morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-07-03
From: Hosner Mountain Rd., NY

To: Hosner Mountain Rd., NY
Miles today: 0.0

Fourth o' July BBQ at Bill and Laura's house. Bill (Gaseous) is a thru-hiker alumni who has a house just off the trail. He and his wife throw a 4th party for the hikers in the area on the chosen day. About a dozen people showed up at one point or another. Lots of food, beer, and good times. Sat in the sun, tossed some horseshoes, ate, drank, and had a day. That night was a bonfire and fireworks. It was a helluva good time.
Date: 2005-07-04
From: Hosner Mountain Rd., NY

To: New York, NY
Miles today: 0.0

So, at some point yesterday a plan to go into NY city hatched. The three I've been hiking with; Matt, Trip, and Bams plus Dubois and Steady Step were all for it. I, on the other hand, wasn't really going for it. Bill offered to take us to the train station and pick us up on his way home from work the following day. I was on the fence this morning, but got talked into going. Mostly because there was going to be fireworks. Big fireworks. Before I left, I called my friend Susan who lives in the city. Not only was she home, but she was free to meet up with us and invited us along to a rooftop party to watch fireworks. OK, Ready to go to NY now. Went to Times Square, then down to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, see the WTC site, then over to the roof party. Bams, Trip, and Matt showed up to represent the AT. Had a decent view of two sets of fireworks that night. It was fun. The journey back to the hotel that night will be fodder for so-there-I-was stories for a long time to come.
Date: 2005-07-05
From: New York, NY

To: New York, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Another day of fun and excitement in the Big Apple. Met up with Susan in the afternoon. Walked through Central Park for a bit. Paddled a rowboat around the pond. Saw the sights. Made our way back to Grand Central to meet Bill, our ride back. Got out of NY alive and in one piece. Took a train out of town, then piled into an SUV for the drive back.
Date: 2005-07-06
From: New York, NY

To: Somewhere, NY
Miles today: 14.8

Rain came through last night, but I was nice and dry sleeping above Bill's garage. Thought I was hearing rain all morning, so I continued sleeping until 10. Turns out it was just some noise from a fan, combined with wet outside. Oh well. It was good to get some sleep. Headed out with Bams round about 11. Back to the trail, home again. Getting away from it all in a complete 180 from yesterday in NYC. Felt good hiking. No pains, no soreness, no nothing. The time off helped with that. Back on trail, I'm now in a sea of hikers. Went from a void on the trail to a crowd, or just behind a crowd. Met a couple new folks along the way, as I imagine will be the case for the next several days. Stopped off at a road crossing to go grab a snack at a nearby hot dog stand. Turns out, the stand was a yellow school bus, and a short one at that. Sat at a folding table and ate some hot dogs on the side of the road next to the bus. When we got back on, the rains kicked in. Short but intense showers rained down upon us, then soon disappeared. As I dried out, I was dismayed to find about 4 deer ticks attached to various spots. One thing I could definitely do without is the infestation of these critters we've had since NJ. Land of skeeters and ticks, this is. When I was done with the parasites, I sauntered along to the next shelter and filled up the water jugs. Hiked another mile or two then pitched on the edge of a field. Good breeze, good view of the valley.
Date: 2005-07-07
From: Somewhere, NY

To: Mt. Algo Lean-to, CT
Miles today: 21.0

No rain last night like the forecast predicted. Rolled along slow this morning. Took a long break at the AT rail station. Met a dude starting a hike that had read my journal. First time that's happened out here. And I thought these were all just falling into the void. Surprising. Hey Jonathan - don't eat the red berries.I took my sweet time on the hike today. Stopped for awhile to be social, stopped for awhile to look at vistas, stopped for awhile to just rest my feet. Then did it all again. Crossed over into CT, so long NY. Still had lots of stone walls everywhere, like NY, but the trail crept through some connifer forest. Somewhat new. And also, the shelters are called lean-to's here. I took a look at one, but I couldn't tell what, or if, it was leaning to. New Englanders. Sheesh. Got to my destination for the day just after darkness had set in. Put the tent up in the dark, and prepared for the tropical depression that's supposed to roll through tonight. We'll see how it goes.
Date: 2005-07-08
From: Mt. Algo Lean-to, CT

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 0.3

The rain didn't come in last night as advertised by NOAA. Woke up at sunrise (5 ish) and had thoughts of getting up and packing up the tent dry. Then I rolled over and went back to sleep. Raining by 6. Tropical storm Cindy was in the house, or at least the remnants of it. I packed up my gear and waited inside the tent for a break in the rain. It came shortly after, so I shook out the tent, rolled it up, and hit the road. Walked down to the road and into Kent. Stopped at a shop to grab some coffee. While I was there, I ran into Caroline and Sunset Screamer. Eric, formerly of Tank-and-Eric was hanging out there as well. We sat on the porch and watched the rain come down harder. Made a stop at the outfitter and bought a new pair of shoes. I was happy with my last pair, but of course, this outfitter didn't carry them. I'd gotten over 700 miles out of the old shoes, which was double that of either of my pairs of shoes from the past. They had no tread left and I was getting tired of falling down at every wet rock I stepped on. The other three waited for me, then we went down Main Street. The rain was coming down harder and harder, and more hikers were showing up in town. Crowd on the trail near town becomes a crowd in town when the rains come. Ate lunch while we tried to decide what to do. Hike, stay, hike, stay...Couldn't decide, so we went over to the bar and hung out there. News, weather, darts, pool, and beer. We hung there for several hours. Stay it was. Only problem was there were no rooms in town. So we hopped in Sunset's car (she's off the trail and doing some angel-ing) and left town. Found a place with a room and checked in. Went out for a resupply and dinner run, then called it a day. Oh, and it was still raining. Yes, this was the shortest day ever. Technically, not a zero day, but it pretty much was. I was way happier riding out the storm indoors than I would have been on the trail. The opportunity presented itself and everything worked out great. Besides, I had fun. It's not all about the miles. Looking back on the week though, I haven't been hiking all that much. I'll get to Katahdin, though. Eventually. It's not going anywhere.
Date: 2005-07-09
From: Kent, CT

To: Caesar Brook Campsite, CT
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Slack Fest '05 rolls along. Sunset had to leave at the crack of dawn, but we stayed in the room and slept. Decided we'd hitch back to the trail. After all, we had a girl, which is a guaranteed easy hitch. In fact, when we finally got out to hitch, the first car stopped for us. Amazing. Not only did we get back to Kent, but we got a lift right to the trail head. Turns out the guy that gave us the lift was going hiking too that day. 11 o'clock and on the trail. Had some climbs to a couple nice view spots then down a rocky slope of death to the Housatonic River. I ran into some Boy Scouts on the way down, and one of the leaders had a warning for me. "Watch out for the rock," he says, "with the round edges on it in the middle of the trail. It's wet and in the shade, and it looks like a good place to put your foot." "But," he adds, "it's not." Now, I said thanks and moved on down. I chuckled out loud, because the guy described every frickin six feet of trail from top to bottom. It's all rocky, steep, wet and slick. The rest of the way down, Caroline and I are pointing out the rocks to each other. That one? No. That one? Maybe. But we couldn't be sure. I did make it down without falling, though. Slipped a time or two, but that was all. Pretty much glad I didn't have to do this yesterday in the downpour. The walk along the Housatonic River was nice. Following that though, it was more hills. The trail is getting to be more hilly than it's been. Several to climb. Highlight of the day was wading across a stream. The cold water made my feet feel really good, so I sorta took my time crossing. Called the hike quits around 7:30. Had another hour of daylight and 3.5 miles to go, but dropped out at the campsite. Needed some quiet time to write and that's what I got.
Date: 2005-07-10
From: Caesar Brook Campsite, CT

To: Billy's View, CT
Miles today: 16.6

The will to get up wasn't in me. It was good and chilly last night and cool this morning. Good for sleeping. Even went so far as to get out of the tent, walk around, and then get back in and lay down. Finally broke down and went hiking sometime midmorning. Had a couple good climbs off the bat. Those were the ones after all that I put off doing last night. I was not feeling the mojo at all. Put my earphones in early and cranked the tunes. Still, no mojo. Found some rocks in a couple spots with nice views. Spent no less than an hour at each it seemed. Oh, did I mention I needed to do 20 today? Yeah, so you see where this is going. Played leapfrog with Dreamcatcher who I met in Kent. Seemed she wasn't much motivated either. Must be something in the water. Speaking of water, it's everywhere. So nice to not have to carry a ton of it every day and still worry about running out. While I'm sidetracked, I've noticed all along the trail in CT and NY as well, stone walls everywhere. Rocks piled about 3 ft. high, running right along a straight line. Sometimes the trail crosses one, sometimes the trail runs parallel to one. They appear and disappear as time goes by. Mostly in the middle of nowhere. Speaking of nowhere, sometimes I feel like I'm in the middle if it lately. So tired of walking by houses all the time. Now, there's still a little bit of that, but it feels like it's starting to taper off some. The worst is walking by someone's swimming pool on a hot afternoon. But anyway, I made it a ways as evening set in. Just before dark, I pitched near a view spot. There's a whole pack of coyotes nearby, hopefully they won't keep me up.
Date: 2005-07-12
From: Sages Ravine Campsite, MA

To: US 7 Road Crossing, MA
Miles today: 14.6

The walk this morning started in Sages Ravine, as the thing up there would suggest. Walked through the hemlocks along a river. Buggy, but scenic. Climbed up to Race Mountain, it was a fun little walk up top along the cliff's edge. Didn't fall off. Blueberries were ripe up there, and there was a ton of them. Got distracted. Picked a handful here and a handful there as I creeped along the trail. They were delicious. After I ate my way across the ridge, I went back to hiking. Down, up again over lots of rock, down again. Ran into the Odd Couple at the lunch stop, they had town on the brain. That planted a seed in my head. Hiked on further, and eventually decided I'd go in too. Seemed to be some reasonable priced motels with laundry according to the book. I didn't need groceries, but shower, laundry and a little rest sounded good. Actually I was pretty filthy. Surprise. Got off the mountain and walked across swampland. Got to the road around 6 and started walking toward Great Barrington some 4-ish miles away. The Odd Couple were there trying to hitch at the trail crossing and not having much luck. Rain clouds were forming, so I stuck out my thumb and walked. Got maybe 3/4 mile down before I scored a ride. Got in the car, then the rain started. Perfect timing. The girl who picked me up offered to let me sleep on her couch, too. Lucky me. She hiked the trail last year and lived nearby. Hit the laundromat, then hung out and ate pizza with her and a friend. Got a little tour of Great Barrington, drank some beers, then fell asleep on the couch.
Date: 2005-07-13
From: US 7 Road Crossing, MA

To: Somewhere along the trail, MA
Miles today: 14.1

Slept like a rock and didn't get up until late. Showered and tried to do some repair work on my radio. Killed it yesterday, suppose I dropped it one too many times. Laura drove me over to the K-Mart so I could buy a new one. Hope that's the last one I have to buy. Then it was coffee and doughnuts, and I was dropped off at the trail. My short stay in town was great. The kindness of strangers and the fellowship among hikers are pieces of this adventure that I will never forget. The hike today, though, I might possibly forget. Nothing but a ton of mosquitos mauling me. Deet every couple hours, but then they quit going for your exposed skin and start drilling through your clothes. Can't win. I can't wait for the trail to get out of the swamp. Stopped at a shelter to eat lunch and killed maybe 30 of the little b------s. Smash and smear. My kilt was covered in carcasses. Don't feel too bad though, some of 'em still got me. Met up with Caroline again and we hiked the rest of the day. Pushed on past one shelter to try and get out of the mosquito-fest. The plan was to camp out on top of the ridge near another shelter. Accidently took the AT instead of the blue blaze trail and got sent off the ridge. Didn't turn back, though, and kept going. Hoped to find a sweet spot somewhere, but never did. Pitched off the trail in a cloud of mosquitos. So glad the tarp tent has mesh, now is definitely the time that pays off. No cooking dinner or grabbing at anything outside the tent. Holed up hoping they'll all just go away...
Date: 2005-07-14
From: Somewhere along the trail, MA

To: Upper Goose Pond, MA
Miles today: 13.4

There was a cloud of bloodsuckers waiting outside my tent for me. Did the world's fastest pack-up and made a mad dash. They don't keep up too well, but watch out if you stop. Stop. Count to 10, start swatting. Smack and smash, watch the carcasses pile up. Made a stop today to grab a snack and some water, but was distracted by the bugs. Smacked at them until I went crazy and bolted up the trail again. Found the only spot they weren't though - the road. Stopped, laid in the road since there wasn't much traffic and ate lunch. Peace at last. Caroline hiked with me til just after lunch, then scampered out ahead. I finally tried out my new radio. It works. The walking wasn't too bad. Had a couple good sized climbs, but those are starting to get a little easier. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. By mid-afternoon I had come to Upper Goose Pond. The trail followed along the lake for a bit. The breeze coming off it felt nice. Took the side trail up to the cabin here. Nothing fancy, it has a porch, a bunkroom and some sitting spots inside. Most important, though, it has a pond. Got in, threw my pack off and went down for a swim. Man, that felt great. The clear, cold water was refreshing. Went in with my clothes on - they needed the rinse too. Sat on the little dock and dried out, no mosquitos around. Sat up on the porch for a bit. Had Vapor, Yardsale, Caroline, Dubois here as well as some others to talk with. As the day got late, plenty more hikers trickled in. Maybe a dozen. Nice place though, so not entirely unexpected. A couple days ago when I was being ambitious, stopping here was not on the itinerary. Since I've been a little slower than expected, I hit this spot just right. Truth be told, I would have ended up stopping here regardless.
Date: 2005-07-15
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin, MA

To: Kay Wood Lean-to, MA
Miles today: 17.6

The caretaker, Grampy, was up at 6 making pancakes. Had me a bunch, and a fix of coffee. Hung out in the morning around the cabin, then went and sat down by the pond for a little while. Very pretty spot. This would have been an easy place to take a day off at. It's like some kind of hiker resort. But alas, I must continue northward. But not before taking it easy for a bit. When I did get going, the skies were overcast, but that eventually burned off. Did a lot of ups and downs the first part of the day. I took a break by a pond for a little while, and amazingly there weren't many mosquitos there. That was about the only place for awhile though. Hiked in front of a cloud the rest of the time, and it was motivation to keep the pace up. Dangling carrot in front of the mule, a cloud of mosquitos behind Porter. Not much difference really. Stopped by the famous "cookie lady's" house. It's a house/farm near the trail and the lady that lives there (cookie lady) has homemade cookies out for hikers to snack on. The cookie lady wasn't there, but her husband, Roy, perhaps the "cookie man" (?) was. Cookies, ginger ale, and water from the spigot set me right. I was there with Yardsale. We chatted with Roy for awhile, then sat at the place in the shade for about 2 1/2 hours. It was good. After I brought myself to walk some more, it was a semi-flat rolling hill hike to the shelter. Took a little longer than expected. No problems, though. The TV stations I pick up on my radio are now in VT, where Jeopardy starts 30 minutes later than from PA to MA. Feel like Rainman sometimes. Jeopardy at 7:30, yeah, Wheel of Fortune at 7. Got to the shelter right after it was over. Perfect timing. Mosquitos here are not as bad, but still out in force. Heard today that the mosquito situation will get a bit better soon. Best news all day. Just about out of Deet, and running out has been my worst nightmare. Running out of TP pales in comparison. On a side note: I saw a sign today for free dinner, 10 cent drafts, and a movie going down in VT Tuesday. Immediately after seeing the flyer, I whipped out my data book and looked at the mileage. Four days and forty five miles. That doesn't really jive with my intention of doing full days for awhile. I'd have to throw in a short day somewhere between now and then, else miss it by a half day. Maybe two. Or maybe I'll find that the terrain is rough and I won't go as quick as I think. Ah well, each time I thought I'd overshoot something I ended up right on target. I'll let the next couple days play out as they may, but the seed has been planted...To Dalton tomorrow for breakfast and a few supplies. Will try not to get sucked into a vortex.
Date: 2005-07-16
From: Kay Wood Lean-to, MA

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Rolled down the mountain into town. Trail goes right through and I had stopped into the Friendly for breakfast. Heard from Rainbow and Spartacus that Sean was hanging around in town. So I went to go find him. Figured I had a little time to spare, after all I hadn't run across Sean since PA. Went to go knock on a door at the motel. Hour before checkout and Sean was there. Grabbed a shower there too and chilled until checkout. His plan was to take the day off and stay over at the Birdcage, a hostel nearby. I was still planning on trucking on, but I walked over to the place with Sean anyway just to check it out. When we got over there, Rob (the man) introduced himself and offered a ride to the outfitter and the grocery. Pack came off, and I was in the car. Bought some aqua mita and Deet at the outfitters, posed for a picture, and over to the grocery. The case of beer we bought there pretty much made my taking the rest of the day off official. Rob did our laundry, and I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the yard with a cold one. Watched Naked Sun and Sean work on modifying Naked Sun's child-size tent into something an average-sized human could sleep in. A little later in the afternoon, Rob took us over to a swimmin' hole for a dip. Cold, clear pool with rocks to jump off of above. Good times. Cold water felt good on the feet. That evening, the 8 hikers piled into Rob's minivan for a trip to the Old Country Buffet. It was a slaughter. We ate all we could. It was delicious. Painful toward the end, but delicious. After dinner, the guitars came out. Rob's a bit of a musician and played for the small group in the kitchen. I played along a bit too, I led a couple, but mostly followed Rob's lead. It was a blast. We played well past midnight, til 1 or 2. Had massive blisters on my fingers, but such is the price.
Date: 2005-07-17
From: Dalton, MA

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

I had the hiking clothes on and everything, but the rain falling outside made it difficult to leave. Sat around Rob's place for most the afternoon. Never really did get a break, so Sean and I started working on the leftover Cervesas in the fridge. That sealed it, another night at the Birdcage. Not many hikers in that night. Naked Sun and Morell were still there, also. Ate Italian food for dinner. More guitar pickin' that night.
Date: 2005-07-18
From: Dalton, MA

To: Cheshire, MA
Miles today: 9.3

Left the Birdcage early afternoon, drug my feet getting out. Found Sean in town after his failed attempt at night hiking out of Dalton. The both of us left out of town and up over the hill to Cheshire. Pulled into the deli/ice cream shop around dinner time. Had a sandwich and a root beer float. Clouds had been forming and as we ate, a torrential downpour came through. Not too thrilled about going any further in the rain. Waited a bit, and it showed no signs of improving. Sean and I decided to use a life-line and phone a friend. Called Rob to come and snag us from out the storm. It was sort of like a slack-pack, but we had all our stuff. Went back to the Birdcage and had a beer and a shower. In that order. Sub shop for dinner, then an early bedtime. Dalton and the Birdcage was a good stop.
Date: 2005-07-19
From: Cheshire, MA

To: Somewhere, MA
Miles today: 14.0

Bus left from Rob's in the morning. Said our so-longs to Rob and headed out. Began the long ascent up Mt. Greylock. This was about the first real mountain since Virginia, and I was clearly not in shape for it. It was a long trail up, with some steeps and some flats. I was moving pretty slow. As I neared the top, the rain started up. Just a bit of wind and drizzle, I was up in the clouds after all. The top of Greylock had a lodge and a war memorial monument. The lodge had a snack bar, so I went there first. Ate hot dogs and watched the storms blow through from the dining room. Played some AT trivia with Naked Sun while we waited for a break. Eventually we got one. The clouds blew out and the sun shone bright. Time to move. Hiked down the mountain and into town. Made my way over to the grocery store and down the road for some dinner and food bag boost. Got enough food to make Manchester and a sandwich for dinner. Sat outside on the curb and chowed down. Lots of folks came by and asked how the hiking was going so I didn't get back as quickly as I wanted. Even stopped to chat with a fellow ouside his house along the trail road-walk. Guess I looked approachable. Maybe it's the skirt. By the time I got back into the woods via a wrong turn due to poorly marked trail, darkness was coming in. Planned on making it to a sanctioned campsite, but pitched my tent by a stream instead. Bad move, heard the road all night, but, oh well...