morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-08-26
From: Peru Peak shelter

To: Clarendon shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: clear sky

The night was cold and wet. As we wrap it up every evening and crawl into the tent the temperature sinks down. Lately, in the middle of the night, Mileage and I huddle together for warmth. Our winter sleeping bags await us 16 miles away at the Long Trail Inn.      A 23 Plus mile day today and I feel great. The forest is beautiful and the mountains are high. We started the day walking thru a swamp. The trail was lined with Bog Boards (AKA Pungeans) which makes the hiking easy, as long as you have good balance. I wonder who instaled the great walkway? After that we climbed back into higher elevations. As I was walking I felt the ground begin to vibrate and a huge beast went crashing into the dark forest. Mileage and I stood there, motionless, with very large round eyes. We have never felt such a larg animal in our presence. As I took a stip forward to investigate some type of Grouse exploded into flight and scared the crap out of me. I think the first noise was our first Moose (non human variety) but I cant be sure.      We hiked long and hard over many miles. There were 3 consecutive mountains to climb, each slightly different in shape and style. We arrrived at Clarendon shelter about 12 hours after we started hiking. We were greeted by one sobo and one gigantic porcupine SP?. We were sitting down and had just dropped our gear when Mileage notice him from the corner of her eye. I quickly approached for some pictures and a better look and he ran right up a tree. He is still up there now as I write this. Some shady character also just walked up here from the road (I assume). He is a large man covered from head to toe in dirt and general filth. He said nothing, looked around for a minute, and then strangely enough disapeared into the woods. Sketchy! Hope he's not coming back to surprise us in the night. Long trail Inn tomorrow night. Hell Ya!!!!!!!!!!                           PIKER
Date: 2005-08-27
From: Clarendon shelter

To: The Inn @ Long Trail
Miles today: 16.4

Our day began in the chilly morning with a 5:30 wake up call. The early starts have been great. It is just so enjouable to walk as the forest wakes up. We ate 9 packets of oatmeal and had some coffee to warm up. We were out of camp by 6:45. We started our day climbing Beacon hill, which had my legs aching right away. Moving pretty quickly we put the miles behind us fast. I caught up to Piker standing by a stream and I thought he had something in his hand. As I got closer I saw that it was a soda. I walked up to the stream and there were about 2 dozen cans of soda. I grabbed a mountain lightning and we stood there with huge smiles on our faces chugging sodas. We were psuched about the sugar rush, it would help us up killington. Onward we go. About a half hour later we walked upon another cooler and it was totally stocked. Coca-cola, candy, crackers and cookies. Once again we were in trail magic heaven. On a serious sugar high we moved on and shortly were at the shelter where our climb up killington began. We knew it was going to be tough, 4.4 miles with a 2400' climb. But we also had a huge reward waiting at the end. We thought we had a road walk so we were moving pretty fast down the road and then suddenly realized that we hadn't seen a blaze in a while. We walked a little further and foud a secret shelter. We knew that it was coming up but we weren't going to try and find it. That was the first time we have lost the trail so far. we were quickly back on track and pushing hard uphill. The climb was really tough but worth the beauty of the trail. Vermont has been wonderful. We saw a lot of day hikers today, not many thru hikers. We stopped at the summit to re-up on some hot lunch because our sugar high was gone. The final 6.2 went quick. Mostly downhill. When we got to the road we decided to try and hitch to the inn. About two minutes later a loaded car pulled over. Two ladies and two kids in the car and they still wanted to squeeze us in. Linda even offered us a place to stay down the trail. We have met some very nice people. They dropped us off at the Inn and we got a room. Thanks to Mom and Dad for putting us up at the INN. It is really nice after pushing so hard for the past 5 days. We went to our room, lounged aroud and took showers. I organized the laundry and then we headed to the pub. 2 Guiness and 2 cheesburgers and we were happy hikers. We started chatting with the bartender and a few couples who were sitting at the bar. When the bartender brought us our beers he told us that Beth had bought our round. What a nice surprise. Then the other couple bought us our next round. today we really experienced the generosity of people. After dinner I finished the laundry and we just hung out in our room and vegged out. Now we are watching Tommy Boy and it is hilarious. We will have a good nights sleep in the warm hotel room. Its great to have our sleeping bags back. Excited for breakfast in the morning. What a great day on the trail!                              Ms. Mileage
Date: 2005-08-28
From: The Inn @ Long Trail

To: Stony Brook shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: moderate rain

Great breakfast this morning at the inn. Coffee, juice, french toast, pancakes, sausage, and bacon. We were phyced. After a great nights sleep we awoke to heavy rain. Decided to wait it out a bit and chicked out at 11. The rain had stopped and that made it ( the librarian just gave me last call so I will blow thru this entry, there will be misspellings) Easier to head out. We planned to re supply at killinhgton. Walked 3.3 miles, ditched our packs and walked .7 to the killington deli, Split a chicken blt, chips and dew. Back to the trail, we did 6.7 more miles . All climbing. We now have our sleeping bags so ourr packs are feeling heavier. My legs were feeling the climb. Shor t day today but will put in a buf day Manyana. Quick night at the shelter. There is only on other person here. We had coffee and twix whin we got here because we were cold from walkin in the rain all day. But I guess that we shoud get used to it because we will be doing a lot of that this week. Youknow the rule ; No pain, no rain, no Maine!!                           MS.MILEAGE
Date: 2005-08-29
From: Stony Brook shelter

To: An unknown Mtn. Nook
Miles today: 16.0

We planned to get up at 5:30 this morning, but plans always change when it rains. Instead we spent time reading and relaxing as the sky let loose. The rain stopped and we were able to pull it together and get out by 9:30.      The whole day was climb after climg but it is great up here in the Green Mountains. Lunch was two packages of very processed Ramen noodles for me and Four Cheese instant potatoes for Mileage. The pace was very slow. It rained off and on all day. We were never dry at any point. My hair has been wet for about 3 days. At around 5 we came to a road crossing with a little farm market. The place was gourmet and I bought us two Cryo-Vacked, locally smoked chicken breasts, and some artisan bread. We also got a farm fresh, bright and shiny red tomato. I sliced the chicken thin on the bias and we loved our meal. We now had the nessescary calories to do one final push back up into the cloud blanketed mountains. Mileage wanted to stay at the road but I pursueded her into a few more miles.      Now we are tented on top of a nameless mountain. I think it should be called mosquito peak. The little bastards are everywere. 20 mile push into Hanover tomorrow.                                    PIKER
Date: 2005-09-01
From: Norwich Inn

To: Moose Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we took our time getting ready b/c we wanted to go to the library before heading out of town. We turned on the TV & watched more of the same from New Orleans & Mississippi. It's just so tragic. I went and got coffee & pastries from the lobby. We were two happy hikers eating scones & muffins & sipping coffee in bed. Piker gave me an awesome massage, I think he was trying to get me in a good mood & ready to hike out. I was already in a good mood, it just made me happier. We went to the library for a while & then hit the grocery store on the way out of town. We had some delicious bagels before leaving the wonderful oasis of Norwich. Before we knew it we were in New Hampshire. How exciting only one more state crossing left now. We walked through bustling Hanover. It appears as a ritzy town, we were happy that we stayed in Norwich. We didn't stop anywhere in town & were back in the woods before we knew it. The trail was great. A few climbs but mostly gradual. We climbed the south peak of Moose Mtn. & we wish our Moose was here to share it with us. We decided to stop at the shelter b/c there are some really nice tent spots. Piker made a great fire(low-impact) & we roasted hot dogs for dinner. Now I am off to read. It is nice & peaceful out here tonight. It is the first time in a while that I can remember not hearing cars/a road. Real wilderness. That's what it's all about.Ms. Mileage
Date: 2005-09-02
From: Moose Mtn. Shelter

To: South Jacobs Brook
Miles today: 16.3

Climbs: Holts Ledge-Peregrine Falcon Rookery *Smarts Mtn.*Pink and gold rays of sunlight settled on my face as I began to stir this morning. I inhaled deeply in the fresh morning air. I shook Mileage gently so see could join me for the sunrise. As we broke down camp Mileage mentioned that she wished we were summitting Katahadin today. I said sorry sweetheart, only 450 more miles to go! We made our way thru thick pine forests and abundant streams. A few hours later we came to a road corssing that was perfect for lunch. I cooked up two cans(yes,cans) of beef stew and we also ate a whole box of chicken biscuit crackers with it.As we were about to leave a big daddy longlegs crawled up my leg. I hate those guys so I grabbed it and threw him into a big spider web. A giant spider rushed out of the corner and started spinning the much larger Daddy Longlegs in the web. Once wrapped the spider sank his jaws in and drew away its life. Fascinating stuff!From there we had 2 major climbs. The second was much larger. We passed a Russian fellow named Bootless. He informed us that Trampas was up at the summit.That was very exciting info because we took our first steps on the approach trail with him. We have not seen that guy since Georgia. When we got to the top he was already gone. We climbed to the top of the firetower and got our first view of the Whites. We were pretty sure that some of those mtns. were snow capped. That is a little scary. I think I listened to NPR for about 5 hours today. The situation down south sounds horrible and I hope it gets better real soon. We are now camped at an undisclosed camp site in the woods. I made a small fire and we ate some mac and cheese. There are owls all around us and they make some pretty creepy noises. I love it! Piker
Date: 2005-09-03
From: South Jacobs Brook

To: NH25
Miles today: 16.1

Last night in the tent I was reading my Stephen King book and Mileage was curled up next to me asleep. The book was creepy. I was reading about a monster that was screaming and cursing from the drain of this old man's sink. "It" was letting him know he was coming for him. As I read I heard some animals come up to the tent. I clapped the book shut and shined my light out of the tent's door. Green eyes looked back at me and then ran around the other side of the tent. More of the same started coming out of the woods and I was already freaked out from the book. They were trying to get our food out of the tree. I woke up Mileage so we could listen together, I don't think she appreciated that. They were raccoons. I got up and moved the food bag closer to the tent. Just another night in the woods. We started our day with a climb up the Eastman Ledge's and then up Mt. Cube. At the summit we took an extented break. We were up real high on a cliff and it was great. We ran into Bootless again and talked for a long time about Peak bagging. and hiking the trail. He is a really cool guy. We passed SOBOs throughout the day but no NOBOs. We were taking another break at about 3 o'clock,11 miles in when 2 very friendly folks walked up to us and asked how we were doing. We felt a little bit beat down and they offered to drive me to a grocery store for some resupply. Very helpful. Now we could avoid a taxing stay at the Hikers Welcome Hostel. I picked up some good stuff including a big v shaped sausage!When I got back we were ready to roll and basically jogged up Mist Mtn. We looked for a camp spot and found one about 4 miles later bringing us to a total of 16.1 miles. We found a nice stealth site up on a hill nestled in pine trees. We roasted our sausage and Mileage made a dipping sauce. Delicious! Highlights of the day I forgot to mention. Ms. Mileage getting renamed by Bootless, Lady Mileage; Ms. Mileage taking her worse fall of the trip. She reached and ended up falling on rocks and into a stream. Thank God she was OK! I also packed out a 40oz of Old English that we just drank. Our water from a nearby stream I got is about the same color. That should just about wrap this one up. Piker
Date: 2005-09-05
From: South Peak of Mt. Wolf

To: Whitehouse Brook
Miles today: 12.4

We slept in today because we only had 12 miles to do. We forgot how tough this terrain can be. Low on water we had a few bars & were off. The terrain was rocky,muddy & filled with roots--tough. We pushed really hard and made it to the shelter where we had a huge meal. These tough miles are making us so hungry. We need the energy. After recharging we had South and North Kinsman to climb. Kinsman went straight up with a lot of rock scrambles. The miles have been coming slowly since we enterd the Whites. It takes a long time to get up those big mountains. At night I am just totally exhausted. When I got up from dinner I could barely staighten up. The mountains are tough but completely rewarding. Today we had a magnificent view from Kinsman. Clear, sunny skies. We saw the mountains that we have to cross and they look super rugged, mostly above treeline. We have some great stuff ahead of us. We passed our first AMC Hut today $2 for coffe cake & we found out about the endless bowl of soup for $2. We will be using that in the Whites. We are camped close to the road because in the morning we are off to town to resupply,do laundry & get a maildrop. We want to get out early so that we can still try to get in 10 miles tomorrow. New Hampshire is beautiful and the terrain is like nothing we have seen out here yet. It's tough but we feel strong and that we can conquer this. The Franconia Range begins tomorrow and Piker may remember some spots from his past Whites hike. We'll see!! Ms.Mileage
Date: 2005-09-06
From: Whitehouse Brook

To: North Woodstock
Miles today: 0.2

Stealth campsites are not usually the right shape and are rarely flat. Last night was no exception, it was free however. Our tent was wedged between a big boulder and a sharp steep hillside. Now you have a visual.    We hiked .2 miles and under a highway pass, then under another. There was mass confusion about which way to go. Mileage suggested one way and I the opposite. After wandering around on the highway for a half hour we found out she was right.    Mileage and I walked to the Flume Center and hooked up with Bulldog, Moss, Sweep and Ziplock. We all split the cost of a shuttle into town. After arriving, they went for breakfast and we went to the post office. Great resupply Micki, thanks!! Mileage wandered over to the payphone to call you while I got things broken down and packed. She came back and notified me that we would be spending the night. "Great"! I said, thanks again!   Twenty minutes later we were in the Carriage Motel and all was well. I walked over a mile to the library/police station and it ended up being closed. I felt like a sucker and smirked at the cops on my way out. Weird, small town set up I guess.       For dinner we bought some hot dogs from the deli and grilled them on the gas grill provided by the motel. After I burnt a little hair off my face the grill worked fine. Very fun day in town, too much to write, too boring to read. Piker
Date: 2005-09-07
From: North Woodstock

To: Hidden Campsite
Miles today: 13.0

The alarm went off at 6:45. Mileage and I were very excited for today's hike of the Franconia Range. We got up, showered, ate breakfast sandwiches (2 each) and got dropped off at the Trail.      A 3,000+ foot climb was our first challenge of the day. We talked the whole way and it ended up being easier than we expected. These climbs go on for hours and are very steep. The trees get smaller and twisted from the elevation and weather. The moss was multi colored, green, orange and red. I was in the lead and noticed a sharp curve in the trail. As I came around I was huge mountains and the whole ridge line became exposed. We were both in awe. You could see for miles. The mountain went up like a roller coaster with jagged rock cliffs all around.      We gained and dropped a couple thousand feet back and forth for the duration of our above treeline day. This is easily the most amazing day of hiking yet on the trail. Miles of hiking above 5,000' can't be beat. It can beat the crap out of your knees, though and that's what it did to us. We walked about 13 miles, and that's probably as far as we can go in this terrain.       We got to the Galehead Hut around 6:00, dinner time. We were only stopping for water and pushed on fast. We met up with Blaze, Dreddie Bear and their dog Sampson. Mileage and I pushed on first and found a wet mossy trail off into the woods. There were a few crappy little tent spots, and we took one. They took the other. It's the only way to get by free in The Whites. I can't wait to see what's in store tomorrow.Piker.
Date: 2005-09-08
From: Hidden Campsite

To: Saco River
Miles today: 14.8

We were so happy to be able to put some good miles behind us in the whites today. Starting early was the key. Oatmeal for breakfast and we were off.   We started by climbing South Twin Mt. which took us straight up. It was wonderful to be up that early and we had a wonderful view up top. The climb down got our knees aching already. We were bummed because we were having trouble with our camera. The new batteries didn's even last a day. Total bummer-we knew that we would be able to buy some at Zealand Hut so we took quick shots while the batter would still allow us to. We were all psyched to hit the hut and have bottomless soup and bread for lunch. When we arrived they were out of bread-not happy campers. The soup was vegetable and we decided to go for it. Unfortunately, it was very disappointing. Piker, the critic, thought it was horible. I would agree. We ate our fair share because we wanted to get our money's worth. After, we still had to cook lunch because we were still hungry. My appetite has been raging lately, I can't fill myself.       We were told hat the eight miles to the road would be flat and easy. We wanted to believe it...and it was true! The flat trail took us around a few mountains. It was great because we didn't have to watch our feet so much and we could look around and take in all the beautiful scenery. The eight miles went quickly and we were at camp by 4:30 which was great because we had a lot of time to rest before the Presidential Range tomorow. It is going to be tough since we will be ending our day climbing Washington. Gotta get some rest.Ms. Mileage.
Date: 2005-09-11
From: Pinkham Notch

To: South Carter Mt. Summit
Miles today: 9.6

If I was a sailor, I would probably say that today was a rough day at sea. I slept lightly and was awake a lot of the night. The crew: Mileage, myself, Blaze, Dreddy Bear and dog wonder, Sampson began to stir ar about 7:30. We broke down, packed our bags and then began making breakfast.       We did a major climb first thing and that was just the beginning of a series of big ascents and descents. The miles were only coming slow, 1 1/2 miles per hour and we gave it everything we had. We hiked with Crazy Horse and Seeker a little bit. Blaze, Dreddy and Sampson all day.      After getting water Blaze and I took the lead to find camp sites up high. We climbed another mountain that was similar to climbing a ladder and found a great spot a little bit north of the summit. Out platypus got dropped and unfortunately sprung a leak. When Mileage arrived at our newly found site much of her pack was damp. We will have to get that fixed tomorrow.      Our plan is to spend the night in Gorham at a hotel with Blaze and Dreddy B. A new crew has definitely formed late in the game. We are all very similar people and have a lot of fun together. It is also great for us to have Sampson around. He reminds me so much of our dog. The wind is blasting outside and showering our tent with pine needles right now. It almost sounds like rain.      Piker
Date: 2005-09-12
From: South Carter Mountain

To: Royalty Inn 
Miles today: 11.8

Today we got going really early because we wanted to get to town. We were out of camp by 6:30. We were cruising, town is always a big motivation. We were over Middle and North Carter pretty quickly. The last two ranges before Gorham were pretty tough, A lot of climbing immediately followed by harsh downhill that just kills your knees. We took a break with Dready Bear and Blaze at 1mp shelter, we had 8 miles to go. At the time that felt like a lot! I was wondering if I would be able to do it. I was already feeling very sore. The Whites put the beat down on my body. Moriah Mt. was an 800' climb that went straight up sheer rock faces. As I climbed my calf muscles were aching. After Moriah it was all down hill from there. The initial elevation drop was tough on the knees but the last three miles was the kind of trail we dream about. A mostly flat gravel trail. We were able to cruise. We did the last 1.9 miles in 37 minutes. Pretty sweet! We were all smiles when we got to the road. There were other hikers trying to hitch into town so we decided to call a shuttle so we would not have to wait around. Dready borrowed someone's cellphone and set the shuttle up. We were all set. The "historian" shuttleman picked us up and dropped us off at the Royalty Inn. We got our room, we are crashing with Dready Bear and Blaze. While they took showers we went to the post office and hit up Burger King. We just relaxed in the room, showered and did laundry. Piker and Blaze went to get some beers and the hotel was crazy. Forty five hikers were staying there. We took over the place. For dinner we hit up the Chinese Buffet and were all food comatose as we got back to the hotel. All we wanted to do was lay down and watch TV. The hotel was bumpin' though. We ran into Jeweler who we hadn't seen since Georgia. We caught up with him as our room became more and more of a party. It got a little crazy and Blkaze spoke up and we were all so happy. We watched Family Guy which was very funny! We all fell asleep to the sounds of Futurama. We are so happy to be in Gorham. Only 16 miles tp Maine. We are having a great time hanging out with Dready Bear, Blaze, and Sampson. It would be nice to hike Maine with them.      Ms. Mileage
Date: 2005-09-13
From: Piker

To: Royalty Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Today we decided to take a zero day. The Whites really put the beat down on & we knew our bodies would feel great after the rest. We lounged around most of the day. We shared a room with Dready Bear & Blaze again. Dready started feeling sick after the Chinese buffet the previous night. We were all hoping that she would feel better soon. We took care of some busines:library,post office & the outfitter. We got dinner at Mr. Pizza and had a nice quiet night in our room. We were planning on heading out in the morning. It was nice to just relax!! Mileage