Date: 2015-07-10
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Velvet Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up a bit later today. I was feeling tired from our big day yesterday. The rain had stopped but the Trail was covered by fog and the wind shook the water off the trees' leaves. We hiked slowly with very little energy along the damp ground and under the dripping trees. Thankfully, after a couple of hours, the sun came out and cleared the fog. The Trail was easy and sloped smoothly down towards West Hartford.We arrived near the seemingly small village of West Hartford when we were called over by a woman at a nearby house. We headed over and met the Hart family, a family of trail angels who offered us food and drink. We sat on their porch and drank sodas while we chatted for a bit. They had two very big and lovable dogs who required ample amounts of petting. Thank you, Hart family!The Trail crossed through the rest of the village and began upwards again, a pattern we have seen countless times: descent into civilization, ascent back into nature. The rest of the day's hike was really uneventful. Shrugs and I marched along to the beat of our Ipods.We came to another small town, Norwich, a very pretty and clean place. We saw a cooler with sodas that had been left for hikers. Awesome Trail magic today! We went to the store and bought a few snacks and a pint of Ben and Jerry's each. We were about to leave Vermont, so we felt it was appropriate to celebrate with some good Ben and Jerry's.The Trail followed a highway for the final stretch in VT. It was suprisingly difficult to walk along the road: the sun was beating down on us and the hard, paved road made our feet sore. I did remark that it is so much more efficient to travel by road than by Trail! We finally crossed the Connecticut River and arrived in New Hampshire.The town of Hanover is the Trail's gateway into NH. Hanover is a great town. Home to Dartmouth College, it is very scenic and has a great atmosphere, I suppose like most university cities, but it is very unique among Trail towns at least. It was bustling with people and the streets and shops were busy. I wish we could have stayed and visited a bit more.We walked through the town and got more ice cream to celebrate our arrival in NH. It was pretty hot out so we felt that our second serving of ice cream was justified. We finished our treat and hiked less than a mile to an empty shelter. We had not seen an empty shelter in a long time, so we decided to skip the tent tonight and opt for the shelter. It was a very quiet evening. At one point after sunset, a young pair of parents came by with two overexcited children who were screaming "LET'S BUILD A FIRE! LET'S BUILD A FIRE!". Luckily, they left shortly after and nothing was set ablaze.The only drawback to our shelter stay was a single annoying mosquito buzzing overhead. I tried to swat it, but failed.I bet that stupid mosquito is still out there. VERMONT SUMMARY- MUD. Yes, the legend is true. The terrain, especially in the southern portion of the state, is like quick-sand. I do realize this has been made worse by the impressive amount of rain we have had. - Real Mountains. While there will always be pointless up and downs on the AT, VT offers some proper, sustained climbs with an actual view from the summit. It is a nice change of pace and certainly more challenging and visually appealing. - Many said mountains have functional ski-lifts that tourists may use to access the summit. Stratton, Bromley and Killington had this if I remember correctly. This means that, on a clear day, expect crowds of people.- SIDE NOTE: The ski-lifts are called "gondolas". I had no idea, so when I read in the guide book that one could go for a gondola ride, I was picturing a Venice-style gondola. I was wondering how you would ride down a mountain in a gondola... that would be some extreme gondola-ing. It would be cool though.- The forests are very beautiful: many conifer trees, carpets of pine needles and coating of green moss.- Also: lakes! We have been seeing more lakes than before. Some people enjoy swimming in them. - VT was very, very crowded. Southbounders have begun appearing and there are also the Long Trail hikers (up until Killington). Add section/day hikers (it is summer after all) to the mix and you are left with a lot of people.- This final point may not be significant to most, but we have been meeting quite a few people from Qu©bec. Hearing and speaking French (except with Shrugs) is quite something after all this time. Feels like home is near. Feels good.- Axon