morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-26
From: Ten Mile River Campsite

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I did not last long last night thanks to the sound of the river. I was up by 6am this morning I used my phone for a bit since I knew I was going to be able to charge it in a few miles at a gas station we cross next to. I packed up and hitch the trail just after 7am. I got to the gas station and plugged my phone in after buying a chocolate milk. Everyone showed up a hour or so later and charged up their devices. Rock left the store first and headed for Kent, CT. I was right behind him. We crossed into Conneticut and out of New York for the last time. We have been in and out of CT a couple times now. 9 states down, 5 to go! We got to CT 341 which was less than a mile walk into Kent so we walked into check out the outfitter. We passed The Kent School which looked like a very nice place. I was not impressed with the outfitter as it is more for looks instead of function but there was an ice cream shop attached so that made up for their lack of hiking gear. We were hanging out in the parking lot when Grizz and Pond walked up with a handle of Canadian Mist. I knew it was going to be a long night after that, but hey, it was a short day! It started to rain and we passed the bottle around in the parking lot. Everyone went back to find a campsite while Rock, Grizz, and I went to the free wine tasting down the road. This is a town in which hikers do not really fit in. A lot of people come from New York City to visit here. We got some pretty good looks. Around 5pm or so we walked back to the trail. They had a campsite only .2 up a hill so we all called it a night there. We were all up talking and laughing until 2am, so I am sure it will be a late start tomorrow.
Date: 2014-07-27
From: Kent, CT

To: Housatonic Meadows State Park
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: light rain

I heard Grizz and Pond packing their gear around 6am. My first thought was the fact we fell asleep about 4 hours ago so I asked them what the heck they were doing? Apparently the mosquitoes were so bad, it forced them out of their hammocks. I decided I would pack up and hike out as well since I was already up. Rock asked the same question I did when he heard us, just with a few more cuss words. We took off around 6:30am. A section hiker told us storms were on the way this afternoon so non of us stopped to take a break until after the 6 mile flat section. Then, it was a few small incline and declines to the blue blaze trail to the state park. Grizz worked his magic and scored us a cabin for $50. It started to pour while I was taking a shower in the bathhouse. I was so tired I did not want to do anything. I got back to the cabin and Grizz had ham, cheese, turkey, and bread; pounds of it! Apparently he went over to a family reunion leaving the park, told him what he was doing, and they handed him everything they had left. Free lunch! It was great! Boucher, Denali, Swamp Donkey, Land Slide, and Tigger showed up a few hours later in the pouring rain. I took a nap. Apparently Grizz worked his magic again, scored a ride to the store, then found out the couple next to us is going to cook us all a big dinner tonight. Unbelievable! Also, the credit card machine at the park was not working, so, we all got the cabin for free! It was awesome! The rain stopped, we had a massive dinner that consisted of chicken, salad, wine, bread, and much more. The couple had done the same trip to Alaska that I did last year so they loved talking to me about it. What a great evening!
Date: 2014-07-28
From: Housatonic Meadows State Park

To: CT 41/Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 24.9
Weather: clear sky

1500 MILES DONE! 700 LEFT! I crossed the 1500 mile marker today, which felt awesome. We have been putting in some big (and small) days lately which is helping us make up some mileage for all the zero days we have taken. We are still beyond good to go to finish by October 1st, but we want more zero days in the future, so why not do big days in order to take those later down the trail? We were all up by 8am and cleaning the cabin to make sure they did not keep our $50 deposit even though we got the cabin for free. A few of us took showers before heading out. We ran into Mad Jac's wife in the parking lot of the state park. She stays in a camper and slack packs him. Both of them are great people! She asked if any of us needed a ride. We decided to slack pack ourselves! We took a ride into Great Barrington, MA. Rock, Pond, Grizz, and I split a room at the Mountain Monument Motel. We left our stuff in the room, grabbed a bite to eat, then hitched back to the trail crossing. It was one road in and out so made for an easy hitch. It did not take us long before we got a ride back. I did not see Rock nor Ponds all day. Grizz and I hiked on and off. It was a fairly easy day, just bigger miles. A 16 mile day would have been nice! This part of CT is really nice and I like the area a lot. I listened to music all day because I kept thinking about a bed and shower tonight. I also was pretty worn out and tired. I definitely did not drink enough water today because I only brought a one liter bottle and only filled it up three times for a 20 plus mile day. We got to CT 41 around 7pm and hitched up to the motel. Rock and Pond were already there waiting on us with pizza and such. I took a shower and did not move out of the bed. The rest of the group came in later and got a room at another motel down the road. Tomorrow I cross into Massachusetts. This starts New England for me, and I am excited to walk through it.
Date: 2014-07-29
From: CT 41/Great Barrington, MA

To: Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: broken clouds

I feel like Massachusetts is a nice break for us before Vermont and New Hampshire because the terrain is relatively flat and it is easy to do days over 20 miles and still enjoy your day. Ponds and I were up around 7am and walked across the street to get breakfast at the "Home Sweet Home" Doughnut Shoppe. We were all packed up by 8am and hitching back to the trail soon after. Shortly after hitting the trail we found out the other group is slack packing today with Crop Dust and staying in Great Barrington again tonight. Oh well. Next time. I crossed into Massachusetts a few miles into the hike today. 10 states down, 4 states left! I cannot believe I am officially in New England. I love it! We crossed a bunch of roads today but never stopped at them. I think if we had hung out at some of them, we would have come across some sort of trail magic because we saw locals on the trail everywhere today. It poured last night, but we did not realize how much. After our last road crossing, we cam to a field that was flooded. We walked through it no problem. Then, we saw a deep 50ft or so section. We left Grizz go first. Grizz stands about 6'4" and a good 260lbs. He played college football in Florida. When I saw the water almost hit his waist, I knew Ponds and I were screwed. I followed Ponds right through it and it was up to our stomachs. Rock stopped, took his shoes and socks off, put his flip flops on, took one step, and slid feet first right into the water. I could not stop laughing! It was the funniest thing I had seen in a while. He was laughing too which made it that much better. Water is now abundant everywhere and there is no need to even look for water. We had a six or so mile hike up hill to the shelter we planned to stay at. It sucked in wet boots and I could feel loose skin and blisters coming off my feet, but there was nothing I could do. Rock pretty much ran up it with a butt full of mud and soaking wet shoes and socks, even though he did not wear them through the water. I was the last one to the campsite around 8pm. What an awesome spot! We have a view looking over a valley just beyond the shelter. Grizz, Rock, and Pond were already set up. I set my stuff up, cooked dinner, got water, and just hung out until bed. The water is brown because of all the rain running over the leaves and such. I treat all my water but it is still crazy to see my water bladder full of brown water. Yal showed up just before dark and camping with us at the view. It is really starting to feel like fall lately, and I love it. The cooler weather means great hiking temps along with great sleeping temps. I was worn out and in bed by 10pm. Tomorrow we are going for the famous Upper Goose Pond Cabin to check it out and see what it is all about.
Date: 2014-07-30
From: Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: scattered clouds

It was an adventurous and great day on the trail today. The terrain profile looks like a flat line heart rate so it makes for nice, easy, but longer days. I could hear Rock and Grizz talking (more like yelling) to each other around 6am. We all had breakfast and filled up on water before heading out. Rock, of course, was the first one out and flew to the first road crossing. I was not far behind him. As soon as I came across MA 23, I was walking up the parking lot and saw Miss Janet's van. It made sense now why she text Rock and I asking where we were last night. She had sodas and snacks for us. She said she had not seen us in so long and missed us, so she came to find us! WE LOVE MISS JANET! Also, Rob came rolling up in his van as well with soda, beer, and snacks. Trail magic times two in one spot! It made for a great day. We could not just leave without hanging out with her Miss Janet for a bit so all of us piled in her van and went to the Price Chopper grocery store just down the road. We got all kinds of awesome food to cook for a massive dinner at Upper Goose Pond. She dropped us back off, we said bye, and took off for the famous Upper Goose Pond Cabin. This area is cool to hike for me since this is where I did trail magic for my friends from home who thru hiked lasted year. Rock was there about a hour before I hiked in. Ponds and Grizz came rolling in around 7pm. Then Denali, Boucher, and Swamp Donkey rolled in too. Yak as well. All of us are here which is very cool. The pond is just as I pictured. Rural and in the middle of no where with no man made objects on it. The cabin is up the hill from the pond and used to be private until it was given to the MATC. The upstairs is all bunks. Downstairs is a living room and kitchen. There is no power. It is piped for propane gas though which is nice. We took the canoe out before cooking dinner. Grizz only flipped us once. I was laughing because he is a raft guide and I knew it was coming since he said "no one has cell phones right?" We cooked a massive dinner after that. Hot dogs, corn on the cob, and much more. Everyone was wondering where we got all this food from. Thank you Miss Janet! It cooled off nicely tonight and I was out by 10pm. Everyone is saying rain is supposed to move in tonight so I guess we will see what tomorrow holds.
Date: 2014-07-31
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

ZERO DAY! It did not take us long to decided to spend the day here today. I was up around 8am and walked down to the cabin for the pancake breakfast they cook thru hikers. The care taker was awesome! It started to rain so I packed up all my stuff as Grizz was doing the same. About ten minutes later, we all decided to spend the day here. Grizz and I put our stuff in the cabin and claimed a bunk for the night. We sat down to play Monopoly around 10am, which turned into a 3 hour game, that I won. It was still raining so we took a lunch break, then sat down for round two, which Rock won, and everyone knew Rock won soon after. It was a very nice and relaxing day. The rain let up late in the afternoon and I sat by the lake for a bit. I had dinner around 6pm and called it a night in my bunk around 7am. I am heading for Dalton, MA tomorrow. I plan to stop for lunch at the Cookie Ladies house so I'll be heading out around 7am.
Date: 2014-08-01
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.6

Wow, I cannot believe it is already August 1st. I would have never known unless someone pointed it out to me this morning. I am approaching the five month mark of living in the woods. The forest is a great place to live as Rock would say. Grizz and I were up at 5am as we could hear people stirring. I went downstairs for coffee with the care taker then packed up all my stuff. I was on the trail before 7am. Ponds was right behind me as well. I crossed over Interstate 90 which is insane to me since I have driven this road many times a year from NC to ME. It was a personal marker I have been looking forward to for a while. It means I am getting closer to Maine! It was a pretty good climb after cross US 20 that goes into Lee, MA. That was our only real good sized climb for toady. Everything else was maybe a couple hundred feet up and down. The rest was literally flat. So flat, my feet hurt from it. Ponds and I got to the road that goes into Becket, MA where I also did trail magic for my buddies last year. I did not know about the Cookie Lady then though. We walked down to her place. She was not home but her husband was. Such a nice guy! We had cookies, hard boiled eggs, a coke, lemonade, and Klondike bars. It was a great lunch. A bunch of other people were here as well. Around 2pm after hanging out for a lot longer than expected, we decided we should hike out since it was still another ten miles to Dalton, MA. It was a nice and easy hike. I was getting tired though and the only reason I went all the way to Dalton was because I knew Grizz and Rock were getting a motel room for the night and I could sleep on the floor. We got there around 7pm. They were already drinking beers and ready to party. I took a shower, got a sub for dinner, then laid down on the floor and passed out around 9pm. Everyone else besides Pond, Denali, Swamp Donkey, Boucher, and I went to the bars and had a late night. It was a great and easy day!
Date: 2014-08-02
From: Dalton, MA

To: Cheshire, MA / The Lesure's
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept in until 9am or so as everyone else was nursing a hangover. It worked out great. We got a late checkout until noon so I walked over and got a bagel and coffee at a local coffee shop. We all hiked out around noon. Grizz is taking a bus to Boston, MA to see family for a week. We had one short uphill and one short downhill. I did not see anyone else today as Rock was hurting pretty good so we just hike the 8 miles straight to the road. Ponds had told us to stop when we hit our first road because his uncle lives right off that road. I stopped at the Cobbles view and ate lunch. Then I headed down into Cheshire where I found Rock waiting for us pacing around the sidewalk. We got a call from Ponds about a hour later saying come back to the first road. We did not listen. It was only about a half mile back. His uncle lived right off the AT on the road the trail walks down into Cheshire! We are staying the night here so we set up in his yard, made a fire, they cooked us a wonderful meal, and we just hung out and got to know everyone. Little did we know this would be the start of a few days off hanging out with "Hammer Time" (Pond's uncle's trail name we gave him). We also met Pond's two beautiful cousins this evening.
Date: 2014-08-03
From: Cheshire, MA / The Lesure's

To: Cheshire, MA / The Lesure's
Miles today: 0.0

We slept in until 9am or so. His two aunts cooked us a massive breakfast. His whole family came over to see him. We played ball sports in the yard all day. You name it, they had it! We kept a fire going all day as well and made a run to the beer store. They cooked us another great dinner then we hung out around the fire until 2 or 3am. Hammer Time is a blast! Sandi, Pond's aunt, along with Emily and Amber (his two cousins) hung out with us all evening as well.
Date: 2014-08-04
From: The Lesure's

To: Cheshire, MA / The Lesure's
Miles today: 0.0

We did plan to hike out this morning, I promise. We even cleaned up the yard and took showers before packing all our gear. Once we got packed up, Hammer Time and Ponds were handing out beers to hikers walking by. We said we would leave at 10am, then 11am, then noon, then 1pm, then Emily and I made a trip to the beer store...and that was the end of us hiking out today. We ordered pizza for dinner so they did not have to cook for us again. We had another fire then I slept on the couch since all my gear was packed up. Everyone else slept in the garage. It was a fun day that is for sure.
Date: 2014-08-05
From: Cheshire, MA / The Lesure's

To: Williamstown, MA
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: light rain

Today was such a fun day! We left Hammer Time's house around 10am. Amber is hiking to the top of Mount Greylock with us. Hammer Time is picking Amber up at the top of Greylock so he is slack packing us up there. There were so many section hikers and day hikers out today. The incline was still hard today, but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. We had a snack at the Mark Noepel Shelter a few miles before the summit. Amber was flying up the mountain! I got to the top just before everyone else did. It was great to slack pack up. Hammer Time showed up soon after we got there and hung out with us for a bit checking out the view. He brought us each a cold PBR that we had left as his house. This is the tallest peak we have had since Virginia. We are just under 3,500ft. No we start climbing back into the higher elevations. I cannot wait! Hammer Time and Amber let and we hiked down into Williamstown, MA where there is free camping behind an old outfitter. We happened to be right across the street from a local tavern. It started to down pour so we went to the tavern to charge our phones and grab a bite to eat. Hot wings and a long trail beer, since we are getting ready to enter Vermont. The bar tender bought Rock and I a few beers before we called it a night around 11pm. It was still raining when we left so I went right to my tent and fell asleep in no time. It was nice!
Date: 2014-08-06
From: Williamstown, MA

To: Country Road / The Lesure's
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Apparently something between the beer and wings did not match in my stomach last night because I woke up around 4am sick. I puked a few times and barely made it into the woods to relieve the reverse side. I feel back asleep until 7am and felt fine when I got up. Everything worked out well today though. Everyone was packed up by 8am and we walked to the dine about a mile away to eat breakfast. Pond's grandfather and grandmother met us there for breakfast whom we met while staying at his uncle's. They live on the first road we cross after the Vermont border. So, we went back to their house, set up camp, and slack packed the seven miles back to Williamstown. We hiked it southbound. It was so nice and easy. It only took us a few hours. We got back to his grandparent's house and they cooked us a massive dinner. We went and checked out their hunting cabin after that. It's such an awesome spot in Vermont! We will be hanging out here for the next few days as planned. It is a great spot to do it that is for sure!
Date: 2014-08-07
From: Country Road / The Lesure's

To: Country Road / The Lesure's 
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up to the smell of sausage and pancakes coming from the house. I went in and had coffee, pancakes, and sausage. Another amazing breakfast thanks to the Lesure family! Pond had a dentist appointment today so we just hung out at the house and played ball sports in the massive field nearby. We split some wood for his grandfather and tried to help out as much as we could. They cooked us all another great dinner with more corn then we could consume. I had at least four. Thank you all so much!
Date: 2014-08-09
From: Country Road / The Lesure's

To: Country Road / The Lesure's
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is our last day at the Lesure's. We had a blast. Break, lunch, dinner. Pond's mom and sister are up from Ohio as well. Their whole family is great. We truely appreciate everything they did for us! Thank you all!
Date: 2014-08-10
From: Country Road / The Lesure's

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

I made sure I got up early around 6am this morning since I knew we were hiking out today. Pond is staying another day with his family because his mom and sister head back to Ohio tomorrow morning. I packed all my gear before heading in to eat breakfast. Pond cooked us breakfast sandwiches while is family was at church next door. We waited for them to get back around 9am before we hiked out. We took pictures, said thank you, and goodbye for now. Pond took us up in the truck to drop us off on Country Road again so we could continue north. We ran into Cheesesteak right at the road crossing who told us Grizz was hiking south from Bennington to meet her. I only stopped once today at the stream before the Congdon Shelter. This was only about 4 miles from town. I was the first one to the road after a downhill that was way steeper than it looked in the book. I saw a bunch of day hikers heading up to Harmon Hill. Weatherman and Rock were not too far behind me getting to the road. Boucher was next. Apparently Swamp Donkey rolled his ankle. So, Weatherman, Rock, and I hitched into town. Boucher, Denali, and Swamp Donkey were not too far behind us. Grizz, Willy Wonka, Maverick, and Beruit were at a local pub having a beer so we met them there. It was a big family reunion. Grizz, Willy Wonka, and Maverick all got rooms at a cheap motel so we piled four a piece into them. I just hung out and watched movies after taking a shower. It was a short and fun day.
Date: 2014-08-11
From: Bennington, VT

To: Glastenbury Mountain Fire Tower
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a great day on the trail! I was up around 7am and got a phone call from B Man. I talked to him for a bit and it was great to hear from him. He is missing the trail big time! I packed my stuff up. Rock, Weaterman, and I hitched back to the trail. We got a ride from a local trail angle who was just hanging out with some people at the motel. He even stopped at the local deli so I could grab myself and Pond a sandwich. Pond should be at the road crossing right when we get there since he left Country Road around 5 or 6 this morning to catch up with us. While we were waiting at the road, Swamp Donkey and Denali showed up as well. As soon as Pond showed up, we hiked out. It was two miles straight up to the first shelter being Melville Nauheim Shelter. I kept going to Hell Hollow Brook where I filled up water and hung out with Rock before heading up the massive climb to the fire tower. It felt like it took forever because there was nothing in between. I got to the summit where the shelter was around 6:30pm. I filled up water out of the very nice spring right off the trail. We all ate dinner then hiked the .3 up to the fire tower. No one was camping there yet. We set up camp really quick then caught the awesome sunset out of the fire tower. It was so cool to see. Then, we started a fire, cooked another dinner, got ready for bed, then watched the super moon rise from the fire tower. It was one of the best views I have seen in a while and a very clear night. We got lucky. It cooled off quickly and got really windy so we all called it a night early.