morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-06-13
From: Winturri Shelter, Vt

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a mixed day. It rained all night and was still raining when I set out this morning. Despite the rain, it was too warm to hike in my rain jacket so I just took it off and got a little wet. The only downside to that was my glasses getting steamed up while I hiked uphill, with everything wet it was a challenge finding a dry spot on anything to wipe the glasses with.I did get into my hiking routine today: hike 2 hours, take a snack break, another 2 and a longer break for lunch, then another 2 and another snack break, then 2 more hours got me into camp. That should work well for the next several days to get me into the 10 mile day routine with the current elevation changes. The body is cooperating so far, but I'm still really slow on the uphills and really cautious on the downs. The flats are great, just not enough of them and not long enough! My knees are doing great, no sign of any of the old aches, I'm not sure the feet were quite ready for doubling the mileage already, they're aching a bit tonight, but no blisters or hotspots, so it's all good. After yesterday's short day and long afternoon sitting at the shelter with not much to do I was ready to put in a fuller day.This afternoon I got to camp around 5pm with plenty of daylight left for camp chores. Too much time still actually, I'm already in bed with a couple hours daylight still. Hopefully soon I can push the mileage up again a little bit, I'll wait for the body to adjust first though.  Tomorrow's 10 miles will put me at VT 4 at the Inn At the Long Trail. Charles, Mary and I stayed the night there a couple of days ago on the trip over here to put me on the trail. It took less than an hour for them to drive me over to drop me off, and it will be 4 days for me to get back! I hadn't planned to stay the night there, but apparently they no longer allow camping across the highway from the Inn. After 10 miles hiking to get there, picking up a box of supplies I left there, and the 4+ miles uphill with a full pack that is the next section of trail, I doubt it will take much for me to give in to a hot shower, cooked meals, laundry and a bed!
Date: 2012-06-14
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: Inn at the Long Trail
Miles today: 10.0

Stony Brook shelter 7:15 to US4 5:30. 10 miles.Woke up at 4:30 thanks to the noisy group in the shelter. It actually made me wonder if they are actually quieter if there is someone sharing the shelter that is not part of their group, or if they just go with the principal that there is enough of them that no one will complain. It's a shame that group dynamic will do that; the two guys that came over to say "Hi" last evening seemed reasonable and polite.Anyway, dallied around a bit as I just wasn't feeling it this morning. The profile showed an entire day of steep up or steep down, with very little flat. I know I have several more days in these mountains, and I'll climb them anyway, but it really would be nice to get a view from the top; or at least walk along the ridge for a while, after making all that effort!When I eventually started out, the initial uphill wasn't quite as bad as I just expected, probably because I had unexpectedly walked the first mile of it at the end of yesterday. The mountain, Quimby, had a couple of false peaks then a steep, long down. I was being very cautious with my knees, and kept pausing to regulate my speed, and also to disengage my toes from the front of my shoes. Even with the my caution I got to the bottom with some soreness in strange places on my feet. Next up took me to the top of Thundering Brook falls. Having been here previously I knew the perfect spot for lunch, where I could get my boots off and soak my feet while I ate. I finally had cell and data signals too, so caught up on some calls and mail.After lunch I came across one of the flattest stretches of the day. Nice dry, not muddy, flat stretch of trail. Of course it had to have one little root sticking up, and of course someone had to trip on it today. Splat! Full body lurch ending face down on the trail and grazed knees and elbows. Good thing there was no one around to see. As I was recovering a beaver trotted down the trail toward me. In my discombobulated state I didn't get the camera out initially. When it saw me it paused, then turned back the way it had come. I followed it down trail for a while but never got close enough for a photo.After stopping at Gifford Woods for a couple liters of water, the remainder of the day hike is just a blur of long hot uphill, sore feet, and down the other side. The absolute best part of the day was walking in to the Inn at Long Trail and getting a cold beer, a cheap room, shower, laundry, and real food.
Date: 2012-06-15
From: Inn at the Long Trail

To: Cooper Lodge
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: clear sky

US 4 high noon to Cooper Lodge 5:30 pm 6.3 miles.Some hikers use the saying 10 by 10 to indicate 10 miles hiked by 10am. Today I went with the "None by noon" philosophy. It's not just the hiking I'm out of the habit of, apparently I need practice at days off too. I was actually "almost" ready to leave before I went for breakfast at 7:30, but got distracted with internet and phone stuff after, then suddenly it was 10:45 and I had to check out by 11. I threw everything together, and then realized I had totally worn down my cell battery, so sat outside the Inn charging the phone for an hour. It really didn't matter anyway, I had the choice of a 6 or 11 mile day and just chose to do the shorter miles.Today was a great day of hiking. The weather was beautiful and there are many trails in this area and a vast variety of folks hiking them. I got into several long conversations with day hikers and folks out for a couple of days. Between the chat stops and the actual views was when I figured I'd just go short today.Today was predominantly up, and I'm pleased to report that none of the minor aches and sore spots from yesterday bothered me today. It was a totally painkiller free day. Woohoo.One thing there was a lot of today was toads, I saw about 20 Total, but all seemed to be the same type, just differed in size, and they all frantically scrambled to get off the trail. I guess if I was small and squishy I'd get out the of the way of someone with sharp pointy poles charging down the trail too. I also saw a grouse today, actually she saw me first and came bursting out of the overgrowth defending her chicks. The only other wildlife is the campsite chipmunk who is hanging around suspiciously outside. He's probably trying to figure out how long it will take him to chew through the tent and get to my gorp.Tomorrow's profile looks mainly downhill and not too steep, maybe I'll be able to break 10 miles if I get up and away early. Off to bed for me.
Date: 2012-06-17
From: Clarendon Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: broken clouds

Last night was a pleasant night in the shelter. When I first arrived I was a little concerned about the older gentleman already there. He had his laundry strung out on a line, and his clothes included blue jeans and cotton shirts, not the sort of thing you generally see long distance hikers carrying. However, I do know several people who hike in jeans, so instead of unpacking and setting up immediately I hung around the shelter trying to get a feel for this person, and quite prepared to move on a couple more miles if I got a weird or homeless vibe. It turned out that he was very pleasant company, and definitely a hiker, just with a different style of hiking. He stated that he did actually wear the jeans etc., to hike, and he likes to take his time, and is actually foraging for food and medicinal plants along the trail. He has been hiking since January 5th. That's definitely what I call taking your time. It sounded like he had spent at least one night at almost every shelter along the way, and imparted some useful information about those in my immediate future. For example, that the water here at Greenwall shelter was good, as my guidebook had it listed as an unreliable water source. I wasn't in a hurry to carry overnight water supplies uphill at the end of the day again, so it was good to know I didn't have to.Between chatting and then the visit from the shelter maintainer, I never got around to setting up my tent, so I slept in the shelter again. The bugs were not as bad, which I credited mainly to the beautifully mowed large grassy space out front. It's something I hadn't seen before at a shelter, and I really felt it made a difference by not sustaing the damp atmosphere you normally get at a shelter.The night was rather restless for me as my nose was very stuffy, and several times I woke to the sounds of snoring, only to realize they were coming from me! I didn't seem to disturb my shelter mate though. The day's hike was uneventful. I actually had a couple of nice views from overlooks over the town of Clarendon, but again, none anwhere else. I crossed Clarendon Gorge early in the day and stopped to chat briefly with some locals out panning for gold on the brook, but didn't stop to try it myself. Late this afternoon, while hiking a steep uphill I started to hear a large waterfall, and soon enough came to a pool at the base of one of the falls. I spent an hour or so soaking and cooling off there, refreshing myself for the last very steep uphill mile of my day. I'm not sure I'd have made it here without the pooltime.The only things remarkable about today's shelter is the brand new deluxe spacious toilet, with porch, and the 8 NOBO hikers that arrived shortly after me and apparently all have some intestinal issue, as they all visited said privy within minutes of arriving. I'm in my tent tonight as it's rather buggy. I don't think I chose the best spot though, and feel like I'm about to roll down the hill.Here's hoping I get some snore free, roll free sleep.
Date: 2012-06-18
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Little Rock Pond
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: few clouds

Yes, you read that right, a big 5 miles today! No major reason for it except that the next few shelters and camping areas are oddly spaced. I was planning for 10 miles today, then a 13 and a 2 mile days to get me in to town, then I reached beautiful Little Rock pond at noon on a hot sunny day,, and right on the lakeside is a camping platform in full sun. As I took my lunch and had a little rest I could smell my funky "I've been wearing and sweating in these same clothes for days now" smell, and the lake sure was looking good. I justified the short day by deciding I could wash me and my clothes off at the same time, then lay everything out to dry on the sunny wooden platform, and actually get everything dry. After I checked the maps and realized that the alternate camping spacing would work, I was sold, and in the water I went. It felt just as good as I expected. A short while later another solo woman hiker, Spirea, came along and I explained what I'd done. Apparently it sounded good to her too, as she was soon in the water and then joined me in the shade by the platform, with all our clothes spread out on it drying. It was a very companionable afternoon. I now have my lakeside estate tent set up on the same platform and am tucked in, fresh and clean, watching the sunset through the open door. Idyllic.I was given a trailname this morning by 3 hikers I passed. We all stopped for a break and briefly shared our stories of our hikes. One asked me my name and why I didn't have a trailname and I stated that I'm hiking in the opposite direction to everyone else and 10 minutes chat is not long enough for anyone to come up with a name. His immediate response was that he'll always remember our meeting as the lady with the mended knee, and that my trailname should be Mended Knee. I think I'll try it on, and see how it goes.Well, the sun has gone to bed, and so must I. After such a restful day there will be no excuse for not getting up and out early tomorrow.
Date: 2012-06-19
From: Little Rock Pond

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

I'm so pleased with myself for choosing to hang out at Little Rock yesterday. It is often hard for me to step out of the "more mileage - gotta get there" mode. I know at least a couple of you out there will be as proud of my decision to stop as I am. It was hard to leave Little Rock this morning, the lake was so pretty again, flat calm with the mist rising off it. Today was mainly uphill, with the highlight being the summit of Baker Peak, which actually had a view, a breeze, no mosquitoes (just black flies) and sunshine. I was quite hot and sticky on the ascent, but the warm breeze up top dried me off in no time. I noticed on this section that even the rocks seem to sweat, being covered in moisture, even without rain. Down from the peak I came across a section of trail at Griffith Pond that people have been warning me about for days. It's an area with lots of bog bridges, which are usually two 2"x 8" x 12' planks secured on a railroad tie or log section at each end. Their purpose is to elevate the hiker above particularly muddy or swampy areas. The swampy areas here are still flooded as a result of Hurricane Irene last year, and the waterlogged bog bridges are actually floating free in some places, not too easy or pleasant to walk on, definitely not fun to fall off, and wet and muddy to circumvent. Given my history of falls this week I choose the "slog through the nasty sloppy mud" option.Tomorrow starts straight uphill, has 4 peaks, and hopefully end with a hot shower and real bed in town.
Date: 2012-06-21
From: Green Mountain House Hostel

To: Green Mountain House Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Rest and resupply day in Manchester Center at this awesome hostel. Jeff ran me into town to pick up some mail at the post office, fuel at the outfitter, and groceries for the next 5 days. Swelling has gone down significantly, and I don't have any major side effects from the drugs, so I'm planning on getting back on the trail and hiking early tomorrow. Next stop should be in Massachusetts in about a week.
Date: 2012-06-22
From: Mad Tom Notch

To: Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: few clouds

This morning Jeff from Green Mountain House shuttled me back to Mad Tom Notch where I'd had the allergic reaction. I was determined not to touch the handle of the water pump. I'm still sure that was where I contacted whatever caused the reaction. The hike up Bromley mountain was pleasant. There is a firetower at the top, apparently with a view of 5 states, but there was a construction crew blocking the access when I got there. I had actually heard the backup beep on their vehicle shortly before I reached the summit. It's rather disturbing to approach the summit of a mountain the hard way, by walking, and hear a vehicle that just drove up, and that's the second time it's happened to me this week!After a short break to let the breeze dry me off a bit I started the descent from the peak down one of the ski runs. It was really pretty walking down through the grassy field of wildflowers, and a saw a couple of different butterflies that I hadn't seen yet this trip. As I approached the bottom of the mountain, and the road to town, I crossed paths with the NOBO hikers that had stayed at the hostel last night and taken later shuttles to the trail.It turned out to be a shorter day than I had planned, I had hoped to get some higher miles in, but think the drugs are still affecting me. After crossing the road back to town, the last 2 miles absolutely wiped me out. I pulled into the shelter for a lunch break and managed to nap away most of the afternoon, so it would have made it hard to get to the next shelter at a reasonable time. It's supposed to be a nice one too, on a lake, so I decided to hold up here the remainder of the day and hike on to Stratton Pond tomorrowtomorrow. It turned out to be a good decision when the thunder started around 3:30, followed by a brief shower at 4. It's cooled things off a lot, so there is hope for tomorrow to be cooler too.Busy shelter here tonight: there's a boy scout group and about 9 northbound Long Trail hikers as well as me so far. It's hard to figure out if I'll get more sleep inside the shelter, or down in the tenting area with the boyscouts. Right now it's chaos here with a large family group trying to decide where everyone is going to sleep, and assorted boyscouts coming up to cook under the shelter overhang.
Date: 2012-06-23
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

Last night in the shelter turned out to be as manic as I expected. I had actually already drifted off to sleep a couple of times, only to be woken by the rowdy adolescent boy scouts. When they did finally call it a night three of them decided to sleep on the bunk above me. I got stepped on once as they ascended, then within the first 15 minutes of being above me I had three things dropped down on me. Awake anyway, I stepped outside for a nature call, and noticed that there was probably room to put my tent up on the deck in front of the shelter where all the boyscouts had been sitting. I quickly set up the tent, grabbed my bedding and backpack and resettled down. I sleep much better in the tent anyway, not disturbed by bugs. Around 11pm even more people came in. They had a dog with them, and ended up just cowboy camping by the firepit. Way too many people in one place for me! I was up early and out before most were even out of bed.The hike into this shelter was the flattest day I have had so far. I arrived at the lake for lunch and immediately jumped in to cool off and rinse out my clothes. As eveything dried off I was watching storm clouds move in rapidly from the north. I had planned to continue over Stratton mountain this afternoon, but wasn't keen on doing it in a storm. As I sat debating options I heard the first rumble of thunder. That decided the issue, I quickly grabbed a couple of liters of water from the spring and hustled the 1/4 mile to the shelter, arriving just in time as the rain started pouring down.It's been an interesting afternoon. Within 30 minutes the rain turned to hail. A few minutes later another hiker arrived at the shelter, but he was quickly swallowed up by the group of day hikers behind him. Dressed in shorts and t-shirts they were totally unprepared for rain. The huddled in the shelter shivering and shaking, while I was totally warm and dry with my jacket and fleece hat on, and wrapped in my sleeping bag. I eventually took pity on them and boiled up a pot of water for hot tea for them to share before heading out on the trail back to town.After they left I had a chance to chat with the hiker that came in. He was from Chesham England, so we chatted about home for a while. After the rain stopped and the sun came out Ed and another hiker who had stopped by to dry out decided to head for the next shelter. I thought I might be alone for the night, but since then four more hikers have trickled in. I'm not feeling particularly sociable, so I'm pretending to write my journal. It's working.
Date: 2012-06-24
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Caughnawaga Tentsites
Miles today: 15.0

Well I finally broke the 10 mile day today, 15 miles and my feet are screaming obscenities at me. Of course most of that is because I picked one of the rockiest and rootiest sections I could find as the day to increase my mileage!I started out early because I really couldn't continue to just lay around letting the bugs snack on me any longer this morning. I made some serious blood donations to the Stratton Pond mosquito community last night. I'm really going to have to make an effort to get to shelters with camping available. I sleep so much better in my bug free tent than I do out in the open in a shelter.The day started off with a long uphill to Stratton mountain. It was not as steep as I was expecting, and though still humid, it seemed much cooler this morning. The rocks and roots were all slippery from last evenings rain, and there were Red Efts everywhere enjoying the damp. The view from the top was excellent and I spent a while enjoying it and the cool breeze before heading back down. Despite the rocks and roots I had reached my intended stopping point before noon, and without a lake or stream to play in it seemed rather pointless to stop so early. So on I continued, ending up here at the site of an old shelter that has been torn down. There is a newer shelter just to the south of me. I can't see it, but I keep hearing voices from just down the trail, so I'm sure it's not far.With the way the shelters are spaced right here I think I'll have to do a very short day, or another 10 + miler. I'll have to wait for the morning to see how much my feet are prepared to do. If I can pull off another big mile day I can skip going into the next town and wait until I get to Massachusetts for my next town rest and resupply day.I passed my 100 miles point for this hike today. Yes, it took me two weeks, but I never said I was doing this for any speed records, and I do feel like I'm getting stronger each day, as long as there are no water or town distractions in my way I should be able to stay up in the 10+ miles range, and starting to knock off my 100 miles per week soon.
Date: 2012-06-25
From: Caughnawaga Tentsites

To: Melvin Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: thunderstorm

Wet night and day. I found out the hard way last night that my tent needs to be resealed. I had actually already fallen asleep with my tent fly door open when I heard someone setting up a tent outside. A voice apologized for waking me but explained that there was nowhere else to set up a tent and it was going to rain, so was it OK for him to set up next to me. Within minutes the rain started coming down heavy. I closed up the doors and made sure my bathtub floor was all set up and snuggled back down to fall back to sleep. Then splat. A big drop of water from above. The water was coming in somewhere round the pole, and running down until it dripped down onto me and my sleeping bag. There wasn't much I could do about it in the middle of the rainstorm anyway, so I just laid my rainjacket over the top of the sleeping bag so the water would run off onto the tent floor insteadof soaking into the sleeping bag. It worked for the most part.It rained on and off all night, and during a break in the rain around 6am I decided to get packed up and on the trail. The rain did actually hold off while I packed up the backpack, but started pouring again within minutes of setting out on the trail. It was still early, and cold, and obviously wet. I had a 4+ mile hike to the first shelter, qnd by then I reached was very wet and shivering. I got into the shelter, put a dry jacket and hat on, and cooked up chicken soup and hot tea. Before long I was warmed up, and the rain stopped and the sun came out briefly. I took this as a sign to start hiking again, as I didn't want to stop after only 4 miles.Of course, as soon I as I was a couple of miles from the shelter and 6 till the next cover, the skies opened up again, this time accompanied by hail and lightning. Nothing to do except hike on. Eventually the rain eased up, and stopped for my last couple of miles here. In the first stoke of good luck today the shelter was empty, and not too buggy, so I decided to stay and not risk the dripping tent again. Good choice, as it's now pouring again. A group of Long Trail hikers came inshortly after me, so I'm sure not alone, but I'm tucked in my bag ready for the night anyway. Another good, if wet AT day.