morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-22
From: Harmon Hill

To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: light rain

Last night was scary. The storm that sent us to bed was horrendous. We almost decided to pack everything up and head off the mountain. Finally, we just decided to cross our fingers and hope for the best. The wind was really whipping. We couldn¢t sleep because of the wind and thunder. The whole sky was lit up. Luckily, it never came too close. Last night was the first night I thought our tarp might not make it.        We had a steep decent and ascent in and out of VT9. The rest of the day was easy. We were only planning about 12 miles. We passed 3 not-so-good lookouts. We took a short break in the rain. Goddard Shelter was a big surprise after our break. We thought we had another hour, but it ended up more like a half hour. Space Monkey was the first to greet us. The shelter was full with Recycled and some section/Long Trail hikers. Puff Puff and Snappy showed up soon after we did. We were supposed to get a great view from the shelter, but it was foggy and rainy. Chicken cooked while Space Monkey and I played guitar. Puff Puff and Snappy make no-bake cheesecake and shared it with us. Yummy!!!                                                                Flanders
Date: 2003-07-23
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: light rain

It was drizzling when I woke up to grab our food bags from the shelter, only to find it empty at 7:15. So, we moved all of our belongings into the shelter to pack up. Unfortunately, Puff Puff had a rough night and she was feeling very sick. She wasn¢t sure she¢d make the 19+ miles to Stratton Pond. We passed up a few good views, including a tower, because it was so foggy. Our first break came at Caughnawaga Shelter. Space Monkey was the first to follow, with Puff Puff and Snappy soon to follow. A group of loud Ukranian summer campers passed us during our break. We passed them back 5 minutes later. We ate lunch at Story Spring Shelter, and so did they. Puff wasn¢t feeling much better, but they were running low on food, so they had to keep going. We had a big climb, 1600 ft. over 4 miles, up Stratton Mt. It was much easier than we expected. We grabbed water near the top, and we cooked at the top. It had a great tower, and the skies cleared up enough for us to get good views of nearby mountains and Stratton Pond, 3 miles away. On a good day we could have seen Mt. Snow, Monadnock, and maybe even some Whites. Puff Puff and Snappy showed up after dinner. They were surprised we had waited. We gave them what food we could. We all headed down to Stratton Pond. Now that we¢re in the Green Mts., they charge fees at some shelters and campsites. Luckily, the caretaker wasn¢t at the shelter, so we didn¢t have to pay. We were pretty late, so we set up and went to bed.                                                                Flanders
Date: 2003-07-24
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Manchester Center
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: moderate rain

We got up and were almost ready to go when Snappy scooted out of his hammock, made fun of us for how long it takes us to get ready (we have to disassemble our packs in order to sleep whereas all he has to deal with is his hammock) and then prevented us from leaving. We all went into the shelter to eat breakfast. Space Monkey had slept in the shelter rather than in his hammock because he can¢t get up early when he¢s too comfy, so he joined us for breakfast as did James Bond and Spiffy, the Long Trail hikers we met at the Vermont border. During breakfast it began to rain, so breakfast got longer and longer until we finally all decided that town was calling us. We stopped for a break near William B. Douglas Shelter to celebrate the fact that we have now passed 3 quarters of the trail. Only 25% left. We shared out last lunch with Puff Puff and Snappy at Springer Peak Shelter and then we booked it to town for Friendly¢s. We had colossal burgers and sundaes. Puff Puff and Snappy did laundry and grocery shopping and we called Mark and Carsten to organize things. Mark was to pick us up that evening, so while we waited for him we went and had a beer and then sat and waited at the Price Chopper. We saw Des and Drew (Indiana George) at the movie theater which was exciting since we had never met Des and had not seen Drew since Hot Springs, NC! PP&S decided to hang their hammocks and see a movie but they waited for Mark to have Ben and Jerry¢s first. We had a fun time in the car with Mark, catching up and listening to Tenacious D. And then finally, to sleep on the good old fold out couch we knew so well in the days of Worcester and Mark. Chicken Feet
Date: 2003-07-25
From: Manchester Center

To: Manchester Center
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We took a few zero days in Worcester. It was an absolute blast! We got to see a bunch of friends. Ate a lot, even had time to make rice crispy treats. Our friend, Carsten, came up to hike out next week with us. And Mark devoted over 12 hours of driving time picking us up and dropping us off.                                        Flanders
Date: 2003-07-28
From: Manchester Center

To: Griffith Lake Tenting Area
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: broken clouds

We were off to a late start with Carsten. We had fun hanging out with Mark the night before at Calvin Coolidge State Park. We all ate at Friendly¢s, and then Mark dropped us off back at the trail. Our first good fun came at Bromley Mtn. There was a ski patrol hut and a lookout tower yielding great views and a powerful, chilling wind. We climbed Styles and Peru with a couple more great views. At Peru Peak Shelter, we met Typhoon and Zagat (South Bounder) and a bunch of young girls. Before we knew it, we were at Griffith Lake. It was spectacular. The tenting area had wooden platforms (which we don¢t like as much as the soft ground), and they were charging $6 per site. We decided to find a spot for free on the other side of the lake. We cooked dinner and had a grand ol¢ time down on the lake. We discovered a great little echo, which enticed much yelling. Just as we were going to get in our tents, the caretaker came over and gave us a stern lecture, but kindly let us stay. We had a great 10 miles start with Carsten. I guess we¢ll have to push him harder tomorrow. Heehee.                        Flanders.
Date: 2003-07-29
From: Griffith Lake Tenting Area

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

I guess we wore out Carsten some- he was slow getting up. Neglecting breakfast, as we didn¢t want to drink lake water, we were out by 8:40. We ate our granola breakfast at Lost Pond, nearly 4 miles later. Barely satisfying. We filled up water at the creek down in the ravine. After a few miles, we arrived at a beautiful Little Rock Pond. We met Joshua, hiking the Long Trail. We could also see a group swimming on the other side, and it was just too tempting. Although a little chilly, it was out favorite swimming yet. While drying out, we talked to a nature-loving couple who were out studying fauna and to Will the caretaker at the pond. We also threw the ball for his lab, Obi. We were planning to get water from a spring, but it was barely flowing. By lunchtime at White Rocks Cliffs, we were very thirsty. Carsten even postponed his lunch, because he¢d traded his appetite for thirst. We were doing well, especially Carsten. One more little climb, the profile was wrong and we had to climb a much bigger Bear Mtn. When we got to the Minerva Hinchey Shelter, there were tents everywhere. We finally found a decent spot a little bit away. We cooked dinner at the shelter with Typhoon, and Two VT gals (LT hikers). Medicine Man and Mr. Ed showed up late after a 25 plus mile day. We¢d seen them in town for a second, but we finally got to catch up. Carsten and I decided to have a second dinner. He went to the tents to get his Tabasco sauce and returned 10 minutes later having never found his tent. He even had my headlamp! We went to bed a little later than usual, and a little fuller than usual.                 Flanders
Date: 2003-07-30
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

Flanders and I were up at about 6:45. We packed up a little, but decided to let Carsten sleep so that he could heal from out big day yesterday. Today was not as long, but included climbing Killington, so we let him rest. At about 8:30 he emerged and we were on our way by 9:20. After almost 3 miles we walked a half-mile off the trail to the Whistlestop Restaurant. We were just early enough for breakfast and that was quite fortunate as their French toast came with real Vermont maple syrup mmmmm! We gorged. We saw the last of Medicine Man for a good long while as he left after breakfast- he is doing big days in order to finish by September 1st, his 21st birthday. We also met Bag, Stash, and the Vermont Girls at the restaurant. Bag graduated for UVA in 2000 we found out! On our way back to the trail we ran into Cobra and Splash so we got the latest installment in their ¢our son is lost in the USA¢ saga, which is always entertaining. Once we were back on the trail we began the 3300-foot ascent to Killington. We ran into the Vermont Girls repeatedly for a while. At one point there was a herd of dairy cattle in the trail and shortly after that, I lost my bandana. Luckily, the next time we ran into the VT gals, there were carrying it to me. We stopped in the Governor Clement Shelter for water and chitchat. Then came the longest steepest part of the climb to Killington. We conquered it in well under 2 hours. The AT doesn¢t go to the actual Peak of Killington, so we set up our tents near the trail that does (near Cooper Lodge). Then we took our dinner straight up the .2 miles to the peak. We ate and watched the sunset with Boat. It was an amazing and beautiful evening. And to top it off, 2 section hikers offered us the rest of their food. They are finishing up tomorrow. We are low on food. Hurray! Chicken Feet
Date: 2003-08-01
From: Near Kent Pond

To: The Lookout
Miles today: 13.3

I tried to wake Carsten at 6:30, and failed. We had cinnamon buns for breakfast. Chicken (whose name seems to have lost the ¢feet¢ although not permanently) also had a Skor bar. We packed up in a light sprinkle and were out around 9. Carsten is now hiking in Birkenstocks and socks because his Achilles is bothering him so badly. Unfortunately for him, it didn¢t take long before it was pouring. Within a mile, we hit our first climb, the big one of the day. It was 1300 ft. over about a mile. Then it was down to Stony Brook Shelter where we took our first break. We were barely able to keep warm on the down hills, so a stop at the shelter was almost unbearable. We decided to eat an early lunch since there¢d be no other place. We ate a quick peanut butter on rolls, which was tasty and warmed us up a bit. We kept hiking just to stay warm. We had several more ups, but not as long as the first one. We got to The Lookout around 2:30. It was a privately owned cabin with four walls and a window. It also had a lookout tower that was pointless in this weather. One side was great. We sat around and had a fun time. We made tea, and Carsten taught us to play blackjack. We were running low on food again so we decide to hit Sound Pomfret (1 mile off), which allowed us to feast on what we had left. We warmed up olive oil and garlic and dipped toasted bread. Chicken also made a great chicken noodle soup concoction. We went to bed a little early to let dinner keep us warm.                Flanders
Date: 2003-08-03
From: Thistle Hll Shelter

To: Elm St.
Miles today: 12.3

Carsten¢s last day. We got up early but left late. Carsten likes to make tea and making tea does not exactly expedite packing. I sat for a while and read my mushroom book and then I left so that I could look at all the fungi I wanted before the boys caught up.        We headed for West Hartford, an on-trail town and we had high hopes for ¢Rick and Tina¢s General Store¢ after Teago¢s kickass store yesterday. Unfortunately, Rick and Tina¢s was the POLAR OPPOSITE of Teago¢s and we ate, moved on, and tried not to let Rick and Tina¢s nasty attitudes pull us down. We stopped for water twice, collected more chanterelles (and had to leave a lot behind because they wouldn¢t all fit), hiked through really scary thunderstorm, and soon enough Carsten¢s car was within sight. Carsten ran up the hill to ¢Mount Cartandin¢ and climbed his car and celebrate on top!        `Next we drove into Hanover to Panarchy House, a non-Greek frat that takes in hikers. To put it nicely, Panarchy is a dirty, dirty, nasty place whose inhabitants are slightly less than friendly.        Trailfrog, Medicine Man, and SOBO ¢Bad D. Groundhog¢ were our company. We ate all you can eat pasta and then returned to Panarchy for a power hour that failed miserably. Medicine Man and Trailfrog hiked out after 2/5 of the power hour (they were ready to hike after 2 nights of frat partying previously). I quit after 2/5 too. I went to bed early, and while I was worried about missing out on fun, it seems that nothing positive really transpired. Nice to have a soft place to sleep, though damp and musty as it may be.                                                        Chicken Feet
Date: 2003-08-04
From: Elm St.

To: Hanover
Miles today: 2.3
Weather: moderate rain

¢Not a Zero Day ¢¦ Quite¢        We ¢zeroed¢ in Hanover today, but got 2.3 miles done. Wondering how? Read on.        Carsten drove Groundhog and us to Walmart, Price Chopper, and EMS. Surprisingly, Walmart gave us cash for the radio we brought back with no receipt. At Price Chopper we got omelet fixins for the chanterelles we found yesterday, and at EMS we decided NOT to pay $23 for a new Ridgerest for Ned. We came back to panarchy, made omelets, took showers (finally) and then Carsten drove us back to Elm St. so we could walk the 2 miles into town that we drove yesterday. We said farewell to Carsten and Ned¢s guitar, did laundry, got yelled at for using ¢student only¢ facilities, did our chores, ate all you can eat pizza, and are back at Panarchy with Groundhog, Boat, Nick from England, and paladin, our new NOBO friend - the oldest man I have ever seen with a Mohawk. We wanted to hike out tonight but we still haven¢t bought groceries and our full tummies make us tired. It¢s a good thing though, because Ned just found the same Ridgerest we turned down today in the hiker box¢¦ slightly used but FREE! Hurray. One more night of dirty, musty, damp, but SOFT sleep at Panarchy.                                                                                                        Chicken Feet
Date: 2003-08-05
From: Hanover

To: Trapper John Shelter (NH)
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: moderate rain

¢CROPDUSTER RULZ¢        On our way out of town, we needed to eat breakfast and buy groceries. I convinced Ned to go to Lou¢s even though it was kind of pricey - I was just dying for the poached eggs with asparagus special. While we were waiting in line, Ned¢s scowling was interrupted by a young business looking guy who asked us our trail names. He was Crop Duster and had hiked in ¢99. He made us promise not to tell anyone how clean cut he looked (whups!) and then told us he would be adding our breakfast to his pastry bill. WOW! We talked a while longer. Ned stopped scowling and we enjoyed our breakfast very much and then headed to the grocery store. Cobra, Splash, and Boat were there and they had met Crop Duster too - he had offered to buy their groceries. Crop Duster RULZ!        So we got some supplies and headed into the woods. We soon met Finch for the first time and collected some more chanterelles. We ate lunch on the South Peak of Moose Mountain with Boat, Cobra, Splash and Finch. Moose Mountain was hard for me to climb. All the speed I had while Carsten was around seems to have gone back to C¢vill with him. Holt¢s Ledge, a 1200 foot climb, beat me even further into the ground. It started to storm while we were at the ledges and Ned ran ahead to the shelter. On his was, he did a face plant and bent his pole. Perhaps now he appreciates my slower pace! Anyhow, Boat, Paladin, and Flanders were waiting when I arrived at the shelter in the pouring rain. Paladin applauded me. I cooked the mushrooms for an appetizer, but they weren¢t as good because we forgot to buy butter and had to use oil. Cobra and Splash shoed up, too, everyone ate dinner, and I am going to sleep. I am beaten to a pulp. Poor, poor pitiful me. And poor, poor, pitiful KNEE! It is fine now, but it just saw the profile for the first mountain in The Whites - over a1500 foot descent in one mile. It is shaking in its brace. Nite, nite.                                                        Chicken Feet
Date: 2003-08-06
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Mt. Cube Sugar House (NH)
Miles today: 16.9

We got a pretty early start. Everybody in the shelter was up around 7. It was kind of raining, but not too badly. We even got to see a patch of blue sky before we left. Chicken wasn¢t quite ready for another big day, but I convinced her we didn¢t have to go too far. We passed Cobra and Splash before too long, and they said D©j vu, Songbird, Zapman, and Sparky passed them on ¢ you guessed it ¢ another southbound slackpack. After Lyme ¢ Dorchester Rd, we started a big, long climb up Smarts Mt. ¢ 2340 ft. over about 6 miles. I really loved the climb. The trail was pretty bad, slick roots an rocks and lots of mud and water. It rained a little, but not too much. Boat caught us just before the top. We all climbed the fire tower and a few times got to see a view between thick clouds. We hung out a bit more at Firewarden¢s Cabin. We filled up at a dirty spring not too close to the shelter. We met and passed Two hats and we decided to eat lunch a couple miles up the trail. As we got to Eastman Ledges, we could see and hear a big storm approaching. We had the tuna and ranch dressing just mixed when we figured out we wouldn¢t have time to eat. The storm was an absolute downpour that ended as we pulled in. We ate tuna and rolls and some free gorp in the six sided Hexacuba Shelter. Then we climbed a relatively easy Mt. Cube. We got a couple good views of Smarts Mt. As we got near the top another thunderstorm started brewing. I ran ahead with Boat. I think we went over the summit exactly with the storm, but the lightning wasn¢t hitting. After Chicken caught back up, we had but one thing on our minds ¢ maple sugar candy. We were headed for the Mr. Cube Sugar House, a maple farm. The hitch at NH25A took a little while, but finally a young guy picked us up, soaking wet and muddy. It was a small farm with a shop on the honor system. The farmer was very hospitable. We cooked dinner and had a few pieces of pricey candy. We hung out with a section hiker, Jason, and Boat. As we were setting up our beds in the barn, the skeeters started biting, so we set up the tarp in the yard.                                                                Flanders
Date: 2003-08-07
From: Mt. Cube Sugar House 

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: light rain

We ate granola at the farm and packed up quickly so we could hitch back to the trail. Only a couple cars passed, but finally one of the farmers came driving down and offered us a ride in his truck. We were on the trail just after 8, with less than 10 miles to town. The trail was a swampy mess, and the mosquitoes must have been cousins of the same ones we met in New Jersey. They were brutal. We passed hundreds of chantrelles. Chicken Feet was very disappointed that she couldn¢t take more than a Tupperware full. It was an easy terrain: we only had a couple small mountains. It was cloudy, but luckily, not rainy. We made it to Glencliff just after noon. The post office didn¢t open again until 2. So, our first priority was real food. We dropped our stuff off at the Hikers Welcome Hostel. The owner, Packrat, took us to the Garlic Clove in Warren. We placed our order and then did a little shopping at the market. We didn¢t want to buy our re-supplies until we found out what was in our mail drop. We just bought some snacks and dinner for our stay at the hostel. Unfortunately, Packrat got tied up and couldn¢t pick us up before the post offices closed. We spent the rest of the day hanging out with others. Rather than sleep in the hostel with the crowd we opted to stay in one of the tents out in the yard. It was very cozy with lots and lots of zippers. We decided to get up early to go through all of our mail drops ¢ winter gear, food drop, bounce box, etc.                                                                Flanders
Date: 2003-08-08
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

We weren¢t planning on it, but decided to take a zero. Lydia wasn¢t feeling so hot and we had to reorganize our gear. We got 7 packages total. A huge thank you to Rob and Dave and Mike and Beth for all the goodies. You ROCK!!! We spent the day hanging out, sewing gear, organizing food and gear, and napping. In the evening< Matt Tracz, a friend from Compaq, showed up so he could hike with us tomorrow. We went to bed very nervous over the intimidating White Mts.                                                                Flanders
Date: 2003-08-09
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH

To: Gordon Pond north of Glencliff,NH
Miles today: 12.8

Today Matt Tracz and Ilan (friends from Ned¢s former work) came to hike with us. They are both very fit and I was worried they would whoop my butt. I was right. They did! Of course, it didn¢t help that my pack is the heaviest it¢s been since April (I love my winter gear and I hate my winter gear) or that my tummy was still a bit upset. Matt carried my pack part way up Moosilanke, but eventually I felt bad and took it back. A side note: Even though I think my pack is heavy, any other thru hiker that picks it up laughs at how light it is. This makes me feel bad. Matt, on the other hand, described it as ¢heavy¢ and made my week. (Of course, the fact that he carried it a little while made my day.)        So, up we went. From Glencliff to the top was a 3700 foot ascent, but the trail was nice, so it was fun. We took a side trail up to the south peak, watched the clouds float over the north peak, climbed the north peak and ate lunch. There were a lot of people on top including a Dartmouth student paid to sit on the top and talk to everyone (He also has to stir the occasional privy.) We talked to him briefly and then headed down the mountain because it wa getting cold and starting to rain. And then it poured. I was slow on the down hill but they all waited for me frequently. We stopped in at the Beaver Brooke Shelter and said hello to Cobra, Splash, Ambler, and Nick and then continued down the mountain following an awesome waterfall the whole way down. Ilan and Ned talked about Microsoft, WalMart, and monopolies. When we reached the parking lot, matt and Ilan unloaded some food on us and we ran into Art, who we met in the Smokies. We said our good-byes and then walked another 3.5 miles to Gordon Pond. We had a tough time finding a spot ¢ it is unofficial camping and 3 tents were already there. We ended up right next to 3 young section hikers. Cobra and Splash arrived just in time for another rain storm and had an even tougher time finding a spot. We ate and went to sleep.                                                        Chicken Feet