morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-18
From: Green Mountain House

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: few clouds

The day started off well after such a nice rest. The Green Mountain House is a great operation. Jeff shuttled us back to Vermont Rtes. 11 & 30. Silver Surfer and I were caught in a quandary as our best camping options were at either 10 or 20 miles. Surprisingly, Silver Surfer was the one this time who said we should shoot for the bigger miles. I think he got a reminder from home that he is on a strict deadline for trail completion. The hike from the highway was relatively flat for a full ten miles to Stratton Pond. Prospect Rock, which was only a couple of miles from the highway, had a nice view of Manchester Center. It was a beautiful day, and Stratton Pond was a gorgeous site. According to those willing to suffer the chill, it also was a good swimming hole. The climb up Stratton Mountain was moderate for most of the way, but got steeper toward the summit. The fire tower is about 60' high and has views of the local mountains and lakes that reminded me a lot of Maine. From there, it was an easy 7.5-mile hike to here. Silver Surfer caused a minor panic -- he took the wrong trail and did not make it here until 9 PM. The shelter is pretty full tonight with two AT NOBOs, two Long Trail hikers, and a MEGA we met at the hostel named Nail.
Date: 2012-08-19
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: clear sky

It was a cold start today, which became a slow start, also.The hike was what we have come to expect from Vermont. There were some ups and downs, some roots, but all pretty well maintained. The highlight of the day was reaching Glassenberry Mountain. The mountain itself wasn't special, but there was another 60' fire tower almost identical to the one on Stratton Mountain. And, better than the one on Stratton Mountain, this one did not have a caretaker, so I didn't feel as if I was being hawked the entire time I was on the tower. We passed Kid Gore and Goddard Shelters -- both of which had nice views. Silver Surfer was concerned that we were running out of daylight, so we stopped a little short here. Then again, a 17-mile day is nothing to be disappointed about!Tomorrow we are going to lay-up close to North Adams so that we can make a quick run in there the next day. Notably, that's North Adams, Massachusetts! Another state down!
Date: 2012-08-20
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

My sleep was limited by more snoring in the shelter last night. Even with earplugs, snoring has been one of my greatest obstacles on this trip!Silver Surfer has a mail drop to pick-up in North Adams, so that limited our range today as it wouldn't make sense to backtrack into the town. The big news of the day was that we crossed another state line. The border between Vermont and Massachusetts was in the middle of a split rock. Each state had a sign on their respective side of the rock. The hiking today was pretty typical of late. One exception was a rather steep, albeit short, climb up Harmon Hill. It sure didn't feel like a hill. In fact, it felt like a brief return to the Whites. I almost laughed when we crossed into Massachusetts and encountered a "bad weather trail" for a rock slide that wasn't as rocky as some privy trails in Maine. Right after the rock slide, it started raining. Naturally, the worst of the rain came as I was desperately trying to set-up my goofy rain-fly tent. To add insult to injury, I had just gotten my tent finally set-up and was changing out of my wet clothes when a college orientation group invaded my campsite. They explained that all of the other campsites were taken, and I explained that this campsite apparently had that in common with the others. I really should have been meaner and told them to get lost, but I relented and agreed to share the site with them. And, I suppose to add insult to insult, they began conducting their orientation sessions while they were camped right beside me! This was going on well into the night, so, a few minutes ago, I politely but pointedly asked them if they could kindly take their orientation session someplace else (it had stopped raining by then). To their credit, they apologized for keeping me awake and, as I had suggested, went for a night hike to continue their session. Tomorrow I am hoping for a quick run into North Adams.
Date: 2012-08-21
From: Sherman Brook Campsite

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: few clouds

Despite the tension with the Yale freshman orientation group last night, the night actually turned off pleasant. There were some additional rain showers overnight, but I stayed dry in my rain-fly tent (or at least didn't get any wetter than I had been). The hike into North Adams was quick and easy. Unfortunately, we did not get a hitch, and, after stopping at the Price Chopper and laundromat close to the trail crossing, had to walk the rest of the way into town to get Silver Surfer's mail drop. We had lunch at Desperado's. Unbelievably, the owner gives a FREE meal to every through-hiker. Alcohol, desserts, and tip were the only things not included. I bought a dessert and left a good tip in appreciation of their generosity. Most hikers probably buy enough drinks so that the owner doesn't lose too much on their visit. Still, though, what generosity! As Silver Surfer and I were eating, fellow MEGA Nail came in to get his free meal as well. Silver Surfer and I took the local transit bus back to the trail crossing.The climb up Prospect Mountain was intense -- another return to the Whites even if not quite a return to southern Maine. Williams Mountain was also quite challenging. I am suddenly realizing that Massachusetts is not going to be a push-over. By contrast, the ascent of the state's highest point, Mt. Greylock, was a bit easier than I expected (though certainly not easy). The top of Greylock is adorned with a tower / war memorial capped with a glass ball. The views were impressive from the tower. I was disappointed to find very little going on at the Greylock Lodge, though it was a nice building with nice bathrooms. The descent from Greylock was actually more rolling than a true downhill -- I hate descents that have climbs! I arrived at this shelter, and what did I find? Yet another Yale freshman orientation group! I wondered if Yale was sending some sort of rivalry message to Harvard by sending all of their freshmen to take over the woods of Massachusetts. On one hand, it seems like a great idea to send freshmen to bond with one another and to cause them to have greater awareness of the wilderness. On the other, it's really annoying to other trail users to suddenly find oneself as an unwilling participant in an orientation session concerning where to go in New Haven if worried about having possibly contracted an STD. Fortunately, this group was much better than the one last night. They were fun, polite, and even gave the through-hikers s'mores. Other than Silver Surfer, Nail also made it here tonight.
Date: 2012-08-22
From: Mark Noepel Shelter

To: The Bird Cage
Miles today: 13.9

I was surprised at how well the shelter stay worked out last night considering how jammed packed we were in the shelter with the Yale group. I find it amazing how this group, by just being a bit friendlier and polite, left such a better impression in my mind than the last Yale group at Sherman Brook. I guess that is a good life lesson about how a little effort can go a long way.The hike got underway with a descent into Chesire, Mass. We passed through several nice fields along the way. After the town, we climbed to some ledges [the Cobbles] high above the town for a great view. The rest of the hike was up and down through forests. Even though I enjoy a good deep forest walk, today the 7.6 miles of forest kind of bored me. We arrived at the post office around lunch. Silver Surfer got yet another mail drop. We initially decided to have a hearty meal at the local pub then get back on the trail. We were actually leaving town and were walking back past the Shell station so that we could get back on the trail at the exact spot where we left it (Silver Surfer and I have become incurable purists) when a miracle happened. Nail had arrived in town and called Rob Bird, and Rob Bird happened to drive up to pick Nail up at that exact moment that we were passing by. We took it as a sign (or really I took it as a sign and poor Silver Surfer gave into peer pressure) and loaded into Rob Bird's van with Nail. The Bird Cage is a free hostel Rob runs out of his home. He converted his garage into a sort of bunkhouse, though he has hikers staying in his house as well. Rob opens up his living room, his bathroom, and his fridge to hikers, and he even does hikers' laundry. It's all donation based (and I can imagine some hikers stiff him). There are about six of us staying here tonight -- an even mix of GAMErs and MEGAs. He drove us all out to the Old Country Buffet. Here's a word of caution -- never stuff yourself with food and chocolate milk at the same time...I nearly exploded. I was literally in the fetal position in the back of Rob's van as he drove us back to the Bird Cage. Tonight, we have been socializing, listening to some good guitar music -- a couple of songs courtesy of the man (Rob) himself -- enduring some dreadful guitar music (mostly kidding), and watching TV. Rob is an amazing, generous guy. It's a real shame that this is the final year of the Bird Cage (that is unless Rob finds a site down South), though I am happy that I had the chance to stay here.
Date: 2012-08-24
From: Upper Goose Pond AMC Cabin

To: Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: overcast clouds

It was nice last night resting on an official Appalachian Money Club mattress. As can be expected, there were some snorers -- the bane of my existence out here -- but that is par for the course. This morning at breakfast, the caretaker kept the pancakes rolling like an assembly line -- I think she's done this once or twice before. And, just as fast as they were brought, the pancakes disappeared in feeding frenzy fashion. Piranhas had nothing on us. Of course, we eventually hit the wall, but the feast went on for an impressive time. The hike today was mostly easy. There were some tiring climbs, a few modest views, especially from Cobble Hill and Wilcox Mountain, and that's about it. The notable happening on the hike was coming across a loose cow on the road to Tyringham. It was confusing at first, and I grew concerned that I had indeed entered the Twilight Zone. In this episode, the cows were running the world and the people were kept in fields enclosed by barbed-wire fences. OK, maybe not, but it was still a highlight. Silver Surfer came up and said that he would report the cow when he went to the post office.Both Silver Surfer and Nail ended up making it here as did Patches who we met last night at Upper Goose Pond. It's kind of neat staying in a shelter that bears my father's name. I am tempted to tell people that we are a very rich family and that Dad bought the naming rights to the shelter to see how long I can keep them going. Actually, the shelter is named for a guy who seemed to have a love of the trail and died at an early age, so I guess there have been a few great Tom Leonards. We are expecting great scenery tomorrow, and we also hope to make it to Connecticut.
Date: 2012-08-25
From: Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Sages Ravine Campsite
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today, as expected, we encountered some exceptional scenery.On the ridge above Tom Leonard Shelter [East Mountain], I could see across the valley to the ridgeline upon which I am now camping. It seemed hard to believe we would be going so far, but that was clearly where we were headed. We had several long walks through fields and crossed several roads today. At US Rte. 7, Bearwalker and Buttons, a married couple, past through-hikers, and informal hostel-operators, left a cooler full of soda and water. At South Egremont Road, the trail passes by the site of the last battle of Shay's Rebellion. We're not exactly talking Gettysburg, but very interesting local history. Following that, it was climbing time. First I had to climb Jug's End, which proved to be an ideal lunching spot. The rest of Bushnell Mountain was less of a picnic. At the base of Mt. Everett, a trail angel had left large coolers of ice-cold water specifically for through-hikers. I appreciated that cold water as much as any Coke. Mt. Everett was a bit disappointing as to views, but Mt. Race more than made-up for her northern neighbor's shortcomings. Mt. Race had about .6 miles of cliffline -- simply beautiful. I tried to soak it in knowing that such views would become scarce probably until Virginia. I made it here at about 5:30 PM. Silver Surfer and Patches also made it here, though Nail did not. He might have changed his mind or simply got tired, so there's no cause for alarm. Interestingly, we are sort of in no-man's land tonight as we passed a sign that purported to be the state line, but, according to the A.T. Guide, was misplaced. We are technically still in Massachusetts. Tomorrow we will officially enter Connecticut as well as visit our first town in that state, Salisbury.
Date: 2012-08-26
From: Sages Ravine Campsite

To: Belters Campsite
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Today we had moderate progress -- about 18 miles. But, that's not bad considering that we had a town stop (Salisbury, Connecticut). We also hit another milestone today by crossing another state border. Silver Surfer and I got rolling at about 7:45 AM. We hit the real Massachusetts / Connecticut line within minutes. The border was just a seemingly random spot on a hillside. We then began climbing Bear Mountain, the highest peak but not the highest point of land in Connecticut (the highest point of land is on a slope of a mountain that summits in Massachusetts). The view at Bear Mountain was nothing special (boy do I sound spoiled). There was a bear scare appropriately on Bear Mountain at Riga Campsite. One weekend warrior out with his dog had been so startled by the bear that he was hiking with his bear mace out and ready to fire. He nearly maced me when we met. By the time I made it there, though, the bear had moved on. Salisbury, Connecticut was a small, quaint, and, by all appearances extraordinarily wealthy town. About 75% of the cars in the parking lot at the grocery store would be categorized as luxury cars. Unfortunately, that meant that the prices inside the grocery store were quite high -- the highest so far on the trip. I got to use Silver Surfer's cell phone to talk with Dad. Everything was going well at home, and, as a bit of good news for my hike, my sister who is the account holder for our shared family plan called Verizon and got me a new cell phone. After eating lunch in town, we resumed hiking. We saw Nail on the edge of town. He had gotten confused the night before by the misplaced border sign and went back to the previous campsite instead of continuing to our campsite. The trail meandered up, down, and through a deep set of woods before reaching Falls Village. There was a nice set of impressive falls below a large dam. It wasn't Niagra Falls, but it would have made for a nice Sunday afternoon destination for locals to walk, picnic, and/or wade in the water. Many locals were doing just that. We were truly town hiking in the area. The trail went along streets, through parks, over rail tracks, and even made a horseshoe in a cornfield only to come out 75 yards from the starting point. I am camped here with Nail and Silver Surfer. It's a pleasant spot, though it is within easy hearing distance of the roads nearby. Tomorrow we have a goal of eating dinner in Kent, Connecticut. I also played with mileage numbers today for the first time on the trip. If Silver Surfer and I keep the same pace, we can expect a December 9th finish at Springer. I am sure that will be unwelcome news to Silver Surfer as that date is well after his hard deadline.
Date: 2012-08-27
From: Belters Campsite

To: Mt. Algo Shelter
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: light rain

Today was a long, productive day. We started under overcast skies knowing that there was a decent chance of rain, and the rest of the day was a battle between clouds (eventually rain clouds) and sun. The first half of the hike was over ups and downs and small mountains that, while no great challenge in and of themselves, got to be tiring. I had lunch at Silver Hill Campsite, which in addition to a water pump had a bench swing, stationary benches, and a dining pavilion. After that, the trail flattened to as flat as the AT gets. The trail followed the Housatonic River for several miles. Yet, in typical AMC fashion, rather than finding a nice, gradual path up the mountain, the trail went straight up a near cliff to St. Johns Ledges. Rain started on the back side of the cliffs but never got going beyond a shower. Upon arriving here, I came across Patches, who I had seen as recently as Sages Ravine, and Halfway, who had not seen since Gorham, New Hampshire. Even though they had just come from Kent, I easily talked them into going back into town with me for dinner. I expected that Nail and Silver Surfer would make it into town as well. I think the Town of Kent has officially rejoined the United Kingdom. We saw as many British flags in town promoting the town's link to Kent, England as we did US flags. It's another very high-end, Connecticut town. We passed an apparently very affluent boarding school en route to downtown. I got a few items at the IGA then joined Patches and Halfway at the nearby Chinese restaurant. Nail and Silver Surfer never showed. The three of us had a nice walk back to the shelter until it began raining then pouring. Fortunately, we made it back to the shelter before getting soaked. Nail and Silver Surfer made it to the shelter, but felt that it was too late for town (and it was certainly too late for the post office). There is a GAME hiker staying with us, also in the shelter. Halfway and Patches are tenting along with yet another college freshman orientation group. I think this one is from Trinity College. Who knew the freshmen from every northeast school invaded the woods? I thought they would be you know -- at college.
Date: 2012-08-28
From: Mt. Algo Shelter

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: few clouds

Today was momentous for two reasons; first, I crossed the 1/3 completion point (approximately mile 728) and second, I entered yet another new state, New York.The day started just as yesterday ended with heavy rain. As a result, no one really started stirring until about 8:30 AM, and no one actually hit the trail until about 9:15 AM when the rain let-up. Silver Surfer still had to retrieve his mail drop in Kent, so he and Nail headed into town while I got underway south. Since I was planning on a 20+, we knew there is little chance that Silver Surfer and Nail would catch up by tonight. This is the first night since Wilson Valley Lean-to (the shelter about ten miles north of Monson, Maine) that Silver Surfer and I have not stayed in the same place. I hope he can catch up with me soon, but there is a good chance he may not. Silver Surfer has been a great friend, and I wish the very best for him and his hike.The hike today was through woodlands and over small mountains. The Ten-Mile River section was quite neat and had good views. The trail crossed the A.T. Train Station today off of New York Rte. 22, the only train station directly on the AT. The "station" was just a platform, and the stop is only a flag stop active on weekends. I enjoyed some nice farmland walking, especially a herd of cows just north of the train station.Tonight, I am in the shelter with Halfway and two NOBO section-hikers. Planning is a bit tricky in New York as there are so few campsites and shelters in the state despite their rule against camping in non-designated areas. Halfway and I may try for a state park tomorrow that gives through-hikers a free night's stay in their campground.
Date: 2012-08-29
From: Telephone Pioneers Shelter

To: Clarence Fahnestock State Park 
Miles today: 23.2

The day started with bright sun -- right in our eyes. The open side of the shelter faces east-by-southeast. Halfway and I got moving earlier this morning than yesterday and were on the trail before 8 AM (not really that early, but a comparatively good start). Halfway and I decided to team up for the day, which proved successful. We have roughly the same pace. I think I am slightly faster uphill and he is a good bit faster downhill, which seems to work out. I rate the views today as decent as there were a few open ridges and we passed a couple of ponds / lakes. We got off to a great pace as we made 12 miles by noon. We had lunch at a pizza restaurant 0.4 miles off the trail. Once back on the trail, we arrived at Ralph Peak Hiker's Cabin, better known simply as RPH Shelter. The shelter is in a rural residential area and apparently was a house site before the open-ended cabin was built. It was tempting to stay (Halfway and I were very indecisive, flipped a coin, and yet still kept weighing our options). Obviously, we eventually decided to keep going and climbed Shenandoah Mountain. Shenandoah proved to be our best view of the day, and someone had painted a US flag on the rock as a 9/11 memorial. We made good time to the state park after calling to confirm that we could camp for free.Once in the state park, it took us a while to find the campground. I hate to be critical since it is very nice of the park system to let us camp for free, but the park was a bit rundown with broken faucets, non-working hand dryers, and the like. One great feature that was working was the hot shower -- I soaked under the hot water for probably forty minutes. Halfway and I have hatched a plan to hike hard for the next couple of days and then reward ourselves with a motel stay, probably in Greenwood Lake, New York.
Date: 2012-08-30
From: Clarence Fahnestock State Park 

To: Hemlock Springs Campsite
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: clear sky

I am finding hiking through New York to be somewhat unpleasant, this in spite of easy terrain (for the most part) and frequent delis within close proximity to the trail. The problems I am finding are a lack of water (there are few sources to begin with and very few once it gets dry) and inadequate overnight areas despite the rule against using non-designated sites. Nevertheless, we persist.Halfway and I made our way back to the AT this morning using the green-blazed park trail. We were caught a bit off-guard by the number of PUDs and how rocky the trail was to the highway. In fact, a lot of the trail was rocky today, which showed in our slowed pace. The water shortage became an issue, but, fortunately and very generously, the local water company had a spigot on the side of a pump house the trail passes. We realized much to our surprise that this upcoming weekend is Labor Day Weekend. That has caused us to change our plans as we worried about limited hotel / motel rooms in Greenwood Lake. If we could even get a room, we worried that the price would be at a premium. We decided instead to take our nearo tomorrow into Fort Montgomery / West Point. We have a reservation at the Econolodge (another Econolodge?). We are both very much looking forward to town food, showers, beds, and clean clothes. Speaking of town food, we stopped at another deli today, though this one was hard to forego since it was literally right on the trail. I am little annoyed with myself that I can't seem to walk past a deli without dropping $10 on town food, but I also realize that I need to get while the getting is good. We are camping tonight with El Bandito (a MEGA who sounds like an old person when he lists all of the physical ailments he has experienced on the trail) and some over-nighters. This campsite leaves a lot to be desired as the only flat spot we could find was covered in broken glass (that must be that pain I am feeling through my Z-rest) and the spring gives puddles a bad name. One last note: we had another first on the trip -- we did not see a single NOBO through-hiker today.