Tree Line Trekking

NEW HAMPSHIRE!! 

Just two more states and Hansel and Gretel will be standing on top of Mt. Katahdin!  They stayed in Hanover with Mom and Two Bad after crossing the VT/NH boarder.  They contacted Dawd's Country Inn in Lyme, NH before hitting the trail the following day.  The inn keepers said that if Mom and Dad dropped off their packs, Hansel and Gretel could slack pack the day and the inn keepers would pick them up at the end.  At this point, Hansel and Gretel are looking to do anything they can to save time and energy.

Today was a little easier to hike.  There were some uphills, but not anything they couldn't handle.  They aren't getting too comfortable though.  It is a well known fact that New Hampshire is a challenging state.  Tomorrow shouldn't be terrible, but the following day, "death starts happening."  Hansel explained that New Hampshire is a very difficult state to plan for.  Since you are on top of mountains and above tree line (that means the point at which trees stop growing.  Click here for more info), the potential for campsite spaces is limited.  If you fall behind, you end up with no place to sleep.  Up in the White Mountains, you are not allowed to camp anywhere except the designated sites.  Even if you were allowed to camp anywhere, this would not be advisable because on the top of the White Mountains, the weather can change very suddenly and when you are above tree line, there is no where to hide from a storm.  It can be very dangerous.  "You don't want to mess around."  

Hansel and Gretel haven't reached the really intense part of the mountain range yet, but they are still coming across some intense views.  Today they came out onto a clearing to discover the biggest cliff they had ever seen.  That is quite a statement considering they have been hiking in the mountains for the past 3 months!  There must have been a drop straight down of about 200 feet!  Hansel didn't even want to go to look over the edge because it was just too frightening!  We can only guess what views will come in the days to follow!  New Hampshire might just be the most breath taking state Hansel and Gretel have traveled through yet!

Happy trails!

Hansel at the Vermont/New Hampshire Boarder

Gretel at the Vermont/New Hampshire Boarder