morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-05
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: scattered clouds

A 7:30 start got us to Boiling Springs by 9:00, an excellent time for a breakfast of cinnamon raisin bagel, cranberry walnut biscotti and peach/pear smoothie with energy boosters. An hour and a half later we started our 15-mile trek across the Cumberland Valley. Up until two years ago this was a road trip for hikers, a long miserable hard-on-the-feet walk on pavement. Several million dollars was spent acquiring land across which the AT now traverses. My understanding is there are still very bitter feelings towards the hiking community; I totally understand. But as a thru-hiker, I'd like to extend my thanks and immense gratitude to those who feel ill-treated by the process. The countryside through which we passed today was quite lovely, diverse, and much more pleasurable than a road walk. I hope we as a collective group have been respectful towards you and your lands.This Iowa farm girl felt right at home walking alongside the fields of corn, soybeans, and grains. The multitude of groves of trees between crops gave us a welcome reprieve from the hot humid air today. Raspberries -- RIPE raspberries -- were plentiful along the trail finally. I managed to sample a small handful as I kept my feet moving. Mulberries are ripe also, and again, I sampled only a few as I walked. It's been amazing fun experiencing Mother Nature unfolding her many surprises right in front of us each day.Darlington Shelter has been demolished; a new structure is to be built next year. The campsites are still available and it is here where I now watch the sunset and am writing. Our only climb of the day was the final two miles, from 390 feet to 1200 feet. We paused on a rock bench to view the valley we had just crossed and to gaze over it 15 miles south to the small summit where we camped last night. I'm still in awe at the fact we walk ALL day long, day after day ... and are still enjoying it! We must all be crazed. But each day's end brings with it a personal satisfaction of having accomplished a goal, put more miles behind us, and fewer miles in front of us. I cannot begin to fathom the ecstasy of emotion that will be a part of our final summit in three months. My intent has been to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. My dream is to summit Katahdin at the end of a successful thru-hike.
Date: 2004-07-07
From: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Ursa Minor phoned last night. Her singular zero turned into three. She'll be hitting the trail this morning in an attempt to get here in two days ... two long days. I told her "safety first", the trail and I will be waiting for her regardless. That does require a third night's stay at the Doyle for Swan. I've found a book by Lora Neale Hurston: "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Assuredly, I can make a good dent in this in two days. I shall enjoy.I've solidified potential mileage and estimated arrival dates in my chore of selecting maildrop addresses. It appears we shall be in Bear Mountain Park, NY in two weeks. I'll put a phone call out to my daughter in NYC inviting her to join us for a couple days. There's a large touristry area, complete with zoo and historical sites through which the AT passes. We could take a couple zeros there after 17 days of no break and spend some fun time with Cheryl. Hoping it will work! My other daughter is thinking she might be traveling through NY the end of July also. So I'll let her know our tentative dates and keep my fingers crossed I can see both my girls again soon. It's been way too long. My son has just returned to MN after a few months' stay in the Big Apple. Won't see him until the end of this trek I guess. Before I have to run for some tissues I will get my mind back to hiking business.A short run to the post office yielded me some priority boxes for maildrops and a couple envelopes to mail my journal and photo card. I'm due for a haircut so I've secured a 5:00 appointment. And just my luck, the salon is also a massage parlor! If I'm stuck in town I'm going to make the best of it. As Chef says, "Don't let the hiking get in the way of your trail experience!".
Date: 2004-07-08
From: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Leaving here today were Froggie Pete, Blue, Rooney Tunes and others. Staying was Swan. Coming in were Father Ounce, Sampson, Bumpkin and a few others I've met but whose names I can't recall. It's a never-ending parade, all with different stories but all with a similar three-month history. Our aches, pains, and fears are equal, our appetites and passions identical. We present a myriad of reasons to be out here but our mission is the same, summit Katahdin. We are family. And right now this Swan is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her trail sister, Ursa Minor. Bumpkin had dinner with her last evening and brought me word she is still attempting a 26-mile day today. I hope she doesn't push too hard as we've plenty of tomorrow to hike 12 miles.Meanwhile, I spent a leisurely day completing the necessary sorting and packaging of maildrop items. I've cleaned out the excess weight I've accumulated, condensed my pack to a more organized state, munched on surplus food items I discovered in the hikers' box, and finished a novel. I also managed a little time on computer, enabling me to read my guest book and e-mails. When this hike is complete I shall make time to respond properly to each of you. For now, please accept my best effort to say thank you so very much. To receive words of encouragement or to hear your gracious expressions of pleasure at having met me out here means more than you can ever imagine! Every note sent to me is a treasured part of my journey. I shall cherish these memories and your thoughtfulness forever.Hey Rochester -- you have two citizens out here. Today I met Brian Arms, a 1999 graduate of John Marshall High School! It appears we'll be leaving here together tomorrow so I hope for the opportunity to become better acquainted as we travel the miles heading to New Jersey and New York. Thanks to his mom for telling him about my presence out here; he was watching for me! It's a small world full of delightful surprises.Many of you have asked if you might be able to send me some goodies. Because I seldom know with sufficient lead-time where you might send a package, I think it best for anyone so desiring to send it to my Rochester home. When the kids send my large food box they then can include yours. The address is 3657 Palm Lane SE, Rochester, MN 55904. What to send? Here are a few ideas: trail mix of any sort, dried fruit, lemon drops (hard to find out here!), creme savers, thank you cards for me to send, m & m's, stamps, a trash compactor bag! (can't find one here) a pair of lightweight down booties, size 7-1/2 for when the weather turns again (my feet were always cold in my sleeping bag), telephone calling cards. Homemade goodies are always a treat but be aware if it's in a large quantity I won't be carrying it -- I'll be sharing. You would make a lot of hikers very happy! This is not a request list, only a response to your inquiries. All I ask for is your continued prayers, love, support and correspondence. I am very wealthy with those gifts. Blessings to all. Next entry from the trail once again! Goodnight.
Date: 2004-07-09
From: Doyle Hote - Duncannon, PA

To: Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Ursa Minor made it in at 9:15 this morning. I was so happy and relieved to hear her voice; I've missed her this week. When she hadn't arrived by dark, I assumed she had stayed at the shelter 4 miles back. I was correct.Fortunately, I had all the maildrops sorted, leaving her with nothing majorly time-comsuming to do. She dumped her stuff in the respective boxes, took a shower, made a quick phone call, and we were off to the post office. From there we did stop at a small drugstore. She is wearing a new pair of boots and they are giving her toes blisters. Hopefully the Second Skin and/or lamb's wool will protect them from further abrasion. At 11:45 I was ecstatic to be back on the trail, feeling great! The first hour and a half was a town walk and bridge crossing. After a full hour in the woods, I was dismayed to hear auto and train traffic still! Eventually, we escaped the noise pollution, found ourselves walking along the ridge of Peters Mountain bringing us to this shelter. The building is glorious but we are choosing to use our tents. The bugs are becoming a daily nuisance. Our tents are shelter from their bombardment, and we prefer the solitude and privacy of our tents. Ursa has had a few beater days and is limping. I've been lounging at the Doyle and did only 11 miles today so I'm feeling fine. I'm so joyful to be back out in the woods.
Date: 2004-07-12
From: 501 Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Happy Birthday Nancy Lee!Another zero? Oh no! At 2 a.m. the rain started, just a teasing drip-drip off and on for a few hours. Then the sky got tired of that game and started bellowing full voice to let us know it meant business. By 8:00 I decided to pack up and move into the shelter to wait it out. Now it's 11:00 and we're still waiting. My tent remains standing where I left it three hours ago. I haven't seen such continuous torrents of rain in years; it simply has not let up. There's been minimal thunder and lightning, and the winds, although somewhat beefy at times, are nowhere close to a dangerous level. So it's a waiting game. With 15.1 miles to the next shelter and treacherous trail conditions, we would be foolish to venture out today. We always carry an extra day's food although the last of my trail mix served as my breakfast. I mistakenly sent my breakfast cereal and tea to Port Clinton 30 miles away. But lo and behold, there's a meal and some teabags in the hiker box. AND -- two silly young men just came in, out for a couple days' hike, and are continuing on. Out of the blue, Shawn asked if anyone wanted his trail mix! It was in my hands before he finished his question. Blazer, his traveling partner, is a minister for a United Church of Christ congregation, his first parish. I believe they are trail mix angels sent by God. There's no other explanation for why anyone would be out hiking in this torrential rain. 'Tis evening now. Powderfinger and friend Sarah showed up. Severe tendonitis in her feet forced Powderfinger off the trail. So she did a road trip to Maine instead. Enroute home, they stopped by here to catch T and Rally as they pass through tonight. She offered us transportation to anywhere if we desired; we suggested Katahdin, but settled for Port Clinton. We thought we could do our business at the outfitters and post office today and slip right on through without stopping in two days. We were half-successful. Our maildrop hadn't arrived yet.The remainder of my afternoon/evening was spent reading "The Red Tent" which I found in Rally's car. A warm welcome to Bumpkin, T, Rally, Chef, Bumpco, another pizza order, continuous rain and wind, some reading and now some journalizing. At 10:30 mine is the only headlamp still burning. Guess I'll leave the book half-read and get some sleep.
Date: 2004-07-13
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagle's Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

It's getting to be a habit: awake at 5:50 a.m. and nearly the first one up. So as not to awaken the others I went out into the fog to pack up my tent. It was still standing and the inside was dry! We were on the trail by 7:15, wondering what we would find after yesterday's massive rainfall. Fortunately, we crossed only one wet and slippery boulder field. Unfortunately, the blazes disappeared suddenly and, as I was standing on a tilted rock gawking in an effort to find the trail, my foot slipped and I went down. Bumpco complimented me on the gracefulness of my fall, adding if I had thrown my hiking poles the judges most likely would have given me a couple more points! No damage done. We all did an about-face, spotted the last blaze and noted the turn we had missed. The woods changed character, becoming much more pleasant to the eye. The floor was covered in healthy ferns and wild rose bushes. I saw more rhododendrons but none in bloom today. No snakes, no deer; only a couple other hikers joined us on the trail today. Much of the hike was through standing water. We stayed on the trail when we could but also took the higher ground when there was an obvious well-trodden path circumventing the ankle-deep ponds.Ursa Minor and I missed one turn; there was an absence of a double-blaze used to indicate a major change in direction. After a couple unsuccessful attempts to find another blaze we finally backtracked until we found our error. Here in camp tonight we learned we weren't the only ones. It felt like a short day, 15.1 miles. Ursa's feet and blistered toes are doing better but she's a little achy from a fall today, too.It's so glorious to sleep in my tent again. The frogs are serenading us but aside from their songs, the woods are quiet. In camp: Bumpkin, Ursa Minor, Swan, T, Rally, Spin Cycle, Trail Dog, Gordy and Bait Box.Our rainy zero yesterday, in conjunction with rocky terrain which will demand fewer daily miles, has probably put the kabosh on meeting my daughter at Bear Mountain State Park just outside New York City. She leaves on a Wednesday for a week and I don't think we'll get there until the Monday night prior. I'm extremely disappointed, but we don't dare rush through the rocks of northern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. One bad fall could end our journeys for good.9:30 and all is well ... goodnight. God bless.
Date: 2004-07-14
From: Eagle's Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton Hotel
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy Birthday Ruth B.!What a bummer! We got short-stopped in Port Clinton. Our maildrop, sent to the outfitters, is behind locked doors; they are closed on Wednesdays, contrary to what my handbook says. A storm was moving in as we got into town so we hustled up a room here at this old rundown hotel. We had gotten a ride here on Monday during the torrential rain and the proprietor of the outfitters said the box wasn¢t here yet. When I said we'd be walking in on Wednesday to pick it up I wish he'd told me he would be closed. He doesn't open until 10 a.m. so it will be a late start in the morning too. This pretty much secures the fact I won't get to Bear Mountain State Park just outside New York City in time to see my daughter. This is a huge disappointment for me and I'm sitting here pouting.T, Rally, and Bumpkin didn't want this "last and only available room" (one single bed) so they yogi'd a ride to the Hamburg Microtel a couple miles away. We caught a ride to Hamburg's Cabella's to see what we could find and to eat. Port Clinton has nothing, not even a convenience store or gas station. This hotel, a motorcycle repair shop, a peanut store and an ill-supplied outfitters comprise the place. We also found the post office and a museum. There's a community board on which has been posted the proposed 2004 budget for the borough of Port Clinton, a grand total of $61,249.Ah well, it's a roof over our heads during the storm, with running water and a shower down the hall. Ursa Minor is on the single bed; I'm on my sleeping pad on the floor. Actually, it's almost like sleeping in my tent -- I have the pad against the wall as the floor is sloping!So I've lost another half-day of forward movement towards Maine. Life is 10% what happens, 90% attitude, even out here on the trail. Right now I need a major attitude re-adjustment. Excuse me for a few hours while I go meditate and do some work on myself. Tomorrow is another day. Everything looks brighter in the mornings.
Date: 2004-07-15
From: Port Clinton Hotel

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: light rain

Except for the fact the sun was shining, nothing was brighter this morning. There was no place to get a breakfast. At 10:00 we checked out and dashed to the outfitters only to learn our box wasn't there. "Oh," he says, "we never bring the boxes here - we leave them at the post office for pick-up." What that means is that yesterday at 11:30 we could have gone directly to the post office, retrieved our box, and departed Port Clinton by noon, saving us time and dollars and frustration. Most likely, our box was here on Monday when we caught a ride here with Powderfinger! The delay does not endanger our finishing this journey but it destroyed any chance of seeing Cheryl in New York. I engaged in the futile exercise of reciting all the "if only" scenarios, shed tears of anger, frustration and disappointment, then proceeded to leave everyone in my dust as I stomped up the trail. I would have been pretty lousy company anyway. Two hours and 6.1 miles later I finally had it out of my system. Guess I still have a lot to learn.Lunch at Pulpit Rock was delightful. Three officers of a civil patrol unit came over in search of copperhead snakes. They had been there earlier and removed one from the rocks. Upon hearing that report, we each upon reflex drew our outstretched bodies and legs up into a protective ball. Then we listened to their expert advice should we be bitten and the how-to's of capturing and releasing a venomous snake. Lunch on Pulpit Rock had been quite delightful until then!Moving on we had some very easy hiking albeit a good two miles was on an old jeep road. I was messing around with my footwear again, deciding to use my old Superfeet in my New Balances. My thought was I would benefit from the firmer sole as we traversed the infamous Pennsylvania rocks. I was correct. Unfortunately, my foot rode a little lower in the shoe and my toes kept hitting the front. By the end of the 15 miles my feet and toes were aching. Back to the drawing board tomorrow.The Eckville shelter is a four-walled enclosure with a caretaker in his own home on the premises. There's a shower, a flush toilet, a telephone, a water spigot, and a full house. Bumpkin, Ursa Minor and I, and two section hikers have chosen to tent on sites across the road. Once again, after fun, witty conversation over another delicious meal, gorgeous cool weather invites us to sleep well in our humble abodes.
Date: 2004-07-16
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: light rain

Pennsylvania rocks - here we come! There's a reason this state is renamed "Rocksylvania". I've been fearful of this reputation since we entered the state, hoping the tales were overrated. They aren't. We were lulled into complacency the first half of the day and had intended to stop at New Tripoli Campsite. But when we arrived it was early, the site appeared to be downhill and we had only four miles to the next shelter. What we didn't know was The Cliffs were waiting to greet us with the most treacherous maneuvering we've encountered to date. We weaved in and out, over and under, and squeezed around some pretty nasty boulders. I'm not convinced it was necessary to place the AT across this boulder field but that's where the blazes directed us so that's where we went. I was so thankful to get to the other side with no twisted ankles, bad falls, or catastrophes. Next on the terrain was Bear Rocks. I was dreading more of the same but this time the trail scooted below and around the pile with an arrow pointing to them should someone desire some more rock scrambling. Not I -- thank you very much!Finally we reached this shelter, a small, musty-smelling three-sided enclosure with a sloping floor. I was grumpy and ready to set up my tent immediately following supper. So I fetched water, started my evening meal cooking, and the skies opened and poured rain on us. All of a sudden this musty shelter was looking quite nice and very welcoming!Twenty minutes later T and Rally showed up, completely soaked. So we've all claimed a spot on the floor and we're thankful to be here.
Date: 2004-07-18
From: Campsite just past Weathering Knob

To: Travel Inn - Wind Gap, PA
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Sunday, We were fortunate ... the rain held off until we got our tents packed but by 8:30 it started. At 10:30 p.m. from our hotel room we can hear it still falling. Crazy how one's perspective of what life hands out can be so pliable and flexible relative to one's experiences. Two days ago we would not have been pleased to walk over slippery wet rocks for 14 miles. Today I loved it! I looked left and saw flat ground, I looked right and saw flat ground, I looked down and saw a three-foot-wide semi-rocky path, I looked up and saw treetops and rain. Anything was an improvement over yesterday. The rainfall had a marvelous cleansing effect, physically and emotionally. I approached the day with a newfound joy and appreciation. Wind Gap appears to be a bustling little place. The 1.6-mile walk to the hotel was quite pleasant. Homes are well-kept, charmingly decorated, and beautified with blooming flowers. We also took note of USA pride all over: flags, bumper stickers, red, white and blue dominating the color scheme.Laundry duty was first on the agenda. We met and visited extensively with Nadine who gave us marvelous information on the terrain we'll be crossing the next couple days. Sounds as though it's more of the same, sans a rockface mountain, thank goodness. We ordered take-out Chinese; Nadine gave us a lift and we stayed off our feet the remainder of the evening.Today is Sunday, necessitating our maildrop pick-up tomorrow morning as we head out. Travel Inn is giving us the welcomed lift back to the trailhead. Sixteen miles gets us to Delaware Water Gap, .2 of a mile from the New Jersey border. Making Progress.