morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-05-19
From: leroy smith shelter

To: delaware water gap, pa
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: light rain

The world is ending; I'm actually doing today's journal entry today in town.We slept in again. We wanted to get up early but oh well.Back into the wet clothes and on the trail with some amazing blue skies.Some ridge running to Wind Gap where we did our last transfer in PA. This next section is supposedly the worst and rockiest in PA. I'm not convinced. The climb up was steep and we passed a puffing weekender. Said some words of encouragement and made it sound like it was tough on us too, but we flew past him. It's nice having trail legs.There were some rocks on the trail, but we still pulled at our normal speed, even a little faster at times. Not a big deal at all, definitely not worth all the bitching about we have heard since the start of the trail.We were booking because we were heading into yet another town to yet another free hostel. Hard to pass up free stays with showers directly on the trail.Got to the hostel. We are right on the boarder of PA and NJ, the Delaware River separates the two states two tenths up the trail from here. Northern New Jersey for a few days before New York and New England.Hit up the outfitter here. I bought some new insoles since I could see the impression of my foot in the old ones. The old ones were much thinner than the new ones by comparison. Probably a good purchase.Great bakery here but we held off. Probably hit it tomorrow morning. We were considering eating whole pies each for dinner. We ended up just getting 16" pizzas each instead. They were sufficient with a 2 liter of pop.Back to the hostel and talked with the pastor of the church and some other people who stopped by. Sunnyside and Pebbles are here; they are resuming a thru-hike they stopped here last year. Unfortunately we will be going much faster than them.Showers two days apart. Can't beat that. Even have real soap ands shampoo this time. Its been like 300 miles since we last had that luxury. That's just a guess, I don't even remember.Now I would like to clear up a few misconceptions about PA for any hikers reading this. We had been hearing untrue horror stories about this state since the beginning.Comment:Response:C: "You can't do 20 mile days in PA"R: We had 2 days under 20 miles, and we did a 30. BS.C: "you will go for days on the trail without seeing the ground because of the rocks"R: Umm...maybe a tenth or so, completely untrue.C: "The rocks will really slow you down"R: We did the "worst" section today, and actually averaged faster than our normal speed.C: "PA sucks"R: well, no views but the trail was incredibly easy; we even had a 20 mile day with NO climbs. Its all ridge running.Theres a lot of advice given on the trail ahead by people who have heard something on the trail ahead, most of it can be safely ignored. PA was EASY, and we were all led to believe it would suck.End rant. I'm out
Date: 2008-05-21
From: brink road shelter

To: rutherford shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: few clouds

Well, the rain stopped for good before we set up camp last night, but the fog-rain continued through the night. Everything that wasn't wet last night was now wet. One of those days.Broke camp as quickly as we could and headed out to Branchville to resupply {no resupply in Delaware Water Gap}.We got to the road to Branchville and put out our thumbs. Took a while to get a hitch, and we got one just as we were about to start walking. Turns out it was only two and a half miles or so, but that's most of an hour walking.The store was really expensive; we hope it doesn't stay this expensive for the rest of the trip.Tried hitching back, but it wasn't working so we started walking and hitching. A couple cops passed when we were obviously trying to hitch, but apparently they didn't know or care {we just found out hitching is illegal in NJ, and possibly NY}.A bit into our walk we came to a diner, so we figured why not. They had a Monte Cristo, so I had to get that. Pretty good but different than what I've had before. As we were heading out a guy in a full size van started talking to us about how he hiked the trail and all that. TB and I were thinking we scored a ride. Instead he said its a rough walk back up the hill to the trail and took off. WTF??Back to walking. A guy in a VW with a roof rack passed and later came back. He gave us a ride. Turns out we were less than a mile from the trail. Oh well, at least we got there.Lazy pace for a while. Stopped at a pavilion on top of a mountain that gave stunning views for miles around. We watched the storm that just gave us its all rain on other people and were glad it was done with us.My ankle started hurting a little after that break. Got to the next shelter and had a snack and some Vitamin I. All better.The clouds started closing in again as I was approaching the next shelter. TB was ahead because I was going slower. Just as I got to the sign to the turn off, the first thunder came. TB hadn't gone in, so I kept going. I was on top of a mountain by the way. Then the rain and wind started up. Then there was a one second count between lightning and thunder. Then I saw TB booking it back towards me. I knew his intention, so I turned around and we wheeled it back to the shelter. I was dodging some brush going sull speed and I hit a log with my forehead. My forehead absorbed all my momentum. Can still feel it. Of course the storm had passed by the time we got there and the skies were already clearing, but we decided to stay anyways. It was still threatening to rain, and we were somewhat dry for once. Boots was there and he also said the next shelter was probably full with people he met heading there. Justified.Will have to make it up tomorrow but it should work. Getting crowded around here. Memorial Day weekend is coming.It has now rained 6 days in a row...how long can Mother Nature keep it going?
Date: 2008-05-22
From: rutherford shelter

To: wawayanda shelter
Miles today: 28.3
Weather: light rain

It rained some last night, and when we woke up it was threatening to rain again. We got out early since we were going to do a little makeup today. Cold breakfast and on the trail before 7.We approached what must be high point {we have been in high point state park}. It seemed to be an obelisk like the Washington Monument in DC. The trail veered off though, so we couldn't check it out.Did some emergency privy bombing at the shelter we were going to stay at last night and it turns out there was a school group there that kept the other hikers up late. Full too. Guess it was a good decision to hold up short.The privy at the shelter was handicapped accessible. We have heard that any new privy on the trail has to be so per federal law. Seems pretty silly granted the circumstances. We have noticed some of the newer ones had the railings and stuff.Quick hiking to out lunch spot. Through a valley and mud and swamps. Not much of note. Just booked.The trail did go around a wildlife sanctuary and saw some swans and a bunch of other birds.Steep up to the shelter where we took lunch. We did 17 miles before lunch, that's probably a high for me.Got a deer tick. It was embedded, the first time that happened this trip. I probably caught it early, so hopefully nothing comes of it.The weather was really odd today. It rained 7 or 8 times. It would rain for about five minutes about every hour. By the time we got dry, it would rain again. Now up to 7 days straight with rain.More flat walking for a bit. Crossed a board walk over a swamp and a suspension bridge. The board walk was probably over a mile long, pretty impressive.Uphill to another ridge. Very steep uphill. Most of it was steps as it was up a rather sheer face.Got to the shelter and there was room. May be the last night for a bit we have that luxury because of the holiday. Couple other sectioners here.Long day tomorrow again, shelter spacing sucks but we're doing good. Almost 30 today and we got into camp with plenty of time before 6.
Date: 2008-05-25
From: greymoor spiritual life center pavilion

To: rph shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: clear sky

We went to bed a little late last night since we had electricity. The late church bells didn't help any either. Apparently there was a 4am wake up bell I missed but TB didn't. The 6am bell got both of us up.Didn't feel well rested today. A little stiff and sore {more than normal}. Stopped to stretch out and felt much better. Stopped in another half hour because we were aiming short today and we were being lazy.Nothing special about the terrain before lunch today. We've heard it gets a bit boring for the next few states till we get back in the big hills.Just before lunch we traveled a flat section of trail. The odd thing was it was up on rock walls up to 20 feet high to keep it level. There was a ton of work put into it for no apparent reason. We were confused because the previous trail had no concern for its ease. Straight up and straight down just like the AT likes it.Had lunch at a road. Not scenic or anything, but we like to know where we are when we stop. Lots of weekenders out but that's not surprising. Passed a bunch of them huffing it up a hill. They probably hate that.Hiked a ridge above a lake. There was a beach, and a dip would have been nice because it was pretty hot out, but the trail took us nowhere near it.Hit the shelter very early even though we were going slow and taking breaks. Nice to have a couple lighter days to recuperate. Ha, using a 19 mile day to recuperate. Tell me that back in Georgia.I noticed that today is day 100 since I hit the trail on February 16. Rolled over 1400 miles today and will hit two thirds in a couple days.Nice shelter with carpet and windows. Some sectioners but all tenting. It seems us thru-hikers are the only ones willing to use the shelters lately, especially when there is no rain forecast. Not complaining. Fine with us.Some West Point Cadets we met dropped off some granola bars for us at the shelter. We ate five each for after dinner snacks and took two more for lunch tomorrow.Back to normal running speed tomorrow with a 25ish to within a mile of the NY/CT border.
Date: 2008-05-26
From: rph shelter

To: wiley shelter
Miles today: 25.3
Weather: few clouds

Went to bed early and slept good. Got up early and hit it after yet another unsatisfying breakfast of pop tarts and little debbies {convenience store resupplies suck}.Cruised the 9 miles to the first shelter. It is interesting to see how each different trail club and maintainer blazes their trail. There was a 2 mile section this morning that was absolutely fabulous. The rocks were all cleared off to the side of the trail, nice switchbacks, the works.Got to the first shelter for a break and what do we see but a two pound can of fruit cocktail. The only reason we were contemplating is we would then have to carry out the can. We gave in and destroyed it. Free fruit, no matter how processed is amazing.Down the hill and around a lake for a bit. It was getting hot out but we were on the side of the lake the wind was blowing towards so the water was nasty. Coming from the person whose legs have dirt lines like tan lines that's saying something.Up to the next shelter for lunch. We were doing great and cruising so we took a decent break. There was even more food here. I got some gourmet ravioli and tortellini, the kind that you are supposed to refrigerate. Oh well, its only been here a couple days. Cheese can last that long.On the way down, we met a woman carrying an axe and a daypack. We correctly assumed she was a maintainer and talked a bit. I always go out of my way to thank the maintainers for the work they do. I may complain about the trail at times, but without them it would be much worse.Came to a road and the largest oak tree on the entire trail. It measures 6.5 feet in diameter and is estimated at 300 years old. It was fairly massive, and dwarfed us against its trunk. We talked about what the trail would be like if it was all old growth forest with trees like this.A couple miles later we bumped into another maintainer: Sasquatch, my north American counterpart. We talked for a half hour, and he gave us some good info on the trail ahead and more importantly some of the people ahead and how they are doing. Sounds like quite a few people are still dropping, even way up here. This is a fairly boring section, and its getting to some people. Hope we can make it north in time before it starts up for us.Got to the shelter and met Tumbleweed and Slowandlow. Really nice couple who is doing half the trail this year. The shelter is an original one with the original floor so it will be interesting to sleep on.
Date: 2008-05-28
From: stewart hollow shelter

To: limestone spring lean-to
Miles today: 22.3

Slept awesome last night, awoke well rested and ready for another day. I'm sure a lack of sleep had something to do with yesterday sucking.Started out with a continuation of our river walk. Even walked through some tall grass for a while and didn't get any ticks for once {that I've found}.Back into the hills. Over 7 miles we climbed and descended 7 times. Great fun, but didn't get to us like yesterday.Had lunch by a babbling brook. Its nice to be eating real food this resupply. Junk food sucks, empty calories. We have our favorite lunch along: bagels with PB and honey, and granola bars.We descended back to the river after lunch. Crossed it a couple times and did some more river walking. Came to a hydro-electric plant from where they dammed the river up above. Crossed the river where it was low between the reservoir and plant. There was some nice waterfalls there and some flat river rocks. We elected to take a break there. I soaked my feet in the cold water for a bit. Cleaned them too, they were getting nasty. Felt much better afterwards, a great stop. Also laid in the sun for a while. A nice spot.Back up to the hills. A few more miles to the shelter. Half mile off the trail downhill. Probably should have camped, but we're here now.We saw a bear box on the way in, and were wondering why one of these suddenly popped up. We were answered while eating our dinner. There was some loud crashing, and two year old black bears came tearing down the hill less than a hundred yards away. Didn't even seem to notice we were there. Something had them spooked. Has to be good news. At least we finally saw some bears, in CT of all states.The mosquitoes are getting bad. Enough for now. Hiding in my bag.
Date: 2008-05-29
From: limestone spring lean-to

To: the hemlocks lean-to
Miles today: 17.5

It got cold last night, dipped into the high 30's. Great weather for my summer bag. Gotta get my winter bag back. Didn't sleep the greatest as a result of that and the mosquitoes.Out later than usual but we were intending to do a shorter day today.Walked for a bit and started to go up a lot. We finally did quite a bit of climbing today, and had a couple climbs over a thousand feet.The first climb was high but rather lengthy. No big deal. It was Bear Mountain, the highest mountain in CT. Of course the AT would go over something like that. At the top there was a rock monument since this is the highest point in the state, and it had some stone chairs on the top of it. This was our predetermined lunch spot, and it looked good.We ate lunch and enjoyed an expansive view on a clear day over many miles from our stone lazy boys. Weren't in a hurry so we stayed a long time, about an hour and a half. Rather enjoyable, and we wanted to work on our farmers' tans.Down the hill to a rocky ravine with a stream roaring down it. Traveled along it for a few miles and came to one of those magical signs. This one said "Welcome to Massachusetts." Another one down. Ten down, four to go. Paused for the pictures and pressed on up another mountain.1100 foot climb to the top of this one, but the grade was pretty good. It was sorta nice to be getting up higher again. Haven't had a good high view in a very long time. Helps with morale.As we were nearing the top, we started traveling along some cliffs with quite a drop off. Expansive views that probably nearly reached the ocean. Fantastic terrain.Back down and on to the final up of the day. The highest one. 700 feet in less than a mile. In other words it was steep. We climbed straight up it on rocks, putting too much trust in the traction of our shoes. It got our hearts a pumping, and our shirts wet. Oh well, we needed to get the salt stains back since our rain storm a few days ago.Not much of a view, so back down a mile to the shelter. An old woman was already there, solo hiking the trail in sections. Done this far north, and is carrying a heavier pack than us. Pretty amazing. She is probably in here 70's.There is also a Palestinian? couple here. Just guessing, but I would put money on that. At least we have some diverse company tonight. More so than the average group of white guys.Got the woman's left over food, and some granola bars from some other hikers. Can't complain.Mosquitoes are bad again. Wonder if they are out for good now. If they are, we had quite a run of it. Annoying, but still trying to do it without repellant. Silk liner seems to work well as a bug net. May just start tenting more.
Date: 2008-05-30
From: the hemlocks lean-to

To: mt. wilcox south lean-to
Miles today: 19.7

Back to our normal routine this morning. We think the Israeli couple that is here is of mixed religions - one is Jewish and the other Muslim. I bet that is rough back home.We did a little descending today and entered an absolute war zone. We were bombarded by clouds of mosquitoes. It was following TB, and at any time there was a cloud of 50 to 100 following him. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. It was absolutely miserable and ridiculous. We couldn't stop because we would be eaten alive, and at any moment in time there was at least one mosquito biting us. We put up our poles and literally just started brushing our arms non stop. Every brush killed two or so. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. We met some other hikers that did that section four years ago and they also vividly remembered the same thing happening to them.This made us decide that we would bite the bullet and buy insect repellant for the first time. We half ran to the next road that led to a town and decided to just resupply there as well. As we were preparing to stick out our thumbs, a woman asked us if we were going into town. She gave us a ride in.The supermarket was amazing. Huge selection and good prices. I'm switching up my dinner. Instead of a Lipton which is noodles with seasoning, I'm just buying noodles and bullion cubes. I'll see how it goes.Had lunch at a bagel shop. Didn't have bagels since we do every day, but the Rueben and Caesar salad was good.Thumbed for about 30 seconds and acquired a ride. Just get lucky a lot of the time, its all about getting the right person.Back to the trail. Town food tore me up. It was like my stomach was saying "what, this isn't noodles and tuna, it has to be poison." Therefore climbing out sucked for me.The last two days we've had nice views back to where we've been. Its always cool to see the mountain you climbed and know you climbed that and you were there that morning.Decided to hold up a little short today since we stopped in town. Make it up tomorrow, and we were beat. Hot day today. Back to rain supposedly tomorrow.
Date: 2008-05-31
From: mt. wilcox south lean-to

To: october mountain lean-to
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: light rain

Bugs weren't bad last night, guess it depends on the area. Up and out as usual.Nothing special about the terrain this morning. On the low ridges again for a few days. Finished up our current ridge and went down to a valley to transfer. In the valley we apparently passed through an Indian reservation briefly.Snack break on the other side of the valley before starting the climb up to the next ridge.Few miles later we took lunch. Ate by a road since it was a little windy and that seemed the best way to stay away from the bugs. As we were eating, a group rolled up, and I heard my name hollered. It was Sasquatch on a southbound section hike. We chatted for a bit, and got a little info on where people were. He almost had us convinced to stay at the next shelter since it was on a lake and had a caretaker who cooked pancakes in the morning. That is one of our most dreamed about meals, but we wanted to go further.One of the guys in the group was wearing a full body bug suit. Looked like that was all he was wearing too. Luckily there were some conveniently placed patches of material. Looked pretty goofy.Back to the trail. Passed by Goose Lake and the cabin. Didn't stop.About this time it started raining. Actually didn't mind since it was almost like we were getting a partial shower. The salts and oils were running down my face. Could taste them.It quit after a couple hours. Almost rather it kept going since it keeps the bugs down.Crossed I-90 and hit an uphill. Lots of boggy areas for the remainder of the day. Luckily there were boards for most of them, but there were still bugs. Got to one bog and the AT went straight into it through a foot of water. We managed to bypass it by blazing through a bunch of brush, but it wasn't fun. The boardwalk was submerged. Maybe there was a new beaver dam or something.Shelter was shortly after. A scout troop was there, but they quickly cleared out some space for us. Can't complain. Talked to the scouts and leaders a bunch about backpacking and our trip. They are going to Philmont this year, so there was a lot of good questions.Started pouring rain around dinner. Thunder and lightning too. Glad we decided to stay. Should sleep good tonight.