morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-31
From: Church of the Moutain Hostel

To: Church of the Mountain Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Last night, after the jazz show, Sandy, a church-goes and physical therapist, stopped by to check out my knee. Seems it's still pretty mechanically solid. I probably have a contusion on the knee cap. Only way to know if it's broken is to do an MRI. As of early evening, the puffiness has gone down by at least half. I'm supporting my weight ok. Earlier today, another parishoner, Sara, took a few of us to town to do a few errands. Such nice people. They really care about hikers and are doing their nineteenth year of service. Storyteller came in here yesterday in pretty bad shape. She was taken to the hospital and given some antibiotics. By the end of the day, she was feeling somewhat better. She and 46er are flipping with Beth at the end of the week. We should see each other again about four weeks when we pass each other on the trail.
Date: 2006-08-01
From: Church of the Mountain Hostel

To: Church of the Mountain Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Another lazy day on the AT. I finished my chores today, packed up my bounce, sox, etc. Had breakfast with Storyteller, 46er, and the Pro. Storyteller is much better, good thing. We were discussing rides to Stroudsburg, and Pro was ready to hitch as always. I joked that I'd rather take a bus or taxi, a sure thing, you know. Pro said he was thinkg about that last night. He (who's 25) was hanging out with all the younger hikers. They all have stories of wild rides all over the place. He's been hiking with us older folks (40 plus) for a while and had noticed the contrast. Good laugh was had. So, another low key easy day. I'm ready to get hiking, probably leave early tomorrow. It was 96 in the shade today, and supposed to be ever hotter tomorrow. Who knows. Hi-tech is looking to rent a car this afternoon to head over to Stroudsburg. Steak dinner and a movie, who knows. Oh, I know Enterprise stopped by around 6:00. Hi-tech went to the office and returned a short while later. Pro, Hitech and I drove over to Stroudsburg to do laundry. We were expected PC&J any time soon. They'd called earlier. So we headed back to get Porkchop. Jam Man joined us too. Back to Stroudsburg. We had dinner at an Irish bar downdown. Me, filet mignon, veggies, loaded baked potato, bread, and split pea/corned beef soup. Others - similarly sumptuous feasts. Meal was great, food was cooked perfectly, unfortunately, brought to us cold. We had a waitress who wouldn't survive an hour in some of those down home, southern cooking establishments. DWG is right on I-80. You can hear the traffic from the church, and a trip to the convenience store brings me into contact with travelling civilians. Over the weekend, I was asked for road directions three separate times. All while wearing a t-shirt that read, "Yes, I walked here from Georgia." That rapidly brings me to ten times I've been asked for road directions. Every other time I've had my pack on or closeby. Weird.
Date: 2006-08-02
From: Church of the Moutain Hostel

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Weather report says it might be the hottest day in the area this century! So what do I do? Yep, time to hike on. The fluid in my knee has gone down. I'm supporting weight real good. I've lightened my pack a bit. I sent my store ahead. Nothing buy cold food for 10 days. Lots of people eat cold, I'll give it a try. Besides, when it's 90 degrees out, I really don't feel like eating hot noodles anyway. Hitech was heading to Paramus, NJ to visit the Campmor Store. The offier of air conditioned ride and motel beds was very enticing. I contemplated another zero about five minutes and knew it was time to hike. That's what I do. Pro was heading out also. I left around 10:30, yeah, I know, hot time. The first two miles are on a barren, concrete bridge over the Delaware river. Weird juxtaposition. AT comes onto the bridge opposite a huge toll booth for Route 80. My thermometer said 104. I was counting on, and was happy to find it was cooler once I enetered the woods. A few hours after leaving, I'd climbed 1000 feet, temp dropped by 10 and a nice breeze was blowing. Then Pro and I took a break at Sorfish Pond, a 41 acre glacial pond. I soaked my feet for a while and then laid on a rock and took a nap. Headed on to the Mohican Outdoor Center. It's a campground/bunkhouse for AMC retreats. They offer free tenging or bunks for $12 to thru hikers. I chose a bunk and shower. Nice looking facility here. Bunkhouse has 16 bunks, reading area, full kitchen, 3 baths, and I'm the only paying guest. Pro's moving on to catch his family at Higpoint Park on Friday. Safe hiking. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-03
From: Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Brinkroad Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

Ahh, what a good night's sleep. I was the only one here, set my stuff wherever I wanted. Took a long hot shower, put the fan on, and slept like a baby. That's exactly what I needed. they even had coffee, so I brewed a few cups up. I don't think it turned out to be the hottest day yet yesterday. High should be 93 today according to super cool radio www.wnti.org. I planned an early departure, but these never seem to happen. It'll be my median time of 8:30 once again....ugh.
Date: 2006-08-04
From: Brinkroad Shelter

To: Rutherford Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Yesterday was brutal. I had no energy. I didn't get dehydrated though, plenty of fluids. The sun was just overpoweringly hot, I could barely hike. Half of the trail was exposed to the sun, much of that along rock ridges. Took me 10 hours to go 15 miles. When I got to the Brink Pond Shelter, I found the grounds infested with killer mosquitos. I set up my tent as quickly as possible and crawled inside. It took all the energy I had at that point to inflate my amttress and get out of my sweat soaked clothes.I must have fall alseep immediately after, I as I came to after dark, around 9:30pm, 3 hours later. I guess the body knows when it's had enough! Today was much better. Late yesterday, I was standing on a ridge and watched the cold front come in. It brought a bit of rain as well. Which reminds me. When I got to last night's shelter, it was packed full of YMCA camp girls. They asked incredulously, "Did you hike in the rain?" To which I replied, "Um, yes, always do." "Are you a thru hiker?"...and so on. Always fun. SO the day went very nice, much cooler, blue skies. NJ has been a pretty nice trail so far. It has rocks and obstacles, but is laid out decent. It's not like the trail club is trying to hikk you. There's been plenty of vistas, and I've seen a cub bear and my third rattlesnake. My friend, Swamp Fox, told me Jersey was nice. I concur. At one point today, I was standing on a rock ledge 1500' up. The sun was warming my body while a cool cross breeze blew. I put on my music player and danced and sung out loud like a fool. It felt good. Hooray to Peter Pumpkinhead!
Date: 2006-08-05
From: Rutherford Shelter

To: Wallhill Natl. Wildlife Preserve
Miles today: 14.5

Certainly not the NJ I've learned from Kevin Smith films, Fountains of Wayne, or the Sopranos. I'm enjoying the trail. I sheltered las night with Dana, on her first backpacking trip. It was nice to feel her excitement. I hadn't seen anyone for a few days at that point. Broke camp and headed to High Point State Park. Sat on the pavillion with quite a view for a bit. They also have an impressive stone phallus monument. Like a mini Washington Monument. Stopped for water and to checked the register at High Point Shelter. Found Stoker there, "Dude, I haven't seen another person for days!" He had been enjoying a lazy morning. Further on, I stopped into the "Secret" Shelter. Crutch and Leah were there. I ate a bit and we talked. I headed out to Unionville, NY, two miles up. It was about 4:00 by now. Met Mr. Fuller who graciously offered the local park grounds and pavillions for overnight camping. (And his liquor cabinet, hmmm). I dropped by the very hiker friendly Back Track Inn. I'd had a burger at Gyp's Tavern in Culvers Gap a couple days ago and was going to compare the two. However, the daily special was pot roast, gravy, baked potator, and Italian wedding soup. Homemade meatballs! So yummy! Who needs a store? Ha. On my way out of town, I met Channel. He was heading in. I bit up the trail, I met L-Rod. We pitched our tents on the Wallhill Road around dusk. Very enjoyable day. From no hikers to hikers everywhere! Cool. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-06
From: Wallhill Natl. Wildlife Resource

To: St. Thomas Episcopal Church-Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 9.0

Beautiful day - pretty hike. I got a great night's sleep last night. It cooled down nicely. I'm blessed to be sleeping under the stars each night. Walked the rest of the way around the Wallhill Wildlife Preserve. Not long after I started hiking, I saw two ladies coming my way. "Hello ladies, in 1300 odd miles on the AT, I've never yet seen anyone pushing a basinette. Thanks for making my day." Stopped at a vista where I could see the ridge and valley. I'd hiked over and through the day before. Fire Tower, monument, wildlife preserve. Great View. A bit later I was taking a break by a stream when I heard a hiker coming. It was the Pro. He'd been to NYC this weekend to see his beloved Mets play. How cool. He's pushing to to tent, planning some big mile days. I'm going to resupply here in Vernon and head out tomorrow. Hitech and PC&J should be here soon. This is a very nice church. They let hikers sleep in the basement, shower and launder. I'm the only one here today so far. It's like I left DWG and have been in somewhat of a hiker vacuum. When Pro and I got to my road crossing, it was like, "Well, this is my stop." He's going to have us up to his house this comoing weekend. That will be fun. We parted ways and I took up a strategic position on the road. I was going to give hitching a 30 minute chance, then hike the 2.4 to town. I waited all of two minutes when a nice old couple told me to hop in the back of their truck! They took me right to the hostel door. Sweet! I hope tomorrow's hitch out goes as quick and smooth. I walked to the grocery store to resupply. Since I'm not carrying my store, I'm eating all cold food. Fun stuff like fritos, peanut M&Ms, combos, cheese nips, cashews, clif bars, snickers, granola bars, jerkey, and tuna. Wooking pretty well so far. When I returned to the church, there had been a hiker explosion, nine more for the night. Hitech, Danny, myself, and a few others went to the Vernon Inn for dinner. I had a pretty decent cajun salmon with rice, steamed veggies, and a salad. Who needs a stove? Back to the hostel and found PC&J. Caught up on stuff with Porkchop and spent some time with Jackson. Crashed out on the basement floor. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-07
From: St. Thomas Episcopal Church-Vernon, NJ

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Water! Water! Where's the water? Didn't have much luck finding good water today. Had to stretch my two liters over about 13 miles. That's like seven hours. The book listed quite a few streams, only one which actually had water in it. The start of the day had been much better. Danny bought me breakfast at Bk. I told him I'd get us a ride. Took maybe a minute! Wow, great mitch mojo. I even got a ride from the grocery store to the hostel the day before. It was an older gentleman who picked us up. Weird, we both noted that most of our rides have been from older people. It was cool hiking with Danny, aka Dangerzone. We met way back at Kincora and Damascus. Hadn't had a real chance to hike together until this very day. Turns out well, we walk about the same pace, have compatible philosophies, and share many similar views. We moved into NY now, and trail got a bit more difficult. Lots of boulder and rocky ledge crossing. Steep ups and downs too. I guess it's practice for what's still to come. At mile 13 we found a sign. Ice cream .1 mile - water available. Took a quick left and went to take a look. Ice cream and soda stand. Please remind me to never drink three sodas and eat an ice cream cone one right after another. Not good at all. Eventually wound up at Wildcat Shelter. Mosquitos everywhere! Pitched tents quickly. Mike/Myler is here with us too. He's a college kid, five days out and hiking until September. He's having a blast so far. Nice to see. Oh, here's a few things I've failed to mention in the recent past. August 5th was my four month anniversay. Yesterday was my buddy Hitech's birthday. Today, there's only 800 miles to go! Peace.
Date: 2006-08-08
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Lake Tiomati
Miles today: 15.4

Water! On my face! While I'm sleeping! I awoke to the first few cold drops on my face. I could hear the wind howling and the storm imminent. I quickly pulled the fly in place and fastened it down. As I was crawling back into my tent, the skies opened and my backside got soaked. Whew, at least my tent and stuff are dry. I hopped back in my bag and let the thunder and lightning lull me to a deep sleep. Slept in real late too. More than made up for the poor one the night before. Drinking water was much better today, we were blessed by trail angels at a couple of road crossing. Thanks! More crazy steep ups and downs today. Pracice makes perfect. I used my hands to pick over more rocks, slid down backwards over more boulders, and made more leaps of faith from stone to stone than I can ever remember in one day. At least Hitech got some pics of me coming through the "Lemon Squeezer." It's a tilted uphill passage between two parallel rocks barely wide enough to pass through. We're going to stop for the night at the shelter, then realized a 1.4 mile walk got us to some pop machines. Cold soda wins! A local told me camping was allowed. Well yes, with a permit application mailed in at least two weeks in advance. Oops. Good think we showed up at dusk and broke camp at dawn. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-09
From: Lake Tiomati

To: Hemlock Springs Camp
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

No pets allowed past two. There are three places dogs are not allowed on the AT - Smokey Mountains, Bear Mountain in NY, and Baxter Park in Maine. Kennels are available for the Snokies and Baxter, but Bear Mountain is a zoo with only .4 mile of a trail. I knew Porkchop wanted to walk all the white blazes. We'd discussed it before. Since oh, a week ago when I struck out on my own from DWG, I hadn't seen much of PC&J. We saw each other briefly at the Vernon church. Oh, that was another place dogs aren't allowed, but it's not on the trail. They had to tent at the fire station in Vernon. Anyways, it was important to me to dogsit Jackson for Porkchop's zoo run. We've been running together since Memorial Day. I knew they were coming, the trail is a great network. I left word in a shelter register that I'd be at the zoo entrance. Beautiful hiking day too, low himidity, low 80s, cloud cover, but I digress. Danny and I ran into PC&J early in the morming. I confirmed out plans, then Danny and I set out. I wanted a bit of a lead so I could walk the zoo, drop my pack, and double back. Perfect timing. I arrived back at the entrance just as PC&J showed. Porkchop walked the blazes, and I leashed Jackson around the park. I'm used to walking my 30 pound Bichon, not 70 pounds of Golden Retriever trail dog. We navigated the highway just fine and waited for Porkchop outside the back of the the zoo. Our waiting spot was right next to the toll booth for the bridge over the Hudson River. Porkchop and Danny headed to Fort Montgomery, .8 away for resupply. I waited with Jackson and the packs. When they returned, I was rewarded with a slice of pizza and 6" roast beef, turkey, and provolone sub. Nice! While eating, the lovely Claire and Syd came strolling up. I met them in Hiawassee, and they always pop up in the oddest places. Our paths have crossed a half dozen times now. Their slackpack ride arrived and sped them off to a play that evening. The Brits are living large in America. Right after they left, we spotted someone climbing out of the now closed and locked zoo. It's Mylar! We all laughted our asses off. Then off to find our campsite for the night, across the Hudson River Bridge and up another steep hill. One side note about the zoo. The AT is at its lowest physical point in front of the bear exhibit, 124 feet. It was also a spiritual low point. The bears, none of the animal, but especially the bears, didn't look like their normal spunky selves surrounded by their concrete moat. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-10
From: Hemlock Springs Camp

To: Fahnestock State Park
Miles today: 16.0

What motivates a hiker? Many things, food, cold drinks, oh, and hot showers. Today was a bunch of p.u.d.s. Mind and knee numbing ups and downs. The promised was of a free hot shower at the state park. We pushed an extra 1.5 to get up to the park, tent, and yep, shower! Hot cascading water, rinsing off five days of caked on rind. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-11
From: Fahnestock State Park

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: few clouds

Today we were motivated by food! Beautiful hiking day today, it cooled off, no humidity, etc. We caught up with Hitech at the RPH shelter. He was, of course, journalling. Took a short break there, and met caretaker Joe. He clued us in on upcoming spots on the trail, places to camp, places to eat. We knew about the deli on NY52 and were headed there for lunch. Stopped by the Mountain Top deli, .4 off the trail. I had a marvelous Italian sub, could only eat half there. I packed the leftovers up to Morgan Stewart for dinner. I caouple of the guy packed a beer, Porkchop even packed up a couple slices of pizza. We were setting ourselves up to be picked up by the Pro on Saturday morning, He's taking us to his house in CT for day of rest and relaxation. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-12
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: The Pro from Dover's
Miles today: 3.0

Well, I was shooting for Kent, CT, on the 12th, but it just didn't happen. What did happen was that PC&J, Hitech, and I had the Pro pick us up on NY55, just a few miles short of the NY/CT border. The Pro had busted out some big days to get home, including a couple 30s. That's a bit more than these tired legs can do. Pro picked us up at 9:00, took us to Wendys ( double cheeseburgers all around ), and then over to his mom's. We met Jane and her boyfriend Don, two super nice people. As we were setting in, the Pro headed out to pick up El Diablo. We set up tent city in Jane's side yard, five tents in all. They had a party, lots of Pro's and his brother, Dylan showed, nearly 25 or 30 peopled. Cooked out burgers and dogs, lots of cold beer, etc. Great picnice. I've only been at two other cookouts, Kincora and Bill and Amy's. What a wonderful summer activity, I do miss them. Around 8:30 the hikers started dropping like flies, by 9:00 we were all in our tents. I learned that someone had asked what happened to us. Hiker midnight, that's what. I'm truly grateful that the Pro invited us and his family, Jane, Dylan, and Don welcomed us so graciously into their home. I had a great time. It felt good to be in a home. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-13
From: The Pro from Dover

To: The Pro from Dover's
Miles today: 0.0

Yep, Mr. Zero strikes again! What a divinely lazy day. Hmm, what did I do? Drank a few cokes, ate chili cheese dogs for lunch. Ordered a day pack, ordered a hip belt for my pack, watched "Walk the Line" - good flick, packed my food - that's about it. Jane made awesome lasagna for dinner, it was served in 4x4x2 chunks. Salad with farmstand tomatoes. The Pro made apple pies. Jane served chocolate birthday cake for Hitech and Porkchop. Breyers ice cream with homemade chocolate sauce from scratch. We truly dined like kings this weekend. Best wishes and many many thanks for everything. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-14
From: The Pro from Dover

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: broken clouds

Yep, four point three. It's always tough getting started after a lazy zero. We got a mid-afternoon start time as well. The night before, the Pro received a call from a fellow hiker whose father passed away unexpectedly. Of course, those arrangements are given first priority. Pro picked him up in the morning, and then we (PC&J, me, Diablo, Pro) took him to the bus station. Then PC&J and I were dropped off at NY55 and resumed out hike. Hitech had stayed behind to rest a knee, and Pro and Diablo were headed to a movie or two. PC&J and I hiked a mile up to Nuclear Lake, quite a nice setting despite the name. We hung out there for a couple of hours, Jackson chased a stick for a while, swam, and rolle in the grass. Porkchop and I talked about plans and dreams for the future under a clear blue sky. During this time, who walked up? Crescent City, aka Monique, my friend from Hiawassee (way back). This very morning I had checked her website www.hikeforkatrina.com for her whereabouts. Odd and cool. We caught up a bit then all moved onto the shelter. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-15
From: Telephone Pioneers Shelter

To: Ten Mile River camp
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: broken clouds

Boy, did it rain. We had just discussed our relatively decent hiking weather this summer. It started around 11pm and didn't finish until 930am the next morning. A very good night/day to lie in your bag and catch up on some zzz's. We grouped in the shelter around 830am for breakfast and coffee. Crescent City said it would be dry by 10am. She was right! We hit (PC&J, CC, and me) Tony's Deli on NY22 today to continue the feeding frenzy across the northeast, mmm. Huge turkey sandwich with real bacon and hard shaved cheddar cheese. A bit into the after lunch hike, I ran across the grown over "Gate of Heaven" cemetery. I did get a picture of me at Heaven's Gate, just to have one, smile. We crossed over to CT now too. Pretty trail, lots of ups and downs, practice for what's to come. Peace.
Date: 2006-08-16
From: Ten Mile River camp

To: Story Brook Campsite
Miles today: 16.0

Plus the bonus two into and out of the Kent post office. The Pro brought us to Kent on Saturday. I received two of three packages. My bouncebox, and a box of magic from Kevin from back in the Smokies. Hen sent some of his homemade salsa and other treats. Thanks Kevin! My pole tips had not shown through. And I had ordered them from the UK with plenty of time. Over the weekend, I got the order straightened out via email and now expected them to be there this time through...and they were.The nice guy at the hardware store helped me change the pole tips. Outside, leaving, a couple of guys asked, "Are you going out on the AT?" "I've been on the AT dudes." "How long?" "Over four months" Loud excited reply was "No fucking way!" "Yes way." haha..Visited with a family from Boston a bit later. Had lunch with PC&J. Back on the trail in mid-afternoon, I heard from a SOBO that the Pro and another guy were on the trail. Hitech was the other guy. We all reunited at the camp. I got in pretty late, I talked to everybody I met today. Two thirds down, one third to go.
Date: 2006-08-17
From: Story Brook Campsite

To: Belters Campsite
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm cathcing up on the last few day's journalling at oh, 330am. Seems like I walk all day, get to camp, do chores, clean up, and fall asleep. I was in bed and asleep at 820 tonight. It's getting noticeably darker, sooner, and the last week had been chilly at night. 700 miles to go. Times on the trail will be coming a close lately. I honestly haven't thought much past the immediate follow up to my trek. Can I just keep walking? Peace.