morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-06-11
From: Shaker Campsite

To: October Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: few clouds

Today was our longest day so far, and Dozer's last full day on the trail. When we started this trip, we left his car parked at Blotz Road and Rob shuttled us down to Stormville. We got an early start and made decent time - Baldy Mt. and Becket Mt. were the only major obstacles. I reached the shelter a few minutes before Dozer and noticed that three younger guys had occupied the shelter. It looked like there wouldn't be any rain, so I proceeded to set up my tent. When Dozer got there, he said he saw Napoleon Dynamite swordfighting. One of the kids at the shelter looked a lot like Napoleon, and I guess these guys like to have sword fights when they go camping... The kids were a little strange, but mostly OK, they had just graduated from high school and we hung out with them by the campfire after dinner.
Date: 2012-06-12
From: October Mountain Shelter

To: Kay Wood Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

Dozer was looking forward to getting back to civilization and I was looking forward to a hot meal and a resupply. We quickly knocked out the short distance to Blotz Rd. and went into Dalton for lunch at Pizza Hut. In "normal" life, I'd probably never go to a Pizza Hut lunch buffet, but after 130 miles on the AT I was completely stoked to be here. Towards the end of the meal, Dozer (who I've known for over a decade) commented that he'd never seen me eat that much. I'd probably never been that hungry before! The next stop was Wal-Mart for a quick resupply, then back to the trail. Dozer dropped me off and headed for home while I tried to figure out how to cram everything into my pack. I had just sorted everything out in the parking lot when it started to rain. The rain was light and I finally got all of my gear and food to fit after much effort. Heavy rain was predicted overnight, so I decided to make a short day of it and stay at the Kay Wood shelter. Not long after I got there, Pacemakerman showed up but he didn't stay long as he had a place to stay in Dalton. A while later, Eazy E and Roughneck arrived, followed by more rain. During the night it poured, and all of the mice in a five mile radius must have come into the shelter seeking refuge from the rain. Between the sound of heavy rain on a metal roof and mice scurrying all around the shelter, I probably got about four hours of sleep. On the positive side, none of the mice got into our packs or food, probably because someone was usually awake to chase them away.
Date: 2012-06-13
From: Kay Wood Shelter

To: Crystal Mountain Campsite
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

It was still raining this morning, which worked out just fine since I wanted to check my email at the library in Dalton. The rain finally tapered off and I packed up, planning to get to the library around 10 when it opened. I got there right on time, but there was a small problem - the library was being renovated and wouldn't open until noon. Really didn't want to lose two hours of my day, but not knowing when I might have internet access again I decided to wait it out. There was a coffee shop down the street so I grabbed a beverage there and sat down on a bench to read. About an hour later I saw Roughneck coming down the street, he was going to stop by the tavern with Eazy E. I said I'd stop by after the library if they were still there. I finished up at the library and went back to the tavern where Eazy E and Roughneck were seated at the bar. We had a couple beers and were getting ready to leave when I spotted BoBo walking by outside. We ran out of the bar and caught up to BoBo who was on his way to a motel for the night. After checking in, BoBo came back and bought a round for us, thanks BoBo! At this point, it was already after 2, and I knew we weren't going to make it very far today. We finally departed Dalton and made it to Crystal Mountain where we enjoyed a campfire and a dry, mouse-free night.
Date: 2012-06-15
From: Stealth Campsite by the river

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

I woke up at first light and noticed that my stealth campsite wasn't very stealthy. In the daylight, my bright yellow tent was easy to see from a nearby road. In record time, I broke down camp and headed back to Route 2 and the AT. Before 6am, I was already on the trail working upgrade towards Vermont. At the MA/VT state line, there's a large sign marking the south end of the Long Trail. The LT and AT share the same route from here to Maine Junction.The day passed quickly and I was racking up some decent mileage. Everything was going well until I came to the rock stairs leading down to Route 9. It was a drop of less than 1,000', but it was brutal on my knees. I'd never been so happy to finally reach the bottom and start climbing back uphill! I made it to the shelter and much to my surprise, Pacemakerman was there. I thought he was done with his section hike but he was now heading southbound. We caught up on all the latest trail news, and when I got up to start setting up camp, I noticed a sharp pain in the back of my knee. The pain wasn't too bad, so I figured I could live with it if I had too, I just hoped it didn't get any worse.
Date: 2012-06-16
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: broken clouds

Two consecutive high mileage days had me feeling a little worn down, and I decided to make today an easier day, calling it quits at the Kid Gore shelter. The long climb up Glastenbury Mountain was a rewarding one, a crystal clear spring near the top provided some of the best water of the trip, and a fire tower offered the first 360* view since Greylock. Nobody else was at the shelter when I arrived, but by evening we were up to five other hikers. Fish and Sach were doing a weekend hike, City of New Orleans was section hiking the AT, and Kyle and Caleb were attempting to hike the entire Long Trail. Kyle had a nasty toe blister, on which Fish performed a little AT first aid. After triage, we ended the day sitting around the campfire while listening to the Jerry Garcia Band on an MP3 player that Fish and Sach had brought. One of the few things I'd been missing from civilization was music, listening to the JGB while camping in the Green Mountains was a great ending to the day.
Date: 2012-06-17
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Winhall River
Miles today: 17.1

Kyle, Caleb, and City of New Orleans all got an early start this morning while Fish, Sach, and I took our time leaving the shelter. Someone was kind enough to leave a bag of Green Mountain coffee in the shelter and we made a batch of cowboy coffee in my Jetboil. With no way of filtering the grounds, the coffee had a little extra "character", but it wasn't completely bad. Fish and Sach were heading in the same direction as me so we hiked together for a while. Eventually, I pulled ahead as I approached Stratton Mountain. At one of the road crossings near the base of the mountain, I stopped to talk to a small group of hunters who gave me a bottle of water - very helpful for the climb to Stratton. Part way up the mountain, I met a day hiker named Bill and I slowed down to talk to him for a while. Nice guy, he told me about the area, the trail ahead, and gave me an idea of what to expect in the White Mountains. I also mentioned my recent knee pain and asked him if he'd ever experienced anything similar. I reached the summit a little while before Bill, and met the caretakers Hugh and Jean who showed me around. Hugh used to work in the fire tower and he pointed out all of the different landmarks on the horizon. On a very clear day, you can see the Whites, but today was a little too hazy to see that far. On my way down from the tower, Bill was standing by the tower steps with his hands behind his back. He told me to pick a hand, and being a lefty I chose left. That was the wrong choice, he started to walk away and I noticed something in his right hand which turned out to be a huge slice of apple pie. Even though I picked the wrong hand, he gave me the pie which was delicious of course, and after thanking Bill I continued on north, descending the mountain. I don't know what was in that pie, but ever since I ate it, the pain in the back of my knee disappeared! Life was very good as I descended Stratton, with no knee pain to slow me down.
Date: 2012-06-18
From: Winhall River

To: Green Mountain National Forest
Miles today: 14.1

There was one goal for today - make it into Manchester Center. I'd been told that it should be an easy hitch, and it definitely was. It took all of a minute to secure a ride into town, a friendly lady who runs a B&B with her husband picked me up. Manchester Center has everything a hiker needs, I had lunch at Friendly's, went across the street to do laundry, picked up an AT guidebook at Northshire, a pair of sock liners at EMS, then visited the grocery store for my resupply. I had just walked in when I saw the same lady who gave me a ride to town earlier today. She was going to be leaving town after a couple more errands and offered me a ride back to the trail. Can't beat that! Back on the trail, I made it to a spot just past Mad Tom Notch and set up camp for the evening.
Date: 2012-06-19
From: Green Mountain National Forest

To: A bug infested campsite
Miles today: 16.8

The morning started off with heavy fog, completely obscuring the view from Styles Peak. Even without any views, the trail kept things interesting, especially with one section of floating bog boards (see attached photo). My feet DID get wet here! By midday, the fog had lifted somewhat and I took a lunch break on Baker Peak. Lots of scenery made the miles pass quickly, this section featured a wooden suspension bridge, a flock of butterflies, and a small lake. It was looking like a 20 mile day until late afternoon when I had my first fall of the trip. It was a hot, muggy afternoon and the rocks in the trail were "sweating". As I planted my foot, I lost traction, stumbled forward a few paces, then finally went down, landing on my side. No major injuries, but the fall took most of the fun out of today's hike. I plodded forward for another mile or so, found the first available patch of mostly flat land, and set up camp. The mosquitoes were incredibly obnoxious here, I had to eat dinner in the bivvy sack to get away from the swarm.
Date: 2012-06-20
From: A bug infested campsite

To: Gould Brook
Miles today: 14.8

After yesterday's fall, I woke up feeling mostly OK with just a few bruises. The gang of mosquitoes had disappeared and I was able to break down camp in peace. A couple miles after leaving camp, I came to the junction of the White Rocks Cliff trail. The view was nothing special, but the junction area was unique, there were rock cairns of all shapes and sizes here, marking the junction. I had forgotten that today was "Hike Naked Day", until I reached Bully Brook and saw a bunch of naked guys in the brook and alongside the trail. I'm not sure I understand why anyone would want to hike naked, the idea of exposing even more skin to mosquitoes, ticks, wasps, and other insects just doesn't seem like fun. But hey, different strokes for different folks... As the afternoon wore on, I made decent time and enjoyed a mix of scenery - a view of the Rutland airport, another suspension bridge, and then a short but steep rock scramble. The scramble put the brakes on what had been a fast and easy day. Starting at the bottom, the air was cool and damp, much like being in a basement. By the top, it felt like it was 20 degrees warmer and very muggy. The Clarendon Shelter was close by, and I stopped off there for a break and talked to some other hikers. I learned that the trail ahead had a road walk detour, but was told that the AT was passable if I wanted to avoid the detour. That sounded like a good idea, so I elected to skip the detour when I came to Cold River Rd. I came to a sign about the AT being closed, noticed that the trail looked like it was still being used, and continued on. I had every intention of continuing on to the Governor Clement Shelter, but then I found a sweet campsite along a creek, complete with a small sandy beach. It wasn't even 5:30 yet, but I decided to end the day here and go for a swim before dinner. The chilly creek water felt great after one of the hottest days of the hike, and this did seem like the perfect spot to end the day.
Date: 2012-06-21
From: Gould Brook

To: Churchill Scott Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: clear sky

The morning began with one of the nicest sections of trail yet. A moderate upgrade from my campsite put me on top of a small ridge with creeks on both sides of the trail. Before long, the trail descended to one of the creeks and things took a turn for the worse. This area had been hit hard by Irene in 2011, the creek banks had been severely eroded and there were many downed trees. There was a small cairn across the creek and I found a spot to cross. After crossing, I couldn't find the trail again, and spotted another cairn upstream, on the side I had come from. I kept looking for the trail on both sides and after trying every little dead end path, I eventually gave up and doubled back to the road with the posted detour. The road walk wasn't all bad, but it was getting hot and it didn't take long before I was missing the cool shade provided by the numerous trees along the AT. The detour finally ended near the Governor Clement shelter, and it was here that the long climb to Killington began. The heat was making me drink more water than usual and I was running low and still had a ways to go before reaching the top. Luckily, I came across a small stream that wasn't shown in the AWOL book. The water stop helped, and the rest of the hike to the top wasn't bad. A short side trail let to the top of Vermont's second highest point, Killington Peak. It was only two tenths to the top, how hard could that be? The first tenth wasn't bad, but the second one was a hand over hand rock scramble. The panorama at the top made it all worthwhile, there was a great view of the Killington ski area, and a sweeping view of the Green Mountains. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, I finally arrived at the Churchill Scott shelter.
Date: 2012-06-22
From: Churchill Scott Shelter

To: Campsite on the Long Trail
Miles today: 3.3

I don't know if it was the heat, or three straight weeks of hiking, but I knew today was going to be a very low mileage, "nero" day. Even after hitting the Pizza Hut lunch buffet in Rutland, I still didn't have much energy. The heat was bad yesterday on the way up Killington, but it was even worse in town, away from the shade and higher elevation provided by the trail. After a stop at the library and grocery store, I took a bus back to Killington and went for a leisurely walk up to Maine Junction. Instead of continuing up the AT, I turned left and headed for a shelter that was just north of the junction. Turns out the shelter had burned down, but there was a nice campsite near the creek.
Date: 2012-06-23
From: Campsite on the Long Trail

To: The Lookout
Miles today: 16.5

Yesterday's nero had me feeling much better this morning and after only a mile or so, I took yet another side trail, this one leading to the Deer Leap overlook. The overlook proved to be worth the hike, even though the elevation was low. After taking a ton of photos, I moved on and got back to the AT. While hiking through Gifford Woods State Park, I ran into a section hiker named Spirea, from Indianapolis. Spirea has hiked most of the AT, and was planning to end this year's hike at Mt. Washington - I hope she made it! We hiked together and saw another section of the trail that had been damaged by Irene, a handicapped accessible walkway that had been built just months before Irene came through. We were able to get past the storm damage, and continued on to Stony Brook shelter where Spirea was called it quits for the day. I continued on and before long I caught up to another NOBO - Pacemakerman! I hadn't seen him since southern Vermont when he was SOBO, now he was he was heading for Hanover. I enjoyed catching up with him and we hiked together for a few miles before parting ways. I headed for "The Lookout" and arrived in time to get a few photos from the rickety observation deck on the roof of an old cabin. I couldn't find any good spots to set up camp and I ended up having to sleep right next to the side trail to the cabin. At some point during the night, I woke from a light sleep to the sound of footsteps approaching on the trail. I could feel every step and began to wonder if there was a bear approaching. Almost as soon as that thought crossed my mind, I heard someone say "Dude, there's somebody sleeping in there!", referring to my bright yellow bivvy sack. I was relieved that the footsteps were from humans, but was annoyed to hear them climbing up on the cabin, smoking some weed, and cooking dinner. I think this all happened around 3 in the morning.
Date: 2012-06-24
From: The Lookout

To: A small patch of almost flat land
Miles today: 17.0

Shortly after sunrise, I woke to the sound of more footsteps approaching, another hiker checking out the view. This morning was obviously not the time to sleep in. I made one more attempt at sleep, gave up and began breaking down camp after yet another round of pictures from the lookout. Today would be my last full day in Vermont, and it was one of the best. The trail was very well maintained and the scenery offered a nice mix of evergreens, old farmland, and a short walk on the first road between Boston and Montreal. Near one of the road crossings I found a general store where I bought a maple soda and a whoopie pie, both of which were delicious. I was hoping to catch back up to Pacemakerman, but he got an early start and stayed ahead of me until I finally saw him at the Thistle Hill shelter. I grabbed some water, ate a snack, and wished Pacemakerman good luck on the rest of his hike. It was getting late, but I knocked out a few more miles, continuing on until near dark.
Date: 2012-06-26
From: Just outside of Hanover

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

Looked like today would be another ugly weather day so I backtracked the short distance into Hanover and went to the library, another outfitter, Everything But Anchovies (best lunch buffet on my hike), the co-op, and finally, shower and laundry at the rec center. Back on the trail, the 10 miles from Hanover to the shelter were fairly nondescript and passed quickly. I did have one unusual experience, I came to a small rock scramble where a knotted rope was used to get up and over the rocks. As soon as I grabbed the rope to start pulling myself up, I squashed a large slug between my hand and one of the knots. Even though it was raining, it takes a long while to get rid of slug slime after accidentally squashing one. When I got to the shelter there were already two hikers there, Cliff and Little Bear, and later two thrus arrived. It was a cold, soggy night and I quickly put my new long sleeve shirt to use in an effort to stay warm. It was almost July but it felt more like early April!
Date: 2012-06-28
From: Firewarden's Cabin

To: Ore Hill Campsite
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

The morning looked no different than yesterday afternoon - clouds, fog, and an all around heavy overcast. At least it wasn't pouring down rain. After getting everything packed up, the first order of business was a trip up the old fire tower. Even though visibility was severely limited, the view was well worth the trip and I got a couple shots of the treetops and dense cloud cover. Janet was headed north too, so we started the day hiking together and before long realized that we had left the AT when we encountered a DOC sign that basically said "You're not on the AT!" We backtracked a short distance and got back on the correct trail. Continuing on, the trail was extra muddy due to yesterday's heavy rain. We plowed through the muck and before long came to a nice bridge over South Jacob's Brook where a quick photo/snack break was in order. Of course, after the brook crossing it was time to start uphill again, heading towards the Hexacuba Shelter and Mt. Cube. Part way up, the sun finally made an appearance, the first time I'd seen it since Vermont! By mid-afternoon we'd reached the south summit and the sun was fully out. Off in the not-so-far-off distance, I caught a glimpse of Mt. Moosilaukee, hulking high above the other, lesser mountains. I thought back to Connecticut when Bobo told me that Moosilaukee is where New Hampshire gets tough - now I could see exactly what he meant. Moving on, Janet stayed on the AT and I took a short blue blaze to the north summit of Mt. Cube and took some more photos. On the 2,000' descent from Mt. Cube, I caught up with Janet again near the bottom. We hiked up to NH Route 25A, then split up as she was heading to a nearby farm that offered accommodations for hikers and I was continuing on to Ore Hill. After 25A, the bugs were fierce and a small swarm followed me most of the way to my campsite. There used to be a shelter at Ore Hill but it burned down in 2011. I was the only person there, and the whole place had a slightly spooky vibe to it. The day ended with a small fire to ward off the persistent bugs and a gourmet dinner of ramen noodles.
Date: 2012-07-04
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter

To: Ethan Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: fog

It was mostly overcast in the morning, but there were still plenty of amazing views. One of the best was from a short side trail looking out across the valley. From the overlook you could see a bench cut in one of the mountains, which turned out to be an abandoned railroad line. It was originally the Zealand Valley Railroad, http://whitemountainhistory.org/Zealand.html and is now the AT. When I reached this part of the trail about 90 minutes later, the first thing I noticed was how incredibly level it was. A huge contrast to what I'd experienced the last few days in the Whites. I'm glad it was such an easy trail - shortly after passing the Zealand Falls Hut, I heard thunder off in the distance. With the skies growing darker by the minute, I put the hammer down and made great time heading to Ethan Pond. When I reached the side trail to the shelter, there was a large sombrero on the post, and a handwritten sign, "Trail Magic 7/4/2012". Hmmm.I got to the shelter and saw some hiker gear but no other hikers around. I set my pack in the shelter right as it was starting to rain and went looking for the caretaker to register for the night. Not far from the shelter there was a huge blue tarp and a large group of people. Three day hikers came up to Ethan Pond with the most amazing trail magic I'd ever seen. They had ice cream sandwiches (kept cold with dry ice), a taco bar with all the trimmings, cookies, Reese's Pieces, and other assorted high calorie goodies. Absolutely incredible what they did, thanks for all the food and an amazing 4th of July!