morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-12
From: Seth Warner Shelter, VT

To: Day 95: VT 9 at Bennington, VT
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: broken clouds

On AT Day 95 I got up at 4:15 a.m. and hit the trail at 6:15 a.m. with an initial goal of completing the 11.5 miles to the intersection with VT 9 by 1:00 p.m. so that I could eat lunch with my wife, Hot Chocolate. The reason for this unusual plan was that since our trailer was now parked a mere three miles up the highway at the Greenwood Lodge and Campground, it would be very easy for her to join me at the trailhead with cold soft drinks and other goodies so we could have a real picnic. After lunch the plan was to hike an additional 1.6 miles to the Melville Nauheim Shelter, but in the end this plan seemed ridiculous and I instead opted to drive into Bennington with my wife and Dharma where we could eat a ¢real¢ lunch at Burger King, help Dharma finish his shopping and then return him to the trailhead while Hot Chocolate and I went on to our trailer for a ¢home-cooked¢ dinner and a good night¢s rest in a real bed followed by a real breakfast before returning to the trail.The day¢s hike began under overcast skies and temperatures in the mid-60¢s, but by the time I reached VT 9 the sun was out under partly cloudy conditions and the temperature had risen to the mid-70¢s ¢ all in all a very nice day. The trail surface, however, continued to be very muddy in places due both rain and beaver activity and my boots were once again soaked. The final, and rather surprising challenge of the hike, was the extreme steepness of the large boulder steps leading the final 500 feet down to VT 9. Descents like this are always a painful and somewhat dangerous challenge for my short legs and aging knees. Furthermore, although I¢m sure I must have begun with a considerable lead on Dharma, at more than 6-feet in height his long legs allowed him to easily catch up to me by the time we reached the highway ¢ of course he was also motivated by the convenience of the promised ride into and back from Bennington.
Date: 2004-07-13
From: VT 9 at Bennington, VT

To: Day 96: Caughnawaga Shelter, VT
Miles today: 14.4

On AT Day 96 I got up at 4:30 a.m., had a hearty breakfast with Hot Chocolate and then we drove to the trailhead where I was able to start my hike by 6:30 a.m. My original plan had been to hike to the Story Spring Shelter, but with the additional 1.6 miles I needed to tack on because of my early finish the day before this trek now seemed unnecessarily long so I instead opted for a relatively easy 14.4-mile hike to the campsites at the Caughnawaga Shelter. This decision was also influenced by the poor weather, as the day began in the mid-50¢s and thick mist and soon deteriorated into a light drizzle for the rest of the day.When I reached the Melville Nauheim Shelter it was still early morning so I was not surprised that I met a group of five mid-20¢s male NOBO LT through hikers who were still packing up to leave. Dharma, however, had left at least a half hour earlier, so I signed the register and pushed on. Again not as any surprise, all of these young LT hikers passed me within the next couple of hours, but I caught up to them again at the Goddard Shelter where we all stopped to eat lunch. This shelter is near the 3,748-foot summit of Gastenbury Mountain, and as such it was a relief to find some shielding from the blowing mist and drizzling rain while I ate my peanut butter and bagel. From the shelter, the trail goes another quarter mile to the summit where there is an observation deck fire tower, but since I could barely see the tower I decided it was pointless to go up for a view of the surrounding panorama.I reached the Caughnawaga Shelter by 2:30 p.m. and immediately began to look for the promised campsites since the rain was now increasing in its intensity and I did not want a repeat of the experience I had at the Shaker Campsite. Despite the fact that the guidebooks said there were established campsites near the shelter, all I could find were a few rocky clearings. In the end, I chose a spot on the top of a small hill that barely had enough flat ground for half my tent, but this was OK since it didn¢t matter to me if the gear I stowed in my tent was on a level surface as long as I could find enough space for my sleeping bag. After an early dinner, I read my guidebooks and studied my maps for a couple of hours before I was able to go to sleep ¢ next time out I vowed to bring along a novel to pass the long hours in my tent.Talk about things that go bump in the night! Camping all alone in the wilderness, especially when I¢ve been lazy and not gone to the effort to hang my food from a tree limb, always makes me attentive, but I¢m convinced that anyone would have been awakened by the rather noisy arrival of two hikers who showed up at 2:30 a.m. to set up camp in the 1930 vintage shelter. Why these guys were out hiking on the moonless, starless, overcast night will always be a mystery to me. I¢m sure they had no idea I was camped some 20 yards away, so I made no effort to quiet them down. Besides, by going to bed around 6:00 p.m. I knew I was going to get plenty of sleep even with their discourteous interruption.
Date: 2004-07-14
From: Caughnawaga Shelter, VT

To: Day 97: Stratton Pond North Tenting Area, VT
Miles today: 15.2

On AT Day 97 I got up at 4:45 a.m. and hit the trail around 7:00 a.m. under overcast skies, with drizzle rain and mist and temperatures in the mid 50¢s. After about 5 miles, I stopped at the Story Spring Shelter for my morning Power Bar snack where I met a young (20 at most) male SOBO AT through hiker named Miracle Man who started in Maine on May 1. I then set off to begin the 1,700-foot climb to the summit of Stratton Mountain where I planned to eat lunch.This simple plan, however, was rather pleasantly interrupted by the discovery of a trailside cooler filled with soft drinks, cookies and Snickers bars just before I got to Kelly Stand Road at the base of Stratton Mountain. Naturally, I once again consumed my fair share of these goodies. Shortly thereafter, near the beginning of my long and surprisingly gentle climb up the mountain, I ran into the husband-wife GMC caretakers, who live at the summit, as they were doing some trail maintenance. The way they brought up the existence of the wonderful refreshments across the road made me think they might have been the source of this trail magic.When I got to the summit of Stratton Mountain at 3,936 feet, the mist was blowing fairly strong, so much so that I decided to skip lunch in favor of a Power Bar on the run as I hustled down to less vigorous weather. I also passed up the opportunity to climb the observation tower as I was convinced that with the mist I wouldn¢t be able to see anything anyway.At about 1,400 feet below the summit I came to Stratton Pond and the half-mile trail to the GMC-monitored North Shore Tenting area, where I tried to pay the $6 maintenance fee, but the caretaker was nowhere to be found. When I got to the designated campsites around 4:00 p.m. I quickly set up my tent on one of the platforms since the weather was once again starting to turn ugly and the mosquitoes were teaming up for their dinner feast. I made dinner and once again read my guidebooks and maps as a prelude to falling asleep. The latter effort was interrupted only briefly by the arrival of a young married couple setting up their tent on one of the other platforms.
Date: 2004-07-15
From: Stratton Pond North Shore Tenting Area, VT

To: Day 98: VT & 30 at Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: light rain

On AT Day 98 I got up at 4:00 a.m., left camp at 6:00 a.m. and hit the trail just before 6:20 a.m. I never saw the GMC caretaker, so I never paid my $6 fee. As I was preparing to leave my campsite, the husband who arrived the night before came over to chat. It seems that he and his wife had been section hiking the AT SOBO for several years and he was anxious to provide some insights on what I would encounter as I went north to finish my through hike. However, when he told me that the rocky climbs in the fabled White Mountains of NH were not as difficult as I was lead to believe, I pointed out that since he was 6¢2¢¢ and perhaps 35, whereas I was 5¢4¢¢ and 60, I was yet to be convinced. Nonetheless, I hope he¢s right¢¦Although it had rained all night, the precipitation Gods were kind and provided a brief respite just long enough for me to pack up in the morning. Unfortunately, before I completed my retrace of the half-mile Blue Blazed trail, the rain began again ¢ this time much harder than the day before. Given that the trail was already a muddy quagmire in many places, the heavy rain generated ¢trail streams¢ and swollen creeks to ford ¢ so much so that I completely gave up on trying to keep my boots dry and simply resorted to slogging along no matter how deep the water and sloppy mud appeared to be ¢ clearly a much faster and perhaps safer way to cover this wet terrain.The trail was in fact relatively flat, but it was still extremely slippery in places and I fell twice despite the fact that I was trying to be hyper-attentive. Along the way, I ran into a half dozen or so SOBO section and day hikers, all of whom I warned about the mud, but none of whom seemed to be concerned. It¢s apparent that New Englanders are quite used to slogging through mud, they even label this portion of the year (as well as Spring) as the mud season.When I finished my comparatively short 10.5-mile hike to the AT/LT intersection with VT 11/30 around noon, my wife was nowhere to be seen so I sat down to wait for the planned pick-up. While waiting I had a brief chat with 50-ish male hiker, Ishmael, from Wisconsin who was doing SOBO section hikes as he supported his wife, Coyote, on her NOBO AT through hike. Hot Chocolate arrived about 30 minutes later, explaining that she had been delayed by giving a ride to Dharma and another hiker earlier that day in Manchester Center, VT. She and I then drove to a Burger King for lunch and then back to our trailer near Bennington, VT where I planned to watch the Tour de France for the next couple of days while I restocked for my next hike. Watching those guys blast along at 20-50 mph up and down hills for a hundred miles a day can even make an AT through hiker feel guilty ¢ and inspired.
Date: 2004-07-18
From: VT 11 & 30 at Manchester Center, VT

To: Day 99: Big Branch Shelter, VT
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: thunderstorm

On AT Day 99 I got up at 4:00 a.m., had breakfast with Hot Chocolate and hit the trail by 6:45.m. The day started out clear and beautiful with temperatures in the mid-60¢s, but it soon clouded up and we got light rain by 4:00 p.m. The day also began with three significant climbs to the summits of Bromley Mountain (3,260 feet), Styles Peak (3,200 feet) and Peru Peak (3,429 feet), but with the possible exception of the first (a 1,400 foot climb) none of them proved to be all that difficult. Of these three peaks, the Bromley summit clearly had the best views with its observation tower next to the ski lift station and summit hut. I also met three AT NOBO through hikers (Sierra, Hawkeye and Mockingbird) at the Bromley summit where they had spent the night and told me they had enjoyed a spectacular sunrise ¢ I¢m sorry I missed it...Climbing Bromley I also met three AT SOBO section hikers. One of these guys, Mule Skinner, was a 50-60 year old male from Inglewood, FL, who knew my hometown of Cross Creek, FL quite well. I took my morning Power Bar snack break at the Styles Peak summit and ate lunch at the Peru Shelter, along with Hawkeye, Mockingbird and a 50-ish male NOBO AT section hiker, Jake Brake. Later on I was treated to the much shorter, but steeper climb to the summit of Baxter Peak (2,850 feet). What made it particularly memorable was the slippery scramble up the long series of glacier scored rocks, and the number of section and day hikers ¢ including a group of perhaps a dozen teenage girls ¢ going the other way¢¦I got to the Lost Pond Shelter a little after 4:00 p.m. where I had my afternoon Power Bar snack and just as I was leaving I ran into Hawkeye who earnestly warned me of the fast approaching thunderstorms. Not wanting to stop my hike early, I broke into an easy jog for the last couple of miles across the relatively level terrain to the Big Branch Shelter and a total day¢s hike of 16.2 miles. I was amazed by how fast I covered the final mile and a half and I was able to get to the shelter and set up my tent before the rain got going around 5:00 p.m. In fact the rain stopped shortly thereafter and held off starting again until I finished dinner and settled down for the night.As I was completing my meal, Hawkeye and Mockingbird showed up to make their own dinner before they pushed on to the next shelter. A young male SOBO AT through hiker, Deaf Balance, then came in to make dinner and spend the night in the shelter. As before, I took this opportunity to chat with Deaf Balance about the trail conditions in NH and ME. He assured me that I should have no problem, although he did admit that he had fallen many times (hence the second half of his trail name). I then cleaned up my dinnerware and went to my tent to read my novel and get a solid night¢s sleep listening to the steady patter of rain on the rain fly.
Date: 2004-07-19
From: Big Branch Shelter, VT

To: Day 100: Clarendon Shelter, VT
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: light rain

On AT Day 100 I got up at 4:00 a.m. and was once again blessed by the rain Gods who stopped the precipitation just long enough for me to pack up and hit the trail by 6:15 a.m. The rain and mist continued for the rest of the day and as expected I had to deal with lots of mud, swollen creeks and slick rocks, roots and puncheons. The latter became a real problem as I had to deal with the extremely steep trail down to the Clarendon Gorge ¢ I fell three times despite being very attentive.The first treat of the day was seeing the lovely Little Rock Pond at the two mile point, followed by the gentle ascent up White Rocks Mountain and the amazing white rock cairn ¢farm¢ at the 6.5 mile point, where I stopped for my morning Power Bar snack. From then on I met lots of SOBO AT through, section and day hikers ¢ clearly this is a popular portion of the trail. After I survived the steep descent to the Clarendon Gorge, I was pleased to see the lovely suspension bridge erected to allow hikers to cross this rocky water barrier.I completed the 16.7 miles to the Clarendon Shelter around 5:00 p.m. and immediately began to set up my tent in a light rain. This was a huge shelter, so I used it for protection and comfort as I made dinner and transferred my gear from my pack to my tent. As I was finishing dinner, a couple of SOBO AT section hikers showed up to spend the night in the shelter; however, realizing that tomorrow¢s hike was going to be particularly tough, I wasted little time getting into my tent to read and rest up.
Date: 2004-07-20
From: Clarendon Shelter, VT

To: Day 101: US 4 at Killington, VT
Miles today: 16.4

On AT Day 101 I got up at 4:00 a.m. and hit the trail by 6:15 a.m. and, as has been the pattern for the past several days, I was able to pack up my tent under relatively good weather, but soon thereafter I was subjected to a serious rain storm that continued on and off until around 11:00 a.m. when the skies cleared to partly cloudy conditions.The first climb to the summit of Beacon Hill was only about 600 feet, but it was extremely steep and slippery in the steady rain. My boots and socks were soaked once again. I ate my morning Power Bar snack at the huge Governor Clement Shelter, followed by lunch on the tent platforms near the summit of Mount Killington (3,850 feet) and my afternoon Power Bar snack at the junction with the Sherburne Pass Trail. I shared my lunch break with two NOBO AT through hikers from NH who told me that living in New England meant they were very used to hiking in the mud. The 2,500-foot climb to the Mount Killington¢s summit and the Cooper Lodge was not all that steep, but I was still slowed by the exceptionally muddy, ¢rooty,¢ and slippery conditions. In contrast, the descent from Mount Killington was surprisingly gentle, but since it was still quite muddy I was surprised by the large number of SOBO day hikers who were clearly not at all deterred by the wet and messy terrain.As expected, I was quite tired at 4:45 p.m. when I completed the 16.4 miles to the junction of the AT/LT with US 4 near Killington, VT where I was scheduled to be picked up by Hot Chocolate and transported to our new campsite near the VT/NH border at Rest N Nest in Thetford, VT. The need to pack up and move our trailer to the new site, however, took longer than expected and my wife didn¢t make it to the pick up spot until around 6:15 p.m.I put this delay to good use by changing out of my muddy boots and wet socks and putting on dry clothes so we could go to dinner ASAP and return to our trailer and our satellite TV where I could watch Lance Armstrong power his way to another Tour de France victory. My desire to watch the conclusion of this heroic bike race, coupled with my need to bring this journal back up to date after a two-week hiatus to replace our crashed computer, plus my interest in spending more time with Hot Chocolate, prompted me to plan for three days off before I returned to the trail for a concerted push to Baxter Peak on Mount Katahdin in Maine. I¢m sure glad I have as much time as I want to finish this exciting hike. Who knows, we may still be able to see the fall colors before we leave New England.
Date: 2004-07-23
From: US 4 near Killington, VT

To: Seg 24: Dartmouth College, NH
Miles today: 0.0

AT Segment 24: July 25-27, 2004Starting point = US 4 near Killington, VTEnding point = Dartmouth College, Hanover, NHTotal miles for segment = 45.4 (3 days @ 15.1 miles/day)Total miles to date = 1,737.3 (104 days @ 16.7 miles/day) The highlights for this AT hiking segment were reaching the ¢Maine Junction¢ where the AT and LT split, the crossing of the border from VT to NH, a reduction in the mud and flooding caused by rain and beaver activity, and the rigorous hill climbing caused by the generally west to east travel. With the exception of continued problem of painful stone bruises on the balls of both feet, I am still hiking injury free. The near daily drizzly rain of New England continues to keep the temperatures down (its actually cold in the morning!), a dramatic and welcomed change from what I would be experiencing back in my home state of Florida.
Date: 2004-07-23
From: US 4 at Killington, VT

To: Day 102: Wintturi Shelter, VT
Miles today: 19.3

On AT Day 102 Hot Chocolate and I got up at 4:00 a.m., ate a hearty breakfast and left the trailer at 6:00 a.m., and then drove from Rest N Nest Campground near Thetford, VT to the AT trailhead at US 4 near Killington, VT in time for me to start my hike by 7:40 a.m. The day began with the temperature in the low 60¢s under partly cloudy skies and only warmed a few degrees by mid-afternoon.After barely a mile I came to the ¢Maine Junction,¢ where the LT continues northward for 165 miles to Canada and the AT turns nearly due east toward NH¢s famed White Mountains. With this change in direction the trail also no longer follows North-South ridges, but instead engages in a series of rather rigorous crossings of mountain ridges requiring multiple climbs and descents in the 500- to 1,300-foot range. Fortunate for me, the three days of rest I had just finished (to watch the Tour de France on our satellite TV) gave me plenty of energy so I had little problem with this challenging terrain. In fact, I felt so good that I decided to pass up my original stopping point at Lakota Lake Lookout and press on to the Wintturi Shelter at 19.3 miles. The fact that the trail was also a lot less muddy than last week was also a pleasant surprise.Although I am almost always completely alone while I am hiking, along the way on this day I met four groups of SOBO AT through hikers and in each case we had a pleasant exchange often including advice on what to expect up ahead. Breaking up the day, I ate my morning snack on the banks of Kent Pond (what we would call back home a lake), lunch at the Stony Brook Shelter (where this brook has a lovely waterfall as its junction with the AT), and my afternoon snack at the Lakota Lake Lookout ¢ all lovely spots.By early evening (7:15 p.m.) I made it to the Wintturi Shelter whereupon I immediately set up my tent, filtered water from a near-by stream and then made dinner so I could get to bed ASAP. Unfortunately, since the shelter and several of the surrounding campsites were occupied by some rather noisy hikers, and since I was still pretty wound up, and my feet hurt (stone bruises), I was not able to go to sleep right away ¢ lucky for me I had brought along my ¢Code to Zero¢ novel by Ken Follett.
Date: 2004-07-24
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: Day 103: Thistle Hill Shelter, VT
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

On AT Day 103 I drug myself out of bed at 4:15 a.m. and struggled to hit the trail around 6:15 a.m. Going 19.3 miles instead of around 15 on the day before had a mixed effect; I seemed to be exceptionally tired (sleepy too), but then again I only had 11.5 miles to get to the Thistle Hill Shelter, instead of 15.8. When I first left my campsite I still had illusions of putting in a 20 miler to get all the way to the Happy Hill Shelter, but after the long descent from the Wintturi Shelter, the trail takes on many relatively small, but challenging hills so when I got to Thistle Hill I was glad that I had the option to call it a day ¢ at 2:30 p.m.The first thing I did was set up my tent, filter water, and then take a three-hour nap before making dinner. To be honest, I am a little concerned about my lack of energy. Either I have got to start getting more calories into my diet as I hike, or I have got to take shorter breaks between hiking segments since I appear to be getting out of shape ¢ or both!I can¢t complain about the weather as it was partly cloudy and in the mid-60¢s to low-70¢s all day. Around noon I ran into four British day-hikers (and their American host), all about my age (late 50¢s to early 60¢s), who seemed particularly intrigued that I was an honest to goodness AT through hiker. Despite my uncharacteristic malaise, I put on a good front of being energetic and raring to go onward with my hike. Unlike the day before, I met no SOBO AT through hikers today, but as usual I ate my morning snack around 10:15 a.m. along the trail and had lunch around 1:00 p.m. at Cloudland Road. As stated above, my original plan was to have my afternoon snack at the Thistle Hill Shelter and then push on for another nine miles, but instead I set up camp and took a nap. The fact that I went right to sleep told me that this was probably one of my better ideas. After I awoke, I made dinner and read my novel for an hour or so before going back to sleep. With all this rest, I was hopeful that my energy level would rebound tomorrow.
Date: 2004-07-29
From: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

To: Seg 25: NH 25 near Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 0.0

AT Segment 25: July 29-31, 2004Starting point = Dartmouth College, Hanover, NHEnding point = NH 25 near Glencliff, NHTotal miles for segment = 43.4 (3 days @ 14.5 miles/day)Total miles to date = 1,780.7 (107 days @ 16.6 miles/day) The highlights for this AT hiking segment were reaching the often-steep 3,000-foot foothills of the fabled White Mountains, a continuation of the limited patches of squishy mud and slippery rocks, and surprisingly warm and humid conditions. By being very careful the stone bruises on the balls of my feet appear to be a little better and I have no other injuries to report. All in all, a pleasant warm-up for taking on the ¢real¢ White Mountain peaks next.