morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-18
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 149:After a little rain overnight, we wake up to a characteristically cool morning here in the White Mountains. We are glad to have our winter gear on hand now. Before breakfast, I walk down to the shelter from our tent site to look at the sunrise over Franconia Ridge off in the distance. It is beautiful and serene, with the higher peaks poking through low clouds. Such beauty can only be experienced in person, as photos and words don't do proper justice. At 8:00, we are on the trail making a very steep descent down the north side of Mt Moosilauke. The going is slow and trecherous, but we make it safely to Kinsman Notch. As we pass the parking lot there, we notice a sign for trail magic and see that someone is setting up tables and chairs. We walk over and meet John, from Massachusets. He has driven up today to provide trail magic for thru-hikers. We sit down and enjoy all of our favorite "delicacies", including donuts, whoopie pies, bananas, coffee cake, cookies, candy bars, and sodas. John will be hiking the Appalachian Trail next year with his son. Reluctantly, we tear ourselves away and begin the long, rugged hike up to the summit of Mt Wolf. The going is slow, with lots of mud, rocks, and exposed roots for much of the way. Finally, we reach the top near noontime and take the side trail to the lookout on top, where we enjoy lunch. In front of us is a gorgeous view of the Franconia Ridge off in the distance. While we eat, we enjoy watching the clouds roll on and off of Mt Lafayette. Descending Mt Wolf is just as rugged as the ascent, with very muddy and rugged terrain. We can not go faster than about 1.5 miles per hour. At 3:15, we reach Beaver Brook Shelter, where we set up the tent and call it a day. Voltron is camping here with us tonight along with Solo, Phoenix Rising, and a number of others who arrive later. Tomorrow, we plan on another shorter day from here down into Franconia Notch, where we will hitch a ride into North Woodstock. We will zero there on Monday and then return to the trail on Tuesday. Loving the Whites!
Date: 2012-08-19
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Franconia Notch, N. Woodstock
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 150:A wonderful day on the trail today. We wake up this morning to crystal clear skies and temperatures in the 40s. These are the days we've been waiting for - cool, dry, and fall-like. The hike this morning begins with a very strenuous ascent up South Kinsman. Much of the climbimg is hand over hand. We reach the top of South Kinsman at about 9:15, and are rewarded with spectacular 100 mile views. It just does not get any better than this. Moving on, we make the traverse over to North Kinsman, where we are treated to a new range of views. Diving down back into the woods, we soon reach the Fishin Jimmy Trail, which is also the Appalachian Trail. This trail descends very steeply all the way down to Lonesome Lake Hut, where we arrive at about 11:00. Here, we take our lunch break, cooking up some soup outside the hut and then bringing it inside to eat. After lunch, we walk down to the lake, where we are treated to an amazing view of Franconia Ridge across the water. The rest of our walk today is easy, as we hike the final 3 miles down to Rt 3 and Franconia Notch. We hitch a ride from a nice couple, who drop us off at the Carriage Motel in N. Woodstock. The rest of our day is spent just relaxing. Tomorrow, we will spend the day here in town, and then we'll get back on the trail Tuesday morning.
Date: 2012-08-20
From: Franconia Notch, N. Woodstock

To: N.Woodstock, Carriage Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Day 151: A zero day in North Woodstock today filled with lots of R & R and eating. Tomorrow, we resume our hike. The weather forecast is excellent for the rest of the week. We are excited about hiking over Franconia Ridge tomorrow.
Date: 2012-08-21
From: N.Woodstock, Carriage Motel

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 152: The morning is clear and cool. We pack up and check out of the motel at 7:30. We decide to call the local shuttle service for a ride back to the trailhead this morning. By 8:00, we are on the trail, beginning our ascent up to Mt Liberty. The climb is long and steady, and we reach the ridge line at about 9:30. The weather up on Franconia Ridge is cool, with a slight breeze. We reach Little Haystack Mt at 11:00 and decide to stop there for an early lunch. Clouds blow up the mountain sides as we eat, briefly shrouding the summit of Mt Lafayette before blowing off and dissipating. Mt Lincoln looks like a Himalayan peak from our vantage point. After lunch, we complete our traverse of Franconia Ridge, arrving at the summit of Mt Lafayette at 12:30. In the distance to the east, we can see Mt Washington and the Presidentials, where we will be in 3 days. The descent off of Mt Lafayette is excruciating. It takes us 2-3/4 hours to hike 3.9 miles to the Garfield Ridge Campsite. Our knees are screaming at us by the end of the day. We arrive at the campsite at 3:15 and set up our tent on one of the tent platforms. Unfortunately, this time of year is when many of the area colleges have a freshman orientation hike up in this area. There are 2-3 college groups here tonight, and they are very noisy. So much for a peaceful night in the mountains. Tomorrow, we will rise early and hike about 14+ miles over to Ethan Pond Campsite.
Date: 2012-08-22
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite

To: Ethan Pond
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

Day 153: We wake this morning to another crystal clear morning. Overnight, the temperature dropped into the 40s, causing a lot of condensation on our rain fly. While the college group from Yale next to us has breakfast, SilverGirl and I finish packing up and are on the trail at 7:15. Today's hike starts with a very steep descent down the fall line of a stream. It is very treacherous for about the first 1/3 mile before flattening out a bit. By 9:00, we arrive at Galehead Hut at the foot of South Twin Mt. We stop here for a water break and some gorp. The climb up to the top of South Twin is a steady, steep one mile ascent. Once we reach the top, we have unlimited views in all directions, with Mt Washington to our east and the Franconia Ridge to our west. Mt Washington looms ever closer now as we head directly towards it. At about noon, we are hiking along the Twinway past Mt Zealand, when we come upon a large, flat rock face where we can sit for lunch. The views from here are amazing. After lunch, we begin a long, steep descent down to Zealand Hut. When we arrive, there are a few dozen hikers here, with a mixture of families, college groups, day hikers, and thru-hikers. We stop for a quick water break and then move on. The final 5 miles to Ethan Pond are easy, with lots of flat, smooth terrain. Despite the easy terrain, we are both still pretty tired from all of the ups and downs we hit earlier in the day. The going is pretty slow, and for the most part, pretty rough in the Whites. We have resigned ourselves to shorter mileage days. With the beautiful weather we've had here so far, we certainly don't want to rush through the Whites. At about 4:00, we reach Ethan Pond, where we set up our tent on one of the tent platforms. It looks like it will be another clear and cool night tonight and another nice day tomorrow as we head into the Presidentials. Maine is looming ever closer and we are really excited to be where we are now. We are both ready to go back home, but not before we savor these last few weeks in the most beautiful section of the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2012-08-23
From: Ethan Pond

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: broken clouds

Day 154: Another clear and cool day today. We can't believe how lucky we've been so far as we hike through the Whites. Every day has been crysral clear so far and the long range forecast calls for more of the same. We are on the trail by 7:15 this morning, on our way down to Crawford Notch. We reach the notch parking lot at about 9:00. There is a couple here offering trail magic, so we stop for awhile for  soda, bananas, chocolate cupcakes, and coffee cake. Signing their trail register there, we notice that Sparky and Passionflower were also here this morning. We decide to try and catch them since they are only about 1/2 hour in front of us. Crossing Rt 302, we begin the grueling ascent up to Webster Cliffs, Mt Webster, and Mt Jackson. As we climb, we pass Lobster and Chickadee, Atlas and Cheeks, and Phoenix Rising. The view from Webster Cliff is spectacular as we look down into Crawford Notch. The road below looks like a thin ribbon draped between the Willey Range and Webster Cliffs. When we reach the summit of Mt Webster, we see Sparky and Passionflower there taking a break. It is a nice reunion with them. We have not seen Passionflower since Near Tinker Cliffs in Virginia and Sparky since he left the trail in New York because of Lymes Disease. We walk together for the rest of the day, stopping in at Mitzpah Hut for lunch before hiking over the Crawford Path to Lakes of the Clouds Hut. SilverGirl and I ask for and are granted work for stay there, but when Sparky and Passionflower ask for it a few minutes after us, they are turned down. Our work for stay consists of washing a bunch of dishes in exchange for a free dinner, breakfast, and a spot on the hut floor to sleep. Tomorrow, our plan is to hike up and over Mt Washington, Mt Madison, and down into Pinkham Notch. We're not sure where we'll stay tomorrow night, but we'll figure it out by the time we get there. 3 more days and we'll be out of the Whites.
Date: 2012-08-24
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Osgood Campsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 155: After a decent nights sleep, we cleared out of the hut dining room at 6:15 so that the hut crew could set up for breakfast. As part of our work for stay, we were invited to wait around for the leftovers from breakfast. Anticipating a nice hot breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and oatmeal, we wait around until 8:15, at which time we are invited into the kitchen to eat. We are sorely disappointed to be served cold, burnt pancakes, and ice cold, pastey oatmeal and nothing else. Oh well, I guess we chose the wrong hut to do work for stay in. By 8:40, we set out for the summit of Mt Washington under clear, cool skies. We are so lucky to have a day like today to summit Mt Washington. We arrive at the top in about 45 minutes and find Sparky, Passionflower, and several other of our fellow thru-hikers relaxing in the summit restaurant. We all spend about another 1/2 hour there before moving on. The northern descent off of Mt Washington is nothing but bolder hopping, and we are forced to pick our way slowly off the summit. When we near the Cog Railway tracks, the train just happens to be coming down, so we are able to get a good picture of it. Crossing the tracks, we continue traversing the Presidentials - Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. The going is very slow and rocky but the weather is beautiful. We stop for a lunch break near the base of Mt Jefferson. Lobster and Chickadee also stop to join us here. After a tough traverse of the Presidentials, we reach Madison Hut at about 2:00, where we take a break and enjoy some hot soup and brownies provided by the hut crew. The climb up Mt Madison is short, but very steep and rocky. In bad weather, this can be a very dangerous climb. When we reach the summit, we are treated to outstanding views of the Presidentials behind us and the Carter Moriah range in front of us on the other side of Pinkham Notch. The descent off of Mt Madison down to the Osgood Tentsite is nothing short of hellish. Our feet and knees are already screaming at us we begin the long, steep descent, and by the time we finally reach the side trail to the tentsite, we are all exhausted. It has taken us 9 hours to hike about 10 miles today, including our stops. SilverGirl and I, Sparky, and Passionflower all set up our tents on on one big tent platform. We have just enough daylight to cook dinner and settle into our tents before it's time to go to sleep. Another great day on the trail.
Date: 2012-08-25
From: Osgood Campsite

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: broken clouds

Day 156: We get on the trail this morning at about 7:30 with the plan to get down to Pinkham Notch by 10:30. Squatch (who has a car) has agreed to meet us there at that time and drive us to a place where we can get some breakfast or lunch. The morning is sunny and warm, and the hike down into Pinkham Notch is easy, when compared to yesrerday's "death march". When we arrive at Pinkham Notch, we walk over to Joe Dodge Lodge to say hello to WingWing, who works there. She invites us to stay at her and her husbands (Zigzag) house for the night, so we take her up on the offer, deciding to take a "nero" day of only 5 miles today. We are all very tired from yesterday's hike, and rain showers also move in at about noontime, so the decision is easy for us. Squatch, who is filming a documentary on the Appalachian Trail, arrives at 10:30 and drives SilverGirl, Passionflower, Sparky, and I over to a restaurant across from the Mt Washington auto road where we enjoy an early lunch. Afterwards, we return to the  Visitors Center at Pinkham Notch, where we spend about an hour planning our final 4 weeks on the trail. Squatch finds this process interesting and films some of it for his documentary. It looks like we will be summiting Mt Katahdin on Sept 22nd if everything goes according to plan. Zigzag shows up at 2:00 and drives us back to his house, with a quick stop at the supermarket along the way. We will have full use of their kitchen facilities, so we pick up some frozen pizzas, corn on the cob, and ice cream. Zigzag and WingWing have a beautiful house high up on a ridgeline overlooking Rt 16 in Glen, NH. They have been very gracious to offer us a nights sleep and the use of their house. Thanks so much, Zigzag and WingWing. You are the best! I cook the pizzas and corn for everyone and we all enjoy a filling dinner and good company. Squatch and Phoenix Rising are also here for the night, and after dinner, Squatch has us all watch his 2011 AT documentary, Flip Flop Flippin, which is very entertaining. Tomorrow, SilverGirl, Sparky, Passionflower, and I will hike out of Pinkham Notch, up over the Wildcats and the Carter Moriah Range over to the Imp Campsite. It promises to be a very strenuous 13+ miles. Time for some sleep.
Date: 2012-08-26
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 13.1

Day 157: We are all up and getting ready this morning at 6:30. On the way back to the trailhead,  Zigzag and WingWing stop at Dunkin Donuts, where we all buy a quick breakfast. At 8:30, we say goodbye to Zigzag and WingWing and begin our ascent of Wildcat Mt. The climb is extemely steep and slow. We quickly realize that this is going to be a very long and hard day. When we reach the top of Wilcat, where the gondola comes up, we stop for a water and snack break. The view of Mt Washington from here is incredible, with another gorgeous presented to us. Moving on, we pick our way over the other Wildcat summits and then make the steep descent down into Carter Notch. We arrive at the hut down there at about 1:00, and stop in to have some lunch. Ben, the caretaker there, is very gracious and allows us to use the stove to heat up some hot water for our soup. We also enjoy some free leftover pancakes. Following lunch, we make the long, steep ascent up to the summit of Carter Dome, where we begin our traverse of the Carter Moriah Range. Along this range, we climb up and down Mt Hight, Middle Carter, and North Carter. The going is fairly slow for the most part, with pretty strenuous terrain. From the peaks along this ridgeline, we can now see some of the mountains in southern Maine. It's so hard to believe that we are so close to Maine now. To finish off our day, we make the dangerous descent off of North Carter. Making this descent with day packs can be bad enough, but we all have fully loaded packs which forces us to descend very slowly and carefully. Finally, at 6:25, after almost 10 hours of hiking, SilverGirl and I arrive at the Imp Campsite. Sparky and Passionflower pull in at about 7:00. We waste no time, making dinner right away and getting the tent set up. The days are getting noticeably shorter now, so we don't have as much daylight in the evenings as we used to. By 7:30, it is already quite dark, and we settle in for the night, very grateful for the soft air mattresses under us and the warm sleeping bags over us. It has been a very long and hard day over difficult terrain, taking us 10 hours to hike just over 13 miles. Such is the pace we have been forced to adopt here in the White Mountains. Tomorrow will be an easier day, as we plan to hike over Mt Moriah and then down to the White Mountain Hostel on Rt 2. We will stay there tomorrow night and Tuesday night before moving on into the Mahoosic Range on Wednesday. Looking forward to the day off!
Date: 2012-08-27
From: Imp Campsite

To: Rt 2, Gorham, NH
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 158:Once again, we wake to a crystal clear sky. The air is cool early in the morning, but it warms quickly as we begin hiking up towards Mt Moriah. At the summit of Mt Moriah, we drop our packs and take a nice long break. We have sweeping views back towards the Presidentials that we crossed a few days ago and the southern mountains of Maine to our north. It is a time to reflect on the hike while we sit here. We have come so far, it's almost hard to believe we have actually done it. The feelings I have at this point are hard to describe. My body is more than ready to be done with this hike and have a good rest, but my mind tells me I will be leaving a very good friend (the trail) that has become very near and dear to my heart along the way. It has been very hard to come this far, but I feel like a much richer person now having done so. Breaking away from the summit of Mt Moriah, SilverGirl, Sparky, Passionflower, and I make the descent down to Rattle River Shelter, where we stop for lunch. We all walk down to Rattle River and soak our tired feet in the ice cold water that flows by. It is a very pretty spot, with deep pools if we were inclined to swim and gushing whirlpools of ice cold water for our tired feet. The final two miles down to Rt 2 and Gorham are flat and easy, which is a welcome relief. We arrive at the White Mountain Hostel at about 1:30, where we get checked in, showered, and into clean clothes. There are many other thru-hikers here with us tonight, both north and southbounders. Tomorrow, we will take a zero day here and just relax before moving on into the Mahoosic Range on Wednesday. Life is good out here.
Date: 2012-08-28
From: Rt 2, Gorham, NH

To: White Mountain Hostel, Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 159: A nice relaxing day today at the White Mountain Hostel. We start our day with a nice breakfast provided by Geri, our hostess extraordinaire. We have nothing but nice things to say about this hostel  - for $30, you get a bed with fresh linen, showers, laundry, and a nice full breakfast. They also provide free shuttles to and from Gorham. After breakfast, I take the first shuttle to town so I can go to the library to update our trail journal. We arrive in town at 9:15, 45 minutes before the library opens. Solo and I go into a nearby breakfast spot, he for a cup of coffee, and me for a stack of pancakes. At 10:00, we walk over to the library, where I spend the next 2-1/2 hours updating our trail journal blog. At 12:30, we get a ride back to the hostel. During the afternoon, SilverGirl and I watch a movie in the hostel livingroom. The movie is called "The Way", and it's about a father whose son dies while hiking the Camino del Santiago in Spain. The father goes to Spain to retrieve his son's body, but winds up hiking the whole Camino as a pilgrimage, spreading his son's ashes along the way. We enjoyed the movie a lot. For dinner, Geri drives SilverGirl, Sparky, Passionflower, and I back into Gorham to Mr Pizza. Gorham seems to be a dying town, with many of the stores and restaurants closed. Apparently, all the tourists are down in North  Conway and don't make it up north as far as Gorham. We chose a good day to take off here in Gorham. For much of last night and off and on during the day, we get some heavy bursts of rain, so we are glad to be under a roof today. The forecast for tomorrow and the next several days looks excellent. Tomorrow, we will hike on into the Mahoosuc Range to Gentian Pond Campsite, just a few miles short of the Maine border. Can't wait to get into Maine.
Date: 2012-08-29
From: White Mountain Hostel, Gorham

To: Gentian Pond Campsite
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

Day 160: We wake this morning to a beautiful, clear, and very brisk morning. Yesterday's rains are long gone and the forecast is looking good. After breakfast, Sparky, Passionflower, SilverGirl, and I have our picture taken by Geri out on the front lawn. She takes pictures of all of her guests. We then move on up the trail, crossing the Andruscoggin River about 1/4 mile up the road before veering off back into the woods. After entering the woods, we make an 1800 ft ascent up Mt Hayes, where we break out onto an open ledge with a view south back towards the northern Presidentials, which we finished a few days ago. We will now begin to see the White Mountains slowly fade off into the distance as we head further north. At lunch time, we come upon Solo, who is enjoying his lunch on a nice warm, grassy spot in the sun with a great view towards the south. This spot is so inviting, we decide to join him here and have our lunches as well. We wind up spending about an hour here, it is such a nice spot. The afternoons hike becomes a bit rougher. We cross many boggy areas where the footing is very slippery, with lots of rocks and roots. I slip once crossing a boggy section and sink up to my ankle in mud. The going is pretty slow with all of the rocks, roots, and uneven terrain. We arrive at Gentian Pond Campsite at 4:15 and set up our tent on one of the tent platforms there. As we set up, we can already feel the temperature dropping. It promises to be a very cool night. Tomorrow, we reach two  more milestones early in the day: we cross over into our final state, Maine, and we also pass the 1900 mile mark of our adventure. We are savoring every day out here now as the end of this long adventure slowly comes into sight.