Day 135 on the Appalachian Trail, and a Dutch thru-hiker hiking with his dad has finally ticked off a milestone: the border between Vermont and New Hampshire, reached on foot near the twin towns of Norwich and Hanover. The pair rolled in on a two-mile road walk, fuelled by boiled eggs, farmstand scones and the promise of a proper lunch.
Vermont, it turns out, left mixed feelings behind. Beautiful, sure, but often a "green tunnel" of dense forest where sunlight barely reaches the trail. New Hampshire immediately felt different — the licence plates here carry the state motto "Live free or die", which the hiker rates as the best on the trail so far.
Hanover, home to Dartmouth College, proved a pleasant surprise. Expecting Ivy League snootiness, the group instead found a genuinely hiker-friendly town. There's free coffee-shop wifi culture, yoga on the town green, and a pizza restaurant that gives thru-hikers a free slice — one where the staff already knew trail names, rejecting "Gary" in favour of "Hungry" without missing a beat. A local student even sprinted over, thrilled to meet someone mid-thru-hike.
There was practical business to do, too. A package sent all the way back in Damascus, Virginia — winter gear like fleece leggings and gloves, stashed with friends of a fellow hiker — arrived at the Hanover post office, complete with bonus sweets. That kind of trail logistics matters: the White Mountains are next, starting with Mount Moosilauke, the first serious peak of a range hikers have been warned about since Georgia.
The group — a loose hiker family with different fitness levels and headspaces — spent dinner working out how to tackle it together. Some are champing at the bit; others are more cautious. Their solution is simple: talk it through and hike as a team.
For anyone dreaming of the AT, this stretch is a good reminder of what the trail actually feels like: small kindnesses from strangers, free food, post-office resupplies, and the slow-burn anticipation of the Whites. Hanover makes an easy access point for day hikers and section hikers alike, and the approach to Moosilauke offers a taste of the rugged terrain ahead without committing to a 2,000-mile trek.
