morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-23
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 19.6

Jen Mooney will be in the house tonight!! Jen (the scribe) is meeting up with me in Boiling Springs tonight to hike with me for a few days.I passed the actual halfway point in the morning which felt good but the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. In fact Pennsylvania in general, at least for me, has been pretty uneventful. There were a couple of miles of fire tower type roads (gravel roads) then right before town there was a mile or so of walking through corn fields.Once in town I checked in at the Bed & Breakfast then got some food with Magnet, Underhill, and Knuckles. On our way back to the Bed & Breakfast a huge group of hikers showed up....Apparently there was a bit of yellow blazing (hitching a car ride)...Butterfingers, Wideload, D-Bone, Munchkin, Peanut, Tombstone, Lamby, and Smack all came in. I was very glad to see Butterfingers and Wideload so they would be able to meet Jen. But Jen was running late due to traffic so it would have to wait for the morning.**********This entry posted on 8/19/2004**********
Date: 2004-07-24
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: few clouds

**********Jen here, I have been granted the responsibility of writing the next few journal entries since I was visiting Dan on the trail. Here goes...First thing this morning it was my pleasure to finally meet Butterfingers and Ray-way who showed up in front of the B&B just as we were finishing breakfast. It was like meeting the characters in a book - I've heard so much about them through Dan and Steph's journal!! Well, the hikers had been scheming...for a couple of them, Duncannon (the next town up) was their final destination on the trail, and there was at least one thru-hiker's birthday to celebrate this weekend. So word had been spreading down the trail to meet at the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon tonight for a big celebration. Six of us - Ray-way, Butterfingers, Smack, Lamby, Blackfoot, and me, plus all the hikers' gear, crammed into my little Honda and skipped up the trail a bit (about 16 miles) to a road crossing 9.1 miles below Duncannon. (Thanks to them for being game to skip a little so I had a chance of making it into Duncannon! They seemed to be glad to have a short slack pack for the day.) Lamby dropped us off there and drove the car and all the hikers' gear the rest of the way into Duncannon while we had a nice hike into town, with some views of the Susquehanna River. It turned out to be a great party at the Doyle that night, and somewhat of a reunion for Dan, since he had not seen a lot of the crew since quite a ways back on the trail. I will try to remember all the names I can: Munchkin, D-Bone, Magnet, Knuckles, Underhill, Wonderboy (thru in 2003), Swedish & his brother(??), Micky & Mallory, Goofy, Terrapin, Kiwi, Jacob, Peanut & Tombstone, Ray-way (aka Wideload, aka Siren), Butterfingers, Smack, Lamby, Blackfoot, there are more but I can't remember all the names.This entry posted on 8/21/2004**********
Date: 2004-07-25
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

**********All the hikers (and me) invaded the diner across the street from the Doyle for a great breakfast and recap of last night's party. A lot of decisions had been made to take a zero day today...the Doyle had sucked them in! Dan and I gave Underhill and Magnet a ride down to a road crossing so they could hike the last 13 or so miles into Duncannon that they had skipped in order to make it to the Doyle last night. (I think they had hitched a ride.) Then we rounded up another carload to go to the movies and later to dinner down in Harrisburg. We fit seven of us - Mickey & Mallory, Kiwi, Ray-way, Butterfingers, Dan, and me. It was one packed car, and boy did it smell like thru-hikers! (That's ok, you guys, you deserve to smell as bad as you want - it is pretty amazing what you all are doing this summer! Keep up the good work!)On the way back we hit a grocery store for food supplies, and then finally back to the Doyle for an early night to bed. Well, I should say early for some of us...I guess a lot of the group was still partying again tonight!This entry posted on 8/21/2004**********
Date: 2004-07-26
From: PA Route 225

To: Duncannon, PA (SoBo)
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: light rain

**********We had another great breakfast at the diner across the street, and then Ray-way and Butterfingers dropped us off up the trail about 8 1/2 miles at a road crossing so we could do a Southbound slack pack for the afternoon. After dropping us off they took the car back to the Doyle and they had a bunch of errands to do around town for the day.There was a light misty rain on & off, and it actually felt really good since it was pretty hot & humid. We stopped about halfway at a shelter for lunch. Normally lunch on the trail is not a cooked meal, but Dan was a good sport and brought the stove so we could cook a hot lunch (mashed potatoes and gravy) since I wasn't going to get to do a dinner/overnight out on the trail. It was fun hiking southbound that day because we passed all the hikers that I had met that had been staying at the Doyle. They were getting out of there before the Doyle would suck them in for good!At the end of the hike we crossed the Susquehannah river via routes 322 & 22 (but alas, no old bald guys in a canoe down below. Ha ha!) and finally back to the Doyle. We got showered up and had a nice dinner and then met the lingering hikers for a couple drinks at a local bar. Butterfingers, Ray-way, Goofy, and Terrapin had not quite made it out of Duncannon yet, and Lamby was hanging around waiting for his bike to be delivered, as he was continuing the rest of his journey to Philadelphia by bike.This entry posted on 8/21/2004**********
Date: 2004-07-27
From: PA Route 225

To: Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 2.9
Weather: moderate rain

Jen & I got some lunch then found Butterfingers, Wideload, & Lamby. We dropped Lamby off at a bicycle shop South of Harrisburg to pick up his bicycle. (He is biking to Philadelphia and getting a job there.) Then Jen dropped us off at the trailhead where I left off. We hiked a whopping 2.9 miles to a real nice shelter and decided to stay. Kiwi, Magnet, Underhill, and Knuckles were there already and Goofy & Terrapin showed up a little later. It was only 3 miles of hiking, but sometimes just getting out of town is the important thing.**********This entry posted on 8/23/2004**********
Date: 2004-07-29
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: clear sky

Well the rocks of Pennsylvania are slowly getting worse. I've heard about them and was beginning to think it was just some hearsay but they do appear to be getting worse and from what I've heard the real bad sections are coming up. There is another big group of hikers here tonight, luckily this shelter is huge. It is actually a four-walled building with 2 doors and a huge skylight. There is a town not too far away and some of the other hikers had cell phones so we ordered up some pizzas.**********This entry posted on 8/23/2004**********
Date: 2004-07-30
From: 501 Shelter

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: light rain

We started a bit too late today and took too many long breaks. The rocks didn't help at all so we ended up hiking in the dark. This was not much fun with the head lamp I have, since it is really only good for reading around camp. The last 1.5 miles or so took forever and we had a pretty steep rocky downhill that we somehow managed not to fall down. Once in town we headed straight to the Port Clinton Hotel for some food and beers. This was a good idea to go straight there because they stopped serving food 10 minutes after we got there. The burgers and fries were unreal. The burger was a regular sized bun with a 1/2 inch of meat sticking out on all sides. The large fries were on a huge platter and piled on as high as the laws of physics would allow. There was a big group of hikers when we got in there and we all headed to the town pavillion to stay the night. The town allows hikers to sleep at the pavillion for free.**********This entry posted on 8/23/2004**********
Date: 2004-07-31
From: Port Clinton, PA

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

Nothing too eventful today. As usual it took a while to get out of town so we only did a few miles to the next shelter. There were a lot of weekenders at the shelter tonight so quite a few people had to tent. A big rain storm came in overnight and poured all night. One group of weekenders was only under a tarp and must have gotten soaked because in the morning they were gone.**********This entry posted on 8/23/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-01
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

It was still raining in the morning, so we all waited it out at the shelter until 11 when the sun finally peeked out. We didn't do too many miles today but had a real good day. First we went up to Pulpit Rock which provides a nice view of the PA countryside. Then we made it to the Pinnacle which is a rock outcropping that gives a panoramic view of PA. We ate lunch at the Pinnacle. After we first got to there we started finding copperhead snakes everywhere. They were out sunning themselves on the rocks. All together we counted 6. After the Pinnacle we stopped at the Eckville Shelter which is really more like a hostel. There is a bunk room and a refrigerator with pops and candy. There is also a flush toilet and solar shower. To top it all off you can order pizza from a local pizzeria. The last part clinched it for us. Although we had only done 9 miles we didn't want to pass this place up. There were a lot of us hikers here tonight. Butterfingers, Wideload, Kiwi, Underhill, Knuckles, Magnet, Worldbridge, ??, and their dog Casey, and Trogdor. A bunch of us got a game of UNO going with the UNO set that was in the bunk house.**********This entry posted on 8/25/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-02
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 11.5

OK, so the actual mileage on the AT between the Eckville Shelter to Palmerton, PA is 24.9 miles. I guess it is safe to say the rocks of PA have gotten to us. There are sometimes mile long sections of small jagged rocks with no breaks. A lot of the time you just feel like you're stumbling through them. The worst part is that after five miles my feet just start aching so big mile days are not fun at all.So with bruised feet and egos we stuck out a thumb at the road crossing and after 3 seperate rides we arrived in Palmerton, PA. The second ride was noteworthy. This construction worker type guy pulled up and we jumped in, only I think he wanted Butterfingers to sit in the front because he seemed a bit annoyed and actually started driving away as I was still getting in the car! Luckily I had enough of my body in that I just fell back into the seat but my backpack got dragged a few feet before the guy stopped. On the ride he told us that he thought "Wideload & I were homos but since we were with a girl we must be alright." (??)Palmerton allows hikers to stay in the basement of their borough hall for free. We got some dinner and a few 50 cent drafts at Mugshots then called it a night.**********This entry posted on 8/25/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-03
From: Palmerton, PA

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The hike out of Palmerton PA is an interesting one. There is a long rock/boulder scramble that takes you to the top of the ridgeline. It is a rugged but fun hike. Once at the top the trail goes through about a 5 mile stretch of deadness. You feel like you're on another planet. There are just dead trees and rock. The area is an EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) superfund site. Apparently a zinc smelting factory polluted the whole hillside over the years. (The smelting factory has been in operation for over 100 years.)**********This entry posted on 8/25/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-04
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Although PA has been a relatively flat state, I'll be glad to be done with it after today because of the rocks. (Actually NJ and NY are supposed to have some rocky sections too.) There were some nice views towards the end of the day today looking down onto the Delaware River. Once in Town we claimed some bunk space at the Church of the Mountain Hostel, then got some food.**********This entry posted on 8/26/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-05
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

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

There was an attempt to get out of town today, there really was. But as it got late in the day we re-evaluated our plan and decided to make today a zero day and do a 28 mile slack-pack tomorrow. This was possible because my friend Spike was meeting us up the trail tomorrow evening. The other reason to zero today was the church was putting on a dinner for the hikers at 6. The church dinner was fantastic. The parishoners each brought some food to pass. They set it all out and let us go through the line first. It was such a nice thing for them to do. The food was all good and a great variety. There was even a whole table of desserts. It was also nice to sit and talk with all the people who came.**********This entry posted on 8/26/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-06
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Culver's Gap, NJ
Miles today: 28.2

Terrapin, Butterfingers, Wideload, and I headed out of town around 6:30 AM to do the 28 miles to where Spike was meeting us. The hike through the Delaware Water Gap section is really beautiful. The trail follows a ridgeline with fairly open woods and occasional views of the Delaware River. It is a really nice section. I saw a glimpse of a bear at one point but it ran off real quick. We also saw a few flocks of turkeys and a large black snake. It ended up being a pretty long day. We met up with Spike around 6:30 PM and all of us were hungry so we went to Gyps Tavern for some food and beers. This was an interesting experience. They had menus saying they had food but when we asked about food the elderly bartender lady said in a raspy I've-been-smoking-for-40-years voice "I'm f*d up." "Babe" as we came to know her, let us know that she was the only one working today and had to tend bar and cook. She could get us food but it would just take a bit. We got food, maybe not exactly what we ordered and it was in an interesting order. For example sandwiches came before appetizers, but it was greasy and filled us up. We then headed back to the Delaware Water Gap to wait for Joe (another friend) to come into town.**********This entry posted on 8/29/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-07
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Took a zero day today to hang out with my friends Spike and Joe. Butterfingers, Wideload, and Terrapin also joined us for the day to do a 7 mile rafting trip down the Delaware River. The rafting trip was a good time and we had some good weather. After rafting we all cleaned up and got some food in Strousburg, PA, then had a few beers there. It was a nice relaxing day.**********This entry posted on 8/30/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-08
From: Culver's Gap, NJ

To: Rutherford Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

After getting some breakfast and doing some resupplying, Joe dropped us off where we had slackpacked to. We thought about going down to visit with Barb (??) but decided to just hit the trail. The trail followed a nice ridgeline that had a fire tower on it at one point which gave us a good 360 degree view. It was nice to see the portion of ridgeline we just walked and the portion of ridgeline ahead of us. Tonight at the shelter is Mickey & Mallory, Wideload, Butterfingers, and Terrapin. It was nice to catch up with Mickey & Mallory again. Mickey had a good story about a bear being 2 feet from his head when he woke up one morning. He screamed and it ran off.**********This entry posted on 8/30/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-09
From: Rutherford Shelter

To: Highpoint Monument
Miles today: 3.8

Today we got a bit sidetracked. We slept in and took our time getting going because we only planned on going about 10 miles to a "secret" hostel. We took a blue blazed trail along a lake and took a swim and laid out on the rocks for a bit. I then drank the 2 beers that my friends (Spike and Joe) so kindly hid in my pack that I discovered in the morning while packing up.We finally got motivated and headed out to hike 9 miles to the hidden shelter but after about 3 miles we came to High Point Park and tried to see if there was a concession stand open. We asked a couple about it and they said there wasn't one but they had a ton of extra food. Bob and Robin (our hosts) and Robin's two daughters fed us sandwiches, chicken, and steaks. They also went on a beer run for us and brought us back a ridiculous amount of beer. So that was the end of the day hiking-wise.When we got to talking with Bob we learned quite a bit about him. Apparently Bob has led quite a life. He was a sparing partner for Marvelous Marvin Haggler. He also was somewhat involved with the mob. Apparently he knew the actual people behind the Lufthanzia Liest which is what the movie Goodfellas is based on. They also let us know about the Perseids Meteor Shower that was going on this week. So we decided to hike the 1/4 mile back up to the lookout platform and camp there for the night. Luckily Swedish, Ottie, Atlas, and Rowboat showed up to help us finish off the beers.**********This entry posted on 9/1/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-10
From: Highpoint Monument

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 19.4

After yesterday's debauchery it was a little hard to get going today. But we ended up finally getting moving and got in some decent miles. At lunch we stopped at the "secret" hostel. Apparently this is just a private piece of land where the owner put up a small shelter and privy. It was a nice setting and there were some donkeys in a nearby field that we went over and petted. After lunch we headed to Vernon, NJ. A couple of miles before Vernon there was a really nice boardwalk through a swampy wetland area. The boardwalk was about 1.5 miles long. We were going through real late in the day which made for some nice lighting. In Vernon we stayed at a church hostel. They gave hikers the run of their furnished basement. There was a kitchen there so we got food at the local grocery and made dinner at the church hostel. We also got food to cook up a big breakfast since there were a lot of us hikers there.**********This entry posted on 9/6/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-11
From: Vernon, NJ

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: haze

Slowly we have lost focus. We cooked up a big breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast. We then cleaned up, but then we got comfortable watching TV and not being bit by bugs. After a while we finally headed out but we only made it to the first shelter and decided to stay since the next shelter was 12 miles away and it was already 6:30 PM.**********This entry posted on 9/6/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-12
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Wildcat Shelter (NY)
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: moderate rain

We woke up to rain this morning so Wideload, Butterfingers, Terrapin, and I decided to play our version of Crazy 8's. We called it crazy shelter game and it was actually just UNO with a regular deck of cards. However we must have done something wrong because the game never seemed to end. Finally the game did end and we got packed up because the rain actually stopped an hour ago.Today we finished with NJ and crossed into wonderful NY. However NY was not the promised land I made it out to be. There were a few views, but there was a lot of rock walking and with all the rain this made for some slippery hiking. My first 5 or so miles of NY included 2 falls and one bent hiking pole. Not the homecoming I was expecting.At the shelter tonight is Terrapin, Butterfingers, Wideload, and 4 southbounders (Epiphany, Tapeworm, Tinkerbell and some name with Tuna in it that I can't remember right now). We have been seeing a lot of southbounders lately, sometimes 7 or so a day. It is kind of nice because we do some information exchange about good/bad water, shelter, and terrain. Tonight Epiphany went through all of Maine, NH, and VT with us letting us know what towns are good to stay at and places with good food, etc.**********This entry posted on 9/8/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-13
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: light rain

Just out of camp this morning we passed a nice waterfall. After that it was a very up and down day. I knew it was going to be a bit of a shock when we started getting back into some real mountains but I didn't expect it this early. The climbs aren't real high but they are steep. Pennsylvania and most of NJ were relatively flat so coming back to constant steep ups and downs takes some getting used to.We hit a road crossing around noon and headed down to a deli for some lunch. After lunch it was constant short steep climbs and descents which really drained our energy. There are a lot more large rock outcroppings showing up too. We also went through the Lemon Squeezer today, which is a narrow path between two rock outcroppings. But to add a twist the rocks are at an angle. So for about 50 feet you just bounce between the rocks or in the narrow parts you get stuck. Strangely enough I heard the most 4 letter words on the trail today. They must have been squeezed out of us.Water was also real tough today. There have been some streams but they don't look very good. A lot of times there is foamy water and/or reddish (Iron) water. Just before dark we headed down a road to a park that supposedly had water. Luckily when we got there there was Patty-O, a trail angel with coolers full of pop, juice, candy, peaches, and chocolate milk. The timing couldn't have been better. We sat around talking with Patty-O for an hour or more. Then as it was getting dark, we decided we better get to the shelter.After an hour of walking in the dark we made it and luckily no one was at the shelter.**********This entry posted on 9/8/2004**********
Date: 2004-08-14
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Graymoor Friary
Miles today: 15.3

Had a great day today! There were some nice views of Bear Mountain and the Hudson River in the morning. Then we climbed up Bear Mountain just around noon. As I got to the top I noticed someone at the top that looked like Yogi who I had hiked with a lot back in Georgia, NC, and TN. Sure enough, as I got closer, it was him!I knew Yogi had gotten off the trail for a while and he lived in NYC and was deciding on hiking north from NY. Terrapin had talked to him the other day and told us that Yogi might meet up with us Sunday. But here he was. I guess they figured they would surprise us. I got to meet Yogi's girlfriend and Yogi had brought snacks and drinks so we sat around reminiscing for a few hours. Then Yogi even offered to slackpack us to the Graymoor Friary where we were headed that evening. So without our packs we hiked out the rest of the way.The trail goes right through a small zoo which has saved animals indingenous to the area. Yogi was waiting at the Friary for us with our packs but we weren't able to convince him to get some food with us. So we headed down to an over priced sports bar and got some food and watched part of the olympics.**********This entry posted on 9/12/2004**********