morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-08-22
From: Race MT

To: Tom Leopold Shelter 
Miles today: 18.6

I walked until after dark tonight, wanting to make 20 but in the end settling for 19. I found a nice spot under some pine trees, lots of needles for a cushion that I couldn't pass up.I walked through a lovely ravine tonight, just before the Massachusetts border, Sags Ravine it is called. The trail follows the brook all the way down the mountain, another Bear mountain. The climb down was rocky and difficult and when I finished I sat down to eat my dinner, not wanting yet another night of eating in the dark.After dinner I walked through the ravine stopping often to take pictures. At one point I stopped to wash my hands to take out my contacts. I left my pack beside the trail 20 feet up and walked down to wash. I suddenly heard a metalic sound, looked up to see my titanium pot rolling end over end down the hill, until it hit a rock and was launched into the brook! The lid went one way, the pot the other, and the red bag I keep my glasses in another. I jumped into action, not wanting, like my sandals, to lose this stuff! Lucky for me there was a long stick laying nearby which I grabbed to get my pot and red bag, then I reached in and retrieved the lid. Just as I was walking back to where I'd left the soap, the rest of the backpack fell over and that too began rolling down the hill toward the brook! I caught it before it went in.
Date: 2008-08-23
From: Tom Leopold Shelter 

To: Goose Pond Rd
Miles today: 18.1

What is most notable about this day is that I battled swarms of mosquitoes. If I stopped for even a second they were on me--very aggressive little devils! Around 6:00pm I was so hungry and knew I wanted to hike a few more miles so I decided to sit and eat dinner. Bad idea. I had my "lounge chair" all set up, cooked my mash potatoes (a food I was going to try on the advice of someone, maybe add a bit of tuna to it). By the time I was actually ready to eat I was dying from the swarms of mosquitoes that by then, had found me and signaled all of their friends. I didn't like the mash potatoes--too dry and couldn't bring myself to add the tuna. I ate as fast as possible, swatting mosquitoes with every bite. Finally I did something my brother Ken would call "fling-ums" which means I put the remaining fork fulls on the fork and flung them with gusto into the woods. Not recommended but in this case, fine. I crazily packed up my belongings and hit the trail running.
Date: 2008-08-24
From: Goose Pond Rd

To: Grange Hall Rd
Miles today: 20.9

2:00 As I sit here in a pine forest a giant rock the size of a house behind me, I am once again subject to what I have determined should be called "the fluttering of the moths." This is a phenomenon that began in VA, lasted for aabout two weeks and then died. I never wrote about it and thought I'd seen the last of it. Not so, as is obvious now. The phenomenon is this: this species of moth it seems is attracted to me (and other sweaty hikers) in droves. As many as 10 have been around me at the same time, fluttering up and down any patches of bare skin. They especially like the small of my back and seem to always find a way to get up the back of my shirt when I am sitting down. They proceed to flutter around up and down my legs, my back, my arms. They obviously are attracted to perspiration and hikers have plenty! They are confusing us with female moths. This fluttering positively drives me crazy, but it is far better and more preferable to mosquitoes that bite. I'll take the fluttering of the moths anyday. 9:30pm I set up camp late, two hours after dark. At dusk I continued walking, not getting out my headlamp but just using what was left of the remaining light. It was peaceful. I moved silently through the forest, my eyes adjusting to the coming darkness. Oh, it reminded me of all those night hikes I led so long ago! And loved leading. A good time of day to be out. People were always amazed at how well they could see in the dark. Of course then I always knew the trail and chose it because it was mostly smooth and rock-free. This is a whole different ball game! I could fall off a cliff or in a hole or any nubmer of things. I walked that way until about 8:30 when I came to an opening at a power line. I stepped out from the forest into a swath of field and saw below in the valley lights everywhere. It looked beautiful. Then after that my night vision was ruined and I had to get out the headlamp. I continued walking for another half hour, past the shelter, the road crossing and down into the ravine where I wasted not time in finding a flat place to set up for the night.
Date: 2008-08-25
From: Grange Hall Rd

To: Stream
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

I was up and hiking today by 5:45, knowing I had 11 miles to go before lunchtime and my rendezvous with Honey in the small town of Cheshire, MA.Mornings are so quiet and peaceful. I am usually in a great mood after a good night's sleep and anxious to see what's in store for the day. Most days "what's in store" are LOTS of ups and downs. Sometimes I get so angry with this trail! It is so windy and indirect and sometimes we scale a hill for no apparent reason other than that it's there. I put my music on after a couple of hours of silence. Made it to Dalton where I washed up in the convenience store bathroom, had a quick breakfast treat and was back on my way.The trail took me all the way down Main street of Dalton where all around me people were rushing to be somewhere.I arrived in Cheshire several hours later and a full 30 minutes before I was supposed to be there. Once again, as I was exiting the forest, Frank came driving up the road! We had a delicious and very relaxing lunch in town, ordered a bunch of things to nibble on instead of one big thing. Holly--the owner came over to chat with us a while.After lunch we headed out to the truck to re-pack and get situated. It was the easiest re-supply yet! All I did was open up the box and transfer the food to my pack. Then Honey dropped me back at the trail and I ddi another 6.8 miles before setting up camp. I camped just about 1 1/2 miles from the summit of Mt Graylock. My gosh it was COLD!!! I had to get out all my clothes and bundle up, glad for my winter sleepingbag. a taste of what I'm in for come September.
Date: 2008-08-26
From: Stream

To: power line
Miles today: 16.7

8:06am As I write I sit beside a small pond near the summit of Mt. Greylock. It is a chilly morning--my first taste of things to come. I have on all the clothes I have with me--two pair of pants, a tank top, turtleneck and fleece, winter hat. But I am sitting with the sun on my face and it feels heavenly. I will summit this mountain and walk on, am hoping to do 20 today.later... Mt Greylock was nice--I had it all to myself, not a soul around. Took lots of pictures and then moved on down the mountain, trying to stay warm.
Date: 2008-08-27
From: power line

To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: clear sky

Another beautiful morning. And again I am enjoying breakfast with the sun on my face, glorying in the quiet. Today I sit atop a section of beaver dam looking east over a small pond. Insects (the non-biting kind!) are everywhere, white specks moving in the sunlight above the water.Behind me I can hear the gentle flow of the water over rocks. There is a flock of cedar waxwings in some small beech trees nearby and swallows flit out above the still water. A few mintues ago I watched a lone beaver tooling out across the pond. A grand spot to have breakfast!!!
Date: 2008-08-28
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Kelly Stand Rd
Miles today: 12.5

Only two days into Vermont and already the forest is noticeably different. It is dense, full of tussocks and spongy ground, spfagnam moss and other plants I don't know. One has leaves like a lady's slipper and then a tall stalk with some blue berries on top, like saphire, they are beautiful! Last night I walked again into dark, on and on and on until finally when I thought I could walk no more, I stumbled into the clearing of the shelter. My gosh, you should have seen the stars!!!!!!!!!! It was fabulous, nothing but stars and stars and stars gleaming in the ceiling of black. And the planet Mars too, which was big and obvious. How lucky I am. It made the long walk worthwhile.
Date: 2008-09-02
From: Rutland

To: Lookout Farm Rd
Miles today: 18.0

Today was a hard day, not so much physically as mentally. I hiked much of it alone, with my music for company. Seems like the closer I get to Maine, the harder it is to keep at this. I just want to be done, back to the comforts of modern life.Hope tomorrow is better.
Date: 2008-09-04
From: stream

To: ?
Miles today: 0.0

It was a long morning filled with...guess what? Lots of ups and downs, more ups and downs. At 10:30 I emerged from the woods onto the road into Norwich, Vermont then over the river and on into New Hampshire. It was very hot and hard going--walking on the asphalt is so hard and painful on my sore feet. Setting up my tent was a nightmare as was hanging the bear bag. Though I know I shouldn't, I again was forced to eat in my tent as it was either that or skip a hot dinner. I wasn't about to sit outside and get eaten alive.
Date: 2008-09-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 18.0

Some highlights of today:Before lunch I was sitting at an overlook having a snack when a group of college freshman came up and joined us. They sat and talked a while--surprised when I said I'd been walking since May and that I was headed for Maine. I so enjoyed talking with them!!! They gave me a delicious apple and offered lots of good luck wishes as we went on down the trail. Later, I came to a sign by a pond that said "Free water and ice cream." I walked off the trail, crossed a dirt road and saw a house, walked up the driveway, looked around, wondering what to do. An older guy named Bill stepped out and welcomed us, asked if we would like some ice cream. Would we like some ice cream! That's funny! Of course we would. So he went inside and came back out with two fudge popsicles. Then we sat on the front step of his house and he asked us some questions, recording the answers in a notebook that he keeps. Seems he is doing a kind of survey of AT hikers, showed us his records which were very interesting. For instance, last year the ratio of men to woman hiking was 4:1. The year before it was 3:1. The most popular age of those hiking it thru is 23-25. And so on. He was fun to talk to and I wished I had been able to stay longer. I am learning that it is the people who really make this trail special and memorable. Not necessarily the trail itself. Camped at Smarts Mountain--outside the shelter despite the frigid temperatures.(I just would rather be in my own tent! Can get a better night sleep) But before retiring to my tent I sat at the fire circle (we had no fire though as it was way too windy) and cooked my dinner with the others there--Razor, Cloud and Lead Dog. It was fun to sit and talk with them, so different than cooking and eating by myself. After dark I walked the short trail to the firetower and went to the top. Yikes! It was windy and cold and a bit scary, walking up all of those steps at night. But it was neat--to look out from the cabin at the top and see mostly dark, just a few lights twinkling far far away.
Date: 2008-09-06
From: Firewardens cabin

To: Glencliff
Miles today: 20.0

This morning I got up early to watch the sunrise from the firetower. My gosh, it was beyond incredible! I was above the clouds, looking out at mountains, fog blanketing the valleys. In every direction all that could be seen was mountains. I will carry with me forever the feeling I had as I looked out those windows at the sun rising in the east, the wind pushing the fog around, the way the light changed every second, the sound of the wind. Lead Dog and Razor were there too and together the three of us watched the sun come up and disappear behind the curtain of clouds. I sat and enjoyed my breakfast of a pop tart, orange and hard-boiled egg. After sunrise I hiked on down the mountain, then up MT. Cube, down Mt. Cube and then up Mt. Misy, then down again. It rained pretty much all day--getting harder around 2 and continuing into dark. It was a hard day.
Date: 2008-09-09
From: South Kinsman

To: interstate 93
Miles today: 7.0

I was concened when I got into my tent last night that I would be cold all night, would get no sleep, but my sleepingbag was cozy and warm. I had a great night sleep, woke this moring around 5:30, looked out of my tent and saw clear skies. So maybe a good sunrise. I got dressed in all of my layers again, looked at the book, packed up some of my things and then went outside. What an amazing place to be to see the sunrise!!!!!!!! The eastern sky had some color already and there was blankets of fog down in the valleys, between the blue layers of mountains. When the sun finally came up it wasn't the ball of fire I wanted, but it did give a little color--a line of orange through an opening in the clouds over the horizon. Then the clouds blew in over us and wiped out the view. Talk about fabulous timing! We started the descent, which surprise, surprise, was just as hard as the trip up. Nothing but slanted rock slabs that you had to manuever. And if that wasn't bad enough it started to thunder and lightning and then the skies opened up and the rain poured down--a cold rain. We walked on slowly, once again not able to make very good time. The trail was an old stream bed, which maybe on a clear day would have been dry, but today it became a raging river. So my feet of course were soaked and it made everything that much slicker. At 10 we reached the first of the famed "huts" here, run by the AMC. (Hut is misleading. These huts are buildings, with rooms to rent for $90 and an outdoor bathroom with composting toilets, no shower. The price includes two meals, served in a large room with picnic tables. No electicity.) It was pouring and we were both soaked and chilled to the bone so we went in and got a hot bowl of corn chowder and a cup of hot chocolate, sat there awhile and wrote in our journals. But of course we had to hike on, even though the rain hadn't let up. So on we went. At the road crossing by interstate 93 we decided to call it a day, despite the low mileage because in 3 miles we would be on Franconia Ridge--and above treeline then for several miles. So many people have said Franconia Ridge is the most beautiful section of the entire trail. We didn't want to start it in the pouring rain, thus eliminating any chance at seeing any views at all. And I surely don't want to get stuck camping above treeline in a thunder storm. So we got a ride into town and will hope for a clear day tomorrow.
Date: 2008-09-10
From: interstate 93

To: Zealand Falls
Miles today: 17.4

I hiked the famous Franconia Ridge today, a place so many people have said is among their favorite spots on all of the AT. I can see why! Unlike yesterday, the weather today was beautiful, cool and fall like, but with plenty of sun. The hiking as always was a challenge but being on the ridge was worth it. My gosh, I was high up, surrounded by mountains. It was spectacular! And again, it was so amazing to get up there and to look back, way down in the valley and see the road winding along where I'd been only hours ago. First came Little Haystack Mountain (elev.4760) which was above treeline. From it I could look across and see the next mountain, Mt. Lincoln,(elev. 5089) also above treeline. It was odd to finally be walking and actually see where I was going rather than the tunnel of green I have been used to. It looked closer than it was--over a mile away from Haystack. And after Lincoln came Mt. Lafayette (elev. 5249) another mile away.The wind was wicked and it was cold. I was bundled up in several layers including two hats and my heavy winter mittens. There were lots of other hikers there, many from other countries. Lead Dog and I chose a great lunch spot, out of the wind and off of the trail overlooking nothing but mountains and a small pond far far away down in the valley. The only downside (and this isn't really much of a downside!) was that I sat in a blueberry patch and wound up with smushed blueberries all over the back of my pants. At least they weren't cranberries! Anyway. The trail continued above treeline for several miles and as always I stopped often to take pictures. At one point after we were once again in the tunnel of green Lead Dog and I were walking along on a section of trail that required some difficult rock scrambling. ("rock scrambling" with regards to the AT seems to mean treacherous and potentially deadly.) He was ahead of me and came to a spot where the trail was narrow, boxed in by rock on one side and trees on the other. There was a thin root over a gaping hole, which if you misstepped, could put you down 8 feet. Lead Dog says to me in warning, "Lookout here, this could be exciting." I was careful to avoid falling in the hole!
Date: 2008-09-11
From: Zealand Falls

To: Mispah Hut/Nauman Tent site
Miles today: 14.1

8:30 pm I am lying in my tent, hudled in my sleeping bag trying to get warm. I don't have a thermometer but I can tell it is COLD, certainly under 40 degrees I would guess. I just finished dinner, which I ate outside in the dark. Rocksie, Root C, and Lead Dog are camped nearby as we are all at this AMC hut and tent platform site. I get an attitude about having to 1. pay money to set up my tent on a wooden platform and 2. not be allowed to set up where I want but am forced to use the group site even though it is well past dark and I can't picture too many more hikers showing up at this hour. For what am I paying $8? There is no shower and no bathroom, unless you count the outdoor privy which is exactly like all the ones at the shelters that are free. I like to be able to move around freely and not worry that I am disturbing everyone. I HIGHLY dislike New Hampshire. I know it is beautiful, that the mountains and views are unmatched (except maybe Maine) by the other states but I hate the trail conditions. Much of the trail seems to just be a dry stream bed which of course is nothing but rocks rocks and more rocks. So in that way it is much like Pennsylvania. BUT, unlike Pennsylvania, here if you make a wrong step it could get you in serious trouble with a good chance of broken bones. So much of the trail is climbing up and over rocks. And I don't mean like taking a two foot step up, I mean like reaching a rock slab that extends 20 feet and then having to find a way to the top of it. Sometimes this means using a half an inch ledge or trusting your boot to grip the rock or grabbing onto a tree beside the trail and hoping it will hold your weight. I am amazed at some of the things the makers of the AT thought we could do. In so many places it seems just like rock climbing only without the safety of a harness and rope. So that if you fall, you fall. And there is no way around in most cases. I must find a way, even if it means being petrified that I will slide, fall, slip and wind up hurt. I had no idea the trail would be this way and am sure if I knew I would not have attempted the challenge called the AT.(Yes, of course I realize I should have done a little research!) I am always worried about stepping wrong and dislocating a knee, something which those who know me know has happened in the past. Many times I am forced to remove my pack, set it above me and then climb up without that added pressure. Or if I am going down I often end up sitting and sliding down the rock face rather than taking a giant step. Sometimes I rely on an offered hand should Lead Dog happen to be with me at that moment. I think it is a miracle that anyone finishes this trail and I can easily understand why so many get injured and are forced to quit. I think it will be a miracle if I make it to Maine without a major injury.
Date: 2008-09-19
From: east B hill rd!

To: south arm road
Miles today: 10.0

Another day of slack-packing!And what a beautiful day it was--I so loved it!And the best part was that I finally saw a moose!!!!!! Lead Dog and I were at the shelter, having just sat down for a minute to look at the trail journal when we heard a loud cracking sound from behind us. We jumped up and hurried back there looking through the trees to find the source of the noise. And there, hurrying along away from the shelter was a moose! She seemed especially skittish and so neither of us got any pictures. But that's okay, I feel sure I will see more!! (Am hoping for a big bull moose standing at the edge of a pond, water dripping from his massive antlers.If I picture it enough, maybe it will come true.)
Date: 2008-09-20
From: south arm road

To: spring
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: clear sky

BAck on the trail with my heavy pack after two wonderful days of slack-packing and eating real food. I loved the time with my mom and Bob and Lead Dog's wife, Evelyn. We had a nice dinner together, sat relaxing and enjoying some wine and delicious food, talking about the trail and other trips. It is always hard to get back on the trail after that, to once again give up all of the modern day conveniences that most people take for granted. How being on the trail has taught me to appreciate things! Now, at 11:53pm I am having lunch. I am sitting in a tiny clearing within the woods. The ground is soft and cushiony and covered with pine needles. Better than a lush carpet you buy at a store! On the branches in front of me there are so many strands of silk, blowing in the gentle breeze, lit by the sun, like tinsel on a Christmas tree. It is so incredibly still and silent--no bird songs or insects, nothing motorized, no planes overhead or voices. It is a most perfect fall day and I feel rich. So far the hiking has been nice--a trail with dirt and not full of rock scrambles every step of the way. A few kinglets have come into view, out of the pines and just 15 feet away. They are chittering and seem curious about my presence here in their forest. I am so excited to be in Maine!!!!!! It is hard for me to believe sometimes when I think about it, that I WALKED here from Georgia! Suddenly, in the past few days I don't feel so desperate to get finshed. Lately I am loving being out here. I have found myself so often stopping to revel in the moment--to try and absorb and memorize the feeling so later when I'm off the trail I can remember back and relive it. I figure about 17 more days until Katahdin. I have looked ahead and read about the trail and points of interest and only feel excitement for what lies ahead. How lucky am I to be here and see this--to witness the changing of the seasons. Fall is surely the greatest time of the year and I am enjoying every minute of it, the cool temperatures, the colored leaves that decorate the trail, the wind sending leaves falling to the ground, the puddles and ponds that reflect orange and red and yellow...I am in the homestretch now, feel like a child wating in anticipation for Christmas day. But unlike a child, I want to savor this last part of this grand journey, draw it out and make it last for I know a part of me will feel sadness when it is over.