morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-07-17
From: Vernon

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: few clouds

We left early as we had one more trip to fit in before i returned to the trail. We went to the Shawagunks mountains to swim and climb. It was a wet day so we didnt climb which i was pleased about. I really dont want to be climbing. We met Susan, she was at the soccer game the other day.She guided up to this rock outcrop for our lunch.It was the worst picnic ive ever had. The jam jar got broke and had bits of glass in it, the bread got mouldy in the heat and i looked at Sarah and said 'when you come over i'l show you a real picnic'. Bless her for trying, i give her a A for effort. We went to this waterfall with a good cliff to jump off. Sarah and Beth jumped in straight away, nothing phases them. I didnt swim for a long time as i was getting back on the trail and didnt want to get my clothes wet. I wrote for a while and started to feel left out. Anna came over and said she had some stuff i could wear so i took up the offer. We rode the rapids for a while, i scraped my back on the third go..doh!The time came to do the jump. Nearly everyone had so i figured i could do it. I never do this sort of thing but it was time to break the pansy habit. It was crazy to fall but was tonnes of fun. Me and Anna were the last to stop swimming. I really appreciated her encouragement, i felt i had achieved something today. Went for a Sub and headed back to the trail. Back 'home'.The girls dropped me off and we said our goodbyes. I forgot how good a hug feels. i empower anyone to give a dandylion a hug if they happen to see him around.I could not put the trail on hold any longer and once again i was heading north.I was on a high, the last few days were a real morale boost. I have kept some good company out here but none finer than the barefoot bunch. I also thought about OBI, tal and dylan, great people. The humidity was evil, didnt take long for me to be soaked in sweat. I made it to the shelter before dark and met Tink. She told me she was doing a flip flop. She was a few months younger than me. She also told me there was a group of 14 behind us. I certainly dont want to be caught up in a group that big. dandylion
Date: 2005-07-18
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: pass Mombasha high point
Miles today: 17.1

The Mosquito's really chewed me up last night and all day i was defending myself. They must enjoy the fresh english blood. Had some rocky climbs up to the state line -Hello New York- Another state bites the dust. NJ was neat. I came down to NY14A nearly out of water. When i saw a sign saying 0.1 miles to an ice cream shop, i didnt give it a second thought. The water so far in NY has been aweful, just one filthy river after another. I wouldnt flush my toilet with that water. I drank a litre of water and sat around a bit. I saw chuckles and gotta go drinking milkshakes. ApplePie and Ug trotted over to join me. Applepie is from Holland and attempting to finish off her triple crown. Ug saw my kilt and mentioned he wants to get a red kilt to match his red beard and bandana, so i called him a metrosexual for being so concerned with colour coordination. Applepie loved this comment and we made fun of him for a good while. We also tried to explain the eurovision song contest to Ug, i didnt realise how much in common us europeans have. The trails been tough to keep track of today. I will be walking along concentrating on hopping the rocks and then look up to find i was wandering off the trail. Ug and Applepie kept saying to me 'i thought we were meant to be on a hiking trail!?!'. Coming down Mombasha high point me and Ug stopped to wait for Applepie. I decided to throw my tent up and eat, i felt done for the day. A.P (applepie) and Ug moved on.I am attempting to start camping more again as i have been a shelter rat of late. I Sleep better in my tent and the bugs cant get me. I listened to some music and retired to bed. dandylion
Date: 2005-07-19
From: pass Mombasha high point

To: West Mtn
Miles today: 19.0

Its amazing how much quicker one breaks camp when one camps alone! I would like to thank the trail angels who left water for us hikers at road crossings. It was very appreciated. I was dreading the thought of drinking that nasty water flowing through here. I was thinking that i should ring, its been 2 weeks since i last called home and then as i crossed a road to enter Harriman state park there was a phone. I went through the lemon squeezer today with all my juice intact. I only just got through there, i wonder how some of the larger people managed?I was expecting to catch A.P and Ug but never did. I took a long break at Fingerboard shelter, cracked out my radio and chilled to some rock n roll. Really didnt see anyone today as i traversed the rugid hills of NY. The aint big here but the trail makes sure you climb them when there there. I found a nice campsite upon West mtn past the shelter. It had a moss layer over the ground which is the hiker equvalent of a tempar mattress. Ever since my mishap at catfish tower i have developed a fear of wetting myself! If i wake up in the night i go out and take a leak, force one if i have to. I never want to have that happen again. Lightening never strikes twice but im not sure about leaking. I put on the radio and plotted where i would hike tomorrow. dandylion
Date: 2005-07-20
From: West Mtn

To: Before Canopus Hill
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: broken clouds

Slept an extra 20 mins before hitting the trail. Again the trail was rocky and challenging. Met 'still eric' at Bear mtn. We went up the tower on the summit which overlooked the Hudson River. Still eric was just out for a section and returning to work tomorrow. I heard many reports of people taking road walks to miss out parts of the trail today. I was talking to a ridge runner and he said everyone he talks to is suprised at how hard NY has been. Its really been kicking some ass. On the way to Bear mtn village i passed a group chanting things to get pysched up such as 'we will defy the odds''we will suceed''rrrraaaaaaaaa'It was so stupid but entertaining. I was feeling the hunger really badly so as i walked along Hessian lake i was on the look out for food.I saw some concession stands which opened around 11am. I could wait around for an hour to get a burger or two.Tuk and Navigator came along. Not seen them since Waynesboro!They said the big group was right behind me but they all plan to go to fatfest this weekend. Fat fest is an event ran by thruhikers of 98. That means i wont be caught up in a big group as i feared. The time came to leave and i soon found myself confused. The trail actually went through a zoo which was very crowded with school kids. I finally made it across the impressive Bear mtn bridge. The zoo was actually the lowest point on the A.T which means its all up from now on, i guess.I met a flip flopper sitting down starring into a trickling stream. I approached him to find out that bear mtn was his finishing point of his thru hike, no wonder he was depressed. I wanted to give him uplifting words of wisdom but I still have not experienced the finishing myself. The was good down to the Graymoor friary. I went down to the grounds and met the 'nasties'. After much deliberation i decided to stay here to eat at the friary before moving on a few more miles. A.P and Ug cmae along, i was puzzled to how i overtook them. They were trying to catch the troll family up and moved on quickly. Livestrong rolled in later on, again, i have not seen him in a while.The brother came down to see how many mouths needed feeding. I was dissapointed by him, i was expecting him to be wearing a brown robe riding a donkey but instead he had a baseball cap and drove a pickup truck - this is america. I think the guys cooking our meals were recovering drug or alcohol addicts. they guy who took us up in the lift seemed to think it would work faster if he repeatedly banged the control panel. the meal was very good and they threw in some treats that i packed out for breakfast tomorrow. So i left the grounds with a nice full stomach. It was tempting to stay but like many a time i felt a strong desire to make another few miles. I pitched my tent agfter Albany post road and once again i was camping alone. there is a certain beauty in camping alone. I am sure there are some people out here that have not yet camped alone, there missing out.Dandylion
Date: 2005-07-21
From: Before Canopus Hill

To: NY52
Miles today: 20.9

A mad dog started barking at my tent this morning. I was getting ready to spear the mutt with my pole but he saw the rage in my eyes and retreated. I finally caught A.P and Ug at lunch, they seemed a low spirited. Looking back we shouldof gone down to the lake and ate on the little beach. EM and Ug started hiking fast and made a few jokes as we passed A.P. We stopped in a Shenandoah campsite to use the water pump and A.P came along. She gave us the cold shoulder so we had to apologise. It didnt take long for her mood to lift. The water from the pump was ice cold,,,,,,mhhhh.On the picnic table we discovered a large cut out picture of Jessie James from Orange county choppers. It was just a big head!He was trying to get to Maine and asked us if we could carry him up the trail for a few miles. Guideless had carried him for a little while but got too freaked out and abandoned him here. Ug decided to carry the burden of Jessie to CT. We decided to try and make NY52, our motivation being there was a pizza place just off the trail. RPH shelter was cool and the Trolls and Skywalker had left humourous entries in the register. RM and corporal told me some comical stories about the battle of wills between skywalker and hiker X05 this one time in a shelter, so i am keen to meet him. Hiker X05 was as strange as they come. The tough part of the day came at the end when we climbed Stormville mtn. My guide had the elevation completely wrong but climbing the 500ft on an empty stomach was what got me. We finally made it to the pizza and stuffed ourselves silly. I had a large pizza and a litre of soda.. We had to hike on in the dark with one headlamp between 3 of us. I was bitching the entire time because i couldnt see anything. Didnt get the tent up till 10pm but that pizza sure felt good.dandylion
Date: 2005-07-22
From: NY52

To: Webatuck shelter
Miles today: 20.3

I left before the duo of Ug and A.P, i hope they dont fall behind me today as i planned to make more good miles. I was bouncing along the trail today, feeling pretty dam good. I came to a bridge crossing I-84 which had big closed signs across it. The trail had to go across it and so forward i went. the sidewalk made me very uneasy. It was just plywood which shaked with every step. I hiked a few miles after morgan stewart shelter with Livestrong. He said his mum had told him i included his funny comment about english in my trailjournal. I told him it was just too stupid to leave out and he agreed. Ug and A.P caught me up and seemed upbeat today also. I was suprised to find Nuclear lake looked appealing rather than radioactive but i didnt feel like a swim. I finally met the troll family today. Troll is the firey husband, then Anchor is his wife and they have brought their 10 year old son along, his name is Oblivious. They all wear kilts and this gave us common ground. Troll promised me he bitches about the trail more than A.P and UG. They then told me that Gordon and Sue are supporting them and should be at the next road crossing. We all walked down to meet them over some boardwalks in need of repair. What annoys me about NY is all the tick warning signs. The first few signs are interesting to read but there everywhere. This keeps the fear of ticks in the forefront of your mind. All i can do is check myself regularly, seeing those signs 15 times a day is just irriatating.I said hi to Gordon and Sue but i think it took them a while to remember me. However true to form they offered me a gatorade. The gateway to heaven was not very impressive, very much like the stairway to heaven in Virginia. Ended my day at Webatuck and met a londoner at the shelter. She had been living over here for years so thats why i think she was a little coo coo. The 6ft 11 inch giant - Skywalker - came in. Skywalker has lived all over the world, including London thus they started catching right away. The lady later shocked us all when she blunty asked Oblivious if he was a little boy or a little girl!!! It was so rude, me and A.P glanced eachother trying not to laugh out loud. I'm pleased she managed to recognise me as a male. Talked to Skywalker about the Warren Doyle expedition as he was close to joining it. I think Warren gets more bad press than he deserves. It seems all the big names in the trail community have big conflicting ego's. Last night in NY tonight, I'll be back.dandylion
Date: 2005-07-23
From: Webatuck shelter

To: Kent
Miles today: 12.7

I was slow out today, trying to stick with A.P as she wants me to come and stay with a friend of hers who lives near Kent. A meal and shower sure sounded good. I think today was an example of making hard work for myself. By the time i reached the ten mile lean to i was starving. I ate the rest of my food and realised i was going to be marching on an empty stomach. The border crossing into CT was not terribly exciting but no border crossing so far can live up to the time i left Virginia.Schagiticote mountain really kicked our asses and if it had not been for Skywalker giving me a snickers bar and crackers i would of struggled to make Kent. Troll was on form with his moaning. He put even Mel to shame, he could moan like no other. We all got into Kent and A.P made a phonecall to her friend. The guy said 3 of us could go, so me,ug and A.P all went. The last few days i have strongly beem considering the PCT as a future adventure. A.P has really sold it to me and i mentioned it to my mother, she said 'no'. It took a while to make her understand that this would be in a few years and not straight after this trail. A.P's friend came along and his name was 4winds. He hiked the A.T southbound last year and once again i knew we were in good hands. We resupplied and once again i went crazy. 4winds put out some icecream and chips before cooking us mexican food. 4winds is planning to hit the PCT next year! that really grabbed my attention and we all sat around in his cool pad talking about trails. I felt refreshed by 4winds as his envy and enthusiasm for our treks really reminded me that im living a dream which many will never or cant do. People at this moment are dreaming or planning a thru hike at this very moment and here i am. One thing that was wierd is 4winds had his callous and beard from the A.T in little jars! My bed was so very compfy but i did feel uneasy about the huge buck mounted on the wall overhanging me....i hope he is secure. It would suck to have my hike ended by a falling buck as i sleep.dandylion
Date: 2005-07-24
From: Kent

To: Sharon Mtn campsite
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Didnt get to bed late but slept so good.I hear stories of people sleeping on the floor when they return home as beds are to comfortable now. I think thats crazy, i know that i will only appreciate a soft bed. Me and 4winds had a good chat on the drive down to the trail and then i thanked him for everything. I was on the trail by 6:30am. The hiking was pleasant and for a while we were on a dirt track running alongside the Housatonic river, nice to be able to walk and not have to look at my feet. As i progressed along the trail i wondered how close i was to bob, i know he took a weekend off so i should be just behind him. Passing alot of empty coolers recently. Suprise, curiousity and joy rise up which is sharply followed by disappointment at the empty cooler. I ended up at Sharon mtn campsite and Chronic was there. We have met briefly before on the trail. He showed me his tent which he had made himself. He was very proud of it and i would be too if i actually made something that worked. I was never gifted with a sowing machine. Chronic had thru hiked and section hiked the entire trail and was now out to get the bug out of his system. He really didnt want to be out here and he was very homesick. I kind of wish i could be around people who had zest for the trail again. He told me the bugs are not going to disappear anytime soon so im thinking i may invest in some bug spray! Dandyliom
Date: 2005-07-26
From: Brassie Brook lean to

To: Pass South Egremont road
Miles today: 15.6

Bear mtn was a cool climb and marked the highest part of of the trail in CT. Into Mass the dandylion ventured with nothing but his wits. I looked forward to staying at the birdcage in Dalton. I rolled into Hemlock and threw down my pad. It was a hot and i felt like sleeping as oppose to hiking. I did manage to rally myself to hike on and the miles were easy going. I found a nice spot to set up camp and camped alone. I have a confession. I camp alone so i can listen to Delilah on my radio. She is a true gem, and plays soft romantic rock all night. Its great to go to sleep on but i find the whole show hilarious. I will often roar with laughter because she's so cheesy, its beyond believe and the people that ring in to share their sob stories are the most sorry bunch of losers i have ever heard. Its a show of cliche but i enjoy it immensley.dandylion
Date: 2005-07-28
From: Shaker campsite

To: October Lean to
Miles today: 18.7

The mosquito's were not too bad this morning but i hurried out just in case. When i crossed Jerusalem road i thought about Taland if he still was planning to head to S.America. The trail was treating me well and i was flying along having a grand old time. I didnt stop much as i was a man on a mission. I was trying to make the Pizza hut lunch buffet in Lee.The ran along a lake for a while and i saw some boats out on the lake, looked really relaxing. Then i felt a pain in my ankle, I looked down in horror as there were 5 bees on my leg having a stinging party. I started sprinting from the hive i had disturbed. All but one bee had fallen off and i beat him to death with my pole. Them bees aint so tough when you get them alone!Thats what happens to you if you mess with the Dandylion. Oddly enough i felt really refreshed and pumped with adrenlin from the ordeal. I talked with some day hikers just before the road and i scored a ride into town. They told me where everything was and i made the buffet in time. I got groceries at a nasty supermarket and then hit the libary for a while. I recieved an email from my friend Karen back home and it really meant alot, im amazed at the support ive had from the folks back home. Messages from home give me a real morale boost. Such simple things can make the difference out on the trail. It took a while to get out of town as there were road works going on but i always get the ride in the end.I soon found myself back on the trail and im loving it all at the moment. I feel so good within myself. I met a really cool SOBO called Gantz and we were on the same wavelength i felt.Dandylion
Date: 2005-07-29
From: October Lean to

To: Dalton (birdcage)
Miles today: 11.8

I knew i only had a short day to Dalton to handle so i didnt leave till 8:30am. Gantz told me about this cookie lady 2 miles from here and i made it in under 40 minutes to her blueberry farm. The cookie lady was not actually there but her husband Roy came out to greet me and gave me some cookies. It was such a nice little farm with people coming by to pick their own blueberries. I used the toilet in the out building and then i realised it didnt flush. I was certain Roy had told me to use this facility so i went and asked him what was wrong. It turned out you just manual flush it by pouring a bucket of water down. It exposed my lack of understanding for the art of plumbing.I was motivated by the prospect of my stay at the birdcage.I jsut thought it was cool how i hung out with rob bird at trail days all them miles ago and now will be staying at his home. Despite the late start and long breaks i still made Dalton by 1pm. I went passed a house and saw Buttah and the mad chapper. I aint seen that cat since North Carolina! I remember we camped together at Justis creek back in GA. I went to the Shell station and the guys there rang rob for me. It was great to see the old boy again. Robs place, known as the birdcage, was great. Rob only had two rules 'you have the run of the house once you've showered and secondly, no packs or boots in the living room. They are very necessary rules. Hikers and their gear stinks. Met some Southbounders -Nemo,tugboat,spud and O.D-. They seemed cool guys. I relaxed around after my showerand while my laudry was in the spinner rob gave me some clothes to borrow.I shifted through his rack and found this awesome black worn denim jacket. I really liked it. At this sub shop we went down to they had a 24 inch sub on offer and rob challenges anyone to eat the whole thing. Only 6 people have ever done it. I settled on a 10 inch sub with icecream.On the way back tugboat decided to let rob slackpack him tomorrow. Some of the guys told him there was a record for that slack which really pumped him up to do it. 10 miles in under 2 hrs. It was of course a load of rubbish. I saw goldilocks, whom i met at trail days, in alot of photos. That guys really photogenic as i saw pics of him at bears den aswell! Rob had a gig tonight and i went along to offer support. His band were really good and did some rock and country.When we got back I was told i had the top bunk but as i climbed up i realised princess was sleeping there. I quickly retreated and took the bottom bunk. I dont think she realised what was going on, i am glad as i dont want to earn a undesirable label. talk on the trail spreads like wild fire.dandylion
Date: 2005-07-30
From: Dalton (birdcage)

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The birdcage is a place of rest and that what i did most the day. I wanted to update my journal but its a dam sunday which means the libary is shut. I had great nights sleep but not everyone was so lucky. Tugboat,spud and midnight were all sleeping in the basement. In the depths of night tugboat awoke to a sprinkling of water on his legs. He thought intially someone was playing a joke on him so he shouted out 'hey!'. midnight responded 'oh,im sorry, did i pee on you'. Tugboat whimpered 'you pissed on me?'. Midnights excuse was that he got disorientated and thought he was in a shelter, he then proceeded to run upstairs to finish off his business in the bathroom. I can understand how someone can get disorientated, i can hardly criticise him for his mishap, can I?What amused me most was that tugboat simply rolled over and went back to sleep. Listening to tugboat tell the story was superb. Rob made us blueberry and choc chip pancakes.mmmhhh...... they were really good. I spent most the day looking forward to going out for dinner at this italian place. It really was good and afterwards i suggested we go for ice cream. everyone agreed with this suggestion and i got a soft serve ice cream in a plain cone. I actually asked for it in a sugar cone but she said she was not allowed to do that. I less polite man would of asked 'why the hell not?'When we got back i realised i was not leaving tomorrowl. I decided one more zero and then back into the woods. This is a hard place to leave. watched some films and nemo told me some great vaporisms. When they were watching pearl harbour with vapors a few nights back, Vapors said 'hey, the japanese bombed us? i thought it was the Germans'. Then after that film they watched Saving private ryan and he was dumbfounded, completely confused. He's a great kid. Dandylion