morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-27
From: Crawford Notch

To: Nauman tent site
Miles today: 27.0

Aug 27S: Crawford NotchE: Nauman Tent site (tenting)Miles: I still wasn¢t sure what I was going to do when I woke up this morning. I had poured over the area maps last night trying to find a way to shave a day of hiking off the standard AT route between Franiconia Notch and Mizpah Hut where I expected the guys to be on Thursday night but I couldn¢t see how to do it without regaining the reparation of a zero day. I decided to fall back to plan B. I hitched out of town to the Liberty Sprigs trailhead but instead of hiking up to the ridge, I¢m catching the AMC shuttle over to Crawford Notch. From there I can hike up to the ridge of the Southern Presidential Range and enjoy the views. I¢ll stay by Mizpah hut at the Nauman tent site and then hike along the ridge tomorrow waiting for the guys to catch up. I hope to see a few hikers ahead of me also by skipping the Franconia Ridge. I had a great hike along that ridge last year in beautiful weather so I¢m not too worried about missing it.I hopped on the AMC shuttle at 9:30 and hopped off at Crawford Notch around 11:00. After snacking and checking out the gift shop and the ¢privy¢ I headed up the Crawford Path towards Mizpah Hut and Nauman tent site.   The Crawford path is considered the oldest maintained footpath in the country. It was the first regularly hiked route to the summit of Mount Washington.The Crawford Path ascends almost 2500 feet up to the ridge line just north of Mt. Pierce. Close to the top I had to stop short as a black bear crossed the trail just 20 feet in front of me. This was the second time I blue blazed on the trip and my second bear sighting.I had considered staying in the valley tonight and catching up with the guys but the good weather pushed me to get some altitude and enjoy the views. At the summit of Mt Pierce I had great views north to Eisenhower and Mt Washington. It was windy but bright and sunny. From Mt. Pierce I headed south to the tent site about a mile down the trail. I had hoped to catch Bugbite or Monster Button at the hut but I just missed Monster and Bugbite doesn¢t seem to be signing the registers.It took some work and creativity but I managed to get my tarp tent set up on the tent platform. I had a nice chat with the tent site caretaker who was excited about my bear sighting ¢ she been here since May and hasn¢t see a single bear.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-08-28
From: Nauman tent site

To: Mt. Washington
Miles today: 28.0

Aug 28S: Nauman Tent siteE: Mt. Washington (hostel)Miles: 8No I¢m not staying on top of Mt. Washington. I put that as my ending point since I hiked all the way to the summit today but then backtracked to Lakes of the Clouds Hut to stay the night. I also tagged the summits of Mt. Eisenhower and Mt. Monroe today. The AT doesn¢t pass over these 4000 foot mountains so you have to take side trips to hit the summits.Back at the hut, Hepcat and the gang had arrived while I was on the summit of Washington. The summit was fogged in so I didn¢t get the summit views but the clouds were just around the summit so I found the views on the way down to the hut.Mellow and I are the only two thru-hikers paying the regular rate at the hut. We get a bunk, dinner and breakfast. The other 20+ thru hikers are doing a combination of work-stay or bunk-only visits. For $8 some hikers are sleeping in the dungeon ¢ a basement area with a few bunks under the hut.Tomorrow we¢ll all head over Mt. Washington and hike the Northern Presidential Range ¢ hopefully the weather will hold and we¢ll get some views.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-08-29
From: Lake of the Clouds

To: Osgood Tent site
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

Aug 29S: Lake of the CloudsE: Osgood tent site (tenting)Miles: Wake up was at 6:30 this morning with one of the hut ¢crew¢ members singing in the hallway. Since Mellow and I had paid the full rate, we sat down for breakfast at 7:00. The rest of the guys started up to the summit of Mt. Washington. After oatmeal, eggs, coffee cake, and pineapple Mellow and I packed up and headed out around 8:00. It had actually warmed up overnight and the sky¢s had cleared giving us outstanding views on the way up and at the summit. Visibility was over 90 miles this morning. Last night, according to the observatory on the summit, they were able to see Mt. Marcy 134 miles away in New York State.The forecast was for increasing clouds and chance of showers in the afternoon so I didn¢t want to spend much time at the summit. We headed out around 10:15 and already the clouds were moving in from the west. An hour later while Hepcat and I were summating Mt. Clay, the summit of Washington was completely obscured by clouds.On the way down from Washington, the trail crosses the cog railway tracks and then parallels them. It is tradition for thru-hikers to moon the passengers on the cog railway. Last year I was alone beside an empty track so I keep hiking. This year, there were two trains and eight hikers. I¢ll bet those folks never thought they would see eight moons on the horizon.As the afternoon progressed the clouds thickened and lowered to cover the summits of all the Presidential. The wind picked up but it stayed warm.At Madison Hut we snacked and then moved on to get over Madison and down the Osgood trail before it started raining. The winds at the top of Madison were 40mph with higher gusts making it difficult to get your foot placed on the rocks. It is only three miles to Osgood tent site from Madison Hut and it took all of three hours to get there.We managed to get set up and have dinner before the rain hit. This was my first night in my new tarp tent and it held up just fine in the rain.[GW/dvs]
Date: 2003-08-31
From: Carter Notch

To: Mt. Hight
Miles today: 2.5

It dropped in to the low 40s overnight. While I slept all warm and cozy, the guys along with Heidi executed their night time raid. Around 5:30, I was awakened as they trudged past my tent. They had made it but I determined from the grunts that I received when I tried to talk to them that they were exhausted and that we weren't going to hike very far today.A couple of hours later, I packed up my tent and headed to the hut for breakfast. I found Hepcat still awake and recounting the night's events.When they arived at the hut around 1:30, they found the common room littered with thru-hikers sleping on the floor and tables. They quickly swiped the items, left Dunkin Munchkins for the crew, and escaped down the mountain before being detected by anyone other than a couple sleepy-eyed thru hikers.The physical effort has wiped out the guys so I spent most of the day relaxing in the hut while they slept. Later in the afternon, we fixed dinner and then hiked a few miles up to the summit of Mt. Hight for the night.I experienced one of my favorite sunrises last year from Mt Hight, so I was hoping for a repeat performance.
Date: 2003-09-01
From: Mt. Hight

To: Gorham
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

Another cold night in the 40's last night. I got up at 5:30 to see the sunrise from the summit. Unfortunately, there were to many clouds for a really memorable sunrise like I had last year.Around 7:30 I headed down the trail enjoying the cool weather and clear views. Around 1:30 Hepcat, Kodiak, and I passed by the side trail to Mt. Moriah, one of the 4000' summits in New Hampshire. We took a 15 minute break and tagged the summit on the side trail before continuing down the trail towards Gorham.The trail follows the Rattlesake river for a couple of miles. Kodiak decided to go for a very cold dip in at a nice swimming hole right next to the trail. I should have joined him as I love swimming at the end of a day of hiking but I chickened out because of the cold water. Hopefully we'll have a warm spel in Maine which is full of great swimming holes.We easily got a ride into town from the road. Mello and I stopped at the Barn Hostel to get our bounce boxes, which hadn't arrived yet. Toothpick was already there. He had taken a short cut into town of the ridge down a side trail. I had thought about doing that also but I decided to push on. I stil feel like I'm having a hard time keeping up with the guys. It will still be a couple of weeks before I will feel like a tru-hiker again.Kodiak and Hepcat had gone ahead and gotten a hotel room. While walking towards the other end of town, we ran into them walking back towards the laundromat. We all stopped at McDonalds (lasy one on the trail) for some calories and I changed into my spare shorts and rain jacket so that I could add me dirty clothes to the laundry bag.The rest of the night was spent hanging out, watching TV, and eating junk food.
Date: 2003-09-02
From: Gorham

To: Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Gorham is the last "big" town on the trail. Hikers have a funny definition of big, though. For some hikers, a big town has a supermarket in contrast to small towns that have a mini-mart, convenience store, or maybe just a gas station. Another definition of "big" hinges on the availability of fast food. Gorham just makes it in this case with a McDonalds and soon a KFC.Today was a typical zero day-lots of junk food, soda, and watching TV with a minimum of walking. I went to the supermarket first thing in the morning so that I could be lazy for the rest of the day.Blaze showed up later in the day and ended up sleeping on the floor in the room. He has been wanting to catch up and hike with the gang.
Date: 2003-09-03
From: Gorham

To: Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Hiking with a group can be frustrating. Decisions are hard to make with a group and days on the trail or in town are full of decisions: What time to get up? When to start hiking?When to take a break?When to end a break?How far to go today?How many days to the next town? How to get back to the trail from town?When to leave town?Delay and procrastination often answer some of these questions. Today, for reasons we can't really come up with, we ended up not leaving town at all, another zero day! Apparently the extra zero day happened because South Park was on TV tonight or Hepcat wasn't feeling well or it was supposed to rain this afternoon or some combination. We'll never know the real reason.
Date: 2003-09-04
From: Gorham

To: Gentian Pond Campsite
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: light rain

One advantage of staying in town last night was missing out on the rain and thunderstorms that came through the area. It was still drizzling around 8:30 when we checked out and headed to Dunkin Doughnuts for breakfast. I had already had a 1,000 calorie breakfast consisting of some chocolate milk and a sugar-filled honey bun but there is absolutely no reason not to have two breakfasts when you are hiking long distances.After a quick stop at the PO to send our bounce boxes to Stratton, we got a ride in the parking lot and were hiking by 9:30, not bad for staying in town.It stayed damp, cold, and cloudy all day. The trail was quite wet from the rain and the terrain was full of rocks and roots making it slow going to the shelter. Southern Maine is probably the most difficult section of the trail. You have to work hard for every mile. We had packed out the fixings for smores but there are no fires permitted at this shelter so we'll have to carry them for another day.We've been playing cards more often of late (hearts usually) and stayed up for about an hour after dinner playing before heading to bed around 8:30.
Date: 2003-09-05
From: Gentian Pond Campsite

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: light rain

Northbound thru-hikers get fixated on the Whites including Mt. Washington as the hardest part of the hike. They start thinking that the days will be easy if they can just get through the Whites. This misconception is quickly corrected by the Mahoosuc's in southern Maine.It took seven hours to hike the 9.6 miles today. The trail is a roller coaster full of rocks, roots, and long granite slabs just waiting to pull the feet out from under a hiker. The weather was sunny, cool, and breezy today--great for hiking but you had to keep moving to avoid getting chilled. Last year I shared this shelter with 30 NOBO's. This year there wer just nine of us. Once again, fires were prohibited so we couldn't enjoy our smores.Tomorrow we pass through Mahoosuc Notch, the "hardest" mile on the AT. I think a more accurate description would be "slowest" mile on the trail. The Notch is a sharp defile full of huge boulders that have fallen from the cliffs above. The trail is wonders up, down, around, over, under, and through the piles of rock. The Notch gets very little direct sunlight and as such often has pockets of snow into July and August. That is all gone now in September but the Notch and the climb up Mahoosuc Arm just after it are nothing to sneeze at.
Date: 2003-03-31
To: Approaching D-day
Miles today: 0.0

I am extremely nervous and excited. My pack weighs a ton. (actually around 45 lbs.) I have done no physical training, be it running or weightlifting or hiking. Since my other boots were killing me, I got new boots last week and they are totally untested. As is my shelter, my filter, etc. I have no maildrops planned and no schedule other than starting slow. In short, I'm a recipe for disaster. And at 28, I'm not getting any younger. Did I mention that I'm starting the trail with an injury? Bursitis in both heels. I love a good challenge. Kevin is being a wonderful host, putting me up in Athens, putting up with my complete lack of planning, and bringing me to the trail. He, Michael, and Silas are gonna walk (part of) the approach trail with me tomorrow. It's been great seeing them. I'm starting to feel homesick for all the friends and family I'm leaving behind. Wish me luck!
Date: 2003-04-01
From: Top of Amicalola Falls

To: Black Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: clear sky

We drove to the top of the falls to avoid some of the long hard approach trail. Silas was cracking me up, bending his scrawny pre-teen body underneath the MASSIVE 45 lbs of pack i was carrying. he, michael and kevin all took turns with the pack for the first 3 or 4 miles. then the saw me off, as i shouldered my load and started down the trail, leaving behind everything familiar and safe. I really missed them and felt alone. thanks, kev, mike, and si for seeing me off. met some guy named "dutch" along the trail. nimblewill gap was beautiful. i finally made it to black gap shelter and quit for the day. let the hardier (foolhardier?) folks go all the way to springer, like Woodsdragon and her sister, Bernie, who just stopped in at Black Gap for some h2o.Of to bed. This is all so unfamiliar.
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Black Gap Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

Long hard day. I'm betraying my promise to keep my mileage around 5 miles a day for the first week. There seems to be a shelter just a little too close or a little too and I want to push on. There were a whole mess of people at the shelter. On top of Springer, I saw Dutch again, and met Sean (a superfast Dane). At the shelter, I met Nuts and Twigs. So many people! I'm pretty tired. Let me give thanks to my "good legs", my leki super makalus. If you bring anything, bring poles. They are the only thing keeping me going, since my hind legs seem to be broken. Nuts and Twigs are from the Boston area. So is Woodsdragon. So are the Rockstars. So am I. Wow! Boston in the house!
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: few clouds

Hooray for a short day! Hooray for a nice shelter! Hooray for Justus Creek, where I bathed and washed my stinking shirt! At the shelter, I met Steama, Kathleen(?), Ishmael, Psycho Hieko, Short Legs, and Eli. Slept like crap -- too hot, too cold, sweaty, constantly waking up. I wish I had a thick, full-length mattress, but the weight would kill me. I'm already dying under the weight of my load and drooling over other people's gear. My feet are blistered and bruised from my toes crunching into the front of my boots. These boots don't fit. My bursitis is hurting, but responds reasonably well to stretching. Pain. I'm in pain.Tomorrow I'm off to Suches, GA and my bounce box, where I can dump some weight for sure.
Date: 2003-04-04
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Wood's Hole Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Made 11.9 AT miles today, but walked over 2 miles down to Suches in the morning. My day started around 3 hours before dawn, when I gave up on trying to sleep. After journaling for a bit while slowing getting colder, I decided to just start hiking. So I packed up, no doubt waking up everyone in the shelter. Sorry! Then off I went into the approaching dawn.Well it turned out that the approaching dawn was really just some city lights and I ended up hiking by my headlamp for almost 2 hours before dawn arrived, and with it clouds. My first cloudy day. Made it to Woody Gap early (before 9 am.) After half-heartedly trying to hitch a ride I gave up and walked to town. Big mistake. The two miles were brutal on my feet. I had to stop and rest several times and was walking with a two-footed limp by the time I reached town. I bounced extra socks, my sweater, half my sunblock, my book, my full journal, my 22 oz fuel bottle, and other items. I wanted that weight off my back. Then I hitched a ride back up to Woody Gap. Many, many, many thanks to the smiling couple who threw me in the back of their pickup. That small gesture on their part meant so much to me.At the gap I saw Steama, Twigs and Nuts. Made up a mountain and breaked for lunch, where Kathleen joined us. Then on to Wood's Hole. Was passed by a wonderful Englishman named Ben, and a former thru-hiker named High Octane, who said at Walasi-Yi the owner, Winton, will look through a hiker's pack and help them lose weight. I want that, bad! I missed a stream and ran out of water about 2-3 miles before the shelter. By the time I got there I was about ready to collapse. Dutch came out to the watersource, maybe .3 miles before the shelter, when he heard I was there and hurting, and carried my pack for me. Yay! It was nice to make it and see all the familiar faces I've been hiking with (the april fools) and some new ones, like Big E and Ben.Tomorrow will be a blessedly short day, about 4 miles to Neels Gap. Then rest. Maybe I'll take a zero day (a day where I don't hike.)
Date: 2003-04-05
From: Wood's Hole Shelter

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 4.1
Weather: light rain

Blood Mountain reminded me of New Hampshire mountains, which is good and bad. The relentless, steep, long downhill exhaused me and killed my knees. I was hurting bad by Neels Gap. Did I mention that the hiking in Georgia is easy (compared to NH)? If it wasn't I wouldn't have made it this far. Sobos (Southbound hikers) have it hard.Walasi-Yi, the outfitter at Neels Gap, is my salvation. Winton looked over my gear and we re-outfitted me with a lot of new gear and got rid of a lot of extra stuff which I was sure I "needed" just a few days ago. This crazy lady, Psycho Pat, and her friends, Kathy, Troy, and GI Gypsy invited me to stay at their cabin, so I've got a place to stay. Phew. Time for a shower.
Date: 2003-04-06
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I should have taken a zero-day, but I'm hike crazed. The call of the north is driving me, and all my peeps are headed on.Started the morning by getting a new backpack, replacing the 1000 pound monster I was carrying before. Now I'm jammed into an 3 lb. 6 oz. Osprey Aether 60. I've got a new stove, new jacket, new boots, and I replaced my filter with Aqua Mira. The new me weighs in (with 4 days food and a full water bladder) at 32 lbs. Nevertheless, the hike to Low Gap was long and painful. I met a Brown student, Charles. (Go Bruno!) Made it to the shelter, late. My peeps said hi, but there was little socializing, since the sunset and rain encouraged everyone to go to bed, while poor sad little me cooked and set up my GoLite Lair 1 for the first time. How will I survive tomorrow? My feet are killing me in new ways: arches ache and new blisters. Ugh.I did compose a song, "I'm a Hiker on the AT", to the tune of "I'm a Genie in a Bottle". What can I say, I was inspired.
Date: 2003-04-07
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Cheese Factory Site
Miles today: 13.0

Another long and brutal day. Rain, hiking through the clouds, too many miles on my miserable feet. Made it, barely, to the Cheeze Whiz Factory, where I pitched my tarp, much more tautly this time. It was so nice to get there before dark and to see Woodsdragon, Dutch, Twigs, Nuts, and Big E. I met Loser today, too. He's hilarious. They all encourage me so much to keep trucking, since I know that if I do I'll get to see them smiling and cheering me when I arrive. My peeps!
Date: 2003-04-08
From: Cheese Factory Site

To: Dicks Creek Gap/Hiawassee,GA
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

I actually was fast today! But my knees were killing me. And my feet. They scare me, since I feel like I have little control over them and they are my weak point. Nuts was really hurting, which made me sad, but she made it, as did everyone else. We are all exhausted and in pain. We made it down to Hiawassee for a night in a motel. Hot shower, clean clothes, dry gear, all-you-can-eat steakhouse buffet. YUM!Tomorrow will be a zero day. I need it.
Date: 2003-04-09
From: Dicks Creek Gap/Hiawassee,GA

To: Hiawassee GA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

First a disclaimer: I write my journal entries on paper and update the website whenever i find an internet terminal, so if my journal seems to be updated infrequently or is a little discontinuous, please bear with me. Thanks to everyone for reading my journal. I hope it is inspiring and educational, or at least a bit informative. My apologize for not being able to reply to your responses. I read every one of them and reply as best I can given my limited internet access. Thanks a million for sending me messages!-------------This is my first journal entry after starting my trail journals log. Today was zero day number one, in Hiawassee. Started out with a big breakfast of sausage, eggs, biscuit, hashbrowns, and tomatoes. Then off to a dollar store to get some flipflops, the ultimate in lightweight camp shoes. Then to the library for a few hours of internet time! I set up a trail journal and wrote some short, boring entries. Tonight we ate at the slowest chinese restaurant in the world...it took them hours to deliver my yucky food. :-( But boy did we laugh. I mean, we were in tears at some points, over next to nothing. I think we are giddy with shared pain, misery, and struggle. I really had a great time. There is so much good humor in my crew.After ordering, in walked Kathy and GI Gypsy. They are in for the night. Troy is at the Blueberry Patch. And Psycho Pat is at Deep Gap Shelter, a little before the road to Hiawassee. Stema was at Blueberry last night. So I might see him someday, if I can up my miles, that is.Right now my bursa are aching and my feet have been hurting in various ways throughout the day. bummer. i wish i could take just 1 day off and heal but that is not how it works. No pain, no Maine. You've gotta hike hurt.One of my fears is running out of food, so I may bring minimal food on this trip, just enough to starve a little, to Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC).Remind me to talk about my gear revelation someday. Ok, how about now. Basically, what I brought was wrong. I'm not strong enough to carry 45-50 lbs and when I try it is not enjoyable. Not like carrying 30 lbs. Sure 30 is pretty minimalist and not comfy in camp, but all day long it feels good. So I am now an ultralight believer. and conversion was a painful process from Springer mountain to Neels Gap. With conversion has come peace of mind: I no longer obsess about gear (as much) or dream of losing ounces at night. Perhaps I am a little overly gear focused. You could make a great siltent or REI Coupe-like tent using trekking poles for the main poles. Anyway...good night. Tomorrow Woodsdragon, nuts, twigs, dutch, and I are headed to Plumorchard Gap Shelter. And easy 4 mile rest day before the 10-12 milers that will take us to NOC.