morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-09-22
To: The Whites (huts)
Miles today: 0.0

So we are almost through the White Mountains in New Hampshire and we are taking a break in Lincoln for a day off. The Whites have been amazing so far. Every day has been a perfectly clear day so the views and scenery has been awesome.   So one of the cool things about Hiking in the white mountains are the Appalachian Mountain Club Huts. There are about 8 huts spread out along the AT that goes through the whites and each of these huts is basically a massive cabin to house hikers. These Huts include a crew of about 3 people, a kitchen and bunks for the hikers to sleep in. Now usually to stay at these Huts, it costs a hiker about 90 dollars a night so it¢s pretty expensive. But being a thru-hiker, Phil and I had the privilege of staying there for free and doing what¢s called a ¢work for stay¢. We are provided with a dinner, shelter out of the cold, and breakfast and in return, the crew of these Huts give us a job. We stayed at three Huts so far, Zealand, Galehead, and Greenleaf. Some of the jobs we have had to complete have been cleaning a stove, washing out cabinets, sweeping the floors and bunks. These jobs that seriously took 20 mins each where basically busy work so it seems like we have earned our stay at these huts. In return we got an amazing dinner and breakfast. Its really a sweet deal for us. And all these crew members really know how to cook. Every night, they made fresh soup and bread, and salad. Then for the main course, we had pork and rice, alfredo pasta casserole with veggies and our final night, we had a thanksgiving feast with turkey, mash potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and all the other fixings. Our breakfasts included oatmeal, pancakes, eggs, bacon, scones, coffee, juice, and hot chocolate. The sweet thing about being a thru-hiker is that we have to wait until all the paying guests have been served first. Then its part of our ¢work for stay¢ to clean out any leftovers and for the past three nights, there has been way too much for me and Phil to handle. So every night, I have gone to sleep with serious stomach pains from eating too much but I¢m totally alright with it because it has made up for all those hungry nights we have had and also for the hungry nights still to come. It¢s also been fun to hang out with the crews of these Huts every night. They are all really nice to thru-hikers and we really appreciated them hooking us up with a couple meals and warm shelter for basically nothing. So again, the Whites and these Huts have been amazing and we are really going to enjoy them for the final couple days. Next stop is Hanover.   -Nate
Date: 2008-09-22
To: The Whites
Miles today: 0.0

Off the trail for a couple days in Lincoln, NH and at the Mark and Mary Linehan¢s house in North Conway, NH. They graciously have taken us into their home for the night and we have enjoyed every minute of our stay here (including the amazing pork roast we had last night, the double beds with feather pillows, and watching the Pats on HD although they lost miserably). This past week of hiking has been epic. This is the only word I can use to begin to describe how beautiful and fun the Whites have been. We have been looking forward to hiking these famous mountains and they have not been a disappointment. Every day we have hiked in them, which is 5 now, have been perfectly clear weather days.   This is abnormal in the Whites and especially on top of Mt. Washington, the tallest mountain in New England at 6,288 feet, which is in the clouds 300 days out of the year. We have been incredibly blessed with great views, great hiking temperatures, and great mountain tops. The Whites have 48 4,000 foot peaks throughout and we have hiked 13 so far with 3 to come over the next two days. Of these 13 peaks we have been on, 10 have been complete 360 degree views. On almost every mountain we have summited, we have tried to hang out for a while and enjoy the scenery because the views are supposedly some of the most beautiful on the trail. Needless to say, this past week has been one of our best for hiking and for enjoying the views. Last night, while sleeping at the Linehan¢s on a nice comfortable bed, and this morning as I woke up to a nice cup of coffee and eggs and homefries, I had an inner urge to be back on the trail and get hiking. For me, this was a very positive feeling and it shows that I am not sick of hiking and being on the trail. There is something about waking up in your sleeping bag, making your own breakfast on the trail and then starting hiking that has become part of my daily routine that I enjoy. I hope this urge to be hiking stays with me because we still have a good bit left to hike. Thanks to everyone who is staying in touch with us and gracious enough to have us over and help us along the trail. A common saying and philosophy on the trail is to ¢hike your own hike¢. We have decided that for us, this means that we want to enjoy God¢s creation around us by making sure we try to see all the cool scenery and views along the way. We also want to incorporate as many people into the hike as we can and have people join us and take part in our hike. This includes visiting people off the trail as we hike South. So, thanks to everyone thus far who has joined us in hiking, who has accepted us into their home, and who have been praying and keeping in touch with us. We look forward to the many others who we will see and hang out with as time goes on, so let us know if you want to join in or if we are coming near you. Blessings. -Phil
Date: 2008-10-02
To: Rutland, VT
Miles today: 0.0

We¢ve had an incredibly interesting time staying in Rutland, VT the past two days. In the middle of the city (2nd largest in VT), there is a caf© called the Back Home Again Caf©, which also has a hiker hostel on the second floor. This caf© and hostel are run by a community called the 12 Tribes and all along the trail we have heard about this hostel/caf© from other hikers. The one thing other hikers have warned us about is that the 12 tribes are a ¢crazy cult¢ and ¢run by a bunch of hippies¢. Needless to say, both Nate and I were very interested in learning more about what the 12 tribes were and what they believed. After moving into the hostel and taking a nice shower, we sat down for about two hours with one of the brothers, named Malachi, who was part of the community and asked him all sorts of questions about what they believed and why he was a part of the community. I was impressed with how knowledgeable he was and how well spoken he was about the community. Basically what the 12 tribes community is, is the early Acts 2 church where everyone lived and worked together, shared a common purse, and beliefs were based on Jesus¢ or Yashua¢s (Jesus¢ name in Hebrew) words. We were overwhelmed by their love and hospitality for us and for everyone else who came in the door. Many of the brothers reminded me of what the early disciples were, a rough, low on the totem pole type of people. These type of people, who were hurting and searching found this community and were welcomed in with lots of love and acceptance. It was refreshing to see a place that really strives to follow Jesus¢ words and actions and understands that all humans have value and this life isn¢t just about making money and living comfortably. It was a beautiful place and Nate and I enjoyed our two days there immensely. Who knows, maybe we¢ll become brothers one day. -Phil
Date: 2008-10-13
From: end of NH-Vermont

To: Home sweet home
Miles today: 0.0

Our stay at our cabin was great and we hit the trail again Sunday after a short weekend break. We had about 100 miles to go through the rest of Vermont and into Mass. We hiked right over the ski mountains Bromley and Stratton along the way. Phil and I are determined to ski every mountain we have hiked over at the end of this trip which includes Sugarloaf, Wildcat, Killington, Bromley and Stratton. On Wednesday night, we had the privilege of staying with the Reislers at Bennington VT. The Reislers are good friends from Deerfoot and they graciously invited us into their home for a delicious meal and bed to sleep in. We both shared the same room and I am still disappointed that I lost the game of rocks paper scissor against Phil to see who had the pleasure of sleeping in the water bed. It was hard to get going the next morning after a breakfast of cheese omelets, apple raisin pancakes, muffins, fruit salad, and venison. The cool thing as we left was that Jacob Reisler, who also went to Deerfoot wanted to join us for a day of hiking. We did a 18 mile slack pack and I was laughing to myself when I was struggling to keep up with Jacobs hiking pace when I¢ve been out on the trail for over 6 weeks and this is his first time hiking the AT. During that 18 miles slack pack, we finally crossed into Mass which was a huge excitement. This was our first big goal at the beginning of the trip, to reach Massachusetts so it feels great to be back in our home state.   Our first night in Mass, we slept on top of Mt. Greylock which is the highest mountain in the state at an impressive 3400 feet(a hill compared to the whites). The top had a really sweet indoor shelter that had a huge stove in the middle of the room. After a long day of hiking, my brother Phil had the brilliant idea of drying his sweaty clothes on the stove and using his Deerfoot expertise and experience made a rip roaring fire in the stove. 10 minutes later, we could only laugh when he melted half his spandex away and put a hole the size of a grapefruit in his shorts. The next morning, we woke up extra early and watched probably the greatest sunrise I have ever seen. So we got picked up on Friday and we are having our first big break of 3 days off. Its been great to be home and sleep in my bed for the first time in a while. Its also been nice to splurge on the food I¢ve been dreaming about for the past 6 weeks such as Nicks, American BBQ, and Russell Orchards apple cider donuts. Its weird because I thought I wasn¢t even going to think about hiking while I was enjoying my time off at home but after the first full day off, I was itching to get back on the trail. I guess its just become part of my life now. Cant wait to hit the trail again and start heading south.   -Nate
Date: 2008-10-14
To: Home again
Miles today: 0.0

We are off the trail right now at our home in Hamilton, MA. It has been really great to get off the trail for a couple days and see everyone. It was my homecoming at Gordon this weekend and I was able to see old friends and teammates and actually play in my first alumni vs. current team lacrosse game as an alumni. Though we lost, and I was badly out of lacrosse shape, it was a lot of fun playing again for the first time since last spring. There is a certain culture shock when getting off the trail for an extended period of time. Dad picked us up in Dalton, MA, which is in western mass, and it took us 5 hours to get home because of traffic on the roads. It feels weird to sit in traffic in a car on a highway. I¢ve also been going to bed much past my hiking bedtime since I¢ve been home. Usually we are sleeping at 9 or 9:30 but here we get into bed well past 12 most nights. It definitely is an adjustment getting off the trail, but we have enjoyed our stay a lot. I can¢t wait to get hiking again. We should be in Conn. by the weekend and into New York next week. We are planning on hopping into New York City for a day so if you are in the city and you are reading this, let us know and hopefully we can catch up. The states are going to start flying until we hit Pennsylvania and Virginia which look pretty daunting on the map and will probably take a while. It feels great to be home in the great state of Massachusetts and on Thursday and Friday while we were actually hiking the Mass. section of the trail, I kept on saying to myself, ¢Home sweet home¢. We bought winter gear today. We are converting to hiking pants instead of shorts, and we both bought thermal underwear for camp at night. In a way it is frightening to think that the temperature is only going to get colder, but I would rather be cold than steaming hot. Just a reminder, if you haven¢t yet, sign the guestbook. We love to know who is reading these things and make sure to put down your email address so we can email you back. Awesome¢¦Back to the trail for now. -Phil
Date: 2008-10-18
To: Falls Village, CT
Miles today: 0.0

We have finished Mass and are now in Connecticut. It was a great 6 days while hiking in our home state. Not going to lie, it is a little sad leaving but we must continue on. We have a blast these past two days. Yesterday, we met up with Ron Mackey, the Deerfoot camp director, and Russ Boronow, a Deerfoot legend, for breakfast at Mom's Country Cafe. It was a great time to catch up with both of them and of course a great time of eating. Russ decided to join Nate and I for a little hiking and he has hiked with us the last 28 miles of our journey into CT. Russ was a pioneer counselor of mine when I was 12, so it has been fun catching up with him and hiking with him. Supposedly, the last 10 miles of Mass going into CT is some of the most beautiful hiking on the trail and we hit it just as the foliage nearly at its peak. It has been fun because we have followed the peak of foliage down New England, starting in Vermont and now into CT. I think Nate and I will finally have to break down and bust out the down jackets. It was stinkin cold last night. Waking up in below freezing temperatures and having to put on cold spandex is not fun. I think we have officially reached that point of the trip where it is going to be really cold every morning and every night from now on. Bring it on. Thanks for posting in our guestbook. We love hearing from you. -Phil
Date: 2008-10-19
From: Falls Village, CT

To: CT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So we had our first serious injury of the trip. As we were leaving Tuesday morning from home back to the trail, being the weight conscious hiker that I am, I decided to cut my toothbrush in half with a serrated knife to shave off some serious weight. The knife slipped and sliced my thumb so instead of hitting the trail in 10 min, we were heading to the doctors to get stitches. So im disappointed to inform you that our first injury requiring medical assistance did not come from a bear attack or falling off a cliff or getting attacked by a crazy hiker. Nope, it was at home trying to shave a couple ounces off my toothbrush. I guess I was blessed I was at home instead of the middle of the woods.        So we once again hit the trail after that minor delay back home. One of the big highlights in Mass was hitting the Appalachian Bridge that goes over the Massachusetts Turnpike. Growing up, we crossed under this bridge a couple times a year and we would always look for hikers but never saw one. That¢s why when we reached the bridge, we made our presence known. We were jumping on the fence screaming at cars and trucks making a scene for everyone to watch. We got tons of honks and screams and waves back to us. It was a lot of fun.         We also stopped at one of our cousins house Michelle Williams. We had a lot of fun at her house because it was next to our old camp Lakeside that we used to go to when we were really young.   Brought back a bunch of old time memories. We cant say enough how munch it means to us everyone opening their homes to us and showing us some real hospitality. We are in Connecticut right now and are hoping to be in NY soon.                                                                                 -Nate
Date: 2008-10-24
From: New York City

To: New York City
Miles today: 0.0

We just had a nice stretch from Dalton Mass through Connecticut into New York. It¢s getting colder and colder as the days get shorter. Mornings are getting harder to get out of our warm sleeping bags and get going. We had are first freeze in the morning where we woke up and there was a clear sheet of ice on our water supply. So we could really use everyones thoughts and prayers for Phil. The past couple days have been rough since he has come down with a pretty bad illness. We aren¢t really sure what¢s wrong with him but his usual intense hiking pace has been slowed down due to extreme fatigue and lack of energy. He¢s still kept up with our daily mileage but is bedridden with chills when we get into camp and doesn¢t have an appetite. It doesn¢t help walking by huge signs every couple miles warning us of deer ticks and lymes disease. I guess it¢s just the fear of the unknown so we have a tendency to think of the worst possible situation for him. So we would love your prayers for Phil and his health. We have used this opportunity to get off the trail for some must needed rest. We grabbed a train and are spending a day off in New York City. Wow, what a change of scenery from the middle of the woods on the Appalachian Trail to the middle of New York City. We arrived in Grand Central Station in the middle of rush hour with everyone racing around in their work suits trying to catch the subway or train. I just wanted to yell at the top of my lungs, "relax!!¢ everyone was way too rushed and uptight. The looks we got from everyone around us were great as we squeezed into the subway with our packs bumping into everyone.   We were so out of place. We are staying with one of Phil¢s friends from Gordon, Julie who has graciously opened up her apartment to us and even gave up her bed so we could enjoy a soft mattress instead of the 12 inch therma rest. Our day off was great. Phil relaxed and slept most of the day getting some much needed rest. He says he¢s feeling a little better but we still need to get him to a doctor and waiting in line for 5 hours at a NYC hospital did not sound to inviting. I took the liberty of exploring the city for the day. Getting lost on the subway system, checking out Time Square and all the sights. It was a lot of to be in a totally different environment with tons of people, noise and buildings.   So once again, keep on praying for Phil as we hit the trail again. All we can do is keep on trusting in the Lord who has been with us every step of the way and know that he is watching over us.   Will hopefully be in New Jersey soon.-Nate
Date: 2008-10-26
To: Our Perfect Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

After a long day of hiking and with much anticipation, Phil and I finally reached Bear Mountain NY. Bear Mountain NY is unique because the trail goes right through the middle of a zoo. The problem was, we arrived 5 minutes too late as the gates were closing. To add to our disappointment, the clouds rolled in on top of us and opened up. I was drenched in a matter of seconds. After being denied at the zoo and soaked by the rain, we both decided we needed a relaxing night watching college football at the local Inn near by. When we got there, our luck had completely run out when one bed room was way out of our hiker budget. We tried the best we could to haggle and beg for a lower hiker rate with the front desk manager but he was having none of it. He didn¢t even buy into our sympathy card walking in soaking wet from the rain. We ventured back out into the rain with completely hopeless preparing for a wet miserable night.         We happened to walk through a local park, which had a public bathroom. During my visit to the bathroom, I couldn¢t help but enjoy the shelter out of the rain. It was there that I had an epiphany. We had found the perfect shelter. The Public bathroom of Bear Mountain Park. I quickly called for Phil to share in my exciting discovery and he agreed that this was exactly what we were looking for. It was everything we needed in a shelter, running water, cover from the rain, and most important and obvious, a bathroom.   It was there on the dirty concrete floor that we pitched our tent and utilized every stall and urinal to hang up all our wet clothes. We turned this public outhouse into our private safe haven. The power even went out right as we were going to bed so instead of the dim yellow light, we fell asleep in the pitch dark. I¢ve never had such a great sleep. Some might think we have sunk to a new low sleeping on the floor of a public bathroom but for us, this bathroom was home sweet home. -Nate
Date: 2008-10-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Quick update. I'm feeling a whole lot better as of right now. The day of rest in New York City was just what I needed. My appetite is back, and the past two days of hiking I have had energy again. I don't really know what it was but I didn't have any energy when hiking and I was never hungry which are tell tale signs that something is wrong. I would get into the shelters at night and just hop in bed and sleep while Nate did everything around the campsite. It might have just been exhaustion, we had hiked for 10 days straight without a full day off, or it might have just been a virus. I'm not sure, all I know is that I am feeling much better now. Right now we are in Goshen, NY at Jon Redeker's house. He took us in for the night which was a huge blessing considering that the weather in Southern NY right now is tons of rain, wind and potentially snow. We are planning on hiking 10 miles today to a shelter where we will hopefully be picked up by "The Mayor", an Appalachian Trail friendly and spend the night out of the rain. Thanks for your prayers and concern. It is amazing how our health is completely up to Him and thankfully both of us are healthy enough to continue hiking as of right now. We've heard that there has been some difficulty getting to our site through our link. If you capitalize the "T" and "B" in TheBrothers, it should work. If that doesn't work, just go to www.trailjournals.com and click on "Currently Hiking" and my name should be about 10-15 names down the list. Gotta go get wet now. -Phil