morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-08-20
From: Stratton Pond Shelter, VT

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: few clouds

In the morning I woke up at 5:40 and as I was laying in bed I heard the cry of a loon! So thrilling! Just another reason it's good to be in the north country now. I have missed hearing that familiar sound this summer. Loons are the state bird of MN, where I'm from. It was another beautiful morning. After breakfast I was on the trail by 7:30, enjoying the peacefulness of the forest and pondering the thought that I belong there, that I'm not a foreigner but that I'm created to be in that environment. After about 5 miles the guys caught up to me and we hiked the rest of the way into town together, me in front (that's what the guys wanted). Near the road into town, I realized I was way ahead of the guys so I thought it would be fun to play a joke on them. When I came near a huge boulder I decided to hide behind it and jump out and scare whoever was in front. It turned out to be Ahvoh--and I think I almost gave him a heart attack! Oh, the look on his face! Scared him half to death. I could not stop laughing. The guys thought it was great :-).We hitched into town (two cars pulled off at the same time so we all fit!), dropped our packs at EMS, got burritos and then I went off to shop for my nephew's 3rd birthday. I met the guys at a pizza place (the burritos WERE small), had a slice and then went to the P.O. to mail the present (a sticker book that had stickers of lots of food that he could put on various placemats--I think hiker hunger subliminally influenced my decision...haha!). On the way back to EMS, I stopped at a local donut shop to pick up enough donuts for all the guys, but when I got back I heard that THEY went to Dunkin'! So funny! After a quick resupply, I went to the library and then checked out Northshire Books, one of the best bookstores not only on the trail, but anywhere. I wish I could've had more time to browse but I wanted to get to the hostel. I picked up some food at McDonald's, finally using up a gift card I'd had for almost a year.The owner of the Green Mountain House picked me up and when I got there, I could not believe how nice it was. So clean and spacious! Much like Bearded Woods. Zeus was there watching a movie. I took a shower and did my laundry and then enjoyed a pint of Ben & Jerry's, free from the hostel! Glad I decided to stay there.
Date: 2013-08-21
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Little Rock Pond, VT
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: broken clouds

Once again I woke up super early, 4:30 this time. I really don't understand why this is happening to me out here!!!! I am definitely not a morning person!!! I decided that since the hostel had a computer I might as well update my journal. And since I was hungry I ate 2 donuts. After a few hours Zeus got up and we made some pancakes for breakfast. I packed up, said goodbye to Zeus who was taking a zero there (smart guy,) and the hostel owner drove me back to the trail.It was foggy when I first got up but by the time I got back on the trail it was lovely--cool and sunny! Absolutely perfect hiking weather. When I got to the top of the ski tower at Bromley Mountain I was not surprised to see the rest of the guys there. I let them go ahead on down the mountain. I hiked my own pace--slower but with fewer breaks. When I got to the top of another mountain I made a few calls regarding my next blood test in Hanover and got that squared away. Nice. After a break at the next shelter, where I received (and gave) a much-needed backrub, I took off and didn't see the guys again. I pushed hard in the afternoon, wanting to get to Little Rock Pond. I probably should've stopped sooner, but I heard that Little Rock Pond was pretty, and it was...And I had it to myself! Not even the caretaker was there (some of the popular sites like this and Stratton have caretakers). It was great to be in a quiet camp all by myself (and strange). It's more fun with others around but more peaceful alone. I made parmesan couscous with salmon for dinner and went to bed. So tired but that's becoming the norm I guess.
Date: 2013-08-23
From: Stealth at view to Rutland Airport, VT

To: Pico Camp
Miles today: 14.4

In the morning I hitched a mile to a little grocery because I was running low on food. After some hot coffee and a breakfast sandwich, I headed back to the trail. Pretty unexciting today. But at one point the trail was detoured because a bridge got washed out I believe from the storm that hit in 2011, Irene. I decided not to do the detour, and the trail I took, the actual AT, was in the process of being re-routed as well so it would be up and away from the river. The trail crew was camped near the trail so I went over to say hello and met them and the Ridgerunner, whose trail name was Phenix (that is how he spells it).Soon after that I came across a sign that indicated we were 500 miles from Katahdin. It's amazing to me that I'm that close to the end. I recalled reaching the 500 mile marker in Grayson Highlands...So long ago! At Governor Clement Shelter I stopped for lunch and then Phenix came by to check the log book. We were both headed to Pico Camp, a little shelter that is supposed to have a beautiful view, so we hiked on together and even though he was a much stronger hiker than I am I tried my best to stay with him. It was nice hiking with him, talking about the trail and gear and life. He's hiked the AT (SOBO) and LT. He has a tiny backpack that he made himself! I teased him about being "ultralight"--his base weight is something like 6 lbs--but really I was just jealous. As we hiked over Mt Killington, Phenix taught me some of what he knew of the area, pointing out moose poop twice, and the long climb went by pretty fast. I opted to climb the extremely steep blue-blaze trail to the very top of Killinton to enjoy the view. Then Phenix and I hiked down through a very pretty, mossy section of trail--which could've been straight out of Lord of the Rings--to Pico camp, which he said is how many shelters on the Long Trail (LT) are, fully enclosed with windows. We could look out to see the ski runs coming down from Killington. Nice.Two SOBO section hikers and an LT hiker were in the cabin and despite the chilly weather, it was cozy and warm inside. We made dinner and when we went to bed we could hear the sound of live music floating up from the Irish Pub down in Killington. Phenix tried to convince me to run down the Sherburne Pass Trail to go have a beer but I said no...and we joked that I'm too old for that kind of thing! Besides, I protested, it would mean skipping 4 miles of trail!
Date: 2013-08-24
From: Pico Camp

To: The Lookout
Miles today: 21.1

The morning was crisp, clear and beautiful. Phenix left via Sherburne Pass and I left via the AT and we met up again as I was coming down the trail near the road into Killinton. I said goodbye, sad to know I wouldn't see my new friend again up the trail. Fun guy.Another gorgeous day! It was Saturday so I saw lots of day hikers and a fair number of dogs, which was fun. I love dogs (and have done a fair bit of dog-sitting). When I got to Kent Pond, just north of Killington, I got a treat: seeing and hearing 3 loons! It was pretty special. And I laughed when I heard a little boy in a kayak say, "Look! a ducky!" At the outfitter I picked up my replacement headlamp and stopped to make a bagel sandwich. I set it down on the chair and went to get some water, and when I came back I discovered a golden retriever ate half of my bagel sandwich!! It was a long day with a few very tough climbs but I made it to the Lookout before dark. The Lookout is an enclosed shelter perched at the top of a hill on private land that offers a *wonderful* 360-degree view (from the roof). The owners let hikers stay there. It's really nice. I met Stealth and LOL and her dog Swayze there. I was very tired as it was my first 20+ mile day in quite a while. But it felt good to get miles in. And what a great place to stay.
Date: 2013-08-25
From: The Lookout

To: West Hartford, VT
Miles today: 19.0

Somehow I woke up before sunrise and after a struggle getting out of bed (my knees were stiff) I grabbed my quilt and my camera and climbed up the stairs to the lookout tower on top of the shelter, just in time to watch the sunrise. It was really serene. Clouds were blanketing the valley and the sun rose above the White Mountains to the east. Stealth joined me and we took lots of photos.After breakfast LOL told me about her job at REI and then the two of us hiked down the mountain. Just before we crossed the stream right before road, a man came out to the back balcony and asked if we wanted some coffee. "Yes!" When we went in the back door, Baltimore Jack was there (I swear he pops up at the most random places). The man who offered us coffee was Dan Quinn who has been offering hospitality to hikers for about 20 years. He invited us to camp in his yard and stay for dinner. What a surprise! After coffee, LOL and I walked down the road just a little ways to a farm store to get pie. I had been looking forward to it since Phenix told me about it. I decided that since I never did the ice cream challenge, I decided the trail needed a new challenge: the Poppins' Pie Challenge. If I could, I would eat a whole pie. And I ate a whole 9" mixed-berry pie in about 27 minutes. It was wonderful. Then LOL and I slack-packed the 13 difficult, very steep miles from West Hartford back to Dan's house. (Yeah, I burned those calories off!!) On our hike we got trail magic twice--Rice Krispie Treats and then cans of pop left in the stream. What a day for TRAIL MAGIC!When we got back to the house it was dark and everyone was sitting around the fire outside. Midway, Ahvoh, Zeus, Ripper and Papa Smurf were there. Dinner was awesome. And I slept in the field behind the barn. What a day!
Date: 2013-08-26
From: West Hartford, VT

To: Norwich, VT
Miles today: 8.4

Sometimes on the trail we say "the trail provides." (Though I would give the credit, ultimately, to God. But that's just me.) You would not believe how many times on the AT the exact thing we need comes at the moment we need it. This has happened often enough on the trail that sometimes I come to expect it and so I'm not worried when problems arise, while other times it still takes me completely by surprise and I wonder when I will learn to trust God/AT with my problems. In the morning we were standing around Dan Quinn's kitchen, drinking coffee, trying to figure out how to get everyone to the places they needed to be--and not coming up with any solution--when a random section hiker named 44 showed up, asking for Dan. He introduced himself and explained that a few weeks back he had hiked the section south of Dan's place but never actually met Dan. Now he had a car and was hoping someone could slack-pack him from Dan's house to West Hartford, which solved our logistical problems because that's where we needed to go but we didn't have a vehicle to get there. See? The trail provides. And--get this--a moment later a friend of Dan's arrives who just happens to be going to Norwich and Hanover and who, when he realizes what's going on, offers to take our packs there so we could slackpack also (and take Baltimore Jack, who had been looking for a ride, to Hanover as well). Again, the trail provides. And the bonus? LOL, Stealth, and I discovered a Dunkin' Donuts on the drive to West Hartford. It's days like today that the AT blows me away. By the time I got on the trail it was already 11am and I was supposed to meet my friend Christi-Lynn in Norwich at 1:30. Oops! That meant hiking 8.4 miles in a very short amount of time. Thankfully the terrain was easy, so I was able to run a lot of it (just the downhill sections!) and wasn't too late. And when I found more of those little orange salamanders, I was amazed! I didn't realize they lived this far north. Christi-Lynn and her boys (aged 3 and 6 months) met me where the trail meets the first road, at which point it follows the road into the center of town, and but I ran a lot of that since it was mostly downhill, and met her again in town. When we went to her house I was excited to see that she lived near one of Vermont's famous covered bridges! I hung out there all day and later we had dinner with two friends who had just come back from Africa, one of whom had hiked the AT in 1999. Fun!
Date: 2013-08-27
From: Norwich, VT

To: Norwich, VT
Miles today: 0.0

As luck would have it, Christi-Lynn worked at the hospital where I had arranged my blood draw, so I drove with her to work in the morning and then she let me use her car to run errands. It was so strange to drive again (but it's just like riding a bike). I decided to go to the grocery store in a town south of Hanover since it was not far away, according to the map in my guidebook. But, to make a long story short, I got lost. So much for having a good sense of direction, haha. All I wanted was a map and a compass!! Finally, after driving all over the valley, I eventually figured out how to get to the grocery store (but not without receiving bad directions!). Frustrating!I resupplied on food and then went back to Hanover, which is really a nice small college town. I got a yummy almond croissant (my favorite) and coffee at C-L's favorite bakery. Delish! Just outside the bakery I ran into Tedley, a hiker friend, who told me LOL was at the library a block away. I decided to go check and make sure she was okay, since she hadn't been feeling well recently. She was doing okay. Then I got a text from Ahvoh saying that he and some other guys were by the P.O., so I went over there to see what they were doing. I think they were impressed that I had a car! We talked about slackpacking but ended up going to a local pizza place for a free slice of pizza. Eventually I drove home, getting lost again! I made dinner and baked chocolate chip cookies while listening to Patty Griffin, which definitely helped me decompress....Then I picked Christi-Lynn and the boys up and we came back and ate dinner outside. It was not the most restful day and I was still tired but, with the exception of getting lost and spending waaay too much time in the car, I had fun.
Date: 2013-08-28
From: Norwich, VT

To: Lebanon/Etna, NH
Miles today: 7.3

Christi-Lynn had to work so her husband drove me back to Norwich in the morning. From there I followed the AT down a busy road, across the Connecticut River bridge, and into New Hampshire--state #13. Hard to believe. This journey has gone by so fast. I sat on a bench on the Dartmouth Green to make a few phone calls, keeping my eyes peeled for any familiar faces since I knew a bunch of my hiker friends were in town. As I walked through town, a white Jeep Cherokee caught my eye and I couldn't help but check to see if was Limpin' Eagle's car. This time it was! He found a spot to park and we caught up, filling each other in on the happenings of the trail. Word was that there was going to be a hiker feed, hosted by the mom of one of the hikers. Normally I would not have much interest in going to a hiker feed, despite the allure of food, because they can be, well, kinda crazy and I tend not to sleep very well, but I Ketchup and Snakebite said they'd be there, and possibly Chopper, Fritz, Anni, and Fat Man Walking, as well. Limpin' offered to slack-pack me the 8 miles out of town, to Etna, so I could get some miles in and then he would take me to the feed. It would mean a shorter day of hiking, which could only help my aching, swollen knees, and it would give me time to work on my journal at the library first. So I decided to go. After a quick, sweaty, humid 8 miles, I got to the the hiker feed and was surprised to see a lot of people (25-30) that I hadn't seen in a long time. So long, I had forgotten many of their names. Many of them had been just a day behind me for most of New England--and a number "yellow-blazed" (they got rides as opposed to hiking) up. It was a pretty chill evening, just hanging out and eating...what hikers do best :-) I got to take a shower and caught up with Ketchup and Snakebite. Chopper, Fritz, Anni, and Fat Man Walking ended up staying at a hostel in Etna, which meant I'd see them tomorrow. In the evening the humidity turned into a fairly massive rainstorm, so my desire to tent was thwarted. Seeking a quiet place to sleep, I crashed in back corner of the laundry room--but a few other hikers found my secret spot and stayed up late doing God knows what. Probably getting high. Eventually I did get some sleep--but I resolved never to go to a hiker feed again. Lesson learned.
Date: 2013-08-29
From: Lebanon/Etna, NH

To: Lamberts Ridge
Miles today: 15.4

Too many days off the trail makes me antsy. In the morning I was ready to get back on the trail and put in some miles, so I said goodbye to Snakebite, Ketchup, everyone. No one else seemed to be interested in going back to the trail. So Limpin' drove me back and we pulled up at the same time as Chopper, Fat Man Walking, Fritz and Anni. Couldn't have timed that better! Chopper explained that he couldn't hike because his shoes were too small and he needed to buy new ones, but the rest of us decided we might as well slack-pack the 10 or so miles to the house of trail angel, Bill Ackerly, aka "The Ice Cream Guy." Although the day was overcast and damp, it didn't rain. We all enjoyed hiking together. When we got to Bill's house, which is right on the trail, we met Bill, a spry, tall man in his 80s who gave us each an ice cream sandwich, but only after we signed his log-book! He's a character. He's got a croquet field set up in his yard. Limpin' was heading to the general store to get more meat for burgers and ice cream for Bill, and FMW and I jumped at the opportunity. It seems the lure of fresh food has, naturally, only increased the further north I go. Which is not good for my budget but is often--though not always--good for my health. In this case I don't think it was good for my health...FMW and I both got egg salad sandwiches for dinner and a huge loaf of banana bread for breakfast the next two days. So no, not healthy, but yummy!FMW and I put on our packs, too heavy with all that fresh food, and after two miles, we saw Timber, Limpin's rottweiler. Limpin' met us on the trail, near the road crossing, with a can of beer in one hand (for FMW) and a Sprite in the other (for me...Limpin' has learned not to waste beer on me. He knows I don't appreciate it!). He told us he was hoping to have time to hang the cans from the trees using fishing line but we got there too soon. After downing our drinks, we said goodbye and started hiking toward Smart Mountain. When it was almost dark, we saw a flat spot next to the trail and decided to stealth there. We've learned not to keep hiking in the dark, unless you know you're close to your destination. It's almost never worth it. Then we ate our sandwiches, thankful not to have to cook (though FMW actually never cooks) and went to bed.
Date: 2013-08-30
From: Lamberts Ridge

To: Mt Cube Sugar Farm
Miles today: 12.4

Woke up to the sun shining through the mist...Beautiful!FMW and I were glad we stayed where we did last night. It was a steep and long climb up to the top of Smarts Mountain and we didn't see any other places where we would've been able to camp along the way. After a very nice, gentle descent down, we began the climb up Mt Cube. On the way up we decided to check out Hexacube Shelter, a 6 sided shelter, although it was .3 of a mile off the trail...For someone who is as fatigued as I am, that is quite an "unnecessary" expenditure of energy. You get to the point as a thru-hiker where if something is more than even .1 of a mile off the trail, you don't go...The shelter was cool but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again. Now, I can imagine what you're thinking but let me say, don't comment until you've also hiked 2,000 miles. :-)We got some nice views from Mt Cube, not sure of what! It was 5pm when we got to the road and we were planning on continuing on but then FMW found a note from Limpin' Eagle telling us that he was at Mt Cube Sugar Farm, which is a maple syrup producer, and would come back to get us. We waited by the side of the road, happy enough to end our day there. A few minutes later a guy in a sedan drove up and got out of the car, asking if I was Mary (or something like that). He was there to take us to the farm. SWEET. Not too far down the road we picked up Tedlie, another hiker I had met before.When we pulled up, we saw Rambo, Fritz, Anni, Limpin'...and Mooch, who yelled out "POPPINNNNNS!!" when he saw me. It's been since Delaware Water Gap, PA, that I saw him last and I honestly didn't think I'd see him again. Apparently he yells my name from mountaintops, hostels, wherever he feels like it. Rambo has told him to watch out, because you never know when Poppins will walk out of the woods! Funny!So it was great to be with a nice, quiet group of friends tonight! Mooch made hamburgers and we slept in the room where maple syrup is made. (This is a maple syrup farm which serves as a free hostel. Grandma Gatewood, the first female thru-hiker, stayed here on her thru-hikes.)
Date: 2013-08-31
From: Mt Cube Sugar Farm

To: Fat Man Walking's parents' house 
Miles today: 9.8

After a breakfast of¢what else?¢pancakes with maple syrup, we slack-packed to a hostel 10 miles away, and on the way I got to hike with Tedlie. He shared with me some heartbreaking personal challenges he has faced, yet far from being depressed, Tedlie struck me as a joyful person. He¢s a Christian, I discovered, and he is a filmmaker. His hope is to make a film about spiritual aspects of hiking the Appalachian Trail, so on his hike he is scouting out people and places to come back later to film or interview. He asked me if I would be willing to be interviewed and I said yes. It was raining when we got to the hostel where Limpin¢ left our packs. Mooch and Rambo were planning on hiking over Mt Moosilauke in the afternoon, a very long 4,000 foot climb followed by a very steep and, with the rain, potentially slippery, descent into Kinsman¢s Notch, a distance of about 9 miles. But it seemed to me that doing that, in the rain, with packs, starting at 2pm, when I had just started my period, my knees hurt and I felt tired (yes, even after just a 10 mile slack-pack), might not be the best idea. The caretaker of the hostel, a former thru-hiker named Legion, encouraged me to stay there the night and the next day slack-pack southbound (supposedly the easier way to go) over Moosilauke. Yet I didn¢t really want to do that either. It would mean paying for two nights which, although it wasn¢t cheap, I would have been willing to pay had I known that I would really be able to get some sleep. But Legion also told me a hiker feed was planned for the next day, so I knew the place would be packed¢and I had vowed never to stay at a hiker feed again. Forget it. Fat Man Walking had told me earlier in the day that he was going to stay with his parents and zero there the next day, and that I would be more than welcome to join him. It sounded good and, after some questioning to make absolutely sure that his parents *really* wouldn¢t mind my coming along (I am such a Midwesterner), I agreed. FMW¢s dad, Walter, came and got us and drove us an hour to his house. Walter and Eileen were happy to have me and gave me a room of my own in their large, older home. After a much needed shower and laundry, we went to get take out¢and alcohol¢for dinner. When Walter found out that I occasionally like a gin and tonic he insisted on stocking up his bar, so I got to have a G&T with dinner while the men, of course, had beer. I¢m glad I decided to stay here.