morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-08-20
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut, NH

To: Pinkham Notch, NH 16
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

I was too tired to write a journal entry yesterday. From Lake of the Clouds Hut to Pinkham Notch is 15 hard miles. Our plan was to get to a campsite about five miles from the road and then hike out the next morning. The hike up to the summit of Mt. Washington was about 2 miles and 1,200' of climb. Cloudbank was thick but it was windy so we hoped for some clearing for the summit views. The wind was howling and gusting between 60-70 mph. At the summit nothing was open, there were no views, no place to hid from the wind, so we took a picture of the Mt. Washington sign as proof that we were there. Actually Wayne was blown over and fell when he took my picture. You can drive up to the summit or take a cog railroad but we didn't see anyone. Maybe they close the road if it is too windy. Wind speeds of over 230mph have been recorded here so I guess we are fortunate it is a measly 60mph today. Our stay at the summit was a short one. The wind is gusty so you have to lean in, then it abruptly stops, you lose your balance, and almost fall. The trail is marked with huge rock cairns, some over six feet tall. There really isn't a trail, just cairns heading across the rock talus. The whole day until the last four miles was a boulder hop. The high point was Mt. Washington at 6,288' and then a 1,277' drop to Pickham Notch. Hiking poles are useless in this rock. Both hands are needed for stability, especially when the wind is blowing so hard. Wayne, Grizzly, Professor and I stuck together from 10am-4pm as we were all a little nervous about getting lost again. At 4:30pm we crossed the trail leading to the only campsite we saw all day. We decided it would be tough to set up camp in the wind and the lure of Chris and the camper propelled us the final five miles. Arriving at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center at 6:45pm we called Chris who was a little surprised we had made it in two days. She had the camper cranked up so her new friend Loggerhead drove over and picked us up. Loggerhead is crewing for her daughter Tagalong. We met her today and she is right behind us so this worked out well. We are camped at a nice campground close to the Wildcat trailhead. Tomorrow we will have another overnighter before meeting Chris. I think Chris will be heading home at that point. What will we do without her. Wayne, as always, is a great hiking companion and seeing Chris so frequently makes the planning easier. There have been days on the AT that all my energy seems to go into just staying upright. It has been difficult but I'm feeling a newfound enthusiasm. I only have about 320 miles to go and soon will be in Maine. I have met many seniors in the Whites. Everyone is fit and most have hiked or snow shoed since childhood.
Date: 2013-08-21
From: Pinkham Notch, NH 16

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: few clouds

It took exactly 12 hours to hike a half marathon today. The elevation gain and loss was significant. We reached Carter Notch hut at 12:30 and it was a beautiful setting by two little lakes on a bench below the hut. We have been stopping at the huts for a bowl of soup every day. For $2.00 they sell hungry hikers soup for lunch and it is something we look forward to every day. It was too early to stay here so we had to head on the seven plus miles to Imp Campsite. It took us six hours to hike 7.2 miles. We would have stopped earlier but there were no stealth campsites and no water. Today was old home week as we ran into most of the hiker trash that I had been around for the past month or so. The Imp Campsite has a 10 person shelter plus a long wooden platform for tents. Funkytown, a group of hikers, had pretty much taken over the shelter so Wayne and I set our tents on the platform when we arrived about 7pm. Koppapelli had passed us around 5pm and is here as well as Corndog, Applebutter, and Cruise came in after dark. I have to admit the views were spectacular today but you had to work for every one. We climbed over or within a hundred feet of seven different mountains, all near or over 4,000'. Cooking by headlamps tonight. I couldn't wait to get to the White Mountains but now I can't wait to get out. The Whites beat the crap out of you day after day. This is good A kicking hiking I would love if I wasn't so beat up.
Date: 2013-08-22
From: Imp Campsite, NH

To: U.S. 2, NH
Miles today: 8.0

After hiking the Carter and Wildcat Ranges yesterday, today was easy except for one long downhill. We got an early start up to Mt. Moriah, the last peak in this section. Mt. Moriah, 4,049', was the easiest of the mountains in the two ranges. Had breakfast on the summit on a nice large rock slab before starting down 3,000' of rocky trail to US 2. Chris walked up three miles to meet us but wisely did not offer to take our packs. Reached the trailhead by noon and drove to the post office, restaurant, and then back to The Birches Campground. Chris helped me fix the zipper on my tent and also sewed a button on my shirt that I had been carrying for at least a month. This was a short easy day but tomorrow we head off for 4-5 days that includes the Mahoosuc Notch and Arm. Most hikers say this section has the most difficult mile on the trail. They either love it or hate it. Weather forecast is rain tonight and scattered thunderstorms tomorrow and beyond. Had quite a spell of pretty dry weather but I think that is about to end. Snuggled up with Grif again tonight.
Date: 2013-08-23
From: U.S. 2, NH

To: Full Goose Campsite
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I just realized that I have less than 300 miles to go this morning. I forgot to mention yesterday I met Buddy Backpacker, a five year old thru hiking with his parents, I think. He was wearing a Superman shirt so we renamed him Superman. Chris and Grif accompanied us the first three miles or so heading up to Mt. Hayes. On to the Mahoosuc Trail to Cascade Mountain around 2,600' and over to Dream Lake. We saw many signs of moose but sadly no moose yet. There seems to be a lot of small lakes now as we head North especially around the 2,500' elevation and below. Crossed into MAINE about 3 pm just below Mt. Success, our highest peak of the day. My fourteenth and last state. Just like yesterday we had to decide whether to camp at Mt. Carlo or go on another six miles to Full Goose campsite. We pushed on up over Mt. Carlo where we met 14 bright eyed Harvard students having a blast. The trail got interesting with lots of very hard ups and downs and hand to hand scrambling. There were ladders and rebar hand grips in many places to get over large talus and cliffs on the way up to Goose Eye Mountain. Goose Eye had three summits. On the first we met another orientation group from Tufts University sitting on top. They gave us beads to wear and again having a great time. We made it over the three summits of Full Goose by 6:30pm and down to our campsite before 7pm which made for another long day. Again no stealth campsites. Camped at 3,000' and it is very cold tonight.
Date: 2013-08-24
From: Full Goose Campsite

To: Grafton Notch, ME
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: clear sky

It was so cold at Full Goose Campsite you could see your breath. Day began with a great sunrise and we quickly warmed up climbing up to Mill Mountain. Next up was a 900' descent into the famed Mahoosuc Notch. It definitely lived up to its reputation as being the toughest mile. Imagine a pile of car size boulders and throw a stick of dynamite in and you have Mahoosuc Notch. It was a real obstacle course and no aids like rebar when you needed it. We packed up our hiking poles and began the long hard scramble over, under an around car size rocks. At times we had to crawl under rocks and push our packs ahead through cracks just big enough to squeeze your body through. There is no real trail just white blazes painted on the rocks and an occasional arrow to keep you headed in the right direction. It took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to get through the 1.3 miles from south campsite to Bull Branch campsite on the North end. If that wasn't enough we then had the Mahoosuc Arm to climb. Hiking poles again were useless. Both hands needed to pull yourself up the large rock face some 500' to the top. Ropes and ladders would have been helpful. At the top was a nice sun spot with a view of the beautiful Speck Pond below and Speck Mountain to the North. Normally I would have said Speck Mountain was quite steep and hard but compared to what we did today it wasn't too bad. Finished the day with a killer 2,500' downhill. Will my knees ever recover? Chris and Grif waiting with cokes and chips.
Date: 2013-08-25
From: Grafton Notch, ME

To: East B Hill Road
Miles today: 10.3

We slept in after such a tough day yesterday. I was still really beat up from all the downhill pounding on my knees. As soon as we started up West Baldpate Mountain I began to loosen up. Arrived at the peak in less than 2 hours and East Baldpate at 3,810' about an hour later. In Maine that is above tree line which makes for nice 360 views from the peaks. We stopped at Fry Notch Shelter for water and lunch. Dip & Sip, Newt, and Pfeiffer showed up and they are headed to Andover as well. About a mile before our destination we came upon Dunn Notch Falls draining into a gorge. Chris & Grif had met us by then and led us to the parking area. We stopped in the quaint little town of Andover and found a little store for a few snacks. Grizzly and the Professor are here staying at the Pine Ellis Hostel. Hadn't seen them since coming down from Mt. Washington. We also ran into Baltimore Not Jack who will be finishing his fifth thru hike of the AT. He retired in 1998 and has been hiking the AT ever since. He is 69 years old, looks great, and has a lot of trail knowledge. He claims this is his last thru hike. Plans to only hike sections he likes from now on. I completely agree! Our campsite is on the banks of river with an old covered bridge. We may stay here one more night and then move our camp North. We hope to slack pack the next 30 miles before Chris leaves for Michigan. She has done all the research and made all the camping arrangements for us. It's nice not to have to worry about anything after the day to day planning for almost five months and nice to have Wayne to hang out with all day.
Date: 2013-08-26
From: East B Hill Road

To: South Arm Road, ME
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained hard all night and the forecast is for an all day rain. Should we zero? We decided to go out for breakfast and discuss. The town is full of hikers, the hostels are completely booked, and shuttles are taking hikers to several different trailheads to slack pack due to the rain. We decided to hike a ten mile section from north to south. There is a real steep downhill on the north end and I am told it is easier going south. I'm hoping that's true. Saw nothing but clouds all day. We were either in the clouds or above the clouds the whole ten miles. The trail was in terrible condition and it looks like this section has not been maintained in a long time. Surplus Pond was nice and looked like a nice place to camp if the weather was decent. Saw at least 25 thru hikers today. Most of them were slack packing and staying at the hostels. Intensity is increasing. Fall and the end of the hiking season is fast approaching. Kids I haven't seen in months are flying by me now with a new sense of urgency.
Date: 2013-08-27
From: South Arm Road, ME

To: ME 17
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

As usual the day began with a long climb up Old Blue Mountain. It was a 2.5 mile climb but not too bad. The reward was a nice view from the summit and an ideal spot for breakfast. After that it was the usual PUDs until the climb to Bemis Mountain. My AT companion and the points of interest were off by a couple of miles so we went by elevation to determine where we were on the trail. The last 2 miles dropped 1,500' in a mile off a cliff that was all roots and rocks. It took us over an hour and was followed by a steep 800' climb back up to ME Highway 17. Chris was at the overlook with the Chain of Lakes in view as far as you could see. A nice ending to a very hard day.
Date: 2013-08-28
From: ME 17

To: ME 4, Rangeley, Maine
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: haze

We had a great campsite at the Rangeley State Park with full hookups and showers last night. Today was exactly what I needed. The trail was nice with just a few rocky ups and downs but for the most part it was easy hiking and we made good time. Three ponds, Moxie, Long, and South were large and two of them even had sand beaches. Skies were overcast all day and it did rain for a brief time but not enough to put on the rain gear because it was so warm. Also passed a few swampy areas with a lot of moose signs but still no sightings. Hope to stay at the Gray Beast in Rangeley for a zero day tomorrow before tackling the Saddleback range.
Date: 2013-08-29
From: ME 4, Rangeley, Maine

To: Rangeley, Maine
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day at the Gray Beast. It is an old Victorian that sleeps 8. Lori manages the hostel plus has several other jobs in town. It is very clean and she made us a great breakfast of French toast, eggs, sausage and good coffee. The coffee is very good in Maine. Chris and Grif left us this morning to drive home to Michigan. It's been a great two weeks having her travel with us and make all the arrangements. She will be greatly missed. I'm feeling a little more rested and I needed to be because the next 80 miles have a lot of climbing and that always means knee jarring down hills.
Date: 2013-08-30
From: Rangeley, Maine

To: Woods Road
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: light rain

Our shuttle left at 7am and we were on the trail by 7:30 and heading up our first big mountain. It is a cloudy day and at Saddleback Mountain summit the visibility dropped to about 100'. There were large rock cairns to guide us across. The Professor and Grizzly passed us near the top and quickly were out of sight. We were told you can see Mt. Washington and Katahdin from here but not today. Wind was blowing at least 40mph so there was no stopping on top. The trail dropped about 500' and then went up the Horn, our second 4,000 footer. Again, high winds gave us no reason to stop. The drop from the Horn was around 1,000' and well below tree line so we had lunch before going up to Saddleback Junior at 3,655'. Visibility was good on Junior and we could see the mountains that we will climb tomorrow. Kokopelli, Coadrunner, and Violet came up about the same time and we all headed down to Poplar Ridge Lean-to. They decided to stay here for the night but Wayne and I decided to head down another 1,500' since it was only 4pm. It was a very tough down hill but the thought of facing it first thing in the morning pushed us on. Found a nice campsite on an old abandoned logging road. Did I mention it was 1,500' of descent with lots of steep rock and hard to navigate? I'm shot and Wayne isn't much better but the camping is good and we will sleep well tonight. Doc and Nair are camped jut down from us. It is great to see the father and son duo again. This is the area where Inchworm disappeared in late July. I think she was section hiking and very experienced. It weights heavy on everyone and I think most hikers are paying a little more attention to the trail in hopes of finding clues to her disappearance.
Date: 2013-08-31
From: Woods Road

To: Crocker Cirque Campsite
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

Less than 200 miles to go as of late today. Passed a huge bronze plaque commemorating the CCC completing the last section of the AT in 1937. At that time it was just a little over 2,000 miles. It has grown 187 miles. It proved to be a smart move heading down last night as it started to pour around midnight and didn't stop until early morning. That downhill would have been extremely slippery. We heard that 30 more hikers showed up at the lean-to last night so we were happy with our decisions yesterday. Today was a four mountain day. Lone Mountain, Spaulding Mountain, Mt. Abraham, and Sugarloaf and then another 1,700' descent on the side of Sugarloaf Mountain. This was quite scary. I was so anxious to get out of the green tunnel but this is very difficult. The men that built this trail were fearless. With the equipment they had back then 90% had to be hand labor. It continues to amaze me. At the bottom we crossed a river to where we had planned to camp but decided to push on to another campsite about 700' higher. Arrived by 5pm and set up our tents to dry out but it started raining almost immediately. Had a quick dinner and into bed before hikers midnight. Only two mountains and 7.5 miles to Stratton.
Date: 2013-09-01
From: Crocker Cirque Campsite

To: ME 27
Miles today: 7.6

Dry tent this morning after only a brief drizzle last night was a pleasant surprise. Trail immediately began to climb up South Crocker Mountain our first 4,000 footer of the day. Cloud deck was low. Nothing to see from here. The trail dropped a few hundred feet and then climbed up to North Crocker Mountain two hundred feet higher. Had breakfast at the large rock cairn on top. Kokopelli, Codewalker, and Violet showed up and the sun finally burned though the clouds. The five mile, 2,700' descent to ME 27 I was really dreading. It was probably one of the easiest I've had since early Vermont. It was rocky but no steep slabs to navigate. Hitched a ride to Stratton and found a room at a motel. Town is full of hiker trash as a big storm is in the forecast for tomorrow.
Date: 2013-09-02
From: ME 27

To: Stratton, Maine
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

Rain is coming down in buckets. Forecast is for heavy rain and flooding all day today and into tomorrow morning. There have been a lot of hardships on this trail but I have been lucky as far as getting into a town before the really big storms hit. Except the snowstorm in the Smoky Mountains I have managed to get to town. The end is near and I'm am getting anxious to finish but it would be foolish for an old man like me to be out in this weather. So, another zero day before hitting the last big range before Katahdin. The Bigelows are supposed to have great views. It would be nice to have some sunny weather. I have been watching muddy, miserable hikers come into town all day. It was rough day.
Date: 2013-09-03
From: Stratton, Maine

To: Stafford Notch Campsite
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: mist

Out of town early and on the trail by 6:30am with big expectations of doing some decent mileage today. The first climb was 1,450' up to South Horn Mountain, followed by a 500' drop, and then back up to North Horn Mountain at 3,851'. Trail dropped another 700' and then headed back up to Bigelow Mountain West Peak and then back down and up again to Avery Peak, the last 4,000 footer until Mt. Katahdin. The uphill wasn't too bad but the downhill was very slick due to the rain yesterday. Travel was slow and at 4pm we needed to make a decision to push on with our original plan or call it a day. As the next campsite was over five miles away and the days are getting shorter we knew it would be dark. Its disappointing but I see no need to push on tonight so we have set up camp and have been joined by nine other hikers so far.  Passed the 2,000 mile mark. Only 178 miles to go.
Date: 2013-09-04
From: Stafford Notch Campsite

To: Sandy River Bridge
Miles today: 15.1

Little Bigelow Mountain was our last climb for this section of trail and we made it before 7:30am. The sun came out and views were great to the east and west. To the east I can see some huge lakes. I have yet to see boats on any of these lakes. It took a good half hour to get over the top of Little Bigelow before starting the 2,000' descent. The downhill wasn't too bad and to celebrate there was really nice trail magic at the road crossing. I had a hamburger, soda, ice cream, cookies, and very good coffee. We stayed for an hour and it was hard to get going again. They provide trail magic around the same date for three days every year at this spot. Thank you. Fully caffeinated and fed it was time to move on. Wind was blowing so hard there were white caps on a large lake. Waves were crashing onto the rocky shore and it was quite beautiful. We have a deadline today and tomorrow. Kennebec River can only be crossed by ferry. The ATC provides a ferryman and canoe to make runs between 9-11 and 2-4 each day. We needed to be in position today to catch the ferry tomorrow. With 11.5 miles on what looks like a flat section on the map, we should not have a problem. Only hard part today was trying to navigate around and through wet bogs or swamps. Maine has had a wet summer and the AT is all rocks so it doesn't drain well. Water bars are almost impossible to install so there is a lot of rock hopping. Steamer, a new member of our hiking family has been hiking with us the last couple of days. He is hiking for breast cancer awareness and totally pink. Even his hair is pink. How does he do that on the trail? Its a good cause but not very flattering on a 62 year old man. The other odd thing is that most of the time he is smoking a cigarette. Maybe they are the healthy e-cigarettes.
Date: 2013-09-05
From: Sandy River Bridge

To: Caratunk, Maine/ US 201
Miles today: 11.5

Not wanting to miss the last ferry service between 2-4 today we were focused on putting in the miles quickly. Carry Pond was a long, beautiful lake. The water was mirror flat unlike the wild water at Flagstaff Lake yesterday. The winds are calm and the temperatures are dropping. Passed Apple Butter, Cruise, and Corndog about an hour up the trail packing up. They passed us back before breakfast. Next up was Pierce Pond and Lean-to. It looked like a nice place to camp or swim but there are leeches in these lakes. I have heard hikers say they are the size of eels. I'm not much of a swimmer so I'll never know. The trail crossed Piece Pond on a wooden dam and spillway. Steep drainage provided some nice waterfalls on the way down to the Kennebec River. Crossed a few more footbridges and descended to the confluence of the Kennebec and Piece Pond drainage. Made it by 1pm so we had an hour to wait for the ferry. The Kennebec is a very wide ford and controlled by dams upriver that release water as needed with no set schedule. The water can rise 2 to 4 feet very quickly and one hiker died trying to cross back in the 80's. It looks like about 500 yards across with a rocky bottom. I think almost all hikers wait for the ferry now. This river was used to float logs to the mills but now they use trucks. Promptly at 2pm we saw the three man canoe coming across the river to pick us up. There is even a white blaze on the bottom of the inside of the canoe. Two at a time we made the crossing and in about thirty minutes we were all on the other side and heading to a lodge in the town of Caratunk, Maine.
Date: 2013-09-06
From: Caratunk, Maine/ US 201

To: Bald Mountain Brook
Miles today: 14.7

Today I realized that I have been on the trail for five months as of yesterday. Five months, 154 days, over 2,000 miles, 15 miles per day average, 94 miles per week average, 4 pairs of boots, 3 seasons, and 14 states from Georgia to Maine. My daily mileage really slowed down this last month. I was told it would but I guess I just didn't want to believe it. These last three states just kick butt in a big way. At my age and with my knees a ten miles day is all I can expect. It has taken me a while to accept this but I have and will continue to make slow progress. We had a great breakfast at the lodge and then hitched a ride to the trailhead. This was the coldest morning in a long time. Frost was in the forecast but I didn't see any. Just the usual mud and roots for the first few miles until the climb up to Pleasant Pond. This was a 1,200' steep climb that topped out with a nice view and a good spot to have lunch. The rest of the day was spent on a series of PUDs until reaching a wet ford across Moxie Pond inlet. This was the first wet ford I can recall on the AT. Usually there are so many rocks in the streams that fording is an easy rock hop and dry. There was no place to camp here so we went on to the Bald Mountain Lean-to and camped near a nice stream. Its going to be another cold night.