I'm in New Hampshire!
I've actually been in the Granite State for about 30 hours now. As always, there is a certain rush of energy and excitement that comes with being in a new state. But it seems even more so with this one. All of the states before, they sort of ran into each other naturally. The end of New Jersey was pretty similar to the start of New York, then New York and Connecticut, then Connecticut and Massachusetts, and so on. But now I'm at the start of the Whites. Mount Moosilauke is a mere 30 miles away, and I know that it and the mountains that follow it will be unlike any I have done yet.
If you just look at the first 15 miles of New Hampshire, they are similar to Vermont. Small, steep hills. And a totally cool town! The Norwich/Hanover town combo might have been the best trail towns yet. They're super funky, with all types of people living and working there. They're also a lot of fun. And, most importantly, they're friendly! I was amazed; upon entering Norwich, I came across 4 houses with trail magic on the road walk. There's an official list of trail angels too, which directs you to the kind folks who will let you crash at their house! In this town, thru-hikers might as well be rock stars.
I didn't end up staying at a trail angel's place, though. My friend MoJo got a hotel and let me take the second bed. Score! It was nice to be centrally located. We (me MoJo and Tate) ate at several places (my favorite was Lou's Diner), and just explored the town, which owes a lot of its character to Dartmouth College. Being in a college setting for the first time in months was quite the trip! Dartmouth has a sweet green, and me and Tate got some good frisbee tossing in.
Today was back to the trail, but not before sleeping in and waiting out the rain. I stopped at the Co-op for resupply, which had a remarkable selection. I took a chance on another peanut butter replacement (did I mention I'm sick of PB?). Unfortunately, sesame tahini is not what I expected. Oh well, live and learn. Hopefully the strange taste of tahini will be offset by the mountain views.
Live free or die!
-Scribbles (aka Ted)
8:44 p.m. 7/8/2015
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