morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-07-16
From: Mile 1,704.5

To: Lincoln, NH mile 1817.9
Miles today: 113.4
Weather: broken clouds

Bust out the shades and load up on sunscreen, we¢re going above tree line. As you¢ll notice from the excessive amount of new pictures I have been posting, the trail has quickly gone from tedious and boring to ¢holy cow, and I still on the east coast?!¢. My first distant view of the White Mountains came from atop the Smarts Mountain Fire tower, just across the boarder in NH. From there, the mountains look big compared to the surrounding mountains. But as I crossed mount Cube and got into Glencliff, NH, the sheer size and steepness started to become reality. Mt Moosilauke, though not technically part of the White Mountains, is the first 4,000 foot peak the trail goes over since The Priest, south of Shenandoah National Park. (Killington is just over 4k, but you have to take a side trail to the summit).Mt Moosilauke is a ¢warm welcome¢ to the Whites. The climb is long, but not terribly steep. Next is Mt Kinsman, the first official peak in the White Mountains. The elevation profile doesn¢t look much different than Moosilauke, but this is a whole different animal. 2.5 miles of near vertical rock climbing to the summit took almost 2 hours with no breaks. From the summit, I got the first view of the beautiful Franconia Ridge. This looks very intimidating, but I can¢t wait!For now, I am posted up at a hostel in town, waiting for thunderstorms to pass. These mountains can be very deadly to those who do not pay close attention to the weather forecast.New Hampshire has been full of awesome people, and tons of trail magic including ¢The Omlet Man¢, and previous thru-hikers who fill their packs full of beer and sit on top of 4,000+ foot mountains and hand them out to current thru hikers all day long. My plan of slowing down has been working out great. It took me 12 days to get from mile 1700 to mile 1800, which is the slowest 100 mile stretch I¢ve done on my entire trip. Time to relax and enjoy!
Date: 2018-07-23
From: Lincoln, NH mile 1817.9

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 74.7
Weather: light rain

The mighty White Mountains have been conquered! If you count Mt Moosilauke as part of The Whites (some do, some don¢t), this stretch is just over 100 miles, and over 32,000 feet of elevation gain (All of last month was only 44,000 feet elevation gain). I did this stretch over the course of 7 days on trail, and this is definitely the most physically exhausted I have been throughout the entire trail. I had planned to take an extra 2 days to do this stretch, but these mountains, specifically Mt Washington get the worst weather in the world. Franconia Ridge starts the section where you spend the majority of the day above tree line, and while on top of Mt Lafayette, I noticed the impending storms that began on Sunday, and is predicted to continue for 7 days. I made the decision to try to push through these treacherous mountains before these storms start. The catch is that I did not want to rush through this section because the views are absolutely amazing; some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. I did take my time, but in order to get the necessary miles in, this meant starting to hike by 6am, and several times hiking well into the night to get back below tree line. The peak of the physical exhaustion occurred while hiking for 15 hours through the entire Presidential Range; 12 of those hours were spent above tree line, without a cloud in the sky.For seemingly the first time on my entire hike, Mother Nature cut me a break. I was able to get up and over the steepest sections of the final mountain, Mt Moriah, Sunday morning just minutes before the rain started. The last 3 miles into Gorham, NH was a nice, even, gradual downhill that actually had DIRT! Only then did I realize why I was so exhausted; I hadn¢t actually ¢walked¢ in 100 miles, I had been rock climbing. The uphills require you to put the trekking poles down so you can grab rocks, roots, or trees to hoist yourself up. It is the same with the downhills, which is why I wanted to get through before the rain made things infinitely more difficult. Even the parts that look flat on the elevation profile are massive boulder fields that are impossible to navigate through going the speed that I am accustomed to hiking.Despite the physical torture, and what we call ¢character building¢, this has been my favorite stretch of trail by far, and I am so thankful that I was able to have 6 days of absolutely perfect weather for it.Today is a well deserved rest day, then only 16.5 miles to the Maine boarder!
Date: 2018-08-06
From: Gorham, NH

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 110.1
Weather: clear sky

Maine is absolutely gorgeous..or so I¢ve been told. It appears my good weather luck expired at the Maine state line. For the first week in my final state, it was the same routine every day; Hot, humid and sunny in the valleys, then the rumbling of thunder just before summiting the next mountain. Many hours were spent hunkered down at the edge of tree line getting drenched and waiting for storms to pass, then sprinting over the mountains before the next storm rolled in. If only I had a dollar for every time I said or thought ¢I bet this is probably beautiful up here.¢ Other than days I¢ve spent in town with a roof over my head, I think I¢ve only been dry for a total of a day and a half. And even still, my shoes remain wet due to all of mud and swollen streams. I thought Washington had the only temperate rainforest in the United States? Maybe someone kidnapped me and I¢m actually in Olympic National Park? But what should I expect. The word of the entire trip has been ¢unseasonable¢. Unseasonable cold temps into mid April, unseasonable forest fires, then flooding in May, unseasonable heat in Vermont in early July, and now record rainfalls in Maine after a local pointed out ¢We have been in a drought the past few summers, this is very rare.¢Perhaps this is all part of the lesson to appreciate a roof over my head and climate control once the journey ends. As promised, my mileage has significantly reduced, I have been fishing when possible, and now I¢m only 188 miles from the finish line. Despite the conditions, I¢m still not ready for this to be over. But even though I¢m trying to drag this out as long as possible, I realize than in just over 2 weeks, it¢ll all be a memory.Here¢s your month 5 stats!153 days/nightsMiles (including zeros):This month: 298.2 (9.6 average/day)Last month: 459.3 (15.31 average/day)Total: 2,002.7 (13.09 average/day)Elevation gain:This month: 33,970.7 feetLast month: 44,288.1 feetTotal: 342,888.7 feetMax temp: This month: 85 degreesLast month: 93 degrees, heat index 110Highest: 93 degrees, heat index 110Min temp: This month: 40 degreesLast month: 45 degreesLowest: 9 degrees, wind chill -20Where have I slept at night?Tent: 108Shelter: 8Hostel (bunk room): 12Hotel: 15House: 10¢Zero¢ days (no miles hiked): 14¢Narrow¢ days (minimal miles hiked): 3020+ miles days:This month: 0Last month: 10Total: 29Max distance in 1 day: This month: 19.6 milesLast month: 30.9 milesBest: 32.7 miles
Date: 2018-08-13
From: Stratton, ME

To: ShawÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs hostel, Monson, ME
Miles today: 73.7
Weather: clear sky

On the way back to the trailhead after 2 nights rest in Stratton, you guessed it, the rain started. Luckily, a trail angel was at the trailhead in his camper, and invited us, along with 2 other hikers in to ride out the storm. The plan was to conquer the last of the difficult terrain in Maine (aside from Katahdin) today. An easy 10 miles, 3 climbs, no problem, right? Wrong. After climbing South Horn we started up Bigelow West peak. Ominous dark clouds and thunder greeted us right at tree line, as per usual. Another sprint over a bald 4,000 peak was in order. As beautiful as these last 2 climbs were, no time for pictures. Luckily, there was a campsite right in between West Peak and Avery peak. Still kind of unnerving setting up a tent just below tree line during a storm at almost 3,900 feet. To make up the miles we lost dodging storms the day before, we got an early start and climbed Avery Peak, the last of the 4,000 footers until Katahdin. A short, scenic walk to Little Bigelow finally freed us from the 227 miles of bouldering and rock climbing that started at Mt Moosilauke 25 days ago. As an added bonus, I found the largest and most plentiful blueberries yet. For 2 days, I carried 1L of water, and 1L of blueberries in my other water bottle.The next 60 miles into Monson is what I am referring to as the ¢Maine super highway¢. This stretch is mostly flat, mostly dirt, with minimal rocks and roots (as compared to what was behind me at least). It is so great to walk at a pace of 3mph without much effort again. I am actually able to look up in most sections and try to see wildlife, as opposed to staring at my feet, carefully placing each step. Other hikers have shown me pictures and video of moose the have seen, but I still have only seen poop and the occasional print in the mud. Reaching Monson at highway 15 is quite a relief, as we wait in Evan aka Greenbag to arrive from Corning to start the 100 mile wilderness!
Date: 2019-03-06
To: Jackson, Wyoming
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

One year ago today was one of the most challenging days of my life. My loving parents drove me from Pittsburgh, ever closer to the trailhead at Amicolola Falls State Park, GA. I did my best to pretend to be strong for them. The pouring rain camouflaged my tears quite well I think. I had just given up everything that was guaranteed and comfortable in my life; on purpose, to pursue something with no defined reward, and an 80% fail rate. I hiked alone into the unknown on Tuesday, March 6th, 2018. 4 short hours later, at 2:00pm, I would summit Springer Mountain, GA, the southern terminus and official start of the Appalachian Trail.Somewhere along the 2,190.9 mile hike though 14 states from Georgia to Maine, I learned that the reward I sought could not be defined because it simply is immeasurable. Strength is not measured by how heavy of a bar you can pick up and put back down a few times at the gym. Strength is measured by how much you can endure beyond when your mind and body are screaming at you to quit; all day, every day. It didn¢t take me 169 consecutive days of physical and mental perseverance to realize conquering the unknown, never giving up, and pursuing your dreams are the keys to happiness. I just wanted to milk that feeling for as long as I could.I stood atop the infamous sign on Mount Katahdin, ME, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail on Wednesday, August 21st, 2018 at 1:00pm. Don¢t get me wrong, it felt amazing. But it was not the climax I had been expecting for the previous 5 and a half months. Getting my picture taken here did not change my life the way I thought it would. Where was the reward?Only recently have I realized it was the 5 million steps taken between Springer Mountain and Mount Katahdin that was the reward. This is what really changed my life. The weather and terrain that I refused to let destroy me, the random acts of kindness bestowed upon me, the goodness and selflessness of people, and the amazing relationships I formed along the way are what will positively influence my life forever.When you work this hard for something, nothing can ever take those feelings away from you. It truly is not the destination you should seek, it is every step taken to get there, and the experiences along the way.I went into the woods expecting nothing, but gained everything. This is what my hike was all about. When you don¢t let your fears and challenges dictate your life, only then can you truly live.
Date: 2021-03-06
From: Base of Snowking

To: Snowking Summit
Miles today: 0.0

March 6th is a very important day to me. More important than Thanksgiving,  Christmas, and even my own birthday. March 6th, 2018 is the day that I began my thru hike of the Appalachian Trail....My happy place... It¢s 9:00pm on a Saturday, and I have spent the past 1+ hours bootpacking, from the base of Snowking Mountain to the summit with my snowboard on my back. No lift service at this hour, and the night skiing lights have long been shut off. I travel uphill without my headlamp on because the clear skies and the full moon light up the snow as if it were dawn or dusk. I get to the top, all alone, and the only thing disturbing the peace is the howling wind blowing north east over the peak just behind me. It is cold. The sweat is quickly freezing to my body in the wind. I transition my ski setup from uphill to downhill mode as quickly as I can, and descend the first 100 feet into the double black diamond ¢S Chutes¢. I pull off to the side, on the edge of the thick pine trees lining the narrow, steep run. Here, I am sheltered from the wind coming over the backside of the mountain, but I can still hear the subtle roar. It is much warmer here out of the wind, and I can recover from the long uphill climb. I can hear a distinctly different roar of the bustling, small town of Jackson some 1,500 feet below me. I can see my house from here (literally), and that¢s what makes this so special. I sit there, by myself, and rejoice in how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place; literally in my back yard. I sit in awe and peace for at least 20 minutes, or until I start to get cold again. Now it¢s time to shred. I¢ll crank my headlamp up to its max setting of 350 lumens and pick my way through over 1,500 vertical feet of knee deep, Wyoming ¢cowboy powder¢. The top half is usually totally untouched, because you have to work hard to get to this part of the mountain. The extra effort is almost always worth it. I¢ll ski down to my truck in the parking lot, which is only about 3 blocks from my house. But before I go home, I¢ll walk just across the street to the brewery to sip on an IPA. I¢ll look back up the mountain from there and admire my fresh tracks from top to bottom. This is exactly what I was looking for when I moved here.I miss the trail life, and hope to do another thru hike in the future... but I continue to be so beyond happy here.-Beast
Date: 2018-06-05
To: Millinocket, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We arrived in Millinocket, Maine yesterday around 4pm. It was a long drive from Ohio. We decided to postpone summitting Katahdin one day to avoid rain and cold temperatures. I am a little disappointed and frustrated to have our schedule messed up before we even start, but that¢s the trail I guess! We are just hanging around town for the day and staying at the Appalachian Trail Lodge for the night. They will shuttle us to Baxter State Park in the morning and we will officially start hiking! Planning for ten days of hiking before we reach Monson, Maine at the end of the 100 mile wilderness. Going to be the longest section we go without a town stop. The people here at the AT Lodge are going to drop off some food for us about halfway through the 100 miles, though, which will be very helpful in keeping our pack weights down. Looking forward to a nice day tomorrow for the summit!
Date: 2018-06-06
From: Millinocket, ME

To: Mount Katahdin
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: clear sky

Officially started the hike today. First challenge: Katahdin. Of course it was still  rainy, even though we waited an extra day. Oh well, up we go! It was cold and foggy and rainy all the way up. The hike really wasn¢t too bad to start out with. We hiked up to the falls and then up to the tree line. Once we got up what is called The Gateway, is when things got tough. The constant rain made the rocks very very slippery. It¢s at this point that the trail is less of a trail and more of a rock climb/scramble up to the top. They even have metal handholds and bars that you use to climb up. They were all so slippery. We were climbing up these rock cliffs basically into a cloud. We couldn¢t see anything above us or below us. As a matter of safety, we ended up turning around before getting to the summit. It was terrifying to be on the edge of a cliff on a mountain 5000 feet up, and not be able to see or get a solid handhold or foot hold. Nearly everyone we encountered on the mountain turned around the same place that we did. It was just too dangerous. So unfortunately, no summit picture for us. We will just have to come back another time and finish it.
Date: 2018-06-07
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Hurd Brook Lean to
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today we had to hike all the way out of the state park (about ten miles), and then three more miles to the first shelter in the 100 mile wilderness. We had beautiful weather for the hike today! Sunshine all day and a good breeze. The hike out of the park was very easy with almost no elevation change. We hiked alongside the most beautiful stream for a good portion of the day. We saw a grouse today! We had to hike a little more than initially planned to find a good spot to set up the tent. It was a long day. We were both exhausted by the end of it, and starting to get a blister... it started raining around 6 and rained steadily through the night, but we were dry in the tent.
Date: 2018-06-08
From: Hurd Brook Lean to

To: Rainbow Stream Lean to
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a tough day. I woke up to my bad knee beginning to hurt, and a nasty blister. This resulted in a very decreased hiking pace. We hiked over rainbow ridge and saw a nice view of Katahdin. Then we stopped about 8 miles in at Rainbow Stream Campground and took a long break. We were going to camp there because I was so exhausted from hiking with a hurting knee, but we both decided that it would be better for us in the long run to try to push the last couple miles to get to the lean to. So I wrapped up my knee and took some ibuprophen and we powered through. It was so rewarding to come down the hill and see the lean to. It is right next to a cool stream. We had a campfire to try to ward off the mosquitos and made dinner and went to bed.
Date: 2018-06-09
From: Rainbow Stream Lean to

To: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

We had a long and tiring day today. The weather was beautiful and the trail didn¢t look like it was going to be too tough, but it ended up being pretty difficult. We climbed up the Nesuntabunt Mountain, where we saw a nice view of Katahdin. The hike today consisted of a lot of climbing over boulders and watching your step carefully over root masses and rocks. We didn¢t end up making it quite to the campsite that we intended to get to, because our feet and legs were so tired by the end of the day. However, we are still ahead of our original schedule! Hoping for an easier day tomorrow.
Date: 2018-06-10
From: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite

To: Coopers Brook Falls Lean to
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Decided to really push ourselves today and ended up getting an entire day ahead of schedule! Which is great because the second half of the wilderness is going to be a lot tougher and we want to be able to take our time more during that. We had amazing weather again today. The trail was actually pretty easy- nice and mainly flat, not a lot of climbing over roots and rocks. We needed a good day like today to get ahead of our schedule and even though it was a lot of miles, it gave our feet a little bit of a break because the trail was easier. Our food resupply is going to be ready tomorrow!
Date: 2018-06-11
From: Coopers Brook Falls Lean to

To: Logan Brook Lean to
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: light rain

We fought majorly against the mosquitos today- it was hot and humid and they were out in force. Well, we made it to the shelter. It was a long and tough day with lots of ups and downs. Tomorrow looks like it will be worse, possibly one of the hardest days of the 100MW. We are about halfway up White Cap Mountain right now at the shelter and going the rest of the way up and down it tomorrow. Not having so much fun so far... it kind of seems more like work to try to make the miles everyday and push ourselves and less like a fun hiking trip where we get to enjoy the scenery and the location. Hopefully we can get through it and find some new motivation. Had an amazing dinner tonight of Mac and cheese, bacon bits, and goldfish crackers- yum! It¢ll be good fuel for our climbs tomorrow.
Date: 2018-06-12
From: Logan Brook Lean to

To: Carl Newhall Lean to
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: few clouds

Wow today was tough. Even though we did significantly less miles, they were some tough ones. We had a lot of elevation gain and loss over short distances, which means the trail was super steep the whole way. The near vertical downhills really killed our feet and knees. They were probably the toughest part. We started out by summitting White Cap and got an amazing and panoramic view of the surrounding mountains, including Katahdin. Then we went up and over the next three mountains: Hay Mountain, West Peak, and Gulf Hagas Mountain. We met a lot of northbounders today who were so excited to be near the end of their hike. They are doing like 20-30 miles days- so crazy!! I guess you are pretty in shape once you hike all the way from Georgia to Maine in only 4 months. Had another awesome dinner tonight of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and chicken. Only 3 and a half more days until Monson!
Date: 2018-06-13
From: Carl Newhall Lean to

To: Chair back Gap Lean to
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Chairback Mountain was by far the hardest part of the trail so far. It featured a very steep uphill trail which turned into a false summit, then a pretty much vertical rock climb to the real summit. Literally rock climb- like we should have had ropes and harnesses, etc. It was intense and we were not prepared to do that at the end of our day. We made it though! And not only was the trail hard, but it was so sunny and hot and our campsite didn¢t have a source of water.... it was tough. Other than chairback, we had our first real ford today where we had to take our shoes off and wade across the river. It was actually really refreshing and made our feet feel wonderful. Hoping it rains tonight!
Date: 2018-06-14
From: Chair back Gap Lean to

To: Long Pond Stream Lean to
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: clear sky

Today was full of ups and downs. We did five mountains today!!! The first was Columbus Mountain, nothing huge or spectacular. Next was Third Mountain, which was a little more involved. We though we were at the summit like three times but ended up continuing upward. Next was Mount three and a half, which was just a small mountain, only slightly higher than Third. The next one was Fourth Mountain (yeah they are really creative with the names...) which was not so fun. It was a very vertical uphill and then even steeper downhill! The last Mountain was Barren Mountain, which was the biggest of them all. We had an awesome view from it, but the vertical downhill afterward was not worth it, in my opinion. It was foggy and rainy all day, but at least it was cooler out, unlike yesterday¢s heat. It was definitely the hardest day so far, but we are so close to being done with this section!!
Date: 2018-06-15
From: Long Pond Stream Lean to

To: Leeman Brook Lean to
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: broken clouds

Today was not so difficult, but we are so exhausted that it still took a long time to get our miles in. We had a lot of small ups and downs which really start to add up throughout the day. We had a few Stream fords today where we got a little wet (I fell in trying to cross one of them and got wet up to my waist..oops) but we managed to get across them. Otherwise, nothing very notable today. Only three or so more miles to do tomorrow and we are out of here!! We hit the 100 mile mark early today, which is a great accomplishment!