morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-10-02
From: Telephone Pioneer Shelter

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: broken clouds

Happy Birthday Dad!Well, the scheduled itinerary for this journey has me at the 1/2 way point today. Oh well, I'm not there. I'm about 350 miles short of it, but I'll get there eventually. Dorito and I have set out to do 16.6 miles today putting us at a shelter that we hear you can have pizza delivered. I head out before him and spot two deer bouncing up the hill adjacent to the stream. I also see a garter snake near Nuclear lake, but that is all for wildlife sightings today. Stumpknocker and Mrs. Gorp passed me today around lunchtime at the Morgan Stewart shelter. They are trying to make Delaware Water Gap before the ALDHA Gathering. They amaze me at how fast and far they can hike!I thought I might see them again today as they were getting off the trail to have lunch at a deli, but I imagined they passed me when I spent an hour being lost. I crossed over I-84, but the names of the roads did not match the street signs and I followed some old AT blazes. I must have walked 2 miles off trail lost before a kind man in his car who lives in the area pointed me in the right direction. I was so frustrated and tired I wanted to cry. The section of trail I was now on followed along a freeway that was very noisey. I put in my earphones and cranked up the volume of the radio. There were a few places that offered a view, but it included the freeway which isn't all that scenic. The trail left little to be desired as it was covered in acorns and rocks. Have I mentioned how much I hate these marble shaped nuts? They got me today when I slid downhill on several. No blood was drawn however, just more frustration to a day that was turning sour.Because of my hour long detour, the sun began to set before I made camp. The orange sky was pretty glowing through the trees, but it didn't last long and I had to hike the last mile or so in the dark with my headlamp. I got to the shelter around 7:30 and while there was no pizza as we did not have a cell phone and there was no payphone, Dorito had hitched to a convenience store and picked up an Italian sandwich, chocholate chip cookie, and a cream soda for me. I tell ya what, this kid is all right with me! There are two gentlemen from NC staying at the shelter as well. They are section hiking up to Falls Village, CT. SloJo is very talkative, but Shutterbug is a bit more quiet. Surprisingly enough, I am not completely tired, hungry, or miserable from my 18+ mile day, but I am wide awake and its bed time. I quietly entertain myself with reading the register and with finishing my book, The Devil Wears Prada. Why is it the more tired you are, the harder it is to fall asleep?
Date: 2006-10-03
From: RPH Shelter

To: Denny Group Campsite
Miles today: 10.7

Oh how I did not want to get up this morning. I was so tired, sleepy tired, from last night, but not any more sore than I am after any other day of hiking. Dorito and I decide to do ~10 today, ~12 tomorrow, and then it will only be ~2 into Fort Montgomery for a day of pampering at the Holiday Inn Express! We are so excited about staying in a hotel, bathing, laundry, internet, food, and partying we are beside ourselves. It is becoming an all consuming addictive fantasy that we will be living out in 48 hours! Yeehaw!Despite being so excited about a town day, today's hiking was work. I guess I might be feeling sluggish from yesterdays big miles, but its more than that. It's unseasonably warm today, almost like summer, complete with humidity and mosquitoes. The trail is a bit boring, the same as it has been for a few days: acorns, rocks, green leaves, minimal views, few other hikers to talk to, etc. One thing that is slighly different today is the sounds of nature. Here is a list of all the sounds I encountered today: artillery practice, helicopters, airplanes, highway traffic, trains, barking dogs, construction vehicles, the "I'm backing up" beeping noise on construction vehicles, hammers, drills, saws, speeding dump trucks, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and more. No wonder hikers blaze through NY! They are trying to get away from all the road crossings and the noises of civilization!I did meet some friendly day hikers and overall it was a beautiful day for hiking. At one point, I just laid back on a rock and enjoyed the view of the tree leaves against the blue sky.Dorito and I camped at this group camp site which is really a place for people to drive their cars up to a fire ring and party. But we were the only revelers tonight. We did build a fire and sat by it while we ate dinner. We watched airplanes fly overhead and waited for the stars to come out. Then we turned in. It was so warm tonight, I didn't even put my rainfly on my hammock. What an amazing view of the moon and stars and tree canopy! And at least tonight, now that the cars have stopped speeding by, I can hear the frogs, crickets, owls and coyotes.
Date: 2006-10-04
From: Denny Group Campsite

To: Hemlock Springs Campsite
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Dorito and I set out pretty early, the lure of town just a day away pushing us down the trail. He left first, with a promise to leave me a note at the 2nd road crossing if he decided to go in for pizza and cigarettes. One of the first things he asks me this morning is if I hid his cigarettes. He's trying to quit smoking and I guess he thought I was trying to help him by hiding them. I think that he accidently mistook his full pack for an empty pack and tossed them into the fire last night.So when I get to the road crossing I find his note and his pack. I leave him a note telling him great, I'll keep walking and wait for him periodically so we can share the pie. All through the day, I am stopping and leaving him notes either on scapes of paper left at a campsite or etched in the dirt with my hiking pole. Dorito never catches me and I know he hikes faster than me, so I am beginning to get worried. But I keep hiking to the planned destination. Along the way, I see seven deer, lots of frogs, snakes and a few views. I even stop at the Graymoor Friary for like 45 minutes just chillin waiting on Dorito. Its a peaceful location but a little too close to a busy road that proved to be a difficult pedestrian crossing. All of the breaks during the day were good for me as I wasn't so tired. I got to where I thought was the campsite, but didn't see Dorito so I kept hiking a bit further. After a mile or so, I turned back and went to where there was a fire rig took a right and found Dorito at a more hidden fire ring. By now it is dark and I have lots of questions for him!Turns out on his way for pizza, he got lost and went way far away from the trail. He asked directions to the trail and the ones he was given took him to the Friary, not the road where his pack was hidden. So he called a cab to take him to get his pack and then to drop him off near this campsite. He yellow blazed 9 miles! And he ate all the pizza! Oh well. I am glad that he is all right and he builds a campfire while I cook dinner. It begins to rain before I get my hammock hung, so we both pile into his tent. Neither one of us can sleep as we are fantasizing about going into town tomorrow. If it wasn't raining, I think we would both agree to nite hike into town even though we both hate nite hiking. Happy Hiking,Superstarwww.trailjournals.com/happyhiker------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2006-10-05
From: Hemlock Springs Campsite

To: Highland Falls
Miles today: 2.2

Well, at some point last night, Dorito and I must have fallen asleep, but with our excitement we were up early and on the trail by 7:30. It wasn't long and we were on the road and about to cross Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River. It was a beautiful long bridge and the wind was so strong it could knock us into the vehicle traffic if there wasn't a concrete wall between us and them.We walked into Fort Montgomery, passing the actual remains of the Fort from the Revolutionary War and stopped at a gas station for a bagel and hot beverage. Then we walked across the street to another deli and got a breakfast sandwich and checked out the phone book for hotels in the area. We called a cab, I picked up my mail drops and we were off to Highland Falls to the West Point Motel. Ahhhh, a hotel! We collapsed on the beds, turned on the tv and then fought over who got to take a shower first!Then into town for pizza and laundry and a tour of the town, a stop by the library, a new shirt for Dorito at one of the military shops, a few groceries and other sundries, then back to the hotel to rest before a big night of partying.Dorito was pumped and ready to get jiggy, so he taught me how to play some drinking game with cups of beer and ping pong balls, we substituted plastic bottle caps. This game was obviously invented after I graduated from frat party life, but it got us geared up for the bar.Good thing we got geared up to, because we were 2 of eleven people at the bar including the bartender. Not a whole lot happening on a Thursday night in this small town. Turns out the cadets at West Point, while they are college kids, they have a curfew. So we hung out with some medical military folks who were playing pool. We shot a few games and then Dorito figured out how to work the jukebox and the next thing you know, I'm flying in the air to Cotton Eye Joe. It was a fabulous nite and just what Dorito and I needed! We got back to the hotel around 2 and decided to ignore the complete and total mess that the room is in until morning. Watched a bit of Conan before drifting off to sleep.www.trailjournals.com/happyhiker------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2006-10-06
From: Highland Falls

To: Highland Falls
Miles today: 0.0

Ugh. Waking up after a nite of partying is never fun! I get up and take a bubble bath to slowly and relaxingly wake myself up. Then I ask Dorito if he wants to hike out or spend another day in town - we didn't get a chance to check out West Point yet - and he wants to stay. I call the front desk to see if we can keep our room another nite and find out that no, they are booked, its Homecoming weekend at West Point. Yuk! We have until 11 to clean up and pack up our mess! We also call around to other hotels to see if we can get a room elsewhere. We head into town to the library to wait about a room. Finally, we get in touch with the Palisades and make the 2 mile walk down there where there is a room available. Again, we collapse on the beds and turn on the tv. We talk about walking back the other way to tour West Point but realize that we don't have time to get there before the last tour. So much for that - we resolve to get up early tomorrow and tour it before hit!ting the trail. We'll just relax today.Around 4:30, I am getting hungry and talk Dorito into going to eat at the Mexican restaurant. Just our luck its thair 6th anniversary party. Margaritas, chips and salsa, chili rellenos, mariachi bands and free give aways. We have the best luck! We are too full and tired to stick around for the tres leches cake, but we leave satisfied.We stop by the grocery and drug store for Dorito to pick up a few items and also to pretend we are teenagers again. See, Dorito had told me about this trick you can do with a 2 ltr of soda and a pack of Mentos candy. So in the parking lot, we set out to make an explosion. It's not as big as I thought it would be, but still exciting for two hikers who may have been out on the trail too long! Back in the room, Dorito watches some sci-fi movie on HBO and I make calls to folks back home. It's been a good day!Happy Hiking,Superstarwww.trailjournals.com/happyhiker------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2006-10-07
From: Highland Falls

To: Bear Mountain
Miles today: 2.2
Weather: broken clouds

Okay, so we have to hike out today. Our wallets are empty and while we have walked all over town, we are losing our hiking legs. While packing up I make a few more calls home. Today is my sisters baby shower and I want to atleast talk to her since I can't be there. When I get her on the phone, I find out that she has just been in a car accident. Everything is okay though, thank God. It is good to talk to her and I hope she has so much fun at her shower.So we pack up and check out, leave our packs at the office and head to town. I stop by the post office and Dorito buys cigarettes. Then we walk to West Point. No bus tours today as there is a Homecoming Football game, but sounds like we really only missed seeing a bunch of chapels and cemeteries. Ikm sure its all very interesting, but I'm not sad I missed it. We check out the gift stores and both buy winter caps and then check out the war museum. Its full of guns and knives and military uniforms and such. Some of it is interesting, but after a while I've had all I can take of war history. We grab some lunch across the street. Not the best cheeseburger I have ever had, but then NY is not known for cheeseburgers. Maybe I should have ordered a hotdog?Then we make the long walk back to the hotel and call a cab to take us back to the trail. The cab takes forever to pick us up and by the time he drops us off at the zoo, it is closed. I am disappointed at first about missing the lowest elevation point on the trail, the Walt Whitman statue, and propbably my only chance to see bears. But then I have heard that the zoo is sad because all of the animals are in some form of rehabilitation and their living conditions are not the best. Even so, I hate missing a part of the trail (we took the alternate route for when the zoo is closed). But my spirits are lifted when Dorito and I stumble right into an Octoberfest party at the Bear Mtn Park. Beer and brats can lift this girl's spirits any day! And they have polka music and funnel cakes too! Dorito and I partake in this wonderful trail magic before heading up the mountain. We know from experience that we won't get far (i.e. the shelter) after drinking so we plan to make it up to the tower for sunset and then stealth camp.A beautiful sunset it is and we can even see the lights of NY City! We take pictures and then check out the tower and spot some deer in the woods. We decide to cowboy camp in the parking lot - it's going to be a clear night with an almost full moon. (Cowboy camping is just throwing your sleeping bag out without any shelter.) We laid there staring up at the stars and I saw my first shooting star!Happy Hiking,Superstarwww.trailjournals.com/happyhiker------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2006-10-08
From: Bear Mountain

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

We woke to a beautiful sunrise and frost on our bags. Same ritual as every day: packed up and headed out. Today was a hard day for me emotionally. I guess talking to my family and friends the other day, had me a little homesick. Okay, a lot homesick. Everything about the trail irritated me. The rocks, the acorns, my feet hurt, my pack is too heavy, the acorns. Ugh. Its amazing how I can go from loving the trail days ago to wanting to get on a plane and going home. They say that the trail amplifies things. Friendships grow deeper faster, ups are higher and I guess downs are lower. I hope these sad feelings pass soon. Just as I am drying my tears, I meet some section hikers from FL and GA and they are so impressed that I out here doing this trail all at once and all by myself. This lifts me up just a little and I move on. I have to cross the Palisades Pkwy and many hikers relate this experience to a real-life version of the video game "Frogger" as you have to dodge fast moving traffic twice as it is a divided highway. It turns out to not be as hard to cross the roads as it first seems and I make it across safely. If I was in a car, I could be in NYC in less than 40 miles taking this highway.I climb away from the road and up toward Black Mountain. Now sometimes nature calls when you are away from a privy or toilet and expeerienced hikers follow Leave No Trace practices for taking a squat in the woods. Well, here I am taking care of business away from the trail and I hear this man calling out, "Hello?" He is insistant, I guess since he sees my pack by the trail. So I have no choice but to call back out to him. Turns out, he and his hiking buddy are lost and they want me to give them directions, regardless of the fact that my drawers are down around my ankles! This is a very embarrassing and frustrating situation for me. I ask them to hold on a minute and then I'll see if I can help them. Ugh! Just another reason, why today is not great!Later, when I stopped for a snack, I found that my hand sanitizer had spilled all over the inside of my pack. Ugh!I finally made it to the shelter exhausted after sliding on acorns all day and Dorito was getting ready to make some fires. This shelter has two fireplaces. Very nice. I start to make dinner and find that the tube of pesto sauce I had bought for my pasta has exploded all over my food bag. Ugh! Could this day ever end!?At least it was warm with the two fires, and Dorito did entertain me with his fear of things that go bump in the night. He saw eyes glowing in the woods and was afraid of them. I told him it was just deer, but he got out his toy pop gun and shot at them and even threw a fire cracker at them to try and scare them off.   I just sat and ate my pasta just waiting for this day to be over. Dorito did admit to having feelings of doubt about his hike as well. He said its probably because we just left town. Maybe. Happy Hiking,Superstarwww.trailjournals.com/happyhiker------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2006-10-09
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

A brand new day and hopefully, a brand new attitude. At least today as things to look forward to: the Lemon Squeezer and a visit from a friend, Barfly. Dorito and I agree to wait for each other at the Lemon Squeezer, a tight squeeze through large boulders. However, when we get there, we are a little disappointed. Its nothing like the Mahoosic Notch and you could even walk around it. Well, we make a joke out of it and take corny pictures of us passing through it. Dorito even takes a side trail up a large boulder and hangs one handed off it. He is so crazy! Thank goodness he did not fall!Hiking on, this trail is so frustrating! There are all sorts of other trails around that are marked with some sort of white blaze as well. Very confusing. And of course, the acorns!We cross over I-87, the NYS Thruway and then find a phone at a road crossing. Its magical for Dorito as with ever call he makes it gives him back his money. But it takes the money from me when I make a phone call to check in on my kitties with my good friend Charlotte. Oh well, ten more miles and hopefully, Barfly will have beer waiting at the shelter for me!Met up with Dorito at Little Dam Pond and he admits to being tired today. I think its this section of the trail. Its a bunch of puds, its horribly marked, its hot today and buggy, and its rocky and covered with acorns. Ugh! Anyway, up to Mombasha Point where they say you can see NYC, but it was blocked from view due to trees. I make down the steep descent to a view of Fitzgerald Falls and just about collapse. If Barfly wasn't waiting on me, I'd probably stop here for today. At least the last 2 miles are flat, which is good, because its sundown. I arrive at the shelter after dark and yes, Barfly has brought beer! I vent from exhaustion for about 30 seconds and then give Barfly a big hug. Its good to see him again and so nice of him to hike out to see me on the trail. He hike the AT in '99 and thus knows Greenbean, Magnet, and WC, my friends and family and I met him at Trail Days this year. He has built a nice fire and has brought a friend's dog, Gypsey with him, w!ho is just as sweet as any dog could be. We have a great visit. I wish the trail had not taken so much out of me so that I would have been in earlier to hang with him.We do stay up past hiker midnight chatting, but eventually exhaustion and the empty 12-pack convince us to go to sleep.      Happy Hiking,Superstarwww.trailjournals.com/happyhiker------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com
Date: 2006-10-10
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Waywayandaway
Miles today: 12.0

We all slept in this morning. But as soon as Barfly mentions breakfast in town, we are up and packed fast. Two miles to the road. Dorito and i thought they were going to be flat and they mostly were but there were two big boulder climbs. Nice views, though, the colors are starting to pop. A half mile before the road, for some reason I am recollecting about the day I busted my chin in the wilderness and then bam, I fall. Bruised up my right hand real nice, but no blood was drawn. Lesson: Don't think about falling!Barfly drives us in to this cozy little diner and treats us to breakfast. So nice! Dorito and I have a big breakfast each, but secretly we are both still hungry. Barfly drops us off at the Bellvale Farms Creamery before heading back home. Thanks Barfly for the wonderful visit!Dorito and I partake in a little ice cream action before getting back on the trail. Today, we will pass into NJ!The trail has a lot of boulder climbs and ledges. Its hot today too. My foot is feeling better though. I have discovered that putting Icy Hot on it, while it doesn't feel like its doing anything, must be working. That and the new heel cushion I got. Climbing up yet another boulder, I spot something furry in a tree. Upon closer inspection, I see that it is a porcupine. A very interesting looking animal. It sits on the tree branch frozen, refusing to move even as I yell at it. It does pose nicely for a picture though. Later, I'm tuned into the radio and saying bad things at the trail as it asks me to make crazy climbs and descents. Finally, I hear Dorito yelling at me. He had been calling out to me and listening to me yell at the trail for a few minutes now. When I get to him, he is sitting having a smoke and has his shoe off. He tells me that he hit his toe hard and since it has been infected for a while now, he is going to go into town and have it looked at. So we agree to wait for each other at the state line for photo ops and then he'll go to town and I'll go to the next shelter. The NY/NJ state line is just marked with spray paint, but we have a good time taking pictures. We then make arrangements as to how to get in touch with each other while he gets his foot checked out and then we take off. This is the last time I'll see Dorito for a while. I have to hike the last mile or two to the shelter in the dark. I hate nite hiking, but at least this terrain is flat and the blazes are obvious. There are three others at the shelter, two nobos and one section nobo hiker. One of them, High Pockets talks my ears off. It's suddenly weird to arrive at a shelter and not see Dorito. I instantly miss him and feel weird using the term "we" when there is just me there. I quickly cook dinner and then occupy myself with reading the shelter register before drifting off to sleep. Happy Hiking,Superstarwww.trailjournals.com/happyhiker------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com