Date: 2008-07-20
From: Norwich, VT

To: Moose Mtn. Shelter, NH
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: moderate rain

Well back to being a "real" hiker again. I got up and ate some cereal. I told Katie goodbye and told Sadie, the dog, bye too. B.I. and I left the house a little after 7:30 a.m. He took me a little different route back to Norwich, and around 8:15 a.m. we were back in front of Dan & Whit's. I got out and B.I. gave me a big hug and I thanked him for their wonderful hospitality, and was off.So seriously, he and Katie put me up for 7 days, slackpacked me for 3 of those, and made me really feel like I was in a home away from home. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! It was exactly what I needed right now. You 2 are wonderful!!I knew it was a mere 1 mile to NH, so I was excited. I called Karen so she could "be there" when I entered my 13th state. We are both about to go crazy with missing one another. It really sucks folks...to be away from loved ones like this.So I followed the road and finally saw a bridge going over the Connecticut River and woo hoooooo... made it to freakin New Hampshire!!! I have hiked thru 12 states. I can't wrap my head around that at all.I took a few pics and headed on. You are on a sidewalk going into town and there was a sign that told you, you were entering Hanover. Man, how cool. Of course, 5 minutes in NH, and the skies totally opened up. I got B.I.'s pack cover out and my sombrero, but it was warm enough to not need raingear.A sobo, Spanky, told me congrats for makng it this far. He said there are about 25 nobo's within 1 day of me. I asked if he'd met Sailor or Rockstar. He thought he'd met Sailor, so more than likely those 2 passed me while I was loungig @ B.I.'s. Hope we ru into each other.So I got into town and dropped my pack to go into Lou's, that great diner. I just wanted to use the restroom and look around to see if I knew anyone. I didn't see 1 hiker in there, but they were busy as usual.It's totally pouring by now, but no thunder, so I figured I might as well hike. I turned left and followed the street, but did stop in @ the tiny otfitter's to see if they had earplugs..but they didn't. Ironic I'm looking for earplugs after my hilarious earplug purchase last year.I headed on and got to the soccer field that you can camp in. There was 1 tent there. Finally, the trail led into the woods.So on a day like today, where it has literally not stopped raining (and still is as I type this @ 6:30 p.m., it's pointless to even try to keep your feet dry. The trail was a total flooded stream most of the day.I had a small climb towards Velvet Rocks, and I sw the sign for the Velvet Rocks Shelter. I was totally drenched already, so sw no need to stop, and then I see a flicker of white and hear thunder, so I turned around and went to the shelter to wait out the lightening at least.It's a cool shelter with a clear plastic roof so it's plenty light. I took my pack off and sat down, grabbed a snack and waited for about 30 minutes. I finally didn't hear thunder for quite awhile, and the rain slowed a bit, so I hiked back to the trail around 11:00 a.m.It was up Velvet Rocks, where @ one point, someone had tied a rope around a tree and put grpping knots in it as well. It was nice to have to make it up the steep & slippery rocks.I got up and over and then I wet down for a bit. After crossing a road, the trail leads to this very cool pine forest where it looked like someone had planted all of those trees, because they were all symmetrical. I sat down here and ate a snack.I left again around 12:30 p.m. and hiked into this marshy area with taller than me cattails and then I was in a huge field. The crappy thing about this was that there was barely a trail and the giant weeds have taken over, making it difficult to hike through.I continuued north and stopped to take a break before climbing Moose Mtn. I sat there and said, "Someday..you're going to miss all of this, even the rain." Someday seems far away to me today though.I headed north and after crossing a road, I had 2.4 miles to go.This climb was tiring @ the trail was so flooded and the rain was just not stopping. At a few points, the water in little streams and drainage paths was so deep, it would have come up to my knees or mid-thigh, so I had no choice but to jump ad hop from rocks and roots and logs laying on the trail. One time, there were no choices but to step on rocks that were completely submerged about 2" under the running water.I met a sobo named Sunday 9or maybe it was Sundae) from NJ. I passed a few other sobo's and also met a day hiker from the area named Ole' Papa Joe. Nice guy, he was happy it was raining because he got out of mowing and could come out for a hike. Man..what perspective does huh?I got to the south summit of Moose Mtn after 2 miles, and it was rainy, foggy, and had no view. I knew I was close to the shelter. At this point, I just wanted to be dry and warm.The Moose Mtn. shelter is on the side of the mountain with views o clear days but tonight, it's a windy cold place to be. There's campsites aroud a loop, so I found a great place to hang pretty much out of the wind. I got some (gritty) water, set up camp and then a guy came dow the path asking me where the water was ad it was Eldon! I couldn't believe him and Lizard were here too, especially after I took 4 zeros @ B.I.'s house. It was good to see familiar faces, and he's quite hilarious.I walked back to the shelter to cook my dinner (still LOVING adding that Babybel cheese to my pasta..mmmm), and there were 2 guys from Israel there. One lives here, his friend flew over to hike the AT. Really nice guys, but one of them had really bad chaffing on his inner thighs..it was even bleeding...OUCH! They said they were going to be @ Katahdi in 25 days.That struck me man. There are people who can already see the end in sight, and I'm not one of them! LOL I can't see any further than making it to Gorham right now..for 2 reasons. 1 is that means I'll be thru the Whites 2 is that is more than likely where Karen and I will meet next.It was weird to hear such a firm declaration of an end date. I wonder when that will happen for me.I finished dinner, and Eldon (now Salvage) and Lizard and I talked about their dynamic. They've got a cool one, and I told them it was obvious they are not only married, but that they are friends too. I think way too many couples (married or just in it for the long haul) lose that sense of friendship and forget how to have a good time together as people.So it's 64 chilly degrees, raining again, and I'm expecting to get my butt kicked tomorrow. Goodnite!~Certain