morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-25
From: Hemlocks Shelter (MA)

To: Monument Mountain Motel; Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Hiked 6:45-4:30. This hike had everything -- cliffs with fantastic views, bogs, meadows, dark woods, lots of climbing -- exhausting! Also very little water, which was a problem near the end. It was a day ¢that¢ll make a man outa ya,¢ as my dad used to say.Weather was sunny and not as humid. No threats of rain, for the first time this week.I was hiking on the edge of a meadow, separated from the next field by a row of trees and shrubs. I heard, would you believe, tennis balls! I looked through the trees, and there were four ladies playing serious tennis on a court, which, as far as I could tell (probably wrong), was in the middle of nowhere. I¢m sure an A.T. purist would say, ¢A tennis court doesn¢t belong next to the trail,¢ but I thought, ¢Cool!¢I hitched into this town, hoping for a motel, but the only reasonable one (this one) is full, the other two wanting $175(!) for a room. The manager here let me camp in back, so poor me -- I¢m stuck here with swimming pool access (which I used), picnic table access (which I¢m using as we speak), and a Friendly¢s restaurant across the street. Life is tough! Motel prices in New England are quite high, which will be a problem for me.Passed the 1500-mile mark today. That really sounds like a lot!I also became a ¢blue blazer,¢ as I had to get off the trail and take an alternate route. I did this because there was a temporary paper sign next to a road saying, ¢Bog bridges in the next section may be under water; to avoid this...¢ and an alternate route via roads was described. I chose this (longer) alternate route, unnecessarily as it turned out. This may have saved me, however, as I was able to stop in at a sand and gravel business and get some wonderful cold water from their cooler.The days have been tough, but, as usual, the evenings have been pretty nice lately. Massachusetts, so far, is my favorite state.
Date: 2003-07-26
From: Monument Mountain Motel; Great Barrington, MA

To: Shaker Campsite
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Hiked 8:45-3:15. Last night¢s camping arrangement wasn¢t as good as it seemed at first. Mosquitoes were pretty bad at that low elevation (same is true here, unfortunately), so I was having to cover up with clothes and sleeping bag, which was hot. Insect repellent works, but wears off, so it was a restless early night. They left when things cooled off; from then on, it was a lovely time.Today¢s choices were at 10.3 and 20.2 miles. I certainly wasn¢t up to 20.2 miles on this roller coaster terrain, so it was a short day. Kinda nice.Not much to say about today¢s hike. Up and down, up and down. Mostly dark woods hiking, some lovely evergreen woods hiking. Boring.A Shaker village was here from the late 1700¢s to late 1800¢s. Hardly any sign of it now. Those Shakers left out one important thing...Rosie came up with a great idea for my White Mountains portion. She will come out for a few days and help me slack pack! She¢ll be in New England anyway, for business reasons. I hope that works out. I was absolutely dreading those ascents and descents with a pack on my back. Although it¢s the loveliest part of the A.T., it¢s also the toughest. That could also solve some lodging problems, because you¢re not supposed to camp above tree line, leaving the hostel-like huts (at $60-plus per night) as the only alternative many times. This assumes that there¢s space for you in the huts, which there often isn¢t, because of the popularity of the White Mountains.
Date: 2003-07-27
From: Shaker Campsite

To: October Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: haze

Hiked 6:00-5:00. Do mosquitoes have any redeeming features? Another onslaught last night. I tried Deep Woods Off (100 percent Deet), and it worked great, but there are those vague health concerns, so now I¢m trying Cutter Outdoorsman, which is only 28.5 percent Deet. This was a mistake. Both products keep me from being bitten, but Deep Woods Off keeps the mosquitoes totally away -- must be that strong smell. With Cutter Outdoorsman, the mosquitoes were nagging me all night, that incessant ¢ngngngngngngngng....¢ Plus they¢d come right up next to my skin, which they don¢t do with Deep Woods Off. That¢s two straight restless mosquito nights, and possibly a third one tonight.I¢ve been lucky with injuries, except for my head. With constant concern about where I put my feet, three times I¢ve banged my head into branches, enough to draw blood. Today I was using a tree to pull myself up a steep bank after filling my water bottle at Upper Goose Pond. I didn¢t notice the broken-off limb stub and pulled me head right into it. Ouch! I think you spell it k-l-u-t-z.Today¢s hike went from a pleasant farm hike in the rain to lakeside hiking to the usual dark woods hiking. Cloudy most of the day; not too hot or humid. What we¢d call a ¢lake¢ in Ohio, they call a ¢pond¢ in New England. Upper Goose Pond, for example, is quite large.I¢m starting to meet the first of the southbounders (SOBO¢s). I think the first ones start in late May. I asked Morning Moose about the black flies, and she said she put up with them for a month, after starting on May 23. (Only ten percent of thru-hikers go the southbound route.)This was a long hike today, but, again, the trail was good, plus I want to get to Dalton for my mail drop tomorrow -- only an 11.8-mile jaunt from here.Lovely shelter here, in a pretty pine forest.
Date: 2003-07-28
From: October Mountain Shelter

To: Shamrock Village Inn; Dalton, MA
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: few clouds

Hiked 6:15-1:00. Another beautiful day today -- sunny, breezy, cool -- ideal. Dalton is a lovely little trail town; has everything I need -- motel, laundromat, post office, convenience store. Also no steep descent into it! Massachusetts really takes care of me.Not a single mosquito in the shelter last night! Maybe because it was cool and windy. Good night¢s sleep. Only other person in the shelter was a young female section hiker, originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana.Passed another beaver pond today and got pictures of the lodge and dam. Seems like there¢s exactly one lodge in every beaver pond. I need to research who all lives in this one lodge, family-wise. Some of these beaver ponds are quite big. Many beaver ponds in New England. Fascinating!Funny thing last night. I got up for my midnight trip, but couldn¢t, at first, see the privy, despite my miner-style headlamp. It was very dark in the pine forest, and the path wasn¢t clear -- you can walk anywhere because it¢s so ¢clean.¢ Then I saw a reflector on the privy. When I came out of the privy, I couldn¢t find the shelter (I was pretty sleepy) until I saw a reflector on the shelter. I¢m sure that¢s exactly the reason for the reflectors. Good thinking.Got lots of ¢mail magic¢ in the mail drop today. Certainly a big morale booster, knowing all the people who¢ve taken an interest in this mission. Thank you all!We¢ve changed my diet a bit. Because cooking isn¢t as appealing in warm weather, we¢re simplifying it by mixing only a Lipton noodle entree with some kind of gravy mix -- very tasty and a nice change of pace. No more dehydrated beans and potatoes. I also am now having breakfast, sort of. Rosie provides a mix of powdered milk and Instant Breakfast. Seems to give me more energy in the morning. (In case you haven¢t noticed, my wife is an absolute peach!)The terrain starts a drastic change tomorrow as I near Vermont. Mount Greylock (3491 feet) is by far the highest mountain since Virginia. After that, I¢ll be seeing lots of 3000, 4000, and even 5000 foot mountains -- and one 6000 (Mount Washington). Of course, it¢s elevation change that determines how tough the ascent and descent will be, and that, too, looks pretty scary, starting tomorrow. In my mail drop, I got my maps for Vermont and New Hampshire. Let me tell ya¢ -- New Hampshire, especially, looks terrifying!
Date: 2003-07-29
From: Shamrock Village Inn; Dalton, MA

To: Bascomb Lodge on Mt. Greylock
Miles today: 16.8

Hiked 8:30-6:15. This was one of the great days! Here I am at a fabulous rustic lodge (actually, a really nice hostel) on the top of the highest mountain in Massachusetts. There are nine bunks in this room, but I¢m the only one here. From my bed, I have a fantastic view southward.Although I didn¢t get started until 8:30 this morning, and there were two big ascents (including this 2500-foot one), I felt good all day. Sunny and not too hot nor humid.I passed through another lovely little trail town, Cheshire, at lunch time. Had a hot dog, ice cream cone, and Coke.Remember long ago when I mentioned the nice older guys, specifically the foursome of Kiwi (from New Zealand), Peter Pan, Finch, and Dreamwalker? Peter Pan left the trail at Pearisburg, Virginia, as planned. Finch is now about four days ahead of me, but I caught Kiwi and Dreamwalker today -- hadn¢t seen them since Virginia. They hike much faster than I do, of course, but they took eight days off when Kiwi¢s wife came over from New Zealand. Also, they often ¢stop to smell the laurel,¢ and they don¢t hike late. Good guys!¢Duff¢ is the mixture of pine needles, leaf crumbs, tiny sticks, and dirt that makes for great walking. In fact, although my feet aren¢t on speaking terms with me anymore, they voted duff as their favorite walking surface, followed by, in order, grass, plain dirt, boards, pavement, gravel, mud, scree, boulders, roots, and imbedded rocks. Massachusetts has more duff, percentage-wise, than any other state -- another reason I love it. (Where there are pine needles, though, there are usually lots of roots, because, for some reason, evergreens¢ root systems often protrude.)I¢m only 6.3 miles from North Adams, Massachusetts, another trail town. I¢ll take tomorrow afternoon off there, celebrate my 59th birthday, and rest up for Vermont, which is only 4.1 miles from North Adams.
Date: 2003-07-30
From: Bascomb Lodge on Mt. Greylock

To: Holiday Inn; North Adams, MA
Miles today: 6.3

Hiked 8:45-1:15. Another birthday. Pretty unique one, but not much fun, even though this is a really nice hotel in downtown North Adams.I can¢t say enough about Mount Greylock. You should drive up there if you¢re ever in the vicinity. The hike down was no fun, though -- steep and rocky and few good views. Another sunny day, a little hot down here at the low elevation.Would you believe that my very first backpack trip started right here in North Adams many years ago. Wearing my $19.95 Buckeye Mart pack, jeans, and a pair of running shoes, I hiked north for 3 1/2 days on the A.T. In fact, I¢ve hiked every mile of the next 110 miles at least once, much of it twice.I feel a bit intimidated by Vermont (4.1 miles away), New Hampshire, and Maine. Its sorta like dribbling around eleven NBA players, with only Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Shaquille O¢Neal still there to stop you from scoring the winning basket.Twice today, I found myself going the wrong way on the trail. How can that happen? Picture the trail as a skinny ¢V¢ with the point being a scenic overlook. I stop for a break at the point of the ¢V¢ and then take off up the same ¢leg¢ I just came in on, both legs pretty much going in the same direction. Fortunately, indeed, both times I quickly met known hikers, so I knew I needed to turn around. Here¢s another factor: The brains of tired hikers don¢t function too well...
Date: 2003-07-31
From: Holiday Inn; North Adams, MA

To: Congdon Shelter (VT)
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

Hiked 8:15-4:15. Eleven down and three to go. Vermont didn¢t do much for me today. Mostly dark woods hiking, rocky, rooty. An uphill from 700 feet to 3000 feet, then a roller coaster from there. Weather continued good -- sunny, warm, not humid.It¢s a big deal for me, though, being down to the last three states. I¢ll tell you this: Having gotten so far, this thing is going to end in great agony or great ecstasy. In the beginning, I would never have bet money on getting all the way to Vermont. I figure the end is, at most, seven weeks away.Only thing of note today is that I almost stepped right on a beehive that had fallen in the middle of the trail. Before I realized what I¢d done, I was stung three or four times on the calves. The pain only lasted 20-30 minutes, though.Southbounder Squirrel Meat (real trail name) celebrated his 22nd birthday today -- by hiking in his birthday suit!
Date: 2003-08-01
From: Congdon Shelter (VT)

To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: moderate rain

Hiked 9:00-5:00. I can¢t begin to explain how miserable the hiking was today...but I¢ll try. Rain delayed the start by two hours, then resumed at about 10:00 and never stopped until 3:30. Many times it was a strong, cold downpour that made the trail a stream of its own. I was unable to stop between 11:00 and 5:00 for fear of hypothermia. After a steep descent to about 1300 feet, the trail gradually ascended to here (about 3800 feet) on a roller coastery basis.I¢m so happy to be here, although the shelter is almost full. Lots of southbounders right now. For example, last night there were five southbounders and only one northbounder (me). There are also lots of section hikers here.I passed the 1600-mile mark. That¢s the only good thing I can say about the day.As in every area of life, there are things that are ¢in¢ and things that are ¢out¢ among thru-hikers. For example:In -- running shoes; out -- boots.Out -- insect repellant; in -- tough it out.In -- alcohol stoves; out -- gas stoves.Out -- staying in motels (sign of wimpiness).Out -- gaiters.Out -- trekking poles (though few can get by without them).Out -- filtering water; in -- not treating the water at all or using chemicals.In -- going shirtless (male southbounders).Notice that I¢m ¢out¢ in most situations, just like in my ¢other life.¢I don¢t think I¢ve explained the sleeping equipment. I use a 3/4-inch thick pad. My pillow is my sleeping bag¢s stuff sack filled with anything dry and reasonably soft; e.g. clothes, plastic bags, pack cover, stuff sacks. After a day like today, very little is dry so my pillow is going to be pretty small. Let¢s hope for better weather tomorrow. A second such day means no dry clothes and plenty of problems.
Date: 2003-08-02
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: light rain

Hiked 7:00-7:00. That 19.4 miles is the only good thing about today -- that and the fact that the rain ended early. Lots of rocky, rooty, muddy, watery hiking (with soaking wet feet). The trail was still a torrent in many places.I took a really scary fall. Stepped on a slick slanted rock and instantly slid off the trail to the left into a bushy depression. The left side of my head slammed into a big boulder. That hurt! I was surprised I could still think coherently (or at least as coherently as I normally think). It bled a bit but left me with no headache. I think my floppy hat cushioned the blow a little. Bee stings, a horrendous rainstorm, a violent fall -- these things remind me of how fragile this venture is.Surprising trail magic next to one of the first roads today -- root beer, lemonade, pop corn, and oatmeal sandwich cookies. I was the first person to partake -- and I partook a lot.Saw fresh moose tracks today. Hope I see a moose. I¢m fascinated by them.Here are four ¢visuals¢ that I use to motivate myself on days like today:(1) Walking up to the the sign on Katahdin that marks the end of the A.T.(2) Calling Rosie to tell her that we¢ve made it.(3) Meeting Rosie at the airport upon my return home.(4) Plopping into my bed and staying there for a week -- no pain, no sweat, no exhaustion, no cold, no rain, no hunger, no thirst, no mosquitoes, no loneliness, no hitchhiking.I don¢t know if those dreams can sustain me for seven more weeks, but they¢re fun to think about.I¢m only 10.6 miles from the road where I can hitch into Manchester Center, Vermont. I need to do the usual errands, plus sleep in a motel and catch up on the ¢other world.¢I climbed Stratton Mountain this afternoon -- no small feat (3936 feet). Stratton Mountain is a well-known ski and tennis resort, although I saw none of that. Very nice at the top, though -- all piney and a fire tower. Great views.
Date: 2003-08-03
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Casablanca Motel; Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

Hiked 6:15-12:15. Slipped, slid, and slogged through wet mud, rocks, and roots -- dark, boring forest -- for 10.6 lonnnngggg miles today, but here I am watching Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Kim Clisters in the Acura Tennis Tournament final, so it was worth it.Took me four hours (including a 1 1/2-mile walk from here to downtown Manchester Center) to do the errands, but I have a while here to relax.Rained today after I got into town. Forecast is for rain every day in the forecast period. Egad!Manchester Center is a shopping paradise -- loads of factory outlets. Also has great motels, reasonably priced, but not close to downtown. I tell ya¢ -- I love New England -- the towns, not the hiking.I haven¢t seen any old southbounders. Maybe we old guys are more traditional.Last night¢s shelter count: One northbounder (me), one southbounder, five section hikers. Nice shelter -- had a loft, which I had to myself. I notice that almost every night -- shelter, tarp, or motel -- I feel pretty good, regardless of how the hiking goes. Maybe that helps keep me going.I¢m certainly not impressed with Vermont¢s trails so far -- really poorly maintained, Stratton Mountain being the one exception.
Date: 2003-08-04
From: Casablanca Motel; Manchester Center, VT

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: moderate rain

Hiked 9:45-6:15. After a big breakfast at McDonald¢s, I was rarin¢ to go this morning. Unfortunately, nobody gave me a ride, so I ended up with a taxi and a late start.After that, though, it went pretty well. Trail magic (23.5-ounce cans of lemonade) in the stream near a road.Lovely, though rainy, climb up Mount Bromley. At the top the A.T. goes right by the main ski lift station and warming hut. In fact, the warming hut serves as a great hiker shelter during the non-ski season.There were also climbs up Styles Peak, Peru Peak, and Baker Peak. Baker Peak had fantastic views, the only ones of the day, because the fog had cleared somewhat by then.It started to rain pretty hard just as I reached this tiny shelter. There¢s a guy here who started at Springer the same day I did, and has been a little ahead of me for a long time, although I¢ve never met him until now. About my age and fits perfectly my stereotype of a ¢mature male¢ thru-hiker. Lord, grant me patience.Here¢s some insight into my psyche. Yesterday, I needed to use a dryer at the laundromat to restore the loft in my sleeping bag. You¢re supposed to put tennis balls in the dryer with the bag, so I bought a can of balls. I can¢t tell you how good those tennis balls felt in my hands! I wanted to keep them in my pack (but didn¢t). I was (and am) longing for a tennis match. Then, on Mount Bromley, I was thinking how nice it would be to be here in five months. I also watched the Reds/Giants game on TV. Links with my ¢other life.¢ Do you think I¢m longing for the end of this venture?
Date: 2003-08-05
From: Lost Pond Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: moderate rain

Hiked 6:45-4:15. Slipped, slid, and slogged through nearly 15 miles with no views and with quite a bit of rain; some sun; humid. It¢s pouring rain right now, and I¢m sitting here comfortably in the shelter, alone so far (that won¢t last). Vermont¢s been a lot like Virginia, rain-wise. Yuck!The guy I met last night (Take-it-Easy, not his real trail name, but close) is an interesting case. He hiked the A.T. in 2001, again in 2002, and is now doing it for the third time! One of the sharp young guys (Ostrich) asked him, ¢Why?¢ Take-it-Easy said he likes the camaraderie. I think there¢s another reason. When it comes to the A.T., he¢s the expert and loves to sit around a shelter giving out advice (solicited or not -- usually not). There are several other older guys like that. (I also expect that they don¢t have much of an ¢other life,¢ but I have no way of knowing this.)I hope the weather changes soon. I don¢t know if I can take another ¢Virginia.¢ My knees are about as sore as they¢ve been on this trip. Not really bad, though.The highlight of the day was beautiful Little Rock Pond. Rosie and I camped there many years ago on our first backpacking expedition together. How I miss her!
Date: 2003-08-06
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge (Shelter)
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Hiked 6:45- 5:15. Quite a nice night at the shelter last night -- only two of us. The result is a lot of space to hang things and lots of lovely silence. It rained all night, so I felt very cozy in my bunk. Only thing is that I worried that the trail would be even worse (I was right).I went a half mile down Vermont 103 for a restaurant breakfast at the Whistle Stop. It was well worth it -- food was great, and the waitress called me ¢Hon,¢ the first time that¢s happened since Virginia (almost all of the waitresses in the South called me ¢Hon¢). I know I¢ll get blasted for this, but I¢ll bet tips go up at least two percentage points when the waitress calls an old guy ¢Hon¢ (probably no tip at all if a waiTER calls an old guy ¢Hon¢).The trail was even more treacherous today. I¢ve slipped and fallen twice in the last two days, but both times landed on the part of my anatomy that¢s designed for that -- so no harm done.More trail magic today -- cans of Sam¢s Soda in a creek. Disproves my theory that there¢d be less trail magic in the North.Low point today was about 800 feet, and the high point (here) nearly 4000 feet, so I did some serious climbing -- much of it in the rain and some of that in a thunder-and-lightning downpour. Does this sound like fun to you? The weather report says one more day of the stinky stuff, then a break. I hope so -- I¢m about out of dry things. Should be sleeping indoors tomorrow night, though, at either a hostel or motel, so will have a chance to dry things out.
Date: 2003-08-07
From: Cooper Lodge (Shelter)

To: Sherburne-Killington Motel; Killington, VT
Miles today: 9.6

Hiked 6:30-12:45. My lucky day -- found this lovely motel at off-season (ski resort area) prices, right next to the post office where I picked up my mail drop. I have a chance to get my stuff dried out. The rain is to continue the next three days at least, though it hasn¢t rained at all today.Only three of us in the shelter last night, the other two being southbound recent Harvard grads -- really nice guys. They said the reason I see no old southbounders is because the only reason most people choose to go south is because of school schedules -- starting in late May or early June -- after school is out. For the first 105 miles in Vermont, the A.T. and the Long Trail are one and the same. Then the A.T. takes a 90-degree turn eastward to New Hampshire, while the Long Trail continues northward to Quebec. I made that turn today, so, for the first time in Vermont, I¢m in unfamiliar territory. (I hiked the Long Trail -- length of Vermont, south to north -- a few years ago.) Some dude is starting the Long Trail today from the Canadian border, trying to break the Long Trail record of 263 miles in four days, twelve hours (nearly 60 miles per day!). I predict he won¢t do it -- too wet and hot.Today¢s short hike was hot, humid, muddy, rocky, rooty, no scenic views. Sound like fun?