morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-06-02
From: Crawford Notch General Store and Camp Ground

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: scattered clouds

5:30 rise and breakfast to start the day. The camp owner, John, gave us a ride to the trailhead where Jag Happy, Redirect, Johnny, and I got our hike underway about 7:15 a.m. Johnny hiked going quickly and separately while the rest of us continued at our normal deliberate pace and passed over Mount Webster and Mount Jackson on the way to the Mitzpah Hut, where we arrived about 1 pm. On the way we had breath-taking views of the valley to the South and the West, especially from the peaks of Mount Webster and Mount Jackson where we had terrific 360-degree panoramic visibility (Pictures). As holders of AT thru-hiker cards (picked up at Kinsman Pond), we got free soup and baked goods at the hut for lunch.Then we hiked on to the Lake of the Clouds Hut. En route, it got cloudy and started to rain. The trail passed Mount Eisenhower and Mount Monroe.  In the vicinity of Mount Eisenhower the rain turned to sleet, and by the time we passed Mount Monroe, it progressed from hail to snow.  The wind got even stronger than what we had experienced on Mount Lafayette.  We arrived at the Lake of the Clouds hut at about 5 pm and the croo took us in on work-for-stay terms (six thru-hikers all together, since we saw Johnny again here, as well as Foxtrot and "Chuck" w/ no trail name.) We were very glad to have shelter, as it was pretty nasty out (pictures). We got to sleep on the floor in the open area in the center of the hut. There I got to try out the new foam sleeping pad I picked up at the Crawford Notch General Store (my inflatable is not holding air through the whole night, even after a third patching at the Zealand hut).
Date: 2017-06-03
From: Crawford Notch General Store and Camp Ground

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

With Jag happy and Redirect, we attempted to hike.  We made it 50 yards in zero visibility, sleet, snow, rain, hail and winds at 50 mph gusting to 75 mph. Not being able to locate trail markings, we returned to the hut!Johnny (who hikes in shorts and sandals) tried to hike down off the mountain, via Tuckerman's Ravine, not knowing it's closed because of crevasses in snow and ice that get up to 60 ft deep, with water falling down the mountain under the snow. He got two miles and had to come back. He was obviously hypothermic, so we helped get him warmed up. Preacher, Billy Goat and Connor (who had taken the trail name "honey bear") showed up later, separately. We ate, played games, and waited.  There were more chores after dinner counting as "work-for-stay."We will try again tomorrow.
Date: 2017-06-04
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: White Mountains Lodge and Hostel
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

This morning, I got up and got ready to start hiking about 6 am. Jag Happy, Redirect, Preacher, Billy Goat, Honey Bear, Johnny and I had a quick breakfast and then headed out. Preacher went out first, heading for the summit. Johnny stayed to do morning chores with Connor (Honey Bear), and later Johnny did a re-attack on his aborted attempt to get to the bottom so he could get proper clothing, this attempt on a trail down from Jefferson. Jag, Redirect, Billy Goat, and I headed up to the summit, too. Initially, there was zero visibility, but far less wind than the previous day, and no rain. As we climbed toward the summit of Mount Washington, it got a little clearer, but remained cloudy and cold. There was a lot of snow and ice on the way up, and the top of the mountain was encased in about three inches of ice. I got several good photos, including a group picture at the summit sign. As we headed north from the summit on the Presidential Traverse, we actually crossed the track of the cog train just before it went by (pictures).We accidentally summited Mount Clay, when we missed the split between the AT and the Summit Trail. (Extra credit. Haha)As we passed Mount Jefferson, we had to cross a steep, wide snow field (pictures). Then we passed through a spot called Thunderstorm Junction, continued by Mount Adams and down to the Madison Springs hut. By now, the sky was blue and sunny, and it was actually warmer outside the hut, where we stopped and got some hot soup. Then Jag, Redirect, Billy Goat, and I hiked up Mount Madison and then down the long boulder climb to Pinkham Notch. This took us until almost 9 pm. We called the White Mountains Lodge and Hostel on the way down, and the owner, Eric, picked us up at the Visitor's Center by Route 16. I got lots of pictures throughout the day.We checked into the hostel, ordered and ate pizza, showered, and were asleep by 10:30.
Date: 2017-06-05
From: White Mountains Lodge and Hostel

To: White Mountains Lodge and Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a zero - mile rest day needed in part because of the unseasonably nasty weather, in part because Don (Jag Happy) really needed a day off and in part because I needed the rest myself.  The last three days were very physically demanding. The two days we took to hike completely through the Presidentials were the most difficult I've had to do so far. And our weather decision to not hike on Saturday (while I'm certain was the right decision) meant staying still in a humid 40 degree hut watching our breath make fog for a whole day, trying to play games and not notice that our energy was slowly being sapped. Thus, we were all pretty tired. Tom (Redirect) most noticeably tired, was also struggling with his own scheduling challenges.So, this morning I got up at the White Mountains Lodge and Hostel (which the owner, Eric, is renaming the "Rattle River Lodge and Hostel" after the nearby river), at about 6:30 am, had coffee, and at about 7 am, Jim (Eric's key assistant) made us waffles (excellent!) and all we could eat. Billy Goat took a shuttle ride from Eric to Pinkham Notch, and hiked the 21 miles to the hostel by himself with no pack, no water, and no head-lamp. A calculated risk on his part.Later in the day, Eric took Don, Tom, and me into Gorham, where we had lunch, went to an outfitters where I got a new folding insulating foam pad and some fuel, and also stopped in at the library which had public computers. When we got back to the hostel, we were joined by two other sets of guests. Two were retirees from Florida: one was a former through-hiker (Stretch), and the other two were a retired couple working to add another section to their accumulation of AT mileage. This larger gathering of hikers spent the next few hours sharing hiking stories. And before I knew it, it was bed time.
Date: 2017-06-06
From: White Mountains Lodge and Hostel

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning, after another breakfast of all-you-can eat waffles, Jag, Redirect and I got a shuttle ride from Eric back to the Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center, and we hiked over the two Wildcat peaks and down to the Carter Notch hut. This was again the most difficult climbing we have had to do thus far. In particular, I was impressed by the physicality required to climb one 20 foot cliff to get up the first Wildcat. The first 10 feet was a vertical v-shaped crack with no hand-holds, almost a chimney. I had to climb by wedging my feet in the crack and pushing horizontally with my left arm and vertically with my right.  I got some pictures along the way, and we got soup from the croo on arrival at the hut.We hung out in the main building and chatted for a while. Then we were asked to wait in the upper bunk house from 5 pm until the croo had finished serving dinner to the paying guests. We all went up to that building and used room number 8 which had 6 bunks in which we occupied 3.  We spread out our wet clothing hanging it on hooks to dry, and used the wool blankets on the bunks to lay down and keep warm.  Jag gave me Kurt Vonnegut's Sirens of the Titans to read, and I got through about 15 pages before passing out. At about 7pm we moved back into the main building, ate leftovers from the Hut's evening meal and helped clean up as our work-for-stay arrangement. Then we got set up for the night and went to bed around 9:30 p.m.
Date: 2017-06-07
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: White Mountains Lodge and Hostel
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night around midnight I was awakened by the sounds of several people entering the Carter Notch Hut and walking on the wooden floor. At one point I saw that one of them had climbed on a bench in order to stand on the table next to where I had set up my sleeping bag. This person and another were working to remove a long wooden object from the ceiling. As one of them used a red light headlamp to help see what they're doing, I noticed markings and a shape that indicated this object was an oar. I recalled hearing while we were at Lakes of the Clouds Hut that the Huts' croos have a tradition of stealing sacred objects from one another and that the oar was one of these. I turned on my headlamp with red light and was able to see that this was Eliza Sam and two other members of the croo from Lakes of the Clouds Hut, who had evidently come to the Carter Notch Hut to steal back the oar while we were there. In the morning, while Rachel was making coffee, she explained that they had also stolen a sword which is another of the four items. Interestingly, other members of the Carter Notch Hut had also traveled to the Lonesome Lake Hut to steal an item known as Mr. Geeves, which is a small statue of a server man that they like to place near their self service food item table.Jag Happy, Redirect, and I got up individually, between 4:50 and 5:15. We used hot water to make oatmeal for breakfast and enjoyed the coffee that Rachel had made. As we prepared to leave, Rachel thanked us again for doing a good job on the chores that had been assigned to us as our work for stay arrangement, and I took a picture of us with her. We hit the trail around 6:50 a.m. It was light and we could see blue sky and the sun beginning to shine on the eastward facing sides of the mountains to the west of us. We were glad to have a nice day after yesterday's cold, freezing rain. We also felt good about the decision we had made to split the 21 mile distance between the Pinkham Notch and Gorham into two parts, the shorter of which we did yesterday in the bad weather and the longer of which we would do today in the better weather.The trail very quickly became a steep ascent of the Carter Dome, which would be our highest climb for the day. I felt fortunate that the Carter Notch Hut itself is at an elevation of 3380 feet. While this is nowhere near as high as the Lakes of the Clouds Hut or the Madison Springs Hut, which are both above 5000 feet, it would make today's climb shorter. 1.2 miles in fact. I took some pictures of the trail and the view of the Carter Notch Valley during my climb.The trail was mostly wet today from all of yesterday's rain. The flat spots on the trail where dirt and debris collect were often puddled or muddy. However, most of the large flat rock surfaces that would have otherwise been problematic were dry.Again, today the trail presented some of the most difficult climbs both up and down that I had encountered yet. This included steep cliff climbs up and down as well as wide open steep flat rock scrambles and boulder hopping.
Date: 2017-06-08
From: White Mountains Lodge and Hostel

To: White Mountains Lodge and Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was the 26th anniversary of my wedding to Teresa. It was also a rest day that my body (particularly my knees) really needed. I watched a couple of movies with Jag Happy to relax and during part of the day I walked to the nearby Rattle River and sunbathed on some rocks while I read some more of Kurt Vonnegut's Sirens of the Titans.It occurs to me that I forgot to mention in previous posts that we learned a couple days ago that there had been a rescue operation on the day we stayed at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut and were on Mount Washington. Apparently, a girl who was part of a school trip of 50 children and 5 teachers from Quebec had been left behind on the mountain and she was found later by a recovery team shaking violently. Story is that the teachers had left the kids separately and told them to just follow the white blazers, and this girl at some point had simply refused to keep going and separated from the rest of the group. She is lucky to be alive. They are very likely the same group that we saw when we were hiking on Mount Lafayette several days ago. If you look at the pictures I took there you'll see that some of them are with children and this is probably that group, though I do not know the identity of the girl who was rescued.Redirect decided he needed to stick to his schedule, so he did not take a day off, and he proceeded on without Jag Happy and me. We will probably be in Maine the day after tomorrow. It's a little less than 16 miles to the NH/ME border, and that is doable in one day. However, shortly after that, about 21 miles from Gorham is Mahoosuc Notch, which is reputedly the most difficult one mile of the Appalachian Trail. So we plan to stop just short of the Mahoosuc Notch the day after tomorrow so that we can have fresh legs for that section of trail with a long day.
Date: 2017-06-09
From: White Mountains Lodge and Hostel

To: Gentian Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

This morning, after yet another satisfying all-you-can-eat waffle breakfast at the White Mountains Lodge and Hostel, Jag Happy and I got on the trail a bit later than usual - at about 8:30 a.m. My pack was now 43 pounds, after filling my food bag with supplies from my mail drop and our trip to Wal-Mart Wednesday evening.  That is too much! I also started wearing knee braces that I picked up Wednesday evening. It was also supposed to rain today.We hiked over several un-named hills on relatively gentle terrain for a total of 11.8 miles. Along the way, I saw a couple of interesting flowers (photos).At about 4:30pm, we stopped for the day at Gentian Pond Shelter. There is a pond, which empties through a beaver dam, into a small waterfall. There is also a nice view to the southwest where it looks like Mount Moriah and the Carters and Wildcats are visible. That is where we hiked on Tuesday and Wednesday. (Pictures)
Date: 2017-06-10
From: Gentian Pond Shelter 

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: mist

This morning after breakfast, Jag Happy and I left the Gentian Pond Shelter and headed back to the trail at about 7:45 a.m. Our first 7 miles or so was a hard, slow climb up New Hampshire's Mount Success. I guess the name is appropriate since it is the last Mountain on the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire. We then climbed down to the actual Maine - New Hampshire border sign and took pictures. Not long thereafter we climbed through a very difficult, steep descent over large boulders and then arrived at the intersection of the trail to the Carlo Col Shelter. As we came down through the boulder section, we met a couple who were working to section-hike the Appalachian Trail and towards that end were hiking all of the trails in the NH White Mountains. Their dog Abby was too terrified to climb down over and through the big boulders, so we helped them get the dog through the tough section and chatted with them for a while at the bottom. They were headed back to their car, so they gave us water to carry us through to the next water source.The remainder of our day was more up down up down up down. We had to climb up and over West Goose Eye Mountain, East Goose Eye Mountain and North Goose Eye Mountain. Then we came to Full Goose Shelter, stopping there for the night. This will allow us to take on Mahoosuc Notch after a one-mile warm-up tomorrow while we are relatively fresh. The Mahoosuc Notch section of the Appalachian Trail is reputedly the toughest one mile section of the entire Trail, so hopefully this will set us up for success. The hiking so far in Maine has been just as challenging as that in New Hampshire. Big wet rocks. Steep climbs. Lots of mud. It doesn't get any better than this!
Date: 2017-06-11
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Speck Pond Campsite 
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: clear sky

Got up about 4:45 this morning. Following my normal routine, I was on the trail about 6:45.  Hiked 1.5 mi downhill as a warm up, then scrambled through the Mahoosuc Notch -- reputedly the toughest one-mile stretch on the AT.  This had boulders the size of houses that sometimes you have to go over, and sometimes you have to go under.  And sometimes you have to jump! But mostly you have to use upper body strength equally as much as lower, to hold on or push or pull yourself over under or around.After completing this I high-fived with Jag Happy, because it was fun, exciting, and done!  But the climb up the Mahoosuc Arm, which was next, was physically harder than the Notch. So, we slogged through it and down the other side, to get to the beautiful Speck Pond and the campsite with the same name. Here, we stopped for the day and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. I was able to repair my inflatable thermal mattress again, and I succeeded in demonstrating that it will also work as a personal flotation device. Haha. I used it to approximate a swim in the pond. When I realized I was blowing away to the other side of the pond, I swam back (this water was much warmer than the mountain streams I had come across so far on the trail, but still a bit too cold for an extended swim).
Date: 2017-06-12
From: Speck Pond Campsite 

To: Human Nature Hostel
Miles today: 4.5

Short day today. Up at 5 ish like usual, and on the trail around 7:45. Made good time climbing up 500 ft then down to East B Hill Road.  Dr John appeared at the Road about the same time and met Jag Happy.  Ryan Holt, owner of the Human Nature Hostel, came to pick is up in a bus. He took to his property, where we saw the Geodesic Dome Hostel in the final stages of construction.  Then we went to the house where he is staying while building the hostel.  Rest, relaxation, resupply.
Date: 2017-06-13
From: Human Nature Hostel

To: Frye Notch Lean-to
Miles today: 10.4

Up at 5 am. Normal morning routine, but while chatting with Jag Happy over breakfast, we heard a voice and noticed someone had set up a tent at a nearby tent pad. (Preacher maybe?) We never did learn who it was, but as it seemed we were being noisy, we quieted down. We hiked over Old Speck Mountain, across route 26, and up and over West and East Bald Pate mountains. These were a combination of hard, slow slogs and very steep rock climbs over open rock faces. Exciting, and more difficult than the climbing we've had before. I got some pictures. At one point, near the Bald Pate Lean-to, we ran across two hikers going the other way -- "Go Lightly" and Alyssa. We chatted, and they gave us a peanut butter Cliff bar. About 4:30pm, we got to the Frye Notch Lean-to, exhausted.   Got/drank water. Had dinner. Read. Slept. No cell service.
Date: 2017-06-14
From: Human Nature Hostel

To: Human Nature Hostel
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

Staying at the camp of a friend of Ryan Holt's, who is a friend of Don's (Jag Happy).  Got to slack - pack today from East B Hill Road to South Arm Road. Hiked over Moody Mountain, and had some great views.  (Pictures)On the way back to Ryan's, we got to see Devil's Den - a cool gorge and dry gorge side by side. Then more rest, relaxation.
Date: 2017-06-15
From: Human Nature Hostel

To: Route 17
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at 5:30. Packed, breakfast. Picture. Shuttle to South Arm Road. Up Old Blue Mountain. Pictures. Down the other side. Got water at a small stream and ate lunch. Up Bemis Mountain and Bemis Second Peak. Down to Bemis Road and Stream. Filled water again. Slipped off last rock and got a little wet feet -- but Don actually fell in completely!
Date: 2017-06-16
From: Route 17

To: Farmhouse Inn and Hostel
Miles today: 13.2

Spent last night at the Farm House Inn. Don and I stayed in a room within the bunkhouse.  Three other hikers were there with us. Matthew (Trail Pond Hopper) is from New Hampshire. He is about 40, divorced and hiking to try to find a new wife. He says he wants to work-for-stay at the Farm House Inn and would like to settle in Rangeley, Maine. Chris received the trail name Peacock because he had a picture taken of himself while he was peeing off of McAfee Snob.  He's from Austin Texas, about 25, and spent 3 years in the Army as a tank mechanic. Peacock hopes to go to SMU to major in physics after he finishes hiking the trail. The third person in the room was actually not a hiker, but rather is paddling a canoe on the Northeast Canoe Trail which runs from north eastern Maine through New England across Lake Champlain and up the Saranac River into the Adirondack Park and ends at a destination I can't remember. He is heading northeast on that trail. I got up about 5 and made a pot of coffee for everyone and after we had breakfast and talked for awhile, we got shuttled to our start points for the day. Chris was dropped off at the trailhead on Route 4 in Rangeley in order to head north over Saddleback, the part of the trail Don and I will hike tomorrow. Don and I were taken back to Route 17 and dropped off. Our route will return us to Rangeley and we'll get picked up by a friend and stay another night at the Farm House Inn. The section of trail we're hiking today is known as the easiest in May. However, today's weather will provide some compensating challenge.It rained all day and a cold wind kept us chilled as we hiked. Just short of 4 miles into our hike we stopped at the Sabbath Day Pawn shelter and I signed into the logbook and we had an early lunch-type snack. At that location we met northbound hikers Baskets and Pete's Dragon. They started in Georgia on February 17th and 26th respectively. We talk for a little while and then Don and I got back on the trail. The pond itself was obviously a nice place, but the fog and clouds made it impossible to see the far shore, though the near shore was smooth and sandy. (photo)
Date: 2017-06-17
From: Route 4

To: Farmhouse Inn and Hostel
Miles today: 15.8

I was joined last night by a fellow retired Army friend, Andy, trail name Opie.  Andy lives in Maine and has much previous hiking experience, including a good part of the southern portion of the AT that he hiked with his son, Ben. He'll be hiking with me the next 4 days.  Andy arrived while we were out to dinner at a place in Rangeley called Sarge's. After dinner, Andy drove me back to the farmhouse while Don got supplies at the IGA. Back at the Inn, we got organized and settled in pretty quickly and were lights out by 9 pm.In the morning, we were up for coffee about 5:00 am, then packed and shuttled out to the trailhead by Stacey, the Inn owner. Andy, Don and I hiked from north to south, back to Route 4, where Andy parked his car. The distance was 14.8 AT miles plus a mile to get to the trail from the backwoods drop off location. We hiked with lighter daypacks since we could leave items at the Inn. We went up and over Saddleback Junior Mountain, then the Horn, and then Saddleback Mountain. From each peak, we had increasingly impressive views. (Pictures). From the Horn and Saddleback, we could see the ski slopes I had skied in January 1981 with my college roommate and two other friends. At the top of Saddleback, we met an AMC caretaker, trail name Bluegrass, who through-hiked last year (photo).  We then had a long slog down the south side of saddleback to get back to Route 4. Andy then drove us all to the IGA, and afterward we went to dinner in Rangeley. Later, back at the Inn, we worked out an initial strategy for the coming days (climb Sugarloaf tomorrow and reach Stratton the following day), and before we knew it, we were all falling asleep.