morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-22
From: DWG Backpacker Campground

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: light rain

Miserable rainy day today. We were initially going to stay in camp when we woke up and was cloudy, but decided against it and pushed on. It opened up and started dumping on us about 10 minutes after we started. We had a small adventure trying to figure out how to pitch the fly from the hammock to keep our stuff dry - that was fun in the rain. We ended up getting something figured out - it ended up being pretty cool sitting there under the fly watching the rain hit the lake. After it cleared up, we got going again. The afternoon was shitty because it was all grassy fields; brushing up against wet grass really got my boots soaking fucking wet. It was a super foggy too, so the views weren't all that hot. We pulled into the outdoor center here and paid to stay in the lodge - A chance to try and dry out our shit. A bunch of people ended up showing up - stumblebum, Slancho, Medium Pace, st. Rick, and Betty. there's a fireplace and a radio - we had the classical station on all afternoon, so it was like an oasis of civilization in the ocean of wilderness. Listen to me. This is day 3 and I talk like I've been out for a year.Latest in the search for a trailname - Bacon and gouda were suggested to be paired: a themed way with cheddar. I don't know how I feel about that. I suggested something from the Mega Man School of Boss Naming - an animal and an incongruous adjective (or is it a gerund?) e.g. Pouncing Aardvark. We'll see. St. Rick and Sloncho have quite a history - they've been passing each other back and forth for the last five months. Sitting here listening to them give each other shit was priceless. The people out here are really amazing - I wish I could take a section of the trail home and show it to people - everyone would wonder why they've not hiked it themselves yet.
Date: 2004-06-23
From: Springer Mtn.

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

So today, I decided that my trail name will be bacon. Seems like a good thing to go with Eileen's name Cheddar. Hiked most of the day with Sloucho, Medium Pace, stumblebum, and st. Rick - is cool to have other people around. Definitely keeps things lively.Trail magic from Desperado at the shelter tonight - lemon cookies and kool-aid. It's amazing to me that there are such good feelings around the trail that people come back to do nice things for the through hikers. I think the trail is doing something to my mind - I have all these interesting thought during the day that I want to write down, but then I pretty much am ready to collapse after I eat dinner.I'm holding up all right - I'm not really sore anywhere except for my feet. Holy crap they hurt.Saw another bear today just as we were leaving the outdoor center - snake sunning itself on the trail and a turkey late in the day. The hike was pretty today, but the shelter is just over-ridden with bags. My legs and feet are getting eaten alive - even through socks.
Date: 2004-06-24
From: Brink Road Shelter

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: clear sky

Lunch today at Delmonico Grill in calvin's gap. Guess the metabolism is picking up a bit; ate a 1/2 pound burger with no problem - would have been a chore before. Little hotter today than it's been - was a little tough. I should start writing in the motning - my mind is wiped.
Date: 2004-06-25
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: clear sky

The mosquitos continue to be viscous. I really hope it's not this way for the rest of the trip. New Jersey needs bats to eat all the bugs. Maybe I'll start trying to introduce them into NJ wilderness.Last night at the shetler there was a familiy who was hiking with their 10 month old daughter - She was too damn cute. It was supremely cool that the parents figured out a way to include their kid in the plans. She seed to be having a grand old time and was definitely the center of attention. More trail magic last night from Desperado - cookies and fuel. There were cookies, and candy and soda on the trail. There was some debate as to whether I'm elgible to take anything - I'm not necessarily thru-hiking, but two and a half months is a long time to be out on the trail. I guess I'll feel less guilty about taking stuff as time goes on. There's a shelter down the way that a hiker from past years runs... Has good stuff like flush toilets and hot showers - because of the thru hiker/not thru hiker conflict, we didn't know if it would be appropriate for us to stay. Oh well. In any case, I guess that means we get the shelter to ourselves tonight.
Date: 2004-06-27
From: Springer Mtn.

To: St. Thomas's Church Hostel: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 6.5

Staying tonight at st. Thomas's Episcopal Church - They've opened up the basement as a hostel for thru-hikers - how cool. It was fantastic to do laundry and get a shower - All for only five bucks. Again - the good sentiments that surround the trail are amazing. very pretty walks over the last couple of days.We started later in the morning from High point because of rain - it was great just laying in the hammock listening to the rain hit the fly. After we got going, the world was so colorful - the trees and grass were so GREEN and the sky was so blue - intensity in colors you see so rarely in every day life. Just another of those small things that make hiking so great. We took a long lunch today - laying there in the sun with a full stomach and a good book was immensely satisfying. We stopped today after we got setteled into the hostel to pick up more food. It's a funny thing that happens on the trail - you get into reverse calorie counting. You don't want to find yourself with too much weight, but you want as many calories as possible, so walking around a grocery store becomes an excercise in finding the fattiest foods possible. Even doing that, most people find themselves losing weight on the trail. slancho said that he'd lost 57 pounds since starting. Holy crap. I guess when every day is like a 6 hour session on a stairmaster, you're bound to come out a little skinnier.
Date: 2004-06-28
From: St. Thomas's Church Hostel: Vernon, NJ

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: clear sky

The hostel in St. Thomas's was amazing - everyone should be that nice. I had forgotten how nice showers feel. After a week on the trail, laundry becomes a gift from the gods. I put my shirt on this morning and just had to smile when I noticed that it still smelled like detergent.Got a voicemail from Chris last night - he had to get off the trail for a couple of days because one of his buddies suddenly decided to get married in vegas. He's back on the trail, but he's about 120 miles behiind us. Dunno how long that's going to take him to make up; maybe in the neighborhood of 3 weeks?Caught up with Vagrant and Bonfire at the shelter - was nice talking to them. There was a section hiker here who apparently traded a pipe and a bowl to some people further up the trail for half a Nalgene full of water. That was quite expensive water. Was talking to Eileen on the trail yesterday - she apparently isn't enjoying the hike much...there's probably two more months until we get to Katahdin...that's a long time to be miserable.I cut off all my hair in Vernon. with 10 days worth of "beard" growth, I look really ridiculous.
Date: 2004-06-30
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Stealth
Miles today: 7.0

Everything I own or touch on a consistent basis smells like my armpits, crotch, or some combination thereof. It didn't bother me so much before, but it's getting to me more and more. Eileen, however, keeps smelling nice. Maybe she's holding out soap on me.Short day today - about 11 we stopped for lunch, ate and started reading. Time went by, and we didn't want to start up again. It's nice to have that kind of felxibility in your schedule. Laid down and read all of "I, Robot" today. Didn't so much like it, and I can tell that it's going to be nothing like the movie. I'd be pissed if I were a fan.Mosquitos continue to be bad. I heard that if you eat whole cloves of garlic, they'll leave you alone, so I've been trying that. Whole cloves of garlic don't taste very good.Met two ladies and their kids on the trail yesterday - they were up from town checking out some vistas. We had some time to chat with them about the trail - reminded me all over again of the reasons why doing this is so cool to me. We ran into them again when we stopped for ice cream in town - they even doubled back on their way out to give us a ride to the deli down the road. It was closed, but the thought was nice.Average bedtime for me over the last week and a half: 9:30. I feel like such an old man.
Date: 2004-07-01
From: Stealth

To: Fingerboard
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Trail was beautiful today. We're in some NY State park - it's incredible. Rocks, gigantic old trees, open grassy meadows, creeks - was tough hiking through some of it, but a great day nonetheless. The shelter is amazing too - raised wood floor, but the walls are completely made of stacked rocks. It sits in a wide grassy area with rocks behind, and forest in front. Except for the fact that water was half a mile away, I'd say the place was perfect.I thought today about why there aren't more Asian backpackers. Granted, Asians only make up 4% of the US population, but you'd think that of all these people we've seen on this trip, there'd be at least one other Asian. Backpacking is a really white activity. Now that I think about it, other then women, I'm the only minority I've seen on the trail. Is there some unspoken cultural taboo that keeps minorities from backpacking that I'm just not picking up on?This is one of those subjects I'd be able to write about more eloquantly if I weren't so fucking tired.
Date: 2004-07-02
From: Fingerboard

To: West Mountain
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: few clouds

Another beautiful hike today - big grassy meadows with old trees, cool rock scrambles. We ended here at the West Mountain Shelter - we're about half a hour off the trail, which really pissed me off last night as we were getting in, but as the sun went down, you see the lights from the New York skyline. Kind of cool, but really rather backwards, since that's the kind of thing most people are trying to get away from by being out on the trail. As it started to get darker, fireworks shows started on the horizon. At one point, you could see six different shows going on at once - incredible. It seemed as though the shelter here was going out of its way to keep me awake. There was a whooporwill that kept getting closer and closer - until it sounded like it was right outside the shelter. That kept me up for a good long time - it was so fucking loud. It stopped, but then the moon came out and was bright enough to keep me awake as it was shining directly in my eyes. Though annoying, it was extremely pretty.We found a page from someone's journal yesterday at one of the shelters. Reading it made me laugh out loud, as the winder was so hopelessly cliched in the "I'm out here to find myself" kind of way. Made me wonder if my own journal is similarly inane when read by other people. Into ft. Montogomery and some zero days; hopefully the low milage over the last couple of days has helped Chris catch up some.
Date: 2004-07-07
From: Morgan Stewart

To: Wiley Webatuck
Miles today: 16.6

After a couple of days off from the mosquitos, they were viscious again today. They seem to have a thing for wanting to bite my feet when I'm shoeless, and ffailing that, my knuckles and wrists. As we were pulling into the shelter, knee and Honeypie showed up - they're pretty funny guys. Got a chili dog as we crossed one of the roads - that made my day. Checked my voicemail today - had nice messages from monica and Anna - it's nice to get happy thoughts from afar every once in a while.
Date: 2004-09-20
From: Deleware Water Gap

To: Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: clear sky

It felt good to be on the trail again after some time off. There was an interesting tension in my body - it was nice to be rested and fed, but I felt really soft...even doing the four and a half miles to the shelter was enough to make me sore the next day. I guess that's what a week and a half off will do to you.I had done the section from DWG up to the shelter in late June when I started the nobo section of my hike; it was three months to the day that I last spent the night in the Kirkridge shelter. I took some time to reflect on some of the things that have happened and some of the changes that I've gone through...it was a neat mental exercise.
Date: 2004-09-21
From: Kirkridge Shelter

To: Leroy A Smith
Miles today: 13.8

Ran into Aussie Bill at the shelter this evening; it's odd the way things work out on the trail, since the last time I saw him was outside of Hanover with both of us headed north. He's finishing up a section from southern PA up to NY, then it's on to CT to do a little bit more walking with Bear Behind. It was nice to catch up on some of the news of the people that summitted before I did.While in NY, I sat down and tried to plan out where I was going to be when, and I realized that I'm really not into the whole planning thing. Duncannon really isn't that far away, but I'm not really that excited to pin dates on my trip. And if I'm not that excited to give an arrival date for a place that's 100 miles down the road, how am I going to do dates for the whole trip? In any case, after much agonizing, here's what the rough schedule looks like. Dates subject to change, of course. All locations listed with an estimated arrival date range. I have no idea how fast I'm going to hike, so some of these estimates might seem completely unrealistic. Duncannon, PA - 29 Sept - 1 Oct Harper's Ferry, WV - 12 Oct - Oct 15 Waynesboro, VA - Oct 22 - Oct 25I guess I'll post some more dates and places when I get a little further up. Even this small amount of planning made me break into a cold sweat.
Date: 2004-09-23
From: Palmerton, PA

To: Tripoli Tent Site
Miles today: 14.0

After a week off in NY, I'm feeling a bit soft. The rocks are beating me up...I definitely feel it in my ankles and knees at the end of the day. But, all the nobos I hiked with up north say that PA isn't nearly as bad as some of the stuff we did in the Whites, which is encouraging.I've been on my own for the last couple of days; the alone time is good, but I think that in a week or so I'm going to want some company. The registers say that Lunchbox and Fu-man are about a day ahead, so hopefully if I hustle, I'll catch up. It would be nice to have some people to hang around the Doyle with when I get to Duncannon.I'm getting worse and worse about getting moving in the mornings...yesterday, I didn't leave camp until 10:30, and it's 11:30 today and I'm still sitting in the library sending email. At this rate, I'll be hiking until Christmas.Update... The rocks were horrible. My feet were bruised and destroyed. It sucked. I shared the tent site with (no shit) some recovering heroin addicts. The conversation was plesant enough during dinner, but the guys only had 15 minute memories. After two hours with them, I had heard all their stories about four times each. I went to bed, saying goodbye, because I told them I'd be out pretty early in the morning. They were like, "we'll be up...we usually wake up at 4 because that's when the methadone runs out." Wow. Scary.
Date: 2004-09-25
From: some shelter I can't remember

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: few clouds

Was going to keep going, but ran into this dude Mustard in town. He talked me into staying.Not a bad day; the outfitter drove us 10 minutes up the road so I could get batteries for my headlamp, Bag o' Tricks stopped by and gave us some beer, and Hogwalker caught up with us at dinner and paid for our meals. Good stuff.
Date: 2004-09-26
From: Port Clinton

To: Hertlein Tent Site
Miles today: 18.1

Was going to try to make it to the 501 shelter, but it got dark. I ended up night hiking on a section of the old AT. I realized things were amiss when I started hitting these spiderwebs that were three and four feet across. I backtracked and set up in the middle of the night.You're supposed to be able to order pizza from the 501 shelter; I was really pissed that I didn't make it. I was even more pissed that I walked an extra mile because I couldn't see the right blazes in the dark. *sigh*
Date: 2004-09-27
From: Hertlein Tent Site

To: Lickdale, PA
Miles today: 18.0

Met Uncle Bob in the morning, spent an afternoon in Pine Grove eating Pizza and buying groceries. We night hiked to try to make it to Rausch Gap, but the feet were feeling too beat up.The forecast called for rain, so we set up shop under an old bridge, hobo style. We were okay until it really started to rain, at which point we discovered that the bridge was made of wood slats that collect rain, make the raindrops fatter, and then drop them on me. In the 5 minutes it took to get packed up, we both got soaked.We tried hitching into town, but at this point it was 2:30 in the morning and it was pouring. We ended waking up some guy and conned him into driving us into town so we could get a hotel. Dryness never felt so good.
Date: 2004-09-28
From: Lickdale, PA

To: Raush Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: mist

Stuck in town all day 'cause of rain. We hitched into another town to catch a movie. Unfortunately, the movie was 20 minutes drive away from the trail, and it's much harder to get a hitch out of a non-trail town. It's hard to get people who aren't used to hikers to pick you up because you're more or less indistinguishable from a bum.We ended up working out a ride finally at 10:00, hit the trail at 11:30, and made it into the shelter at 2:30 in the morning.
Date: 2004-10-05
From: Mason-Dixon Line

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 40.3
Weather: clear sky

We did the Maryland Challenge. 40.3 miles in a day. If I had more time at this library, I'd describe the excruciating pain that my feet are in, but I'm getting kicked off the computer in 4 minutes. Stupid public library.But first...I'm moving a lot faster than I thought I was going to, and so the schedule I posted earlier is by now not so accurate. Below is a more updated one, although I have no idea if it's going to be any more realistic.I am able to leave change of address forms on the trail, so if something gets there after I leave, it may be able to catch up with me, though best to have something there several days before the date range, just in case. Address it thusly: Gene TienC/O General DeliveryCity, State, ZipThe postal system is just amazing.Anyway...here are some potential date ranges. Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 - 06 Oct 2004 Waynesboro, VA 22980 - 12 Oct to 16 Oct Pearisburg, VA 24134 - Oct 26 to Oct 31 Damascus, VA 24236 - 7 Nov to 12 Nov Hot Springs NC 28743 - 17 Nov to 22 Nov
Date: 2004-10-21
From: Montebello, VA

To: Brown Mountain Creek
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Life is good out here...been hiking with Lunchbox, who's a hoot. "You can't have no in your heart," is a common phrase that passes between us. This is incredibly painful to type, as I'm on a dial-up connection. Hopefully I'll be able to do a more substansial update at the next place I stop.I'll be in Pearisburg, VA 24134 in about 10 days; the address for mail is below if you want to send anything.Shennendoah Park was amazing; I slowed down through the park to watch the leaves. Katie and Pam came out from DC to tool around in the park with me for a day; it was good to see them.It's cold and wet. Hopefully the sun comes out soon to dry stuff out a bit.And finally...good news on the job front. I checked in with the state department; I'm 12 on the register, and they're hiring 12 people before the end of the month. If I don't make this cut, I'll be first in line for the next class. I'm excited.
Date: 2004-10-25
From: Boblet's Gap

To: Daleville
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: scattered clouds

My feet hurt. My poles got stolen. It's 7:30 and I have 8 more miles to go. On the bright side, it was finally sunny today after about a week and a half of cloudy crap. Gotta catch Lunchbox and Amazing Grace so I have people to take pictures as I go over McAfee Knob...hence the night hiking.In Daleville for the moment for a dinner stop and to buy new poles. 140 for a pair of sticks? Pisses me off.Still shooting for Pearisburg by 10/31. Maybe Rebecca and Andreas will come out from DC to meet up...hoping. It would be nice to see some people from pre-hiking life.
Date: 2004-10-25
From: Daleville, VA

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

This is the story of the most intense night hike ever.I left Daleville at about 8:30, hoping to make it to Lambert's Meadow to catch Lunchbox and Amazing Grace. It was dark, foggy, and there were a lot of cliffs that I had to avoid falling off of. I hear that I missed some pretty cool views. It was slow going, and by the time I did the 8 or so miles to get to the vicinity of the shelter, it was a little past midnight.However, in the dark, the shelter was not clearly marked, and Wingfoot was a little wrong with his description of where the shelter was, so I spent about an hour wandering through the woods trying to find it. At one point, I was just going to sleep in the middle of the trail, but better judgement prevailed, and look for the shelter on the other side of the stream, and boom there it was. I was very happy to see the shelter, and I crept up on the shelter quietly so as not to wake my sleeping trail friends.You can probably see where this is going.They weren't there. I was pissed. They had gotten further ahead of me than I had anticipated, and were up ahead at the Campbell shelter. I sat and ate another dinner, and thought about what to do. By the time I finished eating and decided to hike on, it was 1:30. At this point, I didn't think there would be any more harm in three more hours. Besides, I needed someone to take a picture of me on the knob.More stumbling in the dark ensued; I was moving really slowly. It was only six or so miles, but it took me around three and a half hours. I roll up to the shelter at 5:00, and...They're not there.Later on I discover that while I was typing the last entry in Daleville, Lunchbox and Amazing Grace were in the same shopping center three stores down working out a place to stay. They were well fed, well watered and well housed while I was stumbling on trying to catch them.