August 29, 2006 - Jeffers Brook Shelter to Ore Hill Shelter
I spent the night in a beautiful shelter with a new outhouse alone! I woke up very early and cooked breakfast in the
dark and left when it was daylight enough to hike safely. I will shelter hop to Hanover and go in on Monday morning
or sooner. I am drinking the last of my coffee this morning and will try to get more at the hostel. I found out that
Monday is Memorial Day so I will have to hike faster or slower to make it work in Hanover. I got to the hostel at 7:30 a.
m. and did laundry and took a shower. I went to the post office and sent back some stuff and caught up with some
emails. This hostel didn’t turn me on so I left soon there after. The caretaker was a bit of an ass and I told him so. I
spent $ 8.00 on a shower and laundry and fuel and I left. I picked up a frying pan here in case I get fresh sausage or
can fined mushrooms. I also got some coffee and fuel here at the hostel. I also picked up some food in the hiker box
here. John and Molasses were here along with Combat who I last saw at Osgood Camp sight. His infected toe got
very bad and had to go to the doctor and get the cure for it. I never did see Combat again after this day. After
walking back to the trail I met some hikers who weren’t even going to the hostel, 1/4 mile off the trail to get anything.
I don’t pass up a shower. I then headed up the trail and immediately found some chicken of the forest mushrooms! I
will have them for dinner! Yummy! I called home today and there is a hurricane which will drop some rain in Florida
but won’t be major. At 6:30 p.m. tonight it is really dark for this time. It might rain. I saw 12 thru-hikers again today. All
were going to the hostel. I am glad I left and came here. I stayed here alone at the shelter tonight. I had my
mushrooms for dinner and they were excellent. This would be the only time I would find these mushrooms on this
northern trip.
I spent the night in a beautiful shelter with a new outhouse alone! I woke up very early and cooked breakfast in the
dark and left when it was daylight enough to hike safely. I will shelter hop to Hanover and go in on Monday morning
or sooner. I am drinking the last of my coffee this morning and will try to get more at the hostel. I found out that
Monday is Memorial Day so I will have to hike faster or slower to make it work in Hanover. I got to the hostel at 7:30 a.
m. and did laundry and took a shower. I went to the post office and sent back some stuff and caught up with some
emails. This hostel didn’t turn me on so I left soon there after. The caretaker was a bit of an ass and I told him so. I
spent $ 8.00 on a shower and laundry and fuel and I left. I picked up a frying pan here in case I get fresh sausage or
can fined mushrooms. I also got some coffee and fuel here at the hostel. I also picked up some food in the hiker box
here. John and Molasses were here along with Combat who I last saw at Osgood Camp sight. His infected toe got
very bad and had to go to the doctor and get the cure for it. I never did see Combat again after this day. After
walking back to the trail I met some hikers who weren’t even going to the hostel, 1/4 mile off the trail to get anything.
I don’t pass up a shower. I then headed up the trail and immediately found some chicken of the forest mushrooms! I
will have them for dinner! Yummy! I called home today and there is a hurricane which will drop some rain in Florida
but won’t be major. At 6:30 p.m. tonight it is really dark for this time. It might rain. I saw 12 thru-hikers again today. All
were going to the hostel. I am glad I left and came here. I stayed here alone at the shelter tonight. I had my
mushrooms for dinner and they were excellent. This would be the only time I would find these mushrooms on this
northern trip.
Hexacuba Shelter
August 30, 2006 - Ore Hill Shelter to Hexacuba Shelter
I slept well in the shelter alone. I left the shelter after breakfast at 6:00 a.m. I made good time early but ran out of
gas late in the morning. I stopped near the top of Cube Mountain and cooked something hot to eat. Several thru-
hikers passed me as I ate and did not stop to even say hi. I got a fair view up on Cube Mountain but on a clear day it
would have been nice. Coming off of Cube Mountain the trail was very tough coming down on a white marble
boulder field. The marble was pretty but very slippery. Beware this is the slipperiest rock on the entire Appalachian
Trail over its entire length. Over ½ of the thru-hikers I saw today had radio headsets on. I will never understand why
one needs a radio stuck in their ear on the trail. I would like to stick it somewhere else! My knees are barking badly
tonight. I will go .3 miles to the Hexacuba Shelter tonight. It is a nice not too warm sunny day. I took my shoes off at a
rest spot and relaxed as I like to do on these lazy days. I will sit here till the aspirin kicks in on these barking dogs. I
got to the shelter and it is 6 sided with two sides open. It is well constructed and it also has a 6 sided outhouse! This
shelter is a little Dick’s Dome Shelter in Virginia but is level and does not leak! Two other hikers showed up at 3p.m.
and will stay. It has cleared up completely here and has got very cold. I have my sweater on and am sitting in the
sun. It will be close for me on food this time but I will manage. Nick is one of the hikers here tonight and he is
carrying the biggest stick I have ever seen! I will show a picture of it here and it is so cool. Nick’s dad carved it for
him and he carried it 800 miles in the south. He got back on the trail in Hanover N.H. and will hike with his buddy to
Katahdin. The stick weighs maybe 4 pounds and had a jester with dreadlocks carved in the handle.
August 31, 2006 - Hexacuba Shelter to Trapper John Shelter
It is the last day of August! I was up early and it is 39 degrees. I’m glad I was in a shelter on such a cold night. We
had a nice fire last night. It was a steady uphill for five miles to the Fire wardens Cabin where I spent an hour
cooking and resting. I found no water here at the shelter but I think there is water here. This shelter is in need of
being fixed up a bit. It has a new roof but needs bunks and some paint. The structure is solid and needs to be
preserved for the future. It is a pretty place! I don’t remember this shelter or cabin in 1981. It might have not been
available to hikers then. I met a couple who offered me a ride when I go to the bottom of the hill. I needed to go onto
Lyme to get a few groceries. The hike off of Smart Mountain took a while. When I got to the parking lot I took a short
break and the people who were going to give me a ride showed up 5 minutes later. They dropped me off at the
general store and I thanked them. I was in the store for about 15 minutes and got what I needed and a man asks if I
needed a ride back up to the trail. I said yes and he went out of his way with his two little sons and dropped me off.
He had gone to Dartmouth and was a member of the D.O.C., Dartmouth Outing Club. I didn’t go far when I got back
on the trail till I stopped and ate a big grinder I bought in town. I stopped at a granite trail mile marker and did this. I
bought some hamburger and cooked it up when I got to Trapper John Shelter. I did not get here till late. I love this
shelter. It had an old fireplace chimney out front and the outhouse has a business chair for a stool! I took pictures of
both of them I stayed the night here too alone. I will be in Hanover in a couple of days and I will stay at the Episcopal
Church there. This shelter has bats! They are flying out of here at last light. I ate well today and I am in a nice
shelter again alone. I will sleep well too.
September 1, 2006 - Trapper John Shelter to Etna Hanover Canton Road Camp
I was up very early. I had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast along with a little pepperoni. I can hear the water running
in the creak near by. I am going to have a second cup of coffee. I got packed up and was gone by daylight. I will stay
out in my hammock tonight. It is too far to get to Hanover today. I am taking a break at Moose Shelter taking a long
break after a few miles to here. The water source is not so good here at the shelter. The water is discolored and
slowly running. There are nice views from the shelter though. I have no git today so I drank some more coffee and
ate some energy food. I need to go 4 more miles to Etna road. I will camp in that area if I can find water. It is a nice
cool sunny day. The hiking is not too steep or hard and I am just plodding along. I stopped and talked to a man at a
road crossing and he said there was a wet area coming up ahead. I am tired and ready to stop. I came upon a
swampy area like he said and the water is not too bad here. It is filtered in a protected area too. This will be fine. I
got off of the trail aways and hung up my hammock and there is plenty of wood to have a nice fire here tonight.
Sleep will come quick tonight in my comfortable hammock. It is 6 miles to Hanover tomorrow. It should be an easy
grade to town.
I slept well in the shelter alone. I left the shelter after breakfast at 6:00 a.m. I made good time early but ran out of
gas late in the morning. I stopped near the top of Cube Mountain and cooked something hot to eat. Several thru-
hikers passed me as I ate and did not stop to even say hi. I got a fair view up on Cube Mountain but on a clear day it
would have been nice. Coming off of Cube Mountain the trail was very tough coming down on a white marble
boulder field. The marble was pretty but very slippery. Beware this is the slipperiest rock on the entire Appalachian
Trail over its entire length. Over ½ of the thru-hikers I saw today had radio headsets on. I will never understand why
one needs a radio stuck in their ear on the trail. I would like to stick it somewhere else! My knees are barking badly
tonight. I will go .3 miles to the Hexacuba Shelter tonight. It is a nice not too warm sunny day. I took my shoes off at a
rest spot and relaxed as I like to do on these lazy days. I will sit here till the aspirin kicks in on these barking dogs. I
got to the shelter and it is 6 sided with two sides open. It is well constructed and it also has a 6 sided outhouse! This
shelter is a little Dick’s Dome Shelter in Virginia but is level and does not leak! Two other hikers showed up at 3p.m.
and will stay. It has cleared up completely here and has got very cold. I have my sweater on and am sitting in the
sun. It will be close for me on food this time but I will manage. Nick is one of the hikers here tonight and he is
carrying the biggest stick I have ever seen! I will show a picture of it here and it is so cool. Nick’s dad carved it for
him and he carried it 800 miles in the south. He got back on the trail in Hanover N.H. and will hike with his buddy to
Katahdin. The stick weighs maybe 4 pounds and had a jester with dreadlocks carved in the handle.
August 31, 2006 - Hexacuba Shelter to Trapper John Shelter
It is the last day of August! I was up early and it is 39 degrees. I’m glad I was in a shelter on such a cold night. We
had a nice fire last night. It was a steady uphill for five miles to the Fire wardens Cabin where I spent an hour
cooking and resting. I found no water here at the shelter but I think there is water here. This shelter is in need of
being fixed up a bit. It has a new roof but needs bunks and some paint. The structure is solid and needs to be
preserved for the future. It is a pretty place! I don’t remember this shelter or cabin in 1981. It might have not been
available to hikers then. I met a couple who offered me a ride when I go to the bottom of the hill. I needed to go onto
Lyme to get a few groceries. The hike off of Smart Mountain took a while. When I got to the parking lot I took a short
break and the people who were going to give me a ride showed up 5 minutes later. They dropped me off at the
general store and I thanked them. I was in the store for about 15 minutes and got what I needed and a man asks if I
needed a ride back up to the trail. I said yes and he went out of his way with his two little sons and dropped me off.
He had gone to Dartmouth and was a member of the D.O.C., Dartmouth Outing Club. I didn’t go far when I got back
on the trail till I stopped and ate a big grinder I bought in town. I stopped at a granite trail mile marker and did this. I
bought some hamburger and cooked it up when I got to Trapper John Shelter. I did not get here till late. I love this
shelter. It had an old fireplace chimney out front and the outhouse has a business chair for a stool! I took pictures of
both of them I stayed the night here too alone. I will be in Hanover in a couple of days and I will stay at the Episcopal
Church there. This shelter has bats! They are flying out of here at last light. I ate well today and I am in a nice
shelter again alone. I will sleep well too.
September 1, 2006 - Trapper John Shelter to Etna Hanover Canton Road Camp
I was up very early. I had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast along with a little pepperoni. I can hear the water running
in the creak near by. I am going to have a second cup of coffee. I got packed up and was gone by daylight. I will stay
out in my hammock tonight. It is too far to get to Hanover today. I am taking a break at Moose Shelter taking a long
break after a few miles to here. The water source is not so good here at the shelter. The water is discolored and
slowly running. There are nice views from the shelter though. I have no git today so I drank some more coffee and
ate some energy food. I need to go 4 more miles to Etna road. I will camp in that area if I can find water. It is a nice
cool sunny day. The hiking is not too steep or hard and I am just plodding along. I stopped and talked to a man at a
road crossing and he said there was a wet area coming up ahead. I am tired and ready to stop. I came upon a
swampy area like he said and the water is not too bad here. It is filtered in a protected area too. This will be fine. I
got off of the trail aways and hung up my hammock and there is plenty of wood to have a nice fire here tonight.
Sleep will come quick tonight in my comfortable hammock. It is 6 miles to Hanover tomorrow. It should be an easy
grade to town.
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