morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-05-17
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Mile 1410.3 Stream/tent site
Miles today: 22.7

Day 89 773.9 to goToday's hike started out as tough as it has been here in NY. It did get easier as the day went. The weather today was fantastic also. I got several views of the NYC skyline from the trail today. I think I passed within 30 or 35 miles of the city. As I got into the Bear Mountain area, the trail turned to groomed gravel walkway with stone steps, I love it when the trail passes through a big tourist area, the trail gets so nice. Also at the top of Bear Mountain there were vending machines. I stopped and had a couple of Cokes and some Pringles Potato Chips from the machine. Then I climbed the tower and looked at the views. Another cool thing was that there was a group of reporters there doing reviews of new cars. They had several family style cars but also, a Bentley, Austin Martin, Audi R8, Corvette, a Fiat 500 Abarth, and an AMG Merc. After drooling over the cool cars for a while I continued on and hiked down the mountain to the park that is at the lowest point on the AT. I hiked through a zoo and got to see 2 Black Bears and some other animals. There was also another vending machine, this time with Ice Cream. Then it was across the Hudson River, it's all up hill from here to Mt. Washington. The trail and tredway actually was kind to me this afternoon and I was able to make up some time. It is nice not having to walk on rocks that poke you in the foot all day.
Date: 2012-05-18
From: Mile 1410.3 Stream/tent site

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 90 752.3 to goToday's hike wasn't too bad. I slept great last night and got up and out of the campsite and on the trail at 7:45 this morning. The trail was nice for the most part today. It was rough and I actually lost the trail for a while hiking around Fahnestock State Park, I got some nice views though. Mostly today was about making up miles and hoping that my foot doesn't hurt too much. I stopped at NY 52 and went in for an early dinner around 4pm and had pizza and soda. Then it was 4 more miles to the shelter. The shelter is full tonight so I am tenting.
Date: 2012-05-19
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Ten Mile River Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 91 731.7 to goToday's hike worked out really well. The weather was nice and the trail was smooth and there were some good climbs and descents. I got started from Morgan Stewart Shelter at about 7am and I made it to NY22 almost exactly at noon. So, I walked the .6 miles off trail to go to Toni¢s Deli, very much worth it. At NY22 there is an Amtrak stop at that location were the train stops on weekends coming up from the city. So there were a lot of day hikers out on the trail from NYC. From the highway after lunch I spent about a mile walking through cow pastures and hay fields, I always enjoy walking through fields. Tonight I am spending in Connecticut. I am so glad to be out of NY and into New England. Tomorrow I'll stop into Kent, CT for hotel, good food, and resupply.
Date: 2012-05-20
From: Ten Mile River Shelter

To: CT 341, Kent, CT
Miles today: 8.7

Day 92 723.0 to goToday's hike was short but intense. I was up and out of the shelter this morning just after 8. The trail was nice, very scenic to walk through but tough as I said. There were a lot of steep climbs and some rocks to navigate, but nothing like PA, NJ, or NY. I have also been told by others up the trail that CT is tough in the beginning but that it clears up and gets nice for the next 50 miles or so. I am in Kent today running my errands; it is Sunday so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to get into the Library to update my journal. I also think that I am going to send my tent ahead of me on the trail. Looking at my guide book there are a lot of shelters along the trail between here and NH so I shouldn't have any trouble finding space at a shelter. I will also not miss carrying the extra 3 pounds or so that my tent weighs. Tonight I am at the Fife and Drum Inn and Restaurant. I have had probably the best meal I have had in a very long while tonight. I also was able to get a very good glass of wine to go with my dinner so I am a very happy boy. I had a New York style Clam chowder with Chorizo and followed that with Lamb Chops. MMMMM GOOD! Well, tomorrow will be a short day as well; I'll likely not get out of town until after lunch.
Date: 2012-05-21
From: CT 341, Kent, CT

To: Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 93 716.0 to goLazy day today. I got up and walked into town to get some coffee then went back to the Inn and had a breakfast of bananas and a peach that I had picked up at the grocery store yesterday. After that I made my way to the doctors office. I've had a ... lump just below the belt that I noticed a few weeks ago and have been ignoring it until now. Turns out, I found out at the doctor's office, that the lump was a hernia. I talked to the doc and of course he recommended surgery, but also said that I could go a while without having an issue or I may have an issue soon. I opted to keep hiking for now and if it gets to bothering me too much I'll get off the trail and head home to take care of it. Hopefully, I can complete the hike before having to go in for surgery to fix the hernia. So, after that bit of bad news I headed over to the post office and mailed my tent up to New Hampshire; looking at the trail guide I shouldn't need it until I get there and I won't miss carrying the extra 3 pounds or so, especially now. Then it was off to the library to do my journal updates and then I stopped in for lunch before I left town. I hiked out of Kent just after noon and planned on a short day hiking into the Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter, and wouldn't you know it just as I walked out of town it started raining. It would continue to rain off and on for the rest of the afternoon which made footing on the rocks interesting. The first 5 miles or so out of town were challenging almost constantly up or down and some very steep and rocky down hills which combined with the rain making all the rocks slippery, made things interesting. The last couple of miles though were a very easy walk along the Housatonic Rive with nice even tread-way and soft dirt under foot. I was into the shelter fairly early for me, around 4, but that gave me time to dry out before settling in for the night. The next shelter was 10 miles away and that was just too far to go in the rain that late in the day.
Date: 2012-07-11
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, it looks like my hike is over. I don¢t feel like I quit though since it is for health reasons that I am not able to return to the trail. Why is the hike over? Well, as I prepared to leave to get back on the trail the week of the 4th having recovered from the Hernia operation. Then I had another health issue. This time I was passing out for no reason and ended up in the emergency room. Long story short¢¦ my heart was ¢dancing like a white dude¢; meaning that it was out of rhythm and slow. The doctors ended up installing a pacemaker. I can still hike with the pacemaker, but the recovery time puts me outside the weather window for completing the hike this year. Bummer, I still hiked 1480 miles though. I¢ll have to become a section hiker if I am to finish now¢¦ maybe¢¦. That's all from me, I may go back to hiking next year but maybe not. For now it is back to the real world with a job and everything so, so long.
Date: 2012-03-17
To: Back from Wisconsin
Miles today: 0.0

Many who know me know that I have spent the past two and a half months working at a camp in Wisconsin. My time in the north woods was very refreshing after finishing my 22 year career of being a student. It was nice to get out of the business of urban living, and enjoy the intense community of the camp staff while working hard to serve all the campers. My tasks included cleaning cabins, washing dishes, shoveling snow, renting ski/snowboard equipment, helping kids up the tow rope, pushing them down the tube hill, and running the stores (concessions, coffee, gifts). I learned a lot of new skills (snowboarding, cross-country skiing, digging cars out of 2' of snow, ice fishing, etc.) and I made a lot of great and (hopefully) life-long friends.On a fun note, on the drive home, we stopped at a friend's house in VA. He took us on the AT for a short hike, where I crossed my first state line into WV! He also showed us a beautiful swimming hole that I hope to return to when I've actually hiked my way to WV.The next two weeks for me involve seeing lots of people and getting all my ducks in a row, before I start around the beginning of April. Oh, and I still have some gear to buy.
Date: 2012-03-21
To: iPod?
Miles today: 0.0

So one of my gear needs is a good but small camera. It occurred to me that iPhones and iPod touches take great pictures. I am in the Apple Store trying one out. As you can see, I can post online from this thing. In addition to pictures, it also makes a great ereader and music player. With this thing and Internet, I won't need any other electronic device!EDIT: So as it turns out, the iTouch has a terrible camera in it, so I bought a used iPhone off of my cousin. 3MP compared to 0.6MP.
Date: 2012-03-31
To: Why Do This?
Miles today: 0.0

So I just finished up the last thing for my Master's degree in counseling this weekend. Been working on this degree for seven years. Uf-da! A wonderful weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Now my plans are to spend some time with family and finish up the last of my preparations.Many have wondered why someone like myself would want to take on such a considerable undertaking. I'll try and list some reasons, but don't expect the list to be exhaustive.1) It's mountains and hiking and camping and streams and nature!2) For once in my life, I want to do something I want to do, rather than just taking the most pragmatic path.3) I want to challenge myself and see how much drive and determination I have, and how much tribulation I can persevere through.4) I want to meet people more different from myself.5) A man from the 2nd century AD once said, "The glory of God is a human being fully alive." I think the trail will help me to understand what that really means in my own life.6) There are some ways I'd like to see myself grow and mature on the trail:a) patienceb) less self-focusc) greater emotional ranged) greater appreciation for poetrye) more bodily, locational, and relational presence of mind (less off in my own world)f) an expanded comfort zoneg) greater self-knowledge
Date: 2012-04-03
To: Final Preparations and Mail Drops
Miles today: 0.0

Bought the last of my gear today! Hopefully I will have time to go through it all, and list it item by item with weight to satisfy everyone's curiosity. Tomorrow I'll be in Charleston to visit my sister and her family. From there, it's off to the trail in GA on Friday! 3 more days. Feeling very excited, and a little nervous. For all that I've read, I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing.Anyways, I've posted my mail drop locations where you can send me care packages and postcards. There's a link to the left which lists the addresses, and my estimated arrival date. They're positioned roughly every 300 miles apart. How this works is that you send them to the post office in town where they will hold the package for me. Two key facts about sending me things:1) Don't send anything last minute as the arrival dates are VERY guesstimated.2) Warn me ahead of time by email or what have you, so that I know there is actually something there for me, as the post office isn't open 24/7.3) And for a bonus, here's a link with all sorts of handy info about sending me stuff.
Date: 2012-04-05
To: Leaving tomorrow!
Miles today: 0.0

Early tomorrow morning my dad and I leave Charleston for the trailhead! Today has been spent hanging out with family. We went to downtown and explored. I still have last minute things to do, like putting seam sealant on my tent and waterproofing on the leather parts of my boots. Unfortunately, either I came down with a cold or my allergies are going crazy. The upside is that this should force me to take it easy the first few days and not overdo it on my knees.
Date: 2012-04-06
From: Springer

To: Three Forks, USFS 58
Miles today: 4.3

4/6My day started at4:30 am, driving with my dad from Charleston to Amicalola Falls State Park, arriving around 11:15. There we ate lunch at the lodge (think The Shining only with people around), signed my name in the thru-hiker register at the visitor center, and weighed my pack (35 lbs. with 3 days of food and 2 liters of water). They also have live snakes of every indigenous species. Now I know what the poisonous snakes look like. Lastly, a man brought out a barn owl and was showing him off. This park is the start of the approach trail which leads 8.8 miles up to the top of Mt. Springer, with an elevation change of 2080'. We skipped this trail and drove 30 min to the parking lot that's a mile from the top!The weather was rainy all morning, but thankfully it turned to fog by the time I hit the trail. Unfortunately, this meant that there was no view at the top of Springer. At the top, I talked to a few guys, some thrus, some not, then headed back down the mountain, retracing that 1st mile to the parking lot. (Not 10 min after leaving the summit, the sun came out and started to burn off the fog.) There I met Mountain Squid. He was keeping a log of all the hikers.  There were 19 thru-hikers ahead of me who started that day (62 started on 4/1).I was surprised at how quickly my psyche accepted this as my new reality. I expected some trepidation but experienced very little. Being my first day, I took it easy. That gave me plenty of time to figure out how to cook with my stove and how to bear bag my food (hang in a tree in such a way that a bear can't get it).
Date: 2012-04-07
From: Three Forks, USFS 58

To: Gooch Gap, USFS 42
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

4/7Woke up at 5am because I had to pee.  Since it was so cold out, I had to put on all my clothes to relieve myself. The inside of my rainfly was drenched; all the moisture in my breath had condensed. I decided to just go ahead and pack up camp and eat breakfast at Hawk Mountain Shelter a few miles away. I got to hear an owl and a turkey along the way!At the shelter I met X  and Teddy and we hiked together for the day. While hiking, we passed a squad of Army Rangers. They were moving pretty slow. We passed a 70-something yo man thru-hiking. He has MS and a service dog (Dakota, husky breed, beautiful dog) who helps pull him up off the ground and up mountains. We had lunch with some older heavy set ladies who were thru-hiking, Rally and Brenda.  They had only made it 1.9 miles in an entire day of hiking the previous day and they were just then tearing down their campsite from that night. We left them, still tearing down, around 1pm. one of them was a smoker to boot. Somewhere on down the trail, at the bottom of a steep descent, the light struck the leaves and undergrowth in such a way that everything was just radiating green. It looked like a scene in a movie and that a fairy was going to show up and do something magical.That evening, we stopped at Gooch Mountain Shelter for dinner. We ate with two guys from Germany (Mike and Daniel, flew over just to thru-hike, but they didn't meet each other until getting state-side), Chainsaw, and Laura. One of the Germans made spaghetti and as soon as the smell of dehydrated tomato sauce hit my nose, it gave me a bad craving for pizza.  After dinner, X and I decided to head on a few more miles. The camp site turned out to be a lovely grassy open space. Teddy didn't join us as we were hiking too fast for him.Lessons learned today: 1) The waist belt doesn't need to be that tight to keep weight off your shoulders. Mine rubbed the skin right off.2) The waist belt must be worn at all times. To get relief from my raw skin, I unbuckled the belt and carried the pack on my shoulders. My shoulders knotted up real bad. Eventually, I covered the skin with duct tape to protect it.
Date: 2012-04-10
From: Poplar Stamp Gap

To: Cheese Factory Site
Miles today: 12.0

4/10It was nice to have our morning start with a downhill for once. The trail followed an old logging road so it was wide, smooth, and easy ups and downs. The trail eventually left the road to head up the mountain, only to join it again a half-mile later. Frustrating. Along the way we kept crossing paths with Joe and Big Man. At one point, the four of us were resting on the trail where there was a spring 50 yds down the mountain. I was digging around in my pack to get a snack when I knocked my clothes bag out and it rolled down the mountain, stopping just short of the spring. We all had a short moment of terror before laughing hysterically.X and I stopped for lunch at Blue Mountain Shelter where we met Big Man's friend, Keystone. Eventually, Sunbeam and later Guano joined us, where we got to hear his hilarious story of his trail name change. As we were leaving, Lisa, The Detective, Chainsaw, Wild Bill, and Cheetah came up to have lunch. Cheetah got his name because he started off at a 20 miles a day pace which was too much for his knees and he had come off Blood Mtn with a terrible limp.  I was surprised he made it out of Neels Gap.The weather was very fickle. It was brisk and breezy in the morning. At lunch it grew overcast on us and sprinkled, well more like spit on us. This was quickly followed by sunny and HOT. When we got to the bottom of Blue Mountain, at Unicoi Gap (many got off the trail here to head into town for resupply, or medical attention in Cheetah's case) we could see a storm blowing up the valley. We quick put on our rain gear and booked it straight up Rocky Mountain to get into the next valley. It didn't work and we got pretty wet, though it never rained hard, just very steady. Unfortunately hurrying straight up and down a steep mountain did a number on our right knees. The night proved to be incredibly gusty with sustained winds at least around 20 mph. Also, at Unicoi Gap, we met thru hikers Dave and Carl. Carl is from near Yosemite and was amazed that the AT was more rugged than trails out west. Dave was a rather Eeyore character about everything.We decided to pull up early and camp at a site called the Cheese Factory. Apparently, in the 1830s, there was a dairy on the spot. When we were arrived at the spot we were greeted by trail angels!  Burt, Freedom, and Carefree had packed in a picnic table, a folding table, a camp grill, and coolers of soda and beer. We got to enjoy AYCE hot dogs, chips, carrots, brownies, soda and beer. AMAZING!  Wild Bill, Sunbeam, and Beer Grylls were already there when we arrived. Later came Guano and Lisa. Chainsaw didn't show up until after the angels packed up and left. Beer Grylls has already done the PCT and much of the CDT. He's in his 70s and complained that his 20# pack was too heavy. He's not even packing a tent. This guy is bad-a.Lessons learned today:1) Go SLOW down steep hills. Your knees will thank you.2) Rain gear was a good investment.
Date: 2012-04-11
From: Cheese Factory Site

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

4/11The wind was howling all day today. It was freezing! We were slow to get out of camp as a result but we didn't have far to go today. The first climb was up Tray Mountain. On the way up, water on the trail was frozen. Coming down was a firefighter with his search and rescue dog out for a day hike. The dog smells each person and remembers them in case anyone goes missing.  At the top was a beautiful view and some of our pack soaking up the sun to warm up. There were also two NGS benchmarks so now I have something to post on geocaching.com! We stopped at Addis Gap for lunch where I took a catnap in the sun. I lost my pocket knife and I think that it fell out here. We stopped at Deep Gap Shelter for the night. The shelter is downhill off the gap and so it was nice to finally get out of the wind. Last night's crew stopped here as well (minus Beer Grylls), plus we were joined by Mike, Cheetah, and The Detective. The Professor took a bad fall today and so went back into town.
Date: 2012-04-12
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap; US 76
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: clear sky

4/12We woke up at 6am because we had to hike 3.6 miles to Dicks Creek Gap because the shuttle was going to pick us up at 9:30. The temp was at least as low as 24*F, and I only have a 40* sleeping bag. The shelter trapped some heat though and it was my best sleep since leaving home. However, packing up was freezing cold so I booked it out of camp well before everyone else. I got to the top of the mountain in time to eat breakfast while watching the sunrise.  While eating I heard an eagle.  We all made it with plenty of time to spare. While waiting, a sketch dude kept pestering us to give us a ride into town. When he wasn't pestering us, he was talking about pot. Apparently, he agrees to one price but then won't let them out until they pay a much higher price.Gary owns the Blueberry Patch, the hostel where we stayed the night. He drops the hikers off every morning at the trail and picks up his next set of guests. Once we all got showered and he got our laundry done, he dropped us off in town to resupply.First, we went to Daniel's Steakhouse, which had an AYCE buffet that was amazing and cheap. Then we hit the town. While I did Internet, my group picked up their mail drops at the post office. The plan was to eventually meet back at the grocery store. They weren't there 1.5 hrs later, so I assumed I missed them. Once I finished my errands I had to hitch back. I was a little worried because someone else in our group had the pack to identify us as hikers (i.e., not killers) and I didn't want to deal with the sketch guy if he showed up. Luckily, after about ten minutes, an elderly couple with the same last name as me stopped to give me a ride.  First time hitchhiking a success!  When I got back, my group had not made it back and we had also gained some others. My group eventually made it back though.  In all, we had X, Wild Bill, The Professor, The Detective, Guano, Lisa, Sunbeam, Cory, Gina, Reaper, and No Direction Home. In the morning, only 8.9 mi until NC!!Some funny hiker gossip:1) Wild Bill had packed a frisbee but Mountain Squid (Springer) talked him out of it. We would have been able to play with it and were bummed.Beer Grylls pack is well under 30 pounds, incl. food and water, yet he complains that it is too heavy. He doesn't carry a tent or sleeping pad, and if it rains, he puts a couple of trash bags over his sleeping bag. When offered a pad for the night, he said, "What, are you trying to soften me up?" His first stop after Springer is the NOC, 137 mi away, because there's a pub right on the trail.Lessons learned today:1) If somewhere it itches for a few weeks, look at it because you probably have ringworm.2) Always carry extra fuel. All the outfitters in town closed retardedly early, and the one that didn't, doesn't carry fuel.  I walked all over town to no avail, but thankfully some guys at the hostel had extra.