Date: 2004-08-28
To: Rest Day, Sort Of
Miles today: 0.0

Early this Saturday morning, I hitched a ride from my motel in Hanover, NH to nearby West Lebanon, NH, or "West Leb" as the local people call it. From there, I walked over a bridge spanning The Connecticut River and entered White River Junction, Vermont.In that town, I visited a supermarket and purchased some of my food supplies for The White Mountains.I asked a clerk at a neighboring pharmacy for directions to the Post Office. An elderly woman overheard the conversation and offered me a ride. I accepted her offer.In her pickup truck, the woman said that she wanted to give me something, but said that she first needed to obtain some information from me. She asked me if I was a born again Christian. I told her that I was a Catholic. She said that my answer was not good enough, and that I had to be born again to get whatever it was that she wanted to give to me. Then she asked me if Jesus Christ was my personal savior. I said yes. This reply satisfied her. She reached into her purse and handed to me a pamphlet that contained a message about freedom in America and freedom from hell thanks to Jesus Christ. After that, she drove me back to the supermarket and we said our goodbyes.I hitched to a mall where I visited an outdoor outfitter. There, I purchased a stuff sack to hold my down sleeping bag and my light summer bag. I will use the summer bag as quilt to cover the down bag. I recalled how cold I had been when using the down bag early in the journey. I expect the temperatures at night to become cold as I camp in higher elevations.The next ride I hitched was from an elderly man, a veteran of the Iwo Jima battle during World War II. His conversation became rambling and so was his driving. At some point, I sensed that this ride was taking too long, but figured that he was taking some back roads. He let me off at a juncture of roads that was further away from my motel than when he picked me up.I hitched another ride from a medical school student who took me into the center of Hanover. There, I revisited The Dartmouth Outing Club to check my email. I met Gather in the building and we chatted for a while. He was heading back on the trail.On South Main Street, I ran into Carp, the middle aged thru hiker from Australia, and Baltimore Jack, a former thru hiker and resident of this town. I had met Baltimore Jack a few months ago back in Hot Springs, North Carolina. In my logistical planning during this journey, I have used some ideas that he has published on the internet. I thanked him for the assistance that these ideas have provided me with.Carp and I visited a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop and asked the clerk for a white blaze. This shop has a tradition of serving thru hikers a free serving of ice cream called a white blaze, named after the white paint markings that guide hikers. Alas, the tradition has ended. The clerk told us that the store no longer gives free ice cream to hikers.I hitched a final ride back to the motel. I washed my knees upon which a dense collection of insect bites has refused to go away. The bites have morphed into zits. The condition has lingered due to a combination of dirt and sweat that affects the knees each day on the trail.Tomorrow, the hike resumes. The weather forecast for that day calls for possible showers and more hot and muggy weather. Oh no.