morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-20
From: Little Dam Lake

To: Bear Mountain Inn, NY
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: mist

I do enjoy hearing the sound of rain falling on the rain fly of a tent. It causes some reaction in my brain that tells my body to just roll over and fall back to sleep.It was raining when we woke up this morning so we both just rolled over and fell back asleep. Our plan was to walk 3 miles into Arden, NY and grab some lunch and then walk three more miles to the Fingerboard shelter. A short day or so we thought.The rain was only a slight drizzle when we broke camp and headed out just before 10:00. The trail started out being really beautiful as it meandered around a couple of high mountain lakes but that soon changed. Maybe the individual who routes the trail had a bad day when he or she marked out the trail for the next three miles because it was nothing short of demented. The trail took us over steep walls of rocks that once again had us climbing on all fours. There were times when I had to use rock climbing skills to negotiate the ups that the trail followed. Maybe it would have been fun if the sun would have been shining and the birds were chirping but in a rainy downpour it was highly hazardous. There were times when I really worried that one of us would be hurt with one wrong step. You could tell where others before us had run up against the same poorly routed trail and been forced to find an alternate means of moving northward. Have I mentioned that the trail was just crazy? It took us over 2 1/2 hours to cover less than 3 miles. It took us close to an hour just to make the descent down off of Arden Mountain. When we finally made it down to Arden Valley Road we were both luckily intact. We had both fallen on our butts once but other than that we were physically fine. Our mental condition was another matter. We both had had enough for the day. As we stood there in the pouring rain we decided to just call a taxi and get a nice warm hotel room for the evening. After getting cleaned up and changed into some clothes that didn't smell all that bad we took stock on how we were both doing. Penny's blisters are not getting better and after about 2 hours of hiking they start to get highly painful. We have decided that we will both take a day off tomorrow. After that, Pen will rent a car, shuttle me to the trail and explore the northeast for great bargains. When her feet heal up she will join me from time to time back on the trail. I'm going to skip all the areas that I've ever hiked on the AT. This means I have small parts in CT and MA to hike along with most of VT and all of NH and ME.We had talked about doing this from the start and it now just makes the best sense. Penny can drop me off most mornings, allowing me to slack pack and cover more miles as she scans the surrounding area for antiques.We appreciate everyone¢s e-mails and wonderful words of support. We will keep you posted of what is happening both on and off the trail. Take care, Pasta & Crockett (Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-06-23
From: Sharon Mt. Campsite

To: US 44
Miles today: 13.2

The rain finally moved out to the Atlantic and the warmth of the sun shone down brightly on the rolling hills of Connecticut.The trail looked like what people who don't hike probably imagine the Appalachian Trail to be like. After crossing the Housatonic River the trail became sprinkled with wood chips. I walked parallel to the river for the next mile, the sound of the water flowing over the rocks, spying a deer as I rounded a turn. I listened to many different birds singing and watched as rays of sunshine filtered between the hemlocks.There was only one mild climb up Prospect Mountain and I was rewarded with an outstanding view of Lakeville, CT. I also passed Falls Village where the falls were overflowing. You could hear the roar of the water at least a half mile away. It is a sleepy little town that once had big dreams of being a major player in the industrial revolution. They built large canals to harness the power from the falls. Well, the level of engineering was not what it should have been. The canals were not water tight so the town¢s dreams more or less were lost down the river.Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-06-24
From: North Adams MA

To: Bennington VT
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: clear sky

I wanted to get an early start so of course I didn't hit the trail until after 10:00. There was a little trail magic right from the start as there were chocolate chip cookies sitting on the side of the bridge as I crossed the Hoosic River.The trail followed a stream for the first few miles and then started, as always, climbing. I started sweating like a dog. The one thing about hiking while wearing glasses is that when you start to sweat your vision becomes impaired. For some reason, the left lens seems to be the one that always fogs up first. Maybe I sweat more on the left side or maybe I wear my baseball cap at some angle that I'm not aware of. Most of the day was spent deep in the forest. Even in the middle of the day the trail was dark and still very muddy from all the past rain. At some point I stopped trying to hike around the deep mud and started just trudging right through. My boot only felt like it was going to be sucked off my foot once or twice. Did I mention it was hot out there? I passed the MA-VT border and started The Long Trail. This was our nation's first long distance trail; it was completed by 1921 when the A.T. was proposed. Flatlander and Lady Lipton were taking a break just as I was coming to the state border. Of course I asked them if we were close to VT and Flatlander told me to just look to my left. There was a big sign announcing the state of Vermont not more than 15 feet away.The heat of the day took its toll and I was beat when I finally crossed over VT 9. Penny was right there with a cold bottle of Gatorade. It was exactly what I needed. A long day but it is nice to be in Vermont. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-06-27
From: Sugar Hill

To: Clarendon Shelter
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: few clouds

Another hot and humid day in the green mountains of Vermont. The scenery is pretty awesome in this area and I love the smell of fresh pine when I approach the top of the mountains. That Christmassy pine scent is like a little reward when you finally reach the top of a peak. I'm usually gasping for breath, sucking in both oxygen and small bugs and watching the sweat pour down my arms and legs.Yet to stand on the top of a mountain after a large amount of effort and look out over the hills you have climbed during the past few days is an exhilarating experience. Each day has been pretty much like that: a kick butt climb to the top of a peak, a short stay along the ridgeline and then the hike back down the other side. It is sometimes the descent that is the hardest part. It can be steep with slick rocks and the jar of each step downward can cause havoc with your knees. You see a good percentage of hikers out here using some type of knee brace device.The first half of the day was mostly spent climbing up Bear Mountain. It was a pretty hard climb but at least there were some switchbacks. The trail had recently been rerouted so it was marked really well. As I was nearing the end of my hike I saw Penny walking towards me. Her feet are finally healing and it was nice to hike with her for the last couple of miles.We crossed a beautiful stream over a very old suspension bridge. It looked like a favorite spot for the locals to hang out on a warm summer day. We enjoyed lunch at the Whistle Stop restaurant. It is an old converted caboose and train station. They have good food for a reasonable price.Time for bed. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-06-30
From: Killington VT

To: Lookout Farm Observation Deck
Miles today: 14.2

Sleeping on the observation deck built on top of Lookout farm cabin.I'm sitting on this very rickety observation deck taking in the fantastic views and the awesome sunset. The cabin sits at 2415 feet and gives you a bird¢s eye view of the countryside. The cabin is private property but when the owners are not here they allow hikers to stay. It is very rustic with no furniture yet it does have a fireplace. You also need one heck of a 4 wheel drive truck to get yourself up to this place.The day started off cool but that soon changed. The humidity was still pretty high and the air was sticky. It was a comfortable walk from Kent Pond to Thundering Brook Road. As I was walking down the road an older lady in a white truck stopped and asked if I needed a ride. She was up here on vacation and she told me she had heard of the Appalachian Trail but never actually seen a hiker. So I hopped in the back, we went about 300 yards and I knocked on the side of the truck. The trail went back into the woods at this point. The woman wore a big smile and we talked about the trail for a good 20 minutes.Walking back into the woods started the first of many climbs followed directly by a lengthy descent. The rest of the day was the same. Each climb was between 45 minutes to an hour and had me sweating like a racehorse. I stopped for lunch at the Stony Brook Shelter. There was one older gentleman there with a long white beard. He had felt dehydrated the day before so he was taking a zero day to recover. As I was eating my tuna and crackers he nodded off and started to do some serious snoring. He would not have been someone that I would have looked forward to sharing a shelter with through the Smokies. As he slept I quietly slipped back onto the trail to face more taxing climbs.The book says that I walked across the Continental Divide but there was no sign and I didn't notice which way the water was running off. There was one nice lookout down to Lakota Lake near the end of today¢s walk.I was getting tired by the time I reached the cabin and it felt good to just kick back on a rock and cook some dinner. I plan on getting up early tomorrow so I'm going to hit the sack; it is 8:20 pm.Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-06-30
From: Lookout Farm Observation Deck

To: VT 12
Miles today: 6.5

BOOM! The clap of thunder shook the small cabin and the rain started to come down even harder. A major thunderstorm rolled over the mountains and lit up the sky for over an hour. The cabin held up well until the rain was just too much and the roof started letting the water in. I had to move my sleeping bag to the middle of the cabin to stay dry but I was thankful to have a roof over my head and not just be sleeping in the tent with that type of storm in the area.The hike today was pretty easy. I was very low on water after cooking dinner last night so I stopped in at the Wintturi shelter. There were two very nice guys about my age who looked a little shell shocked. Yesterday was their first day hiking and the storm last night scared the hell out of them. They had enough gear for a family of 5. Big cans of beans and a family size jar of peanut butter. I stayed and talked with them for almost an hour. They had a hundred questions about hiking the trail and I tried to answer to the best of my ability.An hour later I ran into Bigfoot from Baghdad. He has been hiking the trail since 1992. He has a motorcycle and a van and he just shuttles himself between the two points. I think it almost takes more determination to hike the trail in this manner. Year after year dragging yourself back out into the woods for a week or two. The hike only had one real climb and just before reaching the road I met Tailwind. He lives in the area and had a day pack full of oranges. I had to take one and I sucked it down in a matter of seconds. He was also super nice. You start to realize that most people are really kind. It seems like a small gesture but filling your pack with fruit to hand out to tired hikers shows what a person is made of.I was finished by 11:00 and Penny and I spent the day exploring the expensive, quaint village of Woodstock. Cute little shops line the streets and there were plenty of retired people to share the sidewalks with. We grabbed a room, went to the market and bought lunch which consisted of bread, cheese and a bad bottle of wine.Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-07-01
From: VT 12

To: Norwich VT
Miles today: 20.9

I should have known something was not right. I had a headache when I started hiking and I hardly ever have a headache unless I'm getting sick. Well by the time the hike was finished I was feeling like death warmed over. It is never fun being sick and even less fun when you are sick and away from home. Penny and I just grabbed a hotel in Woodstock and holed up for a couple of days. My two days consisted of trying to eat, going to the bathroom, popping major amounts of Advil, and sleeping. It felt like the flu and like my head was full of fluid. I would not have wished this upon my worst enemy, well maybe against my worst enemy but that would be the only person.After a couple of days I finally felt well enough to get out and move again but not well enough to hike. We just took the rental car and explored; eating in the Mom & Pop diners, checking out yard sales and stopping at a tavern or two. By mid-afternoon I would be fading so we would stop and grab a hotel. I'd be asleep by 7:00 and pretty much not move until 7:30 the next day.On July 3rd we drove up to Vermont's capital of Montpelier. A beautiful, friendly, well kept small town. It has to be the smallest state capital in the nation. You come into town, drive 2 blocks, pass the State capital, drive two more blocks and you are out of town. That day we took in a minor league baseball game. It was a perfect, sunny day to watch the Vermont Mountaineers take on the Newport Gulls. The guy let us have the tickets at the senior rate of $2.00 and we became part of the other 673 fans in attendance. The teams mascot was "Skip" the Chipmunk which I don't think brought any fear to the other team but all the kids sure loved him. It was the way baseball should be played. These young athletes giving it there all, funny between inning give-aways like 4 members from the crowd spinning around a bat and then running 20 yards to "Skip" the Chipmunk to win a $10.00 coupon from the Dairy Queen and buy two cokes and a bag of popcorn for $3.00.The home team pretty much got crushed but it was a nice way to spend an afternoon in a small town in Vermont.Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-07-04
From: Norwich VT

To: Off the Trail in Montpelier for Fireworks
Miles today: 0.0

I am now almost feeling back to full health. To be safe I am just going to take it easy for a couple of more days and maybe take a few very short day hikes.We spent the first part of the day driving up to explore Burlington. This is the state's biggest city and it did have a different feel from all the past small towns we had been spending time in.Burlington has a very attractive waterfront along with a very nice bricked over outdoor shopping area. There were outdoor vendors selling snow cones and hot dogs along with a multitude of typical specialty stores and restaurants. We drove back down to Montpelier to catch the annual town parade and fireworks. I have to admit I was pretty surprised by the diversity of the parade. There were the veterans who marched proudly in their uniforms, a large Scottish bagpipe troop, an African dance group and Presidential canidate Dean.There was a big group of good ol boys riding on an old trailer being pulled by an even older tractor. Their signed said the were "The Men from Maple Grove" and the were handing out something. Penny and I thought they were handing out some type of calender so I went out to ask for one. The guy on the trailor ignored me until he finally looked at me at went "oh, all right". I was wondering what that was all about until I opened the calendar as I walked back and saw naked Mr. September sitting on a granite rock. After reading the inside cover of the calendar, we came to find out that a group of these older men came up with the calendar as a fun way to raise money for the community center in the small town of Maple Grove. Twelve guys from the ages of 54 to 72 posed for the calender with different objects covering their private areas. I'm sure the man on the trailor thought I was some gay guy begging for a free calendar.We walked down to the capital where we ate some decent taco's, listened to different local bands and waited for the fireworks. As we kicked back and relaxed on the steps of the state capital we waited as the sky slowly grew dark. Finally the show started. It was awesome watching the different colors of the fireworks exploding over the green mountains of Vermont. What a wonderful way to enjoy the nation's birthday.Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-07-07
From: Off the Trail in Montpelier for Fireworks

To: Off Trail - Antique Market
Miles today: 0.0

Last night we stayed at a nice, little hotel in Lincoln, NH. It was called the Franconia Notch Hotel and the owner was a very kind, personable man who enjoyed telling stories about the NH countryside. He was on the front page of the local paper showing him with a tear in his eye the day the "Old Man of the Mountain" fell. He wants to retire in a year or two so I told him to give me a call when he no longer wanted to run the hotel. I can just see Penny and me cleaning twenty toilets a day. A southern boy and a girl from Phoenix trying to survive a northern NH winter as we put the 13 layers of clothes on each time we venture to the market.We are waiting for Penny's mom to fly in to Boston. She is flying in so that we can all go to one of the largest antique shows in the nation. The show is once a year and it is just fields and fields full of antique dealers. It should be fun and also give me plenty of time to recover. Since we had a day to waste before having to be at Logan airport we decided to explore the coast of NH. We just took our time, taking back roads and found our way at Hampton beach. It was nice but not like those beautiful southern beaches that I grew up enjoying. The beach is only a little over an hour from Boston so there were plenty of people in the area. We went and had a really bad meal at a fish place and then decided to take a romantic stroll along the beach. The evening was beautiful, a slight breeze, the last rays of sunshine reflecting off the water and the feeling of warm, soft sand between our toes. Highly romantic until I thought I felt something hit the top of my head. Penny looked up, screamed and let me know that a swarm of mosquitoes was circling the wagons. We quickly headed back to the hotel and then realized that we were the only two people out there.   After a really good breakfast we headed down some more back roads, did some antique shopping and then I took Penny on a quick tour of downtown Boston. It is always an adventure when driving into that city but today was pretty easy. We parked in a parking garage and then went down to Faneuil Hall. There were some live juggling and performance artists that were fun to watch. We ate at a nice Mexican place and then strolled along the waterfront.Penny's mom got here safe and sound and it was great seeing her again. I know Penny has missed her and so have I. We hit the big antique market first thing in the morning.Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-07-11
From: Brimfield MA

To: Back to Trail
Miles today: 0.0

I actually think I've walked more in the past two days than I did at any point on the trail. Penny, her mom and I arrived at this big antique market at 5:30 in the morning. We finally stopped looking at coconut chairs, S-lamps and Blenko glass at 3:30 that afternoon. This place is so large that we still had not seen it all but we had to stop since our bodies simply needed the break. We did find a few items to buy and somehow the entire van was full of items as we drove back to the hotel. Each of us got more than a little sunburned and we were back at it the next day. We spent half the day looking at the rest of the antiques and then it was off to Boston. It was fun spending time looking at all of the stuff but I'm feeling the itch to get back on the trail.The time off has allowed me to get back to normal health and for Penny's feet to finally heal. We looked at the book and there are 440 miles left before reaching the top of Katahdin. Penny is going to start hiking with me once again as we hit NH. It will be nice to have her beside me during the day. To share the highs and lows of the trail with the person you love is what makes doing the hike worthwhile. The days I hiked alone were fine and gave me plenty of time to get lost in my own thoughts but as the afternoon wore on I could tell that I would quicken my pace so that I would reach Penn before our agreed upon time. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-07-13
From: Route 25A

To: NH 25
Miles today: 14.3

It rained hard last night so the trail was nice and muddy once again. It has cooled down now that we are in NH which makes climbing over the mountains about 25% easier.I think I am almost back to normal health but the lay-off has caused me to lose some of my stamina. I can tell that I'm sucking wind a lot sooner during the climbs. This has me slightly worried since the big climbs in the Whites are right around the corner.Yesterday we were searching for a hotel when we came across this terrible looking little place in the town of Bellow Falls. This very old lady showed us the room and it was less than spectacular but it was inexpensive. She only took cash so we paid the money and went to the room. I went to the bathroom and Penny sat on the bed. The more we looked around the worse the place looked so we decided there was no way we could spend the night. I went back to the woman to tell her we had changed our minds and would not be staying. When I asked for our money back she told me no way. We had used the bathroom and messed up the bed so we had used the room. How she knew that I had used the bathroom I will never know. I told her that if she was going to be that way then just keep the money. Let¢s just say the conversation was not pleasant but I never said anything rude except for telling her that I wondered how many more years she had left to live and that money had a way of flying out of your pockets when you were heading straight down. I'm not too proud of that but she was very, very rude.I guess you take the good with the bad and we drove on to Hanover, NH where we had seen a very cute hotel when we were up that way. The Sunset motel was excellent, at a fair price and operated by a sweet older couple. I guess the population is just so sparse that you do not see many of the major chains of hotels in Vermont or New Hampshire.We checked in and then went to Molly's restaurant for dinner. One of my favorite bands is Aerosmith and as we were stopped at an intersection who walks right by, Steven Tyler, the lead singer. As he walked by I waved and he waved right back. The dude is hard to miss with that hair and that mouth. He was just walking across the street with his family with a big Welcome Mat tucked under his arm.Tonight we are staying at a family campground. There is not much I like better than sitting around a campfire and roasting marshmallows. There is something about a fire that causes you to relax and reflect. Tomorrow the real hiking begins, the first day when you hike above the tree line. Mt. Moosilauke at 4800 feet has to be tackled. I'm looking forward to the continued adventure.Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)