morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-25
From: Big Branch Shelter

To: Claringdon Shelter 
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: clear sky

Last night we all slept really well with the creek right in front of the shelter and we were all up and on the trail by 7:30am. Today we have a few bigger climbs but none of them are too steep so we should make good time today. First thing the trail went slowly up a ridge then back down the other side to a small lake and I took a short break there. Big Sky and Sugar decided to keep going and I had to play catch-up for a few miles when I decided to move on from the lake.I passed Jersey and Hill Hiker on the next uphill and then I caught up to Big Sky and Sugar at the next shelter. We took a break there to eat a snack and while we were there Jersey, Hill Hiker and One Speed passed by and said they were taking a break not far up the trail at a water fall. We continued on after we snacked for a while and we caught up with the rest of the gang at the water fall after hiking half a mile. It was a really cool spot with a great place in front of the falls to sit in the sun. I decided to stay at the falls as well and once again Big Sky and Sugar continued on.I ended up taking a short nap there then continued on and caught up to the girls half way up Bear Mountain. Once we got to the top we started right back down the other side down to the next shelter. While we were there Jersey, Hill Hiker and One Speed showed up and all but One Speed were going to stay there. There was a road at the bottom of the mountain and we were planning on walking half a mile down the road to a pizza place for supper. There was also another waterfall at the bottom and I went out ahead so I could sit by it for a while until they caught up. Big Sky and Sugar showed up and they picked up Mouse Trap along the way and he decided to go with us to the pizza place. We got to the pizza place which was called The Whistle Stop and it turned out to be a very small mom and pop place but the food was very good. Once we had our fill we headed back to the trail and finished out the last mile before we got to our shelter for the night. There was a very steep and rocky climb before we got to the shelter and we were going quite slowly because we were all so full. We finally made it to the shelter and found that One Speed beat us there and there were also three sobos there. The shelter looked very old and it smelled like mice nests so most of us decided to tent out in the nice green grass out in front of the shelter. We decided to have a fire tonight because it was getting a little cold and we all sat around the fire until about 9:30pm then we all hit the sack. During the fire the clouds rolled in and it started to look like rain so I think it may rain tonight; it is also to be rainy for the next few day but I hope it all stays to the south of us but we will have to wait and see tomorrow...night all.
Date: 2012-07-29
From: The Inn At The Long Trail

To: West Hartford VT
Miles today: 14.6

This morning we were dropped off at the same place we were yesterday at around 9:35 am and headed north. We had a nice warm up downhill but then we had a big climb up and over a mountain. We took a short break before we started up the mountain then headed up; soon it started to drizzle so we stopped half way up and put on our pack covers then continued on up and over the mountain. On the way down the mountain it rained for about half an hour then it let up but it was still enough to get us and everything else wet. By the time we got down to the bottom of the mountain we were starting to dry out but then we had a bunch of different fields to go through and all the grass and head high weeds were soaking wet and we got completely soaked from head to toe, it was like going through a car wash. After going through the "hiker wash" the trail went back into the woods and from there was a lot of little ups and downs almost like the roller coaster back in Va. After going up and down four short but steep climbs we got to the shelter and took a break there. While we were there Just John caught up to us and the five of us continued on together and right as we were leaving there were two close rumbles of thunder but it sounded like it was to the north of us and there was blue sky above us so we guessed we were fine.We left the shelter at around 2:15pm. The country store in town closed at 5:00pm so Just John and I went out ahead of everyone else to get there before five so we can ask where we were to set up our tents for the night. The trail went through town and I got to the store at around 4:00pm and it turned out that the store did not close till 8:30pm so we were fine after all. I got a cold soda and a snack then went outside to the gazebo and waited for everyone else to show up. Once we were all there we were told to go further up the road to a house with a sign out front that said Hanover Sign Company and then set up our tents in the back yard. When we got there the owners of the house and sign shop were outside doing yard work and they showed us where to set up our tents. We went up to the far corner of their yard next to a little steam and set up our tents there. Once we were all set up we headed back down to the country store to eat supper. In the store there was a little restaurant and I got a burger, onion rings, a slice of buffalo chicken pizza and a soda. Once we all had our fill we headed back to our tents then called it a night. Tomorrow we have a short day into Hanover NH but we still need to get an early start because once again there is a chance of rain in the morning so it¢s time for bed...night all.
Date: 2012-07-31
From: Hanover NH

To: Hanover NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

This morning we were up and on our way to the airport at 8:30am. We got the car for Sugar to drive home to Ohio then we drove around to the different outfitters to get Big Sky some warmer gear for the Whites (White Mountains) and I had to get new boots. Once we were done we headed to the hotel that Hill Hiker had been staying at and we said our good byes then headed into the hotel to rest for the rest of the day. I headed over to the outfitters across the street and got my mail drop that had my warmer gear then headed back to the hotel and played around with all my gear trying to find the best way to pack it all in my pack. Later on Just John came to our room and we compared all our plans for the next few days and it looked like we all had the same general idea so we decided to keep hiking together for the next few days. Tomorrow morning we are going to try and get back on the trail by 8:00am so it¢s time for bed...night all.
Date: 2012-08-01
From: Hanover NH

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we were up at around 6:30am then headed to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. After we ate we headed back to the room to get packed up and then headed back to the trail which continued through the rest of town. Before we even made it out of town, it started to drizzle so we put our pack covers on and headed into the woods. For the first four miles the trail slowly went up hill to the top of Moose Mountain then there was a shelter on top so we took a break there then continued on. The trail went down the other side of the mountain and it went down a lot steeper than the side we went up. We got down to the bottom then it went right back up another 1200 foot mountain and it was a killer! The sun decided to come out and it got hot and muggy. We got to the top then once again headed down the other side. The shelter was half way down the mountain and we got there at around 5:00pm and about thirty minutes later Hill Hiker arrived. We decided to tent because some hikers were writing in the register that the bugs and mice were bad. We set up our tents, ate supper and then it started to thunder to the south west of us so we decided to head into the tents early and it is not raining yet but it is on its way, hope we all stay dry...night all.
Date: 2012-08-03
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Jeffers Brook Shelter
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: broken clouds

This morning we were up and on the trail by 7:45pm. Right off the bat we had our biggest climb of the day up to the top of Qube Mountain. It was a slow and gradual climb up so it was not too bad but near the top the trail got rocky and it slowed us down a little bit. We all got top and we took a break before going down the other side. Going down was not as bad as going up but it was still rocky and there were a lot of roots. We made it down to a stream and we filled up our water bottles because the next water source was six miles away.From the stream the trail went slowly up almost 1000 feet and when we got to the top we took a break at a campsite for lunch. We stayed there for about an hour then we started down the other side. About half way down we crossed under four hundred miles to go, the miles are really flying by now it seems! Once we got down to the bottom, there was another road crossing but we did not see where the trail went back into the woods in the other side and we did not see any blazes either. After about five minutes, we found where the trail went into the woods but it came to a creek with a four foot drop off¢¦apparently the bridge washed out.We could see the trail straight across the creek so we knew it had crossed there so we went up stream until we found a suitable crossing point and made it to the other side. We then went back down stream to where we last saw the trail then continued on. Once we got to the other side, we were officially on the Whites...I think...from there the trail starts up Mt. Moosilauke which is the first mountain in the White Mountain Range. We were at 1056 feet at the creek and it goes up to 4802 in 6.5 miles. Luckily the shelter we are staying at is only 300 feet up from the creek. We passed a small stream right before the shelter and we got our water there before we got the shelter a tenth of a mile further. It started to get dark and it looked like it was going to rain but all it did was thunder a few times, but we were told by a day hiker that stopped by the shelter that it is to be rainy all day tomorrow. I hope not because the 3500 foot climb up and back down another 3000 feet are going to be very slippery and potentially dangerous so we will have to see how bad it gets and if it is passable or not. Well now its time for bed, I need the rest for tomorrows big climb...night all
Date: 2012-08-07
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: Garfield Pond
Miles today: 9.8

This morning we got a ride back to the trail once again from the owner of the motel and was heading north by 7:30am. The trail went up over 2000 feet right off the bat and it was very steep the whole way up so we were going very slow. We made it up to the top of the steep first climb then the trail leveled off before going up another 400 feet to the top of Little Haystack Mountain.   At the peak we were slightly above tree line and we could see Mt. Lincoln. From the top of Little Haystack the next two miles of the trail is above tree line and it is a clear and beautiful day so the views will be great. The trail next went up to the top of Mt. Lincoln and there were a lot of day hikers and tourists all over the mountain top. All three of us took a break on the rocky top and ate lunch there. After a half hour break we started up Mt. Lafayette. The trail followed the rocky ridge line up to the peak but it did not just go up all the way, the trail would go up 400 feet or so then down 200 feet, up 400 again then down 200 again. It did this four times going up and it was very rocky so it really slowed us down and tired us out. We finally made it up to the top of Mt. Lafayette and once again it was covered with day hikers. We found an empty boulder and claimed it as ours and took a break. The top of the mountain is at 5,260 feet above sea level and I can really tell that there is less oxygen up here because while I was climbing up the last climb I was out of breath and when I would take a big breath it felt like I was trying to breath under water, but that went away once we stopped at the top. After taking a half hour break we started down the other side of the mountain and on the way down we ran into a south bounder and he told us about a few good stealth camp sites we would be passing soon. We were planning on going to the next shelter but we will see how we feel when we get closer. The trail continued down above tree line but we soon started back down into the pine forest. The trail went down steep and it took a long while but we finally got down to the bench between Mt. Lafayette and Mt. Garfield. From there we started up Mt. Garfield. The shelter was on the other side of the mountain. We went up about 600 feet and got to Garfield pond and decided to just stay there a while before the shelter at one of the stealth sites we were told about. I poked around in the woods and soon found a great flat spot that could fit all our tents and it was right beside the pond. We got all set up and started to eat supper then two more section hikers showed up and decided to stay by the pond as well. We got to the pond at around 4:30pm and we were in our sleeping bags by around 6:30pm because the bugs were bad so we just called it a very early night. Tomorrow we are going to try and get to the next hut and do work for stay but now it¢s time for bed...night all.
Date: 2012-08-09
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Craford Notch
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: fog

Last night all night long we were woken up from the guests walking around to and from the bathroom and it seemed like they all stomped around and slammed the doors every time so none of us got much sleep. When 5:45am rolled around we were all up and happy to be out of there before all the guests got up. I think this was our earliest start time yet at 6:30am. From the hut the trail went downhill about 100 feet then went by a pond. The trail then took a right and followed an old railroad bed for three or so miles which was very nice for a change. Once we got off of the railroad bed the trail went slowly up hill to the next shelter. When we got there we just took a break at the trail head for about half an hour then continued on. We went about a mile then started down to Craford Notch which was about 1700 feet down the mountain. The trail did not go down steep till about the last 500 feet before we got to the bottom. We passed a few SOBOs and they said that there was trail magic at the bottom so that fuelled us on. When we got down to the bottom we found that Golden Thumb, Rock Dancer and Stitches were doing trail magic there for about a week now. They had cold drinks, snacks and tons of information about the Presidential Range. We needed to hitch down the road to a general store to resupply for the next four days and Stitches offered to drive us into a bigger town about 10 miles away, she said that it had a bigger grocery store there. We left our packs there and soon we were at the grocery store. We bought what we needed and then ate lunch at Dairy Queen and headed back to the trail. Thanks all you guys you really helped us out and the snacks hit the spot. By the time we got back to the trail and packed our food away it was too late to hike up to the first hut so we decided to stay at a nice stealth site right along the river at the base of Mt. Webster. We were told that there are high chances for thunderstorms and rain for tonight and the next three days which is just what we need, thunderstorm while we are above tree line for four days. We got set up by the river, ate lunch and made plans for the next four days. We decided that if it was rainy and stormy we would just go to the first hut, 6.4 miles, because past it the trail goes above tree line for four miles to the next hut and that is not a good place to be in a thunderstorm. Right now it is 8:50pm and I can hear thunder off in the distance. I hope it misses us and we have good weather for tomorrow...night all
Date: 2012-08-10
From: Craford Notch

To: Nauman Tentsite
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: fog

Last night it rained and thunder stormed all night long but we stayed dry. When we woke up it was not raining so we thought we would make a break for it and started to pack up. Hill Hiker got packed up before us and he started up the 2700 foot climb up to Mt. Webster. We started up the climb about 15 minutes after Hill and it started to rain and then thunder. Before long it was just pouring and we were in the middle of a storm. Big Sky and I decided to stop on the side of the mountain and let the storm pass. By then we were both completely soaked and we were getting cold so we continued on after ten minutes. Soon the rain started to let up and the storm passed by. The trail turned into a swampy muddy mess and it was very slippery so we were going very slowly. Soon we made it up to Webster cliffs and we had some really good views of the valley below. We continued on and soon got to the top of Mt. Webster. The trail went down slightly then started up 200 feet to the top of Mt. Jackson. On the way up we finally caught up to Hill except he was going down the mountain. He stopped in his tracks and just stared at us in disbelief, he thought he was going north but somehow got turned around and was heading back down the mountain. Deciding that he was going the wrong way he started back up the way he just came down. On the way up a rock scramble he recognized one of the white blazes so we knew then that we were all heading north. Once we got to the top of the mountain he realized where he got turned around and we all went the right way together. We got within a mile of the next hut and it started to pour again, we were just starting to dry out too. We got to the Mizpah Spring Hut and quick ran inside to get out of the rain. We asked about work for stay but they said that it was too early in the day and they said the sun would come out soon. We decided to wait out the rain but three other thru hikers decided to continue on to the next hut. They were planning on doing work for stay so we knew that if we were to go on, there would not be any room for us to do work for stay. There was a tent site right behind the hut and we decided to pay $8.00 person to stay there on the wooden platforms. We decided to just set up the tents and go back to the hut to keep warm and try and dry out. While we were in the hut another thunderstorm rolled in and it poured again. We were glad that we decided to stay and not go above the tree line. I hope the hikers who decided to keep going made it there ok. We stayed at the hut until it was supper time for the guests, we went down to the tents and found that they were still standing but the rain blew into the tents so it was wet inside. I dried my tent out as much as I could then headed in for the night. It was still early so we just sat in our tents and talked till it got late. It started to rain again and is still raining now, I hope we stay dry but I think we will get wet from the rain splashing up off of the wooden platforms but I guess we will see...night all!
Date: 2012-08-12
To: Goram, NH
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: light rain

This morning we were up and ready to go by 7:00am and there were no clouds up on the summit of Mt. Washington. We left the shelter and of course it started to sprinkle but it did not last for long. The whole mountain was nothing but a pile of loose rocks and the trail went right up it. The further up we went the windier it got and it was blowing us sideways because our packs were like sails, we got blown off trail a few times but we finally made it to the top in one piece. We made it to the top before all the tourists got there so there was no line for the Mt. Washington sign. We all took turns taking pictures then headed inside the visitor center to get out of the cold wind.We walked around the visitor center, ate some snacks then waited till the cog railroad train made it to the top with the first load of tourists. For you that don¢t know, there is a road that people can drive up and a train that goes up very steeply to the top all day long and the tourists spill out everywhere. Once all the tourists were unloaded the train headed back down the mountain. That was our time to leave. We continued on down off of Mt. Washington and towards the other mountain peaks. Going down the other side we were shielded from the wind so we took our rain coats off because we were getting hot. The trail stayed above tree line for the next few miles and went up and down Mt. Adams. We got to the Madison Spring Hut and took a break there and we filled up our water bottles then continued on up Mt. Madison. It was a rough climb up and we soon were at the top and by then it was starting to clear up a bit and the sun was poking through the clouds here and there. From the top of the mountain the trail started down into Pickham Notch, it was a very steep and rocky 3000 foot downhill off the bat but the further down we went the easier it got. We made it down off of the steep part of the mountain and started making good time on the easier part. We knew we were getting close to Pickham Notch because we were running into a bunch of day hikers and some of them were in flip flops so we knew they did not come far. We made it down to the Pickham Notch Visitor center and tourists were everywhere, we knew then that it should be an easy hitch into town. We took a break on the porch of the store and bought some drinks and snacks before we started hitching into town. We decided it would be best to stand on the other side of the main road across from the parking lot exit. We were there for about 15 minutes before a girl that pulled out of the parking lot stopped and picked us up and took us into town. She dropped us off at the motel we wanted and we got a room...thanks for the ride into town. We did all the usual town chores then called it a night at around 10:00pm, tomorrow we start the Wildcat Mountain Range which will be our last two days in the Whites...night all.