Hanover, NH

Yes, Betsy, I stayed at the Green Mountain Hostel, and it was great. Jeff still gives you a pint of Ben and Jerry's with each stay. It really is a treat in that neck of the woods considering that everything else is so spendy and he only charges 20 bucks for all the amenities.

Leaving Manchester Center, VT, I hiked with some buddies and met up with other buddies at the top of Bromley Mountain where there is a ski patrol shelter room which is rather swank for hiker digs. Darvey had slept there the night before and upon arriving we were greeted with his homeade sign that read, "Darvey's Hostile Inn." So many of us are overlapping on each other. Many of us met as far back as the Smokies. I finally saw Hazard again. He's one of my favorite kids on this trail. This end of the trip feels like a partial reunion most of the time. This turned out to be a perfect place for us all to hang out after a nero. The digs improved even more when Darvey discovered an alpine slide that led to a bar about a half mile down the hill. We had a blast at the Bromley Resort and then took a lift back up.

Here's the thing about the alpine slide. You shouldn't attempt to stop your slide by leaning into the fiberglass walls. If you do this you will take off quite a big chunk of skin. I know this because I have a skinless right knee. It looks like a bad skating accident, so I've been telling people I did it on the halfpipe.

The next day, brought crappy weather, but it doesn't change the fact that Vermont is BEAUTIFUL. I love it. There is some mud, but the pine forests and the lush green foliage make up for it all. We all ended up at Little Rock Pond Shelter that night, and I was so happy to be reunited with another member of Cayenne's Trail of Wayward boys: Maniac. These days the hiking crew has swollen and earned a new name: Terra Squad, coined by Drum Solo, a kid with swagger beyond his years.

I hiked into Rutland the next day, and bunked at the Back Home Again Hostel run by the 12 tribes. Now anyone that knows me, knows I'm fascinated by culty fringe religions and I love communes, so I ended up staying for 3 days. We did a slack pack between VT103 and Route 4 on one of the days and saw gorgeous views from Killington Mountain. We watched Harry Potter on the 3rd night and took up a whole row: Stanley Thermos, Hazard, Cayenne, Maniac, Trauma, Book Smarts, Darvey, and Drum Solo. Hiker Trash rolling deep. Drum bought a large popcorn and soda which we proceeded to pass down the row over and over again and then refill. Hee hee hee.

We finally walked out of Rutland and headed to the Lookout where there is a cabin that has a beautiful panoramic view from the top. It would have been perfect if it didn't storm that night and force everyone to huddle in a one area where there were actually shingles on the roof.

I've been waiting to tell ya'll this. Here comes my favorite update of the blog: I jumped off a bridge. Yeah! We hiked into West Hartford, VT and after a 19 mile day,  I jumped. The boys were so proud of me when I just went for it after Hazard. In the end, Hazard, Darvey, and I were the only ones with the guts to do it. It was invigorating. That night we tented in town at a very nice man's house.

Which brings me to Hanover, NEW HAMPSHIRE! Yes. This is the last real town for awhile so we're soaking it up. We arrived here yesterday and walked around like it was Halloween collecting all the free stuff they give thru-hikers. Free slice of pizza, free coffee, free beer, free snickers. I even finagled a free pair of shoes. Hanover is better than reported. Bring on the Whites!