morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-29
From: Dartmouth College, NH

To: Day 105: Trapper John Shelter, NH
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: scattered clouds

On AT Day 105 Hot Chocolate and I got up at 4:00 a.m., ate a hearty breakfast, left our trailer at the Rest N Nest Campground near Thetford, VT and drove to the AT trailhead in near by Hanover, NH in time for the two of us to start hiking around 6:20 a.m. The day began with the temperature in the low 60¢s under partly cloudy skies, but it warmed to the mid-70¢s by early afternoon making it a warm and humid hiking experience. Hot Chocolate walked with me through the college town and for the first quarter mile or so once the AT enters the forest. She was forced to stop at this point since she had somehow lost her expensive water bottle (it filters the water as you drink) and needed to go back and find it and then go ahead and find the library and other ¢in town¢ duties.Shortly after my wife¢s unplanned departure I began hiking what is known as the ¢Velvet Rocks¢ trail and given that it rained the day before, the wetness of the moss-covered rocks made the going slippery. For most of the morning the AT was relatively flat, but after my morning Power Bar snack it began a gentle 1,200-foot climb of Moose Mountain. I reached the 2,222-foot summit around noon so I ate my bagel-peanut butter lunch at the new, and still incompletely finished, Moose Mountain Shelter.The descent from the North Peak of Moose Mountain to the Goose Pond Road was steep and slippery in places, so much so that I fell (on my pack ¢ no injuries) twice despite being very careful and slow. Immediately after crossing the Goose Pond swamp (often on bog bridges or puncheons), the trail takes on an extremely steep (no switchbacks) 1.5 mile, 1,200-foot climb of a nameless peak to reach Holts Ledge where I had my afternoon Power Bar snack and searched in vain to see the peregrine falcons who are known to make their nests on the rocky cliffs that give this area its name. Unfortunately, although I could clearly hear these noisy raptors, none of them were out hunting, so I missed out on seeing one of nature¢s true marvels. Nonetheless the views of and from these cliffs were marvelous.Shortly thereafter, at 4:20 p.m., I completed my 16.7 mile hike and arrived at the 0.3 mile Blue Blaze trail to the Trapper John Shelter where I found a lovely spot to set up my tent, an ample water supply and a rather unusual privy. What made the latter so special was the throne and the clearly displayed ¢instructions¢ for its use (see accompanying picture). Along the way, I met (or rather, got passed by) three, new-to-me NOBO AT through hikers. Voyager (mid-50¢s male) and Bandicoot (mid-20¢s male) did not stop at the Trapper John Shelter, but Teo (mid-20¢s male) also set up a tent and told me that he was a recent graduate in aerospace engineering from Purdue University. Going the other way, I also met a SOBO AT through hiker and a male-female pair of section hikers. All in all, a very pleasant day.
Date: 2004-07-30
From: Trapper John Shelter, NH

To: Day 106: Hexacuba Shelter, NH
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

On AT Day 106 I got up at 4:00 a.m. and hit the trail around 6:15 a.m. under partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 60¢s. The high for the day was in the upper 70¢s and with the continued high humidity the hiking conditions were not ideal, but clearly tolerable.After descending about 600-feet from the Trapper John Shelter to reach the Lyme-Dorchester Road entrance to the Dartmouth Skiway, I followed the AT¢s 6-mile, 2,500-foot climb of Smarts Mountain. This climb was often punctuated by steep, rocky and slippery sections. Teo caught up to me just as we reached the 3,240-foot summit so the two of us took a break together for our morning snacks and an exploration of the fire tower. I was pleased that the descent from Smarts Mountain was much more gentle, and safe, than the ascent. Once again, although I left the peak before Teo, his long legs and youth allowed him to easily beat me on the 1,800-foot descent to the South Jacob¢s Brook bridge where both of us stopped for lunch. We were joined at this lovely spot by a young SOBO AT through hiker who also stopped for lunch and a mutual exchange of useful information on trail conditions to the north and south.Given that there are so few shelters, and hence ¢legal¢ places to camp, I had a choice on this day of ending my hike after 12.0 miles at the Hexacuba Shelter, or pushing on for another eight miles to the Ore Hill Shelter. Given how tired I was from the day before, and the uncomfortably warm and humid conditions, this choice was easy. Teo, however, made the opposite choice, an enviable testament to his youth and speed hiking skills.I arrived at the 0.3 mile Blue Blaze trail to the hexangular shaped shelter at 2:18 p.m., so I clearly had lots of time to set up my tent, gather water and rest ¢ and read my novel and the trail guidebooks ¢ before dinner. After my nap and before dinner, three more NOBO AT through hikers joined me at the shelter site and although it was still warm and humid, this camping site was at 2,000 feet (about half way up Mount Cube) and was blessed with a steady breeze. To make matters more enjoyable, the skies were clear and the moon was full ¢ a delightful end to a enjoyable day.
Date: 2004-07-31
From: Hexacuba Shelter, NH

To: Day 107: NH 25 near Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 14.7

On AT Day 107 I got up at 4:15 a.m. and hit the trail at 6:15 a.m. under partly cloudy to mostly overcast skies and surprisingly warm-humid conditions. The temperature reached the upper 70¢s by mid-afternoon. Ugh, lots of sweat in my eyes and dripping wet clothes.Shortly after leaving the shelter the trail rapidly starts a remarkably beautiful climb over smooth, sometimes slippery, rocks to the 2,911-foot summit of Mount Cube. On the way to this rocky peak I was quickly passed by an exceptionally long-legged youthful NOBO AT through hiker ¢ it would be demoralizing if I took this clear display of my limitations too seriously¢¦ The descent from Mount Cube was much more gentle than the ascent, but I was nonetheless passed by the two other NOBO AT through hikers, a youthful male-female pair who also tent camped at the Hexacuba Shelter on the night before. Shortly thereafter I met two pairs of SOBO AT through hikers just before I stopped for my morning snack at the side-trail entrance to the Ore Hill Shelter.Shortly after crossing NH 25C I began the gentle ascent of Mount Mist, but before reaching the 2,220-foot summit I stopped to eat my lunch along the trail and was passed by a large group (more than a dozen) of high-school aged day-hikers and their church group chaperones. By the way many of the kids looked at me, I just might be the most unusual site they would see that day. When I reached the summit an hour or so later, I once again ran into the church group as they stopped for lunch at a lovely overlook from which we all could see the Wachipauka Pond 700 feet below. In the distance we could also just see the cloud-enshrouded, and frankly intimidating 4,802-foot massive known as Mount Moosilauke.I reached the pond and soon thereafter ¢ at around 2:30 p.m. ¢ the end of my 14.7-mile hike at NH 25 just outside of Glencliff, NH. Since I was at least a half hour early after this comparatively easy trek, I wasn¢t all that surprised that my wife had not yet arrived. Sure enough, within about 45 minutes I was pleased to see Hot Chocolate rolling up in our huge Ford F-250 turbo-diesel truck. I used this rest time wisely to update my trail journal and ponder on the best tactics to take on Mount Moosilauke and even taller and more rigorous Presidential Range next week. I don¢t mind admitting that the warnings of snow even in the summer, together with strong winds, slippery cliff climbs and more have me concerned, but hey that¢s what makes a hike like this fun!
Date: 2004-08-02
From: Olivarian Notch on NH 25 near Glencliff, NH

To: Seg 26: Franconia Notch near N Woodstock NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

AT Segment 26: August 2-4, 2004Starting point = Olivarian Notch on NH 25 near Glencliff, NHEnding point = Franconia Notch on US 3 near North Woodstock, NHTotal miles for segment = 25.8 (3 days @ 8.6 miles/day)Total miles to date = 1,806.5 (110 days @ 16.4 miles/day) The highlights for this AT hiking segment were surviving my first exposure to the fabled and incredibly rigorous White Mountains, my good fortune at having relatively mild temperatures and little rain in which to take on this challenge, and my disgust over a painful re-injury of my left knee within the last 2 hours of the last day. I am grateful that I was forewarned by other AT through hikers that I should expect to average about 10-miles per day while in the ¢Whites.¢ Given the frequent absence of switchbacks on the steep (sometimes multi-thousand foot) ascents, the huge bolder steps, and the often slippery and steep rock scrambling ascents and descents, the predictions of as little as one mile per hour (including breaks) appear to be about right. One positive benefit of this 40-50% reduction in my ¢normal¢ hiking pace is that I now have plenty of time to enjoy the spectacular scenery. The re-injury to my left knee really bothers me (pain, embarrassment, and scheduling screw-up), but with the new brace my wife just bought me, and taking an extra day off while loading up on vitamin I, I still hope to be able to take on the mostly above-the-tree line Franconian Ridge next week ¢ stay tuned!
Date: 2004-08-07
From: Franconia Notch on US 3 near North Woodstock, NH

To: Seg 27: US 2 near Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

AT Segment 27: August 7-11 & 16-17, 2004Starting point = Franconia Notch on US 3 near North Woodstock, NHEnding point = US 2 near Gorham, NHTotal miles for segment = 74.8 (7 days @ 10.7 miles/day)Total miles to date = 1,882.1 (117 days @ 16.1 miles/day) To paraphrase my last introduction, the highlights for this AT hiking segment were surviving a much more extensive exposure to the fabled and incredibly rigorous and sometimes surprisingly dangerous (steep, slippery rock faces) White Mountains, a mixture of terrific and down-right scary weather (including a very windy, cool and near white out condition on Mount Washington), and my relief that my left knee injury did not seem to be a major deterrent to my progress. However, as expected, my daily progress was essentially cut in half as I was only able to achieve an average maximum of about one-mile-per-hour due the extreme difficulty of the terrain ¢ and at times even this seemingly ¢conservative¢ goal was a huge challenge to reach. The scenery and adventure factor of this segment was, however, spectacular and left me with a desire to return to the Whites for a more extensive hiking experience ¢ hopefully with my wife and perhaps softened by the ¢assistance¢ of the AMC huts and lodges.Following the first portion of this segment, Hot Chocolate and I hunkered down in our trailer while NH and ME were under a flood watch because of the heavy rains brought our way as a remnant of tropical storm Bonnie. Paying close attention to the local weather forecasts, I then decided to take an additional two days off to allow the expected heavy rains of Hurricane Charley to pass by as well. As the saying, goes ¢it¢s not good to mess with Mother Nature,¢ and in this case the hurricane passed to the southeast leaving us with perfect hiking conditions that I ¢wasted¢ at our trailer campsite. To make matters worse, when I did return to hiking the weather turned downright nasty and I got rained on for one entire day and the morning of the second creating for me the scariest mountain hiking/climbing conditions I have ever encountered. Now as I prepare to take on the Mahoosuc Mountains of Maine, and what is widely acknowledged as the toughest mile on the entire AT, the Mahoosuc Notch, I am going to proceed regardless of what the weather report predicts. Hopefully, I wont regret this decision¢¦ Stay tuned!
Date: 2004-08-07
From: US 3 at Franconia Notch, NH

To: Day 111: Garfield Ridge Campsite, NH
Miles today: 10.3

On AT Day 111 Hot Chocolate and I got up at 4:00 a.m. (well actually, I got up at 4:00, made coffee and then coaxed my wife out of bed by 4:30), ate a hearty breakfast, left our trailer at the Timberland Campground near Gorham, NH and drove to the trailhead in the Frankonian Notch on US 3 near Woodstock, NH in time for me to start hiking around 6:45 a.m. The day began with the temperature in the low 50¢s under clear to partly cloudy skies, but it warmed to the low 60¢s with intermittent light rain later in the day as I completed my 10.3-mile trek to the Garfield Ridge Campsite around 4:30 p.m.The actual hike began with a three-mile, 2,700-foot steady climb to the Frankonian Ridge Trail, the last mile of which I was accompanied by a young women day-hiker who turned around at the Liberty Spring Campsite. Shortly thereafter I came to a trail junction where I had the option of adding a 1.4-mile Blue-Blazed side trip to the peaks of Mount Liberty and Mount Flume or continuing on the AT toward the peaks of Mount Haystack, Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette. Now I¢m not usually one to pass up an inviting challenge, but given the unknowns about the difficulty of simply achieving the White-Blazed goals, I chose to remain on the AT. I was immediately rewarded for this choice as much of the Frankonian Ridge Trail is at or above the 4,000-foot plus tree line and delivered some absolutely spectacular views.Before completing the 2.5-mile, 1,000-foot climb to the 5,089-foot summit of Mount Lincoln, where I ate my morning Power Bar snack, I was challenged with some surprisingly difficult (if not scary) rock scrambles to the 4,760-foot summit of Mount Haystack. The one-mile climb to the 5,249-foot summit of Mount Lafayette, where I ate my lunch was really a lot of fun as the rocky ridgeline trail was intermittently enshrouded by dense puffy white clouds making for a truly ¢alpine¢ experience. I had lots of company during this memorable traverse as this was a weekend day and there were a surprising number of day, section and SOBO AT through hikers.The 1,500-foot descent from the summit of Mount Lafayette and the 700-foot climb up the 4,488-foot Mount Garfield had some difficult steep sections, but nothing like what was yet to come in the Presidentials so in retrospect I guess it was a good warm-up. Thankfully, although the final half-mile, 500-foot descent to the $8 per night AMC Garfield Ridge Campsite was steep, it seemed relatively easy ¢ perhaps as a forgiveness for the fact that the campsite was a half-mile climb off the trail and I was forced to set up my tent and cook dinner in a steady rain. I was also ¢treated¢ to lots of noisy, but up-beat chatter until around 10:00 p.m. after a group of college age men joined me on the large wooden tent platforms. Thus, since I couldn¢t sleep anyway, I spent a pleasant evening eating my dinner, listening to my radio and reading my novel all within the warm and dry confines of my REI Quarter Dome tent.
Date: 2004-08-08
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite, NH

To: Day 112: Ethan Pond Campsite, NH
Miles today: 14.5

On AT Day 112 I got up at 4:15 a.m. and hit the trail around 6:30 a.m. with densely foggy and wet surface conditions adding to the difficulty of the exceptionally steep 500-foot remaining descent down Mount Garfield. Once reaching the Frankonian Brook, however, the trail leveled off along a ridgeline until it reached the AMC¢s Galehead Hut where it ascended steeply to the 4,902-foot summit of South Twin Mountain. Unfortunately, at the rocky summit there was absolutely no view due to the heavy wind-blown fog, but I still stopped for my morning snack alongside a group of day and section hikers who were already enjoying these ¢unusual¢ to me, winter-like conditions in August.The weather conditions improved steadily as I completed the four-mile ridgeline, and sometimes above tree line trek around the 4,560 Mount Guyot to the Zealand Ridge. When I reached the Zealand Cliffs I was treated with a spectacular and clear view of Whitewall Mountain and my upcoming path along an old railroad grade that is carved into its sheer cliffs. I soon stopped for lunch and then completed the relatively easy two-mile, 1,500-foot descent past the AMC¢s Zealand Falls Hut to the start of Ethan Pond Trail where I stopped for my afternoon snack.Shortly after I began my relatively easy 4.5-mile trek from this point to the $8 per night AMC Ethan Pond Campsite, it began to rain. Despite the fact that I was tired after completing my 12-hour, 14.5-mile hike, the campsite, pond, and the company of other hikers, including the former AT through hiker caretaker, Ball Park, were terrific. I had a wonderful evening cooking and eating my dinner in (and storing my food at) the group-cooking site (a requirement to reduce the ¢vandalism¢ from the local squirrels, mice and bears), and listening to the helpful advice, truth-stretching yarns and idle chit chat of the other hikers.One of the most amazing pieces of news was the off-hand comment made by one of the young through hikers, Trip, when asked about where he spent the night before. While admitting that he was ¢a bit tired,¢ he revealed that in order to reach our campsite (he got there before I did) he had completed a 28-mile hike that day and was planning on doing the same or similar the day following. At first I, and it seemed everyone else had a problem believing this claim, but then the young man revealed that he hadn¢t even started on the AT until July 1, or nearly two-months after I began. Talk about pounding in the point that I am no longer a young athlete! My only consolation came the next day, for as this young man sped by me with his ultralight pack and running shoes, he admitted that he was not even carrying a camera and spent virtually every evening in a shelter, so we both agreed that we had different priorities¢¦
Date: 2004-08-09
From: Ethan Pond Campsite, NH

To: Day 113: US 302 at Crawford Notch, NH
Miles today: 2.9

On AT Day 113, despite the fact that I only had to cover 2.9-miles to reach my Crawford Notch pick-up target on US 302 by 9:00 a.m., I still got up at 4:15 a.m. and hit the trail by 6:30 a.m. Given the difficulty of the previous days¢ hikes, I was worried that this short hop could take me three hours or more. As it turns out, however, the weather was terrific and the hike was very easy so I was able to cruise into the finish line by a little after 8:00 a.m. While waiting an hour for Hot Chocolate to show up, I had a wonderful time chatting with several other AT through and section hikers and in some cases their escorting assistants. The subject of these road-side discussions was of course the upcoming hike up the Webster Cliffs and beyond to Mount Washington and the rest of the Presidentials. When my wife finally arrived, we drove to a Dunkin¢ Donuts for breakfast and then back to our trailer where I downloaded and then labeled my pictures and restocked my pack in preparation for my taking off again the very next morning. The only negative was the fact that most of the day I worried that I might be wasting one of the infrequent good weather days and thus add to the challenge of getting up and over the summit of Mount Washington ¢ it turns out, this worry was well founded¢¦
Date: 2004-08-19
From: Gorham, NH

To: Seg 28: Grafton Notch, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

AT Segment 28: August 19-22, 2004Starting point = US 2 near Gorham, NHEnding point = ME 26 at Grafton Notch, METotal miles for segment = 31.1 (4 days @ 7.8 miles/day)Total miles to date = 1,913.2 (121 days @ 15.8 miles/day) The highlights for this AT hiking segment were crossing the border from NH into ME, being proud to ¢only¢ take 3.5 hrs to complete the Mahoosuc Notch (a.k.a., the ¢hardest mile on the AT¢) in the rain, surviving many more incredibly steep and slippery rock face climbs and descents ¢ this time in the Mahoosuc¢s, seeing my first moose in the wild, a surprising return to near winter-like weather conditions, and my continued relief that my knee injuries did not seem to be a major deterrent to my progress, although I was surprised that the gigantic step-ups have made my stomach (and to a lesser extent, back) muscles sore. As was the case in the White¢s, my daily progress in the Mahoosuc¢s was extremely slow, so much so that even a one-mile-per-hour pace was rarely achieved. However, the scenery and adventure factor of my first exposure to ME hiking was, as expected, truly spectacular. I can¢t wait to get back on the trail, especially since the weather forecast calls for relatively clear weather for the next week. I sure hope they¢re right as I now have less than 270-miles to go before reaching the fabled summit of Mount. Katahdin!
Date: 2004-08-20
From: Gentian Pond Campsite, NH

To: Day 119: Full Goose Shelter, ME
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: overcast clouds

On AT Day 119 I got up at 4:00 a.m. and hit the trail around 7:00 a.m. under densely overcast, but not rainy conditions and a temperature of about 60-degrees ¢ not too bad. After getting over two ¢humps¢ of perhaps 400-feet, I carefully trudged up a difficult, and sometimes scary 1,000-foot climb over 1.5 miles to the 3,565-foot summit of Mount Success where I stopped for my morning snack break. As is often the case, the descent from this mountain was more challenging than the ascent, with steep and rain-slicked rock faces to negotiate and as I was soon to learn this was to be the norm for the day¢¦Shortly after reaching the bottom of this descent, and getting my first exposure to climbing up, over and down huge boulders clogging the bottom of a col, I reached the NH-ME border. What a wonderful sight to see the sign ¢Welcome to Maine, the way life should be!¢ As I reached this landmark, I was joined by three other AT NOBO through hikers, Gandolf (60¢s male) and Gimly (50¢s male) from Hawaii and Mad Hatter who I had met several days earlier as I completed the incredibly scary descent to the Imp Campsite. We all stopped for the requisite pictures and then we began a half-mile climb of perhaps 400-feet and another short but very steep boulder descent to reach the box canyon junction with the Carlo Col Campsite where we all stopped for lunch.After eating I began the steep 400-foot climb out of the col to reach the 3,565-foot summit of Mount Carlo and then I lost all of these gains by climbing back down to another col before beginning the often extremely steep (rock face scrambling) 700-foot climb to the 3,794-foot East Peak of Goose Eye Mountain. It was very windy and cool on the summit so I didn¢t stick around long before carefully moving on to North Peak of Goose Eye Mountain and then dropping ¢ sometimes very steeply ¢ about 700-feet to reach the Full Goose Shelter and Campsite where I pitched my tent for the night.All told, this 9.6-mile hike had taken me 9.5 hours to complete, which according to the shelter¢s journal and my hiking colleagues for the day, was about average ¢ in other words, a very good day for me! I was pleased that it was dry and windy as I made camp, so I was able to dry out my tent, sleeping bag and other gear, but all of this was for naught as the weather soon changed and it rained all night and all the next day.