morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-08-28
From: The Barn, Rte 12, VT

To: Thistle Hill shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: moderate rain

28 AUGAwake early with the girls, but it was raining, and the ¢Pie Lady¢ wasn't going to open her store till 10am, so we searched for excuses to zero or nero. The 3BM (3 blind mice) made ponchos out of trash bags and bravely stepped out into the rain, while we split a rhubarb/berry pie and agreed on a 7-mile day. Stinger headed out just before us, and Crazy Horse and I were the last ones out of camp once again. But, we got lucky that way ¢ a couple at the road offered us fresh cantaloupe and peanuts for breakfast! It was rainy, muddy, slippery, and there was a cloud on every mountain. I swore off berries because it¢s wet, and wet berries are rather tasteless, but that didn¢t last long. After all, I am a representative of the International Brigade of Berry Gluttons, and cannot slight my responsibilities!Tough decision at Thistle Hill shelter ¢ should we stay or should we go? (¢If I stay there will be trouble; and if I go, there will be double¢) We are already wet, but do we want to keep being wet? We are hungry, but are we hungry enough to cook? I want to say, ¢we¢ll just cook dinner here and move on¢, but I¢m done kidding myself with that phrase. Every time the cooking pot comes out, then the sleeping bag comes out (¢I¢ll just warm up for a little bit¢), and then there is no going anywhere. I have made gaiters out of grocery bags once again, and they are rather single use (duct taped on), so a decision must be made. Grrr¢¦ why do we make life so much more difficult than it really is!? Who cares how many miles we go in a day ¢ it¢s our own hike, we can do whatever we want. H your own H. We decide to stay and go to bed early (another one of those ways I kid myself time and again). At dark, Stinger rolled in, with talks of some creature called a fisher cat, which is supposedly the only animal that eats porcupines, and, according to Stinger, possibly cucumbers.
Date: 2005-08-29
From: Thistle Hill shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

29 AUGUp early, and was out of the shelter before the guys for a much needed and enjoyed solo morning hike, that is, of course, after a pot full of chocolate pudding for breakfast. It¢s great being a thru-hiker, eating whatever you want and not worrying about weight gain, eating more candy bars than anyone should be allowed, not showering¢¦ well, it might not be for everyone. Another misty morning, and it¢s fun to see a mountain in the distance, and then having be covered by a cloud again, only to re-emerge briefly and hide once more. Picked wild grapes and apples along the way! The guys caught up, and we hiked together, speeding up as we get closer and closer to Hanover. The moment we turned onto a road and deciphered which way we¢re headed, a lady ran out to us, bearing huge slices of cantaloupe! This magic¢¦ this magic just follows us around ¢ it¢s fantabulous!!Crossed the Connecticut River and entered Hanover, but I¢m not recognizing it yet; it¢s been 14 years since I¢ve been here last. Finally, at the main intersection it all came back ¢ Dartmouth campus, downtown, the big green field¢¦ We are welcomed at the DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club), went out to dinner, and foutnd ourselves a place to stay at a co-ed Frat house, showers and all. Harmonica, Toolman, and a bunch of other hikers are staying here too.
Date: 2005-08-30
From: Hanover, NH

To: Moose Hill shelter
Miles today: 11.0

30 AUGTowns suck time like there¢s no tomorrow. Every time I plan out my town tasks carefully, to get out with decent mileage, it¢s like all gears come to a halt! Stinger and I try to find a Laundromat, but the only one in town is full-service, and offers to have our clothes done by Friday (3 days from now!). We sneak into a dorm basement and wash our clothes these, go out for breakfast (with a Russian waitress!), resupply, and try to leave, but run into Southern Nation (Nightcrawler, whom I met my second night on the trail, Hippy, Stretch, etc). They are a fun gang, but don¢t seem to be hiking much, just drinking, partying, and yellow-blazing, but that¢s cool, because we all hike our own hikes (HYOH). The moment we actually do escape, remnants of hurricane Katrina dump their glory on us. We muddle thru 11 miles, and walk into a full shelter at Moose Mtn (3BM, Team Sloth, and Crazy Horse); the rain has that unifying quality.
Date: 2005-08-31
From: Moose Hill shelter

To: zero
Miles today: 0.0

31 AUGLast night I had a very realistic dream of my father having a heart attack. I was so disturbed by the dream (and by me being at least 11 mi from the nearest phone), that I couldn¢t sleep the rest of the night. Really, we are out here in the woods, and even though it is blissful to be ignorant, it is also disturbing to realize how much can happen (back home) without us, and we¢d never know.It is still raining, and the gang from the shelter actually decided to walk on. Stinger and I stalled for a while, but then he brought out a deck of cards, and all was lost. That was the easiest decision (made for me by the universe and by my weakness for card games), and we zeroed in the tent, playing games, reading, writing, and drinking hot cocoa with baileys and kaluha.
Date: 2005-09-01
From: Moose Hill shelter

To: Smarts Mtn Firetower
Miles today: 13.0

1 SEPT Happy September! We¢re actually hiking today, and my feet are thankful for the ¢zero¢. Passing thru a field, we decided to get water at a house with a ¢Free Water¢ sign towards it. There were three couples playing croquet in the back yard, and the owner gave us ice cream in addition to water! Hiked out to Smarts Mtn, and watched the sunset from the tower. The sunny day had us tired after 12 miles, and we decided to sleep in the shelter, watch the stars, and the sunrise the next morning. I can¢t believe we actually debated whether to stay or move on! Magical night with amazing 360 degree views, watching the progress of the sunset until the east turned hazy and 2 planets rose in the west, the shooting stars, the cloud cover in the valleys in the peach of the morning!
Date: 2005-09-02
From: Smarts Mtn Firetower

To: Dancing Bones community
Miles today: 14.0

2 SEPTLate start, but the day is beautiful, though on muddy and rooty, slippery trail. Met Tucker, Cherry Bomb, and Flatus on (Hexa)Cube Mtn. Tucker is a twin of GQ, which cracks me up every time I look at him. We hike past Hexacube shelter (not stopping by too many shelters these days ¢ got nothing witty to say for the shelter registers, and no desire to hike and extra 0.4-0.6 mi each time), and eat lunch by a waterfall/stream. I am feeling very tired today, and it seems like I¢ve been feeling very tired in the last several days. I¢m trying to get as much protein in my diet at possible, without eating cans of tuna for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but even a mere 12 miles gets me feeling knackered! Decided to walk the extra 1.5 mi off the trail to spend an evening/night at the Dancing Bones intentional community. I¢ve heard about it, but when we arrived it was quite empty. Eventually some folks appeared and fed us ¢bottomless bowls¢ of bean/pasta soup, and told us a bit about the basis for the community, but the real jewel was a 4yo boy ¢ Quinn, who was so excited about life, that his enthusiasm was immediately addictive! At dinner, he got all giddy, yelling, ¢you guys! You guys! You guys,¢ and then added, as though it were a secret, ¢are my parents!!!¢ We were put up in the attic, on mattresses, so for those that think the AT is a wilderness experience, perhaps you are as pleasantly surprised as I am to learn that there is some civilized structure to our lifestyle.
Date: 2005-09-03
From: Dancing Bones community

To: Beaver Brook Shelter, Mt. Mousilake, N.H.
Miles today: 16.0

It's so nice to sleep on a bed every once in a while! I remember when I had just gotten on the trail, back in NC and southern VA, i observed thru-hikers desparate for a town, a bed, a hot shower, and thought, "I'm not there yet. I'm still at the stage they were at back on Springer Mtn, GA." Since then, i think i've come to that stage, and every opportunity to shower or sleep on something soft, but most importantly - dry - had been a blessing. And it is so incredibly simple to boil water in a kettle on a stove! Ah, civilization... i guess i do miss it, a little.We caught a ride out to the trail and made a quick 8 morning miles into Glencliff, checked out a local restaurant, were shocked at the current gas prices (>$3.50/ga!!) and decided to keep walking. The much feared and anticipated climb up Mousilake was lost in fascinated conversation, and we emerged at the summit at sunset! We've been very lucky to hit mountains at sunset time and again, and this was one of those bitter ice cold wind times, but so beautiful! The grasses (above treeline) were an orange blaze, like flames dancing in the wind; the White Mtns. were grey, monstrous, and mysterious in the darkening distance; and the company was just right - thanks, Stinger!
Date: 2005-09-05
From: Lonesome Lake Hut, White Mtns, N.H.

To: Franconia Ridge
Miles today: 8.0

Ah, sleeping indoors again. For those that think that the thru-hike is a purely wilderness experience - i am as (pleasantly) surprised as you are! The thru-hiker crew watched while the day-tourists were fed, and then helped clean and ate the delicious left-overs, before hiking out into the beautiful, sunny forest, alongside a lake (that looks just like Auke Lake in Juneau, AK!) and a stream, all the way to a road. Stinger and i hitched into Lincoln, NH, with a former thru-hiker, resupplied, gorged on town food (ice cream!), and began our hitch back. I say 'began', because it was such a long procedure that there actually was a beginning, a middle, a quick and unsucccessful end, another beginning, and, finally, the actually hitch. Waiting on the side of the road, at the end of Labor Day weekend, we were sure a ride would arrive in a snap, but after almost an hour of lounging in inflatable rafts out on display at the road, josteling with Stinger's hiking poles, a killer (no pun intended) performance of my death by stabbing and beating, all we got was applause from a long train of bikers, but still no ride. eventually, a man picked us up and packed us into his car only to tell us that we've been hitching the wrong way this whole time. he made a U-turn and dropped us off on the other side of the road about a half a mile down from where we stood before! we repeated the afternoon's entertainment for the folks headed the other way, and finally scored a ride with a visiting hiker from an organic farm, who not only drove us to the trail, but gave us some fresh veggies (perfect for the cheese i just got at the store!). We hiked up Franconia in a heated discussion of whether English is a vague language or not, arriving at the same conclusion i drew before teh discussion even emerged (and Stinger might have a few words to combat this, still), paused to chat with the care taker at Liberty Spring campsite, and made our way out onto the ridge.This was one of the most magical places on the trail! For me - the most magical! I believe in sending request to the universe (to explain all this i may need a book, or maybe just a whole lot of your attention, so i will not do so at this moment), and all i wanted was to watch the sunset and the sunrise from this ridge. Stinger wanted to night hike on the ridge... and we got both of our wishes in grandeur! we hiked out above treeline at goldenhour, dined at sunset, hiked under the stars, stealth camped (if you can call it that) 1 ft from the trail on a grassy flat spot exactly the size of the tent footprint, watched the stars for a long time before retiring for the night, and...
Date: 2005-09-06
From: Franconia Ridge

To: Zealand Hut, White Mtns, N.H.
Miles today: 14.0

... and got up early, just before the sunrise, to see the valleys submerged in a peach milkshake (clouds, really, but i'm trying to be poetic, here). ate breakfast as the sun rose and showed us, once again, the glory of the Presidential Range off in the distance. We hiked on to Mt. Lafayette for a meditation a la Crazy Horse (sit still and look around you, then, close your eyes and do a breathing meditation for about 20 minutes, then, open your eyes and be blown away by what you see), and continued on to 2nd breakfast at Garfield Mtn, which is a smaller mtn between two ranges, and looks onto the valley between the two ranges. At some point, we saw a fighter jet, and we saw it fly quite low and way into the valley before we even heard a sound! gorgeous day, again, and we're enjoying walking in the breezy exposed mtn tops/ridges and in the cooling forest, intermittently. Lunched at Galehead Hut with Dorothy and Toto, played a pitiful game of chess, and, in self-redemption, gorged myself on Stinger's PB and chocolate frosting (what a great combination!) Basked in the sun, and moved on to Zealand Hut. My knees are hurting, and i'm taking it real slow down to the hut. When we arrived, there was already quite a party of thru-hikers at the hut: Moonshine, Sal (and his brother, who is 7'2" tall!), Mr. Fusion (the one that has hiked the whole trail in a tie), Stinger, Cherry Bomb, Tucker, Flatus, and myself... maybe i'm forgetting someone else? After dinner and cleaning chores, we chatted at the table, and i was impressed to find out that we have a M.S. in math, 2 Business Admin majors, a Graphic Arts 7 Design major, an Air & Space Engineer, and 2 scientists amongs us, and it may have occured to me (and others), previously, that we - thru-hikers - are a bunch of bums that don't know what to do with ourselves! On the 'bum' note, sleeping under dinner tables again, but indoors, and it's warm and dry.
Date: 2005-09-07
From: Zealand Hut, White Mtns, N.H.

To: Mizpah Hut, White Mtns, N.H.
Miles today: 14.0

DAY 103 (7 SEPT 2005; 14 mi)Sleeping on and under dining tables ¢ like a slumber party ¢ again. We help set up for breakfast, and then sunbathe on the porch while the ¢tourists¢ eat. Then, help clean up, and eat, too. Oatmeal; but it¢s easy to eat 3 heaping bowls, if you mix in brown sugar, raising, almond slivers, and blueberry coffee cake! Today¢s going is easy ¢ along an old railroad bed. At Rte 302 we hitch out to Willey House for coconut almond chip ice cream by a lake. There¢s not a cloud in the sky, and we are content to sit by the lake and stare at the ducks. Eventually, we resort to our hiking pole jostling routine while hitchhiking back to the trailhead. We put on quite a show, and I¢d like to think that people aren¢t picking us up because they want to keep watching Stinger stab me to near death. The climb up Webster Cliffs is steep, and the day is still hot. Moonshine and Mr. Fusion catch up to us, and after a ceremonial battle of the twins (Moonshine and I are both Geminis, in addition to which he carries Excalibur and the appropriate shield) we walk the ridge to Mt. Jackson playing the famous Moonshine game ¢Would you rather have.. or¢¦?¢, Ghost (¢bilateradical¢ and ¢idiosynchronous¢ are not real words, apparently), and other silly and entertaining word games. The going is so much easier when you¢re not focusing on the 60-degree rock walls you¢re climbing! At Mizpah hut we had a special treat ¢ Crazy Horse was awaiting us!!! After dinner (and this is the only hut that actually had meat!), we are shown to the attic ¢ the special thru-hiker bunkroom ¢ and the BFD (Blanket Folding Demonstration) costume trunk full of all kinds of costumes, dresses, capes, wigs, you name it! We took our pics, and still dressed in those ridiculous, hilarious costumes played music for the ¢tourist¢ guests (I¢m not sure how to call them in a more PC manner), talked of thru-hiking, a served as entertainment for the evening. After everyone went to sleep, we climbed onto the hut roof to inhale some composting fumes and gaze at the stars¢¦
Date: 2005-09-08
From: Mizpah Hut, White Mtns, N.H.

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut, White Mtns, N.H.
Miles today: 8.0

DAY 104 (8 SEPT 2005; 8 mi)This hut has the absolute coolest crew¢¦. They brought us breakfast in bed in the morning!!!!!!!!! Most folks in civilization don¢t get this, and we are just hiking bums!! Then, after post-breakfast clean up, we had our second breakfast, and elevenzies¢¦ A mouse got caught in one of the mouse traps, and they guy on the hug crew didn¢t have the cruelty factor to finish it off, so I was nominated to smash this poor mouse¢s head against a rock (or the other way around) until it stopped it¢s wiggling. Somehow that made me that ¢bad a**¢ and cancelled out whatever other chores I had lined up for the morning.The hiking is unbelievable today. It is clear and sunny, again, and we¢re walking basically on a ridge top or around a ridge, but we¢re above treeline, so there are panoramic view to left and right, and I keep having to stop to take it all in. I want to walk one inch an hour, so as not to miss every bird flying by, the breeze in my face, every ridge seen in the distance (half of which we crossed in the last 2-3 days).... all this beauty makes me giggle. This is a new habit, I think ¢ giggling at the sight of beauty?! Works for me. Found some cowberries and billberry. Stopped at Lakes of the Clouds hut for lunch and fresh cookies (Thanks Kyle!!), and a breath-taking overhanging view from the dining room and the bathrooms, and then took off for Mt. Washington. Ten steps from the hut, Stinger and I are in doubt of whether we want to go or stay. It is just a perfect day to lounge around at this altitude, catching some rays, dipping in the ice-cold lakes, eating those chocolate chip cookies¢¦. We flip a coin which tells us to stay; so we move on. By the time we¢re at the top of Mt. Washington, some rain clouds have rolled up the mountain, and we attempt to wait them out before moving on to Madison hut, but are recommended by the rangers to just leave our packs at the station there and walk back down to Lake of the Clouds. We should have just stayed, but whatever. We walk down to Lakes of the Clouds and enjoy an evening of jenga, scrabble, and other games with Seeker, Crazy Horse, Stinger, and a few SOBOs, followed by a delicious dinner in the kitchen with the hut croo, and story-time. I am not going to repeat the stories told ¢ what happens on the trail, stays on the trail in that sense, but some of you know exactly what the italian dressing was used for, and at this hut, that story won the prize.Once arranged under the dining tables, once again, we are ready to go to sleep, but there¢s a very funny, strange snore shaking the room, and we start giggling. ¢It¢s not a NOBO,¢ I say. We all know each other by our snores by now.
Date: 2005-09-09
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut, White Mtns, N.H.

To: Madison Hut, White Mtns, N.H.
Miles today: 7.0

DAY 105 (9 SEPT 2005; 7 mi)Up early, and watching the sunrise over the clouds in the valley and ripening the mountain faces all around the hut. Looks like the mountains rise above a white fluffy sea, and we are somewhere in between the abyss of the sea and the pink dome above. Breakfast, chores, and we¢re out early, back up Mt. Washington for our packs, and then skirting around most of the Presidentials towards Madison hut. Past the cogway railroad ¢ how are we supposed to moon it if we can barely see it in the cloud 20 yards away!? It is a much clearer day, with the exception of that one cloud above the railroad, and another one on Mt. Adams, where we were serenaded on bag pipes by SOBO ¢Red Eft¢!At the huts, I¢ve been reading the ¢accidents¢ section of Appalachia journal, all about folks getting lost in snow on the Whites. Right before the descent to Madison hut, a cloud swept over the trail, and with Stinger way ahead, and Seeker way back, I could totally understand how one can get lost in the majesty of these mountains. The 0.3 mi descend to Madison hut about killed my knee, and I was quite set on staying at the hut, even though the guys (CH and S) had originally wanted to move on. At the hut, however, I was informed that we are staying, so hours of hot chocolate with whip cream, veggie soup, game and guitar playing later, we were doing the regular dinner set-up routine, eating dinner with the croo (which insisted on serving us along with all the guests, instead of making us wait till the ¢tourists¢ were done eating), and cleaning up. Stinger and Crazy Horse played chess, talking sh*t to each other, but rhyming it, freestylin¢ it, which had us on the floor laughing the whole evening. Sleeping under the tables again ¢ last time.
Date: 2005-09-10
From: Madison Hut, White Mtns, N.H.

To: homestay in Gorham, N.H.
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

DAY 106 (10 SEPT 2005; 7 mi)The wind howls madly in the turbine at this hut!!! Breakfast and chores (scrubbing the bunks, this time), second breakfast (we are so spoiled!). We¢re out at 10am, onto the hot, sunny side of the Mt. Monroe (or is it Mt. Madison?), and then down the icy, windy, cold side, where my knees died. The entire climb down to Pinkham Knotch was a slow crawl, snail-like, and very painful. Stinger¢s MP3 player kept me going, but when it was CH¢s turn to listen to it, I was done for the day. Barely made it the last 2 flat miles to the Headquarters there at Pinkham, and sat down, hoping not to have to get up any time soon, i.e. today. Luckily, a retired nurse (thru-hiker, ¢Jack Rabbit¢) and a day-hiker doctor examined my knees and gave me some ice packs to ice them down, a headquarters employee donated some new knee braces and dinner (for Seeker and I), and Stinger ¢ sweetheart ¢ hitched with me to Gorham for what I know will be a zero day for me (doctor¢s orders). Rest, hiking poles, and lost of Alieve was the prescription, and that¢s exactly what I plan to do.As we hitch (no jostling this time, as I am barely standing anyway), a lady with 2 sons in the mini van picks us up. After a short chat, we are welcomed to her house, showered, fed dinner with the whole family, and camped out in the back yard. It is still a surprise when total strangers take us ¢ stinky bums ¢ in and treat us like we¢re royalty! Thank you, Maugeen, Flannan, Mark, and Rod!!!!!
Date: 2005-09-11
From: homestay in Gorham, N.H.

To: homestay in Gorham, N.H.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

DAY 107 (11 SEPT 2005; 0 mi)The over-achiever self that I am decided to forget doctor¢s orders and slack pack 22 miles over the wildcats today. Yep, this is the day my knees were buried!! Walked 200 yards down a flat trail and couldn¢t walk any more. Stinger went alone, while I played Frisbee (doctor¢s orders?) with Traildawg (AT 2004) and Mateo (NOBO) at the trailhead, swam in an outdoor pool, warmed up in a sauna¢¦ the life of a thru-hiker, huh!? Picked up some more NOBOs at the trailhead and went out for pizza, went to the sauna, again, watched the Simpsons¢¦ while Stinger was putting in the 22 miles over the wildcats. What can I say ¢ doctor¢s orders : )Stinger returned late that night, after I had already gone to sleep. I am quite impressed. I will have to pull the same stint when my knees are better.
Date: 2005-09-12
From: homestay in Gorham, N.H.

To: campsite
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

DAY 108 (12 SEPT 2005; 7 mi)This is the day my knees saw the light. After breakfast, re-supplied and got some hiking poles from the local WalMart (Marshmallow ¢ I¢m thinking of you on this one). Short and relatively easy day today to a campsite with a whole crew of NOBOs (Cherry Bomb, Flatus, Tucker, Sunflower, BottleRocket, Pixie, Pinedragon, Mateo). Dinner dessert: English muffin with layers of triple chocolate fudge frosting with chips, cream cheese, peanut butter, and granny smith apple slices ¢ it¢s the best!!!