morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-06-17
From: Gren Anderson Shelter 

To: High Point Shelter 
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

AT - 6/17 Day 47. Sunday, Father¢s Day Suddenly, we are back to hiking in the forest. Yesterday, we finished the ridge line that was mostly scrub Oak and lots of exposure to the sun. I like hiking in the forest much better. Water is becoming more scarce now. The guidebook lists water sources that I wouldn¢t consider water sources. Things like beaver ponds. So far in VA, MD, and PA the sources were things like springs and streams, with an occasional water spigot. But in NJ they consider a beaver pond good enough to drink out of if you filter/treat the water. Of course those other states didn¢t have things like ponds or lakes along the way. Our water sources for the day were spigots. We passed the High Point State Park headquarters. They offer hikers a cold Pepsi for stopping in. Then we climbed the mountain to reach the High Point Monument. There is a tower up there where you can see the states of NJ, NY, and PA. The view was nice but the real surprise was Lake Maria. It is a favorite of the locals. A real nice park with a swimming area, picnic area, concession stand and free hot showers. Of course the hot shower was our focus. We are 4 days out from our last shower. We only have camp soap and a small amount of baby shampoo which isn¢t much to wash up with; but it was so nice to wash the salts off. I even washed my shirt, shorts, underwear and socks. The hike to the shelter was another half mile uphill and we were all sweaty again; but with less salt on our bodies. We seem to be traveling with the same group of people that we have been for the last three days. We all end up at the same shelters. The 2 ladies from Denmark, Dirty Girl and Valkyrie are here tonight. We spent some time getting to know them and what prompted them to travel here to hike this trail. Dirty Girl read the book ¢A Walk in the Woods ¢ by Bill Bryson and talked about it at work for 6 years. She works in a family business and her boss said when are you going to take that hike. He pushed so hard she took the next 2 years to plan it out and start in 2018. She was going to do this alone; but her daughter, Valkyrie, decided to try backpacking and came along with her. They have some fascinating stories. Ascent 1,789 ftDescent 1,884 ft~ Desert Rose
Date: 2018-06-18
From: High Point Shelter 

To: Pochuck Shelter 
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

AT - 6/18 Day 48 Heat Index 103Today was the hottest day so far. We weren¢t sure how far we would get. We wanted to get up early but couldn¢t manage to leave before 7:45. At least the hiking was pretty easy today. Lots of level and smooth trail today. Our first water source today was a little private cabin with a well. The man that owns the property hiked the trail in the 1990s and had a little cabin for hikers if they need it. You can camp there if you want. It was only 4 miles into the day so we just came for the water. In the cabin he has maps hung up of different trails around the US and some electricity to charge your phone. On the side of his cabin is an outdoor shower. We hiked on to the edge of Unionville, NY. Right now we are riding the state line between NJ and NY. We went into town to get lunch and pick up a few things that weren¢t at the last store. Mostly looking for lunch items. We have been sustaining with nuts, dried fruits, and power bars. The town was quaint and the General Store has a great deli and items we were looking for. They are hiker friendly, so they have a big front porch with chairs and outlets for charging your electronics while you wait. They had American flag bunting and hanging baskets of flowers. In spite of the heat, there was a good breeze. The town has a little park they let you camp in but it seemed too early in the day to stop. The town doesn¢t have a hostel or hotel. Other hikers were pushing on to the next shelter and the hiking was on level ground for the most part. We hiked on, too. We got our water and cold Gatorade and hit the trail. David said his thermometer read 91 degrees with 60% humidity. Heat index of 103. The trail took us through a wetlands nature preserve. Some of the trail was shaded by the trees around the perimeter; but there was plenty that wasn¢t shaded and it was HOT. I didn¢t think I would make it to the end of this section; but then the trail turned right into the woods and you had to walk on wooden planks through a marshy section. At least you were in the shade. The nature preserve was pretty neat. I would want to go back when the temperature was nicer. We saw red-winged black birds and some pink flowers that made big pom pom balls. There was purple thistle 5 foot high. At the end of the preserve was a house owned by the National Forest Service. It is vacant now; but they keep the water on for hikers. I wanted to lay down under that spigot. I did pour a bottle of water over my head and face. We both washed up the best we could and took the final ascent up the mountain to the shelter. Everyone seemed to make it here just fine in spite of the hot day. Thunderstorms are predicted for tonight after the hot day. Thankfully, we have a short day of 6 miles tomorrow. We have not had a zero day since June 6, so we are taking some time off the trail in Vernon, NJ. Ascent 1,477 ftDescent 2,073 ft~ Desert Rose
Date: 2018-06-19
From: Pochuck Shelter 

To: Vernon NJ
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: clear sky

AT - 6/19 Day 49 Pochuck MtnWe continued through some low wetlands sanctuary after climbing over Pochuck Mountain. Along the trail was a snake that just didn¢t move off the trail. When David looked closer, the snake had it¢s mouth around a toad that was 3 times bigger around than the snake. It wasn¢t a venomous snake, according to another hiker. Once we got over the mountain, there was another section of the wetlands to cross. You will find a picture of the boardwalk over the 9/10s of a mile structure we had to walk over. When we got to the boardwalk we saw one of our hiker friends talking on the phone with her tent poles out. We didn¢t know it but last night she broke her tent pole and slept in the shelter. Well, you know how handy David is, he fixed it for her. The company she was talking to was going to charge her $71 to send her another set of poles. We got there just in time.  The sanctuary was just as neat as the day before. You will have to check out David¢s pictures. Turtles, suspension bridge, and song birds singing so sweetly. We ended the day with ice cream at the market where we got off the trail. Tonight, no hammock for us. We are staying at a hotel and taking a zero day tomorrow.Ascent 826 ftDescent 1,350 ft~ Desert Rose
Date: 2018-06-21
From: Vernon NJ

To: Stealth site mile 1368.9
Miles today: 10.9

AT - 6/21. Day 51. New York State We finished New Jersey today about 4:00. It was strange to hike from one state to another on just a dirt path. Normally, you cross over to a city on a major street or bridge or something. But this time they just painted the rock to show you the state line. I have mixed feelings about that. I can¢t say New Jersey was super easy; but I think all the rest of the states are going to be harder. New Jersey was a friendly state. We had more trail magic in NJ than all the other states put together. Soft drinks, Snickers, rides to the store and trail head. We were even offered grilled burgers at the lake on Father¢s Day. All the local people we met on the trail were very friendly. This part of NJ is not what you would expect. New York, on the order hand is exactly what people told us. The first 40 miles is rock scrambles and little water. We got our water bottles filled up at a start park office in NJ. The water is from a well and had a high concentration of iron that gives it a funky taste; but it is potable water and we are grateful to have it. We only have 2.5 miles to hike tomorrow before we get to a little community called Greenwood Lake. We are camped on the hills above it and the houses look expensive from here. There were boats out on the lake this afternoon. We will have to buy a gallon of water at the convenience market. David said they were warning people about the springs, creeks and streams being dried up on Facebook. Once we get past these 40 miles we should be okay. It is just stressful to think you might run out of water. Trail angels are known to leave jugs of water at road crossings but you can¢t count on that. If there¢s one positive thing I can say about NY it is that we are close enough to NYC right now to be able to see the NYC skyline and north to Long Island. We will get a better view when we cross the Hudson River in a couple of days. People say once you cross the Hudson the trail conditions get better. I certainly hope so. ~ Desert Rose
Date: 2018-06-22
From: Stealth site mile 1368.9

To: Stealth site mile 1378.8
Miles today: 9.9

AT - 6/22 Day 52 You Can¢t Turn Down Trail Magic Twice today trail magic was bestowed upon us. Until we hit NJ we really didn¢t have much magic to talk about. And who would think NJ residents would take time to help the hiking community out. But here we are in NY and still getting magic. Our first encounter came in the early afternoon, just after we ate a combination of breakfast and lunch. Yesterday, I told you how scarce water is in this part of NY. Well we had to decide this morning if we were going to use the little water we had to make breakfast or save it to drink on our way to the next water location that was 4 miles away. We decided to skip breakfast and headed out on the trail. We knew we could get water at The Creamery, an ice cream stand. They are hiker friendly and allow you to get water from their spigot and have recently added a charging station. We got there about 10:30 but the restaurant doesn¢t open until noon. The story of our life; we are either too early or too late. Anyhow, with ample water available we decided to eat some breakfast and some lunch, as well as, camel up for the afternoon hike. We had just gotten on the trail and came to a road crossing where a man sitting by his car called our attention to come over and enjoy some trail magic. He was a thru hiker a couple of years ago. His trail name is Tent Man and he lives in NJ. We are still close to the NJ/NY boarder. He offered us sodas, fruit, candy and then Darn Tough socks. He used to work in the outdoor industry and Darn Tough sends him socks to give away. We enjoyed our chat with him and met a new hiker by the name is Stickers. He started in GA and had some interesting stories, too. Headed out on the trail again and a couple of hours later came to another road crossing and met Storm, the area trail maintainer who had placed a cooler of cold drinks out for hikers. He was finishing up cleaning an area where locals like to hike and party. He told us about his section of trail he presides over and told us what we could expect up ahead. Both times we enjoyed meeting local people who were knowledgeable about the trail ahead. Just after crossing that road there is a small wooden bridge that crosses a nearly dry creek. We stopped on that bridge to get something out of David¢s pack and a yellow jacket stung me right through 2 pairs of socks. No stinger to remove but it sure hurt. I¢m glad I¢m not allergic to stings. A pretty descent day of hiking in spite of all the socializing we did 9.9 miles. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Instead of riding the ridge line like we have been doing we will be crossing over ridges, one after the other, for the next 25 miles until we get to Ft. Montgomery where our next box was delivered. ~ Desert Rose
Date: 2018-06-23
From: Stealth site mile 1378.8

To: Stealth in Harriman State Park mile 1387.4
Miles today: 8.6

AT - 6/23 Day 53. Water CachesYou all know how worried I have been about finding water sources. All the comments on our app about streams say they are dry. We have seen comments that there are water jugs left by trail angels at some road crossings but we have also seen they are empty. With today being Saturday, we hoped we would find full jugs of water. And we did. Three road crossings in a row had a total of 56 jugs of water. We still have more than 20 miles to go before we will find springs and streams flowing. Each day you have to plan your food and hike based on the water. The good thing about today is the temperature didn¢t get above 65 degrees. That is great hiking weather. The hiking was intense today. We covered fewer miles but had as much ascent and descent as we had on other big mile days. It wore me down. We started down a steep descent and ran into a couple of men who just came up that trail. They said it was hard. David thought they looked like they were new to hiking and didn¢t give their report much credit. That is until we got down. We saw a trail sign with mileage to different places. They gave that hill a name of View via Agony Grind. How appropriate. Just after that we crossed the road to enter Harriman State Park. We camped there last year when we went on our trip to visit family on the East coast. We never explored where the AT went through the park. Now we know. Just the fact we are in a state park makes the trails different. They are wider, better maintained and generally easier on the feet. You can also bet you are going to see some neat things. The forest is very mature with the tallest of trees and the undergrowth is minimal. You feel like an incredible shrinking person walking here. There are beautiful lakes and ponds. One of the popular hikes goes to a spot right on the AT called Lemon Squeezer. It is just a skinny walkway through a couple of boulders. You have to take your pack off to get through it. Right after that is a difficult climb up some rocks if you are carrying a pack. They provide an easier way around that part. David took the hard way; I took the easier way. Even the easy way involved climbing. We heard from some people there that someone fell from the hard way earlier in the day. I don¢t think it required any emergency medical treatment; but it goes to show you there is an element of danger there. Finishing the hike up that hill, we found our perfect stealth camping spot. It overlooked a lake and had a decent amount of privacy from the trail. The ground had a good bit of tundra covering it without a lot of other growth to get in the way when we set up our hammocks. I think this is my favorite stealth camp spot so far.As we climb into bed at 7:30 I can hear light rain starting to fall and then it quit in just a couple of minutes. It didn¢t take David long to fall asleep; I can hear his breathing get heavy. ~ Desert Rose
Date: 2018-06-25
From: Stealth near Palisades Parkway mile 1397.2

To: Fort Montgomery 
Miles today: 7.2

AT - 6/25 Day 55. Unexpected Sight-Seeing Right On The Trail We finished Harriman State Park today with a bang. The mission was to get to Ft. Montgomery to pick up our next box at the PO. It was only about 7 miles away but we had to cross 2 mountains, West Mountain and Bear Mountain. Reports have said West Mountain is a tough one but nothing was said about Bear Mountain. While we were on West Mountain we met up with Viva, our friend that had the broken tent poles. It was good to see her again and find out the repair held up, even in the downpour we had last night. She hiked along with us to the top of Bear Mountain. At the top of Bear Mountain there was a big stone tower, Perkins Memorial Tower, that you could walk up in and see all the way to NYC. It was a 360 degree view of all the surrounding mountains. It was neat to see the mountains we had just hiked over the past week. Both the hike up and down Bear Mountain was the best we have had. This is a big recreation area within Harriman State Park and they had stone steps almost completely up and down the mountain. At the bottom of the mountain is a huge recreation area, complete with Bear Mountain Inn built by the CCC in the 1920s. In the recreation area there is a lake, concessions, picnic area, swimming pool, and a trail side zoo and museum run on donations only . I was surprised to see how many people were at this park on a Monday. It was just as busy as the Grand Canyon. I tried my best to yogi some lamb kabobs but the girls weren¢t biting. I learned at the zoo that we have been hiking through Sugar Maple forests. The trees are so tall and straight. Beautiful trees. Ft. Montgomery is rich with Revolutionary War history; but we didn¢t really have the time to explore the exhibits. We picked up our box and stayed at one of the cutest motels on the trail. It was one of those independent motels you drive by and wonder what they are like inside. This one is a 5 unit cottage style motel and owner¢s house. The motel was built back in the 1950s so the room was small in size but had everything we needed. We ate dinner across the street at a BBQ place. After 3 beers I wasn¢t much help with preparing for tomorrow; but I felt no pain. ~ Desert Rose
Date: 2018-06-26
From: Fort Montgomery 

To: Stealth mile 1414.8
Miles today: 10.4

AT - 6/26. Day 26. New York Storm Destruction Starting at the Hudson River we headed over the bridge. You can see train tracks along both sides of the Hudson. It looks like one side is for Amtrak and the other is for freight trains. We saw several trains in the time it took us to cross the half mile bridge. And once we ascended the next mountain and walked the ridge line along the Hudson we heard soft train whistles every 15 minutes. It was the Harriman family who built the bridge and owned the railroad. The bridge is still a toll bridge run by NY State ; but when they first built the bridge in the 1920s it was a private toll bridge. They charged $1 to cross in a car and if you had passengers it was $.15 each. That was a lot of money back then. Anyhow, the Harriman were big around here back then. This afternoon we walked through a section of forest that was devastated by the storm back in May. We heard NY and NJ was reporting a lot of blown down trees. We didn¢t see this kind of destruction in NJ at all. A few days ago we met the Area Captain for the trail volunteers. He was handling out some trail magic of cold drinks. He said when NY had that storm, one of his volunteers quickly thought to buy white plastic tape and go out to re-route the trail around all the damaged area. They did a good job of getting the trees that were blocking the trail cut up. Check out the pictures David posted ~ Desert Rose
Date: 2018-06-27
From: Stealth mile 1414.8

To: Canopus Lake Beach
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: light rain

AT - 6/27 Day 57 Appalachian Trail A Walk Through History Today¢s big discovery was finding the remains of a stone building use to inoculate Continental soldiers against small pox in the year 1790. There were all kinds of stone walls in the area. They were thicker than the ones we have been seeing that mark property boundaries. You could see the outline of several buildings in the area. You just never know what you are going to discover from day to day. Walking through these parts makes me want to read more about the history of the areas. I¢d love to know more about how they inoculated people in those days. We stopped early today but still got in our 10 miles. There is a big storm front coming in with rain forecasted through the night and into the early hours tomorrow. I wanted to be sure to stop early enough to get set up before a downpour. It started sprinkling when we got near Canopus Lake. We wanted to stop here anyhow to get water and possibly a meal from the concession stand. There is a beach area and they have showers for people to rinse off. They also offer AT thru hikers an area to camp for free. If I have to be stuck in my hammock I might as well be clean and fed with restrooms nearby. We got here about 2:30 and so far there hasn¢t been more than a few sprinkles. We might end up being the only ones camping here. You never know, if the rain does hit it might empty the trail and we could wake up to a field of tents. At 5:30 pm I¢m not sure if there¢s anyone else out there. ~ Desert Rose
Date: 2018-06-28
From: Canopus Lake Beach

To: Stealth site mile 1435.5
Miles today: 10.4

AT - 6/28 Day 58. Rain Delay, More May Storm Destruction, and a Guy Named Harvey Lewis Last nights rain was a something. The storm came around about 3 times during the night and then thunderstorms started up about 5:30 am. We didn¢t hit the trail until about 9:30 and there was some confusion about the connector trails back to the AT. They had some maps hanging up but they were partial in that they never really showed where the AT was. Anyhow we just went back to the trail we came in on which was a bit of back tracking for us. The humidity was 100% this morning so everything you drank was sweated out quickly. We walked through many areas of storm destruction from May. David took lots of pictures. What all the trees had in common was shallow root systems. I guess the ground has bedrock so close to the top of the soil the roots just spread out at the surface. These are huge trees. I can¢t imagine what it must have been like to be out on the trail when that storm hit here. I don¢t think there were reports of anyone being injured here. Lastly, there was a runner by the name of Harvey Lewis from Cincinnati that passed us on the trail. He is trying to set a record for completing the AT. He doesn¢t carry anything and has someone running with him to give him things like water. When he passed us he wasn¢t running. The trail had been a bit difficult with slippery rocks so fast walking was more like it. We did benefit from it though. Up until today, the trail has not been marked all that well. But now that Harvey can¢t spend time looking for white blazes, there are markings everywhere. Even on some rocks jutting out of the ground so that he can see them more easily. I guess that is something. Again, rain late this afternoon. We hoped to finish the day before it came. Instead we hiked in the rain for a half hour before ending the day. ~ Desert Rose