morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-08-10
From: Manchester Ctr

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

Took the latest shuttle out from Green Mountain House Hostel and got onto the trail around 11:00. Climbed up Bromley Mountain which is a steady continuous climb, not too tough at all. Turns out Bromley is a ski mountain and the last part of the hike was right up a ski run. The views were so spectacular, I could imagine in winter flying down that run and seeing those mountains all around as you fly this way and that! I would like to go fast! I DID indeed climb the firetower and the view was fantastic! Yay me! Met some dayhikers, section hikers, sobos, really there were hikers all over the place. From the peak it was downhill to Mad Tom Notch with water from a pump and a woman giving out snacks and hiker essentials. Magic! She even had fuel for my stove which I forgot to deal with in town, so she saved the day. Thank you angel! From there I hiked up to Styles Peak which had some tough going, then across to Peru Peak. There was moose poop everywhere up there, but I did not see a moose. Peru Peak Shelter and adjacent tenting area was jammed with nobos, sobos, sectioners, boy scouts, hikers everywhere. Bad weather was threatening and everyone wanted to be locked down before it hit. Of course it never came, LOL! Nuthatch, a new friend I met at the hostel, was there. On The Loose moved on to a farther site. *note to On The Loose's Mom - I've really enjoyed getting to know your girl, she is a very special young woman.*
Date: 2010-08-11
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

The day began hiking out from the shelter, lots of people on the trail today. Headed up to Baker Peak which has wonderful views all around. You can also see the scar of an old marble mine across the valley on another mountain side. The climb up was rocky but totally doable. I think I may be getting better at some of this hiking stuff! Had morning break snacks at Lost Pond Shelter with some section hikers and Long Trail thru hikers. "Forded" Big Branch, really a glorified rock hop, then met the people building the new bridge. As I prepared to go I asked the builder if the AT continued beyond the orange construction netting. He very politely, with a smile, told me that the Long Trail continued over there. The two are the same trail through this stretch but the Long Trail has been in existence longer, so I nodded at his remark and smiled and assured him, of course I recognize the Long Trail. These Vermonters! They LUV their Long Trail and are very proud of it. The Green Mountain Club are all over the place doing trail maintenance, facilities are in good condition. I met a group called Vermont Youth Conservation Corps doing trail work and I don't know who all else may be contributing. These folks love their trails! I love Vermont!Stopped at a road crossing where I ate a pepperoni and provolone on pita sandwich with chocolate pudding. Then magic, another hiker gave me a freeze dried ice cream sandwich! OMG! Delish!Hiked on a bit then swam in Little Rock Pond where some salamanders were also swimming! Sat in the sun to dry off for a while, it felt soooo good! From the pond I hiked up towards Greenwall Shelter where I passed two massive cairn displays. These were amazing, hundreds of little cairn formations! Guess what hikers do when they have time on their hands, LOL! Too funny! The forest was amazing spruce and smelled just like Christmas! Nice!
Date: 2010-08-12
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

Set out from the shelter with pancakes on my brain! Only 1.5 miles to a road crossing, then if I could get a ride in to Wallingford there was a restaurant there called Mom's, supposed to have a pretty good breakfast. I was on a mission for sure! Along the way I passed a very nice waterfall and who was camped there? None other than Tom Thumb who also had an interest in breakfast, so we set off for town. Breakfast was awesome! Tough getting a ride back though, very little traffic on the road. I was just standing next to the road and a man pulled up across the street. He could see I was a hiker and wanted to talk so we introduced ourselves and it turns out Trail Angel Coach Tim is familiar with this journal! We talked a bit, then he gave me a ride back to the trail, spoon feeding me all kinds of trail info along the way. What a nice nice man and he saved my day. I could have been standing on the side of the road for hours! I hiked up and over Button Hill, pretty decent climb, then stopped at Minerva Hinchey Shelter to regroup and figure out the game plan for the rest of the day. Hallelujah! I still had time to make it to my planned destination! So I got on with hiking. Climbed down Clarendon Gorge, crossed VT 103, then climbed up again. Beautiful in the gorge, tough rock climb out, then I stopped for a snack at Clarendon Shelter. Super tough climb out of there, had me thinking of Stecoah Gap back in NC! I really liked the rock climb part. Hard, but good. I can't really explain it better. So, I gorged myself in Wallingford, then hiked in gorgeous Clarendon Gorge. We have here a verb, an adjective, and a noun, all in the word gorge. I spent some time today trying to figure out how these 3 words relate at their root but could not. Anybody into grammer research want to give it a go and let me know? Someone recently told me I'm weird, to which I proudly said, thank you, I know.After the gorge I pushed on towards the shelter where I found trail magic, cold soda, left by Ma Buddha and Mad Hatter. Thank you! Coincidentally it was left at Upper Cold River Road, which, for a northbounder means 499.9 miles to go to Katahdin. Whoa! I had not even thought of this! Blows me away, but there is still much to do. Like push on three more miles to the shelter to a fine supper of ramen and mash. So I did.It was a very good day. Trail Angel Coach Tim, thank you for your help today.
Date: 2010-08-13
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: VT 4, Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 10.6

I tried, I really tried to get an early start, but it was still almost 8:00 by the time I got out of camp. There were a lot of people at the shelter, nobos, sobos, LT north and south, section hikers. It was a busy place!Anyway, directly out of the shelter is the big climb up Killington. It starts out gradual but as I got closer to the top the trail got steeper, rootier and rockier. Steep sides and heavy erosion, too. It was a long climb. the highest the AT goes is to Cooper Lodge Shelter at 3850 feet, but there is a .2 spur trail to the peak, a bit over 4000 feet. Highest since Three Ridges in VA. I climbed it! Another hiker said check out the view when I was halfway up. I looked around and felt so exposed, felt a little panic, and turned my attention to the job of climbing up those rocks! So glad I did, excellent views, good feelings. The Killington Ski area Gondola was running and people with mountain bikes would ride up, then bike down. The restaurant was open too, so I had a coke and a fresh baked cookie. All in all I spent almost two hours up there, but that's just fine, I enjoyed it. I found Tom Thumb up there too.After that was the long walk down to the VT 4. I was headed for The Inn At Long Trail, an iconic trail stop for good reason. Guiness beer, Guiness beef stew (delicious!), an Irish pub, hiker friendly. A band called Trinity was playing. A good day, and night.
Date: 2010-08-14
From: VT 4, Inn at Long Trail

To: Kent Pond
Miles today: 4.0

Began the morning with an excellent breakfast at the Inn, then set about getting resupply organized. Figured out what I needed, then hopped a bus to nearby Rutland. Made a quick stop at the post office to send home my lightweight bag since Mom sent my cool weather bag to the Inn. Thanks Mom! Headed for the grocery store and came upon the Farmers Market! Oh boy, would I like to carry some of that along, but too heavy for backpacking, durnit! Saw some lovely handmade jewelry, but I figured I would lose it on the trail, so in the end I bought nothing. Got my shopping done and was back at the Inn by 11:00, feeling so proud of myself. One more Guinness and a Paddy Melt and off I went to hike.Hiked a mile or so and arrived at Maine Jct, where the Long Trail heads for northern VT and the AT turns east for NH. See ya Long Trail! Nice hiking, truly! While standing around there along comes Sourdough with friend Bob, telling me about this wonderful place they were staying on Kent Pond. Hmm. Hiked on through Gifford Woods State Park, then on around Kent Pond. Quite lovely. When I arrived at the place Sourdough had told me about I decided he was right, so I set up my camp and enjoyed the pond atmosphere through the evening. I was really tired from being up so late last night, so I just called it a day. I heard my first loons as I drifted off to sleep. Cool.
Date: 2010-08-15
From: Kent Pond

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 15.9

Woke determined to make a big day of it.   Set off hiking and came to Thundering Falls directly. Sorry, no pic, rain was threatening so my electronics were buried deep in my pack. The falls were gorgeous. Talked for a bit to a man and his two daughters who were out for a bike ride. The girls had questions and the funniest one was, "if you wanted to go to Maine, why not fly?" I told her I would not have met her then, but I think the whole idea was lost on her. I tell you, some days I think only a nut would do this anyway. Luckily I like nuts! No offense to anyone. Hiked up and over Quimby Mtn which was a good steep huff-n-puff climb. Took me by surprise. On the downside was Stony Brook Shelter where I broke for lunch and met Rabbitsfoot. Nice guy. Took off and ran into a few Vermont Youth Conservation Corps folks showing off their good work to their parents. Kinda nice, it was. Came to a little bluff with a ladder down the side and climbed down like it was nothin' (it almost was nothin'). Then a long gradual, steep in some places walk to the shelter. There were an awful lot of steep ups & downs, really quite tiring. Got in to the shelter and met TinCup and Just Mike (nobo 2000). TC is finishing up a complete section hike in the Whites.
Date: 2010-08-16
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It poured last night! Glad I was in a shelter. Well, a big day planned means an early start and I guess I was on the move by 7:00. Early is a relative term, right? The hike began with a long downhill, rocks and roots of course, but not too crazy. Stopped for first break and was right on schedule, unaware of the ups & downs ahead. My gosh, it wore me out! Endless and generally steep, like you work your butt off and get nowhere! No views either, although there were loads of great forest scenes. Spruce, pine, brooks, hardwoods, etc. That part was nice. Took lunch at Cloudland Rd with a couple of other hikers, and some dayhikers gave us each a Guinness! Nice!Kept rolling right on past Thistle Hill Shelter and the terrain improved somewhat. Oh, it rained a good bit of the day too, but cleared in the afternoon. While in the rain met two sobos, Oneface and Guillermo, revelling in the free shower! I laughed with them, but I was bundled up in my raqingear and trying to stay warm. Later I met another sobo, Veggie, nice guy. Around 6:00 I got to West Hartford which had a general store with deli, so I stopped for supper. By making this choice I had to nighthike the last 30 minutes or so in to the shelter. So, I finally nighthiked! Well, I'm already slow and this just slowed me down more. Not a fan I guess, but it went ok. Lucky for me the trail was wide and clear. Got to the shelter and passed out.
Date: 2010-08-17
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: NH 120
Miles today: 6.5

Got in late to the shelter last night so did not gather water. Turns out the source was a good ways off and I was headed for town and had half a liter, so off I went. Was a few miles before I found water, but it was ok. Hiking was pretty good all the way into Norwich VT which is on the Connecticut River. Got into town and really dawdled around, sat on the porch of an Inn and drank coffee. Ate at a deli. Lolligagged. I eventually got myself across the river to Hanover NH, YES! New Hampshire! Visited the outfitter, watched the parents and freshman at Dartmouth, and got to a hostel. Just a lazy day.
Date: 2010-08-18
From: NH 120

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Started the day with a great breakfast at Tiggers Tree House. Karen did a fine job of looking after us hikers and even let me take over her kitchen to cook. Had a fine time there. Took off from the co-op in Hanover by around 10:00 and started out with a big climb out of town. There were lots of hikers camped just into the woods by the soccer fields. Said howdy to all I saw, then moved on. Later met Baggins at the Etna Hanover Road crossing, headed for the Tree House. Another big climb. Finally, just after lunch, the big climb came, up to Moose Mountain. The shelter up there had no water, and I'm starting to see that along the trail, water sources dried up. Having to carry more water again, not fun, that part. Anyway, on the way up Moose Mountain, I met Trudge, a sobo, who thinks he'll be around the Smokies in early November. I may have to do a little southbound trail magic myself when I get home. Hope to see him and others then. Funny thing, as I walked up the mountain, I noticed the granite or mica or whatever is turned to sand in the trail, looking almost like diamond dust. As I make my way north I think I'll watch for more diamond dust. Not bad. Got over and done with Moose Mountain, then one more big climb and halfway down the other side to get me to Trapper John Shelter. There I met Rico, a sobo/nobo flipflopper and Buttons. Nice company as I cooked dinner in the dark. Dinner was burritos with Doritos mixed in for spice. Yum! Then off to bed I went.
Date: 2010-08-19
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Mt Cube Stealth Site
Miles today: 13.6

Ewwww! Woke in the night to a MOUSE running over my hand. He left a little present on top of the book I was reading too, right next to my head. Ewwww. I should sleep in my tent and give up on these shelters. Last night I was so late coming in though, I wouldn't have wanted to mess with setting up my tent. Over breakfast I learned that shelter mate Rico is leaving the trail for a couple of weeks to travel to Brussels as a representative of the USA at a pumpkin chucking contest. The US contest is in November in Delaware. Interesting, the people I've met. So cool. Pumpkin chucking. Got going out of the shelter at a reasonable time, then less than a mile away I met Bill, who lives on Lyme/Dorchester Road. Bill gives out free ice cream bars to hikers, so I had ice cream for breakfast. I can live with that! After leaving Bill's I began the long, LONG, climb up Smarts Mountain. It took me forever! It was a long ascent, almost 4 hours. And steep. And tough. Had a section with a ladder and rebar handholds, but that was way overkill, not at all necessary. All the climbing really drained me though. Hard work. Got to the top where the shelter was a former fire wardens cabin. Also there was a firetower. Well, I gave it a go, got to the second level, but still don't have the courage to get to the top. Dang it. After lunch, the big downhill, then I began the climb up Mt Cube. I love Mt Cube! Went by the Hexacuba Shelter which someone with the Dartmouth Outdoor Club designed. Too far off the trail, I did not go, but it sounds to me like engineers and mathematicians run amok! Kept on climbing a big old rock jumble, saw a small snake, but really enjoyed the climb. As I got closer and closer to the top the mountain was turning to rock, amid the spruce trees anyway. Pretty special. As daylight was fading away I found a spot near the very top of the mountain to put up my tent. It was spectacular views in all directions, so fantastic. First time I got myself camping on a mountain top. Pretty special. The wind blew and a storm threatened, but it was all OK with me. What a great end to a long day! The miles are getting tougher.
Date: 2010-08-20
From: Mt Cube Stealth Site

To: Glencliff NH
Miles today: 13.0

The only thing on my mind today is getting to Glencliff. My mom, support logistics coordinator extraordinaire, has sent my winter gear to Glencliff. Lots of organize and figure out and fast too. The climb down Mt Cube is completely different than the climb up. Long long mainly gentle trail. I can't complain. Met Little Injun, sobo, chatted a bit and moved on. Water again was intermittent so I had to carry a lot with me. Had lunch at Ore Hill Shelter, then set out to tackle Mount Mist. It looked tough on the elevation map, but it flew by as I pushed on. Nothing on the AT is ever easy, but some things are not as hard. That would be Mount Mist.   Had kind of a long downhill, then had to walk the half mile to Welcome Hikers Hostel, a crazy sort of place with bunk house, outdoor shower and toilet facilities, laundry, and close to absolutely nothing except a post office across the street. Crazy. Maildrop here, gotta go figure out how best to pack this stuff out of here.
Date: 2010-08-24
From: NH 112

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 9.5

The weather cleared so off I went to hike. Headed uphill from Kinsman Notch amid a group of students from U of New Hampshire who are taking a class in backpacking. It was a sharp uphill but levelled off somewhat after a bit. Met several southbounders and two ladies hiking out because one was injured. Had gotten a later than planned start due to a post office thing, so planned to have lunch at the Mt Wolf peak. Got there, took the side trail, only to find a group from Brown University filling all the space on the lookout. Made my way back to the trail and eventually found a suitable rock to lunch on. The day was slipping by quickly, too quickly, as I hurried on to Eliza Brook Shelter. Loaded up with water knowing full well the chances of me getting over Kinsman Mtn before dark were slim. The climb up Kinsman from the south is crazy! Lots of rock climbing, jumbles, walls, steep slopes. At the lower elevations a brook tumbles alongside of the trail, very pretty. I actually prefer climbing the rocks to the long steep trails but it does exhaust me. Lots of times I have to make use of the trees and roots along the way also. One thing for sure, total mind and body is engaged in this kind of hiking! And I like that a lot. I seem to be getting even slower. I realized by 7:00 that I couldn't get over the mountain by dark, but I was getting near the top. I believe I found the one and only spot in the area suitable for setting up my tent. Still, it looked pretty funny, one corner up a slope from the rest of the tent and truly only my torso was on somewhat level ground. The area is spruce with lots of blowdown, moss, etc, and my tent was on a bed of moss, underlain by woven roots. It's a miracle I didn't sink right into the ground. As I set up camp, ominous clouds rolled in.
Date: 2010-08-25
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: moderate rain

Set off from stealth site by around 8:00. Three more stretches of rock jumble to climb and I was atop South Kinsman Mtn. Half a mile, took me over an hour. I am most definitely not fast at this. The place was totally clouded over, so no views for me today. There was a very light drizzle but the clouds were high enough so I was not in fog. Still, no views. Made my way on across the mountain top to the north peak, then set to descend immediately. It was quite steep and the rain was picking up. Stopped at Kinsman Pond Shelter for a snack and realized it was almost noon! In near 4 hours I had managed to go little more than 2 miles. I was very frustrated with my time and decided to go as best I could to Lonesome Lake hut in an hour. Ha! Fat chance! Took another 2 hours to get there, by now the trail was not only rocky and steep, but solid water and mud flow. I wish I could just leap from rock to rock, but that is not me, instead I choose each step so carefully. Lonesome Lake Hut had a pot of chicken soup going, so I ate a couple of bowls. Delicious, and with fresh bread too! I liked that a lot, but then set off again. From the hut it was 3 miles down to Franconia Notch. As I got on down the mountain the trail levelled off significantly but it was a mucky watery mess. Faster, but still slow going. I decided to go into town at the notch and get warm and dry, so I did.
Date: 2010-08-26
From: Franconia Notch

To: Garfield Pond Stealth Site
Miles today: 9.1

What a day! My brother has travelled all the way to New Hampshire from New Mexico to hike with me a few days. I am so excited to see him!We met at the Liberty Springs Trailhead parking and started up the trail. The first part is 0.9 miles of hiking just to get to the AT, then a steep climb up to Liberty Springs campsite. Weather was decent and seemed quite promising. Spoke to the caretaker CuppaJoe, 2005 thruhiker, who told us weather would be poor on Franconia Ridge today, then clear off tomorrow. Looked good to me however, and nothing else to do but hike, so off we went. Got to the junction and we turned towards Franconia Ridge. Came to a nice rock outcrop where we saw Ballhawk, Speakeasy with Claire the Sheltie, Left It, and Mr T. They vacated and we took the space to sit in the sun, enjoy the views, and eat lunch. PB on a smashed bagel for me. To this point the climbing was steady and steep, and manageable. Tried to get up on the outcrop and took a pretty good fall when I missed the foothold, banged up my right shin pretty good, but got up on the second try. Dang!Next the real adventure began! As we sat on the outcrop we could see the storm coming but had no idea what was coming next. We went over Franconia Ridge in the clouds, wind howling, driving rain, and periods of cold frozen stuff, snow or sleet, I don't know, pelting us. The only relief was sometimes getting behind a rock wall or low growing spruce to get out of the wind. The wind was unnerving. My brother put on full rain gear, me jacket only, which felt fine to me except I was questioning my sanity as my clothes got good and wet. I was glad to know I had warm dry clothes in my bag if I needed it later, I didn't want to open my pack if it wasn't necessary. Weird, but occasionally the clouds would blow in such a way that we could briefly see that we were missing magnificent views. We got a real up close look at the above treeline ground as we fought our way down the trail over what felt like peak after peak. No way to know what was what mountain. As we neared the end of the ridge the rain subsided and the wind blew my clothes dry, except for my boots of course. LOL! No hope for those stinkin boots!We made our way carefully down off the peaks and back below treeline. All the trail rock was wet which made for slow going. It was a long slog across the saddle and near dark by the time we set up camp near Garfield Pond. Ate dinner in the dark and fell into my bag exhausted. My brother sure had an interesting day one on the AT. Still, our spirits were high, we had a fine day hiking together.