morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-05-21
From: Pochuck Mtn. Shelter

To: Wawayanda
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

The Royal Rangers were incredible.  Maybe because half of the group left and hiked back to the Unionville area before nightfall or maybe because of the extremely calm guidance of their knowledgeable leader, the Rangers made a neat, quiet camp and disturbed no one.  Several section and thru hikers came in after them and spread out in the campsites in the evening, making the site full yet it was quiet and contained.  Breakfast was full of Mountain House eggs, biscuits, and sausage meals in a bag, but the kids cleaned up after themselves and packed their litter out.  Good campers.  I was the last one left in the campground.  The plan is to wait here for MrsJoy who is coming off a zero, but I wasn't sure when the meet would occur.  I loitered around and chatted with Peregrina (hopeful LASHer) and some other hikers until the crowd dispersed and MrsJoy strolled in around 10 a.m.  It was great to see her again!  We set off toward the next shelter, crossing another section of marsh on a day threatening rain.  We met up with Peregrina a short distance down the trail and the 3 of us joined up.  Nice company.  Stopped at a farmstand for lunch.  We shared a lunch of wildly overpriced watermelon, chips, and salsa, washed down with soda for the coolness and bubbles.  At this point we'd hiked only 5 miles and when I looked at my watch and noticed it was already 4 p.m. I felt compelled to get movin'!  I don't like hiking at night (recipe for disaster for me who can be clumsy in broad daylight) so I loaded up and set off, leaving Peregrina and MrsJoy to follow.  The trail ran along the flats a short way before a steep uphill of several hundred feet to a lookout.  I could see little tiny people at a rock outcrop when I started the climb, looking out over the valley and enjoying the view.  The trail uphill was studded with rock steps that made the climb very nice.  A popular place, the top was crowded with people all clustered around a large pile of rocks.  It was a confusing mini mob and I just kept my eyes on the white blaze that kept heading up to what I thought was the lookout.  Evidently I walked right past the spur to the lookout, kept heading uphill along the white blazed AT, and missed the view.  Darn.  I could have gone back, but by then I just wanted to get to the shelter and knew I had another4-5 miles to go.  I hustled.  I got there.  Andante (NoBo) and Lock(SoBo) were there - both taking LongAssSectionHikes - and since rain was in the forecast I settled into the shelter with them.  MrsJoy and Peregrina came in later - MrsJoy suffering stomach problems probably due to her McDonalds breakfast nosh from that morning.  I felt bad for them both.  We all managed to squeeze into the shelter and settled in for a night of peace and quiet.  Only kidding.
Date: 2017-05-22
From: Wawayanda

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: overcast clouds

The morning started out foggy and damp.  It had been a long night of snore choruses.  Lock was a snore-with-each-breath wall rattler.  Andante had a much more creative salvo to add intermittently.  But we survived and the morning birdsong brought us to our groggy senses.  The morning was foggy and damp but not openly raining.  Peregrina was thinking she'd slow down a bit and hope to last longer.  MrsJoy and I headed out on a wet trail.  The views were foggy and probably fabulous on a clear day.  We ran into Andante and DisCount on a section of bald and there, painted on the rock, was the line between NY and NJ.  We grabbed a photo of our feet gathered around the state line and then were off again, hitting a stretch of ups/downs that wound along the ridge.   At some point the rain began to crank up.  My rain gear soon became overwhelmed and the wind picked up as well.  As luck would have it I happened to come out to a road where there was a hot dog stand advertised just up the road.  Hot food sounded perfect so off I went only to discover the abandoned hot dog stand.  But wait!  Just around the corner!  A Creamery!  OK.  So maybe they have burgers.  Or at least some hot tea.  OK.  I ended up with a dish of ice cream.  Well at least the place was warm and dry.  I waited for MrsJoy but she hadn't showed for close to an hour, so I put on my wet rain gear and headed out into the weather.  Luckily the rain quit after a few more tidal waves and the hiking helped dry out my duds a bit on my way to Wildcat.MrsJoy and Andante were waiting for me when I got to Wildcat.  How did they get ahead of me?  Sneaky.  Ah well.  I finally got my hot meal and spread all of my wet clothes and gear around the shelter.  Decided to risk the snore-fest and sleep in the shelter to avoid more rain.  But hikers began to trickle in and so did the mosquitoes.  I tucked tail and set up my tent for a bug-free night.  In the end it was the right decision.
Date: 2017-05-23
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Not quite all the way
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

One of the fine things about hiking the AT with MrsJoy is that she KNOWS this trail really well.  She's thru-hiked nearly the whole trail and section hikes frequently.  It's like getting a guided tour.  She warned me that today would be a shorter day; we probably wouldn't reach the next shelter but would find a stealth site instead.  She knows what's ahead.  I don't study the guide much; I just follow the white blazes.  But it pays to have a plan.We started out at our usual 7-7:30 time frame.  A waterfall greeted us soon - a pretty fall down a steep face.  Rock steps made the trip uphill pretty easy and the trail wound through some beautiful old woods roads before heading uphill to a foggy bald.  I had told MrsJoy I'd wait for her at the top of the hill and so I sat on a rock waiting.  Andante showed up and we chatted.  He'd been having some balance issues and was not feeling his best.  At some point I mentioned that I was waiting for MrsJoy and Andante told me she was ahead.  He was sure of it.  I thought I'd kept a careful watch on the trail when I sneaked off in the woods for a pit stop.  I waited longer.  Andante pushed on.  At some point I moved on as well.  The trail was rocky and steep in places.  I could feel my legs were tired and was grateful whenever I hit the flats.  Andante was in sight after a while and we spoke again at a road crossing.  His vertigo was giving him too much trouble and he was heading to town for a break.  He later mentioned that there were a mass of ticks that swarmed the spot I'd been standing on, yet I haven't had a single tick on me.  I credit Permethrin treatments on all of my clotehs and gear for the tick-free hike I've enjoyed.I finally caught up with MrsJoy on a steep uphill and we settled in shortly for a cozy stealth.  Her cagey planning positioned us well for the next day, and gave us a rest from the challenging steepness of the day.  Thank you MrsJoy!
Date: 2017-05-24
From: Unofficial campsite

To: William Brien Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: moderate rain

The day started with more steep climbing up and then steep down.  We chatted our way down and finally came to two road crossings.  Navigating the first one was a dart-n-hope experience, but crossing the major highway was a safe bridge walk.  I paused on the bridge, looking down through the chain link barrier at all of the cars speeding by below.  Ah the ratrace!  My imagination let me believe that some of those drivers were looking up at us, planning their own hike in the future.  The trail took us from the highway into the gentle hills of the Harriman Park.  It was magnificent.  Lush rolling hills of grasslands dotted with grand hardwoods in an open pattern spread out around the trail.  Just glorious.  I think I fell in love.  We hiked upward, having lunch on a bald when Andante caught up with us. after his night of recovery and delicious salmon.  The nerve!  MrsJoy and I planned to hike to William Brien and off we went, wishing Andante well.  William Brien was a handsome shelter - a stone structure with a wooden floor and bunk beds. It was tempting to set up in the shelter and avoid the rain, but the forecast had turned a bit more promising so we set up our tents. Andante joined us at the shelter and a hiker named Spot who had thru'd the AT five times and was trying a section as training for the PCT until his knee started to protest. Ah yes, the knees. I can relate. Surprisingly, Hot Pants showed up! The last time I saw him was in Duncannon PA where I bought him a beer at the Doyle! I never expected to see him again - the trail works in mysterious ways!There was a lot of discussion about bears. MrsJoy had read Facebook entries describing a bear event at Fingerboard shelter that involved two food bags, unhappy campers, and a well-fed bear, so we decided to skip that area and head for William Brien.Was this shelter also being visited by the marauders? Would we be food targets for ursines? We hung our bags - really high - and MrsJoy pointed out that my backpack, sitting alone among the rocks, was a number one target for any hiker-savvy Ursa. Huh. News to me. What a newbie I am. I thought about it and, yes, strung up a second cord and hung my pack. Then later, stretched out in my tent, cozy and warm, I started thinking I was just paranoid. No bears here! So I went out into the gathering gloom, found the pack-hanging-tree, un-hung my pack, and reinstated it inside my tent. Good plan, right? Well I thought so too, for about 10 minutes. Then I started thinking about how much my home-made bug repellent made my pack stink. Repels bugs. But does it repel bears? Or do they LOVE it?? Oh god. I bet they love it. So I climbed out of my bag, schlepped back to that far away tree and tossed the line over the same branch (4th try) to hoist up the stinky pack. Again. I hung it high and watched it swinging. Sort of looked like a bad day for a very short person. Actually creepy.But had a great, bear-free night's sleep.
Date: 2017-05-27
From: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

To: Unofficial campsite
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

In the morning MrsJoy and I shouldered our packs and started off at our usual 7:15ish start time.  Andante was just getting moving as we were about to leave, and perhaps we'll see him again.  The plan today was to complete around 14 miles and stealth at or near the Canopus Lake.  The trail was kind to us, without too much steepness or harshness.  In fact, it was on this stretch that I finally caught a nice view of the valley below.  There were old defunct mines at one point along the trail, where some sort of mineral had been mined back in the day.  I never saw a mine entrance like you'd see in the old cowboy movies, but there were frequent huge rock piles made of baseball to football sized rocks.  It was a bit hard to imagine the miners digging here and living in the woods, but there must have been some constant activity since at one point the rocks had been piled such that they created a raised walkway that extended for maybe 0.1 miles.  The trail utilized this rock road, to my relief, and I began wishing there were more flat, easy miles made out of a rock bed in the trail ahead. Or maybe made of cotton batten or perhaps even cumulus clouds.  Sound like I might be getting tired?  In fact the strangest thing was happening to my right knee - it was clicking with each extension of the joint.  I couldn't feel it clicking - I could hear it clicking.  Each step, particularly the uphill steps, resulted in a non-painful audible click with full extension.  Odd.  My knees are typically marginal at best but I'd been really gratefully happy for my right knee since with a lot of quadriceps work, it had become much more reliable in the past year.  The clicking was worrisome.  We finally entered the State Park near the end of a long day, and walked the mile or two it took to get to the north end of the lake, about a quarter mile from the beach.  We found a good stealth spot, set up camp, then I took off to get a quick swim in before dark.  When I got to the beach there was only one person in sight; a man walking along a side road and talking on his phone.  I shed my crocs, made sure I set my phone safely on shore, and waded into the cool water fully clothed.  I reasoned that since my clothes were pretty funky I'd do double duty and rinse the sweat out of them.  So I paddled around a bit, took rinsing aim at the body parts most in need of attention, and headed back to the tent.  Nylon fabric dries fast, and I was hoping the clothes would be mostly dry by tomorrow.  We'll see.  I was pretty tired by bedtime, but stayed awake for quite awhile, listening to the sounds as the dark night gathered.
Date: 2017-05-28
From: Unofficial campsite

To: Homeward Bound
Miles today: 5.0

I woke up sleepy and a bit slow.  MrsJoy wisely went ahead and left me to my breakfast rituals.  I'd spent some time last night considering my next move. I'd left my car at the town hall in Kent, CT, where I plan to pick it up and drive home.  The town clerk had asked me how long the car would be in the lot since they were planning on repaving the lot imminently.  She thought the 7-10 day window I gave her would be ok.  That window would close on Tuesday - giving me 2 days of hiking.  And it was a long holiday weekend so I figured I'd be safe to wait until Tues.  Then the brain got in the way.  Wouldn't they begin work in the morning?  There was no way I could get to Kent by Tues morning.  Hmmm.  And are the Kent pavers likely to start work on Monday, despite the holiday, in order to get the pay bump for holiday time?  Oy.  Then there was the thunderstorm forecast for Monday.  Then there was the issue of the clicking knee.  I did the thing that is possible for every section hiker:  I decided there were more reasons to be leaving the trail today than to stay the one extra day (Monday) and get rained on all day.  So I phoned the shuttle folks and arranged to have them pick me up at RPH shelter, which they did after a short wait.I know what this return to home will be like.  My body will be home, but emotionally I'll still be hiking.  It's a very strange, emotionally bifocal view of the world that I don't enjoy overmuch.  But the die is cast.I'm heading home.  I'll try to reconnect with MrsJoy for a notch-to-notch hike in NH and then possibly something in Maine.  July is a very difficult time for me to get away since family comes in to visit, I have a berry harvest to complete, and jam to produce.  But I hope to find a week or so...P.S.  My first days home I had to do a fair amount of right knee rehab as it fell into some disrepair.  It's back to being as good as it gets now.  I was immediately treated to fresh moose tracks on my neighborhood walks and yesterday, walking the 1.5 miles to Wickett Pond with daughter, grandson, hubby, and dog, we were treated to the sight of a big, healthy, beautiful black bear.  The bear was standing in the bushes about 80-90 feet from us, inspecting us as we inspected it, a la the cover picture on Bill Bryson's A WALK IN THE WOODS.  Way too cool.
Date: 2017-06-17
To: Whites
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

It looks like there is some space on the calendar for adventuring in the next few weeks.  I'm aiming for a couple of notch-to-notch sections beginning at Franconia heading north.  This will give me more miles to tie in with last spring's Maine SOBO adventure.  After this time in the Whites I have to hustle back home to prepare for almost 2 solid months of family fun at the homestead as folks trickle in from NC, SC, CA, and NY.  We'll have a blast!  Maybe I can talk some of the kids into an overnight with me.  You never know.  Now I have to see if the weather will unlock the rain cycle we're in and give me a break long enough to get up onto the ridge and beyond.  Pretty wet here.
Date: 2017-06-21
From: Liberty Springs Parking Area

To: Liberty Campsite
Miles today: 2.5
Weather: broken clouds

There is something really disorienting about packing up for a hike from home.  I think it's because I have too much stuff to pick through; too many choices.  But pick I did and soon was off in my trusty little Honda heading for New Hampshire.  I got into Lincoln around noon, then drove to the Liberty Springs parking area, locked up the car, and headed uphill.  First there was a short blue blaze to the AT then the trail lifted upward and grew rocks and roots.  I met a family heading down the trail - mom, dad, and their young son who was 6.  A short conversation revealed that the boy had bagged his first 4K footer in the Whites at age 4 and was just finishing picking off his 14th!  Yikes!  Peak bagging is very popular, it turns out, since most of the hikers I met were ticking off summits.  But the next hiker I met as he was climbing down the hill made me smile for the rest of the day.  He was a young man wearing typical hiking gear and carrying a large SLR camera.  After we exchanged a few pleasantries he asked me if I'd mind taking his picture.  Sure!  No problem! He handed over his camera while asking did I know that this day was National Hike Naked Day.  Wow.  Didn't see that one coming!  Er, oh.  I get it.  Well, why not!  I laughed agreement and he laid bare his soul and every other part too, then hoisted his backpack for the proper hiker effect.  Got a back shot first then, yes, he turned around for me to take a picture of the Full Monty.  I suppose, in retrospect, that I must have seemed like a pretty safe bet to him - and now he has proof that yes, on this date on that trail, he was a true blue hiker dude!Well the rest of the hike sort of paled in comparison.  The climb up Liberty went from steep to really steep then back to just steep by the time I got to the campsite.  The camp itself was a series of tent platforms perched on the slope and each platform held at least two tents.  Having a self-supporting tent was a boon here, and I wished I had my Old Reliable.  But no; this time for this hike I had a hiking-pole-and stake version that was a challenge to set up on a wooden platform.  But using rocks (oh plenty of those), my second pole, Yankee ingenuity, and a lot of time I finally got the tent up and usable.  My platform mate was Stacey and her big German shepherd Kai.  They made for good companions and we had a nice chat before hiker's midnight drove us into our bags.  As soon as I lay down I started to cramp up, forcing me to - when I could move again - make tracks to the bear box to dig out some salt packets from my food bag.  I swallowed two of them on my way back to the tent and did fine for the rest of the night.  I will remember to drink more water and electrolytes tomorrow. Caught a great sunset through the walls of my tent - blazing orange light filtering through the trees made for a lovely end to the day.
Date: 2017-06-24
From: Zealand Falls Hut

To: Zealand Shuttle
Miles today: 2.7
Weather: moderate rain

These huts are incredible.  Unlike Lakes of the Clouds Hut, these are smaller but have a much more interesting design, with bunks rising up 4 tiers.  Wow.  I'm so glad that I slept on the first level for both nights.  That might seem like a small gift, but I didn't look forward to negotiating a ladder in the middle of the night to go find the toilet.  I did sleep well again, though, without hearing any loud snoring.  Miracle.  Breakfast was the standard fare then I was off to meet the 9:40 shuttle.  A short, mostly downhill hike with gentle grade through some brimming ponds was my morning hike.  I didn't have a reservation for the shuttle (no cell or internet service at that hut) so I was a bit anxious about getting a seat.  I followed a group of 3 women up from Connecticut who were out for a 2 night hut-to-hut hike.  They were Neucy (not sure how to spell her name), Kate, and Kelly.  All very interesting women.  Kelly was a writer, Neucy was a fast, strong hiker, and Kate was a good conversationalist who seemed to have a sincere commitment to her job of teaching 4th/5th graders.  We all made good time and were rewarded for our efforts when the shuttle arrived 15 minutes early and scooped us all up.  An hour later I was dropped off right at my car and drove it to Lincoln under troubled skies to check the weather and confirm my next move. I took a room at the Kancamagus Lodge - the very place I'd stayed in 2015 when I fell on the way down Wolf Mtn and busted 2 ribs.  The town of Lincoln was hosting a Beer Fest and very crowded so I was lucky to get the last room at the Lodge.  I hit the laundromat, ordered a burger to go, and assembled all of my gear for the next leg of my journey.  Then checked the weather.  Uh Oh.  Sunday forecast was mixed showers and thunderstorms, but the real worry was the deep drop in temperature up on the high peaks.  The forecast was showing 20-30 degree nights (probably OK for my gear) but only 40 degree days with sharp wind.  I took a sober look at my plans and my gear and compared them with the forecast before realizing that journeying into that environment with my supplies was foolhardy.  I had no desire to be the object of a rescue mission.  Think, think, think.  Although I'm still tired from the past few days I didn't feel ready to quit hiking.  I checked the weather along the northern Whites and Mahoosucs.  No go.  How about the Long Trail in Vermont?  Well...not the northern sections; same problem.  OK.  I get it.  Just start at VT 4 and go north to avoid the AT crowd. It will only be raining on Monday and then just showers and thunderstoms and the temperature will never get too bad.  Done.  Now I have another plan.
Date: 2017-06-25
From: VT 4

To: Not sure
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: broken clouds

I waved goodbye to the Whites and Lincoln NH and wound my way down to Hanover where I stopped at Lou's for breakfast.  Wow.  What a feed!  They are very  hiker-friendly and serve a lovely meal.  I finished a fraction of it, ordered a burger to go, and left with enough food to eat for at least 2 days.  Perfect!  Got to VT 4 just about a mile from the famous and wonderful Inn At The Long Trail, parked, and stepped into the woods for a bio break. Well, washed my hands off in the stream, slipped on a rock and fell hard onto roks in the stream.  Ouch.  My left shin has a knob on it that makes my leg look like it has 2 knees.  Sheeesh.  What a klutz!  Oh well, nothing broken, so off I go, NOBO on the LT.  It is a fabulous day; easy trail, lovely weather, the typical mud/roots/rocks of the LT but the woods are inviting and the trail is forgiving.  I stop at the first shelter, about 5 miles into the hike, and become lulled by the peace and calm and beauty.  Before I knew it I was deciding to stay, setting up my tent, and trying to keep from falling asleep too soon.  The next morning I decided to make the 5 miles back to my car be my last hike of the week, to return home to my family, and return to the Whites when I could.  It was actually a perfect way to polish off what will be my last long hike until Sept, probably.