Nauman Tent Site to Near Ethan Pond Shelter, 10 mi (AT 349)

August 12th, 2018, New Hampshire

It rained overnight and was still raining when we awoke. I didn’t get started until about 8am, slow partly from yesterday’s long hike and partly from today’s rain.

Then I noticed what must be the oldest trail marker I have seen. It is the old “AT” symbol and not a white blaze.

I hiked for about four hours and reached a main road where the trail crossed. There were a couple possible places to resupply food on this road, but several miles away. I was just thinking that I probably still had enough food but would need to time my hike tomorrow to get some soup for lunch from the next hut. As I approached the road two ladies were standing looking at the trail sign. They asked me if I knew where the AT went from here. They were clearly not hikers but I figured they were meeting someone. I showed them where it was and they told me they were setting up some “trail magic” and to come over. This was the first time I had come across trail magic and asked to take their picture. They had fresh fruit, sodas, snacks, and some other things hikers might want or need. I stayed with them for a little while—happy to finally have experienced the magic. Thank you, ladies!

Then, because when it rains it pours, there was more trail magic set up about 1/4 mile up the road, at the end of the parking area and just before entering the forest again.

After both rounds of trail magic I realized that I wouldn’t get quite as far today as I intended. But I was full and ready for the next section—a slow walk uphill from the road. I hiked a couple more hours and found a quiet place to “stealth camp” as it’s called. It’s usually a misnomer, as most of the “stealth” sites are literally right next to the trail—not very stealthy. Usually it just means an “unofficial” campsite. But I went a good ways off trail tonight because the ground was flat enough and the trees were not too dense in this little patch of forest.