morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-08-17
From: Stratton Pond

To: Manchester City
Miles today: 10.5

Last night was the first time we spent the night in a shelter. Weprefer to sleep in our tent, but the Caretaker had a report that a bigstorm was going to roll in overnight. In fact, hail was expected.And our tent was still wet from yesterday, so we thought the shelterwould be best. "Shelter Living" is not like camping with yourfriends. You are mixed in together with a complete set of strangers.Now this can be a lot of fun. You get a chance to meet a lot ofinteresting people. We are all out here doing something we enjoy, andwe obviously have some things in common. So it is like a big dinnerparty, everyone is telling stories and joking around while preparingand eating their dinner. But come bedtime it gets interesting. Iusually don't like to shelter because at least one fellow hiker willbe a snorer. In fact, my brothers have rattled a few shelters intheir day. But on this evening, I experienced the roar of an eliteclass snorer. It was so bad that everyone was sitting up in theirbunks in amazement that a human being could produce that much noisesleeping. In fact we had a trio of snorers. I popped in the earplugs I bring just for these occasions but it was of no use.Fortunately the principle offender woke up, realized that he waskeeping everyone awake, and decided on his own to go out and sleep inthe woods. I thanked him in the morning for being so considerate. Alot of folks just pretend they don't snore and ruin everyone's nightof sleep. This guy knew it and he was a Pro!Fast Forward woke up today feeling much better after her traumaticexperience yesterday with the bees. She was a little freaked out lastnight about any bug landing on her. So she decided to wear a bug netover her head while she slept. It seemed to work because she restedwell (once the Pro went off to sleep in the woods).The hike to the road was pretty flat so we made great time. Wequickly got a ride into town andgot our chores done (laundry, etc.). Manchester Center is obviously atown without any industry so they try to attract tourists by a havinga ton of clothing designer outlets. However, the older part of townwas pretty nice. An old mill, a great outfitter called The MountainGoat, and a very well known bookstore call Northshire Books. Westayed at Sutton's Place, which was basically a bed and breakfast typeestablishment without the breakfast. Frank at Sutton's Placerecommended dinner at Ye Olde Tavern, which was built in 1791. Thefood was great and the atmosphere was even better. The floors werethe original wide boards and were very uneven. It was hard to walkthrough the restaurant without looking like a drunk. The third floorhad an original "spring loaded" floor for dancing.   All in all, wehad a very nice break from the trail.
Date: 2010-08-18
From: Manchester City

To: Griffith Lake
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Got some breakfast in town before heading back out to the trail. Theweather today was perfect. About 65 to 70 degrees made the hikingvery pleasant. The highlight was the summit of Bromley Mountain, 3260feet. The hike up was pretty gradual and the trail was very smooth(not to many rocks or roots to negotiate). The last 100 yards or sowas up a ski slope. Bromley is a big ski resort up here (so isStratton for that matter). On top was a tower and observation deck.It provided the best views so far on this section. We could see 360degrees around and spotted Killington Peak to the north. We should beclimbing Killington in a couple of days.Tonight we are camped right by a pond, so we were able to soak thefeet and wash up a bit before dinner. Love this pond to pond hikingin Vermont.
Date: 2010-08-19
From: Griffith Lake

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was one of our best days on the trail. We climbed up firstthing this morning to the top of Baker Peak (2850 feet) and wererewarded with outstanding views. It seems like no matter which wayyou look from the trail, all you see are mountains. One ridge risingup behind the other all the way to the horizon. Then we made reallygood time crossing several nice rivers like the Big Branch River. Wecovered over 9 miles before making our lunch stop at Little Rock Pond. We found a small sunny grassy area on the north side of the pond andtook a long two hour break. We first went swimming to cool off andrinse off the sweat. It felt amazing. Then we ate and napped beforeseveral of our trail friends showed up, such as Bolt and TGWNN (TheGirl With No Name), both from New Hampshire. And then Mark fromCanada showed up and joined the beach party. Mark is now known asCheddarless, because he left his cheddar cheese at a hostel inManchester Center. However, if somehow or some way someone brings himhis cheese, then it has been decided that Cheddarless will beshortened to Cheddar because he won't be without cheddar cheeseanymore. Got that? Anyhow, hanging out at a beautiful freshwatermountain lake on a 70 degree day is what hiking is all about. And weenjoyed ourselves immensely. We then reluctantly moved on and passedthrough one of the prettiest forests to date, all evergreens. So wewalked on a bed of pine needles the rest of the day to camp, passingtwo extensive cairn displays. They are basically rocks and stonespiled on top of each other into small towers in an artistic way.Everyone who passes picks up a rock and adds something to the display. You often find single cairns on the top of mountains, but these werelarge areas with numerous cairns. It felt like you were checking outan art exhibit at a museum.Tomorrow we will try to get as close to Killington Peak as possible sothat on Saturday we can hang out on top for as long as we want.
Date: 2010-08-20
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Southside of Killington Peak
Miles today: 15.6

We had an auspicious start to our hike today. We were no more than 10yards from the Greenwall Shelter when Fast Forward did a face plant onthe trail. I heard a bang and looked back and there she was with herfeet higher than her head as she laying on the ground. Fortunatelyshe only scraped her knee a bit and bruised her lip. Of course, dueto the embarrassment of wiping out in front of several shocked hikersin the shelter, she had a laughing fit while still on the ground. Itwas a heck of a start to the day.Some of today's highlights included the Airport and Clarendon Lookoutsand the Mill River in Clarendon Gorge. Also had lunch at anincredible shelter called Clarendon Shelter. Someone is taking goodcare of this shelter because it was surrounded by a manicured lawn andpotted flowers. There was a great crowd of friendly hikers which madeour mid-day break quite enjoyable. But the biggest surprise was theTrail Magic we came across just an hour or so before we made camp thisevening. Someone left a cooler of ice cold Cokes by the trail. Itwas exactly what we needed to give us the last boost of energy weneeded to get to our camp on the southside of Killington Peak. It isamazing the burst of energy it gave us.Tomorrow we summit Killington Peak, which is the highest mountain nearthe trail in Vermont at 4235 feet. We have purposely planned for ashort day tomorrow so that we can hang on the summit for as long as wewant. Hopefully this great weather we are having will hold. In fact,today was quite chilly at times. It almost feels like fall.--
Date: 2010-08-21
From: Southside of Killington Peak

To: Churchill Scott Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: clear sky

By hiking a few extra miles last night we were able to have aleisurely day on the top of Killington. We slept in a little and thenhiked to the summit in only two hours. The toughest part was the last300 feet. The trail was so steep that you had to literally crawl upthe trail while using both your hands and feet. Kind of hairy, but wetook our time and refused to take our eyes off the trail (even thoughthe view behind us would have taken your breath away). The weather onthe summit was cool, clear, comfortable and the views wereextraordinary. From the top, you could see the Adirondack Mountainsin New York, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and Mount Greylockin Massachusetts. We hiked over Greylock about 100 trail miles ago,though it is probably a bit closer than that from here as the crowflies. Since it is Saturday, the summit was busy with families up forthe day. During the summer months, the Killington Ski Resort runstheir gondola to generate some off season revenue. Folks were takingthe gondola up from the valley below and going for short walks and dayhikes back down to their cars. They also were bringing up on thegondola their mountain bikes and then riding down the gravel road tothe valley. We just sat in the lodge, watched all the entertainment,and enjoyed ourselves immensely while getting some lunch.Tomorrow we will have another leisurely day. We will spend theafternoon and evening at the Mountain Meadows Lodge on Kent Pond. Mygood friend TEG, The English Guy, who I met during my hike up toHarpers Ferry in 2008, spent a couple of days relaxing at the lodgeduring his thru-hike and recommended that we stop there as well.Sounds good to us. Then we head out for the final three day push toHanover!
Date: 2010-08-22
From: Churchill Scott Shelter

To: Kent Pond
Miles today: 5.9

It started to rain last night after we had settled into our tent. Andit was still raining this morning when we woke up. So instead oftrying to break camp in the rain, which is usually a mess, we hung outin the tent for a couple of hours hoping the rain would stop. And itdid! We took advantage of the reprieve by packing up quickly andheading out for the day's hike. We got some rain while walking butfor the most part it was just foggy and wet on the trail. We got toKent Pond and checked into the Mountain Meadow Lodge around lunchtime. Since then it has rained continuously all afternoon. Notexactly the perfect day to be here, but better to be inside and drythan stuck outside in weather like this! The weather report for thenext couple of days is not promising, so we may come home early toavoid hiking our last couple of days in the rain. We are only threedays from Hanover, NH. We will check on the weather tomorrow morningand decide then what to do.
Date: 2010-08-23
From: Kent Pond

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 15.9

Today was the kind of weather you would not normally go out in. Ofcourse, that is exactly what we did. It had rained all night long andby morning it was still coming down. We hung around the MountainMeadows Lodge a bit because we wanted to take full advantage of thebreakfast, so we got kind of a late start. But starting a hike in therain is not really fun, but once you get out there and moving itreally is not too bad.One of the benefits of the rain was that when we got to ThunderingFalls it was putting on quite a show. I took some pictures and somevideo to capture the scene. And yes, the falls were very noisy withall the water crashing down.It did rain off and on all day, and we had a long way to go. Wedecided to just spend the day trudging through the rain and mudbecause, honestly, there wasn't much anything else to do. So we gotinto camp around 630p, which was our latest day yet. We wereextremely tired and wet but we were relieved to get the day done. Wegot into some dry and warm clothes, ate dinner, and went straight tobed. Now we only have 26 miles over easier terrain until we get toHanover.
Date: 2010-08-24
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Thistle Hill
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

After yesterday's long hike, we decided to sleep in a little and giveour bodies a rest. Well, we kind of overdid it because we didn'tbreak camp until after 9:00 a.m. Consequently our planned easy hiketook all day to get done. The terrain was way tougher than suggestedon the map. We seemed to climbed several mountains that were not evenon the map. Surprise, surprise, that is just the way it is sometimes.Late in the day we crossed several balds, or meadows on top ofmountains with great views. We could look back and see Killington andseveral other peaks we had crossed during the past week.The highlight of the day was pie. We stopped at the On the Edge farmstand on Route 12 and bought a mixed berry pie with a dough and crumbcrust that was still warm from the oven. It was a combination ofblueberries, cherries, strawberries, and raspberries. We had heardabout this place from a number of southbounders and had to check itout. Well the pie was some of the best I have ever eaten. We atehalf the pie with our spoons on the spot. We called it lunch. Thenwe finished it off at dinner for dessert. That is what we call goodcamping chow.Tomorrow we finish up our hike to Hanover and head home the following day.
Date: 2010-08-25
From: Thistle Hill

To: Hanover NH
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

Today we left very early from camp in anticipation of completing ourlast day on the trail. It was very overcast from the start and we didget rained on a few times during the day.   At one point when the rainwas really coming down, our spirits were lifted when we got to Route14 in West Hartford and came to a grocery store for our secondbreakfast of the day. The folks there were incredibly nice and wechatted with a couple of local guys who were also there gettingbreakfast. The people you meet while hiking the trail and visitingthe little mountain towns along the trail restore your belief inAmerica.By leaving early, we were able to reach the next shelter 9 miles in bylunch time. So we stopped and had a lunch break at the Happy HillShelter. My socks were absolutely soaked so we got the bright ideathat I would set up and turn on the stove so that I could dry themout. The only problem was that I got my socks a bit too close to thefire and the outer layer of one of my socks melted. We couldn't stoplaughing at the stupidity of burning up one's socks. Nevertheless, Iwore them anyway the rest of the day. Just before we got to the roadleading into Norwich, we came across another batch of trail magic.Free sodas, cookies, and malted milk balls.The walk through the town of Norwich was a nice change which lead usdirectly to the Connecticut River and the Vermont and New Hampshireborder. It was so satisfying when we crossed the river into NewHampshire knowing that we completed our journey. We had hiked theentire length of the Appalachian Trail in the states of Massachusettsand Vermont. A total of 250 miles. Wow, it feels great that I havecompleted 600 miles of the trail this year from Duncannon, PA toHanover, NH.We went into the center of Hanover, where Dartmouth is located, andcaught a 30 minute bus ride over to White River Junction, VT. We arespending the night in the historic (which means old) hotel known asthe Calvin Coolidge. It is directly across the street from the Amtraktrain station which makes catching tomorrow's train a snap. Fordinner, we just walked into a bar next door and the place was hopping(it was wing night). We met some more nice folk and had a couple ofcelebratory beers with dinner. All and all it has been a great day onthe trail.
Date: 2011-06-24
From: Home

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

This Sunday Marie and I head north on the train back to Hanover, NH to complete our hike of the Appalachian Trail. We have been at it for a couple of years now and hope to complete the trail during the next 5 or 6 weeks. We only have the states of New Hampshire and Maine, a total of 440 trail miles, left to complete the hike. Having taken many summer vacations to New Hampshire as a child, I am very familiar with New Hampshire and the White Mountains and know that it can be very tough going. Life long friend Nevin and I spent a couple of weeks stomping around the Whites when we were in our 20s, and a number of years later my brother Bruce and I also spent a couple of days hiking through this area. So, our pace will be a bit slower to allow for the difficulty of the terrain. In addition, after spending the first week hiking to Franconia Notch, we will spend the next 8 days hiking from hut to hut across the main part of the Whites. The Appalachian Mountain Club maintains this system of huts on the trail. They are an absolute joy to experience. They provide dinner, a bunk bed to lay out your sleeping bag, and breakfast. Consequently we will be able to lighten our loads during this stretch because we will not need our tent and cooking gear (mess kit, stove, fuel, etc.) and will need only some snacks and lunches in our food bag. The extra gear will be mailed ahead to ourselves General Delivery for pick up at the Post Office in Gorham, New Hampshire, which is our resupply point north of the Whites. After a zero day in Gorham, we will move on with full loads out of New Hampshire and into the State of Maine. I have never hiked or experienced the mountains of Maine, so I am particularly excited about getting to and hiking Maine. I understand from others that it is spectacular, and initially very difficult. The last 100 or so miles are a lot easier until the summit of Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park. The northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail is on the top of Mt. Katahdin.Well, it is 2 days before our departure for Hanover. All of our gear is squared away and we are ready to go. Sunday we will take the Amtrak Vermonter from Philadelphia and then a bus to White River Junction, Vermont. There we will spend the night in an old historic railroad hotel before taking a shuttle bus Monday morning across the Connecticut River and into Hanover, NH. There in Hanover the trail passes through the center of the business district right by the Green at Dartmouth University and then leaves town and enters the mountains. Then we will be back, back into the "Green Tunnel" and headed north.
Date: 2011-06-27
From: Hanover NH

To: Moose Mountain
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: few clouds

Anticipation and apprehension. Those words describe our state of mindas we begin our last hike north to complete the Appalachian Trail.The all day ride up yesterday to White River Junction via the trainand a bus gave us plenty of time to think about this last section ofthe trail. You always wonder at the start of a long distance hikewhether your physically and mentally up to the task. Yes, we did allthe right things to prepare ourselves, but you still wonder if it wasenough.So we were a bit nervous today walking out of Hanover into themountains. We hiked a total of 11 miles, which is more than ideal forthe first day out. It was either that or 2 miles, which is way tolittle, since our options were limited for sites that had good waterand camping. Turns out we were just fine. We are tired but plan onan easier day tomorrow to give our bodies a chance to get use tohiking. This is all part of the "Shakedown" phase of the hike.The woods here are mostly evergreens with the occasional maple tree.We passed through one area where the maple trees were all tapped andlinked with tubing to collect the sap for maple syrup. We also passedthrough some beautiful flowering pastures with Black Eyed Susan, CrownVetch, Goldenrod, Milkweed, and Queen Anne's Lace. Best to enjoythese meadows now since there a no such areas north of FranconiaNotch, which is about a week away.Only saw 5 hikers on the trail today, and only 2 looked like they wereout overnight. Expect that will pick up once we enter the WhiteMountains.
Date: 2011-06-28
From: Moose Mountain

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we slept in a bit since we knew that it was going to be a shortday. However, it wasn't an easy day since we had a 1000 foot climbthat seemed to go on and on and on. We made it up okay but it didwear us out. Hopefully that was due to our long first day because wehave another one coming tomorrow that is a 2000 foot climb.Thankfully we were rewarded with a nice view on top from Holts Ledge.We shared the view with a large group of school kids, one who decidedto throw some rocks off the ledge. Fast Forward snapped right intoher school teacher mode and disciplined the boy about how he couldinjure hikers below. So funny to watch her at work.The weather yesterday and today was good, though it is starting torain a little with predictions for a thunderstorm passing through thisevening. That should be real "exciting" in the tent tonight. Oh yeah,this morning before sunrise I saw the coolest thing. The sun createdthis reddish and orange stripe across the horizon. To my eye it wasonly like an inch thick, and everything above and below the horizonwas jet black. Really beautiful. I am looking forward to being abovetreeline in the Whites so I can see all the action (unobstructed viewsof sunrises, sunsets, and especially the stars).Tonight we are staying at Trapper John Shelter. Now I am pretty sureit is not named after Trapper John of the movie and TV series MASH.Nevertheless, I can't help but think of my Uncle John who was the reallife Trapper John that the story was based on. He unfortunatelypassed away a few years ago after a very productive life as a surgeonand family man. He was a great guy and a wonderful uncle. He grew upin the foothills of the Smokies and got his nickname from hunting andtrapping as a kid. His accent was very thick, so thick that thisYankee didn't understand a word he said until I was like 8 or 9 yearsold. But he always had interesting things to talk about, but he nevertalked about his MASH experience. He never sought or wanted thenotoriety. I think what he saw and experienced conducting "meatballsurgery" at the MASH 4077th was very difficult for the young doctorfresh out of medical school. Well, I miss him dearly.
Date: 2011-06-29
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Wow, we came a long way today. Last night we got some rain and awhole lot of wind. But by morning it had cleared so we were able tobreak camp early. The first 3 miles were an easy downhill before theclimb of the day over Smart Mountain, 3230 feet. A very tough 2400foot climb, especially for just our third day. The trail had thesebuilt in rock steps, a couple of wooden ladders, and some ironrailings built into the rock. Pretty intense stuff. Even thethru-hikers from Georgia we are sharing the shelter with this eveningwere impressed. Enough said.On top was a fire tower we climbed for a 360 degree view. Beautifulday to be up there. We were exhausted so we ate lunch and took a nicenap in the sun. Then we headed down the mountain and noticed that thelocal moose use the trail frequently (huge footprints and large pilesof scat). So there are definitely moose walking around thesemountains. I really hope we get lucky and see one.Saw a couple of garter snakes so far. Also spotted a pair of CedarWaxwings, and there are lots of woodpeckers (Downy or Hairy, not surewhich but it is the bigger of the two), juncos, and Wood Thrushes).Birds are chirping in these woods all day long. Also noticed that thevegetation up on Smart Mtn. is basically the same I saw up onClingman's Dome in North Carolina, just like I was told when I hikethrough North Carolina in 2008.We now have only two 7 mile hikes into Glencliff for our firstresupply. Hopefully our bodies will begin to adjust to the rigors ofhiking. As for now, we are really stiff and sore.