morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-09-09
From: A stealth campsite on Arden Mountain in New York

To: Vernon, New Jersey
Miles today: 26.0

9/9/2011Time: 9:00 p.m. DISTANCE TRAVELED:  23.5 miles on the A.T. and 2.5 miles on the road. FROM/TO:  I hiked from the stealth campsite on Arden Mountain to Barrett Road, where a note was posted indicating that the bridge had been washed away and that the water was too dangerous to ford. So I walked west and got directions to Vernon, New Jersey by the roadway. I was driven halfway and I walked the rest of the way (2.5 miles.) WEATHER:  The day started off gloomy and overcast, but the clouds broke up in the afternoon. MEALS:  I had oatmeal for breakfast, with flavored water to drink. I had four snacks throughout my hike, and all my water had drink mix in it. When I made it to town, I had four Burger King sandwiches, with lemonade to drink. And later, at the hostel, I had four helpings of Lipton¢s Creamy Garlic Shells, along with flavored water to drink. ROAD/TRAIL CONDITIONS:  The Trail was rocky and rooty, up and up and then down. It was water logged and/or flooded out - even on the detour. I walked in knee-deep water in places, and the road I walked on for the last few miles had been partly washed away. I could walk on it, but it wasn¢t safe to drive on. SHELTER USED/SLEEPING QUARTERS:  I¢m spending the night sleeping on the floor at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Vernon, N.J. They allow hikers to stay here for a small donation. PEOPLE MET, HIKED WITH OR SEEN:  I met Beard and his wife here at the hostel, but I hiked alone. I was supposed to meet up with Phoenix here, but he has yet to show up. ANIMALS SEEN:  I saw some deer today, a box turtle, a 3-foot black snake, birds, bugs, squirrels, chipmunks and minnows. MONEY SPENT OR SAVED:  I spent $9.00 at Burger King, and gave the hostel $10. MAIN CONCERN OF THE DAY:  My main goal today was just getting to Vernon. SPECIAL NOTES:  There are parts of the Trail that are simply flooded out. SUMMARY FOR THE DAY:  I got up this morning, ate, and treated my blisters, while Phoenix was still sleeping. He got up about the time I started packing up, and left before I did. I¢m guessing that I was a 12 hour to an hour behind him all day. Our goal was 26 miles plus the 2.4 miles into Vernon, but the terrain made that a hard goal to reach. The flooding made it impossible to walk the A.T., so we had to detour. I made it to the hostel but have yet to see Phoenix. I took the detour, and I hope he did too. I sure hope he¢s OK and not stuck anywhere, or sitting somewhere worrying about me. Well, I¢m off to get on the ¢Net for a bit, then to bed. ¢Night, my friends.
Date: 2011-09-10
From: Vernon, New Jersey

To: Vernon, New Jersey
Miles today: 0.0

9/10/2011Time: 9:30 p.m. DISTANCE TRAVELED:  0 miles on the A.T.; 3 miles around town. FROM/TO:  I stayed in town today, and just walked to get food and get around. WEATHER:  It was a beautiful day for hiking . . . maybe because I wasn¢t out there. MEALS:  I had a Bacon Egg & Cheese Bagel for breakfast, with a Pepsi to drink. I snacked on a Snickers bar later, and drank another Pepsi. I munched the rest of the day on 4 or 5 sandwiches made of salami, Swiss cheese and mustard on potato bread; and I drank 4 or 5 glasses of Pepsi with those. I drank a quart of milk, and I ate a pint of tapioca pudding, a half a bag of chips with hot sauce on them, a half a bag of red licorice, and some sugar cookie dough. ROAD/TRAIL CONDITIONS:  A hiker that came in late tonight said that, slowly but surely, parts of the Trail are less flooded and more passable. I haven¢t been on it today SHELTER USED/SLEEPING QUARTERS:  I¢m spending another night at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church hostel. PEOPLE MET, HIKED WITH OR SEEN: I took a zero day today, so I didn¢t hike. I spent my day with ¢Beardo,¢ and his wife, ¢Sweet Pea.¢  Later, ¢Slide Rule,¢ who is a nobo section hiker, came in for the night, as did ¢Moos¢ and another sobo. ANIMALS SEEN:  I saw no animals today. MONEY SPENT OR SAVED:  With my six day¢s worth of hiking food, and the food I¢ve eaten here in town, along with the donations to the hostel for the two nights here, I¢ve spent about $200. MAIN CONCERN OF THE DAY:  I¢ve been concerned about getting back on the trail. I¢ve cleaned my stuff, replaced all the plastic bags I keep it in, and purchased my food. I should be resting my feet. I may have to stay another day just to rest them, which sucks. It is, however, better than ignoring my feet and walking myself right off the Trail. SPECIAL NOTES:  A lot of things I used to think of as necessities are actually luxuries. SUMMARY FOR THE DAY:  I was up early, so I checked my Guides and maps for the next few days, and decided on re-supplying for six days out. I went out and got breakfast, then I went food shopping. When I got back to the hostel, I had a snack, and then went in search of a thrift store, but found that it¢s no longer there. I returned to the hostel, made a sandwich, and checked the ¢Net. Then I repackaged my food, washed my dishes, washed my hiking stuff, did my hostel chores, fixed the hostel¢s vacuum, watched a movie, called a few people, and tried to keep my foot up. It¢s still swollen and here it is the end of the day. I may wait one more day before heading out again. I could sew up some things on my pack tomorrow, and try to get some real rest. Then I could drop all these logs in the mail on Monday as I walk out of town. I guess I¢ll decide tomorrow whether to stay or not. Good night to everyone.
Date: 2011-09-11
From: Vernon, New Jersey

To: Vernon, New Jersey
Miles today: 0.0

9/11/2011Time: DISTANCE TRAVELED:  0 miles on the A.T., 2 miles around town. FROM/TO:  I walked to the A&P twice, and to a Chinese place for ¢1st¢ dinner.  WEATHER:  Again, it was good hiking weather today. MEALS:  This morning I had a Breakfast Hot Pocket and a Pepsi to start my day. Then I had two salami and Swiss cheese sandwiches through the morning. I finished a one liter Pepsi with the sandwiches, along with some banana bread. I ate ¢Chinese for Two¢ over the course of three hours following lunch that served as dinner as well, and I drank water with that. I will have some cookie dough before I go to sleep - an evening snack. ROAD/TRAIL CONDITIONS:  I have no idea about the condition of the Trail today, but the roads I walked on today were good. SHELTER USED/SLEEPING QUARTERS:  I¢m still in Vernon, staying at the Church hostel tonight. This will be my last night here, however. Vernon is a good town to stop and rest. PEOPLE MET, HIKED WITH OR SEEN:  I didn¢t hike at all today, nor has Phoenix shown up here. I met some of the church members today - nice people. ANIMALS SEEN:  I¢ve seen no animals today. MONEY SPENT OR SAVED:  I¢ve spent about another $70 today between the hostel, food, and repair supplies for my pack. MAIN CONCERN OF THE DAY:  I had to make myself stay put with my feet up for most of the day. Sucked!  SPECIAL NOTES:  I don¢t like to stop moving unless I am completely exhausted. SUMMARY FOR THE DAY:  I walked to the A&P and back before I realized that I had forgotten some things, so after eating breakfast, I walked back. After that, I read for a while. Then I surfed the ¢Net and ate, and ate, and then ate some more, then I walked up to get food. :-) After eating, I took a nap, and then I tried to upload some photos from my camera to Facebook. I read some more, and used the Mp3 player I picked up in Hanover. I texted a few people, but basically I didn¢t do a damn thing. I need a snack - so I¢m outa¢here! :-) Later . . .
Date: 2011-09-12
From: Vernon, New Jersey

To: Jim Murray Cabin, Unionville, New Jersey
Miles today: 15.0

9/12/2011Time: 7:22 p.m. DISTANCE TRAVELED:  15 Miles FROM/TO:  I hiked from Vernon, New Jersey, to the Jim Murray Cabin in Unionville, NJ. WEATHER:  It was warm and sunny most of the day. I heard thunder and saw some rain clouds around 3:00 p.m., but it didn¢t rain. MEALS:  I had two Ham, Egg & Cheese Hot Pockets for breakfast, and I drank water with them. Later, I snacked on two Pepsi¢s and a Snickers bar. For lunch, I drank one liter of Ginger Ale, and ate a barbeque roast beef deli sandwich followed by some ice cream. For dinner, I ate six PB&J wraps, and drank flavored water with them. I snacked later on some Ranch flavored Pretzel Bits. ROAD/TRAIL CONDITIONS:  Most of the AT was a swamp . . . the trail is still flooded, and the walkways are messed up. I walked parallel to the Trail on the roadway, and my feet hurt from walking on concrete.  SHELTER USED/SLEEPING QUARTERS:  I slept on the floor in the Murray Cabin. PEOPLE MET, HIKED WITH OR SEEN:  I hiked by myself, but met Jim Murray, the owner of the property and the cabin, when I arrived here. Sweet Pea and Beardo made it to the cabin, as well as two other sobo¢s.  ANIMALS SEEN:  Today I¢ve seen turtles, snakes, squirrels, birds, wild turkeys, deer, a donkey, and what looked like a White Flamingo. The bugs here are worse than in Maine, maybe because of all the water. MONEY SPENT OR SAVED:  I spent $18.00 on lunch, mail, a map, and my morning snack. MAIN CONCERN OF THE DAY:  I thought about how hard the pavement was and what it was doing to my feet. I was glad, however, that I was not walking knee-deep through a swamp. SPECIAL NOTES:  I heard that Phoenix made it to Unionville a few days ago and stayed with a friend. SUMMARY FOR THE DAY:  When I got up this morning, I ate, packed up, and walked to the post office to mail some logs off. Then I walked to the A&P to see if they had Shoe Goo - Nope! While there, though, I picked up two twenty-ounce Pepsi¢s and a Snickers bar for a snack. From there, I walked to a gas station and bought a map and checked my route. Off I went, hiking again. I took a road route to stay out of the water. Things went well. The Trail passed over and on the route I took. I made it to the shelter in good time. I had to make myself stop. I met Jim Murray, the owner of the cabin, when I arrived. What a nice guy! Other hikers came in a few hours later. It¢s dark now. I will read some more before I¢m off to bed. TTFN.
Date: 2011-09-13
From: Jim Murray Cabin, Unionville, New Jersey

To: Brink Road Shelter in New Jersey
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: clear sky

9/13/2011Time: 7:35 p.m. DISTANCE TRAVELED:  25 Miles FROM/TO:  I hiked from the Jim Murray Cabin to the Brink Road Shelter. I¢m still in New Jersey. WEATHER:  It was cool and sunny all day - great hiking weather. MEALS:  I had oatmeal and drank water with drink mix in it to flavor it. I had a Protein Bar and water to drink for my first snack. I snacked every two hours today until 4:20 in the afternoon when we stopped at a bar. There I had two cheese hot dogs and two Cokes. When I got to camp, I had PB&J on wraps and munched on Three Cheese Pretzel chunks. I drank a liter of water with my camp food.  ROAD/TRAIL CONDITIONS:  The rolling hills were not too bad. The trail is very rocky, but not many roots. There were still some wet spots on the trail, but not too awful.  SHELTER USED/SLEEPING QUARTERS:  I¢m sleeping in my tent tonight. I¢m at the Brink Road Shelter, but the bugs are so bad that I knew when I got here that I needed to be in my tent!  PEOPLE MET, HIKED WITH OR SEEN:  I hiked by myself most of the day, but some of the time I hiked with Phoenix, Right Turn and another guy. When we got to camp, Moos was there and two more sobo¢s.  ANIMALS SEEN:  Frogs, bugs, birds, snakes, deer and a dog, all crossed my path today. The bugs, of course, hung around! MONEY SPENT OR SAVED:  Phoenix paid for my lunch, so I spent no money today. MAIN CONCERN OF THE DAY:  I was concerned about how my body will hold up for two days of back-to-back 25-mile days as I plan to make it into Pennsylvania tomorrow. SPECIAL NOTES:  New York and New Jersey mountains are like a woman who shows too much cleavage. You¢ll work hard to see what all she has, but you never will.  SUMMARY FOR THE DAY:  I was the last one up this morning, and the last to start hiking. The trail moved very fast for me, though, and I caught up with Phoenix. I decided to hike on and make it a 25-mile day, or I would have been done at 2 p.m. The day was long, but not hard. There were four sobo¢s, one of them me, who hiked to a small bar to eat, but then we got right back on the trail and hiked on to camp. At this point, I¢ve eaten, written in my journal, and talked to my people. Now I¢m off to read. TTFN
Date: 2011-09-14
From: Brink Road Shelter in New Jersey

To: Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: few clouds

9/14/2011Time: 8:41 p.m. DISTANCE TRAVELED:  24.8 Miles FROM/TO:  I hiked from the Brink Road Shelter (a bug fest!) in New Jersey to Delaware Water Gap, PA. WEATHER:  It was hot and sunny all day. Once in a while a breeze blew through. MEALS:  I again had oatmeal for breakfast and water with drink mix in it. I had four snacks throughout the day eating a Snickers bar, two Power Bars and a Protein Bar. I drank 4 liters of water today. When I got to town, I had two 20 oz. ginger ales and a liter of Gatorade. I also had a turkey and cheese sub. Later, I ate four more of my snack bars because I didn¢t feel like cooking or walking back into town. ROAD/TRAIL CONDITIONS:  The trail was rocky today . . . and I mean rocky! It sucked! Everyone¢s feet hurt today. The terrain made for a long, long 24 miles!!  SHELTER USED/SLEEPING QUARTERS:  I¢m sleeping tonight on a bunk at the Presbyterian Church of the Mountain Hostel. PEOPLE MET, HIKED WITH OR SEEN:  I hiked with Phoenix, Denim Chicken, Right Click, River Dance, and Ben. We played leap frog with one another most of the day. At the shelter, I met two section hikers from Australia called Butter Toes. Don¢t ask. ANIMALS SEEN:  I¢ve seen no animals to speak of today. MONEY SPENT OR SAVED:  I¢ve spent $10 so far today. MAIN CONCERN OF THE DAY:  I¢ve been concerned today with how my body is handling two back-to-back 25-mile days - - it¢s complaining. My feet hurt, I have new blisters, and I strained my left buttock muscle. So with the pain and the long miles, not to mention all the mosquitos feasting on me, it was a long, hard day. SPECIAL NOTES:  I¢m glad that I¢m done with New Jersey!  SUMMARY FOR THE DAY:  I was up this morning at 4 a.m. and ate some breakfast, but went back to bed and ended up being the last one out of camp again at 7:30. I hiked alone until about 10:30 when I caught up with two of the others, and we all took a break together. Then we were off again. Around 11:30, we caught up with another hiker that camped with us last night, and since we were about halfway to town, we took a half-hour lunch break and were off again. That was my last ¢sit-down¢ break until I used the privy at the N.J. WelcomeCenter, and at that point, I was only two miles from town. I made it to the hostel and rested for about 20 minutes before I headed to the store to get some food. I called my mom as I walked to let her know where I was. When I returned to the hostel, I took a nap while the others played Scrabble. I¢ve written my log, and now I¢m off to bed. I miss my friends. ¢Night all.
Date: 2011-09-15
From: Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania

To: Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

9/15/2011Time: 9:20 p.m. DISTANCE TRAVELED:  0 Miles on the A.T.; 2 miles around town (Delaware Water Gap, PA.) FROM/TO:  I took a zero day today - so I didn¢t walk on the Trail at all. In town, I walked to a diner, then to the two outfitters and back to the hostel. I walked to the pizza place and returned to the hostel, then out to a bar, and back once again to the hostel. Finally, I walked to a gas station and back. WEATHER:  It was cold and wet for most of the day. As the day wore on, the rain stopped, but the temp kept dropping. MEALS:  Wow! Do I have to tell? I had the Farmer¢s Special at the diner, and that consisted of 3 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 sausage links and 2 slices of toast. With that I had an egg, bacon and cheese sandwich, and I washed it all down with a glass of milk and a Coke. For lunch I had a Chicken Parmesan Sub, a Diet Coke and a one liter bottle of regular Coke. Dinner was steak, red potatoes, green beans, and three glasses of red wine. There were mushrooms and blue cheese crumbles on the steak - it was amazing! For a late night snack, I had an ice cream sandwich, a beef stick, string cheese, Raviolio¢s and a Gatorade. I also picked up a Pepsi for morning. ROAD/TRAIL CONDITIONS:  I don¢t know the condition of the Trail . . . I stayed in town.  SHELTER USED/SLEEPING QUARTERS:  I¢m spending another night at the Church of the Mountain Hostel. PEOPLE MET, HIKED WITH OR SEEN:  Same crowd as last night - Phoenix, Denim Chicken, Right Click, River Dance, Ben, and the others. ANIMALS SEEN:  I¢ve just seen dogs around town today. MONEY SPENT OR SAVED:  I¢ve spent about $500 in this town! MAIN CONCERN OF THE DAY:  Today I¢ve concentrated on the repair and/or replacement of equipment. I¢ve also tried to rest a lot. SPECIAL NOTES:  I weighed in at 196 pounds today. SUMMARY FOR THE DAY:  I awoke with my alarm today, knowing I was going to take a zero day, then I fell back to sleep in a recliner. At 8 a.m., we all went to the diner for breakfast. From there, we walked to an outfitters, but it was still closed, so we returned to the hostel. Later, I walked to another, bigger outfitters and picked up a hammock/tent to replace the tent I just go rid of, a lighter-weight sleeping bag; new shorts, new shoes, long pants and a wind-breaker. When I returned to the hostel, I took all the tags off and re-packed my bag. I had to take the extra stuff that I¢d taken out of my pack to the post office and send it off to my friend Tom, just in case I need it later. After all that, I went out for pizza with the guys and came back to the hostel for a nap and to do some repairs to my backpack. For dinner, we all headed over to a bar. Later, after picking up some snacks at a gas station, I sat down to update my log. Time now for me to hit the sack. TTFN
Date: 2011-09-16
From: Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter in Pennsylvania
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: overcast clouds

9/16/2011Time: 7:02 p.m. DISTANCE TRAVELED: 20.2 Miles on the A.T.; 4 miles in town. FROM/TO:    I hiked from the Church of the Mountain Hostel in Delaware Gap, PA, to the Leroy A. Smith Shelter.  WEATHER:  It was sunny and cool all day, but we might have frost tonight. MEALS:  For breakfast, I drank a liter of Pepsi; and I had two breaks before I walked into the town of Wind Gap, PA.- - I ate a Snickers bar and Ranch Breadcrumbs for one, and a Power Bar for the other. I drank water with each. My in-town lunch was 2 jelly doughnuts and 2 turkey, bacon and cheese ¢sandwiches¢ on flatbread, and I drank 2 Pepsi¢s with that. For dinner, I had chicken flavored rice and 2 Power Bars, along with water with drink mix in it.  ROAD/TRAIL CONDITIONS:  The trail was very rocky, but the elevation changes weren¢t bad at all, and actually felt flat to walk. SHELTER USED/SLEEPING QUARTERS:  I¢m sleeping in the Leroy A. Smith Shelter tonight. PEOPLE MET, HIKED WITH OR SEEN:  I¢m hiking with the same ¢bubble¢ group that I¢ve been with for the last few days. When I went into town and stopped at Dunkin¢ Donuts, a lady asked me to sit with her, so I did. She seemed down. She was having employment problems, and she asked about the Trail. ANIMALS SEEN:  Today I¢ve seen birds, deer, chipmunks and squirrels; but it was too cold for bugs. Yahoo!! MONEY SPENT OR SAVED:  Between lunch and four more days of food, I spent $60. MAIN CONCERN OF THE DAY:  My main objective today was to not push myself. So when the others walked on, I stayed. SPECIAL NOTES:  I need dot-to-dot¢s** to find my way anywhere now!  SUMMARY FOR THE DAY:  I was up, packed and on the Trail by 7:00 this morning. I made good time. I hit the first shelter by 11:00 a.m., and I was in town by 2 p.m., where I stayed for about another 2 hours. I arrived at this shelter, for a 20-mile day, by 5 p.m. I ate my dinner, unpacked and set up camp, then wrote this log. Now I¢m off to read for a bit. TTFN **  dot-to-dot¢s = white and other color ¢blazes¢ that mark the Trail
Date: 2011-09-17
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter in Pennsylvania

To: George W. Outerbridge Shelter in Pennsylvania
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

9/17/2011Time: 6:45 p.m. DISTANCE TRAVELED:  16.7 Miles FROM/TO:  I hiked from the Leroy A. Smith Shelter to the George W. Outerbridge Shelter in Pennsylvania. WEATHER:  It was cool and overcast all day. If you stopped moving, you¢d get cold. MEALS:  I had oatmeal for breakfast, and drank water flavored with a drink mix. I ate a fruit flavored Power Bar for my first break, along with water to drink. Later, I sat down and ate 2 Power bars and some tortilla wraps. I drank a half a liter of water on that break. When I got to the shelter, I drank another half a liter of water with drink mix in it. For my dinner, I made two packages of Lipton Sides, BBQ Rice and Buffalo Chicken Rice, mixed together, and I drank another liter of water flavored with drink mix.  ROAD/TRAIL CONDITIONS:  The trail was rocky today. There was also a 4-mile re-route off the Trail. SHELTER USED/SLEEPING QUARTERS:  I sleeping in the George W. Outerbridge Shelter tonight. PEOPLE MET, HIKED WITH OR SEEN:  I came across some day-hikers today, but I didn¢t stop to talk with them. The bubble of sobo¢s I¢ve been hiking with met up with me at this shelter, except for Phoenix. He went on to the next shelter.  ANIMALS SEEN:  All I¢ve seen today are dogs, birds, squirrels and chipmunks. MONEY SPENT OR SAVED:  I¢ve spent no money today. MAIN CONCERN OF THE DAY:  I don¢t know that it¢s a ¢concern,¢ but I¢ve just felt blah all day. I was going to push for 23 miles today, but stopped at 16.7. I¢m apparently not the only one feeling this way. Everyone but Phoenix stopped at this shelter.  SPECIAL NOTES:  I¢m going to hike my own hike and stop keeping up with the others. SUMMARY FOR THE DAY:  I got up this morning and found that it was too cold to get up, so I went back to bed. When I did get going it was kind of late. I didn¢t feel like hiking today, and my feet hurt, so I just did my minimum distance and then stopped. I rested a bit, made a few phone calls, and ate. I¢ve written my log, so now I¢m off to read for a bit. TTFN