morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-16
From: Zero Day

To: Zero Day (Wallingford VT)
Miles today: 0.0

Mountain Goat hooked me up today. they let me have a pair of boots and when the new ones from REI come in they will keep them to sell.Been planning and replanning my final miles. Know that everything really depends on the weather and the terrain. Will get back on the trail tomorrow and hope to summit Katahdin by July 21.Can't wait! Arrrgghh!More tourist questions:Q8: When are you going to finish?A8: Not sure really. Late July, early August, but then I might turn around and walk back to North Carolina. (late July, early August)Q9: Did you get rained on?A9: No, I learned how to dodge rain drops in the Army. (Yes, but I usually hide out from rain in town or at a hostel)Q10: How come your wife didn't come?A10: She doesn't back pack much. Besides somebody had to stay home to work, pay the bills and take care of the dogs. (She doesn't back pack much. Besides somebody had to stay home to work, pay the bills and take care of the dogs).Hiker Glossary:Thru hiker: a hiker who hikes all of the AT in one seasonSection Hiker: A hiker who hikes sections of the trail each year until finished2,000 miler: Hiker who has completed the trail. Both thru & section hikers become 2,000 miler's. The ATC tries to track the # of thru hikers but recognizes both as 2,000 milers upon completionLong distance hiker: generally, a hiker who is on a trip of more than 50 miles but the exact "minimum" distance to qualify as "long distance" is debateableWeekend Warrior: hiker who hikes on weekends, usually overnightDay hiker: A hiker who is out for a day hike.Slack pack: means to hike with a daypack (food and water only). Much quicker than hiking with a full load on your back!
Date: 2006-06-18
From: Moose Mtn Shelter

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

About 3 a.m. Coconut Monkey arrived at Moose Mtn. He was at Velvet Rocks where the skeeters were having a hiker buffet and he was the buffet.I got up around 5 a.m. but still didn't leave until 6:50. I made good time in the morning; went 6 miles to Trapper John shelter in about 2 1/2 hours. A harder climb was ahead on Smarts Mtn. A little White Mountain appetizer. It was a 2,300' ascent. At the top I climbed the fire tower and had some wonderful views.It was a little humid and hotter today. That made my water consumption go up, but I still didn't drink enough. I need to start drinking down a bottle when I cross streams and fill up right away. I thought I might make it to the next shelter but after almost 18 miles and the heat, I knew Hexacuba was it.Met Ed, from Rumford ME, there. He is section hiking part of the Whites. Coconut rolled in about 6:30. He got a late start this morning. Ed offered me his ph # and said to call him for a ride when I get to Andover.I saw a concrete post that said 412 ME on one side and 1740 GA on the other. It is an old post because the trail is now about 20 miles longer.
Date: 2006-06-19
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Todays Milestone: Less than 400 miles to go after arriving at the hostel.Woke up early and left before 7 a.m. again. It's nice getting an early start. I even had time for a short nap at Ore Hill shelter. Coconut caught up to me at the Ore Hill just after I arrived, and Ed come in shortly after.Another hot day meant walking in sweaty wet shorts which led to an awful chafing problem. Todays terrain wasn't bad at all, a few minor climbs. Was able to travel about 2 1/2 mph most of the way. After the last road crossing I took a wrong turn and followed an access road up under some power lines. After about a 1/4 I didn't see any footprints or blazes so I turned around and went back. I turned off the paved road too soon. The trail was about 200 past the power lines.Arrived at the hostel run by Packrat who is on the CDT (Continental Divide Trail), but the hostel is open and Phatt Chapp is our host. Met Atilla The Hun here, and older gentleman who is section hiking and has done most of the trail. He is Hungary. Coconut is here too. He was going to tackle Moosilauke today but about 5 p.m., when I was just stepping out of the woods onto the road leading to the hostel, it started raining accompanied by a little bit of thunder.So were here, the rain has stopped and we're doin our wash while watching an AT documentary movie.Phatt Chapp agreed to drive me to North Woodstock in the morning to get my mail drop so I won't have to get off the trail when I cross Rt 3 in a few days.
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: light rain

Writing this before I actually get hiking. Went into N Woodstock this morning with Phatt Chapp to pick up some hikers and get my mail drop. We had breakfast in town and saw Moses, Pinky and Kpt Kangaroo at the restaurant. The hikers that Chapp went to pick up never showed up but he didn't know they weren't coming until we returned to the hostel. We left before they called this morning.Right now the weather looks good but I don't know if I will have enough time to make it to Eliza Brook shelter. That's about 17 miles. Beaver Brook is just over the summit of Moosilauke so I might be stopping there. There are more storms expected this afternoon.Forgot to mention that when I arrived at Hikers Welcome yesterday Phatt Chapp said a nice lady had been bye and left me a loaf of bread and a sweet treat. I was wondering who that could have been. It was Mother Mary! She's still out there helping hikers and providing trail magic while Sunset heads to Katahdin. Thanks for the bread. It was really good. Unfortunately I left about a 1/3 of it in the fridge when I left this morning.Left hikers Welcome about 10:30. Climbed Moosilauke in about 3 hours. Sat down to have a snack at the summit and felt a few rain drops so I beat feet to Beaver Brook. Shortly after I got there it started raining pretty good so I decidded to stay until tomorrow. That was a good decision because the rain continued on and off the rest of the day. The rain was good in keeping the black flies away. The small bottle of DEET I doesn't look like it will last long. The views of Franconia Ridge were great. 1st it was clear then I could the clouds moving in and wrapping up the peaks as the rain moved in.Some crazy hiker came in around 8 p.m. I was already in my sleeping bag. Whoever it was went and set a tent up on one of the tent platforms. Can't believe that somebody was climbing on Moosilauke in the rain. Guess there are crazier people out there than me.
Date: 2006-06-21
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Lonesome Lake Hut
Miles today: 15.0

3 a.m. Nature call. The clouds have moved on and the last quarter of moon is shining with the stars. The temp is about 45. Sure am glad Mrs Gorp talked me into taking a sleeping bag along.5 a.m. Can see a bright light behind Franconia Ridge. no, not a UFO, the rising sun. There are clouds in the valley below. What an awesome sight.7 p.m. Hit the trail at 6 a.m. Took lots of pictures of Beaver Brook crashing, cascading and falling down the mountain as I descended into Kinsman Notch. That 1.6 miles took me 1 1/4 hours. The 9 miles to Eliza brook took 6 hrs. Hard to get used to moving so slow. Mountain Break, a SOBO section hiker, cheered me right up though when he told me that the trail up to the Kinsman's was tuff. That was another 6 miles which took 4 1/2 hrs. But I've heard that this section of trail is considered the toughest in the whites, so I am pretty proud to have covered 15 miles in one day. Many places required using my hands to climb up and over rocks and boulders. There were more fabulous views of Franconia Ridge from both South and North Kinsman peaks. The steep descents are really beating my knees up. Climbing up along Eliza Brook I noticed several inviting pools of water, but I didn't feel hot enough (or brave enogh) to dip into the cold mountain water. The temp was in the 60's. I got wet more from damp vegetation in the morning than I did from overheating and sweating.I did a work for stay at Lonesome Lake Hut, which was really unplanned. Somewhere in my small pea brain I imagined camping my way thru the Whites, as if there were going to be plenty of camping areas and just fine weather all the way to Mahoosic Notch in Maine. Wanted to send out a special thanx to the Croo there for accomodating me.My Favorite Equipment:1. Lowa Renegade Boots - hands down, the best hiking boots I've ever owned and the best piece of equipment I have. The new ones are just great too. I have not had any significant feet problems and believe me, I've seen some blisters on hikers feet that would make George "The Animal" Steel cry.2. Leki Super Makalu Trekking Poles - I'll never do another long distance hike without these. They've saved me from falling innumerable times, help push me uphill and reduce the stress on my knees going downhill. Pooh on the environmentalist who think they damage the trail.3. Lowe Contour IV back pack - yeah, so what if it weighs over 7 pounds. It's comfortable, doesn't rub, chafe or dig in my shoulders or trapezius. It's 10 years old and every zipper, buckle and seam are still intact.
Date: 2006-06-24
From: Hikers Paradise Hostel, Gorham NH

To: Zero Day, (Sisters house, South Paris ME)
Miles today: 0.0

This morning I went down to the restaurant in the hostel for breakfast. Bruno and Mary Ann have a separate hiker menu which features all you can eat pancakes with most menu choices. Although Bruno told me the record was 11 (3 days in a row) I ate a modest 5 with eggs, bacon, home fries, toast and of course coffee.Then I called the post office trying to find my bounce box. No luck. I called my sister rachel in South Paris ME, about an hour away. Figured I would stay with her until Monday and see if my box showed up. My nephew Paul came to pick me up. On the way out of town I checked with the PO again and told them to hold the box if it showed up. I also called Pinkham Notch one more time and left rachels number.Well, turns out my box showed up in Pinkham Notch. Mason, at the AMC visitor center, called about 2 p.m. to say they had it. So I may head out tomorrow, which according to the 100% accurate weather report, is supposed to be a good day before expected rain for most of the rest of the week.Got some pictures developed while in town and uploaded some of them to the journal so check out the photo gallery. Went to dinner too. Didn't make a complete pig of myself, but ate my fill. Later in the evening had a short visit from my niece Kelsey. Time flies. Been a few years since I saw her last and may be a few more years before I see her again.Pretty tired today. Knees still sore and feel kind of stiff from the waist down. I know the upcoming terrain is still pretty tough so I hope I loosen up a little bit.3rd philosophical question: what will I do when I finish?I really don't know. I know what I don't want to do and that's to get caught up in the same rat race I left behind. My heart tells me that life really is simple but we human beings tend to make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I've basically learned that I can live with everything I need on my back. Yes, I enjoy a good hostel, a good town stop, town food and trail magic. But I see them as things to be appreciated, not taken for granted. Whatever I do, I want it to be in the capacity of helping other people. I've given some thought to schoolteaching. Maybe volunteering with the literacy council in my home town or working with something like a Big Brother program. I think that whatever greater spirit is out, whether you call that spirit God or not, desires me to share myself with other people, not to go about life as if i was the center of the universe.
Date: 2006-06-25
From: Sisters house, South Paris ME (zero day)

To: Zero day, (South Paris)
Miles today: 0.0

Holy cow! Another zero day. That makes about 20. Heading back out tomorrow.No trail stuff to report. Opened Ken's Kitchen this morning and made some delectable veggie and cheese omelettes for my sister, brother-in-law and myself. Best omelettes we ever had.Afternoon saw me surfing the net checkin other hikers journals, doin e-mail and generally wasting time when I should have been sleeping. Also made lots of phone calls to family and friends. If fact, I almost killed the phone battery.Did dinner and a movie this evening. Are we taking bets on what was for dinner? Don't know what it was for sure but it sure looked like pizza. The movie was The Ringer with Johnny Knoxville. This critic thought it was pretty funny.Hope to update again in Andover, ME in about 1 week.That is all.
Date: 2006-06-26
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: fog

Left Pinkham Notch at 10:40 a.m. in a beautiful downpour. Water was running down the trail and at one point I thought I might have taken a wrong turn and was walking along a brook. The 5.9 miles took 5 hrs. The rain was hard and steady all the way to the hut. I was thouroughly soaked by the time I got there.Before leaving the visitor center I ran into Chronic (remember him from West Virginia?). I met Climber, a SOBO section hiker coming down Wildcat. She's from my current home state and lives near Shelby, NC. I arrived at the side trail to the hut at the exact same time as Gary (from Hikers Paradise Hostel). Arrived at the shelter and found 10-Speed inside.Dave, the hut caretaker, let me and 10-Speed do work for stay. 10-Speed's "chore" was doing a question and answer session for a church group that was also staying at the hut. He introduced me and Gary as thru hikers and we answered a few questions also.Some of you may have noticed that I did not get back on the trail in Crawford Notch. That' because I was tired of playing weather poker and yellow blazed that section. Another case of been there, done that.Here is a synopsis of that section when I did before.Day 1: Climbed from Crawford Notch to Nauman Tentsite adjacent to Mizpah Springs Hut. Set up a tarp shelter on a tent platform. The shelter did not keep me dry in the rain since it was splashing on me when the drops hit the platform. I collapsed the tarp and by morning was curled up in a ball. The only dry spot was under me where I had been laying.Day 2: Hiked up the ridgeline and crossed Mt Washington. Stopped at Lakes in the Clouds hut to enjoy some hot soup. It was a windy, foggy day. According to the wind meter at the vistor center on top of Washington, gusts were up to 50 mph. I hiked off the ridge to the Perch shelter. It was full so I had to find a campsite. By now, the skies had cleared and the temperature dropped for a frigid night.Day 3: Stopped at Madison hut and tried to dry some of my gear in the sun. The downhill from Mt Madison was extremely steep and brutal on my knees. My knee support wasn't helping much with the pain so I stayed at the Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch. I decided not to push on the additional 2 days to Rt 2.
Date: 2006-06-27
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH: The Barn Hostel
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: moderate rain

Milestone today: Less than 300 miles to go!!!10-Speed was already gone when I got up at 7 a.m. No surprise there. Found out that McKenzie, the other hut caretaker, was from Willington, CT which is right next to the town I grew up in.Left the hut at 8:30. It was another torturous day on my knees. Anti-inflammotories don't seem to be helping much. The carter Moriah range was tough. I crossed several 4,000+ foot peaks so I can scratch them off my 4,000 footer list. It took me 10 hours to reach Gorham. There were several blowdowns between North Carter and Imp Campsite. It was discouraging to round a corner and find another one that had to be negotiated. The caretaker from Imp Campsite was out clearing blowdowns and working his way south on the trail. I also passed an AMC trail crew working on various maintenance projects.At the top of Mt Hight I missed the 90 degree turn to the left but soon discovered my mistake. Views from this peak are supposed to be the finest all along the Carter Moriah range. That's true. I saw fog in every direction! Later in the afternoon though, the sun did peek out from behind the clouds. It was even a rain free day. I could see Mt's Washington and Madison to my left but the peaks were obscured in clouds.I met a SOBO hiker walking barefoot. His name is Tyvek. The story behind the reason he is walking barefoot is a long one. He has a web site that might explain more: www.longwalkhome.org. I also met 2 other SOBO's, David and Julie.I couldn't stay out of town so I went to the Barn hostel. 10-Speed was there. Also met 2 more SOBO's, Santabelle and Skinny-D. And yes, he is skinny. I liked Hikers Paradise better than the Barn.Tuesday night was "music in the park" night. The band was an oldies rock-n-roll band. They weren't too bad. They were also setting up for a carnival for the upcoming holiday weekend. I was able to get a good piece of fried dough from a vendor that was already open.For dinner, ended up at a gas station deli getting ready to close. They couldn't make me a fresh pizza but I got the one in the hot box for $7. So I ate pizza 3 times in the last 5 days. Think I'm gonna bust.
Date: 2006-06-28
From: Gorham, NH: The Barn Hostel

To: Gentian Pond shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: moderate rain

Got picked up just outside of town and driven to the trail head by Bob. He lives in Maine and was heading back home after doing some shopping in Gorham.Started hiking at 7:45 a.m. which wasn't soon enough. It started raining at 11:20 so after about 7 hr's hiking I decided Gentian Pond was far enough for one day.This section of trail wasn't too hard. It even had a few short flat sections. Of course some of the bog bridges were under water AND floating. I didn't find that out until I stepped on them and then it was too late. The 1st hiker I saw all day was Lefty, a SOBO at the shelter. Right after I arrived Chronic passed thru on the way to Carlo Col. Before the afternoon was over 10-Speed flew by with the same destination. Had a group of Outward Bound kids arrive with their leader Jay. They used the tenting areas. Lefty and I enjoyed each others company staying dry out of the rain. Late in the afternoon there were a few patches of blue sky. Lefty heard on his radio that tomorrows forecast was calling for downpours!
Date: 2006-06-29
From: Gentian Pond shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: light rain

Milestone: Crossed my last state line, NH into ME.Todays hike took the same amount of time as yesterday, but I covered about 1 1/2 miles less. It was a harder hike. The east peak of Goose Eye Mountain had several wood structures to aid in the descent. Then there were places where I thougt I was no longer hiking a trail, but rock climbing a mountain.I decided to stay at Full Goose to avoid the expected rain and to rest up before getting into Mahoosic Notch so I could tackle it fresh tomorrow. Shortly after leaving gentian Pond I saw a moose but it was too far off the trail to get a good pic. Think it heard me coming because it was already headed away from the trail.The views into the valley were amazing today. I could see the clouds laying in the lower elevations. It looked like cotton was filling the areas between the mountain peaks. Every day is a mental battle now. I'm whipped and I'm tired. Maybe it is becuase I am old(er) than most thru hikers, but I honestly did not enjoy the White Mountains. They were hard. After only 7 miles today I noticed that I already seemed pretty worn out. I had several minor slips and falls and nearly rolled my right ankle 2 times.At the shelter I met a SOBO hiker, Birdnut. This is his 2nd thru hike. He decided to stay the night when I told him the next few miles were pretty hard. I had to ask him why thru hike the AT twice? Once will be enuff for me. For him it just worked out that way.A brave little squirrel came up right onto the edge of the sleeping platform. He scampered to the end of it before going back to his tree.
Date: 2006-06-30
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Grafton Notch (South Paris)
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light rain

Memory is already a little dim because I didn't record this day in my journal. I think it took me 4 hours to walk about 5 miles which included 1 1/2 hr's thru Mahoosic notch and then the steep climb up Mahoosic Arm to Speck Pond shelter. Morale hit an all time low when I fell in the notch about 15 minutes into it. Think I was airborne for a second or 2 before I crashed into the boulder behind me. My pack made a nice cushion but I still banged my leg pretty good on the rock I fell off of. Would have bee a really bad place to break something. I only had to take my pack off once in order to squeeze through one of the holes created by the tumble of granite which was spead out about 1 mile thru the notch.While at Speck Pond shelter I realized that my expected arrival at the Cabin in Andover, ME was on July 1st. Since I had no way of making a reservation, I didn't know if there would be a bunk available. It was then that I decided to hitch into Bethel and call my sister Rachel again.From the trailhead I walked about 1 mile before getting picked up by Jim (Tim?) an ex-marine, who was following his buddy Jarrod, ex-army, in the car ahead. Jarrod waved Jim over to pick me up. Jarrod lives in Bethel and sees hikers all the time. We of course talked military stuff when they dropped me off at a shell gas station. My niece Wendy picked me up because she lives near Bethel and drove me to South Paris.Guess what I had for dinner? If you said pizza, wrong. Actually it was a calzone, the folded pizza alternative.
Date: 2006-07-01
From: Grafton Notch, Rt 26, ME

To: S. Arm Rd. Andover, ME
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a slack pack day from Grafton Notch to South Arm Rd near Andover. Got up kind of early and made pancakes for me and my brother-in-law paul. That was my taxi fare. The way to Pauls heart is thru his stomach!After a good nights sleep, a good carbo load and a few aleve, I felt really good making the 1st big climb of the day up Baldpate Mountain. The middle 10 mile section was relatively easy with no grueling chnages in elevation. I met 3 SOBO's at Frye Notch lean-to, Sky, O'rien (O'brien maybe?) and Dirty (pronounced dir-tay, as in Joe Dirt, the David Spade movie). Also met Book along the trail.It rained a little about 2 p.m. and a short light burst just after I got to Hall Mtn lean-to. A deer wandered by close enough that I got its picture. Then came the last hard section of the day. A steep descent to Sawyer Notch and Sawyer brook which I managed to rock hop. Sawyer brook is the 1st ford in Maine. Then came Mt Moody. Even though it topped out at only 2,440', it was a steep climb with rebar in some places for extra assistance. The last obstacle was Black Brook, which was the 2nd ford, and again I managed to rock hop without submerging my boots.The slack pack was great. I brought 2 bagels with PB and a pkg of pop tarts along with 1 qt of water. I filled the bottle about 4 or 5 times so I was well hydrated. As I was going along I was trying to think of what else I could possibly purge form my pack to reduce its weight. With the pack I probably would have stopped for the day at Hall Mtn lean-to, about 16 miles into the section.I told Paul to give me 12 hours. I made it in about 11 hrs and 15 mins. i started walking toward Andover and Paul came along before I had gone a mile or so. That was great timing on both our parts. We stopped at the Cabin to get my maildrop. Honey and Bear, the hostel owners seemed like really nice folks. 10-Speed was there nursing severe shin splints and so was Chestnut. Last saw him just before entereing MA.Last stop was the ice cream shop in Andover. We both had large cones of Black rasberry. Yummy!