morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-08-06
From: Bearded Woods Hostel

To: Glen Brook Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

After a hearty breakfast at the hostel, I said goodbye to T-Rex as he was being shuttled back to his car while we were being shuttled back to Salisbury to resupply and head out. It was just another great experience notched on to this journey by having my best friend come out and be part of something that's so special to me. Salisbury had a small grocery store that had mostly upscale items but we made due with what they had and we headed back to the trail around eleven.   We got some great views from Bear Mountain with spectacular ridge line views and an even better view from the rock observation tower which really wasn't much of a tower but a big pile of rocks but the view was nice. We hiked on and passed some more southbounders along the way who told us we had some really nice hiking coming up and they weren't wrong. We climbed down Bear Mountain and hiked down into Sages Ravine which was beautiful as we hiked along a stream that had a great flow and waterfalls. We took our time hiking that section and took a lot of pictures and whole hiking out of the ravine we crossed the Connecticut/Massachusetts border,another state down!    We finished the day at the Glen Brook Shelter,it was only .1 further down the the trail from the newer shelter and had better tenting sites so we stayed there. It was a nice shelter and the area around it was beautiful with pine needles blanketing the floor. We made our first official legal fire,it took a bit with everything being wet but we made it work and was nice to sit around a warm fire with the bugs kept at bay, it's the little things that make this journey so amazing.
Date: 2014-08-07
From: Glen Brook Shelter

To: Stealth Camping near Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 15.3

It was another late start to the morning,didn't leave camp until nine, the weather is still pretty cool so it's tough to leave the tent. The weather has been pretty good for us and the summer has been pretty cool so I can't complain too much. What I will complain about is the bugs up here. I know I'm hiking in the woods and that's part of it but it gets a bit much sometimes. The mosquitos are relentless around here and will bite through two shirts,pants, wherever those little bastards can bite,they will. While hiking, you can't stop or before you know it,they'll swarm you and attack,we call them zombies because they will chase you down no matter where you go.   The weather was starting to look pretty ominous early on and it seems like we were outrunning the storm. With the the thunder bellowing and a light rain coming down, we hiked on. We got to the Tom Leonard Shelter around 4:30 and were planning on doing another five miles before calling it a day. When we got to the shelter,there were other hikers there but no one was saying much,it was pretty weird. It seems this far into the journey, some of the northbounders are seeming to break down a bit. The journey is nearing the end and the miles are starting to real down people physically and emotionally and people aren't as jovial as they were early on. So after a snack we hiked on but the sky was darkening and the thunder was getting louder which made us worry a bit. I checked the radar and it looked like a line of storms were coming out way so we made the decision to stop and stealth camp. You're not suppose to stealth camp in Massachusetts but we the rest of the miles to the shelter were on a ridge line and I wasn't going to risk my safety to get there. We adhere to the Leave No Trace principles so I knew that once we packed up,no one would know we were there. So we set up camp and laid in the tents watching the mosquitos fly around outside and wait for a storm that never showed up. I planned on catching up on my trailjournals but fell asleep early,there's always tomorrow I guess.
Date: 2014-08-08
From: Stealth Camping near Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

After stopping early for a night for a rainstorm that never showed up, we were determined to do a big day. We've heard from a lot of people about Upper Goose Pond Cabin and how amazing of a place it is so that was our destination for the day.    We hiked fast today and didn't stop too much today, only for a few breaks and we felt that later on with sore knees and feet. We hiked around Upper Goose Pond early evening and it was a beautiful backdrop to walking up to the cabin. The cabin was built in the late 1800's and was donated to the Appalachian Mountain Club with the promise of not charging people to early there and to this day thru hikers are welcomed to stay. It's a beautiful place with canoes to use and the beautiful pond to swim in. There were about fifteen thru hikers already there milling about, some were sitting on the front porch while others were cooking some food. The caretaker and her friend brought there kids with them and they were running around playing hide and seek.It reminded me of the days when I used to go upstate to my grandparents summer house.We arrived and went up the second floor where there were free bunks with mattresses for thru hikers and we see lucky enough to get bunks. After we got settled, we hung out on the front porch talking to the other hikers and then went down to the dock to hang out and relax. While down at the dock, we heard some rustling in the bushes about 100 yards from us and all of a sudden a black bear emerged from the bushes and sits on rock looking out at the pond. We sat there quietly watching it until he realized we were there and ran back into the woods.   After that we went back to the cabin and stared to make some dinner. Luckily for us, a hiker who stayed at the cabin the night before loved that's so much that he went into town and brought bald to boxes of red wine for everyone to enjoy and enjoy we did. There nothing like Mac and cheese and red wine for dinner, I keep it classy out on the trail. So we ended the night around a fire and the caretakers kids were making s'mores for people and me drinking some wine,couldn't ask for a better way to end the night.
Date: 2014-08-09
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Cookie Lady
Miles today: 11.1

As if the cabin wasn't already awesome, it went up a notch when the caretaker made coffee and blueberry pancakes for us. After stuffing our faces, it was time to head out. Atlas spoke to Delaware yesterday and she's only a few miles ahead of us so we'll finally catch up to her after being being apart for two or weeks. After crossing US 20 and hiking a few miles, we found her on the side of the trail on the phone taking to her parents, it was great to see her.   We hiked another three miles to Finerty Pond where Guppy and Tim were hanging out waiting for us. There big fans of taking long breaks so we stayed there for a bit. Atlas was having a bad day to begin with and after knocking over her pot of Ramen, that was the straw that broke the camels back and she left first. Delaware and I were soon to follow and after a nice relatively flat hike we all were at the Kay Wood Shelter. It was still early in the day and we were only a few miles away from the road where the infamous Cookie Lady lived so we decided it would be cool to stay there for the night rather than the shelter. The Cookie Lady is a well known trail angel who owns a blueberry farm and let's hikers camp there for free, she also greets you with delicious cookies when you first arrive there.    Atlas and I got there first and set up out tents and hung out there waiting for everyone to arrive which they eventually did. It was a beautiful blueberry farm and the perfect backdrop for the Supermoon which came out while we were cooking dinner on the picnic table in front of the house. We stayed up for awhile just taking in the scenery but out of nowhere, hordes of mosquitos showed up and it was a sign for me to retreat to the tent for the night.
Date: 2014-08-10
From: Cookie Lady

To: Dalton,MA
Miles today: 9.5

Since coming up with our plan and the mileage we need to hit; we've only hit that quota once so far and today would be another day of not hitting the daily mileage. Delaware has a package at the post office and since it's Sunday, we would have to wait until tomorrow. Luckily there an awesome trail angel in town who allows thru hikers to camp out in his backyard so that's where we headed.   The hike was short and before we knew it we were in Dalton which is a nice little town. We went over to Tom Levardi's house and luckily he was home and after talking to him for a bit, he allowed us to set up camp in his backyard. We were the first ones there so we set up the tents and headed out to explore Dalton and get some food. We ended up at a tavern and Tim and Guppy were already there enjoying themselves. We joined them with some beers and some chicken wings which Atals has been craving and her talking about them made everyone want them. After the bar, we went over for the store to pick up some beer to being back to the house but we ended up drinking most of it before we got back to the house.   We got back to the house around eight and there were about twenty hikers set up there,it was a full house. Guppy and Tim didn't stay thee because of how crowded it was so they went back to the trail to camp. They were getting off the trail for week so we said out goodbyes and would see them soon. We hung out in the backyard for a bit and Tom was nice enough to give us some brownies. We didn't stay up too late and fell asleep to the glow of the moon and streetlight.
Date: 2014-08-11
From: Dalton,MA

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: broken clouds

Our intentions were to resupply in Dalton but there wasn't too many places around so Delaware was nice enough to share her maildrop with us and we would resupply in North Adams because there was a grocery store there. The hike wasn't too spectacular until trail went through Cheshire,MA where there was an little ice cream shop called Diane's Twist which was a great spot for a break and we stopped there for some hot dogs and soft serve ice cream.    We stayed there for awhile and left as some dark clouds were rolling in and since we had to hike uphill, we got moving. Fueled by soda and ice cream we hiked those last four miles uphill pretty quickly and got there before the rain hit. The shelter was full so we set up our tents and joined everyone at the shelter for dinner. There was a guy in Cheshire who handed out MRE's which are the meals soldiers eat to thru hikers so everyone was eating them for dinner. I had the enchilada one and it's safe to say I won't be having a MRE anytime soon, thankfully I had some beers left from yesterday to wash it down with.
Date: 2014-08-12
From: Mark Noepel Shelter

To: Williamstown,MA
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light rain

We were up early so we can get into town and resupply. It was about ten miles to town so the earlier to get there the better plus we wanted to get something to eat. The hike brought us to the highest point in Massachusetts, Mount Greylock, which was a pretty cool place. It had a monnument on top the mountain like High Point State Park in Jersey. Unfortunately the monument was closed due to renovations but there were still great views of the surrounding area.    After Mount Greylock, the hike was all downhill and it took a toll on our knees and when we got into town, Atlas and I rested until Delaware showed up. It was a little bit before she showed up and with the next shelter being seven miles away and a big storm coming in, we decided to resupply and stay at a hotel for the night to escape the storm. We got a hotel and some beer and our relaxing in the room waiting for this storm to arrive.
Date: 2014-08-14
From: Williamstown,MA

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: broken clouds

I have a hard time leaving motels and usually wait until the last minute before checkout to leave and this time was no exception. We didn't leave until eleven but luckily the owner of the motel was nice enough to give us a ride back to the trail.   So with full packs we hit the trail and continued on journey and about three miles in we hit the Massachusetts/Vermont border! I was pretty excited as we are down to the final three states and I've never been to Vermont so I'm looking forward to this section. I've always heard about the Long Trail which is a famous hiking trail in Vermont runs concurrent with the Appalachian Trail for 105 miles so it's nice that I can knock off a big section of the trail and come back later in life to finish it up. The a Vermont section of the trail is known to be muddy and it has lived up to its name early on. Sometimes you're lucky enough to have rocks embedded in the mud that you can use as stepping stones but most of the time you have to commit and stick those feet in the mud and let them get swallowed up for a moment, all you can do is laugh and hike on.   The weather was beautiful with a stiff wind blowing for most of the day and a chill in the air that gave me goosebumps every time I stopped even for a moment. Towards the end of the day the trail did alongside a stream and lead us to the Congdon Shelter. There was a father/daughter team from Long Island who were hiking the Long Trail, another Long Islander who was hiking the AT and three southbounders. Delaware made a fire and we talked to the southbounders for a bit trading tales from the trail and info about upcoming places. It was good to just hang out at a shelter and talk to other thru hikers, it made it feel like the early days where the shelters were full and people were enthusiastic to talk,crazy how things have changed. A brief rainstorm passed over as I'm sitting here writing this in my tent, the pitter patter of the drops combined with the sound of the stream is a potent combination to put me to sleep. I looked at my guide book and just realized how small it is since I rip out the pages as I go and we just hit the 1600 mile mark today. The realization of the this journey coming to an end is starting to hit me, I just have to make the best of the remaining days that are ahead.
Date: 2014-08-16
From: Goddard Shelter

To: Campsite near Stratton Pond
Miles today: 19.0

Cold, it was cold last night and this morning I wasn't leaving form underneath my quilt until the last possible second. This getting up in the morning early is getting harder and harder each day. We all slept in this morning with the exception of Delaware who was brave enough to get out of bed early and hike to a fire tower down trail to watch the sunrise. It was a casual morning despite us doing nineteen miles but the terrain wasn't too bad and the only big climb was over Stratton Mountain which was long and gradual so it didn't look too bad. By the time we left the shelter, the sun made it's way through the clouds and made it presence known much to our chagrin.   Atlas, James and myself hiked out together and early on in the day we got to the fire tower which was a good one because you go into it. Most of the fire towers on the trail you can climb up all the stairs but they locked the door which was disappointing. I still have my issues with heights so it's slow going up those stairs to the top but it's worth the views that await. Miles of pine trees mountains as far as the eyes can see and what a beautiful sight it is. We're finally back in old growth, primal wilderness where the sounds of society disappear and nature makes her presence known, this is why we're out here. We stayed up there for a bit and talked to the caretaker who was a great guy. He asked my story and I told him and he said turning thirty out here is a good year to be out here as you stand at a crossroad in life,plenty of life to look back on and plenty of life to forward to. He was right, I've reflected a lot on my past out here and at home and out here you look at it from a different perspectives and angles and learn from it and that's been the most rewarding thing of this trip so far. I don't have all the answers yet and probably won't have them all by the trips end but I'll be a better person from it all when I step out of the woods.   We only had a mile and change to get down near the next shelter where you have to pay to stay. I have mixed feeling about charging for shelters, I understand why they do, volunteers can only do so much. I don't know how the funds are doled out from the AMC but I hope this isn't a system that begins in other states besides VT and NH. Atlas and I decided to stealth camp while James and Delaware went to the shelter so we parted ways and would see them in the morning. Right when we went to bed, the rain started up again, apparently August is the rainiest month in Vermont and it's holding true up to this point.
Date: 2014-08-17
From: Campsite near Stratton Pond

To: Manchester City
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We were finally going to get up on time and break camp early when it started pouring right when my alarm went off so we bunkered down for awhile until it eased up. It's hard enough to get out of bed at home when it's raining, it's even harder when you have to get up and stand in the rain and break down camp all before a cup of coffee. The rain let up around seven and we emerged from the sleeping bags and got moving. It rained progressively harder as we made breakfast and tried to hide under the trees with the thickest canopy to use as natural umbrellas.   We met James and Delaware at the shelter and hiked out together for most of the day. We were heading into town to resupply and then get some McDonalds which was on everyone's mind and the driving force behind us getting into town as quick as possible. The hunger has been insatiable the last few days and out stomachs knew we were near a town and grew angry. We tried to appease them by shoveling in any snacks we had left but they were having none of it and rumbled in anger every step we took. We finally got to the road and after about ten minutes of hitchhiking we hopped in the back of a pickup truck for the six mile trip into town.    We headed right to the McDonalds and ordered not with out eyes but with our stomachs. I was probably the most responsible and only ordered the double quarter pounder meal while everyone ordered a but more and in the end there were some chicken nuggets that survived the ordeal. It looked like we just ate Thanksgiving dinner and we sat there comatose and sleepy. After digesting for a bit we resupplied and went to an outfitter and decided to stay in town for the night. We got a motel and there I called my parents to ask if they could send my winter gear now, I couldn't wait a few more weeks. Luckily they're the best and were up for the challenge and are sending it all out tomorrow so it should be here Wednesday. We're heading for higher elevations and I'm not taking a chance, I'm already shivering a bit when we get to camp. Suppose to be nice tomorrow, so looking toward to another great day of hiking in Vermont.
Date: 2014-08-18
From: Manchester City

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

To appease the hunger gods this morning we went to a diner before heading back to the trail. It was delicious and should hold off the hunger for a few hours,I looked in the mirror this morning and it looked like I lost a few more pounds so I need to keep eating as much as possible whenever I can.    We got a ride to the trailhead and had a climb up Bromley Mountain which had a ski slope on the top. They also had a shelter there that I wanted to stay at but forgot this was the place so I was a little pissed but what can you do. We hung out up there for a bit and took in the views and looked at the ski lifts that were there waiting for the winter season to arrive and come alive again.    We has some climbs and good views after that especially from Styles Peak. We got to the shelter in good time considering we started so late so we set up camp and started a fire. There was a stream running near the shelter which made it that much more relaxing. The temperature dropped and fire fought out the cold as much as it could but soon everyone went to bed besides James and I. We watched the fire dwindle out and suddenly heard some footsteps behind me and by the time I turned my flashlight on my phone, it was gone. That freaked me out a bit and took it as a sign to head to bed.
Date: 2014-08-21
From: Tucker-Johnson Shelter

To: Killington,VT
Miles today: 2.3

We awoke to the sound of pouring rain which made it hard to get up. Thankfully we were heading into town to pick up our maildrops before figuring of where we would be heading afterwards. We got a late start and hiked the three miles into the town, along the way we passed James,Cactus and Aroo who were heading back onto the trail.    There isn't much to the town of Killington so we went to the post office first and I got my package which included my winter gear and some delicious honeybuns,it's been awhile. Unfortunately Atlas's package was still in Texas for some reason so they were going to forward the package to Hanover. Luckily I had another fleece out into my maildrop so she's going to borrow that until her stuff arrives. We went to the deli next door and got some breakfast which was delicious and a big cup of real coffee which was just as good. We hung out outside at the picnic tables and charges out phones and Delaware showed up, she ended up at the hotel last night. We all hung out there and Delaware got her package which had a crazy amount to of dinners and snacks so she shared the wealth which worked out to my advantage.   After hanging out at the deli for awhile we headed to a laundromat about a mile away but this wasn't no ordinary laundromat. What set this laundromat apart was it had a bar upstairs so while your clothes got clean you get a bit tipsy,I can't believe there aren't more places like this. So we had some drinks including a Long Trail Ale, ate some food and played some pool and before we knew it it was pretty late and it was still pouring out so we got a hotel. It was a short day but got some errands done, we'll do some big miles tomorrow.