morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-08-13
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: broken clouds

It was another surprisingly hard day. The ups and downs were making me seasick! I realized today that, even though the ups and downs were hard, I haven't had a zero day since Dalton and my body is straining because of that. This section may have been a lot easier if it was coming off of a good rest. The trail today was a zoo! In sailing, we have a specific term for this that sounds like a breakfast cereal but is inappropriate to mention here. As I mentioned yesterday, there were eight of us at the shelter for the night. Seven of those were northbound (NOBO). I knew I had to do twenty today so I was up an hour early and was the second one on the trail at 0700. When I got to the place where the shelter approach trail met the AT, four of the six people that camped at the lookout 2.5 miles south of us were there. I absolutely couldn't believe it. They were coming into the shelter for water. 'Early morning,' I said on the way by and one of them said to me that 'we got out of camp late!' Goodness gracious. Anyway, they went into the shelter and I laid on the throttle right out of the gate to put some distance between us. Most of the time I don't like to hike within sight of other people because, well, I just can't do two things at once safely like talk and hike. The vast majority of my ankle rolls are done with someone right behind me. Last week while talking to and walking with Waterboy, I wiped out right in front of him like a giant train wreck. So I try to walk alone.Two miles down the trail I crossed a road where five hikers were getting on and slack packing to Hanover. All day I couldn't get away from these guys as I was as fast fully loaded uphill as they were carrying only water and snacks (toot toot goes the sound of my own horn...). Add one fast guy from the shelter that caught up to me and about fifteen SOBOs throughout the day, and you have quite a busy day on the AT. Some days you can go all day without seeing anyone and some days its just like this. Interestingly, when I finally made it to the shelter this afternoon, there was only one person there, a SOBO section hiker. Eventually Hammock showed up from the shelter last night but we were the only three there which meant that a couple extended their plans and went all the way into town, while many simply didn't make it to the shelter because it was another hard one out here. The plan is to have a late wakeup tomorrow and be under way by 0900, to get into town before noon. Then its the post office, supermarket, etc etc before my buddy gets off work at we meet about 1600. Excited for two days off. We will continue our regularly scheduled Complain-A-Thon on Sunday before shoving off for NH and The Whites! Ha ha ha...
Date: 2009-08-14
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Hanover NH
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: few clouds

I reached Hanover successfully (after a million miles of road walking) this morning and am busy acting like a normal person. Ian loaned me a pair of jeans and I'm wearing the lavender cologne Kismet sent me. It will be a night on the town and all the chores will wait. Will be back with more journals Sunday and then will be leaving Hanover Monday morning. Until then!
Date: 2009-08-16
From: Hanover NH

To: Hanover NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well, well, well is it Sunday already?? My old Shipmate and Hanover Host Ian had a great weekend planned for me and I did not get very much planning done. Today we went to his housemate's father's house on a lake about 20 minutes north of here and sailed and swam all day (yes I said sailed!) It was a dream like day for me to feel the waves and the water once again pulsing through my veins. It was neat to experience this day with Ian because it was a similar situation in which we became friends ten years ago on the great schooner Westward sailing around the Caribbean Sea. Another neat thing about today was that we sailed in sight of Mt. Mousalauke all day. Goodness gracious, it looks like a real 'rip-snorter!' The north face of the mountain falls of like an intense roller coaster and I will be praying for a rainless period during the time I am dealing with it. A good thing is that I got new shoes here which are the same type I had been using for the first 1500 miles of the trip and feel great relief about that situation. I had been feeling like I didn't fulfill my primary goal this weekend of getting myself organized for the next ten days but then I caught up to Top Shelf and Gezza who arrived in town today. They are planning on leaving town tomorrow as well which is exciting for me as we will be on the same track again. We are planning to rendezvous at the first shelter out of town and plan the next ten days together. This is really a good way to plan, I have found, as other people often hear different things along the way and it is good to have lots of input. Where to stay, where to resupply, easy hitches, resources, etc. It's like getting tipped off to a good fishing spot and the more captains you have sitting around talking about it, the better.Since we are only going to the first shelter tomorrow, there won't be need for a real early start to hiking.   However, Ian and his buddies all leave for work by 0800 and I need to be out of their hair by then. Since my things are not yet packed back in my pack, I need to get on that before it gets too late. Have a great week everyone and tomorrow things will continue from the trail. Thank you to Ian, Jessie, Gammond, Jason, and Suzie who made my Hanover visit wonderful.
Date: 2009-08-17
From: Hanover NH

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: haze

It's so hard starting up again after being stopped for so long. I had made it to the first shelter by 1000hrs and decided I had to go further so I went to the next one. Unfortunately this means I won't see Top Shelf and Gezza tonight. I got here at 1600hrs and slept for 2 hours before cooking dinner. It takes awhile to get back into trail mode.      The new shoes hurt to break in but they're tight and I didn't slip at all today so good new on that front.      Am in a weird place people wise. Blacklist is here, beginning a week of slack packing tomorrow. Three section hikers, two of which I met last week before taking time off. One thru guy that I haven't met yet. And one flip flop(this is when they start at one terminus and hike for awhile then flip up to the other terminus and hike back to where they were when they flipped). Many people will flip up to Katahdin if they feel they're taking too long getting there before the mountain closes for the winter.      Any way, I have plans to meet my friend Christie at a road crossing tomorrow afternoon but am worried that she won't be able to find it. Until then...
Date: 2009-08-18
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Fire Wardens Cabin
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

I was under way by 0800hrs this morning to tackle the 9 miles I had to do by 1230hrs to meet my friend Christie. Long story short, we never found each other and I was at the road crossing until 1530hrs. It is yet to be determined whether I was unclear about my location or she with her navigation. Either way, I was so sad not to be able to see her.      While sitting at the road crossing, 3 guys passed me and begun the long climb up Smarts Mountain. At the top of this 2250ft climb, there is a fire tower that the book says you can sleep in. When I got to a point where I figured I shouldn't wait any longer for Christie, I began the race up Smarts to see if I could be one of the first two, to have dibs on sleeping in the fire tower. The last guy left a half an hour before me and the first guy left a full hour before me so I was looking at awful slim odds. An hour into the 4 mile ascent, I didn't pass anyone. I was laying pretty hard on my shoes and they did great on the very steep rock. After an hour and a half, I saw the stern of the first man I was going to pass. Within fifteen minutes I had all three of them behind me! It was nice but I needed to slow it down for the last ten minutes as it truly was steep uphill. When I got to the top I decided that I didn't want to sleep in the tower(it was not especially different from all the other fire towers, not sure why the book mentioned sleeping in this one). Anyway, I claimed as my prize the most terrific tent spot with a million dollar view. To the victor go the spoils!      Arriving well after "the race", was a shelter full of faces I met way before on the trail. Pellet from Unionville, One Step from the Shenandoahs, and one of my favorite hikers, Sunday, who I saw for the first time at Mombasha High Point, NY. Sunday is great to talk to and we stayed up, him and I chatting for a while. He says Gezza and Top Shelf were delayed yet another day in Hanover waiting for things in the mail. So I guess it's good I didn't wait at the first shelter for them yesterday. Lots of talk about resupply strategy for the White Mountains too. I have until Thursday to have my plan worked out. Last night I made a good preliminary schedule.      The wind is whipping up here at 3300ft and my tent is shaking while pitched in the site of honor. Am pushing for 21 miles tomorrow to be in spitting distance of Mt. Moosilauke for Thursday. Until then...
Date: 2009-08-19
From: Fire Wardens Cabin

To: Jeffers Brook Shelter
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I felt like a million bucks today! 21 miles in New Hampshire is not easy and I am happy about how I feel going into the Whites. I'm tuned up and together. The day started with the 4 mile descent off of Smart's Mountain that was nice and gradual. I did it in an hour(yes, an hour!). Then it was the big climb of the day up Cube Mountain which was about 1500ft. Both the up and down was quick and relatively painless. Mt. Mist, which was a 700ft. climb later in the day, I never felt. I was just suddenly on top of it. Wish they were all like that! All joking aside, my body feels exactly how I wanted it to, the day before the first giant climb. The picture today is Moosilauke taken from a vista about 6 miles away. The peak is experiencing weather.      After arriving at the shelter, putting up the tent and taking a great bath in the brook, Sunday, John, MIJ and I got to talking about the reprovision for the Whites. I had originally planned to go into Lincoln tomorrow from Kinsman Notch and carry 7 days worth of food. However, I didn't realize that it would be easier to wait a day and get into Lincoln from Franconia Notch and only carry 6 days worth. Not sure why I didn't sse this but that's why it's good to talk about your plans over dinner! The only problem is that I'm not sure where I will stay tomorrow night. The shelter 15 miles away doesn't put me close to the town entry for the next day like I enjoy,but if I keep going, I have to climb another 4500ft. mountain, Kinsman Mountain, in addition to Moosilauke. I will have to make the call later in the day tomorrow.      Earlier in the day, I passed Eveready, who is section hiking the entire trail. We had been at the same spot the last two nights, but we both knew that when I passed him today it would be the last time. We were talking about the magnificence of the White Mountains, and he said they're like giant ocean swells and we are at the north shore competing in the big leagues. And surfs up! Well, I love waves and I love surfing and I lover surfers, so surfs up!
Date: 2009-08-21
From: Kinsman Pond Shelter

To: North Woodstock NH
Miles today: 4.8

What a flop today has been. I woke up to rain at Kinsman Pond shelter(surprise!)so the descent off of Kinsman Mountain was nothing short of terrifying. Straight down, wet, slippery, nothing to hold on to, each step could be your last. For about 20 minutes the trail shared space with a waterfall that added a new dimension of entropy when the ice cold rushing water was pushing on the backs of my ankles. When I finally got off of that thing, I was kissing the ground.      The hitch into town was annoyingly difficult as well. I almost waited for an hour before someone would pick me up to take me to the grocery store. Finally I got in and resupplied and then couldn't get out. Another wasted hour standing like a fool on the side of the road. Then, an immense thunderstorm(surprise!). Now I was a drowned fool on the side of the road!Defeated, I walked across the road to a hotel to see how expensive the rooms were. Out of a door popped Waterboy and Ned the Fed inviting me to come in! What great luck. They offered me a place to stay on the floor for the night. I was so thankful to them. We had a great time hanging out tonight.      Beneath the surface of this fun time is a huge feeling of anxiety that I can't put out of my mind. The weather report for the next 4 days is terrible. Basically a front stalling across the region and dumping rain continuously for 4 days. Lots of people are zeroing tomorrow because of this. In the convenience store a few minutes ago I saw Mij who fell coming down Kinsman and his whole arm was a bloddy mess.      For the first time on this thru hike, I don't know what to do. I'm absolutely out of strategies and it frustrates me to no end. There is no doubt that the things we are dealing with out there right now are down right dangerous(not to mention take your breath away scary). But I can't justify sitting here for 4 days waiting for this crap to pass by. I don't have the money to do that and I certainly don't have the sanity to deep taking zeros and extending my trip into late fall.      I know that nature is not personal but it's hard not to have an emotional reaction to this. Haven't we had more than our share of terrible weather? Many people can count on one hand how many rain days they had on their thru hikes. And really I don't care that it's raining except that it makes everything so unsafe. Coming this far to face breaking your neck everyday is heart breaking. Before this gets too out of hand I'm going to stop and go to bed...
Date: 2009-08-22
From: North Woodstock NH

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: light rain

The show must go on! Even though the weather outlook for today and tomorrow is awful, I knew I had to get back into the mountains. I left a perfectly comfy room with the great camaraderie of Ned the Fed and Waterboy, to return to the ever present rain. There were a few possibilities for destinations today. I wanted to get to Garfield Ridge to be in a shelter out of the rain. Thankfully I was able to get here. Since the number one concern on a mile long list of them today was lightning, I had the weatherman diligently watching me as I got up to the ridge line. I passed a campsite 3 miles up which was a fall back plan if things were looking fishy. Since they weren't, I proceeded up above the treeline and was exposed for the next 4 miles on Franconia Ridge. Had things gone south while I was up there, there was a hut on Mount Lafayette that I could have ran to and stayed the night if needed. The walk turned out to be pretty enjoyable, even though it was a little disconcerning being eye level with those giant cumulus clouds I'm used to looking up at! Being above the treeline is a complete rush and I loved watching myself slowly approach and go over each of the four big peaks and then put them behind me. It's much easier when you're not in the trees because you can see how far you have to go and therefore automatically budget your energy right. In this manner I summited Mt.Liberty, Little Haystack Mountain, Mt.Lincoln, Mt. Lafayette and back into the trees for Mt.Garfield. Am happy to be out again and hoping tomorrow will be the last day of bad weather. Until then...
Date: 2009-08-23
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter

To: Ethan Pond Campsite
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: fog

There are five miles of trail between Zealand Falls Hut and Ethan Pond Shelter that are pretty much completely flat. These five miles are the only time this phenomenon happens in the White Mountains. While I was on them today, I was flying. I looked out the corner of my eye and said, "wow, that rock looks like a moose". I took five more steps before grinding to a halt when I realized that it was a moose, a giant bull moose that was laying 20ft off the trail. He just sat there looking at me and I studied him for about 10 minutes before I tried to get around the tree to get a better picture. He let out a huge sigh when he realized that he was going to have to stand up, and then he lazily did so. I couldn't believe how big he was and that there was any way an animal of his size could navigate through the dense forest. The span of his antlers alone must have been 15 feet. I couldn't believe he could move his head as fast as he could with that giant rack up there. It was like seeing a whale in the ocean, truly amazing and you just never get tired of seeing it. As I stood there, Sunday and John walked up and they got to see their first moose too.      Thank God for the moose ,because I was having a crappy day other wise. The rain is driving me crazy. I have given up on the views, don't care any more. But every time I walk down a 200ft waterfall I feel like I'm going to die. I am sick of feeling like I am going to fall and die. Absolutely sick of it. Unfortunately today was packed full of "sick of it" and "why am I out here". Thank God for mooses, it saved the day.      Sunday and John descended into Crawford Notch which I will have to do first thing tomorrow. I just couldn't face another 1700ft. death descent in the rain. Sick of it!!!!!!! I really wanted to hang out with them because I'm lonely walking by myself but I still have to make the safest decisions for me. We are all hoping to meet up tomorrow night at Lakes of the Clouds Hut which is a mile before Mt. Washington, the biggest mountain in the Whites and the second biggest peak on the whole trail. It will be a huge day, though, as the climb up the other side of Crawford Notch is 2700ft. This project will take me most of the morning. Then, hopefully, I will be set up to do Washington first thing Tuesday morning. Until then....
Date: 2009-08-24
From: Ethan Pond Campsite

To: Lake of Clouds Hut
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: fog

There is so much to talk about today I hardly know where to begin. The day started out early, leaving Ethan Pond campsite at 0730. Soon after getting underway, it began pouring. Surprise! Luckily the down hill into Crawford Notch wasn't as death defying as past notches. The climb up the other side to Mt.Webster actually wasn't too bad, either. My food bag is getting lighter and my body more used to the unending uphills. I've found a new "gear" which I haven't used yet that involves one breath per step(I usually have 2 steps per breath). This slower pace has been working nicely for the last few tower of terror uphills. By the time I got up Webster, the sun was out.      By lunch time I was at Mizpah Hut and who did I run into other than Sunday and John! We headed out together, bound 4.8 miles uphill to Lakes of the Clouds Hut at the base of mighty Mt. Washington. What a spectacular hike we were having with great views of Mt. Washington. Suddenly, 2 miles into the passage, with no warning it became dark as night and the visibility dropped to under 100ft. Next, the wind started gusting to about 50 knots and rain was coming sideways so hard that it stung my face. The wind was pushing me so hard I was afraid of losing my balance. The three of us proceeded closely together so that nobody got lost on the mountaintop. The squall continued it's fury until about three minutes before we reached the hut.      Fortunately I made it without falling but I didn't make it out without a major equipment failure. First of all, I lost the tip on my port side pole which stinks. But the whopper is that due to all the great photo opportunities, I forgot to put my phone in it's water proof bag when the squall came on. It's dead now which means no pictures, no music, and worst of all, nobody at home knows what's going on. Sunday seems to think it's going to dry out and be fine but I don't share his optimism. As of this time I am completely unsure of how I am going to solve these issues. I can access Gorham a day early via Pinkam Notch and could honestly make it there tomorrow if need be. Will have to think about it while I'm not taking any pictures from the summit of the prize White Mountain!      Tonight I'm sleeping in a "hut" which is unique to any accommodations I've had on the trip thus far. In the Whites, there are 8 of these buildings that operate sort of like hotels except they are very minimalist. There are no access roads, no showers, are solar and wind powered, and have composting toilets. There are about 100 people in this hut tonight and all paying $110 a night. If you are lucky, which we were, the hut will grant thru-hikers a "work for stay" privilege and let us sleep on the dining room tables and eat dinner leftovers. I am happy to be staying here because it's the only place close to Mt. Washington to over night. However, I get a little crazy around so many people and am anxious to beat every one of them up that mountain tomorrow.      Tomorrow is hard day of "plan B" planning. Pray for my phone and wish me luck!
Date: 2009-08-26
From: Osgood tent sites

To: Imp campsite
Miles today: 18.1

I knew something was rotten in the state of Denmark this morning when I awoke to howling winds and above normal temperatures. One word from the weatherman confirmed my suspicion: cold front! Thank God it happened today and not yesterday or I would have been blown clear off of Washington and not been able to see a thing while flying to my death!      Today was more of the hardest hiking yet. It was neat to watch the weather change all day. By the time I got above the treeline again, it looked like what I imagine the inside of a hurricane looks like. Not only was the hiking hard today, but there was lots of it. I wanted to cover a good bit of ground to get me close to Gorham where I will descend into tomorrow and take a zero day to recover from all this. When I get there I will be awful happy, proud, and thankful to have the Whites behind me. This leg has been larger than life for me in many different ways: the size of the mountains, the treacherous difficulty of the trail, the worst weather yet, the best single day of the entire trip(yesterday). I really feel like this leg changed me a lot.      Right now there are 10 other thru-hikers at this campsite so I have ran into the back of a group. This is good because it's time to be less rogue and be more social for the next leg. Nature is here along with Juice and Mamalcoma, so I am happy to see them again. It is supposed to be 30 degrees tonight and it's really cold already. Looking greatly forward to putting things back together in town tomorrow. Until then...
Date: 2009-08-27
From: Imp campsite

To: Gorham NH
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

Last night was freezing. Everyone wearing gloves and hats. Lots of talk about sleepless nights. Thankfully I'm living it up with all my winter gear I never sent home. I was warm all night, maybe warmer knowing I was prepared for it. The campsite caretaker said that the wind was gusting to 60 knots last night. Just another day on my thru-hike.      Made it into town by noon and am doing nothing productive. Having dinner with Juice and Mamalama tonight. All chores tomorrow. Am so psyched to be out of the Whites, however, as we speak, a disastrous weather system is looming out a sea and threatens to make Sunday a real mess. Until then...