morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-07-18
From: Vernon

To: Near Prospect Rock
Miles today: 9.8

A visit to the post office and a good breakfast in town delay our departure. Of course we don't want to start in the heat of the day so we delay some more and leave sometime after 3pm. A nice lady gives us a hitch back to the trail. I think her kids are a little freaked out but no harm is done. We do learn about a waterpark nearby. Good thing we didn't know that beforehand. We might have never left town. We finally cross into New York today. The trail has been pretty rocky and it's very fitting that the border is marked on a huge boulder. We were hoping the trail would get smoother after PA but it's still rocks and boulders everywhere. We enjoy a nice break on top of Prospect Rock though. When we go down it we are glad that we didn't stay up there til dark. We have to go down a slanted slab of rock. Am I glad it didn't just rain. This stuff is dangerous!It gets dark soon and we find some sort of flat spot to set up. Not ideal but hiking on boulders in the dark isn't very safe. It's quite swampy here I hope it doesn't rain because we could be in deep trouble.
Date: 2005-07-19
From: Near Prospect Rock

To: side of Arden mtn
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

We're almost out of water in the morning so we're looking forward to finding the streams and brooks mentioned in the book. Well, we find them allright. The only problem is that they all have brown or even reddish water. Yuck! We treat it as well as we can. At one of the streams we meet up with Dandylion. He's from England and a very funny guy. We meet him again at the icecreamery close to the trail. Yay!!! Icecream! This wasn't mentioned in the book so it's a very welcome surprise. We also meet Chuckles & Gottago here. We all lack motivation but after filling up on water we continue on to Wildcat Shelter. We take another break here. Boy! We are making some huge miles again. Chuckles & Gottago stay here, they were as unpleasantly surprised by the rocks as we are.We go up some more crazy 'trail'. Are they trying to kill us here? I mean, they lead us up and down steep rock faces and rockfalls. We have to use hands and feet to pull ourselves up. At one point I'm holding on to roots so I won't fall down. What the heck is this??? This ain't trail. This is rockscrambling with a pack on. RIDICULOUS!!!The traildesigners should visit the west coast trails some day I'm sure they could learn a lot.Needless to say we don't make a lot more miles today. Plus we (that's UG and me) are both pretty pissed off. The only highlight in the end of the day is the excellent campsite we end up at. We are half way up Arden mtn. and have an awesome view and even a glimpse of a sunset.
Date: 2005-07-20
From: side of Arden mtn

To: Fort Montgomery
Miles today: 20.2

The ridiculous trail made us quite frustrated yesterday. Normally, six miles and a couple hundred feet of elevation gain wouldn't get to me. Today however I think of yesterday and know that we're going to go over each and every boulder they can find in a the most difficult way possible. I'm fed up with it. If it would lead to good views it would be a different story but it's just more trees. Ugh! I tell UG that if I had maps and found a road walk around it I would walk the road. At that time the Trolls pull up. They have maps. They find a way around it. Uh oh! They call my bluff. They are doing the road walk. UG wants to do the roadwalk but says he'll do the trail with me if I decide to go trail. I guess it's time to decide how much of a purist I am... What the heck... I'm walking the road! As long as I walk from Georgia to Maine I'm happy. I'm just too frustrated right now and this rockscrambling stuff is dangerous and unnecessary.The roadwalk is nice and I actually enjoy the scenery now instead of looking at my feet fearing that I'll break something. We still climb but it is nice and gradual and I get to talk to Troll. He seems even more frustrated than I am. I think a lot of us are a little burnt out at this point and trail like this isn't helping. At Lake Tiorati we take a long break and a nice swim. Much better! The Trolls are being slacked by Gordon and Sue. Sue is in a wheel chair and the road walk to Bear mtn allows us to take her along with us for a bit. We pick up the trail at the bottom of Bear mtn. The climb is tiring me out. I'm almost hyperventilating. This is frustrating!!!We make it down the mountain okay but too late to walk through the trail side zoo. We've all been fantasizing about a motel room in Fort Montgomery but are faced with a crazy scary crossing of a busy traffic circle in New York. Two cars almost bump into each other right before our cars. One of them skids into the grass. No one seems to know who's got the right of way. And we have to cross that?? UG makes it to the other side first, the Trolls follow, I decide to go a different route. Finally we all make it safely to the side we need to be at. Fort Montgomery here we come!Unfortunately it turns out that there aren't any rooms big enough to hold us all. All they have are singles. The Trolls decide to go back to the trail and camp somewhere. UG and I indulge and share a room. A private shower... so nice! There is a great restaurant across the street. What a luxury.
Date: 2005-07-21
From: Fort Montgomery

To: Dennytown road
Miles today: 14.5

It's difficult to leave the luxuries of a motel room but we finally get back on the trail around 11:30am. I want to see what the zoo is like so we backtrack a little and walk through it. It's tiny and somewhat depressing but we walk the short geological trail which is quite enjoyable and teaches us about the Hudson river and surroundings.A guide points to us saying that we are real Appalachian Trail hikers. We are a sight to see I guess. Very amusing.We cross the Hudson River on a big suspension bridge and then start climbing up South mtn. This climb is nicely switchbacked. So much better to hike up. When we take a break Tink and Livestrong catch up to us. We know there is a big bubble of people still behind us. Taking half a day off brought them closer. Tink is telling us that the Gypsies are going to be at the Greymoor pavillion this afternoon. I'd love to see them again. When I get there however they haven't arrived yet. Some of the people there are Dandylion, Socks, Tink and Livestrong. Gypsy Touk finally shows up. I run towards her in the romantic movie way. This scares the hell out of Navigator who walked in with her. He starts to run the other way, it's very funny. I'm hoping Lulu will arrive soom too but she hasn't made it in yet when we leave. Dandylion is going to stay for the dinner and then move on. I'm hoping he'll catch us soon. We are once again trying to catch up to the Trolls and hope to stay ahead of the big group.The Trolls had left us a postcard on a tree letting us know where they'll camp but hiking in the dark with only one headlamp (mine broke) in rocky terrain isn't working too well. We decide to stay at Dennytown road. There is a water pump here which is nice.When we've set up camp a ranger pulls up in his car. We're a little worried that we have to move but he just wanted to make sure we were fine. Sighhh...
Date: 2005-07-22
From: Dennytown road

To: Near NY 52
Miles today: 16.1

In the morning we have a visit from Skywalker. He had camped about 100 yards away in a primitive campground. Rocky and Bullwinkle (who we met in Fort Montgomery) had also been there and apparently we missed some great trailmagic. Oh well...It's good to see Skywalker again, he's a funny guy. We leave together but I need to fix my feet. Actually I need to change shoes. I can't hike in my shoes anymore. They tear up my heels. Even with a ton of duct tape. I resign myself to hiking in my sandals. I've done it before so it should be fine.When we cross a road at Canopus Lake a car slows down and a guy shouts out one word. I have no idea what he is saying. He keeps repeating the same word and points ahead. Oh, I get it, he wants to know if this road goes in the direction of a certain town that I still haven't deciphered. It would have been a little bit more polite if he had said: "Excuse me can you tell if I'm going in the right direction for such and such town?". This was just plain rude. Also amusing though.We walk high above Canopus Lake. It looks very tempting but it doesn't seem very accessible from the trail. I find UG taking a break and join him. Not much later Dandylion catches up to us. When I leave they make fun of how slow I hike. I don't take it too well. When they pass me they still make fun of me. Arrrghhh!!!When I meet them again at Shenandoah campsite I let them know I didn't quite appreciate their humor. I'm pissed off. We make up though and are soon friends again : )At this site we find a cardboard headof Jesse James. It wants to be taken to Katahdin. UG ties him to his pack and will pass him on to us later. The sillyness you find along the way...At RPH shelter we find a great entry in the register from Skywalker. We add our own silly stuff to it. Good fun. It looks like we won't catch the Trolls again tonight. But we will be able to make it to NY 52 in time for pizza and resupply (I did some lousy shopping in F.M.). Dandy, UG and I have a good time downing calories. It's dark before we return to the trail so the first flat spot we find is our campsite. We only have one headlamp between the three of us which makes for some good tent pitching. We all have full bellies though so we'll sleep well tonight.
Date: 2005-07-24
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Kent
Miles today: 12.7

We have a short day into Kent today and are looking forward to leaving New York. The trail enters Connecticut and greets us with a nice climb up Ten Mile Hill. The Trolls, UG, Skywalker and I are leapfrogging and we meet Dandylion again at the Ten Mile River Lean-to. A nice food break is had here before we carry on. The trail briefly reenters New York for another frustrating climb. When we arrive at the Schagticoke Mtn campsite trail we have three miles left and expect those to be down hill. But noooo, we go uphill again. Aarghh!!! Pointless, pointless, pointless!!!We all feel better when we get to the road. I use Troll's cell phone to call 4 Winds and he takes Dandylion, UG and me home with him. Ahhh!!! Luxury! 4 Winds turns out to be an excellent cook and we've all got comfy mattresses to sleep on. I really needed a break and am very grateful for 4 Winds' hospitality. He rocks!!!
Date: 2005-07-25
From: Kent

To: Kent
Miles today: 0.0

No hiking for two days. Yahoo!!! Day one is spend with UG. We stroll down downtown (don't really know what town I'm in but it's cute and upscale), have good food and library time and mostly just relax. 4 Winds cooks us an excellent meal again and now that Dandylion is gone we even have our own private rooms.4 Winds drops UG off early on the 26th, like he did Dandy on the 25th. Being by myself having nothing else to do I finally get myself to catch up on my journal. I write about ten entries. Well done, Apple Pie!When 4 Winds returns from work he takes me to EMS and I buy Keen sandals to replace my shoes. I don't know if I mentioned it before but my shoes are so desintegrated that they were scraping my heels and no amount of duct tape was anough to keep my heels happy. That's why I switched to hiking in my Teva's but they are so old and worn that they offered no padding or protection plus they were starting to chafe the tops of my feet. Finding new shoes is not easy so I settle on Keen sandals. They have toe guards and sturdier soles and sort of fit my feet (at least a size too long but I need the men's width). We'll see how they work out. 4 Winds also found me some new tips for my trekking poles and back home I finally took the time to sew my extension collar back together. All the gear issues are resolved and I've spent two days not hiking. Man I'm ready to get back out there!!!
Date: 2005-07-27
From: Kent

To: Pine Swamp Lean-to
Miles today: 17.0

Because 4 Winds has to leave early for work he drops me off around 6:15am at the trailhead. With such an early start I should be able to do lots of miles today. At least that's what you'd think, right? Problem is I'm not a morning person and I'm feeling really sleepy. I can't wait to find a spot to crash and sleep some more.Right next to the road are two tents. One of them is the same as the Gypsies' tent. I wonder if it's them but try not to wake them up. The long climb doesn't really do anything for my sleepiness so when I get to the top and find a flat rock I put my pack down, stretch out and try to take a nap. The napping isn't very successful so after a while I start walking again. The climb had been pretty steep but the descent is possibly even steeper.. My knees don't like it! There are big steps to be made down the rocks and it's slowing me down considerably. I'm very happy when it finally flattens out. I still don't have a lot of energy so when I get to the first shelter I try the napping thing again. This time it works better. The peace and quiet is disturbed however when Che, Peanut and Mul pull in. They were the ones tented at the road this morning. We have fun chatting and I keep saying that I'm about to hike on but in the mean time I'm still sprawled out on the shelter floor. Finally, after a three hour break I move on. The flat trail along the river is very enjoyable. If the water looked a little cleaner I would have taken a dip but it's pretty brownish and shallow (and I already took the three hour break, I mean how many breaks can one take really). I'm meeting my first SOBO's today. All these happy fresh hikers. Still thinking that this trail is fun. Ignorance is bliss ; ).Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to is where I end up tonight. I enjoyed a nice sunset right before reaching it and am now getting attacked by mosquitos. Staying in shelters doesn't seem to be the thing to do anymore. There is only one other northbounder here and about five southbounders. A whole different world.
Date: 2005-07-28
From: Pine Swamp Lean-to

To: Plateau campsite
Miles today: 16.6

All the southbounders leave extremely early this morning. I don't feel like getting up just yet. The bugs are really annoying though. I try to block them out by pulling my sleeping bag over my head. I also put my sunhat on since that covers my head and ears. I've been wearing my sunhat a lot lately. The bugs have been driving me nuts!Anyhow I manage to stretch out my lazyness and leave around 7:45am. When I get to some campsite two miles up the trail I meet up with Mayfly, Hazy Sonic and Livestrong. After digging a hole I head back up the trail. I take a break right there because I get inspired to write an e-mail to a Dutch magazine asking them if they would be interested in writings about my adventures. I take an early lunch at Belter's Bump which offers a pretty nice view.I'm not moving very fast and at US 7 Romer, Songline, Camel and Sunshine catch up to me. There is a hotdog stand here. Yum!We all leave about the same time and fill up our water at the hydroelectric plant. There is also a shower outside and we all put our head underneath. Refreshing!At the Great Falls we see Hazy Sonic and Mayfly in the water. Swimming, that sounds good. Songline and I scramble down and jump in. Sunshine joins us later. The current is really strong and the rocks are slippery so it's kind of hard to get out of the water. We all manage to get out safely though and return to hiking. There is a long uphill where, as always, I lose all of them. I'm not doing too badly though. It's not real hot today and that helps tremendously. Right after Limestone Springs shelter (too far of the trail for a visit) there is an awesome view over green fields and hills. The blue sky with pretty clouds completes it.I also pass by the Giant's thumb. A weird rock pinnacle. At US 44 I continue past the AT turn off to go into Salisbury for resupply. I find the others near the store. There is also a library here which is great because now I can add all the entries that I wrote while I took time off. And that's a lot of entries.We all hang out near the store some more. Sunshine has received a great box from her grandmother. It has all kinds of interesting stuff in it. There are the flashy earrings, the whistles, the goofy visors, and more. Romer, Sunshine and Camel dress up with all the pretty stuff and pose like true Vogue models (sure...). It's quite funny.Since we spend so much time hanging out in town the concensus is that we'll go to the first campsite out of town only a mile away. This campsite is called plateau campsite but it's very slanted. I hope I won't slide down the hill tonight.
Date: 2005-07-30
From: Near the Housatonic river

To: Shaker campsite
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I get up fairly early. Now that I've caught up to UG I'm trying to catch up to the Trolls. I don't think I'll ever see Dandylion again. I'm the first to leave but Livestrong soon catches me. He's toying with the idea of pulling a 27 mile day to get to Goose Pond Cabin. That's a little too much for me. Besides, I know that the Trolls are taking a zero there so I'm not in that much of a hurry. I'll see them tomorrow.Right before the Tom Leonard Lean-to I meet two southbound section hikers. I'm very low on water and just to make conversation I say: "the shelter is not far, right?". They say it's about 5 miles back. NOOO!!! That can't be right! I wouldn't have missed it now would I? That would really suck. We're all a little confused because if I didn't miss it then they would have. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have missed it though. Just to reassure myself I look at the next possible water source. It's not very far past the shelter so I don't have to worry too much. Finally the shelter does show up. Some section hikers tell me the water is far down below in the gulch. That's great! (the sarcastic kind of great). At least the water is really nice and ice cold (Ice Gulch... you get it?).UG and his new posse catch up. The new posse is going to get off and meet a friend however and UG isn't going with them. I tell him he's coming with me and that we are going to swim in Benedict Pond. He obliges and we enjoy the nice scenery. I'm the only one who swims because UG is not much of a lake swimmer. I can see why. I end up with all kinds of dirt on my body and in my underwear. It doesn't really help with the cleanliness. I still pretend it does though.We decide that Shaker campsite is far enough for today and it really is. The last six miles seem to take forever and the switchbacks are ridiculous! Yes, they are finally using switchbacks but not in a good way. The tentsite is swarming with mosquitos and the tent platforms are taken by section hikers. There is one southbounder here, four sectioners and we are the only nobo thru hikers. We're still between groups it seems.
Date: 2005-07-31
From: Shaker campsite

To: Upper Goose Pond
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

An easy day to Upper Goose Pond today. The hiking is not too strenuous. I hike the last miles in the company of Q-Ball one of the section hikers. We talk about all the good European foods we can't find in the U.S. Good conversation makes those last miles fly by.At Goose Pond there is a happy reunion with the Trolls. Troll, Oblivious and UG are out playing with the canoe and later Q-Ball, Troll, Oblivious and I play with the inner tube. Water is fun!I luck out, the caretaker is about to go grocery shopping and offers us a ride to town. I buy hot dogs, yoghurt, strawberries, yum! Later that evening a bunch of hikers show up. The Gypsies, Mouth, Mayfly, Hazy Sonic, Navigator, and Hareball are the ones I remember. Busy, busy.
Date: 2005-08-02
From: Near Finerty Pond

To: Dalton
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: few clouds

I'm the first one to leave camp this morning but expect everyone to catch up soon. And they do. I take a break at October Mtn shelter when Cuppa Joe comes by. He left early from Goose Pond this morning. I wasn't intending on staying long at this shelter but when he pulls out tortillas and peanut butter I decide to have a second breakfast. Cuppa Joe leaves me but soon after Crazy Legs passes by. He continues on to get water at the Cookie Ladies house two miles down the trail. Low Bridge and Prof. Nutbag pull in at the shelter not long after and when I leave them UG shows up. We walk to the Cookie Ladies' house together but unfortunately she's not home. No cookies for us. Luckily there is still water and that's all we really need.We take a short break and then walk on to Dalton. The last stretch I walk with Low Bridge and we chat for a while. At the P.O. I meet up with UG and Lightning Rod (who caught up to us earlier). The place where everyone wants to stay is apparently fully booked. I luck out however. Deciding to go and eat with Lightning Rod was great. He knew someone in the area and that someone offered to take me in for the night too. AND he took us the movies!!! Seeing Johnny Depp play a creepy Wonka was a lot of fun. And the Umpa Lumpas were hilarious.
Date: 2005-08-03
From: Dalton

To: Mt Greylock
Miles today: 17.0

We have an early ride back to Dalton and get dropped at Depot street. I meet up with UG, Low Bridge and Prof. Nutbag again. They stayed at a trail angels house on Depot street. I join them for breakfast at a place down the street. After a visit to the P.O. UG and I walk out of town together and a short roadwalk leads us back into the woods. The first part of the hike isn't too exciting and I find UG grumbling about the hike. I think almost everyone at some point in the hike wonders why they are still doing this. The hike seems like work, a daily grind. UG is definitely suffering from this today. He's not having fun. We take a break and I try to cheer him up. I'm not very succesful however. Crazy Legs catches up and that seems to do UG some good. We start walking again and soon I'm by myself again. A register near Gore pond informs me that Dandylion and the Trolls are only one day ahead of me, cool! I'll try to catch them again. Lightning Rod comes running down the hill towards me. I ask him if he forgot something in town but it turns out he's slacking south. He tells me that the view from The Cobbles is nice so when I get there I take the side trail. It's a pretty good view indeed.Later I meet Tink who's also going south (she's didn't start at Greylock however, wanting to still climb it). It's her first slackpack and she's not enjoying it. She'd rather walk north with her pack on. She tells me she left her tent poles near Finerty pond and spent the whole morning trying to get replacements. Unfortunately it didn't work out. Bummer! I meet some south bound section hikers who tell me that the Trolls told them to tell me (are you still with me?) that I should catch up.The trail goes right through Cheshire and right by an icecream shop. Talk about a great location!Then it's time to start the 2500ft climb up to Mt. Greylock. It's pretty hot out. At these times it's nice to be in the woods. It keeps the sun from beating down on you. It's a stiff climb but I'm actually enjoying it. I don't mind climbing if it's a real mountain. The trail goes along the ridge for a while. There aren't a lot of views yet but it's nice walking. The last mile up to the top is more difficult and I'm happy when I get there. Crazy Legs, Prof. Nutmeg and UG all climb up the tower for the bet view. I follow them. Man, that hurts!!! My legs are all stiff. We enjoy the nice sunset and sleep at an undisclosed location ; ).