morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-14
From: Wilbur Clearing Lean-to

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

I now have less than 600 miles to go and today I entered my 12th state, Vermont!On the trail by 8:30 and began my 3 mile downhill trek into North Adams. The hike down was the steepest muddiest trail I have ever seen and I fell once on the downhill. Later once the trail flattened out a little bit I fell again this time falling face first into a boglog and completely soaking my arms and legs in really muddy swamp water.I made it to town and began walking to the grocery store when a really nice lady driving a van full of kids offered me a ride to the store. At the grocery store I met another southbounder and also met a hiker named Baltimore Jack who I was already pretty familiar with because he is some what of a "trail legend." I got back on the trail and ran into Mr. K who I hiked with for the rest of the day. We then crossed the VT/MA state line which was a momentous occasion. VT seems (to me) to mark the home stretch of the trail, I know I still have a long way to go, but it feels good to be in VT. Later we ran into Swiss Miss, who I had previously heard of but never met, and she hiked with us the rest of the way to the shelter. Mr. K, Swiss Miss and I have very similar hiking schedules so I hope to hike with both of them until Manchester Center.
Date: 2006-07-15
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Story Spring Shelter
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is my 4 month anniversary of starting the trail! YAY!Not much to say about today; I hiked with Mr. K for the almost the entire hike. It wasn't a hot day but when hiking the sweat was just pouring off of me, but as soon as you stopped it got really cold really fast. I did have a mid-trail meltdown today where I ripped off my head phones and threw my poles. The blackflies were driving me crazy, they kept flying into my ears and then getting caught behind my head phones. They also were flying into my eyes and up my nose.At the shelter I ran into Daedilous again who told me about his crazy day yesterday. He ran into a man on the trail who had collapsed and started going into convulsions. He then stayed with the guy until the paramedics arrived 2 hours later and also helped carry the guy much of the way down the steep trail to the road.I was planning on sleeping in my tent tonight but while I was setting it up it started pouring. Once the rain had stopped I went and checked on my tent only to find lots of water on the floor of my tent. There was room in the shelter so I will just sleep there. I am in the shelter with Mr. K, Swiss Miss and Jump Start.Going into Manchester Center, VT tomorrow and I am really excited. I really want/ need a shower and to wash my clothes. I am also looking forward to a night of just relaxing and then picking up my mail on Monday morning.
Date: 2006-07-16
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: few clouds

Didn't sleep all that well last night so when other hikers started waking up I did too. I just kept having trouble staying asleep for very long. Once on the trail I ran into some great trail magic early on where I got a coke and a candy bar. At this point I also started hiking with Mr. K and hiked with him for the rest of the day. We climbed Stratton Mtn which was an elevation gain of 1700ft, but it really didn't seem to faze either of us. The top of the mountain was absolutely beautiful, I love the thick pine forests that grow above 3,000ft, and there was also a wonderful breeze. I climbed the firetower and got amazing views of the surrounding mountains covered in this blueish smokey haze, I could probably see for 60 miles.Later Mr. K and I met up with Daedilous and Skunk and hiked with them the final 6 miles or so to the road to town. The trail has been ridiculously muddy and carefully stepping on roots and rocks so I don't get my feet muddy or wet has become a huge pain. But the next couple days are suppose to be as hot as it was today (mid-90's) so the mud should begin to dry up soon.Once in town it took the 4 of us a while to find a place to stay but eventually found a fairly cheap and nice hotel. Taking a shower felt wonderful! Since it has been so hot for the last few days I have been sweating so bad that I have sweat rash all over most of my body. So it was really nice to shower and feel clean for once. After we had all showered we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and were joined by 4 other hikers: Swiss Miss, Brian, Master Plan and Nifty. Dinner was great, for the first time in a long time I felt like I was with a group of hikers that is really enjoying and having fun on the trail. I know this group won't stick together for too long but it was nice to get a taste of it again.
Date: 2006-07-17
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

Up around 8 and then I was franticly running around town completing errands so I could get back on the trail at a decent time. I picked up my mail which included a huge care package from my Aunt Sue, there was so much food that I had to give away half of it to other hikers, but that just made them as happy as me. Right after I had finished all my errands and was ready to hitch back to the trail I ran into Daedilous. He told me that he and Nifty were gonna go see a movie at 5pm and then hike 10 miles at night to avoid the 98 degree day. And that's when the town sucked me back in and I decided to join them. So we went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean II (which was ok... I guess) and then got a really easy ride out of town and were on the trail and hiking by 8:30.During the hike all three of us were really slap happy. Nifty kept saying things like "This mud is sucking my shoes off" in a German accent. We also came up with a game where every time you cursed, for whatever reason, you had to make it into a rhyme. For instance I was leading most of the night so I kept running into lots of spider webs so I said the following "These F*&%@^# spider webs are driving me mad... and yes, they really are that bad." I know it is a really bad rhyme, but it was a lot of fun at the time.At several points on the trail we came to clearings in the trees. So we would shut off our headlamps and just look at the stars for a few minutes. It was wonderful, I have barely gotten to see the stars at all on my hike because the trees almost always block your view. But we got several great views of the milkyway and even saw a couple shooting stars.Later in the night when we were all starting to get really tired we were startled by a really loud noise along the side of the trail. We all immediately shine our headlamps toward the noise which only freaks out the animal more, but it is as this point that I see a huge set of antlers. The animal then runs right by us and that is when I realize that I am looking at a huge Moose. The thing was massive, including it's antlers it had to have been like 4 feet taller than me, and I am a really tall guy. We were initially all pretty scared but once the moose got to a safe distance we all looked at each other and almost in unison said "That was awesome!"We got to the shelter 10 miles out at around 12:30 and decided that we were done hiking for the night. The bugs weren't terrible but there were still enough mosquitos for me to decided to sleep in my tent. What a perfect day!
Date: 2006-07-18
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Clarendon Shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: few clouds

Got a short but good sleep last night and woke up for good around 7:45. Deadilous and Nifty informed me that they were planning on hiking 23 miles and hitting up a restaurant that is .5 off the trail as well. This sounded like a perfect idea and I told them I would catch up when they left.I caught up with Daedilous about 3 miles out, right as we were climbing the last hundred feet of a rocky overlook. As we started our way down Daedilous's foot slipped and he fell backwards onto a rock and then flipped all the way around so he landed on all fours. As I rushed to see if he was ok he just started laughing, I then found out then when he fell backwards the only thing that hit the rock was his pack which then bounced him forward. It was a pretty amazing acrobatic act.I hiked passed several beautiful ponds today which were very tempting to swim in but I didn't... I did soak my feet in one while I was eating lunch though. Most of the day seemed to drag along with the biggest excitement being when the forest changed from boreal to conifer and back again. I did, however, meet several interesting day hikers that I talked to for several minutes each.The last few miles before the restaurant were pure torture, my feet were really starting to hurt and for a while I thought for sure I was gonna get blown off the mountain by a thunderstorm that threatened for an hour and then never came. When I finally made it to the Whistle Stop Restaurant there were lots of hikers there: Skunk, Nifty, Bison, Mountain Dewer and Swiss Miss. I ate a Bacon Cheese Burger w/ chips, a huge plate of frech fries, 7 Pepsi's, and a hot fudge sundae. Needless to say I didn't feel to good after eating so I sat for a good half hour after eating before attempting to continue hiking the final 1 mile to the shelter.I am really starting to like the hikers I have been around for the last few days. None of us are really trying to stick together it just seems to happen that way. The only negative thing is that everyone has different dates they plan to be finished with the trail so I doubt we will all be together for to long.
Date: 2006-07-19
From: Clarendon Shelter

To: VT 100 - Rutland, VT
Miles today: 19.6

Woke up to the sound of Daedilous laughing, he has this very boisterous laugh that just seems to carry. Once on the trail I came to 2 trail magics within 3 miles of each other. The first was a bunch of sodas floating in a stream and the second was a cooler full of cokes along with peanut butter crackers. Shortly after I began my climb up Mt. Killington which at 4,235ft is the second highest point in VT. The climb was actually not too bad, and I really enjoyed going through all the different layers of forest as you gain altitude. From the top of Killington you could see the White Mtns. in NH (where I will be hiking in almost a week) and even the Adirondacks of New York.The hike down was long and uneventful. I made it to US 4 and was greeted by Swiss Miss, Bison, Bogeyman, Nifty and Skunk. We hiked the remaining 3 miles together and were picked up by a trail angel we had called for a ride. He drove us into Rutland and dropped us off at the hostel in town. We all got our laundry done and then went to a pizza place for dinner. I got my resupply finished and then was able to make a couple phone calls.
Date: 2006-07-20
From: VT 100 - Rutland, VT

To: VT 12 - Woodstock, VT
Miles today: 20.5

Slept pretty well last night and even slept in some. Went to Walmart and bought some sunglasses and new head phones for my MP3 player. I then went to the grocery store and bought 4 donuts for breakfast. Yum! Everyone else had already left for the trail so Nifty and I caught a city bus the 8 miles back to the trail.Hiking today was very tough. Lots of little ups and downs that just seemed to pile up one right after another. It was a long exhausting day. I hiked with Nifty for most of the day and we both agreed that today was one of the hardest hiking days we have had in a long time. We got to the road crossing with VT 12 and hitched into the town of Woodstock to find lodging. We decided to get a hotel room because the shelters were located really far apart in this section of the trail and Swiss Miss and Nifty don't have tents.We got a great hitch into town from a local named Kurt who showed us around town and then drove us to a hotel. The hotel was a little expensive, but whatever. Kurt also offered to give us a ride back into town for dinner and then gave us his phone number so he could pick us up when we were done with dinner. While we were eating Daedilous made it into town and joined us for dinner. We then went back to the hotel, showered and then just sat and talked.
Date: 2006-07-21
From: VT 12 - Woodstock, VT

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: light rain

Up at 6:30 and then we got a ride into town for breakfast. After breakfast we were just standing around when a woman offered us a ride back to the trail. It turns out she is the wife of a guy we had talked to the night before at the restaurant we ate dinner at.Once back on the trail I was in for another really tough day. There were just lots of little ups and downs that never seemed to end. But finally I crossed the bridge into New Hampshire and entered the town of Hanover, home of Dartmouth College. Once in town Swiss Miss, Nifty and I began calling hotels but quickly learned that they were all full. So the girls went off in search of a place to crash for the night. When they returned they informed me that the fraternity Psi Upsilon had offered to let us crash on the floor of their common room and that they will be having a party tonight. Sweet! I then ran into Mr. K, Master Plan, Bison and Bogeyman who were also all staying at the frat. I got a shower and then went to a bar for dinner.The frat party started out fun but got very old, very quickly. Earlier in the day the brothers had been really friendly and seemed like they were genuinely glad we were there, but once their party started and the girls began to show up we quickly realized that we were not as welcome as we thought. We all had quite a few beers and then decided to leave the party to get some late night food and then returned to the common room to sleep.
Date: 2006-07-22
From: Hanover, NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I slept pretty well last night, but everyone else said that they slept horribly due to the Frat Brothers partying until 6am. I then set about running errands. I was on my way back from CVS when I heard someone yell my name. I turned around and saw Brian Hastings (A co-worker from Ohio State) standing outside a restaurant. He is in Hanover for a conference at Dartmouth College. We had lunch and caught up on the events of the last 4 months. By the time we finished lunch, it had started to rain. It then proceeded to rain for the rest of the day. Because of the rain Nifty, Master Plan and I all decided to stay in Hanover for the rest of the day. A problem arose, however, when we began calling hotels and learned that they were all full. After several hours of trying to figure where we would stay for the night, we were finally saved by a member of the Dartmouth Outing Club who offered to let us sleep on his porch. For a side story I was laying in a hammock on their porch talking to Nifty and Master Plan when out of nowhere the hammock ripped. This caused me to fall out of the hammock and hit my head and shoulder against the porch railing. This spun my entire body around causing me to some how land on my feet in the front lawn. The strangest part is I didn't get hurt at all, I fell from a hammock hanging 3 feet from the porch railing and 8 feet off the ground and didn't even get a bruise... I am invincible.
Date: 2006-07-23
From: Hanover, NH

To: Firewarden's Cabin, Smarts Mountain
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a really wet and muddy hiking day but I am really happy I didn't hike in the rain yesterday. I climbed a couple mountains today but it wasn't too exhausting. Got a couple really pretty views as well and that always makes climbing a mountain worth wild.The shelter I am staying at is an old Cabin that used to be used by the guy that worked in the firetower. It is a one room cabin that is pretty dirty but I swept it out and it should do nicely. Tonight is the first night in a long time that I am not sleeping near anyone that I know. Master Plan and Nifty left the place we stayed last night before I did, but I don't think they made it to the trail before me. So I am not sure where they are.While trying to cook my food tonight my stove was running really strangely. It was then I figured out that the EMS in Manchester Center had sold me the wrong type of fuel. I will have to get more fuel tomorrow when I get to Glencliff, NH.
Date: 2006-07-24
From: Firewarden's Cabin, Smarts Mountain

To: Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 20.0

Spent the whole morning jumping from rock to rock to avoid sloshing through the mud. My feet were dry until I got to a creek and was trying cross. I stepped out onto a flat rock that looked stable and then all of a sudden the rock just started sliding and my feet followed right into the creek. Soaking me from the waist down... I was not a happy camper. Luckily it was a sunny day so at the top of Mt. Cube I was able to take a long lunch and dry out my feet, shoes and socks.The rest of the trail was nothing special. I ran into quite a few south bounders today, who all seemed very excited to be out of the White Mountains. I will be hitting my first climb in the Whites and I have to admit I'm a little nervous. Some of the climbs that the southbounders have been mentioning sound absolutely terrible, but I am excited to hike above the treeline.
Date: 2006-07-25
From: Glencliff, NH

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: few clouds

Finally woke up around 8 and began to pack up my stuff. I paid the caretaker for my stay at the hostel and was pretty much ready to leave when a couple southbounders walked in. I started talking to them a realized that one of them, named Tomato, knows a friend of mine, Brian "Buckeye" Barnhart. I went to college with Brian and Tomato hiked with Brian last year on the PCT. The southbounders then put on a movie, so I sat around and watched that for a little bit as well.Finally got on the trail around 10am and almost immediately started my climb of Mt. Moosilauke. The climb was long and fairly steep but I really enjoyed it. It felt good to climb a "real" mountain again. At an elevation of about 4500ft the trail went above treeline and I got 360 degree views of mountains in the distance, it was beautiful. I finally reached the top (4802 ft) and sat down beside a large boulder to shield myself from the cold breeze.The climb down from Moosilauke was really steep, and in places there was rebar and wooden blocks used in the rocks to act as steeps. The neat part about this section of the trail is that for almost 2 miles the trail parallels a brook as it cascades over rocks down the side of the mountain. It was gorgeous!Once at the road, I walked .3 miles to a visitor center and got a coke and a couple of icecream bars. Then it was back on the trail. The final 8 or so miles to the shelter weren't too tough, they just seemed really long. There was lots of climbing over boulders and hopping rock to rock to avoid mud pits. But overall todays hike was wonderful and I am really looking forward to the rest of my hike in the Whites.
Date: 2006-07-26
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Liberty Springs Tentsite
Miles today: 11.4

Had a lot of trouble getting to sleep last night, so finally at around 11pm I decided to set up my tent instead of sleeping in the shelter. As soon as I laid down in my tent I fell asleep... you can't argue with results.On the trail a little before 9 and almost immediately started climbing Kinsman Mtn. It was a pretty steep climb, but not too bad when compared with Mt. Moosilauke. Got a few decent views from the top, but it was pretty hazy so all I could see was faint outlines of distant mountains.Made it to Franconia Notch around 1:30 and began to try to get a hitch to North Woodstock, NH so I could pick up my mail. I got a hitch pretty quickly but the guy could only take me a mile to visitor center. So I went inside, got a coke and then went back to the road to hitch. An hour and a half later someone finally picked me up. It was a huge relief too, I was worried it would take me so long to get a hitch that I would get to the post office and it would be closed.Once in town I got my package from my mom and was ecstatic to see that it had about 75% of the things I needed to resupply. I walked to a market down the street and ordered a hamburger and also bought the rest of my resupply food. Just as I was getting my stuff packed away in my back a huge thunderstorm moved in and rained cats and dogs for about 45 min. Once it stopped raining I was able to get a really easy hitch back to the trail and then climbed the 3 miles up Mt. Liberty to my campsite.Today I passed my 1,800th mile on the trail!!! YAY! So far I love hiking in the Whites, the uphill climbs are brutal but I love knowing that I am actually climbing a mountain. For the previous 800 miles of the trail it seemed like every single climb was just to the top of some dinky ridge. I love knowing that my climb will have a payoff of either an amazing view or the satisfaction that I just climbed Mt. Whatever.
Date: 2006-07-27
From: Liberty Springs Tentsite

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 17.4

I have hiked more than 1800 miles and today I got my ass kicked by just 17. My goal was to hike 25 miles to Crawford Notch where I could hitch a ride to a hotel, take a shower, eat pizza, watch tv and sleep in a bed. But instead my hiking ego has been humbled... no more will I take the White Mountains lightly, because they do mean business.The first part of my hike today was really cool, I climbed Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Lafayette both over 5000ft and both above treeline. For almost 3 miles I walked on a ridge that was entirely above treeline, I would have gotten 360 degree views but I was walking in one big cloud for the duration of my ridgewalk.Once off the ridge I expected to be able to pick up some speed and get some miles under my belt. But that didn't happen, the next section of trail was rocky, riddled with roots and full of lots of small ups and downs. It took me 2 hours to hike 3 miles, a speed that is frustratingly slow for me. I was able to hike a little bit faster for the rest of the day, but it was still slower than I would have liked. Finally I arrived at the Zealand Falls Hut where I was hoping to get a work-for-stay slot which would have granted me dinner, a place to sleep for the night, and breakfast. However, when I asked about work-for-stay they told me they already had 2 and didn't need anymore. I was crushed, this meant I would have to keep hiking to find a place to camp. I didn't want to keep hiking, infact right not I am not sure if I ever want to hike again. The hut crew must have seen the pathetic look on my face because then they offered to let me sleep on the front porch. No work-for-stay, no food, but I do get to sleep on the porch like a dog.