morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-25
From: Delaware water gap

To: Campsite
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

7/25Delaware water gap to campsite10.5 milesTentHello from New Jersey!  It was fun to cross another state line today. I haven't done that in a long time. We had a leisurely breakfast at the Water Gap Diner (a fine establishment) and then JD dropped me off back at the trail. Which was pretty spectacular all day. It started with a long bridge walk across a good sized river. Then a pretty walk up to the top of a ridge. First it followed a trout stream, then it veered off into pretty ferns and attractive rocks of an appropriate size for sitting. My favorite!I stopped at lunchtime to eat the banana I had carried in. I got a weather report calling for severe thunderstorms so I stormproofed the pack and got out my wet weather gear. I wonder how the many dayhikers would deal with the downpour. Most were skimpily dressed and not carrying much. Not my problem though. I traversed the rocky shore of the beautiful Sunfish Pond as rain started to fall. Suddenly the volume of dayhikers dropped off. Heh. Shortly after the pond I saw four bears within about fifty feet. One on the left scrambled off into the bushes after staring at me nearsightedly from a blueberry patch.  Then very soon a momma and two babies crossed the path in front of me and took off downhill. Jaywalkers!  As the trail and the rain went on, I walked over a beautiful hilltop. It wasn't quite a bald. There were well spaced attractive trees, rocks, and grasses. It would have made a great campsite but it was too early to stop. I had thought to stop at the Mohican Outdoor Center, but I found I had plenty of water at the end of the day. And more importantly the deli would be closed by the time I got there. What's the point if I can't get a sandwich?  Instead I found a lovely and obviously well used campsite. I'll get water at rattlesnake spring tomorrow. My food is hung with exquisite care, as are my toothpaste and shampoo. I'm taking no chances with the density of bears in the area. I hope I haven't left anything good smelling in my pack. I haven't seen any thruhikers today. All the weekenders left this morning. As a consequence I'm camped alone. I have a feeling I had better get used to it. If the majority of hikers have gone by, the rest of my hike could hold a lot of solitude. Except on weekends.
Date: 2010-07-26
From: Campsite

To: Rattlesnake mtn
Miles today: 12.1

7/26Campsite to rattlesnake mtn12.1 milesTentIt was cool enough last night that my sleeping quilt felt nice and snuggly, not oppressively warm. This morning I ignored the alarm and slept until six, enjoying the warmth of it. The hiking today is as good as it gets in July. The temperature by 11 am is still in the low seventies. There is a cool breeze. The terrain is beautiful and varied. Even the air smells good with the perfume of flowering plants. I've walked over mountain tops with great vistas, and beside scenic ponds. I saw a bear but didn't have time to take a picture. Maybe later. Unfortunately my hips and knees are extra achy today. I've taken advil. Otherwise I wouldn't come close to my hoped for ten miles today. So far it hasn't helped much but I have hope. Later: the advil worked great. I could have gone on but I'm hoping to go to a steakhouse for lunch tomorrow and there is no point in getting there at 9 am. Plus I lucked into a great campsite at the top of this mountain. I appear to have set up the tent on top of ants and/or termites, but other than that it's ideal. Hopefully the bugs get bored and go away. I was bummed at dinner to find that my rolls have molded. I feel like I might run short on food before I get to Unionville. It's not a good feeling. It also looks like I may run low on electricity. I'm cutting back on my audio usage. Ah well. Can't have everything. These minor issues aside, today rated a ten for me. Fantastic weather and great scenery made for some primo, a-one hiking.
Date: 2010-07-27
From: Rattlesnake mtn

To: Mashipacong shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

7/27 take twoRattlesnake mtn to mashipacong shelter14.6 milesTentI am back in the groove. A couple of weeks of hiking are required to make this happen, and they're over now. My boots feel good, I'm really enjoying the scenery and animals, and my tent and sleeping pad feel like home.  Ahhhh. All morning I thought about how I wanted to stop at the steakhouse at the road crossing. I was very sad when I got there and found it closed. I instead went to Joe To Go and consoled myself with a BLT, kettle chips, two cokes, a banana, and a doughnut. And a bagel to carry for later. At the next shelter I stopped to fill up on water for the stretch between there and High Point state park. However the spring was dry. Agh!  I had some water, but not enough for fifteen miles. It made me feel slightly panicky. I told myself to settle down. Maybe there would be trail magic. If not I could always call a cab and go somewhere to get water. An hour or two later I ran across a trail maintainer who gave me water. Magic!  I was so, so grateful. I moved on, secure in my water needs. Unfortunately, I found no place to stop. Usually there are frequent, regularly used campsites. Not today. I kept walking and arrived at the shelter just as dark fell. I immediately stowed my food in the bear box and set up my tent with the very last of the light. The last shelter had a persistent bear - one with a limp and an ear tag. That means it's been a problem before. I hope this shelter doesn't have visitors tonight. I'm really tired and need my rest. Though I wouldn't mind the company of other hikers. I'm camped alone again. I'm in my tent in the clearing in front of the shelter. There are mosquitoes, and though it provides no real protection I feel safer from bears in my tent. My logic is that they'll make some noise against the tent first so I'll be able to wake up and defend myself rather than just waking up to a bear standing over me in a shelter. Yikes!
Date: 2010-07-28
From: Mashipacong shelter

To: High Point state park
Miles today: 5.5

7/28Mashipacong shelter to High Point state park5.5 milesMotelI slept like crap last night. As far as I know, no bears came by. But that didn't stop my subconscious and the bright moonlight from waking me repeatedly. I was pretty tired when I finally got up at 6:30. The privy door wouldn't open this morning. I can't imagine why. Did I somehow lock it last night? Why would you put a door that could do that on a privy?I did all my other packing up before getting my food from the bear box. I sorted out some snacks for the day, then took the time to eat my bagel since there was still no bear. However when I got out my toothbrush, a big bear showed up. So no toothbrushing for me. I shoved the toothbrush back in the pack and took off. Dang bears. Other hikers tell me they've seen no bears, or one. That sure isn't my experience. This morning's was number nine in the state for me. I find this extra unsettling because I'm always camped alone. At this point I can't wait to get to New York just because I think there will be fewer bears. I felt so tired today after my restless night. I determined to go to a motel for a good night's sleep if I could. Maybe even take a zero. And so here I am at the High Point Country Inn. And it's pretty nice so I'm taking that zero. Even better, Blue Sky is here for the night so I got to spend time with her and Bismark, which was delightful. I had a short day because the Inn only picks up from NJ 23. Doesn't bother me!  I was happy to stop at noon. I lounged about all afternoon and generally enjoyed inactivity. Hiking gives me an enhanced ability to enjoy sitting still. I've also continued to enjoy the wild blueberries and raspberries. The wild blueberries pack such a wallop! Delicious.
Date: 2010-07-30
From: High Point country inn

To: Pochuck Mountain shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: scattered clouds

7/30High Point state park to Pochuck mtn shelter14.1 milesShelterNoted from a list of state park rules today: "Unduly annoying conduct is prohibited." Somehow I think most people ignore that one. The Inn owner gave me a ride back to the trail and I got started around 7:20. It was an utterly beautiful day with cool temperatures and blue skies. I saw a fair number of other hikers. And in fact when I stopped in Unionville for a snack there were a *lot* of hikers. It was pretty cool. There were several miles worth of boardwalk, which I found to be enjoyable as a change of pace. Mostly it was just easy walking. The rocks dropped off after High Point shelter. I'm in a shelter with Winging It tonight. First night camping with someone in NJ!  I'm enjoying having company. It makes the squirrels sound like squirrels, not bears. Also I didn't see any bears today. Yippee!
Date: 2010-07-31
From: Pochuck Mountain shelter

To: Wawayanda shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

7/31Pochuck mtn shelter to Wawayanda shelter11.6 milesShelterWarning: content intended for immature audiences. May not be appropriate for mealtime consumption. Today was all about poop. Needing to poop, trying to find a place to poop, cursing all the dayhikers around who made it impossible to find any privacy to poop. When you need to poop and you can't, it's pretty much all you can think about. (as a bodily function aside, my coffee flavored gel shot today looked uncomfortably like semen. )My situation started to become dire on the way up Wawayanda mountain. It is steep and rocky, so just trying to get off the trail is hazardous. And since it's Saturday (I'm pretty sure) there were dozens of people coming and going on the mountain. Or given today's topic I should day ascending and descending. I finally found a large rock to go behind. It would only protect me from people coming from one direction, but I managed to time things correctly so that direction worked for me. Digging a hole was interesting. About two inches down I hit rock. So not so much with the deep hole. I scratched out a shallow hole as best I could. It was still better than what others had done. There was plenty of tp on the ground at the base of the rock. My sad little hole in the ground proved to be wholly inadequate. By the time I found my little poop haven, internal matters had progressed far beyond the ordinary. Instead of poop, my bottom produced something in the nature of an eruption. Escape velocity was quickly reached. The poor cathole sat lonely while my poop lava spread over the rocky landscape like a stinky pyroclastic flow, destroying all in its wake. I had to do remedial digging. So it was pretty much a banner day. Probably related to my pooping experience, my guts were painful all day. I don't know what I ate or drank to cause myself such discomfort. Maybe it was a stomach bug. At any rate, I hurt from the liver down. And I was tired and cranky. I was super happy to get to the shelter tonight and be done for the day. It wasn't even five o'clock but boy was it nice to stop. Tomorrow there is a shelter in twelve miles or a town with a motel in ten miles. If it's raining as the forecast suggests it may, I think you can guess where I will choose to stay.
Date: 2010-08-02
From: Greenwood lake

To: Campsite past Little Dam Lake
Miles today: 10.0

8/2Greenwood Lake to campsite past little dan lake10 milesTentIn the morning I woke up feeling like I'd been mugged by the state of New York. I had slept solidly through my alarm. My feet were so swollen that it hurt to hobble into the bathroom. I felt utterly beaten, dispirited, and homesick. I contemplated taking a day off. I made a cup of caffeinated coffee, unusual for me. It got my heart racing but didn't make me feel any more alert or energetic. I very slowly set about packing up. It gave me a little boost to toss the New Jersey Companion pages and New Jersey map. And I left out the latest book which I finished last night. Between that and the small amount of food I'm carrying, the pack feels unusually light. Also as a special treat I switched to a fresh pair of socks.Finally at eight I sighed and fished out the taxi company number. They had no problem with a nine AM pickup. I sort of wish I had called them yesterday, but then again I needed to make several stops on the way through town so a taxi wouldn't have worked well. I was a little worried about the pinnacles and cat rocks, but some considerate soul put a blue blaze around most of the rocks which I gladly took. I find that I have a full on hiker appetite today. As far as I can tell I could keep eating indefinitely and still feel hungry. Not good when you're carrying limited supplies. I'm going to have to exercise some discipline. I've been passing a profusion of old stone fences, walls, and foundations. It makes me think about the lives of the people who built them. And about what the original inhabitants of the land must have thought when the walls sprouted up. I imagine it might have been pretty startling, like going out to the back forty and finding crop circles. I came upon most excellent trail magic at West Mombasha road. First, a trail angel cooler with a few ounces of water left in a bottle. Then two dayhikers asked if I needed water, also. They had *cold* water. And ice!  And barley tea!  My backpack now has a pleasant icy slosh. I have four liters, plenty to let me camp dry tonight. Note to the state of New York: if you want people to only camp in designated places, you should probably designate some places. I've seen plenty of no camping signs, but none indicating it's okay to camp. Squirrels keep triggering the Bear Auditory REcognition System (BARES) but so far all have proven to be false positives after rechecking with BORES (Bear Optical REcognition System).
Date: 2010-08-03
From: Campsite past Little Dam Lake

To: William Brien memorial shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: light rain

8/3 take twoCampsite past little dam pond to William Brien shelter11.7 milesTentAnother hiker showed up last night and stayed up on the peak with me. He turned out to be one of my people (a unix nerd!) so we had lots to talk about. It was the longest conversation I've had since I got back on the trail. The campsite and the company were both amazing. It was exactly like what camping on a thruhike should be like, according to my head. And very different from my usual. Morning found me tired. Ginny Owen thinks I need a fattening meal and I think she's right. I had no energy for the first two hours. It all came together eventually but I dragged so hard until about 9 AM. Arden and Fingerboard mountains were surreally beautiful.  They had short green grass growing all over which gave the area a sort of groomed Disney look. And there were cheeky squirrels and chipmunks galore. There were plenty of healthy looking deer, too. With the exception of me panting and puffing and having a migraine, everything was just as pretty as it could be. I stopped at a pond to eat lunch and gaze at scenery. A couple come to kayak gave me orange juice and cherries, and tried to give me potato chips but I demurred. I love accidental trail angels. After Fingerboard mountain I walked down to Lake Tiorati for water and vending machine snacks. Then I got a wild hair and decided to take a side trail back to the AT. Except they had removed the trail. So I had to use my mad skills to find traces of the old trail. I thought I might be a little crazy, taking off an unmarked, unused trail. The experience turned out to be immensely satisfying and a great deal of fun. It made me feel free, like I had shaken off chains I didn't even know were there. I'm going to keep an eye out for other alternative trails. Goshen mountain was notable for multiple rock formations reminiscent of breaching whales. The resemblance was uncanny. I'm camped near a really nasty shelter tonight. It needs serious rehab. But the camping is nice. I've been enjoying the antics of the many chipmunks. Gorp, who I met at Wawayanda shelter, is also camped here, as is section hiker Joe. Joe says there is a chance for aurora borealis tonight. I hope so! I would love to see that again. I assume the sun has gotten active. The scientists at work should be thrilled. Tomorrow should be a shortish eight or nine mile day into town to get a maildrop and stay in a motel. And I really hope I get to do laundry. The situation is getting serious.
Date: 2010-08-04
From: William Brien memorial shelter

To: Bear Mountain
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: mist

8/4 take twoWilliam Brien memorial shelter to Bear Mountain8.8 milesMotelAgain it took me a long time to get up to speed this morning. I don't know if it's always been this way and I never noticed. Maybe the difference is I now have a speed to get up to. Either way, I feel very tired in the morning compared to the afternoon. Which just seems wrong, you know?  Morning is when you should be most rested.  But inevitably I feel more energetic in the afternoon. So I struggled up rockpikes and sweated. A lot. I sweated so much today that my pants felt like I'd been rained on. I actually pulled my platypus bag out of the pack to make sure it wasn't leaking. Nope. I was just sweating that much. It made more sense later when I checked the heat index and it was 97. And that was at 6 pm. Bet it was higher earlier. I took a risk and skipped getting water at the visitor center on Palisades Parkway. Luckily I came across a stream with a few puddles left in it soon after. I added a liter to my stash and felt safer. And I never did run dry today so it was all good. Bear mountain turned out to be an anticlimax. On the profile it looked rough. The reality was a lot of roadwalking and recently maintained trail. Fine by me. I liked the break from sheer rock and badly eroded dirt. At the base of the mountain I had hoped to get a good meal at the Bear Mountain Inn. It was supposed to open in 2010 following renovations. And the website made it look open. The chain link fence surrounding the whole thing was a disappointment. Renovations appear to be stalled. I settled for sodas, a hot dog, and a pretzel at the merry-go-round. After that break I gathered up my gear and finished walking through the park to the road. I got a taste of the thruhiker celebrity experience as people stopped me to ask questions and then wanted to shake my hand. I was glad-handing like a politician. I may have kissed a baby. I called the owner of the Bear Mountain Bridge Inn and he came to get me. I had thought of zeroing here, but with no grocery store or laundry the idea is less appealing. I'll move on tomorrow. My clothes are pretty nasty. I hope to find a laundromat soon. Luckily there is a restaurant nearby. I was able to finally get the steak I've been craving. I ate a lot of steak, for me. It was exactly what I wanted. I also had maildrops from Mom and JD. Thank goodness for Mom's box. Between that and shopping at a gas station, I have plenty of food to get me to a real supermarket.
Date: 2010-08-06
From: Greymoor Spiritual Center

To: A totally legal campsite, I'm sure
Miles today: 15.9

8/6 2Graymoor Spiritual Life Center to a totally legal campsite, I'm sure15.9 miles?TentI met a few thruhikers yesterday, including Ups, Herro, Crazy Fox, and Yumyum. There are others whose names I don't know yet. They all seem very nice and funny. My goal for today was to get to Clarence Fahnestock state park before the concession stand closed. I didn't make it, but the ranger gave me a menu and I ordered a pizza for delivery. And two liters of coke. So at 5:30 in the evening I had a liter of coke. The pizza tasted great for two slices and then I lost interest. All this eating out means my enormous food bag is staying enormous. I can't resist the compulsion to get fresh cooked food if I can. The actual hiking today was fairly nondescript. The only thing of note were enormous granite stone walls, and lots of them. They looked more like public works than the typical farmer's wall. Well, all the hiking except the last two hours. The area set aside for thruhikers at the park is a twenty foot square unlevel side yard adjoining the registration cabin. Every car in the park drives right past it, and the Taconic Parkway roars nearby. It was an utterly unpleasant place to camp. So I decided not too. I had walked on the road for a mile to get there. I knew there wasn't a legal campsite for six AT miles. I didn't want to backtrack so I checked my map and found an unmarked trail leading north to rejoin the AT. It was overgrown and mostly abandoned, but I made it work. Hopped up on caffeine, I zoomed over fallen trees and through bushy growth. When I got back to the AT I turned north and lit out. I did not make it to the Shenandoah campsite before it got dark. I did, however, find an established campsite beside the trail. I hung my food and got the tent up just as blackness fell. Cicadas are singing to me comfortingly. If the caffeine ever wears off I should sleep like a baby. My detour and lack of precise location means today's mileage is a big guess. I'm counting my offtrail hiking since that's how I got here. I fall farther from purity every day. Funny, though, how I don't remember "Did you count non-AT miles on your thruhike?" on any of those purity tests I took in high school and college.
Date: 2010-08-07
From: A totally legal campsite, I'm sure

To: RPH shelter
Miles today: 2.9
Weather: clear sky

8/7 3A totally legal campsite to RPH shelter2.9 milesHouseI didn't realize that I had camped immediately before the summit of Shenandoah mountain last night. After  I packed up this morning, I walked a few feet and tada! Vista. I hadn't walked a mile before I ran into Peter Kimball and his dad Chris walking southbound to meet me. Peter immediately plied me with a cold coke. Heavenly!  They walked with me to RPH shelter so I could sign the register and we could figure out what to do. On a side note, I saw that Scapegoat had signed the register and mentioned it out loud. I heard "Hi Mrs Joy" from inside the shelter!  I had seen him but not recognized him!  He has trimmed his beard and lost so much weight that he looks totally different. Anyway, I really wanted to do laundry so we went back to the Kimball residence. Fran immediately started feeding me delicious food. It hasn't stopped yet. So totally awesome. And Chris offered to slackpack me for a few days. I have never really done that and I'm eager to try. Our plan is three days of slacking, at the end of which I'll be in Kent for a day off. In the meantime I'll stay at the Kimball home. I owe Chris, Peter, and Fran many thanks for this huge favor. Being able to hike with a small load, sleep in a bed, and shower daily are all amazing things to me right now. Plus the family has a quick witted, rapid fire conversation that is a joy to participate in. I felt comfortable with them right away and I'm looking forward to a few more chats while I'm here. Today was sort of like a day off with less than three miles walked. I feel very sleepy nonetheless. In fact I have all day. I think this house has a nap monster in it. Peter verifies the phenomenon. So I am going to go snooze the snooze of the very happy. Good night, world!