Date: 2016-07-27
From: Stealth Camping Site north of Dartmouth 

To: Lyme Center, NH / Mr. and Mrs. Cotter's
Miles today: 16.8

Jul 27, 2016 - Legs and Verge invited the 3 of us to their grandparent's house tonight. They would pick us up in Lyme Center, NH, which meant we had 16.8 miles to get there. For some stupid reason, I ambitiously told Legs we would be there between 12:30 and 1 pm. Before we left camp, Great P informed us that he would be zeroing in Hanover due to pain in his IT Band. Having suffered from the same pain for about 400 miles, I offered him some stretches and exercises that eventually resolved my issue. That sucks, though, as it was a lot of fun hiking with him. As I left camp, I was hailed by Colonel who I hadn't seen since Woods Hole Hostel near mile 550. Apparently, he ran out of money and actually exchanged work for food and a place to sleep for 2 months! At the end of his stay, the owners paid him some money and he traveled up to VT to continue hiking north. When he hits Katahdin, he'll go back to VT and head back south back to the hostel. Anyway, today's hike had 2 pretty significant climbs - Moose Mountain and Holt's Ledge. As I started to climb Moose Mountain, I realized just how ambitious my meeting time with Legs and Verge was. The only time I stopped all morning was to throw back a Mountain Dew from a man doing Trail Magic. Unfortunately, I quickly thanked him and explained that I could not stay and talk as I had 4 miles left to go in an hour. I practically ran up Holt's Ledge and reached the summit literally shaking and gasping for air. My stuffed up nose made breathing much more difficult during the climb and I was nearly spent for the lengthy downhill to the road crossing. I arrived at 1:02 pm, though, so I made it. Peach arrived about 20 minutes behind me with flushed cheeks - he was understandably cursing at me for setting the meeting time. Legs and Verge arrived around 1:30 pm and drove us back to Mr. and Mrs. Cotter's ridiculously beautiful house at the base of the mountains. They had a porch on three sides of the house, a garden, a barn, and a large, beautiful lawn. What more could you ask for? The Cotters had brownies, chips, salsa, and fresh raspberries laid out to keep us busy until dinner. They also let us shower and do some laundry while we waited for Training Wheels, Sweets and Jingle to arrive. The rest of the afternoon was a blast. We played bocce ball, pictionary, and relaxed with beers until dinner. For dinner, Mr. Cotter grilled us burgers, dogs and sausages while Mrs. Cotter laid out salad, chips, baked beans and potato salad. Following dinner, I had the privilege of lighting the massive bonfire set up in the backyard. Mr. Cotter held the propane tank while I held the flamethrower and ignited the hell out of the pile of wood. We had to move the bench at least 30 feet back from the fire because it was so hot. We roasted some s'mores, which are absolutely impossible to eat cleanly with a beard, by the way. Finally, those of us still awake went in the hot tub and while we soaked, stared up at the stunning night sky. It was dark enough to see the Milky Way as well as a handful of shooting stars and satellites.16.8 Lyme Center, NH / Mr. and Mrs. Cotter (Legs and Verge Grandparents)