morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-07-24
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Rattlesnake Spring Campsite
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

My personal hygiene has--apparently--gone out the window. I woke up at 7:30, got up, put on some clothes and walked to the diner. I completely forgot to brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, or comb my hair. I promise I don't do this every day on the trail! Ketchup, Acorn and two other hikers were just finishing breakfast when I got there but Ketchup hung around while I ate my huge omelette, home fries, and a BAGEL (you know you're in the north when you can order a bagel!) for only $5.50! After a quick stop at the c-store to get some food and use the ATM, I had to visit the bakery...In case you didn't know, back in the "fake" world I was a baker for four years. I love bakeries. I love that smell when you walk in the door and hear whatever music the baker has playing...Anyway, I bought a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and a donut...Ketchup was taking a zero but I wanted to keep hiking because I'm taking a zero and a nero this weekend, so I packed up, said goodbye and hiked out.It turned out to be a *beautiful* day for hiking! Gorgeous, not hot, breezy, no bugs! I felt good and was SUPER happy to hike out of PA and into NJ! I took a long break at Sunfish Pond, the first real glacial lake on the trail! (So far the only lakes I've seen have been reservoirs). It felt like the BWCA. No houses! It was sunny and cool. Perfect temp. Great breeze. I took of my still-wet shoes and socks and laid them on a rock to dry in the sun while I ate my donut and some bread for lunch. A hiker I'd met in VA named Nighttrain gave me some blueberries she'd picked. I was *blissed out*. I decided to pick some blueberries myself, about 1 cupful, because if I don't have time to pick blueberries on an AT thru-hike, then really, what the heck am I doing out here?! Got to hike atop a tall ridge overlooking a valley with a river flowing through. It was incredibly beautiful. Had a lovely, easy day. Glad I did not take a zero. I camped in a clearing just off the trail with a guy named Chief Hikeatrail and two Germans named Munic Bear and Cologne.
Date: 2013-07-25
From: Rattlesnake Spring Campsite

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: clear sky

New Jersey is awesome. I woke up and it was very cool out. I am glad I had my quilt last night and didn't mail it up the trail! I actually wore my long-sleeved shirt as I hiked out. Once I got up on the ridge again it was clear of rocks and I hiked quickly, enjoying the day. Finally the bugs aren't bad and the rocks aren't constant.Had a really nice hike. Great day. At the top of the ridge before the first shelter I had reception and called and left a message for Ken and Judy, my step uncle and aunt, telling them that I would be arriving on Saturday. Then I called my sister-in-law about about sending a package. Just after I hung up, I got a text from SIS saying that she fractured her sacrum in 2 places, was leaving the trail and asked if I wanted to use her tent. It was not entirely a surprise as I had gotten a text from her a day or two before in which she wrote that she had fallen on the rocks in PA and hurt herself, but I called her back and heard the whole story. Apparently she fell on the rocks in the boulder field just after Bake Oven Knob shelter. I remembered that section--it was sketchy. Thankfully Chopper was there so he carried her pack .1 mile to the road. They got a ride to town, where SIS got an x-ray and realized she'd have to leave the trail. It was so disappointing and heart-breaking to hear...it's really sad anytime any hiker has to leave the trail for medical reasons, but it's especially hard with someone you've hiked with for so long. I was pretty bummed out after that. Acorn and I hiked a bit together in the afternoon and when we got to Branchville, we got a hitch to a market to resupply...where I found salt bagels...yum. I bribed the driver with the offer of something from Dairy Queen, which was across the street, if he was willing to wait for us while we shopped and then take us back to the trail, and of course he was willing :-) It was a short hike to the shelter and was just Acorn and me there...Had a nice quiet night and went to bed early, still thinking about SIS. I am going to miss her a lot.
Date: 2013-07-26
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: Murray 
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: light rain

I have been behind in journaling because I've been too tired at night to write, so in the morning I got up, made breakfast, and spent some time journaling. Munic Bear, Cologne, and Chief Hikeatrail came by for water and then a trail angel named Snorz showed up with cold pop, which we all enjoyed. (There's a road nearby). So I got a later start but had a nice morning.Acorn left before me but I caught up to her and together we hiked through High Point State Park, where we got another free can of pop that some trail angels had given to the state park to hand out to all the thru-hikers. There was a lake and concession stand in the park and we hiked down there to get some real food. A nice lake but all we cared about was food. Neither of us went swimming. Hiking in the evening was really pretty. I hiked through forests, around fields, beside ponds, across boardwalks and through many, many rock walls. Acorn and I stayed at the "secret-shelter." (But it's not really a secret when "Murray Secret Shelter" is listed on a bulletin board at the state park, right? No? I didn't think so either. :-) The Murray property is just off the trail and it has a cabin that hikers can sleep in, a tenting area, well water and privy. It's really nice. I watched bats and lightning bugs a little but basically crashed...really looking forward to a nero tomorrow and zero the day after. I realized I haven't taken a zero since I first got to PA. That's a long time.
Date: 2013-07-27
From: Murray 

To: Glenwood/Sussex, NJ
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

I woke up to another gorgeous day. Clear and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. The trail was really flat for the first few miles so I made good time but my energy crashed after walking around the WallKill Nature Reserve. I only had 11 miles to hike before my relatives picked me up in Glenwood, and I thought maybe I could do the whole 11 miles without stopping to eat (I didn't have much to eat) but finally after 7 miles I had to stop. I ate what I had, which was peanut butter, bacon bits (thankfully, real ones), some dried fruit, and chocolate. After I finished eating, I looked at my phone at 11:40 and it dawned on me that I still had 4.2 miles to do before 1pm. Oops! I must have taken too long of a break! So I hoofed it up and over Pochuck Mtn (running all the downhills!). I arrived at the road at 1:07pm, exactly when Ken and Judy and Ken's sister Thelma pulled up. Perfect timing! What was also perfect timing was that the sole of my shoe came apart about .5 mile from the road where they picked me up and I had another pair waiting for me at the Post Office in Glenwood! (I had more than 800 miles on this pair...way too many). Amazing. Thank God.After picking up my new shoes, we went home and I took a shower, did laundry and ate some spaghetti that Judy made. It was so good to see Ken and Judy again. We had a nice time catching up. They spent many years (30?) in Central African Republic and I have spent some time in Tanzania so we talked about our experiences in Africa a lot and, of course, about the AT. At first I was disappointed that they didn't have internet but later we went to a cookout/potluck at their church and I got to use it then--while they showed a DVD about the dangers of media addiction...How ironic!
Date: 2013-07-28
From: Glenwood/Sussex, NJ

To: Sussex, NJ
Miles today: 0.0

I slept poorly last night. The room was too stuffy and the bed was uncomfortable. I think I'm just too used to sleeping outside on my airmat!After church we went to a fundraiser lunch at the Fire Department where Ken volunteers. They had great chicken and lots of food. Perfect! Then Judy took me to the grocery store so I could resupply and then in the afternoon I caught up with Maw-ee on the phone. After talking to her I feel more prepared for New England and less intimidated by the Whites. Thelma flew out on Sunday to China but said I could use the internet at her house which was just 2 doors down from Ken and Judy's, so in the evening I went over there. It was nice to listen to Griffin House and Iron and Wine while journaling. I miss music. I stayed up pretty late (past hiker midnight anyway) and then talked with Ken and Judy til 11:30 and went to bed. A nice, restful zero!
Date: 2013-07-31
From: NY 17A

To: Arden Valley Road (1385.1)
Miles today: 17.5

Traffic woke me up at 4:45 and I couldn't fall asleep again. I suppose that's what you get for sleeping next to a busy road! Krispin and I were eating breakfast and chatting when I heard a sound and looked up to see a yearling-sized black bear not 20 feet away! It was so unexpected! Krispin started talking very loudly but I just ran to get my camera but I couldn't get back in time to snap a photo, darn! that would be bear #9!We weren't near a water source so I walked to the Bellvale Dairy (which, by the way, has a sign on the outside saying Local = Good) for water from the spigot. There I met my first southbounder (SOBO) who started June 1. Must be the start of SOBO season!The hike in the morning went well, but there were some technical, tricky sections which made me glad I didn't hike that section in the dark. It was another gorgeous day. The forest was particularly beautiful and it smelled great with all the pine trees, which is what a forest ought to smell like I think! Twice on my hike today I came across lots of jugs of water that Trail Angels had left near road--and just in time too! It's not that there isn't any water, but that the water is heavy in iron, dark and often scummy. Thankfully the locals know that! So nice.,NY has a reputation for being strenuous as it's the oldest part of the AT and the original trail often goes (intentionally?) up the steepest, rockiest sections seemingly just to make us work harder. So the going seemed slow. There were many sections of rock to climb UP. It wore me out. NY is kicking my butt! I hiked through the first part of Harriman-Bear Mountain State Park. It felt eerily silent. No insects humming or birds chirping or chipmunks scuffling about. And it didn't look like a forest. It was mostly grass, rocks and trees. No under-growth or weeds or debris. It creeped me out but Krispin thought it was peaceful. I suppose I like a noisy, messy (natural) forest?? The lemon squeezer was pretty easy (slot to go thru)...I made dinner down in a picnic area and then Krispin and I camped up near a road in the state park.
Date: 2013-08-01
From: Arden Valley Road (1385.1)

To: Hemlock Springs Campsite
Miles today: 16.5

August already!!! Where has the summer gone?!Had a slow morning in camp...Not necessarily a bad thing though! I talked to my Dad who is house-sitting for my Aunt and Uncle in Texas. She is receiving cancer treatment in Seattle. I think about her often while I hike. I guess most of my time hiking is spent thinking about the people in my life. All these lives continue on, lived out apart from the trees and mountains. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a parallel universe. Who would guess that there is a place 2 feet wide and 2,185 miles long where life is all about walking, eating, sleeping?Around 10am I finally started hiking...and the rain promptly started falling. I met up with a hiker named Seven and we hiked together until the Palisades Parkway, a divided highway leading to NYC, only 37 miles away. The rain was really coming down. I was hungry, cold, and wanted to just get out of the rain, so I walked down to the visitor's center located in the middle of the parkway and took refuge. I was pretty low on food but I got enough food from the vending machine to resemble a lunch--pretzels with leftover peanut butter from my food bag, pop tarts, and cheez-its. Then I went back out in the rain and kept hiking.There were some really, really steep hills today and no views of NYC from West Mtn, Black Mtn, or Bear Mtn. I was disappointed and I really should have waited to do that section on a clear day so I could see the city but I was out of food. When I got to Bear Mountain I was amazed at the trail. The NY-NJ trail conference put all new trail in--nice steps with gravel the whole way. It was amazing. At Hessian Lake I realized it was too late to go through the zoo which was disappointing. I wanted to see the statue of Walt Whitman. I guess I should've gotten up earlier if I really wanted to make it in time. I was planning on going into the nearby town of Fort Montgomery to get food but could not find a way to walk there, since walking the road was illegal. But I figured I would have enough for breakfast if I could find something to eat for dinner, so I went back to the Bear Mountain Inn and got a very expensive, but delicious, burger. And I got to take a break from the rain. At 6:30 I hiked out, crossed the Hudson River and hiked up to a campsite a few miles out of town, arriving at dark. No one else was there so it was my first time camping alone. I loved it but missed my friends, so I sent out a "Where r u?" text to Piper, Fat Man Walking, Chopper, Bill38, Snakebite/Beamer and Maddog. And I was shocked to find out that Bill38 (trail name Ahvoh) was behind me--and that Adam was with him! I hadn't seen Adam (trail name Zeus) since Hiawassee, GA! I thought both of them would be in NH or Maine by now. They were both way ahead but took 2 weeks off. I could not believe it. They say, "Never say goodbye to anyone on the AT" and it's true. You just never know when they might show up again.
Date: 2013-08-02
From: Hemlock Springs Campsite

To: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center
Miles today: 4.2

I heard back from all my friends by the morning. Everyone is behind me. Maddog is injured and may not be able to continue his hike...so sad! It would be nice to have a small group of friends to hike with the rest of the trip, but it seems I'll be hiking alone for a while. But I've decided not to slow down since I won't get to Katahdin until Sept 30 if I continue at my current pace.I slept in and hung out in my tent in the morning for a while. For breakfast I had to be a bit creative. I was very low on food (for a change, haha). I had some quinoa, so I cooked that and added some peanut butter and powdered milk. Then I added a handful of mixed nuts and some peanut butter M&Ms. It turned out to be one of the best breakfasts I'd made on the trail. I felt pretty proud of myself, like a chef that makes a delicious meal out of nothing. I left at 11:15 and walked to the Appalachian Market, a awesome convenience store/deli (almost like a restaurant) right on the trail. Lots of hikers showed up including Krispin and this guy Memphis, whom I hadn't seen since southern VA. YNOT2K was going to camp at the nearby Spiritual Life Center baseball field, and then come back in the morning for breakfast. I considered doing that but felt guilty about only hiking 4 miles. But on the other hand it would be a really cheap way to zero, and everything is only going to get more expensive the further north. I decided to go there, take a shower, and then decide what to do next. After a cold shower, it was 4pm and I didn't feel like getting sweaty again. I wore my rainsuit while I hand-washed my clothes in the sink and then hung out with some other hikers and ate a deli sandwich and salad for dinner. I went to bed listening to the sound of crickets.
Date: 2013-08-03
From: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: overcast clouds

It was gray, cloudy, and raining when I woke up at 6am, and I was tired. I didn't sleep well. Too many guy issues on my mind probably. "Is it okay to go out with a guy I'm not interested in because I want the free meal he's offering? What will the guy I actually like think about this? What should I do about the guy (who is a friend but nothing more) who has been pink-blazing me since Erwin, TN, who I would enjoy hiking with as long as he isn't weird around me and gives me space?" Sometimes guys ask me how I like the guy-girl ratio on the trail, the assumption being that it must be awesome to be surrounded by so many men who offer so much attention. I laugh and say it sucks. I wish there were more girls out here but since there are not, I would MUCH rather hike with guys who have girlfriends (Ketchup, Krispin, Jaybird, Maddog) than guys who don't...It's a lot of fun...*Almost* like hiking with a girl! :-)After breakfast at the deli, I hiked in the rain for a few hours and by the time I took my first break it was sunny enough to dry out my tent and socks. The morning was unexciting but the afternoon was pretty. The sunlight coming through trees was beautiful and I got to hike around Canopus Lake. But it was a tiring day full of lots of PUDS (Pointless Ups and Downs). I tented near RPH shelter but did not order pizza (the shelter is near a road) since I had spent too much at the deli. Tired. So tired. Bedtime.
Date: 2013-08-04
From: RPH Shelter

To: Native Landscapes Garden Center, NY
Miles today: 19.9

Today was another incredibly gorgeous day on the AT. A lovely cool breeze, low temps, and low humidity made the hiking quite pleasant. I woke up around 7:30 and ate a bagel with cream cheese and a hard boiled egg that I packed out of the deli. I felt good today--or the trail was a bit easier? After 3.5 miles I came to a road crossing near a stream and on the footbridge I saw a note inviting all AT hikers to breakfast .2 mile up the road. It was late, but since the note was still there, it was such a short walk, and I try not to ever turn anything down, I decided to check it out. When I knocked on the door a little girl answered and I heard her mom yell to come around back. She was wrapping breakfast up but said I made it in time. She made me a Belgian waffle and coffee (there is nothing quite like real coffee when you're used to drinking instant) and we talked while I ate. Her husband hiked the trail in '99 and she was about to leave to pick up an injured hiker in CT who had stayed with her recently. She offered me a second waffle which I declined as it would have put me in a food coma. Then she dropped me off at the trail and I hiked on, marveling at the kindness and generosity of all these Trail Angels who look out for us hikers! This kind of experience is just one example of what makes thru-hiking the AT such a uniquely rich endeavor. One of the biggest surprises about my thru-hike is that it has become so much more about the people than the hiking.NY is known for its deli's and I wanted to be sure to take advantage of them, so I stopped at one that was just .4 mile off the trail to pick up a sub. In the afternoon it rained but only a little and then the sun came out and it was pretty beautiful. The trail was less rocky and hilly today but after the 20 miles my feet still sure hurt a lot. I stopped to eat the second half of my sub at the Dover Oak, the largest tree on the AT in the north, and then walked up a road to get water from a purple house that my guidebook said had water for hikers. But I couldn't find a purple house anywhere. Turns out the owners of the purple house had just painted it red. I hope they tell AWOL!!I camped in between train tracks and a busy 2-lane road at a hiker-friendly garden center that is right on the trail. Definitely not the best place to camp, but I had a couple of maildrops sent there, one from my brother and sister-in-law and one from REI containing new Darn Tough socks, that I could not pick up until the morning. As the trains went by I prayed for a decent night of sleep...
Date: 2013-08-05
From: Native Landscapes Garden Center, NY

To: Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite
Miles today: 15.1

I woke up early and was amazed I got as much sleep as I did considering it was, hands down, the worst campsite on the entire AT, according to Squid--and I totally agreed. I walked half a mile to a deli for breakfast (and a LARGE coffee) and to resupply...Deli's 4 days in a row...Gotta love these deli's! When I opened the package from my brother and sister-in-law I was so surprised to see, amongst all the yummy food, 2 pairs of socks! Yay! (Thanks, Matt and Kelly!) So now I have 4 pairs. When it rains, it pours, right? I decided to send one pair back to REI and keep the others. What a gorgeous, mild, sunny day! Beautiful! Perfect hiking weather but my knees felt really stiff and inflamed. I was happy to have a couple of milestones--Connecticut and the 2/3 mark!!! Now I have less than 728 miles to go! Camped with Squid and High-ty Tight-y up at a nice campsite, enjoyed my turkey sandwich and went to bed.
Date: 2013-08-06
From: Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite

To: Silver Hill Campsite
Miles today: 13.6

Today did not turn out like I had planned. Does it ever?? I was going to do maybe 20 miles, but when I got to the road going into Kent, CT, it just so happened that two hikers coming from the north were about to get into their car and drive into town. So I impulsively asked for a ride. It dawned on me that I had enough food to get to Falls Village, but had no way to resupply once I got there since the town didn't have a grocery store. And I figured I could get lunch in Kent and use the library. I saw a bunch of hikers in town including Seven and Krispin. I ate a salad on a patio at the diner and checked my phone for messages. I found one from Snakebite saying that Maddog has to leave the trail due to Patella Tendonitis. Another man down. Damn. I called Snakebite to find out more and to check in to see where he was, and he told me he wanted to catch up and then his intention was to summit Katahdin the same day I do! I was a bit reticent about that because I'm pretty independent and he is not, but I figured if it didn't work out I could find a way to put some space between us. We'll see. The town stop took longer than I planned (of course). At 4pm I got back on the trail and hoofed it another 10ish miles to the campsite. Happy to see that Krispin was there. I gave him some strawberries I packed out from town. We had a nice quiet camp. It's a nice spot here with picnic tables, a pavilion, privy, and even a chair swing! So far I love Connecticut! New England is pretty awesome...