morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-07-13
From: Kay Wood Shelter

To: Dalton Massachusetts 
Miles today: 3.0

Thank you Rob and Phil for the historical report on Shay¢s Rebellion. Very interesting indeed, what a historical pivotal point leading to our Constitution and pulling George Washington out of retirement and as Rob pointed out eventually led to the successful broadway play Hamilton. That made me smile:)Please check out the guest book for the more detailed reports , I love all the history in New England for sure.The Free Range Crew got up and ate a quick breakfast and we enjoyed catching up on each other¢s adventures. It truly is like the Lord of the Rings trilogy when the band would separate and reunite. Instead of trolls and ring wraiths chasing us it¢s the younger bubble of hikers. Actually I¢ve said it before but the true gem of this hike are the hikers and the town people we meet.We had a quick three mile hike into the town of Dalton Massachusetts and had a very good second breakfast at the Juice and Java Restaurant.Q and I would stay and resupply as we were almost completely out of food , also our clothes after a week of heat and high humidity needed to be burned but we settled for a good washing. RG and Stingray had spent the last night in another town and would hike on to the next shelter. Herding Free Rangers is quite impossible but we all promised to get back together very soon. We will need our group together to make it thru the mystic magical Whites of New Hampshire and the dreaded 100 mile Wilderness of Maine. As BTO once said ¢You Ain¢t Seen Nothing Yet¢ . The last quarter of the trail will truly be the most challenging. Soon we enter beautiful state of Vermont, hopefully the mud pits have  dried out by now. All is good here on the trail, I¢m so thankful for all of the support back home . I especially appreciate all of my family and friends that have looked after my wife while I¢m away. I¢m forever in your debt.
Date: 2019-07-14
From: Dalton Massachusetts 

To: Mnt Greylock 
Miles today: 17.0

Day 147 , 17 miles Dalton to Mount Greylock. This morning we hiked out of town after a quick breakfast at the Juice and Java Restaurant. The AT runs directly thru Dalton and we would hike thru the town of Cheshire later on in the day.As we were hiking we heard some very disturbing news. My friend Pac Man who I was recently hiking with, contracted a tick borne illness.It¢s not Lyme disease but equally debilitating with flu like symptoms. Unfortunately his hike has ended. He¢s optimistic he will recover and I¢m praying that he will. The odds are against us making it all the way , it really is . Out of the 12 people I started with way back at the Springer shelter in February there are only 3 of us left that may finish and there are no guarantees we won¢t get hurt , get sick or some other life event that may take us off.Well , I just have to do the best I can to be careful and check for ticks etc, those little critters are scary news. Later on in the day we climbed a mountain and it had a marble outcropping named Cobble Stone.The views were fantastic from this vantage point and we could see Mnt Greylock the highest peak in Massachusetts in the far distance . If all went as planned we would summit Mnt Greylock later in the evening. But first the trail led us into the town of Cheshire . Conveniently the trail went right by an ice cream/sandwich shop where Q and I ordered some hot dogs and ice cream. Normally I love hot dogs but the bread they served it on was too old. The ice cream was great but very expensive $6.75 for a waffle cone and moose tracks ice cream, high trail robbery!After our less than stellar lunch we started the climb to the highest point in Mass , we actually summited an hour earlier than I anticipated and we were able to catch an amazing sunset.On top of the mountain there is a beautiful war memorial tower which is also like a light tower at night. We got a couple of bunks in the Lodge/castle. The owner sold me a pork chop dinner for half price. Q had already fixed dinner and did not care for another meal but did get some homemade ice cream.Tonight we are in a bunk room with 3 other people. Comfortable bed two nights in a row, sweet!
Date: 2019-07-15
From: Mnt Greylock 

To: Seth Warner Shelter area
Miles today: 13.2

Day 148 Vermont, Mnt Greylock to Seth Warner Shelter 13.2 miles.The bunk room at the lodge only had five of us last night so we slept very comfortably. There were two section hikers from Florida; Half Full and Teflon and we believe lord Greylock the wizard himself. The stay included coffee and blueberry muffins for breakfast. Everyone including the other guests in the private rooms were very nice to us and several asked us about our hike. The wizard disappeared into thin air and we never heard from him again. We enjoyed the facilities and were not in any hurry to get going . We eventually got our gear together and finally hit the trail around 9:30 AM.The trail led us thru Williamstown Massachusetts. Another small trail town but it has a nice grocery store the ¢Stop & Shop¢ so we got a few items and ordered a couple of sandwiches from the deli.We hit 1600 miles today, and we crossed over into the new state of Vermont, and most importantly we saw another porcupine,Ooh Rah!I can¢t believe we only have 3 states left. Tomorrow Q¢s cousins are coming to hike with us. I am looking forward to meeting them .Tonight I am safe and sound in the very cool state of Vermont. No cell service in this state thus far.
Date: 2019-07-16
From: Seth Warner Shelter area

To: MN Shelter Area
Miles today: 13.1

Day 149, Vermont  M N Shelter area 13.1 miles.Another very good day today, when we finally got off the steep mountain we were camping on, We came upon trail magic in the parking lot .Manulla and Tree Trunk former thru hikers loaded us up with watermelon, drinks and snacks . Thank you so very much! Q¢s cousins were waiting for us in the same lot and were able to experience trail magic before hitting the trail with us. Kim and Keith are a lot of fun, very fit and great hikers. They are joining us for a few days of hiking.The mountain broke them in quickly as we had a steep climb coming out of the valley. They adjusted quickly and we all got into camp with no issues. It was fun sharing our trade secrets but truly they are experienced and have very nice high quality gear. Keith is a tree dweller and rigged up his hammock in no time flat. Kim has a very nice Nemo Hornet tent which is very popular out here on the trail. Tomorrow we will increase the miles , unfortunately looks like climbs and more climbs. Guess what¢s in the forecast? Yeupp high, high quality H2O is scheduled to fall on us. No matter Q¢s cousins are game for anything! Tonight we are all safe ,sound and dry ( for the moment ).
Date: 2019-07-17
From: MN Shelter Area

To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: few clouds

Day 150,  8.5 Miles to Goddard Shelter.Plans are made to be broken. The rain came down in sheets and when we arrived at the Goddard shelter the weather radar looked ominous. We did the wise thing and huddled in the shelter with six more hikers waiting for the storm to subside.Unfortunately it rained late into the evening and our plans of making a few more miles where shot.No worries we had a tremendous time talking with everyone and we got to play Yahtzee ( I won yay!) Thank you Kim for bringing rainy day games, just like summer camp.Tomorrow we are heading to the Daniel Webster Memorial . We have to make it Manchester Center by Friday 30 miles away as Q and I are almost out of food. Tonight we are all safe and sound sleeping in the shelter, we are under a severe weather watch for the next two hours.  Life is good!
Date: 2019-07-18
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 12.5

Day 151 , Goddard Shelter to Stealth Campsite 12.5 miles.We had a lovely evening all huddled in the shelter last night, Keith was able to string up his hammock inside so we had a total of 11 hikers.We decided to head to the base of Stratton Mountain and evaluate how everyone felt before attempting to climb the 4,000 footer. It¢s been a long time since we¢ve climbed a 4,000 footer , Priest Mountain in Virginia many miles ago. Vermont is known as Vermud to the hikers . Today was absolutely miserable,slick and dangerous.I¢m hoping it was just this 12 mile section. After a long day of sloshing thru the mud we decided to tackle the mountain in the morning. We will have a long day 18 miles prox tomorrow as we are going to Manchester Center. It¢s certainly a lot of miles for someone three days in but Keith and Kim are Ironman Triathletes. Tonight we are tenting at the base of Stratton Mnt Resort and will make the climb in the morning. Ps: Its now actually Friday,I¢m on top of the FireTower on Stratton Mnt. I finally have a signal.  Thank you for all the merry well wishes. I feel like I¢m celebrating my Birthday with all of you! No views unfortunately all socked in but still a glorious day. Our BHAG today is on track hopefully ice cream by the evening!! Thanks for the prayers as always. Good morning and
Date: 2019-07-19
From: Stealth Site

To: Manchester Center
Miles today: 17.5

Day 152, Stealth Site to Manchester   Center, VT. / 17.5 miles We all woke up a little earlier to get a jump on our big day . This would be a very tough day even for seasoned thru hikers, but Kim and Keith were up for the challenge. Stratton Mountain stands 3936¢but the climb was not too challenging in fact their first day coming out of the valley was steeper and more technical in my opinion. Once we summited,I climbed the fire tower at the top however the mountain was not giving up any views. In fact the whole mountain top was in a cloud.The rest of the day was more hiking in slick mud. We all slipped a lot but fortunately no one got hurt. After a long day we finally got to the road crossing and Q was able to persuade someone to give us a ride to our motel . Kim and Keith survived the day ,18 miles on the third day pretty amazing!We ended the evening with pizza and ice cream truly a fantastic birthday celebration!
Date: 2019-07-21
From: Manchester Center

To: Clarenton Gorge
Miles today: 32.4

Day  153- Manchester Center to Danby  17.6 miles , Day 154- Danby to Clarendon Gorge 14.8 miles. Total miles 32.4.Saturday Rhonda surprised me with  more birthday surprises, she had arranged for me a stay at the Green Mountain House (a very nice home with separate rooms for hikers)I was caught totally by surprise when I entered the home and everyone sang happy birthday to me.  There was a birthday cake and welcome signs,vegetable and fruit platters. It was pretty amazing and all of my hiker friends enjoyed the party as well. Rhonda had also arranged for Q and I to have a couple of active recovery days. We were able to hike 32.4 miles without our usual 25 lb packs and let me tell you , my back, shoulders, knees and feet feel like I¢ve been to a spa. Unbelievable how much stress the extra pack weight puts on your body. I believe the slack packing is better than complete days off in many ways .Kim and Keith did not hike with us Saturday but we did get together when we got back. Kim insisted and bought us all dinner.  Thank you Kim for your generosity!!Vermont has gotten beautiful the past couple of days with beautiful views, crystal clear lakes, fast moving creeks and luscious pine forests. Exactly what I pictured it would be like. Tomorrow we will hit the trail bright and early unfortunately with extra heavy resupplied backpacks . But we should hopefully be stronger after this rest.
Date: 2019-07-22
From: Clarenton Gorge

To: Killington 
Miles today: 17.7

Clarendon Gorge to Rutland/ Killington 17.7 miles We spent our final night at the Green Mountain House, Duffy was up early and we took off towards the trailhead a little before 6 am. Duffy and KC are wonderful people and they truly care about the hiker community, I highly recommend all hikers coming thru Manchester Center to use this hostel, truly a wonderful experience. Our hike started out with a steep climb coming out of the gorge. We had a 95% chance of rain and it did not disappoint. It started raining around 10 am and it¢s not supposed to stop till tomorrow mid morning. We climbed the famous Killington Ski Mountain and the higher we went the colder it got. I¢m so glad Rhonda is sending me my cold weather gear this week as the Whites will surly be blustery. Our goal today was to catch up with RG and Stingray to get Free Range together again. We finally got cell phone signal while we were holed up in a shelter trying to get out of the freezing rain. We found out that the boys were at Kirk¢s mountain home in the town of Killington. When Kirk found out we were trying to catch up he magnanimously invited Q and I to join them at their beautiful home. I had never met Kirk but I had recently met his wonderful daughter Yalla and it turns out she would be coming home tonight off the trail with Pineapple and Stretch. Q and I still had 6 miles to make it to the road crossing where Kirk would rescue us from the rain. Not only did he provide shelter he also bought several pizzas for everyone. Thank you Kirk everything was totally amazing. We finally had our Free Range crew together again ....unfortunately for the last time on the trail. Stingray has decided to leave the trail and head back home. I can¢t begin to tell you how sad I am, but I totally understand. I wish him the best always,he is one of the finest individual I¢ve ever met. He will be sorely missed. Today we hit the 1700 mile marker and we now have less than 500 miles to go. I¢m excited about the upcoming Whites ... But I¢m still very sad to see my friend go.
Date: 2019-07-23
From: Killington 

To: Stealth 
Miles today: 10.7

10.7 miles to Stealth Campsite next to a creek and a wooden bridge.I had a very recuperating nights rest at Kirk¢s and Yalla¢s place. They have a beautiful golden retriever named Tucker that made us all feel at home. In fact he tried to take over my bed just like my dog back home. I woke up to the smell of coffee and breakfast,this thru hiking stuff is tough. Did I mention that Pineapple and I are the AT 2019 Foosball champions? Yes we clobbered Stretch and Yalla in the championship game that wasn¢t over till eleven pm,way past hiker midnight. They were still wanting a rematch at breakfast.This morning Kirk took us all to the car rental place and we said good bye to Stingray, the Free Range are now without My Captain, My Captain he was also my co-anchor helping me keep Speedy RG and Super Quick Q reeled in. Alas the burden now falls upon me. I miss you brother!We had a very nice hike today , steep climbs and a very nice waterfall. One section had a 24¢ ladder we had to climb down. Today we saw Hopeful ,Redwing and their family , you may remember her from Maryland the night of the fierce storm. It was such a surprise to run across them camping deep in the woods! We didn¢t do too many miles today because 1. We got on trail a little later than planned 2. We saw a very inviting campsite near a fast flowing creek that was just too good to pass up. And 3. We are Free Range....
Date: 2019-07-24
From: Stealth Site

To: DanÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs property 
Miles today: 13.0

Day 156 , Stealth site to VT 12 , Dan¢s property camped by stream. 13 miles.Last night the sound of the running creek put me into a deep, deep sleep immediately. Luckily I had set my alarm although it took me five minutes to realize what was buzzing before I exited my dream state. Even with that I was the first one to rise , the stream had RG and Q in the same magical spell. Soon enough we packed up and hit the trail. The weather was fantastic in-fact last night it got downright chilly but this morning it felt like a comfortably warm early fall day. The spruce and pine forest smelled amazing that with our good nights rest gave us increased energy to make the steep climbs we had to face today. Our early destination was a fire cabin with a spectacular view of the distant towering mountains. I¢m not sure but I believe we will be traversing those very mountains soon. Our level of excitement is high as we wonder how we will perform crossing those majestic peaks. Our short term plan now is to get to Hanover New Hampshire  by Friday morning. We will resupply, pick up our winter gear our wives have sent us and Q and I will both purchase our last pair of new shoes. Tonight we are camped out with and additional 6 hikers on private property next to a stream . Dan the owner is very hiker friendly and estimates he has helped over 10,000 hikers in the past 26 years. In fact Hopeful, Redwing and family stopped by and they remember camping here in 2004 on their thru hike.I expect to be serenaded by this new stream tonight and expect the weather to continue to drop for another peaceful night. Till tomorrow...
Date: 2019-07-25
From: DanÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs property 

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: few clouds

Day 157, 17.4 miles Dan¢s property to Happy Hill Shelter Area. We woke up to a lot of dew on our tents from sleeping on a nice green lawn. Super soft ground made for great sleep. We hit the trail fairly early,we are starting to see more and more south bounders, that is hikers that started at Katahdin Maine and will end at Springer Mountain GA.The elevations climbs and changes were even tougher today than yesterday. I don¢t mind at all as I¢m taking it as practice for the Whites.Tonight we are only 5 miles away from New Hampshire! Wow I can hardly believe it. I¢m in my tent it¢s 8:30 PM ready to zonk out but I need to look at the maps one more time. Whites here we come!
Date: 2019-07-26
From: Happy Hill Shelter area

To: New Hampshire 
Miles today: 5.9

Day 158, 5.9 Miles to Hanover,  New Hampshire. Today we did not get up very early as we only had about a 6 mile hike into town. We crossed over into the next to the last state New Hampshire. The trail runs through the  town of  Norwich VT and then through Hanover NH home of the Ivy League School Dartmouth. Both of these towns were chartered around 1761. We were walking in front of the Dartmouth cafeteria when two college girls asked Q,RG and me if they could scan us in to eat. Yes please! The food was high quality and very tasty and most importantly free. It seems like it has become a tradition for students to help hikers with a free lunch ticket, Thank you mom and dad from all of us hikers!From Dartmouth we caught a bus to White River Junction where we booked a motel room for a Zero tomorrow . We want to rest up a bit before we hit the Whites. We also went to LLBean and Eastern Mountain Sports looking for new shoes. I settled for the Solomon Speed Cross which are ultralight compared to my Oboz I¢m currently wearing. The OBOZ sawtooth performed well, they are a true hiking shoe like I¢ve mentioned before but do get extremely heavy when wet and take a long time to dry. Unfortunately the toe guards did not last long but other than that they did fine. One of my friends ¢Dead Cat¢ claims Oboz will provide two additional free pairs of shoes while we are on a thru hike. I shot the company an email and will see if that¢s true. But as always ¢I got ,got ,got no time¢. So I went ahead with my purchase. Q¢s been successfully wearing New Balance and bought some more.After our gear shopping we headed to eat some fine New England Seafood ,we ate lobster rolls and clam chowder very tasty indeed. RG  Insisted on paying for my ¢belated birthday meal¢ Thank you brother! The wildest thing happened after dinner it was 9:15 pm ,we started walking down a very dark connector road toward the Walmart parking lot when Q almost stepped on a skunk! He side stepped into me and I almost toppled over. That little skunk hiked up her tail and was about to spray us all. Fortunately we did not get sprayed but can you imagine if we had been doused with that fragrance while in town? That was a close call it was so funny to me that 1700 miles hiking in the wilderness and we almost get attacked by wildlife near the Walmart parking lot. Tonight we are all three sharing a motel room like college kids on a road trip, I hope no one starts a pillow fight...
Date: 2019-07-28
From: New Hampshire 

To: Trapper John Shelter Area
Miles today: 16.6

Day 159& 160 Hanover NH to Trapper John Shelter Area, 16.6 Miles.Saturday we finished up our town chores and tried to rest in preparation for the Whites. I relaxed out by what used to be a pool but was now filled in with a nice grassy patch. I completed a very interesting book The Taste of Life by one of my favorite authors Mike Simpson. I believe you have heard of him , his trail name is Q!   https://www.amazon.com/Taste-L...Today we hiked out of the town of Hanover cutting through the Dartmouth campus and ball fields. I have a very good friend back home in Orlando; Ted Thompson who graduated and played football here.Every year over 16,000 students apply to come to this prestigious Ivy League school but only 1,000 are accepted. Ted I¢m impressed!Today we climbed 3 decent size mountains and I¢m glad my legs were rested up. The Whites are around the corner,As BTO said ¢You ain¢t seen nothing yet!¢We are all in our tents anther tough day awaits us tomorrow.
Date: 2019-07-29
From: Trapper John Shelter Area

To: Stealth Camp
Miles today: 15.4

Day 161, 15.4 miles Smart Mountain, was a tough climb right out of the gate. We were rewarded with some stellar views from on top of the fire tower.A very nice day hiker gave me a bottle of water which I deeply needed as I had almost deplinished my water supply.Our day was not over yet and we had to tackle the more difficult Cube Mountain not Q Mountain as someone in our crew likes to call it. The mountain had minor technical sections with ledges crossings and hand over hand climbing in places.Spectacular views rewarded us on beautiful sheer rock face . We found some old rock carvings dating back to the 1800s. We got to enjoy wild blueberries.on top of one of the ridges we traveled over. Both Q and I love our new shoes comfort wise however on slippery rocks our new shoes are not so grippy. We have different brands same results. Tonight we are stealth camping by a stream , my favorite way to sleep !
Date: 2019-07-30
From: Stealth Camp

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel 
Miles today: 11.2

Day 162, 11.2 miles to Hikers Welcome Hostel.We had a relatively short day with only one sizable climb over Misty Mountain. We are staying at Hikers Welcome Hostel which is traditionally where NOBO hikers get a good night rest before starting the Whites. Perfect timing as it¢s thunder and lightning very very frightening here this evening. Storms are very dangerous on the trail ,multiply that times ten in the mountains and throw in hiking above the tree line very frightening indeed. But I¢m safe, sound and dry for now.We received some great trail magic at the trail head and base of the mountain today some one had left a water jug and some vegetables at one location and further up the trail Old Goat left two coolers full of snacks and drinks, the humidity was so high today we really really appreciated the water and the Gatorades and the snacks!We are excited about climbing Mount Moosilauke tomorrow a little concerned about the weather but excited none the less. Today we are officially less than 400 miles to go, OohRah! Also I heard back from OBOZ  and they are shipping me a brand new pair of shoes. Now that¢s high quality customer service! Unfortunately I did buy another pair of shoes that should last me to Katahdin but I¢ll have a new pair if needed and for future hikes. I¢ll highly recommend OBOZ to anyone looking for a quality company and shoe. It¢s now 45 minutes past hiker midnight so.....