morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-12
From: Allentown Shelter

To: Jailhouse Hostel, Palmerton PA
Miles today: 17.7

   Last night we set up our tent in the shelter because we were being eaten alive. It was just G-man and ourselves in the shelter and we were both in our tents. Well, we survived the night only to become walking buffets in the morning. We passed a lot of good views, too bad it was incredibly hazy. We walked on boulders above the trees. We picked blueberries a few miles south of Palmerton. There were loads of them. Brandon asked us if we'd rather be picking blueberries in the rain or eating hamburgers in the dry. I'd go for either. Coming down out of the mountains we had a great view of the huge climb tommorow. It's supposed to be the hardest rock scramble next to the White Mountains. We were lucky and got a ride into town right away. The hills surrounding Palmerton look sick. They are only splotchily covered with trees. The rest is bare boned rock. There had been a zinc mining operation in the area and the dust blew into the hills, killing everything. It doesn't seem to be worth it.   We expected the Jailhouse hostel to be in an actual jail, but I think it's only called that because the police department runs it. The showers were wonderful. If you weren't squeaky clean after being hit with that water pressure, it was your own fault. Local girl scout troups put together goody bags for the hikers. We restocked at the local IGA and then ate supper at Bert's Steakhouse. Peanut butter milkshakes, double cheeseburgers, and fries; mmmmmmmmm. Johnny K is here. So is Pedlar. Everything is close to the hostel. We're stuffed, clean, and mosquitoe free. If this was any better it'd be a crime not to stay a second day.
Date: 2006-07-14
From: A campsite north of Wind Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

 We got going by 6 am. and it was a race to outpace the mosquitoes. We rested for awhile at a clearing that hang-gliders use, just past the Kirkridge shelter. We snacked on some gorp, recorded a bit with the viedeo camera, and listened to our MP3 players. We could see the mist form the Delaware River across the valley. Then off we went.The shower at the hostel felt wonderful. Banjoman, Able Jack, Bright Eyes, Wiggi, Potter, and a few other people were there. Banjoman played the guitar for us. He's really good. He played the Sushi song and Gear got a kick out of that. It's a funny song and has a catchy tune. A couple who had thru-hiked in '03 brought in some goodies. We were waiting around for a ride from the hiker's who had gone into town, but it got later and later, so we decided to hitch. It took us about two seconds to get picked up and we just made it to the movie theater in time. Talk about being lucky. We saw Al Gore's movie; An Inconvienient Truth. There was so much information packed into the movie that I wish that we could watch it a bunch more times to absorb it all. I recommend that everyone go out and watch it. Whatever opinions about global warming you may have, at least go see the movie for yourself. It certainly wasn't a feel good movie, but while the credits rolled, it explained ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. If something isn't done now, irreparable and life changing damage is going to be inflicted on our Earth.We got something to eat for supper and then resupplied. Once again we were lucky with getting a ride. The first couple that we asked went out of their way to drive us to Delaware Water Gap. They were really interested in what we were doing. As they drove away after dropping us off, the guy yelled "The Wanderers!" out the window of his van and pumped his fist.We stayed up late listenting to Banjoman play. Willow, Switch, Johnny K, Samuri, 42, #2, adn Weatherman were also there.
Date: 2006-07-16
From: Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Brink Rd. Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

   We are swimming our way across New Jersey. Yesterday we went for a dip in Sunfish Pond, today we floated across Crater Lake on our z-lites, and tommorow we are going swimming in Lake Marcia at High Point State Park. What a life; this thru-hiking isn't so hard.   We left early and met up with Bright Eyes off and on. At Catfish fire tower we stopped to pick blueberries and blackberries. When we reached the Blue Mtn. Rd., Banjoman and Bright Eyes were sitting there eating lunch by the water pump. Soon Baltimore Bill, Lone Wolf, and 42 showed up. We hiked with Baltimore Bill and Lone Wolf for awhile, but then we saw Crater Lake. We were dripping with sweat, so we had to stop and check it out. Coolest swimming hole ever! It was huge. Far on the other side was a public swimming area full of families out for the afternoon, but 98% of the lake was unoccupied. We floated on our z-lites across the lake and back. They work great for a raft. Only our heads were sticking out of the water.    We didn't have far to go to reach the shelter. There was Banjoman, sleeping in the shelter with a can of Deet beside him. We took off our packs and the mosquitoes attacked. It was pure madness as we set up our tent and pumped water. Swarms adn swarms of teh little buggers gave us a full body acupuncture for the price of a little blood and a lot of itching. We were extremely glad that we kept the tent and didn't opt for a tarp instead. We listened to Banjoman's concert from the safe confines of our tent.
Date: 2006-07-18
From: High Point State Park HQ

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 20.2

   It was hot today! And the mosquitoes! They were relentless again today. We ran out of our herbal bug repelant by the end of today.    We got going early this morning to try and escape some of the heat. Mosquitoes and heat, mosquitoes and heat, if not one then the other. We were glad for the road walk because at least there were hardly any biters on the roads. We could hardly stop to eat or rest, the bugs were that bad. The mile or so before the road to Vernon was all boardwalk. There was also a suspension bridge. The wooden seats along the boardwalk were like frying pans; they burnt our buns.   At the road into Vernon, we walked over to the Heaven Hill Farm and got ice cream sundaes. That felt so good going down. We also bought some lemonade from some local girls. They were quite the conversationalists. We rested in the shade before trying to get a ride into town.   We stayed at the hostel run by the local Episcopal Church. They run a great hostel; showers, full kitchen, internet access, laundry. We were there with Jukebox, Bud, Catch-Up, Carnivore, Samurai, and 42.   It was hard to fall asleep. We had a fan running and the doors open, but it was still pretty hot inside. It's a good thing that we didn't fall asleep because around 11:30 at night we hear Samurai whispering "Bear, there's a bear outside." Soon almost everyone is standing at the railing by the steps watching a 400 lb. black bear sifting through the garbage cans not 20 feet away. The bear didn't care that we were there. He was only worried about getting a midnight snack. We were all trying to snap pictures and eventually he wandered back into the bushes. Just like that, he disapeared.
Date: 2006-07-25
From: Graymoor Friary

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: clear sky

   We got going early this morning along with Linc and Jeanne. We hiked with them for awhile and talked about everything from wood stoves to how springs on top of mountain ridges work. Linc and Jeanne are some amazing people. They bake their own sourdough bread everyday on the trail using live yeast that they keep in a nalgene bottle.   We stopped at Dennytown road to fill up our water bottles from a spigot and eat lunch. We met our first southbounder. His name is Z-Hobbit because he had a z-lite and a z-pack. He left Katahdin on June 3rd.   There were lots of red raspberries along the trail and we stopped to pick oodles of them. They tasted like some delicious fruit juice when you smoosh them against the roof of your mouth and let the juice trickle down.    We went swimming at Canopus Lake. We almost didn't, though. We kept walking on the trail thinking that it would curve around, but it didn't so we hiked back about a half mile to the lake. It felt great to cool off and feel clean. Dad and Gear jumped off some rocks at the water's edge.      We hiked the last couple of miles today with No Pliers. He's a pretty cool guy. It's fun hiking with someone else. The miles pass by more quickly when there is another person to add to the conversation.      Today was a great day for berries. Well, not really great for the berries, but they sure tasted good going down. We picked a bottle full of blueberries and carried them to the shelter for dessert. They were the best and biggest wild blueberries that we have found along the trail yet.       At the shelter, we layed our tent out to dry. Suddenly we heard branches cracking. Two six-foot long branches came crashing down out of the tree, barely missing our tent. The funniest part was the squirrel that rode the falling branch through the air, hopped off at the last moment, and scampered away like it was nothing.
Date: 2006-07-26
From: RPH Shelter

To: Pawling, NY
Miles today: 17.3

      We hadn't been planning on stopping at Pawling, but everyone was talking about how there's a lake at the park where thru-hiker's can stay. We can't pass up an oppourtunity to swim; unless it's at a place called Nuclear Lake. Today we passed a huge lake, but we couldn't get past the fact that it was called Nuclear Lake. Anyway, the lake in Pawling was calling.      Those 17 miles felt really long from the RPH shelter, but we were moving fast today. We love it when we end up being further along then we think we are. We passed two huge white oak trees today. It's sad that there aren't more of them around today. The Dover oak was wider then the Keffer oak in Virginia, but not as tall.       We were swimming in our sweat today, so the cool water of the lake at Murrow Park was refreshing. Our foam pads work well for more then just sleeping. They make great rafts too. That's the best way to end a long, hot hike; laying on our z-lites with the water up to our necks.      Dad and Gear walked the mile or so into to pick up a few groceries, ordered a siccilian pizza, and then they got a ride back to the park with the pizza delivery guy. We couldn't eat the whole pizza, so we hung the pizza box from the rafters of the pavillion along with our bear bag.      The town of Pawling allows thru-hikers to tent and have use of a pavillion in Murrow Park. There is also water spigots, restrooms, and a shower. Including the lake and the beautiful view from the pavillion, it's a hiker paradise. We also had some great company that evening: Linc, Jeanne, No Pliers, Lone Wolf, and a section hiker.
Date: 2006-07-28
From: Pawling, NY

To: Ten Mile Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

   Welcome to Conneticut, would you like a monsoon? With a flash of lightning nearby and a crack of thunder that sounded like the sky wa falling apart, we were welcomed to the 10th of 14 states. For the first time in my life I set foot in CT, and it looks just like NY. When we reached the top of Ten Mile Mt. we were hit by a second storm. The forest was as dark as 8pm and it was only around , lightening flashing so close that even the water droplets falling through the sky reflected the light, thunder that sounded as if the sky was being torn to pieces like so much wrapping paper.   Today, the trail magic came to us. As usual, we came upon empty coolers (well, a little water and pb&j were left). This time there were chairs as well. We sat around and ate our lunch. E-Rock showed up. He had left the trail for good, but his two-way ticket that he bought for the price savings was calling his name and the AT was too much to leave. While we were talking, a lady pulls up and brings in cold sodas and snacks to refill the coolers. Sweet! Old School and Young Blood joined us and we sat while the thunderstorm rolled closer and closer.   We hike over train tracks today. It was a passenger train to NYC and it was passing through in about 7 minutes so we hung around on the AT train platform. Passing through that train certainly was. Whoooosh! And the train was by us in a flash. That got the heart pumping from 15 ft. away.   We had been planning to go further, but the storm brught us around to other ideas. No Pliers was already at the shelter when we got there. E-Rock, Model T, Ranger Dawg, and Sleep Ninja also stayed the night.
Date: 2006-07-31
From: Belter's Campsite

To: Riga Lean'to
Miles today: 14.6

   We went swimming behind a waterfall today! That was awesome. It was better then any water park. We went behind the waterfall and then out through the middle.   We made good time going to Salisbury. We passed a rock tht looked like a giant's thumb sticking out of the ground. It was only 1/2 mile walk into town, but no one gave us a ride. The further north that we hike, the more expensive things get, but we ate a great lunch. It was so big that we weren't even sure if we were going to hike out of town.    We did then, up and over Lion's Head Mtn. That last climb was practicully vertical. The view of the CT countryside was worth it. There were mostly trees to be seen, but we could pick out the rooftops of Salisbury and a handful of other houses.   Storyteller, a CT ridgerunner, was in town getting some electrolyte drinks that he was going to place at the base of Bear Mtn. He was able to give us a ride back to the trail. He showed up at the shelter a little after we did, and he drove as close as he could before hiking in. Late in teh evening, he pulled out a collapsible, plastic didgerydoo (sp?) and played. That sounded so cool as twilight was closing in and through the stillness the low, ever-changing drone of the didge sounded. He could do circular breathing so there was a continuous flow of air through the instrument.    There was a nice view from the shelter. The mosquitoes got really bad around dusk so we set up our tent inside the shelter. I saw a hummingbird! In Salisbury, Dad got chili peper olive oil and it gave a little zing to our rice and salmon. A trio of section hikers came over to the shelter to goggle at the real live thru-hikers after the ridgerunner told them about us.
Date: 2006-08-02
From: Hemlocks Lean-to

To: Benedict Pond, MA
Miles today: 18.3

   We left before 7, and a good thing too because it was soon hot and buggy. These are record setting highs. We walked though a thick, evergreen forest early in the morning. Shafts of light cut through the high canopy here and there. It looked like some place in Vermont. We met the Tyvek man after coming down the slippery, rocky Jug End mountain. He is hiking the trail barefoot and his gear is mostly made out of Tyvek: shelter, poncho, sleeping bag, backpack straps. He had all shapes of bags hanging from his Tyvek backpack. He was hiking southbound to raise awareness about the care that veterans need when they come home from war, all of the help with radjucting to life.    At US 7 we stopped for a break and to put on some bug stuff. Dad and Gear went to look for a place to fill up our water jugs and found the Corn Crib. Not only did they get cold spring water out of jugs, but they also got three Klondike bars and bananas.
Date: 2006-08-04
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

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

   I could hardly sleep last night, none of us really could, and I'm not sure if it was more the promise of hot blueberry pancakes or canoeing at first light as teh sun rose. Dad didn't expect Gear and I to be up at 5:30, but we got the first, delicious pancakes, hot off the griddle. Whew, we ate a lot. Then we took the canoe out on the lake. We went all the way around Goose Pond, looking at all the boats and homes surrounding it. The sky poured on us as we were making our way back along the shore line. A lady came out on her porch and we waved to her: drenched, Dad and Gear paddling like mad, smiles on all our faces. She laughed. We couldn't see the other end of the lake from all of the rain. We found a cool spot with big rocks and rope swings. Of course we had to swing on them! The water was warmer then the rain, so we took a dip in the 'natural hot tub'. Nice.   The caretaker of Upper Goose Pond cabin, Pete, met us at the dock when we paddled back. Pete was so worried about us that he went about collecting our phone number from the other hikers. Everyone else had tried to reassure him that we would be fine. Not only were we fine, we had a blast!    In the evening we started a fire in the outside fire ring and cooked our hotdogs and marshmallows. We shared of course. Mudflap and Daisy, Sizzle, Goldfish, Mike the Hike, and No Pliers stayed the night at the cabin.    As the sun set, we went for a canoe trip with No Pliers. We paddled around Upper Goose Pond. We ran aground on a beaver dam in the upper most reaches of Upper Goose Pond. On the way back we saw hundreds of bats zipping across the surface of the water, eating bugs. The sun set when we ventured through the narrow channel and out to Goose Pond. The sky was clear as a bell and we could see all the house lights surrounding the lake. On the way back to the cabin, No Pliers told us ghost stories, supposedly true, about old boy scout cabins with night-time clinking utensils and footsteps.
Date: 2006-08-06
From: Upper Goose Pond

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: clear sky

   It was hard to leave those blueberry pancakes and canoeing. We flew over those miles today. Easy hiking. Pine trees and easily graded trails. What more could you ask for?    How about some cookies and blueberries?   Check.   We stopped at the Cookie Lady's blueberry farm for lunch, along with Model T, Ranger Dawg, Sizzle, Sleep Ninja, No Pliers, Mudflap & Daisy, and Linc & Jeanne. Quite the crowd.    Such a beautiful place; a whole meadow full of blueberry bushes (only $1.40/lb., you pick), a cute house with wooden siding and flowers everywhere, a picnic table and lawn chairs that hikers could use, and great big shade trees everywhere. We took off our shoes and picked 3 lbs of blueberries. Mmmm. The blueberries were almost as big as a quarter and were deliciously sweet/sour. Some cute little kids brought out cookies for us. They were homemade and chock-full of all sorts of nuts, figs, and chocolate chips. We spent over two hours relaxing and eating their huge blueberries.    We hiked with Linc for awhile and then rested at the trail into the shelter before wandering along the last three miles into town with No Pliers and Sizzle. Gear and Sizzle took off like rockets. Earlier in the day, Sizzle's pole had broken. Gear offered to try and fix it when we get to town and let Sizzle use the extra pole that he has been carrying since the Hudson River in New York. The pole belongs to Wiggi and we think that he left it by accident, but we haven't been able to catch up to him yet. So Wiggi, if you want your pole leave a note in the trail register or slow down a little.   We had orginally been planning on staying at the Bird Cage, but as we were walking down the street/AT in Dalton, Tom Levardi came out on his front porch and offered us soda, cookies, and said that we could stay at his place. Tom explained that the Bird Cage is a bit of a party place. He's a really nice guy. He drove No Pliers and Sleep Ninja out to a restaurant to pick up supper and then waited for them as they bought a few groceries. He brought out some pasta with hamburger and sausage on top and bread and butter for us. It was like we were at an Italien restaurant.       We stayed up late watching movies and reading backkpacking magazines. Now when we look at those magazines we keep thinking, "We should go here and here and here. And how about this? This looks cool."
Date: 2006-08-07
From: Dalton, MA

To: Wilbur Clearing Lean-to
Miles today: 20.3

   It was raining this morning and the weathermen were calling for thunderstorms, but they only hit after we made it to the leant-to. Lucky timing.    The AT went through Cheshire and in the outskirts of town we bought some lemonade from two local girls. Cold and sour. That hit the spot. Then we continued out of town until we reached a shady spot in the middle of a pasture and stopped for lunch. We've been eating basically the same things since Bland, VA but we still like it. We know that the food gives us good energy and somehow it always tastes great after hiking. Cinnamon raisen bagels with Vermont cheddar cheese. Mmmmm.    We picked some blackberries. Black raspberries are better.   We saw Rael on the way up Mt. Greylock. It was a long, but gradual climb through some beautiful everygreen scenery. At the top was Bascom Lodge and a tower with a light in the top. We climbed the spiral staircase to the top. What a view. We talked to a guy who had thru-hiked the AT before. He said that everything always seemed to work out right after the trail.    We relaxed inside the lodge for awhile and then ate some of our rice and salmon with a little olive oil drizzled on top for supper. We ate at an indoor picnic table and as we finished, a guy came up to our table withthree huge slices of chocolate cake and said, "A gentleman from the dining room wanted you to have these." Wow. We figured out that it was the thru-hiker alumni that had sent the cake out to us. We had only talked to him for a little bit, we hardly knew him. Wow.   We left Mt. Greylock at 7:15 and practicully ran the three miles to the shelter. We got there around 8:20 and it was getting really dark. We weren't sure which path led to the shelter, so Dad called out. Then we heard the song of a penny whistle. We followed it and found the Garland 5 at the shelter! They're going to be out on the trail for awhile. Hopefully we'll get to hike with them.
Date: 2006-08-08
From: Wilbur Clearing Lean-to, MA

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Greetings from Williamstown, MA. Last night we stayed at a shelter with two southbounders. We're seeing them every day now. They tell us that we have some beautiful hiking ahead of us. We can't wait. We left the shelter later then usual; 10 am. It was an easy hike down from Greylock to get into town. Williamstown is surrounded by 2,000 ft. mountains. It seems to sit in a little bowl. At the top of the mountains to the north is the MA/Vermont state line. We can't wait to enter the Green Mountains; evergreens, pine needle laden trails, lush forests.   Before coming to the library, we visited The Clark. The Clark is an art gallery with paintings from artists such as Renoir, Degas, Picasso, and Monet. The sweet lady who drove us to the museum had taken care of Mr. Clark, the guy who built the museum to house his collection of artwork, when she was in her 30's. Now she's 92 and quite the character.   The Garland 5 are on the trail! We met them back at Hardcore. They are a family of 5 who have section hiked the AT for the past two years. They are going to be out for a couple weeks and hopefully we'll be able to hike with them for awhile.   For lunch we had a blueberry, mandarin orange, vanilla yougurt parfait. We also had some Edy's ice cream and Pringles for dessert. This has become our town-meal of choice for the past couple weeks. Mmmmmm, you can eat really good from a grocery store.