Date: 2012-07-06
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Velvet Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: clear sky

2012/7/6Velvet Rocks shelter7.3 tentI slept like a baby last night. I set my tent up on a bed of pine needles. It felt luxurious. It was just chilly enough to zip up my sleeping bag. I lay awake for a while, looking up at the slowly darkening sky and listening to the fireworks, undoubtedly postponed by the rain the night before. I've been walking through scenes of incredible beauty. I'm at a loss to describe them, but I really want to. There have been many open fields. Maybe for hay, maybe abandoned. There is a profusion of wild flowers blossoming. Everywhere are black eyed susans, lupine, and flowers that I can't name but which smell heavenly. The woods in between are the sort that are very open under tall evergreens, so that you can see a long way between the trunks. Every so often the trail dips down into a ravine carved out long ago by glaciers. The bones of the earth  stick out.  In the mornings while it is still cool and damp, complicated spiderwebs hang between branches, with a presumably tired but proud spider resting in the center. It's really something. This afternoon I'm in Hanover, my first real town stop. First order of business was picking up my mail drop from Mountain Goat Outfitters. I munched on the cookies Cody sent me while putting the food I sent myself into my pack. I went back in to the outfitter to buy four ounces of fuel (48 cents) and then walked several doors down to the bakery. I ate a chicken curry pastry and a Russian tea cake with some iced coffee while my phone charged. By the time I checked mail and read my messages, an hour had passed. I moved down another couple of doors for a slice of pizza and a coke. I talked to a father and son at the pizza place for a while, then got lost using their directions to the rec center. Fortunately my phone has GPS. After finding myself on the map, I trudged back uphill and made my way, for real this time, to the rec center. They have a great deal: five bucks for a shower and a load of laundry, towel and soaps provided. Right now I'm waiting for my clothes to dry. Then I'll change back out of my sarong and go next door to pick up some tortillas and raisins. That's all I need for resupply in addition to the box I sent myself. While waiting for the wash, I went through my gear and took out some extra items to put in the hiker box. I managed to get on the trail with two bottles of purell, about a dozen wet wipes, four lip balms, and three wall warts. That last is an expensive item so I'll keep carrying them. The hiker box now holds the extra ziplocks and other items that I felt okay about putting there. The lip balms will be thrown away. As usual my skin is suffering. Despite tape I have a blister under the callous on one big toe. After my shower I noticed that I have heat rash on both feet from the toes to the heels. I have hydrocortisone cream with me so I smeared some on and hoped for the best. As usual I also have heat rash along my bikini line. That can quickly become crippling. I sincerely hope for cooler temperatures soon so the rashes  can heal. I don't want to but I might end up taking a day off in my tent to heal my skin. What a nuisance that is. But cooler weather is in the forecast, and it is cooler up on the hills anyway. Then again I'm not sure how soon I go above treeline, nor how I'll handle it. I spent an hour or a little more in the sun today, and burned my shoulders through my SPF 50 shirt. Ah, the joys of fair skin. Not. The walk out to the shelter was probably representative of New Hampshire. Rocky.