morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-27
From: dalton, ma

To: mount greylock, ma
Miles today: 17.0

day 124 tue jul 27   17.0 mi 1570.8 totalbascom lodge, mt. greylock, ma   this is tad nippy (cue the low, calm harrison ford voice, the one brimming with mellifluosity, please) with the weather, and you are listening to the boon toolies radio network. this just in: SOHO has reported a category humongous (i love it when they talk technical) coronal mass ejection from the upper left quadrant of the sun, pacing out at warp factor nine, with a bearing passing through mt. greylock on through the hanover, nh area. strangely, it started to transmogrify into a hurricane, tentative name: meanderthal, then morphed into a wondrous cold front, that may bring us sunny and cool weather and help keep them skeeters down. this has been tad nippy, and now back to you, bianca.    i've always thought you were a has-been, tad. and now for some real radio.   papabear and i get up early and walk to a good diner for breakfast, trading trail stories all the way. later i head out at 8, just as it starts to rain. along the way i meet X84 (chris), curtis and maria from virginia.   in cheshire about noon, i find a pizza place, my new friends show up, and chris says we need to phone in reservations if we want to stay at bascom lodge, so we do.   i visit reynold's hardware for fuel and ice cream. two kids, a brother and sister about 11, come in with 50 cents apiece for candy. i chip in 50 cents so the girl can get an ice cream, just 'cause she looked wistfully at mine. later badger tells me she yogied it out of me. he might be right.   evelyn works the counter. she looks to be in her seventies. she and the store are pure normal rockwell. she asks about my trip, with a wonderful eager expression. as i shake her hand, i look to make sure there isn't a normal rockwell calendar on the wall, with the two of us in one of his paintings.   on the way up greylock i meet tinkerbell, a sobo from virginia, who absolutely loved maine.   at bascom lodge, chris, curtis, maria, and i share a bunkroom and then have dinner together, which was first rate. chris and curtis are brothers, curtis and maria are a couple, maria is studying to be a vet. we trade animal stories. she says she knew of a horse that was 56.   ten of us gather around a great fire in the fireplace. five beers tells me about hiking with flashhand, the deaf mute, and recommends the inn at long trail in vermont.
Date: 2004-07-28
From: mount greylock, ma

To: seth warner shelter, vt
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

day 125 wed jul 28   13.2 mi 1584.0 totalseth warner shelter, vt   breakfast at bascom was very, verrry good to me. i head out about 9 (shame on me), down the mountain to north adams, and a supermarket. in town i see lint with his girlfriend, kelly, i think. she's beautiful, lint. hey. i can say that without being covetous.   at the store, an older couple offer me a chance to shower. i decline, as i took one last night and another this morning. it's funny how it didn't feel right to say no, thank you.   just before reaching the woods again, i meet a wonderful pair of older, scratch that...hmm ... a wonderful pair of women, alda and jeanne, relaxing on their porch. they let me take their picture, and they tease the men with them, who were camera shy.   two miles later i cross into vermont.   the first several miles of the long trail has some very impressive mud, extended stretches of it. methinks it has been rainy here. i share the shelter with two college age guys, doughnut boy and fancy pants. they've done some serious exploration of the presidentials and the pemigewasset wilderness. i'm impressed; they only started backpacking two years ago, and they seem to know some of the less-travelled trails.
Date: 2004-07-29
From: story spring shelter, vt

To: melville nauheim shelter, vt
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

day 126 thu jul 29   13.1 mi 1596.8 totalmelville nauheim shelter, vt   lots of mud, lots of water in the trail, with one limited view from harmon hill.   there's a family with teenage boys in the shelter. i hang my hammock a ways away for some solitude and a chance to catch up on this journal. doughnut boy, chris actually, comes by to chat. he's majoring in law enforcement and is working as a harbormaster in marion, mass, on the cape. he's a likeable guy, a good egg, but don't tell him i say that.
Date: 2004-07-30
From: seth warner shelter, vt

To: story spring shelter, vt
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: broken clouds

day 127 fri jul 30   17.4 mi 1614.2 totalstory spring shelter, vt   it's sunny and mild and db (chris) and fp and i hike to the top of glastenbury mtn (3748 ft) and climb the old firetower, built in 1927. the roof and windows are gone. the views are incredible and we see wooded mountains for miles and miles, with no trace of towns, villages or farms. the experience, coming out of a long long stretch deep in the woods with no views to that expansive panorama reminded me of the scene in alive: the story of the andes survivors, where they hike for weeks, then get to a point where they think there's a town over the next ridge. but there's no sign of civilization.   sue and pipesmoke left notes for me back at goddard shelter. they're about day ahead. it would be great to hike with them again. i might be able to catch up by hanover, but i'm not going to overdo it on this terrain just to catch up with them. and chris and fp are pretty good company.
Date: 2004-07-31
From: story spring shelter, vt

To: stratton pond, vt
Miles today: 10.6

day 128 sat jul 31   10.6 mi 1624.8 totalstratton pond, vt   mist pulled into the shelter last night. i would have guessed he was a week ahead, but he stopped for a bit, when his buddy bones had some trouble.   we leapfrogged to stratton mtn summit, and met the caretaker there, jeanne joudry. she and her hubby did fire watching from the tower 30 years ago, went off to nyc for a spell, and came back as gmc (green mtn club) caretakers. when i happened to offer her my sean connery impression, she tells me she met him in an elevator in nyc. she also says that there were at one time around here, more services and places to stay for thru-hikers, but some bad egg hikers behaved poorly, and people here became wary and less generous.   hiking on to the gondola, i meet pipesmoke coming up from stratton village. he had to wait a day for a package; and he suggested a good place to eat. the ride down the mtn in a gondola was fantastic, even surreal. and the food down in the village was great.   people in the village and on the trail are talking about heavy rains coming this evening. i gondola back up to the summit and hike down to stratton pond tentsite. the caretaker comes by as i'm eating and i say: i'm guessing your name is kate. "how'd you know that?" "we'd met and talked up on lafayette ridge last september." and then she remembered.   she's a wild woman, with assyrian ancestry. she chops down blowdowns (almost 40 this season) and mucks out privies with a smile. she went to work in haleakala, hawaii, this past winter, and is working on a degree through audubon expeditions institute. i'm very glad to meet you again, kate .   and rain it did.
Date: 2004-08-01
From: stratton pond, vt

To: manchester center, vt
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: light rain

day 129 sun aug 1   10.5 mi 1635.3 totalmanchester ctr, vt   there's a slight breeze blowing through my hammock, carrying a hint of a fragrance that nudges me awake. what is that delicate bouquet? could it be my socks on the line nearby? i don't understand; they didn't smell that bad four days ago. perhaps i should switch to a fresh pair.   gathering up my gear, i head out and hike til late morning, stopping by a rushing stream deep in the vermont woods. midway through lunch, i notice a tall, elderly man approaching. there's something translucent about him. and he's wearing a pith helmet...why, it's the ghost of earl shaffer, the first man to thru-hike the AT, way back in 1948.   "who you callin' elderly, meanderthal? you ain't exactly a spring chicken yerself."   "sorry, mr. shaffer. i don't mean no disparagement by it. could i offer you some lunch?"   "fair enough," he says, and we shake hands, as if to confirm a tentative meeting of the minds.   "what do you think of the trail so far?" he asks. i tell him, "it's the people i meet; that's what impresses me most. people like pipesmoke, halfmoon, miss janet, and jeanne joudry. they've been great, you know, thoughtful and considerate."   "yah," he says, "and then you've got the young greenhorns who do a piece of the trail, and git blusterful, and think the world owes them free food and lodging. and then some of them spread lies and false gossip about decent folk like baltimore jack and officer taco."   "maybe they're slow learners, yes? they've got a ways to go."   "that's fer sure. and so do we. meanderthal, i'd like to hike with you for bit, but i was wonderin' if you'd do me a kindness?"   "sure, earl, what would that be?"   "could you burn those socks, and put on a fresh pair?"
Date: 2004-08-02
From: manchester center, vt

To: peru peak shelter, vt
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: scattered clouds

day 130 mon aug 2   10.1 mi 1645.4 totalperu peak shelter, vt   reaching the paved road yesterday, i caught a ride immediately with the first vehicle to go by, to within a mile of manchester center. i ate a good lunch at zoey's double hex restaurant, and got a second ride even more quickly with mudpuppy and woodchopper, thru-hikers from 5 years ago, and trail magicians currently.   in town, i ask directions from a local man, who i recognize as a hollywood actor. he starts to get evasive and asks, "are you sure?" i ask him, "what is your name sir?" "david strathairn."   "you were in a movie a few years ago set in alaska."   "yes, i confess; it was called limbo, with mary elizabeth mastrantonio."   "that was an excellent movie!" and i shake his hand. twice.   imagine that.   doughnut boy, fancy pants, i'm sorry you had to leave your hike early. i really enjoyed your company. i would like to hike with you guys again. if you are interested, you could email me at the address shown after you click on the "about" button on this page.   dinner at the sirloin saloon was excellent, and fran the waitress was a delight. and this morning up for breakfast cafe had the best belgian waffles.   shared this shelter with king david, a sobo episcopal priest, pilot (no. 2) and vapor trails, and 2 girls from ohio out for 2 days. it was their first time in a shelter and they were so excited about it.
Date: 2004-08-03
From: peru peak shelter, vt

To: minerva hinchey shelter. vt
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: few clouds

day 131 tue aug 3   19.6 mi 1665.0 totalminerva hinchey shelter, vt   the views west from baker peak were beautiful, with small farms tucked up high in sunny mountain valleys. it looked a bit like parts of switzerland.   later on high rocks, i met LJ, a pilot with us air express, who thru-hiked in '99; out for 5 days this time.   i shared a shelter with 2 sobos from ohio, who had a well-behaved husky mix with them. the skeeters were bad, and as there was more than enough room in the shelter, they (the hikers, not the skeeters) set up some netting, and i hung my hammock.
Date: 2004-08-04
From: minerva hinchey shelter. vt

To: killington peak, vt
Miles today: 13.8

day 132 wed aug 4   13.8 mi 1678.8 totalkillington peak, vt   at the whistlestop cafe, i make my way through three monster blueberry pancakes. two sisters run the cafe in what was originally a train station, and there's a caboose right next to it, that serves as an ice cream stand. i look around for towanda (but, evelyn, how could you accidently hit a car seven times?), but she's not here right now. a quarter mile down the road, their mother runs the general store, where i had hoped to pick up my next food drop package, but a third party has taken it by mistake to rutland, 5 miles away. "mom" gets on the phone, and a guy name of alex drives my package from rutland. actually he drives a car, but you get my drift.   back at the cafe, kayla, 15 year old daughter and niece to the sisters, is doing double duty as the waitress while also serving ice cream at the caboose. she hates math, but gets to laughing as she struggles to figure out people's change for their bills. she's cheerful and inquisitive, and seems happy to be here. later she confides she was struggling with leukemia a year ago. what a remarkable person.   so i'm hiking up killington and who should i see coming down but blueberry bert and goodtime, working their way back home to connecticut, flipflopping, southbound. so very good to see you two again.   on top of killington, the views are incredible. i can see into new york and new hampshire. in fact, there's the white mountains, way way off on the eastern horizon. i'm guessing they are maybe 60 miles away; very faint, pale blue. my home away from home.   i spend the night in cooper lodge, a rough-hewn stone hut a few hundred yards down from the summit. the sunset was gorgeous. i love the mountains of northern new england, especially in august and september.   and oh, the sunsets.
Date: 2004-08-05
From: killington peak, vt

To: the inn at long trail, vt
Miles today: 8.2

day 133 thu aug 5   8.2 mi 1687.0 totalthe inn at long trail, vt   up at 6:00. temp about 53. i hear the forecast has changed from heavy rains to sunny, then down in the 40s tonight.   i meet some trail maintainers, and we have a great time laughing and joking. a sobo name of vagabond, from washington state shows up and joins in. later there's another sobo, name of creamy, from illinois. i'm outnumbered! with no other nobos in sight today! that's good enough reason to head to the inn and the irish pub there. that, and the fact it' ll be in the 40s tonight. and whoa, do i need a shower. you talked me into it.
Date: 2004-08-06
From: the inn at long trail, vt

To: the lookout, vt
Miles today: 15.6

day 134 fri aug 6   15.6 mi 1702.6 totalthe lookout, vt   out the windows of the dining room at the inn at long trail, there's a view 120 feet straight up deer leap cliff. in fact, the rock base of the cliff reaches into this room and the bar nearby. yesterday i watched as someone rappelled down from the top.   this morning i watch as a young lady, looking suspiciously like a thru-hiker, strides up to my table, offers her hand to shake, and asks if she could join me for breakfast. she's hobbit (no. 3, if you will) from north carolina. we find out we've hiked with many people in common. she majored in physics at dartmouth, and her fiance is a marine in iraq. she hopes to see him by thanksgiving. very nice woman.   hiking out, i meet nancy and grace, mother and daughter out for a day hike. they kindly pose for a picture. later i'm talking with philippe from quebec city. we manage a small conversation in four languages, and then nancy catches up and tells me i won't make it by mid-september at this rate, if i keep stopping to talk. she's teasing, of course. you were teasing, weren't you, nancy?   at kent pond, a father with 3 little ones, allows me to take pictures of gretchen and her 2 brothers.   jennifer, with degrees in eastern religions and history, gives me directions to the lookout, a cabin ahead set up on a mountain, and with a steep ladder outside, leading to a platform on the roof. by late afternoon, i catch up with hobbit and we load up with water at a stream, as there's none at the lookout, 3 miles ahead.   the views from the platform are impressive. we can see a bit of killington to the southwest, and a great many mountains to the north. there's a slight chill in the evening wind.   we set up our sleeping bags on the floor of the cabin. in the middle of the night, we are awakened by screaming hordes of wild banshees, running full-tilt up the ladder. on the roof, they intone ancient druidic chants that modulate into loud adolescent male blather particular to northern vermont on a friday night. after 5 minutes i get dressed and go out. they're down on the ground, and jump out of their skins when i step out the door. there's all of three of them, and they're apologetic, then impressed, that we're hiking from georgia to maine. they move on into the night. we get to go back to sleep.
Date: 2004-08-07
From: the lookout, vt

To: happy hill shelter, vt
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: broken clouds

day 135 sat aug 7   22.8 mi 1725.4 totalhappy hill shelter, vt   it's 44 degrees at 6 a.m., and i'm on the trail by 6:45. around 9, there's ponderer ahead, with a big smile and an even bigger beard. hobbit mentioned him a couple times yesterday. he's full of good things to report. nice to meet you, ponderer.   i share a brunch with 2 sobos (southbound thru-hikers, but you knew that, i hope), gray goose and flatlander from cumberland, maine, in the shade at the top of a high field. mount ascutney is out there somewhere in front of us. i spent a week there in '00 at a retreat with thich naht hahn.   later in the woods, there's sue (a different sue than my hiker friend, who has left me in the dust and is a few days ahead. she did leave me a very warm note in the guestbook though) and georgia, who's visiting from florida. really. i repeat: georgia is really from florida. they have all sorts of questions about my hike. they're looking for a view, so i direct them to that high field.   at one end of a footbridge, i cook a dinner for lunch; feeling a bit famished. i feel like i need to gain back about 7 pounds. look out, hanover.   i leapfrog with mary and robin, women's college basketball coaches from unh durham and colorado, on an annual reunion day hike.   in west hartford, boys in swim trunks are jumping off the bridge into the river. it looks about 20 feet down to the water. i consider trying it, but it's late and i'm very hungry. again. i just don't understand it. my metabolism seems to be stuck on the insatiable setting.   there's a country store with burgers and milkshakes, around the corner from the bridge. after some serious caloric intake, i hike on til almost 9. there's a shelter ahead through the darkness, and a space in which to lie down. almost 23 miles; not too shabby for an off day.
Date: 2004-08-08
From: happy hill shelter, vt

To: hanover, nh
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: scattered clouds

day 136 sun aug 8   5.8 mi 1731.2 totalhanover, new hampsterlet me hear your balalaikas ringing out                                       mccartney/lennon   in the shelter in the morning, the fellow to the right introduces himself as ross lanius, doing a section of the trail. he's got a great big grin, and an obvious love for the outdoors. to the left, there's a college of the atlantic student (ms. curcio, and i didn't catch her first name) from bar harbor, also doing a section. i mention some people i know at coa, including mary o'brien, but she doesn't know them.   over the connecticut river and it's new hampshire! and hanover and dartmouth college: what a jewel of a campus. the word on the trail is lou's restaurant is a great place for breakfast. and it's just a-hoppin' with people, with a line of twenty waiting for tables, but there's a stool at the counter, next to an older couple. the man has ordered a big belgian waffle with 3 honkin' scoops of coffee ice cream, and whipped cream, and lots of maple syrup. i'm very impressed. his name is dick bower (with his wife dot) and he's a professor emeritus in economics at tucks school at dartmouth. he's cheerful and funny and tells me how he hiked the 48 4000-footers in new hampshire when he was younger. he and dot have spent time in banff (as did i) and on some of the islands on the british columbia coast.   after helping two hikers get seats quicker, they repay me by quietly directing me to the internet (on a sunday!) near the dartmouth outing club office AND a place to stay for the night close by, which is way way cool 'cause the cheapest motel room is over $60 and two miles away. on a busy road with no sidewalk. the hiker guest book at the place shows very few hikersstaying here over time, indicating it's kept fairly quiet. i'm allowed to shower and do laundry, and it's very close to some good restaurants. alleluia.and the college library is open til midnight, on a summer sunday night. i like this place.   i visit murphy's on the green for dinner and then go in search of a hot fudge sundae at a ben and jerry's, where the young women waiting in line start dancing in place enthusiastically as the beatles' 'back in the ussr' plays over the p.a., just as if it was 1968. amazing.
Date: 2004-08-09
From: hanover, nh

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

day 137 mon aug 9 zerohanover back for breakfast at lou's restaurant, i'm one of 7 customers instead of 70, as it's early monday, and not late sunday morning. next i visit the barber, then the p.o., for maildrop and bounce boxes. then call miss moneypenny with my next column, and on to the p.o. again to send my bounce box up to gorham. then lunch, library, internet, food co-op,hardware store, bank, dinner, a movie oh my, and i almost feel like a town person again. almost.
Date: 2004-08-10
From: hanover, nh

To: trapper john shelter, nh
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: broken clouds

day 138 tue aug 10 16.7 mi 1647.9 totaltrapper john shelter, nh as i'm leaving lou's cafe, kerry the waitress offers me 2 blueberry muffins and a pound of granola on the house. what a wonderful gesture. thank you, kerry. then janice at the food co-op near the trailhead is full of questions about the maine coast. i see willie wallace on the trail, anxious to finish by september 1, as he's due to start at the univ. of edinboro by then. later i meet hobbit again, and slow and steady, 2 sisters section-hiking. hobbit gets the shelter to herself, while i hammock nearby, but i did cook dinner in the shelter, while hobbit catches up in her journal. there's a very tall, crumbling fieldstone fireplace with mantle right in front of the shelter. hikers have scrounged up old rusted artifacts and placed them up along the mantle. owls call out persistently through the dark.
Date: 2004-08-11
From: trapper john shelter, nh

To: ore hill shelter, nh
Miles today: 19.3

day 139 wed aug 11   19.3 mi 1767.2 total   it's funny how a body can forget how very exciting a lightning strike 100 feet away can be, high up on smart's mountain. gee, those things pack some power.   it's pouring buckets and the trail's has turned into a small river and the light's starting to fade 'cause i got a late start, and oh, there it is, the shelter, and there's four people already in, but there's room to spare. dan, luke, and pete are from boston. luke succeeds in getting a good fire going. terrapin is a student nurse from the hartford area. she thru-hiked in '93. all present are fairly quiet; i'm guessing from exhaustion.   good night, nurse.