morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-08-05
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: broken clouds

The rain came in last night to add wetness to the misery that is the mud-bog section of the Vermont AT.April Showers and I were first out this morning and so we were first to come upon the flooded beaver pond. The trail actually went into knee-high deep water. Since we couldn't see the trail, we detoured around through the woods. We made it to VA 9 road crossing by 8:40 am and April Showers husband arrived at 8:41! He had driven her winter stuff up from Connecticut since the temps tonight were going to dip towards the 40's, which had her a bit concerned she'd turn into a popsicle. They drove me into Bennington's post office so I could pick up my third pair of hiking shoes. I did a quick change right there in the post office with everyone in line asking me all kinds of questions about the hike. I had got all their attention when I made a public apology to the entire group there in line for my Thru-hiker aroma. They all laughed, but maintained their distance. Then the three of us headed back to the trailhead, but of course I talked them into breakfast at the diner... my treat. So, not only did I get my new shoes effortlessly in a town five miles away, I also got breakfast and a couple of sandwiches to go for the trail in no less than an hour and half. How sweet is that!?We then met Luna for the first time at the trailhead, she's been hiking north since Tennessee for about three months with a large section. Luna has another month before she has to stop for school. She's hoping to get to the New Hampshire - Maine state line. All three of us hiked together to this shelter. Throughout the day the cold front moved in resulting in some chilly breezes.We have others here too and everyone chipped in to make a nice campfire. It was the perfect thing to remove the chill!Saw another moose print near the end of today, and Luna just said she heard something rather large over by the privy, but the darkness kept it a mystery. How would any of you like to experience that just before bed?Another A.T. unique experience!!
Date: 2004-08-06
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Before I talk about today, I need to mention how amazing the location of last nights shelter was. It sits on a hill without trees in front, so you can see the valley beyond... maybe 50 miles. After we all turned in, the temps continued to drop. At one point around 2 am, I noticed a glow on the inside of the shelter.I rolled around to look outside and was given a mighty treat. It was a beautiful moonrise over the valley with thin wisps of clouds. The colder temps had the air so clear, the moons brightness, although a half-wane, still lit up the shelters interior. But man-o-man was it cold! I guess low 40's. We hadn't faced temperatures like that since starting back in the springtime. Fortunately, as sunrise came, it too flooded the shelter interior and got us all moving with its warmth.I planned a long day to get me close to Manchester and its Post Offices limited hours on Saturday (closes at noon). The mileage was more than Luna & April Showers wanted to do, but I had to get my mail drop and new tent. I didn't want to hike beyond them, but I had to.By 8:30 am I came upon a perfect picture postcard; A beaver pond. The surface was like a mirror and the morning light ideal. It was a moment! I was riveted to its beauty, just couldn't make myself walk without stopping a dozen times to gaze at it!It wasn't long before I started up Stratton Mountain; the summit is covered in Balsam Fir Christmas Trees. The fragrance was like walking around a Christmas tree lot.On the summit, the sun was bright, taking the edge off this most unusual chilly day. When a cloud moved over blocking its rays the temperature plummeted to about 40. I was freezing my tukus off. I could stay and freeze or hike and get warm. I cut lunch short and moved on to get off the summit. As I dropped in elevation the warmth returned. With a few miles still to go I noticed that a moose had been walking the trail quite recently. Its hoof prints were on top of the hiker boot prints. I started to yell out "Here Moose Moose"... Why, beats me? Anyway, it's pretty wild to be walking where there are moose moving around. I mean you see horses and cow all the time, but a moose! Now that's wilderness!!
Date: 2004-08-08
From: Manchester, VT

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: light rain

We all headed to "Up for Breakfast" with our packs on. A great Belgian Waffle and double bacon order for me. But with multiple errands to run, Luna & April Showers weren't ready to head back to the trail till 11am. We hitched up to the trailhead in the back of a dump truck! Hey, what-ever works.Another brisk fall day in August. Every time we'd stop, we'd all start shivering. Tonight, we've got the shelter to ourselves and I got a fire going. The hike took us up into lots of Balsam Fir trees, or what I'm starting to call Christmas Land. The scent is just magical...very holiday-like and I'm such a big kid at heart. It reminds me of when I was four and the folks took my sister and I up to Santa's Village in the mountains surrounding Southern California. It was an enchanting place for a four year old... it was the greatest place on earth!Its cold tonight again, the girls have gone to sleep and the fire is losing its flame. Time to hop in the mummy. Goodnight from the mountains of Vermont!
Date: 2004-08-09
From: Lost Pond Shelter

To: Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 24.4
Weather: clear sky

The nice campfire I made last night for us kept reigniting off and on all night; nothing like a campfire in the woods. The temperatures had once again dipped into the 40's, I had my mummy zipped up so tight, and the only thing not covered was my nose. Luna got up first and since she was cold decided to hustle all her stuff together and start walking to warm up. We followed.Today would have us pass a lot of shelters; they seem to be very close to one another. Which gives you many options for lunch or night camp. Later at the top of White Rock Mountain, we came upon the coolest area with just hundreds of rock cairns everywhere. Some small , some large, All interesting and artful. We most certainly did, we added another three or four to the collection as well as repairing a few tumbled ones. April Showers & Luna headed to Luna's cousins house at about the 15 mile mark and since I wanted to experience the Inn at Long Trail (an AT tradition) I pushed on to make it a long day today so that it would only be a short one tomorrow into the Inn.The shelter tonight isn't recommended for us to stay at, apparently the "Towner's" come up here and raise hell since a backcountry forest road comes right to it. They don't have to carry their beer far that way. But another hiker named "Patton", whose hiking The Long Trail is here with me. We've made a nice fire and now both of us are enjoying some hot chocolate. Since it's a Monday night, we think it should be all right.Both of us are gazing up, since we have a nice opening in the tree canopy, there's suppose to be meteor activity all this week. Cool...huh? Whizzzzzzzzzz ¢Hey, there goes one.¢ Patton exclaims. If you'd all excuse me now, I have to put this pen down and start focusing on the heavens. I don't want to miss my favorite show.
Date: 2004-08-10
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: The Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 10.6

The night was uneventful, a good thing since it was a questionable shelter. The entire days miles would involve climbing then descending Mt. Killington. Killington is also a township, known as a winter play land.As I started my climb the forest grew tighter and denser, that's when I heard four bellowing snorts from the trees about a 100 feet away. I guess it could have been that moose I haven't been able to spot yet...Or Big Foot! Once again the summit was like Christmas Land filled with thousands of evergreen trees. The Inn is .9 tenths off the trail once you hit US 4, with the cars hauling by, a hitch seemed unlikely, so I walked it.I arrived at 11:29 am to find out they not only had space for me, but the kitchen opens for service and lunch in one minute. What timing!Now, some nine hours since arriving here, I've done little other than eat. My hunger over the last several days has been getting quite significant, I'm always hungry it seems! I must be getting down to the last reserves of body fat by now. That may explain the almost constant growling my stomach keeps making. I did watch a video movie of Babe; quite mindless and charming. My choices were limited to action packed explosion movies or a talking pig. There's nothing like a talking pig to relax you I always say.I've been getting really lucky on the weather for the last month now, or so it seems. Most of the storms have been coming in during the evening when I'm all tucked in, cozy and dry. It's late now (8:45 pm) or at least it is for me and a nice big thunderstorm is putting on a show. I love the sound of rain at bedtime, I only hope Luna & April Showers are dry, they're still out there, due in to here tomorrow. Judging by my planned miles tomorrow, it looks like I move past the 1700 mile mark and that also means an early start. I may not see them as a result. Out here, one short mileage day by them or a long one by you and you just might not ever see familiar faces again!But, before that... Breakfast!!
Date: 2004-08-11
From: The Inn at Long Trail

To: Wintturi Shelter
Miles today: 19.9

What happens to you after 1700 miles of backpacking? Well, you not only lose 35 pounds of baggage and build muscle fiber that laughs at 20 mile days, but you get a flexibility you may have never experienced. Flexibility has always been a weakness for me, well not anymore! The two diagrams would at one time have hospitalized me for a month. Now I do them as stretches in the shelter each night. What a long way I've come!The athleticism that also comes along with 1700 miles allows you to actually run with your pack on, even though you've already hiked 16 miles. Of course, thunder and lightening all around while you're on a ridgeline will most certainly put a bounce in your step and a sweat on your brow.At 3 pm, while taking a short break I heard thunder. I still had 4+ miles to the shelter and the trail was on top of the ridge. You don't think, you just haul. Every downhill I ran, every up hill I dug deep and lunged hard on the poles. The thunder was closing in from the side and behind. I pushed for all my lungs were worth. As I reached the blue blaze side trail to the shelter the rain started with me in a dead run! The lightening cracked a big boom just as I ducked under the roof of Wintturi Shelter. I collapsed against the back wall as the heavens opened up. A dramatic entrance for certain to the three others who were already here.
Date: 2004-08-13
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: Hanover, New Hampshire
Miles today: 26.2

Apparently Vermont didn't want me to forget her. The switchbacks that help us climb, which are the standard for most of the trail, were strangely absent! Maybe the students of the Dartmouth Outing Club who watch over this section of the AT, have been too busy with classes? The trail moves straight up the mountain stretching every muscle in the back of my legs. I suppose the trail is preparing us for what lays just over the horizon -- "The White's" of New Hampshire?Like yesterday, the rumbles in the sky started only miles from reaching Hanover. And once again I felt compelled to hike fast and hard! Fortunately, the closer I got to the Connecticut River, the Stateline of Vermont and New Hampshire, the easier the terrain became.And so, I can now say Hello from New Hampshire! This is state number thirteen and zero day number 14 or 15? My third month and fourteenth day.Being here in Hanover echo's feelings of reaching Damascus early on. It too represents a big psychological town stop since Hanover is the last big stop before we enter The Whites. So that means we need to swap out our summer stuff for our winter gear again. Yes, I know its only August 13th, but The Whites mean going above treeline, it means climbing up extremely steep mountains that offer no protection from the weather! People die every year in The Whites from exposure. They're serious stuff, and they sure have my attention!! I got my winter jacket sent to me, but have held off on my 15-degree sleeping bag and thus the extra pound it weighs over my 35-degree bag. I hope that decision won't make me shiver. Today has been spent at the Post Office, grocery store and the barber. Yep, got a shave and a haircut. I also have to rig some rope tie-downs that can attach to my tent if I have to use the tent platforms used in The Whites. The alpine vegetation is so fragile that camping can only be on designated wooden platforms. A bit unusual, but necessary I suppose. So I paid a visit to the local Ace Hardware.Its been raining a lot thanks to Hurricane Bonnie and now with Hurricane Charlie, it seems, even way up here, rain will power its way up soon. Great! That's all I need is more angst to add to entering The Whites. Oh well, I fret too much. I have about two days before I face them, maybe by then the wicked weather will have moved on leaving super clear skies and warm bright sunshine? Hey, it could happen!!As a treat, I finally was able to satisfy my month long craving for Indian food. Hanover has a couple restaurants which did the trick.
Date: 2004-08-14
From: Hanover, New Hampshire

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: scattered clouds

A very easy day out of Hanover. The trail reenters the woods here at this gas station. I'm having coffee and a chocolate croissant, while sitting on their curb. Yes, nothing but the most posh of places for me.I spotted three hawks flying with each other today, they were definitely eyeing me over. Most likely looking at my skinny carcass and saying "skip him, no more meat on those bones."The views were great in the afternoon, yesterdays rain had the skies so clear. Here with 3 others, all section hikers. I made a nice big campfire, we've all been entranced by it for the last two hours. Gotta love it! Hurricane Charley's left-overs should find us, starting after midnight and will make tomorrow a windy affair. For now, all is right with the trail!
Date: 2004-08-15
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 19.3

Worrying accomplishes nothing. Remember the weather forecast for today? Rain at midnight followed by hard rain and high winds all day compliments of Hurricane Charlie? Well, its so nice when they miss the mark completely. I woke to gray skies, but it was dry. No rain, it didn't even look like rain.Do you also remember me mentioning that the mountains were getting bigger? I had to tackle Smart Mountain right out of camp. Even as strong as I've become, it took me two hours and forty-five minutes to reach the summit. I then faced Mt. Cube after I got down the other side of Smart. Somewhere in the middle of then, the sun decided it had had enough of all the clouds and started burning them up. Yea, you go sun! What a mood changer. The views were awesome almost from everywhere you looked. So the lesson learned is, don't fret the stuff you have no influence on. It's wasted energy!Today was gorgeous; a trail blessing that was totally unexpected. Sometimes those are the best! Darkness has come and I have another campfire going. Great ambiance.Tomorrow holds some real excitement. It's called Mt. Moosilauke and it officially begins The Whites. Some say it as Moose-a-lock and then some say it as Moose-a-lock-key. The latter feels better to me since it's probably a Native-American word. But who knows, even the locals debate it. Regardless to how you say it, to climb it will leave you speechless judging by the profile maps. It will be the first 4000 foot ascent of the entire journey. It will also be the first time I hike above tree line. This takes us up into an alpine environment, so there should be much to talk about tomorrow night. Stay tuned.
Date: 2004-08-18
From: North Woodstock

To: North Woodstock
Miles today: 0.0

Belle drove up from Cape Cod to pick me up in North Woodstock. Her friends Nat and Terry Bull have a wonderful home in Franconia Ridge. Wonderful because its wonderful¢¦ and wonderful because they built the entire thing themselves! What an accomplishment! This was the first time I'd actually seen Belle in ¢normal¢ clothes, it had always been hiker stuff up till now. She's been resting her ankle ever since she came off the trail and what better place for rest than the beach. So although she wasn't completing what she set out to do, she wasn't suffering by any means.After dinner, I met Nat & Terry who drove up later, really really nice people! They hike very regularly and are close to completing a quest of the tallest mountains in the region. We all just hung doing nothing the next day, it was nice to have a double zero before climbing the Franconia Ridge part of the trail. And just goofin' off, good food and conversation sure beats fretting over The Whites. But of course I did. I am also entering the AMC system of huts. These are not shelter-lean to objects, but wilderness lodges that sleep 40 to 90 paying guests. A bunk in these places is almost impossible since they've long been booked by the city folks. It adds an amazing amount of uncertainty and forces us into long hikes off the trail to campsites or we have the option of doing chores the huts crew staff and sleeping in the dining room. The whole thing has me on edge, so hanging out with Belle and The Bulls is helping me to relax. Sort of.They call this nirvana, this escape house, ¢Paradise North¢ ¢¦and indeed it is!
Date: 2004-08-20
From: North Woodstock

To: AMC Galehead Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After two lazy days hanging with Belle, Dougy and Nat at their wonderful home, the weather forecast for Franconia Ridge was favorable. The Franconia Ridge is said to be the most beautiful, dramatic section of the AT. The forecast called for sunshine all day¢¦ that should have left me suspicious.Dougy & Nat were celebrating their sixteenth wedding anniversary with a hike that would take them over the last few 4000 foot peaks¢¦giving them all 48 in the region. They would be camping where I'd be heading to if all went well.Despite the early morning fog and low clouds, it felt like it could improve for the spectacular above tree line ridge walk of the many summits in today's hike. Belle like a true champ got up early to drive me to the trailhead. The trail was a big climb up Liberty then onto Little Haystack Mountain (it's not little, I assure you!) Then over Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Lafayette which reaches up to 5200 feet. The ridge walk was indeed spectacular! More dramatic than anything thus far! On Lafayette, the clouds arrived quickly on the 30 to 40 mph wind, erasing all the views. The mist and rain would then follow shortly making everything cold and wet.The next mountain was Mt. Garfield, which apparently decided I was moving to smoothly and felt I needed to slip and pound my knee on one of its oh-so-hard rocks. Ouch! Although Ok, the planned (all be it a crazy plan) 16.4 miles needed to revised. The Galehead Hut at 13.0 miles had space for me there, but only if I did so on the ¢work for stay¢ arrangement. This means that with no bunks available, Thru-hikers are allowed to help the Hut crew for an hour or so cleaning up after dinner and then we, or I in this case, can sleep on the dining room floor.I had a crazy notion this would add more texture to my journey and decided to do it. It meant I wouldn't have to walk another 4 miles today, which was wise since I slammed my knee awfully hard! The only worry was not meeting up with The Anniversary couple¢¦ they might worry. But we had discussed ¢plan B¢ scenarios.The rain stopped and gave all of us lounging around Galehead warm sunshine and clear skies. Oh well, so much for forecasts. Its now 6:15 pm and all the guests with bunks are eating together at the set dinnertime of 6 pm. Later at 7:30, I'll join the hut crew for dinner and duty. I think this is going to be fun.It was really nice to stop early and draw, linger and soak up the sunshine. The end is drawing closer and closer!
Date: 2004-08-21
From: AMC Galehead Hut

To: US 302
Miles today: 14.7

Last night after a meager amount of cleaning, the alarm was sounded to alert us of a great sunset. The crew started yelling, ¢The Roof, the roof.¢ We all hauled up the stairs and out a window onto the shingle roof and grabbed a seat¢¦being with the crew tonight, I got a front row seat. Brilliant pinks and orange lit the clouds as the sun gave its final show. A great unexpected treat. The policy in the AMC Huts is lights-out at 9:30 pm. That's when I spread out the mummy and visited the sandman.The morning had the guests a bit quieter than they were last night. It was raining, windy, foggy and harsh! I headed out at my normal hour only to find it wasn't as cold as it looked. I started shedding clothes immediately to cool off. The terrain was as hard and awkward as yesterday, it would be slow going. By 11 am I was completely soaked despite all the rain gear. In fact, there were fish in the ocean drier than I was! As a result, I just started walking down the middle of this ever-forming Appalachian lake. At some point you just say ¢Uncle¢ and embrace the wet. That was today!
Date: 2004-08-22
From: US 302

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

When got off the mountain yesterday, I gave Belle a call. She drove out so I could have a reprieve from the cold, windy rain. The Anniversary couple would also be returning from the mountain. It would be my last night with them, for the next week I'd be facing the rest of The Whites and the chief big dog mountain named Mt. Washington.Like the great hosts they all were, they woke up extra early so that I'd be able to get out on the trail early. Belle compromised and went to the trailhead in her robe, we all said farewell, Natty was particularly encouraging saying that I'd have no problems, that Maine was to be mine. He'd make a great hiker coach.It was a chilly 42 degrees, as I moved on up the steep Webster Cliff. The day was clear and the sky filled with sunshine. It was to be the most perfect of days for hiking here to Lakes of The Clouds Hut¢¦ just at the base of Mt. Washington's summit. Once I rose to the ridgeline up Webster Cliffs, I saw it! Although ten miles away, it rose above everything, Mt. Washington was enormous. The day would see over 6000 feet of rugged ascent. Mt. Washington is the second highest mountain on the AT, but as mentioned before, its latitude puts it above tree line. It is famous for having clocked the highest wind speed ever recorder - 231 mph. Hurricane force winds happen over 100 times a year. The wind today was a meager 15 mph. It was a perfect day indeed, other than not knowing where the heck I'd be able to sleep tonight.A Trail Angel, out with her beautiful Australian Shepards gave me a lemon-poppy seed cake just to be nice. She and it were wonderful. At the early hour of 2 pm, I was here and with the next possible place to sleep being another 7 miles, the decision to stay and do another work-for-stay was ideal.The visibility was 90 miles today, that endless rain yesterday sure did clean the world!¢Stumpy¢ and I played tag-team on washing dishes for an hour and had the entire day to enjoy with that behind us. Sitting and hanging out the rest of the afternoon right in Mt. Washington's shadow was dreamlike. It was transporting me to The Alps; it was the best day in two months according to the hut crew. How lucky is that!Three other Thru-hikers are also here tonight; Alleghany, Neon Leon and Stumpy, we're all sleeping on the dining room tables¢¦ yep, lots of texture in this adventure.