morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-31
From: Garfield Ridge shelter/campsite

To: somewhere near Zealand Mountain
Miles today: 9.5

We woke up to a lot of moisture on the tent & fly but glorious rays of sunshine beaming down on us. We took the fly off the tent & hung it in a tree then crawled back into the tent to soak up the sunshine. It was nearly noon before we left the camp site. I think we are still getting over the craziness the the previous couple of days.It was a steep climb down a creek bed to get off the mountain. We made it safely and continued the up/down hike to Galehead hut where we got some water & rested for a few minutes. No soup here today.Twin Moutain (south peak) would be our next challenge at 4902 elevation from 3800 at the hut. It was a lot of ups & downs before we reached the top. We rolled over the summit and through another alpine zone. Once off Twin Mountain, we found ourselves crawling over a large field of rocks (I say boulders, Hobo says bowling balls). No step seemed to be flat, solid or safe. Hiking poles only get in the way on this type of terrain but I really felt the need for something stable to rely on. Slowly & steady we made it across this field. At a junction on this boulder trail we had to make a decision: 0.8 more of this trail to go up Mt. Guyot to a camp site or up Zealand Mountain to stealth camp in the woods. We really didn't want to go that far off trail to again pay for a tent site so we headed up Zeacliff ridge trail to the mountain.We came across several 'stealth sites' that had been used previously but these were all very close to the trail & it was still early (7pm-ish) so we passed these by. As our luck would have it, the terrain changed drastically over the next hour of hiking and we couldn't find any spots to pitch the tent or even just cowboy camp on (that's just laying your sleeping bag out under the stars, no tent). It got dark on us so we put on our head lights. This made finding a spot even more difficult. Both lights were growing weak so we changed batteries and could now at least see the rocks under our feet. Finally around 10pm Hobo found a spot off-trail just big enough to pitch the tent. We hung the food and quickly fell asleep.A bright spot to this crazy evening was that we were able to witness a BEAUTIFUL sunset as we hiked along the ridge.Another night in paradise...Happy Trails,ATeam
Date: 2010-08-01
From: somewhere near Zealand Mountain

To: Ethan Pond Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up to find only a couple of slugs on the tent this morning. Surprising once we really saw in the daylight where we had pitched the tent. There were dead trees leaned over and hung on other live trees all around us and the ground was covered with a soft moss. A large, rotting log was just at the foot of the tent.We ate our breakfast bars as we packed up the site and hit the trail for Zealand Falls hut. We were hoping to get some 'real' food for lunch today. Once hiking we realized that we had not gone as far as we thought. Our guidebook listed "Zeacliff" after the last campsite and we thought that was referring to Zealand Mountain. We still had close to 3 miles (up hill of course) to get to Zeacliff and an additional mile to get to the hut. How discouraging! We thought we had stopped just a mile or so away from the hut.The trails close to the huts stay pretty busy during the summer so we had to 'fight the traffic'.We haven't been able to pay much attention to what's around us since we hit the White Mountains because of what has been under our feet but today I was startled by a rustling above my head and stopped to look. What I saw looking back at me looked like a farrett. I watched it and it curiously watched me as it crawled down the tree. Hobo tried to get the camera out to get a picture but our furry friend was camera shy and scurried into the woods before he could get the camera out of his pocket. Once at the hut, we ate another round of summer sausage on tortillas for lunch and had some interseting conversasion with a teacher from New Jersey. I stopped to look at the falls but wasn't very impressed. We had seen better already. Well rested, we hit the trail again and were pleased to find that the majority of the trail was relatively flat (if there is such a thing in the White Mountains!) with few obstacles. We made good time to Ethan Pond; close to 3 MPH. We were out of water so we needed to at least stop and fill the water bladder. The trail to the campsite was short but we had to hop across boulders in the pond to get to the camping area. Again, I made it without falling in. Just under 3 miles to the road and several hours of daylight left, we almost continued on to Crawford Notch but were convinced by the caretaker to stop for the night and get to town early the next morning. So we did. Another night in paradise...Happy Trails,ATeam
Date: 2010-08-02
From: Ethan Pond Shelter

To: Crawford Notch Campground
Miles today: 2.9
Weather: light rain

No rush to get going this morning since we only had a few miles to hike. The first 2 miles were walk-boards and fairly easy terrain. Closer to the road however we had to finally make the 1600 foot descent. It was a well used trail but still very steep.Once at the highway we started walking towards the Crawford Notch General Store & Campground. Our book said this place had a deli and we were ready for some good food! A guy with Texas plates on his car stopped and gave us a ride. As he dropped us off at the campground I made a crack about having a hard time hitch-hiking even though I'm an Aggie and sticking my thumb out should come easily. He looked at me and said he would have to take me back to where he picked us up because he was from "the OTHER school". We all laughed and went on our seperate ways. The deli didn't exsist but the store did have lunchmeat, hot dogs, sausage & other camp type foods we could eat. We got food and then took a shower (3 minutes for $0.25). We went back to the store and booked a campsite for 2 nights. Rain was on the way and we didn't want to hit the presidential mountains in bad weather.We got our site set-up and settled in to cook some sausage on the grill for dinner. Shortly after Hobo put the sausage on, it started to rain. We quickly ate and then dove into the tent. It rained most of the night but it was just rain, not a storm.Another night in paradise...Happy trails,ATeam
Date: 2010-08-03
From: Crawford Notch Campground

To: Crawford Notch Campground
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

We woke up with the tent splatterd with mud but no real damage to anything. We wandered up to the store to buy something for breakfast and met Nancy, the clerk for the day. We chatted with her a little about our adventure and she was shocked to find out that we didn't have a car with us. She offered to take us to town after she got off work so we could get some produce and other food from a larger store. We greatfully accepted!Before our trip to town, the day was pretty boring and the highlight was sitting by the Saco River in our ponchos while it rained.Nancy & her husband drove us to North Conway and we were able to get some produce. Grilled corn & veggies for dinner tonight!!!!Back at camp the clouds were rolling in again. We cooked, quickly ate and the clouds turned loose again. In the tent we listened to the rain pour down...again!Another night in soggy paradise...Not-so-happy trails,ATeam
Date: 2010-08-04
From: Crawford Notch Campground

To: Crawford Notch campground
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

We woke up in a puddle this morning. We seem to have found all the low spots in our tent site. We were reasonably dry inside the tent but the outside was covered with mud and the edges were damp inside. Looking out the door Hobo saw one area that was NOT under water. The sun was shining and the forcast looked good for the next few days so we spent today cleaning/drying everything. We would set the tent up on the high spot tonight just to be safe and be ready to hit the trail in the morning.On one of our trips through the camground we stopped to talk to a couple with a very cute & tiny travel trailer. Bob & JoAnn were visiting from Ontario, Canada. They live near Niagra Falls and leave their tourist-filled home to visit tourist-filled locations in the states every year. We talked for quite some time, discussing our adventure and their vacation plans. It worked out that they were heading the same direction as we were in the morning and would be able to take us to the trail on their way out. YEAH!With all our belongings clean & dry, we took another stroll down to the Saco River. It was up several feet from yesterday. We would be crossing this the first thing in the morning. I was starting to stress-out about another river crossing. Maybe there would be a bridge. We waded through the cold water looking at the various colors of granite rock for about 30 minutes before going back to the tent for the evening.Another night in paradise...Happy Trails,ATeam
Date: 2010-08-05
From: Crawford Notch campground

To: Nauman Tent sites
Miles today: 6.4

Finally, back on the trail. We were going stir-crazy just sitting around the camp site surrounded by people, cars & noise.At the trail, I was very happy to see that the Saco was much more narrow and there was a bridge over it! Once across the bridge we started the 2100 foot ascent up to Webster Cliffs & Mt. Webster. We were given a boost of energy right from the start as a "trail angel" had left a paper sack filled with goodies on top of a dead tree. The color of the bag blended in with the tree so many thu-hikers missed the treats as they flew by. We each grabbed a Snickers bar and ate it as we trekked up the trail. It took us a little while to get back into the hiking mode after 3 days off-trail.The climb was long & steep but we were rewarded with a spectacular view from the various points of Webster Cliffs. We shared the views & some good conversasion with several hikers as paused along the way.There were no signs on the cliffs so we were not sure exactly where we were and assumed that we had summited Mt. Webster shortly after the cliffs. That was not to be the case. This would be one of those LONG days where we would hike forever only to find that we had covered a couple of miles. We did eventually summit Webster & then Mt. Jackson. We got a good view of mt. Washington from Jackson and then started the descent down to the tentsites.The initial climb off Jackson involved some crazy cliff-scrambles but that only lasted about 0.5 miles. From then on it was board walks through mountain bogs and simple ups/downs. We did encounter a Spruce Grouse & her 2 babies whcih Hobo was able to get a picture of.We were greeted at Nauman tent sites by Sharon the care-taker. She had a bubbly personality and was a gracious hostess. The place was full so we shared a group platform with Ethan-an AMC employee who was out for a night in the woods.It was a cool night again after a long day of hiking so we turned in with the sun.Another night in paradise...Happy trails,ATeam
Date: 2010-08-06
From: Nauman Tent sites

To: Nauman Tent sites
Miles today: 0.0

The forcast is for a windy (70 MPH on Washington), cloudy & cold day with a Canadian cold front blowing through this afternoon. We decided to wait it out here. There is no point climbing the Presidentials if the weather is bad. Most of the remaining trail for us will be above tree-line so we want the best weather possible. We allowed for an extra day or 2 just in case this happened.We spent the day playing cards in the hut, talking to other hikers and napping/staying warm in our tent. In the evening we visited with Sharon over hot chocolate.It was supposed to be close to freezing over night so we bundled up and crawled in the sleeping bags.Another fridged night in paradise...Happy trails,ATeam
Date: 2010-08-08
From: Mt. Washington

To: Manchester, NH
Miles today: 0.0

With a short hike back to the visitor center from our stealth site, we were ready to catch our 8am bus. The bus took us to Concord, NH where we transferred to another bus that took us the rest of the way to Manchester. The bus terminal in Manchester is in the heart of downtown and we really have no idea where the hotel is so we called a cab. Good thing because the Best Western is almost in the next town (Londonberry?)We got checked in, showered, ate a HUGE hamburger, & then walked 2 miles to the Walmart to get food for the rest of our stay.We checked in with people and found out that it is over 100 degrees at home. This is going to be a rough transition!Thanks to everyone who has followed our adventures and supported us through messages & prayer. Even though we had a few 'bumps' in our path, we had a wonderful time. We should get some our 500+ pictures posted after we get home to our own computer.We are thinking about what adventure we will tackle next summer as we wait for our departure from New England back to Texas. Any suggestions?Back to reality...Gerry & Edith Andrews(AKA- Hobo & Variable; The ATeam)
Date: 2010-02-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"Only those who can shrug off the miseries and savor the joys of the trail will last."--Larry Luxenberg, from his book, Walking The Appalachain Trail. I'll be stepping foot on the trail again on April 6, 2010, after a 20 some-odd hour train ride from Boston, MA. I'm not yet sure if I'll do the approach trail or start at the USFS 42 junction to Springer; I've yet to make those arrangements. This is the 10th year anniversary of my first thru-hike attempt, and while it's not the reason I'm attempting to thru-hike for the 5th time, I do hope to approach this hike differently -- certainly 10 years older and hopefully 10 years the wiser.I've logged over 6,300+ very happy, and sometimes unbearably miserable, miles on the trail and hope to make it 8,475+ miles this year. While I've completed the trail in it's entirety, I've yet to complete it as a single season thru hike: so, here I go again.I'll try it again while I'm still able to, as I wrote here once before (check out my 2001, 2002, & 2004 AT journals)¢¦ one day I won't be able to do this anymore, and so I'll walk now while I can.
Date: 2010-03-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"There is no reason for boasting of walking as though it were a special talent or virtue possessed by an endowed few."--John Kiernan, from Larry Luxenberg's book, Walking The Appalachian Trail.I just confirmed my shuttle to the trail a few hours ago. Josh and Leigh Saint at the Hiker Hostel, one of them anyway, will pick me up at the Amtrak station in Gainesville, GA, and shuttle me to the hostel to pick up the others starting that day. I've hiked the approach trail three times before, so I'm forgoing those 8 miles, and starting at Springer via USFS 42. It'll be the first time I'm dropped off with a group of hikers, and I'm looking forward to finally having some help in snapping a picture, instead of an arm's distance length self-portrait, at Springer. Aside from the 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004 thru-hike attempts, I also hiked the entire length of the A.T. in Georgia in February 2005, and January 2006. The latter two hikes I only intended to hike Georgia and then visit with Gary and Lennie at the Blueberry Patch. Hiking that early in the year is certainly a very different experience from the mass exodus of March 15 - April 15.Despite the crowds, I really enjoy meeting new hikers/sojourners every season I've been out. We're all pilgrims of one sort or another, and we're generally at our best on the trail -- as the trail is "thee great equalizer." Every time out I've run into hiking companions from prior seasons, and I'm very much looking forward to being surprised by who I'll run into this year.A mere 25 days.
Date: 2010-03-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"I was fat and sassy -- for I have always done my conditioning on the trail."-- George L. Ziegenfuss, from Roland Mueser's book, Long Distance Hiking.I took my longest hike in preparation for the trail today: a 19-miler around the Charles River, from Boston to Watertown and back. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the esplanade trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, which although only 25 percent finished today, will one day run the length of the Eastern United States from Maine to Florida. I took a look at my walking journal, did the math, and learned that I hit 392 miles walking today in preparation for the hike this year, i.e., since January 1, 2010. While I haven¢t taken any ¢shakedown¢ hikes in the woods this year, I¢ve certainly logged the most mileage before starting a hike than any of the previous thru-hikes I¢ve attempted (2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004). On my walk tomorrow I¢ll hit 400 miles on the pedometer.I feel the most prepared ever prior to a hike, and I¢m certainly in the best state of mind before heading out on the trail, than on any of my previous hikes. I believe that augurs well for this thru-hike attempt. Again, even though I¢ve completed the entire trail, walked every inch of it, I¢ve never done the entire length (now 2,175 miles) as one continuous and contiguous hike within one hiking season (generally March to October). And even after logging over 6,300 miles on the A.T. since 2000, that bit o¢ incompleteness just bothers me to no end. I intend to change that this year ¢ but then again, I¢ve said that on three previous occasions. I have a true appreciation of why (approximately) only 15 percent of the hikers who attempt to thru-hike in one season actually do so; I¢ve been in the ¢other¢ 85 percent on four previous occasions¢¦ ugh! I¢m well prepared this time, I¢ve even (already!) packed my backpack 3 weeks in advance of the hike; whereas in the past I was usually still furiously packing minutes before I had to run out of the house to catch a train or plane to the trail. And I actually have the best support in place this time around so I feel it¢s the most auspicious hike yet ¢ from this point of view, anyway. So barring any extreme physical problems ¢ although with me you never know: I have been hospitalized twice on the trail for dehydration (2001 in Maine and 2004 in Virginia); caught giardia twice (2002, and 2008 on the Long Trail); spent 3 weeks convalescing from a bad leg injury, and the subsequent infection, in Hiawassee, GA (2000)¢¦ there¢s always some odd medical adventure involved ¢ I feel this just might be the time I make it all the way through in one piece in one season. Here¢s hoping¢¦ and here¢s to preparing to insure that the odds are in my favor. A mere 16 days, and that¢s ¢excellent-good!¢
Date: 2010-03-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."-- Albert Camus, from "The Myth of Sisyphus"This is my last preparatory week before I'm back attempting to hike 2,175 miles on the trail. Everything I do this week will be directed toward using and re-testing the gear I'll use on the trail, to spending at least 4 to 6 hours walking daily, and to including uploading entries here on my blackberry.Now before the purists among you send up a cavil, no, I won't be using my blackberry on the trail or shelters or on scenic mountaintops (certainly not the phone function) but I will attempt to transcribe and upload my journal in trail towns, hostels, outfitters, et al. I think it's high time Pattie has a break from transcribing after transcribing over 900 pages of my hiking journals since 2000.So, in that spirit this entry comes to you via my blackberry -- a time consuming endeavor on this barbie doll sized keyboard, but if this is to work I have to test it out numerous times this week. And in the spirit of replicating (to whatever degree is possible) trail conditions, I'll do it all without bathing for the next 6 days (nah, not a chance!) -- no, but I will start writing daily entries (starting with this one) just to reactivate the discipline of writing at the end of a long, tiring day when one truly doesn't feel the desire to write but feels the need to sleep instead.I know this from experience: none of the things I do in the comfort of my hometown will remotely simulate the trail -- the only thing that replicates the trail IS DOING ALL OF THIS ON THE TRAIL. No amount of 20 mile hikes in incessant rain at home, or endless hours at the gym, or nights sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor will TRULY prepare one for the rigors of the trail; but I also know this from experience: every little bit helps nonetheless. In that spirit I'll lug my fully loaded pack everywhere I go this week; I've already slept on the balcony, 14 stories above Boston in 20 degree temps, this past weekend; I'll hike 12 miles twice in the nor'easter the next 2 days; eat gratuitous servings of "trail food;" I'll pitch my tent at a park or a suburban backyard and upload a few entries on this blackberry, for no particular reason and for every good reason there is...... the trail in 8 days. That's "excellent-good!"
Date: 2010-03-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"No rain, No pain, No Maine!"-- A.T. bumper stickerThe third nor'easter this month is slamming into Boston today. We've now attained the "wettest" March in Boston's recorded meteorological history. Instead of a 5 hour hike around Boston and environs, I truncated my walk to 3 hours with frequent stops at these urban oases known as coffee houses. The worst weather when preparing for the A.T. at home pales in comparison to just about any inclement weather on the trail. At home you'll always be warm and dry within minutes of finishing your hike.And every time I warmed up and dried out in the comfort of a starbucks it merely reinforced the point that on the trail you won't dry out for at least 12 hours, or days, given the most ideal of conditions, i.e., the sunniest and warmest day possible notwithstanding, one will be throwing on cold, wet clothes and shoes the next morning and not drying out for hours. But it begs the all too familiar A.T. hiker refrain: "no rain, no pain, no maine!" More walking in the nor'easter tomorrow, which is darn easy if you ask me, but it won't feel so easy after 3 weeks of hiking in incessant rain on the trail -- as I experienced in 2000: 21 days of rain in the 24 days it took me to walk from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia to Greenwood Lake, New York. Even the worst weather prepping at home will never feel that bad. And so it's off into the gales tomorrow with a sanguine attitude.A soggy and "excellent-good" 7 days to trail left.