morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-08-04
From: Rt.25A/Camp Pemigewasset

To: Mt. Smarts Ranger Cabin
Miles today: 10.2

Thursday, August 4Day 34. 25A ¢ Mt. Smarts Ranger Cabin (10.2 mi.) The breakfast at Camp ¢Pemi¢ was sub-par: scrambled eggs from a box. We were planning to do 17 today followed by a 17 tomorrow to get into Hanover, but because of breakfast Bouie, Steiner and I didn¢t get started ¢til 10. Then 5 miles in it started to rain and it was getting late so we decided to cut the day short, do 5 more miles and 24 miles tomorrow. So far the plan is working, but we¢ll see after tomorrow.
Date: 2005-08-05
From: Mt. Smarts Ranger Cabin

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: haze

Friday, August 5Day 35. Mt. Smarts ¢ Hanover, NH (Darmouth) (24 mi.) Today was my personal best for miles, 24. Now that we were with Mt. Moosilauke, the terrain is easier which makes 24 miles possible. There were a couple of mountains we went over, nothing too big, but they were made a lot harder by the humidity and lack of water sources. But Bouie and I made it in 11.5 hours, including 2 hours worth of breaks. When we got into town, I got 2 large chocolate fudge brownie milkshakes which were delicious. We decided we¢d stay in the basement of one of the Darmouth dorms where they had washers and dryers and free showers. So after waiting at the door to be let in, we dropped off our stuff, got some pizza, and went to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Date: 2005-08-06
From: Hanover, NH

To: Zero Day in Hanover
Miles today: 0.0

Saturday, August 6Day 36. Zero Day in Hanover   Last night at 5:30 in the morning as we were sleeping in the dorm basement, Bouie and I were awakened by a security guard of some kind. He told us we couldn¢t be there but we could keep sleeping as long as we moved in the morning. Well there was plenty of time for that during the zero day. I went and caught an AYCE (all you can eat) breakfast with a few other Sobos. The rest of the day consisted of relaxing in the quad, watching a Shriners¢ parade, seeing Batman Begins, eating a vermonster with five other hikers (it¢s a little bit of everything in a Ben & Jerry¢s in a bucket, including 2 scoops of ice cream) and watching TV. I ended up only having popcorn for lunch and the vermonster of dinner, so at 10:30 I had to even it out with a salad. Bouie, his brother Rooster and I ended up sleeping in the basement of the DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club) headquarters.
Date: 2005-08-07
From: Zero Day in Hanover

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

Sunday, August 7Day 37. Hanover, NH ¢ Happy Hill Shelter (6 mi.) We had another AYCE breakfast this morning and that lasted ¢til 11, so we decided to have a ¢Nero¢ and not leave until 4 only doing 6 miles. This turned out well. My body got another chance to heal but without getting stiff, and the terrain turned out to be very easy which is promising for the future. Today was also a milestone because I crossed into my third state, Vermont.
Date: 2005-08-08
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Vt. 12/Red Barn
Miles today: 17.0

Monday, August 8Day 38. Happy Hill Shelter ¢ Vermont 12/Red Barn (17 mi.) I started to really get an idea of what VT Is like today. NH was mountainous with big peaks above treeline; VT is hillier with fields on top of a lot of the hills. Instead of having big ups and downs in notches, there are smaller, but a lot more, ups and downs. So it¢s easier but can still get tiring. About 4 miles into the hike we got to a bridge that we could jump off of into a river and there were some little rapids you could play in. So Bouie and I spent 2 hours there, swimming, drying off and eating. Tonight I¢m staying in an old barn house that a family has opened to hikers. It¢s got mattresses, couches and a radio, so it should be a nice spot to spend the night. Oh yeah, and it¢s free.
Date: 2005-08-09
From: Vt. 12/Red Barn

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Tuesday, August 9Day 39. Vt.12 ¢ Stony Brook Shelter (13 mi.) This morning I had to go into town to get some food. I had to hitch-hike though, so it took a while and I didn¢t leave until 10:15. I was planning to go 21 miles to an inn that¢s at the point where the AT and Long Trail meet and it¢s supposed to be nice. I got to this shelter though at 5, nine miles from the inn, and was convinced by Bouie to stay and go to the inn for tomorrow night. So two easy days, but I¢ll have to make them up.
Date: 2005-08-10
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: The Inn at Long Trail/Rt. 4
Miles today: 12.0

Wednesday, August 10Day 40. Stony Brook Shelter ¢ The Inn at Long Trail/Rt. 4 Short hike today to the inn. I was going to sleep in a little this morning, but there were about 15 people at the shelter last night (mostly northbound), and they had other plans for when I¢d wake up. It was a nice easy hike all the same and for some reason, I feel as if I needed the rest. Unfortunately though, I¢ve been watching more TV than sleeping.
Date: 2005-08-11
From: The Inn at Long Trail/Rt. 4

To: The Secret Shelter
Miles today: 10.0

Thursday, August 11Day 41. Inn at Long Trail/Rt.4 ¢ The Secret Shelter (10 mi.) Another short day, but it¢s O.K. because it was worth it. I started off ¢blue blazing¢ (a side trail marked with blue blazes instead of white) on a trail that used to be the AT. I got to a shelter near the top of Mt. Killington and after lunch I met up with Bouie and Rooster. We had heard that there were free gondola rides at the top down the mountain. At the top we met a Nobo who wanted to do some Trail Magic, so she gave us $20. We went down in the gondola to see if we could find some cheap food. We didn¢t find any food, but there was a water park with 2 water slides. After spending our $20 there and going back to the Trail, we made our way 4.5 miles to a road where we walked along to a ¢secret shelter¢ we had heard about. It¢s a packed house here, both Nobos and Sobos, but it¢s a great group. The Nobos have some instruments with them so there¢s been a backdrop of music all night which should be nice to go to sleep to.
Date: 2005-08-12
From: The Secret Shelter

To: Lula Tye Shelter 
Miles today: 18.0

Friday, August 12Day 42. The Secret Shelter ¢ Lula Tye Shelter (18 mi.) Today was a busy day. There was the Whistle Stop Caf© where I got a milkshake and bacon cheeseburger, then an hour swim in a gorge. These things set me back quite a bit and on top of that, it started raining. So at a road, Steiner, Bouie and I decided to hitch into the nearest town for pizza. Going in, Steiner was able to flag down the first car, but coming out of town, she got a ride in a van with only room for one. So without Steiner, Bouie and I couldn¢t get a ride for another 40 minutes. Finally, by 7:30 we got back on the Trail. We were hiking in the dark for 2 hours, and it was raining which made it quite miserable. We never caught up to Steiner, so we figured she stopped when it got dark.
Date: 2005-08-13
From: Lula Tye Shelter 

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 4.7
Weather: few clouds

Saturday, August 13Day 43. Lula Tye Shelter ¢ Lost Pond Shelter (4.7 mi.) Nero day! This morning I wasn¢t feeling too energetic ¢ definitely not enough to do the 19 into town I was planning for a re-supply. So after 3 miles to the next shelter we met up with Rooster. It was then that we decided to wait around for Steiner and then only do 1.7 mi. to the next shelter which was the only one within 13 mi. that we didn¢t have to pay for. Well, it feels good to be lazy¢¦ until you have to make up the miles.
Date: 2005-08-14
From: Lost Pond Shelter

To: Manchester Center/VT 
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Sunday, August 14Day 44. Lost Pond Shelter ¢ Manchester Center, VT (14.5 mi.) Woke up early today to get into town early enough for lunch. It was another cloudy day (3rd in a row) which eventually turned to rain. We made the 14.5 miles by 1:30 over a few Vermont style mountains, proving that we can do the miles ¢ we¢ve just been lazy. In town there turned out to be around 15 Sobos, some of which I hadn¢t met yet. 5 of us, the original group from Eliza Brook (minus Puck), had a big Mexican dinner. We all found a place to stay in a woman¢s house ¢ she takes in hikers and lets them stay in the basement.
Date: 2005-08-15
From: Manchester Center/VT 

To: Zero day in Manchester
Miles today: 0.0

Monday, August 15Day 45. Manchester, VT (Zero)   I¢m so ashamed, another zero. Steiner, Bad Cheese and Looney had to pick up mail in town, so the waiting around rubbed off on Bouie, Rooster and me. Also, the house is a lot of fun with movies and an old-school Super Nintendo. So we¢ve occupied ourselves with 5 movies and lots of video games.
Date: 2005-08-16
From: Zero day in Manchester

To: Story Brook Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: light rain

Tuesday, August 16Day 46. Manchester Center, VT ¢ Story Brook Shelter (21 mi.) Well it was time to start actually making some miles. We needed to kick it up a notch, Bam! So a solid 21 mile day with a 9:30 start ¢ not bad! There was a nice mountain we went over too, Stratton Mt. No room in the shelter tonight, so I¢m sleeping under the stars, ¢cowboying it.¢ Even though it rained earlier today, it¢s looking clear now and I should be able to see some of the stars. Another big day planned for tomorrow: 19 miles into Bennington and my 1st maildrop.
Date: 2005-08-18
From: Story Brook Shelter

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: clear sky

Thursday, August 18Day 48. Vt. 9/Bennington ¢ Congdon Shelter (4.2 mi.) Today I received my 1st maildrop with some maps, money and letters from friends. The letters were nice even if they were wishing me a happy birthday over a month after my actual b¢day. Since we were gonna have a late start anyway, we decided to do only 11 miles today and being around town a little, but, as is our way, after we got to the 1st shelter 4.2 miles in, we didn¢t leave. And so¢¦ another Nero. One good thing did come out of the extra time in town though. I began to grow tired of Bennington and towns in general ¢ I just wanted to get back on the Trail. Besides, I found that the town food didn¢t really agree with me when I started hiking this time. Hopefully this will lead to less time in towns.
Date: 2005-08-19
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Mt. Greylock
Miles today: 21.0

Friday, August 19Day 49. Congdon Shelter ¢ Mt. Greylock (21 mi.) The hiking went well today. The first 14 mi. we all had a great pace, averaging almost as fast as 3.5 mph. Then the trail went through a town called North Adams, MA. It was the first town in Massachusetts, as we had now crossed the border into our 4th state. The town, as usual, turned out to be a distraction because Bouie, Steiner, Looney and I stopped in for lunch, and because I needed to re-stock my food, I ended up eating a lot, too much right before a climb up the biggest mt. in Massachusetts. That¢s not saying much, but it was one of the more challenging ascents we¢ve had in a while ¢ especially after just doing 14 mi. We made it to the top though where there is a lodge and a large lighthouse-esque structure. They had a $10 pp bunkhouse for hikers, and since we didn¢t want to do 3 more miles and end up getting to a shelter after dark, we all opted to stay at the lodge.
Date: 2005-08-20
From: Mt. Greylock

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

Saturday, August 20Day 50. Mt. Greylock ¢ Dalton, MA (17 mi.) Another one of those late starts again, 10:30. Don¢t know why exactly. I guess we just thought 17 mi. was less than 21 (from yesterday) so we slept in. It all worked out though. We did about 7 mi. to Cheshire, MA where Steiner, Bad Cheese, Looney, Bouie, Rooster and I took a 3 hr. break, eating pizza, drinking soda and playing cards. Steiner and Bad Cheese stayed in town to be with family, and the rest of us did 9 more miles to Dalton. We¢re staying on a guy¢s (Tom) porch tonight. It¢s free and he fixed us sundaes. So I guess it¢s a pretty good deal.
Date: 2005-08-21
From: Dalton, MA

To: Dalton, MA (Zero)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

Sunday, August 21Day 51. Dalton, MA (¢The Birdcage¢) Zero   This morning the 3 of us were sleeping on Tom¢s porch when we were awakened by a guy named Rob who was the owner of another free hostel in town called ¢The Birdcage.¢ There were scattered showers in the morning and Rob had turned us away yesterday because he was all filled up. So he thought he¢d offer us a place to stay for today/tonight. Bouie and Rooster had to be in town on Monday to pick up a package, so that plus the rain and a nice place to stay convinced us to take a Zero. So we¢ve been hanging out watching TV. Rob drove us to a swimming hole, and later we¢re going to watch him and his band play. In the morning when we walked into The Birdcage, guess who was sleeping on one of the couches? Puck¢¦and he¢s not just hiking on a broken foot now. Actually he¢s not hiking at all. Apparently, a little while back, he was hitch-hiking and got picked up by a gay guy who started ¢propositioning¢ him. The guy was talking about picking up some money, going to a liquor store, then¢¦going to a hotel room¢¦. Puck knew he had to get out of the car, but at first the guy wouldn¢t stop. At an intersection Puck got out, and with Puck¢s hand still in the door handle, the driver floored it. Puck was dragged along for a couple of seconds until he was able to free himself. As a result Puck had to have stitches in his arm and leg, and staples in his head. So he¢ll be hanging around The Birdcage for a while.
Date: 2005-08-22
From: Dalton, MA (Zero)

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: clear sky

Monday, August 22 Day 52. Dalton, MA ¢ Upper Goose Pond Cabin (22 mi.) This morning a bunch of us had to do stuff at the post office (seeing as how yesterday was Sunday), so we didn¢t get started ¢til 10:15. The first half of the hike I had done with my brother Conner a year ago, so it was fun to go through that again. This 1st section ended at a road where there was a blueberry farm. We spent 2.5 hrs. picking and eating blueberries and resting, so we got started on the other 11.5 miles of the day at 4:10. We took some blueberries with us because the place we were going to has a caretaker who makes pancakes in the morning and will make them blueberry if you provide the necessary ingredients. So I got in a little after dark today after a lot of hiking and some mooning of the Mass. Turnpike which we crossed on an overpass. Ah, thru-hiker traditions¢¦.!
Date: 2005-08-23
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Zero Day at Upper Goose
Miles today: 0.0

Tuesday, August 23Day 53. Upper Goose Pond Cabin (Zero Day)   So this was our second Zero in 3 days, but it¢s O.K. because it was my favorite so far. The cabin was very nice and cozy plus we got blueberry pancakes two mornings in a row. Originally, we weren¢t planning on taking a Zero, but to do either a 14 or 10 mile day. After a long nap it turned to a 10 mile day. We played cards for over an hour, and then the caretaker of the cabin told us that she was going into town and asked if we wanted anything. Initially we said no because we were going to leave soon, but then we got to thinking about the frozen pizzas we could get from town and we were caught. So we turned on a radio we found hanging around and played hearts all day.
Date: 2005-08-24
From: Zero Day at Upper Goose

To: Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Wednesday, August 24Day 54. Upper Goose Pond Cabin ¢ Tom Leonard Shelter (21 mi.) So now it¢s really time to get moving. Today was a pretty standard 20 mile day, nothing very challenging even though we had a little discussion about how much we needed to hike in order to finish by Thanksgiving. We found that we had to average over 16 miles a day (w/o Zeros) to finish. So to gain time for Zeros we should do 5 twenties for every Zero. We reasoned though that there wasn¢t anything real distracting until PA. So for now 20s until NY.
Date: 2005-08-25
From: Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Hemlocks Lean-to
Miles today: 15.0

Thursday, August 25Day 55. Tom Leonard Shelter ¢ Hemlocks Lean-to (15 mi.) A rather typical day of hiking, up and down bumps, some flat, some roads (a lot of roads, actually). One road had a farm stand which was nice. I had a banana, peach, blueberries, Stewart¢s Root Beer and a whole pint of chocolate ice cream. It was not much later that I got the s..ts.
Date: 2005-08-26
From: Hemlocks Lean-to

To: a field
Miles today: 18.0

Friday, August 26Day 56. Hemlocks Lean-to - a field (18 mi.) A rather typical day of hiking ¢ all the right ingredients. The day started with some of the first good mts. since Greylock with a 12 mile of challenging ascent to a summit with a view. We also crossed the Mass ¢ Conn. Border before we summited the tallest peak in Conn. On the way down we saw a couple of college orientation groups and there was a girl from my school in one of them. She took me by surprise as I was running down the mountain with cries of ¢Bucko!¢ ¢Bucko!¢ Then we had to go into town to pick up supplies, so I got some supplies and some snacks. We were in and out of that town quite efficiently before we handled the 4 miles to a field we heard we could camp in. So a great day other than getting stung twice by wasps.
Date: 2005-08-27
From: a field

To: Stewart Hollow Lean-to
Miles today: 22.0

Saturday, August 27Day 57. A field ¢ Huart Hollow Lean-to (22 mi.) The night and the morning in the field was beautiful with a good view of the stars and then the sunrise. About 6 miles into the day we skirted a small village called Falls Village. There was supposedly a diner near the Trail, but when I asked for directions from a local car mechanic, I was answered with a ¢Read the sign!¢ which I did and was threatened with a ¢Trespassers will be prosecuted.¢ 9 miles before the lean-to we were staying at there was a road which led to a town with a package store that offered free drinks to thru-hikers. So Bouie and I collected our free drinks and finished off the big day.
Date: 2005-08-28
From: Stewart Hollow Lean-to

To: Old Rt. 12/Pawling
Miles today: 28.0

Sunday, August 28Day 58. Stewart Hollow Lean-to ¢ Old Rte. 12, Pawling (28 + 2 mi. road walk) Final push into NY today and just as we were packing up to leave, the imminent rain from Hurricane Katrina started coming down. The plan was to do 19 miles and then 8 the next day into Pawling/train station to NYC. Some of us were throwing the idea around of either doing it all in one day or waking up around 2 in the morning to get into town early (we were planning on catching a train into the city). The very heavy rain did something to me. At first I was depressed and frustrated with being so wet, but then I realized that I couldn¢t get any more wet and so I got really happy. I even started singing out loud. Then I started thinking that it wasn¢t worth stopping and sitting in a shelter in a puddle of water I¢d created, and that if I didn¢t stop, I could make the 28 miles before 9. So I ended up not taking a break until after over 10 miles of straight hiking and even that was only for 5 minutes. I got to the road at around 8:30 with Toothfairy (a Sobo I found napping in a shelter 8 miles before the road. I convinced her to push on with me as I thought it¢d be easier to hitch at night with 2 people and one a girl; plus, the company was nice). Well, we ended up having to walk 2 miles before getting a ride and at that time we were almost in town anyway. So I have a new personal record ¢ 30 miles ¢ and in 12.5 hours too. Very exciting.
Date: 2005-08-29
From: Old Rt. 12/Pawling

To: NYC, NY
Miles today: 10.0

Monday, August 29Day 59. Pawling, NY ¢ NYC (10 mi.)   This morning all I had to do was wait for the rest of the group and then get on the train. Rooster, Bouie and Steiner got in around 8:40. Rooster waited for Bad Cheese as the rest of us got on the next train (on Bad Cheese¢s request). By the way, no one except my friend Jeet and my brother Conner knew I was coming or bringing 4 other thru-hikers to stay at my house for that matter. Well, three of us (!) went into my parents¢ restaurant to surprise people there (my parents weren¢t there, though) and got a good meal. When we headed to Queens to my house, we met up with Rooster and Bad Cheese, then went to my front door. I had Bouie and Rooster, the two big, scary, hairy brothers from Alabama, ring the bell as I hid in the back of the group. When my mom answered the door, they told her that they¢d met me on the Trail and that I had told them that they could stay there. Even though my mom was scared, she was pressured into taking them because of all my stories about ¢trail angels.¢ So as the four hikers piled in the house, I came in last and my mom started screaming (I¢d surprised her). Afterwards, I got everyone settled in my room, got the TV and music on, and started getting everyone cleaned up. We could tell from all the dirty looks we were getting on the trains that we smelled¢¦BAD.)
Date: 2005-08-30
From: NYC, NY

To: NYC
Miles today: 0.0

Tuesday, August 30Day 60. NYC   Today was fun because we got to sleep in and rest up. I was able to catch up with people, almost all of whom were at college already. I was able to see my good friend Jeet who didn¢t have to leave for a week. I also took Bouie and Rooster around the City to see the sights and at night they went to Shea Stadium to see the Mets play the Phillies. All in all it was a nice time in the City, but it was weird comparing the two worlds that I consider I¢m from now. Two very different worlds. All I know is that I¢m definitely happy to get back to the Trail. Next stop: Georgia.
Date: 2005-08-31
From: NYC

To: Pawling - Morgan Stewart Lean-to
Miles today: 8.0

Wednesday, August 31Day 61. Pawling ¢ Morgan Stewart Lean-to (8 mi.) Bouie, Rooster and I were 30 sec. away from missing our train, Steiner got lost on the way to Grand Central, and Bad Cheese decided to take a Zero. So when we got to Pawling we just waited a few hours for Steiner on the next train. We met up with Loonie again too and found out some interesting news: Puck finally called it quits. He is off the Trail and went out West to hike with a friend. Good luck to him! Well anyway, it seems I was able to make a clean break from home. Phew!
Date: 2005-09-01
From: Pawling - Morgan Stewart Lean-to

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: few clouds

Thursday, September 1Day 62. Morgan Stewart Lean-to ¢ RP 4 Shelter (9 mi.) Rooster hasn¢t been feeling well and 9 mi. into the day we got to a shelter that has a restaurant that will deliver to it. So we decided to stay. At one point Bouie and I decided to hitch into town and as we were getting into the car of the lady who stopped for us, she told us she¢d just smoked a joint. This didn¢t seem to be a problem until she dropped us off where she said was close to the Trail, but where it turned out to be at least 4 mi. from where we needed to be.
Date: 2005-09-02
From: RP 4 Shelter

To: Graymoor Friary
Miles today: 19.0

Friday, September 2Day 63. RPH Shelter ¢ Graymoor Friary (19 mi.) This morning, 1 mi. into the day, we stopped at a campsite with apple and pear trees. So we hung out there for a while until we got going again. The terrain of NY is very nice ¢ similar to other hilly states except the hills are much smaller. Tonight we¢re staying in a ball field of a monastery, The Graymoor Friary. There¢s nothing very special except a Brother greeted us tonight.
Date: 2005-09-03
From: Graymoor Friary

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Saturday, September 3Day 64. Graymoor Friary ¢ Fingerboard Shelter (20 mi.) We met up with a friend of Steiner today, a Marine, who hiked with us for the day. It was a good day to hike too because he got the full hiking experience. There were some great views as we crossed the Hudson River on Bear Mountain Bridge, also some views of mountains incl. Bear Mt. where we could see the NYC skyline. We also walked through a zoo where I saw my first bear of the Trail (that was also the lowest pt. on the Trail. Nowhere to go but up. Due to all these distractions plus a myriad of soda machines, we had to night-hike and we didn¢t get in until 9:00 pm.