morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-03
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: few clouds

Today was a wakeup call. It was all up and down all day long. I was beat at the end of the day. It really wasn't that the up-downs were big, it was mainly that they were short and sttep and there were a lot of them. There weren't too many flat areas. Bummer!Southfields was next to nothing.   A convenience store, post office, and a small restaurant. the restaurant was actuallly an old bus stop. cool place and the food well priced. The people in there were Italians. The started rattling stuff off in that language and it sounded a lot like Spanish. Didn't really understand anything they said though I noticed the similarities. I was gonna go to the second shelter, but I was too tired. I was disappointed but I'm glad I stayed in the shelter. It was stone on top of a large boulder set in the middle of a grassy knoll. Great place!Well, time for some shuteye.MelloPeace, out.
Date: 2004-06-04
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: Graymoor Friary
Miles today: 20.5

Today seemed like it took forever. I had quite a few tall climbs today and plenty of overlooks. Great day to hike. Probably upper 60's, lower 70's, mostly clear, a constant wind. I tried to take my time. Great day to hike. I basically hiked all day. Bear Mountain was awesome. Great views. I was talking to a Jewish doctor and he said that usually Bear Mountain literally had people crawling all over it, but today it seemed like the place was closed. I think the road up there was getting worked on. The Jewish doctor, Blue Star, is a surgeon. He does backs and sports injuries. Interesting, he had 4 different offices. I don't see how he keeps up with them all. Beyond me. Didn't see much of the Gray moor. Went to the pavilion and crashed. I was dead tired. that's the first for a while. I can already tell that I'm gonna have a good ol time in the Whites. WWell, time for shuteye.MelloPeace, out.
Date: 2004-06-05
From: Graymoor Friary

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: light rain

Today was interesting with lots of stone walls and the like. Some looked like they could've been a pen a couple of time and maybe a stone house another. There was one stone church by the wayside. Not much there with the roof collapsed in. It seemed like it wanted to rain on us too. couple of times it started to sprinkle, but it would stop. I say just go ahead and pour and get it over with. It finally opened up a bit when I go to the shelter. Good timing. The shelter was nice. It used to be a house converted to a shelter. Really close to a road, but the area seemed alright. Got some trailmagic there too. Beer and other goodies. Opted out of the beer for Snapple and got a few candies. It was great. Well, time to hit the sack.MelloPeace, out.
Date: 2004-06-06
From: RPH Shelter

To: Telephone Pioneer Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: light rain

Nice, easy day. Got in by 2pm and relaxed. It's not that we didn't have many climbs, its just you got up to elevation and stayed there. Well, got up early and hiked 5 miles to a deli. Pigged out on 2 large breakfast rolls, 3 cream filled doughnust, a coffee and gatorade. Just about didn't get moving again. Felt soooo stuffed.   Threatened rain all day so I got moving and kept on moving. Saw a lot of stone walls again. It's pretty cool seeing all this stuff. I get imaginative about waht used to be there. this is kinda' what I think about during the day while I hike. Sometimes I get to where I'm not really looking at the trail, but kinda off in dreamland thinking about all sorts of stuff. Kinda cool sometimes. I look down at my watch and later on I look down and it's 2 hrs later. It's great. Time flies and so go the miles. Well, time for shuteye and an early rise. 21 miles to go tomorrow.MelloPeace, out.
Date: 2004-06-07
From: Telephone Pioneer Shelter

To: Kent Ct.
Miles today: 21.7

   I burned it up today, going over all these hills and stuff. Got there by 3:00 PM. I just about killed myself doing it. It seems when I do this sort of stuff, I don't remember the day too much. Maybe it's because I'm staring at the ground to make sure I don't go head over heel falling on the rocks. I hate it when I do that but I can't help it sometimes.   Kent is a nice but expensive tourist type town, that gets a lot of people from New York City. Quite a few very expensive B&B's. $100.oo plus per night and no other accommandations. Man o' it was great. At the end of the day I walked back to the shelter .3 miles off the road. No bed for me tonight.   Time to get some shuteyeMello   Peace, Out
Date: 2004-06-08
From: Kent, Ct.

To: Silver Hill Campsite
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up and went back into Kent for breakfast, and found my wingfoot book. Decided to do only 10miles to the campsite instead of the 17 to the second shelter. All these hills are wearing me out. It's never very long before I'm huffing and puffing, I have forgotten how tiring it could be to do several up-downs in one day. Had a long flat section along the Housatonic River. That was nice.Red Beard finally caught up. He came in late to the campsite. Mousetrap, Walk-on, and First Light were there also. We justsat there listening to music from a speaker that hooks up to a MP3 player. Pretty cool listening to Cash and Jr, way out in the woods.Well time to hit the sack.Mello Peace Out
Date: 2004-06-09
From: Silver Hill Campsite

To: Limestone Spring Shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: broken clouds

Got up late and got out late and couldn't get going good. Also a blazing hot day. The estimate was in the 90's. Had a lot of short climbs but of course they were steep and rocky or rocky and steep. Which one sounds better? I don't know and don't care because I'm exhausted and thinking about a zero. Just about the whole day was miserable. Just couldn't get going good. I had one bright spot today. Stopped at a swimming hole to cool down. Great place. HHad about a 40ft. rock leap. It was great but a back buster hurts really bad at that height and went to do a cannonball and turned a little too much. I was hurting the last 4 miles to the shelter. That swim made the day all worth while. Came at just the right time too. Gonna go into Salisbury for breakfast tomorrow and I'll decide then if I'll zero. Well, Time for some shuteye. I'm gonna need it.Mello,Peace Out
Date: 2004-06-10
From: Limestone Spring Shelter

To: Hemlocks Lean-to
Miles today: 17.5

I'm feeling good today and trucking right along. Got into Salisbury bright and early and ate breakfast. Actually, it was overcast all day threatening rain. Other than that it was a great day. Walked along an open cliff ledge for half a mile. Great views. Went real slow that half mile and stopped to sit a couple of times. Saw a couple of waterfalls down in Sages Ravine. Pretty cool and that's also where I put Connecticut behind me. Yet another state slated to my name. Haha! Only 4 more states to go! Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and last but not least, Maine. The finish line will soon be in sight or yet another beginning. Who knows? This is great!We hit 2000 feet again for the first time in a while to Mount Everett. Somewhere around 2600 feet. Felt good to be that far up again with higher peaks to come. Mount Greylock will be our first 3000 feet at the end of Massachusetts in a couple of days. I can feel the excitement already. I'm gonna stay at teh hostel up there on the 14th of June. That'll only be 10.7 miles to Vermont. Whoo-Hoo!! That will make it only 2 more states after that. Well it's about time for some shuteye. I'm in the shelter with Red Beard, First Light, Mousetrap, Dave, and Red Dog. Good crew.Well, time for shuteye.Mello,Peace Out
Date: 2004-06-11
From: Hemlocks Lean-to

To: East Mountain Retreat Center Hostel
Miles today: 16.4

This was one of those "get 'em done" days. I didn't stop much but when I did I enjoyed it. Layed out on a rock in the sun for a while and sat at Tom Leornard Lean-to for a bit also. Even though I walked most of the time, I really enjoyed it because I took it slow except for when I was outrunning the mosquitos. In one little valley it seemed like they could've picked me up and toted me off for how many there were. I started running a couple of times to get away from them for a minute or two. That waasn't fun. I also ran out of deet., my bug repellant. Tomorrow is going to be fun without it depending on how many mosquitos there are. I was sure glad to get indoors at that hosted and away from the 'skeeters'. Haha, can't get me now. The hostel is nice...bed, shower, laundry, short stint ont he telephone...Worth it. Ordered an 18" Sicilian-style squre, thick crust pepperoni pizza and boy was it good. Mmmmm,Mmmmm. Didn't eat it all but left enough of it for breakfast. That'll be good. Need to get some Deet in Dalton.Mello, Peace Out
Date: 2004-06-12
From: East Mountain Retreat Center Hostel

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

Took it really slow today. Stopped a bunch of times when the mosquitos allowed and just enjoyed myself. Can't beat being out in the woods. Stopped at a lake, overlook, road and a couple of logs and finished about 6:30pm. Just enjoyed myself. The cabin was nice, very homey. Would've been a good place to hang out at for a couple fo days. It was basically a 2 story cabin with the bunk room up top and a sitting room downstairs kitchen too. They also let us use a canoe for a little spin on the lake. I induged int hat a little before sunset. It was a great, beautiful sunset. I also saw a bald eagle. Flew right over me while I was cruising along. First time I had ever seen one in the wild...chance of a lifetime. So cool. Well here at the cabin with First Light, Red Beard, Walk On, Red Dog, Rambler and a few more. Biggest group in a while. Well time to hit the sack.Mello, Peace Out
Date: 2004-06-13
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, Massechusetts
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

Today went by fast. Maybe it was the mostly flast terrain and armies of mosquitos. That must've been it. Went by the "Cookie Ladies" house and got me some cookies and water. Decided to stop for lunch too. So I took about a 1 1/2 hour break. Help the people there move some stuff and just talked for a while. Got into town and saw that First Light and Rambler had already found Tom Levardi's place. Gonna camp out on his porch since it might rain. The best thing though is that he took us to a Chinese buffet. AYCE! It was great! Had somewhere around 4 plates of food with ice cream and another bowl of vanilla pudding. Stuffed myself really fat and I felt great. Nothing better than stuffing myself completely full...all the way to the top. Good man, Tom Levardi.Well, now that I'm full and sleepy, I'll hit the sack.Mello,Peace Out.
Date: 2004-06-14
From: Dalton, Massechusetts

To: Bascom Lodge on Mt. Greylock
Miles today: 17.0

Got up early this morning to see if I could catch a bus to Lee, Massechusetts and pick up my maildrop. Got to the place where I could get some info on bus routes only to find out that it was gonna be complex. Walk to this street, take the bus to this town, walk to another street and catch another bus and finally Lee, Massecusetts. Coming back would be about the same so I decided to forgo getting my mail drop and forward it to somewhere else. Then I sat downt o a big breakfast of 3 pieces of french toast, 3 scrambled eggs, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 pieces of toast, and 4 cups of coffee. Been a while since I had french toast and it was good too. I then decided to forgo carrying my pack up to Mt. Grelock. I ran into a guy at the Shell station in town and he offered to slack me up there. So you know me, couldn't let an opportunity go to waste. I jumped all over it and got on the trail. Really enjoyed myself. Since I was moving fast enough, I stopped several times for a break. I'm afraid there weren't any overlooks but just sitting on a rock in a quiet forest is just as good to me. Bascom Lodge was a cool place. Kinda rustic with a good overlook on top. Had to sleep in the Garage though but that was fine with me. I got a shower and didn't have to listen to all the people at some retirement party. I think it lasted till about 10am. Got some cake too which was really good. Great place to stay. Well, time to sack up.Mello.Peace, Out.
Date: 2004-06-17
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Manchester Center, Vermont
Miles today: 25.8
Weather: light rain

Since I got behind on journaling. i decided to throw 3 days into one. I went from Bascom Lodge to Seth Warner Shelter which was 13.2 miles on 6/15/2004. I went from Seth Warner Shelter to Kid Gore Shelter which was 25.9 miles on 6/16/2004. Went from Kid Gore Shelter to Manchester Center, Vermont which was 25.8 miles on 6/17/2004. All the days had good hiking weather. No wet day and no blazing hot ones either. Also nothing very memorable because I was going too fast. One thing I do remember is that I had some big climbs during this time. Didn't feel very good to do two 25 milers in a row but I was ready to get into town. I believe I'll take a zero also. need a little R and R. I hadn't taken one since Harpers Ferry and that's over 600 miles ago. It'll be good to just mosey around town a bit and maybe watch a movie. Who knows? Well time for some sleep. Kinda need the rest.MelloPeace, Out.
Date: 2004-06-18
From: Manchester Center Vt.

To: Manchester Center Vt.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Stayed at Suttons Place last night and I'm gonna take a zero and stay again tonight. Finally got to wash clothes, it's been about a week. They were smelling bad. Rank! Got my maildrop and looked throug the two outfitters in town. I also stopped at a big bookstore for a read, and went to a movie later. short and sweet.Mello Peace, Out
Date: 2004-06-19
From: Manchester Center Vt.

To: Big Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: clear sky

Getting out of town today. Got a real bad itch for some wilderness when I got up this morning. So I ate my doughnuts and got out the door. Just about the time I stepped foot on the street a guy stops and asks if I or anybody else needed a ride. So I offered my thanks and ran inside to ask if anybody else was ready to go. Bone Dancer and Mousetrap bolted for their packs. Within 5 minutes we were all headed down the street to the trail. Well thank the Lord for that ride, easiest hitch I ever had. Well got to the trail and offered my thanks again and I was off again into the big green younder. Had agreat view from Baker Peak. At 2,850 feet I could see aways. The Adirondachs in New York state, the Tuetonics ahd a few other mountian ranges. Pretty Cool. When I come upon a place like that it gets me even more siked up for the White Mountians. Above the treeline with lots and lots of expansive views. It's gonna be great! Only 133 more miles, Excited, Excited!!! I'm realy looking forward to it.   Well time for some sleep.Mello,   Peace Out
Date: 2004-06-20
From: Big Branch Shelter

To: Claredon Shelter
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: few clouds

It was a bit cold when I awoke this morning, first time in a while. Talked to a guy a little later in the morning and he said it was 35F in the valley. Its must have been a few degrees cooler at 1500 ft. When I got up I got moving as fast as I could. Yet it still took all day to do only 16.9 miles. Stopped here, stopped there, read a register at this shelter and that. I just took a lot of breaks. Had two good overlooks today Both were of the same valley but I still stopped both times. There were a couple of good brooks and one river gorge with an old suspension bridge. Just about fell off th ebridge because there was so much sway to it. Scary!   I'm with Bone Dancer, Mousetrap and two grils doing the Long Trail. Bone Dancer is picking at his banjo, pretty cool having a bango player out here.   Well time for some sleep.Mello   Peace, Out
Date: 2004-06-21
From: Clarendon Shelter

To: The Inn at Long Trail/US4
Miles today: 16.4

Lazy day today. Some good views, too. Relaxing day. Relatively chilly this morning at about 40F. This is crazy. It's late June and we're still hitting the 40's. The wind made it a bit more chilly, too. Mount Killington was the main destination today. A peak of about 4,235 ft with an excellent view. I could even see the White Mountains. Excellent day for the views. Met Back Up with Red Dog today going up Killingston. We got ahead tryingt to get to a good place for where his buddies could hike with him. It was great having 10 Deep South boys in the same place so far into Yankee land. Mousetrap, Bonedancer, Rocky, Fozzy, Hoss, Moe, Red Dog, Two Dogs humping on Gorp,Moose Rack; the last three were Red Dog's buds, Funny Fellas.The Inn and the Pub were pretty coool. The Inn was established in 1938, Good old place. Good food at the Pub. Good company. Played a game darts with Bonedancer. Watched some soccer and baseball. That was a first in a while. Just good fun time. Well, time for some sleep.MelloPeace, out.
Date: 2004-06-22
From: The Inn at Long trail on US4

To: Winnturi Shelter
Miles today: 19.9

Rained all day. First in a while. Only good thing today was the big breakfast I had at the Inn. Other than that, it was one climb after another.   It was chilly even while walking. Not exactly miserable, but close to it. Not much to write except that I GOT WET!I;m starting to realize that the forest is starting to have a whole lot more coniferous trees now. When we get even a little up in elevation, it might turn into all coniferous forest, especially on the north and west side of the moutain. Pretty cool.Well time to hit the sackMelloPeace, Out.
Date: 2004-06-23
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a complete contrast to yesterday. Blue Skies with a bright sun and a breeze most of the day. Lots of hills though, but quite a few vies to counteract the hills. I don't mind doing hills as long as there is a view at the top. there were also a lot of fields with lots of flowers and clovers. A lot of the fields were on top of the hills. Made for some expansive views. Sot me a little sun, too. Ususally, we are under the forest canopy, so it was a nice change.   The fields were pretty cool. Sometime the grass was almost above my head. It would've been funny having LAUREN VINCENT out there. You wouldn't see her but you would see the grass swaying from her walking through it.No offense to Lauren but when I noticed that even I almost couldn't see over the grass, the thought popped into my head. It did make me laugh, too, sorry. (Mom interjects that perhaps I could've lifted her up so she could see, too. :-)   What a goood day after a rainy one.Time to hit the sack.MelloPeace, out.
Date: 2004-06-24
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Moose Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: clear sky

Nice day to hike. 70's, Clear w/ a breeze. Also going into town and another state. Here I come New Hampshire and goodbye Vermont. Nothing personal but it was time to move on. One more to go after NH. Hanover, the home of Dartmouth College. Very prestigous school. Very nice campus. Havover is a great town ,too. Definitely a college town. That was easy to tell. Got me a shower and food and kept on going. Had anohter 10 miles to go so there wasn't much time to waste. Good day to hike. Well, "Cheerio" as Moonpie would say.MelloPeace, Out.
Date: 2004-06-25
From: Moose Mtn. Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I have 3 big climbs today. All of them 1,000 ft plus. One up to Holts Ledge, two up to Lamberts Ridge, and three up to Smarts Mtn. Had quite a few overlooks. Stopped at Lamberts Ridge on some outcroppings of rocks and ate lunch. Great view from there.Wasn't tired at the end of the day as I originally thought I would be. Felt like I could keep on going but opted out for laziness. Just too far, too late. The shelter was cool. Same shape as the name. Big and roomy. Could've fit at least 24 hikers in there. Shackin' up w/ Wounded Knee and Scheemer. They are doing the trail from Manchester Center, VT to Katahdin. Wounded Knee of course wounded his knee last year and had to sit it out to heal up. Now he's back out and going slower than ever. Scheemer did the trail last year so he'd out w/ Wounded Knee for more thrills.Well time for some sleep,MelloPeace, OUT.
Date: 2004-06-26
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Glencliff, NH and the Hikers Welcom Hostel
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

A little dard and a little bit of a sprinkly day. Nothing rough though. Just rolling hills. Took a couple of pics from Mt. Cube of the fog down below w/ other peaks sticking up above it all. Cant beat it. I also got my first view of Mt. Moosilauke from Mt. Mist w/ a pond down below. Made for some good pics. I would've taken one of a sign that read "Beware of Tourists" but I was out of film. I always thought they should be "Don't feed the Thru-Hikers." Then we would get fed all the time b/c you know you can't follow the signs. Gotta do exactly the opposite. Well, got to the hostel and finally washed my clothes after about a week. What a stench and the dirtiest water i've ever seen. I need to send them home when I'm finished, unwashed, as a bit of a "gag" on my mom. Shower felt good and it was time to fill my stomach. Ate a whole 16 inch pizza at the Garlic Clove Restaurant. Excellent pizza. Then agin, anything will taste good when you've been eating the same stuff for several days in a row. Watched some movies and lazed around the rest of the day. Pure bliss. Sleepy time, MelloPeace, Out
Date: 2004-06-27
From: Glencliff, NH and the Hikers Welcom Hostel

To: Eliza Brooks Shelter
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Not a bad day considering that I had a 3,000 plus ft climb. Sun was out and the temp was probably in the lower 70's. At least that was in the lower elevations. On top of Moosilauke, it was a different story. At 4,802 ft, It was a bit cooler than lower 70's, and add a 30 or so mph wind and it takes it even lower. So here I am, shorts and t-shirt, waiting for somebody to get up there so I can get a pic by the sign. It was freezing but not as bad as the day on Max Patch. Wasn't pleasant but that was tempered by the view. All the craggy peaks off in the distance. Wonderful! Moved on to get into the shelter only to find it full. First time in a long, long time. So I get to try out my new experiment. Take my 8'x10' tarp and turn it into a tent. Eventually got it there but had a few onlookers sounding like some laughing hyenas somewhere. It worked though. Rained a bit that night and didn't get wet. That was a relief. I would've been quite miserable if I had. Well time to hit the sack, MelloPeace, Out.
Date: 2004-06-28
From: Eliza Brooks Shelter

To: Liberty Spring Campsite
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Going into North woodstock today but only for a quick in and out. Wounded Knee and Scheemer already have a ride waiting for them at the parking lot and are gonna run me around town a bit. Got some new shoes in town, New Balance 905's. My Sundowners were coming apart at the sole so I'm sending them home to be repaired. So out w/ the boot and in w/ the trailrunner. Got to set my tarp up again and this time on a wooden platform. A little more tricky than on the ground but I got it to stand up. Just hope a breeze doesn't come by and blow it down. Seems to be holding up pretty good. Well time to hit the sack.Mello Peace, Out.
Date: 2004-06-29
From: Liberty Spring Campsite

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 17.4

Woke up this morning to rain. Left my shirt and shorts out to dry, but they got wet. It wasn't supposed to rain. AHHHH! My socks were dry and so were my shoes, so that's good. Made it bearable.Did Fanconia Ridge today with Mount Lafayette and Mt. Clinton and a few others. All above the treeline. Would've been continuous views except for the clouds. Had a few breaks to get some pics along the ridgeline. Just great. Got up on Mt. Garfield later in the day for a spectacular, crystal clear view of the ridgeline and beyond. Just Beautiful!Washed a few dishes and that was all then time for bed.Gonna try to get out early.Peace, outMello