morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2022-08-20
From: Stealth camp - A Hill in Vermont

To: Blue Barn, West Hartford
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Shadow and I have a leisurely breakfast and break camp about 7.30am. We have discovered that we can stay for free at the ¢Blue Barn¢ tonight in West Hartford. This gives us just over 12 miles to hike rather than our previously planned 16 odd miles. The hiking is the usual pleasure that has been Vermont, soft going and switchbacks up the bigger mountains. Also, the green tunnel is occasionally broken by pastures full of wild flowers, butterflies and birds. It reminds me of home!I get to the Blue Barn about 3.30. I¢m invited to grab a soda and some water melon from the porch and introduced to Linda Hart, the owner. Linda and her family were greatly impacted by floods during Storm Irene, as their house was under water up to the first floor and their van was swept away by the raging river. She and her family survived by climbing the hill behind their house. They were not insured and have had to slowly rebuild. Despite this, Linda opens her now mostly rebuilt property to hikers, allowing them to sleep in the barn or camp in her garden. She offers a constant flow of food and coffee and muffins from 6am. She¢s also good company and clearly enjoys chatting to the hiking community.  There¢s a jar for cash donations but she rarely mentions its existence.  From my time at her property, she seems a genuinely kind and hospitable person as are the rest of her family. And they are perhaps the best example in my experience to date of the community that serves AT thru hikers. Though the fresh baked bread pudding brought along for us by cousin Kim may be affecting my judgement! There are a lot of hikers passing through whilst I am there and it¢s a social afternoon and evening. I even met a hiker from Brighton, the next city along the coast from my home in the UK.Shadow and I have just 9 miles to hike to Hanover tomorrow.
Date: 2022-08-21
From: Blue Barn, West Hartford

To: Hanover 
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

I leave the Blue Barn at 7.30am. I was ready to leave about 6.45 but sat drinking three cups of coffee, chatting to Linda and Shadow. Today¢s one large 1200ft of ascent is spread over about 4 miles and is fairly easy going, though it is a very hot morning. After the ascent, the trail undulates for a few miles before dropping into Norwich, the last city on the trail in Vermont. Norwich is picture postcard pretty and the well dressed locals seem very friendly to hikers, with almost everyone I pass saying hello as I walk down Elm Street and Main Street. It is now very hot and the road walk over the bridge to Hanover and then up a steep hill into the centre of Hanover is frankly a drag. I¢m glad of my long sleeve sun hoody and lightweight Patagonia trousers though to the locals I bet I don¢t look dressed for summer! My mood improves quickly in town when I met Giggles and Aiden, two young Nobos, who invite me to lunch with friends.  Friends who turn out to include Raccoon Man and Magic Hat, two other thru hikers that I¢ve met before and like.I dash from lunch to meet my shuttle ride at 1pm to tonight¢s hostel which is 4 or 5 miles or so out of town.  I see Shadow (who has been my hiking buddy for about 10 days) in the street and we pick him up on the way. When we arrive at the hostel, Shadow and I rent Ebikes to get in and out of town. After showering and doing laundry we blast into town with minimal pedalling. On the way back, after dinner and a few beers we are enjoying the bikes so much we go a good few extra miles beyond the hostel before heading back for the night. We are having a Zero day tomorrow. No hiking!!  It¢s my first rest day after more than two weeks back on the trail. And I am looking forward to it.
Date: 2022-08-22
From: Hanover 

To: Hanover 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

A highly enjoyable day off from the trail. I had two eggs on toast and coffee for breakfast. Shadow and I ride our rented e-bikes the 5 miles along the Connecticut River into Hanover. Hanover is a pretty preppy town, home to the Ivy League Dartmouth College.  Shadow and I head for the post office to pick up parcels containing our winter sleeping bags as we are about to enter the White Mountains. I post home my summer quilt. I meet Gummy Bear and The Engineer in the street as they hike into town. We go for breakfast and beers together and Shadow joins us. I bike up to the Co-Op and buy provisions for dinner and supplies the next few days on trail. Back at the hostel, I prepare a vegetable pasta with fresh tomato sauce for shadow and myself. And we drink Long Trail Pale Ale.
Date: 2022-08-23
From: Hanover 

To: Trapper John Shelter 
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Shadow and I agreed to leave the hostel at 7am.  As usual, we left more than an hour later than planned. We both love coffee and talking!! We eventually got back on the trail in Hanover at  8.30. I climbed hiked nearly 17 miles today and climbed almost 4000 feet and yet I had a relatively easy day, taking an hour for lunch and arriving in camp at 5pm.New Hampshire started where Vermont left off, with meandering long climbs on mostly leaves and soil, with the odd steeper section to keep me honest. This will only last one more day and then I will be in the rocky White Mountains, with 9 peaks higher than Ben Nevis. I feel great all morning and the break has clearly been good for my energy level.  I¢ve got to a nice point with hiking up mountains in that I am generally get up in one go at a steady pace without blowing too hard.  Though I am soaked in sweat on every uphill as it remains hot and humid all day  The last 1200 foot climb up to The Ledges was a tougher test at the end of the day but It had the benefit of offering fantastic views at several points near the summit. I pitch my tent at Trapper John shelter as the shelter itself is full of noisy Harvard students who have walked up from the road a mile or so away for a night of fun in camp.  I think perhaps this shelter should be renamed as Crapper John as the privy is close to overflowing!
Date: 2022-08-24
From: Trapper John Shelter 

To: Highway 25A
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: clear sky

I woke at 6 and left the camp site at 7.45.  With Shadow around there are no quick getaways. And we were joined in conversation this morning by Jolly Lobster.  Jolly knows his history and we had fin chatting. The first 6 miles up Smarts Mountain (3237ft) to the fire tower were tough. I made the miles and the 2300 feet of elevation in just under 4 hours.  And I was happy with that given the rough terrain and the tough rock scrambling in many sections. I get a wriggle on for the next 4 miles of downhill as I need to make a pick for a hostel tonight and there are 12 plus miles to go. And another big mountain to get up and down. I am a bit reckless down the rocky sections which are wet, surviving the 4 miles in an hour and a quarter. Lightning fast for me. Next it¢s a steep climb up to a ledge with a bit of a view, followed by a long climb up to the Quartzite Ledges, which are scarily slippy but offer a great view at the top. I muster my remaining energy for a last ascent up The Cube (2909ft) which has a bald top and outstanding views. I call the hostel to say I am 1.5 hours from my road pick up point. And quickly eat my lunch and chat to an Irish NOBO called Frost Bite. I make another rapid descent of 3.3 miles to the road, using speedy feet and jumps to navigate the most slippery rocky sections, It¢s a high stakes game but it¢s good to make quick miles.The hostel owner takes me to Walmart to resupply with foods for the next 3 days and then on to the hostel.I reflect positively on the hardest day since I¢ve been back on trial. It was difficult, but I¢ve got my trail legs back and I¢m confident getting up the big climbs and making the miles.
Date: 2022-08-25
From: Highway 25A

To: Jeffers Brook shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: few clouds

It¢s just before 8am, when I am dropped off by Peach from the Barn Hostel at the trailhead on route 25A. I saunter along knowing that I only have 10.8 miles of forgiving terrain to hike today.  This will take me to the foot of Mount Moosilauke, my first 4000ft mountain on the trail.  (Mount Killington in Vermont was up a side spur)After 4 miles, I take a 45 minute break by the first stream of the day. I collect water and sit chatting with Fi on WhatsApp.  Papa Bear joins me and we chat trail and about family back home. I amble along for another 2.9 miles and then take a side ¢blue blaze¢ alternate trail to Wachipauka Pond. Frost Bite (from Ireland) is already there and takes a swim. I laze about eating my lunch and chat to her for an hour.  The final 3 miles for the day take me to the foot of Mount Moosilauke.  I am content that climbing over that 4000ft monster can wait until tomorrow even though it¢s only 2.45pm. I set up camp, book my hostel for tomorrow night and check the weather.  It looks fine until mid afternoon tomorrow when heavy rain is due. I got to bed at 7.30pm and set a very early alarm so I can be off the mountain before the rain. It¢s only 8 miles tomorrow but there are 5 very steep miles up and 3 even steeper miles down so I am expecting to make slow progress.
Date: 2022-08-26
From: Jeffers Brook shelter

To: North Woodstock
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: broken clouds

Not a great day. I get up at 4.30am and am on trail by 5.30am, hiking in the dark using my head torch as the sun is yet to rise.  I¢m up this early as a thunderstorm is predicted for some time after noon and the Moosilauke mountain descent for today has a fearsome reputation. I get about 1.5 miles up the mountain when it starts to rain fairly hard. I¢m not sure if this is a sudden shower or the start of the forecast thunderstorm. I think about my options, as my plan B is to walk back down the same way I am walking up if the heavy rain comes before or when I am at the summit. But heavy rain now so early in the day is hugely disheartening as it means the vertigo inducing descent will be wet and slippery even if I do beat the thunderstorm. With a heavy heart, I turn back choosing not to get caught up the top of the mountain in heavy rain and knowing that I want to avoid a wet descent. As I get back to the shelter the rain stops and I start second guessing my decision.  But after chatting with Fi via text I walk back down to route 25 and get a shuttle to my hostel for the night. I only walked a few miles of my intended 8.4 today but on the bright side I¢m safe and in good shape and ready to go again tomorrow. Having talked to other hikers at the hostel about the difficult of tomorrow¢s hike, I¢ve arranged to slack pack the 13.5 miles over South and North Kinsman to the Lonesome Lake hut. And the weather looks set fair.
Date: 2022-08-27
To: Lonesome Lake Hut
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: scattered clouds

I am slack packing today, carrying just what I need for a day hike in Louis¢ old string school bag.  Tonight I am staying in my first Appalachian Mountain Club Hut.  It¢s a basic bunkhouse with a composting toilet and cold water sinks. But no showers or electric sockets.  What¢s great is that in the main hut they serve a full three  course dinner and breakfast.  Also providing hot drinks and baked products all day. I get dropped off at the Beavers Brook trailhead just before 8am, along with Resupply and Road Rash.  We are all slack packing because today¢s section has a tough reputation. Resupply and I immediately start hiking together up the first steep stack of rocks. And it¢s clear that we both like to chat and have similar pace.  The first 6/7 miles of the day are all about getting to the base of South Kinsman Mountain.We¢re mostly going up and the terrain is tough with plenty of Lego brick tumble rock climbs and slanting boulders to run up, or skirt up by grabbing trees at the side  of the trail.  It¢s foggy and damp but sunshine is due later. Thankfully, most of the rock is grabby on the soles of my shoes and despite feeling precarious at times I don¢t fall despite a few slips. The trail is also muddy in places so after a couple of 10 minute water stops we¢re happy to make the 6 miles up in just over 3 hours.  I would have been at least an hour slower with my full backpack. The climb up South Kinsman is extremely tough, with a lot of big boulder scrambles and some excruciatingly steep steps.  The only positive is that the trail goes pretty straight up and it¢s ONLY 2.5 miles to the summit. We stop and have lunch at 4300 feet in the sun at a small bald (no tree area) with truly fantastic views.  I feel elated and make celebratory poses for a set of summit photos. The summit of South Kinsman Mountain (4358ft) is 0.1 further up the trail but it¢s tree covered so we choose the right lunch spot.A mile further on we reach the peak of North Kinsman , our second 4000 foot mountain of the day and similarly lost in trees. The downhill is painful as always and dangerous at multiple points.Thoughtfully, there are occasional wooden and metal steps bolted into some of the bare rock faces to descend. But getting down is tortuously slow as usual.I arrive at the AMC hut at 3.30pm, have a coffee and write my journal.  Dinner is  at 6 and I am starving! In the morning, I will pick up my backpack that last night¢s hostel (the old ski colony) will drop at the trailhead another 3 miles down the trail. A hard but good day.
Date: 2022-08-28
From: Lonesome Lake Hut

To: Liberty Springs campsite
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: clear sky

Breakfast at the AMC hut is served at 7am. It¢s basic - pancakes, American crisp bacon and over scrambled eggs - but comes in great quantities.  There¢s also as much coffee as I can drink. Shadow made it to the hut just before 8pm last night, after almost 12 hours hiking. It was good to chat and compare horror stories about the trail last night and this morning over breakfast. I head out straight after breakfast to get 3 miles along the trail and a mile along a side trail to pick up my full back pack. Resupply sent me a text with a photo showing me where my pack was hidden. I was glad to find it but not so glad to put it on again. I called and chatted with Louis and spent almost an hour checking the news and social media. I walk  back up the spur  trail and rejoin the AT.  It is only 2.5 miles to the Liberty Springs campsite just shy of the Franconia Ridge. But the last mile is straight up and is a very slow hike. Fortunately no big boulders to navigate so no scrambling but tough enough up and up and up hill for 2400 feet of height gain with a full pack. The campsite is organised by the AMC. It only has wooden tent pads and it takes me some time to pitch my trekking pole tent on one.Not a great pitch but with no bad weather due it will do. Weather is meant to be good again tomorrow so I will attempt a 10.4 mile hike along the ridge and over at least four more 4000ft plus mountain summits to the Galehead Hut.  A short day but a few more miles along the trail.
Date: 2022-08-29
From: Liberty Springs campsite

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Out at 7.30am with Steady Stream.  Shadow is still packing up. He is delayed searching for his lost his cooking pot. It¢s a leg warming 0.3 up to the Franconia Ridge. Initially, there¢s no view but after an hour of clambering up Little Haystacks I am above tree line.  Near summits the fir trees get smaller and smaller. That and the cooler air are the most encouraging signs whenever I am climbing. It¢s foggy up top and there is no view. I have no trouble following the trail which is well maintained and clearly marked with additional cairns.  I meet a ¢summit ranger¢ and she tells me I have crossed  the summit of Mount Lincoln without noticing it. Getting up to Lafayette, the tallest peak of the day at 5600ft takes a bit more graft. There is still no view but the sun is trying to burn off the mist. I get a free fleeting glimpses of row upon row of mountains silhouetted in the far distance. As I start the precipitous descent of Lafayette the views open up and I take a lot of photos.  I can see the Garfield ridge and mountain that I am about to hike.I stop at Garfield pond for water but it¢s too boggy for me to get close enough to collect.  I start up Mount Garfield a steep but not too testing 500ft or so of climbing.  The descent is hideous and includes a hike down a waterfall.  Not next to a waterfall but actually down it!  Hairy stuff and I make tortuously slow progress. There¢s a final 0.6 steep rocky ascent to the hut that I fly up and I am hungry and ready to be off trail for the day.When I arrive and take my pack off, I feel the elation of a good but tough day¢s hiking.  I have taken 8 hours to walk just over 10 miles.
Date: 2022-08-30
From: Galehead Hut

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

I set out at 8.30 after a full breakfast at the Galehead Hut. I have just shy of 7 miles to walk to the next hut at Zealand Falls.  The first 0.8 miles is straight up to the summit of South Twin Mountain at 4900 feet. This is not as bad as it sounds as the hut is at 3800 feet so it¢s a one thousand one hundred foot climb.  I get up in one go, building up a sweat and getting into the swing of the day. The summit offers a spectacular 360 degree panoramic view. I pause to  take some photos and almost go the wrong way off the mountain.  I avoid this by checking my online map just I am about to go down the wrong trail. I descend for a while then climb above the Guyot Spur at 4200 feet where I enjoy a million Christmas tree view.   The next mountain, Zealand at 4260 ft provides no view and I don¢t stop there, preferring a comfy rock seat a half a mile further on for a snack and some water. Lara bars are my current favourite. The last few miles are downhill to the Zealand Falls hut. There are a few sketchy sections but the rocks are mostly dry and I get down safe and sound.I get to the hut at 1pm, after 4.5 hours hiking, with sore knees and ankles from the awkward descents of the past few days.   Even when I push hard my average pace in New Hampshire is closer to 1 to 1.5 mph than the 2 to 2.5 mph I have achieved elsewhere on the trail to date. I consider pressing on as it¢s early in the day but decide to stick to my plan to do shorter days through the White Mountains. I am enjoying  the catered AMC hut experience,  as they feel like a throw back to the youth hostels of 1970¢s Britain.  Built and run to serve hikers, and catering for but not pandering to folks wanting a weekend break in the mountains.  The mix of people in each hut makes them a fun and educating experience.  They also have book libraries which make me happy! Shadow and Willow have ¢work for stay¢ deals at the hut. They are staying for free but must clean up after dinner and breakfast and only eat after all the other hikers are finished. Tonight, three hikers arrive after 7 - dinner is served at 6 - so it¢s after 8pm when shadow and willow finally eat.
Date: 2022-08-31
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Mizpah Springs
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: light rain

I seem to have lost the draft of this journal entry from my notepad so This is another draft from memory a few days later.After another filling AMC hut breakfast, the staff read the daily weather report for the summits and valleys. The threatened storm passed over last night so today is a better day than previously predicted.  I decide to walk 14 miles rather than the seven I had planned last night. I leave the hut about 8 am  From Zealand Hut to route 302 are easy miles.  Five miles of relatively flat trail followed by a kindly descent to the road. I fill up with water from the River Saco and continue.I am ready for a serious climb up the Webster Mointain (3920ft) from the road  and so it proves to be for 2.9 miles of unrelenting rocky suffering. On the way up I take a break at the Webster Cliffs to catch up with home as I find the first cell signal for over 24 hours. To reach the summit, I scramble up an exposed rocky cliff face for 0.4 miles. I pack my trekking poles and manage it without any drama. Though I am careful never to look down!The view from the summit is great but the wind has been picking up and the sky looks ominous. I press on, down a few hundred feet and along a ridge and then up Mount Jackson (4052ft).  The last 0.1 up Jackson again requires some backpack bouldering!From the peak of Jackson the Mizpah Sorings Hut is visible, lonely in a sea of pine trees. I find some more pace and reach the hut at 3.30pm. There is only one other thru hiker here, a SIBO called Tim. I am so smelly I get given an eight person. Ink room all to myself. I manage to charm one of the croo into charging my power bank for an hour. Small pleasures!
Date: 2022-09-01
From: Mizpah Springs

To: AMC Highland Centre 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

This morning¢s weather briefing for the summits was for temperatures in the low 40¢s and high winds with gusts up to 65mph and a wind chill of 25-30F. Sunny weather and lighter winds forecast for tomorrow. I could try to go another 5 miles up the trail to the Lake in the Clouds Hut but there may not be space as people who stayed there last night and heading north are likely to stay put. I decide to go sideways and down 1000ft to the hostel at the Highland Centre. This will add 2.2 miles and 1000ft  of ascent to my day tomorrow but I will get a hot shower, Wi-Fi and power charging for my battery pack, headtorch, earbuds and phone. Unlike the other huts this hostel also has beer and wine!!!Assuming the weather forecast holds, I plan a big effort to hike over Washington to Madison Springs Hut tomorrow.  I expect a long and arduous day. The next day, I¢ll do a shorter hike down to Pinkham Notch and stay at the lodge there to recuperate ahead of the Wildcats, which have a slightly fearsome reputation.
Date: 2022-09-03
From: Madison Springs Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

I have breakfast at the hut with Shadow and Lego. Lego is from Boston and is a great guide to what¢s next on the trial as he has hiked all of the New Hampshire peaks in summer and winter.  I leave about 8am and within a few paces of the hut, I am slowly making my way up Mount Madison (5367ft).  The views from Madison are stunning and today again visibility is 120 miles.  It¢s difficult to comprehend how many other mountains I can see from the summit.  More of a hazy lunar landscape than a countryside view. The 3 miles of descent from Madison to get off the presidential ridge are brutally hard going.  I navigate very slowly through piles of jagged rocks, sometimes fear provokingly steep and always painful on the toes and knees. I take almost 3 hours to descend 3 miles to the Osgood campsite, where I take a break and collect some water. The gradient gradually eases and the 4.8 miles down to Pinkham Notch are unremarkable. Except, another tree branch attacks my head. This time, I am crossing a stream by hopping from rock to rock when I jump into a low hanging branch which stops me dead and plonks both my feet in the water.  As I am wearing a cap, I just carry on and hope it soaks up any blood!! The new bump is next to the one I got yesterday. Arriving at Pinkham Notch is surreal as from the wilderness I am now in a huge car park and visitor centre full of day trippers. I have a room at the lodge. Lego is also staying here tonight. Shadow goes into Gorham for a hostel stay where he can do his laundry.  I wash my socks, shorts and t-shirt in the sink and dry them under the hand dryer!