Date: 2011-07-23
From: (106) Tigger's Playhouse, Hanover, New Hampshire

To: (107) Hexacuba Shleter
Miles today: 26.7

Captain Planet and I woke up to the sunlight streaming through the windows of ¢The Tank¢. After helping our hostess Karen by sweeping and replacing the bed sheets we had used, we got in the car with Whoop and the other hiker and headed out (Chupa was getting dropped off later).Karen left Whoop off first since he had hiked 5 miles farther down the trail then us (he¢s an over-achiever), then she dropped Captain Planet and I off in Hanover near a diner called Lou¢s. She was not able to drop us off too close though, because the town was having ¢Hanover Days¢ and most of the roads were blocked off, so after hugging Karen goodbye (she insisted) we walked down the streets past countless vendors until reaching the diner, and once inside found it to be so packed with people that we could barely walk (They had to have smelled us and it is a wonder that this natural repellent didn¢t allow us more space in the crowd, that and Captain Planet¢s kilt). We stood in line for some time, making fun of the artwork (a bunch of drawing¢s done by 3rd graders; I can draw WAY better than most of them) and reading the menu over several times to determine which meal was the largest. Once we had both eaten our enormous meals, we went outside and hit the trail. It was another hot day, with as many climbs as ever as we grew ever closer to the Whites. I hiked and talked with Captain Planet a few hours (We talked about guy stuff, I won¢t bore you with the masculine details), then I went ahead on my own. It had been a late start for the day, so I wanted to hike fast. While hiking I discovered that the heat wave had dried up many of the water sources marked in my book, and I soon found myself very thirsty. I stopped at a shelter where I found Chupa lying down to get out of the intense heat. I talked to him and learned that he had accepted a very short day after Karen dropped him off, and was going to make camp here (I had been happy to catch up to him, but it was only to say goodbye¢¦). I looked behind the shelter for the so called spring, but only found puddles full of dead bugs. I made the decision to hike on, eventually finding a stream a few miles later where I drank deeply and even carried out a liter. Then I began climbing a massive mountain called ¢Smartly¢. About halfway into it a guy going south told me that everything had dried up and that there would be no water for the next 9 miles (He was over dramatic, pretty much insisting that if I went on without water my death would be imminent). I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and frowned. I knew I would be miserable, but I wasn¢t too concerned. At the top of Smartly I ran into Guinness and Pilgrim, two older guys who hike with Mofo and whom I hadn¢t seen since Virginia. I told them about how I had gotten Lyme Disease, and from them learned that Mofo wasn¢t too far ahead of me (I would probably catch him the next day). My hike became intolerable as my thirst grew, but I pressed on undaunted. With the sky darkening, I finally found a brook. The water was yellow and nasty, but I was not in the mood to be picky (Also I had already passed two other brooks that I had deemed too dirty to drink, so this water source was it).I climbed another mountain and reached Hexacuba Shelter at nightfall, a total of 26.7 miles. It was filled with hikers, and I was joyous to find Glad Gal and Clutch amongst them, who I had not seen since Wood¢s Hole in Virginia! I told them about Lyme Disease holding me up, and they told me that Wakarusa was just a few Shelters ahead! My torturous miles were coming to an end! Whoop was also at the shelter. He had hiked out a pound of chicken and barbecue sauce, and was grilling it all up over a campfire. He gave me some, and it was so delicious that my bowl of Ramon noodles tasted bland in comparison (and I love Ramon). The last notable hiker in the shelter was a girl named Jessica (I told her she was boring for not having a trail name) who gave me some homemade cookies as trail magic (feed me and I¢ll be your best friend). The good fortune of so much free food really turned my day around, and I slept well.(I would later learn that Captain Planet had slept a few miles back in a fire tower. Apparently he loves sleeping in fire towers, this being his third one. He¢s a funny guy.)