morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-07-30
From: Fort Montgomery, NY

To: Clarence Fahnestock State Park
Miles today: 21.1

Long day. Hotel owner dropped us off at the trail around 7:00. "The Family" was just getting there as well. We didn't see them the rest of the day. The trail goes through the zoo but was closed so we had to blue blaze around it. When we got to the other side of the zoo it was open so we went it. The low point on the trail is within the zoo at the bear cage, 120'. Turns out the zoo still wasn't open but we didn't know and no one told us. We only realized it when we got to the other side and the gates were still locked. Oops. Big climb after the zoo then some smaller steep climbs. Stopped at the Appalachian Deli for lunch. It started pouring rain at 14:00. Got completely soaked. Have some major chafe from being so wet. The trail to the state park seemed a lot longer than the 0.2 miles the guide said. The trail took us to the beach that was already closed for the evening. Super dark and gloomy. Looks like more rain coming so just having snacks instead of trying to cook. Going to be hot tomorrow, hope to get an early start.
Date: 2015-07-31
From: Clarence Fahnestock State Park

To: County 20 Road Pawling, NY
Miles today: 22.5
Weather: broken clouds

This is the worst I have felt physically and mentally the entire trip so far. Still have major chafe, everything is soaking wet, my feet are killing and rubbed raw from wet socks. Had to go an extra mile down hill because the shelter water supply is dry. Really rough downhill. Filled up water at some guys house. He was mowing the lawn and said we could use his spigot. Thanks! Not sure we are supposed to camp here but other people have definitely done it before us. Keep hearing gun shots. We can hear bullets whizzing by and ricocheting just up the hill. Not very comforting.
Date: 2015-08-01
From: County 20 Road Pawling, NY

To: Schaghticake Mt Campsite
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Felt much better this morning. Hiked 2.5 miles then hitched to Pawling, NY. Did laundry, dried out stuff and ate breakfast before the post office opened. Pick up mail drop. New shoes!! Thank goodness. Sent some stuff home and hit CVS for resupply. CVS didn't have pop tarts. Very disappointing. Hitched back to the trail. In town for about 4.5 hours. 2 big climbs out of town, no fun. Still hurting from yesterday. Crossed into Connecticut today. The stream we were hoping to camp by was dry and there was no camping anyway so had to continue on. Got to camp around dark. Set up quick and cooked dinner. Ready for sleep.
Date: 2015-08-02
From: Schaghticake Mt Campsite

To: Caeser Brook Campsite
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: few clouds

Went to Kent today to go to the outfitter. We got there before the outfitter opened so went to get some coffee. Needed to pick up some insoles, shades, camp shoes and deet. Rambo needed waterproof phone case and aquamira. The outfitter only had aquamira. Bummer. Saw Howzit at the outfitter. Haven't seen him in quite awhile. Caught a quick hitch back to the trail. Nice flat 5 mile section then a rough roller coaster. Made it to camp, set up and cooked before dark. First time in a number of days. Going to do a crossword.
Date: 2015-08-03
From: Caeser Brook Campsite

To: Salisbury, CT Stream
Miles today: 19.1

Up at 5:30. On trail by 6:45. Slow going this morning. Found CT geocache. I inadvertently ticked off a rattle snake I didn't see. It rattled at me and I quickly got out of it's way. Met some SOBOs on the way. Seeing more each day. Had about a 4 mile road walk today due to a bridge being out. After seeing the bridge that is out it would have been an easy river ford. Lots of climbing the second half of the day. Stopped a couple miles short of todays goal at a nice camp spot by some streams. The bugs are terrible! Planning to get to Great Barrington tomorrow. We have no more dinners so we kind of need to.
Date: 2015-08-04
From: Salisbury, CT Stream

To: US 7 near Great Barrington
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Loooong day. Crossed 1500 miles and into Massachusetts. Some big climbs today. First one was too bad. The second climb, Mt Race, was pretty exposed and it started raining while coming down which made it pretty slick for the third and final climb Mt Everett. Thankfully the storm blew over pretty quickly but still wet and slick. It started thundering and lightning coming down Mt Everett so stopped at shelter to see if it would pass. Lots of rain and hail came. The rain finally let up so we continued on. Super slick descent. Raced the sun to get to camp and lost. Dark by the time we made it here and the one restaurant is closed as well. Had half a cliff bar and two bullseye candies for dinner. Everywhere is a swamp. Had to stealth camp.
Date: 2015-08-07
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Shaker Campsite
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: light rain

Up at 6:30. Met Pumpkin Butt on the way to the post office. He just finished his through hike a couple weeks ago. Offered us a ride to post office and trail. Thanks! Nice day with decent hiking terrain and trail. Found nice campsite with good water. Going to do a crossword before bed.
Date: 2015-08-08
From: Shaker Campsite

To: Blotz Rd 
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Up fairly early. Hiking before 7:00. Passed lots of SOBOs today. Missed "The Cookie Lady." She apparently always has free cookies for thru hikers. We didn't realize it until a couple miles past. Thought about going 19 miles but the shelter at 19 was packed with SOBOs and day hikers so we continued on. Found a terrible camp spot but it works. Delicious salami wraps for dinner. Saw my first porcupine! I didn't realize how big they can get. Also saw a coyote.
Date: 2015-08-09
From: Blotz Rd 

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Been pretty chilly the past few mornings. On trail by 7:15. Hiked 7.5 miles straight to get into Dalton, MA. Stopped at Cumberland Farms convenience store and bought a jalapeno hot dog and split a pizza with Rambo. Food didn¢t sit too well during the big climb out of town, but felt better after a couple hours when we got to Cheshire and stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a donut. Another big climb out of Cheshire up Mt Greylock (highest peak in Massachusetts). We stopped at the shelter about 5 miles into the climb. 3.3 miles to the summit tomorrow. Saw a porcupine on the trial. It checked us out a little then waddled off the trail. Porcupines definitely aren¢t the most graceful creatures. Feet hurting a bit today. Looking at the shelter logs seems we might be close to catching Hollywood, Pocket Spider and Soggy Dirt. It will be nice to see them again.
Date: 2015-08-10
From: Mark Noepel Shelter

To: Seth Warner Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: light rain

The 3.3 miles up Mt Greylock was really steep. Reached the summit about 9:30am. Hardly anyone up there when we arrived. There is a nice war memorial for WWI. Crossed into Vermont today! Less than 600 miles to go! Stopped in North Adams, VT to pick up a mail drop, get a free shower at the Y and to do laundry. Not a great hitch into town. We had to squeeze into a back seat with a couple tires and the passenger kept telling us how busy there were. Once we got moving it definitely appeared that they were under the influence of something. I was definitely glad to get to the post office. A SOBO we ran into a few days ago told us to be careful at the Y because he ran into some problems but we didn¢t have any issues there. The Y let Rambo bake her new insoles as well. Thanks! Keep running into Casper on the trail. Though we didn¢t do many miles it was still a long day. We didn¢t get to the shelter until after dark. The water source here is apparently just a mud puddle so we haven¢t even bothered to go check it out. Shades is here! We haven¢t seen him since the Smokies! Great to see him again. He gave me an extra liter of water he had. Thanks Shades! Also, some section hikers here on their first night. Starting to rain now and forecasted to continue through tomorrow. Plan to hit town tomorrow to get a room and wait out the storm.
Date: 2015-08-11
From: Seth Warner Shelter

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 11.5

Pouring rain when we got up and it continued most of the morning. Shades was still sleeping when we left. Hope to see him again. Casper left his water filter at the shelter when he left so I took it expecting to run into him. Unfortunately I didn¢t see him at all today. Awful steep stone steps into town. My knees are killing me. Surprisingly quick hitch into town considering we were soaking wet. Checked into the hotel and went to Madison¢s Brewery for lunch and their beer sampler. Great food and beer. Hit Rite Aid for resupply. Washer and dryer at the hotel have been full all day so haven¢t been able to do laundry yet. The owners said we could leave it with them and they would do it over night. Thanks!
Date: 2015-08-12
From: Bennington, VT

To: Atraton-Arlington Road
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: few clouds

First slack pack of the trail today. Got up around 7:00am. The owners had our laundry done and we hit the gas station for coffee and breakfast and found my first Vermont geocache near the hotel. Miss Janet¢s van was in the parking lot of the hotel. We talked to her and said she would slack pack us today. Also saw Casper at the hotel this morning so I was able to give him his water filter back. He was quite appreciative. He is taking a zero today. We didn¢t make it to the trail until 11:30am. The skies opened up with heavy rain twice today. The trail was super muddy. Big 10 mile climb out of town. Saw a few SOBOs. We didn¢t make it to the road until after dark at 9:30pm. Miss Janet was waiting here in a parking lot. She said there are four more coming. I¢m not sure who. Miss Janet had a powerade for us and enough water to cook dinner. We cooked in the parking lot next to her van and pitched in the parking lot as well. We wanted a decent view of the sky with the meteor shower tonight. Lots of shooting stars! It¢s 11:00pm now and the others aren¢t here yet. Miss Janet left their packs with us and went back to the hotel. Hope they are ok.
Date: 2015-08-13
From: Atraton-Arlington Road

To: Bromley Shelter
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: broken clouds

The others showed up last night shortly before 1:00am. They got caught in the rain too. Everything was soaked this morning from dew. It was really surprising how wet everything was considering it didn¢t rain. Hiked the 3.5 miles up Stratton Mt and were able to dry out our gear on the tower. Found another VT geocache while waiting for our stuff to dry out. The rest of the day was pretty good. A bit of up and down but kept a good pace without killing ourselves. Ran into a bunch of SOBOs and it rained again for the third day in a row. Possibly more rain tomorrow too. Ugh. May not have picked up enough food in town, already getting low. Hopefully it will last. 4 long trailers at the shelter when we got here. Balto and Magician showed up just before dark. Ready for sleep.
Date: 2015-08-14
From: Bromley Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: overcast clouds

On trail by 7:30am. One mile climb up a ski slope to start the day. Once we got to the summit we were looking around taking in the view when a hiker told us ¢the trail is over there.¢ ¢Thanks¢ I replied and continued to check out the view. A guy that was with the hiker then said ¢the trail is over there¢ as if we didn¢t hear his friend. Again we thanked them and continued on with our business when he told us again where the trail was. Quite an odd encounter. Apparently we appeared to need help. The summit was packed. We only stayed a few minutes before continuing on. Quite a bit of climbing today. My knees and Achilles tendons not feeling too good and my feet were killing by the end of the day. Quite a few people here at the shelter. 3 long trailers and 3 older women doing a 3 day section. Some other tents are set up but they haven¢t come over. It might rain tonight so staying in the shelter. About 8 miles to Rutland. Out of food so we need to stop. Plan to do 21 mile slack pack Sunday then stay in Rutland again. We¢ll see if that works out.
Date: 2015-08-15
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Rutland, VT Yellow Deli Hostel
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Pretty easy hike to the road to Rutland. Got there by noon. Caught a hitch from a couple from DC who are in town for a wedding. Pretty cool couple. Came and checked into the Yellow Deli Hostel. Hollywood, Pocket Spider, Soggy Dirt, Mac Daddy, and Dirty Peanut are here! We finally caught up to them. Went for some coffee and a beer with Hollywood, Pocket and Soggy then back to the Yellow Deli for dinner. They had a gathering of thanks then served dinner. Delicious! We are going to check out Karaoke at the bar across the street tonight.
Date: 2015-08-16
From: Rutland, VT Yellow Deli Hostel

To: Rutland, VT Yellow Deli Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Zero day. Karaoke was a lot of fun. I didn¢t sing but just about everyone else did. We submitted for a group song but they ended up shutting down before we got to do it. Bummer. Town chores today. Went to the movies and saw ¢The Gift.¢ I was pretty disappointed with it. The rest of the crew hiked out today. Hope to catch them again soon.
Date: 2015-08-17
From: Rutland, VT Yellow Deli Hostel

To: Rutland, VT Yellow Deli Hostel
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Slack packed over Mt Killington today. The bus took us right to the trail head. The hike took us longer than it should have. We spent about an hour on the summit. Saw a number of Long Trailers. Tough climb. Back at the Deli Sidewinder and TMI showed up. Also a bunch of people I¢ve never seen before. Heading out in the morning.
Date: 2015-08-18
From: Rutland, VT Yellow Deli Hostel

To: Winturi Shelter
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: light rain

Rough day. Packs are super heavy with fresh resupply. It feels like I have way too much food, but every time I think that I end up eating it all. Big climb to start the day then up and down the rest of the way. Saw Sidewinder and 4Be on the trail. Rained enough to get everything wet and cause me to start chaffing then stopped raining. Only 2 SOBOs at the shelter when we got here. Chips and Nightmare. Another SOBO just showed up but didn¢t get her name. Feet aren¢t feeling too good tonight. Hopefully they feel better tomorrow. Time for a crossword and some sleep.
Date: 2015-08-19
From: Winturi Shelter

To: VT 12
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

Rough day. Super humid and terrible chaffing everywhere. Planned to go further but stopped early since we aren¢t doing so well. Had planned to camp by the road but while getting water from the river a guy told us about a house that lets hikers stay so we decided to check it out. Great place! The owner gave us a soda and set us up in the second story of their garage. There are a handful of beds, hiker box, TV and a bunch of movies. It is a little stuffy here since only one window opens but still nice. Another couple got here a little bit ago. They are from Ohio and today was their first day on the trail. They started up trail in NH. They made it less than an hour before they gave up. They are hitch hiking back to Ohio. Looking at their clothes and gear it is obvious they didn¢t do much research before coming out. I¢m not sure how they ended up starting in NH. NH is some of the toughest terrain of the whole trail. Definitely not a good starting point.
Date: 2015-08-20
From: VT 12

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

Decent climb to start the day. Super humid again today. Sweating bullets all day. Took about 15 minutes before I was completely drenched with sweat. Long roadwalk into NH. Came across some trail magic of a cooler with some sodas and snacks in it at the end of someone¢s driveway. As we were sitting enjoying our soda Mac Daddy walked down the driveway with more sodas to replenish. Turns out they all stayed here last night. Mac Daddy, Soggy, Pocket and Dirty Peanut were there but Hollywood was already in town. Soggy has Lyme Disease and just started antibiotics. We walked into town and did town chores then hitched a ride back with Soggy and Pocket to crash with the trail angel. Hollywood, Mac Daddy, and Dirty Peanut hiked out. Glad we caught the others and to be doing a short day today. My Achilles is killing me.
Date: 2015-08-21
From: Hanover, NH

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Pouring rain when we woke up this morning. Planning to head out once it let up but once 3pm came around we decided to commit to the zero day. Been watching a Back to the Future marathon on TV. Hopefully taking today off will help my Achilles and chaffing. Certainly can¢t hurt.
Date: 2015-08-22
From: Hanover, NH

To: Grafton Turnpike
Miles today: 17.5

Slow going this morning. Pocket and Soggy were deciding if they were going to hike out or stay another day. Pocket decided to hike out and Soggy is staying to rest and finish her antibiotics. Got back to town about 10:00am and saw Mooch there. She said Miss Janet was slacking a bunch of people. We called Miss Janet and were able to slack as well. Miss Janet couldn¢t pick up our packs until 12:30 so we had a burrito while waiting. Not a bad day of hiking. Couple of big climbs. With starting so late we didn¢t get to the road till after dark. Cooked up some yummy chicken pasta. Planning another ~17 mile slack pack tomorrow.
Date: 2015-08-23
From: Grafton Turnpike

To: NH 25A
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Slacked again today. On trial by 8:00. Climbed Smarts Mt and Mt Cube. Miss Janet wasn¢t at the road when we got there. We started to think we were at the wrong road but then Miss J showed up. Went swimming at a beach just down the road. Cooked up some food and got in the tent. The bugs are terrible here!
Date: 2015-08-24
From: NH 25A

To: NH 25
Miles today: 9.8

No slack pack today. Only 10 miles before we start the Whites. Went to a farm before we left for free coffee and pancakes. It was an organic maple syrup farm. The guy that runs the farm was there and I learned a lot about syrup. Really interesting. After breakfast he gave us a ride back to the trail. Easy 10 miles today. We stopped at a hostel for a shower and laundry then hitched to town for food and resupply. We decided not to stay at the hostel and camped at the trail head. It is supposed to start raining tonight and continue tomorrow. Hopefully it will be ok as we climb Moosilauke, the first Mt of the Whites.
Date: 2015-08-25
From: NH 25

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: few clouds

Started raining last night and continued most of the day. Took about 6 hours to climb Moosilauke. It poured rain the whole way up and it was a long, steep, and rough descent. It stopped raining just before getting down. Had a hard time getting a hitch. There wasn¢t much traffic and we were soaking wet. Once we gave up hitching and started walking a truck came by and picked us up. When we got to Lincoln we saw a hiker that told us where the trail angel¢s house is we were planning to stay. Awesome place and awesome guy! He put a bunch of bunks in his garage and also lets people camp in his yard. Hollywood is here! Went to dinner at a brewery and went to the price chopper for resupply. El Mundo and Spaghetti also showed up. It started pouring while we were in the Price Chopper so we waited out the rain out front at a picnic table. Tons of hikers here. Most of which I don¢t know. No bunks available so pitched out back. Plan to slack 16 miles tomorrow and stay here again.
Date: 2015-08-26
From: Lincoln, NH

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Slacked today. Rough hitch out of town. We called about a shuttle but it would have been $10 a person. $50 for a 6 mile shuttle seems ridiculous. We finally got a ride from some older guy who used to do a lot of hiking. Really cool guy. Lots of climbing today. The descents weren¢t too bad for a change. Saw 2 baby bears climbing a tree. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately, by the time I got my camera out they had run off. Rough hitch again trying to get back to Lincoln. Finally a couple of girls reluctantly gave us a ride. Turns out Hollywood decided to take a zero today and Soggy showed up here as well! Went to the Price Chopper for dinner.
Date: 2015-08-27
From: Lincoln, NH

To: Garfield Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: broken clouds

Late start today. Stopped by Dunkin Donuts on our way out of town. Climbed Mt Lafayette Mt Garfield today. Lafayette is the first mountain above tree line. Rained a little. Above tree line was super windy and cold. The rain didn¢t help either. Amazing views from Lafayette and Garfield. Everyone had talked about cowboy camping on Mt Garfield but it was cold and windy there and no water so Rambo and I continued on a few miles.
Date: 2015-08-28
From: Garfield Shelter

To: Thoreau Falls
Miles today: 12.0

Slept until 7:00 this morning. I can¢t remember the last time I did that. Waited around camp till 9:00 hoping to see the others but no one came by. They must have camped at Garfield. Stopped at Galehead Hut for water. Really nice there. I can see why people like staying in the huts. Lots of downhill today was pretty hard on the knees. Found a nice camping spot. We start climbing up to Mt Washington tomorrow. Should be done with the Whites in a few days. Still haven¢t seen the others.
Date: 2015-08-29
From: Thoreau Falls

To: Mt Pierce
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Easy morning down to the Saco River. Hit some trail magic on the way down. Some lady gave me a bar and some peanut butter. More trail magic at the trail head. ¢Stitches¢ was setting up some free food. She hiked in 1999 and has been doing trail magic periodically since. Really cool woman. Had a couple sodas, a donut and sandwich before moving on. Great resting spot by the Saco. Ended up taking a nap and hanging out waiting for the others. Waited a couple hours before moving on. Another hiker said they had to go to town for some resupply. Bummer. After the Saco the climb to Mt Washington started. We climbed Webster, Jackson and are on Pierce. 2000 feet of elevation and 5.3 miles to get to Washington. Shouldn¢t be too bad. Planning 14.1 miles tomorrow climbing Washington and the Presidentials to a no fee campsite. Then nearo into Gorham the next day. Going to do a crossword while it¢s still light.
Date: 2015-08-30
From: Mt Pierce

To: Osgood Campsite
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Climbed Franklin, Washington and Madison today. The AT skirted the summit of a few more. Mt Washington was quite crowded. There were so many people in line for a pic with the summit sign that we decided to skip getting our own pic there. There was another Mt Washington sign we took pictures with. Beautiful views but pretty windy. Mt Washington is the second highest peak on the AT behind Clingmans Dome. Pretty cool. The final descent to the campground was terrible. Steep exposed rock scramble with pretty strong winds. It didn¢t improve much below tree line. My knees are killing me. More downhill tomorrow to Gorham. I¢m not looking forward to it. Apparently there have been bear sightings at the campsite last year and this year. Hope we don¢t have any problems tonight.
Date: 2015-08-31
From: Osgood Campsite

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 4.7

Thankfully no bears last night. A number of people rolled in right before dark. Knees feeling a little better. Easy hike down to the Pinkham Visitor Center. Made it there by 9:00. Fairly easy hitch into town. Hit post office and the outfitter and went to breakfast. Rambo¢s friends Slack and Spirit Fingers were nearby and picked us up after breakfast. Went to the hostel to clean up then back out to resupply. Stopped at Mr Pizza for dinner. Hollywood had just got to town and met us there. He¢s staying at a hotel on the other side of town. Sounds like quite the dump. Back at the hostel we drank a few beers and had a bon fire. Mac Daddy and Dirty Peanut showed up after 9:00 from doing the slack pack over the Wildcats. They looked pretty rough but said it wasn¢t too bad just be sure to bring enough food. We are planning to do it tomorrow. Soggy and Pocket showed up as well. Good to see everyone again!