morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-08-02
From: RPH Shelter

To: Native Landscapes and Garden Center
Miles today: 19.9

I woke up at 5:30 in the shelter, I tried to be quiet because everyone else was asleep. I checked the weather, the skies looked like rain. Rain is definitely in this mornings forecast, 100% at 10:00. We decided to wait until noon and let it blow through. I typed yesterdays journal to stay caught up, I never know when I will be able to do them. The rain wasn't happening so we decided to hike out at 10:00 if it wasn't raining. I ate the rest of my pizza from last night and finished my 2 liter bottle of Pepsi. Carbs and caffeine, what's wrong with that? Talked to my son-in-law Kurt and told him of my plan to hike 500 miles in August. He has been doing spread sheets on my hike and said that I did 500 miles in July. If I hike 20 miles 25 days in August that would still leave 6 zeros. Sounds do able but I haven't been in those states yet. I met a few day hikers and a couple of southbound through hikers before the first shelter. I am asking the southbounders what I should expect going north. The mosquitoes have been bad since entering New Jersey and they can be relentless in the evening when you aren't moving. I saw Tim and two other guys doing trail maintainence at the Stormville Mountain Road. Tim was at the shelter last night talking to us. Last year they put in a new bridge just down from the road and now they were putting in 17 stone steps at the road. I stopped at the Morgan Stewart Shelter for a late lunch. The shelters have had plenty of camping areas and some even have hand pumps for water. We hiked around part of Nuclear Lake, not sure where the name comes from. There was a nice view on top of West Mountain. We got to Telephone Pioneers Shelter about 6:00, it looked pretty crowded so No Rush and I decided to hike the 3.1 miles to the road where you can tent at the landscape business. We got our tents up by 7:30 at the Native Landscapes and Garden Center. Owner Pete Muroski is very hiker friendly, he even has a shower and water for hikers. We decided to walk the .6 miles down the road to Tony's Deli, well worth the walk. I had the best Italian Combo sandwich ever and plan on coming back in the morning for breakfast and another sandwich for lunch. My food bag is almost empty. Eating more town food has increased my energy. Our tents are right between the highway and about 30 feet from the passenger train tracks. Should be an interesting night. Went to sleep about 10:00.
Date: 2014-08-03
From: Native Landscapes and Garden Center

To: Mt. Algo Shelter
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at 6:00 and we were getting a light rain this morning. The trains went flying by about every hour and literally shook my tent. We charged our phones at the business while we walked to the deli for breakfast. It wouldn't hurt to let the rain blow through and let our tents dry out. I was thinking about my old hiking partner Lumberjack, he is off the trail for awhile with a foot injury. They had a lumberjack sandwich on the breakfast menu so it was an easy decision. It had ham, bacon, sausage, egg, and cheese on a Kaiser roll, Lumberjack would have enjoyed it just as I did. When we got back to the landscape center I was able to buy enough food to get us to Salisbury, Connecticutt where I had to pick up a package there at the Post Office. I took down my tent and there was about 10 mosquitoes flying in the back of my tent. I decided that they would not live to bother other hikers and squished all of them. They were full of blood, I am pretty sure I knew where that came from. We left about 11:00 even though it was still cloudy. We walked through pastures early and saw a neat old water tower. I stopped at the Wiley Shelter, the last one in New York. It even had a wooden glass front bookcase on a tree full of books. Passed the New York/ Connecticutt border today but the uphills and mosquitoes didn't stop. I saw 3 Garden Snakes and 1 large, ugly water snake by the river. There was a Great Blue Heron in the river just before the next shelter. Ten Mile River Shelter was built with a moat seperating the front of the shelter from the sleeping areas. I heard that it is supposed to keep the porcupines from getting in the shelter and causing problems. We left the shelter about 4:00 there were people fishing in the Ten Mile River. It runs into the Housatanic River and the trail folllowed it for awhile. The river looked like some wild river that you would find out west. We finally got to the Mt Algo Shelter about 7:30. It is starting to get dark earlier so we decided to stay in the shelter. I met Camel and Ladybug,they were also in my origonal hiker bubble and were interested in hearing about hikers that they haven't seen in awhile. I shared the info that I had heard from other hikers, who had gone home and who was still hiking. A Ridge Runner Faron was there, I had met her earlier in the day. Craftsman had set up a hammock and I met him for the first time. A southbound through hiker named John the Baptist had taken a zero at the shelter today and went into town for supplies. Some of the supplies were of the alchoholic variety. He was loud and pretty obnoxious and we were afraid that he would fall into his illegal campfire in his condition. We were glad when he finally went to bed in his tent.
Date: 2014-08-04
From: Mt. Algo Shelter

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke up about 6:30, it was a late night with our loud hiker close by. We left at 7:45 an earlier start from the last 2 days. We were hoping for a plus twenty day today to get back on track. We crossed the Kent Road and decided to keep hiking, no coffee this morning. At the next road a guy stopped his car and told me that he just saw a mother bear and two cubs. I got my camera ready just in case. St. Johns Ledges was a very steep sequence of downhill steps that I thought was pretty intense. I met a southbound hiker Sky Chicken she had lots of information to share about stream crossings and the White Mountains. She also told me about some nice towns and hostels to stop at. We had a .8 mile road walk and then we were walking along the Housatonic River again. I got to the Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter at 11:30 and took a lunch break. Talked to two section hikers out for 10 days,there packs looked lke they were planning on hiking about 10 months. The river walk continued for awhile. At the next road they had a sign describing a high water reroute. I took the blue blaze and thought that No Rush would do the same. He skipped it and now I was behind him. Stopped for water and met Hansel and Gretel, I last saw them at Harpers Ferry. We got to the shelter and the mosquitoes were terrible. We had planned on hiking farther but we were too tired. The uphills in New York and Connecticutt has taken a toll on our legs. After dark No Rush and I were the only ones there so we set up our tents in the shelter to keep the mosquitoes from sucking our blood dry. Viking and $tardust came in late and set up there tent and hammock. We offered to move our tents but they said no. We talked to them for quite awhile and finally everyone went to sleep.
Date: 2014-08-06
From: Bearded Woods One-of-a-Kind Bunk and Dine

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up at 6:30, one of the best nights sleep that I have had on the trail. A real bed is amazing and no mosquitoes buzzing around you all night long. Coffee is ready by 6:30 and breakfast is served at 7:00. I got dressed and went upstairs. For breakfast we had two kinds of omelettes, one with smoked turkey and one with mushrooms for the vegetarians, toast, orange juice, watermelon, pastry, and plenty of coffee. We talked a lot after breakfast mostly trail related. I cleaned my backpack and put it in the sun to dry and air out. Hudson took us to Salisbury to resupply with 4 days food. My food bag with 4 days food and my stove weighs 14 pounds. I also picked up my package at the Post Office, my gortex rain suit and the rest of my guidebook to get me to Katahdin..I mailed my light rain jacket and memory card back home after a 45 minute wait. It's a good thing I wasn't hiking today so I didn't mind the wait. I also bought a new memory card for my camera. The ride through the Connecticut countryside was pleasant, nice homes and farms. It was a different look then what you get from the trail. We went back to the hostel and had chili and spaghetti for lunch. We watched a couple of dvd's on the Appalachian Trail following different hikers over a two year period. I studied my guidebook and planned some strategies for getting through Massachusetts and Vermont. I am about 400 miles from Maine. We sat around the campfire before dinner and had a beer from a brewery in Vermont called the Long Trail Ale. For dinner we had bbq chicken, grilled sweet corn, tomatoes and cucumbers, corn bread, baked beans, and ice cream and cookies for desert. We are all packing on the calories before we get back on the trail. Hudson and Big Lu you have made me really feel at home. I would recommend this place to any hikers passing through Connecticut. We sat around the table and talked until 9:30, it was nice meeting the new hikers Barman and Shin Bone. Time to rest up for some hiking.
Date: 2014-08-10
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton Massachusetts
Miles today: 20.1

I woke up at 6:00, stayed in bed until I heard people moving downstairs. I started smelling coffee and pancakes in the kitchen and got out of bed. I neglected to mention that one of the reasons that I wanted to stay here is because they serve blueberry pancakes in the morning. Something a little bit different on the trail. The coffee and pancakes were great and No Rush and I did dishes before we went to pack up. Henry the caretaker said that his friend that we had to get to town last night had suffered a mini stroke and was doing well this morning. The bad news is that she may not come back to enjoy this remarkable place.I left at 8:15 hiking the half mile back to the trail. They have had lots of bear sightings around the pond and I wouldn't mind seeing another one this week. We had pancakes for breakfast and our next stop was the cookie ladies house 11 miles up the trail. By 1:00 I was enjoying free cookies and also purchased 2 Cokes, a Klondike Bar, and 3 hard boiled eggs. I asked the cookie lady if she would mind coming out and having her picture taken with the group of hikers that had showed up. After all she is famous on the trail even if she doesn't know it. She also has a pick your own blueberry farm and lots of people were out on a Sunday afternoon picking berries. I left at 2:15, I still had 10 more miles to get to Dalton Massachusetts. A local resident, Tom Levardi lets you tent in his back yard for free. He has bicycles that you can borrow to go eat, get a shower, or do laundry. I got there by 6:00 and the yard started filling up with tents the rest of the evening. No Rush and I had a miscommunication problem and he stopped at the last shelter for the evening. Puzzle and I borrowed bikes and went to Angelina's Subs for dinner. Too late for showers or laundry today, it would have to wait until the next town. I ate a large order of fries, drank a Coke, and ate half of my sub sandwich. The other half will be for breakfast tomorrow. I counted 14 tents when I got back with one SOBO on the porch. Tom also has the AT passport stamp and lets you charge your phone on the porch. Thanks Tom for helping out hikers. It looks like some bad weather coming in mid week. I finally got hold of Paige and found out why she hasn't answered her phone. She washed her phone in the laundry so now I will not be able to send her pictures over my phone. She was pretty bummed out about it and I tried to tell her just get a new one, don't stress out over it. Some of the hikers that I recognized tenting were Sas, Puzzle, Gazelle, India(SOBO), Sweet as a Peach, Shea, Atlas, Cactus, Aroo, Smug, Bullseye, Bud, and Ladybug. Tomorrow will be an easier day.
Date: 2014-08-11
From: Dalton Massachusetts

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

I woke up at 7:00, I wanted to wait on No Rush to get into town from the shelter. I ate the other half of my sub sandwich and debated if I had time to do any journals. The breaker for the phones had kicked off during the night so I still needed to charge up my phone. Journals would have to wait for another day. My tent was really wet from the dew so I packed up everything else and left my tent up a while longer. No Rush had gotten an early start and was in town by 8:00. He went on into town for breakfast. I did stop at the gas station later where he was for some coffee and a doughnut before leaving town about 9:00. We had a 9 mile hike to the next town that the trail goes through. It just also happened to have an ice cream shop right on the trail. Diane's Twist was our motivation for the morning. I had some of her pasta salad, Pepsi and Gatorade. I ate my tortillas, peanut butter, honey, and tuna out of my food bag. I wanted to lighten up my pack before the climb up Mt. Greylock. There was a NOBO hiker bubble the last few days along with some SOBO hikers. I local resident handing out MRE'S made my backpack heavy again but I couldn't pass up free food. MRE'S are also loaded with calories. It was only 5 more miles to the shelter but we had to climb 1600 feet first. The skies were threatening and I think it rained a little bit ahead of us. I got there in time to claim the last bunk and everyone showing up later has to fight over the loft. It started raining right after I got there and I had to wait before I went for water. The loft did fill up before dark and some people hiked on. Two guys section hiking were in the shelter, they try and do 100 miles together each year and gradually hike the whole trail. The mice were active right after things quieted down.
Date: 2014-08-12
From: Mark Noepel Shelter

To: Williamstown Motel
Miles today: 9.7

Up at 5:30, I was entertained watching the mice run around in the loft above while all of the people were sleeping. No Rush and I left at 6:15, the rain is supposed to get here around noon. We have 1000 feet to summit Mt. Greylock and then a couple more shorter climbs before dropping down to the Hoosic River. The views on top were magnificient but I actually had to get out my long sleeve top because of the wind. I haven't done that for months, it might be that we will get fall weather soon. They have a war memorial tower on top and a nice lodge. I was ahead of No Rush and he texted me asking if I stopped for breakfast at the lodge. I was already going down the mountain and hadn't even thought of that option. Coffee and a doughnut would have been a good idea. Just as I started down I came up behind a porcupine waddling on the trail. He was in no hurry and I took several pictures of him. We were just talking about porcupines at the shelter the other morning and it was cool to see one up close again. It has been a few years since I saw one. We had a long downhill section to get to town. Some of it was quite steep. There was a large group of young volunteers with the AMC building switchbacks on the trail. They were working hard and I took their picture and told them I appreciated their efforts. We got into town about 11:30 and we called the motel for a ride. We dropped off our gear and I washed out my bacpack for the first time since I bought it in May. The water in the tub was quite brown after I rinsed it off. I put it outside to dry before the rains came, the wind would dry it out pretty well even though there was no sunshine today. There was a pizza and sub shop across the street and we went over for lunch. Puzzle had started out the morning behind us so he would be showing up later. I checked my food supplies and walked to the store to get enough food for three days. A nice gentleman stopped and gave me a ride in his Mercedes back to the motel. He had a fly fishing rod in the back seat so we talked about fishing. He said they were starting a study on the effects of water pollution in the area on fishing but it was still early in the research. We will be doing our next resupply in Manchester Center where there is another nice hostel like Bearded Woods. I spent part of the afternoon relaxing and we finally walked over to the Mexican resaurant for dinner. Desperados is a great place to eat and not just because the are friendly to hikers with a 15% discount. The three of us had all you can eat tacos, I had 5 big tacos with a side order of black beans and mexican rice. We had a great time joking with the new waitress and lots of other hikers were there. We went back to the hotel and watched tv and checked our guidebooks for the hike through Vermont. The queen bed was spacious and comfy, I could easily spend a few more days here.
Date: 2014-08-13
From: Williamstown Motel

To: Williamstown Motel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I layed around in my soft, warm, queen size bed at the motel until 7:00. I'm going to miss this bed more than mere words can describe. Sleeping on an undersized inflatable pad with a flannel sheet for the past 6 weeks has not made for restful or warm slumber. I intend to buy a king size bed when I get home and have all the room I need to stretch out at night. The motel has a cold breakfast but I am used to a lot less. Hot coffee, orange juice, bagels with butter and cream cheese, muffins, cereal, cherries, and snack cakes is way more than I eat for breakfast on the trail. I had to pay the motel $8 to do my laundry but the closest laundry was 5 miles away. I couldn't wear these grimy clothes another day, they were stiff enough to stand up by themselves. Everything is more expensive as you go north so you just grin and bear it, I'm too close to give up now. If it takes a little more money to get me to Katahdin than I planned than I will do it. I have put too much time and effort to go home now. I spent a few hours catching up on my trail journals, I was about a week behind. I studied my guide book some more and set up a maildrop with Paige. She will mail my down sleeping bag to Mountain Meadows Lodge and in about a week I will be warm at night. I am excited about hiking into Vermont tomorrow, it is the only state on the trail that I having never been in. We could even be in New Hampshire a week from Saturday on the 23rd if the weather is good and we can crank out the miles. I ate some of my hiking food for lunch to get the pack weight a little lower. My hiking partners No Rush and Puzzle are ready to hit it tomorrow also. No Rush is from New Hampshire so he is excited to be getting closer to home. The rains did arrive this morning and it felt good to be inside instead of being out in the weather. The next few days look pretty good we just have to be able to make the climbs because the mountains are back. No Rush and I ate dinner at Desperados again and then it is back to the motel to finish journals and relax.
Date: 2014-08-14
From: Williamstown Motel

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

Up before 6:00, got a little time to kill before breakfast is ready at the motel. I took one more shower and got my pack ready for the trail. It looks like new and even feels lighter after its bath yesterday. Breakfast is served at 7:30 and we were anxious to eat and get to hiking. I talked to Paige for awhile after we ate and Puzzle and I went to catch the bus to take us back toward the AT. No Rush was going to make some calls and catch up later. We were back on the trail by 8:20. The first mountain out of town was about 1700 feet but a gradual climb. They had a few rocks at the top and a bad weather bypass but we stayed on the trail. The rocky part had places for your feet and that made it much easier. After hiking 4 miles we were in Vermont, my first visit to the state. We also passed the 1600 mile mark today and that always energizes you while hiking. We met Forager, a SOBO that started June 15th. I met 2 section hikers doing the entire lenght of the Long Trail to Canada 273 miles. Ben and Hunter are high school seniors and very nice young gentlemen. No Rush had texted me and said he wouldn't be hiking out until tomorrow but would catch up with us in a couple of days. I stopped at the Seth Warner Shelter, the first one in Vermont so I needed pictures. Seth Warner was the leader of the Green Mountain Boys during the Revolutionary War. I met another SOBO, Lone Ranger he said it took him 40 days to hike through Maine, that was with 6 zero days. I hope to hike through Maine and the White Mountains in that many days. I was at the Congdon Shelter by 3:30, after a quick break I was moving on by 3:45. There are plenty of nice mountain streams in Vermont but also plenty of muddy sections on the trail. I have heard that Vermont has got the nickname Vermud from AT hikers. You have to walk on the rocks to get through the mud. I met Arbor, another SOBO from Arlington Heights, Illinois. I got to the last shelter by 6:30 and claimed a space. It is going to get cold tonight and I felt like I would be able to keep warmer in the shelter. It also felt like it could rain. A group of 10 hikers from Cornell were hiking for 8 days and had gear everywhere. I haven't seen this much food in quite a long time, it was spread out all over the ground. They were cooking their dinner in the dark when it decided to cut loose. Puzzle had come in earlier and we had the shelter to ourselves until some of the Cornell students decided to sleep in the top bunks. They seemed a little unorganized I hope their hike goes well. The 2 Long Trail hikers were staying in a tent. It was getting very cold so I wrapped myself in my rainfly to try and keep in some body heat. At least I was out of the rain.
Date: 2014-08-15
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

After a cold night I got up at 6:00 so I could move around and warm up. Puzzle left a little before me and I started out about 7:15. We had a bridge closed at Hell Hollow Shelter so I just crossed on the rocks. I covered the first 8.5 miles to the next shelter before noon and we took a lunch break there with several other hikers. It was a rainy, cold day and I felt that I was back in the Smokies. I was hiking with my head down avoiding the mud and head butted a tree. At first I wasn't sure what had happened it actually knocked me backwards. The tree was leaning across the trail just high enough that I didn't see it but low enough for my head to find it. There were two climbs today, Little Pond Shelter and then Glastenbury Mountain. I skipped the tower on top because it was too foggy to see anything. The most exciting part of the day was seeing two seperate piles of moose poop on the trail. They really do look like Milk Duds. I can't wait to see my first moose. I was in the third shelter by 4:30, it was filling up fast. Ben, Hunter, Puzzle, Puck, K-2, Wolfburger, myself, and one other hiker was in the 8 person shelter. It was early so we sat in the shelter exchanging information with the 4 SOBO's. It was nice to get some info about Maine and New Hampshire before I hike in those states. It was going to get down in the low 40's again tonight maybe since we were packed in like sardines we will be warmer tonight.