morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-12
From: Glen Brook Shelter

To: Mount Wilcox North Shelter
Miles today: 21.4

The day was overcast but it looked like the rain would hold off as I headed out, I took the chance to take the rain cover off my pack and try to dry some of my gear. Although I had washed clothes a few days before, I hadn't washed my pack and it had a musty smell from days of rain and sweat.I was enjoying Massachusetts, the trails were better maintained than in Connecticut and with its dark forest and higher hills and ridgelines it had a more 'wilderness' feel that I had missed since crossing the Mason Dixon line. I like the dark woods, I feel at home there.Since it had rained for days the newts were out all over the trail and I was constantly on the lookout for them - I didn't want to be responsible for squashing one if I could help it. What can I say the little orange guys brighten my day.Halfway into the afternoon I came across a honest to goodness beaver pond - it had a recently repaired dam, lodge in the middle and trees along the bank showed where the beaver family had been logging for both building materials and food. I wasn't lucky enough to see one of the scaly-tailed rodents but I enjoyed a few minutes rest along the banks of the pond, the overcast sky and towering trees reflected in its surface. Again I wished I had brought a fly rod.I made it to Glen Brook Shelter and enjoyed the company of another thru hiker - Blue Moon. He is a older hiker, from Cooperstown, NY. We had some similar experiences on the trail and I was to see him at shelters for the next few days and while we didn't hike together during the day - we had good conversations at night. Only bad thing was another set of storms was blowing in from the West, I was starting to wonder if I would ever see the sun.
Date: 2013-06-13
From: Mount Wilcox North Shelter

To: October Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: moderate rain

I woke to the dreaded sound of rain on the shelter's tin roof. It was coming down, but I couldn't lollygag at the shelter all day - sometimes you just have to put on your rain jacket and big-boy pants and head out even though it sucks.I have walked in snow, sleet, freezing rain, rain, drizzle and hail during my three months on the trail but I had never walked for 12 hours in the rain. It always let up sometime during the day, but not today. The rain was relentless and teamed with temps in the low 50s it sapped my energy and left me shivering, I started to move fast to keep my body temp up.By late afternoon I had been soaked thru my rain gear, a combination of rain and sweat from the uphills I had climbed. It was cold enough that I could see my breath and by 1700 it was already starting to get dark - it reminded me of cold days early in my hike in Tennessee and North Carolina.By the time I made it to the shelter I was shivering and had to use two hands to undo the straps on my pack - the thought that I may have hypothermia in June in the middle of Massachusetts seemed ridiculous but all too real. I kept calm, moving methodically - stripping off my wet clothes, putting on dry and crawling in my sleeping bag until I felt warmth return to my numb hands and feet. A cup of hot soup made all the difference in the world and things started to look a whole lot better. Finally a weather report off a local NPR station had some good news, sunshine was on its way - the storm would be moving out to sea overnight. I had also talked with Michelle and we would be meeting in Williamstown, Massachusetts for a true zero day, things were definitely looking up.
Date: 2013-06-14
From: October Mountain Shelter

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 25.7
Weather: light rain

At sunrise I could see patches of blue for the first time in days and while it was in the low 50s, the weather report said it would warm to 70 by noon. Perfect hiking weather and I planned to take advantage of it, making big miles so I could make it to Williamstown by the weekend to see Michelle.I also would pass thru two towns today, which meant a chance to pick up some food, my food bag was depleted and while that meant a light pack I needed the calories to climb mountains for the next few days.The sun warmed my skin and good trails with diversion channels cut into it meant more-or-less dry walking. By noon my shoes had started to dry out, a novel and much celebrated occasion after days of rain. I walked into Dalton, Massachusetts a spring in my step.In Dalton I hit a convenience store, buying a sub sandwich, Gatorade, chips and a Butterfinger. Another sub went in my pack for later as I sat on the pavement outside the store and enjoyed my meal - a perfect afternoon. I even was able to refill my water bottle from a tap, I have come to appreciate water I don't have to filter - one of life's simple pleasures.I started my climb that afternoon, finally climbing over 3200 feet to the shelter. This was the first mountain over 3000 feet since Virginia, it might have been my imagination but the air seemed crisper - more sweet. I was back up high looking down at the forests and little towns below and felt good. The climb, the distance covered and a sub for dinner made a great end to the day. Tomorrow I would be up and over Mount Greylock, highest peak in Massachusetts, and down to Williamstown on the other side for a zero - I don't know how things could get better.
Date: 2013-06-15
From: Mark Noepel Shelter

To: Williamstown, Massachusetts
Miles today: 9.5

Up before dawn, I was deflating my sleeping pad and packing my sleeping bag as quiet as I could. The shelter was full of hikers; a collection of grizzled thru hikers, fresh section hikers and a South Bound thru that had come from Maine. I was out and moving, the Sun casting a soft pink light on the remaining few clouds as I climbed a few hundred feet more up towards the summit of Mount Greylock.Greylock is Massachusetts highest point and in the 1930s a light house had been constructed on top to honor vets from the recent Great War - World War 1 as we know it today. An impressive structure its light could be seen for over 70 miles, I enjoyed the views of the surrounding mountains and could trace my route from Connecticut over the past few days.I came down the other side, moving fast - I wanted to get to town and the climb down was steep, I was dropping over 2000 feet in a few miles. I kept slowing myself down, the last thing I needed was to go tumbling down the side of the mountain like some humpty dumpty.I made it off the mountain and into town, running into a couple day hikers enroute - I think I scared their Labrador retriever and he barked at me as I passed wide around me. I would enjoy a zero day in town and even better Michelle was there, and town is better with great company.That is where I am in my journey for now, I will get back on the trail on Monday the 18th of June and should cross into Vermont that afternoon. This series of updates starts with me leaving Greenwood Lake, NY on the 4th of June. Again I appreciate everyone's kind words, thanks Gloria but I don't think I am half the writer you are and trying to write a book is probably beyond me. I am really looking forward to this next section - high mountains and the 100 mile wilderness are ahead and it doesn't get better than that.
Date: 2013-06-17
From: Williamstown, Massachusetts

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: few clouds

Michelle dropped me at the trail and turned around heading back to Maryland, it had been a great zero day. I did all the things that I needed to do in town; shower, laundry, eat too much, resupply and did I mention eat too much? We also went to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA - very cool, they had the four freedoms he had painted in support of WW2 War Bond drive on display. Love his paintings and a simpler America they depict.I headed back and up into the wilds, the highpoint of the day crossing the Massachusetts/Vermont border. I had eleven states down and three to go before Katahdin. It was cloudy, remnants of the rain clouds that had been dogging me since New York, but cool and the occassional patches of Sun made for a beautiful hiking day.As soon as I hit Vermont I started to see more hikers, these guys were 'thru-hiking' the Long Trail. The Long Trail predates the AT and they run together half-way through Vermont, then the AT takes a right to Maine and the Long Trail keeps on going North to Canada. All in all it's over a 100 miles long, much of it thru the Green Mountains.I stopped for a quick lunch, my food bag heavy with a recent trip to town. Clouds were building and it had that look of rain that I am all too familiar with. I picked up the pace and made it to a packed shelter right as it started coming down. I was the only AT thru hiker and the others made room for me, sharing information on the trail ahead. It was good to be back on the trail.
Date: 2013-06-18
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: moderate rain

A light rain fell all morning, turning the trail to a muddy sludge from all the hiker traffic. The trail maintainers had placed stones in the trail, so I played hop-scotch from one stone to another for miles - my foot occassionally slipping to pulled out with a sucking noise. It was a light rain, I had put on my pack cover but not my rain jacket, perferring to feel the cool rain and breeze on my skin. If it wasn't for getting wool socks wet again, and the smells that entails, it would be perfect hiking weather.By lunch the clouds broke up and the rain had apparently been spotty so I ran into patches of dry trail followed by patches of wet. I passed through a thick stand of spruce, dark and pine-scented the ground was dry and a covering of needles were soft to walk on. I stopped and had lunch at Kid Gore Shelter, looking at the log book to see where other thru hikers I had come to know were - it looked like the hikers that started the beginning of March were about two days ahead of me, everyone slowed by the rain.I made it to Story Spring by 1500 and decided to call it a day, hanging socks to dry and cooking a meal as I enjoyed the afternoon Sun. A short day on the trail but I was slowing down and enjoying Vermont.
Date: 2013-06-19
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: few clouds

It had been in the low-40s the night before, I could tell I was back in the North country and was glad I had decided to keep my winter sleeping bag. I put on my long sleeve shirt and slipped on hat and gloves as I headed out, my breath making smoke plumes as I walked.I climbed to the top of Strattong Mountain at 3900 feet and there was a sign-in register next to an old fire tower - a small note said a territorial moose had been in the area the day before, watch out Moose on the loose! I headed up the tower and enjoyed miles of views of the Green Mountains.A small sign board at the bottom gave the history of the Long Trail and that this was the mountain on which Benton MacKaye came up with the idea of the AT. He was familiar with the Long Trail and saw the AT as the expansion of it to a National level - this was a bit like finding out Henry Ford didn't come up with the idea for the Model T, he just thought it would be a good idea to mass production and give it cup holders. A beautiful day the trail continued to dry - its amazing what having dry socks will do for your disposition.I made it to Spruce Peak Shelter by 1500 and decided to stop for the day, my second short day in a row. The shelter was a full-blown cabin with bunks and just too good to pass up, best of all I had it all to myself as I had outdistanced the other hikers even with a short day. I sat on the porch enjoying a cup of soup as the Sun went down and darkness came over the forest.
Date: 2013-06-20
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 27.4
Weather: few clouds

It was my 100th day on the trail and after two short days in a row I was going to make miles. I didn't have a plan for where to stop for the night, I was just going to wing it and go until I was tired.Another beautiful day, Sun shining - it is hard to imagine that I spent nearly two weeks in the rain just a short while ago. The trail is still damp and covered with the large tracks of moose that roam the woods and small lakes that make up this region, I even see big piles of moose poop but no moose. I have seen deer, turkey, bears and rattlesnakes and now I would like to see a moose - just have to be patient and keep my eyes peeled.I climbed to the top of Baker Peak and run into a outdoor education group that is having a picnic, they are out for a team-building exercise/dry run before their students show up. They invite me to eat as much as I want as they would rather not hike the leftovers down, I restrain myself and only eat three sandwiches - we share stories of the trail and I thank them before I head out. Great trail magic.I continue to walk through the afternoon, passing shelter after shelter as the miles fall away behind me. By 1800 the Sun is headed down and long shadows from the tall pines are falling on the trail as I wander into Greenwall Shelter. Not a bad 100th day.
Date: 2013-06-21
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I headed out, a little sore from my big day the day before but not too bad. I just needed a mile or five to work out the kinks. Of more concern was my foodbag was getting a little light and I didn't know if I had enough to get to Rutland - I might not get any dinner tonight.I had put miles behind me as I wandered into the next shelter, it was still early and other hikers were still getting up and getting dressed. One of them told me I could walk 2.5 more miles and a half mile West to a cafe - I was out of there so fast my shadow was running to catch up. I was headed to a real breakfast.I made it to the Whistle Stop and enjoyed a omelet with all the fixings, washed down with a cold Coke. The breakfast of champions or at least one very hungry hiker.Fortified I spent the rest of the day climbing Mount Killington, 3900 feet. I was staying at a shelter at the very top, hoping that the cold temps at altitude would keep the blackflies and mosquitoes at bay. I didn't have bug spray and was probably a quart low of blood from their relentless on-slaught the previous day.Cooper Lodge Shelter turned out to be a little on the trashy side, beer bottles and cans from skiers litter the area. But a plus was the temp dropped and my flying nemisis weren't to be seen. Note to self by Deep Woods Off next time I'm in town.
Date: 2013-06-22
From: Cooper Lodge Shelter

To: Rutland
Miles today: 6.2

I have to keep this one short - I am on a library computer and times about up. Bottom line I hiked down off Killington, tried to hitch for about 30 minutes into town until I was picked up by the bus.I will stay at the hostel tonight and get back on the trail tomorrow, next stop Hanover, NH and then on to the Whites.This section of journal entries starts with me leaving Williamstown, MA on the 17th of June.Thanks for the post to my guest book Karl, will keep on enjoying the northwoods - can honestly say I feel like I am in the wild again.
Date: 2013-06-23
From: Rutland

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 19.9

I was up early at the hostel but had over an hour to hang around, the bus back to the trail head didn't start running until after 0700. I showered, the second time in two days - I thought my body would go into shock and headed out looking for something to eat before hitting the trail again. A local donut shop had a raspberry turnover that hit the spot and before I new it I was walking into the woods again.In only a few miles I hit Maine Junction, the point where the AT leaves the Long Trail - travelling Northeast to New Hampshire and on to Maine. Almost immediately I noticed a difference, the trail wasn't as trampled, as defined and I got the feeling I was going to be seeing a lot less traffic than I had on the Long Trail.A light rain fell, so light that I just put my pack cover on and enjoyed the feel of it on my skin. Overcast skies threatened a downpour but it didn't develop as the hours passed and I hiked on, the day cool and the forest smelling like damp leaves.I stopped for lunch at Stony Brook Shelter, checking the log book for notes from thru hikers I know that have passed this way. Based on what I have seen we are the tip of the spear for thru hikers this year, most of the pack is behind us and there aren't as many as in Virginia - weather, injuries and life in general has forced hikers to leave the trail. I felt good though, a brief break in the clouds and sun on my face.By late afternoon the skies darkened and I could here thunder in the distance, it was a race for the shelter before a afternoon thunderstorm hit. I made it to the shelter with 15 minutes to spare as a heavy rain fell and it was dark enough that I needed my headlamp to read my journal even though it was only 1700. I shared the shelter and some good conversation with a section hiker from New Hampshire, I told him stories of the trail and he told me about the Whites. A great way to end the day.
Date: 2013-06-24
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: light rain

Up and out I wanted to make a few miles and set myself up to cross into New Hampshire the next day. The heavy, but thankfully brief, rain the night before left the ground damp but not soaked - making for perfect walking.The damp ground also meant that the newts would be out in force, going about their newt business. I always slow down a little and keep a watch out for them, I don't want to squash one by mistake. They are orange, which you would think makes them easy to see - but this is actually camouflage as they are the same color as a dead rhododendron leaf. Camo and the defense mechanism of freezing when they think there is danger makes them particularly susceptible to ending up as a newt pancake. I like the little guys so I always watch out.I passed farms and fields of wildflowers, this section of Vermont being less rugged than the Green Mountains I had left. I even saw a deer grazing at the edge of a field, bounding away its whitetail flagging side to side. A nice change.By late afternoon another thunderstorm rolled in without warning, skies darkening in a matter of minutes. I was still a mile and a half from the shelter as the sky opened and a water poured down, followed by pea-sized hail. As I climbed up and over Happy Hill at 1400 feet, lightning was striking with alarming regularity in the woods around me - I quickened my pace to a slow jog. I didn't mind the rain, and I figured that women pay a lot of money in spas for the derm-abrasion I was getting free from the hail but I didn't want to be a small pile of ashes on the side of a mountain courtesy of a lightning bolt. I cruised into the shelter and found an old friend, Blue Moon - a guy I had hiked with a bit in Massachusetts. We caught up and he introduced me to a friend of his that was hiking with him, a delightful evening after I dried off.
Date: 2013-06-25
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Velvet Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 7.3

A easy day, I was headed for the Vermont/New Hampshire border and going to spend the day in Hanover, NH before camping at a shelter about a mile outside of town. I was up, packed and moving by 0530 - crossing the river and border by 0740. I had finished my 12th state, Vermont had been a little muddy but otherwise great - the trail becoming wilder by the mile.I cruised into Hanover and am enjoying a town day without actually staying in town. I have already eaten Dunkin Donuts for breakfast while sitting on a park bench watching harried commuters on their way to work - suckers! Showered and did laundry at the Senior Center, a service they offer hikers for only $5 and now is trail journals followed by more food and resupply. Later today I will head for Velvet Rocks Shelter and in a few days the White Mountains.I am somewhat obsessed with the Whites right now, studying my guidebook and planning my next move. If the AT were a class - the Whites would be the final exam. I think I have a good plan in place, my resupply list looks good (but heavy) and I am going to mail Michelle a few items I haven't used in awhile to lighten my pack.Well that's about where I am right now. I will hit a hostel for a night two days from now and then into the Whites - my next update will be from Gorham on the other side. Its going to take me a week and a half to get on the other side, maybe a little more. If you don't hear from me for a few days its all good I am out on the mountain.
Date: 2013-06-26
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter

To: Fire Wardens Cabin - Smart Mountain
Miles today: 21.9

I had spent a another night in a shelter while rain fell on the roof - the roof at Velvet Rocks wasn't particularly well made and there was a leak over my sleeping bag. I couldn't move because we had a full house, so with a little MacGyver ingenuity and a chunk of discarded tarp I was able to repair the roof. I was able to get out in the morning before the patch failed and drenched me with rainwater while I slept.The ground started to incline up almost from the start, I was headed towards the mountains of the Northeast - the White Mountains. I started to cross hills at over 1500' and then 2000' and by early afternoon I could see my goal for the day the Firetower on Smart Mountain.I had been on the lookout for Moose but still hadn't seen one. I had visions of seeing one grazing at a lake or by a stream. What I didn't count on was seeing one at the top of a 2500' mountain and I found their tracks and poop on narrow trails that I thought something as ungainly as a moose couldn't possibly get up. Meeting a moose on the side of a mountain would make for a potentially interesting afternoon.I ran into 'T' a hiker from Telluride, CO that I had hiked with in Virginia and we hiked the afternoon - enjoying catching up and talking about the trail so far and plans for the Whites. He is on a schedule to finish and I am slowing down a bit so I don't know when we will hike again but I sure enjoyed his company.Made it to the top of Smart Mountain and stayed the night at the Fire Warden's Cabin. It had been the residence of the men that manned the firetower at the peak of the mountain and provided a dry place to spend the night. T set his tent up on the porch, he can't sleep if a mosquito is buzzing around him but I have become oblivious to them. Probably to my detriment as I can imagine I have lost pints of blood to them so far and I'm not even to Maine yet.I climbed to the top of the firetower and enjoyed the sunset, storm clouds shades of pink, red and orange.
Date: 2013-06-27
From: Fire Wardens Cabin - Smart Mountain

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel - Glenncliff, NH
Miles today: 20.0

Another big push out of Smart Mountain, I had about a weeks worth of food in my pack and I figured I would need at least five and possibly six days to make it thru the Whites to resupply in Gorham, NH on the other side.The terrain wasn't too bad, most of the hills were more rolling than steep and other than wet socks and shoes from wet trail the walking was easy. By the end of the day I could see the 4800' Mount Moosilauke, the first mountain I would climb in the Whites.After lunch I met another hiker that recognized me from my Trailjournal page. He was from Georgia and out for a section hike, had a nice conversation and I enjoyed his comments about my journal. I never intended for this to be more than a way for my family to track me on the trail but I am glad everyone is enjoying it, even if I am a bit tardy with the updates occasionally.I made it to Glenncliff, NH and stayed the night at the Hikers Welcome Hostel. It wasn't the cleanest place on the trail I have stayed but I was able to take a shower, sleep in a bunk, do laundry and eat a lot from a nearby convenience store. I tried to hit the sack early tomorrow I start the Whites.