Wednesday, July 20th

Stealth site near Winturri Shelter (1726.3 mile) to Norwich, VT (1750.6 mi)

Hiking Miles: 24.3

Total Ascent: 5,803.8 ft

Total Descent: 7,342.8 ft

Total Grade: 518.1 ft/mi

Steps: 57,530

EARTH, WIND & FIRE – September

Gator/Sunrise: I woke early after a fairly descent night’s sleep with my usual two or three pee breaks. I didn’t worry too much about what the trail was doing to my body, especially at this point, because I figured once we completed this adventure, I would thoroughly get checked out. Once again, I restarted my cadence of tapping Croc’s tent to let him know I was leaving, then headed off on trail with my headlamp on.

I could hear various creatures (especially the coyotes) this morning from within the wooded brush as I hiked down the clearing. Today would likely be our last one in Vermont and we hoped to find a grocery store in Hanover later tonight to resupply. We hadn’t booked a hotel for the evening, but it certainly crossed our minds to do so. All day I kept thinking that after tonight, it’s only New Hampshire and Maine, the most challenging (yet breathtaking) miles on trail.

The hike today felt really chill, much of it under tree cover however, and filled with many ascents and descents (more downs than ups) and a few straightways. I did hike the majority of the day alone, except for my music. I saw a variety of vegetation, two benches (having carved out messages) to sit and rest on, liquid trail magic, and three other northbound hikers that I passed.

By mid-afternoon, I exited the woods and hiked an open road (about a one mile stretch) through a small village. Being exposed to direct sun, it was scorching hot. I crossed a bridge that towered above a stream and small embankment where folks were swimming. One brave person jumped from the bridge into the water as I passed by. I wasn’t at all tempted to jump into the water to cool off, however I do remember craving ice cream and a cold drink. I was hoping desperately to find a store that was open, but unfortunately I had no luck.

Soon after re-entering the woods, I was immediately greeted by a healthy climb. Croc caught up with me around 3 pm and shortly after, we stopped to plan our evening. We noticed the Norwich Inn was conveniently located just off trail about 5 miles from where we currently were so we decided to give them a call. Fortunately they had rooms available so we booked an air-conditioned one and likewise secured a dinner reservation in their dining hall.

It felt good walking through Norwich knowing we finished a solid day of hiking and that we would be entering New Hampshire in the morning. We resupplied at a general store next to the Inn before checking into our room. Ahhh – air conditioning! We rehydrated, showered, made a few calls, then went to dinner. We sat out on their patio rather than inside the dining area since the evening was pleasant. We both ordered Fish & Chips and several glasses of fresh lemonade.

The Inn was quaint and it had an amazing front porch. I was so looking forward to having my morning coffee on it in the morning.

Croc: When I woke up this morning, I quickly packed up my gear and began hiking. I still felt a little weird about stealth camping and having hikers walk by me while I slept on a random plot of land in the woods. I had seen others do it hundreds of times, but it just felt strange to be the person doing it alone.

Today was definitely a hot one, but luckily it was mostly under the cover of the canopy. Although I would HIGHLY recommend to always use sunscreen, it was kind of amazing how little I needed it during the hike because of all the tree coverage. I think I only used it once in Virginia when it was still cold out, but the leaves weren’t yet full.

It was a welcoming surprise when I found a tub of cool trail magic sodas on the path. I gulped one down for a quick sugar rush and continued along. It is amazing to feel your body actively gain energy when you’re exhausted and consume a shot of sugar and calories. Off trail, I got so used to just eating when I was supposed to (breakfast, lunch, dinner) that I forgot what it feels like to actually “need” calories and what it feels like to actually re-energize your body. Also, it was a friendly sight to see the sodas were Hannaford branded (I don’t think I’ve seen Market Basket yet). So far on trail we’ve seen our collection of area-based grocery stores like Publix and Ingles, so it was nice to see that we were “home”.

I decided to listen to the Maxy playlist and vividly remember “The Kittyman” powering me through the day. I never realized that “The Kittyman” was from a TV series called “Trailer Park Boys,” but I’ve heard the show is entertaining.

Eventually, I came upon an easy road walk that allowed me to pick up my pace to catch Gator. Unfortunately, a road walk also brings direct sunlight and a hot gravel road, so I was soon hit hard with some blistering temperatures. I crossed a bridge where people were swimming in the water below and was very tempted to join them, but I also didn’t want to leave Gator alone. I was only about a mile away from him, and we still hadn’t made a plan for a hotel tonight.

When I did finally reached Gator about an hour later, we sat down on the side of the trail for some snacks and to plan out our night. We were hoping to hit Hanover, NH, and cross Vermont off our list, but ultimately decided on calling Norwich Inn (VT) to see if they had space. There were a few factors here. First, it was a mile closer than Hanover, and I was feeling it from the heat today. Second, it was right off the trail and had a grocery store next door. Who knows how far we’d need to travel if we got a hotel in Hanover and needed to Uber around. Lastly, Hanover was surprisingly way more expensive! It may have been because it was a college town, but it was the middle of summer vacation, and Norwich was very close anyways.

It worked out for the best because we strolled into Norwich just in time to resupply, relax in the AC, and grab dinner at the Inn. I don’t know why it took me this long, but I finally got herbs and spices from the store to add to my food bag. I had seen so many other hikers use spices to beef up their ramen, and I always thought it was just extra pointless weight until I tried it. The minimal extra weight was well worth it to have some variety in flavor, especially after eating the same thing for months. Of course, you could always throw spicy tuna into your ramen or BBQ potato chips in your mashed potatoes, but this was an easier solution.

From here, we sort of made plans for our next few days because I was hoping to see my college friends Sean and Jess for a one-day hike. But we also realized that New Hampshire was a different beast and that our plans could quickly change.

Overall, it was a much better day mentally by the time we went to bed. We were fully supplied and ready to hit NH tomorrow!