morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-11
From: Belter's campsite

To: Race Brook Falls Trail
Miles today: 22.8

Things went much better today than yesterday. I started off with a nice breakfast at a cafe just off the trail, and a day that starts with coffee and eggs is usually a good day. The weather is still uncomfortably hot but for some reason the insects that harassed me all day yesterday left me alone today. Perhaps they've joined the swelling ranks of living things that can no longer stand my stench. I smell very bad. I pushed hard today to cover as many miles as possible so I would have more time to rest tomorrow when I'm going to stop in Great Barrington for laundry and a much needed shower.
Date: 2005-06-12
From: Race Brook Falls Trail

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I experienced both heaven and hell. Hell came first. It was another very hot and humid day when I started out on what was supposed to be an easy ten miles to town. But halfway through the morning the trail went through a flat swampy area, and I came under attack. Until now the mosquitoes have been worthy adversaries but I was able to put up a fight. My only defense was long sleeves and pants but they would come at me one at a time and I had an even chance of prevailing by killing them before they landed. Here, there were dozens of the most ferocious and aggressive insects I've ever encountered. I had only about twenty square inches of skin exposed but they bit every part of it. They flew up my sleeves and pant legs too. I ran through the woods crying, frantically slapping myself or running my disgusting sweat soaked bandanna over my face and neck. When I finally came out the other end, I had well over a hundred bites, and it took my a couple of minutes to catch my breath and realize I had dropped my glasses in the swamp. There is nothing I own that is worth enough that I would consider going back in. So I decided to just keep going. I made it to the road to Great Barrington a couple of hours later and checked into a motel. I had a delightfully decadent evening on a bed in an air-conditioned room, with a pizza, a bucket of berries, an ice cold bottle of ros©, a fat Sunday New York Times and a marathon of the first season of America's Next Top Model on the TV. I really felt like I'd found paradise and even the tragic injustice of Elyse's eviction from the model penthouse couldn't dampen my mood. With the highest temperatures yet forecast for tomorrow, and the need to do something about my glasses situation, I'm planning another day off in Great Barrington before I get back on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-13
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I had a nice day off in the Berkshires today. There was an optical store next to the motel where I'm staying and I went there first thing this morning. It turned out their lab was a few towns north in Pittsfield, but I picked out a frame there, got my prescription faxed from Montreal and was lucky to get a ride to Pittsfiled from the salesperson's boyfriend. After the glasses were ready, I took three buses back to Great Barrington and got to see a lot of the Berkshires. In the afternoon I went to the library and post office where I lightened my load even more. My sleeping bag is way too hot in this weather so I replaced it with a sheet at K-Mart. And even though I carried a week's worth of hot breakfasts and dinners from Bear Mountain, I only cooked one and didn't enjoy it in the heat, so I've sent my pot and stove homeand have decided to eat only cold food from now on.
Date: 2005-06-14
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Shaker campsite
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: light rain

Vijay, the owner of the motel in Great Barrington, gave me a ride back to the trail after breakfast this morning. I started out wearing incongruously glamourous new glasses and enough DEET to warrant the dispatch of a UN chemical weapons inspection team. It was a pretty easy day today. The heatwave hasn't broken yet but that's supposed to happen tomorrow and it's already a bit more bearable. And beacuse the only places to stop in Massachussetts are the official campsites and shelters, I had to go 17 or 26 miles. I opted for 17 and so even though I had a late start, I was finished by six o'clock. And I got to watch an active beaver pond where I spotted several of the inhabitants swimming around.
Date: 2005-06-15
From: Shaker campsite

To: The cookie lady's front lawn
Miles today: 20.9

The heatwave finally broke today for my birthday. In fact, temperatures dropped precipitously. By the end of the afternoon, when I got to the cookie lady's blueberry farm, I was wearing my sweater and rain jacket and rethinking the wisdom of sending home my sleeping bag and stove. I didn't meet the cookie lady, but the cookie man came out as I was refilling my water at their spigot. He gave me three very good cookies and invited me to tent on the front lawn.
Date: 2005-06-16
From: The cookie lady's front lawn

To: The BIrdcage, Dalton, MA
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: light rain

I didn't get much sleep last night because the weather got surprisingly cold, but I'm making up for it with indoor nights today and tomorrow. The trail into Dalton was easy and I ran into Scarecrow just as we were getting into town. We went to Rob Bird's Shell station, and after breakfast, Rob came to pick us up and take us to his home where he hosts hikers in one of the warmest and most convivial stops on the trail. I spent a nice afternoon in Dalton running my usual town errands at the Post Office, library and laundromat.
Date: 2005-06-17
From: The BIrdcage, Dalton, MA

To: Bascom Lodge, Mount Greylock
Miles today: 17.0

The climb up Mount Greylock this afternoon was a really nice hike, possibly the most beautiful since Virginia. The trail went through a nice pine forest with some very pretty mountain ponds. Just because I could, I ate out for breakfast, lunch and dinner today. This is the only day on the trail when that's possible. I had a big breakfast in Dalton, then at lunchtime the trail took me through Cheshire where I had a good Greek salad and a slice of cake. Then this evening I stopped at Bascom Lodge on the summit of Mount Greylock. I had a terrific supper. The excellent cooks at the lodge brought out plate after plate of food, soup, salad, homemade bread, rosemary chicken, mashed potato and vegetable. Among the guests were several families with rambunction children. When one of the lodge staff saw kids running in and out of the bunkroom where I was getting ready for bed, he offered to upgrade me to a private room where I had a terrific night's sleep.
Date: 2005-06-18
From: Bascom Lodge, Mount Greylock

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: light rain

I left Bascom Lodge before breakfast today, but I was still able to get my eggs and pancakes when the trail crossed the highway at North Adams. THen it was on to the border. I made it to my twelfth state today when I crossed into Vermont around noon. Until now states haven't really lived up to their advance billing. Virginia wasn't that easy. Pennsylvania wasn't that rocky. Connecticut wasn't that flat. But Vermont is every bit as muddy as its reputation claims. As soon as I crossed the state line, things got quite difficult with deep wet mud and few rocks and logs to leap on. At some points the trail would run along an actual stream, in the stream.
Date: 2005-06-19
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I put in a long day today, so I could have an average day tomorrow and be in Manchester Center the next day in time for breakfast. The challenge in Vermont is to end the day with dry feet. Some parts of the trail today were very muddy. On others there was a steady flow of water on the trail itself. I came close to getting a foot in a couple of times but I managed to stay dry.
Date: 2005-06-20
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: few clouds

I'm glad I gave myself a relatively easy day today. This morning's hike was very nice. I enjoyed the climb up Stratton Mountain, the birthplace of both the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail. I had heard from a ridge runner that on a clear day Katahdin, my last mountain, could be seen from the observation tower. I ususally don't climb the towers because I get vertigo, but I went up this one to see how far I could see. I'm pretty sure I couldn't see as far as Katahdin, but I could make out the foothills of the Whites where I'll be in a couple of weeks. After lunch by Stratton Pond, I suddenly started not feeling well. The afternoon was short but it was slow and difficult and when I got to the shelter I felt like I had a bit of a fever. I hope it was just a bit of dodgy water and that it will pass quickly, but I went to sleep early glad to have a day off tomorrow.
Date: 2005-06-21
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Sutton Place, Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: clear sky

It's lucky today's a town day. Whatever bug I got in the woods yesterday seems to be clearing up, but I'm still glad to be resting today. I'm going to drop the mileage a bit over the next couple of days and take it easy, but I'm relieved it doesn't seem like anything serious. I would hate to get knocked off the trail this far along.
Date: 2005-06-22
From: Sutton Place, Manchester Center, VT

To: Little Rock Pond
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I didn't feel completely back to normal this morning, but I'm definitely on the mend. I actually felt better and better as the day wore on, or rather the discomfort of being sick got replaced with the much more familiar generalized tiredness that sets in after the fifteenth mile.
Date: 2005-06-23
From: Little Rock Pond

To: Hermit Spring
Miles today: 14.9

I had a bit of a setback today. Even though I upgraded ny sheet to a fleece bag in Manchester Center, I wasn't equipped for the surprise cold snap last night. The temperature dropped to close to freezing and that caused a bit of a reversal in my recovery. I was sore all over this morning, and I was pretty wobbly on the trail. It became clear late in the afternoon that I wasn't going to reach my target if I kept stopping for a rest every half hour. So I pitched my tent near a spring at around six and promptly fell asleep.
Date: 2005-06-24
From: Hermit Spring

To: The Inn at Long Trail, Killington, VT
Miles today: 15.1

Today was an improvement over yesterday. But I'm definitely not back to normal yet. I got off the trail at four and made my way to the Inn at Long Trail for a rest. It's a very cozy old ski lodge, and as I was checking in, I spontaneously decided to book two nights. I'm giving myself a day off tomorrow so I can hopefully make a full recovery.
Date: 2005-06-25
From: The Inn at Long Trail, Killington, VT

To: The Inn at Long Trail, Killington, VT
Miles today: 0.0

I felt pretty lousy when I woke up this morning, so I decided to go to the emergency room in Rutland to see if I could find out what's wrong with me. Since my symptoms have been numerous and changing from day to day, I wasn't surprised there's no clear diagnosis. But because the doctor couldn't rule out Lyme disease, I'm now on a course of antibiotics. The good news is he didn't suggest I stop hiking. I just hope it clears up soon. I don't think I could take on the Whites feeling like this. I took advantage of my trip to town to go to the movies in the afternoon and got back to the Inn in time for another early night.
Date: 2005-06-26
From: The Inn at Long Trail, Killington, VT

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

I was pretty demoralized when I first woke up this morning. All the symptoms I'd had offf and on this week were on in full force: the night sweat, the fever, the morning headaches and the overall soreness. But now thanks to the antibiotics I'm taking for a very noncommital diagnosis, I also had the unfortunate side effect of diarrhea to contend with. And that's a symptom you don't want in the middle of the woods. Fortunately, once I started hiking I began to feel better. Still, I took it easy today, stopping after only ten miles. I'm determined to recover before New Hampshire. THere's no way I want to take on the Whites in this condition.
Date: 2005-06-27
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: Near Town Highway 38, South Pomfret
Miles today: 16.0

I think I'm better. I'll never know if it waws Lyme disease, if the antibiotics killed it or if it would have ended today by itself. But it really seeems to be over. I'm still taking it easy and keeping to my low mileage schedule over the next couple of days, and in the current hot weather that suits me just fine. I almost stopped even earlier when I me thru-hiker Skirt at a surprise shelter in a barn at a road crossing. I stopped for an hour to chat, but then decided to put in another couple of miles.
Date: 2005-06-28
From: Near Town Highway 38, South Pomfret

To: Norwich Inn, Norwich, VT
Miles today: 18.6

It was a long hot day today. The mosquitoes were out in force and progress was slow. Then a big thunderstorm in the afternoon had me drenched by the time I got to Norwich. So I checked into a hotel room that's way over my budget. Hanover, on the other side of the Connecticut River is even more expensive, except at motels on bus routes out of town, and it was getting late so I treated myself to a nice room.
Date: 2005-06-29
From: Norwich Inn, Norwich, VT

To: Lyme-Dorchester Road
Miles today: 21.1

This morning over breakfast in Hanover, I did the math to get to North Woodstock to pick up my last package before the Whites. To get there by Saturday morning, before the fourth of July long weekend, I was going to need to do three days of more than 20 miles in terrain that's starting to get quite rough. I pushed hard today, but didn't get as far as I hoped. Then I checked the book again and it turns out there's another road to North Woodstock 15 miles sooner. So now, even though it's hard, it will definitely be possible to get there by Saturday morning.
Date: 2005-06-30
From: Lyme-Dorchester Road

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 16.4

Today I really felt like the challenges were outweighing the rewards. The summit of Mount Cube was nice, it might even have been impressive if I wasn't climbing mountains every day. But the weather is very unpleasant, either hot and muggy or pouring rain. The bugs are really aggravating, the mosquitoes for obvious reasons, but also these small barrel-shaped insects that fly incessantly back and forth right in front of my eyes. I have my first really big climb tomorrow on Mount Moosilauke and a summit above the treeline should remind me why I'm out here.
Date: 2005-07-01
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Mount Moosilauke was well worth the steep 4000-foot climb to the top. Even though it was cloudy and there wasn't any view, there is a magical feeling above the treeline I hadn't yet experienced on this hike. It's a very quiet place and eerily beautiful. It's also cool and bug-free which is a welcome break after the last few days. I started down the mountain on the wrong path and lost three hours to my mistake. But in the end, that's a good thing. It means I won't make it to Norht Woodstock tonight, but will be in early tomorrow morning and can take a full day off before I confront the Whites for real.
Date: 2005-07-02
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Carriage Motel, North Woodstock
Miles today: 1.6

I'm glad I decided to stop just short of Kinsman Notch last night. The last mile and a half to the road was very steep, rocky and slippery. It wasn't the kind of terrain I want to take on at the end of a long day. It took me almost two hours to get to the road this morning, but when I did I was lucky to quickly get a ride to North Woodstock. I spent a very pleasant day here getting my town errands done without being rushed. I got to a movie, and had a very nice dinner at the Woodstock Inn.
Date: 2005-07-03
From: Carriage Motel, North Woodstock

To: Kinsman Pond Campsite
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: few clouds

I got a late start today. I had planned a ten-mile day so I had time for a big slow breakfast in North Woodstock. The weather was extraordinary today, sunny and dry with a nice breeze, and the scramble up Kinsman Mountain, although slow and difficult, was a lot of fun. It helped that I ran into Skirt who I had last seen in Vermont. She and her dog Tiger Lily were on their way up to surprise Dingle, Skirt's boyfriend and the caretaker at the Kinsman Pond tent site. Once we reached the top of Kinsman Mountain, the view was spectacular. The Whites may be difficult but the rewards are well worth the effort.
Date: 2005-07-04
From: Kinsman Pond Campsite

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

I don't know why I was as apprehensive aas I was about taking on the Whites. I was thinking that the increased difficulty would mean an increase in the level of effort and I was already finding the trail quite difficult. But all it really means is that the same level of effort yields a smaller number of miles. And each of those miles is spectacular. I was getting a little weary in Vermont, partly because I wasn't feeling well, and because of the bugs and the mud and the bad weather, but also because the trail in Vermont was a bit drab and boring. It lacked mignificence, and magnificence is something the Whites have in abundance. The trail along Franconia Ridge today was spectacular. The weather was gorgeous and the path that stretched from peak to peak above the treeline was exhilirating. Summits that were more than a mile away looked to be within easy reach, but then almost seemed to recede as I approached them. THe weather is supposed to turn over the next couple of days so I don't think I'll get these views when I reach Mount Washington, but I really appreciated the clear skies today.
Date: 2005-07-05
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite

To: Crawford Notch Campsite
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: mist

I got out early this morning and by 8:30, I met up with Seneca, I can, Paladin, and Nicolas, a section hiker from France. They had stayed at the hut three miles on and were planning to go on 15 miles to Crawford Notch. I hiked with them all day. Seneca set the pace and I think I hiked faster than I have the whole trip. By the time we got to the road I felt great but really tired. We hitched to a campground with a bunkhouse where we ate burgers and got ready for tomorrow's climb up Mount Washington, the highest peak on the trail.
Date: 2005-07-06
From: Crawford Notch Campsite

To: AMC Madison Sping Hut
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: fog

I hiked with the same group today and by two o'clock we made it to the Lake of the Clouds hut, about three quarters of the way up the mountain. Paladin decided to stop for the day. It was cloudy and raining, not hte best weather for a climb to the summit, but Nicolas, I can, Seneca, and I decided to continue on. It was exciting to get to the top, even though it was cold and wet and there was no view. We took some pictures and said goodbye to Nicolas who was finishing his hike on the summit. Just as we started down the mountain, I slipped on a rock and fell and banged my knee. I took it very slowly for the next six miles over very slick rock. I fell one more time on the way to Madison Spring Hut where I met Seneca and I can who managed to get us all work for stay. The huts in the Whites are great places to stay for vacationers. They're bunkrooms, staffed by a "croo" whp serve dinner and breakfast. Each night, a few thru-hikers are fed ample leftovers and allowed to sleep on the tables in exchange for a little work. We were assigned to set up for breakfast and to shake out the blankets in the morning. It's a good deal but paying guests are on a different schedule. They go to bed after sunset and get up later than five. So I think this is the only place I'm going to stay in a hut in the Whites.
Date: 2005-07-07
From: AMC Madison Sping Hut

To: Wildcat Peak E
Miles today: 10.5

It took a long time to get started today. We waited for the hut's guests to finish breakfast, then we ate, swept and shook out the blankets. It was almost 9:30 by the time we got on the trail. It was good to have a short day though. My knee was stiff from yesterday's fall this morning and I couldn't bend it more than 90 degrees. On the way down from Mount Madison, I dropped my camera, so I put down my oack as soon as I realized it was missing and hiked back up the mountain. Luckily, after a mile, I ran into two hikers who found it on the trail. I would have hated to lose a month's worth of pictures. By the end of the day, my knee was hurting quite a lot so I was happy to run into I can and Seneca who had found an open ski patrol hut on Wildcat Ridge. We laid out our mattresses and had an indoor night, with no chores in the morning!
Date: 2005-07-08
From: Wildcat Peak E

To: Imp campsite
Miles today: 10.4

My fall on Mount Washington may have been more serious than I first thought. My knee gave me a lot of trouble today. I had to move very slowly. And each time I accidentally kicked a root or a rock, I literally screamed in Pain. I had to stop at the Imp tent site. It took me nine hours to cover ten miles. If my knee feels the same in the morning, I may have to take a side trail to Gorham.
Date: 2005-07-09
From: Imp campsite

To: Northern Peaks Motor Inn, Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.7
Weather: light rain

I was in a lot of pain when I started this morning, so after less than a mile on the AT, I took a side trail down four miles to the road. After breakfast, I got a room in a motel and rested all day. It looks like my hike might be over. Walking on my leg madethings worse, and now it turns out resting makes things worse as well. My knee is quite swollen and painful, and my range of motion is getting smaller. I'm going to stay in Gorham another day to see what happens but today I spent most of the time coming to terms with the fact that I might have to drop out just 300 miles short of my goal.
Date: 2004-09-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I'm actually nervous as I sit here and write my very first publicly accessible trailjournal. I've written many trail journals before but only for my own record, my own memory, and my own eyes. This journal will be maintained for friends and loved ones interested in my hike or oblivious to but curious about this sub-culture of trail society. I also find that the tables will soon be turned; for years I've read others' journals and vicariously experienced their hikes. Now strangers will be reading my journal and learning from, enjoying, or criticizing the words I write down on these pages. This brings a certain amount of aforementioned stress, as you can see--don't whine too much, don't offend anyone, prove to my family this isn't some hippie-freak alternative lifestyle... But then I realized that I don't want to edit my journals this way. I love hiking and I love the mountains and this is an experience I've been looking forward to for all of my adolescent and yound adult life. I'm excited about sharing it for all that it is--for better and for worse. This is the first thing I've done completely on my own and for myself and I'm thrilled by that freedom. So I offer up my experience--as I prepare to leave and as I grow and change throughout my hike. And I'll try to write without analyzing what everyone is going to think about me--even though, yes, I have re-read this journal ten times doing just that.