morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-22
From: North Adams, MA

To: Congdon Shelter, VT
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: few clouds

North Adams is a neat town that I'd like to visit again. I did not get to spend any time there, but I'll keep it in mind to visit again. The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) is a popular attraction.There isn't much to say about today's hike. The trail was fairly muddy in parts with a very steep rocky climb a few miles from the start. About half-way into the day, I approached a gentleman who was walking alone. To be cordial and to identify strangers, I like to chat for a minute with people that I haven't seen before and who are walking alone. Much to my surprise, this person introduced himself as Warren Doyle. I was in awe to be in the presence of a man who had hiked the Appalachian Trail so many times and knew so much about it. We hiked for a few miles together and I gained a wealth of information, encouragement, and wisdom from him. I told him my trail name and he had been following my journal entries on Trail Journals.com. What impressed me the most is that he knew my real first and last name. I thanked him for his company and then moved along the trail when he met up with a southbound hiking partner he was expecting to meet.http://www.lmc.edu/faculty/DoyleW/ATBook.htmlI finally reached the shelter and the end of my day around 4 PM. Pocahontas is here with her nephew. She thru-hiked in 1994. Little Foot is here with her son. She hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, twice, and is trying to complete it for the third time. Her last thru hike was in 1979. Rodney Dangertrail showed up late and is working on his second thru-hike. Dude also arrived to stay the night. I was fairly discouraged when I finished yesterday's journal entry. I realize that I've only got about two months left and less than six hundred miles to go, but I feel like I need to hang on. I know that I can find much more enjoyable things to do if I left the Trail, but I'm really hoping that the sense of accomplishment from finishing will make it all seem worthwhile.
Date: 2007-07-26
From: Story Spring Shelter, VT

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: clear sky

With an early start this morning, I thought I could make it into Manchester Center, Vermont, by the end of the day. That meant that it would be the longest day, mileage and time-wise that I've had so far. I did not have any plans to hike this much during any day of this trip, but a town stay always motivates me.Like yesterday, there weren't too many highlights. I climbed the Stratton Mountain firetower on this very hazy day only to see about as far as the Bromley Mountain ski area. Further down the Trail, I stopped at Stratton Pond for lunch. Now that's a pretty area. I was surprised at how warm the water was. I suppose that you can swim in it, but I had miles to do, so I skipped that opportunity. Stratton Pond would be a nice place to stay for the night, but the hiking from Stratton Pond into Manchester Center is not too terribly difficult. The elevation changes are moderate. It was a hot and humid day today. There were even more southbounders and people hiking the Long Trail today which is shared with the Appalachian Trail for quite a few miles in Vermont.   Prospect Rock is about five miles south of Manchester Center and has a must-see view of Manchester Center. Every state seems to have a Prospect Rock. If not, I think I recall that there is one in New York.About the time I arrived at the road crossing that leads into Manchester Center, I spotted a styrofoam cooler meaning only one thing: trail magic. It was loaded with cold drinks, candy and fruit. Strangely, though, there was no note left by the person who left the cooler.Mud Elephant and Mountain Squid were at the trail parking area waiting for people to come off the mountain looking for a ride into town. Mud Elephant took me to the Avalanche Motel, which is the closest motel to the trail, but is still about one mile from town. The Avalanche Motel has a restaurant and is next to Bob's diner. A shower and food is all that was on my mind after this long day.
Date: 2007-07-27
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

After breakfast at the nearby diner, I tried to hitch about two and one-half miles to the post office. When nearly fifteen minutes passed, I thought that if I go back to my motel room and put on my backpack, I'd be recognized as a harmless hiker who needed a short ride into town. Well, more time passed and I just started to walk with my thumb out along the narrow shoulder of the road, hoping that a vehicle wouldn't get too close and break my arm. I simply believe that there are too many fancy cars and tourists in this town to bother with picking up a hiker on a hot and humid afternoon.I picked up my mail drop from the post office and a care package from Awol (Thank you, Awol!). Next, I headed to Ben and Jerrys for ice cream, then to Friendly's for lunch and another serving of ice cream. Finally, I spent the remainder of the day at the grocery store, outfitter, on the phone, and generally browsing around the outlet stores that seem to number in the hundreds in Manchester Center.Later in the day, as I was with a cluster of other hikers, a man approached and introduced himself as just a guy looking to make a few extra bucks by shuttling hikers around for a fee. I accepted one of his business cards and it came in handy. This town is too spread out and "crazy" to get an easy hitch.
Date: 2007-07-30
From: Big Branch Shelter, VT

To: Clarendon Shelter, VT
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: clear sky

The alarm on my watch chimed at 5:30 AM this morning, but I couldn't get up until 6:30 AM. The hikers in the shelter had a good ol' time with their loud conversations last night around the fire. I was glad that I was in my tent some yards away, but it was still difficult to get to sleep. They finally quieted down just after 10:30 PM.There's not much to write about today. I spent a while hiking with Tootles and Jolly Green (a mother/son team from Asheville, North Carolina). It was a nice hiking day around Lost Pond and across Clarendon Gorge. Eventually, we took a detour to The Whistle Stop Cafe for dinner and ice cream. From there, it was a short, but steep hike to the shelter area.Clarendon Shelter has a small field in front of it, almost like a small, grassy yard with plenty of space for tenting. The shelter was full of people who were hiking both northbound and southbound on either the Appalachian Trail or the parallel, Long Trail.In and around the shelter area: Lucky, Packrat, Tootles, Trail Dancer, Willie Goat, Castle, Alpine, Princess Brat, Stayin', Rogue, and one other southbounder.
Date: 2007-07-31
From: Clarendon Shelter, VT

To: US 4, Killlington, VT 
Miles today: 16.7

I've had some long, tiresome days lately, so I'm behind in writing my journal entries for the past few days. I'll do my best to reconstruct the events as much as possible from the brief outline that I wrote down. I remember waking up, today, to the sound of roosters in the distance. There must have been some sort of farm somewhere not too far from the shelter. Today was going to be a long, difficult day. The elevation profile map showed a big climb up to the top of the Killington ski area. I started hiking behind Tootles for a while and then the two of us were joined by Lucky and Packrat. The hike to the top of the ski area was stretched out over a few miles. All I can remember was that sweat was dripping off of my forehead like rain falling from the sky. Eventually, the trail leveled out on top of Killington and we were rewarded with the news that there was a restaurant at the summit. All we had to do was to climb up a steep, rocky side trail to get to it. Once we found the quarter-mile side trail, we headed up another one hundred feet or so to the place where summer visitors were exiting the ski gondolas. The restaurant was a welcome sight and had a three hundred and sixty degree view. Killington opens its ski trails to mountain bikers and it becomes a huge mountain bike park for those who wish to coast downhill really fast. You can carry your bike on the gondola. Hikers can ride up and down the gondola for free. I should have done that, but from the top of the mountain you can see it all anyway. Once the four of us finished lunch, we carefully descended the side trail and began hiking north through a beautiful Blue Spruce forest. It was interesting to stand in the woods for a moment and note how quiet it was so far away from roads and the still air contributed to the silence.   I've also been impressed with how clean and clear the creeks and streams have been in this part of Vermont. The idea for the next half of the day was to bypass the shelter near Killington, and instead, stay the night at The Inn at the Long Trail. At the Inn, fifty bucks or so gets you a private room that includes a full breakfast. The Inn is an old skier's hotel. It looks like an old, rustic lodge inside. They have laundry machines, a seasonal hot tub, a small game room, and an Irish Pub/Restaurant. Packrat and Lucky decided not to go to the Inn and stayed at the shelter nearby. Tootles and I intended to stay at the Inn with other hikers, but discovered that we had a mile left to go, uphill, from the U.S. 4/Trail intersection to get to the Inn. So, we tried our luck at hitchhiking. It took fifteen minutes or so, but a woman in a car actually made a U-turn to come around and pick us up. I can't begin to tell you how grateful it is to get a ride. I appreciate those people. When you get discouraged that someone won't pick you up and then someone finally stops, it's like receiving an unexpected gift. It turned out to be a long day, just as I anticipated, but getting a shower, clean clothes, and sleeping on a good mattress made it worthwhile.
Date: 2007-08-01
From: US 4, Killlington, VT 

To: Stony Brook Shelter, VT 
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

It took a long time for me to get to sleep last night. It was hot and the Inn does not have air conditioning. I also think that the car alarm going off in the parking lot and the heavy truck traffic on U.S. 4 also were factors. After breakfast, I grabbed my pack and headed out to the road. I wished for a quick hitch back to the trail crossing, one mile away. By locating myself on the uphill side of Sherburne Pass relative to the direction that I needed to go, I took advantage of the slower speeds of the cars as they reached the summit of the pass where the Inn at the Long Trail is located. Cars could easily slow down at this location and pull off the road to pick me up. I was lucky. A car pulled over for me in less than one minute. Since I had about a two minute car ride (that saved me about twenty minuts of walking), I didn't get to communicate too much with the driver. He said he was headed to work, that's all. He was also a weekend hiker. I hiked through Gifford Woods State Park in the morning. It looks like a greatplace to go car camping and have access to trails, swimming, and canoeing opportunities. The park office had Ben and Jerry's ice cream and a soda machine. Those were two good reasons to stop for a break. After hiking a few more miles, I stopped at Mountain Meadows Lodge for lunch. It looks like a cross between a motel and bed and breakfast. Once again, I'll put this place on my list of "cool things to check out again." It's on a really nice lake, but I'm too tired right now to find the name of it on my map. They have a website that probably has more details. http://www.mountainmeadowslodge.com I hiked only ten miles today, but I'm ok with that. The spacing between shelters is odd at this point. I'm exhausted. Hiking the Appalachian Trail is the most physically and mentally challenging thing that I have ever done. It is certainly not a walk in the woods. I saw a bumper sticker on a car today that read," The best things in life aren't things." In and around the shelter tonight: Matterhorn (6',5" from Iowa, now living in Arizona), Mike (from Tampa, likes to keep is real name so that people see him as an individual and not a "character" with a trail name), Kiwi (from Georgia, got his name after shaving his head to abouy 1/8th of an inch), Wolf (from Cary, NC), Lil' Red (from Cary, NC), Ping (from Gorham, NH) who often hikes with her friend, Pong, Tootles and Jolly green arrived at the shelter after dark by headlamp.
Date: 2007-08-02
From: Stony Brook Shelter, VT 

To: Thistle Hill Shelter, VT 
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: clear sky

I wasn't planning on hiking this many miles ever again on this trip, especially since the temperature in nearby Hanover, New Hampshire, reached ninety-five degrees, according to the report on my radio. It's just that the shelter spacing is a little strange in this section and there aren't really suitable campsites in between the shelters with adequate water. Overall, it was a typical day of hiking up, down, and around the mountains with the exception of having the treat of two markets along the way that featured ice cream, drinks, and snacks. The first stop was the On The Edge Market. I relaxed there with cold drinks and sugary baked goods while chatting with Matterhorn and Kiwi. Several miles later, I approached Cloudland Farm for a pint of Haagen-Dazs and a conversation with Bushwacker and Monkey Socks. Those 1,320 calories in the pint meant nothing since I could burn that off in just over one hour, I'm sure. After I devoured that cold, delicious, pint of butter pecan ice cream, Bushwhacker encouraged me to hike another two miles with him to the Thistle Hill Shelter. It was a good choice even though it was starting to get a little dark. His company and the sugar jolt helped me along. Although I felt guilty that I moved ahead of Matterhorn, Kiwi, Tootles, and Jolly Green when I told them that I'd stop for the day at the Cloudland Shelter. Packrat and Lucky got the idea of getting some hamburger meat and bread back at the Cloudland Farm and take it back to the shelter. By the time I arrived, they had a fire going and were about to grill hamburgers for themselves. Meanwhile, I had to "enjoy" my dehydrated food and dream of my next "real" meal while watching these two prepare their dinner complete with mashed potatoes and grilled zucchini - also from the nearby market. In and around the shelter area tonight: Little Foot, Dragon Breath, Lucky, Packrat, Bushwacker, April Showers and Montreal.
Date: 2007-08-03
From: Thistle Hill Shelter, VT 

To: Hanover, NH 
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

Kiwi and Matterhorn are early risers (4:30 AM), but they take a lot of breaks, during the day, too. I caught up with Kiwi and Matterhorn on the trail since they left about thirty minutes before I did. By 9 AM, we stopped at a road crossing where there was a deli in West Hartford, Vermont. Packrat and Lucky arrived fifteen minutes or so later. Even though the other hikers ordered breakfast, I was craving a roast beef sandwich and enjoyed every bite of it along with a bag of Cheetos. After such a long day, yesterday, I expected to hike only about ten miles today and to take it easy. Shortly before noon, however, I had already arrived at the ten mile mark and at a shelter that had a dry stream. In only about two hours and thirty minutes, I could be in Hanover, crossing the New Hampshire state line and taking a day off, so I went trekking along. That and the threat of some severe weather associated with a weak cold front got me going. There was an abundance of raspberries and blackberries along the trail today. A few times I stopped briefly and picked some, but it looks like the season is ending for them. In many places over the past thirty miles, maple farmers (?) have strung an elaborate web of strong, but flexible food-grade 3/8ths inch plastic tubing that all runs downhill from various sugar maple trees. There are miles of this tubing through the woods. The trees have taps in them to which the tubing is fastened. I believe that in the early Spring, the sap from the trees is thin enough to drip into the tubes and gravity pulls it downhill to some sort of collection container.   Just before entering Hanover, the Trail travels through a neighborhood. Underneath a tree by the edge of the road sat Matterhorn and Kiwi - once again taking another break on some lawn chairs. What they found there was more Trail Magic. The young daughter (named May) of the family who lived in the nearby house placed the chairs there along with a cooler of cold soda and a freshly-baked raspberry pie, plates and plastic-ware. How cool is that? It was a great way to end a long day of hiking. In another mile of hiking, I walked across the bridge over the Connecticut River. This river separates Vermont and New Hampshire near Hanover. It was a good feeling to cross off another state on this trip. I struggled uphill to the city center in the heat, trying to get to the post office before it closed for the day. I made it, then hurried to a motel to clean up. Dinner was a delivered pizza and by 8 PM, I was out like a light.
Date: 2007-08-04
From: Hanover, NH 

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The motel offered hikers a ride up to the center of Hanover, about two miles away, this morning. I requested to be dropped off at the post office since I had several issues to deal with that did not involve the mail boxes that my friend Jan sent to me, but rather items that I ordered online to be shipped to Hanover. The outfitter here and the ones at other places along the Trail just aren't as reliable with keeping items in stock like online retailers. By the time I finished dealing with the post office around noon, it was now time to get lunch, get to the grocery store, and run other errands. What happened next was interesting, yet nerve wracking. The Shriners held a ninety minute parade in Hanover. Not only were streets blocked and closed, but sidewalks were crowded and lined with people. That made it very difficult to get around in this already congested town. I was frustrated!   I also was astonished when I saw "Alexander" walking along the "edge" of town. Alexander, if that is his real name was the guy who I saw a couple of times back in New Jersey and maybe New York or Pennsylvania. I can't remember the dates to reference without looking at my journal online. He's the guy with the black hair, long sleeve shirt, and blue backpack, who carries the duffel bags and grocery bags in his hands along the trail. I couldn't believe my eyes. I wish I knew what was "up" with him, but I'm not going to approach him. In the afternoon, I called "Pinky." She's a student at Dartmouth who hiked the Trail last year. A few miles south of Hanover, she left an ad in the Stony Brook Shelter with her cell phone number offering transportation assistance to hikers when they arrived in Hanover. I arranged a one-way shuttle with her to nearby West Lebanon so that I could go to the Eastern Mountain Sports outfitter and to Kinkos. It worked out well. At Kinkos, I spent some time checking e-mail, uploading a few photos to Trailjournals and burning files from my camera memory cards to CDs so that I could erase thee cards and take more pictures. I spent such a long time there that the store clerk offered to give me a ride back to my motel when he closed the store at 6 PM. It's late in the evening and I don't have a plan for tomorrow (Sunday). I'd like to keep hiking northbound, but I'm a little sore and have been preoccupied with updating my journal (takes a lot of time) and getting my pack ready for a few more days out. So, readers, I hope you like it because I'm losing sleep over it and will probably nix the idea of doing any hiking tomorrow. :-) However, I do think that I'm doing OK with regards to time and I can take another day off. I have roughly 440 of the most difficult miles yet to go.
Date: 2007-08-06
From: Hanover, NH

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I recovered a little bit today, but I had a difficult time trying to stay awake. I was even too wiped out to pay attention to the TV for more than about ten minutes, so I turned it off.By mid-morning, I received a phone call from Tootles. She and Jolly Green have been visiting friends in the area and they had access to a car. Around noon, they picked me up for a trip into town to take care of a few errands, then to Eastern Mountain Sports where I bought a new water filter cartridge - just in case the one I had was defective and, perhaps caused me to get sick. Next, we went to Panera Bread Company, where I thought that a sandwich and a cup of chicken noodle soup would do me some good. I've had no appetite for over twenty-four hours, but I do need to eat and this meal seemed to be what I needed.It's worth mentioning that good things usually happen when you need them to when you are on the Trail. There are people who are generally available at the right place at the right time to help you if you need them. I certainly appreciate that Tootles and Jolly Green have been hiking within a day or so of me so that they could offer some assistance.I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow or how I will feel, but most likely, I'll stay at the motel one more night.
Date: 2007-08-07
From: Hanover, NH

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I had a rough night with pain in my lower abdomen. It kept me awake until 1 AM. I finally woke up about 10 AM. That gave me an hour to shower and to let the motel know if I was staying another day. I paid for another night and tried to find out what else I could do during the day that required only a little bit of physical energy. The only thoughts I had were to either go see a movie or to find out about a car rental. There was an Enterprise office in town and for $35, I could have a car for twenty-four hours. I spent that much money on a taxi the other day anyway. So, I went for it.With a car, I was able to find something other than take-out Chinese or pizza, and get out and see more of the area. I thought about traveling north a bit and taking a glance at the White Mountains, but it became overcast and would have been a waste of time, probably. I finally decided to go back to Eastern Mountain Sports, the hiker's equivalent to Home Depot. As coincidences go, I found First Wife and Beach Bum inside. The three of us spent some time talking inside the store and buying things we might need for the next few days. Then, we settled on going to Panera for lunch. Over lunch, we discussed the possibility of slackpacking a bit. For me, I was thinking of only doing maybe six miles, southbound, hiking back to the motel for the night. That would allow me to get a feel for hiking a longer day with a full pack on. I'm still undecided. I don't think my body has recovered enough, yet, to do a full day. However, I think I need to get moving and I want to get moving.Later, I drove into Hanover to send home a few things from the post office. A man with a beard approached my car. He looked homeless and like he needed a meal or two. I did not recognize him, but it was Jeb, the gentleman who drove me from the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, airport to the start of my hike in Duncannon, Pennsylvania, about two months ago. His journal is at http://www.trailjournals.com/jebI'm surprised that he recognized me since I haven't shaved in two months. We talked briefly and he mentioned that he's staying at the Sunset Motor Inn, as well. I knew from his phone calls over the past week that he was catching up with me and that he'd be in Hanover, soon, but I didn't expect him to find me on a street in Hanover.