Andover Day 31 Sunday

I was going to do a 12 mile day to hall mountain lean-to but instead I did less and am now in Andover. Pinetree was not feeling well so most people helped slack him out then we called for a pickup and all 8 of us ended up in town. At least he is feeling better. Tomorrow we all are going to slack-pack the 10 miles between the two roads, resupply then hike the 4.5 miles to the next shelter. Tomorrow I will get to see how much I can do with a small pack and almost no weight. Tomorrow I will also be adding my stove and water filter plus a few other random items to my bounce box. I think I may just go ahead and buy the alcohol stove from antigravity gear and use that. It is relatively cheap, lightweight and better constructed than the homemade one. The homemade one seems to leak some goo from the sides but otherwise seems to work okay. So I think Iwill switch to the alcohol stove.

I think I have managed to lose about as much weight from my pack that is posslbe weithout going out and buying new gear. In order to make it lighter I would have to replace my pot, sleeping bag and pad, my pack and lose a few other things. Ithink that I am likely at a good point weightwise and I will leave well enough alone. I think my body is getting used to carrying the pack and will adjust to that.

I think I may have over-indulged while in town today. Something I ate for supper didn't agree with me so I was on the throne for a while. I think/hope I work it out. I will not be hiking tomorrow if I am still not well. It is just not wirth it. It may just have been a case of town gut. The body just isn't used to junk anymore but in town that is what is feeding the system. Many hikers get it so this ns not unique but I should pay more attention to waht I eat while on town rest.

My next town stop will be Gorham NH. A change of state plus I will be entering the White Mountains. I will try to take more time in the Whites and between here and Gorham to allow my body some rest since I am not doing a zero day here. I awill most likely zero in Gorham and I do hope that the guy behind me catch up. I think I liked travelling with them better. Today I noticed that everyone is paired off in some way except me. So I feel like a third wheel and stometimes I feel left out. I also think that the guys have more fun. Although, at this hostel, there is a box of clothes to borrow from so all the laundry can be washed. Two guys from the group wore the mumus from the box so we all had a laugh and snapped pics. They claim they will hike in them tomorrow during the slack-pack. We shall see. Iw ould like to see the looks they will receive from the people they meet during the hike. I think that would be really funny.