morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-08-19
From: Mizpah Hut

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 4.7
Weather: fog

I took my time this morning enjoying breakfast and I also did some more deliberate walking. With just a few days practice I've already improved quite a bit. I made a video of myself walking across the dining room and you can see just a hint of my limp. I finally rolled out at 10:30 and hiked my way North to the next hut. The weather was stunning with temperatures in the 50s, a nice breeze, and visibility clear to the horizon. I did better mentally today. There weren't any big hills and I was hiking less than five miles. I was still having thoughts about the beach and "what if I just stopped now" contemplations but much less of this was going on as compared to yesterday. It's been interesting staying in the huts with people who are out for a few days doing hut to hut trips. Most folks are friendly enough but the camaraderie that's shared by thru hikers is missing. For example tonight there were two of us waiting in line to check in when a group of three men I'll call the geezers barged in the door and totally butted to the front of the line. I finally checked in and was told that they had reserved a bottom bunk for me so that I'd have an easier time getting in and out with my damaged leg. I went to see where I was going to sleep and the geezers were encroaching on my bunk space. "Reserved for Peter? That signs probably from 2009." Is the conversation I heard as I came in the door. "Actually that's me, and yes that's my bunk." I declared, glad that I had arrived in time to defend my spot. My plan for tomorrow is to wake up early and see the sun rise as I climb Mt Washington. I don't have a reservation at the next hut so I'm going to ask about work for stay. The staff, called the croo, allows a few thru hikers to help out with chores in exchange for food and a spot to sleep on the dining room floor. If I can't get work for stay then I'll need to hike about three miles further to reach the next campsite. There is another place to camp that's 6/10 of a mile downhill on a side trail but I don't like doing bonus miles, especially if it's downhill and back up. I'm going to get my water and have my pack ready tonight so that I can make an early exit in the morning.
Date: 2016-08-21
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: broken clouds

The trail this morning headed straight up Mount Madison immediately after leaving the Madison Springs hut. I managed to make my way up the various places that I call "Rock puzzles". "How can I get up that?" Is the question I have to answer each time. Closer to the top of the mountain the trail turns into a boulder field. It's as if a huge dump truck dumped just a ton of rocks ranging in size from baseballs all the way up to small tables. Instead of an obvious path, there are simply cairns - triangular piles of rocks - that mark the general direction of the trail. I find walking on this type of surface difficult because of two reasons. First off, it's hard to find a flat place to rest my injured foot. Each rock is different and the side pointing up might be flat, and edge, or even a point. The other thing is that due to the poor balance I have on my injured side and also perhaps due to my age, I feel like I'm constantly in danger of falling. This ongoing precarious feeling wears me out mentally. The summit is breezy with gusts of 40 to 50 mph. I take a few photos and then quickly head down the other side thinking of how nice it will feel to get below treeline and get out of the wind. The trail roller coasters down the ridge line going over a number of smaller summits, each one covered in similar boulder fields for me to traverse. When I finally make it down past treeline I'm out of the wind and the trail is much smoother. After a steep descent through the woods I stop to eat some lunch while processing thoughts of quitting my hike. "This is nuts... That was not fun... What am I doing hiking such treacherous terrain?" I think to myself as I sit there looking at a lone house sized rock. Honey Buns, Jokester, and a few other hikers show up to join me in resting after the trek over Madison. They are contemplating taking a shortcut trail that is not part of the AT down to Rt 16. "It's about two miles shorter but I'm sure I'll end up walking at least two miles when I'm in town." says Jokester. Honey Buns wants to stay on the AT and they go back and forth trying to decide which way to go. I suggest that if they do skip two miles then they'll need to walk an extra two miles, "Sometime in the next year, so that it counts, while thinking about the AT, and you have to have a few pages of the guidebook in your pocket."Jokester laughs and then adds "Yea, and if anyone asks where you're going you have to say Katahdin." I feel better after joking around with them and make my way down the (longer) trail which is part of the AT. I'm rewarded before long with a section called Old Jackson Road which is mostly smooth, wide, and gently sloped downhill. I make it to my car at Pickham Notch and drive to White Mountain Lodge in Gorham to spend the night. This hostel is clean and well run. I'm looking forward to the stuffed French toast for breakfast tomorrow.
Date: 2016-08-22
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Wildcat Ski Area
Miles today: 3.0

I was going to zero today but instead elected to hike up the very steep Wildcat Mountain with a fanny pack holding my cell phone, a small bottle of juice, and half of a rueben sandwich. I met Tom, a rather fit section hiker who was going to hike up the mountain and then meet his wife at the top of the gondola as she wanted to skip the steep climb. As I got to know Tom I discovered that he was in great shape from "48 years of rowing". Despite being in great shape, Tom was willing to slow down enough that I was able to keep up with him. It was great to make my way up without the weight of my pack, and because I was busy talking with Tom, I was able to reach the summit without having to think too much about just how steep the mountain was. At the top I took the gondola down, finishing my day after doing only three miles. It was a little scary but fun to ride the gondola down. The plan is to take the gondola back up tomorrow to continue my hike northward. At the bottom I met Trotter, a 64 year old NOBO who was at the end of her rope. She had also taken the gondola down however her reason for coming down was that she'd had it with all the steep climbs, rocks, and technical sections in this part of the trail. "I'm going to skip the rough sections and go up to Andover... Can you drive me there, I'll pay for your gas?" she asked. "That's over two hours round trip and I have stuff I need to get done this afternoon" I responded. "I'll give you a ride anywhere you want here in town... Maybe I can take you to the bus station" I suggested. "You should skip up to Andover with me, this is a horrible part of the trail. Why don't you just skip this hard part? You can always come back and do it later.""Uhhh.... No thanks, I really don't want to skip any parts of the trail." I explained. I ended up dropping Trotter off at a campground where she said she knew some other people. She thanked me for the ride but the scowl on her face let me know that she wasn't too happy about my refusal to shuttle her up to Andover. I'm staying at the White Mountain Lodge and Hostel again because it's a nice place.
Date: 2016-08-23
From: Wildcat Ski Area

To: Carter Hut
Miles today: 2.9
Weather: clear sky

Today was another short day. I got a ride mid day back over to the gondola and rode it up the mountain to continue on my journey. The views of Mt Washington were good on the ride up and from the top of the mountain. The next section of trail headed North from the gondola was quite straight up looking. Trotter had mentioned something about this yesterday - I think that's what may have made her decide to skip ahead to Maine. Having already done Wildcat peak E, I made my way over the other Wildcat peaks of D, C, and A. I'm not sure what happened to Wildcat peak B. Then I worked my way down the steep descent to Carter Hut. As I walked up to the hut I was greeted with a nice "Hi Flash 52, how are you doing?" by Smiley, a NOBO that I had met a few days ago at Madison Springs hut. Thankfully the dinner was nice and bunks were less eventful than my experience at the last hut with no crazy headlamps waking me up at night. The hike on the other side of the notch up Carter Dome looks steep but a SOBO told me that it's not too bad.
Date: 2016-08-24
From: Carter Hut

To: Mt Moriah
Miles today: 9.3

The climb up Carter Dome wasn't too bad. While it was a decent climb, the trail didn't have any technical sections and the steep sections had been improved by adding rock steps. I've been struggling a bit lately. The views are awesome and I feel like I should really be enjoying this part of my hike. The problem is that I'm so worn out and feeling like I just want to be done. To liven things up a bit I decided to cowboy camp on top of Mt Moriah tonight. Cowboy camping is where you don't bother with a tent and just sleep out under the stars in your sleeping bag. The pad is a nice touch also especially when you're sleeping on a rock mountaintop. I'm pretty sure that it's not going to rain tonight. If it does, there's a nice stealth spot not too far away that I could use to put my tent up. I watched the sun go down and now the stars are out - it's glorious! I can see the milky way.Life is good. I just need to remember to enjoy it.
Date: 2016-08-25
From: Mt Moriah

To: Gorham, ME
Miles today: 5.9

The sunrise was beautiful today. It was an easy 5.9 miles down past the Rattle River Shelter and down to the road in Gorham. I walked back over to the White Mountain Lodge where they were nice enough to offer me a left over breakfast burrito even though I'm not staying there tonight. I'm at the Notch Inn Hotel tonight so that I can walk in their pool to help my leg feel better. I went to Walmart to resupply my food for the next few days and plan to move my car up the trail in the morning.
Date: 2016-08-26
From: Gorham, ME

To: 1/2 Mile North of Trident Col Campsite
Miles today: 7.2

I moved my car up to Grafton Notch today and then shuttled back down to Gorham. I was lucky to find two SOBOs that were willing to pay part of the cost of the shuttle because they needed a ride into Berlin to a bed and breakfast that they were staying at. It was almost noon by the time I started hiking so I didn't expect to do very many miles. I saw the red leaves in today's photo which were the first sign of Fall that I've seen this year. I was going to stay at the Trident Col Campsite but decided to skip it when I saw that it was 2/10 of a mile off the trail. Rather than hiking an extra 4/10 of a mile to the campsite and back I went another 1/2 mile North and found a nice stealth site that was off the trail. I'm in my tent now and it feels nice to be sleeping in the woods again.
Date: 2016-08-27
From: 1/2 Mile North of Trident Col Campsite

To: 2/10 South of Maine Border
Miles today: 9.1

Today was a nice hike past Dream Lake, Gentian Pond, and then up and over the difficult Mt Success. I took my time and rested a few times on the way up. It was a tough climb but not nearly as difficult for me as my hike through the White Mountains. I had planned on making it to Maine today but I found a good stealth site off the trail at about 6:30 pm. that was 2/10 of a mile South of the Maine/New Hampshire border. I was tired and decided to call it a day.
Date: 2016-08-28
From: 2/10 South of Maine Border

To: Bull Branch Campsite
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I made it to Maine this morning!Only 270 miles to go to Katahdin. This is the last of 14 states on the Appalachian Trail and the SOBOs have been telling me that it is gorgeous. I stopped for a snack at the Full Goose Shelter at 2:30 and then headed down the mountain to tackle the famous Mahoosuc Notch. This is a narrow notch with cliffs on both sides that is filled with house sized and smaller boulders. You have to make your way around, over, and at times under this jumble of rocks that is one mile long. On the way down the hill I met Tip Toe, a 72 year old lady from Connecticut. She was making her way carefully but steadily down to the Notch. I decided to hike with her through the Notch to make sure that she didn't have any trouble making it through. It was nice to have two of us trying out different ways to get through the various sections of the Notch. "This looks like a better way to go over here" we'd say to each other. The problem was that Tip Toe's slow pace was pushing us dangerously up against the end of the day. I kept looking at my watch but decided not to worry about running out of daylight as I felt that I should stay with Tip Toe. We had another 3/10 of a mile to go when it got dark and we turned on our headlamps. Then the thunder started rumbling overhead. Before long there were a few drops of rain coming down. We needed to get out of the Notch and quick, but it's impossible to hurry when you're trying to find a safe way though an obstacle course like this. We finally made it through the Notch and began to look for the campsite that was on the North end of the Notch. The rain was beginning to come down now and I was ready to call it a night. I saw the glow of a tent off to the side of the trail but didn't see a sign or a trail that went over to the campsite. When we begin hiking uphill I knew that we had most likely gone past the campsite. I checked my "Guthook" app and confirmed my suspicions. We turned around and finally found the mostly overgrown trail to the campsite. It turns out that there wasn't a sign since this was an unofficial campsite even though it was big enough for a dozen or more tents. I put up my tent in the rain which was now pouring down in earnest. I settled in for the night but was awaked at about 3 am by a shivering Tip Toe who was outside my tent. "Can I share your tent, I'm all wet, shivering and I'm freezing" she said explaining that she hadn't set up her hammock correctly in the rain. "Sure, come on in" I said, moving my stuff out of the way to make room for her. I gave her my sleeping pad to insulate her from the ground and unzipped my sleeping bag so that it could be used as a blanket over both of us. She was able to warm up and went to sleep while I did my best to catch a few winks with just my head on the edge of the sleeping pad. "This is just another part of my Appalachian Trail adventure that I'll be able to write about in my journal" I thought to myself as I waited for the morning light to arrive.
Date: 2016-08-29
From: Bull Branch Campsite

To: Grafton Notch
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: few clouds

Here's the photo from when I arrived in Maine yesterday. It feels great to finally be in Maine. I made my way up Mahoosuc Arm this morning. It's a 1,600 foot climb over about a mile and half that other hikers had said was a real challenge. There were a number of places where there's a big slab of rock that's tilted uphill at 45 degrees or worse where you need to figure out how to get up. It's too steep to walk up the face, you can try it but your shoes or boots will let go and you'll slip back downhill. So the method is to look either for some rough spots that will give your shoe soles some traction, or make your way up the edges trying to find some tree roots to step on while also holding onto the trees that are right next to the trail. Many of the trees have been used for this same purpose by other hikers and some of them are getting loose like a tooth that's been wiggled and is ready to be pulled out. I took my time, resting a few times on the way up, and before long made it to the top. I enjoyed the hike down past Speck Pond which was wind blown with whitecaps. I stopped off at the shelter to eat lunch before hiking up and over Speck Mountain. There were some steep sections and the wind was blowing pretty good up top - I'd guess that the gusts were about 70 mph. After that the trail became nicer and I made my way down to Grafton Notch where I was pleasantly surprised to see that my car was still there. I drove over to The Cabin which is a really nice hostel here in Andover. I didn't get here in time for dinner so I grabbed a few things out of the trunk of my car and ate a can of beans and cooked some noodles. There are about a dozen other hikers here who are watching a dvd of The Wizard of Oz.
Date: 2016-08-30
From: Grafton Notch

To: East B Hill Road
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I had a great breakfast this morning at The Cabin hostel. It's run by Honey and Bear who are kind and loving folks. Blueberry pancakes with more blueberries on top, real maple syrup, eggs, potatoes with other good stuff cooked in with them, biscuits, melon, orange juice, coffee, and (this lets you know you are in Maine) baked beans!I decided to try using my fanny pack again today to slack pack. I brought my cell phone, 1/4 roll of TP (just in case) a bottle of gatorade, water treatment pills (so I could get more water) a few protein bars and some peanut M&Ms. On the way up Mt Baldpate I met Cary, a section hiker from Madison, WI. He was ok going at my pace and I enjoyed having someone to talk with so that I wasn't thinking about all the steps I needed to take up the mountain. He's a journalist of sorts and was interested in my story of how I shattered my hip, dislocated my femur, and suffered nerve damage in my leg prior to deciding to hike the AT.Before long... Presto! I was at the top of the first peak. Maine really is beautiful.Without my pack the hiking today was fun. The trail included a number of ladders and even one section where you had to hold onto a rope to get down a steeply slanted section. The last few miles were a nice dirt path and I called The Cabin to come and pick me up at the trailhead. Earl, also known as Bear, was there within 5 minutes of my arrival. He was nice enough to stop at the corner store in Andover so that I could get a root beer float to hold me over for dinner. And wow, what a dinner. Honey had cooked up a storm including homemade brownies with moose tracks ice cream on top. Honey and Bear have been running this hostel for 22 years. It's apparent that they still love what they are doing and really enjoy helping out all of the hikers.
Date: 2016-08-31
From: East B Hill Road

To: The Cabin Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

My muscles were sore this morning and it was raining outside so I decided to take a zero and rest up a bit. Honey was going to visit her sister in Rangeley and offered to help me move my car there. On the drive North I noticed that Maine appears to be more remote than any other state I¢ve driven in along the Appalachian Trail. I didn¢t see a single gas station, food place, or any other type of business during the hour long drive. I saw a few houses, some camps, and miles and miles of bumpy road lined with forest on both sides. In Rangeley I found a wonderful physical therapy center with a heated therapy pool - I was the only one in the pool and enjoyed walking in the water while listening to nice music that they offered to turn on for me. I had just enough time to run into the IGA grocery store to get some tortillas, pepperoni and cheese for my dinners before leaving my car at the Farmhouse Inn Hostel which is where I¢d end up in a few days. I enjoyed the ride back to Andover as I listened to Honey¢s stories of how she met her husband Earl on a hiking trip 22 years ago. Once again, I enjoyed a delicious family style dinner with all the fixings plus ice cream with brownies for desert. I watched the beginning of the movie ¢Alien¢ with some other hikers and then settled down in the bunk room which is where I am now. Thanks so much for reading my journal and following along with me on my adventure!
Date: 2016-09-01
From: The Cabin Hostel

To: South Arm Rd
Miles today: 10.0

I hiked this 10 miles Southbound today to make it easier for The Cabin to pick me up at the end of the day. At the trailhead I bumped into Cary and Kirsten whom I had met up on Mt Baldpate a few days ago. I ended up hiking with them at times throughout the day and enjoyed having someone to talk with. Cary is a former journalist who¢s writing a book about characters he¢s met on the AT. I did my best to supply him with a variety of Flash 52 stories in an effort to liven up his book a bit. Kirsten has kids that are about the same age as ours so we traded updates and stories about the interesting lives our children are living. We got the bigger climbs out of the way in the morning and were rewarded with a relatively easy downhill trail towards the end of the day. I am so much - SO MUCH - happier hiking on trails like this as compared to the rocky boulder fields that I had to traverse while in the White Mountains. I¢m finding that even a tough obstacle or steep uphill section is now easier for me because I tell myself ¢At least this is better than the Whites.¢Hopper, the right hand person who helps Honey and Bear at The Cabin, was there waiting for us at the end of the day¢s hike. Cary asked her if she was Bismarck¢s hiking partner and she said ¢Yes, but I don¢t want to talk about it.¢ It turns out that Bismarck was the famous fugitive on the Appalachian Trail who was captured at Trail Days in 2015. He apparently had embezzled 8.5 million dollars from Pepsi, his employer before hiking and hiding out on the trail for six years!Hopper as his girlfriend and hiking partner fell in love with a Bismarck who was, according to several people that knew him, ¢One of the nicest people on the trail.¢ He is now serving a 96 month prison sentence after pleading guilty and promising to pay back 7.6 million dollars. This was of course a very interesting story and I considered it a privilege to meet Hopper who despite being totally surprised by Bismarck¢s previous life refuses to change her name. She is awesomely nice, an incredibly hard worker, and I wish her the very best for her future with or without Bismarck.
Date: 2016-09-02
From: South Arm Rd

To: Route 17
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I also hiked this section Southbound today by slack packing with Cary and Kirsten again. They walk at about the same speed as I do and I really enjoy having someone to talk with. They are both interesting people - and they aren¢t a couple, just friends that both like to hike. We met Blue Turtle who is a 64 year old school teacher from Germany. I noticed that even though she didn't go very fast whenever we stopped for a break Blue Turtle would catch up to us. I find it very motivating to see other hikers who are my age or older out here on the trail. It was a push to get our 13 miles in today because we had a few mountains to go over. It was 4:30 pm when we finally made it to the summit of Old Blue Mountain - only 2.7 miles to go. I called The Cabin and told them we¢d be down at the trail head in two hours at 6:30 pm. We had heard from other hikers that the trail down from Old Blue was hard and really steep in places. We did go down a few rock slabs and had fun with some ladder rungs and railings in places but the trail really wasn¢t too bad. ¢What are they talking about?¢ I was asking myself as we got closer to the end of the day. Then the trail dropped precipitously down into the notch. Very very steep in places with trail maintainer steps in a number of other places. ¢Oh, THIS is what they were talking about¢¦¢I arrived right at 6:30 pm and was greeted by Hopper who was waiting with The Cabin¢s van. Another long time hiker was there handing out ice cream sandwiches - Yum!One other hiker joined us for the ride back to The Cabin where Honey served us a delicious dinner of shepard pie and nice fresh corn on the cob. Then it was the traditional two bowls of ice cream on top of a brownie. This place is great.