morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-07-28
From: Mt Algo Shelter

To: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

7-28-13I can't believe it's almost August. The summer is flying by. I'm officially two-thirds of the way done. Only 700 miles to go!Today was perfect for hiking. It was overcast and cool. It's weird how we can go from a heat wave to temps in the 60s so quickly. I'm at Pine Swamp Brook Shelter tonight. I'm in my tent because its raining outside. I was lucky enough to beat the rain setting up my tent. There is a group of 14 'at risk' teenage boys camping nearby. When I first got here I saw boys scattered throughout the woods. Some were perched on rocks, while others laid on the ground propped up on their 50lb backpack. It was peculiar, I thought, as I set up my tent. I later found out they were on punishment, having 'solo time' as the counselor phrased it. The boys are loud. They keep talking about girls haha...hopefully, the counselors will tell them to go to sleep soon. I hiked with a girl today who is getting off the trail in a few days. Part of me was sad for her. If I were her it'd be hard to leave the trail without finishing. I'm getting so close. Up until now I've felt like I've been racing to get it done, but now I'm finding myself trying to slow it down to prolong the adventure. I still have so many things to figure out before going home. I get a little stressed out whenever I think about it too much. Knowing God has a plan makes me feel good.
Date: 2013-08-01
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 0.0

8-1-13I stayed in Great Barrington, MA last night with a bunch of people. Last night was one of my favorite nights so far. I had such a great time with everybody.I got a room at the Days Inn with Coach, Jabberwocky, Lone Wolf, and Bluegrass. I bought some pink hair color to use on myself. I've always wanted pink hair, but none of my jobs would allow it. This is probably the only chance I'll have to do it. Coach helped me with it. That night we went to a place called Gypsy Joint. It was open mic night, so the place was packed. While we were sitting out front several more hikers showed up. It's really cool how you can be in the middle of a town that you've never been to before, and run into so many familiar faces. One of the guys said he knew how we could get on the roof of one of the buildings to watch the sunset. So at dusk we climbed the fire escape and chilled on the roof. It was really cool. For dinner, Coach, Homebrew, and I wanted sushi. We tried to order some drinks and gave the server our IDs. Of course they were all from different states. I'm guessing that's why they refused to serve us. Coach was really mad. She made a scene and we all left. It was their loss. If I was going to give them a fake ID, I'd get one that said I was 21, not 29.We didn't let it ruin our night. We went back to Gypsy's and ate. I even got on stage at one point to sing back up for some guitar strumming guy. At some point it was suggested that Homebrew and Breeze wanted to come back to the room to dye their hair pink. I had leftover color. Homebrew wanted to do his beard and Breeze wanted a patch on top of his head. I started the bleaching process. Homebrew went first with the coloring. I was halfway through when everybody else came back from the bar. The box the color came out of said to avoid contact with skin because it stains. I'd had a few drinks and was having trouble 'coloring inside the lines' on his beard. It was getting all over his face and neck. We were laughing hysterically. What made it even funnier is that his mom was driving up from VA in the morning to visit him! He started scrubbing his face to get the pink off. I'm surprised he didn't start bleeding from scrubbing so hard! Breeze washed the bleach out and decided to wait until the morning to apply the pink. My room filled up with people fast. So I ended up staying in a different room with Breeze and Indian. There were already 6 people in my room, Homebrew made 7. Too many to be comfortable. This morning, everybody got up and decided to take a zero. It was calling for rain and thunderstorms all afternoon. Breeze and I went to the movies and saw Wolverine in 3D. We also watched a billion movies on HBO in the room. It was a very relaxing day. I don't know why all my zero days are never planned. They almost always happen at the spur of the moment.
Date: 2013-08-04
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.0

Upper Goose Pond is the coolest place! I felt like I was on vacation there. It was so beautiful. They let you take canoes out on the water. We paddled out to a little island in the middle of the pond, and laid on some rocks. I closed my eyes and felt like I was thousands if miles away from the trail. The water crashing on the rocks, birds singing, the warmth of the sun on my skin...it was all so heavenly. Later that night, we had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows. That is a treat on the trail. It was my 3rd time on the trail eating roasted marshmallows. I walked out to the dock at sunset. It was beautiful. I sat there alone for a while. It was nice to spend some time with God in such a beautiful place. He is such a masterful artist in nature!To top off the awesomeness of this magical place, they cooked us blueberry pancakes in the morning! There are caretakers who rotate weeks at this place. The lady who was there this week had been a caretaker there for 35 years! She brings her whole family with her. It's like a family vacation. I'd love to be a caretaker at such a gorgeous place. And getting to help out hikers makes it even sweeter! I inquired about being a caretaker, and apparently there's a waiting list. I guess people don't like giving up their spot in the rotation. I hiked 20 miles out of there to Dalton. It was a great hike! I enjoyed every step! Despite the multiple hornet stings and getting rained on, I was in high spirits the whole time! Tomorrow we are climbing Mt. Greylock, the highest peak in MA.
Date: 2013-08-05
From: Dalton, MA

To: unknown at the moment
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I'm sitting in front of Juice N' Java in Dalton, MA right now. I'm really upset because a very important package is not at the post office. When I was in Salisbury, CT, my mom shipped me the rest of my guidebook, clothes, and miscellaneous gear to the outfitter. Unfortunately, the girl working there overlooked this package. She said she'd forward it to Dalton for me. But it hasn't arrived. I don't have a tracking number for it, so I have no way of knowing where it is at the moment. Trying to figure out whether I should stay in town tonight, or hike on and pray they can bump it forward for me. I'm getting stressed out about this. If anybody can help me in the Mass. area, message me please. Thanks!
Date: 2013-08-06
From: Tom's house

To: Tom's House
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I am staying at Tom Levardi's house again tonight. It's my 3rd and last night here. Tom has a house right on the trail and has allowed hikers to stay there for over 35 years! My first night there I got to sleep inside. I had my own bedroom, got to shower, and he did my laundry! It was awesome! The next day, I ended up taking a zero to wait on a package at the post office. Jabberwocky and I rode some bicycles into town so I could get my nails done. Yes, I am determined to keep a French manicure all the way to Katahdin. I was really upset to find out my package still hadn't arrived this morning. It was originally shipped to Salisbury, CT, but the girl at the store over looked it when I was there. Supposedly, she forwarded it to the Dalton, MA post office. But it has been almost a week and it's still not there. I tried to call the girl who forwarded it, but she's on vacation all week. It's so frustrating. The package was a really important one. It has the rest of my guide book, socks, pants, toothpaste, 3 dry sacks, duct tape, and more. I'm not very happy about it being lost. Unfortunately, my mom didn't get a tracking number on it, so there's no way of knowing where it could be. Tom has been very understanding about my situation. He didn't mind us staying longer to wait on the box. He even let us slack pack 10 miles today. I'm praying the package will be there tomorrow morning. The place is packed tonight! There are probably 15 tents set up in Tom's backyard tonight! He drove two car loads of us to a Country Time buffet restaurant tonight. All you can eat is the best choice for hikers! I forgot to mention that I saw a bear the other day. It was raining, so I don't think it heard me coming down the trail. When I came around the corner he jumped up and bolted away. It startled me so bad I was shaking. Such an adrenaline rush! It was about 20 yards away, super close.
Date: 2013-08-07
From: Tom's House

To: Wilbur clearing shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

No package today. I'm so upset. I didn't realize how upset this would make me. I was in such a blue funk all day today while hiking. Today we climbed the highest peak in Massachusetts. Mount Greylock is 3,400 feet above sea level. It was nice to get up high again. This was the first time above 3,000' since Virginia. No sooner did I sit down to enjoy the view that a large family surrounded me asking all kinds of questions. I felt like a "trail-ebrity"! One of the women even took my picture lol! They were super nice and I enjoyed talking to them. I'm still amazed at how fascinated people are by hikers. I think I cracked a filling in one of my molars today :-( I need to find a dentist tomorrow. Little things like finding a dentist is so difficult to do on the trail. I don't have a car, and don't have dental insurance. Just one more thing to dampen my spirit. It probably doesn't help that I ran out of toothpaste a few days ago...it was one of the things I was expecting in my mail drop that got lost. It's 6:30 and I'm already in bed. Calling it a night early. I just heard some more hikers show up at camp. I just don't feel like being social right now. Hopefully this bad mood will pass quickly.
Date: 2013-08-08
From: Wilbur clearing shelter

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

God blew my mind today with His perfect provision. I'll start from the beginning. I woke up before everybody else at camp, around 5:30am. I left before Jabberwocky even emerged from his hammock. I had 3 miles of hiking before reaching the town of North Adams, MA where I was planning to resupply. I also needed to charge my phone so I could search for and call a dentist to fix my filling. There was some nice trail magic along the way, a bucket with all kinds of granola bars and snickers bars. I grabbed a few and moved on. Once in town, I finally had enough bars on my phone to look for a dentist. It was harder than I thought it'd be. I eventually found a dentist who was able to squeeze me in at 3:15, but they were located 20 miles up the trail from where I was. I could take a cab, but it'd cost me $40! Or I could take the bus for $1, but it only ran twice a day and I would've been late. I chose the riskiest option, hitch-hiking. I'd never hitched a ride this far before. Jabberwocky went with me. We had a couple cars pull over, but they were either going somewhere else, or it was too far to drive. It took us two hitches, but we made it with an hour to spare. The tech who greeted me was very nice. I had to laugh because before she even handed me the clipboard to start filling out the paperwork, she mentioned the rec center down the street gave free showers to hikers. I hope it wasn't because I smelled bad! Haha!After the dentist spent over an hour working on my tooth, I was good to go. He put in a medicated filling that should last about 6 months until I can get a crown. I was relieved to know that a root canal wasn't necessary. I began to get my money out to pay for the work (remember I don't have dental insurance) and Dr. Baker said, "you're all set." I said I still had to pay. He said it again. I couldn't believe what was happening. He did all the dental work for FREE! He said I can pay it forward on the trail. It was truly one of the most amazing God moments on this trip. I cried and hugged everybody. Finding this dental practice was definitely a blessing. God didn't stop there! I still had no idea how I was going to get back to the trail or where I was going to stay for the night. I knew it was going to be pretty late when I finished at the dentist. Two days ago I met a hiker named Crank. I told him my situation, and he said he was meeting up with a friend if his who lives nearby. His friend said he could bring other hikers with him to stay at her house. So she picked us up in Bennington, let us shower, do laundry, and sleep at her house! Tomorrow, she is driving us back to the trail. I'm actually sleeping in a bed in my own room tonight! This is a luxury on the trail. I am grateful for a God who loves me enough to fix my tooth for free, then give me a shower and bed to boot. God is showing off, and it's truly amazing to witness.
Date: 2013-08-13
From: Bennington, VT

To: Bromley Mountain Peak
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

I had the best time last night. A bunch of us went into Manchester Center, VT yesterday to resupply. Each of us hiked out something to share that night. People brought hot dogs, buns, strawberries, yogurt, Oreos, beer, and a box of wine. We hiked to the summit of Bromley Mountain where a bunch of ski slopes are located. They are closed right now, but there is a cabin that can be used as a shelter in the off season. At the top of the mountain you have 360 degree views of the coolest mountains. We all laid in the grass and watched the sunset. It was beautiful. Then, we made a fire and roasted hot dogs. We were extremely lucky because there was a meteor shower last night! It was getting chilly, so we all grabbed our sleeping bags and laid in the grass to watch the meteors as they shot through the sky. Everybody would make awes and ohs in unison whenever one streaked across. It was such a clear night that I even saw satellites moving across space. After some time, people started moving indoors. 5 of us decided to cowboy camp outside the whole night. It was the best idea! I saw so many meteors! The next morning, we got up early and watched the sunrise. Incredible!Unfortunately, it started raining at breakfast. It rained all day! Since I have a horrible blister on my ankle, I decided to zero at the cabin. A bunch of us stayed here today. I should be okay to hike on my ankle tomorrow. I think the blister is the result of having a swollen ankle from hornet stings coupled with a hole in my sock. I got my socks replaced for free in town yesterday! Darn Tough brand socks has a lifetime guarantee, so I should never have to worry about having holes in them. It's awesome :-)Tomorrow, I'm hiking out. But first I have to go back into town for more food. I don't have enough to get me to the next town.
Date: 2013-08-14
From: Bromley Mountain Peak

To: not sure yet...
Miles today: 0.0

Jabberwocky and I ended up hitching back into Manchester Center, VT this morning. I needed more food and he wanted to see if his shoes had arrived at the outfitter. Unfortunately, the shoes weren't there yet. Good news, my heel blister is feeling better. We plan on hiking out (again) and heading to Danby, VT. So I have to tell you a funny story about something that happened to Jabberwocky. A few nights ago, Jabberwocky decided to hike into Manchester without me. I stayed at the shelter with everybody else and hiked into town the next morning. Jabberwocky got a hitch to a local bar to eat dinner before looking for a place to stay. After a while, he a guy started talking to him, and ended up inviting him to stay at his house. This is not unusual to happen to hikers. I've spent many nights at a stranger's house. In fact, one might even call this trail magic if it happens to them. En route to the guy's house, he informed Jabberwocky that he lives with his parents. The guy is 50 years old and sleeps in his parent's attic. At this point, Jabberwocky started feeling a little awkward about his situation. But he couldn't do anything about it, so he just rolled with it and hoped for the best. After arriving, he took a shower and his host laid out a mattress on the floor in the attic for him to sleep.Jabberwocky was about to doze off when the guy came into the room, stripped down naked, and laid in his own bed next to the mattress on the floor. Jabberwocky decided to pretend he was asleep to avoid any awkwardness. Until he heard the guy call out his name, "Jabberwocky?" Oh crap, Jabberwocky thought to himself. How am I going to navigate this situation? Jabberwocky replied, "Yes?""Can I come down there with you?" "Why?""Would that be weird if I did?""Yeah, I think it would be slightly on the weird side."Bahahaha!!! I would've died if this had happened to me! This is exactly why I never hitch hike alone. There is always a risk involved, even for the men.
Date: 2013-08-15
From: not sure yet...

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

It's cool how God cares about the little things just as much as the big things in life. As you all know by now, I am missing an important package. In that package were some new capris running tights. The ones I have are about to fall apart. I've already sewn them up once because they had huge holes in the seams along the inner thighs. The pants are black, and the only thread I could find was purple...so you can imagine the pitiful shape my pants were in. I was hoping to get to a Walmart or somewhere that I could get a cheap pair of athletic pants. The ones at the outfitters were way too expensive. Well, Jabberwocky and I stayed at an inn the other night in Killington, VT. He was digging through the hiker box (these are common in most hotels, hostels, and outfitters along the trail. It is a box where hikers leave unwanted gear, clothes, food, toys, etc.) and he found exactly what I needed! In fact, these pants are better than the ones I had in the mail drop! They are long pants instead of capris, and are much warmer. I'm so happy to have them! I'm wearing them right now to sleep in. Thank you, God for the blessing :-)I'm at Stony Brook Shelter tonight. We had a nice hike today. Less than 500 miles to go! It's ending so fast. We ran into Red Tail and his dad Grey Wolf at the shelter tonight. It's good to see them again. There's also some SOBOs here. They started in Maine in July. They're hoping to get to Georgia before it gets too cold. As my time on the AT is coming to an end I am starting to get a little anxious about going home. I know my life will never be this exciting. In fact, this experience will probably raise the bar so high that nothing I do will even come close to matching my feelings out here. I'm starting to think I might go hike the PCT next year. It's way too soon to start thinking about that now. I need to finish this first. Yesterday, we got a hitch from a really nice guy. He said he saw us standing at the side of the road when he turned into his neighborhood. He thought to himself, "I hope they're still there when I leave in a little bit so I can give them a ride." Sure enough, we were still there! We were making small talk as he drove us to the trail. We even gave him a trail name, Wizard! He asked us if we'd ever had a creamy before. Being from the south, neither one of us knew what a creamy was. It's like soft serve ice cream with a custard base. He said he was going to take us to a place that served it, his treat! So not only did this guy give us a ride, but he bought us creamies too! He's so awesome!
Date: 2013-08-18
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: Norwich, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Last night Jabberwocky and I stayed at a trail angel's house named Lizann. When we first arrived in town, we found a list of trail angels who allow hikers to stay at their home. Lizann was the first person I called. I chose her because her name is spelled similar to mine. She was so kind to us. She was hosting a small dinner party with a few of her friends. She said we were welcome to join the party. It was great food and conversation all evening. Today, we are in Hanover, NH. It is the most hiker-friendly town I've been in since Damascus, VA. There are several businesses who give you free stuff just for being a thru-hiker! I can get a free slice of pizza, free bagel, free deli sandwich, and $2 margaritas! To top it off, New Hampshire doesn't have sales tax either. Awesome!
Date: 2013-08-19
From: Norwich, VT

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

I ended up seeing 2 girls I know named Starfail and Garden Girl (GG) along with Avocado in Hanover. Starfail knew a guy in town who said we could crash at his place and he'd slack-pack us the next day. Of course I jumped at the opportunity to gain some miles without carrying my backpack! So tomorrow Starfail and I are slacking 18 miles. Jabberwocky is ahead of me. He left town before I did and missed out on the change in plans. Originally, I was planning on meeting him at the shelter a couple of miles out of Hanover. Hopefully, I can catch back up with him.
Date: 2013-08-27
From: Garfield Pond

To: Zealand Ridge
Miles today: 0.0

There have been multiple stories of bear encounters over the last couple of days. We hung our food last night and had a huge fire going most of the night. I don't think any bears came near our campsite at Garfield Pond.Funny thing happened last night. I was sound asleep and dreaming. Then, I yelled out 'Hey!' in my sleep. I have a tendency to talk/shout in my sleep. But everybody in camp thought I was yelling at a bear! I laughed so hard about it. My ankle was pretty sore today. I tried to take it easy. The whites are kicking my butt. It is so rocky and steep! I can't go very fast because every step takes so much effort. Large granite boulders cover 90% of the trail. I have to literally rock climb to get through some of the sections. It's been the hardest trail I've encountered so far. But it's also had some of the most spectacular views. I'm surrounded by gigantic mountains. The weather was great today. But tomorrow it's suppose to rain again. I'm hoping to get as much of the trail done as possible before it rains. With all the rocks being wet I'm bound to slip. I almost face-planted a few times today. I heard a woman broke her hand today slipping on the rocks. Starfail said she face planted today. She was going up a smooth rock and almost got to the top when she slipped, ate dirt, and slid all the way back down. She said it hurt like hell. I thought I was going to have to camp alone tonight. The people I camped with last night got off the trail today to go into town. I didn't want to go, so I hiked on alone. I found a stealth spot just before Zealand Ridge. I was looking for a tree to hang my bear bag when I heard Starfail's voice. I was so happy she showed up! I wasn't sure if she was going to make it this far today since we lost her on Franconia. It's just the two of us here. We were both happy to have each other as company. Nobody likes camping alone, especially with bears around!