morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-24
From: Pawling, New York

To: Ten Mile Shelter, CT
Miles today: 11.1

Today I am positioning myself to meet some friends from Rhode Island tomorrow. I walked across some pastureland, over some fence stiles and through a hilly wooded area. There have been numerous severe storms in this area lately. Looking out through the woods you can see many trees that have been blown over and in many places the Trail is totally blocked by large downed by the storm. You have the choice of crawling under or over this trees or walking around them. In many cases, none of the choices were good. Getting around the trees definitely slowed me down. I finally arrived at Ten Mile Shelter and will spend the night here. There was rumored to be Trail Magic down by the river, not far away, so I left my gear in the shelter and headed that way. Another storm suddenly came up. The temperature dropped precipitously and there was much rain, lightning and hail. Fortunately I had left most of my gear in a dry spot at the shelter, but I was chilled to the bone, so abandoned my search for trail magic and returned. As I approached the shelter, a very large limb blew down into the middle of the Trail just a few feet ahead of me. It was fortunate that it didn¢t hit me because it would very likely have caused significant damage! In any case, it missed and I was able to get into the shelter and get out of my soaked clothes and into something a little drier. Soon the storm stopped, the sun came out and it was pretty again. I was able to resume my trek to the river to find some water and some beer.   I did succeed in finding something to drink, some hotdogs and a big pile of licorice, all of which served as supper. I returned to the shelter, which is very nice. There are only 2 of us staying here tonight.
Date: 2012-07-25
From: Ten Mile Shelter, CT

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 10.0

I left the shelter and hurried toward Kent, Connecticut. I was so looking forward to seeing my friends from Rhode Island, Bev and Linda. I had met them a year ago at an elder hostel class called the AT/Four States in Four Days. It was an excellent class and the final day we toured Antietam Civil War battlefield. We remained in contact ever since, as I have with some other ladies that I met at this class. Bev and Linda were hiking Southbound on the Appalachian Trail and I was going North so eventually we would meet. I was getting tired as the trail was more difficult than I expected and I had not eaten anything for breakfast. Finally we met. They had brought a picnic so we sat down in the train and ate delicious food and talked. It was so kind of them to have thought to bring something for me to eat and we had a very good time visiting. Another fellow happened by who was hiking the trail and he was able to take a picture of us. He was a very nice elderly fellow whose trail name was ¢Road to Road¢ and he was going basically road to road as he was through hiking Connecticut.We then returned the several miles to Bev¢s car and went into Kent where we had rooms. I had time after my cleanup to do some laundry and do a little resupply. They brought beer for me so I had the extreme luxury of drinking a beer while I took a shower. We went to dinner and spent the evening talking. Mostly I did the talking as they were very interested in the Appalachian Trail and my Appalachian Trail experiences. It was such a nice thing that they did for me and I do so appreciate it. Acts of kindness like that never cease to amaze me. They had to drive over two hours, rearrange their schedules, and spend some money and preparation to do this kindness for me. I very much am thankful that they did do that and it sure helped me as far as my continuing down the trail. Kent was a very attractive small picturesque New England type town with everything close by.
Date: 2012-07-26
From: Kent, CT

To: Falls Village, CT
Miles today: 11.0

It was a rainy morning, of course. It was actually raining quite hard and that spoiled our plans to go hiking together as they are very good hikers and they enjoy the hike but we thought hiking in the rain was probably not a good thing. So instead they took me down the road to a place called Falls Village to the home of Craig Toensing. He¢s a fellow I¢d never met but he¢s from a small town (Elwood) near the one I live near (Tipton) in Indiana. When he heard I was doing the Appalachian Trail, he emailed me an invitation to contact him. It turns out that the trail passes just a few feet from his property line in Falls Village. He let me use a cottage right next to his house and was very gracious to me. I hated to see Bev and Linda go. They were such great fun and had done so much to help me continue on this journey. The plan is possibly for them to return to visit me while I¢m in Maine. I think that would be wonderful. Then, after I had moved into Craig¢s cottage, and cleaned up, he took me back down the trail so I could slack pack back. Slack packing means to hike with only a very light, small pack instead of the typical 30 to 35 pounds that I¢m carrying. That makes it much easier to hike. I covered the distance fairly quickly. In the pack that maybe weighs 5 pounds I had a raincoat, water, a couple of candy bars, and an emergency blanket in case I got stuck out on the trail overnight. I made the distance quickly back to his house and was able to relax the rest of the afternoon. He and his wife fixed a very nice meal for me and we had a very good time talking, a very pleasant conversation. Their home is so comfortable and they were very kind to me that it made it feel like I was wanted there. Craig was an Indiana University grad so he commented about my Purdue visor. The next day I took him to breakfast at the Toy Maker¢s Caf©. They have the best waffles I¢ve ever had by far. Then we returned to Craig¢s house, I loaded up my stuff, and took off for Salisbury, Connecticut down the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2012-07-27
From: Falls Village, CT

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: clear sky

Today¢s hike was of average difficulty. I wanted to get to Salisbury, Connecticut where I¢d heard there was a great place to stay. A lady named Maria McCabe had a wonderful house that was very welcoming to hikers. The trail initially wound around Falls Village and the Housatonic River. Early on, the trail was flat because it paralleled the river but then it went into the mountains and it got a little more difficult. Just North of Falls Village there was a large combination waterfalls and the power station that generated electricity. This was all quite old and interesting to observe. Eventually the ups and downs started coming and it started getting very hot and humid with no breeze at all in the woods. The bugs are getting noticeably much worse too. When I arrived at Maria McCabe¢s house I was immediately made to feel very welcome. She is an extremely kind, smart lady who has a real heart for hikers. She worries like a mother hen over her chicks when there¢s a hiker who needs her help. I recommend her and her place highly for a hiker who needs a break from the trail. This week¢s list of highlights includes camping by Canopus Lake, talking to many day hikers at Fahnestock State Park, the arrival of my second package, camping beside a busy commuter train, not being struck by a large falling limb, meeting up and spending time with Bev and Linda, Craig Toensing¢s generosity, and meeting Maria McCabe. It has been a very good week for me. The ongoing kindness of people continues to please and amaze me.
Date: 2012-07-28
From: Salisbury, CT

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today I was able to slack pack the part of the trail that I missed between Kent and Falls Village. That¢s why the mileage has somewhat jumped around. I think I¢m up to date and accurate on the miles now but I have gotten confused there for a while back but in any case. Today I made up the miles which I had missed earlier because of my ability to slack pack. It was a rainy, slippery day but walking with a light pack helped the miles go quickly. I¢m thinking I would like to get rid of a few more pounds of pack weight before I get to the large mountains in New Hampshire and Southern Maine.Today was also a good hike in that I saw a few people heading Southbound. There seems to be more and more Southbounders show up and they¢re interesting to talk to in that they have all kinds of good advice for what is coming in front of me. Otherwise the trail is fairly uneventful. I returned to Maria McCabe¢s and had a very good time and a very relaxing time to kick back, clean up, go into town, and enjoy the small quaint village of Salisbury. She has other hikers here, a very nice one is Jeremy. He¢s a young man, probably in his early 30s, who has lived the last 10 or 12 years in London. He has a lot of information to provide in regards to the Olympics, what¢s been going on over there and how they¢ve been building things, etc. There¢s also a young man who came in named ¢Snakeyes¢ and a young lady named ¢No Whistle.¢ Anyhow, Maria McCabe¢s house is very relaxing, very nice, comforting place and it¢s going to be difficult to leave in the morning and head down the trail but I am not that far from getting into Massachusetts and I¢m looking forward to completing more of my trail in spite of the rain. It has rained so much out here that I just assume that it¢s going to rain all day and am surprised when it only rains half the day.
Date: 2012-07-29
From: Salisbury, CT

To: North of Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I was back on the trail today. My visit with Maria McCabe was relaxing and very rewarding. I had lots of good food, watched a little of the Olympics, did some journaling, and generally got clean and fed. Salisbury is a great small New England community. Many big, nice houses are around the town and a few nice shops downtown. Several of the townspeople stopped me as I was walking around and asked about my hike. I was also able to spend some time in the library. Of course it started raining as soon as I got my pack on. It wasn¢t hard but just annoying enough to make the trail slippery and muddy. The bugs are getting bad as well. At a shelter I met Sparky, and a married couple doing a section hike from New Jersey. They were great company. The married couples¢ trail names were ¢Moose¢ and ¢Goose.¢ He¢s a pilot and she¢s a veterinarian specializing in surgery on horses. They brought their Jack Russell dog, whose name was Jack with them. He was a great companion, very well behaved, and an intelligent dog. As I said, we had met at the first shelter and then later at a campsite where ¢Socks¢ and ¢Count Chocula¢ were also camping. I hadn¢t seen the Count since Daleville in central Virginia. The things that I notice that I¢m missing on the trail are: 1. Kleenex. I always hit my left shoe when I shoot out a snot rocket. 2. My house. 3. My friends. 4. Chairs. 5. My garden. 6. Toenails. I¢ve lost three in the last week primarily because of all    the rocks and the beating my feet took in Pennsylvania. 7. Family. 8. Underwear. 9. Escalators.10. Clean water.11. Seeing my face. My beard has really gotten out of control.
Date: 2012-07-30
From: North of Salisbury, CT

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

Today was a relatively easy hike. My destination was the Upper Goose Pond cabin, maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club. It has caretakers who stay there throughout the whole season. The caretakers are each there for about a week long and apparently there is a waiting list to become a caretaker as everyone who works there loves being there. It is indeed a beautiful setting.The caretakers this time were a couple and their about fourteen year-old son. One of their jobs was to get water from a spring across the lake via canoe. They had to take many empty bottles over, fill them up, and bring them back so that hikers would have an adequate source of water. They fixed blueberry pancakes in the morning as well as real coffee, and that was a great treat. They generally kept things organized at the cabin. The cabin was crowded with about 28 hikers, some camping outside, some in the bunks upstairs, and some even slept on the floor in the living room, just wherever space would allow it. It was a good crowd. I was very easily the senior citizen by 20 or 30 years.   Some of them were Northbounders as I was, and some were Southbounders. I am running into many more people who started their hike in Maine and are heading to Georgia. The lake was just a beautiful lake, very peaceful and tree-lined with probably good fishing. The water temperature was great so I went swimming, with my clothes on, just to help wash them off a little bit and also to help wash me off. The weather was perfect on the day that I was there. I was dying to go fishing but no poles were available. However I did get to take a canoe ride.In the morning, I went into town with the caretaker named Bonnie to resupply and help her carry her supplies back to the cabin. It was a long walk, mostly uphill from where she parked her car. I examined two hikers with medical problems there. One I believe has a stress fracture in his foot and the other has a large abscess developing in his right proximal thigh area and this could lead to some problems. Fortunately I had some antibiotics for him that I¢ve carried ever since I started my hike.
Date: 2012-07-31
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was a good hike. The weather was mild and became sunny. There were many ponds along the way, most occupied by beavers. You could see the damage they had done along the edge of the pond as they gnawed down the trees, building their lodge in the central part of the pond, and working on their beaver dams. I¢m sure this area freezes solid in winter. I¢m also noticing more leaves falling and occasionally a chill in the air. I¢d better be thinking about where and when to have my winter clothes sent. My hiking shoes are beginning to show the wear and tear as over 1,100 miles have been put on them and they¢ll need to be replaced soon as well. My feet are beginning to hurt a little bit because of the shoes and because of the terrain I¢m walking over. Things are always changing on the trail; the scenery, the people, the terrain, the weather, etc. Today I visited the Cookie Lady and got my three free cookies which were chocolate chip this time. She also sold Klondyke Bars and runs a ¢You Pick¢ blueberry facility on her large property. Her husband also helps her. They seem to keep very busy and are a very nice couple. Her name is Marilyn and his name is Roy. They primarily have many blueberries but also raise chickens and sell hard-boiled eggs to hikers. They also sell fresh eggs to anyone who might want to buy them. Every night they have to take in their many bird feeders because of the bears in the area who love to get into the bird feeders and tear them up to get to the seeds.
Date: 2012-08-01
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Cheshire, CT
Miles today: 20.0

Early in today¢s hike I called Maria McCabe, the lady in Salisbury that I had stayed with. It was her 83rd birthday so I sang Happy Birthday to her. I¢m sure it was the high point of her whole day.The trail took me to Cheshire, a small town in Northern Massachusetts. I stayed at the St. Mary of the Assumption Church. They had two rooms off the large dining room / recreation hall facility that they open up to hikers. It¢s free but donations are welcome. There¢s no shower or laundry but at least we have a place on the floor, a roof overhead, a toilet, running water, and electricity. We are also allowed to cook but we have to be outdoors to do that. No fires on the inside. The people there were very generous and kind to let us use their facility. Another nice thing was there were no bugs. Bugs have begun to be a fairly big problem, especially the mosquitoes. There were eight of us there. Atlas, a person that I recently met, played his guitar and sang. He is very good at playing the guitar and singing and has carried this large high-quality guitar with him ever since he started the hike down in Georgia. Several other people were there that I met later on the trail. It was generally a good day and I was able to get in there fairly early and get some time to relax and take it easy.
Date: 2012-08-02
From: Cheshire, CT

To: Mount Greylock
Miles today: 20.0

Today¢s hike was long and difficult. It took me up and over Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts. There is a beautiful stone lighthouse that is quite tall, on the peak of the mountain, dedicated to the fallen soldiers in the many conflicts that Massachusetts has been involved with. They say you can see five states from its observation deck. Although it was a nice day, there was too much haze for me to see at any great distance but it was a great view. I had lunch in a dining room on the top of the mountain near the tower with some other hikers. Their names were ¢Cheeks,¢ ¢Atlas,¢ and ¢Walk and Eat¢ (one person). The descent was long and steep. I was able to keep moving with no falls. It was a good thing. It was so steep there was no place to land and also very rocky. Had I fallen, I might still be rolling. I met several people at the summit observation area that seemed interested in my hike. Two young boys aged six and eight struggled to even try to lift my pack. I went up into the tower and had a nice look around. Beautiful country with a few lakes and farms could be seen from up there as well as many, many more mountains and trees, etc. I could also see the towns of North Adams and also Williamstown.I heard from other hikers that the fellow that I had examined a few days earlier with the large abscess in his thigh had to have it surgically drained. His name was ¢Ragweed.¢
Date: 2012-08-03
From: Mount Greylock

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

Miles unknown because I had sent art of my book home that lists the miles and I don¢t know exactly where I was.Today¢s hike was very long and uneventful. There were many lakes and beaver ponds that I hiked past. The country was very pretty with a lot of woods and trees and a lot of solitude as I walked across. I crossed into Vermont, near Bennington, which is also a very attractive area. It was a nice, smallish, New England town with a well-preserved downtown and many large boxy houses throughout the neighborhoods. The people all seemed friendly and interested in me and my hike. I¢m with Heartfire, a lady who makes Light Heart brand tents as she was doing a section hike in this area. She¢s also an avid hiker and is hiking for a few weeks. Her real name is Judy and she lives in North Carolina. It was a long day and I did put in quite a few miles as I mentioned. I hiked until late in the day until I found a satisfactory camping site right before dark. I pitched my tent and was glad to be able to get in the tent, away from the mosquitoes, and get some rest.
Date: 2012-08-04
From: Bennington, VT

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

The highlight of today¢s hike was twofold. First, I left camp quite early and climbed up and over Stratton Mountain. It was a very long, but not continuously difficult climb. However, it did take me most of the morning. The top of Stratton had a fire tower you could see quite well from. There was also a caretaker¢s cabin up there and many people were standing around preparing to repair the door of the cabin which had been torn off partially by a bear that was trying to get into the cabin. I saw pieces of the door lying around where the bear had literally broken it into pieces.   However, a hiker came by and scared the bear off before he had a chance to get inside and look for food. The caretakers at that time were an older couple and fortunately they were not there when the bear came and tore up their door. Before I got to the top of the mountain however, I still went by many beaver ponds. This area seems to be quite full of beaver ponds. Typical terrain in Vermont is up and down up and down with roots and rocks and mud. The main thing about Vermont is the mud. A nickname for Vermont amongst the hikers is ¢Vermud.¢ The land is rarely flat in any place. Wherever there is any flat land I guess that¢s where the beavers build their ponds. There are also lots of boggy areas and you have to walk across wooden bridges that the trail maintainers have built to keep you from slogging through knee-deep muck. There¢s still quite a lot of evidence of damage caused last year by Hurricane Irene as she came through this area and dumped quite a lot of rain water that caused many floods and the destruction that goes with that. Because they had also had a lot of rain in the summer, the whole state was quite boggy and they had a lot of snow the winter before so that by the time Hurricane Irene got here the ground was very full of water and made it easier for bridges and roads to be washed out. Some sections of the Appalachian Trail were literally closed and impassable to the through hikers and they had to find their own way around the damage.On top of Mount Stratton as I mentioned, was a tower that I climbed up. There were a number of day hikers up there. At the bottom of Stratton Mountain is Stratton Pond Shelter. It is large and clean. The caretaker, an attractive lady named Kim, was there collecting $5 a head and giving people advice about the hike, etc. That¢s where I met Gipcgirl, a former AT through hiker who had hiked half of the Pacific Crest Trail this year before returning to the Appalachian Trail. She lives in Australia. She will be hiking with me for the completion of my trip which I consider an extreme blessing.
Date: 2012-08-05
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Green Mountain House Hostel
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a nice weather day and a very nice hike. Gipcgirl and I were able to move along fairly well on the trail until we got to the Green Mountain House Hostel. This is run by Jeff Taussig and is widely regarded as one of the very best, if not the best hostel on the whole trail. He provides a bunk bed with clean sheets, a shower, the use of the laundry facilities, the use of a very clean and attractive home, a kitchen with free food and a container of Ben and Jerry¢s ice cream ¢ all for $20 for whomever is fortunate enough to stay there. He¢s also a very nice guy and does all sorts of running around collecting people and taking them into town, etc. Again, the Green Mountain House Hostel is a super place to be. While Gipcgirl and I were there, there were about 12 or 13 people. It was so crowded as a matter of fact that we let the other people have the bunks and she and I slept down in the living room ¢ she on the couch and me on the floor.I was able to do some resupply in Manchester Center, the nearby town. I bought some new shoes, some Merrell Moab Ventilators. My pair that I had been wearing before, for 1,260 miles, were beginning to fall apart and I thought while I had the chance I¢d better replace them. They lasted me also through many of my Zumba classes when I was getting in shape for the hike. They were a very good shoe for me. I also bought some Aqua Mira, which is the chemical I use to sterilize the water and make it suitable for drinking. It was a very relaxing day. Others there were ¢Sparky,¢ ¢Gipcgirl¢ as I mentioned, ¢Voltron,¢ ¢Spiceman,¢ ¢Passion Flower,¢ ¢Reinhart,¢ ¢Socks,¢ ¢MacDaddy,¢ ¢Lobster,¢ and ¢Chickadee.¢ We had a great time at the Green Mountain House Hostel.