morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-21
To: Update since 2006 hike
Miles today: 0.0

To read more about me and how I came to hike the A.T., go to my 2006 Whimsey Trail Journal.From the end of April 2006 until the end of October 2006 I hiked from Georgia to the Hudson River in New York and what a journey it was.I am going back on the trail May 23, 2007, to finish this adventure I started last year with a lot more confidence. I learned a lot last year about my limits and my skills as I climbed mountain after mountain, about 250 so far. We had some more sadness in our family last year, my Dad passed away on December 30, 2006, he was 97 years old. I realize now that one of the reasons I have been able to hike the trail and adapt so easy is because my Dad (we called him "Pop") taught me most of my skills, but most of all he taught me how to look at what I was getting ready to do and find the best way to do it. Thanks Pop! So I dedicate this year's hike to Pop.My buddy "Shoe" was going to hike the rest of the A.T. with me but about a month ago his knee started giving him a lot of pain and his doctor advised him not to go. I am going to miss Shoe, he and I had sat down and worked on our hiking schedule together. From that I realized that he and I have the same philosophy about hiking and we would have had a great time together. I carved myself a new "Gee Haw Whimsey Diddle Stick" from a branch off a dogwood tree in our backyard. I think it works better than the first one. I will not get to see any of my family for almost three months, especially my wife Nadine, our daughter Kelley and our granddaughter Shanna. Although when I get back home, we will get to see our son Jeff when we visit him in Japan. Nadine will be my support back home, sending my maildrops and whatever else I may need. And I hope Kelley continues to send me brownies like she did last year, they were really good.Oh, decided to start playing golf at the age of 61. Took some golf lessons from a local college just before coming on the trail.Also, been talking to my hiking buddy Dutch from Michigan. He went back on the trail around the first of April at Delaware Water Gap. That is when New York had all that rain, snow and cold weather. He said he was so cold it was miserable and had to leave the trail for his own safety. Hope he can come meet me and hike the 100 Mile Wilderness in Maine.To everyone else that will be hiking the A.T., "Happy Trails to You" and I hope to meet some of you out there.
Date: 2007-05-22
From: Home

To: Fort Montgomery, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Today is a travel day just to get back to where I left the trail last year and the adventure starts today. My brother, Steve, took me to the train station in Newport News, VA where I caught a train to New York City. It took a little over eight hours and I was able to get several hours of sleep. I was up late last night and only got two hours of sleep. Had a layover at Penn Station. It was around 5:30 p.m. so I was able to get supper there. Caught another train to Croton-Harmon, NY, then a taxi from there to the Bear Mountain Bridge Motel in Fort Montgomery, NY. I'm now in my room around 8:30 p.m. just relaxing and getting ready to watch "Dancing with the Stars." Last chance to watch TV for a long time but really don't miss it when I am out on the trail.
Date: 2007-05-23
From: Hudson River, Bear Mountain Bridge

To: Graymoor Friary
Miles today: 6.3

Slept really good last night. Went across the street to the Bagel Caf© for breakfast and got a sub sandwich to take for lunch. Doug the owner of the motel gave me a ride to the Post Office. Intended to leave my house keys with my brother but I forgot, so I mailed them home¢¦ they are too heavy to carry to Maine. Doug also dropped me off at the foot of the Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River.I decided to adjust my total A.T. miles hiked since I plan to climb Mt. Katadin again and it will be easier to keep track of my miles. Walked across the bridge and started to climb my first mountain in seven months. I took it real slow and easy, but could still feel my muscles stretching. Going to move slow for a couple of weeks to let my legs get used to climbing mountains again.Heard rapid gunfire all morning, there is an Army Training Base nearby. The gunfire stopped around 12:00 p.m. and I stopped at an overlook around 12:30 p.m. for lunch. Boy that sub sandwich was good, laid down on a rock and listened to the peace and quiet. The only thing I heard was the wind blowing in the trees and the train whistles in the valley.The trail was real easy hiking the rest of the way to the Graymoor Monastery. Got there about 2:30 p.m. and am staying in the shelter at the ball field. Saw several chipmunks today and they were talking to me as I went by. Also only saw one person on the trail all day long.After I finished eating supper and cleaning up, a fellow named Steve that works at the Monastery came by and he gave me a tour of the facilities, it was very interesting. It is almost 9:00 p.m. I have just finished writing in my journal and it is time to go to sleep on top of a picnic table. The weather was great today, in the upper 60's and there was a cool breeze blowing most of the time. Good night! It is 9:00 p.m. I hear the chiming from the church up on the hill.
Date: 2007-05-24
From: Graymoor Friary

To: Dennytown Road, Group Camping
Miles today: 8.2

Slept late, got on the trail about 9:00 a.m. Saw two deer this morning, they watched me as I walked by. Also saw two garter snakes. Almost stepped on the first one, not knowing what it was at first, I jumped back.It was warm today. Only saw one day hiker. The trail was good hiking. When I got to Dennytown Road, I got water from the spigot on the side of the building there, I was really running low on water. Walked down the road 1/2 mile and took a dirt gravel road like the book said but no group camping. About this time a car came along and the guy, Paul, asked if I needed help. When I told him what I was looking for, he told me it was back where I got my water and the dirt road was across the street. He gave me a ride back and dropped me off only to come back a few minutes later and offered to take me back to the Taconic Outdoor Education Center down that first gravel road I was walking on. It was about 6:00 p.m. and he said he thought it would save me from cooking supper. He works for the NY Parks Dept. We had chicken fried in a sweet batter, peas, rice, rolls and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. He even gave me an extra one to take with me for later. After supper he drove me back to the group camping. It was a nice big field with a privy and campfire rings. Found a good flat spot under a tree to set up my tarp tent. It was getting dark and it didn't take me long to fall to sleep.
Date: 2007-05-25
From: Dennytown Road, Group Camping

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: clear sky

At about 3:15 a.m. I thought I heard raccoons after my food bag hanging in the tree, so I got up to check on it but no raccoons. As I was eating breakfast and breaking camp, I heard turkeys gobbling in the woods on the other side of the field. They never did come out of the woods though. The trail was good hiking. Saw more chipmunks then I have even seen in my entire life. Saw my first thru-hikers today headed north. Saw three of them and they went past me like I was standing still. They left Springer Mountain in early March, doing 20 to 30 mile days now.It was hotter than yesterday and the heat has slowed me down. Got to the shelter about 4:30 p.m., and the thru-hikers were there. They got there about 2:30 p.m. Nice shelter with bunk beds. Real tired.
Date: 2007-05-26
From: RPH Shelter

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The three thru-hikers were up and on the trail by 5:30 a.m. I was about to leave at 6:15 a.m. when the caretaker of the shelter stopped by and talked about what was ahead of me, he had some good information.It was cooler this morning and I was hiking faster. Got to NY 52 about 11:00 a.m. and decided to hike 0.4 miles to the Mountain Top Market. As I was walking up to the store, there were two guys about my age eating lunch outside. One of them asked me if I wanted a ride back to the trail head, said they would wait for me. His name was "Zipoff" and he had hiked the A.T. in 2003 and 2004 and his friend "Rolex" was going to hike it but had health problems and could not go. They were from Florida and just passing through. What trail magic!Back on the trail I was passed by two more thru-hikers that had left in early March. Got to the shelter early, about 2:30 p.m. Shortly after, the guy who had put the water pump in here 15 years ago came by with his girlfriend for a few minutes. Several people showed up but were camping out.At about 5:00 p.m. two hikers showed up and recognized me. We had met on the A.T. last year at the NOC in NC. What a small world. Their names are "Moxie" and "Tecumseh" and are from Seattle, WA. They hiked half of the A.T. last year and are hiking the second half this year. A little later a young woman, Cynthia, with her Mom and Dad came hiking in. They are out for just a few days. It was nice having people around. Had a good night here. Also another young woman "Micro," who started in GA but is now section hiking, was there.
Date: 2007-05-27
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Camping on Hammersly Ridge
Miles today: 12.1

It was overcast today and the hiking was good. While eating lunch sitting on a log, a young woman thru-hiker "Juniper" came by. Got to Telephone Pioneer Shelter at about 1:30 p.m., where I had planned to stay but there was a guy staying there that gave me an uneasy feeling. He was the only one in the shelter. There were other tents set up around, but some were packing up to leave and catch the train below the mountain back to NY City. There was a Boy Scout Troop that was getting ready to leave also. I decided to move on, go into Pawling NY and re-supply.At West Dover Road, where the Dover Oak (the oldest tree on the A.T.) is, I started trying to thumb a ride into Pawling. I walked about a mile when a young man, Jim, gave me a ride into town and back out to the trail after I re-supplied. Walked another few miles almost to the top of Hammersly Ridge and heard thunder in the distance. It was about 7:15 p.m. when I found a flat spot where I could set up my tent before the storm got there. It had just got dark when it started to rain and it blew through quickly. My tent was on a slight slant and I kept sliding to the bottom and would have to pull myself back up all night long. Not much restful sleep tonight.
Date: 2007-05-28
From: Hammersly Ridge

To: Ten Mile River Lean-to
Miles today: 8.5

It was overcast this morning, a good day for hiking, but I was moving slow. Real tired and worn out from yesterday. Met some trail maintainers, Ray and Nancy, working on the trail near Leather Hill Road.On the other side of Leather Hill Road someone had left some trail magic, a cooler of water, cookies, Gatorade and chairs to sit in and relax. After a short break, I hiked up the hill to Wiley Shelter for an early lunch. Right after I got there, Joel came in. He is from South Dakota and is out for a month-long section hike. We had lunch together and hiked on. When we got to Hoyt Road, we met a day hiker (section hiker) and his sister and brother-in-law. I had been running into the two guys for the last three days. They are from Baltimore, MD. They gave us a drink and an apple. More trail magic.Joel had spent last night with the creepy guy at Telephone Pioneers Shelter, so he had a long hike today. We got to Ten Mile River Shelter around 3:30 p.m. It is right beside a beautiful river. Joel and I are the only ones here tonight.Oh! I left NY today and hiked into Connecticut, but will be back in NY tomorrow for a short time before hiking out of NY for good.
Date: 2007-05-29
From: Ten Mile River Lean-to

To: CT341 to Kent, CT
Miles today: 8.7

Moon was real bright last night, with a field in front of the shelter. The moon was shining right into the shelter. Joel and I both had a hard time falling asleep so we just talked ourselves to sleep.It was 48o F. when we got up. Joel was on the trail at 5:30 a.m. and I was right behind him at 6:00 a.m, trying to get to town for lunch. The trail was beautiful following the Housatonic River for a couple of miles through a hemlock forest. There were a couple of hard mountains to climb but got to the road leading to Kent at 12:30 pm. Had to walk 1/2 mile into town. The first thing I did was get a big cheeseburger with sweet potato fries. Then went to the Post Office to pick up my mail drop.Joel had left a note at the Fife 'n Drum Inn that he had a room for us. Rooms are more expensive up here so sharing with another hiker helps keep the cost down. When Joel got back, we went to do laundry. The laundromat just re-opened about three weeks ago. Dried out my tent. About 6:00 p.m., Joel and I went across the street to get a good Italian meal.Today was my son Jeff's birthday. He is still stationed in Japan in the Air Force.I hiked out of New York today, another state down and only five more to go. I enjoyed my time in New York. The trails were fairly good and the shelters were okay, but it feels good to have another state behind me.
Date: 2007-05-30
From: CT341 from Kent, CT

To: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 7.3

Joel and I were up early, packed and headed to Kent Market for breakfast. They were the only place open at 6:00 a.m. Had a big breakfast of eggs, sausage, hash browns, toast and coffee for the caffeine and sugar. As we were finishing up, "Salamander" showed up. He is a young thru-hiker headed north. At 7:30 a.m., Joel and I hiked out of town back to the trail. We stayed together to the top of the first mountain, then Joel moved on, he has a 17-mile day.Coming down St. Johns Ledges was like climbing down a 400 ft. cliff. The map did not show it to be that steep. But the good news is that when I got down to River Road, I was hiking beside the Housatonic River on a flat gravel road and flat trail for two miles to the shelter. When I got there, Joel and RJ, an older section hiker, were finishing lunch. They left at about 2:00 p.m. for the next shelter ten miles away. Glad it is them and not me, my body could not handle that distance yet, maybe in a couple more weeks. About 2:30 p.m., Salamander passed through. Woody, an older section hiker, had shown up earlier and they knew each other.Caught up on writing down my pictures this afternoon. Had planned to do that in Kent but ran out of time. I enjoyed Kent a lot, the Post Office, store, inn, laundromat and restaurants were close by and the people were friendly. It is a nice quaint little New England town. Near suppertime a fellow named Jacob came in and pitched his tent by the shelter. He is out here meditating on the trail. It was just about dark when Hatchet Jack came rolling in. He is 18 years old and left Springer on Feb. 23. He is a mature 18 year old. He had gone into Kent to get new shoes, the pair he left Springer with were falling apart.
Date: 2007-05-31
From: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to

To: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 10.0

I was the first one to leave the shelter this morning. The first couple of miles were beautiful hiking beside the Housatonic River. It was nice and cool. But then the day got worse as I started to climb the first of five small mountains. A gnat flew into my eye, then within five minutes another gnat flew into the other eye. I could hardly see so I stopped and it took me about 1/2 hour and 1/4 of my eye drop bottle to get them out. Gnats continued to "bug" me all day, along with mosquitoes. Then it got worse, it started to get hot. This slowed me up, I took more breaks and stopped to refill my water bottles at every stream that looked good.At about 2:30 p.m., Hatchet Jack caught up to and passed me. At the road just before the last mountain I had to climb to get to the shelter, I saw Hatchet Jack. He was sitting on his mat resting. I took another break before my last climb. Hatchet Jack was moving on to the next shelter 13 miles away, said he would get there after dark.When I got to the shelter, no one was there. Got water and was cooking supper when a thunderstorm hit, thought of Hatchet Jack. Took some ibuprofen, I am really tired and sore. Won't take long to go to sleep tonight. I am here by myself tonight. Another storm came through around 9:30 p.m.
Date: 2007-06-01
From: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to

To: US44 to Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

Up at the crack of dawn, ate breakfast and was packing my gear when Woody came hiking in. He was hiking in the dark and got hit by both storms and couldn't find the shelter and camped about 50 yards before the sign for the shelter. He is a Vietnam Vet and quite a colorful character, dresses in camouflage. Said he was going to stay at this shelter today and dry out.The woods and trail are real damp and I have seen hundred of orange "gummy bear" newts on the trail. They seem to come out after it rains. Mosquitoes are real bad, I have to keep putting on insect repellent.Made good time getting down to the Mountainside Caf© on US 7. Got a cheeseburger, fries and chocolate shake. Then took a good long rest break. This place was like an oasis in the middle of a desert. Felt re-energized when I left the caf© . Went over a neat old Iron Bridge over the Housatonic River then the trail followed the river up to the Great Falls. Dropped my pack and took a short blue blaze trail to the river where I could get a good picture of the falls. There were about a half-dozen young people swimming at the bottom of the falls. Would have liked to take a swim myself since it was hot but didn't have the time.As the trail went through a grassy field, I heard the thunder and saw the dark clouds overhead. Picked up my pace since I had about a 700-foot elevation to climb. About half-way up, I stopped for an energy bar break and thunder got louder. I got lucky when I got to the top of the mountain, the storm had moved to the south and missed me. I was moving good and got to the turn for Limestone Springs Lean-To an hour before I expected. The shelter was on an 0.5 mile side trail and several hundred feet down. I was feeling real good so I made a quick decision to go into Salisbury, CT. A mile down the trail I heard thunder again. Stopped at a spring for water and moved fast over and down the mountain.It was 7:30 p.m. when I got to the road to town and thumbed a ride in. Got lucky again. Maria McCade had room for only one more person but said I would have to share the room with another hiker. I couldn't believe it, he was Hatchet Jack. He never made it to the next shelter, he doesn't have a tent or tarp so he put his rain gear on and slept on a gravel path near the Hydro-electric plant just below the falls. Said he was cold and miserable and only got a couple hours sleep. He was up at dawn and at Maria's at 8:00 a.m. His new shoes are wearing a raw spot on his heels. It was good to see him again and we swapped stories.Felt good to get a shower and be clean again. Maria had some clean clothes I could wear. Feels good climing into a soft bed and laying my head on a fluffy pillow.Oh! I forgot to mention that at dusk when I went down to get my pack off her back porch, there was a silver fox in her backyard. Maria says it comes by almost every night.
Date: 2007-06-02
From: US44 from Salisbury, CT

To: Brassie Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 5.3

Hatchet Jack and I walked down to the market to get something for breakfast. He left about 10:00 a.m. to hike 17 miles today. Maria and her friend Linda took me to the laundromat a couple of miles away and dropped me off, then they went to hit some garage sales. When they came back, my clothes were still drying so we got a drink from the Pizza Restaurant beside the laundromat and sat at one of the tables outside. One of the owners came out and joined us.Back at Marias, I packed up and went back downtown to the market and drug store for a few items. It has been a restful and relaxing morning.It is about 2:30 p.m. and time for me to hike out of town. Part the way up the mountain, I heard thunder again and at the top I started walking faster hoping to get to the shelter before it rained. Got lucky again, just the edge of the storm got me with light rain.There were five people already at the shelter but still room for me. No Joke is a northbound thru-hiker doing big miles trying to catch other hikers ahead of him. Also some hikers out for the weekend, and a guy and a woman with her two teenage sons. After everyone was in their sleeping bags, a storm blew through and it continued to rain most of the night.
Date: 2007-06-03
From: Brassie Brook Lean-to

To: Hemlocks Lean-to
Miles today: 8.7

No Joke was up and on the trail by 5:15 a.m. and took off like a jack rabbit. I left about 7:00 a.m. and it was cooler because of the rain last night but the roots and rocks were slippery so I moved with caution. Went over Bear Mountain, the highest mountain in Connecticut. On the way down, I met a guy named Dave on a day hike.Sages Ravine was beautiful with the fern, hemlocks and neat brook flowing through it. When I crossed the brook I was in Massachusetts. That is when the thunder storm hit and it rained hard. Slowed up so I won't be on top of Race Mountain with lightning striking. Even got under a small fir tree for shelter. I was there when Dave caught up with me. We talked for a few minutes hoping the storm would pass. The thunder stopped but the rain did not. It rained almost all the way up to the shelter. I was real tired, wet and miserable. I passed Hemlocks Lean-To and went 0.1 miles to Glen Brook Lean-To. The fog was so thick and the area was covered with pine straw so I could not see any trails. Found the metal box, privy and two tent platforms but no shelter. Fog was getting thicker so I went back to the Hemlocks Lean-To. About an hour later, two brothers in the 20's came in. Boone is thru-hiking and his brother The Follower joined him in PA. Even though I got here at 2:30 p.m., it has been dark in the woods and in this shelter. Hiked out of Connecticut today, with only four more states to go. Here are my thoughts about Connecticut. Loved hiking through the hemlock forest beside the Housatonic River, Sages Raving was beautiful, Kent was a great trail town, thanks to Maria for her hospitality in Salisbury, and had some good meals in some neat restaurants.It is starting to get cold and time to climb in my sleeping bag.