morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-27
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: High Point State Park HQ
Miles today: 11.3

I didn¢t sleep well at the shelter last night. It was hot and the guy next to me snored. I still got up at 5 though to get going. It hadn¢t started raining yet so I hustled out of camp to get some miles in before the rain. I made it about 5.5 to the first shelter and sat down to have a snack and look at logistics. It had rained during the hike, but let up when I got to the shelter. I was planning on going to Unionville today or tomorrow, and then maybe Warwick in a few days to get laundry done and clean up. But, I found another option: a hostel called Mosey¢s Place that would pick me up from the High Point State Park headquarters (the hostel is in Port Jervis, NJ). 30 bucks for a bunk in a house, laundry, shuttle to food/resupply options, and breakfast! It was a great deal and had really good reviews, so I called the owner, Mosey, and arranged a pickup. It would be sooooo good to clean up a bit.The park HQ was cook and gives each thru hiker a free soda. At the park, Happy Feet and Dude decided they wanted to come too. We all got picked up and Mosey took us for food on the way home. I got Subway and Dunkin Donuts! There were three other NOBOs at the hostel who I hadn¢t met - Hot Sauce, and I¢m drawing a blank on the others¢ names. I did laundry, resupplied, re-permethrined some clothing, ate, etc etc. it was great! Tomorrow I will hike out after breakfast!I felt like my feet needed a rest today. I was grateful for such an amazing and economical option. It¢s good to be clean again! Tomorrow I think the rain will clear up. Also, I saw Apollo and Skutch again here briefly. They had stayed here and caught a train to visit family, but were just back and hitting the trail tonight. Now I¢m at least caught up, and hopefully I can do a better job with my diary moving forward!
Date: 2018-06-02
From: RPH Shelter

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 25.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a long day, but a good one! I slipped out of the shelter at 6:15 to hike. The air was still and muggy, but it wasn¢t In 5 miles there was a road crossing with a deli just about half a mile off the trail. I knew I wanted to push for 25 miles today so I wasn¢t sure I wanted to stop there, but it only took one long uphill to make me feel hungry and change my mind. When I got to the road crossing, I headed over to the east.The Mountain Top deli was small, sort of like a convenience store. The ladies working there were very friendly and knew all of the local customers, exchanging banter with them. I ordered a breakfast sandwich, which came with a free small coffee. As I poured the coffee, No Excuse wandered in. He ordered some food as well and we sat outside to eat. I also had a Gatorade and a peanut butter snickers bar - delicious! The deli was an awesome pit stop. They even had outlets behind the building to charge phones, and a picnic table to sit at, though we sat on the bench out front.After eating, we headed out and made it to the next shelter in good time. Chimney and Corky were there, and then Jingle Butt rolled in. After a short rest, we hiked on. This was the first day I would really hike with Chimney and No Excuse. I hiked behind them and we talked about various things. They keep up a pretty quick pace, and chatting with them on top of that made the miles go fast. We came to a garden center that had a hiker box, log book, sodas for sale, and a spigot for water - awesome! I had a couple of sodas and picked up a bit more bug spray. We talked to some folks just outside the store, and then made our final push to camp.We had all gotten kind of eaten alive last night at the RPH Shelter, so we decided to tent at Wiley. There was also a strange, non hiker woman at the shelter who was kind of creeping us out. We suspected she was harmless and maybe just had some mental issues. Anyway, she was fine and kept to herself in the shelter. I went to get water and when I came back Transformer was there! I hadn¢t seen him since Damascus. He¢d just been in New York City for a few days to do some sightseeing. He¢s from Australia, so is definitely trying to take some city side trips as well as hike the trail.Today was a good day. I enjoyed getting to know No Excuse and Chimney a little better, and was grateful for their pace and stories. I was also very happy that the weather was good, even if it was hot. Today was just a lot of fun all around!
Date: 2018-06-03
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Stony Brook Campsite
Miles today: 20.1

It did not end up raining overnight, so getting out of camp this morning was easy. I was on the trail by 6:30. It didn¢t take No Excuse and Chimney long to catch up. We weren¢t hiking very long when we ran into a guy in running clothes on the trail. He said hello and asked if there were more of us, and then said ¢hang on, I¢ve got breakfast in the car,¢ and took off running north! We hiked on and eventually came to a parking lot right at the New York / Connecticut border. The man was at his car with the hatchback open. He had all kinds of food and drink: pancakes, brownies, donuts, bagels with cream cheese and peanut butter, apples, watermelon, and coffee and sodas! He also had some bug spray available for us to use! He was a trail angel from Connecticut and his trail name was Trail Mixer, which was also the name of his local trail running club. He was just out doing trail magic for National Trails Day. He said that he hopes to thru hike the AT one day. The trail magic was really incredible and got me pumped up. I really hope he is able to pursue a thru hike one day! We took pictures with Trail Mixer and he took pictures of us at the CT border sign. We would dip into NY again briefly today, but that was it. We were in Connecticut! It¢s always exciting to start another state. I was particularly excited because I have never been to Connecticut. We all hiked on and Connecticut almost immediately greeted us with some very steep inclines. That would be the theme for the rest of the day! We met flip floppers Hansel and Gretel - I had been seeing their names in the shelter logs. Chimney and No Excuse went to go do a small resupply in a nearby town and I kept hiking. I went up some more steep inclines up to Caleb¢s peak, and saw a white tailed deer up there. The downhill after the peak was intense, and it felt a little like my knees had been battered by sticks afterward. The final stretch of the day was beautiful, walking along a flat section of trail beside the Housatonic River. I stopped into Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter to sign the log, but pushed on another 0.4 miles to the Stony Brook campsite. It was a lovely spot and I was happy to be there earlier in the afternoon. I set up camp, ate dinner with Transformer when he arrived, then went down to the river to soak my feet in the cold water while I chatted with my wife. No Excuse and Chimney showed up a little later after a successful resupply mission. I was grateful for the beautiful weather today - we had a nice breeze all day that helped keep things a little cooler and keep the bugs down. I was grateful for the wonderful trail magic today and to be in a new state for new adventures. It¢s supposed to rain overnight and tomorrow. Hopefully the rain will be light!
Date: 2018-06-06
From: Glen Brook Shelter

To: Mt Wilcox North Shelter
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: light rain

Ok, I did quite a bit of brain dumping yesterday, so today I am going to keep this short. I made it to camp by 4pm and it¢s 5:30 now. I want to do some reading and talk to Sharkbait and Reboot if and when they make it here. I made it to camp pretty early namely because there were a lot of pasture walks and forest path that was flat. However, interspersed with that were some steep and rugged climbs.In the morning I climbed Mt. Bushnell, and on the north side there was a nice viewpoint and ridge called ¢Jug End.¢ Im not sure but I assume that has to do with the shape of the mountain. I passed the road crossing for Great Barrington and walked through some lovely pasture, and then by a monument marking the location of Shays Rebellion in 1787. The trail passed along the Housatonic river once again, this time with a sign that said not to eat fish from the river because they contain PCBs. Great....Near the Tom Leonard Shelter there is a feature called Ice Gulch. Apparently this deep ravine can hold snow even in mid summer. I was expecting some ridiculously deep chasm but it really wasn¢t that crazy. What surprised me there was the body of a dead porcupine in the trail, covered in flies with its entrails hanging out. YUCK! I wonder what got him.....I hiked on. The hemlock forests were beautiful again today! White birches are probably my favorite tree, but hemlock are a close second, of not my favorite from time to time.I climbed past the Mt Wilcox South shelter up to a pond with obvious beaver activity and a beaver lodge. I looked for one but didn¢t see any. It was a great day with great weather! I was grateful for all the beautiful views I saw today, for the cooler temperatures, and that I wasn¢t that dead rotting porcupine in the trail! Gross!!!
Date: 2018-06-10
From: Cheshire, MA, (Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Mile 1578.8)

To: Seth Warner Shelter
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up damp. I tented without my rain fly because it was a clear night. I like to look at the stars and it is also quicker to get going in the morning. I guess we had a lot of moisture in the air overnight because my sleeping bag had a ton of condensation on it, as did my tent in general. Transformer camped there as well and had the same experience. We hiked out at about 6:30. The church was locked so we decided to walk up the trail and duck in the gas station with the Dunkin Donuts to use the ¢privy.¢ I went up to order a small coffee and the gentleman behind the counter said he had accidentally made two unnecessary coffees and offered them to me for free. Awesome!! Of course, I bought a blueberry donut and gave one of the coffees to Transformer. It was a good start to the day.We climbed Mt Greylock, Massachusetts¢ highest peak. It has a cool tower at the top and with the clear day we got great views. We stopped by the lodge restaurant to get some food, but they were between shifts. However, the lady there was really nice and gave us some leftover blueberry muffins for free. Score! I hung back to dry my gear in the sun and Transformer moved on. Once dry, I took off and hiked solidly until the road crossing for Williamstown. It was a cute little spot and the trail entered a neighborhood before it hit the main road. I headed west off trail to a Stop N¢ Shop and ran back into Transformer there. We had both decided to do a bigger resupply there to get us to Killington. After shopping I ate a salad and a fruit bowl I had gotten. On the way in a local had tipped me off that there was a cool trail we could hike back to the AT instead of a road walk, so we took our chances. It was a great walk with a suspension bridge and some trail art. On the way to the shelter we left MA and entered Vermont. It felt great! I loved MA, but was excited to be in Vermont. Like Connecticut, it was my first time to Vermont. When we got to the shelter we met 4 or 5 people on day one of their thru hikes of the Vermont Long Trail. That was really fun! I helped one girl hang her bear bag because she had never done it. I was grateful for such a full day and some great trail magic today! It was enjoyable hiking with Transformer, and I was grateful to make it to another state on my journey north.
Date: 2018-06-11
From: Seth Warner Shelter

To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I¢m going to keep today¢s journal short. Not a lot really happened, and I feel like I need more sleep tonight. I woke up early and headed out just after Transformer. We reconnected later in the morning and had hiked about 13 miles by noon. I passed a couple of scenic beaver ponds in the morning, but otherwise scenery was just the usual woods as we are still climbing a bit to elevation. I felt really tired after climbing out of the road gap for Bennington, but I took a little lunch time siesta at a shelter and felt much better. The rest of the day was just steady climbs. Oh, and I peed on my shoe today. I was doing my business and checking Guthook and my right foot started getting warm.... I guess I should pay more attention! Most people might not admit this, but as you have probably noticed I have no shame in relaying human experiences. I¢m just going to call this one marking my territory.I¢m loving this Vermont weather so far!! I was grateful for the weather, the good hiking banter with Transformer, and for a shelter to nap in today. Tomorrow is gonna be fun! Postscripts:#1 - Ken, Yes!! This is a good idea for pre-washing the nasties and someone else on the trail recommended that as well. I don¢t know why I didn¢t think of it at the time. Next time!!#2 - BBF - glad I could make you laugh! Bad days are tough, but ¢this too shall pass¢ is my motto!#3 - Saintley! Hope all is well. Don¢t let the man get ya down! ;-)
Date: 2018-06-19
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 17.7

Today I got what I am now calling The New Hampshire Package: weather changes, trail magic, wildlife and views! The rain had stopped this morning and reduced to fog, but a gusty wind moved in and pushed out the fog. I got off to a later start, just because everything was damp and my tent was pretty wet. My clothes were still wet as well, but everything would dry today in the nicer weather.I hiked down from Moose Mountain and hit a road crossing with trail magic! A note on a cooler said Brian and Jill - the dynamic duo had struck again!! I pulled a poweraid out of the cooler and drank it, grateful for the electrolytes. Those two are prettyamazing! Later in the morning I stopped at Grafton Turnpike road crossing to dry my tent out in the sun and have a snack. I spread my tent out in a few concrete structures that were there, then sat down to eat a cliff bar. I heard something moving around, and all of a sudden a bear comes walking out of the woods, about 15 feet from me, and about 6 feet from my open bag where my food bag is on top. The bear stared at me! I was shocked and wanted a picture, but this was a dicey situation. Any time a bear comes up that close it means it isn¢t really afraid, which is not good. I picked up my one trekking pole (the other was over by the bear with my tent footprint on it). And stood up and started making noise - not too aggressive but definitely ¢go away¢ noise. The bear looked at me and then skillfully walked down the embankment and across the stream below. Before I could recover, ANOTHER bear cane out of the woods right behind the other! I was in disbelief. This bear had some kind of collar on. Fortunately it just followed the first bear, crisis averted! Now that I and my food were safe, I did a little dance of joy. My AT bear experience just got completely rounded out!! I had only seen the one bear running away in New Jersey. The New Hampshire bears wanted to have a tea party with me!Powered by excitement, I hiked up Smarts Mountain, stopping to enjoy lovely views on Lambert¢s Ridge. I climbed up the fire tower at the top and got amazing views in all directions, including what I think was a view of Moosilaukee. There was a guy up in the fire tower who was out hiking for the day and he offered me a few of his snacks, which was super nice. I trotted off and almost ran into a huge porcupine in the middle of the trail! It turned its back to me and put its quills up, so I backed up and waited. Eventually it shuffled along. It had the biggest rack of quills out of the porcupines I have seen yet! On my way north I also saw a few garter snakes.The hiking was challenging today. I arrived at the shelter starving and ready to eat. The climbs are getting steeper, but the views are getting better! I was so grateful for the weather, the magic, and the animal sightings/encounters today, not to mention the views and the kindness of strangers. I can¢t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Date: 2018-06-23
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter

To: Ethan Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.5

This morning was chilly. I thought a lot about Choo Choo and that weighed heavy on my mind. The hiking really helped to shake those unfounded scenarios running through my head though. (I left this because it was what I was thinking at the time, but obviously we now know he¢s ok)First stop was Galehead Hut. The crew there was great and gave us breakfast leftovers of eggs and pancakes! The weather was pretty iffy, and as I left the hut it started to rain. I summited Mt. Guyout, another 4K peak, and as the wind at the top blew rain into my face, I took a wrong turn and ended up walking close to a mile off on the wrong trail! When I figured it out, I had to climb back to the summit to get back to the AT.Once back on track, things were good. Today was more rocky descents, only wetter. I went to Zealand Falls Hut and got some soup and a brownie there. Zoom zoom, Snuggs, Apollo and Skutch were there, as well as flip floppers Fat Tony and The Kid. A man and his daughter came by to ask us about thru hiking. She was sweet and offered us a bag of leftover snacks she had, which we happily divided up. The huts are cool places to chat with folks. We can always get water there, use the bathrooms, and so far they have been good about leftovers. I had to pay to camp at Garfield last night. It was ten bucks, but I got a card that gives me 50% off any other night¢s stay, two free baked goods and a free soup at any hut, so it¢s a pretty decent deal. After Zealand Falls Hut, the trail got MUCH easier to Ethan Pond Campsite. I flew through it, and just in time as some heavy rain moved in. I¢m staying at Ethan Pond tonight and tomorrow will try to push close to Mt. Washington. My guess is that weather will push summiting it until Monday, but I will see. I was grateful for a shorter, easier day today (even though I hiked two extra non AT miles!!) and for the shelter to get out of the rain. It was good to see Apollo and Skutch again! I¢m hoping for the weather to clear up tomorrow!
Date: 2018-06-24
From: Ethan Pond Shelter

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 13.9

Today was pretty awesome! I found out that Choo Choo was ok today, hence my back editing of posts I hadn¢t posted yet. I was quite relieved and felt much better after this news.It was cloudy and misty in the morning. The weather was supposed to be ugly all day, so my plan was to hike to Lake of the Clouds just before Mt. Washington and try to get a work for stay there. The huts in the Whites allow a few thru hikers to do work for stay. Huts are pricey - usually $120 or so per night - but for an hour or so of work the huts will allow thru hikers to sleep on the common room floor and also feed us dinner. I wanted to try it!The climb up Mt Webster in the morning was rough! It was a lot of hand-over-hand bouldering and very slow going. My first stop today was at Mizpah Hut. Apollo and Skutch were already there. They fed us leftover eggs, oatmeal and coffee. It was delicious! Zoom zoom showed up and we all chatted for a while.I hiked on towards Lake of the Clouds, but again the hiking got quite difficult and slow. It was foggy and misty all day, so no views really. I was pretty wet by the time I got to Lake Hut. The head person there, Lindy, was really cool and took me in on work for stay! I washed dishes for a little over and hour and that was it! She gave me a bowl of soup while I hung out. Me, Apollo, Skutch, Fat Tony, and Snuggs all ended up doing work for stay. We hung out and waited while the guests ate. When they were done, we got the leftovers! It was incredible - stuffed shells, chicken parmigiana, bread, salad, brownies, turkey soup. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!The huts are really quite big and much nicer than I¢d imagined. They are like lodges really. Today I was grateful for the WFS experience and that I got up the crazy tough ascents and descents safely. Tomorrow I will summit Mt Washington! I¢m hoping for clear skies....
Date: 2018-06-26
From: Stealth Campsite at Mile 1871.9

To: Rattle River Hostel at Mile 1892.6
Miles today: 20.7

Playing a little catch up here so I¢ll keep this brief. I got up early and made it over Wildcat Mountain and to the last Hut at Carters Notch in 3hrs and 40 minutes. Wildcat had some awesome views and a lot of bouldering to get up its peaks. There was a ski gondola along the trail as well, which reminded me of Vermont. I somehow managed to kill an hour and a half at the hut, eating breakfast leftovers and chatting with the staff. Zoom Zoom rolled in and I rolled out, keen to get going after I realized how long I¢d been dawdling there. I climbed up Carter Dome. At the top there was a cairn, and as I walked towards it, a grouse flew at me from behind it. It startled me, and then she flew at me again! I then saw her little chick toddling around on the ground nearby. I took a picture of the grouse, but didn¢t get the chick as I needed to get out of their space. I climbed Mt. Hight after this, which had awesome 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains, including Mt Washington and the Presidentials. Next were South, Middle and North Carter Mountains, and then Mt Moriah. It was a long day of ups and downs and steep ridge line scrambles! I had amazing weather and views and just kept on trucking, all the way down to Rattle River Hostel. I saw a lot of SOBO hikers, which was cool. There were also a ton of SOBO hikers at the hostel.I was excited to get to the hostel so I could do laundry. I scrubbed myself and scrubbed, doing my best to remove the layers of filth. The water that flowed off of my body looked like water from the Ganges in India. Well, if at least looked like what I picture water from the Ganges to be. By the time I got washed and handed off my laundry to the hostel, it was just about 8pm. I ordered pizza from A place in nearby Gorham. They took forever to deliver it, but it was delicious when they did! It was a taco pizza, so it had all of the typical taco fixings but on a pizza pie. It was awesome! I feel like that¢s a real Hungry Cat pizza. I ate an entire large pizza and a side salad with blue cheese dressing. By the time I was done with that, it was time for bed. I finally met Mumbles, a British NOBO I had been hearing about, and I saw Speedy again. I hadn¢t seen him since Delaware Water Gap, although I actually bumped into him earlier in the day at the hut. Last, bit definitely not least, I met section hiker Diesel from NC. He approached me as he has been reading my journal, so it was cool to meet him as well, and flattering that he would read my daily digest. We talked about the Whites, of course, and their difficulty. Good luck on the rest of your hike Diesel!! I was grateful for the hospitality at the hut today, the great weather and views, having a hostel to rest at, and many other things. Tomorrow I will sleep in (a little) and then resupply and hike out. After a giant waffle breakfast, of course.... :-)