morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-07
From: Free State Hostel, MD

To: Deer Lick Shelters, PA
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

Numerous hikers were up early on the rainy morning of June 7, 2013 at the Free State Hostel, including the Professor. I headed up the road back to the trailhead prepared to be rained on heavily. Weather called for a large tropical type storm to hammer the mid-Atlantic coast sometime today. As I've learned, however, these forecasts are mostly un-reliable in the Appalachians. Nevertheless, I was reluctant to hike a long distance in heavy rains and did not want to be committed to setting up a tent in torrential rain. The AT crossed several highways and through open fields before entering the forest canopy again. Along the way, I met the hiker Slacks, a young, blonde-haired man, hiking unforgettably in a kilt. Slacks managed a small dairy farm in Vermont...I believe, which he was planning to stop by for a few days when he got there. He hiked a fast clip. We hiked over steep, wet terrain, and across boulder fields to the MD-PA border, marked by a large park called Pen Mar. The park contained numerous gazebos, tons of picnic benches and a soda vending machine. We both stood beneath the limited overhang of the building with the soda machine, trying to stay dry, but it was futile! We continued north, Slacks committing to making it to the Tumbling Run Shelters. I stopped for the day, about 3.5 miles south of Tumbling Runs at the Deer Lick Shelters, where a couple of guys section hiking were planning to stay for the night. It was a short day for me, but I was not motivated as I was other days to hike any longer in the rain. It was still early in the afternoon, about 2 pm. Time passed slowly. I prepared a couple of meals and attempted to dry my soggy gear out in the shelter. It is important to note here, that there are indeed a pair of shelters, albeit smaller than many of the previous ones with lofts. Perhaps the greatest advantage was that you could place all the snoring hikers in one loft and the quiet sleepers in the other...ideally.
Date: 2013-06-09
From: Toms Run Shelters

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: broken clouds

I hiked along a cornfield into the town of Boiling Springs, PA. I enjoyed a pizza in town, blogged into the late evening at an outfitter across from the ATC-Mid Atlantic Region office, then decided that I would through my bag down on the grass around the back side of the building and sleep beneath the cover of understory and trees. Just as I got my tarp out, it began to rain. I moved around to the front of the building and sat on the bench swing beneath the covered porch, watching the fire flies flicker in the trees as the rain fell. I decided I'd use the porch as a convenient shelter for the night. I set my bag beneath the picnic bench and enjoyed the dry cover of the porch. I figured that I'd be up long before anyone arrived to open the office, which was said to open at 8am. More blog will be posted in the near future. Stay tuned.
Date: 2013-06-19
From: Murray property, mi 1,339.1

To: Vernon, New Jersey, mi 1,352.6
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked a short day into Vernon New Jersey. Had ice cream and fresh strawberries at the Heaven Hill Farm near the trailhead. Hitched into town with Alex, White Russian, Stumbles, and War Cry. Stayed at the St. Thomas Hostel. Journal entry coming soon!!!
Date: 2013-06-22
From: NY9D-North end of Hudson River Bridge

To: Stream- south of painted 911 American Flag, 1,420.
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: clear sky

I had managed to sleep considerably well given the slope I stealth camped on, not more than 1000 feet up the AT from NY9D on the north side of the Hudson River Bridge. I had packed up camp before a couple of middle aged ladies had hiked by me on a morning hike (no packs). I passed by perhaps a dozen blacks camping at the Hemlock Springs Campsite, which I had originally planned to make it to the day before. I passed by what appeared to be a huge tube tent, essentially a heavy ground tarp hanging over a rope. I assumed that they were car camping and had hiked in the short distance from the nearby Manitou Rd. By 9:30am, I arrived at the intersection of US9 and NY403, crossing a good length of boardwalk through the grass. I was completely surprised when a Shell service station with mini market and full deli came in sight. I purchased a deli sandwich, chocolate milk and ice cream for starters and was back for a second round. I sat at the picnic bench outside the mini market and consumed like a wild animal, sharing the table with a guy that knew Alex from high school in Florida, along with two older men named Steakman and Merlotrin. Steakman, I recall, is an attorney and Merlotrin, who likes his Merlot, worked for the Ohio DOT. Both gentlemen were boy scout leaders with hilarious stories about one notorious kid in the scouts. During our chat, I mentioned my through hike and plans to be in the 100 mile wilderness the first week of August, with a need for a ride to the airport. It turned out that Steakman owned his own plane. He said that he and Merlotrin would be hiking through the 100-mile wilderness about the same time and to give them a call when I get up there. I thought, cool! I got myself a first class plane trip from Katahdin to Bangor! The AT terrain became rocky with steep ups and downs north of the Graymoor Sprititual Life Center until reaching the boundary of Clarence Fahnestock State Park. The trail through the park, like the one over Bear Mountain at mile 1,396.6, was well manicured, and smooth. The trail through Clarence Fahnestock State Park was elevated along the top of what appeared to be very old dikes constructed of stone. It was after 4pm when I made it to NY301, which bounded Canopus Lake. I hiked a short distance west, up the road, to the trailhead. The AT had returned to its typical rocky, steep terrain, traversing the ridges above the lake shore. Darkness was approaching and the terrain was not favorable even for stealth camping. Just before darkness, a short distance beyond a blue-blaze trail leading to a concession stand at a beach on the lake, I found a small grassy opening next to a stream. I set up the tent, and changed into my Marmot rain pants and ArcTeryx rain jacket to protect me from the thick mosquitos, while I cooked dinner.
Date: 2013-06-23
From: Stream- south of painted 911 American Flag, 1,420.

To: Native Landscapes Nursery-NY22, Wingdale, NY
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: clear sky

hiked to Wingdale, NY and camped at the Native Landscapes Nursery next to the Appalachian Trail Railroad. Asside from getting eaten alive by mosquitos at the nursery, I got artificially rained on by sprinklers at 5am and woken by trains every hour through the night. It sounded like the train was going though my tent...which it would have if it derailed.Journal Entry Coming Soon!!!
Date: 2013-06-24
From: Native Landscapes Nursery-NY22, Wingdale, NY

To: CT341, Kent, Connecticut
Miles today: 18.4

Hiked into Kent with a thunderstorm brewing on the ridge behind me. After hiking nearly a mile into town, the rain caught up to me. I visited the old cemetery on the edge of town as it began to rain. By the time I arrived at the Kent Coffee and Chocolate shop, it was dumping. I hear a voice shouting "Rock Steady"! It was Alex. He had caught up with a young lady in her early 30s named Stumbles, who was hanging out with White Russian. The three of them had been in town a day already. Stumbles was taking antibiotics for Lyme Disease, commonly spread by an infected tick. They were sharing a room at the Fife n' Drum Restaurant and Inn at the end of the main strip through town. Journal Entry Coming Soon!!!
Date: 2013-06-25
From: CT341, Kent, Connecticut

To: Toy Makers Cafe, Falls Village, CT, mi 1,488.0
Miles today: 25.1
Weather: light rain

Camped on a small patch of lawn on the edge of the Toy Makers Cafe property, in Falls Village, CT. The Cafe. The Cafe is said to be hiker friendly, though inconveniently open only from Thursday-Sunday. Alex, Stumbles, White Russian, and myself had arrived on Tuesday. A very attractive young lady had driven us up the hill from the parking area down the hill on Water Street. She did not mind a bunch of wet, smelly, filthy back backers crammed into her car, because it was a filthy mess to begin with. It felt odd getting driven when we couldn't have been more than 0.25 miles from the town of Falls Village.Journal Entry Coming Soon!!!
Date: 2013-06-26
From: Toy Makers Cafe, Falls Village, CT, mi 1,488.0

To: The Hemlocks Shelter, 1,509.7
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: light rain

I woke up early at the Toy Makers Cafe in Falls Village, CT, but not early enough. Stumbles, White Russian, and Alex had already packed their gear and began heading down Main Street towards the outdoor shower at the Hydro Plant. I was the only one who set up a tent that night on a damp patch of grass on the edge of the property. The others rolled their bags out on the covered front porch of the Cafe. I folded up camp in under 15 minutes and ran after the group, whom were congregating at the outdoor shower at the hydroelectric facility down the hill. After filling up on water, we crossed the Housatonic over a dilapidated concrete bridge. White Russian started hiking down the road searching for the AT. I spotted a white blaze nearly invisible by the dense understory in the opposite direction. I shouted "found it! and vanished into the woods. The trail followed the Housatonic downstream, extremely choked by wet understory, which soaked my already damp clothes. The AT intersects the Housatonic River Road a second time after a couple tenths of a mile, following the road a few hundred yards before en echelon white blazes directed us off the road again. Later in the afternoon, Alex realized that he had left his hammock on the front porch. I was not willing to hike back, so did everything he could to contact the folks at Toy Makers Cafe. He had no success, and now, nothing to sleep on or in for camping. The AT crosses the Housatonic River at the Hydro Plant, then heads north along the banks of the river, before crossing a few more roads. White Russian had crossed the bridge and was looking for the trail elusive trailhead. I spotted it to the right of the bridge abutment in the dense, wet forest. The understory was particularly dense, overgrown and wet. My shorts were getting a second soaking brushing against the wet foliage. I hiked a fast clip and left the group behind me. I arrived by mid morning on Cobble Rd, leading into Salisbury, CT. Heart Rock had sent a new pair of shoes to Peter Beck's Village Store. I had hiked to an old cemetery along Cobble Rd, en route to the next trailhead north. I realized that I was bypassing Salisbury so headed back to Main Street. About 200 yds ahead, I noticed White Russian, Stumbles, and Alex throwing their gear in the back of a station wagon. I ran the remaining distance like Forrest Gump, trying to catch them before the driver took off. I made it in the nick of time! The kind woman drove us along Main Street and dropped us in front of Sweet Williams Bakery, which served up delicious iced coffee cakes and baked goods. All four of us gorged ourselves at the iron table out front.Journal Entry Coming Soon!!!
Date: 2013-06-27
From: The Hemlocks Shelter, 1,509.7

To: Mt Wilcox North Shelter, mi 1,531.2
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: light rain

I stayed at the crowed Mt Wilcox North Shelter. I couldn't have arrived with better timing. The rain began on my approach on the 0.3 mile trail east to the shelter. It was crowded! a smoldering fire was burning out front. Several people had boldly set up tents in the forest around the shelter. Not that rain is a horrible thing to be exposed to in a tent, but during my rapid reconnaissance of the site, the topography afforded only low spots that could easily become deep pools during torrential down pours. I cooked dinner in the back of the shelter, and prepared a spot to sleep after dinner. I was exhausted.Journal Entry Coming Soon!!!
Date: 2013-06-28
From: Mt Wilcox North Shelter, mi 1,531.2

To: The Cookie Lady's- Washington Mt. Road, mi 1,556.3
Miles today: 25.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Set up tent on the vast cut grass fields surrounding the Cooky Lady's home. The hiking group had grown a bit larger. Beacon, a young man from Texas with long legs and great stature, hiked with a kid who had not yet graduated from high school and was living in Orlando, Florida, named Ebo. Ebo spent much of his time getting lit on weed. Both hikers could be fast when they wanted. Beacon had passed me a couple times at perhaps a 5mph pace which he could hold. White Russian, Stumbles, and Alex hiked with me.
Date: 2013-06-29
From: The Cookie Lady's- Washington Mt. Road, mi 1,556.3

To: Cheshire, Massachusetts
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

I hiked a fast pace over relatively flat terrain from the Cooky Lady's to Dalton, MA. I stayed in front of Stumbles, White Russian, and Alex the whole way. I hiked Depot Street to Hwy 9-Main Street, past the paper plant on the Housatonic River, to the Juice & Java coffee place, where I enjoyed a couple of breakfast burritos and double espressos mixed with coke on ice. The other three showed up about an hour later and had plans to stay at Thomas Levardi's on Depot Street. I was planning to get a few more miles in myself after a light re-supply. The dilemma was that only a small gas station market existed in town. On my hike to the market, I saw Beacon and Ebo in a car. They were hitching to Great Barrington to get food- I believe. I loaded up on junk food at Cumberland Farms (mini market), had a delicious burger and beer at the Mill Town Tavern on Depot St and across from the Housatonic R., then backtracked my way north down the lengthy High St. to the AT trailhead. I hiked a fast clip up steep terrain, listing to loud music piercing the forrest from a nearby neighborhood. It was once again a reminder that the AT was merely an urban path, not a wilderness trial like the other two transcontinental trails. I arrived at Diane's Twist, a small house converted to milkshake and ice cream place just before closing. I couldn't have finished the day better. The portly lady seemed happy to see one last customer for the day and blended a superb blackberry shake with leftover portions in the metal blender cup. I sat on the bench outside and enjoyed it, before heading up Church Street to check in to St. Mary's Hostel. I was not sure what the arrangements were here. No one seemed to be around to monitor incoming hikers. Being that it was a church, they separated the boys from the girls in two rooms on opposite sides of the entrance of a large common hall with stage. The boys room was crowded. I decided to sleep just outside the room.   I hiked further west on Church St to South Street and had dinner at the Cobbleview Pub and Pizzeria. The woman who served me and I believe was the owner, was not the friendly type. A local, older man who sat at the bar across from me and talked my ear off the whole time told me what he thought of her behind her back. I called my friend Mark Morando in the warm evening out in the parking lot behind St. Mary's.
Date: 2013-06-30
From: Cheshire, Massachusetts

To: Seth Warner Shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: broken clouds

When I made it to the Vermont state border, a belligerent hiker I had seen earlier at The Place in Damascus, VA, was sitting on a rock next to the border. He exclaimed 'I have something for you to celebrate making it to Vermont'I said, ' A pint of Ben & Jerry's?'He pulls out a half gallon bottle of whisky from his ultra-light pack 'Nope, whisky!'I introduced myself, not ever being formally introduced in Damascus, VA, where I saw SoWay ready to get in a brawl with Bayou, the manager of The Place. SoWay, seemed to have some serious anger management issues among other problems. I should've said 'no thanks' to the whisky, but took a swig anyway, followed by a few more. On an empty stomach and likely dehydrated from hiking all day, I quickly felt drunk. My head was buzzing. My intentions were to hike at least to the Congdon Shelter still 10 miles north. The sound of thunder, followed by heavy drops of rain, cooling my buzzing head, quickly ended that idea. I followed Soway, who hiked with a new looking, light blue, Marmot pack with two whiffle ball bats at a fast clip in the rain, stumbling my way over rocks. I lost my balance at one point and fell backwards, numb from the whisky. I should mention, that the well know Long Trail begins at the MA-VT border and runs concurrently with the AT for 105 miles (according to AWOL's 2013 guide). We arrived at the Seth Warner Shelter in the rain. It was occupied solely by Long Trail hikers. I recall that there were four all together hiking in groups of two.Journal Entry Coming Soon!!!
Date: 2013-07-01
From: Seth Warner Shelter

To: Bennington, Vermont, mi 1,607.7
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

I hiked in the rain, 11 miles to VT9 from the Seth Warner Shelter and was elated that I was not hiking any longer with Soway. I stood at the edge of the parking area, soaked, with my thumb out, but realized that this was far too dangerous a place to hitch a ride, with semi-trucks hauling down hill at speeds over 60mph. I began to hike down the hill, the estimated 5 miles into town, with my thumb still partially out, a van pulls over on the narrow shoulder ahead of me. He gets out and tells me to hurry, before I could even get a word in. I knew he was nervous about getting hit by a truck. He had his son in a child's seat tethered in back. I introduced myself and that I was a though hiker needing a place to stay in town. He recommended the Autumn Inn on the edge of town and closest to the trailhead. The Autumn Inn, another motel owned by Indians, was a run down dump like so many before it! It had hot running water and a bed in an otherwise dark dingy room. I spread my wet gear over the second bed and chairs and turned the heat on. After a recovering a bit, I hiked into town to have lunch at the Madison Brew Co., where I enjoyed a delicious burger and two beers, the second purchased by a man named Gene, second generation owner of the market in town called Henry's. His beautiful wife joined him later and ordered a glass of wine. She offered to drive me around town in the rain, to look for orthotics and resupply with food. She ended up driving me around the circumference of town, to several shoe stores in the torrential rain, before I found something adequate to replace the badly worn SuperFeet I had transferred between several pairs of shoes since Springer Mt., GA. The shopping ended at their store, Henry's, which I had the privilege of entering from the back, past the basement where they age and smoke Vermont cheddar and meets, to the counter. Gene had told her to grab what I needed for free! I felt a bit guilty and much like a homeless person, begging for food. Then I realized, I was homeless indeed. I did not tell them that I was still paying 1,450/month for rent of my vacant duplex among other bills. MacKenzie notified the cashier to allow me to walk out of the store with a bag full of goodies which included aged cheddar, and a couple of desserts. Following my resupply, MacKenzie drove me back to the dumpy Autumn Inn. She had mentioned earlier, that had she known I needed a place to stay, she would've offered their home. Thank you Gene and MacKenzie! I will never forget your kindness!
Date: 2013-07-04
From: Bromley Mountain

To: VT140, Footbridge-Stream- hitch to Rutland, VT
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: light rain

Analog, FoxTrot, and myself got lucky and found a kind lady willing to drive us a good 10 miles into Rutland, VT, where we had planned to stay at the Hiker Hostel in downtown. It was here, that we caught up with an older through hiker from Oregon, named Chris, who had left a trail of notoriety behind him. I could not remember when I first became acquainted with Chris, but I recall his peculiar manner of holding a stick below his pack while hiking. I had learned through one conversation with him, that he had attempted the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) a previous year, and had left the trail after completing 2,200 miles due to an injury. The two things that gained him notoriety with hikers he had passed, however, was his perpetual illness, a virus that gave him the runs, and his mannerisms while staying in the shelters. Analog, I had learned had earlier confrontations with him in shelters. He had some extreme peculiarities about him. He was in the common room upstairs playing the guitar when I poked my head in. He was surprised to find me there, since he thought he was days ahead of me. The Yellow Deli, which was part of the Hiker Hostel and run by some strange tribe of Mennonites, served up delicious food. The hospitality at the Hikers Hostel was outstanding, though the price for this was the feeling of awkwardness you felt for Harrison Ford while acclimating to the Amish lifestyle in his role as detective in the movie Witness. in FoxTrot, who was penniless, worked for his stay and food the entire time we were there. I worked in the kitchen the next morning, mopping the floors to pay for the night in the bunk room. The next day (July 5), Analog and FoxTrot were lounging out front wondering how we would get a ride back to the trailhead. I asked one of the Yellow Deli personnel if they knew of a shuttle service and they provided the number of one gentleman. In a few minutes, we were loading gear into a van and on our way back to the trailhead. Along the way, he agreed to stop by a large shoe store in an indoor mall, where I was persuaded to purchase the Brookes Cascadia by Analog. He swore that many through hikers he met on the PCT the previous year had only good things to say about these shoes. I had to get rid of the Salomon high-tops! I purchased the bright red Cascadias along with a new pair of socks, and stopped by the post office to ship the Salomon hightops back home. My feet felt better...so much better. Mission accomplished. I was hopefully set to finish the AT in this hopefully final pair of shoes.
Date: 2013-07-05
From: VT140, Footbridge-Stream- hitch to Rutland, VT

To: Upper Cold River Rd (gravel)-Secret Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: light rain

By late afternoon, after a long detour around an apparent impassibly section of the AT where a bridge was washed out, we (Anolog, FoxTrot and myself) experienced the wrath of the afternoon thunderstorm, that had followed us from Rutland. The rain began to fall heavily perhaps only a half mile from the "secret shelter", constructed by a local resident from natural, unmilled timbers...a true log cabin shelter! The three of us cooked dinner beneath the cover of the shelter.Journal Entry Coming Soon!!!