Date: 2002-09-11
From: Maine

To: GA
Miles today: 8.0

Wednesday September 11, 2002WE WILL NEVER FORGET THOSE WHO DIED ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR, God Bless AmericaHave about 8 miles onto Hanover. Woke up at 6. On the trail 6:45 some lady that I met on the trail had her dog and said it was going to storm last night and it didn¢t and this morning it looks like the sun is going to shine. Day 36. Kevin hitched into town and got few burgers somewhere and still caught up to me. He camped next to me last night. Kevin has hiked the trail before so he knows Hanover and will stick with him today and find out where things are. Fairly good-sized town, that is where Dartmouth College is located. So I am going to try and stay at the Dorm, at the Frathouse. Just came out of the woods and then there is a prairie and hills in the background and white cottage houses with white fences around them. Just beautiful country. Some of the trees are red and the old houses in the backdrop are gorgeous. Here you can see where someone tented on the prairie and you can smell the prairie, sweet grass smell. Just a narrow path through here and it¢s about shoulder high, reminds me when I was a kid in Owasa and we used to go down the old swimming hole at the creek. We had path through this prairie and it kind of wound around and was about as high as our heads. There was a rock there where the creek had washed past the rock and made hole and there was a hole about 6 or 8 feet in diameter up to our waist. Of course we weren¢t supposed to go there because of the fear of Polio, and back then they thought you got polio from river water. WE would sneak down there every day and Mom would ask us, now you didn¢t go down to the creek did you and we would say oh no. But there were leeches in the creek then you would have to pick them off and the blood would just squirt out. I remember we were going to take Harry down there to teach him how to swim. He was scared of the water, and it was me and Scott Belcom I think and we threw him in and he was spattering and sputtering and I wished we had never done that because I am sure it scared the daylights out of him. Poor kid, I don¢t think I treated him very good as a big brother. I told Jack that one time when I was working with him. I told him I didn¢t think I treated them all very good growing up and he said Oh No you treated us good, so he remembers it differently than I do. Met 2 south bounders: !raindoog from PA and eltorro from Michigan.   Met Hilltop from Pella, Iowa, and a gal from Greene, Iowa heading north. I am at the Panarky Fraternity house. They let hikers stay in the basement. Right now just waiting for hot shower upstairs. Then going to head to Laundromat and then to Walmart for supplies. Took the bus from Hanover to Walmart. Got tape and supplies, candy bars, pop tarts, hot chocolate and pita bread and peanut butter. Sitting in Laundromat and Kevin and I threw our laundry in together then we head over to Penny¢s to catch the bus back to Hanover again. I am kind of Hungry, but feeling hungry all the time you know. Came 8.5 miles into Hanover. My food bag is overflowing. Kevin and I are at a restaurant called anything but Anchovies where you can eat Lasagna. Rode the transit bus around Lebanon and Hanover.   Just went by the Green Square in Hanover and they are playing the bagpipes, they have luminaries for the same amount of people that were killed on 9-11, Wish I had my camera with me. Sniffle and Hilltopper have their dog along. Sniffles is from Greene, Iowa and Hilltopper is form Pella, Iowa and they got married in 2000, got married in Waterloo. Forgot to mention that I rained most of way into Hanover today but the trees were so dense that until we got to the meadow we really didn¢t notice it. I think I have 443 miles total.   Temperature went down about 40 degrees from what it had been is what the bus driver said. Just met Real from Manchester by the sea.