morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-08-02
From: Stealth Site

To: Great Barrington, Massachusetts 
Miles today: 11.7

Howdy from Massachusetts,    Well the climb over Mount Everett wasn't as bad as feared but still had to watch due to wet rocks and my tread on shoes are wearing down. I was hoping to make it to Vermont before getting new ones.     Yesterday just before hiking into Massachusetts I hiked through Sages Ravine and it's absolutely gorgeous. Definitely would love to hike back in there sometime, the stream through it has waterfalls and lil' pools you can swim in.      I hiked into Great Barrington, Massachusetts for resupply but first was food. I spent $21 and change to eat there, 2 quarter lb meals with large coke, large chocolate shake and 6 pc chicken nuggets. It's always best to eat before getting groceries.       Meeting a lot of southbounders (sobos) now, today the count was 7, yesterday was 3 and they informed of a huge bubble coming. They also said they met 20 going north yesterday and one day last week they counted 80. It'll be interesting to camp with these people to hear their stories and share information about nice campsites.     Just as we were getting ready to head out a storm rolled in and Beats, Buckeye and I decided to get a room for the night. More rain for the next couple of days. Ok let's see what happens tomorrow.
Date: 2018-08-03
From: Great Barrington, Massachusetts 

To: Sheffield Hiker House 
Miles today: 8.4

Good morning     I'm drinking real coffee at the hiker house this morning, it's a welcome change to the hotel that I stayed at last night. So this hiker house is not a hostel, but a house for hikers and charges $40 to sleep. You get your own room, breakfast, and shuttle to where you stopped hiking and back out again. The motel rooms over here are unbelievable in price on weekends.       The other hikers here are Quiz from Hawaii who is doing videos on the trail and posting them on YouTube under grizzel gear, Jinx from New Orleans, a draftsman working in the oil industry. His job is to figure out which way to get a pipe from point a to b the cheapest. Lost and Found is a California farmer/caretaker who takes care of a 200 acre farm in Napa Valley right next to the farm of song writer/musician Neil Young. That's the farm that inspired him to write the song Old Man as when he bought the farm there was an old caretaker still living there. Tuffy is from Maine and an occupational therapist, we have been hiking in and out the last 2-3 weeks, I won't see her for a day or 2 and then we hike together for the same again. Vitamin W is from Colorado and is a graphics designer. She has hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (2650 miles) from Mexico border to Canadian border on the west coast and the Continental Divide Trail  (3100 miles) going from Mexico to Canada along the continental divide. When she gets done with this trail she'll be a triple crowned. She and Lost and Found do 25-30 miles a day.     Yesterday I hiked 8.4 miles, trying to avoid the storm coming thru and keeping dry feet, which is getting to be quite a comical challenge. When they picked me up yesterday I was so proud of my dry feet and that changed shortly. We stopped at a grocery store for some items when the storm hit, it was unbelievable the amount of rain that came down, so when we walked out to the car the parking lot was flooded and I didn't realize how deep it was till to late as we were running, yep it was higher than my shoes. Bummer! Wet feet again. At least I'm dry otherwise.      I'm hoping to hike out this afternoon after the rain moves thru, it'll be a welcome relieve to head further north less rain and cooler weather. It's been one of the wettest years of history on the trail. Cyall ltr.
Date: 2018-08-04
From: Sheffield Hiker House 

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 13.7

Hi everyone,     We had scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast with orange juice and plenty coffee. Rest of the hikers went to buy resupply and 2 went to spend the day at a movie and try some of the restaurants in Great Barrington. I went back to bed for another 2 hrs. When the lady came back with 2 of the hikers, she shuttled me to the trail head and I hiked 13 miles to the top of Baldy Mountain. Upper Goose Pond Shelter is another 5 miles and they serve pancakes there for the hikers. I decided to go to Baldy and see how I feel about hiking on in, I decided against doing that as I hiked the last hour in the dark, it would've been around 11-11:30 when I got there and not knowing what the trail is like nah not really interested. At least I got a light breeze and very little mosquitos here which is nice.    The other day at Great Barrington I talked to Pheriel who also does a journal on trail journals and he informed me he's going home, to many injuries. Another hiker got hurt pretty bad as he descended from Mount Everett. He slipped and fell and got cut up pretty bad and he said no more. After he fell another hiker came through and happened to be a paramedic so he checked him out and told him to go to hospital. He hiked to the road, not sure what happened after that. A lot of hikers are taking a zero in Great Barrington this weekend. Well I'm off to bed, erm, sleeping bag good night.
Date: 2018-08-05
From: Stealth Site

To: Kay Wood Shelter 
Miles today: 23.0

Good morning,     Breakfast is great at Dalton, that is Dalton, Massachusetts! I'm eating at the Dalton restaurant, 3 eggs, toast, home fries, sausage and waffle. I'm starting to feel human again.   I got a later start this morning as it felt so good just laying in my bed.....tent, finally got rolling around 8:15.     The trail was miserable with a lot of tree roots and mud holes swampy areas with planks going across the worst areas which I found out are quite slippery with muddy shoes when I slipped off of one that was tilted to one side and ended standing up in ankle deep mud.      Couple of us hikers stopped at the cookie lady who makes cookies and gives them to hikers, also you can pick blueberries but she gets half of what you pick. She had just left a hiker informed us when we arrived so I took a little break and then I left, as I wanted to camp at Kay Wood Shelter so I could get the breakfast after a 3 mile hike.     The forests are mostly hemlock now with some hardwoods scattered throughout which makes for a nice bed to sleep on plus the smell is a bonus.      When I hike higher miles like today (23) my left foot really aches and doesn't help when it's damp. The 3 Tylenol didn't really help till midnight, I just kept massaging and trying to relax it till then, finally drifted off to sleep with howling of coyotes on the next ridge. Alright time to start moving out.
Date: 2018-08-06
From: Kay Wood Shelter 

To: Nark Noepel Center 
Miles today: 17.0

Hello all,    It was a nice hot day in the upper 80's-low 90's with a nice breeze on the summits and ridges.     I had my breakfast and grabbed a large sub which I split for lunch and supper, I definitely feel better with some decent food in my stomach.    Dalton was my food place as the trail goes thru town, then over the mountain I went for several miles and back down to Cheshire. The trail runs thru town also and whoa there's an ice cream place and of course I had to stop and eat some. I sat under the shade tree for several hrs waiting for it to cool off before starting up the next Mount Greylock as that's Massachusetts tallest mountain. Two thirds of the way up there's a shelter where I'm cowboy camping tonight. Hope the breeze continues to keep the mosquitos at bay. Good night all!
Date: 2018-08-07
From: Nark Noepel Center 

To: Seth Warner Shelter 
Miles today: 16.6

Hi from the muddy AT,    What a day, hot and humid with a thunderstorm which I was in. The trails have mud everywhere and you probe at solid looking places ahead so you don't sink ankle deep in mud. It takes more time to hike. I got drenched and it actually felt good plus I don't stink tonite.     All in all it was a good day! Hiked into town resupplied and ate lunch, got my rain shower, crossed into Vermont and hit the 1600 mile marker. At the shelter tonite, only 2 AT thru hikers and 4 Long Trail hikers. The Long Trail which runs 273 miles thru Vermont and the southern 100 miles run with the AT. Well I'm tired so I'm out.
Date: 2018-08-08
From: Seth Warner Shelter 

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 15.9

Hello     It's 2:30 am and I'm eating Ramen with a knorr side and idohoan potatoes. I was hungry and thought I'd eat while doing the journal, I must say it's quite tasty even at this hour.    It rains almost every day now. Very miserable hiking. Vermont is probably worse hiking than Pennsylvania. You climb up the mountain then it's just a swamp up there and unbelievable mud. I stopped at a stream and took my shoes and socks off and washed them, which I then drip dried for 30 mins before putting back on. The southbounders all say it's another 70 miles of mud like that. YIKES! Not excited. I had hopes of Vermont having some views and open ridgelines but only views are where power lines go through :(     I hiked out parking lot and there was trail magic and he had cider, so delicious. I pulled my shoes and socks off to let dry. I sat there for an hour and a half drying my feet and shoes. Then storm clouds started moving in and I hiked up to the first shelter and sat there for 2 hours till rain passed then hiked another 4.5 miles to campsite. Thumper joined me who I hadn't seen since the Shenandoahs. We got caught up with all the trail gossip and hit the tent at 9. Thumper is from New Brunswick, just a great guy.      I'm dreading hiking again as a hiker said we haven't seen mud yet as some of the mud holes are deep. When you come to a mud hole you probe it with your trekking pole to see how deep it is, some of which I probed were approximately 16" deep. I guess some are waist deep from what I've been told, so we will have to work our way around them. It's definitely going to slow my mileage down. Well it's starting to sprinkle again and I might as well try to sleep for a couple of hours, then it's wet and muddy shoe time. The guy with trail magic told me to be careful as jungle rot is a possibility with all this rain.     On the lighter side, there must of been a toad hatch as there are baby toads hopping everywhere. It's kinda fun to watch them hop out of the way when you come hiking thru. Definitely need to look for small things to keep you occupied as you slog through. Well let's see what the trail does to tomorrow, should have my Muck boots. Ok I'm out.
Date: 2018-08-09
From: Stealth Site

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 17.2

Hello everyone,     What a difference it does to ones mood with the weather change, from humidity and rain, now it's mid 70's north wind and I barely break a sweat unless it's uphill. Tonite will be a chilly one with a high of 72 tomorrow and probably a little cooler in the higher elevations.     The trail is still muddy but is drying up finally. Had to do a lot of rock and root hopping to get across.      There must of been a toad hatch, as there's hundreds of little toads hopping everywhere. They scramble out of the way as you come through.      Tomorrow I hike into North Manchester for resupply, plus a shower and laundry. It will feel good with clean clothes. Well I'm going to retire to my bed.
Date: 2018-08-10
From: Stealth Site

To: Green Mountain Hostel
Miles today: 18.5

Hi from Manchester Center, Vermont,    What a beautiful day it was low 70's and a north wind. I barely broke a sweat in the flat areas.     The trail is starting to dry up but still a lot of muddy areas. It takes time to work around them and with all the rock hopping to get over the mud, my left ankle started hurting. We will see how it holds up and might have to take it easy for a couple of days.    The Green Mountain Hostel is a beautiful place to stay for $35 a night in Manchester Center. The owner Jeff is from Akron, Ohio and comes up here 4 months out of the year to run it, just a great guy. The hot shower was awesome once again.      I picked up some shoe goo to goo my shoes toe guard back in place, they were kinda flapping around lately, also a new pair of socks as my old pair has approximately a 1000 miles or more of wear. I'm looking forward to see how these socks work. Ok will see if the rain shows up tomorrow as forecasted. G'nite all!
Date: 2018-08-11
From: Green Mountain Hostel

To: Big Branch Selter
Miles today: 16.3

Howdy again,    They dropped us off at the trailhead at 8:30, a bit of a late start but it's ok as I'm not going to do 20 miles today with my sore ankle anyway.     Met some new people today, Flex and Curly Turtle, they also have a journal. Super nice people in their late 50's and he's an associate pastor from Columbia, SC. Also ran into Newt, Organic, and Gusher who I haven't seen since early in Virginia. We chatted a bit about the trail etc.     The weather was perfect for hiking with temps in upper 69's and a cool breeze. The only time I broke a sweat when we did a little climb, pretty awesome change. No rain just a few sprinkles.    Hey finally the trail is drying out and things look better again.     Hiked 16.3 miles to the tenting site of Big Branch Shelter along a big stream. There are rocks of all sizes and small car sized boulders all along the stream with the water crashing down through, kinda fun to watch, we call it hiker tv, lol. We call a campfire the same. It's about hiker midnight. So goodnight all!
Date: 2018-08-12
From: Big Branch Selter

To: Clarendon Shelter 
Miles today: 16.8

Hello,    Trail magic this evening provided by Foggy who through hiked last year. They had it all wrapped up when I showed but got it all out again as more hikers showed. It was a very pleasant surprise we chatted about the trail as I snacked.     Hiked 16 miles today and passed by some beautiful lakes in the mountains. The one lake I passed had 2 outlets of water flowing in 2 different directions down the mountain, one each end of the lake. That's the first I've seen that.    I had plans to hike another 2 miles but as I got close to the shelter I smelled smoke from a campfire and so that drew me in and ended up staying there. Had a nice chat with Sawbones and 4 other hikers who are only out here for a couple of days.      Tomorrow I'm planning on hiking another 16 miles and staying at The Inn on The Long Trail. There's a bus line passing through into town so I can resupply and do laundry. The Inn is only a quarter mile or so off the trail.    We had a light rain most of the forenoon and got a bit chilly on top of the mountains. I ended up wearing my raincoat to stay warm. For every 1000' of elevation the temperature changes approximately 3-5 degrees cooler.   I'm looking forward to real food again, I must say the closer I get to the end the more I want to just push through and get it done. I'm also getting tired of trail food.     Tonight my ankles feeling pretty good and don't have to ask myself is this a 2 or 3 Tylenol night. I hate 3 Tylenol nights because I know it's going to be one of those nights. Well that's all folks!
Date: 2018-08-13
From: Clarendon Shelter 

To: View Entry
Miles today: 16.7

Good morning,    I'm nice and dry while doing the journal this morning while it's pouring down rain. It rained off and on during the night.    The place I'm staying is called The Inn at Long Trail. It's a 1950's style lodge, very quaint, no ac, no tv, very rustic with an Irish style pub. Their turkey on Irish soda bread topped with sliced apple and Vermont mild cheddar melted on it was simply delicious. The Appalachian Trail ran right into their parking lot in years past but they moved the trail about a mile down road.    There's a bus that runs back and forth from Rutland to the next town, makes it easy to get in for resupply.      The climb up to Mount Killington was a long one. The evening before I climbed 1 mile to the shelter and the next morning I left at 6 and started climbing. A total of 10.5 miles up, it took until 11:30 to get to the shelter at the base of the peak. They have a restaurant on the top for the ski resort and in order to get there you have to climb up and over the peak which was a 1000' very steep climb. I left my pack at the shelter and up I went, the last couple of 100' your grabbing onto rocks and trees above you to help pull yourself up. I love those rock scrambles like that.      My ankle was aching really bad last evening and is stiff this morning so I'll probably zero here to let it rest and with all the rain it's probably a good time to do it. Maybe the weather has something to do with it too. Old age is not for sissies......haha.     I do miss the flowers and blooms of spring and summer but in the last couple of weeks I've seen an amazing assortment of mushrooms, of which I've only seen pictures of in books. All colors, sizes, shapes and it all makes me want to gather some to accompany my meals. Well I'm leaving you with the above and will journal about Rutland and the 12th tribe from the yellow deli. I've been gathering info since I've heard about them......let's see what it's all about.
Date: 2018-08-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Howdy everyone       Well it felt good sleeping in and taking naps today, basically resting and giving my poor feet a rest.     Took the bus into Rutland for resupply and its the largest city in Vermont. These Vermonters are really outdoorsy people, from hiking to skiing to just going for a pleasure hike to look for an amazing assortment of mushrooms or gems. The prep chef this morning was showing me the assorted amount of different gems he found the previous days. I guess you have to grow up in the area to know where to find them.      Ok ok, I know your brimming with curiosity about the 12 Tribes or so called the Yellow Deli. I stopped in for a sandwich while in town and chatted with the guys for a bit. One of the leaders of the group came out and chatted with me. The women were dressed very modestly with no makeup or jewelry. They wore blouses or shirts with skirts or some kind of flowing pantaloons with their hair in braids or put in buns. The men either wore pants or a type of long knee length shorts. I've been hearing about this group for awhile and finally one person said they are Christians. So I asked what they believed in and they believe in Jesus but they do practice communal living and if you join them you sign over all of your belongings and acts. They have a prayer, dancing and singing twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. They asked me to join for their evening worship service. They do seem very sincere. They are in 12 different regions of the United States, also in different parts of the world. They own farms where you work if you join. They are similar in structure as the hutterites but did say they're not as structured as they are. In a way it would have been interesting to join them for their evening worship, but decided against it as I'm hiking out in the morning and getting back and forth where I'm staying would of been an issue. It was rather an interesting afternoon. I can see where if someone came in from a family that had no love or a broken home it would be ideal as their worship service also is open to voice your opinion or are struggling with something to share what you're struggling with and talk about it. They have no leader per se except that 3 are over every thing. Definitely an interesting concept. I guess we do kind of same things when we step in to help someone, appoint 3 people to oversee the situation.      It's been a very interesting afternoon and now I'm signing off and get ready to hike in the morning less than 500 miles to go and I'm excited to get done, come home see the family again and the youth groups for singing, I've missed you all.
Date: 2018-08-15
From: The Long Trail Inn

To: The Lookout
Miles today: 17.3

Hello,    Sleeping at the Lookout tonite which is a 20 by 30 enclosed shelter with a loft and fireplace on private property. It's beautifully setting on a peak overlooking the surrounding mountains with a deck on top of the roof. It is a privately owned property that was opened to thru hikers to sleep in, it's around 500' off the trail. It would absolutely be stunning in the fall. There are approximately 10 hikers here tonite with plenty of room to spare.     I got a bit of a late start as I wanted my free breakfast this morning. I think I need to carry more food to eat on the trail as I just can't quit eating once I get in town. After I leave town I feel really good and after a couple of days on the trail I just start feeling weak again. I think it's not eating the right things so I changed things up a bit. I added peanuts and nutrigrain bars and bell vita breakfast cookies.           Hope to be in New Hampshire by Friday sometime. They have a bus service to get in surrounding towns with outfitters as I need a new pair of shoes. The tread is almost gone and I need to watch myself on rocks.      There's a storm in the north and west right now and we have quite a lightning show from this perch. Well I'm hitting the sleeping bag and will see what things happen tomorrow.
Date: 2018-08-16
From: The Lookout

To: Blue Barn
Miles today: 19.8

Hi y'all,     The Blue Barn is where I'm sleeping at tonite. You're probably wondering what is the blue barn? In West Hartford, Vermont as you cross the bridge heading north on the right is a blue barn with the AT symbol in its peak. A couple that lives there have put a couple of mattresses and cots in the loft of the barn or you can tent if so desired. Also they have soda and snacks on the back porch for hikers. It's basically a place to sleep and it's at no cost. Newt, Feathers and another hiker and me are here, don't remember his name. The mattress I'm on is covered with a tarp and I'm using my sleeping bag as a blanket. 2 of the hikers are sleeping on the floor with there sleeping pads and feathers on the cot. I'm kind of curious how the mouse situation will be tonite :)     The first storm split in 2 last night and the big one came and died out just to the west but we had quite a lightning show till it fizzled out and never got rain. Today it was beautiful with temps in the valley in low 80's and higher elevations in mid to upper 70's with a nice breeze. Hey 2 days with no rain, it was awesome.     The trail from Rutland to West Hartford is really nice and would be a great trail to do in the fall with the color of leaves on them. I'm assuming it is as nice all the way to Hanover, New Hampshire. One could take the Amtrak to Rutland and ride out to the trail head with the express bus going to Killington. I'm curious if you can get to the Amtrak from Hanover as they do have 4 bus lines that connect to 4 other surrounding cities. I'll have to check on that sometime.      I still miss the blooms of the south as I mentioned before, but there are other beautiful things to see as you can see with the fungi pictures I have posted. Each season has its own beauty. Well that's it, tomorrow I hike into Hanover and ride the bus into a neighboring city for a new pair of shoes. G'nite all.
Date: 2018-08-17
From: Blue Barn

To: Velvet Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 11.2

Hello everyone,    Well I'm in New Hampshire. Walked into Hanover today and took bus down to West Lebanon to Eastern Mountain Sports and picked up new pair of shoes. I got 707 miles out of old pair. After that it was Walmart for resupply then McDonald's and then back up to Hanover to Starbucks.     It was warm and humid so I waited till 6 before leaving with plans to hike to the top of mountain to a tenting site but about halfway up it started thundering so I opted to go to the shelter and am very fortunate as it was a serious down pour. I'm nice and dry. There's 4 of us in the shelter.      I did find out that the Amtrak comes into Hanover so a person could hike from Rutland up to Hanover without a problem of trying to connect rides. Well that's all folks. G'nite