morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-08
From: Vernon, NJ

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I joined Mailar, Senor NOBS, and Darcy today and we headed for the Wildcat shelter 18 miles away. We started with a rocky climb out of Vernon and then just continued with ups and downs all day. We had some nice vistas and views of Greenwood Lake; but it was another 85 degree day and we found very little potable water. By 15 miles, I was tired and very dry when we crossed a road and Lo and Behold there was an ice creamery! All ice cream was made on premises and we even hit it just as a storm hit and we stayed nice and dry. I had two scoops of Lick the Bowl and one of Butter Pecan and probably half a gallon of water. Mailar is a math teacher from Maine whom I met last year early on. He was medivaced out of Hot Springs,NC for intestinal bleeding and has resumed this year as I did. Darcy is a tax official in Maine and a Mother of 2 girls, and Senor NOBS is an aircraft electrician who thru-hiked in 99 and is doing it again. He is quite a wonderful resource.
Date: 2005-06-09
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: William Brien Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

We all are getting up earlier and earlier to beat the heat so we are now on the trail by 6:30. The day began just as hot and humid as the day before. Mailar left an hour earlier since he walks more slowly and we caught him after a couple of hours. He was ready for one of his longer breaks so after a while I decided to go on alone and I am glad that I did. It turned out to be a tough day that would make it hard to hold anyone else's pace and I think that I really enjoy some time to myself sometimes. It makes me feel more attached to the woods around and less destination and speed oriented. The next 10 miles will remain in my mind for a long time. Straight up....Straight down. But it was horrific. I had to throw my poles up over the boulders and hand and knee scramble up many of them and they just did that to us again and again. After the 5th one my thighs were just like jelly. Finally after 10 miles of this; I came to Island Pond Lake and I just hit the water. The shallow edge of the lake is full of water lillies that pull at your arms and legs; but soon I broke into the deeper cooler water that I was loking for. YES! I had no idea how hot NY would be and without the water jugs left by the trail angels, I am sure that more than a few hikers would get into serious trouble. I am beginning to think that some of these rusty looking streams are acceptable after all even though the taste is pretty bad. I stopped at a park and that rusty water is what comes right out of their taps! As I approached Harriman Park; I read the sign pointing out the features aht I had just covered..Island Pond, Lemon Squeezer, and AGONY GRIND. I suppose every AT club has a philosophy that they follow when they lay out the route through their territory. They want it to be memorable and scenic and they want some of it to be tough enough so that they can say that they have a tough section. I don't think that if NY had continued in the fashion of the Agony Grind, that I would still be on the trail. I seriously thought about going home today for the first time in a long time. As I neared the shelter, I met Jim Harris, a retired Eastman engineer doing a section from NJ to Mass. We tented together near the shelter and he was good to talk to though we didn't have many common acquaintances.
Date: 2005-06-10
From: William Brien Shelter

To: Graymoor Friary
Miles today: 15.0

I just realized that I have passed the 500 mile mark for my trek this year. The day began with a climb up Bear Mtn. It was tough; but not unfair like yesterday the then we dropped down to the park. It sits on the side of Hessian Lake and just on the far side of the park the AT goes right through their museum and zoo. It was interesting; we have seen most of the animals in the wild on our trip. At that point you leave the park and cross the Bear Mtn Suspension bridge over the Delaware River. It was nearly 1 pm and the sun had finally broken through the morning fog. that is to say, it was now very hot and muggy. The climb up from the road was just straight up and for the first time in my 3 1/2 months of hiking on the trail I had to stop on an ascent. Water was just pouring off of my like a river and my heart was pounding so hard that I just couldn't keep going. I kept drinking and finally was able to get up and try again and this time I finished the climb. The trail thankfully levelled out at that point and Snor NOBS and I took photos of the blooming Mtn Laurel on top of the ridge. I still had to stop twice at streams to camel up and to pour over myself to try to cool down my core temp.         We stopped at the Graymoor Friary which has an open shelter next to a ball field and they have hosted hikers there for decades. They even had a cold shower and I couldn't have been happier to find that. Darcy's friend Susan joined us that evening and brought a huge vegaetarian feast so we really had a great night and Susan will be joining us for the next two days.
Date: 2005-06-11
From: Graymoor Friary

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: haze

What I really needed today is a little cooler weather and some less sadistic trail and I got it. The trail was really nice and it curled through tall stands of trees and around Lake Canopus. We were so looking forward to swimming in it and cooling off; but the trail climbed higher and the lake faded into the distance. The laurel was in full bloom and the walk was finally fairly level so this has been a good recovery day for me. As afternoon arrived; we sumited Shenandoah Mtn and there we met Raphael and his friends. They were playing their guitars and eating watermelon and they were kind enough to include us in both. We had to leave the summit because a thunderstorm was coming through and we were the highest targets around; but it didn't do much to cool things down and in fact made things quite a bit steamier.
Date: 2005-06-12
From: RPH Shelter

To: Pawling, NY
Miles today: 17.5

We had an interesting group at the shelter last night and a trail maintainer stopped by and gave Senor NOBS a ride to a pizza parlor so we had a feast. We met two nice section hikers and also Slow Walker. He looks and sounds just like Sean Connery's younger brother. He is a retired trauma surgeon from Chicago and you could just see his eyes light up when we talked shop; but neither of us wants to return to that kind of job/life again if we can help it. The hike this a.m. bean with a pair of quick climbs and as usual Mailar left 40 min ealier and we caught him just as we hit the first Deli of the day. You wouldn't believe all the different pastried and Ice creams and cheese there. I bet we each picked up close to 2000 calories in that one sitting. I cold walk to the moon if I could eat like this. The remainder of the day was our usual hot and humid charge towards the evening's destination. In this case, it was Pawling, NY and the Dover Oak( The largest tre on the trail) It really was magnificent to see and is probably 350 yrs old. Then we successfully hitched into Pawling, swam in the town lake, did our laundry and had dinner a few brews at the Pawling Tavern. Interestingly, we are staying in a pavillion in Edward R. Murrow Park.
Date: 2005-06-13
From: Pawling, NY

To: Kent, Ct
Miles today: 21.0

We took some time doing it; but Senor NOBS and I finally caught a ride back out to the DoverOak and the trail head. We thought that Mailar and Darcy would be long gone; but we ended up stopping and picking them up too. The hke meandered through the Pawling Nature Preserve which is mostly swampy wetlands. It has been amazing how much of NY has been like that. We also passed the Appalachian Trail train stop outside of Pawling. It goes right to Grand Central Station in NYC. Now that would be some culture shock. We cntinued to go pretty fast and when we entered CT it was just beautiful. It might be my favorite section of trail so far. The woods were big and tall with a fairly clear understory and we stopped and swam in a river junction where the Hoosatonic and Ten Mile River join. It was another 90+ day; but to this point the walk was easy so we didn't really mind. That soon changed as we climbed the mtn towards Kent. Everyone wa suffering and we all ran out of water a couple of hours before we reached Kent. We are camped behind the Episcopal Church and Mailar still hasn't shown up at 10 pm so we hope he tented somewhere up on the mtn. It is so hot down here! I feel like I'm in Hilton Head.Kent is really the quintessential New England town with the white steepled churches and a wonderfully walkable town. Darcy says that Henry Kissinger and Michael J. Fox both live here. I think we are going to take a half a day's rest tomorrow because it is supposed to be 95 tomorrow and so we are going to make it a 10 mile day.
Date: 2005-06-14
From: Kent, Ct

To: Silver Hill Campsites
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

It is going to be another hot day today and we are all feeling a little beaten up by the weather so we decided to make today a Nero. That is a low mileage day but not a Zero. My feet have been turned into mush these last four days of walking in my sweat. I am going to ditch my boots and try some hiking sandals so that the water can escape and let my feet breathe a bit. Mailar and I had lunch and then we climbed up and out of Kent. What a picture post card town. We didn't stay up long and soon we dropped back down to the Housatonic River and pretty much walked along the river for 4-5 miles. We spent much of the afternoon blowing at the gnats trying to swim in our eyes in the summery heat; but I enjoyed the level walking and view of the river all afternoon. The Silver Hill Campsite was terrific. It had a cooking shelter, a picnic table and a water pump...Unfortunately the pump either didn't work or the well was dry and I had to go back down .8 miles to a spring to get our water for the night. Mailar is talking up a trip for us down the Allegash River in Maine by canoe. He has done it some 25 times over the years and it sounds like it would be a great way to see the river and the animals along it. Someday...Oh, we did see 4 Cheeses and Sweet Cheeks in Kent so I guess the romance is still on...Stay tuned.
Date: 2005-06-15
From: Silver Hill Campsites

To: Limestone Springs Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept the best last night that I have in a week and I'm ready to roll. We have three climbs today and some ridge walking in between. My new sandals are doing a good job of keeping my feet dry; but my feet are still so swollen that one of the straps has already worn a hole in my right little toe; but hopefully a bit of duct tape will protect that for me. We had just finished the second climb and been about 13 miles and that put us right in line for lunch on the Deli Plan. We were just outside of Falls Village, CT and we hit the Mountainside Cafe for lunch. I had a food drop in the village a couple of miles away; but Ro and Dot, who were eating at the cafe stopped by and asked about our hiking and they gave me a ride into the post office and right back out to the trail. They used to live right beside the trail until it was relocated away from town and they even had the famous Grandma Gatewood stop in for lunch one time at their home. Senor NOBS remembered Limestone Springs shelter as a haven for mosquitoes on his last thru-hike so we were hesitant to camp there; but it would have been another 4-5 miles into Salisbury so we started down towards it. The mosquitoes were certainly there; but not in the swarming numbers that he experienced before so we set up camp and then loaded up on the most gorgeous piped spring water we have seen on the trail. It was coming out like a fire hose and it was so cold and so good! And today was our first cooler day after all the hot weather so I only had to drink 2-3 liters today.
Date: 2005-06-16
From: Limestone Springs Shelter

To: The Hemlocks Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up early this morning to the sound of a gentle rain on my tent; but we were so far down in this hollow, that I fell back asleep and got a fairly late start for us. The others were already up and rolling out as I was packing up so I left as the caboose and climbed back up to where we left the trail the evening before. As I reached the intersection I chose....the wrong path of the 3 possibilities. It was a section of AT that was relocated....behind Door #2so as I walked along the leafy forest floor; I was actually following white blazes that had not been removed after the relocation. Twice I lost the trail and had to search for the next blaze and I was dumbfounded; by my apparent inability to see any clear path through the fallen leaves. How did those other guys get through here? Surely I am as smart as they....Not. I even lost my way so badly a couple of times that I couldn't find the last blaze I had seen and I had to put my pack down and walk in cirlces around it to try to find that last known blaze. I guess I was still too foggy to put two and two together and realize that I wasn't really on the trail; but after nearly 45 minutes; I decided that the trail had to go down there somewhere and headed that way only to find that I had managed to come out 40' above the real AT. I scrambled down the hill and headed to Salisbury where we were going to have our second breakfast on the Deli Plan. I got a good ribbing when I rejoined the group since they had already been there an hour or more. I tried to call Evelyn; but missed her and so we all headed out of town in a fine mist. They weren't going to let me off by myself again for a while! I fairly enjoyed the climb up Bear Mtn..The highest point in CT..but the descent was all rock and very steep and to top it all off; my hiking poles failed. They telescoped every time I planted them with any force so I couldn't use them to get down the big stepdowns. I slipped and slid so much that I began to doubt that any surface was trustworthy and I did one pretty spectacular fall and roll down to a ledge 10' below once when my poles collapsed yet again...At least all this isn't ruining a good day. The saving grace for the day was Sage's Ravine on the CT-Mass border. It is a hike down along a descending river that is absolutely gorgeous. The rocks are huge and moss covered and the trees and ferns have that greener than life look in the mist and the rain. At last I rolled into the shelter where Senor NOBS and Darcy had already set up and were cooking.
Date: 2005-06-17
From: The Hemlocks Shelter

To: East Mtn Retreat Center
Miles today: 16.0

I hiked out this morning and it is like a whole different world than the one I arrived in last night. It is cool, dry and there is a brilliant blue sky. I caught Mailar at the top of the first mountain sitting on a large rock slab and so I took the opportunity to fire up my stove and see if I could heat my poles enough to get the water out of them so that they might engage and not slip; but I was interrupted by a rustling in the bushes and a huff. I have seen several bears on this trip; but only as they were running away so we got up and eased around on the rock to get a glimpse of them before they scattered. The rustling got closer and sure enough a last year's cub ( 150#) came out of the brush and instead of running when he saw us...he kept right on coming and sat down to look at us not 30' away..Mailar and I were beginning to be a bit concerned since he was so close and seemed to be headed our way when all of a sudden; here comes Big Momma. She was easily twice his size and she was definitely headed our way. We grabbed as much gear as we could, stuffed the packs and headed out as quickly as we dared. They took that as a good sign and turned off away from us and didn't pursue. Whew! That was too close for me. I don't want any Close Encounter of the Ursine Kind.    It was lunch time and we caught up with the others at Great Barrington. I had to go in to the outfitters for new poles so I left them and hitched in. What a town...It is really neat looking and the people couldn't be nicer. I got rides from the first or second people every time I stuck out my thumb.I returned to the trail after lunch and began my climb up East Mtn. I don't mind the climbs because I am up on my toes and all my blisters and sore spots are excluded. It is the flat walking and descents that still hurt. I thought I would be trail tough by now; but I guess you never really know. I stopped on top and sat on a big flat rock for nearly an hour just enjoying the view and the breeze and I dryed out all my gear that had gotten wet the day before. The area was just full of Cedar Waxwings too. The descent wasn't too steep; but it was tough on my feet. Still I was awestruck by the scenery down in the cleft. It was a huge cleft with steep rocky walls and they were covered in moss and ferns. I hope the pictures do it justice.    Tonight Van; Darcy's husband and Susan who hiked with us last week are going to join us at the hostel and hike with us for a few day so I know that dinner is going to be catered in and it will be a feast. Tomorrow we are going to Upper Goose Pond Cabin..A don't miss destination on the AT
Date: 2005-06-18
From: East Mtn Retreat Center

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: light rain

Van drove us back to the trailhead and I climbe up the first hill with Mailar. I knew I'd be slow because my feet were really starting to hurt worse and they were more swollen than they had been. We had met a new guy at the Retreat named Number 11 because he was the 11th person to start this year...In January.As you might imagine, he is a little hyperactive. We caught him on the climb and I don't think he had a single unexpressed thought for 45 minutes. He sometimes would ask Mailar about a plant or me about a bird; but he was already talking about something else before you could begin to answer. I think he would benefit greatly from a visit to a smart endocrinologist who could figure out just how much of his thyroid to rip out. Finally, I just stopped and took off my pack and sat down.   That probably saved his life. Upper Goose Pond Cabin is really a two story house with bunk beds upstairs and it sits on a beautiful pond. They even have a canoe that you can take out so I had a chance to explore the lake. Just as I was returning..a Broad Winged Hawk flew over and as I was docking a Bald Eagle soared by. Wow. What a great place! Mailar and I are planning to share a room in Dalton tomorrow night because we both feellike we are sooo tired. He is going home for a wedding tomorrow and will be off the trail for a month and I'll be off in two days and then I'll have nearly a week off with Evelyn in Colorado. I can't wait!
Date: 2005-06-19
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton,Ma
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Mailar and I left around 6 this morning and folowed the trail back around the lake. The trail wasn't as hard as it passed through a number of swamps and ponds the then up into more open spruce forests. I was glad to have less steep and rocky downhills; because that hurts my feet the most. As we walked, I traded lessons on bird calls for lessons on edible plants and we made plans to meet at Abol Bridge just shor of Katahdin and then summit together. We both were pleased by the symmetry of our hikes since we both started on Mar 1st of last year; both left the trail and then showed back up and hiked together this year. One of the must do stops on this section is the Cookie Lady. So we stopped there after lunch and met Roy, Marilyn and their dog Rufus and had some terrific molasses cookies on their front lawn. She estimates that she serves 1500 hikers a year. After that break, we moved back into the woods and up our last little climb. You could tell that Mailar was getting excited about finishing his section and going home for a while and I was looking forward to my days off as well. I took a couple of Aleve late in the afternoon and that really seemed to help a lot with my heel pain; but after we got to Dalton and cleaned up and I started walking to dinner I found that my feet hurt just as much as ever. Finally I came around to the realization that I would have to miss the walk tomorrow if I really wanted to let my feet heal. It is no good to try and hike with a limp like I have for the past few days. I've even gotten a little message from my left knee a few times and I'm sure it is because my gait is abnormal. I called Evelyn and change the pick-up to Dalton so I'll have a full day here to chill out and then 5 days in Colo. to recover.
Date: 2005-06-27
From: Dalton,Ma

To: Mt Greylock-Bascom Lodge Hostel
Miles today: 17.0

Evelyn and I had a nice week together in Boulder and my feet have improved considerably. I bought some Chaco hiking sandals with Seal Skin socks and I am hoping that this will be a better answer for me. We stayed in Great Barrington last night and I don't think I even made it to hiker midnight(8:00)before I fell asleep. I guess it was jet lag but I slept for almost 12 hours. Evelyn drove me to Dalton where I retrieved my pack and we said our goodbyes for the next six weeks. That seems like such a long time; but I am looking forward to Vt and NH since I have heard so much about them. I unfortunately missed the temperate weather of last week and it is going to be another 90 degree day. The first climb is up over Crystal Mtn and there was not a breath of air to be had on the ascent. I almost lost my breakfast at the top so I slowed down my pace to keep my heartrate more reasonable and I tried to camel up on my fluids a bit more. After Crystal Mtn; you walk into Cheshire, Ma and it was right on time for lunch...could it be true? The miles passed as quickly as they did in the South. Had we finally gotten past the NY miles? I hoped so. It has been discouraging to walk at a good clip and find yourself far short of your milestones so this felt pretty good. The climb out of Cheshire and up Greylock Mtn was another story. Cheshire is 960' and Greylock is 3500'.Most of the altitude gain is in the first 3-5 miles and then it is a ridge walk across the crest to the lodge. The heat and the steepness were a tough combination and I could tell that I was getting dry; but up on a mtn like that there isn't much water available either. I finally made it to the lodge and I must have looked pretty rough; because Corey the caretaker put me in a room upstairs instead of the garage hostel and gave me some leftover dinner as well. I ate with Ethan, a long distance cyclist and then headed up to write my journal before I passed out. It was a close finish. I did see Blackpoll Warblers, Golden Crowned Kinglets and Red Breasted Nuthatches today on Greylock and it was a first for all of them. I guess that is the reward for 3500'.