morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-28
From: Top Floyd Wayside, VA

To: Rod Hollow shelter
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 34(28 June 2005)I'm was up early, but it took me about 2 hours to walk 3 miles to Rte 522 (Front Royal) because the last mile is a corridor of white & black mulberries, and black raspberries. How is one expected to get any hiking done with so many berries around? In order to actually get some hiking done, I filled up 2 Nalgenes and a cup, so I could walk and eat at the same time, but realized I have nothing to put water in, so I ate the gathered berries (this is in addition to what I've been sending down to my belly for the last hour), and hoped that after the road crossing I can just walk to the next shelter for my second (or third?) breakfast. Well, after the road crossing, the story repeated itself until I forced myself to put on mental horse-blinders and walk. The Jim & Molly Denton shelter is quite nice, even with a shower. Magic Touch urged me to take a shower in the shower behind the shelter (do I really smell that bad?), which I was sure would be cold, but not THAT cold!! It was a piped spring shower, and after lathering myself up and letting the water down on myself full blast I couldn't even scream, I could barely gasp! Cruel joke! Still, it was great to get a shower in the woods! Walked on some more, picking berries, until meeting Pizza the Hut at the Manassas Gap shelter. I hadn't seen him since my first day on the trail! He was surprised I was still hiking, since on my first day I was wearing cotton pants and cotton t-shirt, with a huge purple pack I got from my parents' basement, and I had to stop every 1/2 mile to catch my breath. Magic Touch showed up at the shelter with a whole peach pie strapped to his pack!! This time I BEGGED him to let me get some water for him down at the spring, just to get some pie (success!!). We formed a little train hiking out of that shelter, with Pizza the Hut as the locomotive, me as the coal car, and Magic Touch (or whoever had the worst gas) as the caboose, and packed in some miles for a total of a 27-mile day!! We hiked for about an hour in the dark, and that's when I became a girl(whiny and with a bad case of get-there-itis), but of course, we skipped the Dick's Dome shelter because we heard that it would be crowded, and having walked an extra 9 miles to Rod Hollow, we found 5 tents, 9 people , and MT ended up sleeping on the picnic table, along with all the biting bugs and the spiders! Oh, and I scored the last spot in the shelter by throwing the "I'm a girl and can I please, please, please have a spotin the shelter" mini-tantrum (my first, and last).
Date: 2005-06-29
From: Rod Hollow shelter

To: Bear's Den hostel
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 35 (29 June 2005)Need to make 10 mi to Bear¢s Den for 1pm pickup... piece of cake, right? Unless you just passed the sign that says ¢Welcome to the Roller Coaster¢! Back on the choo-choo train, we pushed through PUDs and on and on, and were only an hour late, but that¢s because we took an hour-long re-fueling break at the Sam Moore shelter. I get to take a few days off the trail for a much-needed rest.
Date: 2005-07-03
From: off-trail day

To: Bear's Den
Miles today: 0.0

DAY 36(30 June 2005)Since this is a trail journal, I won¢t put too much about my few days off the trail here, except that I thought of the trail all day long, every day, re-played the silly memories of things that came up or happened in wild woods, and longed to get back. Yes, yes, I even started wondering how it is I might be able to get back to the trail earlier than 5 days from now...
Date: 2005-07-04
From: Bear's Den

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

Made it to Haper's Ferry after a 4-day weekend off the trail. Great weather, lots of berries, loving the woods, especially after a short venture into civilization... slacking on keeping the journal. i keep thinking that i'll catch up, but it's a rolling stone; maybe after Katahdin i'll update it. also, i've been having trouble downloading pictures, but at least some are up now. enjoy.
Date: 2005-07-24
From: Palmerton, PA

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 37.0
Weather: overcast clouds

21 JulyThis morning I¢m eating BooBerry cereal with blueberries from yesterday¢s field ¢ life is good. There¢s a drought in PA, and water sources are scarce. There¢s only 1 questionable spring in the next 16 miles of trail, and I¢m not about to ask a novice to hike that in 100 degree heat on a first day. In the morning, I¢m not sure yet what to do about water; I¢m sure the universe will provide the answer. We hitch a ride out of Palmerton with a lady in a convertible (her name is Denise), and we leave her car with plans to see her and stay at her house in 2 days. The climb out of Palmerton must be a joke ¢ it is literally 5.3-5.5 climbing with a pack on!! Now, I personally enjoy these sorts of challenges, but it was a difficult climb for Starchy. The top is worth it, though ¢ the view is much like that seen from the westernmost mtns in CO, where I-70 leaves the state for Utah. The next 7 mi or so are on an exposed ridgetop, with plentiful blueberries in unyielding sun. We actually make it 13 miles, where Denise was going to pick us up, or so we thought. A small mix-up later, CH (who ventured ahead), Starchy and I end up in a beautiful pine cabin home, fed, cleaned, and questioned, and put to bed on couches!22 JulyDenise¢s house is immaculately decorated and beautiful! After veggie and cheese omlettes, courtesy of CH, we are slackpacked 7 mi to Wind Gap, and then hike 2 mi uphill in search of camp. This is just a 9 mi day, but if we go more, Starchy will have a heart attack. Saw Runtrails today ¢ hadn¢t seen her since Rte VA42!23 JulyDesperate hike to Kirkridge shelter for water ¢ 8 mi in under 3.5 hrs ¢ great time for someone¢s 3rd day on the trail! (I thought I¢d be enjoying a mellow pace a bit longer, you know.) Walked thru blackberry/blueberry all-you-can-eat-and-more buffet on the way to a campsite, where we watched the sunset over dinner. Slept with rocks between my ribs.24 JulyEasy walk into Delaware Water Gap this morning, with way too many berries. My poop is turquoise from all those berries!! Wineberries are beginning to take over, and we hike down thru cool rhododendron corridors to a lotus-covered pond, and out into town. It¢s Sunday, so we have to stay here overnight for me to get my maildrop tomorrow from the PO. There are already lots hikers at the church hostel ¢ Hopeful, Dutchman, Sal, and about a dozen others. Pastor Karen is very kind to let us use the facilities (shower, etc.), use the internet in her office, play piano in the congregation room, and even invites us out to a free concert in the church¢s front yard. We splurge on a cannoli cheesecake and watch the live band with little kids twirling barefooted in the grass, before camping out in the church¢s back yard.
Date: 2005-08-17
From: Tyringham

To: Blueberry Farm/Cookie Lady
Miles today: 18.0

17 AUGThe mosquitoes were terrible, but the rain allowed us to sleep in with a clear conscience (spent the night with 2 SOBO girls). The moment I got back on the trail, the rain stopped. ¢I believe in miracles!¢ The sunrays beamed through the leaves in long, slanted pillars, caching the morning mist and glistening on wet leaves, purely magical. Had lunch at the Goose Pond (but didn¢t explore the cabin). Saw 2 garter snakes today, and asked the second one, ¢Am I seeing you today because I won¢t see you tomorrow¢, and it said, ¢Yes¢. Easy terrain, lush green all around, and I¢m glad green is my favorite color, silly as that may sound. Visited with the ¢Cookie Lady¢/blueberry farm, who treated me to some cookies and allowed me to spend the night. The register at her house had a note for me, ¢Cucumber ¢ turn back now, or you¢ll never make it to Katahdin¢. It's nice to arrive at a blueberry farm that has a warning sign just for me. It was such a pleasure picking berries off of bushes my size, huge, juicy, sweet berries that just begged to hop into my mouth. I was good - only ate 2 pounds or so. Spent the night in a reclined lawn chair, having constructed a kind of contraption to allow breathing but keep the ¢squites out with my glasses and a bandana, but, of course, the blood-suckers are smarter than that, and it was another restless night.
Date: 2005-08-18
From: MA23

To: Tyringham, MA
Miles today: 11.5

16 AUGBack on the trail after a long bus ride back up to Great Barrington. Trail magic off the back, and then greeted by a 2-ft long garter snake ¢ I guess I¢m back on the trail. I swear, it has been following me for two states now. The first hour was hot and served as a warm-up for what may or may not be a near-20-mi day, and I wondered why I¢m doing it ¢ why I¢m hiking, pushing myself, isolating, exhausting¢¦ I came up with no answer, aside from the blueberries, and I¢m rather content with that. Coming down the hill to Jerusalem Road I halted at a crunch-crunch-crunch noise. By now I have a pretty good sense of another's presence; I looked around, but saw nothing. Crunch-crunch-crunch. Am I hallucinating? Crunch-crunch-crunch. And then I looked down and to my right ¢ there was a black little something, maybe the size of a very fat cat or a small bear cub moving around in the weeds. I looked closer ¢ there was black fur with intermittent white streaks ¢ a skunk? Then I saw the face ¢ a fisher cat? What the heck is this thing? Finally ¢ it¢s a porcupine! He was very thorough in pulling down individual stalks of Jewelweed and eating the leaves off one by one, crunch-crunch-crunch. Standing within 2 yards of the curious creature, I didn¢t want to spook it by digging for my camera; I just watched his little monkey hands working their way up the stalk, and quietly giggled at the crunch-crunch-crunch-iness of his dinner.Decided to hike in silence from here on out to Katahdin ¢ rather a harsh decision. Didn¢t see anyone all day, so staying silent was easy. At a road needed to make a decision ¢ hike on to Goose Pond cabin, where I am sure to catch up to some hikers I know, possibly even Crazy Horse, or stay put for the night, as the sun had set over an hour ago. This is when the universe made the decision for me ¢ this happens quite often ¢ by sending a torrential downpour my way. Hitching to Tyringham in the dark required talking; so much for being silent. I¢ll try again tomorrow. Spent the night in a pavilion near the fire station.
Date: 2005-08-18
From: Blueberry Farm/Cookie Lady

To: The Birdcage, Dalton, MA
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: clear sky

18 AUGNot keeping track of time or dates, and loving it. No dew this morning ¢ very dry.Got into Dalton very quickly, met Rob (from the Birdcage), who had just taken Dandy and crew to top of Greyloch for a slack pack back to Dalton and wasn¢t about to drive another 3hr round trip just for me, so I left my pack with him and hitchhiked out there myself. Ran most of the way, hoping to catch the slack-packers, but to no avail. Scared two large turkeys off the trail. Past Cheshire a certain realization hit me ¢ I am hiking alone, and the surrounding woods were so quiet that no one would hear my screams, if such were made. This made me run even faster. Completed 27 miles that day in just over 9 hrs, including a 1.5-hr hitch; amazing how fast fear can drive us! Arrived at the Birdcage just in time to reunite with my trail-brother Dandy, and meet new NOBOs and SOBOs. Went out to dinner, and then Rob arranged us to respective bunkbeds; I got to sleep on the screened-in porch, minus the mosquitoes!Didn¢t see any garter snakes today ¢ I guess that second one yesterday was right.
Date: 2005-08-19
From: The Birdcage, Dalton, MA

To: Williamstown, MA
Miles today: 7.0

19 AUGLate start as Rob drove us back to the top of Greyloch ¢ the tallest peak in Mass. with a space-rocket-like monument (of war) on top. Why is it that we place these odd space structures on top of mountains (Clingman¢s dome tower looks like the Jetson¢s house)? Hiking slowly with Dandy; he¢s hoping to meet his friend Derek in Williamstown, and convinces me to tag along. In town, the three of us went to the Williamstown/Clarke Art Museum, and even though this is the one weekend they charge an admission ($10), we tell the clerk that we had hiked over 1600 miles to see this museum and he lets us in for free. There was a great collection of Renoir, and it is the first time a Winslow Homer painting spoke to me. It¢s always interesting to see transformations in one¢s self, as something shifts or unclogs, and allows for a change in taste or a more widespread acceptance. Went out to Thai for dinner, which was delicious! Bummed around this little college town, listening to a street musician and wondering why exactly Ivy League schools are called Ivy League ¢ is it because the campus buildings are covered with ivy? Slept on a couch at Dandy¢s friend¢s house, which provided for another bug-less night.
Date: 2005-08-20
From: Williamstown, MA

To: 1st shelter past Bennington, VT
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

20 AUGHeaded out of town solo, feeling very tired. Met a family thru-hiking the Long Trail (which begins at the Mass-VT border) ¢ they were hiking with their 4yo son! The boy¢s glee in the rainy morning gave me a tremendous boost of energy, and the rest of the day was smooth sailing, with some of the year¢s first thimble berries, and a yucky, slippery, deep staircase down to Bennington and up out of it to the first shelter. At the shelter I met a young man that reminded me of Justin (Packstock) so much that I even asked him if he was the spirit visiting me!
Date: 2005-08-21
From: Bennington, VT

To: Story Spring shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

21 AUGRainy night, and misty morning. VT trail is very muddy, rooty, and slippery. I kept slipping and overextending my knees, or falling down. Crazy Horse had raged about VT being the best state, but I am not sure why. It¢s very green, yes, but the two days that I¢ve been in it have been wet and painful on the knees. It is interesting to be hiking in a cloud, though, as the visibility is low and varied, and the rain/mist just hangs in the air (much like in Juneau, AK). Met a group of volunteers re-building the Goddard Shelter, had lunch with a great view from the Kid Gore shelter, and walked on to the next shelter in hopes of actually catching up with Saxy Lady there. I was lucky ¢ Backtrack and Saxy were both there, giddy and silly, and we had a fun evening, topped off with a SOBO waltzing in after dark, and the discovery that him and Backtrack went to the same high school! Trampas (an ER physician) is also camping nearby. It¢s always good to know that there¢s some medical personnel hiking on the trail within hours of yourself, just in case. Apparently, Colorado and Marshmallow (a couple from Colorado Springs, CO), whom I hadn¢t seen since Waynesboro, VA, had skipped ahead and are somewhere within a day¢s hike! It is very surprising and exciting to reunite with folks you¢ve met several states back!
Date: 2005-08-22
From: Story Spring shelter

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

22AUGI¢m conducting an experiment this morning ¢ making jello and ¢refrigerating¢ it in a stream. Stuck the whole pot in the ice cold spring and leveled it with a couple of rocks. Twenty minutes later ¢ viola! Hiked out and enjoyed the jello 2.5 mi later by a stream. It was sunny, and I was excited to have caught up with Saxy, and to be out here, in the woods. It just doesn¢t get old ¢ being outside all day, every day. I love it! About a mile down the trail I ran into a cooler of trail magic (sodas and candy bars), which is always a pleasant surprise. Hiking on with Trampas, chatting our way up Stratton Mountain ¢ heated discussions on the ascent always make the going easier. At the very top, I am relieved to see the trail leveling off, but I didn¢t really have time to think far on the subjects, as I was startled by ¢Cucumber Boy!¢ ¢ it¢s Hangman, an acquaintance from Maryland! I thought, at first, that he was hiking in this same section of the trail with someone else, and that it was a coincidence to see each other. I had put out the idea of him coming out to hike with me about 3 days ago via a text message, and didn¢t expect to be randomly found somewhere in VT! I guess the world really is small. (And the ease of finding someone on the trail that keeps a trailjournal updated is greater than I anticipated.) The caretaker up there had told Hangman (who hiked in SOBO to that point) that if I¢d stayed at Kid Gore shelter, I¢d arrive at Stratton around 1:30pm, and if I stayed at Story Spring (where I did stay), then I¢d be at the top of the mountain around 11:30am, and apparently I rolled in right at 11:30am! We checked out the firetower (I love firetowers!) for a view of Mt. Washington and the Adirondacks ¢ the visibility was that good! We made our way down to Stratton Pond, picking blackberries till our hands were a deep purple, and on to the last viewpoint into Manchester Center, VT. I have a tiny mirror, and we tried to send signals to town, but I¢m not sure we were too successful. We hid our packs in the bushes, and went into town with Saxy and Backtrack for dinner and ice cream. I think I have a whole separate stomach just for ice cream. You know how cows have four stomachs? Well, I seem to have two ¢ one for food, and the other for ice cream. Spent the night at the home of a very kind family; they allowed us to shower, do laundry, watch TV, and crash on mattresses in the basement.
Date: 2005-08-23
From: Manchester Center, VT

To: Baker Peak, VT
Miles today: 13.0

23 AUGHangman has topo/profile maps of VT/NH, and I asked him to see the White Mtns. ¢Why is everyone so afraid of the Whites?¢ I inquired. Hangman unrolled the map of what we were to hike today, and it seemed full of hills, but relatively flat. Then, he unrolled the map of the White Mtns, which used a whole different scale, and looked like deep sine waves the entire way across. I wish I hadn¢t asked.Went into town for breakfast. I just love breakfast food; I could eat it all day long. Of course, by this point, I think I could just eat (anything) all day long. The ever-hungry thru-hiker syndrome, I suppose. The first climb out of town is Bromley Mtn, with a ski lift and a tower, from which there is another spectacular 360 degree view, out to the Whites and the Adirondacks. Everything is green, there¢s a nice breeze, and the empty swinging ski-lift chairs look like an abandoned playground. This and the view from Stratton Mtn have been the best on AT so far (McAfee¢s Knob, of course, will always have a special place in my heart, though)! We¢re taking a slow day today, just walking and talking, picking berries, enjoying the views, the warm sun, the vibrancy of everything alive and bustling around us. Sunset at Baker¢s peak draws us in so much that we bivvy up there for the night, even though we¢re almost completely out of water. The main sunset was between two opposing mtn peaks, but over to the far right there were these bright red smears that almost looked like someone had tore it up with lipstick. There¢s another romantic among us, with a part-dingo dog. He cowboy¢ed not far from us, and the dog¢s (Sheila¢s) eyes reflected my headlamp with a strange bluish glow.
Date: 2005-08-24
From: Baker Peak, VT

To: Clarendon Shelter, VT
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: broken clouds

24 AUGUp early, and a quick dash to the next shelter (and water source) to rehydrate and cook breakfast. There¢s a family of hikers at the shelter; the mom walks down to the stream, and returns quickly, saying there¢s a bear. A SOBO and I grab cameras and sneak down to the stream and, at first, we¢re tricked too ¢ there¢s a bear cub-like creature lounging on a rock some 30 yards downstream, but it¢s just Sheila (the dingo dog) from the night before. Are bears close relatives of dogs? I recall a friend of mine exclaiming, ¢What the heck are bears? They are like monkey-looking dogs!¢ Sheila really did look like a bear cub!In one of the shelters along the way, someone had written a Russian poem, but didn¢t leave a signature/trail name. Who could this be? Lady Scarecrow (Went to Russia to study some species that only occur at Lake Baikal)? Mr. Cricket (Went to Kazakhstan via Peace Corps)? We hike on to Little Rock Pond (berries, berries, berries), where there¢s a canoe by the shore, apparently for our rowing pleasure. We take it out for a spin. It¢s a great change of pace, and a different perspective, and I¢m greatful to the invisible caretaker that has allowed us this fun. I almost feel guilty for enjoying life so much! This is where Hangman must return to his car, so we part, and I hike on north, in hopes of catching up to other NOBOs. Ran into Andy, a NOBO Long Trail hiker, whose birthday is today (according to his dad, whom we met on Bromley Mtn yesterday), so I sing him ¢Happy Birthday¢, and march on. In the next hour I ran into 3 freshmen outdoor orientation groups (there are quite a few of them walking these woods, from Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, etc), and convince them to sing ¢Happy Bday¢ to Andy when they meet him. He is giddy when he finally catches me ¢ must be odd to have the whole forest know it¢s your birthday. We venture thru two areas where hikers have stashed hundreds of cairns (we also contribute), and visit White Rocks for a view (you¢d think we¢d be tired of these by now). On and on, I am determined to catch Crazy Horse. I push out a >20mi day, and yet arrive at a shelter to find out that he had left to the next shelter just 20 minutes ago! Well, it¢s dark, and I don¢t feel like walking anymore today.
Date: 2005-08-26
From: Rutland, VT

To: Rutland, VT
Miles today: 10.0

26 AUGIt¢s Friday, and the youth of the community had convinced us to stay another night at the hostel so that we may participate in their Sabbath celebration (which is, apparently, full of music, dancing, and lots of fun). Thus, we opted to slack-pack a sunny 10 mi SOBO back to the hostel. I love hiking south, because then I get to run into all the folks that are a day ahead of me ¢ the ones I don¢t get to catch up with because we both keep moving at about the same pace. We ran into Fester, Stinger, Team Sloth, and Mr. Cricket. Apparently, news/gossip travels very quickly on the trail in all directions, and Mr. Cricket was already aware of my dream from several nights back! I still think he is a spy.We hitched back to the hostel in time for a shower and a walk over to the community house for the Sabbath celebration. The 12 Tribes Community folks are unbelievably calm, friendly, and hospitable! All the people seem so happy, especially the kids. The celebration involved a lot of life-music, singing, dancing, and a great feast. It¢s so eye-opening and up-lifting to be around so many (faithfully) happy people! I am forever thankful for their exuberant presence!
Date: 2005-08-27
From: Rutland, VT

To: The Barn, Rte 12, VT
Miles today: 14.0

27 AUGAwake early, and returned back to the community house for the morning celebration/feast. Back on the trail around lunchtime, and hiking on to a place we just heard about ¢ the Barn. Today, humbled by the beautiful experience at the 12 Tribes Hostel, I am hiking silent ¢ I need to digest the events/interactions of the last 40 hours. Of course, laughing and making animal noises is not considered talking, so we make plenty of those as we berry pick, and make our way out to a hut with an observation deck with 360 degree views of the mtns on the roof. The whole day, Crazy Horse introduced me to passing folks, ¢This is Cucumber Boy. She isn¢t talking today. Oh, no, it isn¢t because I did anything bad. She isn¢t upset with me or anything, she just isn¢t talking.¢ It was funny. At the barn, there¢s a game of frisbeer golf, life music, and lots of happy clamor. The girls got the upstairs, and we actually went to sleep fairly early.