morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-07-04
From: Limestone Shelter

To: Glen Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Good news! I felt a little stronger today, and am starting to think that maybe I don't have Lyme Disease...and if you have ever seen House, we all know "... it isn't Lupus" either. Probably just the heat.Today when doing some road walking, (the AT does this more than people may suspect), I passed by the cemetery in Salisbury, which I remember seeing that, oddly, it was listed as a water source in my AWOL Guide. Sure enough there was a pump near a mound and grave in the center of the cemetery. So, yeah, I drank grave water (I filtered it!).I met lot of people today including a southbounder named White Buffalo who started on June 1st. It's fun and helpful to exchange information about what's ahead for each of us.On this very busy trail day, I also met Seabiscuit and Fugitive, Hedgehog (who started at Harper's Ferry), and JJ No Play.But yeah, there were lots of day hikers and weekend warriors clogging up MY TRAIL. Can you believe it? Haha. Isn't it sad that some thru-hikers harbor an air of superiority and ownership like that? Observe the ridiculousness of entitlement.Today while I was having lunch at Lions Head, a beautiful overlook, a family from Sheffield approached and had ashes to spread. I moved my stuff aside and said I would excuse myself if they wanted, but they didn't. I'm not sure how the person was related to any of them, but they left white roses and tossed the ashes off the cliff face in large white plumes of smoke. It was kind of beautiful, and none of them were especially sad. It was more a fulfillment and celebration of someone that had apparently been gone awhile. One of the older gentleman said, "We'll, she's gone now. That's it. Now what? We're next." Everyone started laughing. Then they were gone. Only roses and ashes to keep me company while I finished my lunch.Today I passed two milestones. I broke 1500 miles on the trail and I also crossed into Massachusetts. Yay for that. Progress!Had some beautiful views along the ridge of Mt. Race today, but there were two relatively tough climbs. Bear Mountain and Mt. Everett, which maybe felt a bit more like Mt. Everest. Straight up and all on rocks, I pretty much turned on the nitrous and got it over with. I drank a liter of water in about 15 minutes as I was drenched in sweat. Can I have winter back? I hope Mt . Washington isn't a reader of this blog after that last statement.I gave out my first trail name today... to a 12 year old. He said he liked Boulderfields, so I called him Boulder Fields Forever - BFF, haha. He even knew of Strawberry Fields by The Beatles when I sang his name to that tune. Cool family. Very sharp sister too. Had a nice time talking to them "at dinner" (a picnic table).Tonight, I'll fall asleep to the popping of distant fireworks.
Date: 2016-07-05
From: Glen Brook Shelter

To: Mt Wilcox South Shelters
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

Knock, knock.Who's there?Little old lady.Little old lady who?Oh wow I didn't know you could yodel.Boom! The Deadwood genre of jokes I leave in shelter registers. This one procured by Orion. Thanks for feeding the habit, bud.I woke up today to a gentle rain. Very relaxing. I checked a weather.org and it was supposed to stop at 8. So, without a guilty conscience I set my alarm for 8 and went back to my unconscious drooling slumber.8 AM arrived but the rain kept on going. There was nothing for it but to break down in the rain. Sometimes, things are just going to get wet. Reading Man and Fugitive were already gone, which that sort of thing always lights a small fire underneath my drooly pillow.Hiked out with the Lasher (Long ass section hiker), Chad from Minnesota. His hobby is building boats by hand. It takes him 2 to 3 months to build one. We hiked for most of the morning together and passed our first sheep on the trail, and ate some blackberries right along the trail. Not a bad snack.Ran out of water today. I think it was about a 10 mile stretch with no water. There were sources listed in the AWOL Guide that were actually dried up. I got a little nervous toward the end, fearing the shelter wouldn't have water either but I was happy to be wrong.This campsite is the worst yet for Mosquitoes. They are literally buzzing around outside my tent in a drone that makes it sound like there's 50 of them.
Date: 2016-07-07
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Rob Bird's Cabin
Miles today: 1.6
Weather: clear sky

I did a whopping 2.1 miles today, only 1.6 of which are actual trail miles. I hiked to US 20, and waited for the man, the myth, the legend, Rob Bird.He showed up in his AT Friendly Van and picked me up as promised, wherein I met Popper (successfully pulling off a bright pink fanny pack) and McDouble (formerly Shaggy), who has been taking it easy with recent toe surgery. He had an ingrown nail that got a bit out of control.It was great to see Rob and he's talked me into not only a zero day tomorrow, but doing approximately 15 to 18 miles a day and he'll then come and pick me up and bring me back to the cabin for a few days. So showers, real meals and a roof over my head. Who could say no?!Rob swung us by Joe's Diner in Lee, where Norman Rockwell based his famous painting "The Runaway" off of and we very touristically snapped a few photos and then skedaddled.We went into a small, eclectic pawn shop and poked around a bit. I found a Kevin Costner action figure from the movie "Waterworld", so that was weird. Rob got McDoubles a wide brimmed straw hat, since UV is very bad for him while on the antibiotics for his toe. The pawn shop owner even (for some reason) had a clean McDonald's burger wrapper that we attached to the top of the hat. You know, for McDoubles.Rob then brought us back to his cabin, where we were able to shower and clean up. This was important because we all had a very important date with Jeff Goldblum. Yep, that's right, we went and saw Independence Day 2. Which I will say was fun, but absolutely not a good movie. On the flip side, it's not every day you get to see Jeff Goldblum twitchily drive a school bus of terrified children across a desert while being chased by a colossal alien.I joined Rob's mohawk tribe, what he calls hikers who stay with him and allow him to give them mohawks. And wow, it sure is way cooler. Also I feel like I like incredibly intimidating now. Or as much as someone of my stature can. Ha!We hit the outfitter in the Berkshire Mall, and I got a new food bag (the clip on the old one came unthreaded and tore off) and Popper and McDoubles got some small items as well.Then we did a big group load of laundry at the Shamrock motel, whose owners Rob knows very well. I grabbed some Hop Nosh IPAs from the package store, and then Radar and Fugitive showed up from hiking and joined us as we went and had dinner at Jacob's Pub. Best pork chop I've ever had.Radar and Fugitive came back to the cabin for the night, so we had a full house. We went to get ice cream at Krispy Cone down from the cabin. Then it was time for sweet, sweet bed.
Date: 2016-07-08
From: Rob Bird's Cabin

To: Rob Bird's Cabin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, so maybe I am going to slackpack a little bit. Ha! Whoops! More on that later.Today I didn't do very much. Everyone else left early in the van to drop off Fugitive and do trail magic, but I stayed behind and cleaned up around here. I also backflushed my filter, sprayed the bottom of my tent with a water repellent spray, and went to Dollar General for resupply. Radar and McDoubles cooked breakfast for lunch for what seemed like all day. Just so many plates of bacon. Then there was ice cream and bagel bites and oh my goodness so much food!There was an inordinate amount of lounging around today and just goofing off, having a lot of laughs with Radar and McDoubles. Veggie showed up, a former 2012 AT thru hiker and 2013 PCT thru hiker from Rhode Island. It rained and smelled like wonderful petrichor. We enjoyed it with the cabin doors open.Later, our incredibly healthful appetites led us to McDonalds, where we dined and were indeed "...Lovin' it."I'm actually quite proud of how little I did today, and I know my body thanks me.So I'm going to do some shorter days with slightly less stuff than normal coming up. Less food, no need for a tent or sleeping bag because I'll be coming back to Robs for the next 3 nights. He is being good enough to pick me up at predestined road crossings, and one thing I am learning out here is to be comfortable in accepting kindness from others when it is offered. So yeah, perhaps what I'm doing is like slackpacking, a little bit, maybe? Okay... so maybe it's slackpacking but it makes sense given the circumstances! And I'll still be carrying my pack. Tomorrow will be a 16, maybe in the rain and probably in the heat. I can't wait for higher, cooler elevation again!
Date: 2016-07-09
From: Rob Bird's Cabin

To: Rob Bird's Cabin
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

So not having the weight in my pack definitely makes a huge difference. I did 16 miles in 7 hours today! It would've been even faster but it was raining most of the day and the rocks and roots were slick. But it was nice to feel lightweight and maneuverable.All day I was trying to decide if I prefer cooler weather, but paired with rain, or hot and humid days but with sunshine. It's very difficult, but I think I hate the rain no matter what.The trail was muddy but undemanding. Hills that usually give me some pause I skipped up like a gazelle. Combination of slackpacking and a zero day under my belt, I suspect. My knees thank me.I got to the "Cookie Lady"s house, or rather blueberry farmhouse, but unfortunately she wasn't home. I signed her register and had a quick lunch on her porch, out of the rain. A very vocal, very sweet Siamese cat came around the corner and I petted her for awhile. She was purring and very sweet. When I went to leave, she tried following me so I had to jog. Last I saw her she was meowing for me to come back, shrouded in fog. A pang of sadness came over me as I miss my 3 cats very much.I jogged in sections that were flat just simply because I could. I was, though, pretty wet from all the vegetation. The ol' human car wash.Rob picked me up at Grange Hall Rd, and we drove to Cheshire to pick up El Auto and Chili Pepper, a couple from Georgia. We all got ice cream at King Cone. Rob took us on a few side trips: First to see an incredibly old, Addams Family looking house in Cheshire and then over to Balance Rock State Park, where there is a giant boulder that is very precariously balanced. Unfortunately, kids have spray painted the rock and covered it in graffiti, so the park doesn't draw many visitors anymore. But still some very mystifying weight distribution and still worth seeing.Later, we all went to Misty Moonlight Diner, where we all pigged out and had a good time. And before we knew it, we were all in bed and asleep. I'm asleep right now, in fact. Isn't that neat? I taught myself to sleep journal. No? Wow, that'd be really useful though. Well, I'll give it a try tonight.More slackpacking (still with my pack) tomorrow. Which is good, because it's supposed to be raining again.
Date: 2016-07-10
From: Rob Bird's Cabin

To: Rob Bird's Cabin
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

The purist is dead. I killed him.Not the whiteblaze purist. I'll hit all the white blazes on the AT. But the slackpacking purist. I'll still carry my pack along every inch of the AT as well, but this Rob Bird situation has been really great during all this rain. It's been an incredible break for my body, probably long overdue. And man, today I did 11.5 miles in 4 hours, so you can move too. I don't know that I'll do it again unless it's another extremely easy, simple, inviting offer that makes sense.It rained for the majority of the day. But it's hard to get too upset when I know I've got a dry place to sleep at the end of the day. And eventually, the sun did come out for awhile. Dappled light streamed in through the canopy and I actually found myself cheering.I ran into Conductor in Dalton and we walked and talked all the way through town. He's a good dude, but I ended up pulling ahead on the trail, considering I wasn't carrying nearly as much weight.Toward the end of my hike, I reached The Cobbles, a marble rock outcrop with views of Cheshire. Beautiful.I ended my hike coming into Cheshire, at Diane's Twist Ice Cream shop. Waiting there was Morninglori, Cheap N Easy, Highlife and Stone. I got an ice cream and sat with all of their packs for about 30 minutes because Rob carted them all up to the outfitter in town. Upon returning, Cheap N Easy bought me another ice cream.So, tonight in Robs cabin we have Shoe, El Auto & Chilipepper and two Germans, Whitewalker and Pacemaker. We all got showered up and went to The Highland Italian restaurant. We all gorged ourselves then went to King Cone and gorged even further. I haven't been that full since... Years.We came back and Shoe did the "Fish Oil Challenge" and bit down on a fish oil pill, chewed it up and swallowed it for 10 of El Auto's dollars.
Date: 2016-07-11
From: Rob Bird's Cabin

To: Rob Bird's Cabin
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Somebody cue Louis Armstrong. We had some serious blue skies today. A nice cool breeze. Light packs and a mountain to climb!Hiked in a group today with Shoe and the Germans Pacemaker and White Walker. It was a beautiful hike, as Mt Greylock is the first mountain above 3000 ft since Shenandoah, I believe. The forest is heavily populated by old firs and reminded me of The Smokies.Met a hiker named Funsize today, who is completing his "Triple Crown" this year. That means that he has already hiked the PCT and the CDT and he is about to finish the AT. Respect, dude. Also, the four of us were slackpacking, and he passed us. Wow, that's experience.We hiked up to the summit of Mt Greylock where we had lunch at the Bascom Lodge with Cheap N Easy, Stone, Highlife, Morninglori and Pinkie. There was a beautiful view from up there, but the lookout tower was under construction.Coming down the mountain, Shoe noticed dozens of tiny frogs jumping across the trail. Smaller than crickets these frogs. So many you truly couldn't avoid them, sadly. So, we were all causing certain frog genocide but there was no solution.Perhaps it was karma, but I slipped at one point and fell on my fanny. I was laughing before I hit the ground. Pace Maker had a front row seat to that crash.After awhile we came across trail magic from Neon, a 2015 thru hiker and friend of Conductors. He was there, getting a massage when we approached. A soda, slice of watermelon, grilled cheese with ham, bag of fritos, strawberry shortcake and yogurt later, we were full and happy. She also had supplies and gave me a platypus bag to replace my torn sawyer bag. Thanks Neon! That was amazing!After getting picked up by Rob (for the last time) and joined by another northbounder, Hawaii, Rob ordered a 60 slice pizza and we all shared it along with Rob's friend since elementary school, Nancy.I accidentally slipped up and thanked Rob for the pizza. Rob has one rule, which is you can't say thank you to him or you have to kiss his cheek. He's heard it too much over the years. I thought I would spend 5 days with Rob without having to kiss his cheek, but in my weakness, I faltered. You win, Rob Bird.
Date: 2016-07-12
From: Rob Bird's Cabin

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: clear sky

Vermont! Vermont! I finally hit Vermont! Not only that but I passed 1600 miles today. 3 states left, less than 600 miles left. Awesome possum!Me, Shoe, El Auto, Chilipepper and Hawaii all had to leave the Birdcage (Rob's Cabin) this morning. Had to fly away from the nest. So Rob dropped us off in North Adams and we hugged and said our goodbyes.The first time I stayed with Rob I talked extensively about his kindness. I could go on forever here, but instead I'll just say he's one of the good ones. One of the beams of light out there.Hiked past some police this morning. A hiker had some things stolen during the night, but I also think she stealth camped right by the city water supply, which signs explicitly say not to do. So I'm not sure what happened with that, but the police were just informing us.I hiked and chatted with El Auto for awhile, but he stopped to wait for Chilipepper. Then I caught up to Conductor and hiked and talked with him awhile. Good people!When you are growing up, you think you're super special. You think that maybe there's a reality TV show about you, like the Truman Show. As you get older you lose some of those notions, and while you may still feel unique, you know that the world doesn't revolve around you. But I think people still harbor an inherent suspicion, or maybe hope, that they are still superior in some way. Or maybe it was just me, unconsciously feeling like I'm "above" most other people. It's hard to admit that, but I have some distance from it now. Today, I had the thought, "Maybe I am just another person." Collapse the ego and realize I'm just one more person in the world. Good at certain things and inexperienced or just bad at others.But I think people also see themselves as one thing or another. As static entities. And if I've learned anything out here it is that we are dynamic, ever-changing beings. You can change everything about yourself in almost no time at all, if you wanted to. We are not set in stone... We change. Even all the cells in our bodies change and regenerate. Physically, we're not the same body we were a few years ago. And mentally it's similar. We can decide what we want to be good at in life, and those actions define us. Okay! Random trail musings over!Got to the shelter tonight after a long, tough day back with a full pack. Vermud, I mean Vermont has been beautiful so far, if a bit muddy and buggy. But that's okay because now I have cake frosting as a snack. I just spoon it right out and eat it. Don't judge me! This trail is hard.Tonight at the shelter is Reading Man, Droid and Jenny (Bigfish now), Panda, Whiplash, Mumbles and a few Long Trail hikers.
Date: 2016-07-13
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: broken clouds

Welp! I think I've got pinkeye. Or something. Lots of blurriness, wetness and it has been irritated the last two days, as if an eyelash were poking in it, but I couldn't find any.It's been bothering me so much today it has been hard to focus. There were some beaver ponds, lots of biting flies, and...let's see what else. See, I can't even focus now!At the Goddard Shelter, I took a lunch break and was shortly joined by 3 Green Mountain Club employees. The two younger girls were carrying huge bags of woodchips for the privy, while I'm not sure what the older man carried. I thanked them for the work they do, especially since they were about to go service the privy. Whiplash (named so because he was whipping his head to gawk at female section hikers), Panda and Mumbles showed up, but I finished lunch quickly since we were downwind of the privy.A few minutes later I went up the Glastenbury Lookout Tower and experienced an unbelievable view of Vermont's rolling evergreen forests. Big puffy white clouds casting shadows down over waves and waves of pine. This is why we do it!I need to just shut my eyes now. The right one could be problematic. Goodnight!
Date: 2016-07-14
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: few clouds

When I woke up this morning, my eye was literally crusted shut. I guess something is going on in there. I'm going to video conference with a doctor with the Amwell App when I get into Manchester Center, so hopefully I can get some meds and get this whole vision thing sorted out.The bugs in Vermont are pretty unbelievable. They orbit your head and crash into it for hours and hours and will follow you. You can't outrun them. But you CAN spray your entire hat with toxic DEET and win the war that way. Or at least, the battle. I found a dead one in my hair at one point. It's surely not good for my brain and such, but I just can't take it!Aside from dancing around constant mud puddles, not too much happened today. Started a new audio book called "A Head Full of Ghosts" which is a horror novel. I also summited Stratton Mountain today and climbed the lookout tower, but was socked in by fog. Oh well. The evergreens are beautiful in the fog as well.Made it to the shelter just in time before it started pouring. Spent an evening with several Long Trail hikers and a few other thrus. I'll fall asleep to rain tapping on the tin roof tonight.
Date: 2016-07-15
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Green Mountain Hostel
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: light intensity drizzle

Survived the stormy night in the mousy shelter last night. Packed up and headed into town on a very muddy trail. Almost lost a shoe once or twice via suction.I made it to the road crossing today and hitched in to the post office to pick up my box. New shoes and insoles and snacks from my wonderful wife! I wonder if this pair will make it to Katahdin.I walked into Manchester to the McDonalds and tried to use their wifi to arrange a meeting with a doctor for my eye. The video chat was successful but I couldn't hear the doctors audio. 3 times I tried this but couldn't solve the problem. The closest Urgent Care was in another town, so I decided that my eye has been feeling better anyway, and I'll just get some drops.I then went over to the outfitter to fix one of my trekking poles. One of the tips broke and slide inside the shaft. As I was buying replacement tips, Radar approached out of nowhere! He was buying a fleece for the Whites and we hung out and decided we were happy to see each other and tentatively hike together.We resupplied next door at the Price Chopper and I convinced Radar to stay in town at the Green Mountain Hostel. We called in to get picked up, and Jeff, the owner, was there in minutes. He brought us back to this beautiful home which had been converted into a very nice, clean hostel that is on a grassy strip of property with horses. Conductor was there, as well as Dr G and Mando. We were soon joined by El Auto, Chilipepper and Winterwell as well as a section hiker who lives near Lake Jordan, very close to Cary, NC where my wife and I live. It's weird to say that, when I definitely just live in the woods for the last 4 months, haha.Had a nice time talking with everyone as we all made our own dinners and had a meeting about morning shuttles and the upcoming trail. Jeff gave us each a surprise Vermont Long Trail Ale and also told us that the first soda in the fridge was free as was a pint of Ben & Jerry's Ice cream. This place is amazing."I may start late, but I end early." - Radar