morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-07-14
From: Franconia Notch

To: Liberty Spring Campsite
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: clear sky

We were sad to say goodbye to our German friends (B & G). Mike frim Mt. Liberty Motel gave us a ride to the trail. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the motel. Susie and Mike go out of their way to help hikers.We had to hike 1.0 mile on the Pemi Trail to connect with the AT. We started at 9:00 and hiked uphill all morning. There were dozens of day hikers going up and down the mountain. This must be a popular trail for locals and tourists.We got to the Liberty Spring Campsite around 12:30 and had to check in with the caretaker and he showed us to our tent pad. He told us we could use only half of the single pad because they were expecting lots of hikers. We set up our tent, gerryrigging using shoe strings, sticks and rocks. Our tent is not freestanding so that means we have to find a way to make it stand without using stakes. Took us a while to get it right but at least we finished before it started raining. We ate lunch and then got inside the tent and took a nap. Wow. Did that feel good. It rained a couple of hours but we didn't care. Woke up and had dinner...cheese and crackers, jerky and an apple since we no longer have a stove.Took our food bags to the bear box and got ready for bed. Hoping for a good night's sleep and no more rain.Happy Birthday Sally!
Date: 2018-07-15
From: Liberty Spring Campsite

To: Stealth site at Garfield Pond
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: clear sky

It didn't rain any more last night. Our tent fly was very wet and some of our other gear was slightly wet. We left camp around 8:45 and immediately climbed most of the rest of the way up Liberty Mt. Our trail turned before we got to the summit.  We got stuck at a rock scramble going up Little Haystack. Two very helpful guys who were coming down pulled up our packs and used handholds to steady us as we climbed. We were very thankful they came along when they did.Today we climbed 3 mountains (Little Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette). Little Haystack was the only one that didn't have fog blocking the views. We were above treeline the whole time we were ascending and descending these mountains so we could see hikers on the next mountain summit. As we descended Lafayette we saw a glider plane. Very cool! There were lots of day hikers going all directions.As we descended Lafayette the trail brecame more difficult. Lots of bigger rocks and big rock scrambles. We were carrying extra water all day bacause there were no water sources on the trail. That is becoming an everyday issue and it stinks.We're very tired tonight so it's time for bed.
Date: 2018-07-16
From: Stealth site at Garfield Pond

To: Galehead Hut to Twin Mountain, NH
Miles today: 3.1
Weather: broken clouds

Got a good night's sleep and were hiking by 8:30. We didn't have a water source at the stealth sight last night. There was a pond but the water didn't look good and it was difficult to get to it. Guthook (an online guide that we've been using some) said to get the water from the source into the pond but it was dry.We climbed up Garfield Mtn. and the views were spectacular. Made it to the creek at Garfield Ridge campsite in a mile and filled our water bottles. It was a great source...running fast and cold. We had made it most if the way down the mountain when I took a tumble. Fell on my side and was trapped under my pack. Rosie Red rescued me. The only injury was a bruise on my shoulder. I think I just hit some loose rocks and went down.We stopped at the Galehead Hut at about 3:30. We stopped to fill up on water and check the weather forecast. A day hiker had told us there was a big storm coming in and they were advising hikers to stay off the summits and ridge walks and the possibility of a tornado. The forecast posted at the hut called for thunderstorms and lightning tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night. Our next mile included another summit and then a long ridgewalk. Karen, one of the croo at the hut, offered to let us do work for stay washing dishes tonite and tomorrow but then we'd be stuck hiking to the summit tomorrow which wasn't a good idea. We decided to head down into town. We had to backtrack .6 mile steep down where we' had just come up and then take Gale River trail 4.1 miles to a parking lot (these miles don't count toward out mileage for the day). So we got to the parking lot at 7:30 and called the only shuttle driver in the area. He wasn't available until 6am tomorrow. It was at least another mile on a dirt road until we could get to a road where we could hitch and it was getting dark so we decided to pitch our tent in the parking lot. When we had gotten the tent up and were putting our gear inside, a day hiker that we had talked to earlier in the day walked into the parking lot. He (Liam) offered to take us to a motel and we quickly said yes. Liam was so patient driving us to several motels until we found one. Thank you so much Liam!It was a long day of hiking and many quick decisions. We were exhausted but a hot shower and soft bed made it all worthwhile!
Date: 2018-07-17
From: Twin Mountain, NH

To: Twin Mountain, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today is an unexpected zero day. It rained off and on most of the day. There is a convenience store across the street so we bought microwaveable food and made lunch and dinner in the room's microwave. Relaxed and watched TV and Rosie Red revamped our schedule for the next few days.
Date: 2018-07-18
From: Twin Mountain, NH

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Our shuttle driver, Bill, picked us up at the motel at 7am. We are taking the Zealand Trail back to the AT. We started hiking at 7:30 and made it 2.5 miles (which don't count in our mileage) to Zealand Hut in good time. We walked out to the falls then took off on the AT.I asked Rosie Red if we were really on the AT because it was flat and good trail...unlike any part of trail in NH that we've done yet. It really was the AT and this good trail continued until we stopped at Ethan Pond Shelter for lunch. It was so windy and cool that we had to put on our jackets and we were still freezing We had planned on camping there but we would have had to sit around all afternoon and neither of us wanted to do that. So we finished lunch and started hiking again. The trail was a gradual descent and even though it had more rocks than the trail this morning, it still was better than previous NH trail.We made it to the road by 3:45 and started hitching to Crawford Notch. The road was busy but all the cars were speeding down the hill. We walked and stuck out our thumbs when cars came by but we weren't having any luck. A purple Honda Fit whizzed by and we thought it was Bill, our shuttle driver from this morning. The car stopped on the shoulder and backed up...it was Bill. So, he gave us a ride to Dry River Campground where we needed to pick up a drop box. We got the last campsite, but found our box wasn't in the office.. We have to wait until in the morning to talk to John, the manager. Hope he knows where it is. We were pleased that the section of trail we completed today only took us one day where we had planned 3 days.We had an epiphany while hiking on the trail. Our food continually weighs us down. So we are planning to decrease the amount of food we carry by stopping at the huts for a bowl of soup and snacks. This means we will ship the box back home to Rhode Island.
Date: 2018-07-19
From: Crawford Notch

To: Webster Cliffs
Miles today: 2.4

It was cold last night! It got down in the 40's and we hadn't pulled out our wools and fixed our sleeping gear for the cooler temps.(we hadn't expected them). Another factor was that our tent was pitched on a platform and the wind came right up from underneath. We'll be ready tonight.Today was a short hiking day. We had to wait for John, the manager to show up. He said all the hiker dropboxes are kept at the Willey House, 3 miles up the road. He offered to give us a ride there when he had finished his chores.  We got to the Willey House at 9:30 and our box was there, thank goodness. We asked if they would send it back and they said sure, they do it for hikers all the time. It's common for thru hikers to overpack. We got a few supplies and ordered breakfast sandwiches. John came back to pick us up just as we got our sandwiches so he went outside to wait for a gravel delivery and we ate our bagel, sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches. The gravel delivery came and John took us back to the campground. Very productive trip and our thanks to John for the ride.We packed up and left at 11:30 and started hitching to the trailhead. A day hiker, John, who had just finished his 3 day hike stopped and gave us a ride. He said he couldn't just leave fellow hikers on the side of the road. He had been hitching himself yesterday to get to where he needed to go for his hike. Thanks John!We started hiking at noon and it was a very steep ascent up to Webster Cliffs. Took us 2 1/2 hours and we found a good stealth site at the Cliffs close by a gorgeous overlook. We'll stay here for the night because the views will be spectacular.
Date: 2018-07-20
From: Webster Cliffs

To: Nauman Campsite
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: few clouds

Had a large group of hikers camped at Webster Cliffs last night. There were a bunch of sites just across the trail from us and there were at least 7 tents there. We had a lot of company at the viewpoint for dinner and the sunset. They had all left by the time we got up.It got cool last night but we were warm because we had put on our wools and got our sleeping gear ready for cooler temps.We started hiking at 8:15 and it took us 2.5 hours to get .9 mile to the summit of Mt. Webster. Needless to say it was a tough climb. Some of it was rock scrambles and we spent some time on all fours and booty scooting. Then we had to climb Mt. Jackson which wasn't much better.We got to the Mizpah Hut around 1:30. We bought a bowl of lentil soup for lunch for $2. It was just ok soup...not as hearty as the soup at Lonesome Lake Hut. We walked to the Nauman Campsite where we will spend the night. We were still hungry so Rosie Red bought a Hershey Bar and ate 1/2 and I ate GORP. The caretaker told us that if we got to Lake of the Clouds Hut tomorrow and we were still worried about going up Mt.Washington in the rain that the croo at the hut wouldn't turn us away tomorrow night. That made us feel better because there is no place  to camp around the hut and up and over Mt. Washington.
Date: 2018-07-22
From: Perch Shelter

To: Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up Sunday morning to the sound of hikers on one of the tent platforms making breakfast. We met the father\daughter day hikers when they came over to the shelter a few minutes later. The father said you must have come in late last night because we were just getting up at 8:00.  So we told them what had happened yesterday.   We had hiked at least 14.5 hours yesterday with about 1.5 hours of breaks but 13 hours is a long time for us.  We decided not to hike back up to the AT but rather down to the road and hitch into Gorham.It started sprinkling as soon as we left the shelter and it got heavier the longer we walked. The first couple of miles still had a lot of rocks to get over and around. Thank goodness the trails we took leveled out a bit as the rain picked up. We walked 5.1 miles down to the road...these miles don't count since we were not on the AT.We got to the road at 1:45 and I told Rosie Red we'd stand there with our thumbs out for 15 minutes then we'd start walking toward town if we hadn't gotten a ride. We looked like drowned rats so I wasn't sure anyone would pick us up. However, after 10 minutes a pickup truck stopped and gave us a ride. Tom, the driver, had just finished a section hike across Mt. Moosilake and was on his way home. He dropped us at the hostel in Gorham. Thanks Tom!!The hostel's dryer had just broken that morning so there was no laundry facility there so we decided to get a motel that had a laundry available. We ended up at The Top Notch Motel. It was pricey ($115) but it also had a fridge and microwave. We showered, did laundry and then went to dinner at Mr. Pizza. We had eaten there last year when we were in Gorham and it tasted just as good this time. Neither of us had pizza...we split fish and chips and shrimp parmigana. It was delicious and lots of food. It was still raining off and on like it had been all day. We were so glad we had a dry room to sleep in tonight.We spent the evening trying to rework our hike through the Wildcat Mountains. We set up a new schedule and figured out the food we needed to buy.  Our biggest concern was the forecast for rain for 5 out of the next 7 days. Some of that rain would be heavy and once we start this section we can't bail out easily. However, we did get a good night's sleep.
Date: 2018-07-23
From: Gorham

To: Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We woke up and took another look at the weather forecast for the Wildcats for the next week and decided to get off the trail and go to Rosie Red's in Rhode Island to wait out the storms coming in. There is rain forecasted for 5 out of the next 7 days...some of it heavy.  It will be cheaper to go to RI than stay in a hostel or motel for several days. We had a lot of transportation to arrange if we were to be ready to take the Concord Coach bus in the morning. We spent most of the day making travel plans but we finally got it all arranged.We had to go to the library to print out our tickets and we got caught in several downpours throughout the day. Had lunch at Burger King and ate Ramen from our food bags for dinner.Finally got to relax this evening and went to bed around 10:00
Date: 2018-07-24
From: Gorham

To: Rhode Island
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We caught the Concord Coach bus at the convenience store at 7:50. It took us all the way to Boston Logan Airport. We got off the bus here because B & G from Germany are flying home this evening and it worked out that we could meet them for dinner before they leave. Great that the timing worked out!We caught a Peter Pan bus into Providence and then Kevin, Rosie Red's husband, picked us up. It is wonderful to be at their home. At this point we'll be watching the weather carefully and going back to the trail ASAP. I'll update my journal when we get back to the trail.
Date: 2018-08-05
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Stealth @ 1874.1 (past Wildcat D)
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: scattered clouds

We are back on the trail!! Took a bus from Rhode Island to Gorham yesterday. We stayed at The BarnHostel last night and got a shuttle ride to Pinkham Notch this morning. We were on the trail by 8:15.Today was a very challenging hike. We hiked up to Wildcat D. Rosie Red's fear of heights proved to bean issue today. There were several places where we were climbing rocks at the edge of the mountain.In a couple of instances one or both of us got stuck...couldn't climb up and unable to go back down.Twice day hikers came to our aid and helped us get up the rocks. We had a surprise right before westopped to camp. We found a gushing spring where we filled our bottles and drank lots of water sincewe had been rationing it all day. Rosie Red drank 50 oz. as soon as we got there.I can't believe we only did 3.7 miles and we hiked 8 hours. These backpacks are killing us and we had tocarry extra water again today. In some sections the rocks and roots were still wet and slippery whichcaused us to slow down and be very deliberate where we placed our feet.We found this stealth site right beside the trail. No one has passed by since we pitched our tent. Ourmuscles are sore and crampy. We took extra Vitamin I (Advil) and hope to get a good night's sleep.
Date: 2018-08-06
From: Stealth site @ 1874.1

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: clear sky

Neither of us got a good night's sleep last night.  Our legs and feet hurt and I had a headache when I woke up.  So, we got a late start at 9:00. Last night the wind picked up and we both thought it was raining.  Guess it was just wind because nothing was wet when we got up.We hiked .1 mile up to Wildcat C and then continued climbing to Wildcat A.  We started descending and didn't realize we had summited Wildcat C because there was no sign.  New Hampshire doesn't have signs at their peaks so it is difficult to know when you are at the top.  Sounds like we're not too bright if we don't realize we're at the top...but there are so many false summits it can get confusing.We then climbed down Wildcat and went to Carter Notch Hut and made PB&J sandwiches for lunch.  Then we did the steep and long climb up to Carter Dome. It was 1:15 when we left the Hut so it was the hottest part of the day and we were drenched in sweat.  We were hot and tired when we made it to the top. Rosie Red got sunburned again. We decided to go down Carter Dome and up Mt. Hight and stealth camp. We arrived at 4:30 exhausted and ready to call it a day.
Date: 2018-08-07
From: Stealth Site

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: clear sky

Last night we heard thunder and saw flashes of lightning before we went to sleep but thankfully it didn't rain where we were.  We woke up a little earlier this morning and were on the trail by 8am. We stopped to eat breakfast after we went up Mt. Hight and down to Zeta Pass.  Filtered water from a slow moving stream and sat on a bench to eat our protein bars.The next major mountain was Carter Dome.  The view was spectacular. We got a nice view of Mt. Washington to the west.  Then we went over Middle Carter and North Carter Mountains. Again we weren't sure when we summited because there were other false summits mixed in.  Then we started a huge descent which lasted the rest of the day. The descent was very steep and we spent a lot of time booty scooting. We met a couple from VA on Sunday climbing up Wildcat D.  We saw them again today after Carter Dome and again when we stopped for lunch. They told us the story of why the Wildcats are called that (wildcats actually lived in these mountains and were hunted).We got to the campsite around 4:00.  Got our tent set up and everything put inside and went to the water source and filled up.  As we started to make dinner it started raining. We had to finish inside the tent. It rained for about 45 minutes and stopped...hope that's all we get.Olivia, the caretaker at the campsite, came around to collect the fee and told us the haze we had seen on the mountains today was actually smoke from the forest fires out west.  We were surprised that it had blown clear across the country to make it here.
Date: 2018-08-08
From: Imp Shelter

To: Rattle River Shelter
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: fog

We woke up early at 6:00 and couldn't decide whether to hike or not today.  Rosie Red went to the privy and said the rocks were slippery from the rain last night.  So we rested until around 7:00. Then we checked the sky and it didn't have dark clouds so we decided to get ready and hit the trail at 9:00.  The forecast at the caretaker's tent said "chance of showers and thunderstorms today". Same forecast that we see every day.We had to climb Mt. Moriah first thing this morning and had a snack of fresh blueberries from the bushes at the side of the trail..  They were delicious but there weren't many left.. Animals and other hikers had gotten to them first. The smoke from the wildfires was stuck under the clouds and it was sitting on some of the mountain tops.  We got whiffs of the smoke as we hiked. At one point we turned around at an overlook and saw it moving over the area where we had just walked. It was very eerie.After summitting Mt. Moriah the trail got a bit easier.  We still descended for 4.5 hours. I slid on a loose rock and fell and sat in the mud, but my situpon attached to the bottom of my pack  buffered my fall as usual. We stopped to filter water from Rattle River before we got to the shelter. We had to cross the river 3 times but thankfully only one time caused us any concern.  We were able to rock hop across the first 2 times and the last time we just followed 2 other hikers across.Got to the shelter at 4:00 and pitched our tent and got set up.  We had cold ramen noodles for dinner and talked to Latch (another section hiker) and his dad who are doing a 75 mile section southbound to Franconia Notch.  We met Poe and Savage who were finishing their 21 mile slackpack. They are staying at the Rattle River Hostel and offered to make us a reservation since we don't have a cell signal.  Very nice of them! It started raining when we got back to our tent. So, we're in for the night...listening to the rain.
Date: 2018-08-09
From: Rattle River Shelter

To: US 2, Gorham
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: broken clouds

It rained most of the night and we had pitched our tent in between two shallow runoff troughs hoping the water would divert before it got to us...and it did.  Our tent fly was soaked but we were dry inside. It was wet both on the top (from rain) and on the underneath side (from condensation) so we had to put it in a garbage bag before we put it in a pack.  We were on the trail by 9:00 and the trail was the easiest we've seen this year.We got to the road and made some phone calls and reserved a room at Royalty Inn for 2 nights.  We were on the edge of town so we started hitching and within 10 minutes we had a ride with Miranda.  She told us this was the first time she had picked up hitchhikers. She figured we looked safe. Thanks Miranda!Our room wasn't clean yet so we left our packs in the lobby and went to McDonald's.  We had a second breakfast of sausage burritos and a cold Diet Coke. We sat and took care of the calls we needed to make and figured out our tentative schedule for the next section.  By that time it was lunch time so we got McChicken sandwiches.  While we were in McDonald's it poured and it was nice to watch the rain and stay dry. After lunch we went back to the motel and our room was ready 15 minutes later.The showers felt wonderful and we had lots of gear to dry out.  Most of it wasn't wet just very damp. We did laundry at the motel and took care of some town chores then went to dinner at the new BBQ restaurant in town.  Came back to the room and collapsed.HALLELUJAH...WE ARE DONE WITH NEW HAMPSHIRE!!!  This is a tough state...views from the tops of the mountains are incredible, but you have to work really hard to get up there.  I guess that saying is true...if you put in the effort you will reap the reward.
Date: 2018-08-10
From: US 2, Gorham

To: US 2, Gorham
Miles today: 0.0

The first order of business today was a resupply trip to Walmart. We took the local bus at 8:15 and then took the 10:00 bus back to the motel. The bus is a great service...$2 for an all day pass and the driver dropped us at our motel even though that wasn't a regular stop.Next we went to the library to use the computer to post new journals. We returned to the motel to make lunch...cottage cheese, tomatoes and Wheat Thins. The tomatoes were great and very tasty. We finished drying out our damp gear and started repacking our packs. We didn't get much rest today but that's how it goes in town. The weather was beautiful. We felt like we should have been hiking today since the weather was so nice, but our bodies needed a rest. We have a shuttle arranged to go back to the trail tomorrow morning.
Date: 2018-08-11
From: US 2, Gorham

To: US2, Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I had some stomach issues last night and still didn't feel well this morning so we decided to stay in town another day. We slept half the day and relaxed the rest of it.  We have a shuttle set up for tomorrow morning to go to the Carlo Col trailhead in Maine. Last year Rosie Red and I walked down the Carlo Col trail and walked 15 miles on a dirt road to get to the highway.  So tomorrow we'll walk back up the Carlo Col trail to connect with the AT and contlinue on to do the 25 miles we skipped last year.