morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-06-30
From: Kent

To: Caesar Brook Campsite
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: broken clouds

The weather was really nice for hiking but once again I was kind of dragging. There were about 4.5 miles of completely flat trail along the Housatonic River. I saw this guy leave what I thought was a lawn mower gas can along the trail - but it turned out to be a cooler of gatorade. I wish I had realized it in time to thank him. There was downhill after St John's Ledges that looked pretty steep on the elevation profile. Right before I got there this guy going south with his Brittany Spaniel stopped me to ask if I knew about the downhill. He said it was slippery and treacherous. It got me really spooked but it wasn't quite that dramatic, although it was steep. I was trying to get to the Pine Swamp Lean-to but a few miles before that I ran into Nancy from Washington who said she was staying at this campsite, and it was already 1800, so it sort of conviced me to stay. There was a Boy Scout troop on their last shakedown hike before going to the Philmont Ranch, the mecca of Boy Scouting. The scoutmaster Ed said that the troop had gone into NY on the AT just so they could get the NY trail guides, but they couldn't find any. WHich is pretty hysterical, becuase it Conneticut several times a day you come across a green wooden box with trailguides carved on it in schooltecher cursive and they also were full. We had to break it to the scout leader that this only happens in CT - he was flabbergasted. Nancy was saying that each state of the AT reminds her of a relative - PA was like the nice uncle, NJ was the mean uncle, which I kind of didn't get, but she said CT is like the fussy aunt who covers her sofa with plastic. That is so true - there are all the signs - all in muted victorian green - NO BIKES, or NO CAMPING, or STOVES ONLY NO FIRES. And the shelters have little maps showing designated campsites that are marked with numbered green signs. I thought of NY- lots of poor blazing and rock obstacles,cruel routing, long stretches without water, shelter with no water, and asked her was relative NY was. She said the mentally ill one. Too funny.
Date: 2007-07-01
From: Ceasar Brook Campsite

To: Limestone Spring Lean-to, CT
Miles today: 15.7

Last night I was asleep and was dreaming that photos were being taken but when I heard the thunder crack overhead I realized I had incorporated the lighting into my dream. It took a while for me to really wake up and react - there was quite a puddle in the tent. Once I got that mopped up, and closed the flaps, my tent did fine in the rain. The hike was again long and tiring. I finished The Potato Factory and started The Tortilla Curtain by T C Boyle. I also listened to podcast of the Ricky Gervais Show - which is basically he and 2 friends sitting around talking - one will come up with a stupid idea and they other 2 will make fun of him. Funny in small doses though. I tried a new thing and stopped at 1700 and made dinner in a park in Falls Village near the river. I made it to the shelter turn off which said 0.5 miles to the shelter. I ran into Rodeo Clown and Trashbag who warned me the shelter was way down the mountain. It was about a 300 foot elevation drop and closer to a mile. It was nice to see Numbers and Butterfly Mama again and I met Rt 66.
Date: 2007-07-02
From: Limestone Spring Lean-to

To: Sages Ravine Brook Campsite, MA
Miles today: 10.9

WOO HOO! I'm in Massachusetts. Today I felt good - it really helped hiking with Butterfly Mama, Numbers and Rt. 66 in the morning to get started at a good pace. The last 3 days I was sure I had lyme disease - I was so exhausted. But today I felt fine. Which leads me to conclude that sometimes it is good to listen to your body, but sometimes your body doesn't know what it is talking about. We went into the town of Salisbury, CT which is even more upscale than Kent. (I was surprised that a laundromat opened in Kent. Although there was a sign that they do horse blankets. So maybe when Muffy has a dressage competition coming up, Mummy can send the maid to the laundromat with the blankets. Between that and the hikers, they might make a go of it.) We stopped at an inn that served breakfast, but a bowl of oatmeal was $6.50, so we kept going. Eventually we all met at a bistro which wasn't that much cheaper but I enjoyed my eggs, croissant, coffee, and buttered scone. The waitress asked me if I me if I wanted cream or milk in my coffe, and I emphatically said cream. Then Numbers, Butterrfy Mama, and Rte 66 came in one at a time and each did the same thing - we need all the calories we an get at this point.Numbers and Butterfly Mama were zeroing in Salisbury and were trying to get in touch with this woman, Vanessa, who takes in boarders. Someone came up to them in the street and asked if they were looking for a place and got it arranged. Then Vanessa found them on the street. After breakfast and getting a few groceries, I had a 2000 foot climb up Bear Mountain and descended into MA. The caretaker of the campsite had left fruit in the stream for hikers and a chipmunk was inside the bags and there were all these little bites taken out of the nectarine, which was the one fruit I had my eye on.
Date: 2007-07-03
From: Sages Ravine Brook Campsite, MA

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: broken clouds

The day started with Race Mountain and then Mount Everett. On the way down from Mount Everett, I met a former thru-hiker Jaybird who gave me a cold can of Yuengling (at one in the afternoon). I then went thru some pastures and then started thru a forested section. I was immediately swarmed by mosquitos. I had DEET on so they weren¢t biting so bad, but they were flying in my eyes and hair and nose. I couldn¢t stop for a second. I finally got out of there and was resting on a bridge and 357 Magnum came stumbling out of the woods and said "Thank god we survived that mosquito hell!" I was planning to stay in Great Barrington and made reservations that morning at a Travelodge. I got off the trail at 1820 and knew I had to walk a couple miles to the hotel. I stopped at a Lebanese deli and had a falafel sandwich with baba ganouj. The owner saw me putting on my pack and was totally stunned to find out I was going to Maine. He kept asking and ¢You¢re walking?¢ He asked me what route I was taking - "Are you taking the Mass Pike?" I tried to explain there was this trail a half mile away but he couldn¢t get it. He did give me a free dessert though. I continued to walk into town. I¢m in the Berkshires so the towns are surrounded by mountains and there are tons of antique stores. There was lady mowing her lawn who asked me if I was hiking the AT - so some people do know about it. I had walked a couple miles and called the hotel for directions - they said it was 10 minutes away by car. Ugh. So I kept walking and shortly came to a Days Inn and ended up here. I took my first shower in 8 sweaty days aaah!!
Date: 2007-07-04
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I was debating what to do - either I would have to push really hard to make it to Dalton by Saturday morning for my next mail drop or take it really slow so I would get there Monday. So obviously I decided to do the slow option. Today I got groceries and did laundry. I was planning to go to the movies but it took a long time to get all my stuff done. I had to sew my shorts that got ripped on my way down from Jug End yesterday. And I had to sew my tent stuff sack. I went to the gas station for stove fuel and ran into Rt 66. He's staying at a shed at a store at the end of town - no shower though. I'm enjoying my luxury. It turned out to be rainy and I've been watching the Monk marathon on TV. I told a few people that I was dreaming that there would be a parade in town and there would be food booths and I would get burgers, gyros, and funnel cake. My dream did not come true - The big parade is in the next town Pittsfield but may have gotten rained out. Onward tomorrow!
Date: 2007-07-05
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Mt Wilcox South Lean-To
Miles today: 11.7

As I was starting my 2+ miles back to the trail, a man came up and asked me if I was a thru-hiker and if I needed anything. So he drove me back to the trail. We passed the grocery and he asked me if I needed to stop. Amazing! We saw and stopped for John Knee Mud who was hitching back from the store to this farm stand called the Corncrib. He stayed there and slept on a table in the greenhouse. Pipes froze and busted last winter so no shower there. There was quite a bit of mosquito hell on the trail this morning, and it was also slippery after the rain yesterday. Rain had been predicted but it turned out sunny. I stopped at the Tom Leonard shelter for lunch and ran into Rt. 66. I saw him a while later and he was going to stay at a silent retreat where you get a place to stay, a shower and a laundry for $13. I was hoping to go to a shelter 2 miles north of here but thunder rumbled and I got here in time to escape the rain. Dancer is tenting nearby. There is also a brand new shelter a few hundred yards away from this one but I was already set up here before Dancer told me about it. Evildoctor Mary - I usually dive right into my tent to escape the bugs, so no pole-dancing. I don¢t see the appeal of a filthy scarecrow in stinky grimy clothes gyrating around. Actually one of the ridge-runners told me he was surprised I was going to Maine because I looked too clean (this was when I hadn¢t bathed in 7 days). Long distance hiking is not pretty. I am huddled in the shelter under my Tyvek trying to not be eaten alive. Man, is it pouring.
Date: 2007-07-06
From: Mt Wilcox South Lean-To

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night was rough - too cool for the tyvek blanket, too hot for the sleeping bag, incessant mosquitos, and something gnawing. I was afraid it was a porcupine gnawing my backpack straps, but didn¢t see any damage. The morning was overcast then grew sunny. I was dreaming of getting to Upper Goose Pond to cool off with a swim. About 6 miles away from the cabin, the sky darkened and thunder boomed. I put away my mp3 player, got out my headlamp, and put on my poncho and rain hat. After a couple miles, I noticed the sky in front of me was blue and eventually the sun came out. I thought I had lucked out again! But a short while later, a thunderstorm struck. There was high winds, thunder right overhead, lightning, and it was really dark. It was scary. But then when I got to Upper Goose Pond cabin, which is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club, it was sunny again. I lost my desire for a swim though. The cabin has a kitchen and front room downstairs and a bunkroom upstairs. The front room had a fireplace with a row of socks drying. The caretaker Slow Foot (who I could tell was from Boston the minute he said caretaker) showed me to a bunk and said dinner was on him. I didn¢t really get the joke. Turns out it wasn¢t a joke - he made noodles with tomato sauce which had fish in it that he had caught in the pond. Later there were more thunderstorms - but I was inside, so what did I care? There was a family in the bunkroom that saw all these thru-hikers come in and suddenly decided to set up in the tent site. There is a set of identical twins from Georgia and one of them drawled, ¢Sometimes it pays to stink.¢ After dinner I made cocoa from a packet I¢ve been carrying since Maryland. Everyone is sitting around either watching the fire or reading with headlamps.
Date: 2007-07-07
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: October Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: scattered clouds

An early day today to stretch out the miles until Dalton, my next mail drop. I had heard that they served pancakes at Upper Goose Pond cabin, but wasn¢t sure if it was a myth from a by-gone era. (I had also heard that they had beer at the secret shelter but that didn¢t turn out to be true any more). But there were pancakes and coffee this morning. I did a decent job with 3 but one of the twins ate 9. I had a long discussion with Slow Foot and Mad Mike about my gaiters after which Slow Barbara asked me if I was from Florida. I said not Gator Girl, it's Gaiter Girl. Then we had to give her a hard time - we thought you were Slow Barbara because you HIKED slow. I got to the shelter before 3 and got water, my tent set up, etc. I had time to read Ellen Foster that I borrowed from the cabin. I also finished listening to the Tortilla Curtain(which had stuff about people being attacked in the woods so not the best choice) and started re-listening to The Wee Free Men by Terry Pritchett. So, I got a lot of reading done, not a lot of hiking. This morning when we were eating pancakes we wondered if something would happen at 7:07 on 7/7/07 but looks like we survived.
Date: 2007-07-08
From: Otober Mountain Shelter

To: Dalton MA
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

I was entering Dalton around 2 pm when the first big drops of rain were falling. There was a listing for Tom Levardi and I found his house. I helloed at the back door and he came out. He invited me to have a cold soda and asked me if I wanted some ice cream. He brought out a tray with a metal sundae bowl with strawberry ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and jimmies. He showed me the shower and even had a selection of cotton t-shirts and shorts. Aqua-man was there doing a zero and later 357 Magnum and Ben and Amanda came. They also got the casual would you like some ice cream and the fabulous sundaes. I found out the story of 357 Magnum's trail name - he started on 3-5-07 and his wife is bringing a magnum of champagne when he finishes at Katahdin. Ben and Amanda are from Maine and are trying to get their relatives to bring live lobsters when they summit. Then the 3 of them were trying to see if they can do it on the same day and have a lobster and champagne celebration on the summit. I also got to hear Ben and Amanda's Kent story which they had mentioned in a trail register but I wasn't sure if I should believe it or not. They had breakfast in Kent and were talking to a couple. The couple paid for their breakfast and then invited them to their house for lunch. They had a gourmet lunch and did their laundry. The couple invited them to use their pool and gave them swim suits to use with the tags still attached. Tom took us to Old Country Buffet for dinner. Ninja and Spence and the 3 Riders of the Storm showed up right before we left so Tom took us back in 2 loads. We ended up scattered all over Tom's house during the stormy night.
Date: 2007-07-09
From: Dalton MA

To: Dalton MA
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: haze

We had arranged to do a 23 mile slackpack over Mt Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. I had breakfast at Duff and Dells down the street from Tom's. It then started really pouring. I went in the early group with Ben and Amanda and Ninja and Spence. It stopped raining when we started. It was apparent to me during the climb up Greylock that I wouldn't be doing 23 miles. The views from the top were not that great. There are 2 roads and a lodge on top that are under renovation until 2009 so the only way to get up there is to walk. Since I was going south, I saw a bunch of folks going north - John Knee Mud, the Massachusetts Brothers on the last day of their hike, Bugbite, and Marked by the Hand of God. The Riders of the Storm passed me around 2 pm with 16 miles left to go - which they did in 4 hours. I got to Cheshire and figured out where to get a bus. I asked the first bus driver if he went to Dalton and he said to get the bus going the other way. I got on the bus going the other way and the driver said that the service to Dalton was stopped. Anyway, I got within a couple of miles of Dalton and walked the rest of the way. It was thundering and starting to rain. When I got to toms house, he was making dinner and the other folks (including Slow Barbara who had arrived that day) set the picnic table and rigged the tarp above it. The storm hit and blew down the tarp and blew the cups and plates off the table. So we ate indoors - ziti with sauce with hot italian sausage, salad, and bread. Ben was trying to convince me just to skip the section I missed but I planned to do it the next day.
Date: 2007-07-10
From: Dalton MA

To: Dalton MA
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: few clouds

After another great breaKfast at Duff and Dells, I started out for Cheshire and walked with Slow Barbara for a while. The hike was unremarkable except for the large number of mosquitos. I sort of wished I had followed Ben's advice to skip it but at least I know I did it. I finished the Wee Free Men and started a Hat Full of Sky. I was planning to either call Tom for a ride or take the bus. Just as I emerged onto the road - Tom came driving up. He had dropped the Riders of the Storm off in Bennington, VT for another slackpack. I got back to Dalton and borrowed one of the bikes Tom keeps for the hikers to do my laundry and pick up my mail drop. Then I tried to do some gaiter repair. The Riders of the Storm came back and Tom made these yummy drinks with ice cream and Baileys. Then we went to see Live Free or Die Hard. The Chocolate Bandito and Mystery Chicken, who were staying at the Birdcage, came along too. I hadn't been up that late in ages. I can't say enough nice things sbout Tom. He's been hosting hikers for about 25 years, but since he retired a year and a half ago, it's a full time job. He says he's happy to be able to do it.
Date: 2007-07-11
From: Dalton MA

To: Seth Warner Shelter VT
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: haze

I wanted to start off from Route 2, where I had started slackpacking 2 days ago, and the Riders of the Storm needed to be dropped off in Bennington. I had my lsst breakfast with Tom. It was really hot and humid and he ordered a coffee milkshake for breakfast. We got going around 11 and I started hiking just before noon. I was really worried because there were severe thunderstorms predicted for the later part of the day. I saw a blurb scrolling across the TV at Tom's house that lightening can strike up to 15 miles from the parent thunderstorm and that if you can hear thunder, you are in the strike zone. Really wish I hadn't seen that. So I soon entered Vermont and the Green Mountain National Forest. Just as Pennsylvania gets renamed Rocksylvania, Vermont gets renamed Vermud or Vermuck and I got treated to some muck patches. I made it to the shelter turn off just before 4pm - whew! - and ran into Abby Normal. She was debating whether or not to go on but i guess my relief at making it there before the storm convinced her to stay. We met Dolly and her Portugese Water Dog, Tai, who were already there. Just after I got water, the storm started and it rained alot that night. It was unusual to have a girls night at the shelter and we joked about who was supposed to have brought the stuff to make margaritas.
Date: 2007-07-12
From: Seth Warner Shelter VT

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter VT
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

The rain had freshly muckified all the muck. Dolly and Tai had started before me and as I carefully picked my way around the muck pools, I could see a set of doggie prints that went straight through them. I passed a Beaver Pond that had been dammed up so the water was about level with my shoulders. Pretty impressive handiwork. I caught up with Dolly and we went down to the Bennington road and up to the shelter together. That was a really awful down - my knees were killing me. By the time we set up our tents, got water and made dinner, it was almost dark.
Date: 2007-07-13
From: Melville Neuton Shelter VT

To: Kid Gore Shelter VT
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: light rain

I leap frogged alot with Dolly all day. Since I had camped with them, Tai thought I was part of her pack and would run ahead to find me if I started out ahead. I saw my first moose poop! I got to Goddard Shelter and was starving. The sky was really clear so I was excited that I would have a good view from the fire tower just north of there. Dolly showed up 5 minutes later and I asked her if that was thunder in the distance. 5 minutes after that, a thunderstorm hit. The temperature really dropped - I almost got into my sleeping bag. Then 25 minutes later, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. I went on top of the fire tower. The wind was blowing really hard and it was a little scary. I finished A Hat Full of Sky. We ended up the only people at the Kid Gore Shelter. It had a nice eastern view. It is so rare to actually see the sky because I'm constantly in the forest. The AT has the nickname the long green tunnel and that's true. y water bag has a leak, I fixed a hole in the bottom of my pack 2 nights ago, and one of the shoulder straps is tearing off. And I still have 4 months to go!
Date: 2007-07-14
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter VT

To: Stratton Pond Shelter VT
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: scattered clouds

It was 54 degrees when I got up. I went past some neat beaver ponds but the big task of the day was going up Stratton Mountain. It was cool, breezy and sunny. I went up the fire tower there - the top level there was enclosed so it was not so scary. We talked to Jean and Hugh, the caretakers, for a while. They do a week rotation every other week - it got down in the 40s in their teeny cottage the night before. We got to the shelter at Stratton Pond and had to walk 10 minutes to get water - not really what you want to do after walking all day. There is a caretaker fee of 5 dollars to stay there. The shelter is really nice but the mosquitos were fierce. I protected myself by getting in my bag and using my head net, but there was still the constant whine. As we were lying trying not to get bitten, Dolly asked "and we paid 5 dollars for THIS?" Diesel came in just after dark so he got to stay for free.
Date: 2007-07-15
From: Stratton Pond Shelter VT

To: Bromley Shelter VT
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: few clouds

Vermont border, the Long Trail starts. It coincides with the AT for about 100 miles; the AT veers off east to New Hampshire and the Long Trail continues north to Canada. So there was one nobo lter,Greg and 2 sobo lters - Hepcat and Mellow Yellow (they thru-hiked the AT in 2003). I read thru the trail register and there is this guy, Matt who has a dog called U-dog. Matt does his entries as a cartoon with colored pencels and everything. He left a note that he had left a beer at the water source but the entry was a few days old so I figured it was long gone. The guys at the shelter said they had seen the beer but didn't want it - a Molson Canadian tall boy. So... I had it. I drank it out of my squishy bowl because there was all this grit around the top of the can. Don Quixote showed up after his resupply. Kilgore stopped by to say that the cheap hotel in town was full and we might get more hikers later. I sewed up the rips in my pack and was entertained by Hepcat and Mellow Yellow. Like I was setting up my sleeping bag and blowing up my pillow, which is a yellow beach ball with a smiley face. So Hepcat goes - do you keep that to cheer you up on the bad days or does it have another purpose? And they had all these vacuum packed food items that Mellow Yellow's mom made. DQ and I were tucked away in our sleeping bags while the other 3 guys played cards - they were saying that you can tell the thru-hikers by how early they go to bed.