Date: 2006-09-11
From: south of Smarts Mtn, NH

To: 3 miles North of Hanover, NH
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: clear sky

I woke up at 6:45 after a good nights sleep and had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some Jolt Caffeine Gum. I remember the days when I used to have coffee in the mornings, but that was a long time ago. :-))) I was packed up and walking at 7:15am. It was the coolest morning I've had in quite a while. It really feels good to be out here in the cool weather. There aren't any bugs!! I got to thinking this morning about how Mother Nature is doing. She complained that I made her eat at buffets and her and Smokestack gained 10 lbs. I think I've already walked some of that off. :-))) I started the climb up to Holts Ledge and passed by the side trail to Trapper John Shelter without stopping. I stopped on Holts Ledge just long enough to enjoy the scenery, took a couple pictures and walked on. The best view was off to my right towards Hanover where there was still some fog laying in the valley, but I wasn't going to hang out over the ledge to take a picture of that. I descended Holts Ledge, then climbed up to the North Peak of Moose Mtn. I kept walking until I got to Moose Mtn Shelter and stopped there for lunch. I had a peanut butter and salmon sandwich and some nuts. I signed the register while I was there and aired out my feet. I started chilling down a little, so I walked on. I climbed to the South Peak of Moose Mtn and sat down in the sun for a few minutes to warm up before descending that mountain. I finally saw the first people I've seen all day...a young couple that was trimming the branches away from the trail. Shortly after that I saw a day hiker and stopped to talk to her. She told me about the farm at Cloudland Rd in Vt and that they have ice cream. I made a mental note, wrote it down in my guide and tied a string around my finger to help me remember. :-))) When I got to Etna-Hanover Rd, I decided to walk the .3 miles to the general store for some snacks. I had been thinking of walking into Hanover today, but by the time I resupplied and ate, it would have been dark when I walked out of town.Normally I would have done that, but I'm trying my best to take it easy here in the first days back on the Trail. I walked towards the general store...and walked and finally asked a lady if there was a store near here. She said there was. It took me 18 minutes to walk that .3 miles....either I'm really slowing down, or they have the mileage wrong in the guide. I ordered a roast beef hoagie and it was OK. I sat in the store and ate that and drank a Coke, then bought another Coke and some corn chips for tonight and walked the 18 minutes back to the Trail. I wasn't going to go far, so I started looking for a really soft flat spot to set up my tent on. I was extra picky tonight and ended up walking another couple miles before I found the right spot. I didn't see a single backpacker today. Maybe I got back on the Trail right as the last of the nobo's were passing through. My heal bothered me a little more today, so whenever it started hurting, I stopped and stretched.It's still no where near as bad as it was a few months ago. I fell asleep listening to an owl that was close by. What a great way to end the day. :-)))