morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-08
From: Nuclear Lake

To: Ten Mile River Lean-To
Miles today: 16.2

I went through the lesser heat/greater humidity this morning to summit West Mountain (1200') and then see the "Dover Oak", the largest oak tree on the entire AT. Its girth four feet from the ground is more than 20 feet, 4 inches, and it is estimated to be more than 300 years old. Brooklyn is off the trail, he was too sick to continue at the moment and is taking some days off in Brooklyn. I was excited about reaching Ten Mile River, because there were supposed to be some good water holes there. Unfortunately there were also 2 big dead fish and many dead crayfish which deterred my swimming. There was also the biggest bubble of hikers I've seen in a while, about 16 people. I was alone in the shelter with Labrat, everyone else was too afraid of the mosquitos. He was right though; if you don't have any light at all, once it gets dark they'll forget you are there.
Date: 2010-07-09
From: Ten Mile River Lean-To

To: Stony Brook Campsite
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

Today I woke up late, the very last person to leave the entire area. It wasn't even close, either. I was about to leave, but then I discovered a June 26th New York Times newspaper in the shelter. So I started reading it, and before I was finished it was 10:30. When I'd finally started my day, it wasn't too bad. Pretty hot and humid, but that's come to be expected. The first thing was climbing up Schaghicoke Mountain (1331'). I saw a big timber rattlesnake in the trail about halfway up. It was pretty laid back and didn't even think about rattling. After reaching the peak I was out of NY forever and into the great state of Connecticut! Immediately over the border was a place called Indian Rocks: The only place along the entire A.T. where the Trail (briefly) crosses an Indian reservation. Most of the land from here down to the river is claimed by the Schaghticoke tribe, recognized by the state and briefly (January 2004¢May 2005) by the federal government. The tribe, actually the remnants of several tribes, played a unique communications role during the Revolutionary War by transmitting signals along the ridges between Long Island Sound in N.Y. and Stockbridge, Mass., a distance of nearly 100 miles, in about 2 hours. I went into the town of Kent, CT and resupplied, mailed some stuff, and had Chinese food. The Chinese place was great except they had 6 little kids who were crawling all over me and asking questions the entire time I was there. It would've been better except I wanted to write some post cards. After town I climbed up another 800' to reach Caleb's Peak (nice overlook) before descending to a campsite along the mighty Housatonic. I camped with two new friends "Bumper" and "Breeze". After settling in, Fish and Uncle J-Bird night hiked in and also camped with us. I was cowboy camping on the ground, literally on the AT. This is something I'd been waiting to do for the whole hike, and it finally happened to be the only place without rocks, so tonight was my night. Today also marked the 66% completed point of my hike.
Date: 2010-07-10
From: Stony Brook Campsite

To: "Spring"
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: broken clouds

Left camp at 7:30. Great wakeup as two people walked over me at 6:01 and 6:04 AM. I made it 2.6 miles before the downpour began. 0.3 miles later I went to get water from a pump at Silver Hill campsite, lo and behold: a covered area with a picnic table! So that's where I lingered, writing post cards and making food for 5 hours. No one else showed up. Rain monsooned and flooded the area before slowing down and stopping. At 2PM I left and did 16 more AT miles (3 or so in the dark). First there was Mt Easter, the only official peak of the day. Then came the hang glider launch area. I night-hiked through a ridiculous detour around the Rt 7 bridge (closed to pedestrian traffic). I walked past the cemetery, the church, over the Housatonic, past the hydroelectric plant and up to the "Spring". What makes this more remarkable is that I only carried the 1 liter of water from Silver Hill Campsite and it lasted me the 16 miles (more like 18 because of the detour but who knows) Ray, J-Bird, Fish, Bumper, and Breeze were all camped out and awake when I showed up at 10:15. It was a good night.
Date: 2010-07-11
To: Sages Ravine Brook Campsite
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Quick first 6.4 miles (under 2 hours). I climbed Prospect Mountain, saw Giant's Thumb (big thumb-looking rock) and Billy's View (overlook). Then it was 0.4 miles extra to reach the rich town of Salisbury. I had a sandwich, chips, and a quart of rainbow sherbert from the grocery store. Then I used the library computer to update my journal. I was also able to listen to the World Cup championship game. New hikers I met: "Cauliflower", "Tupp", "Freight Train".Out of town the trail immediately climbed 1000' to Lion's Head (great view) and then up and over Bear Mountain. At 2,316 feet, Bear Mountain is the highest peak in Connecticut but not the highest ground, which instead falls on the flank of nearby Mt. Frissel, the peak of which is in Massachusetts.) Uncle J-Bird and I night-hiked over Bear Mountain and reached the campground at about 9:30, crossing into Massachusetts in the process.
Date: 2010-07-12
From: Sages Ravine Brook Campsite

To: Tom Leonard Lean-To
Miles today: 21.0

Hiked all day after a 10 AM start. Nearly killed myself getting up Race Mountain (2365') and then Mt Everett (2602', second highest peak in MA). Great views from both summits! The mountains are getting pretty big and rocky, I can hardly wait for VT, NH, and Maine!Today I passed the Shays¢ Rebellion Monument¢Stone marker commemorates the last skirmish of a bloody farmers¢ revolt led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays against government taxes and tactics in 1787. The incident assisted Federalists in making their case for a strong central government with powers to tax and maintain a standing army. The marker is placed where the final battle was fought.After reaching the height for the day, the trail meandered down to cross the Housatonic AGAIN at 700', then ascended to 1800' for East Mountain, right before the shelter. I night-hiked in with Ray. Everyone was asleep, so I crawled in and slept on the shelter floor. At midnight I heard some gnawing on the back, so I snuck out in my underwear carrying a headlamp. Of course it was a big porcupine running around the back, chewing the wood boards. Unfortunately I did not have my glasses or camera so I couldn't see it well or take a picture, but it was RIGHT THERE. Porcupines tend to freeze up when threatened, waiting to see if they need to swat you with their tails. So I was able to get a few feet away from this one. It was fun to see one up close (somewhat, I wish I could have seen it better but I had no glasses on).
Date: 2010-07-13
From: Tom Leonard Lean-To

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: few clouds

Everyone stays at Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Even though it's 0.5 miles off the trail, you have to go. There are bunks and the caretaker makes blueberry pancakes in the morning. So everyone was excited to go and took off in the morning. I was along them, except that I had to pick up a package at the Tyringham Post Office (14 miles, plus 0.8 off the trail). Unfortunately the Post Office has completely ridiculous weekday hours: 9-12:30 and 4-5:30. Sounds reasonable right? Yeah I know, it's very inconvenient. Especially when you roll in there at 3 and can't do anything for an hour. The town also doesn't have a gas station to buy a snack in case you are stuck there in the rain for an extended period of time. I was lucky enough to get 2 packages, 1 from my sister and 1 from my good friend Heather West. My sister's had a lot of meals and pop tarts, along with correspondence from my mother. West's had Cheez-ITs, Pringles, and Snoopy Fruit Snacks! I am now all set for a long period of snacking. When I finally arrived at UGP, it was 8:30 (I did the last 7.5 miles in 2.5 hours, which is really fast, considering there was a 900' climb in there). The cabin was very nice, almost 15 people were there. There was a fireplace, porch, swimming, canoes, and screened-in sleeping areas (I slept on the floor in the living room with 2 other people because I showed up right before dark, though 2 people came in after me so at least I wasn't last!)
Date: 2010-07-14
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: light rain

Woke up and had blueberry pancakes! Then left at 8:15 in order to reach Dalton, MA by 5PM. My friend TJ planned on picking me up there because he will be in the area. Unfortunately it rained through the night and into the morning. The rain wasn't that heavy, but whoever is in charge of maintaining the trail around Becket Mountain has been doing a horrible job. Thorny and leafy plants push in on both sides and since they were wet this morning, I became soaked from the horizontal contact. After first crossing the Mass Pike and then climbing Becket and Walling Mountain, the trail was relatively flat for the next many miles. I visited "The Cookie Lady" at her blueberry farm and got some water. She also gave me 3 cookies and hardboiled eggs. I shared with new hiking friends "Sideways" and "Moonshine" who are from Tennessee and Virginia, but will be living in the Boston area after they finish their hike. The Cookie lady makes great cookies but the water from her spigot was sulfuric and horrible. From that point, it was a quick jaunt up Warner Mountain (2050') and I was ready to hit Dalton. TJ picked me up at around 6 and we were off. All of my other hiking buddies stayed at the local hostel "The Birdcage". My night was great; I was able to buy new trailrunners and eat a well-rounded asian buffet dinner before updating about 11 journal entries and catching up for the first time in about 1100 miles! Unfortunately it's 3:01 AM and we're getting up at 6 so we'll see how tomorrow goes. PS I have uploaded more pictures.
Date: 2010-07-15
From: Dalton, MA

To: Mark Noepel Lean-To
Miles today: 13.7

TJ and I were supposed to wake up at 6AM, but somehow didn't get up until around 10. I started hiking at around 11:30, after shoveling about 8 complimentary muffins and donuts into my face. As I was taping up my ankles and the insides of the new shoes, my old buddy Stitch/Belch showed up. She and I have not hiked together since Harpers Ferry, WV (about 550 miles back). We caught up and got ice cream in Cheshire, MA. Then came "The Cobbles", outcroppings of marble overlooking the beautiful Hoosic River Valley and offering views of the town of Cheshire and Mt Greylock. The Hoosic River, which is crossed south of Cheshire, flows north and empties into the Hudson River in New York. Today's climbs were not easy; almost 3000 feet of elevation gain. Everyone who had stayed in Dalton at The Birdcage last night showed up. They were all slackpacking south for the day: 23 miles! Over Mt Greylock too! I missed out, though I did appreciate the conveniences of a hotel room and chauffeur services around town. Belch and I arrived at the shelter before dark and were the only 2 people who slept inside. The structure sleeps 10 so it was pretty empty! However, there were 2 other people tenting behind, so the area wasn't totally deserted.
Date: 2010-07-16
From: Mark Noepel Lean-To

To: Seth Warner Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: clear sky

This morning was great; Belch got me up at 6 and we were hiking at 7. First over Saddle Ball Mountain (3238') the first 3,000 footer on the AT north of North Marshall in the Shenandoahs. Then it was the mighty Mt Greylock (3491'), the highest peak in Massachusetts. There is a road to the top and a lodge which serves breakfast. I didn't order anything but definitely had many of the complimentary muffins. They may have thought that I spent the night in their lodge, I'm not sure. I met 3 new people: "Barnabas", "Earthbound", and "Papageorgio". Unbeknownst to me they were all at the shelter with us on the previous night. In fact, there were 7 other people there besides Belch and I, and also a dog. It was really weird how quiet they'd all been. Anyway, there is a stone tower on Mt Greylock, crowned by a globe lit at night as a tribute to the state's war dead. Unfortunately the tower was closed due to a rabid raccoon inside. I offered to go up and get him out of there, but the security guy said "no". If this had happened in the south, they would've said "yeah go ahead, let's see what happens". Afterwards, we went to the grocery store in Williamstown. I had a roast beef sub, ice cream, potato salad, and was pretty happy. Then came the ascent out of town. A thunderstorm and horrible privy emergency prompted a stop at the Sherman Brook Campsite. As we waited out the storm, we both accidentally fell asleep on a tent platform. The hike continued an hour later. We crossed into Vermont and joined "The Long Trail". We will continue sharing the same path for 105.2 miles, until the AT shifts east towards Maine (486.9 more miles) and the LT continues north to Canada (167.8 more miles). The new Vermont terrain was terribly muddy from the start. The shelter was nice though, lots of new people to meet, many of whom were Long Trailers.
Date: 2010-07-17
From: Seth Warner Shelter

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

Belch and I (and incredibly everyone else from the shelter) were up at 5 and hiking by 6. This never happens. The mud continued. We made it down to Rt 9 (horribly steep downhill) by about 10:30 AM. My mom, sister, Aunt Linda, and TJ were all there giving out trail magic (sandwiches, soda, chips, fruit, candy, beer, and rides into town). It was great! Everyone else had been talking about this for the past week and a big bottleneck of hikers showed up to partake. At least 20 of them were there hanging out. A separate hiker feed (the Btown Throwdown) was shuttling people into town at 1, so everyone had a reason to linger. When the hikers all left, I took the remaining sodas and put them into the stream. Then I left a sign telling everyone where they were. We all (Belch included) then went to the hotel, did laundry, had dinner, and played games. It was really fun. They all said that I smelled the worst out of everyone, but I think that was an exaggeration. They were probably just afraid of hurting the feelings of whoever was really the smelliest.
Date: 2010-07-18
From: Bennington, VT

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

This morning we were dropped off at the trailhead at about 10:30. It seems that 3 cars were broken into that night, which is unfortunate. A couple of my friends were still down at the road. The Btown Throwdown must've been a late night for them. There were some big climbs today! Over 3000 feet! I climbed up Glastenbury Mountain observation tower, it was a very windy spot with great views in all directions! The nearby ridges seen from the observation deck are the Berkshires to the south, the Taconics to the west, Mt Equinox and Stratton Mountain to the North, and Somerset Reservoir, Mt Snow, and Haystack Mountain to the east. We met many Long Trailers today who were all set up in shelters at about 2PM, after big 7 mile days! Hahaha! Finally, we have someone of whom to make fun. They all have nalgene bottles too; I haven't seen an AT hiker with a nalgene in over 1500 miles. The terrain is less muddy but much more mountainous, which is how I like it. I saw a little red squirrel steal someone's lighter. All of my hiking friends were at the final shelter of the day, which was great because I haven't been able to catch them for a few days.
Date: 2010-07-19
From: Story Spring Shelter

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

It rained on me at 5:20 this morning. Only 5 minutes of rain, but since I wasn't in a tent, I got up! Hiked at 6:30, reached the base of Stratton Mountain quite early. Someone had left a cooler of sodas for us. It was a great start to today's uphill. The ascent wasn't steep at all, just long; it certainly didn't feel like a 1700' climb. At the summit (3936') was a fire tower. The views were spectacular. 3.2 miles further was Stratton Pond, where everyone took a break and went for a swim. Beaver activity had flooded trails on the other side of the pond, but the AT branched off before it became affected. We reached Spruce Peak Shelter right before it started raining. The storm was not brief; definitely a big soaking downpour.
Date: 2010-07-20
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Peru Peak
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

This morning everyone went into Manchester Center. I hitched into the town to resupply and look for more word jumbles. During the course of the town stop, I ate a 12 inch roast beef sub, a big bag of chips, and drank an entire 2 Liter bottle of orange soda. I also bought 10 ounces of denatured alcohol (fuel). The search for jumbles was unsuccessful, however lingering in town was beneficial for "Greendog", because he'd left his phone in EMS (outdoors store) and I was still in town to bring it. The hitch out of town took a long time, and Belch and I didn't get too far after reaching the trailhead. We did make it up Bromley Mountain (3260' ski area, great observation tower with a five-state view), then down into Mad Tom Notch (2446') to get water, followed by a tough thousand foot ascent up Styles Peak. After Styles came a saddle down and then up to Peru Peak (3429'). There were tentsites so the two of us built a fire and camped up there for the night. Everyone else is further up ahead somewhere.
Date: 2010-07-21
From: Peru Peak

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 20.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was really windy and cold; I didn't get much sleep at all. It started with a steep 1.3 mile run down to the next privy. I did it in 10 minutes flat, mostly due to my mom's high fiber oatmeal that she keeps sending me. After that came the ascent of Baker Oeak, which has a very rocky summit. I caught a small garterish snake on top and took a picture with it. There were signs about the Big Branch River bridge being out, telling everyone to make a detour of "3 extra easy miles" rather than "an ill-advised fording attempt." I announced that I'd rather die than hike 3 extra miles, and off we went. The fording was extremely reasonable, simple rock-hopping was sufficient to get you over there. Even if you fell in, you'd probably have been just fine. The Branch River wasn't such a big deal, even after we'd had that rain 2 days ago. We took an hour break, then realized that my denatured alcohol bottle had ruptured, which took an extra hour to clean up. It was really annoying to have my pasta soaked with alcohol, because it was newly-purchased! Then came the hike up past White Rocks Cliff. Previous hikers had constructed hundreds of little cairns and markers using the white rocks littering the trail. They stood out in stark contrast against the green moss which covered nearly every surface. I reached the shelter in the midst of an approaching thunderstorm. The sky was completely dark and the rain had just started as I ran up the stairs. Greendog had his phone back and I had a dry spot to sleep. I slept in the middle of 6 other people (between 2 girls!). With the Long Trail intersection, girls are now back on the trail. Our ratio is normalizing a little bit.
Date: 2010-07-22
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Churchill Scott Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we all did 2.7 miles and then went 0.5 West on VT 103 to reach the Whistle Stop Restaurant for some diner food. It was a great deal, getting a bunch of greasy stuff for a cheap price. Afterwards came the ascent of Killington Peak, the second highest peak in Vermont (4235'). The AT bypasses the actual summit, but I took the 0.2 mile side trail (literally straight up) to the top. It was a great view. The peaks up here are windy and cold, it's nice to be back in familiar territory. Down south you could spend all day laying around on the top of a mountain. Here you'd freeze to death in an hour. After the ascent came the run down to the shelter. There have been many piles of moose evidence on the trail in Vermont. Hopefully I'll be able to see one while hiking. Aside from those deposits, the terrain has been magestic; green mossy rocks, logs, trees, etc. The trees are spread out enough so that you can see far between them. It's a great look for a forest. I arrived at the shelter first (8:30). 2 people were already asleep there. 4 more people showed up and we tried to make dinner quietly. It was mostly successful. Belch stayed up on top of Killington with a couple other people because she doesn't like night hiking (8:30 can be pushing it sometimes). Fish didn't make it either (He had to go to town and get a package containing new shoes, and so was behind everyone else). I'm really enjoying the green that everything in Vermont is tinted.
Date: 2010-07-23
From: Churchill Scott Shelter

To: Stony Brook Rd
Miles today: 0.0

Today I hit "Maine Junction", where the AT bangs a right towards the west to reach Maine and the LT continues north to Canada. If one were not paying attention at that divergence, hilarity could easily ensue. Both trails use the same white blaze markings so it might take a while to notice a mistake. Signs at the junction should tip hikers off: Long Trail North, Canada 165.9 mi and Appalachian Trail North, Katahdin 469 mi. These signs were placed at very visible locations at the junction. As I leave the Long Trail, I am reminded of the other day when Belch, "The Animal", and I were traveling at our normal AT speed and passed a lone guy "Aaron" who was going his normal Long Trail rate. We flew by him so quickly that he was completely destroyed. The only things remaining were a few shards of nalgene. I crossed many roads today (US 4, VT 100), went past Kent Pond (it was raining lightly to moderate all day so I skipped the swim). I was also briefly on the Catamount trail, a statewide cross country ski trail. After climbing over the vague "Quimby Mountain (2650'), I went down to Stony Brook Road to meet my ride, Debbie. We had arranged a pickup spot so I could spend the next day with the Krug family at their lakehouse (Dyken Pond in NY). It was hard to meet at the right spot because the AT actually crosses Stony Brook Road in 2 places. I walked down the road and saw an eagle (not a bald one either) and also caught a mouse in the grass using my hat as a net. Eventually we connected (Debbie and I, not me and the mouse) and drove to my zero day.
Date: 2010-07-23
From: Churchill Scott

To: Stony Brook Rd 
Miles today: 12.5

Today I hit "Maine Junction", where the AT bangs a right towards the west to reach Maine and the LT continues north to Canada. If one were not paying attention at that divergence, hilarity could easily ensue. Both trails use the same white blaze markings so it might take a while to notice a mistake. Signs at the junction should tip hikers off: Long Trail North, Canada 165.9 mi and Appalachian Trail North, Katahdin 469 mi. These signs were placed at very visible locations at the junction. I crossed many roads today (US 4, VT 100), went past Kent Pond (it was raining lightly to moderate all day so I skipped the swim). I was also briefly on the Catamount trail, a statewide cross country ski trail. After climbing over the vague "Quimby Mountain (2650'), I went down to Stony Brook Road to meet my ride, Debbie. We had arranged a pickup spot so I could spend the next day with the Krug family at their lakehouse (Dyken Pond in NY). It was hard to meet at the right spot because the AT actually crosses Stony Brook Road in 2 places. I walked down the road and saw an eagle (not a bald one either) and also caught a mouse in the grass using my hat as a net. Eventually we connected (Debbie and I, not me and the mouse) and drove to my zero day