Date: 2004-09-05
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 14.6

After a good night¢s sleep I wrestled up a couple of ¢breakfast sangies¢ (aka. Sandwiches) made from dehydrated scrambled eggs and bacon, slices of pepperoni, cheddar cheese and hot sauce served on fresh rolls I bought yesterday while on my re-supply mission.Dick left before me (no surprise here!) and I was in no rush to catch him. Today was my last day on the AT and I wanted some solo time to take in everything along the way. I¢m really in a ¢wandering¢ frame of mind. The woods were magical to me today, probably because I didn¢t want to miss anything or forget the smallest detail once I¢m back in the city.I didn¢t want to miss the sight of any of those wonderful, old stone walls that once marked the perimeters of some farmer¢s field that have now been reclaimed and overrun by the forest. Given the number and size of the trees surrounding the stone walls it¢s hard to imagine that a field ever really existed there once a long time ago.I found myself paying particular attention to the gnarly, old trees left by woodsmen a century or more ago for who knows what reason: perhaps to mark a property line or to give shade to livestock on a hot summer¢s day. Now these giants are the senior citizens of the woods (a sentiment I can begin to appreciate for myself.)Besides looking at all the forest ¢ancients¢ -- the rock formations and the trees -- I didn¢t want to miss the tiny world down by my feet. I am always amazed by the microcosms of the Appalachian Trail. Ferns shadow tinier plants under whose petals I¢m sure all kinds of Hobbits, Elves, Lilliputians and Leprechauns take refuge. And then there are the mosses that attach themselves to anything and everything ¢ rocks and roots and trees and stumps and earth ¢ in unpredictable patterns of luscious greens.After a couple of hours of solo reverie amongst the forest icons, large and small, I finally caught up with Dick at the road going into West Hartford. Nearby we found a General Store that was open and we tanked up on bottled water and Hostess Zingers. Dick was wearing my size 14 sandals on his size 10 12 feet and, was doing a lot better than if he had tried to go any further wearing his own shoes given the angry state of blisters on his feet.About half way up Mt. Griggs, the last ¢hill¢ we had to get over, we stopped for lunch along the east branch of Podunk Creek to savor our store-bought turkey subs and then kick back with a cigar to begin to reflect on the past few days of shared experiences. Bottom line: it was all good!Two and a half hours and six miles later, we hobbled into NH, making it the 12th state I¢ve hiked in this year. Our arrival there allowed me to put Vermont on the list with Maryland, Connecticut and Massachusetts that I have now completed. Our farewell from VT was a very thoughtful cold soda left in a cooler in the woods by a ¢Trail Angel¢, named ¢Godiva¢ who had apparently Thru Hiked in 2002.Once we were in Hanover we headed straight for the Dartmouth Gymnasium where PV and Shelly from the Mountain Meadows Lodge had parked Dick¢s Truck a few days earlier for a very reasonable fee. They had left couple of apples and two small peach pies inside the truck and these, needless to say, were devoured long before we found the Chieftain Motel where I¢m staying tonight.Dick and I ate Ribeye steaks and fries at the bar of the Hanover Canoe Club before he headed back to Boston to see his sweetie, Kara, while and I prepared to tuck myself into bed, having packed everything for an early departure tomorrow morning.