morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-07-13
From: Hanover, NH Co-op 1756.6

To: Moose Mountain Shelter 1767
Miles today: 10.4

Hiking Day 113, Elevation 2110 feetI slept quite well last night considering that I was in a strange bed with a strange (but nice!) woman. Kerry told me he didn¢t fare so well. Yolo kept flopping about and hitting him accidentally. We all had waffles for breakfast because that was all that was on offer; that and protein shakes, which Kerry also had. Bob C. Came to pick us up a little after 9 so we knew we would get started late and that we would have a short walking day. We had a lot of mud to walk through, which I¢¢m sure would ordinarily have subsided by now, but every time it starts to dry out, the rain comes and we start all over again. It is supposed to rain tonight so we stopped in the shelter. Right now the sky is blue with fluffy white clouds. There is a cool wind blowing which feels refreshing and seems to sweep away the humidity.We climbed a couple of mountains today including Moose Mountain, upon which we sit. There were a lot of very pretty mushrooms and we even found some small chanterelles. If I were cooking I would have gathered some for dinner. The mushrooms are the one benefit of the continuing rain; they love the wet and high humidity.We had a lot of mosquitoes and little black flies, both of which flew into my eyes on a regular basis but once the wind started to blow, the insects went away.Matt, Lucky Colleague, Danny Boy and one other that we met at Wise Pines Hostel are here tonight also. They are tenting so I hope it doesn¢t rain on them. On the other had, if it has to rain, tonight would be better than tomorrow!
Date: 2023-07-14
From: Moose Mountain Shelter 1767

To: Smarts Mountain Shelter 1779.4
Miles today: 12.4

Hiking Day 114, Elevation to 3237 feetQuatorze Juillet, Bastille Day. Last night, at last light, we heard a giant clap of thunder twice and then the sky exploded in rain; it came down in buckets and pounded on the metal roof over our heads. I was very happy to be dry inside the shelter and I slept well too.Today, we accidentally had our day planned for us by Yolo. I think we weren¢t paying attention because next thing we knew he¢d booked hostels going out several days. This has the effect of slowing us down even more since he has planned 10 mile days. We may be able to make some adjustments, if not, we¢ll just go with his plan and make it clear that going forward we will make our own reservations.Today, for example, we arrived here at the shelter before 3. Ordinarily, we would have hiked on to the next shelter 5 miles away. Instead, we¢re sitting on a bench outside the shelter, which is actually an old cabin with screened windows and a door that presumably used to the accommodate the person in the fire watch tower on top of the mountain, nearby. We¢ll be even more protected in there if the rain comes. I climbed up the tower for some amazing views over the tree tops of the surrounding tree-covered mountains. The clouds drifting around in the mostly blue sky.We climbed 3 or 4 mountains today, a total elevation gain of more than 5 thousand feet. These were not easy climbs, they went straight up forever and straight down. At one place on the up climb, it was so steep that the rock was studded with a rebar ladder to climb! Felix had no trouble with any of this, although a couple of times I had to use his pack handle so he could get his feet in place for pushing up.It was supposed to rain today and now I¢m wondering if it will. Another day of obstacle course walking around mud, over rocks and tree branches in an effort to keep our feet dry somewhat successfully. We met a number of south bound hikers including 3 nice young men who stopped to talk: WW (double dub), Lucky and Rooster, and Mr. Friendly, who turned up at this shelter but didn¢t plan to stay.More brightly colored mushrooms today: they just seem to get more intense and plentiful every day.Another short day tomorrow into another hostel some resupply and a shower!
Date: 2023-07-15
From: Smarts Mountain Shelter 1779.4

To: NH Route 25C (Barn Door Hostel) 1794.4
Miles today: 15.0

Hiking Day 115, Elevation to 1543 feetWe had rain in the night; several showers woke us up. We also wakened several times in the middle of the night to people talking loudly, seemingly having a good time. We learned that there were 9 (?) groups of students from Dartmouth University, participating in something called, ¢the Dartmouth Challenge.¢ That¢s what another hiker, Mr. Friendly, told Yolo. I have no idea what that is but it definitely seemed out of place on a mountain top where a bunch of hikers were getting their beauty sleep!We got off to a good start this morning¢¦it was supposed to rain at 11 AM and when it didn¢t, we changed our plan and hiked on a few more miles ahead of the more serious rain that is supposed to start tomorrow. Once again, we hiked up several mountains, including Cube Mountain. They were all straight up and straight down through the ever present mud and trail water features. Somewhere in Vermont, the steep mountains began and in New Hampshire, they seem to be getting more intense and rocky as we approach the Whites. Humidity is very high and we all suffered appropriately, but Kerry and I, being from California tend to complain more.Aside from that, I never tire of the pale sunlight filtering through the trees to create lovely puddles of light all around us. A little sunshine, even filtered through haze, rain and various clouds seems to make the world feel right, somehow.Tomorrow, predicted to be stormy, will be a short hiking day, at less than 5 miles. This will bring us close to the Moosilauke Mountain and notch, almost 10 miles of challenging boulder scrambling, rock climbing that is very slow going and which we definitely don¢t want to tackle in the rain.. we plan to do that the day after in better weather. This may be wishful thinking. One day at a time.
Date: 2023-07-16
From: NH Route 25C (Barn Door Hostel) 1794.4

To: NH Route 25 1799.3
Miles today: 4.9

Hiking Day 116, Elevation to 1025 feetA nero today. It was supposed to rain today and it did, but just this morning when we hiked the 4.9 miles to Route 25, the south side of the approach to Mt. Moosilauke. Tomorrow, we will hike it southbound from Beaver Brook. It¢s a steeper climb from the North and we are told, an easier direction. We¢ll see. It rained hard on us most of the morning as we walked to NH RT 25. Even the tree canopy didn¢t keep the rain off us. It was hard going through more mud and the rain pouring buckets on us. The tree canopy created some buffer and had it not been so wet and miserable, the sound of the rain falling was peaceful in an inevitable sort of way. Knowing we would return to the hostel to get dry was helpful. Jack, the hostel manager picked us up and mercifully, stopped at a deli so we could get some lunch. The rain stopped, of course, when we got off trail, only adding to my feelings of hopelessness about the weather. There just doesn¢t seem to be an end in sight. I should be grateful that we aren¢t still in Vermont and I am. I¢m sorry for all the people there who are dealing with flooded homes, which is so much harder than our difficulties, but it doesn¢t make me feel better.Tomorrow, less rain for the day, but more the following day when we plan to take another zero because the rain will return. The only thing we can do is keep going as best we can. We weren¢t expecting New Hampshire to be New Mudshire, but that¢s what we have.
Date: 2023-07-17
From: NH Route 25 1799.3

To: Kinsman Notch 1808.8
Miles today: 9.5

Hiking Day 117, Elevation to 1883 feetToday we climbed up Moosilauke Mountain from the North side out of Kinsman Notch and walked South back to NH Route 25. It was only 9.5 miles but a very steep climb almost 3000 feet to the Summit at 4802 feet. I was quite happy we weren¢t carrying back packs for the climb that was almost vertical in places. Some of the trail work was downright ingenious. How they secured wooden blocks to granite with no apparent bolts or screws completely escapes me. Kerry was puzzled too. There were stone steps cleverly interspersed with existing boulders that made the climb easier but not less strenuous. If we have more of this ahead of us, I think the days ahead will be manageable.I had to cut Felix loose numerous times because he had to find his own way up the steep path at times, but we kept a careful watch to make sure he didn¢t get distracted by any of the forest creatures. He actually behaved himself! When I had to cross Jeffers Brook, I removed my shoes, which I had worked so hard all day to keep dry and waded across knee deep. Felix could see he was going to have to swim, and not being a water dog, this did not make him happy but he bravely plunged in and swam across.No rain today, but plenty of mud and water cascading down the steep trails. At the beginning of the hike, we walked up the side of enormous cascading waterfalls. I feel certain we were fortunate to have this view of Beaver Brook Falls. They were magnificent, rushing, crashing down the mountain in 3 separate channels at one point; it was quite a sight!When we finally summited Mt. Moosilauke, the sun shone briefly, showing us hazy views of more tree covered mountains. Just then a cloud rolled over covering the sun and the mountain around us. A light wind was blowing and we sat and ate a quick lunch before starting the long and less steep descent on the other side of this great prominence. But first, we walked through a pygmy forest of what I think were spruces¢¦very healthy and crowded as we left the alpine meadow.On top of the mountain, we saw McDuck, the Okie (from Oklahoma) and JFK, whom we hadn¢t seen for more than 1000 miles. We met McDuck¢s wife, Angela again at the trailhead and like the last time we met her she gave us all Gatorade! McDuck and friends had fallen behind us but they started moving faster through Vermont in an effort to get ahead of the flooding. Later, we ran into Dob whom we haven¢t seen for a few weeks and Uncle Sam whom we knew was near but ahead of us. It was fun seeing people we had already met.We crossed 1800 miles today! It was a good hiking day. It¢s always a good day when the sun shines!
Date: 2023-07-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Another zero today. Another rain day. Our next stretch is a 16 mile hike over the Kinsman mountains¢¦Leslie, the hostel owner(?) told us it is the toughest stretch of the difficult White Mountains. It seemed wise to wait for a better weather day predicted for tomorrow. So today, we moved to the Notch Hostel in North Woodstock (I never knew there were so many towns in the North East called Woodstock), in preparation for our long walk tomorrow that starts nearby.I spent the day reading inside and listening to the rain outside, in my opinion, the best way to enjoy it! Kerry enjoyed a day off his feet, catching up with the markets and Felix enjoyed a day long nap!
Date: 2023-07-19
From: Kinsman Notch 1808.8

To: Flume Visitor Center .9 miles off liberty springs Th 1825.2
Miles today: 16.6

Hiking Day 118, Elevation to 1839 feetWe hiked the Kinsmans today. Everyone warned us it would be difficult with a lot of vertical ¢non-technical¢ rock climbing, and it was. We took most of the day to walk from Kinsman Notch to the Flume Visitor Center where we got picked up and returned to the Notch Hostel; it was tiring but nowhere near as hard on us as we had been told¢¦I think this may be because we didn¢t go fast, especially on the rocky bits.There is a lot of water coming off those mountains. Many of the boardwalks were under water and the trail, in places, had turned into cascading waterfalls. We had several challenging stream crossings as well. We started our ascent in a fog bank that started to melt away as the morning wore on. Then we had a heavily clouded sky and it looked like it might rain a number of times but it didn¢t and we had some great views from both the South and North Kinsman Peaks, the best I think, we¢ve had in several states. In summary, we had a good day and we hope to have another good day without rain tomorrow. Then the rain is predicted to return the day after, but we¢ll enjoy the good weather while we can.We saw Jolly Green and Chick Pea with Luke and Mr. Friendly (again!) atop North Kinsman Peak. Jolly Green wanted to help me across the stream yesterday because I look old, frail and apparently in need of help. He was very sweet standing in the water at the time in his underwear. Today he took a couple of photos of Kerry and me together. We also met Dolittle, a south bounder, who is staying at the hostel. Back at the hostel Uncle Sam and Acorn showed up¢¦we keep running into them and Uncle Sam gave me his contact information this time. I had forgotten to get dog food for Felix, and Leslie, who shuttled us this morning, bought a small bag of purina for him and she wouldn¢t let me pay her for it. She said, ¢it¢s trail magic.¢ Again, the kindness of strangers!All day, a Tolkien quote was running through my head, so I¢ll leave you with this:¢All that is gold does not glitter,  Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither,  Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken,  A light from the shadows shall spring;  Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.¢ ¢ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Date: 2023-07-20
From: Flume Visitor Center .9 miles off liberty springs Th 1825.2

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite and shelter 1835.4
Miles today: 10.2

Hiking Day 119, Elevation to 4020 feetToday was brutal! Everyone keeps telling us how hard Mt. Moosilauke and the Kinsman¢s are, and after today I don¢t believe anyone unless they just say, ¢the Whites are hard.¢The hike up to Franconia Ridge was hard and long and then we went over Little Haystack Mountain (4780 ft); Mount Lincoln (5089 ft) and then Mt. Lafayette (5260 ft) and finally Mt Garfield (4467 ft). We went up a lot of feet today and a lot of them were rocky and vertical. I managed to fall straight forward down nearly vertical declines twice in the space of five minutes. I¢m lucky I didn¢t hit my head or break anything, but undoubtedly, I will be sore tomorrow.Complaints aside, we had some wonderful views today, the best so far on the entire trail. This is partly the geography, but also the weather, which was not foggy, as smokey, or rainy. When we got up this morning the sun was shining¢¦.this cheered everyone at the hostel. By the time we reached Franconia Ridge, the sky was covered in high clouds: white clouds, grey clouds and black clouds and I thought it might rain, but it didn¢t. By mid afternoon, we had sunny skies again; the weather is unpredictable, but the pattern seems to be most consistently for late afternoon rain.We have also been told that parts of the trail are too hard/dangerous for the dog. This may be true, but if today was any indication, it may not apply. Parts of the trail may be dangerous for old people, but after I cut Felix loose he had no trouble negotiating the boulder hopping or rock climbing. Felix has figured out how to let me know when there is a problem. I¢ve accidentally bonked him a few times with my hiking poles, or he¢s walked into a tree branch and he lets out what I think of us a squawk, it¢s a cry of pain. But today, he did it to warn me I was going up a rock face that he couldn¢t clamber up behind me. That¢s when I cut him loose so he could find his own way up. He¢s a quick learner; he watches where I go and then figures out the best route for himself.It¢s clear that we will have to move forward one day at a time. I¢m hoping we¢ll get better at the rock climbing at least!People we met/saw today:Reset (travelled briefly with Bambi, Lawsuit, Cookie Monster and Machine).Geo, a cardiologist living in Alabama.Bean, the caretaker for Liberty Springs Shelter, who gave us our AMC passes, $10 for $5 stays at campsites and shelters and access to ¢free¢ leftovers at the huts.Fizzix, whose journal I have scanned on trail journals. He was feeling dispirited over the weather.
Date: 2023-07-21
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite and shelter 1835.4

To: Ethan Pond Shelter 1849.9
Miles today: 14.5

Hiking Day 120 Elevation to 2831 feetAlmost as soon as we got on the trail, we were confronted with a very steep cascading waterfall that was the trail we had to descend. All I thought was that it wasn¢t not as scary as it looked, it was downright terrifying, and this was how we began our day. After that adrenaline packed warm up, we walked a couple of miles to Galehead Hut where we were treated to left over cold scrambled eggs and cold, solidified, oatmeal which Kerry said could be used as mortar in a brickwork wall. It was good to have coffee, although even that was lukewarm at best. I must say, I don¢t understand the thinking. Our AMC pass entitled us to these delectables, but they were served to us in the most unappetizing way possible. If one is going to offer a ¢benefit¢ like this why be so ungracious about it?After that, we managed to walk a couple of miles in fog to the top of South Twin Peak. It was probably a spectacular view, but all we saw was the inside of a white cloud, once again. Then we walked down through the pygmy alpine forest and the rain started. It stopped briefly from time to time, but mostly it just rained a solid soaking rain all day. It would have been a nice rain had there been a way for us to dry out at the end of the day, but there wasn¢t and it¢s still raining. The forecast is for more rain tomorrow. At this point, I¢m waiting for Noah to show up with his ark.We had a brief reprieve at Zealand Falls Shelter where we had a bowl of lukewarm bean barley soup, which is included in the paid AMC pass, and shared a surprisingly good pulled pork sandwich (not free, $8 extra). It was a nice break from the rain to which we returned in short order. One treat ahead of us was that the first three miles was good tread and took us out on a ledge where, in a brief rain reprieve, we had lovely views over a valley with hanging clouds floating across from and below us. There were giant rockfalls and walls of granite that reminded us of the Sierra Nevada.We walked the final 4.8 miles to our destination, Ethan Pond Shelter, which only had room for one of us and some of the occupants weren¢t interested in making room for the 2 of us. Fortunately, Strawberry and Yolo were not far behind so she got that final spot when she arrived.Meanwhile, the camp caretaker, Solitaire, helped us set up our tent on a wooden platform. It¢s not a stand alone tent, so this took a bit of jury rigging. Poor soaking wet Felix has to sleep outside under Kerry¢s wet raincoat and in the small, tent vestibule. Needless to say none of us are happy with any of this. We will go to sleep and hope we awaken to a drier day tomorrow.People we met today: Saw Pointman again, strawberry and Yolo, Hot Lips and Caveman (all stayed at or near the shelter last night.Scout Troop 75 on a 3day backpacking trip out of Chelmsford, MA
Date: 2023-07-22
From: Ethan Pond Shelter 1849.9

To: Mizpah Spring & Neumann tentsite 1859.2
Miles today: 9.3

Hiking Day 121, Elevation 3803/feetThankfully, the sun was out today when we awoke. It was a bit of a challenge getting packed up this morning with everything wet outside (it rained last night) but we managed to get going by 6 a.m.About a 3 mile walk down to Route 302, then up all the way to Mizpah Hut; first Mt. Webster (3910 feet) and then Mt. Jackson (4052 feet). We had been warned about some serious rock climbing (a friend told us class 2 and 3) and we weren¢t disappointed! Fortunately, as we got close to the summit of Mt. Webster, Recon, Popeye and Reset caught up with us and helped us a couple of times where the rocks were vertical and over our heads, just a little too high for a Felix leap.They sort of adopted us for the day and tomorrow we plan to hike with them, maybe for a while until they get too fast for us, which will probably be in short order. The hiking went fast¢¦after we met up with them. There was still a lot of mud and for the first time, poor Felix did what the rest of us have done many times: he misjudged its density and fell up to his armpits in it! He was quite surprised and quite a sight! And best of all we had wonderful views on the high ledges we walked on.We hiked all the way into Mizpah with them, arriving early afternoon. We had all planned to go on but the forecast was for more rain. Recon hiked the AT last year and felt that we should go with the good weather predicted for tomorrow. He thought the views were too special to miss. Kerry and I thought on balance we should stay and this would give us an opportunity to dry the tent and see if we could do a ¢work for stay¢ at Mizpah. They only allow two hikers a night in the program and we were accepted. In exchange for a cooked meal and sleeping on the library floor, we swept and cleaned for a little almost 2 hours. It was kind of fun and we got to see how the huts work, an educational experience! After the hut hoppers eat, we¢ll have leftovers with the staff, and the best thing is an indoor toilet!Today¢s rain hasn¢t happened (yet), but it may rain tonight and we¢ll be snug inside! We¢ll, almost time for dinner °.People we saw today:Strawberry and Yolo are tenting hereDob passed us early, on his way to Lakes of the Clouds Hostel
Date: 2023-07-23
From: Mizpah Spring & Neumann tentsite 1859.2

To: Osgood Tentsite 1874
Miles today: 14.8

Hiking Day 122, Elevation 2493 FeetYesterday, Recon suggested that we leave at 5 a.m. to take advantage of the forecast good weather. He also had an inkling of how difficult today¢s hike would be, having hiked it before¢¦and he was right. We didn¢t arrive at Osgood until a little after 7 p.m.We had a steep climb up from Mizpah hut to the Lake of the Clouds Hut at the Base of Mt. Washington. A cool wind was blowing and the sun was shining. For the most part we had great views of the surrounding mountains and valleys; it was very uplifting.At Lake of the Clouds Hostel, we had plates of eggs and sausage, cake and coffee and this set us up for the climb up Mt. Washington whose top was shrouded in clouds. This we didn¢t mind because the day was beautiful. As we left the hut, there was a sign that read, ¢Mt Washington has the worst weather in the world.¢ At the top of the mountain we found a lot of people, many of them brought there by a cog train from the valley below. There was a cafe, so Kerry and I each had a coke and a banana and wrote postcards to family to send from the mountain top post office. Recon took our photo at the Mt. Washington sign and then we all set off down the mountain and headed for Madison Hut.I am very tired. The climb down to Madison hut, and especially up and over Madison was very steep and rocky. I fell 3 times again; my pants are torn and my knee is banged up.Poor Popeye had a hard time coming down from Madison, it was steep enough to trigger her fear of heights and effectively immobilize her. When we finally got to Osgood, there was only one spot on a platform available and the intrepid three (Reset, Recon and Popeye ) insisted we take it. We were so tired we accepted as graciously as we could.Point Man, on the other half of the platform, helped us set up. He has to go home to Dallas for a few days to help celebrate the life of his daughter¢s 27 year old fianc© who died suddenly of a seizure, so sad.In spite of being dead tired after a grueling day, the soaring mountains and brief good weather of the last few days have returned me to the peace and still place I was feeling weeks ago:¢At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,  Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,  Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,  There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.  I can only say, there we have been: but I cannot say where.  And I cannot say, how long, for that is to place it in time.¢T. S. Eliot, Burnt Norton, the Four Quartets