Day 148-A New Plan for Two Wheels

August 13, 2020

Aug 13-zero day at Norwich Hostel

It certainly felt good to sleep in a real bed! Sometimes the hostel beds aren’t the greatest. This is not the case here. The mattresses are quite nice.

I started my day with a waffle fiasco. The hostel provides ingredients for breakfast such as pancake/waffle batter. The waffle maker is like those ones you see in hotels. So, I’m thinking, hey, I know how to do this! The switch was on, the thing felt warm, so I poured the batter in. Now, this one actually can make two waffles at once! You put the batter in, close the lid, flip it over, open the other side, put the batter in close it, and flip it over. When it beats three times, waffles are done. So, like I said, I put the batter in both sides. I thought it a little strange that there were no lights on. About that time, Jane walks into the kitchen. She comes over...and plugs the waffle maker in! Oops, it wasn’t plugged in. Now I have to wait for it to preheat (it will beep 7 times when it is preheated). Remember, the batter is already in there. It finally beeps that it’s preheated, so now it’s cooking. It beeps three times. I open up the first side. Well, it’s a little dark, but I manage to get it out almost in one piece (but it takes a little time). I flip it over, and open the other side. This one is definitely over cooked. And...it is stuck to the thing like superglue. It took me almost 30 minutes (seemed like hours) to get all the burnt, stuck on waffle out! Good thing I wasn’t in too much of a hurry! I started over. The next batch came out okay, but I didn’t use quite enough batter. They weren’t pretty, but they tasted good.

At 9:00, Sure Foot and I took the shuttle to Hanover. Yep, we crossed into New Hampshire, but it doesn’t count until we walk there. Then we caught a bus to Lebanon, where we transferred to another bus to West Lebanon to go to Eastern Mountain Sports (like REI), and Hanafords grocery store. I finally decided it was time to retire Stinky Pink.

That’s a rather large rip in the top of the sleeve. I got another Columbia shirt that is kind of pinkish (maybe more coral colored). I’ll call it Stinky 2.0.

Goodbye Stinky Pink. You served me well!

I also bought a Gregory Maya 10 day pack. I’m going to be slackpacking for the next several days. My little Sea to Summit day pack was not quite up for the task. Remember, back in Pennsylvania, I slackpacked Lehigh Gap. This time, I will be driven north tomorrow about 65 miles to Kinsman Notch. From there I will hike south for 17 miles. Then one of the hostel shuttle drivers will pick me up, and bring me back to the hostel where I will spend the night. Then, the next day, I will be shuttled to where I stopped, and continue south for another section of miles, get picked up, and return again to the hostel. The same will happen on the third day, but I won’t get picked up until i arrive in Norwich. On the fourth day, I will be shuttled back to Kinsman Notch where I will hike north to the Notch Hostel. The shuttle driver will drive my pack to the Notch Hostel, and leave it there for when I arrive. From there, I will work with the Notch Hostel to continue slackpacking through the White Mountains. In the meantime, Sure Foot will continue to hike with his pack northbound. We will either meet on the fourth day, when I’m going north, or meet at the Notch Hostel. I think it’s a good plan to lessen the pounding on my knees without having my full pack. Of course, there is a cost associated, but it might mean the difference of being able to finish, or having to quit because my knees can’t do it. Jane worked very hard to come up with this plan. I’m kind of the guinea pig for this White Mountain Slackpacking Package. I think she has a great idea! Also, not to worry, I have a list of bailout roads if a distance is too long. I can just call and request to be picked up earlier.

Just so a couple of photos of shirts aren’t the only ones for today, here’s a few others.