morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-07-12
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Sleeping next to a creek is one of my favorite things out here. Not only do I sleep like a baby but I wake up thinking I'm at home with a box fan on. As usual, I woke up at 5:00 with the sun but I wasn't having it. It was somewhat chilly this morning and it felt so good to be under my quilt. I finally forced myself to get up at 6:30 and gone by 7:00.I made it to Harmon Hill about 7:45 and could see Bennington, VT from the ridge line. I assumed correctly that I'd finally gotten a data connection so I could post last night's journal. I think it's going to be tougher going forward to post a journal every night. It's been a while since I've felt like I was in the back country but we're here now. Hopefully I can find a spot during the day to get that and a call to Mrs. Rock Boat done. I couldn't get a call out all day today. I'll still write an entry every night but it may be a day or so before it gets posted. The terrain has definitely changed and the 23 miles today kicked my butt. I did enjoy the 1300 foot climb out of Bennington and the views from the lookout tower on Glastenbury Mountain were incredible. We could even see the tower on Mount Greylock. So far, despite the mud, I'm loving Vermont. It's incredibly beautiful here.We hung out with Doc and Forward again until they decided to call it a day at the shelter before the one we've stopped at. Hopefully we'll see them again soon as it's been a hilarious couple of days.I wasn't excited to finish the last 4.6 miles. My body is readjusting to mountains and I had run out of calories about halfway through. I'm having to get used to eating out of my food bag again. I'm glad we pushed though as I'd like to have an easy day into Rutland on Thursday. It's only about 70 miles away.Tomorrow looks to be another long day. We're pushing to get Poboy closer to Hanover for his family visit this weekend. We're also trying to hatch a plan to walk out of Hanover together early next week. We'll see. I'm thinking I'll be there on Sunday anyway.
Date: 2015-07-13
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Bromley Shelter
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: light rain

There were some active animals in the campsite overnight. We thought one was a deer but I'm guessing the others were either chipmunks or mice. It was actually pretty entertaining. Even at 11:00 PM. With the lack of sleep I was able to coax myself out of my quilt by 6:15 and onto the trail by 6:45.The first seven miles were a descent then a 1700 foot climb up Stratton Mountain. The climb itself wasn't too bad but seemed to go on forever. There aren't many exposed areas on the mountains here so it's difficult to figure out where the top is. The upside is that the tops are covered in balsam firs and spruce trees. It smells like Christmas.There's a fire tower on top that I was able to get a call to the Wife out from. The caretaker said that you could see Mount Washington on a clear day. Unfortunately it was pretty hazy all day. I can't believe we're that close to the White Mountains. I'll probably be in the thick of them by the end of next week. Mt. Moosilauke sits less than 150 miles away.We made our way down Stratton Mountain and soon came to Stratton Pond. It instantly became one of my favorite parts of the trail. It looks straight out of a painting. I used my fly killing skills (developed over 1650 miles of being constantly annoyed) to feed the fish by the shore. They seemed pretty happy about it.The rest of the day was pretty routine that ended with a 900 foot climb up Bromley Mountain.   I'm still a mile short of the summit so hopefully the views will be awesome in the morning. I was so hungry that I finally gave in to the ramen bomb at dinner. Hikers will make ramen and then dump mashed potatoes in to thicken it up and soak up the extra water. I didn't have ramen so I used a pasta side. I'm not proud but I am full. Isn't that what's important?Tomorrow will be another big day. We're still trying to get Poboy close to his family for his double zero this weekend. Jeopardy and I may get a little slack time this weekend as the three of us would prefer to tackle the Whites together. We're still working on plans. That's it though. Less than 25% to go as we passed that mark this morning. The trail is about to get really tough and we're all searching for motivation. Getting up every day and killing ourselves has taken its toll. As physical as it's about to get the desire to keep going is all in our heads. In Georgia everyone says not to give Katahdin a thought. Right now that thought is what's driving me forward everyday. Just a little more than a month to go.
Date: 2015-07-14
From: Bromley Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Another chilly morning and I wasn't interested in getting out of my tent. I finally started taking everything down a little after 7:00 and headed up the hill at 7:30.The climb up Bromley was quick and the last .3 of a mile was straight up a ski slope. I'm ready for ski season already. I got to the summit and checked out the view from the lift then headed to the warming hut. The first thing I noticed was a trash can. Three days in the woods and there isn't a much better sight. I was even carrying a spent fuel cannister that I was more than happy to rid myself of.Afterwards I made the 700 foot climb up Styles Peak and Poboy met up with my during the ridge traverse to Peru Peak. We headed down to the shelter and had lunch shortly after. For once I cooked lunch instead of just eating something cold. It set a good tone for the rest of the day.Poboy has a fun habit of saying the day is done after he finishes the climbs he's noted as tough. After lunch he noted that we were coasting the rest of the day while we were walking by Griffith Lake. At the end of the walk we made a right turn and were staring straight up a rock scramble. I made a few sarcastic comments and headed up.Halfway up the climb Poboy yelled for me to turn around. When I did I was greeted with one of the best views we've had in months. By the time we made it to the top I didn't care about the climb anymore. Baker Peak was awesome. We met a couple of locals up there and one offered me his cashews. I'm not a man that turns down cashews. Later on we made it to Little Rock Pond and Poboy went for a swim. I know Maine is going to be great in the pond category but I love the ones here in Vermont. This has quickly become my favorite state so far. I may change my tune tomorrow if it rains overnight and the trail becomes mud again.We made it to the shelter around 7:00 and hung out with a couple of southbounders and section hikers. One offered me a slew of Clif bars that I was happy to take off her hands. I've been eating so much lately that I was worried about tomorrow. Not anymore. That's true trail magic.Tomorrow should be a little bit shorter as I'm looking at just under 19 miles to the top of Killington. Thursday will probably be a nero into Rutland for resupply. After that it's a few days over to Hanover.
Date: 2015-07-15
From: Greenwall Shelter

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

I woke up this morning to rain and the sound of Poboy packing up. I knew he was going to do a big day into Rutland to pull ahead of us for the weekend. I fell back asleep and woke up at 7:00. For once I woke up feeling rested. I checked the radar, figured out the drops hitting my tent were coming from the trees instead of the sky, and started packing up. I didn't leave until just before 8:00. I went about five miles before my first stop at the next shelter. There were about five southbounders hanging out. It's good to talk with them since they're still in their honeymoon phase. We traded intel on the trail ahead. I'm getting more excited for New Hampshire.A little later I came to a view to the Rutland airport and met a group of camp counselors/campers climbing up the hill from the gorge. Some of them weren't particularly thrilled with the climb so I pulled out my elevation profile and showed them how they just finished a difficult climb and were now coasting to their destination. Fist bumps were exchanged and I finished the descent into the gorge. I miss being a camp counselor.I stopped at the next shelter for lunch then headed towards Killington. I spent part of the way up talking to a lady thru hiking the Long Trail. At one point she asked me to stop then pointed out that I'd just passed the 500 to go sign. I'm wondering when it's going to start feeling really close. I was happy to celebrate with a southbounder though. That first 500 was such a big day for me. I know it means a lot to them.The climb up Killington was 2700 feet up and really long. When I got to the shelter and hadn't seen a view I wasn't happy about it. I convinced another guy to hit the .2 mile summit trail that was straight up the mountain. It was worth it. The trail dumped off the other side of the mountain and into the top of the Killington Ski Resort. I poked around there for a few minutes before it became too cold and headed back to camp.So, tomorrow we finally get back to town. I'm starving and my food bag needs a refill. I'm hoping the Wendy's in Rutland ordered extra food this week because I'm planning on eating all of it. My hiker hunger can't get any worse, right?   Because it keeps getting worse.
Date: 2015-07-17
From: Rutland, VT

To: Wintturi Shelter
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: clear sky

There wasn't A/C in the hostel so we slept with the windows open. It was nice until around 2:00 AM when a couple of people on the street below started arguing over how one of them shouldn't drive home drunk. It was loud and heated and the cops eventually showed up. Never a dull moment in Rutland.We all got up a little before 7:00 and headed down to the deli for the hiker breakfast. It was their take on biscuits and gravy and was really good. They worked really hard trying to get people to stay and work with them. Sonny and I quickly grabbed our packs and headed to the bus station. Jeopardy wasn't far behind. They were nothing but hospitable, it's just not somewhere I'd like to stay around for more than a night.We took the 8:15 bus back to the trail and were hiking by 8:40. A mile in I came to Maine Junction where the AT and Long Trail go their separate ways. After a few good days of trail the AT came back in full AT force for the rest of the day. It was nothing crazy, just pointless ups and downs (PUDs) all day. We have to go up and over a lot of ridgelines to get to New Hampshire. The catch is that the AT likes to go over the highest point of every one. So, you'd climb up, see blue sky in the saddle, then take a sharp turn and summit the viewless high point. Then you'd come back down, turn back towards the saddle and descend the ridge. Over and over. I should be used to it now but I have hopes that one day we'll just go over the saddle. I can't wait to climb and descend huge mountains again. The constant ups and downs do a lot more wear and tear on the legs than the huge climbs do. The last couple of days I've run into a guy in his 60s wearing jeans and carrying a plastic bag full of who knows what. When I saw him yesterday he was headed up Killington and I told him to hit the side trail to the summit. I saw him again today so I decided to find out what he was up to. His name is South Pole and apparently he's been section hiking the trail for years and just parks his truck at a trailhead every day. He goes one direction for a while then heads back to the truck, essentially northbouding and southbounding the entire AT. He has the same amount of Vermont left that I do and has parts of Maine and Virginia to finish. Interesting guy. Meeting folks like that is one of the best parts of the trail.Towards the end of the day there was a side trail to a cabin with a view. I hadn't seen a view all day so I decided to head up. The cabin itself was great but had a deck on the roof that offered 360 degree views. I sat up there and talked to Twinkle Toes and Sonny for a while before deciding to finish the 2.6 miles to the shelter.I got here about 6:00 and have been hanging out at the shelter talking and laughing. There's a fun group tonight including Twinkle Toes, Penguin, Fourteen and Twiggy. I finally went back to my tent around 8:00 when it started raining.Tomorrow will be a 20 mile day, probably in the rain. That will leave a 5.9 mile day into Hanover on Sunday. The trail tomorrow looks a lot like today's. Hopefully it'll surprise me.
Date: 2015-07-18
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm changing things up today and starting with a rant. Since around Massachusetts a lot of folks have been warning us about the Whites. So, whenever we tell a story it's met with, "You haven't seen anything until you've done that in the Whites!". As in, "Remember that ice cream place in New Jersey?""Oh yea, that place was so good!"Then somebody will chime in to let us know we haven't really had ice cream until we've had it in the Whites. I know that's a bit of hyperbole but it's gotten pretty old. My friends and I have walked over 1700 miles in 12 states. I'm surrounded by NOBOs that are seasoned backpackers that have done some pretty impressive things. I can only assume, based on all the hype, that I'm going to enter a spaceship at the New Hampshire line and be taken to a planet run by the largest insects you've ever seen that live on mountains that actually vomit hikers. I know my friends. I know what we've been through. I'm pretty sure we've done enough hiking to be prepared for the trail ahead. A trip to outer space would be cool though.So I slept in this morning. The sleepless nights on Killington and in the hostel had taken their toll. I fell asleep around 9:00 and woke up at 7:15. I felt so much better today. I didn't even mind packing up a wet tent. I left camp right before 8:00.About 3.5 miles in I hopped over a fence stile and into a pasture. When I saw the cows I knew it was time for second breakfast. I sat there eating cashews until Doc and Forward showed up. We walked down to the road and over to a farm for some fruit, turnovers, sodas, and ice cream.Four miles later we came to a grocery bag filled with fruit and local beers. Twiggy and Trudge showed up as well. I'm not sure if there will be another time in my life where I'll get to drink random beers from a grocery bag left by a stranger. I'll have to unlearn this behavior when I get home. Well, that and fishing through random coolers like they're treasure chests. Doc, Forward, Twiggy, and I hiked together for most of the day.We had heard there was a guy in West Hartford that would ring a bell and call hikers over as we walked by. Well, we walked by, heard a bell, and were sitting in chairs on a random porch drinking sodas before we knew it. It was 5:30 before I reluctantly left to finish the 4.5 miles to the shelter. The other three stayed for the night and I heard Jeopardy showed up later and stayed as well. I just wanted a shorter walk into town tomorrow.I got to camp right at 7:00 and talked to Twinkle Toes and Penguin while I ate. Tomorrow is a 5.9 mile walk into Hanover. I should be there until Tuesday morning. It's my last planned zero. I'm picking up my last pair of shoes. This is the last town we'll walk straight through. It's also my last night in Vermont.
Date: 2015-07-19
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 5.9

I heard all the commotion of the SOBOs heading out early. With under six miles to go I wasn't in a hurry. I still left out around 7:00 but mostly because the humidity was miserable in my tent.The miles went quick and I emerged on the road in Norwich, VT about 8:30. First thing I saw? Trail magic. I had foregone breakfast so Oreos and sodas were a welcome sight. Penguin and I finished the road walk through Norwich and into Hanover together. Once we crossed the Connecticut River we were in New Hampshire. After that it was a short walk up the hill to downtown.Twelve states down.Downtown was buzzing on a Sunday morning and a bit overwhelming at first. When you spend so much time in the woods you feel really out of place in a town like Hanover. I'm just not used to such nice places at this stage. We walked by Lou's and grabbed our free thru hiker doughnuts. Once Doc, Forward, Jeopardy and Twiggy showed up we headed to Ramunto's for our free slice of pizza. They weren't open yet but let us hang out inside to wait. The pizza was delicious and I had a whole one after my free slice.Doc booked us into the Six South Street hotel so we all ran over and took showers. Shortly after we were hungry again so I ran to Molly's for a burger. I spent the rest of the day walking around the Dartmouth campus and trying to avoid the rain. We all went to the pub for dinner and I went back to the hotel and crashed.Tomorrow is the last planned zero. There are 442.1 miles to go so there might be one more day. I'm leaving that to the discretion of what my body needs. This is a really cool town though and the only place the trail actually goes by a Starbucks.
Date: 2015-07-20
From: Hanover, NH

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0

I don't think I got enough sleep last night but, in town, hunger prevails. Jeopardy and I left the room early to grab breakfast at Lou's. He got crepes simply because he'd always wanted to say, "I'll have the crepes", in a French accent. He did love the crepes though. I had a bacon, egg, and cheese and the best corned beef hash I've had on the trail. Yes, I've had a lot of corned beef hash since I've been gone.Afterwards we headed over to the post office to pick up packages. New shoes, Winter gear, and a new liner bag made my day. It's funny to get a bunch of thru hikers together to open their mail. You've never seen so much excitement at things you take for granted in normal life. I took my things back to the hotel, moved my stuff to my new hotel room, grabbed my backpacking quilt and headed back to the post office. By then it was time for lunch and Jeopardy and I had made plans to eat with Poboy, Mrs. Poboy, and Poboy's parents. We had a great time and it was great to meet all of them. Hopefully we can all get together again after this and include Mrs. Rock Boat. After lunch Jeopardy, Poboy, and I grabbed the bus to West Lebanon to hit the grocery store and Eastern Mountain Sports. I picked up another fuel canister, stuff sack, and the most rare piece of gear ever: replacement tips for black diamond trekking poles. I've looked everywhere for them since they we're mangled in Pennsylvania. When I got back to the hotel I broke out the jetboil, boiled the old tips, and popped them right off. I'm excited to have fully functional poles again.Since the afternoon I've eaten a 12 inch pizza, chicken fingers, and a bag of peanut butter M&Ms. I've also gotten my gear ready to head out tomorrow. I'm pretty excited for the trail ahead and feel really good that I've been able to address all of my gear issues between the last two town stops. Hanover has been a great town. I'd love to come back.
Date: 2015-07-21
From: Hanover, NH

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 16.6

The bed last night was oh so comfortable. We all slept until after 8:00 AM and only got up to head back to Lou's for breakfast. When we got there it was packed but we got a table pretty fast. By that time it was 9:00 AM and when we got our food it was well after 10:00. I think they forgot about us, it happens. Usually not a big deal on hiker time but we needed to finish packing before checkout at 11:00 and still have time for some decent miles. Luckily, the hotel understood and gave us an extra hour. I was headed out of town by 11:30, ahead of the group.For once it was hot outside and my body didn't feel like climbing hills. The humidity didn't help either. I drank a ton of water today and still felt lethargic. It might have been breakfast related. Chorizo and eggs are so good though, just not pre-hiking.A little before 4:00 I finished the climb to the South peak of Moose Mountain and gave the Wife a call from the viewpoint. As usual the call was cut off by spotty service. When I started to call back I realized the clouds had started to move in on me. I packed up and headed back in the woods while trying to figure out if I should stay in the shelter a mile from the summit. When I got there it looked as if the storm was going to miss the mountain. I finished the trip up to the North peak and walked down the hill. It started raining right before I hit the bottom and was pouring as I crossed the road. I found an overly leafy tree to hide under and stayed relatively dry. When it eased up I celebrated my ingenuity and began the thousand foot climb to the shelter.On the very steep climb I discovered that no, the storm wasn't over and I was now climbing a mountain in driving rain while surrounded by lightning. When I hit the peak I was drenched from head to toe. So much for that shower in town. I got to the shelter a little after 7:00, put my tent up, made dinner, and crawled in the bed. I was wondering what Poboy and Jeopardy had done since they had a better chance of waiting the storm out in the last shelter. They showed up about 8:30, drenched as well. Glad they made it though.Tomorrow we'll hopefully get to play some croquet with Bill Ackerly, a trail legend. After that it's more mountain climbing. If the rain will stop, this hiking thing might get really fun through here.
Date: 2015-07-22
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Another rainy night but I slept so good. I've missed my 20 degree bag and how comfortable it is. I didn't convince myself to leave the wet tent until a little after 7:00.My first stop today was a Bill Ackerley's house, about a mile into my day. I had been excited about meeting him but he had just left to go to Boston this morning. Oh well. We stayed there for a couple of hours to dry all of our gear out. By the time it was done it was already 10:30. Not good for pulling a twenty mile day.A couple miles later we were headed up Smarts Mountain, a couple thousand feet up. The climbs are getting tougher but oh, the views. From the ridgeline I could see out for miles and over to the summit I was about to climb. I made my way across and when I began the steep climb up it started raining. Again. Climbing up rock faces in the rain isn't my idea of fun. I hurried to the top, hopped in the Fire Warden's cabin, and found about ten other hikers with the same idea.Poboy showed up a little later and we spent far too much time waiting out the storm. I've been frustrated with mileage all day but there's nothing you can do about the weather. The trail is extremely muddy and is really slow going at times. With so much rain it's not much of a surprise. Heading down the mountain I slipped off a log and fell into a puddle. The mud came up to the middle of my calf. Poboy, luckily, has a video of the whole ordeal. We got to the bottom, stopped to eat and get water, then began the climb up Mt. Cube. It was only 1500 feet but seemed to go on forever. The peak was completely worth it though. The descent was really steep and a river. But, by then it was after 6:00 and we were both ready to be done. By 7:15 we'd made it to the bottom and found a place to camp.I've since eaten and done my camp chores. It's now 9:00 PM and no sight of Jeopardy. He was still at Bill Ackerley's house when we left. Hopefully he's not too far behind.Tomorrow we'll make a trip into Glencliff to top off our food bags before heading 3750 feet up Mt. Moosilauke. That's the official start of the White Mountains. I've never hiked above treeline before so I'm getting pumped about the next few days.