morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-25
From: Graymoor Center

To: 07/25/06 RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: clear sky

Here's a tip. Camping in an open ballfield on greengrass, with clear skies and no wind in a single walltent will result in rain inside your tent. Thecondensation was the worst I had ever experienced. Bydaylight it was starting to drip from the ceiling ofmy tent. So I got up and dressed, ate breakfast, didjournal entries and waited for my tent to dry a bit. Ileft by 8:00 but my tent was still very heavy and weteven after I tried to wipe it dry.It was a humid day and the whole day was just walking.Few road crossings, and few interesting stops. It wasa long tough day again. One item I have noticed overthe past week or so are the numerous rock walls I seenow in the woods. If they could tell their story itwould be interesting to hear. Apparentely back 200 and300 years ago much of the wooded areas I am nowwalking were fields. They had been cleared by hand, orwith the use of horse / mule and plow. The rocks werestacked around the edges of the fields forming fences.Some of the fences are just piled rocks, and some arestacked precisly square and level. It looks impressiveto consider the work that went into to clearing thesefields, and stacking these rocks and now the foresthas reclaimed the land. It must have been a meagerexistance back then. Anyway my day lasted long into the early evening. Igot the the shelter at 7:00 tired and foot sore. My newboots are better, but the breaking in is tough. I mayneed a break myself soon.Clay
Date: 2006-07-26
From: 07/25/06 RPH Shelter

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: few clouds

I started at 7:10 with something to look forward to.at 5 miles into my day I arrived at a road crossingand 3 tenths down the road was a deli / pizzeria. So Iwas happy to get there and drink two A&W cream sodas,and a Pastrami on rye. Good food and drink. I leftregenerated and refreshed. The day went along well.My feet certainly do like the smooth dirt path asopposed to the rocky terrain. Today was a variety ofboth. A few climbs, but nothing too tough. I travlledalong all day. Took a couple breaks to rest my feet. Istopped at a shelter to get water. It was an old handpump. I filled my water bottle, looked in and saw lotsof floaties. Actually they were sinkies. It lookedlike iron and rust from the pipe. I filtered it andafter that it looked an tasted fine. I miss the coldclear springs I took for granted in the south.I pressed on and finished my day at the shelter at5:00. Which was better than 7:00 last night. I set up mytent, fixed my dinner, got my water and now I havecompleted my journal entries so now I am ready to goto sleep. I need a good night's rest. I need to do 20miles tomorrow to get into Kent, Conn. Good Night,Clay
Date: 2006-07-27
From: Telephone Pioneers Shelter

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 21.3

I knew I would have a long day so I got started at6:30 making good time as the trail was mostly smooth.But for the fiist time in a long while I started toencounter hills to climb. More than the 300 to 500foot gains I had been doing since Pensylvania. I don'thave a problem with the climbs. IN fact I prefer themto bumpy, rocky terrain on level trail. I crossed into Conneticut around 10:30. That is 9states down, and 5 to go. I also noticed clear runningstreams were more common now which is refreshing to seeand play in. I came across a nice big stream thatwas too irristable to pass up. It was about noon, and Iwas hot & sweaty. I took everything out of my pocketsand jumped right in for a quick dip. The water wasjust right. Not too cold or hot. I packed up and headed out again to the next shelterto eat my lunch, cheeze and sausage. I rested a fewminutes. I knew I had 8.4 at least to go t get too thenext shelter and another mile past hat if I wanted togo into the town of Kent. I did want to just to get agood meal at least. It turned out to be the toughest 8.4 miles in a longtime. I had made a logistical error earlier in the weekso I didn't have my map with elevation profile torefer to. I had been told by other hikers that I had aclimb ahead but I didn't know how much. It turned outto be over a 1,000 foot or more steep climb in theheat of the day. It just went on and on. The summitseemed to keep moving just out of view for the longesttime. Finally when I did get to the top the trailsimply went down a hundred feet then back up, then downthen back up. I think I climbed that mountain at least4 times. It was regular trail, and some rocky trail,and some rock scrambling. A variety of challenges. I8.4 mile walk that should dave taken less than 4 hoursended up taking 6. The last mile and a half was steepcontinual toe smashing downhill. I made it to theroad. I had already decieded I was getting that mealafter all this work. To end the day's walk I had ahalf mile of pavement walking into town.Kent is a pretty little town that caters to Conneticut& New York folks. There are art galleries, and dayspas, and lots of frue, frue (my guess at thespelling) shops. Many BMWs, Volvos, Jaguars in thestreets. I stayed in the yard of the local church bythe cemetary in my tent. There are no shower orlaundry facilities for hikers in town unless you wantto spend $100+ for a bed & breakfast room. I put on my cleanest dirty shirt and went to the localbar/pizza joint and had Chicken Parmesan, and icedtea. Then I went back to my tent by the church, by thecemetary and fell asleep, tired, and dirty but fed.Tomorrow I will do a few chores but will hike aminimum of 7 miles to the first shelter out of towm.Clay
Date: 2006-07-28
From: Kent, CT

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 0.0

I didn¢t intend for today to be a zero day. It just ended up that way. I got up and ate a good breakfast and got started on my chores. I went to the outfitter, the post office, the grocery store, the library to do internet. Al those things took until 4:0 pm. I started out of town at that time with the plan of going 7 miles to the first shelter north of town. It was a half mile walk from town on the road to the trail. When I left town it was cloudy. It had rained twice earlier that day. By the time I reached the trail it was raining and thunder was off in the distance. I had a half mile of open pasture to cross before beginning a climb over rocks up the mountainside. By the time I got to the far side of the pasture it was beginning to rain hard, and the thunder was closer with lighting as well. I worked my way about 300 yards up the mountain and decided I better find a ledge to hunker down till this passes.I found a small ledge where I could sit with my pack by my side. It worked ok, but the rain still rolled down the edge and the roof of my little cave. I still got wet. The storm was intense for a while. Lots of rain, lighting, and thunder. After about 45 minutes it let up, but by then I decided it was too late to try to cover 7 miles on wet rocks. There were no campsites anywhere near where I was. Even if there were, it is illegal to camp anywhere other than a designated campsite. So the choices was walk back to the road and go the half mile back to town to sleep at the church again, or walk back to the road, go across it and go SOUTH on the A.T. to the shelter 3 tenths up the other hill. There were tent sites there I could use. I don¢t even bother with the shelters anymore. The bugs will eat you alive.So that is what I did. Down the rocks, back across the field, across the road and up the steep hill over terrain I had already covered yesterday! Not very efficient. I finally found the shelter after some trouble of searching for the blazes in the fog that had now formed. I sat and dripped dry for a while, then set up my tent, ate some dinner and went to sleep. I was glad I had gotten all my chores done, but discouraged that I hadn¢t done the miles I planned on for the day. And to top it off I went backwards on the trail and would have to cover trail I had already done again tomorrow. Oh well.Clay
Date: 2006-07-29
From: Kent, CT

To: Sharon Mountain Campground
Miles today: 19.4

I got started at 6:40 this morning, and traveled alone all day. I didn¢t even see a north bounder. I made pretty good time the weather in the morning was pleasant. It did get hot in the afternoon. Much of the trail today was in the thick forest. It became sort of claustrophobic after hours of traveling like this. Few roads, no clearings or open areas.I arrived at my planned stop for the night, Pine Swamp Brook lean to. They call streams brooks, and a shelter a lean to up here No one was there, the bugs were thick, and it really stunk there like dead animal, so I quickly decided to move on even though it was late. I went to a campsite a couple miles down trail. More closed in forest, and now the bugs are out in force. I walked as quickly as I could and still swat at the mosquitoes and biting flies. I got to the campsite at 6:15. There was a group of Boy Scouts there already. I set up my tent just as it started to rain. I rested in my tent then, went to get water. On my way back to my tent one of the Scout Moms offered my burritos they had left over. I gladly accepted because I dreaded having to cook and swat bugs. I ate up, brushed my teeth and went to bed. It was a long hot day. More miles tomorrow.Clay
Date: 2006-07-30
From: Sharon Mountain Campground

To: Brassie Brook lean to
Miles today: 18.6

I started at 6:30 and the day went smoothly. It was warm and humid. The trail was typical. Nothing of any real interest with the exception of the Great Falls. They were a nice change of scenery. I stopped in Salisbury Connecticut for lunch and a resupply. Another small New England village that doesn¢t cater to hikers. I got back on the trail about 3:0 and went the last 6 miles to the shelter. I am now again encountering higher elevations and longer climbs. Tonight I am at 1705 elevation and tomorrow I will climb to over 2600. I prefer climbs to the rocks any day. The weather for the next few days is expected to be hot & humid. I will have to get started earlier so good night for now.Clay
Date: 2006-07-31
From: Brassie Brook lean to

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I started at 7:0 and climbed Bear Mountain at 2,316 in elevation, then crossed over into Massachusetts. All day the trail was climbing along ridgebacks, hard solid rock, or descending down steep rocky terrain. Today was not a friendly foot day. The 2nd mountain of the day was Everett at 2602 elevation.I finished the day at about 5:30. I am staying at a fruit, vegetable, flower, and greenhouse sort of place that is friendly to hikers. I got my first hot shower in 11 days. It was great to wash off a lot of grime, dirt, bug spray & guts. Tomorrow is to be another hot day, but not much climbing. I will try to start earlier. We will see. Good night.Clay
Date: 2006-08-01
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Mt. Wilcox, South lean-to
Miles today: 11.7

I knew it would be a hot day so I was up just after daylight and was on the trail by 6:30. My stay at the greenhouse was uneventful. It was a hot night, but not unbearable. I made good time all morning. I stopped at Tom leonard lean-to for my first break and a snack. After about half an hour I continued on. My pace was not too fast. I knew I started early so that helped. I didn't over exert myself in the heat. I came upon Benedict Pond about 12:30 and knew immediately it was time for a swim. It wasn't very deep. It was simply a glacial pond scraped out by the receding ice a million years ago. I just floated around for 15 minutes then climbed out and sat on the large flat rocks to dry in the sun. I got back in the trail be about 1:30 and headed Northward. I arrived at Mt. Wilcox South lean to and stopped for my lunch break. I planned to have 5.9 more miles to go to a campsite for the day. I was ahead of schedule and decided to take a nap here for an hour or two. but plans change.The miracles of technology allow us to keep in contact with the rest of the world and family. While resting at the shelter my cell phone rang. I don't normally have it on during the day, but happened to have it on today. My brother called to tell me my Grandmother (Mom's Mom)had passed away. She was 90 years old and had been in a nursing home for the past 4 or 5 years so this was not unexpected. I had taken this into consideration when I decided to hike ther trail and had already decided if it occurred while I was gone that I would get off the trail to attend the funeral. It was 3:00 pm when I got started again on the trail. I hiked 3.5 miles South over trail I had already covered, past Benedict Pond and down to Mass. 23 where I hitched a ride into the town of Great Barrington, MASS. There I got a room and arranged my flight plans back to Arkansas for the funeral in Van Buren on Saturday. I got to bed about 1:00 AM but did not sleep well.
Date: 2006-08-06
To: Conway, AR
Miles today: 0.0

Hello friends,Just a brief note to update you all. I arrived in Little Rock on Wednesday afternoon. The funeral for my Grandmother was Saturday. The funeral went well. I delived the Eulogy and everyone was pleased and appreciative. The rest of my time has been spent eating, doing repaires on my gear, eating, visiting with family, eating, going through 25 pounds of mail and handling with other small errands. I have kept a quiet profile while in state these past few days. I prefer to save the reunions for when I finally finish. I will be returning to the trail this week. I have 656 miles left and intend on finishing now by October 1. Please keep your prayers and support coming. I do need it and it really does keep me going.Hiking On,Clay
Date: 2006-08-10
From: Conway, Arkansas

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: few clouds

I arrived back in Great Barrington Late Wednesdaynight. I got a motel room and did my re-supply shopping.My feet were terribly swollen from riding two days ona bus. I wondered if I would be able to get my bootson and be able to walk. I hoped at least elevating myfeet while I slept would help.My day was only 15.8 official miles, but I did about 19Counting the extra hiking I had to do to get back tothe point I left the trail last week. I started at9:45. Late for sure, but I was just too tired thismorning to start any earlier.My feet were still swollen but I managed to get themin my boots and was able to walk. It felt like theywere bricks. My knees were terribly stiff today also.The trail today was ok. NO tough climbs. There werelots of roots and rocks to contend with. Thetemperature was nice. Not nearly as hot as last week. Due to my late start it was after 7:00 when I arrivedat the cabin. I didn't get to see much of it as I hadcamp chores to do and it was getting dark. I didmanage to get in a moonlight swim / bath on the pond.The water was warm. I got to bed by 9:0. My feet hadreturned to near normal size so I was happy aboutthat. My knees continued to be stiff all day. We willsee what tomorrow brings.Clay
Date: 2006-08-11
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: scattered clouds

It actualy got a little chilly last night. I got updressed, at breakfast and broke camp. I was on thetrail by 7:30. I felt a great deal better today. Theknees were less stiff. The trail was a lot smoothertoday. Best of all the temp was great. Never above 80all day. For lunch I stopped at a blueberry farm that likeshikers. The "cookie lady" gives free cookies to hikersand allows us to refill water bottles and rest on herfront lawn. It was a nice break and I moved on at 2:00with 10 miles still to go. I arrived in Dalton at 6:15and stayed at the home of the "bird man". Rob Bird ishis name and he too likes to help hikers. He opens hishome free of charge. I got my clothes washed and ashower. Went to an all you can eat restaurant, thenslept on a roll away bed. Great guy. Thanks Rob.Tomorrow I get up to 3500 feet in elevation. Coolerweather seems to be the trend for quite a while. Iwill get my winter bag and clothes back soon. Back toohe trail.Clay
Date: 2006-08-12
From: Dalton, MA

To: Mark Noepel Lean-to
Miles today: 13.7

My stay at the home of the Birdman was fine. I leftthere by 8:0, ate breakfast at a small deli, hen hadto wait to get my bounce box that I had sent to alocal motel last week before I got off the trail. Idecided not to stay there since I would not be takinga day off as originally planned.As I waited I sat on a bench on main street andupdated my journal entries. At 9:0 I got my box andwent through it. After reviewing my plan for the nextfew days I decided to put most of the food I amcarrying in my pack into my bounce box and mail it afew days up the trail. I did this because I willencounter a couple small towns along the way and itwould be easier to buy as I go. Especially since Ihave a couple big climbs to do as well. The lessweight the better.I got on the trail at 10:40 and made good time. Myfirst stop was Cheshire, MA. I got there around 2:0.Ate a sandwich and bought a dinner at a localconvenience store. For tonight it will be turkeydressing. At 3:30 I began another big climb, butanymore you just do them automatically. Not thinkingabout them, just methodically step and push.I arrived at the Lean-to at about 6:0. I was tired. Iate my dinner and was in bed by 7:30. More milestomorrow.Clay
Date: 2006-08-13
From: Mark Noepel Lean-to

To: Seth Warnre Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: clear sky

I felt better in the morning after a pretty good nightof sleep. Did get a bit chilly. I am looking forwardto getting my winter bag. I left at 7:00. i Had 1.5miles to go to the top of Mt. Graylock, the highestpoint in Mass. The climb was not bad, but the downhillis slow and uncomfortable on knees, feet, toes, etc...I got to North Adams at noon and went first to aChinese buffet to fill up, then to the local grocerystore. I bought 2 days of food and hit the trail. Itwas a nice 2 hour break without my boots on to rest myfeet after that downhill.By 2:00 I was back on trail climbing again. The highpoint of the day was moving to the 12th state in myjourney. I am now in Vermont and even better I crossedthe 600 mile mark. With good luck and weather I shouldbe able to finish before the end of September.I arrived at the shelter at just after 6:00. There werealready about a dozen people here. Some North bounders,some A.T.Southbounders, and some people traveling theLong Trail which follows the A.T. for almost 100miles.Dinner tonight was Lipton Side Noodles with addedchicken and cheeze. Then off to bed for anothersemi-chilly night.Clay
Date: 2006-08-14
From: Seth Warnre Shelter

To: Melvin Anaheim Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

Because of the spacing of the shelters and my plan toget to Manchester Center by Thursday it was necessaryto do a short day today. Only 13.1 miles. So I wasable to sleep in till 7:40 AM today. I then did journalentries, ate breakfast and broke camp. I got on thetrail at 9:40AM. It felt odd to start the day this waybut I enjoyed not having to rush, and getting a littleextra rest. The weather has continued to still benice, and the bugs have not been a problem at all overthe past 2 days. Today's miles were fair. Some easy, some not so easy.One thing new that I am now encountering here inVermont is mud bogs. Every couple hundred yards or sothe trail will be a big black thick muddy mess. Thereare usually rocks to step on or logs. Sometimes not, and have to skirt around them. Some are just dry enoughto step through, and some are deceivingly not so dry.If you guess wrong you can get a foot and lower legcovered in nasty black gunk. I have seen moose tracks, but no moose yet. I haven'tseen a porcupine yet either. I am seeing lots ofbeaver ponds and low lying areas that I believe areprime moose area. I look forward to spotting one. I ate lunch at 1:30 and got back on the trail about2:30. I arrived at my destination at 5:30. There wereagain lots of other hikers around and it was a searchto find an available acceptable tent spot. And badnews the mosquitoes and black flies were around again. Ihope this is not an omen of things to come. Rain isforecast tonight. Hopefully it will be anotherincorrect forecast. More miles tomorrow, rain orshine.Clay
Date: 2006-08-15
From: Melvin Anaheim Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Well it rained last night. Hard & heavy. I had waterin my tent. It was not terrible but it was concerning.I was able to wipe any water that dripped on thefloor. Most of the water ran down the top and sides ofthe tent, doin no damage. I got up at 6:0 and was onthe trail by 7:30.The morning went slow but fine. The temperature wascool, in the sixties. And there was a strong wind. Itcertainly felt fall like. There was still fog andcloud cover aad everything was damp. It gave theforest an earie, unfriendly feeling. There were noviews.I stopped for lunch at noon for an hour. Back on thetrail I continued to push on. The sun was now out, butthe wind was still strong. Around 2:00 I passed aswampy area that look like a good spot for a moose tobe. I passed a trail into the swamp and immedialty sawtracks into the area, and also saw the tracks comingout and onto the A.T. Trail. Lots of tracks, goingboth north and south. Soon I noticed a particular setof Northbound tracks that looks very fresh. Sureenough after about 30 minutes I looked up to see ayoung female moose about 25 yards away facing towardme. She looked like she knew I had been following herand she wanted to take a look at me. I took a pictureor two and she continued to stand there. By now Balew,Old Red, and George had arrived behind me and we allwatched her watch us for a while. Eventually sheturned and started walking/trotting North on thetrail. We returned to walking as well. Every few yardswe would see her moving away, or turned back lookingat us. This went on for at least a half mile till sheeventually had enough of us and she dissappeared intothe woods. It was really cool to see a big animal likethis in the wild. I hope to see a larger bull soon.The rest of the afternoon was walk, walk, walk. Got tothe shelter at 6:00 ate, cleaned up, did chores and nowit is bedtime. Goodnight.Clay
Date: 2006-08-16
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: broken clouds

An uneventful day. Nice cool morning. I started at7:30 AM. Climbed up 1600 feet to elevation of 3,936 atStratton Mtn. Then down to Stratton Pond for lunch.Moved on to Spruce Peak Shelter for tonight. Noexcitement today like yesterday's moose. Terrain wasmostly better, still lots of mud bogs though. Tomorrow will be a short mileage day into town tore-supply and eat up town food. Clay
Date: 2006-08-17
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Manchester Center
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a nero. Not a zero day, but a nero day. We(me, Ballew & Old Reb) got up and on the trail by 7:00for a short day of 2.8 miles to the road. We quicklycaught a ride into the town of Manchester Center. Ivery nice quaint Vermont store that has loads ofFactory Outlet stores. So there are lots of out oftown shoppers. We got lodging at a home that rentsrooms out to hikers and travelers. No breakfast servedjust a bed, but it was nice and clean. We spent ourday doing chores and of course eating. I got my winterbag and coat sent to me, so now I am set for thisnorthern climate. I also seam sealed my tent again.Hoepfully no more leaks. Tomorrow we are back on thetrailClay
Date: 2006-08-18
From: Manchester Center

To: Big Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a long hard day. I have 5 days of food somy pack is heavy about 33 pounds. So after eatinga big breaakfast we hit the trail and right away wehave a big climb. It was slow and tiring. Actually weended up on the top of a ski slope area. Semedstrange to see the ski lift chairs empty and stoppedover nothing but grass and rocks.Since we didn't start hiking until 9:50 we were behindall day and couldn't waste much time. We ate lunchaboot 2:0 then pushed on to our destination arrivingat 7:00 dead tired. There were no tent sites at this area so for th firsttime in longer than I can remember I slept in theshelter. It went well, probably because I was so tiredand I had my warm sleeping bag now. I slept well.Clay