morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-08-18
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 18.1

Good morning,      I'm on top of Smart Mountain while doing the journal for yesterday. Had a really tough day. It rained all night while I was at Velvet Rock Shelter. I crawled in my sleeping bag and the bottom of it was wet, oh boy the roof was leaking exactly where I was going to sleep, so I placed a plastic bag where the leak was and caught the water. After the harder rain was over it quit. I didn't want to leave the shelter just didn't feel that great, I did 6 miles till lunch and finally took 2 Advil, ate lunch and took a nap for hr and half. Woke up at 1:30 and started hiking, what a difference that made, did another 12 miles. That was the first time I really didn't feel like hiking.     The weather was overcast all day with a breeze. They're calling for nice weather next couple of days.     Slept right beside the trail last night, just put down my tyvek and pad with sleeping bag, it was a great night for sleeping. Woke up around 2 am and could see the stars twinkling through the trees, just beautiful. I thanked our Creator and drifted off to sleep.     Well it's up Smart Mountain in the morning to the fire tower. More on that later. Cyall
Date: 2018-08-19
To: Green Mountain Inn
Miles today: 19.0

Hi y'all,    Hiked 19 miles up to the fire tower on Smart Mountain and the last mountain was Mount Cube and it was a lot of steep ups across rock faces and boulders. Coming down Smart Mountain we had some mud pits, as I passed one hiker he said do not trust the logs laying in the mud as he did and sunk down past his knee. Yep my new shoes got broke in real fast, mud and water.      I just feel kind of weak, definitely need to change diet. As I was taking a break, Organic came along and said hey restaurant in 6 miles just .2 off the trail and that was at 4 so we hoofed it out and had real food, burger, onion rings and a pizza which I couldn't eat all but took the 3 slices with me. It was dark by the time we were done and we asked if we could sleep behind the restaurant. They were fine with that and I cowboy camped under a tree.      Tomorrow I'll be only doing 13 miles, going down Moosilauke which is a very steep descent into Kinsmans notch. I'll be doing resupply after that and it's for 70 miles before another resupply, definitely going to be a heavy pack. This will take me through the presidential range. Ok that's all for now.
Date: 2018-08-20
From: Green Mountain Inn

To: Condo
Miles today: 14.5

Hey y'all,    What a day, an amazing day! Started out hiking and my goal was to hike up Moosilauke Mountain and down the other side and that's where the best things happened. The trail coming down Moosilauke wasn't as bad as expected. It was still rough. See pics!      Ok now for the story! Well I almost got to the parking lot and this guy walks down the trail asking questions. It ended up that he took me to his condo and picked up another hiker I've been hiking in and out with Gusher is his name. This guy Dan Paradise thru hiked in 2016 and he owns a condo so he likes to pick up 2 hikers and let's them hang out. He's got a swimming pool, hot tub, weight room and a game room. It's totally awesome. He might let us hang out on Wednesday during the rain they're calling for.     I picked up a steak and salad for dinner, pan fried the steak, wow that was good. So awesome! Ok I'm tired I'm outta here!
Date: 2018-08-21
From: Condo

To: View Entry
Miles today: 16.0

A big New Hampsher howdy from the AT,    Well I was corrected, you don't say New Hampshire but it is pronounced New Hampsher. The people in New Hampsher and Vermont are very outdoorsy, hiking, skiing, rock climbing and snow mobiling.     The owner of the condo where we are staying at dropped Gusher and me off at The trailhead for Kinsman Mountain which is a 16 mile hike from trailhead to other side. The trail was a decent steep climb in the beginning then flattened out and that means just flatter it's still up and down in flat spots with 100' climbs up and down over boulders and flat rocks with those wooden steps in them as they are to steep to walk up or down. Some places I just throw my hiking poles up or down and climb up using trees and rocks to pull myself up. At lunchtime I started climbing up to the summit and it took forever it was very steep with part of the trail going up a stream. It was the longest steep climb I've done so far. The pictures just don't do justice. A lot of the peaks were covered in clouds today but still great views. 3 miles before the trailhead is a hut called Lonesome Lake Hut sitting above the lake with a view of Franconia Ridge which was the most amazing view I've seen so far, absolutely amazing. One of the hikers walked up and looked and tears just started flowing. It would be worthwhile just to hike 3 miles for the view.    They have a hut system thru the White Mountains where people pay to stay as they hike over the mountains. Very pricey but they have a crew at each hut that prepares food for them 3 times a day. They pack in the groceries for them. Hikers do have an opportunity to eat there too, but you have to wait till after the guests are done and then you ask for leftovers or if you arrive around 4 you can ask if you can do work for stay and eat. They have limited slots available at each hut. You work approximately 1-2 hrs doing dishes and etc. I would like to do that at one of the huts just to have the experience.    I'm looking forward to a zero day as my left foot needs a break and of course I get to eat real food. I picked up groceries at the store to eat tomorrow. Should be a good day to soak in the hot tub and eat. That's it for today.
Date: 2018-08-22
From: Condo

To: Condo
Miles today: 0.0

Hello everyone,     It's a zero day for me, eat, sleep and hit the hot tub. It was just a great day for a rest and I needed that for my legs and feet. My left ankle was pretty painful and the right knee was very miserable.     I'm still trying to figure out why I wanted to do this hike since I first read about about the Pacific Crest trail and the Appalachian Trail in the National Geographic. I can tell you this that the adventure part of it left a long time ago but it was still fun, now I do love challenges and dad always said I'm a klutz for punishment, lol, I took that as a compliment. Yep I'm homesick, I call or text my wife everyday that I have service. I try not to think about it to much as I do want to finish. I've never had so much continuous pain in my life. But you do kinda work through it. I've learned a few things, we live a life of luxury, a person can basically live with 30# of gear on his back and anything above and beyond is a blessing and a luxury. Makes you so much more thankful for what you have.    Things that I've lost and gained out here. First and foremost 47# weight wise, 4 toenails which I ripped one out accidentally at Thomas Knob Shelter in The Grayson Highlands when I tried stepping up on a rock and underestimated how stiff and sore I was, I slipped and fell backwards with my foot in a crack so as I went backwards my foot came out and my toenail, I sat there for an hour suffering in silence, so much pain and I was glad it was in mid40's and raining. It helped with the pain. I'm very humbled by all the people who supported me on this hike, from family to friends and all the trail angels who fed and cared for us. So now with a bit over 300 miles left and it being the toughest part, I have to reset my thinking on lower miles. I've gained a new respect for any thru hiker for all the extras in my life, I miss my family, friends, church and my youth groups for singing and can't wait to get done. Thru hiking is nothing to be proud of, it just teaches you what's important in life. I'm getting a bit philosophical here and I've had lotsa time to think out here, meeting new people from all walks of life with different ideas and makes you reflect on what core values really are. Well you all have a wonderful day!
Date: 2018-08-23
From: Condo

To: Ethan Pond
Miles today: 9.4

Hello,     What an amazing hike today up over Mount Lafeyette, half of the hike was above treeline. The weather was in the 50s on the ridge line with winds blowing in the 30-40 mph range and when you stopped to take a break you had to put on a fleece. Just awesome views.     We did some work around condo before we left this forenoon and cleaned up. It was hard to leave but once we were on the top we were glad we left.    I visited with some people from Poland today and they are here for a week hiking thru the whites and enjoying it a lot. I love meeting people and chatting with them.      I did 9 miles today not bad considering I didn't start till lunchtime. The zero helped plus I had steak and salad 2 evenings in row which I pan fried at the condo. Scrumptious! Yesterday for lunch I made chicken fajitas, definitely better than eating out.    Well I'm out, am cowboy camping tonite again.
Date: 2018-08-24
From: Ethan Pond

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 18.0

Friday August 24th journal: hiked 18 miles slept stealth camp Hello everyone,     Started the day with my breakfast of champions, oatmeal that's so amazing that I don't get tired of it. I keep switching back and forth with the following flavors Apple and cinnamon, brown sugar and maple. Bananas and cream, strawberries and cream, peaches and cream and blueberries and cream. Just a good wholesome breakfast quick and easy. Then my Bella vita cookies dunked in my instant Folgers. Now let's see what happened today.     As usual I have a habit of stopping and chatting with different people from day hikers, sobos and section hikers, I just get to meet people from everywhere. So I kept on hiking up and down over little peaks till I got to Zeacliffs where I sat down to eat dinner with cliffs towering up behind and the valley below, hoping no boulder comes crashing down. So I decided to check my map and mileage, whoa I can actually hike down to the road before it's totally dark and I took off because that would put me within a days hike of Lake of the Cloud hut where you can work for stay and eat. But you do have to show up at the right time. Anyway I got to the parking lot and found a stealth spot with a hiker already there from Wisconsin. He's been on the trail since February 2nd. I'm thinking like that's a long time, Wow! We chatted for awhile and then hit The bags. So that's it and I'm sure more exciting things will happen tomorrow. Let's see what happens!
Date: 2018-08-25
From: Stealth Site

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.5

Hello from top of the mountain,     Wow, what a day from hiking up the mountain to sleeping and eating at the Lake of the Clouds Hut. First I started hiking and up I went and up from 1256' to 5030' in 11.5 miles, there were a few downs in between but what a climb. Amazing views above treeline. Over the past week I could see mount Washington in the distance every time I got on a peak with a view. Now I'm a mile down hill from the summit.     Now for the amazing story of the day. As I hike along I say hi and stop and chat with them and today I saw an elderly woman sitting on a stone looking out across the valley. I was close to the hut where I had planned to ask for work to stay and eat, but it was a bit early so I had planned getting close and stopping till about 5 before asking. Well there's somebody I can chat with and so we chatted as we walked towards the hut and she asks where I'm sleeping tonight and I replied at the hut for work. She said she has an extra bunk that she paid for and her husband said he's not gonna hike up there and it's mine if want it with dinner and breakfast included. Of course I'll take it. Just an amazing lot of people out here. Now I'm just one of the guests. For dinner tonight we had a thanksgiving dinner consisting of lentil soup with cornbread, salad, mashed potatoes, vegetables, turkey, buns, and chocolate cake. It was family style all you can eat. Yup hiker hunger kicked in and now I just want to fall asleep. There were approximately 90 hikers here just for the day or weekend with only 2 others and me as thru hikers. 4 hikers worked stay and probably 8 more showed up and paid to sleep on the dining room floor. Well that was the excitement for today.
Date: 2018-08-26
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 12.6

Hello,     The whites are tough hiking not getting my mileage anymore.     For breakfast at the Lake of the Clouds Hut we had oatmeal with the following toppings of choice brown sugar, raisins and coconut. After the oatmeal we had scrambled eggs and sausage. All served family style.    Now it's time to climb to the summit of Mount Washington with the clouds disappearing as we started up, seems like a long mile up or maybe it's because you can see the top and it's steep. From 5030' to 6280'. I got a sandwich to carry out and down the other side and over to Madison Springs Hut for soup for lunch. Then up and over we went and down towards Pinkham Notch visitors center and stopped 2.5 miles out and they have a cafeteria there with hopes for breakfast in morning. It was a brutal down with rock hopping for over a mile, actually we did several miles of it today and by the time we got to camp I was absolutely wore out. Sparky hiked with me today, I had met him in the Shenandoahs he's about my age and from Pennsylvania.     Thanks again Cathy for the wonderful trail magic by providing me with a stay at the Hut and also the 2 girls I sat across from for breakfast who gave me some snacks, please do sign my guest book. Also the girl I met at the parking lot that posed with me and gave me snacks please sign my guestbook. It's an amazing journey.
Date: 2018-08-27
From: Stealth Site

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 12.3

Hello y'all,    Just another great day in the White Mountains with beautiful weather, sunny and partly cloudy with a nice breeze on the mountain tops.     Sparky and I woke up this morning and hiked 2.5 miles into Pinkham Notch visitors center for breakfast $13 all you can eat for thru hikers. It was awesome! Then we showered grabbed a few resupplies and headed up wildcat mountain.   Wow what a climb that was. Started at 10 and finally reached the summit at 1. Took 3 hours to hike 3.6 to summit. Then it was another few miles to Carter Notch Hut which is the last one and I'm going to miss my soup stops for lunch. Carter notch is nestled in a notch by 2 lakes and cliffs high above the Hut. It's very isolated but does have trails that make it easier to access than via the AT.      The only funny thing that happened today was while I was eating dinner after setting up camp was the dive bombing of an owl. I was sitting getting my water ready and whoosh he just flies over my head and I duck. I look around quickly to see what it was and there he is watching me and there he comes again, geez now I'm ducking again and I don't want his talons grabbing my hair or digging in my face, now I'm really watching where he goes and I see him and this time he does a sideways swipe just past in front of my face and I see talons 12-16 inches from my face now I'm getting a bit nervous because they could hurt. He lands on a branch about 10' away, I'm watching and there he comes again now I'm up and getting my headlamp as I want to see what kind of owl it is, as soon as I turn the light on he takes off and that's the last I see of my owl divebomber. It was actually funny after it was over. Maybe I need a haircut. He probably thought it was a big hairy mouse or something. Well that's all for today, hope tomorrow brings some more.
Date: 2018-08-28
From: Stealth Site

To: Rattle River Hostel
Miles today: 11.2

G'mornin,    It was sprinkling a bit this morning before I got up but we were camped in a saddle and couldn't see what it looked like in the west so I ate my breakfast and packed up before tent got wet as that is extra weight I don't want to carry.    The plan for today is to hike into Rattle River Hostel so we can shower, do laundry and resupply. Rattle River Hostel is right along the trail and is a wonderful place to stay, they provide free breakfast and shuttle into Walmart for resupply.     First thing they do when you show up is tell you no shoes or trekking poles inside, then as you enter they have 2 rows of hooks for your backpacks and around the corner are 2 racks of loaner clothes to wear while they do your laundry. Also they have the 2 showers in that main entry room so you don't go stinking up the whole place. Stinky trashy hikers as some call us, it's not bad if you do maintain some cleanliness by using wipes after hiking. I just don't think some care or maybe they love smelling bad. I've been downwind of a few nasty ones and it's bad, real bad. I think maintaining a sense of cleanliness also helps with maintaining your morale.     We are approximately 16 miles from Maine I'm hoping we can hike into Maine to sleep there. We have 298 miles left to go. Well that's all for now.
Date: 2018-08-29
From: Rattle River Hostel

To: Gentian Shelter 
Miles today: 11.7

Hi y'all,    What a humid day just couldn't make headway today on the trail. Kept stopping for water breaks and snacks. I finally called it a day after 11.7 miles. I am sleeping at Gentian Shelter, just a couple of miles short of Maine border. I had plans to make it up there but am glad I didn't as it started raining around 7 and I don't like carrying a wet tent ( trail pet peeve) my other pet peeve as of late is the clicking of my trekking poles on stone.    Tomorrow the plan is to hike to the start of the Mahoosuc Notch, which is the toughest mile on the AT. Usually takes hour and half to 2 hours. A couple of sobos are at the shelter and they said just a lot of rock climbing also rebar in the rock faces and ladders. They said to just figure 11 mile days so I guess we will see. I haven't seen any moose yet but did see tracks, reminds me of the cow tracks from the farm. Well it's about hiker midnight so I'm out.
Date: 2018-08-30
From: Gentian Shelter 

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6

Howdy from Maine,    Finally in my last state, the great state of Maine. As we decided today Maine is insane. We did get a late start as it was raining this morning and quit around 9. So we started hiking and what a difference in 10 miles of terrain, up and down and climbing down hand over foot and back up again. It absolutely wore me out , with wooden ladders in some place and rebar in others or steps chiseled in stone. Everybody is just doing 10-11 miles a day. In the whites of New Hampsher you at least were going in one direction for a couple of hours, not so in Maine you will climb 50'-100' up stone walls and a quarter to half mile your climbing down again. It really slows you down considerably. We hiked to Full Goose Shelter (hmmm not sure why it's named like that) and are within a mile and a half of Mahoosuc Notch, hopefully I'll give a better description in tomorrow's journal.    Maine's mountain summits are just different and the weather was over cast with 35-40 mph winds on summits. You climb up on the summit and follow the trail on solid rock and all of sudden it drops off into a bog with wooden planks through the bogs. As I was walking along with the mists rolling by and the wooden boards appearing out of the mist and disappearing into the bogs, it was a very wild feeling and reminded me of a story I read in my childhood, a book called The Hounds of Baskerville. Now the bogs on top can be very deceiving on depth as I learned the hard way, I have developed a habit of poking the board with my trekking poles to see if it disappears before stepping on it. The one I stepped on today was deeper than my shoes so I jumped off to the side which looked solid but wasn't in fact, now I was standing in the bog with both feet deeper than my shoes, and was yelling at the guy behind me take the boards, take the boards! We had a little laugh about it all. It wouldn't of been so bad but the temps were in upper 40'- low 50' with wind, not much sweating today, but does feel like fall coming. It is quite chilly tonite in my tent and reminds me of Georgia when I started.     There are approximately a dozen hikers at this shelter waiting to go through the notch tomorrow as some didn't want to do it today due to wet rocks. Also you don't want to start late in the day due to length of time it takes to climb through plus your muscles are already fatigued from the days hike. Well that's it, hope to pick up mileage again after this 40-50 insanely wild introduction to Maine. G'night
Date: 2018-08-31
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Bald Pate Leanto
Miles today: 12.0

Hi from wild Maine,     Maine is really a vast wilderness, as we experienced today again in the Mahoosuc Notch. It's a narrow valley with cliffs on each side and that's where all the boulders come from. Through these boulders you crawl through or over or jump across. I did go through 2 tunnels with the first one being to narrow for me and the pack, so I had to drag it behind me. There is a stream running through the bottom of it as you can hear it most of the time and only see it occasionally. I draped my trekking poles to my pack and used mostly arms and shoulders and am getting quite sore tonight. You can usually find ice in the deepest crevices every month of the year and is cool as you go through by several degrees. I was almost done when a couple came from the other direction and we chatted a bit and ended up being Huckleberry and Buttercup or Butterfly who also have a journal.    I'm currently hiking with Vegas during the day or end up at the same camp every evening. He's a retired cop from Indiana.     Tenting tonite at Bald Pate Shelter where we met some college students on a weekend hike. So we chatted around the fire and offered s'mores to me, mmmmm oh yeah I did not refuse, so delicious.     Tomorrow I'm going to hitchhike into Andover for resupply and will probably tent behind the Red Hen as we look for a good restaurant. Well I'm gonna retire now so good night all.
Date: 2018-09-01
From: Bald Pate Leanto

To: Red Hen Restuarant
Miles today: 8.0

Howdy from Maine,   What a beautiful day and early sunrise on top of Bald Pate Mountain. We hiked up and it was a lot of just rock and amazing views with huge lakes in the distance, lots of amazing colors in the slightly overcast skies with colors ranging from blues, lavender mixed in with orange reds, finally getting nice views.     Vegas and I hiked to East B Hill road and had trail magic by the Patriot, a super nice guy just feeding hikers. We stuck out our thumbs and after a few vehicles passing an elderly lady by the name Lori picked us up and dropped us off at the Red Hen in Andover. We pitched our tents behind the restaurant and as of tonight there are 11 tents there. They are having an all you can eat Italian food night and it was absolutely fantastic. Will probably head out tomorrow morning on a hitchhike sometime. That's it folks! G'nite
Date: 2018-09-02
From: Red Hen Restuarant

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 14.5

Hello,   I'm awake and feeding my midnight hiker hunger as I'm doing the journal.        Finally got some better mileage, Vegas and I did 14.5 miles today. It was a tough day with 2 big climbs and the last one was 2200' at the end of the day. We felt great about the accomplishment even with not starting till 9 am, as we were waiting for shuttle to pick us up. The trails are for the most part not well taken care of with rocks and boulders everywhere and tree roots. The last climb was 2.4 miles with the first half being very steep.     Andover reminds me of a little West Virginia town being out in the middle of nowhere and one restaurant and a liquor store and 1 convenience store that also does sandwiches and etc. They had the best coffee of any convenience store I've ever had, Green Mountain coffee.     We tented at a stealth site and about an hour later it was dark and 4 more hikers rolled in, Sparky, Bluegrass, Cendat and Half Bear. Ok I'm going to try and get some more sleep now.