morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-30
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

Fantastic day. After a late start and several long breaks, HP and I found ourselves 8 miles into a 19 mile day at 2. We still needed to resupply and get back on the trail, so we RAN. We were on the road trying to catch a ride by 5:45. Got picked up by an awesome guy who took us to a swimming hole- hands down the best one yet- and then to Hannaford's.I switched out my usual breakfast oatmeal for Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I don't think I'll regret it. In case you were interested: Pop Tarts boxes burn green.
Date: 2007-07-31
From: Bennington, VT

To: Sherman Brook
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

I'm HOME!!!I seem to be waking up later in the morning and hiking later into the evening, and I'm enjoying the trend. Had 14 miles to go at 2:30 and again starting running.The first 2.3mi of MA kicked my butt! I got lost twice and fell down a rock scramble. Welcome home, Twix.It seems that if there's mud withing 5 yards of the trail I WILL find a way to fall in it. I love stealth camping (for the layman, that's setting up camp anywhere besides an official campsite). I love the idea that I can pick a spot in the woods and set up my home. Very cool.Alone, milk made from powdered milk and water doesn't taste much like milk. In Cinnamon Toast Crunch, though, it is delicious. And Dark Chocolate Snickers are delicious. Snickers with green Shrek filling, on the other hand, are just weird.I apologize if my entries have lost any form of flow. The libraries I've been hitting have a one hour time limit and I become stressed and disorganized when I have a deadline.
Date: 2007-08-01
From: Sherman Brook

To: Mark Noepel Lean-to
Miles today: 9.6

Happy August!After a resupply in Williamstown, I hiked straight up- and fast- for more than a mile. I haven't seen a climb like that for a long time and, according to one NOBO, I won't see another for "another 7 or 800 miles."Reached the first peak and realized I hadn't refilled my water bottles in town. I had three options.1. Hike .5 off trail to a shelter and another .2 to a spring.2. Hike about 1 on trail, then .2 off trial to a different spring.3. Dehydrate until after Greylock. I chose option 1 but missed the shelter somehow. This gave me two options.a. .5 back ot the trail, try option 2.b. blueblaze around Williams mountain directly to spring from option 2.I never liked Williams anyways, so I chose option B. But the spring was dry, which left me by default with option 3: dehydrate. A kindly NOBO gave me a bit of Gatorade- a lifesaver. And at the summit of Greylock an amazing caretaker gave me two water bottles. Some people are wonderful!Got into camp late after spending a while on Greylock (nice summit!). I love getting in late and staying up past dark, but the glow of my headlamp attracts moth, mosquitos and other diving insects.
Date: 2007-08-02
From: Mark Noepel Lean-to

To: Dalton
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: clear sky

My hour on the internet is rapidly nearing it's end, so I'll be brief in the next few entries. I believe bullet points are in order.-Ice cream stand!-Tom Levardi is an amazing man who slackpacked me from the ice cream stand to Dalton.-Tom took a bunch of thru-hikers to an incredible swimming hole with a rope swing-Tom cooked us dinner- pasta with meat sauce, corn on the cob, ice cream sundaes-slept on a featherbed in Tom's house-showered in Tom's house-watched the Big Lebowskithe gist of this is- Tom Levardi is an incredible man with a huge heart and it is people like him that make thru-hiking such a wonderful experience.
Date: 2007-08-04
From: Dalton

To: Dalton
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Whoops, double zero! Teapot, Rambo and Dreamer showed up last night, so our family was semi-reunited for the day.I JUMPED OFF A 60-FOOT CLIFF!!!!!!!!Into water, of course. This may sound like chump change to the more daring among you, but consider: I feel nauseous at the top of a single flight of stairs. And I JUMPED off the equivalent of five flights of stairs. I stood on the edge for ten minutes thinking about how much I did NOT want to be 60 feet in the air, and then I did something about it. I felt much better once I hit the water. Country Town Buffet for dinner- I'm surprised there was any food left after 13 thru-hikers plus Tom spent hours there. Returned to Tom's house to find Dutch, the Juice, Sweet Tea and Prancer hacking in the front yard. They hitched back from 60 miles down the trail just to hang out. Prancer and Teapot leave the trail in two weeks, so it was fun to have everyone together one last time.
Date: 2007-08-05
From: Dalton

To: Washington Mountain Road (Dalton)
Miles today: 9.6

Mom, Warren and Jenna drove out and slackpacked 10 miles with me and HP. Missed you, Dad!It was a short day for me and easier terrain than I'm used to. My clothes are as clean and fresh as a washing can make them, and I've taken two showers since I reached Dalton. My family probably thinks this whole thru-hiking thing is easy. One last night in a house before hitting the trail again tomorrow!
Date: 2007-08-06
From: Washington Mountain Road (Dalton)

To: Rt. 20 (Lenox)
Miles today: 9.4

Ahhhhhhh... thru-hiking is less of a wilderness experience than expected.Pam, Betsy et al. (more of my family) picked me and HP up for dinner and a not-quite-deserved night under a roof. Incredible The house was full and they refused to let anyone sleep on the floor, so they booked me, HP, Caro and her guy rooms at a hotel and sent us off with goodie bags full of candy and soda. Again, incredible. My backpack tomorrow will be 6 Twix bars heavier. One last time- incredible.
Date: 2007-08-07
From: Rt. 20 (Lenox)

To: Stealth site near Shaker Campsite
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning I smelled every kind of candle on the first floor of a Yankee Candle Shop. I was about to head for the second floor when HP knocked over a display. We left quickly- it was probably better that way.
Date: 2007-08-08
From: Shaker Campsite

To: The Corn Crib on Rt 7
Miles today: 17.6

The forecast called for showers last night- not rain. And not in my tent. It downpoured so hard that the seams leaked and more water BOUNCED in through the bug netting. I did the logical thing and pretended that it wasn't raining, that my sleeping bag wasn't completely soaked, and that I wasn't floating in a puddle of rainwater. It worked! This morning I packed up my gear (ok, my gear plus about 12lb of water) under clear skies. It was sunset when I reached the Corn Crib and dark when HP and I decided to hitch into Great Barrington to hit the supermarket. It appears that hitching in the dark is much easier than hitching in daylight.
Date: 2007-08-09
From: The Corn Crib on Rt 7

To: Brassie Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 16.8

Started the day with a 5 mile flat stretch that northbounders call "Mosquito Alley." Myth: They sprayed there for a few years and when they stopped, a mutant strain of mosquitos developed. The mosquitos are huge, they are everywhere, and they use DEET like hot sauce. Fact: Over the entire 5 miles, three mosquitos landed on me. One bit me, and he was no more immune to the flat of my hand than any other mosquito.
Date: 2007-08-10
From: Brassie Brook Lean-to

To: Salisbury, CT (whoops)
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up at 8am to pouring rain and chilly air. Planned to meet JAKE HARPER!!! in Salisbury at 11ish but couldn't bring myself to leave my sleeping bag before 10. Once I did, I RAN through the rain into Salisbury. By the time I had resupplied, Jake had arrived (yay!) and I was WAY too cold to even consider hiking out. Jake, HP and I drove around aimlessly for a while- what else could we do? He dropped us off at Vanessa's house, where we payed an exorbitant $35 for the night.
Date: 2007-08-12
From: Sharon Mountain Campsite

To: Mt. Algo Lean-to
Miles today: 19.7

Almost 20 miles today! Only felt like 16. Perhaps because... it WAS only 16. Whoops! There are many ways to hike the trail. Purists pass EVERY white blaze. Under no circumstances will a staunch purists deviate even the slightest bit from the designated trail. The rules are a little more lax for blue-blazers, who WALK all the way from Maine to Georgia or from Georgia to Maine but have no problem with taking easier or more interesting blue-blazed trails around difficult or boring sections of the white-blazed AT. Yellow-blazers take this one step further, skipping sections of the trail by car (if you really can't figure out where the 'yellow' comes from, think about lines on roads...). I started the trail with somewhat purist intentions. I didn't plan on taking hours to cross blowdowns when I could simply walk around them (momentarily leaving the trail- unacceptable for true purists), but I also planned on passing every white blaze, to the very best of my abilities. Then the fiasco on Washington happened, and I became a blue-blazer.Hiking up Killington on the old AT (the Sherburne pass trail) solidified my acceptance of blue-blazing.Today, HP and I were sitting next to the Housatonic when a friendly couple came up to chat. One thing led to another and they offered us a ride into Kent from a parking lot 4 miles before the road crossing where we could hitch in. It was getting late and we wanted to get there before stores closed, so we accepted. Fully intending to hitch back and hike those 4 miles. But the parking lot was miles from Kent on a small, rarely traveled dirt road, and hitching back would have been difficult. So... well... How the mighty have fallen. But I deserved it! A bee stung me today. THREE TIMES.
Date: 2007-08-14
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: clear sky

Deli season continued today with hotdogs and sodas from a stand near the trail.By the way, I'm in New York!An interesting observation: I now enjoy nuts. For those of you who didn't know, I've never been a fan of nuts. I don't even like crunchy peanut butter. I know, I know. It doesn't make sense. But I'm learning.It must be amusing to watch me try to learn which nut is which.Me (holding a cashew): "Pecan?"HP: "No, cashew."Me (holding a peanut): "Almond?"HP: "No, peanut."Me (holding a pecan): "Pistachio?"HP: "No, pecan."Me (holding a cashew): "Peanut?"HP: "Are you kidding? That's a cashew again."
Date: 2007-08-15
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Clarence Fahnestock State Park
Miles today: 16.0

I was turning off my headlamp last night when I noticed a little speck on my arm. It was similar to the dozen or so little specks on my feet and ankles, and it turned out to be a deer tick. I spent several hours with a tweezer and a lighter making sure they were all gone. None were embedded, and I'm going to assume none of them were carrying Lyme disease. I think that making assumptions like that is the safest way to deal with potential illness.The state park has showers! And sinks! With handsoap, which is also body soap, face soap, shampoo, and laundry detergent! I was washing my clothes in the sink when a woman came into the bathroom to use an outlet to blow up her air mattress. Ah, when worlds collide.
Date: 2007-08-16
From: Clarence Fahnestock State Park

To: Bear Mountain Inn parking lot (or, Peekskill)
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

The horror stories about an un-hiker friendly New York don't seem to be true. After a few PUDs (pointless ups and downs), HP and I hitched into Peekskill. Our ride in pulled a u-turn to pick us up. At the coffee shop, a guy named Jason hooked us up with free drinks and food and offered us a place to stay for the night.We hitched out (another easy hitch) and hiked 6 more miles. Highlight: crossing the Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson by headlamp and finding a soda machine on the other side. Jason picked us up outside the Bear Mountain Inn and drove us to his house for a beer, a bagel, a shower and a bed. Wonderful.
Date: 2007-08-17
From: Bear Mountain Inn parking lot (or, Peekskill)

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

Crossed the Palisades Parkway- no walkway! "Welcome to NY- now RUN!"Nothing of importance happened today. I walked up some hills, down again, saw some trees, a lake, etc. Instead of boring you with the details, I'd like to discuss my uncanny ability to spend 10-15 minutes assessing blowdowns. Is the blowdown high or low? Should I go over or under? If I go under, do I do the shuffle-crawl, the duck, or the limbo? Should I take my pack off? If I take my pack off, should I shove it through before me or should I pull it through after me? Now that my pack is off, should I just break for lunch? Will lunch be more satisfying once I'm through the blowdown, or will it make the blowdown that much easier? Maybe I should have a snack while I decide.
Date: 2007-08-18
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: few clouds

A crazy downpour knocked over tents and sent weekend hikers home last night. Only the trail-hardened thru-hikers were still at the shelter in the morning. I had an encounter with an aggressive deer today. I was in my hiking 'zone' and didn't see her until I was right next to her. I let out a little scream, which startled her. She ran off a few steps but stopped and turned around. I grabbed my camera and she started to walked towards me. This was cool until she was a few feet away, at which point I grabbed my pack and ran away.
Date: 2007-08-19
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 17.3

What an incredible day. It's 12:14 and WAY past my bedtime so I'm going to fall back on bullet points and CAPSLOCK to make my points.- Hit a creamery at 10:30am. It didn't open until noon. So we waited. It was worth it.- Ran 16 miles to hit the next ice cream stand before 8pm. Got there at 7:15. It was closed. WHAT?- Tried to hitch into Vernon. No one stopped. Resigned myself to walking the 2.4mi into town.- A German woman and her nephew pulled a u-turn to pick me and HP up.- They took us to the church hostel, where we dropped our packs.- They took us to their SPA. Yes, spa. Where I sat in a hot tub for two hours in my 'bathing suit' (sports bra and undies... hahaha)- Burger King for dinner.- BEDTIME!
Date: 2007-08-20
From: Vernon, NJ

To: Unionville
Miles today: 11.8

I am staying at the mayor's house. "The mayor" is not his trailname. He is actually the Mayor, in the most political sense. House rules:1. When you are in the Mayor's house, it is your house.2. When you flush, jiggle the handle. 3. Don't do ANY dishes.The steep price:A photograph of me, plus the promise of a picture of me on Springer. In other news, I picked up my new trailrunners at the post office in Glenwood. The shoes are incredible. I had forgotten what it is like to walk sans pain.Accompanying the shoes were two new pairs of Smartwool socks. I treasure them for two reasons. First, they lack the permastench of the socks I sent home in a package I'm sure my parents will be thrilled to open. Second, one pair is light green and the other is pink. PINK. Girly pink. I'm in love with them. My gender is virtually unrecognizable out here. I do not bathe, shave, comb my hair, or even glance in a mirror on a regular basis. I do not wear girly outfits, and I do not change my girly outfits a minimum of three times a day. It's not that I don't want to. I just don't have the option. If you photoshopped a beard onto my face, I would be indistinguishable from a hiker dude. But now, with pink socks, I can step confidently onto the trail as a hiker chick. Because I was in a house with a warm shower, and because the mayor had an excess of disposable razors, and because new pink socks deserve smooth legs, I attempted to shave. I'll spare you the details and simply say that the one-bladed disposable razor was no match for the forest that has sprouted on my legs.
Date: 2007-08-21
From: Unionville

To: Unionville
Miles today: 0.0

ET, a hiking buddy from the last few days, stoically headed out into pouring rain this morning. HP and I moved our gear around for a few hours and pretended that we were about leave, but by noon we had fully embraced the zero day.I ventured out into the rain once to procure a lunch of Cinnamon Buns Ben and Jerry's, a bag of peanuts, and a green pepper, but otherwise spent the day lounging about the Mayor's house (my house, according to the rules).
Date: 2007-08-22
From: Unionville

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: mist

My first on-trail 20! 20.1 to be exact. Every tenth counts. I had three encounters with potentially aggressive fauna today. First were the cows. They were lying down, so I wasn't too worried about them. Second were the cow-sized dogs in the field next to the cows. They were large and in charge and I did not trust the flimsy wire fence separating us, so I hurried on. Third was the largish black bear who ran across my path in an eerily quick and silent manner. I also encountered New Jersey's 'high point' today. By high point, they mean small blip on an otherwise perfectly horizontal state.
Date: 2007-08-23
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: Catfish Fire Tower
Miles today: 18.5

I would like to dedicate today to loadlifters. These magical straps, when pulled tight, can make 30 pounds of gear feel like 6. I always knew these straps were magical. When others complained of sore shoulders and backs, I would chuckle knowingly ("are you sure your loadlifters are tightened?") and, more often than not, tightening of the loadlifters solved the problem. Well. I need to learn to take my own medicine. In Maine I pulled on my loadlifters until they seemed tight enough and headed out into the wilderness with confidence. By Vermont my shoulders were sore every night and for the past two weeks shoulder and back pain have slowed me down almost unbearably. And so, over the past two weeks, HP and I have had many variations of the following conversation:Me: If my back doesn't feel better soon I'm not going one step further. Not one step. Not one. Nope. HP: Are your loadlifters tightened?Me: Of course my loadlifters are tightened. HP: But are you sure? They really help.Me, annoyed: They're tightened. I'm not an idiot.HP, reaching for my loadlifters: OK... well... can I just try...Me, more annoyed: They're TIGHT!Today he ignored my annoyance, grabbed my loadlifters, and yanked. And suddenly it seemed as though I was floating. I have been walking in pain for three months and all I had to do was pull the damned straps tighter.
Date: 2007-08-24
From: Catfish Fire Tower

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA!!!
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I am amazed, once again, by my gastric capacities. I demolished an entire Doughboy's pepper and onion pizza by myself. I walked out the door sure that I wouldn't be able to eat anything more, but I was immediately confronted by a sign that said: PIE! followed by an arrow pointing directly to heaven. Let me tell you about this heaven, this pie place. When you walk in you find yourself in front of three tables. Each is covered with pies. The table on the left has large crusted pies and crumble pies of every variety- apple, peach, cherry, raspberry, blueberry. The table in the middle has small ("little giant") pies, also of every variety, plus large and small non-fruit pies. The table on the right is for amateurs- small goodies, no-sugar-added pies and the like- by the tables on the left and in the middle should be enough for any hiker. I chose a hefty little giant blueberry pie and used it to fill the pizza-less spaces of my stomach.
Date: 2007-08-25
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Like so many zeroes, today's zero began with the best of intentions. My wonderful grandparents from New Jersey would come to visit. We would eat breakfast, we would run errands and enjoy each other's company. They would watch me pack my 30lb pack with the satisfaction that only a person NOT about to carry a 30lb pack for days on end can muster, and we would bid each other goodbye in the early afternoon. I would walk at least six miles to the next shelter- or beyond- and pat myself on the back for the completion of a productive day.Let me tell you what really happened. My wonderful grandparents from New Jersey did, indeed, come to visit. We did indeed eat breakfast, run errands and enjoy each other's company. They did watch me pack my 30lb pack, and we did bid each other goodbye in the early afternoon. Aided by my 30lb pack, however, I came to the conclusion that 95 degree heat combined with 95 percent humidity is not ideal for hiking. Having just zeroed in Unionville, however, I felt like I needed to hike. So HP and I decided to rest inside and eat pie all afternoon and hike out at night. And we did in fact rest inside and eat pie afternoon. We also attempted to hike out at night. After a quarter mile we hit the trailhead. So did the bad weather. We heard thunder and the sky turned that dangerous purply color that can only mean: Go inside. And so we did.
Date: 2007-08-26
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: light rain

My first hours in Pennsylvania were spent on ex-railroad beds and a few miles of relatively unrocky terrain. I spent those first hours thinking about how ridiculous the NOBOs are to complain about the rocks of PA. This wasn't so tough.And then I hit the rocks. They were tough. I mentally apologized to all NOBOs. Half of the time they are small, sharp, and everywhere. The other half of the time they are large, sharp, and everywhere, and because they are large they harbor enormous spiderwebs with equally enormous spiders and, potentially, snakes. These rocks are not particularly painful, if you spend time inching your way between and around them. And they do not slow you down much, as long as you don't mind the pain that comes with not inching your way between and around them. For the most part, they are simply and irritatingly THERE.
Date: 2007-08-27
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 15.8

HP and I spent last night with two brothers and one of their sons, all from Brooklyn and all out on their first backpacking trip. They considered us to be expert backpackers- they could "just look at us and tell we'd seen a thing or two"- which was laughable but enjoyable. At times, however, it was worrisome. For example:"Oh, you don't bearbag? I was going to hang my foodbag outside, but if you guys aren't going to then it must not be necessary. I mean, you REALLY know what you're doing. I thought it would be prudent to bearbag, but I guess it's ok not to."What i thought: "Well- no. It is prudent to bearbag. But I just walked twenty miles and I am currently seated, and the conveniently hung mouse rope is much more appealing than the bear rope stuffed in the bottom of my foodbag and currently unnattached to a tree limb 8 feet above ground and 4 feet from the tree trunk."What I said: "Yeah, you'll be fine."I'm spending the night in Palmerton Town Hall. I shot hoops (ok, HP shot hoops and I shot airballs) and I experienced my first banana split. It was delicious.
Date: 2007-08-28
From: Palmerton, PA

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

Using the woods as my toilet has become second nature. I rarely think twice. Recently, however, I've found that I can make it a more enjoyable experience by situating myself over something I don't like. A slug, for instance, or some poison ivy, or the entire state of Pennsylvania ("You want to know what I think of you, PA? TAKE THAT!"). It's not that there's anything particularly terrible about Pennsylvania. The rocks are irritating, sure, but you get used to them. It's just that there's nothing great about Pennsylvania. PA's only redeeming quality is that it will- eventually, hopefully- come to an end.