morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-24
From: Manchester Center, VT.

To: Manchester Center, VT.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Today is a zero day, and we awoke to the smells of coffee, sausage, and bacon. Over breakfast we talked of our plan to call around for a hotel, but we were told it wasn¢t necessary, that we could stay another night and they would take us to town and back. We were absolutely amazed, we were strangers, and being treated like family. It¢s a very cool world we live in. We ran our errands in town, we bought the gear we needed, got other gear fixed and loaded up on McDonalds burgers, and Friendly¢s ice cream. Yummm¢¦. Then it was off to the supermarket to re-supply for 2 days on the trail. We are going cold for a while (we shipped our stoves to NH), so we had to change the foods we normally eat. Now it¢s all cheese, chips & jerky for lunch & dinner, breakfast bars for breakfast and Chex morning mix, and a honeybun with each meal (add in lots of candy & cookies, and we were set). Now back to the house to repack our food bags, and spray fabreeze all over our packs. I think there are just some odors that fabreeze can¢t kill. Our packs really stink, it may take a car wash to get them clean (well, it¢s 5 months after the hike now, and my pack still hasn¢t been cleaned¢¦ Maybe it¢s finally time). Next, I went through everything in my pack, to see what I could do without, and I stacked it all in a pile (I¢ll mail it to NH, and see if I l need it for the next week or so). The main thing I had to do, was put my Marmot wind jacket back in my pack, the nights are getting cooler (I had bounced the jacket ahead for a few weeks). I called home to say hi, tell where I was, and go over the list of gear I needed to have sent to Glencliff, NH (my winter gear). I asked for a scaled down version of what I used at the start of my hike ( less Expedition weight fleece). A pull over hat, stretch fleece top & bottom, rain pants, winter sleeping bag, and that¢s about it. I¢ll buy mid weight gloves, or use socks on my hands. I need to keep my load light (around 30 pounds), so my shoulders and back survive the hike. Anyway, after a great home cooked dinner, desert, and more conversation, it was back to dream land, my body wasn¢t recovered yet from the bad day I had on the trail Wednesday (it was probably the worst day I¢ve had so far as far as aching & fatigue are concerned). But I¢ll be recovered enough to head back out on the trail in the morning (A good nights sleep, and a lighter pack will help). Life is good. Good night..
Date: 2003-07-26
From: Griffith Lake Tenting Area

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: few clouds

What a beautiful night, cool, breezy, and dry¢¦ But it cost $6.00 to tent¢¦ Oh well, ya win a few, and ya lose a few¢¦ We started out our day by filling our water bottles up with floaters at the pond (I almost fell in, I had t walk on floating logs to get my bottle in the water). We headed up to the top of Baker peak, a nice climb, with great views. This mountain has a ¢bad weather¢ trail around it for times of extreme weather (us skinny little thru hikers would get blown away). We looked back over our shoulders down the valley, and also had a great view up the trail, at the big chunks of white rocks that we had to climb. The nice breeze that¢s been blowing, made for great hiking today. We stopped for lunch at Little Rock pond (after stopping earlier at a couple other shelters for snacks.. You can never take too many snack breaks¢¦). ¢Will¢, the caretaker and his dog ¢Obi¢ were there. We sat with our shoes off, relaxing, eating, talking & looking out over the beautiful pond. Then we dragged ourselves up and continued up the trail to White Rock cliffs, and some fantastic hiking through another pine forest along the way. I love when the trail is soft under foot, the pine scents tingle your nose, and the cool breeze caresses your cheeks on the way by¢¦ Life is good. The next piece of trail was a mystery, there was a new relocation up Bear mountain (yes, another Bear mt) with nice switchbacks! SWEET, and more pine forests! This section was the first one today, where I felt really good hiking up medium grades (plenty of water and nice breezes). Wahoo, a 19.1mile day where I still feel good at the end when I stop at the shelter! We met so many South bounders on the AT today (I won¢t even try to remember names), and we met more at the shelter. Wow, a big group, full shelter and lots of tents set up. I really don¢t like crowds, mostly I don¢t like the race to the shelter atmosphere they create (especially when the weather is bad). As long as the weather holds, we can tent without fear of floating away (We would find out what floating away was really all about, soon enough.).We had showers off and on around Manchester, but not many, and only a few since¢¦. I guess that means we are due (I regretted saying this later¢¦). Tomorrow, we eat at the Whistlestop restaurant, then resupply and head towards Hanover for our next resupply. Soon the White mountains¢¦ Cool! Now off to sleep & listen to the bug symphony¢¦
Date: 2003-07-27
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge (on Killington)
Miles today: 13.9

As I¢m writing this, the winds are howling, and the fog is blowing through the shelter. We¢re on top of Killington and the winds are showing us who¢s boss¢¦ But back to this morning. We were up and out late, it was about 8:40 before we headed north, our plan was to hike to Cooper lodge, with a few side trips along the way. First stop, the Whistlestop caf© in North Clarendon, VT for 2nd breakfast (second stop, resupply). We cruised the 2.7 miles to the road, then walked another half mile to the restaurant. Yum, second breakfast was 1 pancake, 1 French toast, 1 egg, 1 bacon, 1 sausage, 2 coffees, and 2 waters¢¦ Now we¢re full & off to the grocery store, another short walk ( with a cold root beer for a reward¢¦. And a pie¢¦). Today was just a ¢get through it¢ day. A steep slick climb out of N. Clarenden, then more climbs, and ups & downs (with a soda as trail magic, in a stream). A couple of breals, then we hiked up Killington. It just plum wore me out. The climb started out OK, then turned to lots of slick rocks, roots, and mud. Very tiring, and my left ankle, calf, and hamstring were very tight. I thought it would never end, one section of the trail was so rooty and slick, I just hoped I wouldn¢t fall and get hurt. But suddenly, it was all over, the lodge came into view (barely). The top of the mountain was all wind and fog (clouds), I liked this (especially since I was done hiking for the day). There are 9 of us at the shelter, and another group tenting narby. As I journal, Space Monkey is playing guitar & singing¢¦ A peaceful end to a tiring day. This shelter is 4 sided, but has openings where windows used to be across the whole front, and one window opening on each side, so it gets a bit breezy in here. But it¢s home for tonight. Six miles into tomorrows hike, is the Inn at Long Trail, maybe we¢ll have lunch there. Maybe not¢¦ Maybe just a beer¢¦ J Note: I¢m trying to get into mountain mode again. Climbing them sloooow. Go slow enough that I can make it all the way up without killing my legs and knees. I need to be able to make it to the sign on Katahdin, so I¢m starting to save my joints & muscles now. So far, so good, now for more Advil and some beauty sleep. PS. Saw 2 more piles of Moose poop today!!
Date: 2003-07-31
From: Souh of here..

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

Well, 12 states down, 2 to go. We just hiked in to Hanover, NH, and I'm at a terminal on the Dartmouth campus. I'm more beat, tired, and fatigued than I've ever been, but happy to be in NH. I'm battling a cold & hoping for a better attitude when the cold is gone, but I'm still hiking north!! Hi to all!
Date: 2003-07-31
From: Thistle Hill Shelter 

To: Hanover, NH - Panarchy Frat House 
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

The next 2 days are a blur. But my one over riding memory of Hanover is that it sucks for lodging, especially during a Shriner football game weekend. All the nearby hotels were full, so we stayed at Panarchy, a fraternity that allows hikers to stay in their basement dungeon. It¢s a scum pit, we should have gone somewhere else, and from what I hear, it is no longer open for hikers. No loss¢¦ The rest of Hanover is nice, but expensive. Luckily, my memories of Hanover are blurred, I was taking lots of drugs and cold medicine, and only remember eating & sleeping. I started the day feeling like crap again, but started feeling better in the afternoon. The hike into West Hartford for lunch was quick, but my lunch wasn¢t the best (2 hotdogs, chips, and a ring dong). I really felt like crap as I CLIMBED out of town¢¦ But slow and steady still gets me up the hills, and a couple hours later I felt better. Wench and I were hiking with a section hiker today (flip), a nice guy, and good company. Talking to him helped pull me up the hills until I felt better, and finally got in a hiking groove (auto pilot). We were walking along, and started hearing someone booking fast up the trail behind us, it sounded like his poles were clicking a zillion miles an hour. I turned around to see who it was and saw a guy on a mountain bike (they make a ticking noise when they coast). It was unexpected, to say the least (illegal to say the most). But he was polite, and very helpful, he told us exactly how far (in time & miles), it would take us to get to Norwich & Hanover. Unfortunately the sun was beating down and we had a 2 mile road walk ahead of us. Hot, hot, hot¢¦ We were excited as we crossed the river into NH!!! We were getting closer to the White mountains¢¦ The big climbs, the awesome ridge walks, the great views, a great trail angel that is letting us take a break at her house to recover from around 1,500 miles of abuse (thanks Suzie!!). Back to the blur I call today¢¦ We went to the Post office, and a small store for snacks, then I went to panarchy and passed out on a mattress in the basement. They had a bathroom and a shower, so it was doable for a night ( but only if it¢s a weeknight, weekends are impossible to sleep). I was full of cold medicine, so I slept about 12-13 hours. I basically slept the night away, except for a brief awakening to a naked woman running across the room. I never did figure out what that was about¢¦ zzzz¢¦¢¦
Date: 2003-08-01
From: Rainy Hanover

To: Hotel in White River Junction VT 
Miles today: 0.0

Too rainy, time for a day off.I woke up at 9:30, wishing I was in a snug, dry, "not smelly" bed, instead of a dungeon mattress. It was raining steadily outside, and would continue to do so all day. We went out for coffee and Danish, lots of drugs for my cold (Pseudofed, Benadryl, Vitamin C, Cold-eze drops), Internet access, and more phone calls. Phew, I hope something I got works, doing the Whites like this would suck (but I did Roan Mountain & Mount Rogers like this, so worse case I¢ll still get through the Whites). Note: I just had to mention Roan Mt. here didn¢t I? In a few days, I will find out I have Bronchitis, just like I did back in Tennessee¢¦ Sigh¢¦ I should keep my mouth shut. Today we found a hotel about 10 miles away, called a cab & relaxed in the hotel all day. I showered, watched TV, ordered Italian food, showered, took lots of pills, and drank lots of water. A nice, boring, relaxing day, followed up by a shower, and some journaling. Tomorrow we hike north, but how far?
Date: 2003-08-03
From: Goose Pond Road

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

8/03/03Start: Goose Pond RoadDest: Hexacuba shelterMiles: 14.5Wow, what a crappy nights sleep! I was tented in a great spot, soft ground, but I ached all over. Even my hair hurt! I really didn¢t want to get out of my tent, especially when I realized my clothes were soaked from the dew. But I got up and hit the trail anyway (or did the trail hit me?). We hiked up 1,200 feet (it kicked my ass), then up 1,300 feet (kicked my ass, thought I would die), and stopped for lunch (collapsed). I wished I was anywhere but here today, I was tempted to throw all my gear off a cliff and go home. I haven¢t been this fatigued in a long time (being sick didn¢t help any). This was a day where I just wanted to quit most of the day. Wench got up to continue on, and I just couldn¢t do it. I told her to go on without me, I needed to rest more, I would catch up later at the shelter. I laid back, on the verge of tears, swearing at everything that moved. Not sure if I could even get up, let alone get to the shelter. After another 20 minutes of rest (and a few more snacks), I was finally able to get up and head North (but there wasn¢t an ounce of me that wanted to do it!). Luckily the next 1,100 foot climb wasn¢t so bad, and it was cooler (a thunderstorm was moving in). When I got to the top of the climb, there was a fire warden¢s cabin off on a short trail. I walked part way towards it to see if Wench was there, but kept heading North on the AT when I didn¢t see her when I got near it. I was on top of a mountain with a thunderstorm moving in, so I didn¢t take more than a casual glance for her as I practically ran up the trail. There was a nice 3.5 mile downhill here, so I fairly flew down the trail, what a sweet hike (I was hoping I would be much lower when the storm hit). My bad mood was gone now, but noit the fatigue¢¦ It came back on the next hill (what did I expect, I was sick, and just about jogged 3.5 miles of downhill¢¦). The last 1,4 miles to the shelter, only had 500 and 300 foot climbs, but I was exhausted, I stopped every half mile to rest/collapse. Whe I finally got to Hexacuba shelter, Wench wasn¢t there. Hmmmm¢¦. I thought she was in front of me, it turns out she was in the fire warden¢s cabin ( I didn¢t check close enough as I was trying to out run the storm), and I didn¢t see her. Oops¢¦ But she showed up a little bit later. I was so tired and upset with the trail again, that I could barely talk, emotion was bubbling up to the surface. But after 15-20 minutes of rest and snacks, I got over it. It turns out the others were beat too, after a 12 mile day... It wasn't just me. The Hexacuba shelter is a large, six sided shelter, which makes it hard to line peole up in it to sleep (luckily it¢s not full). Tomorrow, Glencliff, then up mount Mouselauke, a climb from 1,100 to 4,800 feet, 3,500 feet of it steep and continuous. Boy is that gonna suck. We may only do an 8 mile day north of GlenCliff, especially after the last couple of hard days. But enough talk, it¢s time to rest.
Date: 2003-08-04
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Glencliff, NH (Hikers Welcome Hostel)
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

Today was another day I wished I was anywhere but on the trail. RAIN, hard at times, still sick, head and chest working at about 75-80%. Very fatigued from the last couple of days (lots of climbs), but as usual, I came back like gangbusters in the afternoon. The more I ate, the better I felt (unfortunately this would carry over to ¢after¢ the trail too¢¦). I¢m dehydrated, even though I dranlk a gallon of water today, and I¢m eating more, but still not enough. I never feel right, so I eat less, and what I eat never tastes good, so I eat even less. Yeah, I know why now, Bronchitis... But I didn¢t know it then. I got my stove back out of my bounce box, so maybe hot meals will help me eat more. Yummm¢¦. Ramen noodles, I find it amazing that I still like them. And now that I have my winter gear back, my pack will be heavier, but hopefully not so bad, I cut a lot of ¢must have¢ items out of my pack in the last few months. What will help the most, are the foam pads I put under the packs shoulder straps to help pad the load from the nerves in my shoulders. I lost most of the feeling in my shoulders (except pain) way back down the trail. I got them from the woman that makes the Moonbow gear at the Glencliff hostel, she is awesome (I can¢t wait to try them tomorrow)! Anyway, this morning I just put my head down and got the miles in, slow and steady, Mt cube was slick rock, a tough climb in the rain. We talked to other hikers going southbound today (any excuse to rest), and trudged up the trail the rest of the time. It wasn¢t until after lunch that my energy level picked up. If I sound like I¢m whiney and tired. I AM!!! I hate being sick! We are so close to the White Mountains now, but have never seen them because of the fog, clouds and rain. And you know what? We may never see them, the rain and fog may continue for 4-5 days. Sigh, we can imagine what the views would have looked like I guess (Oh ye of little faith¢¦ How could we ever have doubted Suzie and her ¢weather¢ connections). Anyway, today we rolled into Glencliff at around 4:30, went to the Post Office to pick up my 3 big boxes (Winter Gear & supplies), then across the street to the Hikers Welcome hostel to get a bed and snacks. The snacks didn¢t hold me over until we went on a dinner run at 8:30, so by that time I was hot/cold, dizzy, and clammy.. Yuck! When I finally ate dinner, I started to feel worse¢¦ Go figure¢¦ Next I went and called home on a pay phone (in the rain) about my next mail drop. It¢s been that kind of day, and now I¢m sleeping on a couch in the Hostel, we¢ll see what happens tomorrow. A NASTY climb in the RAIN, up Mount Moosilauke. I hope I make it the 8 miles up to the shelter (up 3,500 feet). I really don¢t feel strong enough to do it, but I guess I will (I didn¢t feel like doing it in the morning either¢¦ But I guess stubbornness is what got me up the trail, so I did it anyway). Life is good!
Date: 2003-08-06
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: NH 112 - Kinsman Notch
Miles today: 1.6
Weather: light rain

Wow, what a rainstorm last night, it POURED!! It made the steep trail down Moosilauke really fun (translation ¢ very dangerous). We lost 2,500 feet of elevation in 1.5 miles, it was a scary descent. My chest was getting worse, so I decided to get off the trail at Kinsman Gap and head to the hospital to get it checked out. But lets get down the mountain first. We started out in a light rain (this made the rocks and roots nice and slick) that didn¢t let up until we got to the bottom of the mountain (it figures). Imagine going down big steps, where every step jolts your whole body. Now add a film of oil to the steps¢¦ You got it? Well, that¢s how this descent was. Wet, mossy, slimy, slippery, rocks, roots, boulders and wood. We had trees, roots and rebar to hold on to occasionally, but usually it was a controlled fall¢¦ I slid twice (no falls), Wench fell once, but was ready for it and slid on her side to the next step. There was a huge torrent of water running down the mountain along side us. Sometimes the trail angled towards it (you better not slide there), and sometimes it angled away, and sometimes the trail and the torrent seemed to be the same. We were lucky, we got to the bottom in one piece¢¦ not everyone does. The fun was over¢¦ Moosilauke, you ain¢t so tough (yeah, right¢¦). When we got to the road, I was getting ready to hitch into town to the hospital, when wench asked if I wanted her to go with me (I didn¢t want to slow her up and screw up her schedule, so I hemmed and hawed, but finally said yes). I don¢t care what everyone says about her, Wench is OK! ;-) We had an easy hitch into the tourist town of North Woodstock, and got a room at the Woodstock Inn (nice place, across from a brew pub). I showered and relaxed after a tough 1.6 mile day. Then I ate lunch and hitched to the clinic in nearby Lincoln. Guess what? I have Bronchitis again, and I lost more weight. I was 177 pounds, after eating lunch, and drinking fluids, and I was wearing socks, shorts and a long sleeve shirt. That¢s 45 pounds lost in 5+ months ¢¦ Sigh¢¦ I have to eat more, but that eans I have to carry more. And until I get better, that will be a chore, because I don¢t eat when I¢m sick. I left food on my plate twice while I was in town, how embarrassing, they¢ll throw me out of the thruhikers club¢¦ ;-) Oh well, back on antibiotics, and back into the White mountains (in the rain and fog). We move north tomorrow morning, more steep ups and downs, hopefully a view or two. But now I better call about a shuttle back to the trail tomorrow. Good night all.
Date: 2003-08-08
From: Kinsman Pond Shelter

To: Camped Short of Garfield Pond
Miles today: 13.3

Well, as good as yesterday was, that¢s how bad today sucked¢¦. Mostly¢¦ I was tired early, worn out, and my back spasms came back, yuck! But it had it¢s good moments, and it ended OK, so all is forgiven. But I¢m so freakin¢ tired, I don¢t feel like writing about it. Lots of steep, wet ups and downs, slick and dangerous (OK, we get these most days). We left the shelter and headed up the trail towards Lonesome Lake Hut, we figured we could get water and a snack there. It was less than 2 miles away, but over rough trail (well, this IS the Whites), so my snack time was overdue when I got there¢¦ Inside the hut ¢Cricket¢, the ¢Croo¢ member in charge of the Hut today, was preparing for the evening meal (this duty rotates between Croo members). She said hi and told us what we could eat for free (such glorious words, ¢food¢ and ¢free¢). There were cookies, bread, pancakes made into PB & J sandwiches (all leftovers), and all the water you can drink (a 4 star rating for this Hut). Wench & I sat around, eating, drinking & checking out the bulletin boards before we hit the trail again, very full of food. I could get used to this¢¦ Next we had a long downhill to Franconia Notch and our next big climb. En route, we had an interesting river crossing with big gaps between rocks, and they were slick rocks, so we reached the other side with wet feet. In the notch, we stopped on a bike path and ate lunch before our climb. Wow, this is the 1,800 mile mark of the hike, and we¢ve been out 161 days. It will feel good to be out of the woods when this is over (You can get too much of a good thing). The climb up out of the notch was a 2,300 foot climb. I took my time and climbed all the way up to the campsite near the top without sitting down for a break. This is not something I normally do, especially when my back spasms flare up, as they did today, and as they still are tonight. My back is killing me, but it felt good to get so tired I wanted to scream, but to keep going up (rubbery legs and all). We took a break to eat and get water, then hiked on and eventually went above tree line (very cool, but foggy again). What a spooky, eerie feeling, hiking in fog above tree line on a ridge that drops off on both sides. The fog came and went, sometimes we could see each other, sometimes not. It was a rocky trail, cairns of rocks, and people appeared out of the fog, mountains appeared out of nowhere (we couldn¢t tell if it was a small hill close up, or a big mountain far away). It was very cool to see, but I was dead tired. We finally took a break in the vicinity of Mt Lincoln (our first Presidential Mountain), and I downed water, 4 Advil and some food (after I put on my rain jacket for wind protection, I was wet and cold). I felt much better after that and survived the climb over Mt Lincoln, Mt Lafayette, then down towards Garfield pond where we are camped (sort of, we stopped short of the pond and will figure out exactly where we are tomorrow). My back hurts now, and I don¢t care where we are (I will take a muscle relaxer and Advil). Life is good?