morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-07-23
From: The Notch Hostel 

To: Greenleaf Hut
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Dear readers, I¢ve not been able to post journal entries for a while. I know you must be thirsting for more tales of high adventure and daring-do.Last night while Gayle and I were out for dinner at Black Mountain Burger (excellent burgers), I checked the forecast and saw thunderstorms predicted for today. That certainly put a damper on my mood. Though I very much appreciated the nice sunny day we¢d had for our zero, it would be nice to hike without rain. As it turned out, we had nice weather for most of today¢s hike. On the shuttle ride to the trailhead this morning the driver was telling us about the mountains we¢d be hiking. From down in the Notch they looked formidable, towering above us.   There were the 4000+ footers we were about to climb. Little Haystack, Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette, with Franconia Ridge running across their peaks. The weather held throughout our long climb. We stopped for food and water at Liberty Springs Tentsite along the way and donned jackets as the temperature had fallen. Once atop Little Haystack we began our traverse of Franconia Ridge. Eventually we rose above tree line and out popped the spectacular view we¢d been waiting for. Big mountains in every direction and the tiny ribbon of I-93 below from which we¢d looked up this morning. It¢s a popular stretch of trail and there were plenty of other hikers up there including groups of day hikers wearing shorts and t-shirts. When the predicted rain came on our climb up Mt Lincoln, the wind came on strong and the temperature plummeted. I can¢t imagine how the scantily clad hikers endured the cold and rain, especially when the hailstorm started. The hailstones were the size of Israeli couscous and were whipped up by the wind such that they stung the top of my bald head even through my hat and rain jacket hood. Once atop Mt Lafayette we turned left off the AT for the 1.1 down to Greenleaf Hut. It took us at least an hour and a half to pick our way down this nasty, rocky path. I dread starting our day tomorrow by walking back up. The AMC huts are great, though expensive. Full dinners and breakfasts cooked and served by the ¢croo¢, the young staff employed by the AMC. Gayle and I got a small bunk room to ourselves. We spent time chatting with volunteer David who joined us for dinner. Soup, salad, peas, Israeli couscous (not the hailstones) with chicken, and chocolate chip cookies. Tomorrow¢s a similar day in terms of mileage (6.6), but it starts with the heinous 1.1 climb up to the top of Lafayette. And we¢ve heard it¢s going to be a difficult 6.6. Breakfast is served at 7:00. We¢ll need to be packed up and ready to go before then.
Date: 2021-07-24
From: Greenleaf Hut

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: clear sky

Breakfast at Greenleaf Hut consisted of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, sausage and coffee cake. Pretty luxurious when you consider we¢re up in the mountains with roads nowhere near. Perishables get packed in by croo members. Non-perishables like flour and canned goods get air dropped by helicopter once a season. After breakfast we hiked the 1.1 back up to Mt Lafayette. It took a bit over an hour while the hike down yesterday took an hour and a half. We began the 6.6 to our second AMC hut, Galehead, at around 8:30. We arrived at 5:15, almost 9 hours later. It was definitely some of the most difficult hiking I¢ve done. It was all either up or down with the down being very difficult for me, both because of the steepness and the rockiness. It¢s difficult to adequately describe how hard and scary this kind of hiking is for me. I move so slowly that Gayle often has to stop and wait for me for as much as 30 minutes. I got rather discouraged. At one point I confessed to Gayle that I thought I wasn¢t up to the task. That the trail here in New Hampshire had beaten me. She had to remind me that completing the AT has been a dream of mine for many years and that I can do it. She could see that I was tearing up and came back up the trail to me and gave me a big long hug. It helped and I did finish the hike feeling much better. Thank you Gayle.The weather all day was fabulous. Full sun. Nice cool temps. And our arrival at the hut was timed just right for us to clean up and put our clothes out in the sun to dry minutes before dinner was served. A full Thanksgiving feast. Mashed potatoes, turkey, peas and gravy. Chocolate cake for dessert.Cell service is weak. Just enough to send a text to Joan, but not to make a call. Tomorrow it¢s Zealand Falls Hut at 6.8 miles. I¢m hoping it¢s not as difficult as today. A note on inclusiveness at the AMC huts. The bathrooms are often, but not always, marked Men and Women. I¢ve seen signs in the bathrooms stating that they can be used by any gender or gender identity. All bathrooms, even those marked Men, have a basket of tampons. As the croo members introduce themselves they state their gender identity as, for instance, he/him. I applaud this effort to make all visitors feel welcome and safe. It¢s a sign of our changing times.
Date: 2021-07-25
From: Galehead Hut

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: fog

Last night after dinner a croo member read the weather forecast as radio¢d in from the observatory atop Mt Washington. It called for rain this morning and thunderstorms this afternoon. This has not been a typical July here in New Hampshire. It was rainy, windy and cold when we started hiking up a long, steep climb. At the top of South Twin Mountain the wind was very strong making the rain sting our faces. But soon after the rain stopped and after an hour or so we began seeing our shadows. We stopped for snacks and I grabbed my bag of white cheddar Cheeze-its, my go-to snack. I would pull out one at a time, pop it in my mouth and chew as I reached in for another. I told Gayle I worried I¢d develop repetitive motion injury. The rest of today¢s hike was relatively easy and my spirits were up. We pulled in at Zealand Falls Hut at around 3:00. The thunderstorm never arrived and there¢s plenty of time to squirm out of wet hiking clothes, munch some of my jerky, do some journaling and even take a nap. What¢s missing is cell service. I haven¢t been able to talk to Joan in way too longNot realizing just how difficult the hiking is up here in the Whites, I¢d planned for a 14+ day tomorrow to our next hut. Trying to make that kind of mileage would be next to impossible and would be the polar opposite of fun. David, the volunteer back at Greenleaf Hut, had mentioned a shortcut. This morning I was up real early and studied the big laminated trail map of the area and pieced together a route that more or less heads due east to Mizpah rather that taking the AT that dips way south. I jotted down the route which involves four different trails. Here at Zealand I spoke with croo member Livy who confirmed the route. It¢s about half the distance and I¢m all in. Now I know what you¢re thinking. Farfar¢s cheating. He¢s not really hiking the AT. To that I say, ¢Hike your own hike¢.  Yes, I want to complete the AT, but this must also be fun and not a death march.
Date: 2021-07-26
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Mizpah Spring Hut
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: broken clouds

We cut 6 miles off of today¢s planned hike by heading due east on a few different trails rather than taking the AT. Being locked in with our hut reservations means we needed to get to Mizpah Spring Hut today and given recent experience, 14.2 seemed somewhat unrealistic. There¢s a group of 14 hikers we met at Zealand who are celebrating 25 years since they all thru hiked the AT in 1996. Turns out they made the same decision about taking this shortcut today.Most of today¢s hike was pretty easy and the weather was perfect. We arrived at the AMC Highland center in Crawford Notch where I tried to secure reservations for Carter Notch Hut for July 30. There was only one spot available so no thanks. Meanwhile Gayle went ahead to get to Mizpah before the crowd in order to grab us two lower bunks. When I get up to pee at night I¢d rather not navigate climbing down a ladder and I like sliding belongings under the bed. The trail gods punished me for ditching the AT by dealing me a long, 2-mile climb at the end of the day. Hikers coming down kept assuring me I still had a long way to go. Dinner featured lemon chicken couscous finished off with chocolate cake.Tomorrow¢s a mere 4.6 to Lake of the Clouds Hut. With no showers or laundry facilities at these huts, my hiking clothes are becoming dank to put it mildly.
Date: 2021-07-27
From: Mizpah Spring Hut

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: fog

After yet another hearty hut breakfast, Gayle and I took off for today¢s short 4.6 hike up to Lake of the Clouds Hut. Fog, mist, wind and chilly temps had us donning our rain jackets on our climb up Mt Mitchell. Before long we began popping up over the tree line. But with no views to be had we could keep our eyes glued to the rocky path. But once above the trees for good, the clouds began to clear and our shadows made their appearances. We found ourselves walking in an alpine wonderland.It was one spectacular view after another. We¢re deep into the Presidential range, passing by Mt Eisenhower and Mt Monroe with their summit trails beckoning the more ambitious hikers. We¢d get glimpses of what we figured must by the mighty Mt Washington up ahead, but it was still obscured by fast-moving dark clouds. As our hut was less than a mile away, those clouds began to disperse and we could see the weather station atop Mt Washington, our destination for tomorrow.With today¢s short miles, reasonable trail, majestic mountains, and awesome vistas, this was no doubt the best day so far. And if I stand on the windy side of the building, I can get cell service. I was able to chat with Joan, see a photo of my bestie Steve holding his first grandchild, and get caught up with my journal postings. Woo-hoo!Played Yahtzee with a mother and son hiking team we¢ve dined with at the last three huts.
Date: 2021-07-28
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: fog

The summit of Mt Washington can be hit or miss regarding temperature, wind, precipitation, and visibility. It has seen 220 mph winds, the highest winds ever recorded. When Gayle summited three years ago there were high winds and zero visibility. We consider ourselves fortunate that today¢s conditions atop the mountain were clear skies, breezy and cool. The views from the top were outstanding when we arrived at around 9:00. It was a fun 75-minute climb to the top. We snapped the obligatory photos by the summit sign after which there had formed a line of others waiting to get their photos. After checking out the visitors center, we began our hike to our final AMC hut, Madison Spring Hut. By the way, I¢ve heard that staying in the huts is called ¢platinum blazing¢.We had another six miles or so from the summit to the hut. Sounds easy, right?  Not so. Most of those miles were through a giant boulder field. There was no discernible trail to follow were it not for the many helpful cairns piled up along the way. Each step had to be carefully planned. I tried not to rely on my poles too much because their tips can easily slip off the angled boulders. Progress was painfully slow. Pennsylvania is notorious for its rocks, but I don¢t recall them being as bad as these boulder fields. Well at least we had outstanding views throughout the day.No cell service here. I¢ve got Spectrum which supposedly uses the Verizon network. Can¢t even send a text. Yet Gayle, using Straight Talk and Michael using Consumer Cellular were able to make calls. Hmmm.Dinner was exceptionally good tonight. Vegetable soup was so good I asked for the recipe. Turns out Emily, today¢s cook, improvised her own recipe and added a secret ingredient: curry paste. Just the right spiciness. There was fresh baked bread, salad, corn, rice, and Korean BBQ. The only slight disappointment was dessert. The chocolate chip cookie bars were over-baked and crunchy when they should have been soft and chewy.I¢m a bit apprehensive about the coming three days. If the horrid rocks continue as they were today, we may have trouble getting into Pinkham Notch and AMC¢s Joe Dodge Lodge where we¢ll be meeting my brother Nate. He¢s made 6:00 dinner reservations at Salt in Gorham. I¢d like to be in early enough to shower and change clothes before dinner. Then we have a 13+ day over the Wildcats to get to our campsite. It¢s likely we¢ll need to break that day up and stealth camp along the way.
Date: 2021-07-29
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Joe Dodge Lodge
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a very rocky hike up and over Mt Madison. A trail sign along the way indicated I¢d gone 1.0 miles. I checked my watch. I¢d been hiking for two hours. That¢s how tough today started out. No dirt, just boulders strewn about by some deranged giant or more likely the result of the receding glaciers. Climbing down was so steep I chose to go backwards on all fours. This allowed my head to be closer to the sharp-edged rocks which cut way down on the fear factor. I was able to take longer and ¢quicker¢ steps this way. Though the rest of the day wasn¢t nearly so steep, it was all downhill but the last mile or so as we headed down to Pinkham Notch. I was beginning to feel it in my knees and feet so my pace, even at the flat-ish part, was slower than usual.Gayle arrived at our destination, Joe Dodge Lodge, before me and was able to make reservations at Carter Notch Hut for Saturday. This was great news for two reasons. We can take a zero tomorrow which I really need and our 13+ hike to Imp Campsite will be cut in half. On a tragic note, a man hiking yesterday with his 59-year-old mother stopped to ask me if I¢d seen her. They got separated on the trail hiking to the next hut and she must have turned off onto the wrong trail.  A search party was organized. The man was staying at our hut. The next morning (today) I asked him if there¢d been any luck. They had not found her but found her phone on the Buttress trail a mile from the hut. During today¢s hike Gayle and I came across two members of the search party who inquired with us. I hope she survived the cold night and they find her. Brother Nate met us this evening and drove us into Gorham for an amazing dinner at Saalt. It was a fixed menu, a multi-corse Moroccan feast. He¢s staying with us at the Lodge and will help us out tomorrow with laundry and resupply.
Date: 2021-07-30
From: Joe Dodge Lodge

To: The Glen House
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

My brother Nate had planned to hike for a while with us today, but since we¢d decided to take a much-needed day off from hiking, he left his car keys with us and went out on a short hike on his own. Gayle and I drove into Gorham from the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center (Joe Dodge Lodge) to do laundry, resupply, and hit the Post Office. It was one stop shopping as all three were at the same little strip mall. We were all back well before noon. After packing away our clean clothes and food items, we headed off for BBQ lunch back in town.  I ate sensibly, a pulled pork sandwich and disappointing corn bread, while Nate and Gayle ate ¢Pig Piles¢, an obscene heap of fries smothered in pulled pork and other foodstuffs. Even Nate, who endeavored to eat it all, was unable to finish it off.Nate dropped us off at The Glen House, our hotel for the night. We¢d been unable to extend our stay at Joe Dodge and all reasonably priced hotels in Gorham were completely booked due to an ATV rally in town for the weekend. This place is not hiker friendly. No laundry, no shuttle service to trailheads, and way too expensive. Because it¢s a summer weekend, rates are high and there¢s a 2-day minimum which they were willing to waive for us. But it¢s nice sitting in our spacious room recharging our batteries both literally and figuratively.I¢ve pre-ordered a Lyft for tomorrow morning to get us back to the trail at Pinkham Notch for our climb up the Wildcats. But I have a concern. It¢s only a 3 mile drive to the trailhead and Lyft¢s quoted price is $7.50. Will there really be a Lyft driver close by enough to bother to take the fare?  The local hiker shuttle service is fully booked for tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Date: 2021-07-31
From: The Glen House

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: light intensity shower rain

I left you with a cliff hanger yesterday. Did our Lyft arrive at 7:30 to take us to the trailhead?  The answer is no. Apparently there are few Lyft drivers in the area. So we decided to walk the three miles and hitchhike. As it turns out, a bunch of people were leaving the hotel as we were and I asked a couple getting in their car if they were headed in the direction of Pinkham Notch. The weren¢t, but were happy to take us there anyway. As the saying goes, The trail provides.It was a tough day of hiking. Clear skies, cool temps, great views. But it was almost entirely steep rocky climbs up and down. I don¢t mind this kind of hiking. It¢s certainly better than the boulder tumbles we¢ve experienced lately. But it¢s slow going climbing these mountains. It took us 8.5 hours to hike today¢s 5.9 miles. And it¢s hard on our legs and feet. By the end we were very tired. There was one spot that was particularly challenging: a giant boulder split down the middle. It must have been at least 30 feet high. We had to pull ourselves up this crevice with very little in the way of foot or hand holds. It didn¢t even look possible except for that a few younger, stronger hikers managed to climb up before me. There were many grunts and groans involved and fear of slipping back down. But in the end we both made it.We¢re staying at the last of the AMC huts tonight. A bit different from the others in that it¢s split up into a few different bunk houses and a separate building for the bathrooms.This is the last day of July, and what an unusual July it¢s been here in New Hampshire. Not only has it rained more days than not, but it¢s also been unusually cold. Right now, waiting on dinner, I¢m wearing a fleece hoodie and a down hoodie and a fleece hat. I certainly hope August proves to be more seasonable.Tomorrow we stay at a campsite and the following day we hike to Rattle River Hostel, our final destination in this state. Maine, here we come.
Date: 2021-08-01
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Imp Campsite 
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: broken clouds

In today¢s photo you can just about make out Mt Washington in the background. It¢s the highest peak and has the weather station on top. We were there 4 days ago.It just keeps getting harder. Today¢s descent off Mt Height had a section, maybe a half mile long, that was so steep and difficult, I wondered how I¢d make it down without injury. I would look down in disbelief. How could the Appalachian Trail Conservancy allow this stretch to remain without hand holds and steps to make it safer. The caretaker at tonight¢s campsite maintains this section and he¢s asked the Forest Service to please do something. Apparently they want to leave it as is.We stopped for snacks around noon and while eating we noticed a bird perched in a nearby tree. On a whim I held out my hand with a piece of jerky in it. Immediately the bird flew down and perched on my fingertips, picked up the jerky in his beak and flew away. Moments later she was back. This time Gayle did the same and the bird flew down and took hers. We were thrilled. I¢ve always wanted a bird to eat out of my hand and here it happened for both of us. I didn¢t recognize the type of bird, though it had the shape of a blue jay, but without the pretty blue feathers. It looked scruffier than a blue jay. Shortly thereafter I ran into two young southbounders and I told them about my bird encounter. They seemed nonplussed and explained that the bird was a Canada Jay, aka grey jay, and that they are known for this behavior. They themselves had experienced this a number of times. These birds can even become a bit pesky. Looking them up, I see another name for this bird is ¢camp robber¢.  Oh well. It was still a very cool experience.I¢m back in my hammock tonight for the first time in many days. It¢s nice. But it¢s starting to rain. Not nice.Tomorrow we hike to Rattle River Hostel where last year¢s hike of Maine began. We¢ll be done with New Hampshire
Date: 2021-08-02
From: Imp Campsite 

To: Rattle River Hostel 
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We¢re back to where we started last year¢s hike, at Rattle River Hostel. Last year we had set out from here to hike the AT through Maine. I developed a knee injury and had to abandon the hike about midway through the state. Gayle went on to complete her hike. She¢s accompanying me this year as I try to finish. We¢ve got a shuttle driver to take us to Caratunk, ME tomorrow to the Sterling Inn, another hiker hostel. We¢ll spend the night there and they will shuttle us up to Moxie Pond where I had left the trail.Most of today¢s hike was typical up and down for this state. Fortunately nothing too difficult or dangerous. And the last three miles were a gentle downhill with relatively few rocks as we walked beside Rattle River. We arrived at the hostel shortly after 2:00. Showers and laundry were our first order of business. We later split a large pizza with sausage, black olives and extra cheese ordered and delivered from Mr Pizza in Gorham, just a 6 minute drive away. Now consider that Gorham is where we did our laundry and resupply three days ago. We¢ve had three days of hiking, two of which were 8 hour days, to get somewhere 6 minutes away by car.So New Hampshire is in the bag. I¢d always heard that it and southern Maine are the most difficult parts of the AT. Even so, I found the state more challenging than I¢d expected. It is an amazingly beautiful state. I wish there¢d been less rain and more clear skies. So many views were socked in by fog, mist and clouds. But many highlights there were. Being atop Mt Washington on a beautiful clear day was certainly one of them. Climbing southbound up the back side of Mt Moosilauke in the rain alongside the very powerful waterfall was exciting and awe inspiring. Crossing (swimming) Cascade Brook after three days of rain was a bit nerve wracking in the moment, but will be fondly remembered. Our Franconia Ridge traverse was exciting and spectacular, made more so by the hailstorm as we climbed Mt Lafayette.But for me, some very challenging descents and more than a few outright dangerous spots leaves me with mixed feelings. I don¢t understand why the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the National Forest Service don¢t do something to make certain pieces of the trail less treacherous. Some rebar grab bars shouldn¢t be too expensive to install. I do get that the AT wants to be a rugged trail, but not just young people hike it. There are plenty of people like me who¢ve waited till retirement to afford the time to hike its length.I¢m glad I completed New Hampshire and I look forward to Maine. Once I¢ve completed the AT, I¢ll be looking for more age appropriate activities.