morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-30
From: New Jersey

To: New Jersey
Miles today: 0.0

Day #106 I slept in until 10:30 this morning. We had breakfast at a dinor down the street. New Jersey for reasons unknown to me has an unhealthy amount of dinors. After breakfast we go to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith in the weirdest theater i've ever been too. It was in a stripmall and our particular theater was upstairs in the broom closet. After we head to the local grocery store that was crazy busy. Next is the Cold Stone Creamery (ice cream store) I went with chocolate devotion in a waffle cone (the goota have it size) Had too be at least a pint & 1/2 squshed in there. They make all they're own ice cream then mix the flavor you want on cold marble while they sing to you. All this talk about ice cream i thought i would take this time to introduce you to the vermonster. I believe rocket in '99 finnished it in 15minutes, which defies physics. -20 scoops of ben & jerry's-10 scoops of chopped walnuts-4 bananas-4 scoops of hot fudge-3 choclate chips-2 scoops of sprinkles-2 scoops of m&m's-2 scoops of reeses pieces-1 fudge brownie-topped with real whip topping.
Date: 2005-07-01
From: New Jersey

To: New Jersey
Miles today: 0.0

Day #107 Welcome to my day of nothing. Monika had to go to work today so i'm on my own. A pint of ben & jerry's for breakfast. My decision to leave the trail is pretty much the lack of money. oh and i already thru-hiked. If given the choice i would probably rather finish the trail. On the other hand i don't mind returning to the real world. What have i learned in my brief search for my way home? Don't try to rent a car on 4th of july weekend. It also apparently costs an airline an additional $650 ontop of the $300 you already pay to purchase your ticket less than the 14 days before you depart. What do they have to do for that extra $650? They make you print out your own ticket for crying out loud! I guess my feeble little mind isn't meant to grasp such problems. I'm amazed they have found a way to lose money. So it looks as though i will fly out of boston towards the end of july. I have started to watch groundhog day because if i watch another minute of real world Austin my head will explode. Tell me we don't pay these people. Monika got out of work early, i think she went in late, my kind of job. So i made her take me to the borders book store for my large moca-berry coffee thingy. We ate at chilli's yum, yum, yummie. I think the waitress wanted to pet my beard Finally, Monika found a Rita's My favorite. A wild berry gelati custard/italian ice. Life is once again good. Most can't wait to leave Pennsylvania. Rocks they cry. Things i'll miss when i leave this beautiful state: Yuengling, perogies, & Rita's. Tomorrow a big day in the woods hopefully avoiding the heat.
Date: 2005-07-02
From: New Jersey

To: Gateway Motel Wind gap
Miles today: 22.5
Weather: few clouds

Day #108 The mother of all thunder storms came rolling through last night. If i were in my tent i think i would have curled up and cryed. Luckily i'm in a basement in central newjersey i guess. Woke up early 7 packed. Monika will drop me back off at the trail today. I'd like to thank her for all her time spent shuttling me around. It was great to see her again. Hiking seemed easier today. The weather wasn't as hot as i thought it would be. No thru-hikers to be seen. I skipped the shelter as it was a long trail down. I chose to stay just off the trail at wind gap. I should be in delaware water gap tomorrow.
Date: 2005-07-03
From: Gateway Motel Wind gap

To: Delaware water gap (ramada inn)
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day #109 Well i lived through the night even though someone was lighting dynamite outside my door. I saw only one thru-hiker today waist deep. As usual surprised to see me. He say chubster is just back a little and hopes to make it to the gap today. I climb out of wind gap. Right away my chest starts to heat up again. I do not know what is wrong. This is becoming a problem. What worries me the most is it isn't that hot out here. Something is definately out of whack. Well i'm not about to turn around. So i drink lots of water and motor on. My god is there a lot of people out here today. They are everywhere. Mostly day hikers and tourists with a couple section hikers sprinkled in. One guy was carrying a big blue barrel with a latern hanging off it. I took a break at the kirkridge shelter. 6.6 more miles to the gap. This is where all the tourist were. Are we close to the top? are we there yet? Umm...no another hill or two. They of course for the most part had no water or maps that i could see. When i arrived at the gap i stopped by the church hostel where quiet paul is the only one there. I move onto the ramada which is in the middle of remodling. No restraunt, pool, or bar. It was under 4 feet of water along with the rest of the town this spring. My room is high class compared to where i have been staying. Pizza & perogies for dinner. Run into chubb's as he is checking in. I stop by his room for a beer or two. Great to see him again
Date: 2005-07-04
From: Delaware water gap (ramada inn)

To: greyhound bus
Miles today: 0.0

Day #110   Today i made a hard decision. Most people who i have hiked with knew i had no intentions of actually finnishing. I started with less money than i felt i needed to complete a hike. Add to that a full credit card and $1000 of new equipment. excuses...excuses...i know. I had hoped to reach the long trail inn. In the end it wasn't really money that will keep me from hiking. My brother offered to contribute and my parents would send me food. The real problem was everytime lately when i hiked i seemed to overheat. My temp rises while my body doesn't seem to cool. Until i find out why or it stops there is no real use in continuing. Whoever said the easiest thing to do was to quit, obviously never quit the AT. I don't much care about not finnishing the trail itself, since i have already hiked it. No the hardest part will not finnishing with the people i met along the way. I have always said a thru-hike is more about the people you meet than the trail itself. It will be sad not to finnish with grey walrus & pathfinder who i met on my first full day of hiking. They were two of my favorite hikers and i wish them the best of luck. I also hope blue eye, rabbit, chuck, chubb's, bootz, bluelight, draggin' and everyone else i hiked with (too many to mention) enjoy the rest of their hike. Good Luck to all!
Date: 2005-08-04
To: Land of Beer & Cheese
Miles today: 0.0

POST #1 When i left the trail a month ago, i did so with every intention of returning. The very least i would hike vermont, new hampshire, & maine. In'99 i didn't leave the water gap until August 8th, so i had a month to get my sh*t together. Granted in '99 i finnished in november. The over heating problem went away after i stopped the blood pressure pill that had dire warnings of keeping away from direct sunlight. It has recently dawned on me that there was no way of finacally doing it, short of selling my jeep. So unless i win the lotto, commit some sort of petty larceny, or money starts to grow on tree's, i am done hiking for this year. I made a valient effort, including hawking all sorts of junk on ebay. It was just not too beThe smart thing to do, would be return to real world. I feel so grown up. One should be fairly impressed, i came up with this realization on my own. Usually, it takes some sort of heavy thing to bounce off my head. Since i have been back, i have been bbq hopping with the odd day of lounging in my hammock drinking whatever wine my parents happen to have in stock. I read 4 novels and watched the entire dead like me series that the bastards at showtime cancelled after 2 seasons. My future you ask? I imagine i'll cruise out to colorado for a week or two, but doubt i'll stay. No somehow the land of beer & cheese has become home. Maybe Mad Town? I'm thinking of collabrating with inquisitive bob (my stuffed monkey) for my memoirs. I'll probably slave a way at two jobs, take a class or two in hopes of a south bound AT walk next year with Blazer and my good friend the Captain. Possibly, a jaunt with yappy and crew down the CDT in 2007. Unless, i get lost in the real world and can't find my way back.I hope to add the missing 10 days, whenever i recieve them from bullfoon my transcriber. I like to once again thank him for all his hard work. The same goes for my parents for mailing all my drops.
Date: 2003-01-27
From: Massachusetts

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hello Everyone, I am planning to come back to finish the trail in August of this year. I know I didn't sound like I would ever come back, but I have changed my mind. I will do it until I get tired of it again. I will start where I got off the trail in Massachusetts. I want to thank everyone for their support and well wishes. I really appreciate all the interest in my hiking of the trail. We will continue to keep the journal also. Thanks, Pa Kettle
Date: 2003-02-25
From: alden, iowa

To: williamstown, ma
Miles today: 0.0

hi everyone,   am sitting here at home. temp outside is 10 below 0. thinking about my next foray into the app. trail. will head back to williamstown on aug 3rd to attempt another section. why am i leaving so late? i can't miss the annual bike ride across iowa (ragbrai)which is the last week of july. have pretty much given up on hiking the distance to springer this year but who knows, if everything goes right it could happen. but i am planning to do things differently this time out. going to take more time and also try to hook up with some other south bounders. looking back i now wish i had stayed with fern, pete farley, laith, tinker creek, and others. really enjoyed their company. have my back pack sitting in my living room. packing and repacking to try and get more efficient.ha. wife bought me a new pair of boots for my b-day. and i bought new cooking pot,possum pack, sombrero (washed my old one in manchester vt. left it in dryer too long. came out looking like a beanie. ha.       pa kettle
Date: 2003-02-26
From: williamstown, ma

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

hey everyone         was on the trail for two weeks and developed those darn blisters a gain. also was having some other physical problems so had to leave the trail at bear mountain n.y. but am planning another attempt and this time going to try northbound. so am shooting for a mar. 4 start from springer mt. hope to hook up with some hikers with the same mileage per day in mind. i am thinking of averaging approx. 15 miles per day??            my daughter pam has the tapes for the two week hike last year but has been so busy with her new occupation as weight watcher counselor etc. that she hasn't recorded them yet on this site.             i am hoping to have more luck this attempt. i have changed some gear and philosophy. also am doing something different to try and avoid the blisters. going to try and toughen up the heels by using tincture of benzoin. i am told gymnasts use this to toughen their hands. someone told me that the reason my heels are so vulnerable to blisters is that i swim so much my skin is too soft.?? i swim every night and sit in the hot tub after for quite a while. well being so darn stubborn i just can't seem to quit swimming so will try to do the treatment. as you all know i do triathlons and i need to maintain my swim training. oh well the only thing i know is keep trying and maybe some day i will finish the trail albeit by sections. hope to get to know a lot of you hikers out there on the trail real soon.                regards, pa kettle
Date: 2003-07-31
From: HOME

To: williamstown, ma
Miles today: 0.0

arrived williamstown at 2:30 p.m. tired from long bus ride. got a room a redwood motel. getting wiser in my old age. still it is kind of scary to think about the task before me. will i get homesick and start making excuses to go home? i really want to finish this trail once and for all. don't want to have tocome back . getting older. had some pasta and a piece of chicken . also ice cream. wanted to charge me $89 but got the room for $59. tight wad me.raining this morning but going to mt. greylock anyway.
Date: 2003-08-01
From: williamstown, ma

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

DAY 2----- raining cat's and dogs . left motel about 8:30 a.m. lost the trail but finally got back on and made it up to mt. greylock summit at 1:30. then left for the noeppel shelter. got about a mile and trail was flooded. feet are soaked . came back to lodge and staying there for the nite. $26. dried out shoes etc. in front of fireplace. were some ham radio operators there for a contest of some sort. they were setting up antennae. nice people. good conversation. was a little cold in the bedrooms but was good to be in the dry. met vagabond, jug, ezra, toothpick, and others. light walker, viking from ger. stopped talked to flat.    met raincrow and wizard. intelligent guys. no breakfast other than poptart.
Date: 2003-08-02
From: mt. greylock

To: catholic church, cheshire, ma
Miles today: 0.0

DAY 3   left at 8:15 this morn. foggy no rain. pack is too heavy. got to get rid of some stuff. what do i really need. met just bill. from denver. he stayed at shelter all day yesterday. met female with dog. pack on. met gray jay. from ky. said older folks can do this too. met circuit rider and sherlock from miami. also tc. he fell last year. wants to finish. buffalo bob from jersey. took a break at mark noeppel shelter. met squirrel meat. southbounder. is doing `15 20 miles a day. met dave. acted a little strange. stayed at st. mary's catholic church in chesire. texas jack,stringer, and his dog daisy were there. texas jack sang most of the time and played his harmonica. think he was tweaking a little also lol. was a new ice cream store open. had two helpings. really like my new thermorest pad. like sleeping in a bed. got into chesire about 2:15 and am bushed. no showers but took a sponge bath. made about nine miles. enough. pack too damn heavy. we had to wait a while before we could get in to the church. was a wedding going on. then a bus pulled up to take the wedding party. reminded me of my daughters wedding when we used my old ragbrai bus to take them to the country club for the reception. i use the bus once a year for bicycle ride across iowa. it is painted off white with a purple and green stripe down the side. took a bus to an outfitterl to get a pack cover. waiting for bus get back and a woman picked me up and took me back to the church.
Date: 2003-08-03
From: mt greylock

To: dalton, ma
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

DAY 4 SUN.      left this morn. from church. said goodbye to texas jack. he is nobo. stringer is sobo. hope to hike with him for a while. nice day. met thermal. met ken and marsha from ca. they have done pct. are retired. have done cont. divide also. nobo. saw two fawns right in front of me. met missouri. in dalton on sun. johnny cash sun. morning coming down. met lion king looks the part. soul train from n.c. birdsong. from iowa. stopped in dalton at tom bevards house. he was great.is a trail angel.about ten people there. gave me a delicious sandwich and soda. offered ice cream and cherry pie. when asked if i wanted ice cream on my pie i replied (of course i am not a communist)! got some chuckles out of that. could have stayed in his home but too many people there. so went on th daywood shelter . was girl scouts there. approx. 12 girls. good kids. also was 6 other hikers. dingleberry and snotrocket. a married couple. leapyear, young jedi, iguana, sonica. had a good time with them. met snail sobo. met hide, starbuck some of the younger people are going to a concert. am going on to kaywood shelter tonight. easy rider and snowberry from vt. lot of people on the trail. rather be alone more. too many people. but when alone start missing people. wish that little pipsqueak nels nord was out here with me. would probably have to whip his ass about once a day to keep him going. or use a cattle prod on him. squirrel meat got his name from a squirrel eating on his toes. oddwallah. not his name from a candy bar.
Date: 2003-08-04
From: dalton, ma

To: goose pond cabin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

DAY 5 MON.    left shelter and the girl scouts. they are from pa. had lots of food for us to yogi. nice day. wet trail. am careful. stinking socks looks like maybe a blister. used my thermorestchair. really nice. made 13 miles yesterday. one old boy yesterday asked me if had smelled anything up on the mt. i said i had not. he said sometimes he smells chlorine and sees a green light going up the mt. said he saw sasquatch and he smells like chlorine and he is out there. he was serious. i wanted to laugh. said he had seen him twice. met a couple from memphis tn. jason and shelton. coop. 56 yrs. old. a goer. sobo. too fasthere comes stringer. he is going back to dalton. his heel is bothering him. he is going to grt. barrington to get daisy her own back pack. here comes the rain so on goes the pack cover. nobo. met manzanita. i said i know what that is. he said i was the first one to know what that was. i told him my uncle lives on manzanita drive.. fell off a bog log. damn it. lit on my pack knee deep in the mud. so fisher king fell also. cookie lady wasn't home. mello yello. shaun oreilly from me. met an old boy that looked liked mary's uncle bob folkerts. name was jim. met martha graham. from madison wi. asked her what she was doing out here . said just something to do. bet she was with jim. met snuggles. met tipperary from ire. ex priest. met fly and floozie. long day. 19 miles plus. blisters coming back on both heels. shitty deal. staying at goose pond cbin. too many people here. shoud be tenting but it rains every nite. and i hate to pack up wet. so found a space in between the ood pile and the stove. had blueberry pancakes this morning from the blueberries picked up at the blueberry farm. pushed too hard yesterday to get here. stupid.day 6 tues. approx 15 miles . last 2 miles it rained hard. feet soaked and blisters worse so need to start doctoring them up. there is a resident squirrel here at the shelter. is a small shelter. a young couple here also. they are pitching a tent inside the shelter. good idea to keep the mice out and skeeters. but they were in and out it seems 20 times during the nite.08/06/03 day 7 wed.got a hitch into town . great barrington. expensive but i was desperate. so paid the $75.00 have to gives the blisters some time to heal. spent a lot of money today. got a disposable camera. resuppoied. sent some clothes home and the camera. should send sleep bag home and get a lighter one. called mary. she will be gone from aug. 15 thru 19thdat 8 thurs. got in shelter at 2:30 p.m. going to stay. short walk today. still not strong. giving the blisters a break also. two hikers in camp. shawn who is in the aa program and sniper from ark. good guys.      i cant find my tapes for this section. so will keep looking. found them.
Date: 2003-08-05
From: goose pond cabin

To: mt wilcox shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 6 TUES. AUG. 5 MT. WILCOX SHELTER.       about 15 miles today. rained hard feet soaked and blisters worse sot need to start doctoring them up fisher king smokes and rolls his own. trying to quit. felt like having one smelled so good. also yesterday felt like drinking a gallon of beer. hot day. cheap stuff. from pa. had a sheep farm. hubby taking care of farm. is 59 yrs. old. works at a shelter. feeding people. moon shadow from s.c. met home long island. mt. butterfly. has a tattoo of buttlerfly. hope i am not boring you with all the trail names . but it is quite interesting to find out their trailnames and how they got them. i hwve radio and have listened to rush but seems i can't go the guy more than 30 min. what a blowhard. so biased.elf and elf 2 from tn tuckerman from n.h. met stripes from nobo. boston. had a mohawk.midway from balt. got the name from his wife cause he did half the trail last year and do the other half this year. cornpatch from iowa. ken messeridge. nobo. would kill for a can of coke. met buttercup. and oreo.from ma.
Date: 2003-08-06
From: mt. wilcox shelter

To: great barrington
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

DAY 7 WED.day 7       met crowfeet. he has a tiny little pack. radio screwing up. need a new one. last nite heard a big crash. tree fell over. one on the other guys at the shelter said he heard two more go down during the nite. first nobo. today jen. fonz from co. nobo. ace from ohio. got a ride to gr. barrington. in a motel . memorial mt. motel. got gouged. lot of new england people impolite. motel guy dropped me off on trail about 7:30. detour because of water. got lost. about an hour lost. glad i had a map. sent some clothes home. son dan doing ok. met thru hiker from ms.trail name thoreau. chemo. from ga. not too cool. met nobo. name loser. losed things. wanderer from bear mt. n.y. is a singer. young guy was crying. lost his group. was depressed.
Date: 2003-08-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

DAY 8 THURS.            in at 2:30 going to stay. short day today. still not strong. give a break to blisters. two in camp. shaun who is in the aa program and sniper from ark. good guys.   on the trail earlier went down to a spring and got a drink. what a treat. coming back up saw a doe. beautiful. met a nobo from spits from n.h. name from hot springs after mark spitz. cause he swam in the hot springs. is a recovering alky. bob. nobo. from va. irish from damn well conn. wall to wall people in shelter.         DAY 9 FRI. MILE 688               not a bad day. rained last nite. haven't used the tent yet. met ironchef. got his name for making fabulous meals. like my daughter theresa makes. just descended from mt. everett. one of the tallest mt.s in this area. is moss on the north side of the mt. slick as hell. very tedious. i am very careful on these damn rocks. just fell and broke my water bottle. thought i broke my arm. met alpha, and cadbury his dog. and also trench. from conn. met tucker and bingo from vt. just crossed into conn. met hungry from va. and thirsty from santa cruz ca. picked some mt. blueberries. i missed the shelter i was planning on staying at. will camp out in the tent tonite. cooked some ramen and had a poptart for dessert. made 13 miles today. not very hungry tet. hot in the tent tonite.         AUG. 9 DAY 10 MILE 705         made 17 miles today. almost more than i can handle. thought i had missed the shelter but finally came to it. was a welcome sight. only 2 others here so far. cheese cake and stocliffe are here. trying to treat my blisters. fashioned some heel things out of plastic milk jugs. put them in shoes at the heel location so maybe they will slip instead of chafing. blister stuff had come loose today. mosquitos are bad.here. but they don't seem to bother me so much. don't know why. must be the indian in me. or when their little stinger hits steel it bends. lol. was five more in campsite last nite. listened to the radio for a while. started to sprinkle about 4 a.m. so stayed in bed til about 5 a.m.
Date: 2003-08-08
From: hemlocks shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

DAY 9 FRI. MILE 688.         not too bad. rained last nite. haven't used tent yet. met ironchef. he got his name for making fabulous meals. like daughter theresa. just descended from mt. everett one of the tallest mt's. around this area. moss on north side of mt. slick as hell. tedious. am very careful. these damn rock. just fell. broke my water bottle. thought i broke my arm. cadbury , alpha. trench. cadbury is a dog. from ct. tucker and bingo. from vt. just crossed into ct. hungry from va. thirsty from santa cruz ca. picked some mt. blueberries. missed the shelter i was planning staying at. will camp out in tent tonite. cooked some ramen. poptart for dess. 13 miles today. not very hungry yet. hot in the tent tonite.