morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-30
From: Palmerton 'Jail House' Hostel

To: Campsite by Wolf Rocks
Miles today: 26.5

Palmerton probably is my favorite trail town, the people were friendly and the town had everything a hiker could want - throw in that they let you stay for free in the municiple building and it can't be beat. But like all good things my time there came to an end and it was time to hit the trail North.I was up and out early, a section hiker named 'Gimpy' that had thru hiked in 2007 was the only hiker out before me. I hit the trail and had a tough, hand-over-hand climb straight up 900 feet out of Palmerton before I was up on top of the ridge. It was supposed to get hot later in the day and I was glad I got the boulder climb out of the way before the Sun was beating down.Once on top of the ridge I walked for four miles thru the superfund clean-up site. Palmerton had been a zinc smelting site from 1890-1980 and the heavy metals in the smoke had poisoned the ridge above the town, killing off all plant life. An extensive clean-up effort has been taking place ever since, with areas seeded and fertilized to bring back grasses, forbs and trees. After all that effort the grasses are doing great, small shrubs are coming back but the trees are still stunted and malformed - the result of the build-up of heavy metals in them over time would be my guess. It was good to see that the area is coming back, even if it does take a long time.It got progressively hotter throughout the day, topping over 95 degrees with 90% humidity - sweat poured off me soaking my shirt, shorts and even my socks. Water sources proved to be non-existant and I wasn't able to resupply until late in the day when I came down into Wind Gap. A hotel in the area had previously supplied hikers with water and sold cold sodas, I figured a cold Coke would hit the spot. Once there the owners told me that yes they had supplied water in the past but now they sell it, two small bottles and a Coke ran me over $3.75. I was reminded of the Arabic belief that there is a special place in Hell for the man that denies a stranger a drink in the desert.I pushed on thru the heat reaching a small spring that afternoon, scum floated on the surface but I filtered it and was glad for the relief. I camped a short distance up the trail from the spring and was joined for the night by Gimpy, he was headed for Delaware Water Gap and would finish his section the next day - so it was his last night on the trail.I enjoyed a nice evening of conversation, even though I had to retreat to my tent in the face of a relentless mosquito onslaut. I particularly appreciated his information on the trail ahead - thanks Gimpy and good luck with your future hikes.
Date: 2013-05-31
From: Campsite by Wolf Rocks

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 19.7

I was up and out earlier than normal, the heat wave was supposed to continue for the next few days and I wanted to get miles in before it got too hot. I had dragged along the previous afternoon and didn't want a repeat if I could help it at all.I walked a few hours and shortly before lunch I made it to Delaware Water Gap, PA - right on the border with New Jersey. I stopped at a stand that has a piece of pie and hotdog special for $2.49! The hotdog was good but the pie was phenominal - Fruit of the Forest with apple, rhubarb, blackberries and raspberries. Just right combination of sweet and tart.I finished my pie and crossed the bridge into New Jersey. I wasn't prepared for how beautiful the area was, like a lot of people I think of New Jersey and I think industrial areas. I found myself walking beside a mountain stream, with eddies and pools - a sign said it was a brook trout restoration area. Two miles later I saw my second bear of my hike, it was off the trail flipping over rocks looking for something to eat. I watched him for a moment then yelled 'hey bear' a few times until he looked at me and scooted off into the forest. In all the 'wilderness' areas I've crossed on this trip, I never would have guessed I would see a bear in New Jersey!I kept hiking thru the afternoon, it was hot but a thick canopy of leaves and the occasional breeze made it tolerable. I saw a mother Turkey with five chicks, I stopped as I could tell that I was making her nervous and I didn't want mother and chicks to get separated in a panic. She called to her brood and sheparded them away from me, amazing considering her every instinct was telling her to run from danger but she made sure her chicks were safe.I pulled into the Mohican Outdoor Center that afternoon, a camp of sorts ran by the AMC. They charge hikers to camp but I could take a shower and distances to shelters can be a little long in the North I have learned. I enjoyed a long shower, rinsing off two days of salt and washing my shirt and socks in the sink. Another great day on the trail and New Jersey was turning out to be an unexpected treasure.
Date: 2013-06-01
From: Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Branchville, NJ
Miles today: 17.7

Another hot day as the heat wave continued, I was stuck for at least a few more days until a front came in from the West bringing cooler weather but a chance for severe thunderstorms. I was up and moving early, partly to beat the heat and also because Michelle was coming up for the afternoon and we were going to meet in Branchville.I was moving thru hard wood forest again and the trail alternated between running along the hill tops and dropping down into boggy areas at lower elevations - technically I wasn't in the Appalachians anymore I was walking thru the Poconos. After an hour or two I dropped down and found myself walking beside a beaver pond, several trees cut and limbs trimmed and dragged to the water for food and material for the beaver's dam and house. Considering that beaver were trapped out of the area over a hundred years before the Revolutionary War I thought this was pretty cool, he was reclaiming his ancestral homeland. I crossed the stream right below the dam, while I sam his handywork I didn't get to see the beaver - maybe he was busy working.A pushed on trying to make quick time of the few miles I was scheduled to walk that day, I did have to stop for a sedate black rat snake that was lounging on the trail. Even though it was in the 90s, he was sunning himself and didn't seem inclined to move. The trail wasn't big enough for me to bypass to the side, so I lifted him with my hiking pole - evidently he thought this was a novel experience and rolled with it, allowing me to set him down unharmed a few feet to the side of the AT.I meet Michelle by the side of US 206 and she was an angel for putting up with an initially cranky hiker, the heat was wearing me down and I just wanted to get something cool to drink and good to eat. A few hours later I was clean and enjoying a fantastic Mexican dinner in air-conditioned luxury - life was good. Thanks Sunshine you made everything better.
Date: 2013-06-02
From: Branchville, NJ

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: clear sky

Michelle got me out early on the trail, she had to go home to the Farm and I had miles more to go before Maine. The cold front that had been predicted for days was on its way and severe weather was supposed to be with it, the system had already produced several tornados in the mid-West. I was going to make for a shelter and not camp for the night but that meant that it would be a short day, miles wise.I could already feel that it was going to be cooler, a welcome change from the previous days. I climbed to the top of Culver Mountain and climbed to the top of the old fire tower there, great views of northern New Jersey - I had hoped I could see New York City but I am still too far away. Next I climbed up Sunrise Mountain, at the top is a pavillion with benches and I take a break, enjoying two tortillas with Nutella for breakfast - a nice break and a million dollar view of the countryside.I kept walking thru the afternoon, my pace easy as I didn't have far to go. I stopped at High Point State Park Headquarters and saw another thru hiker I hadn't seen in awhile. We talked and enjoyed a free soda, provided to thru hikers by the park staff and a local hiking club. I also talked with a couple of section hikers; answering questions about how far I travel each day, what my pack weighs and what life is like on the trail.I made it to the shelter by 1400 and enjoyed a leisurely meal and listened to the radio, it looked like I was going to be by myself for the night. Other hikers had opted to go five more miles to a privately owned cabin that allows thru hikers to stay for free, I thought it would be crowded so enjoyed the more 'rustic' shelter. I listened to a radio show where the host plays old radio dramas from the 30s-50s, I enjoyed hearing the adventures of a detective called 'Johnny Dollar' along with ads for Lucky Strike cigarettes. As I drifted off it got cooler and rain started to fall on the tin roof.
Date: 2013-06-03
From: High Point Shelter

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: broken clouds

It rained throughout the night and when I was packing up it was still coming down. The good news was that the rain had broke the heat wave, it was in the high 50s and humidity didn't seem that bad - even if it was raining.A light rain persisted thru the morning, I hiked in my rain jacket but not the rain pants and when the rain quit my nylon shorts dried quickly. I passed thru more lowlands and found myself walking thru a National Wildlife Refuge with a series of ponds with nesting Canadian Geese. I saw a snapping turtle on the trail, it was using the rainy weather to move between ponds.By Pochuck Creek the trail crosses thru a marsh area for a mile on a boardwalk, the area was filled with dozens of different kinds of birds and frogs were singing in the rain, their croaking drowning out all other sound. Over Pochuck Creek I crossed a suspension bridge, I always like to swing them from side to side when I am in the middle.I climbed 700 feet of Wawayanda Mountain, pronounced Way-Way-Yonder, and dropped down to the shelter behind it. The shelter looked almost brand-new, a sign let me know I was staying at the Wawayanda Hilton. Another couple joined me at the shelter, they were finishing up a section of New Jersey/New York to finish hiking the entire AT a section at a time.
Date: 2013-06-04
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Yes that mileage is correct - 12 miles for the day. The good news though is I crossed the NJ/NY border, so now I have eight states down. Here is my day so far, and why I don't think I will get many miles in.It had been awhile since I had a chance to update my trail journal and I needed resupply since being on the trail - my last resupply had been in Palmerton, PA. I figured I would cross into NY and drop down to Greenwood Lake, NY - a small town but it had a grocery and library which is all I really needed, then I would head back out on the ridge and spend the night at a shelter. Tomorrow I will start a push for a week which should get me to my next resupply which will be in CT.I have to say that New Jersey turned out to be an unexpected gem, it had a 'wild' feel that I didn't get in Pennsylvania. With bears, turkeys, deer and a beaver pond - I never expected NJ to be as great as it was, lesson learned don't trust sterotypes you might just be surprised.Appreciate everyone's kind words in the Guest Book section, I didn't think anyone besides my family would want to read about my walk. Thank you. This section starts with me leaving out of Palmerton, PA. Will update from CT, now I am going to the grocery store and find something to eat before I head back to the woods.
Date: 2013-06-05
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: West Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: broken clouds

After my short day I wanted to make some miles, I was resupplied from my trip into town and I was ready to go. The shelter had been full the night before, seven in the shelter and another five had tented - it was time to move and try to put some distance between me and the other hikers. I was out and walking as the sun rose, moving fast.The terrain was a series of steep up and downs, I never climbed more than 500 feet in elevation but it was relentless - a rocky roller coaster. I always try to be careful on a downhill, about the only thing that could stop me after 1350 miles on the trail would be getting hurt.I had walked for three months but eventually you have to fall sometime and today was my day. It was a steep rock chute, I was picking my way down - ski poles out and testing my footholds. It happened in a split second, a rock I was on shifted and I was falling, I didn't really have time to think about it until I hit the ground about 6 feet below. I landed on my back, my left arm hitting a small boulder on the way down. I laid there for a moment thinking did that really just happen, then tentatively moving my body to see if I had really hurt anything. Lucky my pack took the fall and while my arm throbbed it wasn't broken.I walked in the sun the rest of the afternoon, taking a little more time on the downhills than I normally do - more cautious than before. I rolled into the shelter that evening and had outdistanced the other hikers and while a little bruised and battered I had gotten off easy with my fall and learned to slow down on the downhills.
Date: 2013-06-06
From: West Mountain Shelter

To: Clarence Fahenstock State Park
Miles today: 25.0

After the rocky trail the day before I was surprised the trail improved as I moved closer to Bear Mountain, a high mountain with a tower on the banks of the Hudson River that has been a tourist attraction since the 1920s. The trail was wide and groomed, like something you would see on a golf course - much of the work courtesy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.The Civilian Conservation Corps was a work program during the darkest days of the Great Depression in which young men worked on infrastructure and civil projects throughout the US. The young men earned money to send to families back home, discipline which would serve them well in World War 2 and left a legacy of projects that are still in use today.I came down off Bear Mountain and crossed a bridge over the Hudson River, at the end of the bridge I had to cross four lanes of traffic on a road that fed into the Palisades Parkway. As I made my way across I gained a new understanding for what a possum feels like as it tries to cross the highway.I made my way North thru the afternoon and while the trail wasn't as nice as the trails around Bear Mountain it was pretty good and I made good time and was able to look around and enjoy the views - I even saw the New York City skyline in the distance.That afternoon I made it Fahenstock State Park, it was a mile off the trail but I had heard that thru-hikers were allowed to stay for free at the park and there weren't any shelters nearby. I walked to the park headquarters to check in and the park ranger told me bad thunderstorms were coming and that instead of camping at the campground I should spend the night in the picnic shelter.The picnic shelter was a rock three sided pavilion with fireplaces on both sides and as I set-up my sleeping pad and bag on a picnic table a heavy rain started to fall. A brass plaque by the door said that the shelter had been built in 1935 by the CCC - I slept dry that night thanks to a Great Depression work program and the greatest generation.
Date: 2013-06-07
From: Clarence Fahenstock State Park

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: moderate rain

I woke up in the picnic shelter, I had slept dry and warm but had a long day of walking in the rain ahead of me. A front had rolled in and rain was expected for the next 24 hours, with flooding in low areas.I put on my pack cover and rain jacket and headed out, a monsoon rain falling all day. The trails were flooded with up to a foot of water covering the trail in some areas, I sloshed thru water halfway to my knees throughout the morning and into the afternoon. I was walking along Nuclear Lake when I saw a big red crawdad walking down the middle of the trail, he didn't look like he was going to yield the right of way to me - raising his claws as I stopped to look at him. Probably my most bizarre animal encounter on the trail, I don't know what a crawdad was doing out for a walk in the rain - maybe he was a explorer, a crustacean Vasco De Gama if you whill. I left him to his journey and moved on.I stopped briefly for lunch at RPH Shelter, a three sided cinder block cabin with bunks. It was nice but I hadn't traveled far enough for the day. It was a nice place to eat and wring out my socks.I pulled into Telephone Pioneers Shelter that evening, 10 hours of slogging in the rain and there wasn't any sign that it was letting up as a steady drumbeat of rain drops fell on the shelter's tin roof.
Date: 2013-06-08
From: Telephone Pioneers Shelter

To: Mount Algo Shelter
Miles today: 21.1

I was up and out of the shelter as a light rain fell, the remnants of a storm that had covered the region for days and left my feet soggy from wet trail, wet boots and wet socks. The good news was that a few patches of blue in a mostly overcast sky promised better weather was on the way.I walked down off the hillside and into rolling farm fields bordered by knee-high stone walls that looked like they had stood for generations. I walked thru waist high grass in the fields and thru ferns in the shaded tree lines between some fields - the ferns smelled like lemongrass.South of Pawling, NY I came to a boardwalk by the Swamp River wildlife area. The boardwalk ran above cattails and grasses over the flooded swamp, frogs croaking happily in the few sprinkles that still fell. I saw a muskrat swimming by the pile of old cattail stalks that was his home.Later I saw a wooden water tower, it looked as if it had been there forever and I wondered how many hikers had passed in its shadow over the years. It looked solid, like many of the barns and houses I had seen in the New York countryside I passed thru - it was easy to imagine the area looked much the same 50 or even a 100 years ago.I finished the afternoon crossing a creek on a fallen tree trunk, I balanced like an acrobat on the trunk and eased across - the rain swollen water rushing below. Up and across and in a few miles I wandered into the shelter, a great day on the trail and I had crossed into Connecticut - the 10th state on my trail journey.
Date: 2013-06-09
From: Mount Algo Shelter

To: Belters Campsite
Miles today: 23.1

I started my walk across Connecticut and while the rain had stopped the area was saturated - local radio stations had flash flood warnings, rattling off towns that I didn't know. All I did know is that it was wet where I was.By now my feet had been in wet socks for days, there was no avoiding it. In places the trail looked like a small creek or on the uphills a waterfall, I spent the day in water that at times came up to my knees. At night when I stopped I would take off my socks and let my feet air and dry, they were pale and pruny - like I had been in a 12 hour bath.The hills in CT weren't as high, the terrain more rolling with mosquito infested bogs by the trail. I walked swatting at my arms, face and neck - still finishing my day with small welts from the hordes of bugs I couldn't keep at bay. I probably looked like a lunatic walking down the trail randomly slapping myself and muttering curses - fortunately I didn't see many other hikers, just the orange newts that had become my constant companions by now.I walked into Kent, CT for a Coke. Some hikers stop for resupply in Kent, but I was headed to Salisbury on the Massachusetts border - I had miles yet to travel. A cold Coke is a wonderful thing though, well worth the extra mile and a half that I walked into town for it.Blue skies were a welcome change, I couldn't remember the last time the sun shone on my face. It reminded me of my time in the Shenandoahs. That evening I stopped at a campsite high on the side of a hill, below pines that covered the area with a carpet of their needles - the whole area was literally pine fresh. I set up my tent, figuring it probably wasn't going to run anymore. Things were looking up, and tomorrow I would make it into Salisbury for a nero.
Date: 2013-06-10
From: Belters Campsite

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 10.5

I was up and out of the tent by 0530, the rain held off for the night but a light drizzle picked up about an hour into my trip into town. I hadn't resupplied since I had crossed the New York border and I hadn't showered since New Jersey - I was more than ready for town.The miles cruised by, even the drizzle was more of a annoyance than a obstacle. I stopped at a rock formation called the Giant's Thumb that was in my guidebook for a quick photo op.I walked into what I had pictured as a typical New England town - right past a Civil War memorial to local boys that served on the battlefields of Antietam and Cold Harbor. The houses were brick and the clapboard, small shops and a post office. A church that had been built in the 1840s stood on the corner.I made my way to the local market, I had planned to stay at the house of a woman that rented rooms in her house to hikers - it was a little early and I didn't want to show up too early. I sat on a bench out front of the market and ate my breakfast, fresh rolls with sardines and a Gatorade. A light drizzle fell but I didn't care but I felt pretty good.As I was eating an older woman came up and told me in a heavy accent my breakfast was definitely lacking, I smiled and said that while it didn't look like much it tasted pretty good. We chatted awhile and it turned out she was Maria McCabe, the woman I was going to see about a room. She loaded me into her car and I was soon enjoying a nero in town - good food, resupply, shower and clean clothes.A bonus was conversations with Mrs. McCabe, a Italian War Bride she had married a GI following WW2 and had come to America in 1947 on a troop ship with other War Brides. She is a true trail angel and one of the best people I have met on the trail - thank you Maria.
Date: 2013-06-11
From: Salisbury, CT

To: Glen Brook Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: light rain

I woke up in my room at Maria McCabe's in Salisbury, CT - although I had only been in for one night I felt well rested and was ready to hit the trail. A light rain had fallen all night, and as I headed out it was still drizzling. I had planned to go a little less than fifteen miles that day, a short day but it was the farthest shelter I could make it to - shelter distances were still a little tricky in the North. I could go either 15 or 30 miles but nothing in between and with more rain on the way I wanted to be in a shelter for the night.I walked over Bear Mountain at 2300 feet and down the other side, pausing at a run-off swollen stream. I stopped, changed into my crocs and forded the thigh deep water - the first stream I had forded this trip. With that I crossed into Massachusetts leaving Connecticut behind - 10 states down and 4 more to go.I climbed again, this time up Mount Everett, up 2600 feet over flooded trails. At one point I was climbing up a waterfall, the cascading water finding the path of least resistance down the mountain, which happened to be the trail. Soggy shoes, mud and slick rocks required all my attention and my world was reduced to focusing on the 3 feet in front of me while I walked.By early afternoon I made it to the shelter - much earlier than I normally do. I was able to lounge, shoes off drying my feet, I even took a cat nap while listening to the radio. A short but good day on the trail.