morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-08-15
From: Kinsman Pond shelter 

To: A mile south of Garfield Pond
Miles today: 13.0

Day 136In the morning Kinsman Pond was very peaceful. I found a moma duck and two ducklings welcomed me when I reached the shore of the pond. Knowing this is a hard day (hardly any day is not a hard day now), we started by 7:00 am. The two miles to Lonesome Lake was like the last half mile in yesterday, steep, rocky and need to slide on my butt many times. It took me more than 2 hours for that 2 miles. Lonesome Lake Hut was in the very pretty setting. The Hut itself is beautifully designed and built. Many years ago, I read an article talking about the huts in the Whites and their caretakers. I was very excited to be able to enter one today. The caretakers were all young, handsome young men and beautiful young ladies. They were very nice to us. Even though I had an oatmeal breakfast in the morning, by the time I entered the Hut, I was very hungry again. They gave us leftover breakfast: oatmeal, scrambled eggs and sausage patties. Yesterday at the campground the caretaker there gave us an orange card after registration. With the orange card, thru-hikers can get two free backed good and a soup. So I got a piece of free tasty coffee cake. I also bought a cup of tea. Sitting in the sunlight filled dining room, and later at the picnic table on front porch, eating the yummy food while looking at the trees and lake, I felt it as too good to be true, a piece of paradise!The hard climbing was after lunch once we crossed hwy 3. At fist the uphill slope was gentle. That actually made me more anxious. Gentler at the lower part means steeper at the higher part. As predicted, the last mile to the top of Mt. Liberty was very steep. It went up more than 2000ft. But it was very little rock scrambling, just steep to walk. Therefore I was tired but not over spent. And we made good progress to reach Liberty Spring Campsite. Once we reached Franconia Ridge, the views were incredible. Blue skies with puffy white clouds were floating above Little Haystack Mountain and Mt. Lafayette. A nice gravel path on the ridge threads through the peaks. Ankle deep blueberries covered large areas on the ridge. They sure tasted sweet and juicy. Later after we summited Mt. Lafayette, I saw Mt. Lincoln, threaded by the nice walk path over its three peaks.It took us some time to get done from Mt. Lincoln and went below the tree line. Looking at the clouds I imagined the sunset would be spectacular. But we need to get down to the protective area of trees. Finally nearly at 7:30 pm, just before the sunset, we found a good camping spot and settled for the night.
Date: 2019-08-16
From: A mile south of Garfield Pond

To: Zealand trail junction 
Miles today: 11.8

Day 137I finished writing trail journal 10 min after midnight, with dozing off a few times. The rain and wind started after that, and lasted a few hours. By 6:30am, the rain stopped. Wind still blew quite strong. I packed everything and left the camp spot by 7:45am.Our first peak today was Garfield Mountain - a small hump on the map, a tough challenge on the trail. With wet condition, I need to pay extra attention to wet roots and slippery rocks, which were covering the whole trail. There were a few places the I needed to pull or push hard to get on the next big step. At one cliff of about 15ft high, I had to put my whole weight on two fingers that were gripping a crack on the rock. On the top of Garfield Mountain, fogs enveloped everything. So I didn¢t stay long there. The going down was always harder than going up. Right after Garfield shelter and camp site, the trail went through a waterfall. The water followed the steps as a river. At this place I set the slowest record: in 15min I hiked 0.1 mile! When I reached AMC Garland Hut, 4.8 miles from the last night camp spot, it¢s already 12:45pm, about 5 hours! We had a bowl of rice and beans stew for lunch in the Hut. They had no bread left. So I didn¢t got the chance to use my orange thru-hiker card on the free backed goods. There was seven miles before we can reach the next huts in our plan. Considering my speed, I was for eager to resume hike. The steep climb was for Twin Mountain, about 1200ft higher in 0.8 mile. It was rough going, but nothing I have not seen yet. So I made ¢good¢ progress in the afternoon. The trail was also easier on the down section, only a couple places that I need to scramble. It even had a couple miles of flat section! By 6:50pm, we got to the Zealand Falls Hut. There was no good work & stay option in this Hut. And all other paid guests had already finished their dinner. So I hiked another short distance, and camped near the waterfall! For now, listening to the rushing song of the four level falls I am ready to fall to sleep.
Date: 2019-08-17
From: Zealand trail junction 

To: Mt. Jackson 
Miles today: 12.0

Day 138It rained again at night. But by 6 am, the rain stopped, and I started the day with the beautiful waterfalls next to my camp spot. While I was getting ready, I left my phone on a rock and did a lovely time lapse video of the Falls. For the first 5 miles, I expected flat trail. Yesterday a south going hiker told us and I got very excited for the information. For many days I had forgotten what a flat trail was. It was truly smooth, at least for a good part of it. One section was over a ledge with nice views on one side. So many blueberries along the the ledge. I ate more than I should, and picked two handfuls for later. I put them in a small plastic container that I used for eating oatmeal in the morning. Even though the 5 miles were not all smooth, many sections had piles of rocks, and too many muddy sections in there too, we still loved it and made good miles in the morning. By noontime, we (Brave heart and me have hiked together for a few days now) came to Crawford Notch. AT thru-hiker class 2017 was there to do trail magic! It was one of the best trail magic I had - many choices of healthy food: oranges, apples, watermelon, pasta salad, vegetable chili, kombucha, pancakes, stir fried potatoes with onion and bell peppers, plus the food hiker likes: beer, soda, lots of sweets, etc.,etc... There were even pecans pie and apple pie! I ate so much and rested for a good one hour before continued my hike. The trail magic did a wonder to boost my energy. From hard hikes in the past week, I was dragging my feet today morning. Even on flat trail I felt tired and thinking about getting off trail for the rest of the day. But after the good food in my tommy I gained energy back. The climb to Webster Cliff was very steep with going up for 1750ft, mostly in less than a mile. The profile in my guide book draws a vertical line for this part. But I felted strong when climbing up. Once I got to the cliff ledge, the views were excellent. Fogs blowing from right across the rocks. Nearby mountains showed and hidden in the fogs. Short trees added to the mystical atmosphere.From the cliff, it was only 500ft to go up the Mt. Webster Peak. The profile looked nice in the book. But, man, it was a hard rock scrambling one after another. I think there might be more than 10 big rocks/cliffs we need to go through. Every one of them required hand over hand pulling/pushing. By the time we finally stand on top of Mt. Webster, we were exhausted and steaming in cold weather. At that time we realized that we cannot make it to Mizpah Hut before dark. So we started looking for a camp spot. The vegetation on these mountains are so dense, the short flat sections were so damp or muddy, it took us more than an hour to find a small place before Mt. Jackson that could hardly fit two tents. The place in the middle of nowhere would be our home for the rainy night.
Date: 2019-08-19
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut 

To: Campsite on Madison Gulf trail
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: mist

Day 140Rocks, rocks, and more rocks! Today is rocks day all day - rough, gnarled, pointed rocks for almost 8 miles. Plus fogs and high wind on the open rocky trails above the tree line. I had to be very focused with footing, like solving puzzles, every move of my feet needed to find the possible move to spot of the next movement. The strong wind, especially gusty wind made aiming my trekking poles uncertain and made myself hard to keep my balance. A few times the gusting wind threw me off balance and I banged my arm against large rocks next to me. One time I needed to step on a big rock, the gusty wind lifted me and my backpack on to the rock effortlessly. Most of the times the wind and the rocks just kept me in a drunk state and prevented me from going fast. A lot of NoBos past me as they seam to defy the gravity and fly on the rocks. The estimated 4.5 hours hike in morning turned out to be 6 hours!The cool thing was the landscape, in fog or under the Sun. The fog moved very fast. I started just under the edge of it. I could see mountains have tops hidden in the clouds, but the bottom still sunny. It was like a ship slicing through ocean. When I was completely in the clouds, it was dark and grimy. The wind blew brown colored grasses in a sea of black rocks covered with yellow green lichen, forming the waves of motion. The vast emptiness of the dark rocky sea was very powerful. I felt humble and peace in it, never fear.I ate black beans soup with a thick piece of bread and a large piece of lemon bar when I finally reached Madison Springs Hut after 6 exhausting hours for lunch.The 3 miles after Madison Spring Hut was still filled with rocks. I never worried about climbing the rocks in uphill sections, even when the trail was steep as it was up to mount Madison. But going down slowed me to a snail pace. That 3 miles took me 4hours. So instead of reaching Pinkman Notch, I camped next to a beautiful rushing river for the night 4 miles before the Notch. Another day that was for short from the planned destination. The sound of the cascade and rustling leaves will rock me into sound sleep tonight.
Date: 2019-08-20
From: Campsite on Madison Gulf trail

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 10.5

Day 141The campsite I stayed last night was very nice. Dry and breezy. When I woke up in the morning, or the soggy items from last few nights of rain had dried.It was a beautiful clear day. The sunlight hit through trees around 6am. A light patched forest morning  always cheers me up, and I think it is the most wonderful thing to see.I hiked about 4 hours in the morning to reach Pinkman Notch. The trails at lower elevation was much easier to walk on. After I came into Vermont and New Hampshire I noticed how silent the forest was. In the southern states, there were so many birds chirping throughout the day, even many hours in the night. Squirrels, chipmunks, snakes were in sight many a day. But they were hardly here. This morning I met two college students doing research on squirrels. They confirmed that this year, they have not seen many squirrels either. Their theory was the squirrel population changes every year, a year of boom usually followed by a year of doom. And this has been the doom year. I hope their theory is right. I hope the wildlife in this forest just going through their normal cycles, not disappear for good. A silent forest is not a comfortable forest.I reached Pinkman Notch AMC visitor center before 10am. Plugged my charger for the phone battery, did a much needed hot shower, packed food resupplies for the next 3 days, and ate a nice lunch of real food. All within less than 2hours. By 11:45am, I was on the trail again to take the Wildcats.The mountain on the north of Pinkman Notch is Wildcats - D,C,B,A, four peaks. Peak D is a ski mountain with a gondola. The trail of Wildcats Ridge up to Peak D had been the most challenging one (technically) with great cliffs and huge vertical boulders. In two miles the trail raises more than 2000ft. At least three boulders of 20-40feet are exposed, needed mountain goat skills and camel¢s endurance to climb up. I was so glad that I don¢t need to go down on this trail. It was pretty terrifying if I need to go down there. I had my full sympathy and respect to the SoBos who have to do this in the down direction.The gondola runs out in summer to bring visitors up the hill for a view. But there was no other services on the top. So after rested a few minutes, I continued to hike the rest of the Wildcats, each has a few wild spots for a wild and exhausting climb. By 5:30pm, I reached peak A and in another hour, after endless stairs, down 1100ft, I finally reached Carter Notch Hut, sitting by two pretty little ponds -one half covered with water lilies with yellow flowers and cool looking grasses, the other littered with large brown rocks, more as an alpine lake. I happily found that the hut still have room for more quests. So I checked in, and had a terrific dinner right away. The lentil soup, bread and butter, vegetables, Mexican lasagna and lemon cake tasted to wonderful. It¢s a nice treat for me after a week of hard climbs in the Whites.
Date: 2019-08-21
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Camp above Rattle River
Miles today: 11.0

Day 142Carter Notch Hut Croo were awesome. They prepared tasty breakfast, performed a funny yoga to educate guests folding blankets, packing out all trash, leaving tips, and entertained kids. I loved my hut stay, one more satisfied customer.The hike to Carter Dome and the rest of Carter mountains were steep but not too difficult. But the down hill part from North Carter Mountain to the Imp campsite required lots of butt sliding, and really slow me down. Then in the afternoon, there was one last climb to Moriah Mountain. The rain started from there, too. It was light rain at the uphill section, easy to manage. On top of the Moriah Mountain, the rain stopped for a few minutes. I was presented with flowing white clouds among the hills below and valley far. That was a fantastic sight. Then the rain picked up power. I had almost down pour going down the mountain. Soon my clothes were soaked inside and outside. I didn¢t wear my poncho for it was long and easy to trip over on this steep trail. I used poncho as pack cover, wearing rain jacket on top. This setting was perfect in light rain. But useless in heavy rain. I felt cold, worried about hypothermia, eager to find a spot to camp. I force myself to rest, drank water and ate as much trail mix as possible to keep me hydrated and stay warm. After almost two hours by a stream, I finally got a spot good enough to set up tent. Soon I changed into dry clothes, cooked and ate dinner, happily to stay warm and cozy in my tent. Tomorrow I will be getting into Gorham before noon. All the wet dirty clothes will be dealt with by then.Franconia Ridge,Wildcats peaks,Tallest Mount Washington,Presidential Range.Huff I went up,Puff I went down,Walk in the Whites,With a heavy pack in toll.Hot when I move,Stop and I¢m cold,Confused my jacket,It¢s been torn.Cliffs are high,Rocks are big,Climb as a goat,Slide as a snake.Ridges with views,Homey in woods,To complete A.T.,I need them both.
Date: 2019-08-22
From: Camp above Rattle River

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 4.2

Day 143A resupply day in Gorham with only 4.2 miles hike in the morning. I was lucky that the rain stopped before I woke up the early morning allowed me the luxury of making breakfast and packing in dry condition. Of course everything I packed was wet. But I was so happy to take the trail down more than 2100 ft to road 2.  The trail was slippery and steep for the first 2 miles, but nothing required Spider-Man¢s action. The last 2 miles were very smooth and gentle. I really enjoyed it. It followed Rattle River all along. There were many beautiful swimming holes and large flat rock slabs in the river. It would be a wonderful place to take a weekend trip relaxing along the river. There was a 300miles mark on trail this morning, pronouncing the left over distance to Katahdin is only 300 miles! It made me excited.I checked into a Royalty Inn in Gorham, a small town stretched long along road 2. Finding a ride to do resupplies was not very easy. With some luck, a TriCounty transit driver went out of his way taking me to Walmart, and made sure the local bus driver picking me up when he runs the last round from the store. The hotel people were also very nice. They allowed me to use their laundry room and club center for shower before the check in time. They also got my room ready more than an hour before their normal check in time. All was well, and I¢m ready to go for the next leg of A.T..
Date: 2019-08-23
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gentian Pond shelter 
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 144I got back on trail at 10am. The mild temperature and low humidity made this a perfect hiking day. At the trail head, I run into Gumby doing a trail magic there. I have not seen him since mid May! It turned out that he didn¢t like the heat in Virginia and came back home that is only 10 minutes drive from here. He¢s very happy to see me again. A lover of photography himself, that he always talked about cameras on trail with me. It¢s great to see him again. This was the last full day of hiking in NH. The trail was a lot easier than any section in the past week. It felt like NH wants to leave a gentle impression on hikers with the last day. Just before Trident Pass, the sticks made 1900 miles marker made me proud and excited. Yeah, I had walked 1900 miles so far. A long way indeed. The trail passed several ponds today. At the outlet area of Dream Lake, there were lots of water plants with fuzzy dried flower heads. They looked amazing against the back lit of the Sun, too cute to pass them quickly without admiring them. That¢s the thing that can make you forget of time.A little after 7pm, I arrived at Gentian Pond shelter for the night. The opening side of the shelter has views of mountains and sky full of bright stars. One object stranded out very bright, too low for a planet, too high for an airplane. I guessed it could be the space station.
Date: 2019-08-24
From: Gentian Pond shelter 

To: Full Goose Shelter 
Miles today: 9.6

Day 145The last mountain in New Hampshire is Mnt. Success. It was not a very difficult one, but not an easy one either. There was rock scrambling at several locations and as many as four false Summits. I walked to the Summit in heavy fog. Kind of cool scenery. I took a picture in heavy fog, trying to capture the satisfaction feeling of reaching mnt. Success!At noon time I walked into the NH/Maine state line and had a nice long lunch break there. One last state to go! Maine¢s trail was as hard as New Hampshire! In the first 5 miles today I have encountered many rock scrambling locations, and many metal bars, ladders and boards. Some of the later are in really wired angles. I only made a little less than 10 miles today, due to slow moving. Brave Heart said I was a spidy (spider) woman as I went up the large boulders easily. But I was an injured turtle when I went down. Very slow and unsure. There were same notches cut into rocks to help hikers with better foot hold. But they were far and sparse.The forest had more wildlife today. In morning before entering Maine, a chipmunk was on trail eating blueberries. In late afternoon, in Maine, a pheasant was walking on trail and flying around. It even sat on a tree branch two feet from me, frozen in there for more than 5 minutes. I also heard lots of calls like wild turkeys in late morning. Not sure what were them.With 277 miles to go in Maine, some say it would take a month, some wanted to finish in two weeks. I hope for 23 days. It is a tough state for the A.T..
Date: 2019-08-25
From: Full Goose Shelter 

To: Speck Pond shelter 
Miles today: 5.1

Day 146I updated the slowest record today! Going through Mahoosuc Notch, with distance of 1.1 miles, I spent 4 hours and 10 minutes. That was 3.8 hours per hour! Instead of just walking, I used lots of my upper body strength to crawl, push and pull. I went under, over, and around big boulders, many times passed my backpack and trekking poles to Brave Heart to hull to the other side of the boulders. Without her as a team, it would have taken me much longer to go through that difficult Notch. It was deep and cold in the Notch. I saw snow and ice in some crevices down there. The sunlight might never hit those spots. Many rocks were wet and slippery. I was thankful that it was a very nice sunny day today. There were many beautiful looking wild star flowers in the area where it had sunlight, the flowers that I saw they were blooming in the cool spring of mid April. Some hikers call the Notch Jungle Gym. Many of the young hikers passed me quickly. On one slippery big rock, I was trying to sit down and slide off it. But I slipped while squatting on it, hit my tailbone. So for the rest of the day I had to hike with pain in my tailbone. That included most of the Notch and the following steep climb up to Mahoosuc Arm. People I met on the trail coming from the North all said Mahoosuc Arm was really bad. But I did not feel it was any more difficult than any section in the Whites. It was definitely much easier than the Notch. For 1.6 miles going from the end of the Notch to the summit of the Arm, it only took me 1 hour 40 min. Once I got up to the Summit, the view was wonderful and dragonflies came to visit me while I sat down on the warm rock bathing in the Sun for a break. It was wonderful to have the most difficult part of A.T. behind me. I also took some Advil to reduce the pain caused by hiking, crawling, pushing, pulling and slipping. I think I will be on Advil for a few days. Shortly after the summit there was a field of bog. The trail has many of bog sections, and they are lined with wooden planks. One of the plank waved sideways when I walked on it. I lost my balance with one foot stepped in the mud. It was a bottomless mud, quick sand! In a blink of eye, my knee went under. I still felt emptiness under my foot. Quickly I rolled over to the side of grasses to pull my leg out. Luckily the grassy area was solid. I was safe, but got really muddy pants and boot. In the early days on A.T. I only heard the Whites are tough. When I was in the Whites, I started to hear South Maine was tough. Now I really think South Maine is tougher than the Whites. For today, I only made 5.1 miles with 9 hours of hiking. When I see the first shelter after Mahoosuc Arm, I was ready to stop for the night. I cooked and sat at a bench next to Speck Pond. The warmth of sun dried my pants and socks. The water in the pond was sparkling under sunlight. All perfectly beautiful and peaceful. The hardest was in the past. I am looking forward to start the rest of the journey tomorrow.