morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-30
From: Wildcat Shelter, NY

To: Fingerboard Shelter, NY
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: broken clouds

DAY 36:THE HIKE: We were on the trail at 6:45 a.m., and got in at 7:30 p.m. That's barely over ONE MPH, which is pretty slow for legs as long as mine. The trail was mostly Boulder Scrambling, with about a dozen of them straight up, then straight down, basically rock climbing - grabbing roots, heaving myself and my pack up nearly straight seams in the rock. THE DESIGNERS: Just WHAT were those trail designers thinking? I'v gotta have a talk with the goobers who laid out this trail; their constant attempts to show off their rocks were just about enough to make a preacher cuss, as my dad use to say. In fact, I was muttering very ugly things about all New Yorkers by the end of the day. Though, there were some nice views, as opposed to New Jersey, where the trail frequently went straight up through rocks and then straight down through more, with NO POINT in it (not even a view in Winter).ANGELS: Except, I DID say nice things about three Trail Angels along the way. At one point in the trail, there was some helpful water. At another, there was soda. And then toward the end of the day, Paddy-o cooked me two hotdogs on the back of his pickup truck, gave me a twinkie, and a 32-ounce Gatorade. A great humanitarian! Even though he is a New Yorker! Wow.A SAD NOTE: I passed a baby bird lying on the ground. It had probably been blown out of its nest by the wind. It had early feathers, but could not see or fly. It chirped as I stepped nearby. It made me sad to see it. I do know God took note of its fall.THE SHELTER: In a shelter with no water. Kinda thirsty. Using lots of Deet. Sleeping on the wood floor. It is Soooo hard on the joints, especially my sore hip. Must get a better inflatable pad.
Date: 2008-07-01
From: Fingerboard Shelter, NY

To: Overlook Lodge, Bear Mountain, NY
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

THE TRAIL: Some really steep ups and downs today, especially three especially tough mountains. The 85 degree, 95% humidity weather made it excellent sweating weather. My pores are so well flushed from the inside! Today was almost all HIKING (versus rock climbing); though I still need to contact the New York trail people and explain to them the difference. I will try to do so without using hellfire and damnation language; but I'm not certain I can.SPEED: A guy came in last night around 10:30, and said he had just done 26 miles that day over the same terrain. Made me feel slow and old, considering how I have labored so hard for the past two days!THE LODGE: Staying in a lodge here near the Hudson River. It is nice to wash clothes (in the sink) and to wash off the salt deposits from my skin. The woman who answered the phone couldn't tell me how to get here from there other lodge just down the road. Aye-yie-yie.TENNESSEE: I'm in a real bed tonight, sharing a room with Tenness Tuxedo. He and I seem pretty well-matched. We hike about the same speed, except on the levels where I usually outdistance him. But occasionally he gets ahead, and then I never see him until I get to camp. He then always says, "SNAKEBAIT! Where have you BEEN?!" I have threatened to rename him "He-Who-Hike-Like-Man-With-Butt-On-Fire."HAIR TREATMENT: My Appalachian Trail emblem Tess cut into the back of my hair right before I left has long grown out. I'm letting all my hair grow uncut until I reach Mt. Katahdin, ME. Out here on the trail you can be just about anybody you can imagine yourself to be. I'm pretending my bearded wooly appearance makes me look more intelligent and spiritual than I really am.FIVE STONES: Which reminds me of one of Five Stones' favorite quotes of me from right after we met. I don't remember exactly the context (or I have simply chosen to forget it), but when someone gave me a mouthy retort I responded, "You can't talk to me that way; I'm a MIN-IS-TUH!" His Texas exaggeration of my Tennessee-Virginia-Massachussetts-North Carolina - South Carolina accent makes it really funny when he says it. If you ever meet him, get him to tell you the story... He's the one who walked to an outdoor Tiki Lounge to meet a woman who had given him a 2.5 mile hitch into town. The other guys were ribbing him about his 'hot date.' She never showed, and he and I (who tagged along primarily as his spiritual advisor and chaperone) ended up talking about the Lord most of the evening.MAIL: Got a 'mail drop' from my sweetie, Magda, plus a bonus box from my daughter Stacie and my granddaughter Ashley. All the cool goodies were appreciated. Stacie even sent me some firecrackers for July 4! I plan to frighten some wildlife with it this Friday. Ashley remembered the cost of a shower I got at a campground in Shennandoah park, and sent me $5.00 so I can take some more showers! And there was a bag of Ginger Snaps. Ummmmm.
Date: 2008-07-02
From: Overlook Lodge, Bear Mountain, NY

To: Dry Camp 1/2 mi. before Sunk Mine Rd, NY
Miles today: 17.5

DAY 38:THE TRAIL: Chased Tennessee Tuxedo down the trail all day; never did catch him. I still want to catch the sadistic New Youk trail designers. I would like to hurt them. That is a terrible attitude on my part. I plan to use a rock to whack them with, just for poetic justice.BOOMS: West Point (just up the Hudson River from here) has been firing artillery for two days. I can only assume they are trying to keep the New York City people from coming up the river.HOODLEMS: We have to dry camp tonight. There was a really nice campsite just off a road, near a water pump. But local hoods have a ruputation for hassling campers there (including gunfire). So we hiked farther into the woods. Tennessee and I, being manly men, were unafraid of a bunch of punks with guns, but we went about a mile extra, just to keep from tempting those poor misguided youths (who are probably a victem of some terrible thing I have somehow been a part of in my past).OUT FOR THE COUNT: Got passed today by Pipper, and learned that his dad, Mr. Burns (who looks strikingly like the boss on "The Simpsons"), broke his leg on a rock just after the Lemon Squeeze. Such news makes you sad and a bit more cautious.
Date: 2008-07-03
From: Dry Camp 1/2 mi. before Sunk Mine Rd, NY

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter, NY
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: scattered clouds

DAY 39:RARE BIRDS: I carefully constructed my blind. With my expert woodsy skills, I could tell they had been feeding at this spot fairly frequently in this spot. With grreat patience, I waited, still as a stone. When they landed and began what looked to me like a variation of the Chicken Dance, I snapped the picture of a lifetime!WILD ANIMALS: Awakened this morning at 5 a.m. by a deer snorting and stomping around our campsite. Apparently we were in his usual morning walkway, and he wanted to let us know we were out of line in doing so. I started to go out and head-butt him just to teach him some manners, but the sleeping bag was just too comfy. But next time, he better watch himself.SHENNANDOAH: Beautiful views this morning from Shennandoah Mountain, with a lake below. Gorgeous! Shennandoah? Musta been some homesick Virginian.SNAKE: Saw an eight-foot black snake in the trail. My spontaneous yell seemed to be enough to encourage him to slither off, though perhaps just a bit more deaf from my noise. I started to lie down besiede him for th picture, just to show the comparative length, but he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get down and get my camera ready. Plus, the whole time I was making a scardy-cat face, which never looks all that good in pictures.STORM: Got caught in a heavy rain shower right before I could get to the shelter this evening. There was no visible lightning where I was, though the sky overhead was rumbling as I crossed the exposed rocks at the top of Mt. Egbert. I got extra adrinelin coursing through my body, which gave my tired strides some extra zest!
Date: 2008-07-04
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter, NY

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

THE TRAIL: Nice hiking. Trails over hills, through some swampy pond areas (New York has a lot more of those than I ever knew about). Lots of rock fences - those things had to take a LOT of work to build; you know somebody has to be up in heaven crying that those fences are just falling apart.THE WASH: We washed off at a spring pump. Ice cold water! Tennessee and I were both bellowing and yodeling, it was so refreshingly cold!HIKERS: I say a number of New York hikers, out for a holiday hike. good for them!BANG: We were in to the shelter early today, which felt nice. After supper I was throwing the Bang Snaps into the stone fireplace: Bang! Snap! Wham! And then two hapless slugs strolled out from between the fireplace's rocks - Bang! Snap! Wham! I nailed 'em both. Woo Hoo! Victory is ours, Davy Crockett! Man, what a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July.
Date: 2008-07-05
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Mt. Aglo Shelter, CT
Miles today: 12.4

DAY 41TOBACCO. Got to use my tobacco today. You know, for that purpose for which it was created. No, not sucking destructive particulates and carcinogins into your lungs. I got stung by two yellow jackets while crossing a swamp on some boards. So I quickly ran across to the other side, threw down my pack, and got the tobacco out of my first aid kit, wet it, and rubbed it into the two stings. Immediately, the pain went away, and there was no after-effect swelling or itching. Thanks Linda! (don't worry, I still have more if needed).SNAIL STUFF. Another section of today's trail was in a deeply, dark, wet section of the forest where we had to walk on raised boards. "Artful Dodger" had warned us about that section, saying it would be "slicker'n snail snot". A good Oklahoma phrase. And he was right! It was just like trying to hike on ice...
Date: 2008-07-06
From: Mt. Aglo Shelter, CT

To: Caesar Brook
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 42ACROBATIC SMALL MAMMALS. The chipmunks were out in full force all over the forest today. When I surprised two that were especially close to the trail, they both ran straight up a steep rock. One stopped at the top. The other kept running into the air, like some Wiley E. Coyote move after the rope has gone, and did a complete flip into the air! If I could have captured that one, we could have toured the country and made a lot of money. At the very least, we could have gotten on David Letterman's "Stupid Pet Tricks."CHURCH. Tennessee and I got to go to Church at St. Joseph Epispopal Church this morning. They had GREAT REFRESHMENTS afterward. We both ate like hikers, doing all but stuff muffins into our pockets. A really nice older couple gave us a ride back to the trail.RAY-ON-FIRE. Ray (aka Tennessee), got out in front of me on the trail today, and I never saw him again. It's funny. When he is behind me, he hikes pretty slowly. When he is in front and gets out of sight, I usually never see him until our appointed campsite. I am thinking of changing his trail name from "Tennessee" to "Guy-Who-Sometimes-Hikes-Like-Man-With-Butt-On-Fire."A JANET JACKSON MOMENT. I'm having wardrobe (and equipment) malfunctions. My shoes got chewed up in Pennsylvania and Southern New York: a hole in the top, the uppers separating from the soles, parts of the soles flapping. I've just got to make it to a mail drop to get my shoes from my sweetie Magda. Also, one of my trekking poles got circumcised in PA (the tip came off); I am now using little rubber thingies on the ends, which seem to be working o.k.
Date: 2008-07-07
From: Caesar Brook

To: Maria's House, Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: few clouds

DAY 43THE TRAIL. Some nice trails through hmelock forests this afternoon, though still high humidity. Voracious mosquitos while walking - no escape; they could fly faster than I could walk.MARIA. Am staying with Maria McCabe, a neet lady who opens some of her spare bedrooms to hikers. She is 79 years old, from Northern Italy. With three of us guys in the back seat, and a gal in the front, she drove us through the cemetary so she could show her deceased husband that she could still get men!BERRIES. Got my first blackberries for the season. Remember, when eating berries by the trail, DO NOT EAT THE SALTY ONES. If you don't understand and are from the Northern climes, it is similar to not eating the yellow snow.E.R.T. Got some good Electrolyte Replacement Therapy this evening. Had some Gatorade called "AmStillLight," which was pretty good; so good, I had two.
Date: 2008-07-08
From: Maria's House, Salisbury, CT

To: Glen Brook LeanTo, MA
Miles today: 14.2

DAY 44. Into Massachuttes today. Some beautiful scenery.WILDLIFE. Scared up a family of 25-30 turkeys by the trail today. Didn't know whether to try to run up and hug them? Whack them with a stick and cook and eat them? Whack them with a rock, cook them, hug them, and then eat them? Life and choices are so hard out here when you're trying to be so politically correct, as I always am.THE ROCK. Saw a relly cool rock today. It was about 10' tall, and looked like a petrified indian. I am sure the local Mohawks had some sort of lore about it.
Date: 2008-07-09
From: Glen Brook LeanTo, MA

To: Mt. Wilcox Leanto, MA
Miles today: 19.6

DAY 45RAIN. Got rained on pretty hard today, trying to make it to the shelter. Made the near 20-miler seem a lot longer. THE FLASH. Ray was down at the creek rinsing off the day's sweat. I went down to do the same. "Ray, there is a girl in the camp." No response. "Ray..." I gave him two more warnings, after which he walked up to the shelter BUCK NEKKID! It was "Kat" up there, but fortunately she was around back of the shelter, else she might have been permanently scarred. Thinking of renaming Ray "The Tennessee Flash"....heh, heh, heh.HAIR. Grabbed a handful of wild blueberries by the side of the trail today. Popped them in my mouth, and quickly spit out several strands of BEAR HAIR. Yuck. THE ALLEY. Hiked through what the locals call "Mosquito Alley" - a White Pine Bog, where the bugs swarmed me for three miles. Absolutely miserable! I'm using one of the mosquito coils Stacie and Ashley sent me. Working great! Woo hoo!
Date: 2008-07-10
From: Mt. Wilcox Leanto, MA

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin, MA
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

DAY 46. CABIN. In a cabin with four walls and screens on the doors and windows. Wow. Screens! This evening, I taunted the skeeters outside the window by showing them my bare flesh through the screen. HAH! I get the last laugh, at least for today.THE HIKE: Beautiful weather: started in the 50's, and got up to the 70's, with low humidity. I was able to hike hard for an hour this morning without being soaked with sweat! And the mosquitos were breezed away! Ahhhh.
Date: 2008-07-11
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin, MA

To: Kay Wood Leanto, MA
Miles today: 17.6

DAY 47.THE HIKE. The day started cool and dry. But an afternoon shower reintroduced humidity into the forest air. Ugh. Lots of Rock Stomping and Muck Mashing. Yuck. The mosquitos were back in the forest, and did not take too kindly to my taunting them last evening. Swat. Step. Slap, slap, step. Back of the knees, elbows, neck. All day. When I got in tonight, I could have skipped supper for a pint of plasma.THE COOKIE LADY. Met The Cookie Lady today, near where the AT crosses Wash Rd. She bakes chocolate chip cookies, and her husband furnishes sodas. She is now in my top ten list of The Most Wonderful Women in the World.BEAVERS. Passed by a beaver pond every mile this morning; what amazing engineers!A BREAK. We hope to be in Dalton tomorrow, where I can get some Deet - I have been out for about a week. Yikes! We are planning a "Nearo Day", where we will hike in three miles, and spend the day in town washing clothes, using internet at the library, resupplying, etc.
Date: 2008-07-12
From: Kay Wood Leanto, MA

To: Tom Levardi's Home, Dalton, MA
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

TOWN. A quiet hike in for a "Nearo." I FINALLY got to some internet access at the public library. I am almost two weeks behind in posting my trail journals. Marian the Librarian cut me off after one hour, even though no one was signed up to use it next! Reason: Policy of one hour. Rules reigned over reason, as far as I was concerned. I wonder if she use to work for the IRS... It takes so long to do the basics: do laundry, get meals, etc. We had to ride bicycles to get most places. It IS nice though to let the feet stop pounding the trails, especially after doing 20, 16, 18 mile days back-to-back.
Date: 2008-07-13
From: Tom Levardi's Home, Dalton, MA

To: Tom Lavardi's Home, Dalton MA
Miles today: 23.3

SLACKPACK. After promising ourselves we wouldn't do any more 20-mile days unless absolutely necessare, we did a "slackpack" today of twenty-three miles. That is, someone drove us around to a road crossing up the trail, and we hiked back to this town. We only had to carry daypacks with snacks, lunch, water, a rain jacket, and a few miscellaneous items (maybe five pounds total!). "Sailboat" made it yesterday in just over six hours - that's averaging over 3.5 mph. Our legs are much older, and we had a much longer day than expected. The hike had two primary mountain peaks, one that was a 1,000' elevation gain, the other with a 2,800' elevation gain. I was passing through the town of Cheshire around 3:30 p.m., with over nine miles left to go. PowerAde and snacks got me back to Dalton around 7:30 p.m., plum tuckered. I had decided to shower and go to skip supper, shower, and crash into bed; but I passed a restaurant and stopped in. REST? The bedroom floor is hot. with biting bugs. Not much sleep in the forecast. Phooey.
Date: 2008-07-14
From: Tom Lavardi's Home, Dalton MA

To: Howard Johnson, Williamstown, MA
Miles today: 0.0

Catching a ride to where we started yesterday's hike, Popeye, Little Mak, Tennessee and I decided to do a zero day here. We were SO bushed from yesterday's trek. I don't know if my body would have been able to hike at all. I had enough trouble hobbling across the street. That is where we celebrated Bastille Day (the storming of the Bastille in Paris, to begin the French Revolution) by storming the Italian Restaurant across the street, and then storming the Chinese place (also that LONG way across the street).It is a good thing for me we zeroed; I've had a bad headache all day, feeling hot then cold. I'm kinda concerned. I took a two hour morning nap, and then a 1/2-hour afternoon nap; and I'm ready for bed now at 9:30 p.m.
Date: 2008-07-15
From: Howard Johnson, Williamstown, MA

To: Congdon Shelter, VT
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: few clouds

DAY 51.THE HIKE. A beautiful day in t 60-70's. Fairly gentle uphills, but a LOT of mud in the trail. Some people are calling this state "Ver-mud". Not a great day overall, but I did make the 14 miles to tonight's shelter.THE BODY. Still had my headache all day. I was especially lethargic in the morning; at one time I rolled sideways in the trail and fell in the mud. I took out my pad and took a nap before eating lunch, but still felt crummy. Had to force myself to eat a bit just to refuel. THE EQUIPMENT. I discovered my new sleeping pad has a leak in it. Grrr. Then, right after lunch, I dropped the mouthpiece of my MSR water bag; it fell in some of the dirtiest dirt out here: right in front of the shelter. That is bad, because that dirt is full of bits of food, spit, toe jam, etc.
Date: 2008-07-16
From: Congdon Shelter, VT

To: Goddard, Shelter, VT
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

DAY 52.THE TRAIL. Lots of more Mud Mashing today. Literally HUNDREDS of muddy spots to hike through or around. But Vermont DOES have kinder, gentler trails, especially on climbs; they have discovered switchbacks here, which are much easier than simply hiking straight up a mountainside.CAMPING. Tennessee went on after supper. I hung my hammock in this shelter. Also here is "Homeless Dave" - this is the third time I have passed him on the trail; he simply hitches around the tougher sections, then I'll see him again. I wonder how many more times I will pass him between here and Maine?HEALTH. A good bit more energy today. I still had some headache, but it has lessened. I was about to get off the trail and find a doctor.THE FURNITURE GUY. We are now in the Green Mountains, the home area of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of American Revolutionary War fame. They were a pretty tough band of fighters.VERMONT PROMOTES CANNIBALISM. To demonstrate just how tough folks are around here, the Gladstonebure section of the trail has a rule that says, "No more than 10 campers are allowed together in a group." I believe that means that if an eleventh one shows up, and if no one wants to leave, the group must kill and eat one of their number to get the group back down to ten. How they kill and cook 'em up is not specified. After all, this IS a free country!HIKING NECESSITIES. Needed for hiking: Strength - Stability - Speed - Stamina. I have been short of all four of these the past two days.
Date: 2008-07-17
From: Goddard, Shelter, VT

To: Stealth Camp, 1/2 mi. past Stratton Pond
Miles today: 20.0

DAY 52.THE HIKE. Another humid one today. the 2,700' elevation gain up Stratton Mountain was NOT one of this state's kinder trail sections. It DID help that my headache continues to abate,even as my strength increases.CAMP. I had planned to stay at Stratton Pond Shelter, but there was no place to hang my hammock, and I'm not trying to sleep on shelter floorboards until I get my mattress repaired or replaced. So I hiked 1/2 mile past the pond, and hung my hammock. Ate in the near dark, as the mosquitos ate also.
Date: 2008-07-18
From: Stealth Camp, 1/2 mi. past Stratton Pond

To: Bromley Shelter, VT
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 53.SLEEP. Slept all night in my hammock with NO headache. Hiked all morning - NO headache! And the trail was "friendly." I kept saying to myself, "Wow! it sure feels good to feel good.!HELP. I finally got phone service this morning at Prospect Rock. I was able to call the Thermarest people and various outfitters. A really nice couple overheard my conversation and offered to take me to a local outfitter in the town of Manchester below. I was able to call the store, and they said they had the repair kit that the ThermaRest guy said would definitely fix my woes, and away we went down the mountain to their car. The store pro looked at the mattress and said, "Nope. This kit won't fix it." They had no other ones I could swap out. More calls. The long version of the story is that ThermaRest is shipping a new one to the outfitter in Hanover, NH, where I'll pick it up next Thursday. But they're charging me $15 shipping! That's outrageous. But I paid anyway. I'll deal with the company president when I get home. And they'll get some negative advertising while I'm on the trail. I did get some shoe inserts and two new pairs of socks. ahhh.CAUGHT. Caught back up with Tennessee. I got to the shelter today before 3:30 p.m. Kinda nice to hang my hammock, wash up in the creek, and dry out clothes while the sun is still out. Nice to just sit and listen to the breeze in the trees. Oh yes!
Date: 2008-07-19
From: Dry Camp 1/2 mi. before Sunk Mine Rd, NY

To: Big Branch Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: scattered clouds

DAY 54.THE TRAIL. There was a hugh rain storm this morning around 4:00 am. It was o.k., as I was hanging in my hammock - so cozy. I got caught in a hard rain on the way to the shelter this afternoon. Camping with Timeless, Tennessee, RJ, and Rock-a-mi-mi. This was a good four-mountain day. Bromily and Baker mountains had great views from fire towers.CRITTERS. Rockamimi saw a bear just a couple of miles back; that was only about 1/2 mile after I hiked through. I did see more moose droppings today, but no moose. The pellets are either from a moose, or from a very, very large rabbit.