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Appalachian Trail – New Hampshire

New Hampshire
Hanover

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

- Herman Melville

July 2000.
The AT goes right through the town of Hanover, NH and the campus of Dartmouth College. There are 3 fraternities at the college which allow thru-hikers to stay in their house for free. I stayed at the Tabbard House with about 12 other thru-hikers.

In the days before Hanover, No Whey had been having problems from her hip belt rubbing on her lower back. By the time we got to town it had developed in to an abscess on the skin. She was in a lot of pain and decided to go to the hospital. They had to cut open and drain the abscess to allow the infection to try to heal. (Luckily she couldn’t see the open wound because it was pretty bad.) We all felt terrible knowing that she was going to have to get off the trail to let it heal. The next day her dad drove up from Boston and I said goodbye, not knowing when or if she was going to be able to return and finish the trail. It was hard to see her go after we had all been hiking together for the last 2 weeks. I cannot imagine how hard it was for her to leave, knowing that she made it to New Hampshire and was so close to Maine. It’s your biggest fear as a thru-hiker, getting injured, especially when you become mentally strong. Then to get injured, you feel so helpless. Your mind wants you to keep going but you can’t. I could relate easily when I thought back to the foot pain I had in the beginning of my hike.

Hanover, NH – 1713 miles from Georgia!!

Journal Entry 7.12.00
“8:45pm at Moose Mountain Shelter. A mere 11 miles out of town, but at least I made the break. It’s always so tempting to stay, especially in a town like Hanover. Lots of people in town – Red Forest, Two Stepper, L’Escargot, Horses Trot, Goodwheels, No Whey and Good Vibe. The trail out of town was easy and I got here to find Forbin and Mable and Elderberry (section hiker). It feels so wonderful to be in New Hampshire!”

trail fact: Oldest female section hiker. The oldest female section-hiker completed the Trail in 1998 at the age of 77, after 8 years of section-hiking.

Journal Index

Georgia – Overview And the poop on the Trail Divorce

0 (miles from Georgia) – Springer Mountain, Georgia Whose idea was this again??
87.7 – Georgia / North Carolina Aint no all-inclusive package vacation story…
161.7 – Fontana Dam, North Carolina No Rain, No Pain, No Maine
204.6 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park I My deodorant gets the heave-ho!
268.7 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park II The Food Appreciation Trail
336.5 – North Carolina / Tennessee & Trail Names How the Gimp got her name
390.7 – North Carolina / Tennessee The famous Roan Mountain hitch
452.9 – Crossing into Damascus, Virginia 3 states down, 11 to go!
516.7 – Grayson Highlands State Park Roughin it at Partnership Shelter
573.3 – Bland, Virginia My wonderful trail angels!
665.3 – Pearisburg, Virginia The switch from boots to sandals
767.4 – Catawba / Troutville, Virginia Heat wave in Virginia
839.4 – Montebello / Rockfish Gap, Virginia ‘Hiking with Gimpy Sr.
920.0 – Shenandoah National Park Rattlesnakes, Jack Daniels, and bears – oh my!
988.3 – Front Royal, Virginia Invasion of the Boy Scouts
1001.1 – Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia The mental half-way point
1061.4 – Maryland / Pennsyltucky Y’all done drank enough beer!
1123.8 – Duncannon, Pennsylvania The Half-Gallon Challenge
1208.9 – Port Clinton, Pennsylvania $1 Yuengling drafts and the rocks of PA
1283.9 – Pennsylvania / New Jersey Friends and family visit WonderGimp
1334.2 – High Point, New Jersey Rain, rain, rain, trail magic, and more rain
1440.7 – Bear Mountain, New York Hike Naked Day!
1486.1 – Kent, Connecticut Gimpy Sr. and Barkeater hike with W.Gimp
1543.8 – Great Barrington, MassachusettsWelcome to Mosquito Hell
1618.0 – Massachusetts / VermontPhoton and strobe lights for the 4th of July
1687.3 – Killington, Vermont The Inn at the Long Trail
1738.1 – New Hampshire Live Free or Die!
1794.4 – North Woodstock, New Hampshire Gettin’ above treeline
1814.4 – AMC-land, New Hampshire Entering the White Mountains!
1854.0 – Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire Mooning the tourists on Mt. Washington
1869.2 – Gorham, New Hampshire My first Moose sighting!
1920.7 – Andover, Maine The way Life should be…
1979.3 – Rangeley, Maine Closing in on the end
2015.6 – Kennebec River, Maine Eye of the Tiger!
2095.7 – Monson, Maine 100-mile Wilderness
2152.0 – Abol Bridge, Maine Katahdin is in sight!
2167.1 – Baxter Peak, Mount Katahdin, Maine Goodbye Capilene – Hello Cotton!!

Other Pages:
Map – Yep, 14 states
Gear – What to Bring
FAQs – See for yourself
Glossary (learn the AT lingo)
Links to Additional Info
Trail Injuries Everything from blisters to swampfoot
Trail Privies Bring your own TP
Class of 2000 Katahdin Thru-Hiker Pictures