morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-27
From: Tucker-Johnson Shelter

To: Rutland 
Miles today: 18.4

I am staying on the third level of a home that houses 25 people. This is the section of the house where the single females are stashed until they marry. Like clockwork, all of the women get up to individual alarms that go off within minutes of each other. The commune gathers on the ground floor for their daily 7 AM prayer service. I sleep in.George, the trail angel that got me into this situation, has left me his number in case I needed a ride back to the trail. I do, and I call. George wants to take me on a tour of the Rutland area. How can you turn that down?! We cover a lot of sights in just a few hours: the fish hatchery, an art gallery, Wilson Castle, and the Verpol Plant (where calcium carbonate is ground into a powder and added to household items i.e. toothpaste, cheerios, band-aids). It is wonderful to see all the parts of town I never would have found on foot. He drops me off on the trail before noon. It is hard to believe everything I've experienced in the last 12 hours. All I did was walk to the Whistle Stop to get a burger, and this mini adventure swept me off the trail! Back on the trail I am still able to cover some ground despite my late start. Today is the last miles in the Green Mountains. I have had limited views and rain every day! I am pushing daylight to make it to the Tucker-Johnson, a shelter that is technically on the Long Trail. The Long Trail and the AT split at "Maine Junction," and the shelter is .4 of a mile off the AT. If I get up and head north tomorrow morning, as I have done for months, I will end up in Canada, where the Long Trail ends. Tempting...Canada is much closer than Maine! It is a full shelter tonight, due to the holiday weekend. Everyone promises to remind me to head south in the AM. There is more rain in the night.
Date: 2005-05-28
To: Killington, Vermont
Miles today: 0.0

Hello all!Yes, I've fallen way behind on the journal updates, but I'm still making progress out here on the trail. I am almost through the state of Vermont. I have literally walked back into winter, as the weather welcoming me to Vermont was a wintery mix of cold temperatures, rain, and even a little bit of snow on the peaks!I'll be working on my updates in the next week, as the trail goes right through several towns. I am shooting for an early July finish, likely over the independance day holiday. You will hear more from me soon!
Date: 2005-05-28
From: Tucker-Johnson Shelter

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

I may have reached some sort of hiker¢s nirvana today, and I found it in a 9 mile day! Nine miles being the key. It started off with waking up from the sun, the unfamiliar sun, shining right in this east-facing shelter. It is so much easier getting out of the sleeping bag when the sun is out. Clouds in the distance threaten a different future, but for now there is sun. A short walk and the AT goes right through Gifford Woods State Park--full with holiday weekend campers.The park staff is real friendly, giving me directions to the local library and telling me about the nearby town of Killington. I use the parks payphone and soda machine, skip the showers (it¢s only been one day), and then I walk with Uncle Walt--A Whitman look-a-like heading north, 1/2 mile down the road to Killington. I was seeking a deli sandwich, but found ice cream instead and returned to the trail.The trail follows Kent Pond, a large lake also busy with weekend recreators. I see a couple kayaking and I am jealous! I would love to be floating in a boat and not walking for a change! I¢ll need a new hobby when this hike is over, and kayaking it may be.After an hour of walking, the trail crosses River Road which brings you into a residential part of Killington and the local library. I spend a couple hours updating trailjournals and reading email. I am hopelessly behind on my journal! The library closes and 1PM and I return to the trail. There is a lot of elevation gain and loss, but more switchbacks then I had anticipated for New England. My short day ends at the nearest shelter. Hiker¢s Nirvana, found in a nine mile day! Time to walk to town for ice cream, time to call home, time to use the library, and still made northward progress! For once my feet don¢t hurt, for once I¢m not limping the last miles of the day. I feel good and I have enough energy to sweep out the whole shelter--cleaning for my shelter-mates Uncle Walt and Mud Elephant who arrive later. And what¢s a great day on the trail without an evening of trail tales? Mud Elephant thru-hiked back in 1994, and Uncle Walt has hiked from Georgia to New Hampshire, and then there¢s me. There are none-stop AT stories! One person¢s story triggering the next, at times we are even cutting eachother off when there is a better story to take over! As is the unspoken rule, the wild party tapers off by Hiker's Midnight (dark), when the snoring begins.And then it rained during the night.
Date: 2005-05-29
From: Stony Brook

To: Stealth Camping
Miles today: 14.4

Mud Elephant and Uncle Walt are both "famous snorers" on the AT. If you have a sleepless night on the trail you talk about it. Word spreads up and down the trail and if you are a snorer, and if you spend enough time in trail shelters, you will become famous too. Since I'm a heavy sleeper, we can joke about this. I was elected the judge, and in the morning I award Mud Elephant with "most unusual noises," and Uncle Walt gets "most consistent." Rain, rain. Again in the morning, making it so easy to sleep in until 7 AM. Mud Elephant is taking the day off in the shelter to escape the rain and finish Steven Kings' AT book--really I think he's freaked out about hiking after reading that novel.With the rain comes the fog and overcast skies. Am I going to walk thru the whole state of Vermont without a view? "Trail to the Lookout," .2 mile off the AT, why bother?Today the shelter spacing makes for a 10 or 20 mile day. I decide to violate my "just say no to twenties" rule and set out for the big 2-0 when I get to the first shelter early. My mind might want to hike 20 miles, but my feet protest. I am in pain after 15, so I wonder off into the woods and throw up the tent. Actually, it's amazing I made it past the highway into Woodstock. I am real low on food, but I decide to push on to the next town. I was rushed the last time I shopped, and I only bought a 2lb jar of peanut butter, crackers, and butterfingers. These three ingredients have been my breakfast-lunch-and dinner for the last three days!My stealth camp isn't far from the trailhead. I stop as soon as I find a water source. I'm on my way back from getting enough water so I don't have to move for the next 10 hours when another hiker "Nine Lives," spots me. He shouts out causing me to jump three feet! It's the first person I've seen all day. "Are you Heidi," he asks, "I've been looking for you." He is heading south, and has been collecting trail gossip from NOBOs. Someone ahead of me is passing down my legacy--my claim to fame is Giardia and my January 1 start date. I still haven't gotten used to strangers on the trail repeating a string of facts about me before they even introduce themselves. Trail culture at it's best! We talk for a good 20 minutes. As I later reflect, I realize that all we talked about was food and where the best food spots to stop along the trail are. I am beginning to wonder if I have the ability to carry on a conversation that doesn't involve the trail or food!
Date: 2005-06-01
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

There is sun today for the first time in 11 days! With the sun comes the bugs. The mosquitoes are hungry, keeping me moving down the trail. There is trail magic in the morning on Cory Road: a bunch of bananas sitting on a boulder! I eat two on my way up Moose Mountain. Not far from the summit I see my first AT porcupine right on the trail. The tourist in me reaches for my camera, then I am jogging down the trail trying to catch Porky, Nobo-in-it down the trail! My thru-hiking legs still can't keep up with the local wildlife. The shelter near Moose Mountain has a pretty sweet view for my lunch break.The trail drops off Moose Mountain, passes through some swamp land, then goes up. The climbing seems steep up to Holt's Ledge. I am sweating out of every pore of my body in the afternoon sun. Good views from the Ledge. Holt's Ledge is falcon habitat with closed areas protecting the nesting sites. I take a long break at a scenic overlook, taking in the big views and waiting for the falcons to stop by. I am there for nearly an hour without any sightings. I did here a nearby "squuuuaw," to which I replied "squuuaw," but nothing happened.Trapper John Shelter is just below the ledge, and it is not too late in the day when I arrive but I stay anyway. Time to lighten my load and finish my book. Trapper John Shelter has a nearby fireplace and chimney, as if an entire house used to be here and this is the remnants. I look around the shelter and read the register, looking for clues to the historical significance of the place. I find none. Anyone know the story of Trapper John?
Date: 2005-06-02
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: few clouds

The click-click-click of approaching hiking poles, a whirl of leaves, a blast of air--a blur of what might be another skinny, bearded NOBO passing Hydro-Heidi. Two more today! Okay, they didn't blast by as I'm making it sound, but they will. They are actually here at the Hexacuba Shelter with me. "Robin" and "Just Mark" both started over a month after me. Robin did today what took me two days! I've settled on naming this recent wave of NOBO's the March Marathon Men. They are strong and fast hikers, and they really do run marathons in their pre-trail lives. Robin has even run an Ultra Marathon. If you are like me, you might be saying "what is an Ultra Marathon?" It is a 100-mile race. I didn't know the human body could physically do this! I know mine can't. Anyway, I am not sure that the March Marathon Men are human.Today was hard, despite it's length. There are no switchbacks. Smarts Mountain was the hardest part of the day, but also the best. The air is real humid, and I think I've sweat every once of fluid out of me by the time I summit. The firetower at the summit offers panoramic vistas of the White Mountains. The mountains I have just crossed are small rolling hills, the whites are jagged tall peaks. I can't wait to get there! I am looking forward to the Whites in the same way you look froward to a vacation:   I'm going above timberline for the first time on the AT! I spend a long time resting, drying off and taking in the views from the firetower. Then an even longer break at the firewarden's cabin just 200 feet away. Someone has left the May issue of Backpacker Magazine and I pass an hour reading an article about Scott Williamson, the hiker who yo-yoed the PCT last year. I am thru-hiking one trail and dreaming of another. I put the magazine in my pack and hike with it to Hexacuba. When I pull the magazine out later, I am amused to read a short article debating what smells worse: a Stink Bug, a Skunk, or a Thru-hiker. I believe the skunk won that competition. Nice to know we're on the same level.
Date: 2005-06-03
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Glencliff
Miles today: 14.7

Hexacuba shelter is a hexagon if I must point out the obvious. The geometric theme extends to the "Penta-Privy." I am still on Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) managed trail. The DOC is hands down the most creative trail maintainers.   Privys jazzed up with window curtains, wood chairs with back rests instead of toilet seats, even a privy with a drawbridge.   The DOC trail is also decorated with unusual trail signs: "beware of tourists," and "no unicycles," and mileage signs that should never be trusted. Yesterday I read a mileage sign telling me how far Rome was from the spot I was standing!Back to the Hexacuba Shelter, because it is 5 AM and we are just beginning to wake up . I am watching Robin, as I expected him to be crippled after a 30-mile day. He seems fine. Mt. Cube is the immediate climb of the day. I have a head-start, but Robin and Just Mark are right on my tail. We all congregate for a mini-photo session at the summit. Not so much because the view is unusual, more because each of us rarely has other people to photograph!I hike off and on with Just Mark most of the day. Our paces seem to be right on and we both have plans of staying at ht Hiker's Welcome Hostel in Glencliff. If it is open. We've both learned not to expect these luxuries to be open, but can't help dreaming aloud the anticipated luxuries. The mosquitos abound, biting even when we move at a brisk pace. DEET, an essential this time of year, is applied numerous times. The sky is clear, but we keep hearing thunder in the distance as if the Whites are getting their own private weather. When we step out on highway 25, Robin is returning from the hostel, eating candy bars on his way back to the trail before he jogs another 12 miles. What an athlete!It's the end of my day. I can't pass up a place like Hiker's Welcome. There are rows and rows of movies, not to mention an awesome caretaker: Phat Chap. We spend the rest of the night indulging in everything we'd been dreaming of all day: salad, pizza, ice cream, beer. Though it is extremely redundant to watch an AT video while hiking the AT, I watch a video made by Lion King in 2003 because Phat Chap is really talking it up. It is a very realistic tour of an AT thru-hike; the miseries, the highlights, the weather extremes. I was surprised to see a familiar face--Alpha had a 30-second clip!
Date: 2005-06-04
From: Glencliff, NH

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: broken clouds

I guess it is time to share the trail. I've entered the White Mountain National Forest which gets more annual visitors than Yosemite and Yellowstone combined. Knowing this, I still wasn't prepared for the crowds of Saturday hikers on the summit of Mount Moosilauke. Moosilauke is the first mountain above treeline for a NOBO, 1780 miles into the hike. Panoramic vistas on this clear day, giving me a preview of my next few days of rugged hiking. Getting to the top of Moosilauke was no easy chore. The first morning miles are easy as I walk thru the last pasture on my northbound adventure. No more agriculture! Then the trail goes up, and up, and...up. I am focused on the physical effort, when I realize I haven't seen a white blaze in a while. I keep walking for 10 more minutes, still no blazes. I am reluctant to backtrack as I've been walking a steep uphill for 30 minutes, but I do. Only when I run into other dayhikers did I turn around and walk the steep mile uphill again. Still no white blazes on my second pass-thru! Such unproductive hiking has me a bit put-off, but the summit of Moosilauke is worth twice the climb! I spend an hour at the summit on this warm and sunny afternoon, taking in the clear views and answering thru-hiking questions. If the entire WMNF is this busy, I'll be doing more talking than walking! I recognize Franconia Ridge and Mount Washington is a faint outline in the distance. This landscape is incredible! These are real mountains, humbling anything I have seen on the AT south of Moosilauke!Beaver Brook Shelter is just below the summit with another view so stunning I just had to spend the night here. I can see Franconia Ridge from my thermarest. I am content passing the afternoon and evening watching the clouds build up, then drift away, watching the sun stain the peaks a darker and darker pink. Ahhh...this is what I dreamed hiking the AT would be like!
Date: 2005-06-05
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Kinsman Pond
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

The sun rose over Franconia Ridge before 5...I opened my eyes long enough to snap a picture. This is one of the most scenic shelters I have stayed in. The bright sun gets me out of the sleeping bag early. I get up, make a bagel-cheese-peanut butter sandwich, pack up and then glance at my watch. It is only 6:30! The early start makes me think I can hike a ways today, maybe catch up to Just Mark. Ha! Not in the White Mountains! The descent off Moosilauke to Kinsman Notch is 1.5 miles. This distance took me 1.5 hours! Meticulously slow, the trail follows a cascading waterfall. The trail has the same grade as this cascading waterfall! There is incredible trail work done to assist the hiker: metal bars, wooden planks lodged into stone faces, chiseled foot and hand holds. It is a relief to be able to walk at a normal pace after Kinsman Notch, not that that would last long. I slow down my pace to a crawl--literally as I climb up South Kinsman. I am intentionally using the word crawl. The trail up Kinsman is climbing, not hiking, and it is as steep as a trail can be. Every bend in the trail reveals another vertical boulder field. I am exhausted, dripping in sweat, and yes, maybe a little frustrated. Okay, maybe very frustrated. I believe this is the first time I've shouted explicits at the trail! But then, I eventually get to the top, and the view is nice.   North Kinsman looks like it might be another battle, but I get there walking on two feet, not down on all four. Mean while I pass a group from Harvard heading to my destination: Kinsman Pond. Kinsman Pond has several tent platforms and a giant shelter . The "pond" is again actually a large lake, reflecting South Kinsman on the lake's surface. The caretaker is not out for the season , so I save the $8 fee.
Date: 2005-06-07
From: Green Leaf Hut

To: Guyot Campsite
Miles today: 9.4

The Greenleaf crew does a wake up call--the three workers get out the guitar and sing at 6:30AM. Not that I needed it, the smell of eggs and pancakes conjured me out of bed long before. The weather looks pretty promising. After breakfast I finish my work-for-stay chores: sweeping the dining room and bunkhouse. Then I'm climbing Lafayette...again! Forty minutes of an uphill grind and I'm finally back on the AT. The ridge is cloud free and less windy--30 degrees by the Leki-meter. Still strong, but not as intense as yesterday. As the trail drops back into the trees, it is icy and snow covered in places, but can be stepped around without leaving the trail. Mt. Garfield is the next climb, wooded until the peak. What a difference the trees make in breaking the wind. I run around the summit taking several self-timer photos, adding a human scale to this grand landscape. The trail has been quiet people -wise since Moosilauke. I was expecting heavier traffic...no complaints though! I stop at Galehead Hut early afternoon to refill my water bottles. The cook sees my yellow-stained water containers and warns me about using iodine for long periods of time. She advises that I eat yogurt whenever I am in town to help replace the good bacteria in my stomach. More eating in town, no problem.One more peak to climb today: South Twin Mountain. After this climb the word on the trail is that it is smooth walking to the Zealand Hut. My stomach wants to hike there, but my feet are shouting their usual afternoon protests. The feet always win.I stay at Guyot campsite tonight, another long walk off the AT. The caretaker "Huff" just arrived on site for the season. He gives me reports on the March Marathon Men ahead of me. E was seen four days ago moving at a brisk pace, and Just Mark is a full day ahead of me now. Huff is the fourth AMC worker that has completed a thru-hike. Not a prerequisite, but it sure seems to help getting a job in the Whites with a thru-hike under your belt.
Date: 2005-06-08
From: Guyot Shelter

To: Saco River
Miles today: 12.0

Today I wake up and just start heading north. No more trying to make plans thru the Whites--just follow the blazes and see what kind of obstacles are in store today. I am walking along, almost to Zealand Hut when I catch a glimpse of something big and brown. Reflexively I think "Horse." Not in the whites! It's got to be a moose or a bear, so putting the tourist in me before safely, I pull out my camera and tip-toe around the bend. Moose! After walking through 3,000 piles of moose scat, finally I see one! He bolts into the trees as soon as I am visible. This has me bouncing down the trail, telling everyone I see of my sighting. At Zealand Hut I tank up on water and scrounge for leftovers. Cold lasagna...yum! Then the trail follows an old railbed for miles. Flat and absolutely no rocks. As I drop down in elevation, the bugs come back. Keep on moving. Crawford Notch is the last crossing before a sharp accent to the Presidential Range. The afternoon cloud buildup is dark and the wind is strong even down in the notch. I don't want another repeat of the lightening scare on Franconia Ridge so I set up camp near the Saco River, not far from the road. To my delight, my guidebook informs me of a store one mile down the road. I'm going out tonight and I'm leaving my pack at home! Willie State Park Visitor Center and Snack House (w/ payphone) is just down the road. It is raining by now, but my tent is already set up and my gear is stashed inside.
Date: 2005-06-09
From: Saco River

To: Lakes of the Clouds
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: broken clouds

The day starts with a 2000-foot climb from the Saco River bottom to the Webster cliffs, followed by another 1000-foot climb up to the summit of Mount Webster. Great places to stealth camp along the Webster cliffs and on the way to Webster. After Webster is Mount Jackson. Many steep rock obstacles, much easier on the uphill than the downhill. I am finding myself dangling from roots, trees, rocks, whatever I can grab to gain more traction. I wish I had more patience for these New England trails, but it is a far cry from the hiking trails I am used to. The scenery is spectacular, but these trails are chewing me up and spitting me out. More mentally than physically. I¢m at a point in my hike where the end is literally almost in sight, and I am moving slower than ever! I know, I know, it is amazing that trails even exist in these rugged mountains. That is why I¢m annoyed with my attitude! Did I mention I split my shorts open today? Mizpah Hut is a lovely break. A bottomless bowl of soup for $2 and AYCE baked goods for $1: banana bread, whole wheat bread, and chocolate cake, all of which were great. The crew is giving me a NOBO update. Yesterday they had a NOBO pass through: ¢skinny, bearded, male, lots of bug bites of his legs¢¦¢ Gee, that narrows it down!In contrast to the morning hike, the afternoon hike was heaven! The sun is out, there is a light wind (0-degrees by the Leki-meter), great views of the Southern Presidentials. The trail is smooth walking. I can¢t stop taking pictures and I believe my mouth was open all afternoon. This scenery is breathtaking.I am at the Lake of the Clouds, a Hut just below Mt. Washington, by 2:00. The weather doesn¢t look to promising, so I decide to do work-for-stay at the Hut. My chore is 30 minutes of dishwashing. Not bad, but it felt very strange to work!This hut has been called ¢Lake of the Crowds,¢ as it can hold up to 90 guests. Tonight there are 45 people: a trail crew and a school group. Noise levels are high, an unusual scene for my usual quiet nights. It is close quarters when everyone piles in as the rain begins.