morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-09-03
To: Norwich Inn
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

Day 47Sunday 9/3/17Mile 444 (10miles)Like I told you before, when rain is in the forecast, I'm up and out early. I woke up to drops starting to hit my tent and then stop. I got ready fast. I did not even brush my teeth or poop. I was able to pack everything dry into my pack and was on my way. I actually said the words "it's only 9 1/2 miles." 9.5 miles would have max'd me out before the AT and surgery. I did the miles in about 4 hours. 2.5 miles was walking thru Handover NH and Norwich VT. Oh yeah, I'm in Vermont!!! The trail came out behind Dartmouth College. I walked thru town (picture Davidson College) and then over a river and interstate 93 into Norwich. We came through several pine forests and yellow flowered fields, which is significantly different scenery than what we have been seeing the past 6 weeks. This is a welcome change and this terrain also makes for easier hiking.When you come out of the woods and hit a road, any road, there is a feeling of relief that you are not all alone and reality still exists. As I walked through the towns, I'm sure I looked homeless and was getting those kind of looks from the New Englanders in their pho-hiking clothes. But once I get into our room and take a shower, that actually brings me back to life, I feel like I'm part of society again.
Date: 2017-09-04
To: Norwich Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Day 48Monday 9/4/17Mile 444 (Zero)Today we refuel, recover, resupply, and I get my fill of TV. I do love TV and when I'm in town I take advantage of the time. Last night I got to watch some great college football (Virginia Tech vs WV). It was my 1st game of the season. Philip does not know this yet, but I will try to sway him to come into town on "football days". Just kidding (not really).I blew out another pair of trail runners. In just 350 miles they were coming apart and they never gripped well in the rain. So I bought some new low top boots. I feel like I just put big knobby tires on the Rover. My feet grew. I had to move up a full size on the new shoes. No wonder my toes were so jacked up. Hopefully these will last 1000 miles or so.
Date: 2017-09-05
To: Thistle Hill Shelter 
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

Stage 7Day 49Tuesday 9/5/17Mile 457 (13 miles)Thistle Hill ShelterShelter Today and the rest of the week there was rain in the forecast. We have so many options for places to stay (towns, several shelters, Trail Magic places) that we decided to go and when we wanted or needed to stop we would.We made it 13 miles today and are staying in a shelter tonight. No rain just tired and we heard some thunder. No rain and the forecast was for 100% chance of rain. The mountains are smaller and you can go faster but they kick you in the teeth because you climb for a longer period of time. Climbing the mountains in NH and ME is like doing lunges and dips for and hour and climbing in VT is being on the treadmill at level 15. Both hurt you, but in different ways.So this retired guy walks into an AT shelter. No this is not the beginning of a joke. He is from NY and among his many jobs he announces that he is a "sexuality counselor". Is that a real thing? His trail name is Super Mario .Then there is the guy from Chicago who bought 30 McDonald's double cheese burgers and ate them on the trail for 6 days straight. This is a very cool idea to me. He also liked to build huge fires that have the shelter right under 800 degrees.There is also the girl that showed up late. She started 2 days ago on some busted up ankles . We saw her this morning and she told us she was new and slow. She was right, but she made it to the shelter and she a great conversation starter. She is really interested in all of our trail experiences. Shelters are a very unique experience. People from all different walks of life lay in a wooden 3 sided building all together and sleep a foot away from each other. There is all kinds of snoring, adjusting, farting, coughing, sneezing, and headlamps go on and off taking place. Just like any other day, right.
Date: 2017-09-06
To: Lookout Cabin
Miles today: 15.0

Day 50Wednesday 9/6/17Mile 472 (15 miles)Lookout CabinCabinRAIN! Rain is the word for today. We hiked in the damn rain all day. All the clothes that I wore today got soaked. I found that wearing my rain jacket and climbing mountains doesn't do a bit of good. I was soaked from sweat in an hour. So I hiked the rest of the day in my shirt. My new boots worked well and kept my feet dry until my pants got soaked and dripped water into them. We walked about a half mile for lunch to a place that was listed in our guidebook. Unfortunately it is only open on Th, Fri, and Sat. Today is Wednesday. We were able to use their spigot to get water and sit on their porch to eat a dry lunch. We are staying in an old cabin. Just 4 walls, a loft and fire place but it's dry. Did I mention it's still raining! They don't have a water source here so we are collecting water off of one of our buddy's rain fly.
Date: 2017-09-07
To: shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: moderate rain

Day 51Thursday 9/7/17Mile 486 (14 miles)Guess what?? We stayed dry today!! I was actually dryer and the end of the day than I was at the beginning. I started the day with damp clothes from the day before. As we started the day, it was foggy and cold. But we never got rained on. Every time we get to a shelter, Philip and I always have delusions that we will have the place to ourselves. We are always the first people there and we have never had the place to ourselves. Last night was no different. We ended up with 8 other stinky, wet and tired hikers including a couple that came in around 8pm and needed to set up, eat, and plan the next days hike while everyone else was trying sleep. Loads of fun!!We got a motel room for the night and plan on a short day tomorrow and then slack packing the day after. Slack packing is when you only take food and water so your pack is light and the miles are easier to crank out. We leave all our other gear at the hostel. The weather is really unstable with rain in the forecast and this will put us inside in a bed for the next 3 nights. By the way, it started raining 5 minutes after we got to our room. I have watched all or parts of Forrest Gump 3 times since I've been gone. I'm sure it will remind me of my time on the trail when this is over. Phillip is my best good friend and we are like peas and carrots. That's all I have to say about that. Is it bad that I relate to Forrest out here?
Date: 2017-09-08
To: Yellow Deli Hostel
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 52Friday 9/8/17Mile 490 (4miles)Yellow Deli Hostel (Rutland)BunkOk, for days we have been hearing about the Yellow Deli Hostel from other hikers. They would say how cool, clean and inexpensive it was. Then they would all add at the end "it's kind of a cult but they don't try to convert you or anything." Well I was intrigued and inexpensive is my middle name. So we decided to stay at the YDH. The deli is next store to the Hostel and it is located right the downtown of Rutland. Rutland is slightly bigger than a town so the downtown has a very urban feel. It is very clean and decorated like a lodge. It is the nicest looking hostel I've been to yet. They give hikers 15% off in the deli, fix a free breakfast, free laundry, free shower and operates on donations. This is unheard of in my current world.There is no smoking or drinking, no TV (deal breaker), no women where the men sleep, you must wear a shirt in the common area, you must be in by 10pm or you will be locked out (no exceptions) and the deli closed at 3pm today to observe the sabbath. You can tell that the workers in the deli and the Hostel don't "quite" fit in. All men have a 2 inch pony tail and the women are dressed very modest and wear no make up. Google "12 Tribes" if you're interested.The food was great, we are dry (still raining on and off), and they are a block from Walmart. We will being staying 2 nights as we are Slack Packing 17 miles tomorrow. If you don't hear from me in a week send out a search party.Philip and I caught a movie in town (Dunkirk) and had beer and dinner. They had a barrel aged stout that tasted like Dragons Milk. It was cool to sit in a theater and watch a movie.There was a young man staying here that was wearing one Croc and one Flip Flop cause he lost his other Croc a month ago and happened to find a left Flip Flop in a hiker box. I laughed pretty hard when I saw it.
Date: 2017-09-09
To: Yellow Deli Hostel
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 53Saturday 9/9/17Mile 307 (17.5 miles)Yellow Deli HostelBunkToday I broke the 500 mile mark!! I feel good and right now I like what I'm doing. There has not been one day where something doesn't hurt, but overall I'm stronger than I have been this whole trip. I hear NOBOS talking about being sick of the Trail and just wanting it to be over. I do not want to feel like that.I'm still alive and have not been offered koolaid yet. This is a very cool place and we have definitely found it very valuable to our hike.We Slack Packed 17.5 miles today in about 8 hours. That is pretty fast. We are not the fastest hikers by far, but anytime you can average over 2mph, you are doing good. I forgot my headphones and I usually listen to music or a podcast for a couple hours a day. This made hiking a little more challenging and mundane.All over the forest in Vermont there are old stone walls about 3-4 feet high and sometimes stretch for hundreds of yards. We asked a local about them and were told they are property boundaries that were used 100s of years ago. We were also told that if you get caught taking them you will be fined $500.
Date: 2017-09-10
To: Little Rock Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: broken clouds

Day 54Sunday 9/10/17Mile 319 (12.5 miles)Little Rock Shelter TentAs we leave for the trail today I find it hard to be focused on my journey with hurricane Irma hitting Florida. My mom and sister and many friends are in the direct path of it. They live in the Tampa area and are expected to get hit this evening. They have decided to stay and ride it out. My thoughts, love and heart go out to them. I pray that they are safe and that damage in minimal. I love you guys very much and feel helpless and selfish for being out here. Stay strong!Today was filled with thoughts of my mom, sister, and friends in Florida. Right now I'm in the woods (of course) and have no cell service. So I have no way of knowing what is happening with hurricane Irma. Today also marks the 1st Sunday of the NFL season. I have not missed this awesome event in at least 25 years. To tell you the truth I am really missing sitting in my living room, drinking some beer, eating junk food, and watching as much football as one man can stand.I noticed that for no particular reason most women thru hiking the AT stop shaving their legs. That's all I have to say about that.As far as the hiking goes, we had a beautiful, cool day to hike with no rain. This was the first day in 5 days that there was no rain. We are also seeing the leaves start to change color. It would be cool to hike south in a perpetual fall for the next month.
Date: 2017-09-11
To: Bromley Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 55Tuesday 9/11/17Mile 537 (17.7 miles)Bromley Shelter TentToday hiking was easier than yesterday and we did 5 more miles today. You just never know how you feel, what the trail surface is like and of course the weather. We actually ended up climbing Bromley Mountain and there were several ski slopes at the top. And the AT followed one of the slopes for about a 1/10 of a mile.Our world out here is measured in tenths of miles. It's on our maps and how we talk to each other. 1/10 of a mile is about 160 yds. Sometimes it takes 2 minutes to go a tenth, and sometimes it will take over 5 minutes. I prefer the 2 minute ones.I thought a lot about my mom and sister today. They survived the hurricane but I don't know how my mom's house is. She lives in a retirement trailer community. Probably not good when it comes to hurricanes. I'm just happy they are alive and well.I also thought about the football season going on without me. My daughter Olivia texted me to tell me they watched football and the Bills won. That made my day. 1-0 and in 1st place in their division. Going to the Super Bowl!!! A man can dream.Today as I was finishing my hike off there was a 200-300 foot climb. I was listening to my playlist and really wanted to finish off strong. Right as I was hitting that last climb I asked for a song to pump me up. I got Skid Row- Slave To The Grind. This is a 100MPH with your hair on fire 90s heavy metal song. I went as hard as I could (Fran pace for all my Crossfit friends) and reached the top of the mountain just as the song was ending. The climb finished at the above mentioned ski slope. I felt like a bad ass. A winded bad ass, but still a bad ass.Graphic Content Disclaimer: Philip farts more than anyone I know. I know that says a lot coming from me, and knowing my father very well, but it's true. No exaggeration, he must have farted 20 times in 15 minutes today. I'm glad he always hikes behind me.
Date: 2017-09-12
To: Green Mountain Hostel
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: light rain

Day 56Tuesday 9/12/17Mile 539 (2 miles)Green Mountain HostelBedWe are in Manchester Center in Vermont. Taking a Nero today at Green Mountain Hostel. This is the nicest "Hostel" on the AT so far. It's so nice we are thinking about taking a whole rest day tomorrow. It's clean, organized, good wifi, cable, free Ben&Jerry's ice cream, and the guys running it are great. I have now completed 25% of the AT. According to everyone we talk to we have done the toughest parts of the trail. We still have to work hard, but mentally this fact strengthens me. When I started, everything made me nervous. Fear of the unknown is powerful.I was nervous before I left home, Katahdin made me nervous, the 100 mile wilderness made me nervous, Southern Maine made me nervous, the Whites made me nervous. As I completed each one of these I grew in confidence. Now I just look at it like another mountain. I still respect the trail, but I do not fear the trail. I even find myself smiling as I climb or excited about a steep descent.Physically, I started the trail at 170lbs. Today I weighed myself and I weighed 154lbs. I have not been this light since high school. My body feels strong and I am in good trail shape. I have my aches and pains. My calves get tight, my feet hurt, my ankle aches and sometimes my back hurts. None of this happens all at once or is it enough to stop me from moving forward. I just need to be smart and rest when my body tells me to.
Date: 2017-09-13
To: Kelley Stand Rd
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Stage 8Day 57Wednesday 9/13/17Mile 556 (17 miles)Kelley Stand RdTentToday the most eventful thing that happened to us occurred around lunch. Philip and I were looking for a place to have lunch and we came upon this beautiful pond. As we rounded the corner there was a guy sitting on a rock by the pond. Upon further observation this guy was naked. Yes naked! He was wearing a ball cap, but that was it. We walked by him awkwardly and noticed there was a clothed guy there as well. Come to find out from the guy wearing clothes (who was a thru hiker) that this guy was hiking naked. Yes naked! He told our fellow hiker that there we no laws against him doing just so. That's all I have to say about that.In other news, we left the Green Mt. House and we both agreed that it was our favorite Hostel so far. It was so clean, organized and the people who ran it (Jeff and Duffy) were great. They had free Ben & Jerry's ice cream, took us into town and the trail head at no charge, and had a DIY breakfast with eggs, pancakes and coffee. There were cool trail posters from all over the country on the walls and they had an excellent DVD selection and good wifi. Two thumbs up!Philip and I have been hiking a lot together lately. We talk about sports (he likes baseball and I'm a football fan), politics, rank hostels, motels and B&Bs, discuss our days strategy, try to figure how long it will take us to get to the next state, the end of the trail for Philip, and the end of the trail for me. Philip will be done in Dalesville VA and I will have about 730 more miles to go. We talk about the people we have met on the trail and in town. Some we like and some we don't. It's more fun to talk about the ones we don't like. We talk about our weather, our families, our jobs and things we have done. Again, Phillip is my best good friend.
Date: 2017-09-14
To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 58Thursday 9/14/17Mile 569 (13 miles)Goddard ShelterShelter Today was rough. About 2am it started raining. The rain did not stop until 9:30am. This is the remanence of Irma. We started hiking around 7am in that rain.Rain changes everything. The bushes and small trees are wet and like to give you a mini shower as you go by. The rocks and roots are like ice. We were having to dodge a lot of mud holes and these are now deeper and more muddy after the rain. Your morale also changes. We both became quiet, negative, and tired in a matter of hours. I did not have any drive or speed today.So with the rain coming down fogging and speckling my glasses, the roots and rocks trying to trip and slip me up, the bushes and roots grabbing at my hiking poles and the fatigue that both of us are feeling, we decided it was time for a Zero (rest day). We have not had a Zero in 2 weeks and we both could see and feel the effects of that.With rain in the forecast for the next 12-24 hours we decided to pull up short of our goal today and stay in a shelter about 10 miles from our road to town. This is the wise decision but does not sit well with my goal oriented self. But we will stay dry tonight, and be able to take advantage of all the things town has to offer tomorrow. Town is still my favorite.At about 6pm two more hikers come upon the shelter. We thought we just might have the whole place to ourselves. Delusional. These two guys that showed up have been leap frogging with us for weeks now and we know them fairly well. Astro and Not Yet are two young guys from Virginia and California. They met on the trail, like Philip and I, and have been hiking together for a while now. There is a handful of people on the planet who are going through the same things at the same time I am and these are two of those people. We had a great time exchanging stories from the the trail (like the naked guy) and from town. We mainly talk about food when we talk about town. We can really relate to each others lives out here. I hope I get to Georgia with these fellas around. This was a cool evening to cap a pretty crappy day.
Date: 2017-09-15
To: Catamount Hotel
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 59Friday 9/15/17Mile 579 (10 miles)Catamount MotelBedToday we had a "short" day of 10 miles. It still feels odd to write that but I completed 10 miles in 4 hours. We are staying in town tonight and taking a well deserved Zero on Saturday. I will get to eat and drink and sleep and poop like all of you are getting to do. I will also get to watch college football all day today and not feel guilty because my body needs the rest. Philip and I were looking at some figures about the AT and there are some interesting and entertaining facts. Here are the highlights:About 20% of people who start AT actually finish.There are 387 hikers registered as Southbounders (that's me) in 2017. That means about 76 hikers going south will finish.There about 3100 hikers registered as Northbounders in 2017. That means about 620 hikers going north will finishThe elevation of the entire AT would equal climbing Mt Everest 16 times. Just a perspective not a challenge or comparison.There are about 165,000 white blazes marking the trail. About 3 of them are in New Hampshire (not official)Hikers loose an average of 30lbs while hiking the trail. I have lost 16lbs so far.25% of the hikers are women. About 90% of them do not shave there legs or pits (this is also not official)
Date: 2017-09-16
To: Catamount Hotel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 60Saturday 9/16/17Mile 579 (Zero)Catamount MotelBedOn this well deserved Zero Day, Philip and I went to breakfast at Friendly's. Friendly's is like a Dennys that has ice cream emphasis. Well, I decided to have ice cream for breakfast. 1200 calories of ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, peanut butter, Reece's, peanuts, and a cherry. Do Not Try This At Home. Only as A hiker would I even consider this. We burn about 6000-7000per day out here and only eat around 3000. I know my daughters would be jealous. There is another hurricane (Jose) that can effect our hike, not mention the damage it could do to the northeast. We have been feeling the mild effect of Harvey then Irma over the past two weeks. Even though rain is a back breaker to a hiker, it's not like dealing with loosing your home or life. My heart goes out to all those affected by these storms. I'm going on record and asking God to swing all hurricanes out into the deep sea where they will affect absolutely no one. So be it!Fall has been coming in the New England area for about a week or two now. I have never lived in the woods during the leaves changing (duh), but the daily change is amazing. You can see more and brighter colors every time you catch a view of the mountain ranges. I love fall for so many reasons and seeing this gives me comfort and energy. We just need to see this beauty without the RAIN!! Go Bills!! Just thought I would throw that in there.Today we needed to resupply at Walmart. We had a ride lined up with the motel owner and were going to take the bus back. But the owner asks if we wanted to take his truck. Ahhh? Yeah! That was a shocker to both of us and one of nicest things we have experienced thus far. I haven't driven in 2 months and felt great not to have to rush or depend on a ride. We filled the truck up with gas to show our gratitude. I haven't pumped gas (at a gas station) in 2 months either.
Date: 2017-09-17
To: North Adams, MA
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 61Sunday 9/17/17Mile 598 (19miles)North Adams MATent (Back Yard)We left the comfort of our room and a TV filled with football for the trail today. The weather is strangely warm for the northeast. And it will be like this for the next few days. The next town we are stopping at is 42 miles away and we plan on getting a good chunk of it done today.Goodbye Vermont. I tried hard to like you with your smoother trail surface and smaller mountains. But you tried to be a Mini Maine at times and rained on us 8 out of 12 days. I would come back and hike you again which is more than I can say for Maine.The AT goes through towns and neighborhoods from time to time. At the end of our hike today we walked out of the woods and into a small town (North Adams MA). As we looked for a place to camp we ended up just in the woods again, directly on the trail and literally just beyond the back yards of some neighborhood homes. We are less than 20 yards from their back yards. We can hear grass being cut, kids playing dogs barking, cars going by, a few airplanes taking off from a small airfield and the occasional train. This is a far cry from crickets and coyotes but I actually like the change of scenery. I also got to watch NFL highlights because I had great LTE coverage. Bills record is 1-1.