morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-10
From: Congdon shelter

To: Bennington, VT.
Miles today: 4.3

Start - 8:01End - 10:30Temp - 65Best part - Lemon meringue pieBiggest complaint - Indians not on TV I hiked 4.3 miles to route 9 and then      it's about 3 miles to my motel. It was 5.3 miles to Bennington proper. The last half a mile was a steep rocky down hill. There was a young couple with a baby in a back/front pack. The father was just switching the baby from being in back of him to being in front of him figuring if he fell in this treacherous terrain he would probably fall backwards. The thought of him falling and squashing their baby was terrible. He didn't have a hiking stick so I offered him mine. He said he'd find one. He said he had a good one but he left it on top of the mountain. I quickly found him one and then shortly thereafter found him a better one. I hiked on and later I found a better one yet. The second one I found was OK but too heavy. I stuck this lighter one in the ground figuring they would find it. I got to the road and tried to hitchhike but I was having no luck. After a little while the young couple reached the road and I asked them if they could give me a ride. Since I had helped them find hiking sticks they felt obligated and gave me a ride. The Autumn Inn motel was nothing special but adequate. There were a couple small markets and a restaurant in walking distance. I bought some items at the markets and used the ATM. I had lunch and dinner at the Peppermill restaurant. The lemon meringue pie was stupendous but expensive.
Date: 2014-07-11
From: Bennington, VT.

To: Bennington, VT.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Zero DayI decided to take a zero day because I wasn't sure how the cut on my foot was going to do. It would probably be OK but since I had three days of 10 miles a day it seemed to be a better idea to let it heal more and not find out five miles down the trail that I should have zeroed. By the way a zero day is a day you do zero miles. As it turns out Taz was hiking again and he caught up with me. We shared the motel room for the second night and now I'll have a hiking buddy. We've already established that we won't actually hike together but hike to the same destination. That way no one feels obligated to go faster or slower than you want to. Well that's probably enough to say other than I drank a 2 liter bottle of diet Pepsi and ate a half gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream. Yum.
Date: 2014-07-12
From: Bennington, VT.

To: Goddard shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Start - 9:10End - 3:35Temp 75Best part - Beautiful dayBiggest complaint - Everybody is youngAfter cereal with milk and several cups of coffee the owner of the Autumn Inn gave us a ride back to the trailhead. The terrain was mostly uphill but no so muddy today. The two days hiking into Bennington we found out what Vermont is famous for; mushy, squishy, muddily, puddily trail. Vermont is also known as Vermud. You end trying to step on rocks and roots but some of the rocks only appear to be rocks and you end with a muddy boot. Best to tap the questionable rocks with your hiking stick first.I did the 10.1 miles by 3:35 but Taz didn't get here till 6:00. His bruised ribs affects his breathing. He had a hard time sleeping in a bed last night. We'll see how he does sleeping in his hammock. Other than Taz and I everyone was young. One girl talked about teaching English in South Korea. I was able to talk about Katie teaching English in various countries so that made me feel a little better. It's only 8:30 and not dark yet but everyone in the shelter has turned in. Other people tenting are playing cards. No phone service here so I may as we'll turn in too. Six in the shelter tonight. I'm going to use ear plugs.
Date: 2014-07-13
From: Goddard shelter

To: Story Spring shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Start- 7:50End - 2:02Temp - 60-70Best part - Double Skybar dayBiggest complaint - No phone serviceSlept pretty well. I'm the only one who cooked breakfast in this group. A good breakfast is important. When I was preparing for lunch and morning and afternoon snacks I was reflecting on my Skybars not being as thick as other candy bars. I decided that means I should eat two instead of one. Beef jerky for morning snack and two Skybars for afternoon snack.I got to the shelter before the rain for a change. One thru hiker said the percentage chance for rain is from late afternoon till mid-morning. I got here at 2:02 and it started raining around 3:30. Six in the shelter tonight. Taz, Mooster (a young kid doing the Long Trail), and three thru hikers. These 20 mile a day people seem to be a different breed. They're talking about going to Manchester Center tomorrow, Monday. Taz and I will get there Wednesday. They don't know where they are going to stay but they're going to get together to go out to eat. A thru hiker that passed through around 6:30 and continued hiking will meet up with them also.At 9:30 after we were all sleeping and a woman showed up. She was soaking wet and practically begged us to let her stay in shelter. We made room for her. She only had a daypack and no dry clothes to change into. She was with a group training for thru hiking the A.T.Warren Doyle charges people thousands of dollars to help them day hike the entire Appalachian Trail. They hike with a small pack to carry lunch, snacks and water. They all hike to a destination and Warren Doyle is there with tents, sleeping bags and food. It's like a catered thru hike. This was a training hike and she agreed to swap with someone and hike 23 miles although this was only her second day. She still had 4 miles to go and she was soaked and it was dark. She laid there in her wet clothes for about an hour and then decided it would be better if she hiked on.We convinced her it would be better to stray. AZ boiled water, I donated a hot chocolate packet and a packet of pop tarts. Bear Juice and Mooster loaned her dry pants and a down jacket and Captain Underwear loaned her tent to use as a sleeping bag. She left the next morning before 6:00 A.M.
Date: 2014-07-14
From: Story Spring shelter

To: Campsite near William B. Douglas shelter
Miles today: 14.9

Start - 6:50End - 6:45Temp - 70Best part - Fire towerBiggest complaint - Long uphills still get me downWe got an early start. Hiking up Stratton Mt. was a chore. At the top there is a fire tower complete with a caretaker couple. The summit of this mountain is what inspired Benton Mackaye to propose creation of the Appalachian Trail. The views from the tower were impressive. You could see Mount Greylock. A mountain that we had hiked back in Massachusetts. You could also see the mountains we are going to have to climb.Taz reached the top after I did but we left together. We decided we had enough time to hike beyond our original plan and make it possible to reach Manchester Center Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Instead of doing 10.4 miles we hiked to the next shelter and did 14.9 miles instead. That left 5.8 miles to hike to the road that goes to Manchester Center.We met a thru hiking family near the trail that goes to the shelter. The two kids were about 8 and 9, one boy and one girl. The girl's hiker name was Cartwheel and the boy was Robin Hood. The mother was Mama Bear and the father was All In. I didn't get the dog's hiker name, I think they said only 8 families have successfully thru hiked the A.T.As they crossed the bridge they let us know there was a campsite on the other side of the bridge. Camping there meant we didn't have to hike the 0.5 miles from the A.T. to the shelter. I put up my tent and Taz put up his hammock and we were in for the night.
Date: 2014-07-15
From: Campsite near William B. Douglas shelter

To: Manchester Center Vermont
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: moderate rain

Start - 6:55End - 10:30Temp - 70Best part - Relaxing dayBiggest complaint - Fruit stand not a real mealI got to the trail at 10:30. I started trying to hitch a ride and a guy in the parking lot waved me over. He gave me a ride and when I told him I was only going to the Red Sled Motel he said he worked across the street at Dutton's Fruit Stand. He thru hiked in 1998 and his hiker name was Woody.After checking in I went to the fruit stand. Since this motel is nowhere near the town it was my source for lunch, supper and breakfast. Fresh fruit and baked goods are nice but they don't really make a meal. Cookies, pie, peaches, strawberries, oranges and ice cream are good but something seemed missing.I sorted out the maildrop Tish had sent me and watched Netflix. They only got 4 local channels but supplied Netflix as a consequence. Time for a good night's sleep and see what tomorrow brings,
Date: 2014-07-16
From: Manchester Center Vermont

To: Peru Peak shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

Start - 10:00End - 4:35Temp - 70Best part - Brownie brittleBiggest complaint - Taz one day behind I and several other hikers that stayed at the Red Sled motel decided to get a late start since it rained until about 9:20 A.M. When I asked to get a ride to the trail I learned 4 other hikers got a ride about ten minutes before me. I couldn't find my watch and double checked in the motel room. The guy from the motel that was going to give me a ride said he'd give me his old watch so I'd have one for the trail. I said yes to him but then realized it was probably in the pocket of my other shorts which were in bottom of my pack and told him I wouldn't need his old one. Awfully nice of him to offer. You meet a lot of nice people when you're hiking the A.T.I got started hiking at 10:00 A.M. Before I started I checked the bulletin board at the trailhead and saw an interesting request (see picture). It seems mountain men have phones nowadays.When I was at the fruit market I tried to find things I could use as snacks. I found Brownie Brittle. Sophie G makes brownies. As she went around her bakery she liked to break the crusty edges off of the pans of brownies and eat them. She decided maybe she could make a product like that. Hence Brownie Brittle was born. They taste like brownies but they're crunchy like a cookie. The fact that they're nice and light fits in with my agenda well.After I got to the shelter there was a message for me in the journal that Taz is staying another night at the green mountain house. Low cost and sore ribs add up to a zero day. Now he'll be a day behind me.
Date: 2014-07-17
From: Peru Peak shelter

To: Greenwall shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Start 8:01End 4:57Temp - 70 (50 last night)Best part - Chat with Virgil at breakfastBiggest complaint - Got tired at the end of the dayAt breakfast I talked with Virgil (trail name). He's 62 and lives in Corning, NY. He had spent a few days volunteering with the Green Mountain Club. By the way these mountains I've been climbing are called the green mountains. The mountains in New Hampshire are called the white mountains. Virgil is section hiking the A.T. He has a friend that's in the green mountain club and decided to do some volunteer work and give back a little to the trail.As I was hiking a came to a spot where someone had made many many cairns. I took several pictures.As I was hiking on I was thinking I'd put a picture in my journal with the caption 'Now here's something you don't see everyday'. Then all of a sudden there was another area with twice as many cairns as the first spot. I've uploaded the pictures of both areas. You can check them out in the photos section of my journal.I got a voice mail from Taz. He had done two zero days and would decide the next morning if he would do a third zero day. He's not getting better. It looks like we won't be hiking together. I hope he heals up enough to continue.
Date: 2014-07-19
From: Governor Clement

To: Churchill Scott shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: moderate rain

Start 9:35End 5:02Temp 70Best part - LunchBiggest complaint - Broke my hiking stickWhen I was just about to leave the shelter Mosey and Jungle Jim showed up. We exchanged names and Mosey was busily checking out the shelter log. They saw Skuffy's name. Everyone seems to know Skuffy. I had stayed at the same shelter as Skuffy two nights before so I let them know he had been off trail for four days to visit his son who had just come home from the service (navy). When I told them he now had six zero days meaning he had only had two previously they were impressed. I started hiking and a little later and Mosey passed me up. After he passed me he commented that Akron, OH is where AA started. I told him I had quit in 98. He yelled back he quit in 91, 24 years. The more people I let know that I quit drinking the more people I find that quit also. I'm pretty sure Shroomer implied he had quit also.I've been using a Mother Nature's discount hiking stick. I had been using the same one since I started in Dalton, MA two weeks ago. Today I fell backwards (actually sat down abruptly). As I fell my hiking stick broke but as it broke it broke my fall so I figured it did its job. I found another one but quickly cast it aside in favor of a better one. I was cutting some nubs off my new hiking stick with my knife when another north bounder stopped to chat. I continued cutting while we talked and ended up cutting my thumb. One shouldn't do two things at the same time especially when one involves a sharp object. Two bandaids later I was back in business. Shortly thereafter I fell again but rolled to the right as I fell so that I landed on my pack. No worries. By the way I've met several people on the trail from Australia.I came to a shelter that was not my final destination and planned on having lunch. A south bound section hiker told me he heard if you take the blue blazed side trail up to the top of Killington mountain there was a snack bar or something. Since it was only 0.2 miles I decided to check it out. It turns out there's a gondula that takes people to the top of Mount Killington. Mostly people go to see the views which were tremendous but also people with mountain bikes ride the gondola up and mountain bike down. It's new which is why it wasn't in the trail guide yet. Instead of a snack bar it was a restaurant. I spent $22 on food and beverages and had plenty of caffeine and I was a very happy hiker and very ready to continue. What a pleasant surprise.Unless someone shows up late to the shelter this will be two night's in a row I'll be the only one at the shelter. This morning I slept in till 8:00 A.M. but tomorrow morning I want to get an early start because I will be hiking to Mountain Meadows Lodge. Along with a bed to sleep in they have a hot tub and a sauna. No worries.
Date: 2014-07-20
From: Churchill Scott shelter

To: Mountain Meadows Lodge
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Start 8:06End 10:57Temp yesBest part - CoffeeBiggest complaint - Lousy flicks Today I got to Main Junction. Main Junction is where you have four possible ways to go. If you take the trail I came in on you are going south on both The Long Trail and The Appalachian Trail. If you take the trail to the left as I entered the junction you would be continuing north on The Long Trail headed toward the Canadian border. If you proceed straight you would be continuing north (actually east at this point) on The Appalachian Trail heading toward Maine. If you take the trail to the right you would be on 'Not a Trail'. It certainly looks like a trail but it is officially posted (see picture), it is 'Not a Trail'. When I got to Mountain Meadows lodge they had had a wedding that weekend. People were getting around to leaving. I tried to keep a low profile until they left. For $5 I would be able to do my laundry. Since I wash all my clothes and just wear my rain kilt it seemed better to wait until the wedding people left. There was only one more person, a hiker, scheduled to stay at the lodge that night. He showed up a little later and chose the cheaper pitch your tent for $10 option. They had coffee in the dining room no charge so I took advantage and had several cups of coffee. They also had two pianos and since no other guests were there I played a few tunes. It turns out the other hiker played piano so he played a couple songs also. He also sang while he played which I don't actually do. By the way, he quit drinking in 1991. We talked and agreed to meet later and walk over to the outfitters and then to the deli to get sandwiches for supper. When he turned in early I used the sauna and the hot tub. Then looking though their collection of VHS tapes I chose Steven King's Night Shift Collection. They were two stories that had won awards many years ago but I don't think they would win any awards today. When I got to my room around 9:00 PM seeing all the food from my mail drop and all my this, that and the other spread out over both beds I kind of got depressed. I was tired and would have liked to go to sleep but I knew I had to get everything packed up and ready go so I could get an early start tomorrow because I was planning a 16 mile day. I reluctantly got myself moving and once everything started falling into place my mood picked up. A big part of this AT hiking is mental/emotional. Tomorrow is another day.
Date: 2014-07-21
From: Mountain Meadows Lodge

To: Winturri shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

Start 8:03End 6:35Temp 85Best part - Red rasberriesBiggest complaint - Long hot hard buggy day Sixteen mile day. My longest miles day this year. Perhaps my longest AT day. Not sure. After 1.7 miles of relatively level terrain there was a 1256 feet increase in elevation in 1.3 miles; Quimbly mountain. That's rather steep. Looking at the rest of the day there was more ups and downs but less severe. I had kind of told myself the rest would be relatively easy. WRONG. After I ascended Mt. Quimbly I took my shirt off. I had sweated so much I could wring the sweat out of my shirt. I decided to not wear my shirt. The relatively cool temperatures we'd been having we're gone. The temperature was 80 or maybe a tad more. To try and make the uphill sections seem not so bad I started not looking up to see how much more uphill I had until the next mountain top. That helped but it didn't make me sweat any less. I stopped around noon at the shelter that was six miles from my starting point and had my lunch. That left another 10 miles to go. As I reached different locations mentioned in my trail guide I'd calculate how fast I was moving, how many more miles I had to go and how late it would be when I got there. As I thought about maybe I'm getting close knowing I wasn't really that close but maybe, just maybe I'm getting close I saw a sign that said I still had 2.6 miles to go. That was depressing. And then when I actually was getting close I came to field of red raspberries. I knew I was close enough that time wasn't of the essence so I enjoyed indulging in many many raspberries. We'll maybe not many many but quite a few. I had to move on and get to the shelter. Those raspberries really helped turn my day around. When I got to the shelter the was a couple who were just friends and each had a small tent. Missouri Mule, a guy much older than me, already had his tent set up behind the shelter. A little later another north bounder showed up. He had hiked here all the way from Georgia. While we were talking he let me know that just today he decided to end his hike at Mt Washington. That would be about 1800 miles, a few hundred miles short of the end. He already had plans to meet his Dad there. Since he wasn't going all the way to the end, Mt Katadin, he thought it appropriate to end on the second highest mountain on the AT. Some people decide completing the whole trail just isn't that important. I commend him for his decision. I may do the same someday.
Date: 2014-07-22
From: Winturri shelter

To: Thistle Hill shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

End 5:15Temp 88Best part - On the edge farmBiggest complaint - Scrape on my shoulder becoming an issue While I was still half asleep in my sleeping bag I heard someone mention a store three miles ahead that was just 0.2 miles from the trail. I had heard about it before but had forgotten it was coming up. I checked my trail guide and saw it didn't open until 10:00 so I decided to sleep a little longer. I was ONLY doing 11.6 miles today so I figured I didn't have to get an early start. When I got up I told the couple with the two tents, Zepher and Bag Daddy, that the store didn't open until 10:00. They decided to go ahead and leave and just take their time. I ended up passing them shortly before the road. The store had ice cream and soda, need I say more. When Zepher and Bag Daddy got to the store they asked if anyone had a list of trail angels. Trail angels are people that have hiked the AT before and help out current hikers when they can. Zepher had sectioned hiked more than half the AT but Bag Daddy was inexperienced. His stomach was hurting for some unknown reason and they wanted to get back to their car in Norwich, VT. One of the south bounders at the store had the list of trail angels for Norwich, VT and Hanover, NH. that he had picked up in Hanover. They got ahold of one who would come and get them. It was another hot day, hotter than yesterday. After my shirt got soaked from sweat I decided to go shirtless again. It turns out going shirtless has created a problem. About a week ago I scrapped my shoulder from a low hanging branch. The scrape was next to my shoulder strap. It had scabbed up and I basically didn't deal with it figuring it would heal without further attention. I was wrong and then going shirtless had aggravated it. It became an open soar. Trying to put a large bandaid on it didn't really help because it wouldn't stay on very long because of sweat. Now I've found a 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch foam pad from my blister kit. I've secured it with two foot long strips of duct tape. That method kept the pad on for a whole day. I'll continue with this approach and see if it will heal up.
Date: 2014-07-23
From: Thistle Hill shelter

To: Happy Hill shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: clear sky

Start 6:36End 12:12Temp HotBest part - My set up in the shelter loftBiggest complaint - Hikers coming late to the shelter late made me feel bad for taking up so much space I got an early start to beat the storm that was supposed to be coming. I got to the shelter in the nick of time. The storm got there five hours after I did. The shelter had a loft. There was room for four or five on the lower level and room for three or four on the upper level. This shelter had lots of mosquitos. A south bounder had already warned me about it. I decided to put up my tent in the loft. I didn't put up the fly but the tent kept the mosquitos away from me.   After the storm came two wet hikers showed up just as I was eating my supper sitting on the edge of the loft. They took the lower section. Then another soaked hiker showed up. I moved my tent to the back of the loft and made room. The newest guy took the spot I freed up on the front part of the loft. After we were all asleep more wet hikers showed up. The first group set up their tents in the rain. The second set was the Swiss Family Robinson. The two kids stayed in the shelter while their parents set up a tent in the rain. I offered to take my tent down to make more room and even started to but it was deemed unnecessary. In the morning I wanted to get an early start but since I wouldn't be able to take my tent down without crawling all over Crispy, the guy next to me. I decided to wait till he got up. At 8:00 I decided to not wait any longer. I got up and started getting all my stuff ready to pack. Crispy got up and sat on the edge of the loft. I climbed down the ladder and went to the woods to do my business. When I got back Crispy had laid back down. As I was starting back up the ladder he said, "Oh. You probably can't get your tent down unless I move." After chit chatting awhile with the other hikers he finally moved. They all talked about being bothered by the mosquitos. My tent saved me from being attacked.