morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-08-29
From: Kinsman Pond Campsite

To: Greenleaf Hut
Miles today: 11.2

I had the intention of trying for a few more miles today in order to get below treeline in preparation for the forecasted bad weather tomorrow. But, one mile in the Whites equals at least two on any other part of the trail. By the time I got on top of Mt. Layfayette, I was tired and putting one foot in front of the other began to feel like a clumsily executed chore. Jungle Gym and Safari 26 were at the top of Layfayette with me, when I decided to go down to the hut. While Safari decided to head out to stealth camp, Jungle Gym and I took the side trail down the mountain to Greenleaf Hut.The big climb for the day was out of Franconia Notch, a well maintained but steep climb of almost 4,000 feet to Mt. Layfayette. I went slow, put one foot in front of the other, and was greeted with a punch-in-the-gut beautiful view on top of Franconia Ridge. Wow.... so this is what the Whites are about. Intimidatingly beautiful land up here.We secured a work-for-stay position for the night (I got to chip the ice out of the fridge with an audience of croo members and hikers). Two weekenders, Jerry and Tigger (both from Brooklyn), serenaded us in the kitchen with traditional folk tunes played on a ukulele after we gorged ourselves on turkey. We've memorized (well, almost) the dinner schedules for the huts! Tuesday is lasagna, Wednesday - turkey, Thursday - beef, and so on. All of the huts have a set meal plan for everyday of the week, so you can be sure to find me at a hut this Friday for chicken pot pie night.The view for this hut's porch is of Franconia Ridge silhouetted by a bright waning moon. It's unearthly, and if I hadn't walked here, I'd have a difficult time believing it was real.Chipmunks abound in the tourist infested (read: food dropping folks) Whites. They're pretty fearless and borderline bossy, especially if you're trying to eat. One tried to scale my pack yesterday during lunch. Ten minutes later, he scampered off into the woods only to have a hawk drop on him and fly off. The things you see out here when you sit still and really look! The cycle of life is brutal, but in this instance, I cheered it on, because it meant I could eat in peace.
Date: 2007-08-30
From: Greenleaf Hut

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: clear sky

The Whites were certainly testing my patience today... so was my digestive system... and the weather! Call it the AT triple-threat. Between the tough terrain, my inability to hold food down, and the hail and lightning, I was sick and sapped by the time I got to Galehead Hut. I went to bed before 6 p.m., skipping dinner and putting in a 12 hour nap.My opinion of the AMC is shaky at best. I saw three hikers given the ultimatum of paying to stay in a hut or going out and camping on ridgeline in a thunderstorm. AMC has the Whites in lock-down, and there are precious few safe stealth sites to camp at. A hikers choices are to pay or work off his or her stay if the option is available. While I'm glad the work-for-stay option is there, I feel like a second class citizen eating the weekenders' leftovers and being bossed around my WASP teenage hut croo. A big part of this hike's appeal has been freedom, and that's been yanked away in the Whites. New Hampshire's motto is "live free or die", but when dealing with the AMC, it should be "camp free and die (on exposed ridgeline)".I have to be honest... today was the first time I've seriously considered quitting. Of course, being so close to Maine, I won't quit! And, I know that my attitude is heavily influenced by my poor physical state which will hopefully change in the near furture. And, despite the bad day, I saw my first spruce grouse, a pidgeon-chicken looking bird which is fat and buttery and has no fear of hikers. (because he knows we're too tired to hunt and kill pidgeon-chickens at the top of these mountains). He was a damn handsome bird, and I think I saw him mouth the words, "keep on hiking" to me when no one else was looking.Highlight of the night; When a drunk weekender started walking around the hut's porch naked in front of the female hikers. The hut croo refused to address the situation. Creepy.....
Date: 2007-08-31
From: Galehead Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: fog

I woke up feeling really sick to my stomach. I can't seem to keep food in me, and my appetite is gone. I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday, and the smell of breakfast filled me with nausea. Something is big-time wrong with the belly.The climb up South Twin Mountain was fairly horrific, but I ran into Jungle Gym, Singe, Hop Along, and Misplaced at the top. They got me laughing and kept my mind off of my physical discomfort as I hiked in their tailwind for a few miles. The day was pretty easy hiking, but offered absolutely no views due to the wet foggy drizzly weather.We stopped a Zeeland Hut for $2.00 bottomless bowls of soup. I had a bowl, went to the bathroom and got sick. I tried a second bowl and had to be sick again. After losing the third bowl to the Clivus composting toilet, I gave up.Jungle Gym, Singe, Hop Along, and Misplaced decided to hike on to Crawford Notch where they were going to hitch into Lincoln to stay at Chet's, a local trail angel. I decided to push on with them because my physical condition was starting to scare me, and I wanted to be in town and near a hospital in case things got worse. They stopped at Ethan Pond, a few miles from the notch, for a dinner-time snack, and I walked on, assuming they'd be close behind. They never showed up, and I sat in the trailhead parking lot for hours waiting for them. I have no idea what happened, but it's lame to be left hanging like that! Especially when I was feeling all sick and needy....Fortunately, I ran into Z-man, another thru hiker, in the parking lot. He gave me some food, and we hung around and talked a bit. I hung my hammock near the highway -- there were signs everywhere warning that camping wasn't allowed. What could I do? I have no clue how to get to Chet's, it's too dark to hitch hike, and I was feeling too sick to deal with much of anything. Fortunately, Z-man offered to drive me to a hotel in the morning to rest and regroup.
Date: 2007-09-01
From: Crawford Notch

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

Z-man turned out to be a trail angel from heaven! I was feeling sick and thoroughly disenchanted, and he helped me out. Finding an available (and affordable) motel proved to be a real feat, since it's a holiday weekend and the Whites are swarming with fattened day hikers. He suggested driving me into Gorham, about four days walk up the trail, to find a cheap motel. En route, we stopped for breakfast (which, yes, exited my body soon after I ate it). I paid for my room at Colonial Inn/Hiker's Paradise, and Z-man and I took in the sights of Gorham and did errands while waiting for the room to be ready. Z-man has two cars which he uses to shuttle himself along the trail, so we had transportation for re-supply, laundry, etc. It was so generous of him to help me out. I was such a physically and psychologically drained mess, that had I not run into him at Crawford Notch, I'm not sure what I would've done! It's amazing how things work out on the trail.I spent the day napping, drinking electrolyte mix, and popping stomach meds. I ate dinner and.... it stayed in my belly! Great! I ran into Buffalo Bobby who is staying at the Hiker's Paradise hostel, waiting on Iceman. Best of all, I saw Farmer, who I haven't seen since the Hiker Hostel in Georgia. It's great to see him on the trail.
Date: 2007-09-02
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I decided that I needed to rest and get some nourishment in me before hitting up the rest of the Whites. Eating and getting my health in order has done wonders for boosting morale, and I arranged for a shuttle back to Crawford Notch tomorrow morning.I saw Iceman (the one I hiked with in the mid-Atlantic and Southern New England)! He told me that he ended up crouching on his sleeping pad during the bad storm a few days ago. Why wasn't he safe and warm in one of the AMC huts, you ask? Because the hut staff denied him, even though there was tons of space. They wouldn't acknowledge the fact that thunderstroms were predicted and that Iceman wasn't going to be able to make it to the next shelter before they hit. Um yeah.... that's negligence on behalf of the croo. Are they out to kill off the thru hikers??? What's even more insane is that Iceman tried to pay for an available space (there were plenty available) and the croo still said "no" and sent him out on the ridge. Iceman told me that AMC was looking into buying up the corridor of land around the 100 mile wilderness in Maine. Yikes! Stop the madness!I watched so many hours of America's Next Top Model today and yesterday.... my I.Q. is noticably lower. I highly recommend the Colonial Inn. One of the owners, Bruno, has the most brilliant deadpan sense of humor... funniest guy, yet he never even cracks a smile. He was very adament about cheap maple syrup products, referring to them as the "plastic stuff". For breakfast, he told people that real syrup cost extra, but they could use the free "plastic stuff" if they wanted. It was a pretty convincing spiel to splurge on the real stuff, I tell you.To boost morale, I did a deep moisturizing treatment on my hair. Of course, as soon as I had the cream in my hair and my head was swaddled in plastic, Buffalo Bobby, Iceman, and Queen Diva (from Bear's Den) were knocking at my door to see if I'd be interested in joining them for dinner. What timing! I passed on dinner, but I can boast that I have the softest nicest smelling hair of any thru hiker out here....I puked a little today, but other than that, I feel great. My stomach cramps, nausea, and other maladies have disappeared!
Date: 2007-09-03
From: Crawford Notch

To: Nauman Tentsite
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, I finally turned off the motel's T.V. and went out to the trail. I feel way heathier, and I'm glad that simple rest was enough to cure me of the evil belly syndrome. I ate breakfast at the motel and caught my shuttle in front of the office at 8:30. I decided to pay for a shuttle back to Crawford Notch, because it seemed like a difficult and long hitch. So, I called someone who was listed in the guidebook as a provider of shuttle service. He gave me a quote over the phone that was really too expensive, but when I started to say no thanks, he offered to work with me. He asked me to give him an offer, so I did. And, he accepted it. And, we made plans to meet outside the motel at 8:30. Well, he picked me up as planned, but 10 minutes into the trip, he told me that the quote he gave me was wrong, and it was way too low. The ride, he said, was really much more expensive, and the deal I was getting was "unfair to other hikers", what?!? I thought this belly-aching of his was simply ridiculous and annoying. We made a deal and that was that. If he didn't like it, he shouldn't have accepted it. After listening to him bray about how he was doing a "favor" for me, I told him curtly that he had agreed to shuttle me for a certain price, and if that wasn't good enough, that he should pull over and drop me off on the side of the highway immediately. That shamed him into shutting up! I think people see hikers and assume that we're simple-minded and defenseless. This guy hadn't bargained on picking up a NYC city girl who was adept at being agressively thrifty.I had been warned about the difficulty of the hike out of Crawford Notch. This climb brings you up out of the notch and onto the ridgeline leading through the presidential range. It's no small climb, but I took it slowly and found it shockingly easy. I got to the top and said, "that's it?". Feeling healthy really makes a huge difference -- when I felt so sick and tired at Galehead, the puny climb up South Twin seemed hellacious. I could see Mt. Washington from the tops of Mt. Webster and Mt. Jackson -- it's a huge, bare behemoth. The coal driven cog railway that runs up its side creates a huge puff of black smoke that mixes with the group of clouds composing the mountain's own private weather system.Wonder of wonders, I ran into Birdman at Mizpah Spring Hut! I met him last year at the Friary in New York. He walked into Mizpah and sat down across from me, asking if I was Birdlegs. I immediately knew who he was (it's funny -- I can't remember what I did yesterday or my last permanent address, but I remembered Birdman. I even remember that his tent was attacked by a racoon the day I met him last summer. Ah, the trail addles the mind). Birdman and I both tented at Nauman and got to catch up on this year and last year's trail gossip. Have I mentioned that the AT is a small place???
Date: 2007-09-04
From: Nauman Tentsite

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

The Whites have redeemed themselves in my eyes. Today was perfect. Gorgeous, in fact. The weather was dry, sunny, and distinctly fall-ish. And, I even got to moon the cog railway. But, I'm getting ahead of myself....I woke up really early, and I started walking before the large clouds of fog had a chance to blow off of the mountain tops. I got to dodge football field sized masses of wet stuff shuttling through the saddles and over the peaks. The light was eerie -- like the light one sees in the midst of a blizzard.I ran into Hopalong, Misplaced, Singe, Jungle Gym, and Gnarly (who's turned 27 today) at Lakes of the Clouds Hut at the foot of Mt. Washington. After bundling up to battle the 60+ mph winds and chilly air temperatures, we waddled and stumbled our way up to the summit which looked like a bit of alpine Disneyland. Mt. Washington's summit sports a post office, snack bar, weather station, cog railway station, parking lot... you name it, and it's there. It's a Memurdo-like jumble of scientific equipment and barren land. As if we didn't have enough to explore up to, there was a view extending 135 miles to the horizon.We were joined by Yogi and Birdman at the snack bar and proceeded to destroy countless handfulls of free soda crackers (until Misplaced was reprimanded) and glasses of free hot water.The whole day was spent above treeline, and it looked mostly like something from outer space. Post Mt. Washington, we all lined up along the cog railway trail and dropped trou for an applauding crowd of tourist chugging up the hill in the train car. Word on the trail is that people are getting ticketed for participating in this time-honored tradition! A thru hike is not a thru hike unless you moon the cog railway....It's cold out tonight. We're glad to be somewhat protected and warm inside Madison Springs Hut. They're getting ready to close the hut down for the winter, providing us with lots of work for stay opportunities.
Date: 2007-09-05
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Wildcat Mountain
Miles today: 10.8

Madison was our last official hut stay in the Whites. It was a fairly positive experience -- the croo took pretty good care of us. It's good to know that I won't have to behave like a beggar to stay somewhere safe anymore! I feel like I'm begging for alms when asking about work for stay. Being in the AMC huts leaves me with the distinctive feeling of being an uninvited guest! On ridgeline, especially in the Presidentials, one has no real choice of where to stay though.A small group of us is sleeping on top of Wildcat Mountain, a ski resort. It's a dumpy mountain top populated with particle board and empty propane tanks on sledges. The ski patrol shack is usually left open, and hikers sleep in it from time to time. I opted to string my hammock up under the deck of a dilapidated warming hut/lodge. It's a sweet set-up, because there are no real regulations, and we are sitting on the peak directly across from Mt. Washington. We're still technically in White Mountain National Forest, but we're more or less done with the "dreaded" Whites.The past couple of days have provided us with opportunities to eat greasy food. Yesterday was the cafe at Mt. Washington. Today's feast took place at the cafeteria at the Pinkham Notch visitor center. Our appetites are crazy from the hiking, and Misplaced and I shared the duty of licking a dinner plate clean last night, drawing a line down the middle to make fair shares.The windchill on top of Mt. Washington has been around 15 degrees the past couple days, yet the temperatures in the notch felt so warm as to be almost unbearable. We're getting into the time of year where most hiking clothes can be left on to sleep in, adding layers for warmth. This is my favorite time of year to hike, no doubt.Birdman and I decided to be deviants and ride the gondola up to Wildcat rather than hiking up. We're both a little terrified of heights, and I bet the expressions on our faces as the gondola door shut, and we zoomed up the hill, were priceless. We did get in our good deed for the day, hauling up 12 liters of drinking water for the other hikers. I call it "blue blazing for a better world".
Date: 2007-09-06
From: Wildcat Mountain

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 10.1

My clever hammock set-up last night turned out to be not so good afterall. Everytime I shifted my weight, my hammock slid further down the metal pole I tied off to. I eventually slid down so far, that my back was touching some of the sharp boulders below. So, I packed it all up and moved to the ski patrol hut where Singe, Misplaced, Hop Along, Dirty, and Gnarly were sleeping. Actually, they were pretty far from sleep -- Misplaced and Singe were still on the Mountain, and the rest had taken over the hut. When I opened the door, a cloud of smoke rolled out, and I was blinded by the glow of headlamps. I crashed on a dirty couch in the corner and had a good night's sleep.I managed to extract myself from the cozy hut to make the 10 mile march to Imp campsite. My butt was dragging all day -- I swear it was the longest ten miles I've ever walked. Fortunately, I caught up with Birdman and got to ride in his tailwind for a good part of the day. I ran into Birdman after getting lost and walking off of the trail. The AMC doesn't mark the trails well, and it's easy to go astray. During the first 3 miles of my hike today, I saw only a handful of blazes. To further confuse things, the AT is not always referred to as the AT in the Whites. Rather, it adopts the name of the path it shares. Anyways, I happened to pop off a side trail after I climbed Carter Dome, and it dumped me directly in front of Birdman (who wasn't lost). It all worked out in the end.And tomorrow, I'll be out of the Whites, in Gorham once more, and will have less than 300 miles to go.....
Date: 2007-09-07
From: Imp Campsite

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

Along the trail, there are several towns that act as vortexes, drawing in hikers and keeping them for a zero day or two. Gorham, NH is such a place. The hikers poured down off the mountains into town yesterday. It was as if an urgent call was sounded in the mountains telling hikers about cold beer and fried food. Some of the hikers came directly from Mt. Washington via the Tuckerman Trail; others blazed in from a side trail near Carter Hut. Out of all of the hikers here in fact, only a few actually walked the AT into town.I heard the call of town just past Imp Campsite and ran down the mountain to the highway on the Stoney Brook Trail. I ended up at a trailhead in the middle of nowhere next to the highway that runs through Pinkham Notch into Gorham. I stuck my thumb out, because I thought, what can be easier than being a woman and hitchhiking alone in rural New England? After ten minutes of watching logging trucks race past me, I had the bright idea of taking my bandana off and letting my hair down to really drive home the I'm-a-woman- alone-on-the-side-of-the-highway look. It worked -- the first truck that passed, honked at me while the car behind pulled over and let me in. I told the lady who was driving about my two day old fantasy of eating fried chicken in town (the fantasy comes complete with tears of joy dripping down my face and mixing with the chicken grease on my chin). She drove me into town and dropped me at the front door of KFC. Excellent!I almost forgot to mention our final run-in with the AMC. Last night at Imp, Birdman, Gnarley, and I were fed Gin and Tonics by Sally, the moderately beligerant AMC caretaker who is "sick and tired of taking money from people". She was getting ready to close down camp for the season and had a shockingly large amount of "adult beverages" that she had to either drink, give away, or pack out. Apparently, her friends came to visit bearing bottles as did a local who is know as the "backcountry bartender". Anyways, the free plain air cocktails ended our stay with the AMC regime on a good note.The Gorham vortex produced a number of new faces and old. I got to see Uncle Silly who I put up at my NYC apartment in 2005. He's completing the northern section from Bennington, VT to Katahdin this year and has been hiking right behind me for weeks. Also in town were Singe, Misplaced, Hop Along, Old Yeller, Birdman, Forrest, Spaceman, Coach, Matte, Genesis, C-shot, Tenacious T, General Tso, and others. Uncle Silly played his banjo on the porch of the second floor of Hikers Paradice hostel, while Genesis and Matte played guitar on the third floor. The night was filled with the sounds of good music, the clinking of beer bottles, and hiker chatter. A massive skunk was patrolling the parking lot below, and we could hear the sound of his toenails on the asphalt. A freight train rumbled by in the distance, and someone commented that it's the same train that has been following us since Hot Springs, NC.
Date: 2007-09-08
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

The Whites are officially behind me. They were tough and managed to wear me out, so I've been looking forward to this day of rest in Gorham. I realized that I was extremely tired when I had a dream about being too tired to wake up! It's bad when you're too sleepy to actively participate in your own dreams... Everyone's pretty worn down right now. Unlike the southbounders, us northbounders look tired and gaunt. We eat with an insane look of perpetual hunger on our faces and walk down stairs like big clumsy dogs allowed inside for the first time. The southbounders, on the other hand, look fresh and uncertain -- the way we looked before entering the Smokies this spring.Gorham is an ideally situated resting spot after the Whites. I spent the day alone running errands and sitting in my motel room (I managed to snag one with a jacuzzi tub!) watching shamless amounts of America's Next Top Model. The weather was muggy and ominous looking -- it seemed like a good day to stay in bed! I know that my body was grateful for a full day of down time.It was also psychologically good to be alone, so that I could charge my batteries. It can be draining to constantly be around people, so I think it's healthy to get alone time every so often. Even at this point on the trail, there are tons of hikers, so quiet times are few and far between. I love everyones' company on the trail, as long as, I can get a day alone here and there.