morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-22
From: Somewhere near Mt. Garfield

To: Guyot Campsite
Miles today: 7.3

My rocky relationship with the Whites hit an all time low just before lunch today. Though this morning's weather was clear, we were greeted by what felt like a 60-degree climb up a heap of wet rocks that were all at odd angels and slick from yesterday's rain. After a couple hours of climbing them, I just sort of lost it and screamed, "I CAN'T CLIMB ANY MORE SLIPPERY ROCKS! I HATE THIS PLACE! I WANT TO GO HOME!" Then, of course, I climbed the slippery wet rocks in front of me (and hundreds more) since I didn't see any other options at hand. Scott probably thinks I'm a lunatic, and for a few minutes I did too. Felt a little better after eating lunch and resting a bit and finding a campsite for the night that was only three miles away.I don't know what my problem is. I do find it frustrating that we hike all day and don't even make ten miles. My hips continue to hurt at a level I've never experienced before. At least we were treated to some spectacular views today, so there was some reward for our efforts. And I met some very pleasant section hikers - human and canine. I've got to find a way to chill out and enjoy each day, regardless of the miles travelled, or my own attitude is going to send me home.
Date: 2006-08-23
From: Guyot Campsite

To: Crawford Notch, AMC Highland Center
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: fog

The Whites and I have called a truce. I've just stopped calling it the Appalachian Trail in NH and renamed it the Appalachian Obstacle Course. Today's weather was mostly clear and sunny and afforded us beautiful views from Mt. Guyot (just after sunrise), South Twin Mountain, and Zealand Falls. Since the crew at Zealand Falls Hut failed to offer us so much as a 'hello' (never mind any leftovers), we continued on over a mostly (gasp!) FLAT section that looked and felt like a hiking trail! A couple sections required rock hopping to avoid mud holes, but overall it was much smoother sailing....which is why this next sentence makes no sense. At the beginning of the flat section my hip/leg pain doubled. It was around noon and I'd already taken four extra-strength Aleves (recommended dosage is one pill every 12 hours), a couple glucosamine pills, and rubbed my whole right leg down with a sports cream for aching muscles. By the time we hit the parking lot at Crawford Notch, I could barely walk. We caught an AMC bus going the wrong way, which in a sense was cool because we ended up having a nearly two-hour tour of the north end of the White Mountains (the stuff I still have to hike). The bus finally dropped us off at the AMC's Highlands Center, where we have bunks for the night and dinner and breakfast. Also got to watch an old Nova documentary about a team of researchers/mountain climbers who found Mallory's body on Mt. Everest in 1999 (he's been there since his summit attempt in 1924). Good hip or bad hip, seeing those guys battle their way up 29,000 feet of glacier helped to put my own troubles in perspective.Anyhow, here's the plan. We've made arrangements with a wonderful local trail angel named Bruce who will pick us up here at 7:30 tomorrow morning and shuttle us to a town about 25 miles south of here called North Conway. Our bus driver today claimed there is a decent hospital there with a good sports medicine department. I'll have them check me out and we'll take it from there. I'm limping pretty pathetically just to cross a room right now...and Mt. Washington is right in front of me. Most of our dinner conversation this evening was with a couple who used to do trail maintenance in the Whites and they talked at length about how the next 25 miles are the hardest on the entire AT. All I know for sure right now is that there's no way I'm climbing out of Crawford Notch with my leg feeling like it is right now. We'll see what news tomorrow brings.
Date: 2006-08-29
To: Gainesville FL
Miles today: 0.0

By now, many of my friends and family members know: I'm home. My trip to the emergency room in North Conway NH revealed that I had a likely stress fracture on my right hip. The doctor there gave me percaset (sp?) for the pain and told me to lie around for three days. Believe me, there's not much else you can do on that drug other than drool. If my hip improved within that time span, it was probably just an acute bursitis. If it didn't improve, it was probably a stress fracture and could take weeks to heal. It didn't improve. I'd asked about the possibility of a cortisone shot, but the doctors didn't like masking the pain that way since I could injure the hip further without really knowing it. Since it took great effort to walk across a flat hotel room floor with no pack on, climbing Mt. Washington didn't appear to be in the cards for me. Actually, we DID summit Mt. Washington--in our rental car--before driving back to Buffalo NY (where Scott had originally flown into) and heading home.So, White Mountains--1, Little Wing--0. While I am certainly disappointed to come off the trail earlier than planned, I know it was the only decision I could make. I need to live in this little body of mine for (hopefully) many years beyond my AT hike and would prefer to do so without a permanent limp. I am also trying to focus on the 1,830-mile journey I DID make. Without a doubt, the past five months have been the most transforming of my life. I am taking this week to let my hip (hopefully) improve, get my head out of the woods, and become re-acquainted with my two basset hounds whose snouts have grayed considerably in my absence. I also need a couple days of reflection to organize my thoughts before writing a final journal entry, so I'll work on that this week too.For now, I'll close by saying 'GO BAMA GO!' You got past the Whites--you can do ANYTHING now! In the coming weeks, I will enjoy following your progress and that of all my hiker family members as I imagine the terrain you're walking (rock-hopping, crawling, sliding) over. I'm rooting for all of you!
Date: 2006-08-30
To: Gainesville FL
Miles today: 0.0

Medical update: Went to Gainesville's Orthopedic Institute this morning. They x-rayed me again to confirm nothing is broken. The doctor there put me on crutches, scheduled an MRI for tomorrow afternoon, and an appointment in one week to interpret the MRI results. Am still hobbling around like a very old woman. Don't think there's any danger of me turning into 'an athlete after the Whites' as someone once predicted! I am enjoying my 'basset therapy,' as Maggie and Mozart haven't left my side since I walked in the door.
Date: 2006-09-11
To: Gainesville FL
Miles today: 0.0

Medical Update: MRI confirmed a stress fracture in my right hip, which will keep me on crutches for another four to six weeks. General Update: I returned to work last week and am slowly learning how to gimp around my office and home on crutches. I am not a particularly graceful human being WITHOUT crutches, so the past week has included several run-ins with doors and dropped coffee cups. It's pretty surreal to go from hiking across the country one week to hobbling around my living room on crutches the next, but I'm trying to adjust. I am someone who has generally prided herself on self sufficiency, so it's hard to ask for help from others and even harder to receive it. You'd think I'd have grown a little more accustomed to this after the five months of trail magic I experienced on the AT. In case I didn't learn the lesson, I guess my trail experience sent me home with a bum hip to ensure I would.To Bama, Professor & Jesse James, Old Drum, Banjoman, Windtalker & Mom, Tecumseh, Cool Hand, Brainfreeze, G-Walk, Bofus, Labowski, Rusch Hour, Indiana, Tree House, Identity Crisis, K'Ache & Pi, Carbomb & Lichen, Ponch & Moe...I'm rooting you on from FL! I'm hiking vicariously through you every day, so don't let me down!    And to all of you on and off the trail who have signed my journal or called/emailed to offer words of encouragement, thank you so much. Your support of my journey has helped me to realize that the actual number of miles I hiked takes a back seat to the amazing community of new and old friends, colleagues, and family members I have the privilege to be a part of on and off the trail.
Date: 2006-09-12
To: Gainesville FL
Miles today: 0.0

A little trail humor here. Remember that lost mail drop package with the new $180 pair of hiking boots that SHOULD have been waiting for me in Waynesboro VA (but wasn't)? They were shipped back to us in Gainesville FL yesterday. So, I now have a beautiful new pair of boots, but no current ability to hike in them. I am enjoying the absurdity of that.
Date: 2006-03-28
To: Can't wait to get started again!
Miles today: 0.0

Hello again,We didn't do a very good job of wrapping up our journal entries from last year. "Sunshine" and "Lost & Found" finished a 600 mile section on July 31st at Pennsylvania 94, just a couple miles south of Boiling Springs, PA. The next to last day was eventful and thankfully, SAFE. Sunshine walked past a rattlesnake on the trail and missed stepping on it by about 6 inches. It was not a happy critter for a few minutes!We are going to start where we stopped last year and continue north into Vermont and hopefully go between 550 and 600 miles before we have to stop and go back to work.Our equipment has held up fairly well. Both backpacks were sent away for warranty work and will be fixed and back in time to start. Thank you to Marmot/Dana Design and ArcTeryx for the good work!We have switched to newer, lighter ThermaRest ProLite-3 sleeping pads. That shaved 8 ounces off of each of our pack weights. Otherwise our gear is the same. Still using a Whisperlite International stove (It works well for cooking for two at one time.) If we were going solo we would probably use a pepsi stove. We also are using a PUR Hiker water filter. Can't wait to get out on the trail again!
Date: 2006-05-15
From: PA 94 near Boiling Springs, PA

To: ???
Miles today: 0.0

Hello to all,Sunshine and I are starting two weeks later than planned. Sunshine's mother passed away three weeks ago. We miss her but she is in a better place now and not suffering any more.We are starting this afternoon where we stopped last year near Boiling Springs, PA. We plan to start slow with low milage and get our trails legs and lungs back in shape for now.Hopefully, we won't have much rain over the next couple of days, but if we do, we will enjoy it when we can.Many thanks to our sons for helping us with this adventure (Again!).We will check in when we can.Lost and Found
Date: 2006-05-16
From: PA-94

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 10.0

After breakfast at the Econolodge at US-11 we drove back Boiling Springs and packed the Vue. Michael, the shuttler, met us at 9:00 AM and drove us to PA-94 & then we restarted our AT hike at the spot we had gotten off last year. We saw a couple of young guys out for short hikes & Ridge Trekker & Sky Trekker. They are doing sections. We saw a deer, a rabbit, (two nutria, geese, ducks, & baby ducks at Boiling Springs) and a black rat snake that mimicked a rattler by shaking the tip of it's tail against the leaves. That was a little exciting for a few seconds.We were both sore in all the usual places & Sunshine had a small blister on her heal. All in all, a pretty good start for not having the opportunity to get in shape before hand.We got a room at the Super 8 near the trail on US-11 and had a meal at the Middlesex Diner. (The hike is going through farmland with no places to camp. TOO BAD!!)
Date: 2006-05-17
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: US-11
Miles today: 8.0

We had breakfast at the hotel and decided to to slack pack without our tent sleeping bags, and some food. We drove back to Boiling Springs and hiked from there to US 11. We walked around the edges of a lot of corn fields. We saw the "four" trekkers, Ridge, Sky, Eagle and Air. They were on their way to Boi9ling Springs. It was a good hike. Sunshine's heels got sorer, though.We saw a couple of rabbits, one dead with turkey vultures hovering close by. We also saw a large, wild cat that looked like Garfield.After walking to the motel, we made several phone calls and did the laundry. We had another good dinner at the Middlesex Diner and went to bed.
Date: 2006-05-18
From: US-11

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: light rain

We again walked across US 11 to the Middlesex Diner and ate a delicious breakfast, then we went back to the motel and finished putting our packs together. Lost and Found trimmed Sunshine's Superfeet insoles. Going up hill didn't seem as bad, we'll see how her heels are in the morning. We hiked past the Scott Farm, where the ridge runner training was going on. We saw "Web Breaker", a ridge runner that we met last year in Shenandoah. We hiked up to Darlington Shelter. It looked like a storm would catch us, but it didn't. This is a new shelter, the new privy isn't open yet.We met "Detour" on the way there. He said that there aren't any wolverines in the area and only one bear and to watch out for the chipmunk with an attitude that is just up ahead. We didn't see any sign of the bear. Think he may have been pulling our leg? NAWH!!! "Thanks" to "Detour" for the heads up on getting water on our way to the shelter.
Date: 2006-05-19
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Cove Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: light rain

It was a two cup of coffee morning leaving the Darlington Shelter. We heard a few critters during the night and it rained. The terrain turned rocky. "Welcome to PA" We hiked through a light rain. We met two thru hikers when we were stopped for lunch. Waldo (from Norway) and Solo are the first thru hikers that we have run into. We saw four other hikers during the day.Slow Leak joined us at the shelter. Then, after we had dinner all cleaned up, the three "Jersey" boys showed up, but they tented on the woods road near the shelter.
Date: 2006-05-20
From: Cove Mountain Shelter

To: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The porcupine came to the Cove Mountain shelter during the night and Lost & Found and Slow Leak both got pictures of it. It didn't seem to like having the lights on it and left. The baby bird flew out of or fell out of it's nest just before dawn. It was sitting on a rock that was part of the fire ring. Two adults were feeding it, when we were not too close.The hike down to Duncannon was very steep and rocky for the last mile. We could tell that our trail legs were starting to return, with the test on the PA ROCKS! We checked into the famous 'Doyle' hotel. Miss Vicky and Pat are the hosts and are very welcoming. We lunched at the hotel bar and then showered and washed our clothes. After a walk around town we went back to the Doyle for an enjoyable supper with Slow Leak. We were joined during the live entertainment (Sue Grace) by Waldo and JB. It is now 10:00 PM and way pass hiker midnight and time to go to bed. We are looking forward to Bill joining us tomorrow.
Date: 2006-05-23
From: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA

To: Horseshoe Trail
Miles today: 19.9

We had a good breakfast at Goodies across the street from the Doyle. There we met Peace Maker, Root and Peace Frog. We checked out of our room and are waiting on the Doyle balcony for Bill. The weather is taking a turn for the not so nice! Expecting rain and the winds have already picked up. Hope the rain holds off until late this evening so we can hike before dark.Bill arrived at the Doyle and we rode to Boiling Springs to get our car and to pack our food for the next two sections. By the time that we got Bill's truck to his take out point and back to the Doyle to start our hike it was 6:30 pm. It became dark before we reached the Clark's Ferry shelter. We were night hiking over the rocks with our head lamps on. We had wanted to try some night hiking, but had not planned on doing it right then! Monday broke as a cool and cloudy morning. The three of us had a nice hike, stopping to look at the rivers and taking our snack breaks. We stopped at Table Top Rocks and watch the hawks and a heron fly. We spent the night at Peter's Mountain shelter and enjoyed some trail magic. Thank you for the hot dogs, Darwin, Root and Peace Maker. Bill slept in the little shelter that Earl Schaffer built. It was a good day.Tuesday morning we headed out and after about 2 miles took a blue blaze trail to a rocky outcropping. We sat in the warm sunshine, ate our snacks and watched the hawks gliding on the air waves. Just Awesome!! While asending to our camping spot for the night we saw a rattle snake on the rocky trail. It was very cooperative and crossed the trail without shaking it's rattles at us.Wednesday was sunny and a little cool. Bill got his gear together and headed back down to his truck and the "other world". Thank you Bill for joining us!
Date: 2006-05-28
From: Horseshoe Trail

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 49.9
Weather: broken clouds

Wednesday morning we said goodbye to Bill and we hiked to Rausch Gap Shelter and pitched our tent. There we met Spam Man, a local trail maintainer, Ferocious and 3 other hikers. L & F had cracked a tooth and Spam Man gave us some names of dentists in Hershey. Thank you Spam Man for the info, and our son Ben for making the appointment with Dr. Walters. Thursday was a hard day of hiking, including an 800 foot climb in about a mile, over a lot of ROCKS! It was getting late by the time that we arrived at William Penn Shelter. It was nice to find Root and Peace Maker there.Friday, when we arrived at the 501 Shelter, Root and Peace Maker were there and had ordered a pizza. Thanks for sharing it. YUM   Even though it rained for about 3 hours over night we were dry in our tent.Because water sources were far apart, we didn't cook breakfast until we came to a stream. As we continued on to Eagles's Nest Shelter we encountered a lot of weekend hikers, because it was Memorial Day weekend. Thank you Vets.On Sunday we hiked about 11 miles into Port Clinton and checked into a room at the Port Clinton Hotel. That shower really felt good. The dinner that we had there was very good and very filling. Just what hikers need. We are both getting our trail legs back (and our trail appetites too!) Sunshine's feet have been sort of a problem. She is switching back to last years insoles that were custom fitted in Damascus by Jeff at MRO.
Date: 2006-06-04
From: Port Clinton

To: Lehigh Gap
Miles today: 40.0

After our side trip to Hershey we drove to Slatington and got a shuttle back to Port Clinton to continue our hike. It was a very hot day and we were very sweaty by the time that we arrived at Windsor Furnace Shelter. We slept in our tent and were told the next day that a bear had visited the area during the night, but didn't cause any harm.On Thursday enjoyed the views from the Pulpit Rock and the Pinnicles. At the Pulpit we saw a hawk sitting on a rock and he showed off for the camera by displaying his wings. (Pictures will be added later) When we arrived at the Eckville Shelter, Roots and Peace Maker were there. We spent the night in the shelter while it rained ourside. The shelter has electricity and a solar shower and a flush privy. Living Large! It was a very challenging rock day. On our way up a long climb, there was a 4 foot black racer snake laying all the way across the trail. It looked just like a root. It slowly made it's way off of the trail. A little while later a mother grouse gave L & F goose bumps when it charged at him from the woods next to the trail. It had at least one chick that we saw run the other way. She was certainly trying to divert us from her baby. The view from "Dan's Pulpit" was very nice and we took a gator aid break there. It rained on us for about a mile before we got to the Allentown Shelter. We were the only hikers there that night. It was a very nice, critter free, dry place to be. Susshin's feet are much happier with the old insoles. YEA!Saturday we got on the trail after putting our wet clothes back on. Fortunately it wasn't too cold. There was a restaurant 4 miles away and we got there in 2 hours because that part of the trail wasn't full of rocks. After a good meal and filling up our water bladders we set out for Bake Oven Knob Shelter. It was not an easy journey. There were 4 or 5 rock scrambles to conquer. We made it with a lot of careful stepping. Sunshine just had to get up close and personal with a couple of rocks and got some minor scratches for her efforts. While, walking on the trail and thinking about her mother, who passed away on April 24th, Sunshine wrote this poem:   I was walking in the rain today   I was crying   I was walking with the rain today   God and I were crying   I was walking with God today   I feel refreshedAfter a rainy night in our tent, we cooked breakfast on the cooking shelf at the shelter. All of the hikers that had slept inside were still there staying dry much to L & F's frustration. He was looking forward to packing up our gear in a dry place, but couldn't. Such is a day in the life of a hiker. It rained lightly most of the day, but the terrain improved. We passed lots of ferns, small evergreens and lots of blooming Mountain Laurel. Sunshine saw a deer running across the trail. It wasn't too bad a hike down the 1100 foot drop in elevation. At the bottom of the hill we called Ira to come pick us up. He retrived us and delivered us back to our car. Thank you, Ira.
Date: 2006-06-16
From: NY 17, Bellevale, NY

To: Bear Mountain Park, NY
Miles today: 26.9
Weather: few clouds

We plan to hike the state of New Jersey with friends, but they can't do it right now, so we have jumped ahead to New York to hike for a few days. Tuesday, June 13th was a zero day. We did the laundry, bought groceries and got the rest of the errands done, so we could begin hiking in NY on Wed. Bob Doyle picked us up at the Warwick Motel on Wed. morning and shuttled us to our starting place on Route 17A. It was a day of rock climbing, PA was the training ground, so we were ready for the Pinnicle Rocks and Cat Rock. The Ravens on Cat Rock stayed on the rock with us, it was fun to watch them. Next came the climb up beside the beautiful Fitzgerald Falls. We set up camp that night by a dam pond, there were about a dozen baby ducks in the pond. The next day continued the rocky terrain with several rugged ups and downs, including Agony Grind and Lemon Squeezer. We succesfully acconplished these and arrived at Fingerboard Shelter low on water. Soho and Doogy were there. We got water from the stream that is downhill from the shelter and made dinner before we left to continue hiking for a few more miles. We pitched our tent, the sky looked like rain was coming, and we crawled in for a good nights rest.There was no water where we camped, so we hiked a little way on Friday morning, until we arrived at a stream. There we cooked breakfast and shared some coffee with Soho. We enjoyed her company and wish her the best.We had a really good day to be on Black Mountain. The air was clear and we could see the NY City skyline and the Hudson River, it was breathtaking. The hawks were soaring, but it was too hot to sit on the rocks to watch them.On our way down West Mountain, Sunshine did it again. She went down face first onto the rocks. The result was a black left eye and bruising on her left arm and hip. It was a miracle that nothing was broken, but when we reached Seven Lakes Dr. we walked on the road to Bear Mountain State Park. The next morning we got our car and took some time off. Thank you Bob Doyle for the ride back to our car. Bob is a true friend to hikers!!
Date: 2006-07-09
From: Bear Mountain Park, NY

To: CT-112 / US-7, Falls Village CT
Miles today: 89.6

We are starting where we left off after Sunshine fell near Bear Mountain Park, NY.We will update this section soon, the car is calling (screaming at us!) to start driving back from Michigan to Mass/CT to start hiking again.9-10-06We just realized that this section needs filling in. We will do it in the near future.