morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-22
From: Lonesome Lake Hut

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Whew! Today was one long hike. I've never felt like it's taken me so long to go such a short distance. The stretch between Eliza Brook Shelter and Kinsman Notch seemed to go on forever. Plus - by the time I got to the bottom I was VERY out of water. Grrr. Got down to the bottom of Kinsman Notch at 7:30pm and took a break before heading STRAIGHT up the side of Mossilauke Mt. to Beaver Brook Shelter. It was one heck of a climb up to the shelter, but I knew it was only 1.5 miles up there...no matter how tired or how late it is...i can always push another 1.5 further. Even if it's straight up. Got to the shelter around 9:00 and shared it w/ 2 section hikers, Spot and Wildman. I was politically interrogated by Wildman concerning my presidential prefference (he was dissapointed in my choice, but polite in his efforts to convince me otherwise) -who eventually got tired and went to bed.
Date: 2004-07-23
From: Tallahassee, FL

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

A note from MoxyCotton-Well, it's 4:00am and I have a bus to catch in an hour. I'll be arriving in Hanover tomorrow at around 4:15pm. I'm excited to be getting back to the trail - I think. I'm feel anxious but I'm not totally sure that it's all excitement. There's a lot of things going on in my mind - a huge long bus trip alone is the first thing - I'm slightly nervous about hanging out in NYC's Greyhound bus station for an hour during one of my layovers. I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about but NYC is definitely the biggest city I'll have ever been in and I'll be at the bus station. I'm also nervous about the idea that I might start hiking again and just end up with the same foot pain and have to come home again. I did get new shoes (half size bigger!) and inserts but I still worry. Anyways, the good news is that I'm gonna get on the bus, the bad news is that I'm not sure where Captain Salty 'Stache is right now! I haven't talked to him in a while (about a week). Hopefully he'll be in Hanover waiting on me!   Wish me luck!
Date: 2004-07-23
From: Hanover, NH

To: Hikers Welcome, Glencliff NH
Miles today: 8.0

Short hike today into Glencliff. Hiked up over Mt. Moosilauke this morning and reached the rocky, bald summit as it was cloaked in a wet, windy, cloudmass. Woohoo! I get to say farewell to the Whites much the same way I entered them - with no views whatsoever. Just White....harhar. Hiked down towards Glencliff where the clouds eventually cleared and it warmed up. Crossed my first field of the hike - a beautiful, old farmers field covered in blooming wildflowers. Very cool. Met Jack Straw and Crazy Uncle, two really cool guys I'd originally met in Monson, ME. Jack's a SOBO and Crazy was just out to hike with him for a section. They were staying in G-cliff and slacking a section up of Moose for the day. Really good guys. Got to town, found the phone and called home. Talked to Dad, and as I was, it started to POUR rain. Ugh...guess I won't be doing much hiking today. Oh well - that's fine as I needed a shower really really badly. Got my package from the PO - thanks Mom, and a letter from Cassie (thanks!) and checked into the hostel. Soaked. Laundry, shower and warming up were def. in order. Met a bunch of NOBOS: Country, J Bug and Burning Boots. Real nice folks! The hostel was one of the most layed back I've seen yet. Not quite what I'm used to - I like some structure at least. Slept well - and dry.
Date: 2004-07-24
From: Hikers Welcome, Glencliff NH

To: Firewarden's Cabin
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: broken clouds

BIGGEST MILES DAY YET! Wow...this trail...once you're out of the mountains is amazingly easy. I felt like I was walking through a city park - the tread was soo flat and smooth. I swear I think I only saw 3 roots and 6 rocks all day long. Almost. By the time I stopped for lunch at 2:00 I'd already been 15 miles. Amazing. This is the kind of miles folks have been talking about for a long time coming. I'm soo happy. Enjoyed wildblue berries on top of Cube Mt. and the oddity that is Hexacuba Shelter. Met NOBO Tank who's from Albany, GA. Shared the nice shelter and great firetower with Dharma, Ranger, and Se la Vi (sp?). All NOBOS. They were really nice and helped me out by giving some tips about places to check out in the coming month (Vermont and Mass). A great day.
Date: 2004-07-25
From: Hanover, NH

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

MoxyCotton-   Well, I'm safely in Hanover but got the bad news Friday during my bus trip that Dave is a good three days behind me meaning that he was in Glencliff NH on Friday and was spending the night there. I figure he won't be here until Monday. But, maybe I'll be wrong and he'll have pushed some big mileage to get here by today (I'm highly doubting it but the weather has been good so anything can happen). I'm staying in Velvet Rocks Shelter at night and bumming around Hanover during the day. It's a nice town but I'm ready for Captain to show up. Oh - and I met Baltimore Jack yesterday - He was super nice and helped me figure out where everything is here in town. There was also a big group of NOBO guys who are all hiking with each other - there's bunches of hikers around, most are NOBOs from what I can tell.
Date: 2004-07-25
From: Firewarden's Cabin

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: clear sky

Today was absolutely amazing. Woke up this morning and had a grand hike down Smart Mt. and up to Holts Ledge where I saw nesting Peregrin Falcons swooping above the valley. Met the Garland 5 - a family of five who's hiking the trail (along with 4 other folks they're hiking with - a veritable troop!). The trail today was beautiful - passing centuries old stonewalls that crisscross the woodlands and rolling hills. Saw a great little orange salamander in the trail. Also saw several toads and a snake. Hiked through a grove of maples that had been tapped for syrup collection in the fall. Crossed a beautiful farm meadow covered in blooming wildflowers, with a grand colonial house in the distance and horses in the neighboring field. Ran out of water in the late morning which was rough - but pushed on 3 miles until I got to Moose Mt. Shelter, which had a nice stream. Took a nice hour lunch there waiting for my water to purify and resting. Got to Velvet Rocks shelter around 6:30 - my feet were very torn up from blisters (my socks need replacing badly!) and met Jill / Moxy there around 7:00pm. She got to the shelter last night after a long bus ride up and spent most of her day in town. I wanted to got to town for dinner, so we hiked down the hill from the shelter to the edge of town, pitched tent in the woods, and headed to the 5 Nugget Pub for dinner. Enjoyed a great burger and Long Trail Ale off of tap. Met Baltimore Jack, trail legend, there and talked to him for awhile. He offered some great tips about town and the coming miles ahead. Great guy. Found out that Lance Armstrong won the Tour and wrapped up the day with two scoops of Ben and Jerries Ice Cream. A PERFECT DAY! I love the A.T. Thank you to everyone who's helped me to do this. This is so good. Oh yeah- and I broke another record miles day today...23.4! But my feet paid for it dearly...
Date: 2004-07-26
From: Hanover, NH

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Today with Moxy and Captain back together we headed out to run some errands. Apparently a memo had gone out to the Captain's gear which stated that there was an EMS near Hanover and so, very promptly, everything broke. New pole tips, socks, shoelaces and unfixable gaitors later we left the EMS for lunch. Pizza and cokes (ok, not cokes but actually pepsi - gross). Then we went grocery shopping at Shaws, called home ON OUR CELL PHONES!!! Yay! First time that they have actually functioned while out on the trail. Note to all, T-mobile doesn't have the best coverage of the very North east. After calls home we returned to Hanover and updated our journals, went to the post office and hardware store. We got the last of the denatured alcohol that they would get for a good week. A former thru-hiker provided us with some great trail magic when he stopped in at the DOC. He gave us $10 for ice cream! We then went and stuffed ourselves green at Ben & Jerry's. Super awesome. Eventually we realized it would be too late to head on to the next shelter south so once again we stayed just out of town near the soccer fields.
Date: 2004-07-27
From: Hanover, NH

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: moderate rain

The hike out of Hanover was pretty nice. Basically all road walk until the end of Elm Street - a good halfway of the hike. It rained all day, welcome back to the trail Moxy - did you miss having squishy shoes? The shelter is gorgeous - it's got a loft We hung out there all afternoon and watched as twelve other people rolled in. Sadly, there isn't that much room in the shelter, only seven people can really fit in there cofortably, eight if you squish. It was very crowded. Bandicoot, a cool NOBO rolled in along with a couple of section hikers. We also got another duo of NOBO's that we weren't too pleased with. They had bad attitudes and were fairly obnoxious. Oh well. Also in was Spearmint (or was is Peppermint?) a NOBO and SOBOS the Garland 5, two of their friends and Jon, girlfriend and dog (Kaia?). Lots of people.
Date: 2004-07-28
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We stopped in Rick and Tina's in West Hartford on our way to the shelter. This is a great little store/gas station/eatery right on the trail. We enjoyed bacon cheeseburgers and milkshakes! We also lucked out and got there right as the Hostess snack counter was being refilled. We bought some snacks and then headed to the library. The librarian wasn't very friendly but we could use the internet and so updated a little. We also went to the tiny post office there in West Hartford and mailed out some postcards. After that, we headed back into the woods walking right past the rope swing on the bridge. We didn't know it was there until later that night but it was a little cool at the time anyways. That night we shared the shelter with a NOBO, Scuba and also the Garland 5 showed up and tented out. The interesting thing about this shelter is that there is a hexagonal privy. That's right, six sides and all of them are screened in. We took pictures of Captain in it
Date: 2004-07-29
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: The Barn
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: fog

Before leaving Thistle Hill this morning, two NOBO section hikers stopped in and offered us some snacks and other goodies. We obliged them and helped them lighten their load After a late start we headed down the trail and then towards South Pomfret. This small town is about a mile down from the trail crossing. Warning to all those going into S. Pomfret - the shoulder on the road is very narrow and sometimes non-existant. We went to the Teago General Store and Post Office. We enjoyed ice cream and cokes on a hot day. We also bought some fuel (Iso-Heet) and a few other things we needed. We lucked out and got a ride from another Thru-Hiker, Ashtray, who was going home for the night. He dropped us off back at the trail and we headed towards "The Barn." Dan Quinn, a steeple repairman, owns a huge red barn that he lets hikers stay the night in. There's mattresses, electricity and even a hot shower available. We met Flora and Fauna, two sisters who are NOBOs. The crazy thing is that Moxy and Fauna actually lived in the same dorm one year at college and had no idea the other was hiking until a couple weeks ago when we saw their trailjournal! It was really cool to meet them. The other good people we met were Red and Bramble, also NOBO. We played with making Moxy's alcohol stove work that night and ended up throwing it out. We'll try again later.
Date: 2004-07-30
From: The Barn

To: The Lookout
Miles today: 6.2

We took a shorter day in order to enjoy a night up at the Lookout, a cabin that has a lookout platform on top of it. We had a fairly uneventful hike but were pleased to have some other SOBOs catch up with us. King David, Jack Straw, and Loot all showed up to also stay the night and we had a great time talking and telling jokes with them. We both called home from atop the lookout but didn't get to see much of the sunset as it was cloudy. That night we suffered miserably and didn't get much sleep. It was very hot and the mosquitoes were horrible. We needed the windows open in the cabin to keep it from being a sauna and we couldn't cover up from the mosquitoes because of how hot it was.
Date: 2004-07-31
From: The Lookout

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We left the lookout early because we didn't get any sleep. It was pretty hot and humid even early and we were just glad to be moving and away from the mosquitoes. We got to the shelter fairly early, around 12:30 and ended up taking a nap. We probably should have kept going but we were both tired from lack of sleep. The thunder in the distance also solidified our laziness and so we decided to stay the night. A bunch of NOBOs came and went and only one stayed, Mello Yellow. The Garland 5 caught up with us and two other SOBOs as well. We struck a deal with Wet Tap and Lawon(sp?) the SOBOs. We had heard you could put up to 4 people in a room at the Inn at Long Trail for only $60. They thought that sounded great and so they agreed to get the room when they got to the Inn (they're faster than we are). We were enjoying the company when it started raining and we realized that we were bracketed by three leaks in the shelter! Luckily they were very small and just around us and not on our gear.
Date: 2004-08-01
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 6.7

The hike in today was fairly quick but the mosquitoes were bad. We stopped in at the Killington Deli for lunch and then hitched up to the Inn. When we got there the guys we were supposed to share the room with let us know that it is actually $60 a night for a double plus another $13 per extra person. They smartly decided to get their own room and we did the same. After showers and laundry we took the bus into Rutland. We had a huge pizza dinner at Pizza Hut, bought groceries, made photo cds at CVS, and then listened to the Rutland Band play in the park. Unfortunately it became too late and we ended up having to get a taxi back to the Inn. A bit more money than we wanted to spend but really the only feasible option. Once back at the Inn we went to the bar and Captain had his Guinness and Moxy had a Long Trail Ale. Very tasty. After that, it was off to bed.
Date: 2004-08-02
From: Inn at Long Trail

To: Churchill Scott Shelter
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning we enjoyed the hotel breakfast that is included in the price of the room. We had blueberry pancakes, eggs, homefries, bacon, juice and coffee. After breakfast we packed up, washed our cookware, and checked out. The hotel will give you bus tickets (worth $2 each) but only once. Luckily, there are different desk clerks and two of us so we just asked a couple times between yesterday and today. We caught the bus and asked to be dropped off near the outfitters in town. We had been dropped off close to there yesterday so we didn't think twice asking for that spot. When the bus driver kept on driving past the shops, we started getting a little confused. Finally we ended up at the bus station, talking to two or three different drivers before finally finding a driver that would drop us close to the shops. According to our first driver, the buses won't stop on the side of the street (even though they did the day before!). We finally got to the first outfitter, "Joe's" and they only had one of the bags we wanted, no para-cord, no bug netting, and no cheap flip flops. They suggested we head down the street to the next outfitter, Mountain Traveler. Mountain Traveler didn't have any bags or any of the other things we wanted. Then, we had to walk back the other direction to Oasis Sports, who also didn't have what we were looking for. We did talk to the owner of Oasis for a long time and he gave us information on the section that we were coming to, adjusted Jill's pack so it fits her more properly, and told us about a Army Surplus store that might at least have bug netting. After striking out at the outfitters we headed to the library and updated the page and ate some lunch outside. The Army Surplus store was right down the street and we were happily surprised to find that they did carry bug bars, a bug netting made to go over army cots. This is what we were looking for to be able to set up in shelters and the "tent" for nights when the bugs are bad. At least we will be able to sleep on top of our bags when it is hot without being eaten alive. After the Army Surplus store we found the Wal-Mart in town that we hadn't known existed.   We went in and got flip-flops for Dave (new camp shoes) and a couple other things. As Jill was waiting for Dave to check out a man came into the store and asked her if she needed a ride anywhere. The man was Blueberry Bill, who thru-hiked with his wife in 1994. He gave us a ride along with his toddler son Elijah to the Post Office and then all the way back to the trailhead (more than 5 miles out of town). We hiked an easy and short hike up to Churchill Scott and found SOBOs Jon, Jessie and Kya (their dog). We ate dinner and set up our new bug net and enjoyed sleeping without the buzzing of mosquitoes around our heads.
Date: 2004-08-03
From: Churchill Scott Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: few clouds

We had a late start this morning because Jill woke up feeling kinda sick so we just slept in and hung around until about 9:30. At that time a VYCC trail crew showed up at the shelter to move rocks in to make a front patio. They were nice kids but obviously it was too noisy for extra rest. We moved on and chose to do lunch at Cooper Lodge. We got there and went up the steep 0.2mile trail to Killington Peak. We heard from some NOBOs that there was a snack place up there so we went to check it out. To our surprise there was an Epcot-esque Gondola for skiers during the winter and mountain bikers during the summer. There was a really nice restaurant up there with a snack bar that is open during the afternoon. We brought our lunch up from our packs and were happy to have cheaper food, though the food everyone else was eating smelled great. Eventually we broke down and bought some french fries and a huge (but expensive) brownie. We both were able to get cell service so we called folks at home and enjoyed talking to them. Sometimes talking to people other than your hiking partner can be very refreshing. After that we took a ride on the Gondolas! It was free for thru-hikers. We just rode it down and right back up again. Finally we headed back down to the Lodge after hearing that there would be poor weather that afternoon and night we decided not to push on any further. Once back at the lodge we got a full house with a family of 5 section hikers on the LT and a dog, two SOBOs on the AT, one of the SOBOs brothers, and a SOBO hiker on the LT. The two SOBOs are Bean Sprout and Turtle. We weren't able to catch everyone else's names but during the day we did meet the NOBOs Magellan and RedBeard. That night it rained and we were happy to be inside and dry.
Date: 2004-08-04
From: Cooper Lodge

To: Stealth Site before Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: clear sky

Today's hike was long and difficult towards the end. We started out getting up at a regular time but for some reason we are always more sluggish getting going when there is a crowd in the shelter. We finally got moving around 8 and actually had some trouble locating the trail. Luckily we did find it without going too far in the wrong direction. The hiking went well that morning, we were on a ridge and then moved down off the mountain on a very long downhill. We stopped for a rest at Governor Clement Shelter and met a LT hiker who's dog was playing fetch with rocks. Shortly down the trail from that is a stream that you cross which has an established trail magic site in it. The trail angels had created a "coke corral" in the stream using some chicken wire. The cokes, which were actually Wal-Mart brand cokes, were kept cold by the stream and accessible by the corral. Dave got a Dr. Thunder and Jill got a Mountain Lightning. By this point in the day however, Jill's feet were getting very sore and she was worried about the pain. The anticipation of the Whistle Stop Restaurant however, managed to keep her going. We had been told by NOBOs that the food was good and the ice cream cones were big and cheap. Sounds like paradise to us! The worst part of the day was the rock scramble decline down to the road that the Whistle Stop is on. Jill's feet and our general tiredness made this a slow descent. Finally we got to the Whistle Stop around 3:45 and order burgers, fries and ice water. We enjoyed our food, took off our shoes and sat outside the refurbished train car. Then we got large soft serve ice cream cones for $1.55 each - and they were LARGE. It was great. We finally left the Whistle Stop and with full bellies headed for the hard incline up away from town. On the way out we met NOBOs MC and Willow. Eventually as we hiked on towards the next shelter, the pain in Jill's feet got to be too much and we opted to just call it a night. The weather was supposed to be good and tenting out wouldn't be too difficult.
Date: 2004-08-05
From: Stealth Site before Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchey
Miles today: 1.0
Weather: clear sky

Super short hike today but it was a great day none the less. Got a late start this morning and hiked up and over the hill to the near by Minerva Hinchey Shelter. Decided to stay there for the rest of the day in hopes that Jill's feet could heal from the pains of the long hike the day before. It was a great little shelter - complete with an inside picnic table and lawn chairs! Rested the afternoon - contemplated killing chipmunks for fun but couldn't find a really effective means. Later we were joined by Bean Sprout and Turtle (Sobos) and Hot Rock (nobo). We made a fire to ward off the skeeters and Jill made her first dinner over her new coke can stove - after some difficulties getting it lit.
Date: 2004-08-06
From: Minerva Hinchey

To: Big Branch Shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Got a late start out of camp this morning. It was cool last night and we were slow getting a move on. Great hiking weather though - Jill and I started out the morning with Bean and Turtle. The trail was pretty good and we ended up seperated and hiking on our own for awhile. We met up for a snack and hiked up to White Rocks Cliffs together. At the trail to the cliffs there is a whole bunch of rock piles left by local hikers. It's kind of a surreal spot - and we took many pictures. We started to hike down to the cliffs overlook, but stopped partway and had lunch. A group of highschool age dayhiking girls passed us and we overheard them discussing the artistic rockpiles - and one of them asked the other if they were "natural". It was all we could do to hold back our laughter. It was a long hike to the shelter from that late lunch spot and Jill's feet were really hurting by the time we got there. We shared the shelter with Bean and Turtle and a NOBO HeatMiser.