ElizabethClose

September 11-Sunday. It had rained quite a bit overnight so I hoped it was done. Packed up by 7 and met the shuttle from hikers welcome hostel. They took my pack back to glencliff and I headed south slack packing over Mousalauke. About 30 minutes up the mountain it started to rain, then to Pour, then lightening and thunder. I was soaked through and half blinded as my glasses fogged over and I didn't want to try to dry them until it stopped. I got 1.3 miles to the shelter and stopped in to wait an hour until the storm passed. Ginger tiger was there and we chatted while I munched most of my snacks. Dory and freebird were heading out at 10 after checking weather radar. I headed out right ahead of them and made it to the summit by 11:00. it was so windy and cold I just hurried past the signs and the people standing there for whatever reason. The wind kept knocking me off balance so no attempting a picture. About an hour later I was down the other side out of the wind and as I descended it became warmer and warmer until I was actually sweating the last mile or so. I forded the knee deep creek right before NH25 and walked to the hostel arriving around 3:30. Not bad for a 10 mile day with an hour rain delay. Jimbo(from Lafayette ), Caveman and Tune-up were at the hostel and we chatted a bit. We put in a group order for subs and I got a shower while they went to get them. The washing machine took a loooooong time to fill with water so I threw my stuff in with jimbo. I hung everything to dry on the line and it was windy enough they dried in about an hour. I got a chicken salad sub for tomorrow and a meatball sub for tonight YUM. Couple of the guys said I'll be in Hanover in 2.5-3 days. I had made plans to meet up with friend Suneetha on Saturday. I let her know it might be Wednesday. . It's a 90 minute drive for her so a weekday evening might not work out. If not I'll just resupply and keep going. Mile 398.9 Side note... Didn't even realize it was 9/11 until I checked Facebook at the hostel and saw all the posts. It really is extremely insulated from mainstream life out here.


September 12-Monday. Woke up at 3:30 to pee and couldn't get back to sleep so I went into the common area where wifi worked and checked REI for camelbak packs and fleece and boots. At 5:30 I went back to the bunkhouse and packed up as quietly as I could. Hiked out around 6. The terrain was very easy and I made 8 miles by noon I met Rabbit and Pocahontas and Firefly and a couple I can't remember their names. Feels so nice to see familiar faces!! Mt Cube was a never ending climb which felt so much harder after such an easy morning. Dory and freebird from beaver brook shelter caught up to me toward the end of the day And we chatted all the way to the hexacuba shelter. freebird is a biologist on commercial fishing boats and dory is a hockey-playing physical therapist. Very interesting ladies. Camped at Mile 413.5 - hiked 14.6 miles today.


September 13-Tuesday. Slept in until 6:30-unheard of!!! I was kinda rattled about breaking camp so late. I rushed through tear down and drank a pint of iced tea to wash down breakfast bars smeared with peanut butter. I got on trail by 7:30 and cranked through the day. The trail wasn't difficult, just long climbs and descents and not too much to look at. I passed iron butterfly( from daleville hotel , she needed the PC and I was hogging it) and Snow White and moonbeam( who I gave Imodium at a shelter outside duncannon) i got to the goose pond road and up .2 to the "brook" which was nothing but a series of puddles. Momo and smokey were tenting there so I went up trail a bit and set up. I filtered some water even though I have Moose mtn to climb in the morning- it's 5 miles to next reliable source. As I put my gear away, up the trail hiked Eagle Eye (whackadoodle who never removes his overly high beam headlamp) I tried not to make eye contact but he asked if there's water. I said yes and pointed. He asked about my hammock and I kept my answers monosyllabic and escaped under my rainfly. I didn't hear him hike on so I may have an unwanted neighbor tonight. I hope he didn't recognize me.... I'm at mile 428.4 - just about 15 miles today.


Sept 14-Wednesday. Up at 4:30 and ate breakfast and dressed in the dark. By 6 I was on trail hoping to make Hanover before the rain predicted at 2pm. Pretty quiet today. Didn't see anybody until noon. Stopped on moose south peak to switch from boots to sneakers because my Achilles was hurting a lot and the terrain was really smooth. I got to Hanover at 2:30pm with momo and smokey coming up right behind me. I started to check my phone map but a huge clap of thunder sent us scurrying for the first building. Happened to be the co-op grocery and thy had outdoor seating so we got food and sat watching the crazy downpour. One of the NOBOs I passed gave me a list of trail angels in Hanover who let hikers stay free so I texted one and got a bed 2 blocks from trailhead WooHoo!! Nice folks. Two dogs two cats two people. Stepped in cat poop when I went to wash clothes in basement. Bleaugh. I've got to figure out resupply to Rutland and maybe figure out the bus and go to mall to do some shopping. 16 miles hiked



Sept 15- zero in Hanover. Took a soaky bath in their huge tub. Shaved my legs for the first time in 5 months-YIKES!! Curious George didn't seem too motivated to get back on trail and Sean was working in the living room so I ate my baked potato from yesterday's co-op run, did some more laundry and went to JCPenney to get town clothes to wear for dinner with Suneetha, Naveen and Sarosh. The hair salon there didn't have an opening until hours later so I didn't get my hair cut but I found earrings, shirt, leggings and shoes on sale/ clearance - opened a penneys charge and got 20% more off my total. I love saving money! Got back to the house and Gretchen/Sean were gone but Curious George was napping on the couch. I'm not sure what to make of him. Most NOBOs are hot to be on trail and get finished by October. This guy has absolutely no sense of urgency. Odd. I did some more laundry, dressed in my new outfit, texted Gretchen to let her know I'd be back after dinner and walked to the restaurant. Dinner was lovely and it was great to see Suneetha and family. I miss her a lot. They dropped me off at the house around 7:30 and nobody was home so I tucked my leftovers into the fridge and went to bed. I'll have to wait until the post office opens so I can mail my outfit home but I'm excited to start Vermont tomorrow!!