morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-04-26
From: Bear Mountain Bridge

To: USMA, West Point
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I enjoyed having a day off the trail today. Rest, relaxation, resupply and reminiscing... while visiting a place filled with memories of when we lived here in the 90s while I was teaching Physics to Cadets at the United States Military Academy. Joey was 3 and loved hearing his voice echo in the cannons on Trophy Point, throwing pebbles into the Hudson River and 2 of his favorite toys were a bugle kazoo and a drum strapped around his neck so he could mimick the Cadets he loved watching march in parade practice. One of the happiest days of my life occurred here when bright and beautiful baby Jenna joined our family one snowy November morning.Teresa brought my new boots, and I got to put a couple of break-in miles on them walking around the USMA grounds and into Highland Falls for a couple of meals. Check out the picture I uploaded comparing them to my old boots, showing the wear of just three weeks (200 miles) on the trail. Generally, I have liked the fit and feel. REI has agreed to refund the first pair, since they should have lasted over 500 miles and certainly more than two weeks before beginning to fall apart.I cut a few items from my pack, and exchanged my old external battery for a new one. We also went shopping at the West Point commissary and PX, where I got my first haircut and beard-trim since I started hiking. I also decided to try out an external battery with a built-in solar charger called a Jetsun. I'm not sure how well it will work, but I will give it a try. I managed to rig a way to fasten it in a sort of holster similar to a runner's phone sleeve for the upper arm, attaching it instead to the top of my pack using Velcro and a piece of 550 cord. I'm hoping this will provide a relatively secure way of keeping it in a position where it can collect solar energy while I'm hiking.After we had dinner in Highland Falls, Teresa and I did most of the production of three sets of 4-day food supplies. 2 of the boxes are for future mail drops. One will comprise the contents of my food bag as I get back on the trail tomorrow. Teresa may join me on the trail for a few miles. Goodnight!
Date: 2017-04-29
From: RPH shelter

To: Telephone Pioneer's Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up this morning around 6 and got up around 6:30. I remembered hearing the sound of rain somewhere around 3 o'clock in the morning. And when I woke up I saw that Tumeric had moved his sleeping bag and mat and was sleeping on top of one of the picnic tables under the overhang attached to the shelter so that he was not exposed to the rain. I ate breakfast and chatted with Dory, Turmeric and Crazy Puke for a bit. Crazy Puke hit the trail first about 7 a.m. and I was headed north at about 7:30. After only a few minutes the trail went under Taconic State Parkway underpass and continued North. I took a picture just for the record.At about 10:30 I crossed Route 52 and just because I could, I stopped at the Mountain Market & Deli next to Danny's Pizza. I picked up a couple of Clif bars and plugged my phone and brick in to recharge for a bit while I refilled one of my water bottles from their spigot and ate my Clif bars.Oh I forgot to mention that last night I learned the origin of Dory¢s and Turmeric¢s Trail names. When Dori was hiking with her father last summer, evidently she kept forgetting things at the last place they had stayed so her father named her after the forgetful fish in Finding Nemo. And her hiking buddy - well, he likes turmeric. He carries it with him and adds it to his food because it is anti-inflammatory and helps with the tendonitis he experiences in his knees.2 o'clock in the afternoon. It is hot! About 85 Degrees according to my thermometer / compass dangly thing that Teresa gave me. I think I left my Solomon lightweight biking hat at the RPH shelter. Now that I feel like I needed it, I searched through my entire backpack looking for it to no avail. As a last resort to keep my bald head covered, I used the cravat from my first aid kit and doused it with water. Much cooler now.At mid afternoon tic check I found 2: got one crawling, the other biting. Reminder to self: Tomorrow, I'm going to wear the long legs to my hiking pants and tuck them into my socks. I'll have to do a more thorough tic check this evening, too.Bed time here now. I arrived at the Telephone Pioneer's shelter about 5 pm. Met "Ice Beard" and later "Snickers.¢ Helped a couple kids from NYC hang a bear bag.  Ice beard is an electrical engineer who has been doing short sections of the Appalachian Trail for years. He got his name from hiking on a cold day years ago north of Harpers Ferry when he had his beard actually ice up from the freezing of the moisture he was exhaling. Snickers is a Coast Guard boatswain's assistant. She is planning to go  back to school and is in between jobs.  She started hiking at Harpers Ferry on the 6th of April just five days after I did.  For dinner I ate rice/olives/pepperoni also ramen - both yummy.  No more tics.
Date: 2017-05-10
From: Mile 1633.2 Campsite Past Story Spring Shelter

To:  Sutton's Place, Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Continued hiking 17.5 miles today with High Miler.  We started from tenting campsite shortly after 6 am, and we reached the summit of Stratton mountain before 8 am (3.9mi up 2000 ft).  We then hiked with short breaks until reaching the route 30/11 trailhead for Manchester, VT.  Like yesterday, pretty much everything above 2400 ft elevation was snowy.  The tower at the top of Stratton was all covered with ice (picture).  When we made it to 30/11, we got a ride from the trailhead to the Mountain Goat Outfitter in Manchester, where High Miler bought a new sleeping pad, as his inflatable had already been patched several times and would not stay filled. We then walked a couple of blocks to Sutton's Place and checked in. We had dinner together tonight, and High Hiler will get back on the trail tomorrow. I'll get a ride back to Bennington in the morning.  There, I'll rent a car and go to an Outdoor Outfitters before heading to Putney. I'll have several zero days assisting my daughter with moving out of her dorm room, attending her graduation (Yay, Jenna!) and then visiting my parents in Chazy, NY for a few days before getting back on the trail. Teresa, who usually transforms/translates my speech-to-text generated notes of interesting word choices and questionable grammar into coherent enough trail journal entries is busy with home-front chores (moving our household goods), packing and will be travelling soon to join us in Putney.  See you when I get back on the trail!
Date: 2017-05-12
From:  Sutton's Place, Manchester Center, VT

To:  Putney, VT (with stay at West River Inn, Brookline, VT)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I got up about 5:30 like usual to the sound of the birds in Manchester yesterday. I repacked all my stuff and High Miler prepared to return to the trail. He needed to get a ride back to the trailhead, so we said farewell and he headed out. I had a cup of coffee at Sutton's Place and then when it was 7:30 and the place was open, I went around the block to the Up for Breakfast restaurant. This was a nice place on the second floor building on Main Street in Manchester Center. During breakfast I completed coordination with the rental car company to pick me up. They did that about 9:30 a.m. and took me to Bennington to actually get the vehicle. Then I drove back to Manchester and visited the Eastern Mountain Sports Outfitter where they were having a closeout sale and everything was 10% off. Out of my half dozen items on my shopping list, they had only socks. And I went to the Mountain Goat Outfitter in Manchester. There I got ankle gaiters. Then I drove over to Brattleboro, which is just south of where my daughter goes to college. In Brattleboro I visited Sam's Outdoor Outfitters. That was an impressive store. Frankly it's twice the store and better by far than the two I had visited in Manchester. There I got some new trekking poles, a mosquito net that I can use under my tarp, some Permethrin with which I plan to treat my clothing so they will better repel ticks and other insects, and a new hat to replace the one I lost a couple weeks ago. After I checked in at the West River Inn B&B, I met my daughter at her campus and took her out to dinner. Today I will help Jenna move out of the dorm and tomorrow she will graduate. The B&B here is in a beautiful setting - very relaxing, almost off the grid. (Picture)
Date: 2017-05-16
From: Bennington, VT

To: Catamount Motel, Bennington, VT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I've been off the trail for almost a week.  I attended my daughter's graduation (Associates Degree from a 2-year college) and helped her move out of her dorm room. I got to visit my mom in Northern New York for Mother's Day. And I got to take a little time off. I think this was good for my feet, which almost feel normal again. I was hoping it might also be good for my knees and hips, but they still ache. Old man achey.  I've now returned to Bennington with my rental vehicle which I will turn in in the morning. Once again I am staying at the Catamount Motel. I've arranged with Alan to get a ride out to the trailhead in Manchester after I turn the vehicle into the rental office in Bennington.It was an absolutely gorgeous day today. I enjoyed the ride on the ferry across Lake Champlain from Plattsburgh. I also enjoyed the ride down Route 7 South from Burlington to Bennington as I passed through Shelburne, Rutland, and Manchester again.  Frequently off to my left I could see the Green Mountain Range in the east. Large peaks linked together by long ridgelines and valleys with the distinctive "u" shape of post-glacial landscape.  As I got south of Rutland,I realized that the terrain I was seeing was very likely what I would be climbing in the next few days prior to turning rast with the trail to head towards Hanover, NH.Couple of posts ago I remember commenting on weight loss. Interestingly, when I got on the scale yesterday, I could see that just one week off the trail seems to have nearly reset my body weight to what it was. I'm only one pound lighter than the day before I started. Of course I recognize that my shape is different and in the one week off I have very quickly packed on water weight simply by not sweating like I had been.I am anxious to get started hiking again tomorrow, and I hope that the weather will be as nice tomorrow as it was today. Quite the contrast to hiking in snow just a few days ago!
Date: 2017-05-23
From: Six South Street Hotel

To: Trapper John shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at the Six South Street Hotel in Hanover, NH this morning at about 5:30, but decided to sleep in till 6:30. I had breakfast at the hotel and then visited an ATM to get some cash. Then I walked further up the trail, until I came to the Community Center. I waited until 9:00, and then for $2.00 I did my laundry. The center had a set of Hanover High School gym shorts/t-shirts for use when doing laundry, so I borrowed them and washed pretty much all my clothing, some of which was getting pretty smelly from sweaty hiking, and some of which I washed to reduce the likelihood of permethrin irritation. The repellent itself is supposed to remain effective through six washes. I sat in the sun on a bench outside the center while my clothes washed. I finished up and left the community center headed north on the trail around 11 am.At the edge of town, I entered the wood line through a pass along the edge of the Hanover High School baseball field and went up into the woods. It was a relatively steep climb right off the bat. The forest is beautiful with the moisture of yesterday's rain still on the ground wetting all the leaves again. All sounds were muffled. But the sun shone nicely through the translucent green leaves and the birds were lively with their regular chorus. I passed the Velvet Rocks shelter sometime before 11:30 and decided to just keep going rather than go in there and sign a logbook. It didn't feel like enough progress yet today married any kind of stoppage.As I kept going I took some pictures of the trail and of more rock walls in the middle of the woods and a foundation for a long gun building of some kind. I've seen a couple of those before in other states but I had not photographed one so I did that today.I climbed over South and then North Moose Mountain and Holt's Ledges in order to get to the Trapper John shelter. I had considered stopping at the Moose Mountain shelter which would have been at my 10 Mile point for today. I thought that was reasonable given that I didn't really get on the trail until 11 a.m. However it was 4 p.m. when I got to the Moose Mountain shelter so I kept going. From both South Moose Mountain and Holt's Ledges there were some fantastic views and I took some pictures of those.
Date: 2017-05-24
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: moderate rain

Today I got up at about 5:30 as usual. I had a breakfast of Pop-Tart and GORP. I spent some time thinking about a strategy for how to hike through the White Mountains. This is probably the most beautiful and most dangerous part of the AT. I decided to hike to the Hexacube Shelter today, and then tomorrow either stop at the Jeffers Brook shelter or the town of Glencliff, NH, just short of Mount Moosilauke. That mountain will be the first major climb in the Whites at 4802 feet, and a reputedly very steep descent on the north side. I checked the weather and confirmed that it still shows an expectation of rain tomorrow and Friday. But it showed that today would be a clear day, so I packed up my stuff and headed out.I left the Trapper John shelter at about 7:30 in the morning and climbed over Smart's Mountain, passing the Lambert Ridge on the way there and the Eastman Ledges afterward. I took pictures of nice views at each of these places. I reached the Hexacube shelter at about 3:45 p.m. which was a little earlier than anticipated, so I considered changing my plans and going further. In the end, I decided not to do that because I will still want to stop at the base of Mount Moosilauke. I don't want to try to climb that Peak after having walked 10 miles and climbing a couple smaller peaks en route.I got out my references and studied them again and decided that it'll be my preference tomorrow to stop at Glencliff, NH where there is a hostel I could potentially stay. I called the number listed for them but got a recording that indicated they open for the season officially on the 1st of June, but that they will likely be open the last week of May. I verified in my reference material that I will reach the hostel before the Jeffers Brook Shelter, so if I can't stay at the hostel I will still be able to move on to the shelter.
Date: 2017-05-27
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff NH

To: Mount Moosilauke
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

At the Hikers Welcome Hostel, we (Jag Happy, Redirect and I) got up about 5:30 and were ready at around 8.  Pack Rat (the owner) drove us to Route 112, where we hiked up the steep side of Mount Moosilauke. Going slowly and safely up some really tough areas, we passed a sign that said "extremely difficult." That was referring to the first mile and a half, which was hard, but absolutely beautiful.  It went right next to an amazing cascading waterfall. After we passed the Beaver Brook shelter, it got easier, but there were still areas where there was unmarked snow and ice on the trail, piled up in the middle where hikers had compressed it as they walked. In some places we had no choice but to walk on this "monorail." It took until noon for us to reach the top, which was a large bald with an amazing 360 degrees view of the world. We took pictures here, ate lunch in an area shielded from wind, and then hiked down the gentler southern side, emerging from the woods again in Glencliff, NH about 5 p.m.Allison, Pack Rat's wife, took us to the Greenhouse Restaurant, where we got take out and returned to the hostel to plan for the next day.
Date: 2017-05-28
From: Mount Moosilauke

To: Kinsman Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Still hiking with Jag Happy and Redirect, who are 67 and 68 years old, we rose at 5:30, got ready, had coffee and were fully packed up by 7:15 in order for Pack Rat to once again take us to Route 112, but this time we hiked north. After crossing over Wolf Mountain, we climbed both South and North Kinsman mountains. Again we had terrific views, and I was impressed by the deep green of the high but mossy forest. At the top of South Kinsman, the views were as amazing as the day before (photos).  The vistas included Liberty, Lincoln, and Lafayette mountains to the east, where we would need to climb in the next couple days, and we could also see west as far as Mount Mansfield, VT.Arriving to the Kinsman Pond shelter by about 7pm, I reflected on today's climbing - it was steep and slow, but also interesting, with real open-faced rock climbing in some places. At the shelter we discovered that the forest service charges even for the use of the basic shelters in high use areas in NH. ($10; if you are a through hiker, then it's $5 for future stays). Still, there were a couple dozen people around the shelter - some in tents, and about 10 in the shelter. Given the late hour, we only had time to make some dinner and then get to sleep.
Date: 2017-05-29
From: Kinsman Pond Shelter

To: The Notch Hostel
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at the Kinsman Pond shelter at about 5 am, I went through morning routine and got ready to go north again, still hiking with Jag Happy and Redirect. Due to bad weather coming in, we decided only to go so far as the town of Lincoln and stay at the Notch Hostel.  Hopefully we'll get good weather for the upcoming hike through Liberty, Haystack, Lincoln, and Lafayette mountains. The next shelter and campsites will also be within striking distance now.The Hostel is great and it looks like I'll get to make a run into town shortly, too.
Date: 2017-05-30
From: The Notch Hostel

To: Garfield Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Up today at 5:30, I had coffee, waffles and pancakes for breakfast at the Notch Hostel before getting my stuff ready to go. The hostel owner, Justin gave 6 of us a ride to the Liberty Springs trailhead north of Lincoln, NH. Jag Happy, Redirect, and I were on the trail together northbound by about 7:45 a.m. We climbed 4 mountains in the morning: Liberty, Little Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette. It was overcast, windy and absent any long distance views, but there were some beautiful cloudy ones of the adjacent peaks from time to time. Our trip across the top of Mount Lafayette coinciding with an entire school class of kids from Canada who were traversing the summit was particularly interesting. The winds were probably 50 to 60 miles an hour and in addition to rain, sleet started falling and the temperature dropped. I got pictures at all of our summit visits and also a short video of Jag Happy and Redirect coming up the trail in the wind on the top of Mount Lafayette. We decided to continue on to Mount Garfield and the Garfield campsite/shelter and stop there for the day rather than take the emergency bailout descent from the peak of Lafayette to the Green Leaf Hut that the Appalachian Mountain Club runs.We got to the shelter about 5:45pm, got water, and connected with Rob and Greg from Toronto (had seen them previously at the Kinsman Pond shelter), and also met again Spencer, who we had seen earlier, on the way down from Lafayette. After setting up my sleeping bag, I made a dinner of sausage, gorp, and some kind of minute rice thing that I had put together. Not so good, but it was hot and filling.After a long, hard day of hiking with very few breaks and very little relief from nasty weather, I was tired and ready for bed!
Date: 2017-05-31
From: Garfield Shelter

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Started this morning about 5:30 as usual: got up, made breakfast, discussed plans with fellow hikers. Spencer, Rob, Greg, Redirect, Jag Happy and I started down Garfield Mountain to Galehead Hut. After getting some nice video and pictures, we hiked up South Twin Mountain and down the other side where we had more spectacular views and snow up to the knees most of the afternoon.From there, we hiked up to the Guyot Shelter Trail without stopping at the shelter for a break. Instead, we chose to continue on to the Zealand Hut. Along the way, we got more good shots, especially at the Zealand Cliff (Pictures, video).I noticed that the vegetation at higher elevations was significantly different from that at lower ones. At the lower elevations, the mix of trees and bushes was similar to what I had seen in Vermont and previous States. But at the higher elevations in NH, it was almost exclusively shortleaf pines. While there was still snow on the ground (in some places as deep as my knees), there was often also a covering of short branches from the pine trees. They appear to have been broken off in the wind.  When scattered over the top surface of the snow and also over other non-snowy surfaces like rocks and mud, the fallen branches provided additional welcomed traction.At the Zealand hut, we were met by the hut "croo" (Kate, Amber, Annabelle, Squash, and Jubilee), and we were allowed to "work for stay."  Kate is the hut master, Amber the assistant hut master, and Annabelle the naturalist, who will be giving presentations nightly, starting tomorrow, on subjects like the history of logging. Squash and Jubilee are a couple years younger (21), and plan to hike the AT or PCT sometime soon. We changed, made dinner and set stuff out to dry. After we swept all the floors for the croo, we set up sleeping bags in the center of the hut. Kate gave us their leftover pizza.
Date: 2017-06-01
From: Zealand Hut 

To: Crawford Notch General Store and Camp Ground
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

After rising bright and early (4:50 am) at the Zealand Hut, I packed, made coffee, ate breakfast and swept again. Started today's journey hiking down past Ethan Pond Shelter to Route 302. On the way, I noticed that I had not heard the call of a Black Capped Chickadee recently. It may have been days. Instead, there were the songs of some new birds, but without access to network, the Merlin app from the Cornell Ornithology Lab could not help in identification. There were small grayish-brown birds with additional black and white feathers mixed in that were new to me.  I was not able to associate their calls just yet, but I'll be on lookout and will listen carefully in hopes of identifying them once I have use of the app.  Met hiker Johnny from London, who graduated from Yale in December. Johnny had hiked Georgia to Connecticut before and wants to finish now. He hikes in sandals, and as expected has gnarly feet (picture). A mile or so toward Crawford Notch General Store and Camp Ground we got a ride from John, manager of the camp ground.  John set us up with a cabin for 4; and we did laundry, ate munchies and relaxed while enjoying the Crawford Notch view of the mountains to the north west.After a dinner of ramen noodles with pepperoni and cheddar cheese, I hit the sleeping bag at 7:15. Exhausted!