morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-04
From: Hall Mountain Lean-to

To: Speck Pond Shelter
Miles today: 20.9

It's hard to motivate yourself to get moving in the morning when it's pouring out and you're nice and warm and dry in your sleeping bag in the shelter, even if the roof does leak a bit in a few places! I eventually did get moving, and, as I do when it's raining, I hauled tail all day.I was at Frye Notch Lean-to, 10.5 miles into my day, before 3 people who stayed there even got started for the day. The climb from there up East Baldpate didn't even phase me. The descent down into the saddle hurt me though (are you beginning to see a pattern emerging here?); keeping the brakes on so I didn't take a slider on the lichen covered granite slope strained my right quad in an unfortunate way. The rest of the trip down from the West peak to the road didn't help things, and by the time I was in the parking lot, I was practically limping. Of course, nobody was at Grafton Notch waiting for me; it made me wonder why I hustled to get there in the first place. No trail magic down there either - note to self: July 4th -- hiker feed -- Grafton Notch State Park. Then came the dreaded climb up Old Speck, my arch-nemesis. It was long, but in all honesty, not all that bad; even though I haven't been able to notice it on a day to day basis, my body has gotten in shape and can handle these climbs that a few weeks ago, or last year, would have worn me out. So except for the pain in my right quad, the ascent went just fine. The 1.1 miles down to Speck Pond? All suffering. It was slick, I was tired, and it just went on and on. Luckily when I got there there were only 3 people in the shelter - 3x5 and Moxie, both SOBOs, and Tonto, a NOBO section hiker who is just full of horrible jokes (my favorite kind!). I am glad to be out of the drizzle and in some dry clothes, even if there is a fee at this shelter (yep, in AMC territory now - the land of the fee campsite).Heading to Gentian Pond Shelter tomorrow (in New Hampshire! Wooo!!) then into Gorham to resupply. The weather will determine what happens from there; I am tempted to zero in town to rest my legs for crossing the White Mountains. Looks like I'll have a wet slog through Mahoosuc Notch tomorrow though....
Date: 2014-07-05
From: Speck Pond Shelter

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.7

My level of motivation yesterday was leaps and bounds higher than it was today! The temp dropped throughout the night and the rain continued on, so it was about 43 degrees, windy, and wet. Tonto was the packing up before it even lightened up, and he and 3x5 were out early. Moxie and I had a contest to see who could do more of their packing without leaving our respective sleeping bags; she won hands down. Turns out that a kid I saw at Grafton Notch showed up after dark last night and decided to sleep under one of the tent platforms instead of in the shelter - he and his sleeping bag were totally soaked by morning...not sure what to think of that...I walked the first couple miles down Mahoosuc Arm (the WORST part of the whole AT if you ask me) in my full rain suit; at the beginning of the Notch I took off the rain jacket but left the pants on because it was still cold. The Notch was, well, the Notch... the only part of the AT where your arms get as much of a workout as your legs from climbing up, over, under, and around all the rocks. I made it through without hurting myself or damaging my gear; always an accomplishment, especially when everything's slippery and wet. I ran into my 3rd Chewonki group, too...wow.From then on the walk was characterized by steep (but relatively easy) ups and bone crushing downs, with the occasional insanely windy ridge. I was literally getting blown across these things - winds must have been 40 mph and gusting over 60. It was no fun, but at least it wasn't raining. It's also a good thing I didn't run into many people - with the wind basically blowing my kilt off, I'm sure there were a few moments if felony-level indecency up there!I ate lunch in NH, just for a change of scenery, then carried on to Gentian Pond; one of the nicest shelters in New England. I may take a zero in Gorham just to let my legs and feet recover a little from the pounding, because OW! Tomorrow is under 12 miles and doesn't look too bad... a good thing, since I am thinking of nothing but food and rest!First state DONE!! 13 more to go!!!
Date: 2014-07-06
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 11.7

Despite thinking that I slept in, I was still on the trail before 7:30, and without trying made lhenominal time to the US2 in Gorham. I was walking straight towards the Presidentials all day, and stopped to admire the view and take a picture. Eureka! When I turned my phone on I actually had service, and within 3 minutes had gotten 5 texts and a call from my parents asking if I wanted them to come up to meet me for lunch - of course I did!It was a 3 hour drive for them, so I tried to take my time but was still at the road an hour early. Fortunately a NOBO section hiker was there waiting for a shuttle in to the Hikers Paradise hostel, so I rode in with him, payed for my bunk, got settled, showered, and changed before mom and dad got here. It worked perfectly! We had a huge lunch at the wood fired pizza place in town (good pizza, good beer, and lots of both!), them they drove me out to Walmart to resupply. They are planning to come find me at a few other places along the way, so we bought some extra things for later. Then they dropped me back off at the hostel (they've been great about dropping me off at some pretty seedy looking places over the years, and this is another one!) and braved the weekend traffic back to Massachusetts. The only other person here is the section hiker, who runs a non-profit that helps villagers in Tajikistan and Afghanistan start successful businesses and negotiate business loans, so it is pretty quiet. I decided to take a zero tomorrow, so as not to hurt myself in the next couple tough days in the Whites. I really don't want so sit around in town, but I think it's the right thing to do - after 18 days of pounding, i think I am pushing my luck on avoiding an injury!
Date: 2014-07-07
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0

First zero day! I slept in (l the way to 7:15! Wow!), then had some breakfast, coffee, snack, lunch, more snacks, etc. the section hiker hemmed and hawed about whether to hike out or not, and eventually did when the owner offered him a ride out to the trailhead. For the time being I've got th place to myself - pretty luxurious!I tried to find a new book to read, but the only bookstore didn't have a great selection. I may walk down in a few minutes to see if the library has a used book section with anything good, or even just halfway decent...at this point I'm not too picky.Otherwise, I've caught up on my emails, am trying to get my TrailJournal all up to date, and sent out an email to everyone back in the Oxford Hills - the last two are pretty huge accomplishments if you know me; I'm mo good at the whole "keeping in touch" thing!!Tomorrow will be a really short day, out of necessity, not so much because I want it to be. The campsite spacing in the Whites makes planning difficult, and a ~6 mile day tomorrow will put me in the best position to get through the rest of it efficiently. I am looking forward to getting over Moosilauke, and into some more "normal" trail conditions.
Date: 2014-07-08
From: Gorham, NH

To: Zeta Gap
Miles today: 12.7

A glorious day for a walk in the woods on this least-spectacular ridge of the Whites! I was up at 6, packed my bag, and went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. instead of asking for a shuttle I walked to the edge of town and got a ride from a guy in a Subaru; I was walking south by 9am.I've still got some knee pain, but my right heal is getting better fast thanks to the Bag Balm, and generally I felt strong on the walk to Imp Shelter. I just couldn't bring myself to stop that early, so I grabbed 4 liters of water and headed for Zeta Pass, where I hoped I'd find a flat spot for the night (there's no water listed between Imp and Carter Hut).What I found was so much more than just a flat spot - just 20-30 yards into the woods I found a beautiful, dry, secluded area sheltered and hidden by young spruce trees, and filled with snowshoe hares. Ok, so there's only one snowshoe hare, but he's a good neighbor, and doesn't seem to mind sharing his kingdom with me for the night. I encountered 6 other SOBOs, all heading for Carter Hut; after 2 nights in town, this stealthiest of stealth camping spots is great to have to myself! The sky has cleared, and the sun is nice as it set; except for the wind in the trees, all is quiet and peaceful.Finding this spot, and getting here early enough to explore it, and having a clear, cool evening to spend in it is the best trail magic I could get right now! As NOBO Andy from Minneapolis says, "The trail provides."Another short day tomorrow down to the Osgood Tentsite, then I can unleash the beast and motor across the Presidentials. Can't wait!!
Date: 2014-07-09
From: Zeta Gap

To: Osgood Tentsite
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: light rain

I slept in till 7am, then got underway. The hike up Mt. Haight wasn't too bad, and before long I was at Carter Hut. Most of the crew from yesterday got turned away, so they got rained on in the thunderstorms, too. From the hut the trail climbed steeply onto the Wildcat range, then bobbled around across the ~ 5 peaks. For the whole range I could hear a drilling sound I assumed was the gondola, and I had periodic gorgeous views of the Presidentials. Turns out the drilling was and excavator-mounted jackhammer breaking up an old concrete foundation at the ski area summit...made for a nice scenic visit up there.The hike down to Pinkham was as bad as ever, but luckily not TOO wet...it still made my knees ache pretty good though. At Pinkham I got a new book to read and a meal at the Visitor Center, and got to sign their guest book - it goes back to 2000! It was SO cool to see all the names from 2005 and 2009; it feels like it was just yesterday that I was hiking with a lot of those folks.Now I'm at Osgood with the crew from yesterday, Smilie and her dad, a couple of NOBOs (one of whom I had to help in setting up her Tarptent on a tent platform...no easy task...). This place proves once again to be quite the meeting place for north and southbounders - in 2009 I had a great evening chatting with a group of SOBOs, and I just had a great evening chatting with a bunch of NOBOs (Joules, Canary, and Mariposa). Good times; great to feel on an even playing field with "the others!"Presidentials tomorrow - I may shoot for Crawford Notch if I feel ambitious; big miles, but could be rewarding!
Date: 2014-07-10
From: Osgood Tentsite

To: Ethan Pond Shelter
Miles today: 24.2
Weather: light rain

A whole list of "Biggest/Longest/Most [...]" today: biggest miles, most climbing in a day, most hours walking. I got packed and was first out this morning at 6:45. The morning began with UP. Mount Madison came first, with huge gusting winds making the rock scramble interesting. I did the whole climb in my raincoat - it felt like October up there.From Madison Hut to Mount Washington was better - less sudden elevation changes, and it only felt like late September; I stripped down to a long sleeved shirt. The high summits were socked in during the morning, but for most of it I was below the clouds. At the cog railway I got distracted by a low flying helicopter and a group of rowdy people and missed a sign...my little detour added about a mile to my day.I finally got to the summit, after about 5-6000 cumulative feet of climbing, at 11:30. It was in the low 40s, with windchill below freezing, so I donned my raincoat, hat, and gloves to combat the mid-December-like temps. The summit was the usual zoo, with the addition of a full renovation project on the summit building.From Lake of the Clouds, just below the summit, to Mizpah Spring Hut was great - sunny, breezy ridge walking. I couldn't bear to stop on such a nice day (especially knowing how ugly it can be up here), so I cruised down the Webster Cliffs to US 302, and then up to Ethan Pond. Some weekenders are up here, but just me and Caretaker Em are in the shelter (she prefers the mostly empty shelter to her wall tent).While the tourist thing adds another complication to planning, it's kind of novel to be a "celebrity" of sorts out here - everyone's super impressed with the concept of thru-hiking and it's definitely a morale booster!I haven't seen any SOBOs since Mount Washington, but I ran into Andy from Minneapolis again; love that guy! Guy On A Buffalo may or may not be ahead of me or behind me; nobody seems to know where he is. Andy knows him, and says he's a great guy; I'd love to cross paths with him at some point!
Date: 2014-07-11
From: Ethan Pond Shelter

To: Liberty Springs Tentsite
Miles today: 22.1
Weather: few clouds

Another big but beautiful day. The shelter was really dark so I didn't get up until 7am; then I hung around for a while to hear the weather report on the caretaker's radio: clear, sunny, light and variable winds, and 100-mile visibility. It was all I needed to hear!The first 6 miles Zealand Hut were FLAT - and they flew right by. Then the rest of the day was various levels of up-and-down. The only real ridgeline I got was Lafayette thru Haystack (gorgeous!), and the rest was in the trees.At the top of Lafayette I ran across a couple scientists laying out and GPSing plots to track whether alpine plants will start moving to higher elevations as the climate changes ("Come back in 5 years and see!")The last 1.3 miles to the tentsite were in the trees again, and despite being pretty flat, went on for ages. I felt like a 5 year old - "Are we there yet?? Are we there yet???" Well, I finally got there, and it was PACKED - Friday night, 3 miles from the road, beautiful weather, etc... I should have known...The caretaker has 3 of us on a double platform which will probably be fine, but cramped, as long as it doesn't rain (and it shouldn't). The tentsite is on the west side of the mountain, and the nearest other mountains are a ways off, so we get the full sunset (not early dusk because the sun just went behind the next hill). Tomorrow I'll go into Lincoln, resupply, and then come back out. Hopefully my phone cooperates - it worked fine last night, but has been telling me "No SIM Card Installed" all day today. Awesome.
Date: 2014-07-12
From: Liberty Springs Tentsite

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

Got an early start today, and jumped right into the knee-hammering few miles down to Franconia Notch. I was at the Flume Visitor Center (about a mile off the trail) by 8:30, and standing on the side of US 3 by 9. On a weekend day, a beautiful weekend day no less, most of the traffic is out-of-state and heading TO the mountains, not away from them...makes for difficult hitching.Eventually a woman and her kids picked me up and took me to town, I resupplied, got fuel, and chowed down on some pizza. By 1:30 I was back at the Flume, where I thought I'd get water and head up the hill. But avast! they had shut down all the drinking water because of the dreaded fecal coliform bacteria. So up to the river I went and got water there.The trail to Lonesome Lake Hut was gradual but steady climbing, then it pitched steeply up to Kinsman Pond and the first summit. At the top I met Survivor Man, only the second other kilted hiker I've encountered (besides Oofda, who I ran into yesterday), and we talked for a good while about the kilting life and the funny reactions we've gotten from the eternally baffled, shorts-wearing masses.When I finally got to Eliza Brook Shelter the place was swarming with weekenders; luckily there was a group tentsite a ways off in the woods that was unoccupied. I set up, got water, and started eating my leftover pizza when Wired (NOBO, and finishing her Triple Crown) came up. I gave her a piece of pizza and helped improve her day a little bit! It's great to talk to another thru-hiker who isn't afraid of putting in some big miles - seems like a lot of people are scaling it waaaayyyy back up here.I picked up the Long Trail Guide today; maybe banging out the northern ~168 miles afterall!!
Date: 2014-07-13
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Ore Hill Campsite
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Totally pooped after all the miles today. So pooped that I didn't even giggle (not even a little bit) at having written "pooped" in my journal.But it was a good day. I came over Mt. Moosilauke (the summit was socked in; no views) and officially finished up the Whites; I passed the 400 mile mark; and the rain didn't start until 3 miles AFTER I got off Moosilauke. After the run of great weather I've had I really complain about this rain, but no matter how you look at it, hiking in the rain is not so awesome. Of course I was aiming for a tentsite tonight (the shelter that used to be here burned down 3 years ago), but I found a nice spot in some dense beech trees that kept the rain off long enough to set the tent up and cook dinner. Now I'm laying in my sleeping bag, surrounded by gear in varying stages of dampness, wondering if I can make it to sunset before falling asleep [I didn't. I was out like the fat kid in dodge ball so early that I woke up a while later and it was STILL light out]. It's great to be down lower where the trails are more earth than rocks (easier on the feet and knees), but low+earth=mud. And now that both my shoes have blown out and have 3-4" long holes in the outside edges, it makes mud crossings a bit trickier - the last thing I need is to get a whole bunch of mud packed in under my feet! The complete lack of useful tread also makes it interesting on the muddy rocks; I took one slider today where I ended up on my butt (my bare butt, because the kilt rode up and out of the way), sliding down 8 feet of muddy ledge. Great fun...One more big --like the biggest yet-- day tomorrow, then I'll be in good shape for Hanover on Tuesday and Killington on Friday morning.Time, now, for rest and sleep.
Date: 2014-07-14
From: Ore Hill Campsite

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 25.2
Weather: broken clouds

Big miles, a good night's sleep, soft ground, ice cream, hot dogs, and mild grades - it was a good day!It stopped raining during the night and was gorgeous and clear when I got started. Of course, with everything soaked, I got drenched despite the sunny skies. There were a few climbs, but everything was reasonably moderate, especially considering what I was up to in the Whites.I was at Smarts Mountain by noon, and made good time to the Dorchester-Lyme Road where I stopped at Bill Ackerly's house. Bill wasn't home, but his sister was so I still got ice cream and Tang (she really wanted me to have some Tang), but I missed out on the croquet. The ice cream powered me past Trapper John Shelter (it always makes me think of M*A*S*H...), and when I got to Goose Pond Road, there were some folks doing trail magic - hot dogs, cookies, and ice water. I had two hot dogs and a fist full of cookies, and about half way up Moose Mountain it all kicked in. I motored up the last couple miles to the shelter like a steam locomotive; good thing nobody passed me because I must have been huffing and puffing to beat the band.25 miles of wet feet mean that I've got some new blisters. When I took my shoes off my feet looked like zombie feet - even I was scared just by looking at them. After a good slathering in Bag Balm they feel a lot better though. On to Hanover tomorrow...food and resupply. YumYum!
Date: 2014-07-15
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: moderate rain

I rocked out the ~11 miles to Hanover in 3 hours and 30 minutes, shopped at the Co-op, dropped my pack at the Dartmouth Outing Club office, went for pizza at Ramunto's (a free slice for thru-hikers), bought some beer, repacked everything, hit the road (literally...lots of road walking through Hanover and Norwich), crossed the border, took a picture, and made tracks into Vermont. There was lots of trail magic on the road out of Norwich, then a nice easy walk up to the Happy Hill Shelter.The water source, which apparently has a tendency to run dry, was flowing well and worked great for cooling the beer. Eventually some other hikers showed up and they all enjoyed the treat. Still no rain to speak of - some sprinkles, but that's it. I'm excited to boogie to Killington on Friday - more town food, and more importantly, new shoes await!
Date: 2014-07-16
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 20.3

Wow - more great trail magic today! It rained heavily through the night, and sporadically through the morning, but as most hikers know, the Hike Must Go On. I made my way quickly out to Podunk Road (one of my favorite places...makes me laugh every time), spent some time hanging out under the I-89 overpasses like a troll, then made my way through West Hartford, VT and across the White River.About halfway across the river I heard someone hollering behind me, and turned around to see a guy waving his arms at me from his yard. I couldn't hear what he was saying because of the rain, but I figured I should go back and see what was up anyway. Turns out he and his wife try to catch all the hikers who come by and at the very least give us a soda; in the mornings, they like to cook a full breakfast! I got eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, and soda, and spent the rest of the morning chatting with them and playing with their young grandchildren and enjoying being out of the weather. They had fed over 270 hikers so far this season - amazing folks!!After the rain stopped I kept walking and made good time over to the Cloudland Road, where I ran into my next surprise - Iron Chef, a NOBO I had met the day before in Hanover, had taken a day off the trail to do some trail magic near where he grew up. He had some sodas for us, and we had a great talk.Not 200 yards up the hill from where he was set up I came across a cooler under a tree. I opened it expecting cookies or drinks, but found a full assortment of lunch materials - PB&J sandwiches, bags of chips, kettle corn, bananas, cookies, and so forth. Awesome!Basically, I didn't have to eat any of my own food today until I got to the shelter, where I polished off everything I had left. I am here with one other SOBO, John the Baptist, and a number of NOBOs - G Walker, and a handful of others. All are great, and it's wonderful swapping stories with them all! Looking forward to certain stops and restaurants along the way (Ming Dynasty! Waynesboro, VA! Best Chinese food buffet EVER!)