going to be in hanover-rumney for a few days in august and am looking for general beta on the area,lodging-camping,A.T.info(shelter reccomendations)other good hikes and bouldering etc.
any input would be appreciated.
thanks,charlie

If you're going to be in hanover-rumney and want to do some hiking you might try
Mount Moosilauke and the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~opo/moosilauke/
The Ravine Lodge is a pretty fun place to stay.
also - search on google for moosilauke ravine lodge
LOTS of good hiking in the Rumney area - Franconia Notch is nearby, the Kinsmans
What kind of hiking you want to do - strenous or not, how long, mountain tops or woods, etc...?

JDW

Hi,

Hanover is the quintessintial wealthy New England town ... it's the home of Dartmouth College and more fancy SUV's per sq mile thaneven Scarsdale, NY.

It's actually a very attractive town with lots to do and see...the Art Museum is good and the Hopkins Center has all sorts of music and events

There are a bunch of nice (ie. expensive) resurants in the town:(the Hanover Inn, Zinn's) and a bunch of other less expensive ones also (Molly's, Peter Christian's.) Lou's is my favorite place for breakfast.

Norwich VT is across the river and has the largest population of Vuppies in the entire state (maybe even the entire universe...)

Again two good but expensive resturants are the Norwich Inn and La Poule A Dents.... The Brewery at the Norwich Inn has good food and even better beer

If you do end up in Norwich, be sure to check out Dan and Whitt's General Store....their motto is "If we don't have it, you don't need it..." .

For a real chuckle, pick up a real estate brochure or two and see what $1.5 million will get you in Cow Country.

The Montshire Museum is a really cool science museun for kids...

The AT runs through Hanover and there is a shelter on Smarts mountain... it's ok hiking, but nothing spectacular.

I've heard about bouldering in the Lyme NH area, but haven't been there to check it out.....

ed

Isn't that where Bill Bryson lives? The guy who wrote "A Walk in the Woods". I seem to remember that from his book. He described it as being very kitsch.

I think one of his neighbors would jump in her SUV to drive 15 minutes to the gym to walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes. That's pure comedy. (And no, this wasn't in the winter time.)

Yup, Bill Bryson lives in Hanover.
Ed, is the ski jump still standing in Hanover? I remember hitch-hiking through there (way back in '83) and seeing this rickety old thing. Also, what's a "Vuppie?"

Edgy,

I'll second you on the recommendation for Dan and Whitt's - its a great store!

Smart's Mountain shelter is one of many shelters along the AT in the Hanover area. As I remember it is
hexagonal - pretty interesting design.

What's a Vuppie? A Vermont Yuppy?

JDW

thanks for the input jdw(and everyone)it looks like im aiming to stay in franconia for a few before heading to hanover.
from the atlas it looks like maybe 45-60 minute drive?i have been investigating campgrounds, fransted looks nice from the website.as far as hiking goes i like to push limits though any kind of trail beats the subway.
any further recommendations would be greatly appreciated
peace,charlie

charliebutters,

Probably one of the classic hikes in Franconia Notch is a loop involving the Franconia Ridge Trail across Mount
Lincoln and Mount Lafayette. A nice loop would be up Falling Waters Trail to the summit of Little Haystack,
the the Fraconia Ridge Trail across Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette then down the Old Bridal Path.
If the weather is clear you can see Cannon Cliff across the notch.

Tell us how your trip goes!

JDW

I love Vermont... Most people think its just cows, white church steeples and maple syrup, but it's really more than that....

Vermont keeps reelecting a nice Jewish boy from NYC to be it's sole member of the House of Representatives? Not only is Bernie Saunders a Socialist... he's gotta a Noo Yawk accent. (You know, the last time I was in Brooklyn, I didn't see one single Holstein....)

Speaking of cows, Brattleboro just had it's "Strolling of the Heifers." It's Vermont's version of Pamplona's famous "Running of the Bulls." I wonder what mucho-macho Ernest H. would have to say if he's seen the "Strolling" first.... Perhaps his famous qoute would have been: "There are only three real sports, cow tipping, auto racing and mountain climbing...."

Back to the real bull (more politics:)

Who could forget how Sen. Jim Jeffers suddenly switched political parties and put GW and the rest of the Republicans in a tizzy for a while.... (It also gave Gunks.com good material for a bunch of interesting posts.)

Then there's the Honorable Patrick Leahy, who talked the US Senate into making Lake Champlain one of the "Great Lakes." This creative rearranging of geography meant millions of dollars in "pork" (or would that be "beef," or better just plain old "Federal aid") for the state.

A perfect example of Vermont grass roots politics... is retired dairy farmer Fred Tuttle's Republican primary win against the carpetbag campaign of Jack McMullen, Mass-hole multi-millionaire who moved to Vermont solely to run for the Senate. (The story is too long to tell here, just do a Google search for all the details, All I can say is: "Spread Fred.")

Enough politics...

What's a Vuppie? My friend "Muffy" is a perfect example; she came to the state a few years ago with nothing but a dream... and a very large trust fund.

Perhaps you know the type: drives a Volvo station wagon with the bumper sticker "Live Simply So Others May Simply Live," has a social conscience, wears long skirts, dangly earrings and Birkenstocks, likes contra dancing and World Music and owns a organic sheep farm that always loses money (her accountant thinks its a great tax shelter...)

Vuppies actually add much to the area that makes it a fun and diverse place, but they tend to force out the "native" Vermonters by driving up property values and taxes. (This is sort of what the first settlers did to the original "natives" when the state was settled; except the first "natives" got killed off rather than taxed out.)

Vermont even has a different take on the "alternative life style" debate. Up here each side of the issue has a slogan; "Keep it Civil" is answered by the call to "Take Back Vermont." Elsewhere in the country people on both sides are much more direct; it's more like: "We're Here! We're Queer! Get Used To It!" and the opposition's, " Unleash God's Vengeance.... Burn the Sodomites!"

Enough about Vermont...

Sad to say, the ski jump on the Dartmouth College golf course is no more. I think it was removed in the late '80's. (I just don't understand why anyone would tear it down. It was a lot of fun to get stupidly drunk and climb to the top...)

jdw's suggestion about the Mt Lincoln/Lafayette hike is a great one. It's a classic, with views of both Cannon and into the Pemi "wilderness." There is also a cool feature, The Eaglet nearby that has a fun 5.6 climb...it's not a classic, but it's unique in that it is a semi detached pillar.

I'm not a beer connoisseur, but there are a couple of brew pubs in the area worth mentioning... one in Lincoln, one in White River and the previously mentioned Norwich. I thought Norwich and Lincoln were good, and White River Jct. was ok, but nothing special.

Hanover also has a Ben and Jerry's "Scoop Shop..."

ed

Hanover is about 75 mins from fanconia. the easiest path is to take 117 to 302, and 302 to 10. 10 runs south right into hanover. its easy as pie.

Hanover is a great town. I was lucky to live there for 4 years. And while many Dartmouth students do drive their BMW SUVs too fast down main street things are often better in the summer.

There are a TON of hotels in the area. Dont be afraid to venture into White River Junction (just an exit south on I-91) to look for a much cheaper place to stay.

For a more personal experience, though, you can check the bulliten board that is in the basement of Robinson Hall (the building with the huge Dartmouth Outing Club sign in the front, right on the green). That board has a listing of free housing for through hikers and other such folk. Also, Julie, in the office upstairs knows a ton of helpful stuff.

Food-wise, there are also a lot of choices. But, of them all there are a couple places that take the cake. Firestones in Quechee (just 15 mins away) is good, but expensive. And if you like korean food Kims Kitchen (on route 10 about 5 mins south of town) is a great cheap place.

Enjoy New Hampshire.