morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-28
From: Mt. Wilcox North Lean to

To: US 20; Lee, MA
Miles today: 15.9

It rained a couple of times during the night. Glad we decided to stay in the shelter. A ouse got into G Walk's food bag but not mine even though they were both hanging on the same "mouse proof" lline. Lucky me!!! Wake about 7:00 and started hiking at 8:30. Otter checked his cell phone for messages at 12:30 and we found out that the car rental place in Great Barrington had a vehicle for rent. He called and had it delivered to us at Tyringham Rd. We ended up with a 4 door Ford pick up but only had to pay for a subcompact. I started slack packing to Lee, MA while Otter rode back to Great Barrington to complete the rental agreement. He then drove to US 20 and began slacking to Tyringham Road. We both got totally soaked in a very hard rain. He gave me the key so I could drive back and pick him up. Passed an old chimney (pix) beside Upper Goose Pond which was the former Mohhekennuck fishing and hunting club. Made it to the truck at US 20 by 5:45. Drove into Lee and got a Big Mac meal before heading out to pick up Otter. I did get Otter a large Power Ade! Picked up Otter and met Montreal at a pavillian just down the road. They allow hikers to camp here. Picked up Fung Shui and Burner in Lee. We are all at the pavillian. Everyone but Montreal will be slack packing the next 3 days to North Adams. It will be great to not carry our packs for 50 miles.
Date: 2006-07-29
From: US 20; Lee, MA

To: Depot Street; Dalton, MA
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: few clouds

Slept pretty well last night. Had a cup of coffee while I packed up. Loaded the truck and went to McDonald's for breakfast. Dropped Otter, Fung Shui, and Burner at the trailhead at 8:30. Stopped by McDonald's for ANAOTHER breakfast and drove to Dalton. Started hiking South at 9:45. The trail was very nice. Had a couple of ups and downs before the trail leveled off for the most part. Ran into Otter at 1:30 and give him the truck key. Took a couple of breaks before finishing the 19 miles at 6:40. Otter was at the parking lot waiting when I got there. We drove back to Dalton. There are probably 20 hikers here staying at Thomas Lavurde's house. Otter and I are tenting in the back yard and everyone else are in the house: the floors are full. I had a nice burger, fries, and Sam Adams (here's to you Jon) for dinner. The crowd must have drank a hundred beers last night. I only had 2 before bed. Planning to slack from Mt. Greylock back to Dalton tomorrow - 3491 ft down to 970 ft then up to 2100 then down to 1200 feet.
Date: 2006-07-30
From: Depot Street; Dalton, MA

To: Mt. Greylock
Miles today: 17.0

Ate a 3 egg omelet, home fries, toast, and coffee for breakfast. Got to Mt. Greylock at 10:00 and got a sweet roll before starting the hike back down to Dalton. The hike was fairly easy since most of it was downhill. Stopped for a long break and lunch at Cheshire, MA. Had a roast beef sanddwich, a large Gatorade and a pepsi. From Cheshire it was a 1100 foot climb up Crystal Mountain then down 900 ft to Dalton. Did the 17 mile in 8 hours including breaks. Pretty tired after doing 36 miles in 2 days. Next 2 days will be much shorter - 13 and 12 miles. We will pick up packages at PO tomorrow on way through North Adams. Moved our zero day from North Adams to Bennington, VT. We will have completed MA tomorrow!
Date: 2006-07-31
From: Mt. Greylock

To: County Road
Miles today: 13.5

Ate a good breakfast at a diner just down the street from the Hostel. Drove Otter to North Adams to start hiking up Mt. Greylock to hike the 6.3 miles back down to North Adams. I drove the truck down to North Adams and after Otter got back down to North Adams we went to the PO to pick up our mail. Had lots of goodies from home! We then set the shuttle for the hike from North Adams to county road, 7.2 miles which we did not start until 4:00. Crossed into VT just before 6:00. Eleven states completed and only 3 to go. I completed the 3.1 miles from the state line to county road in 55 minutes! Love that slack packing! Drove into Bennington, VT and checked into the Autumn Inn, took shower and then went to dinner. Now have less than 600 miles to go!
Date: 2006-08-01
From: County Road

To: VT 9; Bennington VT
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: haze

I didn't get started hiking until 10:30 after setting the shuttle. Started with a 800 foot climb and about an hour in the hike we saw our first moose. It was in a small pond beside the trail. When she saw us, she started walking out of the pond toward the trail. We backed up a little and she crossed the trail and walked down to a pond on the other side of the trail. She kept looking at us the entire time. Tried to take a picture but the battery in my camera had died! (Timing is everything) The rest of the trail was a series of short ups and downs until the end. The last 0.5 mile was a steep 800 foot downhill to VT 9. Got to the truck just before 4:00 then drove back to County Road to pick up Otter who hiked this section South. Went back to the motel, cleaned up and went to dinner. Taking a zero tomorrow so we can reprovision, schedule the next 10 days until Elaine and Carol come up to Woodstock, VT for a 4 day visit, and return the truck to the rental agency in North Adams.
Date: 2006-08-02
From: VT 9; Bennington VT

To: VT 9; Bennington VT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

Took a zero day in Bennington, VT today. It was very hot today ¢ 95 degrees in the shade. It was a good day not to hike. We re-provisioned and sent extra food to Woodstock, VT. We returned the truck ¢ DARN! Sure did love the slack packing. We were able to slack 70 miles. Several other hikers here are waiting for the heat wave to break. It is suppose to be in the low 80¢s the next few days and high 60¢s at night. Should be even cooler once we get back on top of the mountains. I charged up both of my camera batteries so I don¢t miss out on any more picture opportunities.
Date: 2006-08-03
From: VT 9; Bennington VT

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: light rain

We had breakfast at Friendly¢s next door to the hostel. Chris, the owner, gave us a ride to the trail and we started hiking at 9:00. The first 6 miles was a 1400 ft. climb to Little Pond Lookout with a nice view of the valley to the east. We soon passed under a power line with a view of Bennington (pix). We could see the monument near the town. We were soon climbing another 750 ft to the top of Glastenburg Mountain. There was a fire tower there that had been converted to an observation tower with great views. But as usual the clouds obscured our views. It was the first time we had been at 3748 feet since Southern Virginia. It is much cooler up here and good breezes. However, we had to go down to 2795 feet to the shelter where there was no breeze and the bugs were a nuisance. There are yellow plant hoppers on everything. They don¢t bite, just tickle. The mosquitoes are out so we had to put our head nets on to sleep. I wish there were spaces for out tents in the shelter. There are supposed to be porcupines here that come in the shelter and chew on the wood to get the salt left ¢behind¢ where the hikers have been sitting. I¢ll let you know tomorrow if they come in for a visit tonight. It was very nice hiking in the high 70¢s today. It is suppose to be in the 60¢s at night and low 80¢s during the day for the next few days. I have completed over 1600 miles now!
Date: 2006-08-04
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

We lucked out again. It rained quite a bit last night. A couple of section hikers left their packs outside and they got soaked. Another section hiker was in his tent without the fly. He had to hustle at 12:00 to put it on. We did not get up until 7:30, waiting for the rain to stop ¢ but were on the trail at 9:00. There was an easy 600 ft. climb from the shelter to Lydia¢s rest. Then it was right back down 1000 feet and back up 1600 feet to Stratton Mountain. We did get sodas from a cooler left by an angel at the road before the climb. There was another fire tower on top of Stratton Mountain. It had been converted into an observation tower. We had some nice views of the fir-covered mountains. We were at 3938 feet and it was rather chilly but refreshing after the climb. From there it was 1400 ft downhill to Stratton Pond Shelter. We went to the pond and washed the mud off our legs. It had been a rather muddy day after the rain last night. There are about 20 hikers in the large shelter, several are hiking the Long Trail and the rest are AT thru hikers. Ponch and Mo are here. They took 10 days off and caught up with us again! Going into Manchester Center tomorrow to re-provision and hike on a couple of miles for the night. Hope to get lunch and dinner before we leave town.
Date: 2006-08-05
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Bromley Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: scattered clouds

It was a fairly easy 10.6 miles to VT 11 & 30. It was just a series of 200 ¢ 300 ft ups and downs. Quite a bit of mud on the trail from the rain a couple of days ago. Passed by Prospect Rock with a good view of Manchester Center in the valley below (pix). Of course the trail then turned and went away from town - so by the time we got to the road it was 12:30 and we were 5.5 miles away! Bummer!! However, we did catch a ride to town fairly quickly. We ate lunch at McDonalds and re-provisioned at an outfitter and grocery store. We spent most of the afternoon resting in the shade with several other hikers. Eight of us at an early dinner at a steak house before hitching a ride back to the trail. We started the last 2 miles - 700 ft climb to the shelter at 7:00. It was an easy climb and made it in 45 minutes. Saw moose tracks in the trail but no moose. Six of us are in the shelter tonight: Carbomb, Lichen, Ponch, Mo, Otter and myself.
Date: 2006-08-06
From: Bromley Shelter

To: Big Branch Shelter 
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

We woke up to a nice 57 degrees. I slept fairly well. The shelter boards were hard but a cool, quiet night. Started the day at 8:45 finishing the remaining 700 ft climb up Bromley Mtn. then down 800 ft to Mad Tom Notch. Then it was up 1000 ft. to Styles Peak then another 200 ft up to Peru Peak with great views. It was 800 ft down to Griffith Lake where we took a long lunch break. Very pretty glacial lake. Then it was up 300 feet to a rock face to the top of Baxter Peak. It was a straight climb up a long rock. I was glad the rock was rough so we did not slip on the way up. This was much better than the smooth rocks in PA and NY. From there it was a rather gentle downhill 1400 feet to Big Branch Shelter. We are tenting about 150 yards beyond the shelter to avoid the skeeters! It was Lichen¢s birthday (pix) so we celebrated it with a card and a fifth of Markers Mark whisky. Brainfreeze and G Walk are tenting nearby. Ponch and Moe, Carbomb and Lichen are in the shelter. Big Branch is a large creek and the sound of water should give us a restful night¢s sleep. Thinking of doing 17 miles tomorrow, as there is a deli a couple of miles beyond the next shelter we are planning on staying. We¢ll see how the feet feel when we get to the shelter.
Date: 2006-08-07
From: Big Branch Shelter 

To: Clarendon Shelter 
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, our luck ran out! It rained last night and our tents got wet ¢ extra weight to carry all day! Started hiking at 7:45. We passed by Little Rock Pond, a large glacier pond (pix) - very pretty. We climbed 600 feet up White Rocks Mountain. People had stacked rocks in all sorts of weird piles, even in the branches of trees (pix). We added a few to a couple of stacks while we took our lunch break. From there it was down hill 1250 feet to VT 140 and then up 1100 feet to the top of Bear Mountain. The trail on the topo part of the map was correct but they forgot to update the profile. The profile showed a small 300-foot bump and then essentially flat. Wow! Were we ever surprised! Of course we had to come down 1200 feet to VT 103. We had decided earlier to get dinner at the Whistle Stop Deli at 0.5 miles down the road before continuing on to the shelter. I had a bacon cheeseburger, large fries, 4 glasses of P4epsi, and a large cone of chocolate soft serve ice cream. The large fries were HUGE ¢ a platter full and I ate all of them. Again the map profile was wrong. The gentle 500- foot 1mile climb to the shelter was a very steep boulder scramble over half the way. Pretty tough climb with a full ¢belly¢! I had my 3rd fall today coming down Bear Mountain. It was a steep section full of slick roots. My feet slipped out from under me and I landed on my pack. No injury or pack damage. We have a 2700- foot climb tomorrow ¢ the longest in a long time.
Date: 2006-08-08
From: Clarendon Shelter 

To: Cooper Lodge
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: clear sky

I woke up at 7:30 but did not start hiking until 9:45 since we only had a 10-mile day. We took a short break after an hour because there were sodas in a creek left by a previous thru hiker. The trail was rather easy to the next shelter where we took a longer lunch break. That is when the climb begun 4 miles to the top. We crossed over Little Killington peak and then walked a saddle over to Killington Peak. At 4235 feet it is the highest point near the trail in VT and the second highest peak in the state. We could barely see the White Mountains of NH and the Adirondacks of NY. It was quite a spectacular view. There is a restaurant on top so we climbed the steep 0.2 mile (pix) to get something to eat only to find out the grill had closed 15 minutes earlier. I got a large Pepsi and a Ben & Jerry¢s and Otter got a small bottle of Chardonnay wine. Came back down to the shelter, ate dinner, and went to bed early (8:00). We need an early start tomorrow as we need to do 12 miles by 2:00 because a friend Ellen Snyder is picking us up to take us to here home. Only 494.3 miles to go!
Date: 2006-08-09
From: Cooper Lodge

To: River Road 
Miles today: 12.0

We got an early start at 7:15 at a cool 52 degrees. Most of the day was down hill from over 4000 feet to 1200 feet with a few 200-300 feet up and down. We stopped at Mountain Meadows Lodge on Thundering Brook Road for a nice lunch: turkey sandwich, potato chips, boiled eggs, apple, cookies, and a soda. This would be a nice place to spend a few days on vacation. We hurried on down the trail to get picked up at 2:00 by Ellen Snyder, the sister of a friend of Otter¢s. Ellen drove us to the PO in Woodstock to pick up our bounce boxes, the grocery store to re-provision, then to her house north of Woodstock, VT. We got cleaned up and washed our clothes. We had a delicious steak dinner with baked potato and salad.
Date: 2006-08-10
From: Lyme- Dorchester Road -going South

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

We had a great evening at Ellen and John¢s home. She made us a wonderful breakfast of eggs, bacon, ham, toast, and coffee. Ellen then drove us from Woodstock, VT to the trailhead at Lyme-Dorchester Rd. We started hiking at 11:00 and the first couple of miles were easy. We then had a steep 1300 foot climb followed by a steep 1300 foot down hill right back up another 1300 foot climb. We ended up doing the 2600-foot climb in about 4 miles. Got to the shelter about 30 minutes before a heavy one and half hour rainstorm. We had triscuits and cheese with 1.5 liter of Chardonnay wine before dinner. It was a wonderful way to sit out the rainstorm in the shelter. Montreal and Blackfoot are in the shelter with us. A US Forest Service agent is tenting nearby. Counting today, we are hiking south back to Woodstock, VT so we will be there on the 13th when Elaine and Carol arrive for 4 days of R&R. Can¢t wait to see them as I have not seen Elaine since Duncannon, PA and Otter has not seen Carol since the Shenandoah¢s in VA.
Date: 2006-08-11
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: NH 120 Hanover, NH going South
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: broken clouds

Well, I have been on the trail for 5 months today. It doesn¢t seem like it has been that long and I have less than 2 months to go. Fairly chilly this morning at 52 degrees. I will be glad when I get some of my winter gear on Sunday. Shorts and a T-shirt aren¢t quite enough some time. The highs are only in the mid 70 degrees and it feels cooler in the woods. It was a fairly easy 10 miles today. Only a few short but steep ups and downs. We actually ended up 1700 feet lower than when we started this morning. We ran into several hikers who were ahead of us: Techumse, Slick B, Lebowski, Pi (Kache had to get off due to leg injury). They will be several days ahead after tomorrow since we are headed south for 2 more days and will be taking 2.5 days off next week. I heard that Bama and Little Wing are here but we did not see them. Hanover is a rather up-scale small town. Dartmouth College (Ivy League) is here also and we were heard that it cost about $47,000 a year to attend. We are tenting in the woods next to the soccer fields (its allowed). We walked the 0.7-mile into town today twice to eat lunch and dinner. Only 22.5 miles to get back to Woodstock, VT. Looks like a couple of easy days. The weather is predicted to be great over the weekend.
Date: 2006-08-12
From: NH 120 Hanover, NH going South

To: Thistle Hill Shelter - going South
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

We got an early start at 7:15. We walked back into town for breakfast at Lou¢s Bakery. Bama and Little Wing were there. We had eggs, bacon, home fries, toast, and coffee. We were back on the trail at 8:30. It was a very nice trail today after the road walk from the soccer fields where we camped. The walk was all the way through Hanover, NH and over the Connecticut River and through Norwich, VT. There was an 1100-foot climb from Norwich to Griggs Man. but it was over 5 miles and only a few steep ups and downs. Then it was back down 1300 feet to the White River in West Hartford, VT. From there we had another steep 600 foot climb followed by an easy 800 foot uphill over the next 3 miles to Thistle Hill Shelter. It has some nice views from a couple of open areas climbing up Thistle Hill. Dinner is done now and we are in bed at 7:15- not bad for a 15-mile day. Only 7.8 miles into Woodstock tomorrow.
Date: 2006-08-13
From: Thistle Hill Shelter - going South

To: VT 12 Woodstock, VT - going South
Miles today: 7.8

What appeared to be an easy day based on the profile turned out to be fairly hard. The climbs and down hills were quite steep. Maybe it was just that we were getting tired. It has been 11 straight days of hiking (134 miles) without a break. We ran into Routestep who we have not seen in over 3 months. Also saw Mapman and Robin that we last saw 2 months ago. This has been the benefit of jumping ahead and hiking south for 4 days. We did make it to VT 12 by lunchtime and got a coke and fresh baked apple turnover at a small store 0.2 miles down the road. It was an easy hitch into town where we checked into The 1830 Shire Town Inn B&B. We took showers and had lunch in downtown Woodstock. Then we sat on a bench in the ¢green¢ in the center of town to wait for Elaine and Carol to arrive. They got here about 3:00 and it was great to see them drive up!!!
Date: 2006-08-14
From: River Road 

To: VT 12 Woodstock, VT 
Miles today: 18.0

We had a good breakfast at the B&B. Then Elaine took us to River Road near Killington, VT so we could hike the 18 miles we had skipped earlier. We started hiking at 9:50. It was a 1300-foot climb right out of the car. Not too back since we were slacking today. We ran into SheBear and 42 who were slacking south. The last time we saw SheBear was just south of Harpers Ferry, WV in early June. We had not seen 42 since Dennis Cove Road in NC/TN. They are planning a summit party on Katahdin on September 23- I don¢t know if I will be there by then, but will try. We saw lots of moose droppings on the trail today, but no moose. We had a great 360-degree view from an observation deck on top of an old house. We could even see the White Mtns. of NH where we will be next week. We finished the 18 miles by 6:10 (8 hrs. 20 minutes). I have now completed 12 states with 2 to go. Completed 1752 miles so far.
Date: 2006-08-15
From: VT 12 Woodstock, VT 

To: VT 12 Woodstock, VT 
Miles today: 0.0

We had a great breakfast at the B&B. We rode to Lebanon, NH to the outfitters to purchase a few trail items. We then rode out to Ellen and John¢s home to pick up our re-supply boxes that we had left there last week. Spent the rest of the afternoon to schedule the rest of our rest of the hike. Had a wonderful dinner at the Prince & the Pauper restaurant. It was a fixed price meal and quite expensive but quite excellent also.
Date: 2006-08-16
From: VT 12 Woodstock, VT 

To: VT 12 Woodstock, VT 
Miles today: 0.0

We had eggs benedict for breakfast today. Then we made a list of the remaining mail drops. I repacked with the winter gear that Elaine brought. I hate that the pack is going to be heavier, but¢¦¢¦. Packed a re-supply box and mailed it ahead. We all went to dinner with Ellen and John Snyder at the Barnard Country Inn Tavern . The food, especially the onion rings were delicious. Came back to the B&B. Everyone was pretty much tuckered out from the last 4 days hustle and bustle. We get back on the trail tomorrow. I spent some time going over our hiking schedule again. I am a bit apprehensive, but excited, about getting into the Whites of NH. The profiles are a bit intimidating. Most of Maine is also lots of steep, long ups and downhttp://www.trailjournals.com/login/journal_list.cfm?CFID=187022&CFTOKEN=75673261&jsessionid=3030d1ffb9a0725d3b37s. The plan now is to finish on September 23, a full 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I hope my itinerary is not too aggressive. Really looking forward to the higher elevations, vistas, and cooler weather. Scheduled my last 4 mail drops. Plan on Elaine sending most of the provisions I will need as the towns are getting smaller and further from the trail. I will be carrying 7 days of food a couple of time, ie HEAVY PACK!
Date: 2006-08-17
From: VT 12 Woodstock, VT 

To: Hexucuba Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

Checked out of Bed and Breakfast at 11:00 and drove to Lyme-Dorchester Road in NH to continue our hike. Said our good bys to Elaine and Carol and sadly started climbing Smart Mountain. It was a 2100 foot climb over 3.8 mile. Only had a few steep sections, but quite a few walks up bare rocks each 50 to 100 feet long. About half way up we had a great view of the fire tower on the top. There was a 200 ft downhill through a sag before the last climb to the top. Great 360 degree view from the firetower. Took a picture of Mt. Moosilauke that we will be climbing over in 2 days. Not looking forward to that one - -3450 ft. up to 3000 ft. down in about 8 miles. Made it to the shelter at 6:30 after going down 800 ft and back up 500 ft. That made it about 3000 ft of climbing today. Glad we had a couple of days off to rest up. The shelter is a rather large 6 - sided domed structure. It is supposed to sleep 8, but you could probably cram 12 - 15 in here. Otter and I are the only ones in the shelter. Seven section hikers are tenting. Two SOBOs stopped in for dinner and hiked on.