morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-08-02
From: Grafton Turnpike, Dorchester Road

To: Ore shill Campsite
Miles today: 18.6

Crazy BritOK New Hampshire I get it you have some bloody big mountains. We got a ride out to the trail head by our Trail Angel Andrew, really cool guy he has done the Trail so he knows how much a ride is appreciated.We got dropped of at Grafton Turnpike, Dorchester Road. From here it was a long long climb up to the top of Smarts Mountain, and the old Fire Wardens Cabin and Fire Tower, this was a tough climb, up some 3000 ft, well almost.Of course the Trail was really wet and muddy, in fact at one point I was leading over a particularly muddy section when I heard a shout from behind, there was Dave up to his knees in smelly, slimy mud. I never laughed, just concerned how is he going to get out of this s...t , he eventually got out then I admit I laughed a bit, well so did he.There was a huge descent from 3219 ft to 1450 ft this was over wet slippery boulders, not very cool.Once down you can measure the descent by the ascent you are about to take. We were not disappointed climbing up to the summit of Mt Cube North Peak, then as soon as you are up you are on your way down again.We are passing thru such fantastic forests, first hard woods at the lower levels, then into the fantastic smelling Pine forests, then we come out to the stunted growth trees at the higher elevations. These trees are really smart looking would love to get one price to Turn on the lathe to see the grain, must be nice and tight great for making pens.We arrive at the Ore Hill Campsite, with the promise of rain from 9:00 pm until the morning, ¢Great¢. The Shelter at this site got burned down a couple of years ago, plus the Watef is not very good. We had topped off a few miles back at nice flowing stream.Set up our tents making sure they were really tight as all the experts said we were in for a big storm.We had dinner, time for bed. I have a new pillow, courtesy of Trailwalkers Gear Outfitters in Bradenton, together with a Ice Cream Sandwich and a Spaghetti and Beef fish. The only problem is the dish is 8 ozs and although it¢s self heating the food is just a snack for a hungry hiker like Me .So I will say Goodnight From New New Hampshire.GoodnightAnyone can walk on the flat,it¢s hard walking on the Edge in New HampshireOnly got 406.0 miles to go to Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-08-03
From: Ore Hill Campsite

To: Hostel at Glencliff
Miles today: 8.3

Crazy BritGood news it just sprinkled a little thru the night, so my tent was not that wet to pack up. I Hate packing a wet tent knowing that you have to use it that night. We are up at 4:30 am, ¢David can¢t have a lie in¢, we have coffee and a breakfast snack, and are on the Trail at 5:30 am.It¢s a great trail not a lot of mud or rocks the temperature is perfect all in all this is going to be a good day, David has gone off in front while I get some water. So I am all alone in this beautiful pine forest walking on soft pine needles, a fantastic aroma of fresh pine .At about this time I am overtaken with a vision of my Mum and Dad my Uncle Gerald And Uncle Derek, these have all passed, yet they are right there with me. I can see them years ago laughing and joking, then they fade leaving my Mum looking years younger, as I remember her when I left England for the USA. This then faded to when I went home to be with her before she passed.I was with her and my special Sister Margaret for 7 months, I cried when I saw her. The Matriarch of our family was now this older lady lying in a bed. I was mad with myself for leaving her, although I had been to the UK a couple of years before, getting old sucks.Now there she was, good looking, strong, the boss, I never cried a lot when she passed, but now the tears flowed. No one to see me, just me and Mum and the forest. I said I was sorry for all the stupid things I had done, thanked her for all the times she bailed me out we are now ok.I am not trying to be some special person just someone who is learning things about myself every day, some good, some bad, things I would like to change but can¢t. I would like to think I am a good guy, never hurt anyone intentionally, and our journey so far has had positive outcomes on our day to day hiking. Be it persons we meet, Trail Angels, just things going right, I firmly believe if you do good things you will get good things back.I know this is not a lot about my hiking, but when you are alone in this vast forest, just you the trees and the wild critters you soon realize how insignificant a human being is in this world, and YES this is Colin writing this.We have planned for this to be a short day just 8.3 miles over the mountains to the Hostel at Glencliff, again it¢s one of those surreal moments one minute your in a forest and one step you on a highway into town.We walk the relative short distance to the Hostel and have a couple of cokes while we work out our situation, we are told that to climb over Mt Moosilauke in a thunder storm, which is what is predicted for tomorrow, would be stupid, so we have relocated to Lincoln, where they have restaurants and bars and some good replenishing stores.So I am now sat on the Balcony of our hotel having a Jack and Coke.So it¢s a goodnight from me see you tomorrow .Anyone can walk on the flat, living on the Edge with a Jack and Coke is somewhat easier.OH Forgot to say we have gone thru the 400 miles to go this morningOnly got 398.7 miles to go before we stand on the summit of Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-08-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Crazy BritNo miles today hanging out in Lincoln out of the weatherFrustrating day looking up at the mountain tops all surrounded in dark black clouds with the wind swirling around. We met two hikers in town they were like drowned rats. They said it was blowing like hell on top of Mt Moosilauke, raining like hell. It¢s ok if you are young and brave and stupid, but for us being a bit older and hopefully wiser, we will wait out the storm until tomorrow, when we are going to go over our first Mountain in the whites.Plus our object is to enjoy the views and share it with you guys and for one of us to get hurt at this stage of the game for being stupid, would be a disaster. It¢s hard enough hiking and the occasional mountain climb where one slip and your out of the game or worse, and we are carrying a lot of peoples dreams with us and we don¢t want to let them down.So we have a lazy day, went shopping for resupply, got some new liners, old ones are worn out, got a pair of Marmot water proof outer gloves to save stumpy from the cold, we feel ready to take on the last 398 Miles. Knowing that this will be the hardest Mountains we have yet to climb, while we are both a bit nervous, we are ready for this last stage of the Adventure.So at 6:30 am tomorrow morning our shuttle driver will pick us up and take us to the trail head so we can climb over Mt Moosilauke, it looks clear up there now hope there is no low cloud tomorrow .Having a Jack and Coke and heading off to bed.GoodnightAnyone can walk on the flat, nervous waiting to climb our first Mountain in the Whites but hey that is what living on the Edge is all about.Still only got 398.7 miles to go before we summit Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-08-06
From: Lost River road Kinsman Notch

To: Kinsman Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.5

Crazy BritOur shuttle driver arrived at 6:40am we are all loaded up and ready to go, we are being dropped of at the trailhead at Kinsmans Notch then Hiking ¢Rock climbing" up and over Mt Wolf and North and South Kinsman Mountains.Our climbing starts right away from the road, straight up, there are no switchbacks here in the Whites the going is pretty tough, then to make it worse is the stretch¢s of thick gooey Mud, we are told these never dry out and are a couple of feet deep.We are doing a 11.5 mile day today not many miles on the flat lands but up here in the Whites it¢s a 10 hr day, we are used to climbing mountains but they have been at a much lower altitude, so this now a wake up call our first mountain we climb is Mt Wolf the East Peak.This is a 5 mile climb up and over some really steep climbs lots of using your hands to grab roots and trees to help you get a grip on the Granite, also the mud makes things very slippery, we stop every 1 1/2 hours for water and snacks, boy do you need that break.This is a good introduction to the White mountain range, we know we are going to have this for the next 8 or 9 days, this is hard work , but the views today were amazing, bit hazy but you expect that in the mountain area¢s.After Wolf we can see The South Peak of Kinsman mountain towering above us, ¢oh my" that is a long way up there. So we set about climbing, we thought Wolf was bad, Kinsman is a lot worse, lots of Mud lots of big steep slabs of Granite you have to get a grip on and climb up over.We seem to be climbing forever, well we have been climbing for at least 10 miles, you can always tell when your getting close to the summit here the evergreen trees get shorter and shorter, and the smell of the trees get stronger.We reach the summit and damn there is no sign to show the summit, we have a break and head over to the North Peak. On the way over you could see the Kinsman Pond where we will be staying, it¢s way down in a notch, looks like a great pond campsite.We are going to be staying in a nice log Built Shelter. It¢s pretty large a 12 person, plus it¢s just back from the pond, actually it¢s a Lake but here it¢s called a Pond, it¢s about a mile in length, there is a resident Moose but he hasn¢t shown himself yet.We register and pay the $10.00 to sleep in the shelter, this will work for us all thro the Whites also we can get 50% of food from the Huts run by the AMC a great deal.Time to make dinner and have a Hot Chocolate Drink. Water is taken from the Pond, it¢s a bit Brown but when filtered it tastes good.Another great day of Mountain Climbing now it¢s time for Bed.Goodnight see you tomorrow.Anyone can walk on the flat , much better to Walk on the edge and have more FunOnly got 377.9 miles to go before we summit Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-08-07
From: Kinsman Notch Pond Shelter

To: the Carpark on US 3
Miles today: 4.8

Crazy BritOnly 4.8 miles from the Kinsman Notch Pond Shelter to the Carpark on US 3, this was just to get into town to pick up our Winter hiking gear for the rest of the trail.Had a good nights sleep in the Kinsman Notch Shelter, this is on a great pond actually it¢s a lake but up here it¢s a pond.We were up and walking by 5:30 am having had coffee and a donut for breakfast. This was a nice enjoyable trail no big climbs as such, mostly down hill crossing a couple of rivers and streams, there were some scary long smooth granite sections where you were hoping you had some grip on your shoes.Incidentally I have got another new pair of shoes especially for the Whites if you have bad grip here you are toast and it¢s a long way down. The trail has now flattened out, with just boulders on the trail, best trail yet in New Hampshire.We have to pass under the US 3 -I 93 AT underpass after a short distance we come to a paved bike trail this will take us to the car park where we will meet up with Blue our old Hiking Buddy, he is going to be with us for 4 or 5 days, he is a really cool guy.I never mentioned that I saw the sun rising over the Franconia ridge where we will be tomorrow.Blue has his truck and he has of course Cold Beer, Awesome. We catch up on all the news and he takes us to the Notch Hostel in North Woodstock, this place is great very well run nice and clean a great place to stay. We shower put our washing in the bin for laundry and then drive into town to pick up our winter sleeping bags. This done we have dinner in town, now we are back at the Hostel and I am busy doing my Journal and having a beer.We had some bad news yesterday that Plodalong and Grandma Shorty have left the trail, we had grown quite close to these two and we will miss seeing them along the trail. Last week we lost we'll see a cool guy that we Hikers with a lot, it¢s sad that these really nice people have to leave the trail for one reason or other. Congrats to them on getting this far on their 2018 Hike it has been the hardest for 15 years, all weather related.Now I am going to finish my Beer, get my journal done and off to bed ready for an early start in the morning.Goodnight.Anyone can walk on the flat, tomorrow there is no flat and we will be on the Edge.Only got 373.1 miles to go before Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-08-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Crazy BritNo miles today or yesterday we are in the Notch Hostel in Woodstock NH as there has been severe weather warnings up on the Franconia Ridge, this is a major part of our trip one of the most awesome views we will see, plus you are totally exposed on a tree less ridge no shelter anywhere.As I said in my last journal we had to go into town to collect our winter gear that was shipped up from Barbara David¢s Wife.This is the second set of gear she has sent, the first got lost by the post office, they could not find it on there tracking computer. Then it turned up in Massachusetts, the post office there said they were sending it back to North Carolina, Davids home. Their excuse was that liquid from the parcel had leaked out, tho there was only clothes and sleeping bags in the box, valued at just over a $1000.David got a call from Barbara saying she had received something from the post office ¢JUST THE SHIPPING LABEL" said the box was lost somewhere. It so happens the post guy in Franklin filled out the address form and double sealed the box.We have no comeback on them the guy just shrugged his shoulders, said not his fault every thing was done on his advice, what a crock of crap.Good job David had spare stuff, all we need now is a good weather window and it looks good for next few weeks, so we have a ride out of here in the morning at 7:00 am great!I have got my pack packed this is the third time trying to get the weight down, now it is what it is, food for 4 days as we want to catch up on some time lost with out coming into town for supply. Only problem is food is heavy so will have to grin and bare it. Hoping for a great day so I can take photos and videos and of course FaceTime up on the Ridge.See you all tomorrowStill only got 373.1 miles to go until we summit Mt KatahdinAnyone can walk on the flat , living on the edge is better.
Date: 2018-08-10
From: parking area at US 3 Lincoln NH

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter and Campsite
Miles today: 10.3

Crazy BritWe saw our best views today on our whole 5 Month Adventure. This was why we stayed at the hostel especially so we would have good views today.Our day started at 5:00am at the Hostel. We had coffee and apple cake then pasta and egg dish made by Blue, very delicious. As we were eating our breakfast a lady called Ginger came in for breakfast and she said that she was leaving and going by where we had to go and she was leaving at 6:00 am, this an hour before our shuttle was due to take us out.We asked her if she could give us a ride, she said of course, so we rushed around to get ready. Off we go after waiting around for a clear day we are ready to hike or climb the Franconia Ridge.We get dropped of at the carpark and walk the mile up to the Trailhead, the climb starts, this is a tough climb up to Little Haystack Mountain. We come out of the forest, we are now above the tree line the view is spectacular, from our position we are looking up at Mt Lincoln, which at times is covered with swirling clouds.We are at 4800 ft and Lincoln is at 5089 ft, I take lots of photos and do a FaceTime live from here. Don¢t know if there will be service up on top, so we start to climbing again, it¢s a tough climb especially as the wind is pretty strong, I have to put on a long sleeve shirt and a windbreaker to keep warm.We are on an open ridge with big drops on either side and the path is pretty narrow, as we get to the summit of Lincoln the clouds are blown away and we have a clear view of the whole mountain chain way up past Mt Washington. Of course the summit of Washington is covered in cloud, can only hope it clears when we get there in a couple of days.The ridge now runs over to Mt Lafayette this is at 5254 ft again it¢s in cloud but as we get there it lifts and once again we have perfect views. I might add that crossing over these ridges and at first descending then climbing these Mountains is really hard work .From this vantage point you can look down on the Ski slopes of Cannon Mountain, the AMC hut named Greenleaf on its Greenleaf trail. Now we have a big descent to our shelter at Garfield Ridge, this is a really tough one, then of course we have to climb once again to the actual shelter, this is a tough day, but now I have had dinner a cup of hot chocolate, I am sat on my sleeping pad in a sleeping bag, nice and cozy and ready for bed.Today has been one of the highlights of the trip being above treeline with these magnificent views is mind numbing, worth all the pain and agony getting to this point. It's hard for me to put into writing, the views I have seen today, up on the mountain tops today, I hope that the FaceTime live video came out ok, so I could share this with you all.I will remember these views forever. Now it¢s time for me to wish you all a good night, and remember I will be seeing these views for the next month.GoodnightAnyone can walk on the flat, but up here on the Mountain tops you are always on the edge.Only got 362 miles to go before the big Mountain top Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-08-11
From: Garfield ridge shelter

To: Ethan Pond Campsite 
Miles today: 14.5

Crazy BritYesterday and today I found out what a butterfly must feel like when it comes out of a chrysalis into the open world, and sees all the huge open vastness of the World he can fly in.I equate this with us walking for five months in the southern Forests, what they call ¢the green tunnel¢, then climbing up to above the treeline, and seeing all the vastness of the Northern states laid out before you.We started out the day with a huge descent, with big boulders and large flat granite slabs some mud in between. Once down we had a big climb up to South Twin Mountain, the views here are spectacular seems you can see forever.Then we go down again same thing as before, once down it¢s up we go again. This time we are climbing Mt Guyot, again super views from a summit above tree line, we are heading to Zealand Falls hut  where we can get a bowl of soup and some bread because we are Thru Hikers.We now have a nice walk out to the Ethan pond campsite. Here we have to pitch our tents on wooden tent pads, we try to get all three tents on one pad, but only two would fit, so David is staying in the Shelter and Myself and Blue are tenting on the pads. These are a pain to pitch a tent as you are not allowed to use the screw hooks that we have brought with us.We have had dinner and as it¢s getting cold I am in my tent doing my Journal, once done it¢s time for Bed so will say goodnight.Anyone can walk on the flat , and tonight I am sleeping on a perfectly flat wooden platform, this is really living on the edge.Only got 348.3 miles to go before we summit Mt Katahdin.
Date: 2018-08-12
From: Eathan Pond Shelter

To: Neuman Campsite
Miles today: 9.3

Crazy BritWhat a difference a day makes today we woke to light rain, making packing up my tent a real pain, the outer fly was soaking wet, the inner tent just little damp. The pain is we will need to set up our tents tonight or get some work for stay or pay $145.00 for a bunk in a 10 bunk room this is with the AMC.We elect to camp so we are on a double tent pad, actually my tent is in pretty good shape so all is good, we are all set up so we go up to the Hut where its nice and dry.Todays hike was tough first we had to say goodbye to Blue, he had been with us for 4 days, going to miss him he is, great guy. On the way down to the highway US 302, we come apon some Trail Angels, they make us Bacon and Egg sandwich¢s with a Mimosa, well it is Sunday morning, they had all the food a hiker needs, fruit, cakes, cokes, beer, all sorts of soft drinks.I had 2 sandwiches some fruit and slice of cake, Mimosa and a beer, life is good. After this we walk down to the road for Blue to hitch a ride back to his car at the Notch Hostel. We find out later that a hikers Dad who was bringing up a new pair of boots for his son took him all the way back to the Hostel, Awesome.We are now busy climbing Mt Webster, these are some tough climbs with rock scrambles at the tops, also there are almost vertical flat Granite climbs made harder by the wet laden mist we are climbing thru, obviously there are no views from Webster cliffs which is a great shame.From Webster we have a really Slippery descent, with mud and very slippery Granite, then no sooner we are down with just a little plank walk thru a deep gooey peat bog we are going up again to Mt Jackson, you got it, it¢s very muddy and slippery, it¢s a tough day, good job we are only doing 9.3 miles in these conditions.The next campsite would be another 5.5 Miles and a day like this is a pain in the ass, we now have about 2 miles to go to the Mizpah Spring Hut and the Nauman campsite, we go into the Hut and have Coffee and some bread and soup, followed down with chocolate Brownies. These huts are huge with accommodation for about sixty guests and tonight they are full.After we set up our tents, we go back over to the hut for coffee and we also snag some pulled pork, there are a lot of young kids over there shouting and jumping around. After we have had enough of the noise we head back to the tents, being out in the wilderness for a time it¢s a bit hard to take all the noise.Time for a nap before I complete my Journal, then it¢s bed time, so I will say Goodnight.We are told the weather will be the same as today wet and misty for our summit of Mt Washington which will be a shame but we have to get the miles down so we will carry on over this Iconic Mountain with no chance of views what a shame, still on we go.Anyone can walk on the flat , living on the Edge, in the clouds wet and damp is Awesome very different from the trail so Far.Only have 339.0 miles to go before we stand on the summit of Mt Katahdin