morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-08-02
From: The Notch, North Woodstock NH

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

A ¢zero¢ day. Woke up, listened to the rain outside, and rolled over. Got up (after 7am) and went downstairs and fixed real blueberry pancakes and eggs for breakfast. The Notch is a first class hostel (and there are a number of them on the trail) with a kitchen, dining room and living room available to hikers. TieDye and Justin are a really sharp, talented young couple and they are doing a great job. Bookie, who thru hiked in 2015 (same year as Wreck) is a great and always cheerful resource here too. Bookie drove us into Lincoln for the afternoon. We resupplied, fixed Brighty¢s trekking pole issues, had a great lunch at the Gypsy Cafe and went and saw Mission Impossible at the theatre. Got back to the hostel and organized for tomorrow. Toward dinner Late Start showed up and she and Brighty sipped a little wine on the front porch. Had dinner with her (chicken, corn on the cob and broccoli) before she got picked up by a college friend for a couple days off trail. Tomorrow they¢re calling for a wet one but the slow train to Maine is heading north anyway. Time now though to shut down for the night.
Date: 2018-08-03
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: Eliza Brook shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Up early to fix another pancake and egg breakfast. The Notch (like the Green Mountain hostel) is a very comfortable place. Shuttle had us back to the trailhead by a little after 7am. Weather supposed to be rainy all day but just cloudy this morning. Big climb out of Kinsman Notch (big climbs out of all the notches in the Whites). Trail was slow going almost all day. Lots of mud, roots and rocks. The slow train to Maine was down to about one mile/hour. Chugging along through the spruce/fir forest - the balsam firs were particularly aromatic today - it was like hiking through a Christmas tree forest! Second big climb was up Mt Wolf. We reached four false summits before reaching the real summit. No real views from on top. Trail slow again coming down. Leveled out right before reaching this shelter. Rain started picking up too. It¢s stopped now but suppose to pick up later. We¢re staying in shelter - and it¢s a very nice one. Good group here and camping nearby. Still light but everyone is settling in and so we¢re shutting down too. Survived day two in the Whites so we get to advance again tomorrow.
Date: 2018-08-04
From: Eliza Brook shelter

To: Cascade Brook
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow!! This was a memorable day - although not in the most pleasurable terms. Rains started in earnest as we were going to bed and were pretty steady all night. By daybreak the question in the shelter was who would leave first. I turned out to be the young college age thruhiker who was putting in big miles to reach Katahdin before school started again. We were second out and Eliza Brook which was a mild rock hop across last evening was a raging torrent this morning. We located a semi safe crossing and plunged through mid thigh level (Later we learned that folks who waited a couple hours to leave camp had waist deep water to deal with). About a mile north we had another crossing of Eliza Brooks of similar difficulty. Rain most of the morning with skies finally clearing by afternoon. The damage was done though and the trail was a stream much of the day. Boardwalks were five inches under water, steps were cascades, Wreck who has done a fair share of wet hiking over the years hadn¢t seen this much water on the trail since he and Pothole hiked literally up Raven Fork stream in the Smokies years ago. Adding to the challenge was the fact that the trail was ascending 2,000 ft up Kinsman Mountain (4358 ft) which has a pretty good amount of four limbed climbed involved and then descended down Kinsman with more four limbed climbing involved. Thought we might get limited views up top but no such luck. Further down we did get done great views of Franconia Ridge and the mountain above Lonesome Lake. Got to Cascade Brook about 7pm. We had been hearing about the crossing from other hikers during the day. By the time we got there it was,we guess, about at its peak. Wreck started across with water at mid thigh and based on his trekking poles determined the deepest and swiftest water at the crossing to be waist deep. Brighty wisely suggested we camp and cross in the morning so we¢ve gone 200 ft+ off trail downstream and are camping by this raging waterfalls. Hadn¢t planned to be out another night so we¢ve drained our food bags (including the last of the Karen¢s Just Veggies which we picked up at the Coop in Hanover). It¢s cleared off so we¢re hoping all this water can run off the mountain past us by morning. For now it¢s time to get some rest.
Date: 2018-08-05
From: Cascade Brook

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 1.5

Woke up and it seemed like the waterfall we camped next to was less raging (we saw rocks this morning). Packed up and got to the stream crossing and it was only mid calf level. One more stream downstream was of similar size. Got to the intersection of the AT with the one mile paved trail to the Flume Visitor Center. Bookie picked us up at the Visitor Center and we headed back to the hostel. This afternoon we made some decisions. Brighty has taken several falls recently (none serious) but that combined with the seriously steep ups AND downs (always the worst part) on the trail now and further north have gotten her thinking that maybe her Appalachian Trail hike (2,000 miles hiking in over 200 days, 129 nights camping in our Tarptent, etc etc) was about complete. Wreck, who had seen Brighty work harder on the trail than anyone else couldn¢t disagree. So the slow train to Maine is going to call it a hike - we walked this evening over to the Woodstock Inn to celebrate our hike. Wreck is both mentally and physically (he too took a fall yesterday and banged up his knee) torn about continuing on without his engineer. We¢ll sleep on it and make final decisions in the morning.
Date: 2018-08-06
From: Franconia Notch

To: Garfield shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up this morning and Wreck¢s knee was improving (maybe 75%) so he decided to hike on while Brighty headed back to good ole Virginia. Tie Dye had Wreck to the trailhead by 7:30 and Brighty to town by 10:30 am. Originally Brighty was thinking to taking a bus from Lincoln, NH to Frederick, MD but had trouble getting information about tickets. In the end she got a shuttle into Plymouth, NH and is spending the night there. She¢ll rent a car in the morning and start the drive home. Wreck meanwhile headed out of Franconia Notch - always a steep uphill and in this case a nearly 3,000 ft initial climb up to the Franconia Ridge trail. Then it was up some more into the alpine environment above tree line at Little Haystack Mountain (4800 ft). Spent the next several miles walking Franconia Ridge over Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette. Weather fantastic and views on both sides of trail phenomenal. This is one of the most spectacular sections of the AT. Dropped off Lafayette (steep) and after several miles climbed Mt Garfield. More great views particularly Twin Mountain where the trail goes over tomorrow. Got to this campsite a little after six and am bushed (some hand over hand climbing today - always a workout and hot and humid today). Good news is knee improved as day went on. Large nice crowd at campsite.  Miss Brighty bunches but think she made the right decision. For now it¢s time to shut down for the night.
Date: 2018-08-07
From: Garfield shelter

To: Zealand Hut
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Warm night for nearly 4000 ft. It was an early rising crowd in the shelter. The folks next to me were gone a little after 5am. I was the LAST one up at 6 am. Forgot to mention an interesting hiker I met yesterday. There are two classes of long distance hikers I¢ve always marveled over. First are the blind hikers. They are incredible stories. The second group, definitely a step down but still amazing are the barefoot hikers. Met one yesterday (appropriately named Barefoot). He was coming from Katahdin heading south. Nice guy, said feet are getting ¢leathery¢. Only issue I had were the toenails (painted Carolina blue). Today the trail started off down Mt Garfield in a stream/waterfall. (When No Pants and I did this section in 2014 I got halfway down, thought this can¢t be the trail, climbed back up and found out that it was indeed the trail). Good rock but bet it wasn¢t fun a couple days ago when we had all that rain. Stopped by Galehead Hut and had a couple slices of delicious peach coffee cake (one of the nice things about the Whites is the extra food opportunities that the huts provide.) Thus powered I climbed South Twin Mountain (4902 ft). Good weather, great views. On one side you can see Franconia Ridge where we were yesterday, on the other side you can see the Presidential range, the next mountains the AT goes over. I lingered for quite awhile up there. Finally dropped down then up Mt Guyot (more nice views) and finally down to this AMC hut. Great timing too as the thunder started about 2 miles from the hut, skies kept getting darker and, about 0.5miles away a light rain started. Got to hut and rain picked up. Originally I was able to get one space here for Brighty and I was going to hike to the next shelter but since Brighty was in her rental car heading south (and planning her next adventure) I took her spot.. Big crowd here (it¢s full). We¢ve eaten and I¢m rapidly feeling sleep coming on. (Slept poorly for some reason last night). Still missing Brighty but more convinced then ever she made the right decision.
Date: 2018-08-08
From: Zealand Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Up to a big breakfast at the hut (oatmeal, eggs, bacon and pancakes.) I must say the portion size was much better at this hut than my experience in 2015. Mattress (2¢ thick?) was not very good. About 30 minutes after lying down I thought I should put my comfortable thermarest on top but didn¢t want to disturb room. Overall the hut experience is overpriced but okay (I think Brighty would like it more than me and, hopefully we can come back to the Whites for a short hut to hut to hut trip in the future.). Today¢s trail was tame by Whites standards (yes still lots of rock and you have to be constantly careful- my trekking poles slipped on a log and I took a tumble a couple miles from the end, sore wrist but otherwise fine). Despite the ease of the trail I was struggling early on. Then met nice day hiker from nearby and we hiked some together and the rest of the day was fine. That¢s how it works sometimes - just needed something to kick me in gear. Had a little trail magic towards Crawford Notch (part of which was melted ice cream bars). Not to be too critical here but ice cream just doesn¢t survive long enough to be practical. (Unless Odesimus is running it in to Upper Goose - and then just barely). Saw M&M at trail magic.  Super nice Irish couple (living in Australia for 20+ years) whom Brighty and I have been running into since Vermont. They were going to try and hitch into North Conway, something like 20 miles away. I was just going to this campground 1.8 miles off trail so I decided to walk. Got within 0.5m of here when a familiar van pulled up and honked the horn. It was Miss Janet, trail angel extraordinaire. We had not seen her since maybe North Carolina last year. We chatted for awhile and she drove me into the campground. I¢ve got a nice little leanto to myself. Got here early in the afternoon. Cleaned up (a little as ¢showers¢ were coin operated and I had no change) and took a nap. Lazed around until dinner. I¢ve eaten, the river is babbling away in the distance and it¢s time to shut down for the night. Rain never came today but I believe that¢s just going to increase the chances for tomorrow. Heading up Webster Cliffs toward the Presidential range in the morning. Looking forward to it!
Date: 2018-08-09
From: Crawford Notch

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 6.4

Well . . . I think it rained some last night. But I slept hard so I may have dreamed it! Left the good ole leanto a little before 8am. Tried to hitch back to the trailhead but no success so I ended up walking the 1.8m back (Vermont was such a great state for hitching rides that it spoiled me). Up the trail out of the Notch. Like just about all trails out of Notches it was steep. Unlike some though the trail was not too rocky. I just put it in low and went. Got a couple miles up and ran into older hiker coming down who asked where I was coming from. Turns out he had gotten off trail and when he got back on headed the wrong way. Made me wonder how many folks get seriously lost especially in bad weather. Today¢s weather started cloudy and humid. Got to the first views along Webster Cliffs and clouds were coming in. Thought it may be like 2015 when things went downhill weather wise from there but weather never got bad - a little sun, a little rain and quite a lot of wind along the cliffs.  After the cliffs trail has a lot of short four limbed climbing sections up to Mt Webster and then Mt Jackson (more going up Webster). Had reception so checked in at home - Brighty made it back in one day (once you point those miles toward home they take off!). During one sunny moment I took a break north of Mt Jackson. Had some food/water and it started to rain. Sunny again by the time I reached this hut. Had nice bowl of soup and delicious large slice of pumpkin cake. Lazed around the afternoon and had big dinner. (Lasagna so Brighty would have loved it- but not the trail coming up here. She made a wise decision.) Listened to program given by trail crew. Big push working on Crawford Path whose bicentennial is coming up. Wow! A 200 year old trail!!! The sun has set and the bed is now calling (and yes I have blown up my thermarest and put it on top the huts other mattress).
Date: 2018-08-10
From: Mizpah Hut

To: Lakes of the Clouds
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to another fine breakfast curtesy of the AMC Hut. Weather was cloudy but forecast called for clearing and it certainly did. By mid morning the sun was out and the rest of the day was fantastic. Windy on western exposures (peak wind at Mt Washington was 72 mph today but I don¢t think I experienced anything over 40 mph). What a day to be in the high country and that¢s where I was. Climbed Mt Pierce early on then ran the ridge line around Mt Eisenhower and Mt Monroe to this hut. Shoutout to the blueberries of the high country. Maybe because of the rain but they seem extra big and extra sweet this year (and they¢re ripe!!). Ordinarily I probably would have taken advantage of the great weather and hiked around the whole Great Gulf but I made this hut reservation a couple weeks ago so here I am. Got here about 1 pm and had some soup and hot chocolate. Then hiked up to the summit of Mt Monroe. More fantastic views. I stayed up there quite awhile just taking in the view. Hiked down and then up above the ponds/lakes that give this hut its name and again took in the view. It was a very relaxing but enjoyable afternoon. Had dinner (including barbecue chicken) and, despite the light day, I feel sleep coming on. Tomorrow I meet my hiking partner of 35 years, Pothole, up at Mt Washington and around the Great Gulf we go. I would be nice if weather continued for another day but . . . you never know what these mountains will do.
Date: 2018-08-11
From: Lakes of the Clouds

To: Osgood tent site
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Up to another great hut breakfast (wow I could get used to this - but not at this price). Alas, this was the last hut reservation I could make for Brighty. It¢s roughing it from now on. Left Lakes of the Clouds about 8am and the trail climbed Mt Washington. Nice weather all day and little wind (which is unusual for one the the windiest places in the country). I started out in long sleeves and long pants and had to go to t shirt and shorts before I reached Washington. Talk about timing! As I summited Washington in pulls a van with Pothole! We went inside the observatory for a few minutes? Came out and stood in line for our summit picture and were off. Great hiking with Pothole. We had a lot to catch up on. The nice Saturday weather brought out a crowd of extremely fit day hikers, most doing large mileage days in the Whites. The traverse of the Presidential range bagging all the peaks along the way seemed most popular. That¢s a major day! Got to Edmonds Col and had lunch, gazing up at Mt Jefferson to the south and Mt Adams to the north, both big mountains. Reached Madison hut about 2:30pm and went inside where I had some soup. Fortified we climbed Mr Madison. I love that Peak! Great views! Finally it was down, down, down Madison, one of the longest downhills in the Whites. Finally reached back into the trees (after 8+ miles today above tree line in the alpine zone.) Pothole, who had several more miles to hike (to his car) than I did moved ahead. Got into this site about 6pm. I survived the day but the Whites were definitely felt. Tomorrow I get to advance a little more.
Date: 2018-08-12
From: Osgood tent site

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 4.7

Rained early this morning but stopped by the time I was ready to get up (or by the time I got up!). Short day today combined with long day yesterday resulted in me not leaving camp until almost 9am. Weather was misty much of the way. My hiking really slows on a wet trail - rocks and especially roots really get slick. And the first couple miles today had nothing but rocks and roots. Once I crossed the auto road going up to Mt Washington the trail became great. Got into Pinkham about 11:30am and Pothole was waiting. We went into the Visitor Center for lunch and then went on a couple short hikes to some nice waterfalls. A bunch of climbers repelling down one of the falls. Afterwards Pothole dropped me off at this hostel so I could shower, etc. We went to Walmart and an AYCE Oriental place in Gorham (which No Pants and I ate in a few years ago and I really enjoyed again). Back at the hostel and time to hit the hay. The Whites aren¢t done yet - I need my hiking sleep!
Date: 2018-08-13
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

WOW!! That was about my hardest day on the trail . . . But I survive! Pothole picked me up at the hostel and had me back on the trail by 7:30 am. This section through the Wildcats has the reputation of being perhaps the toughest in the Whites and I certainly wouldn¢t argue. From Pinkham Notch the trail goes up 2,000 ft in less than 3 miles to Wildcat Peak E. But that doesn¢t come close to describing how tough a trail that is. Lots of large boulders, lots of hand over hand climbing. I kept thinking ¢boy, I¢m glad I¢m not climbing down this¢. From Wildcat E it¢s over to Peaks D (which is surreal in that after all this climbing you reach an area with an operating gondola taking people up the mountain) C, and A (the trail skips by Peak B which by this time was fine with me). After the Wildcats the trail drops STEEPLY into Carters Notch and then up steeply again 1,500 ft to Carters Dome. Climbing down the Notch I ran into my ¢AMC buddy¢ JP. We met in 2015 as he was finishing his winter caretaker job on Mt LeConte in the Smokies and was walking the trail to the Whites for his summer job and again in the Whites with him carrying 105 pounds of food down Mt Washington to the hut. Sure enough JP had another large load of stuff he was hauling out of the Carter Notch hut where he is now the manager. We caught up quickly - he¢s not wintering on LeConte anymore, Vermont instead. Down at the hut I had the best bowl of soup in the Whites - a turkey vegetable with real turkey!!! Still the climb out of the Notch was slow - all day was slow. Went over Mt Height (great views in 2015, just clouds today) and steeply down to the Zeta Pass. Up Middle and North Carter Mountain (more clouds), a wickedly steep down from North Carter and finally at 7:30 pm rolled (staggered?) into this campsite. 13 miles in 12 hours with probably less than an hour of breaks. And it wasn¢t like I was lallygagging - I was going as fast as I could. One saving grace was the predicted rains for the most part held off. Rained in Carter Notch and coming up Carter Dome but the rest of the day was just cloudy. Shelter here was pretty packed with young kids so I¢m camping on platform. Just able to set up tent in last light, cooked and ate in the dark and now - it¢s time to shut down for the night and let this body recover - hopefully!
Date: 2018-08-14
From: Imp Campsite

To: Rattle River hostel
Miles today: 8.0

Rained last night and still raining this morning. First thought I¢d wait it out but that wasn¢t happening so for the first time in a long time I took down the tent in the rain. Didn¢t end up leaving until after 9am. Trail really wet and rocky which made for slow going. Like yesterday just views of clouds up high (climbed Mt Moriah early on). Finally came down to the Rattle River and found an actual dirt trail. Wow! The then the sun came out! Covered the last 2 miles in 40 minutes which is sort of reassuring to me as I was beginning to think that 1 mile/hour was all I could do. Back at the Rattle River hostel, which is literal right on the trail. Within the first hour I had put up my tent and dried it, showered, had my clothes washed, and organized my gear. Went to Walmart with the resupply shuttle and (I must have been channeling Brighty) bought a steak to grill back at the hostel. Steak, baked potato and fresh corn on the cob - not a meal you get on the trail. Also, some section hiker finished recently here and left a bunch of dehydrated food in the freebie box. I¢ve got chicken, corn, peas etc. Actually looking forward to dinners the next few days. For now though looking forward to a good nights sleep before starting north again. Happy to leave the Whites still hiking.
Date: 2018-08-15
From: Rattle River hostel

To: Gentian Pond campsite
Miles today: 11.8

Okay sleep at hostel. (I always sleep best in the tent). Prick (really nice guy who got his trail name after stepping on some prickly pear down in Georgia) made everyone bunches of pancakes. Got back on trail around 8:30 am. Weather really humid, had some rumbling during the day and started spitting once both no real rain. By mid afternoon it was just partly cloudy skies. Trail was somewhat easier than the other day - there was some dirt and some side hill construction in spots. Still I was slow going - maybe that¢s the way I¢ll be the rest of the hike. Nice but hazy views from Mt Hayes, Cascades Mountain, and Wockets Ledge all three which I took in during food breaks. Several nice ponds today as well. After all this rain, the trail continues to be wet and muddy. The fungi also continue to be quite colorful. Saw lots of insectivorous sundews going over several boardwalked high elevation bogs today. Got to this campsite about 5:30pm and the body said done. Nice views of Gentian Pond and mountains from shelter but I¢m camping on one of the platforms. Not even 8pm but I¢m pooped. Tomorrow it¢s into Maine!!