morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-06-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Another night¢s rest in prep for travel. It helped. Ate all the leftovers, such that they were, for breakfast and was ready for the shuttler, Marlene, who was early. Marlene and I have come a long way from her first couple of no shows for my pickups. She been a great assistance in this year¢s hike. She was kind enough to clear her schedule to take me to the Portland airport on short notice, bless her heart. The 1.5 hour trip was through some pretty Maine countryside to the Portland International Jetport. We only missed one turn in spite of our talking and laughing the whole way. The airport¢s name is a funny Maine-ism. Yes, like all airports, jets do fly in and out but,  well, it¢s different here, so the slightly pretentious name. Oh yeah and no international flights leave or arrive here either, another Maine oddity! We made it in plenty of time. I tipped Marlene well, because she¢s a life saver, and said goodbye. I¢ll miss her hearty laugh and humorous, relaxed approach to life. Check in went well with my big black garbage bag wrapped backpack.  Treated myself to a magnificent lobster roll and Whoopie Pie lunch! Local specialties - both! My flight via Washington,  DC Reagan airport was on time. Beautiful day in the nation¢s capitol. Lots of recognizable landmarks. The next flight leg to Grand Rapids was on time and I was back by dinner time. Not how and when I expected this Section Hike to end but life¢s like that and¢¦ I made it out safely. Already strategizing how I can get the rest of the AT done. But I¢ll save that for another day. Onward!
Date: 2021-12-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Readers: Thank you for your readership, encouragement and patience. As you can tell from the date it has taken me almost 6 months to unpack this year¢s section hike. It certainly didn¢t evolve as I had planned. As always, you learn and grow from life¢s experiences.  That was certainly the case in 2021. In the following blog epilogues, or epiblog as I call them, I¢ll try to tie a bow on 2021 with segments on Stats, Covid, Gear, Strategies, Physical/Mental, The Experience and a Summary. Stats   AT Section Four Hike Complete AT MP 1768.4 - 1917.8 (minus gapped out trail segments). 87.2 miles hikedStates entered - NH, MECovidI had my two vaccination shots so I was protected but still wary. Lingering signs of the pandemic remained.  Masks still required in airports and planes going and coming. Some shuttlers, restaurants and stores still asking for masking. It varied widely. But NH was intent on being over that. One store posted a sign saying masks not required and reminded all of the state motto, Live Free or Die. Guess we¢ve seen examples of both throughout this thing! I did remain safe and virus free throughout. Gear With spreadsheets, lists and prior years¢ experience I had all the right gear. Perhaps too much since the pack felt heavy. It weighed out OK, guess I¢m just getting older! I found that my Sawyer water filter needed frequent backwashing  since the filtration rate was slowing. Grit in the micromesh filter pores. I bought a new Big Agnes Copperspur Ultralight UL-1 tent this year. I was going to lend my older version of this tent to my son (more on that later) . The new tent was nice and light and had a few new great features. Worked very well. My Osprey Exos 58 backpack had served me well over four years of section hikes. However it got beat up bad this year scrambling up and sliding down vertical rock faces. Some of the fabric and a lot of the mesh had holes. I returned to Osprey for repair. They instead sent me a brand new pack , in kind , at no charge. I was a fan before but now am a total Osprey devotee. Nice gear support.
Date: 2021-12-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Strategies Slackpacking. As had been successful the past sections, I was looking to avoid carrying a heavy pack as much as possible by slackpacking. Stay in town, get shuttled to the trail daily with a light pack holding the day¢s essentials. This was not as successful this Section because shuttler access points were not as available. So more pack dragging. The cell coverage was very spotty as well making shuttler comms a challenge. Avoid night hiking. By planning out distances I was able to do mostly day hiking. One hike got started late, went slower than anticipated and ended with a headlamp. Another case, as previously mentioned , was getting lost and doing some night hiking. Dangerous and it will, in the future, be something than is a last resort. Scary stuff! Plan manageable daily mileage. This was tough in retrospect. In previous years , depending on terrain, 10-13 miles per day were doable for me. The level of difficulty in the Whites caught me by surprise. I had dialed it back a bit in my planning but not enough. It¢s amazing how robust you feel from your armchair. Way different when you are facing vertical rock faces in person. Yup,  a bit more mountain climbing than hiking in this stretch. Plan out long distance schedules. This was probably the biggest glitch in this Section. Did a day by day spreadsheet for 42 days and 424 AT miles. Nope, even with slack built in, I quickly found out it was a non-achievable schedule pressure cooker. The sad part is that I had my son , Derek, and my friend, Bob, built into this schedule for part of the hike - meeting times, flights, lodging, shuttlers all set up. I had to scrap all this when I was not able to meet the schedule even with gapping out sections. I owe them a profound apology! They pivoted nicely with vouchers for cancelled air and with alternate vacation plans  Still it added to the disappointment for all. I¢ll plan to dial back on too much hard advance planning in the future. Tends to take the fun out of this AT experience. Physical / MentalI trained pretty hard but always hard to do mountain training in flatland Michigan, even with creativity. A surprising number of sections were more mountain climbing than hiking. Slowed the pace quite a bit. The rocks were treacherous, especially the vertical faces. I suffered a number of falls which drew blood, bruises and bumps. (A precautionary after-hike visit to my ortho specialists confirmed that I did no damage to my artificial joints. I was relieved!) I got pretty good at stopping blood flow on the fly - to avoid wasting time. :-) Sometimes my body recovered a bit quicker than my mind during this Section. After a bunch of falls and some night hiking it was tough to get back out there. I added extra zeros to get over those humps. I think my mental toughness was challenged quite a bit on this stretch. In the end my physical exhaustion was the show stopper. Luckily my mental state was still there to listen to my body and call it off for the year. A tough decision but a correct one in retrospect.
Date: 2021-12-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The ExperienceThe Weather. Mother Nature was very kind in the Section. Cool, sunny, breezy was the norm. A little rain but not much. Made for pleasant hiking especially when a lot of climbs brought out the sweat which the breezes cooled off. The Humility. This Section, as much or more than others,  was indeed humbling. Just when you are feeling mighty,  you do a face plant and have to unbuckle and crawl out from under a heavy backpack. Placing every step carefully yet still have knee, shin and elbow scrapes from falls on the rocks. Patching up the bleeding quickly while watching darkness setting in. Definitely humbling.  The Vistas. With a lot of the summits above tree line the vistas were sweeping. After struggling to get to those summits they were all the sweeter. Really beautiful part of the trail while being the most challenging. The Area Outside the Comfort Zone. Do something every day that scares you. It¢s why I do this. Challenge myself to do something new and see some place different. Some of that was very uncomfortable. However, I expanded my horizons, learned from my experience and learned a lot about myself. The People. As in previous Sections I was constantly awed by the kindness and generosity of people I met on the trail, in the towns and at restaurants and the lodging.  Very heartwarming especially those who provided of their time and talent in my rescue off the mountain. It always restores my faith in people. And finally, I am immensely grateful for the shuttlers who, with their life stories and their support of the hikers, always enhance my trail experience. Summary¢That which does not kill us makes us stronger¢, Friedrich Nietzsche.I didn¢t achieve the planned mileage because of the White Mountain ruggedness. However I did enjoy being outdoors, enjoying a new part of our beautiful country and challenging myself.Makes you feel alive! I¢ll be back!Onward!
Date: 2022-07-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

It begins again! Either I¢m darned determined or darn stupid! Probably a little of both! ;-) Yup, back on the trail this year. Different year, different approach. More about that later. This was a travel day. Up way early for a 6am flight out of Grand Rapids that bounced in Charlotte, NC then to Manchester, NH. Said good by to wife, Suz, for what I figured was my 8th startup onto the Trail. (Various breaks and ends/starts of sections). Should be getting good at this. Yikes! One of my favorite, and faithful, shuttlers, Marlene, was at airport to pick me up and deliver me to N. Woodstock, NH, one of my layover spots from last year. We had a lot of fun catching up with stories and laughs. A very enjoyable ride to Woodstock Inn, Restaurant and Brewery where Marlene dropped me off at 2pm.  Hadn¢t eaten since Starbucks early in Grand Rapids airport so had a nice late lunch and cold local brew on the patio also while I waited for my room to be ready. Very pleasant and very busy popular place on a Sunday. I booked myself into the Cascade Lodge, one of the Inn¢s units (shown in photo with main Inn and Restaurant in background).  My room, with the kitschy name Squirrels Nest, was done up in log cabin motif. Turns out it is a very comfortable, quiet room. Took a nap (air flights always wear me out!) and then strolled through the small town. Lots of souvenir shops. Later got on a waitlist for outdoor dining again. Lovely air, great food,  yummy beer brewed on premises and great service. Great first day transitioning into the area.
Date: 2022-07-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

A beautiful restful night with an easy, gentle wake-up at 6am. A shave and shower preceded a free, yes free, breakfast included with room. Can¢t beat a corned beef omelette with home fries washed down with lots of coffee. Haven¢t earned it yet but still enjoyed it. Rest of day spent journaling, planning future trail details like shuttlers, water stops, etc. After the big breakfast a nice milkshake at the local ice cream store was perfect for lunch. Enjoyed a leisurely walk along the nearby river. It is a cold clear water trout stream. Saw lots of brown trout - a sight to behold. Later in the day local visitors enjoy dipping in the shallow spots to cool off. Really an attractive tourist feature of this town. Decided to cap my zero day with a local brew happy hour phased into a bbq rib dinner. Sat at the open air bar with mountain views in the background. A beautiful evening. A nice capper to my stay. Ready to step off on the Trail tomorrow.
Date: 2022-07-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Start 1821.2 (I-93)End 1827.6 (Mt Lafayette) 6.4 milesSide Trail to Hut 1.1 hiking milesThis year¢s Section 5 starts with filling in last year¢s gaps. The approach this year is to shorten distances in these very formidable White Mountains and stay in huts in this section. Less weight to carry - no tent, cook stove or food since the huts house and feed hikers. Had my free breakfast at Woodstock Inn and Marlene picked me up for a short shuttle ride to the trailhead.  Hiking by 8:40. Had a rocky climb up right away. A bit humid so lots of sweat immediately. Passed some older SOBO (southbound) hikers - MTS and Lucky (said he¢d been lucky for 10 years - didn¢t ask backstory). Stopped at a campsite for more water then finally got to the top of the uphill, after 3 miles, onto Franconia Ridge. Ahh - flat! Well - kinda. Gradual upgrade with peaks- Little Haystack, Mt Lincoln and then ultimately Mt Lafayette, the highest at 5,260¢. Rain on and off during day meant raincoat, pack cover and phone protector on and off as well. Really magnificent scenery but I couldn¢t really enjoy it totally since on my first day out I was getting my trail legs and struggling a bit. Later in the day a fierce wind howled over the ridge. Rain, fog, sleet and at times, sun. I struggled to maintain footing at times. Exhilarating and exhausting all at once. At one point I slipped on a flat wet rock with no body damage but one of my trekking poles broke. Dang! Tried a repair right there on the howling mountain. A bit of duct tape and, nope ¢¦ didn¢t work. So I put the broken tip in my pocket. (Leave no trace (trash)) and extended the broken pole to roughly match the good pole length and off I went. Finally summited Mt Lafayette late in the afternoon then down a mile to the Greenleaf Hut (non AT mileage- darn!). In the photo the hut is downhill 1,000¢ elevation in the dark spot on the lower left. Arrived at the hut at 6:30 after 10 hours of hiking. They had already served dinner but saved me some food. A wonderful meal with frosted chocolate cake for dessert. Who could ask for more? I was assigned a bunk in a whole bunk area to myself. Was nice for spreading out wet gear to dry. The Appalachian Mountain Club operates this system of huts in the White Mountains of NH. Young Croo (their name for crew) members, mostly college kids, operate the huts and clean, cook, offer nature presentations and hospitality. Appear to really enjoy each other¢s company. Nightly fee incl bunk, dinner and breakfast. Clean, running water, indoor toilets.  (composting), good food and lots of it, energetic staff. Diverse guests include hikers, weekenders and families. Also met a variety of folks from other countries. All solar powered so lights out early. Finished my journaling by headlamp. took my ibuprofen and lights (well, headlamp) out at 9:15. What a day! Made it - Day 1!
Date: 2022-07-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Start 1827.6 ( Mt Lafayette)End 1834.2 (Galehead Hut) 6.6 milesOvernight a bit restless. Not much bunk room noise with minimal snoring (surprising) but guess my body was revved from first strenuous day. Did get some sleep but early morning light at 5:30 got me going. Did morning prep, got my hair presentable and had my first cup of coffee by time the Croo sang their wake-up song at 6:30 to get all to breakfast at 7. Very ample- scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon, oatmeal, pancakes, juice. Brushed teeth, packed up and off by 8. First up to the Mt Lafayette summit, in 1.5 hours, then onward on the AT. Very foggy. The piles of rocks, called cairns (shown in photo), are helpful in the low visibility conditions for wayfinding. Was mostly downhill until Mt Garfield (these are called the Presidentials part of White Mountains, as you can see from the peaks named mostly after presidents). Along the way leapfrogged with two women who had stayed at the hut. They were great moral support during a tough hiking day. Lindsey and Ashley were friends from  Peace Corps time in Jordan over 15 years ago. Turns out Ashley lives in Ann Arbor, MI. Lindsey in Salem, MA. Still close long distance friends. We shared our struggles all day. I believe I didn¢t get enough hydration so had intestinal and muscle cramps. Lesson learned. Lulu and Shushu, as they were nicknamed, went ahead and had the Croo hold some food for me. I finally struggled into the hut at 8:30. Another hiker guest gave me some salt tabs. I drank lots of water but not much appetite due to the dehydration. Lindsey and Ashley decided to stay an extra day at the hut to recover. Lindsey dealing with foot pain. I thought it was a great idea so we all moved our following day down trail hut reservation to a second night at Galehead Hut where we were staying . Brilliant! I was assigned to a crowded bunk room unlike the previous night but I was so tired that didn¢t matter. Crashed immediately. Whew! Wanted to quit this year¢s Section hike right there but thought I¢d give myself a recovery day and see how I felt. Thank goodness I was surrounded by caring fellow hikers. What a Day 2!
Date: 2022-07-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Start 1834.2 (Galehead Hut)End 1834.2 (Galehead Hut) 0.0 miles Slept very soundly overnight despite a nearby snoring woman in our full bunk room. Earplugs really helped. Popped up pretty refreshed, innerds included, and decided to sponge bath at the restroom sink. Felt great. Breakfast places set for 19. Usual hearty fare. Sat across from a couple of recent college grad fit young men who apparently have signed up for US Navy Seal training. They were gratuitous enough to listen to all my Navy stories. Quads still a bit stiff but overall body on mend. Called home and caught up. Best cell coverage was outside on their very rudimentary helicopter pad. (see photo) . Caught up on journaling. Chatted with Ashley about my next section of hiking off Mt Washington. She was familiar with that section and warned of very rugged conditions. Food for thought. Had a light bowl of soup for lunch ( addl cost-$2). Just what the body needed. The hut sold trekking poles! Leki brand, my favorite, so bought a pair. Back to a two full pole guy! :-) . Listened to one of my Audible books and that relaxed me into a hour and a half nap. More recovery! I tried to make a reservation at the next hut to get back on my previous schedule. Nope, all full so decided to hike out a side trail tomorrow with Lindsey and Ashley and take the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) shuttle to next stop. During day met an adult camp counselor with the AMC system who, with another assistant, was leading a group of a dozen 15-16 year olds . They were energetic but well behaved and you could tell they were learning about teamwork and respect and, of course, nature. Pretty impressive. Got a pre dinner  presentation on how the hut supplies itself.  Fresh food packed in / some trash packed out by Croo members on 35-80 lb backpacks over a 4.6 mile side trail , pre season supplies and some post season trash out by helicopter, well water treated with a bit of chlorine, composting toilets that have to be stirred every now and then (ugh!), propane for cooking (propane in by helicopter) , solar panels for electricity. Fascinating- at least to this engineer. Great meal with a nice hub-bub dinner conversation atmosphere. Fresh baked bread, salad , vegetarian lasagna to die for, ooey-gooey dessert. Awesome! In bed by 9. Feeling much better. Well placed recovery day.
Date: 2022-07-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Start Galehead Hut End AMC Highland Center 0.0 AT milesGale River Side Trail 4.6 hiking milesVery good nights sleep. Earplugs were again the difference with snorers in the bunk room. Early morning light through the window at 4:40 but ignored until 5:45. Up and completed bathroom and backpack prep before 7am breakfast. On Gale River side trail by 7:45. Was trying to meet a 12:20 AMC shuttle. Based on last couple of days pace I was concerned. I met back up with Lindsey and Ashley part of the way down. We really enjoyed to rest of the hike. Sounded like a travelogue with all of us discussing places around the world we¢ve been and want to go. Made the hike go fast and we arrived in 3.5 hours in plenty of time for the shuttle. They were going in the opposite direction so I helped them find a shuttler from my AT White Blaze list of shuttlers. We had plenty of time to exchange phone numbers, emails and selfies. We promised to stay in touch after having bonded in a short time. My on time shuttle got me to the AMC Highland Center in time for lunch but early for check in. Turns out rooms ready early so after lunch I checked in by 2:30. Met a couple of great guys at checkin so we promised to meet up for dinner. Nice room with a queen and a two bed bunk (the grandboys would love them! ) . Smallest private room available. Well worth it considering rate includes dinner and breakfast and the privacy compared to the bunk room alternative. Used next bit of time to cancel hut at top of mountain to avoid treacherous mountain top and downhill hiking. Added a day in current location. Planning to take shuttle back during current extended stay to hike part of trail I skipped in last couple of days. Gap hiking part of gap hiking! What? :-) Did sink laundry. Called home. Dinner buffet at 6:30. Really a nice menu including beef tenderloin, stuffed mushrooms and strawberry shortcake. Also had wine by the glass available (a nice Pinot Noir on list). Sat down with the guys from checkin. Turns out they were brothers out training for a future hike in Switzerland. One of the brothers did a 2018 AT thruhike . Trail name - No Doubt. His best saying ¢Don¢t quit on a bad day!¢ Had great dinner conversation amongst us retirees about careers, retirement and how we are all blessed to be able to do the things we do. Fun dinner. Returned to a cool dry room where most of laundry was already mostly dry. A great catch up and planning day.
Date: 2022-07-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Zero Day - 0.0 AT milesSlept extremely well in my new location - the AMC Highland Center. A relatively recent build. Beautiful timber construction. A nice place to land!  Room cool, dark and quiet. Gentle mountain breezes were delightful. Enjoyed the full breakfast spread before jumping into scheduling mode - setting up shuttler for  tomorrow¢s hike and working out the next couple of days lodging. Decided to skip the over the top of Mt Wahingtion route. Lots of steep rocks and rain threat. So cancelled a hut on the mountaintop (they were kind enough to to give me a credit despite non cancel policy) . Settled into contacting home, blogging, and audiobook catchup. A restorative day. Had a really great evening. In the open dining room decided to sit at a table with a lone woman diner. She later said she was glad someone sat down at her table so she didn¢t have to look at her phone all through dinner. She was waiting for her daughter to arrive by bus from Cambridge, MA for a next day 20+ mile hike. Very fit woman who has five kids, lives in Ithaca, NY and operates a small travel planning business for high end groups on sailing cruises. She loves to travel so this allows her to meld work and play. Very nice dinner conversation trading life stories. Fun! She had to dash off to pick up her daughter at the bus station. Me - I grabbed another round of gourmet Swedish meatballs, zucchini fritters and salad and another glass of Pinot Noir. I then wandered down the hall to a conference room where a retired astrophysicist professor gave a talk on stars, planets and light pollution. Fascinating . He regularly partners with AMC for these kind of talks often using college students for the educational program. Then back to the room for final prep for tomorrow¢s hike and lights out at 10. As mentioned above - very restorative day!