morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-06-23
From: Mt Everett

To: Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 98Tonight I am staying at the Tom Leonard Shelter. I was a little tired today and there were a lot of ups today even to get water at the shelter, there was a quarter mile walk down to get to the stream.I did the real Bear Mountain in Conn, yesterday, not the step monster mountain in NY. I never way so many people on top of a mountain as there were here. I was talking on the phone today while walking and somehow managed to get off the trail and not a big just a little bit way off before I realized it. So naturally I decided to take a short cut back to the trail. Bad Idea! Both my legs and one are are all cut up, but I did make it back to the trail. You should never multitask while walking (OOPS, I was the one on the phone with him! In fact after speaking for a few minutes, he exclaimed..."I haven't seen a blaze for awhile, I better go") There was something else I wanted to write about today that I thought of while walking but its gone now, so you don't get to find out about it. All for now. (I was also asked to ready all of his winter gear for his resupply this week that Jinny is bringing to him in Dalton. All the pictures I see of other hikers in the White Mts are all in the winter gear--temps in low 20's up there)
Date: 2019-06-24
From: Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Secret Tent Site
Miles today: 18.6

Day 99Tonight I stayed in my tent near a spring. The water is very clear and cold which is the best part of a spring. Walking today was easy compared to the two previous days.  I finally had some nice flat walking. There were a few big up hills but there was a ridge waking and long slow down hills which I really like. Well two more days and I will be in Dalton. It is only 23 miles away now so that will be two easy days. I don't want to get there too early, before everything opens. They do have a free shower for hikers which I plan on using as soon as I get there.  It has been awhile since I last showered, so I am really looking forward to it. My plan is to get to Dalton around 9 am, take a shower, then go looking for a restaurant that is open. Jinny will be up with the Auto-stream in the afternoon so I need the nourishment. I did see a few taverns and subs on the map so we will see what is open. All for tonight.
Date: 2019-06-25
From: Secret Tent Site

To: Warner Hill
Miles today: 18.4

Day 100Tonight I am staying at a campsite near Warner Hill about 2 miles south of Kay Wood Shelter.  I wanted to get close to Dalton but not too close so by the time I walk into town places will be open. I am going to sleep in a little later and walk a little slower on the trip into town then wait for Jinny to show up. Today is another big day for me. It has been 100 days of walking so far. Boy the time really went fast!  Today was a very interesting day. I started walking at 6:30 which is about my usual time to start.  I get about 4 miles in when it started raining. It was just a very light rain but constant. At 11 I stopped at a shelter for some lunch. After lunch I started walking again and the clouds opened up. The rain drops actually hurt when they hit me, which was constant! This kept up for about 1 hour. During that time the trail became a mud puddle. The streams became raging torrents.  I was walking through about knee deep water crossing them. When the rain finally slowed up a little I put my rain jacket on (sounds strange to me as he is all ready soaking wet!) I was getting cold.  (I guess I get that) So what happens when you put our rain jacket on, thats right, it stops raining and the sun came out. The jacket still felt good for the warmth.  It is only 5 miles into Dalton tomorrow.  Lets hope for no more rain. I had my phone turned off all day and no pictures.  There really was not any thing to take pictures of anyway. All for now.
Date: 2019-06-26
From: Warner Hill

To: Dalton Campground
Miles today: 4.7

Day 101I slept in, got up at 5:30, and broke camp slowly. I had a leisurely breakfast and walked slowly into town. As soon as I got into town there was a hostel and they invited me in for some soda and food. I left there and went to the Juice and Java for some coffee and a breakfast sandwich with a huge muffin.  From there i went to the Dalton Community House for a shower, then across the street for a burrito the size I have never seen before and all the nachos and salsa you could eat. It is now 12:00 and I am clean and full, what to do now? I might go look for a laundry and do all my clothes, of course the ones I was wearing yesterday already got a good wash with the rain I was walking in. There is a library right here so I might spend some time there. There is no internet connection here so I might be able to get connected there.I will be waiting for Jinny to get here with the Airstream. I just need to keep myself occupied. I don't want to walk anymore today. (Well my mom finally reached FG about 7:30pm! what should have taken about 4.5 hrs took almost 7! About 4.15 I received a text from FG stating that your mother got into an accident in NY. He did not have a lot of information so we had no idea what the damage was. I ended up being the intermediary person between because mom was able to drive but dad could not receive phone calls. So mom did not give me lots of info except I could tell she was frazzled! She exclaimed to me "I am never doing this again!" Turns out she didn't realize that there are roads you can not drive on while towing a trailer, well she went on all 3 of them! She told me that is where my GPS told me to drive (as she was on the 2nd one) I told her, well if you get stopped by the police just explain the situation and I think the worst thing is you will get a ticket. She was ok with that and continued on. about 6.10 mom called and said "well I was pulled over" She explained what she was doing (meeting her husband with his cold weather gear and all) The officer took pity on her and gave her directions on how to get to where she was going using the correct roads. As he was leaving he told her "By the way you have something hanging from your trailer!" Mom replied "Oh I didn't know I backup into a tree!" they took care of it and mom want on her way. So I heard about 7:30 that they were together and headed for the campground. I received the attached photo Thursday and told that mom tried backing up the trailer when she was getting gas and hit a pole..not too bad, just a side swipe. Now they are trying to figure out what to do with the Airstream. I think they are going to leave it up there and George and Roger will use it when they go and do some of their sections, how it will make its way back to Manahawkin is yet to be determined.)
Date: 2019-06-27
From: Dalton Campground

To: Dalton Campgruond
Miles today: 0.0

Day 102Today I took a much needed zero day. Jinny brought up the Airstream yesterday and there was a little mishap along the way.  This delayed her arrival for quite a while. (Dad doesn't know I put in my commentary to fill you in on their adventure yesterday) We finally got to the campground and settled in by 10 at night. I haven't stayed up that late since I started the trail. Well I slept in late like 8 am. I got my resupply and did some shopping.  It seemed like we were busy all day. It is now 6:30 and time for dinner.  We did sneak a bottle of wine in though, with another bottle with dinner. We will see what time I am able to get up tomorrow. I have been looking at what is ahead of me and it isn't real pretty. Lots of big mountains like all of the big time ski resorts are along the way. (Killington and Pico for example, But Mt. Greylock, MA is the next really big mountain-about 3500 feet straight up-according to FG)  Time for dinner then I need to pack and get ready for tomorrow. We are going to be leaving the trailer up here so it will be an easy trip home for Jinny. She will be coming back in a few weeks with my grandson, Roger, and his father, George, to continue their hike.
Date: 2019-06-28
From: Dalton Campgruond

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

Day 103I got started walking today at 11. I am staying at the Mark Noepel Shelter. Up hill for 4 miles which was actually not too bad. A little more uphill tomorrow morning and I will be at the highest point in Massachusetts, Mount Greylock (3491 ft). It was a nice last couple of days. Not much walking and lots of food. It was nice staying in the Airstream. We are leaving it up here and Jinny will be coming back in a few weeks so I will be staying in the Airstream again. I know Roger and George will be coming up soon to do some walking and they want to meet me to climb Mt. Washington. I am not sure when I will be there yet, I have to see how hard these mountains are going to be. Over the next couple of weeks I will be climbing up all or most of the ski resorts mountains like Stratton, Bromley, Killington, and Pico to name just a few. Well I am through for today.  (The picture I chose for today is my son, Roger-the one who got Grumper all excited and into a thru hike! He got his new and improved backpack today and just HAD to call Grumper to talk about it and then to talk about the plans to hike Mt. Washington. Is anyone going to stay in the "Dungeon" or do we change the Hut we stay at..time will tell on that one. But, Mt Washington is about 284 miles away from where Grumper is. I am thinking it will take him about 24 days to get there-a slower pace because of the mountains that are in between.)
Date: 2019-06-29
From: Muskrat Creek SHelter

To: Seth Warner Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: few clouds

Day 104(I only received a few text messages today from Grumper. He texted his pictures from a top Mt Greylock. The picture I chose for today's entry is the view he had while having his breakfast (which I am sure it was a second one) at the lodge on top of Mt. Greylock. Not sure where he was planning on stopping tonight-Vermont AKA Vermud was just shy of 14 miles from where he stayed last night. So did he do those miles or not???)Today was a nice day of walking. I finished climbing Mount Greylock then it was mostly all down hill. Two big milestones today. I passed the 1,600 mile mark and I completed Massachusetts. I am now in Vermont. I am not really impressed with this state so far. Lots of mud and mosquitoes.  There are a lot of large boulders that are balanced and just sitting there. I am talking large boulders here like 20-25 feet in diameter. I don't know why they are here but I passed 4-5 of them in the 1.3 miles I have been in Vermont. The walking tomorrow does not look too bad. I start with a nice climb, but then its mostly down hill until the end which is a big up hill over a 2,000 foot climb. I am really getting excited now only two more states to go.  I really think I am going to make this. Of course the last two states are the toughest.  Well that is all for today.  Shelter is starting to fill up and rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow AM,
Date: 2019-06-30
From: Seth Warner Shelter

To: Catamount Motel
Miles today: 11.5

Day 105Tonight I am staying at the Catamount Motel in Bennington, Vermont. It was raining most of the day, mostly just little rain but late morning it really started coming down. It was a good thing that I was near the road that leads to Bennington. So, I came off the mountain and there was a parking lot with trail magic. SO I went there and sat down and ate and drank. They did have gator aid, water, and beer. So after one half hour of that I asked them if there was a place to stay in town. They mentioned several places and said that they would take me to the hotel. It was like a 4 mile trip to the hotel. There is a shuttle at the hotel that will bring me back to the trail in the morning. Well I am still not impressed with waking in VT. Muddy Trails and slippery rocks is about all I have seen so far.  I know there are some big peeks coming up so I will see what they are like. Today I was just glad to get off the trail and into someplace dry and warm. All for tonight. (Well not quite all for the night! We had spoken to FG this evening about 7:30 and he informed me that he had a knock on his door. When he answered the door, he was invited to join the other hikers (about 8 of them) for an all you can eat BBQ-beer, soda, water, chicken, watermelon, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. Just amazing how much help and surprises the AT hikers get along their journey. I spoke with FG shortly after he arrived at the hotel and he told me he was warming his butt on the heater in the hotel! told me with the rain he walked through he became cold and it was wonderful to be able to get a warm dry place to sleep.)
Date: 2019-07-01
From: Catamount Motel

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: broken clouds

Day 106I walked to the Kid Gore Shelter and I am staying in my tent. It wasn't a long walk today but there is nothing flat and lots of rocks and mud, Vermud is holding up to its name. It was nice to climb the Glastenbury Mountain Lookout Tower (3748 ft). I got some nice pictures from the top. I really liked the sign at the bottom of the tower, "no more than two are allowed to climb". The bugs were really bad at the base of the tower so you climbed quickly and left as soon as you got down. That is really too bad there was a nice pine forest at the base of the tower and it smelled so nice being there, too bad the about all the bugs. Well tomorrows hike is pretty much all down hill except for Stratton Mountain. Which is a 2,000 foot climb up ad down.  Then it is all down hill to Manchester. I am acutally looking forward to climbing Stratton to see how I do. It is pretty much straight up all the way to the top.  Then down the other side. It will be a good test to see where I am at.  Well that is all for today.
Date: 2019-07-02
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Campsite at 1644.3
Miles today: 18.2

Day 107Tonight I am in my tent at a campsite at 1,644.3 miles from Georgia about 3 miles north of Stratton Pond Shelter.  They charge a $5 fee for use of the shelter and campground, so I didn't want to pay that and walked right on past it. I did jump in the lake, Stratton Pond, and went for a swim. The water was beautiful, crystal clear and nice temp.  By doing that I got clean and did laundry at the same time. I am going to do that more often.  It felt really nice! Well I did it, I climbed Stratton Mtn. It actually wasn't too bad (see pictures) I only stopped 3 times. once for a drink and twice for gummy bears. I really thought it would be tougher.  Really nice walking today.  Overcast and cool all morning with a few rain drops in there for good luck. The sun came out just before I started to climb the mountain. Views at the top were really nice, see pictures. I climbed the tower at the top to see over the trees. Only a seven mile walk tomorrow into Manchester. I will be spending the night there and resupplying. All for now.
Date: 2019-07-03
From: Campsite at 1644.3

To: Manchester Hotel
Miles today: 7.5

Day 108Today was a short day of walking into Manchester. I got lucky and got picked up fairly soon while hitch hiking from the trail to the hotel. It is about a 5 mile walk. Once I got here, I took a shower and it was off to town, which is is another 2 miles. I did not get picked up for this part of the trip. While I was in town I went to Price Chopper, a grocery store, McDonald's, back to Price Chopper, and then Ben & Jerry's. While at McDonald's, I had a Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, with 3 large sodas and no ice, my usual when I go to McDonald's. Today was mostly all down hill day with a few small up hills thrown in just to keep you awake.  The mud is trying to dry up a little but its still quite messy. maybe if we don't get any more rain in the next 5 months it will dry up HAHAHAHAH! Tomorrows walk looks a little tougher with several large uphills but that is all part of the walk. It really does seem strange laying around in a bed at 3 o'clock watching TV. That is all for today.  There is one other thing I wanted to mention, which I forgot about. It is now 11 at m=night and it just came to mind. While walking today I saw moose tracks in the mud. Very fresh tracks too. The hoof of a moose is quite large about the size of my hand with two prominent hooves. Just the size of them meant they were moose. It walked down the trail maybe 200 yards then went off to ado whatever moose do.  i was really excited to see them. Now I just have to see the moose that made them.
Date: 2019-07-04
From: Manchester Hotel

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 109*Be sure to read the addendum to yesterday's entry-I was sent it 3 days later!Tonight I am staying in my tent at Lost Pond Shelter. I got here real early like 2:00. I set up my tent, got my water, washed up in the stream a little and ate dinner.  it is hot and sticky out with no breeze so that makes it seem even worse. I got up early at 5 and packed and had breakfast. it is like a 5 mile trip on the road to get to the trailhead.  i did walk about half a mile before someone stopped and gave me a ride. Hitch hiking in Vermud is not easy. What am I saying of course it is easy, getting a ride is the hard part. So many cars just drive right on past. I took two showers yesterday so I should be good for today.  it was really nice getting into town yesterday and some real food.  I had this one section while walking today which was real nice. All rock slab about 200 yards long tilted at a 40-45 degree angle. I am glad it wasn't wet.  I only have 17.6 miles to route 103 where Jinny is picking me up Saturday morning. We left the trailer up here and well be staying in it again for a few days.  Going to Tanglewood one day.  All for now.
Date: 2019-07-05
From: Lost Pond Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

Day 110Tonight I am staying in my tent at the Minerva Hinchey Shelter. Not a real nice shelter, but the spring is ice cold and crystal clear. That is worth staying here for. I only have a 2.7 mile walk tomorrow to get to Rt 103 which is where Jinny will be picking me up tomorrow morning. I am going to take a few days off. We are going to Tanglewood to see the Boston Pops and have dinner on top of Greylock Mountain, you can drive up there too! Today's walking was not too bad.  I climbed my third Bear Mountain today, which wasn't too bad.  other than that it was a fairly easy day.  Tomorrow morning will be all down hill to get to Route 103. Then I will wait for my ride. I will still get up at 5 and be walking by 6 am as usual. I am glad to be getting off the trail for a few days. Legs are a little weary and I need a break.  When I get back to the trail I will be passing the 500 mile to the end point.  That's exciting!
Date: 2019-07-06
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Dalton Campground
Miles today: 2.7

Day 111A real short day today. I walked from Minerva Shelter to Rt 103 and was picked up by Jinny. We stayed in the Airstream at the same campsite and spot we were in a few weeks ago. As usual when I am in town I eat way too much. Brownies and whoopie pies with a 1/2 gallon of milk will do that to you. Well there is no walking for the next several days. We will be doing stuff around here but driving to the places and not walking. I need the time off to heal a little. My lower back, hips, and toes could use several days to recuperate. Today was short and mostly all down hill. Which made it even easier.  Even-though I will not be walking, I have been looking in the book to see what is coming up and there are several big mountains. Along with that I have the 500 miles to Katahdin and the 1700 mile mark. It is turning more into a countdown rather then how many miles I have done. But either way I still have to do the miles. I am getting excited about the White Mountains also. All for today.
Date: 2019-07-07
From: Dalton Campground

To: Airstream in Dalton
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Day 112Today was a big zero! No walking today.  i stayed at the trailer. We went out for breakfast at a nice little place near Tanglewood then went in to watch the concert. Of course I finished off the whole top layer of Whoopie pies with the three cups of coffee before we left for breakfast.  After the concert we drove up to Greylock Mountain and had a wonderful dinner with several glasses of wine. All in all it was a great zero day. I saw George and Roger and had a good time with that. Tomorrow will be another zero day.  (When my mom sent me the photo I used today, she commented by asking if Roger could get any closer Grumper? The three hiking buddies spent the evening discussing their upcoming 9 day hike together)
Date: 2019-07-08
From: Airstream in Dalton

To: Airstream in Dalton
Miles today: 0.0

Day 113Well another zero day. It doesn't do much for getting one to the end of the trail, but it sure makes one feel better. My legs and back are well rested.  I really didn't do that much today. I just laid around and went shopping with Jinny. It sure feels good to walk without a pack on your back. I start back on the trail tomorrow. I really am looking forward to doing a few miles. Of course Killington Mountain is the first thing I start with. All for today.(The picture for today is of the sunset from Mount Greylock after the dinner with George and Roger)
Date: 2019-07-09
From: Airstream in Dalton

To: Just shy of Kilington Peak
Miles today: 7.2

Day 114Well another day in the trailer, sleeping late and eating a lot.  yesterday I picked up my grandson and his father who were walking the trail and they did little slack packing. I haven't seen them since before I left for my walk. It was sure nice seeing them again.  I had a little baseball catch with Roger. I am glad he did not through hard. Today we had breakfast then packed up the trailer and they drove me to my start point, 90 minutes north. It really did feel good to be walking again even though it was almost all uphill all day long. I didn't start walking until 11 so I just did a short day to ease into this again. I passed the sign that said 500 miles to Katahdin, which I was excited about. only 500 more miles (see the pictures). I am still not sure if I am going to the summit of Killington Mtn.  They do run a ski lift on the side of the mountain that will be a lot of people up there but there is also a restaurant up there which makes me want to do it. I still have a little over 4 miles of up to think about it. I will let you know tomorrow.
Date: 2019-07-10
From: Just shy of Kilington Peak

To: Long Trail Inn
Miles today: 12.6

Day 115I am staying at Long Trail Inn. It was a little further of the trail then I like, but I went anyway. The place is nice and they have a bar/restaurant in the building. I had to have a couple of Long Trail draft beers with dinner. I passed two more ski mountains today: Killington Mountain and Pico Mountain. There was a lot of big ups and downs today. Today I passed the 1700 mile mark from Springer Mountain in Georgia. I am really starting to get excited about finishing this trail. I know I have The White Mountains coming up with Mt. Washington and the rest of the Presidential range, but I am looking past those places to the final mountain.  Every day it is getting closer and closer. It was interesting today to see signs stating that Pico Mountain has an abundance of porcupines and to keep dogs on leashes. I walked there expecting to see them but not a one showed up. Tomorrow there will be one big uphill then just a bunch of small stuff. I will let you know.