morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-06-23
From: Dirt Road north of Crater Lk - Trail Mile: 875.0

To: Gren Anderson Shelter - Trail Mile: 863.4
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: broken clouds

Day 3Had a great night with DD. H and I both slept lots, but got a late start this morning. Were dropped off at Crater Lake around noon with approx. 12.5 miles planned. First mile (back from Crater Lake to the AT) was slow going because H didn't want to leave DD behind. Smart dog!Terrain today followed same pattern: ridgeline for a few miles, dip down to a road, climb back up to ridgeline again. Ridges are tall grass meadows or overgrown shrubbery; hillsides are more trees and leaf litter with less underfoot.Took a while to get to the shelter, I ran out of steam and pulled out the Trail Mix!! for a quick boost.Passed someone's abandoned / destroyed campsite on the ridge just north of 206 in Culver's Gap. Kinda creepy. Called it in to the Park police. Hope nothing bad happened there.It started lightly raining not too much later, but we made it to the shelter without incident. We were the first ones there, but I set up the tent because we expected others we had met earlier to follow. Very happy with the tent/bedroll and setting up under the rainfly worked perfectly.Also very happy to have company on a rainy night after the creepy abandoned campsite. Hot Sauce, Loon, Tropical Thunder and dog Liz showed up 45 minutes later. I thought we must have made good time, having left the last shelter only about half an hour before these three seasoned hikers. They had stopped for a beer at the pub in town, though, while we hiked straight through. Still, not too shabby for the third say on the trail.TT mistakenly called H Watson, and thus our new trail names: Watson and Holmes. Cool.Of note, ticks are getting to be less of a problem. Still using deet and doing tick checks every couple hours, though. We'll see how it goes.41° 11' 57.56" N 74° 45' 12.17" W, 1332 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-06-24
From: Gren Anderson Shelter - Trail Mile: 863.4

To: High Point Shelter - Trail Mile: 850.4
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 4Very nice hiking day!! Weather was perfect, views were nice, trails weren't too buggy, only muddy in a few places, and we paced ourselves well. H still setting the pace most of the time, still dragging me up hills. Worked out well, especially the last 2-3 miles: I carried his packs to take pressure off sore paws, he still had enough energy to pull me (carrying both his & my packs) up to the observation tower at High Point SP. Pretty to look at with the sun breaking through clouds just behind the monument, but tough to take a good picture with the iPhone.Shelter tonight is nice, too. Stone walls and large enough for 8. Shared with Tropical Thunder & dog Lizzie, and Saw Man (another CoW fan!!)Who besides Dad knows what CoW stands for? Respond with a comment to let others in on the secret... Here's a clue: best way to eat CoW is to add boiling water to a sandwich baggie of dry mix, let stand while you pack up your gear, snip one corner of the bag and gently squeeze out mouthfuls as you hike.Back to the shelter: Plenty of space, with dogs against the outer walls and three humans spread in between, plenty of trail-experience, too. One benefit of starting in NJ is that the GA-ME thru-hikers are happy to share tips with the few rookies: Even though there were streams out front and slightly downhill, TT followed a different source to a spring uphill of the shelter (and, consequently, of the privy) - much better!! Did take advantage of the streams, though, to have a sponge bath, wash hair, and wash clothes.TT & SM also talked a little about motivation / losing motivation. I realized that a big part of feeling good about the day (for me) is being able to wipe off the sweat and grime and climb into my bag feeling like a new, if slightly sore, person. A stream sponge bath, or at least a good wipe down with a cup of water if water is scarce, is now a nightly ritual.Still figuring out H's ritual, but it usually includes: exploringthe site, flopping down at the end of the tent or on my bag if in a shelter for a bit of a rest, having a bowl of water, begging for some of Mom's meal, then eating his own bowl of kibble (if he wasn't hungry at the late afternoon break), howling to greet any incoming hikers, and either more exploring or more sleeping, depending on energy level.Of note, ticks are less and less as we go north. Yay!41° 18' 56.26" N 74° 39' 27.18" W, 1309 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-06-29
From: Wildcat Shelter - Trail Mile: 814.3

To: Fingerboard Shelter - Trail Mile: 800.0
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 9[Watson & Holmes arrived. Sent: "Safe at Fingerboard Shelter but sore and tired from a 14+ mile day!! (Great news: H (Watson) is doing better than I am!)"Two photos received today, the one to the left taken early in the day. It was captioned: "And this is just the beginning of our day...". (See photo gallery under 6/29/09 for the "Marker Photo".)Her journal entry:]Made 14 miles on Monday, crossed I-87 into Harriman State Park. Some really tough scrambles (almost but not quite requiring climbing gear). H was, as always, a trooper. Ticks are not as much a worry as mosquitoes, but the organic bug spray is working well (YAY!) and even smells good to other thru-hikers. (Giving you some idea about how unclean we can get!)Odd note: shelters in NY rarely have registers. Shelter registers are a great place to learn where your friends are / what they're doing, as well as get suggestions from other hikers about what's coming up. For instance, the evening we came into Harriman, there was a rock formation called the Lemon Squeezer, because it's really narrow. So narrow, in fact, that you have to hold your pack over your head as you walk sideways between these two boulders. In daylight I'm sure I would have figured it out, but this was in waning light after a hard day and I was glad to have known in advance what to expect. And yes, I did have to take H's packs off, too. Anyway, Monday night's shelter was Fingerboard Shelter in Harriman SP, shared with TT (who finally caught up after a hard night of drinking in town) & Lexie (not Lizzie), and a very nice weekending couple from RI. Set up the tent without the rain fly inside the shelter to protect from mosquitoes. Didn't want a repeat of Pochunk Mtn!!41° 15' 50.87" N 74° 6' 17.13" W, 1368 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-04
From: Hosner Mtn. Rd. - Trail Mile 757.1

To: Hosner Mtn. Rd. - Trail Mile 757.1
Miles today: 0.0

Day 14[Watson & Holmes spent the day at a near by home that is friendly to trail hikers.See the photo at left with the caption: "Note the bonfire on left waiting to be lit."Another photo for the 4th is captioned: "Micha, Disney, Carpenter, and Sea Monster showing off for the ladies while Rolling Stone decides he's the wise one and enjoys his beer!"Her journal entry:]Bill & Amy's, again.Today is the 4th of July party. I'll try to send along some photos. 20-30 backpackers show up, some who are at this point in the trail, some who have passed by but called for a ride back, and some from further south at Unionville NY who have heard about the party. There are a couple guys in Unionville (Butch & another Bill) that run a hiker's hostel. Bill had visited them a week before to spread the news to those hikers who would be in his area a week later, so Butch drove up with a car full of guests. The party was a huge success. Great weather, great food, lots of people, lots of beer, potato launching, fireworks, bonfire, trampoline, and all out silliness. I won't go into details, but H and I both enjoyed ourselves and ate WAY too much. We sleep well, again.41° 32' 28.61" N 73° 45' 10.48" W, 525 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-06
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter - Trail Mile 751.6

To: Appalachian Trail, Harlem Line- Trail Mile 740.7
Miles today: 9.8

Day 16[Note: This section of the AT trail was hiked in April 2009 by Harvey and Jess, and overlaps this trip in this section by 1.1 milesStarting Location was Morgan Stewart Shelter:41° 33' 53.49" N 73° 41' 30.73" W, 1335 ftDestination was Appalachian Trail, Harlem Line:41° 36' 38.38" N 73° 34' 43.79" W, 440 ftHer journal entry:]7/6/09Jonathan's apartment in NYCMonday was a crappy/lazy day. We got up at 5 am so Bill could drop us off at the train station on his way into work. We were pretty tired. On the way in, I called the H's vet to make an appointment to see why his tail is sore. We went pretty much straight there from Grand Central. Vet confirms he doesn't have Lyme disease or any other tick born illness, and orders X-rays. JR (H's dad) has a busy morning so instead of calling I send and email to let him know what's up. Apparently, even though JR also has an iPhone, he doesn't check email regularly. So, while I'm in the subway on my why to JT's for the night, the vet can't get through to me and instead calls JR (nice surprise) to tell him his dog has a chipped bone in his tail but is ready to come home. Awesome. JR is actually pretty cool about it and H goes home with some anti-inflammatories for a night on a sofa. YAY!Meanwhile, due to some email troubles and scheduling issues, I find out after I'm already in NYC that I can't take care of the stuff I needed to come back to NYC for. I could have taken H to any vet along the trail, and could have gone to any outfitter long the trail for the shopping I needed to do. Pissed about that, and tired and cranky, I end up napping away the day on JT's couch. Oops. By the time I wake up and shower an do laundry, it's too late to run my other errands and so we just have dinner and a relaxed evening catching up. JT even let's me make brownies in his kitchen from a box of brownie mix in his pantry! That's trail magic for two days! I turn in for what ends up being a restless night, as I'm still a bit irked and have already slept too much. Ah well.For HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-08
From: Wiley Shelter - Trail Mile 735.1

To: Schaghticoke Mtn. Campsite - Trail Mile 725.6
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

Day 18[Watson & Holmes arrived.Received this photo with the caption: "Two coonhounds on the trail today. Halifax is a treeing walker, hiking with Leon."Also received this photo with the caption: "Entering Connecticut!!! The trail dips back into NY for a bit later this same afternoon before we're officially done with the state, but I liked this sign post better!"More photos came later.Her journal entry:]Today was rough, again because I just couldn't get back into the swing of things. Still, we made it to Connecticut and met some friends. And heck, I'm hiking the AT with H. No day is a bad day.Woke up a couple times and checked the stakes on the fly. Finally got up around 9 am to see everyone had gone already. (Most hikers start early and finish early, but I prefer to keep moving through the worst of the early-evening mosquito activity.) Also saw that my tent was covered in slugs. The rainstorm was not nice to me. At least the ground was flat and the tent floor stayed dry. I went to the privy first, managed to avoid being stung by the hundred bees that had decided to nest there, then checked out the shelter in daylight, and of course then saw the handwritten sign warning about bees in the privy. Awesome. I spent 20 minutes cleaning and refolding my tent (usually takes 5 minutes). Then I was so disgusted I skipped breakfast and instead ate a granola bar a bit down the trail. A couple miles later, H and I finally reach Connecticut, kind of (see photo). The trail weaves like a dollar sign over the NY-CT state line, so we weren't officially done with NY until later in the afternoon. We stopped mid-afternoon at a shelter near an open meadow and met Leon and his treeing walker coonhound, Halifax. They hike really early in the morning, then take long afternoon breaks so they can hike again during the evening and sometimes even all night. Interesting idea.We have lunch of Knorr Pasta Primavera with extra freeze-dried chicken added (Thanks, Dad!). H enjoys howling at the creaky hand pump as Leon refills his Camelbak. We nap a bit, but get moving again soon. We cross a river and I dream of kayaking, instead of climbing the next hill. Which of course, I do. The trail winds around the top of the ridge for a while, and cross back into NY at some point, not sure exactly when, and then back to CT. But the sign simply reads 'CT-NY', and I've gotten so turned around I'm not sure whether I'm entering or exiting CT! Leon and Halifax catch up to us later and complain of the same confusion. We stop a couple hours later for water, where we heard about thunderstorms, and decided to not do a steep downhill in the rain while cranky. I set up my tent at Schaghticoke Mtn. Campsite, eat a small meal, and curl up to read a novel on my phone. In the end, though, it didn't rain that night. We could have finished the next couple miles down to the shelter. Ahh well. The novel was good, though!41° 41' 33.79" N 73° 30' 33.2" W, 942 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-09
From: Schaghticoke Mtn. Campsite - Trail Mile 725.6

To: Conn. 4 - Trail Mile 711.3
Miles today: 14.3

Day 19[Watson & Holmes arrived.Received this photo with the caption: "Harvey making friends at Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter."Her journal entry:]Woke up to a chilly but dry morning. Lots of mosquitoes, so I rush through getting packed. I do take time for breakfast, though. Grits with raspberries, yum! We have a bit of ridge walking, and then a really sharp descent. I'm feeling good, though, getting my rhythm back and making good time. I'm waiting to hear from DD, who is on his way back to the US but has had a number of delays. He's planning to visit but isn't sure when he'll get here. Finally there's a long walk at the side of the river on a beautiful flat trail. It's great except for the mosquitoes, so we keep moving fast. Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter proves a good place for dinner and a nap, while waiting to hear from DD. H makes friends with James and Isaac, two friends out for a week of backpacking. Leon and Halifax stop by and are considering night-hiking under the mostly-full moon. We will have to do the same (4 miles to the road where DD will meet us) if things work out.Around 8:00 I get the email from DD - he's on his way. We start our 4 miles with three miles of flat river walk. At one point H runs off into a cornfield that's grown to about knee-high. I whistle for him to come back, and as he's loping across the field, all I can see is his ears swinging up and down - he looks like a rabbit! Well, the three miles of river walk are over, but the last mile is a 1,000 foot climb followed by a 500 foot descent. At this point I've got my headlamp on because the tree cover is blocking out the moon. H is running only about 25 feet ahead. He's making it much easier for me to follow the trail because I can hear his tags clinking and see his eyes shine in the light of my headlamp when he looks back. Night hiking isn't so bad, I think, especially knowing Leon and Halifax are behind us in case we run into trouble. Then we start downhill. That's rough. I need to either keep H behind me or on the leash because there's a road ahead, and on a steep section like that I refuse to hold onto his leash. It's dangerous for both of us. Very glad for my headlamp, we make it safely down just as Leon and Halifax catch up. They keep on going, and H almost wants to follow. Instead we turn towards town and I switch my headlamp to strobe so DD can find us. There's no cell signal, so we just hope DD is relatively on time. Town (and our reserved hotel room) is less than a mile away, so no big deal. Of course, less than 5 minutes later, DD drives up (in a gorgeous brand new mustang coupe - long story). We get back to the hotel, get a hot shower an a coke, and fall onto bed. The rest isn't for public consumption. Take care, all!41° 49' 22.36" N 73° 23' 10.03" W, 758 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-13
From: Laurel Ridge Campsites - Trail Mile 680.3

To: US 7 East - Trail Mile 667.6
Miles today: 12.7

Day 23[Watson & Holmes have arrived at the Corn Crib (now renamed Dolls & Dressers, and defunct) on US-7 south of Great Barrington, MA.Received a photo captioned: "Approach to Race Mtn. - You can't see it, but to the right the cliffs drop off rather sharply and there are sweeping views of the plains a thousand feet below."Her journal entry:]Dolls & Dressers (Formerly The Corn Crib)Good, quick miles with half-empty pack.Pretty, easy terrain. Later part of day is swampy. Very swampy.Package from Salisbury (forwarded to South Egremont) made it on time. Very glad - was running out of dog food! Very nice boy gave us a lift to PO just in time.Saw AMC-RR Milkman at Kellogg Center, thanked for good advice on 7/11.More swamps!! Happy to have more organic bug spray - works very well on mosquitoes.Night at Corn Crib - now Dolls & Dressers. Weird place. Slept in store room, sponge bath in sink, charged phone & batteries. Adapter wire officially broken!42° 9' 17.67" N 73° 21' 53.01" W, 663 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-14
From: US 7 East - Trail Mile 667.6

To: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-To- Trail Mile 654.1
Miles today: 13.5

Day 24[Watson & Holmes arrived.Received a photo captioned: "Tom Leonard Shelter - Why H decided the fire ring would be a good place to nap, I have no idea, but it makes a really cute photo!"Her journal entry:]Mt Wilcox North Lean-ToBig miles, a couple hills - just keep going. Heavy pack with resupply makes it tough.Keep meeting new people, but can't keep the names straight. Oops!Long lunch again, picture of H in fire pit. Not sure why, but he liked it there.Nice new cabins throughout MA, but I keep missing them. Tempted to stay at Wilcox South, but went the extra two miles ro Wilcox North because next day is 15 miles to Goose Pond Cabin and pancakes!Wilcox North - met Amanda & dog Challa and Adam. Adam is fun, but completely unprepared for even one night out, let alone a thru-hike.Sleep pretty well, H still up 3 times a night with stomach issues. But, tail is looking better today!42° 13' 14.86" N 73° 14' 58.65" W, 1988 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-15
From: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-To - Trail Mile 654.1

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin - Trail Mile 640.1
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 25[Watson & Holmes arrived.Her journal entry:]Upper Goose Pond CabinAdam tags along for a day, asking for food & advice. I'm happy to share, but find I hike better / faster / hit my stride easier when I hike with only H.Good miles today, anyway, and fun playing Name That Tune.Fun at the Cabin - lots of other hikers.Borrow Mudd's iPod cable to charge phone from battery. Will get new one in Dalton resupply.Apache brings Canadian whiskey & builds fire, Caretaker Randy offers marshmallows.Bathe at the pond. YAY for being clean.Tenting (no dogs in Cabin) in mosquito riddled area - what else is new?42° 17' 15.99" N 73° 10' 53.64" W, 1526 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-16
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin - Trail Mile 640.1

To: The Birdcage, Dalton, MA. - Trail Mile 619.5
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 26[Watson & Holmes arrived.Her journal entry:]The Birdcage, Dalton, MA.Pancakes & Tea for breakfast!!! WOW! Worth getting up at 6:30 am, even if someone did have to scratch on my tent to wake me.Find out it's supposed to be easy terrain into Dalton, have light pack, been walking well, decide to try for our first 21 mile day.OUCH!Actually, not too bad. Long, and have to stay focused. Can't let your mind wander, which takes some of the fun out of it. Still, wanted to stay at Birdcage in Dalton, and to see if we could do 20 mi day. We can!!Even had time to stop in at Cookie Lady's for water, cookies, fresh boiled eggs & H's nap.Got caught in the thunderstorm as we came down the hill into town. H wanted to run away but didn't know where to go. Stopped at Tom Levardi's to wait out the Downpour. Saw old friend Roots and met new friend Just Joe. Couldn't stay, though:, due to Tom's allergies. JJ drove us to Rob Bird's (Birdcage) where we're welcome in the garage, as RB already has his own three dogs in the house.RB offers showers, does laundry, and drives us to town to eat. H is happily snoozing on my sleeping bag (his favorite) in the garage, so I enjoy half an evening out.Very tired from a long day, I'm off to bed and looking forward to shorter miles, but not to my heavily resupplied pack, tomorrow!42° 28' 46.98" N 73° 9' 38.39" W, 1184 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-20
From: Melville-Neuheim Shelter - Trail Mile 576.2

To: Story Spring Shelter - Trail Mile 558.8
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 30[Watson & Holmes arrived.Photo Caption: "Vermont - Glastenbury Fire Tower... Thanks to Wyrm for taking the picture!"Another photo captioned: "Vermont - View North (I think) from Glastenbury Fire Tower."Another photo captioned: "Vermont - View East (I think) from Glastenbury Fire Tower."Her journal entry:]Story Spring ShelterGood hiking day, made good miles. Nice views from the fire tower atop Glastenbury mountain near the VERY NICE Goddard Shelter where H&I, W&W, and DZ&S took our lunch breaks (just watch out for the flies by the privy!).Later as I pass DZ&S (I must have been on another sugar-high, I was making such good time!), I get to hear about Skeeter's Grapefruit-Butt Boy, and rave about my Pilot Boy. I don't catch up to W&W, as they stopped at Kid Gore shelter, which we bypassed. H may have, as he at one point was a good half-mile or so in front of me. He took off after W&W and Apache, who are ahead. I'm not worried about roads in this area, and am almost glad for the reprieve, as he was starting to get on my nerves. Soon enough, though, I hear his howls, whistle back, and he comes bounding up. How can one stay mad at a dog that cute and loving?The last five miles to Story Spring are rough, as my sugar high has obviously ended. I'm passed by a LOT of the hikers I met at the Birdcage. All are headed to Trail Magic (a party at the home of one the hikers, Rainman, who will be getting off-trail due to time constraints), and all plan to stop at the same shelter. Good thing there's plenty of tent space! I share what's left of my marshmallows around the fire Apache built, but soon it's hiker-midnight (full dark, about 9pm these days) and we're all off to bed.43° 3' 1.51" N 73° 0' 45.69" W, 2812 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop
Date: 2009-07-22
From: Stratton Pond Shelter - Trail Mile 548.4

To: Vt. 11 & 30 - Trail Mile 537.7
Miles today: 10.7

Day 32[Watson & Holmes report: "At the Fox residence, outside of Manchester Center, VT."Photo received with this caption: "NOT a dramatization! - As someone wrote on the shelter wall, 'Welcome to Ver-MUD'!"Another photo captioned: "Vermont - Sixty-two hikers and two dogs at the Trail Magic X-travaganza at Rainman's home.(Rainman promised to email a better quality photo.)"Her journal entry:]Outline of the day:Trail Magic X-travaganza,Rushed to get there for the 1 pm shuttle,Iron Man's new grandson,The van and TopO playing medic,Grocery shopping for the many more hikers than were expected,Crackers & cheese,New underwear from EMS, but no help with my camelbak,Pick up mail (Yay iPhone for help finding the PO),Pittsburgh dog-sitting,Shower, laundry, party, food, drink, music, Rob Bird,Tenting on lawn,Singalongs,H clawing his way out of the tent to join the singalong,Drawing Holmes on my water bottle,TopO's song.43° 12' 24.55" N 72° 58' 14.55" W, 1854 ftFor HarveysMom by Harvey's GrandPop