morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-25
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Annapolis Rocks
Miles today: 18.2

Looks like I am in between groups again. The only other thru hikers I saw today were Rambling Man, Corporal, and Mr. Clean Jr. Rambling Man and Corporal were early in the day. Mr. Clean Jr. I had not seen for a long time. He was always a lot faster so when he got off for awhile we were able to catch up. As usual, he took off. Free and the rest of the group are a little ahead of me. Probably less than a full day and I might catch them in time for the Half Gallon Challenge. The challenge is a tradition at the Pine Grove Furnace State Park, basically the half way point. You buy a half gallon of ice cream and eat it all in one sitting. No time limits but you can't put it down and come back to it later. Your prize is a small wooden spoon and bragging rights. I know I can't eat that much ice cream. I am maxed out on a pint, much less four pints! I'm pretty sure Free and Poet will attempt it and I'd put money on both of them. They'll do it. It was hot today. Real hot! Barely a hint of a breeze and you could see the heat waves shimmering off the blacktop at the road crossings. Temp at noon was around 94 with humidity.Most definitely a day to drink a lot, and I mean, a lot of water! I got to the Washington Monument area around noon. This is where the first monument to George Washington was built. Nice area so I decided to take a long lunch and wait out the heat of the day. There was a pay phone so I broke out the pocketmail and sent off an entry. I also received an email from Break. She was hoping to get back on this weekend but her foot isn't ready yet. Keep the faith, Break! Remember, I will see you again which means you have to get back on I ate, read my book (I'm reading 1984 again), and took a little nap. At 3:00 I got ready to head out. Still plenty hot but I was rested. Had to laugh at what the guy on the radio said. He's talking about the heat and saying that if you don't have to out in it don't go. We're out in it every day, all day and all night. No AC for us unless it's the breeze. I got to the day's destination around 5:30. It was a good view from the rocks so I sat there for awhile while I built up the energy to set up my tent. I finally got camp set up and decided it was a double dinner da so I fixed up a double dose of pasta. Mmmm, mmm, good! After I ate I downed another liter of water, crawled into the tent to get away from the bugs, and relaxed. That didn't last long and by 8:30 I was falling asleep so I went with the flow.
Date: 2005-06-26
From: Annapolis Rocks

To: Tumbling Run Shelters
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: few clouds

With as hot as it is I decided to get out real early so I could do the majority of the miles before the real heat of the day. I left at 5:30 AM but it was already plenty warm. By 7:00 it was already 79 degrees. I have been trying to keep my pace to under 3 MPH and so far, so good. There isn't a whole lot to see on this section of the trail so you just watch the trail and drift off. We all have gotten into the zone out here. Kinda hard to explain it. You just let your mind drift off. You're not even conscious of walking, the feet just move along, stepping over obstructions, and you just are in another world. I have developed a lot of the characters, details, and plot lines for my story while in this mode. Problem with being so zoned out is that when someone comes up behind you, you are clawing the air from being startled! I reached Pen-Mar State Park around lunch time where I ran into Rambling Man, Corporal, and Doc Gnarly. We all had lunch and watched the people. Sine it was the weekend there were a lot of people at the park and there was going to be live music in the afternoon. Pen-Mar has an interesting history. Before cars became the standard mode of transportation trains used to bring people to the park from the cities. Back in its' heyday the park had amusement rides, games, and a lot of concessions. Since it was at a higher elevation it was cooler than in the city. When the car became popular the trains quit running to the park. It is still a great little park with some great views. The other three left after eating. I planned on spending most of afternoon here because I was in the no heat hiking mode. The music began at two. Nothing fancy, but it was nice to listen to for awhile. I finally left around 3:30. Two tenths of a mile later I crossed the Mason Dixon Line and crossed into the state of Pennsylvania. Six states down. PA has 230 miles in it so we'll be spending some time in this state. A lot of people have dropped out and several people I know have dropped in the last couple of days. The mental game is taking its toll! I arrived at Tumbling Run Shelter around 7:00. The lunchtime crew were the only ones there so we ate and chatted. I hit the sack fairly early, read for awhile. I'm reading, To Kill a Mockingbird, right now and to be honest I don't think I've read it before. Good book! Tomorrow won't be as many miles and I may catch up with Free, Poet, Serenity, and Scholar. From what I can tell they are only a few miles ahead of me.
Date: 2005-06-27
From: Tumbling Run Shelters

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: broken clouds

Another early start, another hot day. We do get a reprieve today. It's only going to get to 84 or so. Regular cold wave coming through! Once more, it was easy walking and shortly after ten I reached the Caledonia State Park. I noticed a note on one of the signs. It was from Free and crew directing Thatch and Freedom to a campsite. They were here! I headed toward their campsite, wondering if they were still there. They were, and needless to say they were surprised to see me. Well, maybe not too surprised, because they know how crazy I can get when walking. They said Freedom had gone into town and wanted to know if I had seen Thatch. I said I had not seen anyone all morning. We figured he was still behind me. Freedom got back from town shortly thereafter. It was good to see her again. Last time was in Waynesboro. We spent most of the day around the picnic tables. Free and I continued our Yahtzee Challenge. This time she took me 2 out of 3 so the overall score stands at 4 for me, 2 for her. We will continue the match as we move north. By 2:30 the girls headed out but I wanted to read a little more so I told them I would see them at the shelter. Rambling Man and Corporal, as well as Butch and Sundance showed up. These are both father and son teams doing the hike together. They were going to hang aound Caledonia and do a look around. I headed out. While hiking to the shelter I ran into something I hadn't seen for awhile. Rhododendrums. They seemed to have disappeared shortly before Waynesboro only to be replaced by Moutain Laurel. When I got to the shelter the crew was there along with Thatch, and Mr. Clean Jr. I guess Thatch had passed by earlier, saw the note, and figured they had already left so he moved on. Last time I saw Thatch was in Damascus. He had pulled into Waynesboro the afternoon of the day I left so we didn't miss each other by much there. I told everyone that I was going to get out real early tomorrow because I had a maildrop at Ironmaster Hostel and I wanted to get it before she closed up at 9:30. This hostel, as well as the one in Harpers Ferry is a Youth International hostel and they have check out times and then they lock up. A little different than the hiker hostels we were used to. So, tomorrow we officially hit the halfway point on the trail and we have the half gallon challenge. Should be a fun day.
Date: 2005-06-28
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

I was up, packed, and gone by 5:30. The trail was excellent for pushing quickly. There were a lot of blackberry bushes but, unfortunately, they had been picked clean already. There were a lot of little road walks today. Since I was on a deadline I was glad to see them. I did the 10 miles in 3 hours. Got to the hostel at 8:30 and got my package. Skylark and LoJack were there. I talked to Skylark for awhile, mainly about who was and who had dropped off the trail. I asked her if she had done the challenge and she said, no way, but Skillet was down at the store now attempting it. I headed down to check it out. The record this year, for eating the half gallon is 14 minutes. Skillet was 3/4 of the way done after only ten minutes. Bottle, his wife, was cheering him on but he had hit the wall. Poor Skillet would take a small bite and then sit there and moan, looking like death warmed over. I got a cup of coffee and sat down to watch the rest of the show. Skylark came down from the hostel and we all acted as cheerleaders for Skillet. He was having a real hard time but he was getting close. He didn't look good at all and the bites were smaller and the time between bites was longer. Bottle got up, looked at what he had left and said, "Skillet, you are so close! If you don't finish that you're a pussy"! We lost it at that one. Laughing, we said, "Way to support your husband Bottle"! He finally did finish it but it took another hour before they could hike out. During that time Rambling Man and Corporal came in and they too, attempted and completed the challenge. Scholar tried but only got half way. Poet, Free, and Serenity came in aound 2:00. As I had said in an earlier entry. Free and Poet finished though Poet was looking a little green around the gills by time she was done. Serenity got part way and gave up. I, knowing I wouldn't be able to do it, had my pint and that was more than enough for me. Butch, Eagle Foot, Hazey Sonic, and Doc Gnarly also rolled in. Butch was the only one to try it and he also finished. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent sitting on the porch of the general store, talking and relaxing. I was going to take an extra day here for a couple of reasons. One being, the girls were going to take 3 days off this weekend and I didn't want to get too far ahead. Second, I think I have the beginnings of a shin splint. Not bad, mind you, but by taking a day here and going easy into Duncannon, and taking the 4th of July weekend there I should be able to keep it at bay. I would meet back up with them on the 5th, in Duncannon. They headed north to find a campsite but I went back south, to one I saw coming into town. We are halfway! More thoughts on that in tomorrows entry.
Date: 2005-07-01
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 25.6
Weather: broken clouds

A restfull night it wasn't. As I mentioned yesterday several of us camped in a couples backyard. The only other place nearby, is a campsite right next to the railroad tracks. The noise from the the trains passing through all night was bad enough where we were. I couldn't imagine having camped by the tracks and getting any sleep at all! Early morning started with a sprinkle. Just enough to piss you off because it gets your tent wet which means having to pull it out to dry later. Wet tents and gear equal more pack weight. Here I thought I would bring it down today because I had finished another book. Over the last few days I have finished To Kill a Mockingbird (excellent book) and Me Talk Pretty Someday (by David Sedaris and very funny). I am now packing, The Bourne Supremacy and Catcher in the Rye. Before I left town I had a cup of coffee with Skywalker. If ever a name fits someone it is his. I stand at 6'2" and he towers over me. He is 6'11". Real nice guy. I will probably see him again in Duncannon. It was going to be another muggy day and since the first 12 miles was mainly walking through fields I wanted to get through them before the heat built up. Off I went. I really do like walking through the fields! It's a change of scenery from the green tunnel we walk in most of the time. As I walked I had breakfast. Breakfast consisted of fresh blackberries ad mullberries picked right off the bushes. They were great! Speaking of breakfasts. Those of you that have followed my jourmal know that I would eat my oatmeal dry, while hiking, last year and that I was told that I would get my butt kicked if I did it this year. Well, I found another way to eat it. Don't bother boiling water for it. Just open the package, pour cold water into it, stir, and eat. Free, Break, and Jaime surely can't argue with that one, can they? Just before the end of the field walk I ran into a little trail magic. I have said before that water is the best trail magic you can get sometimes and I was given ice water and cookies by three wonderful people. The ice water in the heat definitely hit the spot. Thanks so much! I arrived at the Cove Mtn. Shelter, my planned destination for the day. I was going to lay up here and do a short day into Duncannon tomorrow. It was 3:30 and since the walking had been so easy today I decided to push the last 4 miles into town. I got into town and made it to the Doyle Hotel (more on Duncannon and The Doyle tomorrow)around 5:00 or so where I ran into Mayfly, Spike, and Hopper. We sat, talked, and had a drink. Several others that had been in the area stopped in. Phoenix Rising, To-Phat, Crazy Legs, Paparazzi, Eagle Foot, and Dr. Nutbag. We had a good time and around 8:00 I headed for the campground. I plan on taking a couple of days here. Scholar, Free, Poet, and Serenity will be coming back to here so I will wait. Also, Gypsy, Touk, and Sunshine should be here on Sunday. Not to mention that it will be good to rest the leg a bit.
Date: 2005-07-02
From: Duncannon, PA

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

Duncannon, a town that has seen better days. A town that belongs in a previous era. Multi-colored, multi-storied, clapboard buildings stretch down main street. Many are abandoned, others are in need of repair, and almost all need paint. You feel a sense of quiet desperation in the people. People that seem to wish they were somewhere else but can't be. Yet, they are friendly. As you walk into town many greetings are given. I was offered a ride from one and a soda from another. The trail goes right through town, past the businesses, past residential areas, and then across the river and up to another ridgeline. In the center of main street a four story building greets you with a large banner, "Hikers, Welcome to The Doyle." The Doyle is old, very old, built in the early 1900's by Anhauser Busch as a place to sell its beer. Before refrigerated cars the trains would stop at wayhouses in order to ice the beer down so it would stay cold during transport. Busch saw these stops as potential sources of income and built places like the Doyle. The bar acts as the registration office, restaurant, bar, and meeting room. Almost all hikers that come into town stop here so it is a good place to sit. A lot of people came in today. Among them, Socks, Sleeveless, Troll, Anchor, Oblivious, Skywalker, Whitewater, Nurse Ratchet, Quixote, Weatherman and his son, Phoenix. It was good to see Weatherman again. He and I sat and talked for awhile. He is getting off for a few days so I told him I would let him know where we were so he could jump up and rejoin us when he got back on. The afternoon and evening was spent this way. Greeting those coming in and wishing those leaving a good hike. Phoenix Rising was also leaving today. Heading north and then away from the trail. I was glad to have had the chance to get to know her a little. Her traveling trail magic over the last couple of months was appreciated by many. Eventually, I headed back to the campsite. It was a pleasant night. Fireflys lit up the yards and fireworks lit up the sky. A Norman Rockwell scene if ever there was one!
Date: 2005-07-03
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Peters Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 11.4

Boredom! They don't even bother to unroll the sidewalks in Duncannon on a Sunday. Faced with the prospect of sitting at a picnic table all day long reading my book didn't appeal to me too much. I enjoy reading but 12 hours straight is a bit much. So, I did the next best thing. I decided to hike. Once again, plans are made and changed out here, based on the situation at the moment. I sent an email to Free and Scholar, hoping they would get it before they got back to the trail, telling them about my decision to move on. I packed up and was on my way out of town around 1:30. It was a pleasant day and the journey to Peters Mtn. Shelter was fairly easy. The shelters on the stretch to Port Clinton are spaced about 17 miles apart. Because of that the people who leave town with you are the ones you will see for the next few days. The group I am in for this stretch consists of the Trolls, Sleeveless, Quixote, Gozar, Moose, and LiveStrong.Moose had hiked the trail before, in '03 and is back again. I first ran into Quixote in Harpers Ferry. She had hiked the AT in '01 and the PCT last year and she is doing her second AT thru. I was glad to have her in the group but then, I have an ulterior motive. I have started picking her brain about the PCT. For me, the overall plan is to get to Port Clinton and, from there, catch a ride back to Duncannon for the hiker feed, this coming weekend. I should get to Port Clinton sometime on Thursday and head back to Duncannon on Friday.
Date: 2005-07-04
From: Peters Mtn. Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: scattered clouds

It was a cool night, good for sleeping, and the day looked like it would be just as nice. No humidity, which definitely makes things nice! Everyone was up and getting ready when I headed out of camp. Nobody wanted to waste a cool morning sitting around! The water situation is a topic of conversation these days. Is the source ahead good or has it dried up? Is the one after that good or not? I passed Skillet, Bottle, and LoJack's campsite. They had gone to the first source after the shelter but it was dry. They said they had heard from some south bound section hikers that the next source was a good one. Off I went. A little while after getting water I came to the road crossing where I ran into some trail magic. LiveStrong had left a cooler of Gatorade and a plaseant treat it was. I grabbed a bottle, headed to the parking area, and sat down to enjoy it. Quixote, Moose, Sleeveless, and the Trolls came in and the short break turned into a hour and a half second breakfast. After I left there we had the only real uphill climb for the day and it was an easy one. Long, but up a gentle grade. I got back onto the ridgeline and pushed on to Rausch Gap. The water source at the shelter was nothing but a trickle so we all camped down by the stream. Dinner was early and after I ate headed for the tent to read. I was feeling pretty tired today and I attributed it to partial dehydration. It seems that no matter how much water you drink you need more! Tomorrow I hit my personal half way point! Can't wait!
Date: 2005-07-05
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: light rain

I have made it to my personal halfway point! 501 Shelter here I am and northward I am bound! Legs and feet feel reasonably good except for that nagging ache in my left leg. Knock on wood! With a quiet thrill I hit the trail early this morning, before anyone was moving. I noticed that someone had come in late though I heard nothing. Whomever it is cowboy camped close by but I couldn't tell who it was. The morning walk was filled with flashbacks from last year. Places where I knew that I was off the trail. Like the road crossing where I first debated hitching out. The place where my one pole broke and I knew I couldn't walk without the aid of it so I had to initiate emergency repairs (a big rock smashing the broken part into place). The construction site I passed and where I almost asked for a ride out. Then the final downhill into the 501 Shelter, where I literally thought I would have to crawl on hands and knees, the pain was so bad. Today however, was a different story! I passed by these places and at each one a small smile crossed my face. When I reached the 501, around 1:00, I stopped and looked at it, with a big grin on my face, and thought, "I made it here you s.o.b. and I'm going on!" The 501 is a completely enclosed shelter with a dozen bunks, skylight, and a large table in the center. A great shelter for when it is raining which it had been doing most of the day. Skywalker, Nurse Ratchet, and Whitewater were there but they were heading out. Skylark was there waiting for Bottle and Skillet. I told her they were on their way because I had passed them earlier on. As the afternoon wore on the rest of the group pulled in; Quixote, The Trolls, LiveStrong, Moose and Sleeveless. Not to mention a big surprise. Rawhide and Bubble Toes came in. Last I saw of Rawhide was Trail Days and Bubble Toes is Amanda, from the very early days of the hike. I also learned that the cowboy camper was Apple Pie. Last I had seen of her was at the "Hobbit" reading in the Shenandoahs. Even though the weather was bad and caling for more rain I decided to set up my tent. I find that I am more comfortable in my tent and it has been a long time since I have slept in a shelter, or an enclosed building. After I set up I went backto the shelter where we spent the evening sitting around the table talking and catching up. Seems there are a lot of people dropping off the trail lately. At least 8 people I have met or known, plus names I was not familiar with. Another thing that was brought up was the fact that we now have less than 1000 miles to go! Another milestone crossed! Tomorrow I head out and walk on ground I have not walked on. It is pretty cool to know that I don't know what is coming up. I will actually have to consult the book a little more often than I have in the past!