morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-06
From: leroy smith shelter, pa

To: delaware water gap, pa
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: overcast clouds

day 103 tue jul 6   20.2 mi 1275.4 totaldelaware water gap, pa   it's 6:12 and i'm hiking already, thanks to poler's good example. it's the fifth day of really rocky trails. they're good for toughening you up, especially your feet. but i really should keep it well under 20 miles a day on this kind of terrain. fasten your seatbelt, yes? it's going to be a bumpy ride.   early in the day i catch up with blueberry bert and her man goodtime. they're looking good. she thought she had lyme disease. she's fine now. i leapfrog with southern man and now or never, then meet luna going southbound to catch a feast in port clinton. we hear miss janet might show from erwin.   the views across and down into DWG are breathtaking and the trail feels and looks more like the northeast and new england than anything else so far. it's a beautiful day, cool, clear, and breezy.   at the motel, there's boonie and palmtree! it's been six to eight weeks, for sure. 65's here, and bones, myst, garcia, southern man, now or never. and poler's mom, shirley.   let's get the rockers out on the porch and reminisce, shall we? let's.
Date: 2004-07-07
From: delaware water gap, pa

To: dwg, pa
Miles today: 0.0

day 104 wed jul 7   zerodwg, pa   breakfast at the water gap diner with boonie and palmtree is great. they are heading on today to new jersey and mohican hiking center.   garcia takes southern man, rael, and me to stroudburg, to the library. i get to try a boston market for lunch, and then it's back to delaware water gap. at doughboy's pizza, there's lint, ld, flipflop, wonka, nameless, and roberto. scholar's in town, helping with shuttles. poler's dad, bob, introduces himself, and has some kind words. hermes shows me more photos. the guy is very good with a camera. he tells me he got to climb rainier with some high school buddies.   on the street i meet gray squirrel from tennessee. he's looking to camp south of town. and there's gaiterwoman and kk, carrying sunglasses he thinks are mine all the way from port clinton. but they're not.    still, i guess i should buy him a beer for the effort.
Date: 2004-07-08
From: dwg, pa

To: mohican outdoor center, nj
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

day 105 thu jul 8   10.5 mi 1285.8 totalmohican outdoor ctr, nj   krispy and i go our separate ways on errands in stroudburg. when i see him again, he's gotten a haircut. he didn't ask how much it would cost beforehand. when they are done, they tell him it costs $39. ouch. he is upset.    later at a cafe for lunch, he orders soup. when the waitress turns to me, i ask how much the soup costs. krispy says "i keep forgetting to ask that question," and laughs. he's got photos back and there's some great ones, such as the hobbits catching a ride on the back of a car.   krispy, pipesmoke, and i head out late morning after some serious refueling. the bridge across the delaware river shakes significantly with every passing trailer truck. it's sunny and hot.   at the mohican outdoor center, socks is getting off the trail and heading home to texas. some of her hiking buddies are really sad to see her go.
Date: 2004-07-09
From: mohican outdoor center, nj

To: gren anderson shelter, nj
Miles today: 20.9
Weather: overcast clouds

day 106 fri jul 9   20.9 nmi 1306.8 totalgren anderson shelter, nj   worthington bakery is closed. permanently. some of us had our hearts set on baked goods and deli delights most of the day, and then to find the place closed, well, it was emotionally traumatic. some hikers needed interventions and professional counselling. we are still picking up the pieces.   around midnight, a bear bangs around the bearbox, trying to get at our food. pipesmoke says he could see green eyes reflecting the light from his headlamp. of course, i slept through it.
Date: 2004-07-10
From: gren anderson shelter, nj

To: secret shelter, nj
Miles today: 18.4

day 107 sat jul 10 18.4 mi 1325.2 totalsecret shelter, njif i told you where it was, then it wouldn't be a secret anymore, would it?but i can tell you who was there. like gaiterwomam, papabear, badger, ld, pipesmoke, roadrunner, and sweaty pig. and two occasionally vociferous donkeys. and a great many fireflies.
Date: 2004-07-11
From: secret shelter, nj

To: vernon hostel, nj
Miles today: 13.5

day 108 sun jul 11   13.5 mi 1338.7 totalvernon hostel, nj   sue and i are hiking across the walkill wildlife preserve. sue is a marvelously inventive thru-hiking nurse from vermont. across wide expanses i can see hikers far behind us. it's 93 degrees and through the shimmers, they morph into a tribe of bloodthirsty heathen pagan Mongol tartars, and they're closing in on us.   "we could pull our wagons into a circle."   "but sue, we left our wagons at home."   i suggest we confront them, and take their credit cards, rendering them powerless.   then sue remarks. "i know we just took a break, but look, there's another bench, and it's in the shade."   "but what about the Mongol tartars?"   "let them find their own bench."
Date: 2004-07-12
From: vernon hostel, nj

To: wildcat shelter, ny
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: light rain

day 109 mon jul 12   19.7 mi 1358.4 totalwildcat shelter, ny   somewhere along the line i "lost" 2.4 miles, so i'm tucking them in here.i'm actually writing this on july 21, i'm a bit behind on this journal, and not really interested in trying to find exactly where i lost those couple miles. i hope you all will understand.    some serious rain today(jul 12), and lots of long, high, slippery, mossy, rocky ridges. yes folks, i finally took my first fall, a beautiful half-gainer with a corkscrew twist that deftly brought me down square on my pack, with nary a scratch. i roared with laughter at the irony, as there are several stories out here about hikers breaking ribs or leg bones. have i lost that much weight that my pack weighs more than me?    hiking into the evening, i find wildcat shelter full, and pipesmoke, papabear, and badger tented nearby. i set up tarp and hammock, cook dinner just as darkness descends, and crawl into bed. i remember it rained steadily through the night, and i think this same front was what brought parts of new jersey 10 and 11 inches of rain.
Date: 2004-07-13
From: wildcat shelter, ny

To: monroe, ny
Miles today: 5.0

day 110 tue jul 13   5.0 mi 1363.4 totalmonroe, ny   my friends john and barb in surry, me, have relatives in monroe here, and gracefully arranged with them to allow me to stay with them just a bit. maureen and scott were very kind and generous with their time. they have two little girls, fiona, who's two, and grace, who turned five while i was there.maureen helped me with laundry, dinner, breakfast, and some fresh carrots, broccoli, and dried apples for days ahead on the trail. grace drew me a beautiful butterfly, and i drew her portrait, and then fiona's. scott's folks joined us for dinner, and his dad (a trail maintainer), and i talked trail. the girls were awesome, and made me aware how i had not seen children to speak of since starting this hike. barb, your nieces are beautiful, and so open-hearted.
Date: 2004-07-14
From: monroe, ny

To: brien shelter, ny
Miles today: 14.6

day 111 wed jul 14   14.6 mi 1378.0 totalbrien shelter   by late afternoon, i reached a beach and picnic area on lake tiorati. as i started to cook, it commenced to rain, so i moved my gear to an open, roofed pavilion just behind the beach. five young lifeguards came in out of the rain, one with a guitar. four started playing gin rummy, while the one with the guitar started playing what i recognized almost immediately as a fleetwood mac song, "bleed to love". he was very good, and as i cooked, he played one song after another, without singing, and i would guess the song and artist, and he would smile and nod. he was maybe 16, but the songs were from 25 and 35 years ago. jethro tull's nursie, heart, led zep. that was a great treat.   later i met up with sue again, and we shared brien shelter with two cents, who was planning to go into nyc to visit his parents.
Date: 2004-07-15
From: brien shelter, ny

To: graymoor friary, ny
Miles today: 15.3

day 112 thu jul 15   15.3 mi 1393.3 totalgraymoor friary   there were some nice vistas in the morning, of lakes and hills in the clearing morning sun, and a very busy (southbound lane anyway, 30 miles to nyc) thruway to cross. sue and i hike up bear mountain, and are treated to great views of the hudosn river. then we walk through the zoo, where the rattlesnakes and the river otter look rather sad, penned up as they are. we walk across the bridge over the hudson, just as a large powerboat plows up the river, two choppers buzz over us on their way to west point, and a train passes under us on the west bank. impressive. by late afternoon, sue and i walked into the ballfield at the friary, where we rejoined pipesmoke, john, and mary. i met monkeyman, from minnesota and dartmouth, who had got off the trail when he developed anemia (he's back on now). we took advantage of cold showers, and a roofed pavilion to sleep under. the franciscan brothers treated us to dinner on the fifth floor of a modern, large, imposing office building joined to some old, still beautiful cloisters. brother leo gave us a tour after dinner. he mentioned that he had spent 20 years in remote parts of brazil, and then in jamaica, where sue had been in the peace corps. he had some funny stories, one about trying to swim at a seaside beach that had a oil slick washed up on it. funny, but sad too.   from a height of land (at graymoor), he pointed to the valley below, and said nyc's aqueduct running from saranac lake way to the north, ran underneath the ground in the valley before us. he said that some chinese laborers, after having built the aqueduct, came to the friary to help construct some of the buildings we were now walking through.
Date: 2004-07-16
From: graymoor friary, ny

To: RPH shelter, ny
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: light rain

day 113 fri jul 16   18.8 mi 1412.1 totalRPH shelter, ny   we are surprised how there are long stretches, and even shelters, without water. occasionally, tucked in the woods at road crossings, trail angels leave jugs of water and coolers. at this shelter there is a well pump, but there are written warnings, and the water that comes out has sediment and floaties. i opt for a stream nearby, using aqua mira. someone left some citronella lanterns here, and we make use of them at dinner.   pipesmoke, sue, monkeyman, and i have a great time at dinner joking and trading stories.
Date: 2004-07-17
From: RPH shelter, ny

To: telephone pioneers shelter, ny
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: scattered clouds

day 114 sat jul 17   16.6 mi 1428.7 totaltelephone pioneers shelter, ny   our books said there was water here, but the spring is dry. earlier, i walked into a driveway and asked a man and woman in their yard for water from their garden hose. they were kind enough to help.   pipesmoke, usually hiking just ahead of me, has been weaving some funny, crazy entries in the registers, such as:   good morning, mr thall. your mission, should you accept it, is to meet mr. busch or mr. bud at the next shelter. this message will self-destruct if left to close to a campfire. at the shelter pipesmoke splits a 6-pack of sam adams with me. he had gone down ahead to the road, met sue and her husband (who had driven down from vermont to treat her to a night off the trail) and snagged some beer for us. his treat, as he was looking to use my stove since he had run out of fuel. john and mary joins us just as a whomping thunderstorm lets loose.
Date: 2004-07-18
From: telephone pioneers shelter, ny

To: ten mile brook lean-to, ct
Miles today: 0.0

day 115 sun jul 18   13.0 mi 1441.7 total ten mile river lean-to, ct   new england!   my hiking buddy pipesmoke is a mechanic from hampstead, n.h. he is 60 years old with a wife and 3 grown children. he loves the mountains and he loves to hike; for seven years he's gone to wales to hike with friends there. he's part of a group that takes turns cooking for the weather observatory crew up on mount washington. he's funny and thoughtful and manages to stay positive through the worst of situations.   our other hiking buddy is gaiterwoman, or sue. she's also 60 (but looks and acts 40) with a husband back in vermont, and 2 grown children. she's a nurse, and served two years in the peace corps in jamaica. she's hiked the long trail in vermont twice, ran marathons, and then graduated to 50-mile, then 100-mile runs. she's also quite funny, and seldom complains.   the three of us crossed paths in georgia and virginia, and then again in pennsylvania about two weeks ago. it's possible we may lose track of one another in a few days, but for now we watch out for each other, share food and gear, and greatly enjoy one another's company.   tonight at dinner, in this shelter far from any town, sue was telling me how many of us hiking together, don't really know each other. she mentioned a nursing home she worked in, thinking she knew the patients there, and then someone on the staff put together a newsletter detailing the vibrant and active lives some of the patients had previously led. it was an eye-opening experience for her.   i couldn't disagree, but also thought of how sore and empty i felt tonight, how i smelled like a bad batch of windex, and dinner was lackluster, and then out of the blue, sue offered me an after-dinner peppermint, and pipesmoke pulled a beer, not quite warm yet, out of his pack for me. i may not know them all that well, but they have become very dear to me.
Date: 2004-07-19
From: ten mile brook lean-to, ct

To: stewart hollow brook lean-to, ct
Miles today: 15.7

day 116 mon jul 19   15.7 mi 1457.4 totalstewart hollow brook lean-to, ct   i should mention that yesterday at midday, deep, deep in the woods by ten mile brook, ten young sports camp counselors, all very attractive, greeted me in unison with a great, warm, boisterous "hi, meanderthal!". they'd been prompted by sue, up ahead on the trail. they had lots of questions about the A.T., and some seemed eager to try this long hike, too. three of them posted kind words in my guestbook here. what a crew! i bet they're having the time of their lives at that camp.   this morning, i made it into kent by 11, got a late brunch, picked up 3 packages at 2 places, did laundry, sent 2 packages, finished and then called in my newspaper column to miss moneypenny (faye), got a salad and pizza, and was back on the trail by 3:30. i hiked 7 more miles in new boots, to boot, including a steep stretch down st. john's ledges to this shelter just as it got dark. pipesmoke and sue were tenting nearby. lint, tapeworm, and flipflop came in 20 minutes later.   it's amazing how much the housatonic (hallucitonic?) river looks like the union river back in eastern maine.   connecticut feels like a piece of home.
Date: 2004-07-20
From: stewart hollow brook lean-to, ct

To: prospect mtn, ct
Miles today: 19.3

day 117 tue jul 20   19.3 mi 1476.7 totalprospect mtn, ct   about 9, pipesmoke and i meet mouse going south. sue tells me her (mouse's) story later. ex-army, injured, tough, free-spirit. about 10, a stop to cook a dinner for breakfast. about 1, i meet poler and pilot slackpacking south. about 3, i catch up with pipesmoke, sue, lint, tapeworm, and flipflop. pipesmoke says there's pizza in the next town. i mention i hear there's whiskey for the men, and beer for our horses.   so we try for it.   as i'm out of water, i knock on a door. the fellow obliges, and tells me the pizza place burned down. i catch up with the gang at the power plant with the shower for hikers. we all shower and then cook dinner: pipesmoke comes back from town. a sobo comes through, name of cobol; a recent umo grad. we hike on into the woods above the falls and camp, pipesmoke and i in our hammocks, sue in her tent.
Date: 2004-07-21
From: prospect mtn, ct

To: salisbury, ct
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: haze

day 118 wed jul 21   7.1 mi 1483.8 totalsalisbury, ct   our horses still need beer, so we head into salisbury. i have a late morning brunch with pipesmoke, who goes right back on the trail, to rendezvous with his wife up ahead. sue and i get rooms at maria mccabe's, a wonderful german-italian-american. she's full of stories. she had been married twice; both husbands died. she got more proposals; she turned them down. she goes back to northern italy every winter. she has a very kind heart.   in town i see palmtree and boonie, who tells me sailing stories from his youth (not to imply that you're over the hill, boonie) in new hampshire, and we trade 'bert and i' stories.   tapeworm's mom drove across ct. to see her son. her name's ellen; she's very nice, and tells me i'm a charmer. tapeworm says she's going to hike with him for a bit later. they stay at the whitehart inn, as does papabear and badger.   someone says doc fell and injured himself a few days ahead. one of my favorite trail people.   and milo's here! ridgerunning. he got off above damascus, i think. milo, you're looking well.   where's that beer?   where's my horse?   and where in sam hill is willie nelson?
Date: 2004-07-22
From: salisbury, ct

To: jug end, ma
Miles today: 15.8

day 119 thu jul 22   15.8 mi 1499.6 totaljug end, mathis summer i swam in a public placeat a reservoir to bootat the latter i was informalat the former i wore my suiti wore my swimming suit                        -louden wainwright III   for several days, pipesmoke has been weaving stories in the shelter registers, referring to himself as willie nelson, playing the fugitive, while i'm billy bob thornton, representing the law, in pursuit of willie. he's getting brilliant at it. then he asks me who played who in the movie version. i tell him, tommmy lee jones and harrison ford. so, then he asks, who the hell is this billy bob thornton, anyway? later i tell him, look willie, i'm just as much on the lam as you are. and you know those feds are gonna catch up to us, i'm gonna cover for ya, and you're gonna make a clean getaway. so there.   sue and i hike apart after agreeing to meet late in the afternoon at guilder pond, to swim, cook dinner, and continue on. it's in the 90's, up on mt everett/everest, and then later at the pond we fail to find each other. i swim and cook dinner, hike on, get lost for two hours, struggle back up to jug end ridge, and get overtaken by great swarms of mosquitos. i seek refuge in my hammock.   some of them succeed in biting me right through the bottom of the hammock.
Date: 2004-07-23
From: jug end, ma

To: tom leonard lean-to, ma
Miles today: 12.0

day 120 fri jul 23   12.0 mi 1511.6 totaltom leonard lean-to, maoh, the horror, the horror.                              -joseph conrad   yes, we're talking mosquitos here. there's swarms of them, on a hot day, with no wind, in a swamp that goes for miles.   three on your left elbow, two behind each knee, one at a left rib, two behind your right shoulder. all at once. they're ruthless, efficient, kamikaze, bloodsucking, vacuum-powered, unrelenting. and they've only got days to live and breed. tryingk to make a livingk. bbbbzzzz.   then the rains come, and the wind, and a cold front.   alleluia.
Date: 2004-07-24
From: tom leonard lean-to, ma

To: upper goose pond cabin, ma
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: scattered clouds

day 121 sat jul 24   21.8 mi 1533.2 totalupper goose pond cabin, ma   0500 hours. across the shelter loft, commander sue is up already, quietly packing her gear, so as not to wake the other hikers still sleeping. we put on clothes still wet from yesterday's downpour, eat cold breakfast, and head out.   yesterday we mucked our way through a long, dark swamp rife with a superbreed of mosquitos. we think they were imported from scotland, as their sizes ranged from wee and not so wee, to fraggin' hewge. in truth, they were the first serious plague of insects we've endured.   sue and i actually lost each other for a day, and met up again late morning yesterday, at a wonderful vegetable stand with a gazebo to dine in, where we enjoyed fresh salad, fruit juices, and, i'm going to cry now, strawberries and ice cream.   hiking on, we were treated to a cooling rain that subtly shifted to a steady downpour. when we got to the shelter, we found the roof leaking with a half-dozen pools of water on the floor and bunks. nine of us managed admirably to find enough dry space to lie down to sleep.   our mission today is to hike to upper goose pond cabin, where we can swim this evening, and the caretaker will cook pancakes and coffee for us tomorrow morning. it's surprisingly cool this morning, with fewer bugs. we dance over and around rocks shaped like giant shark fins, and bound across great tangles of tree roots, at a pace and with an agility we would not have thought possible back in virginia.   we feel herculean, euphoric, fit to burst with endorphins and adrenalin. i feel both all of twenty-one and 14 billion years old. even ageless.   the world is perfect, exactly as it is. some people conspire, finally failing, to convince us otherwise.
Date: 2004-07-25
From: upper goose pond cabin, ma

To: kay wood lean-to, ma
Miles today: 17.6

day 122 sun jul 25   17.6 mi 1550.8 totalkay wood lean-to, ma   there were a dozen hikers staying at the cabin yesterday, so it was a very nice surprise when the caretaker quietly treated sue and i to some of her roasted corn and barbequed chicken. thank you very much, carrie.   we got to meet pipesmoke's wife, jeannine, a wonderful woman.   i got to swim with wonka, hermes, and nameless, and then they set out for some crazy adventure in a canoe, bound for a distant island off in the distance. i think it was greenland.   later still wonka shared stories about his family and his plans for next year.   in the morning carrie and her daughter cooked pancakes for us in three shifts. heading out, who should be waiting for us at two different road crossings but jeannine in her truck, with all sorts of food and drinks. and thank you again, jeannine.   at roy wiley's blueberry farm, sue and i picked pints of blueberries, and saved them for dessert that evening. wonka and company made special guest appearances for berries, looking none the worse from their sidetrip to greenland.   sue and i hiked on the kay wood shelter, which we had to ourselves. those berries in milk and sugar, after all that hiking, were the best, jerry, the best.
Date: 2004-07-26
From: kay wood lean-to, ma

To: dalton, ma
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

day 123 mon jul 26   3 mi 1553.8 totaldalton, ma   gaiter and i sang arlo guthrie songs as we walked into dalton. he lives somewhere not far from here. i hope he didn't hear us. we needed some practice. at the breakfast diner, sue was heading out already. i needed food, and to call in my next newspaper column. and then i thought, well, maybe i ought to write one first.   so i sat under a payphone writing away, and badger calls out to me from across the street. he'd found a cheap place to stay, with laundry and showers, and what the hey, i could make this a nero day, find some good town food and even a library.   the place belonged to rob bird, a trail angel not in the books, ex-coast guard, ex-cop, part mohawk and huron, and all-around good guy.   later i meet boonie and treefrog, intent on finding a motel.