morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-24
From: Happy Hill shelter

To: Sunset Moter Inn
Miles today: 5.9

Start 9:00End 11:55Temp 75Best part - Peach cobbler and coffeeBiggest complaint - Crispy prevented me from getting an early start The hike from the shelter into Hanover, NH didn't take long. That's right, I'm in New Hampshire. You walk through Norwich,VT and then cross a bridge which crosses White River and then your in Hanover, NH. On the way into town there was some trail magic (soda and snacks left by trail angels/previous hikers). I had a can of Mountain Dew, three granola bars, an Oreo cookie and some Wheat Thins. I went to the post office and mailed home my Bluetooth keyboard which wasn't working and my reading glasses which I wasn't using. I normally wear contacts but since I have issues with contacts when I'm hiking this hike I'm wearing glasses. I brought contacts as a backup if I lose or break my glasses. I'm not using my contacts so I don't need my reading glasses. If I ever do I'll buy some in a town. Then I went to the drug store. When I met Shroomer five days ago he told me he had had giardia in the past and the cure was a drug called Flagyl. He carries some with him in case he gets it again. You get giardia from water you get in the woods. I treat my water with iodine but you could still possibly get giardia so I decided having the cure with me is a good idea. I had my doctor call in a prescription to the drug store in Hanover, NH. Dartmouth college is in Hanover. The Dartmouth Outdoor Club lets hikers leave their packs in the basement of their building while they visit the town. When I left my pack there I met some other hikers. We went to lunch together. Trail name wise I went to lunch with Gilligan and Ginger. Maryann couldn't make it. As we finished our lunch we met a hiker from Israel who was ending his thru hike because he was still in the Israeli reserves and was being called up.   I had peach cobbler and coffee at Molly's, a nice restaurant. I also got the complimentary basket of bread. Actually the basket of bread itself was as much as some of the meals I eat on the trail. They have free bus service in Hanover. I took the orange bus to the Sunset Motor Lodge and had a good night's sleep.
Date: 2014-07-25
From: Sunset Moter Inn

To: Campsite at Mink Brook
Miles today: 8.5

Start 9:21End 3:30Temp 81Best part - All around good dayBiggest complaint - Almost a disaster I took the orange bus back to town and had breakfast at Lou's restaurant. I ended up sitting next to a guy from Circleville, OH. He went to Ohio State and he was considering getting his Master's at Dartmouth. When he asked where the Appalachian Trail was here and I pointed at the street. After breakfast I went left out of the restaurant and took the first left and hiked to the Co-op grocery store which is where the trail leaves town. There was more trail magic on a picnic table outside the grocery store; orange Sunkist soda and Smart Water. Smart Water comes in tall skinny bottles that many hikers like because they use them with their Sawyer water filters. They can be squeezed easily forcing water through the filter. I did my resupply at the grocery store. I ended up getting bagels and deviled ham for two lunches. I found out later that I needed a can opener for the deviled ham. Just yesterday I realized that I was carrying a small finger held can opener. I always feel good when I finally use something I've been carrying for many miles. Sky Chicken had told me the water at the Moose Mountain shelter was quite unappealing and suggested a campsite a couple miles short of the shelter. I found the campsite and it was nice. My tent was between two branches of a stream. What I use to treat my water is called Polar Pure. It is a small bottle with iodine crystals trapped inside. You put water in the bottle and after an hour the water is saturated enough to treat your water. There is a guide on the side of the bottle that shows how many capfuls of solution to add to a liter of water under current weather conditions. After twenty minutes your water is ready to drink. Technically to be guaranteed to kill giardia your water is supposed to be sixty-eight degrees. You can set your bottles in the sun or you can add hot water. Generally I just try to be smart about where I get my water and now I carry the cure with me. After you treat your water you refill the Polar Pure bottle so it will be ready the next time. This time when I did that I fumbled when I went to put the lid back on. The lid dropped into the fast flowing brook and quickly disappeared. Without that lid I was screwed. I couldn't hike down the trail carrying my Polar Pure bottle upright. I spent a long time searching for that black lid in vain. I reluctantly went to my only other option, the bottles of medicine I had in my pack. Would you believe that the lid from a bottle of Rite-Aid brand lortadine, the drug in Claratin, just happens to be exactly like the lid for a Polar Pure bottle? The only difference is the lortadine bottle's lid is white. When I told a fellow hiker that story he said, "You gotta be lucky."
Date: 2014-07-26
From: Campsite at Mink Brook

To: Trapper John shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Start 7:45End 2:03Temp 75Best part - A napBiggest complaint - Getting tired Since I decided to do shorter miles I also decided I should still get up early and hike more in the morning when it's still cool. Consequently I got to the Trapper John shelter at 2:03. After claiming my spot in the shelter and calling Tish I was tired so I took a nap. Later another hiker showed up and said he didn't blame me for taking a nap and thought it was a good idea. He was just stopping for a break and a snack. Later three different hikers showed up. Sparky was a young thru hiker I met at the picnic table outside the Co-op grocery story. He took a couple of the Smart Water bottles of water. A second young guy named Little Foot arrived. A third guy who was more my age got there also. They all commented that last hill was tough so I felt my difficult time with it made sense. Moose mountain earlier in the day was tough also. They all put up their tents. They all came back and we all chatted while Everybody cooked their suppers. They all went to their tents well before dark. Same old, same old.
Date: 2014-07-27
From: Trapper John shelter

To: Hexacuba shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: few clouds

Start 7:11End 6:02Temp 70Best part - Fellow hikers agreed with meBiggest complaint - It rained quite awhile The older guy and I ended up hiking together. His trail name was Woodman. When he'd go to the Smokies he was known to be good at finding wood even when it was wet. We both hike at about the same speed. The hills don't seem so tough when you're hiking with someone. We got an early start at 7:11 but around 10:00 AM it started raining and it rained a couple hours. We eventually got to the Fire Wardens cabin. My AT guide said the cabin would be locked but it wasn't. It was nice to get in out of the rain and try to dry off. Little foot was already inside. Instead of a shelter it had four walls, a roof and a door. We all had our lunches and they were speculating about staying at the cabin. It was only about 1:30. By this time the sun was coming back out. Tomorrow the chance of rain was 80%. Little foot said he was thinking about stopping for the day and doing a longer day tomorrow. Woodman agreed and voted for staying. Staying at that cabin was tempting. Figuring a longer day today in the sun made more sense than a long day tomorrow in 80% chance of rain so I said I was going on to Hexacuba shelter. They quickly changed their minds and decided to do the same thing. It was nice to have people agree with me for a change. When we got to the last water source before the shelter Woodman pitched his tent and stayed there. We shook hands and I went the other half mile to the shelter. The shelter is called Hexacuba because it has six sides. It's like a big gazebo with walls on four sides. It was a weird shape to divy up between hikers. Also four people had hammocks. Then a girl showed up and said nine more people were coming, two families. One was the Swiss Family Robinson again. When they got there there was lots of hunting for space to put up tents which was sparse. Tents were right in front of the shelter. Tents were all around the shelter. Tents were everywhere. Getting around the shelter was now easier behind the shelter. It was an interesting night. Two of the kids from one family were on my right. The parents of the other family were on my left. It was definitely a night for ear plugs.
Date: 2014-07-28
From: Hexacuba shelter

To: Hexacuba shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Zero DayBest part - Lazy dayBiggest complaint- Not Applicable I had figured on doing two short days to get to the Hikers Welcome hostel; 7.5 and 7.3 miles. When I knew we had 80% chance of rain I decided to spend a zero day at the weird shaped shelter and get an early start the next day and do 14.8 tomorrow. After the first climb in the morning the rest of it shouldn't be too bad. Famous last words. There were three kids from Cleveland in the shelter after everyone else left. They were planning on staying at the next shelter. That shelter burned down in 2011. Their guide book was from 2008. When I told them it burned down they had to change their plans. I told them about the Hikers Welcome hostel and they eventually decided to hike the 14.8 to the hostel that day and stay at Hikers Welcome. They had a ten day plan and they couldn't get a day behind. The rain stopped but it started up again. They left a little before noon. Oh to be young again. Little foot had slept outside of the shelter in his tent. He decided to come in the shelter. As the day wore on other people showed up at the shelter. We ended up with ten in the shelter.
Date: 2014-07-29
From: Hexacuba shelter

To: Hiker's Welcome
Miles today: 14.8

Start 8:35End 4:20Temp 70Best part - Unexpected reunionBiggest complaint - ? Since I did a zero miles day yesterday I had 14.8 today. After a morning climb the rest of the day wasn't too bad. I've reached the point that uphill is different. It's not easy but it just doesn't bother me so much. I see a hill. I climb the hill. Not a big deal. When you reach the road it's 0.4 to Hiker's Welcome. It's a $20 per night hostel with separate charges for laundry. They have ice cream, soda and sell pop tarts and Raman. They do shuttles, $30 per shuttle divided by how many share the shuttle. Twice a day they take hikers to the nearby store 5 miles away, no charge. I ended up in the back of the hatch back style car and it turns out the girl next to me is a lady hiker I hiked with for five days in 2011. In 2011 she was doing a thru hike. Since then she has also done the Pacific Coast trail and the Continental Divide trail. That's referred to as the triple crown. This year she just finished The Long Trail in Vermont. Her trail name is Steady because she's steady, same pace all the time all day long. I hiked with for five days but I gave up after that. She does too many miles for me. I got a sandwich at the store to bring back for supper. I had ice cream for desert. I got one of the bunks upstairs and had a good night's sleep.
Date: 2014-07-30
From: Hiker's Welcome

To: Hiker's Welcome
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Start 9:00End 4:20Temp 60-70Best part - The views and the cascades Biggest complaint - Long rocky trail down Mt Moosalauke is very steep on the north face. Sky chicken advised me to do Mt Moosalauke southbound so you don't have to descend the steep side. I don't like the idea of slack packing but in this case it's for safety's sake. Nectar who works at Hikers Welcome drove me to where Kinsman road crosses the AT. I then hiked back to Hikers Welcome only carrying food for the day. When you leave your pack like this and then get another ride to the same drop off point the next day and continue north it's called slack packing. Going up the north face there is a cascade on your right. It was beautiful. It continued as you'd climb. You had to make sure to be stationary before looking. Many many times it looked very beautiful. When you get to the top the views are tremendous. Abear and Pockets were already there and eating their lunches. There was one more hiker whose name I don't remember. He took a picture of me with my camera. These are the kind of views that photo's can't do justice to. There were lots of people at the top including some scouts. When I was done at the top I followed the cairns that they use above tree line to show the way. After the part above tree line the trail going down was long and rocky. It was not easy and took a lot longer than expected. I got my laundry done and socialized. I also had some more ice cream and soda and another good night's sleep in my bunk.
Date: 2014-07-31
From: Hiker's Welcome

To: Eliza Brook shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Start 9:00End 3:45Temp 65Best part - Got to the shelter before it rainedBiggest complaint - Seven in the shelter This time I got to the shelter just a few minutes before it rained. You gotta get lucky sometimes. Monologue arrived a few minutes after the rain had started and was soaking wet. Several other hikers arrived later. They were also wet. After awhile it started to hail. We in the shelter got to watch. Woodman was out in the elements getting hailed on. When Woodman arrived later the shelter was full. At this point Woodman and I had been unofficially hiking together. That's how hiking together starts. Two people hiking at the same rate end at the same shelters and kind of team up. Tonight he had to pitch his tent. Seven in the shelter was full. Several more hikers arrived and had to pitch their tents. As usual we all went to bed early. All seven of us sleeping side by side. It seemed rather strange. I was three of seven. Seven of nine couldn't make it because there were only seven of us.
Date: 2014-08-01
From: Eliza Brook shelter

To: Chet's Place
Miles today: 11.5

Start 9:00End 4:50Best part - Ride to townBiggest complaint - Fell on the privy steps One great way to start a long day is to take a fall on the privy steps. On the top step I slipped. I knew I was going to hit. My side hit one step while my right thigh hit the next step hard. As it turns out nothing was broken but I was going to be sore for a while. When I need to take a big step up it hurts. Woodman got a head start. I spent the day trying to catch up with him. He's a little slower than me. We had originally planned to hike past Rt. 3 to the next campsite. We later talked about hitching a ride to Lincoln, NH. We never made a final decision so I wanted to catch up with him so we'd agree to go to Lincoln. When I caught up with him he already talked a middle aged couple who were hiking to give us a ride to Lincoln. We hiked to the parking lot where there car was. They took us to Chet's place. He has a donation only hostel. He thru hiked, I don't remember the year. He had an accident where a white gas camping stove exploded in his home. He spent 8 months in the hospital but now needs a wheel chair. He interrogates you when you arrive to make sure you're a hiker. He's had free loaders in the past and tries to keep the rif raf out. Once he establishes you are an AT hiker then he smiles and welcomes you to the place. The bunkhouse was full so we put our tents out back.
Date: 2014-08-02
From: Chet's Place

To: Liberty Spring Campsite
Miles today: 2.7

Start 2:08End 5:18Best part - Easy going morningBiggest complaint - Hard climb Hiking out from Chet's place you start with a hard climb. You can stay at Liberty Springs campsite or hike another 7.6 miles to the next shelter. After the hard climb that would be a really long day so we hung around town for the morning and just hiked to Liberty Springs campsite. In the white mountains the campsites have attendants because the terrain means there are limited places for tents and many people camping because of the popularity so the attendants keep things from getting abused. I got there before Woodman but wanted to reserve a spot for him. The attendant had me set up on a platform that was big enough for multiple tents. There was already a couple with a larger two person tent but enough room for my tent and Woodman's tent. They were speaking a foreign language so I asked them if they spoke French. The husband said yes but they were actually were speaking Rumanian. They had been living in France for the last six years so they did speak French also. When Woodman got there he set up his tent. This campsite had an area designated for cooking. It was right past the water source. In the white mountains they say you don't have to treat your water. You also don't need big spray. We all cooked our suppers. It was Raman and a bag of Fritos added to the Raman for me.
Date: 2014-08-03
From: Liberty Spring Campsite

To: Garfield Ridge shelter
Miles today: 7.6

Start 8:20End 4:30Best part - Nice shelterBiggest complaint - Got wet coming into the shelter I was close to the shelter. It started to sprinkle. It was a light sprinkle and a sign said 0.2 to the shelter. I decided to hurry to the shelter instead of taking off my pack and putting my pack cover on. Then 0.2 miles later I came to the side trail and another sign that said 0.2 to the shelter. The first sign meant 0.2 to the side trail. And consequently adding the fact that the sprinkle got heavier as I got closer to the shelter my pack was wet by the time I got to there. The shelter was spacious. It had a loft with room for three or four. I slept in the loft. Woodman slept below me. The other half of the shelter was open. There were lots of pegs to hang wet clothes and wet packs on. By morning my pack was mostly dry.Also by morning the shelter was full.
Date: 2014-08-04
From: Garfield Ridge shelter

To: Zeeland Hut
Miles today: 9.5

Start 7:45End 6:55Best part - HutsBiggest complaint - None One thru hiker got up early and quietly and left early. Woodman and I got up a little early and tried to do so quietly. You can only be so quiet if plastic bags are involved.    Rain stopped before we left the shelter. We hiked together and I learned something. There are advantages to going slower. Woodman had one knee replaced and he calls his other knee his bad knee. He's a little slower on the uphill as most of us older hikers are and he 's also a little slower on the downhill because his knees cause him to find ways to find your way through the tough steep rocky downhill sections without taking such big steps down. I learned that going slower you don't get so exhausted. You also don't get soaked in sweat. It makes the day longer but more relaxed. I usually have this attitude of I have to hurry and get there so I can relax. I'm learning that you can take your time and relax while you're getting there and relax when you get there. We got to the Zeeland hut and volunteered for work for stay. They said OK but we had to wait awhile.Later the told us to come in and we got to eat leftovers. Then we had to work.
Date: 2014-08-05
From: Zeeland Hut

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light rain

Start 6:33End 7:40Best part - Beautiful section of trailBiggest complaint - Skipped breakfast We were going to do two ten mile days. When you stay at a hut as a non paying thru hiker you 're supposed to get up early. At Zeeland hut they wanted you to be up at 5:45. I thought we were going to hang around and do work for stay and get breakfast. Instead Woodman just had to get going. We can't sit here for two hours. He wouldn't take no for an answer. We went ahead and started hiking and left our big breakfast behind. The new plan was to stealth camp near Mizpah Hut. By the time we reached the area near the hut we were totally exhausted. It turns out there aren't any stealth tent sites near Mizpah hut. We ended up hiking the whole 14.3 miles. I think two tens would have been better. One morning they tried to slip in 5 miles of normal trail. The trail lately has never been nice. It's just been to what degree of crappy rocky trail will we be hiking today. Then for five miles you're back in hiker heaven again and for 5 miles you don't have rocks and roots in your trail. It was really quite a treat. The trail has been getting steadily harder. You're doing more climbing up, you're doing more climbing down steep rocky terrain. We've been having a mixture of hard and not that bad. Lately the percentage of hard has gone way up. The south bounders have been saying southern Maine is hard. Nobody said it was going to be easy.
Date: 2014-08-06
From: Mizpah Hut

To: Lakes of the clouds
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: light rain

Start 10:45End 4:30Best part - Above tree line againBiggest complaint - Getting colder We were told not to get to Lakes of the Clouds early. That way they can't tell you to move on to the next hut because it's too wicked outside you probably wouldn't survive. This part was above tree line and the wind goes right through you. We got there at 4:30 PM. They told us we could stay in the dungeon. There was a room you had to go outside to get to. There were two of us and only one bunk left. At first the guy said only Woodman could stay in the dining room and I would still have to stay in the dungeon. Later I asked if I could join my friend and he said yes. That dungeon was cold and terrible. It was good to be inside instead. We got leftovers again and we only needed to be gone by 6:30 AM. At lights out time I found a spot which was kind of on the way to the bedrooms. I slept well. I did wake around 5:00 AM and never really got back to sleep after that. Tomorrow is another day.
Date: 2014-08-07
From: Lakes of the clouds

To: Osgood Campsite
Miles today: 10.1

Start 7:20End 6:30Best part - Following Cairns in the cloudsBiggest complaint - Too much scree When we reached the top of Mt Washington we got food and coffee. The touristy information about Mt Washington talked about Mt Washington's weather being the worst in the US or something. Whatever it was I didn't want to hear that information if I'm about to go out in it. Then when you leave there's a sign saying something about people have died by not being prepared on this trail in the summer. Real encouraging stuff. The weather report was high of 40 degrees and 40 MPH winds. It was windy and cloudy. The fact that you had to hike from cairn to cairn was kind of spooky. The clouds prevented you from seeing beyond the next cairn. A couple times you couldn't 't quite see the next cairn but if you took a step or so toward where you think it would be then you would see it. We got rain and we got hail. We got lots and lots of wind. You'd get to know where the wind free spots would be and be ready to appreciate them. We had been hiking over fields of scree, big areas of big rocks/rock piles. We'd been doing this in the cold and the wind and the rain and the hail. I got to a shelter too early, like 3:15 - 3:20. The young college kid thought I should hike on to the Osgood campsite. I asked about the trail ahead and he said the trail ahead was more like the last section of trail coming into the shelter, rocky but not as bad as what we had been doing for the last couple miles. He lied. Flat out lied. After a very steep start we had the same endless scree we had been hiking over. He can'thave too many thru hikers so he has to lie. If he told hikers what was coming up nobody would want to continue. Since you're above tree line so you can see the ridge line you will be hiking down. You could see you have a couple of miles at least of scree coming up. Scree with lots of sharp boulders and lots of places to choose the wrong footing and fall. I fell at least a dozen times, none of consequence. I set up my tent with some other hikers and they all agreed that today's hike was one of if not thee hardest days. I know Woodman would have had a hard time. He chose to skip some trail and do slack packing to be able to finish the trail by Sep 8th. This terrain would be hell on his knees.