morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-10-26
From: Palmerton

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

I had a good nero yesterday. I was joined at the Jailhouse Hostel by Jeff who thru hiked NoBo this summer and is now hiking south. I packed up and was at Bert's when they opened at 7:00. When I left Bert's the time and temp. said 8:00 and 27 deg. After a 45 min walk back to the trail I started the steep climb out of Lehigh Gap. Near the top the climb turned into hand over hand rock climbing. I didn't look down. I took my time, conserving energy, and reached the top at 9:50. The trail then skirted the Palmerton Super Fund Reclamation Area where the Zinc Processing Industry had stripped the mountain of all vegetation. I walked 15.5 miles reaching the Leroy A. Smith Shelter as daylight disappered. I had to go down the mountain another 1/2 mile to get water. By the time I got back it was dark. I set up my tent, crawled in and ate some granola, cheese, pepperoni, and Fritos and went to sleep. There is a local man named Hilly and a SoBo thru hiker at the shelter. Hilly said he came to the shelter to get away from his neighbors who were having a big party.
Date: 2013-10-27
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: broken clouds

I had a good nights rest. When it was light I saw that Hilly was up trying to rekindle his campfire. The thru hiker was still asleep. I went over and chatted with Hilly and didn't get started until 9:30. The thru hiker was still asleep. The trail to PA 33, some 4 miles, was not too bad.I thought maybe the rocks were going to get better. I decided that since it was Sunday some fried chicken would taste good so I walked 1 mile off the trail to Wind Gap, PA. The first restaurant I came to was the Beer Stein. They didn't have any fried chicken but they did have chicken breast smothered in green peppers, onions , and cheese. Ummmm good. I got a hitch back to the trail with the first car that came by. It was now 1:45 and I still had 9 miles to go. It turned out that 7 of that 9 were over bad rocks. I listened to the NASCAR race to keep my mind off my feet. It was nearly dark when I reached the shelter. There was supposed to be a water faucet behind the shelter at a private Retreat, but I could not find it. There was one car left at the Retreat and it was leaving. I stopped the lady and asked about the water. She let me go inside the building and get water. One minute later and I would have had to do without. I fixed some Ramen and Pepperoni in the dark and went to bed.
Date: 2013-10-28
From: Kirkridge Shelter

To: Church of the Mountain Hostel
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I tossed and turned alot last night. I can't seem to put together two good nights in a row. I was awake waiting for daybreak. I stayed in my bag until the sun came up. It wasn't that cold but it is hard to get up before the sun takes a little of the chill off. I got on the trail at 9:00 with 6.4 miles to the Delaware Water Gap. I am taking a short day today and a zero tomorrow. I am staying at the Church of the Mountain Hostel. I arrived about 12:30 and found the door locked. I found Pastor Bill Schram in the church office. He unlocked the door and showed me around, went over the rules, and all that stuff. It is a donation only hostel in the church basement. It is quite comfortable. I did the normal shower, laundry, eat, and plan for the State of New Jersey. Just 3 tenths of a mile and I will be out of PA. Before I end this entry I want to make it perfectly clear that the rocks are NOT my friends. But walking on rocks for much of 19 days is 80% mental, 20% physical. You just have to accept the fact that you are going to stump your toes, turn your ankles in directions you didn't know they would turn, and probably take a fall or two. I was lucky I only fell once and it was forward. PA didn't even draw any blood from me except when I scraped a knuckle on the concrete bridge walking over to Hamburg. I hope I am that lucky in New Jersey and New York.
Date: 2013-10-29
From: Church of the Mountain Hostel

To: Church of the Mountain Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I slept well last night in the hostel. There was a rather odd person showed up last night wanting to stay at the hostel but Pastor Bill explained that it was for thru hikers only and sent him on his way. I went down to the Water Gap Cafe and ate breakfast then walked the 3 miles to Stroudsburg to the library to post. I didn't want to wait for the bus but should have. It was 2 miles uphill and 1 mile down. After I got to town I couldn't find the library anf walked for an hour locating it. They need a blue blaze trail to the library for people like me. Then the first two computers I tried would not work. Just as I was leaving the library the man that was to pick me up in the afternoon cand said he would get me earlier at the hostel. I told him I was already in Stroudsburg and just to pick me up there. I went next door to the library to a nice market and picked up the supplies I needed and was siting on the curb when he got there. Ramble is here tonight also after putting in a 25 mile day. He said he wants to be at Springer Mtn. GA by 12/23/13. It could be done but he is going to have to put in alot of high mileage days to do it. I'll be back on the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2013-10-30
From: Church of the Mountain Hostel

To: Rattlesnake Spring
Miles today: 13.5

I got up at 7:00 and went to the Water Gap Diner for breakfast. I went back to the hostel, packed up, and was on the trail at 9:00. At 9:17 I entered NJ as I crossed the I80 bridge over the Delaware River. The sky was very gray. The climb out of the gap was gentle but 3 miles long. After I topped out I came upon Sunfish Pond. It is one of the southern most glacial ponds and covers about 50 acres. It was a very peaceful place. I spent some time there enjoying the quiteness and taking photos. The trail was much better today but as usual had it's rocky spots. I never saw anyone until 2:00 when I ran into Rooster and his friend and his dad. Rooster is a flipflopper who only has the 9 miles back to the DWG to complete his thru hike. Congrats Rooster. I stopped by the Mohican Outdoor Center and bought an energy bar and drink. The trail then followed the edge of a cliff for about a mile with good veiws into the valley. Then the good things started happening. I got to the Catfish Fire Tower and of course had to climb it. When I neared the top a voice said come on up. I didn't know any towers were still maned but NJ still watches in dry conditions. Bob was very friendly and showed me how everything worked. He gave me a Smoky Bear key chain and I gave him a couple of mini Snickers. I left the tower and went down the mtn. to where I was going to camp. I met a man walking his 2 black labs and he told me where to get some better water. After setting up my tent I was on the way to the spring and I met Karen who had come to pick up Bob. She is a vol. fire fighter. She had a case of bottled water in her truck and filled my bottles out of it. Then she gave me half of her giant submarine sandwich and a pepsi. She topped it off with some cupcakes. Trail magic at it's best. there are some great people in this world. I went back to my tent and ate a few Fritos and a little cheese and went to bed. What a great day.
Date: 2013-10-31
From: Rattlesnake Spring

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I had a great nights sleep in my tent. I must have had my pad inflated just right as I lay on my left side all night without my hip hurting. I got up a little after seven and fixed breakfast. Again I was on the trail at 9:00. I met Bob coming back to man the fire tower and got the latest weather report. It looks like rain tonight and tomorrow. I am only going 11.3 to the next shelter and hold up until the rain stops. I have an extra days food thanks to trail angel Karen. As soon as I climbed back to the ridge I was in the clouds. I walked all day in the clouds. I did not see much today, mostly just white out past 100 yards. I did walk by a beaver pond where the beavers were very active. They even cut down a tree with a white blaze on it. That wasn't very nice. I only saw 1 squirrel and 1 rabbit today. Even the little birds were hunkered down in the bushes. It misted on and off all afternoon, just enough to keep me damp. I reached the Brink Road Shelter at 3:00, a little later than I thought I would, but I ran into some fairly rough terrain this afternoon. It is a new shelter probably built the spring. So far I am by myself at 5:20 p.m.. I only met 2 day hikers today. I may stay here all day tomorrow if it is raining hard.
Date: 2013-11-01
From: Brink Road Shelter

To: Mashipacong Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It was only misting when I woke up this morning. I thought Diana was probably still asleep so I called a friend that works midnight shift for a weather update. He said the radar looked like it would rain for several hour this morning. I fixed breakfast and it was still just misting so I packed up. Then it came a brief shower and quit. I called Diana and she pulled up the radar and told me it looked like it would rain most of the morning. But it wasn't raining. I think the radar was just detecting all the moisture in the air. It started walking at 9:30. At 11:15 the sun came out and it was a great day to hike. I made 12.4 miles to the Mashipacong Shelter. I had some great views into the vally and some of the best leaf colors of this hike. I only met one hiker today a fellow named Highway. He must have started in Mass. or CT and is going to GA. He said he loved winter hiking. He is certainly going to get it. I climbed Culver Fire Tower today but no one was on duty today, probably because of last nights rain. I talked to a lady at Sunrise Mtn. Pavillion who thought that the drought this summer has made the leaves more brown this year. When I arrived here at the shelter a young couple were here reading. The young lady is thinking about attempting a thru hike next year and had a lot of questions about my tarptent and other gear. The shelter is empty but I set my tent up out front in the nice green grass, which is unusual for a shelter to have. The forest service has brought up a large container of water and stored it in the bear box because of the dry conditions. Tomorrow I will go over the highest point in NJ.
Date: 2013-11-02
From: Mashipacong Shelter

To: Jim Murray Cabin
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

I had a good night in my tent. As soon as it started breaking dawn I started the pack up routine. When it was light enough to see without my headlamp I carried all my gear over to the shelter and cooked breakfast on the picnic table. I leave my tent up as long as I can to let any condensate on it dry. I was on trail at 8:30. It was a fairly easy hike over to High Point State Park 5.5 miles away. I spent an hour at the headquarters building charging my phone, camera, and stomach. Then I went over to the 220 ft. replica of the Washington Monument that graces the highest point in NJ. It was then an easy 7.1 miles to the Jim Murray Cabin where I am by myself tonight. It is a great place to stay that even has a shower for use in warm weather. I am finding that people are starting to close things that will freeze for the winter. On the way over here I met another flip flopper that was nearing the end of his thru hike. He warned me of the water shortage in New York. It was another good day.
Date: 2013-11-03
From: Jim Murray Cabin

To: New Jersey Rte 94 Vernon NJ
Miles today: 13.5

It was light outside when I woke this morning. I took my stove out to the "cooking rock" to boil some water for my oats and coffee. Jim doesn't allow cooking in his cabin. If you have seen the burn marks on a lot of the picnic tables at shelters you know why. I ate inside the cabin as it was quite chilly this morning. I happened to remember that DST ended last night so I reset my watch and suddenly it became 6:45 instead of 7:45. I packed up and made the easy 2.3 mile walk to Unionville, NY and stopped at the End of The Line Grocery for a second breakfast. I had a grilled cheese with bacon and tomato sandwich that was really good. I thought I would attend church this morning but could not see any within walking distance. I stopped at Horler's Store and did a small resupply and then went to Annabelle's Pizza for an early lunch. This is the first pizza I have had the hike. It was gooood. Three meals and it was only 11:30. I made another stop at the End of The Line and picked up a smoked turkey and cheese and bacon sandwich for supper and walked back to the trail. I had planned on staying at Pochuck Mtn. Shelter but arrived there at 3:00. It was cold there with a strong breeze coming up the mtn. right into the North facing shelter. No way was I staying there tonight. I got it in gear and walked the rest of the way over the mtn. and headed for lower ground. I reached Rd.565 and kept going. I reached Rd.517 at 443 ft. and kept going although it was nearing darkness. It was 2 miles to NJ 94 and I had to walk the last mile with my headlight on. I could see my breath clearly in the beam so I stopped and put on my jacket. My legs would stay warm as long as I kept walking so I just went ahead in shorts. I reached the highway then had to walk 2.5 miles into town along the road to the hostel. When I got here it was all locked up with no one around and no phone numbers to call. I went to the house next door that looked like it might belong to the church and rang the bell. The Priest of the Parish came to the door and said the hostel was closed for the year but I could sleep in the old church building that still had 45 degree heat in it for the night. I went over and unpacked my gear and was blowing up my pad when he came in and said he would allow me to stay in the hostel after all. What a relief that was to a old, tired, dirty, hungry, hiker. I now had 72 degree heat, a bathroom with shower, washer & drier, computer, and a very nice place to zero tomorrow. Thank you Doc. I thought the Lord was leading me to church in Unionville but He had other plans for today. If I had found a church in Unionville I would have spent the cold night in the mountains in my tent. Doc was just getting ready to head for Alabama for the week. Thank you to the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Vernon, NJ for furnishing a nice hostel to weary A.T. hikers
Date: 2013-11-04
From: New Jersey Rte 94 Vernon NJ

To: New Jersey Rte 94 Vernon NJ
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Doc told me last night that the computer is on its last leg here at the hostel so after I showered and did laundry last night I checked it out. It does have some problems for sure but nothing a good cleansing would not fix. I started it in safe mode this morning and was able to update my journal. I am going to try to find a store to replace my reading glasses that I broke right after I left DWG and check Vernon out and see what is here. What's going on here?? I looked on facebook this afternoon and saw that my daughter had been making entries from Ky, OH, and PA. A phone call confirmed that she and my wife were on the way to NJ to visit me for a couple of days. It was supposed to be a surprise but she was afraid that I would leave Vernon before they got there so she put the entries on facebook hoping I would see them. They arrived at 9 p.m. after a 840 mile drive and I found out they also brought a dear friend Judy with them. We had a great reunion. After pizza I went back to the hostel for another night and they had a room at a local motel. Tomorrow we are going to see some of the area by car like High Point State Park and I think we will go to Sunrise Mtn. Tomorrow is going to be a great day.
Date: 2013-11-05
From: New Jersey Rte 94 Vernon NJ

To: New Jersey Rte 94 Vernon NJ
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up at daybreak as usual, still at the hostel. I made sure the hostel was clean and everything was as it was since they let me in after it was closed for the year. I called my wife and asked if they were about ready for breakfast but they were just getting up. I went over to the Mixing Bowl for coffee while I waited on them. They were very tired after the long drive yesterday and probably could have used more sleep but I wanted to get the day started. We had a great day visiting places I had walked through and even ended up back at DWG where we went to the Gap Diner for supper and I showed them the hostel at The Church of the Mountain where I stayed. We then made our way back to Vernon and spent the night at the motel. Tomorrow it will be back to the trail, I promise.
Date: 2013-11-06
From: New Jersey Rte 94 Vernon NJ

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: scattered clouds

After spending the night at the local motel my wife Diana, daughter Melissa, friend Judy, and I went to the Mixing Bowl Restaurant for breakfast. We then went to the library and make copies of AWOL¢S pages up to the VT. State line just in case things go better than I think they will. If I do happen to get through MA that will be enough for this year. I do not think I would want to tackle the VT mountains in the winter. I made some entries in my journal then we drove over to where the .8 mi board walk starts. Melissa and I walked the 2 mi. back to NJ 94 where Diana and Judy were shopping at Heavenly Hill Farm. At 1:30 we said our goodbyes and I was off to the Wawayanda Shelter. When I reached the shelter I went over to the State Park restroom and got my water for the night. When I returned to the shelter it was nearly dark and I discovered my headlight batteries were nearly dead. That means a town stop tomorrow that I had not planned on, probably at Glenwood Lake , NY. Time for bed. No light, no reading or journaling tonight. Good Night.
Date: 2013-11-07
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Greenwood Lake New York
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: light rain

It was very warm when I got up this morning, about 60 degrees. I ate then packed up and was on the trail at 7:45. The trail through the remainder of NJ was very easy this morning. About an hour after I left the shelter it started a heavy mist which wet the rocks and leaves. At 9:48 I reached the New York state line. The wet rocks and leaves made the trail in NY very slick this morning. It slowed my progress considerably. There were several short hand over hand climbs and the large slanted rock slabs were hard to get good footing on. I finally made it to the side trail that went down into Greenwood Lake and went into town for batteries. Just as I reached town it started raining harder. I went to the CVS and Subway to eat. I decided that by the time I climbed back up the ridge on the blue blaze trail I would not have enough time to get to the next shelter so I got a room at a motel for the night. That means more good food tonight and for breakfast in the morning. Then it will be back to trying to make some miles.
Date: 2013-11-08
From: Glenwood Lake New York

To: Stealth camping
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

I got up this morning and went to the Post Office to see what time it opened. There was a little Grill close to the P.O. so I had a double egg, bacon, and cheese plus 2 cups of coffee. The P.O. opened at 8:00 so I went back to the motel and packed up. I mailed a couple of things home and walked back to where the blue blaze trail to the A.T. started up the mtn. It was 42 deg. So I stripped down to my hiking shorts and t-shirt. By the time I got back to the A.T. I had sweat dripping off my face. I had a lot of good trail today but of course there was some rough spots and hard rock climbing too. By 3:10 I was at the place I wanted to camp tonight. I only made 11.2 miles today but the next dependable water was 4.6 miles down the trail and it would be close to dark before I could get there. I saw 3 turkeys and one deer today. Yesterday I saw 2 deer and a pileated woodpecker. That is the first pileated woodpecker I have seen on this hike. I am now at 303.9 miles for this trip. It is getting colder and in fact it snowed for about 10 minutes today. The WX man says it should be nice until next Thursday but cool. It will be interesting to see how much farther I get. I have not seen another long distance backpacker for 2 days.
Date: 2013-11-09
From: Stealth camping

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

With the days getting shorter it¢s harder to get many miles in so I have started getting up earlier. At 5:15 I was awake and started packing up a few things. I cooked breakfast by headlamp as first light was appearing. I finished packing up and was hiking at 6:50. The hike this morning was tiring. It reminded me o climbing strip mine spoil banks in Southern Indiana when I was a kid. Up and down, up and down. The ridges were running north and south and I was going east. I saw a nice buck and doe this morning. They are so graceful bounding thru the woods. I saw a small forest fire across Island Pond from where I was. It is very dry out here. I went through the Lemon Squeezer, a narrow opening between two huge rocks. I had to take my pack off and drag it though behind me. The afternoon found the trail become much easier than this morning as it went over Island Pond Mtn. and into Harriman State Park. When I got to the shelter there was about 12 Boy Scouts and 6 Leaders there. They invited me to eat supper with them. They boys just had packaged meals but the leaders fixed stew beef, onions, peppers, and pineapple cooked over an open fire and served with teriyaki rice. I made 12.6 miles today. It was a good day.