morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-30
From: Secret Shelter

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: clear sky

No Pinball machines....but a hot shower and electricity and a couple of donkeys doin what donkeys do. Mr. Murray was a thru hiker in 86 I think and has set it up real nice for thru hikers!! Thanks Jim! Sara's soda shop in Unionville rocks!!! Steve and Laura have also now just recieved The Golden Ramen...it's really unbelievable folks! THANK YOU BOTH ONCE AGAIN! Turtles are egg layin and bears are a rampaging....we saw a snake with a frog halfway in and three huge black rat snakes...also a woodchuck and a blue goose! TOP THAT!
Date: 2006-05-31
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Little Dam Lake Camp
Miles today: 18.7

The heat and the mosquitos continue to plague us....it is draining just to be still...nearly impossible. All of my wounds are healing slowly and I think my brain might be melting like a popsicle on a hot summer day. Everything is still beautiful and the base terrain is starting to smooth out. I wish I could find a way to put a leash on gravity and make it do my bidding!!! Hope all those out there in front of me are doing well and hope to see those behind me again sometime soon! Love...
Date: 2006-06-01
From: Little Dam Lake Camp

To: Camp K-20
Miles today: 15.0

Today Paul and Mary's neighbor Skip who has a camp in the Bear Mountain area came and rescued us!! I was out about 6 liters of blood due to the rampant blood sucking of the evil mosquitos and Lug has been living up to his name and carried some of my weight today because I have no zoom-zoom left. The last couple of days have been extremely hot with high humidity and no wind...it is really killing my spirits...but...Skip to the rescue.....we get showers tonight and a bed to sleep in perhaps it shall revive us!!
Date: 2006-06-02
From: Camp K-20

To: Graymoor Friary Pavilion
Miles today: 13.1

WOW!!!Skip was a super hero..he picked us up and brought us home...we took showers and did our laundry and he fed us too! He lives just a couple of miles from the trail and we felt like we were at a super shelter! His cabin was right near a lake and the back room where we slept was open but safe from mosquitos those evil son ofa (*&^&%'s We ate sandwiches and steaks and soda and well it was good!!! We awoke feeling great and excited to get back on the trail. After breakfast Skip drove us back to our stopping off spot and we were off.....All started out great but by the end of the day I was just so physically exhausted I decided that we needed a week off. Without a break I would have quit within the week, I am sure of it. So tomorrow we are going into Peekskill to rent a car and head out to the cabin and bayhouse....we will be returning back to the trail on the tenth in case anyone cares to know or is in the area and needs something! Wow....I will be able to eat and shower to my hearts delight for a whole week...Creeepy....
Date: 2006-06-03
From: Graymoor Friary Pavilion

To: Shangri-La
Miles today: 0.0

Well, the big news here is that my mother, Root, broke her leg hiking on the AT. She slipped and fell just outside of the Allentown Hiking Club shelter and will probably be off the trail for the rest of this year. Lug and I are heading to PA to visit her and Fred and then down to the bay to see Lug's parents. The time off is greatly needed as I am horribly fatigued and believe that I need to make up some sleep and vitamin deficiencies. We'll be back soon though so we'll see you out there!
Date: 2006-06-11
From: Shangri-La

To: Hotel King Size
Miles today: 0.0

After @ 8 days off we are finally ready to get back out there and we'll be pushing off early in the morning! We ran into a couple of hikers yesterday...Mr. Rogers, Treegirl and Compass and ran them around town in our rented set of wheels and will be hitting the path with them tomorrow. I am pretty excited and can't wait to sleep under the stars once again...even though it was hard to leave our families who take such good care of us while we are in their company....
Date: 2006-06-12
From: Hotel King Size

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Let's jump righ back into the swing of things and put in some good miles! We wanted to say how much we love Dunkin Donuts and that they should pay us to eat their donuts and that we are now behind all of our compadres cuz we are full of donuts...Pizza delivery here but we were tooooo late....that's okay our bags weigh a ton...well okay like 25 pounds but hey what can I say I am a wimp when it comes to carrying things so we better eat them....More deer and scarlet tanagers and Canopus lake is good for a dip....
Date: 2006-06-13
From: Shattered Glass Camp

To: Shattered Glass Camp
Miles today: 23.2

Today I decided that because I wasn't sore enough from restarting the trail that I would fall down and bust my left knee. It was a pretty scary moment for both Lug and I but i think it will be okay. However we really could use some giant hairdryers out this way to dry out some of the swamp lands we have been walking through and to blow the mosquitos back to Texas and maybe Florida too. There have been alot of old stone walls that are really cool to walk along and one can only wonder what they were for. Or maybe thay could ask someone and then they would know but I just prefer to imagine....what do you guys think they could be?
Date: 2006-06-14
From: Shattered Glass Camp

To: Stony Brook Camp
Miles today: 22.5

Today we hit our 1/3 of the trail is left to hike spot. Although that sounds great it means that we still have 700+ miles left to go. Whew...we'd better get going!Today was a rainy day filled with alot of ticks and lots of ups. We are exhausted but are pretty excited because our good friends Nicole and Matteo have sent to us a bunch of stuff..but most importantly were the chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered donuts that we are considering eating all of for dinner!BIG HUGE THANKS TO THE TWO OF YOU!!! I had to beat Lug off of the donut box with my trekking pole because he didn't understand that the donuts were mine...all mine....
Date: 2006-06-15
From: Stony Brook Camp

To: Panty Run Camp
Miles today: 14.8

Today we dicided we deserved a short day. We saw race cars and snakes and more deer but the best part of the day was getting to the campsite early when there was noone else there and running around in my underpants. It was just like that one time with Drew and Peachy when we spent the weekend on the river with our hair up in curlers a hundred bucks in junk food in the cooler and wearing nuthin but our skivvies all weekend.....it's just like being at the beach in Mexico minus the annoying sorority girls...no offense Delta's okay? So far we are loving Conneticut though we will probably be out of here soon.....
Date: 2006-06-16
From: Panty Run Camp

To: Sages Ravine Camp
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: few clouds

Today we ate sushi in Salisbury and camped on the border of CN/MA. I am starting to get antsy. Are you sick of reading this yet. Oh yeah more ticks to remove. We are averaging 3-4 a day now. I hate Ticks.
Date: 2006-06-17
From: Sages Ravine Camp

To: Great Barrington
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

KNEE ALERTRemember when I fell and bashed my knee? Well, it still smarts so we are pulling off early today and splurging on a room and Pizza and soem phone calls to my knee specialist friends. Thanks for the info Dana....me and my balloon sized knee are smooching you right now!! Oh yeah and Lug gets to watch soccer too! Wow! We love going to town!
Date: 2006-06-18
From: Great Barrington

To: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-to
Miles today: 11.7

It is 90+ degrees today.It is Father's Day.5 snakes1,000,345,765,333,222,547,998,985 mosquitos4 geese1 TurtleSome Fishand Lugs naked hiney are the things I saw today.The skinny-dipping at Benedict pond is real nice.Tomorrow I will tell you about my poison ivied leg and how beautiful it is. I love poisonous plants!
Date: 2006-06-19
From: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-to

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: haze

Ahhh the beginning of the black flies, deer flies, horse flies and all those other little jerks. We were wondering when this would begin and here it is! On another side of flying creatures I saw a baby bird receiving a flying lesson from its mother...which produced many smiles. Lug and I arrived at our destination early today and got in another swimming session, pretty much a shower to us. Upper Goose pond is a beautiful place and great for an afternoon dip. 2 shoes got in just before a huge lightning and thunder storm and it was good to see him again. Bambi, our host has a huge ol' dog as big as a horse and promised to make us blueberry pancakes in the morning. This is definitely one of the most special places on the trail and operates out of donations and alot of love.
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Tom Levardi's Casa
Miles today: 20.6

Wooohooo Pancakes!! AND our friends Firefly and Feather are around here somewhere's. We got news at the cabin that they maybe in Dalton so we push on in search of our compadres. Made it to town right before another storm, our luck is pretty good!Tom Levardi is a really great person and spoils hikers rotten. He made us dinner and welcomed us like old freinds. BIG THANKS TOM!!Althoug we recieved some bad news that Feather needed to take some time off to heal up her toesies we had a great time seeing our friends, trying on Tom's old spandex, eating and drinking!ESP a flip-flopper we met here also gave me some magic cream for my ailing poison ivy...which although I haven't mentioned it was just driving me crazy. She promised that it would be gone in a day....we shall see.P.S. We'll miss you Feather
Date: 2006-06-21
From: Tom Levardi's Casa

To: Mt. Greylock Garage
Miles today: 17.0

MMmmmmm Duff and Dell's breakfast.MMmmmmm Ice cream in Cheshire.MMmmmmm 3 days in a row indoors.Wow! Mt. Greylock is cool!and so are the folks who work up at the castle at the top. They treated us with alot of respect and trust. I would recommend this place to anyone and it is a super cool spot for watching the sun go down with great twilight photo-ops! Go there now!
Date: 2006-06-22
From: Mt. Greylock Garage

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: light rain

From this day on I shall be known as Thunderbolt Willy.We have less than 600 miles left to go.Today was a wildlife bonanza with beavers, snakes, more deer and butterfly gobbling birds. That was cool! Best thing about today though is that we hit the Vermont border....it really feels like we are starting to get somewhere!
Date: 2006-06-23
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Caughnawga Shelter
Miles today: 18.7

Happy Birthday Mountain Goat!!!We awoke today to find Cedar Moe and he brought us a box of Nutty Bars! Yay that's great! Still the bugs ravage us and make us curse like sailors all day long. Watch your step on the way down to the road to Bennington it's a pretty steep one and a lil spooky when wet!
Date: 2006-06-24
From: Caughnawga Shelter

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

Rain, rain and some more rain....so far Vermont has been wet and consequently all of our stuff is wet with Lug taking on the brunt of the moisture. We squished and squashed all the way to the top of Stratton mountain which has been heralded as the birthplace of the AT. We had been hiking all day with Messenger and summited with him and about 12 billion black flies. When we got to the top the caretaker was there and pretty much didn't even notice the biting beasts she was so used to them. We had to run in circles just to hang out for 5 minutes and have a chat. We also saw the Newleyweds again today. Good to know they are still out here and having fun! Spruce Peak shelter was great it is an enclosed cabin with a sliding door and woodburning stove for cold winter nights. It was nice to sleep inside and away from the buggies. We stayed there with a bunch of other folks most of whom were hiking the Long Trail. We also want to send out our thanks to Jeff and Jeremy, who at the request of Messenger carried in a couple of colas for us and then kicked down 2 big bags o gorp. Thanks Guys!!
Date: 2006-06-25
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Little Rock Pond Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: clear sky

Up and out early....drinking sodas and feeling fine. We finally got a view today from Bromley Mt. There is a warming hut at the summit that they let hikers use and it even has a phone. Lug called his mom by dialing 9 and using his calling card. Hi Mom. Peru and Baker peak were both tough climbs but nice scenery. I fell down twice again. In case I haven't mentioned it, I average a face plant @ 2-3 times a day. It's getting kinda boring....
Date: 2006-06-26
From: Little Rock Pond Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge Shelter
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: moderate rain

Last night we met some great guys hiking the LT. Rocky Mansquito, Rivers and Big Dave. They were fun to talk to and shared some vittles with us as well. Thanks Guys! Today we are off to Killington peak. We passed by some really cool cairn fields and had lots of rough terrain. It is still raining and I am hoping that we will pay our dues here in the green mountains and have clear weather for the whites. Let's hope!! We pulled off the trail for a lunch break at The Whistle Stop where we had some great yummies and ordered some sammies to go. We saw Dreamer here and it was nice to talk to him for a while. Later on our quest to get to Cooper Lodge which is at the top of Killington peak we finally caught back up with Tank. He loaded us up chocolate covered popcornand we pushed out into the rain. Killington was a crazy evening of hiking and we didn't get in until almost sundown. It was raining and we were walking through lakesized puddles and the Appalachian Stream Trail. When we finally arrived we were alone at the lodge which was really old and leaky. The rain stopped long enough for us to pitch our tent and we spent the night listening to the wind howl over the summit. It felt lonely but nice to be alone.
Date: 2006-06-27
From: Cooper Lodge Shelter

To: Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 6.2

We get to go to town today! It is an easy day and of course it is sunny and wonderful but that's okay. Town days are always good. We have post office chores and shopping and eating is always high on the list. The inn serves Guinnes and some other tasty brews and we had to have a couple of pints. Yummmy!!!We like it here it is a nice place and I recommend it highly!
Date: 2006-06-28
From: Inn at Long Trail

To: Bed
Miles today: 0.0

Sick...sick...sick....I spent the entire day asleep in bed and although Lug was very sweet and was taking great care of me I had to send him away to play billiards. When he returned he reported some of the best pool playing ever....but I am still sick! Taking the day off...hopefully I will feel better tomorrow!
Date: 2006-06-29
From: Bed

To: Little Puddle Camp
Miles today: 14.7

Well we are up and hiking again although I am not feeling 100% yet. Oke from the Inn was really nice and compassionate and we thank him tons! We finally pulled away from the Long Trail and the business of summer hikers. Today we reached 1700 miles and that feels really great! There has been Moose crap everywhere but we still have yet to espy one.....keep them peeled.
Date: 2006-06-30
From: Little Puddle Camp

To: Pine Carpet Cozy Camp
Miles today: 12.7

I'm still feeling really sick today so we are going to head into Woodstock and get me some blood work done. I promised Root(my mother) that if I didn't feel well I woould go get tested for Lime disease. We have been pulling a load of ticks off of us so it's probably a good idea. Tailwind, a day hiker met us on the way into town and gave us fruit and a ride! Big Thank You! While we were in town waiting we hit up the local cafe and had the oppurtunity to catch a bit of the World Cup. Yay that's great! Well let's hope the test comes back negative.   Cross your fingers folks!
Date: 2006-07-01
From: Pine Carpet Cozy Camp

To: Velvet Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: light rain

We finally got some blue skies today! Ran into our new old friend Rocky mansquito. He lives pretty much on the AT. We spent alot of time hanging out with him and his new wife. They gave us soda's and Aqua mira and are just two really great people! Thanks Rocky!!! Then 5 minutes after leaving Rocky's house we ran into Randy whose family also extends their hospitality out to hikers and we spent some more time there eating ice cream and drinking pop. This trail experience is getting really good! I am feeling better today. We walked alot of road out of Vermont and into Hanover New Hampshire. When we got into town all we had to eat or drink that day was soda and sugar and we were making some poor decisions and had a hitchhiking adventure which led to late night pizza eating and soccer watching. lug didn't have any luck finding a spot for us in town at the college fratenity's which oftimes put up hikers so we had some night hiking out to the shelter. It was an okay hike and we only woke up the one sole occupant when we finally pulled in around midnight....ready for our heads to hit our makeshift pillows....we'll see you for coffee.
Date: 2006-07-02
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter

To: Chieftain Motor Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Well guess what...Lug's sick! Sick...sick...sick. SO we are off to town. Town happens to be Hanover so we actually backtrack a little over a mile today. Our guess now is that we picked up some type of bug when we hit all the traffic of Long Trailers and summer hikers. We are going to take the day off as that seems to be the wosrt of it. It is my turn to TCB and TLC.
Date: 2006-07-03
From: Chieftain Motor Inn

To: Moose Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 9.5

We had a great breakfast and the nice folks at The Chieftain took us back to the trail and set us free once again. The highlight today is crossing a beaver dam.The bad news is that Lug is sick and unhappy!!But he feels like I felt just a couple of days agao so hopefully he will be well soon!!
Date: 2006-07-04
From: Moose Mt. Shelter

To: Firewarden's Cabin
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Whooohooo...big climb today! We are still taking it easy due to Lug not feeling so hot. We have been hooked back up with Dreamer and have been hiking on and off with him.We decided that with today being the fourth of July and all that the best place to see fireworks would be from the firetower on top of Smarts Mt.Now, we just need the weather to co-operate a little bit and this should be an enjoyable evening.We got in early and decided to take a nap. ZZzzZZZzzzz It was great. We awoke around dusk and cruised over to the firetower to ceheck out some bangs. I am not of fan of Firetowers so I only went up a couple of flights until I could see a good view.Lug went to the top where he had a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. He said it was beautiful and there was even a little american flag waving in the breeze...along with the tower.My view was great too and we had a super cool 4th! Although we really missed our friends today. Right now there is a big party raging and we haven't missed it in years. Timmy put your clothes back on and Timber you better run!
Date: 2006-07-05
From: Firewarden's Cabin

To: Glencliff
Miles today: 20.0

Well, here we are at Glencliff and we are going to head on up the road to the Hiker's Welcome Hostel conveiently located across the road from our maildrop/post office. It was LUg's favorite post office...ever. The stay at the hostel is only 10 bucks but they charge you for all the add-ons...like laundry, pizza and showers. Still it is a great place with good folks. Also alot of information. On our way to get groceries we saw a missile and a mini-man-o-the-mountain.If you don't know what the Old man of the mountain is...look it up it was pretty cool.
Date: 2006-07-06
From: Glencliff

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Well. Here we are. We have arrived in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Today we summited Mt. Moosilauke and was our first time above treeline at 4802'It was amazing and brought tears to my eyes. It felt as if we ahd walked all the way from Georgia just to see this view. We were at the top with Dreamer and were able to get a couple of photos together, which was great. There was also a local gal there who pointed out and told us the names of all of the peaks we were heading for including the distant Mt. Washington. We never got he r name but thanks go out to her for providing us with such a cool lesson.Coming down the other side of the nountain you hike right next to a stream with cascading falls and smooth rock chutes. There are numerous wooden steps imbedded into the granite surface which are slick and awkward for the hiker who is on their way down. BUT it was still nice to have them due to the severity of the slopes. I guess we have to get used to this as we still have a whole lot more of the Whites to go.
Date: 2006-07-07
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Carriage House Hotel
Miles today: 8.8

We had the honor last night of breaking in a new tent pad that a trail crew at the shelter had just built. A crazy group of kids were working hard at the shelter doing repairs and restorations. Unfortunately we were late for dinner!Today we are heading into town. The Kinsman range has just whopped our butts and we are now really learning why the say your mileage may be cut in half when you reach the Whites. Only nine miles today and I feel like I just walked across Kansas, a few times.We picked up a ride at The Flume, a natural narrow gorge in the Whites and headed into the town of N. Woodstock.The hotel was really cool with a pool, game room, campfire and super nice folks! The highlight of the day though was definitely getting our package from Pokey Twig! It's hard to describe what effort must have gone into this care package. There was everything from bugspray and TP to dehydrated peas and tequila. We took out about a third of the goods repackaged another third to send to ourselves a couple of days up the trail and sent home a couple of things like the matching t-shirt so we would have them when we came home and we still felt like mules. Very happy and loved mules but still a haulin folks nonetheless.Thanks again Pokey!!!! You ROCK!
Date: 2006-07-08
From: Carriage House Hotel

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

We got a late start today.Little Haystack mountain was amazing, yet busy.Mt. Lincoln was spectacular.Mt. Lafayette was wayyyy up there.Mt. Garfield was peaceful and provided a great view of the ridge we had just walked without the crowd of folks.The weather was relly beautiful today and being a weekend there was a ton of folks out. It definitely makes for a different feel after the isolation that the rest of the trail provides. BUT you cannot beat the view, even though the terrain is kicking our butts.
Date: 2006-07-09
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite

To: Crawford Notch Campground
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: broken clouds

Today we met Hermes who is part of the superlite crew. 007, Soeur Hawk and Furious. He is trying to reach Pinkham Notch today to catch his boys. Good LUck!We are trying for Crawford Notch a whole ridge less but still over 17 miles of knee breaking terrain. It will be worth it though....they have a shower and general store....MMmmmm turkey. Some of our highlights today included a 1100 foot straight up. Yay!!Baked goods for a buck at the AMC huts. Coffee and Lemonade(which is really just cloudy water) and we saw Tank!! Man that guy really talks alot. Our last 7 miles into the Notch were almost perfect. 4 miles of pretty much flat without huge boulders and rocks to climb over and then 3 miles of descent on nice dirt trail. We are really excited about this and really needed this break. We made it to the campground with 30 minutes to spare before the store closed. Whew! That was a close one.