morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-07-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We tried to sleep in today, did laundry, cleaned and dried out dirty wet tents, went grocery shopping, ate out for lunch, and lounged around the hostel with a group of four ladies from VA, GA, and NV, and Polar Bear, a Baptist pastor from MO. The lady from GA is from Lilburn near my old home town and knows my friend Betsy G; small world!  We got much done and it was a much needed relaxing, restful day. We heartily recommend Green Mountain House Hiker Hostel.  The WI couple finished their section hike and will stay here one night and drive back to WI tomorrow. The rest of us will continue hiking tomorrow.
Date: 2021-07-03
From: VT 11/30 Manchester Center

To: Big Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We left the hostel and started hiking about 8:30 in the rain. It rained most of the day. We gave Polar Bear a lift to the trailhead and he ended up hiking with us all day. He is a fundamental independent Baptist pastor from MO who was at the hostel with us.  He began hiking in Harpers Ferry WV and has lost 55 pounds already!  He plans to hike to Katahdin where his wife will meet him and drive him to GA to hike back to Harpers  Ferry to complete a flip-flop hike.   We first climbed Bromley Mountain which is a ski area. As we came up the hill, the ski lift looked like a UFO. There were only limited foggy views from the summit but we got a group picture with Polar Bear there.Everything was wet and slippery from the rain. I slipped and fell 5 separate times during the day.  Thankfully, no injuries. Just mess.We passed Styles Peak and Peru Peak but did not stop for lunch until about 2:30 when we¢d hiked 10.1 miles and finally arrived at Peru Peak Shelter. It¢s not much fun taking breaks along the trail in the rain.Our shoes were soaked and muddy and oozing with each step because the trail was a mess. After awhile we stopped trying to avoid puddles and muck; it was pointless. We even purposefully stepped in a clear stream toward the end of the day to try to clean our shoes. The trail was literally a stream. There is a reason the state is nicknamed Vermud. We did begin to see lots of moose poop which was a first for us.  We never actually saw moose though. When we finally arrived at Big Branch Shelter, there were only two teen guys in it.  They had a good fire going which we enjoyed. They are doing the Long Trail. Polar Bear had camped with them before.  We four quickly claimed our spots in the 6-person shelter with them so we wouldn¢t have to pack wet tents the next morning. It had finally stopped raining but the ground was still a mess.  I had decided not to bring my crocs for this section to decrease pack weight. I really missed them! I had to wear my wet shoes and socks until bedtime. I will not leave those crocs out of my pack again!The noise from the river helped put us to sleep and also drowned out snoring during the night.
Date: 2021-07-04
From: Big Branch Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchley Shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept last night 9-5:30, my best night¢s sleep on this trip so far. It rained more in the night which made us very glad we were in the shelter. Polar Bear left early with the long Trail boys, intending to do bigger miles than us.  We took our time packing up and eating breakfast after they left.We were walking in puddles and muck right away.  We stopped at the first road crossing and had cell service do we each called our husbands.  We stopped again at Little Rock Pond Shelter for a snack. We passed a beautiful pond but it was too cool to swim.There were lots of Sunday dayhikers on the trail.  We passed Greenwall Shelter where we  intended to have lunch but day hikers told us there was a waterfall just ahead. We kept hiking and soon ate lunch by the cascades of Bully Brook.We climbed another Bear Mountain in the afternoon; it seems every state on the AT has a Bear Mountain.  We were at Minerva Hinchey Shelter by 5:00.  There were several tenters, but only a father son Long Trail team in the shelter with us. We fell asleep listening to the sounds of July 4th fireworks in the distance.
Date: 2021-07-05
From: Minerva Hinchley Shelter

To: Governor Clemont Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: clear sky

We decided last night to alter plans and only go 9.8 miles to Governor Clement Shelter today. That means the next day will be 13.7 to Gifford Woods and a hotel. It turned out to be a great decision because I woke up with an upset stomach.  I had to make two trips to the privy before we left  camp and more quick trips into the woods through the day. It left me really draggin¢ and I adopted that trail name. When I meet new people, I say, ¢Hi, I¢m Draggin¢.¢We made multiple long stops throughout the day.  1. There was a neat view of Rutland Airport just a mile uphill from the shelter.  2. There was a huge suspension bridge over Clarendon Gorge.  3. There was another viewpoint up the other side of the gorge where we could see the airport again. 4. There was a steep rocky climb up Beacon Hill to a nice level lunch spot. 5. There was a large stream where we soaked our feet and tried to clean off the last few days of trudging through rainy mucky Vermud.We finally made it to the shelter just before 5:00. We met Pink Lady, an Israeli thruhiker, but she only stopped long enough to cook and eat dinner and then hiked on. Many others were tenting near or staying in the shelter. SusanK and Janet set up tents; I staked out a spot in the shelter with two other women. We set alarms for 5:30 to get an early start climbing Killington Peak.
Date: 2021-07-06
From: Governor Clemont Shelter

To: Gifford Woods State Park
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: scattered clouds

It began raining again in the night and was still raining when I awoke, as usual, before 5:30. I packed quickly, ate a cheese stick, and started the four mile hike up Killington Peak. SusanK and Janet were still eating and packing when I left.  It was not too steep a climb but the rain and wind and mud made it strenuous. I was surprised to reach Cooper Lodge Shelter at the summit with only one male hiker, Perch, passing me on my climb.I quickly changed out of my wet shirt and fixed my breakfast. Janet joined me shortly thereafter. The four ladies we had met at Green Mountain House stopped in for a minute on their daily slackpack. After SusanK joined us, we all finished eating and began descending in the wind and rain and muck. It was tedious; the rain eventually stopped but the wind still shook water out of the trees onto us. We slogged through mud and muck most of the day.  At the division of the AT and the LT, we arrived simultaneously with Liz. It was neat to talk to her again before we parted ways. We finally met Steve at Gifford Woods about 4:00. He had already checked us in at Mountain Sports Inn and taken all our extra stuff into the rooms.  We quickly took showers and went out to eat at the Inn at Long Trail. He treated us to a great dinner to celebrate his time with us, then we came back to the hotel and soaked in the hot tub before collapsing into bed. Tomorrow SusanK, Janet and Steve will drop me off to hike and then drive my truck to Bradley International and park it. They¢ll take a rental car home, and my husband John will fly in and get the truck and come join me.
Date: 2021-07-07
From: Stony Brook Road

To: Gifford Woods State Park
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We left the hotel about 7:45. The dirt Stony Brook Road got so bad, the truck had to stop .3 from the trail. I started to hike about 8:30.  Alone.  The others were driving to Bradley International to meet my husband. They would give him the truck so he could come spend ten days with me and they would get a rental car to drive home.  It was fun running into nobo hikers that I had already met since I was hiking sobo for the day.First I met the young woman from the Cooper Shelter wearing the new shoes she had reserved the day before. Then I met Pink Lady and a couple who the girl has my same pack, and of course I met our dog friend. The dog was off leash but when he heard me, the guy commanded ¢hold¢ and the dog actually stopped.  No barking either. I talked to him a few minutes; he said he had just got the dog at the VT border. I guess I¢ll cut him some slack. I passed 2 other couples and 3 other guys. Like Liz said, they all look alike with their dirty clothes and long beards. Around noon I had a snack by Thundering Falls.  There are many day hikers in this area. Perch also came by. He had stayed at the Yellow Deli in Rutland and said only good things about them.  He said they had not tried to convert him. I passed a gorgeous lake with a dock and some folks kayaking. I wanted to swim so bad! I decided to keep hiking so I could get back to the hotel and clean up before John arrived. I made it to Gifford Woods State Park a bit after 1:00. I then had a 1.3 mile road walk uphill back to the hotel.  I called the front desk to ask why our room had not been cleaned. They offered to move me to a queen room instead of the two double bed room I¢d shared with SusanK. I quickly gathered all my stuff and made that switch. When John arrived, I had to go through all the stuff I had asked him to bring me. Then we found the only laundromat in town. We went to eat at the Inn at Long Trail and came back to the hotel to sit in the hot tub before calling it a night.
Date: 2021-07-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

No hiking this day.  John and I found a local diner for a big breakfast and then set out to find all the spots where he would be dropping me off and picking me up. We had the coordinates from the AWOL guide.  We drove to the farthest point in NH first and worked our way back to the nearest point in VT.Along the way, we passed The Notch Hostel, Hikers Welcome Hostel, and The Yellow Deli in Rutland. We also bought an original framed Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover from a museum/shop.  We got deli sandwiches and snacks at a gas station in the afternoon.  Late in the day, we passed our dog friend guy walking with his dog and carrying a grocery bag on the sidewalk in Norwich.  I pulled over to offer him a ride.  He didn't recognize me at first. He had done 20 miles already and was only four houses from his destination so he didn't need a ride. It rained almost all day long so I was glad I was not hiking.
Date: 2021-07-09
From: Stony Brook Road

To: VT12, Barnard Gukf Road, Woodstock
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

We loaded the truck in the morning and checked out of the hotel. John drove me back to the dirt Stony Brook Road so I could hike nobo.  When he left me, he drove an hour or so to the Hotel Coolidge in White River Junction to check in and unload all our stuff. We had booked a suite so we have a bit more space to spread out for our week at this place. It was misty when I began, but it never actually rained. It was overcast most of the day so there were no real views. My day was not very strenuous but it was boring. I saw only one sobo hiker, one nobo hiker, and one local girl trailrunning. I made it back to the trailhead just before 3:00. I was excited to do the math and realize I had hike 1.87 mph for the day. John drove us to our new hotel.  We unpacked, showered and cleaned up. We drove to the nearby Quechee Gorge and walked along the lookout bridge.  We had dinner there and got to listen to a guy singing and playing guitar while we ate. We made another Walmart trip to get frozen meals for the next couple nights. Eating out every night gets expensive quickly!
Date: 2021-07-10
From: VT12, Barnard Gulf Road, Woodstock

To: I-89 Underpass, W Hartford 
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

My first climb was 1.1 mile with a 15.5% grade; it was a killer way to start the day! There were several ups and downs the first part of the day.  At least I had clear views and cool breezes.I saw my first five sobos, 1 nobo trail runner, and 1 nobo section hiker who was hiking south for the day; his wife is following him up the trail in an rv. I had a nice chat with a woman and her two year old while I stopped at a water source.  She and her husband were 2016 thruhikers .  She was out putting up posters and looking for a lost dog. I ate lunch at top of a no-name peak on a bench with a view with a sobo from Gainesville GA whose mom teaches at Hightower Elementary in my former hometown of Conyers GA.  She started at Katahdin 6/1. A young nobo passed us while we ate and chatted. Silver Goat stopped to chat a few minutes; He and his wife started at Springer. It only took her a few days to decide she did not want to thruhike but she¢s driving up the trail and meeting him almost every night and camping with him. An older local couple were day hiking and stopped to fill us in on local history.  After lunch the trail starting trending downward. It seemed like I spent half the day in the woods and half walking through open fields. When I stopped for water later, 3 more nobo guys passed me. Later as I took a break before my last uphill, two young women section hikers stopped to chat as they came southbound. The last mile and a half was a road walk through the town of W Hartford to meet John at the I-89 underpass. I got there before he did.
Date: 2021-07-11
From: I-89 Underpass, W Hartford 

To: Etna Hanover Center Road
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: mist

The trail began with a short steep uphill from the road crossing where I began at 8:00, but soon became a windy gradual climb up 3 miles to the top of the mountain. I passed one young guy getting water at a stream but he soon passed me again. By 10:00 I had come 4.45 miles back.  That¢s 2.2 mph!  That is way better than my normal pace! I took my first sit down break for a half hour to write in my journal and send some texts. Silver Goat passed me and we chatted. He¢s probably older than me. Two other nobo guys passed me at my break spot also.After a half hour break,  I started moving again. I caught up to Silver Goat as the trail became a road walk through Norwich VT.  We chatted as we walked down a street, onto sidewalks and through town. Soon we were at the CT River bridge; halfway across was the VT/NH border. In town, Silver Goat wanted to find a drug store to get compression socks. I suddenly realized I had eaten nothing since breakfast at the hotel and I had many choices of town food within reach. I passed up the street hot dog vendor and went looking for pizza, but the outdoor seating at Murphy¢s on the Green caught my eye. I scanned the menu and became a customer. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and mixed green salad and called my mom while waiting for my order. Seeing my backpack on the sidewalk beside me, several passers by stopped to ask AT questions. I felt like a celebrity.It was hard following blazes and hiking through town on such a full stomach. I was glad to get back into the woods finally.  The trail was uphill and not easy to follow for a mile or so out of town.  I met John right at 4:00. 15 miles in 8 hours, which included a lunch break of over an hour.  I was amazed that I didn¢t even feel tired! After cleaning up back at the hotel, we ate microwaved meals and I did my laundry before bedtime.15.0 miles / 1.875 mph
Date: 2021-07-12
From: Etna Hanover Center Road

To: Lyme Dorchester Road
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: mist

It was raining when I woke up. That made leaving the dry hotel very hard. When we got to the trailhead at 8:00, John hiked in with me .63 of a mile until the trail got messy. The rain had tapered off but as soon as he left, I went through a field of overgrown whatever.  I could not even see my feet, but by the time I made it through, my shorts, shoes, and socks were soaked. Even without new rain falling, water still dropped from the trees when the wind blew fir the new few hours. It was still overcast until around noon.I made it 4.41 up Moose Mountain in about 2.5 hours; the view from the south peak was socked in with fog. I stopped at Moose Mountain Shelter which was just off the trail because I had heard about the privy there. It has no walls; it¢s just a throne under a roof.  It truly gives new meaning to the term ¢open concept¢.  I kept going across the ridge to the north peak of Moose Mountain, where there was no view either.Along the way I was passed by one young nobo, and I crossed paths with three sobo section hikers.  I picked what seemed like a nice rocky outcrop for my lunch spot but must¢ve killed at least 30 mosquitos while I hurriedly downed my lunch.  Just after I began hiking again, I met 2 young sobo guys. They started at Katahdin 6/8. They were going faster uphill than I was going downhill!I enjoyed a nice walk between Goose Pond Road and a beaver pond; the pine straw carpet was cushy under my feet. I saw stacks of lumber on that stretch in two places and wondered why it was there. Then I got to the pond and found most of the boardwalks around it were in sad shape, rotted away. I guess some much-needed trail maintenance is being planned.I met a local woman with her dog coming down while I was trudging uphill.  The weather had cleared up and after I finally made it up and over the peak, I was rewarded with several gorgeous view from Holts Ledges.I passed the blue-blaze trail to Trapper John Shelter. It was named for Trapoer John McIntyre from M*A*S*H who was a Dartmouth alumni but it was .3 off the trail so I did not check it out.I struggled the last two miles between Grafton Turnpike and Lyme-Dorchester Road. I was tired, and all the mud and rocks really got to me and slowed me down. I finally met John at 4:15.13.7 miles / 1.66 mph
Date: 2021-07-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

After the rain the last couple days, I decided I needed a zero.  This morning I took my time getting out of bed. It was nice to dress in clean cotton shorts and tshirt instead of stinky drifit hiking clothes. It was even nicer to wear flip flops instead of wet socks and shoes!John and I walked a half mile to the Four Aces Diner for breakfast. He had his usual pancakes and bacon while I enjoyed a tasty ham, egg and cheese quesadilla and a hot sweet tea. On the wall were many quotes, among them ¢I¢d rather be morally right than politically correct.¢ and ¢THINK! It¢s not illegal yet.¢ On the walk back to the hotel, we meandered through the Veterans Memorial Park, saw the sculpture honoring each of the military branches, and stopped at a kiosk showing the points of interest for a walking tour of historic White River Junction. I caught up on my trail journals while doing laundry in the hotel laundry room. I took a nap. I retreated my clothes with Permethrin for the second half of my trek. I began sorting and packing things to send home with John, things to leave packed in the truck for my drive home in August, and things to carry in my backpack for the rest of the trip.  We made another Walmart trip for John to get supplies for trail magic tomorrow.  We found a place to eat a late lunch at a cafe in Dartmouth.  All in all, I got much done and had a very relaxing and DRY day!
Date: 2021-07-15
From: NH25A, Wentworth

To: NH25, Glencliff/Warren
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: broken clouds

Day 31 7/15 John dropped me off to hike at 8:30 and drove to what would be my first road crossing at NH25C to do trail magic. We bought sodas, bananas, little oranges, snack cakes, mini bags of fruit snacks, and mini candy bars. He has hand wipes and trash bags and camp chairs. I bought a spiral notebook for hikers to sign their trail names and when and where they started.I¢ve worn my new shoes around town a few times. Today I wore them on the trail. I put the old ones in the truck so I¢d be able to switch if I needed to when I met John for trail magic. I hiked a total of 4.9 miles to the road crossing where John was providing trailmagic in a little over two hours.  I had an early lunch there since I had a chair, along with two cans of Mountain Dew and a banana to go with the chicken wrap and chips I had packed. I met up with John at the next road crossing about 1:30.  All in all, I did an easy 9.8 miles for the day in 5 hours even with my long sitdown lunch break.We made yet another Walmart stop on the way back to the hotel. After cleaning up and eating, I had time to catch up on my trail journals before SusanB arrived. Tomorrow, we hike Moosilauke!
Date: 2021-07-16
From: Kinsman Notch

To: NH25, Glencliff/Warren
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: broken clouds

Day 32 7/16 SusanB drove up from PA yesterday and spent the night at Hotel Coolidge last night. John dropped us off about 8:45 to hike Mt Moosilauke.  He went into Lincoln for breakfast and then drove to our pickup spot to do trail magic again.Everyone had advised us to hike sobo so we did. The first 3.8 miles was steep and rocky, mostly along side a stream with beautiful cascades. There were several sections with rebar or wooden blocks bolted into the flat rock face of the mountain. It was strenuous hiking. We barely averaged a mile per hour.We got pictures by the sign marking the top at 4802 feet. We hiked on, eager to get below treeline and out of the wind.We met several nobo hikers who told us about John¢s trail magic.  One dad out with his sons and nephews, a group of six, was a group we had met in CT and taken pictures for them two weeks ago.  At the time, they had two dogs with them that were really struggling in the heat and humidity.  They have since sent the dogs home. One of the teens said about John¢s trail magic snack cakes, ¢Those were the best DingDongs ever!¢We made it to the road crossing about 4:45. We were cleaning up the leftover sodas, candy, and fruit when more nobo hikers came by.  We offered them goodies.  One guy was heading to the nearby Hijers Welcome Hostel so we gave him a ride and also donated our leftovers to the hostel.  We had an hour drive back to the hotel, but we stopped at Price Chopper for SusanB to get a few things and at Panera Bread for supper on our way. Once we showered, I did one final load of laundry and then packed my full pack for the next day, the bag of things I would not need in the huts to leave in Peter¢s car, the duffel bag with clothes and toiletries for my ride home after Katahdin, and my storage box of extra resupply stuff that needs to go home. It was late when I finally went to bed exhausted.
Date: 2021-07-18
From: Mizpah Spring Hut

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: broken clouds

Day 34 7/18 I slept well.  It rained in the night.  The hut croo woke us all up at 6:30 singing. I felt like I was back at summer youth camp.  We had a huge breakfast at 7:00 with oatmeal, scrambled eggs, sausage, coffee cake, and cocoa or coffee.  We packed up and headed out into the rain about 8:45.  The trail leading away from the hut was steep rocky steps and a few rock climbs, but then it returned to actual hiking.  The trail was much more moderate than it was the day before.We went over Mt Pierce, Mt Eisenhower, and Mt Franklin and skirted Mt Monroe. Because of the rain, the trail was flooded in many places and we had to pick our way carefully around and through huge puddles. The trail was continually heading up over treeline and then back into the trees. We leapfrogged with both Pat and Robin and with Sweep snd Lilo.  At one point we saw huge bags of rocks and stacks of lumber that had been brought in by helicopter in preparation for trail maintenance.We arrived at Lakes of the Clouds Hut before 2:00.  We checked in, unpacked, and changed into dry clothes in our bunk room. Christina, Pat and Robin are here again also. There are about 40-50 guests here, including several children. Before dinner there was an informative talk about the green practices of the huts. Dinner was barley mushroom soup, salad, cheesy bread, stuffed shells, and chocolate cake.  After dinner there was another informative talk about the history of the huts and the local flora and fauna. We were all warm, dry, fed, and ready for bed before dark.4.6 miles