morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-26
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Ten Mile River Lean-to
Miles today: 20.6

Although we didn't get a great night's sleep, we put the miles in today. The first part of the trail was rocky, then it cooperated. We made it to Nuclear Lake at 10:45, and although it was a site of former governmental nuclear testing, it was too picture perfect to resist jumping in! Don't worry, we didn't see any three-eyed fish - the government has deemed it safe for recreational use. Just before we got to the Appalachian Trail subway stop, we found some cans of beer in a nearby creek - trail magic! Shortly after, we made it to the famous hot dog lady on the trail, where we consumed 5 hot dogs between the two of us. In the hot and balmy afternoon we put on a few more miles and voila - we hit Connecticuit! We made the climb up 10-mile hill, then descended to 10-mile river where we took our second dip of the day!
Date: 2007-07-27
From: Ten Mile River Lean-to

To: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 15.7

I woke up around 6 and had an early morning cafe while watching the sky brighten.   The hike into Kent was a bit tough, lots of ups and downs mixed with heat and humidity. At 7:45AM we hiked about 1000ft up Mt. Schaghticoke and every part of my body was sweating. My fingers were pruned from all the sweat. I stopped to admire a red salamander and called up to Sven to see it. As he stopped and turned around a tree fell into the path just where we would have been passing by! I had new shoes waiting at the post office, the Lafumas treated me well but 1000+ miles has taken its toll on them. Sven also bought some new kicks. We enjoyed a Sconie burger at a local diner, the owner happened to be an extreme Packer fan so Sven was in heaven with all the Packer posters on the walls. Had a couple of good views and ended the hike with a few miles of flat river walk. We are setting the tent up in the shelter to keep the bugs away, and it is supposed to rain tonight.
Date: 2007-07-28
From: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to

To: Sharon Mountain Campsites
Miles today: 12.4

Woke up this morning to a serious down pour! Haven't seen it rain like that yet on the trail. Needless to say we took one look out and rolled over and went back to sleep for awhile. About noon we finally got packed up and the rain stopped. We were hoping the rain would take some of the humidity out of the air but no such luck. We have stopped a few miles short of town for the night. Can hear a thunderstorm a brewing in the distance! I think we might get wet again.
Date: 2007-07-29
From: Sharon Mountain Campsites

To: Plateu Campsites
Miles today: 14.2

The eve of Sven's birthday and we have trail magic beer! But first we went through a small slice of hell to get here.. We woke up a bit wet from the nights storms, and hiked in some more hot and humid conditions. We had our sights set on a german pub in Falls Village only to get there and find the place closed down. So of course we sunk deeper into our bad day. We did get to rinse off at an outdoor shower. The quick cool down felt good. When we thought things couldn't get worse Sven took an amazing spill. His poles stayed in the trail and he landed about five feet off to the left in a pile of ferns! The good news is that was the turning point cause at the bottom of the hill there was Trail Magic, a bag full of beer! And there was still ice on it. We walked into the town of Salsbury and ran into The Band-aid Kid and had a beer with him at the uppidy hotel in town. We felt a bit out of place in our stinky hiker clothes while everyone else had their Sunday best on. It was 7pm when we realized we needed to get back to the trail. We were planning on going up to Riga Shelter, another four miles but at the next road crossing we found another bag full of beer and a sign saying there was camping in .2 miles...so guess what we did! Yup, the bag came with us and here we are, bringing in Sven's 28th a day early.
Date: 2007-07-30
From: Plateu Campsites

To: U.S. 7 
Miles today: 21.2

We slept in a tad, as expected, but hustled packing up camp knowing we had a big day ahead of us. First thing on the list was the climb up Lion's Head. As we took a break on the lookout, a medium-sized black bear walked up to within 15 feet of us! It was so cool & unexpected, even though had kind of had us cornered on the lookout. He wore a dog's expression on hes face like he was waiting for us to throw a ball or stick or something. After 8 seconds of looking at us, he kind of shrugged his shoulders as if we weren't interesting enough and sauntered away. Then we made the climb us Bear Mountain, the highest point in CT, where we enjoyed the view of the upcoming peaks in MA. We then descended into the beautiful Sages Ravine and crossed the stream to officially entered MA. Then climbed up to Race Mountain, the second climb of three peaks today, and had lunch enjoying more great views into the valley to the east. The most difficult climb was up Mount Everett. We made it and then decided to hasten the pace as Uff-Da was determined to buy Sven a cold beer for his birthday. Between Everett and US7, where we hitched to Great Barrington, MA, the mosquitoes absolutely ate us alive! We made it by 8 o'clock or so, checked in to a motel, and then had cheeseburgers, fries, nachos, & a couple cold ones at a place called 'The Brewery.' Between the burgers, beers, bear, and views on three peaks, Sven truly had a birthday he'll not soon forget!
Date: 2007-07-31
From: U.S. 7 

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

A great nights sleep and another lazy day. Did laundry and some email and then really relaxed out by the pool, laying in the sun. Walked into town and ran into Unicycle Pirate as well as Iceman and Buffalo Bobby, all doing some chores as well. We had an excellent Thai dinner and savored every bite. Worked some of dinner off on our walk back to the Motel where we watched a movie and made some phone calls home. It is nice to get a break from the nasty mosquitos. MA rivals MN...
Date: 2007-08-01
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-to
Miles today: 13.5

We were able to get a shuttle ride back to the trail head around 11:00. Sven's platapus bladder sprung a leak about a half mile in.. The water dripping out of the bottom of his pack was the first clue that something was wrong. It was another hot and humid day. The weather seems to have a lot of the hikers down. The humidity is so draining.. Thank God for shade! Stopped in to the Tom Leonard Lean-to for some lunch and ran into Band-aid again-turns out he's feeling the lethargy as well. Some day hikers were out with their kids and took pity on us by giving us some granola bars. We used those to muster enough energy to get us to the Mt. Wilcox North Shelter, where the mosquitos were out in full force.
Date: 2007-08-02
From: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-to

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

Got a good early start, but also got chowed up by mosquitoes! Today was again hot & humid. We had one large climb up Baldy Mountain, where we took lunch. We then had only a few miles to go to the cabin. It was great to get there early in the afternoon to relax & swim in the beautiful lake set in the mountains. The water was perfect temperature and felt sooooo good to wade in. The cabin itself is unlike most other shelters in that it is fully enclosed, sleeps 12, and has a full time caretaker who traditionally cooks the hikers pancakes in the morning. Since this is part of the trail where northbounders and southbounders pass each other regularly, the tradition is that the southbounders are required to bring a couple pounds of blueberries from a famous blueberry farm about 10 miles north on the trail. And this time, the SoBos came through for us NoBos. We also ran into a SoBoer from St. Cloud, MN, who notified us of the I35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. We were in shock, to say the least.
Date: 2007-08-03
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Tom Lavarti's, Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

We were up and ready to go at 6 am so we could put down some blueberry pancakes and hit the trail early for our push to town. The pancakes were awesome. Great to have a hearty breakfast for a long day. We hiked most of the day with The Band-aid Kid, chatting the whole time. Halfway through the day we came to the 'cookie lady' and the blueberry patch. The lady cooks cookies for all the hiker and if you want to you can pick your own blueberries for only $1.50 a pound. We got 1 1/4 lbs. and ate them all before Dalton. These things were enormous, like the size of grapes. Three miles before town we heard some thunder rumbling... We kicked it into high gear and managed to get to town in less than an hour. We rolled in right as Tom Lavardi was brings potatoes, carrots and sausages out.. and the hikers there supplied some cold beer. It was a great welcoming after twenty miles! Tom's place is great. He has housed hikers for the last 25 years and never asks for a dime. It is a generosity that i have never seen before. The longest someone has stayed is 43 days. There was a mixture of Nobo's (north-bounders) and Sobo's (south-bounders). We have pitched our tent in the back yard cause the house if full. There are about 15 of us here. The thunderstorms have seemed to miss us tonight.
Date: 2007-08-04
From: Tom Lavarti's, Dalton, MA

To: Tom Lavarti's, Dalton, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We took an unintentional zero today. Had a great breakfast and then did our errands. Tried to get caught up on the journal but we could only use it for an hour. The afternoon was spent on Tom's porch contemplating what time to leave and start hiking.. we took so long deciding that we ended up staying another night. Tom drove everyone to the Old Country Buffet, there were about 15 hikers there so plates of food were flying everywhere. I think Chuckles won the award with eight FULL plates of food! He was by far the skinniest guy there too. Watched part of Airplane and headed for the tent.
Date: 2007-08-05
From: Tom Lavarti's, Dalton, MA

To: Campsite South of Mt. Greylock
Miles today: 18.0

"Let us be lovers we'll marry our fortunes together.""I've got some real estate here in my bag."So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner piesAnd we walked off to look for America."Uff-da," I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh"Michigan seems like a dream to me nowIt took me four days to hitchhike from SaginawI've come to look for America."Laughing on the bus;Playing games with the faces;She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy;I said "Be careful his bowtie is really a camera.""Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat.""We smoked the last one an hour ago."So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazineAnd the moon rose over an open field."Uff-da, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping."I'm empty and aching and I don't know why."Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike:They've all come to look for AmericaAll come to look for AmericaAll come to look for America
Date: 2007-08-07
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

What a great shelter and an amazing view! Not to mention an incredible spring that we can drink right from the pipe. We are .3 miles from Glastenbury Mountain. You can really feel the difference in temperature up at higher altitudes. It has been a while since we have slept up this high. Most of our climb was up hill but the legs seem to be getting stronger. Had lunch at the Porcupine Lookout. Vermont is beautiful.. It is actual mountains again.. big and green.. A bit muddy but so many views. We got in to the shelter around 5 and had some time to whip out a game a cribbage. The radio is calling for storms tonight so we are going to sleep in the shelter. No one else is here... A first on the trail... we have yet to have a shelter all to our selves.
Date: 2007-08-08
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Stratton Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: broken clouds

Man oh man.... ah the wind and the rain. It was blowing on top of Glastenbury Mountain last night. Had to sleep along the back side of the shelter to avoid most of the spray. Probably not the best idea to sleep on the top of a mountain when we know a storm is coming.. Thought we would have learned our lesson back on day three at the top of blood mountain, but I guess not. By 8 the rain had pretty much stopped, just drippings from the trees were getting us wet. The trail was Muddy, but we were able to hop from root to root or rock to rock to avoid getting socked in a mud pit. Per the register at the Story Spring Shelter there are 18 north-bounders ahead of us by half a day. Temps were great to hike in today especially since we had a 3000 foot climb up to Stratton Mountain. It was awesome. Mountain peaks in every direction and they had a fire tower you could climb up. The wind was whipping up there, wasn't so sure the roof wasn't going to rip right off! I took a spill on the way down, slipping on a wet log. After laying in the trail for a minute unable to move from the weight of my pack, Sven can an literally picked me off the trail. Rolled into the shelter to catch the tail end of a hiker pot luck. Everyone made some hiker food to pass.
Date: 2007-08-09
From: Stratton Mt. Shelter

To: Bromley Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept okay last night but its tough to get a good night sleep in a full shelter. You can always here others rustling around in their sleeping bag or snoring. The first part of the morning hike was around the southern end of Stratton Pond. Little too chilly at 8am to jump in but it was very scenic. The entire days hike was fairly flat considering what we have been going over the last few days. Got to the trail head road crossing at 7 and hitched into Manchester Center to get supplies. We managed to do four loops around the town before we found everything we needed. We are tenting out behind the shelter tonight. A few other Long Trailers are here, as well as Chuckles.
Date: 2007-08-10
From: Bromley Shelter

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Rain, Rain, go away. Come again some other day! Vermont likes to rain in the mornings. We thought about sheltering it last night but we sleep better in a tent.. Waking up to rain is the price you pay I guess. It tapered off around 8 and we were able to pack up quickly so most of our stuff was dry. A mile up from the shelter we came across a warming hut that was open for hikers. Had we known yesterday we would have pushed onward to sleep in it. Saw Not Yet and Mr. Easy still lounging around when we rolled in. They said it was a spectacular sunset. It was 48 degrees up there so we decided to play a game of cribbage and make some phone calls on the random phone inside. Ended up staying in there for 4 hours! The skies cleared up though and we had some great hiking weather. We tried to get the Lodge at the bottom of the hill to bring up some lunch on a four wheeler but they weren't having it. Hiked up Styles Mountain and Peru Peak, both offered great views. We were going to just make dinner and move on from Peru Shelter but some section hikers, Shiva and Brown, twisted our arms with 3 liters of wine! Felt good to have a low mileage day.
Date: 2007-08-11
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

One chilly morning. About 45 degrees in the tent. We are getting our warmer bags sent to us soon. The morning hike took us by Griffith Pond and then up Mount Baker which had awesome views. The clouds were rolling out of the valley when we got up top. Had a break on some bolders in a river in front of Big Branch Shelter. Had we not had a lazy day yesterday I think we may have called it a day there. It was nice to bask in the sun and listen to the water swoosh by. But we heard that Patty-O was doing trail magic at one of the upcomming road crossings and he puts on a good show so we didn't want to miss out. He wasn't at the first road so we took our lunch and a two hour break at Little Rock Pond. It was relaxing and we were able to dry out our tent. We walked down to the north end of the pond and decided that we should jump in and rinse off. Boy was it refreshing! I think we are going on 7 days with no shower. After we dried off a bit we had another climb up. There were two areas with some great cairn art. Felt a little 'Blair Witchish.' Since we missed Patty-O at the first road we thought for sure he would be at the 103 crossing. We got down there and someone had even written his name in the dirt so we thought for sure we were on to something. There was a parking lot about .3 miles up hill from the road. We ran there, only to find it empty. We sulked for a bit and then continued on to the shelter. We'll get him next time we hope.
Date: 2007-08-12
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: clear sky

Woke up with one mission in mind...Gondola Ride down Mt. Killington! The only thing standing in our way was Mt. Killington and the 3000 foot climb up her all by 2pm. There was a scary suspension bridge that went over the Clareden Gorge and offered great views into its depth. We passed by two trail magic's.. one was soda in a river and the other soda in a cooler. Each equally tasty. The hike up Killington was not bad at all. Of course we were dripping with sweat but I think our legs are getting stronger again. Hopefully cause the Whites are not too far away. We arrived at the shelter at 2 o'clock, dropped our packs off and took the blue blaze straight up to the summit of Mt. Killington 4300ft (second highest peak in VT). The wind was blowing but wow, what a view. Mountains as far as the eye can see. We climbed down the back side of the summit and found the Gondola. They run it on the weekends in the summer for hard core mountain bikers but let thru-hikers ride for free if they want. We headed down and at the bottom were able to yogi a few beers off a couple in the parking lot. Free, cold beer for the ride up! We sat out on the observation deck for an hour or so and then hit up the Gondola for one more round trip. It was great to see the sights while sitting for a change. We were going to camp on the summit but the wind is blowing too hard, there is no way we would be able to get our stove going. We tried to catch a sunset up there but clouds were moving in, as well as a storm I think. Don't think we will make it out of Vermont with a rain free day. Had some good laughs with R.I. Red, Mr. Easy and Not Yet about all the graffiti on the walls of the shelter.
Date: 2007-08-13
From: Cooper Lodge

To: Back Home Again Hostel, Rutland, VT
Miles today: 6.2

Woke up to a bit of rain but it let up by the time we got moving. We were hoping for one more view up on Killington Mt. but no such luck. It was an all down hill hike to the road crossing were we hitched in a Hummer up to the Irish pub for a Guinness.. ummm did it taste good. Hitched another ride the 11 miles into Rutland, VT where we are staying at a Hostel. We actually just got done sweeping and moping floors to stay for free. Not to bad of a gig. Going to shower and do laundry. It has been since Massachusetts so we are long over due! Hopefully we will get a few entries in too cause I know we are very behind. Planning on heading back to the trail tomorrow. We have started to take it a bit slower. We realized that we are only weeks away from the big "k" and we don't want the trip to end.
Date: 2007-08-14
From: Back Home Again Hostel, Rutland, VT

To: Chateauguay Road
Miles today: 14.7

Got a leisurely start today. Enjoyed a nice warm shower, since who knows when we will be able to take one again. We restocked our food bags, plugged in the camera battery for a little recharging, and then went down to the cafe for an organic breakfast, consisting of some South-American whole grain. Uff-Da didn't mind it, but Sven didn't care for it much. Not to mention the toppings available included sea salt and cayenne pepper, which Sven thought were sugar and cinammon. Isn't breakfast supposed to be sweet? I guess Sven isn't ready for the whole organic thing after all...We finally made it back to the trail head where we left off and were hiking by 11:40 A.M. About a mile or so into the hike, Uff-Da asks, "Hey Sven, did you grab the camera battery charging on the wall?" Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! We ended up having to hitch the 11.5 miles BACK to Rutland to grab the battery. Good news is that round trip, it only took 1 hour and 15 minutes. An inconvenience no doubt, but in retrospect it could have been much worse. We hiked on trying to catch 'Chuckles,' a fellow hiker toting 3 liters of wine, to help take some weight off his shoulders, but we ran out of daylight. We found a flat spot near a firepit, made a fire and cooked dinner before passing out after an unusual day.
Date: 2007-08-15
From: Hanover, NH

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: light rain

You know that dirt road (Chateauguay) we decided to pitch our tent by last night? Well it turns out that it's an access road for a nearby logging outfit, who apparently starts their operations around 3:00 A.M. We were woken by the sound of a pickup truck followed by a flatbed truck cruising by and waking us up. Before we could figure out what was going on, we had visions of drunken hillbillies using the forest service road as a shortcut home from the bar. Needless to say, we didn't get the best night's sleep. We weren't feeling it today. Our first tast was a climb to a cabin which had a neat lookout platform on the roof. Then we strolled to VT12, where there was a Farmer's market .2 miles from the trail. Chowing down a bumbleberry pie (with raspberry, blackberry, apple and rhubarb) and a pint of moosetracks was easily the highlight of the day. Soooo delicious! We then pushed ourselves to the shelter ready to sit down. Hiking 17 miles when you don't have the drive isn't easy - especially in the Green Mountains of Vermont!
Date: 2007-08-16
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: broken clouds

Slept great last night and got a bit of a late start. We were feeling very sluggish. I think some time off is going to be in the near future. We want to attack the 'Whites' with full force. About five miles in we ran into a road side deli that managed to slow us down a bit. After the two mile climb out of there we stopped for lunch at the Happy Hill Shelter. Question: If snoop dog was hiking the A.T. what would he use to purify his water?Answer: Bleoch!After lunch the hike was pretty much down hill and we coasted into our thirteenth state (twelve completed) New Hampshire. We must have looked tired cause some guy waiting at a red light gave us a bottle of coke! We are not sure where we are staying yet tonight. All the hotels are full and there are no hostels in town. We hear there is tenting on the soccer field though. Hanover, NH is also home of Dartmouth College. We hope to get some pictures to you all soon! We are sad to see Vermont go. Only 460 miles or so left. We are in awe everytime we look at a map and see how far we have come.. and the best part of the trail is about to begin!
Date: 2007-08-17
From: Hanover, NH

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Didn't plan on taking a zero today but by the time we did everything we needed to do in town, it was too late to leave. Slept on the soccer field one more night. Had a pizza in town with R.I. Red, Numbtoe and Shadow. We were able to walk around the campus of Dartmouth for a while. Nice little college. On to hiking in the morning.