morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-26
From: US Route 302

To: Pinkam Notch
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

July 26Quiet night in the bunkroom last night. It was all 40+ year olds. Not your normal hiker hostel. At breakfast the family I had dinner with made a point to wish me luck on the remainder of my hike as did the the 3 buddies I had a beer with.I was on the trail shortly after 7. From where I started it was 8.5 miles to the summit of Washington. Being a Saturday morning there were lots of people out. I am really looking forward to getting north of the AMC huts so the trail will have mostly section and thru hikers and we will have the traditional shelters back. This is a 50 mile stretch of no shelters for thru hikers. Two years ago I sectioned through this exact same area. Once you get to the summit of Washington you have almost 10 more miles above tree line. Last time thru here it was raining the whole day. I arrived at Madison Hut (an AMC pay hut) after 4pm. They were full, so I offered to pay $40 to sleep on the dining room floor. The girl would not do it. I ended up hiking over Mt Madison and down the back side below tree line (an additional 3 miles) and setting up my tent. That was a long tiring day. The forecast for today was calling for afternoon storms. I did not want to take any chances so I took my first shortcut and came down off the ridge early. It was great fun taking a different trail, I have actually hiked across the ridge 3 previous times. Mt Washington is a vary cool mountain. Problem is everyone knows that. It was incredibly busy on the summit and all the side trails. I came down Tuckermans Ravine. I skied there a couple times when I was younger. It is very steep terrain. The trail was well done to get us safely down. I remember skiing the left gully and having a hard time getting my skis on. I had to carve out a spot and very carefully get one ski on, then the second. If you dropped anything it was gone. Fun memories from 30+years ago. My brother has always enjoyed skiing in Tuckermans. Oh, this is supposed to be a hiking blog....   I am in Pinkham Notch. Tomorrow I plan to hike 13 to a regular shelter. The forecast is for rain tonight and all day tomorrow. Probably will be a wet day. At least we will be below tree line and have a shelter to shoot for. That will leave a short day to Gorham on Monday.
Date: 2014-07-27
From: Pinkam Notch

To: Imp shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

July 27This morning I was hiking by 7:30. My destination being a shelter 13 miles away. That will leave 8 miles into Gorham. The forecast was for rain and thunderstorms. There was a light rain falling as I headed out. The first mile was basically flat. That was it for easy terrain. The trail then went up very steeply on to the Wildcat Ridge. There are many places where you need to use your hands to get up sections. The rain was just enough to make everything wet. I took it slow since I had no time pressure being a short day to a shelter.The trail passes the top of the gondola at Wildcat ski area. I found a drivers license on the ground. I didn't know if anyone was in front of me or if the license was from someone who rode the gondola up yesterday. I also wasn't headed to civilization so I left it in an obvious spot where a gondola customer would see it. About a mile later I caught a gentleman. I asked him if he was from Rhode Island. He was shocked I knew that. It was his license I found. I told him right where I left it. He called Wildcat and explained where it was. I assume he got it back.Six miles in is Carter Hut. I stopped in for lunch. There was a replacement crew working. We had a great chat. They had let 5 thru hikers stay there last night. I thanked them for being thru hiker friendly. I am very glad to now be north of the AMC huts. I saw 8 sobos today and Hoss and D5 passed me as they slack packed the 21 mile ridge. That is a tough day. Aftet leaving Carter the rain picked up making it very slippery. The trail looked like a stream in many places. On the upper ridges the trail was flooded. Needless to say it was a wet day. The rain did stop about 2 so the trail dried up considerably after that. I got to the shelter a little before 4. I thought about going 6 more miles to the next one, but decided to stay here. The are 4 sobos here and a couple section guys. Lots of fun conversations. There are several people tenting as well, even though there is a severe thunderstorm warning out for tonight. There is lots of thunder rumbling about as I am typing this. Tomorrow is supposed to be a very wet day as well. Glad I have only 8 miles to go to get to Gorham. My clothes are already soaked from today. I carry dry camp clothes which I am wearing now in the shelter. I continue to be surprised at how chilly it has been. Tomorrows high is forecast to be 70.
Date: 2014-07-28
From: Imp shelter

To: US 2, Gorham
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: scattered clouds

July 28Good group in the shelter last night. Glad to be back in the traditional trail mode. When we got up it was basically clear out. Within minutes it was cloudy. By the time I was hiking out the approach trail it started to sprinkle. It was a relatively easy 8 miles to Gorham and the White Mountain hostel. First I had to climb up to the summit of Mt Moriah. The top offered lots of pretty views, but there were also lots of ominous clouds hanging around. Sure enough as I started down the thunder was rumbling and there were a few lightning flashes. Glad I am headed down. Then the rains came. There is a flash flood watch out for today in this area. It poured the rest of the morning. I arrived at the hostel about 11:00. It is still pouring a few hours later as I write this. Glad I called ahead as the hostel is completly full. I have a bunk for tonight and tomorrow night. Tomorrow will be my fifth and hopefully last zero day. I feel good but think it best I take a rest day before hitting Maine. There are couple familiar faces here, Hoss stayed because of the rain and Lightning Bolt got a ride ahead. He has to go back tomorrow and fill in a gap. It is now 8 as I finish this entry. It has rained all afternoon and evening, with a flash flood warning till 10pm. So glad I am inside and dry. Meeting lots of new people which is fun. I'm sure I will see them again up the trail. Two brothers, Will I and Third Half are here. We have been at the same spot the past 3 nights. They are sectioning but headed to Katahdin. Hoss made 3 coconut cream pies. He did everything from scratch, including the crusts. The hostel even went out to buy a rolling pin for him. He is a 25 year old high voltage lineman from Iowa. I met him in Massachusetts and have seen him several times since. This is a great place, one of the top hostels on the trail. They have had to turn away several people today and have every couch filled and floor space covered. Obviously the rain drives up the demand. Tomorrow is supposed to clear, so hopefully things will dry out a bit. Sure is wet right now.Go Far, Spruce, Bacon Dog, Buzz, Tandem, and Twist are all at Mizpah Hut. That is 40 miles back. I was hoping they would be catching me tomorrow. Oh well. Lots of new people to meet.It will be tough for me to not hike tomorrow. The rest will do me good so I am ready to finish the last 300 miles. Oh yea, today I passed the 300 mile mark. I am only 14 miles from being in Maine. It is pretty amazing that the end is getting close. For so long the miles left seemed so big. 300 is still a long way, but for the past 1800 miles I have averaged over 120 miles a week. Finishing in less than 3 weeks should not be a problem.
Date: 2014-07-29
From: US 2, Gorham

To: US 2, Gorham
Miles today: 0.0

July 29A rest day today. Tough sitting around not hiking, but will be good for me. I went through all my pictures from the beginning of the trail. The first thing that hit me was how often it rained. I have been thinking we have had rain at night, but not very often during the day. I am looking forward to the next 298 miles. I have hiked the next 80 to Rangeley, then it will be on new trail for the last 220 to Katahdin. I went into town for lunch then went to the library and went to the post office to mail my old shoes back. After lunch came back and read and watched some TV. Then went to Wal-Mart for the second day in a row. A pretty low key day. It's now 7:30 and winding down. Tomorrow is supposed to be another good weather day, so should be a great day for walking north. I shaved today, probably the last time till I finish. I wanted to get a haircut, but no place easily accessible. I am not sure how cell coverage will be from here north. I will try and update this journal every day, but may not be able to.
Date: 2014-07-30
From: US 2, Gorham

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 16.6

July 30The White Mountain hostel is a must stop. Easily my favorite hostel on the trail. Unfortunately this morning I went to get my rain jacket and it was missing. Asked everyone and no go. So after breakfast I got a ride into town to get a new jacket. All ready to roll again. It was close to 9:30 by the time I left.Most of the people who stayed last night had various plans. Only a few of us were heading north. A few miles in I caught Hoss. We ended up hiking together the rest of the day. I met him in Massachusetts. He is the one who made pies for everyone a couple nights ago. Early afternoon we caught Shroomer, who was resting on some rocks with a great view. The guys had planned to do 20, but agreed 16 would be plenty. This is still very tough terrain. After a few minutes DFI rolled up. The four of us hiked the last few miles together including entering Maine. We also pased the 1,900 mile mark, two cool milestones.Shroomer is my age and about to finish his triple crown. He hiked the PCT 4 years ago, the CDT 2 years ago and now the AT. I am really enjoying all 3s company. It is just the four of us at the shelter.Short post tonight, time for bed. It is quite chily, glad I have my sleping bag liner. Also got my new shoes thanks to my lovely wife. Tomorrow morning we tackle Mahoosuc Notch then head up the arm. A tough morning. The forecast is for storms in the afternoon, so hopefully we get past the Arm before they start.Good night, thanks for reading.
Date: 2014-07-31
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: ME 26, Grafton Notch
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: scattered clouds

July 31Last night we were the only 4 in the shelter. There were a few tenters as well. Shroomer was up early so I got up with him. We hiked out at 6. First thing we had to do was walk the .3 miles uphill back to the AT. Then it was off on my hardest day yet. We ended up only doing 14 miles, but it took 11 hours. The first 4.4 to the next shelter was very hard, lots of steep ups and downs. That was just the warm up. Now it was up over a pretty good hill and down into the Mahoosuc Notch. I did well two years ago, but struggled today. It took schroomer and I an hour and 20 minutes. The notch is a big boulder field where you have to climb over, around and under the boulders. At the end we stopped for a break. Hoss and DFI caught us and we discussed slack packing the next couple of days. The forecast is for afternoon storms for the next 3 days. All four of us liked the idea, so we decided to call the Pine Ellis in Andover. They picked us up in Grafton Notch along with Cape who had previously arranged a ride.Back to the hike, after the notch we had a steep 1,800 climb up the Arm. I had remembered this as being a brutal climb two years ago. Today it started to rain as we started up. Didn't make much difference as everything was already wet. Today the climb seemed pretty reasonable. Once on top there is a bit of a traverse and we walked along Speck Pond. With it chilly and raining there was no swimming today. This summer since getting to Vermont has seemed quite chilly. Still very humid, but no hot days.After Speck Pond there was another tough climb, then it was a 3.5 mile long downhill to the road. The down seemed to last forever. It also rained quite hard as we were heading down. Once down we had a ride lined up to bring us to the hostel. Cell coverage is very spotty here so I was walking around the summit of Speck mountain trying to find the spot to call from. On the way down we passed Will I and Third Half. Since it was raining we did not chat long, good luck to you guys.Tomorrow is a 20 mile day. Hopefully the terrain is easier than the last couple of days. We will not be carrying heavy packs so that will help. There is over 6,000 feet of climbing, so it will be a tough one.
Date: 2014-08-01
From: ME 26, Grafton Notch

To: South Arm Road
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Aug 01Today turned out to be a tough day again, even though we were not carrying full packs. The distance was just over 20 miles, but there was almost 7,000 feet of gain and loss. The trail was pretty good but still many steep ups and downs and 18 miles in we had a climb of 1,000 feet in .4 miles. it continued up for another 300 feet but at a more gradual pace.In the morning we went over Bald Pate, third highest mountain in Maine. I love the exposed rock climb up. All day Scroomer, Hoss , DFI and I stayed together. All great guys. Scroomer is a bit older than me, but sure can hike. The other two are mid 20s and very strong hikers. I have been looking for someone who was travelling my pace since Go Far and Bear Juice went different ways. Go Far is two days behind me now. BJ is probably just getting back on trail in VT. I am really enjoying the 3 guys I am with. I have always thought that I did not want to be one of four, but so far its been great. I am probably the weakest of the four, so we will see what happens. All of us are focussed on getting to Katahdin.Today was the official end to the AMC taking care of the trail. We are now in Maine ATC territory. The trail is better maintained and much better marked. Thank you MATC.Brave is here at the hostel. She has been hanging around for a couple days now. This weekend is the annual town festival. Tomorrow we are doing a short day and hope to hit up the festival when we get back. Tonight the local restaurant had a prime rib special. All four of us went for it. This town is very hiker friendly. Lots of people talk to us about all sorts of things. That is fun to be back where people really appreciate the hiking community. It has been the first area in the north where I feel we are appreciated. Tonight after dinner we went across the street to a store to get subs for tomorrow. As I was sitting waiting for the sub to be made an older gentleman asked me what I had hiked today. We started chatting and turns out he opened the store 50 years ago. He just last year turned the day to day over to his daughter, who made the subs, and her husband, who cashed me out. Fun conversation. Ki really enjoy the locals as we pass through these small towns.
Date: 2014-08-03
From: ME Route 17

To: Rangeley
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Aug 03Great day today. We had a 7am shuttle back to the trail and started our 13 mile hike at 8. This was the easiest terrain since southern NH. There was still lots of mud but the grades were more gradual than what we have had. Lots of sobos this morning. It slows you down stopping and chatting, but its fun meeting new people.Since we knew it was a relatively easy 13 we took our time. We arrived at the Rangeley trailhead at 2:30. It was threatening to rain as we were waiting for a ride and poured as we drove into town. Perfect timing. We are staying at a hostel that opened just 3 weeks ago. It is an awesome place. Shroomer and I are sharing a room. It is a huge room with views of the lake. The bed I am in was built 3 days ago and I believe I am the first person to sleep on the mattress. They have a great resupply store as well. All the sobos have been raving about the place and I can see why. Its called the Farmhouse Inn. For dinner we all (Cape and the four of us) headed into town and had a great meal. It is great fun travelling with these guys who aren't on a really tight budget. We certainly have been enjoying this stretch of trail. Rangeley is another very friendly town. Hoss has been especially impressed. Several new faces here. Brave is also here again. She got a ride from Andover straight to Rangeley. We met Princess, she is here with her husband Rocketman. He is another casualty of lyme disease. He is the 7th hiker I know who has contracted lymes on the trail. Hopefully we are far enough north now so it isn't as big a risk.The forecast continues to be 40% chance of rain. It is amazing how we seem to dodge the worst of it. The next 3 days we are slack packing and returning to the Farmhouse. With 5 of us the rides are very reasonably priced.
Date: 2014-08-04
From: Rangeley

To: Rangeley
Miles today: 0.0

Aug 04Last night we lined up a 7am ride to slack pack back to Rangeley. The forecast was not good, but it has been bad for the past week. At 6:30 it was cloudy, but not bad so we were debating what to do. Then the thunder started and the weather service issued a flash flood warning. We are all tired, so a rest day was called. Tomorrow we have a 6am ride planned as the storms are due in the afternoon. It sure would be nice to get a dry weather pattern. The Farmhouse Inn has been great. Shroomer and I are sharing a private room so it's nice having our own space. We have a view of Rangeley Lake out our window. Probably shouldn't be teling you this because you are thinking I have been roughing it in my tent. Truth is it has been a long journey and these comforts are very appreciated at the end. Shane who owns this with his wife Stacy have been amazing. He was saying how appreciative the hiker community is. He used the example of bringing a cold Gatorade to a hiker he was picking up. My response was "you drink warm pond water for 4 straight days and see how much you would appreciate a cold Gatorade." He laughed in agreement. Today has been a very low key day. Caught up on a bunch of little things. Stacy is cooking spaghetti for everyone tonight. It's now after dinner, what great fun. It poured this morning but is beautiful now. Hopefully it stays dry for tomorrow. I threw a football for the first time in years, same with horseshoes. This place has been open only a month and they are filling up most nights. The hiker community is advertising for them. It is perfect now because the sobos and nobos are crossing. Shane was surprised when I told him most nobos have not even gotten to Maine. There are lots of hikers yet to come.If you haven't been to my website please visit it and consider contributing to a great cause. The kids will certainly appreciate it. Today I uploaded a bunch of photos from New Hampshire and Southern Maine. My son Tucker has done a great job updating the site. The link is below. Thanks for all the support.
Date: 2014-08-05
From: Rangeley

To: Woods Road - mile 1980
Miles today: 14.8

Aug 05This morning 9 hikers piled in Shane's truck for an hour drive to the middle of nowhere. He dropped us at an old road that was closed to traffic and said walk a mile up this way and you should see the trail. OK, we said and the 9 of us took off. It worked out great. I think it was more than a mile, but oh well. Once we saw white blazes it was 14.8 miles back to our pick up point. Lots of ups and downs again today. I think we only have 2 more really challenging days then the trail levels out. Today's hike was really beautiful as we were above tree line for a good portion going over the Horn and Sadleback Mountain. Today was a great day to travel south as we saw several nobos. Right at the top of Saddleback was Pyro, Zacksquash, Rosy and another young couple I have seen several eating lunch. Shroomer and I stopped and joined them. As we were leaving Brave showed up. About a mile later we saw Wings. I hadn't seen him since southern Vermont. The down was long and slow with all the rocks and roots. Maine has been tough to do miles since the footing is never great and the trail seems to always be going up or down. There is level terrain coming up, so hopefully the miles will be easier. We had cell reception up high but thought we would have it at a shelter down lower. Wrong. As we are walking we figure we will be hitching a ride when who comes walking up the trail - Shane. At this point Hoss and DFI were with us so it worked out perfectly. We stopped at the hostel then all went into town for a burger. Cape and High Loon also joined us. That reminds me, a couple days ago a loon went flying around just over our headed calling out with their distinctive noise. Then this morning one flew by our window calling out. Dinner was a lot of fun. Another hiker came in and joined us. We then all went to the grocery store to get food for the next two days.
Date: 2014-08-06
From: Woods Road - mile 1980

To: Stratton
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Aug 06Another great day. 10 of us loaded into Shanes truck at 6am. Two got out at the Rangeley trailhead, the other 8 continued on. Shroomer, Full Loon and I were in the back. It was chilly but we wrapped up in blankets. An hour later we were on our way north again today. The hike was 17.4 plus the mile up the road. This was 2.4 longer than yesterday with about the same vertical yet we did it in the same time. The trail was that much better as far as fewer rocks and better footing. Shroomer and I stayed together most of the day. Cape and High Loon took off and were ahead all day. Hoss and DFI were behind all morning, caught us at lunch, then we all basically stuck together. We saw a few sobos and only one nobo. Traveling north we rarely see other nobos because we are all basically going the same speed. Today was the best forecast in a week and wouldn't you know it rained a couple times. Go figure. The middle of the day included a very steep drop then an almost as steep climb. Only one more day of big climbs and drops.Shroomer is a mushroom fanatic, therefor the name. Hoss has been really into learning about mushrooms as there are tons along the trail. Last night we bought steaks to cook on the grill tonight. As we were walking today Shroomer and I came across a bunch of chantrelles. We stopped and picked over a pound of them so this evening we had sauteed mushrooms to put on our steaks. I am not a mushroom guy but they were actualy very good and it's cool to have picked them ourselves.As we were driving out of Stratton we saw Brave. We came back to Rangeley and saw many hikers cruising around town. The hostel is full again tonight. Go Far and Spruce are on their way here. Buzz and his daughter Tandem are here as well. We are basically two days ahead since we keep getting rides back. Tomorrow is our last day of slack packing. It will be back to carrying a ful pack and heading north. We are now only 188.2 miles from Katahdin. Tomorrow we will pass the 2,000 miles hiked.