morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-22
From: Mt Wilcox Shelter, South

To: Cobble View B&B, Tyringham, MA
Miles today: 8.9

We ate our breakfast and was on the trail by7am. I do not cook breakfast, I have coffee, 4 fig newton cookies and a Nature Valley Honey & Oaks bar. Previously, I cooked oatmeal every morning but stopped because it was heavy, tended to take more time and could be messy.A gradual downhill walk from the shelter, past Shaker Campsite and a short climb up to Cobble Hill followed by a short descent to Jerusalem Road. It was a 0.5 walk down the road to the B&B. We arrived early, 12 noon and I knew check in was 3pm but I thought we would eat lunch and perhaps do our laundry. To my surprise there is a Post Office and nothing else in Tyringham. Fortunately, our rooms were ready and we were allowed to stow our packs in the barn and enter the house. After a shower we were given a ride into Lee, MA by the husband. Shortly prior to leaving I blew my nose and had a significant nose bleed just as they were getting into the car. I take aspirin and tend to have an occasional nose bleed. Their 4 year old grandson was riding with us and he had never seen a nose bleed and had many questions and was very curious. We arrived at the Laundromat and the Chinese attendant was extremely kind and helpful. He gave me Kleenex and allowed me to sit outside till it subsided. I let Gerda do all the work and I sat still for about 40 minutes and was able to walk into town without any further problems. We enjoyed lunch at an old Inn, The Morgan House, walked around town and took beer, chips and cheese back to the B&B for a light dinner. We called a taxi. My room was comfortable and I slept well.
Date: 2013-06-23
From: Cobble View B&B, Tyringham, MA

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: clear sky

A good night at Cobble View, breakfast was scheduled for 8am. I woke up at 5:30am and had to wait for my coffee, I am spoiled and like to have it shortly after I awake. I packed my pack in the barn so I would be ready to "hit" the trail. A short hike of about 7 miles to the famous Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Gerda was packing her gear in the barn, I was not there, so no one to talk to but the owner came out and scolded her for making too much noise. Apparently, someone was asleep in the upstairs portion of the barn; we had not been told. Overall, a nice B&B but not overly hiker friendly. Breakfast was served at 8:20am and consisted of coffee, juice, fresh fruit, bagels and blue berry muffins.The late breakfast is not a problem but when the temperatures are in the high 80's to low 90's and 85 percent humidity, it behooves one to get on the trail early before the heat becomes too much of a factor. We walked down Goose Pond Road and saw some beautiful homes by the pond & arrived at the cabin around noon, selected our bunk beds and ate lunch. It is an AMC facility and has a caretaker. Nancy from Maine, our caretaker, was a delightful young lady and I enjoyed taking with her. She is a school teacher, an avid hiker and has been taking one week tours as a caretaker at the cabin since 1992. She plans to hike the John Muir Trail in a few weeks. Everything was clean including the cabin, privies, picnic areas and a large inviting porch to hang out on. No laundry but we hung our clothes on lines to dry and went to the pond for a swim which was refreshing. That afternoon we cooked our dinners and visited with other hikers. I particularly enjoyed talking with "Walker". He was a retired Air Force Pilot and recently retired from a teaching position at VMI in Lexington. VA. A number of hikers came in, many tented; several stayed on the 2nd level with us in bunk beds. Two delightful young ladies recently graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA and were hiking home to CT. We went to bed early as per our custom.
Date: 2013-06-24
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Becket Motel, Becket, MA
Miles today: 11.1

The night at Upper Goose Pond Cabin was OK, it was hot in the bunk rooms on the 2nd floor. A slight breeze but I had a restless night. Nancy cooked pancakes at 6:15am and had a pot of hot coffee as promised. The pancakes were delicious. Thank You Nancy! Overall a good stay at the cabin. The privies were unique; it was a two holer one for BM's & one for pee only-very clean.On the trail by 7am for a 11 mile hike to a motel in Becket, MA. Part of the trail was rocky today but not too bad. We passed Finerty Pond and stopped for a break at October Mtn Shelter. The mosquitoes and gnats were bad today. We arrived at Washington Mtn Road not far from the famous Cookie Lady's home. I called for a shuttle to the motel and Joe came about 15 minutes later. He stopped at a convenience store on the way to the motel so we could buy a sandwich from their deli, snacks and beer. After checking into our rooms, we showered and used the coin laundry for our clothes. Later that evening we went to a tavern next door for a beer and then went to bed. I was really tired tonight.
Date: 2013-06-25
From: Becket Motel, Becket, MA

To: Shamrock Village Inn, Dalton, MA
Miles today: 9.5

I woke up early at the Becket Motel, I rested good. I used my Jet Boil and made coffee which I enjoyed. Joe shuttled us back to the trail at 7am. I called the deli and ordered two egg and bacon sandwiches on an English muffin. We picked them up along with a cup of coffee. It was another 10 to 15 minutes to the trail so I started to eat my sandwich and drink my coffee, I noticed Gerda was not eating so I encouraged her to eat. She did, later she admitted that she had never eaten food in a car particularly when moving. It never occurred to me that eating in the car made her uncomfortable, different cultures. But she jumped right in and did it the American way.Soon we were back on the trail hiking. It was primarily ridge walking. We had heavy rains again last night so the trail was wet and the rocks and roots were especially slippery today. We passed Kay Wood Shelter and had a gentle descent into the town of Dalton, MA. We hiked through the streets to the Shamrock Village Inn and checked in. The staff were friendly and accommodating. We went through our usual routine, showered did our laundry at their coin operated laundry and went to the library. We spent about 45 minutes on the internet and came back to our rooms. I mailed a package home of clothes and gear I was no longer using at the P.O.. A few yards from the Inn I noted that I had left my IPhone at the Library; it was 3:50 and they closed at 4pm. I hurried back up the street and arrived at 3:56pm and got my phone; otherwise I would have to delay our departure tomorrow till 10am when they opened.We rested and went to Jacob's Pub and ate a good diner. While there, "Just Dad" came in with his two children. They were from FL section hiking. The kids were 15 & 13. They started section hiking from GA at ages 9 & 7. We enjoyed talking to them. We went back to the Inn and retired to our rooms.
Date: 2013-06-26
From: Shamrock Village Inn, Dalton, MA

To: Harbour House, Cheshire, MA
Miles today: 8.8

Our stay at The Shamrock was pleasant from the clean rooms to the friendly staff. I woke up at 5:30am and packed my gear. The Java & Juice restaurant was only a hundred yards and we took advantage of it. I ordered a cranberry muffin then saw that they had a breakfast sandwich, fried egg, Canadian ham on an English muffin. It was delicious, I saved the cranberry muffin till the trail as a snack. On the trail at 7am, first walking out of town with a 1000 foot climb up Chrystal Mtn. At The Cobbles there was a great view of Mt Greylock and the Hoosic River Valley. After traversing a steep descent down to Cheshire, MA, we found St Mary of the Assumption Church. No one was present, we waited about 30 minutes and the paper carrier came by and said the Priest would occasionally come by. I called the Harbour House, no answer, but I left a message.At this point we went to a Pizzeria located 1/2 mile from the church to eat and consider our options. The two young ladies from Carlisle, PA that we met at Upper Goose Pond Cabin as well as a third who had joined them were there. These are the girls hiking home from college to CT. Gerda and I bought them a Beer and visited with them for a few minutes. Meanwhile, my phone rang and it was Eva from the Harbour House returning my call and she had room for us. Not only did she come pick us up but came back and shuttled the girls up MA 8 , a busy road, to the trail.The house was old , well maintained and beautiful. Gerda and I had nice rooms , we did share a bath but that was ok. We both thought of Allison, she loved the comfortable B&B's. We went into our routine- shower, laundry(Eva did it) and rest. She had a huge porch with rocking chairs and we relaxed and enjoyed the setting. The weather had been good today, a little overcast, humid but overall good. The pizza had filled us and we were not hungry so we ate snacks. Eva offered to take us to a restaurant but we declined. Another good day.
Date: 2013-06-27
From: Harbour House, Cheshire, MA

To: Bascon Lodge, Mt Greylock
Miles today: 8.4

A very comfortable night at the Harbour House B&B. We were up early, packed our gear and had breakfast at 8am. She had eggs, toast juice and coffee. Eva shuttled us back to the trail. Today will be a big 2500 foot climb up to Mt Greylock, the highest peak in MA. We arrived at the Bascom Lodge at 12:30 and checked in to the bunk room. We were the first, and it turned out, to be the only hikers in our room. We showered but there were no laundry facilities. The dinning room was opened so we enjoyed a delicious hamburger with the trimmings. The remainder of the afternoon we tried to dry our clothes outside. We walked up to the famous War Memorial at the peak of the Mtn. There was a great view of the town of North Adams. We had reservations at 7pm for dinner and it was a 5 course affair and very good. We sat with several other hikers and had a good visit. A big thunder storm was coming our way so, again, good to be inside.
Date: 2013-06-28
From: Bascon Lodge, Mt Greylock

To: Williamstown Motel, Williamstown, MA
Miles today: 7.0

About 11pm, during a vicious thunderstorm with high winds, we heard a huge boom and saw a flash outside of our Lodge window. A transformer blew for reason yet to be determined, thus no power for the lodge. There were a number of people in the lodge, families with children etc. No lights, the water pump was out thus no running water for the entire Lodge including the flush toilets. Nevertheless, I slept well. We woke up early and went to the dinning room, no power or running water. By morning the toilets were a mess with no way to wash your hands. Fortunately, Gerda and I both had filled our water bottles last night before the storm. I was surprised that they did not have a small generator for the kitchen and water pump. They were going to lose all of the food in their refrigerator and freezer as well as an ice cream station full of various ice cream products. We drank a cup of yesterday's luke warm coffee from a carafe. There was a light rain and strong winds on the summit. We went out on the trail hoping the winds would be less once off the summit and indeed it was. The trail went straight down the Mtn thus the water went straight down the Mtn. We were hiking in a steady stream most of the time. It was a long steep descent. We passed Wilbur Clearing Shelter but did not stop. We arrived at MA 2 at about noon and called for a shuttle from the motel and they arrived shortly. We checked into our rooms, showered and went to the Laundromat to do our laundry only to find out that it was out of business, 0h well! We hung the clothes in our rooms to let them dry. We ate lunch at a local deli and it was good.I failed to mention that Eva agreed to help us with a slack pack We left our heavy gear with her so that our hike up Mt Greylock and also down would be done with a light pack. Eva's mother is in a nursing home one mile from the Williamstown Motel so she brought our extra gear to the motel at 2pm. She is a great lady and we appreciated her thoughtfulness, this was her idea. Trail Magic from Eva. I am 71 years old and Gerda is only a few years behind me so any edge we get we try to take advantage of it.We were off our schedule and needed to be in Bennington tomorrow so I tried to arrange a shuttle and finally found a taxi in Bennington that would come for us. That evening we ate in a Mexican Restaurant, Desperadoes, and had a good meal.
Date: 2013-06-29
From: Williamstown Motel, Williamstown, MA

To: Paradise Motel, Bennington, VT
Miles today: 0.0

I rested well at the motel, my smoke alarm went off at 3am but it stopped after about 5 minutes. We ate a leisurely continental breakfast at the motel and waited for the taxi. He arrived at 11am; I knew that we would not be able to check into Paradise Inn early. We arrived at the Inn at noon and indeed could not get into our rooms but we were able to leave our packs and took our laundry to a local Laundromat recommended by the lady at the desk. There was a small deli next to the Laundromat and we ordered lunch. I ordered a grilled ham and cheese only to find out they left off the ham. Oh well! We went back to the Inn and our rooms were ready. I noticed in the brochure in our room that they had a coin operated laundry for their guests! Later that afternoon, I asked another young lady at the desk and she said "oh yes, it is only a dollar- do you need soap?" Clearly the older lady earlier did not want hikers to use the laundry.We walked around town and went to their Library but it was closed due to summer hours. We ate dinner at Madison Brew Co. I had a pork snitzle which was tasty but Gerda said it was not truly prepared like they did in Germany. We went back to the motel and did indeed wash a few items of clothes.The Inn was nice and a step above most of the motel that we had been staying in. The only bad experience was the older lady front desk. Overall I was impressed with Bennington and would like to come back in the future.
Date: 2013-06-30
From: Paradise Motel, Bennington, VT

To: Goddard Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

Good night at the Inn, we spoke to the front desk lady on our way out and told her we were disappointed with her treatment of us regarding using their laundry. She said it was a misunderstanding "she thought we wanted to go to a public Laundromat"! The taxi picked us up at 7:15am and took us to VT 9 and we started going up the Mtn for a 1000 foot climb to Porcupine Ridge. We had 6 miles of ridge walking and arrived at Goddard Shelter in the early afternoon. The shelter was crowded and among the hikers was a lady, who was in a hammock from Homewood, AL which is only a few miles from my home. Her name was "Greyhound". She had completed the trail several years ago as a thru hiker and now was out for a 3 to 4 week section hike. Her husband elected to stay at home.We stayed in the shelter with rain in the forecast.
Date: 2013-07-01
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Story spring Shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: moderate rain

There were a number of hikers at Goddard Shelter last night, in the shelter and many were tenting. A strange older hiker name Chris was in our shelter and several of the thru hikers who had been hiking with him had many negative comments about him. Unfortunately, he placed his sleeping bag next to me. I noticed that he went to the privy 4 times and the other hikers said he professed to having constant diarrhea since Springer Mtn, not good. He was late into the shelter, most of us were in our bags trying to go to sleep. He came in cooked his dinner and proceeded to eat the entire meal while in his sleeping bag and then munched on some type of crunchy cereal for over an hour, all next to me. Then he got up and stated to hang his wet, dirty clothes all over the shelter till well past 10pm. The other guys said ,later, he does this in every shelter and is disruptive. There was a heavy rain last night but only overcast today. We climbed Glastenbury Mt, there was a lookout tower on the summit, and the reminder of the trail was relatively flat. We stopped at Kid Gore Shelter for a short break and proceeded to Story Spring Shelter. The trail continues to be in bad shape. There is tremendous soil erosion with numerous exposed roots and rocks. I believe it is a result of the heavy traffic in this region, the AT and the Long Trail share the same trail for the first one hundred miles in VT. Late in the day it began to rain, nothing new for sure. We settled into the shelter for the evening. Greyhound also came in and hung her hammock.
Date: 2013-07-02
From: Story spring Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

It rained off and on last night at Story Spring Shelter but we were dry. There was a nice cooking area and bench at the shelter but we could not use any of it because of Chris' dirty clothes covered everything up and I did not want to touch them. Up early and on the trail by 7am.Initially there was some downhill then a long steady 1600 foot climb up Stratton Mtn. The climb was not too bad but despite a gentle rain I was sweating profusely and had to be careful about staying hydrated. No view at Stratton Mtn unless you climbed the fire tower. Gerda did not want to climb it and I was so soaked, I knew that I would quickly become chilled so we took a short break and continued down the trail to the shelter.The shelter was nice, it should have a caretaker but that person had not arrived yet. A family of 4 had pitched a large tent in the loft and essentially took up that space Gerda and I took one of the lower bunk beds. We ended up with about 14 in the shelter and a # in tents outside. I felt sorry for them, they wanted in but no space and it rained very hard most of the night.We cooked and ate in the shelter and visited with several of the other hikers. We saw Greyhound at the fire tower but she did not make it to the shelter and must have stopped early.
Date: 2013-07-03
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Green Mtn Hostel, Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 10.7

Rested well at Stratton Mtn Shelter and have a 10 mile hike to Manchester Center and will stay at the Green Mtn Hostel which we have heard good things about. It was a flat uneventful hike to VT11/30. Jeff asked us to call a taxi but were told that he was short a driver and could not come. So we began hitch hiking and 2 to 3 minutes later a nice young male school teacher stopped and took us to the EMS outfitters in town. We saw several of the thru hikers who stayed at the shelter with us last pm. I started dialing the hostel # and a man said My name is Jeff, does anyone need a ride to the hostel, perfect timing. He was able to get us all into his suburban and soon we were at the hostel. He told us the rules and then assigned us beds. He emphasized to everyone, the first thing to do was for everyone to take a shower before sitting on the beds or furniture. We were, of course, glad to comply and after our shower began our laundry which was included in the $30 fee. The hostel was a separate house and we had a nice fully stocked kitchen, large living room area with TV and a computer. Upstairs was 3 rooms with single beds with mattresses and linen. There were two full baths upstairs and 1/2 bath downstairs. It was big, spacious and clean. I see now why he receives such positive comments re his hostel. He took Gerda and me to a local restaurant for dinner. I had a steak and salad. We called Jeff and he picked us up. We rested, visited and retired to our beds.
Date: 2013-07-04
From: Green Mtn Hostel, Manchester Center, VT

To: Green Mtn Hostel, Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a zero day. We had contemplated a slack pack but Jeff stated that there was a 2 night maximum stay. We wanted our zero day so elected not to slack pack. He had eggs, pancakes and several types of cereal & milk available for breakfast. We ate cereal but the thru hikers cooked up a big batch of eggs. Mid morning Jeff took us into town and we walked around. Gerda bought another inflatable mattress, hers was difficult to inflate and she wanted to replace it. We ate at a pizzeria and I had a delicious pizza. A short trip to the grocery for a few snacks for dinner and we called Jeff for our pickup. Jeff also gave each guest a pint of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. So we spent July 4th eating ice cream and hanging out at the hostel
Date: 2013-07-05
From: Green Mtn Hostel, Manchester Center, VT

To: Peru Peak shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

It was a hot night at the hostel. I love everything that Jeff has done at the hostel but adding window air conditioning units would be a big help even if he went up $5 on his fee. Everyone was complaining about the heat last pm. Jeff had a group leaving at 6:30am, so we had to either leave at 6AM OR 8AM. With the heat we chose 6am, the earlier the better. Bean also rode with us to the trailhead at VT 11/30. We were hiking by 6:15am, it was extremely foggy. There was a 1500 foot climb to the summit of Bromley Mtn. There was a ski lift at the top and the last 1/4 mile was on a ski slope. At the top there generally are good views but the fog prohibited that today. We passed Bromley Shelter but did not stop for fear of awaking hikers. There was a descent to Mad Tom Notch then another 1000 foot climb to Peru Peak. Soon we arrived at Peru Peak Shelter, it was a nice shelter. After claiming our spots, we put out our sleeping bags. Overall, the trail was good today, much less standing water and mud. Shortly we became aware that the bugs were going to be a problem so we set up our tents on the platform close to the shelter. While I was cooking dinner it stated to rain, it should not have been a surprise, I ran and retrieve my clothes off the clothes line, tried to get my food into the shelter and by that time the tent was soaked so I left it alone. Gerda did get her tent in. There was a steady rain for 30 to 40 minutes then stopped. I decided to sleep in my tent since it was up and we expected more hikers to come in. I move all my gear to the tent and soon after, we had a tremendous rain. For the first time, I noticed a misting effect in my tarp tent. I could definitely feel tiny droplets of water on my face, arms and legs. So, with the first lull in rain I moved back into the shelter. It may have been the way I pitched my tent on the wooden platform or water splashing up. It continued to rain during the night so I was glad to be back in the shelter.
Date: 2013-07-06
From: Peru Peak shelter

To: Littlre Rock Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.7

A good night in the shelter. I went to take down my tent and despite all the rain, no water had accumulated on the floor which lends support the it was only a misting problem during the heavy rain. I will spray a coat of silicone on the fly when I get home.On the trail by 7am. About a 10 mile hike to Little Rock Pond Shelter. No significant climbs today. There was still plenty of mud on the trail but we also had several section of very pleasant hiking conditions. There was one rocky area and Gerda fell hard on a slippery rock hurting her right elbow. She has fallen several times but this is the second hard fall. She injured her wrist several days ago. There was a rock outcropping called Bakers Peak, it would have been tough to climb in the rain but we did not have any trouble today. Good views at the top. We arrived at the shelter shortly after noon. It was built in 2011 and was beautiful. There were a number of tent platform which filled up with locals since it was a Saturday night. We met the caretaker who was a nice fellow and paid our fee. The nearby Pond was scenic and a # of people were swimming and canoeing. Gerda and I washed a few clothes and took a sponge bath. We met a nice young man from Oklahoma City who was section hiking but he styed in his tent . Greyhound was also there in her hammock but she cooked with us in the shelter. By 9pm no one else came so Gerda and I had the shelter to ourselves.