morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-09
From: Slatington PA

To: Leroy Smith Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Started the day with blueberry pancakes at the Slatington Diner, then Ira took Beans and I back to the trail. He asked where to drop us at and without thinking I said trailhead. We missed the highway part of the trail and crossing the bridge because I was not thinking. Dang! I was focussed on the monster in front of me.The hike north out of Lehigh Gap is a 1000 foot rock scramble up the side of the mountain, then a 4 mile walk through an EPA Superfund site that is being rehabilitated. So, a rocky climb and not a lot of vegetation the next 4 miles meant I needed to carry three liters of water up that hill. I was scared of it too.There were places where I climbed up the rocks on my hands and knees and several spots where I had to put my hiking sticks on the rocks over my head and climb up to them. It took us an hour and 44 minutes, but we did it! I can't say I had fun on this, I did not, but I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. Also I feel a sense of competency that I will be able to draw on when I get to the big mountains up north. There is more of this to come.The superfund site area was depressing and there were views of old industrial sites in the valley below. The region seems to be seriously depressed and in need of good jobs, but Earth needs to be defended as well. We have such big challenges to address.We got to the first road crossing and MAGIC! There were gallons of bottled water left for us by some kind anonymous person. This meant I could drink up with lunch and not have to worry about rationing my water through the afternoon. Thank you so much! The water has helped so much!From there Beans and I hiked on to the shelter. It was plenty rocky but no scrambles and we managed to get tents up and dinner eaten before dark. We spent the afternoon encouraging each other. It was an amazing day.
Date: 2010-07-10
From: Leroy Smith Shelter

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: heavy intensity rain

It rained last night! Got me all confused.Started out by rolling over and going back to sleep. Then I did some tent chores and ate a leisurely breakfast. The rain tapered off and I set out to hike, late. Timing still good and I boxed myself in. I mailed all my extra food, weight, whatever to Delaware Water Gap to lighten my pack as much as possible for the climb out of Lehigh Gap. I can't get that stuff till 8:30 Monday morning, so I had 20 miles to go, two days to do it. Stopped in after 5 miles at the Gateway Motel at Wind Gap to get water and never got going again. Beans stopped by and had already decided to stay. So, tomorrow I will make up the diff and still be at DWG on time. It just feels bad to only have 5 miles in today.
Date: 2010-07-11
From: Wind Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: few clouds

Left out before 8:00, determined to reach Delaware Water Gap reasonably early in the evening. First thing, some Dads and their sons tore up the hill ahead of me, leaving me in their dust. I guess I'll just never be fast. Got up on the ridge and hiked a couple of hours, then stopped for first break and had a snack. It really helps me every few hours to take the pack off and get off my feet, if only for fifteen minutes or so, especially if I'm carrying extra water. Hiked on and eventually came to Wolf Rocks, not terribly intimidating but a good scramble challenge for me. Done good and had a little fun with it. It was a pretty Sunday afternoon and I saw lots of people on the trail. One guy from Brooklyn was so excited to be out in the forest on a mountain, it made me smile. After the rocks I was surprised to come up on a rhododendren hell, just like in the Smokies! I thought I'd seen the last of those, so that lit me up too. Stopped in at Kirkridge Shelter and ate a bite for the final push into town. Along the way I met Calm Water, the NE PA Ridgerunner. I met him a few days back also on the trail and he was doing a great job keeping hikers apprised of what springs were flowing and what was dry. Turns out either he or his network was mostly responsible for the water magic I've been benefitting from. It was nice to be able to thank him myself. Good guy.Nice country views along the top of Mt Minsi, then the descent. Met several dayhikers on their way up the mountain, it looked to me like a tough climb.Walked in to town, got a bed, got a pizza, then my phone rang. Little Aspen and Toothpick, only 10 miles ahead of me! We had a great time catching up, then off to bed I went.
Date: 2010-07-12
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Rattlesnake Spring Campsite
Miles today: 13.5

Tried to get an early start but had some business to deal with, so it was near 11:00 before I got going. First up, cross the Delaware River on a footbridge along I-80, and leave PA behind. I'm in New Jersey now. I did not enjoy the bridge at all, but another hiker told me hikers used to cross on I-80, so I'm glad the footbridge is there. As soon as I crossed I was at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Visitors Center. Had a look around, then finished the road walk and headed back into the woods. I'm getting to where I really like that part. Of course had to climb out of the gap, but today it was a long gentle climb. The forest was nice, I saw deer along the way, and then I came to Sunfish Pond. What a jewel! The sign said one of the seven natural wonders of New Jersey which made me laugh, but the pond took my breath away. Walked right up to the edge and frogs started jumping around like crazy! I realized there were many many frogs, hundreds maybe! So cool. The trail took me all along the edge, this is a glacial pond so it is of course rocky. Lotta rocks, but that did not bother me, the site was so perfect. There was one bit of shore where visitors built cairns, so I added a rock, then hiked on.Crossed a pretty little brook, then was mostly up on the ridge, with alternating views to east and west. Really lovely. I was packing two slices of pizza from supper last night and wishing I had a coke to go along with it, so I made the detour to Mohican Outdoor Center. An utter waste of time, there was nobody around to buy a coke from, which was maddening since I was indeed there during so-called business hours. I sat on the front steps and ate my pizza with water and watched a big old black snake make his moves around the yard. Beans showed up and decided to change his plans and hike on with me. So, off we went.Weather was threatening and it was too late for me to make it to the place I had planned. I am so lucky! We met some AMC people painting the blazes on trees and they told us about a great stealth site right after the spring, so here we are. Got tents up and bearbag rope up and the skies poured down. For supper I had beef jerkey, carrot and pineapple salad, trail mix. It'll do just fine, no cooking tonight. Hope this clears out to hike tomorrow but there's rain in the forecast the next couple days. We sure need the rain, so I'll try not to complain.
Date: 2010-07-13
From: Rattlesnake Spring Campsite

To: Culvers Gap NJ
Miles today: 14.9

A funny thing happened last night. After I turned out my headlamp I heard a rustling inside my vestibule. Quickly I turned on my lamp and there was a frog, looking at me. Actually I think he was stunned by my light, but I sure got a kick out of laying there looking at him. It was great!So, the usual late start, then Beans and I set off. Trail magic first thing, compliments of Tom Thumb's family. He's a Jersey boy. Thank you! Next, we passed a pond almost completely covered in lily pads, with lilies fully in bloom. There was a heavy fog and lots of bullfrogs croaking. Pretty cool.The New Jersey trail has been lots of ridge walking with what would be good views but for the fog. Had morning break near Blue Mtn Lakes Road and a Clif Bar on the run for lunch. Mostly the rain poured down all afternoon until we were soaked through. Played leapfrog with a group of 12 boys and their leaders from a YMCA group from south Jersey. None of them know Bruce Springsteen but I'm still hopeful I'll meet him while in his home state. LOL! Anyway, since we were drenched we headed for Branchville NJ at the end of the day to dry out. It was a long soggy walk today.
Date: 2010-07-14
From: Culvers Gap NJ

To: High Point State Park
Miles today: 14.3

The day started out with heavy rain, so Beans and I didn't get to hiking until almost noon. By then much of the rain tapered off, but there were still plenty of showers to get us soaked through before the day was done. Started of course with a climb, today up Sunrise Mtn. Took a quick break to eat lunch at the pavillion on top of the mountain. Trail was still plenty rocky shredding my feet. I was hiking as fast as I could to catch up to Beans before sunset. Entered High Point State Park and hiked past Mashipacong Shelter, then on past Rutherford Shelter. It's interesting how the forest has changed, in the last few days I've seen Birch trees. Because of the heat and drought here there are crackly fallen leaves all over the place. I got good and wet hiking but this water is needed badly. By the time I got to the park HQ I ran into Beans and we decided to call it a day. He's having a real tough time with his feet and I definitely understand that problem. I'm doing basically ok with my feet but I don't think there will be a day on the trail that they don't hurt in some way. Just part of the gig, just about everyone has some kind of foot problem.
Date: 2010-07-15
From: High Point State Park

To: Vernon NJ
Miles today: 20.6

Whew! Big day! Started out at the state park and hiked with Beans most of the day. First, we hiked down off the mountain in the state park and found ourselves hiking in the meadow. It was full of a pinkish flower, not sure if it was some kind of Bee Balm or Passionflower. We saw millions of them today. They were everywhere! It was a big raspberry eating day too, with a few blackberries thrown in for variety. Love them berries! Hiked in to Unionville NY where I had a maildrop and resupply planned. Wound up bouncing stuff forward to the next drop town. I hoped to spend an hour in town but it stretched to two. That really pushed us to get our hiking done before dark.When we left Unionville we hiked around Wallkill River Wildlife Preserve where we saw all kinds of birds including ducks, geese, swans, herons. Really nice.From the preserve we headed up Pochuck Mtn and from the top we could see the monument at the park we started our day at. Its always cool to look back over the distance I hiked that day, it always amazes me. Anyway, Pochuck was a good climb with some challenges and the views were good. We headed down off the mountain to find a .8 mile boardwalk through a wetland. It was very nice to hike through here. These long days are tough on the feet. Time to sleep.
Date: 2010-07-16
From: Vernon NJ

To: Greenwood Lake NY
Miles today: 15.0

That's right, I am in the state of New York! Whoa! I still can't believe it. Well, it was a tough day, but a very good one. It started out with a big climb up Wawayanda Mountain. Good trail work, it was mostly big rocks, say three feet square perhaps, built into trail. The trail club here worked really hard building the trail up the mountain and they did a fine job. The first 8 miles or so were in NJ and had many small yet steep ups and downs, very rocky trail. I was told the rocks continue on out of PA and this day was a good example. Anyway, it wore me out. It didn't help that I started the day tired and with my ever-sore feet. As the day progressed the rockiness changed to big stone outcroppings and ridges and the New York part of the day was spent mostly walking stone ridges which includes scrambling up to those ridges. My body has increased strength and agility so much! It was all still incredibly difficult for me but I could not have done this type of hiking all day back in March. It would have been such a struggle for me. Well, as it always does it went on and on. I'm pretty sure I walked over every rock in these parts. Oh, one section had a 7 rung ladder up the rock wall! I think there are many more of these in my future.Also today I met On The Loose, a woman from Georgia who started around the same time I did. I ran into Tom Thumb again too, which is always good. I believe our story will be in the Philly Inquirer on 8/1. Beans and I hiked half the day separate but started and finished together. His feet are a mess, by the end of the day he can barely walk, like mine were before Slatington. It's painful to watch. Aspen and Toothpick are three! miles ahead of me. I hope to catch them soon, but I've got some swim plans in my schedule. Stickwalker crossed into New Jersey, Belle is at 75% with the Lyme so they are moving slower. Greenwood Lake is a lovely town and the Bellvale Creamery is a fine ice cream store.
Date: 2010-07-17
From: Greenwood Lake NY

To: NY 17
Miles today: 12.0

Turned out to be a short mileage day but I worked for those miles. The state of New York kicked me in the backside today. Beans had a maildrop to deal with so we got a very late start, almost noon. The hike began with two hefty climbs up to Pinnacles and Cat Rocks. Passed by Wildcat Shelter and walked a bit on clear dirt-packed trail. Nice while it lasted. Went by Fitzgerald Falls which was barely more than a trickle and filled up my water bottles. Currently I'm using the 3 liter strategy since water sources are so infrequent and it is HOT. It's heavy, so I don't like it, but I do it. Went by a pond and a nice lake, some lovely forest, but mostly today was about the ups and downs on the rocks. Had a few heavy duty climbs, big steps, awkward balance, etc. I see these coming, I groan, I do it, I feel great about it. They really slow me down.So, I did not catch my friends today, maybe tomorrow. I'll try again then.
Date: 2010-07-18
From: NY 17

To: West Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 12.8

A day of ups and downs for sure. Began the day by entering Harriman State Park. The initial mountain climb was long and steady and steep, but nothing too tough. Got the blood pumping for sure. On the backside saw many stealth campsites on Island Pond, very nice.   Hiked on a short bit and came upon some hikers headed out, and a massive stone boulder jumble wall just ahead of me. It was the Lemon Squeezer, which I made my way through just fine with a bit of maneuvering. Then, a rock wall in front of my face with a white blaze on it. Dread washed over me. I stood there looking at this thing for better than half an hour, trying to find the key. I never did. For the first time of my hike, I had to take a blueblaze path because I could not do the regular trail. If that was not humiliating enough, the blue blaze trail was labelled "Easy way." Hard to take. I am disappointed but I honestly could not figure the way up that wall. I wish I could have another shot at it but have no reason to think that if I worked it all day I would have any better success. So there you go. Hiking on was good, no more rock walls, plenty of ups n downs crossing ridge after ridge after ridge. I decided to take a break and go for a swim at Lake Tiorati, but only after I mistakenly walked half a mile in the wrong direction, down the mountain. Climbed back up, then three tenths down the other side, none of these miles counting for anything other than I got the great joy of sitting, standing, floating and kicking around in water for an hour or so. I loved it, then I had sodapop and ice cream. I loved that too. A few more ups n downs and Beans caught up with me, so we hiked together the last hour of the day over one more ridge. Tonight I am tenting at West Mtn Shelter which is at 1240 feet, enough to be just barely a little cool. The skies are only mildly hazy and on the horizon I can see the lights of NY City. It's only 34 miles away, according to the road sign we saw when we crossed Palisades Interstate Pkwy. Amazing. All I hear is crickets and some traffic in the distance. The view of the Hudson River is spectacular. On The Loose and Ben who we will name StillWater in the morning are camped here also. Some ups n downs..
Date: 2010-07-19
From: West Mtn Shelter

To: Ft Montgomery
Miles today: 5.8

Beans had cramps in his legs last night so I got out of my tent and walked around with him a bit late in the night. Gave me another look at NYC which was spectacular. Cool. This morning Beans was fine again, thank goodness. Today we part ways, him blasting ahead on family biz and me taking a zero at Ft Montgomery to get some things pulled together. On The Loose and StillWater made early departures while Beans and I did the usual slow start. I tell you, some times procrastination pays!   A storm came up and we got all of our gear into the shelter before it got wet, so we just waited it out. After the rain was the .6 mile hike back to the trail, then down, up Bear Mtn, and down again in to town. Nice views on the way down, as usual I got all stressed out about timing but it occurred to me to take it slow, and so I did. Beans took off because he had many more miles to do. Wonder when I'll see him again.Bear Mtn was good, I took the time to go up the observation tower and to appreciate the place. Then down the descent on the most Cadillac trail I have ever seen! Can't imagine where the bucks for this came from but I felt a little uncomfortable and all, being mere hiker trash, LOL! Anyway, it's a beautiful trail and obvious the local folk love their piece of the AT and Bear Mtn. Got into town, did chores like crazy, found an hour to swim, yeah! and saw the Canadian Geese at dinner. Fun day. Oh yes, went very quickly thru the Bear Mtn Zoo, saw a sign about Trout Lily that answered a question I asked a few months back.
Date: 2010-07-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi, Corey in Boston (and any others with the same question). I'm Cody's daughter. Cody is sending her journal entries and pics to me via email from her cell phone and I upload them here. Good luck on your hike next year! I'm sure my mom will be eager to share her experiences and words of wisdom with you if you need help preparing.
Date: 2010-07-20
From: Ft Montgomery

To: Dennytown Rd Campsite
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Got quite a late start, had a lot of chores to do, but missions accomplished and I was hiking by 11:30. The hike began on the Bear Mtn Bridge, walking over the Hudson River. I did it. Nuff said. Yes, that's 2 spans in the picture and a lane was closed for construction. Ugh. Then, wow, what an uphill grind! The steep uphills don't bother me at all and this was a doozy. Good trail work, clear, not too many rocks. It was a good start.I've been in touch with G-Hippy and hoped to meet his Mom as I passed through Graymoor but it did not work out. I did run into Freeman, Scattracker & Unicroc, and others I don't know so well. A local man came by, out with his standard poodle, so I managed to get in almost an hour of dog play, which I LOVED! I miss my pooches.From there it was go-go-go to get to Dennytown Campsite by 8:00. Got the dinner and chores done, then into my tent by around 9:00. The site was an open field and as it got darker I was kept company by a bat who kept circling the field. Pretty cool. Wonder if the bats here are having virus problems our TN bats were having. Anyone know?*Tech note - I am using a Motorola Droid because my cell contract is with Verizon. Verizon has had the best coverage on the trail by far. I got the Motorola instead of the Eris because of one feature that I thought was important at the time, but cannot for the life of me remember what it was. My original Droid was destroyed in a thunderstorm south of Pearisburg and Verizon cut me zero slack when I replaced it. They stuck it to me actually. Be sure to get the insurance if you take one hiking with you.   The dang thing is too heavy and the battery doesn't hold it's charge long enough. But, overall it's getting the job done.
Date: 2010-07-21
From: Dennytown Rd Campsite

To: NY 52
Miles today: 15.8

Got away from Dennytown by 8:30 or so, a pretty decent start. Had a big mile day planned, wanted to get out earlier, but figured this would do ok. I toyed with the idea of going swimming at Fahnestock State Park but decided I couldn't spare the time. Had to settle for enjoying the view from above. Shucks! Saw a few other hikers along the way, but not many. For some reason I felt really sluggish today, my legs just felt heavy. I also listened all day to a book on ipod and I've decided this really slows me down. I very much got into the book, but my hiking got really slow. Got in to RPH Shelter which was really nice! Would have considered staying here but it would have made the day too short. Sadly I also turned down trail magic beer and pizza because I felt like I needed to move on. Dang! On I hiked, up and down. I ran in to Tom Thumb around 7:00 and we laughed together at how crazy the trail had been. I was hiking so hard and getting slower and slower, short up then down hills. Makes me weary. Tom Thumb called it sprints for hikers. As we talked, next to a faboo cooler of trail magic, a thunderstorm moved in. We were right at the NY 52 road crossing, so I crossed, threw my tent up in a few brief moments, then listened to the end of my book while the storm blew outside. And many thanks to Ozigal for a nice bit of magic to enjoy in my tent.So much for big miles. Good enough for me.
Date: 2010-07-22
From: NY 52

To: NY 22
Miles today: 14.8

Started the day setting out from the stealth site of last night. Again, just did not feel very energetic, although I slept well enough. Started out with a decent uphill climb, nice trail, then a brief walk through a neighborhood and over I-84. Beautiful big old oak tree there. Hiked a good climb up to Morgan Stewart Shelter where I found StillWater and saw Tom Thumb's tent. He must've hiked those 4 miles after last night's storm in the dark. I figured he'd pass me at some time today but I never saw him.I was feeling kind of discouraged about my recent hiking speed, I just can't seem to get it cranked up and it's weighing on my mind. I read a lot of trailjournals as I prepared for my hike and most cited regret was people wishing they had slowed down a bit. Well. I think those folks wished to slow down to my current rate, not something slower than what I am accomplishing. Anyway, I was feeling quite low about it, early in the day. Then something really cool happened. I met about 20 or so girls, age 12 to 16 roughly, out hiking. The were from a place called Camp Lehoma(?). The girls were mostly from Brooklyn with a few from Staten Island. I don't know if they had ever been out in the forest and mountains before, but they were flatout amazed at me. So much about this meeting was incredible. First, it occurs to me this is the first group of girls I've met, before it's been Boy Scouts. Their questions were so different than the boys, like, do I get scared? Which I told them I do, but mostly about silly stuff. They had apparently been complaining about their LONG 3 mile hike. They wanted to know when would I go to college, which really made me laugh, so I told them I am 51, which they also could not believe. Chalk that up to the braids, LOL! Anyway, interacting with them really lifted me up and I needed that so badly today. I hope they got something equally good from me. I'm using a 2009 guidebook that suggested I might find a mobile hotdog stand at the next road crossing, but I did not. Hiked around Nuclear Lake which was in the past somehow used in nuclear research but has now been given a clean bill of health. Very pretty, but I ask, do you trust the government? Not too sure about that actually. Still, very pretty it was. From there it was on up and over West Mtn with a nice overlook on the downside if you like subdivision sprawl. Reminded me of home. Next, the Dover Oak, the largest oak tree on the AT. Reminded me of Keffer Oak back in VA. Couldn't get a decent pic of this one, but it is a majestic old tree, like 300 years old! Amazing!I got to the Appalacian Trail train stop and decided enough for today, so I called it quits. The train only stops on weekends. Go figure.