morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-07-13
From: Grafton Turnpike

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: broken clouds

I called Tom at the post office at 6:45 am. The tracking information showed my package went in and out of NY last night at 7 pm and was on the way to Nashua, NH...good news. Tom thought my package would be in Hanover early Friday morning. I didn't want to spend the day twiddling my thumbs in Hanover. I asked Fran if she would take me 17 trail miles  north to Grafton Pike and drop me off so I could slackpack back south to Hanover. She said she would after her workout session was over at 9 am. I left with her at 7:15 am and she dropped me off at Lou's where I had another great breakfast. From there I walked to the Co-op Food Store and bought lunch and snacks for my hike. She picked me up there at 9:15 and we headed to the trailhead. It had started raining. She dropped me off and I started hiking south at 10 am. I figured I would be back to Hanover around 6-7 pm. It rained until 11 am then stopped. It was cloudy the rest of the day so there were no views from the ledges and ridges. I passed many of the NOBOs I have been seeing the last few days as I headed south. I made it back to Hanover at 6:30 pm and called Fran to pick me up. I checked the online tracking on my package to see if there was an update. My package had left Nashua...good news. I got a shower, had some dinner from what was left in my food bag, and spent the evening looking ahead in the trail log planning the next few days hiking. Hopefully I will get my package early. Fran is going to take me back to Grafton Pike and I will continue north from there.
Date: 2017-07-14
From: Grafton Turnpike

To: Hexacuba Shelter 
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

I called John at the Hanover PO at 6:40 am to check on my package. He had it! It had come in on the first truck this am. Although the PO didn't open until 8:30 am, he told me he would open the front doors at 7 am and I could get my package. Fran (Trail Angel staying with) took me to the PO. John and I looked at the package and how it was addressed and he said "perfect, could not have been done better". He thinks someone keyed in the wrong zip code or threw it in the wrong bin. He was apologetic but had done all he could to help me from his end to get me the package asap. He was great. Fran and I went back to her house and I quickly organized my food into 5 days and repacked my pack with my new air pad. Fran had me back to the Grafton Turnpike trailhead at 8:30 am. Fran has been fantastic and a tremendous help to a stranded hiker waiting on his food drop. She put me up at her house for two nights, let me do my laundry, and gave me multiple rides. She went way above and beyond the call of duty as a Trail Angel. She gave me a big hug at the trailhead and off I headed north again. The terrain is more difficult and not knowing what time I would get started, I set a more modest goal of 11 miles to the Hexacuba Shelter. It was cool and cloudy and didn't rain so it was a good day for hiking except several excellent views were socked in by the clouds. I had an early climb up Lambert Ridge and then Smarts Mountain (3237') midway. There is a fire tower on top of Smarts Mountain where normally there are good views of the Whites to the northeast and the mountains back in Vermont but not today. I reached the shelter at 4:30 pm. This is the earliest I have ended a day hiking since I started, with the exception of going into a town. It was nice having a shorter mileage day. My overall pace slowed from 2 mph to 1.75 mph, an indication the terrain is getting harder. I decided to stay in the shelter tonight since there is a good chance of rain and to try the new air pad I am carrying. There 8 other people in the shelter and a couple of tenters. I thought a lot about my priorities for the rest of my trip as I walked today. They are:Hike safe and hike smart and don't get injured or sickSmell the roses and enjoy all the sights in NH and ME as I may never pass this way again Finish the ATReach Mt. Katahdin , hopefully by Aug. 17-21.Tomorrow I will hike 14.8 miles and reach NH 25. Chris List who was in my AT hiking class in April 2015 will meet me tomorrow evening and slackpack me south over Mt. Moosilauke on Sunday. Chris provided trail support to Hoosier, Steve the Hiker, and me last year when we hiked through Hot Sprimgs, NC. Mt. Moosilauke is one of the highest peaks in NH (4802') and the first 4000 footer for NOBOs since Virginia. This is the warmup for what lies ahead.
Date: 2017-07-15
From: Hexacuba Shelter 

To: NH25 - Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

I was glad I decided to stay in the shelter last night. It rained hard after midnight for 30 minutes. I stayed dry and I was comfortable on my air pad. The shelter was a hexagon (most are rectangular). There were 8 hikers in the shelter and everyone had their head against a wall and their feet pointing to the center. The only downside of staying in the shelter  was there was a lot of snoring going on and it was in Surround Sound! I was on the trail at 6:40 am. I had 14.7 miles to cover to NH 25 where I was meeting Chris List. Chris was in my AT hiking class in April 2015 and now works outside Boston and enjoys helping hikers. The first quarter of my hike was over Mt. Cube (2909') and was difficult with a lot of rock plates to climb. My pace slowed to 1.3 mph. From there it got easier and my pace picked back up. As with yesterday, normally there would have been some great views but they were all socked in by the clouds. The sun occasionally came out and toward the end of the day the skies cleared. After lunch I passed a sign saying "Welcome to the Whites" so I am officially here. I texted Chris from the top of Mt. Mist and let him know I was 2.8 miles out. I reached NH 25 at 4 pm and Chris was set up there with Trail Magic for me and other hikers. I downed 3 Powerades, and had a banana, orange, and chips while we visited. Chris had a room in Lincoln, NH. We went there, and I took a shower to rinse the mud off. We went to the Woodstock Inn for dinner where I had a huge plate of fish and chips. Tomorrow morning I will slackpack over Mt. Moosilauke. Thank you, Chris! At the end of hiking today I was at Mile 1791.1. I have less than 400 miles to go to Mt. Katahdin - 117 miles in NH and 282 in ME!
Date: 2017-07-16
From: Kinsman Notch

To: NH25 - Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Chris and I were at the Longhorn Palace Pancake House at 7 am when it opened and had a nice breakfast. We went back to the motel and I sorted out my gear for the slackpack today over Mt. Moosilauke. Chris dropped me off at the Kinsman Notch trailhead at 9 am and I began walking south. Chris drove his car around to the Glencliff trailhead parking area and began walking north. The plan was to meet on the top and walk south together back to the car. It was a very steep ascent for me for the first two miles. This is the second steepest ascent on the AT (3500' in 2 miles). It was hand over hand combat with the rocks going up. The trail followed a stream with a series of large waterfalls which made the climb worthwhile. On the way up, I talked to a couple (Susan and Alan) from Hanover. Turned out they were neighbors of Fran, the Trail Angel I stayed with...small world. My pace going up was a little over 1 mph. After 2 miles, the ascent was more gradual the rest of the 3.8 miles to the summit of Mt. Moosilauke. It was a beautiful, clear day and the view from on top was amazing...360 degrees and probably the best since Harper's Ferry. There must have been 100 people on top...not surprising given it was a beautiful Sunday. There must be an easier way up though. I had lunch at the summit then began heading down. I passed Chris on his way up. The ascent was a little more gradual from his direction but was about a mile longer. He went onto the top while I continued down. I reached NH25 at 4 pm and walked 0.3 miles to the Hikers Welcome Hostel where I waited for Chris. He picked me up about 45 minutes later. I secured a bunk at the Notch Hostel in North Woodstock, NH which was about 10 miles away. This is closer to Kinsman Notch where I will continue north from tomorrow. Chris drove me there and dropped me off and he headed back toward Boston. Thank you for the Trail Magic and trail support, Chris! That was awesome! The Notch is a very nice hostel that can accommodate 30 hikers. It was full last night. "Bookie", a 2015 Thru-hiker, does a great job running the place and tending to the hikers. I have a package coming here Monday or Tuesday so I have fingers crossed after all my PO issues.
Date: 2017-07-17
From: Kinsman Notch

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: clear sky

A couple of hikers at the Notch Hostel were doing a slackpack offered by the hostel from Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch. This is a difficult section of trail starting at Kinsman Notch (1860') that goes over Mt. Wolf (3478') and then South Kinsman Mountain (4358') and North Kinsman Mountain (4293') with a steep descent into Franconia Notch (1432'). I decided I would give it a try. My main concern was they dropped off at 7:45 am and picked up at 5:30 pm so there was less than 10 hours hiking time and little time for breaks, at least at my hiking pace. The other hikers were faster than me so I brought up the rear. I had a steep climb to start up Mt. Wolf. It only got steeper as I headed up South Kinsman with a rocky ascent for the next 2.5 miles. There were several boggy areas I had to navigate through along the way. I reached the top of South Kinsman around 2 pm and joined the other hikers for a quick lunch. Then we headed over North Kinsman and began the descent. The sky to the west began to darken and it looked like rain. I passed the Kinsman Pond Shelter around 3 pm. The sky got darker and I could hear thunder in the distance. I caught up to another hiker and we picked up the pace to get off the mountain as fast as we could. We passed the Lonesome Lake Hut and had about 2 miles to go to the pickup point. By this time the sky was dark and the thunder and lightning was closer but the rain held off. We made it to the van about 10 minutes late. The bottom fell out just as we got there. At the hostel, there had been a hailstorm and the power was out. It took several hours for the utility crews to fix the downed power lines in North Woodstock and get the power back on. I got a ride into town and ate at a Mexican Restaurant. It was a long day, but I am glad I did the slackpack. It would have been a much more difficult hike with a full pack and I wouldn't have been the able to do the full 16 miles in one day. Tomorrow morning I will get dropped off at Franconia Notch and continue north.
Date: 2017-07-18
From: Franconia Notch 

To: Garfield Shelter 
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

The van from the Notch Hostel dropped a group of hikers off at the trailhead at Franconia Notch at 8:15 am. I was back on the AT heading north at 8:30 am. I had an ascent over the first 3 miles to Franconia Ridge. I crossed the Ridge and from there I went over Little Haystack Mountain (4780'), Mount Lincoln (5089'), Mount Lafayette (5260'), and Mount Garfield (4500'). I reached Mount Lincoln around 1 pm and had lunch there while enjoying the view. The weather was clear all day and the views from the mountaintops were incredible. I made it to Garfield Shelter around 5:30 pm. There was a lot of ascending and descending today, over 5000' of each. My pack was probably the heaviest it has been this trip since I just re-supplied and am carrying 6 days of food and some warmer clothing. It was a bit of a struggle all day carrying a fully loaded pack since I had slackpacked the last two days.
Date: 2017-07-19
From: Garfield Shelter 

To: Ethan Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: fog

I stayed in the shelter last night since I couldn't find a good hammocking spot. There ended up being about 8 people in the shelter. The last people in were a couple with a dog. As soon as it was hiker midnight (dark), the guy fell asleep and began some horrendous snoring. He was so loud, I put my headphones on and put on the Piano Guys CD. I turned it up loud enough to drown out the snoring and I listened to it all night. I was up and out of there early and on the trail at 6 am. I had a a steep rocky descent followed by a steep ascent to Galehead Hut. I got there at 8 am and got a baked good on my thru-hiker card and a cup of coffee. From there it was a steep mile long climb to South Twin Mountain (4902'). The view of the surrounding mountains was great from here. I had lunch along the trail around noon and reached the Zealand Falls Hut at 2 pm. I got a bowl of potato dill soup there on my thru-hiker card and a glass of lemonade. The next 5 miles to Ethan Pond Shelter was the easiest walking I have had in NH. It was a nice way to finish the day.
Date: 2017-07-20
From: Ethan Pond Shelter 

To: Lake of the Clouds Shelter 
Miles today: 13.9

Thursday, 7/20I left the Ethan Pond Shelter and was back on the Trail at 6:30 am. The plan for today is to reach The Lake of the Clouds Hut just before the Mt. Washington summit and do "work for stay". This is where the Hut lets you eat the leftovers after the paying guests have eaten in exchange for 30 minutes of washing dishes or sweeping the floor and let's you sleep on the dining hall floor. It was 13.9 miles to the Hut over some very tough terrain. The first 3 miles was downhill to NH 302 / Crawford Notch (1256'). From there it was a very steep ascent over 3 miles to Mt. Webster (3910'). From there it was 1.5 miles to Mt. Jackson (4052') where I had lunch around 1 pm. I reached the Mizpah Spring Hut around 2 pm and had a free bowl of potato soup and baked food on my thru-hiker card. From there it was 0.7 miles up to Mt. Pierce (4310'). I had 4 miles to Lake of the Clouds Hut (5023') and arrived there at 5 pm. Emma at the Hut signed me up for dishwashing duty after dinner. Dinner was lasagna. I waived my dietary restrictions for the evening and enjoyed the food and the badly needed calories. It was a tough day of hiking but I have most of the Presidential Range behind me. Tomorrow I will go the remaining 1200' over Mt. Washington (6226'), the second highest point on the AT after Clingman's Dome, and start heading down toward Gorham, NH.
Date: 2017-07-21
From: Lake of the Clouds Shelter 

To: Osgood Campsites 
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Today I finished the Northern Presidentials - Mt. Washington (6288') and Mt. Madison (5366'). I stayed for breakfast at the Lake of the Clouds Hut which consisted of cold oatmeal and hot coffee for those doing "work for stay". There were a dozen or so hikers like myself who slept on the dining hall floor last night. Believe me, it was well worth the price of admission to have gone over Mt. Jackson and Mt. Pierce and skirted Mt. Eisenhower and Mt. Monroe yesterday and be only 1.5 miles and 1200' from the summit of Mt. Washington. There was a heavy cloud cover and you couldn't even see Mt. Washington which had been clearly visible yesterday evening when I hiked in. I left the Hut at 8:30 am and was at the summit of Mt. Washington at 9:30 am. Unfortunately there would be no clear view from on top for at least a couple of hours until the clouds burned off. I had a hard day of hiking ahead so I continued on. The rest of the day I spent "bouldering", walking from cairn to cairn (rocks stacked in small towers to show the direction of the trail). I reached the Madison Hut at 2:30 pm and had my lunch there. From there I headed up a short but steep rocky 0.5 miles to Mt. Madison where I was climbing on all fours vs. walking most of the way. Coming down off Mt. Madison is the worst descent on the AT. It was 3000' over 3 miles with the first 2 miles being over exposed rock fields leading down, up, and over shoulders on the mountain. The wind picked up with gusts I am guessing were 25-30 mph which wanted to blow me off course. Again, there was no clear trail and it was rock hopping across boulders to the next cairn. The last mile crossed the tree line and it was good to have cover and be off the exposed rocks. It was a steep downhill from here to Osgood Campsite where I camped along with a couple other hikers. It was a tough day of hiking. I felt pretty beat up and both knees were aching from all the downhill. Earlier in the day I had tripped on a not terribly difficult stretch of trail and almost did a face plant but caught myself at the last minute. You have to concentrate on every step and not let your mind wonder. The Presidentials were beautiful and the views were incredible but they were tough hiking.
Date: 2017-07-22
From: Osgood Campsite

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I was on the trail at 6:30 am. It was about 5 miles from the Osgood Campsite to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center (2050') at the NH 16 crossing. I talked to some day hikers when I was 30 minutes out and they said there was a cafeteria there with a good breakfast. I hustled the rest of the way and got there 5 minutes before they shutdown the breakfast buffet at 9 am. I loaded up a plate with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, 2 pancakes, fried potatoes, and a cranberry muffin (yes, I broke training). I downed all this along with 3 cups of coffee. All this for $7! With plenty of hiker fuel in me, I started the steep ascent up the Wildcat Ridge Trail which is the same as the AT through this area. This trail goes over Wildcat Peaks E, D, C, and A, all ranging from 4000-4400'. The 6 miles from Pinkham Notch to Carter Notch Hut is the hardest 6 miles on the AT in the opinion of our AT hiking class instructor. The 3 miles up was very intense rock scrambling going up on all fours a good bit of the way. It leveled off somewhat on top Wildcat Mountain and was very steep down into Carter Notch. I reached the Hut at 4:30 pm. I asked about "work for stay" similar to what I did at Lake of the Clouds Hut two nights ago. They only had two worker spots and I got the second one. Dinner was turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, cranberry sauce, bread, and peach pie, however all the turkey was gone when they called me in to eat at 8 pm. My work assignment was 30 minutes of dishwashing. I got to sleep on the dining hall floor. The air mattress I have been carrying since Hanover, NH is coming in handy.
Date: 2017-07-23
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH 
Miles today: 15.3

I left the Carter Notch Hut at 6 am. Coffee wasn't going to be ready until 7 am so there was no reason to stick around. Just as well as I had about 13 miles to hike to the Rattler River Shelter which is 2 miles before NH 2 and Gorham, NH. The day started with a 0.5 mile steep rocky ascent out of Carter Notch (3293') about like the one out of Pinkham Notch yesterday. I was not ready for that the first thing in the morning. It seemed like forever before I got up to Carter Dome (4832'). From there, it was over Mt. Hight (4653'), down through Zeta Pass (3896'), and then over South, Middle, and North Carter Mountains (all 4400-4600'). I had one more climb over Mt. Moriah (4049') before the steep descent to the Rattler River Shelter (1231'). I got there at 4:15 pm. I was tired but decided I had enough left in the tank to do the last 2 miles into Gorham which were relatively easy. I arrived at the White Mountains Lodge and Hostel, which is right on the trail, around 5 pm where I stayed last night. I shared a room with "Terminator", the Australian bush walker I have been camping in the same spots with for the last week. He is a spitting image of Crocodile Dundee. His Australian accent reminds me of my former co-workers from Down Under at Huntsman. I slept like a log last night. I am taking a zero today (not hiking) to give my body a rest after the Whites. This is the first day since I started at Harpers Ferry (53 days ago) that I have not hiked, although I have had a few low mile days going into towns. I think I deserve and need a break. As of today, I have less than 300 miles left to Mt. Katahdin.
Date: 2017-07-24
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a good day to take a rest day as it rained most of the day. A couple of hikers I hadn't seen in a while came into the White Mountain Hostel this morning. "McIver" from Augusta, GA and Klunk from the U.K. whom I had hiked with back in PA both showed up. McIver told us that Daddy Long Legs from Atlanta who we had hiked with earlier had broken his leg coming through the Whites. He had heard that another hiker had torn their ACL in the Whites and a lady had broken her ankle going through Mahoosuc Notch, which is two days ahead for us. It seems like the Whites took a lot out of everyone. I feel lucky to have gotten through them with only a few falls and nothing more than a a few cuts, scrapes, and bruises. It was tough hiking but worth it as these were some of the most beautiful and impressive mountains I have ever been in.
Date: 2017-07-25
From: Gorham, NH 

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: clear sky

I left the White Mountain Lodge and Hostel at 7 am after a waffle breakfast there. There was no rain in the forecast for today. The trail was wet from yesterday's rain but fortunately not that muddy. I planned to hike 17 miles from Gorham, NH / US 2 to Carlo Col Shelter. There were few views early in the day due to the clouds. Around 4 pm, I started the climb up Mt. Success. This is the northernmost mountain in the Mahoosuc Range before the NH/ME state line. At 6 pm and mile 1908, I left NH and entered ME. I got to the shelter at 7 pm. It was a long day of hiking but it is great to be in Maine, the 14th and final state on the journey.
Date: 2017-07-26
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Speck Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

Wed, 7/26I slept in until 6 am and was on the trail at 7 am. Today's hike included the "hardest 5 miles on the AT". This included Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm. Mahoosuc Notch is a deranged jumble of boulders in a cleft between Mahoosuc Mtn. and another mountain that is 0.8 miles long. It can take 1-2 hours to get through. It is more rock climbing and boulder hopping than hiking. It took me about 1.5 hours to get through. I had to take my pack off twice to squeeze through some tight spots. I emerged with only a couple of scrapes on my legs. The ascent up Mahoosuc Arm is 1500' over one mile that is extremely steep. I got to Speck Pond Shelter around 5 pm where I stayed tonight. 9.5 miles was a good day on some extremely tough terrain.
Date: 2017-07-27
From: Speck Pond Shelter 

To: East B Hill Road
Miles today: 14.9

I was on the trail at 6:30 am. I had a steep climb to start up Old Speck (4170'), the 3rd highest mountain in Maine and the highest in the Mahoosuc Range. After about 4.5 miles, I reached the parking area at Grafton Notch. A 2014 thru-hiker  from Arizona, and his wife, Elizabeth, were set up doing Trail Magic. They had scrambled eggs, Dunkin Donuts, orange juice, milk, and a lot of hiker re-supply items. They had been in the area doing trail magic the last several days. From there, I went over Baldpate West and East (3790') Peaks. The East Peak is a rocky summit and is one of the most popular hiking spots in ME with 360 degree views in all directions. About 4 pm, I reached Frye Notch Shelter just as it started to rain. I and several other hikers waited out the rain for 1.5 hours then continued on. We camped by a brook just before East B Hill Rd.