morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-07-16
From: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

To: Shenandoah Tenting Area
Miles today: 17.5

Last night, we were only 2 of the 3 people in the camping area. When we woke up, there were an additional 10 tents that somehow popped up! The sun woke us up early and we were on the trail by 7:10 am. The humidity started early too¢¦The trail had its difficulties, but still much better than the previous few days. We heard there was a concession stand at a local lake resort area. We made good time, but saw a sign that the concessions grill was only open for a little while longer and we were still a few miles out. We decided to try and make it before they closed. We made it 10 minutes before and got a hotdog, cheeseburger, fries, and drinks to share. We really enjoyed the snack and company of other hikers.While we were relaxing, a guy and his daughter with a stroller asked where the AT was and if it was possible to take the stroller on the trail. A little stunned, we emphatically answered absolutely not. The side trail was almost rockier than the AT itself! Oddly enough, on the way back to the trail, we met a guy who had the exact same shirt that I was wearing! Alas, we had to get a picture together! The 4 miles left was nice, still humid, and relatively quick. We got to camp a little later than normal, but since we already ate it wasn¢t a big deal. We set up our tent at the campsite which is really neat. Lush grassy area, pump water, picnic tables, lounge chairs, and now our tent! We may try to get up early tomorrow and do another big day!
Date: 2017-07-17
From: Shenandoah Tenting Area

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter 
Miles today: 10.3

We didn¢t get up as early as we wanted to today, but the sleep was nice. We soon saw the shelter everyone stayed at since our site had no one but us. It was a very nice shelter and tenting area. The weather was hot and humid, again! Not a whole lot to see today, but we decided to indulge again at a small deli off the trail. We had two huge sandwiches, chips, and drinks. We continued our walk and eventually came to our end point. We thought about pushing on, but decided to try and get up really early tomorrow and get more miles completed.
Date: 2017-07-18
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter 

To: Ten Mile River Shelter 
Miles today: 20.6

Such a long, hot, humid, and productive day! We got up bright and early and were on the trail by 6:45 am. Unfortunately, the humidity started early too. Luckily, the terrain was much better today and we made good time. We took frequent breaks and got to talk to ¢Brooklyn¢ a public defender in NYC before he headed home after his few day hike. We saw the oldest Oak tree on the AT - estimated nearly 300 years old! We walked by the AT RR stop and had a nice long lunch at Native Landscapes where we ate our lunch with cold drinks and charged our phones We met and talked to Emma, the employee who really spoke highly of her job and employer. We continued another 10 miles, passing one shelter, and pouring out enough sweat to fill a swimming pool. We saw very few hikers on a trail today. We were relieved to arrive at the shelter, eat dinner, and get in our tent. Resupply tomorrow!
Date: 2017-07-19
From: Ten Mile River Shelter 

To: Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter 
Miles today: 15.7

Productive Day! We slept in a little bit, but still got out by 7:30 am. We had a steep climb to start the day, and another small one shortly afterwards, but we still made good time. By early morning, we passed back into NY, then back into CT finishing NY! Another state down! We got to Road 341 ~ 12:40 pm and got a hitch pretty quickly and got into Kent, CT. Our first stop was ice cream & Annie Bananies and then a short walk through town to the grocery store to resupply and grab deli sandwiches for lunch! We sat on a park bench in the shade and enjoyed our lunch. We saw a bunch of hikers we knew doing the same thing and one hiker who was likely getting off the trail. After we packed up, we somehow got another quick hitch back to the trail. We picked up Wander on the way, about half way there! The next few miles were extremely difficult ups and downs. There is one section extremely steep and all on rocks down. Luckily, it was a very flat last ~2.3 miles to the shelter where we ate and got in the tent to escape all the bugs!
Date: 2017-07-20
From: Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter 

To: ToymakerÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Cafe - Falls Village, CT
Miles today: 18.0

Early wake up today - with a small snooze after the alarm. The terrain was very nice to start today, but the humidity was still going strong. We made good time and took frequent breaks during our hike. Lots of ups and downs today and one tight spot similar to the Lemon Squeezer. Some nice views today and nice trails, but incredibly tiring. Sleeping at the Toymaker¢s Cafe tonight. Excited to eat breakfast at the cafe tomorrow!
Date: 2017-07-21
From: ToymakerÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Cafe - Falls Village, CT

To: Laurel Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 15.4

Finished 1500 miles and Connecticut today! Felt like a long day even though we only did ~15 miles. We had an awesome breakfast at the Toymaker¢s Cafe and talked with Little Badass and BamBam. We enjoyed it so much we didn¢t leave until 8:00 am. We made good time despite the humidity and challenging terrain. Difficult, but not as bad as some of our earlier days on this trip. We met a number of south bound hikers today and saw some very nice views from the top of Lion¢s Head and Bear Mountain (2nd Bear Mountain this trip!). We had lunch outside a cemetery in Salisbury, CT where we had water and some relaxation at lunch. Nice temperature today, but still humid. After our long day, we ended up at nice tent site in Massachusetts with elevated tent pads. Last night on the trail for 2017!
Date: 2017-07-22
From: Laurel Ridge Campsite

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 12.9

We wanted to get started early, but Skins had some trouble getting out of bed today. Either way, we still got on the trail by 7:30 am. Our first climb was rough, but there were awesome views along the cliffs that were incredible. After a rocky descent, we had another climb which was even steeper! The hike up was to Mt. Everett summit. They had to put wood blocks into the rock to function as stairs it was so steep! After all the steep climbing up and down, we landed at a flat patch all the way to US 7. We met another section hiker on the way, named Virgil. He was meeting his sister @ US 7. After bug infested hot fields, we finished out section about 4 miles later. 2017 Hike Complete! Virgil¢s sister gave us a ride to the community center where we took a much needed shower and hung out with Speedy, who we met a few days before. We split an Uber to the Laundromat and had an awesome dinner at the Big Y - sushi, pizza, coffee. Since it started to rain a bit, we opted to forgo the tent site at the community center and go to the East Mountain Retreat Center for a pseudo bed. We couldn¢t get a hitch and instead had to Uber to the house. Not too bad of a place, and we were happy not to get into a smelly tent since we were clean with clean clothes. We met another hiker named flash who was thru-hiking with his daughter who was a few days behind. We had a great conversation for about 1 hour before all heading to bed. It was a good night sleep and still woke up somewhat early yet did get to go back to sleep.
Date: 2017-07-23
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

We woke up around 7:30 am and got going around 8:00 am. We wished flash happy trails and walked with Speedy down to the road hoping for a hitch. The second car picked us up! We got picked up by Carol who was on her way to get the Sunday paper. She dropped us off at the Big Y where we got coffee and recovered some of our socks from the laundromat. We left last night! After coffee, we walked to a nearby bagel shop and got a table outside and talked to a number of other folks. After a while at the Great Barrington Bagel Company, we ended up calling a shuttle to pick us up as we were unable to land a hitch. The shuttle took us to Pittsfield . When we got to Pittsfield, we had a few hours to kill so we hung out in the Marketplace Cafe, had a sandwich and coffee. After a snack, we walked around the town and eventually hung out at the Amtrak Station. Our train was ~1 hour late, but we finally got on our train and happy to be on our way to Boston. We shared snacks & red wine on the train and enjoyed not having our boots on our feet and instead were in our packs. We said goodbye and made our way home. Ready for hike next year!
Date: 2019-07-21
To: Boston, MA - Embassy Suites in Waltham
Miles today: 0.0

¢Started¢ the 2019 hiking adventure in Boston. After 2 years, we are on our way! We met Bearman @ the Boston airport. Amy, Tyler, Joanne, Gledis, Debi, & Dale were all there to meet Bearman. Visited in Terminal C at the airport for a bit before heading to Embassy Suites. Had dinner and the hotel and got to bed!
Date: 2019-07-22
To: Great Barrington - Monument Mountain Motel 
Miles today: 0.0

Breakfast at the hotel, then took a Lyft to South Station Bus Terminal in Boston. Got on the bus to Springfield, MA. No hiccups and actually arrived in Springfield early! We met up with Mary, friend of friend¢s in New Bern and now our friend and Trail Angel. Mary took us to get propane, tortillas, and cheese, and then drove us to Great Barrington. On the way we stopped at the Big Y, arranged our packs so we would be ready to start hiking when we go to the trail. When we got to the trail, the rain had picked up and after some contemplation, we opted for one more night in a motel. A few were booked up and few were too expensive. We called the Mountain View Motel, we drove by and realized why there was vacancy. Dilapidated and a mess! We eventually found a very nice, clean motel with the in the Monument Mountain Motel. We had dinner across the street at Marketplace Kitchen Table - Great food and place (in an old Friendly¢s)! We spent most of the rest of the day relaxing and getting ready for hiking tomorrow! We talked to the owner and he agreed to drive us to the Trailhead tomorrow.
Date: 2019-07-23
From: Great Barrington - Monument Mountain Motel 

To: Mt. Wilcox South Shelters
Miles today: 11.7

When we woke up, it was still raining hard! Luckily, we didn¢t head out until 8:15 am so it started to slow by the time we got going. We saw a few North Bounders and South Bounders today. The light rain early on felt nice, especially considering we could have been in the recent heat. We stopped at the Thomas Leonard Shelter for lunch and considered our options. We talked for a bit with Sherpa and Hiccup. Sherpa is from Waynesboro, VA and Hiccup is from the Netherlands. The live in each country for 6 months out of the year. We decided to press on and eventually we made it Mt. Wilcox Shelters where we set up our tent and promptly ate so we could rest and get to sleep ASAP. Potential long day tomorrow tying to get to Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Also staying at the shelter, a number of kids were there since they were doing a lot of trail magic making improvements on the trail.
Date: 2019-07-24
From: Mt. Wilcox South Shelters

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 16.0

We were definitely sore after our first day of hiking, but still managed to get up and out at a decent hour. We met a few other hikers along the way - bubbles. We made good time to Shaker campsite where we took a long rest. We opted to press on to the Upper Goose Pond Cabin where a lot of other hikers were going. We took a lunch break at Tyringham, MA where there was a table, spring, and an honor system for snacks and sodas. We got a bag of fritos and enjoyed our lunch from our food supplies. The rest of the hike was hard for our second day, but we made it and grabbed a tent pad, ate dinner and got to bed a bit later than we wanted, but we know pancake breakfast isn¢t until 7ish.
Date: 2019-07-25
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Cookie Lady House
Miles today: 11.1

Exhausted from yesterday, we slept in a bit. We were packing up when Rod, one of the caretakers came up to tell us last call around 7:20 am. We hurried down to the house to get pancakes. Bonnie gave us 3 big pancakes where we enjoyed them on a table outside on the patio. We met a family doing a local day hike with a few nights staying at the cabin. We said our goodbyes and pressed on down the trail. The weather was beautiful, but lots of roots and rocks along the way. We met Tex - a section hiker on the way and chatted with her a bit and a few very nice SoBos along the way. We eventually made our way to the Cookie Lady¢s house where we had klondike bars and lots of pick your own blueberries and two farm fresh hard boiled eggs. We had dinner at the table she had out, met a thru-hiker from China, named Click, and tried to get to bed early.
Date: 2019-07-26
From: Cookie Lady House

To: St. Mary of Assumption Church - Dalton, MA 
Miles today: 18.2

Woke up early today! On the trail by 7:15 am. We took our time and met a lot of hikers today. All the hikers are great! Early on we came across some trail magic - Mike. He handed out Werther¢s candies and left donuts and gatorade at the trailhead. We split a donut and Bearman had a gatorade when we got to the trailhead. No shelter stops just a few water stops along the way. We got to Dalton late afternoon and shipped a bunch of stuff home. We also grabbed a few cold drinks and extra crackers, then headed back on the trail. When we got to our planned campsite, we felt good enough that we decided to press on. We got to Chesire around 7 pm and met Nate (or Northstar). He¢s a really awesome 12 year old kid who has hikers sign his trail register, brings trail magic, and chats with the hikers. The town had their once a year, block part which we attended for a bit before finding water and having dinner. We ate and chatted with Supergirl and Wildcard (and Northstar) before getting to bed. Mt. Greylock tomorrow!
Date: 2019-07-27
From: St. Mary of Assumption Church - Dalton, MA 

To: Wilbur Clearing Shelter 
Miles today: 11.1

Slept in an extra 30 minutes today, but a few folks still left after us. Lots of climbing up the mountains after we walked the rest of the day though Chesire. Lots of rocks and climbs today. Around lunchtime we made it to the top of Mt. Greylock. We spread some of grandpa¢s ashes at the monument on top. Released a bit and then had lunch at the lodge. Skins had a hummus and eggplant sandwich and Bearman had a veggie burger we both had fruit popsicles too! After our long break, we hiked a few more miles and end up at the Wilbur Shelter. We met a lot more nice weekend campers, north bounders, and other hikers. Also, some loud boy scouts, but they seem to calm down when the sun went down. A short day tomorrow plus resupply.
Date: 2019-07-28
From: Wilbur Clearing Shelter 

To: Seth Warner Shelter 
Miles today: 9.9

We meant to wake up at 6 am, but we slept in an extra 30 minutes. We got ready pretty fast and were on the trail around 7:30 am. The terrain wasn¢t too bad all the way to North Adams. We walked to half a mile to the Stop N Shop (couldn¢t get a hitch). We picked up supplies for the next few days and hung out on the table in the front while our cell phones charged. The climb out of North Adams was really hard. Not only did we have extra weight from food, there was no breeze, the humidity picked up as well as the temperature we huffed it up and after a few miles, we reach Vermont! We finished Massachusetts and only have 3 states left! We rested a bit, and still drenched in sweat, we pushed on the Shelter. Along the way, we also passed the 1600 mile mark meaning we have hiked 1600 miles on the AT! When we got to camp we set up our tent and were about to cook dinner when a Thunderstorm rolled in! We were able to get in the tent in time, but the rain pooled and a bunch of our stuff got wet. But, it could have been worse. We ate cold dinner when we waited out the rain. Luckily, it let up about 30ish minutes later so we could get to bed early!
Date: 2019-07-29
From: Seth Warner Shelter 

To: Hampton Inn - Bennington, VT 
Miles today: 11.5

After the rain last night, the pack up this morning took a bit longer. We were still on the trail by 7:30 am. Lots of muddy terrain to deal with, but we still enjoyed the hike. Lots of mist and muggy weather, but we only took a few breaks. At one break, we had lunch at Congdon Shelter. At that point, we decided to get a hotel room for the night so we could do laundry and get a shower. We served a ride from the Green Mountain Express and they picked us up about 30 minutes after we arrived at Route 9 to get into Bennington, VT. When we got to Bennington we dried out our stuff outside. Then we went to Home Depot and the local grocery store to pick up dinner. After our shower, dinner, and laundry, we felt incredible refreshed and ready to hike in the morning. Also, the last section of MA was extremely rocky that took 30 minutes to climb. We had an awesome dinner cheese, guacamole, tomatoes, pickles in tortillas.
Date: 2019-07-30
From: Hampton Inn - Bennington, VT 

To: Kid Gore Shelter 
Miles today: 14.4

Waking up in a hotel was very nice! We had a great breakfast, packed up our bags, and waited outside for our ride. We had to hire a taxi, which was a bit expensive, but needed. We started, with a steep trek up. The day started and stayed very humid. The day also got a lot warmer, but we ventured through some mud, lots of rocks to make it quite a few miles today. We stopped for lunch and a few breaks at a few nice views. We decided to go a little farther and end up at a shelter with an amazing view. We decided to stay in the shelter since it was calling for thunderstorms tonight and rain tomorrow.
Date: 2019-07-31
From: Kid Gore Shelter 

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 15.0

Slept OK in the shelter and really happy we did! The Thunderstorms last night were loud and intense! We could see lightning strikes in the distance! We were woken up early by the other shelter hikers, but wanted to get up early anyway. The clouds were still around in the morning and the mud was likewise always present with yesterday¢s rain. Lots of rocks, roots, and mud made our hike a bit slow, but we made great progress with a few breaks here and there. When we stopped for lunch, it started to rain again. We got water and lunch together as quickly as we could and had to eat under the tree canopy getting slightly rained on. Since it was raining, we finished our lunch and kept hiking. We had a long uphill to the top of Stratton Mountain, but by then the rain had stopped so the view from the firetower were great! After taking in the views, we finished our day at the Shelter! Very nice! Where we were in our sleeping bags before 8 pm!
Date: 2019-08-01
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Green Mountain House 
Miles today: 10.7

The shelter last night was very nice, but we had to get up early to get moving. We were up and out on the trail before 7 am! The trail wasn¢t too bad and we had awesome views at Prospect Rock! We made the road in good time, and were able to get a hitch in about 5 minutes. Our hitch was a guy named Nick who owns a farmhouse he rents out called Vermont Farmhouse (vermontfarmhouse.com). He took us to Price Chopper where we got a bunch (probably too much) of food. Jeff from the hostel picked us up and took us back. The hostel is amazing! Clean, comfortable, and it has great amenities. We took showers, enjoyed some brownies that another hiker made, and relaxed while we did laundry. Bearman had some late night ice cream, but we were still in bed by 9 pm.
Date: 2019-08-02
From: Green Mountain House 

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.8

Breakfast this morning was fantastic! After a nice night's rest in a bed, we made a few eggs in the kitchen of the hostel. The eggs went in a tortilla with cheese, tomato, avocado, & mayo. Soo good! We also had some toast and Skins had some cereal. We relaxed and packed up a bit before our shuttle left @ 8 am. We rode to the trailhead with Taps, Cado & Tom and by 8:15 am, we were on our way! There were a lot of climbs & rocks today, but nothing too, too bad. Early on, we hiked up a ski slope to the top of Bromley Mountain. We enjoyed a break at the top with nice views before heading on. A few miles later we had Trail Magic from Spineless Cougar - Oreos, watermelon, & gatorade. Although he had a lot more options¢¦ Lunch with good views at Styles Peak and then more good views after a rock scramble at Baker¢s Peak. After getting to the original planned (and a bit creepy) campsite a little early, we decided to press on to the next shelter. We made good time, had a nice dinner, and met some new friends.
Date: 2019-08-03
From: Lost Pond Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 14.9

We woke up a bit later this morning and start getting ready to get out of the tent, and then it started to rain! We hung out for ~20 minutes before the rain pushed through. Unfortunately, that meant we had lots of wet stuff to put in our packs. We packed up our stuff, including our Ursack which we put up for the first time last night (Thanks to Click!). We got off to a little later start, but no worries! After about 3 miles, we came across trail magic. We enjoyed fresh eggs on toast, oatmeal creme pies, and cookies! Unfortunately, we got some bad family news - Bearman¢s son/Skins¢s oldest brother¢s mother-in-law passed away last night. We had spotty service, so were only able to provide some comfort as best we could over the phone when we were able to get in touch.After we left trail magic, we walked maybe 500 yards down a hill and there was another trail magic set up! We didn¢t stop as we were too full and wanted to get hiking. We made good time and enjoyed the trail. After a little while, we came across two places on the trail with a bunch of cairns. The cairns were really neat and beautiful! After a few climbs, we made it to the shelter where we dried out our stuff. We met a number of kids and counselors from a VT summer camp who were also tented there. The counselors made burritos for them and the kids and had a bunch of leftovers so they offered us a burrito as well! Skins took one and it was delicious - Rice, beans, peppers, onions, sour cream! MmmmmmmWe hung around camp a bit and then got into the tent for the night. Potentially another big day of hiking tomorrow!
Date: 2019-08-04
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge Shelter 
Miles today: 14.1

Cool & Humid - This morning¢s weather. Sweaty most of the morning, but we ticked through the miles. At an early gravel road, we ran into travel magic - two coolers with drinks and cookies. We only stopped for a bit and pushed on. Shortly after we continued our hike, we heard from a SoBo that there was more trail magic farther ahead.We came across that trail magic and enjoyed some chips, drinks, cold towels, and snacks. ¢Roll On¢ was providing trail magic and we really enjoyed it! He was providing trail magic for a few weeks for a father/son duo he had hiked with previously (Wizard and Red Beard). After a long enough break, we pressed on to the top of Killington. We quickly set up our tent and then climbed up to the summit of Killington Mountain! The summit had great 360 degree views. Unfortunately, there was no water nearby, but we had packed extra since we were concerned that may have been the case. All and all - Great day of hiking with great views!