morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-26
From: Eagle's Nest shelter

To: Windsor Furnace shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: few clouds

It is foggy and humid this morning. Even at a slow pace I¢m almost drenched. When we get to Port Clinton we will have passed the 1200 mile point on the AT. It seems like the miles are clicking off faster now. Hiking on the ridge of Blue Mountain has been pretty level with no major ups or downs. The only problem is still the water sources. IT¢s 8 miles into Port Clinton from the shelter and we get there before lunch. We stop at the post office and I get my mail drop for resupply and mail it ahead and also mail the post cards I¢ve written the past few days. We stop at the Port Clinton Hotel and see Toba here. She said she took a nero to wait for us since it was lonely hiking by herself. We also meet Breeze and his dog Petey. They are out for a section hike and it¢s always nice having others people to hike with and share the experience. The restaurant serves huge cheeseburgers and gigantic plates of fries. I had a small plate of fries but it was still a lot. Tony and I got a ride from the outfitters in town. I needed to get new tips for my hiking poles and he needed to find a drug store for some solution to the earwax problem. I also got some new insoles for my boots and they feel absolutely wonderful. I should have changed them 400 miles ago. I think I had been using these since Damascus. We also got a ride to the local grocery store for some last minutes things before being dropped off at the hotel again. The afternoon heat has kicked in and it is blazing. We make it out of town and back into the trees for some relief from the sun. On the way up Blue Mt again Tony and I stop for a break. I take my shirt off to try to cool down. I felt something strange near my waistband in back. I could barely see what it was but it looked like a tick. Tony said it was and all I could think of was Lyme disease. He got a pair of tweezers from his first aid kit and removed the little bastard and I put some disinfectant on it and then we started hiking again. It was a hot climb in the afternoon and I was glad when we reached the Windsor Furnace shelter. I set up my hammock, cleaned up, got water, and cooked dinner. We had a good day even though it was hot and humid. Tenting: Handyman, Toba, Breeze. Shelter: Tony Tiger. Wx: humid/foggy-am, hot-pm 80's
Date: 2007-07-27
From: Windsor Furnace shelter

To: Allentown shelter
Miles today: 16.5

It looks like today will be a repeat for the weather today. Our first stop was at Pulpit Rock for a break. It was still a bit foggy and the view was not all that good. There were glimpses of the valley but nothing worthy of photos. The next stop was at The Pinnacle.   It is supposed to offer the best views of the PA farmland below. It was hazy form the humidity but better than earlier when the clouds were lower. The trail this morning also follows some back country roads and it does make for great time as we hike. We follow the road for about 4 miles until we exit onto Hawk Mt Road that leads a short distance to Eckville Shelter. This shelter is on private property and is actually a very nice place. There is a shower and toilet in a separate building and a picnic table where we had lunch. There is no longer a refrigerator here with sodas. The owner said he could not maintain it any longer. From the yard we could see the ridge where we will be hiking later on. The trail after Eckville shelter is rocks, rocks and more rocks. Not just small ones but boulder size. I fall behind since I felt drained from the heat and humidity. I¢m probably a half mile behind everyone and I can hear thunder and the see the occasional flash of lightning when it¢s close. All I can think of and hope is a sprinkle to cool things off but I get the feeling this will be a down pour. I am tired from all the rocks but push on until we all arrive at the shelter for the evening. Not 15minutes after arriving a couple of close lightning strikes occur and the deafening sound of thunder. We didn¢t have a chance to go to the water source 1200ft down the blue blaze trail before the skies opened up and it started to pour. One good thing about this shelter is the gutters on the roof with an opening for a down spout. We get the brilliant idea to catch the rain water in all the containers we have so we don¢t have to go get it. It rained so hard at times it was like a water fall from the roof. I decided to use the hole for the down spot like a shower and wash up after we filled our containers. It was funny but what the heck. Use what nature provides. The shelter was nice and had space for all of us to sleep. After the rain it was cool and felt great when it was time to go to sleep. Today was difficult with the heat and humidity but overall a great day in the end. Shelter: Tony Tiger, Handyman, Toba, Breeze. Wx: humid/foggy-am, humid-pm, rain after 1700
Date: 2007-07-30
From: Leroy A. Smith shelter

To: Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: scattered clouds

It sprinkled again last night and the moisture in the air this morning made some of the cobwebs so cool looking. The early morning light reflected off the outline of the web and they looked beautiful. We had a short hike into Wind Gap where we stopped at a Gateway Motel for some sodas before moving on. It was a nice break and also a great water stop. We are still hiking along the ridge of Blue Mt and it seems like we have for ever. Today will be the last day of Blue Mt. The trail was uneventful until we got to Wolf rocks and a change of terrain. It was a short drop down off the ridge and that was the highlight of the afternoon. Wish there was more to say but that was it. Once we got to the shelter we saw that it faced the valley below and you can see the farms that are scattered around. This is definitely the best view from a shelter in a long, long time. To make it better it is surrounded by blackberry and raspberry bushes and they are ripe. The shelter is newer and is very nice. Plenty of room with a picnic table under the roof.Wolf rocksYouth groupWorms in bushesNice shelter with view and surrounded by raspberry bushes.Met father and son out hikingStopped at wind gap for soda
Date: 2007-07-31
From: Leroy A. Smith shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: clear sky

Up early and excited for a town visit. Toba and I were ready to go. We left as Tony decided to wait for Breeze and Petey. About 250 yards up the trail from the shelter was a clearing with a nice view of the valley below. Perfect for tenting here since the ground was level.
Date: 2007-08-01
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Date: 08/01/07Start: Delaware Water GapStop: Delaware Water GapMiles: 0.0Wx: clear, hot/humidHotel: TonyTiger, Handyman, TobaHostel: Breeze Slept in until 0730 on a zero day. Lots to do today. Rest, relax, sort through food, post office, wash pack, last minute things. Ate dinner at the Sycamore Grill. Excellent food but pricy for the thrifty hiker. It was my splurge for the past few weeks of being on the trail and to celebrate a new state tomorrow. Caught up some on journal transcribing. Completed about a week of entries using tge stylus/keyboard input method on the PDA. It is slow and tedious but the only way without a computer.
Date: 2007-08-02
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

Date: 08/02/07Start: Delaware Water GapStop: Mohican Outdoor CenterMiles: 10.5Wx: clear, hot/humid, mid 90'sTenting: TonyTiger, Handyman, Toba, Breeze Up at 0545 today. Ready to get an early start since it's going to be hot. Ate breakfast at the Water Gap Diner before hiking. Walked through town again to get to the trail and to cross the bridge into New Jersey. The early morning walk was cool and foggy. The hike in Worthington State Forest was clearing as the fog burned off. The trail had a moderate accent and the temperature was already rising quickly. We came upon a glacial lake called Sunfish Pond and the rocky trail skirted the shoreline from one end to the other. There was an area where we took a break that was rocky and where people had built cairns of all kinds. Kind of an art like area. By this time we knew it was going to be hot, hot, hot! The ridge walk had intermittent shade on partly exposed ridge and it was hot. Many breaks taken today due to the heat/humidity. With no real landmarks it was hard to figure out where we were along the trail. It seemed to take longer to get to the MOC than I thought. I will say the heat was a huge factor in our hike today. After we got to the MOC we were all pretty tired from the heat. All we did for about 30 minutes was sit and rest. I tried napping but it was to hot. Little energy and motivation for all of us now. After lunch and a couple hours we decided to stay than move on. It is just to hot. We setup our tents at a couple of sites and took another break. The bugs are really a nuisance now. The gnats, flies and mosquitos just won't leave us alone. Can't wait for it to cool off to cook dinner.
Date: 2007-08-03
From: Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Brink Road shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: haze

Date: 08/03/07Start: Mohican Outdoor CenterStop: Brink Road shelter Miles: 14.3Wx: clear, hot/humid, low 90'sTenting: TonyTiger, Handyman, Toba, Breeze Up at 0515 today. We want to get an early start since it's going to be hot. Before I get to the trail I find a tick on me already. Damn things! We walked along the east side of the ridge most of the morning and had some nice views along the way. Our first break was at the Catfish Fire tower. It was a nice break there. There is a picnic table and you can climb the steps of the tower for a nice view. The walk to Blue Mt road was on an old road so we made pretty good time getting there. There is a hand water pump there so we filled our water containers and moved on. Across the road is the entrance to the YMCA Outdoor Center but the trail goes around it. We ate lunch near a stream but the air was still hot/humid. No relief at all. We met a couple groups of young people on the trail today. Mostly young girls out for some hiking. The second group we saw was on top of Rattlesnake Mt. They just adored Petey. We kept moving though since it was already hot and hiking over these exposed ridges is scorching. The last hour before we got to the shelter was the most difficult for us because we were all feeling the effects of the heat during the early afternoon. When we got to the shelter we were so beat from the heat all we could do for the next half hour was sit and try to conserve energy and hope for any breeze. We could hear thunder in the distance and it would be nice if it rained so it would cool things down. We decided to stay here tonight even if it is early. It's just to hot/humid to hike.
Date: 2007-08-04
From: Brink Road shelter

To: High Point shelter 
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

Date: 08/04/07Start: Brink Road shelterStop: High Point shelter Miles: 19.6Wx: cool/foggy/windy-am, hot/humid, low 90's but windy.Tenting: Breeze Shelter: TonyTiger, Handyman, Toba Up at 0515 today. It rained some last night during a thunder storm. It didn't get much on the wet side but it did cool the temp down thankfully. The day started cool and intermittently foggy and was a great day to hike. We covered the distance to Culvers Gap pretty quickly and stopped at Joe to Go for a morning snack/drink break. After that we got back on the trail and went back up on the ridge where the wind was still blowing. Oh so cool to hike in this weather for a change.We got to Culver Fire tower and took a short break to enjoy the views and breezeSunrise Mt pavilion was an awesome place with 360 degree views and very good breeze. We took a long break here before moving on.Ridgerunner-'midnight' was sitting by the trail as we walked by.We stopped at the High point state park concession stand for an afternoon meal of cheeseburgers and fries. We were lucky to get here before it closed at 1800. Felt good today since it's cool. The humidity was lower than yesterday and it felt great. There was also a consistant breeze for most of the day which helped keep us cooler.Bad news from birdstar, leatherneck fell and hurt his back and is off the trail now. Sorry to here such bad news about anyone on the trail. We hope you recover and get better soon.
Date: 2007-08-05
From: High Point shelter 

To: St. Thomas Episcopal Church hostel, Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 18.9

Date: 08/05/07Start: High Point shelterStop: St. Thomas Episcopal Church hostel, Vernon, NJ Miles: 18.9Wx: cool/light breeze-am, hot/humid, low 90's.Tenting: Hostel: TonyTiger, Handyman, Toba, Caboosey and Blue, Birdstar Up at 0600 today. Short day to Unionville, NY where Breeze and Petey will end there section hike. It's been great hiking with them the past couple weeks. They will be missed. The morning hike was pretty easy and we made it to Unionville by 1015. We stopped at the general store and then at the Memorial park where Blu-song and Topo were along with Yogi and Lumpy. We dropped our packs there and went across the street to a bagel shop for late morning snack. We wenr back to the gazebo at tge park and hung out there until it was time to leave Breeze and Petey behind. The rest of the days hike took us through New Jersey countryside with old stone walls and many road crossings. We got to the road to Vernon and tried hitching in for about 30 minutes before we got a ride. We were dropped off at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church hostel in Vernon. It's a very nice place for hikers to stop. Unfortunately, it is a place where others have taken advantage of the generosity and messed things up. Selfish people! Anyway, we are able to shower, do laundry, internet, and sleep here. It is worth the extra push into here instead of staying at the last shelter. This puts us about 1/2 day ahead of schedule now.
Date: 2007-08-06
From: St. Thomas Episcopal Church hostel, Vernon, NJ

To: Wawayanda shelter
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: haze

Date: 08/06/07Start: St. Thomas Episcopal Church hostel, Vernon, NJStop: Wawayanda shelter Miles: 5.3Wx: humidTenting: TonyTiger, Handyman, Toba, Skiptrace Shelter: Caboosey and Blue Up at 0600 and feeling tired. Blah! Need to go to store for resupply and PO for maildrop. Ate breakfast at the Mixing Bowl then to the A & P for resupply. Only getting enough for 3 days. Back to the hostel for repacking and to get my boots to mail to next resupply if the shoes don't work out. Lounged around and watched a video, Usual Suspects, while relaxing before going for lunch. Ate lunch at Burger King before trying to hitch a ride to the trail. Yes, hitch hiking in NJ is illegal but we don't care. It took us about 15 minutes before a very kind person stopped and gave us a ride. The hike up to the top of Wawayanda mt was a long humid climb. I was soaked with sweat when we reached the top. After a short break we hiked on until we got to the shelter. Today is a short mileage day as we continue to recover from the last few days of big miles. Saw an entry from Luna saying she is back on the trail. She is a day ahead now.
Date: 2007-08-07
From: Wawayanda shelter

To: Wildcat shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Date: 08/07/07Start: Wawayanda shelterStop: Wildcat shelter Miles: 12.1Wx: hot/humid, no breezeTenting: TonyTiger, Handyman, TobaShelter: Caboosey and Blue Up at 0545 and reaady by 0645. We had barely got our start as we crossed the first road at .4 miles from the shelter when we saw some trail magic in a cooler about 100yds off the road. It was full of sodas and snacks. Thanks xxxxxx xxxxx. I started today with no water and would fill up at the first source. Well, the first source wasn't that good so we went to Long House Creek and I got water there. About 0850 we crossed over the NJ/NY state line. Another state down and 5 more to go. Todays terrain was mostly varied with exposed ridge rocks, forest, and forest roads. The ridge walks were extremely hot and tiring with the ups and downs over every rock there. We saw Jedi going south just before we got to hwy 17A. We met him before doing trail magic about aa month ago. He is out sectioning until September. After we got to the road we headed .3miles west to the Bellvale Creamery for some ice cream. Oh it was so good. Skiptrace also came in to enjoy the ice cream too. We ate lunch after the ice cream and rested some before hiking 2 more miles to the shelter. We got to the shelter about 1430 and were ready for the stop. It is so hot/humid that it just saps all our energy. I was so wiped out I just laid down on the shelter floor and napped there and tried to cool down. We set up our camps later, cooked dinner, finished other things and off to bed. For dinner I had shells mac and cheese and the 20oz Mt Dew I forgot to drink last night. I carried an extra 20 oz today -- Aaargh! Oh well, it was good anyway.
Date: 2007-08-08
From: Wildcat shelter

To: Fingerboard shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light rain

Date: 08/08/07Start: Wildcat shelterStop: Fingerboard shelter Miles: 14.3Wx: hot/humid, no breeze-am, breeze-pmTenting: TonyTiger, Handyman, TobaShelter: Up at 0535 and waiting for rain to stop. It started to sprinkle about midnight but I did not get up to put the rainfly on. About 0200 it started to rain a little harder than before and I got up and put the rainfly up. Within 10 minutes it was coming down hard. It kept up for most of the night. We started this day off in wet humid conditions. At first it was cool but after 30 minutes we were pretty soaked with sweat and moisture from the humidity. It is going to be a long hot/humid day already. The terrain has a lot of ups and downs over some small mountains. We took a late breakfast break to eat and dry our stuff out. We didn¢t eat breakfast this morning since it was still raining some and we just wanted to get going. Some of the trails took us straight up the mt without a switchback. Others required using handholds to climb up rocks and high steps. During one decent down some wet rocks I took quite a fall. I placed my right foot on a rock and once my full weight was on it my foot slipped and down I went. It happened so fast I didn¢t have time to react. I landed on my left side between some rocks. It could have been a lot worse if I would have landed on the rocks. Somehow I landed between them and only suffered a minor scrape on my left wrist and forearm. It was almost comical how it happened. At least I can laugh at this one. There was one part called the Lemon Squeezer where the trail takes you through a narrow slit between rocks. As you enter the slit it is slanted to the left and gets narrower the further you go. Eventually your pack rubs on both walls and you feel as if you will get stuck. Immediately after getting through there we had a step climb up which required us to take our packs off and scale the rocks about 8ft and hand our packs up to the top. We met a SOBO names Lady and the Tramp who were hiking with BeeBee. Tramp is the dogs trailname. The day got hotter and more humid if you can believe that. It was like walking in a sauna. It was brutal and tough on all of us today. I slowed down to a crawl because I was so drained from the heat/humidity that I almost stopped for the day. I couldn¢t drink enough to stay hydrated or even cool down. It was bad!!! To compound this was the unavailability of good water sources. There were water drops at some of the road crossings placed by trail clubs and trail angels. Thank you so much!!! We also ran into a couple groups of young people out for a few days hiking. I think I drank about 4-5 liters of water today and it wasn¢t enough. Since the shelter has no water we had to carry extra up the hill to the shelter. When we got to the shelter we were all just beat for the day. Water is heavy!! We still had to get dinner ready, setup camp, and try to relax some. It was a long tiring day.
Date: 2007-08-09
From: Fingerboard shelter

To: Ft Montgomery, NY
Miles today: 14.3

Date: 08/09/07Start: Fingerboard shelterStop: Ft Montgomery, NYMiles: 14.3Wx: hot/humid, cool, breeze-am, breeze-pm. Overall nice day. Hotel: TonyTiger, Handyman, TobaShelter: Up at 0545 to take advantage of the cool morning. We started hiking at 0645. The terrain was pretty much the same as yesterday. Up/down but with two big ups only. The first stop was for water at a state park 1.1 miles into the hike. This would the best spot for water since the other sources are questionable. Go for the sure thing. Toba led the pack today and always sets a good pace. We made pretty good time and had some great views today. The humidity today is a lot less than yesterdays 150%. Less humidity equals cooler temperature and better hiking conditions. Today was that kind of day. We did have some steep climbs again and I wonder if the trail clubs in New York know what a switchback is or not. If the weather today happened the yesterday we might have been able to see the skyline of NYC. The view from Black Mt was awesome since we could see the Hudson River, the tower on Bear Mt, and at least 30 miles in the distance. Wedding on bear mtSteep decentFeet/toes sore going downZooHotel
Date: 2007-08-10
From: Ft Montgomery, NY

To: NY 301, Canopus Lake, NY
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: moderate rain

Date: 08/10/07Start:, NYStop: Ft Montgomery, NYMiles: 14.3Wx: cold/rain. Hotel: TonyTiger, Handyman, TobaShelter: Up at 0600 and looked outside to notice it was sprinkling. We decided to slackpack today after a lot of discussion on what to do. We could hike in the rain 6 miles to the Monastery, or to Canopus Lake at 18 miles. We needed to arrange a shuttle to the State Park so we could hike south. It worked out and we were dropped off at 0915 and started hiking. It was still sprinkling but was cool for hiking. We were doing a good 3mph pace for the first hour and averaged close to that throughout the day. It took us from 0915 to 1630 to get to our starting/finish points. Not a bad days hiking. Not wearing a heavy pack made a huge difference in how we hiked and how we covered the terrain, especially the uphill climbs which were a lot easier. The downhills were easier to do also.   We carried drink and snacks for the trip and minimal items. It was cold and rained hard at times but as long as we kept moving we stayed warm. The wind added to the temperature difference too with the wind chill effect. Overall it was a great day to hike. Nice and cool!!!