morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-14
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Firewardens Cabin
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: light rain

"Isn't it ironic, don't you think? A little bit too ironic."This morning we slept in and didn't start hiking until 9:00. We had a good morning and were at Lyme/Dorchester road at 1:00. Since we had no way to purify water we hitched into town to get safe water at the town store. We really lucked out and a woman and her son gave us a ride into town and then back out to the trail. At the store we were able to buy powerade and icecream cones and fill up our water bottles. Then when we returned to the trail we walked about 100 feet and there was a sign reading "free water." The arrow pointed to a house right off the trail. We decided to check it out. The nicest old man came out and talked to us. He has his own little statistics sheet that he keeps about hikers. He recorded all our statistics and gave us organic Fudgesicles -- mmm! He also let us eat lunch on his back porch surrounded by his perfectly manicured gardens. He brought out binoculars and bird books and regaled us with details of his sightings over the years. He even offered to let us use his bathroom before departing. We found out he got married at the same age as us and is still happily married 52 years later. Anyway, he was really nice and it was a wonderful place for lunch!After lunch we went uphill for 6 miles until the shelter. It was rigorous. About 2 miles before the end we reached a lookout where you could see the firetower at which we were camping. It was straight up a huge mountain ... rather intimidating. The view from the mountaintop tower was incredible. Seeing the Whites up close was daunting. There is a fun group at the shelter tonight. Lots of funny conversations.
Date: 2006-08-15
From: Firewardens Cabin

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 12.0

Today was one of those days where you get lost in thought and all of a sudden you are at the shelter. I was thinking about the book I'm writing and how to go about it. I think I have decided the style I want to use. I'm excited to work on this project when I return from the trail. It would be a lot easier if I had a laptop and could write more flexibly. I have a feeling my computer will die soon anyway.Going down Smarts mountain wasn't too bad. And we went up Cube mountain next which had wonderful views. There were fun rock scrambles. Then another wonderful downhill. But on top of Cube Mountain we stopped for lunch. There was an awesome rock platform overlooking the mountains and valleys and I found a two person "recliner" from which to enjoy the view. We watched the clouds and relaxed in the sun.Souleman isn't feeling great. We are pretty sure he has a fever and he is achey. We are hoping it isn't anything too serious like giardia or anything. It really is unfortunate that our water purifier died. The other guys at the shelter tonight (TrainWreck and MacGyver) let us borrow their AquaMira so we are OK for tonight.Oh, we saw HUGE moose tracks today in the mud. Those sneaky, sneaky moose. We better see one soon!You know, it's the simplest things that cause pleasure out here. For instance, today I splashed my face with cold water from a stream and it was the best feeling ever. And tonight the watersource was a spring that was frigidly cold. Drinking it was phenomenal!
Date: 2006-08-16
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: Jeffers Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

We woke up planning to do 15 miles today. But then fate intervened. We walked 7.5 miles rather quickly and got to a hostel where we were planning to get water since our purifier is broken. We got water, had lunch and hung out with Rising Sun. The hostel owners told us that a huge group of Northbounders headed into the Whites today. Since we don't want to be heading through the Whites with a horde of people, we were easily persuaded by Rising Sun to change our schedule a little bit. So we only had a miles further to go with our new schedule. We watched Fletch (who can resist Chevy Chase?), checked our email and bank accounts and generally rested. We were all set to head out when someone came in with a huge sandwich from the store. Simultaneously someone else put in the movie Goodwill Hunting. So I watched the movie and journaled while Souleman read his White Mountain book. Then he went to the store to get us sandwiches (we had sandwich envy). He let me stay because I wasn't feeling well. I think I have a fever. I probably have whatever Souleman had a couple days ago. I'm trying to hydrate. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow because it is rumored to be the hardest day on the trail yet. I'm lucky he let me rest and relax. He treats me really well.Goodwill Hunting was an interesting movie to watch while on the trail. In it Robin Williams' character talks about how you have to experience life, not just know about it. The example was that reading a book about Michalangelo doesn't let you know what it feels like to stand inside the Sistine Chapel. Reading Oliver Twist doesn't mean you know what it is like to be an orphan. This is so true. Definitely the trail is one of those things you have to experience to understand.
Date: 2006-08-18
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 8.8

Even with our challenging and late night last night, we were up and hiking shortly after 7:00. Our day started with a relentless and endless uphill. There were at least four false summits. When we reached the actual peak we had good views and could see that there was a second peak about a mile away. After the summit the trail was supposed to be downhill all the way to the road to town. Of course it wasn't really downhill or easy. We went by our first hut in the WhiteMountains (enclosed buildings run by the Appalachian Mountain Club at which people pay huge amounts of money to sleep and eat two meals). We stopped in for lunch. Each of us had a bowl of potato dill soup and some PB/chocolate bars. Mom and Windtalker and CarBomb and Lichen were there. We hiked with the latter two toward the road.We quickly settled at the Carriage Motel in North Woodstock, NH. Lying down on a mattress after showering was positively Heavenly. Our battered, bruised bodies were extremely grateful for time to recover and relax. I can't believe we still have most of the Whites ahead of us.
Date: 2006-08-19
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 0.0

A standard zero day.Additionally, we ran into Chubster (Jim) and his friend (Victor?). They did trail magic for us back in MA. They were up here hiking in the Whites for the weekend. We hung out with them this evening after we went to dinner. Before dinner we taught ourselves to play shuffleboard. Spending time with those guys was fun and a nice surprise. Chubster lives near my parents so we might get to hang out post-trail! (Thanks guys for a fun evening).
Date: 2006-08-20
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 0.0

Today we were supposed to head back out. But we would have been up on exposed ridgeline much of the day. It was raining when we woke up and the forecast called for rain/thunderstorms all day. Going up above treeline in that kind of weather is dangerous. We decided to wait another day. It is a good thing we waited too because it definitely rained all day and was cold and dreary even down in the valley. Everyone had warned us to not go on a ridge in bad weather. We spent the day sleeping and watching TV mostly. Now we should be really rested to finish the Whites.
Date: 2006-08-21
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Damn hard -- that's what today was. We hiked from 8 AM to 4:45 PM. We got up above treeline and it was horrid. We had our raincoats on and were hunkered down and miserable. The wind was 30-40 MPH and it was raining lightly. The wind whipped the rain against our skin and soaked us as we stumnbled across rocks we could barely see because of the fog. This was supposed to be the best view of the entire trail, but we literally saw nothing. It was unbelievable. We could barely stand. The temperatures dropped drastically and it felt like we would never get back to the shelter of trees. Everytime we passed a large rock or small tree we squatted down behind it to get a momentary refuge from the assaulting wind and rain. We didn't stop for lunch or any breaks because it was so miserable. The terrain was pretty awful except on the tippy top, but it was so windy there we could barely stand anyway. Twice I fell due to wind and terrain, though luckily I was OK and easily righted myself to keep going.Right now I can see my breath. This is the first night this year that it is this chilly. I feel like today warrants more of a description, but I'm simply too exhausted and cold to write.
Date: 2006-08-22
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 9.7

Today the weather gave us a break. The clouds cleared enough to afford us a view. We saw the ridge we walked yesterday -- it was rather impressive. Lincoln, Lafayette and Garfield looked daunting in good weather. We decided that it was a blessing we couldn't see off the ridges yesterday in bad weather.The hike today was pleasant. It was still challenging but not so much that it neared misery. We made it to Zealand Falls Hut around 4:30 and were able to do work for stay. (That is were you do a chore and in exchange can sleep on the floor in the dining room and eat dinner leftovers for free.) Our chore was stacking wood. The wood was poorly cut so stacking it evenly was difficult. But the chore was done soon enough. We hung out with Rising Sun until dinner.Even with the lower mileage I'm exhausted. I feel like I should be writing much more prolifically in the Whites. But the thing that stands out the most is the extreme difficulty and I just can't accurately put that into words.
Date: 2006-08-23
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Crawford Notch Campground
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: fog

Bliss. That's what today was. The trail was downhill and smooth. We easily hiked our miles with plenty of time to spare. There was a slight mishap this morning however. About half a mile into the trail there were four men stopped at a trail crossing intersection. They were blocking the trail signs. "Where are you headed?" they asked us."Maine" we answered."On the AT?" they questioned."Yep." They pointed straight. "The AT goes north that way?" we verified."Right."We passed them and hiked quickly onward. The trail was flat so we made good time. Noticing no blazes after about .3 miles, we stopped to consult our book. Two of the men from the intersection caught up and radioed to the other two to ask if they had seen blazes recently. They said yes, so on we went. Another .2 further the two men were stopped staring at a tree. I looked up and saw a blue blaze. "Is the AT always white blazes?" one of them asked. Gloomily we said yes and turned around. We were on the wrong trail. Bummed, but grateful for the easy terrain, we retraced our steps. At the first trail intersection we turned. Excited to be back on the AT we hurried along. Souleman came to a halt about .2 miles into the trail. He pointed at a yellow blaze. We were on the wrong trail -- again! Slightly less patiently we retraced our steps once again. This time we went all the way back to the first trail intersection where the men had originally directed us "north." They had in fact pointed us down the wrong trail to start with. Sigh. We had heard that the trail can be hard to follow in the Whites. I guess this will teach us to be extra cautious at trail merges. The sad part is that those four men were supposed to be on the AT too. They may still be wandering around on the mountain lost somewhere.Once we finally got back on the AT we hiked quickly. The weather was perfect -- cool enough to need longsleeves if stopped, but not warm enough to hike in shorts/t-shirt. The sun was really appreciated these last two days after rain on Franconia Ridge.When we got to Crawford Notch we hitched in to a campground. We resupplied, showered and got a campsite. Rising Sun is staying here with us. Four other thru-hikers are here too. We are all planning on hiking to Lake of the Clouds Hut tomorrow. That is one mile before the summit of Mount Washington. The climb out of Crawford Notch is supposed to be brutal. And tomorrow is the longest mileage day we have planned in the Whites. Here goes...
Date: 2006-08-24
From: Crawford Notch Campground

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Windpants and a raincoat were much appreciated today as we walked along above treeline. The hike today was pretty much entirely uphill. But it didn't seem too bad because we had wonderful views much of the day. I felt strong and energetic today. All day we stopped only once (for lunch). We ate at Mitzpah Hut. Burner, Fung Shui and Rising Sun were there too. I drank about a gallon of "all-you-can-drink" hot chocolate.All day Mount Washington loomed in front of us. We hiked steadily toward it, watching it gradually become closer and closer. The smoke from the cog train that goes up Washington was visible floating up in a black cloud as the train trudged up the mountain. We even heard the train's whistle. It's hard to believe we are only 1.5 miles from the top of the highest mountain in the northeast. Soulman is reading "Not Without Peril; 150 Years of MisAdventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire." Tomorrow we will be standing on the spot that many of these stories highlight. The highest windspeed ever recorded on Earth was on this mountaintop. Today it became easier to understand the unpredictable weather patterns up in the Whites. It is August and still we needed windpants and jackets while hiking. Many others were wearing hats and gloves. We have thought about summiting this range for so long. We're taking millions of pictures to document this part of the trail. It is beautiful but so hard. We don't think we'll be back -- at least not on foot.Now we are warm inside Lake of the Clouds Hut (fondly called Lake of the Crowds by through hikers because of the numerous guests). We planned to stay in the "dungeon," a basement storage room converted into a bunkroom. But, one look in the dungeon was all I needed to decide that work-for-stay was a better option. We washed some dishes and silverware and wiped down tables. It made our backs ache to stand at the sinks for so long. But at least we got to sleep inside and we saved $16.It's 9:00 and I'm exhausted. The Whites are beautiful, but the change in sleeping patterns is hard on thru-hikers. Hikers are usually asleep by 8, but at the huts we cannot even get our bed stuff out until 9:30 when the guests retire.I feel like my journal entries lately are all disjointed. It's annoying. My thoughts seem equally unorganized. I'll work on having more cohesive entries in the future.Souleman and I talked today and although we are both having a wonderful time, we concluded that we will be ready to finish. Luckily Katahdin looms in our near future.
Date: 2006-08-26
From: Osgood Tent Site

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: mist

I haven't had time or energy to reflect on today yet. It was another hard day in the Whites.A beautiful view from today's shelter. Pristene. Gorgeous. I wish I could capture it to share. We played spades with Fung Shui and Burner tonight as well as spending a lot of time talking with some Boy Scout leaders. A pleasant evening after a grueling day.
Date: 2006-08-27
From: Carter Notch Hut

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

Somehow we made it over 4 mountains and 15+ miles to town today. It's amazing how inspiring food and a bed can be. It helped that the last 1.5 miles was literally like a walk in the park. But the ridgeline this morning was one of the harder climbs. It also rained much of the day and we had to wear rainclothes and longsleeve shirts to stay warm. Luckily rain is not as horrible when you know you can dry and warm up in town at the end of the day. It did, however, make the rocks more slippery and dangerous. Once we got to town we stayed at a hostel and ate copious amounts of food at Burger King. Then I crashed early. I'm super excited for a day to rest and repair my aching body. The Whites took a lot out of me. I hurt everywhere. My knees are screaming, my feet aching, my back spasming. I desperately need a day off. We still have the Mahoosic Range coming up in Maine which is supposed to be much like the Whites. But, with LESS THAN 300 miles to go (wow!) we can do anything. That is LESS THAN 200 before the Hundred Mile Wilderness which is the Homestretch. Before we know it this adventure will be behind us. We are embracing it while we can.
Date: 2006-08-28
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

A lovely zero. We were up super early for a day off (due to a loud hostel). We had a HUGE breakfast (appropriately called a thru-hiker). Then quickly accomplished all of our errands including getting new tips for our hiking poles. The Whites had bent mine and completely worn Souleman's off. We should be good to go now. The Mahoosics will be an incredible challenge, but we are ready now. There is one mile in this range called the Endless Mile. It is huge boulders that have such obstacles that you must go through with a partner. It is supposed to take at least an hour for that one mile. We are looking forward to the challenge. It's hard to believe that in one day we will be in Maine. MAINE --- the final state. Incredible!It took me FOREVER to update all these journal entries. So now I am going to go lounge and hope my body can repair itself by tomorrow. Next time I write will be from Maine!(Thanks Nanny and Flanagans for the letter and package. And of course a huge thanks to mom our trip-coordinator extraordinaire for her incredible package and support!)
Date: 2006-08-29
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

Yes, yes, yes we zeroed again. But we had good reason -- I promise! We got up this morning and packed up all of our gear and prepared to head out to the trail. We stopped for lunch at Pizza Hut and while we were waiting on our food we got out our trusty old Wingfoot to make a schedule for the rest of the trail. It's crazy to think about only having two more town stops until we are totally finished. But, Rangely and Monson are our only town stops left. Anyway, we planned out our mileage and with a zero in each of those towns and really easy mileage days we would be finishing on September 22. This is great because it puts us about eight days ahead of our target finishing date (Sept 30). However, it is bad because my mom has graciously said she would meet us at Baxter to bring us home and the only two days she is definitively unavailable are the 22 and 23. So we realized we had to slow down a little bit in order to finish after the 23. This meant a double zero somewhere and after consulting Wingfoot again we saw that this town has the cheapest hotel rooms by far. It also happens to have the most food options. We hemmed and hawed and decided that all signs were pointing toward another night. The timeschedule dictated a stay, the money suggested this was the best town to choose and our still sore bodies begged a little more recovery time. So, we boxed up our leftover pizza and cinnamin sticks and headed to a hotel to check in. This is our third night in Gorham and our third sleeping location. The hostel left something to be desired, the last hotel had everything we wanted, but this hotel was definitely our best choice. We are pretty much experts on travel accomodations in Gorham, NH now.We stashed our packs and headed to the library to use the internet. During our walk through town we saw at least ten other hikers. Many were debating leaving or staying another night. This town seems to be a trap for hikers. When we arrived here Sunday night there were a handful that had been here since Thursday afternoon. I guess everyone needed some R&R after the beating the Whites dumped on all of us. We will enjoy this bonus day and then push on toward Maine. Our schedule has us finishing in 23 days. That is barely more than three weeks. It's hard to believe that we will be done that soon. We're starting to feel the pull of Katahdin strongly. It's a strange feeling to want to get somewhere so badly because you have dreamed about it forever and want to be done, and yet at the same time to want to slow down and make the journey last because once you get there it is done for good. We've had many encouraging posts on our Guestbook which remind us how lucky we are to be out here experiencing what so many can only dream about (thanks to all who posted).
Date: 2006-08-30
From: ME backwoods town

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

One more day of August. And tomorrow we enter Maine -- our last state.Todays entertainment came at lunchtime. I saw a mouse poke his head out of a hole near us. We tossed a couple cracker crumbs his way and watched as he nervously scooted around collecting them. Everytime we moved at all he would scamper back into his hole to hide. This went on for a seemingly long time and we watched in curiosity. It was like watching Animal Planet live.For some reason I really struggled this morning. My pack seemed to weigh 100 pounds, my back ached and I just could not get going. But it got better as the day went on. We hiked 12 miles and ended up at a shelter. That puts us 5 miles ahead of schedule which is great.We have a tentative summit date now -- September 22. This is the easiest as far as my parents picking us up at Katahdin. This will mean some rigorous days but we feel like we can do just about anything now with Katahdin so clse. Barely more than three weeks left. Is that even possible?A random thought: Some hikers go north, others south. Some use internal frame packs, others externalSome hike in a group, some alone.Some use poles, some do not.Some use nalgenes, others prefer water bladders.Some are male, some are female.Some are purists, some blue blaze.But I'd venture to guess that one of the few things that ALL hikers use is ziplock bags. They are so handy. They contain and protect against moisture. They are re-useable and throw-away-able. They can hold food, cameras, toothbrushes, money, Handbooks... they can even seal out the odors of dirty socks. Yep, hikers love ziplocks. The snack size, the re-sealable, the Freezer, the quart, the gallon ...
Date: 2006-08-31
From: Gentian Pond

To: campsite - 0.2 past Mahoosic Notch
Miles today: 12.2

I almost died today. Literally. We went through Mahoosic Notch. It is referred to as the Endless mile and is widely recognized to be the most difficult mile of the entire Appalachian Trail. It was definitely endless. It took us well over two hours to navigate the incredible boulder field. The end of it was especially trecherous because it had gotten dark. It was very hard to traverse nature's obstacle course with headlamps. Lightweight (another hiker) actually started after us and the three of us worked together to finish the last third. Near the beginning I slipped and fell on a rock when I was about 6 feet in the air and my packweight flung me backward. I landed on my pack (thankfully) and my butt hit a pointy rock. By some miracle my head missed all the rocks surrounding me. Another time I slid on my stomach down a steep slanted rock and just managed to catch my toe on a rock before I fell into a crevace below. Souleman had to help me a few times and I had to take my pack off twice. Once he just picked me up (pack and all) and deposited me on the other side of a huge hole. The trail literally took us through some caves and crawl spaces where we had to take our packs off to fit through. It was intense. Somehow we lived through it. We made it to a campsite after dark and went to bed without dinner. There was, however trailmagic just outside the Notch so Souleman enjoyed a cold beer before bed.It was an incredibly challenging day. But, we've officially made it to Maine. So now we are getting closer to Katahdin every step!