morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-25
From: Church of the Mountain Hostel

To: Rattlesnake Mountain
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: broken clouds

Hush and I walked over the Delaware River this morning excited to set foot in the fourth state on our journey. We knew better than to realistically expect there to be a dramatic difference in the terrain because of an arbitrary line on a map, yet we were both disappointed to find New Jersey has its share of rocks too. What we see along the trail slowly transitions. Blooming dogwoods are still common as are flame azaleas and Lady Slipper Orchids. Today we saw our first daisies. In the past week blackberry vines have become much less common while wild blueberries are everywhere. Part of the AT experience is to walk north with Spring. I just don't want to walk by all the blueberries. The weatherman is calling for record low temps tonight, in the upper 30s. The wind blew mightily throughout the day. As I lay in my tent writing this I can hear the gusts coming down the little draw where we are camped. Hush is already asleep. Today was our second longest day since we've been out here, 22+ miles. I think I'll join her. It'll be dark in an hour or so!
Date: 2013-05-26
From: Rattlesnake Mountain

To: Rutherford Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: scattered clouds

After yesterday's long day we awoke this morning with a surprising amount of energy. We have routines. Inside our small tent, Hush is the queen of efficiency. She can deploy and recover our sleeping pads, mateable bags and other sleep accoutrements much faster than I and stay warm doing it. I venture out to prepare the coffee and oatmeal using water treated with chlorine dioxide and our alcohol stove. We both disassemble the tent. Normally we go from sleeping to hiking in about 40 minutes. That may sound lengthy, but a lot occurs in those 40 minutes. Just as we passed the 300 mile point of our hike today (15% completed) we were rewarded with a road crossing near a coffee shop outside of Branchville, NJ. Two cups of joe later, we headed out past a parking lot full of the cars of day hikers out for the holiday weekend. I'm glad to see that. Shortly after that I realized we wouldn't be getting our mail drop tomorrow because of the holiday. We're going to call the post office on Tuesday to see if they'll forward it for us. Meanwhile we will resupply at the grocery store in Unionville, NY. The trail goes in and out of NY and NJ for several days before entering NY for good. I savor every day out here. By the end of each day I'm foot sore but so far my spirits are high. I can't think of anything else in the world I'd rather be doing. Or anyone I'd rather be doing it with.
Date: 2013-05-27
From: Rutherford Shelter

To: Uniontown, NY
Miles today: 12.4

After two longer than average days, we elected to only go 12.4 miles today when we discovered we couldn't buy the food we needed to get us through until Friday. Our guidebook, written by a former thruhiker is excellent, indispensable even. It's 95% accurate and today it told us there would be a full service grocery store in Unionville. NY, when in fact there is not. The owner of Wit's End Tavern gave us permission to camp on his property, so we're here in this little town  (not even a stop light) waiting for the mail drop we thought we would miss. For the first time we experienced the hiker superstar effect. Coming off the trail on the way into town we met a father and son who stopped to ask the usual questions: Where are you going? When did you start? How much does you pack weigh? I could see them becoming more amazed. Finally the Dad asked the best AT question yet, "Excuse me for saying this, but do you have a real life?"  We haven't washed clothes in six days or taken a shower in four. At this point we aren't sure when either of those things will happen again. I suppose some of the prejudice against hiker trash in town is understandable after all.
Date: 2013-05-28
From: Uniontown, NY

To: St. Thomas Episcoplal Church Hostel
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

After spending a surprisingly quiet night in our tent in Unionville, we were waiting at the post office when it opened. It took us less than 30 minutes to open the box, pack the food and get back on the trail - a new record. Thankfully there were a couple of other hikers at the PO and we were able to share some of our extra food with them. We usually hit a grocery store when we go to town for some things we've developed a trail fondness for: peanut butter, Nutella, cheese, hot chocolate, M&Ms and our once a week piece of fruit. The down side to mail drop days is WEIGHT. I usually want to sit down a mile from town and eat half of what I have just to lighten my pack.We walked today through the creek formerly known as the Appalachian Trail. At some point we quit puddle jumping and just plowed right through whatever water obstacle presented itself. You can't spend the day wishing for the rain to stop. You have to accept the conditions as they are. You can't always mentally whine about the weather, the rocks, your feet, the hills. That's what thruhiking is. Sure we all bitch but in the end, you just ruck up and move.Once again the kindness of strangers is all around. We met a former thruhiker and his girlfriend today hiking south. They had doughnut holes and Oreos and Coke and root beer for any hiker they met. Then we got a hitch IN THE RAIN in about five minutes into Vernon, NJ. Then we got a spot in a hostel with a hot shower, laundry, Internet and snacks and hiker supplies at cost.I can't wait to get up in the morning and hike.
Date: 2013-05-29
From: St. Thomas Episcoplal Church Hostel

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Hardest day yet. After I yogied us a ride from a gas station in Vernon, we started the climb up Mt. Wawayanda at 6:00 AM. In near darkness under a double canopy and in light rain we maneuvered switchbacks and steps carved into the mountain. Cruelly we reached several false summits only to see the climb resume. We finally reached a shelter where we planned to eat to find out there was no water so we hiked on until we reached the ranger station of the park through which we'd been traveling. I'm sure we amazed the folks around us with the way we sucked down various peanut butter covered items. The next three miles were nice, some small inclines, lots of bog boards through the NJ swamps. We took a break after crossing the state line with NY. We should have turned around. The guidebook warned us, " Despite the unimposing profile, this section is steep and rocky". It was crazy. Within minutes I tore the ass end out of my hiking shorts sliding down a rock face after I fell. We had to throw our hiking poles up and over steep spots in order to use our hands. In one spot there was a ladder bolted to a rock face, which was nice until I got to the top and had to make a lateral move across a steep drop off to continue climbing. Did I mention this is in direct sun and its the hottest day yet, mid 80s. The trail wasn't marked well and we backtracked several times after missing turns. Hush also fell but wasn't hurt. Neither were her shorts.  Once we went back into the trees our progress was stymied by huge blowdowns blocking the trail, requiring us to bushwhack around them The day was partially redeemed by a great ice cream stand as we crossed a road about two miles from the shelter. We spent 12.5 hours on the trail and we are getting up at 4:30 AM to try and beat the 90 degree heat tomorrow.
Date: 2013-05-30
From: Wildcat Shelter

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

The last hill of the day (among many) is known as the "Agony Grinder". It's a beautiful walk actually. The trail is wide. There's plenty of sunlight shining on the grass growing beneath the trees. Although there are some rocks, they aren't obnoxious. In reality, I didn't see any of that. Oxygen deprivation and dehydration will do that to you.Hush and I have a background in endurance sports. We've been exhausted before while cycling or (Hush) while training for marathons or triathlons. We've been out in all kinds of disagreeable weather. We did exhaustive research for this trip and backpacked in some tough terrain getting ready for it. We are blown away with how hard this is. We knew a 2000-mile hike was going to be tough but we had no idea how the relentless climbing, rock scrambling and obstacle navigation was going to amp the difficulty meter. Throw in the bug bites, chafing, blister woes and various joint issues and other logistical kinks and "Boom", reality has arrived. What makes it bearable, fun actually are the way other hikers share all the same issues. This culture is unique. There are no strangers. It doesn't seem strange to be excited along with a group of other adults because there MIGHT be a soda machine and a trash can at the next road. Today was hard. Once again we were on the trail a long time. I'm sincerely grateful for the trail angels who left clean water for hikers at road crossings. We are out of purification drops so any fresh water we get right now is a blessing. The highlight of the day was navigating the Lemon Squeezer, one of the trails best known landmarks. It's basically a 15-inch wide gap, canted at a 15 degree angle between two large rocks. Hush walked right through. I was squeezed like, we'll, a lemon.
Date: 2013-05-31
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: Ft. Montgomery, NY
Miles today: 15.4

You should see a shelter full of hikers in the evening. The same group of people who climbed and descended mountains all day, who leapt across streams and ran across roads while sporting a heavy pack, these people suddenly look like arthritic geriatric ward residents. We call it the AT Shuffle. If you're old enough to remember Fred Sanford, you get the idea. Today was Mountain day (capital M) we climbed Fingerboard Mountain, West Mountain and finally Bear Mountain. Of the three, West Mountain was definitely the hardest. Shortly after crossing the NY Palisades Parkway (only 34 miles from NY City) the trail abruptly went up and up and up - forever. It was nearly 90 degrees and we were trying to conserve water. After we crested the damn thing we sat down and tried to eat all the food we had left. You never want to carry food into town on mail drop day. The shelter logs we read today were funny. Hikers sign the logs as they pass through. The logs are stored by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy as a historical record. Today's history included Larry Boy writing "If I ever hike the AT again, I am definitely hitch hiking through NY. And PA. NJ was ok."Tent Monster's handwriting wasn't that great but I did manage to make out the word "sucks " five times in three lines. I'm resigned to the fact that there are no easy parts. As soon as I quit hoping for them, my attitude improved. It does get frustrating when the trail takes us over insanely difficult places we could just as easily hiked around but hey, if you want easy stay on the couch. Tomorrow we cross the Hudson River. We hiked across the Potomac less than four weeks ago. It's all going so quickly. I want it to last forever.
Date: 2013-06-01
From: Ft. Montgomery, NY

To: Dennytown Road
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Walking across the Bear Mountain Bridge and the Hudson River this morning provided yet another opportunity to work on my fear of heights. As proof that falling from the bridge is deadly, suicide hotline phones are mounted along the walkway. After climbing up from the river we walked on some of the best trail yet. Hush remarked, "This is what I thought hiking the AT was going to be like." We are climbing and descending a lot more now. The ridge walking we did in PA is a thing of the past. We didn't get many views today. It was a green tunnel day. A combination of the heat and the intensity of the trail over the past few days has us dragging a bit. We had to ice our knees and feet today when we came to a road crossing with a convenience store. While we were at the store a couple approached us to ask if we were thruhikers. When we said yes they asked if there was anything we needed. We asked them to cache some water for us about eight miles out. When we got to that spot they were there to meet us with sodas, fruit, water, cookies and an offer to go eat Mexican we took them up on it. Then they took us to Walmart so we could get some bug spray. First class trail magic! Thanks Lynn and Dale!Tonight we are stealth camping for the first time. That's when you just find a flat spot and pitch your tent. What a day!
Date: 2013-06-02
From: Dennytown Road

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: few clouds

I needed this day so badly. Hush and I decided to stop at the Ralph's Peak Hiker's cabin, one of the best shelters we've come across. It's the first shelter in NY with a privy, the first with a picnic table and the first we've ever seen with a water pump. It also has a patio, lawn furniture and windows. Holy cow! It's a Hiker Hilton!We also treated ourselves to a 10-mile day and a nap. The shelter's reputation drew in hikers all afternoon. We had an enjoyable dinner with Bright Side and Piper plus a couple of section hikers from NYC. As usual there are drying clothes everywhere, hikers writing in their journals, reading the guidebook trying to plan out the next couple of days. Stories of trail magic and horrible climbs are being repeated. As darkness approaches we are all getting our packs ready for the morning, filling up water bottles and trying to figure out who is going to be the worst snorer. I was super grumpy this morning. I'm having problems staying hydrated. My energy level is kind of low. The minute the trail starts to climb, I slow down quickly. Hush hasn't been full of sunshine either. Twenty-eight days without a break hasn't been the smartest  decision we ever made. Taking half a day off today is a good start on attitude improvement and physical recovery. We have another short day later this week in Kent, CT. To do laundry, get new shoes, pick up mail and other town chores. Tomorrow is a regular day. Up at 4:30 - hike all day, The AT Way.
Date: 2013-06-03
From: RPH Shelter

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: moderate rain

Tonight the white noise machine is set to bird calls and mountain waterfalls. After a delicious dinner of Stovetop Stuffing (minus the butter) and a peanut butter covered Clif Bar I treated myself to a wipe down with my trusty bandana by the aforementioned mountain waterfall. Lying in the shelter with Hush, Piper and Bright Side we are all trying to figure out  a plan for Tuesday. Hush and I are in desperate need of some quality down time but the choices are few. The trail towns are small with limited lodging. What we want is a true Zero day  - two nights in a row in the same town with no hiking with time to do laundry and eat real food. . Until we figure something out we may just dial back the miles a few days. Thank goodness we had great trail conditions all day. Things work out. Despite the fatigue, we made our goal for the day. . Hush's entry: My mother made a comment the other day that this sounds harder than an Ironman. I thought about that comment a lot today. At first I thought "no, this is just walking, right?". But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is harder (harder than the Ironman race and all the training up to it). Not necessarily the physical part (though there is that too), but definitely the mental. Ironman training (and other endurance sports like cycling) require many hours a day of exercise, just like hiking. But the days end very differently. After you train, you go home to your air conditioned house, shower, clean clothes and refrigerator full of food. We end every day just hoping that our sweaty clothes (or rain drenched) clothes will dry by morning. That the bugs aren't so bad at the shelter that we need to retreat to the tent to save ourselves. We get just enough food each day to keep going, but within a few days are running so low on calories that we have no energy. When I was training, we would dream about what we would eat when we got home that night. Out here, we don't think daily. We dream about the town in 4 days. Will it have a room with showers? Laundry? A good restaurant to replace some much needed calories? It has been a big mental adjustment but we are adjusting.
Date: 2013-06-04
From: Telephone Pioneers Shelter

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: light rain

Hush was in charge today. Not that I am ever really in charge but I usually come up with each day's hiking plan. Today she said "I just want to hike until my feet hurt too bad to keep going."  Ah, I thought, a short day. We're both tired and have been trying to figure out how to finagle a day off from hiking. Well, she figured it out. She crammed two days of hiking into one. We completed an epic 21-mile day, saying goodbye to New York. And we climbed, a lot. I'm now laid up in a B&B in Kent, CT next door to Henry Kissinger. Tomorrow is a great big ZERO day. I like to hike, but damn. Give a brother a break.
Date: 2013-06-05
From: Kent, CT

To: Stealth Camping
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I was so excited to be indoors last night, I had trouble going to sleep. Cooper's Creek B&B was fantastic. The owner picked us up from the trailhead and took us to get some takeout Chinese and to a convenience store for snacks and ice. The inn had a giant bathtub in which I soaked, feeling like a cowboy from an old Western. This morning we had a tasty gluten-free breakfast and a ride into town. We wore our rain clothing (and nothing else) while at the laundromat. The proprietor treated us like hiker trash and watched us like a hawk. I got yelled at for wearing my pack and not turning off the bathroom light. Next we got shoes. We got shoes! What started off as another hiker trash experience (the owner was reluctant to measure my feet while I wore my pack) ended nicely as we got a 10% discount for being thruhikers. The outfitter was extremely nice but had very little inventory. We did get some sock liners, as we badly needed them. Lunch was surprisingly affordable. The grocery store was another chance to be looked down on. The cashier barely spoke to us after chatting away with every other customer. I really should stop complaining though since entire classes of Americans get treated like this every day of  their lives. I ordered a backpack from REI like Hush did last last week. In fact we picked up Hush's new backpack at the PO, stopped to get some ice cream and are headed for the hills to find a campsite for the night. Life is good.
Date: 2013-06-06
From: Stealth Camping

To: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

If you live in grown up land, you know not every day is going to be a good one. Sometimes you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Sometimes things beyond your control present challenges. Today was tough. I'm not going to list all the things that made it tough. No matter what I am  living out a dream. Self pity is destructive. I'd rather be out here struggling and suffering than at home. In taking our Zero day we fell behind  Piper, Free Man and Bright Side, thruhikers we've been with since NJ. We will probably catch them again at some point. That's the way it works. We play leapfrog. In the meantime we look forward to meeting hikers who have been a day behind us. The forecast tomorrow is a 90% chance of heavy rains. As much as three inches may fall in the next two days. Luckily the shelter where we are sleeping is only 12.3 miles out. Unluckily, on Saturday we climb the tallest mountain we've seen to date at the end of a 17.5 mile day. Boy howdy. I just want to give a shout out to my wife. Despite the stress of breaking in new shoes and a new pack on the same day, she kept on hiking. It was tough. Oh, we met a lady walking a llama down the trail today. Hush's entry: Before we started this adventure, I often wondered why people would quit hiking after hiking. Something unavoidable, such as an injury or illness, I understood. But after months of planning and preparing, leaving behind family, leaving your job, etc. why just suddenly stop? Now I understand. This is hard. And I am not talking about the hiking (though it is hard too). Lefty only talks about the good parts of everyday, which is good. But after the day I had today, I decided it was time to throw in some reality. In addition to the obstacles we face hiking (that Lefty does tell you about) there is also:BlistersHot spotsChafingBruisesScratches and scrapesBug bitesTicksSore feetSore kneesTwisted anklesSlipsFallsUnrelenting biting bugsUnrelenting rainUnrelenting heatFatigueIf you put all of those into a hat, mix them up and pick out a few, you have a typical day on the AT. None of these things alone is enough to make most quit. But pile them on, day after day after day, and there isn't a single hiker that doesn't start to question why they keep subjecting themselves to this. The answer: I am not done yet.
Date: 2013-06-07
From: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter

To: Falls Village, CT
Miles today: 8.1

Today was and wasn't a washout. We knocked out 8 miles in four hours this morning in the rain, motivated by a cafe in Falls Village, CT noted in the guide as being hiker friendly. It was. After serving us a great bowl of chili (Hush) and a right on time cheeseburger, two giant Pepsis and four cups of coffee the owner advised us not to go any further today due to Tropical Storm Andrea. At first she proposed tenting but when we looked dubious preferring instead to hike another four miles to a shelter her husband intervened and let us set up our sleeping bags in his motorcycle barn. We jumped on that. Right now we can't plan out our days as well as in the past. We climb a lot more than before. Wet rocks make that dangerous. The spacing of the shelters makes it hard to match the days hike to a manageable distance. The shelters are too far apart or too close together. Hostels aren't as plentiful and hotels are a lot more expensive. We try to avoid  camping in the rain. Still, today treated us better than yesterday despite the weather. Our new shoes don't hurt nearly as bad. The extra rest helps too. Hopefully tomorrow will produce two supercharged, bad ass AT thruhiking machines.
Date: 2013-06-08
From: Falls Village, CT

To: Sages Ravine
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We left the motorcycle barn this morning  and had a great breakfast at the cafe in front. Hush was thrilled by the gluten free French toast. I get excited every time I have real coffee. Leaving town we saw the Housitanic River raging after all the rain. Our feet were soaked within the first mile and stayed that way pretty much all day. We had one of those moments couples sometimes have early in the day but worked through it and ended up having a great time. We went into Salisbury, CT to get some supplies. There was a group holding a vigil against the use of drones at an intersection and I went over and spoke to them. I shared some of my experience in similar activities. Later one of the group members approached Hush and I outside the market and laid a $100 bill on us. He told us to have dinner on him at a lodge in Massachusetts we will pass in a few days. Once again I'm amazed by the kindness we see over and over. It motivates me to pay it forward when I can. We climbed the highest mountain in CT this afternoon, Bear Mountain 2328 feet. That's the highest climb we've done but not for long. We climb one higher than that tomorrow. We're in Massachusetts tonight having crossed the state line right before we camped for the night.  Hush's entry: Most of the AT was flooded today due to the tropical storm. So we spent most of the day walking in streams (flat trail) or waterfalls (climbs and descents). But overall, it was a good day.