morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-08-07
From: Big Branch Shelter

To: Bromley Mt. Warming Hut
Miles today: 13.5

Good hike today. This morning Jill and I hiked seperately - I took the white blazes up and over an unimpressive Baker Mt. and she took a slightly shorter and flater route called the Odd Job Trail. We met up again at Peru Peak Shelter and ate lunch w/ Bean and Turtle. Several grumpy NOBOS passed through as we ate. They all complained about something or another and we were not impressed. We hiked on in a light but chilly rain up Peru and Styles Peaks. Took a snack break at Styles lookout and met NOBO Allegehany, a really friendly older man who had been bitten by a timber rattlesnake earlier in his hike. Luckily for him it was a "dry" bite but none the less he ended up being transported by helicoptor to a large hospital for treatment. A crazy story. We headed down the mountain and at a road crossing met a local man named Rick Hokum. He was hauling buckets of rock and woodchips to a section of trail "his own slice of heaven" to fill in the mud holes. Wow. He was a friendly and talkative fellow who gave us a full history of the region. He was missing a good number of teeth and tended to drool and spit profusely as he spoke - but seemed a very kind fellow. We hiked on up Bromley Mt. to the Warming Hut on the summit. Already there were two NOBOS taking shelter as some dark clouds and fog started to blow in. Much to our surprise, later that night a local kid who worked for the ski resort, drove his car up to the top of the mountain - backwards. He was there waiting for a party that was supposed to be happening up there that night. Luckily there was no party as none of us were looking forward to much more than sleeping. Later on in the night a group of people rolled up there on ATVs and played loud music, but after about half an hour they left. Phew!
Date: 2004-08-08
From: Bromley Mt. Warming Hut

To: Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: light rain

It was cold last night! 46 deg this morning when we left. We got out of the shelter and on the trail by 7 - as we had NO food left and really wanted to get to McDonalds in Manchester Center for breakfest. It was still cold and drizzling by the time we got down to the road (w/in an hour of leaving the shelter) and after a long 20min hitch we got a ride into town with some tourists from Penn. After a great breakfest at McD's we went to EMS to get some things (inc. a new stuff sack for sale $4). From there we walked on up to the Mtn. Goat Outfitter to find the 50 deg bags that we've been looking for. They had the bags, 50 deg Marmot Trails summer sacks. 1 lb 6oz! The owner, Ron, did amazing things for Jills feet. He worked with her for a long time and explained to her why she was still having the intense pains in her feet. He helped her to select an insole that fits her feet properly and custom adjusted it to support her in the right spots. It was nothing short of a miracle. Total trail magic. From there we went to Friendly's! Jill had been talking about this place for days before we got to town and we were excited to finally be there. It was great! Jill got her PB and Fudge Sundae w/ PB and Fudge Chunk Ice Cream. I got a coffee and Fudge Chunk Sundae. It was good...we were actually full. From there we went to the Price Chopper for groceries....it was SOOO expensive and frustrating. Even after signing up for their discount card it was still $97 for 6 days of food. Good grief. We stopped at B and Jerries and picked up "factory seconds ice cream" for $2.50! We packed it out to the shelter. We got a hitch back to the trail and hiked on up to the nearest shelter. We shared it - a full Cabin complete w/ woodstove, with a crazy family and several Nobos. The family had two young boys who ran around and were EVERYWHERE. One of the young ones actually needed a kidney transplant - which was pretty shocking news. The kids were pretty entertaining though. Sometime in the night we were awoken by a bat flying around inside the cabin. Good times.
Date: 2004-08-09
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Stealth Site beyond Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

We had a late start this morning (starting to see a pattern?) and when we did finally leave the shelter our packs felt soooo heavy. We definitely bought too much food! And it was all heavy food! We stopped for a snack on Prospect Rock and met some other SOBOs who had caught up with us! We met SoCo (who is carrying a camp stool and from the south), Creamy and Crunchy, who are two brothers with differing peanut butter preferences. Later in the day as we were trying to decide whether to stealth before or beyond Stratton Pond we saw Eco and Bojangles again, two other SOBOs whom we met in Manchester. We weren't interested in a crowded shelter or tent site that was going to cost us $6 each so we stopped by the shelter, got some water and then headed on a little ways further and tented. Initially we started out in our new bags but Jill got cold and so traded for her 20 degree bag but then got hot and ended up getting pretty frustrated. Finally she figured out the way to sleep in the lighter bag is to dress a little more warmly. Dave slept without too much problem in his new bag. We were thankful for the new mosquito netting because they were awful! However, the netting couldn't save us from a slug invasion! They crawled in under the net and got on sleeping bags, flip flops, shoes, ridge rests, pots, everything! Dave is completely disgusted by these creatures. Jill's not quite as repulsed but she agrees that it's no fun to pull your sleeping bag up a little higher in the middle of the night and get a handful of slug rather than bag.
Date: 2004-08-10
From: Stealth Site beyond Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: few clouds

After yet another slow morning we both started out feeling slow and dehydrated. We were sitting at the base of Stratton Mtn, resting and drinking up, when Bean Sprout and Turtle showed up. We happily chatted with them and caught up with each others hike stories.   After talking for a while we headed up the mountain. Dave and I were behind Bean and Turtle and we ended up taking a break which turned into a big argument. We get a lot of comments from other hikers about how good it is that we get along so well because as our hike continues as SOBOs we'll be alone more and more. We often laugh at that idea because we do argue quite a bit. Sometimes there's yelling and bickering and one will tell the other that "At the next trail town we're splitting up! I'm never hiking with you again!" Usually though these feelings subside and we get along at the end of the day. Most arguments happen when one or both of us are tired or hot or dehydrated or feeling bad (so you can see it happens at least once or twice a week). All in all, we ended up getting to the top of the mountain, eating lunch and the rest of the day we got along fabulously. We climbed up the firetower at the peak and were a little worried by the wind that we dealt with on the way up. We ended up taking a long break for lunch and so we didn't make it to the shelter until nearly dark. When we did get to the shelter it was FULL, there was no space in the shelter and there were 8-10 people already tenting out! Crazy. So, we set up our tent and got dinner cooked just before the thunderstorms rolled in.
Date: 2004-08-11
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Stealth Site past Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: haze

Well, after tenting out in the thunder storm we shook off our gear (nothing got too soaked) and headed out. The shelter was really small and had been taken over by a "family" who's dogs whined and barked through the night. In the morning, the children started arguing loudly about how many miles they were hiking - we were determined to hike more and get away from them. We had an easy hike but a wet one until lunch when we stopped at Kid Gore Shelter. We ended up taking a nap because we hadn't really gotten good rest the night before. It was a great nap - the shelter had bunks and a beautiful view. We hiked up over Glastenbury Mtn. and stopped in at Goddard. Again, a very full shelter with lots of people tenting out. We had heard about some nice tent sites down the mountain so we headed that way. We tented out in a nice spot and were again attacked by slugs!
Date: 2004-08-12
From: Stealth Site past Goddard Shelter

To: Autumn Inn, Bennington VT
Miles today: 7.9

Rain. All day. We got up and it wasn't really raining but it started almost as soon as we left camp. We met Bumpkin, a hiker from Pensacola. We got a clear spot to eat a snack at Porcupine Lookout with a Scout Group from Mass. There was a tree there with a picture of an old woman very high up the trunk - odd. Once the snack was over the rain just came down in sheets. We ran the next coupla miles (well, almost ran) to Melville Nauheim Shelter and ate lunch with NOBO, BooBoo. We found out that there were two hurricanes heading towards Florida - one that had already hit and one making its way there. We were later joined by the scouts, that family, and then some Long Trail hikers! We headed down toward the road and by the time we got there we had decided to go into town for the night. We wanted to be warm, dry, and most importantly, we wanted to call home and see if things were alright with everyone. At the Inn we saw Turtle and Bean Sprout again - they had stayed there the night before. We ate dinner at Bennington Pizza and then walked around town a bit and met NOBOs K-Less, Sunshine (the girl), and Coyote. Under sad circumstances K-Less was leaving the trail and Sunshine and Coyote had accompanied him to town. The girls were also staying at the Inn so we invited them to come hang out. We ended up swapping trail stories and info.
Date: 2004-08-13
From: Autumn Inn, Bennington VT

To: Autumn Inn, Bennington VT
Miles today: 0.0

Well, we took an inadvertant zero day today. We called home last night and everything at home is ok. Some of our extended family who lives in Central Florida had some minor damage and loss of power but no harm. According to the weather channel we were going to be getting some nasty weather as a remnant of the hurricane hit the coast. We went into Bennington to get breakfast and go to the post office. We mailed home a very smelly package of our sleeping bags and Jill's old insoles - PU. After the PO and Friendly's for breakfast, we wandered around town and then headed back to the hotel to check out. There we were looking at the newspaper when we saw that "The Village" was showing in town. Well, we started walking and walking. This was definitely the longest in town road walk we have done yet. The movie theatre was in "Greater Bennington" and we were in Bennington. We stopped along the way at the Tastee Freeze and ate lunch. We finally got to see the movie and then we headed to the Wal-Mart and Price Chopper for food, supplies and dinner. By the time we were finished it was pouring rain and so we called a cab. We had the cheapest cab ride ever ($4 total) back to the hotel and we decided to stay again. So, we got a different room (actually not as good as the first room we got) and watched tv until we crashed.
Date: 2004-08-14
From: Autumn Inn, Bennington VT

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We slept in late and when we finally got out of bed ate a free breakfast from the hotel - cereal and Dunkin Doughnuts. We packed up, lazed around a bit, and got a ride out to the trail just after lunch. We did a quick little hike up and onto the ridge and stopped fairly early at Congdon. We were later joined by NOBO, Han (as in Han Solo), and then a group of four LT hikers, as well as a couple sectioning with their dog. This made for a full shelter but there was room for everyone.
Date: 2004-08-15
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Good hike today but did we mention MUD?? The trail was just one big final mudsling before we headed over into Mass. Crossed the border this evening around 6:00 after a late lunch at Seth Warner Shelter. Met a fellow SOBO BullDog Nelson.(we were starting to wonder if we were the last ones still hiking south!) Cool guy - he's also from Florida, and at that time, hadn't known that the hurricane hit his hometown of Punta Gorda. After crossing the border, we hiked on down to the Sherman Brook Campsite and tented out there.
Date: 2004-08-16
From: Sherman Brook Campsite

To: Bascom Lodge Hiker Hostel (Garage)
Miles today: 7.9

Gee...crazy day.   Got a late start today as it rained most of last night and off and on all morning long. Ugh. Got out of camp around noon and hiked on down through North Adams, Mass. Crossed the Hoosic River on a cool river / railroad steel bridge. Hiked on up Mt. Greylock (steep). Stopped for a snack / water break at 5:00 near Wilbur Clearing LT and decided to push on up to the hiker hostel at the top of Greylock. Then the rain started again. And boy did it ever come down...crossing the ridges towards Greylock the rain, wind and lightning crashed down all around us. The trail turned into a river - very reminiscent of S. Maine. Greeeaaattt. :-P We hiked on up - soaking ourselves even with our raingear and gaitors on. As we got higher, the rain came down harder and we started to get cold. Just as things were looking pretty darn crummy, we were picked up by a guy in a truck. Woohoo!!! The trail crossed the road that leads to the summit of Greylock about .3 mile from the top. The guy picked us up and let us pile into the cab of his truck. A worker from the lodge, he told us we could expect to get some left over lasagna and baked potatoes from the folks up there. We were stoked and very thankful! Upon arriving at the lodge, we checked in at the desk and asked for the AT hiker garage and rate ($10 each incl shower). We asked the girl at the desk about the leftovers... "GRRR NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!" She yelled. Not really, but she weasily said that none were available and that she 'might' could make us sandwiches. Later....we saw her eating a massive plate of leftover lasagna and potatoes. Anyhow - it was good to warm by the fire, talk to the guests, get showers and spend the night in a mouse infested garage. At least the lightning and torrent didn't get us.
Date: 2004-08-17
From: Bascom Lodge Hiker Hostel (Garage)

To: Catholic Church, Cheshire MA
Miles today: 7.7

Great hike today. Wet shoes and mud at the begining but later on the mud thinned out. Cheshire is a great little town - crossed our first cornfield on the way in. That was kinda neat. Checked in at the church, with father Dave and his dog Princess and headed straight down to Christina's pizza place. MMMMM....it was great pizza and calzones. Met Album, a former thru and current section hiker. Enjoyed icecream at the little shop next to the bikepath and struggled to find any food resupply in town. Shared the church with several other NOBOs who arrived later in the day. Slept on the floor in one of the back rooms.
Date: 2004-08-18
From: Catholic Church, Cheshire MA

To: Kay Wood Lean-To
Miles today: 11.8

This morning we woke up early and headed down to the Lakeside Cafe for breakfast.   We managed to get breakfast for two for under $10! That's pretty good considering that between the two of us we got coffee, juice, eggs, homefries, and bacon. After that hearty breakfast we headed up to the Cobbles and enjoyed the view from there for a while. Moxy found a dime next to a rock so we managed to earn 10cents for our hike thus far After that we passed a hiker who thought he had just seen a bear so we were on the lookout for a bear but didn't see one We headed down into Dalton around lunchtime and headed to the post office to pick up our packages. We both got snacks and letters from home - always nice. We then went to lunch at Angelina's Subs. We got fed but it wasn't really worth the price. Then we discovered that there was no good place to resupply in Dalton - at all. We eeked out some food from a general store and a gas station and then started on our way out of town. We stopped at Tom Levardi's house to get some water for our hike out. He regularly opens his home to hikers as a hostel and welcomed us to stay there for the night. We decided not to take him up on that offer but when he offered us some ice cream we couldn't refuse. He came out with black raspberry ice cream sundaes! There wasn't just ice cream - we got whipped cream, sprinkles, the whole deal. Tom's a super nice man and we were a little bummed to be moving on but we knew we needed to get as many miles as possible. We got to the lean-to and there was a pile of section hikers. There were six other people there besides us but luckily the lean-to is huge. That night after going to sleep we were awoken by a frightening noise (and we equals us plus five other people). This noise turned out not to be a bear, moose, scary monster or even alien spacecraft landing. Instead it was one of the section hikers - an old man whose snoring is likened to an industrial size blender attempting to frappe multiple tons of aged leather. It was awful, no one else could sleep besides this man and Moxy finally had enough, lived up to her name and shouted at him - making him roll over and cease. Unfortunately, this was still late in the night and we didn't get a good amount of sleep.
Date: 2004-08-19
From: Kay Wood Lean-To

To: Stealth Site by Finnerty Pond
Miles today: 13.7

Well, we had planned to do 16 miles to get to the famous all you can eat pancakes at Goose Pond but we didn't get enough sleep and couldn't push out the miles. We did have a good day's hike overall though. We got some Wal-Mart cokes as magic and also stopped in at the Cookie Lady's house where we got some homemade cookies and more cokes. The Cookie Lady wasn't home but her husband was and he invited us to pick some blueberries and take them with us. We heartily took to our task of blueberry picking (well, Captain picked and Moxy just ate most of the ones she picked). It's a good thing the Cookie Man doesn't do a teeth check before you leave! ("Caught ya! Blue-tongued!") We just got too worn-out and ended up not having enough energy or time to make it to Goose Pond so we stopped at Finnerty Pond and had a nice little camp-out. There's some great tent-sites there. Overall, we had a great day and enjoyed some blueberries as dessert.
Date: 2004-08-20
From: Stealth Site by Finnerty Pond

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: clear sky

We did a short and easy hike into Upper Goose Pond today and got to enjoy a canoe ride out onto Goose Pond. We called a friend of ours and will be meeting him tomorrow for some time off the trail and some slackpacking! We met NOBOs Scorch, Flint and Mr. T. We had a great time hanging out at the Cabin and playing cards. Moxy managed to make her third coke can stove of the trip (two previous attempts didn't work so well) and this one is a keeper! It rained all night but the next morning we enjoyed all you can eat pancakes and coffee!
Date: 2004-09-19
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

A real quick note: Because of a variety of reasons, both economic and trail related, both of us have left the trail for an indeterminant amount of time and are now back in Tallahassee. We'll post further updates soon and get our journal up to date. Thank you for all your encouragement and prayers! We'll both be back on the trail again to finish it up - just not quite yet. In the mean time - we're both looking for jobs! It's been a great trip and we've had a blast. We'll def miss our friends who are still on the trail. Good luck to all! -dave
Date: 2005-01-02
To: New Years Update
Miles today: 0.0

Happy New Year!Well it has been kind of a long time since I've posted anything on this journal and I've felt bad about it. So here goes... A lot has happened since getting back in September and things here in Tallahassee have been pretty busy. It took me longer then I expected to find a good job. I'll admit I was picky - only applying to jobs that were within my collegiate field but it all worked out. After about three months of job searching and applying to openings, I got a couple of good offers and was able to choose my favorite.All the time, effort and searching have paid off! I'm now working full-time for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a Recreation Trails Specialist. Our office is responsible for implementing nature based recreation opportunities on wildlife management areas across the state of Florida. I love it there. The people I work with are great! We have funding to work on the projects and we're building pathways to a better Florida by getting people out into the woods and onto the water. Personally, I spend most of my time in the field these days on several projects we have going on. I'm involved with a project to build a network of trails on a WMA along the Suwannee River, another project to survey all of the state canoe trails and an upcoming project along the Aucilla River. I'm loving it!The hurricanes that hit our state this Fall have spared my imediate family of any damages. We consider ourselves very lucky. My grandfather and uncle have a couple hundred acres of citrus in Central Florida and were hit pretty hard. They lost a great deal of fruit off of the trees. Luckily though, their house was mostly untouched.It was much to my delight to see that Tasha Marie and several other familiar names finished their SOBO at the end of November. Their treks are inspirations for myself and others. Not a day goes by that I don't think back to my hike and the people and experiences that were a part of it. I thank all of those who offered prayers and support while I was on the trail. I will return to the AT again someday - if not for another thru- at least for sections. In the mean time, Florida has trails that need to be carved and rivers that need to be paddled and I'm delighted to be a part of that.If anyone has contact info for NightRain, 4Winds, GreenSplinter, Dr. Jones or Music Man, I'd love to know how those guys are doing. I'm not sure how far they made it on the trail.For everyone else - Happy New Years! I look forward to making 2005 as great as an adventure as 2004.Dave / Capt. SaltyPS - I will be moving into a new apartment later this month and will once again have access to a broadband internet connection. As soon as that is all hooked up I'll get to work posting my pics from the hike and updating my other Trekshare page. http://www.trekshare.com/members/dgodwin7/