morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-07-14
From: October Mountain Shelter 

To: Side of Mt. Greylock
Miles today: 23.0

Day 101- I had wanted to be hiking earlier today but the quality of sleep was poor last night. I still have to get used to the hammock and figure out the best way to arrange my systems to ensure a good night¢s sleep. I didn¢t get moving till 8 AM but the terrain was relatively flat and flowery and I made it to Dalton before noon. I had aspirations to reach the post office before it closed at noon but I got distracted by Tom¢s house along the sidewalk in town. I decided to have a snack there and get an AT passport stamp since I knew the crew has slept here last night. While I was sitting on his porch, he came out with an ice cream sundae for me with whip cream, peaches, and cherries. It caught me totally by surprise but I was so appreciative. I thanked him for his generosity and kept hiking on to Cheshire in the afternoon.I only saw 2 other hikers at that point in the day and was with them when the woman took a gnarly fall and hit her head on a rock. I have some medical training and the husband was an EMT so, between the two of us, we got her cleaned up and she was on her feet in no time. Luckily, it was only 2 miles into Cheshire where we then tried to get them a ride to the nearest urgent care to get cleaned up. To do so, we went to a trail ¢ friendly church called St. Mary¢s Assumption and there we met a sixth grader named Northstar. He has become ¢the giver of trail magic¢ in the church parking lot. He called his parents up telling them to deliver ¢the goods¢ and asked if his dad could take the injured hiker to the urgent care. I had planned to be farther by now but I wanted to stick with them until they were on their way. I whipped up dinner there in the church parking lot and chatted with the few hikers there; I did resist the temptation to stay but only got a handful of miles in before calling it a night.I was a little better at setting up the hammock this time and got the tarp up as well. There were almost no bugs here; just a nice, cool breeze. It didn¢t take long before it was lights out for me!
Date: 2018-07-15
From: Side of Mt. Greylock 

To: Williamstown 
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 102- I was moving by 6:20 AM in the misty boreal forest and the subalpine environment on the side of Mount Greylock. I took my time and listened to some podcasts while moving through the green tunnel. It felt very much like my memories of hiking just below the tree line in the Whites. The summit of Mount Greylock was underwhelming as it was completely socked in and the lodge on top didn¢t have an AT Passport stamp. I kept moving, motivated by the idea of getting to watch some of the final game with Broken Seal and friends.It cleared up as I worked my way down the mountain. I didn¢t get any views, it just got hotter. I was relieved to have reached the bottom of the mountain yet didn¢t realize how much shade the trees had provided up to this point. There was a half mile road walk to the street where I could hitch into Williamstown and it was scorching. I hadn¢t worn my visor and glasses today as it was supposed to be cloudy. That left me hitchhiking for 25 minutes looking into the sun, getting cooked before I am enthusiastic local couple picked me up. before dropping me off at the Purple Pub where the three hikers were watching the soccer game, the couple gave me a tour around town and showed me a local park where I could camping. It was appreciated but, in that moment, all I wanted was water and to be with my friends.While I didn¢t see kick off, I got to watch most of the game. It¢s definitely more fun watching it in that atmosphere versus from a phone on trail. The crowd was rooting for France but deep down I had hoped Croatia would come out on top.After some discussion, we decided to get a room at the Willow Motel. We turned up the air conditioning, flopped into the big beds, and watched the Harry Potter marathon that was on all night. Other than stepping outside to get dinner and drinks, the afternoon was 100% relaxing.
Date: 2018-07-17
From: Bridge Over City Stream

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 104- The thunder was already threatening when we woke up. I made the decision to hike in only my underwear and rain gear in hopes that I could keep as much of my clothing as dry as possible. We were able to get a couple of miles under our belts before the clouds turned dark within only a couple of minutes. It was like something out of a movie. The bullet hard rain and nearby lightning soon followed.I was hiking alone at this point up the side of Glastenbury Mountain. After a close call with lightning on the PCT, I don¢t mess with the stuff and I sat on my foam pad smiling through the worst of it. I have not seen this kind of heavy rain in awhile. As we were hiking, we could see little leaf levees break and then cascade down the trail. That part was kind of cool. I asked around later and everyone else had hiked straight through it. The group of men I¢m around right now were having lunch at a shelter just before the true summit of Glastenbury. This storm had died down immensely but I could still hear rumbling in the distance and I wanted the peace of mind of being up and over this thing just in case there was more weather headed our way. That meant a late lunch for me at a shelter 4 miles down the way. We chatted with Red panda and running Griz about their plans for the coming days and which towns they would be going into for food. We like to keep it loosey-goosey ourselves but it¢s fun knowing what other people are doing.We had gotten between 1.5 and 2 inches over the morning so we were wading our way through a lot of the trail. It was amazing how just the day before we had to hike extra mileage due to the dry conditions and now we were soaked; the ground was completely saturated. Even though it was wet and he was in some pain, the trail really was beautiful with the dense pines and eye catching trees bending in all sorts of directions. Everyone else hiked about 23 miles including Rattler. Broken Seal and I hiked only 4 miles out from my very late lunch before chafing set it on his part and I was happy to call it at the Story Spring Shelter. The shelter was full when we pulled up but we needed some privacy anyway had a great tent spot on the trees. It was only dripping so we set up a line to dry some items. Broken Seal took care of himself and I took care of my feet which had been waterlogged all day. Luckily, I hadn¢t had any pain or discomfort. Peeling my socks off though revealed a gross picture of mud that had worked its way under my peeling skin. I¢m not one to wash up in water sources but, in this case, I needed the help of running water. I just made sure to do it far from where people would be collecting their drinking water.We haven¢t ended a day this early in awhile but I honestly enjoyed it. It was fun to just lie in the tent for bit after hiking. For some reason, it¢s not the same as lying down to go to bed. Broken Seal watched a movie and I did some writing before drifting off to sleep at around 9 PM.
Date: 2018-07-18
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Bromley Summit
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: clear sky

Day 105- With Rattler camping ahead of us, we planned to get up early. Instead, I awoke after 7:30 AM which meant I mustve been one tired girl; I had slept over 10 and half hours! Sun was in the forecast so we were excited to spend today dry even though we had to put our feet into wet socks and then back into wet sheets which is never fun.Our trio was reunited on the summit of Stratton Mountain. What a glorious view! From the top of the tower on this historic summit, we could see miles and miles of pines with undulating ridge lines in the horizon. Vermont is a beautiful, beautiful state.The hiking was flat and easy from there and we moved and leapfrogged each other as the afternoon went by. We had a terrific lunch on the side of Griffin Lake where we pulled our tent and other items out of our backpacks to dry in the sun. We talked about food, specifically town food and how good it would taste. A road leading into Manchester Center was within reach so we hiked our (literally) little butts off to the highway and almost immediately were able to hitch into town.Since we were at a grocery store, we resupplied to get an extra town or two farther along with purchasing a fresh rotisserie chicken, a loaf of bread, and a container of potato salad that the three of us voraciously consumed in the shopping mall plaza. Its moments like this that really make us look like hiker trash and would normally be socially unacceptable. We had a really quick turnaround time in town but still didnt get back to the trailhead until about 7:30 PM. We knew our buddies, Rocket and Blink, were camped at the top of Bromley mountain only 3 miles away so we pushed into the sunset to enjoy the evening with them and to get some help on the bag of wine the Broken Seal carried up. The sunset from the top was so orange; a brilliant orange splashed across the sky. Rattler set up his hammock underneath the ski lift ramp; Broken Seal and I lay out our things on the floor of the ski patrol warming hut before we crawled into Blinks tent and talked for hours. When I unzipped the rain fly of his tent and crawled out to go to my sleeping bag, I was amazed by how clear the starry night was. So we moved our mini fiesta outside and sat on the chairlift giggling and bonding (quietly, respectful of other hikers) for hours into the night. Today was a marvelous day and these are the memorable nights.
Date: 2018-07-20
From: Campsite Past Little Rock Pond

To: VT 103 / Rutland
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: few clouds

Is it terrible to say today was not noteworthy. The trail was smooth and the weather was nice. It was cruising terrain that ended with a strong downhill to the highway where Broken Seal, Rattler and I could hitch into Rutland. Along with Running Griz and Red Panda, the two of them took off and I had the trail to myself. It was not something we had talked about beforehand and I was a little sad about it. They made it into town and decided we would stay at the Yellow Deli before I even reached the road.A quick and nice hitch into Rutland helped lift my spirits a little. I also found the Yellow Deli Hostel to be very nice and I got some nice loaner clothes. We had our first chats with southbounders and walked with them across Rutland to the Twelve Tribes property where they were having their celebration. It involved singing, dancing, preaching, and then an incredible meal! I could not have guessed where today would have ended but I was definitely not complaining getting into the clean dorms with my very full belly.
Date: 2018-07-21
From: VT 103 / Rutland

To: US-4 / Rutland
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

Honestly, today was a bit of a disaster. After taking the local bus up US-4, we began hiking southbound up Killington and then down to the road where we had hitched into Rutland the day before. We had grabbed two little daypacks that Broken Seal and Rattler were carrying. Within 15 minutes, I was alone on the trail with only a 0.7L water bottle in my hand. While this particular incident was not incredibly noteworthy, all of my emotions and frustrations about getting left behind boiled over. At the top of the AT, there is a steep 0.2 mi side trail to the proper summit of Killington. When I approached and saw Rattler sitting on the ground, I let him know I was continuing to summit. I was not in the best place to address the issue there. The summit was pretty but I was out of water after my four mile climb so I went to the Killington Lodge.Over a half hour later, the guys had not showed up. Turns out they didn¢t know about the summit lodge and kept hiking southbound on the assumption that I had kept hiking too. Broken Seal knew I was upset when he finally called me to find out where I was.They waited for me on the side of the trail and were very receptive when I talked through why I was upset and they apologized. They asked to hike the rest of the way with me but I didn¢t want to; I wanted a little space to reflect on how the crucial conversation went. It felt good to release the things that had been pent up but it was exhausting.They did wait at the road to hitch in with me though. I didn¢t have much energy and we eventually called a shuttle because it was taking a while. This turned out to be in my favor because it turns out the shuttle driver and I had a mutual friend. This friend, Travis, is a past AT thruhiker I have known for almost eight years. I knew he was in the area but was surprised to find out that he was at the Inn at Long Trail that night and the shuttle driver was supped to be joining him shortly. I called the driver up and he picked me up within five minutes to go hang out with Travis. It did make for a late night that was exacerbated by some turmoil between other hostel guests upon my return. While I was with Travis, Seal was with Rattler and other hikers across the seat doing karaoke. I hope that having these separate evenings after a tough hiking day helped.
Date: 2018-07-22
From: US 4/Rutland

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 109 - Because I¢d stayed up late the night before, I didn¢t make it down to help prepare breakfast this time. The hiker hostel had been more full and there were other hikers already helping out now. Breakfast was great again with scrambled eggs with veggies and meat, rice, and tomatoes plus lots of mate.We did a resupply at Price Chopper which is becoming our preferred grocery store except for their muffins. The highlight of the morning for the team was when Broken Seal and Rattler went to Gamestop where they picked up a used gameboy and a couple games to play at night. I¢ve already heard a lot of conversation about Pok©mon and I have a feeling it¢s about to increase tenfold. We did our part in helping clean the hostel before leaving. We wanted some sandwiches from the Yellow Deli to fill our stomachs with some real food instead of moer tuna wraps. We found ourselves crammed at a table with Rocket, Blink, Flip, and Meatloaf; feels like we're starting to get a tramily. We took the bus again out Route 4; it was cloudy and misty but it wasn¢t raining like it had in town that morning.Today was an improvement for me as the two guys hung with me the whole way to the shelter. The trail here felt full with pines and firs; you can almost smell the difference with the rain. It was only a few miles before we peeled eastward off of the Long Trail and towards Katahdin. I plan to return to this place though and finish off the rest of the Long Trail in September. Flip and Meatloaf were already at the shelter along with the first two southbounders that we get to camp with and ask a lot of questions. One of them was Mantra Dynasty who had been at the Inn at Long Trail with Travis¢s group the night before. It¢s hard to articulate the difference and mentality between the northbounders and the southbounders but it was certainly cool getting to speak with them. Regardless of which direction we were hiking, everyone was in bed by 8:15 PM.
Date: 2018-07-23
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: VT 12/Dan's House
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: light rain

Day 110 ¢This was, by far, the worst night on trail. As it got dark, heavy rains came and I was located right under a drip in the roof. Broken Seal was dead asleep and his halfhearted attempt to slide over did very little to help. I spent a lot of the night trying to scoot my pad closer to Broken Seal. Every time a new wave of heavy rain would come, I¢d be wide-awake trying to make sure my sleeping bag was not getting wet from the splash in the little puddle right next to me.We had talked about getting an early start but there was no part of me that wanted to get up when the time came. I wanted to sleep! Rattler and he lingered until I finally sent them off. This is the first day on this thruhike that I truly did not want to hike one bit.My efforts to fall back asleep did not help and at 9:30 AM, I finally stepped out from under the roof of the shelter into heavy, heavy rain. No hopes of staying dry on a day like today so I kept my rain jacket in my backpack and embraced the wetness. I have very little to say about the trail today as I kept my head down and headphones in to try and zone out of my unpleasant mood and unpleasant situation. At a moment when the rain was light, a small raspberry patch appeared to lift my spirits a little. I was also able to duck into a cool cabin called the Lookout.The one thing that really motivated me to hike at all today was reaching Dan¢s home where I had a feeling a warm shower and bed was waiting for me.I got there after 3 PM and had a warm welcome from Dan. We decided to stay and after the warm shower, my goal was to stay dry. Other hikers came as well and made themselves comfortable in his large barn across the street. Travis was not able to get off from work but it was a full house anyway.Broken Seal and I were finally able to have an overdue conversation about some little frustrations between the two of us that have been building up. We both gave each other feedback and we are going to work on some specific communication issues we¢ve been having. After we got that over with, we hung out with Dan a little bit before Rattler joined us in the home to cook our Knorr Sides the correct way they are supposed to be prepared. I must say they were actually really delicious. Broken Seal sent me to sleepy land soon after our meal with a foot rub at the end of the night.
Date: 2018-07-24
From: VT 12/Dan's House

To: Norwich, VT
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: light rain

Day 112- Today was an unexpectedly awesome day. I had a terrific, much-needed sleep and the sun was shining when we got a move out of Dan¢s house little after 8 AM. The elevation profile was solid; they were now significant climbs but everything was steep making the elevation profile line like some gnarly teeth. As always, great conversation helps.Our first stop of the day was at Firefly and Loon¢s house where they have baked goods and cold beverages on their back porch for sale. We dove into a big brownie and some hard-boiled eggs; Rattler got a warm chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. It¢s little setups like this that inspire some ideas as to future home arrangements for me.After a steep climb from their house, we caught Running Griz and spent the rest of the day with him. At the one waymark for today with a view, I found the largest raspberry bush yet! The bushes were heavy with raspberries almost falling from their stems. In addition to abundant raspberries, There were abundant southbounders. We saw over 15 by the end of the day. I got confirmation that I somehow missed my friends, Karma and Veggie who are southbounding.In the afternoon, we hit West Hartford, VT where the Hart family runs a little hostel. We weren¢t planning on staying but one of the members called to us to come and get a cold soda and watermelon before we kept walking to the shelter where we would spend the night. Throughout the day I thought we had been surrounded by beauty. Not only were there kind people, the forest felt ever-changing today and we passed through a lot of big timber groves. The sunshine also stuck with us all day making it a little humid and sticky but I enjoyed this much more than the downpour we received yesterday.When we reached the Happy Hill Shelter at 6:15 PM, there were more southbounders and immediately they all recommended we push on into Norwich/Hanover. We called some phone numbers on the list of trail angels and was connected with Jenny! We knew it was getting late in the day so we got a move on down the 3+ miles of trail remaining before it was pavement time.More surprises and trail love was in store for us! After connecting with her, we went to Dan & Whit¢s where we got a 4-person pot roast dinner and 3 dozen bagels for free! When we got back, Jenny, who is the priest for the episcopal church next door, gave us a tour of her great house. There were loaner clothes to use while we did laundry, showered, and ate. It was late when I finally made it up into the hiker dorm she had but I was so grateful for all of the love that had been extended to us today.
Date: 2018-07-31
From: South Twin Mountain 

To: Webster Cliffs
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 118- The air was crispy when we started our early morning hike up Mt Guyot! The cloudy haze cast pink hues across the layered, mountainous horizon as we broke the tree line briefly. Now, every viewpoint showcases the clear profile of Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range. We are definitely here in the Whites, this place we have been hiking towards for almost four months! Ohh, the emotion!This morning had the swiftest miles since we entered NH. Other than a viewpoint, we did not stop until over 6 miles in at the Mizpah Hut for a stamp and an unsuccessful attempt at getting leftovers. That was a bit of a bummer because I was incredibly hungry! Full on hunger. There were only two rolls of Smarties in my food bag, everything else had to be rehydrated.The hunger helped us push out the final (relatively flat) 7+ miles to Crawford Notch where the wonderful Big Mac was waiting with beverages and guacamole! He put my tummy at easy.We spent a couple of hours in Bethlehem nearby to resupply and have lunch at DQ where we ran into an acquaintance of Dad¢s and had more strangers ask if we were siblings. Rattler thought it was hilariously bizarre.The boys cutely fell asleep in the backseat on the way to town and on the way home, oops, I mean back to the trail. The weather was perfect for hiking so we knocked a couple miles out of the climb up Mt Webster where we found a nice ledge to camp on. We were only nine miles from the summit of Mt. Washington and deserved a memorable night. We got to watch the sunset over a tall ridge with beams of light shooting diagonally across the valley below us. We cooked, stretched, danced, and ate the night away until dusk fell and we assumed to our horizontal positions.
Date: 2018-08-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 122- Blueberry pancakes!! Seaside strollParadeLobster lunchNap timeExploring the fairgroundsDinner, drinks, and discussion downtownKaraoke, dancing, and much needed sleep!Today was super fun and memorable. Today has also shown us how we have adjusted to the pace and environment of the trail- there is a lot of noise and busyness in the real world! Sad to leave but looking forward to being on the trail again.
Date: 2018-08-05
From: NH 2 / Gorham

To: Brookside Campsite 
Miles today: 1.6

Day 123- We had meant to leave Rockland earlier but the couch, air conditioner, and Broken Seal¢s aunt were too hard to leave. We only accomplished a few tasks after sleeping in and a delicious breakfast Anne made for us! The thing is though that we needed it! Our bodies are tired to the core. I am not counting down the days for this to end but certain aspects of ¢normal life¢ sound appealing. We all wanted one last bathe before finally getting our butts back in the rental car at 2 PM. Taco Bell and Dollar General were our only two stops before dropping the car off behind the company building in Gotham where we were approached by a cop. I wasn¢t too worried when he pulled up (white privilege!) and he ended up offering us a ride to the other end of town where hitchhiking would be much easier! This was my first time sitting in the back of a cop car and I had a good time considering the circumstances. After him, the first car we put our thumbs out for pulled over and drove us the rest of the way. There was a great campsite at the first water source of the afternoon and life was good. Looking at the sunlight golden through the leaves was just one gentle reminder of how much I love being outside (even if air conditioning sounds once in a while).