morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-04-29
From: Tumbling Run shelter

To: Tom Run Shelter
Miles today: 25.8
Weather: clear sky

I got a late start this morning and was not feeling too well with my scratchy throat. I hope its just allergies or something and not the onset of something more serious. My feet are still really bugging me. Inside they hurt and the new insoles are are giving me some pretty bad blisters. Ok now i'm done whining! Today was a great day for the trail and the weather was fantastic and is supposed to get even warmer. Lunch was at Caledonia state park as we passed through around noon time. Uncle Frank (Ford scored some leftover bannanas and carrots from a pre-school class out on a field trip which was awesome. It was really hard to get up and get going again after sitting in the sun for 1 and a half hours. We took breaks at each shelter we passed and talked with the people at each one. We passed a couple flip-floppers (PA-ME) and then (PA-GA). We got to the shelter at about 7:00 p.m. nice and tired as usual. We are .2 miles from the halfway point so We'll call it halfway. My spirits are still good and i'm still hanging in there. It has been extremely hard being away from my girlfriend who i got to spend almost everyday with and also being away from my family. It is also hard knowing that I am only at the halfway point but i have no intentions of turning around. The second half will go alot faster i'm sure and I know they will all be there when i return soon. I am going to make the best of my trip and try not to become homesick like as I am told is very easy to do and I can't wait to see what the second half has to offer!Reckless
Date: 2010-05-01
From: Boiling Springs

To: Duncannon
Miles today: 25.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night I truly felt homeless. We slept in a Gazebo in the city park. It was such a beautiful place like out of a movie....how could we pass it up!?..i don't think we were allowed to be there though. It was right on a little lake in the middle of this perfect looking little town. Unfortunately, i got no sleep though between calls from my GF and the ducks that were battling each other all throught the night! We left real earlier as the dog walkers and joggers were out early being that it was a Saturday. The first 10 miles of the day were completely flat which was great and i flew through the day and got to the Doyle Hotel at 5:30. Its pretty cheap to stay and its supposed to storm so we will probably stay here tonight and tomorrow will be our half day to get some rest.
Date: 2010-05-02
From: Duncannon

To: Peter's Mnt. shelter
Miles today: 11.3

Well, Duncannon was an experience to say the least.. a bit of culture shock but we'll leave it at that. Today it rained lightly for a while and was pretty steamy and muggy. I made me feel right at home. The half day will hopefully do my feet some good, casue they need a rest. Tomorrow will be our first 30 mile day which is kind of exciting. We also caught up to a guy named "muffin mittens", named for his huge mittens he started with which looked like oven mitts. We had a very different image of the person carrying this kind of a trail name. He is 26 and served in the army and is a pretty cool laid back guy. The shelter here is huge and upon arrival there were some drunk passed out locals scattered over the floor but soon left after we all arrived
Date: 2010-05-08
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hello everyone,Sorry for my slow updates on journals. The internet and time to get on has been hard to come by lately. I had a breif moment here in Delaware Water Gap to at least update our miles and where we are. I have lots more to add to the journals and more great pictures. We are good and about to head out into New Jersey tomorrow!
Date: 2010-05-09
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Brink Rd. Shelter
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We had breakfast this morning at a nice farmer's market in town before getting a later than usual start at a little after 9:30. It was a very cold and windy day all day never getting above about 50 degrees. I only have jogging shorts and no rain gear so I was very chilly and thankful that it wasn't raining. I'll be getting my rain pants sent to me soon in New York. I haven't had them since Damascus but now we are too far up north and the weather can get really cold. The rocks haven't quit just cause we are in another state but they are calming down a little I think.. Maybe its just wishful thinking. Uncle Frank didn't take a nap all day which is pretty rare for him as he has mild narcolepsy and usually gets real tired and has to take a power nap at some point during the day. Currently I am freezing my butt of in my summer sleeping bag as the temperature is dancing around freezing! I hope i can sleep
Date: 2010-05-10
From: Brink Rd. Shelter

To: Unionville, NY
Miles today: 26.7

Wow! It was really hard getting out of my bag this morning! I slept with all the clothes I had on and was still a little chilly. I got ahead of the pack this morning leaving at about 8:15 just to try and get my blood flowing. Uncle Frank, Boomerang (Dave) and I stopped at a little deli right on the trail for a half a sub around 10:00 and had a hard time moving after that not making very much progress. The trail wasn't bad and the cold weather is starting to ease up today. We are currently at the old mayor of Unionville's house. He has turned his basement into a bunkhouse for hikers. We were greeted with a warm shower, a warm meal, warm bed as it gonna get below freezing again, and a cold beer as well as a trip to the general store. This place and the people here are awesome! It is a very hiker friendly environment with some funny people. We are not sure what tomorrow will bring the shelters are spread apart not where we would ideally like them and we are expecting rain so there will be no cowboy camping! Still working on the pictures sorry but I can't get em up here
Date: 2010-05-11
From: Unionville, NY

To: Greenwood Lake, NY
Miles today: 24.1

Today again was cold and windy and we definately underestimated the terrain. The trail was a little bit tougher than we expected and all of us were tired for some reason. We didn't leave until 9:30 either. All day the sky was overcast and ominous looking. We stopped many times knowing that the rain was on its way. Late in the afternoon we crossed the New Jersey New York state line which was good! We will find some shelter in town tonight and try and stay dry and warm. I'll update more when I can thanks for looking!
Date: 2010-05-12
From: Greenwood Lake, NY

To: Fingerboard shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was spent in really nice pool house at the Linden motel which was arranged by Uncle Frank and the owner in order to avoid an expensive hotel room. It was actually really nice and especially since we were expecting rain and it surely did come. The morning temperatures were in the thirties and it was raining which made it very hard to convince the other guys to get going. We agreed we would wait a little while and see if it warmed up much. We kicked around town and I went to the library and grabbed a piece of pizza and finally got the guys going. We got a ride from a man named Raury from Manhatten and were on the trail by 1:00. It was cold and rainy all day but I was happy and the trail was really neat in that state. I was glad for some reason that it was cold and rainy. I didn't want everyday to be easy and sunny out because one of the reasons for me coming out for this trip was to see how tough I was and if I could handle being uncomfortable for long periods of time. I don't think Dave and Uncle Frank were feeling the same..Ha.   I gave them the speech of how easy it has been lately and we have had no adversity and they needed to put their purses down and to stop cowering to the mist outside (It was in a joking manner, but I was kinda serious). There were a bunch of really steep rock scrambles which were really slippery but would have been really fun like playing on a playground, again my hiking companions did not agree but I refused today to let them bring me down. The forests in New York are really cool with very little undergrowth and large trees. We are feeling good Dave is a little sore from being his miscalculations with food and is carrying alot of extra weight close to 45lbs probably. We plan on somewhere in the low 20's tomorrow but are not quite sure.
Date: 2010-05-13
From: Fingerboard shelter

To: Greymoor Friary
Miles today: 20.6

The weather broke a bit for us today and it was really nice for a little change. I'm starting to feel the burn in my legs again since we are getting back into the hills. There were a few good climbs today like Bear Mountain and one just before that one got my heart rate up real good. Bear Mountain was especially neat as we could see the New York City skyline way way off in the distance. We passed a sign that said it was only 34 miles away at one point in the day too! At one point today I was sitting on a ledge of a mountain in the middle of the wilderness looking off in the distance to New York City and thought about the chaos going on over there and was glad about where I was at and thought about the many people who would gladly be able to trade places with me. There was a little zoo after Bear Mountain that we walked through in which we got to see some native Appalachian Trail Wildlife and that was followed by a walk right over ther Hudson River. We are staying at a little pavilion on a monastary that the friary lets hikers sleep under to escape the weather which we are expecting tonight. There is one other hiker here who is hiking with two dogs just doing a section.
Date: 2010-05-14
From: Greymoor Friary

To: Morgan Stewart shelter
Miles today: 27.8
Weather: few clouds

Last night was miserable! This guy Ted was snoring all night and would not roll over or even try to make an effort to stop. At one point after I made multiple attempts to wake him, Uncle Frank yelled "Your Dogs Are Loose!!!!" Ted immediately jumped up and yelled "Where Are They!" Uncle Frank said "They are fine we just want you to stop snoring" I was very frustrated at the situation but I laughed hysterically to myself at what had just happened. The snoring soon resumed and after laying in my sleeping bag with eyes wide open for what seemed like hours I said forget it I'm leaving. It was supposed to rain all day and it wasn't raining at the time so I figured I could get some dry hiking in anyway. I was on the trail and going at 7:00 a.m. and never really woke up until about 9:30 when the drizzle started. I nice cool rain only lasted about an hour and the sun came out which was unexpected but very welcomed. I was way ahead of Dave and Ford and decided that I would try and get to Stormville to pick up my maildrop today rather than Saturday morning. I made great time and got my maildrop from my parents containing a few days of food and my rainpants. It was great filled with some awesome stuff (Thanks MOM and DAD!!!) I also picked up the next few states in my Hiker's companion guidebook that my girlfriend sent and I might add has been extremely supportive of the entire trip but has long since been ready for me to come home. I can say that I have long since been ready to be back with her too but still have a long way to go. The shelter was full and there were tons of people camping everywhere around so it made the night a little uncomfortable but I guess thats expected being so close to New York City and being on a weekend too.
Date: 2010-05-17
From: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean to

To: Salisbury
Miles today: 25.7
Weather: light rain

We started this morning with a continuation of the nice river walk that we ended yesterday with. Dave took a nasty fall today that scared us both and it could have ended pretty bad but he just got up with some minor scratches and a little different point of view on hiking so fast. (We have come real so far to get hurt now.) We arrived in Salisbury and Uncle Frank got us a place to stay at a local hostel for a very discounted rate because they failed to pick up his mail drop. Today we got caught by our first thru hiker and the crazy thing is that he left on the 21st of March! His name is "Frisbee" and he absolutely flies and has apparently been trying to catch us for a long time which made us feel pretty good about our pace. He is an ultralight guy who hikes sun up to sundown but to each their own, the "hike your own hike" is so true. Smell like Vermont in the distance!
Date: 2010-05-18
From: Salisbury

To: Tom Leonard Shelter
Miles today: 28.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up this morning and grabbed a cup of coffee at a joint right across the street while we waited for the post office to open and come to find out Uncle Frank's package was not there so that remains a mystery. Frisbee and I left first a got a good start on Dave and Uncle Frank. We talked the entire time for miles and miles. He made it pretty clear that he was keeping up with me instead of the other way around which made me feel good. I also realized Dave and I have ran out of things to have long conversations about after hiking with someone new but I wouldn't trade Dave as a hiking partner for anyone. We climbed a couple of nice peaks including Bear Mountain and Mount Everett. Later in the afternoon the rains came and it was freezing rain. The rain wasn't enough so when we got a road that we planned all day to get some ice cream and groceries it was completely empty! That was a kick in the gut to say the least. At this point I had run completely out of gas and even hiking hard uphill I couldn't warm up. I was completely soaked through and was very cold but something inside of me liked this feeling. It was hard to explain but it made me feel good inside like this is why everyone doesn't do this and these are the days that makes the climb up Katahdin so much more worth it and deep down inside I was somehow very happy and at peace that it was freezing cold and raining and I looked up to the sky and smiled and said aloud "is this all?" We got to the shelter and cooked and quickly got in our bags. It was the first night I wore my gloves in a while.
Date: 2010-05-19
From: Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Lee, Massachusettes
Miles today: 22.7

Talk about a lack of motivation, it was so hard and borderline miserable getting out of our sleeping bags with it freezing out and raining. The first thing i saw was a sopping wet pile of clothes right next to me that I would be putting on shortly. It was a morning that was not fun whatsoever but could merely scratch the surface of the mornings we experienced in the beginning. It was a cold wet rainy day and as I was out of food we hiked to the next town of Lee, Mass. As soon as we popped out of the woods someone pulled over to give us a ride...Awesome! Once in Lee we ate and stayed at a bar there and had a few dollar drafts while watching the red sox play on t.v. knowing they were only about 150 miles or so due east. It was a fun relaxing evening and some of the locals even bought us a few rounds to express there excitement and respect for undertaking such an expedition of this magnitude and having already made it this far. Later one younger guy we talked to was very entertaining and Dave and I shared many laughs with this guy. We slept in a gazebo out away from downtown that we were told by some local people at a church. It was still kind of misty out so it was nice to have some shelter. Lee is a really nice town and the people are pretty awesome.
Date: 2010-05-20
From: Lee, Massachusettes

To: Dalton, Mass
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

We caught a ride back to the trail from a guy at the local diner and got on the trail by nine. I absolutely flew through the day as I was trying to get to Dalton to get to the library before it closed to update this journal. We planned on staying on the porch at a man's house named Tom Levardi who takes hikers in. When I found his house he invited me in immediately gave me some ice cream and showed me where I would sleep inside! He informed me to relax and that I could use his computer for the internet. I got to take a shower and waited for Dave and did a load of laundry and Tom cooked us a dinner consisting of spaghetti and meatballs along with a salad and some bread. We ended the night with a movie and a cold beer followed by some ice cream. Tom has offered to slackpack us tomorrow and it was a very easy answer... Sure. He said a slackpack another meal and another shower and a night indoors how could we say no and believe me we didn't. This makes tomorrow easier to look forward to!
Date: 2010-05-21
From: Dalton, Mass

To: Williamstown
Miles today: 23.3

This morning Tom took us to a local diner for an awesome breakfast followed by a relaxing car ride to Williamstown for a slackpack south back to Tom's house for another shower/meal and some more ice cream. We hiked up Mt. Graylock which was a much steeper climb going south but that means it saved my knees from a really tough descent. We kept our shirts off most of the day and got some good sun, something my very pale skinny body needed. Uncle Frank ran for a while and got way ahead finishing like two hours before us. Dave and I took our time and had a conversation that lasted a long time. After 1500 miles of being with someone 24/7 you just run out of much to talk about. The night consisted of dinner again and ice cream however the internet would still not work so my trailjournal would still not be updated. Sorry!
Date: 2010-06-21
From: The Birches

To: Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: few clouds

We are all done. The summit date was june 21, 2010 and was a most beautiful day on Katahdin. We were at the peak at 8:00 a.m. after leaving at 6:10. (yea it took 1 hour and 50 minutes since we basically ran the last mile!) I have all kinds of pictures and journals to post here in the next couple of days. I didn't really come out of the woods much towards the end to update so sorry to all the followers but I'll have everything up. It is wierd being home and around everyone but so good to see them all! The total trip was 4 months and 6 days with 9 zeros i think. We didn't zero one day from Damascus on and we were the 7th and 8th to summit for 2010 (something we did not strive for but our pace put us there. glad to be done but it surely is bittersweet
Date: 2010-09-22
From: Hanover, NH

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Ate free breakie at hotel then took free bus to Hanover. Bought trail maps for NH and Maine, filled up on stove fuel, and bought a used paperback to keep me company at night. Hanover is a pretty town with lots of good restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores. There are 3 outfitter stores within one block!Started hiking around 10:30am. It started raining after 1/2 mile but quickly stopped. Great indian summer weather. Only saw 2 other hikers today. Day hikers heading back to Hanover. Slept alone at the shelter. Well not quite alone. There was one quiet mouse. And after dark I spotted two glowing eyes which my headlamp revealed to be a hare. Water source was nasty. But at least there was water to be had. They are in the middle of a drought here.
Date: 2010-09-23
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Firewarden cabin
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: clear sky

Another perfect weather day. Saw two day hikers and one backpacker all going south. Made dinner at Firwarden cabin. Decided to sleep up in the firetower. 360 degree view from up there. It was probably the nicest spot I've ever tried to sleep at on the trail. Beautiful scenery, sunset, and full moon. However... wokeup around 9:15pm to violent winds. Hoped they'd die down but after 3 hours of no sleep they were still loudly shaking the tower. So I packed up and tented next to the empty cabin (which appears to be mouse infested). As soon as I closed the zipper on the tent rain started to fall. But not much.While hiking today I listened to The Dark Hills Divide on MP3. As soon as I reached my destination the story came to an end. It was a fun listen.
Date: 2010-09-24
From: Firewarden cabin

To: Ore Hill Shelter
Miles today: 12.4

More excellent weather. Cube mountain was very rocky and slow going. I fell once on a wet sloping rock. Commander Joe, who I met when I got to the shelter, said he fell 3x on cube mountain. It was tricksy. Saw my first sign of moose today (just tracks in mud). Besides Commander Joe, only saw one other person today. An old guy in a pickup driving down a dirt road that crossed the trail. He stopped to chat and handed me a tomato which tasted great.Commander Joe is 62 I think. He is a retired chemical engineer from South Carolina. Joe is section hiking the AT from south to north like me. One of Joe's isms is that he adds "or whatever" to almost everything he says. Joe says he is planning to go to the hostel in Glencliff tomorrow too, or whatever.
Date: 2010-09-25
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: Mount Moosilauke
Miles today: 13.1

Got up in the dark, packed up, ate oatmeal and starting hiking by 6am. Hope I didn't annoy Joe too much with my noise. I wanted to be sure to get to the Glencliff post office before it closed since it is Saturday. Turns out I had plenty of time. Easy trail today.I type this from the Hiker's Welcome Hostel in Glencliff. Showered and did laundry immediately. Joe just showed up 10 minutes ago. I think I'll tent outside instead of staying in the bunkhouse. The guy who runs this place I happened to meet 2 years ago on the AT at a shelter in Vermont. And I recall him being a loud snorer. He sleeps in the bunkhouse here too. So tenting looks like a good option because the weather is good and the road noise not too bad.My next opportunity for internet will be 5 days from now at the earliest. At that point I will have been introduced to the hardest section of this 2150 mile trail, the white mountains of NH. Hope the weather holds.UPDATE I ended up not staying at the hostel when I discovered I couldn't make a friday reservation for the AMC Highland Center (my next resupply). So I made the reservation for thursday instead and hiked out of the hostel around 3pm. Hiked another 5.3 miles for the day. This entailed climbing up Mt. Moosilauke. It was a very hard climb. By the time I reached the summit I was wearing my headlamp. This summit was my first experience above treeline on the AT. Walked through a boulder strewn path over the summit with strong winds hitting me from the left. Summit was all in cloud. After 1/4 mile of this I was on the other side below treeline. Setup tent right on the trail (a no-no) around 8pm.
Date: 2010-09-26
From: Mount Moosilauke

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: light rain

Judging from the elevation profile on the map I thought I was in for an easy day. I was very wrong. Nearly the entire day involved technical hiking. Started at 6:45am and didn't finish until 5:30pm just to go 11.3 miles. I see why NH is considered the most challenging state, especially the White Mountains section. They recommend you plan to cut in half the miles you normally do.It was beautiful despite being so darn hard. Saw some moose droppings. Encountered a few day hikers when I got to the bottom of Moosilauke. Spent the night at a very nice new shelter alone. Yay, no mice! Heard some strange animal crying out after dark.
Date: 2010-09-27
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Liberty Springs Tentsite
Miles today: 11.4

Lord, another very tough day. Very diffucult climb over Kinsman Mt. More tough hiking until reaching Lonesome Lake Hut around noon. Didn't peek in the Hut, but it looked nice from the outside. Saw my first moose of NH a quarter mile later. Steep climb up to Liberty Springs Tentsite. The tentsite has a caretaker who makes sure you follow the low-impact camping rules. Tented here in the rain. Supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Yuck. At least I got inside the tent before it got heavy. Just me and the caretaker at the tentsite.