morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-09-05
From: Rutland - Back Home Again Hostel

To: Churchill Scott Shelter
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: overcast clouds

As is habit now, I spent the morning first packing up all my gear and organizing things for today's chores. Then, I set about to do my work for stay wanting to get that out of the way as quickly as possible. I was assigned to work in the kitchen doing prep work. First, I peeled and sliced cucumbers, then I washed tomatoes, and lastly I chopped carrots. Easy peasy.Then I set about finding a chiropractor. It seemed like the ones in Rutland were either closed on Tuesdays or very expensive. I tried Manchester and found one that would see me, but it looks like I will be there on a weekend. So it looks like I would have to wait until Bennington to see one. That's fine since I will be going there to pick up my bounce box anyway. I find one that actually takes my insurance and can see me on a Thursday. I set up the appointment, glad to have that set up, then I set out to do some laundry. When I return, I have lunch with Chef and the others, then pack up my bags and head out. Chef is sad as now he will be the only hiker there, but I remind him that he needs to get back out on the trail!I catch the bus back to the Inn at the Long Trail and set off where I left off yesterday. Right off the bat, my new shoes, which I have determined lack the traction I need, slide off a rock and I trying to out run the fall, end up slipping into the ravine scraping the inside of my legs. Why is there never anyone with a video camera around when I fall??? I know that I could win big bucks on America's Funniest Home Videos if only someone could catch these falls on video!!!! Back on my feet, the trail is covered up with bushes of touch-me-nots and it looks really cool to be hiking among them. It's getting dark - clouds coming in and I have to rush to make the four plus miles to the shelter before the rains come. At the shelter, it is just me and Old Ridge Runner, a former thru-hiker that now is a volunteer writer for the ATC Companion Guide. He was out doing some information collecting for next year's guide and decided to camp at the shelter. He is very talkative and has interesting stories about his thru-hike in 1986 and other hikers he has met over the years. As we drift off to sleep, he gives me permission to throw a boot at him if he snores too loud. HA!
Date: 2006-09-06
From: Churchill Scott Shelter

To: Upper Cold River Road
Miles today: 10.1

I chat with Old Ridge Runner this morning and he offers to get my water for me as he wants to check out the spring. He is planning to just hike back to his car back at Rt. 4, but he tells me about the trail I am about to traverse having hiked it before himself. My feet are really hurting today and I am really having second thoughts about these shoes. Not to mention that my pack is way too heavy. I have too much food and could really stand to send some excess clothes and other stuff home. I will have to seriously examine what is all in my pack. Today's climb has be going up to Killington Mtn, a side trail leading to the summit of the last four thousand foot mountain for until the south. The weather is less than perfect; it's drizzly. I climb up to Cooper Lodge a four sided shelter that is really in disrepair and question whether or not to take the blue blaze. I have been told that there is a snack shop up there with good food and you can take a gondola ride to the base of the mountain. I decide to skip it. It is supposed to be really steep, I have too much food in my pack as is, I am already in a freezing cold rain with no views, so I don't see that hiking up there would add anything to my adventure other than more sore muscles. I'll have to save that side trail for another journey. The climb down Killington is tough. There are tons of blowdowns to climb over and it seems to take forever! (A blowdown is when trees or bushes or other obstacles are in the way of the trail. Oftentimes, a hiker has to walk around or over these obstacles.)Once I get down the mountain, it does warm up, but this has been one of the coldest hiking days so far. I pass by Governor Clement Shelter which everyone, even the Green Mtn Club, advises that you skip. It's really a dumpy shelter due to the fact that you can drive up to it (makes it convenient for locals to use it as a party location). Too bad, because it is located next to a nice stream. Moving on, I try and find the "Secret Shelter" which is privately owned but open to thru-hikers, but I misread the directions and went the wrong direction. So after about 30 minutes of a fruitless search, I move south and find a nice campsite next to the stream and hang my hammock. I get everything set up and begin fixing dinner just as the rains come. I'm dry and so is my gear. Nothing left to do but go to bed. My back is really sore today and mentally, I am feeling alone. I am starting to long for some daily companions.
Date: 2006-09-07
From: Upper Cold River Road

To: Bully Brook
Miles today: 12.6

For once, I am up and out pretty early today. Now that the terrain is getting smoother, I am ready to add on the miles. I get to the road crossing and there is a cooler there with trail magic. Only the sodas and crackers are all gone, only their remains and the hiker log are there. So nice that someone was thinking of the hikers though! Two older gentlemen catch up with me as I am signing the log book and tell me that they had stayed at the secret shelter and that there was Guiness in the stream there. Oh, why did I have to get those directions wrong! This will teach me to pay better attention and read for details and comprehension!!!We all hike on. I catch them again at a stream crossing and one of the fellas ask if he can buy me a soda. There is trail magic again, only this time it's still available for us late comers. Their two friends join up with us and the five of us enjoy a soda and converstaion. There is a note left by the trail angels stating that this year has has a low number of thru-hikers compared to previous years. Hmmmm. I wonder why. Anyway. We all head out, me pulling up the rear.I stop for lunch at the Clarendon Shelter which is really nice. It's just before the road crossing where the Whistle Stop Cafe is just a 1/2 mile off the trail, but I am still sporting too much food in my pack to be stopping and eating at restaurants. I cross the road and cross the gorge which is pretty impressive. I meet up with some local day hikers at an overlook just above the gorge and they fill me in on some local info like what I am looking at in the view, turkey buzzards, how to make a bed out of pine boughs, etc. Then I head down to the next shelter and run in to the fellas I met earlier. Three are from SC and one from NC and have been section hiking the AT for 20 years. They all met up through work and their trail names are Hopsing, Railhead, Lightfoot, and Doubleback. They are really funny and interesting and I enjoy their company and wish that I was hiking with them. But I decide to press on for a few more miles and they decide to stay. Perhaps we will meet again further down the trail - they are hiking as far N. Adams, MA.I decide to go to the next shelter, but when I am almost there, I find this sweet campsite next to Bully Brook. This is where I will spend the night, besides the shelter was 3 tenths of a mile off the trail and I hate having to walk a long way off the trail to a shelter! I set up camp and cook dinner and enjoy the wonderful sounds of the water as it flows down the waterfall next to camp.
Date: 2006-09-08
From: Bully Brook

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Another day and I am once again on the trail by 8! I pass by the trail to the shelter I could have stayed at and hear a rustle to my right. I stop and look and see a cluster of wild turkeys running into the woods. Pretty darn cool. I head up to White Rocks Mountain and see the coolest thing yet on a mountain top with no view: mounds of white rocks set about like statues. Hikers have stopped to make artwork out of the rock rubble. Some making statues, cairns, or spelling out words are blocking out pictures. I make a contribution to the gallery and spell out "Super" and then make a star with the rocks. I see the names of other hikers that I have met on the trail like Mrs. Gorp, Daisy, Site Specific. It's very neat. Then I head down to the shelter at Little Rock Pond Shelter and have some lunch. My feet are really killing me and I take off my shoes and enjoy my rest. The pond is really nice and I read in the journals about hikers that have gone swimming. It's too cold for me to jump in even though the temperature is warm today and the sun is out. As I pass by the pond, I hear a fisherman in a canoe holler out to his buddy that he just caught the biggest Brook Trout he's ever seen. I think about going fishing, but I don't want to carry that extra weight!I hike on and take another break at Big Branch Shelter. There is a nice waterfall/stream in front of this shelter and there are some hikers in the water below the shelter. I consider stopping here for the day, but I think the NC/SC men are going to the next shelter and I want to hang out with them. Plus, I have a few more miles in me. I get to the Lost Pond Shelter and am all alone. I head down to the stream and get water and then head further down stream and clean up a bit. I am feeling really dirty. When I get back up to the shelter, Hopsing arrives. This is a small shelter and I learn that Railhead sounds like a freight train at night with his snoring, so I decide to hang my hammock for sleeping, but hang out in the shelter for cooking and socializing. The fellas are all interested in my hammock and come to check it out. These boys travel in high style with chairs and a saw and pillows, etc. Of course they are only out for a few weeks and they can share other gear if they chose. Another section hiker, Susan arrives and makes camp in the shelter with the fellas. She's heading north so we quiz her on the trail ahead. Lightfoot builds a great big fire and we have a good evening all hanging out. The boys mention that they are heading into Manchester Center tomorrow (they are having their car shuttled to the trail head) and tell me that if I want to go into town with them, I am welcome to a ride. Whohoo, town food and a shower sound good to me, plus, maybe I can exchange these painful shoes of mine!
Date: 2006-09-11
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Stratton-Arlington Road
Miles today: 14.4

BRRR. It was very chilly last night. I mostly stayed warm, but my hips were very cold as that is the largest part of my sleeping bag. I will have to remember to put on more clothes as cold weather becomes more the standard and not the fluke. Everyone takes off before me. I had planned to get an early start as I wanted to do 18 miles, but Peace Pipe says it would be a hard day as there are tons of bogs in the trail I am heading down. So I stay warm in my sleeping bag a little longer. Once I get on the trail, I don't think the bogs and mud are as bad as he said and wish that I had gotten an earlier start as I probably could have made the 18 miles or atleast to Black Brook where there is a campsite with a fire ring and wood. The weather is pretty sunny and nice but it is chilly, especially, when I head up to Stratton Mtn. The caretaker, Jean, comes out and talks to me and tells me what mountains I am looking at from atop the fire tower. I can see Mt. Greylock which I will climb when I get to MA and I can see Bromley Mtn. that I climbed just a few days ago. I don't make it to Black Brook and I think about going at least to Stratton-Arlington Road, but decide I don't want to camp too close to the road. I stealth next to a little brook. It's a nice spot and everything is warm but my hands. Even if I had made it to a campsite with a fire ring, I probably would not have made a fire. I think I would have been too tired. As I drift off, I reflect on how empty the trail is getting. The '80's Tiffany song is stuck in my head: "I think I'm alone now...there doesn't seem to be any hiker's around-ound...."
Date: 2006-09-12
From: Stratton-Arlington Road

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: clear sky

After being so motivated yesterday to put in the miles, I am so not today. I sleep in really late and don't even get on the trail until around 11. All day, I am a slug to the trail. So I resign myself that I will not get to the Goddard shelter on the other side of Glastenbury Mtn. I will just take it easy today and save that climb for tomorrow. As I hike out from my stealth location, I find that there was a nice campsite with a fire ring close to the road, if only I had kept going. There was also a nice campsite at Black Brook like I had been told by another hiker. Oh well. I pass by some section hikers who ask me if I am Superstar. They had stayed the night at a shelter with my southern boys who had told them about me. They are curious about my hike and we chat for a bit. I stop for lunch at Story Spring Shelter that is right on the trail. Then I stop at Lydia's Rest and rest. This is the only spot I have passed today with a view. Then I get to Caughnawga Shelter and it is truly outdated and dumpy. I thought about staying here and having it all to myself as I have heard that there are already hikers at the next shelter, but it is just too dumpy for me. So I move on to Kid Gore Shelter. I meet Tom, a section hiker from Atlanta, and Ben, a Long Trail hiker from the DC area. Both of these fellas are kinda quiet, but I ask enough questions that I get them talking. This really is a much nicer shelter than the one just 200 feet north. This one has a great view of the mountains and will hopefully have a great sunrise in the morning. Tom and I are both ready for bed around 7; Ben having just got on the trail is still used to town time, meaning he's not aclimated to going to sleep when the sun sets and waking when the sun rises. He'll get used to it after a few more 15 mile days!
Date: 2006-09-14
From: Bennington - Chris & Arla's Home

To: Bennington - Chris & Arla's Home
Miles today: 0.0

Up early to start sorting things out. I get to the PO, just across the street, right as they open and pick up my packages. Then I start laundry and head over to Friendly's to eat some breakfast: eggs, toast, homefries, bacon, and sausage. I look over the mileage charts and plan out my next few days of hiking, but get distracted by the emergency personel called in to pick up a sick waitress and take her to the emergency room. I head back to the house and the Chris takes me to the chiropractor on his way to drop off his charge at Price Chopper. Chris is a caretaker for Tom who has autism. Tom works at Price Chopper, a local grocery store, as a check out bag person. The chiropractor is very thorough and gives me the same diagnosis as my chiropractor at home and then gives me an adjustment. He also shows me some stretches to do and then asks me to come back later in the day for another adjustment. I am feeling better already.I head next door to this store called Boxes and Cans. It's kinda like Big Lots and has lots of stuff marked down really cheap. I load up on powerbars and other food items. Then I walk back to Chris and Arla's. It's not too far as this is a small town and I enjoy taking in the architecture. There is a beautiful church right near the main intersection. I also stop in the local outfitter's, Nature's Closet and check things out. Still haven't found a hat I like.I work on some of my journals when I get back to the house and then go back to get adjusted again. It has started to rain so Arla graciously offers to drive me there and pick me up. The adjustment is just what I need. When I get back to the house, Arla has made a delicious meal and invites me to join in with her family and Bluebird. She has made grilled chicken, rice with cranberries, onions, and cashews, sauteed zuchinni and squash, and homemade biscuits. Delicious. I ask permission to have 2nds, everything is sooo good. This is the kind of meal I would have at home and it is so comforting. The conversation is really good too. Chris and Arla are such interesting people, involved in so many different activities - musically and artistically.After dinner, I take advantage of the free long distance and make phone calls to friends at home until the battery dies on the cordless phone. Then I put aside everything and crash on the futon in the barn. It's been a full day even if there wasn't any hiking involved!
Date: 2006-09-15
From: Bennington - Chris & Arla's Home

To: Bennington - Chris & Arla's Home
Miles today: 0.0

I got up early and packed up all of my stuff. I put my pictures on a disk, but did not have an opportunity to upload any to the website. Will have to do that later. I also got my packages ready to be mailed ahead. This bounce box is getting expensive, so anything I have not used either in my pack or my bounce box is going home! Once again, time to lighten the load. I also went into town and bought some fudge to send home to mom and dad and again went looking for a hat. I stopped at Friendly's for lunch and inquired about the sick waitress. Everything is okay with her; she will be fine. I took a final shower and then played a game of pool with Josh. Tom came over and played a game too. I tell ya though, that kid knows his music. I don't know why they have him working at Price Chopper; he should be working at a radio station or a record store because he knows names of artists, albums, and songs and the years they were recorded. Amazing! Josh helped me take my packages to the PO and now there is nothing left to do but get on the trail. Just as I am thinking I will leave, another sobo, Dan arrives. I mention to Arla that my foot is still hurting - I tweaked the heck out of it the day I came into town, and she mentions that I can stay another night. Well, twist my arm....but, I agree only if she will put me to work doing anything, laundry, dishes, etc. I don't want to be a total freeloader. So that's exactly what I do - the laundry and the dishes. Arla cooks another fantastic meal - spaghetti. Then I continue to work on my journals - I am so far behind. Dan comes in and so does Arla and the next thing you know we are all looking at Arla's pictures on her computer. She has traveled to some amazing places and has fantastic photos. Bluebird comes downstairs and we are all in the kitchen now chowing down on some ice cream. I ask Arla to take a picture of the three of us. Then Dan and I head off to the Barn. He seems to be a nice guy from Minnesota, I think. He will be here tomorrow as he is waiting on a mail drop, but I am definitely taking off. Time for me to get back on the trail!
Date: 2006-09-19
From: Furnice Hill Road, Cheshire, MA

To: Blotz Road btwn Dalton and Becket, MA
Miles today: 14.8

Another day of slackpacking! Courtenay and I leave the house about 6 in the morning and stop by Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. Maple glazed donuts and chai vanilla tea are delicious! She drops me off in Chesire where she picked me up yesterday.Its an easy hike today and I have done about 8.5 miles in to Dalton by 11. I head to the PO to see if my package arrived but it hasn't so I bounce it to Tyringham. Then I call home. Dad's been talking about this town for days and so I thought I'd let him know I had finally arrived. I try and be humorous and ask him to play the "Guess where on the AT is Superstar," but before I can get out my three multiple choice answers, he's guessed where I am. Then I head into the pub for a burger and fries. I have now had a burger and fries in four states and still Marlow's in Alpharetta is the best - knowing this keeps me heading south!I head south out of town and pass by Tom Levardi's home, which is right on the AT. I stop by just to say hello. Tom is a trail angel that opens up his home to hikers. He's friendly and lets me know that Goatmilk is two days ahead of me and Gastank is just a half day ahead of me. He also confirms that there is defnitely others sure to be behind me based on his experience with hikers over the years.The trail takes me back into the woods and I start to climb Day mountain. It's been really hot, but now it is starting to cool off and the clouds that rolled in at lunchtime are now starting to release raindrops. The rain is cool and refreshing and since today's trail doesn't offer any views, it's all good.I get to the trail and have to wait in the rain for Courtenay to pick me up. Luckily, she has some old flags in her trunk that I can wrap up in to get a little dry and warm. We drive back to the house and she drops me off and then she heads back to school for Parent's night. I clean up and do some laundry and get warm. Avery comes home from her soccer game and we fix some food and watch a movie called "Soapdish." I also work on my journals and check email and the weather on line. When Courtenay and Drew get home from the school, we talk about the plan for tomorrow. We decide that I will stay another day as its supposed to rain, my feet are sore, I have lots of journaling to do and we are trying to figure out if we can meet up over the weekend as well.
Date: 2006-09-20
From: Blotz Road btwn Dalton and Becket, MA

To: Blotz Road (by way of Williamstown)
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I decided to take today off. I had planned to keep going, but Courtenay and I looked at the weather and talked about all that I wanted to accomplish and decided last night that I would stay another day. So I spent all of today updating my journals. Never again will I get 3 weeks behind in my writings! This has been exhausting and I didn't even leave the house.I did take some time to watch two Appalachian Trail movies: Appalachian Impressions and 2000 Miles to Maine. Both are very inspiring and motivating. I can't wait to get back on the trail tomorrow and see what awaits me. When Courtenay got home from work, we went up to the grocery and I realized that the temperature has dropped a lot since yesterday. Then I help her cook dinner. It was delicious. Salisbury steak made with turkey meat and steamed broccoli and asparagus and instant potatoes. It will be hard to leave such good meals.So now that my journals are updated, its time for me to pack up my things and get ready for tomorrow. We'll be leaving the house at 5:30 in order to get me to where I left off and get Courtenay to school on time. I have really enjoyed my time in Williamstown and hope that I can repay Courtenay and her family for all of their hospitality. It has been a great visit!