August 18th, 2018, New Hampshire
It was a rainy night as predicted. Because I had my hammock over a tent site with cleared, compacted ground, I noticed rain splashing up from the ground and hitting the side of the hammock. I had to get up during the night with my headlamp and make sure there wasn’t something else going on that might get everything soaked. I lowered my tarp a bit which helped but didn’t solve the splashing. I don’t have this problem when hanging over softer ground. I decided that I would try to avoid heavily used tent sites going forward. Places with sloped ground, roots, or rock (places not good for tents) usually haven’t been compacted and can still absorb water.
The rain stopped around 7:30am and I got started around 8:30. The major features on the trail today were Mt.Cube and Smarts Mountain. Both felt like reasonable climbs after the Whites, despite the wet and muddy trail.
The summit of Smarts Mountain had an interesting shelter that was the former fire warden’s cabin. The cabin is now a trail shelter but actually has four walls, windows, and a door. I stopped to get water near the cabin then continued on, hoping to get a few miles closer to Hanover before finishing for the day.
There was also an observation tower nearby but it was so cloudy it wasn’t worth going up.
Dartmouth University is in Hanover and the trail goes through the middle of town. Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) also maintains the trails in the area. The ladies I saw working on Mt. Moosilauke were members of the DOC. A NOBO also suggested I go to the DOC first when I get to Hanover because they allow hikers to store their packs there while in town.
On the way down from Smarts Mountain I noticed the landscape starting to subtly change again. Different plants are starting to appear. For the first time I noticed oak trees starting to populate the forest around the trail.
I also saw a small orange salamander or newt(?) making his way across a large granite outcropping. He was fascinating and looked out of place. I watched him for a few minutes and a couple of northbound hikers came toward me. I showed them the salamander and they said they had seen quite a few of them before. It was the first one I had seen.
Also, for the first time, I started to notice old stone walls and guessed there were old homesteads in this area. It seemed much more livable and potentially productive land than anything in the White Mountains. I also saw the foundation of an old building, sort of like a cellar, though it is hard to make out in the photo below.
There was also an unusual granite trail marker with both northbound and southbound mileage. However, upon checking my trail app, I noticed the mileage is no longer accurate. With changes to the trail it may change total mileage at any time, so permanent mile markers are probably not practical.
And here are some of the other interesting things I saw today.
