morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-14
From: Glencliff, NH

To: Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 0.0

My heart still felt a little fatigued when I got up this morning. The thought of going home is comforting, but going home after spending 4.5 months on the trail seems nuts. However, continuing to walk up to Katahdin after what happened yesterday seems a little bit crazy too. I¢m not going to decide anything right now, I¢m just going to rest.Being here at the hostel has offered me a little computer time to update my journal. The fact that my journal is lagging so far behind the present day is frustrating. I¢m often too tired to write anything at the end of the day. It would be easier if I was caught up.There are a couple trail celebrities here at the hostel. I first saw ¢Baltimore Jack¢ back at Neels Gap in Georgia. Baltimore Jack has thru-hiked the A.T. seven times. This year he¢s sort of following the herd up the trail. I think the trail has really become a part of him. I saw Jack for the second time in Damascus. Now he¢s helping to take care of the hostel in Glencliff, NH while the owner is away. I also met Squatch for the first time today. Squatch has made several documentaries on the PCT and last year he made a documentary on the A.T. I was lucky enough to watch it when I stayed at 3D¢s house in New York. Squatch was only able to do about half the trail last year so he¢s back on the trail again this year. He walks south bound, then jumps ahead and walks south bound again. That way he sees many of the same hikers and is able to do follow ups with them as they journey up the trail. Squatch is cool, and his documentaries are very tastefully done. You can purchase his films at (www.squatchfilms.com).Squatch asked about interviewing me today. He said he had been reading my log book entries along the trail. Unfortunately it just didn¢t materialize. I started feeling better in the afternoon and decided to do the 9.3 mile slack pack over Mt. Moosilauke tomorrow. I¢ll make a decision about going further after the hike. I spent a lot of time figuring out who wanted to go on the slack and how we were going to do it. The day after tomorrow there is another 16.3 mile Lincoln to Lincoln slack we can do too.I figured since Squatch is headed south and I'm headed north I might not see him again. So Right before bed I told him about the big epiphany I had while preparing for the trail. The one about fear materializing into pack weight and burdening your hike the same way it burdens your walk through life. When you slide the weight of your fear into faith the burden becomes light. As the fear got smaller, so did the size and weight of my pack. I realized that to be happy I must let go of the need to plan for every possible thing that could go wrong and replace it with faith. God is going to look after me. When God started to prove that to me, I began tossing fears out of my pack one by one. Don¢t be stupid though, we¢ve separated ourselves from God¢s other creatures, they don¢t realize they¢re naked. Animals are tougher than us. We need to take some crap out in the woods to make up for generations of seeking comfortable living outside of the woods.
Date: 2012-08-15
From: Glencliff, NH

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: light rain

Five of us are doing the slack over Moosilauke today. We had our stuff shuttled to the hostel in Lincoln. I stuck with Y's Guy through the hike, that way we could watch out for one another. Moosilauke is a big up and a steep treacherous down. The summit was mostly covered with clouds but it was still neat to see the change in vegetation on the way up. Before coming down off the ridge the clouds broke a little bit to one side and offered a glimpse of a pretty amazing view. Coming down Moosilauke was interesting. I wouldn¢t want to do it in the rain. There is a lot of steep exposed granite. Some sections have wooden steps drilled and pinned into the rock. It reminded me of the game Papi Jump for iphone and ipod touch. Check out the picture of these steps on my picture page!!! The Papi jump game is free, you should download it and then you¢d know what I mean : P The trail follows a waterfall down on the north side. Y¢s Guy and I eventually made it down without breaking any legs. Down at the bottom we waited for the other three members of our motley slack packing crew and called the shuttle.We got dropped off at the hostel and then walked downtown. I stopped at the post office to get my box and met with the other slackers for dinner. After dinner I dropped my box back off to the hostel and a large group of us went to the movie theater to watch the new ¢Total Recall¢ movie. The movie was ok but I like the original with Arnold Schwarzenegger better. When I got back to the hostel my friend Chet had a message for me from a trail angel named Susan. I called Susan back and she not only offered me a place to stay tomorrow night but said she could take me flying as well!!! After making plans to meet up I had a really good conversation with Chet. There are a lot of hikers at the hostel tonight.
Date: 2012-08-16
From: Lincoln, NH

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We loaded up our gear in the back of the shuttle van this morning. The driver is going to take our stuff to the hostel in Lincoln while we¢re out hiking. The same group of slackers from yesterday is slacking again today, I¢m hiking with Y¢s Guy, O.W.F. & her dog Sable, High Water, and Prometheus.At one point today I stopped to go to the bathroom and fill up my water bottle. Everyone but Y¢s Guy went on ahead (Y¢s Guy was a ways back). I was hiking alone for awhile. The climb was similar to Mt. Moosilauke, (lots of steep granite). I started noticing fresh blood on the rocks as I was climbing up. I thought that one of the hikers up ahead must have gotten injured. I met O.W.F. on top of Kinsman, she was crying. I asked her what was a matter and she showed me Sable¢s feet. She said that the dog was struggling to climb up the granite. He would try to get a running start in order to follow her up the trail but he kept slipping down. By the time they made it to the top, the granite had worn Sable¢s nails down to the quick and his paws were covered in blood.O.W.F. didn¢t know how gnarly this trail would get and I don¢t blame her for what happened to Sable. But I think it¢s important to consider that trail dogs don¢t sign up for the crazy long distance hike, their owners do. Here are a few things to consider if you¢re thinking about bringing a dog out here. 1) Dogs aren¢t allowed on all sections of trail (kennel fees and doggy shuttle service $$). 2) It¢s harder to catch a hitch with a dog. 3) Not all hotels/hostels allow pets and if they do there is usually a fee $$. 4) Not all shuttle services/taxis allow pets. 5) Dogs can get giardia too. 6) The A.T. is hard on them.There wasn¢t much of a view from Kinsman, we were in the clouds. O.W.F. said not to wait up for her at Franconia Notch. I kept walking and caught up with Prometheus and High Water. We met up with Susan near the road crossing. I also met Scrambo and Rocket. Susan let me borrow her truck and take it into Lincoln. I dropped off a couple hikers in town and saw O.W.F. back at the hostel, she is sending Sable home to stay with her Mom. Prometheus, High Water, and I rounded up all our gear and drove back to the notch. Susan invited all five of us to come back to her place!SUSAN IS AWESOME!!! She cooked a fantastic dinner and provided us with comfortable bunks to sleep in. I¢m really comfortable here, it feels like home. Susan has four kids that were very nice to us and she even has a kitty! Tomorrow Rocket, Scrambo, and I are going to skip ahead to the next slackable section and then stay with Susan again. We will come back to do what we skipped after the slack.
Date: 2012-08-17
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Zeta Pass
Miles today: 8.5

It will be a little tricky to try and calculate mileage for a few days. Rocket has a friend who is coming up from Massachusetts this morning. She asked me if I wanted to slack pack the 21 mile section from Pinkham Notch to highway 2 ( the Gorham to Gorham section). It's the only other section that seems like a reasonable distance to hike in one day. There was one spot left in the car and I jumped at the opportunity. Slack packing the Whites is the way to go. Going ahead to do this section means that we'll have to come back to do Lafayette and the Presidential's. It also means that the mileage calculator will be screwed up untill I finish those sections.Driving through the Whites up to Pinkham Notch this morning gave me a much better idea of where I'm at. This area is incredible. I wasn't able to see much from the top of Moosilauke or Kinsman and when you get down into the trees you don't really see anything. I had a really nice view of Mt. Washington from Pinkham Notch and it only got better as we climbed up Wildcat Mountain. It's supposed to be clear and sunny for the rest of the week. I couldn't have asked for better weather. Climbing up Wildcat was intense. I had to tuck my trekking poles in my pack and climb hand over hand. We weren't making very good time. I figured we only made a little over 1 mph. for the first 5 hours, partially because the view was so awesome but mostly because the climb was tough. It was obvious that we weren't going to make the road crossing in time. When we got on top of Carter Dome we discussed splitting up so that the faster hikers could get there. The problem was that we only had one ride and it would be dark by time we made it. We also figured that since our ride was planning to drive back down to Massachusetts tonight it would be rude to keep him waiting. So, we decided to abort the slack. We came down off the ridge at Zeta Pass and followed 4 miles of blue blaze trails to get back down to the road. I was slightly frustrated because we only made 8.5 miles of forward progress on the A.T. and coming down off the ridge meant an 8 mile round trip on blues blaze trails to get down and back up. I really can't complain too much though, I saw the most amazing views of my whole trip today. The White Mountains are incredible!When we got back to Susan's we were treated to showers and more excellent cooking. Susan gave me permission to do a zero day here tomorrow so I can catch up on my journal. Susan, you are a wonderful host!
Date: 2012-08-19
From: Franconia Notch

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

Susan dropped me off at Franconia Notch this morning. Now I get to climb the ridge that I flew over yesterday. What's even cooler is that Susan is flying the tow plane today! I get to watch her bring the gliders up Lafayette Mountain! I could hear the plane as I was climbing up through the woods. When I got above tree line the view was fantastic. I'm starting to fall in love with New Hampshire. The only bad thing about being in the Whites on the weekend is that there are tons of people here. There are cars parked all along the sides of the road near the trailheads. The good thing is no matter what trail you take to get up Lafayette, it's a tough climb. Even though I'm not much for crowds, I don't mind sharing the ridge with these folks.I stopped on the top for lunch and saw a couple thru-hikers that I recognized. I also saw Susan pull a glider really high over Lafayette. I jumped up and down waving my arms like a crazy person, but she didn't see me.I kept walking till I came to the Galehead Hut, I saw Rocket and Scrambo there. The folks running the hut let five of us thru-hikers do a work for stay. My job was scrubbing the griddle clean on the big commercial range. The other hikers did dishes and swept. In exchange for our efforts we were given all the leftovers we could eat and they let us sleep on the floor in the dining room. I'm glad that they allow thru-hikers to do this. Most people who stay at the huts are paying big bucks...However...If you were thinking of taking a vacation to hike the White Mountains, I think hut hopping would be the way to go. Staying in the huts is expensive, $100+ a night. But what's cool about it is that they cook breakfast, lunch,  dinner, and you get a bunk with wool blankets. If you use the huts you can slack pack all the way through the Whites. You don't need to carry a tent, sleeping bag, or stove, just a few snacks, water filter, and a rain coat. If you saved up and planned for this trip that would be the way to go. This was actually the original vision for the whole A.T., but instead of staffed huts A.T. hikers are supported by shelters built by volunteers. The A.T. turned out just right, you can go without a tent the whole way if you want to. I hear some calloused thru-hikers complaining about how expensive the huts are in the Whites. I think it's because they've gotten used to sleeping in the shelters along most of the trail for free. When you take into account that non-perishable supplies are airlifted to the huts by helicopter and the hutmen hike in as far as five miles with 40-70 lbs of fresh produce twice a week, I think it's worth it.
Date: 2012-08-20
From: Galehead Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

I scooted out of the hut early this morning. The people working there told us that we could eat breakfast leftovers, but I didn't feel like waiting two hours. There was a small strenuous up first thing in the morning. I found a nice spot a little further down near Zealand Falls to wash up and take a break. I went in from the trail a little bit, stripped down, and washed everything. I spread my clothes out on the rocks to dry. Sitting in the sun felt really nice. I ate an early lunch there and drank enough water to pee a couple times.The trail really flattened out later in the day, easy walking. I stopped near the parking lot before Crawford Notch and cooked a pasta side. The other day at one of the huts, a traditionally dressed Jewish man stopped me to make conversation. He had a long beard, curly side burns, and was very polite. Afterward I wondered if he had thought that I was Jewish because of my beard. My suspicion was confirmed while I sat near the parking lot eating pasta today. Another traditionally dressed Jewish man approached me and started a conversation. He too was very polite and asked me questions about hiking.  Then he asked if I was a Jew. I told him no. He said "well, God bless you anyway" and walked away. I wonder if he would have given me a candy bar or something if I had said yes.I had arrived at Crawford Notch about 1:30pm. But I had to wait till 6:30pm for Susan to get off work and pick us up. I was excited to use the time to do some writing, but it didn't happen. I set my hammock up in the trees right next to the road. It became like a hiker hangout spot. Just about every hiker that walked by stopped to talk, even south bounders I'd never met before. The time seemed to pass quickly. It would have been nice to have slices of water mellon to give away.Rocket and Scrambo came through a little later in the afternoon. They had stayed at the hut for breakfast leftovers this morning. The three of us are going to Susan's again tonight.Rocket said that if Susan will let us borrow her truck tomorrow she'd slack pack Scrambo and I over the section we still need to finish. That sounds great! I was happy to see Susan when she arrived. It's nice to come back to a cozy house and shower after a couple days of hiking. After eating dinner I laid down on the floor in Susan's living room. It was only 8:30pm or 9:00pm, it seemed like it was too early to got to bed. I guess I was really tired though because I fell asleep right there on the floor. Susan woke me up and told me to go sleep in a real bed. Hiking has brought me to the point of complete exhaustion several times. Tonight was like that, I was so tired that I couldn't stay awake.
Date: 2012-08-22
From: Crawford Notch

To: stealth camp near Madison hut
Miles today: 18.2

Susan took us out to Crawford Notch this morning and we said our good byes. I really appreciate everything you did for us Susan. Being able to stay with you while hiking through The Whites has been a real blessing.The climb up Webster Cliffs first thing in the morning was tough. I got ahead of Rocket and Scrambo, they are planning to stay at the "Lake of the Clouds" hut tonight. I feel like going a little further. Once I got up on top of the ridge I could see Mount Washington off in the distance. Being above the tree line is like being on the moon or something. The view is awesome! I've been really fortunate to have perfect weather while hiking the Whites. Visibility must be 100 miles from up here. I took lots of photos today, if you haven't looked at my picture page lately you should CHECK IT OUT!! Just so you know, there may be some pictures from the future in there as well.It was exciting to see the summit of Washington miles away slowly getting closer. I stopped at Lake of the Clouds hut for lunch, then continued on to Washington. Summiting Washington was a little bit of a let down. There is a little tourist village built on top that kind of reminds me of a mini Gatlinburg. At least there is a half mile walk from the parking lot to get to the summit of Clingman's Dome. The tourist can drive or take a train to the top of Mount Washington. I look grumpy in my summit photo. The picture accurately captured the way I was feeling. I had just waited in line behind twenty people who had driven up to the summit to get their picture taken. I had also faced a similarly long line trying to use the bathroom. I didn't spend much time on top of Mount Washington...Getting away from all the people on top of Washington was a relief. The rest of the Presidential range was beautiful. I walked to Madison hut in hopes of getting work for stay, but they said they were full. I didn't mind so much, going through the Whites without breaking the stealth camping law at least once would be a shame. The people working at the hut instructed me and a couple other hikers to walk a mile down the mountain to a designated camp site. Loosing all that elevation only to climb back up in the morning to summit Madison sounded ridiculous. I decided to spend the night near the pond behind the hut. You can't hang a hammock above tree line. So I decided to cowboy camp. I didn't think it would be too bad, the weather is supposed to be clear the rest of the week. I was so confident that I tried using a space blanket on top of the grass instead of my thermarest... There is a reason they don't want you camping up here. 50+ mph. winds developed during the night and it got cold. About 2:30am I had to cuddle up to a boulder to block some of the wind. I didn't sleep well.
Date: 2012-08-23
From: stealth camp near Madison hut

To: Pinkham Notch to Gorham
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: fog

I was excited to get up and start moving after last night. It was still cold, but I warmed up quickly while hiking up Madison. I met "Dances with Flies" on top. The  decent down to Pinkham Notch was steep, rocky, and beautiful. I love the Whites.Down at the visitor center I saw a German thru-hiker named "Slow Foot". I first met Slow Foot down south somewhere. His trail name used to be "Sure Foot" but then he twisted his ankle and had to get off the trail for 5 days. I've met up with "Slow Foot" several times in different states along the way. He was ahead of me when I got Lyme disease, but then he had to fly back to Germany for a business meeting. He's headed up Wildcat today. Dances with Flies and I are headed into Gorham.The mileage calculator is again an accurate gauge of where I'm at on the trail. In case you didn't catch what happened.... We jumped ahead to do the Wildcat section, but we didn't complete it. Then we went back to where we got off at Franconia Notch and hiked to Crawford Notch. We again jumped ahead to finish the section from Zeta Pass to US2 and now that I've done the presidential section, I've completed the Whites.Dances with Flies and I caught a hitch into Gorham. We got a room at the North Peak Inn. Prometheus texted me and we walked down to the hotel he was staying. They had an indoor pool and a hot tub. It was awesome. I'm going to sleep good tonight.
Date: 2012-08-24
From: Pinkham Notch to Gorham

To: Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I'm taking a zero day here in Gorham today. Dances with Flies still has to do the Wildcat section. He's planning an overnight to make it to the road crossing, but he doesn't want to carry a full pack. Flies asked if he could leave all his extra food and gear with me since I'm taking a zero. I said ok.I'm not spending another night at the Northern Peaks though. The price advertised on the sign is not what you pay. The owner keeps coming up with reasons to charge more...shady...I walked around the corner to the "Hikers Paradise" hostel at the Colonial Fort Inn. Flies carries way too much junk. Lugging his bag of stuff to the hostel was a pain, at least it wasn't too far of a walk. The bunkhouse is nice, $21 a night, free wifi, and use of a separate kitchen. The Hikers Paradise is conveniently located right in town as well.I spent the day writing and eating at the Chinese buffet down the road. I feel very comfortable here.
Date: 2012-08-25
From: Gorham

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

I'm headed back out to the trail today. The hikers paradise has a little restaurant downstairs that serves breakfast. Bruno (the owner) also offers a free shuttle back to the trail in the morning. I texted Dances with Flies to let him know that I'd left his things at a hostel right next to the trail on the outskirts of Gorham. Not long into the hike I met Bowser, Spirit, and Y's Guy. They were stopped on the side of the trail having a snack break. I went on ahead to the Gentian Pond Shelter. Slow foot was inside setting up his bed. I set up my stuff and we talked while cooking dinner. Muck, Gypsy, Spirit, and Y's Guy set up their tents near the shelter. After dinner, a south bounder named "Fugitive" showed up.According to the guidebook "Mahoosuc Notch" is either the hardest mile on the A.T. or the most fun depending on how you look at it. I plan to experience as the most fun. However, Fugitive told us it took her 4.5 hours to get through the notch, and it made her cry. Tomorrow will be an exciting day.Late in the night a group of students came to the shelter. There was at least 10 of them. Things got a little crowded, but at least they were quiet.