morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-29
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

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

Trail Day 129 -        Port Clintondaily miles 8.6 on ATI was the last one out of the shelter. As usual, ate oatmeal with a cup of coffee. I caught up with John and Little Feet at an overlook. We all took photos of each other. The trail was smooth and mostly down, so I hiked fast. Some have trouble with downhills, hard on the knees. Not me. I take them in stride.John lagged behind on the last steep descent. I walked on into Port Clinton with Little Feet. We crossed railroad tracks where boulder-sized rocks of shiny black anthracite coal were displayed. After walking a bridge over a stream, I read a map posted on a pole to find the Port Clinton Hotel and said goodbye to Little Feet.I checked into the hotel at the bar and downed a lager. My room was above the bar, Room #3. That evening I discovered that the jukebox was just below. It was very basic considering the room charge of $40. Later I heard that other hikers were given the same room and that room seems to be reserved for hikers. Sounds discriminatory to me. The hotel rejected a FedEx parcel delivered for me earlier in the day before I arrived. My wife arranged for it to be delivered again that afternoon. The bartender told me that they can't accept parcels for hikers because they are too busy. I waited in the bar until the FedEx man came in with the package and I signed for it. I got the feeling while I was there that the hotel does not like hikers, although they certainly get a lot of business from them.Beside the hotel was a candy store that was stocked with every kind of candy made in the U.S., like Necco wafers, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Pez, and many others I have not seen since my youth. I bought a pound of assorted hard candies and caramels to munch on while hiking.I dined in the hotel restaurant. The food was delicious, resonably priced and served in generous portions. A large order of french fries was a small mountain on a dinner plate. Other than the beer in the bar and the food in the restaurant, there was not much to keep a hiker in Port Clinton. There was no food store, so I resupplied from the very limited selection at the outfitter, which was expensive. There is an outdoor pavilion where hikers can sleep on the wood floor for free, but the hotel is the only place you can wash clothes or take a shower. I walked to the pavilion and met Lightweight Joe. He had washed his clothes in the stream. He is a young man from upstate N.Y. He reminds me of Publix from Florida, who flipped up to Maine. Lightweight made his own gear at home. His pack base weight is 18 lbs. without food and water. He hikes 20 mile days. He said his back and feet get sore - just like mine. He is a resourceful hiker getting by on little cash to accomplish a big challenge.
Date: 2004-07-31
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Trail Day 131 - Pennsylvania Rocksdaily miles 17.4 on ATUp the hill to Hawk Mt. with horseflies flicking at my calves all the way. I only had to kill three. I have learned that if I pick up my feet fast enough, they can't usually land on my legs to bite. At the top was Dan's Pulpit, a boulder with a view. In a box was a guest register. Lightweight Joe wrote that he had seen a rattler two miles south yesterday - his first. On the way up, I passed the trail to the Hawk Mt. Lookout. In the Fall, one can see hundreds of hawks migrating over this ridge in a single day. There is a Sanctuary on the other side to protect the hawks from being hunted as was commonly done years ago.I got to Blue Mt. Summit at 2 pm and stopped at the highway to eat lunch at the Blue Mt. B & B restaurant. There was a sign on the door for hikers to use the boot brush and wear a presentable shirt when entering. I noticed AT maps all over the walls inside. I sat in a booth and devoured the most delicious Philly Cheese Steak sandwich I have ever had - along with Pennsylvania's finest beer, a Yuengleng Lager. The staff was friendly and obviously welcomed hikers. I hiked on for six more miles to the Bake Oven Knob Shelter. The trail was smooth until I reached the Cliffs, or Knife's Edge. This is a rock outcrop that is tilted upward so that one walks on its upturned edge. There were no flat surfaces so I proceeded with care. A fall would be serious. This tightrope lasted about 50 yards. On the other side was Bake Oven Knob, where there were vistas on both sides of the ridge. I could see rain and lightning over the next ridge to the West. I hurried on to clamber over the Bake Oven Knob boulders before the rain began. There was plenty of time to get water from the spring at the shelter and get settled inside. Fireworks boomed in the skies at the same time thunder clapped and raindrops pattered on the tin roof. It was a summer Saturday night in some small Pennsylvania town, and rain would not stop the fireworks.Only In Between and I were in the shelter. He is from Minnesota but just left the Big Apple after living there a couple of years. He finished a B.A. in Psychology at Hunter's College and worked as a deckhand and first mate on a tourist yacht in the harbor. He said he was burned out on the big city. He would go back to Minnesota temporarily after his southbound section hike, and then do who knows what. He was named In Between by a trail angel called Deperado he met in New Jersey. He told me that the Pennsylvania rocks would get worse in the miles ahead.
Date: 2004-08-01
From: Bake Oven Knob Shelter

To: Palmerton "jailhouse hostel"
Miles today: 7.7

Trail Day 132 - Palmerton        daily miles 7.7 on ATEasy hike to Lehigh Gap where I would hitch a ride into Palmerton to stay at the jailhouse hostel. The day started rainy but it soon cleared. On the way, I stopped at the next shelter to read the register. Many praises noted from southbound hikers about the friendly reception received in Palmerton. Northbound hikers were looking forward to 50 cent beer at a tavern called Mugshots. The hostel in Palmerton is in the basement of an older borough building that formerly was used as a jail and now has a hearing room, a gym and offices. A transport driver in a Physical Therapy van picked me up and took me right there. He said that locals call it the "Friendly House". As far as I know, this is the only free hostel provided by a city or county agency for hikers on the trail. I walked in the front door and found my way into the basement. Since it was Sunday, there was nobody in the offices. There were no hikers in the building either. I found the showers in the gym upstairs and got cleaned up. When I came out, there were two boys playing basketball. I washed clothes at the laundromat across the street and had lunch next door at Bert's Diner. When I returned, I found the front door to the building was locked. The social worker who locked it was still on the front steps. I told her I was a hiker and needed to get into the building. She walked away in a huff saying I would have to contact whoever allows hikers to stay there. Apparently she has issues. So I walked a block to the Police Station and found an Officer who drove me back and let me in. He told me to just keep the basement rear door open when I go out. That was the only problem I had in Palmerton. Everyone else was friendly and helpful. I was the only person in this large downtown office building that night. There were lots of bunks but no other hikers showed up. It was a bit spooky and stuffy, but I was glad to have a free place to hang out and sleep that was close to the services I needed. The Borough supervisor came by in the evening. He looks a lot like John Cleese and has the same energy. He gave me a ride back to the trail in the morning. I cast my vote for Palmerton as the friendliest town on the trail.
Date: 2004-08-02
From: Palmerton 

To: Leroy Smith Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

Trail Day 133 - Lehigh GapI knew the climb out of Lehigh Gap would be steep from looking at my profile map, but I had no idea that I would be clinging to a sheer rock face 1000 ft. above the ground. Imagine climbing Mt. Rushmore with a 35 lbs. backpack. That is exactly how it felt. I was totally exposed. I could look down and see tiny cars on the highway below me. This was much dicier climbing than Mt. Katahdin and the backpack did not help. I imagined people down below watching this person inching his way up and wondering if he would fall. I had to reach up for hand holds and plan each step in advance. It was the scariest climb I have done on the trail by far. It took an hour to make the climb as I proceeded carefully recalling the tips Michael had given me on Mt. Katahdin. But I made it, happily, and I exulted in the views all around on top of this pinnacle and took many photos. The ridge was a wasteland of stunted trees and fields of bare rubble. A hiker told me this resulted from clouds of pollution drifting up to the ridge when zinc factories were active in Palmerton. The trail followed a dirt road with great continuous views of Palmerton below. After a mile of this, the forest came back and it was a green tunnel again. I met a southbound section hiker, Twilight, who warned me that the Pennsylvania rocks would get much worse tomorrow. I met my first southbound thruhiker this far south today, Miracle Man. He said he had been hiking for six weeks from Maine, incredibly fast. I made it to Leroy Smith Shelter without much trouble - just my usual sore back. Nobody was there, so I walked 10 minutes downhill to the spring to get water for dinner. Later two southbound thruhikers, Headhanger and Too Fast, came in. This is a father and son duo from Maine. Headhanger is 16 years old. He explained that he was not in good physical condition when they started at Mt. Katahdin so his head hung a lot. He named his father for obvious reasons: "You're Too Fast." Now their roles are reversed after almost 3 months of hiking.Terrapin and Goofy also came in that evening. I had not seen them for awhile as they took a rest day at the Doyle. They are good company because they are always joking around. They planned to go all the to Delaware Water Gap tomorrow, a distance of 20.2 miles over what is reputed to be the longest and worst stretch of pointy rocks on the trail so far. This inspired me to get up early and attempt it as well. I can always stretch my limits for a worthwhile goal: in this case, a comfortable motel room in town.
Date: 2004-08-03
From: Leroy Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Trail Day 134 - Getting through the rocks.daily miles 20.2 on ATOut at 8 am. The trail ran on top of the ridge and passed by boulders with vistas before descending to Wind Gap. The trail up the other side of the gap began seven miles of almost continuous rock. All the way from Wind Gap to Wolf Rocks the path was a jumble of pointy rocks of all sizes. There was no way to avoid them, not enough room to step around or over them. You had to beat up your feet by walking on them. It was a slow and tiresome balancing act, and it was discouraging to look ahead and just see more rocks. Eventually I climbed up over Wolf Rocks and came down to a smooth earthen path, and I had the same feeling of joy that I felt when I burst out into the sun on the Golden Road after finishing the 100-mile wilderness in Maine. There were still 8.6 miles to walk before reaching Delaware Water Gap, but I knew I could make it because I was done with the worst of the Pennsylvania rocks. The victory came with a price, however, because my left knee twinged all the way down the last long mile into town. I stepped gingerly with my left foot to avoid making the knee worse. It was good timing to take a rest day now. I stopped at the church hostel, but there was construction going on inside, the bunkroom was small and it was crowded with hikers. I figured I would not get much rest with all the commotion so I went on to the Ramada. There I found a comfortable room at a reasonable price and I stayed two nights. My last zero day had been in Harper's Ferry 18 days ago, so it was a rest well earned.
Date: 2004-08-04
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Trail Day 135 - Zero at the Water Gapdaily miles 0.0 on ATDelaware Water Gap was a good town to stop in. The Ramada was modern, inexpensive and quiet. Other hikers were staying there. It was close to an outfitter, a convenience store and a bakery. Two restaurants were within a block. The only establishments it lacked were a library and a tavern, both nice to have but not essential. Most of the time I stayed in my room and worked on my journal or organized my pack, but I walked out to get food or to mail stuff home at the post office. I sent home the 2-man tent I was carrying when I received my 1-man tent in the mail from home. Still trying to reduce my pack weight, I was down to 33 lbs. when I left the Water Gap. Food is my next area to look at more critically. I am about down to basics with clothing and gear.
Date: 2004-08-05
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Trail Day 136 - Mohican Outdoor Centerdaily miles 10.5 on ATDid not get out on the trail until 11 am. Had a free AYCE breakfast at the motel with Grizzly Dave. He is a talkative guy, 68 years old, from Iowa and doing a thruhike. I heard that his career was in politics. He is doing well but had to stay two weeks in a hostel in Virginia due to an injury. He told me that friends at home ask him with incredulity, "Why are you doing this? You could be enjoying your retirement doing a lot of other things." He tells them (and he prefaced this by asking me if I thought this is arrogant), "Because I can!" I said no, it's not arrogant. I understand what he means. I too get pleasure in knowing that I can do what others would not think of doing. In training for the hike, I used to watch for a storm front on radar before running on trails at San Felasco. I exulted when the trail was a stream and thunder and lightning were all around me. It was scary but also exciting. I loved riding it out and getting pleasure from the energy of the storm - and knowing that few could experience this. The ascent from Delaware Water Gap looked demanding on the profile map, a thousand foot gain over 2.5 miles, but it was actually quite easy. The cool, beautiful weather continued after last night's rain. At the top was Sunfish Pond, a gem that looked like the ponds in Maine: rocky shore and clear water. Only the trees were different.I stopped for the night at the Mohican Outdoor Center, a rustic camp just off the trail operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club. For $12, I had a large bunkhouse all to myself, including kitchen and dining rooms. It has a lake with a beach, but the day was much too cool for swimming. It reminded me of Boy Scout camps I have seen, the same layout with a dining hall, cabins and tent pads. The next day I met a local man on the trail who told that it was originally a Boy Scout camp that was taken over by the government when the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area was established.
Date: 2004-08-07
From: Forest Motel, Culvers Gap

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

Trail Day 138 - Life on the trail. daily miles 16.0 on AT, plus 2 miles of road walk.Out at 7 am to walk up the steep highway. On the trail by 8 am. Another cool morning. Stopped at Gren Anderson Shelter to read about bear sightings in the register. Several were noted. A man in fatigues and his wife and large dog walked to the shelter on a blue blaze trail looking for the AT. I told him about my hike and showed him the trail. He shook my hand as he left and gave me a look of encouragement I shall not forget. Not since Southwalker pumped his fist in the air for me south of Damascus have I had such a rallying sendoff. Those moments motivate me to keep on when the going gets tough. On Sunrise Mt. I found a large pavilion with benches for enjoying the vista. I hiked on to Mashipacong Shelter to eat lunch. In the bear box was a bag of gorp donated by Girl Scouts for thruhikers. It was mostly Cheerios, but I took some as I was getting low on lunch food. I skipped the side trail to Rutherford Shelter because I wanted to get to High Point State Park before the concession closed. I stopped to talk with many people on on this Saturday: a man & wife who were maintainers sawing a fallen tree trunk (she gave me snacks), a man & his son hiking to Sunrise Mt., and section hikers going south. It was a very pleasant day with lots of conversation. Ordinarily I meet few people as I hike.I met Dan as I was hurrying up a trail to get to the snack bar at High Point. He could not fail to notice me as I fell flat on my face in front of him when a branch caught my boot. He was sitting in a van parked at a campsite. I told him I was not hurt and he gave me directions to the concession. He said he likes to come to the State Park to write. He offered to drive me to a store if the snack bar was closed. He said he has hiked large sections of the trail. He was eager to talk about it and walked beside me in his socks for a bit. I found the concession stand closed and walked back to the van. I wanted to spend some time talking with Dan because he was such an enthusiastic guy, but it was getting late and I still had about 45 minutes of hiking to get to the High Point Shelter.There was nobody at the shelter. While I was preparing dinner, a young man walked up. He was a local man who does volunteer work for the State Park. He was checking out the shelter for the Rangers. He said I was the first hiker he had found here. He hung around and talked about his interest in calling coyotes. He showed me two rabbit callers and one coyote caller and demonstrated them. He said he often blows his callers at night and hears coyotes calling back. He has also called in bears. He was hoping to go out with a Ranger to look into coyote dens at night with night vision goggles. He is really into wildlife and wants to be a Ranger but he had not passed the qualifying exam. I encouraged him to keep on trying. I went to sleep that night wondering if any bears would show up at the shelter looking for rabbits.
Date: 2004-08-08
From: High Point Shelter

To: St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 18.9

Trail Day 139 - The secret shelter. daily miles 18.9 on ATNo bears visited last night. I felt joyful hiking this morning and I sang as I walked. Another beautiful day and the trail was easy, crossing streams and roads. This is farm country so I stepped carefully through cow pastures and climbed ladders to get over fences. The farms were very picturesque and I stopped for photos.I sidetracked to see Jim Murray's "secret shelter". Jim is a past thruhiker who owns property near the trail where he has a shelter just for thruhikers. It has a shower, sink, electricity, and a privy. He was mowing the grass when I walked up. He stopped his mower to sit and talk with me. He recommended a hike he had done in Europe, the GR-5, which traverses mountains from Geneva to Nice, France. He said it looked just like scenes from "The Sound of Music". He likes the European hut system on trails because they serve meals and offer bunks, enabling lightweight hiking. We discussed the importance of spending time wisely. He said he was thinking of doing something completely different now, maybe buying a boat and living on it in Florida.The trail stayed low most of the day, passing through a marshy wildlife preserve alive with birds and ablaze with purple flowers. Next was a mile of plank walking over a wet area and then a climb up to Pochuck Mt. Shelter. Warren Doyle had just stopped in and wrote in the register that he was a 26,000+ miler. I can't imagine spending that much time hiking on the AT. One time is enough for me. There are many interesting trails out West: Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Colorado Trail, and John Muir Trail to name a few.Above Pochuck Mt. Shelter, the trail leads up a towering jumble of rocks. I tripped going up and my knee protested. On top I ran into a man who had just bushwacked up the mountain with his two dogs. He collapsed on a rock and said he has Lyme Disease, which makes him angry, and he fights it by doing something strenuous like climbing the mountain. I said I understand how he feels. I hurried on to get to Vernon, NJ, where I would stay at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church Hostel, get a hot shower and eat real food.
Date: 2004-08-09
From: St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Vernon, NJ

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: clear sky

Trail Day 140 - Now or Never. daily miles 5.3 on ATStayed in town all morning to shop for groceries and eat lunch. Hitched to the trail with the aid of my "Hiker to Trail" bandana. It was hot and sunny at the trailhead, so I lingered at Heaven Hill Farm Market eating ice cream and hoping for clouds. The clouds did not come, so I headed up Wawayanda Mt. on a steep trail rising 800 ft. I took my time and enjoyed the views as I had plenty of time to get to the first shelter. I met day hikers along the way. One man hiking with his wife wore a bug net over his head. She said they were section hiking the AT, and at this rate it would take 30 years to finish. I said I had thought about hiking it for 30 years, so had to do it all now or never. There is an opthalmologist in his 60's thruhiking this year with the trail name Now or Never.Nobody was in the shelter, but it was an area full of mosquitos. Ordinarily I would drive them off with a smoky fire, but fires were not allowed at the shelter. I had no DEET, so I swatted away at them. They were just annoying. I walked a short distance to the State Park Office to get water and call my wife. After dinner I worked on my journal. The mosquitos buzzed me all night but I was safely burrowed in my bag. This was my second night alone in a shelter. I was starting to enjoy the alone time.
Date: 2004-08-10
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Trail Day 141 - Alone again, naturally. daily miles 12.0 on ATI got water and called my wife again in the morning, then set out for Wildcat Shelter. More stream and road crossings today. It was humid and hot. I left NJ and entered NY somewhere on the ridge, but did not see a sign for that as I had seen leaving other states. A trail called Vista Valley led down to the lakeside town of Greenwood Lake, but I did not want to hike another two miles just for a sandwich. At Hwy 17A I came upon a hog dog stand in a stepvan at the gap, so I got my sandwich anyway. I went a litle further down the road to The Creamery, which sells homemade ice cream. On this hot day I enjoyed the most delicious pint of coffee ice cream I have ever tasted. I watered up from a faucet and headed to the shelter. I met a young man who was hiking instead of going to a gym for exercise. He said he had just flushed out some turkeys and it scared him half to death. I climbed up over two shelves of boulders and descended into a cove to the shelter. Alone again, naturally, but I could hear road noise from the valley. That evening there were long rolls of thunder and lightning off to the southeast but rain never came. I hung a bear bag and bedded down in this newer shelter by myself. I wondered how long this nightly solitude would last and why the northbounders behind me were not catching up. You can follow the progress of hikers ahead of you by reading the registers, but you don't know what is happening behind you unless someone catches up. I am beginning to feel like the last straggler going north. At least I was starting to meet southbounders on the trail, but there was never much time to talk in passing. Information about water sources and off trail lodging was exchanged and it was Happy Trails and goodby.