morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-06-21
From: Fayetteville, GA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Packed up and ready to leave tomorrow. Changes from last year. Neoair mattress from Thermarest. Alcohol stove. A SteriPEN water purifier to go along with the Aquamira. And the biggest change, I now have a Verizon phone, no more AT&T. I've always been proud of being one of the last to adopt new technology (does anyone know where to get printer paper with the holes on both sides? I'm running low) but I needed a new phone and a new camera so I bought a smartphone last week. So far I've learned how to make a call, take pictures and video and send them here and there, use the GPS, and listen to the radio. Maybe some of the young kids I meet along the way will show me some more stuff that I never knew I needed. I've been running and walking quite a bit to get physically ready for the trip. It's been in the 90's down here just about every day, so I'm acclimatized to the heat. The other day I was walking one hot afternoon and a guy stopped me and asked if I was getting ready to deploy to the Middle East. My weight is down to 172 so I'm lighter than when I started last year. Pack weight without food water or fuel is 17 lbs.
Date: 2011-06-24
From: Hwy 52 NY

To: Hwy 55 CT
Miles today: 22.3

Finally back on the trail. Overcast and humid but no rain and temperatures in the 60's. Saw 5 deer including doe with twin fawns. About a half dozen hikers, all southbound section hikers. Slackpacking for a few days while my wife is up here with a car. Supper at Friendly's, a bacon cheeseburger and milkshake. It's good to be able to eat anything I want again. Mosquitos are out but not swarming. I didn't use repellant until after lunch. When I started at Hwy 52 I had 755.7 miles to Katahdin.
Date: 2011-06-25
From: Hwy 55 CT

To: Hwy 4 CT
Miles today: 21.9

Saw nothing but day hikers today. I'm kind of surprised I haven't seen any north bound thru hikers. It is a little early for the main herd to be this far, maybe I'm in a gap, kind of like I was in when I got off the trail last year. It's real early for south bounders, I probably won't see any of them until Vermont. There has been plenty of rain, shouldn't have any water problems.
Date: 2011-06-27
From: Hwy 4 CT

To: Hwy 41 CT
Miles today: 22.1

We moved up to stay in Kent yesterday, staying in Fife and Drum. In 2006 Kip, Socrosse, and I were lucky enough to stay in St. Andrews church. Socrosse and I were standing on the Hwy 341 side of the church while Kip was walking around the buildings looking for someone to give us permission to stay. A guy pulled up on our side and asked if we wanted to stay and he said he was the caretaker. I guess since we were all over 40 and looked it, he figured we wouldn't cause any trouble. They don't even advertise in the guide books anymore. Kent would be a good trail town if there was a cheap place to stay. Several restaurants, grocery store, a small outfitter, easy walk from the trail. I don't know if the more refined citizens would want a bunch of hikers hanging around . Ran into a guy from GA slackpacking, named Burly. Walked into Salisbury on Hwy 41 at the end of the day to wait for my ride. met a guy named Spartan hiking with Blue Moon. They were spending the night there. Today I walked through a small park in Falls Village that had a kiosk for visitors to register. Along with the current book were some older ones. I started looking and found one that covered 2006. I knew we went through in late May and found where Kip had signed on May 24 at 1108. We would frequently put the time to let others know how far ahead we were.
Date: 2011-06-28
From: Hwy 41 CT

To: Hwy 41 MA
Miles today: 17.8

Several good climbs and descents today. Coming down the north side of Mt. Everett noticed about a half dozen new waterbars in the trail. Imagine, trail maintenance north of VA. Unfortunately the first one was quite a ways down from where water started running down the middle of the trail. About a quarter mile later came to a muddy section where someone had placed some boards. Unfortunately, the first board started about 10 feet past the start of the water and mud. Some hiker had thrown a big log in to walk on to get to the boards. And wouldn't you know it, the last 30 feet of boards was on dry land. Met another thru hiker named Beerhunter. He may be older than me.
Date: 2011-06-30
From: Hwy 41 MA

To: Hwy 23 MA
Miles today: 12.0

Last slackpacking for awhile. Short day, I don't want to get to Dalton until Sunday morning. That way I get almost a whole day's rest with only one hotel stay. As I was unloading at the trailhead this morning Spartan and Bluemoon came walking out of the woods. Mrs Red Ranger gave them a ride into town to buy groceries and then back to the trail. Just before Hwy 7 there were some boards over a boggy area. About a third of them were underwater. Only a couple of inches though. It gets worse further north. There are places where you step on a dry board and it sinks maybe 6 inches. Tonight had the last Friendly's milkshake for awhile.
Date: 2011-07-01
From: Hwy 23 MA

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Close to the Tyringham road I saw movement to my left front. Looking closer, it was an adult bear doing what all bears I've seen on the trail were doing, running away. Then I saw two cubs running toward me. Immediately I thought, what if the cubs run across the trail past me and I'm left between the mother and the cubs? I started backing up but as I got moving the cubs shot up a tree like two big squirrels. They were running toward me because that was where the closest tree was. The mother backed off a little further so I kept on going. Six other hikers at the cabin.
Date: 2011-07-02
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Kay Woods Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: clear sky

This morning passed two women walking with their dogs, off leash. They started barking and growling, the dogs not the women, as many dogs do. I stopped and let them go on by. Steady and Barnicle, who were hiking behind me said that when they met them one of the women said not to look at the dogs. Imagine, people letting their dogs run loose in a public place, threatening other people, and then acting like its the other people's fault that the dogs are acting like they are. Later in the day met responsible dog owner who had her Lab on a leash and had firm control as we passed.
Date: 2011-07-03
From: Kay Woods Shelter

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: mist

Rained for about 30 minutes on the walk in. Had breakfast with Barnicle, Steady, and Halftongue at the Dalton Restaurant. They walked on, I'm staying at the Shamrock Inn. Got in the room about 1130 so I get almost a full day off with only one nights stay. Raining off and on during the day. Good day to be indoors. For supper I thought that I would order a pizza. There were some menus in the room so I picked a local non-chain pizza place and called. It was obvious that the person who answered the phone was not a native english speaker. Whatever he said sounded nothing like the name of the restaurant but I had checked to make sure I had punched in the correct number before I hit the call button so I said that I wanted to order a pizza. There is a pretty standard set of questions when you order a pizza over the phone. After some more back and forth, me saying "say again" and him repeating something pretty much unintelligable, I heard the word pick-up. Knowing he was asking "pick-up or delivery?" I said delivery. More back and forth and I heard "size?" so I gave him the size and the ingredients I wanted on it. More conversation and I heard location so I said the Shamrock Village Inn. He wanted to know where that was. I said on Main Street right next to the Post Office. I know that most of you have never been to Dalton but it is a small town. Main St. is pretty much it. There is only one Post Office. The Shamrock is the only hotel/motel in town. How long do you have to live in a small town to learn where the Post Office is? He wanted the street address. I looked around the room but couldn't find anything with the full address. I finallly picked up the phone and told him to forget it. I was putting my shoes on to walk around the corner to a sub shop when the phone rang. It was a local area code, maybe the pizza place figured it out but I didn't bother answering.
Date: 2011-07-04
From: Dalton, MA

To: Williamstown, MA
Miles today: 23.5

Started walking at 7:00 and made it all the way to Williamstown even though I had to climb Mt Greylock, the highest point in MA. In 2006 I got to the Greylock lodge at the mountaintop, and while drinking a Gatorade a fierce thunderstorm blew up. After about 30 minutes of rain with no letup, it did not take much convincing for me to spend the night. They had two bunkrooms in addition to a few private rooms and I was the only guest. After awhile the desk clerk said good by and left. I was the only person in the building. About an hour later I was sitting in the lobby reading when there was a knock at the door. It was two thru hikers. I let them in out of the rain, they got the other bunk room and told them they could settle up in the morning.In Williamstown I had stayed at the Redwood Motel on a previous trip but they did not answer their phone. On the recommendation of Steady I called the Williamstown Motel and I'm glad I did. It was about a mile and a half from the trail to the motel and Tariq came and picked me up. The room was small, but very neat and clean. There were several restaurants and other businesses of interest to hikers in easy walking distance. I got a pizza and took it back to the room for dinner
Date: 2011-07-05
From: Williamstown, MA

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

Entered Vermont today. Nothing special happened. Met two more long section hikers at the shelter. A student group was tenting in the area. Someone said that they were on the 3rd day of a 30 day hike of the Long Trail. If that is true they have done about 16 miles so far.
Date: 2011-07-06
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Unknown Stream
Miles today: 20.9

The student group was awakened this morning by someone playing what sounded like a flute. I'm estimating the milage for today. I got to the shelter at 18 miles and it was only 5:00. If I had stayed there I would have to do 23 miles tomorrow so I decided to move on a little longer. Someone at the shelter said that there was a stream a couple of miles ahead with tent sites. I'd been walking about an hour when a thunder storm hit. Strong wind and rain for about 10 minutes then light rain. I got to the stream about 30 minutes later, found a tent site and stood around for a while waiting for the rain to stop. When it did I set up camp.
Date: 2011-07-08
From: Bromley Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: light rain

Encountered the first sinking bog boards today. North of the Peru Peak shelter I was walking on some boards over a wet area when I noticed that the second board ahead was wet even though it was above the water. Some other guys were a little ahead of me so I was pretty sure I knew what was going on. The support for this board was not resting on the bottom but rather was floating in the water. The trick is to guess how far it will sink when you step on it. In this case it was about 4 inches and only the end so I only got one shoe wet. It's worse when there is no one ahead of you and the board sinks unexpectantly. And of course, less that a quarter mile ahead there was about 150 yds of boards, some of which were on dry land, one section of which could have been placed on the sinking board and taken care of the situation. Another rain storm this evening, got wet but not soaked. I was getting close to the shelter when I saw an older man setting up his ten on the side of the trail. A woman I later found out was the caretaker from the previous shelter, was talking to him. I kept going. About 10 people in the shelter area, none thru hikers.
Date: 2011-07-09
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: few clouds

While packing up this morning the older man from last evening walked into camp. This shelter is .3 miles off the trail. He asked a woman sitting in front of the shelter if the trail came through here. She told him he needed to go back .3 miles to where the signs were. He turned around and got about 50 yds before he turned around again and came back to the shelter. I was watching so I went up to help. I told him again how to get back to the trail. Then he started to go past the shelter which would have taken him even further away from where he needed to go. We finally convinced him to go in the proper direction. When he was setting up the previous night he was south of the turnoff to the shelter. Since he hiked north to get to the shelter turnoff I thought he was north bound on the AT. I did not see him the rest of the day. So either he was really southbound or a really quick hiker. Met up with a guy named Crumbs at lunch and we hiked together most of the rest of the day. Another long section hiker, NJ to ME. He has been sleeping in shelters all along and has not set up his tent yet. I said that I'll probably be in my tent every night for privacy and bug protection. Saw the first southbound thru hiker today. Cooper Lodge is about 3800 feet high. cool enough that I wore my vest while eating supper and slept in my sleeping bag and not under it.
Date: 2011-07-10
From: Cooper Lodge

To: Mountain Meadow Lodge
Miles today: 11.5

Crumbs said that he got the best sleep of the whole trip so far. Had lunch at a deli/gas station/store at the intersection of hwys 4 and 100. Then 2 more miles to this lodge. I'll be spending 2 nights here, the first full day off so far. Nice place, they have a web site if you want to check it out.
Date: 2011-07-12
From: Mountain Meadow Lodge

To: Wintturi Shelter
Miles today: 14.7

Almost 9:00 before I got started. Nothing of significance happened today so how about a story from 2006. We got to this shelter at lunch time. As we came down the approach trail and approached the shelter we saw a tall thin man standing by the fire pit washing dishes in a large 2/3 gallon stock pot like you would see in a commercial kitchen. In the shelter a woman was laying in a sleeping bag and a teenage boy was sitting beside her. The woman told us her story as she chain smoked and a classic rock station played on a radio in the background. They had lived in Bath, ME and had lost their jobs so they decided to hike south on the AT which was something she had always wanted to do. They had not started at Katahdin because of the snow. They said that we would not need any gear as we traveled north because they had abandoned a lot of the clothes and other stuff they had started out with. The man asked us if we wanted to wash any dishes while the water was hot, but we politely refused. A very surreal situation. We ate quickly and left. For those aware of the Tyringham, MA story, when we got back to the trail I said, "I couldn't have been more surprised if a pig ran out from behind the shelter."
Date: 2011-07-13
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: broken clouds

Now on the part of the trail that is maintained by the Dartmouth Outing Club. I use the word "maintained" loosely. From the number of trees down and the bypass trails that hikers have made around them, I would say that it has been a while since they have been in the woods with sharp objects. Started raining about an hour before I got to the shelter. When I got to the shelter there was no water. Even though it has rained 4 times in the past week and the guidebook did not say that the stream was intermittent. I was out of water so I had to keep going. About 5 minutes down the trail I found a small stream, filled up, and walked back to the shelter. I was the only one in the shelter to I set up my tent inside.
Date: 2011-07-14
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Moose Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: clear sky

The small stream where I got water last night was dry this morning. In the Bible there is a story in John 9 in which Jesus heals a man who was born blind. Later the Jewish religious leaders are questioning the formerly blind man and trying to get him to admit that Jesus is a sinner because he healed on the Sabbath. The healed man said "I don't know if he is a sinner. But this I do know, once I was blind but now I can see." You can ask me if I believe in miracles. My answer would be, I don't know if miracles happen, but this I do know, when I needed water it was there, and when I didn't it was gone. Entered Hanover, NH today. 430.8 miles to go. Spent about an hour at a Subway. Mosquitos were worse this evening than they have been on the whole trip so far.
Date: 2011-07-15
From: Moose Mtn Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was the first day that I did not use any insect repellant. Also the first time I have taken an Excedrin, minor headache. It's Friday. This afternoon I realized that I sent my next food box to the Glencliff Post Office. And I won't get there before it closes tomorrow. Since I have to wait until Monday to pick up my food, I'll try to slack pack Sunday over Mt. Moosilauke. A southbounder said that he heard that there weren't any nice shelters down south. There are a lot more nice shelters down there than up here
Date: 2011-07-16
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 14.6

Staying in the Hostel. Now under 400 miles to go, 398.5. Set up shuttle to slack pack tomorrow. Probably about a dozen hikers staying here, I'm sleeping in my tent in the yard. Three other GA AT club members here also. Had lunch at the Ore Hill shelter today. in 2006 I spent the night there. About a mile before you get to the shelter there is a marshy area with a lot of boards across the worst parts. Since I was there much earlier in the summer in 2006 there was a lot more water than today. And it was without a doubt the most mosquito infested place I went through on the entire trip. I practically ran across the boards for about a quarter mile trying to keep my mouth closed and squinting to keep the bugs out of my mouth and eyes. On this day in 2006 I finished my thru hike.
Date: 2011-07-18
From: Hwy 112

To: I 93
Miles today: 16.3

Light rain for about 30 minutes this morning, then about an hour of moderate rain in the afternoon. There was some thunder but not close. The guy from Glencliff hostel took my pack to Chet's hostel in Lincoln, NH and I slackpacked this stretch. In 2006 this same stretch of trail was the last time I hiked with my friend Kip. My wife came up for a visit the next day and Kip went on. I did see him in Monson, ME and in Baxter State Park. Chet's hostel is in a good location, lots of stuff within easy walking distance.
Date: 2011-07-20
From: North Conway, NH

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

Now officially in the White Mtns. Slow going because of the steepness and roughness of the trail. Very scenic above tree line on top of the ridges. Nothing like this down south. Had to pay $8 to stay at this place tonight. The Appalachian Mountain Club has permission from the Forest Service to run and charge for campsites in this area. I can't see that the hiker gets anything here that he doesn't get for free elsewhere. The shelters aren't very nice but there are tent platforms.
Date: 2011-07-21
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter

To: Ethan Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

Another slow day in the mountains. There are 8 thruhikers in the shelter area tonight. Got in about 4:00 and ate two suppers because I had extra food left over from 2 days of slackpacking. Temperatures have been close to 90 the past couple of days. Real hot for up here.
Date: 2011-07-23
From: Hwy 302 NH

To: Mt Washington,NH
Miles today: 12.5

Slackpacking today. Drove to the top of Mt. Washinton and walked down to Hwy 302. It's Saturday and good weather, lots of people on the trails. Saw some guys I knew camping at the Hwy and took one to the closest store. Good views from the top of Washington. Windy and cold up there as usual.
Date: 2011-07-24
From: Mt Washington,NH

To: Hwy 16 NH
Miles today: 13.5

A very slow day due to the roughness of the trail. Good views while above treeline. At one point once I was back down in the trees I thought I might have missed a turn. The Appalachian Mtn Club doesn' t use much of the money it collects from hikers to mark the trail with the white blazes like is done on the rest of the trail in other areas. After about a half mile I finally came to a sign that showed I was still on the right path. I have amended 7-14 and 7-16 entries. Read 7-13 before reading 7-14.
Date: 2011-07-27
From: Imp Shelter

To: Hwy 2 NH
Miles today: 8.0

Got down to the highway about 1130. And that was after eating an early lunch at Rattle River shelter. Mt Moriah was in the clouds so there was no views. Called Colonial Fort Inn and they took about 45 minutes to come and get me. Lunch at Mcdonalds and supper at a Chinese buffet. Wasn't worth the money.
Date: 2011-07-28
From: Hwy 2 NH

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Last time I'll stay at the Colonial Fort Inn. They wouldn't take me back to the trail until after 9:30 so it was almost 10:00 until I started walking. Got to the shelter at almost 8:00. By the time I got water and set up my tent it was dark. I needed to get here today in order to have a short day tomorrow when I go through Mahoosuc Notch.
Date: 2011-07-29
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Speck Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Mahoosuc Notch today, the toughest mile on the whole trail. A valley full of bus and car sized boulders to climb over, around, and under. Took me 1 and 1/2 hours this time. In 2006 it took about 2 1/2 hours. But it did rain all day that time. Got to the shelter about 4:00. It started to rain so I did not tent.
Date: 2011-08-02
From: Piazza Rock Shelter

To: Spaulding Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 16.9

On the way up Saddleback Mtn started getting dark. I looked back to the west and it was dark back toward Rangely and obviously raining over the lake. I started moving as fast as I could to get over the top before the storm arrived. It turned into one of those situations where it looks like you are getting close but when you top a rise you still have a way to go. Finally made it to the very top and kept going to get to low ground before the storm. There were a couple of guys taking a break at the top, not where I would want to be if it started lightning. The rain arrived in the valley between Saddleback and the Horn. I decided to wait it out. Took about 20 minutes. Light rain in the afternoon but it didn't last.