morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-08-28
From: Franconia Notch Bike Path

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Thanks God!! Today was freaking perfect ... awesome ... incredible. Weather? Absolutely perfect. Clear skies ... total sunshine. Cool enough so you didn't sweat while hiking .... warm enough to not need a layer during breaks. Very little wind.I'm a blessed man. To hike 1800 miles and get this day to hike over Franconia Ridge .... wow!! Ladies and gentlemen, there is no way to describe the day I had today on the Appalachian Trail. Most of the day was spent above treeline with simply incredible views and scenery.I was up and on the A.T. at 8 am. First part of the day was to climb 3000' in 3 miles. Long climb! The objective was to get up to Liberty Mountain, the first peak of the Franconia Ridge. Then over to Little Haystack Mountain, taking me above treeline ..... then Mount Lincoln, Mount Lafayette (5249')(highest on ridge), and then the North Peak of Mt Lafayette .... 4 miles of ridgeline above treeline.I took the entire day to cross the ridgeline, taking photos, and breaks, at each peak. Lots of hikers out today .... lots of fun.Before the day was done, there was one more hill to climb ... Mt Garfield. First there was a pretty tough hike down off of the North Peak of Mt Lafayette before hiking up Garfield .... took me much longer than expected. Oh yeah, another break on top of Garfield. Good break looking back on the Franconia Ridge and reflecting on today's hike. Very cool! Got to the Garfield Ridge Shelter and set up my stuff in the shelter. The caretaker said they were calling for rain this evening, and rain and strong winds tomorrow .... effects of a storm off the New England Coast. I had dinner on a bench they had placed on a huge rock with a nice view .... perfect cap to a perfect day!! Way awesome day on the A.T.. Busy place tonight. 10 students from Tufts University camping here tonight. There are 4 southbound thru-hikers, 4 northbound thru-hikers, and a couple of day hikers.Not sure what I'll do tomorrow. I'm not keen on hiking down Garfield in the rain. Might end up staying here. Don't know if I have the discipline to stay put though. If it's light weather in the morning, I can hike 3 miles down the mountain to Galehead Hut and re-evaluate there. Hey, maybe the storm will miss us!
Date: 2009-08-29
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Well, the weather rolled in as expected last night, around midnight. The caretaker came by this morning and said it is supposed to be windy and rainy all day, and into this evening. There are winds being reported right now on the summits at sustained gusts of 55 mph and bursts higher.So it doesn't take me long to know that I'm not moving today. My first zero day ON the A.T.! I don't see me gaining much by moving on. I'm already down to moving at 1.5 mph, so only going to be slower, and more dangerous footing, in the rain and wind. And the Trail has been tricky enough in good weather.The weather is supposed to move out tonight with mostly cloudy, mostly sunny, and sunny 3 days after tonight. Hmmmmm ..... yeah .... I'll wait for that! I'm warm and dry right now .... why change that? I'm ahead of schedule, so that is not an issue at this point.So here I sit (3 pm), riding the storm out .... one of my favorite tunes by REO Speedwagon. It has been a relaxing day watching the weather outside.Thanks to my niece, Jessica, I am toasty warm! I am in my 15 degree sleeping bag from the waist down. I have my parka on and my winter hat on. The temperature is about 45 degrees and the wind is howling. Wow! Going to get cold tonight! I spent the day talking with the caretaker, Matt; reading the entire shelter register; and going through all my gear, doing a gear check. By the way, this is the highest shelter in the White Mountains.
Date: 2009-08-30
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite

To: Ethan Pond Campsite
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: fog

Another incredible day on the Appalachian Trail. Up and on the Trail by 8 am.Right off the bat, I am hiking down a waterfall, just a small spring, but waterfall nonetheless. Pretty cool. I mean the A.T. is going right down the stream.I stop at Galehead Hut and talk to some southbounders. And down a liter of water. All the huts have drinking water which is very convenient. I will stop in each one and fill up. I got to Galehead Hut too early in the morning to get soup and any baked goods.The climb up South Twin Mountain looks a lot worse than it was. There are a lot of nicely placed rocks for steps making it a relatively easy climb for the White Mountains. No nasty bouldering. The views on top were simply awesome. I could look back over all the mountains I had been on recently. Cool. It is alwasy cool to me to be able to see where I am going, and also where I have been.Next? Over to Mt Guyot. With some more good views and neat hiking above treeline.Then over to Zealand Mountain. No views on it. Wooded summit.Then a huge down to Zealand Falls Hut. There is a cool cascading river right by the Hut .... very scenic place. They did have some baked goods .... like half cake - half brownie .... delicious .... had to have seconds!! Took a long break there and got some water.I ran into another group from Tufts University. I guess Tufts has 20 groups of 10 students each out here in NH and Maine.The last part of the hike was from Zealand Falls Hut to Ethan Pond Campsite. Holy Cow. Flat as can be .... no rocks .... I was flying ..... it felt so good to be able to just walk again without having to watch each and every step. That section felt great on the legs and feet.Ethan Pond is a gorgeous site. Check photos. Took my dinner down to the lake and hung out until after sunset .... yep, the sun sets right over the pond. Beautiful.The weather today was perfect. Mostly sunny skies, temps in the 70s (valleys), 50's (summits), light breeze. Perfect.Just a really nice, scenic hike on the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2009-08-31
From: Etahn Pond Campsite

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

What an amazing day on the Appalachian trail. Full day today. From the beginning days of planning, I planned on splurging once during the trip and staying at Lakes of the Clouds. Todays was it. Lakes of the Clouds Hut is the largest and most popular Hut since it sits right at the base of Mount Washington, the highest peak in New England.I know it's gonna be a tough hike today since the last 11 miles were going to be all uphill!! OK. Off I go. The 1st 3 miles are a snap. Nice trail .... downhill.Then .... game on! Up to Mt Webster via Webster Cliffs. 2 x holy cow .... harder climb than expected .... and I expected a hard climb. Way more awesome views than expetced also. And we walked along the cliffs and ridge for a couple of miles! Awesome! Tough.By the way, I'm now in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. So I hike over Webster Mountain and Mt Jackson on the way to Mizpah Spring Hut. Presidential .... Webster ... ?? I stop at Mizpah Spring Hut for late lunch .... 2 bowls of turkey soup, and 2 pieces of coffee cake.The hike to this point has been incredible .... like I said several times on this trip ... 12-years-old again. I did take another fall today .... face first! .... but I was actually able to catch myself in a "push-up" keeping my face from planting into the ground ... no kidding ... Lucky Joe is my witness. No Damage!!The hike from Mizpah Spring Hut to Lakes of the Clouds Hut was nothing short of spectacular. It was all above treeline with simply amazing views and trails. Oh yeah, all sunshine. We did have some 30 mph winds during the last couple of hours. Wow!I used a bunch of different layering options throughout the day today. I also hiked in my winter hat and windstoper gloves .... those things are the bomb. It wasn't cold out, but the winter hat has a windstopper lining which protects my dome and ears from wind chill.Today will be up there as one of my favorite hiking days over the entire trip. Tough hiking day but over an incredible area.Awesome, awesome day on the A.T.! Looking forward to the hike tomorrow! Up Mount Washington early in the morning. It is going to be freezing .... literally. Just hoping for a clear view. The summit is covered in clouds 55% of the time. Forecast is for clear skies .... keeping the fingers crossed.Gonna sleep good tonight!
Date: 2009-09-01
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Osgood Tent Site
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I have to start off by thanking God for such an incredible day. At breakfast, the Hut caretaker said it was the best day, weather-wise, they had had all summer long. On Mount Washington .... clear sunny sky .... not a cloud within 100 miles! And check this out, calm winds!The climb up from the Hut was a quick 1.4 miles. Star Trek and I took a bunch of photos on the summit. We went in and grabbed a soda and some snacks, and went out to the picnic table to watch the Cog Railroad Train come up the mountain. The ranger told us that very rarely do people actually get to sit outside and enjoy the views and weather .... usually socked in a cloud, too cold, or way too windy. Thanks God for our day today! We spent a couple of hours hanging out up there. There is actually a Post Office up on the mountain, so I sent a couple of postcards to my niece's 5th Grade class.Then we continued our hike to finish off the Presidential Range. Yesterday, we did Jackson, Pierce, Eisenhower and Franklin. Today we did Washington, Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. A wicked roller coaster of mountains all day long.We stopped at Madison Hut prior to Mt Madison for some soup and brownies .... that's right .... two of each! Thanks Sara (the cook), who was hating being inside on such an incredible day. Couldn't blame her.OK. So up Mt Madison. The day has been spectacular .... great weather and great hiking. Holy cow! After Mt Madison was the downhill from hell! 3000' drop in 2.5 miles. Ouch, ouch, and ouch. Nothing but steep down and rocks.The Osgood Tent Site was right at the bottom and I was DONE!! My feet and knees were done for the day. This was the toughest hiking day I have had in the White Mountains. Long down hill at the end of the day ..... killer.Got the tent set up, dinner done, and ready for bed!I'm the luckiest dude on Earth to have had the day I had on Mount Washington and thru the Presidentials!! Wow!
Date: 2009-09-02
From: Osgood Tent Site

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: few clouds

Today was a lot of fun, and a relaxing day of hiking. Up and out early ... around 7:30.The first part of the hike was relatively flat from Osgood Tent Site to the Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center. I got to the Visitor's Center to find Star Trek and Castanata + Vaca (his dog) already there. Castanata was waiting for a mail drop that hadn't arrived yet.I had a turkey sandwich and a hot dog for breakfast + a diet coke of course. I hung out there a while really just procrastinating the climb up Wildcat Mountain .... right across the road (NH 16) from the Visitor's Center. What's cool is that I've been seeing this ski resort for the past couple of days wondering which one it was .... now I get to climb it .... too cool! It was a tough, steep climb ..... 2000' in less than 2 miles .... and a lot of bouldering and "rock climbing". It was a tough workout!So at the top, I needed a long break. So I talked Star Trek into wasting $15 on a Gondola Ride to the snack bar at the bottom of the mountain .... "ice cream" was the magic word .... he was in! It was a nice relaxing break/ride. A couple of ice cream sandwiches and a couple of Powerades later and I was ready to hike.The rest of the afternoon was spent climbing Wilcat Peak D, Peak C, Peak B and Peak A. (Peak E was the initial climb) Not too bad .... up and down 300' - 500'. Right before Peak A, there was a viewpoint where I could see Carter Dome, which will be my first climb tomorrow morning. I could also see Carter Notch Hut way down in the valley below .... my destination for tonight .... pretty cool view.The descent into Carter Notch was not near as bad as it looked from the view point. Lots of good steps and good footing, so it ended up being a medium-tough descent. Nothing close to yesterday afternoon off of Madison Mountain.Plan on getting to bed early tonight ond on the trail early tomorrow .... long hike into Gorham.Oh yeah.... perfect weather again today .... 70's in the valley, 50's on the summits, sunny-cloudless skies, light wind. Perfect.Fun, relaxing, perfect, awesome day hiking on the Appalachian Trail.I really can not believe how blessed I've been to have had the weather I have had through the White Mountains. Simply amazing!
Date: 2009-09-03
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: US 2 (Gorham, NH)
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

I'm getting scared! We continue to get really lucky. Last night we showed up at Carter Notch Hut .... and they only have 4 guests. Star Trek, Lunch Box, Firecracker + Big Fish (a couple), and I had a bunk room all to ourselves. I mean we each had our own entire room! The bunkhouses had just been replaced and were new .... and very nice!Knew I was going to have a long hike today, so was up and on the trail at 7 am.The 1st mile+ was straight up a cliff to Carter Dome. Good climb to start off the day. I was playing a game of "catch the sun". The sun was coming up over the backside of the mountain, so it was like I was climbing to see the sun.Once on top of Carter Dome, it was a series of ups and downs over Mt Hight, South Carter Mountain, Middle Carter Mountain, North Carter Mountain, Mt Moriah, and, finally, Middle Moriah Mountain.There were a couple of steep, rocky sections, but not too bad. And when it was bad, it wasn't for very long. It was another perfect day for hiking .... clear sunny sky, cool temps up top, light wind, if any.After Middle Moriah, there was a steep descent down to low ground. Then a nice smooth, flat trail for a couple of miles to US 2, the road leading into Gorham, NH. Star Trek, Lunch Box and I leap-frogged all day long, but hiked out to the road together to hitch into town. A girl in a pickup truck picked us up not more than 2 minutes after we reached the highway, and took us into town. The 3 of us are sharing a hotel room and will zero in Gorham tomorrow!It's a good feeling and a sad feeling to be leaving the Whites. That ends our tour of the White Mountains! I'll be sorry to see them go ....simply freakin incredible. My favorite segment of trail so far .... Smokeys moves to #2!Got a text message and picture from Miss Scarlett and Newt on Mt Katahdin. They summited on 2 Sept. Congrats to them .... great job!Today, I went under 300 miles to go. I will be in Maine on Sunday (3 days from now).Ok. Time to sit and relax. Zero day tomorrow. My knees are glad!! Great day on the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2009-09-04
From: US 2 (Gorham, NH)

To: US 2 (Gorham, NH)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Nothing much to write about today. Normal zero day activity. Got up and had breakfast with Lunch Box. Got my mail drop at the Post Office. Right now I'm typing away on the computer at the community center. Hopefully I'll be able to upload the photos. Later I'll go shopping for supplies.I was hoping to do a recap of the White Mountains and write a little about the Huts, but I might not have time today.
Date: 2009-09-05
From: US 2 (Gorham, NH)

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

Hiker Monday!! Got rolling slowly this morning. Too comfy. Star Trek, Lunch Box, and I went to breakfast at Crabby Jack's .... All you can eat breakfast for $5.95. Are you kidding me? And they had chocolate chip cookies out! Hey, why not?Got a taxi back to the trail head and on the Trail at 8:30. Really uneventful day of hiking today. Climbed a couple of mountains .... Mt Hayes and Cascade Mountain .... passed a couple of ponds .... Page Pond, Dream Lake, Moss Pond, and I'm staying the night at Gentian Pond. OK, it was a fabulous day of hiking! It was a scenic hike through a mix of pines and deciduous forests. It was nice to actually walk on dirt today vs all rock. Most of the White Mountain hiking was rock. Climbs and descents today were tame!Another beautiful day on the A.T.! Clear sky, sunny, but cool .... good temp for hiking.I'm always a little sluggish coming out of town .... especially after a zero day .... heavy pack .... you know the drill by now! Have a really short hike planned for tomorrow to set myself up to do Mahoosuc Notch first thing in the morning on the next day.Mahoosuc Notch is known to be the "toughest mile" on the A.T.. We'll see in a couple of days.Got new socks in Gorham! These should get me to Katahdin. I also ordered a new pair of shoes. Vasque stopped making the kind I have been wearing, the Velocity. So I'm going with the Velocity VST, or something like that. It's the follow-on model. I hope my feet like them.I've been in these shoes since 25 July, when I came back to the Trail after my July break. I know it doesn't seem that long .... 40 days and 500 miles. But remember, my shoes were wet every day for the first 30 days straight. That has to be tough on shoes .... hiking a lot of miles in them soaked. So I think they held up pretty good. The rocks of the White Mountains chewed them up a bit too!!
Date: 2009-09-06
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

Great, interesting day on the A.T.! I had planned on a short day just so I could stop tonight right before the Mahoosuc Notch so I could do the notch fresh, and take my time.Well .... it turns out that the 10 miles of today were enough, for many reasons. First, there were many "rock climbs" today .... both up and down. There were also a bunch of rock slabs today. A rock slab is just a huge rock that the trail goes over (up or down). The rock can be flat with no footholds. Footing can be tough. I am so thankful for a dry, sunny day to do this section. It would be extremely tough to do in wet weather.Another reason it took so long to do the 10 miles today was the weather and the scenery. The weather was perfect .... sunny and no wind. I did need to add a layer during breaks though.The scenery today was awesome! The mountain tops today all had great views .... cool enough .... but the coolest thing was that the mountain tops had rocks, but the surrounding terrain was covered with vegetation .... so not all rocky and lifeless.The Trail had everything today .... bog boards, a lot of them; rock climbs; rock slabs; rock steps; wooden ladder steps (several); rebar steps; through mostly pine forests with open mountain peaks.Busy place here at the Full Goose Shelter tonight .... 6 thru-hikers (Star Trek, Lunch Box, Big Fish, Firecracker, Moe, and I), and 3 day hikers. Lunch Box built a great fire which was nice since the nights are getting cool now. Good .... better sleeping weather. Tough to get out of the sleeping bag in the morning though!Beautiful hike today. I entered Maine today! Woo-hoo. State #14, the last! I also went over 1900 miles today. Everyone's talking about how short the time left is; aprroximately 3 weeks. Crazy to think about the end.I'm still trying to focus on each day's hike and what it has to offer.Tomorrow should be an exciting day; Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm; two features always described as tough.Great day on the A.T.! Thanks God, in advance, for great weather for going through the notch!
Date: 2009-09-07
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Baldpate Lean-To
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Awesome day on the A.T.!! Weather was perfect .... clear skies, sunny, 70's in the valleys, 50's on the peaks, light wind if any.First order of business .... Mahoosuc Notch .... called the "toughest mile" on the A.T. We all agreed that this is the wrong term for it, but didn't know what that term should be. It sure is a very slow mile. It took Star Trek and I 1 hour and 40 minutes of hiking time to do that mile. We did take a lot of photos! We did take a 15 minute break about halfway through .... not included in the time mentioned above. It was a slow mile, but a very fun mile!Mahoosuc Notch is simply a very narrow valley (less than 100 feet across) between two cliffs that have deposited huge boulders in the valley for many, many years. So now hikers get to boulder through the valley going around, over, and under huge boulders. Just plain fun!I had to take my pack off twice to follow the A.T. under (think tunnel) a couple of boulders. It is possible to "cheat" and go over the boulders, but I was game to tunnel! I also took what looked like a nasty fall to Star Trek. But I managed to spin around and "turtle", land on my back. No harm done! I'll admit .... this fall was kinda scary! By the way ... we put away the hiking poles for the notch .... they're no use thru there.We took a break at the half-way point for a candy bar. While sitting there, a hummingbird came right next to us, within 3 feet, trying to get nectar out of my red bandana that was hanging from my pack. Very cool. Closest I have ever been to one. Nope, no pictures. We didn't want to move a muscle and scare it away.After the notch was a climb up Mahoosuc Arm (a mountain). It was a tough climb .... lots of "just rock"! Very nice views at the top though.Then a climb down to Speck Pond (3400'), the highest body of water in Maine.Climb up to Old Speck Mountain was nice. It has an observation deck on top offering incredible views of where we had been, and where we are going! I met a nice couple up there, Dana and Julie, who have hiked all over up here. They have aspirations of a thru-hike. I hope they get the chance some day. Nice people.Finished the day at Baldpate Lean-To. Quiet tonight. Only Star Trek, Lunch Box and I here tonight.Tough, but very fun day on the A.T.!
Date: 2009-09-08
From: Baldpate Lean-To

To: Hall Mtn Lean-To
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Very nice day on the Appalachian Trail. Sunny, good temps, light wind .... perfect!The morning, playing on Baldpate, was awesome. It is literally one big massive rock! Very cool. I really liked this area. Very cool couple of miles. Areas larger than several football fields of solid rock.First break spot after Baldpate was at the West Branch of Ellis River. Cool stream that flowed into a pool, then fell a hundred feet over the edge into a gorge. Nice spot.Next break spot was Surplus Pond. Another nice spot!Most of the hiking trail after Baldpate Mtn was good footing and easy grades. Woo-hoo. An afternoon of easy 2-mph hiking does a body good! It was nice to be able to walk and stride out for a long stretch!!Beautiful day on the Appalachian Trail!OK. I don't think I mentioned this previously, but I changed my plan from the original between Gorham and Stratton. My original plan had me hiking that whole stretch without a resupply, or break .... about 8 days. Well, that would have been too tough .... too much weight for the terrain out of Gorham .... Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm.So, in Gorham, I took half of my mail drop and packed it in my backpack. I sent the other half ahead to Andover, ME. Andover is about halfway between Gorhan and Stratton.My pack weighed probably about 40 lbs out of Gorham. It would have weighed about 50 lbs with the whole mail drop. No way!! So splitting this section into 2 parts only made sense.I'll take a "nero-day" (near zero) tomorrow in Andover. I'll hike 4 miles into Andover tomorrow morning and get showered, do laundry, and pick up the re-supply mail drop.