morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-08-06
From: Motel in Great Barrington, MA

To: Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Decided to take it easy today and putz around town. I mailed some food ahead, hit the library computer, and got Thai for lunch.It looked like rain all day, but held off until an hour or so before I got here. Nothing like rain out of town right after laundry. I got a hitch immediately from a nice woman considering opening up a hostel. She asked how to get the word out so I told her about AWOL¢s book and the Companion. Short hike, but some steep sections. Luckily I hit the worst of the rock before the rain. There¢s a bunch in the shelter including the girl ridge runner from the other day and Catfish, who I haven¢t seen since Shenandoah. I got away to the tent area and found Steady setting up. While I was setting up, Torch rolled in. He¢s staying in the shelter. I figured my schedule for the next week or so. I¢m going to do a couple easy days into and at Upper Goose Pond. I¢m meeting Tom and Jen in Bennington, VT next weekend, and Erica just over the NH border about 10 days after that. That¢ll be it for visits until the end.
Date: 2011-08-07
From: Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Shaker Campsite
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Short one today. That was part of the plan, but I wanted to get here early. Instead, I left camp at 11:30. I still got here with plenty of light, so it doesn¢t really matter. It¢s so humid right now and no end in sight. I planned on an early 10 miles tomorrow to Upper Goose Pond and then spending the afternoon and night there. But if the weather keeps up like this I might just stop in and then do some more miles. Tuesday¢s going to be 18 miles otherwise, which I¢d rather not do if Goose won¢t be nice. Not much happened today. Some old folks grilled me during my first break, but they were super nice. Torch, Furbag, and a section-hiking couple from Georgia are here. He gave me a cookie he made on the fire, which was really good. If I push past Goose tomorrow, Torch and I might split a room in Lee. Oh, this is the second night in a row at the same spot as 2003 [ed. note: he definitely means 2005]. I remembered this one on the way in. Ed. note P.S. The record for a supported thru-hike was just broken, and the NY Times did a nice profile of the woman who did it while she was still just attempting.
Date: 2011-08-08
From: Shaker Campsite

To: Lee, MA
Miles today: 12.0

Today was Upper Goose Pond. I stayed here in 2005, and it¢s always been one of my favorite spots. Fortunately it¢s exactly as I remembered. We sat on the porch and had lunch then went down to the water. The weather was beautiful, so I couldn¢t resist getting in the water. There were no inner tubes this time, so I just swam. As I was getting out, Forest came down and got in. He swam out to the island and back, which is an impressive distance. We pushed on to town and got a ride from a really nice guy. He drove us to a few motels so we could get the best rate. Torch resupplied, I got a world of snacks, and we had a nice meal. We also saw the couple from last night. They¢re both bailing on their section hikes because of rashes. Oh, and the highlight of the day came on the edge of the pond, which is actually a large lake. There were some teenagers on a rope swing that was right over a big pile of rocks you¢d have to be careful to clear. The rope was high up a tree on a precarious perch. One kid was way up there looking nervous. So Torch yells up, ¢Have you read A Separate Peace?¢ The kid goes, ¢Oh, God!¢ incredibly mournfully and his friends all laughed like mad.
Date: 2011-08-09
From: Lee, MA

To: Kay Wood Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: few clouds

Got going out of town pretty early for a change. We got a hitch pretty fast from a local farmer. It was one of those pick-ups you know is stopping the second you see it. I had a drop box along with two other boxes in Becket, which was on the same road as the Cookie Lady¢s place. We walked down there and I asked her husband, Roy, if it would be an easy hitch. He asked, ¢Why on earth would you send anything there?¢ Turns out Becket is many roads away and there¢s nothing there. After calling the post office to see if they¢d already left for their run -- they had -- Roy said he¢d drive me down. He¢s a really interesting guy. I¢d guess he's in his 70s, and he flies and maintains a Piper airplane that he keeps behind the house. They have a 2,000-foot grass runway back there. We tried to see it, but they have a pick-your-own blueberry farm and were getting busy.It started raining as we left and when I was setting up here. Torch is over in the shelter with a couple of south-bounders from Maine.
Date: 2011-08-10
From: Kay Wood Shelter

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Busy day today. We hit Dalton early, which I remembered well from my previous Massachusetts trips. Torch had a drop there, so I sat on the bench and ate. We saw Forest one last time there as well. After that was Cheshire, which was very different than I remembered. I had to hustle in to beat the post office, so I met Torch there. I got my gaiters, which I¢m very much on the fence about so far. We went to the Italian place for a late lunch. Right at the end, Hoop and Socks came in. I haven¢t seen them since The Doyle. Hoop got Lyme, but was only off for three days. They were slacking, which a bunch of people have been doing around here from Lenardi¢s or the Bird Cage.We got out a little late and made it here after dark. Still, two towns and 17 is a good day.
Date: 2011-08-11
From: Mark Noepel Shelter

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We hit Mt. Greylock pretty early today. It was like I remembered, except no more veggie burgers. I got a pair of overpriced PB&Js, which were also pretty bad. We went up the tower, then saw a bunch of folks. Turns out Rock Dancer broke his foot and had to end his section hike. It also turns out that Hoop really got into it with the restaurant lady in Cheshire a few minutes after we left yesterday. I would have felt terrible to just miss the hiker-townie brawl.We hit North Adams for Friendly¢s, which was kind of a mistake. That town isn¢t great.
Date: 2011-08-12
From: Sherman Brook Campsite

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

We hit the Vermont line early today, which is also the southern end of the Long Trail. We¢ll be with that for about 105 miles. Right as we got there, a guy came south who just finished it, and then an AT south-bounder, so we had quite a moment and a bunch of pictures. They said they call it ¢Vermud,¢ and you can see why. Fortunately it hasn¢t rained in a while, so everything is pretty solid. Tom and Jen are meeting us in town tomorrow, so as usual I pushed to go all the way in. The trail was very fast, so it wasn¢t too bad until the end. There was a really steep and rocky downhill to the road. We got a quick hitch from a nice girl who¢s on her way up to be a forest ranger in New Hampshire. We¢re at the Autumn Inn, which is a dump. We went out for snacks and dinner and wound up at a great place. When I came back from using the phone, the owner (I think) was sitting next to Torch in the booth. She¢s probably about his age and a real pistol. Her name¢s Bubbles, and she was really funny. Torch said how good the meatballs were and asked if she made them. She said yes and that she caught them right out of the river.
Date: 2011-08-13
From: Bennington, VT

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 1.5
Weather: clear sky

Shortest day of the trip. We did laundry and cleaned up before Tom and Jen came today. They were fantastic. We went to the post office then the pub for lunch, then Torch took us to Friendly¢s.We¢re at the shelter with Clutch and some section hikers. I sat with them for dinner. Clutch said there¢s a ton just behind us, which is good.
Date: 2011-08-19
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

[Ed. note: We're missing entries for 8/14-8/18, but rest assured that Patrick/Muldoon was hiking the whole time!]As I was packing up this morning, Long Trail's dog, Padma, came over and kept wanting to get pet. I gathered my stuff and went to the shelter for breakfast. Two south-bounders were there, and we ended up talking quite a bit. They were really nice and we exchanged a lot of info. Torch and I got on trail at 9:30 and did the first five to Minerva Hinchey Shelter. There was a note there for the Whistle Stop Restaurant, which was 2.7 miles ahead and only 0.5 off the trail, so we decided to hit it. About a half mile before, we were walking down to a river gorge talking about George Clooney, and I went down hard. We were walking down a big slab of wet rock, and my feet shot out. I landed hard on my wrist, which hurt, but no damage. Turns out just about everyone went down right there as well.The restaurant was nice. We saw Die Hard there and sat next to Lunch Box and Long Trail. As we were finishing, a huge storm was rolling in. The clouds looked horrible. We geared up and hit the road to a world of thunder, but somehow it missed us, which I¢m still amazed at. Some south-bounders told us about soda trail magic at the 500 mile[s-left-to-go] mark. I was very pessimistic because I¢ve yet to hear about trail magic in advance and had it pay off, but this one was totally full of Coke and Mountain Dew from Mad Hatter, who hiked in 2004. I cheered louder than I probably will at Katahdin. We sat there for a bit then pushed on to the shelter. We got here at dusk and got an amazing spot by a nice river. I ate a huge dinner then broke out some cigars I¢ve had since Palmerton.Overall, one of my best days out here. The weather was gorgeous, and we¢re at about 499 miles to go.
Date: 2011-08-20
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: The Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 13.0

Funny day today. We hit the Cooper Lodge Shelter just below the Killington summit pretty early. It was only 0.2 up to the top, but neither of us wanted to go. Until I read there was a snack bar. The trail up was really rough, and we both had sandals on. The view up there was incredible, but no snack bar. I did pull off my first clean yogi and scored us an orange soda and chips, though.Diamond Dave and Urkel were there, and we told them about this place. Shepherd came up right then. Right after, I saw Lunch Box, Long Trail, Hoop, and Socks, who were all slacking from the Inn and staying there tonight. I got really excited and had pub legs for several miles. I had lunch at the last shelter, and Torch caught up. We passed the split from the Long Trail, then went very long down the side trail to the Inn. Everyone was set up in the field across the street. I went down the trail a bit to get into the trees, set up, then hit the pub.There was an Irish singer, who was really funny, Don O¢Shaughnessy. It was a good time, but totally packed, and just a few hikers. He did a bit where he sang and remembered everyone¢s name in the place. He had some fun with the trail names and even got Bear Bag up on stage to explain his name.
Date: 2011-08-21
From: The Inn at Long Trail

To: The Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 0.0

We only needed eight miles today + the weather was supposed to be miserable + everyone sitting at the bar complaining = zero.Once that was settled, Torch and I got a room and we all decided to go to the Long Trail brewery, which was about 15 miles down the road. Okie, who works at the Inn, gave us a cardboard sign they keep for hitching. ¢Long Trail Brewery¢ on one side, ¢Long Trail Inn¢ on the other. We were attempting a seven-man hitch, which he said would be a record for the sign.So, Bear Bag, Hover, Lunch Box, Long Trail, Hoop, Socks, and me all hit the road. We tried a variety of maneuvers including human pyramid, lining up by height, various erotic poses, and Hoop dancing the letters to ¢brewery.¢ At least how it¢s spelled in his mind. After a ton of honks and waves, a girl in a little pickup finally stopped. After many cheers, we all piled in. Unfortunately, she was only going a few miles, so she dropped us off near the post office. Right as our feet hit the pavement, Hoop went nuts and a big Ford extended cab with a yellow siren on top pulled in. It was Chief, who put them all up two nights ago. He¢s the Killington fire chief, so he wouldn¢t let us ride in the bed. Bear Bag and Hover sat up front and the other five of us squeezed in back.He knows everything and everyone around here and came in to the brewery with us. We all got food and drinks and spent about four minutes on the self-guided brewery tour. Back at the table, Chief did magic tricks for us. Because he¢s a professional magician who toured the world for like 29 years. At the end, there was a kid there on his 16th birthday, so Chief went over and did a bunch of tricks for him. The whole place gathered around and went nuts.On the way back, he took us to the general store without anyone even asking. We got more beer and snacks and stuff. Hoop, Socks, Lunch Box, Long Trail, and Naked all got the big hiker room at the Inn, so we all piled in there when we got back. Oatmeal and Smooth, who¢d I¢d never met, came by, too. Oatmeal¢s mom and brother had come up, so everyone was in there. We hung out forever, and Chief told us a bunch of magic stories and did card tricks. It was a really great night, one of my best of the trip.
Date: 2011-08-22
From: The Inn at Long Trail

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 18.0

Had breakfast at the Inn today and made it back to the AT by 9:30. Ups and downs all day long. Those guys from yesterday were all supposed to be here, but none of them made it. Torch had a scary fall today. He slipped on a rock through a muddy section and went down head first. He hit his head on a small rock. It bled a ton and there was a small lump, but it could have been so much worse. We cleaned up at Stonybrook Shelter and had some food. He stopped a little earlier than here. I went up to an overlook at a cabin shortly before sunset and met Wrong Way, who hiked in 2006. There was a rickety ladder to a platform on top of the cabin. Literally the second I got to the top, it started raining. I got some quick pics then ran back down. I sat for about 10 minutes talking to Wrong Way and waiting for the storm to pass. I got going in light rain that didn¢t last and hiked after dark to get here.
Date: 2011-08-23
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Off trail
Miles today: 16.0

Couldn¢t move today. I had hopes for 21 miles this morning. The pie stand was the first trap. I got sodas, snacks, and bread there. I saw Stearman, who I met at The Doyle, and met Wiggles, who¢s hiking with her. The day was gorgeous and so were the trail and scenery. I had lunch next to a brook and stopped at Thistle Hill Shelter for a late afternoon break. Where I saw Hoop and Socks! They¢d evidently spent yet another day at the Inn, then hopped in Naked¢s ¢time machine." They at least seemed appropriately ashamed. A south-bounder told me about a camp place in town, but I was worried about trees, so I took the sure thing here. 10 for tomorrow, but I can live with that. Definitely worth the zero the other day. Oh, there was apparently some huge earthquake today. [Ed. note: Yep.]
Date: 2011-08-29
From: Off trail

To: Off trail at 1,766
Miles today: 13.0

Back on trail for real for the first time since Wednesday. Hanover was really nice, definitely one of the best towns so far. Seeing Erica was even better. It¢s hard to believe that the next time will be the end of the trip.We got going a little late today. I was hoping to make 15 to Hexacuba, but played it safe and stopped just past the brook here. I was going back and forth with Bear Bag and Hover all day. I saw a light farther down during dinner that I assume is them. Today was my double knee brace debut. I hate having all that junk on, but they did seem to help. Most of the descents were mild today, but there was a ton of rocky climbing and I felt pretty good. Absolutely perfect weather today, and a lot of really nice scenery. The trail was very muddy, but I guess we did just have a hurricane. I¢m hoping for 17 tomorrow, but we¢ll see. Mt. Cube is first thing.
Date: 2011-08-30
From: Off trail at 1,766

To: Jeffers Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Probably the last 17 I¢ll do in quite awhile. I¢m still not totally sure where The Whites actually start, but tomorrow is Mt. Moosilauke, so there at least. This morning was Mt. Cube, which was a pretty big climb. The views on top were amazing. I met Gumby and Snowy on top.I passed Bear Bag and Hover late in the day after going back and forth all day again. I was on pace to get here just after dark, but the trail seemed to dead end at a river. It went to the edge of a 10-foot sheer drop, so I blew a bunch of time trying to figure that out. By the time I figured out that you just have to climb down and wade across, it was full dark. When I was out in the middle in my Crocs, I saw headlamps on the edge. Turns out Snowy and Gumby had just got dropped off from town and were trying to figure it out, too. I yelled across and then waited to make sure they got across safe. So, Moosilauke tomorrow then all the tough stuff. I¢m nervous.
Date: 2011-08-31
From: Jeffers Brook Shelter

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 9.0

Got going right on time today. The climb up Moosilauke was long, but not nearly as bad as I¢d feared. There was very little rock climbing, it was pretty much just steep path the whole way, which was fine with me. The summit was just incredible. Windy, but great weather. There were a bunch of folks up there so I got a lot of pictures. The couple miles down to the lunch shelter were steep, but not terrible. The 1.2 down from there were another story. It dropped about 2,000 feet and was like nothing I¢ve ever seen. My pace was literally below 0.7 MPH, which is hard to believe. I got a hitch pretty quickly from an incredibly nice guy, Brian, who hiked in ¢94. He dropped me at the motel, then came back, took me to the laundry and grocery, then back. Really great guy.At the store, I saw Velvet, which was awesome. I also saw Bumblebee, who I haven¢t seen since Roan Mountain, which seems like a hundred years ago. I¢ve been within days of her forever, so that was really cool. Unfortunately, they¢ve been slacking and are about 17 miles up. Hopefully I can catch them. I¢d love to hike with them if I can.
Date: 2011-09-01
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

Got a ride back out from Brian after hitting the post office. I was on trail at 10:00 and to the first intersection in decent time, but then things went to hell. The profile up and over Wolf Mountain didn¢t look bad at all, but it took forever. It didn¢t even feel slow, but it was just tons of mud and then boulders up and down. Nothing like yesterday, but it¢s just so time-consuming to figure out where to stop and lower yourself and all that. I wound up getting here at about 4:30, but the next thing is Kinsman, which I never would have made it over before dark, so I called it a day. The only other person here was Four Eyes, who¢s flip-flopping. We talked for quite awhile and I got a ton of useful information. There are a ton of people here now, including a freshman group from Bates. Bear Bag gave them a ton of bleach for their water so they shared s¢mores and gave him, Hover, and Four Eyes a bunch of Hershey bars. I¢m adjusting my miles down a bit and have probably enough food. Fortunately, the huts have Clif bars and serve all-you-can-eat soup all day for $3, so I should be able to make it. Assuming the weather holds . . . .
Date: 2011-09-02
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Liberty Springs Campsite
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: broken clouds

Got going at 8:20 this morning and was up on South Kinsman with Bear Bag, Hover, and another couple from last night whose names I can¢t remember. There are a ton of day and weekend hikers on the trail, probably more than I¢ve ever seen. The locals are flying past me on all this wet, steep rock.I got to my first hut today, Lonesome Lake. Bear Bag has been talking about the all-you-can-eat soup for about 12 straight hours. He was coming out as I pulled up. I asked what kinds of soup they had and he said, ¢I don¢t want to talk about it.¢ All out. I was pretty upset myself. I¢m counting on the hut food to help get me to my next drop. I brought my food into the hut and bought a Clif bar and some lemonade. The huts have bathrooms and good well water, so they¢re nice enough to have around. The trail after was really nice and actually felt like the AT again. There was a bridge out from Hurricane Irene, then the road. I debated going back into North Woodstock for food, but there was a big climb here, and I didn¢t want to risk being late. The climb started easy then got very steep, but not for that long. This site is just tent pads. The caretaker said I could hang near one, but they were all full with nothing great near by. I wound up pitching my tarp on the big group pad, which was the only empty one. I had time to hike on, but I kind of wanted a test run of just pitching the tarp in case I¢m forced to later. Torch is here. He was at the hostel last night. We caught up, so I didn¢t start cooking until after dark. As I was finishing up, a girl came in. I told her it was the only pad and that she was welcome to share it. She said she had a friend behind her, so she squeezed on one side. We talked for awhile. Her dad and sister were thru-hiking south, but got off in NY. It turns out I stayed with them in MA one night in the rain. Her friend came up and we¢re all squeezed on the platform. Hopefully he doesn¢t snore. I feel okay so far. My quilt is a little narrow for sleeping on the ground, but probably fine.
Date: 2011-09-03
From: Liberty Springs Campsite

To: Off trail at 1,820
Miles today: 10.0

They say Franconia Ridge is one of the prettiest places on the whole trail. Two miles of very narrow ridge above treeline. I¢ll have to Google pictures when I get home, because it was completely socked in. [Ed. note: I think that means fog?] I tried to be positive, but didn¢t enjoy it much. It wasn¢t too cold, but it was really windy. I took a long lunch after, pretty much right on the trail. There are tons of people out again. I wound up talking to a couple from Montreal for quite awhile. He wants to thru-hike next year. Right after I got going again, there was another group, one of whom, Woozy, hiked last year. I was overlapping them up Garfield and walked to the shelter right after with one of them and his dog, Sherlock. Turns out the caretaker there is a thru-hiker from this year, Bear Sweatz. He started in April and finished in early August. We talked for a long time, then I decided to push on one more hour. When I was filling water on the way out, Long Trail and Padma came along. Lunch Box is back in Michigan for a few days. I wound up walking much too late. Torch had a spot that I probably should have stayed at, but it wasn¢t great. I found this spot right at sunset. It¢s only a half mile from the hut, and it¢s very nice out, so not dire, but I¢m trying to stop for the day by 6:00 or so up here.Oh, good to be back in my sweet hammock. Last night sucked.