morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-08-08
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Stealth Camp near NH 25A
Miles today: 17.0

Day 129 Smarts & Cube MountainsDuring yesterday evening more campers turned up. It was a true mini bubble of through hikers. Many had decided to head to the beach in a couple of days. ¢Orange Blaze¢ had left the trail briefly because he thought he had Lyme Disease and was taking a course of antibiotics. He was staying with his Mum who has a beach house. He¢d organised a 15 seater bus to collect everyone and join him on the beach for some zeroes and there was great excitement about this. The conversations all anticipated that it was going to be a great party!! So in the morning there was a steady stream of hikers heading off towards the bus rendezvous. I took a more leisurely approach. I chatted for a short while to ¢Nightingale¢ over coffee and oatmeal, packed up and then sauntered along the path. There were two mountains to climb: Smarts and Cube. Both steep and quite challenging for me. Towards the end of the day I found a stealth spot in a valley. It was hidden away amongst some pine trees and I slept well.
Date: 2019-08-09
From: Stealth Camp near NH 25A

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel Glencliff
Miles today: 9.8

Day 130 Hikers Welcome It really was a Nero day today as I didn¢t have too far to walk to the very small settlement of Glenclif where just a short walk up the road is the Hikers Welcome Hostel. They really did make me feel welcome. I ran into Snowman and Kilroy who I¢d met months ago. I thought they were way in front but here they were and we had a great afternoon recalling and discussing our adventures. Tomorrow would be our first taste of ¢The Whites¢ There is a saying here : ¢When you reach The Whites there is only 20% of the distance left but it takes 80% of the total effort required¢ So we all rested up in anxious anticipation of what was to come. Snowman was going to take a slack pack to get over Moosilauke as he had heard the descent coming down the North way was very treacherous. The slack pack would take him the opposite direction so he would be climbing the difficult part which is so much easier than coming down. I made a playful challenge to him to see who would got to the summit first: him without a pack v me with my fully laden pack!!! It¢ll be an interesting competition!That evening we all were shuttled to a nearby cafe where we purchased subs and red wine. Perfect!!
Date: 2019-08-10
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel Glencliff

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 16.8

131 Entering the Whites I was keen to make an early start particularly as I had a challenge on with Snowman to see who could make it up to the top of Moosilauke. He would be coming from the opposite direction. During the night it rained heavily but fortunately as morning arrived it slowed. My tent was wet (and heavy) but not too bad.I headed up the slope and pretty soon it became very sleep. Up and up it went. After three hours though it flattened out, indeed it even became a sort of road! ( I learnt later it once was a road!!)Finally I arrived at the summit. No Snowman. I¢d won the challenge!! There was a chilly breeze and the clouds were very low meaning I had virtually no view so I didn¢t really stick around long. I didn¢t realise that there was more than one trail and at first I took the wrong one. Fortunately I picked up that I was going the wrong way so I didn¢t have too much of a climb back up. After 45 minutes or so I met Snowman plus a bunch of other hikers who were heading south. Their news was grim. I would be heading down a waterfall with treacherously slippery steps and high cliff descents. I didn¢t like the sound of it at all!! However, Maine beckons! and I continued on hoping that it was mischievous hype. But, ... it wasn¢t and for several hours I gingerly made my way down. Fortunately I slipped only once and that time it wasn¢t too far a fall. What a sign of relief I had when I made it to the bottom. Of course then the trail went straight back up the next hill. I looked at my watch and on a fit of silliness kept on going. I figured the next campsite was not too far away. Trouble was, I hadn¢t taken into consideration that this was ¢The Whites¢ On top of that it started to rain making the rocks, roots and boulders I had to get over, super slick. I had figured on getting into camp at 6.00 pm. As it turned out I arrived at 8:30. The sun had set and it was dark. I was so tired and so grateful when I got my tent up.I lay down and went to sleep.
Date: 2019-08-12
From: Lonesome Lake Hut

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 3.7

Day 133 Franconia Notch Five years ago when I was walking the Camino in Spain I met John and Wilma from Massachusetts who were also doing the walk. We became great friends. They had a holiday house in Maine and suggested that if ever I was in the locality then to give them a call and we could get together. Well ... now I was nearby! It was an opportunity to break up my time in The Whites and get some R&R. So today I arranged with John to collect me at a trailhead and then I¢d head off to the Atlantic and spend some time enjoying myself off the trail. The trailhead was relatively close by. I spent the first part of the morning helping the ¢Croo¢ at the hut clean up. My task was to sweep out the bunk rooms. I also got to have some breakfast. Then I took it very easy to get the rest of the way down the hill to a parking spot beside the interstate freeway. Right on schedule John arrived in his lowered BMW sports and before I knew it I was in Harpswell Maine overlooking a gorgeous scene of boats and the setting sun. And for the evening dinner it was surf and turf. Fresh Maine lobster, straight off the boat and super thick steak from their charcoal grill. I was in luxury. This was living the dream! My sketch today is the view from Lonesome Lake. It was of the Franconia Ridge. But for right now hiking the Ridge was far away from my thoughts. I was at the oceans edge and lapping up the atmosphere!
Date: 2019-08-13
From: Franconia Notch

To: Harpswell
Miles today: 0.0

Day 134 Zero in Harpswell The plan was to go sailing today! But ...No sailing today as the winds were not favourable. But we did get to take the mail boat that delivers goods to the islands just out from Portland Maine. I also have had problems with my iPhone and it¢s made updating my journal hard. So earlier today we did a tour of phone suppliers each with a different phone tale to sell! Turns out I could be sold an ¢unlocked¢ iPhone but as soon as I put a phone companies sim in it, it would ¢lock¢ the phone and I couldn¢t use it later in Australia. We ended up visiting the Apple store and now I have a new iPhone. Not what I¢d planned to include in my hiking budget but these things happen!! Once we had the phone fixed we headed to the docks and boarded the mailboat. A super relaxing day and I am so grateful to John and Wilma.
Date: 2019-08-14
From: Harpswell

To: Harpswell 
Miles today: 0.0

Day 135 Treetrunk becomes Seatrunk The sailing winds turned favourable and what a day I had.The photo says it all!!I had discarded the backpack and now had a life vest. I¢ve got to say the latter was much lighter!!!Thank you John and Wilma for a great day.
Date: 2019-08-15
From: Franconia Notch

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 9.6

Day 136 Franconia Ridge The break in my journey in Harpswell was so relaxed and much needed. However the trail beckoned, and it was time to get back to the trail. At 5am John was up and we soon were on our way for the three hour drive to the trailhead that I¢d left three days before. My legs were fresh and the initial climb seemed so easy. The trail went through thick forest up to Liberty Springs that was just below the ridge line. A series of hollowed logs carried an icy cold stream from deep in a rocky cliff. I filled my container and savoured the refreshing water. Soon I reached the Franconia Ridge which links a series of high peaks. At first it was still in the woods, but climbing higher I reached the tree line and the views exploded in front of me. They were awesome! Soon I reached the first peak, Little Haystack which also had a popular walking trail linking it to the road far down in the valley. Masses of day hikers were there and they all seemed to walk in clumps onwards towards the next peak: Mt Lincoln and then Mt Lafayette. At times it was quite crowded but my eyes were on the distant horizon; the views were just so spectacular! High on the shoulder of the last peak was Green Leaf mountain Lodge and the day hikers all seemed to turn off towards that. There was only the occasional rare through hiker or section hiker who continued onwards. Suddenly it seemed so lonely and quiet! I followed the ridge line in a gentle descending curve to a Pond and then it was another steep climb up to another high Peak: Mt Garfield. It had stunning views from a granite ledge which is this journal entry¢s drawing. I spent quite a while there in quiet contemplation before descending down a ridge to the Garfield Ridge Campsite. It had a series of wooden platforms for tents and there were lots of folks there. There was a separate cooking area and I spent the remainder of the evening chatting with fellow hikers and discussing the amazing views that we had had this amazing day.
Date: 2019-08-16
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 137 White Mountain 4,000 Footers Today was a typical day of White Mountain 4,000ft peaks: lots of steep climbs and then descents (the latter not something I really enjoy) with the reward of stunning views at many opportunities. Sometimes there were log ladders which made the cliffs a bit easier. Other times there were not and I was left wondering how I was going to go down or up. Luckily I never fell. But I sure went slow!!! When I totalled up my ascent/descent (a feature on the app I use on my smart phone) I didn¢t actually achieve a lot of climbing, but my legs certainly were tired at the end of the day. I was lucky enough to score leftover breakfast at one of the huts and then at Zealand Falls Hut was offered work for stay. A perfect opportunity because it rained a lot during the night and I was warm and dry inside!
Date: 2019-08-17
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 18.8

Day 138 Lake of the Clouds I was up early as the ¢Croo¢ needed the room clear for breakfast. I didn¢t mind at all as I¢m an early riser and love the morning walking especially when it is so peaceful. As it turned out the first section was flat! Such a surprise after all the ups and downs I¢ve recently had. The area was full of boggy swamps and lakes, quite picturesque. Then I was in for a huge surprise. Dropping down into Crawford Notch was trail magic. The Class of 2017 had a gathering and put on the most amazing spread of cooked breakfast. And I certainly enjoyed it. Hiker Hunger has set in and before I knew it I¢d had three breakfast sandwiches of bacon egg and cheese. Plus two IPA. Then to top it off two coffees!!! Before me was a huge climb up to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut which is just below Mt Washington, the highest peak in these parts at 6,288ft. Thanking everyone I then headed up and up! There were great views half way up at the Webster Cliffs where the trail hugged a series of ledges that overlooked the valley below! Further up I reached Mizpah Spring Hut where I had a bowl of warming minestrone soup. I knew it would be late when I got there, but I pressed on now with swirling misty clouds around me. Visibility was very low but the path clear to follow. On these hills my pace is painfully slow at around 1 mile an hour. But I was delighted in the scenery. Somehow the foggy atmosphere made everything seem magical! Then just on dusk I rounded a corner and there appeared the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. There were lots of hikers there, many choosing to sleep in ¢The Dungeon ¢ a dank basement area. But for $10 I was given permission to sleep on the dining room floor after the guests had finished their supper! It was fine by me. One guest even gave me there left over hiking food which I gratefully accepted- it saves me carrying it up over the mountains!!! Then it was lights out and I slept well.
Date: 2019-08-18
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Near Osgood Tent Site
Miles today: 11.9

Day 139 Mt Washington Mt Washington is the highest peak in New England and has the worst weather in America. This comes about through its location at the intersection of two weather systems ie the North Pole generated weather and the Atlantic generated weather.Back in April 2 1934 it was the centre of a huge storm that produced wind speeds of 231 mph which apparently is the highest recorded wind speed ever anywhere! Many other storms have also occurred with equally intense winds and low temperatures. The good news was that fine weather was forecast for today so I was in luck for my climb today. I started out early expecting a fine day. No luck! It was thick fog which was weird because during the night I could see the twinkling lights of settlements far below. The path was clear though so I headed out. First sign I came to said ¢Warning. ... turn go back now if the weather is bad.¢ Well the fog was bad but the indications were that it would lift. Sure enough by the time I made the summit things started to look clearer. I had my photo taken by the summit sign just to prove I¢d been there then headed onwards towards my next destination Mt Madison. On paper it didn¢t look too tricky but the reality was quite the opposite. It was totally exposed and a mass of sharp rocks of all shapes and sizes. Plus on top of that the trail either went steeply up or down. Great fun!! In my usual manner I went slowly and carefully, so sure enough soon I was quickly past by the throngs of other hikers, some already sporting gashed knees from taking mistaken liberty with the acrobatics the route required. It was like that for most of the day and though difficult I really did enjoy the change and challenge in the landscape. So much different from the ¢Green Tunnel¢ I was normally in. Then, towards late afternoon I reached the tree line and a very steep descent. I was now in the Gulf Wildeeness. There was a formal campsite at the base but I still had a couple of hours so I pressed on. The trail now contoured horizontally and I crossed lots of gushing streams. I¢m guessing that all the rocks in the ranges above acted like a giant sponge and now at the base the water collected was flushing out in torrents. I was hoping to make it to a lodge further on but light was fading. So, I found a perfect campsite under some pine trees and got to bed just before it was totally dark. A great day.
Date: 2019-08-20
From: Zeta Pass

To: Rattle River Hostel
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 141 Rattle River Morning arrived and with it, resplendent views back over the mountain ranges that had thoroughly subdued my acclivitous desires. The threatened thunderstorms had not materialised, instead the skies were clear and the sunrise shone across the valley to the Presidental Range I had traversed two days ago. I sat and contemplated all the energy I had taken to climb Mt Washington then past Mt Clay, Mt Jefferson, Mt Adams, Mt Madison and finally down the ridge line to Pinkham Notch. The route looked so clear even though now it was miles away.There were more mountains to climb today, but nothing as tough as the past few days. After that was a steep long descent to Rattle River named I¢m assuming because all the pebbles rattled along as they were washed along by the gushing waters. At the bottom trailhead I met up with ¢Anchor¢ who calls himself an AT tourist as he picks and chooses which parts of the trail to walk and then does it ¢slack pack¢ or gets someone in a vehicle to carry his stuff from trailhead to trailhead. During the past weeks I¢ve met him numerous times as he races past me. Somehow he takes half the time it takes me to do the same distance though I guess it helps not carrying a pack! Anyways he¢d already finished the day, had cleaned up, gone into town to get supplies and was now waiting in a car for a friend. He very kindly gave me a package of nibbles to re- energize myself since I was so slow! Down the road was the Rattle River Hostel and I decided to stay the night. First rule was: Shoes off they stink! - they don¢t come in the house. Next: Pack off, it stinks! - It doesn¢t come in the house. Next: Clothes off they stink! - they don¢t come in the house. They must be washed! Finally: You stink! - you don¢t come into the house before you¢ve had a wash! All of which was totally true and I agreed with. I had a lovely wash then wearing an eclectic mix of loner clothes I was shown my bed for the night which was very comfy! Not long later there was a call that the shuttle was ready and a group of 6 hikers including me were taken to the local Walmart for resupply. I¢d calculated I¢d need 5 days of food for the next section and I walked out with half a dozen bulging plastic carry bags. Back at the hostel I managed to discard most of the cardboard packaging and squeeze my supplies into my food bag ready for an early start tomorrow. It was so heavy though! I¢d also bought a salad, chicken and red wine - a luxury dinner for tonight. The hostel was so warm and friendly and I was so happy to be staying the night.
Date: 2019-08-21
To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.7

Day 142 Gentian PondAt last a relatively easy day! I was going to leave early but the Rattle River Hostel was so enticing I stayed longer and didn¢t leave until 10 which is really late for me. There were a couple of minor mountains then late in the afternoon the skies started to look threatening. Just as I reached Gentian Pond Shelter the rains really came down! I didn¢t particularly care to tent it and as there was space I made up my bed in the Shelter. There was a great group of hikers there,a mix of NOBO¢s (north bounders) and SOBO¢s (south bounders). The night was spent recalling all adventures and learning from the SOBO¢s what fun was in store.
Date: 2019-08-23
From: Full Goose Pond Shelter

To: Stealth Camp Mile 1923
Miles today: 8.8

Day 144 Mahoosuc Notch The most difficult mile of the AT is considered to be the Mahoosuc Notch followed by the climb of the Mahoosuc Arm. I had no idea what to expect but I¢d chosen to camp at Full Goose Shelter the night before because it¢s the closest formal camp to the Notch; and I wanted to be fresh as I could for the adventure and treat it as a fun day! Descending down to the Notch I could see that what I would be going through was a length of riverbed. Hundreds of thousands of years ago the cliffs above the riverbed had cracked off depositing huge jagged rocks the size of shipping containers. Now my task was to get through them. Well my strategy was simple enough: if you can¢t go over it and you can¢t go round it then go under it! And that¢s what I did. I took off my pack, pushed that through the tiny passage ways under the boulders then crawled on through myself. It was a total workout in a jungle gym! Crazy thing was that under some of the boulders was ice and snow from the winters before!After about one and one half hours of this a tiny voice inside my head said: ¢This ain¢t fun anymore!¢ So I took my phone out and using the GPS app looked up where I was. Goodness me I wasn¢t even half way through!!! Well I kept on going and after 3 hours 52 minutes I was out of there. Much to my annoyance one ¢young-un¢ later told me he did the boulder section in 35 minutes. How he did that I do not know. But I guess my knees and leg agility just ain¢t what they used to be!!I took lunch and then it was time to tackle the Mahoosuc Arm, a near vertical ascent of over more than 1000 feet. If I wasn¢t tired from the boulder scramble then I surely was once I¢d reached the top. But what a sense of achievement I felt. Suddenly I knew I had completed the toughest sections of the AT!! And I was still in one piece. Maybe it had tried to eat me but I¢d somehow avoided that fate! I had one more climb that day, up 4065ft ¢Old Speck¢ but somehow even though it was tough, I found it to be a breeze. That night I stealthed a ways down the other side. I had found a fresh mountain stream and beside it the perfect space to set up my tent out of view. Time for more contemplation and to drift off to sleep happy I¢d completed the Notch.
Date: 2019-08-24
From: Stealth Camp Mile 1923

To: East B Hill Road, Human Nature Hostel
Miles today: 11.2

Day 145 Human NatureToday was an easy one! I was blessed with Trail Magic when I reached the next Trail Head. Fresh coffee and the most perfect home cooked cake from trail angel Pineapple. She even had duct tape with pineapples emblazoned on it! Then a superb climb up Bald Plate Mountain, an open slab of rock with 360 degree views at the top. There was some fog about but it cleared to reveal wonderful vistas before me. Going down there was rope and ladders. Things were certainly getting serious!!! I took my time and didn¢t get eaten! From there it was all the way down to a mountain road. I hurried along as I knew at 4:30 there¢d be a shuttle to ¢Human Nature Hostel¢. I¢d heard much about this accommodation and didn¢t want to miss out. With minutes to spare I was at the road before a huge suburban van arrived and with 3 other hikers was off towards the town of Andover. Once at the hostel, it was a similar experience as to my previous stay ... that is ... I and all my belongings ¢stink¢ ... so have a shower and leave everything outside before entering. The hostel is run by ¢Yukon¢ an ex Marine. I could tell by the way everything was spick and span and in its place. So very clean and spotless. The hostel was a huge three storey dome. Inside I was greeted with so many familiar hiker faces and friendly greetings. It was such a welcoming place. Deep in the base of the dome were the hiker bunks and I slept well that night.
Date: 2019-08-25
From: East B Hill Road, Human Nature Hostel

To: Black Brook Campsite
Miles today: 9.9

Day 146 Black Brook The Human Nature shuttle dropped me and a group of other hikers back at the trailhead at 8:30am which is kind of late for me. It meant I¢d really have to move on to meet my planned mileage. The slack packers zoomed on past me making for the next trail head. They¢d make it there by 1pm but at my pace 5pm is a more realistic time. Soon I was on my own. The woods were so peaceful and beautiful. I came across the picturesque Surplus Pond so I sat down and had an early morning tea. It¢s places such as this that I just have to stop at and make time to soak in the atmosphere. Like every day there were a number of mountains to climb with tricky descents to negotiate. My pace really must be getting slow because when 5pm came I was still on the mountain. Then some hikers past me and said that if I hurried up there might still be Trail Magic left at the bottom of the hill. Well that certainly was an incentive! I really increased my pace but still that would be much slower than the younger ones! At the bottom the ¢Old Buzzard¢ Camp was just starting to be disassembled. He and several others had set up camp at Black Brook Campsite for the last two days handing out stew, hotdogs, chips and drinks to the passing hikers. I helped him pack up and lucky for me he scraped his large cooking pot out and there was stew for me too! I had originally planned to climb the next mountain and camp as I knew the next day had lots of big climbs and I wanted to make start into it. But my full belly from the stew, plus the fact I had a Pabst beer delayed those ambitions. I helped ¢Old Buzzard ¢ pull down his tent then I set up mine. I resolved the mountains can wait. I¢d get up early the next morning but for now it was shoes off and relax time!