morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-22
From: Gorham NH

To: Imp Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: fog

Kate's entry: Days we leave town are usually the same: pack, breakfast, post office, pack, get driven to the trailhead, walk...adjust to the weight of your pack, lament food not eaten and be happy to be sleeping in the woods again. This day started that way...but the end was not the norm whatsoever. It was great to hit the trail today - it wasn't raining yet though we all knew it was probable. The trails were nice - duffy, minimal rocks at first. Rain starte about a third of the way in and was light and intermittent. Foggy as all get out - no views from Mt. Mohria for sure. It was a long climb up but fairly comfy.We walked slower than usual at first to stay with Pollywog and Beetle but Pollywog kept urging us ahead of her. All seemed well at lunch about halfway - Polly's shoulder doing good even with a couple of spills. Matt and I got to Imp Shelter - the shelter was very nice and a double decker. Matt and I set to do our chores - setting up our space in the shelter, etc. I went to pump water for the night...about halfway through Matt came running down - Beetle had come into camp by herself. Pollywog's ankle was hurt bad and he and Achilles were going to get the caretaker and go get Pollywog. I finished pumping water and then started a pot of water for tea and gatorade. They still weren't back so I filled Beetle's water containers and refilled ours so we'd have enough water for the night between the four of us for dinner. After a bit, the gang came in carrying Pollywog piggyback. Apparently, she slipped on a wet rock and she was pretty sure her ankle was broken. I worked on dinners for the group and hot beverages. About five minutes after they got in, it began to pour. Alyssa, the caretaker, was great! Even got some ice from a cave for Pollywog's ankle. We agreed tomorrow would be soon enough to get Pollywog out - the ankle was stable and her pain was controlled. It was way past hikers midnight when we finally got settled for bed...what a long day!
Date: 2008-07-23
From: Imp Shelter

To: Gorham, NH - the EVAC of Pollywog
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

Matt's Entry: Everyone but me slept in today. Even Pollywog slept, which I think is good. I wanted to get my thoughts together today before what I knew will be a long day began. I read Walden. It's a great book overall, but Thoreau rants for whole sections and I really lose interest and sometimes I don't get the language he uses and I certainly don't get all of the references. Well I am almost through it...at least he was a nature lover too.At 7:30, Alyssa the caretaker had her radio call, and we had to wait for the evacuation crew, which was composed mostly of volunteers. It was quite the operation!! A full crew is 18 people, but the didn't know at fist how many volunteers would respond. Most who did were employees of the Appalachian Mountain Club on their day off, and there were some NH Fish and Game guys who joined in as well (consercation wardens). Everyone was pretty cool.They packed in a litter that came apart and then fitted together out in the field, along with a bivvy sac and some carrying straps. Then, after Pollywog was all buckled in and couldn't move much, we picked her up and carried her for 4.5 miles down off of the mountain. It was really hard work.It really only rained for part of the trip, and about 1/3 of the way down the hill, one of the guys had ditched a huge low pressure wheel that we clamped on to the bottom of the litter. Think about that for a second.From that point onward, the 6 people who were carrying her before now were holding on for dear life, trying to make sure she didn't fall over while steering her DOWN the mountain. Gravity insisted that we move much faster than we wanted to. Thankfully, there were lots of people to switch out regularly.We ended up getting her out at about 3:30 - there was an EMS team waiting and we got a hotel room in Gorham again. Alyssa the caretaker was awesome. Achilles stuck around to help with the evac and we all holed up in a room together - Beetle, Polly, Kate, Achilles, and me. It was cramped a bit, but it was a bigger room with two queens and a twin.Overall, it was a good experience and it turned out that Polly has a broken ankle. I know she's sad and doesn't want to see us go tomorrow. I have had to scrap a big trip before and I know how heartwrenching it is. Big day, and I am pooped! TTFN.
Date: 2008-07-24
From: Gorham

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: fog

Kate's entry: We woke up, got breakfast and brought some back to Pollywog. The good news is that her friend Kathy was going to pick her up in the afternoon, so she is all set. Alyssa knocked at our door - said she lost Beetle's number but met a hiker on the road who knew where we were staying. Crazy how info flies on the trail! It was hard to say goodbye to Pollywog. We are going to miss her lots.We got dropped off at Stony Brook, which we took back up to Imp Shelter - there by noon. Pumped water. Ate lunch. Ready to go. Started out and it was drizzling. Through the course of the afternoon the rain got worse and worse. SOAKER!! Then the thunder started so we started timing it so we weren't on the balds when it was regularly thundering. Wind picked up. WET AND COLD! Bad slippery down to Carter Notch. Now here's the deal with the huts - which are a White Mountain Range phenomenon. They have guests whostay for the night, includes dinner and breakfast and costs $90/person/night. Thru-hikers can do work for stay and get food and a place to stay, but there's only a certain number of spots of work for stay in each hut. And it depends on the croo if they'll stretch the rules. So we're wet, and cold...and it's late - we could be out of luck. Beetle's really cold, and we could be in trouble if we don't get her warm and dry fast. We finally get to the sidetrail which is literally a river with a current at least shin deep (deeper on me). We get to the hut and the croo leader comes to talk to us - no work for stay BUT he has spare bunks and is willing to just charge us $8/person - he has no spare food, but can give us hot water. I could have hugged the man. We were soaked so we worked through clothes, heated up hot gatorade, ate and went to bed. Out.
Date: 2008-07-25
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Osgood Tent Site
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Matt's Entry: Today was an amazing Christmas in July - when we woke up the sun was shining and we had some amazing photo opps. when we climbed out of Carter Notch. We got our first view of Mt. Washington and it was just so great out. Not too hot and not too cold.Came to the ski lift and it seemed so strange to see all of the people. Most of them seemed really nice, and they were impressed that we walked yesterday. I guess there were some tornados further south, which is rare for NH. The Wildcat range wasn't so bad, but the decent down to Pinkham Notch was brutal. We made OK time, but when we finally reached the camp at the bottom, the snack bar that we all were so looking forward to had closed about 3 minutes sooner and they wouldn't get us food!!!I was really dissappointed - we all were! But then, I checked the mail because Michelle J from GS had left a post on our logbook and I knew that there was a package for us somewhere. We did get the package and we were SO on cloud 9!!!Beetle's feet, and Kate's as well, are still wet and not doing well. Mine are fine. The shamis are really working well to keep them dry at night. We still had 5 miles to go at 5PM (not a good place to be), so we moved on and finally got in to the site at 7:30. We all decided that we would rather get up early and not come in so late, so we will try that for tomorrow. We have a really bid day andyhow - Mt. Madison, and then Mt. Washington in the same day. Paul and Polina told us that it was hard (they are our trekking buds from Milwaukee). Hopefully the weather will be super - I think it is supposed to be good. TTFN.
Date: 2008-07-26
From: Osgood Campsite

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

Kate's entry: Up early 5 am. Camp broke by 6 am. Long, even climb that seemed to last forever...but not too steep. It was nice to see the sun rise up with us as we climbed. Finally, we hit treeline. The views were gorgeous - not super duper clear, bu the sun was up - no major winds. Up Mt. Madison. Beetle met some folks she started down south with. Stopped at the Madison Hut - for a buck got all you could eat of pancakes, bread, chocolate cake, lemonade and coffee. We FEASTED. I brought out nutella for the bread. Brilliant! YUUUUUM! The croo was friendly. Off to Mt. Washington...six more miles - all of this was above treeline so the weather being gorgeous was even more delicious. GORGEOUS views. We walked and walked. I feel so luck to have the views, the great weather and good company. This replaced my favorite peak walk of Saddleback. WOW!We got to the top of Mt. Washington - the wind was starting to pick up. LOTS of people. Very overwhelming. You can drive up to Mt. Washington so there were a wide variety of people up there - people in flip flops to us in our packs and gear. There was a summit house - FOOD! I ate a chilidog, a bowl of chili, a yogurt, gatorade and chips! Didn't want to leave the summit house - it had been a long day already and we still had 1.5 miles to go to the next hut. We got out of the house and it was foggy. We read that there is fog up here 237 days of the year - sooooo lucky were we! We were hoping to get a work for stay at Lake of the Clouds...which we got. Waited through the guests dinner. There were like 15 late arrivals so dinner took longer than usual. Got leftovers - turkey dinner....which was good, BUT were cold. I hate cold food. I mean, I really hate it. Then came the work part - the girl in charge wasn't very put together so it took a while to get organized and get done. So part of the work for stay here is that we get the pleasure of sleeping on the floor of dining room...and we get to wait til all the guests go to bed. Well, some of the guests decided to get incredibly drunk - screaming at the thunderstorm outside, getting the hutmaster out of bed to yell at them, etc. They were so loud. It had been such a long day with out this. It must have been at least 10:15 before everyone was out of the dining room, but people kept coming in and out and talking loudly. It really took away from the day - which had been perfect up to this point. I think I usually have a low tolerance for this type of thing, and now that we've been away from big groups of people for awhile, it made it more of an annoying situation. I don't think we'll be doing work for stay again.
Date: 2008-07-27
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut

To: Nauman Tent Site
Miles today: 4.6

Matt's Entry: since we didn't get much sleep last night, and we don't feel like going far, we decided to only go a short distance to a tent site near Mitzpah Hut. I have made several observations about the "huts:"1. Last night must have been an anomaly. the crew did an AM skit about how to pack up and leave, and they cleaned up on tips. They also worked in a clever joke about drinking obnoxiously and nearly everyone clapped and hollard loudly.2. The Croos are not very flexible. I wouldn't mind buying dinner, but the croo doesn't seem very willing to do that, and they have the food to do it. Also, they don't want thru hikers to show up and even pay the full rate to stay. We have to approach them - they don't even say Hi to us.3. We don't want to stay at a hut unless we have to, and I will no longer grovel for a spot. I will NEGOTIATE for work for stay, and will demand hot food for my work. This AM my eggs were cold and my supper last night was cold as well. The cold grits were unspeakable. Sleeping on the dirty floor also sucks and I will avoid it if I can.So today was pretty fly. We got into camp and set up - were were expecting big storms but none came. We all took a LONG nap and we had bottomless bowls of soup at Mitzpah Hut. And Fress Apples too! At least the huts are good for something.So I have been doing this for a month and a half. It really felt great to talk to my family yesterday. My old life is great but I really like this one too - I enjoy all of the physical activity and the freedom. I don't know what today will bring and it's exciting to me. The walking is so much easier and we are starting to pass people with lighter loads than we have - they are weekenders mostly and they aren't in shape.We should be back in town in about 4 days I guess. Not sure what the terrain will bring bt I think that if we keep feeling this great nothing will stop us. TTFN.
Date: 2008-07-29
From: Ethan Pond Shelter

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

Matt's Entry: News at 11.OK Sorry aobut the delay. This one wasn't done yet and we were paying at the internet cafe by the minute!Today we had a pretty amazing walk. The first five miles were really flat - it turns out it is an old rail bed. We cranked out the miles by 11 am. We stopped at Zealand Falls hut, and had second breakfast. The hut is cool - it uses direct water pressure from the falls to turn an alternator that supplies electricity to the hut, and a second direct pressure system operates a pump, which pumps water from a well. It's pretty slick.The hut itself was pretty and we got food there. I took a bath at the falls because I had fallen and scraped my knee. I had originally gone to just wash the knee, and before I knew it one thing led to another and I was practically in the drink getting clean. It was awesome!Garfield ridge at the end of the day was a real pain. It was practically straight up to the campground. When we finally arrived, we found out that all of the sites were taken, but the caretaker was nice and gave us some space at an overflow site. We were so happy we didn't have to keep walking - it was a long day already! Since the overflow spot was small, the caretaker let us cook up on a vista spot, and we had an amazing view of the sunset while we cooked. It was rad. TTFN
Date: 2008-07-30
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite

To: Liberty Springs Campsite
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Kate's entry: It was fog-alicious when we woke up at first - we rolled back to bed. Slow breaking of camp which was delicious. The weather report said the fog was going to burn off during the AM and we started to have a view on the top of Garfield. The whole walk from there was pretty much on the ridge and the views were SPECTACULAR! They were really out of this world. There were still a lot of people out and about. It definitely made up move off Lafeyette's summit quicker - there were over 40 people up there. We saw some interesting things like a group of hikers who were playing a banjo, a funky whistle and were blowing bubbles as they walked by...with full packs. We just kinda stood there and watched in awe of the situation. The trail was terrific. We just have really lucked out in the WHites - we've had beautiful days the vast majority of them. The views have been amazing and the trails very well maintained...but I'm ready to get to the less populated parts of the trail - get back into our usual routine for food and shleters. Once again. the campsite is overfull so the three of us are sharing a single tent platform. Honey and Duster are here in an overflow site - we had tea, popcorn and thin mints together and caught up with each other's adventures...and made plans to catch up in Lincoln for dinner tomorrow. Up on Washington Summit, Beetle met up with some people she walked with down south who had since pulled off the trail and are living in Lincoln. One of them is going to pick us up at the road tomorrow morning. We are excited!! 2.6 into town!!
Date: 2008-07-31
From: Liberty Springs

To: North Woodstock/Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 2.6
Weather: moderate rain

Kate's entry: It stormed most of the night. Thunderstorms in the mountains are different then back home - the ground shakes. It was an intense light show for sure. It stopped raining around 6 am and we broke camps fast. As we started to walk, it began to rain, but not hard. We clipped out the miles quick - we are realizing our speed, even in wet slippery conditions, is picking up. =) We got to the road almost an hour and a half earlier than we planned and we knew Augusta had a dentist appointment so we walked a bike trail a mile to the Flume Visitors Center for coffee/tea and muffins! Augusta was there shortly and drove us thorugh town to their place. They haven't quite fully moved back in so the living room had plenty of room for our soggy stuff. We took showers and felt amazing.LUNCH TIME - August took us on a road trip - first one ever on a town visit to the ocean. Her brother manages a restaurant in Portsmoth. It is called the flatbread companty and it's known for its organic pizzas. DELICIOUS! I had a taco pizza and it was some of the best pizza I have ever had. Then to EMS where they had short girl rainpants!!! and other things we've been looking for. Only thing they couldn't do was fix Matt's walking poles which are seriously bent. Back to Lincoln, hang out a bit and catch up with Chris. We hang up some gear to dry. We pick up Honey and Duster and...guess who is there Creeture and Tilly (who is now being called DARE)...we say hi to them and chat a bit and then off to dinner we go. The Common Man is a delightful place to eat. We have a great waitress, the food was great, dessert was great...and I feel like a stuffed pig when we leave. Gotta get those calories in! Back to the apartment and time for sleep - tomorrow we have quite a few chores to get done. Life is good!
Date: 2008-08-02
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: light rain

Kate's entry: Up, packed, breakfast at Flapjacks again, post office, said goodbye to our fabulous hosts Augusta and Chris. Thank you both so much for everything!!! The first miles to Lonesome Lake Hut were quite pleasant - well groomed and well graded. I'm struggling a bit with my pack fit - played a lot with the different straps. IT's just the waist belt is as tight as it can go these days so the pack is riding different. I'm just going to keep rearranging the other straps and see how it goes. The view from the hut was very pretty. LAST HUT - we got lemonade and cake...tasty. The the clumb up started. The 2 miles to the next shelter seemed to go forever. Kinsman Pond shelter was beautiful. We snacked there and met some fisherman who were hoping for brook trout for dinner. It was hard to get motivated to leave - clouds looked ready to rain, the shelter was nice...and I might have gotten fish for dinner. I miss fresh fish! BUT we left. More up to the North Peak of Kinsmen Mountain.It started to sprinkle - I LOVE my new waterpants; they fit, are much lighter and much cooler. For the first time, I didn't overheat in my raingear! Down, then up to South Peak. The down of South Peak was severe and difficult at first, especially in the rain. Finally, we made it to the shelter. Honey and Duster were there, as well as 2 NoBos. We were able to squeeze into the shelter and then it REALLY began to rain - right now it's coming down good and the thunder picked up. Becky - everyone LOVED the zucchini cookies - they were delicious. YUM!!!
Date: 2008-08-03
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: moderate rain

Matt's Entry: We are sheltering again tonight with Laura Jo and Brian (Duster and Honey). I really like their company. Also, there is a new SOBOer, Bungee. He seems pretty cool. We saw Creeture and Dare (formerly Tilly, formerly Stovepipe). They were running past us as we had lunch. I thought they were a heard of elk or something at first. Apparently, they were doing a 28.6 mile slack pack. Yikes!Our shleter seems to be leaking a bit - from the logs themselves - and one of spots where it is leaking has a splotch on it that really doesn't look like anything but we called it a weeping Virgin Mary. So this is the weeping virgin shelter now. The things we think up when we are cold and hungry...It rained much of the afternoon today. Everyone has wet shoes. I guess there is more rain in the forecast for the next few days. We walked by an amazing waterfall today - it was pretty wild - it went on for about 1.5 miles and the trail went right beside it. I think the trail must be almost always wet due to the spray. Today it was especially wet! As I sit here in my sleeping bag, I think about how wonderful it is to be warm and dry!! TTFN
Date: 2008-08-04
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 15.3

Kate's entry: Today was a rollercoaster day for sure. We woke up to fog, thick fog. We broke camp slow and headed up Mt. Mausilake - I was sad as it's our last above treeline day for the trip and we'd have no view...When we got above tree line, well, it was unbelievable; it was VERY windy, the top was in a cloud, it was cold and it began to rain. The rain hurt your face and hands as it whipped in the wind. Horizontal rain is NO fun. We were still all quite damp from the day before, so we were easy to chll. Besides my ice cube face and hands, the rest of me was cold as well. It was quite a jaunt - we got to trees and thought it was over, took ten steps and were out in the wind again. It was the worst above treeline walk by far. We started to walk down and I couldn't warm up - it took a good hour before my fingers feel normal again. I take a spill down the mountain - I pretty much fell head over heel twice before I stop. Now my elbow hurts. I want to be done hiking and we have a long day planned - 15 miles and we haven't even hit the first shelter at 6 miles. Finally it stops raining and I start to warm up. We hit the shlter at noon - it's a real nice one. We take a leisurely lunch. As we are about to leave, it starts to rain again; none of us wants to leave in the rain so we decide to let 20 minutes go by and see if it stops. Honey and Duster show up and we chat for a bit; they are staying in that shelter to get into Glencliff for a package early. 20 minutes pass, the rain stops and we force ourselves to leave.The trail is smooth, duffy and intermittently incredibly muddy. We cruise. It rains once in the course of the afternoon - but not bad. The sun comes out - very bizarre weather day. I enjoy the walking from lunch on. We roll into camp 6ish - tired but good; there's 2 section hikers, a NoBo and us.