morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Route 9D, at east end of Bear Mountain Bridge

To: NY Route 301, at Canopus Lake
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

We started our hike, with just a day pack, at the east end of the Bear Mountain Bridge. This is where we left off on June 14. Although there was an initial climb up from Route 9D, the Trail appears to be faster on the east side of the Hudson River. It was mostly a cloudy day. We stopped for lunch at the Graymoor Friary ball field pavilion. The Graymoor Friary is very hiker friendly and provides a cold shower and a water supply, as well as a place to get out of the rain. About 3 miles from the end of our hike, we got caught in a thunderstorm, which soaked us to the bone. Our shoes were completely wet by the time the storm ended after about 75 minutes. Fortunately, the last part of the hike to Route 301 was on a gently graded trail on a rock embankment. The embankment looked liked an old Railroad route, except that it was only about 6 feet wide. The stone work was extensive and beautiful.We camped at Fahnestock State Park, about a mile up the road.
Date: 2006-06-21
From: NY Route 301, at Canopus Lake

To:  NY Route 52
Miles today: 12.1

We did today¢s hike in reverse, starting at NY Route 52, and heading southbound. One of the neat things about occasionally hiking south is that you meet many more hikers, and can occasionally renew Trail acquaintances. Soon after we left Route 52, we meet Powerstroke, who was hiking the International Trail, from Key West, FL to the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec. Then we met Sparrowhawk, and The Jackal. The Jackal is from England, and was getting discouraged with his hike. He was thinking of going home from Kent CN in a few days. He seemed to be a bit cheered up by our conversation (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: The next day we read a shelter register entry by The Jackal and he had decided to continue his hike. I really believe it was encouraging words by my trail partner, Rocky, that encouraged him to continue. My trail partner is a remarkable person. See Dirt¢s Trail Journal entry for May 22, 2006, for example).Then we met four girls hiking together, and two other girls at the RPH Shelter. Early in the trail we came to an over look and Swamp Fox posed for naked pictures on a rock, in honor of Naked Hiking Day. No one came along during the picture taking and they were all clean shots, smile. We stopped for lunch at the RPH shelter, which is a block structure, with 6 bunks and a pump for water supply. It is beautifully maintained. There is even a mowed lawn at the shelter. Then we met an older gentlemen section hiking at the top of a steep climb for him, named Wood Smoke. We had the pleasure of seeing a copperhead snake beside the trail. He had coiled back as he heard us nearing. I came to a sudden stop to avoid being bitten. The day¢s hike ended at Route 301. We met the two girls again from the RPH shelter, and gave them a ride to the Fahnestock Camp Ground. We do enjoy the opportunity to help our fellow hikers when ever possible. We remember, quite well, the help we have received from so many Trail Angels during our two seasons on the Trail. We snuck in a shower at the camp ground before heading to our night stop. The shower was awesome. We camped for the night at RPH shelter. Swamp Fox was irritable during the evening. We generally had a lousy evening. Being together 24/7 can be a challenge rarely for us but, it does happen.
Date: 2006-06-22
From:  NY Route 52

To:  NY Route 55
Miles today: 7.2

We started today¢s hike, heading north, on a grey, overcast morning. We expected rain, but we never had more than a few drops. This section of Trail was remarkably fast, with little in the way of rock, and gentle climb. It is quite a contrast to the Trail on the west side of the Hudson River. We stopped briefly at the Morgan Stewart Shelter to check the register entries for hikers we know. We met one southbound section hiker and three mountain bikers. Part of the Trail is open to mountain bikers. In the last mile of our hike a very speedy young man caught up to us, by the name of Sweet Tea. He is a graduate psychology student from Boston. He is averaging over 17 miles per day, including days off the Trail. Oh, to be young again says Swamp Fox. We finished our hike fairly early at about 12:30, so we treated ourselves to lunch at the Beekman Square Diner, about 2 miles north of the Trail on Route 55. The Rueben was out of this world. The fries and desert were also well worth the trip there. It was nice to be able to chat with our waitress. I enjoy meeting local people in each area I¢ve hiked. The different accents are fun and I enjoy hearing about others lives.I have 37.1 miles of the Trail left, from NY Route 55 to Cornwall Bridge, CN, which I hope to hike in the next few weeks. Then it¢s the State of Maine, starting August 1st.
Date: 2006-07-04
From:  NY Route 55

To: CN Route 55
Miles today: 15.2

Swamp Fox and I drove to Pennsylvania for his Dad¢s birthday. (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: It was his 96th birthday, so the next day he celebrated by climbing up on to roof to patch some leaks. He is still saving money for his old age, and he is looking to buy a house in a neighborhood with good schools¢just in case). We decided to hike what we had left in NY on our way home. I got up at 3:15 am to head for the Trail. (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: It took some effort on my part to get her up.) We were soooo tired driving there, and didn¢t start hiking until about 9:30 am. The Trail in this section of NY was well maintained and nicely graded. We hiked into Nuclear Lake where some people were fishing. It was beautiful. We hiked on to where we could take a private dip in the Lake¢refreshing! We hiked on to Telephone Pioneers Shelter for a privy visit and moved along. Lunch was at NY Route 22, at the Appalachian Trail Train Station. There was a hot dog stand where we got sodas to go with our sandwiches that we packed. We hiked on to the ¢Gates of Heaven¢, an old cemetery. There were sprinkles of rain, and thunder in the distance so I couldn¢t take the time to see the old cemetery. There was Trail Magic at Leather Hill Road from ¢Mac¢ and ¢Cheese¢ that was so nice. We were worried about the storm coming and how long it would take us to get back to our car. However, we enjoyed splitting a cream cheese bagel at the Wiley Shelter, courtesy of ¢Mac¢ and ¢Cheese¢. The storm passed and we made it to CT Route 55, by 6 pm, with ease. Crossing the state line into CN was slightly anti-climatic, given that we have to loop back in to NY in a few miles. It took us two hitches, and only 40 minutes, to get back to our car. We got rides from some awesome locals, and enjoyed visiting with them. Dinner was at the Beekman Square Diner in Poughquag, NY. Dinner at this diner was enjoyable and we were off for home. We¢ll be back hiking the last 22 miles in CN in a couple of weeks.
Date: 2006-07-17
From: CT Route 4

To: River Road
Miles today: 5.9

This section of the Trail that we will be hiking is from Connecticut Route 4, south from Cornwall Bridge to Connecticut Route 55. Once this section of Trail is complete, I will have from Gorham, NH to Katahdin left. I am really excited about hiking Maine.This section of the Trail is also beautiful. I am in awe of the ever changing world I walk through. First forest, then fields, cornfields, woods road, and then along the Housatonic River. We even took a dip in the Housatonic River. The water was refreshing on this 95 degree day. We panned a short hike today because of the time needed to drive back to the Trail. I felt at peace being back.   I enjoy meeting people and making the best of whatever comes my way.Swamp Fox gets frustrated with the bugs and the heat. Otherwise life is good. We are tented tonight by the Housatonic River, tucked off River Road. Nice spot.
Date: 2006-07-18
From: River Road

To: Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was my day to suffer with the 95 degree heat and bugs. The climb up St. Johns ledges and Caleb¢s Peak was brutal. I was drenched with sweat. We were rewarded for our hard work with meeting lots hikers at the summit. There was a family of four from Denmark, and lots of thru hikers. I also saw Oatmeal, again. Oatmeal was section hiking with the group of us in Pennsylvania last year. Nice to see a familiar face.(Guest insert by Swamp Fox: On the descent from Caleb¢s Peak, we spent some time chatting with a group of young thru hikers: Baro, Jangles, H-Bomb, Shasta, and Chardonnay. Baro has quite an entertaining Trailjournal. He has a small hole in his skull, and claims he can predict weather changes. This led to another weird bet between Rocky and I. I claimed that we would have a thunderstorm before the end of the day, in accordance with the local weather forecast. Rocky bet there would be no rain, based on Baro¢s head. The stakes were rather convoluted.)We were so tired by the time we reached Mt. Algo Lean-to that we set up our tent and took an hour long nap. We spent the night at Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite. We were the only hikers tenting at this site, for the night.(Guest insert by Swamp Fox: In anticipation of rain, I put the rain fly on the tent, and carefully protected the packs. We could hear the thunder, and see the lightning off in the distance.   Naturally, it didn¢t rain, so I lost the bet, and now I must accompany Rocky on a canoe trip, sometime in the future, on the Housatonic River, in the hot, buggy month of June. Damn!)
Date: 2006-07-19
From: Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite

To: CT Route 55
Miles today: 7.6

This is the last day of our hike in Connecticut. Last night we were awakened by two men who walked through our campsite but were gone in the morning. Also there was a thunder, lightning, and wind storm that came in. We were lucky to have no rain. (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: Speak for yourself, Rocky). Swamp Fox got up in the middle of the night to put the rain fly on the tent just in case it rained.   My clothes were hanging out all night because they were so wet with sweat. I figured they couldn¢t get worse. In the morning they were nearly dry from the wind. Life is good. We hiked our last 7.6 miles in Connecticut with little difficulty. The temperatures had dropped into the 80¢s, and there was a breeze for most of the day. We reached our destination at Route 55 at 2:20 pm.We then hitched back to our car at Cornwall Bridge. It took four rides, and we met all kinds of neat local people. We had ice cream in Kent, CT on the way. Then we stopped for Mexican at the Xicohten in Great Barrington, MA. I have to admit to sleeping the rest of the way home. Swamp Fox drove. Thanks, Swampy.(Guest insert by Swamp Fox: This is the fourth time we have eaten at this Mexican restaurant in Great Barrington. Rocky has this thing for Mexican. In fact when her thru hike is over in September, she will do a restaurant critique of the Top 20 Restaurants on the Appalachian Trail. I can hardly wait!)
Date: 2006-07-31
From: US Route 2 (Gorham NH)

To: Trident Col Tentsite
Miles today: 6.9

My daughter drove Swamp Fox and I to the Trail to begin our last state of the AT. I was blessed to have my daughter, her boy friend, and his brother hike with us to East Mount Hayes for lunch. We met several thru hikers in a rush to finish for August 17th, including a girl named Swiss Miss. I am so lucky to not be under time deadline. My daughter has not hiked in a long time. She didn't seem to enjoy sweating, breathing hard, and pushing herself uphill. I can remember being a teen and not loving it either. I wonder when you mind set changes and you look forward to those things. Thanks for everything, Christen. We began hiking at 10:30 am after the drive back to the Trail. The climb up Mount Hayes ran crosswise up the mountain. It was gradually climbing. There was a nice breeze which helped to cool us off. The view off Mount Hayes was nice, at lunch. Then the three of them headed back down the Trail to their car. Swamp Fox and I continued on to Trident Col tentsite. The trail down Cascade Mountain was steep and we took it slow. We also enjoyed meeting two women out for the day and a southbounder, who used to be named Squeaky Clean but changed his name to "Balls Deep". I wonder what event changed his name.
Date: 2006-08-01
From: Trident Col Tentsite

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: broken clouds

(Guest entry by Swamp Fox) Today started out miserable, got worse, but finished nicely. We got rained on last night. The bottom of our tent got wet and some of our gear got soggy. We had a 10.1 mile day planned. However, trail conditions were awful, and we curtailed our plan by 5 miles. The trail was a running stream in some places, thanks to last night's storm. Other areas were steep and rocky. Every step had to be carefully placed. After a couple of miles, we gave up trying to keep our feet dry. We passed three mountain ponds. At the third, Gentian Pond, we stopped for the night at the shelter. This shelter overlooks a spectacular gorge. The Pond was great for a dip to wash off the day's mud. This shelter is very nice, with a bear box, and a privy. There are 5 other hikers here--a nice group. We spent the early evening swapping hiker experiences. Rocky put together another great dinner of vegetables, tuna, and noodles. She is a great trail cook, but tonight she is really tired.The weather has been surprisingly hot and humid. I am a little disappointed by today's limited mileage. But I am also surprised by the difficulty of the Trail. However, we will get our trail legs again and we will prevail! We projected 40 days to do the 298 miles remaining to Mount Katahdin. But if it takes longer, so be it.
Date: 2006-08-02
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: few clouds

I'll start by saying what beautiful shelters! Gentian Pond Shelter has a beautiful view and the pond to swim in. The simple pleasure of being able to rinse your socks. I slept quite well; awaking a couple of times to the sound of rain. In the morning everyone was up before me. Everyone seemed to know that the 9 miles to Full Goose Shelter could be difficult. Swamp Fox and I left the shelter at 7:15 am in light rain. The rain didn't even last a half hour. The weather was cloudy, mixed with periods of sun. We climbed up Mount Success, which should be renamed One Thousand Summits. It went on for hours. The trail was dryer than yesterday, but I managed to fall in the deep mud a couple of times. Once the side of an old rotten bog bridge broke, and sent me crashing into the mud. Another time the bog bridges were under the water. The mud seemed to go deep to China. I was thrilled to cross the state line into Maine. We stopped for pictures and lunch. When we reached Carlo Col Shelter, Swamp Fox wanted to stop for the day. It has been a hard one, with the mud and hanging from ledges. We had to take our packs off twice to get down steep ledges and boulders. As we were walking down the side trail to the shelter, the thunder started. About 5 minutes after we arrived at the shelter, pouring rain began. I realized what a good decision Swamp Fox had made. (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: Rocky was initially disappointed by my insistence on calling our day's hike short of our Full Goose Pond objective. I was afraid it would take at least 5 hours to hike to the next shelter--getting us in at 7:30 pm. Not a good idea! The trail has been so difficult that we average less than one mile per hour. As we write this we have been joined in the shelter by 6 very dirty, wet southbounders (Sobo's). Then as darkness fell, two northbound section hikers, on their honeymoon, came in. They are Bob and Ellen (B&E), also from NH.)
Date: 2006-08-03
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: light rain

How do I describe today? Wet, chilly, scary, muddy, and slippery. It rained all day. The rain and the wind stung your skin as you walked. There were sheer rocky ledges to climb and descend. I fell down once backward and landed suspended in a tree root. Swamp Fox rescued me.   When we arrived at Full Goose Shelter, some girls from a camp group gave us a huge bag of Granola. Thank you, girls, for the Trail Magic. The shelter tonight is full of all kinds of wonderful people. Muddiver, a Nobo, we first met at Sunrise Mtn, in NJ, is here. Also here is Patches, another Nobo, two Sobo women (5 Leaf Clover & one other), two people (B&E) on their honeymoon, and a group of girls from a camp. Now that we are settled into the shelter, the sun has peaked out.
Date: 2006-08-04
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Old Speck Mountain summit
Miles today: 6.2

Today was a great day. It misted rain first thing, but cleared up nicely by the time we were on the Trail at 7:45 am. Bob and Ellen (B&E), who were at the shelter with us, played tag with us back and forth all day. We also saw Muddiver in the Mahoosic Notch, and he decided to camp with us on the summit of Old Speck Mountain. We had the joy of hiking through Mahoosic Notch. I enjoyed the boulder climb for the most part. It was also neat to see the ice and the stream running under the rocks. The moss in the Notch is beautiful. I also enjoyed the silence. It was so nice to hear no cars or signs of civilized life. (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: The Mahoosic Notch is reputed to be the "Toughest Mile on the Trail". It may not be the toughest mile, but it is the slowest. It took us three hours. The Notch is a ravine filled with house sized boulders. It takes all fours limbs to go up, over, and under. We got an upper body workout today.)Next, was Mahoosic Arm. It was steep and difficult. The views from the top of Mahoosic Arm were so widespread. There is a sea of mountains around us. Onward we hiked to Speck Pond Shelter. This spot was beautiful, but we headed on up to the summit of Old Speck Mountain (a 0.3 mile side trail from the AT). I climbed the tower on top of Old Speck--what a view! It was pretty windy, so we tented just into the trees. This is my first 4000+ foot mountain in Maine--yay. Swamp Fox had an easy night to hang the bear bag, as he used the tower structure. We missed the last water source on our way up the mountain and ended up straining trail water--yuck. Bob had extra water he gave us and saved us from our misery. Thank you, Bob. Life is still good! (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: The climbs continue to be brutal. You don't walk up these mountains. It take all four limbs, and an occassional tooth hold, to get up these mountains.)
Date: 2006-08-05
From: Old Speck Mountain summit

To: ME Route 26 (Bethel, ME)
Miles today: 3.5

Everyday you think it can't get any better--and it does. We awoke on top of Old Speck Mountain (elevation 4180) to watch the clouds lift from the mountains, and the view appeared. It was slightly chilly and the sun was bright. We hiked down Old Speck Mountain with sore knees and took an Advil break. There was a beautiful waterfall beside the Trail. We got down to Route 26 (Grafton Notch) at 12:02 and hitched into Bethel to resupply, and to the Chapman Inn. The hitch took two rides and we waited less than 20 minutes for the rides. B&E were right behind us and also had easy hitches to the Chapman Inn in Bethel. We stayed in Room 4, which was so beautiful, and had a slay bed. The town of Bethel is easy to navigate by foot. The owner of the Inn offered us a ride to an outfitter for to buy a fuel canister--many thanks. On our way back we asked him to drop us off at the Finish Line Pizza restaurant, for a grinder. Swamp Fox had a whole pizza and I had a delish grinder. Plus we learned about another wild mushroom from one of the men that run the restaurant. The mushroom is named "Chantrelle". He was so kind and gave us a bag of these mushrooms, with a green onion, and a couple of apricots, to stir fry them with. I was delighted! I love to forage as I hike and I'll enjoy cooking them for dinner tomorrow night. We napped and tried to rest our knees after grocery shopping. Our evening was spent at Suds Pub on Main Street. Excellent burgers, live Irish music, and the bartender was so efficient and friendly. Good time had by all. We'll end our evening by updating the Journal and then off to dream land.
Date: 2006-08-06
From: ME Route 26 (Bethel, ME)

To: Frye Notch Shelter
Miles today: 5.8

Swamp Fox and I were up and ready for the 7:30 am breakfast at the Chapman Inn. It was so good: fresh fruit, yogurt, breads, muffins, omelet, home fries, and coffee. I loved everything. Coffee is a huge town treat for me. We hitched back to the Trail with a teacher. I enjoyed taking with him about various environmental issues. He was a kind man who went out of his way to help us. We have been so blessed by the kindness of strangers during our hike. We hiked up over the three Baldpate Mountains and down to the Frye Notch shelter. (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: Today we had spectacular views from the Baldpates. The summits are rock ledges. You can see for miles. Rocky is right--Maine is getting better and better. The sun helps.)We gabbed with a lot of friendly hikers along the way and stopped to pick blueberries. We arrived at the shelter with enough time for me to cook dinner. The chantrelle mushrooms were awesome. Then I made a macaroni bomb. We are getting tucked in for the night. The other wonderful thing is the silence in the woods. Tonight we are alone in the shelter and the only sound is the trickling stream in front of the shelter.
Date: 2006-08-07
From: Frye Notch Shelter

To: East B Hill Road
Miles today: 4.5

Today was a short day into Andover. We hiked to East B Hill Road where a truck from "The Cabin" was waiting to pick up hikers. The Cabin was full so they dropped us off at Pine Ellis Lodging. Paul welcomed us into his home. We got settled, showered, and started laundry. We went to Mills Market for lunch: burgers and fries--yum. We enjoyed gabbing with the locals over the large family style table we sat at for lunch. Too bad the politicians weren't there because we worked on many of the world's problems. Then over to Andover Road House where we visited with Bob and Ellen and Mud Diver. Thunderstorms are moving in as I write this. It is wonderful to be dry.
Date: 2006-08-08
From: East B Hill Road

To: South Arm Road
Miles today: 10.1

Today we decided to "slack pack". We left our packs at the Andover Road House, where we planned to stay tonight. We borrowed a day pack from the Road House to carry our lunch and little else. We were dropped off at South Arm Road, so that we could hike south. Hiking south would enable us to greet our hiking friends who were hiking in the opposite direction. This was to be our longest day's hike to date in Maine. We covered the 10.1 miles in 8 1/2 hours. The weather continues good, with just some early morning overcast. The stiff climbs were early in the day. We stopped for lunch at Hall Mountain Shelter. The afternoon was a long downhill. We hitched back to Andover with a local man.I cooked dinner at the Road House kitchen. I cooked three types of wild mushrooms that we foraged in the woods. Very tasty. Later B & E came into the hostel. We are the only 4 people here tonight.
Date: 2006-08-09
From: South Arm Road

To: Bemis Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: clear sky

We left the comfort of Andover at 8:50 am and we were on the Trail before 9 am. I will miss Andover. I enjoyed the local people. The town was small enough to see (and walk) it in a blink. We climbed Old Blue Mountain first thing. It took us nearly 3 hours. We had lunch on top. There was a group of campers from Canada on top and one section hiker. The rest of the day was less strenuous than the morning. We arrived at Bemis Mountain Lean-to at 6:30 pm. I cooked an odd dinner of Ramin noodles and banana--yummy, smile. After dinner I picked blueberries for breakfast. Mud Diver is sharing the shelter tonight.