morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-02
From: Green Mountain House

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: light rain

Left the hostel with the 6:30 a.m. group, there were 4 of us, Mission, Flossie, Gray Squirrel and myself. I am chipping away at the miles. Today started off as so many of the town stops do with a steep up back into the mountains, a little over 800', not too bad. The climb was up Bromley Mountain, one of Vermonts many ski mountains. The last 4/10ths of mile was on a ski slope and much easier than the rocky/rooty woods trail. When I got to the top the gondola for skiers was next to the trail. Closed because of out of season so I took a break and sat on one of the chair lift chairs for a snack and picture break. Then down the mountain to Mad Tom Notch where the water source is a hand pump. I had only one swallow of water left and drank it quickly to refill my bottle (the other bottle had Cabernet in it). I pumped that handle till I was ready to drop, nothing. The next water source was 4.2 miles away. Trouble. Up came a father son hiker, the 19 year old tried as well, no luck. Off I went sweating and worried. It did not take long till I was in distress, oh well. After an hour and a half a young couple that had stayed at the hostel with me the night before caught up with me. I asked had they tried the pump and Tiger said yes, did he have any luck, I told him I had pumped about forty times, he said he did fifty or more and finally got it to work. I asked could they spare a couple of gulps of water, yes!!! Yay. That was the best water I have ever had, bar none. Where I got to the spring later on, forget the treating it looked too good to wait, and it was ice cold straight out of the ground right in front of me. Heaven. When I reached they shelter it was still early enough to go on to the next one, but threatening rain. At the shelter were the father and son, taking a short nap, and a married couple of teachers from Austin Texas, hiking south. It started pouring and since this was my original planned destination I stayed. The father son went on, and the teachers stayed with me. They had been where I was planning on going and gave me some pointers that came in handy later on. Off to sleep early.
Date: 2014-07-03
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Little Rock Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light rain

Started walking before 7 again. Very overcast most of the day and relatively easy trail conditions. I pasted three shelters before reaching the one that I stayed at. In this part of Vermont they are closely spaced. When I got to the pond that the shelter I stayed at the caretaker was setting up his permanent tent type shelter. The pond was very nice and three guys were taking a swim. I was tempted but did not. The shelter was a very nice one with bunks, and exceptionally clean with a big covered deck with picnic table on it. The caretaker said there was rain forecast for 6 pm. He was right and it rained most of the night. Good time to be in a shelter. I met a hiker name Marty and a couple that had started their hike from the Pinhoti in Alabama. Off to sleep.
Date: 2014-07-04
From: Little Rock Pond Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: broken clouds

I am going to try to do this with my phone and by voice. Since the library would only allow me 30 minutes use on the computers there I only got two days entered. So here goes forgive the whatever words come out when this interprets my voice. I started working a little before seven again and had to skirt the lake her the ponds they call him up here very rocky and Rudy no place to put your feet for about the first 20 or 30 minutes and pass some some rock walls that had some metal I guess you're calm artifacts it probably had been there for 100 years. Oh wow I just reread the past sentencing you just can have to figure it out guys because I'm not going to go back and change it all. Around 1030 in the morning I came upon what I will call a rock Karen garden made a couple of pictures and it's traditional to add a rock to the Karen showing that you passed so I did dad and then took a picture of exactly where I did it for memory sake. Karen should be cairn. I later came to an overlooked it looked down to the Redmond airport really need to view it took a few pictures of it didn't really realize that today was 4 July until late in the day so arrived at the Minerva Hinchley shelter and set up and went to bed I'm think I had that Sheltrow myself at night.
Date: 2014-07-05
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: scattered clouds

I need to correct yesterday entry. I met two people at the shelter.Nami (national association of mental illness), a gentleman a few years older than me that he is finishing his through hike is well he is headed to Katahdin. Also there was mid twenties aged German man named 'hard time in San quinton'. So, anyway I was the first one to leave that morning. After a short time I reached the bottom of a gorge or the river went through with a beautiful suspension bridge and stopped and took a video short video. I looked back and Hardtimes was coming across the bridge so I took his picture and said farewell to him since I knew I would never catch him further head. About an hour before I stop for lunch Nami caught and passed me and when I reach the Gov. Clements shelter it was just before three and a gentleman there said Nami had just left about 15 minutes earlier. This is the stone shelter that my wife posted on Facebook if some of you have seen it. After I finished lunch there it was a little after three and Mount Killington was in front of me I had just done about 2 miles of the but there were 4 miles still to go so I said no. I gathered a lot of firewood because the shelter had an inside huge stone fireplace built-in to the left wall. I built a fire and settled in my stuff and shortly afterwards young lady hiker came in she didn't have a trail name and I hate saying but I forget her real name after that a couple that were just out for a one night overnighter locals came in as my fire was burning down they gathered more firewood. These were not through hikers so they were completely unaware of what hiker midnight was I went ahead and went to bed is they were chatting in keeping the fire going. Little later another through hiker came in after 730 your close date I guess and he settled in and also went to bed. I was up before 6 AM trying to get out and of course these people were still very much asleep I left a little bit before seven this morning but within about 2 1/2 hours that next day I was caught by to those hikers so I'm getting the past myself I will stop now and had that in tomorrow's journal. I just reread this again forgive the chances being wrong the words being wrong punctuation being wrong and all of the voice stuff but it sure is much easier to enter so just decipher as best you can.
Date: 2014-07-06
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: Rutland
Miles today: 10.6

Well I got up before everyone else this morning loaded up and started up the mountain I know I still had right at 4 miles actually from 86.4 to 90.7 so 4.3 miles of constant up. About two thirds of the way up the mountain of the young through hiker that had come in late last night trail name catch up caught up with me as I was taking a break and eat my breakfast at a spring and also with him was that young Long Trail hiker. When I got to the top where the Cooper Lodge shelter was it was the top of Killington Mountain I had passed through a pastor place it took you out on the ski slopes but I didn't really go out and look at it. The shelter was so close to everything it was kind of trashed with graffiti. I got the phone number off of the guide for the bus line that runs on US 4 in Vermont for which is the road that goes into Rutland and gave them a call and found out the bus comes by at 23 minutes after the hour up until 623. I had 3.8 miles to go get down to the road and then had to walk up the road about 3/10 to where the bus actually pulled over and stop so I just didn't I wanted to get there in time for the 323 bus long story short I almost ran down the mountain where I could but I made it and caught 323 bus into Rutland. When I got to the yellow deli hostile a little after four which was only about two blocks from where the bus terminal was when I came in Nami was here. We went out to a nice restaurant and had some Italian food and a couple of beers and came back and chilled. I had already done all my laundry and gotten settled in. It was a good night and this is a wonderful hostel. I will be taking a zero day here tomorrow because I am now at only 98.9 miles to go. Just 10 hiking days and I'm done I will probably spend the day in Hanover New Hampshire just look around. Off to bed will continue tomorrow.
Date: 2014-07-07
From: Rutland

To: Rutland
Miles today: 0.0

Took a zero today. Nami went back to the trail early. The hostel had free breakfast for hikers staying there. The restaurant portion that the breakfast was served in was open only to us at that time. It was a very old and very nicely done room with original brick wall and much burled wood and leather combination wrap around seating, with super paintings painted on the brick. Sunken floor, just all around neat room. I did my resupply and treated myself to a movie. Everything was within walking distance of the hostel. The movie was How to Train Your Dragon II. Spend some time in the library catching up some of my journal entries, but they limited the use to only thirty minutes so I didn't get but like two days caught up.I ate in the deli side of the restaurant and had a fabulous sandwich. Off to bed, this time on a lower bunk, thank goodness.
Date: 2014-07-08
From: Rutland

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

Left right after breakfast this morning. I was the only hiker down there for breakfast and they offered to do eggs and the works, but I wanted to catch the first bus back to the trailhead at 8:30 so just had cereal, coffee and toast. This is still much better fare than my normal pop-tarts and cereal bars with creek water (best water ever). I told the driver as soon as I got on that I was getting off at the trailhead. What I did not realize is that he was thinking of a different trailhead and he took me a half mile past the AT. Oh well, I walked down the highway to the right spot and rejoined the trail where I had gotten off two days earlier. As normal the trail went up hill to begin with, not too bad though. One mile in I came to what is called the Maine Junction, this is where the VLT, Vermont Long Trail and the AT diverge from each other. Up until this point they had been the same trail, or shared trail. Here the LT took a left and continued pretty much due north, where the AT continued straight on and slightly east, heading to the NH border. A couple miles further on the trail passes through Gifford Woods State Park. I stopped on a picnic table and had a early snack. As I passed by Kent Pond there was much evidence of beaver activity, downed trees, etc. Next past Thundering Falls and up my only real climb of the day, Quimby Mountain. When I got to the shelter on the down the other of the mountain there was a young section hiker already there. His trail name is Golden Bear and he is an 18 year old from Mass that had just started his hike a few days earlier. Later a young guy who had recently gotten out of the army came in. His trail name is Midnight Sparkle, also a very nice and interesting person. We chatted, ate and went to sleep. Oh, yeah and Golden Bear kept us a nice campfire going for a while.
Date: 2014-07-09
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 9.9

Up and out of the shelter around 8. Both other hikers beat me out by a few minutes. When I got to the first water source to fill up, Midnight Sparkle was there and I took his picture before he continued on. Today had about six up and down hills, no real mountains. Sometimes I would rather have one or two long ups/downs and get it over with. This was not so bad though because there was actually quite a bit of level, which is not common, so I liked that part of the day. I reached the 2100 total miles today. There is an error somewhere in the numbers because it appears that I reached it yesterday, not so. Last year I came south 389.6 miles, therefore when I pass the 1710.4 marker northbound then it is 2100, which I did today. About an hour before getting to the shelter it started the lightning and thunder and shortly after the first sounds came the rain. It got hard enough that I actually wore my rain coat with the hood up over the Bama ball cap. When I got to the shelter I found out that the rain cover on the pack did not do a good job at all. My sleeping bag compartment had a half cup of water in it. No worries, the sleeping bag is in a waterproof stuff sack, just kind of annoying. I hung up much of the wet stuff to dry in the shelter then settled in to enjoy my libation. My PowerAde bottle was filled with Cabernet that I had picked up in Rutland and man did that make the rain more tolerable. I just sat on the edge of the shelter and drank wine from my 30 year old Krispy Kreme white plastic coffee cup and took video of the rain. Shortly after getting settled in two other thru hikers joined me. We chatted, ate and hit the bag.
Date: 2014-07-10
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Another of those days that has no level in it, either going up or down almost all day. I had only been on the trail about an hour when I looked over in the trees and saw the remains of a ruin. Only the foundation walls beneath ground and part of the chimney were still standing. My guess would be either from the late 1700's or early 1800's. Took a video and a couple of pictures, then proceeded on. At about 9:50 I came down to Vt. 12, a paved road that the guide showed a farm that had a deli/store only 2/10ths west on the road and that it opened at 10. Visions of town food turned me west. I had a great breakfast burrito and a cup or coffee and a milk, very refreshing, a place called On The Edge Farm. Returned to the trail and the requisite climb up the mountain from the road. After about a half mile steep climb I came out of the trees to a large freshly mowed field of hay. Problem, the trail disappeared under the hay, after much looking across the field I saw what appeared to be where the trail entered the woods on the other side. Yep, so off I went and it was indeed the correct spot. Further on I came to my first sighting of the tubes that ran through the woods carrying the maple sap for making maple syrup. Took some pictures and came to another field, this one had been mowed where the trail was, thank you farmer.I reached another summit and could look across the valley to a large ski slope with multiple runs through the trees. At the last road crossing for the day there was a cooler of trail magic. I took two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a package for the making of smores and filled my water bottle from the gallon jugs of water they had left. When I got to the road this was one of those rare places that where the continuation of the trail on the other side was not evident. After going up the road and then down the road I finally found where it reentered, about 2/10ths down the road. When I got to the shelter it was after 6 and still I was the only one there. Someone had left a large pile of firewood,,very rare. After getting more water and setting up my sleeping pad and bag in the shelter I built a good campfire and had my sandwiches for supper. I went to bed before 8. After only a few minutes in bed another hiker came in and very considerately was quiet in his set up. However, 20 minutes later I could here others approaching from behind the shelter, yahooing their arrival. I finally sat up and chatted after they rebuilt the fire. Went to sleep after 10PM. BTW hiker midnight is 8 for older guys and 9 for younger guys. Finally all in bed and off to sleep.
Date: 2014-07-11
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 14.7

This was a rolling day with no killing mountains to climb. My plan was to get up early and walk all the way to Hanover by early afternoon if possible. Even though it was late getting to sleep last night I woke a few minutes before 5 and by 5:07 was getting ready to leave. My fellow hikers were still snoozing when I walked out at 6:00 am. Of course they passed me by lunch time. I passed some really great summit views and fantastic old trees that I took some pictures of. When I came to the outskirts of West Hartford and was road walking a section where the AT was on the roads for about a mile a man leaned off his porch and asked if I would like some breakfast. I thanked him but told him I had just eaten. I so wanted to stop and have real home cooked food but also knew I had a higher than my average mileage day. As it later turned out I could have stopped. The hikers that passed me later told me how great his breakfast was and great a trail angel he was, my loss. I stopped at the Happy Hill shelter and fixed my lunch of summer sausage and cheese with crackers, granola bar and chocolate...standard fare. Another thru hiker pulled in before I finished and joined me, we headed back to trail and on toward Hanover. When we hit the road outside of Norwich, Ct. it became road walking all the way to Hanover...a couple of miles. There was another trail magic cooler along the way and this one had cold water melon slices in it, I ate two. Half way across the Connecticut river you leave Vermont and enter NH. This is one of the iconic photo spots because of the granite sign on the bridge. I took the requisite pictures and crossed over. Within, a half mile of entering Hanover, NH., you are on the Dartmouth campus. From Rutland I had obtained a list of the people that volunteered as host for hikers in Hanover. The list had between 25-30 names on it. On my third call I got a wonderful gentleman that said call him when I got to town and he would come and pick me up. I called and thirty minutes later he picked me up at the pizza place I had called him from.When he picked me up he told me that one of my trail friends was at his house, sure enough Golden Bear was there, the 18 year old out for a long section hike. He was getting off trail for a few days and going home though because of an aggravated hamstring. My host gave me my own room with a TV, private entrance and exit to the back yard and patio...fantastic. I took a zero here the next day. I can't say enough good things about my host. He is two years younger than me and still working. For his recreation he is a 'peak bagger', and has done all the peaks over 4000 ft in the White Mountains, somewhere in the 30's. Me, I prefer the flat as my Idaho hiking buddies will attest to. Yeah, well so why am I out here....you gotta do what you gotta do.
Date: 2014-07-12
From: Hanover, NH

To: Zero
Miles today: 0.0

It is a Saturday morning and Greg doesn't work today. He took me to an area that I could shop and catch a movie. He dropped me off and said call later. I went to a movie, I won't mention it because I did not like it that much. Then I did my resupply shopping for my last five days of walking that would start tomorrow. I killed time in the outfitter as I was waiting on my host.When he picked me up we talked about the upcoming conclusion of my long hike. Only 5 hiking days to go. As it turned out my airline ticket was purchased earlier by my wife and I was going to finish 4 days before my flight. My plan was to stay at the hostel where I finished for a few days then take the bus to Boston and fly home. Greg volunteered to come and pick me up when I finished. This was just too kind, I thanked him profusely and we arranged when he would get to the hostel, 6pm on Thursday. I went to bed with a good plan for the finish and well supplied.
Date: 2014-07-13
From: Hanover, NH

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: broken clouds

Greg offered to drop me off where the trail entered the woods, but I explained that I had to start back at the pizza place I had come off from so that I would not skip any of the trail. The trail passes right through town and I had been on it when he picked me up two days ago. After a road walk of about 7/10ths mile I came to the spot where it left the road and passed some athletic fields and reentered the woods.Only had a couple of peaks to go over before reaching Moose Mountain shelter. I took a couple of video's along the way and just a handful of pictures. I arrived at the shelter a little before five to find a married couple section hiking and they already had a fire going. Their trail names were Old Man and his wife. She is a real trooper to be out here since she has had three hip replacements. A short while later a thru hiker named Shortcut joined us. There were four of us in the shelter tonight. Off to bed and off to sleep. 4 to go.
Date: 2014-07-14
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Fire Wardem cabin
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: light rain

Though this was a couple miles less than going into Hanover I knew it would be much tougher. It started up a couple hundred, then down a thousand, then back up a thousand, then down eleven hundred, then ended with a two thousand four hundred foot climb up Smarts Mountain to the fire tower and cabin. Just before noon I came to the Ice Cream man's house. There is a sign on the trail that directs you to his house for free ice cream. Tradition dictates you take this side trail, also a deep desire for ice cream. I met Mr. Ackerly and chatted with him a while and found out how small the world is. He had just come back from the hospital in Hanover visiting a friend in the cardiac unit and had met Greg, my host of a couple days back. He could not have enough good things to say about him. Congrats Greg.When I finally made it up the steep ascent (log steps, iron rungs, and stacked boulders) to the summit I found two young southbound thru hikers already there. It was a long way down hill to the water source and one of the young guys felt sorry for this old man and went to get water for me. Thank you "Hungarian Revolution'. Yeah that is truly his trail name. The day ended with 5 of us in the area, one slept on the porch, one on top of the fire tower, one in a tent and HR in the cabin with me. The bugs were terrible so I pitched my tent in the cabin since it was so empty anyway. 3 to go.
Date: 2014-07-15
From: Fire Wardem cabin

To: Ore Hill campsite
Miles today: 12.8

Well when you are on the summit there is only one way to go and that is down. When I left the shelter and started down I looked at the guide and saw that it was 3.9 miles to the bottom, continuous. When I got to South Jacobs Brook at the bottom I stopped for a break and drink. Next was a three mile ascent to Mt. Cube south peak. This one had some of those false summits that drive me crazy, I came to what I thought was finally the top with a granite slab only to see up in the distance where I was really headed. The climb was rewarding as the views were about 280 degree and phenomenal. I had lunch here along with a lot of day hikers that had come up from the other direction. I looked around and saw one person that I thought how in the world did she get up here. Another case of you can't tell a book by it's cover. I started down the 3.8 miles of the other side of Mt. Cube and soon passed this lady who was going slow. One of the few times I passed anybody on the trail. When I got to the campsite there were three southbound thru hikers there with their tents set up already and just chillin. As it turned out they were also from Birmingham. We chatted for some time then I found a good spot to pitch my tent. A little later a northbound girl came in and within ten minutes of her two northbound guys. I cooked my food and ate, said goodnight and climbed into the tent. I read my book with my headlight like I normally do for 10 to 20 minutes then went to sleep. At 10:55 pm the lightning and thunder followed by hugh rain storm woke me up. It normally helps you sleep.