morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-15
From: Camp Road, Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 20.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a very rough day. I actually seriously considered going home today. But I know there would be days like this, so I just had to suck it up. The heat wasn't as bad as it has been. The trail was mostly a ridgewalk today. What made it so bad is that I was sick as a dog. We found a old fashioned water pump with ice cold water in the morning. Stick said it tasted like crap, but I'm stopped up so I couldn't tell. I was pulling ticks off of me left and right today. I even pulled a deer tick off. From where I pulled it off is privleged information. Rest assured, it was not good. I will have to watch for the bulleye rash, if I catch Lyme disease, that could be a hike breaker. Late in the afternoon, I stopped at Brink Road shelter for water and Stick continued on. I found Water and Wave at the shelter, who were there for the night, but I stopped just long enough to pump some water and continued on to the gap. I caught up to Stick and we walked together the rest of the way to Culver's Gap. He says I'm sounding worse.We ate supper at the Sunset Grill at the gap. No free pop refills, expensive and lousy service. But it was a hot meal. We ate and continued on to the shelter. The last three miles was torture. My head felt like it was going to explode. We finally made it to the shelter. Stick went and got the water since he owes me about five times. Here tonight with us are Flip, Frenchie and El Jefe. After I got some fluids in me, I felt a little better. It is cool tonight, which is a pleasant change, but the bugs are out, so I'm tenting.
Date: 2005-06-16
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: Highpoint Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

I didn't sleep very well last night. Stick actually had to wake me up. I took forever to pack up, since I really didn't want to walk today. I walked most of the day by myself. When I got to Mahipacong Shelter, I took a short break. At the road past the shelter, there was jugs of water and pop. I filled up my water bottle and drank a can of pop, which gave me a little more energy. Not too long after, it started to rain. Not too bad, but the overgrown bushes on the trail got me more soaked than the actually rain. Gotta love those carwashes. It didn't rain for too long, and the sun came back out. I found a nice rock to lay out on and dry out. I got down to Highpoint State Park around one or so where Stick was waiting. We took a long break to water up and rest. He left a little before I did. I stopped at the shelter just a few miles up the trail to sign the register, thinking Stick was there, but he wasn't. I was just going to take a short break. Summer came in and I ended up talking to her for about 45 minutes. Summer is a 7th grade science teacher doing the trail in sections during the summer. I left, and I had only walked about 5 minutes when it started to pour buckets. I really didn't feel like walking all the way to the secret shelter so I turned around. I'm sure Stick would figure it out. The miles I missed today are mostly downhill so I'll make them up in no time. Met the PA pods today, four guys who started March 28th. Yes, we are getting passed like crazy by tons of thruhikers, but we don't care.
Date: 2005-06-17
From: Highpoint Shelter

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 24.2
Weather: overcast clouds

It was pretty cold when I woke up this morning. Nothing dried out overnight. I was up at six, packed, ate and hit the trail practically running. The miles flew by. Some of the trail went through some farm fields. When I reached the edge of the field, it was lined by a fence with hedges which I could not see over. I stepped up on the stile and when my head popped over the top, a big dog jumped up in my face, barking ferociously. Gave me a real good scare and I hollered real loud. (Actually, I screamed like a little girl, but let's keep that between you and me)   I was in Unionville by 9:45, keeping a 3mph pace the whole way there. It was all downhill to town except for one short uphill. I walked the half mile to the general store, where I bought a roast beef sub and a liter of pop. I sat out on the curb and ate with much gusto. I felt like I was king of the world. Back on the trail, I was moving a little slower due to my full stomach. Luckily the next section of trail was really easy. It started on an old railroad bed, then through some fields, a road walk, and then along a marsh/bird refuge. Very easy walking. But, like all good things, it comes to an end and the trail went back up the mountain. The climb up Pochuck Mountain wasn't too bad, I was still pushing hard and it flew by. I was at the turnoff trail to the shelter right at noon. It felt good to have 13 miles done by noon. About a mile later, I saw a sign that said H20 to the right. I found a bear box with water, snacks, and lemonade! The rest of the walk was all downhill to NJ 94. A long section of raodwalk had just been rerouted over a marsh by way of a boardwalk. It was very nice. I reached the road at 2:30, having done 19 miles. I walked over to Haven Hill, a country store for a drink and snack before hitching into town to the hostel. I found Stick here, getting ready to go back up the trail, but he sat down with me and we split a cherry pie. I called home, but no one was there so I left a message. Stick convinced me to keep going, since we still had plenty of daylight left. Why not? I guess laundry will have to wait. I only have about one day of food left, which will have to be stretched until we get to Fort Mongtgomery. The climb after the road was brutal. Steep and rocky. One older guy was practically running up the trail, he put us to shame. Made me nauseous. We met buckaroo, who is doing a flip flop ater getting sick in Virginia. With the rain threatening again, we booked it to the shelter. It sprinkled a bit, but we made it to the shelter. Here tonight with us is Ridgerunner Alex, A-Train from 2003. Nice guy. I read his entire journal before coming out here, so it's kind of like meeting somebody famous. To bed without dinner tonight, since I only have one. I'm not all that hungry though. Bugs are out in force tonight.
Date: 2005-06-18
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Campsite, about .5 mi past Buchanan Mtn.
Miles today: 18.4

We wanted to get an early start, but ended up sleeping in, so it looks like 26 is out of the question for today. A-Train told us of the ice cream shop at NY17A, so that is looking like the motivator for today! The bugs really ate me up last night. WE didn't stop at the park offices for water on the way out, which was really dumb. Both Stick and I really had trouble getting it into gear this morning. I think a major factor was not eating dinner last night. Even though I wasn't hungry, it still gives you that energy for the morning. All of the streams are brown, which is due from the tanic acid in the bark of the trees. Perfectly safe to drink, but just tastes horrible. I filtered water for me, then some for Stick since he just has aqua mira, but it didn't get rid of the taste. A little later, we reached the state line trail, which we thought was the state line, so we took our pictures, but two minutes up the trail, we stood corrected. Off in the distance, we could see the NYC skyline, but it was hard to make out since it was a little hazy. The trail was tough today, with lots of ups and downs. Throw in some wicked heat, nasty water and you have the recipe for me being a grouch. Down at the road, we decided to go town; Greenwood Lake, NY, first NY town. We went to Subway, then a gas station for resupply. I called home, talked to Mom, Dad, and Isaac. It was a low point in the hike for me. They all sounded really happy. They said that they were proud of me and I was welcome home at anytime. It wasn't meant as "give up if you want"; more like that I don't have anything to prove to anybody. I don't have to prove anything anyway, I think me walking over 1,300 miles is pretty hardcore. But I've come to far to give up now! I really had trouble holding it together on the phone there.Back on the trail, it was a little better than the morning walk. We passed Fitzgerald Falls, and got a great picture. Someone had left a cooler full of water at a road crossing, so we took a little. At this point, after all the crummy water, it was better than finding a cooler full of pop. We are camping out tonight with the bugs biting. A long day in store tomorrow, all the way to Ft. Montgomery since I only bought food for tonight.
Date: 2005-06-19
From: Campsite, about .5 mi past Buchanan Mtn.

To: Hudson River, Fort Montgomery
Miles today: 22.1

The rain was threatening this morning when I woke up, so we packed quick and were on the trail before seven. Overall, a pretty uneventful day. Had a few big climbs. The days of gradual ups with the switchbacks are gone and have made us soft! We passed the lemon squeezer, which was neat. We met Batman today, who started April 3rd. In the early afternoon, we reached Bear Mountain State Park. It was crowded as an amusement park. We were getting some strange looks, that is for sure. The trail goes right through a public zoo! I was excited at this point, since I have not seen a bear the entire trip. We get to the bear exhibit and guess what? No bears. They are painting the thing today and the bears are in the back. What rotten luck. We stopped for a picture of the empty bear exhibit and then took a picture of our shadows on the concrete. Our one creative moment in five months, ha!Fort Montgomery is right next to the park, so we walked there and decided to get a room for the night. The Holiday Inn was WAY overpriced, 125 bucks a night, so we ended up staying at the hotel across the street that has no phone. To the Holiday Inn's credit, they did let us do our laundry there. They even gave us change! The gentleman at the counter was very kind. Other than the PO and a gas station, there isn't much there. For dinner tonight is dorritos, pepsi, and a coffee cake! Oh, doesn't get much better than that.
Date: 2005-06-21
From: Campsite past Sunk Mine Road

To: Campsite near Nuclear Lake
Miles today: 22.0

We didn't get started until almost 10. It turned out to be a scorcher. Not much going on today. The only thing really keeping me going was the pull of NY 52 and pizza. I really don't remember too much before getting there. We were there around three. Down at the store, we split a large pizza and two liter of pop. I couldn't finish my half, so I packed out the rest. I resupplied for the day, just some gatorade and snacks. The climb to the shelter was not bad at all, just gradual, but still rough on a full stomach. We just stopped for water, which was coming from an old fashioned pump and was ice cold. It was brown, but good. Stick and I decided to get a few more miles done. The terrain was not bad at all. Pretty easy actually, until I started chaffing. We walked all the way up until dark and found a relatively flat spot about 25 yards off the trail. Set up my tent, ate pizza, and fought off bugs in the dark. We are very close to Nuclear Lake, we can hear the frogs. They are out in full force tonight. It was a long day and sleep will come easy tonight.
Date: 2005-06-23
From: Campsite past Bulls Bridge Road

To: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 13.6

The original plan was to get an early start so we'd have plenty of time in Kent, but that didn't seem to work out. We did manage to roll out of bed and get hiking before nine though. It was all up first thing. The heat was pretty tolerable, since the humidity was low. There were some good views from Schaghticoke Mountain. Once we were at the top, it flattened out a bit. The trail snaked back into New York for a mile or two and then finally back into Connecticut for good. That's when the rollercoaster started. Lot's of little ups and downs. We passed an asian man with an army helmet on. I don't think he spoke much english, he just smiled and nodded. There were two more big ups before town. On the first, the trail wasn't marked well near the top. I lost my way several times, slowing me down a good bit. We stopped at Mt. Algo Lean-to for a break. It is right outside of town, so we were planning on staying back here for the night. Nice area, just no privy. Kent is just about half a mile off the trail. We walked down the road, ready for some grub. Kent is your typical New England town. The resturant didn't take credit cards, so we stopped by the post office first to get mail and some money. Waiting there for us was a package from Spoonie with her delicious beef jerky. My parts for my jetboil still had not come in, so I filled out another forward. Back at the resturant, we tore up some food. Prices weren't too bad, just no refills! I think that's a northern thing. After eating, we went to the IGA to resupply. I got some sliced watermelon also. It was alright, wasn't the freshest, but hit the spot. I proceeded to tear up some Ben & Jerry's along with 2 bottles of Mountain Dew. I'll be flying up the mountain. We sat on a bench next to the road in some nice shade for an hour or two, packing our food and watching the locals avoid us like the plague. It was quite entertaining. No laundrymat here, so we continue to stink. Called home on the payphone and then looked around the outfitter, and then hightailed it out of this town in the late afternoon. We thought it be better to do another seven miles to the next shelter instead of going back a couple of tenths to the last one. Especially since it was uphill backwards and we had plenty of daylight left. Tenting close to the shelter tonight; the bugs are out in full force. Passed the 2/3 mark today!
Date: 2005-06-24
From: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to

To: Belter's Campsite
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

It was actually pretty chilly when I woke up this morning. I downed two packs of poptars and a liter of water and was on my way before Stick. It was comfortable starting out, with it being cool and flat for the first several miles. That didn't last long. Soon came the ups; and lots of it. I had to take several breaks. The nice cool temps were rising pretty fast as the morning wore on and pretty soon it was downright hot. Stick caught me around noon when I was stopped at a stream for water. He just passed me right on up. The next four miles to Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to were brutal. It was really hot and the terrain was hard. The whole time I was going up or going down; no more flat. By the time I made it there, I was very discouraged. At the cutoff trail, I met three section hikers from Maine, who I talked to for a while. That cheered me up a little. Stick was here waiting for me, so we took a big break. The water source here is crummy, but I forced a liter down and had some snacks. We still had another five miles to go and I needed my energy. We didn't talk to much during those miles, just listened to our music. There were about four tough climbs, but they had good views, so that helped. We reached the campsite, physically exausted. I haven't been this worn out since Georgia! And the terrain is only going to get harder from here on out. I only hope I can get into better shape real soon! Only two other people at the campsite tonight, but they are very withdrawn. To bed early tonight.
Date: 2005-06-25
From: Belter's Campsite

To: Plateau Campsite
Miles today: 11.4

It was bloody hot today. No other way to really say it. We knew it was going to be a bad today when we started around 8:30; it was already pushing 80 degrees. After hiking for only five minutes, we were passed by Ron? He started on April 1st. Not really sure if that's his name, hardly stopped, just flew on by. The PA Pods caught us soon after. We played leap frog with them most of the day. Lucky for us, the first four miles or so was practically flat. Since it was so hot, we still stopped several times in the shade. Not too much later, we passed a hydroelectric plant on the side of the road. The book says that they have a showerhead on the outside of one of the buildings. After searching for a bit, we found it and took a cold shower. It felt great. Soaked my shirt also, to help keep my core temperature down. A little bit up the trail we came to Great Falls. Nothing too great about it, but it'll make for some good pictures. After that we had the big climb up Prospect Mountain. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I have a lot more energy today and am not dragging as bad as yesterday. The shelter is half a mile off the trail, so we opted not to visit it. There was a steep decent to Lower Cobble Road, where Salisbury, CT was just half a mile from the trail. We walked to town, frying the whole way. There was no shade. Eventually, after several breaks at isolated trees, we made our way to the highly overpriced grocery store with plenty of rude employees to match. We bought bread, ham, cheese, mayo and mustard and a half gallon of orange juice and sat on the picnic tables under the trees. We had a feast. Then I topped that off with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and three Mountain Dews. We spent a better part of the afternoon laying on the grass beside the store, reading, digesting, and letting the heat of the day pass. We both called home and walked back at the trail. It was dusk and very comfortable. Not too far up the trail, we came to the campsite and crashed. It was a rough morning, but a very relaxing afternoon. I'm really looking forward to our zero in a few days, we are well overdue. It has been almost three weeks since Port Clinton and our last one.
Date: 2005-06-26
From: Plateau Campsite

To: Glen Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 13.3

The first thing I did today when I got up was drink the pepsi that I packed out yesterday to give me a caffine boost. I think all it ended up doing was dehydrating me!The first six miles today was all up. It actually wasn't too bad until right before Lions Head. It was a good rock scramble near the top. It was brutally hot today, I was drenched with sweat after about two miles. I met a couple from Maine out for the day. They were just flying by. I met another guy with a dog just a bit later. The dog really growled and snarled at me. The owner just simply chuckled and said, "I guess he doesn't like you". Yeah, well he's not going to like it when he gets smacked across the jaw with my Leki pole if he gets any closer!We stopped at the Riga Lean-to for a break, but it was really buggy, so we conitnued on to Brassie Brook Lean-to, only another mile up the trail. I found another novel there, "Blood and Honor", so I left my recently finished "Fletch" and picked that one up. After we left, we started the climb up Bear Mountain. Towards the top, it got rough. Not much shade at all, we were hiking tree to tree. The open rock faces made it really hot, with the sun beating down on that and the heat reflecting back up on us. Near the top, we met a family out for the day. One of the ladies gave us some fresh cherries, what a treat! At the top, we got out of the sun, but not the heat. Bear Mountain is the hightest point in the state, so we took a few pictures. The decent was very steep. Stick says it is like this a lot in Maine. We met a ton of people headed south, it was like Grand Central. We stopped at Staveges Ravine for water. It was absolutely too hot to hike, so we pulled out our tarps and books and took a siesta. Several weekend warriors passed by; one had a huge cooler strapped to his back! Now that is hardcore. A bit later, Montana, who started 3/26 came up on us. He sat down for a bit to chat. A very nice guy. It was mid-afternoon, so we packed up and soon we were at the Massachusetts border! Then came the next big climb for the day, Race Mountain. It wasn't too bad, except for the last 3/4 of a mile. It was all open rock face and I got fried. Hurried down off Race and took a break at a trail junction. Circus from 2003 came up the side trail and he had trail magic! We each got a powerade. Boy, that hit the spot.Mount Everitt was the last big climb for the day. By this time, clouds had gathered and it had cooled substantially. The climb was steep, but short. Talked to Circus up there for about an hour, then a short mile to the shelter. A huge youth group is here, but they are all tenting, leaving the shelter to just us two. We tried sleeping in the shelter, but after a bit, the bugs got the best me, and I put up my tent in the shelter. Stick decided to keep fighting off the bugs. Not five minutes after I was in my tent, I was out. Around midnight, I heard a bunch of shuffling around. It was Stick, trying to rig his tent in the shelter. He finally surrender to the bugs!
Date: 2005-06-27
From: Glen Brook Lean-to

To: MA 41; Great Barrington, Mass.
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: few clouds

Well, you'd think that since we were headed to town today, it would be easy to get an early start. With a hot shower, real food, and a soft bed calling in the not-so-distant future, a hiker can really be motivated by these factors. That would not be the case for us two today. Didn't get started until almost 8:30. (Most town days, I'd like to be up at the crack of dawn hiking). The trail brought the pain quick and merciless today. It was nearing 80 degrees by nine. A lot of little ups and downs over rock faces that really wore me out. I was soaked in no time and starting to chaffe. We had two options for town; we could either hike the 7.9 miles to US 7 and it would be a single, 3 mile hitch to town, OR we could do a 4.3 mile day, hitch 1.2 miles to South Egremont, and then hitch God knows how far to Great Barrington. Needless to say, we opted for the later. Logistics wise, this probably wasn't the smartest choice, but hey, we are thru hikers, we live in the NOW and deal with issues when forced to. Like I say, "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it". Not the wisest philosophy in life, but it has seemed to work out just fine for me in the wilderness. Well, we reached MA 41, and within 10 minutes we had a ride to South Egremont. There, we called the hotel that we would be staying at because the book said there was possible pickup available. Key word there, "possible". They were unable to get away, so we continued our journey to the hotel by way of our usual method. It took us two more hitches, but we made it. We were lucky today, all three of our rides we had within ten minutes. We are staying at the Monument Mountain Motel and they are very friendly here. It is a nice room compared to what we have had so far in the north. We did all the usual town chores and then it was time to get down to buiness. We ate at the place called Friendly's, it was really good. I think it's a northern thing, I've never seen one before. Resupplied at price chopper, it was so hard to choose. There was soooo much food! We also got a bunch of stuff for the room, since we are zeroing tomorrow. A little later, we went to the gas station for some "provisions". Well, we found out that alcahol is only sold in liquor stores. Stick asked the attendant where we could find one. The man told us one of the most humorous things I have ever heard in my entire life: "Boys, I am going to send you to the Disneyland of Alcaholism."Touche, Mr. Gas Station Attendant. He definitely was not kidding.
Date: 2005-06-28
From: MA 41; Great Barrington, Mass.

To: MA 41; Great Barrington, Mass.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We slept in until about noon. We got up, and walked the 2 miles to downtown. Sent home some maps, sunglasses that I haven't worn since about day two, nalgene and a camera. Stopped by the library to answer some email. We want to see War of the Worlds, but it isn't playing until late, so we'll pass on that. Ate at Friendly's, but wasn't so good this time. There is a bowling alley next to the hotel, so we bowled a few games. We bet a six pack on the first, and needless to say, I got whipped. I won the second game though. Should have made it double or nothing.