morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-02
From: mark loepel lean-to

To: cogden shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: light rain

The sectioners got up way early, so I did too. Rolled out of camp last though since there was no hurry.Got dreary as I headed up Graylock. The fog rolled in pretty thick. When I got to the top I could barely see the massive tower right in front of me. Apparently it is like this most of the time. Also, apparently this mountain was the inspiration for Moby Dick. Sub alpine climate on top. Different, and good to be up high. Last time I was up this high was in the Shenandoahs a very long time ago.Well, that was the highest point in MA, so that means downhill from there. Nearly 3000 feet infact. A huge downhill, but it had some minor bumps. Got down to North Adams and crossed a river and headed back into the hills.The trail traveled along a stream that was the city's watershed for a while. Nice raging brook, and the climb was graded nicely. Tore up it, and glad I still have it. Got to a bad weather trail sign, so of course I remained on the AT. It went straight up a boulderfield. The AT wouldn't have it any other way. Surprised they even gave you the option.Wanted to lunch at a lookout, and I think I found it, but it was overgrown so I passed it. I knew I had passed it when I came to the Welcome to Vermont sign. 3 to go.Had a buggy lunch at the border. The Long Trail and the AT are the same trail for a while now, the nest hundred miles or so.A few miles after the border I was just walking along and went around a bend in the trail. Right in front of me about 50 feet away was a large female moose. We were both surprised, and I reacted first slowly reaching for my camera. She took off and I couldn't really get a shot. Welcome to Vermont.A little further I saw a sign for a Roaring Fork ahead. I was eagerly anticipating this assuming it was a nice stream I may even be able to wash up in. It was a slow trickle out of a beaver pond. Plans dashed. However, I did meet Sarah and Susan at the pond where they were sunning. They are thru hiking the Long Trail.A little further I bumped into a hiker I had met in TN I think. He lived down there and was just dayhiking at the time.A little further I bumped into Tinkerbell, who is finishing up a thru-hike she started 7 years ago.After that the trail crossed by a beaver pond, and it actually crossed below the beaver dam right next to the pond, so I was hiking below sea level sort of.Got to the shelter around 4, very early but couldn't really push on since I have to resupply tomorrow a couple miles up. Here I met Stride {a different one}. She started in January and took 3 weeks off. May hike with her a bit, but we'll see.The black flies are horrendous. Wearing all my clothes since bug spray doesn't do anything. Just sucks to stop moving.At the shelter with Tinkerbell, Sarah, and Susan.
Date: 2008-06-03
From: cogden shelter

To: kid gore shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Up and out quickly to make a dash into town. Trail was easy till it got near the road and it took a brutal downhill dive. Tons of stone steps. Hard on the knees.About the third car that passed picked me up. Nice lady, and it turns out she now only knows about Kettering, but she is related to someone I knew there. Odd for being in the middle of nowhere Vermont.She convinced me to go to a small store, but it turned out they didn't even have the most basic of hiker food groups: tuna in a pouch. Started walking into town and stopped at a mom and pop breakfast place. Good food. Pancakes...mmmm...Headed further into town to the outfitter to borrow a bike. They were still closed for a half hour so I checked out the dollar store. Just a Family Dollar, and they don't usually have much. Bought some munchies.Borrowed a bike and got a town map at the outfitter. They also replaced one of my bent Leki sections with a titanium shock absorbing one. Score.I noticed on the town map that there were dollar showers. First stop. The showers were a dollar, but that didn't come with a towel or soap. Blast. I noticed they had a sauna, so I jumped in and did the Turkish Bath thing to try to get cleaner than just hot water alone. Worked pretty well except for my hair. I may just put it in dreads soon. Would probably hold. Gross.Didn't even have hand soap so I couldn't improvise. Dried off with the hand towels and headed out.So much quicker on a bike. Hit up Wal-Mart and Price Chopper for resupply. I can't believe how expensive oatmeal is in the north. Even at a large store.On my way back I decided I should pound some more calories. Three McDonalds double cheeseburgers later I arrived at the outfitter to organize my food and pack up.Headed out to try to hitch back to the trail. Walked out a bit away from the center of town. Tried straight hitching for a while and it wasn't working so I kept heading out of town. Finally after an hour and ten minutes A brand new fully optioned Cadillac SRX picked me up. Almost didn't thumb that one. Rode back to the trail in style.Up the hill to the first shelter. There I met Hurricane and One Flop. Chatted a bit and I took off.A little later I bumped into Tinkerbell again. Getting to be a thru-hiker convention out here. Awesome.Got to where I might have stayed but the shelter was pretty full, and I knew there were others behind me so I pushed on to the next shelter. Great view from a fire tower.Hit the next shelter and Stride was there with some sectioners. Plenty of room. A little later Hurricane and One Flop showed up too. It was a great night. Tons of talk of other hikers and who dropped and who is where. Some reminiscing about past sections of the trail. Great night. Lots of fun. I passed Laser Chuck at some point. He's a bit behind me now. Haven't met him yet and may not get to.
Date: 2008-06-04
From: kid gore shelter

To: bromley shelter
Miles today: 27.7
Weather: light rain

Slept well last night. It rained all night, and was still raining when I started moving. Had gotten a little spoiled lately I guess.Out at 7 and I hit the trail running. The trail and rocks were obviously wet, and within a tenth of a mile of the shelter I wiped out trying to cross a stream flowing over a slanted piece of rock. Gonna be a great day. Even drew some blood. Oh well. At least the rain keeps the bugs down.After a couple hours, the rain had pretty much stopped, but it was foggy, so the fog rain continued. Passed some people and stormed up Stratton Mountain. Easy climb, graded over about three miles. The summit was almost 4000 feet. Yet another high since VA. There was a firetower and supposedly commanding views of the surrounding area, but visibility was about ten feet. Can't win them all.Talked to the caretaker up there and she gave me some good info on the trail. She also said there was still lots of snow in the whites, which I will be entering in a weekish. Hmmm...Wasn't expecting that. Be interesting to see how that turns out.Down the mountain to Stratton Pond for lunch. Nice shelter and there was still a hiker there from last night. She was nice and we chatted a bit and had an interesting moment. Finished lunch and headed on. Really easy flat trail for most of the rest of the day. I was moving quick.For some reason, I was getting sleepy tired for the last seven miles or so. Still moving at my normal pace, but I was dragging. Still foggy and fog rain. I'm sure that didn't help. Maybe I was dehydrated or something.I made it to the shelter and there is some other long distance sectioners here. Not crowded like the last few nights though. Got a free Lipton from one hiker. Dessert. Still hungry. Now up to a half pound of pasta and tuna for dinner. Need more. Maybe three quarters.May try for another longer day tomorrow so I could have a shorter day into Rutland to stay at the hostel there. I'll see how it goes.
Date: 2008-06-05
From: bromley shelter

To: minerva hinchey shelter
Miles today: 27.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Rained a little last night, and when I woke up the fog was still around. Haven't seen more than a hundred feet since two days ago. That's depressing {the fog finally started to lift around noon}.Took off and finished up Bromley mountain. Looks like an old ski slope or something. Couldn't see anything but fog. Back down on wet rocks.The next hill was in one of those wilderness areas that are popping up again in Vermont. Usually this means the trail has tons of blowdowns and is in bad condition. Well, the climb up was amazing, perfect trail. Once I got to the top however it was a mess. A blow down every couple hundred yards. Had to blaze trail around most of them. Major pain. Apparently moose love this area too, had to deal with that. Finally, the puncheons were wet and had moss on them. Made for fantastic traction. I was ice skating on them all day. Amazed I didn't lose it on one of them.Back down and across some flats. Still tons of blowdowns for a while. The final climb to a small hill was a single slab of wet rock on a 30 degree angle. I knew what was coming, and I lost it about five feet in. Still foggy, still raining because of the fog. I swore loudly at the trail and the maintainers for routing it here.Got to the top and I actually could see a little under the fog. It was just starting to lift. Then down to lunch. Food always makes the day better. Ate next to a cascading brook at a shelter.Next few miles of trail was well traveled and fantastically easy. Was almost jogging for a few miles. Some dayhikers saw me storming towards them and stepped off trail to let me by.The next hill held probably the highlight of the day. In two different places, there were these gardens of rock cairns. I mean massive and intricately stacked. Snapped about twenty pictures of the whole thing and some of the better balanced piles. Must have taken someone a week to do it. Really pretty amazing.The final hill was graded amazingly and I flew up it despite being twenty five miles in. Got to the shelter at twenty to six and was the first person there. Someone else later showed up, but its pretty quiet for being on the AT and LT.Gonna sleep at a hostel in Rutland tomorrow. There are two places I can get into town, either two miles from here or twenty plus the climb over Killington. Can't decide because it would be much easier with my currently empty pack than a full resupply if I got off before. I'll sleep on it.
Date: 2008-06-09
From: velvet rocks shelter

To: fire warden's cabin
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: light rain

I woke up early this morning and should have hit the trail, but I didn't feel like it so I didn't. One of the few ways the trail differs from a job - think about it.Woke up again, late and decided it was about time I hit it. Got out about 8 or so.Started hiking, but I just wasn't feeling it. Got to the first road crossing and took a break from the bugs in a parking lot. Also treated a hot spot - my first on my feet of the trip. Didn't develop into a blister.Next stretch was pretty flat and boggy. This stretch just really got me down. Not so much the terrain, but just my mental game. If I haven't said it before, hiking the trail is almost completely mental. Anyone can do it, you just have to have your mind in it. You don't have to hike 25 miles a day to get there. 5 will get you to the same place.Anyways, I was getting down and lonely. Staying in the game can be brutal at times.I got to the next road crossing, and Indian Summer was there. He had somehow passed me. We were both puzzled. We both took a break and I was cheered up for the rest of the day. It comes and goes.Indian Summer and I played tag for the rest of the day.First climb was up Moose Mountain. No moose, not even any signs of moose. Took lunch at the shelter. I drank a gallon of water by this point.Down moose and up to Holt's Ledges. Brutal straight up climb that got the sweat pouring. At the top there were some rocky outcrops that gave us our first glimpse into the edges of the whites. Saw the first mountain that went above the treeline.I got lost going down and wandered to the top of a ski slope. Knew that wasn't right so I went back. The side trail went along some cliffs that peregrine falcons nest at. Didn't see any.Down to the road to climb up to the next one. Took a break and filled up with water at a house.Got to the road before the start of the climb. At that road it was announced that we were entering the White Mountain National Forest. Still not in the Whites official, but getting there.Smarts Mountain was the last climb. The shelter and a firetower were at the very top. The climb was steep and high. Many parts were scrambles up wet slabs of rock at extreme angles. I just slid right back down a few times. Straight up it in extreme heat and humidity. Finally saw the tower at the top and was overjoyed. When Indian Summer showed up later he said to me "you mean this mountain has a top?" That about sums it up.Great views from the firetower. You can see a long way from 3600 feet. Indian Summer decided to push on a bit so he wouldn't have to go as far tomorrow. I didn't feel like it so I stayed with the clouds of black flies. The second dinner was done, I dove into my tent for the rest of the night. Those things are relentless.Really tough day, but I made it.
Date: 2008-06-10
From: fire warden's cabin

To: glencliff, nh
Miles today: 20.0

The tent kept away the clouds of black flies once again, just had to move fast once I got out. Got some huge welts from the buggers.I decided to get up really early today so I could hit it before the sun warmed everything up. Woke up at 4:30 and hit the trail at 5:15 with the sun.Nice easy downhill, much easier on this side of the hill. Hit Mt. Cube, the biggest climb of the day early. It was steep and rocky, but fun to climb jumping between the rocks. At least most of them were dry. Nice flat top, but a secondary peak blocked views of the Whites. Steep downhill to a road. Half done for the day and it was before 9.Indian Summer was at the road and surprised to see me. Snacked and headed on to some boggy mosquito infested areas. Stopped once only briefly to fill my water bottle and booked it on.Met up with IS again at the next road. We hiked on together for once up Misty Mountain. Not much. We hit a spring on the way down and IS stopped to fill up. I kept going because of the bugs.A little way down the trail I heard a strange rumbling. It was growing louder. After a few seconds I identified it as a large rock slide about a hundred yards behind me. All I can say is holy crap. IS was travelling behind me, and after it was over I heard him yell to me asking if I was alright. Great, we both made it.That rock slide is probably one of the oddest things I have encountered in my life. Think about it. The Appalachians are a very old range. Maybe a hundred million years. I passed the rock slide about 30 seconds before it happened. That time period is infinitesimally small. The rock slide happened in between IS and I. That is just incredible, even more so when you consider they mined the last hill and all that blasting for years didn't shake it loose. I'm not really making any sense, but this was one of the most incredibly odd and lucky things that has ever happened to me.Hit the road into Glencliff a short time later and walked to a hostel. 4 days above 90 degrees and I decided a shower was worth the cost. Some relaxing sounded good too.IS and I stayed there and got much needed showers and got some great food out of the hiker box. Took care of a bunch of stuff and relaxed the rest of the day and watched some TV and movies. Whites tomorrow.May not update for a while if I don't have signal.
Date: 2008-06-13
From: liberty springs tent site

To: zealand falls hut
Miles today: 17.4

Up and out early this morning to make sure I would have plenty of time to dawdle and bask in the glory of the Whites. Three tenths straight up to the Franconia Ridge Trail. The AT isn't a trail by itself here, it follows a series of trails.The Franconia Ridge Trail is probably the most fantastic stretch of trail I have seen this entire trip. Started low and followed the ridge up toward Mt. Lafayette. The climbing wasn't bad and it was still a little cool from the night. A nice breeze was blowing too.Shortly after I started the trail, it emerged from the trees and continued to climb. Crossed over a bunch of barren bumps with some stunted pines struggling to grow in the lee of the mountains.There were effectively no trees for about three miles, so the views were spectacular. Rugged terrain soaring above the surroundings. I can't really put it into words at all, so I'll just leave it as I was simply giddy up on this ridge.The highest point was Mt. Lafayette at a couple feet short of a mile high. No clouds. Sat up there for a while.Continued on down off the ridge. Steep down as the AT in the Whites doesn't believe in switchbacks, and just goes straight up and over anything in its path. No big deal though, I can easily handle it.The next climb was up Mt. Garfield. Very steep up and down. At the top there was a large slab of rock for great views. There were a ton of people up there taking some sort of orienteering class so I didn't stick around long.Back down and a few more miles to Galehead Hut. I took lunch there and chatted with one of the croo about the upcoming terrain. She did remarkably well predicting how long it would take me to get to the next hut.Straight up the next hill, and I saw a peculiar thing here. Going up the hill was a sectioner with a rather large pack. The odd thing was he apparently couldn't fit everything in his pack, most notably his full size PILLOW. Just going up the hill with it tucked under his arm. Inexperienced hikers can be a hoot sometimes.Hit a surprising 3mph for the next two hours. Not much of note, went above the trees a couple times.Once I had a good view of Mt. Washington 20 trail miles down the line. From that far away I could see the black smoke billowing from the cog railroad. Looked like half the mountain was on fire. A great piece of history to keep running...Came to a hut and decided to do a work for stay. I work a little bit and I get all you can eat leftovers for dinner and breakfast. Sounds like a good deal to me. Actually relying on it and am pretty much only carrying lunches through this section. This makes me happy with my pack weight.A bunch of "hikers" here who obviously know nothing. One complained that she had to go outside to go to the bathroom. Life is hard. Had tons of food for dinner: 3 bowls of split pea soup, pasta stuff, corn, ham, bread, and a plate full of muffins. Ate too much, but not complaining.Absolutely fantastic day. The Whites are amazing and the best part of the trip so far.
Date: 2008-07-02
From: gorham, nh

To: carlo col lean-to
Miles today: 17.0

Slept good last night, in a bed and I didn't sleep the night before. Up and out of the motel at a leisurely pace.Had a few stops before we hit the trail. The PO, breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, and the outfitters. They fixed my hiking poles as they were bent four times. Even got the other shock pole so now I have a complete set and I didn't pay for them.Took a couple minutes to get a hitch. Pretty easy. Pickup truck.Roadwalk for the first bit of trail. I somehow managed to get a tick within the first five minutes while walking on the road. Don't know how that works. Welcome back to the AT.First climb was a couple thousand feet, but the grade wasn't bad for once. Still went a little slow up it because it was hot and humid.Got above the treeline on top of a couple mountains today. The elevation wasn't too high either. Three thousand some feet.Took lunch right on the trail because we were heading down and didn't want to take it with the bugs. Turns out we were 500 feet from an amazing overlook that would have been an awesome spot. Oh well.It started clouding up as we were nearing the first shelter. Then the thunder started. It was rolling constantly, and it was eerie and awesome, though we knew what was coming. Sure enough a little later it started to hail. That's right, hail. It was small hail and not a big deal and only lasted a minute, but it was hail none the less.Then it started to rain. Buckets. Soaked us really quick. Then we arrived at the shelter. Then it stopped raining. Then we left the shelter. Then it started raining again.We climbed up Mt. Success and as we were nearing the top a thunderhead began to roll in. We paused and stood in the rain and waited because the lightning strikes were a half mile away. Not good for running up high on a ridge. We could tell the cell was passing on, and when the strikes were more than a mile away and diminishing we headed on up. Still not the best idea, but it was cold and raining and we couldn't just stand there for too long.Down Success and we hit one of out last great milestones, a sign reading Welcome to Maine. 13 down, last state to go. We were pretty excited.A little further and we reached the turnoff to the shelter. A long way downhill, but it was dry and we had it to ourselves.Today the terrain was pretty extreme. We went as fast as we could the entire day, and we never really got above 2mph. Constant ups and downs, and steep rock faces all day. Tough because we are used to going faster so it doesn't seem like we are making any progress.I held fine after my break, didn't feel any ill affects and was pretty much able to keep up.The AT welcomed me back with fanfare: a tick, steep terrain, hot weather, hail, buckets of rain, and very close thunder storms up high.
Date: 2008-07-03
From: carlo col lean-to

To: speck pond lean-to
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up to blue skies this morning. Back up the hill and back to the AT.Some steep ups and downs early today. Long climbs, treacherous descents, nothing new though challenging.At one point I was trying to negotiate walking down a wet rock slab, and I slipped and stumbled down it. The problem was there was another much taller drop-off right past it and I was heading for it full speed. I was able to reach out and grab a tree and stop myself on the edge of the drop-off. My wrist hurts from that, but at least I didn't die.Took our first break at a shelter and found out there is currently a bunch of large groups hiking and monopolizing the shelters. Great.Still going slow on rough terrain. Four miles in and we were questioning our final destination.We had a steep downhill into perhaps the most famous/infamous miles of trail on the AT, the Mahoosac Notch. We had heard that this was a boulder field that required some creative maneuvering. We heard correctly. It was a gully that was filled with car size boulders we had to go over, around, and even under. Took a lot of planning, luck, and trusting in the grip of our boots. We did that mile of trail in an hour and ten minutes. Record time. There was even a dead moose down there, apparently the native wildlife couldn't escape its wrath. Mostly fun, but daring in plenty of spots.Took lunch after the notch, and well before our planned destination. We revised out goal for the day, our plan was a bit ambitious.After lunch we headed up the Mahoosac Arm. It was steep and in many places it was a long wet slab of rock that we got up on prayers without killing ourselves by sliding back down it. The trail is getting rough.TB came up with a new term today: improblazing. This is where the trail is impossibly hard to pass due to bogginess or steep rocks so you walk around it. Happens quite a bit.Summited and headed down to the next shelter. It was 3 or so and it was 7 miles to the next shelter. We doubted if we could get there before dark. This was a pay shelter, but thrus can do work for stay.After much deliberation, we decided to hold up here. We were tired and it would have been a long way to the next shelter. Rearranged some rocks for our work for stay and then it started raining. Good thing we stayed. Apparently it rains at night almost every day here.Seeing lots of SOBOs now, and lots of groups too, may be some competition for the shelters. Its rough out here.