Date: 2015-06-27
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Velvet Rock Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

Today was a great day. The sun was shining and was a day filled with trail magic. When I hit the trail just after 7:00am I could tell it was going to be awesome. As I crested a hill and walked through a field, there were two hot air balloons in the distance. They must have had an amazing view of the mountains and ponds below. However I like the view from where I was standing...my shoes on a dirt path cut through the middle of a tall field of grass. It take that any day!I continued on and the trail brought me to Route 14. At that point someone rang a bell to get my attention. This guy yelled, "Hey,do you want some breakfast!?" Absolutely I did! A gentleman named Randy invites every hiker down to his house for breakfast. He cooked up three eggs with green peppers and onions, a sausage patty and a couple slices of fresh bread toast. It's trail magic, so it's unexpected, but it was greatly appreciated.After I left Randy's, there was one hiccup during the day. I spoke with Nikki about shipping me cold weather gear (baselayers and a light jacket) so I'd be prepared for the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I wasn't thinking ahead and she had to stop what she was doing, pack up my things and ship them to me. The Post Office closed in an hour and a half though. Obviously this annoyed her because it was the weekend and she had an extremely busy day ahead. Nikki, I know you are reading this, so thank you again! My butt won't freeze now!Nikki shipped my gear and I continued to walk north. I passed numerous stone walls and some very interesting stone foundations. They could have been old houses or barns. They were really cool relics. I then had a large climb up to Happy Hill Shelter, about 9 miles from where I started the day. As I came down from the summit I ran into two day hikers from Boston. We chatted for a few and the guy game me a nipper of Finlandia Vodka and a granola bar. It wasn't trail magic, it was "energy from my hear to yours" he said. I thought that was pretty cool.I eventually made it to Elm Street in Norwich, VT (I believe). Here is where I hit three more bouts of trail magic with a quarter mile. First was a cooler with cans of Coke. 50 yards later were slices of fresh watermelon. 100 yards later I grabbed an apple/mango/pineapple juice box. I've never had so much trail magic in one day.I left Elm Street and turned on to Main Street. I walked for a little while and at about 2:15pm I came to a bridge over the Connecticut River. It was there that I crossed over and into New Hampshire. It's pretty cool knowing I have walked through 12 of 14 states already. It's been pretty fun crossing off so many states so recently. Especially when Virginia and Pennsylvania were so long. It's always a nice feeling to complete a state.I continued on to town, Hanover, NH. The home of Dartmouth College. I grabbed a couple very good slices from Ramuntos Brick Oven Pizza. They give a free slice of cheese to thru hikers but I completely forgot to ask. It's okay though. I sat there for a few and updated the previous few days trailjournal entries. But after the slices I had to hit the Hanover Co-Op to resupply.At the Co-Op I did my resupply to get me to Glencliff, NH. The resupply was a bit expensive. This also could be the first time I will go without the purchase of honeybuns, Pop Tarts or cosmic brownies. I hope I am able to survive! I may go into withdrawal. EEK!Leaving the Co-Op, it was less than a mile to the shelter. It was all uphill but it was an easy hike. Too bad that the shelter itself is a dump, is supposed to leak, and the water source is a 10 minute walk. This could be a long night if the shelter leaks because it is supposed to rain tonight.Tomorrow is supposed to be pouring rain, cold and windy. It may be a shorter day. Ugh. I'll just wait and see how I feel.