morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-26
From: Gateway Hotel #4

To: Budget Host Inn #107
Miles today: 15.6

Delaware Water Gap ahoy!        Pennsylvania is finally over, and I can honestly say that I will NEVER hike in this state again. Now I understand why people were asking me if I would skip PA on my hike. If I had known just how bad it would be I actually might have skipped it. There isn¢t actually a TRAIL in this state; just a couple unmaintained paths connecting endless rock fields. I have no idea why this is acceptable, but the trail authorities all just seem to say, ¢That¢s just how PA is¢ rather than trying to correct the problem.        In any case I got to the DWG and walked down to the hotel only to find that it was destroyed in the recent flooding. DUH! I walked back to the hostel, which was full, and asked how hard it would be to hitchhike to Stroudsburg, a resupply town a few miles away. The caretaker said to just call a cab. Now that¢s a shock. ¢Call a cab¢ has never been an option before! There¢s something good about the North after all.        Unfortunately I got in too late to get my package from the Post Office. I have to grab it in the morning, which means I¢ll have to take a zero so the shoo goo has time to set. Ah, well.
Date: 2006-07-29
From: Budget Inn

To: Ken-Etiwa-Pec
Miles today: 17.8

The biggest challenge facing me at the beginning of this hike was definitely depression. That lasted for months and still hits me from time to time. Towards the beginning of the middle of the hike my biggest challenge was frustration as I dealt with the excruciatingly painful heat rashes that threatened to end my hike just as I was getting to the physically easier sections.        Now, at the end of the middle, my biggest challenge is easily my own laziness. As you can see from the last two entries, what was supposed to be a single night in Delaware Water Gap turned into not one, but two zeros. The first zero was necessary as the Shoe Goo I used to repair my shoes requires 24-hours to set. The second zero, though, came about because it was raining when I was due to start hiking and I couldn¢t bring myself to leave the comfort of my hotel room.        This morning I began having similar reservations about getting going, but this time I forced myself out onto the trail before I could change my mind. This tendency to get stuck in town is definitely troublesome. It is only the though of how disappointed everyone (including myself) would be if I dropped out that gets me out of those towns some days. I still have time to play with, but many more unexpected double-zeros and I¢ll find myself racing the clock.        The hiking today was pretty nice. Rocky in the beginning, but by the end it had cleared up remarkably well. I saw another copperhead, and a HUGE bear. Fortunately both cleared out as soon as they saw me, the bear even before I could take a picture.        I¢m camped out at a YMCA wilderness retreat near the trail that allows hikers to use their facilities. It¢s a nice little place, and a bunch of other hikers are here.
Date: 2006-07-30
From: Ken-Etiwa-Pec

To: Culver's Gap
Miles today: 10.6

Today was an interesting day. I¢ve hooked up with a group of people I¢ve been seeing since the very beginning. They¢re calling themselves ¢Team Cool Breeze¢, which amuses me. We had planned today to hike ten miles to Culver¢s Gap where there was a bar and restaurant, then hike three miles more to the next shelter.        Given the severe heat we¢ve been experiencing here, a nice long break in the bar sounded like a great idea. And it was. The bar was sitting right on the shores of a lake, had a nice cool lakeside area behind it, and had Yuengling on tap.        A good time was had by all, but by the time we needed to leave to make it to the shelter, nobody wanted to leave. So we stayed, then camped a few hundred yards up the trail instead. Definitely one of the more unusual days I¢ve had where actual progress was made. Many jokes were made about the ¢2,000 mile bar hop¢.
Date: 2006-07-31
From: Culver's Gap

To: High Point Country Inn #10
Miles today: 14.3

Good Lord it¢s hot!        Good Lord it¢s mosquitoes!        What a terrible combination!         Temperatures nearing or exceeding 100 deg. have been blanketing the area for the past few days making hiking nearly unbearable. The trail in New Jersey also features fairly thin canopy cover on the ridgetops, meaning that the sun is beating down on me for much of the day.        What does this mean for me? Well, it means I can¢t do big miles, really, since the heat saps my stamina. It also means that I keep sweating off my bug repellant. As soon as the DEET wears off a dozen freaking mosquitoes land on me and start sucking. It¢s from all the flooding back in June. The locals say they¢ve never seen the mosquitoes this bad. Just great.        The sad irony here is that the trail terrain has finally started improving. The rocks are mostly behind me and I can set a good pace, but the heat keeps me from exploiting this. The heat¢s not supposed to go down for another two days. Until then I just need to keep the miles down and take it easy.        In other news, I¢m starting to run into southbounders. The very first few have gone past in the last couple days. It¢s nice to see them, if only because they know what things are like up ahead of us.
Date: 2006-08-01
From: High Point Country Inn #10

To: Appalachian Motel #8
Miles today: 20.6

So, today, in addition to record high heat, killer mosquitoes, and terrible humidity, I also had to hike through miles and miles of swamps. Yay! So the heat, humidity, and mosquitoes were all that much worse.      Today wasn¢t all bad, though. About halfway through the day we passed the town of Unionville and Sarah¢s Soda Shop. There I ran into the rest of Team Cool Breeze and we all hung out in the soda shop for a few hours eating ice cream and avoiding the heat. There was talk of staying in Unionville rather than continuing to hike in the heat. The town allows hikers to camp in their park. Unfortunately, the weather is calling for it to be even hotter tomorrow, putting it into the danger zone.      Thus I left everyone back at Unionville and pushed on. I wanted to get to the town of Vernon where I could find a place to stay that had AC. I¢m going to ride out the heat in a hotel, so I needed to put in a bigger day so I don¢t lost too much time. Fortunately the heat will go back down a bit on Thursday, so I can get moving again without worry, and also stop draining my bank accounts on hotels. I¢m going to try and avoid excess expenses for a bit.      The hotel was two miles form the trail, unfortunately. I did manage to get a ride almost immediately from a musician in a converted school bus. Apparently Sam, that was his name, is in a band and tours in the school bus. He said he just got back from playing a gig in Key West. Definitely the most interesting ride I¢ve gotten since I started.      The heat is supposed to break finally on Friday. Hopefully we can get some freaking NORMAL weather for once.
Date: 2006-08-04
From: Appalachian Motel #8

To: US 17A
Miles today: 15.2

So taking yesterday off as a second heat-zero definitely was a good idea given the terrain I have encountered today. A large number of steep climbs, scaling rocky walls, and generally wrestling my way over the ridges means that progress today was slow and difficult. Thankfully the heat wave has broken and I only had to do all that in mid-80's. Trying to do that in the 100+ degree heat would not have been fun times.As it is, I couldn't make the progress I wanted to make. It took so long getting over those cliffs that it got dark before I could make it to the shelter. I'm camped out, by myself, about a quarter mile past where 17-a crosses the trail.This is actually the first time I have been camped by myself since my second night out. You may recall I spent that night wrestling with depression and crying. Fortunately things are not that bad tonight, though I am definitely feeling a little down. I'm so used to being able to pack on the big miles that when I can't I get frustrated. I also miss my family and friends, and yes, I still miss my wife very much.Okay, so, there's a little crying. I have no idea how I'll ever manage to deal with the actual divorce when it comes. I guess it'll hurt less than it does now, though, since I'll have the aforementioned family and friends around rather than being all alone in the middle of the woods.I also don't have the hat Jen made me, as I sent it home with the rest of the winter gear. I dunno if I'll want it back once the weather turns colder or not. The trail only gets lonelier from here, and I'm not sure I want reminders like that hanging around.
Date: 2006-08-05
From: US 17A

To: Education Through Adventure Leadership Camp
Miles today: 17.5

The terrain of New York continues to be a giant pain in the butt. Today wasn¢t quite as bad as yesterday, though, if only because I was expecting it. I got a nice early start, too, hitting the trail at around 7:30. I slept like a log last night on my nice soft grassy bed, so when I woke up at first light I was rested and ready to go.      The weather has gone from awful to awesome virtually overnight. Two days ago we had highs in the low 100¢s, now we¢ve got highs in the low 80¢s with a nice cool breeze blowing continuously. Perfect hiking weather. Sadly I think the rest of Team Cool Breeze is behind me at this point. ¢Pixie¢ and ¢Danger¢ pulled up short at 17A last night to meet a friend today. ¢Garden Gnome¢ is still in Vernon, apparently sick. The others are kinda scattered around. I saw ¢Tu-tone¢ today, but none of the others.      Tonight I¢m at a hostel hosted by ETALC. It¢s actually a youth summer camp that isn¢t quite open yet, but they open it up for thru-hikers to stay. For some reasons I¢m the only one here tonight, so I¢ve got an entire summer camp to myself. It¢s kinda freaky, really. Nobody else is here at all.Tomorrow I¢ll slackpack to Bear Mountain and the ETALC guy will pick me up so I can stay here again. Definitely a good deal.
Date: 2006-08-06
From: Education Through Adventure Leadership Camp

To: ETALC
Miles today: 13.1

Kinda short day today, but that¢s as far as ETALC is willing to shuttle, and given the terrain, I figured it was enough. I started out this morning at Bear Mountain Bridge and hiked back to where I got off yesterday. At Beat Mountain Bridge the trail passes straight through a zoo. Thru-hikers are permitted free entry into the zoo, and are treated kinda like celebrities by the staff and t tourists inside.      Having heard of this zoo before, I was expecting the sort of bare square cages that typify the ¢bad¢ zoo. I was pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful habitats enclosures; however, and from the way the bears in the bear exhibit were playing, they definitely provide their animals with much-needed stimuli. I had a long and interesting discussion with one of the zookeepers at the bear exhibit (which, incidentally, is also the lowest elevation on the entire AT at 120 feet), and told her the story of Daniel and I and the bear.      It was in the zoo where I fell prey to the one bad aspect of my digital camera. The battery charge indicator doesn¢t really work. It will go from full charge to empty in an instant, rather than displaying a gradual reduction in charge. This happened this morning in the zoo. Usually it¢s not a problem, as I carry multiple spare battery chips. Since I was slackpacking, though, I didn¢t have any of them with me at the time. So I¢ve only got pictures of the zoo, and none from the great views during the day¢s hike.      Ah, well. I¢ve got tons of good view pics, and will certainly get more as time goes on. Tomorrow I hear that the terrain eases up a bit, or so the southbounders say. That¢ll be nice.
Date: 2006-08-07
From: ETALC

To: Fahnestock State Park Campground
Miles today: 18.2

Good hiking today, if somewhat unremarkable. There¢s really just not much to say. Also, I picked up a book and want to read it rather than write right now.      I¢m camped by Fahnestock State Park. They allow thru-hikers free camping in the campground, which is great. I¢ve got a nice, soft tent pad, and should sleep well tonight. I¢ll need it as tomorrow and the next day I intend to push as many miles as I can to get into Kent, CT as soon as possible.      Now, to my book!
Date: 2006-08-08
From: Fahnestock State Park Campground

To: Edward R. Murrow Memorial Park
Miles today: 24.3

A day filled with serendipity!      I slept like a log last night, on my nice soft tent pad, and woke up a bit later than usual because of it. As I was packing up, ¢Snakeeyes¢ walks past. I hadn¢t even known any other hikers were in the park, much less ones I knew.      It turns out that he, ¢Two-step¢, ¢Canyonman¢, and ¢$3¢ are all slackpacking through the area. I asked if I could get in on the slacking and they agreed! Talk a bout great timing. ¢Canyonman¢ drove my pack ahead to the town of Pawling, New York and I set out to get there, a distance of just over 24 miles.      Hiking today was amazing! Another cold front rolled through last night driving temperatures down even further. All day today temps were in the high 70¢s with a constant cool breeze blowing through. It literally felt like Autumn. A very welcome change from last week.      So I get to the pre-arranged endpoint and am waiting for everyone else to show up, or at least fro the person with the car to arrive to take us to Pawling, which is 3 miles off the trail. The town lets hikers camp in their park for free. While I¢m waiting a guy in a SUV pulls up and gets out. It turns out that he¢s the father of ¢$3¢¢s girlfriend and is there to take him to dinner.      A few minutes later ¢$3¢ calls him to say that he¢d hitched from another road and was already in Pawling. Since he was going that way anyway, he went ahead and gave me a ride into town. Good ¢ol trail magic.      Tomorrow is the big push I into Kent. No more slackpacking, though, as the others didn¢t finish the whole 24 today, and aren¢t going all the way into Kent tomorrow. It¢s all good. One day is better than none!
Date: 2006-08-09
From: Edward R. Murrow Memorial Park

To: Fife 'n Drum Inn #6
Miles today: 21.0

Another long day today, but it went well. I got an early start this morning, getting a ride back to the trail at around 7 a.m. The terrain was fairly accommodating with nothing overly taxing, so I made good time on my hike, getting here in time to get to the Post Office before it closed.      Sadly, one of my packages is missing. It¢s the one that should have been forwarded from Bear Mountain post office. My bounce-box made the trip just fine, but the other package is missing. I¢ll need to call the Bear Mountain post office in the morning to see where it is, and have it forwarded ahead once more.      That package is the one with my camera memory card in it, so this means my loyal readers won¢t have any photo updates for another week at least. Sorry about that.
Date: 2006-08-10
From: Fife 'n Drum Inn #6

To: Housatonic Meadows State Park
Miles today: 13.2

A shorty day, but not bad for getting a really late start. I couldn¢t get out of Kent until we figures out what was going to happen with my missing mail drop. The Bear Mountain PO says they forwarded it, and the Kent PO says they never received it. I guess that¢s what happens when you send physical representations of the Trickster through the mail.You see, I left my coyote medallion at the ¢PA Money Pit¢ hostel by accident. I called them and they sent it home, and Mom dropped it into my mail drop. Now the Trickster is messing with my mail. Ah, well, he¢ll turn up eventually.Unfortunately, this is also keeping me from getting my camera memory card. Mom¢s overnighting one of hers to a PO that I¢ll be passing tomorrow. Hopefully that one will arrive without an issue.The hiking today was pretty varied. There was a long five-mile flat stretch right along the bank of the Housatonia, and there were also a number of fairly steep climbs.   I think I¢m past the parts of the trail where I¢ll be getting truly easy days as a whole, even if we get easy sections.After I got camp set up, I walked a bit down the road to a package store that the guidebook says is a traditional hiker destination. I found out why when I got there. All thru-hikers get a free beer. Now that¢s a tradition I can get behind.
Date: 2006-08-11
From: Housatonic Meadows State Park

To: Falls Village
Miles today: 12.0

Another short day today, but a good day anyway. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous these past few days, and when I find a good place to stop it¢s hard to want to continue on.Tonight I am camped out behind the Inn in Falls Village. They let hikers camp here for free. The Inn also has a bar/tavern inside. I stopped in Falls Village to get my mail drop that was overnighted here, then went into the Inn for lunch. I got to reading my book, and eventually was just too comfortable to leave.Resting without losing a day of hiking is good, though. The next couple days look to have some hard hiking ahead. Anyway, back to reading until it¢s time for sleep.
Date: 2006-08-12
From: Falls Village

To: View Entry
Miles today: 8.2

Ugh. So the temperature continues to drop, which is a great thing, except that I think it has made me sick. I was feeling all right when I started, but by the time I got to Salisbury, I was all stuffed up and feeling really tired.There was a sign at the road crossing outside Salisbury from a hiker named ¢Neighbor J¢. He was watching a house for his family and had opened it up for hikers for the day. Since I was feeling sick, he gave me a bed and I¢ve been laying here the rest of the day reading and sleeping. I¢m hoping that this will go away if I just rest. I don¢t usually get minor lingering illnesses. I usually get really sick for a week, or it goes away in a day.Most of the people I¢ve been hiking with rolled in later in the day. They¢re all downstairs watching a video about the Pacific Crest Trail. It¢s kinda funny how we¢ll all keep running into each other despite how many times we outpace each other.
Date: 2006-08-13
To: Mounument Mountain Motel #28
Miles today: 21.4

So I woke up this morning feeling much better, though not entirely 100% just yet. I¢ve still got that little ¢you¢re getting sick¢ tickle in my throat, and thing smell and taste off, usually signs that I¢m still a little sickTonight is supposed to be truly cold, down into the 30¢s in the mountains. That prompted me to try and find a warm place to stay for the night. The last thing I want to do is exacerbate whatever minor illness I have by spending a night out in the cold when I¢m not 100%.At first I thought I might be able to zero at ¢Neighbor J¢s¢, but he was planning to hike out today. He¢s not a thru-hiker, but is writing an article on AT hikers and is looking for input. So I couldn¢t stay there. The nearest affordable place to stay was in Great Barrington, 22 miles up the trail.It was only 15 or so miles by road, though.   Given that I didn¢t really want to overstress myself, the road walk was my best bet. So now I¢ve done some yellow-blazing. I¢m sure the purists in the audience are screaming in agony as their eyeballs melt from even reading the words.I¢m feeling pretty good right now, and am pretty sure I¢ll be feeling all better tomorrow. I hate that I¢m feeling bad right as the weather gets so nice. Fortunately the weather is supposed to be just as good for the rest of the week and beyond.
Date: 2006-08-14
From: Mounument Mountain Motel #28

To: Tyringham Fire Pavilion
Miles today: 19.4

Feeling all better today! I fell asleep rather early last night and slept relatively late into the morning (by hiker standards). When I awoke, whatever had been plaguing me was gone. And good riddance. With the trail getting harder again, I need my strength back.The terrain today was fairly unremarkable with no great views or anything. The path itself isn¢t as well maintained here as it is in other places either. I hear the next few days are good ones, though. In a few days I¢ll be going over Mt. Greylock, the tallest mountain I¢ll have hit since Virginia. Granted, even in Virginia the mountains didn¢t have hotels on top of them, but I think I can overlook that.Right now I¢ve settled down in the pavilion next to the firehall in the Town of Tyringham, MA. They don¢t allow tenting, so I¢ve set up my sleeping bag on the picnic tables. It¢s supposed to rain a bit tonight, so having a roof over my head is pretty nice.I had been planning to stop about a mile and a half back at the Shaker Campsites. Unfortunately the area around the campsites was boggy and full of bugs. I hesitated to come down here because the guides say the ¢sometimes¢ allow hikers to use the pavilion. Fortunately the trip paid off, as the only other choice would have been the local Bed and Breakfast. The next place to camp is too far away to reach, and you can only camp in those designated areas in MA. Glad I don¢t have to worry about it.Also, one of the firemen asked if I had a trail journal. I gave him the address. If you¢re still reading, thanks for the hospitality!
Date: 2006-08-15
From: Tyringham Fire Pavilion

To: October Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: clear sky

Didn¢t sleep as well as I would have liked last night. The night started out cold enough that the bugs weren¢t out at all. Unfortunately it actually warmed up overnight and the bugs came out to play. Bug spray kept them mostly at bay, but I¢d still wake up with one biting me every now and then.It was worth it, though, as it also rained most of the night. Pretty hard too, from the sound of things. I¢ll gladly take a little bug annoyance to avoid packing up a wet tent. It was still raining when I got up, and kept at it for a few hours. With a roof over my head, it wasn¢t a big deal. I just sat in the pavilion and read for a while until it cleared up.Sadly Massachusetts doesn¢t believe in switchbacks, so I had a few steep muddy climbs in the morning before the sun came out and dried things up a bit. The tread on my shoes is way worn-down, so I had to be careful about slipping. I get my boots back tomorrow in Dalton, and none too soon. These shoes have about had it.
Date: 2006-08-16
From: October Mountain Lean-to

To: Shambrock Village Inn #10
Miles today: 11.8

Shortish day today bringing me into Dalton. I must say I am really loving New England so far, not so much for the hiking, but for the people. There¢s a hostel in town that¢s not in any of the books called ¢The Birdcage¢. I¢m not staying there due to my tendency towards wanting privacy, but I swung by to visit other hikers there, and the owner offered to do my laundry and such anyway, free of charge. I hung out there most of the day until I felt the need to be alone again.Also in town, in addition to the usual rogues¢s gallery is ¢Mountain Squid¢. You may remember him from my very first day on the trail proper. He was sitting at the base of Springer Mountain doing Trail Magic. He was at the Birdcage today, having just summitted Katahdin to finish his section hike of the AT. It was cool to see him again. He had just done all of New Hampshire and Maine, and gave me some good advice on what to expect.I pack out tomorrow. I¢m trying to limit zeros as much as I can to save them for emergencies. Greylock is tomorrow, and me with a full pack. I should have waited and put my mail drop on the other side of the mountain.