morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-07-22
From: PA 325 - Clarks Valley

To: William Penn Shelter
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: overcast clouds

In the morning, I started ascending the mountain. It was a 1,100 ft. climb in elevation, but it was an easy grade, so I made good time on the way up. My parents had called that morning and left a message, so I called them back on the way up the mountain. They had said that, after dropping me off in Boiling Springs, they left the following day en route to their home in Florida. This time, they decided to ¢drive¢ the Appalachian Trail on Interstate 81, passing through towns like Marion, Glasgow, Lexington, Asheville, etc. They claimed that they were thru-hikers, but just driving the trail as they had to get to Florida. I thought that it was rather hilarious and a nice way of showing their support. They were impressed by the mountains and, if they had more time, they would have liked to have stopped in more towns. I met several section hikers on the way, but started another audiobook ¢ this time, ¢Into Thin Air¢ by Jon Krakauer about the Mt. Everest Disaster in 1996, in which 8 climbers were killed. I had read the book many years ago and found it to be another gripping adventurous tale, but listening to the author describe the events and overall story was even more intense. When I made it to Rausch Gap Shelter, I made two large lunch meals and promptly, thereafter, made a much-needed trip to the loo. I hiked on my own all the way to William Penn Shelter, where I arrived late at night, and met up with Dreamcatcher, a 60-year-old nurse practitioner from Tennessee, who I hadn¢t seen since the third day in the Shenandoah¢s. She is probably the sweetest person out on the trail. Not a single bad bone in her body. It was nice to have walked a solid 26.3 miles and to have passed the 1,000 mile marker on the other end! We now have less than 1,000 miles to go! Let the countdown begin!!!
Date: 2009-07-25
From: Port Clinton

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I was only able to hike six miles today, as Megan and Kelly would be arriving tomorrow morning and I had to stall. Phoenix Rising called up Cabela¢s and managed to get the shuttle to come and pick us up. My intention was to get into Hamburg so that I could use the internet in order to upload this site. While at Cabela¢s, I went for the AYCE breakfast buffet, which turned out to be a poor choice, as the food was either fried in deep fat or the eggs were made out of egg powder. Nasty. Phoenix Rising¢s friend arrived and took Zen Dog, an older thru-hiker who has been practicing ¢Zen¢ in Asheville, NC for the past two years, into Hamburg. They dropped me off at the library, while Zen Dog headed to the grocery store. Unfortunately, I found out that the library closed within 45 minutes, so I had to hurry up to get emails out and to pay a few bills. I tried to hitchhike back to Cabela¢s, but this proved fruitless and I had to walk the 1.5 miles. Instead of going to Cabela¢s, however, I stopped at a Subway in a gas station, where the sole employee made the worst Subway sandwich I have ever had. I proceeded to write up via hand the highlights of the past few days, as I had not kept up with my blog in recent days. I then fell asleep at the table for 30 minutes, trying to muster up enough energy to get me back to Port Clinton and off into the woods. Big Camera arrived shortly, thereafter, and we sat and chatted for a little while before I asked some guy at the gas station if he could take us back. Big Camera is a mid-20¢s guy from Rhode Island who sometimes ¢runs¢ the AT ¢ even while he carries his 9 lb. camera, hence the reason for his trail name. He told me that he plans on running through every contiguous state all within one year next year (yes, there are 48). It is quite a challenge. I doubt that it can be done, but I hope he goes for it. It would be quite a feat. Back at the pavilion, I ran in and grabbed my orange pack cover, which I had left behind, and the couple took me and BC back to the trail in Port Clinton. The climb out of Port Clinton wasn¢t as severe as many people had made it out to be. I made it to the shelter before nightfall, where I shared it with Dreamcatcher, Macaroni, Big Camera, and Buttchinz, a delightful 28-year-old woman from Boston. Mac had a raging fire going, before the rain came through and began a complete downpour. I was just happy that I was safe in the shelter again ¢ this time, dry.
Date: 2009-07-28
From: Palmerton, PA

To: Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Today has turned out to be a zero day in Palmerton, as I had to type up my Trail Journals site for the last week. To be honest, it¢s a great place to rest my weary feet as well. I just finished the journal and will now head off to Bert¢s Restaurant for some more spaghetti with meatballs!!!
Date: 2009-07-30
From: Leroy Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: broken clouds

We awoke to these beautiful rays of sunshine coming through the dew-covered leaves of trees. It was a marvelous morning and we were happy to see some golden shine, after such a crappy day yesterday. We were all a bit lethargic in the morning and Gnarley and I didn¢t leave the shelter until 11:30 am. Gnarley is a 29-year-old guy from New Hampshire, who had been living in New York City for the last decade or so. He¢s probably one of the ¢coolest¢ guys I¢ve ever met. When he became disillusioned with his work in Manhattan, he went for a change and moved to Las Vegas. Becoming disillusioned from life out there, he purchased a bicycle and peddled his way through the desert to San Diego. When he arrived there, he started pedaling into Mexico and traveled the entire way down the Pacific Coast. His original thought was to pedal all the way down to Buenos Aires, but that goal stopped a bit short somewhere in central-Mexico, where his bicycle broke down. A Mexican family came along at the right time, fixed his bike, and he pedaled his way back into the United States. He told me that he lost so much weight that he had to make four new holes for his belt. When he returned to New York, he sat down and wrote a 400 page book about his experience; he now hopes to publish it and, at some point, make his way down to Argentina to find a wife and/or to live. Anyway, Gnarley and I chatted about all sorts of topics on the walk, pressing one another on a variety of issues and topics. I enjoyed his company very much and we made some pretty good time en route to the Delaware Water Gap. The rocks were still pretty bad at this point and I could feel the soles of my feet were just getting pummeled. At the Kirkridge Shelter - the last one in Pennsylvania - everyone wrote in the register how much they hated Pennsylvania and all of its poison ivy, poison oak, lack of water, horribly maintained trails, and friggin¢ rocks! A few, like myself, explained how much we loved Pennsylvania. The rocks were pretty bad, but the terrain was relatively easy in comparison to the southern states and I¢ve had some incredible experiences meeting wonderful locals. When I made it in to Delaware Water Gap, I delighted at seeing my trail family: Willow, Jungli, Dah Wah He, Sweet Lou, Macaroni, Gnarley, and Blue Eyes. Other thru-hikers that were there consisted of: Zen Dog, Fletch, Many Names, Lake to Lake, Rufio, Son, Hot Chocolate, and a few others. It was a huge crowd at the Church of the Mountain Hostel. I had showed up just after the church cooked dinner, but Jungli and others managed to save me a plate full of wonderful goodies. In the evening, I showered up (much-needed as I stank horribly) and proceeded to play Gnarley¢s trail guitar for a few hours. Willow¢s husband would be coming in the morning to give us a slack pack all the way to Camp Ken-Etiwa-Pec.
Date: 2009-08-01
From: Blue Mtn. Lakes Rd - Camp Ken-Etiwa-Pec

To: Culvers Gap
Miles today: 10.6

We woke up to an eerily-looking lake that had misty see-through clouds floating across the surface, as if ghosts were viewing the water reflection below. The day immediately started to get warm and we were fortunate enough to dry out our belongings, as they had all become soaked from the previous day¢s drenching. I was a bit dirty and felt the need to jump in the lake, so I headed on over and went for a wee swim. Hey, you have to take a bath when the opportunity presents itself! Macaroni and I were the last ones to leave camp, hitting the trailhead at 11:10 am. I was impressed at how quickly I made it to Culver¢s Gap. The terrain in-between was nothing all-too-special, except for the view overlooking Culvers Lake. While at the gap, I was en route to Gyp¢s Tavern for a brew, when I saw this older-looking man falling asleep on the porch of a restaurant. I thought that it was Floater, a 66-year-old man who is out doing the trail on his own. At closer inspection, I determined that it was, so I went on over and woke him up and introduced myself. He is supposed to be a funny, light-hearted chap and he turned out to be just that. We chatted for a short while and then I departed to re-join my friends at the tavern. Sitting at the bar with Dah Wah He, Sweet Lou, and Macaroni, we felt like celebrities as everyone was interested in our hike and what type of wildlife we have seen and what we eat and when we are going to finish and how far we¢ve walked, etc. As we reconvened outside on the porch that overlooks the beautiful Kittatiny Lake, Dah Wah He came up with the idea of asking the Mayor in Unionville, NY to slack pack us there. We already had a few drinks down and it was just a spectacular evening, so we decided to give it a go. Sure enough, it worked out and Butch, Mayor Dick¢s right-hand man, would come and pick us up in the early morning. To celebrate, we had another beer and then Sweet Lou and I went off to play a game of horseshoes. We started to ask some of the locals if they would allow for us to sleep in their lawn, but we didn¢t have any luck. So, we traipsed our way .75 miles down the highway to the state park, only to find out that campsites were 2 miles away and full to capacity. After walking 1.2 miles back to the trailhead, we headed north and made a campsite about .3 miles in. The bugs were brutal at the time, so we got the hell out of there. We had heard that there was a Dairy Queen about two miles down the road. Undetermined by the mileage and having our prize of ice cream nearly in our grasp, we road-walked the two miles, attempting to get a hitch, despite the fact that it was illegal to do so in New Jersey. When we finally made it to the Dairy Queen, we ordered and, subsequently, devoured all of the rich, cold goodness. After a brief stop at the pizza place across the street, we made the two miles back to the campsite. Sweet Lou and I made a fire and stayed up late talking about life, our individual future, the trail, past employment, and the desire to make a positive impact on the world. Very bright guy.
Date: 2009-08-03
From: Unionville, NY

To: Unionville, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Having had a few too many beers last night, I decided to take a 'zero' today and enjoy the warm hospitality from Dick, Bill, and Butch. Great people and great friends. Nearly everyone out of my trail family will be zeroing and I hope to be pushing out tomorrow morning to keep on in the trek to Katahdin.
Date: 2009-08-06
From: NY 17A

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: broken clouds

The rest of my posts will now have a format of bulleted sentences without much elaboration, as I will have limited time to update my blog. The more I stretch into the New England region, the more limited internet access will be. -        Eric dropped me off at NY 17A in the early afternoon.-        Found a note from Jungli as I had a bag of her belongings that she left in the shelter and I had to call her father¢s number. She was heading to Ringwood, NJ (where I had just come from) to get tested for lyme disease. -        Went to Wildcat Shelter for a privy stop; saw Cloudwalker, an older thru-hiker who has contracted lyme. -        Climbed up Fitzgerald Falls ¢ a beautiful waterfall in New York.-        Next stretch had incredibly steep inclines and descents. Had to throw up my trekking poles and pull myself up using the rocks. -        Was entirely dark by the time I reached NY 17; steep terrain. -        Had to use headlamp for next few hours. Picked up water at Island Pond Outlet, couldn¢t see as it was dark. Was told later on that this was a bad source ¢ many beaver ponds. -        Climbed my way through the Lemon Squeezer¢¦rock formation that ¢squeezed¢ your body as you shuffled through. Had to do a ¢dip¢ pull-up to climb out of ravine. -        Tough to navigate terrain in dark; incredibly dehydrated..was nearly falling over and ready to pass out while walking. -        Finally arrived at Fingerboard Shelter (accidentally passed it by 14 mile); Sweet Lou, Dinner Time, Jungli, and Fiddler all present. -        Talked to Jungli for while, bats flying into shower (nested up above), and mosquitoes all over.
Date: 2009-08-07
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: Bear Mountain Museum
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

The rest of my posts will now have a format of bulleted sentences without much elaboration, as I will have limited time to update my blog. The more I stretch into the New England region, the more limited internet access will be. -        Woke up entirely dehydrated. Didn¢t drink enough fluids. Could feel myself about to fall over when walking in the morning. -        Wanted to make it to Fort Montgomery before Post Office closed.-        Took off, caught up to Jungli ¢ started going at a good pace, so stayed with her and chatted. -        Saw a 5 foot black snake that just glared at us as it was crossing the trail.-        Climbed Black Mountain, provided beautiful views of the NYC skyline. -        Ate lunch together on a small bridge at Beechy Bottom Brook. -        Called up post office at Fort Montgomery to see if I could pick up package late. Decided to start rushing to get there in time. 12 mile into run, stopped and asked myself: ¢What the hell am I doing? Why would I want to rush to get the package and miss Bear Mountain!?¢ So, I stopped, called up the PO again and told them that I would pick it up in the morning. -        The decision turned out to be a good one because Sweet Lou, Jungli, and I had an unforgettable dusk on top of Bear Mountain. We climbed the tower and talked to some of the locals, before heading off to the rocks to take some ¢pyramid¢ pictures of the Hudson River. -        Hiked all the way down, saw Jordanian couple who were climbing up mountain¢¦looked tired and thirsty¢¦offered them water (they needed it more than we did). -        Sat down in park adjacent to Bear Mountain Zoo and had dinner together. Such a beautiful, crisp morning. -        Talked to some locals who were asking us all about our hike and our flirting with being ¢homeless¢. -        Kept trying to convince Sweet Lou to stay behind to watch the Red Sox vs. Yankees game (Sweet Lou is a HUGE baseball/Sox fan). -        Jungli and Sweet Lou pushed on and I had to stealth camp across the lake so that I could pick up my mail drop the next morning in Fort Montgomery.
Date: 2009-08-08
From: Bear Mountain Museum

To: Dennytown Road
Miles today: 0.0

The rest of my posts will now have a format of bulleted sentences without much elaboration, as I will have limited time to update my blog. The more I stretch into the New England region, the more limited internet access will be. -        Woke up at 6:30 am next to the lake; absolutely beautiful in the morning. Sun shining through the trees¢¦sun glittering off lake. Bad news was that I slept on top of several slugs that stained my backpack and my sleeping pad. -        Walked to Fort Montgomery ¢ outstanding views of Bear Mountain Bridge.-        Met a Scottish couple from Edinburgh (Hearts supporters) and chatted with them for a short while. -        Picked up mail drop in PO and started to organize it. -        Saw Macaroni, who had stayed behind at Mayor¢s because he has poison sumac all along his inner thigh. Ouch! -        Gregory backpack started to rip, so he ordered another one, which was due to arrive at the PO. Came out of the PO screaming and throwing his fists all over the place. Tossed his box on the ground. Gregory not only sent him the wrong sized pack, but they sent him the wrong pack altogether! Mac is a tall guy, but skinny as can be and they sent him a pack with a large hip belt, despite him needing a small. So, I can see why he was so angry. -        Ate lunch with Mac at deli; he planned on taking a ¢zero¢ in order to take care of his Gregory dilemma. Found out the Yankees beat the Sox in 15 innings in a 2-0 game. Absolutely historic. Called Sweet Lou immediately to rub it in that he didn¢t stay : )-        Crossed beautiful Hudson River on Bear Mountain Bridge; schooners down below.-        Earl Schaffer, the first person to hike the AT, had to pay 5 cents to cross in 1948. Today, there is a pedestrian walkway and we do it, get this, for free!-        On June 20 of this year, Dan Potocki and I DROVE across the bridge, while I was up for his wedding. We saw a few white blazes and then two thru-hikers barreling their way across! -        For me, it was a psychological point because it¢s just impressive that I was there just over a month earlier. -        Saw Glowworm at the Appalachian Market. He had jumped ahead because he nearly snapped his neck in a fall. He had to do his ¢business¢ at the gas station because he refuses to poop in the woods. -        Hiked to Graymoor Spiritual Life Center; over 100 men (was told that they are recovering addicts) playing volleyball and baseball. Very serene place. Talked to a few people about the place. -        Hiked entirely on own for entire day. Moving quickly since I started late. -        Camped about one mile past Dennytown Rd. Mosquitos were eating me ALL day; biting incessantly.-        Camp area was muddy and buggy, perfect for breeding mosquitoes. -        Ate large meal, climbed into my mosquito infested tent (will be purchasing a bug net soon).-        Entire night, the mozzies were buzzing in my ear and bugs were crawling all over me. Rest assured, I did not sleep all too well.
Date: 2009-08-10
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

The rest of my posts will now have a format of bulleted sentences without much elaboration, as I will have limited time to update my blog. The more I stretch into the New England region, the more limited internet access will be. -        The guy then offered to give me $20 if I would ¢lead¢ them down the mountain and back to their car. The ground was still very wet and it was incredibly slippery. I denied the offer, packed up my things, and headed out. -        By the time I was ready to go, they were both passed out under their sleeping bags, with their stuff still scattered all over the shelter. They didn¢t even have sleeping pads. They just slept on top of the cold rat-pooped shelter boards.-        Mosquitoes were outrageous this morning and the trail was virtually a swamp. My shoes had completely ripped apart. There was mud and sediment inside the area where the sole of the shoe would hit the leather piece. -        I saw Mayaguez and Pacer at Telephone Pioneer Shelter ¢ mid 60¢s guys; hadn¢t seen them since Port Clinton.-        Decided to go up to the shelter to dry off and take a break. -        Talked to a few SOBO¢s. -        Jungli and Sweet Lou arrived; I was feeling VERY down. They felt bad too, but they just had a slackpack and were all clean from showering at the house of a ¢trail angel¢. -        I stayed behind feeling horrible and had a 2 hour nap. I was so tired that I was convinced that I had lyme disease. I hadn¢t been feeling well for the longest time and it just felt as if my muscles were being sucked into the ground. I had no idea what was going on inside of my body. -        I hiked on down to the Garden Center at NY 22, where the Appalachian Trail railroad train stop is for Metro-North, the line that serves New York City and the surrounding area. -        Saw that the bags of Jungli and Sweet Lou were there, so I waited behind for them. They arrived 15 minutes later (had to mail something) and we waited on the patio for next hour or so because it was just sooo humid. Walked through nasty fields ¢ big LYME area. -        Sweet Lou and I hiked together to Wiley Shelter; had to hike through swamps and in complete darkness for last 30 minutes. Storm catching up to us. Lightening blasting through the sky. Jungli arrived 30 minutes after we had arrived. Rain just was pouring down at this point. -        Met Zombie, one of the few normal SOBO¢s that we have met.
Date: 2009-08-11
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 12.7

The rest of my posts will now have a format of bulleted sentences without much elaboration, as I will have limited time to update my blog. The more I stretch into the New England region, the more limited internet access will be. -        Left shelter in morning in-between Jungli and Sweet Lou.-        Cross into Connecticut and was a happy camper to get out of NY. -        Still muddy terrain, but much better than the boggy New York. Not one to complain, but was worst state by far IMHO. -        Incredibly humid, so I stopped at Ten Mile River Lean-To, where I stripped off all of my clothing and went over to the hand pump to pump up some fresh cold water basically taking a shower. I put all of my clothing out to dry in the hot sun and used my rain jacket as a Scottish kilt to cover up my areas in case anyone would pass through. -        As I started drying off, I looked down at my stomach and noticed three red blotches with something attached to my skin. It turned out to be THREE DEER TICKS! I couldn¢t believe it. So, I took out my tweezers and had the delicate task of getting them out of my skin..going straight for the tick¢s head and pulling directly up. -        Still dragging my feet and thought I had lyme. -        Received a voicemail from Frankenfoot, who had just reached Manchester Center, Vermont and had caught up with Blu-Ray. -        Stayed at shelter for 1.5 hours. Caught up to Sweet Lou; had to do a 1000 ft. + climb over Schaghticoke Mountain, thereby zapping us both of energy. Shirt and shorts were soaked in my sweat and was starting to get dehydrated again. Found quote: ¢Humidity is the experience of gasping for air, but getting water!¢ -        Tough climb; Sweet Lou stayed behind and I pushed on, catching up to Jungli. Continued pushing on, right into Kent at Connecticut 341. -        Managed to get a hitch from a lovely early 30¢s woman, who had a kayak strapped to the top of her car. Dropped me off at library; Jungli arrived, thereafter. -        Went to IGA to re-supply. Purchased way too much food for only two days. Dah Wah He and Willow met up with us. Ended up eating our food directly outside of IGA on ground, as if we were homeless. -        Headed over to Laundromat to do laundry. Clothing had stank horribly. Ate food outside ¢ made sandwich with polish sausage, cheese, pepperoni in a wheat roll. Yum!-        Quick stop to Chinese restaurant for Willow and Dah, then camped in backyard of abandoned building. -        Buttchinz, Big Camera, and 10 X 10 all present.