morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-07-22
From: Rattle Snake Springs

To: View Entry
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: overcast clouds

On the trail by 6AM even after a noisy night sleep. A group of teenagers setup camp about 100 yards away. They were up well after hiker midnight laughing and having fun. I won't complain, they were outdoors rather than connected to some device. Good for them!!The morning was cooler than we have had in awhile. That crisp air that revitalize your body with energy and joy. I love it!!Hiking on the ridge, I head revelry play at 7AM. Made smile as I had to call my brother. Growing up my Dad would LOVE to wake us up by walking into our rooms early in the morning tooting out that song. We hated it then, but smile about it now.The trail was very forgiving today, some rocks, but also alot of flat sections. I had lunch by myself at the Brink Road Shelter. Checked in with Stitch to see how her recovery was going. She is chomping at the bit to get out here.I was the first person to camp. Ate, hung bearline, and was in my tent before anyone else showed up. Thought I recognized the voice so I got up. It was Yard Goat, glad another person would be near by.
Date: 2021-07-23
From: Stealth 

To: High Point shelter 
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

Woke up at 4, tried to go back to sleep. Woke up again at 4:45, birds are just starting to get thier tunes going.  Have I mentioned how much I like the cold brew coffee? I mean, ya wake up and it is ready. Nothing better than ths first cup of coffee in the morning.  I need to be quiet, 2 other tents near me and no one else has peaked from thier outdoor castle. Such a small piece of fabric seperates our nest of comfort and the outdoor environment. Sometimes it feels like a shield barrior between the two worlds, but then you are reminded by the two bugs that found thier way in.The terrain today has been more challenging than yesterday, but I did get an early start. Broke for lunch about 8.7 miles into the hike. No one has passed me. Weird.Got to Highpoint State Park about 1PM. Since I am early, decided to recharge my battery bank and phone.Cant buy any food since I accidentally left my wallet with Stitch. Big miss on that one Holland.Waiting for a battery bank to charge is like waiting for a pot of water to boil.After leaving The Highpoint Park Office, I headed north about a mile to a Blue Blaze trail which took me to the highest point in NJ. With my family having more 100 years of history in N.J, I felt it was important to see this landmark. It was an impressive 220' high War monument dedicated in 1930. Alot of rich history in N.J
Date: 2021-07-24
From: High Point shelter 

To: Pochuck Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: clear sky

What a beautiful cool morning, and such great hiking weather. Much of the morning was spent hiking by stone walls which were probably used as property boundaries at some point in the past. The walls make you feel like you have gone back in history.  On my way into Unionville to meet Stitch, I walked across a board walk when a little head popped up between the boards. What the heck!!I went the rest of the way across, maybe 20 feet, then grabbed my phone for a pic of what ever that was that I almost stepped on. Turns out, it was a Weasel. Cut little bugger who was just busy hunting in the marshland.I met Stitch about 11AM at the Unionville Presbyterian Church.  She had gone to the hospital at 7AM to get her stitches out and they were happy with how her eyebrow and knee were healing.  After they released her she caught an Uber and met up with me. The Wandering Dames are back together again!!
Date: 2021-07-25
From: Pochuck Mt. Shelter

To: Wayawanda Shelter 
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We had a nice evening chatting it up with a new hiker named Monkey Toes! She's a very young and enthusiastic person! She enlightening us about the sport of rock climbing among other interesting subjects. Turns out that she had to get off the trail for emergency sinus surgery in Harrisburg PA. YIKES! She has amazing tenacity and drive! We're certain that The Wandering Dames will be in her rear view mirror as she treks onward and upward!Today we stopped at a hot dog stand and fueled up for the "Stairway to Heaven" rock climb. Thought we left the rocks back in PA but NOPE! I have to admit I was nervous with every step, as my fall and injury lurked in the back of my mind. Just like riding a bike you have to get back out there or fear will create too much doubt and we don't have time for that!°
Date: 2021-07-26
From: Wayawanda Shelter 

To: Wild Cat Shelter 
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: fog

Welcome to New YorkToday's plan is to get into New York!! When we came up on the rock which identifies the NY/NJ boarder, we met Pheonix, another female Northbound hiker.  The trail chatter talked about icecream up ahead. We didn't know much about it, but hey we like icecream. Turns out it was a .5 mile side trail to a creamery. The place was packed with locals. I, Tumble, got a 2 scoop cone and Stitch a Strawberry shake. We sat in the shade with a nice breeze and enjoyed our afternoon treat.With 2.5 miles still to go till camp, we left the creamery with our bellys full. About a mile from camp we came across another snake, this time it was a 5' Black snake. He took his time moving off the trail as we waited for him to be on his way.We got to Wildcat shelter, which was in a lower elevation, and the bugs were having a buffet on us. We use bug spray everyday when we leave camp in the morning, but don't like using it right before bed. Unfortunately we had to because the bugs were relentless. Oh, and the water at the shelter, can you say rotten eggs? We filtered and boiled it, but couldn't get the smell out. Hello NY!
Date: 2021-07-27
From: Wild Cat Shelter 

To: Tuxedo, New York 
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

"Despite the unimposing profile, rocks and abrupt ups and downs make this section challenging"-Awol A.T. Guide data book.Yeah No Sh#t!!Today felt like a rock furnace if there is such a thing! It was relentless, a day of super challenging ups and downs while the sun heated up the rocks it drained us to the core. It was short burst of cardio rock climbing where you solve the puzzle as you go. Have to admit it was kinda fun but the day kicked our booty! People ask us if the trail is getting easier for us? I believe if you ask any nobo(North bound) hiker they would say NO! Our bodies have definitely gotten use to the long grueling hours with weight on our backs. However, it's the terrain from here on out that will present some of our biggest challenges physically and mentally.
Date: 2021-07-28
From: Tuxedo, New York 

To: Tuxedo, New York
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

Woke up this morning at the Tuxedo hotel. A throw back hotel that is stuck in the 1950's. With its gaudy bedspreads and shower curtains and we could barely see anything in the room due to the poor lighting. Today we are thankful to slackpack. We recently met Pheonix on the trail and she covers about the same distance we do in a day. She is also a guest speaker on the podcast, "Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail". She calls into the show weekly to update "Mighty Blue" and his followers on her progress. We were about a mile into our hike when Cindy said to me, there is a bear up ahead. I stopped, processed what she said, then looked up. Yep, that is a bear. A beautiful black bear with a thick full coat of fur. He was just walking along, being a bear. We watched him for about 3 minutes as he passed and then went out of sight, totally not interested in us.  The terrain today was very different than yesterday.  Today we had rolling hills with rock croppings, more trecking across the rock shelves then rock climbing. Late in the afternoon, just before we finished our hike, we caught a glimpse of NY City in the distance. So we naturally waved to our friends who live in the city. Sorry we missed them this trip.The day ended with getting picked up by our trail angle Dr. Lynne. She drove us for resupply then we all went out for dinner to talk about the trail and our adventures.
Date: 2021-07-29
From: Tuxedo, New York 

To: Graymore spiritual Center 
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

The Uber driver dropped us off at the Palisades Visitor Center and then we had to walk a short section of a very busy Palisades Parkway. °¬Once we tucked into the woods the traffic anxiety slowly melted away as we started our climb. We got to a rock out cropping and we could see this beautiful stone tower across the valley on the other side of a mountain. At that moment we didn't realize that was Bear Mountain and we'd be standing in front of it in a couple hours. We broke for lunch on a quaint bench on top of Bear Mountain, grabbed an icecream sandwich from the vending machine and then started our descent down approximately 1000 stone steps. Boy, was that brutal on our knees! Finally at the bottom the A.T. takes you thru the Trail Zoo (the lowest elevations on the trail) and then pops you out ready to cross over the Hudson River via the Bear Mountain Bridge. It's certainly an adventure and today was no exception! Once on the other side we had a tough climb towards Anthony's nose. Our legs felt like ground meat by the time we made it to the Graymore Spiritual Center. They are gracious to let the thru hikers camp on their baseball field and provide water and a port-a-let. All the comforts of the trail. It took everything we had to set our tent up so we could collapse on to our bed rolls.. ahh ..good nite!
Date: 2021-07-30
From: Graymore spiritual Center 

To: Clarence Fahnestock State Park 
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

Although we were completely exhausted I had another night of restlessness and found sleep elusive. After 1400 miles of hiking I think its just over use and stress and I can't relax in the evening. Part of the perils of long distant hiking.Since we've entered NY we have found that stealth camping is not permitted which presents new challenges for us as we go less mile then many hikers. Camping and shelters are oddly placed so we either have to do less or more miles then our average of 13 miles. That was the case when we finally arrived at Clarence Fahnestock State Park. It's a beautiful SP with a large Lake called Canopus. It was over a half a mile off trail which most hikers do not like hiking unearned miles especially at the end of the day. But that was the only option we had so that's what we did! On a rocky spur trail I unknowingly walked right past a large Copper head snake! He crossed the trail between me and Suz! I was too busy looking at the lake instead of the trail. Boy I felt lucky that he didn't run into me! We watched him slither away as we continued on. We had hoped to make it to the concessions stand before they closed but missed it by an hour..DARN! So we trekked on to the large tenting area where they're building a new Shelter. We felt fortunate to have another night of level and soft ground to sleep on. Tomorrow we have a short day as we head into town to stay with Holly, an old work friend of Suzanne's. So looking forward to some relaxing downtime with them and there doggie Harlow! °
Date: 2021-07-31
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter 

To: Highway 55
Miles today: 3.3
Weather: clear sky

Woke to a pleasant summer morning. The temps dropped and made sleep tollarable, we left one vistibule door open on each side. As I am usually the first one up in camp, I try to be as quiet as possible. Besides Pheonix, we had 3 other hikers near us, "Monkey Toes", "Pickles", and a guy who we have yet to formally meet.I got both our Bear Bag and Pheonix's. I suspect she is not a morning person, doesn't talk much in the early hours.  We have an easy day today, a Nero with 3.3 miles. We hiked towards the cute town of Pawling and Dr.Lynne, aka "Caboose" picked us up at Hwy 55 Trailhead. We then went into town, had breakfast and did our regular resupply.I called my friend Holly who lives nearby and she then came and picked up "Stitch" and I.  While waiting we heard a funny argument in the parking lot. Two New Yorkers were yelling at each other about thier driving. I am sure you have heard the traditional thick NY accents, and hand jesters. "Park the fu$&ing car already", "Hey, I got my fu$&ing daughter in the car." Stitch and I just looked at each other and laughed, Welcome To NY.
Date: 2021-08-01
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter 

To: Holly and John's 
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We had an outstanding and restful visit with Holly, John and their fur baby Harlow! They were so kind to open their beautiful home in Wingdale NY. Which is literally walking distance from an A.T. trail head and minutes from Kent Connecticut. We were so relaxed as we lounged around the house playing with Harlow, chatting with them and eating some NUTRITIOUS food! It was so comforting, as we long for the normalcies of our cabin in Georgia and fur babies the further and longer we're out here. Our bodies are constantly tired and aches and pains are just part of this epic journey we are on and grateful for the people in our lives that lift our spirits and our souls during this pilgrimage. ¢¤
Date: 2021-08-02
From: Highway 55

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: broken clouds

Today our hike was on a section of board walk thru tall marshes of cat tails that lead us over some railroad tracks where you can catch a train to Manhattan if you wish. °Many hikers take this side trip diversion into the heart of NYC but not us. We love NY but didn't think it would be a fun lugging our stinky bodies and backpacks thru the hustle and bustel of the city life. Plus we need to stay focused on the task at hand! Making it to KATAHDIN before October 15th! °
Date: 2021-08-04
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Kent Connecticut 
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Broke camp early in anticipation of getting to Kent Connecticut for breakfast! Our favorite meal on the trail! We also will be taking a zero tomorrow while staying at the Fife and Drum. Tumble has been having some pains down her calve an into her foot. So hopefully the rest off her feet will help.Downtown Kent is a quaint and charming New England town. Surrounded by the Berkshire Mountains. Where you can walk everywhere and rumors have that Meryl Streep and other celeb live in the area.°¤« Holly, Suzanne's friend meet us for dinner along with Phoenix as we yucked it up over a bottle of wine and a delicious meal. We hadn't laugh that much in a long time. Such welcome distraction from the trail.¢¤With our bodies nutritionly replenished, laundry done, and our food resupplied for the next section we're ready to kick our feet up and rest!
Date: 2021-08-06
From: Kent Connecticut 

To: Cesar Brooke
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

Left the Fife and Drum at 7AM. After Nero and Zero day, we were ready to get moving.  Pheonix is still hanging with us as we are doing the same distance.After crossing the field by the road, we had a steep climb which lasted a mile or so, then it was ups and downs.About 4 miles into the hike we had a steep Boulder descent that took about 30 minutes.  We waited for Pheonix just to be sure she didn't have any problems, which she didn't.  Then, it was a 4.5 mile hike by the river, gotta love the flats.No real excitement today besides the heat. This week will be more of the same, but atleast we have water.
Date: 2021-08-07
From: Cesar Brooke

To: Limestone Shelter 
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

After a few rock area's the trail became a bit easier today, but still a long day. The heat is still a challenge, but we have been doing good taking in water.My feet are slowly improving, been taking Ibpropherine twice a day and rubbing them down each night with Tiger Balm. Hopefully they continue to improve. We were listening to an audio book when Cindy turned quickly to tell me to turn it off. I looked up, saw the Bear, then fumbled with the speaker in trying to turn it off.He was an adult size, and again looked fluffy and healthy.  He looked us up and down, then turned and walked away on the trail.Made it to the shelter about 5pm. We were both in a pissy mood as the shelter was .5 miles down into a low gap. We quickly put the tent up as the mosquitoes were terrible.  It was nice and breezy on the ridge, but we are hiker trash so they put us down in the swaller. Oh well, it is our last night in Connecticut.
Date: 2021-08-08
From: Limestone Shelter 

To: Laurel ridge.
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Limestone Shelter was honestly the armpit of Connecticut.  Deep into a gap, half mile off the trail, no breeze..We felt good this morning, especially after 2 hard days. The first 4 miles were mostly gradual and meandering.  The highlight was seeing the 1500 mile marker on the side of the trail marked by Beerch bark.Hiked into the lovely town of Salisbury, CT. Had a deli sandwich and some watermelon. Just love watermelon in the summer. When getting ready to head back out, a woman named "Sweet G" stopped us and offered to buy us breakfast. We thanked her and explained we just finished lunch and to please pay it forward to another hiker. She bid us fairwell and said she would pray for our journey. About 1PM we started the climb up Bear Mountain, yes another Bear Mountain.  Long steady climb and then another steep decent.Rewarded by Sage's Ravine, a river tucked between rock banks with several water falls. This section ended with us Fording the river and entering Massachusetts. 10 states down, 4 to go.
Date: 2021-08-10
From: Ma 23

To: Great Barrington 
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a short slackpack day ( a nero) meaning less miles. The shuttle driver Papa Joe drove us north to a trail head and we hiked South back to Great Barrington. This easy 8 mile hike without our heavy packs got us back to town early so we could do our laundry and resupply and still have time to rest!Coming into Great Barrington yesterday was quiet the challenge after we summitted Mt. Everett. It was one hell of a rocky decent that was steep in places with little room for error and seemed to go on forever! Tumble even had to grab the back of my pack as my trekking pole slid on a step rock face causing me to fall down on my bum. Nearly lost one of my sticks! Once down on the forest floor we passed a hiker going south (Sobo) he was covered in long sleeves and pants and even had a bug head net on. For a sweltering day we thought that was odd. Boy were we wrong! Within a couple of miles we were hiking in a mosquitoes infested bog! One hiker we met at a cross road said he was skipping Great Barrington and jumping ahead to Bennington VT because of them! Not an option for us, quickly we pulled our long sleeves over our heads, sprayed bug spray on every exposed inch of our bodies and threw on our head net. Off we went while the hiker waited for a ride. He shouted good luck, hope you don't get West Nile Virus....geez what a nice guy°
Date: 2021-08-11
From: MA 23

To: Tyringham, MA
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Papa Joe our shuttle driver dropped us off at MA 23, we said our farewells, sprayed deet all over us, then disappeared into the woods. With the recent rains and high humidity we were in for another challenging day of bugs and sweat! Every southbound hiker we passed was wearing there head nets and complained about the pestie mosquitoes! Today we were all pretty quiet as we hiked in the green tunnel. The only highlight was when we made a left on Jerusalem Rd. towards the A.T. Hiker stand! It's a little red shed with BIG white A.T. symbol painted on the side. It sits at the top of someone's beautiful farm house property. Inside they have a fridge with ice cold drinks and frozen popsicle! Even had fresh eggs for sale. Hot and sweet Tumble and Phoenix enjoyed frozen popsicle sticks and I downed an ice cold Pepsi. Certainly hit the spot on this hot, humid, and buggy day! We then headed back up the road and into an open pasture a little cooler. Thanks to the kind family, we certainly appreciated there generosity! °
Date: 2021-08-12
From: Tyringham, MA

To: Stealth 
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: broken clouds

The bogs and mosquitoes were winning the battle on us Dames and its exaserbated when you're so exhausted! But we have to keep moving forward towards Maine before they close the Mountain down for the season. That date is October 15th and it's always at the front of our minds. We had an eta of finishing around September 19th but that changed after both of our head injuries in PA. So we push and dig a little deeper and try to go a bit further each day. That was our plan today but it was interrupted by a quick storm that popped up as we were headed towards October Mt. Shelter. We hurried our pace towards the dark sky. I tried to check the radar but had no connectivity, ugh! I even ask a solo hiker going sobo if she had any updates on the weather but no luck there. So just as we crossed a creek we heard a loud boom and a flash of lightning. I turned to Tumble and Phoenix and said we need to find a spot to quickly put our tents up before the bottom let's out. Hurriedly we ran into the pine forest over lumps of pine needles trying to find a some what level spot, constantly looking up for any dead tree branches as you never want to set your tent up under a "Widow Maker!" Phoenix found her spot and we threw our tent up on the only spot we could find, next to the creek! With the lines secured on both our Zpack tents we tossed our packs inside and crawled in just as the rain let loose. It was fierce but quick! Thank goodness because being next to a creek with heavy rain is not ideal! Once it passed we decided to find a new spot for our tent away from the water. Nothing was level so we made do ontop of a mound of pine needles and roots and prayed that the trees around remained strong and upright while we slept!
Date: 2021-08-13
From: Stealth 

To: DALTON MASSACHUSETTS 
Miles today: 15.8

Woke up amongst the tall pines this morning and got on the trail pretty early. Phoenix has an old friend that is on her way to meet us at the next road crossing to share some trail magic and slackpack us into Dalton, Massachusetts. So we have a little more pep in our step today! Kind hearted Rachel had cold drinks, cookies, and snacks for us. Yum! As it was a super hot morning it hit the spot! She then took our packs and drove towards the trail head in Dalton, then jumped on the trail and hiked south towards us. We met about 4 miles from our final destination and she then turned around and hiked us back to the trail head where she had ice cold beers waiting for us. Man, so refreshing! Nothing is better then a cold beer after a long hot day of hiking! To show our appreciation we took Rachel out to dinner at a local brewery. It was a wonderful ending to a perfect day on the trail!°
Date: 2021-08-14
From: DALTON MASSACHUSETTS 

To: Mark Nopel Shelter 
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: broken clouds

Almost always when you come into a town it's in a valley. So when you leave town you have a climb and today are packs are heavy with resupply for the next section. We were all pretty quiet as we hiked the first couple miles and swatted away mosquitoes. The heat and mosquitoes are taking its toll on us. A few more days and we'll have been on the trail for five months and we know the hardest part of the trail is a head of us once we get to the Whites of New Hampshire. Constantly being tired, hungry, and sore it's easy to get home sick and long for the comforts of your home, friends, and family. This is by far the hardest thing we've ever done and we are determined to have the endurance to persevere. We are finding out what we're made and capable of and it's empowering!