morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-06-30
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 7.1

Rained again last night but we were high and dry in the shelter. Wetook our time breaking camp after our long day yesterday. Our onlyserious climb of the day was up Mount Cube, which afforded amazingviews back into Vermont. Nothing but forested mountains as far as yousee.We are a bit sore but we are starting to get use to being on thetrail. Tomorrow we have another short 7 mile day to town so that wecan resupply and get ourselves ready for the Whites. We should bethere by mid-day.Yesterday it got really hot and sweaty hiking up Smart Mountain, and Ideveloped a bit of a heat rash on my left leg. My shorts were rubbingon the same spot over and over again and it got really sore. In fact,it was burning hot. What is funny is that I have never gotten a heatrash before, but it is very common on the trail. -t gets so bad forsome guys that they end up wearing kilts instead of shorts. Well,some friends of ours gave us as a going away present a huge bottle ofMonkey Butt powder for heat rashes as a joke. I wish we had broughtit along, but we didn't, so I wasn't sure what to do. So I askedmyself...What would the Indians do? And I remembered reading thatthey often packed wounds with mud. And believe me, there is plenty ofmud here. So I put some wet mud on the rash and it instantly cooledoff the burning sensation and it dried out the area. The pain wasgone! And today it didn't hurt at all. Thanks to good old fashionedIndian medicine I am healed without presenting my insurance card orbuying drugs.
Date: 2011-07-01
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 7.5

For the third night in a row it rained, so we opted not to tent andstayed in the shelter. But again, by morning it had cleared and wehiked in dry weather. We have been very fortunate so far with theweather. We completed the hike into Glencliff, NH by lunch time andare staying at the Hikers Welcome Hostel. It is kind of a camp with abunkhouse for sleeping. There is a big tent in the backyard withseparate areas for showers, laundry, and toilet. Inside there is ageneral room to hang out in and upstairs is another room full of bunkbeds. Not real fancy but everything you need to get cleaned up,rested, and re-supplied.Staying here has also provided us with an option to slack packtomorrow over Mt. Moosilauke, which is a beastly of a mountain (4802feet). The climb for northbound hikers is 3800 feet, with a nastydescent that includes ladders and rebar steps. That part of thedescent we were planning on completing on Sunday, but we just learnedthat there is a 70% chance of rain on Sunday. So, to avoid comingdown the nasty descent in the rain (which would be very dangerous), wewill be shuttled by car over to Kinsman Notch with day packs and takethe day hiking southbound over Moosilauke in good dry weather (andwith very light day packs). Then on Sunday, shuttle back to KinsmanNotch and continue as planned northbound.Tonight we head into town to grab dinner and buy a couple days food tocarrying us over to Franconia Notch.
Date: 2011-07-02
From: Glencliff, NH

To: Kinsman Notch
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: broken clouds

Today we had perfect weather for our climb over Mt. Moosilauke, 4082 feet. We left the hostel in Glencliff around 8a, were shuttled over to the trail head in Kinsman Notch, and then we walked all day back to the hostel with only a daypack. The climb up was ridiculous. It took us 3 hours to get to the top. I am so glad we went up the mountain from the north side. It was extremely steep. They had solid rock faces that were wet and slippery. Fortunately they bolted a ton of wooden two foot wide railroad ties to the rock for steps and had installed metal rebar as handrails, otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible. Just to raise the anxiety level, the trail followed a gorge cut by a beautuful river that was cascading down in a series of waterfalls. So, if you slipped off the trail to the right you went into the water. Needless to say we used both our hands and our feet as we slowly made our way up. Fun stuff!Once we got near the top we broke through the tree line into the sky.It was amazing. We could see back into Vermont and north to Mount Washington, which was still 60 trail miles away. The summit as well as the mile north and south of the summit were above the tree line and afforded continuous 360 degree views. The descent was in itself a 6 mile hike. Thank goodness we did this climb with lightweight daypacks.Tomorrow we put the big packs back on our backs as we continue north from Kinsman Notch.
Date: 2011-07-03
From: Kinsman Notch

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: light rain

Today we were up before the sun so that we could catch the shuttle out of the Welcome Hostel. We got breakfast at Peg's in North Woodstock for the second straight day and then picked up some sandwiches before starting our hike at around 7:00 a.m. We wanted to get to the shelter by lunch to avoid a big storm headed our way in the afternoon, but by mid-morning it was coming down pretty hard so we got soaked anyway, We got to the shelter by lunch and have no intention of leaving this nice and warm spot until tomorrow.The last few days we met a bunch of nice people. As usual, their trail names are fun. Let's see, we have Phat Chub, who shuttled us around from the hostel. A fella named Challenger, who is on some kind of leave from NASA (yes, he is dedicating his hike in memory of the folks who died on the space shuttle Challenger, he worked on the mission). Passing Through is going north as far as Gorham. Two ladies I met at the Partnership Shelter in 2008 named Breezy and Firefly also are back on the trail this year. Breezy is the one who was freaked out about bears, and carried Bear Repellent. She almost sprayed Hippo and I when we accidentally woke her up in the middle of the night. Too funny. And Firefly is trying to do the whole trail this year via a flip flop out of Harpers Ferry, WV.Saw something funny last night. Two thru-hikers, Treebeard and a German guy named Cologne, ate a whole Monster Pizza in town in an hour and a half so they got their meal for free. The pie was stacked 4 or5 inches high in toppings. All of the locals were cheering them on and gave them an ovation when they completed the task. Yes, thru-hikers have huge appetites.
Date: 2011-07-04
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

The highlight today was the climb of Kinsman Mountain, 4358 feet. It took about 2 hours to climb the 2.5 miles up to the summit. It was very slow going because the trail was so steep and rugged. Three points of contact with the rocks and trees was followed at all times.That is an old rock climbers safety technique. Both your feet and both your hands make four points of contact. You should have three of those four points in contact with the ground, rock, or trees to maintain a high level of safety when climbing up these steep rock trails. Fast Forward insisted I take a video of her climbing up the trail "Because no one is going to believe this!"The view up top was the best so far. What really caught my eye was that the clouds were so cool. Some of the clouds were below us and others were right at eye level. They looked cool because normally you just see the bottom of the clouds from the ground, and I was seeing them from the side. So, instead of a one dimensional view, I was seeing them in close up and in 3D.We passed by the Lonesome Lake Hut and took a swim. Then we headed down to Franconia Notch. We are spending our Fourth of July evening in North Woodstock and hope to catch a glimpse of this evenings fireworks. Tomorrow we begin an 8 day stretch where we will spend each night in one of the Appalachian Mountain Club's huts. We will mail ahead tomorrow morning some of gear that we won't need by staying in the huts. We also are trying to lighten our packs. We will mail home our Crazy Creek chairs, Nalgene water bottles (Vitamin Water bottles are lighter), and our Steripen water purifier (which used up a set of batteries in 4 days). We have started to use Aquamira drops to treat our water. Low tech more reliable solution to water purification. In additional, my Big Agnes air mattress developed a valve leak (same thing happened last year) so I ordered a lighter version from REI called the Neo Air. REI will send it to my next resupply point in Gorham.Goodnight and to all a happy 4th!
Date: 2011-07-05
From: Franconia Notch

To: Greenleaf Hut
Miles today: 6.4

The Woodstock Inn turned out to be a great place to stay. They have their own brewery in the basement so we had dinner last night in the pub and sampled several of their beers. And then this morning, we had a great B&B style breakfast. After buying some lunches and snacks for the next few days and then making a stop at the Post Office, we took a shuttle back to the trail around noon. We walked up the Bridal Path trail to Greenleaf Hut and just spent the afternoon relaxing and gazing up at Franconia Ridge.Our packs are so much lighter now that we are staying in the huts this week, but we plan on keeping our mileage down anyway and just make the most of this part of the hike. The White Mountains are truly special and we want to experience them fully. Much of the trail will be above tree line. As you go up these mountains, the trees get shorter and shorter and the views get longer and longer. This area of stunted trees is called the krummholz zone. The trees are stunted due to stress from the wind and cold weather. Then the trees end and you enter the alpine zone which has very fragile plants. Should be nice hiking this week.
Date: 2011-07-06
From: Greenleaf Hut

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

Today's hike was dedicated to the memory of Momma Mac. She passed last week at a ripe old age and her funeral was today. Her son, Mac, is a very good friend of mine who I have known since childhood. It is very special to have a friend for that long, and I have fond memories of Mac's mom when I went over to play at his house. Today their family and our circle of friends gathered to honor her life. We like to think we were there in spirit and hope all are well in this difficult time.The hike from Greenleaf Hut to Mt. Lafayette (5260 feet) was straight up. You don't waste anytime gaining elevation in the Whites. The view up on Franconia Ridge was by far the best I have experienced on the A.T. The peaks of Mt. Liberty (4260 feet), Little Haystack (5089 feet), Mt. Lincoln (5089 feet) and Mt. Lafayette make up the Franconia Ridge and were all clearly visible. We then moved north along the exposed ridge above tree line in the Alpine Zone, drop down some, and then climbed up again to our lunch spot on Mt. Garfield (4500 feet).Wow, such a nice day to be up there hanging out. This scenery is as good as it gets anywhere on the east coast. This is the best of the A.T.Tonight we are staying at another hut called Galehead. Yes, it turns out to be a very windy spot. This hut, like all the huts, are off the grid. All electrical power is generated by a windmill and some solar panels on the roof. As I write this, a storm is blowing in and the windmill is whipping around big time.Tomorrow will be our biggest day in the Whites as we will be staying at AMC's Highland Center in Crawford Notch. It will be a long day and a long hike. The last 5 miles are fortunately downhill. So far we are both healthy and starting to feel stronger.
Date: 2011-07-07
From: Galehead Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Pushed on today passed the next hut, Zealand Falls, to Crawford Notch and we are staying at AMC's Highland Center. Yes, we are getting spoiled by not having to camp out every night. It is really nice and we are taking full advantage to make this part of the hike extra special.The storm that blew in last evening at Galehead dumped a ton of rain on us off and on all night. By morning it had stop but we were socked in with heavy clouds and fog. Visibility was minimal at Galehead. So when we climbed up to Twin Mountain from the hut we really couldn't see anything even though we eventually rose above tree line. The walking though was the easiest today in quite a while. Finally some terrain where you could make some reasonable progress. Yesterday, the7 mile hike took 7 hours. Today the first 7 miles only took 4 hours.As we hiked the wind kicked up and knock us around some in the more exposed areas. It also helped clear out the clouds and the sun broke through and burned off the fog. In the end it turned out to be a really nice day and the weather looks promising for the next couple of days.Fast Forward slipped and sprained her thumb today as she tried to catch herself on the way down. It is a bit swollen but she is going to be fine. She is putting some ice on it this evening to get the swelling down.Tomorrow we climb back up to the ridge line out of Crawford Notch and begin the long approach to Mt. Washington. We will be staying at another really cool hut called Lake of the Clouds, which sits right at the base of the final climb to the Mt. Washington. Saturday we summit the highest peak in the northeast at 6288 feet.
Date: 2011-07-08
From: Crawford Notch

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: fog

11.1 milesWe climbed out of Crawford Notch to the ridge and spent the rest of the day in the Alpine Zone. The views were breathtaking. Mts. Pierce, Eisenhower, Franklin and Monroe, all over 4000 feet. This section is by far the most impressive I have seen so far on the A.T. It was a perfect sunny day, thank goodness. This would be a really bad place to be in a storm. We have been so lucky with the weather.And now another chapter in our continuing series titled "The People You Meet on the Trail". I met a young fella the other day who was thru-hiking the trail. He had made it all the way up from Georgia and volunteered that he had determined that the best trail food for hikers is Oreo Cookies. He said that it was all he needed to stay fueled and to keep hiking. He explained that each cookie is full of calories and made with flour and milk. He was dead serious. I chimed in that I loved the double stuffed Oreos. He responded that they are even better.Another, more impressive, hiker we met is an old lady from the south who is trying to complete the trail. When I say old, think really old, like your Grandmother old. She has to be in her low 80s. And she moves like she is that old. She started hiking the trail about 40 years ago, and only has sections in New Hampshire and Maine left to get done. We met her at Greenleaf Hut and then saw her again today up on the ridge hiking away. I couldn't believe my eyes. Absolutely amazing that someone her age is still hiking on these mountains.
Date: 2011-07-09
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Mt. Washington
Miles today: 1.4

The weather got the better of us today. Last night we stayed at the Lakes of the Clouds hut which sits just below the summit of Mt. Washington. It is truly a special place. At 5050 feet, the two natural spring fed lakes are the two highest lakes east of the Mississippi River. The hut itself is the largest and busiest of the AMC huts in the White Mountains. They were booked solid last night and can accommodate about 90 guests. The sunset from the hut last night was gorgeous. I hope the pictures I took do it justice. The rain that was predicted arrived shortly after sundown and by morning the whole area was socked with fog. Visibility was limited to 50 feet and winds ranged from 20 to 40 mph gusts. Not ideal conditions to hike up to the summit of Mt. Washington, but the weather report indicated by mid-day the sun would burn off the fog and the clouds would clear for another sunny day. So we took our time leaving the hut this morning thinking that we would make the short 1.4 mile climb to the top of Mt. Washington (6288 feet) and then hang out at the summit building until the weather cleared before continuing on to Madison Hut.Ah, the best laid plans. The weather actually got worse. A lot worse. By noon, the wind had picked up to an average speed of 54 mph with gusts topping out at 62 mph. Temperature was 41 degrees with the wind chill at 32 degrees. Yikes! Meanwhile, they were holding a bike race up the 8 mile long Auto Road, which runs from the valley up to the top of Mt. Washington. Maybe you have seen one of those bumper stickers that read, "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington." Those guys were whipped and cold when they came into the summit building after completing the race. One fella made the climb on a unicycle. After hanging out for a while in the summit building, part of our group went out to continue the hike and came back 20 minutes later after Breezy literally got knocked off her feet from a gust of wind. We then realized that it was not going to be safe to hike to Madison Hut today since we would be above treeline the whole time and subject to the wrath of the wind. In fact, we later heard that two hikers were "holding onto a rock on Wildcat Ridge" and needed to be rescued because of the weather. So, not wanting to be the next party in need of rescue, we took our medicine and did the smart thing. We hopped onto a shuttle van down the Auto Road to Pinkham Notch. Then Old Goat was kind enough to give us a ride to Gorham for the night. Of course, it is really nice down here in the valley. Sunny, 72 degrees. Bizarre, I mean totally bizarre. It is true what they say, Mt. Washington has the worst weather in the world.Tomorrow we will go back to Pinkham Notch and take the shuttle back up to Mt. Washington and then hike north across the rest of the Presidential Range and then descend down to Joe Dodge Lodge in Pinkham Notch. It will be a long 13 mile hike that will put us right back on schedule, weather permitting.
Date: 2011-07-10
From: Mt. Washington

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

What a long and difficult day of hiking. We are exhausted. We took a shuttle back to the top of Mt. Washington this morning and lo and behold, the weather was perfect. Very little wind with clear skies and sunshine. So we ended up hiking the entire length of the Northern Presidentials, to include Mts. Clay, Jefferson, Sam Adams, Adams and Madison. It took all day because we hiked on top of rocks the entire way. Huge boulder fields were the norm. The going was very slow because each step had to be measured and carefully executed. The descent from the top of Mt. Madison (5366 feet) down into the Great Gulf Wilderness was particularly gruesome. Thirty years ago my good friend Nevin and I made that climb up to Mt. Madison via the same trail. It whooped us young bucks then and it certainly wasn't any easier today.The highlight of the day has to be our first moose sighting. We have been eyeing all the lakes and bogs thinking that was where we had the best chance of seeing a moose. But a moose was hanging out just off the trail on the slope south of Madison Spring Hut. He was grazing like a cow above treeline on the local vegetation. The animal was massive. From the neck down he looked like a thick brown farm working horse with no tail. From the neck up he just looked silly. Big snout, huge pointy ears with a goofy looked on his face. They say they have poor eyesight and are not very bright, and that is exactly the impression he made on me. Nevertheless, it was very cool to see such a massive creature in the wild.
Date: 2011-07-11
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: fog

The hike out of Pinkham Notch up to Wildcat Mountain was a 3 mile climb gaining 2400 feet in elevation. Portions of the climb consisted of a series of rock wall faces that we literally crawled up with our hands. Very strenuous and tiring after yesterday's long hike. But the end of the hike was really nice. We arrived at our last stop on the "Hut to Hut Tour" around mid-afternoon. Carter Notch Hut sits between Wildcat Mountain and Carter Dome and next to two small ponds.When we arrived, we wasted no time in ditching the packs and going for a swim. It felt great to get rinsed off after the hike. Swimming in mountain lakes is very refreshing. The Hut is the first and oldest of the AMC huts. It was built in 1914 and, unlike all of the other huts, has separate buildings for the dining, sleeping and washroom facilities. The dining hall is the original building with walls of stone. It is supposedly haunted by the original Hutmaster who built the hut.Passing Through had to pull out today and head home. He was going to continue his section hike of the trail up to Gorham this year but he injured himself during that long hike we did yesterday over the Northern Presidentials. His achilles tendons on both legs tightened up rock solid making it painful to walk. It was great meeting him and sharing our hiked of NH together. Passing Through is a high school history teacher from the Gettysburg, PA area. He will be back on the A.T. next summer to finish his section hike of the trail.Tomorrow we are going to try to get all the way to Gorham, and then take a zero day off and rest our bodies for the hike into Maine. It will also be our last day in the White Mountains.
Date: 2011-07-12
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: fog

We have completed the White Mountains! They were by far the most difficult hiking and rugged mountains I have encountered on this hike of the A.T. They are also the most awe inspiring. Nothing really compares to their size and grandeur. So, it is a big relief to have those intimidating monsters behind us. We have knocked out about 140 miles so far with less than 300 miles to go to reach Katahdin. And, we are only 16 miles from Maine.But first, we are going to catch our breath here in Gorham, NH and take a zero day tomorrow. We have hiked for 16 consecutive days, and our feet are tired and sore. After the long day crossing the Northern Presidentials, and then the climb up and over the Wildcat Range, we did some serious miles today over the Carter Range. They included summits of Carter Dome (4832 feet), South Carter (4458 feet), Middle Carter (4610 feet), and North Carter (4539 feet). It looked like it might rain all day, but it never did. It was nice and cool until we dropped down into the valley where it was quite warm.Three boxes were waiting for us when we checked into the Royalty Inn here in Gorham. One is the gear we mailed up here from North Woodstock that we didn't need to carry because of our use of the AMC Huts. The second is our resupply box of food for the next section into Maine. And the third is a box from REI with my new NeoAir inflatable air mattress. I will get all that stuff sorted out tomorrow. I am content to just lie around this evening and watch MLB's All-Star Game.
Date: 2011-07-13
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Nothing really much to tell about this day other than we basically tried to do nothing other than sleep, eat, and sleep some more. It was great. We also spent some time using The Royal Inn's whirlpool tub, which rejuvenated our tired legs. By evening we were feeling much better and looking forward to getting back on the trail and heading north.