morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-28
From: Kinsman's Notch, NH 112, MP, 1791.9, NH

To:  Eliza Brook Shelter, MP 1799.5, NH
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: light rain

Left from Kinsman Notch MP 1791.9 around 8:30 am and hiked to Eliza Brook Shelter MP 1799.5 by 2:30 pm. The trail was wonderfully challenging with many opportunities to use my hands during ascents. Just as we reached the shelter, a thunderstorm rolled over us. Looks like I'll be a shelter rat tonight!We thought about tenting, but the skies opened up right away and never let up for hours. By this time, hikers started rolling in and the shelter filled up quickly. This shelter is designed to hold 8, but that's stacked in like cord wood. Most of these hikers are in their twenties or early thirties. They exhibit the spirit and cavalier attitude of youth.   Most of these guys showed up with their equipment soaked through.   One even got his sleeping bag all soaked. They all seemed to think a pack cover will keep your gear dry in a pouring rain, but that's not the case. You always need to put your most critical gear and clothes in a garbage or compactor bag inside your pack. That way, even if your pack soaks through, everything in the bag is dry.More hikers keep coming in and since the shelter is now full, they have no choice but to tent. Finally things settle down and we climb into our sleeping bags for the night. The young man with the wet bag lays down right next to me with about a foot of space between us. Sometime around 10:30 to 11:00 pm, a hiker rolls in, wakes up the guy next to me and asks to squeeze in. The guy next to me obliges by moving closer to me. This last hiker of course wakes the whole shelter with his preparations for food and sleep.I've said it before, I believe "people should hike their own hike" as long as it doesn't intrude into other people's hike. The actions of this hiker were just selfish and rude.   He should have just tented. As it was, I had to yell at the guy next to me in the middle of the night cause when he moved over, his wet sleeping bag was now getting my bag wet. Really pissed me off!
Date: 2012-07-29
From:  Eliza Brook Shelter, MP 1799.5, NH

To: Franconia Notch, MP 1808.5, NH
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: moderate rain

Did not sleep well last night what with the late hiker arrival and then guarding my gear from my neighbor's wet bag. The late hiker got up at 6 am and then proceeded to hang up his wet gear around the shelter. The rest of us slept in till around 7 am.Finally we got on the trail around 9 am. The trail up Kinsman Mountain is the toughest I've ever seen. Minutia agrees. He says in all his experience, including out west, this is unbelievably difficult!   The slopes are 45° and boulder strewn...lots of opportunity to use your hands. Everything is slick from last night's rain and it seems endless. It is definitely more climbing then hiking and our progress is very slow. As we reach the top of south Kinsman peak, it starts raining. Unlike Mt Moosilauke, there are no spectacular views to reward you, just low hanging clouds. We eat a quick Cliff Bar and start our assault of north Kinsman peak. It's 1:30 pm and we've only gone 2 miles...unbelievable!Ascending is better then descending. Ascending, you only fear falling a little ways cause you are looking up. Descending, you definitely see how far you can fall if you slip.   The descent down Kinsman was as steep, slow and painful as the climb. On the way down, we meet "Wild Flower," a middle aged woman who joined us for safety sake. We finally reached the trail head, Franconia Notch, MP 1808.5 around 5 pm. We had been hiking almost none stop for 8 hours and covered only 9 miles.We call for the shuttle to pick us up and take us to the Carriage Motel in N. Woodstock. Wild Flower has decided to go to the motel for the night. She will take the shuttle back to the trail tomorrow.   I'm so exhausted and foot sore, I can hardly stand up. Minutia and I will be taking another zero day tomorrow to recover.
Date: 2012-07-30
From: Franconia Notch, MP 1808.5, NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Carriage Motel-zero day: Slept in till 7:30 am, took another hot shower and shaved.   Feel almost human again.   The bottom of my feet are a little tender as is my lower back.   Hopefully, the cure is ibuprofen or vitamin I as it's commonly called on the trail.Minutia has done it again! The silver tongued devil talked to the owner of the Laundromat across the street, into doing our laundry. It's under construction and hasn't opened for business yet! The next closest laundromat is 1.4 miles from our motel.   A round trip of 3 miles on sore feet is a long walk or we could get a shuttle for $10 per person. The laundromat owner charged us $5.00 to do the laundry. We gave her $10 and thanked her profusely. After lunch at Peg's and some ice cream (hot fudge sundae with caramel ice cream for me), we did some planning.   Based on the last 4 or 5 days in this terrain, we need to decrease our daily hiking distance, which will increase the number of days to hike a section. As of now, we figure 4.5 to 5 days to cover the 27 miles from Franconia Notch (US 3) to Crawford Notch (US 302). The same will hold true for the next section from Crawford Notch to Pinkham Notch (NH 16). Part of the 5 to 6 miles per day is based on our physical ability in this terrain and partly on the shelter spacing. Tenting is not allowed above tree line in the White Mountain National Forest. Therefore, stealth camping opportunities will be limited. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) has a limited number of shelters and huts in which to stay in the White Mountains.   The huts are very elaborate and expensive to stay at ($85 per night for members) and are always filled with rich folks from Boston. Most shelters and camping sites have caretakers and charge between $8 and $12 just to tent. Arrangements have been made with Phatt Chapp to pick us up and shuttle us to Crawford Notch in the morning and we will hike SoBo for the next 4 to 5 days.
Date: 2012-07-31
From: Crawford Notch, US 302, MP 1836.3, NH

To: Zealand Falls Hut, MP 1828.1, NH
Miles today: 8.2

NOTE: Over the next several days we are hiking southbound from Crawford Notch, MP 1836.3 to Franconia Notch, MP 1808.5We awoke around 6:30 am, took showers, bought deli sandwiches for lunch, did final packing and then sat waiting for Phatt Chapp to pick us up. We took Phatt Chapp to breakfast at Peg's restaurant and then he took us to Crawford Notch. Along the way, he shared his knowledge of the regional history. He pointed out the former location of the famous "Old Man" rock formation which I believe fell in 2003(?). Got on the trail at 10:45 am.   After a small ascent of 1,500 feet to Ethan Pond Campsite, the trail leveled and ran slightly down hill all the way to Zealand Falls Hut, MP 1828.1. The treadway was either bog bridges or followed an old RR grade. Not many roots and rocks today. Along the way, we ran into several thru-hikers we've met before. First was Princess Doa who we haven't seen since Moose Mt and a guy (don't remember his trail name) who broke his leg climbing the Lemon Squeeze last year. This year, he was back to finish his hike. However, he told us he was getting off, driving to Katahdin, climbing it and then saying the 1800 miles he hiked of the AT was good enough.   He said the ridiculous ascents and descents here in NH were not worth the chance of injury. The second guy we saw was "65" who is actually 72 years old and is walking from Florida to Canada. We last saw him during our first week on the trail. Next, we meet "Wild Flower" who hiked out yesterday morning after an evening at the Carriage Motel. She will clear this section in two days! It kinda gives us hope we might be able to complete this section in 3 days? It will depend on what we accomplish tomorrow.We are stealth camping in a beautiful spot a quarter of a mile north of Zealand Falls Hut, MP 1828.1. Minutia has an uncanny knack of finding great camp sites. He never takes the first one he sees. His persistence has resulted in a campsite tonight in a lovely stand of pine trees with a good spring nearby. Very peaceful! Hiked just over 8 miles today, southbound.
Date: 2012-08-01
From: Zealand Falls Hut MP 1828.1

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter and Campsite, MP 1818.6, NH
Miles today: 9.5

Page 1 of 2NOTE: For the next several days, we are traveling southbound from Crawford Notch, MP 1836.3 to Franconia Notch, MP 1808.Left our stealth campsite around 9:30 am. We stopped at Zealand Falls Hut to check out the facilities. It is a beautiful facility run by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). Folks who stay here get a bunk, breakfast and dinner. No shower facilities. The AMC members pay $80+ and nonmembers $100+ a night. Thru-hikers can sometimes do "work for stay" which allows them to sleep on the dining room floor and eat leftovers after the paying guests are done. The huts are staffed by college aged folks who are generally very nice and helpful. The whole day was climbing, climbing, and more climbing. Nothing as difficult as Kinsman, but steady rocks and roots. We crossed Mt Guyot, elevation 4,597 and South Twin Mt, elevation 4,908. Our goal for today was Garfield Ridge Shelter and Campsite, MP 1818.6. We are actually stealth camping a quarter of a mile north of this shelter. We covered 9.5 miles today. Needless to say, we are BEAT. We're lucky if we do 1.5 mph in this terrain.We meet several NoBo thru-hikers that we've met before. We met Pedestrian and Chief who we met at Eliza Brooks Shelter several days ago. Chief was the old guy who came in late to the shelter and squeezed in causing so much trouble.We also stopped at Galehead Hut to get water. I would have tried "work for stay," but Minutia doesn't want anything to do with the idea. He doesn't want some college kid telling him what to do for table scraps. We did get a chance to talk to love ones, since cellphone coverage was acceptable at the hut location.
Date: 2012-08-03
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Page 1 of 2Zero day, North Woodstock, NH after hiking SoBo from Crawford Notch to Franconia Notch.Slept restlessly last night. Awoke several times with leg cramps. Don't know what time we got up, but it was late morning (9:30 am?). Sent journal entries to Haunani. Minutia and I got coffee and breakfast sandwiches. I also purchased 4 bananas to boost my potassium level and prevent cramping. Picked up my mail drop resupply box with 5 days worth of food. The rest of the day was filled with journaling, sleeping, laundry and planning. Last week, I sent a pair of socks home with a hole in it and bought a new pair in North Woodstock. Now, my back-up pair of socks has a hole in it too! That's 2 pairs of socks with holes in only 233 miles whereas last year, it took almost 1,700 miles to do the same thing. That just shows how much of a beating my feet are taking in this terrain. One thing for sure, we're pretty beat up. More than likely, we'll take another zero tomorrow. We had planned to do this last section in 4 to 5 days and then take a zero. Instead, we did it in 3 days so taking 2 zeros doesn't put us behind. Phatt Chapp stopped by the motel to chat with us. He is going to send us an email with a list of possible stealth campsites in the White Mountains.   The next 27 mile section between Crawford Notch and Pinkham Notch (Gotham, NH) is mostly above tree line with limited opportunity to avoid the huts. Received the stealth camping list from Phatt Chapp. A quick read indicates very few sites. Most require loss of significant elevation to get to. We will have to do some careful planning and hope for good weather.
Date: 2012-08-04
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day #2, North Woodstock, NHMy body is recovering slowly. My feet, knees, and lower back are still a little sore. This morning we went through our food and selected meals to cover 5 days. This includes 4 dinners, 4 lunches, 4 breakfast and 5 snacks. The first day we will eat breakfast in town and hike out with deli sandwiches for lunch. The last day we will eat dinner somewhere in town. Any trail food leftover will either be shipped home, discarded or put in a hiker's box. I sent my long underwear bottoms and sock liners home. It's always a tough decision when trying to reduce pack weight, but I figure these are the least used items I have in my pack. I wanted to send my fleece jacket home, but in wet weather, the fleece is more versatile then my down jacket. On the other hand, the down jacket is warmer and a better option in camp at night. So I'm carrying both. We had a problem with our room. The motel owner thought we were leaving today and booked our room to someone else. Minutia to the rescue. Minutia pointed out we had a reservation for this evening and sorry, but we were not moving. The double booking was his problem.   The motel owner, Dennis, somehow worked it out. We've been very good customers and have staid at the Carriage Motel many nights. We like the owners Dennis and his wife and we've had many great conversations with them. This afternoon, we went over our hiking plan for the next section, i.e., where to camp, how far to travel in a day, and location of water sources. We checked the weather which is critical in this next section since we'll be above tree line for several days. Minutia called Phatt Chapp and arranged for a shuttle to Crawford Notch in the morning.   We also contacted a potential shuttle at the end of this section to take us from Pinkham Notch to Conway or Gorham.
Date: 2012-08-05
From: Crawford Notch, MP 1836.3, NH 

To: Mizpah Spring Hut, MP 1842.2, NH
Miles today: 5.9

Phatt Chapp picked us up at the Carriage Motel. We said goodbye to Dennis and France, the motel owners who we got to know quite well. After one last breakfast of eggs, corned beef hash, and blueberry pancakes at Pegs Restaurant, Phatt Chapp drove us to the outfitters. Minutia bought a belt (he lost his buckle in the laundry) and I bought a spare pair of Vermont Darn Tough hiking socks. Leaving North Woodstock, the sky was dark with rain clouds. Fortunately, the sky cleared by the time we got to Crawford Notch. After saying goodbye to Phatt Chapp at the Crawford Notch trail head, MP 1836.3, we started our climb up to Mt Webster, El 3,910 feet. The first section to Webster Cliffs was not too bad. We stopped and took pictures and Minutia made a few phone calls. The last mile to the top was a lot of hand over hand. Again, more climbing then hiking. After eating the deli sandwiches we bought earlier, we continued climbing to the top of Mt Jackson, El 4,042 feet. Upon reaching the top, it started raining. At this point, we had covered only 3 miles and had 3 more to go. Minutia doned his rain gear and I put on my pack cover. I didn't bother with rain gear cause I was already soaked from sweat and as long as we kept moving, I was warm.The rain made everything slick and as we were descending a slab of granite, I fell.   Luckily, I twisted and landed on my side and mostly on my pack.   No major damage to me or my equipment. Just a nick on my knee and the plam of my hand. Whew!We arrived at the Mizpah Spring Hut, MP 1842.2 at 5 pm and got tent sites at the Nauman Campsite next door. As we set up our tents, the rain stopped and the sun shone through just briefly. Then the fog came rolling in.I set up a drying line for some of my clothes figuring even if it rains tonight they couldn't get much wetter. I eat dinner and changed into dry clothes. So nice to be in my warm dry tent and sleeping bag.
Date: 2012-08-06
From: Mizpah Spring Hut, MP 1842.2, NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Whoa!! The monsoon hit last night! First high winds, then at around 11 pm, the skies opened and it rained till sometime around 2 am. I've never experienced anything like that in intensity or duration in a tent before! It was like a thunderstorm on steroids! Since our tents are on platforms, the rain bounced off the wood and up under the tent. At 3 am, I got up and soaked up the puddles of water from the inside of my tent with a piece of micro fiber towel. All night long I battled to keep my sleeping bag dry. After the rain stopped, the high winds returned and howled through the trees. This morning the winds and clouds persisted. We decided to take a zero day rather than hike wet with this wind...no hypothermia for us! We'll dry out, leave early tomorrow, skip Lake of the Clouds Hut, climb Mt Washington, and then continue on to the Perch Shelter or stealth camp somewhere before that. By all reports, tomorrow will be a perfect weather day. Zero chance of rain, lots of sunshine, and low winds.Today was windy, mostly cloudy, and cool. Everything dried nicely except my boots and socks.   Hopefully tomorrow's forecast is correct.   We are ready to hike/climb the Presidentials!
Date: 2012-08-07
From: Mizpah Spring Hut, MP 1842.2, NH

To: Sphinx Trail, MP 1850.3, NH
Miles today: 8.1

Page 1 of 2Great night's sleep!   Wind stopped and it cooled off. Perfect sleeping weather. Up early and on the trail by 7:45 am. Our first climb was Mt Pierce (Mt Clinton), El 4,309 feet. Then the AT skirted Mt Eisenhower and Mt Monroe. The AT then dropped down to the Lake of the Clouds Hut. We stopped long enough to get water and call home. Then it was up Mt Washington, El 6,288 feet, MP 1849.5. It is the second highest peak on the AT. We reached the top around 1 pm. The place was teeming with tourists which either drove or took the Cog Railroad to the top. All morning the trail was full of "Huties"...a term for people who stay at the huts and hike with day packs and a couple liters of water. We spent time taking pictures and eating food. I had two chili hot dogs, a bowl of clam chowder, and a coke. It was expensive, a total of $14, but worth it! We tried to call home, but can you believe it, no cellphone reception?! We ham it up in front of the live web cam hoping Haunani and Helen (Minutia's wife) were watching. Then we headed down the mountain at 2:00pm.The trail was extremely rocky with loose boulders and scree. By 4 pm, we had only gone 2 miles. Fatique started to set in. After stopping at a spring for water, we decided to hike down the Sphinx Trail, MP 1850.3 a short way and stealth camp. We hiked 8.1 miles for the day. Our campsite is awesome.   It sits on a ledge and over looks a valley. We can also see Mt Washington in the distance. The disadvantage is that it's windy and buggy. Oh well, can't have everything!
Date: 2012-08-08
From: Sphinx Trail, MP 1850.3, NH

To: Osgood Tentsites, MP 1857.3, NH
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: broken clouds

Wind blew hard ALL night. I'm guessing 20 MPH with gusts to 30 MPH. My little rainbow tarptent shook and the fabric snapped all night long!   I had visions of the stakes pulling out and causing it to collapse, but fortunately everything held up. Since we were short on water, we ate a light breakfast of Cliff Bars and headed back to the junction of the Sphinx Trail and the AT, MP 1850.3 The trail is terribly rocky and progress was very slow. We finally made Madison Spring Hut, El 4,804 feet, MP 1854.5 at noon. We had started at 7:30 am and only covered 4 miles in 4 hours. After eating lunch and watering up on the Hut's porch, we started the climb to the top of Mt Madison, El 5,366 feet. This was a very tough climb over jumbled rocks and boulders. What goes up must come down...the 3,000 foot descent was totally insane!   There was no trail, just some carins (man made pile of stones to mark the trail) to give a general direction. To do this in anything but good weather is suicide! Needless to say our progress was less than 1/2 MPH with lots of rock hopping going down. Doing this with a pack on your back is brutal on the knees. Minutia's knee is hurting with step downs and he is taking a lot of vitamin I. Imagine stepping down from your kitchen counter top, to a chair and then to the floor. Then imagine not knowing if the chair was solid or shaky. Then further imagine doing this for hours and miles on end! Imagine doing all this with a 30 to 40 lb pack on your back. Just CRAZY!We arrived at Osgood Tent sites, MP 1857.3 at 5:20 pm totally ragged out. We go through the motions like zombies of setting up camp, collecting water, and eating. Just so exhausted!!! It's 2 am as I write this. It's been a restless night.
Date: 2012-08-10
From: Gorham NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Good night's rest! Talked to Hawkeye this morning and he is debating about taking a zero day. The sky is full of heavy rain clouds.Minutia and I walk over a mile to the other end of town to get breakfast at a place called Welsh's which was recommended by Bruce the Shuttle driver. Just as we sat down, the skies opened up and it just poured. It continued to rain all through breakfast. I was super hungry so I had fried eggs, hash browns, bacon, french toast, and a side order of corned beef hash. Also had 4 cups of coffee and a tall glass of water. AWESOME! Oh, and just as we left the restaurant, the rain stopped! Sweet.Looks like Hawkeye, Rhino, and Still Debating moved on. Can't imagine hiking out in this weather and then hiking in this terrain over slick roots and rocks. Very dangerous. Easy Mile and Diamond are still here. Diamond did the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) last year and has been telling us about it. Minutia is all excited because the PCT goes through his beloved Sierra Mountains. I find the PCT interesting, but have no desire to be away from Haunani for the 5 months it would take to complete it.We've been hearing from southbounders that there's a 24 hour virus going around between Gorham and Rangley. It seems everyone going through this area gets sick. We're very concerned about this so will have to pay extra attention to watch our hygiene and human contact closely.Ate lunch at Burger King and of course it started raining like crazy while we were there. We both forgot to bring our rain gear?!   When we got back to the motel, I talked to Haunani about the contents of my next re-supply box for Andover. It's been raining heavily off and on all day long.   More of the same forecast for tomorrow. Glad we are zeroing tomorrow as well.Talked to Kekoa, my youngest son, tonight. He just happened to be home from Stat College. It was good hearing his voice. He's still trying to determine what area of Neuroscience to focus on, take the GRE exam and make applications to multiple graduate schools. He also told me he was going to try to attend Bill Garber's viewing next Thursday. This pleases me very much.Well it's late and I'm tired so it's lights out.
Date: 2012-08-11
From: Gorham NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

This morning, Diamond knocked on our door to get his PCT guidebook back. He and Easy Mile are going to tackle the Mahoosuc Notch which is reported to be the most difficult (or fun) mile on the AT. Saw Hawkeye this morning. He took a zero yesterday and is taking one today as well. He is moving though to the hostel near the trail and Route 2. Says he gets "cave fever" if he stays at a motel too long! He also informed us that Still Debating decided to go home to Florida. He has been section hiking the AT for several years and he said the trail was just too hard this year and he was not having fun anymore. About this time, Rhino came walking up and he too had zeroed. He had gone to the trail head to slack pack, but when it started to rain he hitchhiked back into town.We did laundry and then came back to the motel to go through our resupply boxes. Minutia and I both hate to throw food away and more often then not, we wind up carrying more then we need.I took a look at my boots. They say "Pennsylvania is the place were boots go to die", but I have to say, New Hampshire's granite wears boots down just as fast. The Keen boots were new with maybe 100 break in miles and now have 259 AT trail miles on them. The granite sure has tore up the soles. I might have to get my backup pair from home once I get into Maine. These are my third pair of KEEN boots on the trail. My first pair lasted 1,015 AT miles from Springer, GA to Harper's Ferry, WV. My second pair took me 701 AT miles from Harper's Ferry to Woodstock, VT where I got off the trail and still has miles left on it.We made arrangements with Bruce the shuttle driver to pick us up at 8:30 am if it's not raining.