morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-28
From: Shakers Campsite - outside Tyringham, MA

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: thunderstorm with rain

This morning I wrote in my journal - it is no fun putting on wet and dirty socks and boots. We needed sun to dry our equipment and instead we had monsoon-like rain for almost 2 hours. There was so much water on the trail it was impossible to avoid the puddles so we just walked through the puddles. Another great experience today. After walking in the rain for about 2 hours we arrived at our destination, the Upper Goose Pond Cabin (you can read about it here: http://www.outdoors.org/lodging/cabins-campgrounds/camps-uppergoose.cfm). We were met by the caretaker who told us to go inside, find a bunk, and change into something less wet. He then asked if we wanted hot tea or hot chocolate. The cabin is AT Conservancy owned and managed along the trail and is the only cabin on a really pristine, beautiful lake. An enchanting setting. It rained most of the afternoon so we sat on rocking chairs on the porch, stayed dry, and drank tea. In the morning the caretaker made everyone coffee and pancakes with fresh blueberries. The blueberries were courtesy of the "Cookie Lady" (see next page) and brought to the cabin by some hikers who started in Maine and are walking to Georgia. We had a discussion that night about the real world vs hiking the AT. In the real world you do not come across a really nice cabin in the middle of the woods on a pristine lake and when you arrive you are greeted with a much need beverage. Then, you are offered to use the canoe or swim in a lake only hikers can use. In the morning you are fed an amazing breakfast and when it is time to leave you are asked to leave a donation if you can afford it. I did get the phone number for the volunteer coordinator and I will apply for Beate and I to serve as a caretaker couple next summer for a week.
Date: 2012-07-29
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: The Cookie Lady's Farm (Becket, MA)
Miles today: 14.0

As I said before any day you can wake up to pancakes with fresh blueberries and home-brewed coffee is a good day. An even better day is when it's at a cabin in the woods. I definitely am looking forward to Beate and I volunteering to be caretakers. The job requires you to work the cabin for a week, take care of it for the AT Conservancy, kind of clean a bit every day, and make pancakes and stuff for hikers that come through. The setting is so magical, it would be great for Beate and I to have that gig for a week. Another interesting day. We left Upper Goose Pond cabin after our blueberry pancakes and walked to the "Cookie Lady's" farm. Everybody that's hiked the AT or read the guide books knows about the "Cookie Lady." The Cookie Lady lives about about 100 yards off the AT and since 1983 has been making cookies and taking care of hikers. The Cookie Lady and her husband own and run a blueberry farm, with about 1000 blueberry bushes. Since it was blueberry season we were in heaven. Everyday they ask some southbound hiker to take blueberries to the Upper Goose Pond Cabin so hikers can have fresh blueberry pancakes in the morning (see entry from 28 July).      Each hiker is offered free homemade cookies and, the always in demand, water. She also sells eggs from her chickens (boiled or fresh), soda, lemonade, and Klondike bars. You can also camp in her yard for free and they even have a working toilet in a separate building for hikers to use. So tonight we're sleeping in a blueberry patch with seven other hikers. Each year she bakes about 1500 cookies to give away to hikers. She is a legend on the trail since she has been doing this for so long.  Just another bit of trail magic that never ceases to amaze me.
Date: 2012-07-30
From: The Cookie Lady's Farm (Becket, MA)

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

Walked to Dalton, MA. The trail runs right through downtown Dalton. Reinhard and I are staying at the Shamrock Inn. We needed a break to wash and dry our clothes and bodies. This is a much needed break as our bodies are wearing down. Dalton has several residents who allow hikers to stay in their house for free but we wanted our own space to relax.         When we leave Dalton on Wednesday we will have to climb Mount Greylock, the highest point in MA. Hallo, ihr lieben Wanderer und alle die mich kennen! Ich bin jetzt bei Meile 1564.1 und habe noch 620.1 Meilen zu wandern. Meine Fuesse sind etwas muede und geschwollen, deshalb habe ich mir heute in der Pharmacy ein Paar Kompressionsstruempfe gekauft um auf der sicheren Seite zu sein. Morgen geht es weiter auf dem Trail und die Pause hier tut mir und meinem Koerper gut. Reinhard-Rhino-the German
Date: 2012-07-31
From: Dalton, MA

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was a zero day. We went to an outfitter because Reinhard needed some new pants, boots, a Camelback, and fuel. I bought fuel and Aquamira. That was about it, it was just nice that we had the opportunity of taking a short day. (The entries for the next few days are going to be pretty short because we¢re not going to be able to charge our phones until 6 August)
Date: 2012-08-01
From: Dalton, MA

To: Mount Greylock
Miles today: 14.0

We hiked 14 miles out of Dalton today. We almost made it to the summit of Mount Greylock, the highest point in MA, but we stopped because we didn¢t want to pay to actually camp at the very top. We ended up stopping about 3 miles short. It¢s always good to get in the town but it¢s also good to get back onto the trail. We hooked up with Voltron today¢we hadn¢t seen him in a couple of weeks so it¢s good to see him.
Date: 2012-08-02
From: Mount Greylock

To: Seth Warner Shelter, VT
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

We finished the climb to Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. We ate some amazing hot blueberry muffins and had some coffee at the Summit Lodge, a pretty nice place. We also stopped in Williamstown after coming down Mount Greylock and into a valley. While we were in town we resupplied for four days. It¢s always a big climb out of town when you have 3 quarts of water and four days worth of food. It stinks but you¢ve got to do it. We also crossed into Vermont. The campsite was crowded with 7 AT northbounders, 6 AT southbounders, and 6 Vermont Long Trailers. Long Trail is a 240 mile trail that runs up to Canada. Reinhard and I made supper together. The first day out of a town we always carry fresh food, so we had some vegetarian taco meat¢actually it was called ¢texturized vegetable protein with taco flavoring.¢ We also made Spanish rice, had some cheese, brought out some lettuce and rolled it all together in tortillas, and kind of had a taco/burrito combination. It was very good. We usually do something special on the first day out of town. We linked back up with hiker name Ranger Bill and Passion Flower¢two AT hikers we hiked with before, so it¢s always good to see familiar faces. We stayed at Seth Warner Shelter.
Date: 2012-08-03
From: Seth Warner Shelter, VT

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

We hiked 13 miles and passed several nice high altitude ponds along the way. One of them was a beaver pond so that was pretty cool. We¢re way up above any type of civilization so everything we see is very clean and pristine. The beavers are not very happy to see us though. It¢s nice walking with familiar hikers and familiar faces¢you really push hard all day long hiking, so it¢s good to have the support. It¢s kind of funny because we¢re starting to link back up with people we hiked with in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. We didn¢t really plan it, we all just kind of walk the same pace. ¢The Walking Wounded¢ is starting to reunite! Tonight we¢re staying at Melville Nauheim Shelter.
Date: 2012-08-04
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: clear sky

We stayed at Story Spring Shelter after hiking 17.4 miles. We¢re starting to do more miles. It was a beautiful day. Our feet are hurting almost all the time, but that¢s life. Motivation for the first time is starting to wane. That¢s one of the reasons why it¢s good to be around other people, to kind of keep you going. Even though it¢s beautiful country and we see a lot of nice people, I¢m getting tired physically and mentally and sometimes I just long for my wife, my family and a bed. But we keep pushing on. Another 6 weeks and we ought to be there. Also, we¢re starting to find some really good water¢some of the cleanest and coldest water since Virginia. It¢s better than drinking out of ponds and nasty streams.
Date: 2012-08-05
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Spruce Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: broken clouds

Hallo, liebe Wanderer und alle die mich kennen. Heute habe ich wieder mal seit langem in einem Shelter geschlafen und nicht im Zelt, da fuer den Abend Regen und Gewitter angesagt ist. Es war dann auch schoen im trockenen Shelter zu sein und draussen dem Regen und Gewitter zuzuschauen,klasse. Rhino-Reinhard-the Gaerman   We hiked a total of 18.3 miles today. We climbed Stratton Mountain: 3,936 feet. It was the first time we almost got up to 4,000 feet since early Virginia. When we were on top of the mountain we looked out and could actually see some of the other mountains and they¢re starting to get much bigger like we used to see in North Carolina and Virginia. We¢re going to have to start climbing those huge mountains soon. Stratton Mountain is where Benton MacKeye, the father of the Appalachian Trail, actually conceived the idea for the AT in the 1930s. So it¢s kind of a ¢cult¢ area, if you will, for AT hikers since that¢s where the idea all started.Been hiking with Voltron, Passion Flower and Rhino all week long. Also, we¢ve seen about 7-10 AT southbound hikers each day. We have tough days and climbs ahead, but tomorrow we¢re heading into town to Manchester Central for food, resupply and a day off.
Date: 2012-08-06
From: Spruce Mountain Shelter

To: Green Mountain House Hostel, Manchester Central V
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: broken clouds

We hiked 3 miles to a road leading to Manchester Central, Vermont. After reaching the road the hitch-hiked into town. The locals are familiar with hikers so as soon as we started hitching a ride 2 cars stopped almost simultaneously (something I don't think would happen in Sheboygan falls, WI). We went to town and bought some food and I bought a new pair of boots. This is my 4th pair and hopefully my last. I spent almost $1000 dollars on boots this trail but I have avoided blisters for the most part. After resupplying we headed to the Green Mountain House. The Green Mountain House is a hostel Jeff and Regina opened after retiring. The hikers get to use the entire house, kitchen, LR. DR, 3 baths, laundry, etc while the host family lives in s renovated garage. We also sleep in a real bed with a mattress and sheets.   A great experience and definitely one of the top three hostels on the trail. Plus, we met some other hikers we had not seen for a while - some for a week or so and some for 3 months. When we leave tomorrow we will have a large group again - many of them older so we will have the same pace. Hallo, liebe Wanderer und alle die mich kennen. Heute sind wir wieder mal in der Stadt, in Manchester Center. Wir sind in einem schoenen Hostel untergebracht. Ich geniesse es einen Tag Pause zu haben vom wandern, da meine Beine doch etwas muede sind. An diesem Tag muessen wir aber auch einkaufen, Waesche waschen und natuerlich etwas ausspannen in einem richtigen Bett, klasse! Schoene Gruesse Rhino-Reinhard-the German
Date: 2012-08-07
From: Green Mountain House Hostel, Manchester Central V

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

I want to discuss the picture on the left. Last night at dinner the owner of the house we stayed in told us of an AT hiker who died earlier this year. The picture he is holding is of a 20 year hiker, trail name parkside, who started hiking from Georgia earlier this year. He made it to Maine earlier this summer. After an especially hard day of hiking he went swimming in one of the numerous ponds we come across. He developed cramps and ultimately drowned. The hikers mother sent a picture of him to many hostels along the trail so other hikers are aware of this danger.
Date: 2012-08-08
From: Lost Pond Shelter

To: Hospital in Rutland
Miles today: 0.0

Bad Wednesday night. Woke up about midnight and could not even get out of the tent. Hoped I could sleep it off but I was not not any better in the morning. Thank goodness Reinhard was there or I would have been in real trouble. I was not much better in the afternoon when some Vermont Student Conservation Association members arrived at our campsite. A bit later a Green Mountain National Forest worked arrived. Collectively, but at the strong recommendation of others, we decided it would be best if I was evacuated from the mountain since I was unable to walk and eating and drinking made me sick.I owe a HUGE thank you to Katie and others from SCA, Jennifer from Green Mountain National Forest Service, the Danby, VT Rescue Squad, East Dorset, VT Fire Dept, Manchester Rescue Squad, and the Danby/Mt Tabor Fire Dept for getting me off the mountain safely. The rescue was extremely well orchestrated and executed in a professional manner. I'm at a library and don't have much time on the computer today but I will write more later. Again, thanks.
Date: 2012-08-09
From: Hospital in Rutland

To: Hiker Hostel in Rutland, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Spent most of the night in the Emergency Room in Rutland, Vermont. Yesterday I was so sick I was unable to walk, drink or eat. That is a bad thing if you are deep in the woods and high up in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The doctor diagnosed me and finally released me after about 7 hours in the ER and many, I'm sure, very expensive tests. Again, I owe so much to the organizations I mentioned in my blog yesterday and to Reinhard and our other German hiking partner, Socks. Socks and Rhino stayed with me up on the mountain, carried my pack and gear off the mountain (with the help of Katie from VT Student Conservation Association and others) and stayed with me at the hospital. ****Wow, best trail magic ever.****
Date: 2012-08-10
From: Hiker Hostel in Rutland

To: Hiker Hostel in Rutland, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Nice hostel and a good place to recover. The hostel folks are great and very understanding of my condition. It is in the center of Rutland, Vt so I can walk a bit to try to get a bit of my strength back. Still not feeling very well and now I am sure I made the correct decision to be evacuated off the mountain or I would still be up there. I am still days away from being able to hike.
Date: 2012-08-11
From: Hiker Hostel in Rutland, VT

To: Hiker Hostel in Rutland, VT
Miles today: 28.1

Doing a bit better but not great. I would still be on the mountain (and out of food) if I had not been evacuated. If you are reading this for the first time, please go back a few days to see what happened and look at the list of the most helpful people and organizations I've met. Again, I would like to thank them in this blog and when I return home I will certainly write a letter to the proper authorities thanking them for the great people they have in their organizations. I hope to get better and start hiking again. But, I am still a ways off. I will have to make some decisions soon because Reinhard is still with me at the hostel and he is under a bit of a time constraint because of his Visa limitations. He has been great through all of this.
Date: 2012-08-12
From: Hiker Hostel in Rutland, VT

To: To the trail
Miles today: 0.0

We¢re going to attempt to hike tomorrow. We¢re certainly nowhere near 100% (Reinhard nor John) but I think we can hike out safely. We¢ll take it easy for the first few days to make sure we don¢t hurt ourselves.Thank you to my wife, sister, sister in law, and uncle for all of the kind and encouraging words they¢ve spoken and given us over the phone for the past few days. Many thanks for the concerns expressed in the guest book for the last few days. Hiking the AT is very tough and I¢m very grateful for the volunteers and professionals that maintain the trail and take care of hikers.
Date: 2012-08-13
To: Cooper Lodge Shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

As I started the hike today, I was thinking how grateful I was to get off the mountain safely last week. The search and rescue squad did a great job getting me out safely and ended up in a hospitable and caring hostel that knows how to care for hikers and people in general. The hiker hostel in VT is really a great place if you need a place to recover from an injury or sickness.Luckily, we only have 492 miles left, which is a big plus! We were only able to manage 13.2 miles today and stayed at the Cooper Lodge ShelterI was really concerned this morning starting off because I wasn¢t feeling 100% and we had to go ahead and climb all the day. We¢re actually at the top of Killington Mountain, which is actually a ski resort. The climb was nearly to 4000 ft. All day, I was mainly thinking ¢I just want to get to the top, I just want to get to the top¢, because I knew that if I got to the top and I got sick tonight, the gondola would be able to take me down tomorrow and I wouldn¢t have to go with search and rescue again. The ski resort actually offers free gondola rides for hikers up and down the mountain but I didn¢t want to take it up because I guess I¢m a bit of a purest as far as hiking the AT goes. Today was kind of an unfortunate day in a way because it was a beautiful day. The hike up from the valley up to Killington ski resort is really beautiful but I was really afraid of getting more sick and having to worry about a lingering illness and not feeling great. Tomorrow¢s another day, though, and hopefully we sleep well tonight.
Date: 2012-08-14
From: Cooper Lodge Shelter

To: Mountain Meadow lodge: Killington, VT
Miles today: 9.0

Tonight, we stayed at Kent Pond in Killington, VT, which is famous for being one of the top ski resorts in the eastern Unite Stated. We actually walked only 9 miles today. Yesterday, we stayed at Mountain Meadow lodge, a big cross-country and skiing lodge run by a nice couple. It¢s quite expensive but they cater to AT hikers.We met up with a couple nice hikers today: Otto and Perch. We haven¢t seen them since NY, so it¢s been quite a while. Otto has a really positive attitude, something that we really need right now. We need more positive attitude with my lingering nauseous feeling. Feeling really crummy. Reinhard¢s leg is still hurting him badly and is still pretty swollen. The anti-thrombotic socks that he has don¢t seem to be helping all that much, so we both seem to be kind of down on our attitudes, but that¢s ok; we¢ll hopefully pick up in a few days. NH is only a few days hike away and then we¢ll only have Maine left! After climbing all day yesterday to get to the top of Killington, we had a pretty long down-hill trek for most of the day today. It¢s pretty interesting because for the first time we have seen a lot of birch tree forests. In the past we¢ve only seen an occasional tree but this whole area is covered with them. There are also a lot of ferns and moss here, which you can tell that the flora and scenery are starting to change as we head further north. VT has been a beautiful state, much more different then the mid-Atlantic states. You can really tell that we¢re in upper New England. We are looking forward to the next couple days of hiking.
Date: 2012-08-16
From: Kellington, VT

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 15.6

I ended up sleeping for 12 hours between naps and nighttime. I just felt really crummy on Tuesday. For dinner, I ended up having 2 portions of homemade cordon bleu, large salad, summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, mac salad with vinegar and oil with fresh veggies in it, extra bread and desert. This feast definitely made me feel a lot better.Wednesday for breakfast, I feasted just as good: juice, coffee, 4 waffles, bagels and cream cheese, large bowl of fruit salad, some coffee cake, an egg, fresh yogurt, thus making me feel better. We¢ll see how tonight goes, though. Today was the first day that I felt pretty good. We met a really nice hiking couple, the Trovert¢s, who are also on Trail Journals. Just a few more days until we¢re in NH, so we¢re getting excited.
Date: 2012-08-17
From: Winturri Shelter

To: West Hartford, VT
Miles today: 16.8

Today is our last day in VT. We camped in some nice guy¢s backyard. He lets hikers stay in his backyard and provides water for them. Vermont is a beautiful state and is probably one of my favorite states. Today, we had lots of ups and downs, with plenty of great views of the hills from the tops and on the bottoms we saw plenty of farms and pastures. We also were lucky with beautiful weather, and just a great day for hiking.We had another good group of hikers today. We were hiking with the husband and wife duo, the Trovert¢s, again today, also on Trail Journals. Her name is X (exTrovert) and his N (inTrovert). Otto also accompanied us along with the Rambling Man. We received some SERIOUS trail magic from Steve out of Bennington, VT. We ate some great roast beef, ham, potato salad, fruit salad, and homemade cake, some of the best cake I¢ve ever had.
Date: 2012-08-17
From: West Hartford, VT

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

Hiked 10 miles before noon. As soon as we made it into Hanover, NH we went straight to the Dartmouth Medical Center. Hanover, NH is the home to Dartmouth College and it dominates the center of town. At the hospital Rhino ha his leg, the one that was swollen for the past week, checked out by a doctor. It turned out to be a muscle strain not a thrombosis as we feared. After the doctor visit we did not have a plan on where to stay. But, a hospital employee told us of a list of trail Angels that the library maintains. So, I called the library and they gave me a list. I started calling and a gentlemen 9andhis wife) agreed to take us in. WOW, what a beautiful house and gracious host. Their house is on a hill and has a great view of the NH mountains - the ones' we will have to climb this week. In addition to a place to sleep we did laundry and took a shower there. They even had clothes we could wear while we washed our clothes. They gave us complete access to everything we needed - their kitchen, bath rooms, our sleeping rooms, the absolutely amazing 40 foot long porch over looking the mountains, and a sauna. I am not even sure I would trust hikers in my home as much as they did. Besides Rhino and I, there was another south-bound hiker named Onward and a film producer called Squatch. Squatch documents experiences on the AT, Pacific Crest trail, and other hiking trails. You can find his films on squatchfilms.com.
Date: 2012-08-18
From: Hanover, NH

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

Typical down day. Resupplied our food, went to the post office to pick up a mail drop that contained our winter clothes, mailed back to WI our summer sleeping bag and clothes we do not need, and ate lots of food. We went to the Dartmouth College Outdoor Center and did a bit of computer work. We also watched the movie "The Way". The movie is about a thru hike on the Camino de Santiage - an AT like experience in France and Spain. If you want to know more I recommend the movie or can google it. It will be my next long hike but it will include my wife. No more trips without her - miss her too much. You can find the movie on Netflix or at a movie rental place. Martin Sheen is in the movie and it is directed by Emilio Estavez.   Hanover, NH and Norvich, VT are both cool towns that are extremely hiker friendly. We ate (for hikers only) free pizza, sandwiches, candy, bagels, and other goodies from many different establishments in town. My kind of town.