morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-05-27
From: Dennytown Road Campsite. 

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: broken clouds

It ended up just raining for a few hours overnight - the heavy thunderstorms passed both south and north of where I was camped. Only my tarp was wet when I packed up, so my drip-strings on my hammock straps kept the water away from the rest of my gear. Hopefully I have this dialed in as rain is predicted from Friday afternoon through at least Monday evening. I rolled out of the camping area and did the .2 walk back to the trail by 5:45. The first 5 miles of the day turned into an absolute mosquito-fest. I quickly gave up any sense of dignity and put my bug net on over my hat. I felt no sham in this...well, maybe a little shame when I crossed a road and a guy in a passing truck looked to be laughing at me. So some shame, but no regrets. The little buggers were so bad I couldn¢t even stop to take a picture. When I went to pull out my phone three landed on the back of my hand. I passed one hiker who was flailing about trying to swat them away while searching for his bug spray buried in his pack. About 4 miles in I passed the Telephone Of The Wind (suffering one mosquito bite to get the picture above).  This is an instillation for anyone dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. The idea being to pick up the phone (out of bug season) and talk to whom you are missing and listen for their voice on the wind. My first goal for the day was to see if I could register a 12x12 which I did even with about 40 minutes of breaks. My second goal was to get to mile 15 and do a .5 mile road walk to a deli. I got to the place just before 2pm and bought a large Gatorade, a chocolate milk, a sleeve of fig newtons (don¢t ask me, my lizard brain is driving this bus) and a chicken sandwich. I relaxed out back in the shade at their hikers table for about an hour and bought an iced tea for the road. I arrived at this shelter area just before 5 and had a leisurely set up. Then I sat in the shelter and had a great conversation with Pit Stop, a local who has hiked a boat load of trail between here and Maine and had tons of good advice and insights about the trail. He¢s been trying to rehab a hard to diagnose foot injury for the last 8 months and I hope he can get it fixed as he plans to thru hike next year. I¢m going to enjoy the end to my last dry day for awhile. The first wave of rain is supposed to come tomorrow afternoon so I¢m going to try and be flexible as to how far I¢ll hike. I have options at 10, 16, and 20 miles with no deli stop to factor in. Given the forecast, I¢m wondering how many people I¢ll see out over the Memorial Day weekend.
Date: 2021-05-28
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Ten Mile River campground 
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Forgot to mention yesterday my awesome slip-but-not-a-fall on a wet, rocky downhill. I was inching my way down a damp boulder when my left foot slid, I tried to regain my balance to no avail. As I slipped my left trekking pole went flying (I chose not to use the straps for this very contingency) as I grasped for purchase. My left foot swung behind my right as I did a 180 and ended up in a pass rushers three-point stance facing uphill. After a few deep breaths, I retrieved the errant trekking pole and moved on. Back to today: steady rain was in the forecast starting sometime between one and seven. With it comes temps down into the low 40¢s and a high Saturday of 49. Yar. I decided to hike with few breaks and keep an eye on the weather to hopefully make camp before the wet hit. There wasn¢t much in the way of views on tap, it looked to be a forest walk kind of day. i was passed by Captain America (started in Georgia) about an hour into the day and then crossed paths with him again around 9 as we both filtered water from a creek. He had the same thought I did: try to get in some miles and set up before the rain. My first decision point came at mile 10 where a sign informed me there was a deli .5 miles away that allowed camping behind their store. Tempting as a deli visit would be, I didn¢t want the 60-90 minute detour. So I hiked on towards the Wiley shelter sox miles away. I should add, at the deli road crossing there is also a train line into NYC with an Amtrak station right there. I¢ve read of hikers taking this train into the city for a few days. Not this country mouse. After crossing some pasture land and using a few fence stiles it was back into the woods. I texted my wife that I just wasn¢t feeling the hiking vibe today but when I checked at noon I had already covered 13 miles. I got to the shelter at 2 but was a little discomfited by all the dead trees around. So I decided to press on once more and aim for the Ten Mile River site.  I knew I¢d be pushing my luck getting there in time to set up before the promised rain, but with rain forecast all tomorrow morning as well, I wanted to get in a few more dry miles. It barely worked out. I arrived at 4 after going over 10 Mile Mountain and down to the river. I got my hammock up, my clothes changed, choked down a quick dinner, brushed my teeth and put my bear bag in the provided box. And here came the rain. So now I am in Connecticut and New York is in my rear view mirror. There¢s a decent chance I may just stay in my hammock until mid- morning if the rain lets up. If it doesn¢t, I¢ll probably just pack up and start hiking into the cold Memorial Day weekend.
Date: 2021-06-01
To: Great Barrington, Ma.
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: overcast clouds

When I got to the shelter area last night I had a good conversation with a hiker named Gangster who had been off trail for the weekend at a friend¢s place in Boston. We talked gear and hiking tramilies and then talked about how tough that hike from Salisbury was. At least it wasn¢t just me. Slept a bit fitfully when I would bump one of my new owies, my elbow most of all. I¢ve also been fighting a cold bug for a few days and the coughs got to me more than once.I had a ride a scheduled to pick me up at Rt. 7 at 10:15, so I got on trail before six. The first bit was the same water track as the day before, but gradually cleared up into occasional puddles and mud bogs. I (hopefully) gave myself plenty of time for the downhill sections that were in the first half of the hike and though there were some tricky spots, I was incident free today. The weather was actually nice up on the ridge (today¢s pic) but the fog was very heavy down in the valleys. I did a good job keeping my feet dry going down the hill but it didn¢t matter because there was about a mile of pasture walking and the grass was drenched from the fog and then so was I. This is fine. For the fourth day running I crossed paths with a group of SOBO hikers who are out for a week¢s hiking. They hike SOBO and there¢s another group hiking NOBO and they hand off car keys as they pass and then one group picks up the other. All kinds of ways to hike!I got to my pick up point about 40 minutes early and took a seat. I took a little more in depth inspection of yesterday¢s tumbles and found a few more bruises and scrapes but still nothing mission critical. I got myself as town presentable as I could and waited.And waited. And waited. And my scheduled ride never showed up. So I started on the 3 mile road walk to the CVS pharmacy. 50 yards into my walk and GREAT GOOGILY-MOOGILY a pickup pulled over on the shoulder in front of me. A local business owner named Cindy offered me a ride into town! She drove 5 minutes out of her way to drop me right at the pharmacy. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Resupply done, I walked to the post office 10 minutes away and picked up a food box from home and my glasses that I had been without for four weeks. So any typos or grammatical errors are mine and not to be blamed on my lack of clear vision. I¢m now at the Fairfield Inn in Great Barrington for tonight and for a zero tomorrow. I¢ve got some gear to repair tomorrow and some beer to drink (maybe).  Going to go have a soak in the hot tub and get some rest and downtime.
Date: 2021-06-02
To: Not moving 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Just a nice zero today. I hurried towards nothing, drinking too much coffee this morning then heading to the dollar store 10 minutes away for a few things. My only firm plan was to check out the local brewery this afternoon. One of the things I picked up was some shoe spray deodorizer because my Merrill¢s- while doing a fantastic job healing my feet - smelled like roadkill after four days of being wet. I know it¢s kinda pointless - the trail will be wet again tomorrow, but at least for 24 hours I can cohabitate with my shoes. I had double wrapped them in plastic bags and shoved them in the closet of my room when I checked in yesterday. I did introduce  myself to the Hotel pool and hot tub, which was niiiiiice. They just changed all the Covid rules here in the People¢s Republic of Massachusetts and there were no restrictions on pool use (though no one else came the three times I was there today).  All the businesses in town have been changing their signage to reflect the new-old normal. I went to the brewery around 1 and had their kielbasa special and a beer for $27 - welcome to the Northeast. On the way back to the hotel I stopped at a confectionery shop and bought some espresso chocolates to celebrate National something or other day.Then back to the hotel for more doing nothing and a second run of my clothes through the laundry.My sister had asked in the Guest Book what I missed the most besides family and how much my pack weighs right now. What I do miss are familiar faces, it can be a little solitary on the trail and it¢s interesting how those daily short conversations I¢d have with my co-workers really help me mentally. My pack weight right now is unknown, I think it¢s around 25 lbs with water and food but until I get to a hostel with a pack scale I don¢t know for sure. I really don¢t notice the pack much once it¢s on and I¢m moving (unless it¢s causing me to fall).  I¢m still probably carrying more clothing than a true ultralighter would have like two T-shirts and three pairs of socks. My toiletries kit is a little over full too because I¢m still heavy on bandaids and foot care products. I¢ll probably do another shakedown once the weather warms up for good, should that day ever occur. Also thanks to Kaylie W. for dropping some Newt-knowledge on me!I called to schedule a shuttle ride for tomorrow only to find out the shuttle driver died on Saturday.  Wow.  Second  call placed and now I have a ride back to the trail at 8:30 in the morning.  The crazy weather continues with highs in the 90¢s starting Friday  I¢m going to try and dial back my mileage a bit as I want to get to New Hampshire and the White Mountains in good shape as that is where it¢s often said ¢the trail really begins¢.Also, cell coverage may be spotty the next week so I may not have a nightly post, but I¢ll get one up as some as I have connection the next day.
Date: 2021-06-11
From: US Forest Service Road 10

To: Green Mountain House Hostel
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Sleep alluded me for a while last night, nothing to do with the hostel itself which is really nice but just one of those nights. I ended up listening to some music for a while and finally drifted off around 11. Around 1 am one of guys sharing my room fell out of bed with a crash, but seemed no worse for wear. Iceberg and I had the the first shuttle out at 6 am to go about half an hour away to slack pack back to the hostel. I borrowed a day-pack from Jeff, the hostel owner and took my two water bottles, food, my Garmin ¢oh shi*¢ satellite device, and toilet kit. All told, including the pack I had 7.5 lbs versus my normal 27 or so which makes for a different day. We got to the trail at 6:30 and began our hike south. There were three big climbs on the day and some other various ups and downs. We actually caught three views today! Which is two more than the usual allotment so far in Vermont. We took a break about 3 hours in and had some grub - Iceberg is a positive influence on me when it comes to taking breaks and eating during the day as he actually does so instead of just intending to do so as is my usual schtick.Ran into some trail magic in the form of a free banana, courtesy of day hiker Yonder who was at one of the three views we had on the day. We met the other hikers who were at the hostel and were hiking northbound. I also ran into Yak and Whispers who I hadn¢t seen for a few weeks. And when we finished at the end of the day Captain America was there with his RV.  He gave us each a Gatorade and then Rapture arrived from the woods as well.  Captain showed me the inside of his rig, it¢s very cool.  He and Rapture are using the van and a car to self-support some slacking for the last 500 miles of the trail.  Iceberg and I then successfully got a hitch from Kathleen, who was going into town and dropped us at a place for an early dinner.  She¢s a hiker as well and has done many sections of the trail.My stupid feet were a little balky today as my little toes are still blistering and a heal blister has reappeared on my right heal. Ah well, such is the trail - a constant battle to keep the feet healthy. I¢m going to try another pair of shoes next week and see if I can find some improvements. So in the morning it¢s back to the place we started today, with maybe a plan to get to Rutland, Va by Sunday afternoon. I¢m still trying to time my arrival in Hanover for next weekend to meet my sister who is coming out for a week.  All in all it was a long 17.7 miles, made a little different with the light pack and hiking with Iceberg, but a good day!
Date: 2021-06-13
From: Clarendon Shelter

To: Rte 4 AT crossing
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

Had a very restful night and only hit my snooze button once before getting my day started at 4:55.  I was trail ready at 5:45 and started with a steep climb right away. This is actually my preference, as an uphill section helps get everything warmed up and loose for the day. At one point early on I think I just missed seeing a moose. There was a lot of noise ahead of me and to my left in the underbrush and it sounded like something big was moving away. Then I saw a hoof print in the mud - too large to be a deer, I think.I took a 15 minute break at 8:30 to eat a peanut butter tortilla and a probar before tackling the 4 mile, 2100 foot climb up Mt Killington. It was really interesting terrain going up with missy rocks, creepy looking trees, and occasional mists. It was very Scooby-Do ish. All that was missing was a crooked caretaker looking to scare away meddling kids. I surprised myself by completing the climb by 11 am.  This meant I had six more miles plus a road walk to get to the Long Trail Inn around 2:30 for a beer and late lunch. With that motivation (and the swarming black flies near the summit) I declined to do the .2 mile walk up to the fire tower and instead turned my attention back to the trail. The descent was very rocky (not boulders so much) which put a pounding on my toes. I listened to an audiobook to pass the time and was standing down at Rt 4 by 2:05. I walked the mile to the Inn and had that beer and a Rueben (Irish Pub, don¢t ya¢ know) and then waited for the bus to Rutland. Iceberg arrived about half an hour before the bus (he did do the Killington climb) as we had decided to go into Rutland for the night and stay at the Yellow Deli Hiker Hostel. Quiksilver and Lamb¢s Ear got there just before we left, but they were checking into the Inn for the night. The people here at the Yellow Deli are very helpful and friendly. We were given an iced tea and then were taken upstairs to the hostel. They even offered to carry our packs if we were too tired. After cleaning up and getting situated, Iceberg and I went back down to the deli where we met Quiksilver and Lamb¢s Ear for dinner. I¢m super impressed with Lamb¢s Ear.  She came out and hiked 51 miles of pretty challenging terrain in three days and didn¢t seem worse for the wear. She¢s flying home tomorrow, but plans on meeting back up with her hubby to do the  100 mile wilderness in Maine next month. After checking the weather for tomorrow, we decided to take a zero here in Rutland and then hike out on Tuesday with a three day plan to get to Hanover, NH.  I plan on bumming around the downtown a bit and going across the street to Walmart to see if I recognize any of the clones I¢ve seen at other Walmart¢s along the way. I¢m trying not to get psyched out by what¢s coming in New Hampshire and Maine, which have the toughest trails on the AT, but are universally lauded for the views and scenery. I keep telling myself that everyone who has they hiked the AT manager to get through, and I will too.
Date: 2021-06-14
From: Yellow Deli Hiker Hostel

To: ItÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs in GodÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs hands
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

So I decided to take a zero day today along with Iceberg and Quiksilver and stay out of the rain for a day while resting up for the last bit of Vermont. We considered doing a nero and hiking to a shelter 10 miles up the trail, but have been cautioned by a local ridge runner that there was a lot of bear activity there and to stay away. Did a mini supply run to the Walmart across the street, buying shaving cream to clear the stubble off of my head and some tortillas. I still have enough food otherwise for the three day run to New Hampshire. I did a short walk around downtown Rutland to work out the foot and leg kinks and discovered 75% of the restaurants are closed on Mondays. I then walked to the other grocery store for a half gallon of chocolate milk that would help me while away the day. Quiksilver came to the hostel after his wife left to catch her flight back home, then we went downstairs to the deli for lunch. They do a brisk business at the Deli, most of what¢s on the menu comes from their nearby farm. We then started to look at the upcoming week to ten days as we leave Vermont, enter New Hampshire, and then hike into the White Mountains. I may fall behind Iceberg and Quiksilver during the first part of the Whites while enjoying time with my sister and her friends outside of Hanover, I¢ll just have to see how it goes. I¢ll fall back on my favorite Eisenhower quote: ¢plans are worthless, but planning is everything¢.  I¢m getting exited about these last 500 miles going northbound, the scenery is suppose to be amazing. Plan for the morning is to shuttle back to the trail at 7am, be hiking by 7:30, and do about 18 miles to a campsite. Suppose to be rain again in the afternoon, but I¢m told that some of that falls into every life.
Date: 2021-06-16
From: The Lookout

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: broken clouds

I joined the smokers and Iceberg on the roof deck of The Lookout to watch the sunrise over the mountains this morning. It came up as predicted, which was a relief, and was worth the slight delay in getting packed up this morning. It rained a few times overnight, but only briefly, and the wind kicked up with a purpose but I was unfazed in Hammock Central. Another roller coaster trail today with lots of little ups and downs and a few steep climbs thrown in. The weather was close to perfect, though, with temps in the low 60¢s and sunny skies. Hiked mostly by myself for most of the day and had an early lunch at a spot with a great view with Theory, Guacamole, Yak, and Quiksilver. There was a farm store listed on the Guthooks app about 1.8 miles away that sold ice cream and cold drinks. Quiksilver and I did the .3 mile uphill walk only to find out there were closed. Ah well, I didn¢t really have high hopes they would be open and I¢ll be in Hanover tomorrow and can feed the beast there. The hike today went really well. I had 9.9 miles done by 10 am and got to the target campsite at 1:30pm to complete the 15 mile day. The last four or five days of hiking in Vermont have been very enjoyable and I feel I am as prepared physically as I can be for the upcoming hard hiking in the White Mountains.  Had thought about hiking on, but there aren¢t a lot of hammock sites for another 10 miles, so here I stayed. The picture above is of the privy here that they moved from another shelter that was closed a few years ago. As you may have noticed, it give the ¢percher¢ a nice view, including a view of those waiting their turn. This is also¢¦fine. Theory and guacamole were here already and originally planned to hike further but called it a day and hung out for the duration.  Theory spent the afternoon, well, theorizing. He¢s got a few. He¢s got me fairly convinced that I should sleep with a tinfoil hat on at least once in my life.  This is fine. He¢s also an amateur firebug fine fire builder and he and Guacamole kept that going all afternoon, too.So tomorrow we¢ll have about 14 miles to hike into Hanover, NH.  Iceberg and Quiksilver are staying at a hostel and I¢ll be the guest of some awesome Trail Angels - Patricia and Michael - who live just outside of town.  They¢re friends of my sister, who is arriving on Friday to spend some time with them and slack pack me around for a few days. They will pick me up and take me their home while we await my sister¢s arrival. I¢m looking forward to it all!
Date: 2021-06-19
From: Grafton Turnpike

To: Dartmouth Skiway
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Day two of SOBO hiking in New Hampshire, heading back to the point where I had started yesterday morning. My sister took me to the trail and dropped me off just as the rain started at six o¢clock.  It rained pretty hard for about 20 minutes and then lightly for 10 and that was it for the day. It was enough to make the rocks and granite slabs slick, which was a good test for my new shoes. It¢s too early to make a call on whether these will be ¢the pair¢ - new shoes always feel good the first day, but the grip was good, so that¢s one box checked. I ran into Rain Catcher and Beats halfway up Mt Cube and gave them each a frozen Gatorade, six of which I packed out to hand to NOBO hikers as some trail magic. I handed out the others throughout the day including one each to Iceberg and Quiksilver. The second big climb of the day was up Smarts Mountain which had a fire tower at the top which I climbed and ate the free cookie and muffin I scored from Lou¢s Bakery in Hanover yesterday. Then I had the Payday and an Arnold Palmer that my wife¢s aunt sent me yesterday. The views were awesome and I lingered for 20 minutes or so. Coming down the mountain I decided it would be thrilling and exciting to take the wrong trail junction and hike .7 miles downhill, then turned around and hiked back uphill to the turn I missed and then hike back down again. About a 45 minute ¢oopsie¢. Ah well, as the shirt says: this is fine. The last two days I have had a little ¢stress¢ in my left knee on long downhills, so I¢ll have to watch that and make sure I¢m using my trekking poles to ease the descents. Other than that I¢m still feeling pretty good. Tomorrow I¢m having my sister drive me an hour north so I can hike the 27 miles starting with Franconia Ridge over two days while the weather looks favorable. I¢ve had multiple former hikers tell me to try and go over Franconia on a clear day as the views are supposed to be tremendous.  I¢ll break up the mileage into two days and spend tomorrow night on the trail before returning here to Patricia and Michael's Monday afternoon. I may need the day off from Patricia¢s cooking as I¢ve stuffed myself over the last three days with homemade Shepard¢s Pie, Chicken Pot Pie and then a full turkey dinner with the sides.  Soooooo, so good. I¢m in danger of putting weight back on!My new duds seemed good today as well, switching to a pair of running shorts and a shirt that actually fits. I¢ve got my pack loaded and ready for two days and a night back on the trail and will be heading out around 5 am again tomorrow. In case I don¢t have cell service tomorrow evening - Happy Father¢s Day to all qualifiers!