morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-21
From: stratton mtn

To: unexpected zero day
Miles today: 0.0

waking up to cire not feeling any better so...we ran through some differnt options of what we could do and decided that we didnt want to leave cire alone. so we wanted to find a place to stay that wasnt too expensive and the only thing was to have his mom pick us up and take us to his uncles farm (the same one from a couple weeks before). so we drove down there, and i got to drive a little which was exciting. and basically we just chilled the rest of the evening. watched some tv and some movies. and of course, ate some food. we dont know if we are taking another day tomorrow or going back to the trail. depends on how cire feels. so...well see.
Date: 2003-07-22
From: unexpected zero day

To: zero day
Miles today: 0.0

well, cires still not feeling much like hiking. but the swelling from the bite has gone down and the pain isnt as bad. so, its looking up for us. we think that well be back on the trail tomorrow for sure. but today we went into town and just looked around. theres a bunch of cool old houses around. and we hit up walmart and picked up a few small things. got back in time for lunch, which was so nice. some of the kids came over and hung out for a while. they are a fun bunch of kids. then some others came and spent the night. we all sat around and watched movies all night pretty much. not much to do. but cire is feeling much better so we are gonna be heading back tomorrow as soon as we can. im actually ready to get back. im just ready to get goin. its the beginning of the end!
Date: 2003-07-23
From: zero day

To: near peru peak
Miles today: 7.0

an interesting day i must say. we did get rolling this morning at a good time. we left around 8:30 and started back. we stopped for lunch and went to the trail head asap. only where we wanted to get back on the trail was not accessible by car, so...after a good while of debating what to do we just decided the easier way...to get back on at manchester. so around 3 this afternoon we were on the trail. and man i was gettin my tail whooped. bromley mt. to start with, which was a very beautiful place, and then stiles peak, which was just woods all over, and now peru peak. but we stopped just short of the top. it started raining and was getting dark. 7 miles aint too bad for today, considering our late start and my being off the trail so long, it seems. but im ready to get movin on. ive been lookin at what new hampshire has in store for us and im just anxious to get there. but, im out for now.
Date: 2003-07-24
From: near peru peak

To: grenwall shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: moderate rain

woke up to rain. not very encouraging, or not urging me to get up and going. and after we sat for a good hour debating whether to wait longer to see if the rain would let up at all. but it didnt seem like it was so we packed up and got movin. and wouldnt you know it, the rain stopped not 10 minutes after we left. the sun came out and just teased us with its soothing warmth and brightness, and then rain again! wed get a good hour of rain and then the sun would peek out for a few minutes. then, it would rain again. and off and on all day it rained. we did get to a shelter for lunch so we could eat and be dry. we didnt stop again until we got here. the rain started 20 minutes before we got here. just enough to get us all soakin wet before we stopped. but it is nice to be here and out of the rain. hopefully itll clear up tomorrow so we can dry out. tomorrow we are goin in to clarendon to pick up a maildrop so itll be a easy day. lookin forward to it.
Date: 2003-07-25
From: grenwall shelter

To: campsite 7 miles south of mt. killingston
Miles today: 12.0

it was soo nice waking up to sun, and also to not be in a hurry at all. we took our time getting up and still ended up on the trail around 8. i had an amazing morning too! the trail was nice. we got warmed up on a nice gradual downhill and i felt good so i busted it up bear mt. it was a hard climb but i felt like gettin a good workout i guess. as i said yesterday, we are goin in to get our maildrop today. its like 9 miles to the road and we got there around 11. and theres this awesome river that we got to swim/bathe in. it was very nice! and we crossed the coolest suspension bridge over the river too. good times all around! we ended up goin to lunch before goin to the post office. we hitched to the p.o. with no problems. got things in order and got a nice ride back to the trail. hit the trail around 3:30. kinda late, but no biggy. we got some water at the clarendon shelter and moved on. by now we are climbing some really steep hills. not so much fun. my calves are killin me! ! but we got to a stream and there were some cokes in the stream (theyre in the stream to keep cool). such a nice surprise! and after lookin around we decided to set up camp there near the stream. and its uch a nice little place. real flat and open. nice as opposed to what weve had in the past. and we got a good little fire goin to maybe lessen the number of mosquitos that will attack us. its been a decent day. and a really nice evening. im excited about cimbing killington tomorrow. we are planning to eat lunch up there at the top. hopefully the weather will be good to us so well have a view!
Date: 2003-07-26
From: campsite 7 miles south of mt. killingston

To: rt 4
Miles today: 14.0

alas, the day of killington! the climb of vermont ive been anticipating since the beginning. but first, we ran into crow today before we got started. and he was with none other than tuba man. we actually met him! its not that big of a deal, just that weve heard of him since before we started. hes famous! anyways...it was good to see crow again. so we started the climb around 8:30 and i must say it wasnt that bad. i mean it was hard as crap, but i was in the mood to hike hard so it worked out. and after a little while i was at the top. well, the a.t. doesnt go all the way to the top. but we ended up goin to the summit via a side trail. it was nice, but had it not been overcast and hazy, it would have been amazing. we hung out up there for a good while and then headed down to the inn @ the long trail. we didnt stop til we got there. i guess the food was calling us. and the food was good! and if the inn wasnt full we wouldve stayed there. but after careful consideration, we decided that we wanted to stay at a hotel anyways, so we could do laundry and all that stuff. so we went in to rutland and stayed at the royal motel. they were very nice to us, but it wasnt the ramada! you know what im sayin. but it was nice nonetheless. we got a movie on and we are just chillin...
Date: 2003-07-27
From: rt 4

To: stony brook shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: light rain

you might be asking, why only 8.6 miles...well, ill tell you.we couldnt get a ride out of rutland!!! and with it being 10 miles off the trail its pointless to hike it. we started thumbin a ride and couldnt get any bites for like 2 and a half hours. so, lunch time came around and we decided wed eat at the pizza hut that was right there and then wed catch the bus back to the trail. so we have a nice big lunch and we get out to the road to catch the bus and when it came by we started waving it down so it could stop and the driver just waved back at us and passed us! i mean whats up with that! so, we had to come up with another idea. but as we were thinking and discussing, a guy in a small car pulls over and asks if we need to get somewhere. wouldnt you figure that the one time we didnt have our thumbs out someone pulls over. anyways...we took the ride and got back to the trail. then...i realize ive forgotten my cellphone charger. now i know that it might seem funny or silly to have a phone, but its handy to have. so i need the charger! so i try callin to see what the motel keeper could do for me, but i cant get through to him. so i was gonna try and catch the bus (haha) back to town to get my charger. and the same guy that gave us a ride to the trail was passin by and pulled over and picked me up and offered me a ride there and back. craziness! so the problem was solved. so we did get on the trail around 3. so we just hiked until we wanted to stop. so we got here and figured we should stop so, here we are. theres a few too many people in the shelter though. i mean, theys loud! and the conversation isnt very pleasant to my ears. so, im gonna try and goes to sleep and get away from it...
Date: 2003-07-28
From: stony brook shelter

To: campsite
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: light rain

oh dang! today kicked my tail!!! it had to be one of the hardest 17 miles weve done. i mean the terrain was horrible. we climbed these huge mtns that arent in the book, so we didnt know they were there. by looking at the book, which is how we plan the day, the terrain looked easy. we were wrong. anyways...another hard day. but we are that much closer to hanover, new hampshire. we could be there tomorrow if we realy wanted. but it would be an 18 mile day and if the terrain is anything like it was today i dont think we will be able to make it. but we dont have to be there til wednesday at noon so we can take it easy tomorrow. we did get to go to a really nice general store this evening. i got a great sandwich there. it was my reward i guess for doin the miles. or thats how im justifying it at least. haha. we found a great campsite, and we are by ourselves which is nice. we got a little fire goin and ive been pickin some on the guit-fiddle. a good end to the day. oh, by the way, the weather was horrible yesterday, but today it was gorgeous. like 60 deg and clear and sunny. couldnt be better for hikin
Date: 2003-07-29
From: campsite

To: happy hill shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

sooo nice to sleep in a little bit this morning! til 8! and it cooled off a good bit so it was nice to just lay there in the sleeping bag all cuddled up. i got up and ate some b-fast and i even made a small fire so we could burn some wrappers that we had. we packed up and got on the trail around 9:30. a little late but i thought we deserved it since we pushed yesterday. so we started with a climb, which wasnt huge but was steep enough to really get the blood flowin! and then up and down and up and down. its funny how all of the sudden the trail got really ridiculous. its been going over mtns that seem so out of the way and then seemingly avoid going in to town. its just stupid. but, we gotta do it anyways. we did get to west hartford and got some grubbage. there was even a nice river there where we got to swim and wash out some stuff (including ourselves). so refreshing. and nice to smell somewhat cleaner. we took a couple hours there and just sat. i got to call mom and give the update. wasnt really lookin forward to the climb out of town. 1500 feet and steep as all get out. but with some effort i finally got up and did it. actually the 4 miles to the shelter went by pretty quick. it was a great relief to get here. well, it always is when you get done for the day. and all we have is 5 miles into hanover, new hampshire tomorrow and then the rest of the day off! that is also a great relief. im definitely lookin forward to getting there. id like to visit dartmouth college and of course the ben and jerrys store. oh, and a shower would be nice too at some point! but tomorrow will only come sooner if today ends sooner, so...
Date: 2003-07-30
From: happy hill shelter

To: hanover, nh
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

12 states done, only 2 more left! it was a very nice evening last night and the weather was so comfortable to sleep in. nice and cool. so nice. and to wake up and know that we have a short hike into town was nice. no pressure. just a relaxing day. the 5 mi were just as rediculous as the past 30, but we were going in to town so its not as bad. hanover is an awesome town. one of the biggest town weve been to i think. and theres so much in it. it was cool to walk around dartmouths campus. it was nice to bein a college town. theres just something about them that is nice to me. we walked straight to the ben and jerrys place and got a milkshake. so good! we went to the p.o. and did the maildrop stuff to get that out of the way. and then cires mom showed up and we loaded the car up and then went to lunch. me and oopu hit a very good thai rest. ive been thinkin about thai for a while and i just had to go. i dont think oopu enjoyed it quite as much as i did. but it was good. better than what we are used to. then we got to walk around town. i found a nice music store that had some nice guitars. and man it was good to play a nice guitar. i actually stayed there for an hour or so. we eventually ended up back at the ben and jerrys place and met ketchups family. and yes we had to get the vermonster. and i must explain what this is. 20 scoops of any flavor ice creams we wanted topped with hot fudge, choc chips, walnuts, reese pieces, caramel, whipped cream, 4 bananas, 3 huge choc chip cookies, and 1 giant choc fudge brownie. i believe thats about it. it was about 12 pounds all together. and it cost over 30$. we figured somethin like 30 thousand calories. a dang lot! and yes, we ate all of it. and we got pictures of it. but...i dont really feel normal right now. the stomach hasnt seen that much dairy for a long time! its good that we decided that we are slack-packin tomorrow. cires mom reserved a campsite for two nights so we are gonna hike 14 miles and the come back to hanover. it works out good. we should be able to get the miles done by mid afternoon and have the rest of the day to spend with cires mom at the campground. they got showers, a pool, and laundry! a good place to be. im excited. hopefully the trail wont be to bad tomorrow. though, im preparing for the worst. well, im gonna sit a little while longer enjoying the fire before bed. we wanna get going fairly early in the morning so i should get some rest. its good to finally be in new hampshire!
Date: 2003-07-31
From: hanover, nh

To: goose pond rd
Miles today: 14.2

finally, a slack-pack gone good! we actually started this morning at goose pond road at around 8:30. it was a good morning through and through. we climbed moose mtn with ease and started our way down and eventually into town. me and oopu ran all the downhill parts so we ended up in town at 1:30. we made pretty good time i thought. it was nice to have the rest of the day off to do whatever. it almost feels like we had a zero day, but we didnt! those are the best days. anyways...we came back to the camp and managed to get laundry done and even swim a little bit. very fun! and as we were gettin stuff situated i noticed that the new water filter that we bought was the wrong kind. so...we had to make a trip into town, which is about a half hour drive, to exchange the filters. but, tey were out of the one that we needed so we had to get aqua mire to treat the water since we cant pump it. well have to go somewhere in the next week and pick a filter up. anyways...we made it back to the campground and are chillin. ill probaby get an early start on my zzzs. and the mosquitos are gettin bad, so...im out!
Date: 2003-08-04
To: zero in n. woodstock
Miles today: 0.0

we really hadnt planned a zero here, 16 miles on the terrain yesterday really beat everyone up so we needed a break. and its a really nice little town to be in too. we a great rate on a great room at the inn. its probably the best room weve gotten on the trail yet. really nice! and free breakfast came with it. we did laundry and hung out at the pool for a few hours. walked down to lincoln and ate at mcdonalds. then we just hung out in the room here. after hearing that a-train and dimples and a few others finished the trail these past few days, im kinda excited to back out there and get goin. hopefully we wont get stuck here or anything and not be able to get on the trail. anyways...well see...
Date: 2003-08-04
To: liberty mtn
Miles today: 3.0

haha...figures with our luck, that we wouldnt get on the trail til 4. we ran a couple errands and picked up a few things before trying to get back to the trail. we ate our free b-fast, which was amazing, and then got the room cleaned up, and then checked out. we went down to the outfitters so i could get a new pack cover, since mine had lost its ability to function properly. anyways...we started hitchin around 11 this morning. and we couldnt decide whether we wanted to walk the 6 miles back to the trail or not, but eventualy decided not to and just wait til someone picked us up. well, after a long couple hours of waiting, a couple in a big truck pull over and give us a ride. they ended up dropping us off at this visitors center which was still a half a mile from the trail. so, though im grateful for the ride, we didnt really know where the trail was in relation to where we were. so we looked on the map and found a short trail that went from the visitors center back to the a.t. and so we were finally on our way. we began our hike with the ever so steep climb up mt liberty. and, needless to say, thats how far we got today. it was lookin like rain, and we met this trail worker who told us a good spot to camp at the top of the ridge. so, we thought it would be nice to set up before the rain started. and sure enough, as soon as we got the tarp up, the rain came! and hasnt stopped yet. so...we are gonna try and pick up some miles tomorrow. hopefully since we are already on top of the ridge, the terrain wont be as bad, and as slow. the climbs are so steep and rocky we cant go more than probably 1.5 mph. so its a lot slower goin here in the whites. but since we already got this climb done well be startin from the top. well, almost at the top. and maybe the weather will, by some miracle, be halfway decent while we go up above treeline tomorrow. the franconia ridge is supposed to be the coolest spots in the whites. i dont want to miss it due to fog and rain!! anyways...pray for the best, be prepared for the worst!
Date: 2003-08-06
From: liberty mtn

To: galehead hut
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

dang! ive been looking so forward to this ridge and we are in a cloud. its raining sideways and sometimes upside-down. the wind was blowing probably 25 mph and its 50 degrees. so...after getting up there i was ready to get down! i can imagine how nice it wouldve been, being above treeline for 3 miles, but it just wasnt as appealing today. not to mention i had two good falls, from which i am still in pain. i twisted my ankle, which is fine now, but i came right down on a sharp rock on my tailbone, and that is killin me. i cant sit down without leaning to one side. anyways...it hurts. but after getting off the ridge, the sun started to peek and the rain stopped. but only temporarily. it gave us just enough time to get over mt. garfield and back down to galehead hut, where we were able to do some work for stay. i must say today was the slowest-going hiking weve done yet. it took us over 8 hours to do the ten miles. ridiculous. the terrain is probably the worst, or hardest, weve! had. the combination of steeeeep, and rocky just doesnt make for pleasant hiking. oh, and coming down garfield the trail went through a waterfall. it basically dropped off about ten feet and water was gushing down it. slippery and not fun! but...we made it to the hut and the crew was so so kind and they let us stay as long as we helped out with serving dinner and cleaning up and stuff. so, wouldnt you know it started pouring down rain as soon as we got inside. so, it was really nice to be inside, dry, and warm. the food was excellent too! homemade bread, lasagna, salad, and homemade choc cake! and we got it all for an exchange of work. the work was easy stuff too. i couldnt believe it. we got the best deal out of tonight. i wish we could do this every night!
Date: 2003-08-07
From: galehead hut

To: ethan pond campsite
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

we got breakfast too! we helped clean up the hut after the big group left. but we got goin around 9:15 which wasnt bad at all, considering. the terrain was actually not as bad today. we had a pretty hellacious climb this morning, but after that it was nice. the clouds broke just enough to get a look at mt garfield behind us and we saw what we think was mt. washington, but way off in the distance. it almost blended in with the sky. maybe if it ws clearer out we couldve seen it better. anyways...we were able to pick the pace up a little and cover a couple more miles in a shorter time. we ate lunch at zealand hut, where for a dollar they had ayce bakery goods. they bake cinnamon rolls and different breads fresh in the morning and then sell all the leftovers to us for a dollar. its such a good deal. after the hut we went over the nicest terrain since virginia! fr almost 5 miles it was almost flat. a couple bumps, but smooth, not rocky. but we realized again that 5 miles is still 5 miles no matter what terrain, and we got pretty wore out. so once we got here to the pond we decided to stay. the caretaker is so nice and shes letting six of us stay for no charge, which its normally $8 per person. so, again we got the deal. we got a nice small fire goin to dry out some gear and we is just chillin out. we are all looking forward to tomorrow when we start climbing mt washington. itll be an all day climb, but its gonna be so worth it. weve been waiting for this for a long time. the mtn we thought would never come has finally arrived. or we have arrived to it. anyways...its gonna be a beast, but the best. cant wait.
Date: 2003-08-08
From: galehead hut

To: lakes of the clouds hut
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

slept in a little longer due to the rain this morning. we didnt get going til about 9. but we had a nice 3 miles stretch of downhill to get us warmed up. then, the climb ive been anticipating for so long, and never realy thought would come, is here. the 12 miles ascent of mt. washington. and hitting every peak in between! the initial 2000 feet were pretty tough. but after that it was rock climbing and scrambling, which i enjoy doing! so, i had a pretty fun day. the clouds broke enough to see the valley, down towards crawford notch, when we got to webster cliffs. and we got somewhat of a view from mt jackson. but all this time, mt washington was in the clouds, out of sight. the climb from mizpah hut was incredible. after summiting mt. clinton we were above treeline for about 3 miles to here. and eventhough we were in the clouds the whole time, it was pretty spectacular. just to be where we are is pretty cool. and around 5:30 i arrived at the lakes hut, about 45 mins. ahead of all the others. i went ahead and arranged the work for stay at the hut. everything is workin out great. and then, during dinner we noticed the clouds were breaking a little bit over mt washington so we went out and finally, the summit was in sight. its still 1.5 mi away but it looks like its just a short hop up. we will have to climb 1200 more feet to reach the summit, where i do believe i will get a nice cold softdrink! theres a snackbar on the summit...how cool is that. anyways...the excitement of finally getting here and being on the presidential range is very motivating. today was one of the better days ive had in a long time. i do hope for better, more consistant weather for tomorrow as we summit. i do want to see something! and i do hope i get some rest sleeping here on the dining room table of this hut! its all good!