morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-06-23
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: PenMar Park
Miles today: 17.8

Got a decent start out of the shelter, a bit behind Just Blue Skies and Web Walker, but they're early starters. Had another little laugh with them over my purist ways, going back out the trail I came in on instead of the shortcut one. Sigh. It seems that many are amused by this, but that's ok, I am too.Hiked up the hill to Annapolis Rocks, a nice overlook spot. Then the race was on. I have a reservation for a room tonight, I want to make the most of it! It was a rocky rocky hike today. Seems a wire got crossed somewhere. I thought I was on Devil's Racecourse the other day north of the Rollercoaster, but something makes me think this might have been it instead. I don't know. What I do know is this was tough ground today. Ever since seeing the rattlesnake back in VA I've had a real fear of walking over the rocky sections. Today there was so much rock I just had to get over it and get on with it. Fig, 3 time thru hiker, weeks ahead of me now, told me he's never seen a snake on the trail. - ??? - He told me the secret is to never look at anything but the trail. I used Fig's philosophy today. It worked. I may have been surrounded by snakes for all I know. Those rocks slowed me down bad. Hiked on to Cowell Shelter where I had lunch and reloaded my water bottle.Had a decent climb out of Raven Rock Hollow and when I reached the High Rock Trail my hike slowed to a crawl. Had to negotiate one heck of a boulder jumble down off the side of the mountain. Grrr. I just wanted to get to the Cascade Inn and here I was, slowed to near one mile per hour. I kept losing the trail, seems it was better blazed behind me for southbounders climbing the thing, so I sort of found my way through with lots of looks back. Met a sobo section hiker who just began his hike like 45 minutes ago and I looked up from my feet and there he was.   (This is for you Sparta Wilson folks). I didn't mean to be curt with him, I was frustrated by the rocks, I looked at him (glared?) and said where did you come from? So nice of me. He told me 45 minutes out of the rocks, I told him he had a lot of fun ahead of him. I really did not mean to be nasty, it just came out that way. Sorry guy, if you're reading this, I was just crabby about the rocks, not you.So, I was late for my ride, but Jan at Cascade Inn adjusted, took me to the grocery and set me up in a lovely room. A very fine ending to a long tough day.
Date: 2010-06-24
From: PenMar Park

To: US 30 Fayetteville
Miles today: 18.1

Started the day at Cascade Inn with a wonderful blueberry waffle. What a nice place and nice people, they treated me like a princess. My room had a jacuzzi bath, good for my back, not so great for the callouses on my feet, although it felt GREAT at the time. Softened up my feet a lot and tonight they're pretty tender. Anyway, Cascade was very nice.Got on the trail around 10:00, headed toward Rocky Mtn Shelter. I knew from weather reports a big front was moving in today to clear some of the humidity out. It's been mighty warm lately. I was moving to get as many miles out before the rain came. By mid-day I was in an area where there were 3 shelters within 3.6 miles, I don't know why. Got to the last one, Tumbling Run Shelter, very nice, and ate my lunch. Had some dehydrated bruschetta made by a friend, yummy!Ok, the push for Rocky Mtn Shelter. Up the mountain but a nice hike, if not too rocky. By the time I got to PA 233 I decided to push on 3 miles past the shelter to US 30. This shelter is .2 off the trail, then water is another .5, so all together this shelter includes 1.4 of uncountable miles. I don't like that, so I pushed on. Began to doubt my decision, thinking back to yesterday's boulder scramble, would I get to US 30 before dark? I got lucky, I made it. The wind blew all day but I never got rained on. Apparently there were storms around, but not on me. How lucky am I?
Date: 2010-06-25
From: US 30 Fayetteville

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: broken clouds

First, some housekeeping. I must try honey roasted peanuts in my gorp, sounds good! Pictures, very hard for me to do because I keep the phone buried in my pack and I have no way to transmit the pics on my camera. Today I got a decent pic of a bunny on the trail, but you'll have to wait till October to see it!I am in the state of Pennsylvania, home of the Philly Flyers. These days I am wearing my brand new Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Champs hat. Hope I don't offend anyone. Some people do the 4 state challenge, going 41 miles from Virginia to Pennsylvania in one day. Not me! Took me three days!Ok, now on with today. Got started walking through Caledonia State Park. They have a nice looking pool there but I moved on. It was a decent climb up the hill and shortly I found myself at Quarry Gap Shelters, a regular palace with benches, potted plants, decorative mouse-proof food hangers, the works! Since I had only hiked 2.5 miles I decided to keep hiking, but what a shelter!Saw some of the last rhododendren and mountain laurel in bloom, definitely the last hurrah. Almost all the walk today was on the ridges with decent terrain. Stopped in at Birch Run Shelter and had lunch, talked with a section hiker there. He's been at it 10 years which I'm learning is not unusual at all. I think sectioning is the hard way to do it.Ate blueberries and black raspberries found along the way. Talked with all sorts of folks on the trail. Got invited to a party but would have had to backtrack (worse than zero!).As the day wore on I decided to go for this state park where I am camped with Tom Thumb, No-Tech, and Fat Man Walking. As I made my way off the ridges I'm pretty sure everyone in the state of PA was headed up to that last shelter. Must be a Friday night in summer! There is an AT museum here, but it doesn't open till noon. Doubt I'll still be around here by that time tomorrow.
Date: 2010-06-26
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: broken clouds

It is crazy to me how on the AT every day is so distinctly different, even though you do essentially the same thing every day. Take today for example...I woke in my tent to a lot of wild bird calling which I never grow tired of. I enjoy it so much. My plan for the morning was to pack up, go get a sandwich at the store, swim in the lake, visit the AT museum there, then do a little hiking. Well, Tom Thumb and No-Tech and I were sitting around waiting for the store to open and a reporter from The Philadelphia Inquirer walks up and asks to interview us. COOL! So we did that. He only asked us about ourselves, trailnames, etc, but absolutely nothing about what it's like to hike the trail. Weird. He didn't even ask how much my pack weighs or where and how I potty. More weird. Anyway, he got me on video making some crack about the Chicago Blackhawks beating the Philly Flyers for the Stanley Cup. I had my new hat on too. He guarantees that part will make the cut, LOL! He said whatever he makes of it will be online in the next 2 weeks. Either Philly.com or Phillynews.com, not sure which. If anyone sees this PLEASE email me the link so I don't miss it. How crazy, eh? Me, Tom and No-Tech laughed about it a lot.By then the store opened so I got my sandwich, which was yummy. The trail goes right by the lake so we set off, and I did as planned, I stopped and swam for a bit while the guys hiked on. It was a pleasant warm Saturday morning, lots of people there, I could have just hung out all day. It felt so good! But, I had places to go, so off I went, after eating a hotdog. I was really disappointed to miss the museum, as it's only open in the afternoons. Maybe next time, and there will be a next time. I've been fighting off the urge to take a couple of zeros to visit Gettysburg, so whenever I do that I'll plan to see the AT museum as well. After the dog I hiked out, but I sure enjoyed PGF.It was a long dry hike today with few water opportunities. I stuck with my one liter strategy but it was a stretch. Lots of road crossings too. Near the end of the hike I had to wend my way through lots of rocks and boulders. I'll say this, at least it was well blazed! That swim meant I did this maze late in the day and tonight I've got some mighty sore muscles. Tom Thumb and I were talking just yesterday about how the AT was not built for thru hiking but rather day hikes and sections and so on. So what seems to us like endless rock scrambles are designed for the dayhikers, etc. Which makes perfect sense to me, when I plan a dayhike those are the places I want to go, with the most interesting or challenging hiking. That considered, I need to adjust my attitude about these rock scrambles. But why oh why are they always at the end of the day! Oh well, that swim was worth every minute. Now, it's way past hiker midnight, time to get some sleep.
Date: 2010-06-27
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter

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

Beautiful spring at Kennedy Shelter. Today I crossed the Cumberland Valley. I started the day with coming down off the mountain, then walked among the corn and wheat of the Pennsylvania countryside. It was very pretty, pastoral, but very hot. I think heat indices have been around 100, so the balance of how much water to carry was an important question.Passed through the little town of Boiling Springs, quaint and charming, what I saw of it anyway. Stopped at a cafe and had a wonderful fruit plate and chatted with the locals out fishing. This was 4 miles in. After Boiling Springs it was the long hot walk across the valley. Crossed the PA turnpike and I-81 (again). At Carlisle I stopped for a coke and wound up with a burger. Met up with Achilles (now Unicroc) and Scattracker, last seen in Hiawasee! A young couple, strong hikers, they must've taken lots of time off. Great to see them!End of the day, climb the mountain, gather water, snooze. Fat Man Walking was there, great to see him!
Date: 2010-06-28
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow! What a privy! It's bigger than my shed back home! A two seater with a sophisticated mulch dispensing system, a closet, and loads of floor space. A trashcan for mulch that confused hikers actually threw trash in. This is a case of way too nice for the place. I'd be proud to have it out in the yard back home, it's a beauty!Well, I was headed for town, so that's my focus. I can tell you, lotta rocks on the trail, all kinds. The forest has changed a lot from the south too, very few rhodies, laurel. The hemlocks aren't looking so great, when I see them. Wonder if it's the same little bug as in the south. But mostly, it's about the rocks. Lot of ridge running though, only one big climb today, but oh my goodness, the downhill. Now that's a lot of rocks, and steep too. I'll bet the climb out will be the flipside.Got to the world-famous, well, hiker-famous, Doyle Hotel. It's a dump, but had all I need. Unicroc, Scattracker, Fat Man Walking, Kingkrawler and Beans were there, and others. Good folks all! Mrs Joy drove up to join us for dinner and to shuttle me around doing errands. Fun to see her! She looks great and is recovering well. We all walked for ice cream, then I ended the night at the local pub, watching professional wrestling with the fire department.
Date: 2010-06-29
From: Duncannon

To: Peters Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Took care of business in town, breakfast, PO, etc, and finally set off about 11:00. The trail route was right through town so I got to see the neighborhoods all flagged out for the 4th. Nice. Crossed the Juniata River, then headed over to Subway to eat up before climbing the mountain out of town. Yum! After that crossed the Susquehanna River (all those bridges!), then had to cross some railroad tracks. Unfortunately a freight train was just sitting there, but so was Unitrac and Scattracker, so I visited with them while waiting for the train to move. Finally!The climb was decent. Trail graded well, maybe I am a bit stronger, haha. Whatever, the climb was good, did not bother me at all. Stopped in at Clarks Ferry Shelter which had a lovely little spring flowing good. Hiked on toward Peter Mtn Shelter with fabulous weather. A front has moved in and cooled everything down. The gypsy whispered his song of wander on the breeze that brushed my neck. It felt good to hike today. Got to Peters Mtn Shelter (palace) where I found Beans and Kingkrawler. Water was 300 steps down, laughably the book said a tenth of a mile. It was a long hike to get water, but good company made it a fun night.This was my first night with my 55 degree summer bag. It got down to around 45. I froze my butt off. That's the AT for ya, LOL!
Date: 2010-06-30
From: Peters Mtn Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

A long day hiking with sore feet at the end, but a good day nevertheless. Hiked with Beans all day yakking it up all the while. Had a quick snack for lunch but mostly we hiked. Stopped at the creek at route 325 and ran into Unitrac and Scattracker. Fun to see them along the way. Two local people stopped us to ask questions about the trail which was strange but harmless. Then it was back up the mountain again. Rausch Gap is in an area of old coal mines and pretty cool to walk through. As we did who shows up but Supermax, last seen in Damascus. Fun to see her! She's in the 25 miler club so she'll be moving on quickly, but today she walked with us. The shelter was half underground with no tenting allowed, so the three of us and Hollywood (who showed up later) slept in the shelter. Bugs were not bad due to lower temps, but I froze again.
Date: 2010-07-01
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Me and Beans talk too much, which leads to late departures from shelters. I got out 5 minutes ahead of him, determined to get a decent start on a long day of hiking. The area around Rausch Gap is a magical dark forest and quite lovely. Went up and over Second Mountain, then broke out of the forest into a lovely meadow valley with crystal blue sky and the next mountain a mile or so off. Beautiful! Then, a couple of road crossings, then MAGIC! A cooler! With sodas and still frozen freezer pops! Yummy! Dang, I just missed the angels! Anyway, I sat and ate my pop, then got to work on my rootbeer. Hollywood was there too, then Beans showed up. Didn't take much to talk Beans into going to Wendy's in Lickdale PA so off we went. I seem to be getting fixated on food, huh? The Baja salad is really good. From there it was a race on to 501 Shelter. Lotta rocks, more and more every day. Some of these rocks are getting rather tiresome. Gets worse apparently. The last mile or so paralled the highway but with fine views of the valley below. Enjoyed that and trudged through the rocks. Finally got to the shelter where pizza could be ordered, so we did!
Date: 2010-07-02
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked out of the shelter a bit ahead of Beans, but he caught up at a lookout where we met and talked a bit with some dayhikers. We had been told by some section hikers that all the springs on the ridge are dry and we would have to carry water. Ugh! I loaded up with 3 liters at the 5 mile point. Those 3 liters would get me through the balance of the day's hike, camp that night, and starting out of camp tomorrow. Luckily the weather is still not too hot, but it sure has been dry. Good for hiking, bad for gathering water. After we loaded up with water Beans took off because he needed to get to the PO before it closed on Saturday. This left me to hike a leisurely 15 miles, taking time and care to step around the rocks as best I could. It was a nice no-pressure day. Hiked near a boy scout camp and saw a few troops out hiking. One group from New Jersey seemed especially interested in thru hiking so I talked with them about 30 minutes. Their leader looked like Bruce Springsteen, LOL. Nuttin wrong with that! Then off I went, taking good care not to get killed crossing Hwy 183. Geez!Then, I saw a bear. Whoa! He crossed the trail about 100 feet ahead of me and moved off into the woods along side me. Yes! Bears do go in the woods, I saw it! He paid no attention to me! So cool. I just kept moving along, same pace, watching him out of the corner of my eye. Funny, Springsteen was just telling me how shy PA bears are because they are hunted. This bear must've known it's not hunting season. He was more brownish than black.After the bear I just hiked on to Eagles Nest Shelter, put up my tent at a campsite there, ate my supper, hung my food, and went to bed. Camping alone tonight.
Date: 2010-07-03
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Hamburg PA
Miles today: 9.3

Today I hiked in to town for resupply. We had talked earlier in the week about getting dogs and burgers, finding a city park, and grilling out and watching fireworks. Well, none of that happened, but I got the supplies I needed and a bed. The hike into Port Clinton was nice, no hurry, no pressure, but geez it was steep coming off the mountain. Half day of rest will do my feet good. I'll bet its a tough climb out tomorrow. Zzzzz.
Date: 2010-07-04
From: Hamburg PA

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

Happy Independance Day! Great day for a hike!Started the day at the Penna Dutch Diner with eggs, bacon and blueberry pancakes. I'm gonna miss this stuff when the hike is over! After breakfast I got my stuff together and headed out, hiked with Beans all day. The hike began with what else? A steep climb out of town, but really it didn't go on too long and wasn't too awful bad. Topped one hill, down, then another. I don't know, it's not like it was easy but my body was just working right on the climbs. I love it when it comes together like that. Down off the second hill there was a stream where we stopped for lunch. Bruschetta, yummy! Lots of people on the trail, it being a holiday and several great lookout points on the mountain. Tough but good climb up, long, then rocks near the top. It was fun to make my way through the rocks, really! Well-defined trail helped a lot and it was graded for lots of hike traffic, not just backpackers. After that a rock scramble, it was a bit harder to keep the fun attitude going but I worked at it. Got through ok. Passed by Pulpit Rock, then on to the Pinnacle where we stopped to break, eat, take pics, etc. The views of the Pennsylvania farmland and smaller mountains were spectacular. Not a cloud in the sky, it's heating up again. I went right to the edge for my picture! So brave, I know!From there it was a decent walk out and down a forest service type road. Seemed to take forever and my dogs got to barking something fierce. Owie. So it goes, I guess my feet are just gonna hurt. Got to Eckville Shelter and what a place! Flush toilet. A spigot to wash sore feet under! A solar shower and a bunkhouse! John Prine cranked up on the caretaker's stereo, then Johnny Cash and Grateful Dead. Guys playing horseshoes. We've got a regular tent city set up over here. Met Sticks from Cookeville TN, my neighbor! Unicroc and Scattracker are here also. And I laughed to have caught up to Fat Man Walking. We watched the lightening bugs in lieu of fireworks and had a grand old 4th, just hanging out together. I hope yours was as good.
Date: 2010-07-05
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Campsite near New Tripoli Campsite
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Got a decent start out of Eckville this morning, then a big climb back up onto the ridge. Saw a snake eat a worm today which was fascinating. Little snake, about 18 inches long. There was an overlook called Dan's Pulpit with great views of the farmland below. Then it was time to hike through some pretty rocky stuff. Started out with loose rocks covering the trail, sometimes it was big rocks and rock fields to navigate. The good news is the blazing was pretty good which helps my patience with the rocks. I'm ok as long as I can figure out which way to go. Anyway, it was slow going on the rocks and my feet are sore. 4 miles or so later I got to Allentown Shelter and had lunch. Ate my first Clif bar ever! It was ok. Rested in the shade an hour or so, heat up around 90 or possibly even higher? Hot! Headed out and ran into MAJOR magic! Grilled hot dogs and corn, garden tomatoes (a personal fave), chips, snacks, sodas, all a hiker could hope for. Magic was put on by Perry who thru'd in 2007, and his friends Bruce and John who both did some sections with him. Fantastic! Thanks guys!From there it was a water mission at a restaurant along the highway. Lack of rain is leading to dried up springs, very bad. At the water place I met Gutsy who is supporting her husband Odometer in a section hike. Cool! These two are on my AT email list that helped me so much to prepare for this hike. Fun to meet them!
Date: 2010-07-06
From: Campsite near New Tripoli Campsite

To: PA 873
Miles today: 11.5

Beans and I camped right before the rocks started up again so that was first up this morning. Got a bit of a late start then headed for Knife Edge. Sounds scary, huh? Well, my focus was totally on my feet, next steps and next blaze, so not sure if there was a cliff or something for me to be afraid of. Seriously, from the rocks embedded in the trail to the big ones that require climbing up or down, they all take my complete focus. This rock business is something else. My feet are back to giving me trouble too, but it's mostly manageable. I do take aspirin and ibuprofen almost daily and that makes it tolerable. Guess I'm just not a tough guy. Sorry, I got off track there. The knife edge was kind of fun in a way. From there it was on to Bake Oven Knob which was tough. It was a big scramble and not well blazed which aggravates me. Got a bit turned around in there so took some extra steps. Luckily Beans and another hiker, Trinket, found their way through and helped me find my way. Good guys!The three of us hiked on to Bake Oven Knob Shelter to find the spring dry. Trinket made the hike down while I sat around in the shade. It meant being aware of water more the rest of the day. The temp has been hanging around 100 degrees for several days now. Ugh! Beans headed out, anxious to get to town, I moved out a lot slower. Didn't see Trinket again after that. At Ashfield Rd the ridgerunner, Calm Water, provided magic in the shape of gallons of water. Whoohoo!!! I drank and ate my lunch and filled up for the trail ahead. What a guy!After that there were lots of blueberry fields and views, but plenty hot. I was glad to make my way down to the highway and Slatington PA. Got to Fine Lodging and ran into Stickwalker! And Belle! They jumped up here to see a vet, turns out Belly Rub has Lyme Disease. Now that she's all doctored up the outlook is good, thank goodness. They need to rest up a few days now. Later me, Beans, and Stickwalker had a fun supper together, catching up. A good day!