morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-08-02
From: Mt. Greylock

To: Dalton to Cheshire MA
Miles today: 0.0

We are in Dalton, Ma. at the tracks.  CB has placed some coins on the tracks and hopefully he'll get  a few flattened coins .  The sun is peeking out and looks like a good hiking day ahead of is.  We met up with Sourdough, a friend of Peewee's, last night at the campsite. NOBOS Curio and Knees are with us right now and we are heading to breakfast.  I could eat a horse.!!Dalton is known for making the paper for the US currency.  I know where the building is!  The chairman of the selectmen told me.!!  While here I went to the eye doctor as I have had an allergic reaction to something. We hiked to the Crystal Mtn campsite and eleven hikers were there for the night. We hiked out early the next am but nothing was open in Cheshire. We stopped at the shell station and had unhealthy food.......diet cokes, whoopie pies, milk, a pound of cottage cheese with 8 oz. can of pineapple and CB had two hotdogs. We had doubles of everything.  Double your pleasure!!!
Date: 2010-08-04
From: Mt. Greylock

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

We entered Vermont yesterday and found out why it's nickname is Vermud! it rained off and on all day and eighty percent if the trail was literally under water. Today, Friday, we hitched into Bennington, VT to dry out, resupply and pick up our mail drop at the PO. Good news is the food choices are excellent in these college towns. DT has been writing out our journal longhand and we will post more as we can.CB & DT
Date: 2010-08-10
From: Story spring shelter- a few days worth here!

To: Manchester, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Well we have pushed on to Manchester, VT and have a hotel room at Mt. Bromley ski area. Finding a place to stay became a real challenge because the main crowd of thru hikers is right in town and everyone seems to be taking a zero here. We arrived around 4:30 after a 14 mile day of mundane trail. VT is really pretty but this section was all about crossing over to the next mountain. Tomorrow we plan to zero and pick up our mail drop, get CB's poles fixed at the outfitter and eat loads of food. We made reservations at the Green Mountain Inn hostel for tomorrow night after dozens of people have told us it is a must do while in town. At least we have clean laundry again and have washed off five days of trail grime from our bodies. Hoping to get in touch with Dave Hardy who used to work with DT back at Cardigan Lodge and now works for the Green Mountain Club. Lots of familiar faces in the area from early in our hike. Nice to get caught up with old friends!
Date: 2010-08-14
From: Manchester, VT

To: North Clarendon, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Time flies when you are eating your way north! We made it to Wallingforn, VT last night and picked up our gear drop at the post office and headed back to the trail to camp. We have gotten quite good at finding stealth sites in the middle of nowhere. Who would have guessed we had such hidden talents? Today we have covered about 6 miles to the road crossing here and made our way to the Whistlestop Restaurant for lunch. Not sure how much farther we will go today but rest assured that it will be north of here. We are hoping to meet our friend Dave Hardy on Monday or Tuesday as he heads to work for the Green Mountain Club. Until later!Cb & Dt
Date: 2010-08-16
From: Hermit spring

To: The Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 0.0

Killington proved to be a great hike on very typical N.E trails with gnarly roots and rocks surrounded by spruce, ferns, balsams,hemlocks, rolling hillocks of moss, streams and muck. The sky was fast closing in on us after the stone lodge infested with vermin named Cooper lodge. We got out of there quickly and got water from the spring and beat it down the trail. About at Pico shelter we heard this noise and got off trail through the dense brush to find ourselves watching mountain bikes racing on the slopes of Killington mtn. Snack time again and crazy bikers make for a fun way to pass a little time off our feet. We added some more mileage and walked down a green arrowed slope to the base lodge. People packing up their gear and we got a ride to route 4 with a funny guy from Brockton,Ma. He now lives andworks right here in Rutland and Killington, VT. We still managed to walk a good thirteen miles (enough to have gotten here via the trail) even though we were driven here for the night. We scored a room at the Inn on the Long Trail and filled up on the great food down in the pub. We need to jump a bus this AM to Rutland for a resupply since we ate all but our last meal out of our packs. It is raining today so we will kill some time in Rutland and Nero out tonight and camp on the trail. We should make it to South Pomfret and visit a friend from Cardigan there on Wednesday. Last night in the pub a former policeman searched out CB to ask about a guy who was at the shelter the night before in Clarendon. There is a missing person flyer posted at the trailheads in the area and he has been hired by the guys family to help investigate any leads as to his whereabouts. The guy at Clarendon Shelter we acting funny when we stopped there in the late afternoon and that combined with the local who showed up on his fourwheeler were enough Romans us move on for another hour. Well it turns out that the guy in the shelter stole someone's pack later that night and a few people thought he looked a little like the missing person. CB talked with the investigator and they determined it wasn't the missing guy. We sure hope he turns up ok after almost four weeks missing. Ah life on the trail....
Date: 2010-08-16
From: The Inn at Long Trail

To: The inn at the long trail continued
Miles today: 0.0

Just a note.... Hilda and Cheryl. I got across a suspension cable bridge without holding CB's hand and it went over a gorge and was all wiggly and everything! Some strange man even waggled his butt in front of me so I could focus on something other than my impending doom. Today I brushed my teeth with Dr. Brommer's soap. I even remember not to swallow it!
Date: 2010-08-17
To: Locust Creek
Miles today: 0.0

Aug 17. We hiked from Kent pond to locust creek .  Nice hiking with sun and cool breezes.  About 9 am a strange noise passed over the trees.  The sound it made was like opening a roll of duct tape.  Space ship?  A meteorite fizzling out over our heads?  Good to keep moving!  Tonight we are stealth camping past locust creek.  CB is still having back issues but both of us are tired.  We are lying here talking about how we miss our mattress andour dogs.  Getting sleepy.  night all.
Date: 2010-08-18
From: Locust Creek

To: Through the 20th
Miles today: 0.0

Aug 18 -20 On  the 18th we headed for S. Pomfret and while hiking we ran into Doc again, whom we hadn't seen since nasty NY.  Doc was non military in Afghanistan as a medical personnel., and he wasn't too fond of NY either.  We hiked out to rte. 12 and took a left towards On The Edge Farm stand.  At this time of year the perennials were just about sold out.  Inside were the goodies and most friendly lady, the owner .  Doc, CBAnd I proceeded to round up some goodies.  Dpc had six drinks before he hit the food.  CB had iced tea and a home made apple turnover and a pint of ice cream.  I had an apple turnover, milk and a rootbeer.  For a chaser I had a pint of pickled beets.  I was in heaven.  We all hung out on the front porch for a while then headed up and Over, and I mean UP and Over to S. Pomfret.  We had a big sign greeting us by our friends, the Hartmans.  We knew where our trail magic was!!! As we were about to head towards town a 1954 Willys jeep came to the trail head and sign and asked if the 3 of us would pose for the picture.  We said sure.  He also offered the 3 of us a joint.  He received a refusal of " no thanks" from the 3 of us. Gees.  Kind of pissed me off.  Too many drugs out here. Anyways Doc and we parted and our druggie/ photographer  driver took us to the Teago general store.  There we met Miss Charly May a precocious 4 year old who knows everyone in town .  Her Mom works at the store.  Whoopie pies are delicious here.....good deli meats and cheeses........wines, beer, fresh corn, etc.  We headed to our friend's home - a wonderful farm that used to belong to M I T.  Their barn is to die for .  They have done a terrific job turning this place into a warm and inviting home. Thanks Vikki, Morgan and Owen.and Moko....ma super and fun family to spend some time with.  We picked up the trail today, Friday the 20th as the Hartmans headed to the airport to pick up their German exchange student, Lorenz.  Thursday CB saw a chiropractor in Woodstock to try and straighten out his back problems.  He seems a bit better today. Tonight we are stealth camping near the town of Norwich, Vt and we meet up with some Angel friends tomorrow in Hanover, NH.   OMG ! !  NH ! !  Looking forward to the Whites.  I have hiked them all and will pick and choose the trails this time.  Will not do the Webster Cliff Trail - once is enough.  At my age I wouldn't consider it with a  pack for sure.  Slack packing here is tough...,,, night all. CB and DT
Date: 2010-08-21
From: The inn at the long trail continued

To: Beyond Velvet Rocks in Hanover, MH
Miles today: 0.0

8/21 Somewhere beyond Velvet Rocks NH. Today was great because we got to hike into town early in the morning and eat our way down main street Hanover, NH. We awoke to sunny skies this am. Did the three plus miles and had trail magic on the way in at a couple of section hiker's house with watermelon and banana nut bread. Our friends, Hilda, Jeff, Laurel, Elaine and Ruth came to visit around eleven and treated us to lunch and homemade cookies! Later, we got our free slices of pizza at the pizza place! We ran into Baltimore Jack at a coffee shop and razzed him a little before hitting all of the outfitters looking at gear and trying on boots for DT since she is still in her first pair and they are wearing out. We also went into several bookstores and walked out with enough reading material for the walk through this whole state. Our friends didn't like the condition of Dt's shirt (which btw was CB's discarded old shirt full of holes that DT couldn't resist!) so they found a nice new wool Patagucci shirt for her on sale for half price. Let me tell you, she looks fabulous tonight! We are currently stealth camping just beyond Velvet Rocks enjoying some more of those cookies! Yesterday Cabana Boy decided to change his trail name to dowser due to his ability to find water at almost any random camp site. This has proved to be a very useful skill again tonight as there has been very little water in hereabout. So that's the news today. We are trying to get our updates posted soon. Sorry for the gaps in our journal
Date: 2010-08-22
From: Beyond Velvet Rocks in Hanover, MH

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Aug 22.It's been a moist dreary day that started just after we took to the trail this morning.  We stealth camped near Ledyard Spring and hiked to Moose Mountain Shelter which was about 6 miles or so...on top of the 3 miles from near Ledyard  spring. Weather deteriorated quickly, but it never got to  the heavy rains as were expected.  We got wind, fog and rain!  Great hypothermia weather.  Around two O'clock we got out of our wet clothes, pitched the tent and made a majorLunch to warm us up.  We have been in  our tent for about 2 and a halfHours .....we are warmed up and looking for a snack and everything isIn the bear bags! One way to keep off the pounds. CB's back is still bothering him and we have been talking about plan B.  ------go home and have his back checked out and see a massage therapist....then back to the trail to hike OR to do trail magic....whatever we do we shall makeThe decision together.  His health is the most important issue for me.  Maybe his back is just tired of hauling a pack through 13 states.  I know my body is very tired somedays. The doctor will set our final course.  Katahdin will always be there.  Will keep you all posted.  Thanks for your concern and well wishes.  Dutch Tapel
Date: 2010-08-23
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Aug 23Rain and more rain which turned drizzly.. so by2 pm we went into the Trapper John shelter and got fire wood for a fire.  CB and his Boy Scout skills !  The fire we kept going until 7 pm.  ALL OUR clothes were dried in 5hours. Had dinner with Grin who is finishing off his 4 yeAr section hike this year!  Doc showed up After a 3 day break.  We had a red sunset but it's drizzling right Now. Hope tomorrow is nice.  A lot of easy walking today with a few puds.  Time for some sleep. DT&CB
Date: 2010-08-24
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Stealth camping past Smarts Mtn.
Miles today: 0.0

Aug 24.  We stealth camped after hiking today which included Smarts Mountain.  As we stood at a lookout we saw mountains Cardigan, Firescrew, and Gilman.....in our backyard where our little cabin is.  It made us homesick.  The slab rock going north on Smarts Mtn was a challenge....the backside was easy and muddy.  Almost felt like we were back in Vermud again. Temps remain in the 70's during the day and in the 50's at night.  Comfortable sleeping temps for us.
Date: 2010-08-25
From: Stealth camping past Smarts Mtn.

To: Our little Cabin in Alexandria, NH
Miles today: 0.0

Aug 25Rainy gloomy day with stealth camping last night( no rain) . Good sleeping temps again. Saw one Sobo today. As we got off Smarts mountain we had to detour over the Jacob's Brook because the DOC ( Dartmouth Outing Club) was building a bridge. I hope none of these people build a bridge in an area where cars and trucks will be using it on a regular basis...or non regular basis. Soon aftter we hit route 25a. You can stay at the Mount Cube Sugar House's barn known as the Governor's Mansion (on 25A - about 4 miles east of the trail head.) Goodies here are pretty good. We got picked up here by a lady, Susan from Orford, and she took us to the Wentworth general store. We were in Wentworth for some resupply at the gas station/country store and ate for about an hour.  Wentworth is a cute NH town with your typical white buildings and one road through it which the post office is on.  Also, at this time, the bridge is being repaired so you can not drive through town. While there we met a very friendly photographer and potter by the name of Tim. I told him we were out on the trail for two reasons....those being: to be with each other and let each day dictate our journey and to bring breast cancer awareness to anyone who asks why we are here. He had hiked Mt. Jefferson in the fall and returned home with what he thought was a pulled muscle. He went to the Doctors and found out he has incurable bone cancer. The other bad news which he discovered yesterday was the growth in his right shoulder is metastatic cancer.  He matter of factly said "I am dying". I teared up and both of us said we were so sorry to hear this. CB and I are in no hurry to be anywhere so, with the bad weather threatening, he offered to take us "real" shopping. This was no small detour for him as it took him 45 minutes out of his way. What a gracious man and generous person. We hit Shop and Save and he took us to our cabin where we shall wait out the two day storm.  Before we got here we bought him a peck of apples and some fresh veggies at our neighbors farm for he and his family. When he dropped us at our cabin, CB told him he, as of today, was an Angel, a trail angel because of the wonderful thing he did for us today. I sit here and think what a positive and amazing new friend CB and I have made today and wish we could be of more help to this generous man. What we can't get over is how someone with such a grim prognosis can be so upbeat and give so freely of himself to two complete strangers.  Pray for him as he would like to see his children graduate from high school.DT & CB
Date: 2010-08-28
From: Our little Cabin in Alexandria, NH

To: Alexandria NH
Miles today: 0.0

August 28. We are at our NH home and not really relaxing in your typical way.  We are building a few stone steps and a small rock wall......Bob Peoples would be proud.  Weeds have appeared over the last five months and the forest is encroaching upon our living space. Who  would have known this would become a problem after living in the woods these past five months. Funny how this did not bother us in all our stealth camp sites . The sky is a beautiful porcelain blue today with a great breeze.  We are heading home for one day to pick up our truck and supplies.  We have someone to slack pack with in an area or two. Yahtzee, Frisbee, Biscuit, Wounded Knee and Peewee. -turtle and Bismark - looking for you with some trail magic we hope. Be safe and enjoy the last part of your trek.  CB and DT
Date: 2010-09-03
From: Alexandria NH

To: Trail angels at last!
Miles today: 0.0

Sept  2-3We are doing trail magic at the trailhead in Warren, NH about 3/10 of a mile from the hostel.  Hostel is on main drag and kind of shabby.  Spent the two days greeting and feeding hikers both sobo and nobos.  Wonderful to hear of their adventures. We have been feeding  them cookies( always start with desserts), Iittle debbies oatmeal cookies, chocolate cream cupcakes, chips, home made Cole slaw, hamburger( sloppy joes)Bar b q, hot dogs, coke, sprite, diet coke, apples, celery , watermelon, bananas, pineapple juice,and milk.  All foods of one kind or another seem to be in great demand.  (hikers will eat about anything- even my cooking). We even had a group of Dartmouth college kids join us because they were wondering what we are all about. it's about paying forward and giving some-one a helping hand. News on the trail;  drama continues. Hikers off and back on for numerous reasons.....and off again.  Bodies taking  a beating no matter what ones age is.Hurricane Earl is supposed to be influencing tonight's weather.  Time to really pay attention to what mother nature will be dishing out the nextSix weeks or so as there is much walking above treeline.Cabana Boy enjoying playing hisBanjo at our trail magic stops.  Hemissed his banjo almost as much as our dogs, Betty and Emma.All for now from cloudy NH.  Dt
Date: 2010-09-09
From: Trail angels at last!

To: Near Sugarloaf ME
Miles today: 0.0

We have made it into Maine and stumbled into Mad Mike's trail magic near flagstaff lake. Earlier we talked to Bismark and Blue Skies and shared a little lunch with them in Lincoln, NH. We also saw Chili and Pepper and found out that they have been struggling to keep Pepper's weight. It is hard to get enough food into a growing eleven year old boys body and they have had to slow down and carry much more food. Everyone looks great and we are all looking forward to hitting Katahdin in the next month. We plan to chill for a day with Mike and see who comes through here and then hike on. Showery and cool lately and more to come this week in Maine. Saturday looks the most decent for the week. We noticed this past few weeks that the thru hikers were not signing in the register at Pinkham. Grolar Bear good luck!!!!! DT and CB
Date: 2010-09-27
From: Near Sugarloaf ME

To: Ready for Katahdin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Just updating some photos. A few hundred up already. We should be home for good by the begining of next week. Bittersweet feelings about going home. We missed the dogs terribly on the trail and are glad to be reuniting our four legged family! But, we will really miss our trail friends and more importantly, our trail life. The simplicity of hiking is going to be difficult to live outside of. We know that the house is in desperate need of cleaning and the yard is overgrown with weeds. So little time until I start back to work.....
Date: 2010-09-28
From: Ready for Katahdin

To: A quote from Dutch Tapes Journal
Miles today: 0.0

A quote from someone "life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside , thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming.......Holy Sh-t.......what a ride!!!!
Date: 2011-06-12
From: what happens after the trail

To: Trail memories
Miles today: 0.0

Two years ago at this time we were out of our minds with anticipation of our forthcoming hike. Now, as I read through the present journals, I can't help but feel left out or lost, with a burning desire to be getting ready to hike North with the new class of thru's. I need a trail fix bad. I look with envy at all the new ultra light gear that I know I would use the second time around, all the changes that I would make so that we could have an even better experience on trail. That 24 oz tent, one pound sleeping bag and the 2 pound backpack are all so alluring. I envy each and every one of you future AT thru hikers. I want once again, what you are about to experience. Good luck to you all and remember that Cabana Boy is sitting on the sidelines cheering you on!!!
Date: 2010-06-01
To: Planes and Airports
Miles today: 0.0

Arrived in Bangor at 11:00 pm. It's been a long trip just to reach Bangor. I left Clemson at 6:00 am. and am weary from long hours on planes and waiting in airports. Weather delays in Baltimore and New York kept me cooling my heels until I made it to Bangor. All of my plans to get to Millinocket had to be cancelled. Wanted to get on the trail, but not yet. If the rest of the trip is anything like today...It's gonna be a long one. I look forward to every minute!
Date: 2010-06-02
To: Buses and Shuttles
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up in Bangor at the hotel feeling well-rested and eager. My eagerness was promptly squashed when I realized that I was still in Bangor and had to wait for the shuttle that arrives at 6:30 pm. To save money, I got a quick bite at MCD's and waited the rest of the day at the bus station. Many crazy people stroll through a bus station. Maybe I'm one of them.After arriving in Millinocket, I met a fellow thru-hiker named Snow from TN. It's good to have met someone so soon. We got to Millinocket (an awesome little town!) and had dinner at the AT cafe. The AT Cafe is owned by the same couple that owns our hostel. We went out for some beers at a local pub and made friends with the locals. They welcomed two Southern boys.So far, the trip is all I could've been imagined.
Date: 2010-06-03
From: Millinocket

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up at 5:00 am to eat breakfast at the AT cafe. I ate until I felt sick! Left Millinocket with Paul (Vietnam Vet) to get to the trailhead at Baxter State Park. BSP is an amazing place. I checked in at the Ranger Station and am now officially a thru-hiker prospect. I started the summit of Katahdin (5268 ft.) at 8:10 am. It was raining of course. The going was good until the tree-line at about 3200 ft. Once there, it was an obstacle course! Rain, rocks, climbs and wind. Once we reached The Tableland, we were wet and the wind-chill was at almost freezing. The rest of the summit was cold and miserable. At the top, we snapped a few photos, but it was too cold to hang around. The climb down wasn't as bad because the wind let up a bit. Reached camp at 4:30 pm. Taking it slow today.Tomorrow is going to be wet as well.Woooooo...I'm on the trail!
Date: 2010-06-04
From: The Birches

To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.4

Got a planned late start and left "The Birches" at 9:50 a.m. Started my first real day on the AT. The scenery here is absolutely breathtaking. We saw bogs, various flora, mountain passes; it was gorgeous. I felt really good starting out. We reached Abol Bridge and Abol Bridge Store around 3:30 p.m. Bought some supplies for the "100 Mile Wilderness", a six-pack of PBR, and a sandwich. It was the last beer I'm gonna have for awhile (packed one in for dinner). Walked the rest of the way to the shelter and called it a night after dinner. Oh yeah, got a good suggestion fro a trail name: Easy. Might keep it.