morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-16
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

We had a great hike down to the gorge through the pine forest. There is a small bridge over the gorge given by family and friends of a young hiker who was killed trying to cross a previous bridge that wasn't as safe. After watching the river rush through the rocks and enjoying the view, we went to the road and walked the half mile to a great breakfast at the Whistle Stop Restaurant. We really filled up and even got sandwich wraps with turkey, ham and cheese to go. While we were there, we met Ernie, a trail maintainer for this section. He plans a nine day hike for this year and a thru hike when he retires in a few years. He showed us some of the neat pictures he has taken and told us about his fall from a cliff last year. He was lucky to escape that experience with his life. He took us back to the trail which we really appreciated because it would have been an extra half mile road walk uphill.The rest of the day had a lot of beautiful trail, fields of buttercups and purple clover, pine forests, ridges that followed a stream that had cut a path through the rocks 200 yards deep. Sometimes we couldn't see the stream but we could hear it dancing over the rocks. We are really enjoying the birds, especially in the morning and at night when they put on a concert for us.Last night it almost seemed as if they had a conductor coordinating the production. We are trying to determine which birds make which calls, but it isn't easy because most of the time we can't see them. There are lots of bird songs we don't hear at home. One we have identified is the White Throated Sparrow. The caretaker on Stratton Mountain identified that one for us.Just as we were finishing supper tonight, we met another hiker from OH, Clown. He left Springer at the end of February. We had a nice chat with him while he took a break before hiking on to the next shelter. He had served in the Navy as a SEAL and told us about his training. We found out that Zach and Alana, the two hikers from Oberlin were back on the trail. We were glad to hear that.
Date: 2004-06-17
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: Killington, VT
Miles today: 10.0

We got an early start and made a fairly quick trip up the mountain to Cooper Lodge where we met Hozer from Boston. He was staying the day there waiting for some friends. The rest of the day was fairly easy but not very exciting trail. We made it to route 4 about 2:30 then tried hitching a little then waiting for the bus, and then finally got a ride from a nice fellow hiker who was headed home from work. He had done the White Mts., Long Trail and a lot of other hiking. He said he knew what it was like to need a ride into town. He took us into Rutland, a large town in VT where they have lots of motels and places to eat and re-supply. We asked him to drop us at a Holiday Inn which turned out to be a good choice because it has a K-Mart, Ponderosa Steak House and Denny's close by. They also had a nice pool, whirlpool and laundry. We took advantage of these pleasures starting with showers then a trip to the Ponderosa for an AYCE dinner. We got supplies at the K-Mart and I bought a bathing suit. Later we got a milkshake from Denny's then called home to the kids and our neighbor, Jackie. Ah, the joys of being in town.
Date: 2004-06-18
From: Killington, VT

To: River Road - Campsite (before)
Miles today: 4.7

The day started with a nice dip in the pool for me and some time in the whirlpool. We ate breakfast in the hotel dining room then packed up and took the hotel shuttle to the bus station to catch the local bus to the trail. This worked out really well except for the late start, 3:30PM. It was a nice trail, but the day was humid and the mosquitoes were vicious blood sucking machines. I was wearing my bug net and was well covered with my long shirt, pants and gators when I saw the strangest sight, a middle aged man wearing ONLY his backpack. He said, "Bugs bad?" I asked him if it was hike naked day. He said, ¢Yes¢, and hiked on in his birthday suit passed Relentless who was also surprised to see this naked hiker. I can't imagine the bug bites he will have because the bugs were even biting me through my pants and shirt.We went through Gifford Woods State Park; a really nice place to camp, but it was too early to stop. We stopped at Mountain Meadow Lodge for a BLT sandwich and a coke then hiked on a bit. We didn't want to stop so early, but the next shelter was four miles, all up. The place we found to camp isn't the greatest, lots of mosquitoes, downed trees and between two roads but it will have to do. There will be rain tonight; actually it just started as I was writing this. Hope it makes tomorrow less humid and buggy.
Date: 2004-06-19
From: River Road - Campsite (before)

To: Wintturi Shelter
Miles today: 13.8

The day started with packing up the wet tent and removing the slugs that had attached themselves to the ground cloth. The air was humid, the sky was gloomy and mosquitoes were everywhere and quite hungry. We had a long up to start out and it began to drizzle. Not my favorite way to start the day. Good thing it got better! About 11:30 we stopped at Stony Brook Shelter to eat and the sun came out. There was a lot of up today and we were both feeling it. We stopped at the overlook, a cabin on top of the mountain that has a ladder to the roof and an observation deck up there. From here we got a 360 degree view which was awesome! We could have stayed in the cabin but decided to come another 2.6 miles to the shelter. Now the sun was really shining, but it was also windy and chilly, so we put the tent up in the shelter. We had just finished eating and, it was almost dark when we saw two hikers coming to the shelter. They were Jessica and Fredrick, a father and daughter hiking from Hanover to Pauling, NY. We made room for their tent in the shelter. It is actually cold out now and should be a good night for sleeping. The wind is blowing quite a bit. I wonder if we will get rain. It didn't look overcast before the sun went down.
Date: 2004-06-20
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a great day for hiking and great country with pine forests, and fields of flowers and butterflies. We took time to enjoy the view from the top of the mountain. Both of us being rather sluggish today, we took two lunch breaks, and chatted with people we met on the trail. When we got to the shelter, we found it was pretty full. There was a group of south bounders camped beside the trail into the shelter, and to our surprise, the same Boy Scout troop we had met in PA. They made room for our tent where they had theirs, behind the shelter. We visited with them and another hiker from Cleveland.
Date: 2004-06-21
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

We had the incentive of town food a little less than 5 miles away to get us moving in the morning. The hike to Rick and Tina¢s Country Store a VT 14 was pretty easy and the day was beautiful. We had a good lunch and chatted with another hiker after eating then took some sandwiches with us for our supper. We didn¢t know if we wanted to hike the whole distance into Hanover, but the mosquitoes at the Happy Hill Shelter helped us make up our mind. We couldn¢t even eat our sandwiches there; they were vicious! Later we stopped in the forest where the bugs weren¢t bad and enjoyed them before hiking on to Norwich where we stopped at the grocery store for ice cream before crossing the CT. River into Hanover. We got to town a little before 6 and tried to determine how we were going to get to Boston. Unfortunately, we had just missed the last bus out and would have to wait until 5 AM for the next one.Hanover does not really have a lot of the things hikers need in close proximity to the center of town. Motels, the coin laundry and campground were about 2 miles away. We decided to just hang out in town all night and catch the bus in the morning. It was a long night. We did enjoy a good meal, but it got chilly and there was no place to go in town after midnight.
Date: 2004-06-22
From: Hanover, NH

To: Boston, MA
Miles today: 0.0

We caught the Dartmouth Coach at 5AM glad to be warm and catch a few Z¢s before reaching the big city. It was a comfy two hour ride with snacks and a movie. We got off at Boston¢s South Station about 9:30 AM, ate breakfast and caught the subway to our hotel. Surprise! We were a day ahead of the day we were supposed to be there. It is hard to keep track of dates when hiking. We couldn¢t check in until 3 PM, so we went off to explore the Harvard University and MIT area. It was interesting, but we were really too tired to enjoy it much. When we got back to the hotel, we took showers, did laundry, got some supper from the deli across the street and fell asleep.
Date: 2004-06-23
From: Boston, MA

To: Boston, MA
Miles today: 0.0

We got up early and took the T downtown. We ate breakfast, and then went to the Boston Common where we got information about the Freedom Trail. We decided to take the National Park Service tour and raced to catch it close to Old State House. The ranger gave us lots of good information about the State House, Old South Church, Faneuil Hall, and the founding fathers of the American Revolution. She took us as far as the Paul Revere House, so we continued on the trail to the U.S. Constitution and Bunker Hill Monument. We really enjoyed the tour of the Constitution and climbing all the steps to the top of the monument and the great view from the top. Gary didn¢t even have to stop on his way up.It was easier than the hiking we had been doing. The dust and air pollution got to me, and I coughed all the way down the stairs. We walked back to the North End and had a good meal in a little Italian Restaurant.
Date: 2004-06-24
From: Boston, MA

To: Boston, MA
Miles today: 0.0

We went back to some of the places on the Freedom Trail that we had missed yesterday. We toured the current State House, went through the Park Street Church, King¢s Chapel, Old South Meeting House, Old State House and Paul Revere House. We stopped at the City Hall, the site of the Latin School attended by Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, and John Hancock. There is a statue of a donkey outside the city hall.Democrats are supposed to embrace the statue and Republicans stand on the footprints facing it to indicate their opposition. We were happy to take a picture of us embracing the Donkey. We went to China Town for dinner then to the Boston Library. We really had a lot of fun.
Date: 2004-06-25
From: Boston, MA

To: Boston, MA
Miles today: 0.0

Today we went to the Boston Aquarium and went to an I-max movie about the coral reefs. The Aquarium was really interesting; with a huge tank that is three stories high.After the Aquarium, we ate lunch at the No Name Seafood Restaurant where Gary had lobster. Then we caught the T to meet our niece, Erica for dinner. We went to a great Italian restaurant on Newbury St., a cool place with lots of neat buildings and little shops and restaurants.We had a really good time!
Date: 2004-06-27
From: Medina, OH

To: Medina, OH
Miles today: 0.0

Now we can concentrate on the wedding. I won¢t detail every day of the preparation for the wedding, but I will put the days on here, so it will not through off the calculation of days hiking and zero days. We had a lot to do! First, I had to buy a dress for the wedding that fit my current body, slimmed down a bit from hiking.
Date: 2004-06-29
From: Medina, OH

To: Columbus, OH
Miles today: 0.0

We went to Columbus to visit the kids as soon as we could. It was great to see them! We enjoyed going out to eat at Schmidt¢s Sausage House with Kristen, Jay, (our new son-in-law), Jon and Jamie (Jon¢s girlfriend). We got to see Jay and Kristen¢s new house in German Village. It is really nice. They are very lucky to be able to start out with a home of their own.
Date: 2004-07-08
From: Medina, OH

To: Medina, OH
Miles today: 0.0

Kristen and her friends got together for a girl¢s night out in Cleveland while the boys had their bachelor party in Columbus. My cousin Leila and I went out to eat with them then watched Laura¢s nine month old baby. Laura came all the way from Australia with him to be in the wedding. He is a very good baby and very cute.
Date: 2004-07-09
From: Medina, OH

To: Columbus, OH
Miles today: 0.0

Rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Jay¢s parents picked a great spot for this event. We had the place to ourselves and the food was great! They had an organ there that had been rescued and restored after Ohio State decided to sell it. We got a behind the scenes tour of all the pipes and got to hear it.
Date: 2004-07-16
From: Medina, OH

To: Medina, OH
Miles today: 0.0

Procrastinating and packing. We know it will be painful to start hiking again. We haven¢t done much working out since we have been home. I think I broke the little toe on my right foot when I ran it into the dresser while walking around without shoes. I hope it feels better by the time we have to hike.
Date: 2004-07-19
From: Medina, OH

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Back to the trail. We are leaving Medina at 4PM and driving to Boston where we will get the bus to Hanover in the morning. Neither of us feels ready to hike the White Mountains. I¢m taking lots of pain killer for our aching muscles and my sore toe. It will be hard to get used to the diet and exercise program of the AT.
Date: 2004-07-20
From: Hanover, NH

To: Velvet Rocks Shelter 
Miles today: 1.0
Weather: few clouds

The trip back to the trail went well. We got to Logan Airport with the car about 8:30 AM then took the train to South Station where we were just in time to catch the 9:30 bus for Hanover. We watched the movie and slept a little too which made 2 hours go by quickly. As we neared Hanover, I just kept looking at the mountains and thinking how odd it was that this seemed like coming home. It is like having two very different lives, my life in Medina and my life on the trail. I love both, but when I am living in that world the trail life seems so far away and unreal, almost like a dream. When I am on the trail, I sometimes forget I have a house with running water, King size bed, and TV! We spent our time in Hanover, eating of course. One last yummy meal before heading out for the noodles and rice diet. We also stopped at Ben and Jerry¢s for dessert. We met two other hikers in town and they are camped here tonight along with 2 south bounders, a couple of north bounders from ME and two other NOBOS. I can¢t remember all the trail names. I hope to get them from the registry tomorrow. We were the first ones here. We put up our tent at a nice spot near the shelter and promptly fell asleep for a 3 hour nap. Our first real sleep in a day and a half. The mile here seemed like a long way because of our lack of sleep, four weeks off, Gary¢s cold and my sore toe. We will have a rough few days getting back in shape.
Date: 2004-07-21
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter 

To: Moose Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: clear sky

We slept in today and got a late start. We met a lot of people on the trail, 3 SOBOS and one day hiker with 3 dogs. We also met 3 painters having lunch at the parking lot by one of the roads. They gave us some really nice trail magic, shish kabobs, and cake. Yumm. They were interesting to chat with. We also had a nice conversation with Night Rain one of the SOBOS. I was a warm day but not terribly hot or humid. The bugs weren¢t bad either. The trail was not bad, a bit of up to get to Moose Mountain toward the end. It would have been an easy day if we wouldn¢t have had 4 weeks off. As it was my feet were hurting pretty bad by the time we got here to camp. We took our time and had quite a few breaks. Not a bad first day back. We camped by the old shelter, they have a new one up the trail, se we are the only ones here. It isn¢t a bad place to camp, but I wouldn¢t want to stay in this shelter.
Date: 2004-07-22
From: Moose Mountain Shelter 

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We got a decent start, 8AM. The first part of the trail was fairly easy, but then we got to Holts Hedge and climbed from 920¢ to 2100¢ within 2 miles. The view from the top was nice. This is a falcon nesting area and I saw two of them while I was resting at the view point. We had to come into Trapper John Shelter to get water. My feet were killing me so we decided that since there was a good water source here, few bugs and a nice shelter we would call it a day. The privy here is interesting, someone put a big hole in the middle of a chair so the seat has a back and arms. It¢s been pretty hot and humid today. We have our tent up in the shelter in case of rain. One South Bounder stopped by, Compost, but he didn¢t stay. We still might have other hikers come. It¢s only 5:00 PM. We want to get to bed early so we can get an early start in the morning. We filtered 8 liters of water and used 4 already. About 6:30 a Dartmouth student stopped by on her way back from Hanover to her summer job at a lodge. Then about 15 min. later a hiker who had done 700 miles of the trail last year, Pooh, brought us some great trail magic! Big Macs Cookies and lemonade. He had his tiny little baby with him. She already has a trail name, Dilly Kate. She was being carried in a front pack by her sister and was fast asleep. It was great having some company. We really enjoyed the trail magic too! We hope that Pooh gets a chance to finish his hike someday.
Date: 2004-07-23
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Firewarden Cabin (Smarts Mt)
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

We got up to a cloud covered day. Before we left, it started to drizzle, so we put on the raingear, but soon took it off because it was hot and it wasn¢t raining very hard. We hiked to the first peak of the mountain and thought we had made it to the top. It was a pretty big climb over rock in places and steep. Then we discovered that we had only gone part way up. We had about a mile of ridge walking then another climb to the summit. Just as we started this climb, we heard the rumble of thunder in the distance and it got darker. We put on the rain gear and kept climbing hoping to outrace the storm to get to the fire warden cabin at the top. Before we got there, it started raining buckets. Fortunately, it didn¢t lightning and thunder. We were never so happy to see a cabin. This place is pretty rustic, but to us it was a palace. It is enclosed with a porch, no benches or tables, just a big room, but the room doesn¢t leak. We took off our wet clothes and decided that once again, this was going to be a low mileage day. The rain let up and I went to get water. We had coffee and ate lunch while the rain started again. Soon we were joined by some very wet hikers, The Garland 5 and Plus Two. The Garland 5 are a whole family, Photo (Dad,) Clothesline (Mom,) Wolfsong (Oldest Sister,) Starfire (Youngest Sister,) and Zing (Brother.) They have a website www.garland5.com. They started at Springer and hiked as far as VA where clothesline became ill and they had to leave the trail for 5 weeks. Now they are hiking south from Kinsman Notch to the Long Trail in VT. Clothesline¢s brother and son are hiking with them now. (Plus Two.)The children are great! They really seem to enjoy the trail. Later, a North Bounder, Pony Express) stopped by for a break from the rain, but he went on. Then another hiker came, so now there are 10 of us here for the night. It had stopped raining for a big and the Garland 5 tried to start a fire, but it is raining buckets again now. We are glad to be in the cabin and dry. There are wet clothes hanging everywhere.
Date: 2004-07-24
From: Firewarden Cabin (Smarts Mt)

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 12.6

We let the sun come up before we got out of our sleeping bags. I was having a great dream about food-breakfast of the all you can eat variety. The wind was blowing a bit but the day was sunny and cool, nice hiking weather. We went down Smarts Mountain, a lot easier than the path coming up. Then we climbed Cube MT. This was a really neat trail, up big boulders with lots of lookouts from the rocks. It was a long hard climb, but interesting. The trip down the other side was much easier but not as much fun. When we got to the bottom we were pretty tired. We met 4 hikers going Northbound, Tank, Bone Spur, Daybreak, and Matt. They passed us up. We thought about camping in a little pine grove close to the road instead of doing 2.4 more miles to the shelter but the mosquitoes were bad. When we got to the road, we had a very pleasant surprise. Two hikers who did the trail last year, Nuke and Milo had a cooler full of pop and candy bars for the Thruhikers. Tank, Bone Spur, and Matt were there and called for me to come over and join them. Soon Wildcat and Easy Does It and Day Break Come. It was so great to have that break with some caffeine and chocolate to give us energy to make those last couple of miles. We enjoyed chatting with everyone about the trail. Milo and Nuke knew a lot of people we met last year. Tonight, most of us are staying at the shelter. It was really fun sitting by the fire and talking. It¢s been a good day!
Date: 2004-07-25
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: Welcome Hiker Hostel Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 7.0

We made it out of camp by 7:30 and started hiking. The trail was easy and the day was cool, so the miles flew by. We met a section hiker named Ten Years because he plans to do the whole trail over a ten year period. He was interesting to chat with. He gave us a Milky Way bar, which we really appreciated. We also met Vegabond a South Bounder who was moving really fast. We got to this hostel about noon, and set up the tent. Then Packrat, the owner, let us use his van to go into town to eat and get groceries. Matt joined us and we all had a good meal at the restaurant. The rest of the evening was spent doing laundry, showering, and chatting with other hikers. There is a Southbound couple, Little Bump and Flounder who gave us some tips on places going North. We shared information with them about cool places going south. There were lots of Northbounders telling them all the cool places to stop, so they should have a great trip. They were taking notes. It was fun talking about all the neat places we¢ve been with other hikers. I also got to call home and use the internet. I¢m anxious to climb in the White Mountains, but I¢m also a little scared of the climbs. Tomorrow¢s climb shouldn¢t be bad, but coming down the other side of Mt. Moosilake promises to be a challenge but very beautiful from what we¢ve heard. Hope we get good weather.
Date: 2004-07-26
From: Welcome Hiker Hostel Glencliff, NH

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: broken clouds

We got our drop box from the post office, packed our food bags and our snacks then got going about 9AM. The hostel had real coffee this morning, a nice treat with the muffin we bought in town yesterday. This was a good stop, good company and a real hiker friendly place. Having thru hiked himself, Pack Rat knows just what hikers need to have available and has it. The climb up MT Moosilake was not too bad. We got to the summit about 2:30 PM. The view was a great 360 degrees vista with mountains and valleys as for as you could see. We thought about going down to the road tonight, but my little toe that I broke while at home was killing me on the downs when it was pushed against the side of my boot. I fell once today and turtuled, I couldn¢t get up because my pack was too heavy. I had to unhook the straps and crawl out from under it. I didn¢t hurt anything but my pride, just tripped over root. It is supposed to have showers tomorrow which is one reason we wanted to get down the steep trail tonight. It did drizzle a little already. We put our tent up in the shelter and there is another hiker here, Ghost, a section hiker. He has one side of the shelter and we have the other. It¢s a nice big one with a super view of Franconia Ridge in the distance. The sun is just setting, Ghost is just finishing his supper and Relentless is already snoring away as I write this. I¢m going to sleep pretty soon. We want an early start if the rain holds off.