morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-13
From: Kent, CT 

To: Litchfield, CT 
Miles today: 11.1

Lobstah has called a fellow hiker that he met down south by the name of Crooked Man. He has offered to pick us up and bring us home for the night. We met him at the road and he took us on a tour of his village and to his house. We took showers and cleaned up and met his wife. They live on a christmas tree farm. He showed us around his farm and it was beautiful. We went out and got pizza at a great local place and brought it home for everyone. We enjoyed wonderful New England hospitality. Thanks guys for such a great evening!
Date: 2004-07-15
From: Belter's Campsite 

To: Salisbury, Ct
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, our plans to leave early were somewhat delayed by rain last night. But the little extra time we took gave our tents time to dry out. I hate having to pack up a soaking wet tent. It sucks having to try and dry it out on the inside with a towel when I set it up again, plus it makes everything in my pack moist after being in there all day. We only had 10.5 miles to Salisbury, CT where Dragon Slayer had to pickup a mail drop. DS, Lobstah, Flip-flop and I all set out after breakfast and made good time all day. After a quick break where we hooked up wit Hobbit, we all cruised on down to Salisbury. Hobbit and Flip-flop didn't stop and continued on north. Salisbury, CT is a posh New England town, and we made our way eventually to LaBonne's Epicure Market just before the rain. A very nice upscale gourmet market, kind of expensive for us, but a nice treat. While we were Shopping, repacking our food and taking a break outside the market we just missed Steven Baldwin with a beautiful blonde companion. But that's OK 'cause we met a way better couple, Erik & Sarah Rydingsword. Erik saw us outside the market and after chatting for a while asked us if we would like to pop over to his place for a shower and laundry. He even said that he was fixing dinner and we were welcome to join him and his family for dinner. Well, it was an offer we couldn't refuse. He said that he and his wife often take in hikers that stop in town. Wow, what generous people. They live only a block away and we were soon enveloped in their warm, lively home full of kids and pets and lots of love and hospitality. Erik and Sarah made a great big pasta meal that was out of this world. It brought me right back to Italy. Sarah's homemade pesto sauce was to die for. And their children, Orrin and Corra were delightful, full of energy and laughter. We had a great meal and afterwards they offered to put us up for the night. What wonderful people to be so generous to total strangers like us. We stayed up late drinking wine and listening to music.
Date: 2004-07-17
From: Salisury, CT

To: Hemlocks Lean-to 
Miles today: 14.1

We said goodbye to Dragon Slayer and Eric & Sarah Rydingsword. We stopped in town on the way out and helped Sarah move some plants at her little shop in Salisbury. We wish we could do more to thank them for all their generosity. Sarah is even taking Dragon Slayer to the airport today. We met Sevy, MC and Willow sitting outside the coffee shop. It was great to catch up with them, but we had to be on our way. Around lunch time we met up with Sheperd who was not feeling so great last time we saw him in Kent, but was much better. He asked about a spot on his leg and Lobstah and I confirmed that it looked like poison ivy. Bummer.We hiked through Sages Ravine which was beautful. A wonderful stream ran through with multiple falls and runs. Nice! We thought our water problems were over, but everything turned dry by afternoon, damn! We got to Hemlocks Lean-to and had to scrounge some water from a pathetic trickle that was supposed to be a stream. The shelter was nice and we shared it with some nice weekenders from an organic farm nearby. Thanks guys for the coffee and fruit!
Date: 2004-07-18
From: Hemlocks Lean-to 

To: Tom Leonard Lean-to 
Miles today: 14.4

Hiked down the mountain today. It was very steep and I slipped a lot. The tread is getting thin on my boots!Before Lobstah and I left in the morning Sheperd came by the shelter. He was wondering if we had anything for poison ivy. Overnight it had spread all over his body! It was on his face, neck, arms and legs now. Lobstah had some prescription topical steroid cream and Sheperd smeared it all over his body. Yikes! Good luck, man.It was a long hike today down across the valley. Pines and swampland. The mosquitoes were brutal! They have been bad here in CT & MA. I had to wear DEET today for the first tme while hiking. When we got to the shelter, it was starting to rain. We decided not to keep going and try and stay dry here. I'll sleep in the shelter and use my bug net, and that way keep my tent dry. It rained all night and into the morning. Looks like a wet day tomorrow!
Date: 2004-07-20
From: Main Road, Tyringham, MA 

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin 
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

Hot day hiking. When we got to Upper Goose Pond it was so clear and inviting that we couldn't pass it up. We went swimming and decided to call it a day. Hiked to the cabin and checked in. Took the canoe out as the sun went down. Lobstah hooked two fish but couldn't get them in the boat.
Date: 2004-07-22
From: Dalton, MA

To: stealth campsite at The Cobbles
Miles today: 7.6

Rob took us on a little trip this afternoon. We went swimming today at a state park that has a waterfall with a deep pool below. You can take a flying leap off the rocks into the pool below. It was pretty fun even though the water was very cold (even for normal people). Leaving town after 6pm. Not sure where I will end up. Lobstah and DS are slacking from Cheshire, MA back here to Dalton and the Bird House. Got to get a move on... Well, I finally got out and started out of town. A few curious people that were out for a walk around town stopped me to ask questions. I hit the woods around 8pm. There were a bunch of owls hanging around down in the trees and I got a few pictures. After a little while I met DS and Lobstah, with Buddy in the lead, coming south. They told me of a cool campsite up on The Cobbles. It was just above the town of Cheshire, MA about 7 1/2 miles away. It took a while walking through some swampy bog areas. I heard some owls calling to each other and went off the trail to find them. They were in a swampy pool, up at the top of a dead tree. It seemed that mom was out in the woods calling to two young owls, maybe trying to get them to practice flying. She would call and they would answer and act like they were going to take off, but they never did. It was kind of hard to see as they were just at the end of my flashlight range. I could see their eyes and a faint outline. I never got a look at mom. Back on the trail I heard a noise and saw a garter snake slithering off the side of the trail. It was a good night hike for wildlife sightings.I got to the Cobbles around 11:30pm or so. Set up my tent right on the edge. I had a great view of the town of Cheshire. Well, the lights anyway. It was a nice night. I hung out outside for a while then went to bed. It was a good day, Thanks Rob!
Date: 2004-07-24
From: Bascom Lodge at Mt Greylock 

To: Seth Warner Shelter
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

No break for us. It's 7:35am and it looks the same outside as it did last night. We are still in the clouds. The wind is blowing and visibility is not good. There is a lighthouse-like tower monument that is not very tall, but we still could not see the top while standing at the bottom. Looks like another wet day for us. Maybe things will improve once we get off the mountain. Things improve! The sun came out once we got down below 3000ft or so. Looks like it will be a nice day. We met up with Snowman and hiked into North Adams for lunch. A dog came out of nowhere and attacked buddy on the way in. Lobstah had buddy on the leash and they were just walking down the sidewalk and the dog ran up and bit buddy, luckily on his pack. He even ripped it off and put a couple fang holes in it. Crazy! We went to the AYCE Chinese Buffet. I'm stuffed, now a hard hike up 1500ft. Ouch! Snowman and I hit the Massachusetts-Vermont border together and took some photos of each other. Only two more state borders to cross now! The Long Trail starts here and continues north up to Canada. The Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail share about 100 miles before they split off to go their separate ways. We stopped for the night at Seth Warner Shelter. I met a few people walking the Long Trail just out on their first day. I set up my tent and got some water. Lobstah and Dragon Slayer arrived and set up their tent across the trail to the stream. We cooked dinner and Lobstah and Snowman made a fire, which was not easy with wet wood. Lobstah, being the northerner that he is, went and found some Birch bark. That stuff burns like it was soaked in lighter fluid, even when wet. You learn something new all the time. We all ate and chatted around the fire, Lobstah & DS, Snowman and I. Nice.
Date: 2004-07-26
From: Goddard Shelter 

To: campsite on Stratton Mt.
Miles today: 17.5

Didn't get on the trail too early today as usual. I'm going to try better after Manchester Center, Vt. I'm going to try and catch up with Grass, UB, and Flora & Fauna. We made good time but took some breaks. We have been meeting a lot of South Bounders recently. The vangard is passing by and I'm sure the main pack will not be far behind. It is cool to talk to them since they have just been where we are heading. Also we are meeting hikers doing the Long Trail as well. I was extremely hungry all day today and cooked a big lunch of an extra dinner and dessert. I have been eating dehydrated meals exclusively for the last week and have been more hungry than usual. I wonder if that's why? I need more snacks than usual, I'll try more candy bars next time. Pump up that blood sugar!Some boy scouts were there as well as some section hikers. We had nice time hanging out, but I was itching to get to town before I ran out of food. My GI thing has been lingering for too long so I'll try and get to a doctor as well. Lobstah & DS decided to get to town the following day so they camped earlier and I continued over Stratton Mt to get closer to town. It had started to drizzle by the time we left lunch, but it never got too bad. There is an old firetower there on the summit. It is the tallest peak in Vermont, I think. The view was magnificent. It was just cloudy enough to look dramatic, but not block the view. The trail through Vermont is not great, all mud and roots and rutted ditch, but the forest and Green Mountains are beautiful. It was getting dark by the time I left the summit and I headed down looking for a campsite. It took quite a while until I found a suitable spot. The terrain up there was too rocky and overgrown. It was dark by the time I pitched my tent, I didn't want to go all the way the the shelter and tenting site at Stratton Pond because they charge a fee. Looks like that will be common up here in New England. I got lazy and didn't hang my food tonight. Just the second time I have slept with my food in my tent. I hope nothing comes looking for it!
Date: 2004-07-27
From: campsite on Stratton Mt.

To: Manchester Center, VT 
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: moderate rain

Hiked in the rain all day. It was supposed to be a quick easy hike into town. With all the rain and mud and general nastiness of the trail it took twice as long.There is a horse show in town, so all the hotels had jacked up their prices. The nice ladies at the Palmer House gave me a room at the "Hiker rate" that was the same as the cheap place a few miles out of town. So I got a great room at a much nicer place within walking distance of everything. I got out of my wet clothes and took a nice hot shower. I spread out my tent on the floor to dry, turned the ceiling fan on high, and went out to eat at a nice southwestern place. I came back and watched a little TV until late, then hit the sack.
Date: 2004-07-29
From: Bromley Shelter 

To: Lost Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: light rain

I left Slim & Biscuit still snoozing at the shelter. They may be waiting for Dragon Slayer & Lobstah to come up and join them today. I went to the top of Bromley Mt where there is a warming hut for the ski slope. It is open for hikers and even has a phone. I used the phone to arrange for my mail drop to be forwarded since I missed it in Manchester Center. I sent some emails and met up with Snowman, who arrived while I was there. Lots of day hikers enjoying the weather. It was sunny while we were there, but could be iffy in the afternoon. There is an observation tower and ski lifts (not running) up there. The AT came up on part of the easy ski slope. Wouldn't want to walk up the black diamond run!The new boots seem to be doing ok, but with only a few miles it is too early to tell. I hope my feet are tough enough by now to take some abuse. I met Warren Doyle and his wife today. He used to teach a college course that walked the AT. I saw his wife in VA. Freaky. Lots more mud today. Someone has dubbed it "Vermuck" in the last register. Nice!
Date: 2004-07-31
From: Clarendon Shelter 

To: Tucker-Johnson Shelter 
Miles today: 17.4

Caught up with Snowman at the first shelter. Had a snack then on to the Summit of Killington up over 4000ft. It is the top of a ski slope. mountain bikers were using it. Found snowman at the snack bar. closed due to storm. hiked on in threatening weather. call of the wild in a never-ending field of nettle. then Rain soaked us with 20 minutes to go. nice guys at the shelter on the long trail. tree fell on stream near shelter.
Date: 2004-08-01
From: Tucker-Johnson Shelter 

To: campsite at Locust Creek 
Miles today: 13.7

First thing in the morning was a 1.9 mile hike down the Sherburne Pass Trail to the Inn at Long Trail. I had my mail drop forwarded here after I missed it in Manchester Center. Halfway down the mountain the mail drop was all but forgoten. There was a smell rising from the valley, and that smell was breakfast! The Inn at Long Trail is right at the trailhead at Sherburne Pass. The breakfast was great, so if anyone out there plans to hike near here, don't forget to stop here. There is also an Irish pub with good beer, which I couldn't enjoy thanks to a certain intestinal parasite that has me on antibiotics. Damn you!Anyway that's how it started. I spent way too much of my day farting around town. Especially since I'm trying to catch up to some folks. I did get in touch with Michael and let him know what winter gear to send to Glencliff, NH. Then I got a hitch into Killington to resupply and kept getting distracted by this and that. I won't bore you with the details. Anyway I wasn't back on the trail until late afternoon. I reached Stony Brook Shelter as everyone was settling in. As I was leaving "65 and Alive" strolled in. He is pushing hard to take a break at his home, which is nearby. Good to see him again. I decided to keep going until dark to make up some miles. Well, as luck would have it, it started to rain as I crossed over the Continental Divide. I had to scramble and get on my rain gear as it was getting dark. It was only a mile or two more until I camped and it slowed down a bit so I didn't get too soaked. The distance from the last shelter was 4.7 miles. I'm glad I made the extra miles but my feet aren't. Those extra miles put a hurtin' on my left heel. I hope I still have some tape left for tomorrow!
Date: 2004-08-02
From: campsite at Locust Creek 

To: Campsite above Cloudland Road 
Miles today: 14.0

I hate waking up to a wet morning. It rained last night and by morning it was still wet and nasty. Rain was dripping off the trees onto my tent, but it had stopped. The sun did come out eventually and motivate me to get my lazy ass up. 30-30, and Giggles passed by as I was "in the bushes", of course the trail turned out to be curved around where I was, but I don't think they saw me. Oh well, 65 came by right after and we chatted for a moment as I was getting ready. They had stayed at the last shelter that I passed last night. I have got to get up earier!I found it hard to get in the groove today. Wet socks are not helping my feet. I did take the time and dry some things out at lunch today. I also dozed a bit in my hammock. It was nice to take the break, but I am not going to catch up to anyone like this. But I was also having trouble with my feet and the new boots. I had my left heel taped and by the end of the day my right as well. Damn, blisters suck! Oh well, my foot was hurting and it was getting dark so when I got to this gorgeous hilltop above Cloudland Rd I decided to call it a day. Only 14 miles today, but I was just done. The sunset was beautiful up here with 360 degree views. I set up my tent so I can catch the sunrise too, and as an added bonus it just afforded me a great moonrise as I write this and eat dinner. It had to be a peanut butter wrap dinner due to meager water supply. I will cook a dinner for lunch tomorrow in exchange. Well I need to hit the sack if I want to get up early. Hah! The moon is just about full and shining into my tent. What a great spot! I just heard a pack of coyotes yipping it up in the distance. I haven't hung my food tonight since there are no good trees nearby. I really do not want to have to wake up tonight and fight anything for it! There goes one howling at the moon. Pretty far away, lets keep it that way.
Date: 2004-08-04
From: Hanover,NH 

To: Mink Brook 
Miles today: 8.6

Spent the day in town, met up with Grass & UB. I finally caught someone! It helped that they took a couple of days to work for some former thru-hikers to make some cash. We hiked out in the afternoon to Mink Brook. Had a nice fire as we made dinner. Nice to catch up with some friends finally.
Date: 2004-08-09
From: Kinsman Notch 

To: Lonesome Lake Hut 
Miles today: 13.4

Took almost 4 hrs to get 7.5 miles to the Eliza Brook Shelter. These steep rocky "trails" are slow going. Found a note in the register that Ben was feeling sick so Ben & Grass were going to go 6 miles to the first hut. I pushed on and got there around 7pm. They were still eating dinner so I talked to the hut master and worked out a deal for a free stay. Dropped off my junk in our bunkroom and went to dinner. The food was good and plentiful. It was a nice place. Not sure if I would pay $80 to stay here, but it had a nice summer-camp kind of feel. Mostly occupied by families out on vacation with the kids. They were very nice to us thru-hikers. A soutbounder, Ron, even agreed to get a mohawk for a couple of beers. It seemed like it was a tradition here at this hut. It was not the best job, but art is subjective.We had a nice night and a pretty good breakfast in the morning.
Date: 2004-08-10
From: Lonesome Lake Hut 

To: North Woodstock
Miles today: 0.0

Ben was feeling really bad this morning. Seems he caught a chill on the exposed ridge the other day and has an ear infection and fever. After breakfast we decided to hikedown to Rt 3 at Franconia Notch and see how he was doing before deciding our course of action. He was struggling all the way down. Since he was in bad shape we decided to head into town and see about getting him to a doctor. We hitched into North Woodstock and found an ok deal on a room and put him to bed. He was able to get in touch with his doctor back home and have a prescription faxed here. Grass and I hung out and went to lunch. It was a pretty nice little tourist town. I got to talk to my girlfriend on the phone and that was nice. It's great to hear her voice. I miss her so much. We had heard that thunderstorms were coming this afternoon and another thru-hiker, "Mellow Yellow", also came into town to avoid being caught up on the ridge. It was a pretty day for the most part though. It did cloud up in the evening, but no big storm. Probably get it tomorrow.
Date: 2004-08-11
From: North Woodstock

To: Liberty Springs Campsite 
Miles today: 2.6
Weather: light rain

Woke up to rain. Cloudy out. Great.Had a nice breakfast and morning soak in the clawfoot bathtub at the inn and headed out. We went to get Ben's prescription and did a little more shopping. Not sure what to do now, as the ridgeline we are heading for is lost in the clouds. Looks wet and nasty up there. We'll get lunch and see what happens. After a big lunch we decided to head out. We hitched a ride back up to the Flume Visitors Center and hiked up the bike path to the AT. It was a pretty steep climb up to the ridge and the weather was swiftly going south. We could hear the thunder getting closer and we didn't want to get caught out in the open. We were almost to the top when the rain started. Damn, wet again! We trudged on in the rain and came to the caretaker's tent for the Liberty Springs Campsite. A voice called out from the tent and invited us inside until it stopped. It was nice of him to let us get out of the rain for a while. We dried off a little and tried not to drip on his things. The caretaker, "Huff & Puff", told us a bunch of thru-hikers were here already seeking shelter from the storm. We chatted for a while, and soon the rain stopped. We quickly ran out to find a tent platform and set up our tents before the next wave hit. It was interesting trying to set up on a wooden platform, since both of our tents have to be staked down. With a lot of hurried jerry-rigging and joking around we finally got our tents up. We talked to some other thru-hikers that had been behind us for a while. Nice bunch. We all have been slowed down a lot by the terrain here in the whites. Tomorrow may not be too bad. We will be up on this ridge for a while, so no huge ups or downs. Just the 1000ft regular ones!
Date: 2004-08-12
From: Liberty Springs Campsite 

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

slept in hut. Surprise, surprise, Rain again today. We packed up our wet tents and headed out. Headed up to Mt Lafayete, 5249 feet. It was all wet and raining off and on. We were walking through the clouds again, so no views. Damn! It is supposed to be beautiful and scenic but we just saw a solid wall of white. We hiked along the exposed ridge as the wind threatened to blow us right off the Mt. We met up with some more thru-hikers and we all hiked into Galehead Hut. They already had 5 thru-hikers and we were 7 more. The croo was very nice though and gave the first 5 "work for stay" and the rest of us could stay for $5 but would probably not get food. Not bad considering the wet alternative. We hear rumors of some hurricanes moving up the coast and will bring us more rain, great. They are full here with paying customers so all the thru-hikers will be bunking down in the dinning room/common area. That will be one smelly slumber party!
Date: 2004-08-13
From: Galehead Hut

To: Crawford Notch 
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: fog

Galehead Hut - Crawford Notch (14.7mi)slept in cabinPoured all night. Still yucky and no sign of clearing. We hear that after this storm the hurricanes are on the way. It's getting crowded here at the Zealand Falls Hut. We walked the 7 miles here and stopped for a lunch of soup and leftover pancakes. We are not sure where we will end up this evening. 5 miles to a pay campground. 8 miles to a road crossing, where we hear there are sleath campsites. We may find some before that though. I'm watching my money so $8 to put my tent up in the rain just doesn't sound right. We'll see... We made it to the Ethan Pond Campsite and the caretaker made it clear that there were no campsites other than the pay sites. He did tell us about a campground down at Crawford Notch that had a cabin that thru-hikers can sleep in for $10. At least for our money we get a dry cabin and use of the bath house and showers. Of course it poured on us all the way down the mountain. We hitched to the campground and got our cabin. We hung our wet tents and everything else out to dry. This weather sucks.