morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-08-09
From: Glencliff

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 18.75
Weather: overcast clouds

The rain finally stopped yesterday evening replaced with winds. It felt good to have all that humidity blown away. However during the night we were awakened by a loud crash. We were tenting with some other hikers at the Hiker Welcome Hostel. Pi called out "Is everyone OK?" Everyone said yes then The Dude said a branch fell on his tent almost hitting him. The piece that hit his tent luckily wasn't big or heavy enough to damage the tent or hurt him.We got up early because we had a big day. We would be climbing Mt. Moosilauk 4,802 feet. The climb up took about 3 hours and wasn't too steep but when we got to the top we were rewarded with clear skies, views of many of the upcoming mountains, warm sunny skies and low winds. We couldn't ask for a better day. Several youth groups were at the top and more were coming so we didn't stay up top for long. We hiked for a while with Gandalf, Mattahorn and Radar.The climb down however took longer as it was mostly climbing down huge blocks of rock with rebar, ropes and steps attached in places that were particularly tough. It was hard hiking but fun.I only took a couple of small slips and one back fall trying to step up a steep rock but landed on the back of my pack.We continued hiking most of the day with Radar. At one point Pi saw a moose but by the time I caught up I scared it away. Once we got off the big mountain the rest of the day was smaller ups and downs until we reached Eliza Brook Shelter. It was full of some of the folks from the hostel yesterday and a few older folks that had been in Glencliff a few days before. We knew there were a few more hikers coming so we continued down the trail until Pi found a spot big enough for our tent and gear right next to the brook. We settled in with cocktails and lentil stew.
Date: 2007-08-10
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: North Woodstock
Miles today: 9.0

Woke up to a cloudy day. Although we didn't have far to go, we had another hard climb above treeline up South Kinsman 4,368' and then North Kinsman 4,293'.The White Mountains have started to separate a lot of hikers as they are tougher than anything so far. The climb today was like climbing up a ravine filled with huge boulders and slabs of seemingly vertical rock.Once up on top and above treeline we could still see views of Moosilaauk and the Franconia Ridge which we will try to do tomorrow. Unlike yesterday, we didn't see many other hikers. The climb down was tougher than yesterday only because there was more slab to walk down. After awhile my feet and ankles got tired of being pointed down, down, down. Where it was really steep the local AT club put wooden steps into the rock. But even these after a day of hiking were strenuous step downs.Passed by the first ATC hut, more like a resort cabin for weekend hikers, or as Pi would say Nancys. There were a lot of people so we blasted by until we found some nice waterfalls to sit by for lunch. This area is filled with brooks of clear water and because of the topography lots of waterfalls.Met up with some other hikers near town, Gandalf, Mattahorn, Sublime, and Radar. Hit North Woodstock, drank a few beers at the brewery, ate some Chinese with sushi, then back to the motel for a soak in the hot tub. Stayed up way too late.
Date: 2007-08-11
From: North Woodstock

To: Galehead
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

8/11 Woodstock to .5 miles before Galehead hutWell we were supposed to get up real early but because last night was a night in town we were up late...anyway we finally left the motel after Pi fixed my trekking pole and walked about a mile to the trailhead by 8 am. It was a beautiful, sunny light breezy day. From what everyone has heard this kind of weather is so infrequent that Pi, Radar and I couldn t believe our luck. We had a big hike up over 5,000 feet to climb Mt Lincoln but we had to hike the extra mile to Mt. Liberty, we could see for miles. We could see where we had hiked yesterday, where we would hike today and where we will be tomorrow.It was awesome on Lincoln ...Alpine Strider hooked up with us for awile. She is a trip , she s a woman from Bavaria who loves to chat.Anyway we continued walking the ridge, climbing Little Haystacks, 2 peaks on Lafayette,....we climbed  6 peaks over 4,000 feet Hah.By the time we got to the peak of Lafayette the clouds started to swirl in coming up one side of the mountain and hitting cool air at the top and swirlimg back down into the valley. We began to hike through clouds and weather as they were forming.Once we summited Lafayettte, the sun was gone and the rest of the day was spent hiking in clouds. We got close to the Hut but did not want to stay there because of the cost and the situation. We were looking for a stealth site to camp when we came upon Bushwacker and Sublime hanging out along the trail. Bushwacker had a site, Sublime was going to the hut. Pi and I and Radar continued up the trail and while we found water, Radar found a site off trail big enough for both of our tents.Cool. We set up our tents, made drinks and made dinner. It's great although it was really cloudy when we set up, there s no precipitation now and we are still below cloud cover.Tomorrow may be a 15 mile day but Pi says that it will be easier hiking. We will be in Maine soon. It's all good.
Date: 2007-08-12
From: Crawford Notch

To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.3

Galehead hut to Route 302 15.3 milesWell a weekend Nancy staying at Zealand Hut decided to entertain us as we were soaking our feet in a pool that emptied over the rock like a water slide. He was hiking with his son and they stopped to ask us a couple questions about thru hiking. As he was leaving he stepped right on the tiny stream of water going over the rock and off he went. One foot went out from under him and down the rock we slid. Luckily he was stopped at the bottom because the water kept going over another set of rocks.It was all that Pi and Radar could do not to laugh. When he stood up this wall of water streamed out of his backpack. Priceless.Today, although a relatively easy day, turned to be a long day. We hiked to the hut hoping to get some leftover breakfast but to no avail, so we up South Twin Mt, 4,992 feet. We had a 360 degree view of the White Mountains including the Presidentials.The rest of the day was a rollar coaster up and down but ultimately going downhill. We stopped at Zealand Hut around 3:30, skipped getting soup and just hiked on hoping to get to the town near Crawford Notch for dinner. The trail grew increasingly flat and we joined up with Radar, Mattahorn and Kiwi and really made some miles with less effort. The closer we got to the road and town the more that Pi, Radar and I thought about stealth camping in the woods since there were water sources, we all had food and we needed to get an early start tomorrow since we are hiking the Presidentials and hoping to get to Lakes of the Clouds Hut early enough that we can get in maybe for work for stay. Sites for camping were few and we hiked all the way to the raod and found a flat area near the parking lot and where the trails goes tomorrow...so we took it. Cocktails and Mountain House dehy dinners and we are good to go.
Date: 2007-08-13
From: Crawford Notch

To: Lakes of the Clouds
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: fog

8/13 Crawford Notch to Lakes of the Clouds hut 11.2 milesHiked out of campsite at parking lot at Route 302 with Radar and Boo Boo for awhile up the cliffs. Cloudy and foggy all the way up and through much of the top to Mitzvah Hut. Got soup and bread and took off, Boo Boo stayed to work and stay the night.As soon as we left the hut, it poured but only for 30 minutes. Then the clouds rolled in and out and finally cleared. We had blue skies and clear views most of the day all the way to Lake of the Clouds Hut. It was windy as we were up above treeline but it was wonderful being able to see way ahead to what was to come and also look back and see the trail snaking over mountains and along ridgelines.Pi and I and Radar and Mattahorn decided to stay in the basement nook known as the Dungeon, cooked dinner there then went back up into the hut to eat dinner and have cocktails.Many other hikers did work for stay in order to sleep in the hut, but the Dungeon is place to stay. Yeah its a little dark, dank and small...hence the name. But you don t have to wait until paying guests are through with eating before you can, wait until they go to bed before you can get some sleep and don t have to get up super early so they can get fed breakfast. Besides there is only one Dungeon on the AT, so you might as well experience it. And the wind howled all night long.
Date: 2007-08-14
From: Lakes of the Clouds

To: Parapet Brook
Miles today: 10.6

8/14 Lakes of Clouds Hut to Parapet Brook 10.6 milesCloudy and windy when we woke. We climbed out of the Dungeon after some coffee and headed out to climb NH's high point, Mt. Washington. We sumitted Mt. Washington in fog and mist. Of course as soon as we did, the clouds cleared and it looked like the clouds rolling in and out would be temporary.On the way down the mountain, Pi and Radar mooned one of the Cograil trains bringing tourists to the top of Mt. WashingtonIt was probably an even prettier day than yesterday, but I just wasn't on my game and had a hard time negotiating the pointy rocks that populate the landscape up above treeline here.We hiked over Mt. Jackson, along Mt. Adams and up Mt. Madison, which was even tougher climb down.After a challenging long day of hiking climbing day, we found a great campsite near Parapet Brook just past the camp for fee sites.And the stars looked down.
Date: 2007-08-15
From: Parapet Brook

To: Nineteen mile brook
Miles today: 10.0

Parapet Brook to Nineteen Mile Brook 10 miles Got an early start and hiked the 5 miles to Pinkham Notch to pick up our mail drop and a few other things. We are doing pretty good on time so we actually have extra food in this one so we had a huge breakfast of zucchini bread and Baco spuds.Got back on the trail around 10 and pretty much took all day to hike up Wild Cat Mountain with it's 5 peaks, each a little higher than the next. It was challenging, climbing more than hiking, and I had to do a lot of odd moves sometimes to climb the rock and roots. When we got to the highest peak of Wildcat at 4,380 feet, the weather started to turn gloomy and dark. So we decided to finish with Wildcat and instead of going on, maybe stopping at the last AMC hut for the night.Of course when we got off the mountain we found a couple of good campsites before the hut and decided to camp out instead. By the time we made camp a lot of the clouds had broken up and blue skies were showing. But the wind was ripping and the clouds were rolling wickedly fast over the mountain. We were all glad not to still be hiking because we would be on top of another ridge by now and very cold.
Date: 2007-08-16
From: Nineteen mile brook

To: Gorham 
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Nineteen Mile Creek to GorhamThe winds were still when we woke....another fantastic day in NH. We spent the morning climbing the Clinton Range with its three 4,000 foot peaks. The great thing about this range is that after every steep climb we were rewarded with a large flat treeless area that provided a clear view of the Presidential Range that we had just hiked during the past couple days.The rest of the day was spent hiking Moriah which turned out to be a tough little mountain with lots of false summits. The climb down seem to go on forever but it wasn t that bad...I was just beginning to think of town. A previous hiker was at the trailhead and gave us a ride to the hotel hostel. As soon as we got settled in, the skies opened up and a huge thunderstorm unleased torrents.
Date: 2007-08-18
From: gorham 

To: Gentian Shelter
Miles today: 11.8

8/18 Gorham to Gentian Shelter 11.8 milesWell they were calling for rain and we got it. Woke to clouds swirling around the town. We decided to sleep in anyway since Radar was waiting for a friend. After finding out his friend wouldn't be in town until the afternoon, Pi and I decided to catch a shuttle back to the trailhead and continue on.Today was cold and windy, the first real cool weather we have had in New England. It was a roller coaster all day dodging rocks and clutching roots. I rolled both ankles today. No problems though.It's cold at the shelter. I'm in long johns, my hiking skirt, a short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve insulated shirt and a jacket. I still have a couple layers if it continues to cool down.Tomorrow we hike into Maine, climb a few peaks, and will probably tackle Mahoosuc Notch. From what I hear we are coming up to the toughest part of the trail.I have to say that NH was really lovely hiking. Most of the time the White Mountains tend to create their own weather totally different from lower elevations, definitely different from what the weather channel says.We were very fortunate to have mostly clear weather, instead of hiking for days socked in by clouds, fog, rain and snow.
Date: 2007-08-19
From: Gentian Shelter

To: Mahoosuc Notch
Miles today: 12.2

8/19Gentian Shelter through Mahoosuc NotchWow what a day. We crossed into Maine and immediately the terrain took on a new appearance. The trail now went stright up huge slabs and down through nooks and slots. We climbed Mt. Success which was a success due to the rough climbing and hiking.Then it was more slab climbing onto Mt.Goose Eye. All with wonderful views but cold windy skies. We hiked for a while with Alpine Strider but when we got to the last shelter before the Notch she had decided to stay there and do it in the morning. It was about 4:30 when Pi and I decided to continue hiking to the Notch trail.Mahoosuc Notch is like a giant canyon filled with huge boulders that you have to climb over, jump to, or crawl through, in order to get through. Its only a mile but tough.We had heard that there was a dead nmoose in the Notch that had been there for awhile and it didn t take long before we came close to its final resting place. You could smell it. We had only climbed over a few big boulders when Pi tried climbing up a steep ledge and fell backward cartwheeling hand over foot and luckily did not hit his head on anything. He did bust his thumb up preyty bad and from the pale look on his face I could tell the pain was bad. He said he was okay and just needed to rest to a few minutes. After a few minutes the color returned to his face and I knew he would be ok. A few Ibuprofens and a bandaid and he was ready to go.The notch was tough and we had lost time with his accident and my slow going. There were places where the only way to go was through slots that you had to crawl through. Some were so small we had to take off our packs and pass them through.It began to get dark and we still hadn t gotten through the Notch so out came the headlamps. When we finally got through it was definitely dark and we still had to get to the campsite.We missed the side trail that went to a flat area used for campoing and when the trail began to ascend Pi knew we had missed it. So we turned around and back down the trail we went. Pi located the side trail and we found the site at about 9 o'clock. It's 10 now and we will have a much deserved cocktail and some dinner. We ll sleep in late tomorrow and tackle the climb up Mahoosuc Arm.
Date: 2007-08-20
From: Mahoosuc Notch

To: Baldpate shelter
Miles today: 8.9

8/20Mahoosuc Notch to Baldpate Shelter 8.9 milesWell the morning we tackled climbing up Mahoosuc Arm roughly 1,165 foot elevation gain in 1 mile. It was a hard climb but not as hard as all the talk about it. Then we continued to climb rocks and roots to the summit of Old Speck at 4,180 feet. The views from there were spectacular but there was also a firetower at the top that we climbed after lunch. The 360 degree view was fantastic as we looked back to NH and the ground covered and the looked forward into what was to come in Maine.The afternoon took us into Grafton Notch and finally to the shelter where we tented out. We met a southbounder named Odyssey and two local guys just hiking and fishing the area. Alpine Strider showed up late after a grueling day through the Notch and up the Arm. It has cooled down significantly. As soon as we reach camp, I usually put on my long johns under my skirt. Its been down in the 40's at night.
Date: 2007-08-21
From: Baldpate shelter

To: Andover ME
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

8/21 Baldpate shelter to Andover 8 milesTook our time getting out of camp. Hung out with the local guys, Jake and Justin. The morning was spent climbing up and over Baldpate Mt. west and east peaks. Baldpate has huge slabs of granite that you walk up like a tilted sidewalk. Pretty cool.The rest of the day was easy hiking to Andover with a quick hitch from the trail head to The Cabin, where we and a few other hikers, Kiwi, Tom B., Monkey Toes Coco and more were staying.But the big surprise came when Braveheart and Mrs. Parkay from last year s hike showed up. They came up to Maine for a wedding, knew we were somewhere up here, did some trail magic at Grafton Notch and heard from Radar we were in town. The trail continues to bring us around.
Date: 2007-08-22
From: Andover

To: Old Blue Mountain
Miles today: 12.9

8/22 Andover to top of Old Blue Mountain 12.9 milesHad a wonderful blueberry pancake breakfast at the Cabin then Bravefriend and Ms. Parkey took us to the trailhead. Along the way we stopped in town and ran into Radar who has been trying to catch up with us since Gorham. He still had some resupplying to do and said he'd meet us up the trail.Once we said our good byes we hit the trail and hiked Mt. Moody which despite what others had said about it was not a bad mountain not moody at all. It rolled through a pretty forest of both evergreen and deciduous trees. There was a cool breeze all morning and you could feel that fall was on the way.By 4 we reached a point at the trail where we could either set up camp near a stream or hike another 3 miles up Old Blue and camp on top. Since it was so early we decided to fill up all our water bottles and hike to the top. It was about a 2,200 foot elevation gain in about 2.8 miles, not too bad.We got to the top around 6 30 and the wind was gusting pretty strong. So we set up the tent, put on most of our clothes and hopped in lounging on our thermarests, covered by sleeping bags and drinking our cocktails.I hope when the sun goes down that the wind dies a bit because its still cold and the tent is flapping hard. We'll see how well the tent holds up as well as how well we do. We are still using our summer sleeping bags rated to about 40 degrees with liners that give a few more degrees of warmth but tonight I think it'll be in the 30s for sure.
Date: 2007-08-23
From: Old Blue Mountain

To: Sabbath Day Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.0

8/23 Old Blue Mt. To Sabbath Pond ShelterAfter such a wild and windy night, woke up to foreboding gray skies. Had to start the day with a down climb, not my favorite. The rest of the day was really a gentle rolling hike through a variety of interesting woods from the bare sub alpine in the morning to lush fern, moss ,spruce and fir, to mature pine with little undergrowth.No matter what type of forest we went through though there had been moose. Their tracks filled the black mud patches in the trail and you could see side trails where they went off into the woods. Piles of moose poop lined the trail but to no avail we did not see one.We ran into a hiker named Blue Yonder who later on that day ran into a friend of hers from 18 years ago. One was going north bound the other southbound. They didn't know either was on the trail. Trail magic.Well we were hoping for a shelter by ourselves but when we got here at 6:30 there was a section hiker all set up and another northbounder came in after us. Oh well. Seen lots of raptors (not sure if they are peregrines), red squirrels, chipmunks quite bigger than ours, chickadees, spruce grouse, Canadian jays, and of course mice.We hope to get into Rangeley tomorrow maybe before the rain, resupply, make phone calls etc.
Date: 2007-08-24
From: Sabbath Day Pond Shelter

To: Rangeley ME
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: overcast clouds

The rain ponding on the corrugated tin roof kept me up most of the night, but we were glad to be warm and dry. Woke to a foggy, misty morning and took our time getting out of the shelter. I heard my first loon this morning and its eerie call matched the weather. The day was drippy and the forest reminded me of the Hoh Rain Forest in Washington State.We made pretty good time hiking over the slick rocks, slippery roots and mud pits when sure enough, I slipped on a tiny root that sent me down squarely on my right knee, the knee that had finally just healed from my slip up at Glencliff. Just a scrape but it stung as I hiked past small pines and plants that whipped at the open cut.Moose were everywhere, you could see by the many hoof prints, side trails and piles of droppings. But again we did not see any. Hit the trail head mid afternoon. Some other hikers, Blue Yonder and friend were getting a ride into town and squeezed Pi and I and another hiker Jeb in. We hit the grocery store to resupply and then had to call the hostel to get a ride there for the night. And who shows up but Radar with the hostel owner Bob. So we finished shopping and Bob told us to stay around town and he would pick us up later.So off we went to the local pub for a few cold pints and rib dinner. Yum. Ran into Blue Yonder, Sandwich and Mattahorn. Since we were planning on getting up early to hike Saddleback Mountain, we didn't stay out too late.The hostel, Gull Pond, is Bob's house with bunks, laundry, kitchen and small living room, on Gull Pond. Nice. Bob is a great host, making you feel like you belong there. Cozy, comfortable. I'll sleep well here!
Date: 2007-08-25
From: Rangeley ME

To: Rangeley ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke to grey skies and forecasts of rain and thundershowers. No one that stayed here at the hostel wanted to hike up Saddleback in that weather so we settled in and drank coffee and waited for the small town to wake up.Rangeley is a place where everyone knows one another, a few businesses populate main street and the rest is just typical Maine landscape. I can't believe that the leaves are already beginning to turn!Took a walk around town, picked up a few items and will probably pick up some beer and back to the hostel for another relaxing evening. Mattahorn, Radar, Sandwich, Jeb, Alpine Strider, Pi and I and someone else who's name escapes me just right now are all at Gull Pond. Nice company.Well we are about halfway through this section. It's all going by so fast, not like last year at all. Trying to take it all in, no rushing.
Date: 2007-08-26
From: Rangeley ME

To: Poplar Ridge shelter 
Miles today: 10.2

8/26 Gull POnd in Rangeley to Poplar Ridge shelter 10.2 milesWell Pi decided to meet with a local guiode at 5 am to flyfish in Rangeley Pond for landlocked salmon. He did alright caught, 3 salmon and a brook trout. I slept in til 8:30 and totally enjoyed it. All the others at the hostel had left early except Radar. So when Pi got back around 9:30 we got back on the trail after picking up Tom B at another hostel and actaully hit the trail around 10:30.It was cloudy, cool and grey at first. But as we climbed Saddleback Mt., the skies cleared a bit as the winds drove out the rainy weather but it was very windy once we got on top at 4,100 feet. As we started down, the winds started whipping up.We climbed Saddleback, the Horn and Saddleback Junior and climbed up to the shelter where there were quite a few folks from the hostel from the day before but they are ....how shall I say...the odd squad. There are a few folks on the trail that are just unhappy and not fun to be around. I call them the Stepford hikers....hikers with no soul.So we passed the shelter with the Stepfords and found a nice place off trail that we could make camp.A flip flopper stopped in and made camp with us.Its a clear night...but with no clouds, it will be cold. I m ready to eat dinner, put on some extra clothes and get in the tent.