morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-08-20
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

I managed to get up, have breakfast, get all my gear packed up, and set off down the trail before I remembered that it was my birthday. I spent much of my hike today humming "Happy Birthday to Me" over and over again - sort of a mantra as I hiked. Meanwhile, my mind was focused on all of the neat things my 62nd year could offer me. And it was fun!The hike itself, up and over Smarts Mountain, was a pretty tough climb, including a total of 4200 feet of elevation gain over 17.7 miles. I couldn't help thinking that that wasn't too bad of a performance for an old guy like me. Then I remembered that, but of course, I am still (in my mind) only 18 and have the body of a 48 year old. If only my knees were't such old farts!At the shelter tonight are Vievel Knievel, Lightning and his dad - Brother Buzz, and an older couple - Buffet and Goat. Fortunately, the water source was okay, so I could at least have a hot dinner on my birthday. Today's hike is dedicated to all of us older guys out here on the trail, "Livin' like we are dying". Life is good!Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-08-21
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Glencliff, New Hampshire
Miles today: 14.7

Vievel was up and out of the shelter first this morning, and I was second. I didn't catch up with her until she stopped for lunch. But she had just stopped so I knew that we had hiked at about the same speed. Plus, since we had each did 17.7 miles the day before, my sense was that we had comparable stamina as well. So I told her I was looking for a partner to hike through the Whites with as I wasn't very keen on hiking them all by my lonesome. I suggested that she think about it a bit and, later, let me know. After lunch, we hiked together into the hostel in Glencliff - one of the coolest hostels I've encountered. After dinner, Vievel and I talked again. She said she'd talked to her parents on the phone, and they had expressed their concern about her hiking the Whites by herself - a view with which she did not disagree. I think we both knew enough about the Whites to conclude that hiking them with someone would be better than going it alone. We have a common background in scouting as Vievel was also a Scout Leader and just back from leading a Venture Crew on a rather strenuous hike through Philmont. That, along with our conversation today about the right and wrong ways to introduce Scouts to the outdoors, gave us each some confidence the other's common sense. Bottom line - we agreed to do the Whites together, a partnership that I dubbed "Team Whites".Today's hike is dedicated to my new hiking partner - and Team Whites - two strangers about to face some of the greatest challenges of their entire AT adventure. Clearly, it is no longer just a "little walk in the woods".Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-08-23
From: Campsite near Elizabeth Brook Shelter

To: North Woodstock, New Hampshire
Miles today: 10.0

Viviel and I both slept well last night, not suprising as we were both totally exhausted from yesterday's hike. Today's challenge was another significant climb, our second in the Whites - Mount Kinsman - another 3600 feet up and down.It may be that we were just unusually tired, but the climb up was really a challenge. It was basically a 4 mile uphill rock scramble. Looking up, all one sees is what appears to be an almost straight up pile of rocks, some really large boulders with no obviously way to get over them. There was simply no alternative, however, but to just keep climbing. And climbing. And climbing. After awhile, my right knee was really complaining, not being up to the challenge of boosting my entire body weight, plus a 35 pound pack, up to the next foot hold in the rock - which may be nothing more than a 3 inch ledge resulting from a crack in the rock.Upward progress was sometimes excruciatingly slow, trying first one hand or foot position, then another, and sometimes another, trying to figure out how to gain the leverage needed to boost myself up to the next step. Several times I had to struggle to shift my weight enough to move my boot less than an inch. That minute distance can ensure, or not, whether one has a secure enough position to push off from.Frankly, a year ago, there is no way I would have had either the physical ability or the confidence in myself to even think about such a climb. Reaching the summit, it was once again "high-fives". Another milestone on our journey through "the Whites", but more subdued than the day before as we now had become intimately aware of just how physically challenging "the Whites" are going to be.Fortunately, having done a 15 mile day yesterday, we were able to do the 11 miles today that got us to North Woodstock, my next resupply point. By 4:30, we'd checked into our motel and began the usual town chores. We were actually a day early, so I called home to check on the status of a package from home and also package I was hoping for from Big Agnes - the manufacturer of my sleep pad which has been leaking from the air valve. I was not disappointed to learn that the sleep pad would not arrive until the following afternoon, forcing me to take a zero day. My knees thought that was a great idea!After I hung up, Vievel also called home, but her news was not good at all. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away, and the funeral is scheduled for Friday in Pennsylvania. The current plan is for her Mom or Dad to drive up and collect her Thursday. So, we'll both taking a zero tomorrow, only she will then be off the trail for several days, and thus I will not be hiking through "the Whites" with her after all. Bummer. But that was not meant to be, so I just gave her a hug and told her she would probably catch up with me in Maine and we'd hike to Katahdin together. God willing.Today's hike is dedicated to all the grandmothers out there who so deply enrich their grand children's lives.Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-08-24
From: North Woodstock, New Hampshire

To: North Woodstock, New Hampshire (Zero Day)
Miles today: 0.0

This was only my third zero day since Springer Mountain, and I enjoyed it to the fullest. Lazing about, eating whatever I wanted from the market across the street from my motel, watching TV, cleaning my gear, and getting caught up with my journal.My replacement sleep pad arrived from Big Agnes, and my package from home as well, including my cell phone and charger, so I am all set - though my pack weight has once again gone up. Life is just filled with trade-offs.Tomorrow, it's back to the trail. Without Vievel, sadly, but hopefully she'll catch up in due course.Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-09-01
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: fog

I thought about trying to do a 13 mile day to the Imp campsite, but I knew it would depend on how long it took me to do the tough climb up Wildcat Mountain. The guide book quite accurately described the climb as: "Trail shortly begins an exceptionally steep ascent(then in italics) REQUIRING EXTRA CARE ."The Whites are all about steep ups and downs, so when the guide book says "exceptionally steep ascent" - pay attention! They mean it! This was not quite as bad as Kinsman, but three times we got to do the "ledges" routine - which means a very tough (for me, at least) and sometimes kind of scary (and here, I KNOW I'm not the only one) rock climbing exercise.I am always pleased with myself for facing the challenge, and for dealing with my fears, but I would be less than honest if I didn't say that they take a lot of the joy out of hiking in the Whites. It also adds to my frustration at the consistently low mileage days, since the nature of the trail makes it impossible for me to achieve even one mile an hour. A 13 mile day, therefore, is simply out of the question in most of the Whites, and with the huts only 4-6 miles apart, you end up doing shorter days than you COULD do they were just a few miles further apart. C'est la vie. Eventually, I will be out of the Whites, and I guess I just have to try to be patient until then.So, this afternoon I'm a guest at the northern-most and only self service hut in the AMC system. The cost is less, but they don't serve meals. Bummer! I've rather gotten used to my afternoon bottomless bowl of soup! I don't know WHAT I will do when it's back to the shelters and my tent.... I'll have to cook my own dinner tonight, although I can get boiling water from the kitchen, but I haven't had to pump water for several days. Life is rough!Several of my hiker friends are going on to Imp campsite, but others, like me, are not. The latter group includes Santa, Big Foot, Kokomo, Snowman, and (just now) Mouth, Gypsy, Touk, Thrifty, Nd 3 section hikers. Tomorrow, we're all talking about trying to do a 15 mile - all the way into Gorham, NH. We'll see. We'll see....Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-09-02
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, New Hampshire
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

This was a long but satisfying day. I managed to complete the 15 miles from Carter Notch Hut into Gorham - only my second decent mile day since entering the White Mountains.The climb out of the notch to the summit of Carter Dome was tough but with beautiful views. Then came the South, Middle and North Carter summits, followed, inevitably, by another steep down. In line with my policy of zero tolerance for getting lost (if I can help it) I have been very careful to follow my guide book and the posted route signs at every trail junction. Here in the Whites, there is no separate AT, but rather, the AT follows one local trail after another - and it is not always marked on the sign posts which trail is the AT. At the summit of North Carter, the guide said to make a sharp left turn, which was easy to miss, so I was ready for that and made the correct turn. As I started the steep down, however, I saw Santa and Big Foot coming up in my direction. I knew we couldn't both be right, and it turned out that they had taken a wrong trail down from Carter Dome, which later intersected with the AT trail, and there they went the wrong way again - costing them 1.2 extra miles. Ouch!When I reached Gorham, I checked at "The Barn" for my package from home, only to discover that Fed Ex had tried twice - unsuccesfully - to deliver it, but the owners were not around so the package ended up going back to Vermont. Fortunately, my wife will be able to get it shipped to Andover - my next town stop, so no harm done. It's late, however, and I've stuff to do, so that's all for tonight, folks.Stay tuned,LonghaulSent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-09-03
From: Gorham, New Hampshire

To: Trident Col tentsite
Miles today: 6.9

This was kind of a frustrating day, with a very late start to my hike and thus another low mileage day. Because of our long 15 mile day yesterday, all I got done last night was a shower, laundry and dinner before all of the stores in Gorham were closed. Still, I had hoped to made quick job of resupplying this morning so that I could get on the trail by 9AM. My goal was an 11 mile day, that would set up a 10 mile day for Sunday, putting me into a shelter just 2 miles from the infamous Mahoosuk Notch (more about that later). You need to be fresh to take on the Notch, so that is the shelter of choice for the night before. As a result of today's late start, however, I will now have to try to do a 14 mile day tomorrow, and can only hope for the best.The problem this morning was simply that the key stores (Walmart and a grocery store) were 2 miles from the motel, and no one - coming or going - would give us a ride! This after we had heard how the locals were all so friendly, and that hitches would not be a problem! Right....As a result, we barely made the 11AM check out time and by the time we got a hitch back to the trailhead, it was noon. The hitch came from a nice young couple who were visiting New Hampshire from Montreal, Canada - not exactly your hiker-friendly "locals", eh?The trail was actually pretty decent, by New Hampshire standards, anyway, and I made fairly good time, but there just weren't enough daylight hours left for me to do ll miles. Still, by stopping early, my hope is I can get up and get an early start tomorrow, thus making up the miles I am short today.If so, I will also cross another state line, and will finally be in Maine - just 290 miles from Mt. Katahdin. My hope is to summit around September 28, but much depends on the trail and on my knees. The Whites have been really hard on the knees, but I'm still an incurable optimist. Plus, I'm still as determined as ever to get this thing done yet this year. Soooo...Stay tuned, LonghaulSent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-09-04
From: Trident Col tentsite

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Another fabulous, but tough, day on the trail!Somehow, I managed to do 14.5 miles over some very rough trail - so tough it took me 12 hours of steady hiking to complete it. The good news is that this is the kind of a day that will help me to lose some of the weight I'm sure I gained from all that soup and bread I ate in the White Mountain huts! Today was especially hard on my knees. The worst parts - for me - are the rock climbs, and there were several of those, two of which I would call dangerous. The kind where there is nothing between you, your finger tips holding onto a crack in a boulder, your nerve, and a 30 foot drop onto nothing but more rock. I really don't like those exercises, but they have been commonplace in New Hampshire and continue into Maine. I remember asking my backpacking mentor and trail crew boss, Cathie Cummins, how she would compare the climb up Old Rag mountain in the Shenandoahs to the kinds of mountains I would encounter on the AT. (Old Rag is mostly just an up, with swith-backs, but ith some interesting rock scrambles on the upper third of the climb.) "Oh, about a six," she replied. Now I understand what she meant.In some ways, the ones that scare the crap out of me are the most satisfying - but only AFTER I've survived them. But I've pretty much had enough of them at this point as they are starting to really annoy me. I came out here to hike, and I'm not afraid of a long and rugged climb up, but the AT is billed as the county's longest continuous FOOTPATH, and a lot of the sections I've done since entering New Hampshire are defintely NOT a footpath. The good news is that I crossed into Maine at 2PM this afternoon. I have now completed 8 states and am working on number 9. Only 283 more miles to Mount Katahdin and then I can start that missing stretch in the middle and finish up this little walk in the woods.Just before reaching the shelter, I caught up with Hareball, and we agreed to hike through the Mahoosuk Notch together tomorrow morning.Given the notches' reputation for being the longest mile on the entire AT, a little rock scramble the guidebook describes as "difficult and dangerous", we both will feel better not going through it alone.For now, I'm very pleased to have made up for the time and distance I lost yesterday due to my late start. With a good night's sleep, I expect to be ready for the Notch monster! Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-09-05
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Speck Pond Campsite
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: clear sky

Another fabulous day on the trail, but the longest 5 miles I've ever hiked!The Mahoosuk Notch was awesome! It is one mile long, and consists of a gorge carved out of the mountains on either side of it by the run-off of ancient melting glaciers. Over time, and with continued erosion, giant boulders - some as large as a house, and others only as large as a large room - fell down from the cliffs on either side, filling the gorge and creating a masive obstacle course. The AT, of course, goes straight down the gorge, and the idea is to simply follow the white blazes wherever they take you - up, around, over or under the boulders. In the lower reaches on the "unders" there may sill be some ice until well into July.I had been advised to take the notch slowly, to just think of it as the world's largest adult jungle gym, and to have fun. That's pretty much what Hareball and I did. It was tough in places, and took us two hours and forty five minutes to complete, but we made it! Fortunately, the weather was superb. I definitely would not like to try it in the rain, as it would be a lot more dangerous than it was. Overall, it wasn't too scary, but you do have to be careful or you could get hurt. I came out of it reasonably intact, except for a couple of bruised ribs that occurred when I sort of fell into a boulder, and caught myself with my arm between me and the rock, knocking the wind out of me for a minute. Fortunately, it only hurts when I breath IN, so I've decided to only breath OUT for the next day or two....It was after the notch, the climb up Mahoosuk Arm, that was the really tough part of the hike. One long rock climb, with one false summit after another. It was also one of those pull yourself up the sheer rock by grabbing hold of roots, branches, handfulls of shrubs - whatever is close enough that will support the weight of you and your pack.At one point, we went up the right side of a rock-face only to discover, about half way up, that the shrubbery was inadequate - necessitating a move across the face of the rock to the left side, via a very small crack in the rock for our fingers, and a (not much bigger) crack for the toes of our boots. THIS IS NOT HIKING! Hiking is when you stand upright and walk along a trail, using hiking poles to help balance and/or propel forward. ROCK CLIMBING is NOT HIKING!So anyway, we finally made it to the shelter, five miles in total, in just under 8 hours! We were bushed! Shortly after we arrived, Easty also showed up having done a 12 mile day and looking even worse than Hareball and I did. But we had all survived, and tomorrow is another day. So far, Maine is every bit as bad as New Hampshire, but rumor has it that it gets better after awhile. We'll see....Stay tuned, LonghaulSent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-09-06
From: Speck Pond Campsite

To: Frey Notch shelter
Miles today: 10.4

I thought about trying to do 15 miles today into Andover, but I knew that the tail was unlikely to allow me to do that... and I was right.My first climb of the day was up Speck Mountain, a very tough slog up a lot of exposed rock where the only way to make forward progress was to grab onto roots, branches, and handfulls of shrubbery and pull yourself up. (Sound familiar??) It is exhausting work, and not what I would call hiking, but we've been over that before,too. haven't we?!After that there was a section of almost decent trail, followed by the next major rock climb - up Bald Plate Mountain. The south summit wasn't too bad, but from there I could see the taller north summit, and its namesake: Bald Rock Face. There must have been half a dozen different ways to get up to the top of the north summit, so where do you think the AT went? Straight up the rocky face of the mountain! You could just see it coming, and sure enough, straight up the trail went. WAAAAAAAH   When do I get to just HIKE again???After the up, of course, I get the same rock face going down the other side. It's not just the "thrills" that I don't need, it's that you end up working twice as hard and going half as far as on what I would call a "normal" trail. Oh well....Once again, we finally reached the shelter - me, Hareball and Easty, and settle in for the night. Tomorrow, it's on to Andover, Maine and, hopefully, my package from home.Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-09-07
From: Frey Notch shelter

To: Andover, Maine
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: clear sky

When I woke up this morning, Hareball and Easty informed me of the visit of a bear last night, turning over rocks (looking for grubs) just 30 yards from the shelter. Hareball said she heard it and was especially concerned because she had hung her food bag almost directly over her tent. (Clever, eh?) When she shined her light in the general direction of the bear, it stopped, but resumed rooting around as soon as she turned her light off. She did it again, and the bear moved on.Easty, who was sleeping in the shelter, also heard the bear and was equally worried as he had just hung HIS food bag on a hook IN the shelter. (Equally cleaver, eh?)Mine was in a tree behind the shelter, fortunately, as I was blissfully unaware of the whole episode. The sleep of the innocent, eh?Once we hit the trail, it was a pretty easy hike into town, about a half mile of up followed by four miles of gentle down.At the top of the hill, I was able to reach the B&B to arrange a ride from the trailhead into town, and arrived there two hours later. The best part was that my package from home also showed up, including my meds (those ever so critical lttle pink pills from my orthopedic surgeon), a replacement pair of boots, a fully charged camera battery, and a new lighter. Thanks, again, Babe - you did great!After the usual chores, I had dinner at the town diner, follwed by a banana split. I figured I could afford the calories since, accordig to the bathroom scale at the B&B, I have now lost an even 50 pounds since I started this little walk in the woods last March. Twenty more, and I will reach my target weight - something I haven't seen since I was in college over... ahem, several years ago. I had a scoop of mint chocolate chip with marshmallow topping, chocolate chip cookie dough with caramel topping, and peppermint stick with hot fudge topping. Yummm!Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2005-09-08
From: Andover, Maine

To: Black Brook/South Arm Road
Miles today: 10.1

Another fabulous day on the trail!My hike plan called for a ten mile day today, and that's what I did. Around here, you just can't take a 10 mile day for granted. Actually, it went better than I expected, was the first 6 miles were like a "regular" trail - and I was able to do two miles an hour. The rest of the day was a steep down, followed by a steep up, followed by a steep down - doable, but kind of hard on the knees. Fortunately, it was a short, as I was basically positioned for tomorrow's very steep climb up "Old Blue" - the first climb up in the Beemis Range. If I'm lucky, I'll get a 13 mile day in, leaving only another 13 into Rangely on Saturday. Tonight, I'm camped along a pretty little stream, and hopig it won't rain tonight. They said a 50% chance, but I'm feeling lucky. Other than that, the weather has continued to be really good for hiking - sunny but cool. Typical fall weather - and very much appreciated after that hot spell in July and August.I've also been seeing lots of signs of moose... poop mostly, but I know they're out here. The rutting season starts soon, so you have to be careful with the males. I'm hoping to get some more photos, this time of a guy with antlers! Stay tuned, LonghaulSent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com