morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-06-16
From: Brassie Brook Lean-To, CT

To: Tom Leonard Lean-To, MA
Miles today: 23.2

Well, I¢m definitely back in New England now. Today was a long, rough day, full of steep climbs and descents. The only flat part was across what one guy called ¢Mostquito Valley.¢ It was easy walking, but the mosquitoes were killer. I didn¢t want to stop moving long enough to put on bug spray, but when Scoops pulled out his bottle of Ben¢s 100%, I quickly dowsed myself with that. It seemed to help: they were still swarming, but weren¢t landing on me anymore.Today was also a day for catching up to people. Diablo and I met Scoops near Jug End, as he was saying goodbye to his brothers. He¢d taken a few days off, and then had slowed down to hike with them for a few days. He told us that Professor and Hornblower were going to Goose Pond tomorrow night, where we¢re going as well. The biggest surprise was at the shelter though: Dice was here! He¢d been real sick and had zeroed here. He thinks it was Lyme disease, and another hiker happened to have the antibiotics for it, so he gave them to Dice and he¢s feeling better now. Hopefully he¢ll feel good enough to make it to Goose Pond with us tomorrow.First thing this morning, the trail climbed to Bear Mountain, which had a great view, but we could see thunderheads building in the distance, even as early as it was.   From there, the trail dropped down into Sage¢s Ravine, a beautiful area with a brook and lots of swimming holes. It was pristine and peaceful this morning. By the time we climbed up to Race Mountain, the thunderheads had grown, and they continued to grow all day. As we approached the shelter, it rumbled a bit, and sprinkled a bit, but that was all. The trail before the shelter was awful, though: it climbed over every single pile of rocks. Up and down, up and down. I¢m now thoroughly worn out.The BrainSage's Ravine - Click picture to see full sizeThunderheads from Bear Mt - Click picture to see full sizeThunderheads from Race Mt - Click picture to see full sizeThunderheads from Jug End - Click picture to see full sizeShay's Rebellion Monument - Click picture to see full sizeThunderheads from the valley - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2007-06-17
From: Tom Leonard Lean-To, MA

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin, MA
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: few clouds

This is the most thru-hikers I¢ve seen in one place, aside from Trail Days (although, Duncannon came close). Goose Pond acts as a sort of a funnel into Dalton, since both are places a lot of hikers try to stay. Being here, I can see why it¢s so popular. The cabin is beautiful, overlooking the pond. It¢s an old wooden cabin, with a bunch of bunks, upstairs, and there¢s a canoe that we can use to paddle around the pond.The hiking today wasn¢t too bad, but I¢m having some foot problems. My left little toe has been swelling up the past couple of days. Yesterday, it hurt a little, but wrapping it in duct tape worked. Today, even that hurt. Fortunately, one of the guys at the shelter knew how to deal with it. We cut up some moleskin, then put a bandaid over it, and that worked well. It took the pressure off the toe, and it stopped hurting.The cabin usually has a caretaker, but there were two here tonight: an older woman, Bambi, who was here last week and is leaving tomorrow, and a young woman, Marette, who came in today for this coming week. It¢s probably a good thing, since there¢s a crowd here tonight. Dice, Diablo, Scoops and I are here, all coming in from Tom Leonard. Professor, Hornblower, Biscuits, Many Names, Admiral and Walking Stick all came in on a short day. Many Names carries a guitar, and he¢s been playing it most of the evening. It¢s nice to have some music and new company.The BrainBambi & her dog - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2007-06-18
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin, MA

To: The Birdcage, Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

Last night, as people were drifting off towards bed, Marette asked if anyone was interested in going out in the canoe. I enjoy canoeing, so I grabbed a life jacket and a paddle and we went down to the lake. It was almost dark, but there was still some light out in the middle. The sky was a beautiful gradient from purple to black, and the moon was just setting. As we turned around to come back the wind picked up, so it was a bit of a workout to get back to the cabin. It was peaceful on the lake, and a beautiful night for it. I¢m glad I went along (although my back is feeling the strain today).I was trying to beat the post office, so after the delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes cooked by the caretakers, I pushed along all day. The P.O. here closes at 4:30, so I didn¢t have as much time as usual. Fortunately, the terrain was easy, so I made it into town with time to spare. After getting my box, I went to the Shell station next to the P.O., to ask about the Birdcage. Rob Bird owns the station, and offers his house to thru-hikers. He isn¢t in the books, but I¢ve been hearing about him since the hike last fall. At the station was Professor, who had left after me this morning, but got off in Lee to resupply, but got tied up and ended up taking a bus around. He¢d already talked to the attendant, and Rob was on his way.This place is awesome for hikers. Rob picked us up at the station and drove us to his house, where he did laundry, gave us town clothes, and drove us to a nearby buffet. I ate until I could barely move, and we kept eating until they closed down the place. After, we watched the baseball game (the Sox lost, the bums) and stayed up late. Tomorrow, Rob is going to slack Professor and I back from Williamstown. Normally, he drives to the top, for a 17 mile hike, but the road to the top is closed, so we¢ll go all the way around and do 23 up and over Greylock.
Date: 2007-06-19
From: The Birdcage, Dalton, MA

To: The Birdcage, Dalton, MA
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: clear sky

Professor and I crushed the miles today. It was steep going up Greylock, but once we got to the top, we cruised the rest of the way. On top, there¢s a fully functional lighthouse, originally intended for Cape Cod, but they decided it wasn¢t needed there, so they put it on Greylock instead. Because of the renovations, it¢s supposed to be locked, but the door was open, so we climbed to the top. Going in, it reminded me of the game Myst. We went in, turned into a dark staircase, climbed a flight into the light, then climbed the spiral staircase to the top. The view was nice, but it was a little hazy, so we couldn¢t see too far.Going through Cheshire, we saw Biscuits and Many Names, waiting for a friend to come meet them to hike for a couple days. We got some ice cream, and talked with them for a bit. As we crossed from Cheshire to Dalton, the sky was threatening, and the wind started to blow, but it held off. It¢s pouring now, but we didn¢t get wet.For dinner, we ordered a bunch of pizzas, and chilled out watching the game. Dice, Diablo and Hornblower all zeroed here today, and Mousetrap, who has been slowing down because of his knee, had zeroed yesterday. Today he slacked back from Cheshire to see how it felt. We all sat and watched the game, which was great game. Professor is a Braves fan, so he was happy last night, but the Sox played well tonight. We got into the game, yelling and cheering. It¢s been nice to be in town for a couple of days, but its back to the trail life tomorrow.The BrainThe Brain & the Professor in the Lighthouse - Click picture to see full sizeLighthouse on Mt Greylock, MA-2 - Click picture to see full sizeLighthouse on Mt Greylock, MA-3 - Click picture to see full sizeLighthouse on Mt Greylock, MA-4 - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2007-06-20
From: The Birdcage, Dalton, MA

To: Congdon Shelter, VT
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

It was still raining when we left this morning, so it was a mad dash to the car. Fortunately, by the time we got to Williamstown, the rain had stopped and it was clearing up. Professor and I made good time again, and by noon, we were in Vermont! After nearly four months of hiking, I¢m finally back in Vermont. It feels so good to be nearly home. It¢s also nice because I know this section of trail from hiking it last fall, so I know what¢s coming up.There a crowd here tonight, mostly section hikers, but Scoops came in as well. Tomorrow is the solstice, which is also Hike Naked Day. The three of us are planning on observing, so we warned everyone here that we¢ll be doing that tomorrow. It¢s going to be kind of exciting crossing Route 9 tomorrow, which is usually pretty busy.The BrainThe Brain w Rob Bird - Click picture to see full sizeMousetrap & the Professor - Click picture to see full sizeBear Print - Click picture to see full sizePond at waist level-1 - Click picture to see full sizePond at waist level-2- Click picture to see full size
Date: 2007-06-21
From: Congdon Shelter, VT

To: Goddard Shelter, VT
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: few clouds

Happy Solstice to all of you! Scoops, Professor and I celebrated in true thru-hiker fashion. We slept in a bit, until it warmed up a little, then ate, packed, and right before we left, stripped down to just our socks. It was amusing to watch people¢s reaction to us as we hiked past them. Most couldn¢t look us in the eye, instead staring at the clouds. As chance would have it, we passed more people today than usual.The most exciting moments came at Route 9. I¢d been envisioning walking across as if nothing were different than normal, but when we got there, Scoops took off at a run. Professor and I followed suit, barely making it through a gap in the traffic. On the far side, we ran past a group of scouts in the parking lot, leaving them speechless behind us. Later, I noticed that one of my water bottles was missing. It must have fallen out as I ran across the road. It¢s annoying to be without it, but fortunately, I¢ll be going home in just a couple of days, and I can get a new one or a soda bottle.The rest of the day passed without incident. When we got to the shelter, a nice one with a beautiful spring, we decided to stay. The next one, on the far side of Glastenbury Mountain, faces directly into the wind, and it had been looking like a storm was coming in. since eating dinner, thunder has been rumbling, and it started to rain, although it has stopped for the moment. Fortunately, this shelter is fairly well protected from the wind and rain.The Brain
Date: 2007-06-22
From: Goddard Shelter, VT

To: Stratton Pond Shelter, VT
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: light rain

What happened to summer? Today was freezing cold and raining, all day long. On top of Stratton Mountain, the thermometer on the caretaker¢s hut read 43 degrees. The caretaker said that some hikers earlier saw some snowflakes from the top of the firetower there. Between the cold, the rain, and a nasty wind, I¢ve been cold all day long. It¢s summer. It¢s supposed to be warm! At least I get to go home and sleep in a warm bed tomorrow night.At the shelter, I found Renaissance Man and Hasty (formerly Snakebite) passed out and curled up in their bags. They came 8 miles and decided to hole up out of the rain. Scoops went on to the next shelter, but Professor stayed here. As we were eating dinner Diablo rolled in. After zeroing in Dalton while Professor and I slacked, he¢s been pushing hard to catch up. I¢d offered him a ride and a place to stay tomorrow night, so he¢s had that on his mind.The Brain
Date: 2007-06-23
From: Stratton Pond Shelter, VT

To: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT
Miles today: 10.6

It feels so good to be home! It's been nearly four months since I last slept in my own bed, and over two since I last saw my family. I flew along the trail today, excited to get back home. Despite the cold this morning, I rolled out of bed and got moving. It was still only about 45 degrees in the shelter when we all woke up. As I was getting near the road, I looked up and saw two people coming towards me. One of them looked like Diablo, and for a minute I was confused. He was going the wrong way. Then I realized that the other, who I hadn't gotten a good look at, had to be my mother, and I broke into a jog. In the end, we had 5 hikers in the car: me, Diablo, Hasty, Renaissance Man, and Professor. We all drove in to Manchester, to get a box from the outfitters and to try to find some gear, and to see if we could find Scoops, who had gotten ahead last night. Unfortunately, we couldn't find him, so after a big lunch at the diner, we headed home. It took almost two hours to get home, but I was thrilled to finally get here. I jumped out of the car and just lay in the grass for a bit, soaking it up.After we'd all showered, I got into my Morris dancing kit (black pants, white button-down shirt), and we all went down to the Revels Solstice Celebration tonight. My Morris group always dances as part of the festivities, so I figured I'd show up and surprise them by dancing a little with them. It was fun wandering around on the Green, seeing all the people I haven't seen in forever, and watching their faces as they recognized me. Nobody knew I was planning on coming home yet, so they were all completely surprised to see me there. I amazed myself by remembering most of the dances and not making a fool of myself, and I think the rest of the crowd enjoyed seeing it.Later, we came back home, where my mother had a rhubarb pie waiting for us. It was delicious! It's so nice to have good home cooking again, especially my mother's cooking. We blew up some air mattresses in the basement for the rest of the hikers, and set a 6:00 breakfast, so we can get out at a decent hour tomorrow. Professor, R-Man and I are slackpacking for a few days, but Diablo and Hasty are going to hike with their full packs. They'll be eating trail food and sleeping in a shelter, while I'll be getting spoiled on real food and a good mattress.The BrainMom picks up the gang at Manchester Ctr - Click picture to see full sizeGiant Burger at the diner, Manchester Ctr - Click picture to see full sizeGojo asleep in the van-1 - Click picture to see full sizeRiding back to Norwich, VT - Click picture to see full sizeThe Brain's sister Anna, Morris Dancing-3 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Brain's sister Anna, Morris Dancing-4 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Brain's sister Anna, Morris Dancing-5 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Brain Morris Dancing-8 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Brain Morris Dancing-9 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Brain Morris Dancing-10 - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2007-06-24
From: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT

To: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT
Miles today: 17.8

I love slacking. Eat real food at both ends of the day, carry 10 pounds on my back, and sleep in a real bed. What could be better? Today's hike went so well that Professor, R-Man and I decided that we're going to go for 32 miles tomorrow. We're going to get up early and hit the trail hard, trying to bang out the miles before it gets dark. We should have enough time in the day to do it. It'll hurt when we're done, but the problem is that between the 20 and 30 mile marks, there are no roads because the trail goes over Mt. Killington.By the time we'd eaten breakfast, gotten everyone packed up and on the road this morning, it was after 7:30, with a long drive ahead of us. It wouldn't have been too bad, but as we were going up the highway, my car started making a funny noise, a scraping, rattling noise coming from one of the wheels. We pulled over, looked at it, rolled the car back and forth, but couldn't figure out what was wrong. We decided to try to drive to the next exit to pull off, but as I got back up to speed, the noise disappeared. We think that it might have been rust on the brakes, that was scraping, but got worn off as we went.At the last shelter of the day, just before we got to the road, we ran into Hornblower. He'd been making tracks, trying to catch up to us, but had finally realized that somehow we were behind him. He came home with us, got a shower and some laundry, and he'll be getting back on the trail with his pack tomorrow. He picked the right place at the right time, though. Dinner tonight was steak and potatoes, something I've been craving for a while. My mother also made bread and a delicious dessert. It was the best meal I've had in a while.The BrainSummit of Bromley, VT - Click picture to see full sizeChairlift at Bromley, VT-1 - Click picture to see full sizeChairlift at Bromley, VT-2 - Click picture to see full sizeChairlift at Bromley, VT-3 - Click picture to see full sizeFormer shelter - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2007-06-26
From: Home, Sweet Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT

To: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT
Miles today: 0.0

I picked the right way to celebrate four months of being on the trail. Yesterday, Professor celebrated his by doing 32 miles in the Green Mountains. I celebrated today by not going anywhere. I needed the rest,too. It felt wonderful to kick back for an entire day, and not have to worry about getting anywhere. Scoops, Professor and I drove around town, doing errands. We went to the grocery store to resupply, then drove down to EMS to get our poles fixed. Professor bent his yesterday or the day before, and my tip came off yesterday. They had been doing that ever since I had them replaced at Trail Days, and I'd been shoving them back on every time they fell off, but when it came off yesterday, it did so in a pile of mud, and I couldn't find it. Normally, I would have to pay for a new tip, but the guy who replaced it said not to worry about it, because it was Leki's fault for using tips with a slightly bigger hole than the size of my pole. Unfortunately, all they had at EMS was the bigger tips, so it may happen again. If I have time, I'll spray paint them orange while I'm at home.After EMS, we rented a movie to watch later. It took forever to find something none of us had seen, but we eventually settled on Smoking Aces. It turned out to be a pretty good movie, entertaining and well made. After watching, we've been hanging out, eating as much as we can. Today has been exactly what I needed. Yesterday was pushing pretty hard, and my body needed some rest.The Brain
Date: 2007-06-27
From: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT

To: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT
Miles today: 23.7

Fortunately, today was not nearly as long as Tuesday was. We didn't get a great start in the morning, but Professor and I hiked pretty strongly all day long. We drove out to Woodstock, and Scoops took the car around to the other end to hike north. On Tuesday, in the parking lot where the trail crosses Route 4, we'd seen a car that had had its windows smashed, so rather than leaving the car there, Scoops left it a mile up the hill at the Inn at the Long Trail. It threatened to rain most of the day, complete with thunder, but Professor and I hurried down from Maine Junction and walked up the road (we couldn't get a hitch; I blame myself for not stopping to pick up a hitchhiker on Sunday, ruining my hitching Karma). We got up the hill without getting wet, and in the time it took me to go into the Inn and use the bathroom, it started pouring. We raced the storm all the way home, outpacing it just by a bit. In the end, it actually never rained here, but it was raining right behind us the whole way. Hasty was waiting for us at the house, and we ordered some pizza for dinner. Tomorrow, Professor and I are going to finish off Vermont, hiking from Woodstock to here, and then we'll probably walk down the hill and into Hanover, just to say we're done.The BrainMaine Junction, Killington, VT-1 - Click picture to see full sizeMaine Junction, Killington, VT-2 - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2007-06-28
From: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT

To: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT
Miles today: 22.4

Twelve states down, two to go! The first section of today's hike was a pain. It was a series of short, steep hills, mostly with no views. The trail just climbed steeply up one side and went steeply back down the other. After the first 7 miles, though, it got better, and we picked up our pace a little. We pushed pretty hard, especially towards the end of the day, covering the last 3.5 from Happy Hill shelter to the road in just barely over an hour. Hornblower and Scoops were waiting here for us, and they'd all been hearing about the Ben and Jerry's Vermonster, so we decided we'd go get one. Professor and I walked over, while the other two showered, then drove the car over. There was a huge line when we got there, and to our dismay, they told us that they normally don't make Vermonsters in the summer without advance notice, because they're so big and take so much time to make. For those of you that don't know, a Vermonster is 20 scoops of your choice of Ben and Jerry's ice creams, plus just about every topping known to man. A partial list: nuts, bananas, cookies, brownies, M&Ms, and of course, whipped cream. It comes in a huge bucket, which is yours to keep afterwards. Fortunately for us, I knew one of the workers, and she said she'd make one for us. We had Lemon Meringue, Cookie Dough, Cookies and Cream, Strawberry Cheesecake, and Cherry Garcia. Surprisingly, they went together well, especially the Lemon Meringue and the Strawberry Cheesecake. We demolished the entire thing in about ten minutes, and were sitting around when a woman came up and asked if we were thru-hikers. We told her our story, and she asked if the Vermonster had been free, saying that they used to be for hikers (we'd paid, but I believe the deal was for a free cone for hikers, and still exists). We told her we'd already paid, but she fished out her purse and gave us some money to help cover it. I don't know who it was, but thank you. I've seen so much kindness towards hikers on this trip, but I'd never seen it in Hanover/Norwich before.The BrainProfessor in the White River-2 - Click picture to see full sizeProfessor in the White River-3 - Click picture to see full sizeProfessor in the White River-4 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Professor at the VT-NH border - Click picture to see full sizeThe Brain at the VT-NH border - Click picture to see full sizeThe Vermonster at Ben & Jerry's-1 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Vermonster at Ben & Jerry's-2 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Vermonster at Ben & Jerry's-3 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Vermonster at Ben & Jerry's-4 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Vermonster at Ben & Jerry's-5 - Click picture to see full sizeThe Vermonster at Ben & Jerry's-6 - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2007-06-29
From: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT

To: Home 230 Elm Street, Norwich, VT
Miles today: 17.4

Another day, another slackpack. My dad came along for the hike today, and it was good to chat with him for a while. We left one car in Hanover, and drove out to Lyme, then hiked back over Holt's Ledge and Moose Mountain. Along the way, we ran into Tapper, who is finally back on the trail after taking several days off to recover from exhaustion and some nasty foot problems. I hadn't seen her since before I left for Georgia, so it was good to see her. We got back into Hanover by about 5:00, and Professor and I had been craving smoothies, so we all went to the Dirt Cowboy Caf© for smoothies. I had an orange-pineapple-mango one, and it was delicious. We also picked up a few pastries for breakfast tomorrow.Diablo was waiting for us when we got home, and then Biscuits, Many Names and Renaissance Man showed up a little later, so it's a full house tonight. They all took a car and went out to dinner, while I stayed home and had a dinner with my family. It's the first time since getting home that I've had a dinner with just them. Tomorrow, my mother's going to come hiking as well, so I'll have lots of company.The Brain