morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-08
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Campsite with a view
Miles today: 14.1

We camped at a really beautiful overlook of the rural Pennsylvania countryside. Today was possibly the rockiest terrain yet as you can see in the picture. We walked on rocks all day; everyone has sore feet (you can see our group of 8 in the photo album section). Several in our group will probably try to buy boots in Delaware Water Gap, that¢s the next town that we come to. Almost everyone has a mail drop planned for Delaware Water Gap since the trail goes right past the post office, so that makes it pretty convenient. Tomorrow is our last day in Pennsylvania, so tonight we were discussing several of the ¢highs and lows¢ of Pennsylvania. Many more ¢highs¢ than ¢lows,¢ as you can read about in the previous entries. There were a lot of nice people, nice countryside, hostels, and towns, but the rocks were killer on our feet. After tomorrow we¢ll have less than 900 miles to complete the hike and on Tuesday we¢ll have walked through seven states! We¢ll have walked through: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. We¢ll also still have seven states left to go through: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Date: 2012-07-09
From: Campsite with a view

To: Delaware Water Gap, Penn
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: broken clouds

Walked into Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania this morning. DWG is a quaint town that was once a bustling tourist town and provided an escape from the heat for people living in large eastern cities. As many of the smaller towns we have seen, the people are exceptional but many of the historical buildings have seen better days. We went directly to a church run hostel - Presbyterian Church of the Mountain. They have hosted hikers since 1973. In the church basement is a bunkroom, bathroom, shower with towels, fans, snacks and nice furniture - only for AT thru-hikers and all for the incredible recommended donation price of 3 dollars. One of the amazing things about The Trail is the generosity of people and organizations that you have never met and will never meet again. Everyday we experience it and hear other stories from other hikers. It is strange because I probably have experienced more generosity in the past 3 months than in the last 3 years. You do not even feel weird asking for something you need from people along the trail (hikers or town people) because you will probably receive it. There is something magic about The Trail that does not exist elsewhere in America. I can't help but think how much better this country would be if everyone helped each other out when there was a real need (and people did not take advantage of each other - having a real need and willingness to give if you have it). Pretty idealistic but we see it every day.
Date: 2012-07-10
From: Delaware Water Gap, Penn

To: Random Acts of Kindness
Miles today: 13.4

It's our first night in New Jersey and tonight we're camping in the middle of the woods at Rattlesnake Spring Campground. Yesterday I talked in the blog about random acts of kindness--unsolicited kindness. And today was another really amazing example. I walked about 6 miles up a mountain and I was sitting down eating some snacks when a hiker came up to me from the other direction, he was heading south. He asked me if I was on Trail Journals and I said, "Yeah, I'm the in-laws." He said, "Oh, I read your journal this morning at 3am and I really liked it. I saw that you were hiking with 8 people." (Thanks, Chris and Rachel for updating the blog and pictures...I told you people read it!) He then pulled out 8 super-sized candy bars! He wanted me to carry all of the candy bars and give them to the 7 other people in the group, but I told him, "no they're coming up behind me, you ought to give it to them yourself." So he actually kept walking down the mountain and gave them to the people coming up. He needed to get down the mountain kind of in a hurry because he had a 12pm meeting he had to go to, but I couldn't believe that he took the time out of his day to give some trail magic to strangers he had just read about. I'd like to thank the gentleman who gave us the candy bars as he was on his way to a meeting. I hope he comes back to the blog and reads this so he knows that his random, unsolicited act of kindness was really appreciated. It's peoples' generosity and support that keep us hikers going. Thank you for your kindness; I hope you find the time to walk the trail!
Date: 2012-07-11
From: Rattlesnake Spring Campground

To: Branchville, NJ
Miles today: 17.9

We stayed in the woods by Gren Anderson Shelter. It was a nice day to hike. We took about a 20 minute nap and walked 0.3 miles to buy a chili dog from a highway vendor. We came out of the mountains and into Branchville, New Jersey and sat by a beautiful lake drinking beers and eating chili dogs. We actually had to come in through the back entrance of the bar and sit in a designated corner because we're hikers and we smell bad! But the refreshing beer and gorgeous view is worth it. We have two more big mile days until we have a break. Rhino¢s feet are really starting to get swollen but he keeps pushing on. Besides walking over 1300 miles, we can¢t figure out what¢s going on with his feet, so hopefully a day off will help him. We¢re going to do that on Saturday. We also need to get Rhino back to the doctor so we need to figure out where we¢re going to be next week Friday.
Date: 2012-07-12
From: Branchville, NJ

To: Murray Cabin
Miles today: 18.4

We knew the temperature was going to be about 90 degrees today--it's hot so many of the springs are drying up. We knew it was going to be a tough water day so we all left with about 2-3 quarts of water. After about 6 miles we came across 6 gallons of water in jugs that someone put next to the trail for hikers¢some more trail magic, some more unsolicited acts of kindness. So we filled up and walked another 6 miles to a state park. There, someone said that the Friends of the High Point State Park bought cases of soda for thru-hikers so all we had to do was go to the office and say that we were thru-hikers and we¢d get a free coke. And of course we filled up with water too so that was pretty nice. After getting water and soda we moved on and walked another 8 miles. We came to an 85 acre farm with a heated cabin, large grassy tent area, water, hot water showers, an amazing view--it was a truly amazing farm. It's really an entire 85 acre farm that a guy maintains just for thru-hikers. You can actually take a look at the farm and read a little article if you follow the link: dirt-mag.com, and take a look at the July/August 2012 edition. It's just an amazing guy and place. It¢s so peaceful and tranquil you can¢t believe it. We had three random acts of kindness today, which was also pretty great.Also today we saw a really big mama bear, I¢d say 450 pounds, with 3 cubs, which was pretty interesting. We also saw 2 male deer, one of them had big horns, and then also a doe. And, our hiking partner saw a rattlesnake (it's in the pictures). So it was a pretty good day for wildlife too.
Date: 2012-07-13
From: Murray Cabin

To: Wawayanda, NY
Miles today: 18.5

Actually crossed into New York today but we will go back into NJ in a couple of days. We all felt tired today. Guess the long days with a full pack in high heat and humidity is starting to take its toll. Water continues to be scarce. We resupplied from a questionable stream today that looked way too yellow. Again, thankful for our purification systems. For about the past week we have walked with the same group of hikers. Some days one will drop out for a reason only to catch back up. Many of our group have something to do next weekend so we will probably split for a while. In our case, we need to find a doctor for Rhino. Someone commented today that for the first time it feels like we are going down hill. We have completed 1356 miles and have 828 to go. We all hope our bodies hold up.
Date: 2012-07-14
From: Wawayanda , NY

To: Warwick, NY
Miles today: 10.0

Walked down the mountain to a State Park and caught a ride into town. We will stay at a motel tonight. We need to replenish our food, take a shower, wash clothes and do the other town chores (eat and sleep as much as we can). We all needed this because the heat took its toll this week. Watkins, NY is actually about 50 miles from The City, as locals call NYC. It has a lot of neat architecture. Also, enjoyed a really good sandwich from a local Deli (these types of Delis do not exist in WI). Today we watched a parade of firetrucks. It¢s hard to believe, a parade of nothing but firetrucks and fire department guys wearing their dress uniforms and marching. The parade was an hour and 15 minutes long¢incredible, I¢ve never seen anything like it. It must have been a whole county-worth of fire trucks, but like I said it was an hour and 15 minutes. Then at the end they had about 50 old tractors so that was kind of neat too. At night there was an arts festival in the town park and we were able to listen to a couple of bands that came out from Brooklyn, NY.Also, want to take this time to thank my wife again. We talk everyday and each time I forget to thank her and my family, especially my sister Cheryl for their support and for taking care of my dad, our kids, our cat, our home, our garden, and everything else. Think of all of you often. Beate, looking forward to seeing you in Maine and taking a vacation together. Love you.
Date: 2012-07-15
From: Border New Jersey/New York

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: broken clouds

We made it to the border of New York by 11:00 am today. So glad to be out of New Jersey 8 down 6 to go - In-laws Last night our group of 7 slept at various locations, so it was a great coincidence that we all linked back up at the same time where we quit the day before. We got ourselves a new name--we're calling the whole group "The Walking Wounded." It's a fitting name because Voltron, Rhino, Chameleon and Pick-Up all have foot problems and Spice Man (me), Roboticus and Passion Flower all have knee problems. Everybody in our group is either living on Ibuprofen or has their feet elevated or something because we're all in lots of pain.Right now we've got a really vicious thunder, lightning and rainstorm. It's almost 7:30pm so everyone's in their tent by now, trying to keep dry. This is supposed to last for quite a while so we'll see how the storm affects our hike. We actually crossed into New York from New Jersey, so New Jersey is now behind us. That means we've completed 8 states and only have 6 more to go. When we came out of the mountains we crossed the road, and to our west about half a mile was the Bellvale Farms Creamery, a local place that had ice cream. We all got banana splits and enjoyed local ice cream from local cows here in New York. A Note from Beate:John, we miss you very much and continue to wish you and Reinhard the best on your difficult and trying journey...many, many blessings to you, all the hikers out there and all who cross your path!!! Thanks all those Trail Angels (hope to become one myself soon) and everyone who in some way has and will contribute to your safety and well-being. I'd also like to thank those (especially your sister Cheryl) who have been supportive in my well-being during this time. As you wrote, and come to realize, it's the people in your life that matter most. I am grateful that my family and friends and that you and our three wonderful son's (and their girlfriends) stay in close contact with me. I miss you all very much and look forward to seeing you soon <3 Beate
Date: 2012-07-16
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Bear Mountain Harriman State Park
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light rain

We had some tough climbs today, probably the toughest since Virginia. We had planned on doing 19 miles, but we barely made 14 miles and were beat even though we started hiking at 7am. Then again, it was a brutally hot day. Temperatures were close 90 degrees and reminded me of Georgia and North Carolina. We were up and down all day as there were a lot of rock scrambles¢that¢s when you have to kind of pull yourself up rocks. As a matter of fact one time we all had to take our packs off and push our packs up to someone up top and then climb up rock faces without our packs. Later in the day we came across a good size pond and stopped and went swimming. Really it was more for health reasons, to get clean after being so sweaty. Although it was pretty enjoyable being in the water after a long day in the heat. We also used it as an opportunity to wash our clothes, obviously without soap. We just wanted to get the salt and sweat out of our clothes. We still had to walk about another 2 hours after our swimming adventure, so by the time we got to where we set up camp we were sweaty already. But that's life on the AT!
Date: 2012-07-17
From: Bear Mountain Harriman State Park

To: Hudson Highlands State Park
Miles today: 19.3

The day started out fine while hiking through the Fort Montgomery Zoo - we saw the bear cage which is at the lowest point of our hike 110Ft - but it soon turned into another brutally hot and trying day with lots of hills to climb. Rheinhard had lost the mouth piece for his Camel-back, so we walked back looking for it. On our search we found a lost hiker who was obviously dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion. It took a while to get him and his pack to the camp near the Hudson river. Even the drinking water was terribly warm, it was probably the worst we had so far. Every one in our group is in much pain and very exhausted, some even ill with vomit. Our goal for tomorrow is to make it to the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center and sleep on the ground of the Monks Monastery - this would put us at 1399.7 miles.
Date: 2012-07-18
From: Hudson Highlands State Park

To: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

We only did 5 miles today, because we accomplished something more important than getting the miles in. Reinhard saw an Orthopedic and had his cast finally removed. Now that he can hike with two poles in his hands we shall see "Rhino" back on the trail. The temperatures and humidity were high, and we had thunderstorms this afternoon, but that cooled things down.Life has been good to us today!We received trail-magic from Bobby's mom when we arrived at the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center. Bobby (a section-hiker since Harper's Ferry) aka "Pick-up" (because he was always picking up trash along the trail) had to go back home to work on his Masters degree. His mom drove from Pennsylvania to pick him up and brought with her all kinds of goodies: drinks, fruits, vegetables, turkey salad, buns, chips etc. It was really sweet and very generous of her to not only take care of her son but also all of the hikers as well.The grounds and facilities of the Monks Monastery are very nice and well kept, there are showers and water. It's extremely generous on their part to allow us to take over there baseball field. The monks have been taking care of hikers. since 1972. There are a lot of hikers here tonight, 25 all together. 18 tents and 5 hammocks are set up.
Date: 2012-07-19
From: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

To: Upstate NY
Miles today: 18.0

HALLO lIEBE WANDERER UND ALLE DIE MICH KENNEN. HEUTE IST MEIN ERSTER TAG AUF DEM TRAIL OHNE GIBSSCHIENE. ES IST NOCH ETWAS UNGEWOHNT MIT ZWEI STOECKEN ZU WANDERN UND NACHDEM ICH AUSGERUTSCHT BIN HAB' ICH ES ZUNAECHST AUCH ERST MAL WIEDER GELASSEN UND BIN MIT NUR EINEM WANDERSTOCK GEWANDERT, ABER ES WAR GUT! EIN SCHOENES GEFUEHL KEINE GIBSSCHIENE MEHR ZU HABEN!WIR SIND 18 MILEN GEWANDERT UND UEBERNACHTEN HEUTE NACHT WIEDER MAL IN DER WILDNIS IRGENDWO IM WALD 'UPSTATE' NEW YORK. SCHOENE GRUESSE AN ALLE, VORALLEM AN MEINE LIEBE FRAU GISELA. REINHARD 'RHINO' THE GERMAN
Date: 2012-07-20
From: UPSTATE NY

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter, NY
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: moderate rain

We hiked 19 miles through rain today. Amazing, how different the weather has been today compared to yesterday's dry heat. Today it's been so cold and wet. The only thing that remained the same was the humidity, which added to the already difficult and miserable hiking conditions. Today was the first day we met people who are "Southbound" - started in Maine and walking to Georgia. We're putting up tent and going to sleep early tonight trying to stay warm and somewhat dry - it smells bad in my tent right now! We are hoping to find a sunny spot tomorrow so we can dry our stuff. It's 8:30 PM, thinking about the delicious deli sandwich I had this morning. Thought for the day -- the other night while we were sitting around on the Monastery grounds and chatting with other hikers someone said: "if everyone was treated like a through-hiker the world would be a better place". This is so true! Everywhere we go, if people know that we are Through-hikers they will go out of their way to be helpful, kind and most people are very generous.Check out the picture, this is how we collect water!
Date: 2012-07-21
From: Telephone Pioneers Shelter, NY

To: Ten Mile River, Ct
Miles today: 10.0

We started late today because we had to make sure our stuff was dry before taking off. It turned out to be such a nice day. We came across the largest Oak tree on the AT (~ 300 yrs. old), the Appalachian Trail Railroad Station, and a very beautiful lake (Nuclear Lake). We are camping right next to beautiful river. Today we made it into Connecticut! Nine states down with five more to go. It's been a good day!
Date: 2012-07-22
From: Ten Mile River, Ct

To: Stewart Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

We stopped in Kent (the bugs are really bad in Kent) to re-supply and get new pants for Rhino since he has a huge rip in the back of his pants and it is getting larger by the day. Kent is a very nice town for tourists but not for a hiker in need of new clothing. Not only were the designer clothes very expensive but also none of them even fit, so Reinhard is still walking with a huge rip in his pants. (A thought from Beate: If "Dame Quixote" would be there, she would have it patched up in no time with her needle and thread.)Today we received the absolute best trail magic possible in the form of a familiar face. Steve from CT, an AT section hiker who started with us at Springer Mountain, Georgia and shared the trail with us for 10 days, surprised us at the Outfitter in Kent, CT. He invited us for lunch and later surprised us again. He left some Trail magic (snacks, candy, drinks and even ice cubes) in the woods 4 miles past Kent. Steve, if you read this, thanks again. We talked about you tonight and how great the trail magic was on that hot day. It was good to see you and hope you keep hiking.Rhino has a rash on his feet and they have been swollen with pain for a couple of weeks now. His feet need a rest and so do my knees.
Date: 2012-07-23
From: Stewart Hollow Shelter

To: Cornwall Bridge, CT
Miles today: 4.0

After hiking all morning in the rain, the sun is finally coming out as we arrived at our destination for today. We are spending the afternoon in an unincorporated but very quaint little village called Cornwall. After a shower and doing our laundry we headed to the local Country Store where we ate a really excellent deli sandwich and some exquisite salads (something we do not have the opportunity to eat on the trail). And, tonight we will sleep in a soft, warm and dry bed at the Hitching Post Motel. No Internet though and the telephone reception is very poor.
Date: 2012-07-24
From: Cornwall Bridge, CT

To: Falls Village, CT
Miles today: 14.0

The motel owner took us back to the trailhead at about 9:30 AM and we started hiking. Great weather and the trail is becoming much less rocky. We walked to the small village of Falls Village, CT. The owner of the Toymakers Cafe allows through hikers to camp in his backyard. Very generous, and he also provides water and electricity so we can charge our phones.Our little group of hikers that were walking together for the past few weeks have split up. One went home to work on his Master's Degree, one had a foot problem that needed some care, one had a friend come visit and will hike fewer miles for a while, and one has a cousin he wants to visit in MA. That is the life on the trail. For now, Rhino and I are hiking alone but I am sure we'll link back up at some point with some of them and we will find new hiking partners.
Date: 2012-07-25
From: Falls Village, CT

To: Laurel Ridge Campsite, MA
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Another state complete - we are now in MA. Stopped in Salisbury, CT this AM to resupply. Another quaint town with a Yankee flair. The architecture is a bit different but that is something we noticed along the trail - different architecture in different regions of the country.
Date: 2012-07-26
From: Laurel Ridge Campsite, MA

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 15.0

It rained this morning so all our equipment and clothes stayed wet today. I really dislike hiking in wet boots--that means shriveled feet in the evening. It was a bad water day. Even though it's been raining the streams and springs are kind of dry so we had a tough time finding any water sources. However, several kind people placed water at strategic locations along the trail (see picture) and we also stopped at a garden place and asked for water, so that helped. We had a couple of tough hills to climb today. We climbed Mount Everett (not as impressive as Mount Everest), and the rocks are back. In Massachusetts you are only supposed to camp in designated sites, but since we were too tired and could not make it all the way to our planned campsite we "stealth camped" - a term hikers use that means we camped in a non-designated site.
Date: 2012-07-27
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Shakers Campsite - outside Tyringham, MA
Miles today: 15.5

It rained again today. Seems to be a pattern here. Nothing can dry out because it just rains every day. The cloth I use to dry my cooking gear actually had some mold growing on it because it hasn't been able to dry out. We saw some great flora today. At times it was as if we were hiking through a rainforest. Everything was so lush and green and the ferns and moss were amazing. We hiked for 11 hours and only made 15 miles, but we're still dead tired. We need to get cleaned up and our equipment and clothes dry. Hopefully we have good weather tomorrow.