New Hampshire

5.29. Hiked to the first shelter out of Hanover last night and shared it with two local hikers, Barbara Ricker from North Conway, NH and Tom Martin from the Boston area. They are both long-term backpackers and very knowledgeable about trail conditions and customs in the area.

The next morning, I left the shelter ahead of Tom, because he wanted to stay and chat with the other two. I had an important phone call to make and I could see that the trail crossed two roads within the next 5-7 miles and I assumed there would be a store with a pay phone nearby one of the trail crossings . I was so sure of it that I didn't even tell Tom I was going to stop; I thought, worse-case we will meet at the shelter for the night.

Bad assumption. There was a general store within a mile of the first crossing, but no pay-phone. I walked back to the trail and hiked two miles to the next road, but it was the same road; it simply wound around and met-up again with the A.T. Frustrated, I flagged a passing car and asked if there was a pay-phone in either direction.

"No," the driver said; there is not a pay-phone between here and Hanover, but get in, I will take you there."

I jumped in the car and a few minutes later, found myself back in Hanover at the Public Library (the driver's suggestion, because he said they had both a pay-phone and Internet access).

I made my phone call, checked email again and walked back to Main street to hitch back to the trail. By that time, I assumed Tom had passed me and I had taken so much time to hitch in and out of town, I assumed I might not catch him before dark, which meant I would stop at the next shelter, and not make it to our planned destination, which was the shelter after that.

I hitched back to the trail, and as I was getting out of the truck, a car was pulling away from the parking lot. I looked at the people in the car; they stared back at me, and screeched to a stop. It was Tom and Barbara, my shelter mates from last night! They had hiked back to their car and were driving away. Incredible timing. I told them about my dilemma, which was that I would probably not catch Tom and they volunteered to drive me ahead to the next trail crossing where I could walk back and meet him. I accepted and I yellow-blazed a few miles and I was waiting on Tom when he walked in. Barbara and Tom Martin later drove back to the same crossing, hiked in to the shelter and joined us for the night. A confusing day turned out perfect for me.

5.31. I don't remember if I mentioned this, but a couple of days ago, when I stopped in Hanover to pick up mail, we met a nice man on the Post Office steps. He recognized our hiking gear and stopped to ask about our trail experiences. We chatted for a few minutes and David Coker then invited is to stop at his house in a couple of days. David lives nearby the trail and volunteered to meet us, and take us to his house where we could wash our bodies and our clothes. Another Trail Angel! We agreed to meet him in the parking lot at 11:00 A.M., two days hence.

We were sauntering down the trail at 10:50 that morning when we looked up and saw David approaching on foot. He had walked out to meet us. He drove his back to his house (a very nice ranch property with stables, barns, horses, the whole deal) and we met his wife, Helene who escorted us inside where there was a wonderful lunch set-up for us. Too much! We showered; we washed clothes, we ate, and best of all, we visited with David and Helene all afternoon. It was the best, most relaxing time I have spent in two months. Very nice people and very gracious hosts.

Later that afternoon, they drove us back to the trail, stopping on the way for ice-cream, which topped off a beautiful day.

But the day was not over. We hiked to the next stop, the "Hiker's Welcome Hostel," and spent the night. More food. It was Memorial Day and the owners were BBQ'ing chicken and vegetables. They loaned us a car and we drove to a convenience store, bought more chicken, and added it to the fire. A day of good surprises.

The next morning, a resident hiker, trail name Lion King, drove us to the "Garlic Clove" for breakfast. It was the most impressive breakfast I have ever, ever eaten. You would have to see it to believe it. The quality and the quantity of food was unmatched by anything I have experienced.

Lion King is a friend of the hostel owner and he is staying there while he finishes a filmed documentary of his A.T. thru-hike. He previewed parts of the film for us and it is quite good. He said it had been optioned to a producer, but no commitment to publish yet.

Fast forward. The next few days ran together in my memory as we trudged over the early White Mountains. We crossed Mount Moosilauke in 34 degree weather with icicles hanging off the runty above tree-line trees. The descent from Moosilauke was the worst for me. In the 62 days leading up to Moosilauke, I fell twice. I fell three times descending Moosilauke, twice falling on my trekking poles and bending them like pretzels.

That was just a warm-up for the next day and the twin peaks of Kinsman Mountain. Another steep descent in three separate hail storms, interspersed with rain. When I finally walked off the trail that night, I was a happy camper to be in Lincoln, NH and to know that I would sleep in a dry bed that night.

Tom did not have a trail name and I had been suggesting various names for him, but nothing clicked until we got to Moosilauke (4,900 ft) and we were walking in the clouds. I remembered that he has climbed all of the 46 peaks above 4,000 ft in New Hampshire--or was it Massachusetts--or was it the White Mountains? Whatever, it is an admirable feat, and I named him Cloudwalker. He likes it. I do too. I suppose that would make me Cloudcrawler .

Tom and I agreed to split the next morning. He has a tight schedule and I was slowing him down. I really enjoyed my time with him and I'm sure we will stay in touch. After he left, I found the Cascade Lodge, an inexpensive B&B ($19 a night) popular with hikers in North Woodstock, NH where I remain writing this on Saturday, June 5th, an historic day, I hope, for Smarty Jones. My fingers are crossed.

I'm sending this from the Cascade Coffee House, a neat coffee bistro across the street from my B&B. Internet service is free. Check it out: http://www.cascadecoffeehouse.com

I'm outta here in the morning.