morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-02
From: .3 mile north of /Blue Mt. Lake Rd.

To: Rutherford Shelter
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I think I found the NJ rocks. They began from the moment I set foot on the trail to the end of the day with only a couple of smooth sections. The day was warm and humid and the mosquitios were unbelievably bad. I think my bites have bites but REI's Jungle Juice came to the rescue-thank God for Deet! The hike took me to many vista overlooks and the NJ countryside is beautiful. After summiting Rattlesnake Mountain earlier today I realized I went over the 1,300 mile mark so I stopped and celebrated with some Gator Aid. I also stopped at the famous Worthington Bakery around 11:00 for some lunch and something cold to drink. After a ham, turkey and swisscheese sandwich, some ice cream, a V-8, and 2 20 oz. gateraids I was ready to start hiking again. Before I forget I ran into my second bear today but when he saw me all I saw was his bear butt making tracks in the opposite direction. As I was crossing the Deckertown Turnpike, I saw a young woman sitting on a picnic table in the parking area so I introduced myself. She told me she was hiking down the trail to the shelter I was going to when she was stopped by a bear that wouldn't move from the trail so she came back to the road. She attempted to hike the trail again but was turned back by the same bear. I took her with me to see if I would have better luck but the bear was gone by then. By the way, thanks to whoever it was for leaving all the water jugs at the trailhead down at the turnpike, they were much appriciated. It looks like I'll be coming into New York tomorrow and moving in and out of N.Y. and N.J. for the next few days.Well I'm going to break it off here and try to get some shut eye. I have another long day tomorrow.
Date: 2003-07-03
From: Rutherford Shelter

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 23.2

I left the shelter this morning at 6:30, and thanks to the Deet I put on in the tent, the swarms of mosquitos didn't have a chance. The hike to High Point State Park was rocky but there was a cool breeze so I didn't notice it as much. As I was approaching the Park I ran into 3 south bound hikers section hiking to the Delaware Water Gap. After saying hi to the first two hikers as they went by the third one stops and stares at me and says, "RestStep". I said yes, not knowing who I was talking with, and he told me he's been reading my Journal and recognized me from the pictures posted there. That was so cool...Hope you have a great hike to the Gap Jeff.As I was leaving High Point Park I felt something was different, The Rocks Were Gone! I was amazed to see clear trail again and with only a few short rocky areas that I came across the trail was smooth. Hope it lasts!About 3 miles from N.J.284 I ran into another section hiker going north named Harry, from Long Island. His car was parked on 284 and he was nice enough to offer me a ride into Unionville, N.Y. about 2 miles off the trail for lunch and a quick grocery stop. That was very much appriciated.The temperature and humidity along with the swarms of mesquitoes made hiking a sweaty propostion all afternoon.I finally ran into a North bound Thru Hiker after making a short stop at Pochuck Mtn. Shelter named NightStalker. We walked the next 7 miles together to N.J.94 on a boardwalk across a swampy area, when out of the woods in front of us and coming toward us was another hiker. It was someone we knew walking in the wrong direction. We convinced him that he was heading south so he joined us to Rt. 94 where we ran into more old friends at the trailhead. There was Healer, Chickenfeet and Flanders, and Splash and Cobra. They were just going to hike in a few more miles before camping for the night, but after 23 miles in this heat I had enough for the day. Healer and I got a ride the 2 miles into Vernon, N.J. where we'll stay at the hostel at St. Thomas Episcabal Church. Its a nice place and I was able to shower and do my laundry, what more could you ask for. I met some old friends when I arrived. Bam Bam, Smoking Bear, and Spiderman were there. Spiderman just returned from the doctors where he was diagnosed with lime disease. He's on medication but will still continue hiking unless the symptoms worsen. That makes 2 hikers I know now with Lime, the other one being "Librarian". Tomorrow is going to be another stiffling hot day so I'll try to get a ride back to the trail early tomorrow morning. Everyone have a Happy 4th of July!
Date: 2003-07-04
From: Vernon, NJ

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: few clouds

Another milestone today, I officially entered New York making it 9 states now. My day began about 5:30 when I got up and walked around town in search of a breakfast. Unfortunately all the good places to eat were closed for the holiday so I had to settle for Dunkin Donuts. When I returned to the hostel Healer told me I could get a ride back to the trail with a friend of his that should be there soon but there was a miscommunication and he didn't arrive until after 8 so I got a late start at 8:30. All I can say about todays hike is that it was hotter than blazes and God awful humid and we definitly found the rocks again in NY. About a mile before the NJ/NY state line until several miles beyond I was walking on rock and my feet are most definitely sore tonight. It's amazing how much water I'm putting away now. Today I went through 6 liters and still felt a bit dehydrated. I'll get an early start in the morning to take advantage of any coolness in the temperature. As I lay here in my tent, which is my best defense against mosquitos, I can tell it's still very warm and humid at 9pm. I can only hope tomorrow's a better day.
Date: 2003-07-05
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: broken clouds

So far my experience hiking in New York is like a roller coaster. We climb, usually, a large bouldered steep incline, at times throwing your trekking poles on top of the boulders before climbing over them and then down a steep embankment and then up the next one. This went on for most of the day. The work of climbing up and down combined with the high heat of the day combined to make it sweaty work and at the rate I was going through water I had a few concerns about availability since some of the water sources listed looked like stagnant ponds or streams. I hike 1/2 mile down the Orange Turnpike to find a great spring, that my guide book listed, that was a lifesaver. A nice local man, who was also getting water from the spring was good enough to drive me back to the trailhead. Then, later in the day when I had some real concerns, I came across a spring not listed in my guide book, another lifesaver. The trail seemed to get much better after Harriman State Park and I was able to do the last 9 miles much quicker. Tomorrow I'm heading into Fort Montgomery, NY to resupply and maybe stay for the night for a break from the heat and bugs. Then head across the Hudson River Monday and toward Connecticut. Hard to believe I'll be there soon.
Date: 2003-07-06
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Ft. Montgomery, NY
Miles today: 8.9

We had a windy night which cooled the campsite considerably. You'd think that would have made it easier to sleep but just as I laid down in my tent my sinuses decided to open up and it kept me up until 1:30am until I tried a decongestant which of course leaves you listless for the first couple of hours after you get up. Well, that's the affect on me anyway and I really felt fatigued with the first couple of climbs this morning. The wind stayed constant when I was breaking camp and I thought it might be a better weather day for hiking, but then the sun came up and the wind left completely leaving the day like the last 5, hot and humid. That's when I decided to take the afternoon off and stay in a motel in Fort Montgomery. It was a strange walk into the Bear Mountain area around Hessian Lake. There was a huge crowd of people around the lake because of the 4th of July weekend and the trail went right through the crowds, then it goes through the zoo on the way to the bridge that spans the Hudson River. I must have looked like an oddity to the people there since they were all in bathing suits or shorts bar-b-qing and here I come off the nearby mountain sweaty and carrying a big pack. When you walk past the black bear cage in the zoo you are at the lowest elevation on the AT. I'm going to take the afternoon off, as I mentioned, to get away from the heat and humidity for at least one afternoon. I'll be pushing on tomorrow across the Hudson River, hopefully in a little cooler weather.
Date: 2003-07-07
From: Ft. Montgomery, NY

To: Fahnestock State Park
Miles today: 18.2

I knew it would be hard to get out of bed this morning after taking a couple of decongestants before turning in and I was right. My wake up call at 5:30 only had me going back to sleep until 6:30. Once I got up, ate breakfast, and took a shower I was feeling pretty good and was ready to do a little hiking. I walked the 2 miles back to the bridge, with a stop at a convience store and the post office, and crossed over. It was weird because once I started across the bridge it started raining and the narrow passage way was such that I couldn't get my pack cover on so I walked across as quick as I could and just as I got to the other side the rain stops...go figure. Once back in the mountains the trail, although much improved, was still mostly rocky. I stopped at Graymoor Spiritual Center, which also runs a hikers hostel. The people were very nice and helpful and even went so far as to fill my water bottles with ice along with the water. After leaving Graymoor the trail got very rocky and began to roller coaster. At about 4:00 I heard the first sounds of thunder off in the distance and I moved faster as the sound got nearer. It started to rain lightly as I got close to N.Y.301 and I knew there was a State campsite .8 mile up the road so I decided to stop there. Lucky for me I ran into a man and his wife from N.J. just as I hiked up to the trailhead on 301 and they offered to take me to the Park. After they dropped me off I made my way to the campsites where I found an empty camping area and that is when it started to pour heavily.I set my tent up in the rain and tossed everything inside, then grabbed some dry clothes from my pack and headed for the public showers to clean up. I brought a bunch of paper towels back to the tent to dry the floor, from all the wet gear I threw in, before getting orginaized for the night.Another milestone today....I'm over the 1400 mile mark now and only have 767.5 miles to go. It sure doesn't seem as far as it once did.
Date: 2003-07-08
From: Fahnestock State Park

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

I behan my day at 5:45a.m. packing my wet tent and gear from last nights storm. After I was packed up I still had to walk the mile back to the trailhead and by the time I got there it was 7:20, a little later than I hoped for. The first part of the trail from N.Y.301 to Long Hill Road, about 5 miles, turned out to be extremely wet. With the trail only 12 to 18 inches wide the vegetation has encroached on both sides and with last nights storm every leaf held water. They held it that is until I went by brushing up against them. By the time I got to Long Hill Rd., I looked like I took a shower...I was soaked! The rest of the trail was uneventful, just a lot of twists and turns and ups and downs. We cross roads about every 1 to 5 miles and the norm is that you decend to the road then climb back up on the other side to a high point somewhere in the middle. This we did many times today.Most of the Thru Hikers I was hiking with are probably at the next shelter, so I shouldn't have any trouble catching up.My sinuses are still running so I took another decongestant. I only hope I can finish this before it knocks me out.About 1:00 today I walked about a 1/2 mile to a deli and had a terrific turkey and cheese sub, along with potatoe salad, cherry pie, and a liter and a half of gater aid.The pills I took are definitly having a drowsy affect on me so I'm going to sign off for now.Tomorrow I'll cross into Connecticut making it my 10th State.
Date: 2003-07-09
From: Fahnestock State Park

To: Ten Mile River Lean-To
Miles today: 20.6

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday it was hot and humid and today it was cool and rainy. I got an early start at 6:30 and hiked the first 10 miles in 4 hrs, 15 min. The trail on this stretch was well maintained and the miles just flew by. When I got to NY22 I walked 1/2 mile to Tony's Deli and had a huge roast beef sub and a liter of Gator Aid. It started to rain hard on the walk back to the trail. Once on the trail I had about 2 miles of walking through open fields. With all the wet grass and vegetation, I was soaked including my boots. This made the next 10 miles a bit harder than the first but I arrived at the shelter around 4:30. When I got here, I couldn't believe it but there was Recycled in the shelter. I haven't seen him since the Smokies and I thought he was way ahead. We're both going into Kent, CT tomorrow and both have rooms at the same inn. It'll be fun catching up on our trail adventures. I'm hoping that this inn has a good heater so I can dry my boots by the time I head for the trail on Friday. Wish me luck!
Date: 2003-07-10
From: Ten Mile River Lean-To

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 8.7

I got up early this a.m., packed up and left with Recycled and headed the 8.7 miles to Kent. The weather was perfect, temperatures in the low 60's and low humidity for a pleasant change. We had several very steep climbs including a 1,000 foot climb in the beginning of the hike, but without the humidity I wasn't soaked with sweat which was fantastic. Recycled and I arrived at CT431, which takes us to Kent, at about 10:15. We hitched in and the first car that passed us picked us up and dropped us off at the Fife and Drum Inn. We spent the day doing the usual, buying food, laundry and drying out our equipment. We met a local man in the Inn Restaurant and he offered to take us back to the trail tomorrow and since that's 2 1/2 miles, we were very happy to accept. I'm still nursing the cold that took hold of me last Saturday night and I bought some new decongestants and cough drops. I'll take them early and hope I get a better nights' sleep tonight than I have been getting the last few nights.
Date: 2003-07-11
From: Kent, CT

To: Pine Swamp Brook Lean To
Miles today: 17.0

Recycled and I left the Fife and Drum Inn this morning at 6:45 and headed to the closest restaurant for breakfast. We only had 15 min. since our ride back to the trail was going to be there at 7:15 so we had to cram whatever they had down our throats as quickly as we could. Unfortunately the restaurant didn't open until 7:00 or we would have eaten earlier. Our ride dropped us off at the trailhead at 7:30 so we had a fairly early start. We had an 800 foot climb right from the start and then a nearly vertical descent on large rocks below St. Johns Ledges. That section took a while but when we got to the bottom we were rewarded with an almost flat 4.4 mile hike along a river. After crossing Dawn Hill Road the trail had many very steep acsents and descents that seemed to go on forever. It's hard to believe how much elevation you gain on these 1,200-1,300 foot mountains in Connecticut when you climb one knob after another on the same mountain. I'm staying at the Pine Swamp Brook Lean To tonight with Recycled and Space Monkey in the shelter and Trail Frog, Dude Machine and Flowcefus tenting outside. Glad I decided to stay in the shelter since it seems we'll have a wet evening. I'm hoping the rain holds down the humidity for another fine day of hiking tomorrow. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Date: 2003-07-12
From: Pine Swamp Brook Lean To

To: Brassie Brook Lean -to
Miles today: 21.0

I got an early start, 6A.M., this morning with Recycled so that we would hike to U.S.7 and the Mountainside Cafe for an early breakfast. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. and had a fabulous breakfast of omletes and pancakes. I highly recommend any hikers to take advantage of this restaurant, it's only .2 mile from the trail and the food is very good. We both stuffed ourselves and we're happy that the next 2 miles of trail were fairly flat to give us some digestion time before resuming climbing again which didn't take long. We climbed a 600 foot stretch right after that. The weather was perfect today with low humidity, warm and breezy and the trail was well maintained.We hiked down to Rand View where I saw a hiker friend of Recycle's from his A.T. attempt last year named Skate. She came down from Mass. special just to hike out to U.S.44 with Recycled and take him into Salisbury, Ct. where he was staying tonight. I may have mentioned Recycled in the past journal entries but just in case, he's a 68 year old retired judge from Minn. and has attempted the A.T. 2 times before. The first time in 2000 where he made it to Front Royal, Va. before fracturing a bone in his foot taking him off the trail that year. The second time was 2002 where he made it to Kent, Ct. before he fractured the same bone in his foot again. The neat thing about Recycled is that he didn't start at where he left off to finish the A.T. as a Section Hiker but wanted to be a Thru Hiker and finish in one shot so he always started from the beginning again at Springer Mt., Ga. It's kind of funny how things work out, I haven't seen Recycled since before entering the Smokies about 1200 miles ago and then I catch up to him at Ten Mile River Lean-To the day before we both entered Kent together. We celebrated his making it to Kent again that evening and we figured that the 1450.4 miles to Kent is actually his approach trail for this year, making it probably the longest approach trail to the A.T. this year. You have to hive him credit for determination and guts. I had to leave Recycled and Skate in Salisbury since everything was booked for the weekend. Skate dropped me off at a deli in town and after I ate I walked the .4 miles back to the trail and an 1100 foot climb up to where I am for the night. I'm sure Recycled and my paths will cross again before this long journey is over.One thing I forgot to mention when I was in Kent the other day and that is I'll be meeting Beekpr again by the end of the next week. He plans on joining me in Willamstown, Mass., which I should be able to hike by Friday. It'll be great to have my hiking buddy back with me to finish the hike to Katahdin. It'll be great fun having him back on the trail once again.
Date: 2003-07-13
From: Brassie Brook Lean -to

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

It was very cool this morning when I packed up and left my campsite. I put on my raincoat for a short while until I got warmed up which didn't take long. I had a 600 foot climb after the first mile. From the summit the trail follows the steep cliffs along the ridge, right on the edge. The views were very stunning and I kept stopping to look at the beautiful scenery around me. The trail drops to Sages Ravine where it follows a creek for about a mile before it crosses the creek and to the first sign stating I was entering Massachusetts was nailed to a tree. The first thing Massachusetts offered up was a climb to the top of Race Mountain, some 1,000 feet. The trail drops down about 500 feet then climbs 600 feet to the top of Everett Mountain. The climb was very steep and on rocks. At the summit I decided that I would push to US7, 9 miles, and find a motel, resupply and relax. I reached the highway at about 3pm and it took about 10 minutes of hitchhiking to get picked up. My trail angel, Bob Parker, drove me all over town so I could make a decision on which motel to stay in. The next time I come off the trail will be Williamstown, MA where I will meet up with Beekpr about 75 miles from here.I'm taking my time tomorrow leaving and won't take off for the trail until about 11:00, I'm sleeping in for a change.
Date: 2003-07-14
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-to
Miles today: 13.5

As planned I didn't ask for a wake up call and got up at 7:30. It felt good to sleep in for a change. After eating breakfast at the motel and running a few errands I was ready to leave at 11:00. I hitched a ride back to the trail in front of the motel which took only 5 min. I had 2 fast hitches in and out of Great Barrington so I'd definitly recommend it to hikers coming north. I only have 71 miles to Williamstown where I'll meet Beekpr again on Friday so I took my time today and only hiked aboout 13.5 miles to the Mt. Wilcox North Lean-to. I'm going to try to do at least 20 miles tomorrow and then take a few easier days into Williamstown. The weather is supposed to be beautiful for the rest of the week, that'll make my trip through Massachusetts into Vermont a very pleasant one.
Date: 2003-07-15
From: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-to

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

I left the shelter at 6:50 leaving all those lovely mosquitos for the next group of hikers. The morning was cool but very humid. The trail was fairly easy with a couple of beautiful field walks. I've noticed since Pennsylvania many stone walls in the middle of the woods. It's hard to imagine how old they are and the intensive labor it took to build them. The woods must have been open fields at one time and the rocks were cleared from the field and stacked into fences. My plan was to hike about 23 miles to the next shelter but as I was passing Goose Pond a family in a canoe stopped to talk with me about the trail and convinced me to stop at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin for thru hikers at the end of the pond. Well, I came in to check it out and needless to say I'm still here. For $3.00 you can stay in the bunkhouse, use the kitchen, swim in the lake or take their canoe around it. Since I arrived at 2:00 I've had a very relaxing afternoon. There are 8 other thru hikers here including Big E, Big Paw and Butch. The caretaker here even makes pancakes for us in the morning-how can you beat that for $3.00. I'm still on target to meet up with Beekpr on Friday at Williamstown. I should get in by noon and then hope to take the rest of the day off before pushing on to Vermont. It's so hard to believe sometimes that I've made it this far and Vermont is so close.