morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-06-23
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter 

To: Wingdale, NY
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: broken clouds

There was a threat of thunderstorms and we had called The Dutches Motor Lodge and made reservations last night. A highlight today was The Dover Oak, supposedly the largest tree on The AT.  Estimated at over 300 years old.  What a beauty.We got to the road and called the motel. The owner came to pick us up and said he only had one room and there was nothing he could do. No apology, just that I had talked with his wife, not him.  When ready to get in car he flipped out about how his wife had mentioned a taxi service I said ¢do you want us to call a taxi¢ and he said he didn¢t want to argue and drove off. Jeesh. What an obnoxious guy. I¢m glad I didn¢t spend a penny with him. BUT he screwed us. We were left standing at a garden center with limited cell service. I stood across the road and had 3 bars. We found a place albeit a bit far, and tried to use Uber and Lyft with no success when Donna, the local Trail ambassador pulled over and offered us a ride, then drove 10 miles to our motel; and get this, she then gave me a contact who was willing to drive us back tomorrow. The cab company wanted $50 each way. This is why monopoly is a bad thing!! Very little hiker friendly services near this town, but we needed laundry and a shower. If I was doing this again, I¢d avoid this stop. Once checked in to the Foothills motel, we got showered and then walked literally across the road for some of the best Mexican food I¢ve ever eaten and then back for our dirty clothes, as the coin laundry was a mile up the road.  Since we walk so far, a mile isn¢t really so bad for clean clothes. At 7:00 we walked a short way up the road to Four Brothers, a Greek restaurant. 2 fantastic meals in one day!  By 9:00, I was in my room, packed and ready for bed. It all worked out for the best today.
Date: 2018-06-24
From: Wingdale, NY

To: Mt Algo Shelter 
Miles today: 18.1

Martin, a trail maintainer and Trail Angel picked us up at 8:15 and drove us back to The Trail. Thank you Martin.  It was another muggy day. I got stung again by a hornet. This time I put Jewel weed on it as soon as I found some. It seemed to help.  Today for the first time in quite a few days we actually had a view other than the green tunnel. We entered Connecticut, today! Not long after a climb, the skies opened up with a big thunder storm and I ended up hiking the last 3 miles in two hours over rocky, steep terrain. I fell, but not bad. I think that¢s number nine.When I got to Mt Algo, at 6:30, I found a spot to set up my tent and got dry clothes on and was able to cook dinner and get settled comfortably for the night.
Date: 2018-06-25
From: My Algo Shelter 

To: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: moderate rain

It rained after I got set up last night, so it took longer to get going in the morning as I wanted to give stuff more time to dry out. I got going at 8:20 in wet boots. It was more of the same geology, with a bunch of ups and downs for 5 miles, then about 5 miles of flat walking, a bunch next to the Housatonic River. There were a couple of really steep climbs after the flat section and I ate double snacks today to try to combat the low energy feeling I have been suffering lately, especially up hill. The weather was fantastic, clear and cool and breezy.  I got to camp at 6:00. I worked hard today!
Date: 2018-06-26
From: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter

To: Brassie Brook Shelter 
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: moderate rain

A long day today. More of the same; smooth rocks, rocky ups and downs some flat sections.  At 7 miles, we went .3 up the road to a restaurant and had 2nd breakfast, filled water and dumped trash.  We went through a bunch of really pretty trail with Pines and big glacial erratics. We hit 1500 miles today!  There are 2 shelters within a short distance of each other and we went to the second one. It was just me, Maverick and Goober there for the night. We were all beat from the last several days and looking forward to getting to Great Barrington tomorrow. Our food bags are almost empty which is the goal on the day before a town stop.
Date: 2018-06-27
From: Brassie Brook Shelter 

To: U.S.Route 7 Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: heavy intensity rain

I was up early. My sleeping pad has a slow leak, so I was getting poked in the back by a root or rock. I had coffee and breakfast and was hiking at 6:45. Naturally it was uphill to start. That climb took me up to the highest peak in CT. It was a slow downhill over steep big rock drops getting down. Things leveled a bit for a short while and then I went up a long 90 minute climb, before going down to the Massachusetts border! I¢m in my home state!  After that, there was a nasty 650 straight up harsh, punishing climb up Mt Everett. I literally wrung my shirt out when I got to the top.  The rest of the day was short ups and downs showing us who was boss. We reached U.S. Route 7 at about 3:15 and called a cab to the motel in Great Barrington.  After showers, we went immediately out for dinner and were back in our rooms by 7:00. It¢s been a long few days. I¢m psyched with the progress, but I need a day off.
Date: 2018-06-28
From: U.S.Route 7 Great Barrington, MA

To: Great Barrington 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Not much to report from today.  I went and did laundry and got groceries, then went and got a sub for lunch.Maverick and Goober went to see a movie and I worked on journals. We went out for Thai food for dinner and then got an ice cream before we called it an early night.
Date: 2018-06-29
From: U.S.Route 7 Great Barrington, MA

To: Mt Wilcox North
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

We got dropped off at The Trail at 7:45. We walked around farm fields and then into to pine and mixed deciduous forest. Some nice climbs and descents but not too brutal. It was humid so I was sweating pretty hard. I made a mistake and turned left at a place I should have turned right. I walked about a half mile before I ran into another hiker who told me I was off track. I would have looped back to the AT eventually, but then would have missed a piece of The Trail. I don¢t want to start missing pieces now!Given the heat, I took my time and didn¢t get to the shelter until about 3:30.I had an early dinner and went to bed early as I didn¢t sleep that well the last 2 nights in the motel.  There was a large group here including a group of Boy Scouts. Quarter and Flying Snail from Germany tented near Maverick and I and Goober hammocked up the side trail where there was cell service.
Date: 2018-06-30
From: Mt Wilcox North

To: Upper Goose Pond
Miles today: 14.0

I slept so much better last night. I woke up a bunch but felt rested and got moving at 4:45 and was on trail at 6:00. I wanted to beat the heat today.  The terrain was pretty good, a few small climbs and only one of 900 ft. The downhills weren¢t too hard either. At about 6 miles, there was a little roadside stand selling snacks and drinks. I got a Powerade and a freeze-pop and sat down for 10 minutes. This was clutch, as a 900 footer was up next.  I made the shelter by 12:55 and grabbed the first tent platform I came to. Maverick and Goober rolled in within 10 minutes and Maverick got the next platform. The camping area here doesn¢t have much capacity but there is a huge bunkhouse. Fortunately we were here early enough not to have to sleep up there as it will be quite warm I¢ll bet.  Upper Goose pond is a nice large pond/lake. I went for a swim with my hiking clothes on from today, so while not washed, at least they got rinsed. It felt great. I went back to my tent and had a test, then made dinner before an early night. Temps are supposed to be in the mid 90¢s and humid again tomorrow, so aiming to get a jump on the day again.
Date: 2018-07-01
From: Upper Goose Pond

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: broken clouds

Since it was going to another scorcher I set my alarm for 4:30 and got going at 4:40. I had a quick breakfast of a Carnation Breakfast Essentials mixed with an instant coffee packet and left camp at 5:45.I walked across the AT bridge over The Mass Pike!  Funny how little thing excite me. I¢ve looked at that bridge countless times from the road and never once saw a hiker crossing it. I fantasized about walking across it every time I went under it. I looked for it every time I drove that way and I was pretty pumped to be walking on that bridge!The first couple of hours weren¢t too hot, but then it started to get really humid and I was soaked.  Maverick and Goober caught me and we stoped for a break at a shelter and decided that rather than stop 3 miles short, we¢d push on to Dalton. We called and reserved rooms and locked ourselves in mentally. That meant a 20.8 mile day with a heat index of 104F.We came to a road crossing and Ron, with a Casper the Friendly Ghost painted on his van was there with ice cold drinks for trail magic. Perfect, on these hot days, all you can do is stay hydrated.  Thank you!We got to town at about 5:00. We stopped at Cumberland farms and bought drinks and a couple of things to hold us over for a couple of days and then went to the motel. After we showered, we went to a local sub shop for dinner. It was nice to be able to be clean and in air conditioned comfort after sweating all day.
Date: 2018-07-02
From: Dalton, MA

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: mist

We left The Shamrock motel at 7:30 with a brief stop at Cumberland farms for breakfast. I drank a full large Powerade in anticipation of the heat coming.We had about a 1 1/2 mile walk through town to a pine forest where we were met by the local blood collection crew...as fellow hiker Moose from Australia calls them...¢bloody mussies¢...they were savage. As The Trail was uphill, I had to stop periodically to rest, take a drink or wipe my brow, and then there¢d be 6 or 8 of them on me; the back of my arms seem most vulnerable.  I slaughtered as many as I could, with delight when I got more than one with a slap to my calf or forearm.  After about 8 miles, we got to the town of Cheshire at 11:45. We walked about .3 miles off trail to a Sunoco gas station that had a nice big air conditioned store for lunch. We sat in there for about an hour. Two more Powerades, a rinse of my face and arms in the bathroom and a sandwich and we decided that there was no alternative to going back out into the furnace. After a long hot climb, we made it to The Mark Noepel Shelter at 4:00. Maverick and I both got tent platforms which was nice. There was a nice water source down a short side trail from the shelter.  A big group eventually formed through the arrival of ones and twos. They spread out in a group camp area, and in and around the shelter.Thankfully there was a breeze and the temperature seemed cooler after I changed out my wet clothes and drank cool water.
Date: 2018-07-03
From: Mark Noepel Shelter

To: North Adams
Miles today: 9.6

Our goal was to make North Adams by around 2:00, as my wife was picking me, Maverick and Goober up for a 4 day ¢trailcation¢ (Thank you Reset for that term!). We rolled out of camp about 7:30 and despite my anticipation of the remaining climb up Mt Greylock, it wasn¢t that bad.  I felt something on my left side as I was hiking that made me think I had a tick, so as soon as I got to Bascom lodge at the top of Greylock, I made a beeline for the bathroom to gave a look. Nope. Thankfully just an abrasion from who knows what.  The lodge is pretty special; I¢d like to go back and spend a night there. It¢s an old wood and rock structure, well maintained and open and beautiful inside.  We climbed the lighthouse monument to see the view, which was ok, but it was pretty hazy due to the heat and poor air quality. The monument is a war memorial and I think quite well done.  After about an hour up on the summit, we started down and made good time to North Adams.  Somehow, my iPhone locked, probably bouncing around in my pocket, and I couldn¢t reach my wife, but Goober had battery and service, so we called and arranged a meeting place a half mile up the road at Stop and Shop.  I went into the men¢s room there and did a baby wipe bath and a full change of clothes, bought a cool drink and within just a few minutes, up my Trail Angel came!She had a giant selection of snacks, sandwiches and ice cold drinks for us. Absolutely awesome! Thank you so much honey!  We drove to our house, which was about 2 hours, where I was literally knocked to the floor by my Rhodesian Ridgeback who was so happy to see me after 4 months. My Frenchie seemed upset after she said hello and I couldn¢t  give her all the attention as I was defending myself from the floor. She eventually forgave me.  I was in a state of shock for a few hours. To go from the woods back to what I¢ve taken for granted for so long was overwhelming. A refrigerator, unlimited ice, tap water, a soft bed.It was so nice to be with my family with the promise of lots of relaxation and good homemade food for the next few days.
Date: 2018-07-07
From: North Adams

To: Boxborough 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I¢m posting g a multiple day update in this post. We spent Wednesday to Saturday at my house, enjoying Independence Day, relaxing, eating and drinking. We barbecued, swam, washed our gear, shopped at REI, and Walmart and permethrin treated our clothes and got rested.  On Thursday, we drove Goober to the airport in Boston as he was headed back to Georgia to resume his off-trail life.  It was a pleasure hiking with you Goob, you¢re a great young man.  At REI, I got a full refund for my leaking air mattress and upgraded to a lighter one, that hopefully won¢t leak for the rest of this adventure. Maverick and I both replaced our boots; this is my fourth pair of shoes. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York were tough on the last pair. I think the new ones will get me to the end.  I also got my new pack set up and ready to go; here¢s the background- I bought the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 liter pack. I used it on The Long Trail and last year for my abbreviated AT hike and then this year. It started ripping where the waist belt goes through, so I asked my wife to see if she could find a upholstery repair place that would fix it while I was home. She ended up contacting Gossamer Gear for advice and they sent me a brand new pack and hip belt set up express mail. Wow. What a great company. I guess an AT Thru Hiker has pull! Nice job honey. Unbelievable.I also put the new straps on my hiking poles so they¢re ready for the mountains that are coming.I did a couple of odd jobs around the house and went through my mail; not too much work though. A very nice few days.
Date: 2018-07-08
From: North Adams

To: Congdon Shelter 
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

We got back to North Adams at 9:45. A gorgeous day - Low humidity and not too hot.  After we crossed a bridge and had a short road walk and about a mile or two into the woods there was a steep climb up a set of rocks to The Pine Cobble Trail junction. I was here in September of 2016 on my Long Trail hike so am now back on trail I¢ve hiked before.  Maverick and I stopped at the Vt Bordet for a snack and drink and to quickly reflect on finishing another state. Shortly afterwards we hit the 1600 mile mark.  We stopped for water st Seth Warner Shelter where I stayed my first night out last time. I added a bandage to my foot where a blister was starting from my new boots.We had 7 long miles to Congdon Shelter, the last 4 particularly seemed to take a really long time. There was just a trickle of a stream for water.I set up in the exact same spot I tented in September 2016. Lots of people here including what looked like people who were vacationing here-they had screen houses set up and clothes lines that looked like they were staying a while.  Maverick got a bear line up and we ate dinner and got to bed around dusk.
Date: 2018-07-09
From: Congdon Shelter 

To: Glastonbury Mountain 
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

We left camp at 7:45. As seems to be usual, we started up hill for a big climb. We stopped at an overlook of Bennington.  I was not feeling well at all; my stomach was upset, I was dizzy and nauseous.  I forced myself to drink and felt a little better. It was a long day. I was hot and the last climb up to Goddard Shelter was pretty tough. There¢s an amazing water source there and we filled all out bottles and bags there and carried it to The Glastonbury fire tower just a few tenths up hill from the shelter. Our plan was to camp there so we could see sunset and sunrise from the tower.  We climbed the tower after dinner and watched the sunset over the endless trees of the Green Mountains.It was a long day and I was exhausted.
Date: 2018-07-10
From: Glastonbury Mountain 

To: Stratton Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

I set my alarm for 5:00 so I could go up the tower to see sunrise. By the time my alarm went off, I was in full intestinal distress. I had to run out of my tent and was lucky to get away from the camping area before the event. I was in real trouble for about a half hour.   I made it up the tower for sunrise and then back down to pack up but was still Ill. The symptoms from yesterday and overnight and in the morning were consistent with Giardiasis.  We hiked all day including a big climb up Stratton Mountain. Maverick and I chatted with the caretaker, Jean, there and I called my doctors office to request a prescription for Giardia be sent to Manchester Center. Thankfully, they were able to do that for me based on my description of my symptoms and the fact that I¢ve been using backcountry water sources for the past 4 1/2 months. I must have messed up somewhere along the line.  As we left the summit of Stratton, it started getting dark from a storm rolling in. We filled all our water bottles at a spring as I knew the water at Stratton Pond was iffy, and started towards the shelter 3 miles up the trail. We made really fast progress but were about 15 minutes too late and got hammered by a fast, hard thunderstorm that soaked us and flooded The Trail. We made it to the shelter and took bunks inside. I was feeling ok, but still off and afraid to eat too much for fear that I¢d get sick again.
Date: 2018-07-11
From: Stratton Pond Shelter 

To: Manchester Center Vt
Miles today: 10.6

We left the shelter st 7:00 with wet boots and clothes on. It was a relatively easy hike. The forest was really giving me wonderful smells after the rain. It smelled like a combination of pine, fresh mulch and fresh cut lumber.We got to Route 11/30 by noon and then Ubered to Frank Sutton¢s to settle in for the night.  After showers, we walked out to Frite Aid for my prescription, then to the laundromat and to SubwY for lunch before heading back to move clothes to the dryer.  I got dizzy from the medication and we went to Price Chopper to resupply. On the way back to Sutton¢s we stopped at the outfitter and I bought a new water filter. My wife suggested maybe since I got sick I should get a new water filter. Great idea. Maverick took his poles back to the outfitter to see if they could help him get his unlocked. Lekki customer service said to try a vice. So far since Georgia we haven¢t seen a vice anywhere. The outfitter tried to fix the poles and was not successful but gave Maverick a used pair from another hiker who had the same problem. They essentially oxidized and froze up.  We returned again to Sutton¢s and a little bit later went out and got dinner at a burrito place ( this was a risky move on my part!) and then stopped by an ice cream place on the way back.  I went to sleep at 8:00 as I was not feeling well and was tired.
Date: 2018-07-12
From: Manchester Center Vt

To: Little Rock Pond
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Frank dropped us off at a breakfast place at 7:00.  We pounded the Hiker special in time for our ride pickup at 7:30.  We climbed up Bromley Mountain by about 9:30 and rested there. I had to use the privy which was a theme all day. The Giardia was in full bore attack mode. My anticipation over climbing Baker Peak was overblown as it wasn¢t really that hard. I recall it being really challenging in 2016 when I hiked The Long Trail. I guess I¢m seasoned now.  We stopped for a break at Both Peru Peak and Lost Pond Shelter but decided to keep going to Little Rock Pond at 4:30. That got us there at about 7:00.  We set up tents, got water and ate and hung a bear line while fending off the mosquitoes and then got to sleep around dark.  It was a long day and I think I used every privy that I came across. I
Date: 2018-07-13
From: Little Rock Pond

To: Clarendon Shelter 
Miles today: 13.6

I struggled today. I felt really lethargic and had no energy. I was so slow and had no reserved to draw on to force myself to go faster up hill. I had to stop and rest very often and felt sick to my stomach most of the day.  I got to Clarendon Shelter st 4:30 and decided I couldn¢t go any further. I¢d need to deal with bigger mileage tomorrow. We had reservations at The Inn At Ling Trail in 3 days, so I had a deadline. I was able to eat and drink water and got to sleep early. I was optimistic that I would be ok overnight and not have to make an emergency run to the privy. Maverick had the good sense to suggest that maybe I should take a day off at The Inn. I agreed and walked back up to The Trail to get cell service to ask my wife to make the calls to change the reservation and for a few nights later at Norwich. Good idea Maverick, thank you and my wife for executing a plan change!
Date: 2018-07-14
From: Clarendon Shelter 

To: The Inn At Long Trail
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

I was up at 5:00. I made two trips to the privy before I could break down camp. I got hiking at 7:00. I met Maverick at Governor Clement Shelter at 10:30. We hit the sign nailed to a tree that announces that there is 500 miles to Katahdin. We also hit the 1700 miles hiked today!After Governor Clement we climbed Killington. It was much harder than I remember in 2016. I think my illness was affecting me big time; it was pretty tough coming down too and took me until 4:15. I got to US Route 4 and my wife was there with trail magic!  I chugged a Gatorade, and a Coke and we drove up the road to The Inn At Long Trail.  We had dinner and drinks and listened to the Irish music from the band that was there. It was a fun evening!  My wife brought me some probiotics too, to help with my gut flora, thank you very much.
Date: 2018-07-16
From: The Inn At Long Trail

To: The Lookout
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: light rain

My wife dropped us off at 8:45 back st Route 4. What I recalled as a very long, tough uphill was not that hard. It¢s amazing to me how different my memories are in the sections of trail that I¢ve been on before. So much depends on weather, sleep, pack weight, hydration and nutrition.  Within an hour I was at Maine Junction where the Long Trail heads North and The AT turns east. I was on new trail again. There were long relentless steep climbs after a while.  We stopped short of our objective a bit, and had to carry water up the last 800 foot elevation gain but stopped st The Lookout. The Lookout is a privately owned cabin that is open for hikers to use. As it was going to rain overnight, we were happy to be indoors.  I was still suffering some abdominal cramps and side affects from the medicine but pushed through it.  We climbed up to the roof deck for sunset and then settled in for the night. There were 7 hikers in the cabin for the night.