morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-07-23
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.6

At about 10:00 PM last night I woke up to a headlamp shining on my tent. I yelled at Poboy to turn off his podcast and go to bed. Poboy yelled back that he was asleep and that wasn't his light. The next thing I heard was a familiar voice say my name. Jeopardy had been night hiking and by sheer luck had found us when I said Poboy's name. He was excited we had stopped early and had a story and pictures of a foot massage at Bill Ackerley's house. Hilarious.The night of sleep was tough because there was a Summer camp at the bottom of the hill and a bunch of staff partied in the woods until 2:00 AM. Yellow Bird was camped closer to where they were and had some funny stories this morning. I was up and out a little before 8:00.The terrain this morning wasn't too bad and when we hit Mt. Mist I was able to get a call out to the Wife. She had to listen to Poboy, Jeopardy, and me negotiate where we were going to resupply. We decided to go to the Hiker Welcome Hostel a couple miles away to head into Warren, NH. It was going to be a short day. I'm sure Mrs. Rock Boat wasn't too happy about that.Well, when we got to the hostel they said the resupply in town was only good enough to get us a couple of days over to Lincoln. We were hoping to do one or the other, not both. I told the other two that I wasn't staying the night and they agreed. I did have a couple pizzas, sodas, and ice cream before heading out.The trail out of the hostel led us straight up Mt. Moosilauke, 3700 feet higher. It would also be our introduction to the White Mountains. It was a little less than a two hour climb but I enjoyed it. Once it hit the ridge and headed to the summit I was almost running. My first trip above treeline didn't disappoint. If this is how the next week is going to be I'm all for it.Poboy and Jeopardy showed up a few minutes later and we stayed there taking pictures and soaking in views until we were frozen. We ran back to the trees and finished the couple of miles to the shelter. It's on the side of the mountain so tent space is almost nonexistent. That means I'm playing with the shelter mice tonight. We've seen a couple so far but hopefully they only wanted our food, which is hung up now.Tomorrow we have to go into Lincoln. Everyone needs food and Jeopardy is getting his second pair of shoes in a week. We'll have to finish the toughest descent on the trail first. I'm thinking the next stop after this will be Gorham, on the other side of the Whites. Crazy. It's a short walk into Maine from there.
Date: 2015-07-24
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.0

The shelter was freezing last night. Jeopardy, Cookie Monster, and I spent the morning making sure each other hadn't gotten up yet. Around 7:30 Poboy had left his tent and came over to check on us. It took a lot of convincing to leave a warm sleeping bag. I headed down the hill at 8:00.The descent down Moosilauke was steep, but not as bad as I'd been told. Definitely the toughest so far on the trail. We crossed the road at Kinsman Notch and immediately heard someone yell "trail magic". We turned around and hit the parking lot for doughnuts, sodas, and sandwiches.We had been debating going to Lincoln from Kinsman or Franconia Notch and had decided to go further to Franconia. The lady, Stiches, doing trail magic told us that Kinsman was a really tough stretch but we didn't listen. As we left the notch it started raining. Great.The climbs weren't bad but the trail was wet rock climbing punctuated by giant pits of mud. When I calculated how fast we were going it wasn't good news. Oh, and I apologize about the Vermud comments. Vermont has nothing on the New Hampshire mud.We got to the first shelter and had to make a choice. It was 3:30 and 8.8 miles to Franconia Notch. On normal terrain it wouldn't have been an issue. With a climb up Kinsman Mountain in the way it sounded like it would be dark before we arrived. The next option was to get closer and hike in tomorrow. There are two places to stop in between. Both are run by the AMC and both cost money.We decided to stay put and do the 8.8 tomorrow. Either way we still need to clean up from all this rain and resupply. The SOBOs say we'll get used to the AMC rules of the Whites. Paying to camp is a new thing for us and we always try to avoid it. I still hate this feeling of being trapped and unable to go as far as I want. It's like the Smokies. Oh well. We'll be through it before we know it.It has to stop raining here, right? It's rained everyday since we got to New Hampshire and is slowing us way down. Weather issues in the upcoming terrain will become a lot more serious. Right now it's just a nuisance.
Date: 2015-07-25
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 8.8

I'm still happy to have my cold weather gear. It's been chilly since it rained after leaving Hanover. Time woke up this morning and surprised us all when he said it was 7:00 AM. The shelter was in a sharp valley and we didn't get much of the early light to let us know it was morning. I ate my last Clif Bar and Pop Tart and headed up Kinsman Mountain at 7:30.I really enjoyed the climb up to the South peak. But, let's be honest, it wasn't a hike, it was a climb. I've come to realize that what the White Mountains claim as really tough hiking is mostly not hiking. It's fun and different but the hard parts are rock climbing or bouldering. Throwing my hiking poles to the top of a sheer rock face then climbing up using hand and footholds is not actually hiking. It also takes a lot more time to do but I really do have fun with it.The miles are still slow, but we're trying to adjust. It took about an hour and a half to climb 2.5 miles to the top. We're 2 for 2 on summits though. We could see down into Lincoln, back to Moosilauke, over to the Presidentials, and across to Franconia Ridge. As we headed over to the North summit and down to Franconia Notch the clouds came back.We stopped at Lonesome Lake Hut, the first of many huts we'll hit in the Whites. They had leftover pancakes that were all you could eat for a dollar. We took them up on it then finished the trip to the road. Oh, and Lonesome Lake itself was beautiful.We crossed under I-93 and walked over to the trailhead to catch a ride into Lincoln, NH. After striking out (for the first time ever) trying to hitch we settled on the shuttle with Jedi and Trudge. The lady dropped us off at the grocery store but I decided to go to McDonald's instead. Two cheeseburgers, three double cheeseburgers, fries, soda, and a milkshake later I was feeling much better.We found a hotel, grabbed showers, and I went to fixing the issues with my shoes. Afterwards Jeopardy and I ran to the outfitter and I found a 2 liter Sawyer bag. Mine finally broke in Vermont and the 1 liter was too small for the water I needed at night.We've since washed clothes, had dinner and resupplied. I have no idea if I have enough food. But there's really never enough. The Price Chopper was somewhat of a disappointment.Tomorrow we're heading up Franconia Ridge. I've wanted to make that climb as long as I can remember. There's a two mile exposed ridge walk at the top. It should be incredible. The only variable? The weather. It's supposed to be terrible tomorrow. But, they keep saying it will be nice and it keeps raining. Maybe the opposite will happen again tomorrow. And yes, it rained on us again today.
Date: 2015-07-26
From: Lincoln, NH

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 0.0

So we got up this morning, looked out the window, saw rain, but not mountains. The three of us debated for a good hour about the pros and cons of heading out today. Out of the entire AT this was the one place I wanted a good day. Poboy finally called it and we kept the room for another night. The immediate concern was obviously food. We walked over to a place called Flapjacks for breakfast. Judging by the line outside we knew it was going to be good. I'm not sure what was in the pancakes but they were the best I've ever had. I was also told that the syrup came from a tree ten miles away. Delicious.We came back to the hotel to hit the pool and hot tub and upon returning to the room Poboy challenged us to putt-putt. According to him I was in for a beating. After walking down the street and playing 18 I headed back with a triumphant smirk on my face. I need to find a more respectable skill. I do love putt-putt though. It still feels really good to feel like a normal person once in a while instead of a dirty, transient hiker.After a trip to the brewery for nachos and the pizza place for a few slices I headed back to the room to catch up with the Wife. I've since gotten my things together for tomorrow and taken another shower. Two in two days has to be a record.Tomorrow I'm looking to get out early and head up the hill. It looks like the weather will be better and I'm more than ready to be back on the trail. And don't look now but Poboy actually enjoyed the climb up Kinsman. I think he's ready to get back in the mountains too. This is such a cool area to be in. Hopefully we find the time to soak it all in. I can't wait to climb up that ridge tomorrow.
Date: 2015-07-27
From: Lincoln, NH

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 13.0

I had to get firm with the other two this morning to start packing. It took us a while to get ahold of the shuttle company but we were back to the trailhead at 8:30. After a mile side trail we hit the AT a little before 9:00.The hike up to Franconia Ridge was a lot like Moosilauke. It was steep and rocky but fast. There wasn't any rock climbing until the very top. Above treeline the clouds were in and out. We sat atop Little Haystack Mountain for a few minutes waiting to see if it would clear. I'm happy to say I got the views I wanted.We stopped on the summit of Mt. Lafayette to have lunch then the clouds moved back in. On the extremely steep descent we started to hear thunder. I was happy to be back in the trees. The trails in this area pre-date the AT and are almost vertical in places. That's the part that slows everything down. A few of the descents today were at least 70 degree drops and covered in slick, wet rocks. A fall and you're probably getting hauled off the mountain. I stopped on the descent of Mt. Garfield to get water from a cascade and when I resumed hiking I found that the trail took a sharp left then headed down the actual cascade. It took a minute for me to believe that was even the trail.At 6:30 we finished our day to the Galehead Hut and lucked out with a work-for-stay. They're giving us a dry place to stay, dinner, and breakfast in exchange for a little work. Not bad. The only downside is that we'll get a late start tomorrow. The thirteen miles today seem so low but involved so much work. Again, lowered expectations.Tomorrow we're looking in the Webster Cliffs area at around 15 miles. We have a good climb straight out of the hut but the rest doesn't look as bad as today. It's amazing here though. I can't believe the view I'm seeing while I type this.
Date: 2015-07-28
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 14.4

We stayed up and talked to a lot of the folks staying at the hut last night. They had a ton of great questions. I have a ton of respect for people that take vacations to come up here and hike. It's not easy.Sometime during the night a bad thunderstorm came over and dumped rain. We were all woken up by the lightning. I've never been so happy to make a few bunks up in order to stay dry. In the morning we had a great breakfast, did our chores and were headed up South Twin Mountain by 9:00 AM.South Twin was straight up and I met a few people from the hut as I headed to the top. The view was awesome and I could actually see the cog train going up Mt. Washington. It was my first really great view of the mountain.Afterwards, we walked the 7 miles to Zealand Falls Hut and cooked lunch. I'm proud to say that I burnt the bottom of my food in the Jetboil for the first time this trip. Luckily one of the croo at the hut let me clean it out with some steel wool. I was trying to flavor tortellini with taco seasoning for the first time and didn't have enough water in the pot. Lesson learned. I'll probably go back to Italian dressing for it when I get my next resupply.The trail after the hut was actually fast and somewhat flat. Poboy, Jeopardy, and I played 20 questions for about three miles. By then I was pretty tired so I just hiked with headphones in and asked all the SOBOs I passed to relay insults back to Jeopardy.We've since found a campsite right near some railroad tracks in Crawford Notch. Tomorrow we'll wake up and climb all day from 1436' to 5106'. We should summit Mt. Washington early Thursday. It will be a shorter day tomorrow as we all want to spend the night at Lakes of the Clouds Hut. The largest and most famous one in the system. I'm hoping to be in Gorham by the weekend and Maine right after that. The White Mountains are amazing. It's been as tough as advertised but completely worth it.
Date: 2015-07-29
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

We were all so tired that nobody said a word after 8:00 PM. I fell asleep immediately and didn't wake up until it started raining at 3:30. I fell back asleep and finally got up at 6:30. This terrain is making me have to eat and sleep a lot.By 7:30 I was headed to the road and up Mt. Webster. I got to Webster Cliffs around 8:30 and was able to call the Wife and dry my tent out. I realized pretty quick that drying my tent out on a cliff wasn't the best idea. I was able to get it dry though.The climb up Webster from the cliffs was tough. More rock climbing over wet rocks. The views off to Crawford Notch were pretty great and available the entire top part of the mountain.We flew down the mountain and over to Mizpah Hut to cook lunch. At the huts we can get water that doesn't need to be filtered. It makes an ideal stop. I tried tortellini in taco sauce again and I'm happy to say I got the kinks worked out. No burnt pot today.The trail after the hut ascended up Mt. Pierce and above treeline. The walk all afternoon was an unbelievable stretch of hiking. As I moved forward I watched Mt. Washington go in and out of the clouds. We summited Mt Franklin but skirted Eisenhower and Monroe. By 3:30, Lake of the Clouds Hut came into view and Poboy secured work-for-stay for the three of us.The next available stop was Madison Spring Hut seven miles away. An 1100 foot climb up Mt Washington and a six mile rock hop are between here and there. By the time we would have gotten there we probably wouldn't have a place to sleep. That's the problem with hiking through here. I would have loved to go on but we can't camp above treeline and it's above treeline for a while.Tomorrow we'll go up Washington, over to Madison and down to Pinkham Notch. There are people from Galehead Hut that are staying here tonight. It's good to see some familiar faces. These folks hiking the Whites on vacation are awesome. They all make us feel like rock stars when we think they're champs for spending their time off doing something so challenging. It's been a fun trip through here. We'll be out this Saturday.
Date: 2015-07-30
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 14.8

Today was a rare day. In the span of twelve hours I hit the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. There was a time when I told Poboy I wanted to leave the trail right now and an hour later I was talking about what I was going to do after Katahdin with a SOBO.So, last night the hut croo was crazy loud until who knows what hour. None of us could sleep. The bathroom required the hut guests to come through the dining room (where we sleep) from their bunkrooms. All night people were coming through. The men's bathroom door slammed all night and the women's squeaked. I'm not sure how much sleep I got but it wasn't much.I got up at 5:45 and was climbing Washington by 6:30. The climb was great and I was the first person there at 7:30. If you've ever seen the summit of Mount Washington you've probably seen tons of tourists waiting to take their picture at the top. Being there alone was surreal. We charged phones until 9:00 then headed towards Madison Hut. The views all the way to the hut were unbelievable. Unfortunately most of my time was spent rock hopping for six miles. A few hours and a two bad falls later I was at the hut. Almost out of my mind due to the rocks.The AT from the hut joined up with the Osgood Trail then headed straight up Mt Madison. The climb was fine but the descent was brutal. In 2.5 miles we dropped 2800 feet. It was more rock hopping down insanely steep, exposed trail. It didn't help that we were racing a thunderstorm.Eventually I got back to the trees only to find the trail had gotten steeper and the rocks were all wet. I fell three times on the way down and one was pretty bad. When I hit the bottom I saw Poboy and said a few choice words about the trail today. By then both of my ankles were mildly sprained and my knee had been tweaked a little. I was frustrated.Poboy still wanted to get to Pinkham Notch and I did too so we headed out. On the way down the bottom fell out of the sky. I rolled into the visitor center soaking wet. When I got here I found that Poboy had somehow gotten me into dinner. Day instantly better. It was family style like the huts and everyone at the table scrambled to get food on the plate of a tired, wet thru hiker. I ate like I've never eaten before. Poboy had to remind me to slow down.During the hike down I also met a SOBO from Chapel Hill. I might have figured out how to get home from Katahdin. We'll see.Tomorrow we hit the Wildcats. It's going to be another butt kicker. It's our last full day in the Whites though. Hopefully my legs heal up overnight.
Date: 2015-08-04
From: Bald Pate Lean-to

To: Sawyer Brook Campsite
Miles today: 15.5

Only Union Jill and I were in the shelter last night. I'm assuming a lot of folks went to the hostel from the notch to avoid the storm. Two people in an eight person shelter on a rainy night is unheard of. I think we both got a pretty good night's sleep.I awoke a few times until finally sitting up around 6:45. I knew the climb up Bald Pate was first thing and I didn't want to face it quite yet. I finally left at 7:30 and headed up the mountain, at peace with the fact that I was going to get my teeth kicked in again today.The climb really wasn't too bad until the second peak. Remember the rain and the rocky dome? Yea, they don't mix very well. There were actual streams of water coming off the dome as I climbed up. The only thing worse? The climb down. It seemed more like a suicide mission. I took my time, only fell once and made it 3.5 miles to the shelter by 10:30. Yup. 3 hours to hike 3.5 miles. I did spend about thirty minutes on top so we'll say 2.5 hours. Still insanely slow.I made my way the four miles just past Dunn Notch to make lunch. The stream there was awesome and I only fell in it twice. Then spilt half my lunch into it. Not my best effort.I was actually excited for the next 4.5 miles though. A steady climb but only 1600 feet. I was ready to finally get a pace going in this state. About a mile in the sun went away, then the wind kicked up, then, you guessed it, thunder. I knew that there was a big chance for rain between noon and 5:00 PM. It was already 2:00 so I considered myself lucky it had held off.Where I'm from we have thunderstorms but they dont last long. Since the New Hampshire border these storms seem to take hours to pass. Last night, for instance, it poured for over three hours with thunder and lightning the whole time. I assumed when the thunder got close that my day was shot. I pulled my tent out and threw it up in record time. The storm came, lasted 15 minutes, and out came the sun. Great. So I packed up my wet tent and continued walking.I ended up at where I originally planned. During the day I had thoughts of pushing farther, up and over Moody Mountain. The hour lost to the rain wrecked that. This is a great place to camp but I have a 1400 foot climb in .8 of a mile first thing in the morning. Then a 2200 foot climb up Old Blue right after that. Should be a fun morning. I've resigned myself to daily butt kickings for the foreseeable future. I spoke to Mrs. Rock Boat from the top of Bald Pate this morning and she asked how many miles I'd been. When I told her 1.7 her response was, "And you've climbed TWO mountains?". Welcome to Maine.
Date: 2015-08-05
From: Sawyer Brook Campsite

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: broken clouds

So I've had a lot of time to myself these past few days and I've found a way you can hike Maine along with me. I present the do-it-yourself Maine Hiking Simulator.So first, get a bowl of muddy water and put your shoes and socks directly in it. Leave them there no less than three days. We're not simulating hiking straight out of town here. Next, get a ladder and cover the rungs completely with plywood. There shouldn't be any part of the actual ladder visible. Put the ladder up next to the steepest part of your roof but leave a four foot gap between the top of the ladder and the roof itself. Now, put a hose on the roof and run water down it and down the ladder. Feel free to put some dirt in there to get it good and muddy. Leave the hose running the entire time for that river effect.To simulate, put those wet shoes on, climb up the ladder, touch your chimney then climb down. This needs to be done in rain or a thunderstorm. If you have neither just put a sprinkler on your roof. How are you supposed to get up and down that four feet between the ladder and the roof, you ask? That part isn't my problem. Repeat the up and down for a minimum of ten hours per day.I spent far too long in my tent this morning contemplating the three mountains I had to climb over the next ten miles. I finally gulped down a Pop Tart and headed out at 7:30, the usual time these days.I crossed the creek and headed up Moody Mountain. It was straight up and took about 40 minutes to cover the .8 of a mile. I descended down to the road, had some trail mix and started up Old Blue.Blue was not my boy. It was long and steep in places and I was even greeted with rain as I got to the top. The hike down was a mud filled river with wet rocks thrown in for amusement.So, I thought my luck would have to change for Bemis Mountain. I saw the sun while I was going up and passed a spring. I thought, what a perfect place for lunch. I dug out everything and right as I started to eat it started raining again. I packed everything up and ate my tortilla while precariously walking wet boulders.About a mile from the summit I met a guy named Niner. Niner is a section hiker and local Mainer. We walked together to the top of Bemis and onto the shelter about a mile and a half away. He knew a lot about plants and animals in Maine and we spent a good part of our hike eating wild blueberries. When we got to the shelter there were two other guys from Maine as well. We hung out for an hour swapping stories and sipping from their flask. It made my bummer of a day a lot better.I finished the 3.5 miles down to Bemis Stream by 6:00, set up camp, and had dinner. And who showed up during dinner? None other than the long, lost Jeopardy. I had been leaving messages in the shelter logs for him and we were finally able to hook back up.Tomorrow we'll go into Rangely for resupply. We're both beat up pretty bad and need a town stay. After that it's off to Stratton. I'm ready for the terrain and weather to ease up. This is nuts.