morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-16
From: Mill Road, VT

To: Kid Gore Shelter, VT
Miles today: 25.6
Weather: overcast clouds

So far I would have to say that the roots and mud that we came across during our first full day in VT have looked very much the same as what we came across in MA. The big difference is that VT has a few more hills then MA did. Heck, we¢ve already gotten up to 3700¢ which is higher than anything that we hit in MA. It really feels good to be back in the mountains (just don¢t ask my knees). Yeah it means a few more tough climbs but it is worth it to feel the breeze at the top of a mountain and to see the amazing views. We even had an observation tower on top of Glostenbury Mountain to help us see into MA, NY, and VT. Technically the tower was closed to the public and all of the stairs on the first flight were missing but surely that couldn¢t mean that we weren¢t suppose to use it could it? We also saw our first moose tracks today in the mud. I didn¢t even know that they had moose down in VT. Hopefully we get to see some of the real thing because I don¢t think that I have ever seen a real moose.
Date: 2004-06-17
From: Kid Gore Shelter, VT

To: Spruce Peak Shelter, VT
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: light rain

Well the idea today was to get up early and do a 28 mile day, but I didn¢t get up early and Sam¢s feet were hurting a bit so we canned the whole long day thing and went for a 23 mile day instead. Hopefully things will work out better tomorrow because it was either do 28 today and 22 tomorrow or do 23 today and 27 tomorrow. Our only real big climb today was up Stratton Mountain. We almost got to 4000¢ but the mountain dropped out at 3936¢. At the top we paused for a moment to honor the birthplace of Steve and Amanda¢s engagement and then moved on to a bug filled lunch. During lunch I learned that there might actually be some benefits to summer hikers. There were two ladies at the top who had just started a week long trip and they insisted that they had too much food. So being the nice guy that I am I agreed to take a bag full of GORP to help them lighten their load. We started to get a little lazy and slow in the afternoon. It might have been the combination of drizzly weather, a short day, Sam¢s sore feet, and my jelloy legs. Whatever it was it was too much to resist so we sort of just moseyed to the shelter. The bad thing about hiking slow is that time just seems to drag on. Today was one of the few times that I have actually felt kind of board while hiking. But hey the afternoon wasn¢t a total loss because the afternoon miles did push us up and over the 3/4 mark! Well time to rest up for tomorrow. A nice roomy shelter with a door and everything should make for a nice nights sleep.
Date: 2004-06-18
From: Spruce Peak Shelter, VT

To: Greenwall Shelter, VT
Miles today: 27.2
Weather: light rain

Well we knew that today was supposed to be a long and tough day and it lived up to all of our expectations! I think that at a little over 13 hours of hiking this was one of our longest days yet as far is time goes. The 27 miles took us longer then any of the 30 mile days that we did earlier. It is amazing what a few little hills will do to your pace. The first mountain that we climbed was Bromley, which is another ski resort. This time we actually went straight up a ski trail to get to the top. While going up it Sam and I argued about whether it was a square trail or a diamond. Well we were both wrong because it was a circle trail. Man things look a lot different when there isn¢t any snow on the ground. After a few weeks of chasing we finally caught up to Rambler at the top of Bromely and we hiked with him for the rest of the day. It is kind of neat to have friends out here that leave messages for you telling you to catch up. Well we finally did but I¢m not sure Rambler appreciated it because we pushed him a few more miles then he was planning. At around 11:00 we came across some great trail magic on top of Style Peak. A group of 5 ladies were on top having a wedding party and they offered us the rest of their fruit salad and bagels. Not only did it taste great but it also really helped out because I am running pretty low on food. The extra food also helped us push to Baker Peak for and some great views. In the afternoon we set a record for the most shelters that we passed in a day by passing our 7th shelter. We would have stopped earlier but the last couple cost $6 to stay there so we pushed on. But hey, every step we do today is one less that we will have to do tomorrow.
Date: 2004-06-19
From: Greenwall Shelter, VT

To: Killington Ski House, VT
Miles today: 7.8

I just love these kinds of days. Not only did we take a nearo today but we were also heading towards our first zero in 3 weeks. On top of that we met my parents (and Lady) and Sam¢s mom. That really made the short day fly by even faster. After we got to the road and had our reunion we headed for Ponderosa, which I have been waiting for since before we started about 3 months ago! Once the binge was complete we went to the ski house that we usually stay at for our winter ski vacations. At the house I learned that Tricia, Seth, Skylar, and Noah were coming for the night! That really excited me because I wasn¢t able to see them last Tuesday night as planned. We spent the evening sitting in the hot tub and chowing down on my mom¢s chicken and macaroni salad which is one of my favorite meals. What a great day, I really love my family.
Date: 2004-06-20
From: Killington Ski House, VT

To: Killington Ski House, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Oh yes, you have to love the zero day. The way we figured it we will only have 3 more before we finish so I did my best to them. And what better way to enjoy it then with your family? This was the first time since I started that I talked to everyone in my immediate family all on the same day! Mom, Dad, and Tricia were here at the house and I talked to Todd and Steve on the phone. As all zero days should be today was pretty relaxing. After breakfast Skylar wanted to go in the hot tub which is kind of hard to say no to so we spent a couple of hours down there before a great hot dog, hamburger, and macaroni salad lunch. In the afternoon after Tricia and Seth left we resupplied in Rutland on our way to the movies to see Harry Potter. At night I just sat a round for a while, got my hair cut, and watched Miracle before going to bed.
Date: 2004-06-21
From: Killington Ski House, VT

To: Cooper Lodge, VT
Miles today: 11.2

Today I sort of started the last leg of the trip. This was probably the last time that I will see any of my family before Mom picks me up at Katahdin. But before I left for the last time we took the opportunity to sit in the hot tub. Dad was nice enough to get up early to turn it on so it was nice and toasty by the time we got in. After the hot tub we packed up the house and went to the Chinese Buffet before heading back to the trail. I¢m not sure if an AYCE was the best choice before hiking again but it all stayed down so I¢m not going to complain too much. Today¢s hike was pretty exciting because we were hiking around Killington Mountain. This is the first time that I have been in these parts when there wasn¢t any snow. The shelter we stayed at was only .3 miles from the top of Killington so I took the opportunity to hike to the top, walk over some bare ski trails, and to enjoy the sunset on the longest day of the year. It was really neat to sit by myself on top of Killington and watch the sunset. It was definitely one of those moments that I really felt good about being alive!
Date: 2004-06-22
From: Cooper Lodge, VT

To: Lookout Barn, VT
Miles today: 23.7

Today was just one heck of a cruel day! Other then completing our 17th century not a whole lot of good things happened. To start off I woke up an hour after my alarm went off. They really need to start building watches with a snooze alarm. Shortly after my trip to the Cooper Pooper (remember we were staying at the Cooper Lodge) and after starting to hike the rains came in. Yeah, it ended up being a pretty wet one today. Next we finally came to a body of water (Kent Pond) big enough for me to jump in and swim around it, but it was cold and raining so we just kept on walking. After that it pretty much poured until we stopped for lunch at around 3:00. Since it was cold and wet all morning I decided to bust out my rain jacket for the afternoon. No use being miserable when I paid a bunch for a rain jacket right? Wouldn¢t you know it, shortly after I put on the jacket the rain stopped and it started to get warmer. On top of that the trail started to go up some nice little hills so there was no question about it, I really started getting hot and sweaty then so I took my jacket off. I¢m sure that you can guess what happened then but if not I¢ll be so kind as to tell you. That¢s right, a little while after I took off my jacket it started to rain again! That just wasn¢t fair at all! But hey it wasn¢t a total loss because since the rain slowed us down a bit we ended up staying at the Lookout Barn. The closed in barn really seems nice right about now with the wind blowing like crazy outside.
Date: 2004-06-23
From: Lookout Barn, VT

To: Happy Hill Shelter, VT
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Now that is much better! I¢m telling you it is so much easier to get up in the morning when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping then when it is cold and wet outside. Right off the bat I could tell that today was going to be a better day then yesterday. Yeah it was a beautiful morning. We even climbed up the look out on top of the barn to soak in some views before we started. Even though we are in the middle of our descent out of the Green Mountains the day was full of a lot of ups and downs. For the most part the climbs were pretty steep but they didn¢t last long. I¢m still trying to figure out which is better; a lot of short steep climbs throughout the day or a few long steep climbs. We also got to see a different side of VT. In addition to the mountains we also went through a hand full of big grassy fields. On top of that I can now say that I ¢sat¢ in the most photographed privy on the trail at Thistlehill Shelter. After lunch we headed to West Hartford for some milkshakes at the country store. Boy did they ever hit the spot on a hot afternoon! I¢m not sure it was a good idea to down two of them in a hurry and then to start hiking; maybe one of these times I¢ll learn my lesson. It is becoming much more apparent that we have made it further then a lot of other people because the path is noticeably less used then further down south. It sure feels good to think about that. I think that it¢s time to go to sleep to Bonedancer playing on his banjo. He is pretty good so maybe it will help me fall asleep. I would much rather listen to that then to the bugs flaying around my ears.
Date: 2004-06-24
From: Happy Hill Shelter, VT

To: Trapper John Shelter, NH
Miles today: 22.5
Weather: few clouds

And then there were two! At just about 9:00 we crossed over the Connecticut River and into New Hampshire and said goodbye to our 12th state! Just two hard states to go! It ended up being another pretty nice night for sleeping last night. It didn¢t get too cool and with 5 of us the shelter stayed pretty toasty. It is so much more enjoyable when you can get a good night sleep. But anyhow like I said we crossed over into NH today. Who would have thought that our longest road walk of the trip would have come between VT and NH? Once in NH we took a nice walking tour of the Dartmouth campus on our way to the food co-op (which was one messed up store by the way) in Hanover to get food for the next day and a pint of Ben and Jerry¢s (Phish Food) for a snack. I have a feeling that the state is trying to give us some false hope because the first stretch wasn¢t that bad. We went through some pine forest and a bunch of fields with ticks. I pull off 2 of them today, which I think brings my total up to 47 but I¢m not sure, it has been awhile since I have had any ticks. It ended up being a pretty interesting night at the shelter tonight. One guy here is 81 years old and he has done 4 end to end hikes and is now on his second thru-hike I believe so he had a lot of stories. There were also two section hikers here tonight who insisted that we eat a lot of their food. Detour Ed said that he likes to pack a lot of extra food when he goes out so that he can give it to the thru-hikers. I guess that the food in my stomach will help me forgive the guy who is already snoring in the shelter.
Date: 2004-06-25
From: Trapper John Shelter, NH

To: NH 25C
Miles today: 21.7

I guess that the snoring wasn¢t that bad because I ended up sleeping pretty well last night. Detour Ed¢s fire even kept the mosquitoes away so I was able to sleep on top of the sleeping bag for a couple of hours. Even thought it has only been a couple of days since we left Killington we were still pretty motivated by another pickup at the end of the day today. We actually got off to a pretty slow start in the morning because we had a climb up Smart Mt. and then one up Cube Mt which I am thinking were warm-ups for the White Mountains because they were pretty hard and steep. Luckily it was overcast and cool going up Smart which made it impossible to see how far from the summit we actually were when I thought that we were almost there. Man, it¢s tough to keep climbing when you thought that you would have hit the summit about 30 minutes ago. But the sun came out and it warmed up just in time for our climb up Cube which made the summit a good place for a lunch break. After that the race was on because we had 3 hours to cover 8.3 miles to meet Mrs. VerPlanck at NH 25C. I don¢t know how we use to hike 3 mph on a regular basis because it seemed like a sprint today. From there it was off to the VerPlanck house for some delicious chicken enchiladas (without onions) for diner before bed.
Date: 2004-06-26
From: NH 25C

To: Chocorua House
Miles today: 0.0

I guess that I would look at today as a rest day instead of the usual recovery day. I¢m not too sore from last week but I am sure that I will need all of the strength that I can muster for next week. As crazy as it sounds, I¢m actually starting to get pretty excited about the White Mountains. After 3 months of waiting they are finally here! The morning got off to a great start with some French toast (man it¢s good to stay with family and friends who will cook for you). After that the day got kind of busy. There was shopping, eating, Frisbee with Katie and Matt, and a big diner celebrating a few different things. After diner Sam left me to answer everyone¢s questions, but that¢s ok because I like to socialize a little bit more then he does. Then it was off a nice bed all tucked under the covers without any bugs flying around my ears.
Date: 2004-06-27
From: Chocorua House

To: Jeffers Brook Shelter, NH
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Well since we didn¢t take a nearo going into town we took one today coming out of town. That provided time to go to church, pack up, and have a nice cheeseburger lunch before we headed back to the trail. Mrs. VerPlanck even made us some nylon covers for our sleeping bags which should make them warmer and provide more protection from the bugs without adding much weight. Who wants to bet that it gets really hot now since it got cold and rainy the day we switched to the fleece bags in the first place? Well at least now we will be prepared for both the warm and the cold nights. The hike was pretty uneventful except for getting a nice view of Moosilauke, which will be our big climb for tomorrow morning. At the shelter we met Command and Chief (a 2003 thru-hiker) who gave use some juice and apples. Even coming out of town trail magic is greatly appreciated!
Date: 2004-06-28
From: Jeffers Brook Shelter, NH

To: Eliza Brook Shelter, NH
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I think that today was our last warm up day because we are officially in the White Mountains and AMC country now. The last warm up leg consisted of a climb up and over Mt. Moosilauke, which was the first time we have been over 4000¢ since central VA. Man that seems like forever ago! Well I guess that warm up isn¢t a good way to describe Moosilauke seeing that it was 4802¢ high and it pretty much dominated the entire morning. By domination I mean that in the first 4.5 miles this morning we climbed 3500¢. That was quite a wakeup call, but it was a great wakeup call because it brought us above the tree line for the first time since we started! The last .8 miles was along an exposed ridgeline which took us up to some a breathtaking panoramic view at the top. From there we promptly lost all of the elevation that we gained in about 4 miles. I have no idea how you could climb that side of the mountain without all of the ladders, steeps, blocks, and railings that the trail maintainers had put in there because it was straight down rock on that side. In the afternoon we followed the Kinsman Ridge to the shelter. One thing that we learned to day is that we are going to have to get use to a much slower pace while going through these mountains. I have a feeling that we are going to run into some tough terrain in the days ahead.
Date: 2004-06-29
From: Eliza Brook Shelter, NH

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite, NH
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: light rain

WOW! What a day! Boy did that day really suck, but at the same time the day was unbelievably magnificent (if that is even possible). I don¢t know how many times I said to myself ¢we only have a week of this stuff.¢ At times I was saying that to try to motivate my legs to keep going through some tough crap but then at other times it was a disappointing phrase because I¢m not sure I want the Whites to end that fast. Well for starts we planed to start early because we knew we had a big day planned but when we got up the rain was coming down really hard so we decided to go back to bed. So instead of getting out early we started about and hour later then we usually do, which ended up being a wise choice because it stopped raining about 3 minutes after we started hiking. The first 6 miles was a torturous 3.5 hour climb over South and North Kinsman (both over 4000¢). We had our morning snack at one of the AMC huts and let me tell you the word ¢hut¢ is very misleading in this case. These things are huge; I can definitely see why it costs $75 a night to stay at one of these things. From there it was a quick 3 mile hike down to Franconia Notch and then a 2300¢, 2.3 mile climb before lunch. I would say that a solid 2 hours of stair climbing is enough to workup my appetite for lunch for peanut butter and honey on soft taco shells. Things really started to get good during the next 4 miles after lunch. We followed the Franconia Ridge Trail which was mostly above tree line and took us over Little Haystack (4760¢), Lincoln (5089¢), and Lafayette (5249¢). Not only did we get over 5000¢ the views were unbelievable! Since we were on a ridge above the tree line we could see the entire trail laid out in front of us with steep drops on both sides. We even got our first glimpses of the Presidential Range which we will hit in a few days. Then it was back to hard crap as we went straight down and straight back up Garfield (that made 6 4000¢+ peaks in one day) before getting to the campsite. But hey, at least that last stretch gave me a chance to complete my hat trick. Yep, 3 falls in one day! My only question is why do I always land on the same butt cheek? Oh yeah, we also finished our 18 th century today. Only 374 miles to go.
Date: 2004-06-30
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite, NH

To: Crawford Notch, NH 
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: fog

Today was all around a beautiful day. You really couldn¢t ask for much better weather hike in the White Mountains. The day started out with at dash to the Galehead Hut in search of the AYCE baked goods for a dollar that has eluded us thus far. Once again there were none left when we got here (how early do you have to get up to get these things) but we did receive some trail magic that even our dog Lady could enjoy. The croo (their spelling not mine) at the hut gave us a plate full of table scraps left over form breakfast. Table scraps or not they still tasted like pancakes. Next came two more 4000¢+ peaks on way to the Zealand Hut for lunch. First there was South Twin Mt at 4902¢ then came Mt Guyot at 4560¢. The South Twin summit was right around the same height as the cloud line so we got to watch the clouds going over us at the same time as they went under/past us. By the time we got to Guyot the skies had cleared and the sun had come out so we got some more great views while in the alpine zone. We met up with Aussi John around lunch time and found out the he had eating of the baked goods at the last shelter! But it is a good thing that we ran into him when we did because he begged the croo at the Zealand Hut for free food that they pulled out some leftover food from their croo training that no one else wanted. After lunch we cruised along some of the flattest trail that we¢ve seen in a long time, it was actually an old railroad track bed. It was kind of funny that in the same day we had terrain that had us going .5 mph and terrain that allowed us to go 3 mph! We decided to pitch our tent along the Saco River at Crawford Notch which is at the foot of the Presidential Range. We are pretty much breaking every rule in the book because out tent isn¢t far enough away from the road, trail, or the river. But hey how can you pass up a nice sandy tent site even if your door is about 3¢ from the waters edge? The way I figure, as long as neither of us wet the bed tonight there will be no water pollution so everything should be fine.