morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-14
To: nowhere
Miles today: 0.0

It's 4:51pm. I'm in my tent which has not been moved for 21 hours. Everyone that was here last night has not left (about 11 hikers deep if you count the dog.) Plus 2 more hikers just joining in. It's raining harder now which has driven all of us underneath our tarps or tents which are all pointed at the main outdoor screen that movies are projected onto (we're still at the Warwick drive in theater). Since most of us can't really see each other even though we're lined up on a ridge right next to each other, we're all kind of doing our own thing. Reading, laying, eating, writing, etc. Simple tarp barriers and rain have blocked us off from each other but our spirits are high and life is awesome. The radio is playing and we're all singing along to "girls just want to have fun" louder than the rain and thunder coming down on us. The radio was given to us so we can tune into the movies playing at night since we are carless. Since the staff left before the end of the second movie last night we didn't have anyone to give it back to but looks like we are all taking a zero day for many different reasons anyway. That means tuning into movies we didn't watch last night. While watching planet of the apes, we were all occasionally glancing to the right at the other two giant projector screens trying to decipher what's going on. The center screen looked really gory and messed up. The far right looked hilarious. People in actual cars probably glanced in their rear view mirrors at the hobo camp we constructed.This is the first true zero day I've taken and I've had many. The difference is that I am actually spending 95% of the day horizontally or on my ass. Zero days right off the trail usually mean moving around all day exploring town, resupplying, meeting up with people, and preparing for the next section. Fortunately for us, the grocery store is down the road, or to to be more precise, right behind the main projector screen.Life is good and can't wait to catch up with my family this weekend.
Date: 2014-07-15
From: nowhere

To: near Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 11.6

Before hitting the trail I went on a mission to find some fuel for my alcohol stove. Ended up venturing deeper into Warwick where I managed to get my hands on a bottle of heet. This has been a very long stretch with limited resupply options in terms of fuel but you kind of have hit a long distance backpacking with the expectation that there will be times you'll run short of stuff you need. That means you gotta be crafty.Going slow and easy today, don't have to go far!
Date: 2014-07-16
From: near Wildcat Shelter

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: broken clouds

Only July 14th I was hanging around waiting for the drive in movie theater thing to start when I got a notification on my phone. It said it was my birthday and I was thoroughly confused. Had I forgotten my own birthday? Wait this doesn't seem right... How could it be my birthday? Oh right, I was born on the 16th and my phone notifies me 2 days in advance of birthdays coming. My intelligence level has been slowly degrading to levels akin to feral children who live in the woods . I believed it was actually my birthday on the wrong day for a second.Well today I officially turned 25 years old. This is going to be a tough one to remember... I'm no longer 24 and frankly I couldn't care less. I don't get birthdays, holidays, or having special days in general. More to come sometime. Kind of forgot about journaling and I've been getting lazy. Will be off the trail for the weekend so hang tight!
Date: 2014-07-18
From: some stealth camp

To: Hemlock spring
Miles today: 8.0

This is for 7/18-7/20Back on the trail. Over the weekend I got to meet my little nephew for the first time, relax, and enjoy the perks of civilization. So I essentially look like a sectioner. I usually look like a sectioner, but I'm freshly shaved, my hair is cut, laundry's done, and I showered TWICE this weekend. You can't look more sectioner than me. Sectioners don't look as sectioner as me.
Date: 2014-07-21
From: Hemlock spring

To: Graymoor Spiritial Center
Miles today: 5.6

So uhh... I meant to go a lot farther but when I reached the Appalachian Market/deli but I ended up staying there for 4-5 hours because of nonstop trail magic. I forgot the hummus, cheese, veggies, and turkey in my brothers fridge so I meant to stop by just for a few groceries. Someone gave me and another hiker some new energy Drinks that just hit the market - they looked like grenades. Then beer appeared... And then some more. Next thing you know a trail angel is buying us food. I also indulged in Philly cheese steak fries which were out of this world. At some point I gave up on doing 24 miles today and was coaxed into camping out at the Graymoor Spiritual center which has outlets and a shower. Uhh yeah. Life is excellent and I probably need to pick up the pace to catch up to some people ahead of me. But I just got tipped off a fellow hiker is throwing a trail magic party not too far ahead of me.... Hmm. That reminds me. Over the weekend I had to explain to my brother why I was unsuitable for choosing what would be for dinner. It's not exactly a matter of having eyes bigger than my stomach. It's a matter of being overwhelmed. Walking into a giant grocery store can be a wonderfully magnificent ordeal. It's just not simple. It's complicated, terrifying, and over stimulating. I dodged that bullet by explaining I can't handle processing so many choices anymore. When getting philly fries at the deli, I was sucked into a sudden vortex of confusion. I've said t somewhere before and I'll say it again. My intelligence level is dropping to a level akin to feral children living in the woods. Upon ordering the fries I was handed a meaningless piece of paper called a receipt that no hiker holds onto. But this receipt was strange. It seemed like I was supposed to do something with it but all I could do was stand there and wait for the food. After an eternity of nonsensical procrastination, I finally realized I need to go pay for the order. Awkwardly walking to the register and making appropriate grunt noises earned me a special stamp on the strange piece of paper after purchasing with a piece of plastic and scribbling on the X line. This is where I draw te line and question how the Appalachian Deli is hiker friendly. I had the hardest time figuring out what to do next. Stand here and wait for the food or go back to the deli. And what do I do with this stupid piece of paper? In my defense, I was not the only confused hiker. Every single person at this campsite I'm at tonight had the same mental challenge as if we were experimental chimps being tested in cages. In a way you could say we passed the test. But just barely.
Date: 2014-07-23
From: RPH shelter

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 25.6
Weather: light rain

I'm pretty sure this has been the most I have ever sweat in one day. It tops wrestling practice because it's an all day affair. It tops getting up real early and going for a 2 hour run before it got hot, only to go to lectures all day when it got hot, and skateboarding all night while the night is ball sweatingly hot by itself. Today was supposed to be cooler than yesterday and it was supposed to storm. While taking a 5 minute breather, i found cell service (a miracle with Sprint) and checked te weather to see "feels like 97 degrees". Yeah, no kidding. I severely looked forward to any amount of rain but it never came. It just got hotter and I hiked harder. It's 8:15pm right now and there's some rumbling off in the distance. Sounds like its getting farther away. Maybe it will rain overnight but I'm laying in my sauna of a tent right now wishing I could take off this rain fly. Actually it probably isn't that hot in my tent but every night is like a mini ab workout when unpacking and organizing stuff around me. I can only lay and partially sit up in my snug 1 person tent. I don't bother taking my pack inside in case of ticks and having more headroom so I usually hang it off a tree and throw a tarp over it.I hiked hard today trying to make up for a late morning start and taking an unexpected detour. Didn't leave RPH shelter until 8am because Not Yet was elaborating on why she was having a hard time yesterday with "personal problems". Naturally they were hilarious and she felt better about it after a night sleep, enough to share. I Made her feel better by sharing far worse stories that have already happened on the trail and some even off the trail.When I neared the road crossing for Stormville, NY and the TOp of the Mtn Deli, I had another bee encounter. So I rationally justified walking the half mile down the road to the deli just in case I was to start going into shock. Might as well get some iced tea for consolation, right? But I don't think I got stung anyway, felt more like a really angry bite and couldn't help but notice the chunk of skin missing from the back of my shoulder when I checked for a stinger. Took advantage of this detour to grab a sub which is when other hikers started showing up one by one hopping out of cars that picked them up. Dam! I even missed every opportunity to get a ride back to trail. Oh well. stuff happens and you keep on hiking. Except today's hiking required drinking copious amounts of water. By copious I mean never not having a water bottle in my hand... That was a lot of filtering. To further prevent heat exhaustion, I dumped water all over myself at every decent water source I came across. Quite a day. Side note: some people way back on the trail and now some sectioners I met the other day know me as the Shamrock Ninja. I'm like 1 of 4 Asian thru hikers on the entire trail so if you're reading a bunch of blogs and happened to read something about some Asian Shamrock Ninja, that would be me.
Date: 2014-07-25
From: Silver Hill

To: Giants Thumb
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

Last night I took a Benadryl for no particular reason besides thinking maybe the antihistamines would be a good idea for my slightly swollen, itchy, and warm area from the third bee encounter behind my shoulder. Each time I've had a bee encounter so far it has resulted in the same local allergic reaction that lingers for 2-5 days. I don't think the Benadryl did anything but make me drowsy. I overslept and didn't get moving until after 9:30am (as if I had to wake up at a preconceived time). I made sure I at least got as far as I did yesterday so I would only have to do 16 miles to get to Frankensteins trail magic. I planned on making it there in the afternoon but I also assumed I get far and fast enough to probably be there by late morning. That's obviously not happening but I knew I could still power through the miles and make it there as I originally intended.Just like the past few days I did not see many people on the trail but I did have fun with some SOBO sectioners. I asked them if they were going up or down while passing them and would ominouslysay good luck. They were already gulping for air and pouring with sweat so that it was such a cruel thing to say to them- you could see them physically get demoralized. Of course I told them I was only kidding and encouraged them onwards... Only once was I not really kidding about their next part being harder but I still had to lie and say it wasn't that bad. So so cruel... I'm sorry.The trail magic was excellent and Frankenstein counted over 30 hikers. Some of them stayed almost all day and there were a couple SOBO thrus too. There was a ton of drinks, food, snacks, and even some resupplies. A thru hiker gold mine. Half of the crowd was Frankenstein's friends and family too. They were very supportive and a great bunch to talk to. When it started getting late I had to consider where to camp and I'm glad I decided to push forward because I caught an awesome sunset at Rands View.Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Had the third sketchiest moment on the trail this morning. Sketchiness based on how much adrenaline I got out of it. With all the recent rain the Guinea Brook was raging which made skipping across on boulders impossible. The water was swelled up enough to cover most of them and any still protruding up out of the water were slick and wet. Even fording your way across was questionable even if you were willing to dunk yourself in. I walked farther up the bank until finding some trees that have fallen across. The first was obviously not going to work - later found out RodnReal gave that one a shot and had to jump off into the brook. The one I took was stable but angled upwards to the other side. There was no jumping off this one... It was pure commitment. When I got across I couldn't find the trail so I had to do some bushwacking until I hit the road. By that point I kind of figured why the bypass route is the route detailed on the trail guide.
Date: 2014-07-27
From: Glen Brook

To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 7.9

Woke up around 5am but ended up putting my head back down and drifted back into sleep. Going to be a lazy day I thought! Haven't had cell service in days which is not much of a surprise. Not even a single bar of service in Kent, but I need to find some Wifi in order to take care of bills and what not (evidence I'm an adult and not exactly homeless!) So that means a stop in Great Barrington, MA. Well eventually I got up and made some breakfast but i noticed the sun started to get shy. Soon some rumbles presented itself in the sun's place. As the winds shifted I started packing up with an efficiency that I rarely make use of on the trail instead of having the hippy attitude of getting to it when I get to it. Soon enough the rain is pouring and I just managed to slip a pack cover on. Score! At this point I hear some frantic scurrying around and see the two girls who look like they're just out camping out for the weekend. I yell out in my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice "Get to tha sheltah!" One of them stopped and gave me a confused look while the other continued to run back and forth somehow managing to get nothing accomplished but looking like she was doing something productive. I don't think they got the reference but I was already on my way to the trail. The day is off to an adventurous start! If I had a gopro, today would have made some good footage scrambling up and down sketchy rocks and crossing fields with thunder crashing down. Luckily the rain wasn't very intense while going down the mountain but the storm noticeably picked up. Got great views of the lightening striking down on the mountain I just got off. When I crossed into the next set of woodland the trail turned into something that resembles a mini river. I was happy about it because there weren't any bugs around... Or so I thought. Stopping for a quick hearty pee presented a swarm of Mosquitos out of nowhere. I got hit in the face, was getting bit through my merino wool shirt, and found myself flailing up and down to swat the pests away from my dick and head simultaneously. If I was peeing in an airport bathroom with no stalls, I would have hit every single urinal. I hiked faster to get away and it worked for a bit. Later I found out they just continued to silently suck blood through my shirt.
Date: 2014-07-28
From: Great Barrington, MA

To: South Mt Wilcox
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: few clouds

Do you know what freedom feels like? How do you describe it? Sometimes I forget about it but then the feeling can suddenly hit you hard while hiking the AT. It's the day after a rainy one. The sun is out with blue skies and artistic hipster clouds are painting the dopest pictures you've never seen using only the color white like its cool. I've got everything I need and nothing in particular I need to do. Instead of sticking my thumb out, I'm walking the 5 miles along the highway by myself enjoying the sights of beautiful homes with far reaching fields of manicured neatness. The threat of more rain makes this current moment more precious. It also keeps the temperature down, thank you! If it does come to more rain it will probably feel very good anyway! Update: that feeling of freedom turned bittersweet when I got back to the actual trail. I severely underestimated the muddiness of this state because I thought New Jersey would probably be the wettest. Not a bad hiking day at all though. Unless you absolutely hate walking through deep puddles of mud. I still have not replaced my trekking poles since breaking one in the Shenandoahs because I feel very good about the strength of my hiking legs and there haven't been 6000 footer mtns to climb for awhile now. Hiking with one pole (if I decide to use it) is so convenient in the past few states because of having at least one free hand. That hand can be utilized to swat away the unbelievable flies, drink/collect water, pee your name into the dirt, give the highest of high fives, grab a handhold while climbing down rock scrambles, give deer the finger, scratch your butt, count up to five on, hold stuff, shake a fist in futile anger, and simply give you something to look at as if you're tripping balls and have nothing better to inspect.Uhh I meant to do a lot more hiking today but I saw this thunderstorm coming from a mile away, literally. So I stopped at the South Mt Wilcox shelter (the old one) for lunch and am waiting for the thunderstorm to pass. However, I got a little chilly so I put on longer clothes which are essentially my trail jammies and I'm basically set to spend the night. Maybe I'm done for the day - it's 5pm and still raining.
Date: 2014-07-29
From: South Mt Wilcox

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

I slept for 12 hours straight. Since I was only going to the cabin i took it slow and occupied my day with playing the game the floor is lava. By floor I mean mud. And unfortunately it was impossible. I did relatively well but that meant going at a 1mph pace some of the time. Upper Goose Pond Cabin was a good stop though! The bunks are all full tonight.
Date: 2014-07-30
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, MA
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Forgot to journal about this day. Don't remember much (I usually don't anyway even when I'm writing right before sleeping) but I do remember stopping about 3-4 times to break and play hackie-sack with Smurf, Muffin Nan, and Smoky the Beard. The day started with a pack on double hackie - we established we couldn't move until we completed at least a double. Hackie-sack is the ultimate procrastination game so naturally we had another session when we caught up to one another at Rob's trail magic - the guy with the white van with Casper the friendly ghost on the side. After we slowly got a move on, I didn't make it far because they couldn't help but start another hackie just 30 steps up the trail after the trail magic. At some point I made the final push for Dalton just 9 miles away but there was still plenty of mud sopping portions of the trail that slow you down. Trail wasn't as bad as yesterday due to the sun actually shining through the clouds for the first time in awhile but most of the trail is shaded anyway. Still virtually impossible to keep your feet dry. The last mile to Dalton was the worst. It was basically the worst slip-n-slide in the world.Tom Larvadi's backyard was tent city when I got there but I managed to squeeze in and was invited by RodnReal to get a ride to the Old Country Buffet. About 5 minutes after we arrive, Rob's friendly van pulled up with 11 more hikers camped out at Lavardi's as well.
Date: 2014-07-31
From: Dalton, MA

To: Mark Noepel Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: scattered clouds

There was a handful of snorers again. No surprise since Lavardi's backyard was crammed full of us. I slept hard nonetheless. The trending wake up pattern these days is progressively going later into the morning. Getting up was a slow process, but when I did get out of my tent I was greeted by coffee and donuts on the picnic table. How nice. I was then informed that the lumberyard a couple blocks away leaves denatured alcohol for hikers to take for free. Sounded strange to me but Lavardi reassured me this was the case and I didn't even have to inquire about it to anyone there. So i borrowed one of Lavardi's many bikes to check it out and sure enough I got free fuel for my alcohol stove. Golly Green Giant thinks he has Lyme disease unfortunately. But I got him some denatured alcohol anyway and wished him good luck on attempting the Godzilla Challenge... with lymes (weird/stupid pun). I hung around letting my phone charge in between hackie-sack and a trip to the cafe for breakfast. All in all, didn't leave town until after 1pm due to waiting out the rain, doing laundry, and catching up on trail news.By the time I got to Mark Noepel Shelter I started to realize that tenting in this state is really limited. The trees are dense and thick, there's mud and pools of water everywhere, and there aren't a whole lot of flat spots to choose from. I was given a heads up that this shelter has mouse problems but due to the quality of tenting options nearby I was happy to take a spot in the shelter.
Date: 2014-08-03
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Sun's out, guns out.Noteworthy moment of the day was crossing paths with Stacey and Amber today. They had given me a ride out of Gaitlingberg and picked my brain about how my hike was going back then. The reason being that they were preparing to thru hike the AT southbound. Nearly 2 months later they recognize me immediately as we hiked towards each other going the opposite ways. I had just gotten used to running into Southbounders and Vermont Long Trail hikers but I did not expect torun into anyone I have met previously. As I appeared in front of them around a boulder and tree they called me by my first name which was very strange. Assuming you follow AT culture religiously, you would know how much of a shock that can take. Account for the other elements of surprise I was surprised at myself for only taking a second to recognize and remember their names. I have only seen them in normal people clothing, but not hobo style so I secretly marveled at their transformation. We talked for awhile just a couple miles north of Stratton Mtn peak catching up and exchanging tips. So happy they're doing the trail. If I remember correctly, Amber's blog/business is called Opalandwonder
Date: 2014-08-04
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: clear sky

Having a brain fart about today. I remember it was another beautiful hiking day and it was full of southbound thru hikers. Seems like there are a lot more SOBO female than Nobo. Proportionately at least.Most of the time while hiking alone today I thought about the future. The end is close and I really want to continue traveling. That's not totally feasible though because no matter how little money that costs, I've got a burning hole in my pocket called student debt. Either way, I can't fathom starting a career after all this. Between how disillusioned I have always felt about my education, the mixed feelings towards the direction of our typical societal culture, and the hope of pursuing a path of integrity... How many options does that leave available? Starting a business would be daunting and difficult, but one thing that I have often pondered over is a sensory deprivation/float tank business. I don't want to build success. I want to foster growth, improvement, and exploration. Don't care if I'm poor forever so long as I'm able to do well. To eat, breath, and sleep for a "living" is not living in my opinion. Nonetheless, I'm very optimistic about the future. I'm excited about the White Mtns coming up and not worried about what the true next step in life will entail. One thing at a time.Sprout and I have kind of teamed up on making it to the Green Mountain House hostel. Today we made it so that we only have to hike 2.8 miles before finding a hitch to Manchester Center, VT to get picked up by the owner, Jeff. Between her being a tiny girl and my short hair with an often shaven face, I don't think we'll be waiting long for a hitch.