morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-10-10
From: Mt. Algo Shelter

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter 
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: overcast clouds

(In which I enter New York and prepare for tomorrow's long haul) -Currently sitting at a picnic table near the shelter after dark-Today was one of the most unevenful days on the trail. Even the crossing into New York was uneventful - there was no sign to take a picture of. I only knew I was in New York because the guide told me so. I started hiking by 7 am since the 21 miles didn't warrant a super early start. I dragged through the second half of the day, but still made it to the shelter by 4:30. I'm beginning to think that resupply days take a lot more out of me than I expect them to. We must have walked about 3 extra miles with yesterday's Kent resupply, and then I didn't get to bed until 9. Whatever the explanation is, today was a bit of a drag to the shelter. I'm hoping an early bed time tonight will leave me feeling strong tomorrow morning. In order to catch my ride to NYC I need to cover 28 miles by 5:30 pm. That's a haul. I'm ready for it - planning to be on the trail by 5:30 am, and then I'm taking a zero on Friday to get things done in the city. Today's post was brought to you by the humble state of New York - so humble that it doesn't even require a sign.
Date: 2012-10-11
From: Telephone Pioneers Shelter 

To: Dennytown Road 
Miles today: 27.5

(In which I pull a long day to catch a ride into the city and talk night hiking tips) -Currently lying in a hotel bed somewhere just north of NYC-This morning I was up at 5 and I got started hiking at 5:40 am. This is one of the earliest starts yet and it got me thinking about strategies for night hiking. I've learned there are a few things to keep in mind if you're planning to night hike - or at least a few things that I need to keep in mind. First, and most obvious, you need a headlamp with great batteries. Following a trail in the dark with a weak lamp is difficult and frustrating. Second, if you plan to stay on the trail you need to focus. This means not letting your mind wander. Save the day dreaming for the daylight. To emphasize how important this is, while I was following the trail in the dark this morning, I started to think about night hiking tips and techniques... and I lost the trail. I recovered quickly, but it's easy to lose the trail at night if you're not vigilant. Next, spend 75% of the time looking at your footing and the other 25% looking for blazes. The only thing worse than losing the trail is tripping and breaking your wrists or your ankles. Last, take a second every 10 minutes to get up close to a blaze and double-check that the blaze you're following is white. There are a lot of different color blazes, and they all tend to look white at night. I haven't done it myself, but I've heard of hikers night hiking down side trails for hours before realizing it. That's a bad day.Today was long - even with the morning hiking. I don't care how easy the terrain was (it was really easy), 27.5 miles hurts. I made great time in the morning, covering almost 17 miles by 12:15. The afternoon got progressively slower as I ran out of steam but I still made it to the road crossing by 5:10 pm. There are many people who have hiked more then 27 miles, but going that far gives me an appreciation for those who hike long distances routinely. The record time for hiking the AT was set by Jennifer Pharr Davis last year - a time of 46 days. Just for comparison, I've been out here for 53 days. She had to averge almost 47 miles a day... that's almost 2 marathons a day! Anyone who has walked before can appreciate the accomplishment, but after a day like this one, I think Jennifer's record, as well as other AT speed records (assisted vs unassisted, running vs walking), are the most incredible feats of human athleticism and perserverance on record.Today's post is brought to you by night hiking, because stumbling through the woods on a leaf-covered trail requires skill enough to comment on.
Date: 2012-10-12
From: Dennytown Road 

To: Dennytown Road 
Miles today: 0.0

(In which I visit NYC and have a good time with my little sister and Greg) -Currently sitting at Hemlock Spring Campsite on Oct. 13. Last night was too much fun to write a post...-My ride from Dennytown Road likes his anonymity, so I'll just refer to him as Uncle Buck. Uncle Buck and I stayed at a motel and in the morning he dropped me off at the train station so I could get myself to Grand Central. The plan was to meet Jenny, my little sister, at the Belgian consulate at 10 am. We both got there early which is great because this place is like the DMV on steroids. No one is happy, and everyone seems to get visibly less happy just by walking in the door. Jenny had the mountain of paperwork I had put together and even some she helped to copy. After filling out multiple application forms and submitting all the paperwork, the woman at the desk told me the hosting agreement from Leuven wasn't acceptable - it has to be an original copy mailed from the institution. I had printed off what they sent me via email. After smiling a lot and being as upbeat as I could possibly manage, I learned from the attendant that I don't need to be physically present at the consulate (somewhat important considering the exact opposite instruction is displayed on their website) and I can have the institution send an original copy of the agreement directly to the embassy. That means all I had to do was pay the fee ($234!!! Gulp!!) and let the department in Leuven know that they need to send some mail out. After a painful visit to the ATM down the street and one e-mail later in the afternoon, I think I'm well on my way to a long term Belgian visa. Here's hoping.Later in the day Jenny took me out to eat and my buddy Greg made his way down to the city. I changed out clothes (for everyone's benefit), and we toured around. We checked out Time Square, and then made a plan for the evening. Someone thought it would be a great idea (maybe me, maybe a group effort) to research the poorest rated bars in NYC on Yelp, and the best rated bars, and pick one of each to go to. In the really-bad-bar category we picked a place called Bar None. I'll just say that it lived up to its reviews... In the really-good-bar category, we picked an Irish pub called Molly's. Molly's was great - very comfortable and authentic feeling. It even had saw dust on the floor so you know it's good... We made it back to the apartment in good shape but very late. I'll leave the details for tomorrow's post, but suffice it to say that an early start the next morning was not in the cards.Today's post was brought to you by "...these little town blues, are melting away, I'll make a brand new start of it, In old New York, If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere, It's up to you, New York, New York."
Date: 2012-10-13
From: Dennytown Road 

To: Hemlock Springs Campsite 
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: clear sky

(In which I end up taking a half day and make ad-hoc plans to get a new AT Guide) -Currently sitting in the dark at the campsite-Today was one of those days you need to start early, but there's just no way things will happen fast enough. On top of that, I didn't want to rush the time with friend and family. I woke up via internal clock at 5:30 and set to work trying to order more language lessons. I ran into a snag when my credit card wouldn't work. I remembered that it stopped working the night before, so I assumed some kind of fraud-sensing software at Citibank thought my purchases were getting sketchy. Doesn't everybody make purchases all along the east cost, spend random amounts in New York City at 2 am and then try to buy audio French lessons at 5:30 in the morning? I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with Citi convincing them that I was, in fact, me. The card works now.We got breakfast slowly and took our time the whole morning. Greg took off for the train station and Jenny and I drove back to the trail. We took wrong turns, drove away from the Walmart we needed, and when we did get there, I forgot to buy stove fuel - only to find later that the gas stations in the area don't have the fuel I need. I settled for isopropanol - burns dirty, but works in a pinch. Oh yeah - we also made a poor checkout-line choice in the Walmart... that mistake can ruin anybody's schedule. During all of this action I was trying my hardest to purchase a new AT Guide with my dumb smartphone. My bounce box that was supposed to get to my sister was lost in the mail. It had a bunch of replaceable things, but it also contained the other half of the AT Guide. The part I have ends at Delaware Water Gap and that's about 5 or 6 days from here. While driving with Jenny I tried to buy a new one and have it shipped to DWG, but the phone wouldn't work with PayPal and the maildrop in DWG only accepts packages from FedEx or UPS. My only option was to get a hold of AWOL himself (David Miller) and see if he could take my info over the phone. He called me back and went to the trouble of calling a few places around DWG to see if he could get a copy to me in a hurry. What a great guy for doing that - I really appreciate his help because otherwise I'd be in quite a bind.After all of this, I didn't get hiking until 2:20 in the afternoon. My original plan was to go about 20 miles today, but there's was just no way that was going to happen unless I night hiked past my bed time. I settled for the 12.3 miles - which I consider pretty good since I stopped at about 6:50. Hopefully I can make up the miles over the next week so I have some hope of catching up to Matt. He's planning to take a zero in Pennsylvania so there's a chance I can catch him if I stay close.Today's post was brought to you by the day after a night in New York City, because only a fool would plan to hike 20 miles on a day like that.
Date: 2012-10-14
From: Hemlock Springs Campsite 

To: Little Dam Lake 
Miles today: 24.5

(In which I cross Bear Mountain bridge and see mostly deer on Bear Mountain) -Currently sitting in the dark at the campsite by myself-For starters, I want to apologize to those I promised updated mail drop addresses. The loss of the second half of my AT Guide (in the missing bounce box) means it's not easy to plan my next drop. By the time anyone reads this the situation should be under control...This morning I crossed Bear Mountain bridge and unfortunately, I was so early that the zoo wasn't open. I completely forgot about the zoo until I was halfway accross the bridge. If things had gone to plan the other day I would have passed through the zoo during open hours. It was a little sad - the short walk through the zoo was something I was really anticipating. "Look ma, a Gorilla! Look ma, a thru-hiker!" I'll have to go back and visit it as a regular person sometime.Bear Mountain park was setting up for another day of an Octoberfest. From the looks of it, Saturday had a big crowd that had a hell of a good time. Yet another event I wish I wasn't too early for. On the other hand, had I walked through there with the event in full swing, I probably wouldn't have hiked nearly as far.On the way up Buck Mountain I saw a few deer. You can imagine that over the last 700 miles I've seen lots of deer...what made these deer notable was that they had absolutely no fear. I walked passed a young buck about 15 feet away from me who lifted it's head just so I could take a picture (it seemed used to this) and then even with me standing there he puts his head back to the ground to keep working on breakfast. I passed a doe a few minutes later who knew the same routine. I'm guessing the massive amount of traffic up Bear Mountain means these deer know their roll well. Eat, smile at picture-taking hiker, get back to eating. Later in the day, while striding along, I heard a rustling of leaves a few feet away. I looked up just in time to see a doe scrambling to her feet. She was literally 5 feet away and stared at me. I stopped, obvoiusly more startled than she was, and when I kept on walking by she just laid back down. Incredible.To finish the day off I crossed the Northway today. Hometown lingo for I-87. For some reason I thought this was very exciting - the road home. I snapped a picture and marched along to this campsite. The weather looks dry tonight and I'm hoping for an early start and another long day tomorrow. Today's post was brought to you by encouraging signs on tall bridges (see picture), because it's nice to be reminded occasionally that life is worth living...
Date: 2012-10-15
From: Little Dam Lake 

To: Wayawana Shelter 
Miles today: 19.1

(In which I squeeze out 19 miles and stop at the shelter rather than sleep in the rain) -Currently sitting in the shelter with daylight to spare-I was hoping to bust out another 25 mile day, but things don't always work out the way you like them to. Surprisingly, I'm okay with it. I woke up real late to start the day - about 6:30, and didn't get hiking until about 7:15. The trail was relatively flat, but about half the time the trail was rocks - either long flat slabs or a slew of little rocks the size of your head. It's frustrating to fumble with your footing every 10 feet even after you've been hiking for 800 miles. I'm told this is nothing compared to the northern half of PA... yikes. Even with the rocky terrain I managed to make my way out of New York and into New Jersey and made the 19 miles to this shelter by 3:50. I wanted to push for the next few miles, but I spent some time looking at the schedule to Delaware Water Gap and it doesn't look like there's much advantage to chipping off a few extra miles today. On top of that, it's been raining for quite a while and it's supposed to be bad until about 9 tonight. If I make a few more miles I'll be miserable and wet in a bivy all night... it's better to stay.Just after deciding to cut the day short, the shelter caretaker walked up and introduced himself. I don't remember his real name, but he thru-hiked in 1999 with his brother and they picked up the joint trail name "The Brothers". So I suppose I met half of The Brothers, or Half-Brother. Two other southbounders are in the shelter tonight and are planning to stop at Harpers Ferry. Half-Brother, the two other southbounders and I chatted for a while about the other hikers near us on the trail and talked about the hostels coming up down south. The one hostel that came up immediately was Kinkora. Bob Peoples runs Kinkora hostel in Tennessee and he's one of the best known trail personalities there is. I might have mentioned him in a previous post, but if I haven't, he's a stellar human and I'm looking forward to meeting him. I'll alter my schedule if I have to. You can't read a book or trail journal about the AT without finding his name somewhere in it. Just need to get to Tennessee...On a side note, I passed the Lemon Squeezer yesterday (today's picture), but I wanted to show it off anyway. It's a well known obstacle on the AT in New York. Looks like more fun than it is...Today's post was brought to you by the Petrochemical and Petroleum Refinery State... aka, New Jersey.
Date: 2012-10-16
From: Wayawana Shelter 

To: High Point Shelter 
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: scattered clouds

(In which I get a few things in Unionville, New York and get swooped by Owls) -Currently sitting at a picnic table at the shelter well before sunset-Up and out early this morning in anticipation of the 23 mile day and a town stop. Unionville is just across the state line so that the 0.7 mile walk into town means you go from NJ to NY. I only needed a breakfast and a dinner so I spent most of my time at the pizzeria in town (Annabelle's - worth the stop. Pizza is only pizza in New York). After a quick stop at the general store I sent a few postcards out. Finding postcards in Unionville is not easy - surprise, surprise. I learned that the post office has blank ones however, so I sent out a few less-than-exciting cards. Come on Unionville, have enough pride to print some "Wish you were here" postcards. I'd buy a few!On the walk to the shelter from town I was dutifully doing my French lessons when I could have sworn someone was speaking in French back to me from the woods - asking somthing along the lines of "...where!? ...where?!". From in front of me to the left, two barn owls buzzed me in a weave pattern - in broad daylight! They were chattin' it up and landed in a nearby tree. I watched for a minute and then left them alone. I don't know how to spell French words, but "where?" in French sounds something like "ooo?"....I made it to the shelter by 4:30 - which I like much more than 5:30. Journal writing and other camp chores take so long to complete that 4:30 gives me some opportunity to relax a little before diving into the sleeping bag. Another good reason for early mornings.Today's post was brought to you by the beautiful, rolling hills of New Jersey. It turns out this state isn't just refineries. Wonderful!
Date: 2012-10-18
From: Brink Road Shelter 

To: Church of the Mountain Hostel 
Miles today: 24.7

(In which I beat the AT Guide to the maildrop and walk past Delaware Water Gap...accidentally) -Currently sitting in the hostel common area, trying not to fall asleep-Last night was my first night on the trail alone in a shelter. As a late-start southbounder I expected this to happen long ago. It has its advantages (I can be loud in the morning), but I realized that company at the end of the day is nice - even if you're not talking much. I'm sure this is just the start of many solo nights in shelters.Sometime in the morning I passed a pack of day hikers in their 50s or so and one of the women got excited and says "Do people call you Justin?! You look like Justin Timberlake!" All the others nodded hesitant agreement but I corrected her - I don't look like Justin Timberlake, Justin Timberlake looks like me. They were delighted by this. I smiled and pushed on. I tell this story because it's one of the few things that were funny today...My mid-day stop was at the Mohican Outdoor Center off of a gravel road. I had to stop here because AWOL had sent my replacement AT Guide there. When I got there the fella manning the counter said he didn't have any packages but that he'd drive down the road to check the day's mail. I was grateful that he went out of his way, but of course, there was no AT Guide when he returned. What a bummer! He offered to forward the guide to me wherever I needed if I left him a message - I thanked him and left the Outdoor Center scheming about what to do next. I decided that I could look at another hiker's guide at the hostel in Delaware Water Gap and maybe take pictures of the pages that I need. After the no-guide let down I booked it to town to try to make it to the gear store before closing time. I was hoping to get a new pair of socks via warranty (the Darn Toughs are good, but they're no match for 500 miles) and I wanted to get new tips for the trek poles. I made such good time to town that I didn't even realized I made it to town... I walked passed it thinking it was some outskirts. It took about a mile to realize my mistake and when I did, it hit hard. Having to backtrack a full mile is nauseating. One mile might not sound like much, but I wanted to explode. Grrrrrrrr! I was so angry that I almost started to run back. What really made me angry was realizing that I'd get back to town just a few minutes before 5... when the gear store closes. I made it to the gear store at 4:53. It was closed. Sigh.The day was made brighter by the hostel (I'm told it's one of the oldest on the trail), and by an entire 16" mushroom pizza. I put that thing down without much effort. I was satisfied and a little proud. My very first large pizza consumed in a sitting. I think I can call myself a hiker now.Today's post was brought to you by Justin Timberlake - or I mean me. How is it possible that I could look like him? Has he grown a beard since I've been on the trail?
Date: 2012-10-20
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter 

To: Blue Mountain Summit B&B
Miles today: 29.4

(In which I pull close to 30 miles and reunite with Kelly)I got an early start this morning in anticipation of the 30 mile haul. Bart sleeps like a log but I still tried to pack up quietly. I was on trail by 5:40.Hiking today was easy once again - almost to the point of boredom. The trail was flat and ran along level ridge lines most of the way. One thing I stopped to take a picture of was part a long stretch of dead trees and plants (see picture). I know I've read about the sections in PA that were devastated by chemical industry, but I can't remember the details. Either way, when you look at the state of the vegetation in this area, it's pretty clear that you should wait to get water until the trees start to look alive again...After the dead stretch I passed two women in their 40s who almost soiled themselves when they turned a bend in the trail and saw me. The yelped and jumped and afterwards explained that they thought I was a bear. I guess the black clothing had them spooked... or they had themselves spooked. I've got a bright yellow-orange pack cover that's visible from the front, so I'm not sure how anyone could get confused. It was entertaining anyway.At a break I got a message from Kelly that she had missed her flight. Never good. By the time I got a hold of her, the problem was more or less fixed but she would arrive a little later than planned. This gave me a little more time, so I took a really long break to patch up the sore feet (damn rocks). I made it to the bed and breakfast by 6:45.When Kelly arrived we had dinner at the B&B (outstanding food - try the pumpkin soup!) and relaxed the rest of the evening. A great ending to a long, long day.Today's post was brought to you by vast stretches of dead trees, because sometimes we need a sobering reminder of what irresponsible industry is capable of.