morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-24
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 19.7

Great day today. Of course every day is a good day. Got into the shelter before dark with some daylight to spare. The shelter site is swarming with tourists. I will now refer to day hikers as tourists. There is a group of three of them playing some card game in the shelter. They have assured me they will be leavng soon - twenty minutes ago. If they are still here in an hour I¢m going to politely ask them to SCRAM! They have tents and their tenting area, so it¢s not too much to ask.Today was filled with massive amounts of trail magic. This is by far a good thing! The first trail magic was a cooler stashed just beyond CT55 containing ice and cold drinks. It was early in the morning, but that did not stop me from knocking back a 20oz bottle of Mountain Dew. Stopped for lunch with Maine Sale, and Sauerkraut. They were sitting out on some rocks in the middle of Ten Mile River. Lunch consisted of giant fresh New York Bagels provided as trail magic from a very special trail angel - my cousin Cassy.We all went for a swim afterwards. I can¢t express how great that felt. They were first not planning to swim because they needed to hit the post office in Kent. Even for them the temptation was too great. The bottom of the river was littered with large boulders with smaller pebbles between them. The pebbles massaged my sore and tired feet. Plunged into the water to find it to be the perfect depth. I could sit with my bum comfortably on the river floor and my back against an angled rock forming the back of a chair. (We later found out that that stream is polluted from an old GE plant upstream.)   After hiking roughly a mile and a half, we came to a van parked by the road. Behind the van is an older gentleman sitting in a lawn chair. We say hi, and he says do you want a drink. He introduced himself as Grampy and offered us each cold Gatorade and Oreos. He had thru-hiked in a previous year (think he said 2001). Life is good what can I say. Had some miserable climbs today. Not only were they miserable but they were unnecessary. On multiple occasions the trail would be on the top of a ridge and then dip a good few hundred feet, then all of a sudden return straight back up to the top of the ridge. Crossed into Connecticut today and so far I¢m not impressed. The last two and a half mils were flat so that¢s a plus. Nothing beats an easy stroll into camp for the night.   Oh well tomorrow is a new day. It¢s time for dinner!
Date: 2004-06-25
From: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to

To: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 10.0

I know 10 miles is not very much, and before you start calling me a wimp let me explain. In all the states before CT they used some sort of switch backs making the trail a little less steep up the mountains. Even NY used switchbacks occasionally. CT was a killer today. Was planning on hiking five more miles after lunch to a campsite but weather reports from multiple weather stations warned of severe thunder storms. Not being familiar with the system passing through I figured it would be best to call it a day here at the shelter. It was a good call because it just started raining. I¢ve got nothing against the rain, but the severe part had me concerned. Last time I heard about severe thunderstorms was in the Shenandoah¢s. Yeah, that¢s when I was hanging in the phone booth, and got picked up by the ranger. Sharing the shelter with two section hikers. It¢s nice to have the company. Oh it¢s nice to be under this shelter! Let it rain let it rain let it rain!
Date: 2004-06-26
From: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to

To: Plateau Campsite
Miles today: 16.6

Picture this. Imagine a rainy morning on a weekend. You don¢t have to get out of bed, but you know you could be doing something. You¢re soooo comfy in your warm bed, and simply can¢t think why you should leave it. Yeah, that was me this rainy Saturday morning. I never NEED to go hiking and some days like these impair my abilities to motivate myself. It¢s getting increasingly difficult to summon myself everyday. The rain did not help. Once hiking, all systems are on autopilot until lunch. Chatted with the section hikers for a bit while I munched down some scrumptious granola. Think it was around ten when I eventually left. Rain was dripping from the trees, but that was all. The clouds still had more rain to give, and it drizzled on and off till lunch. Had lunch with a section hiker named Sunrise. He was in his sixties and planned to hike the remaining 700ish miles to Mt. Katahdin. He just retired from work as a librarian and had the time and resources to finish the trail.After lunch the clouds broke and let the warm sun through. The humidity was gone and a cool breeze was constant. It reminded me of my uncle¢s lakeside cottage in Michigan. Passed a wonderful swimming hole and would have used it but it was almost too cool with the breeze. Also with the late start this morning I would not have enough daylight to reach camp. For those wondering about nude hikers day I¢m not the one to ask. I was in New York City on the 21st - the summer solstice. There will be other chances I¢m sure of that :-) From the trail registers it sounds like a few did participate in nude hikers day. Got into town, bought groceries and a sandwitch from the deli. Ate a pint of mint choc chip before heading back up the trail. It was a nice town but the guy at the deli counter said it was a tourist town for New Yorker¢s. Tourist town = super high prices. It was not really set up to accommodate hikers. I think the hotel hiker rate was $80 on weekdays only. So I hiked a mile to a campsite. No one is here, just Luck Duck and myself. I¢m now listening to an old scary radio show about a lady driving through a mountain pass....hmmm maybe I will change the station. Or simply turn it off since it¢s that time of night...zzz.z.z.zzz.zzz
Date: 2004-06-27
From: Plateau Campsite

To: The Hemlocks Lean-to
Miles today: 11.2

Woke at 5:55 am this morning. Notice that does not mean getting out of the hammock :-) It was a sorry attempt to get going on the trail early. Left around eight and did not get more than two and a half miles before stopping at a great view. Spent some time making a few phone calls and talking to a few day hikers. Before I knew it it was 11. Hiked another two miles and had lunch. A half mile later I came to a sign listing the distance to the campsite as 4.6 miles. It was 3:30. That was four and a half miles in seven and a half hours. That works out to .6 miles an hour! Again the weather was nothing less than spectacular. Mobs of hikers swarmed the trail today. I would guess there were 30+ people. Hiked with Wild Horse this afternoon. We were passing a gorgeous stream filled with large amounts of luscious clumps of moss. The water was crystal clear. We were joking about how nice it would be to go for a swim. Sure enough we saw a great place for a swim. We both looked at each other and said lets go for a swim! We both agreed that if hiking alone we both would have passed up the opportunity for a quick dip. It was quick indeed! Seconds after entering the stream it was very clear we would not stay for long. My legs quickly started to lose feeling and it was difficult to stand. We counted to three and plunged under the water. That¢s all it took. Wow! That has got to be the coldest water I¢ve been in ever! Made it to the shelter and jammed to some tunes before calling it a night....Night! That reminds me... do you want to hear something extra super creepy? Wild Horse had a dream last night that he was driving down the road and he got pulled over by a cop. The cop said that there had been an escape at the local prison and to be extra careful... That was the same night I heard the program on the radio. He does not carry a radio and did not have one nearby. He told be about this dream before I even mentioned the radio program. Just too strange!
Date: 2004-06-28
From: The Hemlocks Lean-to

To: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-to
Miles today: 19.7

I forgot to mention yesterday I crossed into a new state: Massachusetts. In 4 days I will be in Vermont. Then New Hampshire, and then finally Maine. Only 656 miles to go. 1518 total miles covered so far. Crossed some swamp land on the trail today. The mosquitoes were in full force in these areas. They were so bad I had to stop and apply bug juice. While hiking you can avoid most bites. Might only get bitten every thirty seconds in dense populations of mosquitoes. When you stop they latch on immediately and tormenting pain follows until you start moving again. As soon as the bug juice was on they kept their distance. Until my sweat diluted and washed the bug repellant away. By this point I would play games with them. When hiking they are trailing right behind me. The strong ones will fly ahead and attack. So I would stop suddenly and watch them all soar right past. Call that my ¢Top Gun¢ maneuver. Of course this only is effective for a few seconds because the mosquito is not dumb. Then I would just walk in circles in attempt to shake them. Right around lunch I came out to a road. Fifty yards down the road was a sign for a farm selling fresh produce and flowers. After thinking about it for a little bit the decision was made to stop there for lunch. I was completely dry on water and figured that would be a place to get some. The only water for the last seven miles was standing puddles of murky swamp water. The farm had ice cream which became lunch. Got my bottles filled and was on my way. The day was long, but at the same time it did not feel rushed like most 20 miles days. I¢m exhausted tonight. Hope to have an easy day tomorrow. Caught up with Lucky Star and met Foot Loose tonight at the shelter. It was nice to see a familiar face and really made my day.
Date: 2004-06-29
From: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-to

To: AMC Cabin
Miles today: 15.8

Was signing the register when I heard this buzzing sound that sounded like a bumble bee. As I looked up it was a humming bird just a yard away checking me out. Did not stop for lunch because the skeeters were too bad. Hiked thru some beautiful forests today. The pines were massive and many (as were the skeeters). Caught up with Lucky Star and we walked and talked to the AMC Cabin.This cabin is "da bomb"! As soon as we arrived Sauerkraut, Main Sail, Lucky Star, Wild Horse and two of the caretakers went swimming. Wild Horse, the two caretakers and I swam to the island. It looks like the stereotypical deserted island; you know the ones with the palm trees and sand. Replace the sand with rocks covered with duck poo, and replace the palm trees with deciduous trees. The island was a 20 minute swim one way. Think they said it was a 400 yard distance. The lake was the perfect temperature. It had cold springs at the bottom of the lake creating cold spots.It¢s great to sleep inside with a real mattress and screens over the windows. It¢s time to fight back against the bugs. Pancake breakfast in the morning!
Date: 2004-06-30
From: AMC Cabin

To: October Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: few clouds

17.6miles 30thToo tired to write much today. Waited too late to write my journal. Have decided on a finish date of August the 11th. It¢s not set in stone, but that¢s a very good guess.Sauerkraut is trying out my hammock for the night. He has his eye one buying one so I figured it would be best if he tried it out for a night. He loves it so far, will find out in the morning how he likes it.
Date: 2004-07-02
From: Cheshire MA

To: Wilbur Clearing Lean-to 
Miles today: 11.0

Well I¢ve done it again....waited till the very last minute to write in my journal. This is going to be a brief summary because a lot happened today. Went to the weekday mass today. It was different and shorter than a Sunday mass. Ate a quick breakfast and was back on the trail around 9:30. It was so nice to be in the church last night because a massive thunderstorm rolled through after we had all gone to sleep. It had all the fixings including torrential downpours, blinding lightning, and crackling thunder. Someone even said they had hail with that storm. On my way up to Mt. Greylock a day-hiker stopped, looked me up and down and said you must be a day-hiker. I said he was wrong with his guess. He said I was far too clean to be a through hiker. Then once I was up at the visitor¢s center on top of Mt. Greylock a day-hiker asked if I was an employee! I don¢t look that clean, and I know for sure I don¢t smell that clean! Gobbled up a plate of fish and chips before heading back to the trail. Spent way too much time on top of that mountain. It had a cool war monument that had a spiral staircase leading to the top which was encased with windows. Mt. Greylock is the tallest point in Massachusetts with an elevation of 3,491. Started out at 960 feet in the town of Cheshire. It was a continuous four hour climb.Since I spent most of my allotted hiking time on Mt. Greylock that did not allow me to hike to my planned spot of the night. Instead I stopped 10miles short and plan on doing a 23mile day tomorrow.
Date: 2004-07-03
From: Wilbur Clearing Lean-to 

To: Hammocking near Melville Nauheim shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: clear sky

Breakfast consisted of three granola bars and a pint of choc chip ice cream today. Stopped into town today and could not leave the store without a pint. It was a little strange eating ice cream at 9:30 in the morning. Tomorrow we are planning on hiking 25ish miles to a mountain with a fire tower to watch the fire works. However, there is a catch... camping is not allowed on top of the mountain, but we think it might be possible to explain our situation to the caretaker living on top of that mountain. Received some great trail magic today as we were approaching the shelter. Rendezvous gave us delicious homemade power bars and cold drinks. With five miles remaining the power bars sure provided a much needed boost. While I was eating dinner at the shelter I started talking to a weekender who just happens to work for ESPN.... Can you say networking :-) He said they are always looking for camera operators. It sounds like the chances for a job are good. He said he could get my resume past the HR department - greatly increasing my chances! See, hiking this trail is beneficial to my career. Just heard on the radio that a farmers market in Manchester is offering free ice cream tomorrow. Grrrrr.... one day late!!!
Date: 2004-07-04
From: Hammocking near Melville Nauheim shelter

To: Stealth Camping Near Deerfield River 
Miles today: 21.6

I can¢t remember if I had mentioned it yesterday, but another state has been tackled. Am now hiking in Vermont, then New Hampshire, and then Maine. I guess today was my clash-fillled day with day-hikers / Long Trail hikers. The first clash was in the morning. This hiker was telling me how tough the White Mountains will be. He kept going on and on about the difficulty. I then asked him if he had hiked in the Whites and his response was no. How lame is that? Then the second clash came late in the afternoon. A southbound (SOBO) weekender asked where I was going to stay for the night. When I told him where I had planned to stay, he flat out said "you will not make it". He had thru hiked the trail some previous year. He had no idea how fast I hiked, and did not take into consideration I night hike. It came across as a very rude thing to say. Even if you are positive in your mind that someone will not be able to reach their goal its always good to wish them the best or say "wow that¢s a far way, wish you the best of luck". For the books I did not camp where I was planning on camping, but I had enough light and energy to make it to the "un-reachable" campsite.On the good side of things a local radio station was playing the top 97 requested dance songs. So I was a movin¢ and a groovin¢ all the way. Started listening when they were in the mid 60s. The station kept fading in and out so I missed a few songs. Also I had stopped to talk about camping hammocks with a Long Trail (LT) hiker which caused me to miss a few of the top 10 hits. It was not a huge loss because most of the songs were hip-hop. Some of the earlier hits were good! The Macarena placed 34. The last countdown I listened to it was #1 on the one hit wonders list.We decided not to hit Manchester in the morning since most stores will be closed due to 4th....well 5th of July. So instead we¢re going to take it easy and hike and camp just outside town. Then get a hotel room early in the morning and enjoy the town.Right now I¢m listening to the fire works explode in surrounding towns. Guess I will have to use my imagination. We were thinking about hiking to the top of the mountain where a fire tower stands. The only flaw in that plan... and it¢s a big one.... no camping on the peak of the mountain. Grrrrr.... The weather was great, and has been superb. Even with a temperature of 87 it was bearable. Think I¢m just used to it. I do know that after stepping out of an air conditioned building you truly realize how hot it is.
Date: 2004-07-09
To: Clarendon Shelter 
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: light rain

Today was a great day. Sure there were the puddles and clouds, but it did not rain. It did manage to squeeze a few sprinkles out of the dark clouds but nothing more.Hiked a little with Lucky Star around lunch time, but most of the day was spent hiking alone. Hiking alone is actually not as bad as it seems. Think about it. How often in your busy day do you find four to five hours to think to yourself? Hiking is free of distractions (other than the puddles and slippery rocks), phones, computers, and homework does not exist. Arrived at the shelter to find Apollo, and Man in the Moon with a cooler full of cold drinks, hamburgers, and hot dogs. They are both brothers who through hiked in 2000. Both of them had decided to do a bit of trail magic on their way to visit with another brother. The food was great! I was originally planning to stop into a diner just off the trail, but decided to skip it and get to the shelter early so that I might get a chance to catch up on responding to my emails. Well, responding to the emails plan failed because I was too busy eating! Footloose, Bearbutt, Lucky Star, The Camera Crew, two south-bounders (thru-hikers hiking Maine to Georgia), and four short distance hikers were all in on the fun. The shelter is packed tonight. Gear is hanging everywhere with the attempt to dry it out.
Date: 2004-07-10
From: Clarendon Shelter 

To: Churchill Scott Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

Last night we had quite a disturbance from the locals. While we were cooking dinner... well, while dinner was being cooked for us, two guys on ATVs drove up a gravel road in front of the shelter. Neither said a word. As soon as they drove up, they left down the same gravel road. We thought nothing of it. At some ungodly hour in the morning two men approached the shelter with flashlights and made the comment "wow there are a lot of them tonight, oh and look even more tenting". They left and then minutes later came roaring in with ATVs. They pointed their headlights into the shelter and were a hootin¢ and a hollerin¢. They drove around in circles and then left. A few minutes later they returned this time howling like wolves. This is the first time I¢ve had any real clash with the locals. If I had been alone in the shelter that would have been a scary night! The hiking was good today. Heard an interesting commercial on the radio today. The commercial was advertising a Rave (techno dance party), a car show, and a flea market all in one venue. Now maybe I heard it wrong, but that is one crazy combination of events. Come on now - a rave at a flea market? Get with the program Vermont!Climbed the 2nd largest mountain in Vermont (Killington Peak) today reaching an elevation of 4,100 feet (according to another hiker). This morning the shelter was at 1390 feet, so that was at least 2710 feet of elevation gained today. These might not be the large mountains that they have out in the western states, but let me assure you they are just as tough. Up and down, up and down these giant ski slopes. It¢s a bummer the lifts are not running :-)
Date: 2004-07-11
From: Churchill Scott Shelter

To: Stealth Camping Near Ben's Balcony
Miles today: 3.8

What a great day to hike three miles! Ok, well that was not the original plan but hey I¢m ok with that. Got into the town of Rutland around 10 and did some laundry. Since it was Sunday the library was closed. With a little calling around I found a laundry that had internet! The catch was that I ended up spending four dollars to surf for an hour. It satisfied my internet needs for the time being ¢ at least till Hanover where I can get to a library... on a weekday. Lunch was spent at an all you can eat Chinese buffet! The Camera Crew put four plates of food away - obviously getting their money¢s worth. I was very satisfied with one heaping plate of goodness, and a large bowl of soft serve chocolate / vanilla twist ice cream. Oh it was good. That stuff is my weakness. Just melts in your mouth on contact.After lunch I bought two days of food hopefully lasting me till Hanover New Hampshire. Made a few phone calls that took longer than expected. This was my first real chance to make calls since New York because apparently ATT wireless does not exist in Vermont. Looks like New Hampshire and Maine will be much better. Cleared up some issues with my completion date that was once Aug. 11, then it was moved to the 15th unofficially in my head. Now I don¢t have a finish date. Don¢t worry I¢m not quitting, just am going to purely enjoy the end of my adventure to its max. Having to worry about finishing on a certain date a month away is very stressful for a few reasons. One I¢ve got no clue how difficult New Hampshire and Maine will be. Also If I want to take a day off and enjoy a trail town I don¢t want a little voice in the back of my head saying "Your going to be late to Katahdin" or "you will now have to hike extra miles each day so you can make your finish date" or even "you can only take an hour lunch or you will never meet your daily quota of miles before dark". Am going to try to catch the Camera Crew tomorrow, will see how far I get. It looks like a grueling day tomorrow as the AT traverses over the unforgiving mountains. This stuff is fun; I think its growing on me!
Date: 2004-07-12
From: Stealth Camping Near Ben's Balcony

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

This trip is all about independence - doing things on my own. Before this trip I was a dependant at home. This is everything I¢ve wanted. Have had a chance to make decisions for myself. Where to sleep, eat, and take a zero. This can¢t be learned in school. To a degree going away to college will give you independence. Even that is limited to campus regulations, rules and policy. As I was saying before, this trip is not busy with distractions such as homework and work. Now don¢t get me wrong, I¢m not sitting around on my bum around a campfire all day. This is my schedule on a typical day without a town stop. Alarm sounds at 6:30 am, on the trail at 7:30. Hike till lunch and stop for about an hour then hike till at least 6. Arrive at the shelter, cook dinner and go to sleep. Yet with all this independence, I¢ve learned how important family and friends¢ support is. When home, it¢s everywhere and is taken for granted. This experience is everything I was looking for and more.   It is so much more than hiking and camping.