morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-06-28
From: Graymoor Monastery

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: few clouds

Last night there must have been eight tents in the oval and when I got up at 6.15am everyone had gone!! What time do these people get up?? Typical day in NY, hot and humid and up and down all day. Met up with Gipcgirl, Phantom and Infidel and walked together for most of the day.Today's highlight was that there three lots of trail magic. First one was a cooler on the trail full of beer and soda; second was a 2007 hiker parked at a trail heal. I will come to the third later.Had a really strange incident during the day. Gipcgirl and I were trudging through the forest in the heat of the afternoon when we cam across a middle aged woman walking awfully slowly. She was dressed in clean, well pressed clothes and bits and pieces were hanging off her pack helter skelter. "Am I going North or South?" was the first thing she said. "Where are you going?" we asked. "Maine" was the reply. Don't think she will make it somehow!!Anyway to the third lot o trail magic - arrived at RPH Shelter to find about eight other hikers there. Everyone was really beat up with the heat and humidity so there wasn't a great deal of conversation. At about 7pm however, a 2010 hiker arrived with two coolers of beer and soft drinks and a portable grill. I had forgotten how nice 'trail magic' can be after a hard day.
Date: 2011-06-29
From: RPH Shelter

To: Pawling, NY
Miles today: 17.5

During the night there was a violent thunderstorm with the accompanying downpour. I wish I had stayed in the shelter as I hate packing a wet tent. Early start at 6am and everyone had already gone again!! What is it with these people???There is a deli three miles off the trail, five miles north, so everyone must have headed for that. It was a funny sight watching ten packers lined up outside the deli, scoffing down huge New York sandwiches. What can I say about today - well it was hard work with constant up and down maneuvers. I don't think there was a flat section of trail in the State. Spent most of the day walking with Infidel and Phantom who are pressing on to Great Barrington so that they could party the 4th of July with style. They invited me to join but it's four days of really hard walking to get there in time and sensibly I declined the invite.I left them at the turn off to Pawling. I needed to buy a mobile phone as I have found out that there are almost no public phones in the USA! Picked up an easy lift into Pawling about 5.30pm - a really nice little town with very friendly locals. Bought a mobile for $15 and 200 mins prepaid card that cost $20 and I was set. Had a burger and tented at the local pavilion where they allowed hikers to camp.
Date: 2011-06-30
From: Pawling, NY

To: Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Started the day off with a really late start as I met some very interesting locals whilst having breakfast in the diner. We talked to about 10am and then gave me a lift to the trail head - such a friendly town!Met up with Mayo and two younger hikers: Grasshopper and Mehap and we hiked with them a while until they took a detour to a deli near the trail. One thing about hiking in NJ and NY, you never end up eating the food you carry because as the States are so heavily populated, there is always a convenient deli or market close to a trail head.The rest of the day I hiked on and off with Mofo, Guiness and Pilgrim. We ended up at a forest camp in the woods. For the last few days we have been walking through the remains of old homesteads and farms that have been reclaimed by the forest and at one section yesterday, we walked along the remains of an old railway that serviced the silver mines that were once in the area. The railway was built up on an escarpment of rocks. Not a bad use for the cursed things!
Date: 2011-07-01
From: Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite

To: Silver Hill Campsite
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

Walked just about the entire day alone, for as usual, the others had got up around 5am and I didn't see them again.Last year when I did this section it was brutally hot and humid and I thought it was the hardest day of the trail. This year, the weather was mild and sunny and I had a beautiful walk. Arrived at Silver Hill thinking I might have the campsite to myself until two through hikes: Gladgal and Clutch turned up around 7pm.
Date: 2011-07-02
From: Silver Hill Campsite

To: Falls Village, CT
Miles today: 15.0

Caught up with Mofo, Guinness and Pilgrim during the day and we decided to walk to Falls Village where the cafe owner allowed hikers to camp behind his shed. The advantage of FV is that it has a pub and pizzeria!! I stopped at the Hydro Station where there is an outside shower so I could wash off some of the grime and sweat and feel a bit cleaner.Met an older hiker: "Easy Does It" and we walked into town together. A voice called out "Boomer!" and there was Guinness holding a pint of the local brew on the veranda of the inn. Any thoughts of walking into Salisbury that day disappeared after a couple of pints and a lobster sandwich.We camped behind the Toyhouse Cafe along with Grasshopper, Mehap and Mayo who had arrive whilst we were at the pub. We all sat around over a few beers talking hiker rubbish until about 10am.
Date: 2011-07-03
From: Falls Village, CT

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: haze

For once, there were people around when I awoke!! Reason being that the cafe doesn't start serving breakfast until 7am, then it was an easy seven mile walk into Salisbury for a zero day. This time I stayed at Vanessa Breton's boarding house and a very pleasant stay it was!Another hiker: "Humpty Dumpty" (about 30 and straight out of the army) was there and Vanessa let us borrow her car so we could drive to the laundromat and more importantly buy beer across the state line in NY. CT is as dry as Sundays!
Date: 2011-07-04
From: Salisbury, CT

To: Glen Brook Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

Had my first decent coffee in the US at the local coffee house this morning. Salisbury is a very pretty little town and very upmarket but very expensive. Walking over some beautiful country today. The ridge trekking along Race Mountain has uninterrupted views across to the east. Had lunch on the top of Mt Race with 360 degree views and a cooling breeze. No through hikers, only day hikers on the trail today. The last climb of the day Mt Everett was a real killer by the time I reached the Glen Brook Shelter - I was completely stuffed. After I had somewhat recovered, I hiked up to the other campsite and found Mayo there. Everyone else had taken a zero in Salisbury.
Date: 2011-07-05
From: Glen Brook Shelter

To: East Mountain Retreat
Miles today: 16.3

Set off at around 8am and walked with Mayo all day. Started off feeling lethargic and things did not improve as the day wore on. I hope I'm not getting anything. We walked about 1.5 miles off the trail at US7 to get a soda and a disappointing hamburger and then continued on through some of the swampiest and buggiest parts of the AT. I've never seen so many mosquitoes. We hiked another 1.5 miles to the East Mtn Retreat Centre which we had heard good things about. In all, with all the side trips, it was over a 20 mile day. The retreat turned out to be a nice place and better still they delivered pizza! We chatted till 10pm and then went to sleep on real beds!
Date: 2011-07-06
From: East Mountain Retreat

To: Shaker Campsite
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up with a raging headache, sore throat and a fever. No wonder I was feeling so lethargic for the last couple of days!! It feels like a mild flu and of course, anything like that makes you think of Lyme disease. Checked myself thoroughly in the mirror and couldn't find a bulls eye rash, so decided to take a zero and Mayo left at 7.30am.After two hours or so, I realised it was a mistake and was going out of my mind with boredom. The retreat is a silent retreat so you couldn't talk to anyone and the only books available were spiritual titles and those of you who know me, will know that it's not my thing.I popped two panadol and decided to walk at least to the next shelter. I made it to Shaker campsite by 2pm absolutely spent. Managed to set up my tent and then crashed until 6pm when Phantom and Infidel along with a young couple came into the camp. Had something to eat, not much an appetite, and went back to sleep. Had my first bear encounter that night. At about 4am I was dreaming that a dog was sniffing around me. I suddenly woke up and realised that the sniffing was not a dog, something much bigger was just outside my tent making that sniffing noise right near my head. I sat up and started shouting and banging the side of the tent and thankfully the racket I was making stopped the noise, but a minute later, I heard shouting and yelling from Phantom and Infidel's tent. I called out that there was a bear in the campsite and another two minutes later, there was shouting and screaming from the young couple's tent. What a night!!! Eventually the bear must have got sick of the noise and commotion and moved on. It took quite a while to get back to sleep though!!
Date: 2011-07-07
From: Shaker Campsite

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: broken clouds

Don't know whether it was all the excitement of last night, but I woke up feeling much better and despite the experience, I estimated I must have slept 15 hours - my body must have needed it. Still decided on an easy day though and planned to hike ten miles to Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Turned out to be a great decision as the cabin is in an idyllic location overlooking a lake with swimming and canoes available. Spent a very relaxing afternoon.Mofo, Guinness and Pilgrim came in late afternoon and needless to say, we chatted into the night. Turns out that Pilgrim was a missionary in West Africa for 27 years.
Date: 2011-07-08
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: broken clouds

This section of trail is probably the flattest in the whole AT. So 20 miles was going to be an easy challenge. At the halfway point at the Cookie Lady's cottage, Tom Levardi from Dalton came out and took our packs into Dalton for us, what a great service! Therefore, without packs, the last ten miles flew by! In fact we did it in under three hours. Only problem was it poured the entire time. I got really cold as I was unable to generate enough heat without hills and pack to keep warm. Goes to show ...
Date: 2011-07-09
From: Dalton, MA

To: Dalton - zero day
Miles today: 0.0

Must have got a chill yesterday as my cold has come back in spades and went straight onto my chest. Decided to take a zero at Tom Levardi's to recover in comfort. Tom is a true trail angel. For over thirty years he has been taking care of hikers and allowing them to stay at his house, shuttling them, feeding them and entertaining them. Thousands of hikers must have stayed there.Humpty Dumpty also took a zero day, and that night Tom took us into an 'all you can eat buffet' and Humpty Dumpty distinguished himself by gaining 9 lbs in the course of the evening. The amount of food hikers can put away is incredible!
Date: 2011-07-10
From: Mt Greylock, MA

To: Dalton
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Tom very generously drove us to the top of Mt Greylock so we could slack pack back to Dalton. Slack packing means walking a section of the trail with either no pack or a light day pack. Turned into a beautiful day with a light breeze and spent most of the day walking with Humpty Dumpty and Sparks. Think I'm finally over this cold/flu thing and ready to start some serious hiking again. Weighted myself this morning - 167 lbs. I've lost about 12 lbs in three weeks! Wish it was this easy back home!!
Date: 2011-07-11
From: Mt Greylock, MA

To: 3 mls past Seth Warner Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: clear sky

Tom dropped Sparks and myself off at Greylock at about 10.30am, as Humpty had already left on an earlier shuttle. Set off for a knee busting descent down to the highway to Williamstown. First though, headed 0.5mls E to a supermarket to resupply and came across Cosmic John warming a bench outside the market. I left my pack with him whilst I resupplied and bought some lunch. It turns out that he is camping behind the supermarket. Why anyone would camp behind a supermarket with the AT only .5mls away is beyond me!Finally set off at 2pm with four days' worth of food and two litres of water making the pack heavier than I'd like on such a hot day with a big climb ahead. Somehow in the heat and with exhaustion, I walked right past Seth Warner Shelter which was my destination and kept walking until about 8.30pm where I finally stopped at a clearing. Too tired to cook dinner, just had a handful of trail mix and the last of the water.
Date: 2011-07-12
From: 3 mls past Seth Warner Shelter

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: light rain

Not much to report today except that it was long, unbearably hot and lots and lots of bugs - I've never seen so many bugs - black flies, mosquitoes and my favourite the deer fly. You layer 100% DEET on but just sweat it off after about 30mins. I'm covered in bites and find am reacting to them with hives.Met Mofo, Guiness and Pilgrim slack-packing South but no one else for the day. Arrived at Kid Gore (yes Pete, I did get a photo) at 6pm but kept going about one mile towards a clearing as the shelter was full. Where they all came from is a mystery as I didn't see anyone else on the trail.
Date: 2011-07-13
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: William B Douglas Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today was so much better - a lot cooler, but still too many bugs! Went over the highest mountain so far on the trail: Mt Stratton at just under 4000ft. Wasn't so steep, just a grind. Originally I had intended to walk to Spruce Peak so I could zero in Manchester the next day but the weather gods had other ideas.At about twenty mins out of Douglas Shelter a tremendous thunderstorm broke and I was pelted with hail and teeming rain. The track turned into a quagmire and the day turned really chilly as I tried to keep warm by walking as fast as I could to the shelter, but when I finally arrived I was freezing! The shelter was empty so I peeled off my soaking clothes for dry ones and was preparing to erect my tent in the shelter to keep the bugs off when I heard voices approaching. To cap a long story short, the shelter built for six eventually had eight cold and wet hikers vying for space, and to make it even more unbearable, a group of ten boy scouts arrived, all soaking wet and not really equipped for the rain and cold.It turned out to be a most uncomfortable,over-crowded, wet, muddy and chilly night I've experienced in ages! Needless to say, did not get much sleep!
Date: 2011-07-14
From: William B Douglas Shelter

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The day dawned sunny but cool and after the chaos of the shelter last night, it was great to be back on the trail, fresh air, open spaces and an easy six miles to the trail-head and then another easy hitch into Manchester.First stop was the outfitter for some new shoes as the old ones are disintegrating around my feet. Met up with Mofo, Guiness and Pilgrim and had lunch with them before they headed back to the trail. So off I went to the Mexican Bar & Grill for a relaxing and cooling beer where by chance, they had a replay of Stage 12 of Le Tour de France and watched it until about 2pm.Called up Jeff from the Green Mountain Hostel and he kindly came into town to pick me up along with another couple of hikers. It was good to see Jeff again and he had a pleasant surprise awaiting me at the hostel. On a pole a huge Aussie flag was sashaying just outside the entrance! I had spent about a week here last year with my bad leg so it was like coming home again! Humpty was here taking a zero, along with Sirranum, the oldest hiker to attempt the trail at 88 years old! Jeff and I were talking to him over dinner and he had been a navy pilot in both WWII and Korea.A very special thanks to Jeff for his hospitality, generosity and support for this year and last. Without people like Jeff on the trail, life would be so much harder.
Date: 2011-07-15
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Little Rock Pond Shelter
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Jeff dropped us off at the trail head around 8.30am and we started North again. A perfect day - sunny, cool with a slight breeze that was perfect for hiking. Even the bugs left us alone today. During the course of the day, we went over three mountains over 3500ft each yielding spectacular 360 degree views.I really like walking Vermont - the forest is lush, mountains are not too steep and there are lots of lakes and ponds along the way. But of course, the only drawback are the cursed bugs and not to mention lots of mud. The trail in some places reminds me of South West Tasmania - it is so boggy!Camped in a beautiful spot beside a lake, but the tranquility was spoilt with weekend hikers everywhere making a rowdy noise well into the night. I must be getting old.
Date: 2011-07-16
From: Little Rock Pond Shelter

To: Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Pretty much uneventful day, at least until evening. Only highlight was missing a switchback on the trail and descending into White Rock Picnic area. So decided to have lunch and feeling comfy, took a snooze, but when I went to leave, could not see any white blazes. As a matter of fact, I couldn't remember any white blazers for a long while. A long and difficult climb put me back on the trail.I had intended to stay at Clarendon Shelter but as I got closer, saw signs recommending not to stay there as it was open to the road and it was a Saturday as well, not a good combination. Eventually arrived by 7pm and shortly after Spark turned up and we discussed whether to stay or not, but as there were no signs of partying and it was rather late, we decided to pitch our tents about 100 yards from the shelter. We had barely got into our tents when two families from hell pervaded the shelter. By the sounds of them they had only descended from the trees a couple of generations back. Fortunately they only stayed for about an hour and then returned to their caves.
Date: 2011-07-17
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 12.5

A blistering hot day and any hope of doing a big day was dashed after consuming a couple of guineas and a hearty Shepard's Pie at the Inn at the Long Trail - one of the 'must do' when on the AT trail.Spark was already at the bar when I arrived and it turned out that 'Team Mofo' were there as well. To cut a long story short - had a very pleasant zero day and the Inn was surprisingly affordable at $47 per night.
Date: 2011-07-18
From: Inn at Long Trail

To: Zero Day - Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 0.0

Thunderstorms and rain all night and all morning so decided it was a good time for a zero. Team Mofo and myself bused into Rutland for the day. Saw a movie 'Bad Teacher' which was really crappy. To make up for the disappointment, did something different, Guiness hired a car for a week and shuttled us out to the Ems outfitters after some sightseeing. Back at the Inn around 7pm in time for dinner.
Date: 2011-07-19
From: Zero Day - In at Long Trail

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 18.0

Today was an absolutely beautiful day for walking through the Kent Pond area. Lots of waterfalls, streams and outlooks. I really love Vermont. Walked a lot with a hiker called Vegan and arrived at Winturri around 7pm where we met up with 'Glad Gal' and 'Clutch' again - haven't seen them for a long while.
Date: 2011-07-20
From: Winturri Shelter

To: West Hartford, VT
Miles today: 16.4

It was one of those days where I kept meeting various members of Team Mofo as they slack-packed South & North. Despite what everyone was predicting last night, I knew today was going to be hard. When the profile resembles the teeth of a saw you know you're in for a hard work-out. 95 degree temperature didn't help either!Stopped at the deli at West Hartford and then decided it was too hot to keep going. There must have been about 12 hikers there and we all decided to camp at the Sign Maker's house. He ran a large yard with a dammed stream at the back where he allows hikers to stay. Although the stream was icy cold it was bliss!There was a mountain hiker at the camp who looked vaguely familiar to me. He said he had hiked the trail last year under the name: 'Popcorn'. It then dawned upon me that I had met him last year at Fontana Dam - small world!
Date: 2011-07-21
From: West Hartford, VT

To: Hanover
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: haze

Guiness slack-packed me into Hanover. Did ten miles before 10am, not bad going, I could get to like this slack-packing.One of the Frat houses allowed me to stay in the basement of their fraternity and so I spent the rest of the day wandering around town. Dartmouth College is located here and it is a really trail friendly town, although very expensive. The local pizza place had the Tour de France live, so I made myself comfortable for the afternoon and watched Cadel Evans come in with a good chance.Unfortunately I didn't get much sleep as the basement at this time of year is very hot and stuffy and no ventilation.
Date: 2011-07-22
From: Hanover

To: Zero Day - Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Didn't plan on spending a zero here but watched the Tour again. It is so close I decided to stay and watch the time trial tomorrow where it will be decided. Keeping all toes and fingers crossed for Cadel.It is brutally hot today so spending some time in the library is an easy option.
Date: 2011-07-23
From: Zero Day - Hanover, NH

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Had a great night's sleep, so with some enthusiasm, headed to the Pizza place to watch the time trial. They laughed when they saw me outside and let me in an hour early so I could watch. Big congratulations when Cadel finished and I had a celebratory beer, even though it was before 12 noon. Took in the sights around Hanover until it was time for the town festival around 3.30pm. Everyone was having massive sales and the local outfitter wasn't to be outdone offering 50% sale discounts, so I replaced my heavy rain jacket with a much lighter one, good buy. Tempted to do the same with my rain pants, but resisted. By the time I started walking back, it had really warmed up again (90°f). The climb up to Moose Mtn Shelter was pretty brutal as I had to carry a supply of three day's food, my winter clothing and two litres of water as there wasn't any on the mountain. As I had the entire place to myself, I pitched my tent in the shelter to keep the bugs off and took a well deserved rest.
Date: 2011-07-24
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: few clouds

A couple of hard climbs today - Holts Ledge and Smarts Mountain. Even though they don't seem much when you consider what's coming ahead, but still manage to sting the legs. There was a fire tower on Smarts Mtn and you got a great view of Moosilauke and the Presidential Ranges in the distance. Although Moosilauke looked like a brute to climb! Caught up with Dagwood and Boston and we walked together on and off during the course of the day. Dagwood and myself camped at Hexacuba whilst Boston stayed below at the stream. Once again, no water so we had to haul it up the mountain.You really do get to appreciate the 'rest' times!