morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-07-27
From: Salisbury CT

To: The Hemlocks Lean-to
Miles today: 14.1

What a great day of hiking! Also what a great feeling it is not to be complaining about anything today. There were three big climbs today, all of which offered great views. The picture today is from Race Mountain, where we ridge walked for a long time before decending to the gap and then up Everett Mountain. A couple big milestones today: we entered into Massachussetts and passed 1500 miles. Also, the first time above 2000ft since Virginia.      It's great to have a day like today remind me of how amazing this journey is to my life. Although it must sound like I'm being tortured from the reader's point of view, remember that I am a man of detail and cannot rest until every problem is solved. I truly am having a great time. The transition between disbelief of how many miles to go, to disbelief of how many miles I have already gone is mind blowing.      Unfortunately, it's way too early to relax because the hardest three states are the three left to go. And after experiencing this year's weather to date, there is no doubt in my mind that we will face many weather challenges in these coming regions.
Date: 2009-07-28
From: The Hemlocks Lean-to

To: Great Barrington Mass.
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

More rain last night created the most amazing sight from Mt. Everett looking down into a valley full of clouds. It was one of those moments that you automatically stop and say "this is why I'm out here".      I was trying not to complain about anything yesterday, so I failed to mention that my main water tank has developed a leak which wets my entire posterior! I have had to take it out of service and carry an additional auxillary tank while I work the problem out. Tried to tape it to no avail.      Lots and lots of errands today in Great Barrington and the town is very spread out. Probably 6 extra miles of walking between getting mail drops, resupply, laundry, and a way too expensive hair cut. How much can someone ethically charge to make someone bald?      Anyway, Lunchbox, Gezza, Top Shelf and Sailor were all feeling a bit cranky so I lightened the situation by buying the kids a surprise bottle of Maker's Mark. Then everyone was warm and happy!      The weather forecast looks like one of the five signs of the apocolypse and I don't want to leave...
Date: 2009-07-29
From: Great Barrington Mass.

To: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-to
Miles today: 11.7

While immersed in Family Guy last night at the hotel, I worked on my water tank using a bike tire repair kit. This morning I filled it, checked it for leaks,then began the 2 mile slog from the hotel to the post office. When I arrive at the post office, my hiney was soaked. Thankfully the gear store was three doors down and I forked over $30.00 for a new tank. Problem solved.      The only thing that looked worse than the weather report today was the sky. An hour into the hike, it was so dark I considered getting out my head lamp(at 1400hrs)! Before long, we were in the thick of a pretty good storm and unfortunatly we were on the ridge line. Lunchbox was out ahead maybe 30 mintues and I estimated myself about 5 minutes ahead of Gezza and Top Shelf. A lightning bolt struck a tree about a quater mile to my soutwest. Immediately I turned around and hiked south bound until I intercepted Gezza and Top Shelf. We hiked together to the next shelter and took a break there.      After the thunder stopped, we hiked another mile until they got off to go into a hostel where they were expecting a package. I hiked another 5 miles and met Lunchbox at the next shelter. It was one of the new, huge, 15 person ones and we were there alone. He built a fire and we ate dinnner as heavy rain moved in on us. It's a great feeling listening to that rain outside and knowing I'm not in it! However, the trail is going to be a mess tomorrow.
Date: 2009-07-30
From: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-to

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: broken clouds

      I cannot describe how hard it rained all night last night. The sheer quantity of water over the duration of time was unbelievable. The trail today was more of a mess than I have ever seen it. Some places had knee deep water or foot deep mud. I was scared my shoes might come off in it and I'd never find them. I wrestled all day to stay on my feet and watched Lunchbox come down right in front of me and twist his ankle. It's a little unsettling right now and it's not going to be getting any easier anytime soon.      Poor Lunchbox kept going to do 25 miles today as he is meeting his family in Dalton. I stopped at this charming cabin on Goose Pond to hopefully wait for Top Shelf and Gezza to catch up. I had a great swim in the pond but quickly discovered that my swimming muscles don't work like they did months ago.      An interesting phenonemon has begun happening recently. We are running into south bound thru-hikers who started in Maine. There are four of them here tonight. The culture of the "SOBO's" is so much different than ours and it is neat to hear things from their perspective. It is especially helpful to have them fill us in on important things we will soon be encountering. The bad part is that you cannot predict when they will be arriving so you can't plan shelter arrivals very well. Oh, and they also act like they are big shots because they have already hiked Maine and the Whites. Their actual slogan is "the hard part is over". Although everyone agrees that these places have the hardest terrain, it is also widely recognized that the hardest part of the trip, by far, is the duration of the hike and this is something they can have no idea of yet.      The weather report is, once more, unbelievable. We have decided to go into town once again to try and dry out.
Date: 2009-07-31
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton Mass.
Miles today: 20.6

Goodness, gracious! This was one of those times that you are constantly asking yourself, "why on earth am I out here?". I know I have been using crazy words to describe the weather lately, like "unbelievable, apocolyptic". I have run out of words that can convey what I am seeing out here. It poured all day. Not rained, poured. The trail is in unbelievable condition. Trees down, thigh high water, knee deep mud, entire hills gushing with water! The boardwalks they put down in watered areas are under water! Places where you cross streams are dangerous. I began implementing a proceedure that is for Maine river crossings where all pack straps are taken off and loosened before entry, so if you are swept away you can get out of your pack and not drown.      Walking in this stuff stressed muscles that have not been bothered before. Namely, my ACL's in the knees because of the side ways sliding. Speed and footings had to be monitored closely all day. About an hour before the end of the day, I got turned around on top of Werner Mountain due to bad markings. Half an hour later I ran into my north bound ,buddy Ned the Fed and it took everthing I had not to throw a temper tantrum right there. I just looked at him, laughed, and turned around and ran back up the mountain a second time.      The worst part of the day came when I arrived at the shelter an hour over due to find it completly full with a youth group. The leader came to me and said "we can accomodate one more person on the floor". But what about all the other hikers bound here? Although I was really upset, I totally told him that shelters are not for youth groups and Scouts. And they're not! You can't just march a group of 14 people to a shelter and monopolize it. It's not just rude and unethical, it is against the ATC rules and I told him. So, he said they would tent, but there were no tent sites. I left in a rage because I was not going to be there all night and witness those poor kids getting soaked in poorly pitched tents. Of course I looked like the bad guy but how can you plan a program like that for a youth group and be so irresponsible to not know the rules, where you're going, or the weather forecast?      Then I found myself in a dangerous situation hiking an extra 3 miles that I had not budgeted energy for. Thankfully, I made it to Dalton where I bought a hotel room for myself with money I had not budgeted for...      The last thing I heard on the TV was how Massachussetts is experiencing the worst rainy season in 70 years. Welcome to my thru-hike!
Date: 2009-08-01
From: Dalton Mass.

To: Dalton Mass.
Miles today: 0.0

I found Top Shelf and Gezza this morning and they took me to "the Birdcage" which is an unadvertised accomodation for thru-hikers here, set up in a very giving man's house. There are a few hikers here, some northbound and some south, everyone trying to put themselves back together after the last few days. The conversations are ridiculous. Talk of broken poles, waist deep fords, terrible falls. Bad enough that one person packed it in and went home.My plan is to take a couple days to let things settle down a little. Although it's nice today, it's supposed to get rotten again tomorrow. The fronts are so close together now it is impossible to dodge the bullet. Lunchbox has gone home for the weekend to visit family and Top Shelf and Gezza plan on slac-packing Greylock tomorrow. Greylock is the biggest mountain in Mass., our first 3000ft peak since the Three Ridges in Virginia. I will stay here tomorrow and leave Monday. They will zero Monday and wait for Lunchbox to return. Then hopefully we'll all be back on the same track for whatever fun awaits us into Vermont this week. Until then...
Date: 2009-08-03
From: Dalton Mass.

To: Wilber Clearing Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: clear sky

It was a nice first day back out. Although I spent the first hour of today hopelessly lost(I went down the wrong trail). I still got up and over Mt Greylock and into camp be 1830, doing 21 miles. Greylock being the highest peak in Mass. offered great views all around on this sunny day. Even though it was sunny, the trail continues to be unmanagable and I had soaked feet all day long. I chose not to resupply in Dalton so I wouldn't have to do the 3,000 ft Greylock climb with a heavy food pack. So tomorrow the focus will be and in and out resupply to Williamstown,Mass., then crossing the border into Vermont! Until then...
Date: 2009-08-04
From: Wilber Clearing Shelter

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

Greetings from Vermont! After a successful resupply, it was back up the mountain with a heavy pack to trudge through heavy mud. Hikers sometimes call Vermont "Vermud" because of all the mud. All day I was pushing with the energy of 3 miles per hour but barely doing more than 2. I feel like I've been ice skatin all day. Anyway, we're expecting yet another front to come through tomorrow so we'll see what that does to the weather. Until then...
Date: 2009-08-05
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Brrr! It's cold and I can see my breath, but it's August! I knew something was fishy this afternoon when I took my shoes off and they were steaming. I am camped at a beautiful shelter with a positively beautiful view to the east, after a really tough hiking day. I am getting better at dealing with the mud and made 3mph on a 9 mile stretch today. It continues to be difficult on the feet and on the soul to be wet all day long. I passed two section hikers who had just seen a moose moments before. The wild life count for this hike is as follows: deer,67/bear,17/snakes,41(5 poisonous)/turkey,14/fox,1/grouse,1/ racoon,1/beaver,1/ box turtle,8/ moose,0. I would trade all of the snakes for just one moose!More of the same tomorrow, but it only rained for an hour today so we will expect things to continue to dry out. Until then...
Date: 2009-08-06
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: William B. Douglas Shelter
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today's big challenge was the 4,000 ft peak Stratton Mountain, or "Mt Stratosphere" as I nick named it. I woke up with unexplainable energy and was jittery and hyper until we began hiking. Then I ran up the mountain, literally. This sounds great but I couldn't moderate myself into a pace and just kept pushing harder and harder. I fell twice on the way up. The first 12 miles of today were complete by 1230 hrs and doing them ,I made better than 3mph.The top was incredable and I spent an hour and a half there. There was a fire tower to climb and we spent a good long time hypothesizing about the views. We think we could recognize Greylock back to the south. And there was a mean looking range to the north/northeast that could possibly be part of the Whites way off in the distance.Tomorrow is six miles into town to resupply for the 6 day leg to Hanover,NH. Staying at a hostel tomorrow night ,with all you can eat Ben and Jerry! Until then...
Date: 2009-08-08
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Bromley Shelter
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Exciting news. I am ecstatic to announce that I have hired none other than telethon mogul Sally Struthers to head up the ever-growing Sailor J Complain-a-thon! Just think...for such a small contribution, like one sympathetic thought of me a day plowing through knee deep mud, you can make a thru hiker feel so much better! Subscribe now and we will throw in a free "I'm only thirty so why am I bald already" bandana so you can look just like Sailor J himself!!All joking aside, today was a nice break from the monotony of the last week. My brother came to Manchester Center to hike with me and do an overnight. He met me at Green Mountain Hostel and we drove to the trailhead to hike up Bromley Mountain. Actually, he wanted to hike ten miles to Peru Peak Shelter, but I had to edit the plan because it is really hard for anyone to come out cold and do that kind of mileage right away. We hiked two miles up to Bromley Shelter and relaxed there for a few minutes, then proceeded the extra mile up to the summit of the mountain where we stayed for most of the afternoon. Bromley is evidently a ski resort in the winter time and they had a nice observation tower on top of the mountain from which you could see five states. Although we had no way of knowing exactly what we were looking at, we were able to hypothesize the whereabouts of Stratton, Greylock, and Killington which are a few of the big names on the trail lately.After we spent the afternoon on the summit (and got cold--its been so cold lately!) we backtracked on mile back to the Bromley Shelter where we met Calamity Jane, a southbound hiker. We had a great time chatting it up with her before more hikers showed up, including Joe Kickass (NOBO), a northbound section hiking family, and three Long Trail northbounders. It was nice to have a variety of hikers so my brother could get an idea of different types of trail characters.Although I thought my brother's trail name should be Brother J, he jokingly suggested it should be Paula Abdul because his pack was purple and yellow. You can't joke about things like that because then you get labeled Paula Abdul. SO after a great day of visiting and a nice campfire, Sailor J and Paula Abdul called it a day. Tomorrow he will go back down the mountain and I will once again head north. Good night everyone!
Date: 2009-08-09
From: Bromley Shelter

To: Big Branch Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a very gray, rainy day with not much to talk about. Paula Abdul and I parted ways at 0830 this morning, him heading South to the parking lot and I North to Maine. I was glad to have seen Bromley Mountain yesterday because today there was hardly a view due to the weather. The entire day was walking through dense forest with no views with the exception of Baker Peak which was scary for me in the rain because it was so slippery.Which brings me to my next point. I have decided that I have to get another pair of shoes. The ones I am wearing, which have only 200 miles on them, I have decided I just don't trust. The last time I needed shoes, Uncle Charlie was unable to get the ones I've been wearing for the whole trip because Vasque has stopped making them. So he contacted Vasque and they told him that there was a replacement product which is what he got which is what I'm wearing. The problem is the entire shoe is drastically different and I have been slipping, sliding, and falling all over the place since I got them. Unfortunately, the weather has been crappy since I got them too so part of me wonders if that is the problem as the memory of my old shoes fades away.The bottom line is that I have no confidence when I hike in them. I cannot come this far and head into the Whites unable to trust my footing. This is a hard, expensive call, but I have to make this situation right. If I fall up there and get hurt and this is all over I will ultimately blame the shoes and I don't want that. SO its new shoes in Hanover! Case Closed. Until then!P.S. Sally Says: "It's not too late to pledge your sympathy to the Sailor J Complain-a-thon!!"
Date: 2009-08-10
From: Big Branch Shelter

To: Gould Brook
Miles today: 20.6

I was expecting to be able to report a good day until the very end when I walked into the shelter and there was a wierd homeless guy in there (I say homeless loosely since we are all homeless but this guy was the kind that won't talk to you and carries all of his gear in twenty plastic bags). And so I was pretty uncomfortable. I tried to talk to him but he wouldn't talk to me but instead engaged me in a staring competition. Totally creepy . SO I had to push on for four more miles to a legitimate campsite. This is the second time in a week this has happened to me. Also I feel bad to have probably made a suspenseful evening for the ground crew. My last message was "had to bypass shelter due to scary homeless guy. Intent to stealth camp in three miles." When I went to send the final position report, there was no signal. Oops!Good views of the fog burning off at White Rocks Cliff. The forest today was so eerily quiet. I had to deliberately make noise; the humid air blankets the forest and sucks up the sound in a giant vacuum. No wind, no birds, just silence. If a tree falls on Sailor J, does it make a noise??Breaking the silence was a Know-It-All Southbounder who was kind enough to evaluate my timing in relationship to the Katahdin Summit. "Yeah, you're still okay..." he said like he was such an authority. They hike 500 miles and think they know everything...For some reason I miss estimated how much fuel I had for the trip and have gone onto my reserve tank. I may duck into the gear store which is on the way tomorrow which is a lucky coincidence. Just a quick duck into the real world. Maybe they'll have ice cream too. Until then.
Date: 2009-08-11
From: Gould Brook

To: Gifford Woods State Park
Miles today: 16.0

I am writing from inside my tent (as usual) however my tent is pitched inside of a shelter. I wouldn't normally do this but I am staying in a State Park tonight that rents tentsites, cabins, and mini-AT Shelters. Nature and I split one since it rained all afternoon and we expect more tonight. So, I'm not sure to count tonight as a tent night or a shelter night.It was a busy day on the bridge of the Starship Sailor J today. The first business at hand was getting over the 4000 foot Killington Mountain this morning. There was so much weather in the area (most of the day I couldn't see any of it being under the dense canopy of trees) so the Weatherman and I were back and fourth many times discussing the summit. Since most of the threatening stuff was to the North, I went up with no problems and had a nice 20 minutes on the top seeing a view every once in a while when the clouds separated. It was really high and really steep and I found myself holding on more than usual. There was some huge monstrosity of a mountain of to the NE. I learned later that it was Mt. Mousilauke which we will challenge next week. Lots to look forward to these days!The afternoon was spent sloshing down in the rain and mud, rushing to get to the gear store for stove fuel. At the end of the day I passed "Maine Junction" where the Long Trail Separates from the A.T. No more Long Trail hikers. Now if we can find a way to get rid of Southbounders... Just kidding!! Good Night.
Date: 2009-08-12
From: Giffor Woods State Park

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 16.6

The word on the street is: today was hard! There are eight of us here at the shelter tonight taking turns lamenting about how hard today was. I will let Sally Struthers take it from here... Honestly, it was hard in a good way because I feel like I need the practice before the Whites...Next Week!!Nature and I woke up in our little shelter utopia to find that her uncle went out to get coffee and bagels. What a way to start the day. I got out a little before her to begin slogging through the day.In the news, I had a few transmissions with my old friend The Scarecrow today who is in the middle of Muddy, Mosquito, Massachusetts Hell. Sounds like lots of people getting off the trail which is sad and scary. He seems to be making it okay and I still miss him. Top Shelf and Gezza are about a day and a half behind and Lunchbox more than a day behind them. These things will change up this weekend when I double-zero in Hanover.The biggest goal for my time off in Hanover (besides catching up with my old Shipmate Ian) is organization. I will be laying out my 'plan of attack' for the White Mountains. We will go in to more detail on this subject later, but the Whites, besides being the hardest thing we've encountered physically so far, are a pain in terms of camping due to their shelter (hut) management system. I know some people would like to see me lose my need for an itinerary but organization is safety for me. And by the way, I'm the captain, and that's how we are doing it on this ship!Tomorrow is 20.5 miles to put me 6 miles outside of Hanover for early arrival Friday. Also, our last full day in NH and crossing the 1700 mile mark. Until then.