morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-06-17
From: Bulls Bridge

To: River Road S
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Lu served us a wonderful ham and egg scramble for breakfast, with toast, watermelon, orange juice, and coffee or tea. We watched a turkey walk through the hostel yard early in the morning.Steve shuttled us to Bulls Bridge and we three girls began hiking. It was up or down all day, not much level ground, lots od steep grade, and rocky. I had not been training much and I could tell it. The Gypsy moths are rampant here. Many whole stretches of forest are defoliated. The caterpillars drop their poop out of the trees on unsuspecting hikers all day and caterpillars are everywhere on the ground. If I stand still more than a few seconds, the caterpillars crawl onto my shoes.After 10 miles, my thighs were cramping on the uphills and my calves were cramping on the downhills. I began having serious doubts about my plans to finish the AT this year. I wasn¢t even sure how I was going to finish the day!The thing is, when you are in the middle of the woods, you don¢t have a choice about finishing or not. The only variable is how long it will take you to finish. I dragged myself up the last uphill, looking forward an easy downhill to the parking lot where Steve would be waiting.  The section is called St John¢s Ledges.  It was not an easy downhill. It was huge jumbled up rocks and stone steps with a three foot drop. It took me about  an hour to complete that last mile. While we were hiking, SusanB was driving from PA to meet us. She and Steve were waiting in the parking lot for us. They whisked us away to The Fife and Drum in Kent where we washed up and enjoyed a lavish dinner.Back at the hostel, I stumbled through a shower, took ibuprofen, and went to bed.
Date: 2021-06-18
From: West Cornwall Road

To: River Road S
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

Ibuprofen and a good night of sleep did wonders for my body. I woke up feeling fine. We watched a bear lumbering through the yard of the hostel early in the morning.Lu served us another delicious breakfast - fried egg sandwiches, fresh cut up fruit, orange juice, and coffee or tea. Hudson suggested we do this section southbound to do the hills in the morning while we were fresh. We took his advice and had the five miles of hills first thing. There were numerous stream crossings with log bridges and one wider crossing that had no bridge. We took off our shoes and waded across. The cold mountain water was only a few inches deep and very refreshing. By noon we were at the Silver Hill Campsite area. There was a picnic pavilion with picnic tables, a porch swing, a wooden deck with benches, a nice privy, and space for several tents.  We enjoyed an hour long lunch break. After lunch we finished a downhill section and then the trail leveled out on an old roadbed along the Housatonic River for about five miles. It was mostly shady and there were cool breezes most of the way.  It was a much easier day than the previous one thankfully! After we met Steve, we drove to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, then back to the hostel for showers, laundry, and bed.
Date: 2021-06-19
From: West Cornwall Road

To: Undermountain Road, Salisbury
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We were on the trail by 8:20 with a .3 mile steep uphill to the ridge. Hudson said this would be the most strenuous part of the day so we were hoping he was right! At least the day had not heated up yet and cool breezes were blowing. I just barely made it to Pine Swamp Brook shelter privy in time to use it. It was FULL of those pesky caterpillars. There was a trail maintainer there. We thanked him for his volunteer time in maintaining the AT. He said he had just swept out the privy five minutes before we arrived but the caterpillars were already back in force!For about 3 hours, we could hear the cars from Limerock Raceway. Somewhere along the trail we finally saw it through the trees. We got some cool video of cars on the track. We were definitely in the nosebleed section or cheap seats to watch that race!We walked through the town of Falls  Village on city roads after lunch.  We passed some kind of ceremony in a big tent outside of the local high school. The speaker probably hated having to compete for attention with a bunch of hikers passing by. We hiked on a new iron bridge over the Housatonic River.  Along the riverside we had good views of Great Falls. Somewhere between Giants Thumb and US44, I passed the 1500 mile mark of AT miles hiked!This day was our second longest mileage of the entire trip at 16.8 miles. We started at 8:20 and got back to the truck just before 6:00. We drove back to the hostel, took showers, and enjoyed a delicious dinner and conversation with Hudson and Lu. They served baked chicken, grilled corn in the cob, potato salad, cheese toast, and blueberry pie with ice cream.  We went to bed clean and full!
Date: 2021-06-20
From: Guilder Pond Picnic Area

To: Undermountain Road, Salisbury
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we hiked southbound from Guilder Pond Picnic Area, MA back to Salisbury CT where we stopped yesterday. Hudson had advised us to do it this way. We started right off with a steep climb up Mt Everett and then up Mt Race. We walked through a gorge called Sage¢s Ravine. There were multiple waterfalls along a mile-long stretch, in a primordial hemlock forest. It was gorgeous with cool breezes. We saw several young thru-hikers swimming in one of the pools, but we only stopped to soak our feet. The water was COLD! This is one of my favorite stretches on the AT. We summitted Bear Mountain, the highest point on the AT in CT, and it was a BEAR! It was a steep climb up rock slabs. There were nice views and wonderful breeezes at the top, and we had a late lunch there. We talked with other hikers as we sat in the shade at the top of Bear Mountain. One was a veteran who had been met there by a buddy he hadn¢t seen in twenty years. This buddy hiked up the mountain carrying oranges, soda, veggies and ranch dressing. He had brought enough to share and we happened to be the lucky recipients. This is what we call trail magic. The rest of the day was more moderate terrain and we were able to hike much more quickly. We were glad to be going southbound as the northbound eta had much longer ascents.  We started about 9:30 and finished just before 6. Steve had moved all our stuff from the hostel to a Berkshire Lakeside Lodge, a 60¢s? era motel in Beckett MA, and we had an hour drive there.  Our plan is to stay here for several days while we continue hiking north in MA.  After showers, we ate at 51 Park in Lee MA. I had a great steak, roasted potatoes and broccoli. Then we had to get back to our rooms to unpack and organize things for tomorrow.12.6 miles today
Date: 2021-06-21
From: Guilder Pond Picnic Area

To: Homes Rd, MA
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: few clouds

6/21 is the Summer Solstice, which for some reason has morphed into Naked Hiking Day. We did NOT plan to participate in this trail tradition. We pulled into Guilder Pond parking lot at 9am to begin our day. As we took turns using the privy, a bearded hiker came down the trail in the buff.  yikes!  At least he had a vsndana ganing from his front hip belt. Nothing was covering his back but his lack. Thankfully we did not see any other naked hikers during the day!We started the day with the descent down Mt Everett which gradually became an challenging rocky area called Jug End. AllTrails site says the trail from Bear Mountain to Jug End ¢is only recommended for very experienced adventurers.¢  We managed to navigate it so I guess that makes us experienced mountaineers.The middle part of the day took us through AT farmlands which was flat easy terrain, but we roasted with temps in the high 80s.  We crossed a long swampy buggy area on numerous bog bridges.  There were hordes of mosquitoes in the muckiness but no suitable water sources and we were parched.After passing yet another murky stream, I began praying that someone would have left water jugs at the next road crossing. I was very disappointed that there were none when we arrived. We found a spot in the shade to eat our lunch daydreaming about cold drinks and ice cream.Just another mile down the trail, a sign announced ¢trail magic¢ and pointed down the road. A huge tent was set up and was being operated by a church group from Sheffield MA. They offered water, watermelon, dill pickles, and chairs in the shade. They also grilled burgers and hotdogs.  It was incredible! I told them they were an answer to my prayers.  They have been doing this for three years during the ¢hiker bubble¢ and we stumbled on their first day of 2021. We left feeling refreshed and revived, but still had four miles to go. We ended the day with a tedious uphill section and were drenched by the time we got to our pickup point. We had started just after 9:00 and finished by 4:00.Steve took us grocery shopping on our way back to our motel. We each bought deli or frozen dinners and fresh produce for the next three evening meals. After showers, we enjoyed our meals together at a breezy picnic table.
Date: 2021-06-22
From: Homes Rd, MA

To: Beartown Mountain Road
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: broken clouds

It rained last night and cooled things off.  It  has stopped by the time we got up but started again just as we drove away from the motel.  We started hiking about 9:00 with a rainy climb up East Mountain with only a foggy view at the top. The rocks were slippery so we had to navigate them carefully, and between the rock stretches our shoes caked with mud.We stopped at Tom Leonard Shelter after only 3.5 miles. It felt good to get out of the rain, take our wet shoes and socks off for awhile, and have an early lunch. There was one other guy there eating when we arrived.  As soon as he left, Janet and I went beside the shelter to pee, not too far away since it was raining. In the process we heard a guy¢s voice.  Another hiker had showed up for a break right at that inopportune moment.  We finished quickly while SusanK and SusanB talked to him and distracted him from our precarious position.After another few miles, we came to the area called The Ledges. Rain had tapered off so we sat on wet rocks and snacked and appreciated another slightly less foggy view.The rest of the day was uneventful, just slogging through mud. The terrain was not too bad, so we could move along at a pretty good pace.  We distracted ourselves by counting the many red efts that were along the trail. The seem to come out en masse when it rains; otherwise we rarely see them.  In a 3.5 mile stretch, we counted 99. We got to our pickup spot about 4:20.  Steve had done our laundry while we hiked, so we had clean dry clothes waiting for us.  After showering and eating, we had enough wet muddy stuff to take another load back to the laundromat. Even though it rained on us almost all day, it was in the low 60s and we all felt better than we had yesterday hiking in the high 80s!
Date: 2021-06-23
From: Beartown Mountain Road

To: Berkshire Lakeside Lodge
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

The rain stopped yesterday and it cooled things off.  We started the day off with easy hiking to warm us up.  We passed along the outskirts of a Reservation. There was a nice bench at the top of Cobble Hill in Tyringham where we had an early lunch with a gorgeous view. The elevation stayed between 1000-2000 feet almost the whole day so the climbs weren¢t too bad. We passed through several fields, some flat marshy areas on boardwalks, and a cow pasture.We¢ve met several thru-hikers heading northbound. Many of the younger guys like to wear thrift store swim shorts and Hawaiian shirts. They seem to think ¢the gaudier, the better.¢ Some of their outfits are quite amusing.It was cool and breezy all day. At one road crossing, a local guy had set up a tent and chairs and had cold drinks and snacks for hikers. Janet and I split a little cherry pie and an orange. The sugar put some pep in my step and powered me up and over the next hill.  We stopped at Cooper Brook and enjoyed soaking our feet in the cold mountain water.  After a quick two miles walking around Goose Pond and up and down one more hill, we crossed over the MA turnpike and came out of the woods just .1 mile down the road from our hotel.  I developed blisters on three of my toes today, but it did not seem like a 15 mile day!
Date: 2021-06-24
From: Blotz Road

To: Berkshire Lakeside Lodge
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

I woke up at 5:10 and could not go back to sleep, so I gathered my things as quietly as I could and went to the breakfast room. I had hot tea, chocolate milk, instant oatmeal, bacon jerky, and leftover carrot cake. I worked some puzzles and looked st Facebook. About 6:00 I went back to my room. SusanB and SusanK were still asleep so I crawled back in bed and fell asleep promptly. They got up later and went to the breakfast room and I slept and hour and a half!Today we hiked southbound from Blotz Road back to the Berkshire Lakeside Lodge where we¢ve been staying. We were hiking by 8:30 and had very easy terrain today. There were numerous big bridges and I slipped on one and did a half twist somersault into the muck. No damage done except to my pride. The day was beautiful, warm, and breezy.  We could hear what sounded like a chainsaw in the distance and we were concerned that someone might be cutting down trees close to the trail. When we finally caught up to the sound, it was a only trail maintainer with a gas powered weed whacker.  We stopped for lunch at October Mountain Shelter, a large, bunk-and-loft style shelter  and a picnic table. It¢s always nice to get to sit at a table for a meal.Because we were hiking southbound, we saw many of the northbound hikers we¢ve been meeting the past few days. It¢s always fun to run into hikers you¢ve already met. Sometimes they get confused looks on their faces, wondering why they¢re passing us going the opposite direction.We hiked along Finerty Pond for a quarter mile or so and finally found a path to actually get to the water¢s edge. We saw some huge bullfrog tadpoles, some of which were starting to grow legs, a few swimming salamanders, and one leech. They didn¢t deter us and we had a great cooling swim for a half hour or so. We were back at the motel before 5:00. We cut open a watermelon at the picnic table and ate half of it. After showers, we headed out for a steak dinner.
Date: 2021-06-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

We slept in, went to Roses Restaurant in Lee MA for a hearty breakfast, did our laundry, and shopped for groceries for the next three days. Back at the motel, we lazed around, napped, caught up on phone calls with family, and ate. We had a great fire in the fire pit in the evening. We got all our chores done and had a very relaxing day.
Date: 2021-06-26
From: Blotz Road

To: Main Street P O , Cheshire MA
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We drove to Blotz Road again to head north. When we pulled into the parking lot, we spied a woman squatting right on the trail just off the parking lot. She hadn¢t even bothered to step into the woods off the trail!  Oh well..,We started the day with a short climb up Warner Hill. There wasn¢t much of a view.  The next several miles were relatively easy, then downhill into Dalton MA, where we walked along sidewalks in a quaint old neighborhood. Our first stop was Tom Levardi¢s house. Tom is a legendary trail angel who keeps water jugs on a picnic table in his front yard for thirsty hikers, and he allows them to camp in his yard. His yard is decorated with hiking poles.  He came out to greet us and offered us fresh fruit and sodas. I had a ripe peach and a can of Mountain Dew. We ate our lunch at the picnic table in his yard under a shady tree as he regaled us with stories of Earl Shaffer and AWOL stopping there. He¢s been doing this for 42 years.Next we wanted to stop right down the street for ice cream from Sweet Peas but they were not open yet. We settled for Klondike Bars from the Cumberland Farms convenience store.We continued walking through the streets of Dalton for a couple miles before heading back into the woods. We had a gradual 4 mile climb up Crystal Mountain, a nice view and snake sighting at the Cobbles, and then a 3 mile descent into Cheshire MA where Steve picked us up and took us back to the motel.It was cool and breezy again today but very humid. We saw very few hikers.
Date: 2021-06-27
From: Main Street P O , Cheshire MA

To: MA2/Williamston/NAdams
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We drove to the post office in the town of Cheshire MA. SusanB left her truck there and Steve drove her to the top of Nt Greylock. She would hike south to her truck then drive home. She had to work for a couple weeks then will rejoin us in the Whites. SusanK, Janet and I started walking along the sidewalk and through a cornfield and back into the woods.  We met Susan B about halfway up the mountain for a brief chat and we continued trudging upward.  5 hours and 8.3 miles later, we were at the top of Mount Greylock.It was a long tough climb and I took many breaks and was drenched in sweat. A Patch the Pirate sing kept running thru my head, ¢Little by little, inch by inch, by the yard it¢s hard, by the inch what a cinch. Never stare up the stairs, just step up the steps. Little by little, inch by inch, it¢s a cinch!¢The closer we got to the top, the more spruce pines there were; it was like walking through a Christmas tree farm ¢¦ in summer temps.We had looked ahead of time at the online menu for Bascom Lodge which is at the summit. I was looking forward to a spinach, bacon, and hard boiled egg salad when we got there. It turned out they were short handed and not serving any salads, so I was quite disappointed.  Instead we had hotdogs and orange juice from their very limited menu. We walked around the war memorial tower and enjoyed views of five states.  It was in the high 80s and humid, but at least it was breezy all day.It was 6.4 miles down the other side, with only short uphills sections to Mt Williams and Mt Prospect Ledge. My legs were shot from the uphill, so the steep downhill was slower than normal. After meeting Steve, we had to stop for gas on the hour long drive back to the motel. We got back shortly after 8:00. I showered, heated my microwaveable meal, gathered our dirty clothes, and headed to the laundromat. I ate there while the clothes washed. After sorting four peoples clothes back at the hotel, we were missing two socks. I drove  back to the laundromat and found them.By 10:45, I was finally sorting food and gear and packing my backpack for the next four days of hiking. The rest of the extra resupply food and gear got boxed up to stay in the truck. It was midnight before I turned out the light. It was the longest toughest day of the trip so far.14.6 miles
Date: 2021-06-28
From: MA2/Williamston/NAdams

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

Our first day carrying full packs was rough.  We had an hour drive back to N Adams and  started out walking on the sidewalks there  by 9:15. We were soon in the woods going uphill. The first few miles were tough but then the terrain turned to more rolling hills. We crossed the MA/VT line where the AT is the same as Vermont¢s Long Trail. We had lunch there and talked to several make hikers and one lady, Liz, who were all starting the Long Trail. We also passed the 1600 mile point today. We made it to Congdon Shelter about 7:00, set up our tents in the spots that were left, had dinner, and went to bed. We are tenting close to two women hammocking who have a large German shepherd with them; they are doing the Long Trail.The shelter is full and several others are tenting.  After dark, we heard several other hikers arrive at the site, set up tents, and crash for the night.  The German shepherd barked at me in the night when I got up to pee and scared me to death!
Date: 2021-06-29
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: mist

The day started innocently enough, but after 4 miles, we had a very steep descent down huge wet stone steps to VT 9. Both Susan and I had to put in knee braces to deal with this area.  After this tedious descent, we crossed the highway and went down to the river for water and began the equally steep ascent up the other side.The rest of the day continuall trended uphill. We leapfrogged with the women with the German shepherd all day. The final two miles up to Goddard Shelter were tedious after a long day but we finally arrived about 7:00. The shelter was full and there were numerous tents scattered around the surrounding woods. There was a great piped stream right on the trail before the shelter which was very convenient after a tortuous day. We quickly picked out our tent doors, cleaned up, fixed dinner, and collapsed into our tents for the night.
Date: 2021-06-30
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Stratton/Arlington Road campsite
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

We had breakfast and packed up early. We talked to a young couple at the shelter from WI who were out for her first backpacking trek.  We were looking forward a little shorter hike with less strenuous terrain this day.  In only .3 mile we were at the top of Glastonbury Mountain. Janet snd I climbed the lookout tower and had amazing 360 views.  We stopped at Kid Gore Shelter after about four miles and had another meal. After another 4 miles, we stopped at Story Spring Shelter for another meal. We reached Steve on the phone and made plans for him to meet us the next morning and take our gear so we could slackpack again because we were planning a 17.5 mile day. We were joined by the WI couple and the women with the German shepherd. The wind was picking up and we could hear distant thunder, but we¢d had similar conditions the past two days without ever getting rain. Within fifteen minutes of leaving the shelter, the rain began. Soon it was pouring and the wind was gusting. It was scary for a half hour but we kept hiking. We eventually stopped trying to avoid puddles because the trail became a stream.  The rain stopped after an hour or so.  We actually stepped in a real creek to clean our shoes and hiked on. At least the trail was trending downhill so it was somewhat easier hiking.When we finally arrived at the campsite we were greeted by an off-leash springer spaniel running up and barking at us. We tried to find places for our three tents away from the dog and his owner but finally had to return to the area where they were. There is nothing quite so annoying after a miserable day of hiking in rain as a dog owner who pretends that his dog will listen and obey his commands. He eventually put the dog on leash and we set up tents just before the rain began again. We each cooked our meals in our own tent vestibules and ate alone in our tents, talking back and forth. When the rain finally stopped, it was too wet to sit outside and talk so we did our food storage and retired early.
Date: 2021-07-01
From: Stratton/Arlington Road campsite

To: VT 11 & 30
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

After breakfast we packed up. Steve met us and we gave him our wet tents and all our non essential gear.  We kept only our rain gear, first aid, and lunch for the day.  We began the day with a four mile ascent up Stratton Mountain.  It gently rained on us as we hiked upward.  I had been dreading this climb  after my long trudge up Mt Greylock. I was pleasantly surprised with the much easier grade and totally shocked when we arrived at the summit after only two hours. It had stopped raining but was foggy so I didn¢t bother climbing the observation tower.Knowing we had a long day, we pushed on and limited our breaks. We made good time with the less strenuous terrain. It rained on us again two separate times but we still managed to get to our pickup point ahead of our off he annex time.Steve had already Che Jed us into the Green Mountain House Hostel and carried in all our gear earlier in the day.  When he picked us up, we stopped for dinner before even cleaning up. It was such a treat to be served hot food, shower at the hostel, and crawl into clean beds for the night.