morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-07-26
From: Woods near Tiorati Park

To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.6

This morning was nice. I had a really nice little tent site about 150 ft off the trail, up on a knob. I woke up to a nice cool breeze surrounded by a small herd of about 6 deer. The deer woke me up b/c at least 3 of them were blowing at my tent trying to figure out what the strange yellow bubble was doing in their territory. They finally ran off when I stood up to stretch.Today is supposed to be the hottest day in the last two years....upwards of 100 degrees, so I'm taking it a little slower than usual to try and keep my body temperature down. Right now I'm perched on a rock in the shade with an excellent breeze blowing.I ran into Vogue and Mother this morning. I'd not seen Vogue since Kincora down in TN, and Mother since Harper's Ferry, VA. We stopped for a break, and chatted about who was where, who had gotten off the trail, etc. Mother had Lyme's disease, so he had taken a few days off in DWG. Vogue is taking a day off tomorrow. Her boyfriend is coming up for a visit.We flip flopped all day as the temps climbed to a balmy, mild 96 degrees. The climbing today was never ending, reminding me of Georgia. It's been tough. I don't know what I expected from NY, but it was certainly not this kind of climbing. Lots of steep climbs where you are scrambling with your hands, and downs so steep that you are fighting to stop your feet from flying out from under you.There were a couple of nice breaks. Bear Mountain Tower had a soda machine where I downed a coke and two Powerades. I also had to buy a bottle of Dasani since I had run out of water.. At the lodge at the resort I had ice cream, a hotdog, and a hotdog. That was my supper for the evening since it was late afternoon.We headed out and made it to the zoo before 4:30 when it closed. It was a sad zoo, but then I often find most of them sad. The coyote was frantically pacing back and forth in his small enclosure, and the red fox was crammed into a log, clearly frightened of the people. I understand they were all found injured in the wild, but they are clearly healed now...shouldn't they now be returned?I parted ways with Vogue and Mother at the Hudson Bridge. Mother asked if I wanted to go shopping with him, but I told him I wanted to do more miles and would see them on the trail.I'm camped on top of a mountain with an awesome breeze. I could have gone further, but I would have dropped a few hundred feet in elevation and lost my breeze. The humidity is not as bad as I thought it would be, so hopefully everything will be at least partially dry.Until tomorrow........ciao.
Date: 2005-07-27
From: Top of Mountain

To: Woods in NY
Miles today: 15.0

Last night I awoke numerous times to large black carpenter ants running around the INSIDE of my tent. I caught them and threw them out each time, and then carefully inspected the tent each time with my flashlight to try and figure out how they were entering. Much to my frustration, I could not figure out how they were sneaking into the tent to run all over me as I slept. I even threw everything out of the tent and inspected it! Nothing. Needless to say I was tired this morning since the ants continuously invaded my space all night. Hopefully this will not happen again tonight. I don't do well when suffering from sleep deprivation. I'm in my tent right now. I stopped at about 6P and quickly threw up my tent before the next storm hit. I was making no headway b/c I was continuously sitting down under my tarp to wait out lightning and down pours. I try to get down off the ridge to a low spot when it is lightning. I'll keep walking in the rain and moderate lightning, but not when it's popping close like it was this afternoon.I'm lying here itching. The mosquitoes are eating me up! My Deet has given me a bad rash and I can't wear it. I've never been sensitive to Deet before, but it appears my skin is now. It must be age. It is rough getting old.I did not make near the miles I wanted to today, so I'm going to get up early in the morning and see if I can't make some up.The rain is supposed to stop around 8P, and it is only supposed to go uo to 80 tomorrow. I sure hope that forecast is correct. This heat and humidity really saps your energy. It also turns you into a big walking rash....very attractive.I better go see if I can dry out a little. Goodnight.
Date: 2005-07-28
From: Woods near 301

To: View Entry
Miles today: 19.0

I woke up to partly sunny skies, and temps in the upper 60's. The trail gods were smiling down on me...finally! Everyrthing was soaked from the night before, but that was no problem. I would dry everything out when I stopped for lunch.I stopped early, around 10A. I could not pass up the Shenandoah Camping site. It even had a clothes line to hang up everything. This site is by far the nicest designated camping spot I've seen on the trail. It has a huge flat, mowed grassy area, fruit trees, and an excellent water source in its hand water pump.I had an early lunch of Pepperoni and cheese tortillas (cold) and Gatorade I mixed up, while I waited on everything to dry. I really just wanted to dry out the tent. I'll hang the clothes back up tonight.I stopped at the Mountaintop Deli around 2:30. It was well worth the half mile road walk to get to the Pizzeria. I would have sat outside, but since I was one of only two people eating, I decided to eat inside without my usual insect company. They make for lively company, but they have poor manners. The pizza was pretty good, and the kids that worked there were super nice, but the guy that appeared to run the place clearly did not have hikers at the top of his favorites list. I finished and headed up the trail, only to realize about a mile up that I had left my radio at the restaurant when packing. I high tailed it all the way back where it was still sitting on the chair where I had left it. That was two miles wasted for the day due to my pizza induced fog. Oh well.....I headed up the trail, stopped at the next shelter to say hi to a SOBO and his beautiful golden retriever Bailey, and headed on up the trail til a few minutes before dark. I'm camped in the woods near the CT border I believe. I'm now picking up Danbury radio stations, so I know I'm close to home.Time to snooze. Lots of miles to hike tomorrow. Goodnight.
Date: 2005-07-31
From: Salisbury

To: Brassie Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: few clouds

The first day out of Salisbury has kind of been a wash. It started storming at five miles, just as I was passing Brassie shelter. I was hiking behind Easty, who was at the trailhead when I arrived. I'd not seen him in over a month, and we were chatting and catching up on who was where and had left the trail.We ducked out of the rain and into the shelter, and were the only ones there. It continued to rain and lightning hard until about 6:30, so I ate my leftover sandwich while Easty made his dinner. At the rain's heaviest point, Chuckles and Gottago ducked around the corner of the shelter looking like soaked rats. Yayyyyyy..... That sealed my decision. I had not seen this older couple from TN in a few weeks, and they were a lot of fun. I was in for the night.The next dilemma.....mosquitoes. After consulting with Chuckles and Gottago, I finally did something I've never done...I set up my tent in the shelter. Chuckles and Gottago consulted for about two seconds and began setting up their tent, anchored with their boots since it is not free standing. An hour later, Easty began setting his tent up also. We now have three tents filling up this shelter. It is late, and hopefully no other shelter dwellers will arrive for the evening.Goodnight and sweet dreams.
Date: 2005-08-01
From: Brassie Shelter

To: Great Barrington
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: broken clouds

Yesterday was not too eventful. I flip flopped all day with Brother Buzz and his wife Sister Buzz. Lightning, their son, had parked their car at US 7. They were staying at a hotel in Great Barrington, and Sister Buzz was headed home the next morning. One memorable thing was the terrain. The big mountains are back, and we are now seeing the rolling pine New England hills in between. I love hiking up here. The long climbs will still where you out though.The second stand out is the mosquitoes.They are vicious! The last three miles to the road was spent RUNNING as the god awful Mass mosquitoes swarmed along around me buzzing. It was agonizing as I cursed and swatted while jogging at the same time. If not already, the mosquitoe should be the state bird of Mass.I arrived at US 7 before Brother and Sister Buzz, and immediately dropped my pack and and began liberally applying Deet. They arrived and asked me if I wanted to go with them. Welllll,,,,,,,YES! You don't have to twist my arm for a meal and a shower. Away I went!
Date: 2005-08-02
From: Great Barrington

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I've been a little remiss in my journal entries this past week, so I'm going to wrap up this week with a summary. I'm in MA, getting ready to do my first five thousand foot climb since TN tomorrow and will be hiking into VT in the next two days.I spent the beginning of the week hiking through Great Barrington and Lee, MA.today was a zero in Dalton, MA where I also had a food drop. The terrain throughout the week looked more and more like the New England I've been expecting.I hiked into Great Barrington with Brother Buzz and Sister Buzz, and then flipp flopped the rest of the week some with Goat and Buffet.Ciao
Date: 2005-08-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Let me start this off by saying that since Georgia, I have climbed approximately 401,000 feet of elevation, or climbed up and down Mt. Everest 13 times. Let me tell you what...MY FEET KNOW IT! Tomorrow I enter VT, leaving only 3 states, and roughly 585 miles left to hike.The last 3 days have been a bit slow. The ball of my right foot has had issues, swelling to the point I could not get it in my shoe. I still am not sure why. It is swollen now, but feeling better.I spent Friday zeroing in Dalton, MA, to try and get the swelling down. Chuckles and Gottago showed up in the afternoon.   It is always good to see them.I was planning on leaving early Saturday, but Chuckles and Gottago asked me to breakfast, and I could of course not decline. They are novice hitch hikers, not doing it too often, so I gave them a few pointers, and we hitched a quick ride down to and back from the diner.We did a quick 9 miles over to Cheshire where we hitched a ride to the North Adams Wal-Mart. Chuckles and Gottago got some Porta Aqua and I got some Gel inserts for my shoes. We then grabbed a couple of buses and finally figured out our way back to Cheshire.In Cheshire we stayed at the hostel in St. Mary's basement. It was a nice church, and we were the only hikers there for the evening.On Sunday I headed down the trail. Chuckles and Gottago had left about a half hour earlier, but I caught up with them, and we flip flopped throughout the day.We all had lunch together at the top of Mount Greylock, and then headed out. I broke with them a couple hours later and informed them of a restaurant about a mile down MA2. We all jumped up and took off down the mountain.We reached the road around 5P, and collapsed in the yard of a house on the corner. That was the kind of down hill that kills your feet....long and steep. As we laid there, I glanced up to see a woman coming from the house with 3 bottles of icewater for us. She also offered us ice cream, but we informed her we were hitching in for dinner. She had her husband take us to the restaurant.We had a very good "All U Can Eat" buffet at the chinese restaurant, and headed back out to the road to hitch back to the trail. We also realized we had been driven about a quarter mile off the trail and needed to go back and hike it.We got a hitch back even FURTHER from where we had gotten off, and ended up back tracking over a mile to pass each blaze we had missed. It was almost dark when we got back to the trail head, so we hiked in about tenth of a mile and set up our tents near a creek.It was a good day. I did about 14.2 miles Sunday.
Date: 2005-08-08
From: Creek Near MA2

To: Top of Harmon Hill
Miles today: 16.4

I sat on my rock at the MA/VT border and watched in disbelief as the large German Shepard leaped up on its hind legs, planted its forepaws on Chuckle's chest, and viciously bit his forearm. Chuckles threw the dog off him as blood dripped from his forearm.I could not believe this had just happened. The owner had taken the dog off its leash a few minutes earlier, and she seemed fine. Chuckles had even given her a pat as she walked by him. The minute he stood up though, the dog had charged.The owners were horrified, stating this had never happened before. They had told us earlier that she had been abandoned when the found her the year before, so they really did not know her history.Chuckles was not happy (who can blame him) and he let the owners know in no uncertain terms. I got the owners' contact information and looked at the dog's shot records, and Chuckles and Gottago headed on down the trail.The owners had tied Sarah (the dog) to a tree by the trail, and to add insult to injury, she lunged at Chuckles again as he passed. He was furious, but Gottago told him to keep going and they moved on past the dog. The dog was clearly upset, lunging at anyone that tried to pass her.I waited a few minutes and talked to the owners. The wife was crying, and the husband was visibly upset. They clearly loved the dog, and the dog them, but in today's society the last thing you want is for your dog to bite someone. In some states I believe it can even result in your dog being put to sleep.I'm torn b/c I take my dog hiking. Dogs can be unpredictable though, and even the most well trained dog will react to an unknown environment and protect it's owner in a new place.I walked away and glanced back to see two totally dejected owners, and a very upset animal.I camped with Gottago, Chuckles and Africa on Harmon Hill for the evening. What beautiful views of the valley below.It was a tiring day and nice to be in camp a little earlier by 7P.
Date: 2005-08-09
From: Harmon Hill

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 2.5
Weather: light rain

Origin: Harmon HillDestination: Bennington, VTDate: 8/9/05Miles: 2.5HotelI went into town with Chuckles and Gottago for breakfast, and ended up staying the night.My foot is still swelling up a good bit, so I decided to get off of it and ice it up. My hope is that the low mileage over the last week will help it out.We went to breakfast and I headed back to wash clothes and ice up my foot while Chuckles and Gottago ran errands.The day was pretty uneventful. We had lunch at the Top Notch Diner, and I crashed for the rest of the day.My foot is still pretty sore, but hopefully it will get better if I don't push too hard.Goodnight.
Date: 2005-08-11
From: Kid Gore

To: Woods near Stratton Pond
Miles today: 16.5

I woke up this morning to yelling from the other side of the shelter. The section hiker yelled and talked in his sleep all night long. We gave him the trail name "Night Screamer." I did not get the impression he cared for his trail name.I headed out with the sad thought that I would be leaving Chuckles and Gottago, but they did another mile after dinner at Stratton Pond, and we ended up stealthing together about a mile or two further.I've spent about a week with Chuckles and Gottago, and I hope that after a 40 year marriage I have the kind of relationship that they have. They are a lot of fun to be around. They clearly have a lot of respect for each other, and they make a great team. They always look out for one another, although they are both clearly independent, strong willed people. They have a good balance.They are great to watch. They hold hands when they cross streets, and they even go to the bathroom together. Of course I make sure I harass them about this on a regular basis....:-)I better hit the sack. Night night.Climbed Stratton MountainStealth campingHiked with Easty
Date: 2005-08-12
From: Woods

To: Bromley Mountain
Miles today: 12.0

Today was a busy day. Chuckles and Gottago and I stealth camped about ten miles out of town. I had a mail drop in Manchester Center, VT and the needed to go to the grocery store.We got in around noon, and probably would have gotten in a little sooner if someone had not put sodas in a creek, and Chuckles and Gottago had not fallen off the trail. You really have to keep an eye on those two....:-)We hitched into town, and of course went straight to friendly's to eat. The service was incredibly slow, and we were there for almost 3 hours. Unbelievable! We chatted with Africa a bit. He had come in as we were wrapping things up.We hitched down to the PO for my boxes, and then I hitched back again to mail my bounce box. I then met Chuckles and Gottago at EMS, and we followed that up with the grocery store.On our way out of town we stopped to eat again. Just over the last few weeks, my appetite has greatly increased. I'm eating almost double what I was a few weeks ago. I am ALWAYS hungry now!We headed up Bromley Mountain to stay for the evening, and camped at the tent platforms above the shelter.Night all......Stealth camped with Chuckles and Gottago.Chuckles and Gottago fell off the trailSodas in the creekInto ManchesterGotta go so old she had wrinkles on her toesTwo hours at Friendly's where we saw AfricaEMSPrice ChopperPo twice10 miles in and two miles out w/Chuckles and GottagoTon of hikers at EMSHikers all going to party at a cabinFinally met Longhaul
Date: 2005-08-13
From: Bromley Mountain

To: River Bank
Miles today: 15.0

I got SOAKED last night in the continuous heavy rains on Bromley Mountain, so this morning I climbed to the top of Stiles Mountain, found a pile of rocks, and layed everything out to dry. It looked as if I was having a garage sale. Clearly my tent needs seam sealing.There were some tough climbs today, but for the first time in a while we were rewarded by some excellent views. The climbing is probably good since I will be entering the Whites in about a week and a half. New Hampshire and Maine are the toughest two states on the whole trail, with many harsh climbs above treeline. They are also thought by many to be the two most beautiful states. They definitely reduce your mileage, and you have to be much more careful when hiking.Today was a little frustrating. My feet were shot at 15 miles, and I was already limping along at about mile 12. I did find an awesome tent site along a river though, so that brightened up the end of the day since I was able to rinse all the mud off myself from stomping along a muddy trail.It is amazing how many southbound hikers I'm seeing. Ithink I've probably already seen about 30-40. All of them are very pleasant for the most part. Some of them complain about the grumpy, rude north bounders, but I always try to be pleasant and smile.I do have to defend the poor north bounders to some degree of course. By rude, they usually mean quiet and not too social. I think many of the north bounders are getting tired, and they are ready to wrap up their long journey. At the end of a long day they are simply ready to cook and climb into bed to rest. I don't think they intend to be rude, but some of the novelty and exuberance experienced by the SOBOs in their first 500 miles has already passed for the NOBOs.The night is calling. I find myself falling asleep earlier and earlier, and the journal entries becoming harder and harder to get done. Goodnight. Feet are worn out at 15 miles.SOAKED last night. Bad storms.Tent needs sealingSteep climb up Stiles and Peru. Dried tent out.Steep climb up Baker Peak with fantastic view.Meeting a ton of southbound hikers..Lots of 7:23:37 PM hikers also.Saw Thrifty and Easty.Excelllent camp spot by the river with Chuckles and Gottago.
Date: 2005-08-14
From: Woods

To: Woods near Whistlestop
Miles today: 15.0

I came around the corner around noon to see that Chuckles had taken a rough tumble. Those ankles of his are giving him a hard time. He was frustrated, so I whipped out my guide while they hiked on, and saw that the road crossing into Wallingford, VT was coming up in about a mile. Town food could cure ANY ailment.I flew down the trail to catch them before they arrived at the road crossing. I let them know we were hitching in for lunch, and Wallingford had a Pizzeria. They agree it would be a great break, but were doubtful of our ability to get a hitch. I assured them it would be no problem.We crossed the fairly desolate road, and I had a moment of doubt. An old white clunker came around the corner, we put out our thumbs, and it stopped. Not only did it stop, but the guy preceded to unload his whole car and pack it into his trunk so we could fit in the car.Everything in tiny Wallingford was closed except a deli. This was fine with me since they had Pepsi. We finished up and headed up the road. Hitching out was not quite so easy. We ended up waiting over a half hour for a ride, but there were few cars headed in our direction.We hiked on towards 103 until it began to rain heavily. We found tenting spots about a mile up on the mountain, so we could grab a quick breakfast in the morning. I don't think I slept a wink! My tenting spot was horrible, but when you are drenched and tired, you are not too picky.I set up the tent, ate quickly, and was aslep before dark.NotesPassed creepy rock cairns at White rockRain dumped on us again above ravineChuckles fellLunch at wallingford....30 minute hitch out.Ate at deliStopped short of 103 so we could eat at Whistle stopBear Mountain was a tough climb. Chatted with section hikers at top (father and daughter from)Passed bunch of thrus coming down BearSaw like 10 hikers slack packing
Date: 2005-08-15
From: Woods near Whistlestop

To: Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 19.5

Today was very long. Chuckles, Gottago and I slept about a mile above VT103. We had gotten soaked the night before, and finally stopped and set up our tents in the rain.We got up early and headed for the road. The Whistle Stop cafe was a half mile down the road and we had breakfast on our minds. The food was good and we headed out stuffed, stopping to chat with Africa who was walking into the cafe.We headed back to the trailhead and I said goodbye to Chuckles and Gottago. They were going to stop on top of Killington, and I was going to head on over to the Inn at Long Trail to clean up and wash clothes.By the time I got to Mt. Killington my toe was on fire. I had been hiking in wet socks, and the skin was rubbed off my little toe. Man, it hurt.Killington was a tough hike, but the views were gorgeous. I got to the cross trails for Sherburne Pass and the AT relocation. There I had a dilemma.   I have always carried my pack and never blue blazed, but if I I took the Sherburne Pass trail, which was the old AT, I would not have to hitch a mile since it came out across the street from the Inn. I debated for a few minutes, and did my first and last blue blaze.The Inn was great. I saw Brother and Sister Buzz in the parking lot, and Africa. A lot of other hikers were camping across the road in the field, so there were quite a few hikers in the area. I had supper in the Pub, washed clothes, took a shower, and crashed for the night.It was a long day, but it felt good to get to the Inn. Ciao