morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-08-18
From: NH-16, Pinkham Notch

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

This morning it was cold and breezy when Kathy dropped me off at the trailhead. My original plan was to hike to Madison Spring Hut, 7.8 miles away, but now hoped to make up for my day lost gondola riding by hiking all the way to the summit of Mount Washington, 13.5 miles distant. The trail started off very easy with a nearly level, "pine needle" path for the first mile and a half. The trail then went gradually up a thousand feet to Lowes Bald Spot before continuing on with another fairly easy two miles of rolling terrain. Then, very abruptly, the trail headed very steeply up over 3000 feet in two and a half miles to the summit of Mount Madison. This climb was wicked hard with many very steep rock scrambles and dozens of boulder climbs. All of the rocks just off the trail were jagged and sharp making it impossible to find easy "arounds" and making a slip all the more dangerous. I put my trekking poles in my pack, took two deep breaths and started up. All of the way up the views were "distractingly" wonderful with views of rows of mountains stretching out for miles and miles. I had to come to a complete stop every few minutes just to look around at the beauty of it all. At the top of Mount Madison I took an extra long break and just gawked at the scenery. Not 50 feet down from the summit I caught a glimpse of Madison Spring Hut below, took a distracted step and fell. I landed hard on a bunch of rocks cutting cutting my right knee, right elbow and the palm of my right hand. My face landed hard (knocking the wind out of me hard) flush on a flat rock knocking my glasses several feet down the trail. Thank goodness the rock my face hit was flat or I am sure I would have broken something important. It was my worst fall so far and I just lay there for a while moving this and that to see what hurt. I then got up, fetched and straightened out my glasses and very carefully started down to the hut. I finally got to the hut and, when I walked in, the caretaker there immediately walked me to a bench and had me sit. I guess I looked pretty dreadful. He scurried off and came back with a glass of sugar water and a snickers bar. He sat next to me while I consumed these and we talked about my situation. It was 2:30 and I was a hard 5.7 miles from the summit of Mount Washington. He strongly discouraged me from going on and offered me a "work for stay" at the hut (this includes leftovers and a place on the dining room floor to sleep in return for an hour or so of chores in the morning). There were no bunks available so "pay for stay" way not an option. I agreed to stay, cleaned myself up and had 3 bowls of soup (they sell soup left over from the previous nights dinner to hikers for $2 a bowl). I then found an out of the way spot and rested until after the paying guests ate supper. We (me and 5 other "work for stay" thru hikers) then had leftovers for supper and waited for quiet hour (9:30) when the guests went to bed and we could spread out our sleep gear on the dining room flooring go to bed. The floor felt wonderful and I slept soundly all night.
Date: 2016-08-19
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Mount Washington
Miles today: 5.7

At 6:30 we "work for stayers" were awakened and ushered outside so the crew could set tables and the paying guests could eat breakfast. After the guests finished eating the crew ate their fill and told us we could have leftover oatmeal, pancakes and coffee. When we finished there were no more leftovers. We then did our chores (mine was to sweep the dining room floor) before we started out hiking. I was the only south bounder so I started out alone for Mount Washington at about 9:30. The day was cold but bright and there were marvelous views to be had most of the way up. The trail was pretty hard, more of yesterday's rock and boulder scrambles and lots of very uneven footing to contend with. The entire time I was well above tree line so the wind was quite strong. I took my time as I now planned to hitch down the Mount Washington Auto Road to meet Kathy for the night. There was no way I was going to attempt the 18.2 miles to Crawford Notch; I'd just have to figure out how to hike the Mount Washington to Crawford Notch section after I complete my four reserved nights in the huts which started tomorrow night. By the time I reached the final climb to the summit the clouds had streamed in and the views disappeared. I checked out the visitor's center at the summit, had a soft drink and quickly got a ride to the base of the Mountain where Kathy waited for me in the Vanagon. We drove to a National Forest campground were we ate, visited and spent the night.
Date: 2016-08-20
From: US-302, Crawford Notch

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: few clouds

Kathy and I drove to Crawford Notch and she dropped me off at the AT trailhead for Zealand Falls Hut. I have reservations there tonight so have to skip the Mount Washington to Crawford Notch section and make it up later, after I have finished staying at the four huts I have reservations for (the huts do not allow changing nights nor do they give refunds). Skipping and making up sections is common among thru hikers and completely allowed by the AT Conservancy; the governing body for the AT. In fact the ATC recognizes hikers who have completed the trail and that "issues of sequence, direction...or whether one carries a pack are not considered". In other words a hiker must simply pass each white blaze on the trail between Springer Mountain and Katahdin in a 12 month period to be considered a thru hiker; hikers taking longer than one year are considered section hikers rather than thru hikers. The weather today is simply perfect; cool with clear skies and not too much wind. The trail started with a steep climb up 1700 feet to an un-named ridge and from there was relatively flat, although very rocky, for the 5 mile hike to the base of South Twin Mountain. Here the trail became very steep again for the next half mile to Zealand Falls Hut. I arrived at the hut early enough to have a bowl of soup (they sell soup, left over from the previous evening's meal for $2.00 per bowl) before picking out my bunk. That evening the food was quite good and there was certainly plenty of it. I did however, have trouble coping with all the people and everybody talking all at once. I was not used to all those people and after only a few minutes I wished I could crawl under the table to get away from all the noise. I didn't let on that I was going through this and spent a good deal of time answering questions about being a thru hiker to the people sitting near me. These same people also seemed quite amazed the I had seconds and sometimes thirds of many of the dishes on the table (the meals are family style and I didn't take extra helpings until every one else had eaten their fill). After supper I talked to several people about thru hiking before quietly slipping off to my bunk and going to bed; I was asleep by 8:00 despite lots of noise all around me.
Date: 2016-08-21
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: broken clouds

This morning it was cold when I awoke. The huts are not heated, at least in summer, so it is much like getting up when sleeping in a tent. We were awakened by one of the staff singing and playing Hallelujah on a guitar; a nice way to be roused. Breakfast was at 7:00 and it was good and plentiful. There was oatmeal, eggs (powdered but not bad), bacon and lots of pancakes. I had a big meal. Leaving the hut it was cool, almost cold, sunny and pretty windy (probably 25 mph gusts). There trail started off very steep with a 2300 foot climb with plenty of rock and boulder scrambles. The higher the trail rose the windier it got and by the summit of South Twin Mountain (elevation 4902 feet) it was blowing hard enough that I had to put my ball cap in my backpack to keep it from being blown away. When I got to the hut it was only 2:00 so I had a bowl of soup, selected a bunk and stretched out to rest my legs and feet until supper time. Supper was again very good and so was the company at the table although I still had a bit of trouble coping with all the people talking at once; much different than the small groups of people at shelters and tenting areas who mostly eat in silence. After supper I was cornered (in a nice way) by several people who were very interested in thru hiking. I answered their many questions as best I could all the while getting the distinct impression that some of them though being a thru hiker was totally crazy. When I could slip away I headed for my bunk and some quiet time (thanks to ear plugs) before going to sleep.
Date: 2016-08-22
From: Galehead Hut

To: Greenleaf Hut
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Today I was again awakened by singing and guitar music, ate a big breakfast and was on the trail by 8:00. The moment I stepped out of the hut I was greeted by strong, probably 30 mph, winds, cool temperatures and gloriously bright sunshine. The trail from Galehead hut was rocky and difficult with lots of small, but annoying, ups and downs for the two and a half miles until it turned up to Mount Garfield. The climb up Mount Garfield, while only a thousand feet, was extremely steep, rocky and difficult. Up on Mount Garfield the views were excellent and, although quite windy, made for a good place to take my late morning break. From the summit of Mount Garfield the trail dropped steeply over 800 feet to a rocky ridge heading for Mount Lafayette. The climb up Mount Lafayette was wicked tough and included a 300 foot section of trail that was more rocky waterfall than trail and a very treacherous waterfall at that. When I reached the tree line, maybe close to a mile (and felt like two miles) from the summit I was in the open and subject to terrible winds. It was very rocky and cloudy up there and disability was probably less than 100 feet. If not for the cairns (piles of rock) every 30 or 40 feet it would have been impossible to follow the trail (having put my glasses in my pocket so they would not blow away didn't help my ability to find my way either). The trail was not as steep as getting to the tree line but was rocky and difficult nonetheless. It seemed like the winds got stronger every step I took until, near the summit, I had to walk in a crouch and use my trekking poles to keep from blowing over (no kidding; the ends were that strong). A couple of gusts seemed to take my breath away. I learned later that the gusts up there were up to 76 mph. I met several hikers coming down as I was going up and they all had blank stares and just just wanted to know how far down it was to the tree line. And it was cold. I had on a long sleeve pullover shirt, a down sweater and a windbreaker/rain jacket and I was still chilled. Thank goodness I had gloves or my hands would have frozen (well, maybe not, but they would have been very cold). I finally got to the summit I didn't even stop but searched for and started right down the trail to Greenleaf Hut. This descent was awful as well and it took me 30 minutes to get below the tree line and out of the worst of the wind. In all I was above tree line probably less than 90 minutes but it was a hard, scary and maybe even dangerous time. When I reached the hut there were a couple of other thru hikers who had just come from the summit and we all agreed it was an experience we would never forget. Once in the hut the whole world quieted down for me; I had some soup, found a bunk, rested and waited for supper. At supper I answered many questions about conditions at the summit that afternoon (the other thru hikers were all "work for stay" and not having supper with the "pay for stay" crowd), went to bed and slept soundly.
Date: 2016-08-23
From: Greenleaf Hut

To: Lonesome Lake Hut
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Today was a great day for hiking with clear blue skies, mild temperatures and little wind; a huge change from yesterday's gale force winds, thick clouds and bitter cold. The first hour of the day was spent climbing back up nearly 1000 feet to the summit of Mount Lafayette and the AT. I usually dread climbs that do not count as mileage on the AT but today's climb was an exception. I kind of enjoyed seeing the views, both close in and distant, that I had missed when I climbed down this trail yesterday encased in clouds and whipped by wind. At the summit the views were particularly stunning, maybe the best I'd had on the entire AT, with Mount Washington dominating one direction and Franconia Notch the other. I spent nearly an hour up there taking pictures and gawking at the views. From Mount Lafayette the trail crossed Franconia Ridge to Mount Lincoln then on to Little Haystack Mountain (why isn't it named after a president?). Even though very rocky and sometimes difficult, this section of trail was breathtakingly beautiful with mountain views in every direction made even more special by the crystal clear skies. From Little Haystack Mountain the trail descended 3370 feet to Franconia Notch. The overall descent today from the summit of Mount Lafayette to Franconia Notch was an incredible 3830 feet! From Franconia Notch, where I crossed under Interstate 93, it was a fairly easy climb (if any 1300 foot climb van be described as easy) up to Lonesome Lake Hut. This time when I arrived at the hut I received a special surprise; in addition to soup there was one serving of open steak sandwich (leftover steak from last nights supper on home baked bread with gravy) left that I could have instead of soup. Of course I took the sandwich and it was huge and delicious. After chowing this down I found a bunk and rested until supper. At supper I was actually too full to have seconds of anything except the cobbler then headed to bed. It had been a wonderful day.
Date: 2016-08-24
From: Lonesome Lake Hut

To: Kinsman Notch
Miles today: 13.3

This morning I was awake way before the wake up song and wandered into the hut dining room where there was a fresh carafe of coffee. I chatted with one of staff while she mixed pancake batter and cooked oatmeal. The "stay for work" hikers were still sound asleep in their sleeping bags on the floor but were awakened by another staffer and ushered out of the hut just before the paying guests were awakened. Breakfast was again a feast and I was full, packed and out on the trail by quarter to eight. The trail from Lonesome Lake was flat but very rocky for a mile or so then started climbing steeply up nearly 1500 feet in the next mile and a half to the summit of North Kinsman Mountain. North Kinsman Mountain at 4293 feet is number 28 (28th tallest) of the 48 four thousand footers in New Hampshire. Today I would climb two 4000 footers; North and South (number 22 at 4358 feet) Kinsman Mountains. The AT crosses 16 of the 48 four thousand footers in New Hampshire. From South Kinsman Mountain the trail descended rapidly down 2000 feet to Eliza Brook (that would be a great name for a brand of bourbon) where I refilled my water bottle and ate lunch. From there the trail gradually climbed just over 1000 feet over the course of 3 miles to the summit of Mount Wolf. There I took a longish break before hiking the final three and a half miles to Kinsman Notch. Kathy was waiting with the Vanagon at the trail head. We spent the night at a motel in Gotham, NH.
Date: 2016-08-25
From: Mount Washington

To: Mount Washington
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today Kathy and I had a big breakfast at a restaurant in Gotham and headed for the Mount Washington Auto Road. The weather forecast was for possible storms after 1:00 pm so we figured, if I got an early start, I would be down to lower elevations well before severe weather could effect me. We started driving up the mountain at a little after 7:30 and the weather looked good; we could see the summit and it looked clear. Half way up we notice some wispy clouds blowing onto the summit and by three quarters of the way up the top of the mountain was in a dense cloud. We hit the cloud soon after and had to inch our way to the parking lot by the observation building. I went to the observation building to see what I could learn and when I entered I found several thru hikers huddled in a corner waiting for the van service to start up so they could get rides down. They had talked to the ranger on duty and he told him the storm had moved in early , that the barometer was dropping and that it would not be a good day to try to hike down. I spotted a hiker I had done a lot of hiking with through portions of North Carolina and Virginia and offered her a ride to the bottom. Kathy, her and I headed down (very slowly thru pea soup fog) and, at the bottom, Kathy and I decided we would head for home in Topsham for a couple of days until the weather improved. We offered my friend our guest room and she accepted. We were home just after lunch and relaxed all afternoon, had a great home made supper and were in bed by 9:00.
Date: 2016-08-27
From: Mount Washington

To: US-302, Crawford Notch
Miles today: 12.5

This morning we were on the road by 5:00 heading for Mount Washington. The forecast for the summit was excellent, with clear skies and low winds, so we were in good spirits. At the base of the mountain my friend and I said good bye to Kathy and took the van service to the summit. At the top the weather was glorious with bright sunshine, clear skies and low (maybe 20 mph) winds. My friend headed north and I south. The trail down Mount Washington is very rocky with mostly basketball size rocks and occasional sloped slabs of granite. That meant careful rock hopping and slow progress. The trail was down hill most of the day with short, steep climbs only to mountain summits along the way. I crossed or passed by short side trails to Mounts Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson and Webster (was there a President Webster?). From Mount Webster the trail headed down a series of steep rock scrambles followed by long stretches of narrow ledge. The ledges were only a couple of feet wide and had sheer drops to one side of hundreds of feet. This section of trail is called Webster Cliffs (you know a section of trail will be difficult when they give it a name; they do not name easy sections of trail). I am not usually bothered by heights but the drop off on the side of the ledges kind of made my stomach flop when I looked down. Obviously this was not the place to try to make good time so I was slow and deliberate all the way down the 2600 feet to Crawford Notch. At the bottom I met Kathy and we went to a nearby Forest Service campground for the night.
Date: 2016-08-28
From: US-302, Crawford Notch

To: NH-25, Glencliff
Miles today: 9.3

Today, after yesterday's hike to cover the section of trail skipped to make my hut reservations, I am back in sequence and heading south to my completion point of Duncannon, PA. The weather today is nice; overcast early but burning off to reveal clear skies by mid morning. Temperatures are in the 70's. The trail today started incredibly tough with a steep climb up along side of Beaver Brook. This is a 1700 foot climb in a mile and a quarter and another of those dreaded named trails,"The Cascades", that are wicked difficult. The trail climbs right next to a series of steep waterfalls or cascades some so close to the trail that water spray covers the rocks and makes them very slippery. Because of the moisture many of the rocks have that slippery green stuff coating them. Thankfully there were many man made aids to climbing along the way with iron rungs, fastened diagonally cut sections of lumber that were a little like steps and rebar hand holds to grab onto. The lumber steps were old and I tested each one for sturdiness before committing my life to them. Once at the top of the cascades the trail continued to climb, although somewhat less steeply, another 1100 feet to the summit of Mount Mosilauke; the last of the NH 4000 footers I would climb. At the summit were long views of the surrounding country side; mountains behind me and high rolling hills in front of me. From the top the trail wandered, sometimes very steeply, (the AT rarely takes the easy path) down 2760 feet to Jeffers Brook and shortly after to NH-25, Glencliff were Kathy waited. We drove to our daughter's home in Barre Vermont, just over an hour away, where we visited and spent the night.
Date: 2016-08-29
From: NH-25, Glencliff

To: NH-25A, Wentworth
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: few clouds

Today was hot and humid with hardly any wind. The trail today, for the first time in weeks, had no big mountain to climb. Instead, it had several small and two 700 foot hills or mountains to climb. I really hope this is a preview of things to come; my feet and legs could surely use a break. The trail started with a 700 foot climb up an un-named mountain (maybe a hill) then headed down two hundred feet before climbing to the summit of Mount Mist; another 700 foot climb. From Mount Mist the trail meandered down to a low ridge then up and down through a beautiful pine forest. Here the trail was a pleasure to walk on with a thick bed of pine needles and few rocks or roots. I was actually able to walk without concentrating on were each footfall was landing. This allowed me to increase my speed and, before I knew it, I was at NH-25A where Kathy was waiting. We drove to my daughter's home in Barre and spent the night.
Date: 2016-08-30
From: NH-25A, Wentworth

To: Lyme-Dorchester Road
Miles today: 9.8

This was a great day for hiking with bright sunshine, clear blue skies and little humidity. The hike today was all about getting over two mountains; Mount Cube and Smarts Mountain. The 2000 foot climb up Mount Cube was long but fairly gradual with few steep places and no rock scrambles. The climb down was easy as well as was the 2000 foot climb up Smarts Mountain. The climb up Smarts had several long switchbacks; something I didn't think the trail builders in NH knew about (they seem to always build trail straight up mountains deviating only to find rock scrambles). The climb down Smarts Mountain was very steep (with no switchbacks) for the first 800 or so feet then became a very gradually sloped pine needle path through a mature pine forest. Kathy met me a mile from the trail head and we walked together to Lyme-Dorchester Road where we got the van and headed north to my daughter's home. We had a feast for supper and were in bed by 8:30.
Date: 2016-09-02
From: Lyme-Dorchester Road

To: Etna-Hanover Center Road
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: clear sky

We got started early from my daughter's home to the trailhead at Lyme-Dorchester Road. When we arrived it was sunny with white fluffy clouds and already warming up. From the trailhead the AT climbed 1200 feet to Holt's Ledge. Holt's Ledge is another one of those sloped rock ledges, this time with mostly shale, with long, vertical drop offs on one side. Luckily there were several wide spots along the ledge where I could stop and take in the wonderful views of the surrounding mountains and hills. From Holt's Ledge the trail dropped down nearly 1200 feet to Goose Pond. After skirting Goose Pond the trail headed up 1300 feet to the summit of Moose Mountain north peak; a wooded summit with no views. After dropping a couple hundred feet to a gap the trail headed up to a series of false summits before reaching the top of Moose Mountain south peak. I didn't know I was at the real summit until I he trail had gone down for a couple hundred feet. The trail continued, from the summit, down more than 1400 feet over four and a half miles to Etna Road. I met Kathy and we headed north to Barre where we would be so suing the next few nights while the trail was within an hours drive. We visited,had supper and spent the night.