The completion of Mt Moosilauke marked the end of the Whites. With the Whites and southern Maine behind me, that meant I’ve completed one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, sections of the entire Appalachian Trail. I was so excited to have successfully done so and even more excited because getting out of the Whites meant I would see Brenna soon.
Brenna is my college roommate who is hiking the trail Northbound. She started in April and even before she began we were trying to figure out where we’d cross paths. Way back then I (very) roughly estimated that itd be in Hanover NH. It turns out my estimation wasn’t far off at all. We probably would have passed right around Hanover. However, Brenna, trail name Neon, had the brilliant idea that we should hike together for a few days. This meant one of us would have to skip a section of trail to come meet the other and hike in the opposite direction for a bit. Neon, being the braver and more experienced hiker, hitched from Rutland VT up to Warren NH with a fellow Northbounder, Surfer dude. Neon and I had texted about a couple road crossing we could potentially meet at but didn’t set a concrete place and time before I lost phone service after Moosilauke. So after moosilauke I knew I’d see Brenna soon but had no idea exactly where or when.
The day after Moosilauke I finally got phone service and received a text that neon had sent saying she was at one of the road crossings. It was five miles ahead of where I was but I had no idea if she was still there or had hiked on. I got so excited at the thought of seeing her that I sprint-hiked as fast as I could to the road crossing. At one point I did two miles in thirty to forty minutes rather than the usual hour so that shows the extent of my excitement. Unfortunately she was not at the road crossing when I got there. I figured she must have hiked on. At a road crossing further up I discovered a note she had left me saying she didn’t know where I was and the name of the shelter she was planning on staying that night–12 miles ahead of the shelter I was going to stay at! At this rate I’d never catch her! All day I passed northbounders who stopped me and asked “Sherpa?” and then passed on greetings from Neon and that she was looking for me. I felt like a celebrity with everyone knowing who I was. By the end of the day when I got the the shelter I’d planned to reach, I talked to a Northbounder who relayed Neon had cut her day short and stayed at a shelter only five miles ahead instead of twelve.
I went to bed excited knowing I’d catch Neon the next day. I got up early at 530 and was off by 630 to walk the five miles to her. Finally I got there and we had our much anticipated reunion. It was surreal but so great to see her in the middle of the woods in New Hampshire. I was, and am, so proud of her for coming so far and being so close to being finished with her hike.
It was great hiking and catching up with Brenna and she was kind enough to slow down her insanely fast pace to hike with me. We had a good couple of days and then hiked in Hanover NH. Unfortunately the day we walked the twelve miles into town it was the worst rain we walked in, downpouring most of the morning.
The entry of the trail into town was the strangest yet. Usually the trail passes by a road near a town and to actually get to a town you hitch a few miles down the road. Into Hanover though, the trail exits the woods right at the end of Dartmouth Colleges playing fields. Then the trail follows the road through the town of Hanover, right by the college and down sidewalks, passing shops and restaurants. I felt out of place with my big pack and hiking poles passing people on their way to work. I didn’t mind all that much though because getting to town meant an escape from the rain. I reunited with Neon, Cool Blue, Wolf Bird, and Shuffle in town and we spent the day doing errands and also getting a free bagel and free slice of pizza that stores give out to hikers. Score!
We went to go do our laundry and take showers at a rec center in town. One of my (and pretty much all hikers) favorite things about town is getting the chance to clean off and clean our clothes of days of dirt and sweat, so we were really looking forward to our showers and laundry. When we got to the rec center the woman at the desk told us it was too late to take showers and do laundry. It was 445 and the door said they close at 6. It didn’t seem that late to me and upon some inquiry the lady let me know they were closing early at five “because Sherry had to go home early”. Great. Now we couldn’t do laundry or shower for another four or five days. As annoying and disheartening as this was, I surprised myself with my ability to brush it off and not let it get me down.
That night the five of us were staying at a trail angels house. Dartmouth Outing Club provides a list of locals that are willing to host hikers overnight while they are in town. We called a few and found a place to stay pretty easily. Their house was actually right on the trail, as the trail continues on a road for another two miles or so through Hanover and into Norwich, Vermont (yay for crossing a second state border). The trail angels, a couple named Betsy and Bill, had asked us to come showered and with laundry done so we felt bad showing up dirty. However, they were so incredibly kind and welcoming I almost cried. They let us shower right away and do our smelly dirty laundry. They had luxurious air mattresses and REAL PILLOWS set up in the basement for us and even gave us unlimited bagels in the morning. Not to mention, they were interesting and had plenty of stories to share. Their son had thru hiked in 2007 and the reason they have opened their home to hikers for the past six years is because a kind family took their son in when he was hurt on his hike and asked them to pay it forward. They have certainly paid it forward more than enough, hosting hundreds of hikers over the years. I know I’ve said this before but I cannot get over the selfless kindness of others I’ve encountered on the trail. Betsy and Bill are just another example of this, making a tough day a thousand percent better and inspiring me to find my own way to pay it forward.