morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-07-27
From: US 3, Franconia Notch

To: Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

Up at 5:30, with breakfast of oatmeal and coffee. Ready to head out at 7:40 for my ride to Kinsman Notch and was at the trailhead just after 8. The day started with a moderately steep climb of 700' to Olsens Brook followed by a 4 hour walk over muddy sloppy trail rolling up and down Mt Wolf South Ridge and East Peak on my way to Eliza Brook Shelter. I was walking happy though speeding along singing The Happy Wanderer song. Along the way, I met Peter, a 40 something year old from Germany headed in the same direction. We went back and forth for a while until I eventually lost him. Crossed paths with a number of Sobos also, which is always fun for me - grandpa, a 52 year old with an outstanding beard. He has hiked the AT in the past and is out doing it again. Also passed Bright Eyes and talked to her for a while. I stopped for lunch at the shelter and saw a few Nobos and was off again for the 2000' climb up to the summit of South Kinsman. It was very steep in sections for 2 1/2 miles. It was hard work but I was drinking plenty of Nuun to keep me going. I met two gals from Maine at the rocky top of South Kinsman and talked to them for 20 mins or so. They had A package of Maine blueberries and offered me a few - they were tart, hard and bursting with blueberry goodness, just how I like them. I told them they were some of the best berries I've had. Infused with the power of the berries I was off to climb the 300-400' up to North Kinsman where I stopped for another snack. On my way, I saw Mickey and Minnie and talked to them for 15 minutes. They said that they cowboy camped at the top of Mt Garfield two days earlier under a bright canopy of stars. I could see in their faces that it was a magical night for them. It was a steep 1800' descent for 2 miles to Lonesome Lake Hut and was greated with a crowd of people at the lake and a beautiful location. It was sunny and still with the surrounding mountains reflecting in the lake. Hovered there for a few minutes and took off again for the final 3 miles down to the road and my pickup point. 1 1/2 miles of it was ankle wrenching sloppy Nd the final 1 1/2 miles was fast smoot trail. Called the motel for a pick up, stopped in town along the way to buy some fruit and then back to he motel for a shower, laundry and dinner. A pretty good day in the Whites.
Date: 2016-07-29
From: Kinsnan Notch to Glencliff

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The hikers welcome hostel which is where I stayed is very friendly to hikers but a funky place. The shower and toilet are outside under a tarp with a curtain as a door. The washer and dryer for laundry are there too. The bunkhouse where I stayed has no electricity, but the place caters to hikers and is really convenient for AT thru hikers being just 1/4 mile off the trail. Breakfast is $5 for scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes. I ended up eating the crumbs of bacon as a second helping for a little extra fat for the day. The night was warm and I slept on the sheets until 2-3 am when it cooled down. I should have gotten up to get my sleeping bag but was in a sleepy haze and incapable of doing anything about it. Got up at 5:30 and packed up and got ready for the day. Breakfast was at 7 and I was able to get a shuttle ride back the 1+ mile to the trailhead where I exited the trail the previous day. Was hiking at 8:30 through the foggy hardwood forest. The trail was leafy and loamy with a few rocks and roots, and I was making good time to start. There was a nice moderate climb that brought me up to a wooded ridge and above the fog layer in the valleys. On the way I passed a lot of Nobos and talked to a few. Most wanted to make time and we would speed by each other throwing back a greeting like "hello, how's it going? Happy trails". I passed Captain Red in this manner but commented on his hat "nice hat" - "thank you". His hat was a sea captains hat made out of white birch bark with a RED painted on one side in the front in red paint. I later learned that Captain Red had a birthday a few days earlier and a few Nobo gals made the hat for him. He was wearing it with pride and distinction. Breakfast held me until 2 pm (which is 4 hours longer than normal for me on the trail, must have been the extra bacon bits. Stopped for water, Nuun, nuts, dates and apricots, which kept me coining until camp at Hexacuba. This stretch of trail didn't have many water sources so I needed enough for the 12 miles up and over Mt Cube and down to the shelter. It was a 1000' climb up Mt Cube that seemed to take a lot of effort. My Cube though is mostly made of Quartz with a beautiful rocky summit and approach with nice views. I lingered up there, took a bunch of photos, saw a snake or two, and then started down the 1 1/2 miles to Hexacuba. Got in at 4:40 to an empty shelter and started my routine of getting my pad and sleeping bag ready, getting set up to make dinner and sat back to record the day in my paper journal. One hour later Top3 and GoldieLox came in and set up their tents. A few Nobos came in after them and we exchanged information about the trail north and south. The sun was down at 8:30 which is bed time for most thruhikers. It was a good day.
Date: 2016-08-02
From: VT 12

To: VT 100 - Greenbrier Inn
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

Up at 5:45, finished my journal entry for Aug 1st, oatmeal and coffee and packed up for an 8 an pickup and was at the trail just before 9 am. This was the same drop off point as yesterday, I would just be going in the other direction. I had booked a room at the Greenbrier Inn near Killington VT for the night, so I knew I had a comfortable place to stay at the end of the day. The hike started with a 1500' climb up to Don's Rock over 4 1/2 miles. It started through a wet and overgrown meadow wet from the previous day's rain. Somewhere in the meadow was a wooden bridge that was slanted just where Sobos would naturally step. It was wet and slick and I went down hard landing on my left hip - ouch. The stretch after Don's Rock looked somewhat level on the map, but it was a 7 mile stretch of short ups and downs and it was grueling. This days hike wasn't as pleasant as the previous day, but there were beautiful sections of lodge pole pines, pines, birches, maples, oaks and sycamore trees. That with the moss and lichen covered rocks was lovely. After 11 miles there is a 1000' descent to Notown Clearing followed by an immediate 1500' climb up Quimby Mtn. Quimby has a 2 1/2 mile forested ridge of ups and downs to add to the hard day followed by a 1200' descent to an un remarkable Thundering Falls, .1 off the trail. Into the home stretch of 2 1/2 miles I was tired and the 300' climb up to a few miles of level grade seemed difficult. I was moving slow and felt worn out. I did stop for lunch somewhere along the way, and had been munching on bags of peanuts which I started to carry in my pant packets now. If I felt my blood sugar get low I would stop and eat some nuts before I started to feel light headed. I got to VT 100 around 6:30 and hitched a ride to the Inn, which turned out to be just 1/4 mile down the road. GoldieLox was across the street waiting for me and didn't have a place to stay. I checked into the Greenbrier and asked for a room with two beds to help him out. Showered and tried to hitch a ride to an Italian restaurant just under a mile away - no luck and ended up walking there. A nice dinner of steak, a salad, pasta and a lot of bread, and washed it down with a Bud. We were about the last customers to leave the restaurant and was offered a ride back to the hotel by one of the waiters. We had been talking to the staff about the trail and some of the challenges we were facing. They were very kind and offered us a ride knowing we had to walk back. Got to bed around 11 which is too late for a thru hiker.
Date: 2016-08-03
From: VT 100 - Greenbrier Inn

To: Clarendon Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

Up at 5:45 and tried to be quiet since GoldieLox was still sawing logs. Packed up and walked out to the lobby for the 7:30 breakfast included with the room rate. Had my gear and left it just outside the front entrance. Breakfast of coffee, English muffin, cuissant with butter and jelly, OJ, strudel, melon, banana and Raisin Bran (I ate every thing they offered I think). 3/4 of the way through breakfast GoldieLox showed up and quickly ate a few things. I left full to walk back to the trail head and start the 1000' climb up through Gifford Woods State park. I was pacing GoldieLox for a while, but he is 18 and a lot faster than me. About 4-5 miles in, he zoomed off as I started the climb up Mt Killingington. Passing through hill sides of tall open maples with boggy slope of a bright green ground cover no taller tan 2-3', the trail we really nice. I was having a low energy day mostly likely from not getting enough sleep, or maybe just from walking 20's on the previous day's. I noticed that my butt muscles and hamstrings were tired. The angle of the climb for Killington was different from the previous climbs and I was using different muscles, so I just took a slower pace. I stopped halfway up Killington for a quick bite and met My Other Brother, a retired air force guy in his 50's with a first name of Daryl. I smiled when he told me his name and said, you should get the humor in my name, I'm Wilson Wilson. We talked trail for a while and parted after about 15 minutes of exchanging stories. 4 miles from the top of Killington the trail is pretty level and fast and I quickened my pace to get to Cooper Lodge at the top and my lunch spot. There was a good spring there, which was good since I was out of water. A number of Nobos passed by while I was there along with a few Sobos. I was starting to catch up with a number of Sobos who had started their hike earlier in June. I had 9-10 miles left of a gradual 2500' descent followed by a 500' up and over Beacon Hill before getting to the shelter. I was welcomed there by a group 60 year old guys and a fire out front of the shelter. It was 6:30, I was hungry, made dinner and got breakfast ready, and had a fun time listening to the stories of the old guys at the shelter. It got dark at 8:45, I was tired and called it a day to a warm evening. Too hot with my 15 degree bag, I didn't sleep well.
Date: 2016-08-06
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: clear sky

Rolled around sleeping all night and was up at 5:30. It was dark due to cloud cover. Darado, a long trail hiker was up stoking the fire he nurtured through the night to heat up his pot to make breakfast. We talked for a while as the rest of the shelter group got up and I was ready and out hiking at 6:45. I was walking at the edge of a cloud which got denser as I climbed the 1 mile 1000' ascent up Peru Peak. At the top there was a 2 mile roll up and down to Styles Peak. Styles had a nice rocky ledge but there was only about 30-40' of visibility. There was a 2 mile 1000' descent to Mad Tom Notch Rd followed by an immediate climb up Bromley for 800'. I didn't see any other hikers until I was half way up Bromley. At the top I stopped at the ski patrol cabin for 2nd breakfast at 10 am and looked over my map to see what was in store for the rest of the day. My backpack was much more comfortable now that I had secured the top clip, but the sore spot was still there and acted up every time I stumbled. Also, the sore that I developed on my left shoulder on day 2 of my AT hike was still there and the pack strap dug into it from time to time. Not a big deal, but it was an annoyance. On the way down the 1500' descent from Bromley to VT 11 I passed a number of day hikers followed by a string of Nobos. I talked to a retired marine going north and we traded trail news north and south. It was raining lightly on Bromley, but as I got down into the valley the clouds started to break with some sun coming through. The trail was muddy from the rain as I climbed up to Spruce Peak Shelter where I stopped for lunch at 1 pm. Had sardines, dried papaya and nuts and washed it down with Nuun. The trail was full of gremlins and muddy for the remaining 7-8 miles to Stratton Pond. Along the way I met a group of three hikers in there late 50's-60. One was named Me Too, and he told me that there were 50-60 Nobos ahead of me. They asked me when I started, "June 28th", and thought that I was making good time compared to the Sobos in front of me who mostly started around June 1st. I said "well old guys can still get it done". Me Too and his buddies lit up and said you bet. Leaving them behind, I reached the shelter at 5:30 and thought, today was a pretty good day. At the shelter a family of weekend hikers had dinners they couldn't finish and offered them to me - Phad Thai first followed by mushroom risotto. I scarfed them down and ate my dinner too. Got coffee and oatmeal ready for the morning, talked to the other hikers for a while and called it a day as the sun went down.
Date: 2016-08-11
From: Dalton Mass

To: Dalton Mass
Miles today: 0.0

It was nice to sleep in a bed again. Feeling hungry for a traditional breakfast of eggs, sausage, hash browns and toast, I found a local diner less than a mile away, walked up and stuffed myself. Following breakfast I spent the day updating Trailjournal entries, packed up my new supplies and got ready to hike out the next morning to Upper Goose Pond Shelter.
Date: 2016-08-14
From: Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Hemlocks Shelter
Miles today: 15.0

Awake at 5 and up at 5:30. There were owls calling on and off through the early morning and snoozed listening to them. I love owls. It's getting light later now, like 5:45 making it a little harder to get up. My usual breakfast of oatmeal and coffee that I make the night before, privy stop and out by 6:45. The day started out humid and tape will still not stick to my foot so I'm wearing my camp shoe on my left foot to ease the pain caused by my new shoes. The first 3 miles is rolling along a ledge which is beautiful, but my camera lens is still fogged from the humidity so photos aren' t possible. Next is a 2 mile downhill to the Housitonic River followed by 5 1/2 - 6 miles across farmland dotted with patches of forest. It's hot and muggy, especially in the sun, but I'm seeing quite a few goldfinches, which are beautiful. There is something really cheery about goldfinches. I ate lunch just before a 1 mile 800' climb up to Jug End, which was a rocky but fun climb offering nice territorial views. 3 miles left of rolling uphill to the Hemlocks Shelter. The hike along the ledges was beautiful with the forest along the ledge mostly stunted oak trees with hawks soaring on the updraft along the ledge. The next shelter past Hemlocks is 8+ miles away and I didn't want to risk it with rain threatening. I would get in after 7:39 if I hiked on and didn't want to do that. Bent is at Hemlocks with Birthday Girl, a cute 30 year old red head from TN. With the high humidity, I was a sweetly mess getting into the shelter. I did have cell service and asked Signe to send my 35mm lens to the next mail drop town. This was an early day for me stopping around 3:30, but Bent and Birthday Girl are both a lot of fun. There was a 4th person at the shelter who was walking around shirtless. He was pretty thin and seemed a bit odd to me, not sure why though. I set up my bedding, filtered 3 liters of water, recorded the day in my journal, and made dinner. Spent the rest of the evening talking to Bent and Birthday Girl who seem to be hiking together. Overall, a very good day.
Date: 2016-08-15
From: Hemlocks Shelter

To: Limestone Spring Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Shirtless guy was up and down all night coughing and hacking, occupying an upper bunk in the shelter. Birthday Girl in the bunk below him with Bent in the bunk below me. I also had an upper bunk and none of us slept very well thanks to shirtless guy. I was as up at 5:40, had my oatmeal and coffee, and talked to Yardsale, a cute Nobo for a while. Bent and Birthday Girl were out before me, and I learned later that shirtless guy creeped them out. The day started with a 700' rocky climb up Mt Everett - nice climb and fun, and was followed by a steep 800' descent to a rocky ridge. The ridge was beautiful rolling for 3 miles with rocky ledges, krummholz of pines and twisted oaks. The ridge was followed by a 1 1/2 mile descent to Sage Ravine and the Mass/Connecticut boarder. I caught up to Bent and Birthday Girl on the ridge and we hiked together to the ravine. The ravine was a beautiful string of mossy pools and cascading water falls. Birthday Girl and Bent stopped to swim in one of the pools and I kept on going to climb Bear Mtn, steep, but fun. Stopped for lunch at the top with 10 miles left on the day at 11:30. After lunch I had a 700' steep descent followed by a 2 1/2 mile level down to Lions Head with good views. A three mile easy downhill crossing US44 and a short walk through Salisbury. Back in the forest I had 3 1/2 miles of an ugly walk up to the shelter turn off. Birthday Girl and Bent caught up to me here and we walked the steep 1/2 mile down to the shelter together. The shelter felt remote and it was nice to have company for the night. Before we called it a night, Birthday Girl said that she would be getting up early and was going to hike 32 miles the next day to meet a prior thru hiker that she was lusting over. Bent and I were also getting out early to get a jump on a long day tomorrow.
Date: 2016-08-16
From: Limestone Spring Shelter

To: Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: overcast clouds

As of this writing I am in Daleville VA with 730 miles left to hike. To stay on my schedule to finish the week before Thanksgiving I haven't taken as many days off as planned and have not had the extra time needed to update trailjournals. Back to Connecticut. I set my phone alarm for 4:40 to get up and out early. Birthday Girl was up and out before Bent and me so that she could meet a guy in Boston in a day or two. Bent and I were on trail at 5:40 climbing the 1/2 mile out of the ravine and back to the trail. We hiked up and over Prospect Mtn (which was a fun climb) followed by a 1 mile descent and a 4 1/2 mile walk passing Salisbury and a power plant that had an outdoor shower and a garbage can where we left our trash - nice! It always feels great to get rid of your trash. After that it was up 800' into the Housatonic State Forest and 10 miles of rolling up and down but felt like it was all up hill. It wasn't difficult but wore me out. We had a short break and snack just after the power plant and stopped for lunch at Pine Swamp Shelter at 10:45 with 11.5 miles behind us. I left Bent to call his mom after the lunch stop. Shortly after lunch I passed through the Connecticut lemon squeezer, a rock formation that you had to squeeze yourself through, followed by a downhill to Carse Brook. There was a group of 5-6 Nobo's there goofing off at the brook one of which announced "Sobo coming, hide your stuff, or he will steal your sole". I thought, what an idiot, that doesn't even make sense. He then said that the most beautiful red head had passed by a little earlier. My reply, "oh, that would be Birthday Girl". Mind you there was a really cute blonde in her 20's with the Nobo group, I wonder how she felt about the comments. 4 climbs and 4 1/2 miles later I was at CT 4, the road into Cornwall Bridge and walked the .8 into town to get my mail drop which included new lightweight stuff sacks and a new light weight tent. I ordered 8 tent stakes with the tent, they sent 1 and this tent required stakes to set up. I walked across the street to a deli and ordered a corned beef sandwich to eat while I sorted out my food drop and the tent. Next to the post office there was a Fly Fishing shop, I went in there to see if they had tent stakes, they did, but they were these big plastic yellow things. Bought them and met a nice guy there who volunteered to shuttle me back to the trail which started with a 500' climb up and over Silver Hill and down to a nice flat walk along the Housatonic River for 3 miles to the shelter. I got there just after 5 and met Bent there and Birthday Girl. She took a break there and was just ready to head out to do another 9-10 miles. I still needed to sort out my tent and decided to make a stop in Kent, a town that the trail passed by tomorrow. The day was a hard day, but a good one. The temperature was hot, but nice and it was sunny all day long. It was good to get off my feet and out of my hiking boots.
Date: 2016-10-07
From: VA 100 Pearisburg

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Took a zero today. A storm moved in over night brought on by the hurricane off the coast and I didn't want to risk getting soaking wet with another 3 days before a resupply in Atkins. Slept pretty well on the poach, got up and walked over to the Dairy Queen for breakfast. Spent a few hours there catching up to n email, Facebook and looking at investments. On the way back towards the hostel I passed Curry and Pretty Boy headed for the DQ. Walking down towards the grocery store a woman pulled up next to me driving a minivan, rolled down her window and asked if I knew where the food bank was. Her friend was scheduled to volunteer today and was ill, so she was taking her place. She said it was on the hill behind the DQ somewhere but couldn't find it. I pulled up maps on my phone and found a church back there and gave here the directions. Before I finished she started to cry, and said that she was sorry, but someone shot her dog down in the gully near her house. It's hunting season and her dog, a terrier, normally runs away from gun fire. I touched her shoulder and told her that I was so sorry. I love dogs and would be heart broken if that happened to my dog. She sobbed more and I told her that it was best for her to be around loving people today and helping out at the church might help. I said that I don't understand how some people can be so cruel and mean. People like that aren't worth the skin that they occupy. She drove off and I headed over to the grocery store for apples and lunch meat. What makes a person so cruel? I spent the rest of the day eating, doing laundry and other chores. Curry was picked up in the afternoon to go off to a wedding, leaving the hostel with just Pretty Boy and me.