morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-06-29
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Killington Peak
Miles today: 21.4

First thing I remember about today was coming to the      Clarendon Gorge and the Mill River. SteveO and I climbed down      and he went for a swim, I sat and relaxed. A bridge was      washed out along the trail due to Hurricane Irene and it      forced us to do a 3 mile road walk. We found out later that      the section is actually hikable. Nothing we can do about that      now.... The rest of the day was a long steady climb up to      Killington Mtn. I used to snowboard here a lot so I was      excited to do a side trail to the summit to camp, if      possible. There was a mistake in the mileage again in our      guidebook but it was in our favor. It seemed to be a much      shorter distance than originally thought. Good for us.      Another hiker, Veggie, came along with us to camp on top of      Killington. When we got to the top it was very windy but      totally worth it. We got one of the best sunsets so far up      there and it was totally worth the steep extra half mile      round trip.
Date: 2012-06-30
From: Killington Peak

To: Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 7.1

Perfect sleeping weather. Veggie was gone when I woke up,      SteveO was hanging out waiting for me. We hiked down to the      Rt. 4 trailhead and found a lady doing trail magic. She had      soda, Gatorade, water, chips, fruit and so much other stuff.      She made sire that we weren't shy and we ended up full. Then      we hiked another couple miles and dropped down to the Inn at      Long Trail. They claim to have the best Guiness on the trail.      We tested it and it turns out they're right. As soon as      Wwater caught up, we went into Rutland to resupply. Got an      all you can eat Chinese for lunch and then headed back to the      Inn. They let hikers tent for free across the road in a nice      patch of grass. We set up our tents, enjoyed some beers and      napped for a couple hours. Went to the Inn for diner and some      live music and then called it a night. The moon was bright      and big tonight.
Date: 2012-07-01
From: Inn at Long Trail

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 16.0

Slept ok but there was lots of road noise. First thing on the      trail was a nice spring and then into a campground with good      clean running water. The trail to Thundering Falls had been      washed out due to Hurricane Irene last year so we didn't get      to see that. Had a brief but steep climb up Quimby Mtn and      then onto The Lookout. It's an old cabin on top of a hill      with a lookout tower built onto the roof. I decided it was a      good idea to climb onto the chimney from the lookout tower.      It got me a little bit higher above treeline so it was worth      it. The cabin is left open to sleep in also but none of us      knew this and we were all out of H2O at the time so we kept      going to Winturri Shelter.
Date: 2012-07-02
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Podunk Rd
Miles today: 17.8

Another one of those "i don't remember much about today      anymore" moments. Just an average day until we got to VT 14      in the afternoon. We all went into the general store in West      Hartford and ate some excellent food. Afterwards, we decided      to go swim in the White River. While down there SteveO struck      up a conversation with some women and their daughters. Turns      out that they have a house which borders the AT and they were      going to let us come and use their newly installed outdoor      shower and then tent in their yard. They had been meaning to      invite hikers to do so in the past but never got a chance, we      would be their first. We bought some beer and they drove it      up the road for us, we hiked to their property. When we got      there, everyone took a shower and then we set up tents and      ended up being invited inside for the evening. Alex and Mary      (i feel terrible but I can't currently remember if her name      was Mary, I'll talk to SteveO and correct that as soon as I      can) were awesome hosts and fed us quiche and garden fresh      salad. We all hung out and around 11pm we realized it had      been raining for some time. Wouldn't have been a big deal if      I had put my rain fly on my tent. But seeing as how it looked      to be a perfect evening when I went inside, I didn't. My      quilt and everything else was soaked, to include my cell      phone. I took my stuff and gratefully used the dryer to undo      what nature had done. They also gave me a baggy of rice to      try and save my phone. I finally got everything dried and      went to sleep thankful for the generosity of our Podunk      Friends.
Date: 2012-07-03
From: Podunk Rd

To: Velvet Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

Had an incredible night last night. Alex and M were great      hosts. This morning they even made us strong coffee, eggs and      some muffins. After a nice morning, we said thanks and      goodbye. Now it was off to New Hampshire. It was an easy walk      over "Happy Hill" and then popped out onto Elm St. There was      multiple trail magic setups on the road walk into Norwich,      VT. Excellent. We came into town and stopped by the general      store. They are known to give out day old deli sandwiches to      hikers. They didn't disappoint. Wwater, SteveO, Trotter and I      all got some free breakfast sandwiches. Then we headed across      the Connecticut River and entered NH. Hanover, NH is home to      Dartmouth College. We hung out and stopped at all the places      that give out free stuff to hikers. Had a great time, then we      headed out to the shelter. There were so damn many mosquitos      that I basically ran and hid in my tent for the night.
Date: 2012-07-04
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter

To: Smarts Mtn Cabin
Miles today: 21.9

I didn't want to get out of my tent due to the swarm of      mosquitos awaiting me outside. I packed everything I could      before getting out and taking down my tent. I got out of camp      quick! There was a spring about half a mile from camp so I      filled up there and continued on my way. 6 miles later I got      some more water from the spigot on the side of a house. I met      up with the early starters (everyone but me) at Moose Mtn      Shelter. Then we came down off of Moose Mtn and over a      unnamed hill. I elected to skip stopping at the Trapper John      Shelter and instead take a break at Bill Ackerly's house. Hes      a nice older guy that lets hikers stop by and fill water, he      insists that you eat an ice cream sandwich and take a rest.      It was a nice break. After that it was a long drawn out 2000      foot climb up to Smarts Mtn. There was a fire tower at the      top and a bunch of towns nearby so we figured we would get to      see a lot of firework displays that night. After dark, we      climbed up the tower and you could see fireworks but they      weren't that impressive looking down from so far above. There      was some awesome cloud to cloud lightning going on at the      next ridge and that was much more impressive. After awhile I      was tired and went to bed.
Date: 2012-07-05
From: Smarts Mtn Cabin

To: Glencliff, NH/Hikers Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up and it was overcast and chilly. SteveO and I headed      down off of Smarts Mtn and up Mt. Cube. We stopped at the top      for a break. If I recall correctly, it was tough to find a      good water source this afternoon. We came across a tent site      that had been a shelter last year. It has since burnt to the      ground. The final climb of the day was a small mountain, Mt.      Mist. After we came over it, it was mostly downhill to the      Hikers Welcome Hostel in Glencliff. We got a bunk, a shower,      did laundry and ordered some pizza. Then we watched Borat.      Finally, I went to sleep much later than anticipated.
Date: 2012-07-06
From: Glencliff, NH/Hikers Welcome Hostel

To: Lincoln, NH/Chet's Place
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: broken clouds

Mt. Moosilauke! The beginning of The White Mountains! This is      what I've been waiting for! SteveO and I were so excited to      get going that we stayed at the hostel until noon, haha. I      was in fact very excited to get started but we were enjoying      the morning as it was. So quickly the morning became      afternoon, then we hiked. It took us exactly 1 hour and 45      minutes to climb the 4.5 mile, 3800 foot climb. I think that      is damn respectable. The top of Moosilauke is a alpine meadow      and you can see everywhere in 360 degrees. We couldn't have      gotten better weather to climb up and hang out on top than      what we had. It was surreal standing up there. There I was on      top of the mountain I've been thinking about 3rd most since leaving Virginia (2nd being Mt. Washington, I think number      one is self explanatory). The trail is going to be a bit more difficult from here I suspect. Standing up there was a      great feeling. Can't describe it, don't know how... The climb      down was steep and slippery. For about half of it, we were      within a few feet if a waterfall and it was just incredible.      Such a great hike. About a mile from the parking area we met      a guy that offered us a ride to Lincoln. He was ultimately      going to the same town that SteveO was trying to get to for      the weekend. He gave SteveO a ride after dropping us off. I'm      sure he'll catch up with us in a couple days after the      weekend. We went to McDonald's and I tried turning on my      phone. It was not working, it seems that the rain the other      day must have actually screwed it up. After eating we went to      Chet's Place. He runs a hostel out of an addition to his      house. He's a real nice guy. Stinger, Motown and Redman      showed up with Motown's parents later. Motown and I discussed      the possibility of them giving me a ride to get a new phone.      Later I got a 6 pack and enjoyed some adult beverages.
Date: 2012-07-07
From: Lincoln, NH/Chet's Place

To: Lincoln, NH/Chet's Place
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Motown woke me up to give me her mom's phone number before      she left to hike. I got up at 7:30 to try to locate a store      to get a new phone. By about 9:30 I found a Radioshack nearby      that had some nice phones. Mr. and Mrs. Motown picked me up      and gave me a ride to the next town and I got my shiny new      HTC One X. The car ride back was fun since they, being from      the area, knew which mountain was which and could point out      what I was hiking over tomorrow. Thank you both for your time      and willingness to give me a ride. Thanks for the peanut      M&Ms too! When I got back to Chet's, I fell asleep for a      couple hours. Woke up, called Sarah on my new phone and went      to get some pizza. Later I went and got some ice cream. It      was a good day.
Date: 2012-07-08
From: Lincoln, NH/Chet's Place

To: Lonesome Lake Hut
Miles today: 13.3

Finally decided to leave Chet's and hike, even though I was      enjoying my stay so much. Thank you Chet. What you do for the      hikers is unreal and I appreciate it. The climb out of      Kinsman Notch was steep but my legs felt good after the zero      day. I made it to the top of Mt. Wolf really quick and then      before I knew it, I had caught up to Whitewater and Dundee at      the top of S. Kinsman Mtn. I ran over top of N. Kinsman and      then down to the Lonesome Lake Hut to try and be the first      hiker there. In the Whites, there are large resort      destinations known as huts. They cost about $120 a night and      not too many thru hikers want to pay that after sleeping for      free in the woods for months. What we will do is try to get      one of the two work for stay spots that they offer at the      huts for thru hikers. I got to Lonesome Lake in time to      secure a spot and waited for diner. Afterwards, I shook out a      few blankets and folded them. Then I got to sleep in the hut      on the floor after the guests went to sleep. The "croo" was      all in their early 20s and fun to talk to. I had a great      time, ate extremely well and slept great. I'll be aiming for      some more work for stay.
Date: 2012-07-09
From: Lonesome Lake Hut

To: stealth campsite
Miles today: 16.1

Slept so good last night. Woke up and scored some breakfasttoo! The Lonesome Lake croo was awesome and I appreciate thehook up very much. The 3 miles to Franconia Notch were easyand went along a small creek as it made it's way downhill. Iwas so excited to get up to the Franconia Ridge that I didn'tmind the climb at all. For the first time, we were abovetrendline. It was amazing! The view from Little Haystack Mtnwas great. Then the view from Mt. Lincoln was better,followed by the Mt. Lafayette which was the best. The weatherwas perfect again and you could see forever. NH is without adoubt my favorite state on the AT thusfar. I didn't want todrop down off the ridgeline but I thought maybe I could timemy arrival at the Galehead Hut appropriately to get work forstay again. So I bounded down the mountain and headed up Mt.Garfield. There were more views from the top and I stoppedwith Dundee to check it out. He and I headed to the hut andgot there too late. There were already to hikers doing workfor stay. So they gave us some left over mashed potatoes andsome turkey soup. After eating that we went to a very niceand well established stealth site for the night. The Whiteskick ass!
Date: 2012-07-10
From: stealth campsite

To: stealth campsite
Miles today: 14.7

4 months on the trail. So I slept in, until 11am! Immediately      to start the day, I went up South Twin Mtn. it was steep but      ended quick. At the top, I met a southbounder that told me      SteveO was ahead of me. He caught up quick from his weekend      off. The view from the top of South Twin Mtn was amazing      again. The 6 miles to Zealand Falls Hut was pretty easy and      mostly downhill. I got to the hut and there was SteveO. We      went into the hut and got some leftover soup, split pea (one      of my favorites). The last 7 miles today were really nice and      easy. We found a nice campsite right after rt. 302 and called      it a day. Another awesome day in The Whites!
Date: 2012-07-11
From: stealth campsite

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept really good last night listening to the river flowing      nearby. I didn't want to get up and took my time doing so.      After I was finally packed and ready to go, Veggie showed up      and together we hiked up Mt. Webster. It was a pretty tough      climb 2700 foot but we made it. It put us into the South      Presidential Range of the White Mtns. From Webster we went      over Mt. Jackson, Mt. Pierce, Mt. Franklin, and Mt. Monroe.      The whole time we had indescribable views of the surrounding      area and Mt. Washington. Since Veggie and I had been going so      slow we decided to slow down even more and try to get work      for stay at Lakes of the Clouds Hut. Thus was great because      it allowed us to sit for 15 minutes, or more, at every view      we came to and you come to them every 5 minutes. By this      point Dundee had caught up with us and we went to the hut.      They took us for work for stay and we spent the evening      soaking up views and relaxing. The pork tenderloin dinner was      excellent and we slept in some bunks. Unfortunately, Wwater      and SteveO had gone on to the next hut and I will have to      catch them tomorrow.
Date: 2012-07-12
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: NH 16/Gorham, NH
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: few clouds

Slept until 7:50 since we were getting breakfast at 8. We did      a little work and then ate breakfast. Afterwards I headed out      to Mt. Washington. The hike up was really easy but rocky,      which made it fun. At the top, I was sort of disappointed. I      had known that it would be touristy and full of people but I      was hoping maybe I'd miss it in the morning. I managed to      fight through the people and get some good pictures, enjoy      the beautiful weather and I ended up enjoying my time up      there. It wasn't what I hoped for but it was pretty good      anyways. Next up was the Southern Presidential Range. Again I      was fully exposed above treeline and you could see forever.      Mt. Clay, Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Madison were all easy since I      was coming from the high side. I met up with Veggie coming      down through and he was on board with shooting into Gorham      from Pinkham Notch at the base of Madison. We got to the      notch and grabbed a ride with some caretakers that had just      got off work. Wwater, SteveO and "trotter" were all at the      Royalty Inn. We we arrived, it turns out that everyone I have      been hiking with was there. Stinger, Motown and Redman were      next door to us and then later Pretzel and JC showed up.      Finally the WarriorHike guys, Mark and Sean swung by for a      little. It was a party and there were some DRUNK hikers. I      was not a drunk one tonight but it was entertaining.
Date: 2012-07-13
From: NH 16/Gorham, NH

To: US 2/Gorham, NH
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was the "hike from hell". It was hot and the terrain      was genuinely difficult. The way that the trail is routed      through the area brings you within a few miles of Gorham      twice. It's 21 miles of trail from Pinkham Notch to the Rt. 2      road crossing. We planned to do it all in one day and come      back to the hotel room and clean up. Seemed like a great idea      on paper. The day started later than it should have at the      climb up Wildcat Mtn. It was 2000 feet in less than 2 miles.      I was worn out already when we got to the top and we still      had 18 miles to go. Wildcat Mtn is a ski resort and had its      gondola running so people could ride up and see the views      without the sweaty climbing. Lucky them. There are multiple      peaks to the mountain and we walked over 4 of them before      dropping into Carter Notch. I ran out of water coming down      into the notch and then missed the sign for the hut, where I      had planned to refill. I climbed up to Carter Dome, another      steep 1500 foot climb at about the same grade as the earlier      climb. I kept going, getting more and more thirsty. I met SteveO at the top of North Carter Mtn and we drank a PBR that he packed out. It was warm and delicious. Came down to the Imp Campsite and got water finally. Then it was up and over Mt. Moriah and down to Rt. 2. That was without question the hardest section of trail I have done to date. SteveO and I usually average a solid 3 mph and we could only do 2 today. That made for a long 21 miles.
Date: 2012-07-14
From: US 2/Gorham, NH

To: US 2/Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I needed a day of recovery from my days in the Whites, but      most of all from yesterday. SteveO zeroed with me.  We      went to McDonald's for lunch since I slept until checkout      time. After, we called the White Mountain Hostel and got      picked up. Finally got some laundry done after a very sweaty      8 days and then relaxed and watched a movie. Did a resupply      at Wal-Mart and then ordered some pizza. The White Mountain      Hostel is awesome. I am really glad I decided to come over      here. Great people and a great place.
Date: 2012-07-15
From: US 2/Gorham, NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It's July 29th. I'm in Monson, ME. I am about to enter the 100 Mile Wilderness and most likely will not have service to get the journal caught up. I plan to summit on the 6th of August. I'll get the whole thing caught up after I return home. Feel free to leave a guest message and wish me luck/a good time!
Date: 2012-06-20
To: How to mail packages
Miles today: 0.0

Since so many of my friends are interested in mailing me goodies as I hike here are the instructions including a few hints as to what hikers love to get on the trail!1)ALWAYS send packages with the US Postal Service and ALWAYS send them Priority Mail (the flat rate boxes work perfect)2)All package should be addressed as follows:Angela Coatesc/o General Delivery(Trail Town), State, Zip CodePlease hold for AT thru hikereta: (date I should be arriving in that town)3) I will be posting here about every 4-5 days but the posts COULD actually be a few days behind where I actually am... so be sure to mail them farther north than expected and plan for up to 2 weeks before you would guess me to be in that town. This way I am more likely to be able to walk into the town and actually have the package waiting for me!4) Please contact me and let me know if there is a package waiting for me... especially if it is going to a town I have not listed as one I already plan to hit the post office in. 5)Towns I will go to the post office are:Bear Mountain, NY 10911Kent, CT 06757Cheshire, MA 01225Hanover, NH 03755in Maine please send a package to c/o The Cabin PO Box 55E Andover, ME 04226And finally since I know some of you have no idea what we hikers like... I personally love to get:small bag (1 cup or so) of Epsom Salts to soak my feetexfoliating facial scrubby poofs to scrub off the dirtdenture cleaning tablets to clean my water bladders and hoseshampoo but more importantly conditionersnacks any variety that would be found in a larger storedehydrated veggies which can be hard to find in small townssingle servings of peanut/almond/or whatever butter flavored ones are good tooOf course I hope you know you DO NOT need to send packages! I've just had so many friends inquire about how to do it!
Date: 2012-06-20
To: Final days before NJ
Miles today: 0.0

Finishing the last few things that need to be done before I head out on Sunday for the trail! Really excited to hike with my friend Kit for the first 4 days of the trail and to show her why I love backpacking so much. As this will be her first time backpacking and because I am so out of shape we will be taking it slow and making the first week an easy week of walking. I just hope it doesn't rain too much! Oh wait did I just say the dreaded "R" word? I should know better than that! I find it interesting this will be the first backpacking trip in which I will be starting with a friend since my trips in college! Well, I need to get going... lots to pack and sort... you know all know what the "pack explosion" looks like... and if not I bet you can figure it out!
Date: 2012-06-24
From: Boston

To: High Point NJ
Miles today: 0.0

It was all road miles today... but Angry Bird (Kit) and I made the trip to NJ leaving Boston where she picked me up at the airport after returning my rental car... On the trip south we needed to stop in and see my dear friend Willow and her husband Tim, who was going to loan us a few pieces of gear since I don't own backpacking gear intended for two people to share. While in CT with Willow the three of us went to a great little local deli which Willow treated us to our lunch (she is so kind!) After saying goodbye to Willow we were back on the road again and in about 2 hours we were arriving at the NJ517 parking area where we were planning to leave her car so when we completed our hike we would end at her car.The only problem we had was trying to get a shuttle arranged to meet us at the parking area and to drop us at the PA/NJ boarder that night. But we were able to arrange to be picked up by Mike of the High Point Country Inn and bring us there for the night and they would shuttle us the rest of the way to Delaware Water Gap the following morning. Not completely ideal, and it would be pricey, but it was the only thing we could find that would also get us on the trail early enough to also get the planned 11 miles of hiking done before dark the following day.