Day 36 - Monday, July 18

Linda

As it was only 15.5 mostly level miles into Hanover, we splurged and slept until 7:00. Started hiking at 8:00 and got our steepest climb over Holt's Ledges out of the way. The trail followed ski trails part of the way, so it was wide and grassy in those areas. The view from the ledges was partially obscured through the haze, but we were used to that by now, so took it in stride. The trail down was my kind of descent - nice grade, wide, not many rocks and no roots to slide off of or trip over. That's usually my downfall (literally). We filled up with water at the bottom, as water would be scarce after that. We were beginning to go through a lot of farmland, so we were walking through many fields and meadows between the wooded areas. It was beautiful - lots of clover and daisies. The big mountains to the north are spectacular, but I'll be glad to leave them for a while, and trade them for the green, rolling hills of Vermont.

We tried to find a DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club) cabin we had heard about to eat lunch, but didn't see it, so we ate along the trail. After a 4 mile section which skirts around Moose Mountain and climbs a little, the trail was mostly level or downhill. We walked a mile and a half on a paved road before Velvet Rocks, the last climb for the day. What a waste of time! The road we were on runs right into Hanover, but the trail dragged us off over a little rocky up and down roller coaster ride with absolutely no view of anything (except blueberries), then spit us back out on the same road. Oh, well, if there's a hill anywhere, the AT will look for a way to get you up and over it, just because it's there.

We arrived in Hanover around 3:30 and made our way to Foley House, a frat house at Dartmouth College that was known as a prime place for hikers. The bedrooms were already filled with hikers, but they said we could sleep in the living room downstairs. That was fine by us. We discovered they had a great shower - a huge tiled one almost large enough to have a party in, and being a frat house, they probably did from time to time. It was heavenly!

Ronald and Mike walked over to the Post Office to get the mail. In addition to the mail, there was a notice of a UPS package for us in Lebanon, a town 7 miles away. We called, but they had already sent it back, and we have no idea who sent it, or what it was. Oh, well. Mom sent us a 5 pound summer sausage. Looks great - just hope I can fit it in my pack and still walk. We'll probably have to eat most of it before we go on.

After Ronald and Mike showered, we went to dinner at the famed Thayer Hall. This is another favorite place with through hikers, and we'd been hearing about it for three weeks. It's all-you-can-eat for $3.75, and they have almost everything under the sun, including frozen yogurt. We ate so much we made ourselves sick, Ronald especially. He sort of worries me - he's lost too much weight and looks almost gaunt.

After dinner we rolled over to the DOC Headquarters and talked to some guys on the trail crew. Got some good information and heard some local ghost stories about Doc Benton, the black-capped terror of Moosilauke Mountain. Apparently some strange things have happened up there in the past 200 years. I know it's just local legend, but it still gives me the shivers. I'm sure glad I didn't know about these stories while we were on Moosilauke, or I would have been constantly looking over my shoulder for capped phantoms.

After we left the DOC, we strolled around town for a while with the idea of looking in some of the many little shops. Hardly anything was open, even though it was still early evening. This town seems to roll up its streets at 5:00, which we thought was odd for a college town. Maybe all the college students are partying over at Foley House, so the merchants figure it's not worth staying open. We did manage to find a small store to buy laundry detergent, then I went over to one of the dorms to wash clothes. We're lucky that Dartmouth College is here - it makes things a little less expensive.

I called and talked to Mom and Dad while waiting for the laundry to dry. They sounded good, but for some reason, they didn't think I was as enthusiastic as usual. Hope I didn't worry them. I also talked to Becky and Len. They seemed very glad to hear from us. They're still busy with the house renovation. Must be coming along nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product. They're still on their diets, but Becky nearly had a fit when she found out how much weight we'd lost. Gives her some new incentive. We had been sending our film home to be developed and Len said the slides were turning out beautifully. He suggested we should try to put together a presentation together when we get back. Wish we could see them, too. By the time I got back to Foley House with the laundry, Ronald was feeling better. He'd talked with his parents, and our new lightweight sleeping bags haven't come yet. We'll hope to have them in Cheshire. We slept in the living room right next to the kitchen, which was very well equipped, and in this busy house, also subject to a lot of nocturnal activity.

Ron

Made the last few miles into Hanover, New Hampshire today. Tonight we are staying at Foley House a fraternity house on the Dartmouth campus. It is a big house and there is no charge. We had supper at the famed Thayer Hall. As usual I ate too much and had an Alka-Seltzer for dessert. The walking today was over pretty easy terrain with only a few moderate climbs. We managed to maintain a better than 2 mph pace. We are hoping that this kind of walking will hold for a while. Maybe then we can make up for a few days of lost time. At the moment we are around five days behind our original schedule.

I got on a scale today for the first time since starting the trail. I have lost twenty five pounds and have no fat left. If I loose any more weight it could be dangerous. Our feet are pretty sore from the road walking of the last few days. We hope we get through all of the roads with out any blisters. Mike is still with us, but we hope we can split up shortly. He is okay, but he's been hiking with us for since Monson and that's a lot. We have been trying to find a polite way to break company for a while. We just haven't found a good way.

It seems strange to have covered fifty miles in the last three days after all the slow days in Maine. I enjoy the faster pace. It makes me feel like we're getting somewhere. Unfortunately, it looks like we are trading off good mountains for miles. Too bad we can't have both. Tomorrow we will either contact some of my relatives in Vermont or press on for some extra miles. We shall see.

(15.5 Miles - 435.5 Miles)