morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-07-14
From: North adams, massachusettes

To: Velvet rocks
Miles today: 1.5

Day 59-63Back on trail finally!!! In case you haven't heard, there's been a bit of rain in the northeast. The last 4 days have been a bit surreal to say the least. Doesn't seem possible to sum it all up, but we did all get interviewed by a Vermont NPR reporter who's doing a story on how the weather was affecting thru hikers. We decided to trail skip Vermont for now and restart the trail at the New Hampshire border We plan to hike Vermont heading south once we complete Katahdin. The amazing Liz and an uncle in law of Jens helped us back to trail with a two hour drive to Hanover. It's been so nice to have helpful people to rely on.Melissa's fall count: 32Beginning mile marker: 1756Ending mile marker: 1757.5Nearest city/town: hanover, New hampshire
Date: 2023-07-16
From: Velvet rocks

To: Smarts shelter
Miles today: 21.7

Day 64Good to be hiking again although my feet and knees disagree. We are definitely in new hampshire near the White Mountain National Forest, or commonly referred to "the whites" to thru hikers. Elevation has quadrupled in intensity. We had a nice lunch at shelter and were met with trail magic at the next road crossing. We ran into a group of college kids who hiked 50 miles overnight from Mt. Moosilauke to Dartmouth. Apparently, it's a Dartmouth tradition and there's a lottery system to get in. I don't know how those kids did it¢¦  Melissa's fall count: 32Beginning mile marker: 1757.5Ending mile marker: 1772.7Nearest city/town: hanover, New hampshireDay 65Man, more harsh conditions. Lots of rain and ton of mud to hike thru. We knew we'd slow down at this point in the trail, but the last 6 miles kicked my booty. It took almost 6 hours to complete with only a few short breaks. Well below our normal speed. Without the constant rain it would have been tough, but adding that was brutal. But, we are sleeping at an old fire tower cabin, which is pretty cool. You can go up the actual fire tower and sleep, but it's very small and thinking about lugging all my sleep stuff up and down those stairs, Made us decide to take the cabin. Tomorrow should be sunny, so hopefully we'll be able to dry out and make up some miles.Melissa's fall count: 33Beginning mile marker: 1772.7Ending mile marker: 1779.4Nearest city/town: Lyme, New hampshire
Date: 2023-07-18
From: Smarts shelter

To: Ore Hill
Miles today: 12.5

Day 66Slogging thru mud today. At least it was sunny out and some of our clothes dried out. Lots of elevation. Very hard hike. Very tired. But we got to our 600 miles!!! New Hampshire is proving to be tough. We did summit Smart Mountain at around 3000ft elevation. We took a long break at the top. Almost took a nap. Some great views. Unfortunately we had to press on to put us in good shape to reach a hostel tomorrow and make the most of what that will offer(showers/laundry/couches)!Melissa's fall count: 40Beginning mile marker: 1779.4Ending mile marker: 1791.9Nearest city/town: Glencliff, New hampshire
Date: 2023-07-18
From: Ore Hill

To: Hiker welcome hostel
Miles today: 7.4

Day 67So we had our 5 minutes of fame. https://www.vermontpublic.org/...That was pretty exciting to see while on trail. Not a bad hike today, of course, still a ton of mud. Nice to get into a hostel for a shower, laundry, and good food¢¦ just been exhausting hiking lately. Sadly, Michelle has decided to end her hike after the summit to Mt. Moosilauke. She will rent a car and trail support us thru New Hampshire which will be awesome and very much appreciated. Sad to see her hike end, although her accomplishments are no less admirable. Over 600 miles in this terrain is very difficult. And she is ending her trail trail with head held high, in good spirits, and on her own terms.  Melissa's fall count: 40Beginning mile marker: 1791.9Ending mile marker: 1799.3Nearest city/town: Glencliff, New hampshire
Date: 2023-07-19
From: Hiker welcome hostel

To: Mt moosilauke
Miles today: 9.7

Day 68Well, we've hiked out 1st 4Ker (over 4000 ft peak) at Mt Moosilauke today and it wasn't that bad. We have 18 more to go. Beautiful and strenous hike up right next to a waterfall filled with slippery rock scrambles, roots, wooden steps bolted straight to rock slabs, and rebar handholds. Stopped for a break at a shelter where we met a grad student doing research on SOBO thru hikers. The peak was amazing. Fog flying by at 30 mph. Crazy wind above the tree line, complete with small stone roofless hovels to hunker down in to enjoy a break. Made it back to the hostel to enjoy another evening with showers, flushable toilets, pizza, and wine while we watched O Brother, Where Are't Thou?Melissa's fall count: 41Beginning mile marker: 1791.9Ending mile marker: 1791.9Nearest city/town: Glencliff, New hampshire
Date: 2023-07-21
From: Mt moosilauke

To: Snow chaser lodge hostel
Miles today: 28.0

The following is a list of the New hampshire 4ker peaks. *=off trail¢¡=completedMt moosilaukee¢¡Kinsman south¢¡Kinsman north¢¡LincolnLafayetteGarfieldTwin mountain SouthMt Zealand *Galehead*JacksonPierceEisenhower*Monroe*Jefferson*Adams *MadisonDay 69Another hard hike, but totally worth it. Lunched at Eliza brooke shelter. With storms looming the next day, we decided to push on 4 more miles. And those were a hard 4 miles, up and over 2 more peaks. We knew the rock scrambles would be almost impossible in a storm. Went over the north and south Kinsman peak. Got to camp exhausted, but it's a beautiful spot near a pond. Melissa's fall count: 44Beginning mile marker: 1791.9Ending mile marker: 1820.3Nearest city/town: lincoln, New hampshireDay 70Another hike out in the rain. Got to our first hut in the Whites. The huts are touristy camping spots along the mountains. Cost about $175 a night, a lot of them have work for stay options for thru hikers but the most exciting thing is that they offer thru hikers the left over breakfast for free. I had 3 bowls of cold oatmeal, but it was edible and much needed carbs. Got to Flume Gorge visitor center where Michelle met us with snacks, drinks, and a rental car. Made it to a hostel and got resupply options while we wait for Graham and I shoes to get delivered. Mine are looking rough and the tread is coming off. Melissa's fall count: 42Beginning mile marker: 1820.9Ending mile marker: 1825.2Nearest city/town: Lincoln, New hampshire
Date: 2023-07-23
From: Snow chaser lodge hostel

To: Garfield shelter
Miles today: 10.2

Day 71& 72We decided to zero yesterday which was nice and much needed. We worked out a plan with michelle where she can reach us for resupplies at a few points. Followed by a large store run with 8 days of food all portioned out in michelles car. Graham, michelle, and Fearless played some scrabble and we all drank wine. Started out today well rested and with new shoes!! Tough day. The first 2 miles rose up 3000ft alone. Lots of day hikers for the first part of the trek then those dissipated once we got farther out. Views from Mt Lincoln and Lafayette were breathtaking and worth the climb. We hiked a stretch called the Franconian Ridge and once we got up on Mt Garfield we could look out and see the ridge we had just come from. It seemed sooo far away. Crazy that it was only a few hours away. So we went over four 4ker mountains today, but some reason Little haystack at 4780ft isn't counted as one since it isn't "prominent " enough.  Melissa's fall count: 45Beginning mile marker: 1825.2Ending mile marker: 1835.4Nearest city/town: Lincoln, New hampshire
Date: 2023-07-24
From: Garfield shelter

To: Ethan pond shelter
Miles today: 14.5

The following is a list of the New Hampshire 4ker peaks. *=off trail¢¡=completedMt moosilaukee¢¡Kinsman south¢¡Kinsman north¢¡Lincoln¢¡Lafayette¢¡Garfield¢¡Twin mountain South¢¡Mt Zealand *¢¡Galehead*JacksonPierceEisenhower*Monroe* Jefferson* Adams *MadisonDay 73Another hard hike in the whites. I think we're in some sort of bubble of hikers. The last few sites have been very crowded. Got to Galehead hut to check for leftover breakfast, but they were all out. They did, however, have remaining turkey left over from last night's dinner. We decided to push on to the next shelter and passed Zealand hut and stopped there for dinner. They also offered us leftover turkey from the night before. Long day. My feet, knees, back, brain are exhausted.   Melissa's fall count: 45Beginning mile marker: 1835.4Ending mile marker: 1849.9Nearest city/town: Crawford notch state park, New hampshireEthan pond shelter 14.5
Date: 2023-07-26
From: Ethan pond shelter

To: Nauman tent site
Miles today: 9.3

The following is a list of the New Hampshire 4ker peaks. *=off trail ¢¡=completedMt moosilaukee¢¡Kinsman south¢¡Kinsman north¢¡Lincoln¢¡Lafayette¢¡Garfield¢¡Twin mountain South¢¡Mt Zealand *¢¡Galehead*JacksonPierceEisenhower*Monroe* Jefferson* Adams *MadisonDay 74Short hike into the road where Michelle was waiting for us with cold drinks and chips. She drove us to the highland center where we redeemed our coupon for a bread/soup/beer combo. Then we hiked on to a campsite for the night. Woke up in the middle of the night to a torrential rain and lightening storm.   Melissa's fall count: 45Beginning mile marker: 1849.9Ending mile marker: 1859.2Nearest city/town: Crawford notch state park, New hampshireNauman tent site
Date: 2023-07-28
From: Nauman tent site

To: Stealth site
Miles today: 25.6

The following is a list of the New Hampshire 4ker peaks. *=off trail¢¡=completedMt moosilaukee¢¡Kinsman south¢¡Kinsman north¢¡Lincoln¢¡Lafayette¢¡Garfield¢¡Twin mountain South¢¡Mt Zealand *¢¡Galehead*Jackson¢¡Pierce ¢¡Eisenhower*Monroe* Washington¢¡Jefferson* Adams *Madison-didn't do Wildcats D¢¡Wildcat¢¡Carter domeSouth CarterMiddle carterMt moriahDay 75-77Had a few hard days. We summited Mt Washington on the 26th which is the most popular peak and it kicked my butt. We got to the top and it was loaded with people everywhere. There was a line for a picture next to the summit sign, so we opted not to do that. Sooo many people and of course it's just a tourist trap. We were supposed to go another 5 miles and I just couldn't. Michelle had already planned on meeting us there to give us more days of food. We went into town and stayed at a hotel for some much needed rest. Wedge Antilles a hiker we met previously but now off trail due to damaged knee came up as well to hang out and shuttle us around. Good to have more support as well. Back on trail today and it feels good. Still very difficult hiking. I had to replace my new shoes due to the tread coming off already. First day in a different model and I was slipping all over the place. It got better throughout the day but not sure if these will work either. Stopped at Carter Notch hut for a rest and finally were able to redeem our free baked goods coupon for some gingerbread. Yum. We pushed a little further up the hill to a stealth site amongst some trees and big rocks.  Melissa's fall count: 48Beginning mile marker: 1859.2Ending mile marker: 1884.8Nearest city/town: Gorham, New hampshire
Date: 2023-07-29
From: Stealth site

To: Imp shelter
Miles today: 7.0

Day 78 Early start to the day to beat out rain chances. Summited all the Carter peaks and only have 1 left. That feels amazing. And Maine is only days away. The Whites have been amazing but I'm ready for less elevation changes thruout the day.Melissa's fall count: 50Beginning mile marker: 1884.8Ending mile marker: 1891.8Nearest city/town: Gorham, New hampshireImp shelter
Date: 2023-08-01
From: Imp shelter

To: Full goose shelter 
Miles today: 29.5

Day 79Chilly start to the day. Once we got up and moving it wasn't too bad. We hiked the last of the Whites. It's a little bittersweet to be saying goodbye to new hampshire tomorrow. The scenery has been beautiful but I'm ready to get back to hiking and not this mountain climbing. We got to the shelter pretty early in the day in order to rest up for a long mileage day tomorrow almost getting into maine.    Melissa's fall count: 53Beginning mile marker: 1891.8Ending mile marker: 1898.0Nearest city/town: gorham, New hampshireRattle river shelter¢ trail 1913.5Day 80Hiked into the trailhead to get to michelles rental car to resupply our food. Still not sure about these shoes, no traction in the water. Tomorrow we'll get to Maine. I still can't believe we've walked here from west Virginia. We've been running into a ton of people each evening at the shelters. Both SOBOS and NOBOS. It's been great meeting so many people.    Melissa's fall count: 56Beginning mile marker: 1898.0Ending mile marker: 1911.7Nearest city/town: shelburne, New hampshireGentian pond shelterDay 81We made it to Maine!!! We hiked up to Mt success which marked our completion of ¢ of the trail. Kind of a big deal. Muddy hike today!! I was on a board walk today that went through a bog and my foot slipped off. Went into the mud up to knees, I was only able to get one leg out of the mud, Graham had to come help pull me out. The suction was serious and my shoe stayed in the mud. Thank goodness Fearless dug thru it and was able to get my shoe back out before lost forever. The mud broke the metal clasp of my gaitor. Lots of scrapes and cuts today with all the rock scrambling. Outside of the alpine bogs where its a choice of which way will be the least wet, there were almost no flat spots. Steep ups followed by steep downs all day. Hopefully it was all in order to prepare us for tomorrow at Mahoosuc Notch which is supposedly the most difficult mile on the whole AT. Time for rest.  Melissa's fall count: 59Beginning mile marker: 1911.7Ending mile marker: 1921.3Nearest city/town: shelburne, New hampshireFull goose shelter
Date: 2023-08-07
From: Full goose shelter 

To: Sherpa & trail moms house
Miles today: 30.1

Day 82Well we did it!!!! Mahoosuc notch is complete and it was so much fun! After a steep climb down we entered the notch. It was essentially a narrow canyon filled with all manner of collapsed boulders from the surrounding two mountains. With little to no direction on true trail it was a choose your own adventure to get from one end to the other. Climbing over, under, between, around rocks and roots. Some jumps and hops as well as having to remove packs to squeeze through openings. Truly a full body workout to maneuver through. It took us a little over 1.5hrs to travel that mile. And as fun as that was, it was exhausting. So it's unfortunate it is followed by Mahoosuc Arm which is one of the steepest climbs on the AT going up 1500ft+ in just a mile. Most of that was a continuous steep rock slab that really tested the strength of our Achilles tendons. We ended the day getting to Speck Pond shelter, which was quite beautiful but too tired to fully enjoy. Despite being one of our shortest mile days it was definitely a more strenuous one.    Melissa's fall count: 62Beginning mile marker: 1921.3Ending mile marker: 1926.4Nearest city/town: bethel, maineSpeck pond shelterDay 83Feeling slightly rejuvenated we set out on a very cold morning from Speck Pond. We quickly come to some steep exposed rock scrambles near the top of Speck Mountain. Wind gusts were powerful and tree cover much missed. Near the top of Speck we dropped packs to take a half mile detour to head to the true summit. There we found an old fire tower. Climbing another 50ft up its ladder we had an amazing view from its observation deck. Mountains and valleys we had traversed and others have yet to venture across. Getting back to trail we continued down on an easy but steep trail past several small cascades and waterfalls. Coming out of the woods we entered the Grafton Notch parking lot. Sherpa and Trail Mom greeted us with hot dogs and drinks. They then drove us to their house to stay where we gorged on pizza and beer.    Melissa's fall count: 64Beginning mile marker: 1926.4Ending mile marker: 1931.0 Nearest city/town: bethel, maineSherpa trail magic cabinDay from last post till nowJen(fearless) had previously met Sherpa and Trail Mom in Damascus, VA and arranged this stay. So the past few days we've had real beds and real food(lots and lots of food) During the days they drove us out to slack pack, allowing us easy traverses over the Baldpates, Wyman Mt, and Moody Mt. In the evenings it's been games and food. They also drove us to towns for food, supplies, and mail. Every morning it's been a huge breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, fruit, coffee, and juice. Michelle joined us back at their house as well and between her own missing the trail and Sherpa's prodding has decided to rejoin the group and hike forward.
Date: 2023-08-11
From: Sherpa & trail moms house

To: Poplar ridge shelter
Miles today: 57.5

Days 86-91 When we left the vortex of Sherpa's cabin we ended up going to an airbnb Graham found last minute in Rangely. We had been all prepared with food and plans but the storms and rains have been dictating how and where we hike. A rainy afternoon and evening followed by a massive downpour the next day stopped us from hiking one day. We set up a slack pack while in Rangely but even that got derailed due to a road being washed out. Working with our shuttle drivers knowledge of the area we were able to find a few spots we could get to to hike. Yesterday we were able to slack pack some miles but had to hike down a ski trail to get to the road or we'd be stuck in the woods for days. Unfortunately, that meant today, we had to hike back up that said mountain to get back to the trail head, and man it was a steep climb with not the greatest weather. Raining with very strong wind gusts up on top of Saddleback mountain. 40mph wind made the long exposed above treeline stretch from Saddleback Mountain to Saddleback Horn frigid. The wind was strong enough that you had to walk at an angle to go straight. Muddy and cold today with storms coming in this evening, but we made it to a shelter and set up just before another afternoon rain hit.  Melissa's fall count: 66Beginning mile marker: 1931.0Ending mile marker: 1988.5Nearest city/town: mainePoplar shelter57.5 miles
Date: 2023-08-14
From: Poplar ridge shelter

To: Safford notch campsite
Miles today: 31.9

Days 92Hmmm¢¦. Well Maine so far has been tough and muddy. Apparently Maine wants to stay rustic so they don't have many bridges over rivers and streams, there's also word that they don't want the liability of said bridges. With that said we forded our first stream crossing. Went in with shoes and socks on for the traction, it was about mid thigh to knee height on me so only ankle height for Graham. Wasn't too bad, but I'm not really looking forward if there's more. I forgot to mention that the tramily is back together. Michelle decided to hike again and Hero went home for a week and decided he missed us too much. We've been seeing a lot of chipmunks on trail lately. I'm not too familiar with them, they sound like squirrels, but a little higher pitched and their sounds are much, much faster when they yell at you. These ones near the AT seem to be very territorial. When we get close to their area they make it known and stare at you, one actually seemed to be charging towards me, but he went across trail, to guard his nut hord is what I'm assuming. Made it the hostel absolutely exhausted.Melissa's fall count: 68Beginning mile marker: 1988.5Ending mile marker: 2001.7Nearest city/town: stratton, maineThe maine roadhouse13.2 milesDays 93The Maine roadhouse hostel was amazing. We got in exhausted the day prior but showered and rejuvenated well. Their breakfast was awesome and a great start to the day. We were able to slack pack around crocker mountain, which was very nice. It wasn't a bad hike at all and then about 2 miles from the end a torrential downpour got us. I mean everything drenched. The trail was almost washing away under our feet. The gushing stream that the trail became was often over ankles. You just had to slog through and hope you dont hit a mud pit and sink in. We got to our shuttle driver and went to a different hostel not too far away to dry out and spend the night.Melissa's fall count: 68Beginning mile marker: 2001.7Ending mile marker: 2010Nearest city/town: stratton, maineHostel of maine8.3Days 94 We headed out from the hostel on a late shuttle(overbooked), which didn't put us on trail until 1030. Jen's dad "Ground Control" drove up from NC and met us briefly before starting and we made plans to use him for resupply in the coming days which will make the increasingly remote trail easier. The trail started with a long climb up as we entered the Bigelow Mountains. Once up high we stayed on ridge with short but steep up and downs as we reached peaks. Ending the day was a long descent back off the ridge. Only a few rock scrambles throughout, but still somewhat rugged terrain. All told it was over 8000 feet of combined elevation change. Our knees are tired. Tenting tonight and keeping fingers crossed for no more rain.  Melissa's fall count: 70Beginning mile marker: 2010Ending mile marker: 2020.4Nearest city/town: stratton, maine10.4
Date: 2023-08-15
From: Safford notch campsite

To: Flagstaff campground
Miles today: 7.5

Days 95Started the day slow with our sore legs from prior days ups and downs. Terrain was definitely getting easier as we went up and over Little Bigelow. Some great views from rock ledges. Rivers and lakes below, all the recent mountains we climbed and the ski slopes of Sugarloaf Mt. As we hit the flat stretch Ground Control met us at a trailhead with sandwiches and then drove us back to Stratton. Melissa picked up much needed new shoes from the post office(thanks Evan!). We then grabbed supplies at the grocers and headed back to trail. Did a couple more miles to end at a great tent site at a beautiful lake. Actually had both the time and dry wood to make a campfire. First time in some weeks for that. Lots of loons croning in the distance, hope it's not all night long.  Melissa's fall count: 71Beginning mile marker: 2020.4Ending mile marker: 2027.9Nearest city/town: stratton, maine7.5Flagstaff campsite
Date: 2023-08-17
From: Flagstaff campground

To: Pierce pond lean-to
Miles today: 15.1

Days 96 Woke up early to get started on a longer mile day. The trail remains to be quite muddy in places but there was no rock scrambling today, so I call that a win. We had high hopes of walking to a hunting cabin in the morning for breakfast, but they didn't have enough spots left. Sad day¢¦tomorrow we also cross the kenebec River. This river should not be crossed on foot so the ATC has set up a free ferry to help us cross. The ferry consists of a canoe that fits 2 people and you have to help paddle, but it's free. About 155 miles left to get to Katahdin which is the northern end of the AT.Melissa's fall count: 73Beginning mile marker: 2027.9Ending mile marker: 2043Nearest city/town: stratton, maine15.1Pierce pond lean to