morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-21
From: Palisades Pkwy

To: Sunk Mine Road
Miles today: 23.2

It was an interesting night of strange noises and even a strange nightmare. I woke at 5:30 to the sound of thunder. Not wanting to get caught breaking down in the rain, I quickly packed-up and was on the trail in a few minutes. I reached the Bear Mountain Trailside Park around 9am, but it didn't open until 10am, so I slept on a park bench for about an hour. The AT goes right thru the zoo. The zoo is not big, but it is somewhat interesting. I saw the bear but it was huddled in the corner sleeping. I stopped for my lunch break at the Graymoor Monastary. The friars have a shelter near the baseball feild that has a shower and privy. It was nice and I spent about 2 hours there before heading north again. The thunderstorm finally came when I reached the waterpump station at Dennytown Road. I took shelter under an information kiosk until the stopped but I should have gotten water from the pump first. The lightning knocked out the power briefly which cut the power to the pump. Evidenced by the flashing light and alarm on the side of the little building, the pump did not work. This was a problem since most of the streams in NY looked and tasted really bad. I ended up walking another hour and getting water from a questionable stream right before another storm hit around 9pm. The rain didn't stop until around 2am. I should mention that I didn't see another hiker today. That is the first time in my entire trip. I had lots of solitude, but I know that Groundhog and Hepcat are within a day ahead of me. Maybe I will see them tomorrow.
Date: 2003-07-22
From: Sunk Mine Road

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: moderate rain

Slept in today until 7am when the rain stopped. I ran into Groundhog around 9am. He said that he was getting of the trail. He said last nights rain was the straw that broke the camels back. He was going to go to Maine so that he could earn some money picking blueberrys. He also said there was a chance that he would get back on the trail at Kahtadin and head south.I took a break at the Shanendoa Campsite to let my things dry out since it is suppose to thunderstorm again today. I then stopped at the RPH shelter a few miles later and got some trail magic from a picnic the night before. I also stopped at the Pizza/Deli at NY52 and had chicken parmesan and icecream...very nice. I met Scwag, another northbounder, there. Feeling tired and my feet really hurting from being comstantly wet over the last few days, I decided to stop short of daily mileage goal and stay at the Morgan Stewart Shelter. I was greated by Wanderer and Young Jedi. We had a nice conversation and I found out that Hepcat had gotten of the trail yesterday for a few days and Vagabond if getting off for a few days in Conn.
Date: 2003-07-23
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: light rain

Without a sleeping pad, I slept poorly last night on the hard shelter floor. It thunderstormed again, but I would have gotten a better nights sleep in my hammock. The terraine today was pretty easy and flat, I averaged about 3mph most of the day. I feel like I have plenty of energy and my left leg is holding up well, thanks to my ankle brace, but the constant wet shoes and socks have turned my feet into "Eco-Challenge feet", very sore, wrinkled, and blistered. I intended to go to the next shelter about 4 miles past Wiley Shelter but I could not walk another step due to my foot pain. Sitting at the shelter, a very fortunate thing happened. Radar can walking up the path from his car. He was traveling around today looking for hikers he knew and giving trail magic to them. He was kind enough to take me into Kent, Conn. so that I could do laundry and dry myself out. He also convinced me that due to my time constraints that I should skip ahead and do the Whites and Maine now. Sounded like a good plan to me, so that I could do the sections that I was looking forward to and not feel rushed. In Kent, I got a pizza, did laundry and looked for the hostel. But the hostel at the church was appearantly not in operation, so I walked back to the trail in the dark and stayed at Mt. Algo shelter Another night without a sleeping pad on the hard shelter floor!
Date: 2003-07-24
From: Mt. Algo Shelter

To: Great Barrington MA
Miles today: 0.2
Weather: light rain

I walked back into Kent this morning to check out the outfitters and get a bus schedule to points north. I decided to take a bus to Great Barrington MA which is about 30 minutes north. I got a room at the Days Inn, saw a really good movie called "Whale Rider", and generally relaxed and recovered. I also got another bus ticket to Hanover NH which leaves tomorrow afternoon. So tomorrow night I should find myself back on the trial in New Hampshire. I really like Northern NH and am looking forward to hiking the White Mountains.Great Barrington is a nice little town in the Southern Birkshires. It is somewhat touristy and a little expensive but I would recommend a visit to the Birkshires. It reminds me of CapeCode but with mountains instead of water.
Date: 2003-07-25
From: Great Barrington MA

To: Hanover NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

TOday I took a Bonanza Bus from Great Barrington to Hanover NH. As with any bus ride it is quite an experience. I wish I had a video camera to show you what goes on in a bus station. I am surprise that FOX hasn't created a reality show about bus stations. Words just can't do it justice. My bus left Great Barrington about 1pm and I got to Lee MA around 1:30 where I waited until 5pm for the bus to Springfeild. I then waited until 8pm for the connection to Hanover. I finally got into Hanover around midnight and it's 1AM now and I camped on the AT just a mile north of town near Velvet Rocks Shelter.
Date: 2003-07-26
From: Hanover NH

To: Fire Wardens Cabin
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a day of contrasts. The first 9 miles were really easy. So easy that I started to think I was in the wrong state. But then the climbs came. The first was up Moose Mountain which wasn't too bad, about 1700 feet in 1.5 miles. The second was a nasty climb up Smarts Mountain which was 2300ft in 3.7 miles with 1000ft in the last half mile. I met a section/thru hiker, "Aloha", halfway up the second climb. She is finishing her hike from 2001. The Fire Wardens Cabin was at the top of Smarts Mountain and I stayed there with Aloha, Chills, and his Dog Cypher. We had a nice evening. Today I saw many day hikers, Smarts Mountain was a popular spot probably due to the great views. Today was a very emotional day for me and I am not sure exactly why.
Date: 2003-07-27
From: Fire Wardens Cabin

To: Glencliff
Miles today: 20.0

The hike today over Mt. Cube was spectacular. There were about 10 highschool cross country runners running down the north side as I climbed up. What a run that would be! I am looking forward to my first day above treeline which should be tomorrow. I made it to the Hikers Welcome Hostel around 5pm and was greated by Elizabeth, a hiker that I met back in the Smokies and yesterday again. Chunky, Bliss, Elizabeth and I got a ride into town and got pizza and salad at the Garlic Clove. Life is good.
Date: 2003-07-28
From: Glencliff

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 25.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I slack-packed for the first time. Packrat, the owner of the Hostel, dropped me off at US3 Fanconia Notch and I hiked south back to Glencliff. Due to the hard climbs and mileage, this was not the recommended slack. Matter of fact, I was almost talked out of it the night before by hikers that came south thru that area already. But as you know I like a challenge and was determined to make it back before dark. It took me 12 hours to do the 26 miles. I only carried a little pack with food, water and raingear. The hike was tough and I hustled most of the way, but it wasn't as bad as people described it. The views from Mt. Moosilauke, the first mountain above treeline on the AT heading north, were spectacular, but I could not stop long due to the 40mph winds and the sun going down. I am very glad that I hiked up the north face of Moosilauke instead of down. I would have been very nervous going down since it is very steep.It was a great feeling of accomplishment when I was finished. What also made me feel good was to be able to run sections today. I really miss running! I celebrated with another salad and pizza that I shared with Chills. Life is good.
Date: 2003-07-29
From: Franconia Notch

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I took a zero day today. I though it was the best thing to do since I hiked the quivalent of 2 days yesterday and was feeling really tired. I also hope that this day off makes going thru the rest of the Whites easier. The Hikers Welcome Hostel is a great place to take a zero. I really like it here. It was relaxing today. I just rested, ate and talked to the other hikers at the Hostel. Life is good.
Date: 2003-07-30
From: Franconia Notch

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

This may have been the toughest 13 miles that I've done so far. It started with a 3700 foot climb up Fanconia Ridge to Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Lafayette. The views were spectacular and the weather was great. Even with the views I was nervous going across the ridge from Lincoln to Lafayette. After going up and down Mt. Garfeild I didn't want to hike anymore so I decided to cut my hike short for the day and stay at Galehead Hut. They offered me the work-for-stay option, so I took it. The regular guests pay $68 and get dinner, breakfast, and a bunk to sleep in. For my work I get leftovers from dinner and I can sleep in the dinning hall or on the porch. My jobs were to set the dinner table and give an hour long question and answer presentation to the guests about thru-hiking. I really enjoyed talking to the guests about my experiences, but what thru-hiker wouldn't? The only problem I ran into was there was not much food leftover, so I went to be hungry since it was too late after my presentation to make any food for myself. Lights-out is at 9:30pm. The only thru-hikers staying the night were a southbounder named Slacker and myself. We slept well on mattresses outside on the porch. The sky was clear and you could see a tremendous amount of stars.
Date: 2003-07-31
From: Galehead Hut

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: light rain

I got an early start this morning (6:15am) so that I could try and make the 20 plus miles to Mizpah Hit. I made the 7 miles to Zealand Hut by 10am to get some all-you-can-eat-for-$1 pastries and bread. Being really hungry and feeling weak from not eating much last night, I ate my share. A guest from Galehead Hut that I met the night before, Greg, hiked with me for the last 2 miles into Zealand. It made the time go very fast. We then parted ways since he wanted to swim at the falls and I was more interested in eating. He was then going to take the "A to Z" trail to Mizpah, which cuts-off a few miles compared to taking the AT. But a few hours later while I was taking a break at RT301 (Crawford Gap), Greg came walking down the trail. He had missed the turn off to A-to-Z. We then decided to walk 301 up to Crawford Trail instead of going up Webster Cliffs since it looked like a storm was coming and I was warned by one of the hut masters not to climb the cliffs in a storm...that's my story and I'm sticking to it. After walking a couple of minutes on the road, a young guy stopped and gave us a ride to the trailhead. We then hiked up to Mizpah Hut where Greg had reservations and was meeting his son. I stayed as a work-for-stay hiker with a southbound couple named Bobo and the Plumber. I had to set the table and do dishes tonigh...not as exciting as talking about my adventures but I got more to eat. Tomorrow I will leave early to get to Mt. Washington before the rain.
Date: 2003-08-01
From: Mizpah Hut

To: Madison Hut
Miles today: 11.8

Well, I didn't want to stay at another hut but todays weather gave me no choice. I got up and out of Mizpah Hut around 7am so I could get to Mt. Washington before the rain. With only a quick stop at the Lakes of the Cloud Hut for AYCE-$1 pastries, I made it to the summit around 10:30. The climb was beautiful and very ejoyable. I was able to see pretty good from the summit which is socked-in about 80% of the time. After spending about an hour and a half, I headed north again with my goal being to get to Pinkham Notch and then getting a ride into Gorham. Within a few minutes the wind was blowing at gusts about 40mph and rain was coming down (actually sideways at times). It was very slow going and didn't take me long before I realized that I would not make it down the mountain today especially since the climb down Mt. Madison is suppose to be near impossible in bad weather. So I stopped at Madison Hut. I could not believe how bad the weather was...very cold, wet and windy. I had the option of paying $12 to stay at the hut instead of working, so I jump all over that. I had a good meal, and hopefully a good night's sleep in the dinning hall. There were 11 thru-hikers here tonight. Usually they only accept 4, but the hut master said that she was not going to turn anyone away in this weather.
Date: 2003-08-02
From: Madison Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: fog

Go another early start today so that I could try to get up and over Mt. Madison before it rains again. It was foggy and very humid and the rocks were very slippery. I took my time and after 3 hours I traveled 3 miles, but the good news was that I was below treeline again and on more manageable ground. Going down Madison wasn't easy but it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I got a few good views of the Great Gulf Wilderness and Mt. Washington as the clouds and fog moved through. Exausted from the last few days of hiking, I was glad to be down at the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center. I got an AYCE meal (not very good), took a shower, and then hitched a ride into Gorham where I got a bunk at the Barn Hostel. I wasn't in the hostel long before I was sound a sleep. The few couple days were just as emotionally and mentally exhausting as they were physically exausting. I had to concentrate very hard when navagating up and down the mountains. I wanted to avoid falling at all costs. I am going to sleep in tomorrow and take a zero day before finishing the last 20 miles of the White Mountains.
Date: 2003-08-03
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

I am feeling very tired and am fighting a headcold so I am very pleased to be resting today. I had a quiet and relaxing day in Gorham. It's a nice little town that wouldn't be a bad place to live. I just hung out today with Scavenger, the Barn Caretaker, and Mooky a southbounder from Canada. Nothing too exciting today.
Date: 2003-08-04
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Gorham (NH2)
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: light rain

Chunky, Bliss, and I got shuttled to Pinkham Notch from a guy that works at the outfitters named Ghost. We hit the trail at 6:30am and intended to slack-pack 21 miles to NH Route 2. It was a tough day and I was still feeling tired. The climb up the Wildcats out of Pinkham Notch was very slippery and steep and I was very uncomfortable in a couple spots. The entire day was very slow going and it took me almost 12 hours to complete the 21 miles. Slow considering that I was carrying less than 10 pounds in my pack. By the end of the day, my knees were killing me from the steep down hills. There is not doubt in my mind that the Whites are the hardest part of the AT. I am glad they are only a 100 miles long. When I got back to town, Mooky and I went out for a good steak dinner.
Date: 2003-08-05
From: Gorham (NH2)

To: Gorham (NH2)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

Well, I decided to take a zero day today. Actually my body decided for me since I am trying to listen to it more and practice good judgement. I made it through the Whites in 6 hiking days which is actually a pretty good pace so it only makes sense. I spent the day just relaxing around Gorham and the Barn Hostel. I can see why hikers tend to spend lots of time here.
Date: 2003-08-06
From: Gorham (NH2)

To: Boiling Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

This may come as a surprise, but I caught a bus today from Gorham back to my home in Boiling Springs. I have a number of reasons for doing this that I will not go into too much here. The thru-hiker expression of "he/she got off the trail" usually means that the hiker has left the trail and more often than not they never get back on to finish the hike. This is not the case with me. My original vision for my thru-hike was a "pure" hike where I would start on Springer Mountain (which I did) and head north walking past every white blaze (with only some minor interruptions) to Mt. Katahdin all within the same year. Due to various reasons this didn't happen. At first, this bothered me greatly as I am a goal oriented person, but I learned a few things during my trip. Among them, was how to enjoy the journey. Before my injury, I had some fun but I was really focused on completing the task (that is the way I viewed it and the way many I met viewed it, unfortunately) at had. This was especially true once George and Mike got off the trail in Damascus. Once I got back on the trail in PA things changed for me, especially once I realized how little fun it would be to "have" to do the extreme mileage and rush so that I could reach Katahdin before my deadline of August 29th. Even after this, I would have to spend my weekends driving down to Virginia and up to New Jersey so that I could do the sections that I missed all in the same year. Without too much contemplation the choice was clear. I've spent far too much of my life rushing around. I would rather do the AT in sections and enjoy it, than be a true "Thru-Hiker" and have a not-so-good experience. I once told my wife that thru-hiking was about covering miles. Sure, covering miles is needed, but hiking the AT is also about experiencing new places and meeting new people from all walks of life. And even though I didn't cover all the miles this year, I did meet lots of great people and did visit parts of the country I would not have otherwise. I've had a good time and I feel good about my decision to come home. I also feel good about the prospect of experiencing more of the trail in the future. How soon in the future? Maybe sooner than I think. I want to thank all of my family, friends and coworkers for the support you've given. I also want to thank all of the people that I met on the trail and in the towns for making this a great experience. To all the hikers out on the trail: best wishes and have fun.
Date: 2003-01-08
From: Rangers office Springer

To: Hawk Mountain shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

After a terrible bus ride from Connecticut to Atlanta which involved going through some strange bus terminals with some extremly strange people in them we got here in one piece.Our shuttle Gary Fleeman met us just outside Atalnta at the trail terminal to take us to Springer and provided us with some good storys along the way about some of the hikers on the AT.One woman called up after 2 days crying and wanting to be picked up to go home after starting a trhough hike ( I hope we don't do the same thing).So he left us at the rangers office after taking some photos and we gave him $60 for the ride and he wanted to give us more than half back but we declined and tried to explain we thought he is doing a great job by providing a shuttle and that it would have cost us much more by a taxi.He was a very nice guy.We signed in at the rangers office and were greeted by lorreta who loved my T-shirt (if its nae scottish its crap) and gave us both a big hug before we started and wished us all the luck in the world.Since we have not slept in 2 days we have only hiked 7.3 miles today and we never got going until 1400hrs.The trees have no leaves and the views are good.We are sleeping 1.5 miles short of springer mountain , the offical start of the AT , So we plan to get up early and hike to the top and see the sun rise for our first offical day on the trail.I cooked some pasta and added lots of spices and Mat put to much salt in his rice and had to chuck it away-which I had a good laugh at.
Date: 2003-01-09
From: Hawk Mountain shelter

To: justis Creek
Miles today: 13.6

Between Mat and I we have more aches and pains than the biggest hypocondriacs around.We started walking at 0920hrs (so much for the early start eh ??) and got to the summit of springer mountain at 1030hrs which is the start of the official trail.After some photos we set off on our big adventure.We only seen 2 people all day and one was a lady with her dogs but we never spoke because we just sat down for lunch and she kept away from us with her dog maybe because we were cooking or she could smell Mats feet !!!!!>The other person we seen was a guy from Florida who would have passed as a sweede any day called sanford who was on his second last day of his hike , he started up in maine 7 months ago.It was strange to think he was on his 2nd last day and we were only begining.He told us that there is 4 hikers in front who have all started on january 1st and hope to be the 1st to finish in 2003.Good night I am shatered
Date: 2003-01-11
From: Something Creek

To: Kneels gap
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

I am lying here in a hostel bunk writing my journal tonight , I made no entry yesterday because by the time we got to our Shelter I was to tierd to do anything but sleep and that was not really possible either because my sleeping bag is "gross merd" we slept in a shelter with a man they call hairless joe who had a beard that would put santa to shame , he was a nice guy but we never really got talking with him until this morning after he gave us some frozen water to make a load of oats with , he even offered us the ice from the drinking bowl of his dog tipper but we kindly refused.He seemed to have done a lot of the AT and was giving us some advice about the smokies.He was asking lots of questions about Scotland and Ireland and said he would love to visit one day.I asked if he had a passprot and he replied no , which seems to be quite common here in the USA for some reason well I suppose you don't need to leave a country like this when there is so much to offer right on your door step.I had a bad sleep and the temp must have been about 10-20* and I had to wrap mats emergency blanket round my bag and I slept with all my clothes on.So the next day my mind was made up to buy a new sleeping bag.We left the shelter pretty late at about 1200hrs and set of up blood mountain (4400ft) , the view at the top was really good and we met a club who were out for the day and we stopped and chatted to them and many people on the way down.Everyone we meet keeps on telling us we have started so early and why ?? We tell them so that we are not doing it in the heat and when its not like a rat race on the trail.We hiked all of 4 miles today and got to the hostel and sent back some gear I did not need and I bought a new sleeping bag for $140 which was down from $220.Got some food too.