morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-07-09
From: Church of the Mountain hostel (Delaware Water Gap)

To: Blue Mountain tentsites
Miles today: 17.8

We managed to get out of town today and at a decent hour. We waved goodbye to Hareball as she sat in the cafe eating blueberry pancakes.Bug and I walked across a very long bridge, and it was a little unsettling how fast all the cars went. The bridge across the Delaware River is I-80 and apparently DWG is the playground for the well-to-do of NYC, therefore this place was super-busy.We are finally in a new state! New Jersey...the garden state. Not quite sure why it is called this,, but I plan to do my best to find out. So far it has been alot of roads. After hiking up the mountain, we came up on Sunfish Pond, the first of many glacial ponds we will see. It was beautiful and quiet with the excpetion of the occasional bullfrog. As we hiked we started to hear kids laughing and splashing in the water....it was tempting to jump right in, but we had quite a ways yet to travel. We decided we would swim another day.It wasn't long at all until we arrived at the Mohican Outdoor Center, run by the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club). We got there just in time too, because the skies were really threatening to let loose with the rain. There, we rested had lunch and enjoyed a nice cold coke and spent time visiting with fellow hiker, Tenbears. Although we were tempted to stay, we felt we should go further. After all, we had only hiked out 10 miles, and took a zero yesterday.As we reached the trailhead, who did we run into but Warren and Terry Doyle. It was good to see them, and we talked for a good bit, about mutual trail friends and how our hikes were going. We soon pushed on, and made our way up the mountain. Pausing briefly at the Catfish Fire Tower, we ate our snacks and decided how far we would go for the evening.Shortly after getting back on the trail, it began to get eerily quiet. As we were crossing the footbridge at Beaver Pond, the tree frogs began to go crazy and the bullfrogs chimed in to harmonize, and that is when the rain started to fall. It was a heavy but quick shower, and by the time we made it to the top of the mountain the skies had cleared to the west. As we turned our gaze east, we watched as the rain moved across the valley below.Not much further and we reached our destination for the night. The area we are in used to be a neighborhood years ago, but was acquired by the ATC over the years. This makes for great camping with unbelievable views of the valley below. The grass here is pretty tall, but we are making do. It is well worth it for the views and for the solitude. Bug and I have just finished our dinner and are enjoying the night air, although I must say with all the rain the last couple of days, the bugs are out in full force. I do believe there must be a college frat party going on down in the valley because we here lots of music and laughter, and from my days at Ole Miss I would say that is exactly what it is. It is getting dark and I have run out of things to say for the day, so with that being said....I will sign off.
Date: 2005-07-13
From: St. John's hostel

To: Campsite 1 mile south of NY17A
Miles today: 14.2

Today has been very lazy! We always kid ourselves that we are going to get out of town early when deciding to stay the night. Bug and Mr. Clean made a trip to Dunkin Donuts to get breakfast while I stayed at the church to pack our things. This was just one of the strategies to get out on the trail faster. However, after they got back, we each sat eating our breakfast at a leisurely pace and in addition to the donuts, Bug and I split a salad plate-sized danish. Mr. Clean felt compelled to stick around to watch the opening bell at the NYSE. Needless to say, we didn't leave anywhere near early. In fact, we stuck around to fold towels before leaving the church. And rather than waste food, Bug ate the rest of my calzone from last night (1/2 of a whole to be exact). Once we finally left, we made our way to Burger King down the street. There were three reasons for this: (1) we needed the calories to get up that mountain, (2) it was lunchtime, and (3) we needed a ride back to the trailhead. When we walked in, some guys that were sitting there started asking us a few questions. I took the opportunity to ask if they were headed the way we were. They looked a little reluctant, as most people would about offering a ride to a stranger, but they were kind enough to agree to take us to the trailhead.The three of us stuffed ourselves silly with calories, and poor Bug was about to bust at the seams. We figured he probably had an intake of 4,000 calories before 11am. The guys dropped us at the trailhead at 11:15 (thanks a million guys!) and we were on our way.Our climb was tough no doubt, but considering it was the heat of the day...it wasn't as bad as anticipated. It was steep, but over with quickly! We were at the top of Wawayanda Mountain in no time, but Bug wasn't feeling so great and his body was rebelling against the numerous calories that he had subjected it to. There were several beautiful streams that we crossed today. The hiking was great as we were mostly ridgewalking across huge boulders. We ran into Nomad, whom we haven't seen in quite some time. We hiked the majority of the afternoon with him. He hiked on further than we did though. He hikes a little faster than we typically do, and he got ahead of us, but we did catch up with him at the NJ/NY stateline. Yes, that's right! We crossed into a new state today! I try not to get worked up over statelines, but after 500 miles all in Virginia, it is hard not to get excited about covering ground. We stopped at a nice little campsite off to the right side of the trail about 1 mile south of NY17A. We saw the lights of the town in the valley, and had a nice grassy area in which to set up our tent. It is good to be hiking with Clean again, as we have missed him. He has had us in stitches with his crazy antics. Well, the hum of the mosquitoes is putting me to sleep and I am going cross-eyed as I type, so I think it is a sign to get to sleep....that and Bug is interupting my thought process with his snores! =o)
Date: 2005-07-18
From: Campsite at stream before Dennytown road

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: haze

The rain cleared out overnight and we got a late start as usual. We hiked along, and before long arrived at NY301. We passed this the other day on our way to the Fiores and it passes a gorgeous lake at Fahnestock State Park. The three of us sat to take in the view for a bit before pushing on.I was in the lead and looked down to notice a yellow jackets nest that had fallen from a tree...my guess is that it came down with the rains yesterday. I decided I had better get moving in case the nest was still alive. Mr. Clean, Jr. came behind me and came to the same conclusion. Bug, however, was not so lucky. He was in his hiking zone and totally missed the nest. He must have stepped in the center of it, becaue he got pegged right on the calf and was a little irritated that we didn't forewarn him.When we got to the top of the mountain we were greeted by Hareball who had been taking a break and we were also treated to a view of the beach at the lake below. There were all kinds of kids laughing and playing in the water, and we were jealous that it wasn't us down there.The day was great, the hiking wasn't too strenuous and we were covered much of the time in lush and fragrant pine forest. The decision as to where to camp had not yet been made, but we knew we would stop at RPH shelter for a break and to cook dinner for sure. One thing I did know was that I was working on a doozy of a headache.There was a very steep descent from Shenandoah Mountain. Soon though, we had arrived at the shelter. When we got there, we were greeted by Nomad and Vapors, who told us there was to be a hiker feed tonight! That pretty much sealed the deal and we decided to stay. I took some medicine and laid down on one of the bunks in the shelter. I read for a bit, finishing up Lemony Snickett's Book II, The Reptile Room, A Series of Unfortunate Events. This had been left in one of the previous shelters by Snowbunny and Hairball. Awhile later, people began arriving for the local trail maintainers meeting (these were the people feeding us). The food was really good...hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, and hoemade brownies. They even left an ice-cold seedless watermelon for us which we relished in digging into.Rather than sleep in the shelter, we decided to sleep in our tent. We always like it when there is a nice soft grassy spot to set up on. My headache has finally begun to subside....maybe it was a combination of heat and hunger. I don't know, but whatever the case, I am feeling better. Others that have come in tonight are: Mateo, Hareball, Just Passin Thru, and MacGyver. Well, Vapors is getting wordy and so am I, so I am going to sign off and get in my tent.
Date: 2005-07-19
From: RPH Shelter

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: few clouds

As is typical, we were the last to roll out of the shelter this morning. We are meeting Mr. Clean's wife on the 28th and only have to average about 12 miles a day to get there in time, but we decided to "bank" some miles today so that we can take it easy on a future day.We had major climbing to do, since we started out at an elevation of 360' and reached 1329 on Mt. Egbert. Most of the day we just put our heads down and walked. It has been very hot and very humid! Therefore, we weren't much in the mood to do much....well, anything. On days like this, it is best to just get it over with and get to a place where you can just stop for the day.Even though we were guaranteed the water was safe, we decided to bypass Nuclear Lake. It certainly was a beautiful place, but I just couldn't get past the name and the thought of possibly glowing in the dark if I were to take a swim. That and the fact that a lady stopped back at NY55 to tell us that a massive storm was moving in. We debated about stopping for cover, but we decided to keep moving.I had to stop at one point this afternoon to dress my feet as I was rubbing some major blisters on both heels. That was a BIG mistake, the moment I stopped the mosquitoes started swarming, blood-sucking predators they were. Little did I know, these mosquitoes were amatuers compared to the ones we would be greeted by at Telephone Pioneers Shelter.We had one more bump to climb before we called it quits for the day. Telephone Pioneer Shelter was where we decided to call home for the night. Luckily, there was a nice running stream on the way to the shelter, but the shelter itself was pretty dumpy and full of bugs. We didn't linger too long, before we set up our tents. In addition to the bugs, there was a rather odd lady there who was section-hiking. Bug automatically had an aversion to her, because she immediately started bossing him. She was insisting he make a fire to keep the bugs away, when she herself was tenting a good distance from the fire pit, and we had just met this woman. We are holed up in the tent, we have just eaten dinner and I am hoping that the bears don't smell the summer sausage, nor the mice. I am slowly being lulled to sleep by the buzz of the mosquitoes outside the tent. Nite-nite!
Date: 2005-07-22
From: Campsite beyond Kent, CT

To: Caesar Brook Campsite
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Have you ever had one of those moments when you know things work out for a reason? Providence I believe it is called, when things happen and we don't know why, but they work out in the end.Tonight, Mr. Clean Jr. really, really wanted to go into town to get a shower. I refused to agree, even though I really wanted one as well because I knew that Bug probably didn't want to spend the money. After much hemming and hawing about what to do, Bug came to the conclusion that we should go. This way, we could all get showers, do our laundry, get away from the bugs, and be out early tomorrow giving us a full day's hike. It made sense that we should call ahead to make sure there were rooms and as it turned out, there were none. The lady was kind enough to give us the name and number of another motel in town. We called, but they were booked as well. So here we are at Caesar Brook campsite. It is pretty here, but buggy. In fairness, it is buggy anywhere these days unless you are in closed quarters (be it a tent, house, car, etc.).The day was filled with many ups and downs...not unbearable ones, but enough to let us know that the trail is still the boss, and if we are to complete this white-blazed journey---we must bow to her demands.Early this morning we awoke to Clean serenading us outside of our tent. We finally got up just to get him to stop singing. After we each had some coffee (fresh brewed with Bug's new Lexan press),we got out on the trail. First, we climbed to the top of Caleb's Peak, a gorgeous view where I took a picture to give my nephew who carries the same name.Next, it was a tricky and technical downhill as we descended St. John's Ledges...a series of rock steps going down at about a 60 degree angle. They were fun, but you really have to watch the knees.At the shelter, we broke for a couple of hours, eating lunch and resting. Vapors walked up and hung around for quite awhile. He left, but after that we needed another rest. It was only a few more miles until we reached Pine Knob Loop Trail. We tend to be a bit wishy washy, as this was the original place we intended to stay for the evening. About 1 mile from the trail was a campground with showers, but it was downhill so we decided to continue on. That brings me back to the beginning, and now it is dinner time. Mr. Clean Jr. says the pocketmail has to be put away, so we can have nice family time this evening. More tomorrow....
Date: 2005-07-29
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: US20 (Windsor, CT)
Miles today: 1.6

I'm not going to write much since today is a rest day and I intend to do just that! So, instead I will give you a brief synopsis. We woke early to a beautiful day and as I anticipated a beautiful sunrise. My calf still hurt a bit, but we only hada mile and a half to hike. We had a wonderful pancake breakfast served up hot with coffee. Vicky and Clean picked us up at 9:30 on the highway and we quickly headed back towards their hotel. Bug had an important phone call that took some time and it was one in which he needed to take, so while he was pre-occupied, I went up to their hotel room to take a much needed shower.After we left the hotel, we stopped at the PO in Lee long enough to pick up a box or two. Today we recieved new Dahlgren Alpaca socks and we are so excited! The others had worn thin, and lets face it....new socks just feel good (at least that is what our friend, Stephen says)! It was close to an hour's drive to Windsor, CT where we were staying at the Marriott there. We got there, got settled and went to the spa, where we Bug and I both had 1/2 hour massages....it would have been an hour each but they were pretty much booked. Aside from that we did pretty much nothing! And it was great. We did have a late dinner with Vicky and Clean, and now we are ready for bed.
Date: 2005-07-30
From: US20 (Windsor, CT)

To: Marriott (Windsor, CT)
Miles today: 0.0

Ok....same goes for today! It is a zero and I plan to rest, so not very much detail. Our room at the Marriot has been wonderful, the bed is extremely comfy and the pillows are down (plus there are four of them on the bed). We slept great to say the least! As hikers who have walked over 1500 miles, Bug and I can both say that we stink. I mean, not in the same way you stink when you've been working out in the yard all day stink. We are talking about a stink that just won't quit! Our bodies have started to emit an ammonia-like odor and we can't seem to get rid of it, but it is unbearable! We have taken about 3 showers and had a 30 minute soak in a chlorinated pool (thinking that would kill whatever bacteria was on our skin), but none of that seems to help. I mean, sure, we have washed the sweat and salt away, but there is still this ammonia odor. It is quite unsettling. We've been told that this smell is caused when one's body starts burning muscle so I am not sure t! here is much that can be done until we go home and start eating eggs and meat on a regular basis again.Enough about our odiferous bodies....we went into Manchester, CT with Vicky and Mr. Clean Jr. today. First was a large lunch at a local eatery and then it was on to the mall. We split up into couples and agreed to meet back in an hour. First on our agenda was to get Bug's hair trimmed up. He had talked of letting it go until we summited but he is sick and tired of chewing on his mustache, plus I think the beard is way to scratchy when it is this long! I must say he looks very handsome as a result. Next, it was off to the bookstore where we each decided to pick up a book for the trail. Bug chose to get a collection of Faulkner's works and plans to start with "As I Lay Dying", and I chose "Shem Creek" by Dorothea Benton Frank (it just came out in paperback and I've been wanting to read it for quite some time). I had wondered how, I would handle the whole mall experience after having been out in the woods for 4 months, but it wasn't too bad.Where I got overwhelmed was when we went down the road to Wal-Mart. You talk about insanity!!!! Bug and I both were about ready to climb the walls, but it was a necessary evil. We were able to get a new camera to replace the one that I busted on the rocks in PA, and resupply on some food and toiletry items as well.Before leaving, we decided to get a dozen donuts to split among the 4 of us for breakfast in the morning. We have to be on the road by about 6am, so that seems the best solution. When we went to order them, the girl said that she would give us a free dozen since she was about to close up. What luck! Well, we are back in the room trying to pack up for tomorrow so I will tell you more of our adventure tomorrow!
Date: 2005-07-31
From: Marriott (Windsor, CT)

To: Kay Wood Lean-To
Miles today: 16.0

As always, it is so hard to get out on the trail after a zero...make that almost two zeros. We hiked and hiked until we got to the first lean-to where we took a very brief break. The mosquitoes were so bad we didn't want to stick around for too long.Close to 3 miles past the October Mountain Lean-To, we came to the road where the "Cookie Lady" lives. Here, this couple has a pick-your own blueberries farm with somewhere in the range of 1500 bushes. They allow hikers to fill up on water, hang out, and even tent in their yard. Although it was tempting, especially after having eaten as many blueberries as we did, we could not justify such a short day. Even though we hiked a full day and it was tough to get back into our hiking groove, we made it to the shelter in plenty of time to relax, cook dinner, clean up, and set up camp. On our way here, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with Skywalker. He also attended one of Warren Doyle's seminars. He is a really nice guy from Georgia, is 6'11" and amazingly enough had not even spent the night in the woods before starting his hike.When we got in the tent tonight it was only Bug, Clean, and I with 2 section hikers, but after a brief nap, I woke up to clean "knocking" on our tent to let us know that a ton of people had arrived. Among them: Leviathan, Proteus, Nomad, and 3 others we have never met. That's about it for today.
Date: 2005-08-01
From: Kay Wood Lean-To

To: Mark Noepal Lean-To
Miles today: 16.7

Got up this morning and had a great first breakfast and amazingly weren't the last ones out of the shelter. It was a short 3 mile hike into Dalton, Mass. These small New England towns are really neat and very pretty, I just wish we had the time and energy to enjoy them. Ahh well, guess we will have to come back to this area for a vacation sometime. This is where the Crane Currency Museum is located. We walked a little bit further to a house where the owner allows hikers to get water and tent. From there, we decided to get a hardy "2nd" breakfast from Duff-n-Dell Variety. It was very tasty and apparently fueled us all well because we made it to Cheshire in record time. Bug and Mr. Clean Jr. hiked on ahead so as to make the post office before closing time. I hiked as fast as I could so as not to fall too far behind, but the fact is that I am not nearly as fast a hiker. I had the IPOD and that seemed to make the afternoon go a bit more quickly since I could sing along! with the music.There were some wonderful views when I reached the mountaintop and it was here that I ran into a guy hiking southbound who told me that I was a mile and a half maximum from town. This was music to my ears since I thought I was still at least an hour away. From there, I cruised the rest of the way into town. The guy I ran into was right, because half a mile later I was standing in front of the ice cream stand!While there, I indulged myself in two ice creams. Bug went to pick up the maildrop and we feasted on scotch squares that Momma Love made for us. Bug told us of a bear he had spotted while hiking earlier. The 10th of the trip. He sniffed the air a bit, but didn't charge or anything like that.We decided that it might be wise to cook before heading up the mountain in order to fuel us for the climb, also because it would be dark before we arrived. We continue to live up to the Team Tardy name. Bug and I hiked out around 6pm and managed to get to camp before the rain hit and just as dark set in. We have decided to shelter it tonight, and I just pray that the porcupines don't chew up our things. Haven't seen any yet, but I have heard that they are prevalent up here. Well, people are beginning to settle in for the night so I will too.
Date: 2005-08-03
From: Seth Warner Shelter

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

We have been enjoying Vermont so far...it is very pretty here in the Green Mountains and on the Long Trail, but there is one thing I could do without and that is the mud.We are talking ankle-deep sludge! Before leaving the shelter we had a good time talking with a southbound couple there. We hiked throughout the morning and never did catch up to Clean. He got about an hour's headstart on us this morning. Bug and I took a brief respite at VT9 which leads into Bennington. Here we snacked and spoke to a couple of guys from our neck of the woods. They were up here working for the summer, but were from Kentucky and went to school in South Carolina. One was thinking about doing a thru-hike on the AT and we told him some of our stories and about trailjournals.com being a great resource for potential thru-hikers.The original plan for the day was to hike all the way to Porcupine Lookout where there were supposed to be nice tentsites with great views, but when we arrived at Melville Nauheim shelter, Clean was there with his tent already set up. It didn't take much convincing for us to stay as well. Buffalo Bob is here, along with a SOBO by the name of Running Water, a couple of kids out with their dad for the weekend, and two section hikers that we met the other day---Above the Cloud and Green Peace.It is a fairly quiet night, Doc Gnarly was here earlier but stormed off (I think maybe it had something to do with the quality of the watersource--very strange). Bug was planning to stay up reading for awhile, but he is here beside me, snoozing away. Guess I had better do the same if we are going to get an early start to the day tomorrow.