Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire

"The grouse are in nodanger at all from people who shoot grouse", Prince Philip

These were two of the last pictures I took before my camera went out on me. We were just approaching Franconia Ridge when I ran across the grouse on the fallen tree. Every since Georgia I had seen Grouse, but they fled before I got near them. In this case though it just stayed there beside the trail and watched as I passed by. I was pretty amazed and then not ten minutes later I ran across this second grouse just sitting in the middle of the trail. It did not seem to mind at all that I was trying to get by.

Dartmouth College and Appalachian Trail in Hanover, New Hampshire

It was nice to have the Appalachian Trail visit a college town.  Dartmouth College, a private liberal arts college established in 1969, is located in Hanover, New Hampshire.    As we crossed the bridge heading into town we were welcomed by a former hiker offering sandwiches, watermelon slices, and sodas for us.  After a quick meal we walked down to where the Dartmouth rowing team has a dock installed and went for a quick swim.  Afterwards, most of us hung out the rest of the day at the drill field on campus just relaxing and resting up for the upcoming White Mountains.   The Dartmouth Outdoor Club maintains a large section of the Appalachian Trail and are known for doing an outstanding job.