morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-03
From: Smith Shelter

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

It was slow, slow, slow, slow getting out of bed this morning. I guess I knew it was going to be an arduous day, and my feet knew that it was. I think only 5% of my steps today were on dirt; 95% where on rocks. I have nothing nice to say about the rocks, and my mom said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. This is me saying nothing.I was rewarded with a nice view from Wolf Rocks and I ate my Snickers there. I was also rewarded with water from a spigot that I didn't have to treat. I also had a freeze-dried backpacker meal---it was fancy.Oh, I also had entertainment tonight. Hand gliders where flying overhead back and forth. Really cool! We are on the ridges here and the updrafts are fantastic for them. They were riding them forever.Gelert's pads are pretty sore. We will see what we need to do at Delaware Water Gap about that. There are loads of hikers around tonight and I like it like that. It will be a short day tomorrow for Independence Day. Hopefully I can catch some fireworks tomorrow night.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-04
From: Kirkridge Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: scattered clouds

It was an easy walk into town for several reasons, about half of the trail followed forest service roads and I knew there was a shower and a day off waiting for me. Gelert stopped and swam in a pond about a mile out of town. She was very excited about that, as water is becoming more scarce recently. The hostel is free and in the basement of a church. They have couches and bunks. It is a smelly place because everyone rolls in stinky and puts their stuff in a bunkroom and all the smells mingle together, pew whee! I had a nice lunch with Juniata, a guy that I have seen now for several days on the trail. I downed two root beers in a flash, then realized not every place north of the Mason Dixon gives free refills, soooo I paid for that and slowed down a bit on guzzling sodas. We tried to catch up with a group to go tubing yesterday and being the fourth of July the place was crammed with people. I had a little flash over too many people in a small place, so I went and got Ben and Jerry's ice cream and walked back to the hostel, ate it and napped for several hours. I must say I'm having a cultural experience here listening to and watching people, very interesting.I ate at the Deer Head Inn for supper and then chilled out with fellow hikers and just chewed the fat.I ended up on one of the couches after two hours of tossing and turning on my wood bunk. I love my hammock, but no place to pitch it around here. Tomorrow is a zero day full of chores, sodas, food and maybe some tubing.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-05
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

ZERO DAY!!!!But it was a busy day. I went to the post office right when it opened at 8:30 am and collected my mail drop, goodies from Liz, my trail angel, and a phone card from Mom. I had about 10 days worth of food so I sorted it out and bounced (sent ahead by mail) about half of it to Vernon, NJ. It took me some time and brain power to think it all through, but I managed. I had to catch the shuttle to Stroudsburg at 10:00 am to do my smelly laundry. I never knew I could produce such odors.Two other fellows, the Greyhounds from Novia Scotia, rode in too. We agreed we would have the shuttle pick us back up by noon. . .. the shuttle never came and so we called. They said okay, but never came, soooo two hours later we finally got the cab company to take us back to Delaware Water Gap. I was a little frustrated, because I had arranged to go tubing with Thor, Alhoa and Shoka, so the situation was burning their time up. We eventually did get to go tubing down the Delaware River. We got out there about 4:00 pm and had a full ride until 7:00 pm. We all went back and took showers and Thor and I went for pizza, yummy!!! So that was my zero day, no trail miles, but still miles. There are many miles walked that do not add up in trail mileage on getting to Maine. They are a necessary evil.Needless to say, I slept like a dream.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-06
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Yippee! Today was a big day. Why you might ask?1. It has been four weeks on the trail2. I officially crossed into New Jersey, my fourth state3. I saw two bears4. There have been tons of cool hikers around, gotta like that.5. Finally we sat by a pond cut out by glaciers long ago. It was beautiful and Brown Dog got to swim.Sooooo, that is why it has been such a great day. I was a bit sluggish hiking today because of the heat, but we managed.The first bear I saw was a big one, right on the trail about 20 yards in front of us. Brown Dog was behind me; the bear and I just looked at each other for a little bit, then he took off. The second one was in the bushes doing bear things and didn't pay us any attention. Cooool! They say if you don't see a bear in New Jersey you must be walking with your eyes closed.One bear per every square mile is the estimate. Urban sprawl is part of the reason that there are less habitat areas for the bears and it is illegal to hunt bears in NJ. The only time one can be destroyed is if it becomes aggressive to humans and most of the time it is our fault if they do. We might try to feed them or we are careless with our food and they begin to see us as sources of food, not toward our physical being, but because of the goodies we bring with us. The bears I have seen are beautiful creatures and they just seem so laid back, like they could care less about me. They just move on about their business.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-07
From: Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: scattered clouds

I started off in a grumpy mood this morning. It rained in the night and I had to get up and adjust my rain flys and such. Sometimes I find it hard to get motivated for walking. Nonetheless I was off after oatmeal and filling my water bags.The terrain in New Jersey is nice when you get up on the ridges with their grassy open forests with nice breezes. That is a wonderful change because it has been really warm and humid. I have been hiking at the same speed as a group of girls named Tadpole, Hover, Big Red and Strappy. They are funny and it is nice to see them here and there along the trail. I also saw another hiker today, Bear Bait, whom I haven't seen in a long time. He is going south now. Strappy's mom was waiting at a road crossing with sodas, Gatorade and tasty cakes. How nice, gotta love that! So you see when you get grumpy on the trail there is always something to pick you up and keep you going.I saw another bear today. I did not realize that it was a momma bear until I started to walk again and her little cub came down out of a tree. He was cute, but boy am I glad I didn't upset the momma bear. That is a grand total of 5 bears now.It started raining in the late afternoon which I did not mind because it was extremely hot today. It is the first time I have really had to walk in rain. I got to the shelter, the rain had let up and the mosquitoes were feasting. It was craziness to see how many there were. I had a nice dinner with the girls and another section hiker amidst swatting the mosquitoes. Now I am safe in my hammock and hear them buzzing around outside.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-08
From: Brink Road Shelter

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

Well, one month ago today I was lying in my hammock full of all kinds of questions, many of which have been answered by now. Such as how will I hold up, will I make the miles, will I like it, who will I meet?Tonight I am lying in a shelter 300 something miles north after an extremely hot day and no bear sightings. Water is becoming scarcer; planning is a must now for water. The shelter I am at tonight does not have water but a trail angel named Desparado left gallons of water down by the road. Thank goodness for we were thirsty. I had a road crossing today and was able to get a Pepsi and make some phone calls. I also had lunch at a shelter where the day before a bear had eaten up a guy's pack he left unattended while he went down to get water. That would have been a bit of a shock to see a bear digging through my pack. I had a beautiful break at Sunrise Mountain with a 360 degree view and a pavilion for shade. It had a cool stone floor and a wonderful breeze during the heat of the day.I have been running into a lot of camp groups; brings back memories. Some of the kids are from the Bronx, Brooklyn and South Jersey. I find them quite interesting.Well, it is bedtime. I'm in the shelter with loads of bug dope on hoping for the best.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-09
From: Mashipacong Shelter

To: The Secret Shelter
Miles today: 13.3

Can it get any better? We are sitting on the porch of "The Secret Shelter" on a cool evening wrapped in my jacket and sleeping bag. I just ate, had hot chocolate and now I'm going to have coffee. This is called "The Secret Shelter" because it is not listed in any guidebooks and that is a great thing. It has a hot and cold shower, inside sink and electricity, and a loft to sleep in. It is located in a nice open area with no mosquitoes!Today was a cold wet one. It could have been a lot worse. I was just glad for a break in the heat. I passed over the highest point in New Jersey at some 1800 feet and then went on to High Point Shelter where I met Over Shot who had put sodas in the stream. Yummy! He completed his thru hike on July 6. It took him only 84 days. He must have been walking all day and all night. Have I mentioned how much I crave sodas out here? We cruised on out of there. The trail is beginning to lose her rocky ways, so it was a nice walk into the shelter this evening. Tomorrow we will hop on over to Vernon, NJ, to pick up my bounce box and to take Brown Dog to the vet. Her sores seem to be getting a little worse with this moist weather. I'll be interested to see what the vet thinks. She looks great otherwise, although she has lost some weight and I had to tighten up her pack a bit.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-10
To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 14.1

It was hard to leave that peaceful little shelter to walk some 14 miles, but we did. It was a cool day and we were off. We are very close to NYC or some other big town because there are many road crossings and a lot more development near the trail. At one point I got off on the wrong trail, because there were so many different paths. I soon realized my mistake when I did not see the trusty white blaze and easily found my way back. Not much in the way of scenery today. We had some road walking, bog boards and LOADS of mosquitoes. Bog boards are make-shift and sometimes really nice walkways over really boggy ground, but along with wet swampy ground comes mosquitoes. I was absolutely swarmed. Mosquitoes usually do not bother me, but these suckers were persistent. I even had on some pretty heavy duty deet spray!! They swarmed my face, my ears, my nostrils, everywhere! I thought I was going to go crazy. They would buzz into my ears and I would promptly stick my finger in there to kill them and retrieve the little dead bodies. My walking sticks found another use today, lightly swinging their straps past my head to get rid of the mosquitoes, sometimes swinging not so lightly. I survived, but I know a lot of little bloodsuckers who didn't!I made the rest of the day pretty easily and had a super long section of board walk or bog boards, then some cow pastures. As I was coming across the last one I heard, "Right On!" It was the girls, Tadpole, Strappy and Big Red. Cool! They are a day ahead of me. I didn't think I would see them again. The trail is cool that way.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-11
From: Vernon, NJ

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 2.2
Weather: light rain

I stayed in that hotel bed with nice white sheets and cushy pillows until 9 am this morning. Aaaahhhhh!I started making some phone calls to vets and the first 2 were no help. "We can fit you in next week." I tried explaining, but it didn't work. I was frustrated and upset. Then I got the number of a vet in McAfee. "10:45," he said."Great, I will be there." I finished the last of my TV and packing up and got a cab over. Let me just say the doc was great!! He took his time, looked her over and checked her sores - everything!! He decided the sores were from the way she bears her weight because they were the exact same on both front paws. He said she looked great, was good to go and gave us some topical treatment for the sores to ward off infection. Then I was kind of stuck there, but he was very kind and gave me a ride to the post office. Can you believe the actual vet gave us a ride in his new Suburban wagon? Generous, very generous.I sorted out my bounce box and loaded the pack up again, then headed across the street to the grocery store. Sensory overload!! Everything looked sooo good. I got the necessities - cheese, bug spray, and a strawberry parfait, strawberries with whip cream. I plopped down right in front of the store and chowed down. It was so good. I had left Gelert outside by the packs with no leash and she stayed put. So many people were just in awe about that, so she had a moment in the sun there. I have to say I am very proud of her and the dog she is, a dream companion. We then walked down to Burger King. I order a Whopper, fries and a coke. About half way through eating I was totally grossed out by it and finished up by throwing it in the trash. As I was getting my stuff on outside, a lady came out and asked if I needed a ride back to the trail. I said, "Well, yes, but I need to do some laundry at the hostel first." She said, "No problem, here is my card. Give me a call when you are ready." Coooooool! So I went to wash my clothes and just let me tell you that water was brown. I hung out with some other hikers and then called Patricia. She and her daughter took me back to the trail and told me to keep her number in case I needed anything. I am so grateful for trail angels; the journey is so enriched by these individuals. So off for an easy hike to the shelter, dinner and sleep. A weird thing happened. About midnight a whole troop of Boy Scouts came marching up the trail. They were being fairly quiet, but it was a train of headlamps. I thought the aliens were there to pick us up. The next morning I found out they were training for Philmont. Okay, cool.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-12
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Wild Cat Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

My new rule is I can lie in my sleeping bag until 7:00 am, then I have to get going. It works pretty good so far.Today was hard for me. The trail was not exceptionally hard, but I just felt fatigued and had the no goes. The rocks have come back a bit, but this time they are bigger. Gelert has a hard time, sometimes, and it takes a little extra effort to get her up and over the rocks.I could see a lake in the distance most of the day today with boats and stuff. I was a tad bit envious.I haven't seen many hikers lately. I'm sure they're out there somewhere.I crossed into New York today. I enjoyed New Jersey and look forward to New York.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-14
From: Wild Cat Shelter

To: Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

This is an entry for two days.Okay, okay, I must say that every part of the trail is not a bed of roses. Yesterday I was super fatigued and just generally dumpy so I got off the trail and went to a motel in Southfields, New York. I just needed some time to regroup. I am a couple of days behind schedule and it has been on my mind. Well, if I wanted to worry about schedules I should have stayed back in the real world. I ran into a hiker named Gray Jay, an spit fire of a woman who only has 500 miles left of the trail. We talked and had Chinese food delivered. It was just good to see another hiker. We even joked about buying this rat trap of a car for sale on the highway for 350 bucks because we were tired of walking. Well, she got up this morning and was off. We had breakfast and she was inspiring to me so I got somewhat over my dumpiness. Then I called in the big guns, MOM. Moms are so great. They know just what to say and say it with the right amount of love and firmness mixed together. So I got myself packed up and went down to get back on the trail. I tried hitchhiking for 15 minutes, but no one bit. So I was standing in front of the Red Apple Restaurant and two unsuspecting victims pulled in. I just flat out asked for a ride, they hesitated, then agreed after I started talking about how I was hiking and that I am a teacher in the real world. The teacher card is always a good one, it is like having a gold star or something. The lady told me, "I figured you were all right because your dog is a lab." Ha! Brown Dog gets us a ride again. Go girl!Today turned out to be one of the prettiest hiking days yet. There were nice open forests with green grassy floors, a good breeze with manageable ups and downs and loads of deer too. The trees in this section are super big and so majestic that I thoroughly enjoyed my hiking. I am at a shelter with 7 other hikers. I like having company. So there you have it. The trail always offers a great reward when you need it.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-15
From: Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Bear Mountain, NY
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

I slept like a dream last night, all cocooned in my hammock and sleeping bag. I am feeling much better. I believe I have gotten enough rest that my batteries are recharged. The trail has a lot of ups and downs with rocks, but they are manageable. Did I mention the other day that I was able to see the skyline of New York City and I could even make out the Empire State Building? Cooool!!Today I started off well and somewhere near Beachy Bottom Brook I missed a double blaze. Double blazes indicate turns in the trail, so it is a bad thing to miss. Anyways, I got off on this red dot trail, then the yellow trail, then I found this cool shelter that over looked the Hudson River, so I had lunch there. Did I mention I do not have maps for this section? Sooo I was just counting on the Great Spirit in the sky to guide me. I finally found a white blaze and was very thankful. Then I missed a double blaze again. Needless to say today was an adventure and I finally found my way to Bear Mountain. I probably walked more like 15 miles but as far as trail miles go, that is only 10. There is a lot of walking out here that doesn't go north to Maine like walking to the spring, or the privy or to town. It just makes me stronger. I finally found the post office and got my maildrops and packages. A trail angel named Gene walks up and asks if I need a ride. He even suggested that he slack pack for me tomorrow. Cool! So Gene took me around to find a motel that takes dogs, took me for a burger and to the grocery store. He really went out of his way. Tomorrow he will pick me up and take my pack around to a campsite 14 miles away and I will just carry the lid of my backpack that doubles as a fanny pack. Coooool! I have been waiting for an opportunity to do this. So onward across the Hudson River.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-16
From: Bear Mountain, NY

To: Dennytown Road Campsite
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

Slack packing is wonderful! Gene picked me up at 7:30 am and I was off and walking across the Hudson River by 7:40 am. I just had a little daypack with water, camera, snacks, radio and a couple of other things. It was so nice. The bridge was a huge suspension bridge and it was overcast and the wind was blowing. I loved it. We had a really nice walk today; did not see very many people, but I did see several newts. Newts are little orange lizard things that turn into salamanders, I think. They are very cool looking. I also noticed the size of some of the trees I was walking past - huge. It would take 2 or 3 people wrapping their arms around it to give it a hug. I am very in awe over their size and beauty. I arrived at the campsite around 5:15 pm and there was a note from Gray Jay saying they had gone to get supper and they were bringing some back for me!! Wow, wow, soooo I had a subway cold cut trio, Cheetos, soda and cookies. Yummy! Gray Jay and Eazy Does It were also slack packing with Gene. They just started at a different place. Gene offered to slack us to the next shelter. You better believe we took up his offer!! I needed rest and I got it. Now my hiking is not near as hard with just my daypack. He will be here at 8:00 am and we will be off.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-17
From: Dennytown Road Campsite

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

Last night about 1:30 am this group that was all set up at the campsite got wound up and were whooping and hollering. To say the least it woke me. Funny how that hammock doesn't filter out noise.Gray Jay, Easy Does It and I were off at 8:00 am after Gene picked up our packs for another day of slack packing. Love it. Gray Jay and I hiked all day together. We hike at the same pace. It was cool to have a companion for the day and the miles just ticked off. We were done before I knew it. It was nice hiking today and at the end of that Gene met us at RPH and took us to get pizza. Yummy! I ate up and headed back to the shelter. My stomach was a little upset because the town food is too greasy or spicy or something.Loads of hikers came in tonight and that is always nice. Oh, yes, and the big thrill of the day was that there is a brand new privy here and I was the first to use it ever. I feel truly special now. Gray Jay and I will be hiking together for a couple of days. I look forward to that. We are even going to split a hotel room. It is going to be a rude awakening when Brown Dog and I have to start carrying our packs again.Happy trails!
Date: 2003-07-18
From: RPH Shelter

To: NY 55
Miles today: 12.3

I had a wonderful night's sleep last night in the shelter. After sleeping in a hammock for a while it feels really good to sleep on a hard flat surface. Gray Jay and I are officially addicted to slack packing. We did our miles really easily today and even got to go into a deli. I had a roast beef sandwich with mayo, salt and pepper. Taaasssty, and of course a soda. It rained on us off and on all day and I didn't mind it. I always thought I would mind walking in the rain, but it is very peaceful. The trees act like an umbrella and you don't get the huge downpours. I saw the biggest oak tree today just on the side of the trail. All the trees are really amazing.Have I talked about falling on the trail? Well, Gelert is one and I am four falls in. Back near Sunfish Pond, Gelert flipped over after crossing a rock and was a little stunned, but we sorted her out. I have had the slow tumble over to the side in the grass, not bad. The hard fall face first, let me just tell you, with a pack on your back is humbling. It is amazing how fast the ground comes up to meet you. The fall backwards with the pack to catch you, almost fun. Then there is the splits. I don't recommend it, one foot going rapidly down and the other staying uphill, wooweee! I was just trying to get over to my side. Lucky I only had a daypack on. So goes the trail.I am in a hotel tonight with Gray Jay and Easy Does It. My next shower will not be due for about 5 days. We will be in Kent on Monday, but my information is that it is not hiker friendly and there is no place to stay, so we took this opportunity.Happy trails!