morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-06-26
From: MA 2 (Williamstown, MA)

To: VT 9 (Bennington)
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: overcast clouds

We have a couple of longer days to get through today and tomorrow. And the terrain is getting more rugged. No one said this would be easy. Williamstown has been nice and we had the added pleasure of meeting Spartacus' family. This morning, before she headed back home with their daughter, Janelle gave us a lift from the Williamstown Motel back to the MA 2 trailhead. There were still a few sprinkles when we woke up, but we were never rained on, and the skies eventually cleared. It was really a good hike, we kept a good pace and finished in the middle of the afternoon. Most of the time we were in the woods. Not very many views or vistas. I really remember only a couple of notable events. One was crossing the state line from MA into VT. There was a sign welcoming us to Vermont and another sign that introduced the southern terminus of the Long Trail. The Long Trail is coincident with the AT all the way north to past Killington. Then the LT splits off and heads further north while the AT turns east toward Hanover. The other event that I remember is the final descent from the ridgeline down to VT 9. The descent is very steep and involves a lot of rock steps. I remembered from last year that it is very tough, and that is still true - although it didn't seem as tough as I remembered. Anyway, that's behind us now and tomorrow we'll continue on north. Tonight we're staying in Bennington and we walked into town and had a really good dinner at the Madison Brewery. And we picked up some eats for the trail tomorrow. It's going to be a long 22 mile day, so I'm signing off now to get some rest.
Date: 2015-06-28
From: Green Mountain House

To: Green Mountain House
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

It was absolutely great to sleep in this morning. I didn't get up until 10. We didn't know when we planned the zero, but it was a perfect day to zero. Hiking would have been miserable with heavy rains and a lot of wind. The Green Mountain House where we're staying is terrific. Jeff has done a great job setting it up, and he lives next door and runs it very efficiently. It's a 3 bedroom house that he has converted into a hiker facility. He only has space (beds) for 8 people. It's extremely clean with all the customary amenities, for example a washer & dryer for hikers to use. He doesn't provide any meals, but he has a fully equipped kitchen for hikers to cook and he provides the basics for breakfast (like pancake mix). To me, it feels like I'm staying in a relatives home. Manchester Center is about 3 miles away and he is willing to shuttle hikers into town for resupply and meals. Today we had a big excursion into town and tried to buy out the outfitter. I got new boots, new slack pack, new shirt, and new gaitors. Princess did some damage too. We had lunch at a nearby bookstore/sandwich shop. And later we had dinner at Ye Olde Tavern (last night we ate at The Perfect Wife). Late in the day, a group of very wet and very cold section hikers came in and confirmed that it was not a good hiking day. Unfortunately, with the heavy rains and more forecast for tonight, the trail will be really wet and muddy tomorrow. But now we're warm, clean and snug.
Date: 2015-06-29
From: Stratton-Arlington Road 

To: VT 11 & 30 (Manchester Center)
Miles today: 17.5

The central focus of today's hike was Stratton Mountain. All of us were well rested and ready to go when John, our shuttle driver arrived a few minutes before 5:30. Spartacus made pancakes and bacon for all and invited John to join in, so we didn't actually leave on time. But the breakfast was great, we finished and cleaned up and headed out before 6:00. The drive to the trailhead took nearly an hour and the results of yesterday's storm were apparent everywhere. There were a lot of trees down and the creeks and rivers were full. John was apprehensive that downed trees might cause a problem for us. But we made it through OK and set out on the trail around 7. Princess and I started out with our ponchos on. The sky was gloomy and it was hard to tell if it was actually raining or just tree rain - it didn't really matter, same effect. The bushes along the trail were soaked, the rocks and roots were wet, and there was an abundance of mud. The first section of our hike consisted of a steady climb up Mt. Stratton and often we were climbing up through a stream of water that was flowing or even cascading down. But after a while we became accustomed to it and it didn't seem so bad. There certainly wasn't anything we could do to change anything, so we made the best of it. All in all, I think we made pretty good time going up and got to the top about 8:30. When we got to the top we met a couple who live on the mountain top. We got a picture, but unfortunately I forgot their names. The Green Mountain Trail Club pays them to stay there in the caretaker cabin from Apr to Oct and take care of the summit. There is a tower at the summit, but no view from the trail. So after a quick bite and some water we headed back into the woods and downhill. The descent was about as long as the climb, then the trail flattened out. A little later we passed around Stratton Pond. The water level in the pond was high and a few sections of the trail had to be rerouted to higher ground. The remainder of the hike was uneventful and we didn't pass any particularly interesting features. Just lots of mudhole-dodging. A few short climbs and descents and quite a few swollen creeks and streams. About 7 1/2 hours we popped out at our pickup point and John was waiting there to haul us back to the Green Mountain House. We did see the section hikers that we met at the GM House yesterday. They were going SoBo on the same section as us (we were NoBo today). But they started much later in the morning and and we saw them near the end of our hike. Our new equipment held up quite nicely and I'm ready to ditch the old gear and replace them permanently. In fact my new boots kept my feet dry throughout the hike - remarkable to say the least. Spartacus wire new boots and liked them too. So we're back at the Green Mountain House for our final night. This place has been fabulous and we hate to leave. But tomorrow is Peru Peak and Mt. Killington on the next day so we're moving on. Jeff took us into town for dinner and we ate at Gringo Jacks. We liked it, but we're tired and sleepy and ready for bed.
Date: 2015-06-30
From: VT 11 & 30 (Manchester Center)

To: Danby-Landgrove Road
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We got a great start today, even better than yesterday. Spartacus made pancakes again, with fresh blueberries and sausage. Focus pitched in, made the coffee, toasted bagels with cream cheese and managed the servings. Both Jeff (Green Mountain House) and John (shuttler) ate with us. Afterwards, Jeff and John talked about coordination while we cleaned up and got our gear together. For us, this was a farewell breakfast to the Green Mountain House. We owe Jeff a big thanks for hosting us and sharing his experience and perspective with us. We've had a great stay, really enjoyed it, met some fun and interesting people and now it's time to move the adventure forward. John loaded our slack-packs and backpacks into his truck. The plan is to drop us at the trailhead a few miles down the road and then he will ferry our backpacks to our next base at the Silas Griffith B&B in Danby, VT. I need to mention that we've also learned a lot from John. He has a wealth of experience associated with the trails in the area and owns a nearby lodge. He introduced us to the area as he drove us to the trailheads and showed us the effects of hurricane Irene. We were fortunate to spend time with both Jeff and John. Back on the trail again, it looked like a good day. At the start it was chilly and overcast, and the trail was wet from the overnight rains. Our first climb, 3 miles up to the top of Bromley Mountain, warmed us up. The peak offered views in almost all directions and a ski lift and warming hut. The hit is open to hikers during warmer months. After descending from Bromley to Mad Tom Notch, we climbed up to Styles Peak and then Peru Peak, both higher than Bromley. Then down again to Griffith Lake and back up to Baker Peak. Near the top of Baker we encountered an interesting climb up a rock face. I'm not good at describing rocks, but the rock face had vertical ridges that enabled footholds and handholds, so we were able to climb the rather steep face. The total climb was probably only about 100 to 150 ft., but it was fun. We noticed later that there is a bad weather bypass trail, but the rocks were dry enough by midday to climb. The rest of the trail was a 5 mile descent to Danby-Landgrove Road where Cathy from the Silas Griffith B&B picked us up. The only downer for the day was that halfway down the final descent it started to rain and before we were finished it was steady. After we checked into the Silas Griffith and cleaned up, Cathy drove us to Sal's in Wallingford for an Italian dinner. We enjoyed it and look forward to tomorrow's hike. It won't be quite as long as today.
Date: 2015-07-01
From: VT 103

To: Danby-Landgrove Road
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: moderate rain

Today was an unusual day, things did not as we hoped. Our biggest problem was a very late start. Breakfast here at the B&B is 8 to 10. The innkeeper is the shuttle driver and she couldn't take us to the trailhead until she had finished serving breakfast to her guests. This is a common situation with B&Bs. After a quick discussion, we decided to delay our start, have a nice breakfast here at the B&B instead of a spartan lunch bag, and then leave for the trail when breakfast was finished. It sounded like a good plan. We had a very nice breakfast: omelettes, pancakes, etc. and we ready to go at 10. The problem was that at 9:59 two of her other guests showed up for breakfast. So it was about 11:30 before we hit the trailhead. We set out SoBo. Our hike was about 15 miles over tough terrain, so the best finish time we could hope for was about 6:00. To make matters worse, the weather did not favor us. It rained overnight and early in the morning, the trail was wet and the streams were swollen. The first feature of the day was the swinging suspension bridge over Clarendon Gorge. It's a dramatic bridge over a dangerous-looking stream. Since we had such a late crossed it quickly, and hardly stopped for a photo. The second really unusual spot was much higher. As we neared the top of the second mountain today, we suddenly came upon hundreds of small cairns. We learned later that they are built and maintained by a specific club. Later on we found another group of cairns around much larger rocks & boulders, and we stopped for lunch there. I could sum up the bulk of our hike today as a slog through rocks, roots and lots of mud. Plus we had to ford several "brooks" that were deep enough that the water poured in over our boot tops. And . . . we were rained on with thunder in the afternoon. Otherwise, it was a great hike. So now I need to get to bed. After the late finish and cleaning up, we headed back to Sal's for dinner. Then back here to the B&B to pack up since we're leaving tomorrow. Plus we're trying to get our boots dry. Tomorrow should be a better day.
Date: 2015-07-02
From: VT 103

To: Killington Peak
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: light rain

We thought today would be a good day weather-wise and it turned out that way. We got an earlier start than yesterday, but still not as early as we would have liked. Cathy at the Silas Marner Inn made us breakfast and then ferried us to the trail. Miles, another thru-hiker staying at the B&B shared the shuttle ride and Cathy dropped her off first. Then we stopped by the "Whistle Stop" restaurant and left our backpacks there for another shuttler to pick up, finally made it to our trailhead by about 9:30. It was later than we wanted, but we had a short day planned, so it wasn't a big problem. It was a cool, rain-free day, just what we wanted. There was still a lot of residual water and mud on the trail and that persisted throughout most of the hike. We're getting better at moving through mud quickly by hopping on rocks or logs and sidestepping. But it's still a nuisance and slows us down considerably. We might as well come to terms with it since it will plague us all the way to Katahdin. Beside the rocks and mud, we had several significant brooks to ford. I'm not sure what the difference is between a brook and a stream, but usually we can rock-hop across brooks (taking advantage of a few well-placed rocks). There has been so much rain recently that there was concern about a flash flood warning today, but that didn't materialize. However, we had to cross two brooks that were way too high to rock-hop, they were flowing over most of the rocks instead of around them. So basically we had to pick a crossing point and wade in, and try to use whatever rocks we could find on the bottom. On the larger brook, Princess was in almost up to her knees. We didn't have our Crocs, and bare feet was not a good option on the rocks. Needless to say, we ended up with wet boots. Wool socks do a good job of keeping your feet warm even when they're wet. Our biggest target today was Killington Peak at nearly 4,000 ft. The ascent started 6 or 7 miles from the peak. Initially, the grade wasn't steep, but that changed. The actual peak isn't on the AT, but 0.2 mile east. That last 0.2 was the hardest part and possibly the steepest rock climb that we've had. Once we reached the peak, we went over the top and down a bit to the Killington Peak Ski Lodge. The Ski Lodge is open during the summer for biking, hiking, etc., and we had a tasty lunch complete with beer and wine. The lodge has a 270 deg view of the surrounding mountains. It was a beautiful day and we could see all the way to the Whites and Mt. Washington. After relaxing for an hour or so, we rode the gondola down to the bottom of the mountain and caught a bus to our new base motel, the Long Trail Inn. Our backpacks had already arrived at the Long Trail And we checked in and got cleaned up. Later, we had dinner in the Irish bar at the Inn. We remembered Murray, the owner & bartender, from last Oct when I was finishing AT sections that I missed when I had Lyme. We will likely be here at the Inn for 4 nights while we finish VT. Tomorrow we have a relatively short hike, with a lot of climb.
Date: 2015-07-04
From: Chateauguay Road

To: Sherburne Trail
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light rain

Happy 4th of July to everyone. We can hear the fireworks outside our window at the moment, but the mountain blocks any views. Today we were shuttled north to Chateauguay Road and then we hiked SoBo back to the Inn at Long Trail. The weather was great, cool and mostly overcast. There was a threat of rain this afternoon, but it never materialized. We had a different shuttle driver today: PlansTooMuch. He's Army (ret) and a thru-hike years ago. He still hikes and does trail maintenance work. He has a Toyota 4WD pickup and didn't flinch at taking us up Chateauguay Road. It was a long drive to begin with, then it narrowed down eventually to a one lane, gravel, rutted logging road. He seemed confident, knew exactly where he was going and got us there safely. The hike had 2 long uphills that didn't seem to challenge anyone else, but were a lot of work for me. I'really glad that I'm slack-packing, not sure I could make it otherwise. The trails are in great shape. Several days without rain have made a big difference and hiking is a lot easier. There is still mud, but it's starting to firm up. We only have 2 more days left in Vermont, then on to NH. We expect Ranger to join us in Norwich at the border. We'll get there on Monday and we plan a zero on Tuesday to get ready for the White Mountains. We had dinner tonight with PlansTooMuch, his wife and a Spanish student that they're hosting for a month. We ate in McGrath's Pub, an Irish pub here at the Inn, and we all enjoyed the evening. The Inn at Long Trail was originally built to support the Green Mountain Hiking Club and the Long Trail here in Vermont. The original building burned and operations shifted to the annex where the Inn now stands. The McGrath family has owned it for almost 40 years and it's a great facility for hikers as well as skiers. We're spending 4 nights here while we hike through the AT. I'm tired and closing for today. Tomorrow promises to be as good as today, maybe a bit warmer.
Date: 2015-07-05
From: Chateauguay Rd. 

To: Cloudland Rd. 
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

Another day in hiker paradise. A few sprinkles overnight, but otherwise dry trails and a dry day. We got a great start with a great breakfast here at the Inn at Long Trail. We've been here long enough that the serving staff knows what we want, although we've been trying out different entrees. The breakfasts here are especially good with a choice of a half dozen entrees and all the side trimmings. PlansTooMuch picked us up on time this morning and we made the long drive out to the same point in the trail where we started yesterday, Chateauguay Rd. We had to take the pickup truck since the access road is an old logging road and requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle. It really is a rugged road, a low clearance car could never make it. I'm amazed that PlansTooMuch is willing to try - but he seems to handle it very well. Yesterday we headed southbound from Chateauguay Rd., today we headed NoBo and planned on doing almost 15 miles. There was a lot of variation in the terrain, forests, meadows, wet lowlands, woods road walks, brooks, etc. We did have to ford one stream that was problematical. There was a cable stretched across the stream, but it also seemed that it might be possible to rock hop across. Eventually three of us used the cable to go across and it took us through water that was well over our boot tops - so we ended up with wet feet. Spartacus watched us go across and finally decided to try his luck at rock hopping across at another point. Naturally, he made it across with dry feet. We had a couple of long, steep uphills - about as steep as possible without rocks or steps. On the hills, I'm usually the laggard in the group and I finally catch up to the others when they take a break at the top of the hill. We also had a log walk across a stream today. The log was fairly wide and about it was about 10 to 15 feet across. All the others had crossed by the time I got there, so I gave it a go, successfully. On the way home, we stopped at a deli/store and picked up some supplies for tomorrow's hike. Our end point tomorrow is Norwich, VT, about 15 miles beyond Cloudland Rd. Tomorrow is predicted to be warmer than today, so we'll need plenty of liquids and energy bars. We closed out our accounts here at the Long Trail Inn since we won't be coming back - tomorrow we'll be in Norwich. We've grown quite comfortable here with Murray McGrath, Oke and Owen, but we have to keep moving. The pub was busy and noisy tonight. There was a crowd watching the World Cup women's soccer finals between the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. team scored early and often and won so the crowd was happy. So now we're back in the room and all set for tomorrow, water bottles full, slack-packs packed, clothes washed and ready, and so forth. Plus we expect to see Ranger tomorrow. Only about 5 weeks left now.
Date: 2015-07-07
From: Main St., Norwich, VT

To: Main St., Norwich, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Another zero day came and went. So much anticipation, and then it's gone. That's not to say that it wasn't a great day - it was. But how could it be over so quickly? My goals today were small: a haircut, a latte, pay a couple of bills back home, and relax. Success, I finished them all. I had fun. Ranger, Focus and I got a ride into Hanover with Kevin, Spartacus' friend. We hung out a bit, experienced the Dartmouth community and then walked back over to Norwich. We grabbed a quick lunch at the deli next to the inn and ate on the patio. I snoozed for a couple of hours, took care of the bills, then joined the crowd for drinks and dinner downstairs. Focus got his own haircut and now looks like a totally different person. And now it's over. Time to get ready for tomorrow's push. All in all, it was a really successful zero. There were some subplots. This was Ranger's first day with us and he got to know Focus and Spartacus. All went well. Kevin, a friend of Spartacus that we first met back in MA, drove here to play golf with Spartacus. They were fortunate that a chance of rain never materialized and they had a good round. Tortoise and Hare, previous hiking partners of Spartacus, caught up with us and everyone had dinner with us here at the Norwich Inn. So there was a lot going on. But everything worked out well and I think everyone had a great time. Things don't always work out so well, but today did. So now Kevin has headed back home. We hope we'll see him again. Tortoise and Hare (they have different trail names now) are zeroing here tomorrow, but we will probably cross paths again. And we're headed out early tomorrow to start our trek across New Hampshire. The zero was successful, but over too soon.
Date: 2015-07-09
From: Grafton Turnpike, NH

To: NH 25A
Miles today: 16.1

Today was the toughest hike we've had in a while and good prep for the upcoming Whites that will be much harder. We did 16.1 miles and covered 2 mountains: Smarts Mtn., and Mt. Cube. Before we reached Smarts Mtn. We climbed Lamberts Ridge, a pretty steady climb to about 2300 ft. Then a mile or so later we had a much steeper climb up Smart to over 3200 ft. There is a fire tower at the top and a fire wardens cabin. We stopped at the cabin to catch our breath and grab a snack. But there was a cool breeze at the top and we were sweaty from the climb, so we didn't stay long. From there we had a 4 mile downhill before the trail turned uphill again toward Cube. The climb up Cube was interesting, some sections were relatively easy and others were challenging. A number of the upper sections were over sloping rock faces. We got good traction with our shoes on the dry rocks, but we commented that it would have been much tougher on a wet day. The trail designers threw in some rebar steps and wooden ladders to help get through some sections. We also stopped at the top on Cube to finish our snacks and stay hydrated. But it was cool there too, so after a couple of photos we headed down. The descent down Cube was steeper than Smart, but didn't present any difficult problems. But it did seem long, it was over 3 miles to our finishing trailhead. Today was our second day hiking with Ranger. He prefers the woods to B&B accommodations, so he camped out last night near the trailhead and then met us there this morning to start hiking (actually the Ice Cream Man let him camp on his croquet lawn). We brought his slack-pack in the shuttle, and Patrick, our shuttle driver from Dowds' Inn, took his backpack (with his camping gear) back to the Inn while we hiked so that he could hike with just his slack-pack. Later when Patrick came to pick us up at the end of our hike, he brought Ranger's backpack and Ranger is camped out in the woods again tonight. He will meet us at the starting trailhead tomorrow morning. We even bring him food for the hike. He had no problem with the terrain and stayed with Spartacus in the lead up the climbs. So I'm still the slowest hiker in the group. Tonight we're back at Dowds' for one more night. After our post-hike shower and laundry, we visited the Lyme Country Store and had another great dinner at Stella's. We're really gonna miss this place when we leave tomorrow. This is a place we'd like to visit again. Tomorrow's hike is easier than today, so we'll have a chance to gather strength before hitting Moosilauke and Kinsman this weekend.