morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-08-14
From: Churchill Scott Shelter 

To: Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 4.0

I mentioned in yesterday¢s post that food motivates both Curly and I to go to great lengths so that we might enjoy good food. Well, that certainly was the case yesterday when we hiked an extra 4.5 miles in order to be that much closer to breakfast today. We had our earliest start ever on the trail by hiking at 615am this morning. The goal was to hike 4 miles from Churchill Scott Shelter to Inn At Long Trail before 930am, which is when breakfast ends. We made it there by 850am and proceeded to enjoy one of the best breakfasts we have had on the trail. Curly got an omelette with asparagus and Cabot cheese; I got blueberry pancakes with Vermont maple syrup. It was incredible and as I recall, I might have licked the plate!We then started laundry and aired out all of our gear that was soaked from the night of rain we had . We couldn¢t get into our room early, but kept busy until noon, when we met up with Marty and Julie Bascom. Marty was Curly¢s moms pastor here when she lived in Vermont, and really a surrogate son. He did a great job of looking after her while she was up here, and the entire family loved her like their own grandma. Which we will always be grateful for. They showed up and whisked us off to Rutland for lunch and resupply. The afternoon was great! We caught up on families, and church stuff, and just had a wonderful time reconnecting. We took them to the Yellow Deli for lunch, again, one of those iconic AT places you just have to visit. The food was excellent as was the company. After saying our goodbyes, we finally got into our room, showered and napped, thus completing all of our town chores for the day.Because we were staying at the Inn At Long Trail we had to eat in the pub. Classic Irish cuisine that is top notch. I had Irish Stew and Curly had Corned Beef n Cabbage. We ended the night stuffed to the gills and satisfied that we added some calories to our poor bodies. Tomorrow it¢s back on the trail as we make a run for Hanover.
Date: 2018-08-15
From: Inn At Long Trail 

To: Outpost
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Once we did get moving, our first couple miles were spent moving toward and then through Gifford Woods State Park and it was there that we ran into Mrs. One Foot. What a delight to see her again, unfortunately we didn¢t see One Foot as he was hiking himself. After another half hour of hanging out, we finally got our butts moving...after all we had close to 16 miles to hike today.A year ago, we section hiked this part of Vermont that we are in right now. Funny thing even though this is the second time we¢ve hiked this section, we don¢t remember all the ¢ups¢! Selective memory failed us today because we had an onslaught of ascents. All day long we were going up and it took its toll. Fortunately the weather was nice all day and rain didn¢t threaten until the very end.The downside to a day like today is that we hiked way longer than we would have liked to. We didn¢t wrap up the day until 7pm, which is very unusual for us. We did, however, outhiked bad weather to get to the Outpost with ten or so other hikers. The Outpost is a private cottage whose owners allow us hikers to use it when they don¢t need it. It has a huge deck on the roof that scores great views for 360 degrees. Very cool place indeed!So now we are in our bags ready for sleep. Lightning and thunder are all around but tonight we have no worries!
Date: 2018-08-16
From: Outpost 

To: Tent site mm 1736.4
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: broken clouds

We woke up to dark clouds but a forecast calling for sunny skies. The weatherman was spot on and we enjoyed one of the nicest days on trail in recent memory. Coupled with some incredible views and a bunch of fun walks through Meadows and open summits, this day was spectacular. The ascents are still a bit rough in spots, but the view you earn for putting in the work is well worth it.In addition to the day being so beautiful, we were able to stop at two neat places just off trail that turned out to be nice treats. We stopped at ¢On The Edge¢ Farm and ate some donuts, watermelon and slugged down a quart of chocolate milk! Then a few hours later we stopped at ¢the Back Porch¢, which was actually a back porch of a couple who thru hiked the AT in 2016, got married and bought a farmhouse on the trail so that they could provide a little hangout place for hikers to take a break. Although we didn¢t get to meet them (Firefly and Loon), we did eat our lunch on the back porch and Curly chilled out in the hammock. It made for a great lunch...thanks much Firefly and Loon!We needed to make some miles in order to have a fairly short hike into Hanover tomorrow, so we got going. Over the course of this day, we climbed up and over 5 mountains/hills. Lots of upward motion going on and as we got closer to the end of the day, I was dragging. We loaded up on water at a shelter and at 430pm, needed to find a place to sleep that was closer to Hanover than the shelter. Finally, at 630pm we crossed an old logging road and set up right there. Tent pitched, dinner cooked and eaten, and bear bag hung. This day is over and we are only 12 miles from a double zero! All in all a pretty good day.
Date: 2018-08-17
From: Tent site mm 1736.4

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 12.3

One of the things I really enjoyed about today was the road walking. We had two extended road walks this morning and it¢s always fun to hike something out of the ordinary. The first road walk took us through the village of West Hartford, Vermont. There isn¢t much to the village, and walking through it didn¢t take long, but what you see are classic New England homes and boarded up businesses that just couldn¢t make a go of it. I thought that if only those businesses leaned towards thru hikers, would success, or at least survival, be a possibility? These establishments are actually on the trail, and most hikers won¢t hesitate to spend money if the goods are stuff they really need and desire.The second road walk was a longer one that spanned the trail from Norwich, Vermont to Hanover. As soon as we came out of the woods and headed toward town, one of the first homes had two Adirondack chairs and a cooler out front. The cooler was filled with ice cold Cokes! And the chairs were for sitting a spell. It just so happens that as Curly and I were taking a load off, the owner of the house came outside and we got to meet him. What an outstanding trail angel! He has been doing this for eight years. He has never hiked the AT, but watched hikers go past his home for many years, and one day he decided to bless them. So every day during hiker season this is what he does, and I can assure you he definitely makes an impact! We thanked him and told him how much we appreciate his generosity and kindness. And what a difference this act of generosity makes. It truly does. There is something special about cold Coke and the boost it gives. Maybe it¢s the caffeine; maybe it¢s the fizz, I don¢t know. All I do know is that it is delicious and appreciated!We finally got into New Hampshire by crossing the Connecticut River around 1230pm, took the required pics at the state line, then hustled over to Raimuntos for our free slice of pizza that all thru hikers get. Poor Curly is gluten free, so I relieved her of her slice and afterwards we were picked up by Curly¢s sister Donna and her husband Dave. They are taking us in for the weekend and we are excited to get a couple of days with them. Not only will it be restful, but it will be fun to hang out with them. A great diversion before hitting the Whites.I¢ll post a recap of the weekend in a couple of days. Until then, may you have a fun and safe weekend.
Date: 2018-08-18
From: Hanover

To: Newbury VT
Miles today: 0.0

We hiked exactly zero miles over the weekend. I¢m not a fan of zeroes, but our bodies needed a couple of days of real rest before we make our final push to Katahdin. So that is what we did. The only walking we did was to the fridge, the bedroom or the bathroom. It was a good break, one we needed.We were picked up in Hanover on Friday afternoon by Dave and Donna Lee. Donna is Curlys sister and Dave and I were best buds and served on the same ship in the navy. They took amazing care of us! We are exceptionally well, they made sure we got our chores done, and they made us feel comfortable in their home. I can¢t begin to express how much we love and appreciate them both.In addition to enjoying a very resting, relaxing weekend with family, our young Nephew Malachi (Donna¢s grandson)was baptized and the church had a picnic on Saturday. We had a lot of fun visiting with family, and celebrating this important moment in Malachi¢s life. Two of our favorite ladies, Auntie Carol and adopted Auntie Jean drove out for the day to see Malachi and us. They came all the way from Boston and we were grateful. They are fun loving, wonderful women and once again I was strongly reminded about the importance of relationships. Even on the trail,we need each other, we were created to be in meaningful relationships, so these moments accentuate that truth!The next day was Sunday, and we went to church that morning. We both discovered how much we miss that part of our life! Can¢t wait to get home and resume our ¢normal¢ lives, which includes weekly worship. Our packs are now packed, stuffed with 3 days food as we head out in morning for Glencliffe, NH and the beginning of the Whites. Only about 1 month left in this adventure, and I think we both can¢t wait for this to end, but don¢t want this to end. I¢m sure all that will work it¢s way out very soon.
Date: 2018-08-20
From: Hanover

To: Tent site mm 1762.5
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: few clouds

And that work began today when we were dropped off in Hanover around 9am. The plan was to hike at least 14 miles given the late start, and we finished up the day at 13.8. The day itself was beautiful, with clear skies and just enough sun to keep you perspiring. It¢s always hard to hike big miles after a couple days off, but we need to take advantage of good terrain while we have it. Matter of fact, it was a fairly easy day of ups, and we got some great views from the peak of South Moose Mountain. I am certain that the views today are nothing compared to the next few weeks, but it was nice to actually have dim views, something we haven¢t really had in a while.With Curly and I feeling the effects of two days off, we started looking for a stealth site around 530pm and shortly after, we were done for the day. Just a tad shy of our goal, but close enough. Camp was set up, dinner was eaten, and now we are snug in our tent, with Curly already drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow we are anticipating another nice day and we will gladly accept it!
Date: 2018-08-21
From: Tent site mm 1762.5

To: Hexacuba Shelter 
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

We began the day hiking up and over Holts Ledge. Not too bad, but we were glad it was early in the morning. The big climb came afterwards when we hiked up and over Smarts Mountain. The climb up was close to five miles long, and portions were so steep and rocky that I thought we were already in the Whites. It is amazing to me that in spite of the fact that we have almost 1800 miles of this trail under our belt, we still eel like we are out of shape! These mountains are difficult, no doubt about it. We took our time, and eventually got up and over the mountain.nice part was that the four mile descent was very easy. No boulders on that side of the mountain, just lots of mud. Matter of fact, I ended up having my entire right leg up past the knee in a mud hole. So much for brand new shoes!With three miles left in the day, we made our way up the base of Mt Cube. The shelter we are planning on staying at ¢Hexecuba Shelter ¢ was about halfway up. The good news is that we don¢t have to hike that tomorrow. The bad news is that we still have a mile and a half of some serious boulder scrambling to the top in the morning. In the rain. Ugh.We got to the shelter at 530pm and set up home in the shelter. Rain is forecasted for tonight and all day tomorrow. We need to make 14.5 over 3 mountains and into the Welcome Hikers Hostel at Glencliffe and that is in bad weather. Should make for an interesting post tomorrow!
Date: 2018-08-22
From: Hexacuba Shelter 

To: Welcome Hiker Hostel Glencliff NH
Miles today: 14.6

So into the rain we went and our first mountain of the day was Mt Cube. It was a wet, rocky start to the day, and took us almost two hours to go 1.65 miles! The rock slabs we were hiking over had no grip and being wet made it even more of a challenge. Fortunately our summit was a short distance and we were met in the other side with a much easier descent. The rain continued and we were walking literally through a river not a trail, but we were thankful to not be on boulders.Because it rained literally the entire day, we did not stop for breaks, but instead ate as we hiked. Our second climb of the day was Ore Hill, but Curly was emphatic that it was a mountain and not a hill. Whatever it was, we started to claim back some time given the easier ascent, and by the time we had finished with that climb we were only 5 miles from our destination. In front of us, Mt Mist.Once again, and probably the last time in NH, we caught a break and going up was completely wooded! I was shocked and surprised, but the forgiving terrain enabled us to get up to the summit in under an hour. Wouldn¢t you know, when we reached the top, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and there was actually mist rising up, just like the mountains namesake. All that lasted about ten minutes, because as soon as I removed my rain jacket, the heavens opened up again, and for the next 2 hours we were drenched one more time.We came out of the woods about 430pm and finally the skies cleared up...always happens when we are not hiking! We went to the Welcome Hikers Hostel and got ourselves settled in for the night. Town good, hot shower and tomorrow we are going to both slackpack southbound over Mt Moosilauke, the beginning of the White Mountains. It is a safer hike to go south, and it is only 9.5 miles, so I¢m hoping for a short day. I haven¢t slackpacked yet and am looking forward to it. Our cousin Alyssa is joining us which is exciting and should make for a fun day! We know our mileage is going to be reduced going through the Whites, but we want to do this safely and enjoy it. Tomorrow should be a great day!
Date: 2018-08-23
From: Welcome Hiker Hostel, Glencliff

To: Kinsman Notch
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: clear sky

On this day, we had only one goal in mind: to hike over Mt Moosilauke and begin our quest to take on the White Mountains. We had spoken with a lot of folks about the best way to accomplish this feat, and one response kept appearing over and over...hike Moosilauke southbound rather than northbound. The reason for this is that the northern trail coming down to Kinsman Notch is not only steep, but very dangerous, especially in poor weather. It is easier (a relative term) and safer to go up rather than down the north side. And if possible go with as little weight as possible. So that¢s what we did.We made plans with the Hostel to drop us off 9.5 miles north and we would hike back to the Hostel and stay a second night. We would also leave all of our gear there, except food, water and emergency gear. It was the best decision we¢ve made all trip. The day itself was beautiful, so weather was not a negative factor. Going south allayed the fears and anxiety that Curly was feeling, so that was a win. We had cousin Alyssa with us, who is a strong hiker and great hiking companion to have around. And we had all day to hike 9.5 miles...a huge win for us.As expected, the hike up was definitely more than we bargained for. Extremely steep and rugged, the one thing I continued to press upon Curly was NOT to look down. These steep ups are easy when going up...they become extremely frightening when looking down. it took us almost 4 hours to hike 4 miles, a testament to the challenge of this mountain, but when we summitted  the views were our reward!  Million dollar views from all directions. We could see where we have come from as well as where we are headed.  The winds were bringing down temps so cold puffy jackets were put on!We continued on and made much better time coming down the mountain, naturally the lure of dinner out inspired us all.  With the anticipation of a hot meal, we booked it and made the last 5.5 miles in just over 3 hours, getting us back to the Hostel by 430pm.  Showers and a night out on the town made for a perfect day.  Tomorrow we take on the Kinsman range and nice weather is expected through the weekend! Looking forward to the challenges ahead.
Date: 2018-08-24
From: Kinsman Notch 

To: Tent site mm 1810.7
Miles today: 8.7

The plan is to hike from Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch today and tomorrow, get resupplied in Lincoln then hit Franconia Ridge beginning Sunday. Our cousin Alyssa is in the area this weekend which makes a huge difference in how much resupply we need.  The miles are definitely coming slowly, it¢s quite painful for me to see our pace cut from almost 2 mph down to just a hair over 1...very painful. But there is no other way for us to do this portion of the trail differently. It¢s hard to describe, but when I say we are hiking up, I literally mean up...like straight up! And you negotiate around and over huge stones and boulders. There rock slabs that are sheer and almost vertical, which you have to walk on. And in the places where there are no rocks, there are mud pools in its place. I¢m talking up to your knees mud pools.  I¢m just glad we got new shoes before entering the Whites.It took us almost 4 hours to hike 4 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain going up Mt Wolf this morning. Thankfully both Curly and I are doing well and making progress, although it is in very small increments. I met a hiker yesterday who was thru hiking last year and right where we are now he took a fall and split his head open so badly they called in wilderness rescue to evacuate him! Spent a lot of time recuperating and it was only just now, a year later that he is able to be hiking again. It really doesn¢t take much out here and I¢m superseded that more hikers aren¢t injured to that extent.We had a nice lunch at the top of Mt Wolf and then hiked down to Eliza Brook Shelter. I considered stopping for the day but we wanted to shave off a little more mileage so that tomorrow won¢t be as bad. Began the climb up to South Kinsman and stopped 1.5 miles short. Found a great tent site tucked back off of the trail next to Eliza Brook. Pitched the tent and are now tucked in. I¢m wearing long johns to bed...that tells you it¢s getting cold up here at nite. Thank you Ed and Lisa for sending our winter gear. Hard to believe that it¢s late August and we are wearing it again. Tomorrow it¢s 8 miles to our pick up point and resupply. I have no idea whatsoever where we are sleeping but that will take care of itself.
Date: 2018-08-25
From: Tent site mm 1810.7

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We had an amazing stealth site next to Eliza Brook about one mile up the mountain. Nothing like a singing stream to put us to sleep! We got up, had breakfast and was on trail by 7am. The first summit, South Kinsman Peak, was a mile and a half away from us. And it was a steep booger as well. Much of our climb was hand over hand as well as hanging on to trees and roots. If you are afraid of heights, the one thing you should never do is look down when you are climbing up, or look up when you are climbing down. The views always appear scarier and treacherous at those times. Frankly, I have said this before; I don¢t know how more people aren¢t injured on this trail...perhaps they are and we don¢t hear about it. Anyways, we finally reached the first summit about 830am, and had a beautiful morning plus the top of South Kinsman all to ourself! For a Saturday when the day hikers come out in droves, this was a treat.  We began hiking toward North Kinsman which was a mile away, and it was like the day hiker faucet was turned on. We found ourselves greeting southbound hikers in droves after that, and it was fun to greet folks excited to be outdoors and enjoying nature. I will say as an aside, hiking these mountains are seriously popular with folks driving from all over New England to take advantage of the Whites. Once we summited North Kinsman, the rest of our hike was spent coming down to Franconia Notch.We hiked by our first hut, Lonesome Lake Hut, and stopped in to greet the crew and ask them about general work for stay rules. They were very helpful and it¢s good to know that the huts are a place of refuge for hikers who might get stranded in bad weather. Hopefully that won¢t apply to us! The last 3 miles were an easy down with tourist specific grade and elevation change. The result was that we reached our pick up point an hour and a half early. Fortunately, cousin Alyssa was waiting for us. First stop was lunch. Then resupply. Then on to the cabin for shower and pack explosion. Then back out for dinner. Whew, what a great day!  We are now in bed, updating journals and planning this next stretch of trail. 50+ miles and 4+ days until our next town stop of Gorham. Hoping and praying that great weather continues!
Date: 2018-08-26
From: Liberty Springs Trailhead

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter 
Miles today: 10.1

Three years ago, Curly and I section hiked Franconia Ridge. It was the only time in my hiking experience where I thought we could die. The weather was horrible, no visibility on an extremely cold day, and no way to bail out. So here we are three years later, and everything is completely different. Today was bright and beautiful, at least until early afternoon; visibility was as far as the eye could see.We took off with cousin Alyssa at 745am, heading for Liberty Springs Campsite. At this juncture, Alyssa turned right and we turned left, heading in different directions. Of course we were only hiking towards more of the same terrain as the last four of days. The difference was that we had 4 mountains to hike over!Our first climb was over Little Haystack (elev 4780) and it didn¢t have much in the way of views, but it put us on Franconia Ridge, and that¢s where the hiking gets interesting. Coming to the summit, you hike into an Alpine Zone, which means trees don¢t grow large, vegetation is super fragile, and hikers are required to stay on the trail. On a day like today there are views as far as the rule can see, really spectacular. The terrain is described as something out of the Lord of the stings Mordor. Very eery yet beautiful. And of course lots of day hikers...droves of them.Once we hit the ridge, we hiked up and over Mt Lincoln (elev 5089), then Mt Lafayette (elev 5260), and came back down below Alpine Zone. By now both Curly and I are getting pretty wiped out, and the legs are getting wobbly, but one more mountain to climb. The rest of our afternoon was spent going up and over Mt Garfield (elev 4500), which was probably the most difficult of them all, likely because it was the last one, and it was the most steepest. I think it had the highest degree of difficulty, as we spent way too much time scrambling hand over hand on this part of the trail. We were shot when we summited this mountain. Fortunately, we were only two tenths of a mile from the shelter by this time. We drug our sad selves into the shelter just after 5pm, got our camp set up, ate dinner and now are ready for sleep. Good night to you all!