morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-07-30
From: Red Barn at VT12

To: West Hartford
Miles today: 12.6

The party was lots of fun. We met about 6 SOBO's and picked their brains about the trail ahead as well as shared our tips on what they have to come. We ate LOTS of food. They had a huges spread and we visited the table several times!! Yummy. We ended up staying the night there instead of going back to the trail.We find ourselves sleeping in such interesting places. locations I would never have thought I'd see myself. This night we stayed on the floor of a garage at this towing/auto supply store. It was comfy and we had access to a bathroom. Just perfectThe next morning bootz made eggs with cheese for Morel, Vapor and I. one of the folks at the party gave us some eggs. I think he scambled 14 eggs! it was so fun though. We made egg sandwichs with the hotdog and hamburger buns from the night before. We had orange slices and I went for coffee. What a morning!We even got a ride back to the trail in a limo! First class!! We got back on trail around 10am and had 10 miles to hike into Hanover. As we got on trail we ran into our friend RAJ. We haven't seen him since NY so it was cool to catch up and hike into his home state, NH, with him. He hikes really fast so we got into town quickly. I had called the friends of the family that we were staying with in Hanover to tell them we'd be in town on Sunday by 2pm. We rolled into town around 1:30pm. Just in time!
Date: 2005-07-31
From: West Hartford

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: light rain

We finished our 12th state at around 1pm today!!! Only one more border crossing to go. that just blows our minds. It felt great to walk into NH and Hanover. this is a beautiful town. The home of Dartmouth U. It reminds me some of Chapel Hill, NC. We walked around some and made our way to Ben & Jerry's for ice cream. We stopped and talked with a few local people who wanted to chat about the trail. I called Kathy our friend in town to let her know we arrived.My Uncle Tony went to college at Williams College with kathy's husband Jeff. My aunt called them to see if they may be willing to let us stay with them for a night when we arrived in hanover. They agreed and are an awesome family that has welcomed us with open and generous arms. She came to pick us up and we went back to their beautiful country home that is situated on the CT river. I can't even describe how comfortable and welcoming their home is. A perfect place for us to rest for the day. We showered and relaxed and then enjoyed a family dinner. Jeff's mother and brother, sister in law and children came for dinner along with a few other friends of the family. We also enjoyed meeting their friends who are visiting from Norway. A big crowd that was lots of fun to share our stories with. We had a cook out and relaxed on the deck. Bootz and I stayed the night in a small cabin they share with their neighbor. It is just down from the house and looks out over the river. It is screened in on 3 sides and has bunks. It was so peaceful and a perfect place to rest. Kathy will bring us to the post office today and we'll get our supplies. We plan to send a box ahead to oursleves so we'll go to the store and send our package and then hit the trail.We're really looking forward to the next 441 miles. We will be hiking through the most beautiful parts of the trail. I can't wait to share pictures. Unfortunately they may not get online until after we finish. About 1 month left!! I can't believe it but am excited for what lies ahead.
Date: 2005-08-01
From: Hanover, NH

To: Moose Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

We left Hanover around 2pm and made it to Moose Mt shelter just before the rain hit. We enjoyed our stay in Hanover and are getting excited for the White Mtns. Nothing too remarkable about the hike today other than the fact that it is hot and humid. Maybe the rain will help with that because we really don't hike well in the humidity.We slimmed our packs down quite a bit in order to make the mountain climbing a bit easier. We put together a box of food and sent it ahead to Glencliff, NH where we'll be in 2 days. The items in this box will take us through the Whites. We also sent a few cold weather items ahead in a 'bounce' box. This is a box that you send via priority mail to yourself at a future post office. It contains items that you may need but don't want to carry right now. We can continue to bounce the box ahead to ourselves if we don't open it, without having to pay postage again.
Date: 2005-08-02
From: Moose Mtn Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: few clouds

Cool shelter. It is in the shape of a hexagon with part of 2 sides open. The privy at this place is in the shape of a pentagon. I'm not sure why they made it this way but maybe it is because we'll be climbing Mount Cube tomorrow. The only downside to this place is that you had to climb up hill .3 miles to get to it and the water source wasn't great. We hiked over Mt Smart today. We were able to climb up the fire tower and the views were awesome. WE got the first sight of the White mountains that lie ahead of us. Their big!!! We're feeling a bit tired today. The rain didn't help much with the humidity but it looks like it will rain again today.
Date: 2005-08-03
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Jeffers Brook Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

We made it into Glencliff this afternoon. I was dragging and Bootz was feeling tired too. We were thinking about staying at the hostel in town but decided it would be best if we hiked to the shelter that was 1.1 outside of town. This way we'll save almost $30 and the hostel wasn't that great anyway. We did stop in and met up with some friends.I said a few entries ago that we sent a box of food from Hanover to Glencliff with supplies to get us to North Woodstock, NH. Well when I went to get the box it didn't arrive!! Our priority mail box did but I chose to send the food via parcel post because it weighed quite a bit and I wanted to pay the cheapest rate possible. I couldn't believe that it didn't arrive. We're taking maybe 20 road miles and it had 2 full days to arrive. Well now we have no food and there isn't a grocery in this town. We'll have to pay $2.50 just to get a ride to town. We talked about our options and we decided against paying to go into town and to instead pull together enough food to get us to North Woodstock (2 days from here) where we'll get our next mail drop. We were able to find plenty of food in the hiker box (basically a box that hikers 'donate' items that they don't need). It may not be the food we'd like to carry but its food and it'll work.We arrived at the shelter in good time and were glad we decided to go with this option. it was a nice shelter and we sleep very well in our tent. It also makes us closer to Mt. Moosilauke our first big climb in the morning.
Date: 2005-08-04
From: Jeffers Brook Shelter

To: North Woodstock
Miles today: 8.4

We got up nice and early so that we could start out when it was cool. We will be climbing over 3000 ft up to the top of Mt Moosilauke. This is the first big mountain of the Whites and I'm hoping we have success climbing it. The last few days I've felt sluggish and my muscles have been tiring out very quickly. This won't be a good thing with the big mountains ahead.The climb went great and we were stunned when we summited above treeline. These mountains are so tall that the trees stop about 2-300 ft before the summit and you're able to have 360 degree views of the surrounding area. Just breathtaking. We'd heard how beautiful the Whites are and they lived up to the expectation. We finished the climb by 9am. It was hard and long but we didn'T neeed to stop. WE just kept on climbing. We stayed on the summit for about 1 hour. WE have decided to really take our time through this area because it is so beautiful and we don't need to rush.The climb down was crazy. At points you have to go straight vertically down and they have metal bars to hold onto. WE'll have pictures posted soon so you can get an idea. The climb down was great although hard on the knees. The trail is border by a stream for the majority of the downhill. Great waterfalls and the water is crystal clear. I can't even puts words to how great this is.When we got to the bottom we decided to hike about .5 miles to a visitor center that our book said had a snack bar. On our way there we ran into our friend RAJ and Swifty. RAJ's mom was there to meet him and bring some treats to the hikers (soda, snacks, etc). Awesome!! We hung out with the, met RAJ"S mom who was super nice. RAJ said they were going into N. Woodstock for lunch and invited us to join. We said sure!!WE ate at the N. Woodstock Inn. This place brews their own beer so of course we had to try that out. WE enjoyed a great meal courtesy of RAJ's mom! Thanks!! Bootz and I got to talking and realized that we had planned on going to N. Woodstock in 2 days and at that point we'd need to hitch a ride in and out. We decided it made more sense for us to get our maildrop now, since we were intown already and we had transportation. WE got a motel room for the night and were able to resupply. Swifty's brother Mitch gave us a ride back to the trail the next morning. Now we have enough to get us through the Whites.
Date: 2005-08-05
From: North Woodstock

To: Campspot Near Lonesome Lake Hut
Miles today: 14.0

We got a late start today but were glad to get a ride to the trail. WE had hoped to make it to the first AMC Hut to try work-for-stay. Basically the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) has developed this set of lodges that people can pay to stay at and get dinner and breakfast included. They don't have to carry food and all the other camping stuff required to hike these mountains. This is a good thing because the climbs are steep and many folks wouldn't be able to climb them.The AMC allows each hut to accept 2 thru-hikers for work-for-stay WFS. In exchange for doing work (cleaning dishes, sweeping, etc) a hiker gets a place to sleep and 2 free meals. This helps the hiker because you don't have to carry much food which makes the climbing easier. The thing is though that its first come gets the WFS. So you need to get there early (around 4pm). WE got caught in a big thunder storm on our way to the hut. Soaking wet!! And due to the delayed start we didn't get to the hut until nearly 6:30pm. way too late! WE didn't get WFS but they did give us some extra baked ham that they had which was all we needed anyway!!So we took our ham and hiked about .5 miles down the trail where we found a place to put up our tent.
Date: 2005-08-06
From: Campspot Near Lonesome Lake Hut

To: Greenleaf Hut
Miles today: 8.7

Today we summited the Franconia ridge. We were very fortunate to have the best weather (as one person said) all year. The views were tremendous. Above treeline for 7-8 miles. We hiked from Little Haystack to Lincoln, to Lafayette. This was my favorite hike of the entire trip. Its is really beyond words to describe how beautiful this place is. Although the climbs are difficult it is really worth it. We planned on staying at a campsite tonight but since we didn't get WFS last night we decided to instead hike down off Mt Lafayette to Greenleaf hut and give them a try. Although that meant under 9 for the day, we're taking it easy through here and decided to make it more like a vacation. Try to hit as many huts as we can!We did get WFS and it was easy/fun. The huts are usually staffed by a crew of young (college age) men and women. This hut had a replacement crew for the evening. We enjoyed them. A group of men who had been crew members when they were younger, back in the early 70's. We did LOTS of dishes. I think we cleaned just about every dish they used. The hut sleeps 48 so come dinner time that mean 48 bowls, plates, mugs, glasses, you get the idea...But we had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner complete with pumpkin pie for dessert. Not bad for 2 hours of work!!We slept in the common area on the floor. This may sound weird for some of you but for us, it was great. No tent to put up, it was clean and dry. Just perfect. We started out early the next morning because we had a long day ahead.
Date: 2005-08-07
From: Greenleaf Hut

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 13.6

We made it to Galehead hut in time for lunch. Most of the huts will sell homemade soup for lunch every day. So as you pass by, you can go in, fill up on water maybe buy some soup and lemonade. That's whate we did. You get a bottomless bowl of soup for $2 and you can get bottomless lemondae for $1. WE tanked up and made a mad dash to Zealand hut so we could again try for WFS. WE needed to get there by 4pm though.Success! Aside from an awful steep climb out of Galehead, the trail was suprisingly flat for most of the way to Zealand. We hiked mostly in the trees but got a few views along the way. Bootz was hiking ahead of me and got to the hut around 4pm. Luckily we were in time and we again got WFS!! This hut also had a replacement crew for the night. We did a few dishes but ended up doing our work the next morning after breakfast. All we had to do was change the pillow cases. Not bad for a free stay. If we had to pay it would cost $77 per person, per night. So right now we've saved near $300 by doing WFS.
Date: 2005-08-08
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Mizpah Spring Hut
Miles today: 14.1

Today the weather got a lot more humid. Since we got a late start that made the climb up Webster Mt. tough. I was a pretty steep asent and in several areas you where exposed. The sun was beating down on us and for me that is hard because I'm so fair skinned. I've built up a nice tan over the course of this trip but can easily sunburn. I wear sunscreen but as I sweat it comes off. Anyway, it was a tough hike to get to our next hut by 4pm but somehow we did it. Our friend RAJ was there when we arrived. He was also doing work for stay. A few hours after we arrived our other friend Swifty showed up and even though they were over the 2 hiker limit for work for stay they still took Swifty. We had lots of fun at this hut. The crew was the normal group and they were so nice. RAJ was asked to do a presentation about Thru-hiking for the guests that evening. IT was fun to listen to his talk and the majority of guests at the hut attended. Tomorrow is going to be a short day because the next hut is only 4.8 miles away!! We've decided to sleep in, have a relaxing breakfast, and see the sights as we head to the next hut. We're beginning the Presidential Range of the Whites. A very popular and beautiful section.
Date: 2005-08-09
From: Mizpah Spring Hut

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: scattered clouds

We really worked for our stay this morning. They asked us to sweep out the bunk rooms, change pillow cases, and then I got the job of sweeping out the bunks. The first 2 jobs were a piece of cake. For me, my job meant I had to take off every mattress, pillow and blanket, hand sweep the bunk and then replace everything. I think this hut sleeps 50 or so people! By the time I was done with one room (6 bunks) both Bootz and Swifty were done with their entire jobs! So I recruited them to help me. It was like spring cleaning. Matresses in the hallway, piles of pillows. We got it done though and were finished up around 10:30am. Since it we have a short day today that was no problem.We took a side trail up to the summit of Mt. Eisenhower. We left our packs at the bottom since this wasn't the AT and I saw no reason to haul my stuff up a MT. We enjoyed the views, ate some lunch. RAJ ran into a few friends he knew from home up on the summit and they had extra PB&J sandwiches that they shared. We also got a few snacks from a couple of ladies who attended the talk last night at the previous shelter. RAJ made of a point of slipping in information about TRAIL magic and how much hikers appreciate being given food or drinks along the way!IT was really hot out today and the 4.8 miles seemed much longer. I love the above treeline views but the sun just bakes you. It was a bit hazy out today but we were still able to get nice views of the surrounding area. We arrived at the next hut around 3pm and they accepted us for WFS. This is the biggest hut of the series, sleeps 90, so they take 4 hikers. They actually took 6 by the end of the night. We had easy work given to us, sweeping and wiping tables. The hardest thing about WFS is that we have to wait until everyone has finished dinner and the entire place is cleaned up before we can eat. So that's like 8pm. Pretty late for us. But worth it. Tomorrow will be another short day as we plan only to hike to Madison Hut. But we also get to summit Mt. WAshington, the highest peak in the Northeast.
Date: 2005-08-10
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

It was really foggy and a bit cool on the summit of MT. Washington. WE arrived around 10am and had a snack and took a look around. Since it was foggy we didn't get any views. But as we left it began to clear so we were able to get pretty nice views for the rest of the day. Again we needed to take our time today in order not to arrive to early to the next hut. Sometimes they will reject you if you get to a hut too early. They figure you haven't hiked that far and have time to go further. But we were lucky. The hut crew shares cooking responsiblilities. So each day one person is responsible for making the entire days meals. The women who was responsible for cooking on the day we got to Madison Hut was also the Hut naturalist. She is responsible for providing evening talks about nature. Well even though we arrived early she asked us if we would be willing to do a presentation about thru-hiking that evening because she was too tired after cooking all day to do her discussion. When we agreed, I think that is what tipped the scales for her to let us stay even though we got there at 2pm.RAJ and Swifty decided to head forward toward Pinkham notch. They have been fun to hike with and hopefully we'll meet up with them in Gorham. Our night at the hut was lots of fun. A southbound couple also did WFS so we had fun getting to know them. Our presentation was good and a lot of folks attended. There is so much to discuss about the trail that it was hard for us to cover everything. Tomorrow we plan to hike more miles to get to our the last possible hut in the system. We can't believe the Whites are almost over!!
Date: 2005-08-11
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: fog

Today we really felt the inclines and declines in our knees. Especially the descent from Mt. Madison into pinkham notch. It was steep and long so the repeated stepping hurt both of our knees. By time I arrived into pinkham, my knees were really week and rubbery feeling. We ate lunch at the snack bar. Pinkham notch has the HQ for the AMC. After lunch we began a tough climb up the Wildcat Mts. It wasn't too hard for us because we took it really slow inorder to help out our knees. I did get stung by some type of bee or wasp as we were climbing. It hurt but I'm not allergic so its just something that will pass.We had some nice views on Wildcat. It took us awhile to hike them all. We then had a steep decline into Carter notch. ouch our knees!! But we got to the hut and the caretaker agreed to let us do WFS. This hut does not serve food. It does have a kitchen but guest sign up for kitchen time and are responsible for doing their own dishes. Our WFS was to tidy up the kitchen after everyone was done. we enjoyed our stay and had a blast overall taking our time and staying at the huts. Tomorrow we'll hike to Gorham. Be done with the Whites and almost to Maine!
Date: 2005-08-12
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH (hiker paradise)
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

We made it to the road around 4:30pm and luckily we didn't have too much trouble getting a ride into town. We even made it in time to get to the post office before it closed!We met up with RAJ and Swifty who had arrived earlier in the day. We had fun hanging out with them. We decided to take a zero day in Gorham to rest up before the finial push to Katahdin. I went to the grocery store and we decided to make a real breakfast tomorrow morning. French toast, bacon, eggs. we may not see RAJ and Swifty agagin because they are leaving tomrrow. So this will be our celebration breakfast.
Date: 2005-08-13
From: Gorham, NH (hiker paradise)

To: Gorham, NH (Northern Peaks Motor Inn)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

Yummy! RAJ can cook a mean breakfast. We decided to get a motel room for our second nights stay since there is a place in town that charges just about the same rate as the hostel. I'm glad that we'll be able to hang out today. Although we have errands to do, we'll be able to spread them out during the day. WE ate dinner with our friends Rainbow and Spartacus. Take out Chinese! WE have set up a ride to the trail for tomorrow so we'll get a few miles in.We'll hit MAINE! on Monday!! We have just under 300 miles left to hike. WE are so excited to be almost finished and yet sad that our journey has come to an end. We've begun taking more about what we want to change when we get back. I've decided no TV!! such a time waster. We do have a TV and will use it for movies, etc but no cable. It was so hard before for me to turn it off and now I'm not used to having one so I want to keep it that way.we'll be in Rangely, ME in 5 days or so. I hope to do another update then. Thanks for signing the guest book and for all the encouragement.
Date: 2005-08-14
From: Gorham, NH (Northern Peaks Motor Inn)

To: Trident Col Tentsite
Miles today: 6.9

Well it just looked like a little sprinkle. But it turned into a downright pour by midday. WE left Gorham in the rain because we needed to get back on the trail. Within a few hours we were soaked through and through from head to toe. That feeling is awful and I don't recommend anyone heading out for a hike in the rain. We planned on going about 10-11 miles today but by 3pm and 7 miles in we called it quits at the tentsite. As we set up in the rain and slowly peeled away our wet clothes we were happy to be in our warm sleeping bags. We read for awhile and then both fell asleep. We woke around 7, it was still raining, and made dinner. All of our things that had to stay outside were filthy with mud that spattered up from the rain. We did sleep okay, trying to keep things dry. Believe it or not it continued to rain all night! By morning it had ended and we began to face the reality that we were hiking in wet clothes and shoes today. What a terrible reality. We got through it though and by lunch time we had made it to the shelter we had planned to go to last night. The sun began to shine so we set out all of our wet items to dry.