Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 34 – Hanging out in Hanover
29th August 2023
NH Route 120 (441.8) - Happy Hill Shelter (448.2)
Daily miles: 6.4
Total miles: 455.1
The rain fell gently for most of the night but we were sheltered by the trees so it wasn’t that bad. I had to get up at 3am to wee because I had drunk a whole chocolate milk and half a Vitamin Water right before bed. As I peed there were loads of worms wriggling around.
In the morning we had a bit of a lie in. There was no urgency to get up because co-op didn’t open until 8:30am. I had a couple of slugs on my tent and Cal had slugs crawling on his shoes – gross. I don’t know how people only use a tarp out here. I could not deal with waking up and having slugs on me!
Wet leaves on my tent
Protected from the slugs
I was very keen to get going to use the loo this morning. I almost didn’t make it. That whole tub of hummus and that chocolate milk were desperate to get out. Luckily for me most US stores have restrooms and I made a beeline straight to it.
We needed to do a bit of resupply. I felt massively overwhelmed and spent most of the time in there just staring at things; I couldn’t make a decision. Also everything in here is pretty expensive. Some shortbread I was looking at was $6! That’s a lot for shortbread. I ended up leaving with a chocolate milk, some flavoured liquorice and some overpriced Tony’s Chocolonely (but it is my absolute favourite), plus an egg and cheese muffin - because Cal got one and I when I saw it I decided I wanted one too. I didn’t really want it, but that’s my fault for not being able to make my own decisions! It was pretty gross, the muffin was soggy, the egg was rubbery and all the cheese had oozed out and attached itself to the tinfoil it was wrapped in.
I didn’t need much resupply anyway as I still had stuff left over, I haven’t done very well with getting it right so far!
Hanover feels very welcoming to hikers
These drawings have been put right on the trail which goes through a car park
I think they were done by a local school
Walking right next to Dartmouth college
We walked down into town, which is the official route of the AT. We went to CVS because we thought some of the food would be cheaper in there but it was actually more expensive than co-op – $6 for a bag of Doritos is daylight robbery! And Twix were $1.70.
I got a new toothpaste and some more Aleve. I wasn’t going to take so many painkillers this year, but my knees! I need them.
We popped into Lou’s bakery where they give you a free doughnut and sat on a bench to eat it and contemplate the rest of the day. We planned to go to the college dining hall for an all you can eat buffet as we had heard through the grapevine that it was good.
At 11am we went down the road to the pizza place to get a free slice of pizza and by the time I had eaten those things I was feeling pretty full!
Lou’s Bakery
Hikers get a free donut
Hikers also get a free slice of pizza
We walked down to the college dining hall and we were denied entry. I think it depends on who you have on the day but we were turned away. I think it was a good thing in the end because I wasn’t hungry enough for all you can eat. So we went back on ourselves and went to sit in Starbucks. Our priorities were outlets to charge stuff, WiFi and air conditioning because it was incredibly hot and humid outside.
We sat in there for a couple of hours, charged our battery packs and did internet stuff. I liberated some toilet paper from the bathroom. Starbucks was incredibly noisy and it was a lot to deal with. Around 2:15pm I said I was ready to get going and I wanted to get a deli sandwich to pack out for dinner so we stopped at Lou’s bakery again and got a sandwich to go. Now, I think $18 is a lot of money for a sandwich, and with tax it was $19.50 and I put the change in the tip jar so it was $20 for a Californian Club sandwich. Turkey, bacon, avocado, spinach and sriracha Mayo on sourdough. The exchange rate made it £15.62. FOR A SANDWICH!
Honestly I can’t believe I paid that much for a sandwich. It was made with nice ingredients. We’re not talking your chopped reformed wafer thin turkey. We’re talking prober turkey slices. We’re not talking your supermarket sourdough with lots of additives and preservatives. We’re talking your freshly baked in house sourdough bread. But none of this justifies FIFTEEN QUID on a sandwich!
It wasn’t anywhere near the quality of the Monson deli
Anyway.
We were going to pack it out but it came in this big to go box and we decided to just take it to the park and eat it there. So we didn’t start hiking until about 3:20pm which was later than I had planned in my head, but we also weren’t going that far. The reason we had hung back a bit today is to try and let Toe and May Queen catch up. Cal wants to hike with them and I hope I’m included in the plan but I’m never that sure and I’m too British to ask.
We walked out of town and it’s a road walk to the bridge over the Connecticut river where the border crossing into Vermont is. There was a whole bunch of construction going on on the bridge and it was a bit chaotic.
Then the road walk passes under the interstate and continues up to the town of Norwich – where there is nothing – bangs a left (not clearly marked) and then goes up a big hill on paved road. It was pretty tough going and not the nice easy cruise into town that I remember from last time – probably because this time it’s all uphill. I got a right sweat on!
A little road walk out of town
The New Hampshire / Vermont border is on the bridge
The Connecticut river
More road walking after the river
Under the Interstate
The trail then goes back into the forest and I was grateful for the tree cover because the sun was HOT, but it also meant the return of the mosquitoes which was a pain in the ass (and every other bit of skin). I already have 2 bites on my face and 2 on my neck plus the 50 that are on the backs of my knees and the 30 around the tops of my socks. There are also an unknown quantity on my shoulders and the backs of my arms.
I went to the stream, dunked my sweat rag in, squeezed it over my head, wiped my face, and slung it around my neck to keep myself cool and hiked as fast as I could over the next 3 miles to try and outrun the blood sucking bastards. It didn’t really work. I still got bitten a lot.
It was very very hot
The trail was quite nice though. Smooth trail, not so many rocks and roots, and very little mud, but I’m sure that will all change soon.
I saw a woman I met in Maine, she’s doing a weird hike which is NH and Maine NOBO then Vermont NOBO then the rest SOBO I think.
Some nice bits of forest trail
I still struggled on the uphills, and my right foot is giving me a lot of trouble. I fantasised about having my nice comfy sandals on today. I couldn’t have done the whites in sandals I don’t think, but this part could definitely be done in sandals.
My left foot is no bother at all but the right little toe joint is so painful. I’m pretty sure I’m altering how I walk too to compensate which will probably cause me problems down the line. Anyway. I made it to the shelter just before 6pm and it was nice to see it was empty. Cal arrived about 20 minutes later and we were a bit surprised that there were no NOBOs there, but it meant we could stay in the shelter as there was rain in the forecast tonight and no one wants to pack up a wet tent.
Happy Hill shelter
Only 6.4 miles today. I really need to pick up the pace and do more miles if I’m going to finish this trail in time for my flight home!
We chatted for a while and ate some snacks. I wasn’t hungry, the sandwich I ate before hiking out rose to the top of my throat a couple of times on the way here with my efforts to out-pace the mozzies. I was incredibly thirsty though and no doubt I will have to get up in the night again!
We had one NOBO come into camp, a guy with a massive pack who says it weighs around 42 pounds. He’s comfortable with it and that’s all that matters. His trail name is “Day Pack”. He was funny because he said he’s been seeing a lot of SOBOs who have the “you’ve no idea what’s ahead of you” attitude.
So it’s just Cal and I in the shelter, hopefully the blood sucking beasties stay away.
