morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-07-15
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It was an interesting night. Had a little creature running around in the leaves all night. Just as I would fall back asleep it would scamper around again making like chirping noises. I'm glad I hung my bear bag. Then at about 530 a guy in the shelter starting singing opera. Nice but annoying that early in the morning. We got an early start, it was going to be a long day. A lot of ups and downs today. We had some nice views but it gets pretty annoying and tedious for after a while. There was nothing crazy. Just up and down.Toward the end of the day we had a river crossing. There were no rock steps that looked doable to me. So I just took off my shoes and forded. It sucked up a lot of time. But we eventually made camp about 730. I was super disappointed in not seeing any thistles at thistle hill.We of course had to stay at Thistle Hill Shelter. Lol. There weren't any thistles at the shelter either. Super diappointing. We set up our tent and made dinner. Coyote, Sparky, Wall-E, and Copperhead were camping with us. It was long day and we went to bed as soon as dinner was done. Town tomorrow!!
Date: 2015-07-16
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Had anot her little critter running around the tents last night. It got pretty chilly as well. I get to pick up my sleeping bag today in town!We left camp about 7. Ups and downs again. But nothing to bad. We were moving along fairly well. I did see some thistles today! The weren't blooming yet though. We met a southbounder, a very chipper one. He told us about some great trail magic when we hit the road. When we got to Hartford, VT there was a family with a house along the trail. They ring a bell for us to come over. There was coffee and they made us pancakes! Blueberry pancakes. It was great. They had sodas as well. Coyote, Wall-E and Sparky were there. We sat around chatting for quite a bit. We eventually had to get a move on. We were meeting my dad in Hanover for 3. The reat of the hike went fairly well too. Terrain wasn't too bad. Ups and downs it went well. We were moving pretty great. We hit Elm St. In Norwich, VT. And all along the there were coolers at all these houses with trail magic. It was awesome. We had a 3ish mile town walk from Norwich VT in Hanover. We made it to New Hampshire!!! Amazing. 13th state!! I can't believe we made it this far already. It great. We met my dad and my grandfather at the post office. We grabbed our boxes and went to lunch ate Molly's. It was great food. We saw Squabbler, Shit to Do, Sweet Eyes and Moment. We chatted for a bit. Dad and Poppop took us to our hotel room. We hung out for a bit then they hit the road. We showered and did laundry and tried to figure miles for the next couple of days. I think our eyes started to bleed. Lol. Planning is not fun anymore, lol. We're so close to the end. It's awesome and terryifying. I don't want to go back to the real world.
Date: 2015-07-17
From: Hanover, NH

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0

Ahhhh, zero days!! Awesome. I slept in until about 8. I went down to breakfast and joined Mighty Mouse. I had a long leisurely breakfast. We eventually moseyed back to our room and did a few more chores. We went down to the bus about 12. We met the Germans in town for lunch at mollys. Great food. In town we saw Chimney and Hyrobics. We also saw Hip and TR. I haven't seen Hip in so long. It was nice to catch up. Salmon came into town about 3. He was crashing at the hotel with us tonight. We went back to the hotel by bus and relaxed a bit. We went to the Chinese buffet for dinner. More relaxing at the hotel.Back to the trail tomorrow. Got to get some miles in.On a side note. Hanover is a nice town, lots of rich yuppies though. Lol
Date: 2015-07-18
From: Hanover, NH

To: Moose Mountian Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Had a decent nights sleep but still felt pretty tired. I just don't think I sleep as well inside as I do in my tent. Plus I don't think we rest enough on our zero days. Too much town stimulation wears us out. We were still trying to figure out a ride back to the trail this morning. Salmon got a few taxi numbers from the front desk. We hoped to get picked up by 9. One taxi wasn't available until after 11. The other was 945. So we took it. I was all packed up already so I relaxed in bed for a bit longer. Eventually we went down to the breakfast room to wait for our ride. It was late of course. Oh well. We got dropped off in front of the post office. Salmon hit the trail right away. Mighty Mouse went to the post office to see if her boots came in. I waited outside. While I was sitting there I saw Happy Warrior. He and Many Faces were zeroing in Hanover. They had a pretty sweet set up where they were staying. We chatted for a bit. Mighty Mouse did get her new boots and poles! Thank god. She packaged up the old and sent them home. Next we went to the Food Co Op. Which happened to be right along the trail. Mighty Mouse still had to resupply. I was able to get a few things from CVS so I was all set. By the time all that was done it was just about lunch time. So we ate lunch before we headed out. We finally hit the trail about 12pm. Good grief. It had rained last night and it was still pretty cloudy and threatening. And very very humid. The hike was pretty decent. A quick climb up velvet rocks. Slippery from everything being wet. We had some pretty easy gping for the next few miles. I still felt like I was walking through sludge. The humidity just sucks the life out of you. We took a short break just before the climb up Moose Mountian. Pretty easy gradual climb. The sun had come out so unfortunately the view from the mountian was all hazey. After that it was a quick jaunt to the shelter. We got to camp about 5. We dropped our packs and went to check out the water source. It's an unreliable stream but because of the rain there was some water. Very slow trickle so it took forever to fill our bladders. But beggars can't be choosers. A little yellow in color but it was still good. We set up our tents and did our camp chores. We went up to the shelter to cook dinner. There were some guys there just out for a few days I think. Not really sure. We chatted with them a bit but one guy was an a-hole. He thought he knew everything about backpacking. This was only the second person on the trail that I didn't like. So I think that's pretty good. Went back to the tent about 730. Which according to the jerk was waaaaaaay to early. Such an idiot. Anyways. Relaxing now. Feels good to be back in my tent with my lumpy clothes bag as a pillow.
Date: 2015-07-19
From: Moose Mountian Shelter

To: Hexacube Shelter
Miles today: 17.7

It was a pretty humid morning. A storm was moving in and the air was just so heavy and stagnant. It was a fairly decent hike in the morning. We had one steep climb up to some ledges. As we were going down the other side it started to rain. Cooled us off a bit but still wet. At about lunch time we got to Bill Ackerly's place. He's known as the ice cream man. His house is just a few steps off the trail. He gives you free ice cream too. You can tent on his lawn, play crochet, and hang out. It was nice. We sat on the covered back porch, ate ice cream and lunch. We chatted with Bill and some southbounders that were there.Eventually we moved on. We had a really big climb up to Smarts Mountian. From Bills to the top of the mountian was about 6 miles. It was slow going. Not only because it was hot and humid, but it was rocky and steep and everything was wet. We were not moving at our normal pace. It gets a bit frustrating. Eventually we made it to the top. There is a enclosed shelter up there if we wanted to stay. But we wanted to push on to the next shelter. We saw storm clouds rolling in and heard some thunder. But we took a chance and moved on.It was 4 miles down to a dirt road and then 1 mile up to the shelter. In the middle of our decent the storm hit. Rain, thunder, lightening and even hail. Not much to do but keep walking. We were soaked and cold by the time we made it down to the dirt road. The rain had stopped by that point. We grabbed water at the brook and camped right there by the road. Under a no camping sign. Lol! There was no choice. We were done in and had no interest in climbing up to the shelter. We set up and ate. By that time it was about 8. Just in time for the next storm to hit. Thankfully we were dry and in our tents.
Date: 2015-07-20
From: Hexacube Shelter

To: N.H.25 Glenclif, Hikers Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 14.6

It stormed off and on all night. Thunder and lightening and everything. It was intense. All done by morning though. We had a late start about 8 am. Everything was wet. I hiked in my town clothes for a bit while my hiking clothes hung off my pack to dry. I just couldn't stomach the thought of putting them on. Especially since I had to put on wet sopping boots.The morning hike was long and tough. Immediate climbing right up to Mt. Cube. We were moving pretty darn slow again. It was steep and rocky and everything was wet. Thanks to the torrential downpour all night the trail was a mess. We were moving about a mile an hour, sometimes less in some spots. Super frustrating. Especially after the tough day yesterday. And my boots were wet!! The climb down wasn't much better.We hit the first road crossing about 1, I think. Maybe a little before. There was a nice big grassy field across the steet. We spread out our stuff in the sun and sat under some trees to eat lunch. We were still trying to figure out how far to go. It was a rough couple of days. And we still had about 10 miles to go to the hostel.After lunch the trail got rediculous. At one point it was under 6 inches of water. And no where to go. Even the walking logs and stepping stones were under a ton of water. The trail maintainers suck here. I know we got a lot of rain last night but there should be run off places so the water has somewhere to go. My boots were dry after lunch but that didn't last long. I hate wet boots. So do my feet. We hit the next road crossing about 5. We took a break, much longer than we should have. Still slow going due to the mud and rocks. Decided to make the push for the hostel. We got to the hostel about 8. Maybe a little before. The Hikers Welcome Hostel was a pretty cool place. We set up our tents in the yard. Showered in the out door shower, nicely heated and had towels. He had pizzas, snacks and sodas, all on the honor system. We chowed down while we waited for the laundry to get done. It was a long couple of days. And we didn't get to bed until after 10. We're slack packing tomorrow. Hopefully we can get some relaxation in.
Date: 2015-07-22
From: NH 112, The Notch Hostel

To: U.S. 3 Franconia Notch
Miles today: 16.3

Ugh, did not want to get up this morning. Went to bed way too late. I went down to the kitchen and made some pancakes. I'm really getting tired of eating pancakes. I don't even like pancakes that much to begin with. But that's pretty much all people feed hikers. Mr. Clean, Pinnocho, Wall-E, Mighty Mouse and ingot dropped off at the trail head about 745am. And off we went. Still amazing carrying my small day pack. First off we had a climb. It was a very very very tough morning. A lot of rock climbing. We were moving about a mile and hour. I was starting to freak out. It was 11am and we still had. 10 miles to do. At that speed we wouldn't make it to town until after dark. We stopped at the first shelter for lunch. The Germans and Wall-E were there. I was glad to see them, it meant they were moving as slow as we were. Onward we went. We had a other huge climb up Mt. Kinsman. It was steep and rocky. Huge boulder climbs. It was rediculous and very slow going. I was actually enjoying the climb quite a bit. It was a fun puzzle and easy going without a full pack. It was a pretty nice view from the top. But it was getting late, we were exhausted and we still had a few miles more to go.The climb down was just as bad, if not worse. It's always worse going down the steep rocks than climbing up. I was so glad we didn't have our real packs on. We came down to the Lonesome Lake hut. The AMC has huts all over the Whites for people to stay (I think they chate about 100 a night for a bunk), they make guests dinner and breakfast. They have soup and snacks available all day. It was about 530 when we got there so they were setting up for dinner. We didn't stay long.It was another 3 miles to the road. All downhill. It was long. We made it to Franconia Notch about 730. According to everyone it was an easy hitch into town. Well, it was 730 at night, the vistor center closed at 5...there was no one. In the 30 minutes we sat there we saw 2 cars, both going the wrong direction. Easy hitch, yeah right. I called the Hostel...they don't do pick ups from Franconia. (It says they do shuttles in the books and genreally with slackpacking they come pick you up) So that was pretty upsetting since it was getting later. The hostel owner texted me the number of the town taxi. They came to pick us up. 10 bucks a person to go 5 miles. Really irritating. We got back to the hostel. Really exhausted and hungry. Nothing in town delivers of course and we had no way to get back to town to get food. Luckily I got chips, salsa and avocados at the store yesterday. That's what I had for dinner.We hit the trail tomorrow at 730 am. I really want a zero day but there is no way I'm staying at that Hostel another night. It was so stressful and irritating.
Date: 2015-07-23
From: U.S. 3 Franconia Notch

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter and Campsite
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Went to bed much earlier last night but was still feeling pretty exhausted. My whole body was sore and stiff. I really wanted a day off. I couldn't stomach making or eating pancakes so I just ate granola bar for breakfast. We got to the trail a little after 8. And up we went. It was a pretty tough climb up to Little Haystack mountian. We had some decent weather. But once we got above tree line it wasn't that great. It was very very windy. Storm cloud were swirling about. We'd have sun for a bit and then rain. It got pretty cold as well. I got some awesome pictures along Franconia Ridge. It was breathtaking. We were above treeline for a few miles walki ng along the exposed ridge. The wind was making things a bit harder. Not only were we climbing up and down slick rocks but we had to battle 50 mile an hour wind. It took us a while to get off the ridge. Poor Mighty Mouse almost blown away. Some of the highest mountians, Lincoln and Lafayette, we're completely socked in when we got there. It was pretty awesome being in the clouds. Not much of a view though. Eventually we got down. But then we had to climb uo another mountian. Mt. Garfield. Very long, rocky climb. Once we got to the top we were able to see Kinsman and Franconia. It was cool to see where we had been. But we were exhausted. The rocks in this state are going to kill me. Once we got to the top we had to go back down the rocks. Down the rocks. It was pretty slow going. It was raining on and off. We hit the path to the shelter, finally, at about 630ish. We grabbed water at the source then walked to the campsite. Back up the freaking mountian we just came down. Why the heck couldn't they have an entrance closer to the top.We met the caretaker. She assigned us a tenting platform and collected our fee for staying there. Part of the AMC thing. We set up. The caretaker and Mighty Mouse took forever setting up her tent, it's not self standing like mine so its hard to put up when you can't stake it to the ground. We finally made dinner and then crawled into our tents. The Whites are going to kill me I think.
Date: 2015-07-24
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter and Campsite

To: Ethan Pond Shelter and Campsite
Miles today: 14.5

It rained during the night and got pretty chilly. I actually hiked with long pants on today instead of shorts. We started with a rocky downhill and then a rocky uphill. We were moving about a mile an hour. It sucked so freaking bad. About 10ish we hit the Galehead Hut to see if they had leftovers. We were in luck, they had some oatmeal leftover from breakfast. Thru hikers can go to the huts and eat left over breakfast or dinner. This is because hikers eat everything and then the hut crews don't have to hike out the extra food. All supplies for the huts have to be hiked into the huts and the trash hiked out. After breakfast we hiked up another giant mountian. No views due to the fog and cloud cover. At about 4pm, after a grueling rocky downhill we hit the Zeland Falls Hut. We were exhausted and really didn't want to go on. We still had another 5 miles to go and if we continue at our mile and hour pace it would take forever. We asked about work for stay. Which means we do a little chore and we can sleep on the floor of the hut and get leftovers from dinner. She said sure bit since it was early if anyone came in later they would get first choice and we would have to go. WTH.So we took the chance and moved on. We couldn't take the chance to sit and wait. If it got too late we could try to find stealth campsite. On the profile in the book the terrain didn't look too bad. We were in luck. It was a pretty flat trail and could move at our normal speed. Thank god. We stumbled into camp about 6ish. We set up out tents on a platform. Took forever to get mighty mouses tent up again. Eventually we were able to make dinner and crawl into bed. Going to be another cool night tonight.
Date: 2015-07-25
From: Ethan Pond Shelter and Campsite

To: Mizpah Spring Hut
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: light rain

It was a beautiful morning. We got a lovely view at the pond. It was gorgeous. We had a decent walk down into Crawford Notch. We were feeling pretty good. Today is the day we start the climb to Mt. Washington. At the base we found some trail magic! A fresh cooler full of soda. We each grabbed one for our snack break. And up we started. The road was at 1275 and Mt.Washington was at 6288 ft. We weren't doing it all in one day. But it was a big climb up to the Presidential Mountian Range. The climb was tough and rocky and steep. Again we were moving only about a mile an hour. Sometimes less. It was so frustrating. And very wearying. It takes all day just to go 10 miles. At the top of Mt. Webster we met some day hikers and they gave us some leftovers. Homemade bread, some cheese and salami. It was amazong and made our afternoon. After Webster we had to climb over Jackson. Rocky and tough. And of course, mountian weather being fickle as usual. It got rainy and cloudy. We made it to the Mizpah hut at about 4ish. We asked for work for stay and they said yes! We decided to stop here instead of heading to Lakes of the Clouds Hut because tomorrow was suppose to be rainy as well and we wanted a nice day for Mt. Washington. We hung out inside the hut. Nice and relaxing. It was nice to not be outside in the cold and rain. While the hut served dinner we sat up in the library and played yatzee. After dinner we got the leftovers. It was so good. Pulled pork, bread, enchiladas and chicken from previous dinners. I ate 3 full plates of food. It was great. I've never been so full in my life. I was ready for bed. Lol. But we still had to do our chore. Mighty mouse did some dishes and I cleaned out the freezer. Easy and painless. Lights out in the hut at 930. We set up our mats in between tables and benches and went to sleep. We had to be up early in the morning. By 6 for when they start setting up for breakfast.
Date: 2015-07-26
From: Mizpah Spring Hut

To: Lakes of the Cloud Hut
Miles today: 4.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Didn't get too much sleep last night. People were still up making noise till after 10. Then one of the crew member starts in the kitchen a out 5ish. We got up and packed out stuff. We hung out to get leftovers from breakfast. Some eggs, oatmeal, pancakes and pumpkin chocolate chip bread. So yummy.Since we were doing short miles we sat and relaxed at the hut for a while. It was rainy and cold and I didn't want to leave. At about 1030 am we hit the road. It was only a 5 Mike hike but considering the terrain lately I figured it'd take 5 freaking hours.Aside from being foggy it was a nice hike. It was pretty humid when we started. We had a few more presidents to go over and we hit the treeline too. For the next 12 miles we were above treeline. Shockingly the hike went quick. It was so foggy we couldn't see to far ahead so when a building popped up out of no where it was a huge suprise. I couldn't believe we were there already. It was about 2pm. Really early, we even stopped for lunch break to take up sometime.We asked for work for stay even though it was pretty early. I told him we were northbound and that made the difference. Crappy weather, they don't want anyone going up Mt. Washington, too dangerous. We were excited. We hung out and played games in the common area. Being in these huts makes me feel like I was in a ski lodge. Everyone walking around in long johns, sipping warm drinks, staying out of the cold. It was great. A few others came in after mighty mouse and I to do work for stay. After the guests ate we had left over stuffed shells, pork, bread, and veggies. It was good but not as good as last night. They shut lights out about 930 but a ton of people were still hanging out in the common area with headlamps, chatting an playing games. It was annoying because we could make up beds whike they were there. Some people would leave and spaces would be claimed. I just set up my stuff on a bench, put in my ear plugs and tried to go to sleep.
Date: 2015-07-27
From: Lakes of the Cloud Hut

To: Osgood Campsite
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: light rain

Did not get any sleep last night. The place was like grand central station. People walking around all night, going to the bathroom, slamming doors. Crew got up at 5 to start breakfast stuff. People started coming out for coffee about 515am. We got up, packed up and left as soon as we could. We were pretty exhausted and we had lots of ground to cover.We left about 622am and started up to Mt. Washington, it was only 1.4 miles from the hut. It was a gorgeous morning and clear!! Amazing views from the hut. Can't wait to see what we can see today.We made it to the summit a little before 8. It was a rocky climb up but we made it. We hung around and took pictures. It was a little disappointing, too commercial up there. Views were spoiled by road and tourist crap.We started on down. It was a boulder field. All day. It never stopped. Just boulder after boulder. We were still on the ridgeline, above tree level. We had amazing views. It was bright and sunny. It was great. But tiring. Very very tiring. Up and down and up and down over boulder after boulder. We made it to the Madison Hut at about 130 and stopped for lunch. We planned to stop in town tonight but that wasn't going to happen. We relaxed for a bit and then hit the trail. We had a .5 Mike climb up to Mt. Madison. It took an hour to get there. Just huge rock climbing. No trail just rocks. Very exhausting. Then we rock climbed down the ridge for a few miles. From the Madison Hut to the campsite was about 3 miles and it took us 4 hours to make it. It was a nightmare. I'm really hating this state. I kept falling and sliding toward the end. So so so frustrating. We made it to camp bout 630ish. We set up and ate and I went to bed. I was tired from no sleep and the torture of the day. It was great climbing in my tent. I missed it after 2 days of being in the huts.