morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-30
From: VT12/Woodstock, VT

To: Thistle Hill Shelter, VT
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

From 8/1/03 to 8/29/03 I was on medical leave for a back problem. As you can imagine, these 29 days were very frustrating, particularly because the improvement in my back came very, very slowly. Yesterday (8/29/03) I was able to do 5.5 miles with a backpack and decided ¢ with the help of my trusted mentor ¢ that any further training should be done on the Trail itself. I want to thank all my family and friends for all their understanding and encouragement during this difficult period.         Today I resumed my AT hike. Up at 6:00 am, left home at 7:30 with Highlander II who offered to drive me back to the Trail. We arrived at VT12/Woodstock, VT, shortly after 10:00 and started hiking in cloudy skies and 65 o temperatures. I hiked very slowly, treating this hike and the days that follow as ¢don¢t get re-injured training hikes.¢ I must get back in shape before I push again. The hiking was on smooth trails with many ups and downs. I kept hearing a voice behind me saying, ¢Watch your speed!¢ Highlander II hiked with me for approximately 6 miles at which point we shook hands and he headed back to the truck and then home. I headed North on the Trail arriving at the Thistle Hill Shelter at 4:35. Two Southbounders, ¢Butter¢ (because he carries a lot of butter and uses it in many things) and ¢Cheeseman¢ (he likes cheese), were already there. We all cooked dinner. Two Northbounders, ¢Iron Chef¢ and ¢Peach Monkey¢ (he comes from Georgia) arrived. Also, Highlander II met ¢Green Man¢ and ¢Singe¢ heading North during our hike together today. ¢Cruiser¢ and ¢Reason¢ (NOBOs) hiked in at 7:30 pm. After I had turned in at 8:00, ¢Happy Feet¢ arrived.
Date: 2003-08-31
From: Thistle Hill Shelter, VT

To: Happy Hill Shelter, VT
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was another ¢get back into shape¢ day and it was my last full day in Vermont. Last night was cool with no bugs. Up at 6:20, hiking by 7:20 in 52 o temperatures and under clear skies. The trails were smooth going through hemlock and pine forests, stands of maples, and pastures. Notably, there were very few rocks and roots. At about 8:00, I came to the grassy summit of Arms Hill and, looking southeast, saw a bed of white, fluffy fog filling the valleys ahead, then beyond saw the mountains of New Hampshire poking up through the foggy blanket. It was a neat scene. Thirty minutes later I was at a lower elevation where there was fog on the trail and I could see rays of sunshine streaming through the fog ¢ another impressive scene. I hiked on, arriving at VT14/W. Hartford, VT, at 10:30. I stopped at Rick & Tina¢s Store and had my second breakfast ¢ a western omelette, home fries, toast, and coffee, all topped off with a 20 oz Coke. It was delicious. I hiked on. Happy Feet, Reason & Cruising, Iron Chef & Peach Monkey, and Green Man & Singe all passed me. Their goal today is Hanover, NH. I arrived at the Happy Hill Shelter at 1:30. There were 2 weekend warriors who had come to stay the night but were leaving because the mosquitoes were so bad. The mosquitoes are bad. In addition, the water source ¢ a stream behind the shelter ¢ has dried up. I had already done 8.8 miles which was the plan for today¢s ¢training¢ hike. I was tempted to hike on to Hanover (another 5.8 miles) and get away from the mosquitoes and into NH today. I resisted the temptation and will stay at the Happy Hill Shelter tonight. I put on my rain gear to protect most of my body from the bugs. I built a smoky fire to drive most of the mosquitoes away, then pitched my tent for tonight. I have 1.5 liters of water and will have a dry dinner tonight ¢ leftover ham & cheese sandwiches from yesterday and some oatmeal cookies and granola bars. I will conserve water and make it to Hanover tomorrow. I have had a chance to read the shelter register cover to cover and found an interesting note to Trog from Flatlander. I took a picture of it. I have documented today¢s pictures and written this journal entry. I found a paperback mystery novel and will start reading it tonight. It is only 5:30!
Date: 2003-09-02
From: Stealth Camp North of Hanover, NH, Co-op

To: Moose Mountian Shelter, NH
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: light rain

Last night I had dinner at 5 Olde Nugget Alley, a cheeseburger with homemade French fries and lots of fresh popcorn. I ate with ¢Monk¢, a NOBO who studied at a seminary for a year, and ¢One Over¢, a SOBO who had 35 zero days while a broken ankle mended. I then walked the half-mile back to the tent and on the way stopped at Ben & Jerry¢s for some ice cream and found that it is free for thru-hikers. I had a cup of chocolate. I got back to the tent at dark and am writing this addendum to yesterday¢s journal. It is 68o in the tent and feels warmer. I woke at 4:30 am to the sound of rain on the tent. It was too early to get up, so I went back to sleep. I woke next at 6:00, laid there for a while and it stopped raining. I got up at 6:15 and started packing up before it started raining again. It was 63o in the tent. I had everything packed by 6:55, left my backpack in the woods and hiked the 0.5 miles back to town for breakfast at Lou¢s. I had the same thing as yesterday and hiked back to the woods where I left the backpack, stopping on the way to resupply groceries at the Coop which opened at 8:00. I was hiking at 8:40 in overcast skies, 63o temperatures, and no wind. I took it slow, stopping often for stretching and/or breaks. I stopped 30 min for a lunch of bologna and cheese on soft taco shells. A big black lab hiked with me for nearly an hour until he found another hiker that interested him more. I arrived at the Moose Mountain Shelter at 4:00, pitched a tent and ate dinner. Here tonight are ¢Iron Chef¢, ¢Strider¢, ¢Chris¢, and 2 SOBO brothers, ¢Boweevil¢ and ¢Goat.¢ It is 7:15 and time to read my book.
Date: 2003-09-03
From: Moose Mountian Shelter, NH

To: Fire Warden's Cabin, NH
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 6:00 to heavy fog that was condensing on the trees and dripping on the tent. I packed the wet tent along with everything else, ate 4 Pop Tarts, and was hiking at 7:10 in 55o F and fog. I descended 1400 ft to Goose Pond Road then up 1200 ft to Holts Ledge, then down 1200 ft to Lyme Road (stopping on the way for lunch by the Trapper John Shelter), and finally a long 2400 ft climb to the summit of Smart Mountain. I arrived at 4:15 at the Fire Warden¢s Cabin where I am staying for the night. ¢Strider¢ was already here, as was ¢Snooze¢, ¢Family Man¢, and ¢Weaver¢ (all SOBO flipping). ¢Iron Chef¢ and ¢Gray Matter¢ stopped by, cooked dinner, and hiked on to the next shelter 6 miles away. After dinner two more NOBOs, ¢Turtle¢ and ¢Magic Rat¢ arrived. Then it started to rain. It is now 7:15 and raining very hard with blowing wind. We are all in the shelter for the night.
Date: 2003-09-04
From: Fire Warden's Cabin, NH

To: Ore Hill Shelter, NH
Miles today: 12.6

We had some major rain and wind last night with accompanying thunder and lightning. I was glad to be in the shelter. Strider was up and knocking around early. I was up at 6:10 and it had stopped raining. The cabin temp was 52o F. I was hiking at 7:35 wearing my rain gear. By 8:00 I had stripped down to shorts and a tee-shirt in the 55o temperatures. It was a steady 1800 ft descent to S. Jacob¢s Brook, then a treacherous 1500 ft climb to Cube Mountain, then a 2000 ft descent to Rt 25A, and finally a 1000 ft climb to Ore Hill Shelter. The trails were wet and muddy. The roots and rocks were wet and slippery ¢ and the going was quite slow in places. Strider, Moe, and I ate dinner. Then Martin (Fluffernutter) and Super Fly arrived at about dark and pitched their tents.
Date: 2003-09-05
From: Ore Hill Shelter, NH

To: Stealth Camping by Carriage Rd
Miles today: 12.1

Today I reduced my miles remaining to less than 400. I was up at 6:00, although I had been awake since 5:00 ¢listening¢ to the other hiker in the shelter pack up. (He hiked out at 5:55.) I was hiking at 7:00 in clear skies, no wind, and a 57o temperature. I hiked the 7.4 miles to Rt 25 by 11:20 and then another 0.5 miles off the Trail to the Hiker Welcome Hostel. There I took a shower, did my laundry, had lunch augmented with 4 12-oz Cokes and 2 candy bars. Strider, Magic Rat, Caroline Cruiser, Reason and Cruiser, Nomad and Jo-Jo, and Fire Pit were also there. My laundry was dry at 3:00, so I hiked out to head up Mt. Moosilauke, which is the first of the White Mountains. It was a long climb. I stopped to stealth camp at the Carriage Road at 6:43 after climbing 3350 ft. The temperature at the hostel was 68o; the temperature near the summit of Mt. Moosilauke was 55o with a light breeze and overcast skies. I pitched my tent, ate dinner, and am now writing the journal. When I cooked dinner it was dark and when I shined my light on the trail I could see hundreds of sparkling points of light. It was very pretty and I tried to take a picture. We will see if it comes out¢¦ I saw something similar other places on the Trail where the sun was shining. My theory to explain this phenomenon is that it is caused by small flecks of muscovite (white mica) reflecting the light. The wind is gusting gently but I am protected by the thick forest of evergreens that are only about 12 ft tall at this elevation. It is 9:25 and time to close. I will be lulled to sleep tonight by the gentle gusting wind and I hope it stays gentle.
Date: 2003-09-06
From: Stealth Camping by Carriage Rd

To: Eliza Brook Shelter, NH
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Today I reached the summit of the first 4000 footer since Virginia, Mt. Moosilauke (4844 ft elevation). Up at 6:10 in a tent temperature of 48o F and colder outside, but I was warm enough last night. I ate and packed as much as I could inside the tent. I finished packing the rest outside and was hiking at 7:25 in cool temperatures, light wind, and ¢in the clouds.¢ I reached the summit of Mt. Moosilauke after climbing another 330 ft at 7:56. There was a tiny view to the southeast but all other directions were in the clouds. I started the descent and stopped at the Beaver Brook Shelter at 1100 ft down. There I met ¢Mud Elephant¢ who I had seen earlier in Manchester Center, VT. The next 1800 ft down were steep and treacherous. During this time the Trail ran beside Beaver Brook that was an almost continuous series of waterfalls. The going was slow and it took me 1.5 hours to descend this 1800 feet. I reached the base (Kinsman Notch) where Highlander II joined me to hike to the next shelter on the AT, Eliza Brook Shelter, 7.5 miles further. The going was tedious and seemed to take much longer than a normal 7.5 mile hike would. The conditions were perfect for hiking - 63o F and blue skies ¢ but there were no views on the Trail. We arrived at the Eliza Brook Shelter at 6:30, pitched our tents, cooked dinner, and are ready for bed. On the Trail today we met ¢Train Man,¢ ¢Singe,¢ ¢Pushing Up Daises,¢ ¢Flatlander,¢ and ¢Nameless.¢ At the shelter were ¢Strider,¢ his friend John, and ¢Iron Chef C. T.¢ It is 9:37. The tent temperature is 59o F, and I hear the sound of Eliza Brook in the background.
Date: 2003-09-07
From: Eliza Brook Shelter, NH

To: Liberty Spring Tent Site, NH
Miles today: 11.4

Today I climbed South and North Kinsman Mountains and passed the AT 1800 mile mark. Both Highlander II and I were up at 6:00. He packs up more quickly than I, but he waited until I was finished and we signed the register and hiked out of the campsite together. When we got back to the AT, Highlander II headed south back the 7.5 miles to Kinsman Notch where the truck was parked. He then planned to drive around to Franconia Notch and meet me there in the afternoon with supplies for the next 5 days. I headed north on the AT and was soon climbing S. Kinsman Mountain with large boulders, at times requiring both hands to get to the next foot placement spot. I arrived at South Kinsman summit (4358 ft) at 10:20 after a difficult climb of 2000 ft. Today there was a nice view of Mt. Lafayette and the Franconia Range. Next there was a descent and climb to North Kinsman (4293 ft), followed by a long, moderately difficult descent (2800 ft) to Franconia Notch. I hiked under Rt 93/3 and met Highlander II there where he was waiting with supplies. He had also brought me a large Italian sub and several ice cold Cokes ¢ I drank four. It was great hiking with Highlander II yesterday and chatting with him today. Iron Chef CT, Strider, and John came by. Highlander II provided some trail magic for them and we talked some more. I packed up and hiked out at 3:20, heading up toward Franconia Ridge on the Liberty Springs Trail. I reached the Liberty Springs tent site at 5:40 pm with ¢Sleepy Floyd¢ passing me on the way. It was a continuous climb of 2300 ft in 2.5 miles and I was glad to get to the tent site. My tent is on a large tent platform shared with Iron Chef CT, Superman?, and Torch. The wind is quite hard at times but we are protected by the surrounding evergreen forest. It is 9:00 now.
Date: 2003-09-08
From: Liberty Spring Tent Site, NH

To: Stealth Camp north of S. Twin Mtn
Miles today: 12.2

Today was a long day but there were great views ¢ visibility was over 100 miles. Up at 6:00 am to a tent temperature of 46 oF and it was even colder outside. I was hiking at 7:25 in 52 o temperatures, light winds, and under blue skies. The Trail today went over Little Haystack, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Garfield, and South Twin Mountain. The hiking was a combination of hard climbing and hard descending, easy ridge walks and tedious rock walks and covered lots of elevation change. I am stealth camping a mile north of South Twin Mountain. I arrived here at 7:00 ¢ it took a long time to find a tent site. I basically took the first one after 6:55. It is on moss-covered rocks and provides a very lumpy mattress. No thru-hikers passed me today. I did meet Willow and Tank on top of Mt. Lincoln, though. It has been a long, hard, slow day. There is a moderate breeze now at 9:30.
Date: 2003-09-09
From: Stealth Camp north of S. Twin Mtn

To: Stealth Camp on Webster Cliffs
Miles today: 14.8

Today I completed the Franconia Range and started the Presidential Range. Up at 6:00 to a tent temperature of 45 oF and no wind. The tent site I was forced to select last night was poor ¢ last night¢s sleep was on a bumpy ¢mattress¢ of rocks. It served its purpose, though, and I did sleep fairly well. I was hiking at 7:30 in 42 oF temperatures, under bright blue skies, and with no wind. I reached Mt. Guyot at 8:10 and found frost on the alpine cranberries and other vegetation the sun had not yet hit. I was glad to have spent the night under a thick canopy of those sweet-smelling black spruce and not on the exposed face of Mt. Guyot. I hiked on to the Zeeland Fall (AMC) Hut, arriving there at 11:00. The trail was mostly a gradual downward slope with a few steep rock descents. I stopped at the Hut to get water. While there, they gave me the leftover blueberry pancakes with butter, and they were excellent. On the way to Zeeland Falls Hut I could see the smoke of the Cog Railway engine as it went up Mt. Washington. I hiked on from the Hut to Crawford Notch (US302), arriving there at 4:00. After the Hut, the Trail was an old rail bed and was very smooth in many places, which I appreciated for a change. It was a cumulative descent of 3300 ft. Next I entered the Presidential Range, hiking up 2000 ft to Webster Cliffs. I decided to set up camp there at 5:45 pm and I am stealth camping here. Shortly after, Martin, a thru-hiker from England, arrived also to share the stealth campsite. We enjoyed a pretty sunset. Overall, it was a good day.
Date: 2003-09-10
From: Stealth Camp on Webster Cliffs

To: Lake of Clouds AMC Hut
Miles today: 9.3

Up at 5:30 to a 50 oF tent temperature, light wind, and clear skies. I was hiking at 6:57 in 55 oF temperatures. The Webster Cliffs Trail had some beautiful vistas on the way to Mt. Webster, plus some very steep climbs. I arrived at Mt. Webster at 8:15 and at Mt. Jackson at 9:19. I hiked on to the AMC Mizpah Hut (arriving at 10:15) where I filled up my liter water bottle and had some AYCE pastries. I continued hiking at 10:50 and was met with a steep 200 ft rock climb. I crossed Mt. Pierce at 11:30, followed the AT around Mt. Eisenhower, went over Mt. Franklin, followed the AT around Mt. Monroe, and made it to the AMC Lake of the Clouds Hut at 2:10. I decided to stay here because my gluteus maximus on the left side was getting sore and the next possible stopping point would have been the Madison Hut 7.0 miles further along the Trail. I requested work-for-stay and Andy, the ¢Croo¢ Chief, granted it. The deal is I would work 2 hours and in return I would get dinner and breakfast plus can stay in a bunk (not on the floor in the dining room). My assignment was to take all the mattresses, pillows, and blankets off the 9 bunks in Room 8 and then squeegee down all the wood surfaces on the bunks with a bleach mixture. I was done in 1 h 15 min. Andy was pleased and said I was done. The alternative was to pay $8 and stay in the ¢dungeon¢ and eat my own food or pay $68 and get all the benefits of ¢work for stay¢ (the same as those of a real paying customer). I am pleased ¢ I will be able to begin hiking as soon as breakfast is done. (It is served at 7 am.) I am hopeful that the butt muscle is better tomorrow so I can make it beyond the Madison Hut. I have completed my work assignment and am now sitting by a sunny window in the dining room looking 3000 ft down on the Mt. Washington Hotel in the valley and writing in my journal. It is 5:50. Dinner is to be served at 6:00. There is no heat in the hut.
Date: 2003-09-11
From: Lake of Clouds AMC Hut

To: Lake of Clouds AMC Hut
Miles today: 0.0

Up at 6:00. I packed and enjoyed a hot breakfast at 7:00. We had AYCE oatmeal, pineapple, pancakes, and coffee. It was tasty. I still had a ¢pain in the butt¢ and decided it would be best to rest it one day instead of doing the 7.0 mile hike to the Madison Hut. I explained my problem to the Croo Chief and he said I could do a second work-for-stay. Taking a zero day is very difficult for me to do, but I am taking the conservative approach to prevent serious injury. I hope it works. My work-for-stay today was part of a 3-man team effort with Iron Chef CT, and Blip who got in late last night but were able to get work-for-stay which was to be worked off this morning. We bleached, squeegeed, washed, squeegeed, and toweled down all the walls in the 9-room bunkroom that I did the bunks in yesterday. It was a good team and we were finished by 10:00. A number of other thru-hikers stopped in this morning and we got a nice group picture in the Hut dining room. The group included Iron Chef CT and Blip, Superman? and Torch, Crusin¢ and Reason, Moo and 42, No Pepsi, and me. They all hiked out at 10:45 to get to the Mt. Washington Grill (which opened at 11:00) for lunch. It was very difficult to see them all hike out and have to stay behind. The rest of the day I have been reading, doing some stretching, and just relaxing. It is now 5:00 and as a work-for-stay thru-hiker I will be eating with the ¢Croo¢ after they serve and clean up for the paying customers.
Date: 2003-09-12
From: Lake of Clouds AMC Hut

To: Osgood Tent Site
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning I was up at 6:30. I dressed, packed up, and read my book until the ¢Croo¢ finished the dishes and then we sat down to eat together. I was hiking at 8:35 in 63 oF temperatures and no wind, arriving at Mt. Washington at 10:00. The wind was calm at the summit, a unique condition that only occurs 10 days a year according to a park ranger at the summit. I had a 20 oz Coke (free with winning bottle cap I had gotten earlier) and a bag of potato chips. Their grill does not open until 11:00 and I was not going to wait. I went to the summit and tried my cell phone but kept getting kicked off, so I went back to the Visitor Center and was successful in connecting with Highlander II to discuss weekend plans. Then I hiked on. Right after I passed the railway tracks, the Cog Railway car & engine came chugging up on past me. I took a picture.   No, I did not moon the passengers as the car went by, which, as I understand it is a tradition of AT thru-hikers. I hiked on past Mt. Clay and Mt. Jefferson, and then passed Jerry and Mary from Michigan who bunked in the same room as I did last night at Lake of the Clouds Hut. They were very nice people and I took their picture as they were hiking toward Mt. Adams. I hiked past Mt. Adams to the Madison Hut that sits in the deep col between Mt. Adams and Mt. Madison. Between Mt. Washington and the Madison Hut it was mostly a ridge walk on rocks that required a lot of rock hopping which was tough on the feet. I arrived at the Madison Hut at 3:30 pm and decided my pain in the rear could survive another 3 miles to the Osgood Tent Site. A steep 550 ft climb up Mt. Madison preceded a long, 2800 ft descent over very rough, rocky trails. On the way down I did have what seemed like a non-fall (a no impact fall) but did feel a pull in the middle of the back as it was twisted. The descent was hard on both the knees and the feet but I did arrive at the Osgood Tent Site at 6:22 where I set up on a tent platform, cooked dinner, and wrote my journal. It is now 9:04.
Date: 2003-09-13
From: Osgood Tent Site

To: Stealth Camp on Wildcat Mtn
Miles today: 6.7

Alarm went off at 6:00, up at 6:10 in tent temperature of 52 oF, hiking at 7:26 in 50 o temperatures, clear skies, no wind. The middle of my back hurt a little and I took some Vitamin I. It was an easy trail down to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center (VC) on Rt 16 where Highlander II met me at 1040. I took a shower at the VC (25cents for 45 seconds, I put in 8 quarters, 6 min for a thru-hiker shower is not very long but I made it do), we had the VC AYCE buffet lunch and then drove to Gorham, NH where I did laundry and resupplied with food that Highlander brought.   I packed enough for 3 days to go over the Wildcat/Carter Range. I also made a drop box with another 4 days of food to be picked up at the Barn hostel in Gorham. We then went back to the Pinkham Notch VC, parked, and started hiking the AT where I left off in the morning. We hiked 2000 feet up Wildcat Mtn to a stealth campsite where we are now camped for the night. There were some great views of Pinkham Notch and the Presidential Range mountains as we hiked up. It has been a huge advantage to have knowledge where these stealth sites are located in order to be able to plan the hiking through the ¢Whites.¢ I thank Highlander for providing this invaluable knowledge. My pain in the butt problem has now been replaced by a mid back problem that is different from the one I had in Vermont. I believe it is a direct result of the fall I had coming down from Mt Madison yesterday. It was a benign fall that took place in slow motion and had a very soft landing. However, in the process of going down I twisted my back and felt the muscle pull. I was hoping to be able to hike through it. But now it is sore to get up and down. I will wait until the morning before deciding what to do. It is 8:30, the tent temperature is 63 oF, and the wind is calm.