morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-08-08
From: Wintturi Shelter, VT

To: Half mile before White River near Quechee Rd, VT
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

Okay, so lets see. We've been so wiped out I can hardly think or stay awake to write this. We have been climbing some straight up and long mountains. Our legs are burning and we struggle to make the mileage we want. We thought we'd get in shape and it'd get easier but the terrain is getting tougher. Though VT is beautiful the AT has lots of PUDS (Pointless Ups and Downs) here. We climb and climb then go sharply back down. So much fun with 50 yr old knees. There is rarely a view as opposed to the Shenandoahs where every climb seemed to have a huge rock mass to sit on and enjoy a view. We are wondering how we Floridians will be able to climb the NH Mts and then Maine! One day at a time I guess! We ate so many raspberries and blackberries today our mouths are stained. Hopefully the bears don't smell our gluttony tonight as we stealth camp outside the town of West Hartford. We have never had such delicious berries. One hill today was covered in raspberry bushes so we stopped for almost an hour and feasted. One of the things I love about being out here is the time to think. At home my mind has to hold on to so many thoughts. I have to know everyone's schedule, groceries, dinner, laundry, work stuff, volunteer stuff, on and on the clutter goes. Now everything is simplified down to caloric intake and miles done, miles to go and contemplation of the beauty surrounding us. Everyday thoughts are so far away I can't even conjure up what used to stress me. This is like a vacation for my brain. I now have time, lots and lots of time, to think about random things. I can indulge my brain now. As a mom it is amazing how much energy and time goes into thinking about your families needs. Last night and tonight are much warmer. We are at a lower elevation. The bugs were bad today but we just Caladryl each night before bed. Makes the tent smell even better. Today was humid and threatening rain but luckily it only rained last night and none during the day. We met the most adorable couple...SOBOs named Funk and Bojangles. They have a 4 month old precious Border Collie that is going to Springer. She is so hyper she never stopped moving unless we were rubbing her belly...but she still wiggled. She actually climbed a downed tree and got stuck in a branch. We hope to see Stella and her owners on the flip. She will be so much bigger. We can't imagine how bored she will be when they finish the walk! Cub says she can't imagine home now. She figured she will be unable to sit in school for so long after 10 to 12 hours of solid walking a day. We all laugh at the idea of a Saturday afternoon nap. Badonkadonk thinks she will never get her muscular calves in skinny jeans. We wonder about the changes this experience will bring. Hmmm, something to think about tomorrow on the trail! Gotta grab some zzzzzz because there is a breakfast place beside a road we are crossing with a "hikers special". Yum! Plan to be there at 7am so we can get to our packages in Hanover. Passing into our next state tomorrow!!!!!!
Date: 2013-08-09
From: Half Mile Shy of White River near Quechee Rd, Vt

To: Velvet Rocks Shelter, NH
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

At 3am this morning the rains came. We chose to leave our rain fly off so that we could see a meteorite shower and also because it was actually warmer. All three of us jumped up and slammed our feet into our crocs. They slid in with ease....because....Slimy, gushy SLUGS had taken up residence in them!!! Our toes are stained yellow today from squished slug juice. In addition to their general sliminess they are cold too. Happily we stopped by the Full Belly Deli in West Hartford. We got the hikers special and bloated ourselves. We ran into one of our favorite hikers, Shrek! He has a great fro going. It's pouring down rain and we have packages in Hanover which is 10 muddy, slick miles from here. Flash floods predicted. Yikes. Wish us luck. TaTa for now......Forward to Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. It is the perfect quintessential college town. We got all 5 of our packages including 2 loaves of challah from Miriam! We tore into them and forgot to say a blessing. Also thanks Blueberry because we got new backpack supports and new poles. We are also grateful to Granite Gear and Big Anges for rushing our replacement parts directly to us on the trail! It was a very fun post office stop. We went across the street and ate at a restaurant called Molly's. we are stuffed. It was delicious as I imagine most of the places in this college town are. The girls are bummed because we have to head back into the woods. We were hoping to get a free stay but none were available. It is pouring down so we have another night in the rain.
Date: 2013-08-10
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter, NH

To: Hewes Brook S Fork near Goose Pond Rd, NH
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Hiking around young adults most of the time brings unique things to observe even when we don't want to. We spent the night tent camping outside the shelter. We were sandwiched in between two groups. One consisted of three guys and one girl. They were building a huge fire. The other was a girl in a very small solo tent that was circled by one guy so much she let him in. In spite of the grime the pheromones were still strongly working. Cub was very annoyed at all the noise. She observed,"Have you ever noticed that when there are boys around girls the boys try to act funny and show off and the girls loudly laugh no matter how stupid they are". Luckily Badonkadonk and Cub feel asleep before the other minuscule tent became a romance zone for an amorous couple. Guess I'm too old to appreciate the romantic conditions of total filth, unbelievable BO and a mom and her kids in a tent 5 feet away. Cub woke up in the am and said she preferred stealth camping. She said she could write a book on 20+ year old flirting techniques. Nothing like learning about the homosapien mating rituals on he trail. Not sure this is the educational experience her principal hoped she would have by hiking the AT. Clever Girl told us about a bumper sticker she loves,"hiking the AT...the most fun you'll ever have interrupted by long walks in the woods". It's like one long party for these younguns. We were playing Ina river when a couple excitedly approached us. They'd read about us on trailjournals. They wanted to meet us. We had a lovely conversation and they took photos of us. We met another lady out walking her lab. The dog rain through the water with her mouth open like Moli. TOnight we stealth camped right beside a loudly babbling brook. It helps so much with the sleeping conditions. It is Nature's sound machine. We cooked a Pad Thai and Asian rice meal in our JetBoil. We were so happy with ourselves. I've taken to lifting the food bags as high as I can in the trees. I know we should put them on a rope and hoist them but we can't get them very high plus we haven't seen any bears lately. Hopefully we don't tonight. Did I ever mention how good this Spring and river water tastes? WE aren't sure we can go back to tap water. It is so cold and sweet. The mosquito larvae and dirt only adds to the flavor. Joining the frogs at the water's edge is Cub's favorite thing. WE got a Steripen back and it is working great. THe only problem that might occur tonight is CUb Steripened my water. After I drank a full liter she said she left the cap on...so, that's fine, right? YIkes, hope I don't end up like BOots.
Date: 2013-08-11
From: Hewes Brook S Fork near Goose Pond 

To: Stealth Camping on Smarts Mt 
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

This was one of if not the best day ever. First off it was a perfect hiking day weather wise. We were all happy and just moving along when we came to a colorful sign with a poem and a painting. It said to stop by and meet Bob Ackerly and get free ice cream. The sign was a spoof on the pop song about milkshakes bringing all the boys into the yard, while Bob brings all the hikers to his yard for free ice cream and croquette. He has the only croquette set on the AT. When we got there, this adorable, neat, blue house with white trim and large porch greeted us. The house was totally open, with a sign saying, "Sorry I missed you, help yourself to ice cream, soda, bathroom...." WE got our ice cream and sat down to eat it and our lunch. Lucky for us Mr Ackerly soon drove up. He had gone out to get more ice cream. We helped him unload the car and then went to play croquette with him. He is a sweet, very humorous man. He kidded with the kids the whole time. They were a giggling mess around him. He seemed to just enjoy meeting and talking to people. Other hikers showed up...I think he ended up with 50 hikers that day. He also lets people put tents up or sleep on the porch. We feel so lucky to have met Mr. Bill. Oh, he also got lemonade out for the girls. He then cut up a huge cucumber for the girls. They did not want to leave. It was hard to push on. Shortly after we did leave we got ice cold Pepsis as trail magic. We couldn't believe our luck. We hiked over waterfalls and looked over cliffs for magnificent views. We feel really good about our hiking and skills right now. The girls can now do it all. Set up the tent, make a fire, hang a bear bag, cook in the woods...Their calves are bigger than ever. They are quite happy with their accomplishments.
Date: 2013-08-12
From: Stealth Camping on Smarts Mt 

To: Ore Hill Camping Area
Miles today: 11.9

The height of the mountains is really straining our legs and lessening our mileage. It is amazing that as strong as our legs have become it is still a difficult thing to do...climb these mts. I feel absolutely exhausted. It was the most perfect day for hiking so far...if that is possible because we've had some gorgeous days. The temperature was cool so we didn't sweat like crazy. The sky was the most surreal blue color. The mud was a bit more solid, not quite so slick, therefore making a soft surface for our feet. Of course the roots and rocks are still there to get the feet. My feet by the way are killing me day and night. The girls say that their feet feel better as soon as they stop walking. Mine keep me awake at night due to the pain. The podiatrist told me to never wear heels due to my bad foot bone structure. I'm wondering what he'd say now. My feet are a mess. I have numbness in some toes and areas of my feet and some areas of excruciating pain. Badonk did loose her smallest toenail today. She simply pulled it off as it had risen up. Tough girl.We set up at Ore Hill where the shelter burned down. We were there with Mongoose, a sweet man, soft spoken and very interesting. He teaches internationally, which Blueberry and I have always wanted to do one day. He is a great conversationalist so we sat around a fire and talked. Cub and Badonk made the fire, their fastest and biggest one yet. They were thrilled with their success. We even got the bear bag up high, which was a good thing because we had a large animal circling last night. We are fairly sure it was at least 2 coyotes. They howled right next to us. Cub said, "I'm going to fall asleep really fast so I don't have to be scared" I, on the other hand, stayed quite awake. I heard them howl further away throughout the night.
Date: 2013-08-14
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH

To: NH112
Miles today: 7.7

After a sleepless night, due to all the activity around the hostel, we woke at 6:15 for a huge pancake and egg breakfast cooked by the caretaker of the hostel. We set out at 7:30am for the hike. We decided to slackpack from the North back towards the hostel. Everyone suggested we do it this way because the descent down Mt Moosilauke is right next to a long waterfall called THe Cascades. There are rebar holds, wooden steps mounted in the rock, etc and its all slick from the waterfall. The wonderfully helpful and happy Ms. Janet took 12 of us onto the road outside of Lincoln, NH on the North side of the Mt. The ascent up The Cascades was amazing. The water was rapidly moving in hundreds of little waterfalls that separated and rejoined into larger falls. It was such a treat to get to view this waterfall from the bottom to the top. We kept stopping to take photos. As we climbed the mt. the temperature dropped. By the time we got out of the tree line it got very, very cold. We put on everything we had. The clouds and mist shrouded the mt peak, the wind whipping the cold currents right through us. It was so unbelievable to us Floridians. There were lots of cairns, which helped us see our way across the treeless ridge. We found several local gentlemen hunkered down in a round rock pile waiting for the sun and hopefully a view. They invited us to join them. We ate lunch up there in spite of the cold. It was about 40 degrees they said. We couldn't believe we were out there in shorts and flimsy coats. We finally got too cold so we headed down. As soon as we got in the tree line the sun came out!! We almost went back but we were told it might rain by 1pm so we decided getting wet and cold was worse than possibly missing the view. Hopefully we get some good views in the rest of the Whites. We are what the locals consider technically "The Whites". These are supposed to be the most beautiful mts in NH. We are hoping to just stay warm! The weather can change radically, with high winds and quickly changing temperatures. We were proud of ourselves because we hiked it in 4 hours plus an hour of eating and photo stops. We couldn't believe we did it so quickly! We know the time because we take one backpack when we slackpack. We each carry it for one hour. I was the only one with two carrying times. We are now back at the hostel waiting for everyone to return. We will get a ride from the generous Ms. Janet into Lincoln. We hope to get a package from Blueberry with our new boots. We hope Whoops was able to paint them. I've had painted boots for the whole adventure...gives me something to look at when I am watching my steps. Cub's boots have been crazy glued and gorilla taped several times so we need new ones before we tackle these big mts and Maine. Thanks again everyone for the comments. We really love them. I happily read them out loud each morning if they come in. Our service is getting worse as we go North. The South is going to be good for us with Verizon so we will be able to keep in touch better. Love to all, we are immensely happy and content.
Date: 2013-08-15
From: Lincoln,NH

To: I-93 North of Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: broken clouds

Exhaustion and pride! We just completed 16 miles in The Whites!!! We climbed Mt. Wolf and Kinsman South and North Peak. We climbed on all fours, slid down on our butts and literally pulled ourselves up boulders. Our elevation gain was over 3000 feet. The trail was covered in thick mud puddles, twisted, slimy roots and of course rocks. Luckily it was sunny and warmer today. The views were worth the climb. Stunning! Green mts surrounded us with hardly a spot of humanity. There were pristine lakes with reflected trees and mts. We had 3 precarious river crossings. We hiked by waterfall for a long time. It was a continual fall with lagoon type pools accumulating between each cascading falls. We exited the mt. via a 5 mile steep descent. At times like these we say our legs are like Ramen noodles...spongy and over cooked. Trying to hitchhike back to town a police officer pulled over. Hitching is illegal. Several passerbyers did not stop but did report us! Guess seeing little girls hitching sets people off! Of course they've probably never climbed mts all day and then faced a 6 mile walk in the cold and dark back to town. I think they don't believe we are thru hikers. Luckily I actually called a shuttle because it was getting late and the Thai restaurant we talked about all day was about to close. The shuttle was much cheaper than the ticket would have been. Whew! HWe saw our first AMC hut. The Whites have huts run by the Appalachian Mountain Club. They cost $80 per person per night so are quoted expensive for us. They also have to be booked ahead. You can work for food or a space on the floor. They sell food cheaply if they have it. There are all kinds of rules about where we can camp. I'm a bit worried about it especially because of the cold. Also the stealth camping spots are few and far between. It is a rugged wilderness with few spaces big enough to put a tent up on. There are few roads close enough to get to so we have to plan well food wise. It is intimidating but now that we've climbed 3 of the mts I know we can do it. We have lots of hikers that we adore hiking all around us. We pass hikers all day too. We will probably my get some warmer gear since we hear it will snow on Mt Washington tonight. I'm sure we have some very cold nights ahead of us. After all the heat this weather seems inconceivable, especially since it is August. How do these people live like this. People in Fla are in bathing suits all day right now. I know we would be!
Date: 2013-08-17
From: Lincoln Lodge

To: About a Mile Passed Liberty Spring Campground
Miles today: 3.5

Through the Presidential Range of the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) we will climb to the peaks of Six 4,000 ft plus mountains: Garfield (4500ft), Pierce(4310ft), Eisenhower (4780ft), Franklin(4900ft not quite a president), Monroe(5384ft), and Washington (6288ft).We walked down into Lincoln to make two more stops. We had to mail our old boots and summer stuff back home. While purchasing winter stuff at the outfitters they accidentally gave us an extra pair of gloves that we didn't pay for so we returned them. For breakfast we cooked in our kitchenette before moving out. We each ate a banana then we split a dozen eggs, a roll of crescent rolls and roll of those Pillsbury sweet orange rolls. We'd stayed up late to finish off the two dozen cc cookies we made. While walking through town we were about to call a shuttle to get back to the trail when suddenly Miss Janet pulled up in front of us. Like a ray of sunshine she showed up and have us a ride. Her van was sporting a new AT emblem emblazoned on the front with streaks of color bursting from it. Whoops! You would dig Miss Janet. If anyone wants to give charity where it will be directly used please send $ to Miss Janet. She's on Facebook. She will feed or schlep a hungry hiker. So if you don't want this adventure for yourself you can adopt Miss Janet and help her do her deeds of wonder.We got on the trail after hiking a mile side trail to get on it. Blueberry called so I tried to hike and talk to him, too hard because we were going directly up. We stopped to talk because we think it might be our last chance for a while. We struggled up the steep incline with our food packed bags...so much extra weight. We just aren't sure about getting food in The Whites. When we got to the designated camping area it was packed. The tents were so tight you couldn't slide a leaf between them. Up here they also charge $8 per person to camp like we've been doing for free. It's outrageous. There wasn't even a place for us. We decided to move on but it was already 4pm and cold. We didn't want to end up on the top of a mt above the trees so when we saw a mashed down area we decided to stop for the night. Climbing our guts out we'd only managed to hike about 3 1/2 miles. Unfortunately we needed water so Cub and I hiked all the way back down and up again laden with water. Badonkadonk had the tent set up. It took us over an hour. We just ate jerky and our heaviest snacks and went to sleep. It was about 8pm. Of course when it was 35 degrees and scarily dark my bladder started screaming for attention. Though miffed I did enjoy the huge brilliant moon and how it made the woods around us glisten.
Date: 2013-08-18
From: About a Mile Passed Liberty Springs Campground

To: About Half Mile Before Galehead Hut
Miles today: 9.7

White Mountain National Forest ("the Whites") attracts more visitors than Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks combined. And we have certainly seen many many day hikers out here this weekend. I don't know how but we slept in! 8:30am!!!! Hope this shows how hard these climbs are. We will set an alarm tonight. We gotta get going! Our mileage is low. Today was probably the most spectacular scenery yet. We climbed Mt Lincoln, Mt Lafayette and Mt Garfield. We had a 2 mile stretch on an alpine ridge line above the trees. We could see our path ahead of us...always up and often steeply up. Can I just use the word "steep" over and over? Add boulders to the ups and downs and you'll get the picture. I had to shove Cub's little tushy up and over at times. We were slipping on the steep grades. My knees are not happy with me today. But what glorious rewards. We saw 10 glider releases, with the gliders circling right next to and BELOW us. We could easily see the pilots. The highway looked like a pale tiny ribbon. We could clearly see Mt Washington. The rocks had green lichen on them. Badonkadonk said she felt like we were heading to the Emerald City. It was thrilling and again felt like a huge accomplishment to us. We could see the Mts, we felt intimidated and then we climbed them. The new banana split Oreos did help a lot. When we got into the tree line we were met with the strong smell of pine. I love that. Makes me think of my mom and her love of real Christmas trees because of the smell. We see perfect trees all day long. We are with a bunch of hikers that we know. It is comforting and also fun. They need to stealth camp too because of the costs. There are ridge runners trying to catch us and ticket us. This cat and mouse game takes away from the experience. We hope they realize through hikers leave no trace and give us a break.Going to get the tent and bear bag up before we get too cold. We are passed the Franconian Brook Trail and before the Galehead Hut. We think we did 9 miles....PS...Our feetCub and I are having feet problems and for the first time Badonkadonk is not. Her expertise will help us. I did get Dr Scholls Active foot inserts. They have significantly lessened the pain in the pads of my feet. Unfortunately they push my feet higher which has rubbed and given me blisters. Cub is working in her new boots and they are stiff and narrow. She's used to her stretched out ones. Tonight we will duct tape our feet per Badonkadonk's instructions. I'm sure our feet will adjust. This is the AT, fix one thing and you have new problems.