morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-20
From: VT 9

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

Skiman and I watched the weather report on TV at the motel this morning and we were encouraged that this cycle of rain was breaking, so we took our shuttle about 10 miles back to the AT at 6 am as prearranged. It was not raining, but we had our pack covers on just in case. We hiked up hill in the fog. For the third day in a row, we had no views. Skiman said the only lookouts this morning were "Lookout for mud!" The best part about mud is seeing footprints. Today there was one northbounder ahead of us, and this moose had big feet! He left his "calling card" several times beside the trail. He probably saw us, but we never saw him. When I hiked the Long Trail in 2005, the only moose I saw was in the parking lot when we arrived, and it was a bull with a huge rack. We said good morning to one southbound hiker who was headed to Bennington for a hot breakfast. We hit the jackpot with the next southbounder. He and the person we had just spoken with, were southbound AT Thru-Hikers! At last!The first man started June 15, and Ranger started June 3, with 12 other hikers. Both men were in their late 20's, I would guess. We hiked to the Melville Nauheim Shelter to sign in, trying not to disturb one sleeping hiker. The sun finally came through at 10:30. We arrived at the Goddard Shelter at noon, a half hour later than expected. We think the mud is continuing to slow us down. We took off our muddy boots and socks, cooked a hot lunch and enjoyed a longer than usual break. The sky was clearing and we had our first glimpse of other mountain ranges. We climbed the Glastenbury Mt (3748') observation tower and had a beautiful 360' view, at last!Next, we met Lady and the Tramp, the first female southbound AT Thru Hiker! She graduated from USMA at West Point in 2001 and was stationed at Fort Drum in the 10th Mt Division. My son, Brian, is also in the 10th at Fort Polk, LA and my Dad was in the Ski Troops in the 10th Mt Div in WWII. She is looking forward to getting birthday present mail drops next week for her 28th. She is a flip flopper. She started somewhere south (between here and ME)and hiked to Katahdin, because that summit was not going to open to Thru Hikers until June 3. Now, she has returned to her starting point and is south bound to Springer. Next, Skiman and I stopped at Kid Gore Shelter for an afternoon break and Raincheck showed up! He said he saw that we had signed in a shelter register (with the time), and he knew he could catch us! So, we hiked the remaining 5 miles to the Story Spring Shelter together. When we arrived the shelter all ready had 6 occupants, so we are all tenting as we had intended to anyways. All 6 are new friends. We have passed everyone we have met along the way so it will be fun to continue to meet new hikers. It is raining now and everyone has gone to bed. Tomorrow we get to take a "bath". Oops, I mean a swim! I hope it will be a nice day!
Date: 2007-07-21
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Bromley Warming Hut
Miles today: 24.1

Skiman started the day by asking me what my objectives were. I told him:1. stay injury free2. hike at least 15 miles (the plan was 18.3)3. Enjoy a visit with the caretaker on Stratton Mt including climbing the tower4. Go swimming in Stratton PondSo, now that we were on the same page, off we went! For some reason I was slower than usual to pack up. The usual 20 minutes took me 45, so I had to "catch up" to Skiman. Raincheck left even later than I did. At Stratton Mt 3936', Jeanne Jowdry, the Caretaker, with her husband, Hugh, greeted us. She remembered meeting Asta and I in 2003 on our Long Trail hike, because Asta was sick and they helped us out. Jeanne gave Skiman a tour of their one room cabin. I signed the register for us, and we climbed the tower, enjoying the clear 360' view. Jeanne had labeled the windows in the tower with the name of the mountain we were looking at, so it was interesting to see where we had been, where we are going and other peaks like Mt Monadnock in southern NH. From the summit, I called the Outfitters in Manchester Center, VT to confirm they had our mail drop. The choice was to get it by 6 pm today or hang around until 11 am tomorrow. Monica, the store clerk said she would be happy to deliver our box to us at VT11/30. That opportunity meant we had to hike 21.1 miles, then the next shelter was 2 miles further to 23.1 miles. It also meant that we had about 20 min at Stratton Lake and otherwise had to hustle. Raincheck left us at the lake and was going to a motel in Manchester Center. At VT11/30 there was fantastic Trail Magic. Skiman had a beer and a Chunky candybar, while I had a coke and Kitkat. Monica was right on schedule, 6:15 pm. She waited for us to empty the maildrop box which she disposed for us. We gave her a thank you tip. I cooked dinner for us in the parking lot. While Skiman returned to the trail for our last 2 miles with his fully loaded pack, I enjoyed visiting with 4 women who just wanted to learn about the trail. I showed them my Pocketmail composer, journal, and answered their questions. I left them at 6:15 and got to the shelter at 7:15 to find a note from Skiman saying he was hiking to Bromley Mt, elevation 3260', to the ski warming hut, a mile uphill! So, I hustled to beat the sunset, arriving at 7:45 to join 8 other men staying there overnight. We all climbed the observtion tower to photograph the gorgeous sunset. We went to bed by 9 pm. This hut had no electricity or water. We slept on the floor and were warm and out of the wind. Skiman and I got up at midnight to look at the beautiful starlit skies. The Big Dipper was practically at ground level. When we went back in the hut and I climbed back into my sleeping bag on the floor, tears were streaming down my face. Skiman asked if I was thinking about Mother. I told him no, that I was just thinking about how beautiful everything was and I wish everyone could experience what we we had. Today ended my 16th week on the AT. My mileage for this week was 132.9
Date: 2007-07-22
From: Bromley Warming Hut

To: Little Rock Pond Tenting Area
Miles today: 16.8

This morning Skiman woke me up to ask me if I wanted to watch the sun rise. Of course I said, "Yes!" We put on our rainjackets and hats with our sleeping clothes still on, and climbed the Bromley Mt observation tower. Several hikers were all ready there, sitting down inside their sleeping bags on their ridgerests. We watched the magnificent sunrise, took photos, then went back to bed for 2 hrs. Skiman woke me up at 7:30 and we quickly packed up and left the warming hut. I signed the register at the Peru Peak Shelter. We stopped at Griffith Lake for a swim, where Sleepy and Ben joined us. We saw them again on Baker Peak, 2850', after climbing the rocky ridge. We met two more AT southbound Thru Hikers today. They both started mid-June. We cooked an early dinner at the Big Branch Shelter, where I stayed on my Long Trail hike. It fueled me for the last 3 miles to our tenting area, for which there was a $5 per person fee. I met Restless, a woman from Indiana, who is also tenting here. She Thru-Hiked a few years ago and tomorrow will finish her last 2 miles on her flipflop Long Trail hike. We ended our day with a swim in the pond and a game plan for tomorrow.
Date: 2007-07-23
From: Little Rock Pond Tenting Area

To: Gould Brook
Miles today: 17.3

Today we awoke to the beautiful call of the loon. Sure enough, one was swimming in Little Rock pond with a beaver nearby and herons flying overhead...heavenly! We continue to see more white birches that also remind us of NH and urge us to come "home". I have noticed 4 different varieties of ferns. They fill the forest floor with a lush green texture. Today's hike started with a 700' climb to White Rocks Mt, elevation 2680'. We passed by the Greenwall Shelter because it was .3 off the trail. At VT140 we met 3 young men from TX who are southbound AT Thru-Hikers. They told us we had Trail Magic ahead in the stream! When we came to an evergreen forest, the path was level, wide, and full of pine needles. Hikers had built hundreds of rock sculptures with incredible imagination and time. We added a few rocks of our own and had fun taking pictures. Most of the mud has dried up, but where it hasn't it is still a mess. At least our feet are not submerging so our socks are staying dry even though our legs get muddy. When we crossed VT103, we hitched a ride to the Whistle Stop Cafe where we had lunch, charged cell phones, sent Pocketmail journal entries home, filled our platypus and I brushed my teeth!! We had to walk back to the trail. The trailhead was at 870' and in a mile we ascended to 1390'. Skiman took off his shirt for the first time and hiked topless! We were both dripping wet despite the cool weather and breeze. Finally, we crossed the stream with soda cans in a little fenced off space. We signed the register provided by the Trail Angels, thanking them for their kindness. They even provided a garbage bag for our empties. We hiked next to the brook until we found a perfect place to stealth camp. It will be wonderful to fall asleep to the sound of the brook and the cool air (with no bugs!).
Date: 2007-07-24
From: Gould Brook

To: VT100
Miles today: 16.0

Today Richard, aka Cargo Master, was going to meet us to spend a night together at the Long Trail Inn. So, Skiman and I left our beautiful campsite next to the brook at 6 am, back on the early schedule we used to be on. We had a 300'ascent to the Governor Clement Shelter, which is made of stone, and not recommended for overnight stay by the Green Mt Club. The significance of the shelter is that in that location on the map, we are under 500 miles to Mt Katahdin and the southbounders have reached the 500 mile mark. As we saw southbounders today, we congratulated them on their 500 mile achievement and they responded with the same to us. One sobo was a woman who grew up in NH named Yellow Bird. Skiman and I got engrossed in conversation and missed an AT blaze off a woods road which wasted 20 minutes of our morning. Naturally, this would happen on a day that I was anxious to stay on schedule to meet my husband! As we ascended from 1870' at the shleter to Cooper Lodge at 3900' in 4 miles, we had some narrow paths full of roots and rocks. It was at one of these spots that Skiman took his first fall on the AT and it was backwards! Luckily, he was fine, no damage to his pack, he didn't go over the steep banking and I was relieved I didn't have to use my SOLO Wilderness First Aid training. Other parts of today's AT were solid green. The tree trunks were covered with green lichen, the forest floor was solid green and parts of it were almost neon green. Then, we came to a place that was dead leaves on the forest floor with trees like in the Dr. Seuss books. Skiman was disappointed the AT went over the summit of Killington, but there were no views of the ski slopes. I had my cell phone on to communicate with Richard whether we would be on schedule or not. I called to tell him we would be a half hour later than expected. Next, my son, Kevin, called from Seoul, Korea! I asked Skiman to hike on to meet Richard, knowing I would be held up on the trail a little long! er. Kevin and I compared our experiences Thru Hiking and talked about NH and ME and all I have to look forward to. We met Cargo Master in the parking lot of US4 and got a quick snack, dropped off our packs and slacked the remaining 3 miles to VT100. At the Inn I couldn't wait to get in the shower. It is a three step personal hygiene process. First, shower to get rid of the dirt and grime and shampoo. Second, fill the tub to soak, scrub remaining dirt and shave legs. Thirdly, shower again to rinse the last bit of dirt off! Before I told you I needed a Brillo pad. Now,I felt I needed a potato scrub brush!! After we did a load of laundry at the Long Trail Inn,we went to town where Skiman bought Super Feet for his tired feet while I got my bangs trimmed. We returned to the Inn as Raincheck was arriving after his 20 mile day. We had dinner in the Pub and then made plans for the week that will bring us to another state. New Hampshire here we come!
Date: 2007-07-25
From: VT100

To: Wintturi Shelter
Miles today: 16.6

My fully load pack with 2 liters of water and 4 days of food weighed 29 pounds this morning. Skiman's pack weighed 35 lbs. After a big breakfast at the Long Trail Inn, Richard dropped Skiman and I off at VT100 and then he returned home to Wolfeboro, NH. The most unusual thing today was I took a nap for 45 minutes at the Stony Brook Shelter at noon! Our hike today was viewless except for the Lookout Farm observation deck, 2.5 miles before our final destination. The weather was very hot and a little buggy. It was very hilly starting at 1690' and ascending to 2620',up and down, up and down. Regretfully, there was no swimming spots or Trail Magic today. It seemed we hiked for 8 hours but never really saw where we were going. For wildlife, we saw one garter snake! When we arrived at the Wintturi Shelter 6 adults were all ready here. Raincheck arrived shortly after we did. Then, we heard a lot of girls coming down the path! There are 8 girls age 13 and 14, with their 2 counselors from the Farm In Wilderness in Plymouth, VT. They made us Somemores and we shared with them our experiences on the Appalachian Trail. The girls are sleeping together under a tarp, 3 of us are in the shelter and the others are tenting. I hope I will be offered somemore Somemores!
Date: 2007-07-26
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: West Hartford VT
Miles today: 16.4

I had two Somemores last night! Yummy! Today was the first day that I can remember that I have been unable to complete my daily plan. Our goal was to hike 20.4 miles to the Happy Hill Shelter. With the intense 85' heat and hiking through fields, Skiman and I wisely opted for the "back up" plan, which was to stay in West Hartford, VT, 4 miles short. The main disappointment is we plan to meet our brother, Pete, in Hanover tomorrow at 9 am who will hike with us for parts of the next 2 days. He has hired a shuttle to assist him with being dropped off, so his car will be at the ending point. Now, he will have to wait a little longer for our arrival. We had hiked 12 miles in 9 hours by 3 pm, which did include cooking lunch near the stream and some foot soaking. I had a little intestinal problem in the afternoon, which I wasn't sure if it was from the heat or the pint of ice cream! We worked hard at staying hydrated all day. Skiman hiked ahead of me the last 2 hours because I wasn't feeling well. The guidebook said to ask at the library for a list of residents who will let you camp in their backyard. Skiman hiked ahead in order to get to the library before closing. He then met me where the trail met the West Hartford road at 5:30 and told me that four of us Thru-Hikers were staying with the same resident. Even though it is an in town location, I thought it was very quiet until just now. A train went through the hill in the backyard blowing its whistle several times! I wonder if the train will run during the night, too! We went for a swim in the White River and bought sandwiches at the local neighborhood store. The hikers have all pitched their tents and are socializing with the homeowner on his deck. I am feeling better but I would like to get to bed now. It's almost 8 pm! Tomorrow we'll celebrate being in New Hampshire!
Date: 2007-07-27
From: West Hartford VT

To: Moose Mt. Shelter NH
Miles today: 20.8

It started to rain at 4 am and I heard all the hikers scramble to put their pack covers on and get their rinsed out clothes inside their tent, as I had to do,too. Skiman and I left Randy's backyard tenting area in West Hartford, VT at 5:45 am. The only train went by at 5:30 am, so it worked out well that we had a good nights sleep. The homes in Norwich, Vt were beautiful and we appreciated the Trail Magic at the Brain's home. Skiman and I commented that it was the first watermelon we had eaten this summer. What a treat! We crossed the Connecticut River on the bridge that is the border between Vermont and New Hampshire around 10 am. We took pictures and hugged happily that we were in our home state. I called Richard in Wolfeboro and he was happy, too! We met our oldest brother, Pete, in downtown Hanover, who took us out to a late breakfast at the Hanover Inn at 10:30. Skiman and I enjoyed that long break because we had hiked 10 miles to meet Pete. The three of us hiked 11 miles to the Moose Mt Shelter, where there are three other hikers staying. The temperature for our afternoon hike was 90'. We were running low on water at a road crossing so Skiman and I went to the nearest home to ask to use their hose to fill up. No one was home and it appeared that the house was vacant, so we helped ourself to the hose water. The water here at the shelter, at 1850', is borderline in color and quantity. We needed 6 cups to cook our 3 dehydrated meals plus more for drinking. Leader of the Pack is the trail name for one of our new friends at the shelter. He is a joke and story teller and is keeping us entertained by the campfire. He passed out plastic Hawaiian leis and took a group photo. Then he recited the poem by Robert Fulcrum of the Cremation of Sam McGee, which is a favorite of mine. We are hoping for a breeze to keep the mosquitos away for the night. It has been about 45 years since I've been "camping" with my brothers and we're having a good time huffing and puffing together, sharing our AT routine.
Date: 2007-07-28
From: Moose Mt. Shelter NH

To: Lyme-Dorchester Road
Miles today: 8.6

Last night Pete and I slept in the shelter with another couple who were sleeping in their tent that they "pitched" inside the shelter! Skiman slept in his tent. The mosquitos kept us awake on and off until midnight. I used bug spray and offered Pete my head net. After midnight, we slept a little better, but not much. My right knee has been bothering me for a few days and it hurt during the night. Pete, Skiman and I purified water in the morning and started hiking around 6:30 am. After my Ibeuprophen kicked in, my knee felt better, but I needed more before noon. Skiman and I had talked about going home to Wolfeboro with Pete, but I did not want to take a zero day. So, today we hiked the distance that Pete had planned to be with us, and then went home with him rather than continuing 9 more miles to the Hexacuba Shelter. We will return to the trail tomorrow noon. Pete was a real trooper hiking a hilly 20 miles over the past 2 days. It has been fun to have his company. Today it rained during our hike to Holts Ledge, which is a peregrine falcon rookery. Parts of the trail were muddy and full of roots. We had no views due to the fog. There was a maildrop care package in Pete's car for us from my brother, John, and his wife, Alison, who have recently moved to Michigan from NH. I love the dried cherries that are a repeat gift from them. On the drive home, we stopped at our family's cottage at Bow Lake in Strafford, NH where our sister, Bonnie, was staying. We had not seen her since our Mother's funeral in early June, so it was great to see her again. My father, Pete and his wife, Sue, joined Richard, Skiman and I for dinner. It was great to see so many family members today and be home to see our colorful perennial gardens
Date: 2007-07-29
From: Lyme-Dorchester Road

To: Mt. Cube
Miles today: 10.4

It was great to see church friends this morning in Wolfeboro at the First Christian Church 8:30 service. My father and Skiman spent the night at our home and joined Richard and I. Soon, we were in the car for a 2 hour drive to Lyme, NH. Cargo Master dropped us off to start hiking at 12:15. We climbed two small but challenging peaks today. They were Smarts Mt, elevation 3240',which had a fire tower and Mt Cube, elevation 2911'. We are spending the night on the summit of Mt Cube, sleeping under the stars. This is a "first" for me on the AT, and I'm sure I wouldn't have done it without Skiman! We cooked our dinner on the rocky summit and watched the sunset. I am quickly making this trailjournal entry as the sun is sinking fast at 8:10 pm. There is a light breeze, so the bugs shouldn't be a problem. I just hope it doesn't rain!! We met two northbounders, Matt and Lilly and two southbounders, Erik and Booboo at the fire tower. Boobo said it took them 22 days to cross Maine. She and Skiman talked about Pierce Pond, which has a fishing camp all the males in our family enjoyed going to for many years, including four generations. I am looking forward to seeing it with Skiman for the first time.
Date: 2007-07-30
From: Mt. Cube

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night it got buggy sleeping under the stars between two trees on the dirt, so we moved to the huge granite slabs. The bugs followed us there, too, so Skiman set up his two man tent without the fly, and we climbed in about 10 pm. The sky was cloudy so there weren't many stars, but we did see the full moon rise on the opposite side of the beautiful sunset. This morning we started hiking at 6:45. When we got to NH25C at 2 pm, we hoped to get a ride to Warren to buy a sandwich and get some Gatorade. After a half hour of sticking our thumbs out, no one stopped. However, where the AT entered the woods on the other side of the road there was a beautiful stream. I cooked a hot meal for us. How do you like this combination? Spaghetti, lemon-lime Gatorade, and Peaches and Cream pudding! We submerged ourselves in the one little pool of water that was deep enough to cool our bodies and soak our clothes for the challenge ahead. We climbed Mt Moosilauke, elevation 4802'. It was a tough rocky ascent, but slow and steady we made it at 7 pm. We took a few pictures then descended 2.2 miles to the Beaver Brook Shelter, arriving just before sunset at 8:20 pm. I cooked Skiman Turkey Tettrazini while he set up his tent behind the shelter. I am staying in the shelter with two south bounders and one woman who is a flip flopper, now northbound, named Gator Gump. We met many southbounders today, but the one who stands out is Murphy, who is a man in his 30's and has two prosthetic legs. He has lived his whole life like this so he does not feel any different than anyone else and is doing great. We also met two young men who were trying to hike from Moosilauke to Hanover in one day, which I believe is about 53 miles. I think they must be members of the Dartmouth Outing Club! We are exhausted and feel grateful we did not get hurt on all the tricky areas we encountered. We are now under 400 miles to Katahdin!
Date: 2007-07-31
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: few clouds

Skiman and I left at 7 this morning, as we rested a little longer from yesterdays very long hike. The descent on Moosilauke was extremely steep. The 1.6 miles took us 2 hours! There were rebar railings, steps and even ropes in place to help us hike safely. This is not a trail you want to be on if it is raining. Beside the trail was the beautiful Beaver Brook stream with a huge waterfall. It was important to stay focused on the trail, but I really wanted to look at the rocks and water slides that were created. Today I saw a fisher (cat) in a tree! It was at the end of a branch looking at me. I stood still watching it go down that tree and climb another one. The hike from highway NH112 was an obstacle course of boulders. We had hoped to stay at the Lonesome Lake Hut tonight, meeting my husband there, but the 4.2 miles to the Eliza Brook Shelter took us 3 1/2 hrs, so we made a smart but relunctant decision to end our day at 3 pm. The sad thing is Richard is staying at Lonesome Lake Hut,and we are not! Thanks to cell phones, he knows we will meet him there in the morning. There is a large AMC trail crew here working on tent sites and a walkway. There is one other Thru Hiker, Goldilocks from Ohio, who just graduated from college in Montana.Jerry and Stretch just arrived. Jerry is from Australia and we haven't seen him since the end of May!Jerry, Stretch and Skiman are all on meds for Lyme Disease as a precaution. It was nice to arrive at the shelter at 3pm and have a restful afternoon and in bed by 7 pm!