morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-08-16
From: Mark Noepel Lean-to

To: Dalton
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: few clouds

From Jay: We cruised into Dalton today and got in by noonish. The weather was perhaps the nicest we've seen so far on the Trail: clear, low 70's with a nice cool breeze. The Trail was basically dry, which has really been the case since entering Massachusetts. Very nice. Dalton is actually the 2nd town of the day, as we walked through Cheshire in the a.m. Mary and I hit up a Shell station and annihilated a box of Entemann's glazed donut holes. While sitting on the curb stuffing ourselves, another SOBO came walking along who had spent the night in town. His name is DeJoe, and he's the first southbounder we've seen in quite awhile. He hiked with us for the remainder of the day and stayed with us at the hostel in Dalton. In town we were able to get all cleaned, laundered, and stuffed, ready to crank out the rest of Massacusetts and Connecticut.Dinner of the night: Jay's pepperoni calzone at Mill Town Tavern
Date: 2008-08-17
From: Dalton

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

From Mary: Beautiful hiking again today. We left Tom's house in Dalton before anyone else was up. We made decent time and after a half-mile of side trail we ended up at this beautiful hiker cabin. I went for a swim in the pond and Jay and I already had claimed our bunks for the night. Just a simple mattress and a roof over our heads, oh and the romise of pancakes in the morning. We're easy to please. I've heard rumors of them running out. I am counting on hotcakes to get me the half-mile back to the trail (where miles start counting again.) OUt look is good...only 4 hikers so far, which is surprising with the number of NOBO's we've been seeing on the trail. All in all a great day! Quote of the day: "I think my feet hurt because for once my shoes aren't wet." - Jay
Date: 2008-08-18
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Lake Buel Road/Eastern Mt. Retreat
Miles today: 19.0

From Jay: It was a warm and quite beautiful day for our hike. We started with pancakes cooked up by the caretaker of the cabin, which meant it was a later start than normal, but well worth it. The bugs (mosquitoes, deer flies and horse flies) have picked up again. We're having to put on bug spray for the first time since Maine. However, the trail has been in great shape and the terrain very manageable. We're spending most of our time traversing ridges and hills above farm and pastureland, which we often cross as well. The cows don't know quite what to make of us. Tonight we are staying in the hostel section of a "quiet retreat". Apparently people pay to stay at this place adn not talk and enjoy the peace & quiet. I'm enjoying the pizza we had delivered from the nearest town (Great Barrington) Quite Retreat Hiker Rule #1: If you see a guest of the retreat, do not try to speak with them, just smile and nod, they will understand.
Date: 2008-08-19
From: Lake Buel Road/Eastern Mt. Retreat

To: Sages Ravine Campsite
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: light rain

From Mary: Day 51 on the trail for us is coming to a close. Can you believe how far we've come? Neither can I at times, but sometimes my tired feet tell me otherwise. Before this hike I had never backpacked for more than two consecutive days. Now I'm becoming a pro and those occasional thoughts of quitting this journey are far behind. Those who know the trail will tell us that if we've made it this far, through the toughest parts, there's no stopping us now. Since we've made it through almost five states still happily an(and stinkily, is that a word?) married. What's another nine states or 90 years? ;-) I have deemed today National Salamander day. There were so many salamanders on the trail when we started out this morning. You'll have to excuse my fascination with these little creatures, but I don't think I had ever seen them till the trail. I've tried a few times to snap pictures of the little 1-2 inch amphibians but they don't seem to be that photogenic. In other trail news we got rained on this morning, but then were treated to some cool breezes and sunshine for the rest of the day. Highlights of the day include: early mac apples at the Corn Crib, (small roadside store) a walk unscathed through "mosquito alley," beautiful views from the ridges of Race Mountain (just south of Mt. Everett), a nice campsite at Sages Ravine (a stone's throw from the Connecticut border.) Life is good. Snack of the day: Snickers
Date: 2008-08-20
From: Sages Ravine Campsite

To: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 23.2

From Jay: Into Connecticut today! We climbed out of the ravine and onto Bear Mt, which is the highest peak in the state (not point.) We were really able to cruise for most of the day, and once again had our hihest mileage so far. A nice stop was our swing into Salisbury where we resupplied and had a great grocery store lunch and Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Lunches of the day: Jay - post roast & mashed potatoes, Mary - sushi rolls. P.S. We had a mystery animal wake us up at 3:00 a.m. for the second night in a row.
Date: 2008-08-21
From: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to

To: CT 341/Kent, CT
Miles today: 17.0

From Jay:Great experience for Mary and I this evening after a quite warm and humid day. We moved pretty well over rolling and open land through morning and afternoon so that we could reach Kent and pick up one of our drop boxes. We got to town around 3:30, but were moving pretty slow once we were there. We had planned to get back to the trail and knock out a few more mies, but were really dreading it as the heat had taken a lot out of us. We went to the local outfitter, which our guidebook said often would shuttle hikers a couple miles back to the trail. As we were inquiring in the store, a couple overheard and offered a lift. However, before we headed out, the couple invited us to stay at their home for the evening. Tim and Katy are their names and they treated us to a great grilled dinner, laundry, showers and a room of our own. What awesome people and generosity! This was definitely one of the most appreciated (and unexpected) moments of our trip.
Date: 2008-08-22
From: CT 341/Kent, CT

To: New York 22/Pawlilng
Miles today: 18.3

From Mary: Happy Birthday Six Toe! (As a wife you must know calling your husband by a trail name takes some getting used to. He'll always be Jay to me.) In honor of Jay's birthday and our outstanding acccomodations, we had...wait for it...toasted pop tarts for breakfast. Many thanks again to Tim and Katy for their trail magic, what beautiful people. (If you are reading this, please send us an email or sign our guestbook so we can stay in touch.) With well rested feet the going today was rather nice. The weather was warm, we were treated to a deer sighting, and had an enjoyable crossing into our 6th state on the trail (New York.) At the end of the day on NY22 we were graciously picked up (while illegally hitching, illegal in New York anyway) by a kind lady from Pawling. She gave us a tour of town, recommended the Pawling Tavern for dinner (where we enjoyed 3/4 pound burgers later) and invited us to tent in her yard. Birthday dessert was soft serve at the BP gas station (only ice cream in town). I had one of these "because I am hiking" guilt free moments when ordering a large devouring the entire thing and still contemplating ordering a pizza after. It was a beautiful, clear night, no tent fly required. Thanks again Gwen & Fred for your hospitality.Ice cream flavor of the day: Twist
Date: 2008-08-23
From: New York 22/Pawlilng

To: Long Hill Road
Miles today: 22.1

From Jay: We were ferried back to the trail this morning by Gwen who was a delight to meet. From there we plodded along pretty lazily, knowing we were meeting Mary's parents later in the morning. Mary was telling me while we were tramping along some of the requests she wanted to make of her parents when we looked up and saw them (along with Mary's brother, Paul) walking toward us on the trail. We were really excited to see her family for the first time in several months, and had an awesome time catching up. Mary's mom drove our packs and had great food waiting for us at just about every road crossing while her dad and brother hiked with us. I think Mary and I both enjoyed talking with someone else as we haven't hiked with anyone since New Hampshire. After an easy 22 miles, we all went to a hotel to get cleaned up and east some more. We're going to slack-pack again tomorrow before Mary's folks have to take her brother back to NYC. Word of the day: slack.
Date: 2008-08-24
From: Long Hill Road

To: US 9W/Fort Montgomery, NY
Miles today: 22.8

From Mary: After my parents somehow talked the hotel into letting us eat at the breakfast buffet for free we headed out for another day of slack-packing. My dad took first shift and hiked 11 miles with us until lunch. Mom and Paul met us with a wonderful spread as usual and so Jay and I set of on our next section alone. We met up with the family support vehicle again and Paul hiked the final leg with us which concluded with the crossing the Hudson on the Bear Mountain Bridge. Since Paul was in a hurry to get back into the city we had a quick beer (my family always comes prepared) with the family before they took off, but not before setting us up in a motel and re-supply. It was such a treat to spend two nights in hotels and have home cooked meals, be slack-packed, and not to mention be in good company. I really enjoyed the way Paul and Jay can talk for hours, and the way my dad makes me notice the trees and rocks of the trail which I may have overlooked before. Thank you mom for being the best support driver ever! You are the best! In a hurry to watch the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, Jay and I went to dinner stinky. It was a great BBQ place, and tasted so good afer mostly burgers and pizza when eating out otherwise. We caught game 4 of the men's vollyball gold medal game (way to make us proud guys!)and the closing ceremonies. Beer of the day: Bells Oberan & Bells Amer (Thank again mom & dad) P.S. mystery animal of a couple nights ago solved: arred Owl ("who, who, cooks for you") Thanks to the bird call book - mating call can sound like maniacal laughter.
Date: 2008-08-25
From: US 9W/Fort Montgomery, NY

To: NY 17
Miles today: 18.6

From Mary: Late start after waiting for the post office to open, for a package of food we really didn't need. The heat and humidity was stifling as we began our climb (now carrying full packs)up Bear Mountain. To make a long story short, New York kicked out butts this morning. We had a tossing out session of unnecessary food at the top of our first climb. You would think that we'd have this down by now, day 57, but occasionally even we make mistakes. Another issue faced today was lack of water. We were full in the morning (weighing us down, too), but requiring lots of liquids to beat the humidity. We ended up conserving until we could get to the Tiorati Circle to get more (13 miles in). After lunch, then later ice cream out of a vending machne at Tiorati, we pounded out the remaining miles without too much trouble. (Hopefully my pictues of Jay going through the Lemon Squeezer turned out.) When e were wrapping up our hiking for a day a call to Trail Angels John & Susan turned out to include a trail pick up, dinner, laundry, showeres, internet, a bed, breakfast, lots of doggie kisses, and a lift back to the trail. Thank you so much John & Susan, your hospitality meant so much to us. Veggie of the day: asparagus (did anyone know Jay eats this stuff?)Saw lots of deer today, even some that stopped long enough to photograph.
Date: 2008-08-26
From: NY 17

To: Wawayandra Shelter
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: clear sky

From Jay: John dropped us off at the trail after a filling breakfast. Talk about some great people! Anyway, it was back to the grind. Literally, the very first hill was called "Agony Grind." Not quite as rough as the name would suggest, but the start of another surprisingly tough day. The big difference: the weather had cooled dramatidcally and the humidty dropped off. A full morning of up's and down's took us to a road with an ice creamery just a short walk from the trail. Mary and I feasted on homemade flavors to go with our lunch of PB&J's. The afternoon was really a ridge walk along rock outcroppings overlooking Greenwood Lake until we reached the New Jersey border. Can't believe we're in our 7th state, expecially after the slog through the first. Tonight we have a shelter to ourselves, but the University of Pennsylvania has a freshman orientation group camping outside. This could get interesting. Best choice of the day: Waffle cones Flavor of the day: Bellvale Bog P.S. We didn't end up having the shelter to ourselves, a yo-yo hiker, Brian, joined us after he completed a 38 mile day. Very likeable guy, more later.
Date: 2008-08-27
From: Wawayandra Shelter

To: Lott Rd/Unionville, NY
Miles today: 17.1

From Jay: We cruised to Unionville today. Leaving from the shelter pretty early,we pushed hard to meet Mary's parents. They met us on the road about five miles from Unionville and fed us until we were completely stuffed. It was tough to see them go as it's been great to have their support. The rest of the day was easy road/field walking. When we reached Unionville we were picked up by the Mayor of the town. We have been hearing about this town and its hospitality since we left Katahdin. The mayor of the town, Dick, has converted his home into a hiker hostel. He feeds us, cleans us up, and gives us a place to sleep and all for free. It really is things like this that makes this trail special. P.S. Mary broke a 20' tree today while peeing. I'll leave it to your imagination to figure it out.
Date: 2008-08-28
From: Lott Rd/Unionville, NY

To: US 206
Miles today: 23.1

From Mary: Northbound for a day. We were offered the opportunity to slack pack again and return to the mayor's (for gas cost only). The offer was just too good to turn down. We were dropped off (Brian, Spoonful, Skeeter and some other SOBO's at C Notch and with only hip packs and poles headed back to Unionville. It was a beautiful sunny day and the walking was relatively easy. (No big mountain, just some rocky sections.) We were able to make a much anticipated side trip (.5 mles) to the highest point in New Jersey. That was our 26th high point. I am hoping to get #27 by my 27th birthday - we'll see. From the high point monument it was 7.5 miles generally downhill back into town. What's funny is the fact you can see the monument from the mayor's driveway. When we arrived at the mayor's house we were greeted by five hikers who had arrived while we were slacking. Four of them were SOBO's, more total than we've seen all in one place since Maine. it was a full house, but we were comfortable and the food and drinks provided somehow managed to feed everyone. Jay was especially excited to watch the opening games of the much awaited college football season. Of course he was interrupted by everyone wanting to watch teh democratic convention. I finished another chapter of my book in the quiet of the break room. Big day tomorrow. We are looking forward to zeroing Saturday with Jay's folks. Word of the day: enchanting.
Date: 2008-08-29
From: US 206

To: PA611/Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 28.4
Weather: overcast clouds

From Jay: Our biggest day so far by a good margin. The mayor of Unionville dropped us off at Culver's Gap, where we started yesterday's "slack pack". We really hustled all day as we had gotten off to a later start and knew we had to push some big miles. As we were yesterday, today was spent on a long ridge line punctuated by small "gaps" or dips in the ridge. It was fairly easy going, just a bit slow due to the small foot-tall rocks that often made up the trail. One cool highlight involved our lunch stop. We had halted near a fire tower that was being manned due to the dry conditions the area has had lately. The watchers invited us up into the 60' tower which gave us a great view of the rest of the day's hike, as well as the surrounding countryside. Tonight we've made it into Pennsylvania and are meeting my parents in the morning. They are driving through the night to meet us and treat us to a day of rest and football watching and general hanging. Sounds like fun! Today's hike was brought to you by Combo's: The Official Cheese-filled Snack of NASCAR.
Date: 2008-08-30
From: PA611/Delaware Water Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

From Mary: As wonderful, much needed, and anticipated zero day. Jay's folks picked us up in the morning after driving all night from Michigan, and we headed to a hotel suite for some football watching, hottubbing, and a home cooked meal (and tons of snacks & desserts). It was a great day spent with family. Meal of the day: Beef & Noodles P.S. Thank you again John & Susan & Scout for a the marvelous weekend!
Date: 2008-08-31
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Smith Gap Road
Miles today: 23.7

From Jay: Back to hiking today but the easy way, sans packs. Mom & Dad Lampas dropped us off at Smith Gap and we walked north back to Delaware Water Gap. Our first Pennsylvania hiking day was rocky, as expected, but we still made good time along a long ridgeline. During the day we passed/were passed by Karl Metzar, who is attempting an AT time record. We gave him a shout of encouragement as fellow Salt Lake Citiers. We met up with mom & dad in Delaware Water Gap and had dinner at Macaroni Grill which Mary had been craving. Then it was back to the hotel to relax a bit more before hitting the trail for real tomorrow. The past couple of days have been a great respite, bu tI think hot tubs are going to be sorely lacking henceforth on the trail.
Date: 2008-09-01
From: Smith Gap, PA

To: New Tripoli Campsite
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: clear sky

An update from Susan (Jay's aka Six Toe's mom)We picked Jay and Mary up Saturday morning, 8/30 in Delaware Water Gap, PA. They were a bit upset because the post office was closed, never heard of a post office not being open Saturday morning, but this one was not and it held their PA maps. After a LARGE breakfast we went to a Residence Inn across the Delaware River in New Jersey for a little R&R for Jay & Mary. We watched football and got caught up and they ate and ate, did laundry, got clean and we celebrated Jay's birthday a few days late. They are fit and thin (I need to hike this trail). On Sunday we dropped them off for a slack-pack hike for about 23.5 miles while John played golf and our trusty golden retriever, "Scout" and I hiked a little of the trail. We ate at a Macaroni Grill Sunday evening and then finished off Jay's birthday cake. Monday morning - Labor Day was their first anniversary and we dropped them off at Smith Gap or some such place on a mountain top and watched them disappear into the woods. First anniversary and they have already been to Hawaii, Alaska and are just about half done with hiking the Appalachian Trail - how do you top that? As they left we had to call Scout back as he thought he was going too - don't think he would have made it very far - he's a little on the husky side. I will add their journal to this page when I receive it. From Jay: We're real hikers again after being dropped off this morning by the 'rents. Really sad to hear the van drive off as we plunged into the treeline. It's been a lot more of the same on the trail: ridgeline walking, lots of rocks, hot as heck. The good thing is we're still able to get in good miles due to the general flatness of the terrain. One big exception was Lehigh Gap, which gave us a bit of a Maine flashback with a tough little downhill rock scramble. Today is our First wedding Anniversary, which someone must have realized as there were fireworks in the distance we could see from our campsite on the ridge. Mary and I danced in the dark before heading to bed.
Date: 2008-09-02
From: New Tripoli Campsite

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 28.5
Weather: few clouds

From Jay & Mary Yup, still walking. Highlights: 6 foot rat snake, the Pinnacle International hitch, frosty's, no resupply, "Country girl in a city girl's body," pavilion (with difficulty finding the pump in the dark), largest outfitter in the nation can't replace our treking pole tips (we left Cabela's empty handed). Food of the day: Wendy's frosty shakes
Date: 2008-09-03
From: Port Clinton

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: broken clouds

From Mary: After our longest day yet (yesterday) I was dragging a little today. Due to the continued drought we have encountered here in Pennsylvania, we had to complete the miles today to reach a good water source. Our packs were heavy as we started out with a full day's supply of water. We saw another rat snake just as we left Port Clinton. Since we were unable to resupply in Port Clinton, aside from our mail drop, and a care package from Lynn, (thank you darling) we planned to hitch from the 501 shelter into a nearby town. We were picked up by a kind lady and her cousin, who gave us a lift to the grocery store and returned us to the shelter. For folks who "don't usually pick up hitch-hikers," thanks for the magic! Back at the shelter Jay talked me into ordering a pizza (Okay, so it doesn't take much talking when it comes to food). They deliver to the shelter so it was very convenient and went well with our Caesar bag salad from the grocery. I took a very brief "solar heated" shower (difficult to find the solar heat in the woods) and before turning in for the night a couple of fellow southbounders (Skeeter & Spoonful) joined us. Quote of the day: "That toad was so big I thought it was a green chipmunk at first." - Jay Animal sighting of the day: 3 wild turkeys - not of the drinking variety
Date: 2008-09-04
From: 501 Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: broken clouds

From Mary: In honor of our long day efforts we decided to take it easy today on the miles. We hiked with Spoonful & Skeeter for parts of the day. We reached our destination shelter before 3:00 in the afternoon so it really felt like a vacation. The "reliable spring" at the shelter turned out to be not so reliable, but water was available from a stream about 3/10 of a mile back on the trail. As we hiked today we composed a song, "The Twelve Days of Hiking." I don't remember all the details, but here are a few I do remember: 12 Dry Springs, 11 toads a leaping, 8 person shelter, 5 copperheads,3 turkeys running, 2 stickbugs mating, and 1 flowing spring.After some naps, reading and journaling time, I am ready to retire. We heard some storms are possibly heading our way to relieve us from some of this heat we've been hiking in. Quote of the day: "I feel like a Nazi." - Jay as he tossed completed pages from Mary's book into the fire. P.S. Lynn, the cookies were wonderful. The are all gone already. Thank you! We can't wait to see you on the trail.