morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-08-20
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Kate's entry: BRRRR. It was a cold night and morning. Everyone in the shelter was moving slow and we weren't up til 7:15 - L-A-T-E. Porbably wasn't going to be able to pick up our lost miles today. Cold start. I kept on my fleece and winter hat AND GLOVES until we were almost all the way up Stratton Mountain. It was a pleasant hike besides the cold. On the top of the Mountain, there was a 3-4 story observation deck. I climbed it, though it ws windy and it freaked me out a bit. Great views though. We snacked there and moved on.We hiked another 3.6 miles to Kelly road where there was a parking lot and a beautiful field. Decided to have lunch. We still had 8 miles to go to Kid Gore shelter. It was slightly muddy and rocky but not too bad. It was cool all afternoon and I think it zapped the energy from all of us. We were SO happy to see the shelter. In tow tonight, there is Honey, Duster, Bearwalker, Bungee, the 3 of us, and 2 Nobos. Honey and Buster both seem to have giardia. I hope they will see a doctor in the next town - they decided not to in Mancester. We had a delish dinner and now it's time for bed. Supposedly from this shelter, we should see a beautiful sunrise - hopefully I'll wake up for it!
Date: 2008-08-21
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: clear sky

Matt's Entry: Wow. Today is 70 days out on the trail. WILD. Unfortunately, we are approaching 1/2 way (OK maybe not, 20 days away from that)!Anyhow, we didn't hit our goal of 18 miles today, for a couple of reasons. Kate didn't sleep well last night - the section hiker in the shelter kept talking in his sleep - he woke up and shouted "Damn AT! Damn AT!" in the middle of the night and it woke everyone up but him. Now of course that's a big joke among us. Damn AT!So not only did the guy keep Kate up, but we also zipped our bags together so keep warm, and although I sleep better with us together, Kate does not. She "fetals" when she sleeps and when she does the bag doesn't move with her (because she can't move it when it's connected to me) and she wakes up. So she was really tired today and I felt guilty about it, but of course she didn't complain a bit. She just was dragging and Beetle and I could tell. So, we stopped here so she could rest.The sunrise from the shelter this AM was incredible. Of course during the sunrise my camera battery died, but I changed it quickly. Thank goodness for spares. I read a little this AM before we set off and even had some extra coffee.The terrain today was mostely good - a bit rugged (the most rugged in VT so far), but mostly rolling hills, and we even got some switchbacks. I think it's more of the same tomorrow - some harder stuff in the AM nut easier later in the day.We saw Jan and Andy Latham from Kalamazoo today - I know Andy from Rotary and Jan leads groups of women on adventure trips. They are such a neat couple - Kate and I have really enjoyed getting to know them and were incredibly excited and surprised to see them today. They are backpacking a section NOBO - apparently scouting out one of Jan's future trips. It was so nice to see faces from home; we had a great lunch together near a pseudo-vista.We are in a great tenting site today. Hopefully the weather holds out; I think it's supposed to. "Supposed to." As if it's "supposed to" do anything! At any rate, it's been really nice to not have wet feet.I guess Bearwalker and Bungee are coming along with us tomorrow - or at least that's the goal - Honey and Duster are going into town due to illness (possibly Giardia). Hopefully they get on the mend soon!The buts are persistent here, and I hear they are bad in MA as well, and in CT. I'll take them over rain though.Just heard an owl - "Who cooks for you?" I don't remember what kind that is, but it sounds neat. Barred owl?   Don't remember - I hate that!There's a woman (maybe in her 40's?) who is NOBOing the Long trail, and she started tonight. Her trail name is Clister (rhymes with blister). She has chosen a tent spot close to ours, and needed help with her stove and water pump, both of which are almost identical to ours. I really enjoyed meeting her and I hope she does well. She's so excited and so eager to be on her grand adventure - it was neat to be a small part of it. I say - YOU GO GIRL!
Date: 2008-08-22
From: Melville Naumann Shelter

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

Kate's entry: I slept SO well last night. The only thing that got me up in the middle of the night was to pee and coyotes howling. I slept hard. We figured today was our day to make up those miles...and get to Massachusetts. We went down to VT9 and then had an almost straight up to Harmon Hill. Bungee caught up with us there and hiked with us all day which was nice. Matt and him walked quite ahead of us most of the day and had good guy time - which I think is great! There really wasn't anything exceptional to see today, no big climbs, just nice woods. It was our biggest day to date - 18.1 miles! We had lunch by a beaver pond. The big excitement was crossing the MA/VT border = there were 8 Nobos there cheering people on as they crossed the line. I can't believe we already have 3 states under our belts now and tomorrow we will hit 600 miles. The four of us set up at one of the tentsites here - we have 1.7 miles to the road into North Adans and .7 to the grocery store, which is conveniently next to a Friendly's, which means BREAKFAST in town tomorrow! Looking at what's comingup, it doesn't seem like we'll have to buy too much as there are two towns we walk THROUGH in the next 3 days. Life is good.
Date: 2008-08-23
From: Sherman Brook Campsite

To: Mark Noepel Lean-to
Miles today: 11.2

Matt's entry: You'd think that after 600+ miles of big climbs and the White Mountains, and Katahdin, one 2400 ft climb would be easy. You'd be wrong.Greylock was strenuous, and the views weren't all that great either. But, it did go rather quickly, even if we did only do like 10 miles. There is also a beacon on top of the mountain, which I was not expecting, and a lot of buildings (lodge and restaurant). They are all closed for rennovations this year, and it was even more strange that all of this stuff was up there and nobody was there at all. It was uncanny to be sure.We resupplied in North Adams today. It's funny to think that some of these towns, most of which we won't ever go back to, will ne remembered soley on the basis of how good the food was. North Adams has a freindly's, and breakfast was really good.While Bungee and the girls were getting food at the grocery store, I sat at a monument for Fort Massechusetts (a rev. war location I guess, there wasn't much there), and played my flute. It was nice to just sit and chill out.Then, we climbed and climbed Mt. Greylock, and the other 3 peaks around it before we finally wound up here. Bungee and I had a great visit, and it was nice to talk to him as we walked. I hope I get to see him more.
Date: 2008-08-24
From: Mark Noepel Lean-To

To: Kay Wood Lean-To
Miles today: 16.7

Kate's entry: I slept soooo well last night - tent sleeping is GREAT! It was foggy when we started this morning, but it cleared up. We woke up early at 5:30 - it was dark. I didn't want to get up, but I did (Yes, even Kate Bates, sometimes doesn't like to wake up early). We moved quick only to find, once we were saddled up, Bungee wasn't ready yet...and had to wait quite a while for him, which was a little frustrating. But it's all good. In less than 5 miles, we were in Cheshire at the Shell Station having "brunch." For me, that consisted of a cranberry walnut chicken sandwich, chips, a raspberry bar and gatorade. Then we walked through Cheshire. Sidewalk walking is hard on a girl's feet and the lack of tree cover makes her WARM. We had a bit of a climb between Cheshire and Dalton = but it felt nice and short compared to yesterday's climb. PLUS the trail was quite duffy and soft on our feet. We hit some amazing blackberry patches and Beetle and I decided a fruit salad with whip cream will be in order in town. The blackberries were amazing and on point.The trail dumped us into Dalton - more sidewalk walking and now it was HOT. We stopped at an Irish Pub called the Shamrock and had dinner. I ate too much, but it was soo good - I couldn't resist the key lime pie for dessert. On the way out of town, Bungee peeled off to Tom Levardi's place and we had 3 miles to climb to Kay Wood. It was VERY hot and our bellies were so full full - makes hard work of hiking. I thought I might throw up, but didn't - hooray for that.Gotta keep those calories in this belly! Otherwise beautiful easy hike to the shelter. Shelter is nice all the good tent sites are taken, but the three of us have the "attic" to ourselves and there are only 2 others in the shelter. Another great day on the trail!
Date: 2008-08-25
From: Kay Wood Lean-To

To: Westfield, Mass
Miles today: 16.0

Matt's Entry: Long Day today (NOT! We were done at about 3:30)! Looking forward to seeing the Lawsons, and we could really use a couple of days off. We have done some serious miles in the last week. Beetle fell again today while going down hill into town. This seems to be a bit of a pattern. It seems like she is doing great, and then all of a sudden she is picking herself up! At least it hasn't been serious.Leah and Tim picked us up today - they are serious trail angels! They are thinking about hiking the trail themselves one day. They took us out to dinner and showed us their home, which was built in the 18th century! It was seriously cool! Thanks so much for all of your help you two!!
Date: 2008-08-26
From: Westfield, MA

To: Westfield, MA
Miles today: 0.0

Kate's entry: Slept in! Then I walked to the grocery store to get breakfast goods. It's only 4 blocks away - very nice. Made the gang french toast andbacon. We plotted out our last section together - landing Beetle at a town with a train staion that will take her to New York City and she's planning to take a megabus from there to Baltimore. I know it's starting to sink in for Matt and I that she'll be leaving us soon and we're bummed. When she leaves, we'll have hiked 5 full states and hundreds of miles together. I offered to kidnap her...but she said no. =( We went grocery shopping - got trail food and stuff to bring over for dinner - fruit salad and brownies. Came back and I was tired so I took a nice long nap...Woke up, made the fruit salad and brownies, updated the journal. Leah came to pick us up. Their house was built in the 1770s and is so neat - it has a lot of projects but is so the type of place Matt and I would love with a fireplace, fun nooks and history. We had another great night with Tim and Leah. Tim made ribs that were OUT of this world! The sauce, well I have to get the reicpe. We ate, talked, laughed and stayed til we were falling asleep...so home we went. Tomorrow Leah is going to take us to the outfitters to replace Matt's booots. AND tomorrow Ed, Sonya, Ruth and Tom will be here! YAY!!! It's going to be another super day. It really has been one of the most relaxing town visits EVER!
Date: 2008-08-27
To: Westfield, MA
Miles today: 0.0

Kate's entry: Sleeping in is soooo lovely! Shower. Made eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast. Leah came and took us to Northampton to get shoes for Matt, new insoles for me and then lunch. Lunch was lovely. Another great time with Leah. Downtown was a bit overwhelming, but cute. We chilled in the afternoon until Ed, Sonya, Tom and Ruth rolled in. It was SO great to see them all. It made me miss home - we had a very good time. Talked to Jen on the phone for quite sometime =). Talked to Amy and Thifa as well - it was good to catch up with them. It was a lovely day. So relaxing. Ed grilled burgers and brats - it was so great I can't even describe it!
Date: 2008-08-28
From: Westfield, MA

To: Shaker's Campsite
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Kate's entry: It was so hard to want to leave for the trail this morning. Everything has been great this town visit and I wanted so very much to spend more time with the Lawson clan. However, it was time to move on and shake the vortex.Ed made us wonderful blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We said our goodbyes, went to the post office, and Ed took us to the trailhead. Our packs seemed SO heavy with five days worth of food in them. The terrain was easy going, but I felt tired and unmotivated to walk the 12 miles....they felt more like 20. It was rolling hills and we did it in less than 6 hours, believe it or not. We know that Bearwalker and Bungee were walking together as of yesterday and are about 2 days ahead of us. This is per Panama Snail. We know we'll probably see Bungee - he's trying to hit the trail to NYC for a weekend which is wehen we'll be getting Beetle in. Into tents early tonight - mosquitoes in full force.
Date: 2008-08-29
From: Shaker's Campsite

To: The Corn Crib (off of US 7)
Miles today: 17.6

Matt's entry: My feet seem to be rebelling due to my new boots, which I picked up while we were at Ed and Sonya's. It was such a relaxing visit, by the way. Thanks to all of the Lawsons for the awesome hospitality. It was one of the most relaxing rests we have had on the trip to date. So the bad news is I have big blisters on my heels, but I am soaking them in epsom salt each night and that seems to be really keeping the blisters at bay. That, and of course wearing moleskin on the blister. It really helps with the rubbing. The good news is that we are camping about .5 miles from a Dunken Doughnuts. We saw the sign on the way into the Corn Crib, which is this little farm stand on US 7. The misquitos are horrible, but the people here were very nice and left the back door open for us, and also left some drinking water on the front porch for us to use for cooking. We are all very tired today - long day (17.6 miles) and we had some climbs to boot. It does feel good to be able to do some distance, and we will be out of MA very soon. TTFN!
Date: 2008-08-30
From: US7 Corn Crib

To: Sages Ravine Campsite
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Kate's entry:It rained off and on last night. It was noisy with vehicles passing by all night. We got all packed up and headed towards Dunkin Donuts...onlty to find that the evening previous, we ALL mistook a GMC truck dealers sign as a Dunkins...talk about a dippointed crew! =( We made breakfast and headed out late. We had 4 miles of flattish terrain until we hit the base of Mt. Everett. It was rocky and slick due to the rain the night before...Let's just say it was no joke - more than once, I slipped. It was steep. Post lunch, it was a quick summit and then it was pretty gorgeous. We walked along a ridge along the decline of Everett and up to Race Mountain and then down for most of the way to our campsite. It was hazy views, but still very nice. We are all tired today in camp and looking forward to a short 11 tomorrow in honor of Beetle's birthday. We're going to go into Salisbury, CT to treat her to lunch.
Date: 2008-08-31
From: Sages Ravine Campsite

To: Limestone Springs Lean-to
Miles today: 10.9

Matt's entry: We woke up this morning and we were all excited - it is Beetle's 57th birthday today! We have decided to celebrate by going into town for lunch, and also by not doing lots of miles. The weather today was perfect - in the high 60s lower 70s, and the terrain was very nice as well - flat to moderately rolling. The morning walk into town was very flat and amazingly easy. We ate a wonderful lunch at the White Hart Inn; it was a bit pricy but we really had a great time treating Beetle for her Bday. Anyway, Kate says the sundae she had at lunch was "the best sundae she has ever tasted in her life."Then, we hiked out and passed some college students from Princeton University; the seem really polite but they are a little loud at the moment. It feels really good to be in getter shape than the average college freshman.We basically hung out in camp this afternoon. I played my flute a bit and I soaked my feet. Still have bit blisters but they are not giving my too much trouble, even though they are about as bit as silver dollars.We saw lots of wildlife today for the first time - so far CT has been good to us! Two deer were running around chasing each other for about 20 minutes, and they were 50 -75 yds away from us the whole time. Then, we saw a flock of about 12 wild turkeys cross the trail in the same spot. And, of course the squirrels are all busy getting ready for winter. The leaves are just starting to turn on some of the trees here; it makes me want to walk a bit faster. Winter is coming.
Date: 2008-09-01
From: Limestone Springs Lean-to

To: Ceasar Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 15.7

Matt's entry: Today was another "easy-ish" day. We walked an easy 7 miles to Falls Village, CT. There is a falls on the Houssatonic River, which we have crossed at least 3 times now. We ate at the Mountainside Cafe there, and it was incredible. It was DE-LISH. Bearwalker was going to meet us there, but missed the trail, as did we. The difference was, we had TRAIL MAGIC!A hiker's mom was slack-packing her daughter about 20 miles today and was meeting her for lunch at a parking lot. Her trail name (the mom's) is Rabbit. So we met her and realized that we had missed the side trail to the cafe, and said that we were bummed. Before we knew it, she was loading us into her big truck and driving us to the cafe. It was SO GOOD. Of course I had the big lumberjack breakfast and added a side order of toast to it, and drank lots of coffee. It was so delicious I can hardly stand thinking about it!I also got a chance to chat with my sister Amanda today, which was cool. She is getting ready for another semester at college. I am really starting to miss all my friends and family back "home," in MI and WI. At least with the cell we can talk off and on, and I am getting reception often enough.I saw another deer today, it was not interested in playing or hanging around like yesterday, and it just kept its head down and got the heck out of there.I soaked my feet again tonight, the blister on my left foot seems to be getting bigger (if you can believe it), but it hasn't popped and it isn't even really hurting my much during the day, and the one on my right foot seems to be doing better. Glad I am soaking my feet or it would probably be much worse. I hope my boots break in soon. This is getting old. Owls hooting to us again tonight. It's cool to be seeing so much wildlife at last. Tomorrow is our last full day in CT, and I hear there are bears in NY...TTFN!
Date: 2008-09-02
From: Casear Brook 

To: Mt Algo Lean to
Miles today: 13.9

Kate's entry: The Princeton kids - even after Matt talked to them about hiker's midnight woke us up out of a dead sleep last night. Matt was mega unhappy and I don't know exactly what he said to them, but we didn't hear a peep from them the rest of the night. Otherwise, it was a great rest. Again we woke to a sunny day - though it's getting harder to pretend that Fall isn't coming. It seems darker and darker every morning that 6 am arrives. I see bits of acorns on the trail from what squirrels have left behind in their adventures. We started by climbing Pine Knob and then Bread Loaf. Two funny things happened on the way to Bread Loaf. We were walking along the trail when we heard something falling from a tree above us. I turned to see what initially looked like a tree limb falling, but when it hit the ground about 2 feet in front of Beetle - it ran! It was a squirrel - Beetle almost had a heartattack on the spot. Then Matt went off the trail to pee and ran face into a large spiderweb and flung his glasses into the air! It took us a good 5 minutes to find them.We shortly climbed Silver Hill and then St Johns Ledges - where there were MORE Princeton kids but they were rockclimbing the ledges. It was a tough climb for us. We had a lovely lunch by a stream. Then up Caleb's Peak and then down to CT341 and into Kent where we: 1) went to an outfitters to replace a pair of socks I ripped through the other day, 2) went to the grocery store to resupply, and 3) ate some great Chinese food for dinner. Back down the road .5 miles and then .3 up to the shelter, which was empty!We set up our tents, pumped water, etc. Another Sobo couple showed up with their dog - Lightning Rod and Songbird, who we had heard of, but not met before. Bearwalker was supposed to meet us here (he had a drop in a different town)but he's not here yet. I've been thinking a lot lately of Beetle leaving us - it's hard to see her struggling with leaving the trail and I'm going to miss her much. We have hiked over 700 miles together... But like I told her - I have mixed feelings too - I will miss her, but I'm excited to hike just Matt and I again. We haven't done that since our first few days out.
Date: 2008-09-03
From: Mt Algo Lean to

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

Matt's entry: Another easy-ish day today; even got to stop and have some lunch at Bull Bridge - it's a cool covered bridge that George Washington crossed 3 times I guess. It's a neat little spot - still out in the middle of nowhere. I would like to read Washington's biography. It would be so interesting - what a HUGE job he was given.We crossed into NY today - it feels so bizarre that we are already out of CT. and NJ will be here in no time flat! Then, we will have rocky PA to deal with, but at least the terrain there is flat. Tonight is Beetle's last night out on the trail with us. She has to go back to work in a week or so and is getting off of the trail in Pawling, NY. I feel sad because she has been such a great hiking companion and has really gotten along well with Kate and I - so much so that when I have written the word "we," it has come to mean the 3 of us. That is strange because 3 can be such a tricky number to travel with. Someone is always on the outside and it's always 2 on 1. But, we have really made it work, and the short of it is that Kate and I will really miss her. Kate's boots blew out today - there is a huge crack in the sole of them and we are a bit worried about them lasting, so we will try to get them overnighted to Pawling and spend an extra day there to rest. Plus, we will have some extra time to say bye to Beetle and hang out in the town.Word on the trail is that NY is DRY. Some of the water sources are not flowing and we will have to be careful. At least it isn't raining every day. Feast or famine it seems! We will probably just save some gatorade bottles and then we will each be able to carry 3 liters of water, just in case. But it's heavy!!! We will probably compensate by going into towns more often and carrying less food. We also hear that we are going to start encountering delis - yay! TTFN!!