morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-07-05
From: Tom Leonard shelter

To: Shaker campsite
Miles today: 10.3

As predicted, last night was the hottest yet. Cooled off a little as the night went on but the first couple hours after dark were STUFFY! Still we slept okay and we were back on the trail by 7:15am. Nice trail today. (Despite this, Wreck managed to stumble and crash crossing a boardwalk. Cut to scalp but got to wear super cool Dearth Vader bandaid). No long grinding uphills but definitely a more mountainous feel than Connecticut, even though we barely got over 2,000 ft all day. Nice large rocks, cliffs, had nice first lunch from the Ledges (good view, nice breeze). Passed a couple pretty ponds too - one curtesy of an industrious beaver. Despite the temperature last night, today wasn¢t nearly as hot as the previous bunch. We think it got to mid 80¢s with some clouds and - sometimes - nice breeze. The forest is definitely changing as we get further into New England. Lots of conifers (white and pitch pines and tons of hemlock). We¢ve got our fingers crossed about the hemlock adelgid. That would be an ecological disaster - of course, the mid-Atlantic and southeast states have already experienced such as disaster. Hobble Bush is on the increase, as is paper birch, saw some Clintonia (Blue beaded lily) today (with still green berries). Partridgeberry and wood sorrel both in bloom. Well . . . . after a long downhill, we (ie Brighty) were excited to be getting close to our campsite only to learn at a road crossing 0.3m away from the site and at 6 pm that the campsite had been closed yesterday due to recent bear activity. The next camping area was nearly 10 miles away. No way we could make that so we could either hike a few miles more and hopefully found a spot to ¢stealth camp¢ or take our chances with the bear. Since a couple miles would still be in the bears range and this site had a bear box we opted for the latter. We¢ve eaten, carefully put all ¢smellables¢ (except ourselves!!!) in the bear box and are turning in for the night. No sign of Mrs Bear yet (reportedly with three cubs).  Storms predicted overnight into morning so we¢re anticipating a wet start - but this hot spell is supposed to break for at least a little while so we¢ll take it!!! All is good and the slow train to Maine is shutting down for the night.
Date: 2018-07-06
From: Shaker campsite

To: Upper Goose Pond 
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

Never did see that bear last night. Woke to another dry tent. Packed up and on the trail by 6:30am. Brighty really struggling early on. We stopped on top of Cobble Hill for a break and she broke out the peanut butter and Wasa crackers plus some electrolyte drink. That did the trick. Feeling much better and we both felt even better coming down to MA23 and seeing a sign for the ¢Hiker Shack¢. A couple sodas and chips later and life was good. Rain started as we got back on the trail. Light to moderate rain for the next several hours. After the heat of the last few days, the rain felt great. We needed a shower! Rain had the red spotted newts on the move again. We saw at least 50 on the trail today. Baldy Mountain was the only other climb of the day. Rest of trail was quite gentle. We did notice some hemlock adelgid eggs on some of the hemlocks today so that¢s not good news for the future. Got to Upper Goose Pond cabin about 2:30pm. It¢s owned by the ATC and managed by the local trail club, Berkshire chapter of the AMC. Nice place on the ¢pond¢ (which us Virginians would call a lake). We took the canoe out this afternoon for an hour paddle then went for a swim (Wreck) foot dipping (Brighty) from the dock. Nice crowd of folks here tonight. Had trail magic in the form of 36 ice cream sandwiches ran in from 3 miles away by trail angel. Incredible!!!! Thanks so much. Sun is setting behind Pond now and a bard owl is hooting nearby. Very nice. The rain issued in a cold front. Supposed to be 48 degrees tonight, high in the 70¢s tomorrow. Sounds like great sleeping and hiking weather. We looking forward to it!!!
Date: 2018-07-07
From: Upper Goose Pond 

To: The Cookie Ladys
Miles today: 11.1

Cool night. We both slept pretty good for a hostel with 15 other people in the room. Woke up and had pancakes cooked by this weeks caretakers, Sue and Megan. A great change from our usual breakfast bars! Upper Goose is a great AT place. We really enjoyed it. Weather fantastic today. Low humidity and temperatures in the low 70¢s. Made hiking really enjoyable. Trail was pretty tame today. Over a couple ¢mountains¢ (in name only). Went by some beautiful ponds - one, Finerty Pond, a beautiful blue looking more like a lake to us Virginians. Several other smaller ponds and wetlands were also nice. Had great conversation with SawDog, the AT ridge runner for this area. He also volunteers to work on trails at Baxter State Park and knows our good friend Pothole. Shortly later we pulled into the Cookie Lady¢s house, right off the trail. She is an AT legend providing cookies and encouragement to hikers for many years. Both she and her husband - the Cookie Man - are getting up there in years and it¢s getting harder for them to maintain things. SawDog said the AT family has been helping them out and we wanted to be a part of that. After nice talk with the Cookie Lady (a fun person) Wreck spent a couple hours mowing the lawn, around the barn and blueberry bushes. Brighty had another nice chat with the Cookie Lady. We were rewarded with some delicious chocolate chip cookies!!!! We¢re camping on their lawn tonight. It¢s going to be another chilly one. We¢re looking forward to a good night sleep!
Date: 2018-07-08
From: The Cookie Ladys

To: Dalton MA
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: broken clouds

Another cool night. We slept in our fleece (Brighty broke out the space blanket). Up and after saying our goodbyes to the Cookie Lady and Cookie Man we¢re back on the trail. Can¢t describe how great it was to meet them. Really one of the highlights of our AT journey. A couple minor hills to climb today but otherwise one of the tamer days we¢ve had. South of Warner Hill we went through a forest of dying spruce trees. Not sure the cause (could be several) but they¢re going to have a bunch of blowdowns over the years. On Warner Hill itself the blueberry bushes were packed with blueberries. A week or two more and some hikers are going to be in for a treat!!! Much of the rest of the day was a nice walk in the woods. The trail runs right through the town of Dalton, MA. - right pass Sweet Peas ice cream shop. Naturally we stopped (creamsicle float - Brighty, milk shake - Wreck. Time to shower and do wash so we¢re spending the night in town at the only hotel, Shamrock Inn. Local and friendly. Only trouble in all three of the restaurants we picked out to eat at were closed. Ended up grabbing a sandwich at the local sub shop. Okay but not what we had been hoping for. Oh well, we¢re going to resupply in the morning and head north. A real bed is calling now!
Date: 2018-07-09
From: Dalton MA

To: Cheshire MA
Miles today: 8.8

A good nights sleep at the Shamrock Inn. The employees were all very friendly to hikers. Wreck took the 7am bus into Pittsfield to resupply (Walmart and a super fancy Pricechopper). Back at the hotel by 8:45 am. We went to Juice and Java for breakfast (Brighty went for a second breakfast), came back and packed and were back on the trail by 10am. Not a long day today. When we first started planning this adventure, Brighty expressed a strong desire to spend a night at the lodge on top of Mt Graylock. It¢s 17.2 miles from Dalton (not a distance the slow train to Maine attempts in a day) so we have two days to get there. Much of the trail today was gradually uphill. A little more wind and cooler temperatures at elevation so hiking was nice. Went by beautiful Gore Pond. Stopped (because we had time) and watch a blue heron fishing in the pond. Had a late lunch (after our big breakfast we weren¢t very hungry) on top of the Cobbles with great views of the Hoosic River Valley, town of Cheshire, and Mt Greylock. Trail then dropped down into Cheshire. Stopped at ice cream store right next to trail and then came up to the local Catholic Church which lets hikers camp on the side lawn. Set up the tent and walked the bike trail about a mile to the Basswater Grill for dinner. Not a great meal but much better than the Knorr Sides we had in our pack. We¢re back at the church. Handful of other hikers here. Soft lawn for camping and weather is great. Looking forward to climbing Greylock tomorrow!!!
Date: 2018-07-10
From: Cheshire MA

To: Mt Greylock
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: broken clouds

Got cool last night. Heavy dew so we actually packed a wet tent - for the first time that we can remember. (That speaks volumes about how great the weather has been!). Left about 6:30am, hiked the AT 0.5miles and went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast! (It¢s interesting that for its entire 2,200 mile route the AT goes through a little more than a handful of towns and, yet, we¢ve gone through two towns in the last 10 miles. Not sure why but Brighty thought the coffee was exceptional and we both enjoyed the breakfast sandwiches). Today was climbing day. Cheshire is 979 feet and Mount Greylock, highest peak in Massachusetts, is 3,491 feet. Luckily the trail took nearly 8 miles to make the climb. A few steep sections but lots of gradual ups too. Brighty was a hiker possessed. We mentioned how she was really looking forward to staying at the lodge on Greylock and she hiked like it today. We took a couple food break and another break by a beautiful small pond near the top but still reached the lodge by 1:30 pm. Checked in, went up to monument to check the views (great),showered (2nd in 3 days) had a late lunch/early dinner (at $37/person balked at the real dinner) plus homemade ice cream for dessert. Now we¢re hanging around the lobby of the lodge (great stone fireplaces) enjoying our evening. It looks like rain potentially tonight but tomorrow looks fantastic. Wow!!! Edging closer and closer to Vermont (Thursday). Looking forward to what our last full day in Massachusetts will bring!
Date: 2018-07-11
From: Mt Greylock

To: PeteÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Spring campsite
Miles today: 7.9

Nice night at Greylock. We slept well. Had a complementary continental breakfast that was somewhat meager (muffin and coffee). We really liked certain aspects of the Bascom Lodge (great fireplaces and woodworking) and Wreck had one of his best trail magic experiences here in 2015 courtesy of its chef/managing partner, but not sure if it¢s on our list of places to revisit. Lacking in a lot of little areas. Anyhoot, stopped up at the Tower again and then headed down the mountain. Great walking in the higher elevations through the spruce fir forest (last time the AT went through a spruce fir forest was down on Mt Rogers in Virginia). Trail was steep for the first half of the descent and then we hit some great rock steps and switchbacks. Brighty¢s knees thank the AMC¢s Berkshire chapter bunches!!! Walked through our third town in as many days (North Adams, MA) - but just a residential area though Brighty was looking for ice cream shops just in case. No success. Hiked about halfway up the mountain towards the state line and decided to camp here. Got in early so we¢ve eaten and done all our chores and it¢s just 6:40 pm. We¢re going to try a stay awake until at least 8pm!!! Tomorrow we go into Vermont!!!!
Date: 2018-07-12
From: PeteÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Spring campsite

To: Congdon shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

A little more late night noise in camp last night than usual. We still slept well. Cool but not uncomfortably so. Trail today started up and soon went steeply up. It was going to take some effort to get out of Massachusetts! But eventually the trail leveled off and into Vermont we sailed. Deep blue skies without a cloud in sight. What a greeting! For the first 100+ miles in Vermont, the AT and the Long Trail are together. After that the Long Trail (which predates the AT by several decades) continues north for another almost 200 miles to the Canadian border while the AT heads east to New Hampshire. Trail traffic was a little heavier today - LT folks, AT folks and just folks backpacking a few days in Vermont. Early on we passed a French Canadian couple heading south just finishing the Long Trail.  Weather stayed in 70¢s all day, woods very nice- lots of hobble bush and clintonia on the forest floor. Passed another couple beautiful ponds and pulled into camp a little after 5pm. Place is as crowded as any we¢ve stayed at since Delaware Water Gap. Another pretty noisy crowd but it¢s starting to quiet down. Supposed to be another cool one so we are prepared -hopefully!!!
Date: 2018-07-13
From: Congdon shelter

To: Bennington VT
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: broken clouds

A ¢Nero¢ nearly does in Brighty! A town day today. This was an easy stretch of trail for us - lots of showers and restaurants!! - but Vermont doesn¢t have as many road crossings as the ¢lower¢ states so we need to resupply for the next leg. Well . . . . we thought last night around dark that the noise in camp was starting to die down - we were wrong!! Noisiest night so far! A few folks with foghorn voices up well into the night! Hope we can avoid that/them in the future. Great weather today again. Stopped on Harmon Hill to call and arrange a ride from the trailhead and pick a few ripening red raspberries. Then it was a steep couple miles downhill to the gap. Lots and lots of rock steps - not all in the best of condition. Got picked up by the owner of the Catamount Motel. Simple but nice. We both had salads for lunch at Cilantros and Wreck caught the great public transportation to Walmart/Pricechopper to resupply. Brighty took a short nap and woke up feeling poorly. Not sure if it was the changing weather, the overripe avocado in the salad, or the accumulation of trail days but the rest of the day she felt rotten. Did go out to dinner with Wreck but ate maybe one wing - too bad as we both had been looking forward to this place - Madison Brewing Company - for a couple days. Lots of interesting menu items plus interesting beers. Wreck had an imperial double IPA and also Brighty¢s Creamsicle double IPA. Both good. We both would have tried the blueberry wheat beer if Brighty hadn¢t been so under the weather. Managed to walk back to the hotel room. Not sure about tomorrow. We think 50/50 between hiking north or taking a zero and hoping Brighty can regain her health. For now it¢s bed for both of us.
Date: 2018-07-14
From: Bennington VT

To: Goddard shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: clear sky

Woke up this morning and Brighty was feeling better but not great - maybe 75%. Had breakfast nearby at Friendly and she was up to 80%. Decided to head north. Got a shuttle and we were back at the Gap a little before 10 am. A haul right away out of the gap. We went slow and Brighty seemed to stay about 80% which was pretty good considering it was up 1,300 ft right away. Trail became much tamer (more Vermonty says Wreck) but we still climbed another 1,000+ feet to get to this site. Brighty has continued to improve. Still doesn¢t have her appetite back but much much better than last night (think we¢ll have to stay away from towns!!!!). Lots of people on the trail today (There¢s a popular 21 mile loop trail that includes this section of AT and since it¢s a Saturday lots of traffic). Lots of dogs on the trail too. One, Amber, we played leap frog with all day. She barked at us each time but she¢s a cutie. We¢re up above 3,500 ft tonight. The storms expected this afternoon never materialized. Maybe tonight? We¢ve battened down the hatches just in case. Tomorrow we head north again. Looking forward to it!!!
Date: 2018-07-15
From: Goddard shelter

To: Story Spring shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: clear sky

Well, we had an interesting day today. Didn¢t rain or get too cold last night. First order of business today was to hike 0.3m north and climb the Glastenbury Mountain lookout tower. Spectacular views when clear. Alas we were in the clouds this morning. Views of the treetops below but little else. The rest of the day the trail was pretty tame - just a couple uphill sections. Not as much traffic on the trail today but quality made up for quantity. This morning while hiking at our usual slow pace we heard footsteps behind us (a typical occurrence). Moved to the side of the trail to let the hiker by and as we turned and said ¢hi¢ we became aware that this backpacker was wearing no clothes. Shortly later we were passed by his hiking partner also wearing no clothes. Both hikers are we¢re guessing in their mid 60¢s. We leapfrogged them multiple times today. Their pace and Brighty¢s pace is similar. Evidently Vermont has no laws against nudity (when hiking?) and they are ¢nudist¢ (though we think part-time not full-time). They are section hiking the Long Trail. They actually seem like nice, normal folks and like to talk (which Wreck finds challenging though he tries - Brighty says the key is to maintain eye contact!). Anyhoot it¢s been interesting. They are staying in this shelter, we¢re camped a respectable distance away (although we¢d love to see the reaction of other hikers as they pull in). Mosquitoes are actually pretty bad here so they might be covering up soon. Weather humid today but no rain. It¢s coming in next day or definitely two. We¢re going to try to hike a few extra miles tomorrow. Brighty feeling pretty much back to normal.
Date: 2018-07-16
From: Story Spring shelter

To: Winhall River
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: light rain

A less exciting day in some respects as our nudist friends finished their hike and went back to the clothed world (Another backpacker told us that they expected more nudist friends to join them for the next section of the Long Trail in a couple weeks). We started on the trail early today. Weather was warm last night and humid today though sunny. After an initial uphill, the trail was mostly downhill for the first four miles. Vermont trails have a reputation for being really muddy (hence the nickname Vermud). We¢re in a really dry time up here and still some sections today were pretty muddy. It looked like - with rain - you might lose a boot in some in it.  After the downhill we then climbed Stratton Mountain (3936 ft). It¢s a very well graded climb both up and down. Lookout tower on top with good but summer hazy views. Saw our next mountain - Bromley - to the north. Had great conversation with Jean, the caretaker on top of the mountain. 5 days/week for 5 months/ year she and her husband live in a tiny hut on top the mountain. Been doing it for nearly 50 years!!! Wow. Does she have some stories. We think she should write a book. Miles to go before we stop so we bid Jean farewell and headed down mountain. Went by beautiful Stratton Pond- these ponds up here are fantastic! Got to this campsite on the north side of the river about 6 pm. Cooked, filtered water, got the best bags up, etc, etc with a little rumble of thunder in the distance. Finished all the chores, got in the tent and the rain started. There¢s some thunder still going on and a moderate rain coming down. Like we said, they really need it so that¢s good. Tomorrow could be nasty - there¢s talk of high winds and hail. We¢re hoping it¢s mostly in the pm. We¢ve got 8+ miles to Manchester Center and a stay at a hostel.
Date: 2018-07-17
From: Winhall River

To: Manchester Center
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: clear sky

Woke up about 5:30am and things were pretty dry. Eating breakfast bars the rumbling started and soon after it started to rain. Luckily we hadn¢t put down the tent so we retreated inside to wait things out. Packed up a wet tent and headed out around 7:30am. About 9am things got dark (after twilight dark) and the bottom dropped out. The AT became the Appalachian Stream or Pool. Luckily the really hard rain only lasted maybe an hour. The rest of the morning was just drizzle. Had an early lunch at the Spruce Peak shelter with a nice overhanging front porch which was especially nice since the rains started to pick up. Got out to the highway about 2pm, stuck out our thumbs and the second vehicle stopped and picked us up. Great lady (who didn¢t mind wet hikers) took us into the Pricechopper so we could resupply. The folks at Green Mountain hostel picked us up there. This is a super nice hostel (really like a b&b). We showered, washed clothes and cooked dinner (chicken, corn on the cob and sweet potatoes). They had pints of Ben And Jerry¢s ice cream for one dollar!!! We split one. Nice conversation with some other hikers staying here. Now we are bushed. Time for bed and back on the trail tomorrow morning.
Date: 2018-07-18
From: Manchester Center

To: Griffith Lake
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Great time at Green Mountain hostel. No Pants stayed here in 2014 and highly recommended it. We totally agree. Can¢t think of a more comfortable hostel on the AT. Jeff, the owner, was gone for a couple days but Duffy was super. Duffy has an interesting life. Since he retired he and his little camper have gone up and down the AT working at different hostels from Georgia to Maine. He really likes it in Vermont and, again, was a great host to us. After we fixed eggs and blueberry pancakes for breakfast, Duffy had us back to the trail before 9am. A fantastic weather day. Deep blue skies, low humidity and near 70 degrees. Not a day us Virginians are accustomed to in July! It was a day to go hiking in the mountains so that¢s what we did. Climbed Bromley Mountain (3260 ft) this morning. The last maybe 0.2m of trail to the top follow a downhill ski run. On top of the mountain was a chairlift (not operating in the summer) and a warming hut (open for camping in summer). An interesting observation was the difference that us Virginians and Vermont folks rate their ski slopes. As we walked up the one the trail followed we thought ¢wow this must be one of the most difficult slopes¢. Once on top we noticed the sign saying ¢easiest way down¢ and pointing to where we had just come from. Don¢t think us bunny slopers will be doing much skiing in Vermont! Had lunch on the sunny deck of the warming hut. Talked with a southbound flip flopper from Brunswick, Md. (it¢s a small world - last night at the hostel was a young SOBO from Purcellville, VA and another young man whose parents lived at Smith Mountain Lake - near where we used to live in Franklin County VA). Leaving Bromley it was down to Mad Tom Notch - gotta love that name! Just after starting our descent of Bromley we observed a red spotted newt climbing up the trail toward the top. We don¢t think there was any permanent water within a mile which made us marvel at the distance these newts can travel from one watering hole to the next (also made us think twice about complaining in the future about any of these climbs. That was one tough newt! From Mad Tom we climbed Styles Peak (3394ft with view) and Peru Peak (3429ft without view). Then down to this campsite on Griffin Lake (very pretty body of water). There¢s a summer caretaker at this site - very nice former thruhiker from Baltimore. It¢s supposed to be near 40 degrees or below. We¢ve got every piece of clothing in our packs on or close by. Brighty¢s broken out both her bag liner and space blanket. Batten down the hatches, it¢s bedtime!