morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-07-05
From: Jacobs Ladder Trailhead

To: Kay Wood Shelter 
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Before I get into the events of the day I did leave out some items from my last AT trip, so here they are:Story about Recola and taking container ship over to the US to hiked AT. Took him 12 days and was part of the crew but did not have any duties. Never heard anyone doing that he seemed like he had a great time. Left both trekking poles since were shattered at the base and unrecoverable and old pair of shoes at the hotel. I bought some Oboz low-rise boots which are working out very well. Lot more support and my feet are not as sore at the end of the day.  Decided that my cool, light-weight camping chair (Mayfly) isn't worth the extra weight (26 oz) so I'm not taking it on this trip.  The trail today was just enough to get me drenched within the first hour but the terrain wasn't too bad and made good time. Walked half the day with Postman but he stopped at a shelter about half way for a break. The weather today was beautiful and the trees provided nice shade most of the day. About 5 miles from the shelter, I crossed a road where Rob with his Casper white van was parked with trail magic. Was a great stop and always appreciate folks who sponsor trail magic. Met a southbounder there who had started at Gorham, hiked north to Katahdin then back to Gorham and south from there. Interesting flip-flop. Stopped at Kay Wood Shelter that made 16 miles for the day after starting around 1:00 today. There are a bunch of tenters including 8-10 Boy Scouts here tonight.
Date: 2017-07-06
From: Kay Wood Shelter 

To: Wilbur Clearing Shelter
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: clear sky

Started early with Mr. T and Rocket Man from the shelter.  Found out that Rocket Man used to work for Jacob's Engineering at Arnold Air Force Base in TN and was actually a rocket scientist. Having retired from Jacobs also, just confirmed how small the world is and as well as this trail community.  Also found out the guy that Rocketman was hiking with Mr. T is a retired chemical engineer from Dupont. There is a bunch of engineers out here on the trail this year. Walk through the town of Dalton and Cheshire which was interesting as you walk right down neighborhood streets and then the trail jumps right back into the forest. Climbed up Mt. Greylock where there is a beautiful monument at the top and signifies those that lost there lives fighting for our freedom. This mountain is also the tallest summit in MA. I had a few snacks and rested as this was the 20 mile mark for the day. There were many visitors that drove up to the top and wondered around taking pictures. After a while I got back on the trail and started on the last 3.5 miles of the day.  Stopped at Wilbur Clearing shelter. There was already a group tenting an another NOBO but the shelter was empty. Decided on tenting in the last raised platform which is interesting because my tent is a little bigger than the platform. I made it work and think it will be fine for the night.  No cell service so will need to post this tomorrow.
Date: 2017-07-07
From: Wilbur Clearing Shelter

To: Melville Nauhiem Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: light rain

The day started off with some light rain just as I started a very steep descent of Mt. Greylock. Not the best time to rain and make the rocks slippery. Starting to meet some south bounders from Maine and most started around 1 June. Ran into Blaze again she's one with the pink hammock and I saw her two weeks ago at the pavilion. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had taken a week off and caught back up with her. Blaze told me she graduated with a math degree with the thought of going into the actuary business but she wasn't sure so she decided to start hiking the AT instead and figure it out. Took a detour into North Adams and walked to Stop & Shop to have a little breakfast and to do a short resupply. Tough but short climb up Rock Mountain. Made it into Vermont before noon today! As the Vermont long trail sign describes, the AT and the Vermont Long Trail share about 105 miles before splitting off and going their separate directions. 11 states down, three states to go. Pretty exciting to be in Vermont! Passed the 1,600 mile mark today as well. The VT trail so far makes me feel like I am in an all interval training class going up steep rocky sections and then back down and then into a long VT black mud path up to your ankles in mud then back up a steep ascent. Stopped at Melville Nauhiem Shelter
Date: 2017-07-08
From: Melville Nauhiem Shelter

To: Black Brook
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Entered the Green mountains under a cover of mist and fog which eventually became a torrent of rain for a few hoursI The trail became a muddy stream and trying avoid getting soaked was impossible, so trudged through the ankle deep muddy creek which earlier was a trail. Borrowing a line from a book I am listening to about Navy Seal training, I "embraced the suck" today. I trudged all day in mud soaked shoes but I became a real fan of my umbrella today. I passed several hikers today who looked at me with my stationary umbrella with either awe or he looks ridiculous stare. Each of those hikers looked like a drowned rat to me. Later in the day the rain subsided and became I nice day. The trail was still super muddy the rest of the day and will be for a while. I ended up camping near a stream called Black Brook which had some nice level ground along a beautiful creek. For some reason I ate like a horse today and as soon as I got my camp set up, I cooked up some Ramen noodles. I also ate another meal later plus some chocolate I had been saving. During the day I met J2 and Pelican who is hiking the Vermont Long Trail (LT).  Just after dinner, we had another downpour just keep everything nice and wet. As they say, No Rain, No Pain, No Maine.
Date: 2017-07-09
From: Black Brook

To: Green Mountain Hostel
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I forgot to mention in earlier post that I have been hiking past several bog's. Some small but many were several acres large in size. Appears they all were created by beavers damming up the creek. Some of the dams were huge and many feet high. Hiked up Stratton Mountain and you could really feel a difference in the temperature dropping and the great pine scent if the thick forest, spruce tree's I think. On top of that it was a spectacularly blue sky morning and an old fire tower that you could climb.  They say you can see four states from here and I don't doubt it. The day stayed very nice but warmed up after leaving Stratton Pond.  Many day and section hikers were out on the trail today and everyone's shoes had black mud all over them due to the wet trail conditions left from yesterday's rain.  When I got to VT 11/30 parking lot I found a ride into the town of Manchester Center.  There I resupplied on food for the next four days and ate a late lunch at Cilantro's Burrito. It was so good I ordered one to go for dinner tonight. I had made a reservation at the Green Mountain Hostel while on top of Stratton Mountain and called him for a ride to his place once I finished my chores in town. The hostel is beautiful and the backdrop is the mountains I just walked across. Several horses are in the pasture and the setting couldn't be nicer. Jeff, the Hostel host, told me there should be a full house tonight. Back on the trail in the morning.
Date: 2017-07-10
From: Green Mountain Hostel

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Had a very nice day at the Green Mountain House Hostel in Manchester Center. There was several other hikers at the hostel including; J2 and a mother and daughter team hiking the Vermont Long Trail.  Jeff our host at the hostel was extremely knowledgeable about both trails and seem like he knew most of the hostel owners along the Appalachian Trail. Jeff had a lot of yearly picture frames up with all the hikers that had come through and had sent him thank you post cards after they had finished their hike. One of the picture frames he had was of his Philmont experience as a Boy Scout and then also as a Philmont staffer. I told Jeff that I had been to Philmont when I was 14 and I just recently returned to Philmont this past October with Atlanta Boy Scout Council. Jeff told us while we were having dinner last night that the Vermont folks are very proud of their Long Trail and they view the Appalachian Trail as the "approach trail" to their Vermont LT! That's a hell of an approach trail; 1,650 miles.  Hiked up and over Bromley Mountain which is the top of the ski lift which is pretty interesting to visit a ski resort in the summertime. Hiked past Little Rock Pond and camping area which was beautiful.  Earlier I passed a large group a younger girls with adult leaders hiking to the pond to camp. They were singing songs either to occupy themselves while hiking or to keep the bears away. Stopped at Greenwall Shelter where I met a brother/sister team hiking the LT together and staying in the shelter. I had dinner with them and enjoyed talking about trail stuff and told them both, as I went back to my tent, how impressed I was that they were doing this trip together. The picture above is at the White Rocks Johnson junction (close to the shelter) that was presumably  rested by some woodland gnomes.
Date: 2017-07-11
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Killington Peak
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked passed Bully Brook with a nice waterfall. Rained lightly most of the night and was on/off during the hiking day. The highlight of day was a steep long hike up Killington Peak where the Coopers Lodge (Shelter) is located just down from the top. The forest really changes in trees type and smell once you get over 3,000'. After setting my tent up and drying out in the sporadic sunshine, I hiked up to the peak to see the views. It was a total bolder scramble and glad I didn't have my pack on but the views were terrific. After taking in all of the great views, I hiked around the back side of the peak to find the ski lodge. Didn't take long and was cool to see a gondola and ski lodge without any snow. I hiked down to the lodge and discovered I missed the snack bar closing by about an hour. Would have been great to have some real food out on the terrace of the ski lodge with my hiking clothes instead of my winter ski apparel. Killington is the largest ski resort in the NE and the second highest peak, according to Guthook. Another NOBO hiker and a family of four hiking the Vermont LT took up the final tent pads next to me. Should have good weather tonight but tomorrow looks like more rain.
Date: 2017-07-12
From: Killington Peak

To: The Lookout
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Our tent camp broke pretty early with the family of four trying to get out early. It was a peaceful cool night with no rain and a gentle breeze from a relatively high elevation. Said goodbye to the family and headed out around 6:30. Made it to the junction of where the LT/AT go their separate ways around 9:30 and started to head a little more easterly direction than we had previously been hiking. Forecast shows a lot of rain coming in over the next three days and hope that they are wrong. Hiked by Kent Pond which was pretty large and had several loons hanging out near the shore. Stopped by beautiful Thunder Falls. One of largest falls I have seen so far. Today was another mental effort in the relentless up and down of the trail that seems to be a theme of this area of Vermont. Stopped at The Lookout which is a private cabin that allows hikers to stay.  Cabin has no water or facilities but does have a roof which will come in handy tonight with the forecasted weather coming in. The cabin also has a wooden platform in top of the steep roof that has a great 360 view.
Date: 2017-07-13
From: The Lookout

To: Happy Hill shelter 
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: clear sky

Last night after I posted, three young folks should up at the Lookout with their dog. They were local college-age who just wanted a short hike before going back for a night out on the town. They had brought a few beers with them and offered one to me. What a treat after yesterday's hike. One of the guys only lives a few miles away and said he had come to the cabin (Lookout) most of his life with his family. After they left, a steady stream of hikers should up to stay at the Cabin. One older hiker (like me) handed out homemade venison jerky which was great. Last count at the cabin was 8 hikers. It rained most of the night and when we woke, it was raining steadily. I had good cell service and could tell from the radar that the rain was not going to stop until the early afternoon so I decided to pack up and hike in the rain.  I was the first hiker out and most thought I was crazy but when I pulled out my umbrella and attached it to my shoulder harness they gave me the thumbs up and I was on my way. Rained most if the morning but eased up after lunch. There was a creek that had no bridge that required you to cross the creek by foot.  There was no potential for boulder hopping and the creek today was swollen and running fast from the rains from last night and today. Came across ok but shoes and socks are soaked. The rest of the hike was like a lot of Vermont, up and down, but generally the trail was not muddy as the early days were. I ducked into a shelter I passed smelling a fire. When I arrived there was hiker about my age who had all of his belongings strung out all over the shelter and was busily trying to get a fire started. He told me that he had fallen into the creek we passed earlier and everything was soaking wet. There was also another hiker bundled up in his sleeping bag who supposedly was sick so I decided to head out for another location. Ended up hiking until about 6:00 and stopped at the Happy Hill shelter. As the evening progressed, several other hikers had arrived that I had met before. Among them were the couple from England and the other two ladies I met in NY. We were are all heading into Hanover tomorrow so it will be good to hike with some others.
Date: 2017-07-14
From: Happy Hill shelter 

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: light rain

Headed into Hanover, NH and into the 13th state on the trail. It was a short hike and most of the folks staying at the shelter last night were going into resupply and stay at the Sunset Inn like I was planning but unfortunately the Inn was booked solid so I found a room in downtown Hanover ($$). As we walked through a neighboring road to Norwich, NH we found several neighbors all had trail magic by the road so we all enjoyed ourselves as we visited each one. Some had sodas, watermelon, Oreo's and other hiker friendly food. After arriving in Hanover, hikers started going separate ways but mainly to retrieve their mail-drops. Some were at the post office and some were at the local  outfitter.  Everyone was getting their colder weather gear for the hike into the White Mountains and higher elevations. We all converged to Lou's Restaurant where we indulged in large breakfast's, coffee and crazy doughnuts. My choice of doughnut was a maple glaze with real bacon slices in top. Talk about good! From there we walked over to the community center where we washed our clothes and took showers.  Next door was a food co-op so most resupplied there while the laundry was finishing. I talked to my relative Steve who is joining me to hike in the "whites" and fine tune our plans. We all went out for dinner and cold beverages in downtown. I wish all days on the trail were like this.
Date: 2017-07-15
From: Hanover, NH

To: Trapper John shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: clear sky

Had a nice breakfast at the hotel before heading out. The AT walks right through downtown and passes the community center and the food co-op I was in yesterday. Hiking with the England couple (RickTic and Limsik), Pockets and Firefly today. The other couple, Tank and his girlfriend, had friends driving in from Ohio last night to join them hiking through the "Whites". They were going to drive one car up the trail about 100 miles and then return to Hanover to start hiking north so they will be behind us by about a half a day at least. My goal is to get to North Woodstock by Monday where I will get off the trail again and go home for a few days. Good day if hiking and the weather held off which was great. The Vermont mud has followed us into New Hampshire a little but you can tell the mountains are getting taller and steeper. The first big test will be Mt. Moosilauke (on Monday) which is about 3,800 of climbing over a few miles both the north and south sides are very steep. Stopped at Trapper John shelter where we met a SOBO who was from Germany and he told me that he had met Ricola (Swiss hiker) and FD a few days earlier. Those were the young hikers I was hanging out with for several days. All up a good day with a few great views of the mountains in our near future.
Date: 2017-07-16
From: Trapper John shelter

To: Ore Hill campsite 
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Some good climbs up this morning and decided to stay at the fire tower at the top of Smarts Mountain. Passed quite a few SOBO's and met even more at the top of Smarts. We left Pockets at the shelter and still waiting on her at the fire tower. She finally showed after we all left except for firefly who was waiting on her.  Another good climb back up Mt. Cube where I rested for a while and enjoyed drying off from the really nice breeze at the summit. We all left together and made our way down the next hill. Firefly and we're leading the group and stopped to pick up water for camp that night because we had read the water source there was unpredictable. I left Firefly there to wait for the others as I pressed on to Ore Hill campsite. Once at the campsite I went about my normal chores and was waiting on the group to arrive but they never did. They must have gotten tired and stealth camped somewhere. I will miss saying goodbye to them as I plan leaving the trail (for a quick trip home) after Mt. Moosilauke. Nice weather day for hiking and the summit views were great. Hoping the weather is as good when I return to the Whites.
Date: 2017-07-17
To: The Notch Hostel 
Miles today: 16.2

Woke up early and to try to stay ahead of the weather and to give myself plenty of time to get over Mount Moosilauke and to make it down the famously steep descent.  Forded my first river this morning about 9:00 and changed into my creek shoes. The water was only calf deep and refreshing for my feet. The ascent to the summit of Mt. Moosilauke was steep and was just over 3,700 ft of climbing. Crossed several water sources so tried not to carry too much water. The forest seemed to change once above 3,000 ft and the smell of spruce trees once was again all around you. The weather held out and was a beautiful day with a few growing clouds in the distance. The last portion of the trail up to the summit had great long views and the trail many cairns to help aid in staying on the trail. Those are probably a lot more helpful in the winter. The summit was unreal with 360 views including looking NE at where the trail wound take me over the Whites. I had been hearing a lot of stories about the dangers of descending the north side of the mountain and a lot of NOBO's reverse the hike (and slack pack) over Mt. Moosilauke to hike up the steeper part versus descending. Descending is really difficult when the rocks are wet and smooth. I was going to try to stay true and remain going north and keep my pack on! The descent was scary and I took it slow with a few other folks ahead of me. I did slip and fall at the beginning of the descent but was able to make a graceful recovery. The hike down was not as dangerous as I had been lead to believe but you just needed to take your time. Got to Kinsman Notch just ahead of the deadline for the pickup by The Notch Hostel. It was nice to get a shower and get ready to go into town fir some real food and some cold beverages. What a great day to end this section!  Looking forward to coming back in a week to get back in the Whites!
Date: 2017-07-23
From: The Notch Hostel 

To: Liberty Springs Campsite 
Miles today: 19.0

Flew into the Berlin, NH airport yesterday and was picked up by the Notch Hostel where I was brought back to for a night's stay before hiking this morning. Took the shuttle into town at 5 and ate at the Thai restaurant before returning to the Notch.  Great hostel and has been full both nights I have stayed here. Took the early morning shuttle to Kinsman Notch parking lot to resume my hike to Maine. This will be the second to last section will include the Whites, hiking with Steve (relative from Chicago) in the Whites, climbing the Presidential range and Wildcat mountain.  Today's hike passed Mt. Wolf, South and North Kinsman Mountains. Met another day hiker during the shuttle back to Kinsman, who found out I was a pilot as he works for the FAA developing sectional charts for the last 11 years. Very interesting conversation since we see flying charts from two different perspectives. Met a lot of SOBO's and weekend hikers today on the trail.  Stopped in at the Lonesome Lake Hut for bowl of soup and was given an opportunity to to "work for stay" but decided I wanted to continue hiking. There was a lot of folks at the hut also down by the lake. The walk down wasn't too bad but the climb back up to Liberty was tough and my body was saying uncle the steeper the trail became.  The campsite has a full time caretaker who is there to manage the campers and also to collect $10 from each of us to help maintain the camp site . This is the first campsite I payed at but the campsite is worth it.  There are multiple tent platforms for about 10 tents or so. I was think about hiking up to Mt. Liberty which about .5 mike away on a side trail but I just don't have the energy tonight.  Stopped at Liberty Springs Campsite.  When I first arrived, I was the only tent on the large wooden deck by sunset two other hikers arrived to set up there tents. One was J2 who I last hiked with after staying at the Green Mountain Hostel. It's really been great to keep meeting folks on the trail that I have hiked with before. The forecast indicates rain coming in tomorrow morning. I hope its wrong. I have three big mountains to climb in the morning. The Whites so far have been breathtaking  but also challenging.