morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-18
From: Riga Lean-to

To: Great Barrington, MA / US-7
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise. The valleys below were filled with a sea of clouds so I got to see the sun come up over them. It was awesome! The sky was so clear this morning I was able to enjoy many views. Sat up on Bear Mountain for a little while. This was the first time we¢ve been above 2000 feet since Pennsylvania, I believe. Crossed another state line today, I¢m now in Massachusetts. I¢m so excited; I only have 4 states left. So far I really like Mass., the views have been incredible. I did get caught in the rain and thankfully it didn¢t last long. Just long enough to drench everything. I really don¢t mind all the ups and downs, what I do mind is having to climb down these rock faces. It¢s rather scary and I¢m really slow about climbing down them especially after the fall I took last time. There were many places today where I had to actually take my pack off and slide it down to someone, then scoot myself down the rock. We had an assembly line of sorts at one point with Daisies, Woods Dragon, Geri, Randy, and me. It was a long day but the trail magic I received when I got to town made it all worth it. Daisies and I got a hitch in the back of a pickup from a man and his wife and as we were getting in the truck another car pulled up. It was a lady that tried to help us out the day we went into Falls Village. She thought she might be able to help us today but it didn¢t work out because we were going in the opposite direction. After our ride dropped us off we made a phone call to one of the hotels that said they¢d pick us up. We decided to go do our laundry then call the hotel back to come and get us. As we walked into the laundromat a woman came in behind us asking if we had two friends that called her about a place to stay. We said no and she said, ¢Would you like to come stay at my house?¢ She gave us the directions and told us the door was open. So we decided since our lodging was now free we should go out to eat for some Indian food and celebrate crossing into a new state. After we ate we made our way to this ladies house. She wasn¢t home yet but the other two hikers were there. Their two friends eventually showed up. The four of them are south bounders, Zaz, Tuxedo, Mode, and Vent. These guys are great! I wish they were traveling north because it would be nice to hang out with them again. Kathy, a pastor, and her husband Jon started taking in hikers after their two sons spent a few weeks on the trail when they were 15 years old. They are truly great people. It was a great night. We all sat around the kitchen table eating ice cream and cookies and telling stories. I was able to get a shower and do my laundry. It is amazing how getting drenched by the rain brings out the stinkyness even more. The four guys are sleeping downstairs on the different couches, Daisies has the bed on the second floor, and I have the one on the third floor. This is awesome, completely unexpected.
Date: 2003-08-19
From: Great Barrington, MA / US-7

To: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-to
Miles today: 13.5

Kathy made us all breakfast this morning. It was so nice to sit around the kitchen table with Kathy, Jon, the 4 sobos, and Daisies. It was like a little family. She made scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, bread, donuts, fruit, orange juice, and coffee. We all cleaned up the kitchen then got ready to head out. Kathy drove us all back to the trail. Nothing exciting happened today except we saw this woman who was sitting on the side of the trail with her gear. I believe she had a few screws loose. She asked us if we saw the Moraters, a group who has been attacking people with spears that are dipped in poison. She said they only bother you if you are below 2000 feet and mostly in the low-lying areas. She also said there are scavengers who are after your lights. And that these people are drying up the water sources because they don¢t want people to be in the mountains. Daisies and I joked about this the rest of the day. The woman is nuts. I was almost convinced that Daisies believed the woman when she was telling us this stuff. Her reactions were so real and although she said she doesn¢t believe her, I¢m not completely convinced of that yet. We are the only ones camped here tonight. I set my tent up in the shelter and Daisies is right in front. The mosquitoes are awful here tonight. There seems to be a lot of animal activity around here tonight. I can hear something in the woods around the shelter area but neither of us can tell what it is. My first thought was that it¢s a deer or something but now I¢m thinking it might be the crazy woman trying to scare us. Ha Ha. I¢m sure it¢s a deer. I checked the temp before I crawled into the tent, it was 69 degrees.
Date: 2003-08-20
From: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-to

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

I survived the night with all the noises. I slept pretty well except for the two or three times I awoke because of a branch falling or some other noise. Packed up pretty fast this morning because of the swarms of mosquitoes. It turned out to be such a nice day. There were no clouds, therefore there was no rain and that¢s always good. Daisies and I ended up taking a short detour at one of the road crossings. We turned and walked down the road when we should have just crossed it. It was okay, though, because we came to this barn and gat to watch as the cows were let out. The first cow came out and stared at us like he knew we were in the wrong place. Next thing we knew there were about 50 cows crossing the road in front of us. It was quite the sight. Hopefully, I got some good pictures. We soon realized we went the wrong way and went back. When we reached the next road we found a bag of cold sodas hanging from a tree branch that were left by Circus just a few hours earlier. By this time Chick Flick had caught up to us so the three of us sat down and drank a nice cold soda. Thanks Circus! While we were sitting there, Woods Dragon came up and at the same time her Dad (Black Bear) and sister pulled up with some more trail magic. They brought sodas, watermelon, sandwiches, and a bunch of snacks. I think we sat there for about 2 hours. From there we headed to Upper Goose Pond Cabin where we decided to stay for the night. This place is great! The upstairs is all bunk beds, downstairs has a small kitchen where I made my ramen noodles on the gas stove, and a sitting room. There¢s a hammock just off the front porch, which I took advantage of and checked out the view of the stars. What a beautiful night! Staying here tonight is Pop-O, Chick Flick, Viking, Daisies, and the caretaker, plus myself.
Date: 2003-08-21
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

There was a $3.00 fee to stay at the cabin but it came with a pancake breakfast made by the caretaker. Oh so good. The first half of my day wasn¢t so good. It wasn¢t the terrain because that was pretty decent. I was just mentally having a rough day. But then I stopped in at the Cookie Lady¢s house for some water (they have a spigot for hikers to use). She wasn¢t home but her husband was. The Cookie Man brought out a basket of cookies for us to eat. They were delicious! The Cookie Lady and her husband have a U-Pick Blueberry Farm so we decided to take a few minutes and pick some blueberries for later. That was a lot of fun. Between the two of us we have about a pounds worth. Nothing exciting happened the rest of the day. Just more of the same old stuff. Made it into town and got a hotel room. Grabbed a bite to eat at this sandwich place. I ordered a double cheeseburger and it came out on a hoagie roll cut in half so there was a burger on each half of the roll. Not quite what I wanted but still good. Cleaned up, called home, watched some TV, now it¢s time to sleep.
Date: 2003-08-22
From: Dalton, MA

To: Cheshire, MA
Miles today: 9.5

Today was pretty uneventful and an easy hike. About 3.5 miles from town I heard on my radio a national weather broadcast warning. It said that there was a band of bad weather moving into the area and would be hitting Cheshire in about 20 minutes. It warned of 55 mph winds, hail, and severe lightning. Daisies and I both got a little nervous and weren¢t sure if we should set up our tents and take cover of just keep moving. We decided to keep moving and did our fastest miles ever. We did 2 miles in less than 30 minutes. Impressive. The only time I can seem to move that fast is when my adrenaline is pumping because I¢m scared. We didn¢t make it before the rain hit and ended up walking in it for maybe 15 minutes. Stopped in at the Post Office to pick up our mail drops then came here to the Catholic Church Hostel. We dropped off our stuff then went to eat. I was a little disappointed to find that there is no Laundromat in this town or an outfitter. I guess laundry and showers will have to wait another 5 days. Sharing the hostel tonight with Double A, Free Radical, Emily, Slack, Magic Rat, Turtle, Daisies, Good Mojo, and Bad Luck (2 section hikers).
Date: 2003-08-23
From: Cheshire, MA

To: North Adams, MA
Miles today: 14.0

What a beautiful day it was today. The temperature is supposed to drop down to about 45 degrees tonight. I¢m so glad it is beginning to cool off. I have to say I am a little worried about what the weather will be like as we get farther north. I¢m sure there will be some snow but I just wonder how bad it¢s going to be. Stopped in North Adams to pick up some supplies since Cheshire didn¢t have any place to resupply. Crossing into another state tomorrow. Vermont, here I come! I can¢t believe I¢ve made it this far. Thanks to everyone who¢s been supporting me and for the prayers and to those of you who have signed my guest book. It means a lot to me. Thanks! Did I mention the new trail trend? A lot of the guys are now sporting Mohawks. It¢s kind of funny to see them with these Mohawks and full beards.
Date: 2003-08-24
From: North Adams, MA

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

Today¢s highs were in the 70¢s and there was a cool breeze all day. I believe we may have an early winter. Here are a couple of things that happened today. I woke up about 5 am to Daisies puking. She was sick for a while but is better now. We¢ve crossed into Vermont! Only three states to go! And my favorite event of the day. When we were standing on the side of the road trying to hitch out of town we spotted a cop car. So not knowing if it was legal or not we put our arms down and started walking. The cop pulled up to us and said, ¢Put your thumb out¢. My immediate thought was ¢why, are you going to arrest me for it?¢ Then he told us that it¢s not illegal, just be careful. I thought this was great and laughed about it all day.
Date: 2003-08-25
From: Bennington, VT

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up and packed with the intention of getting on the trail but had some trouble finding a ride. We happened to be standing near this store that had a corn maze so we decided to go and do the maze. I had never been through one before and thought it was pretty fun. We were able to catch a ride from there to the Post Office where I mailed my boots ahead to Hanover. Not sure if that will be a mistake or not, I guess we¢ll see. I sent them ahead because I bought a pair of Salomons, a low cut trail shoe that was on sale for $30. We were both starving so we stopped for some lunch, a grilled cheese and an ice cream sundae with caramel and hot fudge. It was pretty late in the day by then so we decided to stay. We managed to get a room at the Autumn Inn Motel and arranged for a shuttle back to the trail in the morning. Ordered some pizza and watched a movie on TV. Now I must get some sleep so I can get up early in the morning. I did manage to sew up my knee brace where the stitching has come undone. I also made some repairs to my camera case and first aid kit.
Date: 2003-08-26
From: Bennington, VT

To: Caughnawaga Shelter
Miles today: 14.4

We were on our way to the trail by 8 am and the day seemed to go pretty smoothly. It was 60 degrees when we started this morning. It seems like as soon as we hit Vermont the weather became cooler. You can definitely tell summer is coming to an end because when I stop for breaks I have to get my long sleeves out. It was great walking through the woods today. It smelled like Christmas trees all day. The terrain and forest reminds me of the Smokies. I wonder if the rest of Vermont will be this way. We made it within 2 miles of the shelter when it started raining again. Thankfully, it wasn¢t hard enough to drench everything. There are two shelters here about one tenth of a mile away from each other. One is old, built back in the 30¢s, and sleeps about 4. The other is new and sleeps quite a few more. We arrived at the first and as we were standing out in the rain we were told by the group of college kids in the shelter that there was no room and to go to the next shelter. If it wasn¢t for the fact that this second shelter was right here I think we both would have given them a piece of our minds. This shelter is pretty run down. We climbed in just before the real downpour began. We have since found a few leaks. We¢re sharing this space tonight with Circus. Circus is quite the character. A 22 year old with red hair and a full red beard. He came zooming up behind us today, passed us, and then we didn¢t see him again until we got here. At one point he asked how old I am, then said, ¢God you¢re old¢. I told him he better watch out, I might step on him when I climb down from my bunk.
Date: 2003-08-27
From: Caughnawaga Shelter

To: Camped
Miles today: 11.0

Woke up to a cold, windy morning. It was somewhere in the 50¢s but the wind made it much, much colder. I started out hiking in my rain pants and ended up taking them off about 30 minutes later. What a beautiful day it was today. The terrain wasn¢t too bad, a little rocky but not bad. I definitely like Vermont. Met Moose, my first long trail hiker today. I not only have to look out for SOBO¢s but also LT¢ers. This is great. There¢s quite a crew camped out here tonight. We have Daisies, Jimbo Trek, Deacon Blues, Jolly Roger, Pop-O, Little Bear, Drinker, Batman, and me. I¢m hoping to see a moose tonight. It¢s going to be a COLD night.
Date: 2003-08-28
From: Camped

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

It was 45 degrees when we checked this morning but I would even bet it was colder than that. Having trouble sleeping because the ground and shelter floors are too hard for my hips and I end up tossing every 20 minutes. I have my sleeping pad plus the thin foam mat I cut for some extra cushion plus my rain jacket which I stuff under the two mats and although I¢m sure it¢s better than nothing its just not enough. Getting out of camp early wasn¢t an issue this morning. We were so cold we didn¢t waste any time. I did the first few miles in my rain pants and fleece until I warmed up some. Hated to take them off because when ever I stopped I¢d get cold. Made it up to the top of Stratton pretty early. Definitely noticed the change in temps as we climbed, Stratton is just under 4000 ft. Once we were at the top we climbed up the fire tower. What an amazing view there is from up there. It was beautiful! And very windy. You could actually feel the tower swaying. We then took the gondola down to the ski resort where we had some lunch. They allow thru hikers to ride on the gondola for free as long as you have your pack with you. Daisies was a bit excited over the ride since she had never been on one before plus she¢s afraid of heights. Lunch was good but expensive. Made it into Manchester Center and have gotten a room at Sutton¢s Place. This is a great place. Frank, the owner, is really nice; he leaves cereal and juice out in the morning so I guess it¢s a B&B of sorts. Daisies, Viking, and myself are sharing one of 4 rooms. The three of us went down to the Sirloin Saloon for dinner where I had a nice big steak and tried one of the local beers. It was all very good. Back to Sutton¢s for some journaling and some reading.
Date: 2003-09-04
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Hiker's Welcome Hostel / Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 134.6

Today's mileage is the miles since the last entry on 8/28 so the total is accurate. Haven¢t felt like writing much lately. I picked up a book at some bookstore along the way and can¢t seem to put it down. Got here to the Hiker¢s Welcome Hostel late this afternoon. There¢s quite a crowd here and no spaces left inside so I¢m tenting out back. Met back up with Sleepy Floyd, Superman, Torch, and Pipes. It was great seeing them again. I didn¢t realize how much I had missed them all. I feel like I¢m preparing to go on some big expedition. It¢s like we are all hanging out at base camp waiting to go up the ¢big mountain¢. In actuality, I think people have held up here getting the nerve to go thru the White. Some are waiting for better weather, others the mail, some just aren¢t ready to go.
Date: 2003-09-05
From: Hiker's Welcome Hostel / Glencliff, NH

To: Hiker's Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

Did a 9.5-mile slack south from Kinsman Notch back to the hostel at Glencliff. It was a gorgeous day! I was very excited to be in the Whites. They remind me of the Rocky Mountains some. The first 1.5 miles were very tough. I was glad to be going up it and not down. I believe this is just a taste of what is to come. At one point I could hear a jet go flying by and immediately after it there was another one. I searched the sky for them but was only able to hear them. Not too much time went by when I could hear them again only this time I saw they were two fighter jets flying in the valley below me. I thought this was exciting and wished I had a better view of them. As it turns out, the Air Force practices in the White Mountains. Finally made it to the summit of Mt. Moosilauke (an elevation of 4,802¢) where the views were covered over by clouds. It was very windy up there and 40 degrees not counting the wind-chill. Sat up there for close to an hour with Singe, Daisies, and Mud Elephant before we all decided to move on. Got back to the hostel and was totally beat. Put in an order for pizza and sat around talking with Singe and Magic Rat before retiring to my tent for the night.
Date: 2003-09-06
From: Hiker's Welcome Hostel

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: scattered clouds

What a long day! I¢m totally beat. I haven¢t done this little of miles and felt this exhausted since Georgia. It¢s a little frustrating that I can¢t keep my usual 2-2.5 mph pace through here as I¢m down to 1 mph. I¢m not the only one, though, everyone¢s going through the same thing. Daisies has the flu or something so she struggled a bit today and we seemed to stop a lot to rest. Made it to camp just before dark hit. I¢m here tonight with Daisies, Nameless (a section hiker), Singe, Mud Elephant, Strider, Iron Chef of CT., some sectioners, Trog and his son, and a group of Dartmouth kids. I was stung by a bee today. This is the first time I¢ve ever been stung and it hurt more than I expected it to.
Date: 2003-09-07
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 8.8

The spot on my wrist were I was stung by the bee is now swollen. Today was another long day. I can¢t believe how tough these mountains are. I hiked most of the day with Nameless since Daisies left camp about 30 minutes before me this morning. The climb up South Kinsman was awful. I had to put my poles away because they were getting in the way; you needed your hands for this one. Took a little break at the top to enjoy the views after the hard climb. Ended up spotting a glider plane. How nice would that be to glide through the mountains? Coming down the other side of Kinsman wasn¢t all that fun. Big slabs of rock.   It¢s very hard on my knees not to mention that they scare me. Stopped in at the Lonesome Lake Hut and had a bottomless cup of lemonade and a bottomless bowl of soup. It hit the spot. We were able to get a ride into town pretty easily when Nameless started talking to this Korean couple in Korean. Daisies and I were completely shocked when he started talking to them in their own language; we just looked at each other with these huge smiles. They brought us here to the Woodstock Inn where the 4 of us split a room.
Date: 2003-09-08
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 0.0

Ended up zeroing today. We had some town chores to take care of plus Daisies wasn¢t feeling all that hot. We ended up meeting up with Molasses J and Chloe. She stopped in to visit with us on her way back from Maine. It¢s always great to see her. We just hung out and went to dinner.
Date: 2003-09-09
To: Liberty Spring Campsite
Miles today: 2.6
Weather: clear sky

Molasses brought us back to the trail after we went to McDonalds for lunch. I always hate when she leaves us, she is so much fun to be around. Anyway, the climb was long, 2.6 miles straight up. I made decent time getting here. I feel bad for Daisies; I know how hard it is to hike up hill (or at all) when you are sick. Got into camp and met with Tinman the caretaker. He informed me that we could do a work for stay instead of having to pay the $8 fee. So after setting up my tent, which is on a wooden platform, I went around to the different tent sites and gathered up any trash I could find. Once that was done it was time for dinner. Tinman came down and sat with us while we cooked and ate. I¢m freezing and am hoping to warm up soon now that I¢m in my sleeping bag. When I last checked it was 40 degrees but it sure feels colder.
Date: 2003-09-10
From: Liberty Spring Campsite

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: clear sky

Man, was it cold last night. Not only was I using my bag liner and sleeping bag but I ended up having to close the hood on my sleeping bag to stay warm. Another tough day. The terrain actually wasn¢t too bad, it was more that my knees were killing me. We walked along the Franconia Ridge for a majority of the day. It was absolutely beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky and all you could see was mountain after mountain. Gorgeous! Today we climbed up to an elevation of 5249¢ on Mt. Lafayette. When we stopped for lunch we sat and watched a couple of fighter jets chase each other through the sky. I think that¢s always an awesome thing to watch but a lot of people out here don¢t feel the same way. I tripped over a rock climbing up Mt. Lincoln and landed on my knees (on more rocks, of course). My left knee was more protected because of my brace but the right one wasn¢t and is already bruised. We eventually made it to camp where we met with Mat the caretaker. We¢ve signed up for another work for stay, which we will be doing in the morning. I believe we have to sweep out the shelter and privy and cut some branches off a pine tree. It¢s nowhere near as cold tonight, which I like very much. It has clouded up some since we arrived and I can no longer see the Moon or Mars.   Earlier, when I could see the Moon it was orange. Tonight it¢s just me and Daisies. A group from Dartmouth did come in just a little while ago but they camped a good ways away from us. 11:30 pm ¢ Just came back in from the girl¢s room and the clouds have cleared out and the night sky is very clear. I had a great view of the stars on my walk back to the shelter. I almost hated to come back in.