Date: 2010-09-13
From: Hanover, NH

To: Happy Hill Shelter, VT
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: light rain

Drove to Hanover, NH from EconoLodge in Newark, NJ. It was a cloudy drive with occasional light sprinkles along the way. It was neat to watch the roadside forests change to being more and more evergreen trees, and also to see that the leaves are progressively donning their fall colors. Virginia leaves are still green by comparison. Looking out the car windows, we were thrilled to see a pasture with some Galloway cows moseying about. Galloway cows are those "ice cream sandwich" colored cows--dark brown fronts and rears with a wide white band around their bellies-- that we saw in a trailside field back in May. Finally we arrived in Hanover. We had to stop at the Dartmouth Info kiosk to find out where to find Dartmouth Parking Lot A for long-term parking. The info man told us all about how the Dartmouth Outing Club just got back from taking a group of freshmen to Mt. Moosilauke, NH. They hiked and camped their way there, then took a bus back to Dartmouth. What a fun time they had, he said. I bet! Just as we'd been told, the parking lot for us is about 0.7 miles from where the AT cuts thru the town(that translates into 0.7 additional road hiking for us). So at 3 p.m. we hoisted our packs, clicked our hip belts and sternum straps, grabbed up our poles, and set out for the trail with temps in the mid-60's. 0.7 miles later, once we reached the bronze AT placque inset in the sidewalk, we were on our way!...slowly, but surely as we had to wait at crosswalks. Next we walked past lots of recycling bins set out at the curbs in front of the many homes lining the road. Looks like most everyone recycles--good! Over the bridge into Norwich, VT without a detour (there's a $100 fine for jumping off the bridge) with a dark purple cloud overhead threatening to burst, rumbling with thunder and flashes of lightning. Ugh. We kept our eyes peeled for buildings with porches to duck onto when the storm broke loose. Just as the storm broke, we reached the town gazebo where a school track team also sought shelter. The kids got busy calling parents to come pick them up. All we could think about was wondering how long the storm would last. We weren't too thrilled about getting drenched right out of the gate, and we were hoping the clouds wouldn't darken the woods too early. Sundown is by 7 p.m., complete darkness by 7:30. After about 30 minutes, the storm let up and we walked uphill past lots of creatively designed homes, soon leaving the town behind. Right where the AT leaves the road and goes into the forest was trailmagic!: styrofoam coolers: one filled with Long Trail beers, one with Gala apples, one with brownies and cookies and a variety of small candy bars! Whoo hoo! Never ones to turn down trailmagic, we each stuffed 2 beers into our packs to drink and share at the shelter ahead. Boy, adding the weight of those 2 beer bottles made my pack so heavy! The trail was soft with pine needles in places where there weren't tangles of roots to walk on, but at least it wasn't muddy and slippery from the storm. We went up, down, and winding around. Got to Happy Hill Shelter(a 2 story shelter-sleeps tightly fit 4 down, 4 up). Met Quarter Lb. who's flipflopping(hiked from GA to a northern midpt, then hiking from Maine south to midpt all done within this yr) & will finish his thru hike when he gets to PA in a few wks. 1/4 LB decided to tent here since the shelter is crowded. Also here are Zephyr from Franklin, NC who's been section hiking since 2004. Some other fellows are here as well, everyone hiking solo 'cept us. Glad we made it here right after 6 p.m., because the light is going fast given the rain that just started. Chilly, at 7:19 p.m. it's way too dark to hike unless you use a headlamp. Messy Garage is sharing the 1st floor platform with us. This leg of his section hike will end when he reaches Franconia Notch in several days. From the darkness, in hiked Grizzly Adams, a northbound thru-hiker who started this past spring from GA. He's one of the last NOBO's out here. Most try to start early enough in the yr and hustle to get to Mt. Katahdin, ME before the first wk of Oct. when it often is closed due to snow. May the trail be good for you, Grizzly! With all the rain, we were all disappointed the water source at this shelter is dry. Take It Easy and I are fine, as we have almost full water bags. Gotta hope to run across water during the day tomorrow. Since it's so dark, everyone quieted down before Grizzly Adams showed up, talked to him briefly while he cooked up his supper, then everyone hit the sack. Rain patters on the roof and the forest is soft blackness.