Quechee, VT to Glenclif, NH 6/18/2009-6/21/2009

6/18/2009 - 10:00PM - Dartmouth College - 9.8 mi today - 1736.5 mi total

Woke up at 8:30 and had a wonderful breakfast. Kate came over and picked up Harley. I said a tearful goodbye. Called Rachel and she helped me calm down and focus on how awesome his journey was. He hiked almost 1500 miles! I'm going to miss that dog. Alex and Gervais dropped me off on the trail and I met Panama Red (Wes) coming out of the General Store in West Hartford. Glad to see a familiar face. I had not seen him since North Carolina, so it was good to catch up on all the funny trail stories. He had me laughing in no time. Stopped for lunch at Happy Hill Shelter. Panama pushed on ahead to Hanover. Sad to write my name in the logbook without Harley. Got moving again and got soaked in the rain. Weather report doesn't look good. Reached Hanover by 3 and called Kate, who was still in town. Went with her to pick up her car from the shop and said goodbye to Harley for the second time. Met Panama and went to a pizza place for a free slice of pizza and a beer. My friend Jeremy was in town and dropped by as well. Good to catch up with him. From there, we hit up the food co-op and the library. Afterwards went to Jeremy's friend's frat to crash. Stupid house dog stole some of my food and pooped all over the house. Gross. Still, I was glad to be warm and dry tonight. Weather report looks crappy for the next three days and maybe beyond that. Really want the rain to stop.

6/19/2009 - 9:50 PM - Moose Mountain Shelter - 11.0 mi today - 1747.5 mi total

Woke up at 7 and recapped the night with Panama. Aparently, I slept through a lot of noise. Had some pop-tarts and packed my bag. Stopped by the Bagel Basement for second breakfast. Perused the outfitters in town. Panama bought some new shoes, but I managed to avoid spending money. He hit the trail and I talked to home. Had a burrito for lunch and went to the library. Hit the trail under overcast skies, but stopped at Ben & Jerry's before leaving town. Some mud on the trail, but not as much as in Vermont. Cruised all afternoon and got to Moose Mtn at 7:45. Cooked dinner as it started to get dark. First night alone on the trail (no dog or people). Feels really wierd. Miss Harley a lot. He usually warms up my sleeping bag for me. Its the little things that I'll miss the most. Plan to catch up with Panama tomorrow so I have someone to talk to.

6/20/2009 - 8:15 PM - Hexacuba Shelter - 17.7 mi today - 1765.2 mi total

Was feeling pretty tired after a couple late nights, so I slept in until 7:30. Had breakfast and pumped water. Missed hanging out with Harley. Hit the trail at 8:45. Considering that they forecast rain for 4 straight days, today wasn't bad at all. No rain, but cloudy and humid all day. Cruised along to Holts Ledge where peregrine falcons are nesting. Didn't see any, but had a nice view. Bypassed Trapper John Shelter and pushed forward toward Smarts Mountain. Got really hungry during the final ascent to Firewarden's Cabin. Had lunch on the Fire Tower at 3:00. Another nice view, but White Mtns were shrouded in clouds. Pretty easy hike to Hexacuba Shelter. Interesting hexagon design (and pentagon shaped privy). Met two section hikers that just finished grad school in Boston. Nice girls and watching them try to set up their tent in the shelter was entertaining. One pole is broken, so they tied it to the roof of the shelter. Hitting the sack early. Wonder if I'll see Panama tomorrow at the hostel in Glenclif. Hope I can avoid the rain.

6/21/2009 - 7:00 PM - Hikers Welcome Hostel - 14.6 mi today - 1779.8 mi total

Woke up at 7:00 and ate my pop-tarts. Rain held off overnight, but the trail was slick from dew. Today is the first day of summer, which in the hiking world is hike naked day. Many thru-hikers from previous years have warned me about today, always saying "You can't say you don't like something until you try it." One of the five goals I laid down for myself at the beginning of this hike was "seek out adventure," so i decided to give it a whirl. Wearing copious amounts of bugspray, I climbed Mt Cube and took a video (that will not be posted to youtube!). After about an hour, it started to rain, so I donned my rain gear and plodded on. Guess I can check that one off my lifelist. Had lunch at Ore Hill shelter around noon. The clouds started to clear and the sun came out to play finally. Pretty easy walk from there to Glenclif, though the bugs were out. Got to the Hikers Welcome Hostel around 3:30. Caught the end of the USA-Egypt soccer game. USA advanced! Woohoo. After that, I grabbed a shower and threw my laundry in the machine. I was walking around in a towel while waiting for the laundry to finish, and the hostel owner gave me a hard time saying "You young bucks don't have decency in town." I thought "good thing you didn't see me earlier today, buddy!" Called home and then organized my mail drop. Donated Harley's food to the hiker box. I hope that another trail dog gets to enjoy it. Cooked dinner and chatted with the other hikers here. Nice relaxing day. Tomorrow I will stop by the post office before entering the White Mountains. It begins with Moosilauke tomorrow. Hope that it doesn't rain too much over the next week.