morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-06-12
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter 

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

I talked with my shelter mate for the first time this morning. It seemed kind of odd sleeping feet away from someone I knew nothing about. I did not know if this person was male or female. Such is the life of hiking the trail. He was pleasant.  As the day wore on, the gnats got worse. They seemed to double in number each day. The gnats liked to hover around my face and nose. With each day they were more annoying.  I arrived at Kid Gore Shelter. The view from this shelter was spectacular. The shelter was located at the head of a box canyon, facing east.    When I arrived at Kid Gore Shelter, there was a couple who had set up a tent a little to the left as I looked out of the shelter. They had done some camping but this was their first adventure backpacking. It was apparent they had done their homework. Shortly after I arrived, a single man arrived. He was taller than me and the gnats liked him more than me. The gnats seemed worse at the shelter entrance and diminished toward the interior. The man and I chatted. He had recently retired from the position of Regional Sales Manager of the New York region of Verizon. He said he had a good run and was thankful for that. He had watched 8 different people in a similar position loose their jobs, due to a change in the market and/or economy. He had been fortunate to stay in the position 15 (?) years. This was a new perspective for me. I had thought you get a certain position and hold on to it until promoted, which may or may not happen. I had not thought about as you get higher on the corporate ladder, there are more reasons for you to be removed from office, often times completely out of your control. I forget the details of one story he told. Something like a department had been found doing wrong doing, so the supervisor who knew nothing about it, was fired.   This man was basically a year behind me on a similar schedule to mine, section hiking the AT. His wife was not interested in backpacking, but would miss him if he was gone too long. So he was hiking 2 weeks, then home for 2 weeks, then hike for 2 weeks.   The gnats in the shelter were bothering him, so he set up his tent at a tent site on a point, on the right side of the box canyon as I looked out of the shelter. So I had the shelter to myself.
Date: 2017-06-15
From: Green Mountain House Hostel

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept well in my own room at Green Mountain House Hostel. I fixed breakfast in the well equipped kitchen. I had the kitchen to myself. What a change from the morning before. One thing hiking the AT teaches me is to be flexible.  I drove to Gifford Woods State Park. I was not sure where I should park, since my car would be there for a few days. I walked up the old uneven stone steps to the office. The office was closed. I had some time before the shuttle was to arrive, so I drove into the campground, looking for the ranger. I found him at the bathrooms. I drove him back to the office. He gave me a tag to hang on my rear view mirror. I parked near the office, but not in a choice spot.  The shuttle driver drove up with his wife. We had a nice chat. This was their opportunity to come into town and do their shopping.    There were many little streams running as I hiked up Bromley Mountain. At the top, was a grassy bald and a very large ski lift that was not in operation, since it was summer. The views were great. A man with his two small daughters were there. I told them I had almost finished hiking the AT in Maine. One of the girls said she heard Maine was hard. I told her I tell everyone who will stand still that the AT in Maine is hard.  I left the ski lift and headed back to the trail. There I met a man sitting in the grass with his shoes off. His feet were the worse I ever saw on the trail. He was trying to doctor them. I told him what Jeff said about no water for the next 8-10 miles. He said there was plenty of water. I did not argue with him. The day was warm with the sun shining. This man explained he had 5 weeks to finish the trail. I told him it took me 5 weeks just to do Maine. We were in Vermont. He still had the rest of Vermont, all of New Hampshire including the White Mountains and all of Maine to hike. He was not a happy camper when I met him. If possible, he was less happy after I talked with him. I hiked on.  We ended up staying at the same shelter that night.  The good news was the gnats were gone. I no longer needed a face net.
Date: 2017-06-17
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter 

To: Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Claredon Gorge was beautiful. The trail was well maintained here. The suspension bridge was cool. I was not adventursome enough to go down a steep bank to possibly freezing water. I met some local people enjoying the gorge.  There was only one view all day on this very up and down hiking day. Unfortunately the view was of the Rutland VT airport. This was not my favorite view. I did see a beautiful Dwarf Crested Iris, my name sake.  It was getting late and I was getting tired as I approached Governor Clement Shelter. AT Guide cautions that the shelter's proximity to road makes it prone to use by non-hiking crowd. I was concerned but I thought I would give it a try. If necessary, I would hike on. My original plan was to hike to Cooper Lodge Shelter 4.3 miles further, uphill.  Just before the shelter, at the brook, I met a woman who was section hiking with her husband. My worries were relieved. She was very pleasant. She (Daisy?) and her husband were teachers. This was their 15th year of section hiking the AT. This year they were going to hike more weeks than previous years. Their children were grown and not with them. They were tent camping a short distance across the brook from the shelter.  The shelter had one space left, which I took. The disgruntled hiker set up his tent about 10 feet in front of the shelter. There were other hikers in tents nearby. I was surprised there appeared to be no locals, despite the warning in the AT Guide.    There was one large 30ish man who appeared at the shelter. He asked odd questions and left saying he was hiking on. The day was warm and he was not sweating. It seemed odd. He returned and left. Another man had met this odd man earlier in the day. He said his story did not line up. I was glad I was literally surrounded by thru hikers.
Date: 2017-07-05
To: Gifford Woods VT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

On this leg, Steve, our 2016 AT thru hiker friend offered to support Tag Along and me on our 10 days hike from Gifford Woods State Park in Killington VT to Franconia Notch NH at the base of Franconia Ridge and the area of the huts of Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). This was a more than generous offer. We would be in luxury with Steve dropping us off at the trailhead in the morning and picking us up in the evening. Almost every night we would be taking showers in hostels and eating in restaurants. Tag Along said she felt she was at hiker camp. It was very different from the last AT hike we did.  Tag Along lived about 2 hours from me. Steve lives on the coast of Virginia, 9 hours from Tag Along and me. I met Tag Along at a very fancy McDonalds in Asheville NC. Her husband brought her to McDonalds. She transferred her gear to my 2006 van and we were off. We arrived in the early evening at Steve's house. Steve and his wife Sharon were more than hospitable. It was great meeting Sharon. Sharon fed us dinner, breakfast and gave us Subway sandwiches we had ordered ahead of time.  We left early July 5. An hour or so after sunrise, we crossed the mouth of the Potomac River on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It was lovely. We talked non stopped as we drove toward Vermont.  Tag Along arranged for us to meet up with Buzz about lunch time at a rest stop. Tag Along, Buzz and I had hiked New Jersey earlier in May. Buzz was great. He brought home made chocolate chip cookies, water bottles along with several other goodies and a table to display them. It was great seeing Buzz again.  There was traffic in New Jersey. There was some discussion as to which bridge to take into New York. There was some traffic but it moved. We had a great drive through upstate New York, where I was just two weeks ago. We drove through Albany/Troy and then into Vermont.  We arrived at Gifford Woods State Park without incident. We checked in at the office and set up our tents in our site. Steve treated us to dinner at The Inn at the Long Trail.
Date: 2017-07-07
From: Stony Brook Road VT 

To: Woodstock Stage Road
Miles today: 15.3

Today we woke at Gifford Woods and had breakfast. Steve drove us to Stony Brook Road in VT where we were dropped off yesterday by the receptionist. This time we were hiking NORTH, across the foot bridge.    We hiked to The Lookout, a cabin with a tower on the roof. It is private property but owner allows the public to visit at their own risk. Tag Along and I had a delightful lunch at the tower, on the roof of the cabin. It was another beautiful day. The views were magnificent. Thank you to the owners for sharing their beautiful property.  Tag Along tried to stay out of the mud on the trail. The mud had dried up some in the two weeks since I was in the area last. I was on a rant telling Tag Along all the things I did not like about Vermont, the mud, the gnats, no views, no meadows. And then, there we were in a beautiful grassy meadow with 360 degree view, with no gnats or mud. I had to eat crow.  We crossed VT 12 and two miles later came to Woodstock Stage Road. Steve was there waiting for us with apples, bananas and beer. Wow! He had shared some of them with some AT hikers ahead of us.  Steve drove us back to Gifford Woods for our third night there.
Date: 2017-07-08
From: Woodstock Stage Road

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

Today we woke at Gifford Woods. We packed our tents. Somewhere in the process, I lost my trifocal glasses. I notified the office and left my contact information. I hike without my glasses. The lower part of my glasses is for reading close up. This makes viewing my feet blurry. So I take off my glasses when I hike.  Tonight Tag Along and I would spend the night in a shelter. Steve, our 2016 thru hiker friend and shuttle driver, was going to stay with a friend in the area.  We had a nice day to hike. We hiked through another grassy bald with beautiful views.    We arrived at the shelter late in the day. It was chilly. There were two men there. They had a small fire going and were finishing dinner. We set up our sleeping bags in the shelter. As the men left the fireside, Tag Along and I took their place. There was not a good place to hang our bear bags. We hung our bags on the same tree the men had hung theirs. I am 5' 3". I could jump to touch the bottom of the bear bags. Fortunately, the bags were undisturbed the next morning.
Date: 2017-07-09
From: Happy Hill Shelter VT

To: Three Mile Road NH
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: moderate rain

The bear bags weighed down the branch overnight. The bear bags were closer to the ground. I was glad they were not disturbed. The interior of the shelter was chilly due to the rock walls. We were the last to leave the shelter.   We had another nice day to hike. 4 1/2 miles later, the trail went down a residential street. One of the first homes had a cooler out front with cold water bottles and sodas. I was not expecting any trail magic in New England. This was a pleasant surprise. The owner drove into his driveway and came to chat with us. He has had up to 8 hikers staying at his house. He takes pity on hikers in the rain. His daughter (?) lived down the road. She usually gives out muffins or cookies. We just waved at her as we walked by.  By the time we got to the Connecticut River bridge, the VT-NH border, I was in need of a bathroom and water. We took our pictures at the border, on the bridge. On the NH side, was a small park with porta pottys, which we made us of. When we were finished, we met an outdoor club out for a hike. Tag Along is a soil scientist. This group was out to learn about the soils in the area. Tag Along and the group had a great conversation.  I still needed water. Somehow the Connecticut River did not seem a good choice. I prefer small streams with very little access for pollution or contamination. As we walked out of the small park, there was a city water faucet. I filled my water bottles.  The trail goes through Dartmouth College campus. Tag Along had been here in her teens when she was choosing which college she would attend. The trail then went through downtown Hanover. It was lunch time. There was a long line out the door of a restaurant. We went through the line and then had trouble finding the white blazes. A kind woman saw our confusion and pointed us in the right direction. In hindsight, we should have had lunch at one of the restaurants we were walking by.    The trail made its way out of town, on the edge of the open grass football field. In the shade, we had lunch. We continued on the trail and hiked along a boardwalk. It was a lovely relatively easy day. We crossed a paved road and then met Steve at the gravel Three Mile Road. We were greeted again with apples, bananas and beer.  It was over an hour drive to the Super 8 in White River Junction. We took showers and went out for dinner at a BBQ place. Steve and Tag Along did laundry. I hung my tarp on the chain link fence, trying to dry it out.
Date: 2017-07-10
From: Three Mile Road NH

To: Lyme-Dorchester Road NH
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Steve dropped us off at the trail where he picked us up yesterday. We had another nice day hiking.  The sign on top of Moose Mountain south peak was a wood pole with a wood sign, mounted in rocks. This sign was similar to other signs in the Whites and Maine. I had seen pictures of such signs. I always thought the sign was mounted in cement or something else sturdy and permanent. These signs are barely held upright by large stones piled around the post. Not a good thing to hold on to if I started loosing my balance.  We hiked over Moose Mountain north peak. We descended only to climb Holts Ledge. Then down again to Grafton Turnpike which goes to Lyme NH. We met Steve at Lyme-Dorchester Road NH.  Steve was quiet. I asked him why. He said he was tired. He had checked into The Notch Hostel where we would be staying 5 days. He had driven to all the drop off/pickup places on our itinerary. It was a lot of driving. One of the roads, NH 25A was under construction. With the van not fully repaired, Steve was hesitant to drive us on a road under construction. There were signs stating "Local traffic only". Steve mentioned this to Bookie at The Notch Hostel. Bookie said she dropped some AT hikers off on NH 25A that morning. There was no problem. Steve thought the local people might not bother Bookie with her NH tags and local knowledge, but Steve with a North Carolina tag on the vehicle and a Virginia license, would be questioned and not able to pick us up at NH 25A.   Steve drove us to The Notch Hostel. It was a large clean three story hostel. The first floor had a large porch, rooms, bathrooms and showers. The second floor was communal area, full function kitchen, bathroom and two showers. Our room was on the third floor, along with a bathroom.  Most hostels have bedrooms upstairs. This presents a challenge to walk downstairs in the morning, after multiple days of hiking over 10 miles, usually more. Steve showed Tag Along and me stretches to help with the soreness.  It took me a while to come up with an alternate plan. We would pay Bookie to shuttle us in the morning to NH 25A. Instead of the original plan to hike from Lyme-Dorchester Road, north to NH 25A, we would hike SOUTH from NH 25A to Lyme-Dorchester Road, where Steve picked us up today. We paid Bookie $50 for the shuttle.
Date: 2017-07-11
From: NH 25A

To: Lyme-Dorchester Road SOUTH
Miles today: 14.1

The kitchen at The Notch Hostel was alive at 7 am with hikers. The energy was contagious. Three people were cooking, plus one person washing dishes as work-for-stay. The dining table was full of eating hikers. The conversation was lively. A man was talking with another about hunting and fishing with his retired father. Other people were talking about the AT.    Tag Along and I climbed into Bookie's car at 7:30 am. She drove us toward NH 25A. We drove around the "Local Traffic Only" sign, onto the paved road. We passed a road crew getting ready to start their day. We waved at them. We continued on the paved road and passed another road crew. We waved at them too. Bookie pulled off on the side of the road. I stopped holding my breath. The entire road was paved! This road was better than the road at which Steve picked us up yesterday! I told Bookie this. She said that was what she was trying to tell Steve.  We hiked up Mt Cube. This was a strenuous hike. I was surprised no one ever told me about this mountain and its difficulty. We hiked down to the valley, only to hike to the top of Smarts Mountain, which was also a challenge.  Steve picked us up at Lyme-Dorchester Road.  We told Steve that there was no problem with NH 25A. So the plan for tomorrow was for him to drop us off at NH 25A in the morning.
Date: 2017-07-12
From: NH 25A

To: NH 25 NORTH
Miles today: 9.8

The kitchen was alive again with hikers.  Steve was apprehensive as he drove us to the AT on NH 25A. He drove around the "Local traffic only" sign, onto the paved road. No one stopped or questioned us. He drove on. We passed the first road crew. I waved at them. We drove past the second road crew. Again I waved. No one stopped or questioned us. I showed Steve where to park, to let us out. He was surprised the road was paved and in good condition the whole way. Today we hiked north.    Today was to be the "easiest" day of this section. Yesterday was 14.1 miles over two strenuous peaks. Tomorrow was Mt Moosilauke with 5 false summits, if you are going north. The following two days are over North and South Kinsman. They are done as a slack pack day hike for the ambitious. My definition of ambitious here are those people who hike more than 20 mile days in Virginia. I am not that ambitious.  We entered the White Mountains. There was a sign. It was uneventful. The trail here was flat. It was hard to imagine this was the area that thru hikers had been talking about since Virginia, many many miles south, with fear of how difficult the Whites are.   Next to the sign was a large canopy with camp chairs, tables, stove and 25L gas tanks. I am told there is a man who traditionally serves breakfast here. We were here at 10 am. No one was here. We rested in the camp chairs and moved on.  The routine for letting Steve know when to pick us up, was for me to use Guthook to send him our coordinates when we were on top of a mountain. It is unlikely to have service in the valleys. We usually rested, ate and admired the view on top of mountains, making it a natural spot to have my smart phone in hand.    It was another lovely day for a hike.  At the hostel, after taking showers, we went to the produce store a mile away. We gave a fellow hiker a ride. We purchased all the ingredients for stir fry cashew chicken over quinoa and made it in the kitchen at the hostel.It was wonderful to eat healthy, non-re-hydrated food. We had ice cream for dessert.
Date: 2017-07-13
From: Lost River Road/Kinsman Notch

To: NH 25 South
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Today it was raining. Midas at Killington had the ordered part, so Steve drove to Midas with the van.  There was some discussion among the hikers how to adjust their plans to the rain. A few decided they would bag some 4000+ ft peaks in a shorter day hike. In the Whites, there are many hikers that have the goal of hiking all 48 4000+ peaks in the Whites. Most of these peaks have trails and can be done in day hikes.  We discussed with Bookie, a previous thru hiker and caretaker of the Notch Hostel, our plans to hike Mt Mooslauke going south, with 3,000 ft elevation gain in 4 miles. She looked at her Weather Underground app for the day and area. The rain was to stop about 11 am. We would be fine as long as we were going UP the wood block stairs. Going down wet wood block stairs, was ill advised. A person at Lost Pond Shelter in Vermont said they did Mt. Moosilauke going south. It was lovely with the cascades to his right, most of the hike to the summit. He said most people recommended going south to summit Mt. Moosilauke.  Bookie drove us to Kinsman Notch. This was where I had planned to end my 2016 section hike of the Whites. Instead I ended it a couple days before Labor Day (August 31 ?) at Madison Hut on the other end of the Whites. It was a light rain. We had our rain gear on. Tag Along was in high spirits. She loved the cascades. We took many pictures.    The wood block steps were wet. They were secured to the rock slab with rebar. There was no hand rail. Going up them challenged my breathing and heart. Going down them wet would have been scary.  After three miles of steep uphill, often on wood steps, near the cascades, the trail veered away from the cascades. The rain had stopped. The ecosystem changed to rocky and alpine and fog. At the summit, we were above treeline with only 50 feet or so of visibility in the fog. A male hiker came toward us out of the mist and passed us. We waited at the top, hoping the fog would clear. We heard voices in the distance, to the north. The voices became closer and closer. Eventually two women appeared out of the mist and joined us at the summit. We snacked. The two women went back the way they had come. They disappeared into the fog. I had seen movies depicting fog like this. I had never experienced it. It was eerie.  We headed down the mountain. Two boys were out of breath running up, toward us. We met them briefly and continued. Later we met an adult trying to catch them. The boys were supposed to stay with the group. Later we met the rest of the group and the rest of the adults, resting on the side of the trail. Coming down this side, did not seem as steep as the other side. As we moved away from the summit, the fog cleared.    The last few hours were a lovely hike.