morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-09-02
From: Killington Peak, VT

To: River Road Killington VT
Miles today: 12.0

We enjoyed our gondola ride back up to the top of Killington Peak. We hiked .2mi to the top this time before we took the steps down to our path so we could see the 360 degree view. It was beautiful looking at mountains upon mountains stretched out forever. We hiked 12 miles on the AT today from Killington Peak north to River Rd. We saw lots of flowers¢yellow, orange, white, lavender. We saw a grouse fly across the trail but it was so fast I couldn¢t get good focus other than seeing the size and blurring colors of brown, gray and white.We walked through Gifford Woods State Park where campers were cooking out. I asked one lady what time dinner was, and she quickly said ¢oh, it will be a while¢. We walked by Kent Pond where there were boaters out on the water in the sun. We passed Mountain Meadows Lodge where we heard music playing and it appeared there was a wedding party going on. We saw Thundering Falls, which weren¢t thundering because there was so little water. On our way down the path, we met a couple coming up who said he¢d just been stung 8 times by accidentally stepping in a nest of bees near the base of the waterfall. We were grateful for the warning and kept our distance.We met thru-hikers Scooter and Hacksaw, a married couple from Nashville TN, hiking Southbound. Then we met The Principal from Los Angeles, who is out of work and hiking the trail down to Key West, FL, while he decides what to do next. We ran into Etchasketch and Gray Wolf at the end of our hike. We met north-bounder Sleeping Bear hanging out at the market when we stopped for bananas.After we picked up our car at the Gondola, we had leftovers for dinner and reviewed our plans for the next day. We¢ll be skipping ahead to pick up where we left off last year at Tigertown Road and work back to where we left off today over the next few days. After our hike tomorrow, we¢re going to catch a science museum in Norwich, Vt. Looks like another clear day ahead of us. Yea!
Date: 2012-09-03
From: Pomfret, VT

To: Tigertown Rd/Podunk Rd Hartford VT
Miles today: 9.5

9/3/12We drove to Tigertown and Podunk Roads in Hartford to leave our car. This was where we finished hiking last October but couldn¢t go further because the bridge was washed out from Hurricane Irene. We were happy the bridge had been rebuilt and shuttled our other car to Pomfret to hike our 9.5 miles. The honeymoon is over. No more gondolas to ride to the top to hike down. Now we have serious ups and downs to do each day, although I still try to hike the direction that doesn¢t have as many strenuous uphill climbs. But as they say, what goes up, must come down, so it¢s pretty much a tossup.We had to do some bushwhacking today as the plants in the fields we crossed were taller than me and growing across the path instead of just up. I also spotted some poison ivy which I had not yet seen here in Vermont, so I have to be a little more alert now. A butterfly let me take a video of it fluttering down the path. I also took a video to record the sounds of the crickets in the grass. No cicadas up here like we have in Maryland. We saw horses along a brief road walk to our car. We met South-bounders Wild Bill and Trail Bender. Wild Bill helped us find the path from the road going north and we helped him find the path going south when it wasn¢t immediately obvious. Wild Bill said he was lonely hiking up on the mountain and that his group was 2-3 days ahead of him. We ran into Trail Bender later and learned that he was in the same group and was happy to know Wild Bill was ahead. He planned to increase his speed to catch up to him. It¢s so nice to be a part of the trail communication system to help fellow hikers.We were happy to complete the hike and drive to the Norwich Science Museum. It was filled with lots of hands-on science activities and children. One little boy was making videos move in slow motion so I video-taped it. One clip was a small creature catching a grasshopper with his long tongue. Another was a giant ocean wave. They had an outdoor water area where they had ping-pong balls floating down the ¢river¢ and ¢waterfalls¢ and fountains for the children to get wet and wade. The museum was just a few blocks from where the Appalachian Trail crosses and we remembered walking on that section last year (91 near 10A).We stopped at a vegetable stand for corn on the cob and quiche for dinner. That was delicious. So, we¢ve now completed 5 out of our 36 hiking days. Only 31 to go!
Date: 2012-09-04
From: Lookout Farm Road, Woodstock, VT

To: Pomfret, VT
Miles today: 9.9

9/4/12We woke up early to rain, but it was light and only for the first hour or so of our hike. We drove to Lookout Farm Road and tried to find the trail unsuccessfully after going a mile and a half in each direction. Then I remembered the directions said to go from the parking lot, not where we were, and we found the trail easily. So instead of the 9.9 AT miles, we did probably a total of 12.5. The terrain was supposed to be a long downhill, but it seems we always have a bunch of uphills on the downhill. Dave saw a deer in our meanderings. We anointed our shoes with our first real Vermont mud hole today. We hadn¢t really seen any that we couldn¢t avoid before because it had been so dry. But this mud was all over and my shoe slipped into the murky water as I tried to side step it. Dave had a spill today catching his toe in a root, but only had a scratch on his arm when it was over.We ran into Wild Bill, Trail Bender, and met a new South Bounder Gran with her daughters who joined her for the day. We will probably run into them tomorrow since we¢re backtracking for easier shuttles. Dave told Wild Bill about how Wild Bill Hitchcock had been shot when holding Aces and Eights and that it is now known as the dead man¢s hand so to be careful when he¢s playing poker. Wild Bill was grateful when we told him we saw Trail Bender yesterday and that he was trying to catch up to him. When we saw Trail Bender later, we learned he hadn¢t made it as far as he had hoped and was getting off at VT 12 for a resupply. We let Gran know he might need a hitch into town and her daughters promised to give him a ride if he was still there when they reached VT 12.It was so nice to come home and soak in the hot tub and swim in the cool pool. We met a woman there who lives here part of the year, working with a homeless shelter as a volunteer, and lives in FL and NY other times. After dinner of more corn, quiche, and Indian peas/cheese, we organized everything for the next move on Thursday. This vacation condo rental has been lovely with a jetted tub for two, two bedrooms and bathrooms, cable tv, internet connection, etc. Only one more night after tonight. We¢re gonna miss it!
Date: 2012-09-05
From: River Road, Killington, VT

To: Lookout Farm Rd, Woodstock, VT
Miles today: 12.6

We thought our 13.1 mile walk from River Road to Lookout Farm Road was going to be in the rain most of the morning based on the weather reports. However, we only had a light drizzle for our first 15 minutes at 6:30am and the sun came out later. We had mostly uphills today, good training for our Maine hikes soon to come.We stopped by Stony Shelter to see if Wild Bill was there. We woke up three north-bound thru-hikers ¢ Snickers, Max, and Chatterbox ¢ who told us he had signed the register yesterday saying he had lunch there and moved on. We conveyed this to Trail Blazer when we ran into him one last time further along the trail. He let us know about the Lookout, that there was a rickety ladder but a nice view at the top of the tower. We let him know that he would also run into a nicely placed ladder to climb on one portion of the trail and that there was no Vermont mud on this section.When we got to the Lookout, we had to climb more than the posted .1 mile from the AT path to get to it. Then I had to face my fear of heights as I climbed the ladder to the top of the house where there was a platform to look out on a beautiful 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains. I sat while I worked up my courage to descend going backwards, holding onto the steps as I took one at a time.We were happy to finish this very long uphill hike and go back to the pool and hot tub to relax our tired bodies. Then we had some baked potatoes and Indian lentils for dinner, did laundry, and packed up for our move tomorrow. I called Bruce Feige to confirm our meeting place and time for Friday¢s shuttle. We take the rental car back tomorrow after our final northern Vermont hike and then drive to Town and Country Inn in Gorham, NH, for three overnights.
Date: 2012-09-06
From: VT 103, East Clarendon, VT

To: VT 140 Wallingford, VT
Miles today: 6.3

9/6/12We had a short hike of 6.3 miles from VT 103 in East Clarendon to VT 140 in Wallingford to finish off the northern half of our Vermont AT hike. It was similar to our Maryland Sugarloaf hike we do at home to train for the AT. We saw a deer, chipmunks, and a flock of grouse today. We enjoyed seeing Clarendon Gorge with its suspension bridge and looking out over the mountains at Airport Lookout, even though it was foggy.We met south-bounder Smokey Nuts and later Mark, trail name Monster Mash on our hike south to north. When we shuttled back to pick up our car, we found Mark on the street in Wallingford. He was hitching back to the trail after having some home cooking from a restaurant there. We were happy to give him a ride. After returning the rental car to Rutland, we had lunch at Roots and then drove to Gorham, NH, for our next three nights. We enjoyed seeing the White Mountains which we hiked last year as we drove on Rt. 2. I was able to get a glimpse of the cog railway up Mt. Washington. We were able to give Texas Pete a ride to the trailhead down the road from our motel so he could continue north-bound after resupplying in Gorham.We enjoyed a swim and hot tub before we had dinner at Mr. Pizza which included dessert to give us energy for our challenging hike tomorrow. We¢ll be up at 5:30am to leave at 6am to meet Bruce Feige at Dunkin Donuts for our shuttle up Success Pond Road.Love and Peace
Date: 2012-09-07
From: Carlo Col Trail, ME 

To: Mahoosuc Notch Trail, ME 
Miles today: 5.9

I woke up at 4:30am to the sound of the shower running in the next room and couldn¢t go back to sleep. Nevertheless I was able to feel fully rested and alert the whole day. We had a very bumpy ride on Success Pond Road to Mahoosuc Notch Trail where we left our car, then shuttled back with Bruce Feige to Carlo Col where we began our hike. We hiked 2.4 miles up a long rocky, watery path to the AT, then walked north 5.9 miles to Mahoosuc Notch Trail where we returned to our car in another 2.5 miles, for a total of 10.8 miles. But it felt more like 20 miles. Very long ups over five mountain peaks--Mt. Carlo, Goose Mountain¢two east peaks, north peak, south peak--which included steep slick vertical rock slabs. We had to watch our steps very carefully so it took a lot longer to hike. Dave said we saw more mud in Maine in 5 miles than in all of Vermont which is known for its mud. Dave and I both anointed a different pair of shoes with the mud. The views from each of the peaks were fantastic! There was a gentle breeze to help us keep cool on this beautiful clear day. We also enjoyed listening to someone playing a flute from the top of one of the mountain peaks when we were below them.We met North-bounders Zig Zag, Caboose and Milo who were concerned about getting to Grafton Notch so they could get to a mail drop in Rangeley. It was a very ambitious goal and they weren¢t sure they¢d make it in time. We offered them and their dog a ride to Gorham which would shorten their hike considerably.   We took them to Grafton Notch instead where they could meet up with the others--River, Brawny, and Preacher (who we met at the shelter)--and get a ride into Rangeley the next morning. We first stopped at the motel and had a dip in the pool and hot tub, then ate dinner at Mister Pizza. We enjoyed talking to them about how they met on the trail and their plans for the future. Milo was a beautiful, well-behaved service dog who seemed happy to rest as he rode in the back of the car. Hopefully, we¢ll run into them again along the trail.We also met South-bounders Mo-Mo from Germany, Bweman from Scotland, and Nightwalker with the ATC who was collecting GPS information and who fell in a deep mud hole along the way today.We¢re very tired tonight and happy to have a day of rest tomorrow. Then we hike again on Sunday with Dave Brickley and move to our new lodging at The Cabin in Maine with Honey and Bear for three nights.
Date: 2012-09-08
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

We stayed in Gorham today to relax after our challenging climbing yesterday. After breakfast, we went to Rattle River Trailhead to walk a mile that we didn¢t complete last year. We met Bojangle, Dream Walker and Mogley(?) while walking. We gave a ride to some northbound hikers ¢ Slims, Orion and Apache to Gorham, and later we took Sherlock and Flintstone to Wal-Mart, then added Suds to take the three of them back to the trail. We enjoyed the pool and hot tub. We had lunch at Saladino which had delicious vegetarian Panini. Fudge for dessert. Played scrabble and packed for tomorrow¢s move to The Cabin in Maine with Honey and Bear in East Andover, Maine. Just called to confirm our morning shuttle and learned Honey and Bear are away so Dave Brickley and we will shuttle ourselves, but still stay at the Cabin as reserved. Had dinner and ready to retire for the evening. Raining tonight but it calls for clearing in the morning. Hurray!
Date: 2012-09-09
From: Grafton Notch/ME 26

To: East B Hill Rd, Andover, ME
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

9/9/12We were so happy the rain from last night was over this morning before our hike. We drove an hour from Gorham, NH, to Andover, ME, to meet Dave Brickley. Shawn, trail name Cool Pants, joined us as we shuttled to Grafton Notch/Rt.26 and hike 10.3 miles to East B Hill Rd. We were excited to spot a moose on the side of the road up ahead, but he disappeared before we got close enough to have a good look at him or get a picture. We also saw wild turkeys along the way.The first uphill was very, very long and steep and watery, but I made it up ok. When we reached the balds on the two peaks, we found it more challenging. Because of the steep, wet, smooth rock face, we had to watch every step. I slipped a couple times but only fell once without injury. It was very chilly closer to the top with the wind blowing and I needed warmer clothes. I almost dug out my gloves.   It was supposed to be in the 60¢s, but I suspect it was in the low 50¢s on top of the mountain. The views were spectacular with the varied cloud formations, mountains, lakes, and colors of the sky. The leaves are starting to change so we see orange, red, and yellow once in a while. We saw lovely waterfalls. What¢s most dreamy about the hikes the last few days is the fragrance of balsa fir. It¢s very sweet and makes me feel peaceful, like when I smelled gardenias in Hawaii.We had our first real river ford today, but I forgot we had it and didn¢t put the water shoes in our pack. When we arrived, Dave Brickley was thoughtful to wait for us and loan us his. He threw them over the stream for us to catch. Peace used them first, then Dave threw them back for me. They were a little big but I managed to make it across without them coming off. The water was cold but felt good on my sore feet.We had a delicious dinner of veggie quesadillas at General Store, one of the only two places to eat in the one block of town of Andover. We found our lodging, took a bath, and relaxed. They have a dog named Molly. We met other hikers here named Phoenix Rising, Bob, and Otto. We hope to see Honey and Bear tomorrow.
Date: 2012-09-10
From: South Arm Road, South Arm, ME

To: East B Hill Rd, Andover, ME
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Another lovely day without rain. Lots of mud and roots and rocks, but not treacherous like yesterday¢s hike. Long hike up tall mountains. Some of the hikers call them PUDs, pointless ups and downs. But always beautiful views and more balsa fir fragrance. We saw a bunny rabbit on the trail today, more grouse and a woodpecker, and lots of moose poop, but no moose. We were able to cross all streams with rock hops.Met northbound thru-hikers ¢ Apollo, Bandana, Chef Boy-R-Dee (New Brunswick Canada), Lost, Otto and his grandfather, Trinket and Journeyman (MA), and Sampson (NY). We saw Texas Pete after having given him a ride in Gorham to the trail. We saw Bob who is staying here at the Cabin in Maine. We gave Sampson a ride to town and back to the trailhead.Had dinner at the General Store since the restaurant was closed. Hot bath. Relaxing. Til tomorrow.
Date: 2012-09-11
From: Maine 17

To: South Arm Rd, South Arm, ME
Miles today: 13.3

We met Dave Brickley at the General Store at 6:15am. He took our car to one end of the trail and we took his to the other end and we each started hiking toward each other. We did a key exchange in the middle and then took our own cars back home after. I felt relief when Otto and others said the trail gets better now that we¢re working our way out of southern Maine. There are still a few spots that require hand over hand but mostly the trail will just be rocks, roots, and mud for the rest of the way north. Today¢s 13.3 mile hike from ME Rt. 17 to South Arm Road was a more gradual climb up, rather than the previous long steeps, although we still had some on Old Blue Mountain. We saw a beautiful lake and mountains from the highway before we started the hike.We saw moose tracks in the mud, chipmunks, windmills, and MCI communication towers which looked like hot air balloons in the mountains. I got to see a grouse for a minute as he perched on a tree limb. I didn¢t get a picture since I was afraid he would leave sooner.We saw most of the hikers we saw yesterday since we were hiking north to south and they were all north-bounders.   We saw Mr. Breeze. We also met a south-bound section hiker Dale, The Prayer Man, who¢s hiking Maine and New Hampshire. He is a Methodist minister on leave for 6 weeks from Huntsville, Alabama. His wife is also a Methodist minister of a different church in the same city. Dave Brickley joined us for dinner with Honey and Bear for shepherd¢s pie, salad and apple pie. We enjoyed talking to fellow hikers, trail maintainers, and Honey and Bear. After doing laundry, we packed up to be ready for our move to Rangeley, ME, tomorrow after our hike.
Date: 2012-09-12
From: Rt. 17, ME

To: Rt. 4 Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

We met Dave Brickley at the Andover General Store again. We parked his car at Rt. 17 and walked north to where he parked our car at Rt. 4/Rangeley and walked south where we made our key exchange. On the way we saw wild turkeys and a fox walking along the road with an animal in his mouth. It was a beautiful day, lovely breeze, intermittent balsa fragrance, relatively easy trail¢not too many steep ups and no seriously challenging vertical rock faces to scale.Unfortunately, my small right toe began aching from the beginning of the hike, rather than near the end of the hike as it usually does. It was very painful walking the 13.1 miles. So I decided to take the next day off while Peace walked the next 15 miles. The following day was a day off anyway so it will give me two days to heal. Then I¢ll start walking again but with my softer tennis shoes that shouldn¢t aggravate it as much.We met northbounders in a flip flop ¢ Matt, Still Joe, Salesman, Corn Cob, Wooley, Bahala-na. Two of them were headed for Bear Mountain in NY and two were headed for Harper¢s Ferry. Bahala-na said his name means ¢happen what may¢. I said so, it doesn¢t matter if I decide my toe hurts too much to hike all the AT and it¢s ok.   I asked him if he had any ideas for how to numb the pain in my toe and he said Bio Freeze, but that it burns and I may not like the feeling. When I got to cell phone coverage I got a response to my question of my podiatrist about what to use ¢ Bio Freeze or Neosporin for Pain Relief.We checked into our cabin on Bear Mountain Lake just about 3 miles north of the AT trailhead. It¢s a nice cabin, though without cell phone coverage or air condition, have to use bottled water, and need wood stove or electric portable heater if we¢re cold. The cabin overlooks the lake and we can use the kayaks or swim in the lake from a sandy beach a short walk away. I look forward to doing that the next two days which are supposed to be warm.We went to town for dinner at Park and Main. The waiters were able to help us figure how to shuttle Dave to the hike in the morning and I left a message for Sue of Stratton canceling tomorrow¢s shuttle and confirming our next shuttle for Saturday, 9/15, at 6:15am at Orbiton/Perham Stream Rd. Hopefully she¢ll email me back to finalize.We shopped at IGA for a few groceries, then returned home to get ready for Dave¢s hike tomorrow. The best part of the evening was the sunset, looking at the expansive sky filled with stars after dark, and listening to the loons on the lake.Looking forward to resting.
Date: 2012-09-14
From: Bear Mt Lake, Rangeley, ME

To: Bear Mountain Lake, Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Yesterday, Peace had actually walked 15 miles on the trail and at least 4.5 miles trying to get to the trail and he thinks he got off the trail about .5, so he totaled about 20 miles yesterday. Whew! And I was supposed to be resting my toe but walked about 5 miles round trip on the Perham Stream logging road and about another 4 miles roundtrip walking from Rt. 4 north to meet Peace, so I walked about 9 miles total.After breakfast this morning, we took Mr. Breeze back to the trail and gave a ride to Golden and Long John Silver (?) to town. We packed up for our move to Stratton Motel tomorrow after our hike, rested, and prayed for the World Day of Prayer Request List. After lunch, we chatted with Debbie, owner of our vacation rental, and learned she goes to Unity in Pompano, FL, where she lives in the winter. She has been a captain of a boat. Dave and I each paddled a kayak across the lake to where Debbie said we might see moose. We saw their tracks and deer tracks in the tiny sand area, but no moose. We saw and heard a loon while out on the lake. After dinner, we checked for hikers at the trailhead but found none, went into town for gas, and went home to enjoy the lake, loons and stars before turning in. Tomorrow we have about 11 miles on steep mountains including Maine¢s Sugarloaf, and a ford over the Carribasset River.
Date: 2012-09-15
From: Caribou Pond Rd Stratton ME

To: Perham Stream Logging Rd ME
Miles today: 9.2

What a great day! I had lots of energy after resting two days and having prayer support. Thanks especially to Mom and Jennifer! Even though we had sprinkles off and on, we saw plenty of sun and enjoyed hiking up the steep Maine Sugarloaf Mountain. Of course, we still had trouble finding the trail in the beginning which was supposed to be a half mile up from the barrier. We walked way beyond again. We prayed for guidance and an angel with a German accent appeared to tell us about where it was. So cool!We had an easy rock hop over what we were afraid was going to be the most challenging Carabasset River ford. We loved the views and are seeing more and more colors in the trees. We saw a frog and birds. We met Doug from NH, Long Trail name Lomax, hiking south to summit Sugarloaf and Spalding Mountain for his Summit on the Air ham radio show on youtube. We saw Suds, Hillbilly from WVA, Ken from WVA, Bob, Trinket, Journeyman, Mr. Breeze, Yoopak and Knock on Wood from Michigan, The Walking Sticks family from PA: Papa Bear, WWIT (what was I thinking), and their daughter Chilly.We had lunch at Longfellows in Kingfield before checking in to Stratton Motel for a hot bath and change of clothes. Sue will meet us tomorrow at 7am to shuttle for the day¢s 8.5 mile hike¢shortest in a long time, before the next day¢s 17 miler.