morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-08-05
From: VT11/30 (Manchester Center, VT)

To: Peru Peak
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

Sent my Asolo boots off to the company today in hopes that they'll be replaced. Am substituting a new pair of trail runners for boots temporarily -- can use them again further south when I do my last section from Delaware Water Gap, PA, to Montebello, VA.Set a thru-hiker record at the P.O. for number of boxes received -- six. Sent out nearly as many -- the boots, one food box (previously forwarded and intact) to Rangeley, ME, another food box (picked over) to Monson, ME, one box home (stuff I'm finally letting go of), and a too-full bounce box to my next town stop, Hanover, NH.Got a ride out of town from a tree cutter/logger -- a real Vermonter, not someone who's moved here for the outlets -- with a face and beard like one of Santa's helpers. He had plenty to say about the wilderness areas needing serious thinning out. "All that up there used to be pasture anyway. What the hell do we need wilderness areas for?" He sounded frustrated with the area forest agencies for ignoring his requests to harvest usable timber. Had plenty to say about Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Sierra Club. Not a fan. (A forester I spoke to later said that the private timber industry in the U.S. produces more than enough of a supply; we don't need the government going into the timber industry.)Was planning to stay atop Bromley Mountain in the warming hut next to the chairlift, but felt energetic and headed for the Peru Peak Shelter. Didn't quite make it, despite the appeal of catching sight of trail buddies Rael and Willy Wallace who, I believe, must be there for the night, or close by. Got to Peru Peak just as the last orange light from the sunset was sandwiched between two smoky blue stripes of cloud. A very flat bed of pine needles beckoned and I put up my wet tent in the cold westerly breeze.Thought I'd packed my long johns out of Manchester Center -- guess I bounced them. So I've got all my clothes on, including my rain jacket, and am inside my Cool Max bag liner and bright orange home-made fleece bag, feet up to my knees in my backpack (Profile told me that trick) and am going to try to keep warm until day break.First night after a food box pick-up always means Indian vegetarian MRE -- chickpeas masala over brown rice tonight. And hot jello. Warmed me right up.The one box I really was hoping would be at the post office today was not -- my sleeping bag and fleece liner. [I found out 8/12 that the e-mail I'd sent requesting these items never went through. Oops.] Could have used those tonight... Yikes, it's chilly! I could be a popsickle by morning.
Date: 2004-08-06
From: Peru Peak

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

0.3 off trail miles7 a.m. 45 degrees in the tent8 a.m. 40 degrees outside. Must have been in the 30s last night. Breeze is picking up. But I'm still alive! Hot breakfast for the first time in months.8 p.m. Nice hiking today -- cool and still. More like October than August!Options for tomorrow: 9 miles or 19 miles. May have to suck it up and get out early, but only if I SLEEP tonight.Got more cookies from home yesterday -- thanks mum!! -- as well as teh NY Times crosswords I love so much. So on the trail today I was coming up with crossword clues and answers"Scots hero is Caped Crusader's alter ego" -- Robert the Bruce Wayne"Big Bad Wolf's target's a gangster" -- Little Red Riding HoodlumAt times, hiking through the woods, I do sense that the Big Bad Wolf is going to pop out from behind a tree, or that I'll come across a cottage made entirely out of gingerbread and sweets. Maybe the answer to the logger's question the other day -- what do we need wilderness for? -- is that it feeds our imaginations, as it did the folktale tellers'.I'm sleeping in the shelter tonight, using my ground cloth and tent as extra blankets. Sweaty Pig has built a fire -- cheery, but too far away (frome me!) to provide warmth.FlipFlop is here tonight -- after some days off the trail with shin splints -- with his brother Chris. Good to see him again.Three Long Trail hikers are also "in the hay-ouse" tonight -- Tyler, Arm and Stephanie.
Date: 2004-08-07
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: broken clouds

1.3 off trail milesWas justifiably unsettled about coming to this shelter tonight as it has a reputation as the local high school kids' weekend party shack. True to the warning in Wingfoot ("overnight stay not recommended by Green Mtn Club"), several four-wheel-drive vehicles drove through the site in the course of the night, shining their lights into the shelter to see how many of us hiker intruders were here, and chucking empty beer cans inside. One kid ran through the site, trailing cigarette smoke, and snatched FlipFlop's shirt which he had hung out to dry. Not a very good night's sleep for any of us. Stephanie, who was outside the shelter in her tent, said that one of the trucks nearly backed over her.I had spent most of the day rehearsing what I might say to the young hooligans to get them to take their party elsewhere, but didn't end up having to say anything, as they must have figured that six of us (same crew as last night) were too many to overrun. Heat Miser passed through camp early this morning -- good to see him again!Turned off the trail to have lunch at the Whistle Stop Cafe on VT 103 -- good burger and coffee ice cream -- and there I finally caught up with Rael, my trail mentor from way back. As feisty as ever, he was cracking on me for my snoring and for my using the Mapdana instead of a regular map or Wingfoot guide early on. (Hey, it worked for me!) "That thing is for tourists and to wipe your ass with!" he railed. (Ironically, I was at that moment using my Mapdana as a sanitary napkin. My period having arrived two weeks early, I was out of feminine hygeine products, and so had to resort to less modern technology. After this episode, I may have to follow Lady Di's suggestion of giving "The Keeper" a try. Doesn't have great appeal for me, but then neither does rinsing out my shorts and Mapdana every few hours. Apologies to my male readers for sharing these details. Gals need to know this stuff, though.)
Date: 2004-08-08
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: US4/Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 10.6

1.5 off trail milesHard to get up this morning, but after another chilly night -- punctuated by periodic teenage barbarian invasions -- I had to get moving to warm up and to make haste to the Inn at the Long Trail, where a shower and warm bed await me (I hope),Climbed the side trail (straight up) to the peak of Killington Mountain for a magnificent view of Vermont's green hills, and for another hamburger and a fine cup of coffee at the mountaintop restaurant. Just as I was about to leave the building, there was a cloudburst, the dark clouds moving past the picture windows at eye level. So when I got back to the spur trail, the rocks were slippery. I was picking my way down -- maintaining three points of contact at every step, but also keeping one eye on the next dark cloud blowing towards me -- when I saw Rael on his way up.The Inn is a great place to stop and, I hope, to come back to. Great Irish pub, old-style ski lodge feel, with staircases of split logs and barkless birch, rubbed smooth and polished from years of use. It's the oldest inn in Killington, built in the 1930s.With more rain and another cold night ahead, FlipFlop and Chris decided to check in also. The three of us had a farewell dinner with our Long Trail buddy, Stephanie, now dubbed "Close Call" after her near-death experience at Governor Clement Shelter last night. (I thought "Nearly Roadkill" was just too many syllables for a trail name.) Got laundry done and sampled one of the local micro-brews -- Magic something -- and an Irish Reuben sandwich: swiss on corned beef, mustard and sweet pickled red cabbage on rye. Tasty!Better weather promised for tomorrow.
Date: 2004-08-09
From: US4/Inn at Long Trail

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

1.9 off-trail milesHiker-sized breakfast this morning with Close Call, Crocker and Rael.Beautiful walk through Kent Pond area -- the Mountain Meadows Lodge there is another place I'd like to come back for. Stopped at Killington Library to check e-mail, then had 1200-foot ascent to the shelter, where Sweaty Pig had already got another great fire going.Sat around the fire for the rest of the evening with MC (now with shaved head and voluminous beard -- barely recognizable!), Willow, Bilbo, Raven and Sweaty. Nice relaxed evening. Sweaty filled us in on his martial arts background, and we all compared notes on hiking styles, especially the use (or not) of hiking poles. We of the weaker knees tend to use them more, while the younger dudes just take them out for a stroll.Amazing how relaxing and congenial an evening it's possible to have just sitting around a flickering fire -- cowboy tv.
Date: 2004-08-11
From: Look Out Trail/Cabin

To: Cloudland Shelter
Miles today: 12.1

1.1 off-trail miles9 a.m. Thunder and lightening very close last night. Roof leaked, but we managed to stay dry. No view of the sunrise this morning -- we're socked in. Wingfoot says there will be fairly visible meteor showers ("4-200 per our, fairly bright, streaking") over the next couple of days -- hope we get a clear night.9 p.m. Hail storm this afternoon! Preceded by thunder and lightening and followed by heavy rain. Rollercoaster of a trail today, with 500 to 800 feet of climbing between each of five or so roads. More of the same tomorrow.Sounded like a crowd would be at Thistle Hill Shelter tonight, so I turned off to Cloudland. Only Allegheny, Friar and myself here tonight. The clothesline is up inside the shelter to let my raingear and dress and socks drip "dry" before morning. Used up my last stove fuel for more of Rich's tortellini -- yum! No more cooked food before Hanover, but I plan to stop at Rick and Tina's Country Store for a hamburger in West Hartford tomorrow.
Date: 2004-08-13
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: light rain

Drizzly/misty morning. Counted over 20 little orange efts on the trail, out to soak up the moisture. Beautiful jewel-like creatures.Arrived in Hanover just before noon and headed straight to the Dartmouth Outing Club to check out their hiker notice board (in the basement) and to pick up some information about hiking in the Whites. Lots of rules and regulations about hiking above treeline, especially around the fragile alpine vegetation. Camping has to be done below treeline, which will mean a few extra off-trail miles each day.Spent last night at the Super 8 Motel in White River Junction, VT. The busses in this area are FREE from Monday to Friday! What a great way to encourage commuters to use public transportation! And the bus drivers are all cheerful and helpful, too.Rael was on the same bus, also headed to the Super 8 -- it was good to see him. Thought he'd already headed out. So we'll both hike to Moose Mountain Shelter tomorrow.My new boots arrived! Not the same model I had before, but they feel GREAT. Thanks Asolo for standing behind your boots!! It feels good to have something substantial on my feet again, I don't care what the Light Hikers say.
Date: 2004-08-14
From: Hanover, NH

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

0.2 off-trail milesTrail magic today from "Now or Never" and wife Gloria, out slackpacking together for the weekend.Checked in again at the Dartmouth Outing Club before leaving town -- fantastic building, right on the main green at town center. Met Charlie, a trail maintainer/builder from Bristol, England. Also saw Crash!Bang! for the first time in months. He says Little Tree and Walking Stomach are not far behind. DOC had a hiker box in which I found a fleece -- I'd been considering buying another layer for the Whites and -- magic! -- there is was for free. Probably left there by a southbounder shedding gear. Also, some wonderful soul left rice crispie treats, brownies and cake for hikers. So much magic in one day...!My new boots feel great. I thought I'd have to break tehm in gradually, but my feet feel right at home in them. My thank you to Asolo is as follows:Thanks so much AsoloMy new boots grip like velcroNow when I see slick rock facesThey just look like staircases.In the shelter tonight: Raven and his sons (Dungeon Master and ?) -- all three physicists -- Allegheny (sharing his story about being bitten by a rattlesnake and airlifted to the hospital), and Rael. Crocker and Lumberjack are tenting. The privy here is like a Hollywood prop from the island in "King Kong" -- four pillar-like logs holding up a 12' roof over a 4' platform; a bit of a climb to get onto it. The Dartmouth Outing Club knows how to have fun with its privies.
Date: 2004-08-15
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Smarts Mountain Shelter (Firewarden's Cabin)
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

0.6 off trail miles (to Trapper John Shelter)Nice hike today. Hurricane Charley went offshore, so we had a rainfree day -- yay! Coolish -- 50s-60s all day. Excellent hiking weather for August!More trail magic from Paddy-O. A Frank Sinatra fan, he and Rael began swapping favorites and Paddy-O put Frank on the stero in his pick-up while we feasted on juice, coffee milk, Jersey peaches and combos. What a treat! And for the rest of the afternoon, I was singing "I've Got a Crush on You," "Fly Me to the Moon," and "Under My Skin." Rael confided to me later, too, that his mother named him Frank Albert after Old Blue Eyes.The climb up Mount Smarts was excellent, in part because of great trail engineering -- some new stone stairs inbetween long igneous and granite rock faces. Saw my first moose footprint alongside one of these.Had Rael's company most of the day, which makes the hiking go faster. We talk about politics, religion, relationships, as well as catching up on trail gossip -- of which there is far too much.The shelter is chockablock tonight: me, Rael, Diesel, Mayaguez, 552, a SOBO named Neon Leon, and a couple from Wisconsin, Tom and Mary, who are out here for 10 days to celebrate Mary's 50th birthday. I hung my foodback on a "mouseproof" hanger next to someone's pack, only to hear a mouse climbing on it shortly after I got into my sleeping bag. So I got up and moved it to a less accessible hanger, only to see the mouse staring at me from his perch on the pack, as if to say, "And just what do you think YOU're doing!?"
Date: 2004-08-16
From: Smarts Mountain Shelter (Firewarden's Cabin)

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 12.6

0.1 off-trail milesStarted raining about 4 p.m. and I was soaked through by the time I got to the shelter. The privy, described as "medieval" in the hiker's companion, has a drawbridge! Appropriate, since the path to it was as flooded as a moat.The rain pounded down on the shelter's tin roof for hours. Tried calling my folks to wish them a happy anniversary, but got no signal. Don't think they'd have been able to hear me (or vice versa) over the noise even if I had got through.Saw more moose prints this morning, but still no moose. Met Up and Down, a couple who've been just behind me on the trail for a while.
Date: 2004-08-17
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: NH25/Hiker's Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 7.4

0.6 off-trail milesUneventful hike in. "Fat Chap" gave me a ride to the hostel from the road, and I picked up the food I'd forwarded before the P.O. closed. The hostel is very low-key with bunkhouse and some Quonset-hut type tents outside, outdoor toilet, washbasin and washing machine. Good place just to relax and regroup. Also TV and extensive video collection, so I caught up on my movies while I was there -- "Mystic River" and "Big Fish" before packing it in for the night.
Date: 2004-08-18
From: NH25/Hiker's Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: clear sky

5-6 off-trail milesForded my first stream on the A.T. this morning.The "off-trail miles" above is an indicator of a slight detour I managed to take today, up Moosilauke the wrong way. It took me 2.5 or so miles to realize that the path I was on hadn't been disturbed since the last rain -- no footprints, no Leki holes, sticks and debris still in the shape of flotsam -- and no white blazes in sight. I could have hiked ahead to the summit and come back to do the A.T. section later, but the weather was good -- the breeze dry, the cloud line still high -- and the sun still fairly high; I figured it couldn't be later than 3 p.m. (from the length of my shadow) when I got back to the place where I'd made the wrong turn.I made it across the treeless, be-caired summit of Moosilauke and back into the dwarf pines on the other side by about 7 (saw a cute little brown rabbit with a black nose and small ears; would have jumped under the trees with him if the weather had turned) and to the shelter before dark. Rael figured I had hiked ahead, so wasn't too worried about me. And my legs still felt good. He and Now or Never made space in the shelter for me, so I didn't have to find a tent spot on what was a fairly steep slope. Chivalry is not dead!
Date: 2004-08-19
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Apparently, I no longer snore -- according to Rael, who has been tracking my snoring since I first hit the trail. However, I did talk in my sleep last nigth, saying quite distinctly -- Now or Never has confirmed it -- "I'm so pissed off!" (something I doubt I've ever said aloud before, but was probably saying to myself yesterday coming down the Hurricane Trail after realizing I'd taken a wrong turn. Suppressed anger, I suppose, finding its way out in my dreams.Now or never suggested that "So Pissed Off" would have made a great trail name if I didn't have one already. (No, thank you!) I can't imagine it would be a great way of making friends on the trail: "Hi, I'm So Pissed Off." There's already an "Alright" and a "Nobody" on the trail, as in: "I'm Alright," and "I'm Nobody." I feel a bit like a surfer dude saying, "Hey, Alright!"The sleep-talking is a new thing for me, as far as I know, but I do talk to myself a lot on the trail, though. Everything from: "Atta girl." and "Good save!" (when I narrowly miss a fall) to "Watch your balance!" "Careful, Laura." "Watch your feet!" "Pay attention, girly girl!" and "It's as easy as that...[to break a leg/your neck and end your hike/your life]!" when I slip and/or fall.Steep but gorgeous descent from Mooselauke beside (sometimes across) a long cascading waterfall. Like descending a staircase with six-inch wide, wet, mossy, uneven steps, two feet apart from each other. Some slipping and sliding. Crash!Bang! snapped his Leki clean in two on one fall -- no bones, though, luckily.A long, jarring hike today -- 11 hours to do 9.1 miles. My right knee is protesting. Lots of scrambling over rocks, picking my way from boulder to boulder and across mud quagmires -- would have been more fun to do without sticks or pack. With them, not always fun. (I was relieved that the SOBOs were also complaining -- otherwise, I'd have worried that the Whites promised more of the same. "You think that's hard? Wait 'til you see what's coming!") Despite the difficulty, it was quite beautiful, with velvety green mossy ground and pines. Fighter jets -- Diesel guesses F18s from my description -- flew in and out of the clouds in practice dogfights. Marvellous. I watched them for a while atop a huge boulder on Wolf Mountain. One flew right over the parking lot at NH112, tilted 90 degrees, then righted itself with spectacular precision.
Date: 2004-08-20
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Franconia Notch Bike Path
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: overcast clouds

1.0 off-trail mile.Exhillarating rock scramble up Mount Kinsman South after following another thundering waterfall up from Eliza Brook Shelter. Almost brings tears to my eyes to see this kind of heart-swelling beauty. Often needed my hands more than my hiking sticks, so I'd place them above me on the rocks, find my handholds, and pull myself up, regain my balance, pick up my sticks, and repeat the process. The cloudline was at about 4000-5000 feet so I had views of most of the mountains around me from the top as well as the lakes below. Could hear more jets above the clouds, but didn't glimpse them today.------------It started raining after I hit Kinsman North and didn't stop until just before I reached Lonesome Lake Hut at 3:45. Party Girl was there and said that Rael had just left. Tough descent, though day-hiking youngsters passed me and my 40-pound pack and bum knee at a tumble, making it look like cake! Reached the bike path and ran into Stumpknocker -- AT'02 NOBO, '03 SOBO, and flipflopping this year. I'd met him back in May very briefly but he remembered my glasses. He was going to stealth-tent nearby. I was tempted to join him, but had said I'd meet Rael in town.Ended up flagging down a couple in an SUV who wanted trail info and who then offered me a lift into town. They were planning a mountain run tomorrow. She was doing a short loop, while he and a group of trail-running enthusiasts are donig a 30-mile run up and down the trail I did today PLUS several I'm doing tomorrow and some others! His goal was to do it all in 9 hours. Crazy people!Rael found a room across from the P.O. and laundromat -- was peeved that Now or Never had not offered him floor space in his room when it looked as thought he'd got the last vacancy ("Hikers take care of each other!"), but everyone has a different comfort zone where sharing motel rooms is concerned, he realized later after he'd cooled down, and Now or Never had reached his zone at four people in one room. I'm glad I made it to town instead of stealth camping == not just for the shower, hamburger, beer, and a bed, but also to save Rael from having to pay $84 for a room.North Woodstock is a lot more touristy than I'd imagined. Lots of tchotschky shops, ice cream vendors and the now ubiquitous tattoo parlor. Rael said his parents brought him here when he was a child.