morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-26
From: Windsor Furnace

To: Palmerton Superfund
Miles today: 35.6

I woke up today, greeted by the two locals in the shelter and a small congomerate of thru-hikers who had chosen to pitch their tents in the rain. I guess their just hardcore. I was informed by one of these thruhikers that the section from here to DWG (Deleware Water Gap) was the one with the "big rocks". Personally, I found the small rocks to be more tedious.The trail began with a climb up to Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle. The views were excellent (for Pennsylvannia) and obviously popular, the trail was fairly crowded with day hikers. Their were a few rocks, but I was constently finding myself thinking "hmm the big rocks must be coming soon" only to find that I was already on the "big ones".After a relatively long climb up from the Eckville mini-hostel the trail settled into its familiar ridge-walking routine. The endless fields of baseball-sized knife-like rocks were starting to grate on my nerves, especially the ones in my feet. I didn't see anyone for some time, until I came to Bake Oven Knob. The locals appeared to take the name a wee bit to seriously, and I felt half-baked by the time I had finished the short rise to the top. The view from the top was excellent, but I didn't linger to long. The grass up here smelt a bit too strong.I got to the Outerbridge Shelter at around 8:00, and began an internal debate as to whether or not I should move on. It was a nice night, and the chance of rain seemed distant, but you never now. Then fate decided to give me a kick in the but and sent me a Montley Crew of New Yorkers, complete with loud, obnoxious voices, backpacks, shopping bags, duffel bags, a case of beer and other random assortments of wilderness essentials groaning up the mountian, on a quest for a night of drunken outdoor revelrey, steaks cooked on a campfire, and fireworks. I left two minutes later.The superfund site was strangely beautifull. The climb up to the top wasnt so much rocky as it was cliff-like, requirng the use of hands nearly the whole way up and making me feel invreasingly glad that I was traveling north, and thus up this portion of "trail". This site has been poisoned by years of zinc smelting and as such as no vegetation, or soil due to the erosion. I am fairly ashamed to admit it but I kind of liked this stretch. The bare rocks and red sky were a sharp contrast to anything else id seen so far this summer. I truely enjoyed my evening, until I began looking for a campsite. The area looked as though it had just been on the reciving end of an US shock and awe campaign, and there wasnt a suitable campsite to be found. Rubble is not a comfy sleeping surface. Luckily, the lack of trees extended the amount of daylight I had. Eventually I found a small grove of trees with a grassy floor. After a short internal debate I decided to put up my tarp. I am now in bed, watching the stars emerge.
Date: 2004-06-27
From: Palmerton Superfund

To: Water Gap
Miles today: 35.0
Weather: overcast clouds

For most of the day today I was miserable, and DWG was the only thing in my mind. After a morning walk through the superfund site, past a few foxes and many scraggely trees overlooking a fog filled valley, I was back in the forest, navigating the endless carpet of knives.At one point my feet began to ache from the constant sparp points digging into my arch. I took of my shoes to see them blodied and a massive blister forming underneath my more massive calluses. The rest of the day was fairly painfull.Near Wind Gap I suddenly spotted something large and black strolling down the trail in front of me. Suddenly I realized that it was a black bear. A massive black bear. In fact, by far the largest I had seen on the AT so far (I'd seen over twenty). It obviously didnt know I was there, so, in order to avoid startling it, I picked up and dropped a rock onto another (aiming wasn't necassary) in order to draw attention to myself. Most bears, as soon as they spot me, run as fast as they can away from me. This one turned, looked at me with a bored/tired expression, and continued to stroll. I was at a loss. I continued to follow the bear, wondering how I could get past it (the damn thing was delaying my date with a pizza place) after about five minutes of walking about twenty yards behind it, the bear turned and meandered of into the brush. I couldn't help checking behind me for a few minutes after i'd passed it.I reached DWG to find the church hostel closed. I searched in vain for another hiker to split a room with (I desperatly needed a shower to wash off Pennsylvannia, and to clean my feet) failing and settled on finding a pizza instead. Dinner was a 16" supreme and two liters of Ginger Ale. I hope I'm not kept awake by gas.By the time I checked in to the Ramada I could barely walk. My feet were too tender even to soak in water, but I forced the issue. I dont know how Im going tro get out of here in the morning.
Date: 2004-06-28
From: Water Gap

To: Brinks Road
Miles today: 24.8

Getting up took a while today. Walking was extremely painfull, I cleaned out and bandaged my feet, hoping that either my feet would fear better, or that I at least become habituated to the pain.I destroyed the hotel's continental breakfast, eating all of their frozen waffels and kiling off their butter as well. Revenge for an overpriced room. I limped out of town and over the Deleware River, and said a cheerful goodbye to Pennsylvania.I left town late (at around 1200) and walked slowly, taking multiple breaks to rest my feet. The terrain wasnt remarkably different from PA's, though it was, for the most part, noticably less rocky. The forest in this area had a strange quality to them, however. In the mid-atlantic I'd noticed that the understory is remakably less thick than in the south. In NJ esspecially the small trees and shrubs are few, alowing me to see much further through the forest then before, and also increasing the views of the surrounding terrain, very pretty.I decided to stop at brink's road shelter when I was within five miles of it, because it looked as though rain was likely. 1/2 mile away from the shelter I stopped for about 30 mins to eat dinner in a clearing on top of the ridge, and to watch the sun go behind the massive clouds bearing down on me. I was joined by Biscuit, who commented that the spot was indeed "wicked nice" (Massachusetts native). We walked down to the shelter together.The shelter was packed with a crowd of hikers up for the night. I was slightly pissed that they hadn't given up their spots for the crowd of thruhikers that had gathered, (about 6 of us) but there was nothing to do but set up my tarp. I hope it doesnt rain, I hate dealing with a wet tarp.
Date: 2004-06-29
From: Brinks Road

To: High Point
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

Last night I was treated to a massive thunderstorm. The flat pitch I was on was in the middle of a slanting hill, so trickles of water crept onto my ground cloth. Cursing and unable to find my flashlight, I used the lightening to organize my stuff and fix it so that my sleeping bag stayed dry.   I had to maintain a fairly rigid sleeping position though.I woke up and packed my wet gear, trying my best not to wake anyone else. As I stumbled over rocks hidden in the soaking (verb) grass. I made the unfortunate mistake of looking where I put my feet and ran headlong into a half fallen tree. After I completed my bizarre dance and song consisting of leaps, groans, and wails, and clutching at my bleeding scalp. I pushed over the log completely to the ground. That¢ll teach it.I had been looking forward to the bakery all morning and recent events had only sharpened my desire. However, when I reached the pass I found it was closed. The owner had died.Now entirely crushed and beaten I called my Mom. We had been planning on meeting tomorrow so that I could be home for ten days to watch the cat while the rest of my family went to Europe. However, my Mother informed me that I was to come home today. It was too far for my Mom to make the drive, so I needed to ride the bus home. Though disappointed because I had wanted to make it to New York, I acquiesced. Because this shortened my day to a considerable extent, I wandered over to a pub and ate some really bad chicken wings.The day finally began improving after that. The section from suches?? to High Point. was really quite pretty and the blueberries were starting to ripen. I got to High Point at around 3:00 pm and began to hitch a ride. I got a lift from a well digger who worked in NYC. We discussed light topics such as mercury poisoning from landfills to bodies floating in the East River. He left me at the Point Jervis Station. The train station was any assistance being closed late because it was a work day.I tried asking several people directions to the bus station. No one would answer me or even talk to me except the cab company. One of the drivers (an elderly lady going in that direction) offered to take me for free. I almost died of shock.The ride home was trippy. The vast majority of people tried to avoid me at all costs, the rest asked me for money. When I was finally out of change and small bills , I told them I just didn¢t have anymore.My Mom picked me up in DC, but not after getting lost on the way and driving through some slums. I was exhausted and could think of nothing but sleep. (I¢ll be back on the
Date: 2004-07-10
From: High Point

To: high point monument
Miles today: 1.2

I left home on the metro at noon. A train left for NY in 20 min, so I decided to take that route instead of riding the bus. I wasn't planning on an hour of confusing. I wasn¢t planning on an hour of confusion as I tried to find the right train to go to Port Jervis, the problem was that each train going in that direction had different stops. Eventually I was on the New Jersey Commuter watching NYC recede in the distance and reading a magazine I¢d picked up off the seat. I reached Port Jervis around 7:30 and began asking around for a ride. This slow process led me to Henry and Carolyn, who was quite drunk. They said they would take me to the trail, but first, we were going to go to the fair to have some fun.In the car going towards the fair, Henry and I discussed the media and the corporate control/corruption of politicians, while Carolyn described to me how her (flight?? attendant) led her to Saudi Arabia where she had to deal with ¢sand n------¢, who didn¢t know what a toilet was. We spent 2&1/2 hours at the fair, eating greasy food, drinking cheap beer and riding the Ferris wheel. All in all I had a good time with my new friends. Soon we were joined by a new couple they knew well. There was a decent fire works display and Carolyn¢s rambling seldom failed to entertain. They eventually dropped me off at around 10:30 pm I walked for a little but I lost the trail on a park road and gave up reaching the shelter even thought it was ¢verboten¢ to camp in the park. I crashed on some pavement next to an overlook. Soft bed don¢t let me sleep anyway.
Date: 2004-07-11
From: high point monument

To: NY17A
Miles today: 34.6

I woke at 7:30 to the sound of a prison bus pulling in to the nearby bathroom to perform cleaning duties. The Guard wandered over. ¢You stay here last night?¢I began to give my story hoping he¢d cut me some slack. I was lucky. He responded, ¢I don¢t care about that , but don¢t you know there¢s wild animals out here?¢¢The thought had crossed my mind.¢¢Just making sure.¢On my way out he passed in his van. ¢Hey man, we lost a toilet brush . . .let me know if you find it. ¢ ¢Yeah, OK¢ I said, wondering how I could possibly fulfill such a task. I got to High Point Shelter at 9 am and chatted with Ray Hi and 2cents, a crazy redhead from Israel, whogave me some messages to pass on. I hiked over low but steep mountains and over some large swamps. The day was mostly flat with occasional short but intense climbs to a ridge. As evening approached I grew desparate for a camp site until I settle for a small bare patch next to a highway. The sky was clear so I didn¢t bother to set up my tarp. I just hope the bears don¢t get wise to my presence.
Date: 2004-07-12
From: NY17A

To: bear mtn 
Miles today: 30.0

I was on the trail at 7:00 this morning. I lucked out last night, almost immediately after I began hiking the sky became overcast. it was going to rain.I walked over rocky ridge and past old stone walls that looked as thought they could use the attention of Robert Frost and his neighbor. I spent a good portion of the day wandering around looking for water, until it started raining. Rain has a tendency to prevent thirst. I crossed over an interstate and onto a dirt road, walking up into a rather pretty forest. The forest had no understory and was basically maples and oaks with a grass carpet. It had a slight mythical feel. At some point the blazes change from white to white with red triangles.   About two hours later I began to hear cars¢loud cars, in large amounts. 5 minutes later I was staring at the same interstate I¢d passed earlier in the day. I had gone in a 6 mile loop.The rest of my day was ruined. I hiked with methodical force, punishing myself and my trail for this blunder. I knew it was useless, but I couldn¢t help it.The views were all clouded because of the rain, but I couldn¢t help but enjoy Bear Mtn. anyway. I reached Bear¢s Den Inn and enjoyed the best chili I¢ve ever had and the adjacent Park had a few sheltered picnic areas that would be empty for a while because 1) It was 9 pm 2) It was pouring.   I crashed on the cement. It almost feels softer than a shelter floor.
Date: 2004-07-13
From: bear mtn 

To: Morgan Stewart
Miles today: 35.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at 6:30 and it was cold and raining, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. I woke up later and it was colder and raining even harder. I cursed the sky and got up. I put on my still wet socks (no sense in getting out the dry ones) and headed out. I got to the zoo before it opened in the morning. Being the rebellious sort, I checked to make sure no one was around and climbed over the 10 ft, slime-covered, sharp topped wooden fence. It took about 10 minutes. For my efforts I was treated to the disheartening sight of animals behind bars. I was, however, able to recognize that my companions near Palmertown were silver foxes. (Previously, I hadn¢t been sure whether they were of the silver or red variety.) I crossed the Hudson and climbed back into the hills. Eventually, the rain stopped, so I was able to take off my poncho and let my body breathe. This section of New York is very pretty. It¢s a shame I didn¢t have a day to match it. After a longer than intended stop at a Deli/Pizza Joint/convenience store(the pizza added credibility to Bilbo¢s claim that the best pizza is in New York.)   I rolled into Morgan Stewart well after dark. Luckily Luckless is in Journal mode too.
Date: 2004-07-14
From: Morgan Stewart

To: stewart Hollow
Miles today: 36.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I moved at a crawl this morning going about 2.5 miles per hour. Part of this was due to an earler break at a hot dog stand, but that couldn¢t explain everything.I reached Connecticut at 2:30. The first thing the trail does in Conn. is play tag with the Housatonic River. for about forty miles. River walk, then up, then down, and back to the river again. When I first saw the river it looked swift and there were rapids, but further north there were places where you could only tell the flow of the river by the bend of the freshwater vegetation. After a quick resupply in Kent, I was back out. Moving more rapidly now because of the encroaching darkness. I got to the hut and found it occupied with four hikers. As they tried to make room, one left in a huff to make camp. I felt bad, but it wasn¢t like the shelter was full.
Date: 2004-07-15
From: stewart Hollow

To: Hemlocks
Miles today: 40.0
Weather: light rain

I¢d caught wind of a hiker feed 17ish miles from camp (to be held today) so making it there as soon as possible became a major priority. The quantity of food was truly massive and I dug into everything. The trail crossed the river again, went past a privy (I almost forgot to stock up on toilet paper again. That could have been bad.) and up to a trickle of waterfall. I steadily got closer to the border. Unfortunately it had begun to rain, but at least I was cold or anything, so I hadn¢t begun to mind yet. By the time I was on Bear Mtn it had stopped raining but it was chilly. I started my amble down to the border until I found myself on my ass. I cursed, got up, and with my very next step rolled head over heels into a sort of spread eagle sprawl head first onto the trail. The rocks were slippery.I suddenly didn¢t feel like pushing on past dark anymore. You can¢t see rocks like that and they¢re easy to slip on, but I didn¢t have any choice unless I wanted to risk getting rained on.Hiking late does have its advantages. The star on top of mt Everett were exquisite. Above me the night seemed as clear as deep space, and the ground and shrubs were black as night. There was a reddish glow to the east, a sign of human habitat. I wanted to take a picture but I knew it would never come out. So I set off and fell down the Mountain.I got to Hemlock Shelter at 11ish, unpacked quietly as I could. This trail is surprising me more each day and it¢s supposed to get even better.
Date: 2004-07-16
From: Hemlocks

To: cheshire
Miles today: 65.6

I am exhausted sitting next to the Cheshire PO, after hiking for 23 hrs straight. I went a little nuts.I wanted to avoid a zero day Sunday, so I set out in the morning with the idea of walking until I reached Cheshire. I knew I would be walking for a while so I took it easy with some success, I wasn¢t feeling tired but I took longer breaks than normal anyway. I ran into a friend from William and Mary. One of my life¢s all time random meeting. Luckily the topography of the day was on my side. I was, however, having some water difficulties. I reached Jerusalem Rd. where there is a spring, but the visible portion wasn¢t even a trickle. It fell into a large stagnant cistern with dead annelids inside. No way.I rooted around a bit and noticed a black pipe coming out of the ground. I followed it with my eyes and noticed that some water was spraying out of a small puncture. The water there must be in high volume because it was under pressure. I set to work with my knife trying to enlarge the hle. In the process I slipped and sliced my finger. Blood was coming out faster than water now.Pissed, I put pressure on it with some TP, then went back to work making a much bigger hole than necessary just for spite. I finally walked off with my water. 20min and a bleeding finger for a liter of spring water, but it tasted good. As darkness approached, I began to slip and stumble on the still slick roots and branches. Eventually, I gave up on the trail and set out on a longer but less hazardouse road route through the town of western Mass. At this point my legs are starting to scream and weaken, my eyes are attempting to force their way down and my brain keeps hearing a voice saying ¢lay down here¢or here.¢ That¢s a good spot, just lie down a second.¢ Eventually I forced my legs into submission and I attempted to appease my eyes and brain with food.When that didn¢t work I stopped at a gas station to get some coffee (one advantage of never drinking coffee is that when I really need a boost, like now, it doesn¢t take much.) The coffee put me in overdrive for an hour. But then I was back to normal except that I had to pee a lot. I got back on the trail at daybreak. and stumbled through nine miles of mosquito infested forest that I hardly remember now¢two hours later. It¢s time for some sleep.
Date: 2004-07-17
From: cheshire

To: North Adams
Miles today: 14.0

I took care of my PO stuff and got some lunch (Calzone at Christina¢s---Superb). The day was young so I decided to hike on to the other side of Graylock before finding a place to stay. (I needed a shower bad, because I was having chaffing issue.For half an hour, I stumbled up the mountain in a daze. Falling asleep while walking and waking up when I started to fall towards the ground. Eventually, I gave up, laid down and fell asleep for an hour and a half. I was woken up at 1:30 by mosquitoes having a feast on a pair of nasty, bug-riddled legs that were attached to me. I got up and started walking, still tired but noticeably more clear headed than before. It only took me twenty minutes to realize that I was walking in the wrong direction.Eventually I did make it to the top, I wandered around various developments (toilet, lodge, war memorial) and headed down. I got to the road at about 7:30. The first thing I did was all you can eat Chinese, the second was buy groceries, the third was find a hotel. I should have changed the order. I walked two miles with full grocery bags in tow, only to find that the Holiday Inn was full. The closest other hotel was 3 miles back toward the trails, half a mile from where I¢d reached the road.I sat and pondered my situation until a man walked in looking for a room. The clerk sent him to the other hotel and I, desperately, asked him for a ride This motel cost $99 a night. There was no phone, it stank of cigarettes, the shower was mildewed, and the water temp is constantly changing. I should have just waited until Hanover.
Date: 2004-07-18
From: North Adams

To: Neuheim
Miles today: 20.0

Short and easy today. I didn¢t wake up until 10:00 and I spent the better part of the morning eating corn muffins and watching ESPN talking about the Tour de France. I eventually dragged myself out of bed and onto the trail. As soon as I hit the Vermont border, I noticed a dramatic change in the trail ¢Mud. Apparently, Southern Vermont had received ten straight days of rain, and it showed. I met a few (SoBo¢s) South bounder¢s today. As well as a bunch of (LTer¢s) Long Trail hikers going from Canada to Mass thru Vermont. the combination of high hiker volume and mud has put an obvious strain on the trail. I don¢t want to see the damage a week from now. I got to the shelter about an hour after the rain started. It was nearly full but the LTer¢s moved over to make some room (Thanks dudes). I¢m still exhausted from Fri/Sat so I think I¢ll sleep like a rock.
Date: 2004-07-19
From: Neuheim

To: Spruce Peak
Miles today: 36.1
Weather: light rain

I thought the mud was bad yesterday. The morning started with rain and it continued throughout the day¢sometimes hard, sometimes soft. The clouds would look like they were about to crack until ¢BOOM. It poured like a breached dam. The trail started with a climb into a cloud to the next shelter. It would have had an awesome view on a clear day, instead it was a wall of white. Still at the shelter from the night before was Strumstruck, an LT thru-hiker. I took a break and ate some trail mix while he attempted to leave. He could not, however, find the AT/LT. He walked around in circles for about 15 minutes, while the rain came down harder and harder. I watched with a combination of humor and sympathy, but I wasn¢t in a hurry to get out from under the roof. The rain slowed and I set off through the black mire that used to be a trail. At one point I hooked up with Trunks and we hiked together for about two hours. It was nice to have some company. Eventually I left him behind and continued wade across Vermont. There was thick mud and thin mud, deep mud and shallow mud. There were mud slickes which sent you skidding and foot deep holes that .looked like solid ground, but swallowed your foot and bruised your ankle when you slammed your foot on it. I was black from the soles of my shoes to my knees when I reached the shelter. (Two sleeping inhabitants even though it was 8:15.) I have plenty of daylight left to enjoy. This is kind of pleasant I wonder what it would be like if it weren¢t raining.