morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-07-22
From: moose mountain shelter

To: Smarts mountain fire warden cabin
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: light rain

Got up early and was on the trail by 6 am walking with Slow Foot we went up and down all day. We ended up at Bill Ackerlys house about 10:30. He is a well known trail angel in Lyme who offers hikers free ice cream and cold drinks. He was not there and there were several hikers hanging out on his porch or playing croquet in his yard. Slow foot was staying to wait for his friend Bill . I stayed for a bit and then shoved off. The last 4 miles of the day took me 4 hours as the trail was straight up Smarts mountain. There is a fire tower up top but today there is no view as the mountain is in the clouds. Tonite I am here with three guys who were at the shelter last nite and one SOBO.
Date: 2013-07-23
From: Smarts mountain fire warden cabin

To: smarts mountain fire warden cabin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I took a zero day today at the fire wardens cabin atop Smarts mountain. It had rained all night. There were about six of us inside, one on the porch in his hammock and few tenters. In the morning, we all slept in until the tenters and hammock hanger came bumbling inside trying to get out of the rain. The stench of wet clothing, garbage (the place was filthy), mixed with hiker stinky bodies was really ripe!! The morning wore on with no let up in the rain. The rain would subside for a bit and group would leave only to be replaced by another group of NOBOs coming through. Conversations were interesting they talked their experiences and other characters on the trail. Finally by 2:00 the rain had stopped and all decided to head out. I thought about joining them and walking to the next shelter 6 miles away, but I knew they were all going to be there and space would be a problem. So I stayed put for another night with Puck as SOBO. He had been writing about his experience staying at the hippie colony in Wentworth and wanted to read it to me. Interesting fellow with extraordinary encounters along the trail. I did more reading and napping as the day wore on. Not the best place to take a zero, but was warm and dry on the Appalachian Trail!
Date: 2013-07-24
From: smarts mountain fire warden cabin

To: Rt 25A
Miles today: 10.2

Woke to blue skies this am. Yeah. Made a quick breakfast and was on the trail by 7:00 am. I had 10.2 miles to walk today and only 3 miles of it was uphill. Made it quickly down Smarts and started right back up Mt Cube. The trail was muddy and wet after all that rain yesterday. I made it to the top of Cube by 11:00 AM and just needed to get a phone signal to call Aunt Peg to come pick me up. Luckily I got through. The phone service since I left Hanover has been sketchy and intermittent. I arranged for Peg to come get me so I could shower and eat some good food! There wasn't any view from Cube as the top was socked in with clouds. I am craving sun. No sun in the woods and it is especially dark on cloudy days. I made the last 3.3 miles in less than two hours. I stretched out on the grass where the trail dumped me on Rt 25A and made some lunch while waiting for my ride. Turns out I was only 10 miles from Peg and Red. They were having a happy hour with family members and of course they all brought food. I gorged on shrimp, corn on the cob, cheese, pepperoni, bacon wrapped water chestnuts and some pastry puffs with steak and cheese! Oh and dessert... Cookies, brownies..all so yummy. Just what I needed to feed my starving body! Good call staying with Peg tonight. Trying to decide if I should go back and slack pack tomorrow or take zero. Another easy 9.5 miles and the weather is supposed to be good for a couple of days.
Date: 2013-07-25
From: Rt 25A

To: Rt 25
Miles today: 9.9

Back on the trail after a great nights rest in a bed with a real pillow. Decided to slack pack the next two days. Peg dropped me off at Rt 25A in Wentworth by 8:45 and off I went. A beautiful sunny day with cool temps and no bugs!! About two miles into my day two NOBO thru hikers overtook me. I had met them on top of Smarts mountain. Splash and Starchild. Actually Starchild is the thru hiker and Splash joined him in Virginia in May. I walked with them until we got to Rt 25 my destination. Can you believe that I was able to keep up with them and walked this 9.9 mile section in 3 hours and 50 minutes?!!!! I couldn't believe when I looked at the time and they just nodded like it was a common occurrence. We also caught up with Grandpa who is thru hiking for the second time but claims that this time he going at a slower pace in order to enjoy it more. He claims that his last trip cost him under $1000 and will do the same this time. He calls it "yorgying". He manages to get lots of free stuff, money and food just by asking when people ask him if they can help. Quite a character. Of course he has that look of a homeless person and uses that to his advantage! Love the people that I meet out here! Sadly they continued on their way while I waited for Peg and Red to come pick me up. Later back at the house we had a nice dinner with my cousin Toby who I hadn't seen in years Tomorrow I conquer Moosilauke!
Date: 2013-07-26
From: Rt 25

To: Rt 25
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I decided to play it safe with the weather and go shopping! The forecast was for rain south and it looked uncertain as to whether it would rain here or not As it turns out we got only a 5 second sprinkle. But looking at Moosilauke , it was in the clouds all day. Peg and I went to Farm-Way, a local store that sells some gear , shoes, clothing, gifts and furniture. It is a great place. I bought some small gear items and a pair of Keen sandals and a couple T shirts for gifts. We moseyed around town at other gift and antique shops and went out for lunch. We came home for a nap before heading out to the Friday night auction for some people watching extraordinaire! A fine day! Tomorrow I will drive to the trailhead and walk to the top of Mooslilauke where Mark will meet me after having climbed up the other side. I will walk down with him and he will drive me back to my car and then home to get ready for the family reunion trip next week!
Date: 2013-07-27
From: Rt 25

To: Rt 112 Kinsman Notch
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

What a beautiful day for a hike! My day started by saying goodbye to Peg and Red and thanking them for their wonderful hospitality and great laughs! I drove to Route 25 and discovered that the trail had been rerouted to High Street further up the road due to high water. I drove up the trailhead on High street passing a group of NOBOs walking up the street. They soon caught up to me and we chatted a bit while I had a second breakfast. Turns out I was meeting in person hikers whose journals I have occasionally followed here in this forum as they have trekked north. very cool! Pilgrim, Susquehanna Slim, Don's Brother, Bonsai, and Pilgrim. I walked the rest of the way with them to the top and really enjoyed their conversation. These past two days of hiking have been great in regards to weather but also the people that I have met. Heading north has given me many more opportunities to find hikers to trek with than when I was going south.We got to the top around 11:30 and waited for Mark to come over the crest. I was so excited to see him. We stayed up top for quite a while chatting to different groups of people and enjoying the sunshine! We headed down and my trail name became quite literal here as we had to carefully pick our way down a very step section of trail. After passing the shelter the trail became more difficult, but the Beaver Brook stream was close by with beautiful falls and scenes to enjoy as we "Stepped Lightly" the rest of the way down. On the drive back to my car,we pulled over and went for a quick skinny dip in the Lost River! Quite refreshing and a lovely way to end the day! I am home now and will get ready for our family reunion next week. I will also be planning the next two weeks of hiking after my return. Happy trails!
Date: 2013-08-06
From: Rt 112 Kinsman Notch

To: Eliza Brook shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I drove up from Merrimack this morning to hike another section from Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch. Just fresh from a week off galavanting with family in New York, I was feeling a little sluggish from a week of overeating and little exercise. The day was beautiful with no bugs. The ascent was immediate from the road and soon leveled out with occasional glimpses of Mt Moosilauke behind me. I was soon passed by a day hiker and his dog. I continued to climb and reached the base of Mt. Wolf. After reading others descriptions of this little 3000 footer, I was pleasantly surprised by its lack of difficulty. Just another mountain in the whites with rock and root scrambles. I made good time covering 4 miles in 3 hours. The one mile ascent up Mt. Wolf took me an hour. I ran into some young NOBOs who were heading to Kinsman Pond shelter. I was able to keep up for a little while until it got too steep and my pace slowed. The top of Mt. Wolf had an obstructed view of the Kinsmans ahead. My hike down off of Wolf took me longer with the many scrambles and careful placement of the feet. I rolled into the shelter about 1:30 and made the decision to stay there for the night. I still had another 4 miles up and down over the Kinsmans and given my slow pace and coming off the vacation week, I decided to call it a day. I washed up in the brook and staked out my spot in the shelter with my book. Didn't get much reading done as hikers were coming in all afternoon. I met a father/son team from Australia who were hiking with a German. I met Sir Pants Alot and Daddy Long Legs who ended up staying the night. Two women who were previous thru hikers in 2004 came, Beagle and Moo Juice. They were hiking with two other friends who never made it to the shelter. Interesting conversation and laughs. The southbound group with whom I hiked part of the 100 mile wilderness showed up with their two dogs plus one more. The were now a group of six, up from three. Pockets did remember me from the river crossings! Tomorrow up and over the Kinsmans and down to Franconia Notch. Will see what the next hiking day will bring.
Date: 2013-08-07
From: Eliza Brook shelter

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: light rain

Another beautiful day of hiking! Woke up to a chilly morning. Since I didn't bring a stove, my plan was to stop at Lonesome Lake hut for some coffee. However, Pants offered me some coffee which warmed me and got me off to a rip roaring start! I left the shelter by 7:10 before everyone else anticipating that I would soon be passed by the NOBOs. The terrain followed the brook for the first mile and I was treated to picturesque waterfalls during the initial part of the ascent. I then walked through Harrington Pond on bog boards. It was kinda cool stepping on the boards as some were submerged and I wasn't sure if I was going to sink or stay on top. Soon the trail started getting steeper and more difficult with rock scrambles and rock hops. I ran into the caretaker for the Kinsman Pond shelter out for a hike and was charting with him and along came my northbound friends Pants Alot and Daddy Long Legs. We hiked the rest of the way to the top together. I made the 2 1/2 miles in 2 hours and was so glad that I waited until today to attempt this ascent. The view was great. Clear and could really see all the mountains ahead and behind. It was a bit breezy and chilly so I had a second breakfast and water and quickly moved on. The boys came down behind me and caught up with me at the junction of the Kinsman Pond trail. We had decided last night to go down the Cascade Brook trail rather than the Fishing Jimmy trail and were willing to forgo the coffee at the hut and following the AT. Hey down is down! This trail paralleled the AT and was easier on the knees than the damn Fishing Jimmy trail! Pants was soon out of site while Daddy and I slowly picked our way down through the rocks using the trees to help with the rock scrambles. We had to ford the Cascade brook as a sign told us the the bridge was out. No easy way across unless you had long legs. I just walked through the water on top of some slippery rocks while Daddy easily jumped over the boulders. We then ran into a couple who were "redlining". I was curious about that. Basically this man was trying to hike every trail listed in the AMC guide. Apparently only 18 people have ever done it and he was shooting to be the next one to do it! Interesting for sure! We made it down around 2:00 and arranged for a shuttle back to my car. I decided to drive home for the next couple of days and wait for better weather this weekend before tackling the Franconia ridge. Stay tuned for more adventures on the Appalachian Trail!
Date: 2013-08-10
From: Franconia Notch

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.3

August10Drove up from home again this am to a beautiful day. As I got closer to the Notch I started to see a big cloud hanging over the Franconia Ridge. Darn! I pulled into the parking lot and shuttle was dropping off a group of hikers. Invisible Man and Army Ant were stepping out and we recognized each other. As I started to ascend the sky and woods got brighter. Yeah! I got to the Liberty Spring campsite in just over 2 hours and another hour I was walking on the ridge. The views were stupendous! I climbed to the summit of Lincoln. There were lots of people up there and I lingered to take in the 360 degree view. I could see Washington with out clouds on top! I continued to climb up to Lincoln to an even larger group of people milling around. I commented to someone that wasn't quite the wilderness experience I was expecting! I didn't stick around too long. The wind was blowing pretty hard and it was chilly. I had read the Washington summit report before I left and it was supposed to be 80 mph winds on top! The wind wasn't quite that strong but I was glad to get below tree line! I ran into Why Not a NOBO woman and we walked together for a while. The trail descended steeply, up then down and then back up to the top of Garfield. Then down to the shelter. There are about 7 guys here tonight including Invisible Man and Army Ant and myself. A father and son duo from Maine as well. The father thru hiked in 2004. He is a special ed teacher and took a leave from March to June. The son graduated from UVM a few years ago. A fellow alumni! Once again a fun group of people!
Date: 2013-08-11
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 9.5

August 11Woke up to another beautiful day! Had 2 packages of oatmeal and coffee and was off by 7:30. Stopped for a bit to enjoy the view on a rock outcrop with father/son duo. Finally hit the trail and it was steep down with water running down. I questioned whether this was really the trail! Made it down safely. Only 3.3 miles to get to Galehead hut. I was looking forward to coffee and a second breakfast. I just couldn't get my groove going and had to stop twice to eat. I consumed a bag of pepperoni and a Luna bar before finally feeling like I could move. It took me 2 1/2 hours to get to Galehead hut and it was only 2.6 miles. I stopped at the hut for a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate cake. Feeling fueled and ready to go finally! The ascent up South Twin awaited. 1100 feet of vertical in .8 of a mile. I easily climbed it in under an hour! At the top a group of AMC youths were enjoying another spectacular view and offered me some Tang for my water. I gladly accepted! I continued on my way down S Twin and the up Mt Guyot. Coming out of treeline towards Guyot was breathtaking. Stepping over rocks and talus I continued down and passed the summit sign for Zealand. Another group of hikers were taking a break there. I followed them down the mountain for a while. My memory did not serve me well today as I did not remember the difficult climb down from Zealand. I finally got to Zealand hut after 3:00 and was tired. I asked if they had space available and they said yes. I gladly inked down my money to experience the AMC huts. I had a bowls of potato dill soup and a couple of heavenly homemade cookies before finding a bunk. I then soaked my tired feet in the cold water of Zealand Falls and then ate a fabulous meal of salad, turkey soup, stuffed shells and broccoli! Conversation was good and the croo members were entertaining!
Date: 2013-08-12
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: broken clouds

Sleep was intermittent as people were up using the bathroom quite frequently including myself! I pondered this and realized that most people here were over 50 while most people who stay at shelters are under 30 and never get up in the night to pee! Coffee was served at 6:30 while we watched the sun come up over the mountain. Breakfast at 7:00 consisted of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, hash browns with melted cheese, bacon and honey topped pan fried cornbread. Yummo! I was on the trail by 8:00. I had been told the trail was flat and an easy 8 miles to the Notch. It was deliciously easy and flat. I passed through a notch where I could see Zealand Cliffs and talus above, below and all around me. It was really spectacular. The trail consisted of a lot of bog boards that didn't necessarily need to be there. I passed by Ethan Pond shelter in 2 hours and was able to see the cliffs of Mt Willey. I made it to Crawford Notch by 11:30. I had planned on taking the AMC shuttle back to my car in Franconia Notch at 1:15. But as I neared the road I saw a van pull up and stop next to Heavyweight, a NOBO who had passed me. It looked like he had been handed a bag of food. When I reached him the van had moved up the road and Heavyweight was eating from a bag of chips with half an avocado in his hand. He offered me the avocado and some chips. We stood there eating like pigs when the van came back around and this woman jumped out asking if we needed anything. I said yeah... I need a ride. She said sure as she was heading back to Hikers Welcome Hostel in Wentworth. Turns out this woman was Miss Janet! She is a well known trail angel who travels up the trail giving hikers rides and cooking food, etc. her van was covered with AT stickers! She had three other passengers who she called her crazy family! Groupies is more like it! These three guys were taking many zeros and traveling around with her as she spread trail angel cheer! Another interesting day in the Appalachian Trail. Got to my car and headed to the ski house in N. Conway for the night. Marcie is here with two friends. We sat in the front porch drinking wine and beer before going out for some pizza. I will decide tomorrow what my next section will be. Rainy weather is forecast in the Presidential's for tomorrow.
Date: 2013-08-22
From: Crawford Notch

To: home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light intensity drizzle

I came back home on Thursday the 15th after realizing that the weather on top of Washington was unseasonably cold and windy. I had run out of time and needed to get back for a planned beach vacation with Mark. We left Sunday for 5 days at the beach. The weather was beautiful. We went sailing and had plenty of seafood. I am planning on sectioning the Crawford notch to Pinkham notch section over two weekends beginning Labor Day weekend and then that will be the end of hiking...I think for this year! Back to work on Monday...sigh...it has been a great summer and always hate to see it come to an end! I met some great people on the trail and look forward to next years cast of characters as they hike north and/or south on the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2012-12-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I don't think the decision to go back was ever in question for me. The question was "how soon can I escape back there?"When I came back to the "real world" everyone said that I must be so glad to be back, to have all the modern conveniences - flush toilets, lights, heat etc. - and I said yes, they were nice, agreeing with them as they told me what They though I should have learned from my trip. I don't miss the flush toilets, clean beds or things like that. I miss the people on the trail who understand the why without even saying it. People here in the real world, all of their questions and comments are trying to gain insight into what we do out in the woods and are phrased in the frame of mind that we are visiting in the woods.Being back in "civilization" makes me feel like I'm visiting here, and my home is out in the woods. And I need to go back.
Date: 2012-12-16
To: Rob Bird
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I read a few days ago that Rob Bird had made the move from Dalton on down south. While this is great news, it does make me sad knowing that when I get back to MA there won't be an amazing person there to take me in anymore. Yes yes, I know that Lombardi will still be there (even if he might not take people in this year- a discussion that was had while I was at the Birdcage) it won't be the same.The Birdcage was an amazing institution on the AT for 11 years, and it'll sorely be missed. It's not everyday that someone opens up their doors for hikers because it's needed. Here was a man who had everything covered for hikers. Soda, laundry, showers, warm clean place to sleep, relaxation and everything in between. The whole range of physical, mental and spiritual to recharge yourself and keep going.Luckily he'll be at Traildays this year, and I plan on hitting it on my nobo, so I can look forward to a little Bird love and a new mohawk! "I now know why the caged bird sings! It's because Rob Bird is the MAN!"I think I'll give him a call tomorrow.
Date: 2012-12-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

Walking around in the National Gallery of Art isnt quite like hiking on the trail but its nice. Warm, dry and still quite beautiful. In one of the gallery rooms there is a picture from the 1800s of Pinkham Notch. I stood and stared at the painting, the edge of the mountain rising into the clouds and it took me back to the Whites. Talked to a few people who I know who are still on the trail, most have gotten off or fiinished, but City Slicker is still rolling forward so I'm getting set to send him some xmas cookies. I would love to still be out there. Knees felt miserable this weekend though and the foot wasnt much better. I need to be healthy