morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-08-17
From: Rutland, VT

To: VT 100 Killington, VT
Miles today: 20.7

(somewhere along the line milage got off- only went 3.3 today but adjusting miles to make total milage accurate)Woke up this morning and went down to get my coffee where I found Serenitina and LJ chatting. They were debating taking a NERO day in order to sort some things out (it's winter gear change over time!) and to give Red Stick a chance to catch up once and for all. So in the end we decided to stay one more night at the Inn at the Long Trail and to just hike the 3 miles to the road crossing at Killington.Was a gorgeous day to be out and was wishing a bit that we had had weather like that the previous day heading over Mt. Killington. Was a nice, short walk today and then Serenitina and I headed over to the post office to pick up some boxes and do the winter gear changeroo. Stopped in at the local market for lunch and me, Serenitina and LJ had a nice little picnic outside the shop. Then we were all able to hitch a ride (thanks to Serenetina's southern charm!) back to the INN in the back of a pick up truck.Well we got back and who showed up shortly after but Red Stick! There were also a ton of other hikers who showed up at the Inn so we found ourselves suddenly in a massive hiker pocket. Was quite a difference from the night before. But was good fun to hang out with everyone, enjoy pub food again and have a drink (room temperature Guiness and Long Trail Ale...mmmmm!)
Date: 2010-08-18
From: VT 100 Killington, VT

To: Lookout cabin
Miles today: 14.2

Morning started out with another lovely breakfast at the Inn. Then Eureka's wife Sue generousely offered to drop us at the trailhead. So off I went with my winter gear on my back (ouch my knees!). Went by some beautiful sights in the morning- kent pond and thunder falls. There was a very steep walk uphill after the falls that was quite challenging and the walk was pretty interesting- at one point there was even a ladder tied to a rock to help us climb down. Saw some cool things during the day as well- a garder snake and some red rasberries- yumm!Ended up staying in a fab spot tonight. A side trail led us to to an empty cabin that hikers can stay at. This cabin had a ladder up the side onto a platform on the roof where we had 360 degree views of all the mountains surrounding us. LJ was a hero and decided to sleep up on the platform and Serentina and I set ourselves up on the porch.Funny story- it is sometimes tricky for us ladies to change modestly in the woods- much more convenient in tents but in shelters or other public places you have to try and change on the sly or ask people to turn around. So I asked LJ and Serenitina would they mind turning around for a minute and they did like the gentleman/lady (respectively of course!) that they are. So I began to change real quick and the second that I had taken my shirt off but who comes around the corner but Achillies and Scat Tracker- d'oh! Was pretty funny as I hadn't seen them in months and what a surprise that was!! Haha. Was excited to see them again and we all had a great night chatting away and sleeping at the cabin.
Date: 2010-08-19
From: Lookout cabin

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke up to watch a gorgeous sunrise from the platform above the cabin- the 360 degree views were great! Headed out and on the road early as well which is always a good feeling. Took a nice long break at the first shelter to have a snack, fill up on water and just generally chill out. As LJ and I headed out to get back on the trail who did we bump into... but Red Stick! Caught us once again! We arrive at a road about 6 miles into the day with a country store not too far off the road. It had a great picnic table so me, LJ and Red Stick had our hiker lunches but bought some (organic!) sodas and fresh pastries from the shop- yumm..... apple turnovers! Then we laid out on the grass in the sunshine to digest... an idyllic afternoon if you ask me!Afternoon was slightly different- there was a straight up (steep!) climb out of the road that the guidebook and maps didn't mention plus the trail seemed to go on longer than the signs suggested (I suspect newly cut trail..). At one point in the afternoon, I thought I heard Red Stick yell and I waited to check and see if he was okay, but it turns out he had been listening to a MLK speech on his ipod and was just getting pumped up and shouting along with the speech! Haha.Had a couple great trail magics today- one was some sodas cooling in a river and the other was a few veggies in a box by the side of the road (I snagged a zucchini to add to dinner!). The walking dragged on longer than I thought it would and was more challenging than I had been expecting, so I was very happy when I rolled into the shelter. And even happier that Serenitina had snagged a great tent spot and already had a fire going. Shared my zucchini in our camp dinners and had a good night hanging out with Serenitina, LJ, Red Stick, One Life, Red Oak, Buttercup, Scat Tracker and Unicroc (aka the former Achillies).
Date: 2010-08-20
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: few clouds

Well woke up this morning with great motivation and had a beautiful walk in the morning. Might have been one of the best moments of walking on the trail- air was cool, ate some berries, crossed through beautiful open fields, sun was shining and yes- I was singing! This is probably how I idealized everyday of my hike to be before I left and even if I only get a handful of days like this while out here- I'll certainly take them and its worth all the tougher ones.About 5 miles into the day, crossed through West Hartford, VT. There was a general store that many of the hikers had stopped in for a treat, but I resisted today in an attempt to save a bit of cash- plus I knew we'd be staying in Hanover this evening. So in an attempt to have a bit of willpower and be good I continued walking. Not 2 minutes later, I walked by a house to see Serenitina sitting on the porch and flagging me over. A very nice local man, Jim, offered us a slice of pie, cheese and a cup of tea so we sat on his front porch and enjoyed a bit of the afternoon with him. Visited for a while and talked Red Sox, but then we had to be hitting the trail as still had many miles to do.Stopped into the Happy Hill shelter for lunch (cute shelter!) and were having a good time chatting with a flip-flopper 'Bar Man' when all of a sudden a massive birch tree fell over about 20 feet from where we were sitting!! Whoa! Those trees are sure loud when they fall and certainly wakes you up! Later in the day me, LJ, Serenitina and Red Stick crossed into out 13th state- New Hampshire! Was a road walk across a bridge to get there and we got quite a few beeps and thumbs up as we crossed which made us feel pretty cool! Hanover was a great town- we got a free slice of pizza from a local restaurant, an offer to stay in a cabin from a lovely couple, a GREAT resupply at the co-op and..... went to the cinema!! woo woo! Have been thinking about going to the movies for quite a while so was excited to see anything. Ended up seeing 'Dinner for Schmucks' with LJ, Golden Ray, Scat Tracker and Unicroc. Then we all camped out on the edge of town near the soccer fields where Red Stick somehow found a soccer ball and some of the guys got a game going.
Date: 2010-08-21
From: Hanover, NH

To: Goose Pond Road
Miles today: 14.2

Slept good on the outskirts of town and got some morning coffee from the local gas station. Ran into Sarene there (lovely lady who offered us her cabin for the night) walking her dogs and we decided to take her up on her offer so we arranged to meet her at a road further up the trail in the afternoon near the cabin. Nice time walking today with Serentina and LJ (Red Stick had things to take care of in town so he was going to follow us). Got a bit of trail magic today from a lovely native couple, Cresent Moon of Many Stars and Anthony, who offered us a cup of hot coffee so drank some nice coffee and chatted with them for a while. We pressed on in the afternoon over Moose Mtn (no moose sightings...) and arrived at the road just in time to meet Sarene. Red Oak and Buttercup also happened to arrive at the same time so we invited them to come stay at the cabin with us as well. It was AMAZING trail magic!! A beautiful house out of the rain, showers, kitchen! She even brought us a basket of (really good!) food to cook ourselves dinner with, beers and a watermelon for desert. So that's just what we did- popped on the radio (ahh... music!), cooked a nice meal, had a couple beers and headed off to bed. All in all a fantastic day!
Date: 2010-08-22
From: Goose Pond Road

To: Fire Wardens Cabin
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: light rain

Had a very lazy morning as it was raining outside (downpouring) and everytime we were about to leave the cozy cabin it would kick up again. So we listened to more folk music on NPR and drank a cup of tea.... after cup of tea... after cup of tea (we decided out team motto was 'tea time is all the time'!). Eventually we sucked it up and acknowledged that we would have to walk in the rain and headed out (its super hard to leave somewhere warm and cozy to head out to talk all day long in rain) and walked the 2 miles back to the trail. We were so grateful to Sarene and her lovely family for letting a few smelly hikers stay in their cabin for the night!So the walk today was very stormy, rainy and cold but so long as you just keep moving it is not really too bad. We came to a sign in the trail that said 'ice cream' and had an arrow pointing to a house across the street, so across the street we went (what excuse for a thruhiker could say no to ice cream even on a cold day!) and had a short break at Bill and Francis' home. As it was such a chilly day, they offered us a cup of hot coffee (mmm... coffee) along with the ice cream that really refreshed our spirits! They've hiked a lot of the area and had a good time chatting to Bill about different kinds of local birds.So leaving the warm, lovely house and heading back out into the rain was just as hard for the second time today. But luckily (or unluckily) we had a challenging climb up to the shelter we planned to stay at. Got there and it was a full house (literally) due to the cold and very wet weather so the 3 of us barely managed to squeeze into the cabin and I'm sleeping tonight wedged in between LJ and Micky (from MA).
Date: 2010-08-23
From: Fire Wardens Cabin

To: Cape Moonshine Road
Miles today: 11.8

Woke up to more of the same weather today- cold, windy and rainy. Took our time getting ready in the morning and headed off for a downhill climb. Had our first river ford today at South Jacobs Brook I think- nothing too major.Stopped in at Hexacube shelter for lunch (which was a super steep 0.3 off the trail) and had a nice lunch with LJ, Scat Tracker and Unicroc. When LJ was getting into the shelter he had a bad fall (due to his newly returned winter gear making his pack taller than anticipated) as he jumped up into the shelter and it knocked him down on the ground pretty bad. I was afraid he might have broken his arm but luckily all was fine- phew! The chill in the air got to us all after a while so back walking on the trail we went.At the end of the day, LJ and I decided spur of the moment to check out an independent community that allowed hikers to camp there. Serenitina decided she wanted to stay at the shelter, so we planned to meet up the next morning and LJ and I walked the mile off the trail to try something a little different. We almost got off on the wrong foot though as we were setting up our tents on a patch of grass someone had directed us to. All of a sudden a women and two friends showed up and was quite upset because apparently it was an important ceremonial ground! Ooops... we apologized and ended up just camping under the gazebo. Had a great night hanging out there. They fed us some chicken soup, popcorn and heard a little bit about the dancing that they do. They also had a real nice outdoor (hot!) shower we were able to use which is always a must for a stinky thruhiker!
Date: 2010-08-24
From: Cape Moonshine Road

To: Jeffers Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: broken clouds

LJ and I were up early for breakfast and then to walk the mile and a half (uphill) back to the trail. Was a gorgeous day and had a nice time hiking with LJ. Lots of section hikers were out and a sign pointing out a nice view of Moosilauke summed it up well saying 'Beware of Tourists' (haha- hiker humour!).Got down to the road at 25 early in the afternoon and spent a few hours at the 'Hikers Welcome Hostel'. They were super nice and hiker friendly. Took the most amazing outdoor shower ever there! Hot water, soap, blue sunny sky and even a towel- ah the luxury!!Got a lift into Warren to resupply before heading into the Whites. In Warren they have one of Boston Globe's wonders of New England- an active missle that is set up between a church and an old school house (random!). Out driver informed us that it's pointed at Yankees Stadium. Me, Serenitina and LJ had a short hike out of the hostel to Jeffers Brook Shelter for an early night. LJ had found some marshmellows in the hiker box and brought them along for a treat. So we had a fire, roasted some marshmellows, chatted with some SOBOs (who had just finished what we were about to begin- the 'dragons mouth' I think I heard someone refer to it as) and headed to bed early. So excited to begin the White Mountains tomorrow!!!
Date: 2010-08-25
From: Jeffers Brook Shelter

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

It was a misty overcast morning but we got an early start to climb up Mt Moosilauke and begin our adventures in the Whites. I had climbed this mountain once in the Winter and had to turn back about 100 feet from the summit because the winds were just too strong, so I remember it being a very tough climb and had prepared myself mentally for that. Since I was expecting it to be super hard, I was actually pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting and I quite enjoyed the climb up. We got up to the summit and stopped to put our raincoats on before going above treeline (so they wouldnt fly away). It was very exciting crossing the summit (and windy and foggy) and I was even more excited to get up this mountain that had defeated me years back. Even held onto the summit sign (so as not be blown away!) and got a photo. Well as we started down the other side of the mountain the rain started falling quite heavily so we decided to call it a day when we got to the shelter. Even though it was early, it was a long way to the next shelter and we had heard it was pretty treacherous going down the north side of the mountain in the rain. So we put on some dry clothes, crawled into our sleeping bags and hung out/read books/etc for the rest of the day. Lots of people had the same idea and tonight we are 14 people squeezed into a shelter made for 8 or 10- cozy! One Life has the unfortunate position though of having everyone's feet by his head- poor guy!
Date: 2010-08-26
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

Early start this morning and down the steep wet climb down the beaver brook trail. It was pretty slick and there were some wooden steps somehow magically stuck into the side of rocks. It was definitely a case where you had to place your trust in the trail maintainers. At one point me and LJ saw down near the waterfall what looked like one of the stairs that had fallen off.. a little scary! Had a couple of falls but nothing major and almost lost one of my poles down into the waterfall but luckily it was rescued.We got down off the hill and saw a sign posted on a tree saying 'trail magic in parking lot ahead' so we ran to the parking lot thrilled... only to find One Life roaming around an empty parking lot. Apparently it must have been an old sign someone forgot to take down- d'oh! Slightly disappointed but no worries. We headed down the road to the Lost River Gorge where we had a cup of coffee, bit of yogurt (yum dairy!) and our lunches at some nice picnic tables while attempting to dry some of our gear in the sun momentarily breaking through.Was pretty positive leaving our lovely lunch spot but the afternoon took a strange turn. Had about 7 miles to go in the afternoon, and it just seemed to go on forever... The terrain was very rocky and muddy and I probably fell over about 26 times (not sure why vermont is vermud- had nothing on the mud we've encountered in new hampshire so far!). It wasnt anything major but my legs were pretty tired and I was just getting slightly grumpy and just ready to get into camp for the night. It seemed our pace was slowed to nearly 1 mile/hour where we are used to 2-3 mph, which was super frustrating, and the elevation didnt even seem like it would be anything too difficult. At the end of the day, we saw a sign and we were so relieved to have FINALLY reached the shelter. Until we got to the sign and it said the shelter was another mile ahead- d'oh! Got there in the end though to a very crowded site- LJ and I got the last tent spots and even though they were in mud puddles I couldn't have cared less!
Date: 2010-08-27
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 8.9

Cold morning, so I got up at the usual time (6:30), packed up, had some breakfast and headed out to get my body moving and warm myself up. We were climbing the Kinsmans today and the climb up South Kinsman was pretty steep and challenging but fun! I had probably only been walking an hour when LJ caught up to me (he is so fast!) so it was great to have company to chat as we walked. Unfortunatly we had left too early and both Kinsman peaks were socked in with clouds (still havent had a view yet in the Whites). For a second on South Kinsman, I thought the clouds might move and give us a view but they just rolled back in.Stopped in at Lonesome Lake Hut for lunch and enjoyed a bit of the soup they had for sale for about $2. Hung out for a while there and chatted with all the other thruhikers coming through. Took our time and had a nice break, as the morning had been tough (and slippery- fell over a bunch of course), we only had a few (easy I hear) miles to go and then into town for the evening!So eventually headed out following the river and eventually crossing under I-93. I headed off to the parking lot and was able to get a ride into Woodstock with a lovely couple who were day hiking- where I met with 3 of my good friends from high school who had driven up so we could have a girl's night! Was fantastic- showered (obviously), had a nice dinner, drinks at the pub, bit of champagne and of course- caught up on lots of gossip I've been missing out on! My friend Betsy even made me a little town purse as a gift out of a handkerchief (so crafty that one!) so now I'm definitely styling in town with my dress, shades and purse!
Date: 2010-08-28
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: Greenleaf Hut
Miles today: 6.3

Even with staying up late, was still up at 6:30 so started packing my stuff, made a little coffee in the room and sat out on the porch with Shannon as we drank our coffee and chatted. Woodstock Inn put on a delicious morning breakfast and we were gonna head to the hot tub but it turned out to be a mile or two away so gave that a miss in the end. Was great spending time with the girls and it went by too quick! Did a little resupply in the morning and then got dropped off in the parking lot (which I didn't realize was the wrong one and walked a mile back to the trail- oops!).Anyhoo, was a great day for climbing and fueled by coffee and blueberry pancakes I flew up Little Haystack Mtn. Met Serenitina and LJ again at the tentsite near the summit. We decided to do a little extra today and head over to Mt Liberty (I'm not a serious peak bagger, but I do have a 4,000 footers list... and we were right there...). Had a scenic lunch and then continued on to cross Franconia ridge. We were very lucky with a beautiful day for views on this spectacular ridge walk. We got to the top of Mt Lafayette and met a few other hikers who were going to attempt to sleep on the summit since it was such a beautiful night. It was after 6, and since our pace has been slower in the whites, the next campsite was not for another 4 miles, we werent sure how long the ridge walk went on for and we didnt want to get caught out above treeline when dark came, LJ, Serenitina and I begrudgingly walked the mile off-trail (and down 1000 feet i might add!) to greenleaf hut to attempt to do our first work-for-stay there (there were no good stealth spots in between). It was a good first stay at the hut, but apparently there had been a few thruhikers who had ditched their work the night before so we got the distinct feeling that the staff were not too happy to have us there. Nothing we can do about that aside from doing a good job on our work the next day!
Date: 2010-08-29
From: Greenleaf Hut

To: stealth campsite
Miles today: 8.2

Was up early this morning but couldn't do too much aside for waiting off to the side for guests to eat their breakfast and staff to clean up before we could have our breakfast and begin our chores. Took longer than expected and we weren't able to leave til after 10:30. So then we began our long climb back up to the trail. Was slightly frustrated as I was walking up the hill about starting so late and wondering how far we would be able to get today. As I came around the bend and up to the top of Lafayette again, what did I see in front of me.... but Red Stick! Not just standing there, but standing on top of the highest rock with the biggest smile on his face- it was hilarious!!! Of course he would be up there- the man certainly know how to make an entrance! So we were all so excited to meet back up with Red Stick, Wood Wrangler and Joe. Walk today was good- terrain was pretty tough and there was a lot of small elevation changes but overall I felt pretty good. Was pretty tired near the end of the day and stopped in at Galehead Hut to have a cup of coffee with LJ and we chatted to Peru and Radar who were doing work for stay that evening. Was a nice hut but we had heard it was a tough climb up south twin so wanted to get that out of the way and go a little further before stopping for the evening. After our coffee, we set off up the mountain, which turned out to not be as bad as we had been warned about. Maybe it was the coffee (gives me a great kick for hiking!) but I quite enjoyed it. Probably walked a mile or so from there and LJ scouted out a great little stealth spot. Serenitina and Hot Sauce also came by and joined us and it was a nice, peaceful night.