- August 8
I woke up in my tent at the edge of a Dartmouth athletics field in Hanover. A curious dog's snout poked under my rain cover before its owner called it back.
I stretched outside and looked around me. To the north was the swampy woods where I'd sloshed around in my sandals the night before, looking futilely for a tent site. Drops of water hung on the top of all the blades of grass.
In the parking lot of the Hanover Co-op I ran into Billyhoot and Nutmeg, the Georgia Girls, and inside I ran into Gromet, Rocket and Storm [the Packadivas] and Katchup and Miss Muster [the Condiments]. My brunch was two donuts, a raspberry pastry, a deli sandwich, a bag of Doritoes, a coke and a coffee. Plus the Times.
When I rolled up to Moose Mountain shelter 11 miles later, I was shocked - shocked - to see Prairie Dog and Angry Beaver playing Euchre with O.G. and Colonel Mustard, all sprawled out on their Thermarests in the shelter, burning incense. I thought they'd all be way ahead of me. A pleasant surprise.
I cooked up some noodles and finished the rest of the chapters of "Almayer's Folly" in my tent.
- Aug. 9
I start hiking relatively late. Not for me, but for the general hiking population, around 10 a.m.
It's another easy day of hiking, 12.4 miles. All the same people end up at a place called the Firewarden's Cabin, at the summit of Smarts Mountain, elevation 3,230 feet.
[Billyhoot and Nutmeg, Firewarden's Cabin, Aug. 9]
I picked up the second half of a new book, "The Scarlet Ruse," an airport novel. Col. Mustard has the first half. So far we are finding the story radically different.
This time, I partnered Prairie Dog in a game of Euchre against Angry Beaver and Col. Mustard. It came down to the wire; we lost on a knife's edge.
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