morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-08-19
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: South Jacobs Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

8/19/13: We left around our normal time 8:30am. WE all five of us were hustling to get to a place about a mile down the trail. This house is Bill Ackley's house and he is located right on the trail. He provides us water, free ice cream and a game of croquet. Of course we all were playing and Lone Wolf won. So at noon, we were all celebrating with shots of whiskey...yuck, but I was a team player and joined in.Others who were there were Snuggles, T1000, And Stuff and Lazy Boy. It was so much fun while other hikers started to join us. Bill is a retired doctor from Cambridge, Mass.We hiked over Smart Mountain which is over 2,000 feet. I guess these recent climbs is getting us ready for the White Mountains. WE stealth camp at South Jacobs Brook which is one of the best campsites we have found yet.Salsa
Date: 2013-08-20
From: South Jacobs Shelter

To: Jeffers Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: broken clouds

8/20/13: First thing we did was climb Mt. Cube and it was a long hike. We stopped at Hiker Hostel in Warren, NH and decided not to stay as it was really crowded and next to a loud street. We all really enjoy stealth camping much more than being around a lot of other tents where it is usually noisy in the morning.We hitched to Warren to a deli to resupply and finally met up with Miss Janet a well known trail angel. We met her back on our day 5 of the trail at Gooch Gap, GA. She is currently helping the HIker HOstel and is traveling up north with her van helping out hikers. She offered to take us up to Mt. Mousaluk so we can slack pack the first mountain in the Whites. So off we went at night to find us a stealth camp site where Miss Janet will pick us up in them morning.Tomorrow is a big day as we begin the next seven days of hiking the White Mountains.Salsa
Date: 2013-08-21
From: Jeffers Brook Shelter

To: Kinsman Notch
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: overcast clouds

8/21/13: We are slack packing today! We are going southbound which is so strange. WE got on the trail by 10am. Suposedly this mountain is one of the easiest of the Whites and it was so hard going up. I am glad that we were going southbound and not going down these rocks. There were boulders to hoist yourself over and they were going straight up. At the same time it was so beautiful because the trees were so big and followed an amazing waterfall and river. The smell of white pine and spruce was awesome. We were pulling our bodies and packs over boulders with the help of rebar and stacked steps. At the tope we were above tree line which means there were no more trees and lots of small rocks. You could see for miles all around you and it was sunny and warm with little clouds. It was breath taking and we were very excited to have started the White Mountains. WE have been hearing about how hard it is going to be from here and throughout Maine. This is going to be our biggest challenge and we will probably not be going 15-20 miles per day...in fact more like 8-10 miles. We were done hiking by 3:30pm and tomorro we will be hiking Mt. Kinsman.Salsa
Date: 2013-08-22
From: Kinsman Notch

To: Kinsman Stream
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: light rain

8/21/13: OMG!!! This was the most difficult climb I have ever done in my whole life. It was so challenging and yet really fun. You really had to do some strategic thinking on how was the best way to get up the mountain. so you don't get hurt. I can definitely see how hikers get hurt on these trails. We saw Emperor today. We met him way back around Damascas. He flipped flopped. He hurt himself and was off about 3-4 weeks so he made it to Harpers Ferry, VA and then decided to fly up to Katahdin and then come south. That way, he would be sure to get through the north before they close it down due to snow and weather.Oh by the way, we have done over 1,800 miles today!Salsa
Date: 2013-08-23
From: Kinsman Stream

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 2.9
Weather: light rain

8/23/13: We stopped at Lonsome Lake Hut. There are huts along the AT in the White Mountains where people can stay in bunks and are given breakfast and dinner. None of the thru-hikers stay at this place as it cost over $100 per person to stay. This was our first hut that we came to and it was 9am. I went in there and saw that breakfast was done but saw a few pancakes sitting on a plate. I asked if we could eat them and they gave us the rest of their oatmeal and pancakes. I offered to clean our dishes in return.We made it back into Lincoln, NH to resupply and stayed at Chet's Place. He has convereted his garage with bunks and cots. That night there were over 30 people staying at his place including tents in his backyard. We were able to take showers and laundry. Twix and I were able to secure a double bed in the garage on the floor. Around 2am, there were some loud noises coming from a hiker who was sleeping on the floor. I woke up and say Gray Wolf holding onto a hiker. I get up and asked what was happening and then saw clearly that this hiker was having an epileptic seizure. We got him a towel and just held him until it was over. It took a long time before he was responding. I woke up Miss Janet who was in the house and she came out to help us. We decided to call 911. I went outside to wait for the ambulance and met the town police. It took the ambulance at least 45 minutes to get there. I have been trying to find out how he is doing but I think he is fine because after about an hour he was doing better. The good thing was only a few of us were up and the rest were all able to sleep.Salsa
Date: 2013-08-24
From: Franconia Notch

To: Garfield Pond
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: scattered clouds

8/24/13: Today we left Chet's Place (a little tired) to start hiking up to Franconia Ridge. It was so beautiful and several mountains we had to climb all above tree line level. Since it was the weekend, there were lots of day hikers there. Regardless, this was the best climb and view so far. It was getting later in the day, so we needed to climb down and over towards Garfield Mountain. It was a straight down and straight up. We decided not to hike up Garfield Mt and stealth camp at Garfield Pond. Unfortunately, we have not had really good water sources so we had to get our water from this pond that had a bunch of frogs. It was pretty slimy water but it still tasted ok...just don't look at it.It is hard to find stealth campsites so we did find a spot where a weekend hiker couple was there. We asked her if we could tent with them and she was not receptive. So while we were getting our water at the pond, we were talking to the guy and he was ok with it. So we crashed this site with about five tents and a couple of hammocks. Bella slept with us that night.Salsa
Date: 2013-08-25
From: Garfield Pond

To: Ethan Pond Trail
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: few clouds

8/25/13: Garfield Mountain was straight up and down. I am beginning to like the straight up and down hikes. It gets you up and over faster. There were lots of ups and downs and some ridge trails. South Twin Mountain had some great views. We passed Zealand Falls Hut and it was full and the dinner smell was so good. We stealthed near Ethan Pond Trailhead with expected rain tonight. Big Spoon and Brain Damage joined our campsite. We saw Tracy McGhee today and she was doing well. Lighthouse carries his guitar with him so he had that out tonight and was singing to us. We had four days of food with us however with all this hard hiking, I have been eating it all up. So after two days, we already need to resupply. So we will be resupplying at Crawford Notch which is the last stop before Mt. Washington. Also this morning, I told the guys that they can go ahead and hike without us i.e. they don't have to wait for us, because particularly because of me, I have been really slow hiking and I don't want to slow them up. Salsa
Date: 2013-08-26
From: Ethan Pond Trail

To: Webster Cliffs
Miles today: 11.2

8/26/13: It rained all night and didn't get up and started till 11:30am. I hate packing up all our wet things. The first seven miles went fairly good. It was clearly the most easiest part of the White Mountains. We saw Food Walker in a parking lot so we asked if he didn't mind taking us 3 miles down the road to a little general store to resupply. We just missed Tracy McGhee.Around 4pm, we started to climb Mt. Webster which of course was straight up. It was misting, windy and getting dark when we were close to summiting which was around 7pm. I was getting alittle anxious about finding a stealth campsite. We passed Tracy almost at the top. We were climbing up over huge boulders and walking on the ridges with winds and rain hitting you. We were almost out of water and was about to start taking water out of puddles that were forming on top of boulders. Twix found a little standing water and started to try and filter it. I decided to continue hiking to try and find a campsite. About .4 down the trail and about 20 feet from the trail, I found a little flat spot perfect for our little tent. We set up camp and were in our tent by 8:30pm. It was wet and cold outside and we were warm and toasty in our tent.Salsa
Date: 2013-08-27
From: Webster Cliffs

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

8/27/13: We got up early and started at 6:45am. We knew were the guys (Bluegrass, Lone Wolf and Home Brew) were suppose to be which was about two more miles past us. We didn't make it because we ran out of day light. Even though they were ahead, we were hoping that we could meet up with them possibly. After about two miles we came up on Mizpah Hut. We saw about four other hikers in the mess hall who were signed up for "work for food." We just joined them in the line for breakfast and then did dishes after were done. Once again, we had pancakes and oatmeal...yum. Our destiny today is Mt. Washington which is the second highest peak on the AT at 6,288 feet. There were lots of rock climbing however it was good and relatively easy especially after the Lake of the Clouds Hut. For quite a while we were at "alpine" level. At 6:30pm, we made it to Madison Spring Hut and saw four hikers sitting in the back of the hut (Dorothy, Smoky, Balto, and ?). Bluegrass, Lone Wolf, Home Brew and Lighthouse made it there just a few minutes before we did and were planning to go another .6 miles to stealth camp. I really didn't want to go with them because it was .6 off the AT down a steep slope. So I thought I would just go in and talk to the hut leader and see if we could do any "work for stay" which means we could sleep inside the hut. Bill said we could stay and have dinner with them but he would need us to work the breakfast the next day...so heck yes we would stay! We had lasagna for dinner and eggs and coffee cake for breakfast for exchange of sweeping the floors and cleaning windows.   That night we slept under the tables in the mess hall. Salsa
Date: 2013-08-28
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

8/28/13: Well we all were sleeping under the tables when around 2am, we heard a big crash coming from the bunkroom. The bunks are three high and I guess one of the hikers went to step on the ladder and missed a step and ended on the floor. I heard the lady got up and said she was fine so I just stayed in my sleeping bag. I saw her walk to the restroom so I guess she was really ok. It really was not a good sleep under the tables but we were warm and dry. We stepped outside until all the customers ate and then we came in and ate and completed our chores. We met some really nice section hikers at this hut. Later we saw them on the trail. Some good news from Keen, they are replacing Twix's boots and they will be sending it to Pinkham Notch. We made it to Pinkham Notch before the rain came. Rock and Roll (a couple from Ashville, NC) offered a ride to the Gorham, NH Motor Inn where they were staying too.Salsa
Date: 2013-08-29
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Wildcat Mountain
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: light rain

8/29/13: We decided to stay at the hotel one more night. We are pretty beat up and exhausted from hiking the Whites but really didn't want to take a "zero" day yet. So we got the bright idea to hitch back up to Pinkham Notch and hike up Wildcat Mountain and then take a ski gondola down the mountain. We heard that this next 3.5 miles is mostly hand over foot climb so we left our backpacks in the hotel and did this portion of the trail. It was of course in the rain but it was the most fun and hard. I am so glad we were not going southbound. We were done in about three hours and back in our hotel 1pm. What a great hike. Tomorrow we will take the gondola up the trail and continue the rest of the 18 miles back to Gorham US2. We also really needed to stay here another day anyway because Twix's boots did not arrive yet.It took us a while to hitch back into town as it seems that New Hampshire is not as friendly to hitch hiking.   After about 30 minutes, we got a ride back from a guy from Quebec who was also here hiking Mt. Washington and just finished Katahdin two days ago. Oh by the way, congratulations to Salad Days and Riskit who just summited Katahdin!Salsa
Date: 2013-08-30
From: Wildcat Mountain

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 10.3

I will be updating this and the next couple of entries later with pics. Right now we are having problems with internet so stay tuned. Picture - Bella in the Gondola.Well we are planning on finishing the next few mountains i.e. Wildcat, Moriah, etc and then we are done with the White Mountains. Bluegrass, Lone Wolf, Aquaman and Home Brew still needed to start from Pinkham Notch and do the 3.5 miles that is straight up so Bluegrass asked if we could take Bella up the Gondola with us and have her hike with us for the next couple of days or if they catch up to us.By the way, I have had a number of questions from family and friends on how Bella is doing? She is doing great. For the first week on the trail and probably still recovering from lyme disease, she took an easy. Bluegrass carried her pack and then after about a week, she started carrying her pack. She has been doing very well and just like all of us, is really tired by the end of the day. She is so happy and athletic and can do better than any of us crawling up those rocks.So off we go starting on the gondola up to finish the Wildcat Mountain. It was really a tough day of climbing and descents. This day was my most frustrating day of my whole AT hike. Probably because I was tired and I fell twice. The first fall was on top of Carter's Dome and it was a uncontrolled fall. I landed on my bad knee and cutting up my knee cap and both my wrists got bumped up too. I was mad also because I couldn't find the trail right away off Carter's Dome and started off on the wrong trail. Everything started to fall apart. I finally got caught up to Twix all dirty, sweaty, sore and mad. We continued together and while on a straight down descent, I fell again. Basically slipping down a wet rock with my bad leg pinned underneath me. On top of this, I was low on water and we were getting low light and was not finding a stealth campsite. I don't have a headlamp anymore as somehow, my Petzel headlamp got swapped out for a non-working Black Diamond headlamp back at Chet's Place. So in short, we needed to find a campsite soon and get off these rocks before it got dark.Twix found a campsite off the trail around 7:45pm. We basically decided to eat up our dry food and not cook since it was getting late and we were exhausted and really wanted to go to sleep. Bella had been so good today. The last two miles, it did start to rain, so Twix took off her pack and carried her pack so she wouldn't get chaffed skin.We got our tent site set up and I slept so good. Tomorrow should be a better day and the last day in the Whites.Salsa
Date: 2013-08-31
From: Imp Campsite

To: Gorham, NH US2 White Mountain Lodge/Hostel
Miles today: 8.0

We got up at 7am and on the trail by 8am. It was another hard hike but the best thing is that we found some water just before Imp Campsite. We summitted Mt. Moriah several times and got some good views. It was suppose to rain but it looks like we will be getting some blue skies this morning. I woke up very sore for the first time ever. It must because of the falls that I took yesterday...ugh. We were hoping to get to US2 by 3pm and get into the White Mounatin Lodge and Hostel which is located right on the AT. I managed to fell another three times, all of them right down to the ground. The last two miles of our hike was the easiest that I have ever seen since Virginia. It was nice to stretch out your stride and legs. I was moving pretty good and on my third fall, I landed right on the ground slipping on a slick, wet rock. Bella was right in front of me about 30 feet facing me. She was walking towards me when she saw me on the ground. Her eyes go huge and began to sprint towards me. Once she got to me, she started to nudge me on my bad leg to get up. When I just wanted to lay there, she came over and licked me on my face. I finally got up. I must to be completely tired which my body is telling me or rather screaming at me. I might have to take a zero day tomorrow to get rested before we go through the Mousics in southern Maine.Today, we are now under 300 miles to go. Now is not the time to push it and to take our time in order to avoid any injury.We made it to the Hostel by 3pm and boy was this a beautiful place. We right away stepped into a room in the garage where we had a variety of clothes to choose from. We gave Marna (the owner) our dirty clothes and she washed them for us. Her hostel was full and I also found out that her son, Nimbles is also a NOBO. Last time I saw him was in Lincoln, NH at Chet's Place. He was near the hiker that had the epiletic seizure. Later that night, Bluegrass and the rest made it also into town where we delivered Bella to the Hiker Paradise Hostel.Twix and I are in a small bunkroom with Odie, Pachoulli and Dorothy. I just want to summarize what I think of the Whites. For me, it was a love/hate relationship. I loved the views, challenge, work opportunities at the huts, and meeting other hikers. I hated the fact that there were limited stealth campsites, limited water resources and getting frustrated at times at the climbs and only being able to go about 10 miles a day. Now, I just accept the fact that it is going to be a challenge for the next 200 miles so deal with it.I can't wait to go to bed!Salsa
Date: 2013-09-01
From: Gorham, NH US2 White Mountain Lodge/Hostel

To: Gorham, NH US2 White Mountain Lodge/Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

There...we finally did it, another zero day. I think the last time we zeroed was in Great Barrington, MASS so I guess we deserve a well needed day off. We got up around 8am and Marnie (owner of White Mountain Hostel) had a big breakfast ready for us. She cooked us breakfast burrito, hashbrowns, sausages and homemade muffins. We basically laid around and watch movies all morning. Later we walked around their 7 acres and sat outside by the spring fed pond. It was so relaxing. Later we went into town to resupply and eat dinner. There is a full house again tonight so we are glad to be here. Tomorrow, I heard that there is 80% chance of rain. We will continue to have lots more rocks and boulders. In a couple of days, we will get to the Mahoosuc Notch which I heard is the hardest mile on the whole AT. It is where you have to climb over and under with and without your pack. I guess it takes around three to five hours to go one mile. Oh boy...can't wait.On a sadder note, I heard that our friend Goldilocks dislocated her shoulder somewhere after Mt. Washington. I don't have any other information, so I hope she is doing better. I can definitely see how you can get yourself hurt.Well looking forward to going back to bed again. We will be meeting with Bluegrass in the morning so we all can hike out together and start our new challenge ... in MAINE!Thank you all for your support so far. We are doing well and it won't be long before we can see you all!Salsa
Date: 2013-09-02
From: Gorham, NH US2 White Mountain Lodge/Hostel

To: Gorham, NH US2 White Mountain Lodge/Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

Yes we did it again - another zero. Woke up to pouring down rain, thunder and lightning. In fact everyone here decided to stay at the hostel. Most of the hikers have been here at least three days. We just don't want to leave because it is so comfortable here at the White Mountain Hostel. Our breakfast was cr me de French toast. I never had it before and it was so good. Marnie asked Dorothy and I what we wanted for tomorrow's breakfast and we both wanted eggs with vegetables. For the most part, most of the hikers have to start at Wildcat Mountain which is about 2 1/2 days back so we probably won't see them unless they catch up to us or if we find another hostel that we just can't leave.Twix got her boots yesterday so she should be set for the rest of the trail. Patchouli looked at my Black Diamond headlamp and got it to work. I am excited because I guess there are caverns and caves to explore around the Mahoosuc Notch so we will need our headlamps. This extra day of rest has been a blessing for my legs and Twix's feet. Bluegrass's knees aren't doing well either so we should be much better to go by tomorrow. Bella has been playing all day in the rain out in the pond and we all have been watching movies all day inside which also include a few naps throughout the day.
Date: 2013-09-03
From: Gorham, NH US2 White Mountain Lodge/Hostel

To: Page Pond
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: mist

Well, after thinking about what I said about the Whites...I really don't hate a portion of it. It was just the sixth day, I was just tired. After looking back, it was a wonderful experience and after thinking about it again, the hardness and frustration is what makes your experience that much more treasurable. So that is all I am going to say.It was so hard leaving Marnie's place. It was just so comfortable and great to just lay around and be with such good friends. Today was a pretty cold day. I fell again on a rock face and the rock was made up of mica and quartz so it scraped a lot of skin off my left elbow and down my arm. I should have taken a different route on this rock face but it was wet. Tonight we stopped early, around 4:30pm. Our first day out of town and we were tired. We stealthed camped with Dorothy and Clover and built a great fire to end the day. I love stealth camping as it is so quiet.Tomorrow we should be in Maine!Salsa
Date: 2013-09-04
From: Page Pond

To: Mt. Carlo
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We had some great views on Mt. Success. The trail was pretty good but still had some rocks to climb. I guess it is getting us ready for Mahoosuc Notch which is nothing but a climb down huge, jumbled up boulders in between two mountains. We are all looking forward for tomorrow.We are starting to see leaves turn yellow and the sugar maples are dropping their beautiful red and pink leaves. As you are looking down when on top of a mountain, you can start to see the very top of the canopies starting to turn to their fall colors. It is so beautiful and can't wait for another couple of weeks.We are in Maine today! We have past the 1900 mile mark. The days are getting shorter and colder. The nights have been in the high 30's to mid-40's. I heard that we may see snow on Katahdin. That is okay just as long as we don't see it before.Salsa