morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-08-22
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel

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

Day One Hundred and Sixty Seven - (7.5) Hikers Welcome Hostel to Eliza Brook ShelterThere were sounds again last night but I knew that I would be in the woods the next time I set my hammock up. I woke up and went to the garage where it is set up for a hiker hang out and there was coffee waiting for me. Legion made us an awesome breakfast and we loaded into Miss Janet's van and headed to Kinsman Notch where we said goodbye and headed north. We were all tired and had to climb up out of the notch. It felt even harder than yesterday's climb but we all knew that it wasn't. It did take us a long time to get to the top but we weren't in a hurry. We took a break at a trail junction and two tenths of a mile later we cheered as we hit the eighteen hundred mile mark! We are going to have to start packing out stuff to celebrate with from here on out! At the top we dropped our packs and took the side trail to the summit. There was a great view of the mountains that lie ahead but we were on a small rocky ledge and there wasn't enough space for us all to sit comfortably and take in the view. We headed down the mountain but there was a lot of smaller ups and downs over giant rocks, roots and mud pits. We thought the trail should have had more of a downward trend and wondered if we were even on the right trail. The Appalachian Trail borrows from several other trails through the Whites and it would be easy to continue on a different trail for miles. We were on the right trail it just took longer before the big down started. We stopped for one last break an hour before the shelter and then found a perfect spot to set up camp twenty minutes later near the shelter. Our camp overlooks a stream and was perfect until a bunch of loud college kids arrived who obviously no nothing about trail etiquette. I forgot to mention the giant bug bite that Canadian Bacon got on her forehead right over her eye. Minutes later she fell and did a perfect face plant literally eating dirt. It was hilarious! We told her she couldn't balance with that swollen bug bite. Trouble
Date: 2013-08-24
From: Franconia Notch

To: Liberty Spring Campsite
Miles today: 2.7

One Hundred and Sixty Nine - (2.7) Franconia Notch to Liberty Spring CampsiteIt was nice to be able to have coffee this morning and in the lobby there were bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. Later we headed into town for a second breakfast and then a stop at the grocery store to resupply. I couldn't find the high calorie builder bars I normally buy and had to settle with snack bars instead. I hope I have enough food! Back at the hotel I had one last shower before I left the room and finished uploading my journal. The owner of the hotel drove us back to the trailhead and we started the upward climb to Liberty Spring Campsite. Maybe I am finally getting used to hiking up but the 2400ft gain in elevation in just over two miles did not seem that bad. On the way up we met some section hikers coming down who said there was a large group of college kids also headed for our campsite. Zenmaster and Two Socks raced ahead to try to pass the group and secure us a spot (it's first come first serve and there aren't any stealth spots). Canadian Bacon and I took our time but we still managed to cruise right by the group and they ate our dust! They set up their tents on one tent pad and I set my hammock up between the trail and the tent pad. It's a pretty cool spot and we got here early enough to enjoy it. As other hikers arrived they stopped by to chat and one guy told us its going get cold tonight (low 30's) and I believe him. I am in my hammock now with my hat and mitts on, it is cold already! Trouble
Date: 2013-08-25
From: Liberty Spring Campsite

To: Garfield Shelter
Miles today: 8.0

Day One Hundred and Seventy - (8)Liberty Spring Campsite to Garfield ShelterToday was perfect! I think it was the best day of this trip so far! It was so cold last night and this morning Canadian Bacon made me a hot chocolate at breakfast. We packed up and hiked out with jackets, hats and mitts on but peeled off the extra layers by the time we were at the top of Mt. Liberty. The hike was beautiful! Every once in awhile the trees would thin out and there would be an amazing view in front of us. We hiked up Little Haystack Mountain and all of a sudden we were above the tree line and we could see a sea of mountains all around us. We hiked along Franconia Ridge and up Mt.Lincoln with a 360 degree view the whole way! Everything about today was perfect! Often a thru hiker misses the great views because of the weather (it's raining or overcast) on the day they hike through and they don't have the time to wait for perfect weather to hike. Today it was sunny with clear skies and it felt like we could see forever. The next mountain was Lafayette and it was so cool to be able to turn around and see the trail and the last few peaks that I had just been on hours ago! We took a long break on the mountaintops but we knew we couldn't stay up there and there were actually a lot of day hikers up there anyway so we started hiking down the mountain. It was rough, really rough! It took way longer to climb down the rocky trail than it did to get up and we still had to do Mt. Garfield. I was tired already and needed a break. When we stopped we asked Zenmaster and Two Socks to go ahead and secure us a campsite at the next shelter so Canadian Bacon and I could take our time. We couldn't believe how long it took us to get to the bottom and then we started the steep climb up Garfield. We took another short break at Garfield Pond (it's really a lake) and then slowly climbed the last half a mile to the top. At the top we met a family who is trying to hike up all forty eight 4000ft mountains in New Hampshire. Mt.Garfield was their eleventh so far and they were celebrating at the top with snacks (just like thru hikers). Good for them! After taking a few more pictures (I have taken so many today) we headed down to the shelter. It was crazy steep again and every single step had to be planned out. It took awhile. We finally arrived to the trail that led to the shelter, I stopped for water on the way and soon I was setting up my hammock in the trees. After dinner the caretaker (Dylan) came over to collect the $8 per person fee and he was hilarious! He told us all about his privy chores and how he composts the mess. He also told us about the local bear problems. Right now I am in my hammock on the side of a mountain with a view of the mountains across the valley. Can life get any better than this? Good night world!Trouble
Date: 2013-08-26
From: Garfield Shelter

To: Stealth Campsite on Ethan Pond Trail
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: few clouds

Day One Hundred and Seventy One - (11.8) Garfield Shelter to Stealth Campsite on Ethan Pond TrailAnother beautiful day on the Appalachian Trail! I woke up to an orange sky as the sun was rising and then got up slowly to break up camp. We hiked out filling our water bottles on the way by the stream. Then the climb down began, it took half an hour just to do quarter of a mile. It was ridiculous! We were looking for hand holds and hanging on to tree trunks as we slowly made our way down the mountain. Melkie spun around in mid air when he changed his mind about where he was going to land! It was so steep! I was starting to think that we wouldn't make it to the hut in time for the breakfast leftovers. The hut Croo has to pack out all the leftovers so they will offer them to thru hikers who stop in and I had high hopes! ET and Promise hiked by us and told us we could forget about any leftovers because several other thru hikers were ahead of us. Oh well, at least I can buy a coffee. When we finally made it to Galehead Hut a croo member asked if we were all thru hikers and if we wanted dinner leftovers! There were nine of us and she brought out a huge platter with pork steaks, chicken, pasta, chicken parmesan, quinoa and peas. It was awesome! Thank you! I took a few pictures of the hut before putting my pack back on and heading up South Twin Mountain. At the top we hung out for a bit looking at mountains as far as we could see. The trail got better as the day went on and we were making good time. We stopped at Zealand Falls Hut and a croo member there was trying to get rid of five bowls of soup! Excellent, we helped with that! After talking to some of the people staying at the hut we lifted our packs and hiked out onto the best trail we have seen in days! The Ethan Pond Trail is smooth and relatively flat and made the last few miles of the day painless. Canadian Bacon found us a great stealth site, we are all set up extremely close together but it is the perfect site. I will be asleep in a few minutes. Good night world!Trouble
Date: 2013-08-27
From: Stealth Campsite on Ethan Pond Trail

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: light rain

Day One Hundred and Seventy Two - (5.4) Stealth Campsite on Ethan Pond Trail to Crawford NotchIt rained during the night but I stayed nice and dry in my hammock and didn't get up until the rain had stopped. Today was a planned town day so I packed up quickly only to wait for everyone else (I don't think they were as excited about food as I was). We started out on beautifully graded trail and stopped for a break at the Ethan Pond Shelter. At the shelter the caretaker told us about an entry in the trail register from someone named Doc who was offering to help thru hikers at Crawford Notch. Perfect! We need help! We punched his number into our useless phones and carried on down the mountain to the notch. We were worried because everything was still wet and thought we would be slip sliding down the mountain. It wasn't bad at all and we made it to the Notch in an hour. Just as we were walking off the trail and into the parking lot who do we see pull up but Foodwalker, Tracy Mc G's husband. It worked out great because none of us had cell reception there so Foodwalker drove me down the road with a couple cell phones in my hand until one of them got signal. I called Doc (he has thru hiked the AT twice and the PCT with his wife) and asked for help. Even though he was in the middle of moving to a new house he came to pick us up and soon we were showering and doing laundry at his place. We ate at a restaurant at the end of his street (twice) and resupplied at a convenience store nearby. We are tired but ready for the giant climb first thing tomorrow!Good night world!Trouble
Date: 2013-08-28
From: Crawford Notch

To: Nauman Campsite
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: clear sky

Day One Hundred and Seventy Three - (6.4) Crawford Notch to Nauman CampsiteWe packed up and left the house at 7:30 and made a pit stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee. I bought an awesome pumpkin doughnut! Then it was back to Crawford Notch to get back on the trail. We had a long steep climb up to Webster Cliffs. The hike switched to a definite climb and we crawled up the mountain at a snails pace. It's funny because all of the things I used to complain about like how steep St John's Ledges were or how slippery the rocks are or how many roots there are on the trail are now just a regular part of the trail. The rock climbs we did today were way worse than St. John's Ledges and we were on wet slick rock covered in roots. We met a section hiker today who said she felt like she was bouldering and rock climbing today but without the appropriate climbing gear and with a backpack. A lot of the day was spent pulling myself up with my arms (muscles I haven't used in months). I am not complaining though because everything about this place is beautiful! Everything! It's so hard to describe, I think it's the combination of so many beautiful things all in one place that make it so amazing here. The sea of mountains in every direction, the short pine trees and shrubs, the moss covering everything, the cloud shadows moving over the mountains and the smell! It smells like pine and some kind of flower mixed all together and it's wonderful! We are taking our time because we have to but we are loving every minute of it! We stopped for several short breaks but finally made it to Mizpah Spring Hut and Nauman Campsite. We decided to stay here as it would be at least another four hours to get to the next hut and it was a great decision! After setting up we headed over to the hut and had a bowl of cream of potato soup and a chocolate chip pumpkin square. The Croo there was awesome and invited us to eat with them after breakfast tomorrow. Any other day that would be awesome but there is supposed to be a thunderstorm tomorrow afternoon and we are going to try to get up and over Mt Washington before it hits. But it was awesome of them to offer! Thanks! We came back to our campsite and just relaxed for a bit before heading to our beds. Good night world!Trouble
Date: 2013-08-30
From: Valley Way Tentsite

To: Osgood Tentsite
Miles today: 3.1
Weather: light rain

Day One Hundred and Seventy Five - (3.1) Valley Way Tentsite to Osgood TentsiteI know, I know! Only three miles but they were so hard! We woke up a little late, packed up our wet gear and headed back up the .6 of a mile trek up the steep rocky ravine. At the top we stopped for a cup of coffee but the coffee was cold. We hung out for a little while in the nice warm hut but soon we were heading up Mt. Maddison. It was brutal! It was all wet rocks and it was so cloudy that we could barely see the next cairn. We moved at a snails pace. At the top we thought things would get better as we slowly moved down the mountain but instead of going down there was always one more hill in front of us to go up. It seemed never ending and it was so disheartening. We couldn't go any faster and at some point during the day each of us fell. I'm going to have a nasty bruise tomorrow. At lunch there was no good place to stop so we just stopped where we were and sat on the rocks. I honestly think this was worse than Pennsylvania. Maybe if it was sunny out,the rocks were dry and we could see the views that I am sure we missed things would have been different but at lunch we were all in agreement that when we got to the Osgood Tentsite we would stop for the day. We arrived at said Tentsite at 2:30 kind of early but we were definitely done for the day, by 3:30 we were all asleep and didn't wake up until a group of college kids arrived making lots of noise. Melkie chased a weasel and landed himself on his leash for the rest of the night. We were just about to settle in for the night again when Jackalope arrived (I hadn't seen him in months) and set up next to us. It's funny how we never know who is hiking just a mile ahead or a mile behind us. Good night world!Trouble
Date: 2013-08-31
From: Osgood Tentsite

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: haze

Day One Hundred Seventy Six - (6.7) Osgood Tentsite to Pinkham NotchTown Day! We hiked out of camp with daydreams of showers, clean clothes and food (well mostly of food)! Even Melkie was happy and rolled several times, rolling off the trail and down the mountain at one point. The trail was better than it has been lately but still had lots of roots to step over. Everyone else thought that it was great trail but I just wasn't feeling it and couldn't wait for it to be over. I knew we were getting close because I started to smell town smells and not all of them were good. I could actually smell cigarette smoke about half a mile away. Unbelievable! We finally arrived at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Centre, dropped our packs, fed the dog and followed the smell of food inside where we bought lunch. We saw Dylan the caretaker who cracked us up telling us about waste composting. Zenmaster made a few calls and scored us a sweet hotel room with three double beds and both indoor and outdoor pools and a hot tub! Awesome! We hitched a ride into town and picked up packages from the post office and made a pit stop at the laundromat before checking in. Does it ever feel good to be clean! We went out to a great Italian place for dinner and I think it was the best meal I have had so far on the trail! Now I am tired an ready for bed. Good night world!Trouble
Date: 2013-09-01
From: Pinkham Notch

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day One Hundred and Seventy Seven - Zero in GorhamIt's funny how used to the woods we have become. Town is great, we are clean and there is an endless supply of food but walking just a block down the street in the full sun is uncomfortable. We are so used to the nice cool shady trees. And the noises, how am I ever going to get used to all the noises! It seems so loud here compared to the peaceful woods. I'm keep noticing each time I come into a town (and trust me I am always happy to come to town) how much I am going to have to get used to again. Every single time I get into a car I feel like we are going to fast, I wonder if I will even want to get on my motorcycle when I get home. Trouble
Date: 2013-09-04
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Carter Notch
Miles today: 6.2

Day One Hundred and Eighty Days - (6.2) Pinkham Notch to Carter Notch HutYeah! We woke up to blue skies and it was past time to get back on the trail. We packed up, checked out and headed up the road to where we could hitch. I made a quick pit stop to buy more dog food and then started thumbing. It took thirty five minutes before Erika stopped in her PT Cruiser to pick us up. Thanks! Back at Pinkham Notch we were going to have breakfast but it was $14 each and that was just too much so we settled on bagels and cream cheese. Then it was time to take on the Wildcats! We put our packs on and headed to the trailhead. The trail was very poorly marked for most of the day and we often wondered if we were on the right path. We started out on a muddy path that had rocks everywhere and then it turned into a horrible rock climb. I felt sick and seriously thought about turning around several times but I kept going. Near the top of the first peek we had to climb up a big giant rock. Normally I like the climbing sections but I was so dizzy and I realized that if I slipped I would be falling or sliding at least twenty feet. I slowly made my way up the big rock and found everyone waiting for me on top. We took a break and then kept moving. We came across the gondola but it wasn't in operation so we pressed on. Most of the day is a big blur for me because I really didn't feel well and it took forever to get anywhere. It turns out that it was a really hard day even for the healthy hikers. We made it to Carter's Notch Hut and were going to ask about work for stay but there were so many hikers here that we thought we didn't have a chance. George the Croo member in charge made a list of jobs that needed done on a white board and announced that whoever put their name down for a job could stay. Wow! That's awesome! We got to stay! Canadian Bacon and Two Socks have to bleach all the bunks in the morning and Zenmaster and I have to put away all the extra kitchen wares for the winter. Normally hikers who work for stay have to stay outside the hut until later and then when the guests have retired they sleep in the dining room. Here the two guests for the night were hanging out with us and we were allowed to stay in the bunkhouse. And it gets even better! George made us dinner! He said it wasn't as good as what the guests got but I thought it was great! Thanks George! After dinner everyone relaxed in the dining room, some of the guys had chin-up competitions showing off their tricks. So many hikers were complaining about how hard todays hike was, it actually made me feel better knowing that I still did it even though I was sick. The bunkhouse was very cool, we chose a room with four bunks and Melkie is in with us. It's perfect! Trouble
Date: 2013-09-05
From: Carter Notch

To: Imp Shelter
Miles today: 6.9

Day One Hundred and Eighty One - (6.9) Carter Notch Hut to Imp ShelterWe woke up to the sound of other hikers getting up but we had been told that the coffee wouldn't be ready until 7am so we stayed in bed as long as we could! When we did get up breakfast was just being served. Wow! Staying at a hut is awesome, too bad this is the last hut. Zenmaster and I ended up washing the breakfast dishes because whoever was supposed to be doing them wasn't even up yet. We finished up and started hiking around 9am and it looked like we had real trail! I still feel sick but I could tell it was better than yesterday at least until we got to the top. That's when the trail went bad! It turned into a steep rocky descent that didn't look like a trail at all! Some of the comments I heard while trying to maneuver down the slick rocks were "I don't know enough cuss words to be doing this right now" and "I am never, ever, ever going to do this trail again, why would anyone want to do this more than once." Zenmaster fell three times today and he is our fearless leader, that's how bad the trail was. We had planned on going farther today but it took so long to get down the treacherous section that we had to stop at Imp Shelter. It is the last of the pay per use shelters and we were hoping to avoid it. So far the caretaker hasn't appeared so we might have got lucky. It is early but Canadian Bacon and I are not well. Good night world!Trouble
Date: 2013-09-06
From: Imp Shelter

To: White Mountain Hostel
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: broken clouds

Day One Hundred and Eighty Two - (8.1) Imp Shelter to White Mountains HostelWe are finished the whites and we have less than three hundred miles to go! It rained last night and I hadn't set my tarp up properly, everything got wet! I woke up thinking that I was better and started packing up my wet gear. I hate wet gear, it makes my pack so much heavier. I was ready before everyone else and knew I'd still be the slowest so I hiked out first trying to give myself a head start up Mt. Morriah. I don't even think I had gone half a mile before they had caught up and were passing me. I'm still not better and I wonder how long I can keep hiking with whatever it is that I have. I only have so much time left to finish this hike and my funds are dwindling, I can't afford to be sick right now. I need to stay focused on reaching Katahdin. I can honestly say that other than a miserable day back near Atkins,VA and the whole week of the heat wave in New York I have had fun hiking (and in NY Lionel and Lola made everything better), I never even thought about quitting but hiking while sick just sucks. I have thought about just going home so many times in the past few days. I have made several mistakes just because I wanted to stay on the trail and I am lucky I haven't hurt myself. I should have turned around when I wasn't well climbing up the first of the Wildcats, later there were other trails that I could have taken down to safety but I wanted to follow the white blazes no matter what. In the meantime I was climbing up rocks on the sides of mountains when I had trouble even keeping my balance on solid ground, I was scrambling down rocks so dizzy that I'm surprised I didn't fall and break something. Today our original plan was to hike into town by noon, resupply and get out of town by 2pm. I don't think we even arrived until after 2pm but by that time we had decided to stay and try to recover. In the back of my mind was the idea that I could make arrangements if I needed to go home but I'm not going home! This is my one chance to thru hike and I have 298 miles left, if I have to take it easy for a few days and then pound out the miles in order to make it work then that's what I'm going to do!Trouble