morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-13
From: Brassie Brook Lean-To

To: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-To, MA
Miles today: 0.0

Man did I sleep like...I was about to say baby but that never made sense to me. I slept well. It was quite cool out and my last night sleep in Connecticut was a real good one. I truly did not want to get out of my sleeping bag this morning. I felt so cozy I just wanted to stay there, but I got up early as usual and got on the trail by 7:00. I made the climb up Bear Mtn (2316') and could still see the foggy mist down in the valley. It is always nice to see that. It makes everything look so surreal. Then I went down to Sages Ravine Brooke which cut through a nice hemlock forest. Oh yeah, and about this time I entered Mass. It is hard to believe that I am now in Massachusetts. I sometimes wonder if I am rushing through this now, but I like getting up early and getting a good start on the day and then I just don't really stop. I feel so strong now that it is just getting easy. I know that the most challenging part of the trail (I think) is coming up and I will have to slow down, but right now I feel so good. I have really given up on the town life as well. I like to just go in every once in a while and get what I need and get out. I just don't really see any point in hanging in town anymore. Some people on the trail seem to live there. The outdoors are where it's at, baby. Anyway, after Sages Ravine I climbed Race Mtn (2430'), then Mt. Everett (2602'). They both had killer views of the countryside. I saw some AMC volunteers on Everett who were doing some trail work. I thanked them for their hard work and told them they were doing something that would last for who knows how long. Then I made my way down to Jug End. Which also had some really nice views. Then it was down into the valley for a bit. The skeeters were really bad through a few sections of trees. It didn't matter how fast you were moving they were highly skilled in the art of landing on moving targets. Then it was back up onto East Mtn (1765'). I stopped at Tom Leonard Lean-to and contemplated staying the night there, but it was about 4:00 and there was a glacial lake about three miles away that I wanted to take a dip in. Man was it awesome. Nice and cool and refreshing. I layed in the water for a good while then made my way here. At first I was discouraged because the shelter was old and dilapitated and it was real buggy. Then I read in the register that there was a new shelter down past the privy. It is real nice. It has bunks and a loft and there is plenty of firewood here. For some reason the bugs aren't too bad down here either. Plus I met this guy named Sheeps head, I guess it is a card game, who is from South Dakota. So it turned out to be a really kicking day. The weather was a little warmer than yesterday, but not to bad and the hiking was nice. I have really enjoyed myself the past couple of days. I think it has a lot to do with the fact I'm in New England and I'm getting closer and closer to Maine. Boy I can't wait. Well, I think that's good for tonight. Hopefully the weather continues to be this way for a while. It really boosts the morale.
Date: 2007-07-14
From: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-To, MA

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Ahh, what a relaxing day. I kind of planned on doing the same kind of mileage I have been but this place that I ended up staying at was too good to pass up. It is a cabin with a caretaker and basically all you need is here. There are bunk beds upstairs and a small kitchen and a living area downstairs and a porch. There is no electricity but who really needs it. It would be nice to charge my electronic devices but I will survive.   The hike here was pretty easy. I was cruising along and ran into this hiker Ziola who who was getting picked up for the night. So she asked if he would bring me to a store. He did one better than that and brought me to a grocery store and then brought me back to the trail. It was a real generous thing to do. The rest of the hike here was good. When I got here I was treated to leftover pancakes. I heated them up on a griddle and ate all ten of them. Then I hung out by the pond and took the canoe out for a while then I went for a swim. Then I was offered chocolate cake and then they were going to throw out some leftover rice and veggies but Pocus and I gladly finished it off. I made a wrap with cheese and salsa out of my portion of rice and veggies. It really hit the spot. Now I am laying here contemplating what I wil do tommorrow. I have many options but I think it will some big miles if the weather cooperates. I felt like I could hike forever today but I decided to stop here and relax this afternoon and let my body recover. It was kind of hard to get myself to slow down but when I got here I new it was the right decision. This is a killer spot and I recommend that everyone stops here if they can. Well I guess it's time to rest up for tommorrow. Hopefully the weather remains this way for a while. I will see what happens I guess. Oh, I saw another bear so I think that is 21 for the trip, but I'm not sure. I think I'm losing track.
Date: 2007-07-15
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, MA (Tom Levardi's Place)
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept well last night. I have been lately because of the recently cool temps we have been having. It has been nice. I guess it may be another perk of being in New England. Sometimes the cool Canadian air makes its way down here. I woke up and was treated with coffee and pancakes that the caretaker had made. I must have ate at least 8 of them before I called it quits. The cakes plus the caffeine fueled me for a good part of the morning. Unfortunately for me my hunger knows no bounds and always comes back with a vengeance. If it wasn't for my appetite I wouldn't get as many breaks as I do. The hiking was pretty flat this morning and I reeled off some good mileage in no time. The skies were any eery overcast and gray and thunderheads seemed to be building all day. I avoided the rain for pretty much all day. I felt great all day and really enjoyed the easy hiking. The only part I didn't enjoy was the mosquitos which have been particularly bad. I guess that is one of the bad things about being in New England. I have yet to use any bug spray, but I think I'll have to get some soon. I originally planned on going farther than Dalton because I didn't really think there was any places to stay. I stopped at Tom Leavardi's house to get some water because my guidebook said he gives out water and will sometimes take hikers in for the night. Well, I hadn't been there for more than five minutes when he came out to say hi. We talked for a moment, then he asked me if I would like ice cream. I said yes of course and he came out with a huge sundae. The magic didn't stop there either. He said I could stay at his place. He let me use his shower and he even cooked up a meal of spaghetti with sausage, salad, bread, and some leftover chili. There were about 5 hikers including me. Apparently he has been taking in hikers for over 20 years now. He said that one time he had as many as 30 in his house during a tropical storm. He is a remarkable man and goes above and beyond the call of duty to help hikers out. He has to be one of the kindest persons I have ever met. I definately recommend hikers to stop even if it is for an hour and meet Tom. He is one of a kind. So just when I thought things couldn't get any better from last night they pretty much did. Well, I stayed up a little later than usual talking with Tom so I must get some sleep or I will never want to leave tommorrow. Tommorrow I will be coming close to putting Mass behind me. I will climb Mt. Greylock which is the highest Mtn in Mass. It is suppose to be really nice too. I can't wait.
Date: 2007-07-16
From: Dalton, MA (Tom Levardi's Place)

To: Seth Warner Shelter, VT
Miles today: 30.2
Weather: clear sky

Vermont! Yes I made it to Vermont! Long day today but I felt energized all day so it didn't seem like a thirty mile day. I woke up early today but decided to go to breakfast with Tom. We went to Duff and Dells Variety and I got a nice breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, toast ,and coffee for a measly $6.50. It was well worth it. I ended up leaving around 8:00. Not the best startin time but it wasn't horrible either. It was an easy 10 mile hike to Cheshire, MA where the trail went through. I fiddled around there for probably too long eating a pint of ice cream and having a coke. The ice cream packed a punch. Over 1,000 calores and over 600 from fat. It was just what I needed to get up Mt. Greylock(3,491') which is the highest mountain in Mass. The road and lodge are under construction (heh, heh) so it was just me and a few other hikers on top with one of the days for hiking. It was awesome. It was at this time(3:30) that I realized I had two decent options. One, walk three miles and call it a day or two, walk 13 and get into Vermont. I chose to go to Vermont obviously. It wasn't all that hard of a hike, but I had to go all the way down to a valley and then climb back up into the mountains. Plus down in the valley there was a supermarket only 0.3 off the trail so I went there to grab a few neccesities. By the time I finally got to the shelter it was 8:30. But I am now in Vermont and on the Long Trail. The AT and the Long Trail are conjoined for over 100 miles before the AT veers east into New Hampshire. The Long Trail was the first established trail in our nation and runs the length of Vermont to Canada. This is also the first time I have been to Vermont before and I am very excited. So it was a good decision I believe to hike a 30 today. Not only am I in Vermont, but I am now under 600 miles from Katahdin. Woohoo. But now the effects of my hiking today are taking hold and I am ready to crash. It was definately a beautiful day today though. It was a good day to hike all day.
Date: 2007-07-17
From: Seth Warner Shelter, VT

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 25.9
Weather: few clouds

I got an earlier start today than yesterday and was out at 7:00. Today I hiked for most of the day off and on with this guy named Lakewood. He started the trail on May 1st. Now that may not mean that much to most people who are not hiking, but he is blazing. I admitingly am not hiking the fastest thru hike ever, but I am not slow and have been really cruising lately. I started about a month before he did. I am in fact a faster hiker than he is, but he has averaged higher mileage days and has taken very few off. Today I also ran into some new folks and some people I haven't seen in a while. I caught up with Wolf who I haven't seen in about 1200 miles. I caught up with this Mainer named Beave. I met a grandfather and grandson duo who are out for 35 days. Their names are Appy and Pappy. Appy is ten years old. Pretty impressive if you ask me. I also met Jerry from down under, Widowmaker, Flick, and Gator Gump. Everyone is real nice and it is kind of nice to be around some people again. Hopefully I can hang with some of them. I may slow down a bit and kind of relax for a while. I kind of planned to take it easy today, but I just kept moving and kept meeting people and wanted to go where they were going and all of a sudden I had walked 26 miles.   There was quite a bit of elevation gain today. I climbed up this unamed hill then back down a bit and then up to Consultation Peak. Then down a bit and back up to Harmon Hill. Then all the way down to VT9(1360') and back up to Glastenbury Mtn(3748'). It was tough but not horribly bad. Glastenbury Mtn had a firetower that offered views of many mountains from many states. I could see Mt. Greylock to the south. The Taconic Range in New York to the west and The White kind of to the Northeast. It was really cool. I also could see Stratton Mountain which I'll be climbing tommorrow. That will be a good climb. I really didn't see anything in the way of wildlife except for some small woodland creatures, a few deer, and some Moose scat. The best part about today other than the cool temps was that I only crossed one paved road. Oh man the peace and quiet was nice today. I really have felt like I have been in the wild since entering Vermont. It has just been so peaceful. It looks as if tomorrow will be just as quiet with very little road crossings. Hopefully the temperatures remain cool and the good times continue to roll.
Date: 2007-07-18
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: moderate rain

Rain, rain, rain. It started to rain at about 10:00 last night and didn't stop until late this morning. I woke up early as Jerry, Pappy, and Appy began to get ready to go. I decided that I wasn't ready and rolled over and dozed back to sleep. Then I woke up a little later and it was raining even harder. So I went back to sleep. I had a dream that it had stopped raining and it was sunny and nice out. When I woke it wasn't sunny but it had stopped raining and it was 10:30. I decided it was now or never and got ready to roll. About 6 other people had the same idea that I did. When I started to hike it became obvious that it was going to be a mess. Vermont has been wet and muddy anyway, but this rain made it even worse. There was mud and water everywhere. Gator Gump has renamed Vermont "Vermud". If you weren't stepping into that it was something slippery like a bog bridge or a log or rocks. After a little while I just started to plow through the stuff. There was just no way to avoid it. Fortunately I was only planning to go 15 miles and I only had one big obstacle which was Stratton Mtn(3,936') and even that wasn't all that bad. After a while I just got use to being wet and muddy and started enjoying it. When I got to the top of Stratton I took some foggy pictures and then Widow Maker and I raced down the mountain to the shelter. It started to pour right before we got here. It is a very large shelter and has a caretaker. It cost $5 to stay here and I'm not sure why but I guess because it is a heavy use area. It is a full house though with a group of kids and their group leaders from a local camp a good size group of thru hikers and a few section hikers. Tommorrow I have to resupply in Manchester Center and then get back on the trail. I just keep eating all the food I have and having to resupply earlier than expected. There is no place to stay there so I will have to try and hitch out of town too. Hopefully it is not raining or that may complicate matters. I guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. Well I must try and rise early so I can get to town fast. It's 11 miles to the road so hopefully I can get there by 12:00. It shouldn't be to hard if I get up early. That's a mighty big if that depends on the weather.
Date: 2007-07-19
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: light rain

Rain, rain....mud. I woke up early at 6:00 and laid around for a bit. I felt oddly awake as soon as I woke up. Usually I have been a bit groggy of late for at least an hour after I get up. I was out on the trail and flying with Widow Maker before 7:00 though. I wanted to get to town early and leave as soon as I got my supplies. Widow Maker and I were at the road to Manchester Center just after 10:00. We hiked just around 11 miles in a little over 3 hours. It was fairly flat and good going for those though. We were picked up fairly quickly by a mom with her 3 kids in a minivan and were delivered right to a Friendly's for breakfast. Now that is service. The Super Mom said she normally doesn't pick up hitch hikers unless they are hiking. She said her sister hiked about 10 years ago so she understands. We enjoyed town for a bit and got ready to go. By then it was raining. We stood by a hardware store trying to get a ride in a steady rain for a while. Manchester Center is a tourist town and some tourists and their brand new cars aren't willing to give wet hikers rides sometimes I guess. A nice local man offered to give us a ride after he grabbed a few things in the store. We were grateful. He told us how it was a nice area around here but some of the ritzy summer folk who come in to their summer homes and visit on vacation kind of poison the mellow vibe around the area. Sounds like Mount Desert Island in some ways. We entered the woods again in a complete downpour. It was sloppily wet and we made our way up Bromley Mtn(3260') to a warming hut on top. There was already a mother with her 3 children up there. They were in good spirits despite being in wet cotton clothing. They asked us about our hike and gave us a P&J sandwich and some pretzels. After Widow and I left we hiked 7 more miles down then up Styles Peak(3395') and then over to Peru Peak(3430') The trail was full of ankle deep water. I had pretty much given up the idea of rock hopping a while before and just plowed through. It was the only way to make anytime. The rain had let up though and it was a nice hike despite the unruly conditions. Once you get over the fact that your going to be wet and can't do anything about it's not so bad. Right now I am drying my tshirt and shorts by wearing them. If you put a long sleeve shirt over a t shirt your body heat will dry them. It is basically the only method you can use. Sometimes putting them in your sleeping bag helps too. My socks I'm afraid are doomed to be wet until the sun comes out or they enter a dryer. It could be a while. I'm still waiting to se my first moose this year. I've seen lots of scat and tracks but no moose. Tommorrow will be another 20 miler. I want to make it to N.H. and take a day and a half off with Jenn. Then I will make to final push to Katahdin. Tommorrow I will celebrate my 28th birthday by walking in mud and wet weather. The trail will treat me right though. It has thus far. Well it's the time I love best-Sleeping bag time!
Date: 2007-07-20
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Clarendon Shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: broken clouds

Happy Trail Birthday to me! It was actually a pretty nice birthday today. The mileage was relatively easy. It didn't rain, well until the afternoon and was actually kind of sunny at times. I have come to expect rain and mud. I'm not sure what New Hampshire will be like but I know Maine is going to be very wet at times. There is a lot of water on the AT in Maine. There is a lot of mud there too. Despite its tough terrain and wet conditions I still love it and can't wait to be in the home state again. But for now I'll enjoy Vermont which has been nice despite the rain and mud. The highlight of the day was White Rock Cliffs which offered some really nice views with killer looking clouds and sun. It was quite majestic, but eery looking. I hiked today with Widow Maker again and Obie from Ireland. We hung out all day and eventually hit up a small restaurant called the Whistlestop. I got a hamburger and then grilled ham and cheese. I figured I would treat myself to two meals. Right before we got there it rained like the dickens and we got soaked. Then once we left the restaurant after a it stopped before we got there it rained again. Luckily the shelter wasn't too far away. There is a few other people here including Rockman and a Southbounder named Thorny. I'm starting to see more and more Southbounders. It's a weird feeling that I am more than three quarters done and they have still a little more before they can say they have finished a quarter. I know what they have to go through to to get to Springer, but they have done the hardest part. I have not. Tommorrow it looks as if I may stay in a hostel. I would really like to wash my clothes. My socks smell like, well sweaty, dirty, socks that haven't been dry in days. I still have to climb Killington tommorrow which should be a decent size climb. I will look forward to the views if it is clear out. Well it's hiker midnight(9:00). Time to get some rest.
Date: 2007-07-21
From: Clarendon Shelter

To: U.S 4 Back Home Again Shelter, Rutland VT
Miles today: 16.4

I took it a little easy today mileage wise. I really didn't sleep all that well last night for some reason. I hiked again today with Widow Maker and O'B. It has really been fun hiking with them the past couple of days. They said they didn't sleep all that well either. O'B slept near a woman and her dog and said that the dog was farting in his face all night. At least that didn't happen to me. We rolled out of camp at 8:15 and began a hike that would eventually take us to the top of Killington Peak(4,000'+). It was actually a pretty nice day with cool breezes and a sunny demeanor. We joked about when the rain was going to come, but it never did. Killington was awesome. There was a kind of misty fog above it, but you could see the mountainous ranges in all directions. It was a great day to be up there. The trail was muddy as usual today but it has become an expected part of the hike by now. It is just something that I have gotten use to. From Killington we made our way down through spruce and firs and into a nice section of birches. Then we went down to the road and stopped by Mcgraths Pub for a beer and a reuben. The food was good but I probably could have eaten at least two of them. It's too bad they didn't have a two for one special. Afterwards we caught a bus down to the hostel. It has the bear neccessities like shower and laundry and the people are very nice. It is run by the Twelve Tribes Community which is a sort of christian commune. Once you join you adopt a hebrew name and you work on a farm outsde of town or in their restaurant. Today was sabbath so the cafe was closed but they fed all the hikers with salad, olive bread, couscous with vegetables and salmon. It was very filling and tasty. Then for desert they gave us an apple and apricot tart thing. All in all it was a very good day. Tommorrow it's back on the trail for this guy. Only 488 miles until Katahdin. It feels weird to be that close but it is going to be a bear to get there. I just have to keep on a truckin. P.S. Thanks for all the birthday emails and phone calls that I got. It is always a spirit lifter to hear from people.