morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-08-25
From: North Conway rest day 2

To: Mizpah hut
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: fog

I went to the same restaurant for breakfast that I went to yesterday. I then went back to the hotel, packed up and called a shuttle service. I thought about hitching but I didn't want to waste any time trying to get a ride. Rain was forecasted for the afternoon which would make the rock scrambles even more difficult. It was best to get to the trail as quick as possible. I got to the trail head by about 10 in the morning and was off to tackle the challenge of doing rock scrambles one handed. It actually went pretty well even if it was slower than normal. On each scramble, I looked it over then picked the best route up the rocks. Some took a little creativity but I managed to do all of them without too much trouble. By the end of the day, my arm was fairly sore. I had the hiking pole in my left hand but didn't try to hold my self up with it. I just used out to help with balance. I think even that was to much stress for the fractured bone so my plan is to switch to one pole for tomorrow. Webster Cliffs had some great views of the valley from where I started. I could even find the road leading to the parking area where I started. This was the start of the section of the whites known as the presidentals. In a couple of days, I will be climbing Mt Washington, the highest mountain in the whites. My expectations are quite high. The views in this section I'm told will be great. So Webster Cliffs was a great start. It sprinkled off and on for the better part of the day but didn't start raining until after I got to the hut. I arranged to do work for stay at the hut to save the $80 or so they charge to stay there. My tasks were to help with dinner clean up and to give a short talk about being a thru-hiker. The talk was fun to do. The kids that attended asked a lot of very good questions. I got stay in the library for the evening. I still had to pull out the sleeping bag but basically I had my own private room! Because of the work for stay, I can't stay in a bunk and also, meals are eaten after the paying guests are done eating. That was fine. I got plenty to eat and I knew that I'd be able to sleep without the noise of a bunkroom.
Date: 2011-08-27
From: Lake of the Clouds hut

To: Mt Washington
Miles today: 1.5

Last night's sleep was interrupted by the fire alarm going off. It was a really rude awakening because not only was it loud, the strobe light was also located on the dining room where we were sleeping. The staff quickly figured out it was a false alarm and we all went back to sleep once our heart rate dropped back down. I still got up at my usual time and packed before breakfast needed to be served. Like the previous hut, the thru-hikers who did work for stay had to wait to eat. After eating, I had the hut master contact the hut master at the Madison hut to be sure it would be ok for me to stay there even though the storm was coming through. The trails were going to be closed at 6pm by the forest service and the group operating the huts were not allowing anyone to stay except thru-hikers and those who could not get off the mountain in time. I got confirmation and took off down the trail. It was very foggy out so I had to be careful about staying on the trail. The entire trail is above treeline so it is easy to get off of the trail because it's difficult to see what few markings there are. Getting to the top of Mt Washington didn't take long. The trail was full of medium size boulders that made hiking a little slower. The grade wasn't too bad though. Once I got to the top, I started thinking about the whole situation. Even though I had the permission to stay at Madison, it sounded as if the staff didn't want anyone to stay there. The visibility on top of Washington was 50 to 75 feet so there wasn't a view at all. I would be doing work for stay that would probably further irritate my arm. With all those negatives and the only positive being that I would get in about six more miles by continuing on, I decided that getting off the trail for a few days would probably be better. It would cost more money to stay at a hotel but I would be able to rest my arm and when I got back on the trail, I would be able to see the view from the top of the mountain. I went to the building that had the shuttle service and asked about shuttle options. While I was talking to the shuttle representative, a guy behind me told me he was willing to take me into town. The shuttle folks were not happy with that but that's not my concern. They were leaving immediately so I didn't get to look around. I figured that I could do that when I got back. Once we got below the clouds, we were treated to a spectacular view of the valley. The visitor center was visible for the better part of the descent down the road. I really am looking forward to a great view on top of the mountain once I get back on. I found a cheap hotel, got checked in and took a shower. I then did my normal town stuff of laundry and resupply. I then headed into town to eat dinner at a place called Mr Pizza. I spent the evening talking to several local folks telling them about my adventures and just getting to know them. I don't get to interact with people in the towns where I stop often but it's a lot of fun when I can especially when it was like it was tonight.
Date: 2011-08-28
From: Mt Washington

To: Gorham storm wait
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Sometime in the early morning, Irene finally made it to Gorham. I woke to the sound of rain. I wasn't in a rush to get up so I tried to sleep as long as possible. I couldn't do it. I think I have shifted my sleep schedule to coincide with the sun. I go to bed when the sun sets because there's not a lot to do in camp once the sun goes down. I get up when the sun rises because I've both slept enough and the light wakes me. I also was hungry. I got up, took a shower and headed our the door to go get breakfast. It was the first time I got to try out my rain jacket since I bought it back in Hanover. It proved to be much better than the one I started with. For the remainder of the day, I just stayed in the room except to go to lunch and dinner. On the way to dinner, I noticed several people gathered around the bridge near the motel where I was staying. They were marveling at how high the river had gotten. I went back to the room to get the phone so I could get a picture of the river. I was a little worried because it only would take a couple of more feet for it to flood the motel. I made sure all my stuff was off of the floor just in case. I met up with "Poppins" at the Chinese restaurant for dinner. I hadn't seen him since the early part of Virginia. He had gotten ahead of me then took about 10 days off to visit family. We had a nice time consuming mass quantities from the buffet and talking. Toward the end of dinner, the rain stopped for the first time. After dinner, I just headed for the motel room for the evening. There's really not a lot to do in Gorham and most places were closed because of the rain.
Date: 2011-08-29
From: Gorham storm wait

To: Gorham Storm wait 2
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I went to breakfast at a cafe that was in the downtown area. On the way there, I passed by a hotel that looked fairly decent. I went up to the front desk to find out how much it cost to stay there. The nice thing about the hotel is that it's located closer to the trail and good restaurants. It cost more but looked like a nicer place. While eating breakfast, I decided to pack everything up and get a room there for the night. Once I got everything packed and turned in the key, I headed for the other hotel. After waiting for housekeeping to clean a room for me, I finally got a room. I then went to the store to get some snacks and more ibuprofen. When I got back, I finished all of the trail journal entries except for today and uploaded them to the website. A bunch of hikers met up at a restaurant for dinner. On the first night of the hike, I met a guy named Paul. That was the last I saw of him until tonight. He, like the rest of us, had a pretty good beard. Everyone else that was there I hadn't met before. It was a grand evening of eating dinner and telling stories.
Date: 2011-08-31
From: Madison Springs hut

To: Joe Dodge Lodge
Miles today: 7.8

I like staying at the huts but as a thru-hiker doing work for stay or just crashing on the dining room floor, I just don't sleep as well as I could. We couldn't go to sleep until 9:30 because the dining room is used for social activities. We have to be up and packed up by the time breakfast is served which is at 6:30. That means getting up at 5:30 to allow for time to pack up. We didn't eat until after the guests were done. So by the time all was said and done, I was on the trail at 8:15. The trail goes over Mt Madison and is entirely made up of rocks. However the view from the mountain top is great. The town of Gorham can be seen as well as the other mountains in the presidentals. The presidential range, starting at Mt Washington, is a ridge walk at around 5000 feet. This whole ridge can be seen from the top of Madison. It was a very slow hike to the camping area not too far away because I have to take it slow. I thought I would do well at least on the downhill side but the rocks just slow the pace down too much. My goal was to get to Carter Notch hut, 13.5 miles away. The hike over Madison just took too long. I figured that the hike up to the hut from Pinkham Notch would take about 4 hours so if I could get the Pinkham Notch by 2pm, I could get to the hut by dinner time. I knew that was an impossibility when I got to the camping area at the base of Madison. I knew that I would have to alter my plans. The hike from the camping area went a lot faster but not fast enough to make up the lost time. There wasn't much of a view because it was below the treeline. The forest is always nice in its own way but I enjoy the great views here in the Whites. I got to Pinkham Notch at around 3:30, just too late to go to the hut. I looked at my stealth site guide to see if there was a place I could camp before the shelter. The only place was just across the road, about a half a mile down the trail. That didn't seem like it would help so I just stayed at the lodge at Pinkham. I wanted to do the full stay at the hut but that just wasn't going to happen tonight. I decided that I would stay there tomorrow then hike to the shelter before the road crossing so I could be set up to get to town early the next day for resupply. The cost of a room at the lodge is much less than a hotel room with dinner and breakfast included. Given that, it wasn't worth hitching into town to get a room. I got a two person bunk room ask to myself so I knew I wouldn't have any trouble sleeping tonight. Dinner was done like the huts. Everyone sat together and there were serving bowls placed on the table allowed for us to get as much as we wanted. Being the only thru-hiker there, I got as much as I wanted. Our appetites are definitely well known.
Date: 2011-09-03
From: Rattle River Shelter

To: US2, Gorham
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke up to the sound of thunder. How far off I sat and wondered. Doesn't matter how far away! I needed to get up so that I could pack the tent before the rain hit. Since the shelter was there, I just moved everything into it just in case it started before I could get everything into the pack. Sure enough, as I was taking down the tent, it started to sprinkle. After I got everything inside the shelter, the rain began to come down harder. I got the back pack packed up except for breakfast stuff then made breakfast. It was kind of enjoyable to sit in the shelter, eating breakfast while listening to the rain fall through the trees. I noticed that my throat was a little more sore than last night. I began to hope that it was just from congestion but knew that I might have a sinus infection. That would explain my fatigue last night. I felt that a short day and a good night rest would take care of it so there was no need to worry about it. I finished breakfast, packed up and headed out while it was still drizzling a little. The morning rain shower wasn't anything too bad where I was. It sounded as if all of the action was down south. Within a few minutes of starting the hike, it quit together. The hike to the road was an easy couple of miles that I was able to do in no time at all. Once at the road, I stuck out my thumb. In no time at all, I was on my way to town. I love it when there's a lot of hiking enthusiasts driving around. Once in town, I started looking for a hotel. Given it was Labor Day weekend, hotel rooms were hard to find. I wanted to be downtown but ended up having get a room at the north end of town. I did the usual laundry chores and figured out what I needed in resupply. By mid afternoon, I was so tired that I knew that getting to Walmart for resupply just wasn't going to happen today. I got back to the hotel after getting the laundry done and slept until dinnertime. I went to get something to eat then headed back to the hotel to keep resting. I just watched Star Wars movies until bedtime then just called it a night. I was a little frustrated because I just didn't need to get sick after all of the other delays I had sure to injuries.
Date: 2011-09-04
From: US2, Gorham

To: US2 Gorham, rest day 1
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke feeling pretty tired but got up to take care of the resupply. I decided to get a couple of dry sacks at the outfitter in town after I had breakfast. I wasn't real hungry so I just got something at McDonalds then headed toward the outfitter. As I was walking toward the outfitter, my phone started ringing. It was "Guinness"! I hadn't seen her since Damascus, VA. She was being shuttled along with "Hopeful", "Sweet Tea" and "Nate Dog" when they saw me walking toward the downtown area. She asked if I needed to go to Walmart which I certainly needed to do. They had the driver come back and pick me up. This was wonderful because I got to see "Guinness" again and I didn't have to worry about how I was going to get to Walmart. Oh, how the trail provides. I got my resupply as well as a set of dry sacks. The driver dropped me off at the hotel then headed back toward the hostel with the rest of the crew. The plan was to get together later on tonight. When I got back to the room, I realized how tired I was. I hadn't had lunch yet wasn't hungry at all. I knew something was up. I laid down and took a nap. When awoke, I'll just say my GI tract really went haywire. I just stayed put instead of joining the rest of the group.
Date: 2011-09-06
From: US2 Gorham, rest day 2

To: US2 Gorham, rest day 3
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up feeling bad. After yesterday's improvement, I thought I would be hiking today. Decided to see a doctor to make sure it wasn't Giardia. The local doctor was booked so I had to go to the hospital in the neighboring town. Ended up getting a ride from "City Slicker". "Miss Janet", who was with her, recognized me while I was trying to hitch. I couldn't get the results from the test because it was too late in the evening.
Date: 2011-09-08
From: US2 Gorham, rest day 4

To: US2 Gorham, rest day 5
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up feeling very good. I decided to go ahead and hike tomorrow with "Guinness", "Nate Dog", "Hopeful", "Sweet Tea" and "Charity". Since they were at the White Birches campground, I checked out of the motel I had been in since arriving in Gorham and move to the bunkhouse at the White Birches. Was able to eat a normal dinner for the first time in six days. Woohoo!
Date: 2011-09-09
From: US2 Gorham, rest day 5

To: Page Pond Camping
Miles today: 8.0

I left with the group that calls themselves team yard sale. At some point, I'll find out what this means. So far, they have been a lot of fun to hang out with. The group consists of "Nate Dog", "Guinness", "Hopeful", "Sweet Tea" with a section hiker named "Charity" who thru-hiked with "Hopeful" in 2003. We got driven into town to get some breakfast then headed to Walmart for last minute resupply then came back, packed and headed for the trail. "Miss Janet" and "City Slicker" have both been driving us to town and wherever else we've needed to go. They have been a great help to us. We got on the trail later than we wanted to which put our goal of reaching the shelter beyond Page Pond in jeopardy. The hiking was still a little rough going so our pace was slower than expected. "Hopeful" stayed back with "Charity" since she hadn't hiked in a while and could not maintain the same pace as us. The rest of us pretty much stayed together. We were treated to some great views and even were able to stop for a snack at one of them. We finally got to Page Pond just as the sun was beginning to set. The area was simply beautiful with the pond with the mountains surrounding it as if to hide from everyone. We were able to find enough tenting spots for everyone and decided to stay for the evening. After cooking dinner, we laid down and just star gazed.
Date: 2011-09-10
From: Page Pond Camping

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

Got up in plenty of time to enjoy a great sunrise over the mountain. We all got packed up and headed out in groups. "Hopeful" and "Charity" took off first since they were going slower than the rest of us. "Nate Dog", "Guinness", "Sweet Tea" and I left together. Our goal was to go about 13 miles to get setup for the infamous Mahoosuc Notch. We wanted to give ourselves as much time as possible to do the notch because of its difficulty. We hiked along to our first stop at Dream Lake. There was one of the most fantastic views of the Presidentals once could ask for. The view of these mountains had the lake in the foreground with the lake's water being deep blue. After snacking, we headed for the border of Maine. This was an exciting day for us because we would both cross into Maine and hit the 1900 mile mark. The last big summit in New Hampshire was Success Mountain, the name of which, of course, was wide open for a play on words. There were a couple of short hills (called PUDS, pointless ups and downs) before we reached the climb up Success Mountain. The climbing today was slow because of the rock scrambles. My left arm has been getting stronger over the last couple of days. I've been able to push off with it as well as do some very light pulling with it. I still can't depend on it for climbing and general hiking but it is nice to see it continue to heal. We got to the top of the mountain and stopped to have lunch with a view. One of the nice things about going slow is all the opportunities for stopping to enjoy the scenery. We've soaked in majestic views, beautiful alpine forests and other wonderful natural wonders. This is what hiking is all about. I think it's shameful to just speed along and miss all of this. After finishing lunch, it was off to complete a major milestone, crossing into Maine. While it's enjoyable to see all that I've seen, it's also fun to hit milestones. Today, two of them were reached. Crossing into Maine and completing 1900 miles. The 1900 mile mark was just a couple of miles down the trail. We finally reached the sign marking the border with much hooting and hollering. All done with New Hampshire and on to the last state. For me, hiking in New Hampshire was full of difficulties that had to be overcome. The fractured arm literally threatened the hike. It could have forced me off the trail. I also had to nurse a sore knee, get over an illness and deal with a lingering personal issue. Crossing the border represents, to me, putting these behind me and pushing on toward the completion of the thru-hike. After taking lots of pictures and savoring the moment, we all continued to the shelter. As kind of an intro to Maine, we had to climb down the worst rock scramble so far. We worked together passing down packs and "Guinness"s dog, Ally. Once we got to the shelter, we met "Hoops" and "Socks" who were both chilling after a day of hiking. Because we wanted to get going early in the morning to take Mahoosuc notch, we all stayed in the shelter for faster pack up.
Date: 2011-09-11
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Mahoosuc notch camping
Miles today: 5.9

Got up with the goal of getting through Mahoosuc Notch. Because it is so technical with all of the rocks, we needed to be at beginning of it by 2 in the afternoon. Any later would have us hiking through there in the evening. Given that restraint, we got up early, got packed up and headed out quickly. The terrain was fairly rough with lots of rocks and steep climbs that had a ladder at one point. The big climbs got us to the top of the Goose Eye mountain peaks where there were some fantastic views. We spent a little time on top of these, eating our snacks and soaking in the views. The descents were full of rock scrambles that ended up taking longer than we thought it would. Because of this, we didn't get to Mahoosuc notch early enough to go through it before evening. "Guinness", "Nate Dog", "Sweet Tea" and I got to a camping area just before the notch. "Hopeful" and "Charity" were still on their way. We looked around to make sure we had water then decided that we would stay there for the evening. "Nate Dog" found another area behind the area that was just off the trail that was grassy and big enough for all us so we set up there and waited for "Hopeful" and "Charity" to arrive. They got there a couple of hours later, looking a little tired but happy to stop for the night. I think everyone was a little disappointed that we didn't get through the notch but realized that that's what happens. "Charity" who was section hiking with us felt bad because she thought she was slowing us down. The group, however genuinely enjoyed having her there and was not worried about her pace. We all talked about these things while eating dinner. One of the aspects I really like about this group is their willingness to be transparent like this. It's wonderful to be with people like this. Of course, there was the usual kidding around that we normally do. That's the other aspect of this group that makes them fun to be around. I expect that it it's going to great hiking with them to the end.
Date: 2011-09-14
From: Andover ME

To: Sawyer Notch
Miles today: 7.4

The town vortex was once again at work keeping us from getting back on the trail early like we wanted to. While it's good to enjoy the hike, we do need to get going to get to Katahdin by the 1st of October. The later in October we arrive, the greater our chances of having bad weather on top of Katahdin. Once we got organized and got a ride arranged back to the trail head, we were on our way. It was around noon when we started so doing a lot of miles was just not possible, especially with a climb for most of the day. It wasn't steep but it still takes more time than normal. The days hike was one of those that didn't offer a lot of views of mountains and valleys. It was just lots of forests with the occasional pond. Given that, thoughts of what it would be like to finish filled my head. There's certainly a lot of emotion associated with that. I have worked hard to get to this point. I've endured tough circumstances. The accumulated fatigue that comes from hiking so long was ever present and slowly taking its toll mentally. All of this made me realize how significant it was to complete a thru-hike. I also thought about what I was going to do with all of the pictures that I've taken. For the first time, I put together a general scheme for putting the pictures and video clips to music in order to make a video of my trip. We arrived at the camping area, set up, had dinner and day around the fire and talked.