morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-08-20
From: Gifford Woods State Park

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: few clouds

On the trail again at 6:30. Was nice having charged phones and a water spigot to get us started. Our hike began by going around Kent Pond (would be a lake back home). We then came to a water falls (Thundering Falls) and a boardwalk across a swampy area. I was able to get some pretty good pictures of these things. The rest of the day was just climbing one mountain after another. It was a rough day and will only be getting worse. Toward the end of the hike we took a side trail to see a cabin with a lookout tower on top. The private owners allow hikers to stay in it, but the two main requirements (water and privy) were not there, so we moved on. We are at Winturri Shelter in our tents. There are several hikers here, and one dog. I talked to a man from North Carolina who is doing an annual section hike with a group of friends. They started in 2000, and are hiking south to north, but doing the sections north to south so they are closer to home when they finish. We are going to visit a local market tomorrow to resupply. 468.4 miles to go! Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-21
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

We beat our 6:30 starting time by several minutes this morning. We had pretty well built trail today and, of course, several mountains to conquer. Some of today's highlights included: hearing a turkey (didn't know they had them up here), found a blackberry patch which resulted in a considerable delay. As we were climbing down to the road where we were going to head west .2 miles so Papaw could resupply, we came upon some trail magic. This was a good one! They must have just left it, because there was frozen water and Gatorade, along with bananas, PBJ sandwiches, cakes, cheese, and chips. Needless to say, we pigged out before heading to the store. Good thing, because all the "market" had was some drink in brown bottles (not beer) and small containers of ice cream. Not exactly what we expected from a market. We did each get an ice cream and ate it on their porch while we charged our phones. On the way back to the trail we revisited the trail magic and got enough food for breakfast. There is another store 7 miles into our hike tomorrow. They also serve breakfast, so you can count on an early start tomorrow. Soon after starting back up the trail, I realized that eating all the sweets had messed up my restroom routine. Realizing that we had another 2.5 miles to the next shelter, I was considering my options. Just then, sitting off the trail about 30 yds, in the middle of nowhere, was a privy! And it had its own TP! Now folks, it don't get no better than that! It really seems out here that when you are really in need, something happens to help you out. Tomorrow we will get real close to New Hampshire and the dreaded Whites. We did cut the miles a little short today because we were tired (and stuffed with trail magic). We are tenting at Thistle Hill Shelter, and so far just one other hiker and 10,000 Mosquitos are here. 456.8 miles to go! Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-22
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 14.7

We were on the trail by 6:20, with breakfast on our mind. We made great time, and before we knew it, we were in the Full Belly Deli, eating the Full Belly Special. After eating our fill, we headed for New Hampshire. We had great trail and made great time. Just outside Norwich, Vt, we came upon the first of three trail magic(s). A former thru hiker was providing "refreshments," and had a nice group of hikers taking advantage. There was some great conversation and I even learned how to identify a White vs Red Pine tree. When we set out again, we had a 2.5 mile road walk through the cities of Norwich, Vt and Hanover, NH. The Connecticut River runs between the two cities, and the middle of the river marks the boundary between the two states. Hanover is the home to Dartmouth College. It is very much a college town, and freshman orientation week had closed down one building that is normally available for hikers to store their gear. We jumped on a bus and got a motel room outside of town. Tomorrow we will resupply and be back on the trail headed toward the Whites. This will be the most difficult climbing on the trail. It will take about two days to get there, and 1.5 weeks to get through. 442.1 miles to go. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-23
From: Hanover, NH

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: moderate rain

After a night in the motel we were rested and had everything clean. It also worked out great because last night is the only time it has rained since we started. We were up early, ready to resupply and get back on the trail. We caught the bus, but had to ride it through two other towns before it got us back to Hanover. Once there, we went to the food co-op and loaded back up on food. There were a lot of hikers around the store. Since there is no hostel in Hanover, a lot of hikers camp off the trail where it leaves town, which is actually just past the Dartmouth College baseball diamond outfield. I met the first hiker today that I have hiked with before. It was Tangy. The last time I saw him was in Damascus. He had to leave the trail for awhile. He came off at Waynesboro, Va, moved up to Massachusetts and is hiking to Maine. He will then go back and finish the section he skipped. It was nice to see him again. We had great weather and trail today, so despite the late start, we decided to pass up our planned stop at 10 miles and hiked on. We ended up doing 16.6 miles to the Trapper John Shelter. The last two miles were a pretty tough climb. When I walked up to the shelter I could see and hear a large group of what I assumed were young teenagers camped behind the shelter. I later learned that they are a group of students from Harvard. Not much difference I suppose. There are a new group of thru hikers here as well. I enjoyed talking with them earlier. It's really interesting learning about their lives. I was a bit off on my timeline yesterday. It looks like it will be Monday that we enter the Whites. I'm running out of time to get in shape. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-24
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Hexacuba
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

When we hit the trail this morning a little before seven, nobody else was moving yet. While we only did 12 miles today, it was a tough12. Both of us are really tired. We spent a lot of time at higher elevation, where the trail is mostly huge slabs of granite. At the highest point we reached there was an old fire tower that we climbed to get a nice view. We are staying at an interesting shelter tonight (although we're tenting). The shelter is built in the shape of a hexagon and the privy has five sides, thus the name "Penta privy." Tomorrow will be a tough day, but not as bad as today. After that, it gets REALLY tough. 413.5 miles to go. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-25
From: Hexacuba

To: NH 25, Hikers Welcome Hikers Hostel
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

The shelter and tenting area filled up later in the evening last night. We were up and on the trail at our usual time. We climbed a mountain almost immediately and were treated to some great views. Once you get to a certain elevation in these mountains, the trail is almost all solid granite. The rest of the trail wasn't too bad. We did see a small snake. I didn't think that would happen. We also passed the 400 mile marker. We had a good mileage day and decided to stay at the Hikers Welcome Hikers Hostel tonight. It is a half mile off the trail, but as soon as we hit the road, a man turned around and asked if we needed a ride. I also finally caught up with Whirled Peas. I have been reading her journal since before I started in February. She is hiking the trail while her husband is deployed to Afghanistan. She is a very nice lady and is here at the hostel with us tonight. As I'm typing this, Tangy rolled in as well. Tomorrow we begin with a 4000 foot climb in 5 miles. 398.7 miles to go. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-26
From: NH 25, Hikers Welcome Hikers Hostel

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: few clouds

Oh my, where do I start? This was quite a day. We experienced highs and lows today. Lets start with last night. As you know, we were at the hostel. There were two very young girls that came in with a dog. They were full of life and looking for adventure. They found out that a local pizza joint has the Moosilauke Monster Challenge. Two people are served 8 lbs of pizza. If they eat it all, it's free. If not, $30. They made it to 4.5 lbs before they couldn't keep it down anymore. They looked pretty miserable. This morning Papaw and I had our own Moosilauke Challenge. We had a 4000ft climb in 5 miles. The climb went real well. We made it in 3 hrs, 15 min. It was the first time I had been above tree line except for Alaska. Since it rained last night, things were wet and we were in clouds for most of the climb. When we got to the top, the wind was blowing the clouds by at 40-50 mph. It was a bit of a challenge to stand up. Now the bad part of the day. As we headed down the mountain, I began to feel like we were on the wrong trail. Papaw was feeling it to. I told papaw I would head back up until I met the other two hikers that were up top with us, or until I was back up at the sign. A short while later, I ran into the hikers. I asked if they were sure about the trail. The girl told me she understood the sign the same as me. Since they rarely paint blazes up here, we couldn't count on them. So we all headed down the trail. Toward the end we noticed a very old blue blaze (wrong color). We decided to go on down and try to figure out what to do. We came to an info board that had an old note from a group that had had the same problem. Long story short, Papaw and I climbed back up the mountain until we found the problem, then went down the correct trail about 2 miles to a shelter. It would be real nice if the maintainers would fix this problem. We ended up hiking about 16 miles and only 7.8 counted. Not good. On the way down the trail to the shelter, we came across a bird. I think it might have been a partridge. I'll post a picture so someone can tell me. Anyway, it stood right in the trail like it was wanting something. I'm guessing hikers have been feeding it. After I got a picture, I started walking away and it flew around and landed in front of me again. Very interesting. I told Papaw that it was trying to tell us we were on the wrong trail again. Hopefully we keep things straight tomorrow. 390.9 miles to go. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-27
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: few clouds

We were up and on the trail by 6:45. We both realized immediately that we were tired from yesterday. We had to hike the rest of the way down Mt Moosilauke, which proved quite a challenge. While it was only about 1.5 miles, it was very steep and over large rocks. Most of the trail up here is extremely rocky. What we are doing now is more rock climbing than hiking. The problem with that is that it goes very slow. You have to focus on where every step will go and what route you need to take. One mistake could be very bad. I find that I'm getting mentally tired from focusing on these things for so long. One neat thing about our trip down the mountain, was that there was a waterfall right beside us almost the whole way. The rest of the day was more rock scrambling. We did run into Tangy, Whirled Peas, and Hobo (he has a journal) on the trail today. We decided to stop early again this afternoon, hoping the extra rest will get us back on track. We have a couple big climbs tomorrow and will be back above tree line the next day. I was told by one of my journal readers that the bird I saw yesterday is a male Franklin's Spruce Grouse. 381.9 miles to go. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-28
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Stealth campsite
Miles today: 13.0

Well, after 12.5 days, our luck ran out. We got wet. About 2:30 this afternoon it poured for about 30 min. After that, the sun came out and started drying things out. A few minutes after we got our tents set up this evening it started raining lightly and continues as I type this. Now, today's happenings. We were up and leaving camp at 6:30. There was an older crowd there last night and all of them were up and ready to go, although we never saw them again. Our first 2+ hrs were serious rock climbing up South Kinsman Mountain. It was so bad we finally put our trekking poles away and used our hands. The view from the top was great. We then went down and up North Kinsman Mountain. On the way down from there, we ran into a man and his son who are flying "Save Olympic Wrestling" flags from the highest peaks on the AT. It is hard to believe they would eliminate Olympic wrestling. He has a website, but I forgot what it is. I'm sure a Google search would find it. About the time we were ready to break for dinner, we came upon our first Hut (Lonesome Lake Hut). The huts are run by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). They have rooms you can rent and they serve meals. They are pricy, but they allow thru hikers to do "work for stay." After the meal for the guests is over, the hikers get the leftovers, then can sleep on the dining room floor. It was way too early for us to do that, but they offer soup and coffee for a couple bucks, and we definitely took advantage of that. After leaving the hut, we had the best trail of this trip, so we really made good time. We are now headed up Little Haystack Mountain. We passed a tenting area, which is also run by the AMC, and costs $8 pp to pitch a tent. We opted to passed it up and found a place off trail that is free! Tomorrow we will also go over Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette. At one point we will be above tree line for 2 miles. Might have to get the coat out. We both felt much better today, so I think the decision to cut it short yesterday was a good one. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-29
From: Stealth campsite

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We were on the trail at our usual time this morning. It rained most of the night, but had stopped by morning, which makes packing up much easier. We climbed above tree line very quickly and hiked 2 miles across three different peaks. It was pretty cold and about 50 yds visibility. We're not getting to see the views, but we have several more chances. The rest of the day was serious rock climbing, which is painfully slow going. We had an 8.8 mile day, but it was exhausting. We are staying tonight at the Galehead Hut doing work for stay to get out of the rain. We stayed out on the porch until dinner was over, then we came in and ate the leftovers. For the work part, Papaw and I washed dishes (don't get any ideas wives). We will do the same routine in the morning for breakfast. We will sleep in the dining room. With us here tonight, are two Army captains that are on terminal leave, and hiking southbound. They have been fun to talk to. The army is losing a couple good ones. More rocks tomorrow. 360.1 miles to go. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-30
From: Galehead Hut

To: Ethan Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started with breakfast at the Hut, after the paying customers left. Our chore after breakfast was to sweep the place, so Papaw and I swept the bunk rooms and the Captains took care of the dining area. We got a late start (9:00) because of this and had an hour climb immediately. The Hut was enclosed in fog when we left, but part of the way up the sun broke through, for about 5 minutes. By the time we reached the top, the fog was back. The rest of the day the trail was great. It was either flat or downhill, with much fewer rocks. About the time we arrived at the next Hut, the sun was out and remained out the rest of the day. We had a bowl of soup at the Hut, and moved on. We decided to stop at one of the shelter/tent sites for the night. In NH they have caretakers and it costs $8 to tent. While we were setting up our tents in began to sprinkle rain so we grabbed our stuff and headed to the shelter. So far we are the only ones here. I heard something interesting from a hiker the other day that I forgot to mention. As I've mentioned, we have been meeting a lot of southbound (SOBO) hikers. Naturally SOBOs and NOBOs end up at the same hostels etc. The hiker told me that SOBOs are referred to as short beards, and NOBOs are long beards. Tomorrow we head up Mt Washington. 348.3 miles to go. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-31
From: Ethan Pond Shelter

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

MOOSE! (Second post today)We ended up being the only two in the shelter last night. We were glad we stayed in the shelter because in poured much of the night. We were talking to the caretaker last night, and he told us that if we left early the next morning, we had a good chance of seeing a moose at the pond. Sure enough, when we started out at 6:30, there it was, about 150 yds away. I got a picture, but it isn't very good. We knew we had a rough day ahead. We were headed up Mt Washington via several other peaks. This string of mountains is known as the Presidentials, because most of them are named after presidents. We stopped at the Mizpah Spring Hut for soup, then headed to Lakes of the Clouds Hut where we are spending the night. We are staying in "The Dungeon" which is under the building and houses 6 hikers in a 10' X 10' room. This place is 1.3 miles from the peak of Mt Washington, so we will summit early in the morning. We are completely fogged in right now, so it doesn't look like there will be any good views. 334.2 miles to go. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-09-01
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Osgood Tent Site
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: moderate rain

We ended up having a full house in the dungeon last night. I was worried that getting ready in the morning was going to be a problem, but everyone was very patient and we were headed up Mt Washington just slightly later than normal. Our trip up was slow going, as was the whole day, because of trails full of boulders and rocks. The clouds/fog was very thick and we gave up hope of any views up top. When we got there, we took pictures then hung out in the snack bar for awhile. Mt Washington recorded the highest land wind speed in world history at 231 mph. It was a wicked 5 mph during our stay. We left to head down the mountain, and almost immediately, the sun came out and the clouds broke up. We were treated to what were, easily, the best views so far.   We walked along the Cog Railroad for awhile and waved at the passengers and were the targets of several cameras. It is, I'm told, customary for hikers to "moon" the passengers as they pass. Papaw and I agreed that we would pass on that tradition. Almost all the rest of the day was hours of rock hopping down from Mt Washington. For much of the day we averaged less than a mile an hour. We are in tents tonight at the Osgood Tent Site. 324.1 miles to go. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-09-02
From: Osgood Tent Site

To: Pinkham Notch Visitors Center
Miles today: 4.7
Weather: scattered clouds

As soon as I got my tent set up and settled in, the rain started. It rained most of the night. This morning it was still raining, so I waited awhile before finally deciding to pack up. There isn't much a backpacker dreads more than breaking camp in the rain (while tenting). We had a five mile walk out to the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center. The trail was full of water so we just walked right through it. We had breakfast at the Visitors Center and talked about the remainder of the trip. I told Papaw that I was ready to end my hike and was concerned about his worsening foot condition. We decided to go to town, get a motel room and decide what to do. Once at the motel, where he was able to get a better look at it, it was worse than he thought. Considering that there were 300 miles remaining, he decided that continuing would be a mistake. While I will be happy to be home, I really feel bad that Papaw will be missing his opportunity for a thru hike. He is already planning how he is going to finish the hike next year. This is just one more example of how very difficult the AT is. We are currently on our way home through a series of buses and trains. I will make one more entry tomorrow sharing some of the things I've learned, especially for the prospective thru hikers that have been reading my journal this year. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-09-04
From: Home

To: Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well the hay is in and things are caught up on the farm, so I'm going to head back to the trail early next week. It will be nice to be back out there. I will be starting in southern Virginia and hike for about two weeks (or maybe more). Hopefully there will be a few stragglers out there that I can hike with. Stay tuned!
Date: 2014-06-09
From: Home

To: Virginia
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Tomorrow I will be starting north on the AT in southern Virginia where I left on July 14th last year. My journal followers will remember that I did another 200 miles in Vermont and New Hampshire, thus the higher mileage total. I will continue to keep a cummulative total of my mileage. This trip should put me over the half way mark!I drove to my aunt's house in Waynesboro today and will spend the night. Aunt Linda cooked dinner and had my cousin and his family over. It was great to see everyone again. Papaw (trail name) and his wife will be picking me up in the morning and taking me to the trail. Papaw will be hiking with me for the first three days. It will be great to be back on the trail with him again. When I'm ready to leave the trail, Aunt Linda will pick me up. Once again, I owe a huge debt to my family (especially my wife) for filling in for me on the farm and in other ways, allowing me to persue this long-time dream. I will try to post daily for anyone interested in following along. Until next time ...Sent from my iPad
Date: 2014-06-10
From: VA 311

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

Day one is in the books. Aunt Linda hooked me up with eggs and bacon this morning and Papaw and his "main squeeze" were right on time. It took about 1.5 hrs to get to the drop off point, so we hit the trail around 9:00. A lady in the parking lot warned us that there wasn't any water for 15 miles so load up. We had everything full so off we went. I could tell right away that I was in for a rough day. Yes, I'm really out of shape, but I just didn't have any energy. After awhile we realized that we would have to ration water because the lady was right. When we reached our shelter for the night I drank over a gallon of water, and started feeling better. Tomorrow will be a better day! Enough complaining; there were good things today. I am back in the beautiful Virginia mountains, I finally got to see and pose on McAfee Knob, and the great views from Tinker Cliffs. There have been several hikers stop by the shelter for water, and a few have stayed. We talked to a young lady from Minnesota who had interviewed to become a Coast Guard officer before starting her hike. She just found out that she was accepted, and starts January 8, which will give her time to finish the trail. The Coast Guard is getting a good one! Tomorrow we will be hiking through/near Daleville and Troutville. Rumor has it that there is a Wendy's close to the trail - enough said! Until next time ...Sent from my iPhone