morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-09
From: Tesnatee Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 15.2

Today was a long slack-pack beginning with a steep climb up from Tesnatee Gap in an area frequented by ice climbers. We could hear voices down the way and there was still plenty of snow and ice around in the more protected areas. We met another bunch of hikers and snacked at Low Gap shelter. A French gentleman said that this had been a slightly colder than average winter, but we are praying for an early spring. We have had such beautiful days ever since the storm; maybe our luck will hold out. We passed one of the young hikers we had met earlier who was shirtless (maybe 50 degrees out) and strutting with 2 cute girls ignoring him. Oh, the exhuberance of youth. Many of today's miles were along old forest road, so it wan't too difficult. By the time we reached the downhill into Uncicoi we were definitely tired and Rich was favoring a pulled muscle in his hip (it's nothing serious, he says.) George and Carroll took us for a fantastic seafood dinner and we were in bed early.
Date: 2013-03-10
From: Neels Gap

To: Tesnatee Gap
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: light rain

Happy Birthday, Carroll! Today we did a short slack with George and then returned to the house to have a birthday party. Our walk was lovely and we cherished the time together, but the skies were overcast and the wind kept us chilled every time we stopped for a breather. On our descent into Tesnatee we ran into a man who told us he had left us drinks and oranges in a cooler in the parking lot. He was enthusiastic in his encouragement of us, very uplifting! I am always so amazed at the number of people who go out of their way to make our adventure a success. I can't imagine what this would be like without all the support, both physical and verbal. We also met a young man who was completing his southbound thru-hike in just a couple of days. He had walked all through the winter and looked like he hadn't spoken to people in months. He was also incedibly skinny. I wonder how many hikers will be on Springer when he finishes. Back at the house we had a surprise because my niece Beth had come with her daughter, Jenni and granddaughter Hope, four generations of southern Belles. What a nice evening.
Date: 2013-06-19
From: 501 shelter

To: Eagles Nest shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

The storm that passed through last night left the air cool, dry and breezy. You couldn't help but get up with a smile under these conditions. The sisters, who never shared their names, had coffee, hot chocolate and oatmeal for us for breakfast. It was a gift that gave us wings! We were on rocks all day, but there weren't too many scree slopes so we moved quickly. All the rain had given us a carpet of lovely mountain laurel flower petals to walk on. The wild roses are in bloom, the woods smell fresh, and the cicadas are making their every 17 year appearance. Moving well, we skipped a break at the Hartline campsite, which had a great stream and walked on, making the left turn to stay on the trail and avoid a massive boulder field. Not everyone caught the turn blaze and stepped out into a horrible jumble of rock falling down the side of the mountain. We stopped at a trail instersection that was a little opening, right at the Fort Dietrich Snyder Memorial of the French and Indian War, for an early lunch and I was buzzed by a hummingbird, cicada and butterfly within just a few minutes. I guess they like the color of my shirt? All of nature seems happy today. We tented at the Eagles Nest shelter with Heavy Panter, Stripe and BB and Flow, arriving early enough to wash our shirts and stinky bodies at the stream and get to know a bit about our companions. Heavy Panter was renamed Sir Pants-a-Lot. He is 45 and will have completed the triple crown at the end of this hike. He makes everyone's problems his own and helps solve them. Stripe is 35 and has just left a high-paying computer career in LA, searching for a life that is more meaningful. BB and Flow are lovely women from western Kentucky who have been sectioning the AT for the month of June for the last 3 years, leaving husbands and families behind while they adventure. We told stories till dark, evoking tears of both laughter and sorrow.
Date: 2013-06-20
From: Eagles Nest shelter

To: Hamburg, PA
Miles today: 9.3

All I can say about today is that our fast pace, triggered by the thoughts of a night in town, left us with sore and aching feet. The rocks have been relentless and I should be thankful that we have navigated them without any falls, but they grab your feet and turn them in directions ligaments and tendons shouldn't really go. The soles of our shoes don't do nearly enough to keep us from feeling the sharp points of the little rolly stones and this stretch of trail sends many hikers to the Cabelas in Hamburg for new shoes. And that is exactly what we did when we walked off the mountain into Port Clinton. We saw Tugboat being driven by a local gentleman who stopped to offer us a ride into Hamburg. I was sorry that we didn't get a chance to have the coffee and cookies promised by the owner of the Port Clinton Barber Shop, but we weren't going to pass up the offer of a ride. Fred is also known as "Elvis" although we never learned why and he was driving with another young hiker in the car, Fables. She is off the trail for a week with cellulitis from blisters and he and his wife are taking care of her. In exchange she has promised to paint his fence and teach him how to use his smart phone. She told us a story about an imaginary land where people could hold their hearts and show them to others. What a talent this girl has! She has a great delivery and timing and had brought tears to my eyes before the story even ended. The Microtel Hotel smelled so clean, the staff was so welcoming and our room was ready in just a few minutes. It was a joy to shower and change into our spare clothes, but we hadn't had any lunch and I was sure I would starve in about 10 more minutes, so we walked to the Taco Bell and stuffed ourselves. We saw Burning Man and the two Austrian girls, one of whom was named 50K (she had hiked a 30 mile day to earn her trail name. Crazy!) It wasn't easy, but we navigated our way to Cabelas where DirtDog bought new shoes to replace his Montrails with very slick, worn-out soles. After laundry we had a mediocre dinner in the lounge attached to the hotel. While making a phone call DirtDog was nearly molested by a local woman who was very attracted to him, but managed to escape with his virtue intact after a long enough time that his dinner was cold. We didn't stay awake to see who won the NBA Championship.
Date: 2013-06-27
From: Caledonia State Park

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

DirtDog and I waited for friend and hiking partner, Spike, and his 14 year old daughter to join us at the Days Inn and then drive south to Caledonia State Park where we had ended a section last summer. It was a joy to meet daughter SweetPea and a chance to show her the many fun aspects of hiking on the AT. We shortly arrived at the snack bar in the park to find that a storm had taken out their power day before yesterday and all that we could buy was ice cream. No problem except that it was reminiscent of what we had gone through last year after the huge storm that knocked out power to the eastern seaboard. The humidity made the climb out of the park miserable, but we made steady progress. I'm glad we took a break to eat lunch because the sound of thunder rumbling through the clouds promised a wet afternoon. The hike was great in that we enjoyed the rhododendron blooms, listened to a deer trumpeting, and examined the many "wooly worms" on the trees. As we walked, we crossed Ridge Road several times and had a distinct feeling that we must be walking in circles, but everything was well-marked and we soon came to the Quarry Gap shelter. This shelter is maintained by a guy known as 'The Innkeeper,' who has made it his mission to make this the most beautiful shelter on the trail by adding a picket fence and flower boxes. Many little special touches were appreciated. We passed a couple of guys heading south right at the PATC cabin, about the time the clouds dumped. The downpour was relatively brief, but lasted long enough to thoroughly wet our shoes and socks. The Birch Run shelter was crowded with hikers eating an early dinner and waiting for the storm to pass so they could move on. We all set up in the shelter where SweetPea, perched on an upper bunk, silently cracked up every time someone whacked their head on the crossbeam at the front of the shelter. Some people are slower learners than others. We met many nice kids and Crazy Horse, a 5 time thru hiker who relived his glory days for our entertainment. I enjoyed Sprout, a young girl from Switzerland who was trying to become truly proficient in English as she hiked. A Czech couple was hiking with a french bulldog, Eddie, that was so cute. He cuddled up, completely exhausted, in the bunk above me and only landed on my head once during the night, better than having a mouse do the same.
Date: 2013-06-30
From: PA 94, Mt. Holly Springs

To: Boiling Springs
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: light rain

We left the Holly Inn without SweetPea and Spike. Mom was on the way to pick her up; Dad had determined that walking was out of the question to prevent further injury to her ankles and his plan was to wait with her and then follow us to Boiling Springs. Cindy, the proprieter, gave us a big hug and we turned away from a very kind and caring person and went on down the trail. It was such a beautiful trail so I took a photo of DirtDog and after the next dozen steps we were back in the rocks. Did I jinx things? We slowly navigated the Rock Mazes, so named because the white blazes gave you a variety of options on what route to take through the boulders. It certainly wasn't difficult, but presented us with a bit of a conundrum. I had seen a dog on the trail ahead of me - no way he could have gone over or around these rocks so where did he go? We never found him again. We had quite a bit of climbing in this stretch and the sweat just poured off us, more because of the humidity than the heat. At one point I had a small bird on the trail ahead of me. Every time I got close it would fly about 30 feet ahead and we would repeat the whole thing over and over again. I wonder if it was a female trying to lure us away from her brood? We descended from a rock overlook into a cornfield. We could see the buildings of town off to the left, but the trail took us a hot and exposed way through farm lands to the AT office. Kelly, a volunteer, welcomed us and we dropped our packs, hydrated and conversed with Crazy Horse who was just hanging out. Spike was running late so we went to Anilos just up the street for a yummy pizza lunch and a chance to cool off. The food was good, especially the salad, but I had an undisciplined kid behind me who took delight in dropping food and trash onto me. Mom's reaction was, "I guess he's a boy." Such ignorance will have consequences as that child grows up! When Spike arrived we hiked up the road to the Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse. We arrived just before the rain showered and waited for our laundry to finish while sitting in the lounge, munching and sipping! We were a bit disappointed to learn that we had missed the Sunday matinee performance and that there would be no buffet this evening and no food available tomorrow for breakfast. Bummer, as we had heard such good things about their food. Dinner in the lounge was really good and we ordered sticky buns that they would normally use for a dessert preparation to eat in the morning.
Date: 2013-07-02
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: light rain

We made our escape from Darlington early and quietly and all a bit grumpy from last night's interrupted sleep. Our trek was slow and we carefully negotiated the steep descent into Duncannon. The crumbly path I remembered has had major work done with the installation of dozens of steps. However, a reroute to keep you from exiting at the recycling center isn't in good shape; I feel sure this will be addressed in the near future. Walking into town with the noon whistle, we made a stop at the gas station for cold drinks and to wait out a shower where Spike discovered that a half gallon of sweet tea provides 800 calories! We took rooms at the historic Doyle Hotel, a wreck of a building, a flop house with amazing woodwork hinting of it's glory days and the site of a tavern serving the most delicious meals. The usual round of showers, laundry and food left us with time to nap before we went to the American Legion for a celebration of the Warrior Hikers. All the hikers had been invited to a pig roast and pot luck. No doubt we did justice to the great food provided by the townspeople and sat in our seats listening to the presentation. It was very touching to hear the stories of these young men and women and to see the results of fund raising by Trail Angel Mary. Mary was homeless and living in a tent near the trail in 2001 when she started helping the hikers by giving them bananas.   Her situation is now improved and she hosted at least one of the warriors. She was touted for being the driving force behind this celebration and did a marvelous job, raising about $4000 for the program. I tallked to local trail shuttler, Peanut Butter, who knew my friend Leslie Mass from her hike . Returning to the Doyle, we sat on the porch til dark admiring the architecture of the main street buildings while shaking our heads at their state of disrepair. Time has passed by this town. The hikers are keeping part of this town alive providing at least a small and badly needed financial contribution.
Date: 2013-07-03
From: Duncannon

To: Clarks Creek
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

We ate breakfast at Goodies, a restaurant across from the Doyle and none of us could actually finish all the food we were served. The walk through residential streets was pleasant, but crossing the Susquehanna River was like fingernails on a chalkboard with cars and trucks roaring past on the other side of the concrete divider. We're just not used to that level of noise and speed. The best distraction was that a study group had posted notices to hikers asking us to look for peregrine falcons over the river. We climbed easily and continued without a rest all the way to Peters Mountain shelter for a long lunch and the long trip down the steps to the water source. Plans changed and we decided to finish this section in two days instead of three. As we walked in the afternoon the sun came out, the first time this week and all local snakes considered this an invitation to warm up and dry out. I saw DirtDog step over a small copperhead and watched it coil right before I was to step over it. This is proof positive of the saying that the first hiker wakes the snake, the second makes him mad and the third gets bit! DirtDog pointed out a different path I could take through the rocks to avooid him, but there was a very large black snake right there, minding his own business. All was good as I managed to get by between them, but we had our eyes closely focused on the ground all the rest of the day. Dirtdog also spotted a blue skink disappearing into the rocks. A lovely, switchbacked descent took us down to PA 325 and down to Clarks Creek. This is a beautiful, winding creek, the water source for Harrisburg, and popular with fishermen and we found a spot that looked like an island to camp. We tried to cool off in the water, but the air was so still and warm that it was difficult to fall asleep. We were serenaded by barred owls squabbling over territory, the sounds of fireworks in a distant town and the passing of cars over the pass above us.
Date: 2013-07-04
From: Clarks Creek

To: PA 433
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

This morning was a delight because the trail was a reroute since 2004! Originally the AT climbed directly up an old wagon road that was so badly eroded, making made the footing difficult and the experience miserable. Instead, we found a nice incline and a trail benching around the mountain, a very pleasant climb. The day was airless and humid, but the forest was beautiful. We made it to the campsite at fast-moving Rausch Creek where we tanked up on water and had a very quick lunch before continuing on toward Swatara. Most of the day was a gradual descent and there were lots of dayhikers. It became oppressively hot before we reached PA 433 and DirtDog found a woman who would be glad to drive him into Jonestown to pick up our car at the Days Inn. He jumped in and was back with the car before we even missed him! We took a room at the hotel and DirtDog showered while Spike shuttled Firebird, Aviator and Chipper down to town (Swatara is a bad place to hitch as cars are moving way too fast). Spike got his chance at a shower and then DirtDog drove him back to his car, a 3 hour shuttle. I met Sun Driven while doing laundry and learned that he had plans to open a hostel in Minneapolis along the Mississippi River bike trail, providing work and housing for homeless men. Very lofty goals; a real dreamer! Tomorrow he will go up to Baxter and continue his hike as a flip-flop. DirtDog and I had dinner and were asleep long before the fireworks started.
Date: 2013-07-13
From: Culvers Gap

To: NJ 23
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: broken clouds

The woman who drove us to the motel yesterday decided she didn't want to return us to the trail so we went out to hitch. Unfortunately it was raining, not an easy time to get a ride. After all, who really wants 2 drippy, stinky hikers messing up their car? After 45 minutes I was pretty discouraged because the walk back to the trail was on a very narrow, winding road without shoulders. I saw a man walking around a nearby business and went over to see if I could get him to drive us, but he had seen us waiting and was already on his way to offer us a ride. What a nice man, but he lived in the area and didn't even know about the AT. He dropped us at "Joe To Go" where we had a great breakfast sandwich and good hot coffee before returning to the woods. The rain didn't last long, but we were soaked by the mist and the drips from the trees. Is it possible to have a humidity level of 100% and not be in a lake? The mosquitos were aggravating because the walking took all of our attention and the drips washed off any repellant we applied. We were surprised to arrive at the cute little Mashipacong Shelter and tried to make a reservation at the High Point Motel. Phone reception was so intermittent that we were able to learn that they had only one room left, but couldn't stay connected long enough to make the reservation. The afternoon was difficult with many slippery rocks, no views because of the mist and rain, and a trail that hadn't been groomed in a very long time (it was more of a bushwack in places than an open trail). This was all part of High Point State Park and we met a local hiker who said he had never seen it like this. I wonder if funding cut-backs resulted in fewer personnel to deal with the trail. We were grateful to arrive at the road where we arranged a ride into Port Jervis and the Days Inn because the room at the High Point Motel had, allegedly, just been let out. It turns out that we made a good choice because we had laundry and take-out from a good italian restaurant, Bruno Brothers, who make a lasagna that probably can't be improved upon.
Date: 2013-07-30
From: Lost Pond Shelter

To: VT 140
Miles today: 11.3

We left Lost Pond at 7 and had a nice morning. Our first break was at the new Little Rock Pond Shelter and Tenting Area with Mr. Fred and Fly Away. This is such a peaceful location and we could have spent the day here. In fact, there were a couple of campers doing just that and they included a swim in the cold lake with a cold breeze and no sun. They are made of stronger stuff than I! The shelter wasn't here when I passed through in '04 as it had burned years before. It had been rebuilt in '05, burned again and was rebuilt once more in '09. There was supposed to be a caretaker here, but we haven't encountered any this or any of the sites this year. I suppose the economy has hit the trail clubs and salaries are not affordable any longer, at least during the week. We kept our eyes out for signs of moose as they have been sighted in this area in the past, but we saw nothing to indicate they are here now. I especially enjoyed hiking in a beautiful spruce monoculture where the needles have carpeted the trail. We encountered a zen-like area where stones have been propped on a large boulder, some appearing to hug the rock (slivers had been wedged into a crack and the stones were balanced on them). A mile or so later, at the side trail to White Rocks Cliff, there was a chaotic place where literally hundreds of cairns have been built. Stones were stacked in very creative ways, including some in the crooks of trees maybe 8 feet off the ground. We sat and lunched and talked to the day hikers coming up to see the sights. I wonder how this all started, perhaps a token to the rock gods or maybe a camp counselor trying to use up all the energy of his charges? No matter, this place makes an entertaining rest spot. It was a long downhill to VT 140 where we were met by Can Do and taken to the Red Roof Inn in Rutland. We had a yummy dinner with a huge salad with Mr. Fred at Ponderosa.
Date: 2013-06-03
From: washington DC

To: harpers ferry, wv
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

finally made it to harpers ferry, its absolutely beautiful, like disneyland at times, but the gravity of the situation has set in. hikers everywhere... their packs all look about half what mine weighs. i feel like the boyscout kid in UP at the moment. checked into the teahorse hostel and its really quiet. everyone seems completely tired, too tired to talk or smile even, just reading and keeping to themselves. not sure what i was expecting, but tempted to go out and walk around just to make some noise. i guess coming from the craziness of the city and the rush of DC union got to me. still, in a very good mood and cant wait to start tomorrow.
Date: 2013-06-15
From: cove mountain shelter

To: peters mountain shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

Headed down from the porcupine's personal shelter after he kept us up all night climbing around in the shelter and gnawing on it for salt.   Super steep climb down into duncannon, grabbed my resupply package from the post office then spent the afternoon chatting with some very colorful locals at the doyle hotel, got a great haddock lunch, and finally headed up an equally steep hill and got to the shelter pretty early in the afternoon. At some point I checked out the book and realized if I didn't go another 7 miles today id be stuck doing 25 tomorrow, with rain in the forecast. Grabbed everything up and raced out at about 5pm and covered the 7 miles as fast and painfully as possible. Got in with about 10 minutes of light to spare and several suprising new blisters. Will do damage control tomorrow.
Date: 2013-06-18
From: lickdale, pa

To: 501 shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Mostly uneventful day until the end when we came up the road to the big 501 shelter and there was a huge sign saying trail magic ahead. These two girls had set up an ezup and picnic spread, giving out candy bars, oranges, hotdogs, cookies, chips, and gatorades. Totally amazing. Then the reverse 911 calls started coming in warning about flash floods so we evacuated the food to the shelter which had a giant 40ft hexagonal skylight in the middle of a huge log cabin full of 20 hikers already. They setup the hotdog grill again and fed everyone coming in from the rain, I think final count was 23 hikers. They talked us into a big group photo which turned out awesome, like a bunch of childhood summer campers that had known eachother for years. Once the food ran out, the trail angels even made a run down to a restaurant for a huge takeout order. In the morning they brought us more oranges, coffee, swissmiss cafe mocha, and oatmeal. Just incredible people, and fun night all around.