morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-08-24
From: Key Wood Shelter

To: Mark Noeppal Shelter
Miles today: 17.0

Sleeping halfway up Mt. Greylock tonight. It's definetly getting colder. I don't know if it's because it's the end of August, because we're 2,000 miles up, or just because. But I am certainly happy I put a layer of Under Armour in my pack. I was wearing it at night most times during this trip, but it is now much more essential. While I am starting to be sad I won't be continuing North with some of these crazy folks, I am also excited at the prospect of going home to hoodies and hot showers soon.Been leap frogging on the trail with a group of guys for the last couple of days. Its has certainly made the walking more entertaining. For instance, I stopped last night short of Dalton but they stayed in Dalton. When I stopped at the gas station on my way out of town, they were hanging around outside. Chatted, called them lazy, and I took off. Probably an hour and a half later, they catch up to me on a climb and pass me. I catch up to them at a stream. They catch up at an outlook. I catch up to them when they accidentally get off trail for a quarter mile.... we all walk into and thru Cheshire together. They detour for donuts. I get to the shelter about 15 minutes before them. We all hang out and eat dinner together and everyone is in bed by 9 ("hiker midnight"). This is typical on the trail and is what I will look forward to again the most. It would be great to do big sections with a friend or two, but this is also in my wheelhouse of "how to make friends". Everyday is a race, but in the end, everyone has the same goal. On a more frustrating note: what I thought was a shin splint in my left shin...pretty sure it's actually just my same old ankle injury acting up now. Used my last Icy Hot this morning thinking I could get more in Dalton (but they no longer have a pharmacy in town...), so I switched to my ankle brace. Oh man. So much better. Still getting sharp pains from time to time, but I've now put the worst of everything behind me. Glad I pushed to do this last long day and got a lot behind me, but the last couple miles up here were more painful than I'd like. Tomorrow, I go up and over Greylock. A mere 8 miles to the other shelter. Will probably stop at the fancy restaurant and inn at the top for lunch. Then it's just a quick slide down into Williamstown/North Adams on Saturday morning. Hard to believe I'm almost done...
Date: 2018-08-30
From: Home

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I think the hardest part of section hiking I am going to continue to run into is having so many first days. Everything is difficult again. My pack feels so heavy (even when you're only out for 4 days, you're taking a similar amount of gear as you would for longer trips). My legs - oh geez. There have been moments today where all I can think is "How did I do this before? My legs are shit. What is going on?" Not going to the gym for weeks is what's going on...Relatedly, I rolled my shitty left ankle IN THE PARKING LOT of the TRAIN STATION. I hadn't even found the trail head yet. Honestly, I had about a minute of "Ok, well...this sucks. I'm going home." And then I re evaluated and decided to at least try it and see what happens. Here I am, 7 miles later, in my hammock.So, enough complaining. Let's talk trail. My most proud discovery for this trip is that the Harriman Metro-North stop has a 2mile connector trail to the AT. I thought I was going to have to do 8 or 9 just to touch white blazes. So much winning. There's a handful of sectioners out. Way too late in the game for any thru hikers in these parts. I'm ok with that. Walked up to the shelter this evening to find a dad and his maybe 10 year old son - from Brooklyn. They're sectioning south from Pawling and I was able to give them tips for their last day tomorrow including the Harriman trail secret. First interaction with the dad included him saying "It seems like you probably know more about this stuff than I do." Look up the Lemon Squeezer, Appalachian Trail. Check out the photos. Did that today. Want to do it again without a full pack.Contemplating changing my itinerary for the trip. Was going to only do 2 days on white blazes but thinking about ways to stick it out thru Bear Mountain and fully connect the dots to where I started last summer. We shall see.It's only 8pm but I was up at 6:30a. Time to shut eye. It's close to hiker midnight.
Date: 2018-08-31
To: West Mt Shelter 
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

I put in my 9 miles pretty quickly today. I started to be a little bit disappointed that it's all I had to do. My ankle is a little bit swollen and yelps if I step in slightly the wrong way, but it's completely manageable with a little ibuprofen (which I almost didn't pack!). I decided to do tomorrow over Bear Mt and across the river. That will throw me up to where I caught the trail last year and there's a camp site just beyond it. It means I'll cut my time in the woods short by a day, but I think that's ok. I will feel better closing this gap than I would if I cut a loop back West to catch the train line I came in on.A thought for the evening:It rained for the better part of the afternoon and I didn't care - it was actually kind of nice.I was worried no one would be at this shelter because it's an extra .6 off the AT. I have 4 companions on site tonight.I was running short on water and then consulted the NJ/NY Tail Conference map and discovered there should be a water source about a mile away on an adjacent trail. Success in a 45 minute round trip.After all of that, I sat down to watch the sun setting over the Hudson from in front of the shelter. I remember one of the guys I hiked with last summer saying "I don't care about finding a nice place for a sun rise. Who says I'm going to get up for that. Give me a great sunset and I'll walk the extra miles in the dark." Coming out here again solidifies for me that the AT somehow feels like home. I can't explain how or why. But things start to make sense and the trail feels like it won't steer you wrong.Tonight, train noise of the Metro North sounds off in the distance. It's the right amount of civilization to have under the concert of crickets.
Date: 2018-09-01
From: West Mt Shelter 

To: Anthony's Nose
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Stepping off again sooner than planned. I do this thing where I think miles take longer than they do. The started super chill. Since I loaded up on water last night, I took my time packing up - had my oatmeal and tea. It felt grey still fron yesterday's storm, but I was hoping it would keep the fair weather hikers off Bear Mountain for a couple extra hours. I mostly got my wish. Coming up and over was a little bit jarring after 2 days in the woods, but not terrible. Saw a couple overnighters and fellow sectioners (We're easy to spot what with the giant bags and all) and chatted for a few minutes. Down the main route, around the lake, thru the zoo, and over the bridge. By 1:30p, all that I had left was a bit of a climb straight up to the blue Camp Smith trail I'd come up on last year. I decided to go up to Anthony's Nose, look back at Bear, and decide what to do.I feel a little bit eaten alive by mosquitos, have a couple hot spots on my feet, and just mildly concerned about my ankle. A 4:30 train home it is. Don't get me wrong, I'd love another night in my hammock. But it feels like I'm done and that's ok, too.So the hills are disappearing across the Hudson and I'm thinking about what I want to do next (aside from take a shower and drink a Rootbeer). Fingers crossed I have some time next year and can make some bigger moves. But it feels good to have this bit shored up and only about 10miles left at the front end of NY. And a solid exit point when I get back to it.Sidenote: I don't feel bad for people around me on the train. That's the smell of adventure. But really...I think I need to figure out how to wash this pack.Til next time.
Date: 2019-08-05
From: Home

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: light rain

After nearly 2 years away, finally back on trail to add to my collection of miles. The day started VERY early after staying up too late doing some last minute packing. 6a out the door, 7:15 Amtrak, 11a Lyft, 11:30 at the trailhead, walking by 12p.  Thankfully, I picked a relatively easy 10 mile chunk to start with. The highly contested Rocksylvania section won't begin until tomorrow. Today it was mostly like walking thru the midwest landscape I grew up in: corn over here, soybeans over there, completely picked over berry bushes along the fences, and a variety of animal farm noises scattered throughout. At one point, the trail went right along the cornfield edge (I don't think this was necessarily on purpose) and all I could think about were the papercut-like scratches I used to get running thru the corn fields as a kid. Pack feels heavy today despite all the changes I have made to lighten it up this time. Lighter sleeping bag, lighter hammock straps, no rain pants, no leatherman, no extra fuel canister. But this solar battery pack is heavier than I want it to be. And I probably over packed my food bag...and 2L of water is heavy when you have to fill it up and walk uphill most of a mile because the water at the shelter is unreliable. So...I will take solace in knowing that my load will get lighter as I consume all the consumables. And that means I can carry out soda from town. Starting tomorrow.Alright. The sky is getting darker. The bugs are getting louded. Hiker midnight approaches.
Date: 2019-08-06
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Clark's Ferry Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: broken clouds

I feel like so much happened today but none of it is terribly journal worthy. It also might be that I am wicked tired.The short version:Started the morning slowish. Took my time taking down camp and eating breakfast. Met a NoBo hiker named Crash and discovered we were shooting for the same shelter next. Started walking. More fields. Very thirsty. Hour and a half til a stream crossing that wasn't on the map (yayyyy!). Hour and a half back in the woods til lunch. (7 miles done by noon) More walking until an amazing overlook where we meet some day hikers with a hammock who ask a lot of questions, but not the good ones. Also see a storm in the distance. Day hikers get scared and haul ass back down. We shrug and head down a long set of stairs into Duncannon. Trail goes thru Duncannon. Got Root Beer. Met a SoBo named Legs who is hiking insane miles. Got pizza. Started the 5 mile walk to shelter. Almost all uphill for the last 3 miles. My ankle hurts. The end. (We hiked 16 miles!)Cool story, right? I wasn't sure if I could pull off a day like today so early in this trip. 16 miles is a lot on fresh legs. But I did it. And it puts me on track for a couple chiller days and on schedule to pick up my 1 resupply box. I did just realize I may have managed to misplace my tiny massage ball that keeps my feet muscles in check here at the shelter area. Fingers crossed I find it in the morning. Ok. Legs are tired. Brain is tired. Gnight.
Date: 2019-08-07
From: Clark's Ferry Shelter

To: Mystery campsite
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

For the record - 16 miles feels less great the day after. I blame the fact that approx 3 of those miles were concrete miles thru Duncannon. My left shin is picking up some annoying pain of the shin splint variety. It came and went throughout the day. Took some ibuprofen, had an icy hot patch on. Changed out the patch for a new one after dinner and will take some more drugs before I go to sleep. This is the one kind of physical pain I have experienced in life that actually makes me stop. Or at least slow down. Last time, it meant I took a Nero into Kent, CT and lazed around with some new friends. This time...I still need to try to walk 12 miles again tomorrow. In other news: rain today. Only got caught in about an hour of it. But hung out for a while in an awesome shelter with 2 ladies I met on my first evening and also Crash for a bit. Stopped in there for lunch thinking the skies were about to open but it seemed like it all hit further down trail. Glad I decided to put my pack cover on just in case. Definitely got nailed by some good heavy rain for about a mile and a half. Lucked out in that it died off just before I got to my spot for the night. However, looks like a bit more will pass over me while I sleep. Hoping my clothes dry out. And glad I have a pair of dry socks for the morning if nothing else.First time this trip sleeping all on my own. It's surprisingly not my favorite. I kind of like knowing there is another human in yelling distance. But...so it goes. Cross your fingers for some good muscle healing sleep.
Date: 2019-08-08
From: Mystery campsite

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Delayed post due to lack of signal last night...A long 12 miles today. A lot of flatter sections which are sometimes worse than hills. Granted, normally a section like this I would cruise thru. Today, fighting this shin splint, flats somehow exacerbate the pain more. I did decide to try my KT tape for the first time. It certainly helped. I have a feeling it is going to become the second most important piece of my med kit - right after the Icy Hot patches. Anyway, a couple really neat spots along the green tunnel. I had lunch at an unofficial campsite area that is covered in pine trees. A beautiful flat spot to begin with. It used to be a fire tower location but has since grown over. In the footprint of the old tower, someone has taken the time to gather up stones for a large firepit and stone chairs surrounding it. It would be a great spot to camp with a group of people.After that, the trail passes the site of an old mining village from the 1800s. Not much to be seen right off trail,but supposedly it's haunted. Yellow Springs is the name, if you care to search the internet. Just past that is a blue blaze I was hoping to have time for. More ruins. Of the town associated with the miners and theoretically more actual ruins. The trail sign is for "The General". I opted to not check it out this time around, sadly. All I could think about by that time was not walking anymore...and food - specifically mac and cheese.Got to this really lovely site by the river. I wish it was closer to the water- I also was contemplating stopping to cold soak my feet. But I was pretty sure the 2 ladies I've been running into would be here. And I wanted to chat some more.I was right. It's their last night on trail but I hung out with one of them- Samba- for quite a while while I made dinner and then worked on trying to loosen up my muscles. The two of them make me think that maybe one of these days I'll convince one of the other crazy ladies in my life to come out here with me. :-) Hoping I'll catch them in the morning to say goodbye but...well, I'm really not much better at waking up early out here than I am at home. Granted, I also don't like to set an alarm unless I need to.But, nice to chat for a bit. Anyway. Hoping to put in some mileage tomorrow to get me to an awesome shelter with a solar shower and shuttles to the nearby town to pick up my package and maybe a couple other little things. Cross your fingers.
Date: 2019-08-09
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: clear sky

So...remember when I said I was set up to do some chiller mileage days? Well... there are 2 things that will keep my legs going more than anything else.Shower.Soda.The morning started with a little re-route. Some beavers put up a damn right in the middle of the AT last year so there is an alternate now on a couple of fire roads. Added about half a mile but I didn't want to take the chance at wet shoes. Not to mention I'm starting to break some blisters.Met a a couple of lovely volunteers at a bridge at Swatara Gap. Apparently there are some trails that they let people drive down once a year to see some historical things. Chatted for a while as I ate a quick lunch. Trail magic in the form of offering me a chair to use so I could sit in the very limited shade. This was followed by a pretty steep climb to get back up onto the next ridgeline for the rest of the day. A fair amount of large rocks again and LOTS of small scrubby brush and grass. Which I hate. A lot. All I can think about are ticks and snakes lying in wait. This may have been part of what caused me to do 18 miles today. I feel like I practically ran thru 5 of those miles. The last 2 however...so slow. I caved and put in my earbuds. 2 episodes of Reply All and day dreams of a shower got me thru it just barely.Now I'm sleeping in the bunk house. Which I don't normally do. The caretaker here said "Well,I recommend you sleep inside. We are awful close to the highway and if anything happened to you (which isn't likely, but always possible), your mother would never forgive me." So, Mom, there are people out here that I don't even really know that look out for me.I've caught back up to Crash and kept pace with an older guy whose name I can't remember...but is a kind of acronym for rotation of day off or something of the sort... he's a Vietnam vet.I walked in, was offered a foot soak with epsom salts (YES PLEASE), took a delightful cold shower, did my laundry, had pizza AND coke. And a couple hours of great story swaping.Now hopefully I don't get eaten alive without my bug net. Fingers crossed.
Date: 2019-08-10
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagle's Nest Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: broken clouds

I am officially a full day head of my initial game plan. Granted, this is not a surprise to me. I kind of build my itinerary now with the hope that I will be faster. However, this time I may be paying the price in blisters.Over the last couple of days I have started to get them cropping up on my smaller toes. And I just tried to pop one on my left heel area and failed. I guess my skin is pretty tough. Which I guess is also potentially a good thing? I just did a bunch of web research about blister care. The debate of to pop or not to pop is alive and well.What this has really led me to consider is getting a ride to Cabela's tomorrow from Port Clinton. I bought a pair of Injinji socks about a month ago and decided not to wear them because they slipped around too much in these shoes. But...maybe the trick is a thin pair of those underneath my Smartwool. Guh. Double socks sounds horrible. But my feet are too narrow for just about any shoe so maybe that will help, too? Fingers crossed for some good advice tomorrow at the shop. And for a quick trip. I'll check out the pavilion in Port Clinton tomorrow but I really don't like the idea of sleeping in town. Apparently it's a half mile straight down to get into town. And also not fun to hike back out of. Such is life on the AT. So we'll see how -my feet- feel tomorrow. The rest of me is good to go....mostly...hopefully after tonight. Sleeping on a hard wooden bunk last night did a number on my lower back (sorry Doc Roy).But on the bright side, I picked up my resupply box this morning and it both did not feel excruciatingly heavy AND had stuff that I will totally continue to eat. Good job, past me. Next time, think about splitting up the athletic tape partially into the box. And adding more Icy Hot. And ibuprofen. And maybe another pair of socks. It can always find a hiker box if I don't need them. (Hiker box: a donation box commonly found in hostels, shelters, post offices, etc along the trail. Both for leaving and for finding things you need)At any rate, sorry to be talking so much about my discomfort on here. The rocks in Pennsylvania are killing my feet slowly. And trying to rush thru them is apparently not the best option. Or maybe it's my shoes. Or my socks. Who knows! Hiking long distances is partially about learning these things about ourselves, how to manage them, and hopefully how to prevent them next time. And the athlete in me is probably just going to keep pushing. Probably harder than I should. But...I doubt anyone reading this is surprised. And the KT tape is made of magic and at least that is keeping my muscles and ligaments working properly! And I got to jump in a very cold but ultimately refreshing swimming hole today! So - hopefully tonight, back in my hammock,and back with the noise of bugs instead of other hikers tossing and turning on sleeping pads, I can get some good healing sleep. As long as the gun fire in the distance doesn't get too loud...(it's middle of nowhere Pennsylvania on a lovely Saturday night...no surprise here)
Date: 2019-08-11
From: Eagle's Nest Shelter

To: Mystery campsite
Miles today: 11.8

It's a strange thing when you come out of the woods by a highway. Cars are louder and faster the longer you spend away from them. The trail crosses a number of towns. Today I passed thru Port Clinton with a visit to Hamburg for a few resupply items. Port Clinton is very tiny. I don't there there is a stop light. The important items highlighted in my guides are: the Post Office, the Candy Store, and the Hotel which is the same building as the bar and grill, and a Pavilion that thru hikers can camp at. Of course I had to stop at the candy store to get a soda. And then figure out how to get to the Cabela's followed by the Walmart and back to the trail. Normally Cabelas runs a shuttle for hikers. Sadly it has been out for repair for a while this season. So...Lyft to the rescue.After a 17 minute wait (I mean, I'm glad I could get a ride at all), a little red car pulled up and a man probably not much older than me immediately started to move his things so that I could sit in the front seat. "I have questions. Sit up front. I want to talk to you." Ok, sure. Apparently he grew up in Croatia and used to hike all the time but hasn't since he moved here 14 years ago. But seems to have a mild interest in the AT. At least enough interest to proceed to wait for me at cabela's, then wait for me at Walmart, and then drive me back. Which was amazing. I don't care that it was still a monetary transaction, that counts as a Trail Angel to me. Not having to do a road walk between stores and not having to call a second car...total win. In and out of town in 2 hours...and with a little more heft to my pack than I meant to. But.. I only had 3 miles left to go. So I thought it was a good occasion for an extra soda and some junk food. Oh! AND an apple (I ate one right away, too). Guys, food is heavy. And pretty much anytime you come out of town, you're going uphill. And now I'm loaded up with 5 days worth to get me to Delaware Water Gap where I may take my only true Zero of this trip. Tell me again how cool I am - because this feels pretty silly sometimes.Things to look forward to tomorrow: trying double socks, only having 12 miles to walk, and another shower.
Date: 2019-08-12
From: Mystery campsite

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: light rain

Some days you plan to do 12 miles.And then you meet a couple really cool people, get some trail magic together, and decide to keep going with them. Then you skip the shelter with a shower and hike 19 instead. New friends! Luna and Skinny. Luna reminds me a lot of my friend Lakes from my last section. Going to try to keep up with them for another day. We're talking about possibly 22 miles which would be the most I've ever done in one day. We'll see what happens. First things first, have to get up in time. So this is a short post for the night. More tomorrow.