morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-07-11
From: Lonesome Lake Hut, NH

To: NH 112 Kinsmans notch,NH
Miles today: 13.5

Start Lonesome Lake Hut, NH, mile 1805.4Stop NH 112, Kinsman Notch, NH, mile 1791.0Hiked 13.5 miles SouthboundSleep bed in motel Cell goodOld Goat's notes:The hike today was a killer it may only say 13.5 miles but they were extremely difficult miles. We hiked 11.5 hours which made the day very long. Kinsman Mountain is very steep on both the south and north slope. We hiked southbound today which actually took advantage of the easier climb up the north slope not that it was easy by any means. The decent down the south slope was extremely difficult, it had many sharp vertical drops where we climbed down backwards. This type of hiking takes a lot of time to go little distance. We ate a late lunch at the Eliza Brook shelter at about 1:30 pm. We took a half hour break to eat and just sit to rest our legs. We headed out after lunch thinking the remainder of the hike would be easy. We had numerous climbs and we were tired by now. It ended up very difficult because of how tired we were. I was so glad when we reached the car; I was running low on energy. My portion of this entry was written the next morning. I was so tired I had just enough energy to take a shower and climb into bed. I slept better than I've had in a long time. Check 6's notes:What a day!! We started hiking at 7:45am, stopped for about 30 min for lunch around 1:30pm, and didn't finish hiking until 7:30pm! North Kinsman Mountain and South Kinsman Mountains are brutal! I'm so glad we have this stretch of mountains behind us, and I'm so glad we did them Southbound!! At the top of the hardest Northbound ascent "Seeker" appeared just before we started down. We met Seeker at the first shelter in New York State in 2009. In 2009 she was thrilled to meet Old Goat because she had watched his YouTube video many times. We enjoyed meeting her in 2009 and were thrilled to see her today. She was having a hard time unfortunately. The ascent she had just finished was extremely hard and she was feeling quite discouraged. I hope seeing us there and chatting for a while helped her feel better. Seeker has section hiked the entire AT to where we saw her at that point. Going Southbound was easier because the ascents were a little less severe and we could scoot down the more difficult ascents because they were descents for us. The final descent was an 800 ft drop in .07 mile. It was mostly rocks like stairs...but they are not uniform in size and take a lot out of you because they are so varied in size and placement. It would have been much harder to ascend them though. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2011-07-16
From: US 2, Gorham, NG

To: Imp Campsite, NH
Miles today: 8.0

Start US 2, Gorham, NG, Stop Imp Campsite, NH, Hiked 8.0 miles SouthboundSleep tentCell goodOld Goat's notes:We are hiking south once again for a few reasons. The main reason is we need to do this section in three days. We are camping in our tent tonight at the Imp campsite, there is a shelter here but the day is beautiful and we want the bug protection. Tomorrow we'll be in another AMC Hut, the last one in the Whites. We would have tented but there is no camping near the hut so staying in it was our only option. We hiked uphill almost all day. The first two miles were gradual and then it got tough. Our biggest challenge was Mount Moriah which was a 2000 foot climb. The climbing was hard and the top had a lot of bare rock so the views were really nice. The bad part of being on top of the mountain is you have to come down. The trail followed a lot of bare rock and the hiking down required you to trust that your shoes will stick to the rock as you walk down the inclined rock. Fortunately today was a bright sunny day and the rocks were dry. We both negotiated them just fine and neither of us fell. I'm sitting here on our tent platform as I write. The AMC builds wooden platforms for tents to limit damage to the forest. This way the tents are set up in the same place every time and the forest doesn't get all beat down and damaged. One advantage to being on a platform is you're sleeping on a level ground. One disadvantage is you can't use tent pegs to set up the tent. I did figure out away to use our hiking poles to tie down some of the tent and our body weight will do the rest. Check 6's notes:I'll be happy to be done with the Whites. They are challenging. We've been blessed with spectacular views most of the time we've been in the Whites. I'm thankful for that. The views are beautiful! It amazes me to look back on the mountains we've climbed. Having a tent platform is wonderful because it's level and we are sitting on the edge of it as we write our entries and cook dinner. The bugs are annoying, however, so it will be nice to get in the tent and away from the bugs later. Today we saw some of the thru-hikers we met when we were hiking Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch a few days ago. We'll see them in a few days when we hike another section Southbound unless they're so fast that they get through that section before we start it on Tuesday. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2011-07-18
From: Carter Notch Hut, NH

To: NH 16, Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: fog

Start Carter Notch Hut, NH, mile 1867.9Stop NH 16, Pinkham Notch, NH, mile 1862.3Hiked 5.6 miles SouthboundSleep bed in motelCell goodOld Goat's notes;We stayed in the northern most AMC hut last night Carter Notch Hut. As the name implies it is down in a valley called a notch. We read somewhere that the valleys between the mountains are called notches because they resemble the notch made by an axe when cutting a tree. I still say it means "Long climb ahead". Carter notch did not disappoint in that area, we had a very strenuous climb first thing this morning. Climbing up Wildcat Mountain ended up not being the hardest part of our day, climbing down was. The trail was steep on bare rock in a lot of places. Going down was slow and it took extra time. C6 had a difficult time in many places in fact she spent a lot of time going down backwards. One advantage of the cliffs on the mountain was we had lunch with a million dollar view. After the hike we checked into a motel and we both took well needed showers. We then drove our cars into Maine and left one at the next trailhead. Ah Maine!Check 6's notes:Another grueling day! We started hiking at 7:40 am and didn't finish until 3:10 pm!!!! And we only hiked 5.6 miles (7.5 hours)!! We started the day with a hard ascent up Wildcat Mountain Peak A for about a mile. Then it was up and down the Wildcat Mountain peaks C and D (B is not on the AT). Peak E is a bear to come down hiking South and probably even worse hiking North. The last 3 miles Southbound are mostly a steep descent. So steep that I spent a good amount of time descending backwards. (Facing the mountain holding onto anything I could and lowering my feet to footholds I could reach.). OG is more confident and didn't have to go down backwards as often as I did. Thank heavens for trees, tree roots, and rock holds. After quite a while I started getting weak because I was hungry so we stopped and ate lunch. That helped some, but I was so whipped by then that I continued to go down backwards after lunch. It felt as if the descent would never end! Once we finally got down to where the book and map profiles make it look level we still had boulders to climb over and ups and downs. I was so happy when we finally finished. What a hard day!! A man at the hut last night said he came up that mountain yesterday and it was his first day of his 3 week section hike. Wow! What a hard way to start. He was so exhausted that this morning he was talking about changing his hiking plans somehow. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2011-07-20
From: Gentian Pond Shelter/Campsite, NH

To: Full Goose Shelter and Campsite, MAINE!!!!, 
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

Start Gentian Pond Shelter/Campsite, NH, mile 1894.9Stop Full Goose Shelter and Campsite, MAINE!!!!, mile 1904.5Hiked 9.6 miles NorthboundSleep tentCell Old Goat's notes:Today's hike was hard. We went over a lot of mountains that really slowed us down. One thing we went through was a ladder up on Goose Eye Mountain. I remembered this ladder but couldn't remember where on the trail it was, now I know. What I had forgotten about this ladder was it is halfway up the mountain and a real tricky climb to get to it. I really don't have much to say tonight other than the trail kicked my butt. Check 6's notes:There were some challenges today. It was quite a challenge to get up to the ladder Old Goat mentions. At first look I didn't think I'd be able to get up those rocks, but we successfully got up them and I felt good about it when we finished with the ladder. We have 276 miles left to finish, and we are now in the last state!! Yay!!The campsite is full tonight! We got here early enough to have our pick of tent platforms. When we got here around 5:30, there was just one guy here sitting in the shelter. Now all the tent platforms are being used and folks have gone down to the overflow camp area. The shelter is large, but people keep arriving, so I wouldn't be surprised if the shelter is nearly full, too! I suspect this is a popular destination for Northbound hikers because the next 5.1 miles include Mahoosic Notch. I made a couple observations today. One is another question for our friend, Tim. Why do some rocks look as if they were liquid at one time (and they definitely are not lava)? My second observation came when I was drinking water from my Camelback. I never thought before about the process of drinking from a tube. It was interesting to observe...take a drink from a straw and think about what you're doing with your mouth. I've never paid so much attention to the process before. Don't know why it struck me so today. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2011-07-21
From: Full Goose Shelter and Campsite, MAINE!!!!, 

To: Speck Pond Shelter and Campsite, ME
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: clear sky

Start Full Goose Shelter and Campsite, ME, mile 1904.5Stop Speck Pond Shelter and Campsite, ME, mile 1909.6Hiked 5.1 miles NorthboundSleep shelterCell noneOld Goat's notes:MAHOOSUC today. We hiked the famous Mahoosuc Notch and Arm. This section is know as the toughest mile on the AT. We had to hike over and crawl under huge boulders. The notch is a narrow canyon that sits between Falling Mill Mountain and Mahoosuc Mountain. The boulders have fallen off of the both mountains and partially filled canyon. The first thing we discovered was the ice caves. When we entered the canyon we immediately got cold we looked to the side and noticed ice caves. We saw lot of ice as we progressed, there were also places where it was hot and muggy. C6 had a heck of a time because her glasses kept getting fogged up when the hot air hit us after being in a cold place from the ice caves. The notch was fun, the arm was a killer. When I did this section in 2006 I hiked it at the end of the day. I knew that was a big mistake so today we did it first thing this morning. Unfortunately the arm (a 1600 foot climb in a mile) was still very hard. We arrived at the shelter at 2:30pm so we've been resting ever since. Check 6's notes:Mahoosuc Notch! Awesome! Too bad you have to hike to get there (kidding). Mahoosuc Notch is interesting...huge boulders and rocks that you have to climb over, around, and under. Three times we had to take off our packs to go under huge rocks. I actually had fun doing the notch. We did few miles today because it took us 3 hours to do the one mile through the notch. All in all we hiked for 7 hours today. More people showed up at the campsite last evening. Two tents were set up by the shelter and the shelter was full. It might rain tonight so we decided to stay in the shelter, but it's full now, too. Ear plugs tonight!More people keep coming by. Two have moved on already and three thru-hikers are talking about going further. As I write this it's only 4:15pm so many more people will come by I'm sure. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2011-07-22
From: Speck Pond Shelter and Campsite, ME

To: Grafton Notch, US 26, ME
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

Start Speck Pond Shelter and Campsite, ME, mile 1909.6Stop Grafton Notch, US 26, ME, mile 1914.1Hiked 4.5 miles NorthboundSleep bed in motelCell goodOld Goat's notes:Today consisted of hiking over Old Speck Mountain to our car. The milage was only 4.5 miles but the climb still made a good days work of it. The climbs here in Maine have been a lot of straight up rock face mountain trails. These climbs can be very difficult at times because we have to walk on the rock surfaces which are on a steep incline. We have to be careful of our footing as we climb or we might fall and get hurt. We stayed in a crowded shelter last night to avoid being rained on. The rain came about 10pm with lots of lightning and thunder. On lightning bolt flashed and boomed simultaneously, we didn't see where it hit but it must have been close. C6 will fill in the rest. Check 6's notes:I'm worried today. I woke up at midnight last night, turned over on my side and experienced severe dizziness. Similar to when I fell face first in Pennsylvania and hit my head on a rock. This was different, however, because I didn't fall and hit my head and the dizziness stopped when I changed positions. It shook me up though because I couldn't lay on my back or side the rest of the night because I'd be dizzy again. I didn't sleep much else last night because it scared me. The dizziness was on and off (but nowhere near >as severe) before we started hiking. We waited a while to get going to see if it would go away. Once we started hiking my head was fine. Since we have stopped hiking my head isn't quite right. I'm not as dizzy as this morning, but my head is somewhat off kilter at times. I have medicine for dizziness (from the dizziness in 2009) so I'm taking that. I'm glad we won't be hiking for the next few weeks (probably as long as 3 weeks because of the commitments I mentioned the other day). We're trying to figure out what may have brought this on. Yesterday in Mahoosuc Notch I climbed up a rock and didn't see a fallen tree hanging out above my head. When I stood up on the top of the rock I stood up under the tree and hit my head on it. It was a fairly hard hit, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Today there's a sore spot in my head there. Maybe I hit harder than I thought and it jarred my head again, therefore causing the dizziness to come back. We will be driving home tomorrow. Taking the afternoon off right now because neither of us got enough sleep last night. We won't do trail journal entries while we're off the trail. Our plan is to come back to Maine with just one of our cars and park it at a hostel in Andover, ME. We'll ask for a shuttle to Grafton Notch and resume our hike. We may slack pack (hike with very little gear) a couple days from the Andover hostel, then we'll continue on with full packs and try to do the rest of the AT continuous (as if we are thru-hiking). So we'll be back in a couple weeks. Take care!Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2011-08-07
To: We will be off the trail for longer than planned
Miles today: 0.0

Old Goat¢s Notes:We¢ve been off the trail 2 weeks now and our return to the trail is now on hold indefinitely. We originally left the trail to attend a family wedding and the birth of a new granddaughter. The wedding was a wonderful event in a beautify setting in at the water¢s edge of Raystown Lake in Western Pennsylvania. Our granddaughter came early and was born while we were attending the wedding; she was born at 12:01am on the same day as the wedding. She is a beautiful little girl who we are all very glad to welcome into the family.The reason we are not returning to the trail soon is that my father has entered Hospice care this week.   We cannot be on the trail at this time because we need to be nearby for him and our family. We wish all the folks we met this year on the trail well and hope they enjoy the rest of their journey.
Date: 2011-10-11
To: Update
Miles today: 0.0

Our hike has been over for over two months already. I am pleased to say my father is holding his own at the moment and still with us. At the time of our decision to not return to the trail he looked very weak and we were afraid to go back to the trail and receive bad news. We are thankful for this turn around and are grateful for this time.We hope to return to the trail next year and hike the remaining miles in Maine. This journey was supposed to be a one year trip and each time we went back we expected to reach Katahdin, hopefully we will the next time. Each time we hiked it has been a new and pleasant experience, we started thru hikers and ended up being section hikers. We know what it is like to be both. Any time spent on the trail is a great time, it doesn't matter how you hike it matters that you get out and hike. If we had completed the thru hike in 2009 we probably would be hiking other trails instead of continuing the AT Journey.Check 6's head troubles stopped soon after we left the trail and she is feeling fine again. We intend to be very careful as we hike and watch that she doesn't hit her head again. This will actually allow us to take our time hiking Maine and enjoy it more. Maine is the best part of the AT so that shouldn't be hard to do.We'll go back to the trail next year, God willing.
Date: 2011-02-21
To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: broken clouds

Feb 21, Mon., Day 1I left my dear wife Jean and close friend Sue at USFS 42 about 10:15 am and with a pack weight of 40 pounds, and walked south on the AT (0.9 miles) to the summit of Springer Mountain. Just reaching to top was an emotional experience, seeing the two plaques, so frequently pictured in all of the AT guides and books, and White Blaze One. Almost two hours was at the summit, where I met two other thru-hikers just starting out on their journeys, Elvis and Sean, both from Detroit.Picking up a several symbolic pebbles, one to be delivered to Katahdin, and the others for folks that have supported my dream, the hike north officially started at Noon. The next 7.5 miles was through old growth pine and green tunnels of laurel and rhododendren. Arriving at Hawk Mountain shelter about 4:00, there were two other AT thru-hikers, Fox and Puddle Duck, and later Rehab, Hot Sauce, Elvis and Sean appeared. Over a campfire, we discussed our individual reasons for hiking the trail til late into the night.
Date: 2011-02-22
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

Feb. 22, Tues., Day 2Left shelter at 7:30 am and passed Sassafras Mt. Met up with two other thru-hikers, Sean and Elvis. Later, walked on to Woody Gap, where I intended to spend the night, having been told that there was a campsite there. However, the site was near a road and looked unsafe. When Sean and Elvis appeared, I called for a shuttle to the Hiker's Hostel where I spent the night.
Date: 2011-02-23
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

Feb. 23, Wed., Day 3Dropped off at Woody Gap about 9:30 by the Hiker Hostel van and started hiking north again. Hiked to Big Cedar Mtn. Windy and clear today. On Big Cedar Mt., had wonderful views and saw a large flock of Sandhill cranes riding a thermal up from the valley below til they reached our altitude. They turned north and passed over us at about 60 feet, close enough to see their red caps. Quite a sight to remember. Hiked to Blood Mtn. by 2:30 pm and on to Neel's Gap arriving about 4:30. Met Pirate, the Hostel's caretaker who has thru-hiked 10 times. Felt good all day and had a lot of energy left.
Date: 2011-02-24
From: Neel's Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: broken clouds

Feb. 24, Thurs., Day 4Did not get much sleep the previous night, due to "Dueling Snorers" at the hostel. Felt weary all day with bouts of nausea. Left hostel at 9:30 and walked to Low Gap Shelter to find it full. So tenting was necessary. Elvis, Sean and Ronan appeared around 5:30 or 6:00. Windy and cool all day. Spirits low. Rain started just after sun down.
Date: 2011-02-25
From: Low Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

Feb. 25, Fri., Day 5Took extra time breaking camp since everthing is wet. Left at 9:30 and walked to Unicoi Gap, where I caught a shettle to Hiawassee Inn for needed R&R. Had supper at Daniel's Steak House for an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) meal. Stomach still a little queasy,but feeling better with alot of energy and improved spirits.
Date: 2011-02-26
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Sassafras Gap
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Feb. 26, Sat., Day 6A great day - clear, with only a slight breeze; beautiful weather for hiking.Passed 30-40 Boy Scouts going to Tray Mt. shelter. Tented with Jeff, C-chord (Waylon), Sean and Elvis at an improvised campground.
Date: 2011-02-27
From: Sassafras Gap

To: Plumorchard
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: broken clouds

Feb. 27, Sun., Day 7Warm and sunny, with clouds appearing late in the afternoon. A long hard day, arriving at the shelter about 4:30 pm. I was very tired, with aching feet, so I took four ibuprofens, rolled out my sleeping bag, and fell asloop rightaway. When I awoke, it was dark and Elvis and Sean had a campfire started. C-chord had left to continue hiking. Elvis shared his supper with me. I was one grateful, tired hiker.
Date: 2011-02-28
From: Plumorchard

To: Standing Indian Gap
Miles today: 12.2

Feb. 28, Mon., Day 8Broke camp and started hiking about 9:30 am, and entered North Carolina at noon, my first state border crossing. Thunderstorm started at 4:00 pm, hail, high winds, thunder and a torrential downpour. I was wearing a rain jacket, but no rain pants , so naturally my feet got soaked. Wet boots for tomorrow. Got to shelter at 5:15 pm. Sean and Elvis were at the shelter, and C-chord (with his dog Scraps) appeared while it was still raining, but left after he saw there was no room in the shelter to set up his tent.
Date: 2011-03-01
From: Standing Indian Gap

To: Big Spring
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

Mar. 1, Tues., Day 9Started hiking at 9:00 am. A beautiful blue-sky day. Hiking 14 miles with great over-looks from the top of Ridgepole Mt. and Albert Mt., which is tough climb up rocks by hand and foot. Made it to the shelter by 5:00 pm. Noone else here so I'll be the lone lodger tonight. Heard two grouse, but no sightings. Went to sleep to the sound of a nightjar walking around the shelter.
Date: 2011-03-02
From: Big Spring

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: clear sky

Mar. 2, Wed., Day 10Sunny and warm again today, feeling great with a lot of energy. We've had wonderful weather this past week, except for the thundershower Monday afternoon. Hiked to Winding Stair Gap, and encountered a group of elderly hikers from the Silver Striders section of the Macon County Hiking Club. They were there to see the AT at the Gap and the waterfall on the north side of the road (US-64). I inteeded to go on to Wayah Gap shelter, but since I hadn't had contact with Jean or Ryan recently (spotty cell service), that I'd stop there, and hitch into Franklin, NC. Tom and Brenda (retired Chemistry professors at Auburn U., and thru-hikers) appeared, then C-chord joined us. We quickly picked up a ride with a couple in a van that had just dropped off their son for a hike south. Got to Franklin about 2:00 pm, checked into Ron Haven's Budget Motel and washed clothes, took a shower and went to a trail store on Main St in Franklin. I asked for an adjustment on my pack and was told that the hip belt had been installed UPSIDE-DOWN. No wonder it had been uncomfortable.Met Elvis and Sean, who told me that he had seen a doctor at Urgent Care and found that his foot pain was due to a stress fracture and that he would have to pull off the trail. Very tough luck for Sean. They had hiked 23 miles the previous day, which probably contributed to the pain of the injury.