morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-07-12
From: ridge below haystack

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 15.3

I woke up way to early this morning and it wore on me all day. I woke up before 5 and I was not able to go back to sleep. I started hiking by 7. I only had a short distance until I was out of the trees and back on the exposed ridge line. It was a beautiful morning with blue skies! So thankful! The first several miles were up Lincoln and then up Lafayette. It was a great hike with tons of views and a lot of pictures. The whites are a really popular place especially when the weather is clear. I met tons of people that were out for the day or weekend. I met tons of people and they were asking all about what I am doing. It was a lot of fun to meet so many different people. I stopped in at Galehead Hut for lunch and had 2 bowls of soup. Then the plan was to try to get a work for stay at the next hut Zealand Falls. Huts will let thru hikers do about an hour of work for dinner and then we sleep on the dining room floor. They had chicken parm for dinner with cookies for dessert. Delicious! The only draw back to the huts is the fact that we aren't aloud to setup our beds until 9:30 and I usually want to be asleep by 8:30. Ah well. It has been fun talking to the people staying in the hut. I am hopeful for a good night of sleep tonight. The plan for tomorrow is to get into the presidentials and to do another work for stay at mizpah hut.
Date: 2013-07-13
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: light rain

Last night I slept on the floor in the hut and I woke up around 4:30. I was able to enjoy the sunrise and a quit morning. It is crazy how early the sunrises up here. I had to wait until after I did chores at 8 until I could leave the hut and start hiking. The hike from Zealand falls was great and had several long stretches of smooth trail! As I was nearing Crawford notch I met a day hiker that was hiking south. He gave me some fruit and we talked for a bit. I mentioned to him that I had been battling giardia and that I was trying to hike to Gorham to get medicine. He went out of his way to help me out. He told me to wait for him in Crawford notch and he would drive me to a cvs in Conway that was 30 minutes away! He saved me, my energy has been down and hiking has been tough. I have been having incredible weather through the whites but my health has made it tough to really enjoy them. He brought me to town to get the prescriptions that I needed to get better. He is also also apart of a hiking club that has a cabin 5 minutes from the AT. They set me up to stay at the cabin tonight and a group that is here cooked dinner and dessert for me! So nice of them. I am planning on staying at the cabin tomorrow too, for a zero day. I need to get healthy and I want to be able to fully enjoy hiking. I am super thankful for the Sig Sau hiking club for taking me in and for being so generous!
Date: 2013-07-14
From: Crawford Notch

To: crawford notch zero
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

It has been a really fun day off of the trail! The hiking club cooked breakfast for me this morning and then we said our goodbyes. After that I hung out with Arthur all day and we did trail magic. He had a great setup for hikers. I sat out by the trail for about 8 hours and the hikers came in waves. I met several sobo's and some new Nobo's it was a great time with a lot of random conversation. The sobo's are funny to me and they remind me of the start of my hike..... At the start everyone wants to know what you are carrying and every specific detail about your miles and gear. For Nobo's at this point we no longer care what other people are carrying, we are just in this together and know that the gear isn't what has gotten us this far into our hike. We fed over 15 thru hikers and met some great people. The absolute highlight of my day was seeing Temp for the first time in 1300 miles. We met in Tn and hiked on and off until Grayson highland in southern VA. He has been 4 days behind me since and we met back up today! It was an incredible feeling to know that he is still out here. So Arthur and I headed back to the cabin for the night and invited temp to tag along. Once at the cabin I wanted to head down to the river to go for a swim and wash a week of dirt off of me. The river was incredible. There was a part of it where it was really narrow and deep with cliffs on either side. I swam around at the base checking to see how deep it was and decided it was safe to jump from the cliffs, that were about 25 feet high. I had the place all to myself... I wish I would've brought my camera down. after that we had dinner and just relaxed. I am hiking out in the morning and looking forward to being on top of mt Washington the second highest peak on the AT.
Date: 2013-07-15
From: crawford notch zero

To: Stealth camp
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: scattered clouds

We got up around 7 this morning and cooked pancakes for breakfast. Arthur then drove temp and I back to the trail head for us to begin the climb up the presidentials. I was really relaxed and interested to see how my energy would hold up for the day. We started the day around 1100 feet and would be going up to 6200. Once we got the first part of the climb out of the way and made it to Webster climbs it was not stop views for the next 14 or so miles, all above tree line. With all the views it made the hiking easy. We stopped in at mizpah hut to get fresh water and one of the caretakers gave us some huge brownies! Then it was back up and over to lake of the clouds hut and up mt Washington. I was able to summit on a clear day, I really didn't think that would happen. There is a road to the top so it was a bit crowded with people wanting to take pictures by the summit sign. I was getting pretty impatient waiting on them...I thought about congratulating them on driving to the top but I kept my comments to myself. After Washington the trail was extremely rocky and slow the entire way to Madison hut. When I got to the hut it was closed so the appalachian money collectors... I mean mountain club, could have a party. Since I was above tree line and I was depending on the hut it put me in a bind of where to stay. I ended up having to hike off trail and down into tree line to find a campsite. I love the scenery up here but I am excited to get back to the simplicity of the regular AT.
Date: 2013-07-16
From: Stealth camp

To: wildcat E ridge
Miles today: 10.5

I slept in this morning and relaxed in my tent for a while even after that. It was a great morning with clear skies. After packing up and breakfast I climbed back up to the AT. The first part of the trail was up mount Madison and then down a long rocky ridge-line that eventually went down into the great gulf wilderness. It was a fantastic morning on the trail and I felt great! In the great gulf wilderness there arent any white blazes but there are a lot of trail intersections. I was hiking pretty fast and unknowingly missed a turn. I ended up coming out on route 16 about a mile from where I was supposed to come out....I didn't turn back to find the AT because I didn't have a clue of where I missed the turn until I got to the visitors center at Pinkham notch. I had a late lunch that made me super sleepy. So I went into the basement and took a nap on a bench. I hung out down there for 3 hours until finally hiking up into the Wildcats. The climb up wildcat E was the steepest climb that I have done in my opinion. I got to watch the sun set over the presidentials! I am now camped on the ridge between wildcat E and D. Planning on going into Gorham tomorrow to mail home some gear, I have managed to collect some stuff in my pack. I also need to get a bug net for Maine and a few other things. I have had a lot of random thoughts today and one that I have had for a while is the fact that I am going to get on a plane and fly home...it will take a few hours and ill just be down when I get home...seems to fast. I already have a plane ticket home so disregard the next sentence. If I had the time I think it would be so cool to get a road bike and bike home. It is 1950 miles to my hometown from millinockette....I feel like I could bike that distance in a 20 days or less. That would be a great way to end it...someone should do it. Bittersweet to be this close to Maine! I am looking forward to the rest of the journey but at the same time I cannot wait to get back to my family and friends....oh and Louisiana food. At lunch today I ordered a spicy sandwich and I took a few bites and decided I needed hot sauce.... The waitress thought I was crazy, spicy food is hard to come by up here.
Date: 2013-07-17
From: wildcat E ridge

To: route 2 mtn hostel
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: broken clouds

I think I summited 8 mountains today. It was a lot of up and down and a lot of work to get out of the whites. We once again had great weather and amazing views all day. The first part of the day I finished off the wildcats and descended down to carter notch hut. Then up carter dome and several other mountains. I hiked by myself all day and really enjoyed the peacefulness of the trail. The whites are a busy place and to have to trail to myself all day was a treat! My legs felt great all day and I pushed a steady pace all day long. I didn't stop for lunch, I just are as I walked. It is so great to be healthy again and to be able to fully enjoy where I am! The trail treated me to about 2 miles of smooth down hill where I was able to move quickly down. It was great am reminded me a lot of Virginia! I got to the mountain side hostel (I don't know the name of it but that is close) and grabbed a shower. I heard great things about this hostel and they have all been true! I had to resupply in Walmart this afternoon and stand in line...that was kind of a drag ha. Anyway tomorrow will be my last day in Nh! Looking forward to being in Maine!
Date: 2013-07-18
From: route 2 mtn hostel

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

I am so happy with my decision to stay at the white mtn hostel! Last night I cooked a pizza in their kitchen and then they invited me to have pork chops and a salad. The salad was prepared by a sobo named chef, it was one if the best salads I have ever had. This morning I went down for a delicious breakfast that was made for us! They didn't rush is out so I went back upstairs and waited until 8:30 to for the post office to open. The caretakers shuttled me into town and I was able to get back to the trail around 11:30. It was a great stay! The trail today was a lot different than it has been the last few weeks. The climbs and descents were a lot easier and it reminded me a bit of VA. I went over two mountains and enjoyed my last views of the presidentials. As I hiked I was not sure if I wanted to stop early at Gentian Pond Shelter or go into Maine and stop at Carlo Col Shelter. I decided it would be nice to stop early and to go for a swim at gentian pond. I also heard a rumor that moose come to the pond in the evenings. Maybe I will see one! I enjoyed swimming in the pond and it has been a very relaxing evening! Looking forward to Maine tomorrow! I am happy that I have slowed down, I have started to see a lot of other hikers that I have not seen in a while. It is good to see them and to hike the last miles of the AT with them....or at least until they pass me, I'm the only person doing 12 mile days. Almost everyone I talk to plans to finish in the next 14 to 17 days...hard to believe it is that close.Something that I have noticed. I have met several new Nobo's that are clean shaven and they get tired of having to convince people that they really are thru hikers....most thru hikers look grungy/homeless at this point
Date: 2013-07-19
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Bull Branch Campsite
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: scattered clouds

I had a great night of sleep last night. I crashed around 7 which is a nice change from the 10 or 11 o'clock nights that I have been doing. I woke refreshed and ready to go. I was excited for the day and it proved to be a good one! The last part of the trail in New Hampshire was tough but I finally made it out. It was so good to reach Maine....13 states down 1 to go. The trail in Maine started off with the three peaks of goose eye mountains and they were incredible! I don't know what to expect with Maine but it is beautiful. Right before the summit of the first goose eye mtn I passed a guy and spoke briefly with him. When I got to the top I turned onto a blue blaze to summit the mtn for lunch and a break. After lunch I caught back up with him and asked him if he had seen my brother..he new I was joking with him but it was funny...1900 miles in the woods funny. After that was the mahoosuc notch "the toughest mile on the AT or the most fun mile." I had heard about this stretch of trail before I started but really didn't look into it or know anything about. I heard stories of moose getting stuck in this part of the trail and dying. All kinds of stuff that made me wonder what is this place... 30 yards from the start I descended about 20 feet on smooth trail and the temperature dropped 30 degrees easy. It felt like I stepped into a refrigerator. I was kind of weirded out by it. As I got closer I could see large boulders and cold air rising from the cracks. It was weird. So this part of the trail is very narrow and on each side there are tall cliffs the trail is a jumble of boulders that you have to work your way through. Under the boulders there were huge blocks of ice. The next mile took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get through. It was a lot of fun. I had to crawl under and over boulders and jump several large gaps between rocks. It was a lot of fun and I luckily didn't end up like that moose. Once I exited it I came to a campsite that was my 12 mile mark for the day. I decided to setup camp and relax! I heard a stream down the hill so I went down and found a pool of water that was over my shoulders when I sat down. It was a perfect clear stream. I was able to take a bath and enjoy a night in my tent feeling clean! It was very refreshing and reminded me of the night before the ice storm in GA..April 3rd I think. I had a great campsite by a stream all to myself! Good memories! Loving Maine and looking forward to tomorrow. I hope I get as close to Andover as I can, I will resupply there.
Date: 2013-07-20
From: Bull Branch Campsite

To: stealth camp
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: broken clouds

Last night I woke up to an intense storm. The wind was very strong and there was a lot of lightening. It was the strongest storm that I have been in my tent in an thankfully the stakes held. I felt great this morning and once again Maine treated me to some spectacular views. I ran into White Russian and stumbles this morning at spec pond shelter, I haven't seen either of them since Damascus. It was great to catch up. White Russian and I hiked from the shelter to grafton notch together. The hiking today was a lot easier than it has been. The trail still had tons of slippery rock but a lot of dirt trail in between. I enjoyed being able to walk at a steady pace for most of the day. Baldpate was the climb out if the notch and I was trying to get up and over it as fast as I could to beat the rain...I lost the battle. It poured on me for about 30 minutes. Thankfully the clouds lifted off of the east and west peaks as I approached and I was treated to some views. The east peak was impressive. It was a bald dome of solid rock. I could see what I thought was saddleback mtn to the north, it is supposed to be a really pretty mtn. After that the next 7 miles descended to the road to Andover. All I think about lately is Katahdin and food...so I decided to press on to the road to hitch into town to get some good food. I got to the road around 6:30 and found that it was just a small country road with no vehicles...I waited around for an hour and I only saw one utility truck...this is were I planned on resupplying. So I decided that I would hike a bit more north to get closer to another road that will get me into Andover. I hope it has a bit more traffic. I will get there tomorrow. I think I'm about 9 miles from it. All I have is 3 poptarts in my food bag for tomorrow. Hopefully it is an easy 9 miles.
Date: 2013-07-21
From: stealth camp

To: stealth camp
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: light rain

It has been a relaxing day on the trail. I only planned on doing 10 miles so I took my time packing up and hiking. The hiking was easy with only one steep climb 1400 feet up in .8. It was steep but my legs felt great. I remember climbing Jacobs ladder in NC it was 800 feet up in .6, that climb killed me...if you asked me the hardest climb on the trail i would say it is jacobs ladder, it isnt but it was for me. It is nice to be in shape! I hung around Hall mtn shelter for a while chatting with analog and foxtrot. I reached south arm road around two and got a ride from the local head football coach. I really enjoyed meeting him and hearing his heart for investing in kids through sports. The rest of the day I hung out at the Andover general store. I had a delicious 1lb burger, fries, and a pint of ice cream....I was still hungry. After that I just relaxed and watched a USA soccer game. Around 6 I went back out to the road and hitched out. The road made several turns to get where I needed to be so the driver dropped me at the corner of some hwy and south arm road. The car behind us turned onto south arm and saw me getting out of the car. They instantly pulled over and gave me a lift the rest of the way. I love Maine and the people here. It reminds me a lot of Louisiana...except for the mountains. The people are genuine and shake your hand saying it was nice to meet you. Other states people have not been so kind. Maine is my favorite state on the AT! I am glad to spend my last days here. The trail has also been great. Some states the trail is constant mud (Vermont), hard up hard downs (NH), but Maine has it all. I have tough climbs and tough descents but there has been stretches of trail where I can get in a rhythm and cruise. Thankful that! I am camped next to a nice stream. I jumped in and went for a swim after I got camp setup. It was relaxing. Maine provides a nice place to swim everyday...so for a change I am relatively clean! A sobo told me about a cool campsite that is ahead. It has a great swimming hole, I plan to stay there tomorrow and go into Rangeley, ME the next day.
Date: 2013-07-22
From: stealth camp

To: Bemis Creek
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: moderate rain

It was a tough day on the trail. I didn't sleep well at all last night so I didn't hike well today. My energy was way down and it was just a struggle to move. The day started off with a tough climb up to old blue mountain that had great views of the surrounding mtns and lakes! The rest of the day was in the woods except for the summit of Bemis mtn. It had a great view of saddleback mtn to the north. I also spotted 3 eagles and blue berries. I spent a lot of time on the summit eating berries and relaxing. I decided to cut my day short since I was so worn out. I descended to Bemis stream and setup camp. After a swim I am in my tent relaxing for the rest of the evening! Looking forward to a goodnight of sleep.
Date: 2013-07-23
From: Bemis Creek

To: rangeley, me
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: light rain

I fell asleep before 6 o'clock last night and I didn't wake up until rain drops started hitting my tent at 6:30 this morning. I was worn out. It began to rain and it is so hard to go from being dry in my tent to packing up and hiking out in the rain...but I finally made the move and I was ready to go 14 in Rangeley. As I was packing up I was trying to filter 2 liters of water in my tent when by filter bag exploded and all the water poured all over me and soaking the inside of my tent... Once I got past that It was to the trail. It was an easy 14 into town. There were a few up and downs but nothing major. The toughest part of the day was try to stay on my feet. Wet roots are very slick. I think the closer I get to katahdin the more my knees, ankles, and feet hurt. After trudging through 14 miles of mud I finally made it to Rangeley and met up with several hikers that I knew. Analog, foxtrot, stumbles, and white russian. We are all staying at some lady's house in town tonight. Not sure how I just ended up here. I was planning to go back to the trail last night but a dry place to sleep lured me in. We all hung out the rest of the day. I went down to the lake and looked around the marina, there were several kayaks sitting there with paddles just begging me to take one for a spin. I didn't but I was so tempted to do some night kayaking with the full moon and my headlamp. We all went to dinner at a sports bar and watched the Red Sox game. It was great to spend that time relaxing in the company of other thru hikers, we are enjoying these last few days. Finish every day, mile, and adventure strong. Soaking it in!
Date: 2013-07-24
From: rangeley, me

To: Orbeton Stream
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Dear diary, Last night I went for a walk around town to clear my mind. It has been a tough last few days. I was pretty worn out when I got sick, it was hard to not want to just get to Katahdin and get home. I have also had another hiker clinging on to me and talking about how he wants to quit...kind of draining. A lot of hikers have had poor attitudes and all the conversations were about how bad they just want to be done...Ive started to get the same feelings. But last night I refocused. I know it will miss it like crazy when I do finish...and I want I finish enjoying the trail. I decided to get back to hiking my own hike and to just enjoy each and every day. So. Today really was great. This morning I relaxed around town for a few hours. I needed to by some Aqua Mira and I have really been wanting a hat. I got both! After town a 2010 thru hiker brought me, analog, and another hiker, can't remember his name, back to the trail. We hiked out 2 miles all at a similar pace to the piazza rock lean to. We all ended up stopping there and met a Sobo that was doing trail magic kind of....he had 15 dozens eggs and a skillet....it has been raining so all the wood is wet and he had no way to cook the eggs. I told him he is going to have a lot of chickens soon. Not a well thought out plan and I'm not exactly sure why he isn't hiking south. Anyway the main reason I wanted to stop at the shelter was to check out the privy... Because it is a two seater with a cribbage board in between the seats. Ha it was awesome, I wanted to take a few pictures but they wouldn't have been family friendly. After that we hiked a bit further and I went separate ways from the other Nobo's. I stopped at Ethel pond for lunch and to waste some time in hopes of the clouds lifting off of saddleback. The clouds didn't lift and I really didn't have a view at all on saddleback. I did meet sportsman though and it was a highlight of my trip. We were on top of the mtn in a cloud with 40 mph winds and it was really cold...5 degrees cooler and I couldn't have been hanging out up there. Anyway we started talking and we are both followers of Jesus....for the next 30 minutes we were on top of the mtn, in the middle of no where Maine, in terrible weather just bragging on The Lord. It was incredible and such a blessing. After that the trail went back into the trees and out if the wind. I summited the horn and saddleback junior next. I finally had some great views from junior! The weather out here is so weird and hard to predict. I descended the next few miles to my campsite by orbeton stream. I found a nice flat spot and I am the only one here. I was able to wash off in the creek and relax a bit! Now in my tent and looking forward to a good night of sleep. I am 21 miles from 2000, I am itching to get to that mark...I might do 21 tomorrow. Oh and after I setup camp this evening I went to wash my socks in the creek....people freak when you use soap in a stream but I have to believe the stuff that comes off of my socks is a million times worse than soap could ever be...