morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-17
From: U.S. 7, Housatonic River

To: Brassie Brook Lean-To
Miles today: 14.7

I slept pretty well last night, for at least half of it. My poison ivy started to itch, and I had to get up and put some Ivy-Dry on it. I had a hard time getting back to sleep afterwards. My hip started hurting again, so clearly it was not a permanent fix. Maybe it won't be fixed permanently till I'm sleeping in a bed every night, and not on a floor or the ground. It's weird that it only hurts when I'm sleeping, then once I get up and move around, it's fine. Oh, well...the power went off sometime during the morning...it was just a local thing, though. Funny that it's now happened to us twice while staying in town. We got up, packed up and were on the Trail by 8:30. We just knew the day was going to be great! And it was...for the first 7 miles or so. The terrain was easy, the weather was just right...cool, a little bit of sun and a nice breeze. We took a break at Billy's View, and Gerri and Randy dried their stuff out. We were making really good time, and were we!ll on our way to achieving our 18 mile day. After the break, we were hiking another pretty easy stretch, at least for the first 4 miles. As we got to a road crossing, after about 2 miles, the rain started in. We thought it might be a passing cloudburst, but...no. We waited for a short while, but then realized it wasn't stopping, so started hiking again. We were drenched in a matter of minutes. Two hours later, after 4 miles of torrential rain, thunder, lightning and slippery rocks, when we got to the next shelter for our break, we were thoroughly soaked, chilled and feeling a bit down. We had talked with a ridgerunner on the way, and he told us that the hike down Bear Mountain could be treacherous in the rain. We didn't want any more major falls, so we decided to call it a day at the following shelter. Gray Matter had also stopped here. It ended up being the right decision, as it continues to rain still, with only a short break, while we were hiking the mile and !a half from one shelter to the next. I can wait another day to get toMA...as long as I get there safely. We cooked dinner, and are staying in the shelter tonight. The mosquitos are eating me, but at least it's dry...not so outside... And to think, I used to like rain...Good night!
Date: 2003-08-23
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: scattered clouds

W-w-what a chilly night last night! I thought I might freeze...in August...what's that all about??? I can tell you for sure, I'm so glad that I asked Seester to bring me my thermolene long underwear, as I don't know how I would have made it through last night. When we saw Pop-O later on today, he said his thermometer registered 46 degrees this morning. So it was probably colder than that during the night...yikes! I'll be getting my 20 degree sleeping bag back after VT, and I think it will be none too soon. Anyway...the temperature being low sure makes it difficult to get out of your tent an get going in the morning. I woke up at 7:15, but didn't get up till at least an hour later. The only reason I did at that point, was because I needed to go to the bathroom (or cathole, as the case may be). There was no sign of the porcupine that visited us last night. It was funny, we'd just been discussing the fact that we should be hanging our boots, or bringing them inside wi!th us, as porcupines tend to chew on them to get the salt. Very soon afterwards, Randy looked outside his tent and saw eyes looking at him...it was a large porcupine, who seemed to be pissed off that we were tenting in his space. Apparently, he was doing a good bit of grumbling. I wasn't able to see him, although I could hear him rustling around. Gerri got up and going earlier than us...she's had more energy lately, which is good. We were on the Trail at 10, headed up to the summit of Mount Graylock, the highest point in MA. We started with about 1/2 mile of steep up, then settled into some lovely hiking terrain...little ups and downs with lots of flats. It took us 3 hours to get to the lodge that's at the summit. We had lunch there and tried to stay warm...the breeze was chilling us unless we were in direct sunlight. Randy and I climbed to the top of the tower that is next to the lodge. There were some pretty good views, and we could see into our next state...Ver!mont! We had initially wanted to make it there tonight, but with our late start and long break at the summit, we had to change our plans. We had a big, steep down to get to route 2, then a very mellow up to arrive at the Sherman Brook Campsite. We are tented here with Viking, Pop-O and Count My Blessings. I was glad it was a fairly early night, as I've been feeling tired today, and my feet are complaining big time. I have massaged them, though, covered myself in thermolene, socks, fleece and flannel. My goal is to sleep through the night, without being awakened by the cold. I'm nodding off now, so I guess I'll cut this short...good night!
Date: 2003-08-24
From: Sherman Brook Campsite

To: Stealth Campsite, Harmon Hill
Miles today: 14.7

Yesssss! Our 12th state, only two more to go after this! I woke up later than everyone else...I had taken a vicodin last night to help with the body aches I had. I slept really well despite the fact that it was another cold one last night. I packed up and went to get water, then came back and had breakfast. I'm still eating my oatmeal cold right now, although I may soon change to hot breakfasts, depending on the weather. We started out with a lovely uphill, part of which included a short boulder section (short in the relative sense...compared to a PA section). It was there that we met our first flip-floppers...Fuzzy and Snuffle. Flip-floppers, for those of you who don't know, are hikers who do part of the Trail south to north, then get a ride to Katahdin and hike north to south till they get to the point they ended at. This couple had flipped in VA. They told us we had more rocks like this to look forward to. I didn't bother discussing PA with them...I figured the!y'd probably already heard. We made it up and over the rocks, then had just a short way to go to the VT state line. We ended up taking a break there, as Tumbling Grace was hungry. Lounging across the border, we discussed the place for our next break. We got going again to discover that Vermont is very...muddy and swampy...yuck! It wasn't long before Randy, then I, slid a foot into nasty, slimy mud. Not pretty at all, especially on Randy's new trail runners! Truthfully, it was a very uneventful day...nice weather and good hiking, despite the muck underfoot. We are liking VT so far. We met some section hikers at our last break site...most of them were doing the Long Trail, which follows the AT for 97 miles, then heads up to Canada. We talked with them for a short while, then hit the Trail again. We had decided to stealth camp somewhere before Bennington, so we could cruise in in the morning to take care of business. I found a site at the top of Harmon Hill...not a!s close as I wanted to be, but the site was perfect. We had a great view of Bennington, as well as the mountains surrounding it. The sunset was beautiful as well. We had dinner, and went to tent early. Big day, tomorrow...to go into town and get right out again is a challenge for us...wish us luck!
Date: 2003-08-26
From: Stealth Campsite, Little Pond Lookout

To: Stealth Campsite, Black Brook
Miles today: 16.4

We woke up today in chilly fog, with the wind whipping through the trees...clearly a front had come through during the night. We were all cold and didn't want to get out of our sleeping bags or tents. Especially because then we'd have to pack and carry all our wet gear...yuck! Not only is it gross and wet, but it weighs a ton with all the water. Needless to say, some of us were less than chipper about the current state of affairs. I decided to suck it up and deal, and started to get things together. I was actually ready first (a shocking thing!), so I did my morning yoga stretches, which I've been neglecting lately. I put some classical music on to start my hike, and I was feeling great. Of course, I love this kind of weather...the fog makes things a bit surreal, and the wind whipping around energizes me. We met some Trail maintainers...one woman was actually painting the white blazes...one of those things you know has to be done, but you don't imagine you'll witnes!s it getting done. I made sure to thank them for their work, then continued on. I got to the Goddard shelter first, and it was beautiful. It has a great view as well as a great water source, which lately has been hard to come by. Randy arrived next, then Tumbling Grace. We laid out all of our stuff to dry in the sun, which had made a glorious appearance. We ended up taking a 2 hour break, but it was what we needed, taking the time to soak up the sun. Batman and Drinker, two section hikers showed up as we were repacking our gear, then Jolly Roger, then JimboTrek. We all chatted for awhile, then we needed to get our butts hiking...we went on. The Trail was a bit rockier today than yesterday, but no less muddy. We had a lovely bit of downhill, then took a break near the next shelter. The next section began with a steep up. I didn't think it would end! We knew that Tumbling Grace would have some difficulties...she's fine on downs and flats, but ups take her a longer! time to hike. By the time we got to the next shelter (we were shelter hopping for breaks today), and had to climb one more up, we were not sure she'd be able to go beyond the shelter. We had been there for 20 minutes before Grace arrived. Flatlander and Pushing Up Daisies were there, as well as Jolly Roger, who had passed us on our last break. After having a snack and drink, Tumbling Grace said she felt well enough to go on...we wanted to try for 3 more miles...so we headed out. We found the perfect campsite right next to Black Brook, just after 7. We set up and cooked dinner. Randy kept us amused by being attacked, consistently, by a saber-toothed wooly caterpillar (hmmm...guess you had to be there). We turned in fairly early, so we could put in a longer day tomorrow...
Date: 2003-08-27
From: Stealth Campsite, Black Brook

To: Stealth Campsite, William B. Douglas Shelter Trail
Miles today: 12.8

Well, another day of plans left by the wayside...but we didn't mind. We got up early, although I was the last one up. I had to cook my breakfast, too, so it took me forever to get ready. Tumbling Grace left ahead of us, and Randy waited for me. We were starting our day with a mile of flat terrain, then hiking up the highest mountain for us in VT, Stratton Mountain, which is the location of one of the biggest ski resorts in the northeast. It was an elevation gain of 1600 feet over 3.8 miles...not terribly tough, but not easy, either. There were some rocky parts as well as some steep sections...and some were rocky and steep at the same time. I felt really good hiking Stratton...I was glad when I arrived at the top, but I feel like I'm in good physical shape, and I am able to keep my breathing in control throughout the ups. I still can't sing while doing an up, but am breathing much easier. Randy and I sat at the top, taking a break and waiting for Tumbling Grace to ar!rive. We didn't have to wait for long...she did very well with this up, and she'd been worried about it. Other hikers arrived...Pop-O, Little Bear, Deacon Blues and JimboTrek. The boys went up to the top of the fire tower. I attempted it, however, the stairwell design and the wind that was present as soon as you went past the second flight of stairs kept me from climbing it. JimboTrek only went to the top of the second landing, making me feel a bit better about wimping out. Everyone but us was talking about taking the gondolas down to Stratton Village to have lunch. I thought that might be a good way for us to resupply without having to deal with hitching a ride into a town. Tumbling Grace wanted to try the gondolas, so we decided to go. It was pretty cool riding down to the village...however, it was quite expensive there. I bought the few things I needed for snacks and breakfasts, had a wrap for lunch (skipped the $5 Ben and Jerry's that many got), and made some !phone calls. It was nice to just kind of hang out in the sunshine...almost as if we were tourists...just really smelly ones. We didn't get back up to the top and hiking again till 3:30. It was going to be impossible to get to our original destination. Tumbling Grace was tired when we took our next break, as we all were, so we cut short our original plan by 3 miles. We were able to find a stealth site just after a side trail to a shelter and set up our tents. It was another headlamp-light dinner, so it was good we stopped when we did. I went to tent, hoping that the night would not be as cold as last night had been...
Date: 2003-08-29
From: Griffith Lake Tenting Area

To: VT 140, Wallingford, VT/Rutland, VT
Miles today: 15.5

Trail Magic Day! We didn't know it when we got up, though. We discovered a few problems with the whole platform situation during the night. Because we weren't staking into the ground, our rain flies were not as close to the platform surface as they usually are to the ground. When it rained hard (which it did for awhile last night, thunder, lightning and everything), water backsplashed under the flies and got the tents wet. To top it off, Randy and Tumbling Grace hadn't used their groundcloths (their tents are designed so you shouldn't have to use a groundcloth), and the water from the platform wood soaked through the bottoms of their tents. It was a wet, uncomfortable night for them. My tent had gotten wet around the edges, but my groundcloth seemed to keep things fairly dry. Also, it was not as cold last night, so I actually slept pretty well, and was WARM...yay! We got ourselves together and set out. We had originally only planned 13ish miles for the day, but we !started plotting to make it to a road crossing, hitch in to town and get a motel room so we could have a warm night. It was really chilly out today, and I had heard a forecast that said it was supposed to get down to the 30s or 40s tonight. Randy's and my fleece sleeping bags just don't do the job in those temps. We had half our day in by 11:30...the hiking was quite easy today...nice terrain and easy ups. We stopped at a shelter for a second break, five miles before the road crossing. Yellowstone Man and a Long Trail section hiker, Dan, were there. We were telling them of our plans, and Dan said "Do you need a car?" His was at the parking lot at the road, and he wasn't going there today...he was staying at that shelter. We couldn't believe he would offer to let us use it, but we took him up on it. We drove to Rutland, as he suggested, and were able to procure a room at the second place we tried. Not the most lovely room, but all the motels in the area were booked!, due to the holiday weekend and the Vermont State Fair, which is being held in Rutland this weekend. Randy and I went to do some grocery shopping, and picked up some KFC for dinner, as well as some beer. We were watching some college football (another reason to go into town for the night!), and you just have to have beer with that! We also watched Mr. Deeds on HBO, which was pretty funny, then hit the hay. It was a great day...it's so incredible how someone's kindness and generosity can totally change your outlook on everything!
Date: 2003-08-30
From: VT 140, Wallingford, VT/Rutland, VT

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 10.5

I woke up fairly early, having actually gotten a decent night's sleep in the motel. I think it was a combination of the KFC, the beer and the fact that my muscles weren't all cramped up from being in fetal position to stay warm. We didn't get a chance to do laundry, so it was a bit gross putting dirty clothes back on my clean body, but we had hiking to do. Laundry would happen in two days...I was only going to get sweaty anyway. We had some donuts and danish, along with orange juice and coffee in the motel lobby, then we drove to McDonalds and got egg Mcmuffins, more oange juice and some milk. We ate on the way to Wallingford, then threw out our trash (didn't want to have to pack it or leave it for Dan). We were at the trailhead by 10, an hour later than we'd hoped, but not bad. We left our lovely borrowed vehicle and started hiking. The terrain was very nice, although we had a 1000 foot up to start with. The area we were hiking through was really pretty, too. We m!et up with three men who are doing the Long Trail, who we'd first seen yesterday. They thru-hiked the AT in 2000. They were concerned that the huts in NH were going to close before we went through...I assured them that most of them would still be open. We stopped to take a break at the first shelter, and immediately got chilled. I just don't know what happened to summer this year...we seemed to have it for about a week, then fall arrived. I had heard that the temps weren't supposed to be that low tonight, so I was trying not to worry, but it was difficult when it was the middle of the day and bone-chilling cold. We needed to get hiking again. We had some more climbing to do, then a steep drop into Clarendon Gorge, which was quite beautiful. We had to cross a suspension bridge over the gorge that gave me the willies...it moved around so much when I was on it. Randy was jumping around when he crossed it...I told him he was a sick man. We waited at the road for Tumbl!ing Grace, then headed for another steeeeep up. We were exhausted by the time we got to the next shelter, and I needed to use the privy and get water, so we stopped at the trail leading to it. When I went down to the shelter, a Trail Angel named Piper arrived to cook up some dinner. Piper plays the bagpipes, and is part of a neighborhood watch, so he was carrying a pistol...it seemed an odd combination. We wished we could have stayed for dinner, but we needed more miles by the end of our day. We moved on...the miles seemed tedious today. We knew we weren't going to make it to the next shelter, and we'd been warned that locals might be partying there, so we started looking for a stealth site. We found a nice one by the brook, and stopped a little early today. It was nice to sit and eat in natural lighting.   we turned in pretty early, and I was able to catch up on a couple of journal entries. Killington tomorrow!
Date: 2003-08-31
From: Stealth Campsite

To: U.S. 4, Killington, VT
Miles today: 12.3

Happy anniversary to me! Five months out on the Trail...hard to believe my adventure is nearing its end. We got going a bit late this morning...it rained for a little while in the wee hours of the morning, so our tents were wet...not the best way to start the day. We packed up and got going, though. We stopped on the way up at the shelter that was supposed to be rowdy last night. Taba had left a message in the register saying that he'd had a great time there with a family who shared all their food with him. Sometimes you can't judge a situation until you are there and in it. We started climbing Killington, which, for awhile, was pretty tame...then we hit the "rocky, rooty" part of the climb that a couple of SOBOs told us about. It made for some very tricky hiking, especially as the foggy conditions made everything really slick and slippery.   The total climb to the shelter at the top ended up taking us longer than we thought it would, but we regrouped there and start!ed on the downside. It always seems to be easier to hike faster when one has incentive...in this case, a hot shower, a cold Guinness and clean laundry. I felt as if I was flying down the mountain. I also was listening to music, which makes me hike more quickly. We leapfrogged with the three men who were hiking the Long Trail throughout the day. We were all going to the Inn at the Long Trail, so we were all trying to get there as fast as we could. We came out on the road to find two of the three hikers getting a ride with a guy in a red car. He said he'd be right back to pick us up. We got to the Inn and commenced with the cleaning, eating and drinking. There was quite a crew of hikers there...the three of us, Viking, Chief, Snot Rocket, Moose, Iceberg Slim, Circus, JimboTrek, Deacon Blues, Little Bear, a SOBO named Roadkill and the guys hiking the Long Trail. It was great to see and hang out with everyone! We didn't stay up too, too late, but Randy, Viking and I !did close the bar. I start my big push for Hanover tomorrow! Can't wait to come home...
Date: 2003-09-04
From: VT 14, White River

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

I had a good night's sleep in my little shed/bunk...it was a good thing that I stayed there, as it poured all night long. It was nice to not have to pack up a wet tent. I got up early, had breakfast, and went to the store to get rid of my trash. As I approached the store, I could see Deacon Blues and Little Bear outside. They had stayed at another house last night, where the guy offered them hot showers and space in his basement. They also told me that Slack, Emily, Double A and Free Radical had also stayed at a house in town last night. The only people who made their destination were Iceberg Slim and Moose, who went to Happy Hill. I got going, and made it to Hanover, with just one break at Happy Hill shelter, by 11:30...an easy morning's hike. Nothing to do but hang out and wait for Seester. Iceberg Slim bought me an ice cream at Ben and Jerry's scoop shop. Seester showed up soon after. I said goodbye to everyone...not sure if or when I'll see any of them again o!n the Trail. Seester and I had Indian food for lunch, then went to Ben and Jerry's where I had a second cone...yum! I asked if I could drive, at least for a little while...whoa, what a weird experience! I hadn't been behind the wheel of a car in five months, and it showed! I drove verrrrry slowly, and relinquished the wheel when we got to route 93. I took a hot shower...never realized what a wonderful shower I had till right now. I tried on some of my clothes, but nothing fit. I tried some of Seester's, and was able to wear jeans and a shirt, although they were still a bit too big. I went to Dodge Street and saw Mary, Stevie Wah, Romie and Andy, to name a few people. It felt so odd to be home...I don't know how I'll do with three days here. Stay tuned!