morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-25
From: Stealth Site Near Falls Village

To: Laurel Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: clear sky

Day 125: Today we reached a couple of big milestones. First, we hiked past the 1500 mile mark of our journey just before Bear Mt, in CT. Second, we crossed into our home state, Massachusetts, today down in Sages Ravine. We had a great day today and are excited about being in MA. After a very brief shower overnight, the morning dawns sunny, cool, and dry. It is a beautiful day, probably the best we have had in a couple of months. The visibility is outstanding all day long and the temperature only rises into the low 70s. There is just something special about days like this in New England that can not be matched anywhere else that we know of. Most of our walking today trends upward as we first climb Prospect Mt, then Lions Head, and finally Bear Mt. As we reach the summit of Lions Head, two reporters from the Lakeville Journal, a local newspaper, take our picture and interview us about our hike. Apparently, we will be in their paper within a couple of days. We stop for lunch at a beautiful overlook on Lions Head. We can see forever off to the east and south. After lunch, we come upon another overlook a few hundred yards away. From here, we can see Bear Mt, Race Mt, Mt Everett, and way off in the distance, Mt Greylock clear as a bell. When we reach the summit of Bear Mt, we note that this is the first time since lower PA that we have been above 2000 ft. The terrain has really changed now, with many more climbs and descents. In a few days, we will will climb Mt Greylock, at well over 3000 ft. The descent off of Bear Mt down into Sages Ravine is steep. Our knees give us a constant reminder about just how steep it is. Sages Ravine is beautiful, with cascading streams flowing through deep, dark pine forests. About 1.5 miles past Sages Ravine, we reach Laurel Ridge Campsite, where we are staying tonight. The mosquitos are bad now, so we've taken shelter inside our tent. It was a wonderful day today.
Date: 2012-07-26
From: Laurel Ridge Campsite

To: Rt 7, Sheffield, MA
Miles today: 12.9

Day 126:Last night, we went to sleep under clear skies. By morning, it was raining. Welcome back to New England weather. We pack up quickly during a lull in the rain and set off towards Race Mt. As we climb, the rain begins to let up and he sky starts to break. The views from Race Mt are interesting, with low clouds swirling in the valleys below us and multiple layers of clouds and hints of blue sky above us. It is slippery walking this morning as we traverse many rock ledges while crossing Race Mt and climbing Mt Everett. Reaching the summit of Mt Everett at 9:30, we continue on down to the Hemlock and Glen Brook Shelters, which we bypass. When we reach Jug End, we stop for lunch on a ledge with a nice view to the north. Descending Jug End is very steep, but after reaching Jug End Rd, we enter into a long, flat stretch that takes us all the way to Rt 7, in Sheffield. We walk through several open fields and corn fields, interrupted by mosquito infested woods. During these stretches in the woods, we are forced to wear our bug nets as mosquitos attack us relentlessly. When we reach Rt 7, we stop in at a local store for sodas. The desk clerk informs us that there is a tornado watch in effect for tonight, with severe thunder, lightning, hail, and wind predicted. Right then and there, we decide to call it a day and get a room in town for the night rather than risk the bad weather up on a mountain in our tent. Good decision. We are currently holed up at the Days Inn in Great Barrington waiting for the predicted bad weather to arrive.
Date: 2012-07-27
From: Rt 7, Sheffield, MA

To: Mt Wilcox North Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 127: After yesterdays dire forecasts of tornados, hail, and heavy rain, all we got was a short sprinkle or two during the evening. Oh well, at least we got to enjoy a nice sleep and continental breakfast at the Days Inn. Hitching back to the trail proved a bit difficult this morning. It took us about 1/2 hour to finally get a ride. Our hike begins at the trailhead along Rt 7 in Sheffield. The sky is overcast with a hint of drizzle in the very muggy air. We walk for the first mile along the Housatonic River before turning north to head up June Mt and East Mt, both fairly strenuous climbs. From East Mt, we get a hazy, but nice view back down towards Rt 7 in the distance. Today, we are again forced to don our bug nets. The mosquitos are attacking without mercy. We reach Tom Leonard Shelter at 11:15, and decide to have lunch there. While we eat, it begins to rain, but by the time we are finished, the rain has stopped. Moving on after lunch, we reach Benedict Pond, only to find that there is no longer any water in it. Apparently, the dam broke and the lake had to be drained. After climbing The Ledges, we reach Mt Wilcox South Shelter at 2:00, where we stop to get some water. Water is still very hard to come by with all of the dry weather this year. We pretty much fill up wherever we can find a good source. By 3:15, we reach Mt Wilcox North Shelter, our destination for the day. There is no water here at the shelter, so we are glad to have filled up at the last shelter. Not anticipating many other hikers coming here tonight, we set up our tent inside the shelter. If it rains, the tent will stay dry, and we are also protected from the mosquitos. While we are here, one other hiker, Heart Fire arrives. She is a section hiker from Ashville, NC going as far as she can for the next five weeks. Today was kind of a tough day with the very muggy weather, mosquitos, and our sore feet. We are used to adversity out here though, and we know that with every hard day, there will always be nice days to follow.
Date: 2012-07-28
From: Mt Wilcox North Shelter

To: Rt 20, Berkshire Lakeside Lodge
Miles today: 15.6

Day 128:The day starts off very promising with muted sunshine and once again high humidity. Bug nets are a must again this morning. We are on the trail at 7:15, with 15.6 miles to go in order to reach our destination for the day, the Berkshire Lakeside Lodge on Rt 20. We have a mail drop there that we need to pick up. As we start off, we are completely out of water, but within 1/2 hour, we arrive at a nice stream where we are able to fill up. The water levels of creeks and springs are so low this summer. As we walk through the woods towards Shaker Campsite, we see our first moose, a big cow. She stares at us for about 5 seconds and then runs off into deeper woods beyond our sight. Passing Shaker Campsite and Jerusalem Rd, we walk through a few nice open fiellds with pretty views of the countryside around us. As we climb Baldy Mt, just around 11:30, the day goes down hill as it begins to rain. We also hear thunder in the distance. Soon, the light rain and distant thunder turn into torrential rain and booming thunder. We want to stop for lunch somewhere and take shelter, but there is no place to go, so we skip lunch and keep walking. The trail conditions deteriorate rapidly, and soon we are walking through running streams and ankle deep standing water on the trail. Our feet are soon swimming in the water that has collected inside of our boots, but on we trudge. The heavy rain continues right through the rest of our day. We cross the Mass Turnpike at a out 2:00, and turn a sentimental eye towards the east, where our home is about 1-1/2 hours away. Arriving at the Berkshire Lakeside Lodge, we get checked into our room, shower, and hang our wet clothes and gear to dry. Then it's time to relax. We order some Chinese food to be delivered and watch the Olympics on TV. The rain continues for a couple of more hours while we are here, and we are glad to be under a roof tonight. Tomorrow, we have a 16+ mile day planned to get to the Kay Wood Shelter. Hopefully, our gear will dry out sufficiently tonight.
Date: 2012-07-29
From: Rt 20, Berkshire Lakeside Lodge

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

Day 129:We get off to a late start this morning after waiting around for the owner of the Berkshire Lakeside Lodge to show up and set up the continental breakfast. By 9:00, we are back on the trail under cloudy skies. Rain looks imminent as we begin our ascent of Becket Mt. As we climb, it begins to rain lightly, but not enough to really get us wet. By the time we reach the summit, the rain has stopped. It has rained every day now since we've entered Massachusetts. Ah...this is the New England that we know and love. During the morning, we walk along fairly flat terrain. We are in the woods and there aren't any views that open up to us. Reaching October Mt shelter at noon, we stop for lunch. Just as it did the day before yesterday, it rains while we are in the shelter eating, but as soon as we finish and are ready to resume hiking, the rain stops. While we are having lunch, we look at our guide book and see that Dalton is only 3 miles beyond the Kay Wood Shelter, so we decide to hike the extra 3 miles today and get into town tonight. This will allow us a shorter day tomorrow, when we begin hiking up Mt Greylock. As we reach the top of Warner Hill, we break out into an open view of Mt Greylock in the distance. This is the first and one of the few views that we are treated to today. By 5:30, we are walking into Dalton. We walk past Levardi's place, where many thru-hikers choose to stay, and continue on into town to the ice cream store. It's a pint of Chocolate Moose Tracks for me and a Candy Bar Explosion cone for SilverGirl. We are staying at the Shamrock Village Inn here tonight where we can do a load of laundry and stay out of the rain, which is still in the forecast. On to Mt Greylock tomorrow.
Date: 2012-07-30
From: Dalton, MA

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: light rain

Day 130: A very nice day today. We sleep in until about 7:00, then walk over to the local coffee shop for a breakfast sandwich and some juice. Hiking out of Dalton, we walk along the road for the first mile before entering into the woods. As we enter the woods, the morning clouds burn off to reveal a beautiful, sunny day, with temperatures rising to the low 80s. Passing by the side trail to Crystal Mt Campsite, we walk along rolling terrain and make pretty good time. By 11:30, we reach The Cobbles, a beautiful rocky outlook above the town of Cheshire. Mt Greylock is clear and present in front of us and Cheshire is spread out in the Hoosic River Valley below us. It is a pretty spot, so we spend some time here admiring the view. Walking down into Cheshire, we stop at Diane's Twist for some sandwiches, drinks, and ice cream. We sit at a shaded picnic table next to the store while we eat, marveling that we have come this far. Leaving Cheshire, we cross Rt 8 and begin the long ascent up Mt Greylock. We have hiked this section of trail several times before, and are very familiar with the terrain, so the ascent goes very quickly for us. By 3:10, we have reached Mark Noepel Shelter, where we set up our tent on a platform next to the shelter. Since we arrive here early, we have time for a most welcome nap. The sky is clear as we settle into our tent for the night, but I pull the rain fly half over the tent just in case. You just never know when it might start raining again. Tomorrow, our plan is to hike up over the summit of Mt Greylock and down into North Adams, where we need to shop for some food to get us to Manchester, VT. We will either camp at the Sherman Brook Campsite, just before the VT border, or continue on to the Seth Warner Shelter, just over the border.
Date: 2012-07-31
From: Mark Noepel Shelter

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

Day 131: A beautiful, sunny day today with temperatures in the upper 70s. We leave our campsite at the Mark Noepel Shelter at 7:30 and by 9:00, we are inside Bascomb Lodge on the summit of Mt Greylock. We have hiked this mountain so many times during the past couple of years while we trained for our thru-hike. It is a surreal feeling now to be here once again after walking all the way from Georgia to get here. Despite the beautiful morning, we are almost alone here. We only see a couple of other hikers during the 45 minutes we spend here. While in the lodge, there are some leftover blueberry muffins laid out on a table in the restaurant area. The hostess, realizing that they will only go to waste, allows us to have some for free. Yum! We climb up to the top of the monument, where we are treated to endless views in all directions. Of particular interest to us are the mountains of Vermont, which we will begin tackling tomorrow. It's hard to believe we are here as we gaze at the horizons. Finally leaving the summit, we descend down the old Thunderbolt Ski Trail and then veer left as the AT heads off into the woods towards Mt Williams. The walking is easy in this section, and my mind wanders back to good times from days gone by. When we reach Prospect Rock, we stop for a break. Below us is Willamstown, so picturesque as it sits nestled between the Adirondacks to the northwest, the Green Mountains to the north and the Berkshires. After a very steep descent, we cross Pattison Rd and walk for another mile down to Rt 2 in North Adams. We need to get lunch and buy groceries, so we walk 0.7 miles to the east to a shopping plaza. We have a fantastic AYCE Chinese buffet at the Oriental Buffet and then buy enough groceries to get us to Manchester, VT at the Price Chopper next door. From here, it is only 2.3 miles back down the road and up the trail to the Sherman Brook Campsite, our destination for today. We arrive there at about 4:15, and it appears that we will be alone here tonight. We are seeing so few northbound thru-hikers now. Many have either dropped off the trail by now, while those remaining are so spread out that we don't run into eachother much anymore. Our friends, Sparky and Passionflower, are a couple of days behind us. We hope they catch up to us soon. Today, we passed the 1600 mile mark of our adventure, leaving us with "only" 595 miles to go. Tomorrow morning, we will cross over into Vermont, our 12th state. Can't wait!
Date: 2012-08-01
From: Sherman Brook Campsite

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: light rain

Day 132: We start off with a cloudy morning as we leave the Sherman Brook Campsite at 7:20. It is 2 miles to the VT border from here. When we reach the border, we stop for a photo and water break. 11 states down; 3 to go! We are excited about being in VT. It is such a beautiful state. By 8:30, we reach the access trail to Seth Warner Shelter. We stop for a snack break here. SilverGirl also adds some fresh duck tape to her toes. Walking on, the sun begins to burn through the morning clouds, and soon we are treated to a nice sunny day. Our original destination for today is Congdon Shelter, but when we arrive there, we decide to push on further since it is only 1:30. Our feet are sore, but by pushing on, we will save ourselves a long day 2 days from now when we hike up and over Stratton Mt. Passing Harmon Hill at 3:00, we soon make the long and very steep descent down to Rt 9. When we get there, we consider going into Bennington to get a room for the night, but since there is no phone service to inquire about room availability, we decide to push on the extra 1.6 miles straight up hill to the Melville Nauheim Shelter. Before we leave, we are treated to Gatoraids and candy bars by Trail Mama and her assistant ATM (assistant trail mama). She is waiting for her husband, SOS, to arrive. We met him at the Congdon Shelter when we stopped there for a break. As we make the very steep final climb towards the shelter, we hear thunder. Soon, it starts to rain. We are only 100 yards from the shelter, so we break into a run and arrive at the shelter still dry. As it turns out, the rain and thunder don't last long, but we set up for the night inside the shelter anyway. Today has been a very long and hard day. We don't feel like looking for a tent site and setting up the tent. There is a diverse group of hikers here at the shelter tonight. Hugo, from Peru, VT, is originally from Argentina and works at Bromley Mt. He carries a 65 lb backpack, which includes an ice axe. He is a character. There is a southbound thru-hiker who confesses that he used to weigh 350 lbs. He graciously makes room for SilverGirl and I by moving all of his stuff to the upper level of the shelter. There is a 65 year old diabetic man who reminds me of Telly Savalis. There is also a father/son duo. The son is a southbound thru-hiker, and the father has accompanied him for the past 9 days. There are also a couple of northbound Long Trail hikers. Tomorrow, we are planning a much shorter day - about 13 miles to the Kid Gore Shelter. Time for some sleep.
Date: 2012-08-02
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: few clouds

Day 133: Sleeping in shelters is always a problem for us. Last night, we settled down at about 8:30, but the mosquitos did not. We were forced to burrow down inside our bags to completely cover our heads. Being a warm night to begin with, we sweltered inside of our bags. It was either that, or be dinner for the mosquitos. Sleep was hard to come by, but we did manage to get some later on during the night. As the first hikers stir at daybreak, we remain in our sleeping bags. We only have about 13 miles to hike today, so we are in no rush to get going. Today, like yesterday, starts off cloudy, and we wonder if it will rain. By 10:00, however, the sun begins to burn through the clouds, and the rest of the day is beautiful. There are very few views on this part of the trail as we spend most of our time under the trees. At noon, we reach Goddard Shelter on Glastenbury Mt. Word has it that this section of trail is haunted. To us, it is simply beautiful. We have a great lunch in the shelter before climbing the observation tower on top of Glastenbury Mt. We can see all the way south back to Mt Greylock, and way up north to Stratton Mt and beyond. After lunch, we only have 4 miles to hike to reach Kid Gore Shelter. Most of the afternoons walk is down hill, so the hiking is not difficult. We arrive at the shelter just before 3:00. There is a mother here with her two young, and very active boys, ages 6 and 8. She is hiking north with them for 30 days. She is one patient mother! We set up our tent on a nice grassy flat spot just below the shelter, where we have a great view in front of us. Vermont is so pretty. Two other young men who are hiking north on the Long Trail arrive a little later. We don't see any other northbound thru-hikers all day. Tomorrow, our plan is to hike 15 miles up and over Stratton Mt down to the Stratton Pond Shelter. This will set us up for an easy 11 mile day on Saturday into Manchester. A very good day today. We both feel great and are excited about how far we've come and the prospect of getting into Manchester on Saturday. In two weeks, we will be entering the White Mts in NH.
Date: 2012-08-03
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 134: We rise this morning at 6:00 to a partly sunny sky and cool temperatures. As we begin hiking, we stop to replenish our water bottles at the nearby stream. The 4.6 miles between Kid Gore Shelter and Story Spring Shelter are a bit rugged, with lots of roots and rocks to scramble over. We reach Story Spring Shelter at 9:30 and stop for a water and snack break there. Like yesterday, all of our hiking this morning is under the canopy of trees. The only view we have is the trail in front of us, but it is still very nice. There is a certain peace to hiking long stretches in the woods. Many hikers are bored with long walks in the woods, but I kind of like them. It lets my mind wander wherever it will, and at times I forget that I'm even walking. By 11:30, we break out of the woods onto Stratton-Arlington Rd, where we stop for lunch across from the dirt parking lot there. There is a large group of teens there with 3 tents set up in the parking lot. They have just finished a 5 day section hike and are getting ready to go home. After finishing our lunches, we begin the 1-1/2 hour climb up Stratton Mt, which is just a few feet shy of 4000 feet. Reaching the top at 1:30, we climb the fire tower and enjoy views in all directions. We can see Bromley Mt to our north and Mt Snow to our south. This is the spot where Benton McKay first conceived the idea of the Appalachian Trail. After about a half hour on top of Stratton, we head down the back side of the mountain towards Stratton Pond Shelter, where we will stay tonight. We reach the shelter at 3:15 and decide to set up our tent in the woods rather than sleep in a noisy shelter where the mosquitos are certain to be active tonight. Tomorrow, we hike into Manchester, where we will spend Saturday night at the Green Mountain House Hostel and Suttons Place on Sunday. Looking forward to some R&R.
Date: 2012-08-04
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: VT11/30, Manchester
Miles today: 10.7

Day 135: Today, we go into Manchester, where we will spend tonight and tomorrow night. We are on the trail by 7:15 this morning and the hiking is easy as we walk along flat terrain most of the morning. Just past the William Douglas Shelter, we break out of the woods onto Old Rootville Rd, where we stop for a snack and water break. After a 3/4 mile walk down the gravel road, we take a right turn back into the woods for the last 5 miles over to VT 11/30. The morning heats up quickly and the humidity level becomes quite oppressive. By the time we get to the road at about noon, the temperature is already well up into the 90s. After about 10 minutes of hitching, we get a ride into Manchester and get dropped off at McDonalds, where we enjoy a large lunch. After lunch, we walk over to EMS and then to the Price Chopper for some food to cook for dinner. Jeff, the owner of the Green Mountain House, picks us up when we're done shopping and brings us to the hostel. His place is awesome - one of the best, if not the best we've stayed at on the trail so far. There is a fully stocked kitchen for us to use, a very comfortable lounge with internet, TV, piano, couches, etc, and beds with fresh linen. We recommend this place very highly. For dinner, we cook up a zucchini and some frozen Voila in the kitchen, then sit down with the other guests, mostly southbounders, at the dining room table. The rest of the evening is spent simply relaxing in front of the TV. Tomorrow, we have a reservation in town at Sutton's place. We love Manchester. What a great trail town to catch up on some R&R.
Date: 2012-08-05
From: VT11/30, Manchester

To: Manchester, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Day 136:This morning at the Green Mountain House, we wake up and go downstairs for breakfast at 7:30. The kitchn is stocked with eggs, cereal, milk, pancake mix, and many other provisions free for hikers to use. I cook up some scrambled eggs with cheese and pour myself a bowl of cereal. All of the other hikers who stayed here last night are being shuttled back to the trailhead by Jeff while we have breakfast. At 9:30, Jeff gives SilverGirl and I a ride into town. We will stay at Suttons Place tonight near the center of town. During the day, we run a few errands around town and hang out at Suttons place relaxing. It is very warm and humid today, so we don't feel like doing too much walking. Tomorrow, we will head back out on the trail for about 15 miles up and over Bromley Mt, Styles Peak, and Peru Peak. Killington is just a few days away. On we go.