August 17th, 2018, New Hampshire
For some reason I was wide awake at 2am this morning. We all had trouble with the hostel WiFi last night because too many people were using it. I thought I would take advantage of the hour and finish my work uploading my notes and pictures, which was nearly impossible in the evening. But the bunk room I was in didn’t have WiFi signal so I headed to the main building.
There was a dog who was so excited someone was awake. She ran in circles and wagged her tail—so happy to see someone up. She wasn’t allowed in the building and didn’t try to come in. But she hung out and watched me for a long time, hoping I would come back out.
I sat and used the slow but useable WiFi until nearly 5am then, finally getting tired again, went back to bed. I successfully uploaded everything but it was quite a slow process. Back in bed, I slept fo a few more hours.
I had repacked my box to be mailed forward to another town down the trail. Unfortunately, the tiny post office was only open for two hours a day starting at 12:00. The post office is actually attached to another building that looks like a residence.
While I waited I sat and talked with the other hikers and a guy called “Bag o’Tricks.” He had hiked the AT in 1972 and is a friend of the hostel owner. He drives up from Pennsylvania to hang out at the hostel from time to time. The owner wasn’t around for my stay but was coming back tomorrow after I depart. After chatting for a couple hours Tricks invited me to contact him when I reach Pennsylvania. He said he’d come meet me and any other SOBOs with me, show us around, and take us to get some food. I told him it sounded great and that i hoped to be in touch when I got close.
The weather report called for rain in the afternoon and overnight. I hoped to get out and set up before any heavy rain started. I headed over to the post office, got my box mailed out, and said goodbyes at the hostel. I hiked for a few miles and ran into Carrot Top, a hiker I met briefly in Maine. Carrot Top doesn’t have red hair, but that is another story…
He was hiking to a road today to meet his aunt and spend the night with her family. We hiked for several more miles together until I reached the campsite—just under 8 miles from the hostel. It hadn’t rained much so far but it was going on 4pm, with rain predicted for the late afternoon, and it was a good place to stop. Carrot Top continued on.
In this section of the trail I enjoyed the inconsistency in the size and shape of the trail markings. Before now, they have all been remarkably similar in style—about 2 inches wide by 8 inches high. This went on for a few miles before returning to more “normal” blazes again.
At the tent site I met a NOBO hiker called Rogue Cartographer (or RC) who is an actual map maker living in Rochester, NY. We had dinner together and shared stories of our experiences on the trail so far. He was looking forward to getting to the Whites. For now, I was happy to be finished and heading toward Vermont!
And finally, here is the Hikers Welcome Hostel.
