morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-08-25
From: US 4-The Inn at Long Trail

To: The Lookout
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

The Inn at Long Trail was a great choice for me. I got a shower, bed, & resupply. I also ate an Irish dinner; enjoyed Irish music, and Irish beer. The breakfast was awesome and the bus back to the trail head picks you up right in front of the Inn. I got on trail at about 930. I was aiming for 17 or so miles. There were several climbs with one being long. I felt great today, the best I¢ve felt in a while. I was moving faster than normal and my downhill speed has come back. Again, I did not see any NOBO through hikers today. There was a waterfall about 3 miles into my day. There were day hikers on both sides of the falls but once I got past the north parking lot I saw very few hikers the rest of the day. I got to the cabin I was planning on staying at. The cabin is privately owned but they allow hikers to stay in the cabin. it is nothing fancy but it is at the top of a mountain and there is a staircase to the roof with a crows nest. On the crows nest there is a 360 view which goes on forever. I got settled in and made my dinner. I climbed to the crows nest and enjoyed dinner with the views and sunset. It was amazingly quiet up there. Not a cloud in the sky, no airplanes and no vapor trails. I am setting my alarm to see the stars and the sunrise. Three additional hikers arrived and spent the night there. No wildlife today.
Date: 2019-08-26
From: The Lookout

To: Thistle Hills Shelter 
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at 230, I had set my alarm for 300 but woke up early. I went outside to see the stars. The sky was clear and the stars were amazing. I could see the Milky Way faintly. The 1/4 moon had risen so it was illuminating the sky a little. I was still glad I woke up. I went back to sleep and woke up at 545 to see the sunrise. I made my coffee and climbed to the crow¢s nest. The sunrise was gorgeous. I saw a sunset, stars, and a great sunrise at this shelter?.I was on trail before 700, which is a first in a while. I like being on trail that early. I was looking forward to today. There were 3 places to stop for food. The first place is closed on Mondays. The second place was .9 miles off trail (too far for me). On the way to the 3rd place Ranger caught up to me. He had gone to the second place and said it was good. I told him about the third place and he was intrigued. Just before the third place there was soda trail magic by the stream. I had an orange soda. The third place is called the back porch. You walk .2 miles to the first house on left, the one with a red door. You go around back and hang out on the porch and they have a refrigerator full of various things for sale. As I rounded the house I saw Mr. President. I¢ve been trying to catch him since I zeroed. We are supposed to walk with the NH girls Labor Day weekend. I couldn¢t resist the $5 homemade chocolate chip ice cream sandwich, and a couple other items. We headed out and were trying to make it close to Norwich VT. I was shooting for 9 miles out. Mr. President was shooting for 4 miles out. At 13 miles out I had to go to the shelter for privy and water. We reconvened and game planned. We decided to stay at 13 out, get up early and hike in to the hostel by noon or one. The picture is of my water source for the shelter, clear and cold.
Date: 2019-08-27
From: Thistle Hills Shelter 

To: Norwich Hiker Hostel 
Miles today: 0.0

My tent was level head to toe. It was not level right to left. I slept alright but, I knew Mr. President wanted to be on trail by 630. I set my alarm for 545. At 600 a SOBO hiker played Reveille on a trumpet in camp!!! I get it but what about everyone else?!?We got on trail by 700. We arrived at West Hartford. There is a house there that is hiker friendly. We stopped and had refreshments. There is s bridge over the river there and hikers jump from the bridge. We did not but we watched. Back on trail I took the lead for the second half of the day. Many MOBO hikers caught us and we saw many SOBO hikers. The 13 mile day became long and we arrived at Norwich VT. First stop was a micro brewery, then the grocery store. We decided we¢d cook at the hostel. We arrived at the hostel. The host was great, 83 years old and still going strong. There was no propane. I told Mr. President if the host was not back by 730 we¢d fry the burgers. I was hungry! He fried the burgers. In the meantime I showered and started laundry. The burgers were alright. The ads said All You Can Eat Ben and Jerry¢s. I had a pint.
Date: 2019-08-28
From: Norwich Hiker Hostel 

To: Moose Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 12.4

The hostel beds were comfortable. I did get hot during the night, and thirsty. I got up and made some recovery drink mix and went back to bed. The hostel has make your own breakfast. I made cinnamon sugar banana pancakes and cheesy eggs with the help of Mr. President. We hung out at the hostel for a while as each of us was not in a hurry to get back on trail. On the ride back to the trail I saw several Turkeys cross the road. Why doesn¢t anyone ever ask why the Turkeys crossed the road? When finally back on trail we had about 3 miles of road walking. The first thing we came to was the bridge over the Connecticut River. The river is the border between Vermont and New Hampshire. I have now completed 12 states, 2 states to go?. We walked through Hanover NH, home of Dartmouth. We stopped at CVS for some snacks. As you head out of town you go back into the woods. The trail was not difficult today but it was some degree of uphill most of the day. We saw a couple deer at different times. There are many NOBO & SOBO hikers. I wouldn¢t say we are in the bubble but, (I said bubble but?) we are no longer in the hiker desert. We did not see any trail magic today but, a day hiker gave us Diet Cokes.There is no water at, or near, the shelter. I filled 3-1 liter bottles and hiked them uphill the last two miles. One liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs. Thats an extra 6.8 lbs on a tired body. We kept plugging along and made it to the shelter. Just as I was done setting up it started raining, good timing. It¢s supposed to rain until about 4am then stop. That would be nice, as It¢s not fun packing up in the rain.
Date: 2019-08-29
From: Moose Mountain Shelter 

To: Hexacuba Shelter 
Miles today: 17.7

We knew we had almost 18 miles to do and there was plenty of climbing involved. Climb 1-1233ft, 1.6 miles, 14.6% grade. Climb 2-2250ft, 4 miles. 12.4% grade. Climb 3-865ft, 1.6 miles, 13.1% grade. We both were just trudging along today. At the top of the second climb there was a fire tower. I climbed it and got a good look of some of the mountains coming in the next week. We took many breaks and ate as much as we could. We also tried to consume alot of water without carrying too much. We didn¢t make it to camp until after 7pm. On trail today we saw toads, frogs, and salamanders. I¢m forcing myself to eat more tonight. I melted another spoon. I think thats about 7 I¢ve broken, melted, or lost. At camp there was a group of college kids. They needed to borrow a lighter from me because all of there things had gotten wet in the rain the night before. I loaned them a lighter. I then asked them to each greet Mr. President with, ¢Hello Mr. President¢ as he was a few minutes behind. They did and I think it made his night.
Date: 2019-08-30
From: Hexacuba Shelter 

To: NH 25-Hikers Welcome Hostel 
Miles today: 14.8

We got on trail in pretty good time. We had about 15 miles to do today with 3 climbs. We did pretty good at getting through the climbs and making good time. There were a few very nice views today. We came across a simple trail magic of water and cookies. The trail magic was much appreciated. We arrived at the hostel 430. The place is nice and cute. We arrived just in time to place a dinner order and get shuttled to town. We picked up dinner, beer snd supplies for tomorrow. The NH girls, Squaw Momma & Disco White Foot are walking Moosilauke with us tomorrow so, we are going to slack pack (our packs with minimal stuff in it) over the mountain. The sandwich I bought was really good. After dinner I showered and shaved. I also threw laundry in the washer. It¢s nice to be done with chores and ready to sleep at a reasonable hour. I fell asleep early and slept great.
Date: 2019-08-31
From: NH 25-Hikers Welcome Hostel 

To: NH 112- Hikers Welcome Hostel 
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we woke at the Hikers Welcome Hostel. There was coffee brewing when I walked into the common kitchen area. The NH Girls and their significants were headed over and we were going to hike Mt. Moosilauke. They arrived and we decided to hike it Southbound. We shuttled cars and arrived at the trailhead. Greg packed a bucket with ice and beer for trail magic. PBR because of the holiday. We each had a beer and took a starting photo. We had 3000 feet of vertical at 16+%grade. I was feeling good today and I found myself in the lead. I was booking up the mountain. It got colder and colder as we went up. Once above tree-line it got really windy. At the summit there were at least 50 people hanging out enjoying the views and having a snack or lunch. We stopped and had a snack. The way down was not that bad. Loralynn and I took a short side trail to see a second summit. And, yes we did 10 more pushups. At about a mile to the car Greg, Mr. Pres and I all started booking down hill. We arrived at the turn off for the parking lot. I still had just over a mile to walk so I didn¢t miss any AT distance. I practically ran it. I showered and got ready for dinner. We went to One Love Brewery and Restaurant. Dinner was good. Then to the supermarket for resupply. I was having a difficult time because It¢s a long way to the next resupply. I really don¢t want to carry that much food over the mountains. The huts do sell some resupply but I¢ve heard it¢s limited. All in all I had a great day with friends. No wildlife to report. We did cross the 1800 mile marker today?
Date: 2019-09-01
From: Kinsman Notch NH112

To: Kinsman Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We checked out of the hostel after staying two nights. I felt relaxed and refreshed. I¢ve been trying to get to sleep earlier. The days are getting shorter so I¢m really pushing for early starts. We got dropped off at the trailhead and started about 830. Our first climb was up Wolf Mountain 1500 feet. Wolf wasn¢t bad and there was a good downhill before the real climbing began. South Kinsman is 1900 feet with 15% grade over 2.4 miles. About half way up is Harrington Pond. I rounded the corner and said to myself this is Moose country, than I saw a MOOSE. I was so excited I was trying to alert Mr. President and not scare the moose. It was a beautiful scene. About a hundred yards from us in the middle of a mountain pond/swamp was a huge moose wallowing in the middle. Then a second smaller, but huge moose came out of the woods to our left. That moose saw us and slowly returned to the woods. The large moose slowly made its way to the rear of the pond and exited. I could not believe how big it was. This made my day. I was on cloud 9. The remaining way up South Kinsman was steep and difficult. When we got to the top we both agreed it was not that bad, and it was a great climb. We saw a few NOBOs pass us and we met a new to us hiker named Willow. Mr. President saw someone he hadn¢t seen since March, PYT. At the shelter there is a caretaker. She was really nice and her name is Cindy Lou Who. In the whites if you pay $10 to stay at the shelter you get a card so you only have to pay $5 at all the others. You also can get free or discounted items at the huts. I set up in the shelter because there are no mosquitoes and it¢s supposed to rain. There are four others in the shelter; Willow, Snickers, Indiana Jones, and Lee. Cindy Lou brought down M&Ms for all of us. I got to sleep early.
Date: 2019-09-02
From: Kinsman Pond Shelter 

To: Flume Visitors Center
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up to the sound of rain. The shelter was really nice and had a non ton roof so I didn¢t hear the rain all night. When I walked out to use the restroom there were rivers of water. We took our time getting moving and planned on doing 15 miles today up Franconia Ridge.I do not have my rain pants so I was wearing my rain jacket and shorts. I did a pretty good job of keeping my feet dry. I fell pretty early on in the trip, not bad, but a little slip. As I was walking along I noticed a structure and I realized I was at Lonesome Lake Hut. I walked up the stairs and left my bag outside. Hut rules in the Whites are different than shelter rules. People spend money to stay in the huts. I asked the worker the rules for through hikers in the hut. He was really nice and explained the rules. I relaxed and had a coffee and a muffin. I also ordered a bowl of soup. Mr. President arrived shortly after. It was raining harder. I spoke to several hut guests about the hut and the trails. I consciously made a decision I was going to get a hotel at the next town in Lincoln. I was wet and getting cold. We continued and Mr. President fell pretty hard just back on trail. The trail was pretty much a river. Mr. President saw a moose early on, I did not see it though. We soon thereafter came to a stream crossing. The stream was raging. I was talking earlier to another hiker about how I had not forded a river yet this trip because the water has always been so low. We walked north and south on the bank looking for a good place to cross. I found a spot and only got wet to just under the knee. I got across and I could not see Mr. President. Another hiker, Snickers, started crossing and I saw she was having difficulty. I took my pack off and went halfway to help her. Mr. President started fording and fell right away. He was laying in the stream. He got up and I helped him complete his crossing when he got to the halfway point. I was now wet to almost my shorts and my feet were really cold. We continued on and it was about 2 miles to the trailhead. We got to Flume visitor center and I got some information for a shuttle driver. Mr. President bought french fries and beers. We got the shuttle to Lincoln and he even took us to the convenient store. At the hotel I took a hot shower and then we hot tubed at the pool. There is only one restaurant that delivers, we had Chinese. The pizza restaurant across the street was open but everyone we asked and the Yelp reviews said the owner was crazy. Somehow A goat was even included in the stories about him, so we passed. I wanted to walk over there just for fun. I fell asleep at 730 and woke up at 915. I had to do some forecasting so Seaneen could mail me some cold weather rain gear.
Date: 2019-09-03
From: Flume Visitors Center

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite 1829.1
Miles today: 10.2

I guess I was tired, asleep at 730 pm up at 915pm, back to sleep around 1000pm, I woke up at 730 am. I usually like to be on trail by 700am. We decided we are going to finish yesterday¢s hike today so a 10 mile day up Franconia Ridge. We took our time getting ready. We enjoyed hotel breakfast and I arranged the ride back to the trailhead. We got dropped off and there was about .8 hike to get back to the trail. I thought the hike up Franconia was kind of boring. I met two ladies, probably in their 70s. They were working on climbing all of the 4000 footers (mountains) of NH, for the 9th time!!! The have 7 to go to complete it. There are 48-4000 footers.We finally made it to the ridge and it became a great hike. The ridge was above tree-line and you could see the next peak. We hiked over Little Haystack Mtn, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Lafayette, and Mt. Garfield. We saw Willow and met No Hitch. No Hitch said he had been hiking with AKA and Pruney. It¢d be nice to see them again. They are a day behind. Hiking down the back side of Lafayette was dry and above tree line. Once you got below tree line it was as though someone flipped a switch. The trail became damp and very green. Everything was covered in moss. Once on top of Garfield the view was again spectacular, 360. The hike down from Garfield to the shelter was not easy, it was wet and steep. That made my decision to climb back up for the sunset easy, ahhhh no. At the shelter I sent up on a tent platform next to Snickers, as the shelter area was supposed to be busy tonight. The shelter was too crowded for my liking. I made a Mtn. House eggs and bacon meal, and Ramen bombed ? it. Basically Ramen bombing is adding Ramen to anything. It¢s cold tonight but I am warm and dry in my tent. It¢s supposed to rain tomorrow, hopefully after we get over an early mountain then It¢s then all downhill to the next shelter.
Date: 2019-09-04
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite 1829.1

To: Ethan Pond Campsite 1843.7
Miles today: 14.6

As I was hiking today I was thinking how to describe this day. Yesterday was awesome. They say don¢t ever quit on a bad day. Well, I didn¢t contemplate quitting and It wasn¢t a bad day. It was just a day. The rain, cool air, and wind made for a long day. I wasn¢t miserable today but, everything is damp or wet.It was cold and windy last night. I was warm in my tent but I am worried about todays hike. It¢s currently damp and cloudy. It¢s supposed to rain today. I have to make it until Friday when I get the rest of my cold weather gear. We started out and it wasn¢t bad. I had pants on for the first time in a long time. I probably didn¢t need them but I kept them on. I knew Galehead Hut wasn¢t too far and we could take a break there. We got there and enjoyed some coffee and blueberry muffins. There were several hikers there and more arrived. It started raining hard. A few of the hikers booked rooms at the hut for $150. I played a game of cards with several hikers. Prior to leaving I bought a cheap poncho as an extra layer of protection. We decided to press on. We had a 1200 foot climb up South Twin Mtn. It rained but not bad. It was really windy up top. As we approached Mt. Guyot we heard a couple claps of thunder and it was close. We got to the tree line and there was an exposed summit. We made a decision to go for it. I went really fast over the top, as if that would help?¢¡  . We made it over safe. The next mountain was Zealand which wasn¢t bad. We stopped at the Zealand Mtn. Hut and had some soup, coffee, and snacks. We pressed on the last 4.9 miles. I was wet but not really wet and I was cold but not really cold. As we approached Whitewall Slide the sun started to come out a little. I was able to shed my poncho and rain jacket. We made it to Ethan Pond Shelter after 630. I set up right away and made dinner. I went to check in with the caretaker and it started raining again. I got in my tent, ate, and fell asleep warm.
Date: 2019-09-05
From: Ethan Pond Campsite 1843.7

To: Lake of the clouds hut 1857.6
Miles today: 13.9

It got really windy last night and cold. I woke up around 2am. I was cold. I put my stocking cap on for the first time in months. Later I put a t-shirt on, then I was alright. When the alarm went off I was dreading leaving the tent but it wasn¢t that bad. I made coffee with Swiss Miss and that warmed me up a little more. I then had two servings of hot granola. I was ready just after 7. The last thing I had to do was put my hiking shoes on. I had dry socks but when I put my shoes on the were cold, wet, and squishy. I walked down by Mr. President and he still had a few things to do. I had most of my clothes on. We headed out and once I was moving I was a little warmer. It took almost 2 miles before I was warm. We had 2.5 miles of downhill and then the uphill began. The first climb was 3000 feet over 5 miles. At the top we found an open area and laid out all of our things to dry. Rocket and Rooster came by. We thought they were still a day or two ahead. Then Snickers arrived and she hiked with us most of the day. At the top of the second summit I saw Hat Trick, the guy that wears three hats. I haven¢t seen him since Memorial Day. The AT goes through the presidentials. A series of mountains named after presidents. I was not seeing many president mountains on Guthooks or in AWOL. I learned many of the summits for presidentals are bypassed. I find that odd because it seems the AT makes you go over the top of everything. We saw a helicopter landing at the next hut, Mizpah. They made several trips bringing in supplies and taking out stuff. I used their restroom and got some much needed snacks. We continued on 5 more miles to Lakes of the Clouds Hut. Guest pay upwards of $150 to stay there. Through hikers can pay $10 to sleep on the common/dinner room floor with rules. You can¢t lay down until after 930pm and get woken up by 530am. I¢ll take it, The other option was to sleep in the dungeon. I checked out the dungeon, it had a steel door and looked like a dungeon. The only thing missing was torture devices. It¢s supposed to be low 30s tonight. The evening was pretty chill hanging out until bedtime. The sunset up here was incredible. Tomorrow we head for Mt. Washington. It¢s supposed to snow up there Monday and Tuesday.
Date: 2019-09-06
From: Lake of the clouds hut 1857.6

To: Osgood Tent Site 1867.9
Miles today: 10.3

Well that wasn¢t so bad sleeping on the floor. I was warm and dry. The morning started with the employees moving around dishes. It wasn¢t so bad. I got up and was able to use the facilities, wash my face, brush my teeth, and comb my hair inside. That¢s always a treat. The hike up to Mt. Washington wasn¢t bad, about an hours hike. At the top they have a visitor center with a snack shop. Mt. Washington held the record at one point for the highest recorded wind speed in the world. We hung out there and snacked for quite a while. We had more miles to do and more climbing. We said goodbye to section hiker Snickers. We headed out and the terrain changed to nothing but rock scramble. We felt we were moving good but our forward progress was slow. We stopped for a rest at Madison Hut. I decided there was no way we were going to make it to town before dark. We stated we¢d reassess at Osgood Campsite. We set out and climbed over Mt. Madison which wasn¢t bad. All the intel said the backside of Madison was brutal. It was brutal but my kind of brutal. I hopped and skipped the rock scramble all the way down to the tree line. Then the trail remained steep but my progress slowed tremendously.I made it to the campsite, loaded up with water, and got set up for the evening. Mr. President followed shortly after. The trail was rough today and drained me mentally and physically. Good thing we got to camp early and to bed early. Much needed rest tonight, and it¢s supposed to be in the 30s.