morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-08-06
From: South Highland Road

To: NY 52
Miles today: 18.5

August 6, Race to the FinishMelk's parents dropped us off at the trail around 8:30 a.m. and we startedhiking north. The terrain was really pretty decent today and I did the first sixmiles in about two and a half hours.I stopped at Canopus Lake for lunch and a break to wait for Melk and Yellow Snow Man. The sky was overcast and it seemed like it would rain any minute. The lakewas beautiful though.I headed out at noon and arrived at the shelter seven miles later around 2:30p.m. It was a great shelter - carpeted, office chairs, etc. I spent quite a bitof time there as we left around 5:15 for the last stretch. It never did rain much worse than a mist today which I was very thankful for.Melk's uncle, Bert, and cousin, Tom, hiked in to meet us and we finished the dayaround 6:30 p.m.It was a good day. I'd wanted to get it over with so I tried to move prettyswiftly all day. The terrain was pretty forgiving which thrilled me to no end.One neat thing I did see today was on top of Shenandoah Mtn. - someone hadpainted an American flag on a rock slab and dedicated it to the memory of Sept.11. What an interesting thing to find on the top of a mountain.Back at Melk's aunt and uncle's house, we had lasagna for dinner - it wasdelicous. I could definitely get used to this. - Sound of bugs singing outside.Post Trail Thoughts:I remember all I wanted to do that day was get the miles in, get back to Melk's family's house, and relax. Melk and Yellow Snow Man weren't really on board with that so I spent a lot of time just hanging out on the trail that day - which was also nice.I believe the great shelter we stopped at was RPH Shelter where they had four walls, office chairs, bunks, a table and some reading material. Hop-A-Long was there so it was good to hang out for a bit. Also, if I remember correctly, there was a bridge right before that shelter called "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and it had just recently been completed by former thrus. Nice bridge. Good day.
Date: 2007-08-07
From: Appalachian Trail Station/NY52

To: NY 22
Miles today: 14.6

August 7, Last Full Day in NYI've been slacking with writing my journal each night this week and now, a couple of days later, I can only vaguely remember the details of this day.I know it started early and it was a nice and glorious day. Melk's uncle, Bert, dropped us off at NY 52 and we started the hike around 8:30 a.m.We took our first break at the Morgan Stewart Shelter - a quick one - and then headed on. We stopped again at Nuclear Lake - a beautiful spot. We were there with Root Down, Crocket, Spartan, Dog Man, etc.After that was our final push to NY 22. It was a quick day and I got to the AT Train Stop (about a tenth of a miles from the road) by 4 p.m. I was so glad the hiking was over for the day. The terrain was nice and so was the weather and really it was an enjoyable day. The only tough part was when I blasted my head against a rock that was overhead. I screamed out but, luckily, no one was around. Back at Melk's aunt and uncle's house, we showered ordered Chinese, and watched Forrest Gump while sipping merlot. I promise, hiking is hard. It's been really tough this week adjusting to all of the home cooked meals, the fresh fruit, a daily shower, packed lunches, and a clean comfortable bed. What will I do when this all goes away? - Sound of Forrest Gump.Post Trail Thoughts:I didn't realize it at the time, I don't think, but we slackpacked all of New York. Melk and I now agree that this was completely ridiculous and, though I don't necessarily regret, it probably was a little to the detriment of our hikes.I do remember hiking on lots of pallets that day through a swampy area leading up to the AT Station and seeing a note warning of wasps.I also know that I was utterly joyful to be watching Forrest Gump, drinking red wine and relaxing that night. Oh happy day.
Date: 2007-08-09
From: CT 341

To: Home!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

August 9, Heading Home!It's 5:37 a.m. and I should be sleeping - because I can - but I can't fall back asleep. I am too excited. I get to go home today!I am headed home for my college roomate, Lindsay's, wedding and while I'm there, I'll be getting things together for my own. It's all very exciting. I'll see friends and family that I haven't seen in almost five months. Not to mention I get a break from hiking for FOUR WHOLE DAYS! Glorious.I think I'll waste time by showering - because I can....I am being taunted. We are sitting on the runway at Bradley International Airport because we have to wait out some of the rain in Detroit. Oye. Take me home! While I have this time, a few things come to mind...Hiking has definitely become more of a chore lately. I am still having a great time but the looming deadline for Katahdin demands big miles, day in and day out. It's getting pretty tiring. We are all hoping this small break will do our minds and bodies well.Which reminds me, I should give an A-Team update. Young Eagle still cannot walk without pain. He will likely need quite a bit more time before he joins us again - sad. Ronin is at his parent's home in New Jersey resting. He had not been feeling well and decided he needed more than just a weekend off. Melk headed home to Rhode Island for the weekend (we are taking off!) with Yellow Snow Man. Ronin will meet her there at some point this weekend. She will collect me from the airport on Sunday and we will head back to her aunt and uncle's place to slackpack for a few more days....Writing this later but...the rest of my day consisted of zooming around southeast Michigan to have a dress altered and then off to a dinner with most everyone in my family. Very nice. My dad was pretty excited and I'm pretty sure he thought he could convince me to stay. Nope...more hiking.
Date: 2007-08-12
From: Home

To: New Milford, CT
Miles today: 0.0

August 12, Back to the TrailWell, the weekend home flew by in a blink. Friday was spent with my mom creating a wedding registry and then heading to Flint for the rehearsal and dinner.Saturday was the wedding and all of the activities - it was a blast. We ate really well all day long and then lived it up at the reception at night. I limped around most of the time and was laughed at for my "backpack tan". Quite fun.It was really tough to leave home today but it was also really good to know this is the final push until I get to go home for good. I'm glad to be doing this but my mind has been wandering home quite a bit.I feel more tired than I did when I left. Oye.
Date: 2007-08-13
From: CT 341

To: West Cornwall Road
Miles today: 15.9

August 13, OyeAnd so the slackpacking continues... Melk, Ronin and I headed to the trail this morning with Uncle Bert and mad a stop by the local outfitter to see if they had my socks (no avail).We started hiking around 9:30 a.m. and it began with a climb right away. Argh, was it hard to get back in the swing of things today. By the time we hit our first break at Caleb's Peak four miles into the hike, I was already whipped. We stopped for a bit there and then carried on about six miles. We walked along the Housatonic River for about five miles and it was very flat and nice. The last stretch of the day was tough - six miles of nothing but a rollercoaster ride. I was pretty beat. When I finally got to West Cornwall Road, I wanted to kiss it. This day really was rough on me. My head is still back home in Michigan and I actually feel more exhausted than when I left for home. I'm not sure how to resolve this. I am just tired and the hiking is making me even more tired.Time for dinner...Oh, and thank you to Mom and Dad Melk who mailed me my trekking poles and a new pair of socks! I REALLY appreciate it.- Sound of Melk singing and talking about her "lining dance". Post Trail Thoughts:This day is almost a complete blur - but for a few things. I remember we ran into Yellow Snow Man almost immediately, though I can't remember where or how that all came togther so smoothly. I remember Caleb's Peak - a clearing of some grass and larger boulders and I remember stopping along the trail later in the day just before a dirt road.This also seems to be the beginning of the rock solid wall I hit in CT/MA. At a point, I actually thought I could have Lyme Disease but I now think it was the cumulative impact of slackpacking/late nights/early mornings/traveling/heat/and time off. I'm not sure if I ever really got my groove back.
Date: 2007-08-14
From: West Cornwall Road

To: CT 41
Miles today: 17.5

August 14, It's a great day to hike.Congratulations, Chris and Heather on your new baby, Nathan! I can't wait to meet him.We got up today and headed out for our last day of slackpacking. Sad but true. It was a nice day though.There was a lovely stretch of trail along the Housatonic that was virtually flat and had benches peppered along the way. I sat at one for a few minutes to enjoy the scenery which was beautiful. So far, I really love Connecticut. There have been some challenges but overall it has been lovely.We took a break near a hydroelectric plant for lunch and then continued on.I don't remember too many other things about the day other than running into Bigby, Tater, Jake, Grizzle and Candy Bar which was nice since we haven't seen a ton of people other than southbounders the past couple of days. We also passed through some pretty great fields and did a bit of scenic road walking.It was a pretty nice day of hiking followed by another lovely evening at Melk's aunt and uncle's house.- Don't recall the sounds.Post Trail Thoughts:Since we were slackpacking and I'd be able to charge my phone later that night, I left my phone on that day so Eric could call me with the news of Nathan. It was an exciting call to receive in the middle of the woods though I was a little sad to be so far away. I think I'll always remember where I was at that moment.I'll also probably always remember the wonderfully flat trail along the Housatonic with the various benches. It was such an inviting little nature walk. It was that day that a southbounder we met called the trail in Connecticut "mellow". I would soon learn what he meant as the trail only intensified from CT north.At our break near the hydroelectric plant, we read a trail register there and found lots of humor. Melk and I would also find a lot of humor later that day when we reached Giant's Thumb and got silly.When we finished that day, we were sitting at the parking area to be picked up and there were signs hung on the trees that were looking for an older gentleman that had dimentia and had wandered off. It was sad to see. I hope they found him.
Date: 2007-08-16
From: Hemlocks Lean-to

To: Tom Leonard Lean-to
Miles today: 14.5

August 16, 1,500 Miles!I slept in today and it felt great. We didn't start walking until 9 a.m. but it was a nice day.The trail was hilly for a bit and then it really flattened out for about six miles. I'm loving the pine needle carpeted forests here in Mass. Melk and I stopped to celebrate the 1,500 mile mark before a gigantic downhill - I made the marker out of pine cones which was very new and exciting. Anyway, I can't believe my short legs have walked 1,500 miles. It really is far. I thought about walking to Kincora - far. I thought about walking in the Smokies - far. Everything is far from here.We had lunch on the bridge at Hubbard Brook - delicious bread with pancetta and ghouda. Mmm. And then we walked two miles to a farm stand for some fresh fruits and vegetables. I had a delicious peach, a Snapple and a pint of chocolate ice cream. Come to think of it, this was a good day for eating!We hiked on around 4 p.m. and the six miles to the shelter were pretty brutal. It's as if the trail is announcing itself to us saying, "you're in the mountains again. Brace yourself!" There was a gigantic climb and lots of rocks. I thought the shelter might never come. But, alas, it did and I survived another day of the Katahdin Death March. My tent site here is pretty neat - hope it provides much rest.It was a good day but we are all just beat all of the time. It's been quite a lull of energy lately and when I wake up, I dream of more sleep. So, I am off to bed.PS - The mosquitoes in Mass are malicious and many.- Sound of many bugs and an airplane.Post Trail Thoughts:Oh, I cringe when I think about what happens next. And I'm not cringing because I missed the miles, I'm cringing because it still makes me uncomfortable to think about how low I was at that point on the trail. I didn't know it then but I was about to hit my lowest low.But before that, we had to eat! And boy did I eat good that day. I think the farm stand we stopped at was called the Corn Crib. It was heavenly. And they had ice cream. We spent a few hours there with Pinball Wizard and his sidekick whose name I can't recall. It was tough to leave but we left. I did not handle the re-entry to the mountains very well. It was an overwhelming feeling because everyone around us was saying how we were about to start hitting tough mountains again and all I could think about was how tired I was. I couldn't fathom hiking fifteen miles each day and, at that point, that's about how many we needed to do.I enjoyed that night at the shelter - there was quite a crowd including a man from Ireland if I remember correctly. And there was a little hike down to the water too. Gorgeous camping and pine needle carpeted space everywhere. I felt a bit lonely that night after Melk and Ronin went to sleep.
Date: 2007-08-18
From: Tyringham, MA

To: Lee, MA
Miles today: 0.0

August 18, Zero in LeeI woke up around 6:30 a.m. this morning and could not fall back asleep. I had slept on a picnic table under a pavilion and was just enjoying being all curled up in my down bag. A storm had come through just as we went to sleep last night and the whole night was pretty windy and cool. In fact, as I laid there I decided it felt like a perfect fall day - crisp and cool - and that we needed to go to the apple orchard.I just laid there until everyone else got up and thought about how I really wanted to take the day off. Ronin got up and started working on his journal and then Melk and Yellow Snow Man got up too. I finally crawled out of my bag and added some layers - it was only 50 degrees out! I made some hot tea for everyone and we all sort of lazed around the pavilion. It felt pretty luxurious actually. I didn't even have to say anything out loud either - everyone else was already thinking about zeroing. It was great. It really made my day knowing we'd just relax and rest.So we enjoyed our hot tea and chocolate and packed up our things. Melk and I headed out to the road to head up the hitching attempt and we were pretty sucessful - one guy stopped but couldn't fit all four of us in his car. Luckily another guy stopped and said that if we could deal with his dog in the car, we could have a ride. Nice guy, crazy dog. He took us into Lee and brought us to Jill's Restaurant for breakfast.After breakfast we snagged a room and then did our laundry. As we waited for that, I walked around downtown Lee and visited an organic market for some snacks. It was actually really neat to see the town and I was glad we'd come. The day had the feeling of early autumn on a Sunday when you feel like you have all of the time in the world - very nice.The rest of the day was spent resting. There were several good movies on TV and it was sure nice to just lie there and relax. Here's hoping this did the trick for my tiredness.- Don't recall the sounds.Post Trail Thoughts:I don't think there's ever been a day in my life that I've had more of an urge to go to the apple orchard than this day. The town of Tyringham was beautiful and the scene from the pavilion was of a crisp fall day. The sky was a beautiful blue with a perfect amount of clouds. It felt so good to curl up in my sleeping bag and relax that day. Melk, Ronin, and I called Young Eagle that day to check on his progress. It was pretty obvious at that point he was not coming back to the trail. The news made us sad. Ronin and I argued that day as well about how our new foursome was going to work out. We had some different ideas but it all worked out in the end.
Date: 2007-08-19
From: Lee, MA

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

August 19, DaltonAnother day of rest for us although it was not our plan. Our plan was to take a taxi to the trailhead outside of Lee...So we went to breakfast at Rose's Cafe which was excellent. Then we headed back to the motel to pack up. We called for the taxi and waited about 45 minutes for it to arrive.I was still tired. The cab came and we headed to the trailhead but, as it turned out, the road that we needed to be on was closed. Completely barricaded off. So he dropped us off in Dalton instead. It's a pretty friendly little town here.We had a smoothie at the local cafe, a cheesesteak at the sub shop and stopped at the BirdCage (a man who invites hikers into his home) for a bit before finally settling in at the Shamrock Inn and falling asleep for a few hours.We ran into Not Guilty here at the inn which was nice because I thought he'd already gone home.Just watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and feasted on Chinese that was delivered to us. Apparently we are on an eating tour of New England.Glad I got to sleep a bit today.- Sound of cars outside, the toilet flushing.Post Trail Thoughts:I won't lie and say we weren't all happy to not hike again today. Yellow Snow Man almost started hiking but ddin't in the end. I was so worn out at this point that it exhausted me to even get ready to hike. I really enjoyed the cafe in Dalton too.
Date: 2007-08-20
From: Outlook Ave.

To: Dalton, MA.
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

August 20, Still Tired Not really a great day today. Turns out I'm still pretty beat. Not sure how this will be cured.Melk's friends, Laura and Betsy, came to visit today and picked us up at 10 a.m. and we headed out to the trail. We decided to slackpack southbound to make things a bit easier so we got on the trail at about 11:30 a.m.There was about a mile of flatness through the town of Cheshire and then we started climbing. It was tough and I felt like I was crawling and like I could fall asleep on the side of the trail.I met Ronin at the top of the hill and shortly after that Melk and her friends did too. We had lunch and the started hiking again with only six miles to go.The rest of the hiking was easy all the way to Dalton. It went pretty quickly and I met Ronin at the road at 3:45 p.m. Really nothing notable.We headed to the cafe in Dalton for some tea and smoothies and then back to the motel. Melk and Ronin headed out with Laura for dinner but I stayed and had some Ramen noodles - I was just too tired to do all of that.Here's hoping tomorrow will be good.- Sound of the TV, Melk fixing her pillow.Post Trail Thoughts:I was really scared after this hike. When I met Ronin at the top of the hill that day, I just wanted to cry. I couldn't understand why I was so tired and why I couldn't shake it. To this day, I'm not entirely sure what was wrong with me but I'm glad it seemed to fade a bit after time. It was nice to have some time alone that night. I went to the gas station to get some chocolate milk to have with my Ramen noodles and just laid in bed.
Date: 2007-08-21
From: Dalton, MA.

To: Williamstown, MA
Miles today: 0.0

August 21, Madness in MassI woke up feeling beat once again today. It was clear after breakfast and a late checkout that I wasn't getting any more energetic. Melk wasn't feeling the hiking either so we only had to convince Ronin. We did and we spent quite a bit of time after that resting.I saw Tony Tiger and Kokopelli today which was exciting because I hadn't seen them since Damascus and it's always nice to see familiar faces. Turns out Kokopelli had gotten a shuttle to Dalton and the guy, Dana Murphy, was still there so we asked if he could take us to North Adams so we could meet up with Ronin's family.He drove us and was a very pleasant guy, glad we met him.We got to North Adams around 4 p.m. and Ronin's aunt, Joan, picked us up. We headed to the grocery store to resupply and then back to her house to do laundry. We then feasted on an amazing dinner - the main course was sausage but what really thrilled me was the DELICIOUS corn and tomatoes which had all been picked today. And to top that off, fresh blueberry pie! Thrilling! Thank you, Joan!I am still pretty tired but here's hoping tomorrow goes well.- Sound of a dehumidifier, Ronin and Melk talking. Post Trail Thoughts:This was an odd day for everyone. In classic group dynamic format, the two against one situation prevailed. Melk and I promised Ronin he could drink his sorrows away if we didn't go hiking. He finally agreed. And so we met the shuttle driver who I always thought I would have to use to get to the airport earlier in the month when I went home for my friend's wedding.We tucked our tails between our legs when Ronin's aunt (actually his wife's aunt) made a fuss over us because of all of our hard work. We didn't feel we deserved that - after all, we had barely hiked ten miles in about five days. But we played along and feasted. It was a very nice experience. Melk and I slept in the basement that night and fell asleep talking about how odd everything was...
Date: 2007-08-22
From: MA 2

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

August 22, Vermont!Well, we are in Vermont! Eleven states down. Vermont...the home of he Green Mountains and Ben and Jerry.So, we woke up to a delicious breakfast at Ronin's aunt's. The baked french toast was my favorite. After that we headed to the trail and got going around 9:30 a.m. Again, I was beat as I hiked uphill. All I could concentrate on was my tiredness. I was hiking with Melk and just trying to keep up. If I still feel pretty bad, I might get off in Benningtion tomorrow for a few days. I'd like to stay on but I don't want to be silly about my health either. If I do get off, I will try to get a blood test to rule out Lyme.Anyway, we met Ronin at the state line and celebrated for a bit but it was so cold today that it didn't last long. I'm told it's supposed to warm up soon but I'm so scared it won't and it'll just keep getting colder.So we hiked to the next shelter for lunch and we were entertained with folks from the USFS cutting down some dead trees. Very fascinating. I feasted on something new - flatbread and hummus, mmm.So then we hiked some more with one other break before our final push to the shelter. We played the alphabet game on the way here so it came pretty quickly.We are here tonight with a lot of folks - SOBOs, section hikers, and Long Trail hikers. It is so cold that I even have my hat and gloves on. Please warm up!It was a good day overall but I hope they just get even better. All I can think about is what I will do when I get home. I do enjoy this but I am definitely ready for the end to be in sight.- Sound of two guys talking, Melk laughing, rummaging at the shelter, the nearby brook, bugs under my fly.Post Trail Thoughts:It was nice to be around such a varied group of hikers that night - it was a case of multiple worlds colliding. We were all on different journey but had to make some of the same stops. Interesting.I had to try hard not to freak out about the cooler temps. It was downright cold that day. I hated stopping because it made me so cold. I guess that was a good motivator to just keep trucking! I was certainly happy to be in Vermont though!