morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-16
From: Shelter past RPH

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

It was tough to let the morning hours slip away without hiking, but I was willing to do it to meet Casino. He surprised me by coming around the other side of the shelter. I gave him a hug, as I had Treefingers. Now i had but to reunite with Ramble.We hit the trail after Casino rested and made it to the road to Pawling, NY. We wanted to get a meal and check out the new hostel that Red B started with some guy named Jessie. We got a hitch after ten minutes or so, and were soon dining on delicious Chinese food. After lunch, a local showed us to the outfitter. It was more geared toward bikes, so it wasn't of much use to us, though Casino did buy some socks. We hit the library for some internetting, then walked back out of town to the hostel. Jessie was out, but Red B showed us around. It looks like it will be a pretty cool place when it's done, but I didn't want to stay there. I had wasted enough time waiting around for the guys and wanted to be in position to get to Kent for my maildrop tomorrow. Casino and I headed back up to the trail around 6pm. Treefingers stayed at hung out with Red B, but promised to catch up.At the trail crossing, we waited briefly for Jebus and Thumper. I even left Thumper his XXXL zip-lock bag I have been carrying since Atkins, VA for him with a note to meet us at the shelter. Then we hoofed it to Wiley Shelter. It was a wet nasty hike full of mud and bog bridges. I had to carry Freckles over several stiles, and Casino shocked himself on an electric fence. All in all, we were glad we weren't trying to push all the way into CT. Treefingers never made it to the shelter. I guess we'll see him in Kent, and hopefully, Ramble On as well.
Date: 2006-06-17
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 14.0

Per my usual scheme, I arose early today. I told Casino I was leaving, knowing he would likely have no recollection of it. Treefingers never did arrive, so who knows where he is. I hiked immediately into CT, and as often happens, the trail became instantly flawless at the border. The trail clubs like to put their best foot forward at the southern boundaries to dupe you. Then they slack off later on.Nevertheless, the first 4 miles of CT was awesome. Towering pines and a gorgeous river walk. I found Trooper, TINS, and Homebrew at the next shelter. Homebrew related an amusing story about Crazy Frank and a turtle. Evidently, he grew tired of his donated Ramen noodles, so he decided to cook a turtle. Having never cooked a turtle before, he decided to boil it like a lobster- alive. Then he had difficulty shelling it, so he beat it against a rock. I never did hear if he actually got to eat it or not, but clearly this story demonstrates the aforementioned craziness.The final 10 miles to Kent was strangely difficult. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but other hikers agreed. I still found myself there by 10:30am. I got my care package from Mom with no trouble. I didn't have to spend money on meals that day. The box was so loaded with stuff that I was giving it away and still had enough to gorge for days.The library was having a book sale, so after I updated my journal, I bought a popular science book about the new physics called The Dancing Wu Li Masters. So far, it is quite entertaining.Throughout the day, other hikers filtered in. Casino was first, bringing with him the whereabouts of Treefingers and Ramble. They were both still at Red B's extremely shady hostel. It is really more of a flop house, and I don't think it will be there for long. Nor do I recommend it to other hikers. Casino and I went to get some pizza, which was good, and then just loitered at then local church. We had been told by several locals that the church allows camping on it's back lawn, information which we filed away for potential use.The rest of the day was spent waiting for hikers. Treefingers and Ramble ended up departing the hostel, along with Jebus and the male Cantaloupe, around 10:30pm. The intended to night hike to Kent, arriving around 5am. The rest of us pitched tarps at the church and read until sundown. Kent is a great town; I can see how it would suvk tourists in.
Date: 2006-06-18
From: Kent, CT

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 0.0

Today, I watched myself and 12 other thruhikers do their best King of the Hill impersonations. We sat around on Main St all day, having the following looped conversation."Man, it's hot." "Yep, it sure is." "Damn hot." "Yep.""Man, it's hot...."But it was hot. 100 degrees to be exact. Not good hiking weather. The night hikers arrived around 7am, and immediately went to sleep under a large maple tree next to the coffee house. The rest off us did whatever we could think of to delude ourselves into thinking that we were actually going anywhere today. In truth, I was fairly determined to do a few miles. But as I was about to leave, the others offered to pay for my share of a hotel room. I had a hard time arguing with that, so 7 of us and Freckles crowded into one room. It was actually pretty roomy, and we had showers, AC, and cable TV. The trinity of hiker satisfaction. Tomorrow I have been assigned the duty of wake up calls at 4-5am. I don't relish this task, but I shall perform it to the best of my ability.
Date: 2006-06-19
From: Kent, CT

To: Sharon Mountain Campsite
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke everyone up at 4:20am. Then I promptly hit the road to beat the heat. The first climb was pretty tough, a lot of quick ups and downs. On the other side was a 5 mile flat river walk, which is always nice.I had to run into the first shelter along the way, as the cold pizza I had for breakfast, well, you've heard variations on this theme before. After a short break, I hiked out with Yeti and Cruise. Applesauce had already left ahead of us. I concocted a plan to go into town for lunch/siesta. I prefer to rest in AC if possible. The road crossing for that town, West Cornwall, was not conducive to hitching. We were going to hike on, when some day hikers arrived at the trailhead. We convinced them to take us down, where we enjoyed 3 hours of CT hospitality. We ate in a lovely cafe, resupplied at the market, and watched kayakers float under the historic covered bridge in town. A great New England afternoon. The first truck back up the mountain picked us up, and we hiked quickly to the first shelter. There, we found that despite our 3 hour break, only Thumper and the female Cantaloupe had passed us. We sat there for another hour, waiting for others to arrive. By 5pm, Snake and Jebus were there and ready to continue on. Thumper and I led the way, with Jebus and Yeti on our heels. After 2 miles, it began to thunder. Thumper and I stopped at the first campsite, but evidently the other two moved on. It was a rainy, mosquito filled night. I engineered a perfect bug bivy for protection, but then I had to ruin it in order to heed the call of nature. I never reached the earlier design perfection.
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Sharon Mountain Campsite

To: First Shelter past Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Thumper and I woke up fairly early, and were immediately attacked by the skeeters. We packed quickly and headed the 3 miles to a cafe for breakfast. Cruze and Applesauce were sitting out front, having just finished their meals. We headed inside and placed our orders. I had a giant omelette with free Coke refills. Thumper had a huge stack of pancakes.We grudgingly put our packs on and headed back into the woods. The next few miles were on a handicap accessable trail by a river. We caught up to Snake and the female Cantaloupe around the hydroelectric plant. They were preparing to take a cold water shower at the wall spigot outside the plant. Thumper and I passed it by, in lieu of getting to town, which we would do soon enough. Salisbury is a very nice trail town. We got our packages at the PO and resupplied at the local grocery. There was still no sign of Casino and Co; They were last seen asleep at the shelter I passed last night. They were alledgedly planning on staying at the first shelter out of town, so I decided to head up there myself. On the way up, I got caught in a torrential downpour. Everything was absolutely soaked. I had stuff hanging from every nail in the shelter. Snake and Sunshine soon rolled in, also soaked to the bone. I moved my stuff and set up my bug bivy. It ended up being a horrible night for skeeters, and the other guys set up their tents to escape them.Casino and Co never showed up, and as of now I am strongly considering going into NYC with Snake, Jebus, Yeti, and Thumper. I know I am supposed to be hiking and that I was already in the city, but it's a free stay in the Upper West Side and a possible taping of the Daily Show.
Date: 2006-06-21
From: First Shelter past Salisbury, CT

To: NYC
Miles today: 13.0

I left the shelter early, planning to catch up with Jebus and the others before they got to their extraction point. That way I had the option of going with them if I wanted. Snake was slow to get going, as he was hurting badly from the day before. He thought he might have to hike back to Salisbury and hitch to Egremont and meet us. I was to take that message ahead to the others.Unbeknownst to us at the time, the storm last night had forced that group to dive for the shelter a mile up the trail from us. I found them there getting ready to go. I told them about Snake, and we decided to wait a bit to see if he showed up. We eventually tired of waiting and headed up the trail. It turned out that Snake had passed right by unseen, and we caught up to him just inside Mass. The first few miles of the state were beautiful. That always seems to be the case. I think the trail crews really focus on those southern miles. We climbed up over 2000 feet for the first time in a month. The view was spectacular and we sat and enjoyed apples from the summit. Between that peak and Mt. Everett, one of my pack straps snapped. This meant I had to carry my pack with one strap, while holding on tightly to the other. I couldn't use my poles, which was infortunate, since the trail goes straight up the rocky mountain. Consequently, I lagged pretty far behind. At the road, Jebus' mom had a van waiting for us (I had clearly already decided to go into the city, but the pack fiasco sealed it.) We loaded up the van, grabbed some lunch at a local cafe, and dropped Freckles off at a kennel in Great Barrington. This kennel was a palace. I had the option of getting him a suite and renting him movies to watch, but of course, I passed on that.It was about a 3 hour ride to the city, but we were just so happy not to be walking. The apartment is about three blocks from where Sarah used to go to school, so I had just been in the area 2 weeks back. Soon we were cleaned up, fed, and happy. I know Snake's mom has a lot of tourist stuff planned. Jebus and I will probably keep to ourselves, since we've been to NYC alot.
Date: 2006-06-22
From: NYC

To: NYC
Miles today: 0.0

It is so funny how easily I assimilate back into the city. Jebus and I ran errands most of the day. We dropped my pack off for repair and did some internetting at Kinko's. We also hung out in a local pub and watched the US's World Cup hopes come to an end. There was a bad call that resulted in the loss, but they wouldn't have made it in the next round anyway.Chinese for lunch, then back to the apartment for a nap. I gathered a bunch of Broadway brochures for the others. I wish I could afford to go see a show, but I can't. We did go wait in the stand-by lines of both the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Unfortunately, we couldn't get in. I didn't realize tickets were free, though. I will definitely try that again next time I'm in town.Jebus, Thumper, and Yeti went to the Village to drink beer and look for girls. I think the only ones they found were lesbians, but they seemed to have fun anyway. Snake, his mother Sarah, and I ordered pizza and watched So You Think You Can Dance. All in all, a relaxing day in the city.
Date: 2006-06-23
From: NYC

To: NYC
Miles today: 0.0

Today I spent 6 hours in the Natural History Museum. I could easily have spent twice that, as I had to cruise through some of the exhibits. I had been there back in February with my friend Brian to see the Darwin exhibit, but I didn't get to see much of the regular exhibits. I have decided that I could easily live in New York for a few years. I don't think I would want to put down roots there, but I could be very happy for a little while. I love the cultural opportunities available. Museums, concerts, plays, exhibits. It's all in one spot. Plus, McDonald's and Blockbuster both deliver.After the museum, we split into two teams- highbrow and lowbrow. The highbrows went to see The Producers; the lowbrows (myself included) went to see Nacho Libre with Jack Black. Very funny movie.This is our last night in the city. We have to figure out how to get back to the trail tomorrow. Sarah, Snake's mom, is driving us, which is great. I am a little worried about getting out of the city by car, but I'm sure we'll manage.
Date: 2006-06-24
From: NYC

To: Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

The cab driver picked us up around 8am. It was tough wedging into the van, but we're used to close courters and no leg room. He took us over to LaGuardia to rent a car, with one quick side trip for Sarah to get some coffee. At the rental place, we found some maps of the area and soon were on the road back to Mass.I did a pretty good job navigating, save for one error. I wasn't paying attention when we got to the Taconic Parkway and we drove past it. At that point, we had to do about 6 u-turns to get back on the right course. From there, we were golden. We stopped several times, twice to eat and once to get Freckles. We didn't hit the trail until around 1pm.Over the first knoll, there awaited an army of swarming mosquitos. I'm talking well coordinated military battalions of fiendishly quick blood-thirsty monsters. We were immediately in need of transfusions. It was miserable. Once we started to climb out of the valley, they gradually subsided. The 10 miles seemed like an eternity. Sometimes its tough to get back into the swing of things after a long break. I was staggering into the shelter. Fortunately, there was plenty of room for us. I set up my bug net and immediately escaped into its relative safety. Some of the others were being sociable with the section hikers in residence, but I just read and turned in early.
Date: 2006-06-25
From: Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: light rain

Today was my first experience with the AMC and it went against everything I have heard so far. We/I got up early and pushed the 21 miles to Upper Goose Pond. There wasn't a lot to see today, but the bugs were less problematic. I did most of the day alone until Yeti caught me in the last 2 miles. He and I arrived at the cabin around 2pm, with time enough to take a quick swim before the rain started. I guess the others will have to learn to get up earlier.The cabin was once a mountain residence, but it's been converted into a hiker shelter. The caretakers take one week stints there, keeping up the place and cooking pancakes for hikers in the morning. They only ask a $3 donation, which I gladly paid. I think it's a PR move. The AMC knows they're going to piss off the thru-hikers in the White's, so they try to warm up to us now. Anyway, Nancy the caretaker is a physics teacher in Maine, so she gave me the lowdown on job opportunities and advice about which college to attend for my degree.All in all, an informative and enjoyable respit from the rain and skeeters.
Date: 2006-06-26
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, Mass
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: moderate rain

New England gets better each day. We pushed to Dalton, Mass today. The hiking was wet and muddy. I spent most of the day hopping from rock to rock in the slim hope of staying dry, with absolutely no success. But as soon as we arrived in town, our things improved. Living right on the trail is an angel named Tom Levardie. He allows hikers to stay on his porch, sometimes inside. He took me to the next down to get some food for Freckles and ran all of us to a local Chinese buffet for dinner. After dinner, we got in touch with Treefingers, Ramble On, and Casino. They were in town at a hotel with their friend Zach from VA. I went down to say hey and use the shower. The hotel didn't allow dogs, so I opted to stay back with Tom. He had a copy of the Big Lebowski, which we have been trying to watch as a group since GA. Unfortunately for Jebus, he opted to stay with Casino and Co. Too bad for him.I'm supposed to head over to the hotel in the morning after I mail out my package. We'll see if that crew is ready to hike or not.
Date: 2006-06-27
From: Dalton, Mass

To: First Shelter past Mt Graylock
Miles today: 20.0

I ended up at the hotel room around 8:30am, having already packed up, eaten breakfast, and mailed my package. The guys were at least awake, but they were moving very slowly. I waited outside as they got ready. They invited me to go to an Impressionist art exhibit the next day in Williamstown. I don't know if I really feel like going, as I don't really care for Impressionism and I'd kind of like to just get to Bennington. The guys finally got ready, but still needed to eat. I was tired of the day slipping by, so I left with Sunshine. The stretch of trail between Dalton and Chesire was nice. There was a bit of elevation gain, but not much. We did the 10 miles by 11am. There was a little deli/ice cream parlor right on the trail, so we partook of some grinders and cones. The rest of the day was a steady, unceasing climb up over 3000 feet. We haven't been that high in quite a long time, and it's going to take some getting used to. I don't even want to think about NH. At the top, there was a cooler full of soda and beer, courtesy of some firemen section hikers we met at Goose Pond. It was a great treat after that climb. I chilled for a while at the lodge on top, eating some delicious cheeseburgers and talking to other hikers. It was very cold/windy outside and I had to leave the dog out there. I planned to wait there for Casino and Co, since I wasn't sure their friend Zach would make it much further, as this was his forst day on the trail. I ended up growing impatient after almost 2 hours, so Thumper and I hoofed it down to the next shelter. There I remembered that I had left my valuables bag on the coffee table in the lodge. I left them 2 messages about it, telling them to give the bag to Yeti. I don't know yet if the messages were received, since cell phone transmission was sketchy at best. I wasn't about to hike back up the mountain though.Casino and Co, with Jebus, rolled in around 11pm. They seemed very irritated with me when I told them I wasn't going to the art exhibit. I think they're hurt that I haven't been hanging out with them, but our schedules just aren't in synch and I don't think that's anyone's fault. You have to hike your own hike out here, and sometimes that means parting ways with people. I hope they get over it, since I really do value their friendships.
Date: 2006-06-28
From: First Shelter past Mt Graylock

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: mist

Today could easily have been the worst day on the trail. Thumper and I walked through pouring rain almost all day. The trail would have been easier to cross with a canoe than on foot. I almost lost my shoe in the mud countless times. At one point, we had to hike past a beaver dam that was overflowing, completely submerging the adjacent bog bridges. It was wet. It was cold. It was miserable.But behind every AT cloud lurks a silver lining. We got an easy hitch into town, where we found an informal hostel/hiker flop house. Not only is it free, but we have access to a pool table, laundry, showers, free long distance, internet, and we're right across the street from the PO and 2 blocks from the outfitter. If that isn't trail magic, I don't know what is. I don't think I'm going to like the hiking in VT much, but the towns are going to be awesome.
Date: 2006-06-29
From: Bennington, VT

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

Look- up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's me taking a zero day so I can go see Superman. I have a lot of cravings out here, but my movie addiction is one of the strongest. I just couldn't wait another day to see the Man of Steel, and we were in such a nice town and were staying for free. The other hikers started to filter in throughout the morning. Yeti had actually hiked in last night to bring me my wallet, but he couldn't find us and had to pay for a hotel room.We spent the day eating, shooting pool, riding bikes around town, shopping, and watching the coolest superhero of all time save the day in his spandex suit. We are finally dry after yesterday, but the rain continues, so I'm sure our comfort is short lived.
Date: 2006-06-30
From: Bennington, VT

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

We got a later start than I would have liked, but were still at the trail by 9am. Arla, one of the "hostel" owners, drove us all up there in her van. Jebus and I quickly got ahead of the others. Thumper seemed to be feeling ill. He was lagging way behind, which was unlike him. We are seeing a lot of Long Trail hikers. The AT and the LT share trail for about 100 miles, so things are crowded again. It reminds me of north GA. The hike was soggy but fun. We are hitting elevation again, so we see some pine forests. We crossed some snow mobile trails today, which I had never seen before. They look like any other trail in the summer. At the hight point of the day, we climbed a firetower and squinted through the fog. It was a decent view considering the weather.At the shelter, LT hikers had filled up the shelter. We tarped/tented around the perimeter, bedding down early to escape the wrath of the blackflies. Even Freckles is being attacked by them. Tomorrow, I will wake us up at the crack of dawn so we can get to Manchester Center before the PO closes.
Date: 2006-07-01
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

Sarah would love Manchester. It is a shopping outlet town. I haven't seen a Disney outlet, but I'll bet there's one here. I was hiking around 6am. I had given up on getting to the PO. I don't even know what's there anyway. Yeti and I stuck together today. The hike was slightly drier, but I did take one plunge into the mud anyway. We had an interesting talk with some local fisherman. The eldest of the two told us all sorts of info about the trail, like that it ends at Katahdin. I'm so glad he told us. All this time I thought I was headed to Disney World. The last two miles were the worst. We could hear the highway the entire time, and passed 3-4 roads straight down to town. Nonetheless, we got to the road and after some time, got a ride down. I was worried that the newly formed marks on Freckles' belly were Lyme's disease, but the guys at EMS say they look like blackfly bites. That makes sense, since they appeared the very day the flies did. I'm not going to worry about it unless they get worse.The rest of the crew filtered in my 6pm. We resupplied and caught a hitch up to Marge "Tortoise" Fish's house for the night. She is the VP of the GMC trail club. She lets hikers stay with her in her basement. There are beds enought for all of us and a Nintendo with MarioCart. We have all we need.