morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-08-05
From: Dalton

To: Mark Noupel Lean To
Miles today: 14.5

Said our goodbyes to Rob, then stopped at the diner for one last omelet. Hot day, rampant mosquitos. Hiked a ways with Tetris, examining the various mushrooms, then alone for the rest of the day. Took a long break at the Cobbles, high blocky marble outcopping with scrubby pine and birch lacing the summit. Read awhile, then quickly blew through the valley to begin the long climb up the lower slopes of Greylock. Steep at first, warm evening light through slim tall pine trunks, ground red with needles. The terrain leveled out a bit into a swampy area covered with thick mosses, then climbing again through rocky birch groves to the shelter. Built a good fire, full house. Rained most of the evening. Mark Noupel lean-to.
Date: 2008-08-06
From: Mark Noupel Shelter

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

Wet morning. Got a late start, postponing getting wet as much as possible. The climb over Greylock was surprisingly easy. Fog over everything, no views, hard to follow the trail, as it was poorly blazed where it crossed the park roads. Beautiful evergreen forests, rich vegetation, water everywhere. The ground was all orange mud, slippery, I fell a few times coming off the mountain and was plastered with it. Broke my hiking stick. It was hard to keep from sliding, even on flat ground. Glad to get to the road into North Adams, hiking the half mile into town to the AYCE Chinese place. Stayed for three hours. Got a bit sick, perhaps a touch of food poisoning. Hiked out a few miles along a beautifu crystal clear brook filled with round polished boulders. Oats and Tetris hiked on, Slayer, White Lightning and I opting to stay at Sherman Brook campsite. Wonderfu cold spring water. Soggy night. Stayed dry.
Date: 2008-08-07
From: Sherman Brook Campsite

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

Tough climb first thing up steep marble cliffs. Startled a deer in a bog near the summit. Crossed into Vermont, ankle-deep in sloppy mud. Three states to go. Vermont lives up to its reputation already. The state is a swamp.   Even so, I was moving well, and tore up the miles to a rocky outcropping where i took a snack break, talked with Slayer for awhile before forging ahead on my own, stopping at Condegon Shelter to fill up on water and rinse out my muck-filled socks. Shortly after leaving the shelter, it began to get so dark that I could hardly see the trail at my feet. Then the rain began, an all-out deluge the likes of which I¢ve never before experienced. It was harsh, thick drops hammering down, the trail a river, my glasses flooded and useless. I had to pick my way down the near-vertical descent off Harmon Hill, thunder and lightning accompanying me the whole way. Briefly tempted to hitch somewhere dry at the road crossing, but the rain was so heavy that I doubted anyone would even see me. It was impossible to see more than two feet ahead. I managed to keep myself in good spirits, aside from a moment of panic when I lost the trail. It was a long ascent out of the gap, and I was relieved to finally come to the sign for Mellville Nauheim Shelter. The place was packed with miserable hikers. Bilge Rat ended up sleeping under one of the bunks. We tried to raise spirits by telling stupid jokes.   Even so, it was cold as hell, and I will be grateful to get my winter gear back.
Date: 2008-08-08
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

Hard to leave the dry shelter in the cold misty morning, but I got a good rhythm going and made good time through the deep quagmire that covers, it seems, all of Vermud. The sun had come out by the time we reached Goddard Shelter. There were about 10 thru hikers who had their gear spread out to dry, and the place looked like a third world country. Wonderful fresh water from the spring. Hummingbirds. Moose poop all over the summit of Mt. Glastenbury, beautiful sub-alpine peak, all mossy rocks, strange iridescent blue berries, lichen, fungi. Hiked fast, trying to beat the rain, but to no avail. Trying to stay in good spirits, but the deluge got to me and I arrived at the shelter pissed and cold and wet. The place was crowded, even though there were only 4 thrus: us, Rodeo and Tetris...stupid huge group of British Special Forces guys doing "Adventure training" overran the shelter. jerks. cold.
Date: 2008-08-10
From: Douglas Shelter

To: Manchester Center
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Sunny morning. Oats found a huge bag of GORP in a trashcan. Yup, I feel like a hobo. Easy going, talking about rites of passage and goals. Bright green light on grey beech groves. Reached the road crossing to claps of thunder. Got a hitch in to Manchester Center just before the rain hit. Did our resupply, running between stores in the rain. Called Jeff at Green Mountain House Hostel to have him come pick us up. The place is incredible¢a whole house just for hikers, the owners living in the carriage house. They only take in a dozen or so hikers at a time, so the usual hostel chaos was absent. It was the four of us, plus two SOBOs and some silly college girls doing a section hike. The four of us had a room all to ourselves, with a full private bathroom and everything. Took a luxurious shower, did laundry (only time my socks have been white all week), cooked a massive lunch of french toast, listened to New Orleans jazz. Lounged about, made a huge dinner of refried beans and burritos with sweet corn and brownies. Stuffed, but still managed to find room for popcorn. Watched Olympics swimming, up ¢til 2 am talking to Joel online. Slept sweetly on fluffy pillows.
Date: 2008-08-11
From: Hanover

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Made a huge breakfast of coffee, milk, bananas, bacon and scrambled eggs with cheese, peppers and onions. Lounged around awhile, delaying the inevitable return to the waterlogged trail. Jeff ran us in to the PO¢Ularu sent a huge maildrop full of goodies. We gorged on doughnuts and licorice, then went to poke around the bookstore before hitching out of town. We got rides right away. Tetris and I got picked up by a guy in a van full of fishing tackle, the girls by a soccer mom. Back on trail, we began the climb up Bromely Mtn, a slow and slippery process. Near the summit, we were walking on an exposed ski run, fog obscuring vision, blowing freezing rain. Truly miserable. We ducked into the warming hut on the summit and took a long break. It wasn¢t warm at all, but it was dry, at least. We feasted on snacks Joel had sent us, pistachios, cherries, popcorn and such. Four o¢ clock rolled around and we¢d only hiked three miles. Venturing back into the rain was awful, the mountain¢s descent rocky and treacherous. Slayer fell and broke one of her poles. I have had few days worse. The six miles to the shelter stretched interminably.   For awhile, I hiked with Slayer, conversation distracting me from the constant torrent of rain, but in the end, I got ahead of her, and slogged alone through shin-deep mud, the trail flooded and running with a current that made it difficult to tell if I was on the trail or in a stream. Black thoughts, wanting only sun and warmth. The shelter was packed, a miserable shithole, and we had to pay to stay in it. Ten of us crammed in, the four of us, Moses and Blacksnake and some dippy girl section hikers. We huddled, trying to stay warm and get dry. Slayer had made herself a new alcohol stove, and managed to make it explode in a ball of fuel. Good entertainment.
Date: 2008-08-12
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: moderate rain

Slept relarively well, all things considered. Got a late start as no one really wanted to venture out into the wetness¢¦.it wasn¢t quite raining, a wet heavy for they referred to as ¢wraparound moisture¢ on the radio. Crossing a pond on puncheons, fog blotting out the sky and reflecting in the water so that the world was one great blank. Climbed up baker Peak, a slanted mass of rock formed by the collision of glaciers, white granite, tall pines, no views in the fog. I was having a good morning, not cold at all, making good time. The fog actually lifted, and the sun poked through from time to time. I was pushing myself, trying to beat the rain to the shelter most of the afternoon. In spite of my speed, the rain caught me on my way up a mountain, the climb made unpleasant by the slickness of the trail and the water in my eyes, my soaked dress. As I neared the summit of Whiterock Cliffs, the rain stopped and the sun burst through the clouds, light beams streaming through the pine branches, glistening on the beads of rain in their needles. Trees fragrant and thick-growing, huge white mushrooms the only thing pushing up from the soil. Magical. The summit was a jumble of marble, stark white against the blackened mud. Other hikers had built a wild jumble of cairns and fantastic rock towers and arches everywhere, the mountain crowded with them. Slick descent off the mountain, reached the shelter turn off sooner than expected. Think the mileage in the guidebook is off. Sorry to leave behind such exquisite beauty, but glad to stop for the day. Packed shelter, Tetris and Moses and Blacksnake, some other thrus that we didn¢t know. The one boy had a Gibson backpacker¢s guitar, and his music soothed the evening. Slept sporadically throughout the wet night, toe hurting, awakening me from dreams of food.
Date: 2008-08-13
From: Greenwood Shelter

To: Swansong Shelter
Miles today: 14.5

Awoke feeling as if I hadn¢t slept. Toe oozing pus, painful, swollen. Too many ups and downs. Took long breaks to read Hesse. Sun was out, blue sillouettes of distant mountains. Newts in the trail everywhere. Some of them had been stepped on, were oozing entrails¢¦some weren¢t completely dead. I had to put them out of their misery. Mud becomes exhausting. It never ends. Trail magic, the first in Vermont, encountered shortly after the afternoon rainshower had started. Walking a flat stretch beneath stately pines, swaddled in my tarp, came upon a cooler full of sodas and cheese crackers. There was a note nearby with directions to a ¢secret¢ shelter. Oats was miles ahead, so I waited for Slayer, who was wet and tired, too, and easily convinced to stop for the night. The shelter, called ¢Swansong,¢ is built on private property by a couple of former thrus. It¢s mostly log-and-peg construction, decorated with gnarled roots and candles, very clean, surrounded by a ferns and moss in a grove of hemlock and pine. A little brook nearby served as the water source. We got clean and dry, and had a quiet afternoon catching up on journaling and reading. Some sectioners joined us, but it was a quiet evening.
Date: 2008-08-14
From: Swansong Shelter

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Froze all night. The morning was actually dry, although the sun quickly disappeared behind the clouds. Set out to climb Killington, the highest peak in VT. Lost Slayer early on. Steep upper slopes, climbing over slippery tangled pine roots, trail a narrow passage between spruce which formed an impenetrable wall, so thickly did they grow. White birch skeletons, upended root plates like strange anemones. Deep reddish loam. Thick pillow-like moss, dark green, sea green, english soldier moss, some moss like tiny pine trees. Stopped briefly at the shelter near the summit, talked to some SOBO¢s, ate PB with chocolate sauce. The spring was full of suspicious looking algae, so I went on without water. Turned on some music, got a good rhythm going across the saddle of the mountain, all birch trees and pine, finally dropping down into beech trees, ferns, miles falling away quickly.   Caught up with Oats 15 miles into the day. Beautiful waterfall, boardwalk over a bog, followed by a horrible, evil mountain, four miles straight uphill, seemingly never ending. Almost crawling, barely able to move forwards. Knees and feet screaming in anguish. Spent, I fell into Stony Brook Shelter. Made a fire, popped popcorn over it. It¢s supposed to go down to 40 tonight again. I can¢t wait ¢til we get to Joe and Rebecca¢s tomorrow so I can sleep warmly again. Slayer hasn¢t shown up yet and it¢s getting dark. Hope she makes it.
Date: 2008-08-15
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: Rt.12 (Bethel, VT)
Miles today: 13.0

Up early, freezing, tore down the trail headed for Rt. 12 to meet Ularu. I was hiking with my bandana tied on like a babushka, my socks pulled up to my knees¢¦.looked ridiculous. Had fun watching the SOBO¢s reactions. There were a lot of them on the trail today. Took a break at a rock outcropping where snakes were clustered on a rock, sunning themselves. Detour to the Lookout, an old cabin with a steeply pitched roof with a rickety platform built on top¢¦amazing wilderness views, very little to be seen of civilization. A sight to ease the miles.   Just reached the parking lot when Ularu pulled in¢¦so glad to see him. Got caught up in the trail gossip, chugged a bunch of V8¢¦he¢d brought us all sorts of goodies, candy bars, chips, cookies, drinks. Slayer arrived, and we all headed off to Queechee to eat at a pizza joint that had surprisingly good cheese sticks and Greek pizza. Bellies full, we drove to Joe and Rebecca¢s place. Long gravel road back through the countryside. One of their neighbors does natural art, his property¢s covered with odd little cairns, wickerwork balls and sculpture. Joe¢s place is on top of a little hill, the living room overlooking a valley with two mountains between. Got cleaned up, then we all went to the 7 Barrels Brewery for dinner¢¦good craft brews and delicious food. Slept on the couch, comfortably.
Date: 2008-08-16
From: Bethel, VT

To: Bethel, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Up earlier than I wanted to be. Played with Janice, Joe¢s big fluffy grey pouf-cat, and moose-dog, Ashara. Joe played his guitar, sang melancholy folk songs. It was just perfect, sitting there watching the rain fall outside, sharing this music with friends. Went to the SugarShack for breakfast, rambling old diner, huge plates of food, fluffy biscuits smothered in creamy gravy with big hunks of sausage, cup after cup of coffee. We left just in time to watch angry storm clouds, lightning paint the sky with the majesty of a storm. Glad to be viewing it from a safe place. Joe went to work, and we headed to Lebanon, but went the wrong way on the highway for 50 miles. The sun was out, beautiful mountain ranges rolled by, flowers thick on the ground, tall pencil-thin pines. Glad to be out with friends. Played stupid word games all the way back to Lebanon. Ran some errands, then went to Hanover to eat at Mai Thai¢incredible spicy green curry and a thick belgian beer to wash it down. Went back to the house and made brownie sundaes while watching ¢Beowulf.¢ Joe got home, and he and I stayed up late, sharing good whiskey (Blandon Distiller¢s Edition, Macallan 12 year) and looking at his photos from Europe. We went out on the porch to watch the sun come up, then passed out for a few hours.
Date: 2008-08-17
From: Bethel, VT

To: Bethel, VT
Miles today: 0.0

When we had all finally gotten up, we headed out to get food (I don¢t even eat out this much at home¢¦.it¢s crazy). Good Chinese place, surly waitress, savory beef and broccoli with tons of fried rice. Rented a bunch of movies and went back to the house to make mudslides and veg out.
Date: 2008-08-18
From: Rt. 12

To: Cloudland Farms
Miles today: 6.5

Up early to see Ularu off, then back to bed. Woke to a sunny day. Oats looked at Slayer, ¢Is that a ring?¢ Turns out Ularu¢d proposed the night before. It¢s about time. Joe played for us again, then we finally got our gear together and he drove us back to the trailhead. Reluctant to leave. The pack feels unbearably heavy, now that I have the extra weight of my winter gear. It¢s making my shins ache. But I¢m glad to have a warm sleeping bag again. Had a difficult climb out of the valley¢¦we all stopped to rest in a field overlooking the mountains for about an hour or so. The rest of the hike wasn¢t bad, but we were tired after all the fun on our days off, so we called it quits after only six miles at Cloudland Farms. The owner was very friendly, let us sleep in one of the clean horse stalls. The farm was as idyllic a spot as one could hope to find, and we spent the evening relaxing in the yard, enjoying our surroundings. There were plump pigs, horses, cows, and chickens, awaiting the following day¢s butchering. We shared a pint of maple ice cream for dinner. A bit before dark, Barackus, Walka and Dingo dog showed up. It began thundering, great flashes of lightning tearing the sky. We retreated to watch from the safety of the barn.
Date: 2008-08-19
From: Cloudland Farms

To: Hanover
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Not raining, but overcast, cold. About a mile into the day, it began to drizzle. Miserable and gross¢¦ran across the open fields that we crossed, trying to stay out of the wind. Tubes hung in the trees, ducts for the maple sap. The rain stopped just as we reached the road in West Hartford. There was a little deli right on the A.T, so we stopped for lunch, huge chicken club, loaded with meat and veggies. A thoroughly satisfying sammich. Dragging a bit after the meal, but the miles still came easily, trail running through an open forest of tall, bare-trunked pines. Took a blue blaze into Norwich¢¦the blazes petered out, but I still managed to find my way back to the A.T. and crossed the bridge into New Hampshire with gladness bursting in my heart¢¦only two states to go! Stopped at Left Bank Books in Hanover¢¦Zemora, who¢d hiked a section in the spring, works there¢her stepmom owns the place. She invited us to spend the night at her family¢s house. We did our resupply at the food co-op, best bulk store on the A.T, then met Barackus, Walka, Zemora and Joe and Rebecca, who¢d driven up, at Mai Thai. We ate heartily, took forever dividing the check seven ways. Zemora took us to Ramunto¢s Pizza¢they give a free slice of pizza to thru¢s¢before heading back to her place, a great old farm house with warping floors and crooked, steep attic stairs. Beautiful. Played with the cats, drank tea and showered. Slept hard, but not long enough.
Date: 2008-08-20
From: Hanover

To: Moose Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

Awake early, feeling disoriented. Fresh eggs from the household chickens, tea for breakfast. Zemora¢s dad showed us how to I.D. some edible mushrooms, chantrelles, lion¢s beard, medusas. They gave us some lunchmeat, and Zemora¢s stepmom, Nancy, drove us back to the bookstore where I bought a bunch of good things to read. Said our goodbyes, then went downstairs to the coffee place to sit on the sidewalk and loiter with our caffeine. Watched the college freaks, yelled at all the hikers coming through. Saw some people we hadn¢t hiked with in awhile, Bogey and Bacall, Chainsaw. Hiked out around noon, finally, climbing through lush, mushroomy pine forests. Picked some choice edibles. Hard climb up Moose Mtn. rewarded by lovely views, a nice flat rock to sit on. Walka Walka and Barackus were there, shared the cheap white wine they¢d packed out of town. Short jaunt to the shelter where we got a blazing fire going. Plenty of good dead pine around the site. White Lightning, Rue and Rookie joined us. Good night, great views of the stars from the shelter.
Date: 2008-08-21
From: Moose Mtn. Shelter

To: Smart's Mtn.
Miles today: 12.4

Sunny morning. Toe infection¢s not clearing up¢¦stopped on a ledge overlooking the hills for some improv surgery. Watched Walka throw a frisbee over the edge. Long climb up Smarts Mountain, a million false summits, but beautiful views, scrambling over pink rocks veined with quartz, huge boulders sun hot above¢¦.then, after climbing forever, the trail went DOWN into a low saddle covered with beech trees before climbing straight again back into the sub-alpine region and on to the actual summit of Smarts. Discouraged and frustrated, we reached the fire tower on the summit. Long walk down to the muddy spring, had to dip water, lots of pine needles in the water. Slept in the cabin atop the tower. It had some panes of glass broken out, but was quite snug, all in all. Climbed up before sunset to watch the mountains change colours. Saw a hot air balloon and a huge rabbit hopping around on the ground below. Amighty red sunset, followed by an afterglow that turned the windows pink. Stars everywhere. Saw shooting stars. Slept, content.
Date: 2008-08-22
From: Smarts Mtn. Firetower

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 12.6

Sun pinked the morning sky, breakfast eaten in the scaffolding of the tower, the world below us blanketed in cloud, mountains cresting above, everything a cool blue. Hiking off the peak, blue bead lilies, spruce, thick mosses in deep emerald, sea green massed together. At the foot of the mountain, a rocky crevice, tea-tinted water rushing through. Sat on the banks of the river to read before tackling the climb up Cube Mountain, pink boulders pushing up, twisted firs, bleached trunks of dead trees, rounded forms, sunshine hot on the head, painfully blue sky, views back to Smarts, smaller mountains arrayed around it.Lounged on the summit before heading to Ore Hill shelter, the last several miles a miserable swamp, struggling to hike quickly through the sucking mud to escape the maddening mosquitos. Quickly built up a fire to drive the bugs away.
Date: 2008-08-23
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: broken clouds

Easing in to the morning hike, feeling out of sorts and not at all ready to tackle Mt. Mossilauke. Who should appear but Saint Tank, coming up the trail with a pack full of beer. We had a drink, then hiked quickly to the road crossing and down to the Hikers Welcome hostel to see Bag o¢ Tricks. Sat around talking for awhile before heading into the Whites. Began steadily climbing the lower slopes of Mossilauke, the terrain gradually getting steeper and steeper as the trail went on, toiling upwards over large hunks of rock, dripping sweat, running low on water, until finally reaching the saddle of the mountain, an avenue running between thickly growing stunted pines which got shorter and shorter until the trail eventually broke free from the trees, revealing the vast expanse of New Hampshire¢s mountains, the Whites looming huge to the right, the gentler slopes of the south to the left. Filled with a sweeping feeling of awe, the wind buffeting against me, the alpine vegetation colouring the summit with red bunchberries, lingeonberries, tawny grasses, vivid lichens, pinkish rocks, and everything in the distance turning colours in the late afternoon light, mountains of lavender and violet, mountains of dusky blue, range after range, nothing flat. Sat for awhile reveling in the beauty of the world above treeline, , like the Southwest, no subtlety, everything open and explicit.   Hiked down to Beaver Brook shelter in the dusky evening light. Perfect views from our ¢bedroom,¢ two ranges of purpling mountains framed by white-barked aspens. The stars had a frosty brilliance. Kept awake by some idiot section hikers who rolled in after midnight and spent an hour setting up camp, headlights shining everywhere.