morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-15
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Brick Road Shelter
Miles today: 24.8

It felt like the longest day although it was 24 miles. The medicine is making me really sluggish on the uphills. Thankfully the terrain is rather flat. Swamp Donkey and I woke up at 5am. We packed our stuff and was at the local diner by 6am when they opened. We had a big quick breakfast. After that we grabbed our stuff and hit the trail. We crossed into NJ after crossing the Delaware River right next to I-80. We planned to not stop again until we caught everyone who left yesterday. I hiked right by the gorgeous Sunfish pond. The trail went right around the side of it. We caught Ray Charles, Trudge, Landslide, and Tigger at a stream soon after the pond. We had already done 8 miles in a few hours. I saw a deer just before about 10 feet off the trail from me. Next came Catfish fire tower. This was our halfway mark for today. It started to down pour around 4 or 5pm. I had a good 3 hour hike after that. I did not stop until the shelter. A bear scared the crap out me this evening. I thought I had already passed the shelter. I was trying to fly and got to the top of the ridge. It was raining and starting to get dark. I looked to my left and saw a 250-300lb bear about 20ft away from he. I screamed "oh shit!" It stood up when I scared it, looked at me, I took off, and never saw it again. Needless to say the next mile went by very quickly. I got to the newly built very nice shelter, claimed a place on the floor, and called it a night. After Ramen Noodles and a wrap I fell right asleep. Rain all night and temps in the high 50s makes for great sleeping. My feet are sore as hell. All my gear is soaked too. I'm hoping for 10-12 hours of sleep tonight. Big day again tomorrow. It is nice to be knocking out miles. NY in the near future. Ready for the cold front to move it.
Date: 2014-07-16
From: Brick Road Shelter

To: NJ 23/Port Jervis, NY
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: scattered clouds

It was a slow morning. People were packing by 5am. The mosquitoes came back out around 7am. I didn't get out of bed until 8am since I was hurting pretty bad from yesterday. The medicine I'm on makes me feel weird sometimes. I packed up my stuff and had a small breakfast since my stomach was turning. We looked at the guide and realized there was a coffee shop about five miles away right off the trail. We all decided we could meet up there. I got there around 11am. They had moved to a pub up the road that had a great view of the lake. I had a burger and hot dog for lunch. I hit the trail after. I did not feel so well today, but it went away soon after I are lunch. We had a great view and good water before the first shelter out. There was no water for a while after that but did get some great views. I love NJ so far! We caught up with Ponds and Malibu at the last shelter before the NJ 23 road crossing. I did not feel so hot again. We all decided to pitch in on a motel room in Port Jervis, NY. We found a Days Inn. $50 for the four of us since there was no water in the motel since they're pump broke. We didn't care. Delivery close by and a pool to wash off in. We are the only room in the motel tonight which is cool. I guess the only ones who would stay with absolutely no water. Maybe the free breakfast did it for us. $50 is a lot better then $85. After swimming in the pool for a bit then four of us order $68 worth of pizza delivery. That along with the AC was well worth it. All of us have been doing some pretty big days so it was nice to rest for tonight. Being next to a toilet is a plus too. Boucher and Willy Wonka showed up around 10pm, ate our minimal left overs, and claimed a place on the floor. Off to bed around 11pm. Rock comes back on Saturday. I'm looking forward to New York. He is meeting is at the NJ/NY border. It was another great day on the trail. I'm loving the cold front that has moved in.
Date: 2014-07-17
From: NJ 23/Port Jervis, NY

To: Unionville, NY
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today turned into a prime example of how great complete strangers can be. We checked out of the motel around 10am. We got a quick hitch back up to the trail. The High a Point State Park was the highlight of today. It had a 220ft high tower that was very cool. After that it was an easy ten mile hike to Unionville. This was probably the fastest ten miles I've done yet on the trail. This is where our day changed for the best. We met Carol, a trail angle who made our day. We will never forgot this motherly lady, that is for sure. A New York native. We were hitching back from a gas station. She was pulling in and said "HEY! You boys need a ride?" We said "yeah!" and she screamed "well, get in!" This started our awesome day! Her first words were "you guys smell like shit! Want to take a shower at my house?" We of course agreed. She called her husband and told him she'd be late getting to the store they run. Shortly after talking to her, she said "you guys want to stay at my house? I'll cook diner. I also have a pool and a beautiful daughter." We were in awe. Of course we says yes. She called her husband again and said "honey, they're staying with us and I'm cooking for them." We were pumped! We set up camp in her yard while she was cooking us bean burgers for lunch. We went to her work after since she realized a client was coming in. This is where we met her husband, David. Two of the nicest people! On the way in, we saw Malibu walking in the rain back to the train since he had gone to the doctor and got traded for Lyme. She says oh hell, spun the car around, and picked him up too. He was thrilled. Once we left their shop, we stopped by the grocery store where her daughter worked and she got everything for dinner. I started the charcoal grill and cooked dinner when we got back to the house. A beautiful girl named Melissa came to eat dinner with us. Brace soul. Four alpha make hikers that haven't been around "city" girls in a while. It was a blast! We stayed up until midnight talking and laughing. Such great people! It was in the low 50s so perfect for sleeping. A great nights sleep is in order. I'm so thankful for people like Carol and David. Thank you guys so much! They took us in like their own children. Carol kept saying "you're all some bodies kids, and I would want the exact same for mine." It was such a fun and interesting day. We will surely be seeing them again in the future.
Date: 2014-07-18
From: Unionville, NY

To: Pochuck Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: light rain

I woke up at 8am to a bell ringing and Ms. Carol yelling "breakfast time!" I walked in the house and found eggs, ham, and toast waiting for us. We all had more than enough to eat before we started to pack up all our gear. The best part of the morning was getting our clean clothes that Ms. Carol washed and folded for us. The four of us piled into her car and she dropped us all back off at the trail, but not without a massive hug. She literally knows everyone around here. Of course she knew the people who owned the store. Apparently her warehouse was just down the street from where the trail crosses. After saying our goodbyes, we met a few hikers who were pretty jealous of the trail magic we had just received. They stated "maybe if we walk south, then north again, Ms. Carol might see us and pick us up!" We hung out around Unionville, NY for a bit since there were a few hikers we knew in town. Pool and lunch at a local pub. Ponds, Swamp Donkey, and myself took time enjoying the day. We ended up hiking out around 1pm and went as slow as we could. There was a bird sanctuary the trail went through so we hung out there for a while watching all the wild looking birds and such. Malibu caught up with us where we were getting water from a vacant house at the bottom of a steep .6 mile uphill. Once we all got to the top of the mountain where Pochuck Mountain Shelter sits, we found a beautiful campsite and decided to call it a day. We checked out the shelter, had a fire, and just enjoyed the rest of our afternoon. It is days like today that make the trail great. An easy 4 mile hike, and we enjoyed every second of our day. It was great still having three or so hours of daylight left after setting up camp. We all cooked dinner over the fire, listened to music for a while, and just enjoyed our selves in the forest. The bugs are starting to get really bad so around dark we all migrated to our tents or hammocks to call it a night. Even if you are not ready for bed, it is nice to get away from the mosquitoes. The temps are dropping so I'm sure we will have a great night for sleeping. Tomorrow we are heading into Warwick, NY where Rock will be coming back to the trail to join us for the rest of the hike to Maine. There is a drive in theater there we have heard about via word of mouth so we are hoping we can camp there just like some other hikers we know did. We looked on the website and the New Transformers is playing so we are all looking forward to that! Today was a very great day on the trail!
Date: 2014-07-19
From: Pochuck Mountain Shelter

To: Warwick, NY
Miles today: 21.5

Today was a blast on the AT! I was up by 5am when I heard Malibu getting up. He was so tired from not sleeping due to the fact he has no bug net and was getting eaten alive by bugs all night in his hammock. One of his eyes was swollen for being bitten so many times. He packed up and took off within a half hour. He was dead set on getting out of there and getting to town or a shelter tonight and of course, sleeping. I was not far behind him. I left around 6am. The first thing I came across was one of the coolest things (for me) to find in the middle of the woods. I looked to my right, and saw a bunch of old chopped up cars and trucks. So, I ventured over to have a look. A bunch of old 50's and 60's model Chevrolets from station wagons to trucks! It was very cool to see and I took a bunch of pictures. There was a very steep but short climb up a rock garden shortly after that. I filled up water at the bottom of the hill before crossing a few dirt roads that apparently let to a children's summer camp. The trail was a cake walk after crossing the Warwick Turnpike. Nice and flat. A few miles later I officially crossed into New York! I am now down with New Jersey. I loved the hike through NJ though. It was a great state with gorgeous terrain and views. 8 states down, 6 to go! We all got to NY 17A around the same time and hitched a ride into town with a man that owns a local pizza shop. He was on his way back from catering a party. We got dropped off in town around 5pm. There was a farm across the street that had a deli along with an outside bar, so, we decided to check that out before heading to the drive in theater to set up camp. I had a sandwich and a local guy bought us all a round of beers. It was a very cool spot for a small town and everyone was really nice. We did not want to leave but we knew we needed to set up before the movies started playing so we walked over to the drive in theater. What an awesome place and awesome people! It is not in the guide so it is not packed with hikers, but the staff loved us! $6 to camp and you get to watch two movies along with a radio to hear the movies. I set up my tent up right on the back bank where I could see all three screens and watch any of the six movies I wanted to. Three movies started at 8pm, then three more started at 10:30pm. I watched Tammy for the first movie and Transformers for the second; talk about an awesome night! I camped with my rain fly off so when the bugs got bad, I could watch the movie right from my tent. I doubt there are many other times I'll be doing this in my life. Some of us were so worn out they did not make it through the 2nd movie, but just camping at a drive in theater along was great! Rock is now with us and he is camped right next to me. It a great to have him back! We had an awesome day and night. Great way to start off New York. The PBR trail is back (Ponds Blue Rock).
Date: 2014-07-20
From: Warwick, NY

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 2.1
Weather: light rain

Today was not a zero day, but definitely a nero. It started to rain around 2am last night so I woke up to rain hitting my head, got up, put my rain fly on, then fell asleep until 7am or so. The sun was out and directly on my tent so it was hot as could be inside. I got up and spread all my stuff out to dry before we hit the trail. Rock and Ponds were up shortly behind me. I packed up my stuff and then walked down the road to a bagel shop. I ate breakfast then resupplied at the grocery store right next door. I also filled up on water while I was there. I have enough food with me to get into Connecticut or at least close. We were there until noon or so before hitching back up to the trail. There was an ice cream place near the trail that we apparently missed when we hitched in so we made sure to stop, get an ice cream, and enjoy the view. After that, we did an easy two mile hike into the first shelter where we found an awesome campsite. It was still very early in the day so not that many people were there yet. We are all pretty tired from hiking yesterday, then staying up so late watching movies. It was well worth it though. The campsite we are at has a great water source along with a bear box so it worked out great. The place filled up by 6pm. Tents everywhere. Many people we know are here too. At least thirty tents are around. I called it a night around 9pm. I plan to get an early start tomorrow to hopefully do a 20-25 mile day. We have a view of the New York City skyline coming up so that should be awesome. Also, I will be crossing the Hudson River soon as well. I cannot wait for that.
Date: 2014-07-21
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Bear Mountain Recreation Area
Miles today: 28.8
Weather: light rain

We are all dead after today. I laid down last night and was out until 5am or so this morning. Since I knew I was going for a big day today, I packed my stuff and hit the trail. Ponds and Swamp Donkey were close behind me. I stopped at the first stream I came to and ate breakfast. It was a nice easy hike to an awesome waterfall we hung out at for a bit. We passed a few people still sleeping this morning since we left pretty early. None of the terrain was "hard" today, but it took a toll on us with all the ups and downs. I only planned on doing around 20 or so miles, but we ended up going so fast and getting so close to the Hudson River we were so excited we did the extra 8 to get here tonight. I ate lunch at the very old Fingerboard Shelter before knocking out the rest of the day. Rock still hikes fast even after taking close to a month or so off. He leaves me sitting still. So, for me to do the miles he does, I have to take less breaks and hike at a constant speed all day. As soon as we came down off the mountain and got a feeling for where we were around a small lake near the Hudson, a man named Stan approached us. He talked to us for a bit before saying "I'm making a picture book about hikers. I have chili and soda in exchange for your pictures." Of course, we said when and where. We piled in his car, went to his house, and took pictures. The best part was the fact we get the pictures back to keep! He has a professional room set up. It was very cool and interesting to see. Once we got done with that, we were so tired as had Stan drop us off at a cheap motel near West Point. We will be touring the area tomorrow which is going to be awesome. I hiked for over 14 hours today and can barely stand up to take a shower. I'm beat! Tomorrow will be a very short day, but we will be crossing the Hudson River and I cannot wait.
Date: 2014-07-22
From: Bear Mountain Recreation Area

To: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: broken clouds

I tried my best to sleep in but my internal timer is set to around 6am so when I got up at 7:30am I was pretty happy. I took a shower as everyone else started to get up and start packing. We checked out of the motel around 11am and the front desk personnel let us put all our gear in a back room while we toured the West Point area. We were not even trying to hitch the two or so miles to West Point but an elderly man stopped and said "get in!" He must have been close to 90, he could not hear anything we said, and apparently he thought he was a NASCAR driver. We made it alive though and he parked right in front of a Dunkin Donuts so it all worked out alright. We spent a few hours walking around the museum and such. So much history in one place. I loved it! A few hours later we decided it was time to hike so we walked back to the motel, grabbed our gear, then hitched back to the Bear Mountain area. There is a large pool next to the zoo that the AT runs through so we hung out by the lake and waited for Grizz and Denali to meet us. Once they showed up, we made our way through the zoo. It was very sad. Bears locked in a concrete cage. After seeing all the wild ones, I wanted to break the gate open and run, but obviously we just walked on. As soon as we walked out of the north end of the zoo, we crossed the Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River. This was a very happy moment for myself. It is so awesome to be walking over the Hudson River in New York after having walked here from Georgia. Where the bear cage was in the zoo also marked out lowest point on the AT at just over 100ft or so. At the bottom of the steep uphill we crossed over the 1400 mile marker. So many cool things in one day. I walked the few easy miles to a market on the trail called the Appalachian Market. We all had a sandwich, a few trail beers, then walked the mile to the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center. This is a Buddhist center and offers so many great places to see. They let us stay in their baseball field which has a covered area along with a toilet and a cold shower. Thank you all! We played baseball with a stick and a rock for a bit then all ate dinner. I was in bed by 11pm after a short and great day. We are in the back corner of the ball field since we have six guys right now, and none of us are quite to say the least.
Date: 2014-07-23
From: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

To: Clarence Fahnestock State Park
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: scattered clouds

My favorite days are between 14 and 17 miles because of the fact you can take time to explore what is around you instead of trying to cover 25 plus miles a day. Today was just under 14 and I got to camp early enough to enjoy the lake and picnic area. The terrain was great with minor inclines and declines so it went by pretty fast. I left camp around 9am this morning and only stopped once today to eat a snack. The Clarence Fahnestock State Part offers three free campsites for thru hikers so I wanted to get there and set up as soon as I could. It was so hot today I was thinking about the lake that is supposed to be there almost all day. I got there early enough in the afternoon to hit the snack shop for a Gatorade before they closed. I also jumped in the lake with Rock and Grizz a few times. A lady pulled over who had just left the fresh market and gave us a bunch of freshly picked veggies to eat with dinner tonight. It was great! We found out soon after there is a guy named Joe camping in the park who cooks hikers dinner and breakfast. We walked up there for a egg, ham, and cheese sandwich. Joe is a Vietnam Veteran and has been doing this every other week in the summer for the last seven years. He absolutely loves hikers. After talking to him and finding out he goes to the store alone every morning at 4am, I offered to go with him. He smiled and said he would love the company. So, I went back to my tent, and laid down around 8pm knowing it would be an early morning. A massive thunder storm came in soon after anyways so I was glad to be dry inside my tent. I'll go help Joe get stuff for breakfast, eat with everyone, then hike out in the morning. It already sounds like a good day tomorrow.
Date: 2014-07-24
From: Clarence Fahnestock State Park

To: Pawling, NY
Miles today: 24.9
Weather: light rain

Today felt like it flew by. I suppose it is because the terrain we covered was generally flat and fairly easy. I got up at 3:30am, walked to the bathrooms, plugged my phone in to charge while I was gone, then arrived at Joe's campsite at 3:45am. He was already in his car waiting for me. He could not believe I was on time, let alone early. He said "you're like my son. Very precise!" We went by a gas station that he has been getting coffee at every other morning on the weeks he is at the state park. He bought me a cup before we headed to Wal Mart to get supplies for breakfast. He kept thanking me for riding with him and it made my day to something so little and see him so appreciative. It was fun! He also talked about how he gets lonely camping there without his daughter and granddaughter. It also reminds him of 30-40 years ago when he used to come with his big family and all the kids would be playing. I'm pretty sure that is the exact reason he caters to us hikers. We arrived back at the campground around 4:45am. I went back to my campsite and packed up all my gear. The sun had started to come up and everyone thought I was crazy for being up so early. Ponds was up soon after that. We went up to Joe's to eat breakfast with him around 6am. In total about 15 hikers he fed between last night and this morning. He is a sandwich making machine! Rock was of course the first one to hike out around 7am and I was right behind him. We got to the RPH Shelter and checked it out. Everyone else was not there yet after waiting a hour or so, so we took off again. About a hour later when I took a break, I got text messages of pizza being delivered. Apparently you can order pizza from the RPH Shelter and the rest of the group took advantage of that. Five miles later I came to a road crossing near Stormville, NY that had a deli just down the road. Rock had already crossed and kept hiking. I went and had lunch at the deli before continuing on. I never saw Rock again until tonight at the free camping just outside of Pawling, NY. I rolled in around 7pm. We walked to the CVS to grab a few things. By the time we got back, the rest of the group was there and set up. There is one other south bounder he besides us. We had a nice night next to the pavilion thru hikers can use. There is also bathrooms right down the hill which is very nice! Tomorrow I cross into Connecticut and Massachusetts is only 52 miles away. The states are flying by now!
Date: 2014-07-25
From: Pawling, NY

To: Ten Mile River Campsite
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: clear sky

Today was a lot of fun because it was slow going, and I enjoyed that. I slept in until 8am or so since it was foggy and cloudy keeping the sun off my tent and not making it heat up quickly. I packed up all my gear then ate breakfast with everyone. We hiked out of the free camping around 10pm. The Rock and I tried to hitch first, only to be passed by everyone else in a Jeep Wrangler about 20 minutes later while they were laughing the butts off. The guy in the Jeep dropped them off, and came back for us, with a smile on his face. It was pretty funny actually. I caught up to Rock about 6 miles in at the Wiley Shelter. Pocahontas was there and upset about her pack not fitting right. She is hiking from New York to Maine. I put her on the phone with B Man and he helped her out from REI. We got to a road crossing about 2 miles later and went to the general store for a tall boy. We walked the easy four miles to the Ten Mile River campsite after that. The river is unreal. Class 3 and 4 rapids that the trail walks right next to. There was trail magic at the shelter that included vodka and beers, so that was awesome. We set up, hung out, and I was in bed by 10pm listening to the sound of the river. Tomorrow I have ten miles to Kent, CT and will out of New York and into Connecticut. I am looking forward to New England!