morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-06-06
From: NY-22

To: Ten Mile River Shelter
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up at Santa's brother and sister-in-law's house and got ourselves packed up. This is where we stayed the night before we flew to Georgia to start this trail. Martha made me scrambled eggs with cheese for my first breakfast. We headed back to our hometown to do some errands before meeting our ride back to the trail. We went to the grocery store for lunch supplies and snacks. We each picked up a sub to have for dinner tonight. Then we went to IHOP for breakfast. I love their blueberry crepes with whipped cream and Santa always gets an omelet with pancakes. Then we returned the rental car and our friends Tanya and KK met us there to drive us back to the trail. We had a good chat for the three hour drive. When we left, KK, who has a brain tumor, wasn't doing so well, but she looks and sounds great now! We weren't ready to leave them so we stopped for lunch and more time to talk. KK is having various treatments and is eating a raw vegan diet- makes me feel guilty when I order a calorie laden lunch.Tanya and KK dropped us at the garden center where the girls had picked us up and we crossed the street to get the trail magic bucket they had brought. All but one Gatorade was gone and all the snacks. They made some hikers happy. We gave the bucket to Tanya to take back to Mass for us. We reluctantly put our packs on, said quick goodbyes (I am not good at goodbyes) and headed out.It was about 2pm and the sun beat down on us as we crossed farmland and meadow. After 5 minutes Santa said he was ready for a break, but we kept trudging along and soon enough got into the woods where it was noticeably cooler. The trail was good to us today. There were little ups and downs, lots of flat parts, and it wasn't rocky or buggy. A good return after a 2 1/2 day break. Our legs weren't sure about this walking thing but we knocked off 10 miles by 6:30.The shelter was nice but the bugs are out so we walked .1 to the tenting area. There are 4 tents here and we don't know anybody. That's the problem with taking a break. Brightside is about 10 miles ahead of us, Ghost is going to try to get here tonight but it'll be a long day for him, and I don't know where Cabot and Hobbes are. Her mom came for a visit on Friday.We ate our subs (yum), washed up in the river and are hanging out in our tent. The forecast is for a clear night so we don't have the rain fly on the tent. Everyone else does but we get hot when it's on; the tent feels like a sauna.Oh, I forgot to mention that we are in CT. We will go back and forth between CT and NY for a few days but tonight we are in CT!
Date: 2016-06-07
From: Ten Mile River Shelter

To: Silver Hill Campsite
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We were so pleased that Ghost hiked 29 miles to see us yesterday. He looked exhausted when he got in but we hugged and chatted for five minutes before he went to set up his tent and I went back into mine. We are going to hike together tomorrow so he will sleep in. We don't often start hiking before 6:30 and he's been known to start at 5. Ghost will be taking numerous zeros in this section to meet up with friends so we don't know when we will see him again.The morning started at 6:30 and I had a power breakfast of a devil dog and two coffee cakes. We hiked a mile and came to a road crossing and went .5 to a small market for juice and a biscuit, bacon, cheese and egg sandwich for me. Santa had a Mountain Dew and blueberry muffin and Ghost had two breakfast sandwiches, juice and a coke. Santa and I packed out subs, chips and a soda. Fortified with our second breakfast we started hiking again. The terrain wasn't too challenging, lots of small ups and downs, but they make your legs tired. We stopped at the first shelter to eat lunch and refill our water bottles. After lunch we had a bigger climb and then a steep walk down stone steps. All three of us were unhappy with this section. It made our knees hurt. Then a beautiful walk along the Housatonic River. We heard thunder in the distance and picked up our pace. We were playing our old game of "Can We Beat the Rain?" Half a mile from the campsite that has a pavilion it started to sprinkle. We stopped and put on our pack covers as it started to pour (we lost the game). The rain felt refreshing at first because we were hot and sweaty and then it felt cold. We were climbing a steep hill with lots of rocks so it wasn't safe to speed up. We got to the pavilion and met a woman who was out for the night while her husband was on a business trip. We hung our wet stuff and got out dinners to cook and eat. Ghost is going to sleep on the gravel floor of the open pavilion, it has a roof, and we are sleeping in our tent. Santa waited until it stopped raining to set it up. The birds are singing, crickets are chirping and it's time to get some sleep.We met a woman that we had seen in Georgia today. She has a trail name now. It is Puzzles because she has a hard time sleeping so she does crossword puzzles in her tent. She started hiking with a partner but he left the trail in Damascus because he was tired of walking. Puzzles went to Trail Days with Magic so it was good to hear how he's doing. It's strange how you see people you never thought you would see again.
Date: 2016-06-08
From: Silver Hill Campsite

To: Limestone Spring Shelter
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: clear sky

Ghost slept on the ground in the pavilion and I saw him when I woke up this morning. He slept in until 6! Santa slept until 6:15 then we all got packed up and hit the trail.It is nice to hike with other people. You get to chat and learn more about them. I learned a lot about Ghost's family and friends today. We also discussed religion and politics. It made for an interesting walk.We found lots of water sources today and I am getting really good at using our new filter. The water tastes better and we can drink it quickly while it's still cold. We saw two waterfalls and water coming over a dam. We also experienced Connecticut's version of the roller coaster- a little tiring but nothing like Virginia's. We also went through Connecticut's "lemon squeezer". Much easier to navigate than New York's. We stopped for a quick lunch and it was very quick because it started to rain on us. Ghost put up his umbrella and Santa and I put on our rain coats. Today was chilly and when it started raining it felt cold. It only rained for about 2 hours and then the sun came out and umbrella and coats were put away.We came to a road crossing in Falls Village and walked a short distance to the town center. The Falls Village Inn restaurant didn't open until 5 but the incredibly helpful package store owner let us order take out from her phone and sit in her store where it was warm and not raining. She told us we could eat our food on the Inn's porch so we did. Ghost had a gyro and large sub, Santa had a grinder and French fries, and I had a grinder and garlic bread. Santa and I packed out 1/2 our grinders for breakfast tomorrow. The package store didn't have a bathroom so she gave me a key to the volunteer fire department and I used their bathroom. The town has a small brick building covered in ivy that has a shower head where you can shower. No curtain or wall and faces the road- none of us showered!After dinner we still had 4 miles to hike and it was so windy. We hiked fast and got to the .5 mile trail to the shelter. We went .4 and then it started to go steeply down. We stopped and found flat spots to put up our tents. There are two section hikers here. Gypsy Toes has only 2 small sections left and she will have hiked the whole trail! She was full of information about upcoming sections. Ghost is getting up really early to hike into town to see some friends. We are hoping to all have dinner on Friday. Ghost is meeting a lot of people in this section and taking a lot of zeros. We aren't sure when we will be together again so it's been awesome to hike these last two days together.It's really windy-hope the trees keep their branches tonight. The forecast is for no rain but high winds tomorrow.
Date: 2016-06-09
From: Limestone Spring Shelter

To: Glen Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: scattered clouds

So the wind blew all night and the trees and branches made ominous sounds but we safely slept in our little tent. We slept until 7 and when we emerged from our tent everyone was gone. Ghost got up before dawn to hike 25 miles to town to see good friends. It was a quieter hike today with just the two of us. But we also got to have some good conversation about what happens after this hike and what we want from life. Not always comfortable conversation but important.We hiked 4 miles and went into Salisbury, CT for breakfast. We had eaten the second halves of our grinders earlier but town food beckoned and off we went. Santa had a breakfast sandwich and 2 cokes. I had buttermilk pancakes, juice and water. Pricey food and not the best we have had but the waitress was friendly and filled our water bottles for us.Our hike today took us out of Connecticut and into Massachusetts! We also felt like we were finally in New England because we had some steep and rocky climbs. Up on the rocky ridge we could see beautiful forests and farmland far below. Today was sunny but chilly and very windy. We were very thankful that all the rocks were dry.When we stopped for a short break we met a man out for a section hike. He has thru hiked NOBO and SOBO. He is a retired navy seal and had a fifty pound pack. He likes to stay "off the grid" because he likes to make fires (CT doesn't allow campfires) and he had goodies with him. He only mentioned the vodka by name and I choose not to speculate as to what else he had. His trail name is Intimidator because he smacked a bear three times in the nose to get him to move. Sometimes we meet some interesting characters out here.We have set up our tent on a tent platform for the first time. Hope it doesn't blow off with us in it!Hoping for a good night's sleep and to get up early for the 8 mile walk into town and a hostel stay. Brightside changed his reservation so we will be staying in the same place. And it looks like we will all be having dinner with Ghost and his friend.
Date: 2016-06-10
From: Glen Brook Shelter

To: Sheffield, MA
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: clear sky

Last night was chilly. My first night since Georgia where I was a bit cold. We think putting up our tent on the platform, which is required, let cold air up under the tent and so I was cold. So I am the one that slept in this morning! But we were up and out by 6:30 to do our 8 miles into town.The first part of the hike was rocky and steep. Not bad but the profile showed flat or down so I was annoyed. The last part was Santa's favorite type of forest. He really likes old growth pine forests. I like the soft pine needles underfoot and the smell, but don't really care for how dark these forests look.We got to Sheffield and walked to a garage to get a soda and call for a ride. We saw two hikers and chatted for a minute and then someone stopped to give them a ride. They were going to the same place we were and tenting in Jess' yard. Nice guys from Montreal, but a little hard to understand at times because of the accent.Brightside is here and we walked down to a cafe for lunch. Then I took a nap and Santa went to the post office, the bank and called his brother Kevin. When I got up, Jess took Brightside, Santa and I to the grocery store to resupply. And I walked over to the bakery and bought a blueberry crumble- delicious.We sorted out our stuff and then Ghost and his friend picked us up for dinner. We had lively conversation and got to meet his daughter and her wife. They are both educators so we had lots to talk about.Late night and we are the only ones hiking out tomorrow. Brightside is fighting a cold and Ghost is hanging one more day with his friend. It is unlikely we will see Ghost again on the trail because he's taking a bunch of zeroes to visit with friends and we have a schedule to keep so we will be done before we need to go back to work. Sad moment for the three of us. But we will stay in contact.
Date: 2016-06-11
From: Sheffield, MA

To: Shaker Campsite
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: clear sky

It was hard to hike out this morning knowing it was going to rain and potentially thunderstorm but we did it. The two Canadian men (trail name Yellow Birds because they both wear yellow shirts and they fly) that were at Jess Treat's with us also shuttled to the trail but one forgot his poles so they had to go back and get them. It was a nice hike with some New England climbs and rocks to get us ready for New Hampshire but nothing too difficult. After about 3 miles the Yellow Birds passed us. They were hoping to do thirty miles today. A little disheartening since they have only been hiking 6 days and they blew us away!We saw them again when they got turned around and were hiking south. This section was very tricky and it took us a while to figure it out also but we didn't go south. When we saw a ridge runner and trail maintainer Santa explained about the confusing section and they listened and said they'd work on it.It started to rain about 4 miles into the hike and at 6 miles we came to a shelter so stopped to eat lunch. We had packed out grinders, cherries and chips so there was going to be a feast. Then it started to downpour and it was cold-in the low 50's. So we got out our sleeping pads and bags and laid down. I rested but Santa slept for about an hour and a half. We debated whether or not we were just going to stay-Santa for staying, me for moving on. The trail maintainers came in for lunch so we toughened up and moved on.We saw the Yellow Birds hiking south again. One of them fell on the wet rocks and hurt himself so they were going to a road crossing where Jess could pick them up.Today was a fun animal day. We saw a bunch of goats at a farm following along behind a farmer. It was a definite Pied Piper moment. Then we came to a beaver pond and saw a beaver swimming and slapping his tail. And we saw lots of red squirrels-at least a hundred.We got into the campsite and it's a nice one with tent platforms, a privy and a bear box. We are hoping for a good night's sleep and early start tomorrow.
Date: 2016-06-12
From: Shaker Campsite

To: October Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: mist

Last night a hiker came in about 9:30. Santa was asleep and I was finally warm in my sleeping bag so we didn't go say hello. We got to meet Endless this morning though. He started at Springer on April 17! He averages 30 miles a day and hopes to be done in 80 days. He thru hiked the PCT last year but missed part of Washington because of wild fires so he hopes to finish the AT quickly to go finish it. Endless is a firefighter and pools his vacation days and works extra shifts during the winter so his fellow firefighters cover his shifts while he's out hiking. Doubt we will ever see him again.Today's hike was pretty simple. We hiked up and down mountains all morning. We hiked an extra .5 each way to go check out the Upper Goose Pond Cabin. It's an enclosed cabin with a caretaker who makes blueberry pancakes in the morning. You can also swim and canoe on the pond. It's really cold and windy so we didn't swim or canoe. Just checked it out, met the caretaker, ate our lunch at the picnic table and moved on.We crossed the Mass Pike today and while I was taking Santa's picture I had a pity party for myself. I was tired of being wet and cold or hot and sweaty. I was tired of my feet, ankles and legs hurting. I was mostly tired thinking about hiking 10-12 hours a day for seven more weeks. Then I thought of how many people I could call to come rescue me. Fortunately I also thought that those people are also the ones who pray for us daily, think kind thoughts, send encouraging messages and sometimes even care packages. So instead of calling someone, I took the picture and started hiking up a mountain through the muck. It started sprinkling and I really hate getting wet at the end of the day. Thankfully it just sprinkled.Then we got to Route 20 and took a .1 detour to a hotel and bought 4 sodas. Two for right then and two to pack out for dinner.It felt like a long 7 miles to the shelter. We thought we might be the only ones there but then the two Canadian boys passed us. We got to the shelter and it's full of section hikers. So up goes the tent and it starts sprinkling again. I hope it doesn't rain tonight- wet tents are really heavy to carry.Had a really good dehydrated dinner and chat with a section hiking couple. They took 2 months off and are going to see how far they can get. They have their dog so are going to skip Moosilauke because of the rebar ladder and Katahdin because fogs aren't allowed in the park.Tomorrow is the cookie lady's house, lunch in Dalton and then hopefully a stay indoors at a church. A twenty mile day but doesn't look too bad until the long steady climb at the end.
Date: 2016-06-13
From: October Mountain Shelter

To: Cheshire, MA
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

It was a chilly night last night and I pulled up the hood on my sleeping bag to get warm. The wind blew hard all night and dried most of the light rain from the tent.We were up and packed up early because we have a 20 mile hike today with a stop in town for lunch. We immediately noticed that a hiker came in after we went to bed last night. He was very quiet because neither of us heard him. We were the first ones up today.The Cookie Lady was only three miles from our start but we got there at 7 so we didn't stop. Nice climbs today in old growth forest and then lots of boggy mucky walk (but it was mostly flat). We were thankful for the cold weather because there were very few mosquitoes.The trail went through the town of Dalton. We stopped for a delicious lunch of steak sandwiches. And a very kind couple gave us twenty dollars toward our bill-trail magic! Then off to the gas station to get Santa some snacks and a soda.Back to the woods to climb and then a walk along a beaver pond. It was a longish steep walk down to the town of Cheshire.The trail goes through town and we stopped for ice cream. This was a bonus stop because our book said the shop closed at 5 and it was 5:15 and they were still open! I got a black raspberry shake and Santa got rainbow sherbet. We walked to a Catholic Church where they let hikers sleep for free on their fellowship hall floor. The two Canadian boys are here as well as a section hiker. He had section hiked the trail from Georgia to here. Says each year it gets harder and he's not sure he wants to do The Whites.We walked to a pub for dinner and split nachos (amazing homemade salsa) and a burger for dinner.We are tucked into our sleeping bags and ready to sleep. Hikers' midnight always comes early.
Date: 2016-06-15
From: Williamstown, MA

To: VT 9
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: few clouds

You will most likely notice a difference in the posts for a while as Santa takes over until Wonder can return. This was a hilly section with lots of bogs and bog boards. The hiking was very different today because it was the first time for hiking alone. Not only for this thru hike but for any hike since we got married that we did not hike together. I learned a few things today. Hiking by myself I can stretch my stride and cover more miles with the same number of steps. That being said, I still run out of gas at about 15 miles. In addition, I bashed my toes on rocks and roots many more times than when hiking with Wonder.Now that I am in Vermont there are not many views, just lots of hiking in the canopy of the trees. The positive is that although the day was hot I was protected from the sun for most of the day. Met several section hikers earlier in the day and one thru hiker, Ghost Rider (as in the song form the Outlaws). Did not see anyone in the afternoon so it was especially lonely.Awesome trail magic at the end of the day. Got an ice cream sandwich and cold soda from a vet who seems to be bouncing along the trail and dishing out magic. We ran into him while hiking in Connecticut and had a brief talk with him then. Then I was picked up from the trail by Joe and Ren Carter to spend the night at their house. Got a shower, great dinner and company. What a great couple.I want to end with a question, or a 'wonder', if you would like. I am sure you have taken a walk at some point and passed that pile of animal poop that is covered with flies. My question is related to this. I picked a quiet, shady spot for lunch. Within a minute I was inundated with those flies. Does this mean that they thought I was a giant pile of poop?
Date: 2016-06-16
From: VT 9

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

Today marked the third straight day of climbing to peaks over 3000 feet. The primary peak today was Glastenbury Mountain at about 3800 feet. On the map the climb looked quite difficult but for a change the climb was spread over many miles so it was not so bad. Also passed several small bogs/ponds. One had a pretty impressive beaver home.Saw no wildlife of note and only a couple people. I met a southbound section hiker called Mapquest and am camping with a northbound thru hiker known as the Spaniard. He is a 68 year old from Spain. He has been quite interesting to talk to. He has hiked the PCT and all seven of the European El Dorado's.My observation for the day is that there should be tons of blackberries in about a month based on all the plants that were blossoming or already starting berries. The hikers and the bears will have to fight over them.
Date: 2016-06-17
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: light rain

Today was a great day all around. First time over 4000 feet since VA. Ran into a nice young man and his German Shepard puppy at the base of Stratton Mountain. He gave me a nice cold apple to help power me up the mountian. As it turned out the climb was not especially rigorous. The temp was great so I did not sweat as much as usual going up Stratton. The views from the tower at the top were awesome. Could see two other ski mountains, I assume they were Okemo and Bromley.Talked to Wonder on the phone while sitting at the top of the tower. Learned she was coming to join me for the night in Manchester Center. That gave me added incentive to drive through the rest of the day. I finished by 3:30. I ran into a few weekend hikers and am seeing more Long Trail hikers but not thru hikers. Wonder arrived around 4 with cold drinks so all was well in my world.The one different part of the day was last night. It was my first night in our spacious tent without Wonder. In one aspect it was good because the tentsites were rocky but I only had to find a non-rocky place for one. It was strange getting up to to the bathroom in the middle of the night and not needing to worry about disturbing the person next to me. The bad part was there was a wild animal rustling around the tent for a while and I did not have Wonder to protect me.