morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-01
From: Glencliff, NH

To: Kinsman Notch, NH
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: moderate rain

Today we did a slackpack over Mt Moosilauke with Russell and Ashly after getting dropped off at Kinsman Notch. We hiked North to South back into Glencliff which is the steep side leaving a more gradual hike back into Glencliff down the other side. It was great not having the 40 lb pack to haul up the 3,000 ft elevation gain that basically went straight up from the road without letting up until we summited. It was so steep in fact that there were rebar hand and foot holds hammered into the rocks as well as wooden steps bolted also into rock faces. Unfortunatly, it started raining about half way up and the higher we got the harder and colder the rain. We got above the tree line and the wind gusts blew in on us to the point I had to hold on to my pack rain cover so it wouldn't blow off. I haven't been that cold since Virginia and the rain was so cold it froze into crystals. We didn't spend any time on the summit which would have had sweeping views of th Whites on a nice day. We came straight down finishing the climb and 9.5 miles in under 4 hours. We're staying with Russell and his wife again tonight and we'll slackpack from Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch again with Rus and Ashley, about 16 miles tomorrow. We'll leave Russell and Ashley here at Franconia Notch as they head home and we'll haul our 40 lb packs to finish our day hopefully at Liberty Spring tentsite for the night. Here's hoping for better weather.
Date: 2003-08-02
From: Kinsman Notch, NH

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We were up and ready to go today by 7 but not before our trail angel family made breakfast for us. Russell made some delicious french toast with real maple syrup-did you expect anything else in New Hampshire? Jen dropped us off at Kinsman Notch and the 4 of us, Russell, Ashley, Beekpr and I, started our hike which immediately went straight up. In many areas our trekking poles were useless over the boulders. It was raining when we started and between the rain and the wet vegetation I was soaked. We climbed 4 peaks with a top elevation gain of 2,600 ft. to South Kinsman Mountain. The trail was very wet and muddy with large pools of water everywhere. Along with being wet the trail was very rocky which slowed us down even though we were slack packing. We finally emerged into Franconia Notch at 4:45 where Jen picked us up. They dropped us off in N.Woodstock where Beekpr and I had reservations at a B&B. We called from the mountains on my cell phone to let them know we might not make it by 5pm, our reservation time, and they told us no problem. We got there at 5:20 and they had given our room away leaving us stranded, our ride had already left. We were lucky to get picked up by a local man and even luckier to find a motel with a vacant room on a Sataturday night. Someone had just called in to cancel when we arrived and we got the room. We have a big climb tomorrow with 3,800 feet of elevation gain, reaching a high point on Mt. Lafayette. We're hoping for better weather tomorrow.
Date: 2003-08-03
From: Franconia Notch

To: Gale Head Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Our day started with a big breakfast at the local diner before getting our packs at the motel and hitching a ride back to the trail. When we came back to the motel the owner's wife offered us a ride, no need to hitch, how cool is that! We were back on the trail by 9 and, with only 13 miles to Gale Head Hut, I figured we would get there around 4. Boy was I wrong. The climb out of Franconia Notch was a steep 3,800 ft climb that took us over Little Haystack Mt., Mt.Lincoln, and Mt.Lafayette. With the humidity, which was terrible, and the steepness this was fast becoming one of our harder hikes. After crossing over North Lafayette the trail descended steeply over boulders that had to be carefully negotiated. Once we were down to 3,800ft we climbed up Mt. Garfield and then another very steep descent. I slipped on one of the wet rocks decending and bent the tip of one of my trekking poles along with scraping my knee. Luckily I was able to put the tip back into the rocks and bend it back into a straight position. The one thing I've noticed that separates the Whites from other mountains on the A.T. is the steepness and rocky trails. Most of the mountains we climbed thus far had steep climbs occasionally and some even had some tough rock climbs but in the Whites all the mountains seem to possess these qualities one after another. We didn't arrive at the hut until 7. Today could have easily been the toughest 13 miles I've encountered so far on the trail and my knees will testify to that. We are in our first hut in the Whites tonight. We had reservations for this one and I have to say I'm impressed. When we arrived Beekpr and I cleaned up a bit and changed into some dry clothes. They served us so much food I thought I'd bust. We get breakfast tomorrow before moving on. I think I'm going to enjoy the New Hampshire hut system.
Date: 2003-08-04
From: Gale Head Hut

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 7.0

I'm beginning to wonder if "Grays" instead of "Whites" is more appropriate for our hike across N.H. The 4 days since we started it's rained at some point or in the case of today, all morning. Yesterday was our only chance to see some of these beautiful mountains when the clouds parted for awhile uncovering the peaks around Mt. Lafayette. I'm not complaining mind you, but we'll be out of the Whites and Presidental Range by the end of the week and it would be nice to see some of it instead of the gray skies that have met us most of the way. That said, we left Gale Head Hut around 9 and began an immediate ascent of South Twin Peak, about 1,100 ft. in .8 mile, pretty steep. The rain held off until we summitted and then kept up through the rest of the hike. We only went 7 miles today since we are a bit sore from the last couple days. I'd read that the Whites were rough on your knees, now I know it's true, especially the downhills. Beekpr and me are doing what they refer to as "work for stay" at this hut. It's where they take the first 3 or 4 Thru Hikers and give them maybe 2 hours of work for free dinner, breakfast, and a place to sleep indoors for the night (usually on the dinner tables, benches, or floors), not a bad deal since the general public is paying $68 for the same nights stay. Our other 2 work for stay hikers tonight are Itchyfoot and Budi.Tomorrow we'll test our knees out with a 14 mile hike with the usual steep ups and downs. The weather forcast doesn't look too promising but we'll stay optomistic and hope for some views anyway.
Date: 2003-08-05
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: fog

Well, we finished our work for stay at the Zealand Hut this morning. The 4 of us were furnished mattresses to sleep on the dining room floor. We had to get up and clean out of there by 6 to get the dining room ready for breakfast. After breadfast Bud and Itchyfoot did the dishes and Beekpr and I swept the hut out. About 9 we finally left Zealand for the 7 mile hike down to Crawford Notch. Since it rained heavily last night the trail was a swamp most of the way, it was pretty nasty. When we made it to Crawford Notch Beekpr and I stopped for chow in the parking lot. We looked across the highway and looked up at our next objective, Mt. Webster, some 2,700 feet above the highway. We left the parking lot at around 1 and began a very steep and sweaty climb in very humid and cloudy conditions. 600 feet below the summit we came out on a cliff with some decent views inspite of the haze and clouds. At the summit the views were really looking good so after a couple of pictures we turned our attention to the next objective, Mt. Jackson. This portion of the climb we did mostly without trekking poles as we bouldered our way up the steep inclines. It was really quite fun!On our way down Mt. Jackson with about 1 1/2 miles left we heard thunder right behind us. It's amazing the adrenaline rush you get when you hear that coming and your on a mountain with little or no cover. We flew down the trail beating the thunderstorm to the Mitpah Hut by minutes. Tonight we re paying customers so we had dinner waiting for us when we arrived, how great is that. Tomorrow we're tackling the Presidential Range including Mt. Washington, the second highest mountain on the A.T. Sure would be great to have sunny weather for that one.
Date: 2003-08-06
From: Mizpah Hut

To: Lake Of The Clouds Hut
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: light rain

I woke to the unwelcomed sound of rain hitting the hut windows. We had planned to do the Presidentials including Mt. Washinton and go thruogh to Madison Hut but the weather was to change our plans. Beekpr and I were both looking forward to the great views but since that wasn't happening today our options were to stay at Mizpah Hut, go on to Lake Of The Clouds Hut, or push through to Madison Hut and forget the views. After 5 days in the Whites with rain and virtually no views we decided to do the 4.8 miles to Lake Of The Clouds Hut. It doesn't sound like it's that far but it gains about 2,500 feet elevation in that distance. Once here they gave us a work for stay deal. Were heading out tomorrow rain or shine with the hope we get some of the views we were looking for. This is a huge hut that holds 90 guests that mostly come up Mt. Washington on the clog train and do the 1.3 mile hike down to the hut. Some of the views from here when they presented themselves were fantastic. Tomorrow we'll definitly be hoping for a little sunshine and a drier hike, wish us luck!
Date: 2003-08-07
From: Lake Of The Clouds Hut

To: Madison Springs Hut
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: broken clouds

What a great day! Waiting the extra day was well worth it. We couldn't get as early of a start as we would have liked to since we had to wait for the hut guests to finish breakfast so we could bus the tables and then eat our own breakfast. Our work for stay then cost us some daylight. We finally left the hut around 9 and quickly climbed the remaining 1,000 ft to the summit of Mt. Washington arriving about 9:45. The sun came out and we had the most spectacular views of the Whites and Presidentials. We stayed on the top longer than we planned but it's not often we get to see such scenary given all the rain we've had. After making a couple of phone calls and mailing a post card home from the summit house we finally left after 11. The next 6 miles were very scenic but also extremely rocky. I like to think of the trail from Mt. Washington to Madison Hut as Pennsylvania with a view. It was pretty rough on the feet walking almost stictly on rocks. On the way down Mt. Washington we had the opportunity to see the clog railroad close up. This train runs from the valley below to the summit. The train uses coal furnaces to heat the boiler making lots of smoke as it comes up the mountain. We arrived at Madison Springs Hut at 3:15 and decided to stay since the hike to Pinkham Notch is about 4 1/2 hours. The crew here assured us we could get an early start tomorrow and then head for the Notch and hitch a ride into Gorham for resupply, laundry and of course a much needed shower. When we return to the trail on Saturday, we should be able to finish New Hampshire in about 2 and a half days. I'll be happy to be out of the Hut System and back to having more freedom to camp when and where we want.
Date: 2003-08-08
From: Madison Springs Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

We had an interesting evening with several thru hikers converging on Madison Hut late afternoon and early evening. There was Crow, Big E, Spiderman, Itchyfoot, and Just Dan. I seem to run into Just Dan every couple of hundred miles. When you work for stay at the huts you usually sleep on the dining room floor or table and I actually got a good nights sleep-I must be getting used to sleeping on hard surfaces. We got out of the cabin around 8:30 to start the rest of the climb, 500 ft, to the summit of Madison. The climb up and down was over a heavily rocked trail. At many points there was no trail at all, just rocks. The only way to stay on the trail was to follow the cairns, a pile of rocks to designate direction. I'm finding the miles in the Whites and Presidentials are not long ones but usually very hard miles, especially with a fully loadd backpack. I'm finding that the miles in the Whites are not long ones but usually very hard miles, especially with a fully loaded pack. As we were descending the summit of Madison Beekpr and I heard Just Dan reaching the summit and yelling out a favorite poem of his. I think it started "There was a man from Nantucket" and by the time he finished we had all we could do to not fall down the mountain from laughing so hard. We arrived at Pinkham Notch around 1:30 and since I was having trouble with my right knee on the decent we decided to call it a day and hitch a ride into Gorham, N.H., where were staying tonight at a motel getting a badly needed shower and do laundry. I have to mention, while at Pinkham Notch, Beekpr and I ordered a hotdog from the lodge there with sourcrout and the lady somehow got that mixed up. When we took our hot dogs outside and unwraped them we discovered that instead of sourcrout she used sourcream...not quite the same thing. We got a good laugh out of that one.We'll start our hike tomorrow with a hitch back to the trail and some big climbs over the Wildcat Mountains. There's a moon out tonight, so looking forward to a good hiking/climbing day tomorrow.
Date: 2003-08-10
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

As usual we got a late start on the trail after staying in Gorham. After a big breakfast, a trip to the post office and convience store, we were ready to thumb a ride the 10 miles back to the trail. We soon found ourselves hitching a ride in the middle of a 40K bike race on NH16. It was a bit harder under those circumstances to get picked up but in about 15 minutes we had a ride to within about 1.5 mile of the trail and then another hitch in the back of a pick up got us to Pinkham Notch and we finally started our hike at 10:15. The climb up the Wildcats was very steep. Since The Whites, it seems we have gone from hiking up mountains to rock scrambling. The rain on the rocks made the going slow due to the added slipperyness. Once upon the first Wildcat Peak we traversed 4 other peaks in the Wildcat system with a 1000 foot drop between 2 of them, and, of course, a steep climb back to the next peak. To give you an idea of how slow this part of the trail is, it took 4.5 hrs to do the 6.9 miles to Carter Hut. We were surprised to see Big E, Just Dan, Spiderman, and Itchyfoot already there and planning to stay the night. The Caretaker talked us into staying too, which didn't take long since it was pouring outside and a 1500 foot climb in front of us. We decided to stay, get up early tomorrow and climb the rest of the peaks between the Hut and U.S. 2, 6 to be exact. A little sunshine sure would make a big difference and make the 15 miles a good deal easier. Well, heres hoping anyway.
Date: 2003-08-11
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I kept waking up last night hearing the rain get heavier and louder as the night progressed. I thought, well, it rains almost every night and usually stops after a short period and this will to, but I was wrong. Beekpr and I got together with the other 4 thru hikers staying at the hut to figure what we were going to do. The first reaction was to take a zero day but after breakfast and leave tomorrow, but after we ate Beekpr and I decided to leave and start the 1500 foot climb up to Carter Dome. The Hut is situated about 50 feet up a trail from 2 large ponds below and as we approached the ponds I noticed they were looking rather high and as we made a left turn next to them on the connecting trail to the A.T. we saw they were flooded with up to 2 feet of water overflowing from the Ponds. We tried for about 30 minutes to work our way thru but finally gave up and went back to the Hut to inform the others about the waiting flood. Again we sat there deciding what to do and finally at 10 a.m. we took our boots off, put on our camp shoes on and waded the trail, which almost came up to my knees in water. Since we left late our pland was to go to the Imp Campsite about 7 miles away and finish the White Mtn's the next day. The trail, as usual, was very rocky with a long steep, slippery downhill after North Carter Mtn. Almost everyhere the trail was full of water making footing difficult since we try to avoid getting our boots submerged. We arrived at Imp around 3:15P.M. and made the decision to go the extra 8 miles out to U.S. 2 and into Gorham, N.H. for the night to dry out. We climbed 6 peaks throughout the day and had one more, Mariah Mtn. When we summited the sky opened up for us long enough to get some unbelievably beautiful photos, it really was stunningly beautiful. After we left the summit we had about a 3000 foot decline in elevation over the next 5 miles, which really plays havoc with yuour knees. We also had to cross 4 swollen streams from the heavy rain. The first 2 we were able to cross on rocks, the next one we took our boots off and crossed in camp shoes, and since it was getting late and the crossing on the 4th one was dangerous for rock hopping I plowed through with my boots filling quickly with water. After dumping the water out and wringing out my socks we proceeded to U.S. 2 reaching it around 8:00 P.M. and hitched a ride to Gorham. We're going to take a zero day there tomorrow to give our bodies a chance to heal and we'll be off again on the 12th, hopefully in better weather.
Date: 2003-08-12
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: light rain

As with most town stays, we got a later start than we would like. We got up around 6 a.m. but after showers, going to Welshes for a great breakfast, finishing packing up, it was now 8 a.m. We carried our packs down to the "Barn", a local hostel in Gorham, and was able to get a ride back to the trail with one of the people there. We began hiking at 8:30 a.m. and hiked about a 1/2 mile before we ran into Footslgger, Gadget, Fish, and 2 Paw on Hogan Rd. We immediately began climbing the 1800 feet up Mt Hayes as a group and the elevation went quickly as we were all talking the whole way up. Bekpr and I left the other 4 on Mt. Hayes as we moved on. The trail was wet and muddy as usual with lots of slipping and sliding along the way. Thr trail in one particular place was so overgrown it was very hard to see if your feet were going to stop on anything and mine got tangled up in a branch I didn't see because of the heavy underbrush and I went down like a sack of potatoes landing on my left shoulder. No damage was done with the exception of another scrape on my right shin. I couldn't help noticing in Gorham yesterday all the Thru Hikers I met seemed to have scrapes on all parts of their legs from climbing the rocks in the "Whites", and I certainly have recived my share. The rest of the days hike led us to this shelter only 4.7 miles from the N.H.-Maine border. I'm looking forward to getting into my 14th and last state. Depending on how quickly we can cover the 11 miles to Mahoosac Notch will determine if we go thru it tomorrow. It's called the "Toughest Mile on the A.T." and we're anxious to see why. I'm sure it'll be pretty hairy and alot of caution will be needed. It would be wonderful if we could get enough sun tomorrow to dry the boulders befoe we have to climb over them. At any rate, tomorrow will be an interesting day if we get there early enough.
Date: 2003-08-13
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: broken clouds

Another day and more near vertical climbs and descents and, of course, more rain to make it all a slippery, muddy mess. Today the climbs and descents were almost constant with huge boulders and large slabs of smooth, wet rock to navigate around or over. The thru hikers I've talked to all agree, we'll be happy to get back to some "normal" trails again where your not constantly worrying about slipping on wet rocks or roots. Tomorrow will be an even tougher day with us going through Mahoosuc Notch early in the day. We were going to try to do it today but we started with a thunderstorm that caught us on top of Mt. Success and slowed our progress. There was another milestone today, we crossed over to our 14th and last state, Maine. It seems almost too hard to conceive that I've walked this far and have only 276.5 miles to go. I can't help but get excited about the prospect of seeing Mt. Katahdin in the distance and hiking closer to it each day. The hiking presently is tough, probably the toughest we've seen so far, but soon we'll be through these mountains and start hiking the lowlands of Maine. Hopefully we will make up some time then. In the meantime Beekpr and my spirits are high and we're looking forward to our Maine adventure. Even though the trail is tough, the views are magnificent when the rain clouds part and make the hard work worth the effort. I think we'll luck out tomorrow and have good weather on our venture through the notch.
Date: 2003-08-14
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Grafton Notch
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: clear sky

The night was cool and breezy which made for a great night's sleep in the shelter. It's a good thing we slept well because we needed it for today's hike. We covered only 9.7 miles but it felt like 20. Beekpr, Footslogger, Fish, Gadget, 2Paw and I left the shelter around 6:45. We immediately climbed 400 ft. to the south peak of Fulling Mt. and then the immediate 900 ft. descent into the infamous Mahoosuc Notch. It lived up to it's reputation as probably the hardest mile on the AT. The notch is full of rocks, big ones, from an ancient rock slide. The trail went over, under, around and through the big boulders making trekking poles useless and had us feeling around for hand and foot holds. It was tough getting through but we had fun as a group. The mile took about 2 1/4 hours, but we stopped alot for pictures of our group climbing all over the boulders. We were all pretty well beat up by the time we exited the north end of the notch but we still had a 1,300 ft. climb, some parts nearly vertical, so up we went to Mahoosuc Arm. We ate lunch on the Arm and proceeded on a rough up and down ridge walk to the 750 ft near vertical climb up Old Speck Mt. From here we had a 2,700 ft. descent to Grafton Notch. We were all pretty tired from the day's workout. Beekpr and I had to hitch into Bethel for food enough to get us into Rangly, Me. The left our group here as they were meeting Gadget's wife, who was going to help them slack pack through this part of Maine with her van. Since we got here around 4:30 we're staying the night and will thumb a ride back to Grafton Notch in the morning. It's a 17 mile hitch so wish us luck as far as getting a ride right away.