morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-27
From: Ironmaster's Mansion

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

I left the Ironmaster's Mansion this morning at about 8 with Squish, Lucky Dog, and Condor. It was a good group-- the miles go much faster when you're talking and joking with people.We stopped after a mile to take pictures at the Halfway Marker-- there are three midpoints on the A.T., you see. The "psychological" one at Harper's Ferry that marks a sort of symbolic midway point, the actual midway point 1087.1 miles past Springer that isn't marked at all, and then the midway marker that was erected in the mid-80's, but because of trail relocations between then and now is actually about 2 miles past the midway point. We took some pictures there, then continued walking, and within seemingly no time at all we were standing at a road about 8 miles down the trail called Hunter's Run. There was a restaurant 0.3 miles off the trail, and since today was a short day anyway, it was a no-brainer-- we went to the restaurant for lunch. It was pretty good; I had a cheesesteak sandwich. We also bought some smoked sausage from the campstore next door to share for dinner.It was another 8 miles to the shelter. Most of it was easy, but there were some hard parts, including a bunch of nasty rock scrambles. We got to the shelter with the intention of tenting, but there weren't really any decent tentsites. In the end, only Squish and Condor camped, and Lucky Dog and I retired to the shelter. Later Hoplite, Skyline, and Sundance showed up, and the Mad German, Packrat, Wings and Feather also caught up to us. So the group here tonight is big, but fun. We play word games (there are several geeks in the crowd-- it's always fun to find other outdoor geeks), and in general have a lot of fun. Today has been a really good day.I've been tracking Scorpion in the shelter registers-- I'm kind of reluctant to push hard to catch him, because I know it will probably take me a couple weeks of major mileage days. Still, though, I read his entries, most of which are 4 words long or less ("Here for the night" was always his favorite). Today, though, he wrote half a page! I'm worried that he may have been replaced by an evil doppelganger or something.
Date: 2004-05-28
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: light rain

I slept really late this morning-- quarter 'til 7. Usually when I'm in a shelter I get up around 6. Nevertheless, it was kind of nice, and I was walking by 7:30. Our goal was the town of Boiling Springs, a mere 4 miles down the trail and an ideal place for breakfast. I was running low on food, too, so it was a good place to buy stuff to tide me over to Duncannon, only 26 miles away.About 2 miles into the day we descended out of the mountains into the Cumberland Valley. We would stay there for most of the day, crossing farmlands filled with corn, grain, and hay-- it was a nice change of scenery, and Lucky Dog commented that it reminded him of Iowa, where he grew up. There are times when you can't see the mountains in the distance and it really is easy to forget that you're in the midst of the Appalachian Mountains.Boiling Springs turns out to be a beautiful little almost postcard-perfect town. There's a spring-fed lake in the middle of town that is perfectly clear, and even though some local misdirect us through town, it's still nice to stroll thorugh the main street-- we pass one historic old house that was part of the Underground Railroad back in the 1840's.We have breakfast at the Lakeview Cafe; I have a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant, and a fruit smoothie. Most excellent-- then I have a second course (a cheeseburger) at the convienence store where I also pick up dinner, tomorrow's breakfast, and snacks to get me to Duncannon. Soon after, Lucky Dog and I are once again trekking our way through the Cumberland Valley.About 2 miles before the shelter, we start climbing a mountain again. The shelter is small, but there are good tentsites, so we tent-- it's better in this buggy weather, anyway. Big crowd tonight-- I think there are a good 15 thru-hikers here.
Date: 2004-05-29
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

Even though there were about 15 people at the shelter last night, most everybody was tenting, so the shelter wasn't even full. Actually, it was a pretty lousy shelter-- later this summer I think it's going to get torn down and replaced.The weather's been cool the last couple of days, and last night it actually dipped into the 40's. This morning it was cool and breezy, and even after the breeze died down and the Sun came out, it was still a nice, cool walking day.Lucky Dog and I were on the Duncannon Express today, as Scorpion would say. We knocked out the 11 miles to Duncannon in about 4 hours, despite some rocky conditions along a ridge that stretched for a few miles.The place to stay in Duncannon is called the Doyle Hotel. It was built by Anheuser-Busch in 1905, and it looks every day of 99 years old, both inside and outside. It's a little run down, but it's cheap, the restaurant downstairs serves excellent food, and the people are incredibly friendly. For example, the grocery store is only a half-mile or so away, but it's along a busy road, so the Doyle and the grocery store teamed up to offer a free shuttle for hikers to get to the store.Lucky Dog and I are here. Wings, Feather, The Mad German, and Packrat are also here (they were going to stay at the campsite in town, but apparently it's a dump). Skyline and Sundance are here-- they're going to hike with some old college buddies for the next couple of days. Hoplite is here. Yep-- it's a full house tonight.
Date: 2004-05-30
From: Duncannon, PA

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

We took advantage of a shorter hiking day today to sleep in nice and late at the Doyle. The hotel may be 99 years old, but the beds have just recently been replaced, so were quite comfortable.We had breakfast at Jodi's Cafe. Lucky Dog had Freedom Toast with raisins (seriously), and after breakfast we went back to bed. Woke up again about 10:30, packed up and left about 9 minutes before the 11 am checkout time.The first mile or so of walking wound through the streets of Duncannon. After that we crossed the Susquehanna River (it took several minutes to cross the bridge, it was so wide) and after that we ascended back into the woods.It's become clear from the views we had today that there are no mountains in Pennsylvania, only ridgelines. When you look out at a view, you only see one ridgeline after another-- never any solitary peaks.The shelter was very nice-- two stories and a large patio, but the bugs are biting, so Lucky Dog and I are going to tent. Skyline and Sundance also show up a bit later-- they're hiking with three college friends for the next day or so.There's also an older guy here named Crazy Horse who's hiked the trail three times, or so he claims. The rocks in Pennsylvania, feared throughout the trail, haven't been bad at all so far, but he's telling us horror stories about the Northern half of the state. I want to tell him to shut up, not because the rocks scare me, but because he obviously is trying to scare us. I've hiked over 1100 miles of trail at this point, and I'm not going to get all worked up and nervous over a section of trail at this point. Anyway, we've heard horror stories about the rocks in Pennsylvania since Georgia-- he's not telling me anything I haven't heard before. I'll deal with the rocks when I get there, and that's all there is to it.
Date: 2004-05-31
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: moderate rain

It's amazing what a motivating force rain can be.From the moment we woke up, the clouds looked like rain could burst forth from them at any moment. So at 7:30, Lucky Dog and I started walking. We walking quickly, to try and get as many miles as possible done before the rain started.Around 10 or so it finally began to rain in earnest. We continued walking quickly, because walking in the rain is unpleasant, so the less time we spent out here,the better. By 2:15, we had done 17 1/2 miles into Rausch Gap Shelter. That many miles is a pretty good day, so I'm still amazed that we finished it this early. We spent the afternoon eating and staying warm in our sleeping bags-- it's a cold rain, and the temperature is staying low today.I spent most of the afternoon reading "Shadow Puppets" by Orson Scott Card. Squish and Hoplite (who I haven't seen since Duncannon-- Squish was taking a day off with his fiance, and I have no idea where Hoplite is) have both been reading paperback books recently. The days are longer, so there's time to read, and our packs are lighter (all that winter gear is at home), so I picked up a book for myself. I'm glad I did.In the shelter we meet Hillbilly and another Northbounder whose name I didn't catch, but he did 29 miles out of Duncannon today, so I imagine he'll be well ahead of me before too long.It's funny-- back at the beginning of the hike, I was very enthusiastically greeting and talking to everybody I met. Now, I'm a little quieter, and don't say quite so much as I used to. Is it because I'm more comfortable out here? Is it because I don't feel the overwhelming need to make friends that I did back at the beginning of the hike? Or is that I've met so many people that I'm getting burned out? Probably a combination of all of it.Around 6:30 Skyline and Sundance make it to the shelter, and later Traillite comes as well-- 7 people in a shelter that would comfortably fit about 5. Fun.
Date: 2004-06-01
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

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

We had a lazy start this morning-- we slept in, then took our time getting going. I finished my book while I was eating breakfast, and we finally started walking about 8:30.The overcast skies gave way to Sun, which was nice, although it was a little warm. Lucky Dog and I leapfrogged back and forth with Skyline and Sundance most of the day, and we kept a fairly brisk pace.4 miles into the day, we reached a particular stream that Crazy Horse had been warning us about at Peters Mountain. "You'll have to ford it," he said, "and it's not easy getting across. Especially since it'll have rained for a day by the time you reach it, I imagine it'll be waist deep."Oh, the thrill and horror as we cross the one-inch-deep stream and continue onward. Heck, the only way that stream would ever come up to somebody's waist would be if they fell down in it.There's a shelter at about the 13-mile mark that we pulled into for a late lunch. As we were sitting there eating, clouds rolled in and thunder rumbled ominously in the distance. Soon after, the rain began, so we sheltered inside while it rained. About an hour later it stopped, and we continued onward. Just another case of perfect timing on the Appalachian Trail.The 501 Shelter was really nice-- it's a fully enclosed cabin with wooden bunks and a huge skylight. There's a long picnic table inside with chairs, as well as a atrash can and a bunch of magazines for hikers to read. The best thing about the 501, though, is that it's only about 200 yards from a road, and if you have a cell phone you can order pizza there. So we did, and it was excellent. Rockhound had come by during the day with trail magic, too-- sodas packed in bags of ice, which went quite well with our pizza.
Date: 2004-06-02
From: 501 Shelter

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: few clouds

Today was my first 20+ mile day since my 4 day break at the end of the Shenandoahs. It wasn't a particularly fun 20+ mile day, either. The scenery was pretty much unchanging through the whole day as the trail zigged and zagged its way along the top of the ridgeline. The constantly winding trail became a source of frustration-- it felt like over the whole day, we couldn't have gone more than five miles as the crow flies.Another thing that made it difficult was the rocks that were strewn over the trail all day-- they weren't too bad, but they were bad enough that you had to pay attention to every footstep, which made it difficult to get into a good rhythm.We got drenched by a short thunderstorm at about 4. Just as we had dried off and were about a mile from Port Clinton, it began to rain again, so we walked/ran into Port Clinton totally soaked once again.Port Clinton did not have the vibe of a particularly friendly town-- the hotel owner curtly informed us that they were out of room, and offered only vague directions to other logding. Had a similar experience at the bed and breakfast (it was also expensive), so we ended up walking over a mile down the road to a Microtel Inn, where we finally got a room. There was a cracker barrel across the street, so at least that was a plus.
Date: 2004-06-03
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, Lucky Dog is getting off the trail again, this time for a week and a half. So it is very unlikely that I will be hiking with him again on this journey. We woke up a little before 7, enjoyed the hotel's continental brekfast, and by 7:30 Lucky Dog was off to try to catch a local bus line that would get him to Pottsville, and from there to his home in Maryland.It always sucks to lose a hiking partner, but that's how the trail goes, I suppose. I hope Lucky Dog makes it back on all right, and is able to finish successfully.As for me, it's just me, Skyline, and Sundance now-- checkout time isn't 'til noon, so we go across the street to a store called Cabela's. It bills itself as "The World's Foremost Outfitter," and is easily the size of a Super Wal-Mart. There is practically a whole museum devoted to taxidermied animals, and the store seems primarily geared toward hunters and fishermen-- the place must have at least a thousand fishing rods, as well as enough firearms and ammunition to conquer a decent-sized European country. Very little in the store is stuff that thru-hikers could use, though, so we leave without buying anything.We pack up, check out of the hotel, go to Wendy's, and set about trying to find the local bus line that Lucky Dog caught so we don't have to walk the 2 miles back to Port Clinton. It turns out that a bus leavs from Cabela's at 2, so we head over there to wait. As we're waiting, we get to talking to one of the greeters at the store, and he offers to shuttle us back for free! Sweet! So we load up in the Cabela's van and head back to the town of Port Clinton.I still need new boots-- I had looked over the selection at Cabela's, but it wasn't geared for thru-hikers. I would like to get a sneaker with a stiff lug sole, but they didn't have any. There's an outfitter in Port Clinton that I hoped would have more of what hikers like me are looking for, but the selection is dismal and the employee on duty wouldn't know a lug sole if I hit him in the head with one, so I leave, disappointed. There's an outfitter in Delaware Water Gap, 75 miles down the trail and 5 days away. My boots will hold up 'til then, but I think by that point I will pretty much have to buy new shoes.Next stop is the post office to pick up my maildrop. I do that, and without wasting too much time I head on down the trail. It's midafternoon now, and I have 6 miles to cover. I'm not actually feeling all that well-- minor stomachache that I think may have been brought about by too much Wendy's food-- but I have absolutely no desire to spend another night in Port Clinton. I hit the trail again.
Date: 2004-06-04
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: broken clouds

Today was my 23rd birthday. So I decided to begin the day on a good note-- I slept in. I wasn't even out of my sleeping bag until quarter 'til 8. It was great.Skyline and Sundance were also having a lazy morning. When Skyline found out it was my birthday, he performed his family's own rendition of The Happy Birthday Song-- about five times as long and seven times as embarrassing. Heh.We ended up walking together most of the morning. About 1 pm, we reached the first shelter of the day-- Eckville Shelter. This is another shelter like the 501 Shelter, with a caretaker and bunks and a nice privy. (This one has a flushing toilet! Luxury!) There's even a fridge with sodas and snacks that you can have for a donation.So we have lunch, drink sodas, and relax. It's a nice, sunny day and nobody wants to go anywhere. Condor and Lucky Star show up, and inform me that Hoplite and Squish are planning on coming here tonight. I am seriously thinking of staying, but in the end I decide to pack up and leave-- by getting to the next shelter, I can make the next couple of days considerably easier, which will be helpful since the next couple of days are supposedly the worst stretch of rocks we'll see in Pennsylvania.So I leave Eckville at about 3:30. There are some pretty bad rocks over the next seven miles, but they come in short stretches-- nothing too bad. I reach the shelter about 7, and Skyline and Sundance pull in a few minutes later. We're the only ones here tonight.
Date: 2004-06-06
From: Slatington, PA

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We took a lazy morning (which is becoming pretty common, actually). We had breakfast at a nearby diner, then sat around, did chores and read the paper until about 10, when the owner gave us a ride back to the trail.Climbing out of Lehigh Gap was an adventure. We were basically rock climbing as we clambered at between a forty and sixty degree incline up and across a boulder-strewn cliff. It was one of the tougher climbs of the whole trail, but it was also pretty fun. The day was foggy and cold, so we didn't see any snakes on the rocks, either, which was good.The area north of Lehigh Gap has been hit hard by a hundred years of mining and zinc smelting, and it's a great example of how pollution can totally destroy a landscape. In parts, it was almost like a moonscape-- just endless stretches of rocks, interrupted only occasionally by a dead, blackened tree trunk. In some areas, there was a fair amount of green vegetation, but it was all vegetation that was hardy enough to grow in very acidic soil.It was a long day, and the trail was studded with rocks for long stretches. It wasn't until a little after 7 that I pulled into Leroy Smith Shelter and found it almost full of thru-hikers I had never met: Mockingbird and Norway, who had been behind me, and Smoky, Captain Hook, and Tim, who had been ahead of me. Condor also showed up-- good company tonight.
Date: 2004-06-07
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: broken clouds

Another late start this morning-- yeah, it's becoming habit, but you know what? It doesn't really matter. The days are long enough now that I can get a late start and still have plenty of time to do decent miles. So finally, I leave with Skyline and Sundance at about 8:30.Today is rough-- literally. All day the trail is studded with rocks between 1 and 3 feet in diameter, which means every other step you're twisting your ankle funny or stepping down on the sharp edge of a rock. It made for a very long day.We had a nice treat about five miles down the troad-- there was a hotel that offered to refill hikers' water bottles, and they also had sodas for salwe, so we stopped for a quick break and drank soda.Then it was back into the rocks. Walking was difficult all afternoon, and around 3:30 we got into Kirkridge Shelter about 6 miles before Delaware Water Gap. My original plan had been top go into town today, but the hostel is closed and I don't want to pay for an entire hotel room on my own. Skyline and Sundance are doing their own thing-- it's Skyline's birthday tomorrow, so they're going to go to Delaware Water Gap and get a cab to the nearby city of Stroudsburg for a zero day.So I decide to stay here. Condor, Captain Hook and I will wake up early tomorrow and try to get to Delaware Water Gap by 10 am to catch the morning shuttle that the local outfitter runs into Stroudsburg.
Date: 2004-06-08
From: Kirkridge Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: few clouds

So we got up early today, and were actually hiking by quarter 'til 7. Pretty good, in my opinion-- I don't think I've gotten a start that early since I was hiking with Scorpion.But today, we had reason to be hiking early-- we've got to be in town before 10 so we can catch the suttle run by the local outfitter to Stroudsburg. There, we will hopefully find a grocery story and maybe even a library (blessed Internet!).Chestnut, Captain Hook, Condor and I got into town about 9:30-- plenty of time to spare. We passed a little farmer's market/bakery on the way into town. We stopped, helped ourselves liberally to their free samples of donuts, and bought milkshakes.Sundance was also there-- she and Skyline ended up staying at the Ramada Inn in town last night, and were taking a zero day today.In Stroudsburg, we bought groceries, and went to the library to check e-mail. I didn't have time to update my journal online, though-- my backlog currently stretches all the way back to Harper's Ferry. Gack. Gonna have to remedy that soon.I also bought new shoes at the mall in Stroudsburg (finally!). I had wanted to buy shoes at the outfitter-- they even had a shoe I liked, but they only had it in women's sizes. (Note to future thru-hikers: buying new shoes at outfitters along the way is, I now believe, a bad idea. Better to buy 3 or 4 pairs beforehand that you like, then have them mailed to you when you need new shoes.)So anyway, I bought some New Balance 706's-- trail running shoes which are pretty popular out here. Hopefully they'll do the job. I couldn't find shoes which fit really well (12s were too small and 13s were too big), so I bought 13s and put my Superfeet insoles in them, which take up a lot of room and will hopefully help restrict the movement of my feet.When we got back to Delaware Water Gap about 1, Captain Hook wanted to go tubing on the Delaware River, so we paid 12 bucks to take a 3-hour tube ride down the river. It was quite fun;very relaxing, although I think I got pretty sunburned (I did apply sunscreen-- just not enough). After that we went back, had dinner, and celebrated Skyline's birthday at the bakery.We also ran into Squish and Hoplite, who came into town this evening. Condor, Captain Hook and I are going to crash on the outfitter's porch tonight, but Squish and Hoplite let me shower in their room at the Ramada. I would have liked to stay at the Ramada myself, but I would have had to pay for a room by myself so I said forget it.