morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-12
From: james frye shelter

To: boiling springs, pennsylvania
Miles today: 12.2

nero into town today to meet mountain dewd's dad at 2:30. scrubs, mountain dewd, webb, pacer, me, and diesel (surprised us by skipping 40 miles to get there in time) all piled into the expedition and drove to the home place for dinner (in catawba, an hour or two from damascus). after dinner we just tented on the lawn. mcafee knob day hike tomorrow for those that want to, but i'll probably sleep in instead.
Date: 2005-05-13
From: boiling springs, pennsylvania

To: boiling springs, pennsylvania
Miles today: 0.0

got to damascus at 11:00. tented in tent city. got a new stove (antigravity gear). drank too much. must sleep now. drums and fire, like woodstock, i'd imagine. raining hard, thunder.(note: this entry was not altered in any way from the original. i should point out to those reading this that i am 22 and therefore can get away with drinking sometimes, but drinking in excess is highly irresponsible at any age)
Date: 2005-05-14
From: boiling springs, pennsylvania

To: boiling springs, pennsylvania
Miles today: 0.0

last night was crazy... huge thunderstorm. the tent held up just fine, though. had my pack repaired and my trekking poles cleaned, both for free, then met my mom around lunchtime. at 2:00 was the parade, and there was another big thunderstorm just before it began... so the parade turned into a huge water fight. diesel and i kicked butt with our generic supersoakers. came home to my own bed tonight. tent city is nice, but a real mattress was too tempting!
Date: 2005-05-16
From: boiling springs, pennsylvania

To: darlington shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

got up and in the expedition at 4:00 am. twelve hours later, we left boiling springs for a short hike. my stove worked great in the first field test - had a lipton side and idahoan instant mashed potatoes. got my first wood tick today, too. luckily i had recently read up on these, so i disposed of it with tweezers. the first 12 miles today were flat, as we have left the blue ridge mountains. still waiting on those rocks...
Date: 2005-05-17
From: darlington shelter

To: clarks ferry shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

into duncannon (pennsylvania) today to resupply, so it was a short one. the rocks are here, for the most part, so we are getting those over with in the next six or seven days. hiking up out of duncannon was interesting - were everywhere, hanging and falling from the trees (seriously, it sounded like rain). met a flip-flopper named jay, who's here with me, scrubs, team dumber, and pacer tonight (known by some as "uncle pacer and the boy scouts"). i named jay "naked ghandi" because he was taking a bath in the spring when i went to get water, and because his head's shaved. had a beer at the doyle hotel in duncannon, which absolutely oozed character. we'll be catching frank and friends tomorrow.
Date: 2005-05-18
From: clarks ferry shelter

To: rausch gap shelter
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: broken clouds

ouch. this was the first sizeable day in a while, and we're definitely feeling it. rocks all day, but pacer and i still made it in nine total hours. all they really do is force you to watch where you step, but that makes for slower and less enjoyable hiking. frank and friends kept going, and mountain dewd stayed at the last shelter (he has a stomach issue). shorter day into the 501 shelter tomorrow - it has a caretaker, which usually means it's nice. cooked macaroni and cheese tonight and did pretty well. i'm getting the hang of this soda can stove.
Date: 2005-05-19
From: rausch gap shelter

To: 501 shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

shorter day for a couple reasons - this is a great shelter (enclosed, bunks, water from a spigot) and we're letting mountain dewd and diesel catch up. got a call from them earlier and they were only 10 miles out. 34.9 miles for them today... incredible. webb and i went to the sholl family restaurant for an awesome all-you-can-eat, and afterwards the manager, steve, gave us a ride back to the shelter (it's very close to the road). great guy, and he even sent us back with a box for fried chicken to share with the other guys. caught a vole at lunch and got a video of it, which was exciting. also less than 1,000 miles left in the hike, which is probably more exciting.
Date: 2005-05-20
From: 501 shelter

To: port clinton, pennsylvania
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: clear sky

port clinton is terrible. it rained all day. here is a good candy store, but the only hotel and restaurant... well... not hiker friendly. i'm too tired to talk much about it, so check out webb's entry on hikerguys.com. scrubs took a zero at the 501 shelter, but said he'll catch up to us in the next couple days.
Date: 2005-05-21
From: port clinton, pennsylvania

To: allentown hiking club shelter
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: few clouds

nice, rocky hike today. the way i look at it... every rock i step over is one i never have to see again. mountain dewd is still sick, so they won't be hiking ahead (which was the original plan... they are going to take a couple zeros in new york city). that's fine with me, because scrubs still has to catch up. the shelter is overrun with girl scouts and boy scouts, so i have to tent. not sure how i feel about the scouts taking over the shelter, but whatever, they're nice enough. getting by on dried fruit (we had to resupply at the candy store in port clinton) isn't so bad. yet.
Date: 2005-05-22
From: allentown hiking club shelter

To: lehigh gap
Miles today: 17.7

it rained last night, but my tent continues to keep me perfectly dry. the rocks made for a long 17 mile day, but there are some neat scrambles along the ridgetops. met up with don, aka "lights out" again, much to my surprise. we had started within ten minutes of each other on springer and had lunch at stover creek shelter, but he was planning on taking it much slower than i was. seems like forever ago. he skipped ahead to new jersey and is now hiking south to roan mountain. also met chestnut, who is from maine and has hiked the trail before. all this made for great conversation. the hostel itself (in nearby palmerton, pennsylvania) is an old courthouse/police station that has been turned into some sort of community center. a little weird, but it has showers. did laundry and resupplied without walking far. i like this town. chestnut had an interesting quote: "whoever gets to katahdin first... loses." he's right, because this is essentially a vacation. i'm going to aim for an august 1 finish date and hopefully won't deviate much from it. the climb out of lehigh gap is supposedly the toughest we'll see until new hampshire, and looking at the thing... i believe it. i'll report on that tomorrow.
Date: 2005-05-23
From: lehigh gap

To: wind gap
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

the climb out of lehigh gap was awesome, even though it was bare rock because the area used to be mined for zinc. definitely wish all the big climbs were that steep... you're up there so much quicker. the hike was dictated by water, which there isn't much of in this area. the 15 mile shelter's spring was a half mile away, so we did the next 5 for a hotel spigot. no shelter nearby, so we're tenting a bit up the trail from there. delaware water gap tomorrow to resupply (our last day in pennsylvania!) scrubs actually passed us this morning, so he's ahead now, but we'll catch up.
Date: 2005-05-24
From: wind gap

To: delaware water gap, pennsylvania
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: light rain

made it to dwg and a free hostel at a church. met scrubs, frank, and crow there, then resupplied and ate at mcdonald's. cool town. we're now in the glaciated region of the united states, and it's noticeably different. we pass sunfish pond tomorrow... our first glacial lake.
Date: 2005-05-25
From: delaware water gap, pennsylvania

To: brink road shelter
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: overcast clouds

soggy today, just like yesterday. apparently this low pressure system is just sitting on us, so it's wet and cold until the week's out. saw sunfish pond, but it was too cold to swim. mountain dewd sprained his ankle and went back to dwg, so that might make things interesting in the next couple weeks. webb and diesel moved on with us, and it's them, me, scrubs, pacer, frank, and crow. the rocks are going away, gradually...
Date: 2005-05-26
From: brink road shelter

To: unionville, new york
Miles today: 26.7

interesting day. went over sunrise mountain and saw flowers on the pavilion up there. come to find out, a thru-hiker (who i know, but won't name) discovered a suicide there less than a week ago. creepy. caught up with orphan, who's having trouble with his feet, and he's staying in the "hostel" (an old storage room with shelves for beds) with me, pacer, and scrubs. i think we're going to catch chino soon. ah... and i fell on my face today, much to the amusement of pacer and scrubs.
Date: 2005-05-27
From: unionville, new york

To: wawayanda shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

today was going to be another 20, but when we got to this shelter the sky turned black. before that, though, it had been beautiful for the first time in a while. stopped at heavenly hill farms for a break, where i bought ice cream and an orange. also passed through a large environmental preserve on a longgg system of bog logs. diesel and webb leave for new york city tomorrow, where they're taking the weekend off.
Date: 2005-05-28
From: wawayanda shelter

To: island pond outlet
Miles today: 23.6

out of new jersey today - the only thing i'll really miss is desperado's (a trail angel) trail magic in the bear boxes. new york hit us like it had something to prove, and i'd have to say this has been the toughest day yet. no big climbs, but the mountains are steep and frequent. water is scarce, but we've (pacer, scrubs, and i) done pretty well at staying hydrated. hot until about 5:00, when the sky turned black. again. about that time we met paddy-o, a trail angel that really saved us some hassle. he let us stay in his truck while it rained, then broke the news that there were a lot of people headed towards our targeted shelter tonight. after some good food, we did another 1.7 and are camping by island pond (in the rain).
Date: 2005-05-29
From: island pond outlet

To: graymoor friary
Miles today: 23.2

great day, even though all our stuff got wet last night. woke up early to a beautiful sunrise over island pond, then were greeted by the lemon squeezer - a rock scramble that some people can't even get through. once in the bear mountain area, we were treated to touristes by the thousands... being memorial day weekend, it was expected, but still a shock. saw my first bear - in the zoo. oh well. that part was pretty interesting. after resupplying in fort montgomery, we pushed on another 5 miles or so to graymoor friary, and old monastery that lets hikers stay the night on the ballfield or the pavilion. caught back up with chino, bassmaster, frank, and crow, and met lopsided, free spirit, and yoplait for the first time. we'd been reading their entries in the registers for a while now. team dumber and diesel will be back on the trail - and 36 miles behind - tomorrow.
Date: 2005-05-30
From: graymoor friary

To: rph shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: few clouds

up VERY early, as the pavilion was drenched in sunlight by 6:00. ran into running moon, jukebox, and odyssa, who were being slackpacked by running moon's parents. they met us at a road crossing with cokes and snacks, which was much appreciated. got in early, at 3:00, and just hung out. relaxed day. chino went on, but everyone else that was at graymoor last night is here tonight. i really need to shower and do laundry, but the opportunity has not presented itself...
Date: 2005-05-31
From: rph shelter

To: wiley shelter
Miles today: 25.6
Weather: scattered clouds

full day. left at 7:30 and stopped at a store for some donuts. had lunch at nuclear lake, which was beautiful... i saw three water snakes swim right by me and got a picture of one. on the way to the shelter, we passed an old, overgrown cemetary. the fence was long gone, but the gate is still standing. it reads "gate of heaven". eerie. bassmaster, crow, and frank are slackpacking through connecticut, then the latter two are skipping north a ways. team dumber and diesel will hopefully be catching us soon.
Date: 2005-06-01
From: wiley shelter

To: stewart hollow branch lean-to
Miles today: 19.7

out of new york, finally - the area has been nice, but i'm really looking forward to the vermont woods. one thing about being here, though... incredible delis. everywhere. into kent, connecticut, today to resupply and get a new pair of socks. upscale town, but the people were very nice.
Date: 2005-06-02
From: stewart hollow branch lean-to

To: limestone springs lean-to
Miles today: 22.3

since we're all desperate for showers, chino suggested getting a cabin tonight (there are six of us, all told... me, scrubs, chino, lopsided, free spirit, and pacer). however, there was a much bigger price tag on it than any of us wanted to match. chino and i ended up rinsing off in a shower outside a power station. it was maybe 20 feet from the road, but man it felt good. heard from mountain dewd and he's definitely back on the trail, but 150 miles behind, near traction. met pokey and boomerang at the shelter tonight. i'd been following them in the registers for a while now.pacer saw a bear.
Date: 2005-06-03
From: limestone springs lean-to

To: hemlocks lean-to
Miles today: 17.5

after a brief stop in salisbury, connecticut, we actually climbed some respectable mountains today: bear, race, and everett. the connecticut/massachusetts border was right after bear, so we've done another state. everett was the shortest (700 feet), but steepest (done in less than half a mile), climb of the day. i've started to plan for the 100 mile wilderness; seems crazy, but we'll go over the 1500 mile mark tomorrow. scrubs, pacer, chino, and lopsided are here tonight, along with some section hikers.
Date: 2005-06-04
From: hemlocks lean-to

To: ma23
Miles today: 16.4

i don't mean to brag, but i've seen bugs. i've lived in maine and i've been to alaska in the summer. but i have never, ever, seen mosquitoes like the mosquitoes i saw today. for a three mile stretch, there were clouds. literally. you couldn't slow or stop. not for water, not for more deet, nothing. later today, after that section, we read a register entry from a former thru-hiker that said this was the most challenging part of his hike. why? purely because of the mosquitoes. other than that, though, it was a nice day. we're staying at east mountain retreat center, and i finally took a real shower and did laundry!just for emphasis, wow there were a lot of mosquitoes today...
Date: 2005-06-05
From: ma23

To: upper goose pond cabin
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: few clouds

the sunrise lit up the hostel around 6:00, so we were up and out early this morning. passed benedict pond on our way to upper goose pond, both of which are glacial (or at least they look like it). i'm loving all the water, but it makes for mosquito-infested trail. ah, well... the swim tonight was incredible and more than made up for all my bites! this cabin is nice... there's a caretaker that is going to make us pancakes tomorrow morning. we all pitch in a little to cover that cost.
Date: 2005-06-06
From: upper goose pond cabin

To: dalton, massachusetts
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

ayce pancakes this morning, then a stop at the "cookie lady"'s around mid-day. there we found out a tornado watch was in effect for this evening. so it rained on us for the last three miles... free spirit had heard about a guy named rob who puts up hikers (and he also signed my guestbook, although i found out about this only now), but you had to find him at the shell station, which was closed. finally we got his phone number, which is unlisted, and he picked us up. they call his house "the birdcage" because it's easy to come in but tough to leave. it's true. shower, laundry, ayce (two in one day!), nice bed.... very cool. a few of us are taking zeros tomorrow, but i have to get to manchester center on saturday to pick up a package (my knee brace). so it's over mount greylock tomorrow, providing i feel better tomorrow than i do now... my stomach has been irritable.
Date: 2005-06-07
From: dalton, massachusetts

To: dalton, massachusetts
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

zero day, and it was awesome. watched tv all morning, then rob took us to a swimming hole to cool off. after that, the four of us (pacer, free spirit, jay, and me) went and saw the new star wars movie. after an italian dinner, i watched a red sox game.
Date: 2005-06-08
From: dalton, massachusetts

To: wilbur clearing lean-to
Miles today: 20.3

out late, about 9:00 this morning. the big story is that the four of us summited mount greylock today, which was the first decent climb since three ridges back in virginia. first time we've been over 3,000 feet in a while, too. it poured on me in the last mile, so i'm trying to dry my stuff out now.
Date: 2005-06-09
From: wilbur clearing lean-to

To: congdon shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

hiked three miles this morning into north adams/williamstown (massachusetts) to resupply (mostly granola bars this time around, since they were on sale), then climbed up a ridge to the massachusetts/vermont state line. it also serves as the southern terminus of vermont's long trail. it feels great to be in the tri-state area of new england... like i'm back in the wilderness again. i was getting tired of all the roads and towns of new york, connecticut, and massachusetts. free spirit and jay went a little further on, so pacer and i are here with pokey tonight. she lives in new hampshire and owns a bed and breakfast not far from the trail, so that could be a future lodging alternative to the huts (which cost $77!). saw a beaver building a dam today, which is something i'd never seen before.
Date: 2005-06-10
From: congdon shelter

To: story spring shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: broken clouds

pacer woke up with a fever, and pokey is headed south for one more day before going home, so i set off on my own for the first time since neel's gap. saw a ton of moose tracks and other stuff the moose leave behind, along with bear tracks and monarch butterflies, which i hadn't seen on the trail before. eventually met up with jay and free spirit, and we all ended up here. another thru-hiker named j.r. pulled in late and said that dewd, webb, and diesel were probably staying at the last shelter, 4.5 miles back, and that they were trying to catch us. may do a shorter day tomorrow so they can. hope pacer feels better and is back on the trail soon.
Date: 2005-06-11
From: story spring shelter

To: manchester center, vermont
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: broken clouds

big reunion today in town... team dumber, mississippi alan, chino, scrubs, and lopsided are all here. stratton mountain was a great climb, but really the only one i did today. stratton pond was nice, too. hot and humid lately, but at least it's not thunderstorming anymore.
Date: 2005-06-12
From: manchester center, vermont

To: little rock pond shelter
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: broken clouds

well, i left my trekking poles in lopsided's mom's car, so i'm without those until killington (the day after tomorrow). scrubs left his wallet in his parent's car, so at least i'm not the only one forgetting things. bromley mountain was cool - the last .3 miles were up a ski slope. chino, scrubs, and i are here tonight, discussing the final 500 miles, physics, and politics. to finish by august 1, i only need to average 10.1 miles per day now, so i guess i'll be finishing ahead of schedule! the 20th seems like a reasonable date, but we'll see what happens in the whites.
Date: 2005-06-13
From: little rock pond shelter

To: cooper lodge
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: clear sky

up early for a big day, and man was it tough. hot, humid, and very buggy. deet was useless because you just sweat it right off. definitely have a feeling of accomplishment, though - we did good miles and finished by summiting killington, the first "real" mountain since roan. we also have less than 500 miles to go now, which is a huge morale booster. my dad has run into some medical issues that threaten the plans for the 100 mile wilderness, so we're crossing our fingers that he'll be good to go.
Date: 2005-06-14
From: cooper lodge

To: stony brook shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: light rain

insane thunderstorm last night. we were high, at 3900 feet, so the lightning was striking below us. definitely the most intense storm to date. scrubs got an early start and did 26 (he wants to get to hanover quickly to pick up his wallet) while chino and i just did 16. resupplied in the town of killington and picked up an italian sub as a reward for the long day yesterday. met a flip-flopper named restless at the shelter, and running moon, jukebox, and bassmaster also showed up. planning to meet scrubs in hanover, along with team dumber, mississippi alan and diesel (maybe). it was neat to see killington from a non-skiing point of view. the summit was above treeline, which was my first experience with that.
Date: 2005-06-15
From: stony brook shelter

To: thistle hill shelter
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: moderate rain

that cold front i heard about a while ago has come through... woke up and it wsa maybe 50 at best. sure beats the heat, but it's still wet and humid. it's rained every day in vermont, and we leave tomorrow. honestly, i feel cheated out of a state. i've heard it's beautiful, but never saw much. hanover tomorrow to find somewhere to dry out.
Date: 2005-06-16
From: thistle hill shelter

To: hanover, new hampshire
Miles today: 14.6

finally a place to do laundry and get a shower! we're staying at a hotel (me, chino, running moon, jukebox, and bassmaster) after another drizzly day in vermont. now we're done with that state and into "the shire" as bassmaster calls it, and i'm pretty happy about it. resupplying and eating a lot today, then on to the new hampshire mountains tomorrow (finally!)
Date: 2005-06-17
From: hanover, new hampshire

To: firewarden's cabin
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: broken clouds

a lot of hikers showed up at the hotel last night - besides me, chino, running moon, jukebox, and bassmaster, there was team dumber, diesel, mississippi alan, burger (!), nightlion, and odyssa. it was good to catch up. today was no different than it has been for the last couple weeks... overcast and rainy. today i was treated to two rainstorms. the weather is supposed to break soon, and i hope it does. my shoes really need to dry out. passed holt's ledges this afternoon, which is the location of a peregrine falcon rookery. tonight i'm in an old, simple cabin next to a firetower on smarts mountain. it's raining again as i write.
Date: 2005-06-18
From: firewarden's cabin

To: glencliff, new hampshire
Miles today: 20.0

another wet one... it rained on us twice today, again. got that freedom step going early, which was inevitable, because about half the trail was underwater. if i were alone, it wouldn't have been much fun, but everybody just laughed at how rediculous it was. arrived at the hostel around 6:00, then went out to eat with scrubs, scrubs' friend jay, jay, j.r., and chino. jay's parents showed up with a pie and paid for all of us, which was incredible (thanks again!)... i think his dad is going to hike moosilauke (the first big mountain in the whites, and it will be the toughest climb yet, easily) with us tomorrow. listened to "send me on my way" by rusted root and now i'm ready for anything. i can see why a lot of people bring mp3 players.
Date: 2005-06-19
From: glencliff, new hampshire

To: kinsman notch
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: overcast clouds

one mountain today - moosilauke, the first big one. we climbed 3800 feet in 5 miles to the summit, which is above treeline, and took an hour and a half break. we came down into kinsman by 2:30, where jay's parents met us with even more trail magic (thanks again, again!). after that, scrubs' mom's hairdresser, an avid hiker, picked us up and we're spending the night in his rv at a campground (thanks chuck!).