morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-09-01
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: NH 10/Dartmouth College/Hanover, New Hampshire
Miles today: 14.6

Highlight: Crossing into the 13th state, seeing Pussyfoot for the first time in 3 12 months, and meeting up with Trevor Gorman, an old soccer friend who I hadn't seen in roughly 7 years (since fall 2002). Although I awoke relatively early, it pained me to climb out of my sleeping bag. Fortunately, the shelter in which we stayed was facing due east, thereby allowing the suns rays to reach us more effectively. Man, it was cold! We still had some good bumps en route to Hanover, home to Dartmouth College, but there was also a few miles of road walking. As I reached US 3, I saw another thru-hiker walking in front of me. I crossed the Connecticut River and made a celebratory video to mark entry into the 13th state on the trail: NEW HAMPSHIRE! When I caught up to the thru-hiker ahead of me, it turned out to be Pussyfoot, whom I haven't seen since Trail Days, over three months ago! He now goes by the shortened version of Pussyfoot, just Pussy. We caught up for a bit and walked into town together. While making a few phone calls to find the whereabouts of trail friends, I also ran into Baltimore Jack, an old timer legend of the trail. Scavenger and I had seen him in Damascus, VA over Trail Days and, again, as we passed through a week later. He's a nice guy and is very helpful and knowledgeable with advice about the trail. I headed down Main Street and popped into Rasmuto's Pizzeria for a free slice of pizza that is given to all thru-hikers. Then, I made a trip to the library, which is where Trevor came to pick me up. En route to his abode in West Leb, he fired off question after question of how the hell I ended up essentially 'homeless' and hiking the Appalachian Trail. After a quick shower at his place, we headed off to Panera Bread for dinner, where we were able to continue our conversation about life since the last time we saw each other. Trevor most recently did a two-year Master program at UNC and is into his third season as the Assistant Coach for Men's Soccer at Dartmouth. Seemingly, he is doing a great job, as they've had much success in the Ivy League and in the NCAA Tournament. We then made a re-supply stop at Price Choppers so that I wouldn't, as he put it, 'starve' out on the trail. After all, he would feel somewhat guilty Then, we returned home, caught up some more about pro soccer, I drank a half gallon of milk and ate sushi and fresh fruits, and then headed off to bed.
Date: 2009-09-02
From: NH 10/Dartmouth College/Hanover, New Hampshire

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Highlight: Hiking 11 miles out of town in only 4.5 hours. Trevor dropped me off in town early, where I tried to find a place to do my laundry. My efforts were unsuccessful, so I spent the next several hours in a coffee shop to await on the library to open. I stayed at the library into the early afternoon sending out pertinent employment emails and updating my blog. I hiked out at around 4:30 PM and, fortunately, made very good time, trekking 11 miles all the way to Moose Mountain Shelter. A large group of Dartmouth students occupied the shelter, so Willow, Jungli, and I were resigned to camping off to the side. The bad news today is that, as I was crossing a creek today, my cell phone fell out of my hip belt side pocket and into the creek. The cell phone no longer functions. Sorry for anyone who tries/will try to call or text me.
Date: 2009-09-03
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

Highlight: Seeing my first bear since before Upper Goose Pond in Massachusetts. Camping next to Willow and Jungli, I woke up in the morning after a GREAT night's sleep! Willow, unfortunately, did not sleep well at all due to my outrageously loud snoring. Jungli said that, in my defense, it was the worst snoring that she has ever heard from me. Geez. I felt terrible for Willow, as she yelled to Jungli at 2 am: "JUNGLI! IS IT ALWAYS THIS BAD!!???" I tried to lighten up the situation by giving Willow a hug and saying, "Well, I think that it is fair to say that I had enough sleep for the both of us". She was a good sport about it, but I don't think she found it to be too funny Before the climb to Holt's Ledge, I was hiking on my own and saw my first bear since Massachussets. It is very rare to see bear up this north; they are definitely out and about, but they are far less active around hikers. It raced off in the distance as soon as it saw me, but I was still within 50 feet of it. The climb up Smarts Mountain was absolutely brutal in the heat of the late afternoon. We climbed from 850 ft. to 3,230 ft. in just less than 4 miles. There were metal bars that had been fixed into the rock face to provide for easier climbing. It was very rough. At the top, we all climbed the firetower, which provided a beautiful view of the setting sun and mountains and wilderness in each direction. Aside from standing in the fire tower, itself, I wasn't able to see any sign of human civilization from up above. It was breathtaking. We hiked on to Hexacuba Shelter in the dark. There were several tough climbs, but we felt that it was important to get some more miles under our belts, as we wanted a relatively short day into Glencliff to pick up our mail drops. There was another Dartmouth group out that took up the entire shelter, so I had to cowboy camp next to Memo, an older man from North Carolina. Jungli cowgirl camped and Willow pitched her tent directly on the side trail. Holy crap were we sore after a 17.7 mile day with massive ascents and descents.
Date: 2009-09-04
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Glencliff, NH (Hiker Hostel)
Miles today: 14.6

Highlight: Getting a slackpack into the Glencliff, NH hostel AND seeing the beautiful views of Mt. Moosilauke and the upcoming White Mountains. We left early in the morning, climbing above tree line to Mt. Cube. This climb provided an incredible view of Smart Mountain and the firetower that we climbed, both of which looked very far away. Down below, the valley was filled with a sea of fog and clouds. Several lower mountains popped through, appearing not as mountains, but as small islands swamped by the 'cloud sea'. As we arrived to NH 25A to have lunch, Fat Chap from the Hiker Hostel pulled up alongside and offered to slackpack us back to Glencliff, as long as we would be staying at the hostel. It worked out great! The next 10 miles were still very challenging, but we were just glad that we didn't have to carry our heavy packs. Odin, who I hadn't seen since Unionville, was present and was slacking back to Glencliff as well. Once in Glencliff, I hiked my way to the Hiker Hostel and then to the Post Office, where I picked up my winter clothing that my aunt had sent to me. I met some new thru-hikers at the hostel and then organized all of my belongings and prepared for the slack over Mt. Moosilauke. I've just showered up and I'm doing my laundry at the moment.
Date: 2009-09-06
From: Kinsman Notch

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

Highlight: Jungli and I slackpacked our way from Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch in a HUGE 16.3 mile day. The slack for Willow and Tim went awry and they were not able to make it over the Kinsmans as the trailhead is very confusing in Franconia. We had thought that we were making great time, but little did we know that the Kinsman Mountains were ridiculous rock-climbing faces that required scrambling up steep faces. There were several points where we nearly fell over, but regained balance at the last second. While climbing South Kinsman at 4,358 ft., we were able to see some incredible views of the area that we had just traversed. We climbed above tree-line again and looked out as the sun set behind us and the wind slapped our pack bands in our faces. We had both understood that we would be night-hiking yet again, but we were just having so much fun in and on the mountains. By the time we reached North Kinsman Mountain at 4,293 ft., the sun had already set and we were forced to climb down steep faces on the north side in complete darkness. We reached the I-93 bridges at 10:30 pm and had to take a side trail that brought us to the Flume parking lot, arriving at 11 pm. We called up Willow and Tim who graciously came and picked us up and drove us around as we tried to get a hotel room on labor day. We didn't anticipate getting in so late. After receiving no vacancy notices from several of the hotels and campgrounds, I pleaded with Country Bumpkins to let us use a plot of grass. Eric, the son of the owner, allowed us to sleep next to the administration building and behind the highway and a large moose pulling a cart as a tourist attraction. We were so thankful just to have a place to sleep. Eric and his girlfriend, Lori, turned out to be wonderful people and they drove us to the local gas station so that we could get some food. Then, we sat by the fire back at the campgrounds, until we began falling asleep in our seats. Today was probably the biggest day that either of us had done in terms of mileage and terrain difficulty.
Date: 2009-09-07
From: Franconia Notch

To: Zero Day at Chet's
Miles today: 0.0

Highlight: Meeting the wonderful people at Country Bumpkins and allowing our bodies to heal from the abuse of walking 1700+ miles. Today was spent as a 'zero' day at Chet's. We awoke in the morning and just took it easy in our tents until close to midday. We chatted with Lori, Eric, and Eric's sister, Amy, who took us into the town of Lincoln, where I purchased a new TracFone and where she dropped us off at Chet's hostel. Everyone at Country Bumpkins were incredibly nice and we thank them for their kindness. We heard about Chet and how he is a wonderful man and lives to hike the wilderness. However, in an accident using a Whisperlite stove, a fire managed to burn 75% of his body and he now is in a wheelchair and can no longer walk. But, he remains in positive spirits and has since opened a hostel to cater to thru-hikers. Jungli and I spent the day moseying around town, getting food, watching a movie (Extract) which was rather terrible, had a picnic in the shopping center grass, sipped on some hot cocoa, and ate a wonderful Thai meal at a local restaurant. At Chet's, we decided to camp outside since Jungli is allergic to cats.
Date: 2009-09-09
From: Mt. Lafayette

To: Campsite South of North Twin Spur
Miles today: 8.4

Highlight: Waking up on Mt. Lafayette at 5,249 ft. and witnessing the most magnificent sunrise. I awoke at 5:30 am on top of Mt. Lafayette and saw this huge fireball coming up over the horizon. I unzipped my sleeping bag, jumped up onto some boulders to the east and started shouting at the top of my lungs for Jungli to wake up and get her ass up there. I couldn't believe that I was looking out at this HUGGGGGEE fireball coming up and over the horizon. It was shocking at how red the sky had become. As I turned around, the mountains behind us were just waking up with this warm golden glow reducing the blue and green darkness. We sat up on the rock for an hour or so, nearly speechless at the sight we were witnessing. Being stuck up on a mountain peak the night before was certainly an adventure, but in the end, it was well worth it. We were absolutely thirsty, having run out of water the night before. There was supposed to be a stream .2 miles off the trail in the direction of the Greenleaf Hut. I made the steep descent, but could find neither water nor stream. I continued hiking - maybe about .4 miles - when I turned around and decided that we would have to go without water for the morning, until we could find some a few miles down the ridge. On the way back however, I heard this small trickle up on a large boulder to the side of the trail. I scampered up and found this very small drip of water over moss. The water was fresh and relatively clean, so I decided to wait there for the next 40 minutes, trying to fill up 3 liters of water for both of us. It was a tedius process, but was much needed considering the condition of our parched mouths. We packed up our belongings and headed out, continuing to enjoy the magical views of the Franconia Ridge. I hiked ahead and, at one point, started to take pictures (this is my favorite pasttime), but my camera fell off a boulder and dented the lens piece. I was terribly disappointed, but I somehow managed to fix it an hour later. Ahhh, my beloved camera!!!Later on in the day, we passed the Garfield Ridge Campsite, where we met the caretaker, Matthew. He was a very friendly young man, but we all agreed that he was definitely baked on something. He would end every comment in a high pitched laugh, "haaaaahhhhhhhh!!!" for no apparent reason. We met up with Big Camera and Buttchinz again and hiked with them to the Galehead Hut. Jungli and I decided to continue pushing on and we made the steep climb up South Twin Mountain, where we (BC squared, Jungli, and I) enjoyed more magnificent views of the surrounding area, while the sun set over the horizon. It was getting incredibly cold at the time, so we decided to push on below tree line to find a nice stealth camp spot, which we did. It was a tough squeeze for the tent, but we managed to make it work.
Date: 2009-09-14
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Campsite South of Wildcat Mountain (Pinkham Notch)
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

Highlight: Incredible views from Mt. Madison at 5,363 ft. overlooking Mt. Adams and Mt. Washington, peaks that we had just visited less than 12 hours before. We helped up with a clean-up of the Madison Spring Hut in the morning before pushing up and over Mt. Madison en route to Pinkham Notch. It was still a cold morning and my fingers were frigid even inside the hut, but we continued to wash down the floors and help out with many cleaning jobs as the caretaker and crew prepared for the end of the season. I left late with Chef and we climbed up Mt. Madison, which turned out to be a very steep climb. It was a clear day and it provided beautiful views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Washington off to the side. I loved the fact that we could actually see the terrain that we had just traversed. The White Mountains has been the only place on the trail where we can turn around and say, "Holy crap, I just walked from over there to here!" The path down from Mt. Madison was steep as hell and I struggled trying to keep my footing on all of the rocks. My knees, along with the knees of everyone, have become brittle from the constant pounding of abuse throughout the Whites. We all stopped at the Osgood Tentsite for a snack, as our legs were sore from the steep descent. It would be smooth sailing to Pinkham Notch and Jungli and I enjoyed hiking with Buttchinz and Big Camera. While at the Notch, we were happy to see the older couple again (Jerry and Kelva (sp)). We chatted with them for a while and told them about the crazy experience from Mt. Washington to Madison Spring Hut. Outside of the Visitors Center, we sat down and cooked ourselves dinner and enjoyed making endless trips into the restaurant to fill up our cups with hot water and make some hot cocoa/chai. Chef pushed on to find a stealth campsite, while the four of us (BC squared, Jungli, and I) stayed behind. Chinese Tourist and Fletch decided to push on, hoping to make it to Carter Notch Hut, but they only made it to the Wildcat ski gondola lift and were forced to break in late at night to get out of the cold. I was the last one to leave the visitor center and I could see ominous skies above us. They had called for a few possible showers, but the clouds looked dark and grey. I scurried my way into the forest, but stopped to take many photos of the lake and the setting sun in the distance. I did manage to find the very stealthy 'stealth' spot and we all enjoyed an evening by our own personal fire, sharing stories and telling jokes. We all agreed that it felt that we were 'camping' and not thru-hiking, being so close to the road and having so many people around a fire, telling jokes and stories.
Date: 2009-09-16
From: Imp Campsite

To: US 2/Gorham
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Highlight: The highlight today is definitely taking a MUCH-NEEDED WARM SHOWER!!! It's been well over a week and I think that I've developed a coating of sweat and crud on my skin. Whiskey Slaps!!!I left Imp Campsite before everyone else and trekked my way to Gorham, pausing once to cook a Ramen meal (I only eat Ramen in rare circumstances, for instance, running out of food) and then pushing on to the road. Jungli and I walked the last bit together. When we arrived at the road, it was difficult to catch a hitch, so Jungli crossed the street and approached an older couple in the parking to see if they could give us a ride into town. They agreed!We suspect that they were out on their second or third date, as the older man, probably around 70 years old, had given us the rundown of how they just met but things had been working out thus far. When we told them that we were thru-hikers and had started in Georgia, the old man turns to his girlfriend and shouts, "See!!! I told you we should have rolled a blunt...these guys would definitely have wanted to smoke up!!" Being that neither of us smoke, we had to subdue to the situation and tell him that we were okay. He kept turning around and looking us, completely taking his eyes off the road, so I motioned to Jungli in the backseat to put on our seatbelts, just in case the old man had swerved off.They dropped us off at the post office, where I picked up my mail drop and new shoes that Kathy had sent to me. Ohh, how they were much needed. Then, we met up with our friends at the hotel, took showers, and then headed off with Odin to the Dynasty Chinese Buffet, which is where Pippi and Hamburglar had recommended 10 months ago that I eat when I arrived into Gorham. We ended up staying at the buffet for TWO HOURS! It was a relatively expensive buffet, but we made a valiant effort to get our money's worth. Chef, Chinese Tourist, and Ducky also showed up later on and had their fair share of chowing down. Unfortunately, later on in the evening, we all developed horrible gas and Odin's farts became so severe that we kicked him out of the room. Late in the evening, we started playing a game called 'Whiskey Slaps', which we had learned about from the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. It is where you take a shot of whiskey and then the person to the side slaps you in the face to take the pain away from the shot. Not being a big drinker, but enjoying it on the rare occasion, I partook along with the others in the room: Odin, Jungli, Chef, Chinese Tourist, BeeChucker, and Chef. The slaps started off as light taps, but they slowly grew into much stronger slaps and we laughed the night away in a drunken fashion. Chinese Tourist and I squared off and I smacked him so hard that his slap missed mine and he had to return to get the job done. All in all, it was a night to remember and, for some, not to remember. I knew where to cut out, but some of the others became sick and had a very difficult night ahead of them.
Date: 2009-09-17
From: US 2/Gorham

To: Zero in Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Highlight: Resupplying, stop at the library, fixing trekking poles, getting stuff together, etc. Chef, Jungli, Ducky, and I headed out to the local diner on the other side of town. Then, we did laundry, headed to the learning center for internet and then headed to the library, where I began to respond to emails and update my blog. Later on in the evening, Jungli came looking for me in town and found me as I left the library. We ended up getting some dinner at the local italian restaurant. I was so tired that I ended up falling asleep at 8 pm. Yikes!
Date: 2009-09-19
From: Gentian Pond Shelter/Campsite

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

Highlight: Continuing to have the ¢Tullies¢, entering into Maine our 14th state, and watching an incredible sunset over some very rocky terrain in Maine. When we awoke the next morning, NONE of us (CT, Jungli, Odin, Beechucks, and several section-hiker) wanted to get out of our tents because it was so frigid. Today we would reach another milestone: stepping into Maine for the very first time! I left shortly after 8:30 am, climbing up and over Mt. Success at 3,565 ft. It was a wild climb that provided wonderful views of the surrounding mountains. On top of Mt. Success, I walked across wooden planks that were there so that you didn¢t have to traverse through thick mud. The wind was blowing so strongly that it nearly knocked me off the wooden planks! The air was cold again and it forced me to put on several layers to ensure that my sweat wouldn¢t freeze. I stopped a mile or so short of crossing the NH/Maine border, as I wanted to wait and cross with Jungli. When we reached the border crossing, we were ecstatic that we had reached our 14th and last state! There is no trumpet or celebration, but internally, we took it as a great accomplishment to have walked 1895 miles and 13 states. It was close to lunch time at the crossing and, as there was a large log directly in front of the sign, we sat down and had lunch in celebration. Beechucker showed up some time later, cracking us up as he always does. We were nearly out of water, so Jungli and I made the .3 mile trip down to Carlo Col Shelter. There had been several school groups out today and one of these had taken a side trail up to Carlo Col Shelter and were on their way back down. When we arrived to the ¢stream¢ we realized that the water was not flowing much at all and had all sorts of sediment in it. As we both use drops, we had to make sure that we avoided as much dirt as possible. I patiently waited for the water to drip off the moss and into my container, but it was taking such a long time so I scooped off the top of a ledge filled with water. We stopped short of the Mahoosuc Notch, deciding to do the ¢most difficult mile on the trail¢ the following day. Jungli and I reached the shelter roughly 45 minutes after darkness had set in, as we had been enjoying views of a spectacular sunset over the valley and ridgeline in the distance. We were surprised at how difficult the terrain was in Maine; there were parts of the trail that were just incredibly steep and slick. I can¢t even imagine how the terrain was like for the Southbounders facing rain on a daily basis. What was interesting at the shelter was that almost everyone had diarrhea. Chinese Tourist termed it as ¢having a case of the Tullies¢ after I had described my bout with my stomach the day before. From then on, anyone who had anything remotely close to diarrhea had the ¢Tullies¢.