Date: 2017-07-08
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Hanover
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It's raining when I awake and I snuggle in my bag until it lets up. There were almost 20 people camped in and around the shelter last night. Predator and Bill T leave early. Likely the last I see of them. They will reach Katahdin before month-end. I eat the last of the sandwich I rescued from the cocker poodle for breakfast. My damp clothes feel extra clammy this morning.Starting out on the trail, my energy soon lags. It's less than 15 miles to Hanover with few serious climbs but I take several breaks. Vermud has reappeared this last day and the feet stay soaked. Someone has placed a rough-hewn bench at a hilltop view and I take full advantage. On the way down I meet southbounders 7, 8, and 9. The last two are a fifty-something couple with a dog. Who'd have guessed they'd be in the vanguard?Crossing the White River at West Hartford some young boys at the nearby house call out if I want a soda. Do I? Why, yes! Mom is on the porch as they eagerly open the mini fridge to show the selection. I gratefully take a Moxie, a hard find outside of New England. And a slice of watermelon would be lovely, thank you! A toddler in a diaper wants to help too. They are helping Dad build an above-ground pool. A nephew and an uncle separately thru-hiked years ago. I notice a hand-made wooden AT symbol over the barn. As I leave, the mom warns a thunderstorm is coming in a few hours. No worries, I'll be in town by then.45 minutes later a heavy downpour hits me. I am 2 miles from Happy Hill Shelter and it takes forever to get over decidely un-Happy Hill. I'm thoroughly soaked by the time I squeeze into the shelter with Goliath, X-ray, and Oh Well, who were all at my shelter last night. 20 minutes later the storm has passed and I take off. Bad News has now caught up. We gradually dry out (except the socks) over the last few miles. I pass through the streets of Norwich, get a free day-old seafood sandwich at Dan and Whit's grocery and then walk down to the Connecticut River where I officially enter New Hampshire and complete my seventh state. Entering Hanover it's clear I stand out like a sore thumb. Preppy parents and trendy kids give me odd looks before averting their eyes. The trail passes Dartmouth Green and goes right down the main shopping drag. Perhaps I need to wear my Dartmouth alumnus shirt to gain some respect.I finally get the burrito I've been longing for the last several weeks. Then over to the community center for a shower and laundry but, oh, the sign says hiker services are weekdays only in summer - the thruhiker season! Also the town's "outfitter" turns out to be a North Face store. Great if you want a fleece I guess. But the final cut is their amazing local bus system doesn't run on weekends. So the two miles to my motel are a problem. There are no accommodations in town except the exorbitantly priced Hanover Inn. But wait, there are tons of trail angels who will host you for a night. The library has a list! I call or text 10 of them as requested on the list. Two have no availability and no one else responds. So much for hiker-friendly Hanover.One ray of sunshine is the Dartmouth Outing Club, which lets me drop my pack in their office while I wander town. I see a flyer for their upcoming Freshman Trips and flash back to the misty morning 26 years ago when I arrived on the Green to join my own freshmen group to hike up Mt Moosilauke.Another thunderstorm hits town and rain lingers. I don't want to walk two miles in this. After trying several trail angels listed as providing local shuttles who turn out to be busy, I finally get Andrew who picks me up in 20 minutes and delivers me to the motel. He moved here from Wyoming a few years ago to work for the college and shuttles hikers all the time. He did the AT himself in '95, when the frats were still allowed to host hikers. Thank you Andrew! Once again my trail angel is an out-of-towner. For a town that was instrumental in building the trail, prides itself on outdoor living, and was Bill Bryson's base for popularizing the trail it seems to have little regard for actual hikers.Tomorrow: train ride home to be with the family. And some reflections on the journey from Harper's Ferry to Hanover.