morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-09
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a much better day as temperatures dipped into the high 80's. It may not sound like much compared to the 90's but it's a noticeable difference on the trail and with pack. It's also been wicked humid of late and today is easily the most humid of my hike so far as my sweat soaked shirt is paper mache'd to my body like a second skin for most of the day.I hike with Sugar Ray again today who is a great hiking companion. We share an almost identical hiking pace which I've found rare on the trail and the company is a welcome change from my usual solo hiking days. Our driving goal for the day is making it to the 15 mile mark where Lake Taorati awaits offering swimming, showers, vending, and perhaps most important, water. The hike itself is quite scenic with open forest space interspersed with boulders and rocky ridges, some low growth vegetation, and quite a few deer. As for the vegetation it is clearly suffering as the blueberry shrubs are all drying up and otherwise healthy trees are shedding dry, curled leaves. The forecast is 80% chance of rain tomorrow; definitely needed for the region even if it means I hike in wet socks and shoes and a muddy trail. It would certainly help the water supply situation as well as most of the streams and brooks in the guide are now dry.We make Lake Taorati around 3:15 and arrive to the smell of grilling and the sight of a beautiful lake with a nice little sand beach. I immediately head for the water while still hot and sweaty, entering with my shirt and hat on to rinse out my sweaty garments. The water is warmer than I expect but still refreshing. I paddle around for a bit before beaching myself to dry out, afterward showering before enjoying a couple sodas and an ice cream from the vending machines. This is a great diversion in my day and I wish more days had such appealing side attractions. After the lake we press on 4 more miles to the shelter where we make camp and dinner. Considering I had no appetite yesterday (from the heat I think) I'm famished today and enjoy a large dinner with a few Oreos for dessert, courtesy of Sugar Ray. Walk on!
Date: 2010-07-10
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Graymoor Spiritual Center
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

I wake at 5:30a with the first light, feeling refreshed after a good nights sleep. On the trail you wake and sleep to the sun's schedule as opposed to a human contrivance, which happens to be around 5:30 in the morning and 8:30 at night. I only woke up twice during the night, which is a significant improvement over the last few fitful nights of sleep, but it's still too early to get up so I flick at the roof of my tent below the unsuspecting insects that alight on the outside for a while before eating a pop tart in bed. It didn't rain last night but the sky is overcast and the air is heavy, leeching the sweat from my body by the end of the first climb. At one point Sugar Ray and I come to a rock outcrop with a great view of mountains extending into the distance and I'm struck by how much I both enjoy and have missed the mountain views that were so common in the south, which also now seems so long ago. A short while later I'm treated to a different view and from this one we can plainly see the shroud of rain falling on the adjacent mountain, steadily moving toward our position. Within 10 minutes the weather is upon us and we walk for the next 1 1/2 hours in a light but steady shower. The region is desperate for rain, evidenced in part by the plethora of the curling green-yellow leaves covering the trail shed prematurely from trees like a sad mother unable to support her children, and we are a bit desperate ourselves hoping that this rainfall will be sufficient to charge some of the springs that serve as our water sources. By 10:30 we are 7 miles into our day at the base of Bear Mountain when we come to a crowded pavillion picnic area with several the grills already in full swing. The food smells amazing sending hunger signals throughout my body so we decide to stick around until 11:00 when the snack bar opens and score a cheeseburger and fries. The wait is worth it and the people watching is priceless as the mostly Latino and Haitian groups enjoy this Saturday despite the rain and gray skies. Afterward the trail goes through a small zoo marking yet another interesting diversion in what has been a fairly relaxing and enjoyable last couple days. The scenery in New York is beautiful, some of my favorite to date on the trail, with a variety of open forests dotted with numerous glacier-rounded rock outcroppings that the trail designers thought important for hikers to traverse over (as opposed to around). There are a few up/down scrambles over short but steep hillsides that feel more like interval training than hiking but that's the A.T., one curveball after another. Walk on!
Date: 2010-07-11
From: Graymoor Spiritual Center

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Even after 1400 miles on trail I still have 'Ah ha!' moments. Last night while sitting around camp I examine my shoes and, pulling out the Superfeet insoles, realize that the cushion is completely compressed offering scant comfort between my feet and trail. My feet have been in some sort of pain or discomfort for literally hundreds of miles and I just assumed that long distance hiking and foot pain were naturally intertwined. Fortunately I still have the insoles that came with the shoes and I experimentally insert those first and the Superfeet on top. Today I hike with the 2 insoles in each shoe and I find the results satisfying, experiencing less impact and foot pain/soreness over the course of the day.The temps drop a bit overnight into the high 60's and the morning hiking is refreshing. My body's reaction to the changes in temperature are noticeable and dramatic as I feel charged with energy and spring in my step during these cooler morning hours, but by noon the good times are over as the temps once again climb and I begin to feel lethargic, sapped of the bounding energy I had just this morning. The rain that fell yesterday provided scant relief to the region and at times the trail looks as I imagine it would in fall, almost entirely covered with colorful yellow and green leaves prematurely shed from their host in these arid conditions. This heat is as trying as any condition I've felt on the trail, frustrating in the cost it exacts from me and my relative inability to come up with a solution that doesn't involve either hiking much slower or fewer miles or both. After hiking over 1400 miles I feel as if 20 miles is an earned right that shouldn't come with such a taxing effort, but like the rocks in PA the trail conditions are what they are and once again it's I that must change and adapt to what the trail and conditions serve up, and that trying to push through in a 'hiking as usual' manner (same pace, same miles) is a recipe that will surely exact both a physical and psychological toll. Walking tepidly on!
Date: 2010-07-12
From: RPH Shelter

To: Pawling, NY
Miles today: 17.5

I have my first uninterrupted night of sleep in quite a while, I think in part because I unzip my sleeping bag all the way and use it as a blanket (instead of a bag) allowing a wider, more comfortable range of motion. The warm weather makes this a viable option as I often don't even get into or under my bag until long after the sun has set and temps drop a few degrees.The terrain is subtly changing again as the rocks; rocky trail continue to lessen in frequency and severity as I continue my northward meander and the trail returns for longer stretches to the familiar soft dirt path I left back in Virginia. Noticeably (and welcome-ly) absent today are the steep rock scrambles prevalent in each of the prior days in NY.My hike concludes at Dover Road, site of the 'Dover Oak', with a girth of 20' is the largest oak tree on the AT, estimated to be 300 years old and impressively displaying upper branches that are themselves the size of normal oak trees. From Dover Road I get off the trail in Pawling, NY where tomorrow I will join my wife (kids are staying home with the grandparents this time) for the next 2 days in NYC. I've been looking forward to this 'break' for a couple weeks and am excited that it's finally arrived. I tent at the quaint city park located a mile outside of town and utilize the outdoor shower that surprisingly has hot water to clean up a bit prior to my train ride into the city. I've been hiking with Sugar Ray lately who is great company on the trail and will also be getting off the trail tomorrow for a couple days to visit his home in Connecticut. I'm hopeful that our hikes will realign once we get back on the trail. Walk on!
Date: 2010-07-13
From: Pawling, NY

To: Pawling, NY/NYC
Miles today: 0.0

I wake early and take the 6:55a train from Pawling into the City, enthusiastic about being off trail for a couple days and spending time with Roxana. Rox has booked our stay at a swank hotel off of Central Park that, for the next couple days, relegates the trail to an afterthought. The only exception being a walkabout for a couple gear items (hiking shirt and socks) that are threadbare after 3 months of daily use on trail and need replacing. The weather in NY is off-and-on rain and it's nice to be off trail avoiding the soup.
Date: 2010-07-14
From: Pawling, NY/NYC

To: Pawling, NY/NYC
Miles today: 0.0

Our stay in the City is all too brief. We enjoy the breakfast buffet in the hotel, stroll town where I pick up a copy of Moby Dick (despite the weight!) to take back on the trail, take lunch at a great little restaurant Rox has keyed in on, and I make my best but ultimately failing effort to convince her to stay for one more day. It's for the best as the time would further stretch her already thin time between work and the various domestic affairs she must manage in my absence.With a long heart, goodbye kiss, and my voice once again cracking at our departure I bid her farewell. This will likely be our last visit before I make my final push to Maine where Rox and the kids will once again join me at the conclusion of my epic adventure. Walk on!
Date: 2010-07-31
From: Atlanta, GA

To: Atlanta, GA
Miles today: 0.0

Update...Two weeks have passed since leaving the trail and taking some much needed time to recuperate both mentally and physically. On the physical side my left foot is still tender (the right is slightly better) with a self-diagnosed condition called Metatarsalgia, characterized by little to no padding left in the ball of the foot. After wearing a poor footwear choice for hundreds of miles on the trail I've worn nothing but soft, roomy Crocs since returning and the foot is slowly improving but still gimpy. The other physical condition ailing me is a touch of Girardia and I can't imagine enduring this condition in the heat/humidity I faced when I left the trail.Mentally both I and my wife needed a break from the Trail, me worn out from the daily rigors of trail life and my wife worn out from the daily rigors of single-handedly managing her business and a household with 2 young children.Only in the last couple days have we discussed a return the trail and there are 2 options. I'm loathe to miss my children's first day of school and my daughter's birthday which falls mid-August and will not consider a return before then. That being the case I can either return mid or late August, starting at Maine and hiking a flip-flop back to Connecticut to complete my thru-hike or I can section the remainder, most likely tackling this next year or the following. I still haven't decided between the two but as I recuperate the idea of trying to complete my thru-hike gains momentum.In the meantime I want to say 'Thanks' to everyone who's supported me during my hike and my current interlude and I've put together a short video of my first month on the Trail (April) that can be viewed here (no login necessary to view) -- http://vimeo.com/13785074 -- Enjoy and Walk On!!
Date: 2010-08-26
To: All good things...
Miles today: 0.0

The following is the guest book signing from Zachsdad and perhaps the best, most succinct summary of my feelings at the conclusion of my hike --"Avatar, Forrest Gump quit in mid-stride because he had "gotten everything out of his adventure". Thoreau left the woods "for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one." In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the author writes, "...physical discomfort is important only when the mood is wrong. Then you fasten on to whatever thing is uncomfortable and call that the cause. But if the mood is right, then physical discomfort doesn't mean much." Whether yours is a Forrest Gump moment, a Thoreau moment, or a Zen moment, only you know for sure. From following your journal, however, I can say this: You know exactly where you are, where you've been, and where you're going."I thought of scenes from Forrest Gump many times while hiking (one of my favorite movies), and not only is Thoreau one of my heroes but my sons middle name is Thoreau for that same reason. As many will point out Maine itself is not really a sustaining reason to hike the trail. There are quicker, easier ways to get there so we obviously hike for different reasons and it's these personal reasons that sustain us to go forward, find their fulfillment, or define their limits. In all cases we learn something about ourselves. I got what I needed at a time in my life when I needed it. It's been a terrific adventure and a pleasure sharing it here, and as in all things this isn't really an end but a new beginning.Walk on!!
Date: 2011-03-11
To: Horizons
Miles today: 0.0

Plans are in motion for a return to the trail, reacquainting myself at the Connecticut crossing where I stepped away 8 months ago. Roxana and I have spoken of this over the past few weeks but at 3 months out now I begin to feel the first twinges of 'seriousness' about my return. My pack sits in the basement in its still half-unpacked state and my thoughts now turn to inventory, gear-check, and training hikes on my recovered feet back up (and down and up again) Stone Mountain. Walk on!
Date: 2011-06-05
To: West Cornwall Rd
Miles today: 0.0

Reunited I'm on the train, speeding northward away from DC and the conclusion of my 20th college reunion. The reunion was a good time and if nothing else affirms that I'm not the only person in their early 40s looking to turn the page and begin writing a new chapter in their career or life. Among the many weekend activities I attend a seminar on 'blogging as a profession' although, truth be told, 2 of the 4 panelists are still tied to their day jobs making their blogging activities more of a fierce passion than a profession. Good discussion though and certainly food for thought. I talk with friends at the reunion and confess that while I spent 3+ months on the trail last year I've only camped one night since. I try to articulate that while I enjoy being outdoors I'm not some crazy outdoor survivalist that must heed the primal call of nature every weekend. I explain that there are really 3 things that attract me to hiking the AT: 1) being outdoors, 2) the 'epic-ness' of the challenge of walking from Georgia to Maine, and 3) the unknown that comes with each day spent doing 1 & 2. To put this last point in perspective my wife and I decided not to find out the gender of our 2nd child prior to the birth, part of the reason being that there just aren't enough opportunities to be to truly awed, amazed or surprised by what life presents before you. The trail can do that, every day waking to a little bit of the unknown. Tonight I stay with Sugar Ray, a hiker I shared trail time with last year. He lives in Connecticut near the point I got off the trail last summer and provides my first bit of 'trail magic' by offering a place to stay tonight and a ride back to the trail tomorrow. I readily accept, knowing that he genuinely understands and appreciates the anticipation tomorrow holds in store. Walk on!
Date: 2011-06-06
From: West Cornwall Rd

To: Limestone Spring Lean
Miles today: 13.4

In a bit of irony Connor lost a tooth yesterday morning just before I left. The irony is that last summer Connor lost 2 teeth 2 days apart while I was on the trail and I remember hearing this and at the time thinking 'what the hell am I doing out here'. The longer I was away the more these stories of kids' milestones built up marking just one of the mental and emotional challenges on the trail. At least the tooth is out of the way for now. I wake around 7:00a and by 7:30 Sugar Ray is shuttling me back to the trail. We stop first at a diner that I immediately recognize as the diner I ate at last year as I was getting off the trail with my aunt and uncle. A short while later we're at the same nondescript road crossing where I stepped out of the forest last July. We exchange goodbyes and Sugar Ray mentions he might even be able to get away for a couple days to join next week. Hope he pulls it off. From the road crossing I immediately begin climbing, nothing too severe but definitely up. Of course my pack is too heavy and needless to say I'm too heavy as well but the trail has a way of remedying these things in short order. The hike is nice and I feel good, falling into a familiar hiking rhythm. At one point I pass a series of waterfalls and take my shoes and socks off to soak in the swiftly flowing Housatonic. There are a few other kids swimming and sunbathing and it's a relaxing scene. I see only 2 other hikers all day and they're only out for a couple weeks. This is their third day and one of them has blisters such that she is walking barefoot rather than wear her boots. Might be a long two weeks. They stay at my shelter stop so I have company at camp, which is nice. It's only 7:30p right now but the light is already dim and will be dark in the next 30-45 minutes. I'm tired and think I'll have no problem resting tonight. Walk on!
Date: 2011-06-07
From: Limestone Spring Lean

To: Sages Ravine Campsite
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: broken clouds

Morning is the best time to hike. Aches and pains accumulated over the previous day have receded and the day is again filled with promise. Feet and legs are not quite as sore, shoulders are once again up to challenge, the air is cool and crisp and all of this is an invitation to go forward with a little extra spring in the step. Sounds and scenery also seem clearer and more poignant without the travails of the day yet crowding them out and without this fatigue I find I swivel my head more in the morning to take it all in. My nemesis, Heat, has returned hitting the mid 80s today and climbing to 90s over the next couple. There's no escaping this kind of heat either as it clings to you throughout the day and often into the evening, making it uncomfortable even while relaxing in my tent. The terrain isn't too bad on the day, the only significant climb being a fairly long and steep ascent at the end that coincidentally takes me over the highest point in Connecticut. The hike down from this point is even steeper and more treacherous and I think about the poor blokes traveling southbound that must face this beast. Status check; day two. Aches and pains have set in with both legs and shoulders feeling sore. Feet are fine though. I have some chaffing in a couple spots as well. I sleep well last night and excepting the heat hope to have an equally good rest tonight. Mileage for tomorrow is a choice between 7 and 21, really making for not much of a choice. I don't have my trail legs and stamina yet so big miles are out of the question. Nice thing about 7 though is it really is a leisurely walk allowing me some extra rest in the morning and plenty of time at camp on the morrow to rest.
Date: 2011-06-08
From: Sages Ravine Campsite

To: Glen Brook Lean
Miles today: 7.0

Critters. I see my third snake today, a ribbon snake as noted by the yellow stripes running down his sides. He's about a foot long, maybe the diameter of my pinky, and smack in the middle of the trail when we stumble upon each other. With the bottom of my shoe I gently coax him into a pose, and as I suspect, the camera loves him although my impression is that the feeling is NOT mutual. I also see a bright green garter snake (smallish), and a brown snake with cream bands outlined in black. This snake is medium size and my limited knowledge of snakes being what it is we give each other ample room to pass. You gotta respect ANYTHING that can move that fast without legs! I'm glad to say the toad population is doing well in CT and MA and I've also seen a couple frogs near water sources. Of the furrier variety, dozens of squirrels clamber about and I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say hundreds of chipmunks. I've decided that if there's a holocaust the chipmunk will eventually evolve to take our place. I see 2 fantastic moths on the trail just emerging from whatever it is they emerge from, one gently flexing its wings and the others still unfolding. They are large with burnt red bodies and legs and a colorful 4 inch wingspan. Of course the picture isn't always this rosy and cheerful, flies and mosquitoes are doing quite well in the wilderness and I'm not really sure what they eat when they can't get hiker. Walk on!
Date: 2011-06-10
From: Mt. Wilcox South Lean

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Today is a very pleasant hike, especially by yesterday's comparison. The trail is mostly flat or slightly downhill with only one noteworthy climb. The weather is nice (although rain is in the forecast over the next couple days) and the destination is a fabulous rustic cabin called Upper Goose Pond Cabin located on the body of water by the same name. I arrive around 3:00 and both the cabin and pond are as scenic as you can imagine. I shed my pack and quickly head down to the pond for a dip while my body is still hot from the hike. The water is like glass with a slight chill but not so much that it forces you back out. In fact it's quite relaxing and I paddle and float for the next 15 minutes before drying in the sun. The cabin itself is over 100 years with no electricity, running water, or bathrooms and is maintained by the local AT hiking club. Caretakers stay at the cabin during the summer hike season rotating in for 1 week shifts. Nancy from Maine is volunteering this week and is very courteous, making coffee and pancakes for hikers in the morning. The cabin is a great stop, with a great vibe and one of the first real highlights on my journey. Walk on!
Date: 2011-06-11
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Berkshire Lodge
Miles today: 1.6

I 'Nero' (near zero) into a lodge with Firefly and 30+ today for my first bed and shower in a week. I'm pleased with my mileage to this point and after 2 big days feel a rest day is in order. The lodge is quaint and I use the opportunity to wash clothes, relax, resupply, and get a real meal with my new hiker friends. The trail passes through or near towns for the next three days so I pack minimal supplies which makes a HUGE difference in pack weight. Back on the trail tomorrow. Walk on!