#197 Hanover New Hampshire & Hanover Adventure Tours & Hostel
Lying alone in the large bunk room...my mind wanders up and down the trail, replaying some of the highlights and hardships, replaying conversations, replaying things I've learned.
May 17, 2023 (Becky’s 29th Birthday…again!)
I don’t make it home in time for her birthday, but I do make it off the trail.
THE TOWN OF HANOVER NH
After a celebratory moment on Ledyard Free Bridge, at the VT/NH boarder, where this year’s hike officially ended, I walk into Hanover.
The Appalachian Trail runs directly through town, so I follow it to the main drag in search of big portions of food.
The white blazed telephone poles lead me up Wheelock St. to Dartmouth College, into a bustling intersection, where I turn right and walk down S. Main St. looking for a restaurant that might have large high-quality cheeseburgers.
Molly’s Restaurant looks like a good fit for a hungry hiker. Seated inside is a mix of business-suited professionals, casually dressed collage kids, and touristy-looking tourists.
A lady walks over to seat me. I warn her of my foul-smelling physical disposition as she approaches then ask if she will seat me off to the side of the crowd near an electrical outlet.
My backpack and I make our way through the crowded restaurant successfully without bumping into a single soul.
She finds a perfect spot in the corner, where a long bar runs across the front window, next to an outlet.
I order a drink, a giant fully-loaded cheeseburger with fries, and an extra pile of fries.
I watch the people outside pass by the window on their way to wherever it is they’re rushing off to while I relax and devour my victory meal.Â
Now that my belly and phone battery are both three quarters full, I need to top one of them off with coffee and pastries. I grab my pack and meander down the street until bumping into My Brigadeiro, a coffee and pastry haven where I sip strong black large coffee and eat several colorful sweet treats.
My two-day train trip home begins tomorrow morning, so I need to pick up a few things before going to the hostel tonight. I go inside the CVS down the road to pick up a set of electric trimmers for my face and head - man do I look rough. I grab some odds and ends to munch on while on the train and for my over-night layover inside Washington D.C.s Union Sation.
I run into a Blue Moon from last night’s shelter in the candy aisle. She is staying a couple of nights with a friend of a friend who sometimes takes in hikers.
The hostel driver from Hanover Adventure Tours & Hostel picks me up around 4pm. I toss my grocery bags and backpack into the van and head across the Connecticut River back into Vermont.
Despite the name, Hanover Adventure Tours & Hostel is located on Highway 5, just across the road from the Connecticut River. They specialize in bicycle and river trips and have a very clean and spacious hostel that accommodates hikers and tourists.
It’s been four weeks to the day since I last showered, and I’m beyond nasty. Until this very minute I didn’t really care, but it’s well past time to do something about it.
I pull my new trimmer from its box and put it to work.
I take before and after photos of my face and head, then jump into the hot shower, lathering and rinsing, repeating multiple times until I feel clean.
I toss my laundry, which had suffered the same four weeks of filth as I, into the washing machine.
Then, with a window open to let the cool air in, I drape my smelly gear all over the bunk room, which I have all to myself.
Mountain Man, a hiker who is staying in a private room, had ordered a pizza and has three pieces he’s not going to eat. I finish it off throughout the evening, along with some of the food I bought for the ride home.
I’m so hungry.
I've forgotten what a luxury it is to eat something and then throw away the packaging - not having to carry it for days until reaching the next town.
A semi-homeless guy is camping in the yard outside but comes inside to cook and eat his Italian dish in the warmth of the building. He falls asleep in front of the TV with NCIS playing. He's snoring loudly.Â
It's going to drop into the twenties tonight here in the valley. It will be much colder where I would have been if I were still on the trail.
I gather my fresh smelling laundry from the dryer, reorganize my personal things for easy access on the train, pack the gear I won’t need for the remainder of the trip, and throw away things I’ll never use again.
Lying alone in the large bunk room reveling in the satisfaction of having hiked one-third of the Appalachian Trail in one swipe, my mind wanders up and down the trail, replaying some of the highlights and hardships, replaying conversations with people I met, replaying things I learned.
