morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-14
From: Allentown Hiking Shelter

To: DWG
Miles today: 0.0

7/14-7/19: Days 106-111 ¢ Wow! What a week! I went from hiking along just fine and dandy to being laid up in Delaware Water Gap for a few days. After hiking in wet boots for a couple days, I broke out in some awful-looking oozing rashes on my feet. It was really bad and the most worried about my health that I have been on trail. So I took an extended break in Delaware Water Gap at the free church hostile to recoup. Gonzo also went into the hospital at Palmerton for something resembling Lyme¢s Disease, yet he has not ¢bulls-eye¢ mark on his body from the tick. It¢s a distinctive mark that a tick infected with Lyme Disease will leave. So Gonzo¢s sister Sarah and his Mom came to rescue Bear Blaze, Gonzo, and I from trail and put us up in a hotel for a few nights. We are a back on trail tomorrow. Funky Monkey got off of trail as well because of a turned ankle and will be resuming her hike at Bear Mountain, NY since she has already hiked the New Jersey section and most of the New York section. Whelp, off to bed. (written after completion of the trail) Well, I woke up with some terrible infection on July 14th on both of my feet that was oozing everywhere. It totally freaked me and it made me decide to get off of trail for a bit. I hiked to PA 309 and got a hitch with some other hikers 50 miles north to Delaware Water Gap to stay at the free hostel there. I ended up staying in DWG for almost a week to let my feet heal. From there I just continued hiking north. This means that I yellow blazed 50 miles to get to this point as well as the 10 miles I skipped down in Virginia. This was the last time that I skipped any mile for the rest of the trail. I started hiking with Powah Nap and I went completely purist. Meaning, I walked every blaze going only north consecutively and wearing my pack the whole way. If I had to do it all over again, i would never have skipped ANY miles. I would have carried my pack the whole way and I would have done the approach trail. So, to future thru-hikers, this is my advise. It may not seem that important in the beginning to cover every blaze but once you get to the finish, it will matter to you. Trust me.So I didn't leave these miles unhiked, I actually drove back to the trail from Chicago in October 2010 to hike the 50 miles I missed in PA and the ten I missed in VA. Check out those dates in my trail journal to hear about my make up miles hike. In the next couple pages you will see some pictures from my week in Delaware Water Gap.
Date: 2010-07-20
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Sunfish Pond
Miles today: 6.1

7/20: Day 112 ¢        Woke up for free breakfast at the comfort Inn. I then spent the rest of the morning sorting my gear and writing postcards and ¢thank you¢ cards. BIG! Thanks to Sarah and Mama Gonzo for the hotel stay, meals, and support. Y¢all are some of the nicest people I have ever met. I feel fortunate to know your family.        Once we left the hotel, we grabbed some lunch, hit the post office, and got back on trail. It feels really good to be back out after the break. Gonzo is still feeling a bit weak and we all decided to take it easy our first day out. So, we just hiked to Sunfish Pond 6 miles out. It is a gorgeous place and watching the sunset over the pond was just breathtaking. Sanman is camped with us tonight and we all stayed up to chat and laugh. It really feels like family out here with the few Thru-hikers that are still out here.        Whelp, time for bed. I¢m trying to get up early so that I can catch my friend Powernap who is a day ahead of me. I might end up loosing Bear Blaze and Gonzo for a few days.Weather: Hot!P.s.: I saw a bear!
Date: 2010-07-21
From: Sunfish Pond

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: few clouds

7/21: Day 113 ¢         I tried to get up and out of camp early today but my body wasn¢t having it. I think I may be coming down with a cold. I left by 9am and just trucked it all day. The miles came slowly today due to the sea of rocks ahead of me, but I took less breaks and still made the shelter by 7pm. Water sources are crappy so far or nonexistent. I¢m looking forward to getting my water filter so that I can feel a little safer about drinking this water. Is brown water bad? Lol.        I pretty much walked a ridge all day today. It was beautiful. Far off storm clouds threatened to rain all day, but never delivered any rain.        Can I just say that New Jersey is not only infested with bears, but also Ants! During two of my snack breaks today, my food or me was covered in ants in mere minutes of me sitting down. They came out of nowhere¢¦ like ninjas! I hope my food bag will be safe from the ants in the bear box at this shelter.Side note: Spring at this shelter (Brink Road Shelter) is amazing! I¢m so thankful for cool, clean water.Weather: Hot, humid, sort of stormy-ish.
Date: 2010-07-22
From: Brink Road Shelter

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: few clouds

7/22: Day 114 ¢         I woke up early today in order to cover some miles. I hit the road at Culber Gap by 9am and turned off the trail in order to find somewhere to charge my phone. I saw a place called ¢Joe To Go¢ first and went in to buy a soda and charge my phone but when I asked the guy, he gave me a stern ¢No!¢ I pleaded a bit with him to which he just replied ¢It¢s my policy.¢ I had heard that this guy was rude to hikers, but man, what a tool. I mean, it would cost him pennies to charge my phone and I may very well buy food while I waited. I don¢t get it. Some people in towns really don¢t like hikers. I guess it¢s because we look homeless and dirty. There is actually a term us hikers have dubbed ourselves: Hiker Trash.        A bait shop down the road finally agreed to let me plug my phone in outside of their building. While I was sitting there, I heard a rustling in the leaves beside me and expected to see a snake or a rat come out of a hole under the building. Then, a mole popped its head out and grabbed a big, fat worm. I looked on in awe. It was so cool! I was hoping to see a mole while on this trip. ?        I got back on trail at 10am and got to the Gren Anderson shelter at 11am just in time to run into Powernap. I had been trying to catch up with this guy since Delaware Water Gap. So we hiked together today.        We hit High Point Monument at sundown. It was so beautiful. The sky was a wash with red, pink, purple, and orange against a darkening blue sky. We hung out as long as we felt comfortable and then dashed own the trail with our headlamps to rescue our packs from potential bears. We had left them at the side trail intersection to the High Point Monument.        We set up camp in the dark about a mile down trail. Time for bed.Weather: Hot! Sunny.
Date: 2010-07-23
From: High Point Shelter

To: Unionville, NY
Miles today: 7.1

7/23: Day 115 ¢        I slept in a bit today. My feet have been killing me the last couple days. Doing a couple high mileage days over rocky trails after taking 7 days off really reeked havoc on the bottoms of my feet. The twelve hours off my feet really helped.        Powernap (P-Nap) and I started walking at about noon and made pretty good time to Unionville, NY just 7 miles away. There, there was a hostel that is not in the books called The Outhouse. In 2007, the mayor of the town started to take in Thru-hikers. In exchange, he heard many stories.        The whole house is run like a family home. There is a bunkroom in the basement, a hiker hangout in the garage with soda and beer and a big dining room table where breakfast and dinner are served for every hiker. The caretakers, Butch and Bill, treated each hiker like a member of their family. It is one of the most unique places on the trail. For future hikers, hike to Lott Road and turn left. Walk to the end of the road and turn left. Go into the General Store and ask for directions to The Outhouse. It¢s just ten minutes walking away.        I spent the evening with twenty other hikers talking about the trail over beers while we watched a storm rage out on the ridge above town. It was a good evening.Weather: Hot with large thunderstorms in the evening.
Date: 2010-07-24
From: Unionville, NY

To: Unionville, NY
Miles today: 0.0

7/24: Day 116 ¢         I woke up to Butch yelling down the stairs to the basement bunkroom, ¢Breakfast! Come upstairs if you want to eat.¢        Most of the hikers headed back on trail after breakfast, but P-Nap and I decided to zero at The Outhouse since there were heat advisories in effect and I was trying to kill time to let Gonzo and Bear Blaze catch up.        It was a lazy day spent walking around this little town and ducking into little bookshops and pizzerias. More hikers showed up in the evening for dinner and a night¢s stay. We ended the evening watching a movie.Weather: Hot! Heat index = 105 degrees.
Date: 2010-07-25
From: Unionville, NY

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 11.8

7/25: Day 117 ¢         Powernap and I got an early start out of town and covered the mileage to Vernon, NJ by 3pm. The hike started out hot and humid as we walked through swampy wildlife preserves and through evergreen forests. At about noon the thunder started to rumble and the sky opened up and torrential rains poured down. It was warm out today, so the rain actually felt pretty nice. We hiked along a mile long boardwalk through a gorgeous wetlands area littered with cattails, wildflowers, and birds in the rain. It was one of my favorite moments on trail. It was so beautiful.        We turned off of trail at Vernon to grab some ice cream and ended up hitching into Vernon with Tiger Lilly, Swift, Thin Mint, and Ziggy Stardust.        We are now at the church hostel in town to dry out and rest up. A bunch of us put together a big hiker dinner and spent the evening chatting. It felt like a family. I love being on trail. It¢s getting harder and harder everyday I¢m out here to imagine going home.        Hiking the Appalachian Trail:A heightened yet fleeting state of accomplishment that makes you realize how unbelievably unmotivated you normally are.Weather: Hot, turning to midday storms. Cool out this evening.
Date: 2010-07-26
From: Vernon, NJ

To: NY17A, Bellvale,NY
Miles today: 15.0

7/26: Day 118 ¢         Sleeping on the floor at the church was a little uncomfortable. I woke up at about 8am and made it to the post office at 9am. Big shout out to Opus for your amazing homemade dehydrated meals! I am the envy of every hiker on trail at mealtime. Also, getting food in the mail really helps with my money problem. You¢re the best, man! Also, thank you to Dorothy and Paul for the wonderful gift and goodies. You really didn¢t have to do that but please know it really helps.        Powernap and I finally got a hitch back to trail and were hiking the steep ascent out of town by 10:30am. I was hoping to cover 18 miles today and we were getting a late start for sure.        Almost all of the water sources for this section that were listed in the book were dried up and we both ran out of water. It was a hot walk along rock slabs on a ridgeline. I crossed into New York State for good today and let New Jersey behind me.        By the time we hit the road at 17A it was 5pm and we still had 3 miles to go to g3et to Funky Monkey¢s house. So we went to the Bellvale Creamery for ice cream and called Cosmic Jackpot to come pick us up. When we got there, we were greeted by Gonzo, Bear Blaze, LB, and Sanman. Funky Monkey and Cosmic cooked a big dinner for us and let us do laundry. Big thank you to you two for taking in six smelly hikers.Weather: Hot, sunny.
Date: 2010-07-27
From: NY17A, Bellvale,NY

To: Fitzgerald Falls
Miles today: 3.9

7/27: Day 119 ¢        Woke up this morning to the smell of clean sheets and coffee brewing downstairs. If this damned trail has taught me anything, it¢s to truly appreciate the little pleasures in this life. When I got downstairs, Funky Monkey was in the middle of cooking a big plate of French toast with warm peach topping and fresh whipped cream. It was heavenly.        We all spent the morning relaxing and figuring out where and when to head into New York City since we are getting close to it now.        After a big lunch of pasta and garlic bread, Funky Monkey dropped Powernap, Sanman, LB, and I back off at the trail and drove Gonzo and Bear Blaze to The Port Authority bus station in NYC. They are headed to Baltimore to surprise Sarah (Gonzo¢s Sister) for her birthday.        Tarzan joined us and we all made slow progress. We had gotten such a late start today that we all called it quits just four miles in.        We had a big fire tonight to keep the mosquitoes away and listened to classic rock on Sanman¢s wind-up radio. It was a really chill day.Weather: Hot, sunny.
Date: 2010-07-28
From: Fitzgerald Falls

To: Campsite At Mile 1382
Miles today: 15.4

7/28: Day 120 ¢        Sanman, LB, Powernap, and I all got up early to get a head start on our 20-mile day to West Mountain shelter. You are supposed to be able to see the NYC skyline from there and I had visions of sipping the Cosmos that Opus had sent me and watching the sunset.        After waiting until 8:30am and the buys were still not packed up, I just took off on my own. I hate hiking at night and getting into camp late. As the day wore on, I started realizing that I was not going to make it. There were a million ups and downs that were so steep it was hand over hand climbing in spots. This makes the miles come a lot slower. By midday, I was aware that I was not going to make it and decided to take a swim and a siesta at Island Pond. The water was warm and I laid in it for quite a while before getting out to nap in the sun on the rocks. What a life to live!        By 5pm I was only 13 miles into my 20-mile day and I decided to take a detour down the Arden Valley Road to Tiorati Lake to see the view and take a shower at the visitor center. I sipped a very over priced Coca-Cola savoring every bit of it before taking off back on trail. I am now camped on trail waiting for Powernap, Thin Mint, and Ziggy Stardust to night-hike in for the night. Not sure where Sanman, LB, and Tarzan got to today.Weather: Hot, sunny.
Date: 2010-07-29
From: Campsite At Mile 1382

To: West Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: scattered clouds

7/29: Day 121 ¢        Woke up to rain this morning at 6:30am and I scrambled to get my rain-fly on before everything got soaked. We all slept in until 11am today. I guess that is pretty tell-tale of how challenging yesterday was for all of us. Powernap was sick, so I let him sleep as long as possible. We only made it 5 miles today because of the late start and P-nap felling sick still. We hiked with Thin Mint and Ziggy Stardust for a bit until we hit the Palisades Interstate Parkway where P-nap and I went to get snacks and water. Water sources are still dry for the most part out here, so I rely on Visitor Centers and stores at road crossings.        By 4pm, we were humping four liters of water up West Mountain to the shelter. It was a hell of a steep climb. The shelter we are at is 6 miles off of the trail so most hikers don¢t bother to come here. But the view of the Hudson River and the NYC skyline off in the distance was a thing I did not want to miss.        I cooked dinner and sipped one of the Cosmos that Opus had packed in my re-supply for me as the sun set and the stars appeared. It was so beautiful and a night I will not soon forget.Weather: Rain in the morning and hot and humid all day. Cool now that it is evening.
Date: 2010-07-30
From: West Mountain Shelter

To: Graymoor Spiritual Center
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

7/30 Day 122        I got a semi-early start today and made it to the top of Bear Mountain by 11am. There was supposed to be water here, but the grounds keeper said that there hadn¢t been water there in over seven years. All the books (AWOL, AT Companion and the 501 book) all say that there is. Future hikers beware!        Luckily, there was a coke machine and Power Nap used some of the three pounds of change he carries for some reason to buy us sodas. We sat and ranted about what made a pure thru-hiker. Do you follow every blaze; never blue or yellow blaze; are you allowed to slack-pack; do you have to do the approach trail¢¦ect? No conclusions were reached.        At the bottom of Bear Mountain is the town of Fort Montgomery and the infamous zoo that the AT leads through. It was a very limited zoo crowded with people. I spent most of my time looking at the owls since I never get to see them; I just hear them. The whole thing is a bit of a downer though and I especially disliked the caged bald eagle. It was huge and in a tiny cage. All of the animals are injured in some way and wouldn¢t survive in the wild, but which fate is worse? Which would you choose?        Before we left, we got into the community pool to cool off before hiking on to the Graymoor Spiritual Center. We are here with a bunch of other hikers sitting around a fire and relaxing. What an eventful day!Weather: Hot.
Date: 2010-07-31
From: Graymoor Spiritual Center

To: Shenandoah Tenting Area
Miles today: 17.5

7/31 Day 123        I slept in a bit today because I was feeling sick. My body has been fighting something for a little while now. I made it 8 miles before stopping to take a 2 hour nap on the side of the trail. Before I knew it, it was 5pm and I still had 10 miles to go! So I started to haul butt and was immediately delayed by a couple of guys sitting on the side of the trail with a cooler full of beer. They offered me one. How could I pass it up? So me, Power Nap and these couple of guys chatted and drank beer. Score!        By 6pm, it was all business as we rushed to put in mileage before dark. We made it 10 miles in 3 hours and pulled into the Shenandoah Tenting Site just after dark. The water source is a hand pump on the side of a barn and I¢m not sure if I need to treat it or not. No sign¢¦hmmmmm.        Time for bed. I¢m beat.Weather: 80¢s, sunny.
Date: 2010-08-01
From: Shenandoah Tenting Area

To: Poughquag, NY
Miles today: 13.6

8/1 Day 124        I was up and out of camp at a pretty reasonable time and made it to the RPH Shelter in time to catch the thru-hikers that spent the night there last night. I was hoping to make this shelter last night because you can order pizza there. But alas, I just stared at empty pizza boxes while I chatted with the other hikers and signed the shelter log.        In the next couple of hours I passed seven southbound thru-hikers. I see southbound hikers daily these days. Sometimes they stop; sometimes they hike past you as fast as they possibly can. You see, there are many more northbound thru-hikers and every northbound hiker wants to stop south bounders to talk and see what the trail is like up ahead. So naturally, most SoBos steer clear of us NoBos or they wouldn¢t be able to make their mileage for the day.        About 5 miles south of NY 55, Power Nap and I came across some awesome trail magic put there by a past thru-hiker. Thanks Ozigal! We loved the sodas and snacks. After our soda comas, we walked 3/10ths of a mile down the road to hit one of the many deli¢s that are found all along the trail in NJ, NY, CT & MA.        We walked 5 more miles and then hitched into the town of Poughquag to get a hotel and clean up. We are taking the train out of Pawling, NY to New York City tomorrow afternoon. It¢s nice to be clean and watch some TV for a change.
Date: 2010-08-02
From: Poughquag, NY

To: Poughquag, NY
Miles today: 0.0

8/2 Day 125        We got a ride to the train station from the motel owner and narrowly missed the train. So we hung around town doing laundry and eating. The train ride took just over an hour and before I knew it I had gone from the Appalachian Trail to Union Station in downtown New York City. It was quite the culture shock.        Power Nap¢s friend, Nick, met us at the train station and from there we pushed, pulled and squeezed our big backpacks onto one crowded subway train after another. You never realize just how much space a backpacker takes up until you no longer have unlimited space. And you never quite realize just how bad you smell until you no longer have unlimited airy spaces. It was a change to be sure.
Date: 2010-08-03
From: Poughquag, NY

To: Poughquag, NY
Miles today: 0.0

8/3 Day 126        While in New York City, I rode the Staten Island Ferry, saw the Bodies Exhibit, went to the Natural History Museum, drank at McSorley¢s and saw my friend, Sal from Seattle. It¢s been a good couple of days and an incredible contrast to trail life.
Date: 2010-08-04
From: Poughquag, NY

To: Stream at mile 1431.7
Miles today: 0.9

8/4 Day 127        After hiking through Central Park, we took the train and arrived back in Pawling at 10:30pm. We hopped into a cab and got dropped off in the dark at the place where we had left the trail. We hiked about a mile and set up camp next to a quiet, meandering stream. It was a trip to be taking a taxicab back to the trail and hiking by headlamp into the dark woods. This trip has made me feel so self-sufficient. It¢s a good thing to feel. And I think that we lack being able to feel this way when everything we want or need is so readily available to us all the time.
Date: 2010-08-05
From: Stream at mile 1431.7

To: Ten Mile River Camp
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

8/5 Day 128        We had a huge storm last night that made a lot of noise for us. It was pretty cool.         The hiking was easy for us this morning and we made it to the Appalachian Trail Railroad Station by lunchtime. It was interesting to see a railway stop right on the trail.        A few more hours of hiking brought us into Connecticut and to the Ten Mile River just before dark and we set up camp. It was nice to have a river to take a dip in before going to sleep.        I went to bed early with some heavy thoughts and a heavy heart. An old friend of mine from high school (the one I went to visit just before beginning this hike) lost her seven-year-old son in an auto accident. I was there when Ethan was born and he had grown to be the most wonderfully happy little boy anyone could imagine. I am overwhelmed by the anguish that my friend and her family must be going through. I am torn about whether or not to give up the trail to attend the memorial in Dallas, Texas. She is such a dear friend and I so want to be there to give her my love and support. But so many people have invested so much of their time and money into this undertaking of mine that I hate to let them all down by giving up after I¢ve come so far. And if I go to Dallas, I won¢t have the funds to come back to the trail. I feel in my heart that Sarah would want me to finish; she was so encouraging when I was with her. But I hurt so much for her. Death is much different when it is a child.
Date: 2010-08-06
From: Ten Mile River Camp

To: Macedonia Brook
Miles today: 8.6

8/6 Day 129        It was a late start type of morning since we were only trying to make it to Kent, 8 miles away. We got to town before 4pm and I went to the Post Office to grab my re-supply box. Big, BIG thanks to Opus as usual for hooking me up with an awesome re-supply. Thank you, thank you. I could not do this trip without you, man.        We were supposed to stay at a thru-hiker¢s house in Kent, but I guess we dawdled too long and by the time we got there they already had too many hikers. So Power Nap and I hiked out of town in the dark and set up camp just behind tree line from the road.        I guess we¢ll try to make up the mileage tomorrow.