morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-16
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Kay Wood Lean-to
Miles today: 17.6

Day 125 -- I sure didn't feel very good when I got up this morning--head and throat hurt (and I felt light-headed last night, too). I didn't want to get up even when the caretaker was cooking us pancakes (not a big pancake fan anyway). Wrongway and most others went downstairs for them and I was still in bed when they returned. They told me he was getting ready to put the pan away, so I hobbled down and had some and got to talk to the caretaker, too. We were getting a kick out of the guys on the porch talking about bad places mosquitoes have bitten them. We lounged around for a while and at 8, we were the last hikers out. This is on top of the mountain that's after Upper Goose Pond Cabin..It was a nice hike down to I90 (cool to cross it after having seen the pedestian bridge every year on the way to Pop-Pop's). I still felt like my head was going to explode, but Wrongway, being the great hiking partner that he is, made me laugh and lifted my spirits. I actually felt great on the climb up out of the gap--must've been the trash I got to get rid of at the bottom--just kidding. We rested and chilled at the top for a while and headed along the crest, past a pond, some SOBO section hikers, swamps, boggy puncheon laden trail, and through mosquito heaven to October Mountain Shelter where we lunched with Rakdan (which is Hebrew for dancer). On his way out was GDEUP, who we saw at the cabin yesterday and found out he tented there, too. We were there for an hour and a half eating lunch and chatting, and eating another lunch.Gdeup.The rest of the day's hiking was pretty smooth with little elevation change. Climbing up one of the few steep ascents, though, I started to lean toward the edge, but luckily I fell TOWARD the mountain, instead. I've been tripping a lot the last few days--I'm hoping the time off in town will fix that with some rest. Around the time we should've been approaching the shelter, I, by myself, saw a blue blaze, looked around for a side trail, but saw none. I warily kept walking, getting nervous that I missed it. I passed two day-hikers near power lines that my book says are 0.1 miles before the shelter--whoop. We hiked into the shelter with original intentions of resting and then moving on up to the top of the next hill, but we stayed. GDEUP was already there and we got to talking with him and we decided that my feet were done for the day. Rakdan came in later after a 14 miler on his third day out! WOW! Had a great dinner, great conversation, great banter, and great company. PS...It was a beautiful, gorgeous day--sunny, not too hot, slight breeze most of the day!
Date: 2008-07-17
From: Kay Wood Lean-to

To: Dalton, Massachusetts
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 126 -- We hiked three miles into town with GDEUP. On our way through town, we passed Tom Levardi's house and hung out there with Lady, Tramp, Steadyon, and Bearfoot (Jordan, who I met in GA). They told us Tom's was full and that Rob was coming over to pick most of them up to slackpack. We decided to wait there for him so we can see about staying at his place. He came by and it all worked out--he had room and dropped us off. Andre the Giant was there hangin' out. We took showers and then headed to Duff and Del's for breakfast (we couldn't wait until my family came!). I had a great 3-egg-everything-omelette. On the way to the Post Office, Tom Levardi pulled over and drove us there and then to EMS with Bearfoot, returning to town about 15 minutes before Mom, Dad, Mike, and Courtney showed up at the Dalton Restaurant. Steady-On.We had a nice visit--catching up on things, then we used the computer at the library. On the way back we ran into Hot Wheels, Shutterbug, and Carly--whom I haven't seen for a while--cool! We went back and I vegged at Rob's house for a few hours, while Wrongway seamsealed his tent. Rob had been talking about this guy and his dog, staying in the garage, working for a few weeks, and he came home from work while we were there--turns out to be Peter, who I met at Neel's Gap! Wrongway and I jetted over to get pizza for dinner and when we got back Shadow Cast and Tangent were back from slackpacking. Rob drove us over to Price Choppers and later we sat around watching "Jaws".Tramp.
Date: 2008-07-18
From: Dalton, Massachusetts

To: Dalton, Massachusetts
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 127 -- I slept in as late as I could this morning. I finally got up to say bye to Shadow and Tangent because with Tangent's deadline I probably wasn't going to see them again on the trail. We sat around for a while watching TV, and then we headed back to Duff and Del's for another fantastic breakfast (I had to have another omelette). We walked down to the library, which wasn't open yet, and then just decided to walk until it was open. Five minutes later Tom pulls over and we hop in to chat and waste time. He was going to Walmart to pick up Steady On. He dropped us off at the library where we waited with Lady and The Tramp. We used the internet for our allotted hour (wow, it sucks you in!), walked to the convenience store to grab lunch, and then walked back to the Birdcage. We watched movies for a while, I showered, snacked, and hung out. Lady and The Tramp came over, and then Mala, Dirty Feet, Rock Steady, and Butters came over, too, to stay the night. Rock Steady played some on the guitar, we watched Smurfs, and I tried to pack up to make things easier for tomorrow. Rob took Lady, Tramp, Wrongway and I, and Mala took Dirty Feet to Old Country Buffet for dinner--good eats! When we returned Shelter Monkey and Snake Whisperer were there to stay the night and some '04 hikers stopped by to say hi. Mala drove Dirty Feet, Wrongway, and I over to Tom's so we could hike that part of the trail, instead of hiking to and from there in the morning. While we were over there we saw Blake, Danger Danjo, and Billy. I met Flame Thrower. We went too far on our hike and had to double back to get back to Rob's causing us to add thirty minutes to our hike. When we returned, we chatted for a while and then turned in...trying to get up early tomorrow.
Date: 2008-07-19
From: Dalton, Massachusetts

To: Mark Noepel Lean-to
Miles today: 13.7

Day 128 -- We intended to do 20ish miles today, so we planned to get up early. Neither happened. We ended up sleeping in, packing, and walking over to the general store for breakfast sandwiches. We brought them back and hung out and watched TV. We ended up not leaving until after 11 a.m.--it was so hard to leave. A bunch of people were trying to convince us to stay another day, but we needed to go. After the town walk, we entered the woods and passed two women, a boy, and their dog. After almost four miles we caught up with Butters and Rock Steady, and passed them. We played leap frog with them into Cheshire, where with met up with Lotus, Thinker, Stomp, Shuffles, Hot Wheels, Shutterbug, and Corly who were slackpacking back to Dalton. It was nice to catch up with Stomp and Shuffles. It's been since the Shenandoahs that we saw them last. We lunched at the store on the trail, with Rock Steady, Butters, Peepers, and Billy joining us. Wrongway spotted a porcupine running from us on the trail and watched it climb a tree. I grabbed the dog to save it from getting stuck. Cool--my first live porcupine on the trail! We made it to the Mark Noepel Lean-to just as the sky was opening up. We met Scottie, a SOBO there, and Peepers, Billy, and the family/friends stayed here as well.
Date: 2008-07-20
From: Mark Noepel Lean-to

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: haze

Day 129 -- Our original plan was to get up around 3:30 a.m. to hike the three miles to the summit of Mt. Greylock for sunrise, but that didn't happen. Oh yes, we woke up with the alarm, but "let's sleep a half hour longer" and "fifteen more minutes"--Wrongway might have been the one saying it, but he was saying what I was thinking too! Later, we noticed it was cloudy (when actually stepping out of the shelter). We did end up leaving at a reasonable hour, though, which was good since we were meeting Tinker (Wrongway's hiking friend from White Blaze's Parade of Fools trip) at the shelter on Wilbur Mountain. A couple of miles into the day we heard this loud cat noise/meow coming from the dense woods to our left and behind. We stop and listen and hear it again. Wrongway walks back towards the area we heard it come from and hear it again. He starts to walk into the woods, pretty excited about what he might find, when he sees a human silhouette, and then there was laughing--it was Blake and Danger at their campsite. Pretty funny! When we stopped at the portapot they and Peepers passed us and we caught up to them on the summit. Maybe it's because we stayed halfway up, but I was expecting a tougher climb--not complaining, though! :>) We took pictures and hung out at the summit for a bit and then Wrongway and I headed down, on our way to meet Tinker. We saw Shelter Monkey, Bearbait, Beartrap, a lady, and Sofaking slackpacking, so we might run into them tomorrow. We met Tinker at Wilbur Clearing Lean-to, rested for a bit, and moved on, running into Blake and Danger Danjo who were coming in for water. The descent, although steep in some areas, was, again, not as tough as I was expecting. At the bottom, a truck let us cross the road, and since I was trying to extract a gnat from my eyelashes I, along with the others, didn't notice it was Mala, until he yelled at us when he was parking. We talked with him for a bit and moved on to get closer to lunch. The trail took us through a residential area, and we walked to Tinker's car and drove over to a Chinese AYCE. I was pretty impressed with the variety and quality--good stuff. After stuffing ourselves and finishing it off with ice cream, we walked over to the food store, where, even though I was so full I didn't even want to think about food, we resupplied. Then to Friendly's we went, where we sorted our food, Tinker had coffee, and Wrongway and I shared some sort of Strawberry Shortcake Sundae. Tinker walked a couple of miles with us up to the Sherman Brook Campsite, where he intended on napping before heading down, but washed up and shot the breeze instead. We changed our plans and decided to stay there, so we set up and made dinner. I had spaghetti and chicken, even though it uses more fuel. I really needed a change. The thunderstorm that had been hinting to us finally arrived, so we retired to our tents to journal and get to bed early.
Date: 2008-07-21
From: Sherman Brook Campsite

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: light rain

Day 130 -- We planned to get up early (5 a.m.) to try to go 18-28 miles today, but when we woke up around then it was still raining pretty good. I woke up Wrongway and we decided to go back to sleep for a bit, hoping it would stop. Well, it did...once there was only water falling from the trees we got out of our tents and packed up all our stuff--don't you just love carrying a wet tent?! After a rock climb made me realize I hadn't eaten enough breakfast, we took a break, and then passed into Vermont...yea! I love Vermont! It pretty much started raining again as we hiked in, and the mud was everywhere--Wrongway complained about it all day, but he was just bantering with me because I kept going on and on about how great Vermont is. We ran between raindrops all the way to Seth Warner Shelter where we wrang out our clothes, got a snack, chatted with Peepers, and tried to dry off. We reluctantly left and luckily it only rained a little bit the rest of the day. I actually love hiking in the rain as long as it's warm out and my feet stay dry--haha--that'll never happen, but for real, I like the rain. I sang lots of rain songs today (really just a few lines, since I don't remember all the words). It's raining, it's pouring...I never liked the rain 'til I walked through it with you...The thunder rolls and the lightnin' strikes.... We passed a really cool beaver dam that I had been looking forward to all day and soon after arrived at the shelter where Peepers was unpacked already. He didn't feel like going further today. We called Fivel and ended up rescheduling our visit with her for tomorrow, so now we're staying put, too. Sweet Tea and Clemson (SOBO thrus from GA) came in after a short day and decided to stay. It's funny because none of us are used to getting into camp this early anymore (4:20)--we almost didn't know what to do with ourselves. A fire was attempted multiple times by multiple people--no luck. Books were read, journals were written in, converstions were had. Nice to be able to chill in camp for a change.
Date: 2008-07-22
From: Congdon Shelter

To: VT Rte. 9
Miles today: 4.3

Day 131 -- Last night, after trying to call Fivel about today, I turned my phone off, at least I thought I had. At 4 a.m. this morning my phone alarm (still enabled from the other day trying to get up for sunrise) went off, waking up most of the shelter sleepers. Whoops! We didn't get up until 7:45, another whoops, but we still made it to the parking lot on VT Rte. 9 before Fivel got there. We saw Hot Wheels, Shutterbug, Stomp, and Shuffles getting dropped off by a trail angel who picked them up. Good to see them again--they got ahead by slackpacking Greylock plus our mileage has been low the last few days. I hope we get to see them again soon and maybe get to hike with them--I enjoy them.Fivel pulled up five minutes later and we headed into Bennington. We stopped at McDonald's, food Wrongway's been drooling about for a few weeks now. After our indecisive selves decided to stay in town for the night, we got a room at the Kirkside Motel and hung out for a while in the room. We tried to dry our stuff outside and plan our day. We did laundry, resupply, went to the outfitter (saw Sofaking and another hiker), and to the Post Office (I mailed my journal and he had stuff to send home). We went back to the motel to chill and eventually got over to Carmody's Restaurant. I had hot wings, quesadillas, steamed shrimp (with Old Bay), broccoli salad, and potato salad. Good stuff! Back to the hotel to sew my shorts, chat, watch TV, and rest.
Date: 2008-07-23
From: VT Rte. 9

To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: moderate rain

Day 132 -- Yea for sleeping in a bed--got a great night's sleep last night. Fivel and I enjoyed a fantastic breakfast at Big Benn's Diner and we all hung out in the hotel room until checkout. Then we drove over to CVS to pick up an umbrella for Wrongway (he's going to try it out) and I a rain bonnet and thought I'd try that out--hehe. We got pretty lucky today rainwise--it mostly just sprinkled IF it was raining at all. For the most part, Wrongway and I stayed together, except when he was ahead when we passed Melville Neuhiem Shelter and I didn't see a marking in the ground to know if he had gone to it or not. So, I went, just in case, but no Wrongway. I caught up later--he was wondering where I was--heh :>). By the way, people ask about the hiking itself with regards to myself and my hiking partner(s)...for the most part we are within a few minutes of each other, sometimes we are ten - twenty feet from each other (I'm usually in the back because I'm slower). Sometimes we're talking, sometimes there's silence, sometimes whistling, and sometimes singing. At the end of the hiking day today I wasn't catching up to Wrongway (probably because he sped up knowing we were pretty close and was trying to beat the rain)...we climbed up most of Gladenbury Mountain to Goddard Shelter. Two LTers (Long Trail hikers) (Kelly and Sarah) were there trying to keep warm. I went to get us water and wash my legs (I didn't quite clear a puddle earlier--splash!). As I was finishing it started to rain harder and harder and the wind was blowing harder. It was difficult to warm up. I ate spaghetti with the new spices Wrongway bought--good stuff! In the sleeping bag to warm up. Parkay (AT '06) and Bonsai (met him on our zero in Dalton, on his way out of town) came in soaking wet. Most of us sat up to chat with them. I've known them since Harpers Ferry and see them in towns, but today was the first time we shared a shelter.
Date: 2008-07-24
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: moderate rain

Day 133 -- With a possibility of doing 20-28 to day, we were planning on getting up at 5 and out around 6, but it was raining when we woke and we decided to give it time to rain itself out. We finally got up and ready by 8 when it started to downpour. We decided to wait for a few minutes, which turned into an hour. We left in a drizzle around 9 a.m. to walk the river which is the AT. We both tried covering our feet in grocery bags to keep dry, which worked for a short while, but we pretty much just started to slosh straight through, instead of trying to avoid, the puddles/mud/flow of water. We opted not to stop at Kil Gore Shelter, knowing we'd not want to go back into the rain. We trudged along, passing Cubby, three of his buddies, and Spoon, all SOBO thrus, two German section hikers, and Mala, Tucker, and Durrclay Feet. (I made a grand entrance when I saw them--slipped and fell gracefully in the mud!) Shelter Monkey and Snake Whisperer were drying out for the day at Story Spring Shelter, where we lunched. We moved on, climbing Stratton Mountain, met Jean, the caretaker, and descended to the Stratton Pond Shelter. There we met Ben and Anya, John (and Jim, sleeping), Ramen (LT thru-hiker), and Molly and Chris (doing as much of the Long Trail as possible in their time frame). Nice group--had dinner--bedtime.
Date: 2008-07-25
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: VT 11/30 (Manchester Center)
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: few clouds

Day 134 -- Wrongway wanted to make sure I wrote "today was a beautiful day; it didn't rain at all" in his girly voice. That's his contribution for today. Anyway...:>) Stratton Pond Shelter is a very nice place to stay, but, sleeping in the loft, we couldn't really see the sun when it came up so we got out a tad bit later than planned, but we still got out early and did the beautiful 10ish miles to VT 11/30 quickly with a rest stop at Prospect Rock. Although my feet were wet pretty much of the day, I really enjoyed the great weather. I appreciate the good weather. At the road, while Wrongway was washing, an SUV pulled up and a boy's head popped out and asked us if we needed a ride, so we accepted it. Joan was driving and there was Laure, Nell, and Jack. They were all very friendly and the ride was very much appreciated! They dropped us off at the Mountain Goat Outfitters, where we ended up running into Site, Shutterbug, Carly, and Sea to Land. We checked into Sutton's Place (where Blake, Danger Danjo, and Billy were chillin' on the porch) and showered. We headed over to the laundomat, but we walked down the wrong street. So, we went to the store and I got a banana split, which I fumbled with my full hands and ended up spilling it on my shirt. We eventually ended up in the right place--got laundry done, went to EMS, ate Chinese for lunch, and resupplied at the food store. In the midst of all this we hung out with Blake, Danger, Site, and Ramen at a picnic table under a tree in the shopping center. When we got back to Sutton's Place, we dried things out, watched TV, ate fruit, and drank milk. Bed early!
Date: 2008-07-26
From: VT 11/30 (Manchester Center)

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 135 -- Comfy bed, but didn't get much sleep. Checked out of Sutton's Place, walked Ramen's accidentally abandoned gaitors to him at the Mountain Goat Outfitters, and went over to Up for Breakfast to eat. Chris and Molly (LT) and Shelter Monkey and Snake Whisperer were there already, the former coming in yesterday and the latter arriving today. Great breakfast--sourdough French toast, among other things--a new twist to my normal town breakfast. On our walk out of town we saw GDEUP. who told us he was getting off the trail. We followed VT 11/30 out of town and got a ride with a really nice guy who luckily had forgotten his wallet at home and was heading back for it. It started out as another nice day. We had a nice hike up Bromley Mountain with a lightly hazy, but beautiful view at the top. I felt great coming up to Styles Peak, but got progressively more tired as I went along. I met Privy (SOBO thru-hiker) just before Styles Peak and finally caught up with Gatorade Tiger at Peru Peak Shelter (I've seen his entries in the logs for a few days) where Wrongway was resting. We snacked while talking to Gatorade Tiger but eventually decided to stay. We were both exhausted and the sky was sounding threatening (not looking forward to being wet). We'll just have to make up the miles tomorrow. We ate dinner and talked about all sorts of uplifting things like different people who have died. Dinosaur (AT '06), the caretaker, came to collect the fee and chatted with us for a while. It started to rumble louder and rain harder as we went to bed thankful for our decision to stay put.
Date: 2008-07-27
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 136 -- I woke up at 6:30 a.m., shortly after it finally stopped thunderstorming. We both weren't feeling well, so we slept in a while. Cracker and Silver Potato, and later Hungarian and Sundae (all SOBO thru-hikers) hiked in while we were finishing up our packing...pleasant conversation. We eventually left camp around noon. The hiking was nice, when I wasn't slipping on wet puncheons, sliding in the mud, or falling on my bum. I have a large bump on my bum from a hard slip on a rock. After a snack break at Big Branch Shelter (where Wrongway let me use some of his jelly on my peanut butter and bagel--wow did I enjoy it so much more!). We met Spanky (SOBO Thru #2)--nice, lively guy. After hiking up White Rock Mountain, we sat down at White Rock Cliffs to eat dinner, planning on going at least five more miles, night hiking. It was a great view of the sunset, as well as the storm that was approaching. So, after deciding not to tent up there (bad drainage and bad spot for a thunderstorm) we decided to hike on. The storm seemed to be moving in fast (actually, not so much, but we didn't want to get wet) so we booked it. The wind moving the trees above us made us stop to put our pack covers on and since it was getting too dark, get our headlamps. Of course, in the rush, my tempermental headlamp opens and one of the batteries falls on the ground, but my lamp doesn't work and I can't find it. Luckily, Wrongway found it, and we ended up being closer to the shelter than we thought--yea! We woke up Lambswool and Javanip, Vermonters doing a LT section, finishing tomorrow. We had a nice chat with them as we set up and then settled in for bed.