvet Rocks Shelter, 1.5 miles out of Hanover, feeding the mosquitos and waiting out what soundds like an approaching thunder storm. Right now I'm about ready to take my chances with the storm if I can get away from the mosquitos. This shelter is a dump...small, dark, no picnic table, no nearby water. Hope I don't have to stay here tonight. The plan was/is to go to Moose Mountain Shelter, 9.5 miles further north. Restless has already left for there, and Two Shoes is behind us in town for a couple more hours. Several pluses today, and several frustrations. I had a great late breakfast at Lou's, picked up my maildrop (with several special items from Jane), and cards from Mary Dew and Anna. Also went by the Sig Ep house on campus and met a few brothers. Frustrations: the camera is acting up again. It was time to change batteries, but when I put in a freshly charge one, it would turn on sometimes and sometimes not. I suspect humidity is affecting the terminals. Because of that, I missed photos of the Sig Ep house and a neat brass AT plaque in the sidewalk in the center of town. Another frustration was my winter clothes box not being at the Post Office. Don't know if it is late or was not mailed. Hope the latter, because I can still get a few items sent to Gorham if it is still in Tennessee. Was not able to reach Jane by phone this morning, so I had to leave voice mail message. The thunder seems more distant, and the rain has slacked off. I might try to eat a bit and press on to Moose Mtn., which will involve a 1,200 feet climb...not too bad if the Trail is good. But weeks of rain almost guarantee the Trail will not be easy. If I do go on, at least I won't have to cook. I'm packing a 6" Subway sandwich for supper. Two more frustrations I just remembered. I couldn't get a picture of the state line marker between VT and NH. It was a simple "VT/NH" chiseled in stone on a bridge over the Connecticutt River, but getting a photo would have required climbing over the guardrail and standing in a traffic lane. You'll just have to take my word for it that I'm in New Hampshire. Also, I lost one of the plugs on the bottom of the pack frame for the third time. The plug prevents dirt and mud from being forced up into the tube when the pack is set down. Maybe I can find a stick and wrap some duct tape around it. TRAIL REPORT: except for the two score and ten pig stys we had to slog through, the Trail was okay. WILDLIFE REPORT: saw no moose but did see one turtle, which was more appropriate to how I'm walking anyway. Forgot to mention that I could have seen a porcupine a few days ago if I had known when to look up. Apparently a porcupine was asleep in a tree above one of the Trail magic sites. Could have gotten a picture. Four of us are at Moose Mtn. Shelter...Restless, Two Shoes, Lumber Mack, and me. I guess Possum is staying in Hanover. I wonder if I should have stayed,, too. I could have slept for free in the Sig Ep house, did laundry, and showered. But doing so would have put me behind Restless and Two Shoes with little hope of catching up. Also, it was a chance to make up a little distance on my "paper" schedule; I'm 33.5 miles behind, or about two days.