morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-19
From: Big Branch Shelter

To: Clarenden Shelter
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: clear sky

After my restful night I started my hiking day at 7:00.My breakfast was the ususal 2 carnation instantbreakfast packets with 8 ounces of water and twoOatmeal to go bars. I think it is about 700 calories.The trail was pleasant most of the day, but it startedto rain around 1:00. Lunch was quick, peanut butter onbagels. By 4:30 I, Ballew and Old Reb arrived at aroad crossing 1 mile from the our planned destination.to our west one half mile away was a diner. So ofcourse we walked down there for some grub. I hadPhilly Cheeze steak wrap it was ok. I do miss mysouthern cooking. Haven't seen a good cheezeburger ina long time.We finished up there at about 6:00 and walked the halfmile back to ohe trail then the last one mile up very,very steep mountain to our destination. The shelter isfull of weekend hikers, but I planned on tentinganyway. Still raining now as I type but not too hard.NO leaks yet. More miles tomorrow.Clay
Date: 2006-08-20
From: Clarenden Shelter

To: Inn at the Long Trail
Miles today: 18.3

It rained all night. I had only one drop of water leakinto the tent, so I guess that is good. But I wonderwhy that one drop got through.The worst part about camping is starting the day inthe rain. When I woke up at daylight it was raining.After about 20 minutes of wondering what I / we woulddo today, I just decided to go back to sleep. At around8:00 Ballew told me he was packed and headed out. OldReb was getting ready to leave also. So the decisionwas made. I tried my best to pack everything into mypack without it getting too wet. The plan for the daywas an 18+ mile day over Killington peak. That alonewould make for a hard day, but add the rain, theslippery rocks, the heavy pack because things are wetand the late start it really looked like a bad day. IFinally got on the trail at 8:30. I ate my breakfastbars as I walked. I had to leave camp with no water.The stream next to the campsite was running muddy so Isearched for a spring up the mountain that was clear.After that was done I pressed on, through mud puddlesand through grown up fields with wet grass and weedsshoulder high on both sides of the trail. It basicallywas a get it done sort of morning. Just do it. Thebright spots were that the trail was more soft dirt(when not muddy)than hard rock so that helped my feet.Also there was trail magic at a couple of places thatprovided cold drinks. That was refreshing and kept megoing. I caught up with Old Reb and Ballew by 1:00 for lunchnear the top of Killington Mountain. We at at an olddrafty shelter. We were wet and cold. It was morecomfortable to eat quickly and get back to walking. Wehad 8.7 miles left to go. I pressed hard and made it to the In by 5 after 6:00 pm.This is a nice old rustic lodge built in the 1920'sThey cater to hikers in the summer and skiers in thewinter. Even has an authentic Irish pub. We haddinner after I got a hot shower. We washed clothes andall my gear is now spread all over my room trying todry. I am tired. Glad the day is over. Glad I didn'tjust stay in my tent all day. I now have only 486.1miles to go. WOW! More miles tomorrow.Clay
Date: 2006-08-21
From: Inn at the Long Trail

To: Inn at the Long Trail I
Miles today: 0.0

Well we awoke this morning and met for breakfast. Ourstay at the inn included breakfast in the price. Theystarted serving breakfast at 7:30. As I, Ballew, andOld Reb sat at the table you could see the tirednessin each of our faces. We enjoyed the good food, but noone was excited about hiking today. Ading to the lackof enthuesiam was the weather. For the first time onthis journey it actually felt like fall outside. Awalk out the front door of the inn shocked us withsteady 15 mile an hour cold wind and an air temp inthe 50's. It was cloudy and damp. The fog in the airprevented us from seeing the tops of the ski slopes wehad seem across the road and up the hill yesterday. Aquick executive meeting was called and a decision wasmad to make today a zero / rest day. Each of us hadtired feet and other aches. Old Reb had a swollenankle. The Inn was just too comfortable and at just theright time and place to suck us back in. So the day has been spent doing not a darn thing. Isat in the lobby of this old rustic ski lodge andread old books. There was a TV in a seperate room withVCR. Ballew and Old Reb watched a movie. I took a nap.I eventually got a ride into town to a localoutfitter. I bought a new rain jacket aad pants. Ihave become nervous about the upcoming White Mountainsand felt I needed a true water proof outfide instead ofa water reistatant wind breaker.We of course replinished our low calorie storage withlarge quanities of food. Tomorrow we hit the trailrain or shine.Clay
Date: 2006-08-22
From: Inn at the Long Trail I

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 18.0

The weather today was much nicer than yesterday. Notcloudy and windy. I started jsut before 7:00 andBallew and Old Reb followed shortly after that. Theblue blaze back to the A.T. trail was steep, but afterthat it was soft and smooth for most of the day. Wehad agreed to stop at a B&B on the trail just 3 milesinto the day. It was just as you would imagine aVermont Inn to be like. The owners were nice friendlyfolks that had traded in the rat race of city life forcountry living. It was called Mountain Meadow Inn. Itwas nice plice, I think I would like ot visit againsomeday.We returned to the trail and made good time. Anymorean 18 miles day is realy a long day. Neither of ushave the desire or energy to do much more than that.Around 4:30 we stopped at a nice view on top of amountain. It turned into a longer break and soonclouds began to roll in. We got back on the trail asthe thunder started. We put it in high gear to beatthe rain. Old Reb made it. Ballew next then me. I gotonly a bit wet, but did beat the heavy downpour. Theshelter eventually filled up and hikers seem tomaterize from nowhere to stay at a shelter when itrains. We crowded 8 people into the little shelter.Ear plugs work well when you want to not hear thechatter and noise made by a crowd of people in tightquarters. Another long day is planned for tomorrow.Clay
Date: 2006-08-23
From: Winturri Shelter

To:  Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: light rain

I was up early and on the trail around 7:00. A longday was planned and I just prefer to start early toprevent running out of day. Sometimes that plan justdoesn't work. The weather today was good. Cloudy butno rain, cool and comfortable, and the trail was kindas well.Again we had a plan to meet at a place to eatbreakfast. This time a fruit stand 4 miles into theday. I arrived at 9:00 to find that it did not openuntil 10:00. We decided to wait there for it to open.We had to do some planning for the days ahead so wedid it while we waited for the place to open. We atefresh pies and ice cream and got back on the trailjust before 11. We still had 16 miles to go. A badsituation for sure. and it wans't over yet.We pushed hard to you guessed it, another food stop.This was a beautiful Vermont farm that offerredsnacks, ice cream and soft drinks to hikers. This wasa family farm and it was very interesting to listen tothe owner talk about his operations. Cattle, hay,logging, syrup, etc... We finished there at 3:00 andhad 11 miles to go. Truly a dilema. We really don'twant to hike after 7:00. It gets dark, the blazes areharder to see as are the roots and rocks in the trail.Old Reb and I set out together. Ballew was 10 minutesbehind us. He had to water up and finish some phonecalls. To make it before 7:00 we needed to averageoverall 2.7 miles an hour including any breaks so westarted strong and kept up the pace as long as wecould. I am most comfortable at going up hills so wedidn't encounter any major slow downs there. Itolerated the down hills, just glad that they weren'ttoo many, and weren't too steep and rocky. We took a10 minute break and continued on. We thought we werewell ahead of schedule but soon realized that we hadmis-interpreted a mileage estimate. We thought wewere at 2.7 miles but really were at about 3.5 to go.After that let down we just put on the game face andpressed hard for the last hour. We probably were doing3.5 an hour that last mile or so even on the uphills.WE arrived at the shelter at 7:03, tired and sweatybut proud to have done if even just to reassureourselves we can still do the pace if we need to.I washed up, ate dinner and went to my tent. Tomorrowa short day and we go into town!!Clay
Date: 2006-08-24
From:  Happy Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: broken clouds

Yeah! today is town day, and tomorrow is a day off. Wearrived in Hanover about 9:00. This is state number 12with only 2 to go. The town is truly a New Englandtown. Home of Dartmoth College, established over 200years ago. The downtown is a busy place withbookstore, coffee shops, pubs, business andrestaurants. I made the comment to Ballew, it lookslike all these people are dressed ready to go tochurch. Very conservative, prim and proper. I felt abit out of place, but actually the people were allnice and friendly. We stopped first at a bakery thathad a stand out front. We gobble up 3 warm donuts aswe waited for our local bus to take us to our smallmotel out on the edge of town. We will do the typicaltown chores and rest. I am now at the 442 miles to gomark. There will only be a couple more zero days. Wehave to plan for the last tough part of the journey.The White Mountains, then the 100 mile wilderness inMaine. The end is beginning to come into site. Gettingnervous.Clay
Date: 2006-08-26
From: Franconia Notch

To: Moose Mtn
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We left Hanover late, after 10:00. Luckily, theterrain was not too tough and the weather waspleasant. We planned on a lunch break at a roadcrossing that reportdly had a deli 3 tenths of a miledown the road. It was trickery, it was 8 tenths! Butwe ate a sandwich or two and got a ride back to thetrail. I settled by tent by 7:00 for a quiet night. 430miles to go.Clay
Date: 2006-08-27
From: Moose Mtn

To: Firewarden's Cabin Smart Mountain
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I started early because I knew it was going to rain. Iwas out befre 7:00. Baloo and Reb were still in theirtents. I made good time and arrived at a shelter for abreak at 10:40 just as the rain began. I hung out therenapping and eating and around noon Baloo and Rebarrived. They ate their lunch aad the decision was tocontinue event though the rain was steady and it wasgettin chilly. We had a long climb that became tediousdue to the steepness and the wet rocks. We arrived atour destination for the night by around 5:00. There isa fire tower on this mountain and the fire warden usedthis cabin when he wasn't manning the fire tower. Thecabin was maybe 12 by 24. I had no heat or electicity,and of course no plumbing. When we arrived there werealready 4 hikers there that had stayed there all daydue to the rain and cold. By the time nightfallarrived there were a dozen wet people squeezed on thefloor. I changed into dry clothes and ate a candy baror two for dinner and got in my sleeping bag, put inmy ear plugs and went to sleep. It was a cold toughday.Clay
Date: 2006-08-28
From: Firewarden's Cabin Smart Mountain

To: N.H. 25C
Miles today: 15.0

When I awoke for the morning, it was still mistingoutside, the wind had died down, but it was still chilly.The only thing to look forward to was that Jane wouldmeet us at the road after 12.4 miles today and take usto a motel for the night. It is little things likethis that help to keep me strong and healthy andmotivated enough to keep going. Any more than 2 or3 days of wet coldd rain really take toll on a hiker.Feet get wet, clothes get wet, your pack gets heavier.You become mentally exhausted due to the stress oftrying to walk without falling.We made it down the mountain and into town with nomishaps. The motel was a simple mom & pop type in asmall town. A nice warm dry bed and clean clothes werewonderful. Tomorrow we continue. I think it is to berain free.Clay
Date: 2006-08-29
From: N.H. 25C

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Well it was quite a day. Jane put us back on the trailby 8:00 and we sped thru 5 miles to the next roadcrossing where we met her again. We ate a quick lunch,added food to our packs for 2 days and continued on.The afternoon was to be the first big climb of teWhite Mountains. Mount Mosilauke is the first time wewill be over 4000 feet elevation since maybeTennessee. We begin the climb strong and hard, butsoon realized that it is bigger than we are. We slow towhat we call the Everest pace. Slow methodical step bystep, trying not to raise our respirations and heartrate excessivly. The 3700+ climb over 4 miles takesabout 4 hours and we arrive around 3:00 at the summit.This is the first time we have been above tree line onte entire A.T. journey. It is different. Rockseverywhere. No trees. There are rock piles to mark theway. It is foggy, the wind is blowing hard. The tempin the low 50s. We snap a few quick pictures and moveon down the trail to our destination, a shelter 2.2miles down the mountian. We are a bit too happy withourselves at our first succesful ascent above treeline. In our haste we make a wrong turn on a trail. Inthis area the signs are confusing aad te trail ispoorly blazed. We travel at least 3 miles down a verysteep and rocky trail before we realize our error. Itis heartbreaking, and agrevating. Not only have wewasted time and energy, but we have done it on theabsoultly worst possible trail we could do it on. Wehave to turn around at 5:00 pm and hike up hill another3 miles then get on the proper trail for another 2.2miles. We were each mad at ourselves for the loss ofconcentration. We spread out traveling at our ownpaces to ponder our errors and endure our punishment.I am behind them, as usual when we go downhill. It isgetting dark, the trail sucks. I am tired and ofcourse mad at myself. Twice in an hour I fall. It is awonder I don't break my arm, or wrist. But I cannotspend all my time worrying about what might happen. Ifocus on each step, planning, placing and pushing off.By 7:00 with headlamp on I arrive at the shelter.There are no flat tent spots, besides I am too tiredto set up my tent if there was a spot. I changeclothes, eat half my breakfast food becasue I don'thave to cook it, and go to bed. GRRRRRRR.....Clay
Date: 2006-08-30
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Eliza Brooks Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: broken clouds

The miles weren't long but the terrain was tough. Itstarted with a 1.9 mile downhill from the shelter lastnight. It took me almost 3 hours. I hate dowhill. Thetrail was a various big step down, or slanted smoothslabs of rock covered with dew and moisture. Afterfalling twice yesterday evening I was determined tomake it down without another mishap. I am glad to sayI succeeded and survived. At the bottom of thisdescent is a sign that says the trail is treacherousand should not be attempted by inexperienced hikersand should not be atempted in wet or icy conditions toprevent a tragic accident! Well duh!Baloo caught up with me and we walked on to the roadwhere Jane, Old Reb's wife was waiting there with foodand drinks. Old Reb showed up shortly after that. Weate and rested then returned to the trail for ourafternoon climb. It was uneventful and tiring. Wearrived about 5:00 and started the ususal camp chores.Before sunset two sets of college groups came into thesite. It is common up here for colleges to have thesehiking trips just before school starts. I believe theyare mandatory because most of the kids don't look likethey are enjoying themselves. Anyway even with theadded 25 or so people I was able to get to sleepthanks to earplugs. More miles tomorrow.Clay
Date: 2006-08-31
From: Hanover, NH

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

Hello Friends,Just a brief note to say hello and all is well. However I had a technical malfunction and lost a weeks worth of journal entries on my word processor. Not to worry I will recreate and get some sort of brief summaries for the past days. I have made it 1801.9 miles and have 372.7 to go. The weather is cool. Some leaves are beginning to change. The terrain has become terribly steep. I have gone from an average of 2.5 miles an hour to more like 1.5 an hour. It is often neccasary to use both feet and hands to climb. And some butt sliding to go down. The views are grand when there are no clouds in the way. I will have more updates posted within a week. Thank you all for the words of support. I really need it now. I am getting tired and worn down, but will not be detered.Miles to walk so bye for now.Clay
Date: 2006-09-01
From: Eliza Brooks Shelter

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started at the Comfort Inn in Lincoln, N.H. It isa nice tourist town. Lots of ski slopes and lots ofsummer activites as well. I think I would like to comeback here and spend some time here someday.We hit the trail at 9:00 after eating a good breakfastat the hotel. The day was to be packed with adifficult climb almost all day. We climbed from 1,450feet up to 5,249 feet at the summit of Mt. Lafayette.The day's weather was pretty good. It started sunny,but became partly cloudy as we reached the summit. Butthe views were still clear. It was really impressive.I had no idea that New Hampshire had mountains likethis. I think I could see about 50 miles in alldirections and for the most part it was all wildernessmountains. Lots and lots of trees. There also werelots of people. All of them were weekend day hikersthat come up side trail to the summit. May be just assteep, but certainly not as long a hike as we didcoming up the ridge of the mountain on the A.T.We ate lunch on the summit then moved on about 2:00.Sitting still makes us cold so we move on. We had 3.9to our destination. It too was steep both up and downas we moved on to Garfield Mountain where I am now.The temp tonight will be in the 40's, clear skies, notmuch wind. Tomorrow should be good but Sunday lookslike a rain day. We will try tomorrow to do a fewextra miles so we have less to do to get to a lodge onSunday. These lodges are run by the Apalachian TrailClub. They are hike in only places that providebreakfast and dinner and a bed. A good place to bewhen a storm rolls in.I am doing ok. My feet still hurt, but I guess I havejust accepted that they will be that way until Ifinish. My legs are noticable more tired and sore dueto the steep climbing and descending. Other than thatI am well and good. Our planned summit date is October1, assuming no set backs. 30 days to go.I am ready.Clay
Date: 2006-09-02
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite

To: Ethan Pond Campsite
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

When I went to sleep last night about 9:00 it waschilly, about 55 degrees. There was not much wind. Atmidnight the wind went crazy. Steady 25 or so miles anhour, and I bet there were some 40 miles an hourgusts. My tent was set up on a wooden platform. Thereisn't any flat ground around so the AMC builds thesetent platforms for us to set our tents on. It workswell for free standing tents, but my tent relies on myhiking poles and some stakes. I had to use rocksinstead of stakes as tie downs, and my hiking polesweren't real stable on the platform so my tentcollapsed 4 times in the night. It wasn't a seriusproblem, just a major hassle to get out of my sleepingbag, grab the fallen hiking pole and set it back upand sinch the lines tight again. So the night was notall that restful. I started at 7:30 with a steap downhill. I have tostart before Old Reb and Baloo because I am so slow onthe downhill. I made it to the Galehead Hut by 9:30where I ate some cake and soup they had. It was a nicewarm up. We started again at 10:30 and climbed overtwin mountain and down to another AMC hut, ZealandFalls. We filled up on more soup, but stayed only 30minutes. We rushed through the final 4.8 miles toEthan Pond Campsite too finish for he day at 5:00.It was a beautiful spot. The lake was clear andundisturbed. The shelter was up in the woods, so therewas absolutely no evidence of human existance at all.It looks now just as it has for thousands of years.One other hiker said they saw a moose watering at theedge, but it was gone by the time I got there.Rain was forecast so I slept in the shelter. I chattedwith the caretaker. Sounds like an interesting shortterm job. The season starts in June and ends afterLabor Day. They work 10 days on and 4 days off. It isa 3 mile hike to the road. That is a really shorthike. Some caretakers at other campsites have 10 ormore miles to a road. They each get a nice big heavyduty tent to sleepin. They maintain the campsite andpart of the trail. They pack in their own food andsupplies. If a person likes the wilderness, being acampsite caretaker, or working at one of the hutsseems like a great job.Tomorrow is a short day into the AMC Highlands Lodgefor a bunk and food. Clay
Date: 2006-09-03
From: Ethan Pond Campsite

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 2.9
Weather: fog

Great day considering it is cold and windy and not agood day at all to be hiking. The rain that wassupposed to appear last night held off until about 7:00this morning and even then it was a light rain. Butby 9:30 when we arrived at the road for Jane to pickup up it was beginning to really rain and the wind wasblowing hard. I would guess the wind chill was about30 degrees. We were very glad to be staying at thelodge today and tonight. This facility is run by thenon profit AMC. But don't woory they have money, andpower. They are very ecological in the way theyoperate. The lodge is nice, but pricey. They have lotsof activites for families and kids, guided hikes,documentaries, etc... I would enjoy returning heretoo. Al of New Hampshire has been beautiful. We rested, washed clothes. I spent time in th readingroom, reading and falling asleep in the comfortablechair. We get a nice dinner and breakfast tomorrowincluded with our stay. Tomorrow we will begin the toughest part so far of theentire journey. Second only to the final climb on Mt.Katadin. Tomorrow will be Mt. Washington. Actually wewill stop just short of the summit tomorrow, then makeit to the top around 9:30 AM eastern time. Mt.Washington is famous for having the record for thehighest recorded wind speed in the world. 231 milesan hour. So add that factor, and the coldtemperature, and the steep terrain, and above treeline, and the fact the weather can change dramaticallyin minutes and you see why this will be the toughestand most dangerous part of my trip. I am apprehensive,but will not be deterred. I will let you know theresults in Wednesday's entry. Wish me luck.Clay