Chris’s phone went kaput but he’ll have a new one shortly! Then he can update y’all on his thoughts and feelings and experiences ?
It Could Be Worse and in a Worse Place
Before proceeding I must preface this post with …
Everything is OK. I’m doing fine. This isn’t a show stopper.
The morning after Smarts Mountain and the firetower, while trucking along a quartzite ridge, I rolled my ankle and went down. It hurt like hell. But, it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t make it another 25 miles and two more days to the next town. And here I still am, in Hanover, NH and at the Dartmouth dining hall. I’ll take one more zero and reevaluate. It feels alright, really. But I’m glad I am where I am. What is an adventure without the unexpected?
This town is incredibly hospitable to hikers. David, a trail angel and Dartmouth professor, gave us a ride to Lebanon for errands, students at Dartmouth perform trail magic and supply hikers with their extra dining passes (all you can eat, too!), several angels offer rooms to hikers for free, and the trail itself passes through Main Street. It couldn’t be a better situation to take a couple of days to heal.
A HUGE thank you to David for the rides and town history, Jennie Anderson of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church for the bunks, and all the students at Dartmouth who have made us feel so welcomed. And thanks for Jennie’s dog for knowing how to hang out with coffee-drinking hikers.
Thoughts
Today we feasted on all-you-can-eat cafeteria food at Dartmouth College. This isn’t any ordinary cafeteria food though, it’s Ivy League cafeteria food. Y’all, they have nitro brew coffee and a whole vegetarian selection and a guy who makes fresh stir fry with toppings of your choice. Plus amazing baked goods and an ice cream bar and peach basil infused water. They had everything a hungry thru-hiker could want. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much in one sitting!
Tonight we’re camping in the woods next to their soccer field. Chris has a sprained ankle so we’ll be spending the weekend here. It’s strange being in a college town (much less an Ivy League college town) while in the midst of this life altering journey I’m on. I find myself simultaneously feeling so old yet still so young. Trying to figure out what’s next without getting caught up in the what-ifs. What if I had taken college more seriously when I was younger? What if I didn’t have student loan debt with nothing to show for it? What if I never figure out what to do after this hike?
I don’t need to worry about any of that right now. But today the thoughts crept in over dinner as the dining hall filled up with teenagers just starting their adult lives. I wonder if I’ll ever figure out what’s next. Or can I just find a way to continue this new, simpler way of life that I’ve fallen completely in love with? That would be nice.
-Kylie
Camping in a Fire Tower.
We got to the top of smarts mountain early enough to beat the other hikers to the best view we will have for a while. There is exactly enough length and width for two of us to sleep comfortably. And the moon is full tonight!!
Last Big Mountain
We’ve officially crossed Moosilauke and climbed all of the peaks on the left side this picture. If you look closely, Mt. Washington is the peak in the clouds way, way back there…
I haven’t listened to music in over a month. Earlier in the day, I put in my ear buds for the long climb up Moosilauke and I teared up! When you aren’t overly stimulated by constant media, music regains it’s intensity and beauty. I haven’t felt this overwhelmed since Katahdin. And Led Zeppelin never sounded so good. It’s all down hill from here… For a while at least, as this is the last “real” mountain for a long while, and the last alpine zone until the southeast. We cross 400 miles tomorrow.
Franconia Ridge
We slowed down to wait for clearer weather and it worked. We had to take 2 low-mileage days to make our ridge hike coincide with a somewhat favorable forecast. I’m so glad we didn’t miss clear views on this last alpine ridge.
The Whites: Bye Washington
The day isn’t yet over and we’ve climbed these and come this far…(Washington is the tall white peak back there)
Mount Washington and such
This is the second section of the presidential for us and I must say the going is easier than I thought it would be. The terrain was either overstated by NOBO hikers who are used to gentle tread, or rocky old Maine beat us down and made us earn our trail legs. Either way, we planned a section a bit too easy for our ability, so we’ve had some free time.Chili dogs and pizza in the Mount Washington cafeteria acquainted us with the normal world once again. Drive-up tourists remind us of how dirty we smell and unusual we look and behave. Last night we were too early to the Madison hut to earn a work-for-stay, but tonight were fortunate. We’ll receive AYCE leftovers and a spot on the dining room floor to sleep in exchange for chores. It’s a good deal to not have to push another 4-5 miles to a tent site and eat my own food.
Hello New Hampshire
