morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-08-12
From: ore hill shelter, nh

To: glencliff, nh
Miles today: 7.4

day 140 thu aug 12   7.4 mi 1774.6 totalglencliff, nh   there's a hostel down below in glencliff, with electricity, internet, showers, laundry, 9 kinds of soda, and a movie library, a loft to sleep in, and a shuttle to town. sign me up.   present and accounted for are jack, terrapin, tyson, scabs (aka barb, from ontario), and mouse. managing the hostel is fetch, no, fej, who's filling for the owner, away at a poker tournament. fat guy (hey, that's his name) shuttles us to warren for pizza and a few groceries. back at the hostel, the crowd lets me choose a movie, and i go with viggo mortgensen's hidalgo. good movie, and appropriate, as it's about a long distance (horse) race. tho we here are not racing. some of us smile at the repeated references to "making it to damascus." and tyson says "that's me at katahdin," when the winner crosses the finish line.   on the web, i see pipesmoke's in gorham, so i send him a note.   to willie nelson pipesmoke:   ah'm doin' my best to slow down los federales who are intent on apprehendin' you. there are four of 'em here and i've got them watchin' a shrek movie, so there's an extra two hours headstart you got. seems there's beer for my horses here, too. the forecast is for heavy rains and a floodwatch. buenos nachos, senor.   later i mention to scabs (from ontario), that "i know that ontario is a big place, but if you ever meet loreena mckennitt, could you tell her i'm a really big fan?"
Date: 2004-08-13
From: glencliff, nh

To: beaver brook shelter, nh
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: light rain

day 141 fri aug 13   7.9 mi 1782.5 totalbeaver brook shelter, nh   in the morening at the glencliff hostel, the weather forecast is looking mean and bleak, but terrapin says she is gonna go out, up and over moosilauke (4802 ft), but she waits. at 8:30, the skies are lighter, and i decide to risk it. down the road, i can see a dark ominous spiralling vortex of clouds obscuring moosilauke summit, through the trees. if it gets bad up there, i can turn around.   at treeline, there's some rain and wind, and 3 sobo's, "the arcadians." on top, shanna, the summit caretaker is struggling to secure a tarp covering her gear. she asks if i'm a thru-hiker and politely advises me to stay on the trail across the very exposed summit. the wind and rain picks up. on the far side, back in the trees, it's two miles to the next shelter, and there's 5 people and room to spare. twenty minutes later it pours hellacious buckets and continues for hours.   two fellows from ohio show, and now our shelter is full. old jack shows, then terrapin, and both are forced to tent.   the forecast is for heavy rains and a flood watch tonight; partly cloudy tomorrow, and then more heavy rains for the day after, from that second tropical storm still coming.
Date: 2004-08-14
From: beaver brook shelter, nh

To: lonesome lake hut, nh
Miles today: 15.0

day 142 sat aug 14   15.0 mi 1797.5 totallonesome lake hut, nh   the morning brings clouds and clearing skies, and a steep and rugged descent along a roaring beaver brook into kinsman notch, where i meet lonesome dove and mouse flipflopping south to moosilauke.   hiking on three miles, i see a view east to south twin and bond mountains, and stop for a kodak moment. two cents appears and we hike north together for a bit. eliza brook is a rushing torrent; beautiful to behold. the kinsmans, north and south are rough and rugged and the most difficult terrain yet on the whole trail so far, with tricky wet rock scrambles. at 5:30 i cook dinner by a brook, intending to hike on, and tyson and scabs come by. we discuss our chances for working for stay and food at the next hut. they go on ahead. i reach the hut about 7, and yes, we can work for stay, and there's a regular thanksgiving leftover feast they treat us to. two cents attends as well. we sleep on the floor in the dining room, after the paying guests have gone to bed.   very nice. seriously.
Date: 2004-08-15
From: lonesome lake hut, nh

To: mt garfield, nh
Miles today: 12.8

day 143 sun aug 15   12.8 mi 1810.3mt garfield, nh   twice in the last three days, our loose-knit band of intrepid nomads has managed to dodge the brunt of tropical storms. friday in glencliff, the forecast is for 1 to 3 inches of rain and a flood watch. i decide to risk going up and over mount moosilauke. from below, the view is of a dark spiralling vortex of clouds smothering the summit. well, if it gets real bad, i can turn back. on top, it's wet, windy and cold, but bearable. down the far side, i share a shelter with six others, and together we watch great honking sheets of rain, wave after wave, pound down. terrapin comes in, having endured strong winds and lightning as she crossed the summit. later we hear that willie wallace, the young scotsman ten miles ahead, tried fording cascade brook, fell, got swept downstream, and came out of it with a bashed and bloody knee. but undaunted, he's still hiking.   last night, tyson, scabs (a marvelous misnomer, since she's quite beautiful), two cents and i got to stay, dinner and breakfast included, at a mountain hut in exchange for some work. there's turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie. oh yes, we gave thanks.   the forecast is for three inches of rain, but by morning, it's changed to clear skies. we cruise across lafayette ridge.   terrapin, two cents and i share a rough campsite just below and before garfield summit. by the campfire, terrapin tells me how up on mount lafayette, some quebecois day-hikers asked two cents about the old stone foundation there. he makes up a crazy story that it's all that's left of a mountain-top fortress built by a wild, noble, rugged tribe a long time ago. for his story, they reward him with a beer. he gallantly shares it with terrapin.   yet another example of the power of myth.
Date: 2004-08-16
From: mt garfield, nh

To: zealand falls hut, nh
Miles today: 10.1

day 144 mon aug 16   10.1 mi 1820.4 totalzealand falls hut, nh   there's rain through the night and heavy cloud cover in the morning. on garfield summit i wait for some clouds to pass and manage to take some good pics of mounts lincoln and lafayette through the mist. going down garfield's steep slick eastern side, i meet an amc group going up; the young man leading is carrying 75 pounds of gear. slowly, carefully.   at galehead hut, there's hot soup for lunch, and the croo engages two cents and terrapin in a wild game of dice, then treats us to annie's mac and cheese. very nice. just the ticket just before that steep ascent up south twin.   between south twin and bond mountains, i meet one of the croo from lonesome lake hut. it's her day off and she's hiking from carter hut to lonesome lake hut: fifty miles in 24 hours. she started at one a.m. the most she's done 'til now is fifteen miles. and now, she's more than halfway through fifty miles in one day, in this very rugged terrain. go, girl!   at zealand hut i work for stay with bones and soundbyte, a psychoanalyst from pittsburg. he's recording bird songs as he goes along the trail. very interesting person.   i should mention meeting matt yesterday, who was temp caretaker at liberty springs campsite. i recognized him from a trip here last sweptember (just as hurricane isabel blew through). he was going to do the pct (pacific crest trail) this year, and told me about hennessy hammocks. well, i got a hammock for my trip, and he decided to go to africa instead of the pct, to visit his girlfriend in the peace corps.   matt tells me that two years ago a former hutboy and a buddy decided to "race" the cog train up mount washington. the train normally ascends in 70 minutes. the men on foot reach the summit via the nearby ammonoosuc trail in 68 minutes. BUT, the train crew heard about the challenge and stoked extra coal to make it in 66 minutes. good story, matt. shades of john henry. lay that ole' steel driver down.
Date: 2004-08-17
From: zealand falls hut, nh

To: crawford notch, nh
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: broken clouds

day 145 tue aug 17   7.7 mi 1828.1 totalcrawford notch, nh   the two croo women at zealand present me with pancakes with a candle, and "the song", 'cause, well, it's my birthday. very nice.   on the trail, i meet a sobo name of aussie brian, and a young woman from west virginia, who started on the knife edge on katahdin on memorial day, and got blown over by the wind, severely twisting a knee. she went home for 45 days to recuperate; then started a second time from katahdin, skipping the knife edge. she's still wearing a knee brace. i think she really, really wants to do this hike.   down in crawford notch, i hitch to a campground and call a friend who lives close by. her name is val (valencia) jackson, and we were sweethearts in high school in eastern maine. her sister april told her i was hiking the A.T., and she (val) posted an invite in my web guestbook. she's a teacher, wife, and mom, and lives near conway, new hampshire (she plays ice hockey!). we haven't seen each other for 32 years. i don't remember that we talked all that much, and i know in my young, extreme ignorance, i did not treat her very well, way back then, so that was doubly generous of her to offer to help me like she did. that was a very large-hearted thing to do. i think you rock the cosmic casbah, val. thank you.   this brings to mind another cosmic casbah rocker back home, my friend barb in surry, maine, who recently informed me she'll be travelling to oslo, norway soon to ostensibly attend her brother's birthday, but some of us know that in fact, the real reason she's going is because she has been nominated for a Nobel Prize in Granola Baking, which in my mind is far and above economics or mere quantum physics. ladies and gentlemen; one of my heroes, Commander Barb, Nobel Laureate.
Date: 2004-08-18
From: crawford notch, nh

To: lakes of the clouds hut, nh
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: mist

day 146 wed aug 18   11.2 mi 1839.3 totallakes of the clouds hut, nh   chuggah, chuggah, man o' maneshewitz, it looks like 3700 feet elevation gain from crawford notch to lakes hut, but as gaiterwoman sue says, hey we're seasoned veteran hikers, we got "can do". it's a mix of sun and clouds, and people are talking about rain later.   just before mizpah hut, a croo fellah comes by with one of those wooden packframes full of perishable food for mizpah. he's says it weighs almost eighty pounds. he lets me try it on. hey, it balances surprisingly well. i'm thinking i could handle it. sign me up.   at mizpah i see soundbyte again, and he tries to get me to stay there for the night, but i'm aiming to get to lakes hut. around mount monroe, the clouds roll in and the trees get real small, and the neighborhood starts looking like northern greenland or a rough part of siberia. the setting sun beams out weakly through the shifting, filtering clouds, first looking like the moon, then turning deep dull red.   at lakes hut, there's a croo of six (down two) and almost 100 paying guests. miriam says i can work for stay, and a familiar face comes up and says, "i remember you from zealand hut last september. your name is mike, yes?" oh, oh, sez i, and what letter does your name begin with? "A," sez she, and "Anastasia," sez me.   whew, that was close.
Date: 2004-08-19
From: lakes of the clouds hut, nh

To: pinkham notch, nh
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: fog

day 147 thu aug 19   14.8 mi 1854.1 totalpinkham notch, nh   we're above the clouds and the sun is burning through a swirling shifting mist above washington's south shoulder. i get a coffee and cold cereal so i'm on the trail by 6:45, on past the summit, and clay and jefferson are hidden in the clouds crowding up from below, but i can see the great gulf wilderness looking awesome in blowing veils of off-white. the wind is almost chill; shifting, buffeting, but it feels good. near thunderstorm junction, i chat with pierre martin and alex, two young quebecois from montreal. there's several miles of exposed, above treeline ridge walking. the mists and clouds make for an even better day than if it were sunny and cloudless. i think i got my best batch of pictures to date.   up on madison the wind gusted to 40 mph a couple times, and i met a sobo name of celtic, from wales, who told me of nighthiking through mahoosic notch.   then i was into the trees again, and through the great gulf, and the peabody river is a torrent, and the footbridge across it with all its cables, speaks silently of the tremendous spring floods here. and then ahead on the trail, there's harry dolphin, who i hadn't seen since mid-virginia.   i made it to the visitor center by 5:45, time enough to register for a room, and wash my hands for dinner at six, which was very, very good. i shared a table with mushroom, pokey, rock, and little rock. pokey is a very thoughtful woman, a physical therapist from western maine. nice to meet you, pokey.
Date: 2004-08-20
From: pinkham notch, nh

To: imp campsite, nh
Miles today: 13.1

day 148 fri aug 20   13.1 mi 1867.2 totalimp campsite, nh   it's 6:40 a.m and we're standing outdoors, outside the dining room facility at pinkham notch visitor center. looking out to the parking lot, i see a half-familiar figure getting out of a car, and i start running toward her, shouting hey! and vaulting over a stone wall in the way. it's sue (gaiterwoman and her husband charlie), and we haven't seen each other since dalton, ma. pretty cool. we have a joyous reunion. i stay for breakfast, but then catch up with her later.   it's a steep ascent up to the wildcat range, a long haul across them, and then a steep descent into carter notch. heading up carter dome, terrapin passes through as it starts to rain. across the carter range, the rain fades and we get stunning views of the presidentials, and moriah and evans notch. suddenly i realize part of what i'm looking at is a piece of maine. it's been five months since i've seen it, and the time away and this long journey back towards it has changed my view of home. for the better. Oh Auntie Em.   there's an awesome rose and magenta sunset view from imp shelter, and sue presents me with a birthday chocolate truffle on a ritz cracker. she's crazy, you know. certifiably.
Date: 2004-08-21
From: imp campsite, nh

To: gorham,nh
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: fog

day 149 sat aug 21   8.0 mi 1875.2 totalgorham, nh   terrapin, sue, and i leapfrog in the rain, meet wicked lobstah at rattle river shelter, trade stories, and then slosh down to US route 2. sue hopes to meet her husband at the next trailhead close by. i roadwalk a mile, then get a ride in the back of a pickup, still in the rain. but hey, we're seasoned veteran hikers; we got "can do."    at the libby house barn hostel, i get cleaned up, then search and destroy a steak dinner and a hefty hot fudge sundae.   back at the barn, willie nelson pipesmoke, still on the run from los federales, pulls in and invites me to a big family breakfast set for tomorrow morning, at an undisclosed location. remember, he's still on the lam. mum's the word.
Date: 2004-08-22
From: gorham,nh

To: gorham, nh
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

day 150 sun aug 22   0 mi gorham, nh   i am posting this from caratunk, me on sept 4. northwestern maine is that wild and remote, and the internet is that difficult to find on this part of the trail. not that that's a bad thing, you understand. more later.we were asked to leave caratunk, as i wouldn't dance with a certain beautiful woman in a bar there, and i will tell you the details later, and DON'T believe what doc may say about that incident. so in case i get cut off too soon, or hurricane frances comes by to hike with us in the hundred mile wilderness, i am writing this in monson, sept 7.just so you know.let's see now, in our last episode, indiana jones had stepped out of the shadows in a dark cave set deep in a white mountain fastness just as mom called up to me that i was going to miss the school bus again.so i go for an early morning breakfast at welch's (gorham, nh now, aug 22) and whoa, there's gaiterwoman sue and her husband charlie, and they invite me to sit with them, and we have a raucous time, and then he drives her to the next trailhead. about 9 a.m. pipesmoke swings by and we join his family at breakfast, including his mom, margaret harrington, a retired nurse originally from eastport maine and still sharp as a tack at 96. pipesmoke's cousin ed from nova scotia came to ride in the bike race up mt. washington yesterday, and placed 56 out of 600. maybe if he trains a little harder, or goes hiking with us, he'll do better next year.if you were real observant, you will have noticed i ate two breakfasts. yes i know, only two. well, i had to leave room for two lunches and two dinners later that day. i trying to catch up. please don't judge me too harshly.later, pipesmoke's son stephen has a gathering, and pipe's daughter julie, a physical therapist, treats some of us to massages. and then there's a barbecue. thank you, julie, lucy, jannine, and stephen.and then through the mail, there's cookies and cards from home. thanks to catherine, tina, lynn. very much. who'd i miss?
Date: 2004-08-23
From: gorham, nh

To: gentian pond shelter, nh
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

day 151 mon aug 23   11.8 mi 1887.0 totalgentian pond shelter, nh   at the post office, there's bones, and hotrock, long time no see!, and pipesmoke gives me a ride to the trailhead. he's flipping to katahdin wednesday and hiking back to gorham. hopefully i'll see him again halfway across maine.   a nice stretch of weather settles in. at the shelter, 2 different section hikers have some serious stove flare-ups, but no one gets burnt. through the trail grapevine, i hear that one leg flipped to katahdin, went up on crutches, and needed to be medivacked down. i hope he's okay. good luck, man.
Date: 2004-08-24
From: gentian pond shelter, nh

To: full goose shelter, me
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

day 152 tue aug 24   9.6 mi 1896.6 totalfull goose shelter, me   i saw a young bear yesterday afternoon between dream lake and moss pond.   there was a bit of a rain last night, but a half moon ascended from east to west across the lower sky, visible through the shelter's wide opening. in the morning it turned quite cold, in the forties; very clear and breezy. it seemed so clear up on mount success, i thought i could hear a polar bear snort way off in manitoba, and a glacier calve off a chunk on the coast of british columbia. and across the ages, from what is now oregon, kennewick man was saying it was oh so clear, and not a cloud in all the wide sky.   in the woods again, gimpy and i cross into maine.   from goose eye summit, i recognize old speck mountain seven miles ahead, and on the horizon, sugarloaf and abraham mountains. there's a shadow just shy of old speck that just might be mahoosic notch.   two dayhikers on east goose eye, pierce and francesca from portland, suggest i could make it through mahoosic notch and to the next shelter after it before dark. it's 3 p.m. i decide not to risk it, and hike on just to full goose shelter. ree, from boston comes in, and myst, then gimpy, then nick and his two buddies from colby. a group of four young men come in for a break, intent on making it through the notch and to speck pond shelter before dark. when i ask if they really have to go so far tonight, one grumps, "well yeah, we gotta do long miles to make it to katahdin."   might have been a matter of funds.
Date: 2004-08-25
From: full goose shelter, me

To: baldpate shelter, me
Miles today: 12.0

day 153 wed aug 25   12.0 mi 1908.6 totalbaldpate shelter, me   as mentioned, willie nelson pipesmoke has decided to flipflop, and hike from katahdin to gorham, nh. i hope to see him again, as i reckon i owe his horses some beer. sue is a veritable train, on schedule a day ahead, and bound for glory.   at full goose shelter last night, we figure it takes about nine hikers to fill the goose. a northbounder comes in with a red bandanna on his head. i don't recognize him until he calls out my name. it's Doc! we reminisce about virginia and old times and park our keesters on the group w bench, if you will, just like it was alice's restaurant, and have a grand old time. he took a bad spill on mt everett in mass., and went home to recuperate five days. he's in fine form now.   in the morning we head down into mahoosic notch, a remarkable mile-long stretch with great boulders piles upon one another. there's caves and twists and turns and slippery slopes and doc is full of choice dark words about the people who chose to put the trail through here. his timing and wit are impeccable, and i get to laughing and have to stop time and again, or else some crevasse will swallow me up.   eventually we make it through and we're out in the sun again, and chugging up the steep and steeper still, mahoosic arm. the trail takes a dip down to speck pond and then it's up and over old speck mountain. doc says it felt more like alpine climbing than trail hiking.   across grafton notch, we share a shelter with just do it, from michigan, who looks about sixty. he tells us he made it from georgia to pennsylvania last year, until he fell ands broke his arm. he went home to heal, and this past march he started from scratch again, in georgia. we are in awe.
Date: 2004-08-26
From: baldpate shelter, me

To: andover, me
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

day 154 thu aug 26   8.0 mi 1916.6 totalandover, me   there's an ocean of clouds down low below the higher peaks around here. east baldpate offers above treeline vistas that span for many miles, and i linger to take many photos. and then dunn notch falls is surprisingly steep.   at the east b hill road, i count three southbound vehicles in an hour. it's eight miles to andover and after that hour i decide to start walking. after a mile, a guy named steve picks me up in his truck. he does maple sugaring; knows the newspaper i work for and the town i'm from. thanks for the ride, steve.   i stay at the andover guest house as it's near the restaurant and grocery. around town i see myst, mushroom, dragonslayer, yoga monkey, and gimpy. i get a shower, do laundry, sort through the next food maildrop box (thanks, barb!), hunt down dinner: the usual in-town drill.
Date: 2004-08-27
From: andover, me

To: clearwater brook, me
Miles today: 14.4

day 155 fri aug 27   14.4 mi 1931.0 totalclearwater brook, me   myst, gimpy, and i leapfrog across wyman and moody mtns. showers at midday turn to sun and heat in the afternoon up a very steep old blue mountain. i continue on alone down off old blue and see a long blue tarp ahead. nearing it, i discover a group of six camping. one of them kindly invites me to camp under their tarp as they've got two tents set up. they're part of the bates college outing club. there's toby, who's had adventures in big bend, texas, minnesota, and copper canyon in mexico this summer, and aaron, caitlin, and katie. caitlin is from ellsworth, as am i, and when i wonder why she looks so familiar, she explains she was a papergirl (in high school) at the newspaper where i work. long trail, small world.   katie from colorado tells me she spent six months in sri lanka and learned to speak some sinhalese. we get to talking about michael ondaatje, who wrote the english patient and anil's ghost, which is set in sri lanka. she seems well-informed about the political troubles there.   they are a delightful and charming group, and when i leave in the morning, aaron actually thanks me for stopping in. the guy shows class, to say that.
Date: 2004-08-28
From: clearwater brook, me

To: little swift river pond campsite, me
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: scattered clouds

day 156 sat aug 28   17.3 mi 1948.3 totallittle swift river pond campsite   myst and i leapfrog across the bemis range and route 17. long pond has a sandy beach and looks inviting in the afternoon sun. myst takes a dip, but i keep hiking to little swift where there's a school group from tufts, and i meet baby blue from minneapolis, a thoughtful young man with news of some hikers behind us, including critter and diego.   there's a full moon shining through the trees, and rain by early morning.