Date: 2006-08-04
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: scattered clouds

The rain stopped this morning around 8:00 am and everyone started moving around shortly after. My tent must have not been staked out tight because there was water in the corners next to my feet that had started to soak up into my sleeping bag just before daybreak and by 8:00 am when I got out of my tent it was pretty wet. The rain had extinguished the fire, so after packing up we headed into town without breakfast. We only had about 3miles of trail hiking before finishing the remaining mile into Norwich, VT on the roads. It was nice to stretch out legs out on a flat hard surface such as the road after walking on the uneven trail day after day. We walked down Elm Street and then Hopson Road before making our way down Hwy 5 through the heart of town. The guidebook listed a motel, restaurant, and general store but we already had our hearts set on crossing the state line in to New Hampshire and it was just ahead. Not far out side town and still on the road walk we could see a bridge and as we approached could read Connecticut River. The trail crossed on the left-hand side as we faced it and at the center of the bridge was a monument with VT/NH inscribed in stone. King Pin, Twist of Faith and Leprechaun were already there and celebrating another state down with two more to go. I talked to them for a bit a realized that with no breakfast I was getting hungry. Just ahead Baro and I walked up Wheelock Street to the corner of Main Street. This corner is the center of town I would say and on onside of Wheelock is shops, restaurants, and the Hanover Inn while on the other was Dartmouth College. Baro and I dropped our packs on the corner of the college green space and waited for the rest of the group to catch up. During this time Baro and I scouted out a buffet to eat lunch called Everything But Anchovies and was referred to as ¢EBA¢ for short. Shasta and H-bomb caught up to us and we went to eat. During this time we received a call from Jangles and she was just outside town and was due in in about an hour. She ended up staying pretty close to Podunk Brook last night and was now in Norwich. She lucked up though because she was invited to a cook out when passing through town and had stopped to take advantage. She showed up about the time we finished eating and we all caught a bus over to the Sunset Motor Inn. We booked a room and promptly entered so we could start cleaning up. The first thing on my agenda was to go through all my gear and wash a load of cloths so I would have something fresh to change into after showering. The motel let us use their washers free of charge so I stuck everything I could into the machine including my tent and sleeping bag then hung it all up on the fence by the parking lot to dry. By this time a washing machine definitely wouldn¢t hurt anything I owned because everything is starting to show major signs of wear and tear. While cleaning up my gear Mike and Zan showed up as well as the Jersey Boys. They were all also able to get a room for the night and planned to stay around town all day tomorrow. After a shower and a nap Hot Springs gave us a call and invited us to his house for a cook out. He is from the Hanover area and was going to pick us up in about half an hour to take us back to his house. His mom had an office party last night at their house and there were plenty of leftovers for us to enjoy. He and Donkey pulled up around 5:00pm and we crammed into the car. It was only a short ride when we pulled up at a beautiful house with an incredible view. The outside was sheathed in a lightly stained wood and the interior revealed a timer framed structure that was really nice. Sliding glass doors adjacent to the kitchen revealed an elevated deck with taxable views. We fired up the grill there on the deck and filled it full of hotdogs and hamburgers. While these were grilling we made our selves at home. Baro took over a rocking chair and ottoman in the living room, the girls settled in the kitchen putting a couple of side dishes together for us to snack on while Donkey and I manned the grill. Oh I almost forgot, Hot Spring¢s dog also joined us with wags of happiness that someone was home to play. We feasted for a while and then gathered in the living room to play Out Burst. It came evident during this time why Hot Springs was always playing little games like Yhatzee. His whole family was big gamers. They had a closet downstairs full of board games and the coffee table in the living room had a dozen or more little finger games like the ones on the tables at Cracker Barrel. We played a couple of rounds of Out Burst and called it a night. They dropped us back off at the Sunset Motor Lodge later that night just in time for us to catch a little MTV before crashing for the night. Tonight in Hanover, NH: Jane, Shasta, H-Bomb, Baro, and I.