morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-08-13
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: Moose Cabin in Giffrord State Park
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: light rain

Woke up at around 5:45am and no rain. Boy did we luck out yesterday with the rain. It was north, south and east of us but luckily we were fine. The rest of the shelter got up at around 6 so I did as well. I made coffee and ate breakfast. I packed up and hoped the rain would hold off. I had no cell reception so I couldn't check the radar. I got on trail about 7 and was the third to last to leave. Only Dragon Head and Lt Dan were the only 2 left at the shelter when I left. The climb up Kilington from the south was steady but not steep. It was a very nice grade. Only near the top did it become somewhat steep and that was mostly step ups among the roots. We climbed up into the clouds and it was foggy and misty. Lt Dan and Dragon head caught up to me and we hiked together stopping at Cooper Lodge Shelter for a rest and a snack. After we began the 6 mile climb down Kilington to US route 4. The descent down was a good grade with the only steep part at the beginning. When we were 2 miles from the road the heavens opened up and it poured. We got soaked and all gathered by the road. Dragon head needed to go into Rutland for a package and Lt Dan and I said we would go to. Hazel did not need to go into town and was going to head to the state park to see about getting a lean to for us. In the state park you can rent lean-to's, cabins or tent sites. She told us she would text us when she got to the state park. I sat to empty my boots as the rain had stopped and the regional bus pulled over to see if we needed a ride. Lt Dan, DH and I piled on the bus and had to head north as the guy was at beginning of his route. The driver had the AC on high and we were freezing as we were soaked. After an hour bus drive we got dropped off at the bus depot in Rutland. Dragon head had to pick up his package at The yellow deli so we headed there to do laundry and shower. Lt Dan headed in a different direction and was in search of food. We showered put our laundry in and had Chinese for lunch. The dryer took awhile and we waited around for our clothes to dry. Hazel texted that the lean-to's were sold out but there was one cabin left for 50 and dragon head and I both said yes let's do it. We finally had dry clothes and got dressed and headed back to the bus station. We found out that the last bus left at 5:15. We headed to route 4 to hitch and a very nice lady picked us up within 5 minutes. We got back to the trailhead and headed into the woods. We only had 3.2 miles to the cabin in the state park. After 1 mile in we had a torrential thunderstorm with two lightning strikes really close. Dragon head and I were pretty scared and really tried to boogie to the cabin. The storm passed and we breathed a sigh of relief. We made it to the cabin and Hazel said you survived the storm. We were able to take another shower and get into dry clothes. We settled down and found out we could order pizza so we did just that. 2 large pizzas were on the way. Thunderstorms rumbled through all night but we were warm and dry and very content.
Date: 2016-08-14
From: Moose Cabin in Giffrord State Park

To: The cabin with a view
Miles today: 14.2

Woke up at 2am to one hell of a thunderstorm. It poured and lightning and thunder. It made me glad to be in the cabin safe and dry. I fell back asleep and woke up around 7:30 to Hazel being up as well as Dragon Head. No one was in any particular rush to get going and we technically had the cabin until 11. Dragon head and I finished the pizza for breakfast and we slowly packed up. Around 9:30 he headed out as he needed to go to the outfitter to get new insoles for his feet. Hazel and I headed out short thereafter. The cabin was so nice we didn't want to leave. We had about two miles of flat climbs and then began the climb up Mt Quimby. In the first mile we stopped at Thundering Falls which is the highest waterfall on the AT in Vermont. It was really pretty and was flowing well with all the water from last nights storms. We passed the guy heading southbound who is going for the supported record of the AT. He is running literally. I can't remember his name at this very moment but DH was the one who looked it up. We climbed and I was struggling. This humidity is just kicking my butt big time. The ups are just killer on me and I go super slow. I can't wait for this humidity to break. We descended down Quimby just slightly to views of Pico ski area. Then another up. Jeff texted me that he is mom and brother were going to drive up and meet us at one of the road crossings. We picked stony brook road and I hoped we could slack pack a bit. We began the last climb unnamed and then descended down to stony brook shelter where we rested and ate. We then pushed on to stony brook and waited for Jeff. They showed about 15 minutes later and had chips and mt. dew and sandwiches. We ate and threw our packs in the back and began our packless trek. We did almost 4 miles in one hour and met Jeff at the next road crossing. We snacked some more and said our goodbyes. We had 2.8 miles to the cabin where we were planning on staying. The cabin is a private building but the owners allow hikers to stay at it. The climb up was steep and slow going. Hazel and I took our time and made it to the cabin about 7. Dragon head was already there and we set up and made dinner. The cabin has a ladder and a view platform on top of the building giving fantastic panoramic views. Very pretty. We set in for the night at around 8:30. U
Date: 2016-08-15
From: The cabin with a view

To: Chris Files house
Miles today: 18.9

Just a correction notice. When cutting and pasting my journal for 8/11 I put 8/10 journal there instead. So both were the same. I have since corrected it and 8/11 is right now if you want to the-read it. Woke up this morning at 5:30 to a wonderful sunrise at the cabin. This place was so neat. It is privately owned but the owners allow thru hikers to come and stay in the cabin as long as it's treated with respect. It has a main room with a fireplace and a loft above. There is a ladder which goes to the top of the roof where there is a platform with a bench with 360 views. Simply breathtaking. I hope future hikers take care of this so the land owner continues to allow use. I packed up after having my coffee and breakfast and got on trail at around 6:30. Dragon head and I passed Hazel on our way out as she tented instead of sleeping with the masses in the cabin. We hiked 3 miles to Wintturi shelter where we got water and had more food. The terrain today looked tough but at the end we were getting picked up by Andy who's the husband of a friend I went to college with Chris Files. I went to school in northeastern Vermont, Lyndon State College. It was a great school and I made lots of friends there many I still talk to today. Once we all left the shelter we headed another 3.7 miles to Vermont 12 where there is a place called on the edge farm. There was talk of fresh made pies and we were in. We walked the .20 to the store and bought all kinds of stuff. Hazel and Dragon head bought a whole pie which they proceeded to eat half each. I got an apple turnover and some drinks. Everything tastes fantastic. We continued on and the big ups and downs began. We had 14 ups and 14 downs which just take their toll on you. On up number 5 there was a view which we stopped at to take in and to eat snacks. We continued on up and down reaching cloud land road where there was a cooler with trail magic and water jugs. The cooler had homemade baked goods in it. I had rice crispy treats which had fruity pebbles mixed in with it. Yummy!! We continued on with more ups and downs. I was growing weaker by the minute. I remembered I had a block of Cabot cheese which I bought at the bakery. While waiting for Hazel to catch up I ate the whole block of cheese. Oh boy hopefully that doesn't come back to haunt me later. We finally descended down to Quechee road and then to Vermont 14 where we met Andy. He took us back to the house where we met up with Chris. We were able to do our laundry, shower and had the most wonderful meal of coleslaw, corn on the cob and BBQ chicken all locally grown. It was fantastic. It was such a great night talking and catching up and letting Andy and Chris ask us stories of the trail.
Date: 2016-08-16
From: Chris Files house

To: Hannover NH (Trail Angels Gregs Hose)
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up at Chris Files house at around 6am. Had some bagels and cream cheese and coffee. I slept so well last night. Chris drove us back to the trailhead and was so nice to go by the Dunkin Donuts so I could get and iced coffee. We got back to the trailhead at around 7:30 and began the trek on. Today will be the most road walks of the whole trip this far. We came down a road yesterday and got picked up after we crossed a bridge. This morning we continued on the main road for .50 miles and then went right for .50 miles. We crossed under interstate 89 and then the trail went back into the woods. We had two climbs today. The first was up on the road walks to Podunk Road, then the second was up Happy Hill. The climbs were gradual and nothing too steep. The day was cloudy with a bit of mist. We only had 10 miles to go today before we got to Hannover and then we were calling it a day. Hazel's husband was driving from New Brunswick to come see her. They haven't seen each other since April and she was very excited to see him. We stopped at the side trail to Happy Hill Shelter and had a snack and then began the descent. We were dropped out of the woods onto Elm Street in Norwich VT. We had a 1.0 mile road walk and passed many homes. One house had trail magic out front of the house with watermelon, bannana bread, rolls. It was so nice and the person who lived there had converted boots into two planters. It was pretty cool. We continued on elm street and then joined Main Street and had a 1.4 mile road walk. We crossed the bridge over the Connecticut River and crossed into New Hampshire. Hurray, Hurray!! We arrived into Hannover on Main Street and walked past shops, restaurants and a Starbucks. The post office was next store and both Dragon Head and I had packages. My friend Chrissy from Connecticut sent me a bunch of goodies. I ran next store and got and iced macchiato. The store was packed and there was a big line. I got stares and sneers but I had a big smile on my face. Sorry people that I'm ripe and fresh off the trail but you don't I understand the desire for iced coffee. When I came back outside Hazel's husband had arrived and they were hugging. It was so sweet as I fully understand that feeling. We made a quick plan to meet at 9am at Starbucks tomorrow to begin our slack packing. Dragon head and I did some errands like eating, library etc. We met up with Ninja who had made a reservation with one of the trail Angels in Hannover to stay with them. The trail angel Greg could fit 3 people per night and Ninja had set it all up. We got picked up at 4 in town and were brought to his house. The rest of the night we relaxed and I did my dishes and ate. It was a nice relaxing night.
Date: 2016-08-17
From: Hannover NH (Trail Angels Gregs Hose)

To: Jacob's Brook Campground
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up at Greg's house. Slept ok but for some reason my back was stiff when I got up. I made coffee and had some breakfast. There was a sandwich shop next store to his house and dragon head and I went next store to get a breakfast sandwich. We packed up and Greg took us back to Main Street in Hannover. He takes pictures of every hiker that stays with him and makes a book out of it. This year he has had 83 hikers stay with him so far. He was a great guy and I was so thankful for what he did. We met Hazel and her husband at the car and put all of our gear in and I took my little day pack. The trail walk through downtown Hannover and then cuts back into the woods by the Dartmouth football fields. We began a climb which was not too steep. The terrain was nice and easy grades with a good trail layout. We were going to go 7 miles and meet Hazels husband for water and snacks. We boogied and made it in no time. We passed Old Spice and Axe and caught back up to so-free. We stopped at the car with Steven and loaded back up with Mt Dew. Old spice and Axe passed us and then so-free stopped to chat. Hazel told him to throw his pack in the car and slack with us. He did and we continued on our way. Our last climb was up and over Moose Mt which has an elevation of 2254 feet. We had 6 miles to go back to the car and made it in about two hours. So-free continued on and we headed to the campground. We stopped at a store so Hazel could get supplies to make spaghetti. We got to the campground and set up our tents. We camped in the same site as Hazel. The campground had a pool which I took advantage of. We had a wonderful meal together and discussed our plan for tomorrow. The plan is 20 miles up and over smarts and cube Mt. It was early to bed about 8:30 as the plan is to leave at 6:30.
Date: 2016-08-18
From: Jacob's Brook Campground

To: Jacobs Creek Campground. 
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up today at 5:45. The plan was to leave at 7. Made coffee and had breakfast made by Hazel. She made pancakes and they were delicious. Ever since hiking with Luigi I always carry chocolate chips in my food bag. Hazel made me chocolate chip pancakes. Wohoo. We got in the car and drive the 15 minutes to the trail head. We got on trail at about 7:30 and the first climb we had was up Holts Ledge. In the guide book it talked of a perceptive drop off. We didn't know exactly what that meant and thought it was on the descent. We reached the top and had a fantastic view. The trail followed ledges and there was tall grass and shrubs. If you stepped through the grass and or shrubs it was a perceptive drop off to your death. We now knew why he mentioned it. We descended and came down to the road and met Steven at the car. Steven is Hazel's husband. We loaded up on water, Mt. Dew and snacks. We headed back out with 14 miles remaining. Our next climb was up Smarts mountain which had the typical New Hampshire rock climbs that I knew and love. It's good to be back in New Hampshire. The climb up was steep but the open rock ledges you climb made it interesting. There was a view point that gave you a view of the summit and tower. Ok that's where we need to go. We continued on and reached the summit. We had wood steps and rebar handles. The last mile up the summit was steep, wet rocks and challenges. We stopped at the summit and had snacks. We descended down and stopped at a bridge and a creek. We refilled water and began the climb up Mt Cube. The climbing was very similar to Smarts Mt. Lots of rock ledges and rock hopes. The views from the top were fantastic. We descended down and met Steven. This second day of slacking was amazing. My body is so thankful for it. We got back to Jacobs Brook campground. I showered, made dinner and relaxed. Hit the sack at about 8:30.
Date: 2016-08-19
From: Jacobs Creek Campground. 

To: Jacobs Creek Campground
Miles today: 19.1

In talking about our third and final slack pack with Steven we decided to do our next stretch southbound vs our normal northbound. I was first like I don't know if I can do that but then said hey I'm still walking the same miles. This way we can start the day with Moosilauke instead of end the day with it. We got on our way and reached the parking area at around 8:30. Steven dropped us off and we began. The climb didn't waste anytime going up. We passed a sign that said only experts should attempt this climb. Please be careful on cascades so there will not be tragic results. The first mile up was steep. We had to use rebar handles and wood block step platforms to get up all the rocks. The trail literally followed a waterfall and cascades up the mountain. We gained 3000 feet in 1.5 miles. It felt so good to be climbing this steep up without a big pack. In what seemed like no time we reached the top. The first mile super steep and then the next two miles were climbs but not too bad. The last several 100 feet or so was above treeline and the view was simply fantastic. The wind was howling and it was cool. We took pictures and began our descent. Hazel and I took the side trail to the south peak and took pictures. We then headed down the 5 mile descent. We crossed over a few roads and met Steven in the parking lot. While in the parking lot we saw the hiker yearbook bus and Odie came over to us to make sure he has got our pictures. I can't wait to buy the yearbook. We continued on after saying goodbye to Odie and Steven and tackled Mist Mt which was our last big climb of the day. After we reached the summit of Mist Mt we had a gradual descent all the way to the car. We passed the 400 mile point which means we have under 400 miles left to walk. It was pretty exciting to pass that point. Tomorrow when we get back to the parking lot and cross the road we will have hit the 1800 mile mark. We popped out of the woods at 6:15 and met Steven. We headed back to campground for shower. Then off to the laundromat and dinner. We topped off the day with ice cream and I ordered coffee flavored soft serve. A first for me. Tomorrow we head into the Mt Kinsman area.
Date: 2016-08-20
From: Jacobs Creek Campground

To: Barron Brook Inn
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

I woke up at around 7 am in my tent. The plan today was to pack up and meet Trooper and Chris Lovell at the parking area at the trailhead. Doug and his mom were coming to the campground to meet up and help Stephen lighten the load from the 3 of us and our packs and all of their camping stuff. Doug arrived and Hazel broke down and said she's not ready to say goodbye to Stephen yet. My heart broke as I knew exactly how she felt when I had to say goodbye to Jeff that first time in Marion. So Doug brought Dragon Head, Ninja and I to the parking area. We arrived at 9 and Trooper and Chris were already there. OMG I was so excited to see the two of them. I hadn't seen Chris since December. They were setting up and had doughnuts, soda, Gatorade, fruit, chips, lunch meats and rolls. Dragon Head and Ninja met everyone and they soon started off. I stayed until 10 and didn't want to get on trail. I wanted to stay all day with them. Doug was slack packing us and I needed to head out before Ninja and DH got too far ahead. Trooper and Chris did trail magic until 3 and had many hikers. Chris loved doing it and got a better understanding of the trail. I started up the climb from the road and the terrain was tough. There were about 10 ups and down passing Dilly Cliffs and then I climbed up and over Mt Wolf at 3478 feet. The trail was muddy, wet and slippery. At one point I stepped on a board and went to step again and it wasn't wood but a leave. My foot sunk up to my knee in the mud and I thought I was going over my head. I was covered in mud on one leg. The trail then descended down to Eliza Brook Shelter which was open bare wet rocks which ended up being a super long slip and slide. I stopped at the shelter to have lunch and Dragon Head and Ninja were there so I caught up. After lunch we began the climb up South Kinsman which was straight up and rock climbs hand over fist. We reached the summit to blue skies and a stiff wind. The views were fantastic and a panorama view. We had a short saddle walk to North Kinsman and not a very good view. We then had a very steep decent down to lonesome lake hut. Lonesome Lake had fantastic views of the Franconia Ridge. We carried on and made our way down to route 3. We passed under both bridges and left the trail to climb up to the road. After a bit of confusion to where Doug was we found the car and brought Dragon Head and Ninja to their motel in North Woodstock. We then headed to Whitefield to the only motel room available in all of the White Mountains. I was exhausted after doing 16 miles and that was without a pack. I would have had to broken that into two days with a pack. We had dinner in Lancaster and I had a fantastic steak and cheese. Then we headed back to the motel where I immediately passed out.
Date: 2016-08-21
From: Barron Brook Inn

To: Garfield Pond Stealth site
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

Woke up at Barron Brook Inn. Doug and I shared a room and Jeff's mom had her own. The reservation got screwed up online so they had to get a room at a different motel but got a free room out of it. I got up and grabbed a cup of coffee before jumping in the shower. Then packed my bag and went through my food bag to ensure I had enough food to make it to Crawford Notch. I was thinking our little trail family got scattered to the crosswinds. Hazel was behind as she couldn't say goodbye to Stephen just yet and didn't get onto the trail until around 12:30. Ninja and Dragon Head had made a reservation at a motel in Woodstock but I didn't jump in with them on it as I wasn't sure what family was going to do. Good thing as with us slack packing we didn't make it to the road on route 3 until about 7. We dropped Ninja and Dragon Head off at the motel and had to drive to Whitfield to the only motel with a room available. So all of us started at different locations and times today. We checked out of the motel and headed on route 2 towards Lyndonville, Vermont to meet my old college roommate for breakfast. We went to the Miss Lyndonville diner for breakfast and it was fantastic. Heather, Meghan and Andy met up with us and we had a good time catching up. We left about 11 and headed down I-91 to I-93 back to Franconia Notch. I got dropped off on the side of the highway and said goodbye to Doug and mom and started back into the woods. The first part of the day was a steady almost steep climb up Liberty Springs trail for 2.9 miles. Then I merged onto the Franconia Ridge trail which went up and over Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette peaks. Once you summit Haystack you are above treeline and the views were amazing. The visibility was clear and the scenery beautiful. The climbs up each peak were only a few hundred feet and each peak you gradually gain more elevation. Once on top of Lafayette I noticed that the clouds were moving in. I knew the rain was coming and wanted to boogie to make it to Garfield Shelter before the rain hit. Dragon head had said he was going to try and make it there today. I descended down Lafayette and the wind began to howl and really blew me around. I looked at radar and saw the rain close. I was running out of time and got to Garfield Pond and saw some stealth campsites and quickly set up my tent. I had enough time to eat, brush my teeth and put up my food bag before the storm hit. I'm snuggled in my tent in my bag as the wind howls and the rain falls.