morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-09-02
From: Gifford Woods State Park

To: Stony Brooks Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: clear sky

We slept in and it was light out already when we crawled out of our sleeping bags. Packing up after breakfast I looked for the chipmunk but he was nowhere to be seen. We topped off our devices at the restroom while we did our morning business before heading out. We hiked on the trail to VT 100 and then walked up to the Killington Deli & Market where I stocked up on supplies to get me to the next town, bought some Chobini yogurt and cheese sticks along with a couple of beers to enjoy at the end of the day. We ate our snacks in front of the store and used the wifi for awhile befre pressing on. We walked back to the trail and got going along the beautiful park trail and a picturesque Gifford Pond, where people stood on the tranquil shore and fished. The terrain was pretty tough with one hard and long climb of about 1,300' altitude gain in a little over a mile to Quimby Mountain. We, thankfully heard no thunder at Thundering Brook Road and the Thundering Falls looked beautiful was the only thundering going on there. It was tough but beautiful with so many types of mushrooms and toadstools along the way making the trail a bit mystical and beautiful. Hiking along we came to an open area with a powerline running through it with a beautiful. There was even a convenient boulder to sit on and enjoy the view. view Right before the shelter I stopped and during a break built an AT shaped Cairn on a rock in the middle of the trail for fun! Passing the shelter accidently we arrived at the water source where there were a group of hikers already there. They were very standoffish and were very curt with their answers. Well, no safety meeting for them. We gathered our water and turned back and found the trail to the shelter. We were exhausted by the time we reached the shelter. We got set up at the shelter, I in the shelter and he set up his tent. I then went down to the water to get cleaned up below the source. I love and hate my icewater baths! I hate being s,s,s,soooo cold, but love that the cold water is good for the pain in my shoulder and back to reduce the inflamaton and pain. I was soon back at the shelter and cooking dinner and enjoying a cold beer that I had chilled in the spring. We had been there for only a short time when thru-hikers Dixie and Rebel Yell passed through. Dixie told me that she enjoyed reading my poems and haikus in the journals so I sat down while she was resting and wrote a haiku for her, starring her. She was ecstatic and was very pleased with her prose so I took a picture of her holding it for her and myself. Joker showed up at some point and we hung out and talked for awhile with a section hiker who had some extremely high quality safety material of which he shared a safety meeting and a large bud for when I celebrated from summiting Katahdin which I was very grateful for. Joker started a campfire and we, especially I, enjoyed the warmpth as we talked. I went to lay down and put my iPod on for awhile before turning in for the night.
Date: 2015-09-03
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: scattered clouds

We got up fairly early and ate breakfast and got packed up. I read a plaque that said that the Ottauquechee Section of the Green Mountain Club (maintaining the 21 mile section from Vermont Route 12 and Maine Junction) dedicated the shelter to all of the volunteers - past, present and future. The first shelter was built in 1958 and was relocated to its present location in 1997 The trail was seriously rugged that day and for the first time that I can remember we had to climb a ladder down about 8' drop! I threw my poles down and climbed down on handed which worked well. The woods were full of colorful mushrooms and toadstools including tiny florescent orange ones that were only about 1/2' - 3/4" tall and as thin as pencil lead at the base. They were beautiful and grew in tiny clumps. At a stream that we stopped at for water I built two cairns while we took a break. It was fun to build them and I found some cool pure white quartz to use as a centerpiece for each. There was a neat wooden bridge to cross over one of the streams and it's nice to have frequent access to water. Then it was up 1000' to the Lookout, we walked to the tower to check out the panoramic views. I took a picture of a tree with a huge growth on it that made the tree look like it was going to give birth, possibly to an alien!, it was so big. I had seen a lot of these growths but this one was by far the largest. We didn't make many miles due to the terrain and we called it an early day due to exhaustion and I'm sure glad that we did. After I had gotten set up at the shelter and Rocky had set up his tent it started to rain for a short time so I waited for a break in the rain and went to get my water. Back at the shelter I cooked dinner and as I was eating I was surprised and very happy to hear a familiar voice! It was Hands and Mouth heading south! After I had met him at Duncannon, he flipped up to Maine so that he could then hike back home! It was hands and Mouth that had hosted me in his house where I was fed a delicious homemade meal, did laundry and got a nice hot shower! He gave me a ride to the nearest REI store so I could return my tent as I was almost broke, having $7.00 to my name! Without that kindness I wouldn't have finished the trail. I was lucky enough to be at the shelter where he stopped in for a break. He would have stayed longer but the group he was hiking with had to be somewhere at a certain time so after catching up with our stories and he wrote a list of places that he recommended that I stop at on the way north, we said our goodbyes and he hit the trail. That lifted my spirits so much and really made my day so that I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. The day ended well and I safetied up listened to Enya and the Bible while I relaxed before going to sleep.
Date: 2015-09-05
From: White River Hostel

To: Tigger's Tree House
Miles today: 15.7

I got up early and ate breakfast before packing up and was off down the trail to Hanover. The trail went up to Happy Hill to the Shelter where I stopped for a qick snack before going on a nice and easy trail to Elm and Main steet across the Connecticut River and hiked into town with Bookworm and Bison. We got a free maple doughnut from a sidewalk vendor and pizza slice form Ramuntos Brick Oven Pizza. I somehow missed the state line sign as I try to get pictures of them all as I go. I also missed the one crossing from WV into MD although I looked. Bookworm and Bison soon ran into friends and were off and I stopped at the post office and picked up my care package from my trail angel Mike Studt which was an awesome food package to fuel my feet on to Maine. I'm so grateful for my trail angels who helped make my hike possible. I needed a few supplies so I went to West Lebanon to the Walmart and started heading to the hotel where my winter gear would be waiting. On the way I stopped at the Un Dun Smoke Shop to use the restroom and get something to drink as it was quite the walk. I was so impressed that I wanted to do a YouTube video review of the shop and talked to the manager about it. She told me that I could get a pipe of my choice for the video so I filmed a 3:26 video, which they loved, and received a $35.00 beautiful, hand blown glass bubbler pipe. I continued my walk to the hotel where I found that my package of cold weather gear had not arrived and after checking the tracking number found that it would be several days! I made my way to Tigger's Tree House hostel which is a great place run by wonderful couple. I set up in a camper outside the house and then took a shower. Feeling refreshed I grabbed a bite to eat picking a can of pineapples and destroying it shortly and went for more and cooked a good dinner from the food provided in the hiker pantry. I visited awhile with the owners as I was the only hiker there that evening and checked out their company of energetic dogs that were the welcome wagon when anyone arrived or departed. The owner said that he'd help me out by picking up my package and mailing it forward to me at the Hiker's Welcome Hostel down the trail, so I wrote out a permission slip for him to pick up my winter gear. Being the only hiker there I tried out my new bubbler pipe, which is a tiny water bong, and it's very well if you don't add to much water, which I did at first and inhaled a little bit of water which made me cought a lot. Once I figured out the water depth I grew to love it. I went to bed after unwinding to some music, relieved that I would get my gear and wouldn't be stuck in Hanover as time was getting short.
Date: 2015-09-06
From: Tigger's Tree House

To: Trapper John's Shelter
Miles today: 10.8

I woke up and got myself some breakfast and packed my gear. While packing I accidently dropped my full platypus and it sprang a leak! It started the hike with me and now I am down to a one liter platypus. My hiking mileage has been dropping steadily and I am wondering if it is the terrain or if I'm not getting enough calories again. I had heard that Rocky would be in town for another couple of days so I had to press on. I was going to miss hiking with him as he's a pretty good guy. The owner of the Tree House gave me a ride to the trail after buying me breakfast at the store in Etna, just down the road from the trail. I hiked with Joker that day and it was fun talking and hiking with him as he's a really down to earth guy. We have about the same hiking pace so that was a plus. The trail was good going up Moose Mountain South and North Peaks. Down we went to the Goose Pond road and I was noticing that more and more of the leaves were starting to change color. Reaching Holt's Ledge, we came across a football team from a school on the cliff ledge as the Coach gave a motivational speech. I was impressed as the hike was a pretty tough, but beautiful, for even for veteran hikers like ourselves. They even launched a drone to take some pictures and video the event. We checked out the view and then pushed on to the Trapper John shelter. The shelter was almost full from another group, females this time, that we passed right before the shelter so I went ahead and claimed the last spot by the wall and set up. Joker was setting up behind the shelter and we met up when we were done and cooked dinner after getting water from the stream. I checked out the privy and had to laugh. There was a dining room chair with a hole in the seat nailed to the privy as the seat! It worked so I had to take a picture after doing my business. In front of the shelter was an old stone fireplace that may have been part of the former shelter. We met the students as they returned and answered a plethora of questions about our experiences on the trail. The students were going to move their stuff to a tarp that they had set up by the shelter as they couldn't have a non- student stay with them. I didn't want to be an inconvenience by making them all move, so I volunteered to move my stuff to the tarp, which I did in no time at all. Joker and I took a short walk from the shelter where I produced my new pipe, added the right ammount of water this time and proceeded to have a safety meeting. Joker loved it and said that he wanted to get one for himself. It was getting dark fast so I turned in under the tarp, put on my headphones for my nightly routine and was soon out like a light.
Date: 2015-09-07
From: Trapper John's Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter and Lou!
Miles today: 12.0

We were up fairly early at first light and after breakfast we packed up and visited awhile with the campers. We took off and Joker was excited about a pancake house that he said served all you can eat pancake breakfasts to thru-hikers. We hiked down to the road and he headed off, allured by the idea of free food, while I knew that the day would be long and I wanted to make it to the shelter with time to assure myself a spot as I had no tent. It was still early when I passed Bill Ackerly's House and it looked like no one was up so I pressed on. The climb up Smart Mountain was pretty tough and it was exciting to climb up the Firetower and made my YouTube video of the tower. It was open despite rumors to the contrary and the views were well worth the effort. I then checked out the Fire Warden's Cabin, and as it was still early, I pressed on to the Hexacuba shelter. There were some pretty serious climbs and I had been warned that the water at the Shelter was questionable so I filled all my containers at the river before the road and carried it 1.5 miles. I hand carried the two liter platypus as it had a leak. The climb was a pretty grueling one, especially carrying the extra water. It was late in the day when I arrived at the Hexacube shelter which was in fact a large hexicube shape log building. After much searching, I found that it had even had a hexalou too! IOI! I was so tired that when Joker arrived and wanted me to do another 4 miles to a hostel I declined and so he pressed on that night. I found that there was water at the juncture before the shelter so I filled up again and cleaned up before cooking dinner. Emptying out my pockets I had several apples for dessert which topped of the meal very well. I socialized with some of the hikers and demonstrated my water pipe for a much needed safety meeting. Everyone loved the design and one wanted to get one like it. It was good visiting before turning in for my nightly routine. I lay going to sleep as I listened to the rain which was coming down pretty hard.
Date: 2015-09-08
From: Hexacuba Shelter and Hexacuba Lou!

To: The Hiker's Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: broken clouds

I was up and was glad that the rain had stopped during the night. I ate my breakfast of apple flavored oatmeal to which I added fresh chopped up apples. This made it so much better. I broke camp after an extra cup of coffee to drive away the chill which had arrived with the rain. The trail led me to the top of Mt. Cube after an intense climb with views that got only better as the sky cleared up. I ran into joker who only gone a little further and then had pitched his tent for the night instead of hiking in the dark. Further along we ran into a hiker who camped on top of Mt. Cube and weathered the storm by pitching his free standing tent on solid rock. It had been a wild and scary night from his account of it all with the wind and lightning! It had cleared up and the view was beautiful so I stopped for a few minutes to talk, rest and admire the view. They began a safety meeting so I accepted the invitation to join in as the damp weather was making my arthritis act up with a vengence. The descent from Mt. Cube was slow as it was often on bare slippery wet rock and I wanted to be careful not to fall again. There were a lot of apple trees along the way and I, happily, kept a pocket full and munched on them as I hiked. Then it was up and over Ore Hill and Mt. Mist with a wide and panoramic view. It was a short day so I took the side trail to Webster Slide to the summit for the view which was decent. It was sweet to come across a Yellow and white cooler of sweet trail magic with cold drinks in the bottom compartment and toilet paper and zip lock bags under the top compartment. I grabbed and slammed a drink before continuing on to the Hiker's Welcome Hostel. I found the manager and asked if he could look and see if my package had arrived. I was disappointed that it happened and I talked to the manager about work for stay, which after some consideration, was accepted. I went to work raking leaves for a couple of hours in the back yard and then bagged and picked up afterwards. I then took a shower and ate dinner washed down with some trail magic beer and a safety meeting from my fellow thru-hikers. My tiny water bong was a big hit! The hostel has a loft that you can sleep in or two giant tent bunk houses. I wanted to stay in the tent and so I set up my bed and got to sleep. At midnight, I heard noises coming from between my bed and the tent so I grabbed my headlamp and slowly peered over and locked eyes with a skunk!! We were both greatly surprised! (If we had thought bubbles over our heads it would have been "OH CRAP! A Human!" and "OH Crap! A Skunk!") I very slowly backed away from the edge of the bed and the skunk scurried away. I found that I had left my hip belt open and it had been raiding my snacks, one at a time and dragging them off! I quickly grabbed my stuff and moved up into the loft and crashed on the couch.
Date: 2015-09-09
From: The Hiker's Welcome Hostel

To: The Hiker's Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke up and ate breakfast mentioning the close encounter with the skunk and found out that it was a resident rodent and had made its rounds of the hostel grounds that night. One female hiker said she heard a rustling and turned on her headlamp to see the skunk under her vestibule less than a foot away through the mesh lookin at her! She remained very still, willing it to leave, until it moved away. I found that several others had encountered the skunk as well although there weren't any close encounters of the stinky kind! I called Tigger's Tree House and found that my package had arrived but couldn't be brought that day due to his wife's surgery. I told them that I would be praying for a successful surgery and recovery. I then asked for and received another day of work for stay and I weeded one of the flower beds out back by the showers that was totally overgrown. This took several hours and I did laundry and took a shower afterwards. I was also rewarded with some hotdogs that they were grilling and some soft drinks. It was a very relaxing day and Miss Janet showed up with her van and suddenly the place livened up a lot. The Bionic Woman was there and we caught up on our adventures. She had been having on and off troubles with her prosthetic leg and had to have it replaced and repaired several times. It was good to see her again as she was a real inspiration to me. To think that she was doing this 18 months after loosing her leg made my complaints and pains seemed to pale in comparison. I thought that if she can do this then I can do it too. We shared a safety meeting together on the two hammocks near the hostel and a cold beer as I just laid back and relaxed. While there I read the first book in a series about young Merlin which seemed to be an intriguing take on the legend. I cannot remember the name of the book, but would like to remember so that I can finish reading the series. Joker had come to the hostel for the night but had left today, moving on. I again took my place on the couch upstairs and went to sleep.
Date: 2015-09-10
From: The Hiker's Welcome Hostel

To: The Hiker's Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I was up early and made breakfast and enjoyed my coffee. I worked out another work for stay as my package wouldn't arrive to late in the afternoon. I cleaned up the dining room and helped stock the store items, including sodas. My boots were wearing out so I grabbed a pair from the hiker box after trying on several pairs. It turned out to be another pair of women's hiking boots. My last hikerbox shoes were a purple pair of Brooks Ravenas which happened about the same time that I packed out a purple bandanna from a shelter so I rocked wearing them together! I enjoyed just resting for the day and hanging with the Bionic Woman and Miss Janet's crew and the day flew by. Soon my cold weather gear arrived and I donated my old sleeping bag to the hiker box to pay forward some of my good fortune that I had received along the way. I spent some time laying on the hammock reading and enjoying the beautiful day. I made dinner which I washed down with a cold Budwieser that I was given. I sat by the fire and sponsored a safety meeting with my glass water pipe. Someone liked it so much that they offerd me the $35.00 for the pipe and as I had a back up and seldom needed more than a small 2-3 hit pipe and needed cash,I sold. I visited awhile and then retired to the couch upstairs early as I had been hearing stories about Mt. Moosilauke and how challenging it was. I wanted to be well rested and ready with plenty of time to spare, just in case. I called a friend - Mary Ann Maprava, a friend that I had met several years before when I volunteered to be a live liver donor for her son, Kevin. It didn't work out but we became friends as a result. She told me to give her a call when I was in the area and that they would "kidnap" me for a few days and I just realized that I was in her area! She said that she would meet me the next day when I descended from Mt. Moosilauke at the park there. With that in mind I listened to some Flyleaf and the Bible, then went to sleep.
Date: 2015-09-12
From: Kinsman's Notch - Mark & Jeff Secords House

To: Kinsman's Notch - Mark & Jeff Secords House
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I slept in indulgently and only awoke to the aroma of coffee, and waffles. At breakfast Jeff & Mark presented me with $200 in cash to help me on with my adventure! I had less than $10.00 in my pocket and was wondering what I was going to do next. The trail provides is a true statement! I ate myself silly and was feeling very well and satisfied with my cup of coffee. We decided to drive into Lincoln after lunch. We went in the Chrysler Convertible as the weather outside was beautiful and the wind in our hair felt great as we drove. They showed me around town and we then went to the Coop of which they were founding members. The place was full of natural and organic products and produce which was wonderful. It felt like a Trader Joes, a great grocery store that Erin and I first encountered in Westwood, California. I stocked up on supplies and got some goodies and when I went to check out, Mark & Jeff covered the bill for me! Later in the day we went to one of their friends house to water their plants as he was in the hospital. We then drove by a majestic lodge with the look of a century of time on it. It had all of the gingerbread house woodwork and had incredible views. I was told that it was decrepit before the last owner refurbished the place and spending millions in the process. He didn't get to enjoy his labors though. He had buried the asphalt insulation removed during the renovations instead of disposing of it properly and was fined millions and thrown in jail. When I got back Mary Ann was installing the drapes that she had made as she is an interior decorator. They looked very good and fit the day room wonderfully. Mary Ann had to head out so it was just us guys for dinner which was very good and washed down with a Shiner Bock from the coop. Soon it was getting late and I wanted to get a good night's sleep in order to launch my assault on the legendary Whites! I plugged in my phone and iPod and after my nightly routine was lulled of to sleep by the sound of rain outside.