morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-02
From: Greymoor Friary

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

Greymoor Friary to RPH Shelter 19 miles The annoying birds were at it again this morning. Who needs an alarm clock when you have some freaky bird doing some weird interval that you can¢t quite get and then he changes it each time just a little bit so that you have to get up out of your tent and throw a rock at it? Who needs an alarm clock when you have birds like that around at 5AM squawkin¢ and makin¢ a racket just outside your damn tent? Anyway, my foot felt like I might be able to walk on it pretty far today so I ate my cheese and Abruzzo Sausage with a croissant and packed up and got the heck out of there. New York has horrible blazes. Half of them are so faded you can¢t tell whether or not you are actually on the trail and then the other half of the time there aren¢t any blazes and you end up backtracking of rno reason just to make sure you didn¢t miss a turn somewhere. Especially the section I was on today. North of Rt 301 it got a hell of a lot better but before that NY has been a real pain in the ass. My foot held up today and around 1430 I got to Canopus Lake and I walked about a mile and a half out of my way just to get a hamburger and swim in the lake. Then I met this fella by the name of Nick Beilenson who offered to give me a lift back to the trailhead. I was so happy! He also bought me a Gatorade , two frozen snickers bars and an Italian Water Ice (Lemon of course). What a guy! Thanks Nick you¢re officially a ¢Trail Angel.¢ I¢ll get your picture up as soon as I find a USB cable. I got back on the trail and while I was sitting on the side of the road some guy puilled up in a bus and came over to talk to me. He was pretty cool. He¢s going to try the trail one of these days. His name was Rick I think. I got back on the trail by 5 with a few more hours to go to get to the RPH shelter and I was feeling good. My socks have been staying dry; I¢ve been taking it easy. I ran up on Sluthammer on the trail who is finishing up a few sections. We talked so much I hardly noticed we were cruising along at like 3.5 MPH and I got to the shelter in no time. I have great cell signal and I¢m going to be bale to post my blog tonight so I¢m pretty happy. I¢m hoping I can get into Kent by tomorrow night and catch some festivities for the 4th of July. Ahhhh! My feet are swelling up and they are killing me. I gotta go get some sleep. See you later! Sluthammer, Nick B, Rick, Jukebox, Wet Sox,David AKA ¢Mister Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.orgPhotos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1
Date: 2008-07-06
From: Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to

To: Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 11.0

Naked Mosquito DanceStewart Hollow Lean-to to Cornwall bridge to Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to: 11 miles I slept OK considering my back. The hammock was probably the best alternative on the trail but I sure could have used a nice bed to lay belly down and let it just relax. I could have used some Tylenol or something too but I don¢t carry any of that stuff. It was pretty sore all morning and I took a while to get my stuff together. It was about a 4 mile hike to get to a road which went into a little ¢town¢ called Cornwall Bridge, which consists basically of a package store (alcohol) a fishing outfitter, a general store and a few other weekday businesses like a chainsaw repair shop or something like that. I walked the 9/10 of a mile in to the general store and saw the Preacher boys with Papa Bear and Mama Bear; Shakedown Cruise was there; along with Cat, Indy and Zeke. They had a deli in the general store where I picked up a huge Hoagie (they call them ¢Grinders¢ here). We sat around for a couple of hours. I wanted to let my back get a rest and so I blogged a bunch but no signal so I couldn¢t post them. I was only planning on doing a 6 mile hike in to the next shelter anyway. I picked up some Generic Acetaminophen and took a few. I couldn¢t believe how much it helped. I very rarely take stuff like that but it fixed me all up. Later, while I was climbing I was cruising and didn¢t feel a thing until the sun went down. Maybe it was laced with some other stuff¢¦ The climbs were definitely significant but I felt great and went right up them; plus, I had half a hoagie left that I was saving for dinner Yee haw! I couldn¢t wait. The Mosquitoes are unbelievable. If you stop for a minute they are on you. They were part of the reason I was cruising so fast. I¢ve never seen anything like it. Beset by Mosquitoes I moved on! From now on I¢ll be talking about two types of mosquitoes. There are mosquitoes and there are Mosquitoes. Today I was marauded by Mosquitoes. When I got to the shelter it was even worse. The shelter is called Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to and anywhere there is a sign that says ¢Swamp¢ that¢s basically short for ¢MOSQUITOES.¢ The water source was brown; full of tannic acid from the leaves in the water. At least, I think that¢s why it¢s brown. It almost looks like Iced Tea. It¢s clear but it¢s brown and I don¢t like using it. I¢ll have to figure out whether it¢s safe or what. I went down to the brook and washed up. I wash standing in the middle of the swamp stark naked, dancing on the mossy bank, trying to swat Mosquitoes and get my pants on at the same time. Next time I¢ll film it. Cat and Indy were up at the shelter and we all got in our tents at dusk just to get away from the marauders.David AKA ¢Mister Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1
Date: 2008-07-08
From: Salisbury, CT

To: Laurel Ridge Campground
Miles today: 10.0

Library captivation and back on the trailSalisbury to Laurel Ridge Campsite 10 miles I got stuck in Salisbury all day and I almost didn¢t make it out. I was at the library for about 4 hours posting blogs and checking email. Then I went down to the store and got a sandwich and kept running into people to talk to. I didn¢t get on the trail until about 4PM and I had wanted to do a 20 mile day but that was definitely out. I¢d be lucky to get 10, even if maria drove me to the trailhead. She offered to drive me up to another trailhead further on (I suppose she had done this for other people) but I¢m a purist and I said I would have to go back to where I came off, even if it would avoid six miles and one hell of a mountain (Lion Head) that I would have to climb. I wasn¢t sure how far I would get tonight; but I would at least get some miles in and be ON the trail. It¢s so hard to get out of town but I think I won¢t take any zeros until my birthday. I haven¢t had a zero since Unionville back on June 27th or something like that. Bruhawk and Magnus passed me up and told me they were going to some campsite. When I got there I didn¢t see anyone and it looked foreboding so I decided to get to the next campsite. There was no way I was going to make a shelter before nightfall; but, there was another campsite about 1.5 miles ahead. I would barely make the campsite before nightfall; but, at least I¢d be up in the hills instead of down in Mosquitoville next to a brook. Besides, there were a lot of signs about bears and I think we all know how I feel about bears. I rushed up to the next place and it was wet and muggy and buggy and hard. I rolled in to the site just before dark and had to set up my stuff in the dark but Papa Bear and the Preacher boys were there along with about 10 YMCA girls from New York or something. The girls were there for a week or something, doing some really short sections. Three of them came by late with a huge bag of mini M&Ms for us and the boys sang them a cool song. Entertainment is at a premium out here. I finally got a place to hang my hammock and I crashed out. I didn¢t even eat dinner. I know I¢m going to be losing a lot of weight over the next few weeks. Without my bros to keep me on schedule, I like to roll in late and when I do I don¢t get eats, I just crash and worry about it in the morning. I¢m more concerned about deer ticks than I am starving.http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1
Date: 2008-07-13
From: Cookie Lady's Backyard

To: Tom's House in Dalton
Miles today: 10.0

Tom takes care of everythingCookie Lady¢s House to Dalton MA: 10 Miles - Total Miles: 735.2 Damn came and with it Rufus; barking at the dawn and rousing the Mosquitoes with it. Damn you Rufus and Damn the Dawn! Actually there was this really beautiful sunrise that came in through the bug net in my hammock. I would have taken a picture of it but that would have meant getting up and getting out of my haven and then getting back in and blah blah blah. I enjoyed it sans documentation. We only had about 10 miles to Dalton and planned on staying there so we were in no hurry to get out of there. Eventually we packed up and split and made our way into Dalton over a few mountains that seemed to just go by without notice. As I came in to Dalton there were some trail Magic Sodas in a box by the railroad and I grabbed an orange soda. I was walking down the street and suddenly there were all these trekking poles in this one lawn. I looked on the porch and about ten hikers were there: Snake; Whitefish, Top Hat, Papa Bear and the Preacher Boys, Bruhawk and Magnus; and a few others. The man whose house it was, Tom, was out taking some people to get hoagies but the Scarlet Seven (-3) showed up and Tom came by and he invited us to stay at his house I got a shower and more and more people showed up. I weighed myself and I was 170 with Boots on. That means I¢m about 165. That means I have lost about 30 lbs since May! Holy Crap! I borrowed a bike and went down to get lunch and cruise around a little. Most of the guys were getting hammered. I wasn¢t feelin¢ it so I went o take care of some electronics. I should have blown through Dalton and gone on to Cheshire. Oh well, tomorrow I will go get some lunch in Cheshire and go through to Mt. Greylock. The Scarlet Seven (-3) is making a credible case for Zero and I¢ll resist as well as I can but something tells me that the Movie Theatre with ¢Hancock¢ playing in it might have too strong an appeal. I heard there¢s a mall too. Oh God, give me the strength to resist the Scarlet Seven (-3). I got back and everyone was wasted, well, not everyone but suddenly there were rumors of a trip to the Old Country Buffet. There were about twenty people that wanted to go. Tom was very accommodating and he was driving everyone everywhere and took two carloads of people to the buffet. I was full on about one and a half plates believe it or not. I ran to the supermarket across the street and tried to find instant coffee packets and Propel packets but they only had the Propel so I snatched it up and ran back before Tom took the last car back.. I tried to get internet access but to no avail. There was no cell phone access again. I went to the local bar and no dice there either but I did get to type out some blogs, I¢ll post later. I slept in the basement on the floor and it was very dark in there. It¢s strange to have a headlamp on you all the time. It really comes in handy.David AKA ¢Mister F. Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1
Date: 2008-07-14
From: Tom's House in Dalton

To: Tom Levardi's House
Miles today: 0.0

Why am I still in Dalton? Still in Dalton at Tom¢s House: 0 Miles I rolled over a hundred times this morning, I did not want to get up. The floor was hardly comfortable but Tom had no trees in his yard to hang my hammock. My arms and legs and hip kept going to sleep and then I would roll over or something and they would hurt as they came back to life. You should have seen it; I forgot to take a picture, there were about 15 tents pitched in his backyard. A bunch of people Slack-Packed over Mt. Greylock but I just couldn¢t get it going to even do that. Slack-Packing is when you leave your backpack at Tom¢s house and he drives you 25 miles up the trail and you walk back to his house with just a water bottle and some trail mix. People like to do that over tough terrain like Mt. Greylock. I got out of bed and walked down to the local place for breakfast and it was great. There were a bunch of old guys in there just BSing and I felt like it must be a cool place to hang out. I just couldn¢t get out of Dalton. I went out with Tom and Fire and Wing-it to do some errands and see if I could get some internet. When we got back I had planned to get off my ass and go to at least Cheshire but the Scarlet Seven (-3) sucked me in by telling me that Tom was going to take them to the movies. I was really disappointed when they said they were going to go see ¢Get Smart¢ and then I looked for the times for Hancock and it wasn¢t going to work but I decided what the hell, just Zero and go see the movie, I needed to get an HDV Tape Head Cleaner at Radio Shack anyway. The movie was OK. It definitely had its moments; but, I¢ll bet Hancock is better. I also managed to get my hands on a Double Quarter-Pounder with Cheese, Ahhh, I love those things! We got back and watched some weird paranormal crap on the TV and I played guitar for a while before going to the dungeon to sleep on the floor again. It sucked. I should have gotten back on the trail. I will say this; Tom is an awesome dude. He had so many people in his house and he drove everyone around and he asked for nothing. He puts a ton of miles on his car just helping people out and shuttling them to different parts of the trail so they can slack-pack and get to the post office and the mall or wherever. He¢s a very cool dude and I¢m glad I met him; however, I really wish I would have just walked right through Dalton. I keep getting sidetracked and I¢m going to fall behind schedule. At least I managed not to spend hardly any money. Usually these towns suck up a bunch of dough as well as your time. Tomorrow I¢m definitely getting the hell out of here and I¢ll try to summit Mt. Greylock and get to Williamstown by Wednesday. David AKA ¢Mister F. Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1
Date: 2008-07-26
From: Back Home Again Hostel

To: Back Home Again Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Twelve Tribes Medicine and Mat© BarBack Home Again Hostel I zeroed today. I didn¢t feel like I could get up and catch the shuttle to RT4 in time and do another 18 miles. I thought it would be too messy and slippery after the rain last night and the weather report was looking grim. It was the Shabbat for Twelve Tribes so everyone was off. Ranan still made breakfast though. It was very fattening. He made delicious Cream cheese-stuffed French Toast which was slathered with Vermont Maple syrup. I learned how to make Maple Syrup. Down the street was an open market and they had lost of vegetable but hardly any fruit. I found a guy who made Samosas! I haven¢t had a good Samosa since Africa! I still haven¢t! Just kidding, it was good but they didn¢t have the same kind as they did in Africa. I miss those little, delicious goat-meat triangles. There was a movie theatre and I eventually went to see Hancock which I thought had much more potential. I called the family and talked to them all about the Hernia Situation and what I was going to do. I¢m still not sure; I think I¢m going to slackpack the last section over Killington and the next day go to the VA and see what they can do for me. I don¢t even know if I have coverage for something like this. It¢ll probably cost me 10K just to get operated on. I think all Vets should have full coverage. I¢m not a fan of socialized medicine because of the poor quality of service in places like Canada and the UK; however, I think that all Vets with an Honorable Discharge should have full medical and dental coverage and I think they shouldn¢t have to pay taxes. HAHA! Now that would be awesome. Maybe if they gave Vets a tax break for the rest of their lives that would be better; but basically, unless we retire, we don¢t get jack and I think there should be something more. Then again, since I¢ve never even really looked into Veterans¢ Benefits, maybe there already is something cool and I just don¢t know about it; but, I doubt it. We¢ll see in a couple of days. I wish I could cut a deal with some doctor or hospital; like, I¢ll sing for free at your Daughter¢s Wedding or your Hospital Christmas party if you fix my hernia for free. What a nice world it would be for me if I could work out those kind of deals. I eventually went to another celebration at the Twelve Tribes house and came back to the Caf©/Hostel later. Yohanan offered to take me to the hospital again and I found out it¢s right near Hanover, NH which is where my next section would take me. I¢m considering hiking the last section and just hiking right to the VA Hospital; but, I¢d probably look like one of those homeless, alcoholic Vets comin¢ in for a handout. My beard is getting long.David AKA ¢Mister Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproof Videos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1
Date: 2008-07-29
From: Back Home Again Hostel

To: Back Home Agian Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Back Home Again AgainBack Home Again Caf© I got up and decided to stay another day here because I couldn¢t get a hold of Tom to drive me out to the Trailhead on Vermont Route 12. I rested and took care of some business. I wanted to get out today but I went and saw a movie instead. I saw the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. Don¢t go to see Step Brothers. You will wish you spent two hours grinding salt in your eyes instead. I got back to the hostel and did some more work. I went to a meeting, ate dinner and ended up talking to Shelter Monkey for a few hours before bed. I really need to pack but I guess I¢ll do it in the morning. Tom is going to pick me up at 8:30 and I¢ll be on my way to Hanover.David AKA ¢Mister F. Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1
Date: 2008-07-30
From: Vermont Route 12

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Holdin¢ it inVermont Route 12 to Happy Hill Shelter: 17 Miles I got up and went down to another fabulous breakfast. I¢m finally going to get the heck out of here. Shelter Monkey and her friend were going to join me on the ride and slack back. Tom came by and was very patient, waiting for me to pack my gear. I wish I would have done it the night before. The girls were already packed and had their stuff downstairs. If history is any indication, I should have known better than to rush when packing. That¢s when I am most vulnerable to forgetful mishaps and today was no exception. We got on the road; Tom is a Retired Army Lt Col and we had a lot to talk about. He drives a ton of hikers out to slack pack and he¢s got a trail name like ¢Never Sleeps¢ or something like that, I can¢t remember what it is. I got on the trail and it w3as later than I had wanted but I figured I would go far. The day was pretty nice and although rain was threatening, it never really manifested. The report said it would rain tonight so I figured I would just crash in the shelter. Passing through West Hartford, I stopped in the village store and signed the register and ate dinner. That way I wouldn¢t have to cook up at the shelter because it looked like it was going to be late when I got there. I had some hot dogs and ice cream and filled my water bottle at their hose. As soon as I got on the trail I tasted the water and realized I had made a big mistake. It tasted horrible. I hadn¢t let the water drain out of the hose and it tasted like it had been sitting in there for a long time. I dumped it all out cause it was a big hill I was climbing and I¢d be damned if I was going to carry crappy water all the way up a big hill. Eventually I got to nice stream where I ran into two other thru-hikers bedding down for the night. I had about another hour to go so I got a liter of water and headed out. I got there after dark and there were a bunch of SoBos there. I got to bed fairly early and didn¢t have a chance to blog. I jokingly complained because there was no picnic table to sit at and they seemed surprised, ¢Picnic Table?¢ I¢m assuming that this means there won¢t be any more picnic tables up north. Blogging at night will be that much tougher. Rain is expected¢¦David AKA ¢Mister F. Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1
Date: 2008-08-02
From: Dartmouth

To: Dartmouth
Miles today: 0.0

Newtonian HospitalityNewton to Newton I awoke and changed my laundry to the dryer even though I didn¢t really need to since all of my clothing is hiker stuff that¢s practically dry right out of the washer. I lay back down and eventually roused myself to the sound of Paul making espresso in one of those aluminum steamer things that go on the stove. He offered me some and he took some up to Newton who was feeling the effects of the Fin Du Mondes from the night before. I got out the computer and started to fix some of the pictures and blogs while I had an electrical outlet and the internet. It was one of those lazy Saturdays and it didn¢t seem like very long before I looked at the time and it was 2PM. Newton offered to let me stay another night and although I really wanted to get on the trail, it was still raining on and off and it would be nice to chill out another day. We went out and got a Hamburger at the Irish Pub and there some kind of big High School all-star football game going on at Dartmouth between Vermont and New Hampshire. We got back to the house and eventually went to catch some dinner where we ran into Beau and he joined us. Then we went to see the X-Files movie which I though was really no better than a regular episode. I¢ve missed a few years of the X-Files so I might have been in the dark about some things. There were no aliens. That was surprising.   One guy really looked like an alien when they flashed to him and the girl whacked him with a garden tool. I thought they were going somewhere with that; but, NOPE! We walked the trail back to Ben and Jerry¢s and I met a nice Romanian girl with a ¢Body by Ben and Jerry¢s¢ T-shirt on. If you had told me she had a body by Ben and Jerry¢s I wouldn¢t have believed you. She had a body by Hefner if you asked me. I¢m glad she didn¢t ask me if I wanted my cone Hand Dipped. I might have taken her up on that. We got back to the house in more pouring rain while they both pulled out umbrellas. These guys were on the ball! All I had was a parka and I had to try very hard not to get too much rain in my Mint Chocolate Chunk. I again went to sleep to the rolling thunder and rain pounding on a tin roof somewhere nearby. It¢s hard for me to stay awake when the rain is zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.David AKA ¢Mister F. Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1