morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-19
From: 4 tenths mile south of NH25 A at mile 1765.9

To: Glencliff at NH25 at AT mile1776.1
Miles today: 10.2

Total miles today 10.7Trail miles today 10.2Start at AT mile 1765.9Finish at Glencliff at NH25 at AT mile 1776.1staying in Hostel   It was a quick and easy hike into town. The idea was to clean up, resupply and head out in the morning. Looks like plans will have to change. A weather system has moved in and it is raining and supposed to rain through tomorrow. The problem is that the next days hike includes the descent of Moosilauke, some 3000 feet of what is termed dangerous when dry and treacherous when wet. The advice I have been given by all who have done this section is not to go there when it is wet. It is not worth the risk. The descent, in dry weather, parallels a water fall, which does not help. A significant amount of the descent is over log steps attached to the rock (kind of slippery when wet issue) and there are lots of rebar type handles and lastly sloped rock that you just friction on (another slight slippery issue). So there is a price to be paid for inattention or shear clumsiness that there is no need to risk paying. I have built slack into my hike by moving fast and it looks like it is time to use a credit up. Monday through Thur are supposed to be nice so I will make a run for it then.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-20
From: Glencliff at NH25 at AT mile1776.1

To: Glencliff at NH25 at AT mile 1776.1
Miles today: 0.0

zero day at hostel in GlencliffThere are a bunch of hikers stacked up here waiting out the rain which has been heavy at times. None of the north bounders want to challenge the descent of Moosilauke in the rain. Tomorrow will be bad enough as the waterfall will keep it somewhat wet even without the rain. Everyone is hanging out watching videos and reading. Between periods of eating of course. I have been stuffing myself just because there has been the opportunity, not because I am really hungry.   I am really bored as I have never liked days with nothing to do.   Keep moving and you don't get bored or at least not as much. There are definitely parts of the trail that are not particularly interesting.   I hope to get an early start tomorrow, but that is often hard at hostels as they tend to be noisy and it is difficult to sleep.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-21
From: Glencliff at NH25 at AT mile 1776.1

To: Eliza Brook Shelter at AT mile 1793.1
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Total miles today 17.5Trail miles today 17.0Start at GlencliffFinish at Eliza Brook Shelter at AT mile 1793.1Staying in tent   Well! That was a serious day¢s work. I am beat, sore and pretty satisfied. I was feeling strong and charged up after a day off due to the rain. Got started about 7:40 and topped Moosilauke some 3700 feet higher at 10:15. There was no sense hanging around to enjoy it, because my usual luck for places with good views was holding firm, as it was misting rain, visibility was about 50 yards, it was about 50 degrees and a good 25 mph wind was blowing. Kind of nippy for a t-shirt and shorts.   Next came the infamous northbound descent. Reputed to be one of the most difficult sections of the whole trail. This 3000 foot descent was very hard and I ended up doing it when it was wet anyway as the misty rain never stopped like the weather report said it was going to. It was indeed very hard and it took 2 1/2 hours to descend.    Next came a very steep 500 foot climb as part of 1700 foot climb. To my surprise this climb turned out to be harder than the 3700 foot climb earlier. And the descent to the shelter was pretty strenuous as well. The 17 miles was covered in about 9 hours of actual hiking so I made excellent time, but boy do I feel it. Tonight it is not just my feet that hurt, but also my knees ache as well as my elbows. I was using the poles like an extra set of legs a lot today and putting large amounts of weight on them in very nasty places. I guess holding all that weight today got to my elbows.   Well I have to hit the sack as I have to get up early to reach Franconia Notch by noon to get into town for a resupply.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-22
From: Eliza Brook Shelter at AT mile 1793.1

To: Liberty Spring Campsite at AT mile 1804.5
Miles today: 11.4

Total miles today 12.5Trail miles today 11.4Start at Eliza Brook ShelterFinish at Liberty Spring Campsite at AT mile 1804.5staying in tent   Today was another day of serious effort even though the miles do not show it. We had a 1900 foot climb, a 3000 foot descent and a 2300 foot climb. It does not sound like that much but the trail conditions are very tough. Big step ups and downs, very wet and slippery rock, mud pits, exposed tree roots everywhere, etc. Hard terrain to make fast progress on. The south peak of Mt Kinsman had some minor rock scrambling or 2 or 3 move rock climbing. The descent of the north peak of Kinsman was not far behind yesterday's adventure coming down Moosilauke; dangerous in parts. After that we hitched into Lincoln to resupply, hit outfitters and eat. Then hitched back. Had great luck with that so we were done in about 3 1/2 hrs. Then the 2300 foot climb to camp which was the longest steep ascent of the trail so far. My thighs were burning towards the end of that climb. We (42, Dan and Pinata) are going to try for a 16 mile day tomorrow. This is pretty ambitious as there is one 7 mile stretch that will likely take 5-6 hours to cross due to its ruggedness. Had some great views today and perfect weather. More fun tomorrow. WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-23
From: Liberty Spring Campsite at AT mile 1804.5

To: Zeacliff Trail at AT mile 1820.5
Miles today: 16.0

Total miles today 16.1Trail miles today 16.0Start at Liberty Spring CampsiteFinish at Zeacliff Trail at AT mile 1820.5staying in tent   Another bruising day. My thighs were burning on the climbs by mid-morning and my knees aching on the descents by mid-day. 16 miles is a healthy day out here. There was one 7 mile stretch that the AMC tells the section hikers may take 7 hours that 42 and I did in just over 4. But it was serious work and we were happy to see the AMC Hut at 1330. We ran in and got something to eat (the Huts in the Whites are set up for tourists and not for thru hikers $70-80 a night). But they have soup and dessert in the middle of the day for anyone. I had 3 bowls of soup, 2 desserts, and 3 cups of coffee. Yum!   Tomorrow we are going to try and hit the next Hut at about 0830 as the "crew" who run it will often give thru's left over breakfast for a small tip. My fingers are crossed.   It is getting much colder at night up on top of the mountains. We were above tree line a lot today and over the next 3 days will have about 25 miles above tree line. It was in the low 40's last night and, since there are no clouds, it will likely be nippy again tonight. All the trees up at the high elevations are turning colors and losing their leaves. Most of the small plants are starting to lose their leaves as well. It is fall up here.   Someone wrote that to walk the AT it takes 5 million (yes million) steps. I checked their math and they are pretty close as I got about 5.3 million. If that is so then I have already taken about 4.2 million steps. No wonder my feet hurt.   Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-08-24
From: Zeacliff Trail at AT mile 1820.5

To: Mizpah Spring Hut/Nauman Tent site at AT mile 1836
Miles today: 15.5

Total miles today 15.6Trail miles today 15.5Start at Zeacliff TrailFinish at Mizpah Spring Hut/Nauman Tent site at AT mile 1836.0staying in tent   All days in the Whites seem to be hard work. The morning was easy as 42 and I cruised into the Zeacliff Hut for breakfast. Thru hikers who are willing too help clean up the kitchen get to eat the left over breakfast made for the regular hut guests. I had 13 pancakes, 4 cups of coffee, a glass of apple juice and some pineapple.    At noon I got a ride to a nearby snack bar from 42's father who we met at the road. Ended up with 3 hotdogs and a Gatorade. This was my second lunch as I had eaten on the trail.   Then came the big climb out of Crawford Notch. 2800 feet, some of which was minor rock climbing. Several places were such that a careless person could easily kill themselves or do serious harm. Very steep requiring the use of ones hands to climb up and finding footholds.   Not for the faint of heart or the really clumsy. Up and down sections like this occur with regularity.   It amazes me when I see some of the people who are walking around on these trails. They are so unprepared and clueless it is a wonder that the search and rescue people are not busy almost every day.   I seem to be getting my hill legs under me as I cruised the big hill pretty well. Tomorrow I will cross over Mt. Washington the highest place in New England. I will still have a lot of mountains to cross over as the big peaks of the Whites last for another 30 miles, but Washington is the big one.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-25
From: Mizpah Spring Hut/Nauman Tent site at AT mile 1836

To: USFS Osgood Tentsite at AT mile 1850.8
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: fog

Total miles today 14.9Trail miles today 14.8Start at Nauman TentsiteFinish at USFS Osgood Tentsite at AT mile 1850.8staying in tent   The whole day was spent above tree line. I raced north from where I camped and reached Lake of the Clouds Hut in time to scarf breakfast. Ha, ha.    The trail was awesome today. Great views from ridges into the valleys as well as up to the peaks we were climbing. All the way up to about 1000 feet below the top of Mount Washington the trail was not too hard. Then it got increasingly tough, but I was so excited that I did not really notice. We had great weather on top. It was 39 degrees with a 20 mph wind. That is about as good as it gets as Washington has the worst average weather of anyplace in the US.   The trail from Washington to the next hut was pretty challenging, but I managed to do the 5.6 miles in about 3 hours. My plan to come to this camp site was based upon one of the AMC people telling me the big descent (approx 3000 ft) was not too hard. They must have gotten a good laugh after I left. It was a brutal 3 miles. There were 9 thru hikers who crossed that section this afternoon and it hammered all of us. It was probably the hardest rock section of the trail so far; worse than anything in Pennsylvania. For miles coming down from Washington you walk through areas where there is no real trail. You just follow rock cairns across giant fields made up of sharp edged rocks that range in size from a cubic foot to the size of cars. There are lots of steep sections where there is no room for error. To slip or fall would almost certainly result in injury. A little slip got me a stinger on my elbow and it is now swollen.    Tomorrow will have a challenging climb up Wildcat Peak but the rest of the day will hopefully be moderate. My knees are starting to become real painful. I came very close to taking Motrin in the day time today because they ached so bad.Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-08-26
From: USFS Osgood Tentsite at AT mile 1850.8

To: Imp Campsite at AT mile 1868.8
Miles today: 18.0

Total miles today 18.4Trail miles today 18.0Start at Osgood CampsiteFinish at Imp Campsite at AT mile 1868.8staying in tent   Whew! Another long day. I sort of hiked with Cornbread and G-man today. Cornbread and I tented next to each other last night and we got up early and raced into Pinkham Notch to hit the AMC cafeteria for breakfast. I stayed to take a shower and they went on.    There were a few good climbs and descents in the Wildcats and other mountains today, but the trail was overall much easier than the other trails in the Whites. That is until our last descent to the campground. There were some areas that required a little bit of rock climbing to get down. In the rain it would be scary.   Only 9 miles to Gorham tomorrow and then a day off. Not only are my feet killing me, but at the end of the day my knees are aching and today my right hip joint has been hurting on the uphills. I clearly need some rest.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-27
From: Imp Campsite at AT mile 1868.8

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: mist

Total miles today 9.1Trail miles today 7.9Start at Imp CampsiteFinish at Gorham, NHstaying in motel   It is good that it was a short day and easy trail. My thigh muscles feel like they do the day after doing heavy squats in the gym. After laying on the bed in the motel room for a few hours my knees were really stiff. Old age sucks!   Hi to the 4 lady hikers I met on top of Wildcat Mtn. Go for it! If the hubby's don't want to walk the trail just do it yourselves. The guys will just slow you down anyway. LOL. Besides you would have your choice of all those 20some year olds to choose from.   I talked to a hiker who was on top of Washington today and it was in the mid-30's with 35 mph winds, rain and no visibility. Yuck!   I got a message from my buddy Woodstock that I was hiking with off and on back in GA, NC, Tenn, and VA. If you recall he hikes 3 weeks and works 1 week. He is still on the trail and is somewhere near Dalton, Mass. That is amazing. I have hiked full time and he 3/4 and he is only 300 miles behind me. And I averaged 20 miles per day on hiking days from Kincora to NH. Talk about being a machine! That means that in about 90 days of hiking he has covered 1550 miles. Considering he had to get in shape and all that he must be doing lots of 25's. He said he is going full time the rest of the way and will finish without having to flip. Wow. I, however, am slowly fading. The old body needs more food and rest than I can provide. But the hardest part is done, though I have another 100 miles or so of mountains to go. Then WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-28
From: Gorham, NH

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

Zero in GorhamJust lazing around and resupplying. Still have sore thigh muscles and various aches and pains. But will move on tomorrow morning as I don't think that anything short of a couple of weeks rest will address some of my nagging injuries.   A little less than 300 miles to go, about 150 miles of mountains, some easy terrain, and the 100 mile wilderness, which is mostly low elevation boggy terrain I have been told.    I am impatient to get moving.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-29
From: Gorham, NH

To: Carlo Col Shelter & Campsite AT mile 1893.7
Miles today: 17.0

Total miles today 18.3Trail miles today 17.0Start at GorhamFinish at Carlo Col Shelter and Campsite at AT mile 1893.7staying in tent   Today bit big time. It has to rank right up there with the day in Shenandoah during the flood.   I guess New Hampshire was giving me a good send off. The only things that went right today is that at the end of the day I was still capable of moving north and I am now in F'ING MAINE!!!   Instead of the nice sunny day the weather man forecast it was cloudy with a misting type of rain for a few hours and then it was just walking in clouds. Everything was really slippery. The rocks and roots are either half covered with mud or moss.   I only fell down 5 times today. The 1st fall just hurt my ego; the 2nd resulted in my breaking one of my hiking poles right in two (big nasty curse words at this point); the 3rd broke the wooden hiking pole I had made to replace my injured Leki pole; the 4th resulted in a smashed right elbow (to match the left one hurt the other day); the 5th resulted in a scraped shin and a very sore hip.    I guess I am just clumsy in the rain as I am always falling in it. There were some nasty boulder sections to climb thru that to fall there would be catastrophic. Fortunately, I managed not to screw up there. I normally fall when there does not seem to be any risk. A hidden root or rock gets me. Today however there were all these sloping slabs of rock that were where the trail went. They were really slick and my feet just shot out from under me sometimes.   On top of all that I had stomach cramps all day. I ate breakfast at McDonalds so I guess I got what I deserved.   Oh well. Another day of adventure I guess.   Tomorrow I better be coordinated or I will be sorry as I have to go through the Mahoosuc Notch. This section is only 1 mile long but it is intense. For a mile one has to clamber over, around and UNDER house size boulders. In some areas you have to crawl and push your pack ahead of you. It kind of sounds like fun but it will take an hour or two and be very tiring.   I am going to go feel sorry for myself now.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-30
From: Carlo Col Shelter & Campsite AT mile 1893.7

To: Speck Pond Campsite at AT mile 1903.2
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: broken clouds

Total miles today 9.8Trail miles today 9.5Start at Carlo Col shelterFinish at Speck Pond Campsite at AT mile 1903.2Staying in tent   The Mahoosic Notch was indeed a rugged mile of trail. Definitely the hardest in terms of crawling under and over boulders. However, it was kind of fun and challenging at the same time. There turned out not to be any boulders the size of houses. More like the size of a small garage and lots the size of trucks and cars. I counted 5 places where one had to crawl under these big rocks.    The trail on both sides of the notch was also very strenuous. I see why the south bounds that I talked to thought that southern Maine was the hardest part of the trail. I only covered a little over 9 miles today and that took from 7 am till 330 pm. Even counting out lunch and a break or two that is slow progress. I expected the notch to be slow and it took 1 1/2 hours. That still means that the other 8 miles required a good 6 hours. Not very fast. I could have walked another 2 hours before needing to camp, but I was tired and there is never any guarantee that one can find a stealth site, so I stopped early. I should have lots of energy tomorrow.   It seems like the trail has no level sections now. It is steep up or steep down. Almost all of the ups and downs require rock scrambling, some of which is fairly severe. One has to be careful not to slip and this slows everything down.    There are lots of boggy areas that have bog planks down to keep one from sinking. It seems as if the only flat places are bogs. This makes it awkward to find good places to camp away from the shelters. One cannot be certain of finding a campsite just anywhere like we did down in the mountains of the south.   I feel better today than I did yesterday. I hope to get 15 miles in tomorrow so that I can hitch into Andover, but we'll see. I have plenty of food so there is no urgency to get to town.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-08-31
From: Speck Pond Campsite at AT mile 1903.2

To: East B Hill Rd (Andover) at At mile 1918.1
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Total miles today 15.4Trail miles today 14.9Start Speck Pond CampsiteFinish at East B Hill Rd (Andover) at AT mile 1918.1Staying in Pine Ellis Hostel   There was some rugged trail today but not too much. Crossed an interesting mountain that was basically all rock, almost no dirt left at all. And the name was? Baldpate Mtn.   There was this little old lady and her dog trying to make the big climb out of Grafton Notch up to the top. She had made good progress by noon, but I hope she turned back. The climb was pretty hard and going downhill would have bee real tough on her.   When I reached the road to Andover the first car stopped for me. It was this 80 year old guy who was out taking pictures. He was very talkative and nice. He drove me to the PO and then to the Hostel.Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-09-01
From: East B Hill Rd (Andover) at At mile 1918.1

To: Bemis Mtn Leanto at AT mile 1936.9
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: broken clouds

Total miles today 19.4Trail miles today 18.8Start at East B Hill RdFinish at Bemis Mtn Leanto at AT mile 1936.9Staying in tent   For the first time in a long time the trail was relatively easy. There were a few rugged spots, but the rule was good trail rather than the usual bad. I did the first 6 miles in 2:45 and 10 miles by lunch time. So I got ambitious and headed for this shelter. As there is little water in this stretch I had to get here once I started. There were lots of climbs in this section and I was pretty shot by the time I got here at 6 pm. But good miles are hard to come by so I am happy. My feet were good this morning and really sore towards the end. The knees ached some but not much.   The forecast says one more good day before the rains from the tropical storm reach here. But they might be wrong because it has already clouded up. We will see. I seem to attract rain.   From the top of Old Blue Mtn I could still see Mt Washington. It still looks imposing.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-09-02
From: Bemis Mtn Leanto at AT mile 1936.9

To: ME4 the road to Rangeley, ME at AT mile 1954.6
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Total miles today 18.5 Trail miles today 17.7Start at Bemis Mtn lean-toFinish at ME4 the road to Rangeley, ME at AT mile 1954.6 staying in hostel   It was another nice day today. Good miles and an easy trail. Lots of boggy areas. Much worse than Vermont. And it has not rained in a week or so. I can imagine what the bogs will be like if it has rained a lot. It will be like mud wrestling.   I have resupplied and made arrangements with a couple of other hikers to head out early, pending rain issues from the tropical storm.   I just want to keep moving. Miles, miles, miles.Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-09-03
From: ME4 the road to Rangeley, ME at AT mile 1954.6

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to at At mile 1965.3
Miles today: 10.7

Total miles today 10.7Trail miles today 10.7start at ME4Finish at Poplar Ridge Lean-to at AT mile 1965.3staying in shelter (yup, it¢s true. the weather was so bad and I was the first to get here and I just decided to do it.)   Whew! What a day. Sometimes you work hard and you just have to be satisfied with the progress you make. Only just under 11 miles, but they all came hard. 6 1/2 hours of hiking up and over 3 mtns.   We got hit by the remnants of the tropical storm. Going over the top of Saddleback it was truly raining sideways. The winds were about 50 to 60 miles an hour and heavy fog. The roar from the top of the mountain as I climbed was sobering. It was 3 miles of hiking above tree line to come so I was giving serious thought to bailing and walking back down. But I decided to go on up and see what it was like. As long as I could see from one rock cairn to the next I figured that I would be all right. For the first time on the trip I was all decked out in cold weather gear. By the time I reached the top I had my fleece on, my rain jacket, my wool hat and my gloves. And that was while hiking up a 4000 ft Mtn. Normally I am in t-shirt and shorts and sweating. And I was not warm. I kept moving as fast as I could to keep generating heat. Occasional gusts would almost knock me down. I was tired by the time I got to camp. Tough day. But a fun one too.   The shelter is packed. We have 2 more people in it than normal and there are 2 guys setting up in the rain as there was just no room for them. A hard day for all.    WyomingWhich way is North?