Date: 2021-06-09
From: William Douglas Shelter

To: Green Mountain House Hostel
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, nothing went bump in the night so I slept pretty well, though it did get colder then I anticipated and around one I had to layer up a bit. Back at the trail I had a small river to cross where the bridge was unusable. I tried my darndest to make it as difficult as possible before realizing there was a nice rock-step crossing about 15 feet from where I was attempting a tightrope walk on a log. I gave up on stubborn, went back to the bank and went across where the sane people do.  The trail was still quite muddy and wet but I was determined to keep my damp shoes from getting soaked before my short mile day was done so I wouldn¢t have to walk around town in squishy kicks. My determination mattered little to Dudley, who promptly slipped off a rock and dunked himself in a puddle. What a jerk. So I motored along and got to the road crossing at 8:30 with pancakes on my mind. Trying to improve my chances at getting a five mile hitch into Manchester Center, I ducked into the woods on the other side of the road and changed into my cleanest clothes so I would look my most fetching. Back up on the road I tossed out my thumb and waited.  To my everlasting surprise, after 15 minutes a guy in a Toyota Celica pulled over and asked if I needed a lift. I jumped into the front seat with my backpack in my lap so we wouldn¢t get killed by traffic on the side of the road. Turns out he¢s an event planner on his way to an author event at the cool independent bookstore in town which was about half a block from the restaurant I was headed to. Me and the Hungry Hiker special met and became fast friends, though the friendship was destined to be a short one as only one of us would leave the joint alive. I sat at the counter and watched the five ladies who worked there absolutely kick butt getting food out of a very busy kitchen. And they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. I went to the bookstore and spent 45 minutes browsing around. It was such a cool place and made me a little wistful that independent stores like this are a thing of the past. It¢s good I was hiking and won¢t carry extra weight, otherwise I could¢ve dropped some serious coin there. After picking up some chocolate milk and Gatorade and Arnold Palmer ice tea at a gas station, I went to the park and enjoyed the morning doing Spanish lessons while chugging liquids while my shoes dried in the grass. Being a bum with time on your hands has it¢s advantages. Then over the to Depot Street Burgers for today¢s main attraction - a burger and a beer. Both were excellent as were the French fries, but 1/4 mile walk back to the grocery store was interesting as I was so stuffed I felt like a parade float.  Quick resupply at the store for the next few days (peanut butter, tortillas, and protein bars) I called the hostel and got picked up 15 minutes later. This Hostel is really top notch. Huge living room/hiker lounge, free reign of the kitchen, super nice owner, free laundry and most of all - showers with water pressure!  After getting my food sorted out and getting cleaned up I did laundry and hung out. Two hikers who were at the Kid Gore shelter two nights ago were here (Cat and Trail Spice) along with Iceberg and Quiksilver. Quiksilver¢s wife arrived in the afternoon as she is going to hike the next three days with him. I went to dinner with the three of them, though I skipped ordering an entree and went with an appetizer, which to my hiker shame, I couldn¢t finish. Back at the hostel, Iceberg asked if I would be interested in slack packing 18 SOBO miles back to the hostel tomorrow - yup, in!  So we¢ll be leaving tomorrow at 6 am to get dropped off for the hike back. I¢m going to use a daypack with some light lunch, water bottles, and sundries.  Probably about 7 pounds l told. In related news, there is a pack scale here so I weighed my full kit with four days of food and two liters of water and it came in at 26 pounds, which isn¢t bad, but I still think I can cut some more weight when I get to Hanover and do a refit. Until tomorrow!