morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-07-28
From: Kinsman Notch, NH 

To: Franconia Notch, NH
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was the hardest one day of hiking I've had for the whole trail. We started at 6:00 am and finished at 8:00 pm. That's 14 hours to do 16 miles. With an hour off for breaks we averaged about 1 mile per hour. We went over Mount Wolf and climbed the 2 peaks of Mount Kinsman. Wolf isn't mentioned as one of the big mountains of the Whites but it took about 5 hours to negotiate its twists and turns. Then we had to climb the twin peaks of Kinsman. We spent hours climbing straight up. We had to use our hands and traverse slabs of rock looking for crevices and knobs or drilled finger holes to help us make our way up the mountain. As you can imagine, the descents were even harder. My new boots really gripped the rock slabs nicely or it could have been a lot worse. It was supposed to start raining at 1:00 and that had us really concerned. Finally around 6:00 we got to the last hut. It was getting dark from the approaching storm and the setting of the sun, but we only had 3 miles to go, so we pushed on. Then we came to a stream with the bridge out. DB fell in the stream while looking for rocks to ford on, so he just waded across. The current was swift and up to his knees. I went up river and found a better spot and was able to make it across without getting wet. From the last hut to Franconia Notch was real fast. So we made good time - 90 minutes. As soon as we got to the notch it started raining. Since we were on the edge of an interstate highway Mike couldn't park there. So we called him and had to walk another half hour before he could find us and pick us up. What a day.
Date: 2013-07-30
From: Franconia Notch, NH 

To: Galehead Hut, NH 
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

We needed that zero day to recover from our aches and pains. For me all my aches disappeared except my IT band on each leg. It kept me awake all Monday night. Finally at 3:00 AM Mike went to the bathroom and I asked if he had any Ibuprofen. This is the first time I ever took this drug, and when I took it, within 15 minutes I felt no pain in my ITs and I fell asleep instantly.   Today we immediately went straight up Mt Lincoln at 5080ft for 5 miles, gaining 3000 ft. The view above tree line was fantastic. Then we hiked over to Mt Lafayette at 5391 ft. It was easily the most memorable and most picturesque part of the AT trail I have seen to date. Then we bagged Mt Garfield at 4500 ft. After that the fun was over. Our team is real lousy at going down steep boulder trails. And that's what we hit for the rest of the day. Our average speed going up was around 2 miles per hour. It took us 12 hours to do 13 miles. Oh well, we had to ot get down so we endured it. We got to Galehead Hut just as dinner was being served. There was soup, salad, lasagna, and cake for dessert. We had to pay $102 each to stay. Banzai raced to be the first hiker here and got to work for food and a bunk.
Date: 2013-07-31
From: Galehead Hut, NH 

To: Crawford Notch, NH 
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: moderate rain

The crew at Galehead Hut was very accommodating and fixed us breakfast at 6:00 am, an hour before the other guests were served.   Today our only climb (1500 ft) was up South Twin Mountain (4902). Most of the remainder of the day were descents. We stopped at Zealand Falls Hut for lunch. They gave us free blackbean soup to go with our own food. Then after a .3 mile descent, we stayed on a very easy trail all the way to Crawford Notch.
Date: 2013-08-01
From: Crawford Notch, NH 

To: Lakes of the Clouds, NH 
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: moderate rain

Today we climbed lots of peaks while racing a storm to the hut. Our first climb we started at 1277 ft and went to 3910. That got us to Mt Webster. Then we ascended Mt Jackson and descended to the Mizpah hut for lunch. We left there around 1:45 knowing a storm was coming but we only had 5 miles to go. So we went over Mt Clinton (formerly Pierce), then over Mt Eisenhower and Mt Franklin. Then the whole trail was swallowed by a cloud and the race was on. We circled around the Mt Monroe peak and there was the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. We got safely tucked away in the hut with a work for stay deal and the rain started coming down almost within 10 minutes of our arrival. I had to do dishes for about half an hour and the hut will let me sleep on the floor by the dining room tables, plus dinner and breakfast after the paying guests finish.
Date: 2013-08-02
From: Lakes of the Clouds, NH 

To: Mt Washington, NH 
Miles today: 1.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke with a backache from leaning over the sink doing dishes. But the back was ok once I started hiking. Our work for stay included cleaning all the bunk rooms once all the guests left. By the time we finished cleaning and eating our breakfast it was 9:30. We arrived on the top of Mount Washington around 11:00 and decided that we couldn't make it to the highway without it getting dark. We decided to call it a day, take the public shuttles and stay in Gorham. I got the senior rate for a shuttle ride off the top of the mountain to Pink Notch. Then we luckily ran into Spirit at Pinkam Notch who gave us a hide into town. Laying on a bed for half a day is a dream come true.
Date: 2013-08-03
From: Mt Washington, NH 

To: Mt Washington, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

August 3 Day 150 We woke up to rain. Looked up weather conditions on Mt Washington and decided to do another zero day. Great by me, my body could use the recovery time. In looking at the weather for the next week, we see mostly the same rainy conditions up there. A plan was hatched to skip the upper portion of the trail till Tuesday, the best day out of the coming.5 days, and hike the lower elevations till then. During morning breakfast we ran into Johnny Walker and his group. They were going to hike into Maine today. Banzai decided to skip the Whites and join up with Johnny's group. Banzai was a good fellow hiker with lots of unique opinions on every subject. We are going to miss his young fresh spirit. So now our group is only DB, Slim, and myself. So tomorrow we start at Pinkham Notch and hike for 2 days to reach Gorham. Then we go back up to hike down Mt Washington and up and down Mt Madison.
Date: 2013-08-04
From: Pinkham Notch, NH

To: Carter Notch Hut, NH
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Like all well thought plans the one for today went awry. First we didn't start early enough (the shuttler wouldn't leave before 6:30) and second it started raining heavily on us. So we called it a day with only 6 miles covered. Even though the work for stay program had open slots, we paid full price so we could go lay around in a bunk the rest of the day instead of sitting in the dining hall for hours. As I came down to eat lunch, I heard a "Hi Pilgrim". I turned around and it was Patriot. He had just returned from a 10 day vacation. We talked awhile, then went out in the rain to hike some more. (He has a tent so he can stop whenever he wants to). Our group has decided to leave tomorrow morning at 5:30 to see if we can make up the time.
Date: 2013-08-05
From: Carter Notch Hut, NH 

To: US 2 Gorham 
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

August 5 Day 152                14.9 miles 1874.1 totalCarter Notch Hut (1872.7) to US 2 Gorham 1887.6It rained all night and the wind shook our hut around several times during the night. Slim lost his pack cover because he was hanging it overnight on the porch to dry. We all quietly packed up our gear at 5:00 in the morning and went down (our sleeping huts were on the mountain a little higher than the main hut) to the main hut to eat breakfast. There we found all the benches and floor space filled with sleeping thru hikers. We tried to eat quietly but they all woke up. We introduced our selves and exchanged information about the trails. We were out the door into less than 50 degree weather with a huge wind-chill factor at 6:00. The Carter Mountain trails were tough going. And as it turned out, they were hard to follow. As we came back down from one of the Cater peaks we came to a trail sign we had just passed an hour ago. Boy, were we bummed that we had just did a loop. We saw that the real AT was the one we had just come down, so we went back up to the peak and found the correct trail going down it and were back on course. We reached the Imp Campsite around 1:30. The rest of the way to US 2 was 8 miles and at our current rate would put us there at 9:30. But we chugged on anyway. We figured that can't be anymore hair raising descents coming up and we would go faster. And that's what happened. Mt Moriah was medium quick. And about 3/4 of the way down the trail all of a sudden lost its rocks. About the last 4 miles we walked over 2 miles an hour. We arrived at US 2 around 7:00 with the sun still shining.
Date: 2013-08-06
From: Mt Washington, NH

To: Madison Hut, NH 
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: light rain

Today we went back to pick up the trail we skipped a few days ago. Today we also hiked with Molar Man. He may continue hiking with us through Maine. This is one of the few days that visibility was over 100 miles. We started hiking around 9:30 and the day was pleasant. The Cog railroad car passed us right away but we didn't moon it per the AT tradition. The entire 6 miles to Madison Hut was rocks. We only made 1 mile an hour. But because of the low mileage day it was very relaxing. We stayed on the ridges above tree line and had excellent vistas the whole hike. The hut charged us $10 to sleep on the floor and eat after all the paying guests were finished. Later while sitting around waiting for dinner, a young couple came in and the girl said ¢Hi Pilgrim¢. At first I didn't recognize them but then I remembered Barking Spider was the guy who hiked pass Trekker and me in his bare feet. We had hiked with Stretch and Barking Spider in North Carolina for a few days.
Date: 2013-08-07
From: Madison Hut, NH 

To: Pinkham Notch, NH 
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

We woke with the sounds of cooking early in the morning. We quickly stuffed our sleeping bags and air mattresses and ate a quick breakfast before any of the paying guests of the hut came in. Molar Man and Slim left early as Molar Man wanted to begin scouting Maine. DB and I were on the trail by 6:45. We then began climbing Mt Madison. Of course the whole route up and down, about 1 and 1/2 miles, was all boulders. We only made 1/2 mile per hour. We were passed quickly by anyone on the trail. On the last descent before hitting the tree line, I stepped on a boulder that rolled. I snapped the end off of my trekking pole and scratched up my leg with rock scraps. When we got below tree line the trail was much faster and we made good time into Pinkham Notch. From there we called our hostel shuttler and we were soon in our room relaxing.
Date: 2013-08-08
From: US 2 Gorham NH

To: Gentian Pond shelter, NH
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today's walk was pretty easy but when it came time to push on to the next shelter Molar Man and myself wanted to stop. There was some long climbs past some ponds and a few places with views. We met some sobos and a few nobos passed us. Just 10 minutes after settling into the shelter it began to rain. So again we dodged the rain.
Date: 2013-08-09
From: Gentian Pond shelter, NH

To: Gentian Pond Shelter, NH 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

It began raining in the middle of the night. I know because my back was keeping me awake all night. In the morning we saw the forecast was for rain all day so we called the shuttler where we were going to spend the next night. We walked 3.5 miles out to a road and he picked us up. On the way we stopped at a Rite Aid and got me some netter pain relief pills. After lunch I took the pills and I got my first solid sleep. That evening I saw Java Man and Dutch from my early hiking days. And one Sobo came in and said he was glad to meet me since he was reading my journal. We got up at 3:30 so we could begin our hike at 8:00 at the shelter and get into our destination shelter at a reasonable time.
Date: 2013-08-11
From: Full Goose Shelter ME

To: Maine 26, ME
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light rain

August 11 ¢ Day 158 ¢ 9.7 miles / 1918.7/ 267.2 left Full Goose Shelter, ME to Maine 26, METoday was a hard day for me. I just didn't feel right. Last night I couldn't blow up my air mat and today I felt dizzy and had stomach and back pains. But somehow I got through Mahoosuc Notch. This was a jig saw puzzle of rocks and boulders that covered the bottom of a narrow valley. It took us about an hour and half to do 1 mile to get through it. Then we climbed Mahoosuc Arm. It was mostly going straight up a slippery slab for over a mile. Then we climbed Mt Spec which required putting your poles away and climbing with lots of steep drops. Then we walked 3.5 miles down the back side of Spec to the highway. I was exhausted and could hardly finish even though it normally wouldn't have been too terrible of a day for me. The next morning I got an appointment at the local family care doctors. The others went on hiking without me. My main concerns were my back, stomach, and right eye. For my stomach the doctor said I had to stop taking the pain pills. The doctor spent a lot time asking about my face and finding out that I couldn't puff my cheeks or close my right eye lid. She finally diagnosed me with Bell's Palsy. My muscles on the right side of face didn't work. She thinks I also have Lyme¢s disease. I am waiting for the results of a blood test on that. So I am off the trail. It beat me in Maine, but it beat me, so the AT wins another. Thanks to all the people that read my journal and cheered me on. Also thanks to all the trail angels tha,t out of the goodness of their hearts, helped me along the way. And thanks to my family for being patient and supportive while I was out on this crazy endeavor. This is Pilgrim signing off.
Date: 2015-01-11
From: Maine 26, ME

To: Maine 26, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Hi all. I have decided to return to the Appalachian Trail and finish the hike I started in March 2013 and ended prematurely in August 2013 at highway 26 in Maine. This time I am bringing my wife to be my shuttle person. This way I can be sure I get the right nutrition every day. We plan on driving across country in the last week of July of 2015. I have completely recovered from all of my ailments and have been stewing about not finishing what I started. For a long time after I returned from the hike I was mad about not finishing and really didn't want to think about the trail at all. As time passed I slowly begin thinking of that trek as one of the highlights of my life and I started to savor the experience as a good one. Now after reading about my good buddy Don's Brother in his book and how he finished the Maine portion of his hike, I am cherishing the moment when I get to take that first step back on the trial to finally finish the task.
Date: 2015-07-23
From: Maine 26, ME

To: Highway 26 in Maine
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Packing our car for trip across the country to Maine. Hope to reach "the cabin" in Andover on July 31. I last stayed at the cabin in August 2013 when I became so sick I had to leave my attempt to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. This time my wife is joining me to provide shuttle support. We are both really up for this and can't wait to get the show on the road. I'll be updating this site on a daily basis once I actually start hiking.
Date: 2015-08-01
From: Highway 26 in Maine

To: East B. Hill Rdg
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: light rain

Aug 1, 2015Arrived in Andover, Maine in the early afternoon yesterday. Found and marked the Gps coordinates for Saturday's trail heads. Got a tent trailer as a room at 'the cabin' hostel. At dinner a group of 4 people just came off the trail and I discovered I knew the women hiker named Speck. She and DB were hiking in Pennsylvania in 2013 when I met her. She and her group generously said I could hike tomorrow with them. In the morning Honey and Bear the hostel owners fixed us a huge breakfast at 6:00 and we were able to get to the trailhead by 7:30. Right away I knew that I was way out of trail shape. The hill went up and up over Baldpate east and west peaks. As we climbed I fell further and further back. But they were concerned about me and would periodically yell down asking if I was still ok. Then there were the downhills. Slipping sliding I also fell way behind doing this too. Finally there was a 1/2 mile stretch that was level with just a few roots and rocks and I sped along that. I fell twice. Once on a downhill slide and once climbing a river bed side embankment. My right arm got pretty bloody but nothing serious. Then it rained. Wow what a beginning. Maine is tough. I hope my aching muscles can keep going tomorrow. Today I hiked 10.3 miles in 7 hours. Well I'm here and in the middle of it. It's all coming together.
Date: 2015-08-02
From: East B. Hill Rdg

To: South Arm Rd
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

August 2Today Pogo took a day off to rest his swollen knee. Wanderer, Still Thinking, Speck and I hit the trail at 7:30. The first 6 miles to the lean~to were fairly easy in that it wasn't steep. But it had the normal Maine rocks and roots to negotiate. We made it going 2 miles an hour. Then we climbed up a little knoll that had a view of Moody mountain and ate lunch looking at the steep monster in front of us. Now the began. We went down the steep side of the knoll and then started our climb. The others left me and went on to the top it was very steep. I could hardly place one foot in front of the other. I sucked my water a lot to keep my body going. There was many twists and turns and it was a challenge to not loose the trail. I pulled myself up with many a tree root or limb. And used some rebar hand holds that thankfully were there when I needed them. About 1 1/2 hour later I finally reached the top. There I sent Joyce a text saying I only had an hour up go. Then followed the others down. At the end there was Joyce and the hikers waiting for me but there was a river to cross first. With Joyce taking pictures, I hopped from rock to rock and made it cleanly across. Joyce had bought some drinks for trail magic and gAve Speck a soda. No falls, legs still moving. It was a good second day. Went around 10 miles in 7 hours. Up to South Arm St.
Date: 2015-08-03
From: South Arm Rd

To: ME17
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

August 3Felt ill when I started to eat breakfast. Since happened yesterday I think it is just nerves. So I started walking anyway and felt better after an hour. Today is 13 miles. We started by going up Old Blue for about 2 hours. I was strong for that. But from there to the lean-to, about 4 miles, I ran out of gas and was really breathing hard when I got there. Spec and all the guys helped me replenish my water. After eating a turkey sub I drew myself up and started out on the final 5 miles. Luckily the first couple miles were level and walkable. But the 3 mile downhill was the hardest I've ever seen. It was very tangled up and when it wasn't it was hard granite going down very steeply. Finally I reached the bottom and only had an .8 mile uphill to reach the trail head. Afterward we all went for a steak dinner just as the lightening and thunder opened up and rained in buckets. I survived the 8 hours, so I'll hit again tomorrow.
Date: 2015-08-04
From: ME17

To: ME4
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

August 4Today we hit the trail at 8:00, after checking out of the cabin. During the day, Joyce went up to Rangeley and checked us in at the Farm Inn. The trail today was walkable. I averaged 2 miles an hour, a record for me in Maine. We sailed past a number of ponds and stopped for a break at the Sabbath Day Pond. We were on a sandy beach that had one picnic table to rest on. Since it rained last night, we had to walk through a continuous bog. We tried to walk around the edges or on stones or logs or even chopped down Christmas trees but eventually you mistake a white spot on the mud surface for a rock and bury your boot in mud. Or your boot could slip off a twig. Anyway we made it to Little Swift River Pond campsite after 8 miles and ate lunch. I had left over steak and an apple for a very satisfying lunch. I gave se of my steak to Safari a hiker who was short on food. We then hiked the remaining 4.8 miles to ME 4. We were finished by 3:30 for 7 1/2 walk.
Date: 2015-08-05
From: ME4

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

August 5Today Spec had to leave the trail due to a family emergency. All of us can't believe it. She was our rock, our guiding leader. But we trudged on out there to continue our mission anyway. We caught the late shuttle and started hiking at 9:30. We went up 3 climbs. Saddleback, the Horn, and Saddleback Junior. When we got to the top of Saddleback it began hailing. So instead of stopping to eat, we had to get off the mountain top. It took 2 hours before we got far enough down to eat. Right next us eating was a group of about 15 high school girls. They wore jackets but somehow all wore short shorts and didn't seem to get cold. Around 5:30 I reached the Poplar lean-to and since it was crowded my buddies had saved me a spot in the shelter. I pulled out my can of ravioli heated it up and had a great easy dinner. After preparing my pack for tomorrow by filtering water I blew up my air mattress and jumped in my sleeping bag by 7:00. Then the rain hit us and also in came the 15 young girls. They ignored the rain and set up their tents and prepared dinner together and we're all in their tents and quiet by 9:00. So I went 10.7 miles in 8 1/2 hours.
Date: 2015-08-06
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Caribou Valley Road
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

August 6We headed out by 7:00 in 40 degree weather. When we got down the mountain a little we removed our jackets and continued on in a nice cool day. The trail now seems a easier and my endurance is getting better. Now for the wow moment. Today I saw this girl walking toward me. She wore a dress and she wore her hair up. She stepped aside about 10 yards in front of me and wished me a good day. I knew right away that she was the The Ghost. After she passed I caught of with Wanderer and he said that Still Thinking had talked with her and found out she was The Ghost and that she was southbound from Katahdin and was only on her 5th day. To compare that to our plans we hope to reach Katadin in 15 days. She owns the current PCT record for non supported trip. I felt inspired from that 1 little moment. Anyway it took 10 hours to hike 13 miles and I was really glad to see Joyce parked where I expected her to be.