Date: 2018-08-24
From: Woods Road Campsite

To: Mink Brook Campsite
Miles today: 16.1

I woke up a little earlier than usual to get a head start on the day. It was cold again last night and I had to bundle up inside my sleeping bag to stay warm. I rolled out of my tent to make oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. My ankle was hurting a lot this morning as I grabbed my food. I put on my ankle brace then headed up the mountain. I had an 8 mile hike into Hanover, NH today.  There was a small climb up Happy Hill then it was downhill until Elm Street. At Elm Street there was coke trail magic! I hung out on the chairs and enjoyed a cold soda. About 100 yards down the road there was banana bread and watermelon. In another 100 yards there was a hiker box with duct tape that I needed. It was the trail magic mile! In a mile I arrived at the small town of Norwich. It had many historical locations.  Scatter later told me there was a place for free sandwiches but I missed out on them. From Norwich it was a 1.5 mile road walk to Hanover, NH. I crossed the Connecticut river and was officially in New Hampshire. The live free or die state.  As I walked into town I noticed a lot of people in their teens and twenties. It was home to Dartmouth college. Main street reminded me of the drag in Austin but much fancier.  I called Booger Bear to find out where he was in town. He just got a ride to Lebanon to visit the outfitters there. He told me about free donuts and pizza in town for thru hikers. I stopped my Lou's and got a free donut. I stopped by the post office to grab my cold weather gear. I swapped out my summer gear. My pack was instantly fatter and heavier.  It's going to be tough carrying it through the whites and Maine. Sunshine and Forgiven were there. They had resupplied then opened their box at the post office to reveal more food and ended up throwing a lot of it in the hiker box.  I walked over to Brick and Oven to get my free slice of pizza. Snorts was there who I hadn't seen since PA. She told me that Chomps had to get off the trail because his ankle never improved.  I could feel his pain. Scatter walked in and we hung out for a bit.  I told him that I was thinking about hiking another 10 miles.  He wasn't really feeling it especially after beer and pizza. We headed to Molly's for more beer.  Booga met us there for a drink. He said he was going to wait in town for Giggles. Scatter and I went to Boloco for burritos. We met Blaze on the way who joined us. Boloco was exactly like Chipotle. I got a huge bowl with rice, chicken, guacamole, corn, salsa, and veggies. It definitely hit the spot. Scatter was feeling even more tired and didn't want to leave town. I felt the urge to not get vortexed in Hanover and walked to the edge of town. At the edge I ran into Rebel Yell and Scooter. They were not feeling the urge to leave either.  Rebel Yell had zeroed there already. It seems that the trail funk had been hitting everyone. I got the heck out of there. It was 6 pm and I planned on doing 8 miles. My pack felt like it had stones in it with the cold weather gear. I was considering sending some stuff home that was too heavy since it would be hard to carry through the whites. I ran into Sunshine on the trail. She had forgotten a prescription in town and had to go back.  Forgiven was 10 miles ahead of her. I helped her with her bear hang and kept on trucking. Night fell and I was night hiking again. It seems to be the common theme for this section. I eventually arrived at Brinks stream. There was already 3 tents in the area. I setup my tent on a small island near the stream. I didn't want to cook dinner and just ate some Cliff bars.  I hung my food and settled into bed. I saw a mouse dart around my campsite looking for food. He kept getting really close.  Later I felt something hit the side of my tent.  It was a toad! He was climbing over my stuff in my vestibule. He hopped out but then about 5 minutes later he was back again. He visited me 3 times and I was excited to see him each time.Tonight I'm listening to the stream flow behind my head and wishing the toad will come back.