morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-21
From: MA 23 (East Mountain Retreat Center)

To: Shaker Campsite
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Horrid day, all in all, despite beautiful weather. Mosquitoes terrible. Finally got a signal on my cell phone (now that I'm out of the Dead Zone they call Connecticut), and had several messages from Rich, a friend who has come all the way from Colorado to hike a stretch with me, that indicated he hadn't got my message that I'm four days behind schedule. He had already checked in and out of a motel in Dalton -- I missed him!I set up my tent and crawled inside just to escape the mosquitoes. Bloodsuckers! Vampires!Evil swarm of needling pests,You're draining me dry!Feeling helpless. Got out and built a fire just to have something to do (it's 70 degrees out) other than wring my hands in despair. No appetite or desire to cook. I'd love a cup of tea, but that means getting out of the tent, my safe haven from the evil swarm.
Date: 2004-07-22
From: Shaker Campsite

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: haze

Finally reached Rich last night. He waited around all day for me to come off the trail, then checked back in to the motel. He's going to hike south today in hopes that we can meet at Upper Goose Pond Cabin tonight, which is supposed to be a pretty spot.Meanwhile, I have to get up the gumption to brave the mosquitoes and get out of this tent.8:45 p.m. No sign of Rich yet -- what was I thinking!? Trying to hike 20 miles on his first day on the trail? Hope he took shelter and stays put; it's already too dark to be out on the trail right now.Meanwhile, Upper Goose Pond Cabin is a great spot. The 20+ tweeny campers are fetching water from the pond, passing jugs up the trail to the cabin, fire-brigade style. Kerry, the caretaker for the week, has her kids and her friends and their kids visiting -- they offered me a glass of "light tea" (wine) and one of the kids made a s'more for me -- no yogiing, I promise! Nice ladies.Great pond -- had an excellent swim in my polka dot hiking dress, which is now on the clothesline out back.Big bunkhouse upstairs and it's FULL of thru-hikers, north- and southbounders, 13 of us in all. I saved a bunk for Rich, but it's getting darker. Even a seasoned hiker like him would find a 20-mile day too much after a few months off trail.Tom Levardi, a hiker-friendly Dalton resident, and No Milk (A.T. '97), a southbound hiker staying here tonight, had told Rich that to meet up with an A.T. hiker on the trail, you always have to allow a window of one to three days. No Milk and I had a relieved chuckle over the averted disaster; I had been miserable thinking that Rich might think I'd blown him off.
Date: 2004-07-23
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: October Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: haze

Kerry, the caretaker, made blueberry pancakes and percolated coffee for all of us at breakfast -- I wolfed down five or six pancakes with syrup and at least half a pot of very fine, very strong coffee -- the best coffee I've had on the trail so far, without question.One by one, the 12 other hikers from the bunkroom hit the trail until it was just me, Colette, Kerry, Jan and their kids, and Goldfish, sipping coffee. I had an inkling that Rich might wander in after a night of cowboy camping between here adn October Mountain Shelter, but by 10 a.m., there was still not sign of him, so I packed up and headed north.The rain started coming down early in the afternoon. I covered my pack, but because the tree cover was so thick, I didn't bother putting on my rain jacket. I made pretty good time to the shelter, the terrain being fairly cooperative and the rain discouraging dallying. Sang my way through the Cole Porter songbook, as much of it as I know.Arrived at the shelter much earlier than I expected to -- "Honey, I'm home!" -- to find it full of wet hikers: Left Fielder, Five Beers (i.e., one short of a six pack?), Chris the section hiker, Glutton for Punishment (all of whom had been at Upper Goose Pond the previous night) -- and Rich! He had made an attempt to do the 20+ miles from Dalton, then realized it was futile and turned back around to get shelter after a sleepless night on the trail. It was so good to see him there, legs dangling off the edge of the shelter platform.I dried off and changed into my dry clothes in the loft. Five Beers had his radio tuned to a Boston "classic rock" station. So we just lay upstairs talking and listening to music until nearly dark. Then we combined food bags to come up with cheese tortellini (his) with sundried tomatoes in a chicken broth (mine). A bottle of wine wouldn't have gone amiss. Yum!
Date: 2004-07-24
From: October Mountain Lean-to

To: October Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Lazy day to recover, dry out, and catch up on sleep after a mosquito-y night. Tonight, we've rigged my tent inside the shelter to keep the bugs out. Hope to get more ZZZs. It's great to be in the company of a friend.
Date: 2004-07-25
From: October Mountain Lean-to

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

We stopped at Pittsfield Road to say hello to Mr. Wiley, the Cookie Man, and his dog Rufus. He and his wife Marilyn, the Cookie Lady, have a pick-your-own-blueberries business and for 20 years have offered homemade cookies and a water spigot to thru-hikers. Lovely folks!On the way back to the trail, I recognized Pipe Smoke, who had been off the trail for a while, who introduced me to his wife Jeannine, Mrs. Pipe Smoke, who is slackpacking him and doing some trail magic now that he is back in home territory.After very little deliberation, Rich and I pushed past the Kay Wood Lean-to and headed into Dalton to air-conditioned, bug-free splendor at the Shamrock Village Inn, so that Rich can tend to his nasty-looking blisters; his poor feet are shredded. My knee is also happy for the rest. And as always it feels wonderful to get clean, and to shave my legs (and shave off a few scabs, and do a thorough tick check -- I think ALL hikers should shave their legs for that purpose alone!).After shower #1, we had dinner -- I devoured the prime rib, probably a pound of meat, which I have never had before, and probably wouldn't if I weren't craving beef so much. I zonked out immediately after dinner (9-ish?), leaving Rich to catch coverage of the last day of the Tour de France.
Date: 2004-07-26
From: Dalton, MA

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

First, a protein-heavy diner breakfast, then the usual town errands: post office, laundry, read a newspaper to find out if our beloved president has invaded any more oil rich countries, catch up on e-mail and trail journal at the library, make phone calls, and then watch a Sergio Leone classic spaghetti western on the telly.I also had my first pint of Ben and Jerry's since I got on the trail -- Cherry Garcia. Yes, I ate the whole thing in one sitting.Rich's blisters look very bad. He's going to hike to Cheshire with me tomorrow, but I think that will be it for him. Wish he could have stayed longer. The real world is calling him back, though.
Date: 2004-07-27
From: Dalton, MA

To: Cheshire, MA
Miles today: 8.8

Short hiking day. Rich decided that another hiking day would do in his feet, so we said goodbye over another breakfast at Duff and Dell's. He left me his camp pillow, which I've been coveting, and some excellent trail food -- almonds, tortellini, dried fruit, Clif bars -- so I carried out more than I had intended, greedy girl. Decided coming out of town that my pack is far too food-heavy for the impending climb up Mount Greylock, so I'm shipping most of it ahead a couple of days and travelling lighter.On my way out of town I saw Mouse and Adam -- thought they were ahead of me! -- and heard that Tree Frog, Little Tree and Walking Stomach are close by, so I'll be seeing more familiar faces soon -- hooray for that!Didn't get back on the trail until after 11:30, and got to the Cheshire P.O. just after it closed, so I made decent time today. Amazing what a cool rain will do for my speed! Not to mention coffee and eggs. The wind on the hilltops today sounded like a freight train rushing through.Tonight, I am a guest of parishioners and Fatehr David Raymond of St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church. Lots of SOBOs here tonight.
Date: 2004-07-28
From: Cheshire, MA

To: Wilbur Clearing Lean-to
Miles today: 11.5

Last night I was the only NOBO at the church, but it was a pleasure to meet Tinkerbell, Tapeworm, Def Balance and his dad and some others. I called homoe to find that my mother has been following Tinkerbell's online trail journal over the past few days. Small community!Met Father David this morning; he came in to wish us well and bid us goodbye -- a real mensch. Like Graymoor Friary, this church has hosted thru-hikers for 20+ years.After priority mailing most of my food and a few other items ahead to North Adams -- probably 12 pounds or so -- I started the gentle 2500-foot climb up to Greylock and by 3:30 had reached Bascom Lodge at the summit. A misty, cool, muddy, 65-degree, rain-free hike. The hiking sticks came in handy for gauging mud depth -- from sole-deep, to laces-deep, to ankle-deep, to hold-on-to-your-boots deep. The parts of the trail that hadn't reverted to stream beds were quagmires. It took six hours to do the 8.2 miles, but I finally feel as though I've got my trail legs back -- just in time for the Green and White Mountains. Had an enormous cheeseburger and onion rings at a fogged in and unusually empty Bascom Lodge. The lodge is managed by Nature's Classroom, and I was hoping there might be a naturalist on duty to ask the names of birds and trail flora that I've seen since entering New England. Will have to check the bookstores.I finally got a good look at the bird whose song has been haunting me for the past few months. The bird sings a new-agey, 12-tone scale reveille and taps on misty and overcast days, with an echoing set of notes that puts me in mind of whale "songs," but in a register and with a metallic sound somewhere between a piccolo and a tin whistle. The bird sat preening and fluffing his feathers in the mist -- fat, with a dark brown crown, brown wings, and a creamy breast with light brown spots -- maybe a thrush of some kind?Decided to hike past the summit to the next shelter since there's still plenty of light and I will get half of the pain-in-the-knees descent overwith before a nice ten-hour rest.8:40 p.m. In at Wilbur with two southbounders, just out of high school -- a very entertaining pair, writing a list of all of the things that make you a "rookie" hiker, parodying an entry they saw in another trail journal in which someone had written "Campfires are for rookies." They also admitted to adding "trail legend" after the name of "Warren Doyle" in each of the trail registers where they've seen his name. They remind me a little of Abbott and Costello. Right now they are making a list of things to do in Cheshire. After admiring my home-made fleece sleeping bag, they've decided to make the trip to Walmart for their own fleece. "Have fun" is also on their list. They kindly gave me one of their Price Chopper (food store) discount cards for my resupplying needs in North Adams -- something to look forward to!Yesterday I reached my halfway mark on the A.T. -- 1087 miles!
Date: 2004-07-29
From: Wilbur Clearing Lean-to

To: MA2/North Adams
Miles today: 3.0

Very entertaining night last night with SOBOs Shredder and Focus, two 2004 hihg school grads from NC. The list of things they wrote in the trail register that define a hiker as a "rookie" are as follows: pillows, packing out tasty food from town (in their case, muffins), stoves, soap, headlamps, RidgeRests, hanging food instead of just eating it all, sleeping bags (theirs were wet), books, musical instruments, treating water, town stops, cameras, boots, underwear, washing clothes, tents or any type of shelter, toothbrushes, hot cocoa. To this they added, "Warren Doyle, Trail Legend, is not a rookie." And finally, "P.S. Signing trail registers is for rookies."For the rest of the evening, while going about their various duties, they composed a "to do" list for their next stop, Cheshire, periodically interrupting their flow to note that whatever the other one was doing "is for rookies." "Dude, I think washing your face with hot water is for rookies."In a culture that can take itself far too seriously at times, these boys provided a refreshing change. They also spent several minutes debating which of them should start and which one finish their letters home and to their teachers. )
Date: 2004-07-30
From: MA2/North Adams

To: MA2/North Adams
Miles today: 0.0

Spent last night watching Democratic National Convention coverage and Kerry's speech, and its dissection on the morning shows this morning. This, and visiting the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA), were my reasons for stopping in North Adams overnight. I hadn't planned on taking a zero day here, but, a little overwhelmed yesterday by the idea of trying to take in the whole museum in 2-3 hours, I decided to spend the day in town and take in chunks of it at a time. It's in a refurbished old mill building, like the town library (where I spent two hours this morning) -- brick walls, finished wood floors, heavy wood beams and pillars supporting 14-foot ceilings.   Beautiful space. The museum's presence is drawing renewed interest in this economically depressed "poor cousin" of the other Berkshire towns. Lush and colorful landscaping around the town center, construction workers on the rooves of similar brick mill buildings, the preservation of the Mohawk Cinema marquee downtown, and plans to turn the old cinema into a performing arts center, are all evidence of this town's renewal, in part because of the presence of the arts community. Reminds me a lot of Providence not too long ago. I have a mind to write to the mayor to request that he encourage a local entrepreneur to open a hiker hostel, to make the town more hiker friendly. A 24-year-old entrepreneur, Ryan Auge, recently opened a nice outfitters on Main Street and I'd love to see him do well, but he could use more reliable hiker traffic.
Date: 2004-07-31
From: MA2/North Adams

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: light rain

Goodbye Mozziechusetts. Hello Vermud!Mostly climbing out of North Adams. Left town noonish. Walked about a half mile, through a beautiful old graveyard before a hippy/biker dude and his girlfriend stopped and gave me a ride back to the trail in the back of their beat-up pickup truck. A group of bearded northbounders sat eating pizza out of the back of a friend's station wagon.I called Kath this morning to find that she, Marvin, Heidi, Barbara and Victor are on their way to Tanglewood tomorrow and can pick me up from VT9 to join them. I offered to stay in North Adams, which is closer, but Kath talked me out of it, fortunately -- another zero day would have done me in. On the days when comforts of home feel irresistable, I remind myself that my apartment is sublet through mid-October. I am homeless, therefore I hike. It's part of my thru-hike insurance. I reached my halfway point today, Seth Warner Shelter, at 4:30 p.m., and started hiking to Congdon Shelter around 5 p.m. -- arriving around 10 p.m. I guess. A young southbounder made room for me in one of the top bunks. Otherwise, the shelter was packed. Glad to get a space since the rain that had started feebly around 8 p.m. came pounding down around midnight.
Date: 2004-08-01
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: light rain

Every state seems to have its own predominant shelter design. Vermont's is the four double bunk. They're lower to the ground, which is easier on the knees, and if you have a bunk to yourself, you've got lots of room to lay out your belongings beside your sleeping bag -- water boots, boot insoles and socks in need of drying, camp shoes, toilet bag -- or just to roll around at night.Managed to get out of the shelter just after 9 a.m., so made it to my meeting spot with Kath and Marvin early enough to air out my feet and boots, wring out my socks again, wipe the mud and some of the stink off of me with baby wipes, so as not to affront anyone with my odiferous personnage. Got a rootbeer from a trail angel, Paddy-O, from Schenectady.Kath and Marvin drove in right on time and we headed south to Lenox, MA. I had to apologize for my stench -- the boots were especially bad, but even with them several hundred yards away, my clothes, pack and body are an offense to any functioning schnozz.Tanglewood was lovely -- an Aaron Copeland and John Williams program (too much of the latter and too little of the former for my taste, but The Williams was guest conducting...) Marvin, Barbara, Victor, Heidi and Kath -- all donning Kath's "Ban Dubya" t-shirts -- and I dined on tasty haute picnic fare and heard the concert through to the end before the afternoon thunderstorm fell like a lead curtain.Vic drove me back to the trail at sunset and I hiked in the 1.7 miles to the shelter with my headlamp on. Wonderful day. Marvin, thanks for the sesame beans and all the other goodies. Vic, thanks for the wine and the ride. Barbara, thanks for letting me crash your event! Heidi and Kath, my trail angels, love you!
Date: 2004-08-02
From: Melville Nauheim Shelter

To: Caughnawga Shelter
Miles today: 12.8

Nearly noon. I slept in this morning and am taking advantage of the sun to dry out my boots, socks, clothes, pillow, bedding, pack, ditty bags, feet -- everything really. Left my boots under Kath's car yesterday at the Tanglewood parking lo in hopes that they would dry out a little (and so that they wouldn't leave a nasty olfactory imprint on her upholstery), but it was pouring by the time we got back to them so they were about how I left them, dampness-wise. What a blessing to be able to dry them out to day before I get moving again.The mice were in someone's food bag all night. We would turn on our headlamps periodically and hit the bags (all hanging from "mouseproof" hangers -- the tin can knotted upside down over the hanging stick), but never caught them. By morning, one hiker's food bag had a hole in the bottom.This morning the chipmunks have been scavenging for crumbs. An enormous woodpecker is hammering away for grubs in a nearby tree. The flies are out in force along with blessedly few mosquitoes -- at least I have a fighting chance this time. I'm hoping the skeeters disappear the further north I go -- I can give my Deet to the southbounders.Later: Met up with Kristin, aka "Crocker", at the trail register. Found we had lots in common and hiked together for the rest of the day and into the night to get here. Comparing notes on who we've met on the trail, we found a pattern: that there were more older, professional and retired folks at the front of the pack, and more college-aged partiers at the back, timing their journey to hit trail days and linger in towns. She seemed surprised at all of the nice, non-dope-smoking folks I'd met as we thumbed through the register at Goddard Shelter. She had been tenting more and sheltering less just to escape the more obnoxious younger crowd.Spectacular views from Glastonbury Mountain firetower. Late sun lighting up the giant fir trees below, thunderheads on the horizon, green hills in the near and far distance -- no buildings, but a set of windmills on one ridge. (Alternative energy sources -- hooray for that!)Met a nice threesome -- Millipede, Aaron and Jason -- hiking the Long Trail together, having dinner at the top of the fire tower.
Date: 2004-08-03
From: Caughnawga Shelter

To: Stratton Mountain
Miles today: 10.6

A.M. Chipmunks chasing each other around this miniscule shelter (see photo) -- built in 1931? -- the bunks seeming to be an afterthought, added before the Kid Gore Shelter was built 200 feet up the trail. Very rustic and pretty, though -- all logs, gnome-sized (you can't stand up in it, and only one person can sit up in it at a time). I had to climb over the two other residents last night to get into the top bunk. They were very gracious about my disturbing them.Later a.m.: Nearly clear skies and cool breeze -- great hiking weather. Thunderstorms expected in p.m.My right boot has split open, and the smallest toes are wet and mangled from the last leg of last night's hike. Ouch! Cleaned, disinfected and wrapped them in moleskin this morning, but they won't heal until I get new boots that keep them dry. Need to call Asolo in Manchester Center for a replacement.8:30 p.m.? Distant thunder. I decided not to night hike tonight to get to Stratton Pond Shelter -- too pooped and hungry -- so I'm tenting 1-2 miles below the summit of Stratton Mountain, listening to the storm coming.Also ate my first hot meal since Dalton -- to many late shelter arrivals this leg, so I snacked instead of cooking. Hot food is good.Manchester Center tomorrow, where Crocker and I will share a room. Here comes the rain. How I long for a (spillproof) chamberpot lately. My two trips per night into the woods has become tedious, and on rainy nights involves that much more preparation. However, after some coaching from Tinkerbell and Crocker, I did accomplish my first standing, pack-on pee today. (Girl Power)Soupier mud in store for tomorrow. Still, I'll take Vermont mud over Massachusetts mosquitoes any day.
Date: 2004-08-04
From: Stratton Mountain

To: VT11/30 (Manchester Center, VT)
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: broken clouds

Was able to pull off a 15-miler today only because most of it was a very gentle downhil. Ah!Got a ride into town from a local woman, eight months pregnant, familiar with the parade of thru-hikers. She says Manchester Center has changed tremendously since the arrival of the outlets. There's even a course at a local continuing education center called "How to Shop in Manchester Center"!No room at Sutton Place -- a cozy-looking, hiker-friendly spot -- or the Avalanche Motel, so went on to Palmer House on 7A, an upscale motel, where I was able to dry out my gear and get cleaned up before walking through the town, which appears to cater to out-of-town shoppers almost exclusively.