morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-23
From: Norwich

To: Hanover
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

I had a heavy head when I woke up this morning due to last night's half bottle bender! I watched some of the Tour before having breakfast and organising my gear in preparation for the summer, winter switch. Once in Hanover, I went to the post office to pick up the parcel sent by Lee with my winter sleeping bag. Lee sent me as a surprise a number of meal replacement bars made by a Cordon Bleu chef in North Carolina, where she is from. They'll come in very handy over the next leg as I'm trying to really cut back on any extra weight to make it easier to get over the mountains. I also went to Hanover Outdoors, an outfitter, to pick up my new pair of shoes. The owner was very kind and let me sort through my gear and get organised in a back area.My new shoes are a horrible light blue colour but they were cheaper and I suppose they will be covered in mud tomorrow anyway! I had to revisit the post office to post all the gear I didn't need. I decided to keep my 32 degree (0C) sleeping bag with a synthetic warm jacket, beanie and thermal long sleeve top and pants. That should keep me warm enough. Afterwards I visited Hanover. Dartmouth College is a beautiful place with buildings scattered around town. There is a neatly manicured Green and many old style square brick buildings. The sophmore students were in session but no other year was. Apparently they take extra summer classes. This weekend was Parent's weekend. I found this concept rather strange as there is no way we'd have such an event at our universities in Australia (or in France). I resupplied at a little convenience store as the Food Co-op, the main supermarket, was a bit out of the way. However I'll pass it on my way out of town tomorrow. Altogether it's been a lovely town stay with probably the most picturesque town on the trail and some really friendly folk.
Date: 2010-07-24
From: Hanover

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The little free buses which run around town don't run on the weekends so I had to wait for the owner to give me a shuttle. I like to leave early normally but as the Tour was on, I didn't care. I watched a bit of the time trial then at 930am I was driven to the Food Co-op which is on the AT on the way out of town. The Food Co-op is an amazing supermarket with all kinds of organic and other healthy food. I only needed a couple of items but I also got some dark chocolate Petit Ecolier biscuits which are a French speciality. I was surprised to see them for sale and thought they'd be a slightly different addition to my food bag. Of course I have too much food again but I'm trying to get a fair way with what I have.My new shoes felt good but I think it would be good to get some new Superfeet insoles. My feet still hurt a lot after just 6 miles walking. The hiking today had some slightly tougher climbs. It all went well but it was incredibly humid so I had sweat pouring down me. Always seems a pity when you leave a town clean then an hour later you're flithy again! I got some amazing views today too, so climbing the hills didn't seem worthless. It was cloudy, but no rain. I met 3 nice thru hikers, all going north. One was called Veggie and she's a vegan - no honey, wool or down (as well as any other animal food products). Hard core! I can't imagine resupply is easy for her. I called it a day early at 500pm because the next shelter was 7 miles away and up a 2000 foot climb. The 3 thru hikers all turned up as did another called Popeye. A good evening and happy to be hiking!
Date: 2010-07-25
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 19.1

Two people showed up to the shelter at 1030pm last night. They proceeded to make a heap of noise fiddling with plastic bags and filtering water. They even tried to start a conversation with us, asking our trail names etc... Popeye told them to shut up. Luckily I was in the shelter because it poured again. I had debated tenting and I'd even put up my tent but it looked cloudy and although there are lots of mozzies around, but I prefer bugs to rain. Major Chafage, another thru hiker, has the same tent as me and he showed me how he rigs it last night. However at 3am, he came into the shelter because it had leaked. I looked in his tent in the morning and there was a big puddle in the floor. The day was cloudy but no rain actually fell on me. However due to the heavy rain last night, the creeks were swollen. I had to cross a brook twice and when I got to it the first time, I realised I'd have to ford as the rocks you'd usually use to cross were submerged.The water was running so fast. I waited 10 minutes to see if anyone came past to help me but no one did. So I unfastened my pack, prepared myself and plunged my feet into the icy water. The water went up to my shins. I was ok but Popeye told me the correct way to ford a river so I am set for next time. The second creek, I managed to get across on the rocks, but it was a big jump. The adrenalin was good even if it was scary. The hiking was tough today with lots of mud to avoid. I poked my pole in and it went about 30cm deep! At one stage I thought I put my foot on a rock but it was not a rock. My foot sunk into the cesspit. There were also lots of rocks to scale and that was exciting. Many of the ridges had slanted slabs of rocks. On one, I slipped and fell like a person falling sideways on a banana peel. It was a very impressive but I was ok luckily. I saw lots of mushrooms or toadstools today. Several clumps of crimson tiny ones, large single black ones and the smallest ones the colour of creme caramel. The red ones were my favourites. I've also seen a number of little snakes. They look like the garden variety, not scary but I don't know what they are. I feel back in the swing of things. The miles are coming as they used to and I don't feel so tired. I'm not at all as fast as the boys, they go amazingly fast, but I hike all day with few breaks and I end up in the same place. I'm totally enjoying things again.
Date: 2010-07-26
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: North Woodstock
Miles today: 17.0

I slept well last night. I think the Advil I popped before bed helped. They have a tendancy to knock me out. Someone was snoring but I put my earplugs in and couldn't hear anything. The temperature was considerably colder last night but my 32F bag and beanie took care of me. Three fellows got up at 500am to hike. Wow - I need to sleep till 600am in order not to feel tired. Two of them plan to summit on 10 August, meaning 26 miles every day with no zeros! One is at the Naval Academy in Anapolis which sounds like a big deal from what the other hikers were saying. I've only heard of West Point. Today I had Mt Moosilauke to climb. This is a mountain everyone talks about being very tough. It's the first mountain in the Whites. I had over 5 miles to cover before reaching the base of the mountain. They felt hard enough! I couldn't complain though because I know what was to come was far harder. Just before the base of the mountain, there was a shelter. So I stopped to have a bite to eat and prepare my bag for the ascension. I drank a bit too much water - I didn't want to carry too much up and there weren't too many sources along the way. It was tough! Not so hard that I felt I wouldn't make it but it just kept going and going! I had thought that at the top was a really tough mile so I was dreading it. The terrain changed to pine trees and alpine style vegetation. It also got a lot colder. I got to a sign and in front a few southbound hikers were hanging out. I said "gee, the hardest is still to come for me" and they told me I had a ridge to walk across but that the climb was over. I couldn't believe it! It was a lot easier than I thought. The ridge and summit of Moosilauke were so windy. I was being pushed in all directions. Someone said it was wind at about 50 miles per hour. But the view... ahhh! 360 degree views of all the surrounding areas. Just amazing! I didn't tarry up top due to the wind but made it down. The downhill was harder than the uphill but I made it to the shelter by 1400. I had planned to stay there but I couldn't stop so early. So I kept going. When I reached Kinsman Notch, there was a former thruhiker doing trail magic. I had a Mountain Dew, then he drove me into North Woodstock. I had planned to go to this town a day later but my choices were a 26 mile day or town...umm...easy choice! When I got to the motel, the owner asked where I was from and then I asked where he was from, he sounded slightly French but not really. Turns out he was French Canadian. I told him in French that he had a bastardised version of French. We had a good laugh. New Hampshire's motto is "Live free or die". I really like that phrase. It's a fitting motto for the Whites which are isolated, wild but very beautiful.
Date: 2010-07-27
From: Franconia Notch

To: Kinsman Notch
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: broken clouds

decided to stay an extra night in town to slackpack. I do love a slackpack! I went across the road to get a cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwich to take with me. The lady preparing it said "are you sure that's all you want on it...no meat?". I would have liked more salad items but it was a bit of a greasy spoon. I was at the trail at 800am - early for a slackpack. I came to Lonesome Lake Hut which was the first AMC hut I've seen. The AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) was one of the earliest hiking and mountain clubs in the States. I think their members explored and mapped the White Mountains and managed to buy huge chunks of land to protect it. That land now forms part of the AT. The AMC maintains the trail in this area and operates a number of huts. The huts were based on the refuges found in the Alps. Thru hikers often refer to the AMC as the Appalachian Money Club in part because the huts are very expensive. A bunk and all you can eat dinner (3 courses) and breakfast, no shower is 100 dollars. I think in the Alps I paid about 40 euros when I once stayed in a refuge. I personally have not made my mind up about the AMC but the Whites are known as probably the nicest part of the AT so the AMC can't be doing be doing too badly.Thru hikers can do work for stay sometimes. There are usually only 2 spots available so you need to get there early but not too early, maybe at 4pm. If you get a spot, you can sleep on the floor in the dining room, eat any left over dinner and breakfast but then you have to work. That can mean sweeping the floor, cleaning the fridge or stove or other tasks. I have budgeted a night or two and I'd prefer to hike all day rather than stopping at a hut at 4pm then only being able to leave at 9 or 1030 after working. I'm going to make a reservation to stay in a hut tomorrow to see what the fuss is all about. After the hut, I visited Kinsman Pond and camping area. Again you pay 8 dollars to stay. I slogged up Kinsman Mountain. The view was simply stunning from the top. Views over the mountains with little pine trees. I ate my sandwich surrounded by the mountains. It's a lot chillier up here. When you climb a mountain, you get sweaty and then on the top it's heaps colder so you can get hypothermia if you are not careful. The rest of the day went by well but now I realise how hard the Whites are. It's continual dodging mud, hauling yourself up boulders and sliding down rock slabs. 16 miles took me 10 hours with a couple of breaks. The slackpack was worth it as I know not to underestimate the terrain. Today was tough, very tough. I never thought it would end!
Date: 2010-07-28
From: Franconia Notch

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

got an egg and cheese muffin from the diner for breakfast which was delicious and another salad sandwich for lunch. This time the lady outdid herself and put green peppers, pickles and onions on the sandwich along with yesterday's fillings. I got an early shuttle because with yesterday's hardship, I thought I better go quickly if I wanted to get to the hut I'd reserved by 600pm for dinner. I had a long climb out of Franconia Notch to get to the ridge but I found it easy. Once on the ridge, the views were AWESOME. I use that word in its true sense. It inspired awe. You could see for miles. The crossing of the ridge was easy. I went from mountain top to mountain top. I had my sandwich on Mt Lincoln. I think that my lunch was the one with the best view since the start.Yesterday while being shuttled to the trail for my slackpack, I'd asked the driver what the huge imposing mountain was in the distance. He didn't know. I looked at my map and saw it was Mt Lafayette. I ended my ridge walking on it today. The wind was blowing, the sun shining on my face and I couldn't help but have a huge goofy grin on my face. Magnificant! I then hiked on up and down through rocks and onto peaks. The walking was far easier than yesterday in my opinion although I only had 13 miles to cover. At one stage I had to walk down a little waterfall. The trail actually went on the tiny waterfall. I made it to the hut in good time. The hut is set in a beautiful location amongst the mountains and pine trees. I have the top bunk of four! So you can imagine how high it is! Dinner was a random ingredient lentil soup. It wasn't very good because the chef had not really thought about the combination of ingredients. But I had a second serving. Main course was ham in pineapple, couscous, green beans and brocoli. The veggies were overcooked but again I had seconds. The dessert was a delicious pumpkin pie. And guess what, I had seconds! Overall it was fine but it tasted like food cooked by college students (which it was!). Also they are limited in supplies as the croo have to cart it up themselves.
Date: 2010-07-29
From: Galehead Hut

To: Mizpah Camping
Miles today: 21.0

In the huts, the tradition is to wake you up at 630am with music. This hut had a guitar player so we had a serenade early in the morning. Breakfast was porridge then fritata, bacon and a sweet dessert cake. It was ok and I left at 730am. It had rained all night so the trail was wet but luckily there was no rain during the day. I could see someone had passed before me from the footprints so I knew someone had stealth camped along the way. I found out later it hadbeen Turtle and Mellow Yellow, two thru hikers. I hiked onto Zealand Hut. I had hoped to get some soup but it was going to take 20 minutes so I just got a Snickers. I met Bama at the hut. He is a thru hiker completing the trail in 99 days. Warren Doyle had told me about him. He has to do 26 miles every day. Wow! He doesn't even hurry. He hikes late if necessary. He had heard about me because people had told him there was an Australian girl moving fast ahead of him. I hiked onwards and there was a pleasant piece of flat trail for 5 miles. What a change! I had planned to stealth camp on Webster Cliffs and the spot looked perfect but I decided after Bama saying it'd be fine and two high school graduates going that way, to continue on. The hike, or should I say rock climb up was amazing. The wind buffeted me from side to side while I jumped like a mountain goat from rock to rock and up boulders. I've rarely done such hiking! It was exhilirating though. The sun went down a bit and I got worried I'd never make it! But I was in the zone. I am now in the Presidentials all the peaks are named after American presidents. I have not seen a Bush yet though. Finally I got to the campsite. Unfortunately there were only tent platforms (wooden raised platforms) which are for stand alone tents (which don't need pegs). I rigged my tent as best I could but if it rained I was stuffed! Two kids invited me for hot chocolate. It must have been 32F so I gladly said yes.Turns out the father was French from Brittany married to an American. Lovely family with great kids. Good evening.
Date: 2010-08-01
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Only 20 days left on my hike! I plan to enjoy every single one of them. I wanted to go back to Mt Washington today and hike up again. However, I rung around and getting back to the trail was near impossible. I just wish I had more time in the Presidentials. I had thought of going back tomorrow as the extra time would enable me to get transport organised, however there is a 50% chance of storms. I suppose I need to keep the excellent memories of the last couple of days. The book I have been reading about disasters on Mt Washington has been very interesting. A good number of the deaths (there have been over 140) occurred in winter months but a few were in June, July and August with ill prepared hikers venturing into fierce weather. Some of the weather described was the same temperature and wind speed as when I was climbing to the summit. The big difference is that it wasn't raining when I went. I think it's a lesson on good preparation. You must have all the correct gear and not climb in bad weather. The latest person to die on Mt Washington was 2 weeks ago on 19 July. A young man fell to his death near a river. Most die from exposure, hypothermia and falls.Gorham is a small New Hampshire town. It's different from the small southern towns however. The main past times here seem to be hunting and fishing and snowmobiling. I read that in Vermont (still close to here) whosoever wins a moose hunting licence in the annual lottery is a really lucky person. Glad I'm not walking here in hunting season! It's also close to Quebec so there are many signs saying that local businesses speak French. I've heard so many French Canadians speaking their weird French since being here. There's even a Quebec TV channel which I've watched a bit of.
Date: 2010-08-02
From: Gorham

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

I got a taxi for 800 (the time at which the company opens). The taxi driver wasn't sure where to drop me but she said she knew a road that someone going to Maine was dropped off at. She said that there were white rectangles on the fence. Sure enough it was the AT. She was very interested in my hike. I got off to a good start but felt slightly sad that the Presidentials were finished. I felt annoyed to be walking through the green tunnel again! However Maine is supposed to be pretty so it should get good. I met Apple Juice, a flip flop hiker (who is doing Harper's Ferry to Maine then Harper's Ferry to Georgia) and a few other hikers. Many felt the same way as me. Everyone was bummed to be in boring territory, but also looking forward to finishing. The miles came quite easily today until the end. There were huge rocks to climb down. I ended up sliding down on my bum again for want of any better way of getting down. I now have a couple of holes in my shorts. I saw another AMC trail crew working on making little wooden bridges to cross muddy parts of the trail. That was the third AMC crew I've seen in New Hampshire and it's the most I have seen in any stated. Late in the day, I crossed my last state line. I'm now in Maine! 280 miles to go.
Date: 2010-08-03
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Gorham
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: few clouds

It started raining while I was having dinner inside the shelter. There were quite a few thru hikers there and we were all very glad for the roof over our heads. I re met Rico, a hiker I had not seen since the Smokies. He had flip flopped up to Katahdin (my terminus) and is going back down to where he left off. I woke at 600 and it was still raining. I had to hike 0.3 miles back to the trail as the shelter had been slightly off. I carried my umbrella and it protected me well, however when climbing steep hills, it's a bit hard to hold a brolly. The trail was very muddy but my feet were soon wet so I just sloshed through it. The Mahoosuc Mountains where I am currently located are hard because they comprise of rocks with no real steps to walk up or any places to get your grip to climb. Going up is not such a problem because it's hard to fall going upwards. Going down is a different story. My legs are rarely long enough to find a ledge on which to descend so I slide and slip and fall down the descents. I soon had blood running down my legs. I don't go fast but I can't manage to keep upright. I was about to arrive at the Mahoosuc Notch, the hardest mile on the AT. Every step in that mile is the opportunity to twist your ankle. You can imagine how impossible walking becomes in such conditions. I thought to myself that this was the last place on Earth I wanted to be at this time. Looking back, I can see that it was an overdramatisation but at the time I honestly thought it. I felt so unsafe. In particular being on my own. If I fell and hurt myself, I'd have no one to help me. About 3 miles into the hike, I called the local taxi company to see if I could be picked up. I descended to the mountain. On the flat the walking was great and I felt a lot more in security. It was still raining and muddy but there were no dangerous rocks.Down at the trail head, I met two section hikers waiting for the same taxi company as me. We shared a cab meaning it was very cheap to get back. The owner of the hotel arranged for her daughter to take me to Andover, just a short way up the trail, but hopefully out of the dangerous rocks. The weather is not set to improve and I can't afford to break a leg so close to the end and to when my new job is due to start.
Date: 2010-08-04
From: Gorham

To: Andover
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I got a lift up to Andover in Maine today. Weird lift. The girl who drove me was speaking on the phone to her lover about the number of phone call she had made to his phone and about how his girlfriend was suspicious. She then discussed the whole issue with me, I wasn't sure what to say. The conversation went on like that all the way...one hour. Whew was I glad to get here.I have resupplied and am set for the next section. I have only two more towns to pass through, Stratton and Monson, then I will enter the 100 miles wilderness. This is about 130 miles without any real access to roads or towns. Apparently it was a lot more wild in past years and now there are some logging roads and you can actually get shuttles into the area. After that section is the last big climb of the hike....Mt Katahdin. You camp down the bottom of the mountain the night before your summit. On the day of, you grab a day pack from the park ranger and you climb the 5 miles to the summit. You take your obligatory photo in front of the finishing plaque and that's you done! I might not have hiked every mile but I'll be mighty glad to reach the finish and take that photo!