morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-11-07
From: Wiley Shelter, NY

To: Rt. 22, NY
Miles today: 6.0

6 miles todaySleeping in the back of my truckRt. 22, NYI didn't sleep too well at first last night. I think that maybe I had too much caffiene in me before I tried going to sleep. I kept getting my book back out and reading until I got tired. I did that a few times until I finally fell sound asleep around midnight. This was the third night in a row that I've slept in a shelter with no hikers and no mice. I turned over this morning and saw first light out and looked at my watch. It was already 5:20am. The second half of the night went by fast. I finally put on my coffee at about 6am and ate the last of my muesli. I got packed up and was hiking by 7:10am. I had 6 miles to go to where I'm meeting Dr Dolittle this morning.It was an easy six miles. I got to Rt 22 at 9am, an hour early, so I walked the half mile down to Tony's Deli and ate another breakfast. I was going to send in my journal for yesterday, but someone ripped the telephone off the wall...yep, I'm back in NY!! I got back to the trailhead at 10am and sat down to wait on the Dr to show up. It was a very mild morning with the temperature in the upper 30s when I woke up. I left the shelter hiking in just shorts and a short sleeved shirt. I came across a black bra hanging from a tree and had to look around to see if LWOP the Dewdrop was around trying to play another trick on me. That bra would have been a perfect match for the black lace bikini panties he wore for his summit photo on Katahdin. I just took a picture of them and hiked on. Dr Dolittle showed up two and a half hours late...just about when I expected her...about 12:30. I had found a nice tree along side of the road and put my pack against it and then sat down and read until she showed up. I had planned on giving her four hours before I hiked on. We went up to Salisbury, Ct and got my truck, then took her truck back to Rt 22 and drove to near Rt 52 which will give us a thirteen mile day tomorrow. I didn't want to start the Dr and Maggie out with too many miles on their first day. We are going to hike the way Hippie and I did last week...moving our trucks south as we hike and eat at the many fine restaurants along the way. We stopped and picked up some groceries and then stopped for dinner before we looked for the trailhead to park the truck.Another great day on the A.T.
Date: 2004-11-08
From: Rt. 22, NY

To: Rt 52, NY
Miles today: 13.1

13.1 miles todaySleeping in the back of my truckRt 52, NYThis morning was a little confusing trying to get everything ready to hike with the Dr and Maggie. We made coffee and ate breakfast in a cold breezy area. It was warm last night until about midnight, when a cold front came through. We started hiking at 7:15. Maggie was back in her element. She is a great trail dog and puts on at least twice as many miles as the Dr and me. This is the longest walk she's been on since she finished her sobo thru hike last year. We hiked to Morgan Stewart Shelter and ate a small snack and signed the register. When we sat down, we realized that it was still cold out, so we didn't stay long. It never got out of the mid 40s today and a few clouds came in later and brought some wind with them, so it felt even cooler. We hiked on to Nuclear Lake and found a sunny spot to take another break. Once again, we didn't stay too long because we started chilling down. Maggie even went in the lake...too cold for me!! We hiked on up to the cat rocks that overlooks Pauling. I can't believe how much that little village has grown. There's alot more roofs than there was last year. We walked the short distance to Telephone Pioneers Shelter and I got water and signed the register. We hiked on down the hill and passed by the largest tree on the trail...the Dover Oak. It doesn't look as big without any leaves. We finished out the day with another three mailes back to the Dr's truck. I sure do like hiking this way. It's easy and there is always good food at the end of the day. We spotted the Dr's truck back near Rt 52 and then had some time to kill, so we drove up to a pizza place I've eaten in before in a place called Pleasant Valley. It was still good pizza and we have enough left for packing out for lunch tomorrow. We got done hiking so early today that we decided that we would go out for breakfast in the morning since it's supposed to be in the 20s. That will give it a chance to warm up a little, although it is only supposed to get up to 40 degrees tomorrow. We drove down the Taconic Parkway and I recognized a road that went to RPH Shelter, so we went down there and parked at the trailhead parking and stayed there for the night.Another great day on the A.T.
Date: 2004-11-12
From: Tioriti Circle, NY/ Erdman 

To: Tioriti Circle, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayDr and Mrs Erdman's HostelWhitehall, PaTioriti Circle, NY on the trailI made the right choice by not sleeping in my truck and I have to really, really thank Goosebump for letting me come over to her house to recover. It was nice and warm inside and I kept thinking how miserable I would have been sleeping outside last night in the cold and rain.I slept until 10am!!! I have only slept that late a couple of times in my life.Dr Dolittle even came by me when she took Maggie out for a walk and Goosebump was making faces and waving her hands at me because she thought I was awake...I didn't hear or see a thing.I guess that when your body is repairing itself, it needs lots of rest. I'm certain that I had food poisoning because that's what all the simptoms pointed to.Even though I woke up at 10 this morning, I only moved from my bed to the couch and I took my pillows and blankets with me.Goosebump said that I should try to eat something, but my stomach was saying...NO!!!She finally talked me into some plain Cream of Wheat. It didn't smell very good while she was making it, but it actually went down pretty good.I fell asleep again for a while and the next thing I knew, it was lunch time and Goosebump made me more Cream of Wheat.The Dr and Goosebump went into town to look at baby stuff (Goosebump's expecting) and I stayed on the couch. Maggie jumped up and curled up with me and I slept until they got back. I looked out the window and it was dark already. They said that they had been gone over three hours. It didn't seem that long.Goosebump had put together a pot roast with carrots and potatos in a slow cook crock pot and it was smelling pretty good.I took that as a good sign and I joined them for dinner. I was able to eat two servings!! My body may have been under repair getting rid of food poisoning, but it is still on thru hiker eating habits.I had to lay back down for about an hour, but I started feeling alot better.I even got up and we played UNO, a card game.I went to bed at 10:30 with hopes that I'm over this little setback.This is the first day in many years that I didn't go outside at all...I can't even remember the last time I spent a whole day inside. I live outside!!Trail people are the best...thanks for taking such good care of me Goosebump and letting me stay at your place to repair. Thank you too Rainbow Slick, even though you were gone at a conference all weekend. Your wife is a Saint!!
Date: 2004-11-14
From: Tioriti Circle, NY

To: Tioriti Circle,NY
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayStill repairing at the Erdman's homein Whitehall, Pa.Tioriti Circle, NY on the trailI was planning on a 16 mile hike this morning from Wind Gap, Pa to Little Gap, Pa, but I didn't feel like even thinking about walking today.Since the Dr and I wasn't going to do that hike, Rainbow Slick and Dr Dolittle decided to do just a 5 mile hike from Little Gap to Lehigh Gap. When we were just about ready to leave, Goosebump the Snow Princess woke up and said she would like to do that short hike.I wanted to be outside, but no hiking, so I dropped them all off at Little Gap and drove to Lehigh Gap and just sat in my truck and waited on them. I was enjoying myself there and catching up on some emails.They got there in just over two hours which surprised me...I thought they might take longer since Goosebump is about six months pregnant.I started feeling better again and we wpent the rest of the day just messing around their house...some naps, some journaling, some card playing and I uploaded a bunch of recent pictures on my journal.We went out to dinner at a local diner and I had a very good meal.We ended the day playing Hearts, a card game, which I took a royal butt kicking in.I'm getting very tired of not being able to walk, especially right now with all these beautiful days. I know the weather will be getting more wintery and I still have that 600 miles to do yet.Now the Dr isn't feeling so great and I'm ready to walk. I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow.
Date: 2004-11-15
From: Tioriti Circle,NY

To: Erdman hostel/Tioriti Circle on the trail
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayDr and Mre Erdmans home in Whitehall, Pa.Tioriti Circle on the trailI woke up and talked to Rainbow Slick for a while before he had to leave for work. I was feeling much better and hoping to get back to the trail today, but Dolittle had complained about a headache and not feeling 100% last night and when she woke up, she didn't want to leave today. I went down to the local Dunkin Donuts and got some coffee and brought it back to the house. When I finished, I felt like I was getting some of my energy back, so I went into town and resupplied with some things I knew I would need for the trail. I just messed around town and blew about half a day. On my way back, I spotted a little diner and went in and had a nice lunch. When I got back, Dolittle was sleeping, Goosebump had left for work and Rainbow Slick was at work, so I went out to my truck and completely reorganized it. I pulled everything out of it and cleaned it up and put everything back. I spent most of the afternoon on that. While I was doing that, I realized that I was feeling really good and that it even felt better to be outside. Rainbow Slick had a couple of meetings to attend after work and he didn't get back until late. Dolittle, Goosebump and I played UNO and just to keep the peace, I let Goosebump win again. You always have to let Goosebump win. No one wants to suffer the consequences if she looses!! I think I am finally going to start walking again tomorrow...yeah!!!
Date: 2004-11-16
From: Erdman hostel/Tioriti Circle on the trail

To: Trailhead at Arden, NY
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: broken clouds

5.5 miles todaySleeping in the back of my truckTrailhead at Arden, NY I woke up and went to the corner store for coffee after Rainbow Slick left for work. He and I talked for about half an hour while he ate breakfast. When I got back, Dolittle was awake and said that she may not hike again today...uh oh...that didn't sound good. She said that she may just go home after we went back to where her truck was on the trail. When Goosebump the Snow Princess woke up, we all went to the local diner for breakfast. We ended up sitting in there and talking for about 90 minutes. I packed up all my stuff when we got back to the house and put everything in the truck. I was very happy when we finally got ready to leave, but I'm going to miss Goosebump and Rainbow Slick...they were awesome trail angels to let me sit at their house and recover from whatever it was that I had. I promise I'll never call you fat again, Goosebump...at least I'll try not to. Old habits are hard to break. Rainbow Slick may hike with me this weekend if everything works out, so that would be really nice. Dolittle and I left for NY about 11:30am and got to the trailhead at about 1:30pm. I got my stuff in her car and she dropped me off at Tioriti Circle and I hiked back to the truck. It was a short day, but I just wanted to see how I felt...no problems!!! I felt fantastic!!! Dolittle decided not to walk any today, but plans on doing a short day with me tomorrow. We'll just walk from Rt 17 to Rt 17A, which is about 12 miles. It had snowed while I was under repair and there was still some snow and ice left in the shady areas of the trail. The leaves that were making it harder to walk before, weren't too bad after this snow. The heavy snow flattened out the leaves enough that I could see most of the rocks that had been hidden. I wasn't stepping on rocks all day and twisting my foot in all different directions. It felt so good to be walking again. My legs just wanted to fly down the trail, but I was very conservative just to see how things would go. I walked slow and it still only took me two hours to walk the 5.5 miles. I stopped at Fingerboard Shelter and took a short break. I wanted to sign the register, but there wasn't any. I was really enjoying Harriman State Park again. I walked over a few small bumps of about 300 feet and then came to the rock formation known as The Lemon Squeezer. It's just wide enough to get your body between a crevis that's about 30 feet long. It would be very easy, but it's tilted so that you have to go through it leaning on the rocks the whole way. I played around in those rocks for about 5 minutes before I hiked on. I just kept walking slowly and before I realized it, I was already back at the truck. Well, I worked up quite an appetite, so we headed for the local diner and I had 1/2 a roasted chicken...ummm, ummm, good. We found a trailhead and parked for the night. I made it back to the trail!!! Yeah!!I was afraid it might be longer, but I think I only took four zero days.Another great day on the AT.
Date: 2004-11-17
From: Trailhead at Arden, NY

To: Rt 17A trailhead, NY
Miles today: 12.0

12 miles todaySleeping in the back of my truckRt 17A trailhead, NYDolittle and I slept in until about 7am. I don't know why, but we just didn't want to get going this morning. We stopped and ate breakfast on the way to the trailhead and finally started walking at 8:35. It was a beautiful morning and turned into a gorgeous day. Dolittle was tired, but I felt very good. Maggie and me kept leaving Dolittle and when we would get to the top of a mountain, we would wait on her to catch up. We stopped at Wildcat Shelter and took another break. I finally got to sign a register. There haven't been any in a while. I think we ended up staying there about 30 minutes and I didn't realize it until later, but Dolittle was thinking about turning around and going back because she was so tired. We hiked on past Fitzgerald Falls and I stopped to watch it for a while and got a few pictures. Dolittle caught up again and we hiked on up to Mombasha High Point and took another break. When Dolittle got there we stayed for another 15 minutes. It was so mild out today that it was just hard to keep walking without all the stopping to enjoy the day. We hiked down that mountain and then back up to the top of Arden Mtn and I had to wait for 10 minutes before Dolittle caught up to me. Maggie was having a blast today running all over the place. I think she must have had alot of energy stored up waiting on me and my body to repair itself. Maggie enjoys the trail more than any trail dog I've ever seen. We hiked down Agony Hill and crossed Rt 17 and got Dolittle's truck and went and picked up mine. I didn't see any other hikers out on the trail again. That is becoming normal and it's always a surprise if you do run into someone. When I do see anyone, it's usually a day hiker and usually on the weekend...too bad they can't make working people work 7 days a week. Eh, heh, people that know me, know I'm just trying to pull your chain, so don't get in an uproar....6 1/2 days a week is plenty!! Dolittle is hiking one more day with me and we plan on walking from Rt 17A in NY to Rt. 94 near Vernon, NJ tomorrow before she leaves for her home in RI. There are no leaves left on the trees anymore which I like because I can see more views and I can see where I'm heading to. There were alot of small, but steep ups and downs today with a few small scrambles which I really enjoy. The leaves were very slippery on the steep downs, but I kept my feet under me all day without sliding down a mountain. There was very little snow left on the ground and Maggie helped get rid of some of that. When she got thirsty and there wasn't a stream around, she would just eat some of the snow. I only have about 6 miles left to hike in NY and then on to NJ.Another great day on the A.T.Og yeah, Moosie wants everyone to know that he never stopped trying to catch a leaf and that he finally caught an honest to goodness leaf...by accident!! Way to go Moosie!! I always knew you could do it!! Now, let's see how long it takes you to catch another one.
Date: 2004-11-22
From: Culver's Gap, NJ

To: Culvers Gap still
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayCulver's Gap, NJ (that's where I'm at on the trail when I start walking again in a few days) I woke up at 4:40am and checked my watch...I couldn't believe it was morning already. I woke Hippie up so she could start walking with first light since she's trying to make some miles to catch up with me. I walked from Bull's Bridge to the bridge across Ten Mile River with Hippie. When we got to Ten Mile River, she kept going and I walked back to the truck. On the way there, I saw a hiker coming north on the trail that I instantly recognized as a friend from last year...Fantasy Feet. It was good seeing him again. He must have slipped by me on the trail when I was sick for those four days last week. We talked a while and I told him about the article in National Geographic Magazine that talked about his hiking on the A.T. He hadn't heard about it yet, but was glad to know about it. He said that if his daughter read the article that help get her hiking again. I spent my day driving to trailheads and taking Hippie food and drinks, so she could make as many miles as possible. I met her at Duell Hollow Rd, Rt 22, Rt 55, Stormville Mtn Rd and finally at Rt 52 where she ended her day by covering 25.4 miles in total...not too bad for a young girl with a pokey butt!! I had a good time because I spent the day catching up on some reading and journaling and doing trail magic even though she was the only one that got the trail magic. She would come flying into the area I was at and wanted food and a Mountain Dew and I would give her that stuff and get her moving again. If she can keep these miles up for about five more days, she'll be caught up to where I'm at on the trail and we can start hiking the rest of the trail together again. We went to a little restaurant and planned out tomorrow's hike while we ate and when we went back to the trailhead to sleep, it didn't take long before she was sound asleep.
Date: 2004-11-23
From: Culvers Gap still

To: Culver's Gap, NJ
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayCulver's Gap, NJHippie got up early, but didn't start hiking until 7:30am. It took her a little longer to get ready this morning. She made about three glasses of hot tea and ate three bananas.She headed south from NY Rt 52 on the trail and I went to a local deli and had an apple muffin...Ha!!! This is nice.I drove to Miller Hill Rd and met her near RPH Shelter and gave her some food and drinks and then I met her again at Long Hill Rd, NY Rt 301, Dennytown Rd and finally at Old Albany Post Rd.I kept bringing more stuff to eat and more drinks during the day. I have almost as much fun doing this trail magic stuff as I do hiking.She got in another 20 plus mile day and keeps getting closer to where I'm at on the trail in NJ. I am having a hard time not walking right now through all this beautiful weather, but it will be nice next week when she catches up to me at Culver's Gap, NJ and we can both start walking south again.I took her to a local diner and then she hit the sack early again because she still has lots of miles to walk tomorrow and she is very tired.I keep forgetting to say that when I took Hippie up to start walking in Ct the other day, I stopped in to the local outfitter in Kent, Ct and he fixed my broken Leki hiking pole for free!!
Date: 2004-11-24
From: Culver's Gap, NJ

To: Culver's Gap, NJ
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayCulver's Gap, NJI'm still slacking Hippie through NY right now. I woke her up at 5am, but she wasn't ready to get up yet. I can't say that I blame her because she has really been putting in alot of miles trying to catch up to where I got off the trail at in Culver's Gap, NJ to wait on her.She finally started hiking a little after 9. It wasn't raining then, but it started not long after she started walking.I found a Wal-Mart and resupplied with some of the food that we needed and then went back and waited for her to show up at Tiorati Circle.She was about 20 minutes late and I was getting a little worried, but I saw her coming down the road to where I was parked at and she looked happy to be walking in the rain. It was very wet, but fairly mild with the temperature in the low 50s.I had her food all layed out for her in the front seat of the truck and I had the truck running with the heater on.I felt bad when she was all done eating and had to put on the wet and cold rain jacket, but I still booted her out to walk in the rain while I sipped coffee and read some of my book. Maybe I didn't really feel all that bad...after all, she only had about five miles left.I went down to the trailhead at Ny Rt 17 and climbed in the back of the truck and took a nap. Next thing I knew, she was there and woke me up. This trail magic stuff is tougher than I thought.We drove down to Hippie's boyfriend's house in NJ and we both got showers and went out for dinner before we went over to Hippie's mom and dad's house. It was 10:30pm before we got there. I had just enough time to say hi to her dad before I went to bed.Hippie's parents were kind enough to invite me to their home for Thanksgiving. Tomorrow's a zero day for Hippie and I'm glad it worked out that way because she has been doing alot of walking trying to catch up to me. If it was almost anyone else, I might feel a little sorry for them having to walk so much, but this is Hippie. If it was me having to walk that much, she would just say; "Come on old man, let's get it movin'."I guess that's why I keep telling her to get that pokey butt movin'.