morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-25
From: Palmerton PA

To: Leroy A Smith Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: few clouds

Started hiking from Palmerton at 6:30 and got on the AT at 7 AM. It was a steep climb but the slope was not in the sun yet. Once on top the trail goes through a wasteland created from zinc wastes of the iron mines nearby. It is now a superfund clean up site. There are rocks at first but then the trail joins an old road bed and the hiking is easy for several miles. "Super Dave" from Florida said he saw 3 immature foxes in the woods here. I caught up to him climbing out of Little Gap and we hiked together the rest of the way (about 11 miles) to the Leroy A Smith Shelter arriving at 1:35...15.8 miles total today.We met Gizmo, the ridgerunner responsible for taking care of some 40+ miles of th AT in this area. He was at Springer Mtn. GA on April 3rd when I started my hike. He told us a bear had been at this shelter the past four nights and to be sure to hang our food bags.Since the bugs were out due to the hot weather, every hiker decided to tent instead of enduring the bugs in the shelter all night. Super Dave, Bearbait and I chose a spot near the trail close to the spring. Others tented back on the trail closer to Wind Gap. It was hot until about 9:30 when it cooled down after the sun set.
Date: 2003-06-26
From: Leroy A Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap PA
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: clear sky

I woke up around 5:15. It was already warmer than yesterday morning. Super Dave said he was planning to only hike 13.8 miles to the next shelter. I was planning to go all the way into Delaware Water Gap (DWG)20.2 miles so I left at 5:45. This section in PA is supposed to contain the worst rocks. I didn't think the rocks were so bad and there were plenty of good roads and smooth trails as well.It was a very hazy day. It felt like it was warmer at 5:30 than it was around 8. But then it really got hot. By the time I got to the Kirkridge Shelter, I needed more water. Besides drinking lots of water, I used my bandana to get cold water at every spring and stream along the way wrapping the wet bandana around my neck after thoroughly wetting down my head, neck, and arms.I arrived in DWG at 1:15 and went straight to the hostel at the Presbyterian Church of the Mountain. The heat index was over 100 degrees today with temperatures pushing 100 along with high humidity. I spent most of the afternoon indoors. Last week I almost had hypothermia hiking into Port Clinton. We went from winter to summer within a day or two.The weekly church hiker potluck is every Thursday evening. Hikers get to go through the line first and helped set up and take down the tables, etc. This hostel has been in operation for hikers around 28 years and has been doing the Thursday night dinner for 16 years. It's a great tradition that is part of the AT experience. I'm glad I was there and felt privileged to be there.At the potluck dinner I met a fellow climber, Dave Childs, who climbed the local cliffs at the request of the National Park Service to see if climbing would have a negative effect on a pair of nesting peregrine falcons (the first pair of nesting peregrines ever in PA for a long time). The birds didn't pay any attention to the climbers and the NPS decided the falcons weren't nesting this year after all. Dave has climbed or attempted to climb Ranier, Denali, and Aconcagua as well as many other peaks.
Date: 2003-06-27
From: Delaware Water Gap PA

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

I spent the day in Stroudsburg with a section hiker. We took the Outfitter shuttle into town then walked all around. We hit the downtown area, Walmart, and ate lunch at Pizza Hut near the mall. I spent about an hour at the library and then we got back to DWG at 6. It was a very hot day. We walked about 6 or 7 miles.
Date: 2003-06-28
From: Delaware Water Gap PA

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

I took the bus to Pottsville. The Stroudsbug bus station is located in DWG. When I went to pay my fare after discovering that they didn't take credit cards, I found I was about 20 cents short. I walked a mile back into town to get some money from the ATM. It was busy and my bus was leaving in 10 minutes. I saw Easy Money at the Outfitters. I asked him if he would give me a quarter. He did and I made it back to the bus station in time to get my ticket and get on the bus. Later I discovered I had $30 hidden in my first aid kit.When I arrived in Pottsville, I showed my brother how to use the library computer to look at my journal. Then we walked about 2 miles to the mall area where we ate at Wendys. He seemed to enjoy the walk. We met our cousin and saw a groundhog up close.
Date: 2003-06-29
From: Delaware Water Gap PA

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

I borrowed my friends car and took my brother and his wife to Heisler's Dairy where we all had teaberry milkshakes and Barry and I hit some golf balls at the driving range. I picked up some dutch cakes and strawberries at Renninger's Farmer's Market and gave one to Barry. He remembered how we used to dunk the dutch cake in cocoa when we were kids. That evening Keith, Betty, and I walked down the Reading railroad, crossed the Schuylkill River bridge which is closed to vehicles now, and came back up Bear Creek Street to Keith's house. We saw a lot of deer. The Schuylkill River has a lot of debris pilled up on the railroad bridge pillars from the recent flooding.
Date: 2003-06-30
From: Delaware Water Gap PA

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

Keith took me to Deer Lake at 10 AM where Karen Monico picked me up and took me to her mother's house in Orwigsburg. Her mom was the secretary at Blue Mountain High when we attended in the 1960's. I helped Karen switch two air conditioners in her mother's apartment while we waited for her mom to get back from counting the Sunday offering from her church. We went to lunch at an Italian place near the old Orpheum movie theater in Orwigsburg...very good! Then we drove to Heisler's again where we had ice cream cones (teaberry again for me). I can't help it, I was dreaming of teaberry ice cream all the way from Georgia.
Date: 2003-07-01
From: Delaware Water Gap PA

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

We went to the library in the morning and then headed for Baltimore where we spent some time at the Inner Harbor before going to the night game (Yankees vs. Orioles) at Camden Yards. I ate my first crab cakes and we saw a free magic show before the game. We stopped by to see some friends of Karen's on the way to Baltimore, but forgot to get a glove from them. We had seats on the third base line about 3 rows from the field. One ball was fouled down the third base line and a guy with a glove caught it about 10 seats to the right of us and several rows up. The Yankees lost, but the statium was nice and the weather perfect.
Date: 2003-07-02
From: Delaware Water Gap PA

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

Karen took me to the bus station in King of Prussia and I got on the bus for DWG arriving around 2 PM. I checked into the hostel and went down to Doughboy's Pizza with Ez-Does-It and another thru-hiker. I had spaghetti; they had pizza. Then EZ and I went to the Mini-Mart and got a few groceries. I got some ice cream as well and stopped by the bakery for a cream puff on the way back to the hostel. You just can't get too many calories. While I was gone I heard that the hostel's donation box was broken into and all the money stolen. The toilet paper in the bathroom was also taken. One of the hikers remarked that it was a sure ticket to hell for whoever did it. It seems that there's always the one percent that ruins it for everyone else. I also think this must have happened before in the 28 years of the hostel's existance. We spent the evening bombarding EZ with questions about what is coming up along the trail. He's hiked the AT twice before and has first hand experience. He said he should charge a dollar a question for his priceless information. That info and the info in the handbooks can indeed save you a lot of grief and sometimes time and money as well.
Date: 2003-07-03
From: Delaware Water Gap PA

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: broken clouds

I left the hostel at DWG and was on the trail immediately at 5:51 AM. I saw 3 deer, a buck, a doe, and a fawn...all separate sightings. Around 10 AM I was coming down the hill to Rattlesnake Spring when I startled a large black bear about 10 yards to the right of me. He ambled about 10 yards further away and then started rooting around for food. He went along with me down the trail keeping his 20 yard buffer. When he found a particularly satisfying log, he started to tear it apart and eat whatever he found in it. I took his photo and stopped at the spring for a long, cold drink.Around 10:30 PM I saw Tucson and two other thru-hikers slack packing (hiking without their packs) southbound back towards DWG. They got a ride to a road and would hike back to DWG so they could stay Thursday evening for the church pot luck free dinner.I saw a pair of scarlet tanagers and a pair of pileated woodpeckers near the beaver pond. I arrived at the Brink Road Shelter a little before 4 PM and went down to get water. The spring was cold and deep, but the bugs were terrible. I found some leamonade powder and cookies in the bear proof box which I took with me back up the hill to tent near the trail. After setting up my tent, I fought off the bugs until I had dinner cooked, my food hung, and was snug in my mosquito proof tent. It was hot at first, but I finally cooled off and by 3:30 AM I woke up cold and crawled into my sleeping bag.
Date: 2003-07-05
From: Secret Shelter (Murray's)

To: Vernon NJ
Miles today: 13.6

I packed up my tent and was on the trail by 6:35. This was the hottest and buggiest day of the entire hike so far. If the bugs get any worse than this, I'm going home. I went through more swamps and marshes today than anywhere elsa so far. I saw a turkey vulture feasting on a road-kill opossum. He let me get real close before he flew away and almost flew right into an oncoming truck. I rescued a box turtle on the middle of the Warkill River bridge. I figured he probably wouldn't make it to the other side without getting run over, so I picked him up and put him in some weeds next to the river's edge.Then to my surprise after walking down a paved road for a half mile or so, the trail went off to the right onto Warkill National Wildlife Refuge. It's a wetland refuge built on an old sewer pond system surrounded by a swamp perfect for breeding mosquitoes. I held off until around 8 AM to put on my DEET repellant, but the rest of the day would only get worse. I had a cloud of hungry followers all the way across miles of swamps and cattail marshes until I made it to NJ Highway 94 and the Heavenly Hill Farm store where I got a cherry vanilla milkshake. I then walked the 2.5 miles into Vernon NJ to the St. Thomas Episcopal church hostel. The hostel is very nice and meets all the hikers main needs: phone, hot shower, laundry, fuel, food, cool clean place to sleep, etc. It even has free Internet service and a computer for hikers to use. I only did 13.6 miles today, but I spent several hours on the computer and did some grocery shopping for the next 5 days. I need to make some phone calls and get some dinner now. New Jersey is a very beautiful state and the hiking is varied and challenging.
Date: 2003-07-06
From: Vernon NJ

To: Mombasha High Point
Miles today: 21.1

I left St. Thomas Hostel at 7:15 with NewZealander. We got a hitch from Butch Cassidy and started hiking on the trail by 7:25. I caught up with Walkabout and had him take my photo at the NJ/NY state line twice (the trail crossed the border several times it appears). At Wildcat Shelter I took a long break and a nap. Little Mermaid (a guy from Ohio) and I saw a 3-foot garter snake which crawled under the shelter. A bi-wing plane flew over us as we hiked and I took a few photos. We hiked by Greenwood Lake and had some magnificent views all day long from the rocky peaks we were forced to climb. I finished the 21.1 mile day by camping with Kiwi and Dreamwalker on top of the Mombasha High Point, a rocky outcrop from where you can see the New York City skyline and lights at night. They were visible almost due south about 35 miles of our location. It was a beautiful tentsite.
Date: 2003-07-08
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Graymoor Friary
Miles today: 15.2

Started hiking at 7:19 on a hot, humid, partly cloudy day. After crossing the Palisades Interstate Parkway which had heavy and dangerous traffic on the inbound (to NYC) lanes, but almost no traffic on the outbound lanes, I climbed up to the top of Bear Mountain where I went past Perkins Tower. I saw the tower earlier in the day and wondered if I would be hiking by it. There was no water there due to ongoing repairs, but I got a can of iced tea from a soda machine by the restrooms.I descended the steep trail down the other side and came to the Bear Mountain Inn where I looked all over for food. The restaurant and snack bar were not yet open (it was 10 AM) and all I could find was an ice cream machine where I bought an orange popsickle for $1. I then meandered through the zoo where I took a photo of the bear cage, the lowest elevation on the entire Appalachian Trail at 124 feet above sea level. Two bears were in the cage, but hidden from the camera. As I left the zoo I crossed Hudson River on the Bear Mountain suspension bridge and looked over and saw Little Mermaid crossing the bridge on Hwy 9W into Fort Montgomery, NY for groceries.The rest of the way to Graymoor was fairly easy and I arrived at 1:50 PM at the ball field where I immediately took a nice cold shower and washed my clothes. Other hikers drifted in and soon there were seven of us awaiting a frier to tell us how to get dinner. The friar arrived punctually at 4:30 and told us we would be eating at 5:30. He asked if anyone had medical needs, needed food to get to the next town, or needed a ride to town for any reason. We were greeted at the dining area by the friar who escorted us to dinner, gave us a tour of Graymoor, and told us about the surrounding area. We had a delicious dinner of vegetable soup, Romaine salad w/grape tomatoes, cucumbers, etc., a pasta dish with cauliflower and brocolli, rolls, chicken salad, and iced tea. We were told we had to be through eating by 6. We were all done by 5:45 and all the food was gone. Although we were still hungry, we were satisfied with a meal which would have cost us $10-12 at a restaurant.I tented on the ballfield. It was a 15.2 mile interesting day.
Date: 2003-07-09
From: Graymoor Friary

To: Telephone Pioneer Shelter
Miles today: 35.5
Weather: moderate rain

I left Graymoor at 5:55 and was back on the trail by 6:05. I needed an early start today since I planned to do 19 miles. My plans changed. It had threatened rain all night and today the sky was ominous with thick, low clouds. I knew it was going to rain soon when I saw a milk snake crawling under a rock on the trail. I got a photo of the last half of him as he sought shelter. I didn't, and soon was hiking in the pouring rain. I counted 41 red salamanders today. At the Bear Mountain Zoo I found out the difference between red efts and red salamanders. The red efts, a temporary phase of the Newt, the salamander is orange with red dots. The red salamander is orange with orange dots inside the black circles. In the southern part of the trail I was seeing some efts and some red salamanders and wasn't sure why some had red dots and others didn't. Now I know they were two different animals. I also saw 3 cottontails, 1 green frog, and 2 deer.I stopped for lunch at Dennytown Road and got water from a spigot on the building there. The guidebook says there is a pump there. There is, but it is not working. Now a spigot on the side of the building has replaced the pump. Just after my break, I hiked into the woods to discover a pile of soda left by a former thru-hiker. I drank one and took another for later. I got to the RPH Shelter, my original destination for the day, around 1 PM. After a second lunch, three of us decided to press on. I hiked to NY Hwy 52 where I took a 0.5 mile detour down the road to a pizza place with a deli next door. I split a pizza with Little Mermaid and got a soda and milk at the deli. I also phoned my wife and took a long break. I was there from 3:30 to 5. I hiked another 11.5 miles to the Telephone Pioneers Shelter arriving at 9:10 PM. On the way I took a photo of an American flag painted on Mt Egbert as a memorial for 9-11-2001. I hiked around Nuclear Lake and took a photo of it when it was almost dark. Towards the end of my hike I realized that the days are now getting shorter when it got dark on my by 9 PM. I fell down going down a steep hill and decided to put on my headlamp at 9:03. I was just 50 feet from the sign for the trail to the shelter. The light helped me negotiate the short trail and I arrived at the shelter by 9:10 and was in my sleeping bag liner by 9:27. Today turned out to be my longest day so far at 35.5 miles. I also hiked an extra 1.2 miles going to the pizza place and getting water at the Morgan Stewart Shelter where I visited shortly with Super Dave, a section hiker I met in PA. So altogether I hiked 36.7 miles today. I'm tired!
Date: 2003-07-10
From: Telephone Pioneer Shelter

To: Kent CT
Miles today: 21.7

I started hiking at 5:40 and arrived at the Dover Oak, perhaps the largest tree on the trail, at sunrise. I took several photos and then headed up the hill through tall, wet grass where I spooked a feeding deer. Soon I got to the railroad tracks were a speeding train surprised me. I took a photo of the Appalachian Trail train station, just a woodedn platform next to the track. Then I walked 100 feet to NY Hwy 22 and turned right to hike down the road to Tony's Deli where I purchased a breakfast sandwich, four fruit pies, and a pint of ice cream. EZ-Does-It told me about a hot dog stand left of the trail on Hwy 22 so I hurried back to the trail to find it. I saw it in a rest stop parking area left of the trail and was excited about more food. It didn't look like it was open yet, so I asked. They said they would be open at 9:30. It was only 8:40 so I hiked on disappointedly. I was very tired today with no energy after the 35.5 miles yesterday. But just after leaving the hot dog stand, I was going across a farm field with tall grass. My toes were hurting even more than they were yesterday. I changed my socks yesterday to lighter ones which seemed to help a little. But today even the light socks hurt. Finally, I took off my shoes and socks and trimmed my toenails. Then I put on my heavy socks and every thing felt much better. I also loosened my shoelaces which gave my toes more room. Once before I had felt something cutting into my toes and after trimming my toenails, it stopped.I continued up the hill through the farm fields and felt much better. I saw a fawn on the trail ahead. It kept running ahead of me on the trail, but wouldn't get off. I didn't blame it because the tall grass on either side of the trail was soaking wet. I was soaked from hiking through it. So I stopped and got my camera ready. Soon the fawn stopped running away and started walking timidly towards me. It would put its white flag (tail) up and then let it down, move closer, tail up, tail down, move closer, until it was about 15 feet away. I kept taking photos and enjoyed its curiosity. It was an older fawn that still had its spots. I only saw 5 red salamanders today which is about normal for a day on the trail. Yesterday was a record setting day for red salamanders.The last 10 miles into Kent was very rocky with lots of PUDS (pointless ups and downs). I saw two fly fishermen at the junction of Ten Mile River and the Housatonic River. Connecticut is not the best trail building state. Even the water bars are constructed so they are difficult to cross when hiking. It seems every thing is done to make the trail more difficult rather than easier. Or maybe I was just plain tired. I arrived in Kent at 5:30 PM; 21.7 miles today.
Date: 2003-07-11
From: Kent CT

To: Caesar Brook Campsite
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: light rain

Just before I left Kent I found out that the hostel at St. Andrews Episcopal church closed today for the rest of the year. The pastor said the hostel was only supposed to be open during May and June and that he left it open until today. I got to stay in it the last night it was open. It's good I did a 35 mile day to get here a day early or I would have missed out on a place to stay. I left and got on the trail at 1:50 PM. Caleb's Peak and St. John's ledges were impressive, especially coming down the steep ledges. I should have been a mountain goat. The trail along the Housatonic River was nice and flat, a good relief from the ledges. I called several small birds into sight including a white-brested nuthatch and a yellow-rumped warbler. I camped with Little Mermaid at Caesar Brook Campsite arriving 6 minutes after it started to rain at 7:33 PM. Not a bad day for a late start.
Date: 2003-07-12
From: Caesar Brook Campsite

To: Plateau Campsite
Miles today: 20.0

Started hiking at 6:35 and soon came upon Lime Rock Park, a Grand Prix racetrack where Formula One cars were racing. They come from all over the world to race here. We could see the cars and part of the track from the viewpoints on the trail. Crossing the Housatonic River at Route 7 I met a girl throwing brownies off the bridge to paddlers down on the river in canoes and kayaks. I met Ann Cuddy and Bob Dickenson, trail maintainers, cutting overhanging brush from the trail just past the Mohawk Trail. I stopped to rest at a spring at the south edge of Prospect Mountain. When I started to hike again I left my camera there. I didn't discover it until I got over the mountain and almost to Salisbury. I went into town and ate, got groceries, and called my wife. Then I set up camp 0.9 miles out of town at Plateau Campsite. Later that night I called my wife again and got to bed around 9:30. The grocery store in Salisbury has a great deli that makes good grinders (submarine sandwiches). I also ate another half gallon of ice cream.
Date: 2003-07-13
From: Plateau Campsite

To: Hemlocks Lean-to
Miles today: 13.2

I decided to go back and look for my camera after telling several thru-hikers and two ridge runners that I lost it. I hitched a ride from a schrimshaw artist who took me to the falls and back. No luck. I need to buy a new camera.I finished hiking the day with a guy my age who hikes 20 miles up and down mountains to stay in shape. I arrived at the Hemlock shelter at 1:20 and camped for the night.
Date: 2003-07-14
From: Hemlocks Lean-to

To: Eastern Mtn Retreat Center
Miles today: 16.4

Started hiking at 6:33. It is a beautiful morning with gorgeous views from Mt. Bushnell of distant mountains with fog below. Rats! No camera! I got to US7 around 8:45 after taking a detour on roads to avoid a flooded area of the trail. I walked 4 miles into Gt. Barrington MA and ate breakfast, got on the Internet at the library for half an hour, and than hitched a ride 3 more miles to K-Mart to get a new camera. I also ate lunch at McDonalds and got groceries at a Price Chopper market. Then I hitched another ride all the way back to the AT and started hiking again at 3:15PM. There was a cooler of cokes and candy bars at the trailhead. I took one of each.The mosquitoes were bad this morning going through some boggy areas after coming off the mountain. This afternoon they were worse. I refused to put any DEET on and just walked faster arriving at MA Route 23 at 6:20 and got picked up by a lady who saw me and turned around and came back to offer me a ride to wherever I wanted to go. I told her I was going to the hostel and she drove me right to the door, 1.5 miles from the trail. I got in around 6:35, did my laundry, took a shower, ate, and went to bed around 9 PM. The lady at the hostel also provided a phone so I could call my wife. It's a buddist retreat center so it was very quiet...very nice.