Where the Hell are the Moose? — Adventures With Samson-The-Bear

On 7/6 I zeroed at the 12 tribes organic farm. On 7/7 I did 17.3 miles to Lookout Cabin. On 7/8 I did 11.3 miles to cloudland. On 7/9 I did 17.6 miles to Hanover. On 7/10 I did 4.4 after getting sick near Trescott Rd. On 7/11 I did 20.9 miles to Smart Mountain. On 7/12 I did 19 miles to Jefferson Brook. On 7/13 I did 18.4 miles to South Kinsman Peak. On 7/14 I did 6.3 miles to Franconia Notch for a resupply. On 7/15 I did 10.3 miles to Garfield Shelter. On 7/16 I did 9.5 miles to Zealand hut.

When I was in Rutland, VT I stayed at the Yellow Deli Hostel. I was packing my gear getting ready to head out and hitch back to the trail head when the caretaker asked if we wanted to stay another day and work on their organic farm. The Yellow Deli is run by the Twelve Tribes which is a religious commune and I figured they hadn't poisoned me yet or stolen my passport so it would be fun to take a zero on a farm. The farm was about an hour out of town and supports the local deli and a couple hundred of the local community members. I was really impressed with the farm, it was 40 acres with about 10 acres of it being used to grow organic vegetables and the rest was for hay and grazing. I asked why they didn't grow more vegetables and they said the 10 acres and livestock is only managed by 3 people and the help of sparatic volunteers (me), which is a ton of work for such a small crew. One of the benefits of working on the farm is they don't mess around with food, and fed us a phenomenal breakfast, lunch and dinner (i felt bad since hungry hikers to them are probably like a plague of locust devouring everything in sight) and when it was too hot to work in the heat of the day we jumped in the river and picked raspberries... best zero yet.

I entered into New Hampshire on the 9th. The first town you come to in NH is Hanover which is home to Dartmouth. That was a culture shock. Not the same way Gatlinburg was, but it still felt very unnatural and looking around at the college kids driving Porsche and wearing teal boating shorts I didn't necessarily fit the micro-culture. I thought it would be a great social experiment to take a few University of Cincinnati students and switch them with some Dartmouth students and watch what happens, it could be the sequel to Eddie Murphie's Trading Places. So I had to get a good jab in at high class atmosphere of Hanover, but in reality it was very welcoming. On my way into town I had a two mile road walk and a lot of cars would honk and give you the thumbs up on your way into town. Their were several restaurants where just by showing up they gave you free food, I got a free slice of pizza, bagel and donuts just for being a dirty hiker. I was at a cross walk and a young student came up to me and said "Do you like apple pie" there is no other answer to that questions besides "Hell yeah I do". She told me to follow her back to her place. I noticed there were two other hikers following her, Walking Man and GQ. We got to her place which turned out to be a coed fraternity. We walked in and were promptly served endless amounts of apple pie and coke. She then said "by the way you can shower here, do laundry and sleep here if you want". JACKPOT!!!!!! College!!!!!! I wish I could tell you about an awesome toga party or a two story beer bong, or how we stole a statue from the quad, but it was a rather tame night of pizza and beer and a ton of laughs. Which is just as well as thru hikers don't tend to have a lot of money for bail.

I'm finally back in some real terrain. In the log books at the shelters there would sometimes be words of encouragement saying the best is yet to come. Well the best is here and now. I will be above 4,000 feet for the first time since Virginia. I have climbed Smart Mountain, Moosilake, pronounced moose-e-lock-e, (say that three times fast, and if it doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what is wrong with you) and Kinsman. I was pushing myself at my normal 20 mile day pace. My feet at the end of the day were really swollen and looked like a hobbits feet. I hate to say this, but when I reached the summit of Moosilake I only spent 5 minutes up there and took off down the trail. A section hiker saw me, and actually started to yell at me "SLOW DOWN, YOU HAVE TO SLOW DOWN!" he was right and luckily Frizzle caught up with me the next day before going over Kinsman and she is going to be my accountability hiker and keep me from being a mile monster. This is an epic section of trail and needs to be appreciated for its grandness.

I have re-read some of my blogs and it surprises me how little I have talked about what hikers actually eat. This is strange since hikers really only talk about three things, food, weather and our despise for Bill Bryson. Below is a sample of what I eat on a daily basis, every hiker is different but this is what fuels me through my wanderings. I try to get out of camp as quickly as possible in the morning so as I am packing up I eat a bagel covered in peanut butter, a hand full of trail mix and a little chocolate. I then walk 3-5 miles to find a cool spot, usually by a view, to eat my second breakfast. Second breakfast is two packets of oatmeal and peanut butter, coffee, and chocolate. For first lunch I eat a tortilla with pepperoni and cheese (I'm convinced the need for refrigeration is a conspiracy, I have seen hikers eat a lot of food that requires refrigeration 5 days out of town and they don't look that sick afterwards). For second lunch I eat a tortilla with peanut butter and crushed chocolate in it. For dinner I usually have a starch and a protein which most of the time is a Knorr Rice Side and Tuna, I have convinced myself its a lot like eating cooked sushi. Sometimes I switch it up with potatoes and summer sausage but it all really depends on how good my resupply selection is; and of course chocolate for dessert. I also add olive oil to my tuna and rice when i know im going over tough terrain and need extra fat (on occasion when I'm tired and low on food I'll just drink the olive oil and chase it with a little water). That's basically what I eat every day. I have had to purchase extra food now that I don't hang my food bag every night, but instead bring it into my tent. It seems like every morning I wake up my food bag is open and there are crumbs in my sleeping bag, not sure why though

Thru hikers working at the yellow deli farm

Unique shelter with a crows nest on top.

Turned around to talk to Frizzle, and had to take this epic picture.

I just had my coffee before summiting Kinsman