morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-25
From: Kinsman Pond shelter 1806.3

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter 1821.4
Miles today: 15.1

We were on the trail hiking by 7:30, headed for the Lonesome Lake Hut, two miles of tough, steep downhill trail ahead. Southbounder Owl passed us along the way. When we arrived we topped off our water. Gary bought coffee, Duffer, pancakes and bread, and I got two bowls of oatmeal for second breakfast ...free for thru hikers! While there, we looked at the weather forecast, and discussed our options. We decided to camp at a campground eight miles down the trail. Tomorrow's predicted weather was worse than today's, but we would worry about that tomorrow. We descended along the trail to Franconia Notch. The trail was rocky, but not technical like yesterday's or this morning's to the hut, so we made good time. There were, however, several challenging stream crossings, so we ended up with wet feet. Only Duffer managed to keep dry feet. The Appalachian Trail was also somewhat challenging to follow, as there were so many trails in the Whites and signage didn't always indicate which trail was the Appalachian Trail. You really had to look for the white blazes, and they were not always plentiful. Once we reached Franconia Notch, we sat down for lunch. Soon Hambone passed us. It turned out that he hadn't been able to "work for stay" at Lonesome Lake Hut, so had to camp down the trail. This morning he had walked to the Franconia Notch Visitors center and it ended up being farther off the trail than the sign had indicated, so he was behind schedule. Bummer. After lunch we hiked UP to Liberty Springs Campground, partway up to Mt. Lafayette, where we'd planned to stop. We arrived so early that we decided to hike another eight miles to the Garfield Ridge Shelter, since it was due to rain tomorrow, and the campground caretaker thought we should do it. So...we started up the hill ahead of Duffer, the Lionkillers, and Chicken Feathers, since they were a bit faster than we were on the ups. The weather was perfect for hiking: ...just a bit windy. Flash (?),a southbounder, passed us quickly. We climbed Little Haystack, then Mount Lincoln, then Mount Lafayette, then hiked down again, then ascended Mount Garfield, then finally descended to the Garfield Ridge Shelter. We got to the shelter at 9:00 pm ...in the pitch black and exhausted. On the way down we had passed Thunderstorm, who had set up his tent a couple of miles before the shelter. Once we were at the shelter, I still had to get water for dinner. Fortunately a trail angel guide led me to the water and back up again. We treated the water, cooked and ate dinner, then zzzz, still not knowing where Duffer, Chicken Feathers, and the Lionkillers were. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail when you come in exhausted from a long, hard day and there is a trail angel ready and eager to help you out.
Date: 2012-07-26
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter 1821.4

To: Zealand Falls hut 1831.1
Miles today: 9.7

We left Garfield Ridge Shelter about 8:00. When we had gotten to the shelter late last night, we hadn't realized Johannes was there in the tshelter. Since the caretaker was ill, I threw the money into his tent, so he wouldn't have to get up. Poor guy. What a place to be sick. Almost three hours later, we arrived at Galehead hut. As we were arriving, we saw Gorp coming out of the hut. Johannes, who had left the shelter before us, had also stopped by the hut, but we didn't see him. Thunderstorm arrived shortly after we did. Gary had coffee and cake, but there wasn't anything gluten free, so I pulled a snack out of my pack, then wrote a note in the hikers' log for Duffer, attempted to text him, and left a Voicemail. I hoped he had guessed where we would be. We got his text indicating where his group had camped, but my text never did go through. At least we knew...or thought we knew...that we were an hour or so ahead of them. I also received and sent a text to the Birds, which DID go through. (Random note: In general, texts would go through even when phone calls wouldn't, but you never really knew. Also, flip phones seemed to have coverage more often than smart phones.) We hiked on, ascending the thousand feet up Twin Mountain before the trail leveled off. It was actually a fairly easy day of hiking, once we descended into Galehead Hut. We arrived at Zealand Falls Hut about 5:00. They said we could "work for stay!" Then we saw Indiana, who had arrived early, in order to sleep. We hung out on the porch until we were called for dinner, chatting with Dreamtime, who was also working for stay. After the hut guests had eaten, we got the leftovers, delicious pea soup and a meat stew, with bread and cake. (Random note: Thru hikers are used not only to wash dishes, clean kitchens, et cetera, but to eat leftover food which would otherwise need to be hauled back down the mountain. It's a win-win arrangement!) After dinner, Dreamtime and Frogman, a southbounder also working for stay, washed dishes, while we gave a talk in thru hiking. We were amazed at the interest and questions by the hut guests, but then I remembered how interested we were, when we had stayed in the White Mountain huts in 2004, 2005, and 2006. At 9:30, we finally got to set out our bags and went to sleep. (Random note: Since our normal bedtime was 8:00 pm, 9:30 seemed LATE! Life is great on the Appalachian Trail, especially when you get dinner and a warm place to sleep in exchange for a couple of hours of work. Now...if we could only find our friends!
Date: 2012-07-27
From: Zealand Falls Hut 1831.1

To: Highland Center 1838.8
Miles today: 7.7

We got up at 6:00 am, so we'd be packed up before breakfast. Once the hut guests had eaten, Dreamtime, Frogman, Gary and I came in for oatmeal and pancakes, then prepared to start hiking, hoping to see our friends pass by, since the Appalachian Trail passes directly in front of Zealand Falls Hut. Just as we were about to leave the hut, the Lionkillers came walking down the trail, followed by Duffer and Chicken Feathers a few minutes later. It turned out that Duffer and Chicken Feathers had put out a campfire that some other campers had not. Scary! We went back into the hut so they could all get second breakfast, the four of us set off down the trail. We had a nice easy hike: rocky but not technical, and short. When we stopped for lunch, the Lionkillers, Dreamtime, and T joined us. T was excited as she had seen a moose just before arriving at Zealand Falls Hut! After lunch, we continued hiking, and soon Duffer's cousin Jill came up the trail. We continued hiking to the Crawford Notch trailhead, and Jill drove us to the Highland Center, and then to Littleton, NH, to eat lunch, do laundry, and resupply. Thanks, Jill! Tomorrow we'd be back on the trail where we got off, bound for the Webster Cliffs and to the Lake of the Clouds Hut, but meanwhile, life is great on the Appalachian Trail when a very kind trail angel helps you with chores and you get to spend the afternoon and evening at a very civilized lodge with great people and great food!
Date: 2012-07-28
From: Highland Center 1838.8

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut 1849.9
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: light rain

We enjoyed breakfast at the Highland Center when it opened at 6:30, since it was included with the room, with Midwest Mama and Painted Lady, then went back to the room to grab packs and walk out to hitch a ride back to the trail. When we got to the parking lot, we saw a man with his car open. We started talking with him, and he offered to give all four of us a ride! He lived in NY, but hiked often in the Whites. We were delighted to be back at the trailhead hiking by 7:15, forty-five minutes earlier than we'd anticipated. The climb up Webster Cliffs was 2100 feet up, and steep. Then we ascended the additional six-hundred feet up Webster Mountain, then Mount Jackson. Along the trail we met Keystone, a young man from the Pittsburgh area. We arrived at the Mizpah Springs Hut for lunch. After lunch we met Elvis on the initial steep climb up to Mount Pierce (aka Mount Clinton.)and down again, then up Mount Franklin. It started raining so we put on raincoats for the hike down to Lake of the Clouds Hut. As we got close to the hut, we had our first view of Mount Washington. We walked into the hut to see if we could work for stay. Since there were a couple of over 60 ladies working the desk, we told them there were four of us, all over 60, wanting to work. They said they'd ask the croo, who OKd it. Yeah, especially since it was now pouring! We put our packs on the floor and waited quietly until we were needed. Meanwhile it started thundering, and at one point lightning struck the hut! Several hikers came in after us, and all got to stay. After the guests had eaten, we had our dinner, a delicious meal of turkey with mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, cranberry sauce, and bread. For our work, we cleaned the tables and washed dishes. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail when you get dinner and a warm place to sleep on a cold, rainy night.
Date: 2012-07-29
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut 1849.9

To: Madison Springs Hut 1857.0
Miles today: 7.1

We were hiking by 6:30, having opted out of breakfast, and started up the mile and a half climb to the top of Mount Washington. Though we could see the top when we started up this mountain, it was shrouded in clouds by the time we reached the top. We took pictures at the summit, then headed into the concrete bunker for breakfast: nachos and chocolate milk for me; two hot dogs, nachos and coffee for Gary. We started hiking down to Madison Springs Hut ...only 5.5 miles....but what terrain! The whole hike today was a rock hop over a field of huge, uneven, slippery rocks. We didn't arrive at Madison Springs Hut until 3:45, hoping to work for stay. Fortunately they took all four of us, and Trog as well, but denied Sparrow, a nice, young northbound thru hiker, who started April 11. He was really fast. Once we got work for stay, we hung our packs, and ate a snack. We met CatchUp, who thru hiked in 2007, and, Midwest Mama and Painted Lady, who are section hiking and who we had met at the Highland Center. In exchange for lodging and dinner, we helped set up the tables before the guests ate, then, after dinner, scrubbed pots, cleaned the stove, cleaned and organized shelves and washed dishes. The hutmaster was so organize! we worked hard, but really felt appreciated! Life is great on the Appalachian Trail especially when, after a tough day, you get to work for stay at a wonderful hut.
Date: 2012-07-30
From: Madison Springs Hut 1857.0

To: Joe Dodge Lodge Pinkham Notch 1864.8
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

We were out of Madison Springs Hut by 7:00, opting out of breakfast again. We hiked up Mount Madison immediately, then descended steeply to the Osgood Campsite. It took us almost five hours to hike three miles! We climbed steep rocks up the mountain, then down steep rocks on the other side. Once we reached the campsite, the terrain was easier, but still slow, since it was still steep in places, and rocky. (Random note: I don't know what we would have done if we couldn't have worked for stay at Madison Springs Hut. The trail to the next campsite was tough enough to hike in the light, when we weren't tired. It also took us FIVE HOURS!) The trail was also minimally marked. At one point, we looked in vain for white blazes, and were only CERTAIN we had been on trail when we reached a sign two miles later! Once we reached Pinkham Notch, at 2:30, we registered at the lodge and, after some confusion, got our room. We went to for lunch and I had a happy surprise. They had gluten free bread! At the visitors center I was able to get some beef sticks and peanuts for the next few days. There wasn't much in the way of resupply, but at least we wouldn't have to hitch hike into town, since we still had three uneaten dinners, thanks to being able to work for stay at Zealand Falls, Lake of the Clouds, and Madison Springs Huts. Once back in the room after lunch, I tried to connect to the WIFI at the lodge, since there was zero cell coverage. I wasn't able to, but, fortunately, one of the men who worked at the visitors center was able to get it to work, so I'd be able to work on my blog. Dinner was wonderful: turkey meatballs, risotto, potato salad, and beets ...all gluten free and even a gluten free cupcake! We sat with Midwest Mama and Painted Lady. Painted Lady told us about the organic farm she runs with her husband, and about her rescue border collie, Jack. It was fun to talk about dogs with her. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail, especially when you get town food and a great place to spend a zero day, after some tough days of hiking.
Date: 2012-07-31
From: Joe Dodge Lodge Pinkham Notch 1864.8

To: Joe Dodge Lodge Pinkham Notch 1864.8
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a well earned zero day. We still got up early (for us on a zero day) for breakfast, but Chicken Feathers and Duffer were already there. We got our food and sat down. Midwest Mama came in, but Painted Lady was ill. Both if them were taking the bus to Boston where they were catching planes home. We also met Haystack, who was flip flopping this year. After breakfast, Chicken Feathers left for Gorham, hitch hiking, while Gary and Duffer planned the rest of the thru hike. Just before lunch we ran into Stats, who had been visiting with his wife and kids, and was planning to climb up Wildcat this afternoon. He, too, was a little apprehensive about Maine, and was ready to complete this thru hiking adventure. Later on, Duffer's nephew arrived, ready to hike with us for the next few days. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail, especially when you get to enjoy a zero day relaxing and eating at a mountain lodge!
Date: 2012-08-01
From: Joe Dodge Lodge Pinkham Notch 1864.8

To: Imp shelter 1877.9
Miles today: 13.1

Today we were up at 6:30, then out on the trail by 7:30. The trail was flat for the first mile, then started ascending the first peak of Wildcat. We looked for the places on the trail which had spooked us six years ago, but never found them. The rest of the Whites must have prepared us for this mountain! Either that or, more likely, the trail had been improved. As we were hiking up, Lucky and Rocket, two young woman, and their dog Bear, all southbounders, passed us, then Stilts, then Silver Surfer, then Rhymnocerous, a northbounder, passed us. He was hiking from Damascus, Virginia, to Mount Katahdin, Maine this year, since he had already hiked Georgia, North Caroline, and Tennessee. When we got to the top of the second peak, we stopped for lunch. Magpie and Dreamtime caught up, then continued hiking after visiting with us for a minute. After lunch, we continued hiking in the mist, then hard rain. We stopped at Carter Hut for a snack, and decided to continue to Imp shelter, seven plus miles further. We met southbounders Spider Monkey and Night Rider, who were anxious to get out of the rain in Carter Hut. When we got to the top, the Lionkillers had caught up. We waited for Duffer, Chicken Feathers and Rowan, Duffer's nephew. Once they caught up, they suggested we continue hiking to Imp shelter, and they would camp out along the way. The remaining six miles of hiking to Imp shelter were really tough, and took us five hours, so we didn't arrive at the shelter until 9pm, and we had to use our headlamps the last half hour! Once at the shelter, we were glad to see that people were still up, and made room for us, no easy feat since the shelter was already quite full. We were grateful to get the last two spots! Water was close, thankfully. I quickly filled the water bladders so we could make dinner. We finally got to sleep at 10:30pm. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail when you make it safely to a dry, friendly shelter after a long, tough day of hiking in the White Mountains.
Date: 2012-08-02
From: Imp shelter 1877.9

To: White Birches campground 1885.9
Miles today: 8.0

We slept in today, since we'd gotten in so late last night. The Lionkillers were meeting people in Gorham early, so left an hour or more before we did. The caretaker, Bearsweat, came up to the shelter. He'd thru hiked last year. Then Magpie came in. She'd camped last night several miles back. We also met Greenthumb, Agent Orange, and Tushy, southbounders, who'd all left Katahdin the last week of June. We all enjoyed the blueberries that Bearsweat had brought up. We finally left Imp at 10:15, and left a note for Duffer and company on the sign, hoping they'd make it to the White Birches by nightfall. We started up the steep trail up Mount Mariah and reached the top after two miles, before hiking, steeply at first, down the other side of at first. Four miles later we stopped at Rattle River shelter for lunch. Rhymnocerous was already there, taking a break. He had also camped before Imp shelter last evening. We continued hiking the last mile and a half to Route 2, Gorham, then called for a shuttle to the White Birches campground/hostel. Five minutes later we were in the campground shuttle vehicle, on our way. Along the way, we picked up Rhymnocerous, and took him to his hostel. Once at the campground/hostel we relaxed with ice cream and iced tea, registered for our bunks, and showered. Two hours later, Duffer, Chicken Feathers and Rowan came in! With them was "Willie from Vermont," another northbounder. We gathered laundry, then ordered dinner from a restaurant in Gorham which delivered meals to the campground. We were glad to have conquered the Whites in New Hampshire, and this would have been a delightful place to take a zero day, but and were looking forward to seeing for ourselves how tough Maine was. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail when your hiking group is reunited.
Date: 2012-08-03
From: White Birches campground 1885.9

To: Gentian Pond Shelter 1897.7
Miles today: 11.8

We were up early so that Gary, Chicken Feathers, and Willie from Vermont could resupply. They were picked up at 6:30, and back about 7:30. We repacked our food, checked out of the hostel, and left in the shuttle by 8:30. We started up the trail to Hays Mountain and immediately came upon trail magic: soda. Thanks,trail angel! We continued up the steep but not technical trail, and soon passed southbounder, Sleepwalker, going the other way. The trail descended, then ascended Cascade Mountain. At the top of Cascade Mountain we enjoyed lunch. What a great place! Then it was down the mountain to Page Pond, which was covered with lily pads, back up, then down to Dream Lake and Moss Pond. We passed E-Ticket, a southbounder, then Happy Days, another southbounder, who asked whether E-Ticket was ahead. Then a southbound section hiker with her dog passed us, headed for NY. It started raining lightly when we were a mile or so from Gentian Pond, but we didn't stop to put on raingear. The rain stopped after 15 minutes or so. When we reached the sign noting that Gentian Pond Shelter was a quarter mile ahead, Duffer and Chicken Feathers stopped to get water, but Gary and I continued to the shelter. Gary put the sleeping pads out while I went back to get water. The water was dark with tannins, but good. On my way back to the shelter I met Chaz 11, from Britain. He was a northbounder who left Springer on March 29. We fixed dinner, ate, cleaned up, then zzzz. Life is good on the AT when the terrain is even a little bit easier!
Date: 2012-08-04
From: Gentian Pond Shelter 1897.7

To: Full Goose Shelter 1907.3
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

This morning we were on the trail by 8:00. We started up a steep trail, then continued ascending Mount Success. Along the way we met Re-Peak and Pippi Longstocking, southbounders who a met a week or so ago on the trail and are traveling together. We found lots of technical (e.g. hands as well as feet and poles are necessary) trail as we hiked down the back side of Mount Succress...good preparation, we thought, for Mahoosuc Notch tomorrow. Half a mile later we crossed into Maine, and immediately the terrain became more challenging. When we arrived at the turnoff to the shelter, Chicken Feathers and Rowan got water for all of us. Thanks! While they got water, the rest of us ate lunch. Also while we were there, Bobcat and Magpie stopped by. Bobcat went to the shelter to get water, and Magpie joined us for lunch, then hiked with us the rest of the way to Full Goose Shelter, our evening's destination. She was an interesting young woman who had lost a lot of weight during her thru hike. She was planning to hike as far as she could into Maine before she started grad school in the fall. After lunch we hiked up and over several more mountains, most needing our hands as well as our feet and our full attention, but with flat tops with ripe blueberries as a reward for our efforts! We ended up taking ten hours to hike ten miles! On the way in, two young men passed us: Bush Goggles and Lasagne. Once in, we met Pesky, who started this spring in Georgia, hiked to the "half gallon challenge" park, then flew to Katahdin and is hiking south now. Also at the shelter were Chaz 11, Magpie, and lots of others. Life is great on the AT when you finally hike into your 14th and final state!
Date: 2012-08-05
From: Full Goose Shelter 1907.3

To: Speck Pond Shelter 1912.4
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: few clouds

We got up early and were hiking by 6:40 since we were hiking the Mahoosuc Notch and the Mahoosuc Arm this day, and we were a bit apprehensive about it (Random note: The Mahoosuc was reputed to be the most difficult mile on the Appalachian Trail. The trail rose six hundred feet in the first mile, then descended a thousand feet, to the west end of the Mahoosuc Notch. Although the notch only descended 250 feet, we had to go up and over some gnarly boulders, and under others, with lots of far reaches and long steps. At one point, I needed Gary to give me a tug since the reach to a handhold was six inches beyond my reach. I only hoped it wasn't considered "cheating" to get a boost. Several young men passed us in the notch, and Magpie caught up with us. She decided she enjoyed hiking with our slower group of retired folks so she stayed with us the rest of the 3-1/2 hours it took us to hike this one mile stretch of "trail." (Random note: Some of the young guys said they did it in one hour! We couldn't even imagine doing it anywhere close to that!) We may have set a new record for slowest passage through the notch, but at least we all arrived at the east end safely. I kept thinking about the dog who had gone through the notch yesterday with her owner. Apparently, the dog was as scared as her owner, but they both made it safely. Once we completed the notch, we refilled our water bladders and walked a little ways to a campsite for lunch before tackling the Mahoosuc Arm, 1600 feet in 1.5 miles, then one more mile to the Speck Pond Shelter. The arm was different from what I expected: many rock slabs instead of one continuous slab, and also quite challenging. We were so glad it was dry. Rock faces, already challenging, are really slippery when they are wet. The notch was also more wooded than we had expected, and quite narrow. We arrived at the shelter, exhausted, at 3:30... It took nine hours for us to hike five miles of trail! We got water, treated it, ate dinner, and zzz. Unfortunately, a number of people who came into the shelter had the "AT Plague," or had been exposed to it, including several people who ended up staying in the shelter with us, since there weren't any tent sites left by the time they came into the shelter area. (Random note: We had been hearing about people who were ill along the trail for several weeks, but so far, we had avoided it. We avoided using shelter pens and sharing food, et cetera.)Life is great on the AT, especially when you get through the most challenging miles successfully and without injury!