New Hampshire, New You!

The last few days of Vermont left us with so many impressive sights, we didn’t think it lived up to it’s unfortunate nickname of “Ver-mud” at all! Rolling lush hills, incredible sights to see and farm stands galore! We summited so many gorgeous views it’s hard to keep track of them all.

For all the hype Vermont got about being intense, we found it to be our favorite state so far. The forest was eerily quiet; most of the time you couldn’t even hear birds chirping. The smells of the forest were downright euphoric and the hiking lent itself to many awe-inspiring experiences. We saw (and heard!) our first loons since reaching New England. We ran into a gaggle of school boys who were on a summer camp excursion who were having the time of their lives, and the summit of Bromley Mountain was second to none. We only had to hike 1700 miles to get that classic summit view. 😂

While the views from Bromley were spectacular, we were debatably even more excited for the farm stand we came across the following day. After all, is it really a thru-hike without satiating that classic hiker hunger? We stuffed our bottomless pits with fresh made sourdough bread, more cheese than anyone should be allowed to eat and topped it all off with some ice cream. Yum-o!

We dragged our feet heading away from the stand, knowing that Killington Mountain was ahead of us. The climb up was long but oh so worth it for the impressive summit! Despite being entirely shrouded in clouds, it was still a sight to behold and quite a mystical feeling!

Sometimes the biggest bummer, or the best surprise, is not knowing what lies ahead in your journey. For example, surprise rain storms! We took a gamble heading out into what seemed to be a low chance of any storms, but proceeded to get dumped on for hours and had a rather precarious journey through 8 hours of downpour.

The hike was not without its pleasantries, as we had a break from the rain just long enough to eat lunch at a beautiful lake, saw one of the largest waterfalls in Vermont and nothing brightens your spirits quite like…beer!!

After your feet are thoroughly pruney and your body is saturated from so much rain, all you want to do is get into a *somewhat* dry tent and relax. We came upon a shelter, which Peeta and Ember were very hesitant to leave having enjoyed a respite from the rain. With a little (or a lot!) of encouragement from Katniss, we finished out our rainy hike and nailed the 18 mile goal for the day, which was a much needed win!

The next day was glorious and provided some much needed sun. As we prepared for our “rest day” (still hiked in 10 miles) we enjoyed some homemade pies from a local farm stand and dried our gear in the sunshine.

We stayed at Wise Pines hostel for the night, and got to sleep in a treehouse! This was by far one of our favorite hostels, not only because of the incredible hosts that did so much to accommodate us, but because of their peaceful yoga studio and incredible breakfast. They actually had a private chef on site! Talk about living large…we will definitely be back!

It was so hard to tear ourselves away from Wise Pines; the staff, the gardens, and overall tranquility beckoned for us to stay for a zero day. But alas, the trail was calling and we were off!

The following days were full of beautiful events! Ember informed us that her hiking buddies she had met earlier on trail were coming to meet her to run trail magic, and the two of us were fortunate to join in. They cooked us a delicious dinner of burgers (complete with a veggie patty for Katniss!) and regaled us with stories from all of their adventures on and off trail. Talk about a power couple! Scarecrow and Violet were true adventurers and it was such a delight to meet them. As Katniss says, “can we be friends??”

After a belly full of burgers, the next day of hiking proved to be a slower one. We trodded through the towns of Norwich and Hanover, which also meant our official crossover into New Hampshire, wooo!! Hanover quickly became our least favorite town on trail. Home to Dartmouth college, it was clear that us “hiker trash” was not welcome, nor did we fit in with the peculiar model walks the townspeople all seemed to have.

One lovely thing about Hanover was the free stuff! Ramutos pizza restaurant begrudgingly gives hikers a free slice, and Lou’s bakery downtown had a selection of free donuts for hikers passing through. I think their motive was to give us free food in the hopes we’d leave sooner. 😂

Can you tell we’re a little food motivated? You might be thinking, ok you got your food, where’s the cool views?? Well, we took the afternoon off and hid from the rain at the movie theater instead. Sometimes you’ve got to treat yourself! After hearing for weeks about Ember and Katniss’s desire to see the new Barbie movie, the goofy gals went together and had a ball. Unfortunately, we didn’t think it was worth all the hype. Still a fun time though!

Of course, after eating donuts, pizza, and popcorn at the movies, we had to top it all off with ice cream! It was a culinary exploration really, as we had heard tale of a delicious New England treat known as the Maple Creamy. We stopped in for some overpriced dairy and FINALLY we were back on trail, I swear!

New Hampshire has been exponentially more muddy than any other state. The terrain has certainly kicked up a notch, but not without celebrating some spectacular views and trail friends along the way. It’s at this point in the trail that we’ve begun to see what ourselves and fellow hikers are really made of. New Hampshire is known as some of the most difficult parts of the trail, and there’s no doubt that the vertical climbs have taken a toll on our daily mileage given our slower, more deliberate pace. We are in the land of the 4,000 footers now!

And with that, we will update you next time on our experience through the White Mountains! Thank you all for your support, love and encouragement whether in person or from afar. It has really made a difference in our spirits these last few weeks! It feels as though we have truly entered the belly of the beast as we round our home stretch with 350 miles to go. Adventure on!