morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-16
From: Sherburne Pass

To: Wintturi Shelter
Miles today: 18.0

We took a leisurely morning because we had decided to eat breakfast at the inn before heading out. We all met up at 7:30 when they opened and had a great meal. Right now, Hindsfeet has a friend (Lydia) hiking with her. She is doing well -- but it is extremely tough to try to come out and hike with thru hikers at this stage of the game. After breakfast, we headed up the trail. Coyotebec and I hiked alone most of the day while Tink and Hinds hiked with Lydia. The heat was up a bit higher today - this was a very sweaty affair. My eyelids got sore from all the salt on them. The other aggravation was bugs. They are constantly buzzing around your head and eyes as you walk. After yesterdays incident, I am being very careful about bugs around my head. We reached camp around 6:30 and cooked up some mashed potatoes, Zatarains Black Beans and Rice (yes - they sell that up here!) and pudding. Yum. Tomorrow is our last big day in Vermont. Then we will cross the New Hampshire line on Tuesday morning when we are walking in for our nearo. Looking forward to that!!!More tomorrow...Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-17
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: East Fork of Podunk Brook
Miles today: 18.7

Today turned out to be a severe test of our willpower and trail toughness. We got an early start but at the 4 mile point, we arrived at Lydia's (Hinds friend that was hiking with us) car. Our plan was to ride into Woodstock VT with her to buy a few groceries that we would need to make it into Hanover. Where I think we made our first mistake was in deciding to go to a little breakfast place instead of heading straight back to the trail. The heat clock was ticking. In addition, Coyotebec was saying right from the beginning today stuff like "I just don't think I have it today". Someone in town told us that the weather was calling for temps near 100. We finally got back to the trail and it was roasting. All morning we climbed up and down ridges and hills - one after the other with no flat walking. Tink decided he was going to try for 26 miles into Hanover today. His parting statement was "there's ice cream .2 to the left at the second road". Well - of course we tried it - but to no avail. There was no ice cream place. Just a waste of time and energy. Around 1 we passed (what I thought was) the 3rd road. Coyotebec was tired and wanted to rest but we could not find a good spot. We hiked .3 up the trail and were talking to Sticker when who comes up the trail but Tink and Hinds. We find out that the road we just passed was the right one. I could tell from the look on Coyotbec's face that it wasn't time to enforce the logic that it was 1:30 and we had 11 miles left and we already passed that road etc... So - we walked all the way back to the road, the walked the (long) .2 to a house with a room where they sold a few things. We got 2 sodas and a pint of ice cream. We ate out under a tree having fun with their Australian Cattle dog. We arrived back on the trail around 3. Still with 11 miles left. And it was hotter than ever. It was a tough afternoon. We walked through a small town where some folks allowed us to fill our bottles. Next thing you know, the owner of the house was out offering us water melon. Wow was that good. It was just enough to get us out of town, over a few ridges and to a beautiful campsite near Podunk brook - under some towering pines. Beautiful! We took our sponge baths to remove the layers of salt and got into the tent. We were too tired to cook, so we ate some granola with powedered milk. This leaves us with an extra 1.3 tomorrow, but we have a 6 mile nearo planned anyway - so no big deal. All in all, I feel like we did really well in trying circumstances. Today left us scratched up, bit up, hot and sweaty beyond belief - but we are by no means beaten. We are looking forward to our first real zero since New York City. Our feet, legs and psyche can use the break.More tomorrow...Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-18
From: East Fork of Podunk Brook

To: Hanover NH
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: clear sky

Today was a nearo that took us across our second to last state line - New Hampshire! We were very happy to be crossing over this state line for a couple of reasons: 1) When we get to our next state line, we'll be able to say we walked from Georgia to Maine. 2) We have heard from the beginning of the trail how spectacular the White Mtns of NH were. 3) Vermont is beautiful - but it was tough on us. The first half because of the rain and mud and the second half because of the heat and humidity. So - we were excited to cross the line. On the hike in we met a southbounder named Wolf Clan. Interesting and nice guy. We arrived in Hanover around 9am and gave Tink a call on the cell. He said he was in the Hanover Inn which is a swanky $250 a night hotel. We didn't believe him, but it was true. He and Hinds had gotten in at 10:30 the night before and Tink had wrangled an amazing deal on a room. We are starting to really look like a different species from normal folks. Standing in the lobby it was hard to ignore our sweat, mud, long hair, big beard, filthy clothes and wet packs. Tink made it down and led us to his room. We showered and headed to a place called Lou's for breakfast. The rest of the day we explored Hanover. Our most interesting time came when we went to the Hospital to get the bug out of my ear. The Doctor couldnt quite see the bug when he looked in so he sent in an aid with a irrigation syringe. It took a few hard squirts with the syringe, and then I heard the Aid say: "Holy Crap!". Then he pulled a bug out that was more than a half inch long. He said "That's a trophy" and went down the hall showing the other workers the bug he pulled out of the hikers ear. Pretty funny moment.Late in the afternoon we were picked up by Randy Heller - a friend of Hindsfeet's family. We are going to their house for tonight and our zero day.More tomorrow...Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-19
From: Hanover NH

To: Hanover NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was our first zero day since New York (300 miles ago). We were so ready. I think all of us were keyed up for getting to NH and we "had the eye". Having the eye is our code phrase for the eye of the tiger - like in the rocky movies. Well - the funny ting is that once we let the Eye go, we were exhausted. Randy wanted to show us a good time but I am afraid we were not the liveliest group he's seen. We did see the State house in Monpelier and took a tour of the Ben and Jerry's factory. When we got back to the house, I decided to lay down while Coyotebec took a bath. I didn't wake up till the next morning! All of us felt this exhaustion. I am not sure if its the heat or the amount of time since a full zero, but I am hoping when we start hiking again, we have our Eye back on.More tomorrow... Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-20
From: Hanover NH

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

Our day started with saying goodbye to the Heller family. Thanks to the Hellers for taking us in and making us feel at home. After breakfast at Lou's, we headed up the trail. Today is the day that we had planned to split up with Tinkerbell and Hindsfeet. They will be taking a week off at a summer camp while we are at Outdoor Retailer. We plan to get back together after OR to finish as a group.After a day of routine hiking, we said our goodbyes, had our hugs and Tink and Hinds headed down the trail alone to get a few more miles in. We've been hiking with these folks for nearly 1500 miles, so it is a little tough to see them go. But - we will be back together in 3 weeks - so it's not too sad.We met another thru hiker today. Her name is Red Dane. She is from Denmark and has red hair. She is a NOLS graduate and cooks some amazing meals. She also has a good trail journal that you can look up on trailjournals.com.By the way. This was the easiest day we've had in weeks. The temperature is lower as is the humidity. That makes a huge difference. I guess we will see what it is like to be a bicycle again instead of a tricycle or quadrunner.More tomorrow... Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-21
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 19.3

We had all aspects of an AT thru hike today: Mud, Mosquitoes, Rain, Miles and Mountains. Our day began with misty wet conditions as we climbed 2200 feet to the top of a mountain (not sure of the name). We took a break to get water and eat a snack. Once we got going again, the rain began to fall. This made for slow going because of all the rocks to contend with in the trail. We had lunch at a shelter called Hexacuba. This is a hexagon shaped shelter that is really cool looking. The rain had stopped during lunch, but it was nice to have a shelter to sit in. After lunch it was up and over Mt. Cube with some thunderboomers chasing us. We had rain off and on all day long. Gnats flew around our heads all day as well. Towards the end of the day, the bug scene hit a crescendo with the addition of a lot of mosquitoes. As I walked behind Coyotebec, I could see a swarm of mosquitoes in her draft. Luckily, they thinned out by the shelter and we enjoyed a nice meal. At the shelter, we met up with a guy we had hiked with back in Virginia. He had flip flopped up to maine and was now walking south. We listened to him tell horror stories about how bad maine was. It apparently rains all the time, has eroded ruts for trails and the bugs will carry your body away if they don't eat it first. It is hard to listen to these stories. I guess people are trying to be helpful in telling you this stuff, but I don't find this stuff helpful. It just stresses me out about stuff I can't control. Oh well - we'll wait and handle it as it comes...more tomorrow...Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-22
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: Beaver brook Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: overcast clouds

The early morning hours passed quickly with only one climb that was not very difficult. We decided to head .5 east on NH25 to the Hikers Welcome Hostel to have a snack and take a break. We enjoyed the feel of this cool place. Tink and Hinds had stayed here last night. Lucky them... We ate snacks and visited with Scout, Mr. Wizard and Ra. We ended up staying 2 hours and finally headed up the trail to our biggest climb in a long time: Mt Moosilauke. The climb was long and fairly steep. As we climbed, the rain slowly increased. This mountain is our first time above timberline on this trip. Just before we left the trees, we paused to put on rain jackets and eat a little food to take us over the top. The summit area was pretty crazy. The mist was whipping along with the rain and some small hail. It was blowing us off balance as we walked. At the top, we took a quick picture and headed down to the trees. When we arrived at the shelter, it was raining hard. The bad ne! ws was that the shelter was completely full. We would have to set up in the rain. We did the best we could, but I made the mistake of setting the tarp up too high. We got set up, and then I had to get back out to readjust everything. Even with the readjustment, we were still getting damp as water and mist were everywhere. We cooked in the tent and went to sleep around 6 - with the rain still pouring on us.More tomorrow...Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-23
From: Beaver brook Shelter

To: Lonesome Lake Hut
Miles today: 15.0

In many ways, today we saw how far we've come in our hiking skills and fitness. But - we have also seen how far we have to go. We woke up at 5am and began to survey the damage that the last 24 hours of penetrating wetness had done to our gear. Honestly, it was pretty much a disaster. I don't think I have ever gotten more of my gear wet than we have today. The splatter from the edge of the tarp has soaked our ground cloth, our bug net, our packs (which were wet from our trip over Mousilake yesterday) and pretty much everything else. We have preserved our extra clothes and they are pretty dry. Our pads are damp and are sleeping bag is somewhere between damp and wet.We packed as carefully as possible so as not to spread the wetness and headed out. Red Dane decided to walk with us today as everyone has warned us that the descent to Kinsman Notch was treacherous. We actually very much enjoyed the descent, and it wasn't near as bad as the horror stories we heard yesterday at the shelter. The trail runs near a creek with lots of beautiful waterfalls. Wow. Some of the most beautiful terrain we've seen so far. It took us 1.5 hours to make the 1.5 mile descent. This set the tone for a LONG day. Overall it took us 10 hours (with only 1 break of 30 min) to walk the 15 miles to Lonesome Lake Hut. After Kinsman Notch we headed up a steep ascent of Mt. Wolf. It was still misting and drizzling as we climbed. Lots of water was running down the trail making the footing tricky. We were walking in mud and water all morning as well as climbing this tough mountain. We stopped at Eliza Brook Shelter for a very quick lunch and pushed on. The climb up South Kinsman was insane. We were working our way up car and house size boulders through mud and flowing water. The trail seemed close to vertical for a very long time. We kept grinding and finally we made it to the top. Of course there were no views because of the mist and rain. We kept pushing on until we finally arrived at the hut around 5:30pm. The hut staff was nice enough not to turn us away and allowed us to sleep in the dining room. We ate the leftovers from the supper that was served to the hut guests. After everyone went to bed we started trying to dry out some of our gear. What a mess. I am determined to get better at the heavy rains. Tomorrow we are going into town for groceries and we will try to come up with a better plan. Today tested our determination. The Whites are extremely tough. The trail looks like a rocky cliffside. You can't even imagine that they meant to put a trail there. We are hanging in though. I know that the trail prepares you for what it throws at you and we are ready.More tomorrow...Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-24
From: Lonesome Lake Hut

To: Garfield Pond
Miles today: 12.1

We are in our tarp as night falls and I am writing this review of the day. We are camped in a pine forest on a bed of pine needles and the light is fading. The songbirds are making a beautiful background noise. Like all of our other days, this one has been packed with things to do and LOTS of hiking.We woke up this morning and quickly realized what yesterdays marathon day took out of us. We were both sore (first time in months) and our legs felt dead. But - like always, we had to push on. We hiked down about 3 miles to the road. We said goodbye to Tinkerbell and Hindsfeet (we caught up with them last night). Hitching a ride took longer than usual, but we had a ride within 20 minutes. Our driver was a security guard from the Dominican Republic. You should have seen his face when we told him we walked from Georgia. Priceless. We were dropped in N. Woodstock NH. After breakfast with Mr. Wizard and Ra, we went by their hotel room so Coyotebec could get a quick shower. Within a few minutes, the outraged hotel manager was yelling at us that he would call the police if Coyotebec didn't get out of that shower NOW. This guy had anger issues! Finally he went away and we left with out tail between our legs (and feeling bad for Wizard and Ra). After this it was time for laundry and grocery shopping. Then we hit a spot for lunch and we were ready to roll. Sputnik had been trying to hich for 20 minutes without success. Coyotebec had a ride within 5 seconds - seriously! She's that good!The hike started off wih a long ascent of Franconia Ridge. Stepping up on this ridge was a little bit of an emotional experience. This view is a classic that you see in many books of the AT. It is also the first panoramic view we've had in a few months. It is amazing. The ridge stays above treeline for a couple of miles. With its stone cairns, it looks like the Great Wall of China. We traversed the ridge and crossed several peaks before dropping back down into the trees. A mile before the campground, we found the "stealth" site I described above to camp at. In the White Mtns you are supposed to camp at approved campgrounds. Stealth sites are place you find to camp that are outside of these spots. That's it for today - getting sleepy...More tomorrow... Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-25
From: Garfield Pond

To: Zeeland Falls Hut
Miles today: 11.5

Here's a quote from a friend that's been reading our trail journal (trail name V8):Focus on the moment if theend is too far, and on the end if the moment is too awful.We awoke in our special campsite with the birds singing. We slept so well last night! We were set up on a thick bed of pine needles that made our pads feel like a mattress. Our route took us immediately up and over Mt. Garfield. We had a nice view of the Franconia ridge which already looked very far south of us. Our first destination was Galehead hut. We hoped to be able to get some food at the hut and take a break. Many huts in the whites have $1 soup or bread and this sounded good to us. When we arrived, the hut crew offered us some brown rice with chicken breasts. Wow! These were leftovers from last nights meal. The crew was a replacement crew of people that worked a hut back in the early 80's. They were fun and friendly and we ate very well. After this stop, we cruised the next 7 miles easily over to our intended stop at Zeeland Falls hut. We walked in and Coyotebec asked if we could get a work-for-stay. This means that for a little bit of work, you can stay at the hut and eat there as well. They said yes. Yay! Tink and Hindsfeet were there as well. This is the second time we've caught up to them since we said goodbye a few days ago. This one is for good as they are getting picked up tomorrow morning to go to their break at the camp. It was so good to see them again. We look forward to reuniting with them in Maine after the OR show to finish together. After consuming a bunch of leftover pancakes, we soaked up some sun by the falls with Sputnik, Bonesaw, Tricycle, Hinds and Tink. Very relaxing and fun. This seems very far removed from the survival feeling we had a few days ago going up South and North Kinsman in the rain. our work for stay commitment had us washing dishes and cleaning the bathrooms. Then you wait for the guests to finish eating and you are able to have leftovers. Mountain Goat and Firefly came in late and asked for work for stay. They said that they could stay, but there wasn't enough food for them. We felt bad. Honestly, there wasn't a whole lot of food for us either. It was still worth it though. We enjoyed talking to the aMC Naturalist after supper and headed to bed after lights out.more tomorrow...Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-26
From: Zeeland Falls Hut

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: fog

Part of our work for stay is that we are able to stay for breakfast. As a thru hiker you have to wait till the other guests are finished eating. We were excited watching the guests eat scrambled eggs and muffins, coffee and more. Normally we hit the trail by 6am. It was after 8 before we were allowed to eat. We went in and were offered a bowl of cold oatmeal. Talk about disappointed. And I hate oatmeal. But hunger does funny things, and I went ahead and choked it down. So we started 2.5 hours late to eat a bowl of oatmeal. ugg.The first 7 miles were relatively easy. We were kind of quiet and nervous as we had several phone calls we needed to make and our email needed sending out. The nearest spot to do this was a mile down the road that crossed the trail at the 7 mile mark. The problem was that we had to make Mizpah hut by 6 for supper. We had almost decided not to go down for the phone calls when we met a family on the trail. Ranger Dave was the grandad and he was a former thru hiker. After a few minutes he offered us a ride to and from the store. And he was so excited to be able to help out. The help was huge. We made our calls, sent our email, bought and ate lunch and got back to the trail - all in less than 45 minutes. Thanks Ranger Dave!The rest of the day was much tougher on the trail, but we managed to reach the hut by 4:30 or 5. We had decided to pay for our stay at this hut so we could eat well. We checked in and had some soup and lemonade. After cleaning up and relaxing, we had an amazing meal. It was thanksgiving style turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, salad, bread and some kind of cake for dessert. Met 2 new thru hikers: Mr. K and Mercury. Both are speed demons and will be finishing within 3.5 months.Tomorrow we cross Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the Whites. It is also famous for having the worst weather in the world. We are hoping for some good weather...More tomorrow...Gumby & Coyotebec
Date: 2006-07-27
From: Mizpah Hut

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: haze

Today was one of those super premium days on an AT Thru hike. We hiked above timberline nearly all day over some of the most beautiful terrain on the trip. Our morning started with a great breakfast as Mizpah hut. We left the hut around 7:45. Our first goal was Lake of the Clouds hut. This is one of the most famous huts in the Presidential Range of the White Mtns. It sits at the foot of Mt. Washington - the highest peak in New England. It took about 2.5 hours to reach the hut. After a little snack, we headed up towards the summit of Mt. Washington. There was a warning sign on the trail about how Mt. Washington has the worst weather in the world and how peoople lose their lives here every year. We ignored the sign and kept going (hahaha). Actually, the weather was pretty good. There were storm clouds, but no thunder. Before we knew it, we were at the top. The views are spectacular the whole way up and down the mountain. You look off into what they call the Great Gulf. This is an extremely deep valley in the shadow of Mt. Washington. The trail is mostly scree and talus. This makes for slow walking - especially down hill. The top of Mt. Washington is touristy. You can drive your car up there (which is annoying to those that walk), or take a cog railway. There's a snack bar at the top. So - we went with the flow and ate pizza and hot dogs for lunch.After lunch, we picked our way down the talus fields. I looked down the trail and said "blue shirt, green hat, red pack - it's Pi!" Yes - the same Pi that hiked the first 400 miles with us and got a stress fracture in his foot. He had gone home, healed up for a couple of months, then started southbound from Katahdin. This was something we've looked forward to since trail days. It was so great to see him back out on the AT choppin wood again! Our visit was short though as we both had huts to make.Whe we made it to the hut, we went in to ask for work-for-stay. The person we talked to said they already had 4 thru hikers and were only supposed to take 2. Coyotebec's knees had been hurting this afternoon, so she kind of pleaded with the guy. He finally offered for us to stay and to give a program on thru hiking that night to the 40 people staying at the hut. Done deal! Supper was awesome, the hut crew was awesome and we had fun visiting with Heavy Foot, Ketch-up, Yeh but, and Orca (the other 4 thru hikers). The talk went extremely well. When it was time for the talk, the hutmaster rang the bell and told anyone interested in hearing the talk, to come to the front left table. People didn't quite understand and they asked who wanted to hear the talk. All 40 people raised their hands. It was fun to tell people about our experiences. We talked and answered questions till it was time for lights out. I finished the talk with 3 pieces of advice that we had gotten on ! the trail. The final one I said was Keep Choppin Wood. When I said that, the room erupted in applause. More tomorrow....Gumby & Coyotebec