morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-07-09
From: Moose Mt Shelter 

To: Hexacuba Shelter 
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: few clouds

There were some weird noises tonight. Someone screamed at 11pm and I have no idea why. There was also a mosquito continuously buzzing around us. I tried to go under my quilt completely but that got too hot very quickly. So I would keep going between being completely in my quilt and halfway out when I hot too hot again. We decided to get water after packing up since the stream was on the trail. When we reached it though, it was brown water and smelled odd. We took some just in case we couldn't find any more. We came across several day hikers who had through hiked previously and chatted with them a bit. On top of one of the mountains was a fire tower. Since no one was inside, we ate lunch up there. I was so tired due to the terrible night that I nearly fell asleep up there. But we had a few more miles to go to the shelter. It was a nice shelter , a hexagon and two guys already had claimed a spot. A father and son team. Gimpy and Ferdinand.It also happens to be quite a ways off trail up a steep hill and the camping spaces were very slanted. We decided to camp anyway though. Another weird thing was the herd of large rabbits that lived around the privy. Five or six of them would just be sitting near it. I've never seen such large wild rabbits. They seemed harmless though. It started getting cold pretty soon so we went to bed early
Date: 2017-07-10
From: Hexacuba Shelter 

To: Glencliff NH Hiker welcome hostel 
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

We ate our last breakfast this morning, M14sli and oatmeal mixed together. Ferdinand and Gimpy were still there as well eating and packing up. We left around 7 am and I liked the hike. It was up Mt Cube which was 2900¢. It was a beautiful morning to be up on a mountain. I took plenty of pictures but they just don't look as spectacular as the real thing. Getting up there was the hardest part today, the rest was moderate ups and downs through fir trees and lots of places with mud and sometimes they had put wooden planks to walk over as not to have to walk through ankle deep mud. It's kind of like that game kids play where you try not to touch the ground, so here you hop from rock to rock to tree trunk to wooden plank and sometimes you just miss or you slip off the rock and there you are ankle deep in mud puddle. Relentless slipped today and was in mud to her calf. It was kind of funny usually it's me who that happens to. As we took a short break to eat something we watched a mouse busy carrying leaves onto her hole.After our 15 miles we reached the Hikers Welcome Hostel and this is another nice place to stay.So we sat around talking and enjoying the rest of the day not having to hike any further. Later we got shuttled to town which is just a convenient store with a deli, one restaurant and an ice cream shop .We got deli sandwiches and resupplyed since mail drop won't be until Wednesday.
Date: 2017-07-12
From: Kinsman Notch 

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 16.3

12We had our last breakfast at the hostel at 7 and were driven to the trail head. Since we had been told by pretty much everyone that the next 16 miles were really hard we expected it to take us a day and a half to do. But at 12:30 we were already at the eight mile shelter and the trail had not been nearly as bad as we thought it must be. It had been rocky and steep at times but we have encountered rougher trails. The climb up south kinsman peak was more like bouldering and ended above tree line with a beautiful view of the white mountains. By the time we got to the second shelter it was only about 4 pm. We debated going to the shelter but then decided to call Tom to see if he could get us tonight instead. He was fine with that and was waiting in the parking lot with beer, water, and coke when we came down. He drove us to an awesome little inn in north Woodstock. They also own the restaurant in town and you get free breakfast with your stay. The breakfast menu is like 4 pages long. We showered and went down to the restaurant for dinner. For dessert we had a chocolate moose with whipped cream.
Date: 2017-07-13
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter 
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We were at the breakfast table at 7 am sharp. The menu we could pick from was really great and it was so much food! After breakfast we went to the post office only to find out that they wouldn't open until 9:30 am. So that delayed our hike significantly. But it was worth it because we finally got our birthday presents. Dessert from Mountain house, Starbucks gift cards an a new waterproof stuff sack. We went through our packs to pick out anything we could do without. Relentless even got rid of her second pair of socks. I almost did too but I like to know that I have a pair of dry clean socks even though I never put them on because I always think there might be another time when I need them more. We filled a box with that stuff so we didn't have to carry it over the Whites and sent it home. Another box we filled and forwarded it to Gorham NH so we didn't have to carry so much food. This maneuver lightened our packs immensely. When Tom picked us up to drive us back to the trail it was raining, good timing to get our Frog toggs which had also been in the mail drop. We went over 3 peaks Haystack, Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette. It was a lot of climbing over rocks and boulders and about 4 miles were all above tree line. It had stopped raining but was foggy all day. So no views as we were 5000¢ high. We made pretty good time considering the challenging climbs today and the late start, we got into camp around 7 pm. The caretaker gave us a camp space so far away it felt like another mile to get there. We had a wonderful meal though, and the Raspberry Crumble Mountain house dessert was so good. It was 50F by the time we went to bed.
Date: 2017-07-14
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter 

To: Ethan Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

Early today the sun came out for a moment. Relentless got up to retrieve our food bags from the bear box. We had a mocha because it was cold this morning. There was more climbing down a waterfall and bouldering in store for us today. We met Evan and his brother from the Waldorf School again. They had run out of food and were trying to get leftovers at the Huts. So we went in too, only we didn't care for oatmeal and pancakes but bought coffee and blondes instead. The clouds moved around a lot today and we had some gorgeous views of the Whites. We stopped at another hut and had some soup at lunch. Later in the day it started to rain, but the hike to the campsite was easy and soon after we got there it stopped. We were laying in bed by 7 pm. Only 348 miles to go.
Date: 2017-07-15
From: Ethan Pond Shelter 

To: Lake of the clouds Hut 
Miles today: 13.9

During the night a thunderstorm rolled in. There was lightning bolt after lightning bolt but in the morning the rain had ended. We had a quick breakfast of cookie and a bar because we wanted to leave early to be able to get to the hut of the clouds in time to score a work for stay gig. The trail had some very interesting climbs. There was a rock wall at some point and we weren't sure for a moment if we went the right way. It was like climbing one of those indoor rock walls just without the robes but with a backpack instead. It was fun though. I really like  hiking in there whites. It's definitely not boring. We ate lunch at the Mizpah Hut, soup that we doctored up with dried sausage and crackers.Somehow Evan,Alexander and the three older guys were there too.So we had lunch together. The afternoon miles weren't too hard and we could enjoy some beautiful views since the sun finally broke through. We reached Lakes of the clouds Hut by 3:30pm and did get the morning shift for work for stay. We then just set around with the other hikers waiting for the paying guests to be done eating so we could get the leftover food and sleep under the dining room tables. It was turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, some chicken in sauce and pumpkin pie. It was good and as much as we wanted but it was cold.
Date: 2017-07-16
From: Lake of the clouds Hut 

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

The Hut¢s dining room was located between the bunk rooms and the restroom. So all night long people journeyed from one end to the other shining their headlamps all over, banging bathroom doors that even with earplugs I had another restless night. At 5:30 am hikers started to pack up and guests showed up in the dining room, hoping coffee would be served soon. So we sat around again waiting for breakfast to end so we could have our share of leftovers and start morning chores. Of course the food was cold by then, and there were no microwave to heat it. Our morning chores were sweeping the bunk rooms and folding seemingly endless heavy woolen blankets and stacking them at the foot of the bunks. By 9:30 am we were finished and could hike up the remaining 1.6 miles to the top of Mt.Washington. This hike was easier then expected and soon we joined the crowds on the summit. The cog train spilled and retrieved people to take them 3 miles for the bargain price of $50 pp up or down the mountain. There was a line of about 30 people waiting to get their picture taken next to the summit sign. We didn't get a picture, no way we would wait 30 minutes to get a turn. The view was nice and the weather was good but we had a long ways to go and several mountains to cross. The hiking was slow because of all the rock climbing, hopping, and bouldering it also was very tiresome. By the afternoon I had twisted my sore ankle several times and fell , not exaggerating, at least 7 times. We called the hostel and asked if they could pick us up at a road crossing 2 miles before Pinkham Notch but as we were waiting for the shuttle and it was about to get dark we weren't sure anymore if the guy really new where we were and decided it would be better to keep walking to the Notch where there is a Visitor Center since we didn't have any phone service. Unfortunately they had come for us and now we were at the Visitor Center at 9pm not knowing were to stay. We called them again and the hostel owner was nice enough to get us even though he doesn't like to drive these roads at night because the moose keep crossing the street at night and totaling his cars. But he was incredibly nice and we finally got a hot shower and a bed. Of course I still couldn't sleep, as I never can in bunk rooms. Even though this one is especially nice with real beds, not bunks, in the loft of an old barn. But on one side was a huge fan in the open window and on the other side the street with trucks passing by all night
Date: 2017-07-17
From: Gorham NH

To: Carlo COL Shelter 
Miles today: 17.0

Gorham NH to Carlo Col Shelter 17 miles Paul drove us and Ricola,Garbanzo,Firetruck, and Wiki to the trail head. The hike was not very demanding and we were in no hurry. We kept seeing the others on the trail every now and then. There were lots of bog bridges which are just boards over logs that sometimes when you step on them sink into the mud. We are becoming experts at judging the mud. By now we can see which mud we can step on without sinking, then there is mud you might sink a little but won't get wet feet and then there is the mud you¢ll sink to your ankles. We try with our trekking poles to find out how deep it is and sometimes it would just swallowed the pole. So you have to be careful when you lean on your trekking pole because it might not hold you and keep sinking with you into the bog. We passed a group of girls from camp when we were about 2 miles from the shelter. They were discouraged that they only had hiked 3 miles in 8 hours and still had 2 miles to go. It was already 6 pm and the path got rather challenging for those last miles. We heard them later around 10 pm arriving in camp.
Date: 2017-07-18
From: Carlo COL Shelter 

To: Speck Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

Carlo COL to Speck Pond Shelter 9.5 miles Everyone started moving around and packing up around 5 this morning which was actually great since we didn't have to worry about waking up other people. We got out of camp before 7 and started the day by climbing some slick boulders. The first six miles took us until 11am (we did have a brunch break in there). It was slow hiking and we caught up to Evan and Alexander at that shelter. Throughout the day, the bog bridges and bouldering continued but we made steady progress. Until we reached mahoosuc Notch that is. This mile has been named the ¢most difficult or most fun¢ mile on the trail. When we climbed down into the Notch we instantly felt the cold air rising from the house size boulders. At first we were confused but soon realized that there was still ice in the gaps between boulders! Within about ten minutes of hiking in the Notch we had to put away our trekking poles since we needed both hands to climb. Throughout this one mile we climbed over boulders, through caves, lost the trail several times, watched a southbounder attempt to find the path while we narrated his different attempts, and petted a cute puppy. By the time we finished this mile more than two hours had passed. I had hoped that after the Notch the trail would get a little better so we could finish our planned miles. But the trail continued up a mountain of rock walls with no good hand holds and water trickling down the trail most of the time. Soon we realized that the 16 miles we had planned for were not going to happen with these rocks unfortunately. We cut our day short and drank hot chocolate before dinner and bed
Date: 2017-07-19
From: Speck Pond Shelter 

To: Bee Hill Road 
Miles today: 15.0

Speck Pond Shelter to Bee Hill Rd15 miles The first mountain was a pretty steep climb but after that the trail turned into more normal conditions. Less rocks to deal with and the mud wasn't too terrible. When we came to the parking lot before Baldpate Mt we had a very pleasant surprise : Trailmagic A woman had set up a table and we had bagels with cream cheese, cake, sodas and apples. That was so nice. We hadn't had any Trailmagic in a long time and we were so hungry. Also we weren't sure if we had enough food to get to Rangley but we also got some oatmeal for breakfast and some bagels to go. So the only other thing we were worried of running out was toilet paper. Luckily there was a toilet at the parking lot and there was toilet paper. So we re supplied there and should have enough to get to Rangley. Baldpate had great views and somebody had built a gazillion steps from rocks to get up there. On the way down we heard thunder and started to run because there was a Shelter not far and we just made it there before the rain. We then hiked another 5 miles and are now camping close to a road crossing and next to the river
Date: 2017-07-20
From: Bee Hill Road 

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 10.0

The mosquitos were just as bad this morning as they had been last night and we were reluctant to get out of the tent. I ate my muesli inside but Wistful was insistent upon her coffee and it seemed unwise to cook that in the tent. We went about our usual morning routine, slapping away the mosquitos and other annoyances every few seconds. Even though it had been a slow morning for us, we still managed to be hiking by 7. We were the first ones hiking this section evident by the countless spider webs Wistful walked through. Finally Lilo and Stitch passed us removing the worst of those translucent fibers. Eventually, we came to a large pond and sat down for a snack and moose watching with no luck. Wistful was still tired from Mahoosuc Notch and wanted to go into Andover for a zero even though we had planned on staying in Rangeley the next day since there is a coffee shop in Rangeley. But we decided to stay in a hostel in Andover cutting our day short. Andover is a very, very small town. There are two burger places and one restaurant besides the 2 or 3 hostels. The Hostel we ended up staying was rather filthy and we didn¢t want to spend a zero day here. So we decided to get a ride to Rangley in the morning.
Date: 2017-07-21
From: Andover, ME

To: Rangley, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We yellow blazed into Rangley in the morning. As planned our first stop was the hostel where we picked up our mail drop and then the Farmhouse Inn where we stayed in a beautiful privat room. No bunkroom!!  we got a ride into town for lunch and then took a nap. Later we connected with the other hikers coming in over the course of the afternoon. We made plans to slackpack the Saddleback Mt. the next day and otherwise enjoyed our zero.Interesting to note about Rangley is that it is a very nice small town with a coffee shop and it happens to be exactly halfway between the equator and the north pole.
Date: 2017-07-22
From: Rangley, ME

To:  Perham Stream
Miles today: 15.3

Stacy drove us an hour to a logging road where we started our slackpack through the Saddlebacks. The weather was great and it was a truly beautiful hike not only because we didn't have to carry our heavy packs. the views where stunning and the trail wasn't boring. We made pretty good time and were back in Rangley (we were actually hiking south) by 4 pm. It's so nice when you can get a shower and a good dinner after a day's hike.
Date: 2017-07-23
From:  Perham Stream

To: Caribou Valley Rd
Miles today: 8.6

Odis drove us to the trail head at 7 am. We had changed our minds about doing all the slack packing to Caratunk. Too expensive and too much to arrange and people to call and staying in bunk rooms. So we started out with our packs loaded with food for 5 days and heavy. The trail wasn't hard but the heavy pack is tiring and my feet hurt because of all the ankle twisting and my knees hurt from all the hiking. At 2 pm it started to rain and we set up the tent to wait it out and went to bed. After our afternoon nap the rain had slowed and we cooked dinner and went back to sleep.
Date: 2017-07-24
From: Caribou Valley Rd

To: Horns Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 13.4

It was so cold this morning that we cooked breakfast in the vestibule. It was drizzling and chilly all morning. We ate our so called lunch on top of the first mountain. After that there were several more mountains to cross. We passed at least 30 SoBos by the end of the day. There must have been a bubble. We found a nice flat tent site at the shelter. The water source was terrible and we got water from the pond instead. Our dinner was chicken noodles with veggies. Rather awful because the chicken didn't rehydrate and was rock hard. We picked it out and put it in our trash bag to carry it out. After dinner we went to sit at the pond for a while. We were hoping to see a moose but no such luck.  As it gets closer to the end of our hike our thoughts and conversations turn towards home and what we want to do when we finally get there. Like drinking real coffee whenever we feel like it, sleeping in our own beds and cuddling with the dog. Eating lots of veggies and salads. Using a flush toilet and taking a shower at least once a day.
Date: 2017-07-25
From: Horns Pond Lean-to

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today's hike was beautiful. First we summited the last of the big mountains. Little Bigelow, the Horn, Bigelow and Avery. The weather was great and we enjoyed the view from the summits. After that the hike got progressively easier. At one of the lean-tos we passed, they are not shelters anymore here in Maine they are lean-tos just as there aren't any privy anymore,now they are toilets. Anyway, there were these tubs created by water pooling in rock basins. It was rather cold so I just waded in a tub but it would be a nice place to take a bath. Later we passed Flagstaff lake and finally arrived at the Carry Pond Lean-to where we set up camp for the night.
Date: 2017-07-26
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Caratunk,ME
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

Rain did come overnight. We still got up at 5am and started hiking at 6:20 am. The path was actually flat most of the time just like hiking around town lake. There were some difficult stretches with slippery rocks and bog bridges along the ponds but we were able to get to the ferry by noon. We didn't see anybody at first and so we sat down at the shore to wait what would happen. And sure enough the ferryman came over in his canoe and after signing a waver we got into the boat and paddled across the Kennebec River. I helped paddling, there was a current, Relentless got to sit in the middle of the canoe and take pictures. As we got safely to the other shore we just had to cross the street to get to the Caratunk Hostel where we ate pulled pork sandwiches and had milkshakes. The original plan was to go back to the trail and hike 6 miles to the first shelter but as we were getting ready to leave it started to rain. We decided to stay at the hostel overnight and have showers and do our laundry. Later Paul, the owner, drove us and the other hikers to a restaurant for dinner.
Date: 2017-07-27
From: Caratunk,ME

To: Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 18.8

We had a good breakfast with the other hikers at the hostel. Bacon, eggs, French toast, potatoes, fruit, orange juice and coffee. Delicious. After that it was back to the trail. It's still hard to believe that we will in about 5 days have hiked the whole trail. We are so ready to go home. In afternoon we took a break and I made coffee that we had with the danish we bought at the hostel. Strangely enough we had a hard time finding a good water source. There is so much water here in Maine but springs were very weak or just puddles today. At the shelter there was a very loud group of boys from Canada, talking in rapid French. We found a mediocre spot for our tent and then sat by the water where we cooked our dinner and had a nice conversation with two other thruhikers.
Date: 2017-07-28
From: Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-to

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 14.6

We had prepackaged croissants with chocolate cream filling for breakfast. Not bad. We left early and ended our hike in Monson at Shaw¢s Hostel where we picked up our last mail drop. We tented in the backyard since it wasn't raining. After showers we went to get something to eat, rest, figured out how many days of food we needed and got our resupply taken care off. Shaw's is a nice clean Hostel and the couple running it are very friendly.
Date: 2017-07-29
From: Monson, ME

To: Wilber Brook 
Miles today: 13.5

My mattress developed a leak and I couldn't sleep anymore so I got up and took the opportunity to wash our clothes since at 5am the washer was empty. Yesterday we tried to get a turn but somebody always was faster and we had actually given up and figured it didn't matter if we put our dirty clothes back on. Coffee was good and available at 5:30am! I reserved a rental car online at Bangor Airport for the 6.August. Hopefully we will be done by then. Anyway, breakfast was great as promised and finally around 10 am we were back at the trail head. Going into the 100-mile-wilderness. The last stretch before Kathadin. Our backpacks are weighted down by all the food we carry since there is no resupply for the next 100 miles. There is also most likely no cell service. Today was not especially difficult or interesting. Maine though is beautiful with all its Ponds ( they really are lakes , they are huge but here they like to call them ponds) . Some of them have small beaches and you can go swimming on top of a mountain. But they also have leaches, we saw it. I think Maine is my favorite state on the trail. Even though now we have to ford rivers all the time because apparently they don't built footbridges here. On one of those river crossings today I tried to do a rock hop, slipped and found myself sitting in the water. Wet shoes, wet butt- not my favorite but for the next ford I didn't have to take my shoes off since they were already wet. Unfortunately I bruised my big toe really bad on the rock when I slipped. My feet are suffering. We camped at Wilber Brook alone instead of going to the shelter. There was supposed to be no good tent sites at the shelter and the water source dried up.