morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-08-13
From: CT 44, 1499.2

To: MA, Guilder Pond Picnic Area- 1512.2
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

Well, after the day of city slicker activities in NYC yesterday (Times Square, Central Park, the MET, lunch in china town, the 911 memorial, seeing Wall Street, riding the subway, taking the staten island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, etc.), mamma Mia was ready to be back in nature. Sherpa suggested, "instead of going to the city again, we could keep hiking," to which she exclaimed, "Thank You!" The city did have one notable highlight. We passed through the "strawberry fields" section of Central Park, which had a mosaic that said "imagine" for a focal point. A flock of John Lennon devotees, barely distinguishable from most thruhikers, surrounded the spot as if it were a shrine. One of the beatniks called out to Sherpa, "hey! Beardo! Check out my beard, it's not as good as yours, but it is coming along." Wow! Such flatterry. Meanwhile, as a nearby hippy played a Beatles hit on his acoustic guitar, Porter was humming along her own lyrics: "imagine there's no beard, it's easy if you try. Imagine all the hairs, shaved off every day. Sherpa says that I'm a dreamer, but in two months that beard is done..."So instead of venturing back into the highest density of concrete, structural steel, and Nathan's hot dog stands in the US, we picked the trail back up in Connecticut. After crossing the 1500 mile mark, Sherpa said see you soon to Porter and Mamma Mia, finished his 10th state, and crossed into Massachussetees where they picked him up. The local forecast on tv this morning had an unconventional qualitative scale to describe the day's weather which ranged from tolerable, to hot, to sticky, before pegging out at today's forecast, "miserable." It is one of those days where you start to sweat just thinking about going outside. In practice the trail was quite pleasant . We would have pegged it at "sticky", but none of us studied meteorology. The trail summitted bear mountain, which was incorrectly marked as the highest point in Connecticut. The true point is a few miles away on the slope of a mountain that has its peak in Massachussettes. Getting off bear mountain was very challenging, but there was a surprise waiting at the bottom for Sherpa. Momma Mia and Porter had found a way to access the trail which wasn't in our guide. We had a really nice lunch together. From there it was a few more miles over Mt Race and up Mt Everett to finish the day. Porter and Momma Mia set up chairs, chatted, and read as Sherpa finished the hike. We found a cozy restaurant called the wandering moose next to a covered bridge to finish our day. The French Onion soup was out of this world.
Date: 2016-08-14
From: MA, Guilder Pond Picnic Area- 1512.2

To: Off Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

If you have been following us for any length of time, you are probably expecting us to share about time spent worshipping the Lord and fellowshipping with his saints. Today was an exception. We found a bible church in a city neighboring Danbury. When we got to the church, we found out that twice a year they meet at night instead of the morning, and we had visited on one of those Sunday's. What are the odds? 1 in 26 but that was supposed to be a rhetorical question. We did enjoy a day in rural Connecticut before dropping Momma Mia off at the airport. The highlight was eating at Frank Pepes in New Haven, CT, (near Yale), which is rated in the top 10 for pizza in the entire United States. Sorry NYC, this place has your pizza beat! Ok, Before we get a barrage of people signing out guestbook in vehement disagreement, we admit that there are probably 9 better places to get pizza in the city, we just didn't visit any of them. We had wanted to stay at a hostel in Salisbury run by an 85 year old woman that was suggested to us by someone who did sign our guestbook (Thanks for the recommendation!). Unfortunately, Momma Mia had some flight delays and we were uncertain about leaving the NYC area until those were resolved. By the time we got away from the city, it was much too late to trouble her for a room.
Date: 2016-08-17
From: MA, Blotz Rd, 1562.3

To: MA, Bascom Lodge, 1585.9
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: few clouds

As we continue our big push northward, we summitted the peak of Mt Greylock in Northern Massachussettes today. This was the highest point in the state, and had convenient road access. Another peak in the bag for us. There was also an observation tower that was closed for renovations. The journey had its ups and downs, both literally and figuratively. Really there was only one down, today, which came the moment Sherpa realized that he left one of his two sets of hiking underwear and a pair of hiking socks at the hotel we stayed at last night. After a frantic call, he learned that they had thrown them away already. So now you know, Sherpa does (did) wear underwear, unlike many hikers! The rest of the day was great.Early in the day, Porter parked next to a van belonging to one of the Appalachian Mountain Clubs that maintains this section of trail. Sherpa passed the group on his way to the crossing. There were several teenagers under the supervision of an adult moving a large Boulder with the help of some lever tools. What a great activity for young adults. Around the same time, Sherpa met Thor and Rocket. Sherpa had been leapfrogging with them the last couple days. As often happens when slack packing, they began to recognize Sherpa after a seeing him a few days in a row. Upon realizing that he isn't just a day hiker, they called out "What's your name?" We walked together awhile and chatted. It turns out that they got a late start on the trail because they both graduated college in May. They each started on June 1st and have been doing high mile days (often 30+) to reach Katadyn before the snow. They did not know each other before hiking, but both set out with a common purpose and met on Springer mountain in Georgia. They are now hiking the whole trail together, pushing each other on to harder and longer days. The bible says that "As iron sharpens iron, so too does one man sharpen another." What a great illustration of the principal with each encouraging the other to push ahead at a grueling pace.The trail passed through the residential area of a small town called Dalton. It was here that a grandmother was sitting on her front porch, supervising 3 young entrepreneurs as they sold lemonade. They tried to sell one to Sherpa, but he wasn't carrying any money. They still insisted he drink one and visit with them. Such a nice family. Sherpa told them how it reminded him how of Jesus commended people who offered just a cup of cold water to his followers in his name. The grandma was quick to add "and I believe that!" Porter later ran back in the car and gave them the reward of their labor, a couple crispy George Washingtons.The trail also passed through the sleepy town of Cheshire before ascending the 3491 foot summit of Mt Greylock. The ascent was the highlight of the hike! The beauty of the views at the peak, and the fragile ecosystem surrounding the trail has not been surpassed since Grayson highlands in Virginia. A splendid foretaste of the beauty that lies ahead in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Date: 2016-08-18
From: MA, Bascom Lodge, 1585.9

To: MA, Phelps Rd, 1591.8 
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: moderate rain

Heading down the slopes of Mt Greylock, we now set our sites on Vermont and the 1600 mile mark. A few minutes off the top, Sherpa met a SOBO (southbound hiker) named "powderpuff". He is planning to do the Connecticut challenge, which involves hiking thru the entire state in one day. Good luck buddy! Should be doable. Shortly after saying goodbye, Sherpa passed an unnussual sign. It forbid all motorized vehicles along the trail, which is typical, but then welcomed cross country skiers. Guess we are getting pretty far Notth. If we start seeing snow shoeing signs, we will know we made a wrong turn and and went to Canada by mistake... After reaching Williamstown, which is at the base of the mountain, we drove together to scout out the next crossing, s dirt road called "county road.".   As feared, it was sketchy and we chose not to risk driving up it in our Corolla. Sadly, this didn't leave us with quite enough day light to hike to the next real road crossing, 19 miles away. Instead, we called it a day early. Vermont and 1600 will have to wait until tomorrow.Thankful we did stop because at dusk an impressive storm rolled in that will undoubtably leave the trails muddy for days to come.
Date: 2016-08-19
From: MA, Phelps Rd, 1591.8 

To: VT, Vt 9, 1610.6
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: few clouds

This morning we woke up, grabbed a half price breakfast at Friendlys, and hit the section without crossings that we ran out of time to do yesterday. At the drop off spot, there were a couple of hikers that needed a ride back into town. Porter happily picked them up. One was from Germany and is returning home in December on a flight from Miami. They started about a month ago and are already a quarter of the way through. Even with the fast pace, the finish line will probably be chilly. Hopefully they dont wake up any hibernating bears when they pass thru the Smokies! Today's highlights included reaching Vermont and passing the 1600 mile mark. Vermont is state number 12 of 14. Beginning here, the Appalachian Trail joins the Southern terminus of another trail called "the long trail", after which the two trails coincide for about 100 miles before ours turns East towards New Hampshire and the long trail instead continues northward to Canada, showcasing the beauty of Northern Vermont. It is a popular but difficult several hundred mile hike.Sherpa saw Thor and rocket again. They are the two guys who started on June 1st, but have jet packs or something because they are flying. Last time he saw them, they had an unlucky college friend with them. The poor guy couldn't keep up and quit after 2 days. He had to call a cab from the top of mt Greylock. This time they had an older guy named School Bag with them. He was another friend of theirs. Wonder if they will burn him out too? Sherpa also saw Texas Hippy on the trail. Last saw him in Pennsylvania. Detour and off center were hiking together, another pair he sees now and then. He also passed Prov. She mentioned that she is looking forward to staying at a hotel Saturday, drinking some beer, and watching the men's marathon event from the olympics Sunday morning. Someone who signed our guestbook later commented to us that one of the reasons young people aren't in church is that our culture has become so focused on sports. Maybe they are onto something? Regardless, she was very excited to show Sherpa that she had switched back to her old pair of shoes, the same trusty la sportiva wildcats that have led to almost 900 blister free miles for Sherpa! Still can't thank her enough for the recommendation to switch to them.
Date: 2016-08-22
From: VT, Vt 11 & 30, 1650.7

To: VT, Vt 140, 1676.8
Miles today: 26.1
Weather: broken clouds

Faithful Seewald the second lasted 7 full days on the ice (s)he was loaded with last Sunday morning. We added a bag this morning to supplement the remaining ice before heading out but what a success! Thank you yeti! Such an improvement over our old cooler.The weather was cooler today after some showers last night. It was in the 60s and mostly sunny, and felt great to be outside. The trail is decidedly prettier today, passing over peaks with nice views and numerous ponds.   The day was largely uneventful. We didn't see any hikers that we know. Given yesterday's sermon about showing compassion, we were on the lookout for opportunities. One presented itself early on when Sherpa found a lonely shoe laying on the trail. It looked like it had recently fallen off someone's pack and wasnt something a thruhiker would carry. No one he had passed going the other way was a good candidate for owning it, so he decided to pick it up and carry it. A quarter mile later, he came up behind a group of middle aged, section hiking women making there way north singing "buttercup don't break my heart." They were quite surprised when they heard him join the last chorus from behind them and burst into giggling. The lady in the rear was the rightful owner of the shoe and declared him to be her Prince Charming. He thanked them for the sentiment, but is of course he is Porters Prince Charming already.Sherpa may still be charming, but he is not nearly as prince like as he was on February 29, the day we got married. They warn you that hikers get a condition known as "t-Rex arms" in which the body accesses stored energy (i.e. Fat) and much needed protein from all over the body in a desperate attempt to keep the legs fueled for all the hiking. Basically you end up with scrawny arms... Sherpa is now officially afflicted with this condition, a realization he came to when he went to put his adjustable sports armband. It is now loose even at its tightest setting. If it is any consolation, the studly newlywed arms have given way to a stately honeymoon beard, and he held her with his wimpy arms, and they hiked happily ever after. The end.
Date: 2016-08-23
From: VT, Vt 140, 1676.8

To: VT, US4, 1700.8
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: clear sky

Jimmy Buffet, you are wrong! "The menu at a holiday inn" is actually pretty good! (If you don't get the reference, please stop reading trail blogs and listen to "Cheeseburger in paradise"). We booked a couple nights at a holiday inn and are pleased to report that the free breakfast at this one is one of the best hotel breakfasts we have had yet, maybe even edging out the Marriott. We passed an encouraging sign just before beginning the ascent, "only" 500 miles to Katadyn, the Northern terminus of the Appalachian trail. Only slightly less than some people walk over flat terrain in the course of a year...   Instead of struggling with T Rex arms, we will be fighting off the T Rex belly that the American lifestyle lends itself to soon enough. In less than 2 months, we will be back at work. Speaking of the arms, the T Rex arms we mentioned yesterday are gone! After noticing then, Sherpa realized he was dehydrated and drank several liters of water. The sports armband had no problems staying on today. The trail started off today fairly unremarkable, crossing a series of small hills and roads for about 12 miles. It really struggled to compare with yesterday's beauty. The last 11 miles more than compensated for the beauty lacking in the earlier miles. The trail climbed over Killington peak, the second tallest mountain in Vermont. We haven't tasted 4000 feet elevation for a long time and the Northern latitude made it especially pretty. While Sherpa was on the mountain crossing the 1700 mile mark, Porter saw a bald eagle, easily the highlight of her day.
Date: 2016-08-25
From: VT, Vt. 12, 1724.5

To: NH, NH120, 1747.6
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We had hoped that after replacing the rotors yesterday, our chariot would be in tip top shape for ya long trip back to Texas in about a month. Fortunately for our readers, we had to take the car back in today to have the water pump replaced, which allowed for more interesting conversations with locals. Today, Porter discovered the cheap, organic, easy solution to the Zika virus! A local man from nearby Bethel, Vt built his house with mosquito repelling features. His house actually has built in bat houses and he has not ever had mosquito problems in an otherwise buggy rural area.   Sadly, his bats all died recently due to a white nose bat disease. Determined to continue the fight, he stocked his nearby pond with trout to eat the larvae to help stop breeding.   Bat houses are cheap to buy and easy to build. Experts are divided on the bat diet which includes moths and other insects, but it seems that they at least eat some mosquitos. Maybe Florida and California will try this batty idea out as part of their war on Zika! While at a crossing for a break, we met a flip flopper today named Casper who has about 700 miles left. We think we met him before, he looked familiar. He was hiking with another Southbounder named otter, a biologist from Canada. Otter was taking his time because he enjoyed observing the science in nature. The highlight was making it to New Hampshire today. The other was finding the first wild raspberries on the trail. So far, we have tried blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, red colored blackberries, and wild apples. We probably walk by other edible food daily but just can't identify it.The trail here passes right thru Dartmouth college in Hanover. Lots of students were around, so school must be starting up for them. It was a very nice college wh town. We were curious and looked up how much it would cost to attend. Tuition was 25k per semester, but with housing and other expenses, it cost 70k every year. So for just under 300k, you could get an undergraduate degree! If you are really thrifty, maybe you can save $45 each day for 18 years and then go there debt free. Or you can just be independently wealthy. In either case, the city was beautiful! Sherpa chomped the football stadium as he walked by. Go gators! We enjoyed a dinner at a local Nepalese restaurant and had something really delicious called momo's, which are similar to dumplings you might find at a Chinese restaurant. They are worth trying if you ever find yourself around Nepal or its cuisine.
Date: 2016-08-26
From: NH, NH120, 1747.6

To: NH, Lyme-Dorchester Rd, 1766.5
Miles today: 18.9

It poured last night and this morning. Thankfully, our tent stayed nice and dry in the trunk of our car as we continued our journey in hotels. The sun came out and it was a beautiful day for hiking. We knocked out a shorter chunk of the trail because road crossings left us with the choice of either a 19 mile day or a 30+ mile day through the Green Mountains, which aren't exactly a piece of cake. We took our time getting on the trail, allowing the rain to die down. The trail leaving Hanover is reasonably flat, which made for an easy day. Porter met at the approx halfway point with some homemade egg salad pitas for lunch. Yum! The most significant moment of the day came around mile 1760, exactly 1000 miles from the time Sherpa found his beloved trail running shoes. The tread is basically gone now, but they seem to have held up remarkably well. We ordered a second pair for the home stretch and they should be arriving in a few days. Local outfitters, please start carrying the La Sportiva Wildcats. Hikers love them. Just yesterday we met a hiker who was complaining that he couldn't get them at the outfitters and had to switch to a different shoe when his wore out. This is a familiar story among hikers. We basically checked every outfitter in Vermont and many in other states near the AT before resorting to buying them online. Thanks walkabout outfitter in Daleville Va for carrying them!Lots of places seem to have Moose in their name now, like moose mountain which the trail crossed today and the spruce moose shelter. Hopefully we get to see one during our travels! Speaking of names, we finished in Lyme New Hampshire, not to be confused with Lyme, Connecticut, where Lyme disease got its name. We checked each other for ticks real good tonight anyways!
Date: 2016-08-27
From: NH, Lyme-Dorchester Rd, 1766.5

To: NH, NH25 in Glencliff, 1790.2
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: clear sky

8/27/16 NH, NH25 in Glencliff, 1790.2 (23.7)The end of our road trip is at hand! Hopefully this was our last day with Sherpa on the trail and Porter behind the steering wheel. Our slack pack started at mile 331 when she sprained her ankle and ends today at mile 1790, the beginning of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. These mountains frequently pop above treeline for unpredictable weather and spectacular views. We had planned all along to ditch the car, and this is the time that made sense. While Sherpa knocked out the last section of trail between us and the Whites, Porter spent the day at the spa, the laundry spa that is, and running lots of other errands. Need a new lighter, gotta pick up batteries, what snacks should we get, all the little stuff that makes a 400 mile backpacking trip achievable. We will undoubtably get too much and temporarily lose our ultralight status. When we hung up our backpacks, they weighed less than 30 lbs combined. With errands done, she picked up a pizza for lunch. There were lots of rowdy drunk bikers at the pizza place. When they left, the remaining customers and workers seemed to breath a sigh of relief. Porter overheard a nearby patron whisper to the bartender, "you know the difference between a Harley and Hoover vacuum? The Hoover only holds one dirtbag."The trail passed over smart mountain, over cube mountain, and had nice flatish sections in between. Smart mountain had a nice fire tower. Cube mountain had some exposed areas, a foretaste of the whites coming next week. At our last crossing before finishing, Porter kept hearing laughter coming from the woods. Sherpa investigated and found the Omelette man. This guy cooks omelettes for thru hikers, even at 6pm! Sherpa politely declined because Porter had just brought him a pizza!
Date: 2016-08-28
From: NH, NH25 in Glencliff, 1790.2

To: Off trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today, we continued our tradition of taking a zero on Sunday to spend the day together and worship with other Christians. The weatherman pastor from last week in Londonderry, VT, had a friend in Lincoln, NH. who also pastors a church. This was not at all the typical Sunday experience. Instead of a building, there was an outdoor amphitheater on top of a mountain. Transportation was a gondola. Wood benches instead pews. (Not quite as nice as last weeks adirondack chairs). Mulch instead of carpets. The loon mountain ministry is affiliated with skiers and snowboarders for Christ. During the summer, they meet anyways. One of the songs we sang had these words:"When through the woodsAnd forest glades I wanderAnd hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.When I look down from lofty mountain grandeurAnd hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze"Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to theHow great thou art!"Those words are the theme of our hike! While at church, we chatted with some really awesome bikers who were part of a Christian biker ministry. They even prayed with us. Completely opposite of Porters experience at the pizza place yesterday. The church had a potluck lunch at a nearby house where we really got to see the life of the church. There the pastor shared a really funny story about a funeral he had recently officiated. They were scattering someone's ashes over a lake, and the son who did it forgot to check the wind. As he let the ashes go, they flew back on everyone. One of the grandkids shouted, "we're breathing in grandma!" The son's comment about his error was "even in her death, she got the last laugh." We met someone very kind at the lunch that allowed us to leave our car with them. This means Porter will be back on the trail soon!