morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-08
From: Culver Fire Tower

To: The Secret Shelter
Miles today: 19.4

This morning was awesome waking up in the fire tower. Off to the east I could see the sunrise and not even have to get out of my sleeping bag. Sometime during the night Shasta decided to climb the tower to catch the sunrise as well so she ended up sleeping on the level below Donkey and I. Not long after the sunrise it was time to get moving so we came down and had a little breakfast before getting started. Just after leaving I met a guy named Cats Pa and hiked with him for about and hour. He is retired from construction management out of San Diego and is finally doing all the things that he dreamed of doing. He hiked the PCT last year and is attempting to complete the AT this year in less than 100 days. He is trying to set a record because no one over the age of 60 has done it before. Good Luck Cats Pa! Shasta and I hiked most of the morning together then we all met up for lunch at High Point State Park. When we got to the park the headquarters building it was closed due to the recent problems in the New Jersey budgets. A lot of us ended up picnicking out on the lawn beside the building and taking naps waiting for it to cool off a little outside. Just after napping we got back on the trail and a few of us stopped at the High Point Monument marking the highest point in the state at 1803 feet. It is a really nice stone monument that stands about 220 feet above the surrounding ridge. Back on the trail we had just over 5 miles to go until we reached tonight¢s destination at the Murray Property better known as the secret shelter. This place is owned by a local guy that has built a small bunkhouse for thru hikers to use and also has plenty of area for tenting. The best part of the stay is it is completely free. Off in the adjacent field were two donkeys that were practicing on making smaller donkeys. All we heard all day and all night were them making donkey calls. There is nothing like a donkey calling at 3:00am. Other than the noise it is another beautiful night on the trail and tonight I slept without a rain fly on my tent so I could see the stars and moon. Tonight at the secret shelter: Jane, Shasta, H-Bomb, Silver Foot, Donkey, Hot Springs, Baro, Tex, Mike, Zan, Baldy Locks, Bare Bear, Jelly Bean, Cat Paws, Mrs. Parkay, Leprechaun, KingPin, and I
Date: 2006-07-10
From: NJ 94 Vernon, NJ (St. Thoma)s Episcopal Church

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: scattered clouds

It was an interesting night last night Bare Bear snored most of the night and the rest was spent trying to sleep on the hard concrete floor of the hostel. I¢m defiantly not complaining though because being indoors last night and this morning allowed us to escape the mosquitoes for a little while. On the way out of town I picked up a couple of last minute items and returned to the trail with Donkey. The very first section out of town was a steep climb to Pinwheel¢s Vista were there was a little rock outcropping with great views of town. The only thing to note about this mornings hike was the poor quality of the water in the local water sources. The past couple of days the water has been the worst since starting the trail and hope this soon changes. I could only imagine walking this section during a summer of drought. The morning hike wasn¢t exciting but around lunchtime things started to change a little. The terrain changed and went from a dirt path to a fun rock scramble. Just after the Warwick Turnpike the trail was like a roller coaster with short ups and downs across many rock formations. Another exciting part of this section was the official entrance into the state of New York. Somewhere around mile 1,352 there is a NJ/NY painted in white on the rocks, which officially completes 8 states. I signed in on the trail register and proceeded on. To celebrate this accomplishment several of us stopped at Bellvale Farm¢s Ice Cream Shop on NY-17A and enjoyed a big tall ice cream cone and rolled into Wildcat Shelter around 8:45pm with a gut full of sweets for the night. Tonight at Wildcat Shelter: Shasta, H-Bomb, Donkey, Hot Springs, Tex, Caboose,Walk About, and I
Date: 2006-07-13
From: Graymoor Friary

To: NY 52
Miles today: 24.0

It stormed most of the night and finally quit around sunrise this morning. Thank fully because most everyone was pretty wet from the last two days and needed to dry out a little. I woke up pretty early this morning and packed every thing just after the rain stopped. I didn't want to risk having to pack up in the rain if it had started back up. Since I was up early it gave me a little time to catch up on my journals before hitting the trail with Donkey, Tex, and Silver foot. Shasta and H-Bomb were going to sleep in today and take it easy due to their sore feet from walking in wet shoes yesterday. When we started hiking it was really overcast and looked like it was going to start raining again any minute but held off all day. As we were walking along Canopus Ridge we could here what sounded like cannons and machine guns firing from West Point Military Academy just across the Hudson River. Thankfully most of today's hike was on much better terrain than the previous few. At lunch since we were making such good time we decided to try and go a little further than the RPH Shelter, which we had originally planned on staying at this evening. The next section of trail between Canopus Lake and the shelter was also nice and had a lot of hemlock trees. Along the way I hiked with Sleep Walker for a wile and he was telling me about the tendinitis he had earlier in the trail. It described the problems that I had back in Virginia and Pennsylvania exactly. So for the two weeks that I had of limping it must have been tendinitis. Just before reaching the RPH Shelter I saw a doe and fawn off in the distance grazing on some grass at the edge of a field. Although I never got a picture it was nice to watch them for a few minutes before moving on. When I got to the RPH Shelter Donkey and Silver foot were already there discussing another 5 miles for the day. This would allow Donkey and I to get into Pawling, NY a little sooner tomorrow to catch the train into NYC and it would also give us a chance to eat dinner at the pizzeria on NY52. After sitting for a few minutes and checking the shelter out we pushed on. The hike over to NY52 had a few big hills to climb but was well worth it when we made it in for dinner. Before NY52 that goes into town we set up camp behind the rock walls. We picked this spot so we could stash our gear and not have to take it into town with us. After eating a huge salad and calzone we walked back to the trail and immediately crawled into our tents for the night. Tomorrow it¢s off to NYC for the weekend.Tonight at NY52: Silver foot, Donkey, and I
Date: 2006-07-14
From: NY 52

To: County Road 20 (Pawling, NY)
Miles today: 12.2

Since Donkey and I wanted to make it to Pawling, NY as soon as possible this morning we started hiking about 6:00am. We met up with Hot Springs at the Morgan Stewart Shelter and all made it to West Dover Road by 10:45am. That means we hiked 12.2 miles before 11:00am not bad. When we got to West Dover Road our first attempt to hitch a ride worked. Some local guy picked the three of us up and gave us a ride into town. By the look on his face we must have really smelled pretty bad, but it has been in the lower 90s this week and a couple of days for us without a shower. Thankfully he had all the windows down and the sunroof open for ventilation. When we got to Pawling he dropped us off at the train station and we bought our tickets into NYC. Since we made it into town so early we decided to catch an earlier train into town. We still had time to wash a load of cloths and eat a sub. Once we got on the train it was naptime into Grand Central Station. It was especially nice because of the air-conditioned cabins. Air-conditioning is really nice if you haven't had it in a while. When we made it into town we caught a subway into Queens to meet up with one of Donkey's Peace Corps buddies for the night. Nathan had a nice studio apartment that overlooked the city skyline of Manhattan. The first thing on the agenda was a shower in an attempt to keep the apartment from smelling too bad and then it was off for something to eat again. We decided that tonight we would grab a few things from the store and cook a big meal at Nathan's. We went down to the little grocery store a few blocks away and loaded up with groceries for the night. Our best bargain was ice-cream because they had a buy 1 get 2 free deal going on so we ended up with 3 half gallons. When we returned to Nathan's we grilled a few pork chops, made pasta salad, steamed corn in the oven, and best of all made garlic bread out of some bread we got from a random man in the train station earlier. He was a little strange but knew a lot about the AT and helped us find our way into town. After dinner we sat around and watched TV for once in a long while and rested.Tonight in NYC: Nathan, Donkey, and I
Date: 2006-07-16
From: County Road 20 (Pawling, NY)

To: County Road 20 (Pawling, NY)
Miles today: 0.0

Another bright and sunny day in NYC is underway. We ended up sleeping in for a while this morning and then all decided to take it easy today. First though I got in the kitchen and rounded up enough stuff to make some banana pancakes for breakfast. They ended up being pretty good and a nice treat compared to the pop tarts we have become accustomed to on the trail. After eating we wanted to go out to the city for a while, but we decided to let it cool off a little first. To kill some time we watched Napoleon Dynamite which is an entertaining comedy staring John Heder. When it was over we went down a couple of streets from Nathan¢s apartment to a city street festival. There were tons of people out at the festival so we ended up hanging around for a while at a local watering hole. It was on the corner and had a lot of outdoor seating so we got in no hurry to leave. When we decided to leave we stopped by Nathan's apartment and grabbed a basketball and started toward the park. On the way to the park a thermometer on the street corner read 103 degrees. Since it was still so hot we decided to catch the train out of town early in the morning and go play basketball for a while this evening. It ended up being pretty fun and lucky us no one came by to challenge us at a game. I¢m not very good at the game but enjoy shooting a few hoops every now and then. The boys up here are serious about the game and play all the time. After a little sweating on the court we went for pizza and settled back in at Nathan¢s for the night. It has been good to take a few days off of the trail to rest and see the sights of NYC but I am itching to get back on the trail.Tonight at Nathan¢s: Donkey, Nathan, and I
Date: 2006-07-17
From: County Road 20 (Pawling, NY)

To: Mt. Algo Lean-To
Miles today: 20.7

The alarm clock went off this morning at 4:15am so we could catch the first train back to Pawling. We left Nathan¢s apartment in NYC early in an attempt to start hiking before it gets too hot. Hot Springs was to meet us at the station but over slept and didn't make it. The train ride back was just under 2 hours so it gave us a chance to catch a little more sleep In air-conditioning before having to start hiking. When we got into Pawling we stopped by Chris's Deli again for a breakfast sandwich that was out of this world good. Both of the sandwiches that I had from there have been really good and affordable. If anyone is going to be hiking thru Pawling, I recommend stopping in to try one. We ended up hitching a ride from a local farmer back up to the trail and started about 9:15am. It was already getting warm and a lot of this mornings hike was out in the open fields. This made it even hotter. Donkey and I decided our first stop today would be at the Wiley Shelter. When we got there Chardonnay was there. This is the first time that we have seen her since the Bear's Den back in Virginia and we have missed her tremendously every since. We ended up sitting around and catching up on so gossip with her before leaving. Just after the shelter we crossed the state line from New York into Connecticut. This completes our 9th state and Connecticut should go by quickly putting 10 down. By now it has gotten really hot and when we reached the Ten Mile River Lean-to we stopped for lunch. With the shelter just beside the river we walked down to the water to take lunch. Chardonnay, Donkey, and I ended up having to swim for a while and sit in the shade to cool down some so we could eat. After lunch we decided to push on toward tonight¢s shelter at Mount Argo. First though we had to cross Schaghticoke Mountain. Although the elevation change was only 1,000 feet it was nearly 100 degrees outside and made for slow, hot hiking. When Donkey and I reached the shelter we were both pretty tired and ready to call it a day. We were exhausted from the heat. Chardonnay showed up shortly after us and found out that Leon was on his way up and he was going to spend the night at camp. Tonight: Baldy Locks, Hot Springs, Chardonnay, Leon, Donkey, Cake, Pie, a bunch of section hikers and myself.
Date: 2006-07-20
From: Plateau Campsite

To: US 7 (Great Barrington, MA)
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Left out of camp about 7:15am with H-Bomb, Shasta, and Jane headed up to Lion's Head. It's just another rock outcropping but has a great view of the valley below. It was a good photo opportunity so the four of us had our picture made by a local resident that was out for a morning hike with her dog. Our next break was on Bear Mountain and at 2,316' is the highest point in Connecticut. It turned out to be a good place to stop because not only were we sitting on the highest point in the state, but also there was a cool breeze blowing that felt really good. Shortly after leaving Bear Mountain we crossed the Massachusetts state line and started our 11th state. Just after crossing the line we were treated to more really good views from Race Mountain. Just before we got off the mountains and back into the low lands we crossed 1,500 miles and made rock numerals on the side of the trail. Jane stopped at MA41 to wait on the rest of us, and a lady stopped to offer us a ride into town. I had only planned on going into town for a few supplies but we talked it over and all decided to go in for the night. The lady let us finish the next three miles and met us over on US7 after her evening hike. She gave us a lift into town but when we got there found out our motel was just on the outskirts so she drove us to the motel. We ended up eating McDonalds and picking supplies up at the grocery store next door and never really going into Great Barrington. After dinner we returned to the room for the night and settled in for a good nights sleep with no mosquitoes and air conditioning.Tonight: Jane, Shasta, H-Bomb, and I
Date: 2006-07-21
From: US 7 (Great Barrington, MA)

To: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-To
Miles today: 11.7

Well it was nice waking up this morning to air conditioning and no mosquitoes. Some may think that staying in town every now and then is cheating but I say "No way dude". When we checked out of our room we hitched a ride back to the trailhead with a local kid that races road bikes and works at an ice cream plant here in Great Barrington. When we got back to the trail it was 10:15am and already getting hot. The first section was mostly flat along some cornfields before crossing over the Housatonic River. After crossing the river the trail started climbing up East Mountain and on the way up I ran into Hot Springs and his uncle. His uncle came out to hike a couple of days with him and so far they are moving pretty slow. We ended up stopping for lunch at the Tom Leonard Shelter and met up with Low Gear and The Sexy Monk. Low Gear was telling us earlier that he is on meds for lime disease and has had a pretty tough time with it. The disease seams to be spreading around because there have been several cases reported lately. This is one thing that I hope to stay clear of while out here on the trail. Last night in town we heard that there are thunderstorms forecasted for this evening so we pushed on just after lunch toward Benedict Pond. We had planned on swimming for a while but when we got to the pond the storms were approaching and we didn't want to get caught hiking in them. Since the shelter was only a short distance away we didn't stop for a swim but instead hiked on. When we got to the shelter it was just starting to rain so we decided to stay for the night. It worked out well because we were able to set our tents up before it started pouring. Jane, Shasta, H-Bomb, and I sat the storm out in the shelter and shortly after Low Gear, Sexy Monk, Hellbender, and the ridge runner for this section showed up. We all set around and talked for a while until the rain stopped. Low Gear, the ridge runner and Sexy Monk decided to go a little further and the rest decided to stay for the night. Shortly before dark Dinosaur shows up with a new look. The last time I saw her she had pink shoulder length hair and now she has it buzzed off and looks more like GI Jane. She too is on meds for lime disease and just got back on the trail after a hospital visit in Great Barrington. It was good to see her and Hellbender again because this is the first time that I have seen them since Trail Days back in Damascus, VA. Shortly behind her was the Jersey Boys and they had hitched into town and picked up a box of wine for Dinosaur and Hellbender. I believe it ended up being a rough night for them all because they had hangovers the next morning and the campsite looked like a tornado had struck. Tonight at Mt. Wilcox Shelter: Jane, Hot Springs and his uncle, Shasta, H-Bomb,Hellbender, Dinosaur, section hiker John, The Jersey Boys, and I
Date: 2006-07-22
From: Mt. Wilcox South Lean-To

To: October Mountain Lean-To
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: haze

After the wet night last night at Wilcox Shelter it was slow moving this morning. The threat of rain continued on and gradually began raining before we left the shelter. Jane was excited (not really) about hiking in the rain so she started out before the rest of us. The longer we waited the more it started to rain so I ended up being the next to leave. When I left Shasta, H-Bomb, and Hot Springs weren't even thinking about leaving because they didn't even have their boots on yet. I took off in a slight rain but overall great for hiking. I caught up with Jane just past the Shaker Campsite so we ended up sticking together for the rest of the day. Just before Upper Goose Pond Shelter it started pouring rain and the shelter was half a mile off the trail. We talked it over and decided to continue on instead of stopping. We ended up taking our lunch break with a section hiker under the bridge at Interstate 90 to escape the rain. Since the next shelter was just over 7 miles away we decided to suck it up and go the distance. Most of the 7 miles was up on the ridge through thick forest and with it raining we didn't stop until we reached the shelter. We had gotten word on the way that there were a few guys at the shelter with some trail magic. A thru hiker from last year¢s class named A-Wall and a few or his friends had lugged up several cases of beer and a ton of food for everyone. Not only was that a treat but they also had a huge fire blazing when we got into camp. It was great to warm up and dry out a little before setting up our tents. After getting settled in and hanging out by the fire some more we headed off to bed after a long day of hiking.Tonight at October Mountain Shelter: Jane, Miss Parkay, Yukon, Johnny Appleseed,A-Wall and friends, a few section hikers, and myself.
Date: 2006-07-23
From: October Mountain Lean-To

To: Dalton, MA (Tom's House)
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a bit soggy this morning to say the least after all the rain yesterday. Jane and I packed up and headed into town pretty quickly. On the way we ended up stopping at Pittsfield Road and going down to the home of the Cookie Lady. She and her husband have a small blueberry farm just off the trail and they give out home made cookies to hikers that come to visit. After getting back on the trail we really didn't stop much until we got into Dalton, MA. We weren't sure where we were going to stay or meet up with everyone so we stopped at Tom Levardi's house. He is a local resident that takes in hikers for the night. He has his house set up as a hostel and is very generous. When we got there he was about to take a couple into town to see a movie and offered us a ride to the mall. We jumped in and spent most of the afternoon just kicking around the mall and eating. When we got back to Tom's House H-Bomb and Shasta had made it in and they decided to stay for the night with us. While we set up our tents in is backyard we found out he was cooking supper for everyone that was staying for the night and he also was also going to let everyone take showers. Around 7:30pm we sat down to a great pasta dinner out on the picnic table beside Tom's Place. After dinner we all watched a little TV and found our way to bed soon after. Tonight: H-Bomb, Shasta, Jane, Johnny Appleseed, Yukon, Boots, Gorp, Tom, and I.
Date: 2006-07-24
From: Dalton, MA (Tom's House)

To: Cheshire, MA (St. Mary's Catholic Church)
Miles today: 9.3

Had a great nights sleep last night at Tom's house. The temperature dropped down just enough to stay covered up all night and not sweat to death like the past several nights. This morning though the dew was extremely heavy so our tents were soaked but thankfully it was bright and sunny early for drying out. Our very first move was down to Duff and Dels for some breakfast. It¢s nothing more than a little sandwich shop on the corner of town, but they have really good food. Since it was just down the street from Tom's place I went back after eating to lay a few things out in the sun. This includes my boots since they have been wet again for two days now. Not long after getting back to Tom¢s house Baro made it into town. It has been a few days since I last saw him because he got a little hungry one day and decided to go into town. When he went in everyone else continued on so he got slightly behind and is just catching up. With most everything packed up Shasta and H-Bomb decided to start out of town While Jane, Baro, and I did a few more chores around town. Jane and I ended up getting back on the trail around 2:30pm while baro stayed behind once again. We had all planned on making it to the shelter just before Mt Greylock tonight but things never go as planned. When Jane and I reached the next town of Cheshire, MA there was an ice cream stand off to the side of the trail so of course we stopped in to check it out. It was getting late and the guy at the stand said Shasta and H-Bomb had been gone for a few hours so we decided to stay at the local church hostel for the night. We went down to the church and checked in then returned for ice cream with Fred, Curly, and Swanson. Since neither of us had really met the three of them we all sat around and enjoyed the evening with ice cream and stories.Tonight at the Hostel: Fred, Curley, Swanson, Jane, and I.