morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-09-04
From: Melvin Nauheim Shelter

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: scattered clouds

A section hiker and his dog showed up after dark last night. I didn't bother to get out of my tent because it was dark, I was tired and I was snug in my sleeping bag. I was tempted to be social when I heard the sound of a can of soda or beer being opened since I'd love a sip of something carbonated. But I resisted.    I was in no hurry this morning because I only have 12.8 miles to go. Went over Porcupine Ridge and had a nice snack break with a view. Stopped at Goddard Shelter and had lunch with 5 SOBO hikers. Two had flip-flopped. Birdie flipped from Dalesville and Hero flipped from Waynesboro. Swish and Hercules are 2 of the 3 that started their thru hike at Katahdin. I passed another Princeton Freshman orientation group and 5 other SOBO section hikers. Busy day on the trail today!   I climbed the lookout tower on Glastonbury Mt. Wish I could identify all the mountains. Love the views. When I got to the shelter, I set up my tent on a grassy area in front of the shelter.....until I saw the 4 snakes and heard others slithering around. I'm not fond of any snakes, poisonous or not! So I moved into the shelter. A Long Trail SOBO hiker by the name of Carabiner showed up. Cammo, a section hiker showed up as well as two more SOBO flip floppers and 2 older women out for a few days. Busy night at the shelter.
Date: 2014-09-05
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: few clouds

Got to see a nice sunrise this morning. Decided today would be a good day to use my iPod. Love listening to music while hiking especially if the woods are uneventful. Got some great trail magic....I was able to throw out my trash at a hikers car in the parking lot. He had a paper sign and large plastic bag taped to the back of his car telling thru hikers to feel free to get rid of their trash.    Climbed up Stratton Mountain....it wasn't bad at all. I was able to climb up the tower. If it had been clearer I would have been able to see Mt Monadnock in NH. Talked about a half an hour with the care taker, Jean. She's been doing this job for many years and has a wealth of info about this area.    Stratton Pond is beautiful. Too bad I couldn't take any pictures because I only have 10% power left on my phone. And too bad the shelter is about 0.3 miles away from the water! A SOBO section hiker, Flash, came in so it's just the 2 of us for the night.
Date: 2014-09-06
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: few clouds

As I left the shelter, there was a detour to the AT because of flooding at the lake. Too bad I didn't see the first white blaze after the detour. I ended up walking in water up to my knees for about 15 minutes before I turned around to find where I went wrong. I was so bummed about getting so wet but had to let it go and move on. It was suppose to rain today any way. And I'll be showering and doing laundry later today anyway.    The trail was pretty easy today. Lots of mud, roots and rocks. I ended up falling forward against a log that had a blunt branch sticking out of it. I managed to ram into it with my neck. That really felt wired in a painful sort of way! No blood so all is well.    When I got to the road to town, I stood in the parking lot and got a ride from the third car that passed by. That was easy enough. They dropped me off at Mountain Goat Outfitters where I picked up my mail drop, bought some fuel and sent some stuff home. I left my pack at the outfitters while I went to Price Choppers. I bought some hard cider, fruit, cheese, eggs and raisin bread. Some NoBo Long Trail hikers that passed me on the trail were at the picnic table outside the store. They shared chips and salsa with me and I drank my cider. EMS was right next door so I went in and bought a wind breaker....on sale!!!    I headed back to the Outfitters to pick up my backpack and called Jeff at the Green Mt Hostel. He picked me up and brought me to his wonderful home. Love a hot shower! And got to do my laundry myself!! Took care of all the important stuff like charging my phone and iPod and making phone calls and writing in my journal.    I was able to make a delicious cheese omelette for supper and toasted some of my raisin bread. Yummy!!!
Date: 2014-09-07
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Big Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: clear sky

Good thing I wore ear plugs last night. Lots of activity in all the rooms. I woke up at 5:15 so I got up, gathered my stuff and headed downstairs so I wouldn't disturb anyone. Washed my hair because they actually supplied the bathrooms with blow dryers! Ate my 3 hard boiled eggs, raisin bread toast and an orange for breakfast....yummy! I was ready early and the only one on the 7am shuttle run back to the trail so we left early and I was hiking by 7.    It's so much cooler out now. I tried my new windbreaker but had to take it off after about a half hour. Even with just my shirt on I managed to sweat bullets in the cold air as I climbed Bromley Mt ski slope! What a great view up there! There were some people in the warming cabin at the top so I went in to check it out. Two women and some teens and a twenty something couple had spent the night there. Nice little cabin. Turns out I knew the guy from my 2013 hike. He had been working at Woods Hole Hostel when I was there. Bam is his trail name and his girlfriend is Freight Train. They had hiked the Long Trail last with the rest if the people in the cabin and they were having a little reunion.    The hike today was really nice with several good views including Styles Peak and Bakers Peak. I stopped at Peru Shelter for lunch. Such a pretty place with a water fall under a foot bridge. I'd come back here and do today's hike again.    I was able to call Misty from the top of Baker Peak and carry on about how amazing it was. I could see at least 6 mountain ranges in the distance. While I was taking a break there, the 3 NoBo Long Trail hikers from yesterday's picnic in front of Price Choppers came up the mountain. So I got their names (Baron, Bear, and Bean) and picture.    I planed to stay at Lost Pond Shelter but it was a huge disappointment. No pond! So I moved on to Big Branch Shelter right next to the river. Lots of white noise. Should help me sleep since I'm here by myself. I just hope the mice don't eat through my tent. One already climbed up the screen at the foot of my tent.
Date: 2014-09-08
From: Big Branch Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchley Shelter
Miles today: 13.2

I passed Little Rock Pond Shelter and wished I could have spent last night there! Really beautiful spot where I would have loved to go swimming. And I wouldn't have been alone. There's a care taker and $5 fee but well worth it!! I bumped into Baron, Bear and Bean at the pond. Turns out they hung their hammocks near Big Branch after their swim yesterday. We leap frogged all day!    Just before I got to White Rocks Cliff, I ran into Slow N Steady and Siva. I had met Slow N Steady last year on the AT. She had to quit too because of a spider bite so she's back out with her friend finishing up SOBO. We had lunch together and I got her contact info. Maybe we can hike together in the future. She said there's a trail maintenance crew staying at the shelter I'm going too so I'm excited that I don't have to spend the night alone.    Hiked up Bear Mt and was able to call Ronnie, get the weather and listen to the lame song of the day to encourage me on my way. When I got to the shelter, there were 2 short section hikers and one SOBO thru hiker by the name of Papa Poochie with his dog Pettie. All men and all SOBo I pitched my tent then joined them in the shelter to cook my supper. We heard 2 moose calling back and forth to each other. I hear it's rutting season in the beginning of September. Yikes. Steering clear of the moose!    My head lamp batteries are dying and the spares are dead! Not a good thing. Gotta pick some up in Rutland. Only 12 more days to the finish line.    The thought for the day is: I will earnestly work on not interrupting others while they are talking.
Date: 2014-09-09
From: Minerva Hinchley Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: few clouds

It got mighty cool last night...down in the 40's but I was comfy in my tent. I laughed out loud when I climbed to the view of the Rutland airport. There were 2 plastic chairs on the rocks for hikers to enjoy watching the air traffic. I stopped at the Clarendon Shelter for a morning snack and met an older SOBO hiker and another guy that is NoBo as far as the Whites. A bridge on the AT is being repaired so I had to take a detour which made the day longer. Lots of road crossings today. And my pace was slow! There was a 4.5 miles stretch of uphill trail to the top of Killington.    The stone shelter at the top didn't have glass in the windows and bold chipmunks so I set up my tent because it's gonna be a really cold night. I'm wearing my wool long johns, fleece shirt, wind breaker, hat and fleece socks tonight. Hope I stay warm enough. There are 2 brave SOBO hikers staying in the shelter.    Got to talk to Ronnie and Misty from my tent which is always a treat. Only 120.5 miles and 11 days left.
Date: 2014-09-10
From: Cooper Lodge Shelter

To: Rutland, VT The Yellow Deli
Miles today: 6.3

Had a comfy night even though it got mighty cold. All the layers worked. I was awake at 4:45 and decided to pack up and walk the 0.2 miles to the top of Killington for the sunrise. Once I got out of the tent I realized there would be no sunrise! The full moon was wrapped in fog. So I packed up my wet tent (condensation) and drank my breakfast in the shelter where I had hung my food bag.    I had an early start but I'm moving slow today. Guess a forced zero day tomorrow due to thunder storms will be a blessing. I made it to Rt 4 and walked the road to Pico Ski Resort where the bus stops to pick up passengers headed to Rutland which is 10 miles away.    I found the Yellow Deli and went upstairs to the hostel to check it out. The men and women sleep in different bunk rooms. I'm sharing the room with one other older woman, Barb, and her service dog, Psalmuel.   Loved my hot shower which they prefer you take immediately upon arrival (due to the stench). Then I had the most delicious egg and cheese sandwich downstairs at the deli. Excellent price and hikers get 15% off. It only cost $20 a night and I get a free breakfast, too. Nice place to do a zero day for sure.    Did my laundry (only $2) and hung all my wet gear up outside to dry. Sat out on the rooftop deck trying to make a new hike plan since I'm taking tomorrow off and will impact meeting my brother on Sunday in Hanover, NH.    I was able to spend about an hour talking to Ayash, the hostel caretaker, about this community called The 12 Tribes. They're trying to live out the original church that's talked about in Acts in the Bible. It's very interesting. I hope to do work for stay tomorrow and go to their gathering tomorrow evening to learn more about
Date: 2014-09-11
From: Rutland, VT The Yellow Deli

To: Zero Day at the Deli
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I was up early as usual and the deli is open 24/7 (except on the Sabbath) so I showered and went downstairs for my free breakfast. Delicious! And I got to plug in my phone and work on my online Trail Journal.   I did work for stay today by helping Talmidah (Hebrew for a woman disciple) bag the frozen bananas and strawberries for the smoothies. Then I vacuumed the rugs for Channah (Hebrew for graceful) in Simon the Tanners Shop connected to the deli. So tonight I stay for free. Channah told me that my name in Hebrew is Shoshannah.    Some NoBo AT hikers showed up and are spending the night so I hope to meet up with them tomorrow night. The woman is Wild Child and the 2 guys are Stitch and Pocket Fire. They're having a spa day painting toe nails and dying Pocket Fire's hair glow in the dark green.    I went to the Gathering at the Community House at 6pm. They sang songs and danced. Then several people stood up one at a time to share with the others what they had learned over the day from what they had been taught at the morning gathering. A few kids recited a Proverb they had memorized then applied the Proverb to their life. When they were done they stood to pray. Then we went to the house next door for supper. Wild Child and I got a ride back to the deli by 8:30 and got busy packing up and getting ready to hike in the morning. I was the only one going to bed so I put my ear plugs in!
Date: 2014-09-12
From: Rutland, VT The Yellow Deli

To: The Lookout Cabin
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: light rain

I got up and showered at 5am so I decided to buy breakfast at the deli since I was ready to go so early. This community is amazing. They gave me some watermelon and a Mate energy bar that they make. When you check in at the hostel, they give you a basket with juice, chips and a cookie. Then they set out fruit, bread, and other goodies to snack on in the common room in the hostel. They just keep giving! It was hard to leave.    I caught the bus to the trail head and was on my way by 7:35. It's really cold and windy today. It made my throat and chest hurt! There are lots of ups and downs, seven in all. I passed where the Long Trail and AT split early in the day. The AT passes right through Gifford Woods State Park which has a beautiful lake. I also passed by Thundering Falls and over Quimby Mt. I ate my energy bar for lunch and saved my raisin bread and PB sammie for supper because there's no water source at the cabin. I won't be cooking tonight or having CIB for breakfast in order to conserve my water.    When I finally got to the cabin I couldn't get in. The door seemed to be locked from the inside. I was able to open a window and crawl through. Turns out the latch type door handle is jammed. What an incredible place this is. I went right up the ladder to the roof top deck to see the 360 view. Turns out the cabin is privately owned by Lookout Farm which you can see in the valley below from the deck.    It's only 48 degrees in Woodstock, VT. And it's only going to get up into the 50's tomorrow and 70% chance of rain from 2pm on. Gonna have to hike fast to get to the shelter before it starts.    Two NoBo flip floppers showed up at the cabin at 8:30. I couldn't see them in the dark so it was a little creepy at first. When I realized they had a dog with them I felt better. Their names are Unicorn and Banjo Joe any the dog is Scully.
Date: 2014-09-13
From: The Lookout Cabin

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I was able to take pictures of the sunrise from the roof top deck. What a great stop this turned out to be! I talked for a bit with the NoBo hikers....nice guys. They may be in the same shelter with me tonight.    I hiked fast this morning because of the cold and because I wanted to reach the shelter before it started to rain. Lots of ups and downs today but the path was mostly dirt and pine needles. Not much mud in Vermud today, either. I went over Ascutney Mt and passed Woodstock, VT. There were several hilly cow pastures and some good views. But it took me 8 hours and 20 minutes to do only 14.2 miles!! The up hills are starting to get to me. It started to rain at 2 pm as promised so I hiked in the rain for an hour and a half.   I ran into a SOBO hiker by the name of Second Chance. As it turns out, he was hiking Katahdin on 7/3/2013 and entered the 100 Mile Wilderness the same day I did. He hiked with Cozy and Gabe for a few days after they fell behind Dr Evil and me. Second Chance ended up getting off the AT because he got Giardia. So now he's finishing his SOBO hike this year! There are quite a few of us out here with similar stories.    By the time I got to the shelter, I was pretty cold even though I wore my rain coat to stay dry. So I set up my tent in the shelter to keep some of the dampness off me and to hopefully stay a little warmer through the night. It's suppose to rain till 3 am. The shelter roof is tin so it's pretty loud. Not sure I'll know if someone else shows up because the rain on the roof is so loud.    Once my tent was set up, I walked to the stream to get water and treat it. Then I jumped in my tent to dry off, get some warm layers on and make supper.....Instant Mashed potatoes and cheese. I needed something to warm me from the inside.    Only 82.7 miles to go. And I have the shelter by myself for the last time since my brother will be joining me to hike the last 6 days of this journey starting tomorrow.
Date: 2014-09-14
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 14.7

It was so cold this morning that I didn't want to get out of my sleeping bag. Everything was either very damp or downright wet! So everything I did took longer because my fingers were so cold. I left camp an hour later than I had planned. Gonna have to buy glove liners when I get to Hanover. I'm so excited about crossing into NH today!!!   Lots of little ups and downs today and I'm suppose to meet my brother George around 1 pm at Elm St in Norwich, VT so he can hike into Hanover, NH with me.   When I was hiking into West Hartford, VT a lady and her friend were standing on the side of the road with their bikes and they wanted to talk to me. So I stopped and chatted and answered their questions and told them how I only had 6 days left to finish the AT. So Cheryl gave me her phone number and insisted I call her when I got to Hanover so I could stay at her house for the night! I told her my brother would be with me and she said that would be fine. So there you have it....trail magic at its finest!   As soon as I left her, I was approached by a guy that just walked out of his house towards me and the road. He wanted to know if I was hiking the AT and offered to make me breakfast! I had heard about him yesterday from Second Chance so I took his offer!!! Scrambled eggs, toast, banana bread and hot chocolate...yummy. Hurricane Sandy had destroyed his home and the General Store a few doors down. So he's still in the process of remodeling. But that didn't stop him and his wife from hosting over 1,100 hikers this year.    Now I was sure to be late meeting My brother....but I wanted to enjoy anything the journey had to offer! So I just hiked harder and faster when I got going again.    Northern VT has been a nice walk in the woods....a dirt path covered with pine needles.....very cushy on the feet.    I met gb (my brother) on Elm St and we walked several miles on the road into town. Passed 2 coolers of trail magic and had some coke and banana bread. Love these little surprises/treats along the way!   The CT River is the boarder between VT and NH and there's a cement block on the bridge that has VT/NH engraved on it. So of course I had to have my picture taken there. It's my last state!   Once we got to Hanover, I went to pick up my mail drop. Turns out Mountain Goat Outfitters went out of business in March so my mail drop was returned to sender! I called Cheryl the Trail Angel to let her know that I had to resupply. So George and I walked to the pizza place to get our free slice of pizza and I got a hard cider. Yummy.    Then we walked to the Food Co-Op and I did my resupply. Then Cheryl came to pick us up and the next thing I know, I'm showered and we're having tortellini and sauce and garlic bread for a second supper. And yes, I put away another whole meal with no trouble! It was fun talking to their son, eleven year old Eli. Didn't get to bed until about 10 but I really enjoyed the trail magic! What a good day.
Date: 2014-09-15
From: Hanover, NH

To: Moose Mt Shelter
Miles today: 10.9

Ted took us to CVS so I could buy some Advil (the only thing I really wanted from my mail drop) before he dropped us off at the Food-CoOp and we were on our way. Brrrr! It was nice to be hiking and talking with someone. We only had 10.7 miles to do today so we could take our time. There were some up and downs and gb started slowing down. We stopped at the top of Moose Mt which had a great view, so we ate lunch, made phone calls and checked the weather. Since it's not suppose to rain tomorrow after all, we decided not to push on to the next shelter. We hung out at the top of the mountain for a while longer.    When we got to the shelter, we set up our tents for the night. I went to get water which took forever because the water level is REALLY low/slow. I had to use a leaf to make a slow drip of water to fill the bottles. It worked out fine in the end.    We looked at the rest of the profile maps to see if there was any way to make Friday a little shorter over Mousilake but nothing looked any better. So were staying with the original plan. It looks like it's gonna rain tomorrow after all.
Date: 2014-09-16
From: Moose Mt Shelter

To: Fire Wardens Cabin
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It started raining during the night and was still raining when we woke up at 5:15. And it was COLD. I wasn't in the mood for either but we had to move on. So we slowly got our act together. We headed out into the cold rain in full Frog Tog rain gear. It wasn't pouring out so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. And the rain was suppose to stop around 1 pm which it did!    As usual, we had lots of up and downs and it took longer than expected to hike. We had some great views but no pictures because my camera was tucked away safe and sound from the rain.    We tried to visit the Bill, the Ice Cream Man, in Lyme, NH but no one was home. He left a note telling hikers to get ice cream from the freezer on his back porch which we gladly did....even though I'm not crazy about ice cream especially when I'm cold!    We climbed Holts Ledge, Lambert's Ridge and Smarts Mt which turned out to be more of a challenge than I was expecting. It started to rain again as we were descending Lambert's Ridge so I bundled up in my rain jacket again.    When we got to the Fire Wardens Cabin, there was a cranky older guy already there. It all worked out OK in the end. We took so long to hike there, all we had time for was to set up, get water, make supper and go to bed.Hopefully, we'll hike a little faster tomorrow since the sun will be out. I'll have to call family from the top of a mountain tomorrow since I don't have a signal again.
Date: 2014-09-17
From: Fire Wardens Cabin

To: Ore Hill Campsite
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: scattered clouds

The hike today was much more do-able than we could hope for. We actually hiked 2 MPH for a fair amount of the day! We heard the hike up Mt Cube was really difficult but it was easier than Smarts Mt. It was just beautiful on top of Cube. We could see the fire tower on Smarts Mt where we came from. It looked like a speck so far off in the distance! I'm amazed at how far we can travel in 4.5 hours!!!   We met 2 SOBO flippers... Baggie and Cheeseburger on top of Cube. They said there's water at Ore Hill so we won't have to refill all our bottles before the climb. When we got to the campsite, we got water, hung the bear rope, ate and got set up well before dark. It's nice not to have to rush to be done before sundown. Two other section hikers showed up to tent with us. It's suppose to be the coldest night yet, tonight. Yikes! May have to wear my jacket over my wool long johns and fleece shirt and windbreaker and hat!    Only 3 more days and 31.9 miles!