morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-01
From: Mizpah Spring Hut

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: fog

First Shadow and I were hiking by 7:45 a.m. The first 300 feet was a rock climb straight up, then the trail got better. The four ¢Wine-O¢s¢ passed us on Mt. Clinton, they are half our age and move fast. As we came over Mt. Clinton, the view of the mountains around us were great and they would only get better. We started to get more and more above treeline and could see the hikers in front of us and behind us as far away as a mile. The trail continued along the ridgeline and the higher we climbed, the lower the temperature got, in the 40¢s or 50¢s.On Mt. Franklin, two thru-hikers passed us, they were ¢Time Traveler,¢ a young woman in her 20¢s and ¢Bump,¢ a young man in his 20¢s. We had seen them at the last hut. The sky was overcast but the views were spectacular, we could see all the way down into the valley and the cloud hanging on top of Mt. Washington.As we were hiking on the loop trail (still on the A.T.) around Mt. Monroe, we could see a couple of patches of snow on the side of Mt. Washington. That just made us feel colder. As we came around Mt. Monroe, we could see the Lakes of the Clouds Hut below, only a quarter of a mile away. Arrived at 11:30 p.m. and got our bunk assignments, then went to take pictures. ¢Time Traveler¢ and ¢Bump¢ were still there but they were getting ready to climb Mt. Washington and move on. While we were eating lunch, ¢Mick,¢ the Swiss guy, came in. He is staying here tonight.At about 1:00 p.m. ¢Poz¢ showed up and he is going to stay also, doing work for stay. The four ¢Wine-O¢s¢ are going to hike up to the summit of Mt. Washington this afternoon. A lot of people staying here are going to do the same thing. Four more thru-hikers showed up and a couple more got work for stay. I showed First Shadow the dungeon in the basement below the hut. Hikers stay there sometimes but it is too wet inside it now.Clouds have been hanging on top of Mt. Washington all afternoon. It only cleared up for about 15 minutes and we could see the weather towers on the very top. We are only 1.4 miles, with a 1248 foot climb, away from the summit. Right now the weather forecast is good for tomorrow.All the hutmasters from all the huts are here tonight. I heard that they bring them together once a year and we were lucky to have them here. We got to see Hilary from Greenleaf Hut again. After all the guests had ate supper, the croo, all the hutmasters, climbed up on the roof of the hut to eat their supper and watch the sunset. The sunset was beautiful, full of yellows, pinks and reds. Hilary and another hutmaster were even sitting on the chimney watching the sunset. Someone, it wasn¢t First Shadow or me, removed the ladder the croo had climbed on the roof with, trapping them on the roof. They took the joke very well. Everyone is excited about maybe climbing Mt. Washington with a clear sky.
Date: 2008-07-02
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

We were up early with our packs packed at 7:30 a.m. We started the 1.1 miles, 1000 foot, climb up Mt. Washington. The sky is clear with no clouds hanging over the mountain. It was cold and with very little wind as we made our way up. It was 9:00 a.m. when we reached the summit. There is a restaurant and gift shop on top, with an auto road for cars to drive to the top and a cog railroad that brings people up from the valley. We called home on the pay phone to tell our wives and family to look on the internet to see our pictures on the Mt. Washington weather website. It is updated with pictures every 15 minutes. Got something to eat, saw a bunch of other people from the hut last night. Even saw Poz, he had left the hut at 4:30 a.m. to make sure the sky would be clear when he reached the top. The views are great. We spent 1 1/2 hours on top before starting to hike the remaining six miles to Madison Spring Hut.On the way down the mountain, we crossed the cog railroad tracks and got to see the cog trains coming up the mountain ¢ it looks like a really neat way to get to the top of the mountain. We would hear the train whistles all day. We had to climb and go around Mt. Clay, Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Adams on a very rocky trail. When we are above treeline, the trail is made of rocks, rocks and more rocks. This made hiking very difficult. It was 4:30 p.m. and we were only 1/2 mile from the hut when we saw the lightning on the other side of Mt. Madison coming toward us. But it would be the dark clouds behind us that would catch us and rain on us just 15 minutes from the hut. When we saw the lightning, we actually started jogging across the rocks to get to the hut. The hut was almost full and we were only able to get one lower bunk and the other one was four bunks up. Both of us were really tired and went to sleep at 9:30 p.m.
Date: 2008-07-03
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: NH16 Pinkham Notch, Joe Dodge Lodge
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: fog

First Shadow and I were up at 5:15 a.m. and ate a couple of chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. Skipping breakfast at the hut so we could be on the trail at 6:30 a.m. The sky was clear but the wind was blowing and the wind chill factor was in the low 30¢s. We wore our ball caps and rain jackets for warmth. The higher we climbed, the harder the wind blew, it was gusting between 50 and 60 mph. This added a new difficulty to climbing over the big rocks. It was still windy on the other side of Mt. Madison as we came down the trail on Osgood Ridge. We could see the trail for over a mile in front of us and it was steep and rocky. Even when we got below the treeline, the trail was still steep and rocky. It took us four hours to drop 3000 feet and only hike 2.8 miles to Osgood Tent Site Trail where the trail would get better. We stopped here for a pack and snack break. A family that we had seen at the huts for the last couple of nights were there also. They shared their cheese and dry tomatoes with us and it tasted really good. The trail leveled out so we could make better time. Crossed a lot of streams.With about two miles to go to get to the lodge, we crossed the auto road leading up to Mt. Washington. That is where we saw the storm clouds gathering. Once again we picked up our pace to try to beat the rain. The last half mile was really flat so we traveled really fast. Came out of the woods right at Joe Dodge Lodge. After getting a two-man bunk room, we were eating lunch when the rain started. We had reached the lodge just in time. We were able to get a hot shower, but no washer or dryer here, so we washed our shirts in the sink. They were starting to stink very bad. Supper was served family-style in the Visitor Center cafeteria, where we sat with another family we had met at the huts ¢ Allen and Sally with their son, daughter and niece. Allen works for the U.N. and they live in Chili, South America and were in the states for vacation.We had picked up our maildrop box earlier and are separating our meals. Kelley and Shanna sent us some brownies again. Kelley said Shanna made the brownies almost all by herself. I called my hiking buddy, Dutch from Michigan, and he is going to meet First Shadow and me in Gorham, NH and hike Maine with us. Looking forward to hiking with him again.
Date: 2008-07-04
From: NH16 Pinkham Notch, Joe Dodge Lodge

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Another clear sky this morning. After breakfast, First Shadow and I decided not to climb Wildcat Ridge but instead to take Nineteen-Mile Brock Trail, the old A.T., up to Carter Notch Hut. Saw the family from Chili eating breakfast and said our goodbyes. Walked up NH 16 a little ways and thumbed a ride up to the Nineteen-Mile Brock Trailhead. Started at 8:30 a.m., it was one of the easiest and most beautiful trails we have hiked in New Hampshire. The slope of the trail was gradual and we only had to climb less than 1000 feet. The trail ran right beside a rapid flowing brook and we crossed a couple of log bridges along the way. We knew we were getting close to the top when the trail started getting rockier and steeper. Then it went over the Notch and dropped down beside a crystal clear mountain lake with pond lilies growing in it. It was 11:45 a.m. when we reached the hut. The reason we did not take the Wildcat Ridge Trail is because it was too dangerous. Last year I climbed it with a full backpack and for almost 2000 feet I was climbing up a cliff. It was the most dangerous section I have seen so far.When we were down at NH 16, we saw two older guys, one a section-hiker and the other a thru-hiker, that we had met before. They were going to take their packs up to the Wildcat Ski Resort and leave them there and climb the cliffs of Wildcat Ridge without packs. When they got to the top, they were going to take the chairlift down the mountain then ride it back up with their packs, then hike the rest of the way to the hut.The main building of Carter Notch Hut, the dining hall is the oldest hut building in the hut system. There are two separate buildings for the bunkrooms and a separate bathhouse. First Shadow and I actually ate lunch at 12:00 noon for a change, then we took almost a three-hour nap in the afternoon. After supper we had Independence Day cupcakes for dessert. To celebrate the 4th of July, the croo handed out sparklers, the fireworks lasted almost a whole minute.
Date: 2008-07-05
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Imp Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: broken clouds

First Shadow and I were up at first daylight and quietly took our gear out on the porch to pack so as not to wake anyone up. At 6:15 a.m. we started our climb up Carter Dome. Carter Dome was created over 100 years ago when heavy rains caused a huge land slide and a big section of the mountain fell off creating the dome. We were about 500 feet up the edges of the dome, that is where the trails runs, when we hear the croo singing the wake-up song. There were a couple of great views from the edge of the dome. At 7:00 a.m. we hear the croo calling everyone for breakfast, so we yelled back down, ¢Good Morning¢ and we could hear our echoes. At the top of the dome was a short trail to a viewpoint, we took it and the view was even more fantastic than the ones below.On top of Mt. Hight we saw the ski lift guys and a young northbound thru-hiker taking a break. They had passed us earlier at the top of Carter Dome. It was getting close to lunch time when we ran into Dick, a day-hiker. He is a year older than us and lives only an hour away. He had a 1976 Kelty backpack that looked brand new. He said his old one he bought in the 1960¢s had worn out so he found this one on e-bay and when it arrived it was in it¢s original box and looked like it had never been used. Dick knew the mountain and told us there was an ¢open¢ area ahead about 15 minutes away they was a good spot for lunch. He was an interesting guy to talk to. The bugs were getting bad so he moved on about the time we were finishing lunch. We could still see Mt. Washington and every once in a while when the wind was blowing right, we could hear the whistle from the cog railroad.There was a steep 1300 foot descent down North Carter Mountain to Imp Shelter and it was 2:30 p.m. when we got there. We met ¢Twix,¢ the caretaker, while hiking in. She was doing trail work with a pick axe. She is in her 20¢s and was a southbound thru-hiker last year. She said there was one person at the shelter already ¢ a lady with the trail name ¢Not Mother,¢ she is in her 40¢s and is a southbound thru-hiker. She was having a little bit of a problem with one of her ankles, so we gave her some Biofreeze to put on it. It was later in the afternoon when two young guys hiked in.There were six of us in the shelter tonight. Twix has her own caretakers tent just up the hill. There was a bend in front of the shelter with a clear view of the mountains on the other side. At about 8:30 p.m., everyone went down to the bench to watch the sunset behind the mountains on the other side of the valley. As the sun set it started to get cooler, another good night for sleeping.
Date: 2008-07-06
From: Imp Shelter

To: US2 to Gorham, NH
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

We were looking forward to getting into town so we were up early and hiking at 6:30 a.m. For the last few days, the weather has been great, no rain but warm in the afternoon. It was a slow, hard climb to the top of Mt. Moriah and it took 2 1/2 hours to hike two miles.At the top of Mt. Moriah, we turned and took the old A.T. on Mariah Carter Trail because it would take us straight into town and we would not have to thumb a ride into town. We had hiked down the hardest and steepest part of the trail and were at an easy part on Mt. Surprise when I had an unpleasant surprise. I slipped and fell on a slick muddy rock. I put my hands out to catch myself and my right hand landed on a jagged tree limb. As I was rinsing the mud off my hands, I saw the blood start pouring from a gash just below my right thumb. It looked ugly. We dropped our packs and got out our first aid kits. First Shadow cleaned it out with water first, there was a lot of mud on the cut, then used some alcohol wipes. It looked like a little piece of wood was embedded about 14¢ deep, so we got it out with tweezers. I had been bleeding like a ¢stuck pig¢ but when he pulled the skin together with a waterproof band-aid, the bleeding stopped. This happened about 10:20 a.m. and we had about 3 1/2 more miles to go. Could not tell if I might need stitches or not. When we got to the really easy part of the trail, my hand was starting to hurt so we took Steve¢s bandana and my sternum strap and made a sling for my hand to rest in.We hiked into a residential section of town and took a swinging bridge over the river to another road. This was the same way I came into town last year, so I knew my way to US 2 to get to the health clinic. As soon as we got on the road on the other side of the bridge, a car pulled up with a young man trying to find the beginning of the Carter-Moriah Trail. We gave him directions and when he saw my hand in a sling, he wanted to know if I was all right. We told him the story so he gave us a ride to the health clinic but it was closed and would not be open until 8:30 a.m. Monday morning.We had reservations at the Top Notch Inn across the street from the clinic, so we told the young man we would check in there first, then try to get a shuttle to the Berlin Hospital 17 miles away. The wound was not bleeding and I called, but could not get a shuttle. After our showers, we decided to go to the drug store and get some Bacitraycin to help prevent infection, some more band-aids and a hand brace to keep my thumb area from moving. I would go to the clinic in the morning, at this point I am more worried about an infection. If it had continued to bleed, I would have gone to the emergency room in Berlin, NH. It was around 1:00 p.m. when we arrived into town and probably too late to get stitches anyway.Took it easy the rest of the day and went to bed early, around 9:00 p.m.
Date: 2008-07-07
From: US2 to Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

We had already planned to take a couple of zero days and stay in town. Slept late until 6:30 a.m., got a shower and was over at the health clinic at 8:30 a.m., but was a little disappointed because I could not get an appointment until 2:00 p.m. tomorrow. As long as the wound does not look like it is getting infected, I can wait. So we were off to the drug store for more items, the outfitters for new tips to our hiking poles, gas station for fuel, lunch and back to the room to do laundry.In the afternoon, we cleaned our packs and other gear, aired out our sleeping bags and painted some Sil-Net stripes on our ground cloths to keep the air mattresses from moving around. Then cleaned our boots and made repairs to them. It had been a busy day and before we knew it, it was almost 9:00 p.m., time for us to walk down to the bus stop to meet the bus that Dutch was coming in on at 9:30 p.m. We were in the convenience store when the bus pulled up on the side and didn¢t see Dutch get off. So I was surprised when he walked in the door and said, ¢Hi Whimsey.¢ It was good to see him again, it has been almost two years ago but seemed like just yesterday. Introduced my twin brother, he won¢t have a problem with us being twins since he has identical twin daughters. Got back to our rooms at the motel, he is right beside our room. Stayed up until 11:30 p.m. telling stories and catching up on the last two years of our lives.
Date: 2008-07-08
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Slept in late, went to breakfast with Dutch at 8:30 a.m. Afterwards, back to the drugstore for a few items, then back to our room to repair some items. After lunch, Dutch walked with me across the street for my 2:00 p.m. appointment at the health clinic. The doctor took some tape strips and pulled the wound on my hand back together and gave me a prescription for antibiotics to prevent infection. Infection and opening up the wound again is what I am most worried about.First Shadow and I walked with Dutch to the other end of town stopping at the outfitters and the general store. On the way back we stopped at the drugstore to pick up my medicine. Walked across the street to a restaurant for our last supper in town.Back at our room while packing our packs, First Shadow and I discovered that we were missing a box from the post office that contained our sleeping pads. We were going to leave town early but will have to wait for the post office to open tomorrow and hope our remaining mail-drop box is there. If not, we will have to come up with another plan. All we can do is go to sleep and hope.
Date: 2008-07-09
From: US2 from Gorham, NH

To: Trident Col Campsite
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: haze

Dutch had a great idea ¢ go to the post office early and see if anyone was there and ask if they would check to see if our mail-drop was there. So Dutch and First Shadow walked down to the post office and by 7:30 a.m. they were back with our mail-drop box. Dutch was right, someone there was nice enough to find it for us.It was 8:00 a.m. when we started walking out of town. We had decided to take the old A.T., the Mahoosuc Trail, because we could just hike out of town. Crossed the river on a catwalk underneath an old railroad bridge. It was already real warm when we started up Mt. Hayes. The trail wasn¢t bad but a lot of water on the way up. Again the trail was rocky in places and with the heat it was slow going. Ran into Sparkles, a southbounder, he had caught a ride from Hunter near Berlin, NH.Stopped for lunch at 11:30 a.m. on the top of Mt. Hayes. Another 600 feet down, 600 feet up and 600 feet down before we got to Trident Col Campsite. The heat had made this 6.9 miles one of the hardest mileages we have hiked so far. But as usual, the storm clouds were gathering, as soon as we got to camp at 2:45 p.m. We got water and set up our tents, put our packs in big plastic bags because they would not fit in the tents with us. It started to rain so we jumped into our tents and it rained for almost two hours. We even fell asleep while it was raining. It looked like it was going to rain again so First Shadow and I decided to eat a lunch for supper. It was a good decision, because the rain came again. We were surprised when three thru-hikers came in and set their tents up in the rain.I hiked most of the day with one hiking pole, so I would not hit my right hand. I am concerned about my hand because this is not the best environment for it to heal in. I have a waterproof band-aid on it and a hand brace to help protect it if I hit anything.The rain stopped, it had cooled things down so sleeping would be better.
Date: 2008-07-10
From: Trident Col Campsite

To: Gentain Pond Shelter
Miles today: 4.9

This morning it was a lot cooler and the wind was blowing, but everything was damp or wet from the rain last night. We were packed and on the trail by 8:05 a.m. The trail was a mixture of beautiful ponds, bog bridges, easy trails, steep climbs and descents over boulder-sized rocks, mud and roots. Stopped only once for a snack, dropping our packs and eating something re-energized us.It was only 12:30 p.m. when we got to the shelter. Dutch could not believe how hard the miles were to hike up here. First Shadow and I cooked lunch, soup with dressing and cranberries. There was a chipmunk outside the shelter waiting for someone to drop food so he could get it. He was here last year when I was at this shelter. Cannot believe the traffic coming pass the shelter, some going south, some going north and a lot staying at the tentsites here. There are eight of us in the shelter tonight, all but one are senior citizens. We passed some southbounders that stayed at this shelter last night and they had seen a moose late in the evening and early this morning. We have gone down to the pond but no moose tonight.Dutch was in his sleeping bag by 7:30 p.m. and First Shadow by 8:15 p.m. I would be in mine, but I am still writing, I am almost finished and hope to be in my sleeping bag before the sun sets. It is a beautiful view from this shelter. It sets above the end of the pond where there is a waterfall we can hear. The trees are open so we can see the valley below and the mountains on the other side. Good night.
Date: 2008-07-11
From: Gentain Pond Shelter

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: clear sky

No moose sightings this morning either. Everyone was up at first daylight. Dutch is coming down with a cold. The three of us left the shelter at 7:20 a.m. The highest climb we had to make today, about 1500 feet, was over Mt. Success. Every mountain we have climbed in New Hampshire has been difficult and this being the last mountain in this state it did not disappoint us. It seems like near the top of the mountains there are bog bridges and the trees get a lot shorter. At the top of Mt. Success, we dropped our packs and took a snack break. From the summit we could still see Mt. Washington.Just before leaving New Hampshire we had to climb down some huge boulders. With three of us here, we could pass our hiking poles down to each other which made climbing the huge rocks a lot easier.At the Maine state line, there was a young southbound thru-hiker lying on the ground enjoying the fact that he had finished hiking the state of Maine. He was kind enough to take our picture by the Maine state line sign. In about 1/2 mile, we came to a cliff of boulders that were worse than the ones we went through earlier. But the good news was at the bottom of the 100 foot cliff, it was a sign to the Carlo Col Shelter. It was a long blue-blaze trail, 0.3 miles, down to the shelter. The water source was a little stream in front of the shelter. Got to the shelter at 11:30 p.m. in time for lunch. Later in the afternoon, a group of 12 French-Canadian teenage girls showed up. They are camping in the group site. Also two young guys with their black lab are tent camping. Two young southbounders from North Carolina are staying in the shelter too. At 7:30 p.m. two more young southbound thru-hikers showed up at the shelter, they said they are from Georgia and are just walking home.Even with the climbing, my hand felt alright today. I am still using only one hiking pole and trying to use my right hand as little as possible. Dutch was in his sleeping bag at 7:00 p.m., he has taken some vitamin C. Hope it helps his cold. The temperature is getting cooler as the sun goes down. There are seven of us in the shelter tonight. Dutch, First Shadow and I are on the upper level in the shelter.