morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-06-27
From: Past Green Mountain Store

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 10.1

Wednesday 27 June 2007 Day 103As we hiked through Pennsylvania, the water sources became fewer and farther between. We had filled our bottles at the Green Mountain Store before leaving, and three miles into today's hike crossed Whiskey Spring Road. There was a beautiful little spring tucked away under an overhang, so I stuck my head in and placed a pot under the small stream to fill up. Gus took the opportunity across the road to rinse out her clothes in a creek next to the road. While wearing them.We went on a couple miles and took a break near a troop of girl scouts. They were headed south, we headed north past the Alec Kennedy Shelter, up to Center Point Knob where we had lunch. Down the hill we came out of the forest and through corn and alfalfa fields into Boiling Springs, PA. We passed a long pond with swans and large, weed-eating boats and reached the ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office about 2:00 pm.Why-Not and I had gotten ahead of Gus, who was stopping often to take pictures. After she arrived, we tried getting rooms at a local bed & breakfast. The owners were not home, so we left our packs and went out for a beer. It was another hot and humid day. Although we had done barely ten miles, the book said camping was prohibited over the next 14 miles, so Boiling Springs was it.When the folks from the B&B arrived, we found they were not taking guests, but would allow us to camp in their backyard. After some discussion, we pitched our tents, eventually sharing the yard with Sven, Uffda and Queso. The three of us showered at the local municipal pool, then went for dinner at Anile's, the local Italian restaurant.Day 103--10.1 miles; cumulative 1116.1; average 10.84
Date: 2007-06-28
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Thursday 28 June 2007 Day 104On the way out of Boiling Springs, we stopped at the gas station for drinks, breakfast, snacks, and a little resupply. The trail was mostly wooded, and quite flat, and during the day we crossed several roads and highways, including Interstate 81 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Carlisle, PA.We finished our day with a 700 foot climb. A small sign on a tree about a mile short of the shelter stated that the spring at the shelter was unreliable, so Why-Not, Sven, Uffda and I stopped and filled up. When we got to the Darlington Shelter we found ourselves in the company of a boy scout troop and Birdlegs, Quarter Moon, Ohm, Ninja, The Breeze and a few others. There was a very nice privy at the shelter, but as advertised, the spring was more a mudhole than a decent water source. We enjoyed a rain shower from the sky and a bit of left over chili from the boy scouts.Day 104--14.3 miles; cumulative 1130.4; average 10.87
Date: 2007-06-29
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Friday 29 June 2007 Day 105Bird Legs, Quarter Moon and Ohm were gone by six, we followed shortly after seven. Why-Not and I pushed on ahead of Gus. The trail started to get rocky. My right foot was hurting, down in the arch, just in front of the heel. I thought I might have the start of plantar fasciitis. (My podiatrist later told me she thought it was tendonitis). I thought I might be ripe for a zero in Duncannon. The problem was my old Air Force/hiking buddy Wayne Hammerstrom was planning to meet us in Duncannon later today, and hike with us for a week. Since our pace in Pennsylvania was a bit slower than I had expected, in part due to the lack of camping between Boiling Springs and the Darlington Shelter, and in part because of the short day to Caledonia State Park, we had lost the day or two of slack I thought we were going to have.The Doyle Hotel is this funky old hotel, one of the original Busch hotels from the turn of the 20th century. The rooms shared bathrooms, so you had to walk down the hall to shower, etc. They did have a working washer and dryer, though, and the bar downstairs had good food at great prices. The horror stories we had heard about rowdiness did not materialize while we were there.After stopping at the Doyle for a beer, I walked up to the post office and found Gus with three parcels. We carried our parcels back to the hotel and got a room. I called Wayne, who was closing in on Duncannon and would be in town about seven. We decided to hike on to the next shelter tomorrow.Day 105--11.4 miles; cumulative 1141.8; average 10.87
Date: 2007-06-30
From: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA

To: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 3.3
Weather: few clouds

Saturday 30 June 2007 Day 106After dropping parcels at the post office, catching up on email at an internet provider in town, and lunch at the Doyle, we left town about one. The trail took us through town, across the Juniata River, then the Susquehanna, and up onto the ridgetop. We passed a blue-blazed trail and climbed up into a boulder field that passed for the trail. It was infested with poison ivy. At one point I stepped into a hole that twisted my foot just enough that I gasped in pain. I was past the point where I wanted to put any more pressure on my foot, and decided at that moment that I was done with the trail.I told Gus and Wayne that I was going to stop at the next shelter, a couple miles north, then return to town the next day. A short time later we passed the other end of the Susquehanna Trail (the blue-blazed side trail), and I dropped my pack. I gave Gus the tarp, we traded out food as we had done at Allen Gap last year when I had the shin splint, and I turned down the side trail.I was tired. I was tired of long, hot, humid days. I was tired of poison ivy. I was tired of the AT clambering through every rocky field in sight (although we really hadn't been through that much rock at this point). One illustration of the evil nature of the trail placement was that little side trail. It covered about the same mile of trail distance as the AT. It was lacking one view of the Susquehanna River and Duncannon. It was also lacking the monster boulders the AT labored through. I'm sure a lot of hikers wonder why the AT seems to perversely lead through the worst landscape available. I'm sure in places it may be necessary, but other times the trail could be rerouted to avoid some of the rock. It can be rebuilt in other places to reduce the gradient to one that a normal person can safely navigate without worrying about slipping and breaking a leg or spraining an ankle or knee.Why-Not was pitching his idea of the Appalachian Freedom Trail. It would run from shelter to shelter, passing water sources and maintaining a reasonable grade at all times. Kind of like most western trails. I have been told that while the AT is the shortest of the three major north-south trails in this country (the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails being the others), it is the most difficult.So I returned to Duncannon, gleeful that I was done. I called Weeks. It turned out he was home in Philadelphia, so he agreed to drive out and pick me up. My new plan was to hang out with Weeks, then head back to Madison with Wayne when he got off the trail at Port Clinton the next week.Day 106--3.3 miles; cumulative 1145.1; average 10.80
Date: 2007-08-02
From: Madison, Wisconsin

To: On the road
Miles today: 0.0

Thursday 2 August 2007 Day 139I cleaned up the kitchen, made the bed, and Tina and I headed for the Greyhound depot about 11:20. Dale and Julie showed up to send me off, as did Wayne. While the place was packed, it turned out that only one or two of us were headed east, and instead of an announcement over the disfunctional public address system, some guy came up and said the bus was waiting for me on the street. There was a bit of construction that didn't block the other buses, but my driver stopped in the middle of Bedford Street and blocked traffic while the bus waited for me. So, I got on the bus and we were off.In Chicago, I changed buses. That was my first mistake. We were 45 minutes late getting in and 45 minutes getting out, but made up about a half hour by skipping the stops for Hammond and Gary, Indiana. I was crushed. Those are two of my favorite towns in the whole world, and I was so looking forward to visiting them again. We were about 10 minutes behind schedule as we approached South Bend about 8:25, when others on the bus started commenting on the smoke pouring from the back of the bus.When we stopped at the airport at South Bend, the bus driver called back to Chicago and reported the problem. We were told a bus was being sent from Chicago to replace ours. The driver of a following Greyhound suggested our driver take her bus down the highway a few miles to the next travel plaza, which had food service and a store, as the airport had nothing going on so late in the day. (I'm adding South Bend to my list of favorite towns in the whole world.)So we fired up the smoke machine and blew our way down to the rest area. We sat there until 12:30 in the morning. For some reason it took an empty bus four hours to make the same trip our full bus did in three, and by the time we got back in motion, we were four hours behind schedule.
Date: 2007-08-05
From: Clarence Fahnestock State Park

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Sunday 5 August 2007 Day 142I got another good start, shortly after 6:30, and crossed Highway 301. A three hundred foot climb brought me up and over Shenandoah Mountain, then down to the Shenandoah Tenting Area, containing a shed and a pump. I stopped for a snack and filled my water bottles from the pump. After a short break, I continued on to the RPH Shelter. RPH had been a cinder-block cabin, but had one wall removed and a porch added. It was pretty cozy. The water from the pump was tinted from iron, and it wasn't very tasty. The noise from the pump apparently alerted a man living next door. I don't know if he was the official caretaker, but I heard he was related, and a bit friendlier than I cared for. He came over and pestered me with questions, comments, and an unsolicited bad weather forecast. He asked if I thought I could make it to the next shelter, because the weather was going to be horrible, and I wouldn't be able to hike tomorrow because it was going to be raining so hard. He went on and on while I took a look at my feet and at the shelter register. Gus had stayed the night of August 1, which meant she was now three and a half days ahead of me.I took off with my buddy tailing behind me, until I got back to the trail and said goodbye. I crossed the Taconic State Parkway, taking the road under rather than climbing over and crossing the highway. It wasn't near as busy on a Sunday as it had been the time last year I was driving on it. The day was sunny and warm, but not as humid as yesterday, and I made good time over Hosner Mountain. By midafternoon I had put 13 miles down, and reached Highway 52.A short walk down 52 brought me to a small deli/store and pizza shop outside Stormville, NY. Bum Bum and Talkerman had passed me along the trail again. They had gone on to the campground at Fahnestock State Park the night before, and had gotten back on the trail behind me. They passed me earlier in the day, and were sitting in front of the store when I arrived. I had a snack, bought a hot Italian sausage sandwich and called Tina. Gus had called home from here on Thursday, so I was now three days behind her. I headed back up the highway to the trail about 5. After crossing I-84, a short and mostly easy climb brought me to the top of Mount Egbert, elevation 1,329. Just past the top of Egbert was the Morgan Stewart Shelter. There were several tents pitched nearby. I dropped my pack in the shelter and greeted Bum Bum and Talkerman, along with Just James and Aristotle. I hobbled down to the pump and watered up, had a snack, hung my food, caught up with my journal, threw the bug shelter out on the shelter floor and slid my sleeping bag in.Day 142--17.0 miles; cumulative 1,179.3; average 8.30
Date: 2007-08-06
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Fife 'n' Drum Inn, Kent, CT
Miles today: 8.3

Monday 6 August 2007 Day 143As soon as the others in the shelter began to stir I got up, packed, ate and took off. I was hobbling again, due not only to the sore on my left foot, but also a sore achilles tendon. It never occurred to me to stop and stretch it out, as I had done in Virginia with my sore knee. I reached the romantically named Nuclear Lake and decided to stop and soak. It was humid again, and cloudy, but the torrential rain promised by my buddy at RPH Shelter didn't materialize.Nuclear Lake was the site of a nuclear fuels processing facility until 1972, according to the Thru-Hikers Companion. It was acquired and cleaned up by the National Park Service and the trail ran along the lake's edge. However, it didn't have much of a shoreline.   I walked out a small spit and dropped my pack, shed my boots, and stepped off the rocks onto a mucky bottom. The water was tepid, and not much of a relief to any of my sore spots. Bum Bum and Talkerman passed without stopping, and I climbed out after a brief dip.I limped on down the trail, and somewhere between Nuclear Lake and Telephone Pioneers Shelter, three miles up the trail, decided I was done. I reached the shelter, catching up with Talkerman and Bum Bum. Bum Bum had a better blister pad and some medical tape, so I patched and bandaged my foot, told them I was done, and said goodbye. They took off and I followed. I reached County 20, at the site of a big, old open grown oak called the Dover Oak, reportedly the largest oak tree on the Appalachian Trail, with a girth of more than 20 feet four feet above the ground. I set my pack down. After about 20 minutes, I caught a ride the three miles into Pawling, New York.After a short break in town to get my bearings and call home, I walked up to Highway 55 and hitched a ride to Kent, Connecticut. A nice guy picked me up and went a few miles out of his way, and dropped me at the main intersection in Kent. There were several hikers sitting nearby, but none of them knew Gus. I didn't know for sure that she was in town, so I called home again, but she hadn't been in touch. I finally met Copperhead, who told me Gus was at the laundromat.I walked up the street, and before long I found her. We tried to find someone at Saint Andrews Church, which we had heard allowed hikers to camp in their yard, but no one was around, and we were unable to contact anyone by phone. It was humid enough to be unpleasant, and I was in the mood for a comfortable bed, so we ended up at the Fife 'n' Drum Inn & Restaurant for the night, after dinner at the Kent Pizza Garden.Day 143--8.3 miles; cumulative 1,187.6; average 8.30
Date: 2007-08-07
From: Fife 'n' Drum Inn, Kent, CT

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 0.0

Tuesday 7 August 2007 Day 144We slept in, grabbed a bite for breakfast at the Kent Market, spent some time at the library, then walked up to the IGA to resupply Gus. On the way we stopped at the post office. The maps I had sent from home on Monday the 30th had finally arrived. We did our resupply and ended up back at the Kent Market for dinner.The night before at the Fife 'n' Drum, we had run into a woman who ran a real estate agency in town. She told us then that we were welcome to camp in the yard, so when our business was done, we walked to the edge of town and pitched our tent. Several other hikers found the place before dark, and the yard ended up full of tents. Day 144--0 miles; cumulative 1,460.3 (Gus); average 10.14 (Gus)
Date: 2007-08-08
From: Kent, CT

To: On the Road, Again
Miles today: 0.0

Wednesday 8 August 2007 Day 145It promised to be another steamy day in Connecticut. We packed up and headed back to the Kent Market for a quick and cheap breakfast. After breakfast, we split up, Gus heading west on 341 to the trail, me taking up a post on Highway 7 south toward Danbury.It took three rides and a couple of hours to get to New Milford, and I waited for a long time on a busy highway attempting to get to Danbury. I saw a local bus heading north that turned east into New Milford, then got another short ride past New Milford. Not much later I finally saw the same bus heading south, and I flagged it down, paid $1.25, and arrived in Danbury about 11.I had done enough research at the library in Kent to know there was a bus into New York City that left Danbury about 1:30, but when I got to the bus station, there was an earlier bus leaving about 11:30. The station was a little chaotic, as there had been a tornado in Brooklyn that morning, some subways lines had closed due to flooding, buses in the area were delayed, and it sounded like New York City was a mess.It didn't turn out that way. We made good time into the city, passed the north end of Central Park, turned down Columbus Avenue and made it down to the Port Authority without a hitch. The Port Authority is this massive bus/subway station, with, I suppose, hundreds of buses coming and going all day long. After grabbing my pack I wandered out to a deli around the corner, then disappeared back inside looking for the right departure gate for the Greyhound to Chicago. There were as many people as a good-sized airport, with fewer signs, no windows and really hard-to-find rest rooms. One door led to the subway. After wandering around for awhile, I finally found the right door.The bus boarded and we took off. Traffic out of the city wasn't too bad, and we made it to Newark without incident. We cruised west into Pennsylvania. Just outside of Allentown the bus blew a tire, one of the twin rear tires on the left side. We stopped at a McDonalds outside Allentown, and sat there for about three hours before someone showed up to change the tire. (The bus carries a spare behind the front bumper, but it required someone from a tire store to show up with a big air wrench to actually change it.) The sun was going down when we finally got going.
Date: 2007-08-09
From: On the Road, Again

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Thursday 9 August 2007We reached Pittsburgh about 1 am, Cleveland about 4, and were in Indiana shortly after sunrise. The bus arrived at the Chicago depot about 10:30. The bus emptied, and I got in line for the Milwaukee bus. Twenty minutes out of the Loop, the bus died, along I-94. We sat by the side of the road for a couple hours waiting for a replacement. It finally arrived and the trip resumed. One passenger was trying to get to Mitchell Field for a flight to Florida to get to a wedding. There was drama all the way to Milwaukee as this fellow borrowed a phone, called his girlfriend, then the airlines, then his girlfriend again, trying to make sure he got a quick ride from downtown back to the airport so he didn't miss his flight. I'd like to let you know there was a happy ending, but the end of that story will remain an unsolved mystery in the story of my life.I expected a quick turnaround in Milwaukee, so I made a short pit stop and got back on the bus, only to find out the next leg of the trip had been canceled. Those of us going to Madison were told to cross the street to the Badger Bus Depot and take the next Badger Bus. We finally got out of Milwaukee about 3, and pulled into Madison a couple hours late. I called Tina, and she came and picked me up.Gus had been complaining about her pack weight. She had it down about as far as it could go, but it was still too heavy for her. Between March and July, I had lost about 55 pounds. My legs were noticeably thinner. By August, Gus was down to about 120 pounds, a 45 pound weight loss for her. I'm sure she had lost some muscle in that 45 pounds, because even though her pack was considerably lighter in August than in March, she was having more problems.I suggested that I go home and pick up the car and come back out and lend support. When we left Kent, I was prepared to head home, repack the car, and turn around and head back to Connecticut. However, on Sunday the 12th, Gus called from Falls Village, CT and said she was getting off the trail. She hitched up to Great Barrington, MA (on a motorcycle with a sidecar) and caught a bus to Pittsfield while I found a bus from Pittsfield through Albany and Buffalo to Madison. She caught the bus Monday evening in Pittsfield and arrived about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning.Day 149--cumulative 1,485.4 (Gus); average 9.97 (Gus)So, here we are, back home again. I'm very disappointed we were unable to finish, and I apologize for taking so long to finish this last entry. I've stayed busy, walking around town once my blister healed up. I've stretched out the achilles, and I've been walking a couple hours a day several days a week, trying not to put the 55 pounds back on all at once. Jeannine is taking several classes through MATC. Madison got 15 inches of rain in August, much of it during a couple of big storms. The 15" was the heaviest one month rain tally in the history of weather in Madison, by more than 5". I'm glad I wasn't out in it.
Date: 2011-01-14
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Just getting back into the whole trail journal routine. It's a gloomy January day in Madison, and Georgia in March still feels a long way away. Go Pack (as in Green Bay). Got my Gregory Denali Pro back from the factory the other day. The plastic joiner on the hip belt broke on our second day in the Wind River Range last July, pursuing state highpoint #48--Gannet Peak. Made the summit, but the pack was a serious nuisance the entire way in and out, what with a malfunctioning hip belt. The old, lightweight Osprey will be my pack of choice to begin this year's hike. If I find something better at Mountain Crossing or Bluff Mountain Outfitters, I might change out, but it'll need to be good.
Date: 2007-02-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

When I got back to Ga. in August, 2006, I told everybody I was retiring from hiking & would start riding my bicycle a lot. That thought lasted about 3 months, then that trail magnet started pulling on me. I had to give in & with my wife's best wishes, Swampdawg & I have a repeat hike planned for March 15, 2007 from Springer Mtn. to Fontana Dam, the GOOD LORD willing.JOSH SAINT, owner of Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega has confirmed 2 spaces for us on that date.My 2006 journal has all of my section hikes in it, also under "Stinger".Stinger
Date: 2007-02-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Swampdawg taking one for the team....while in Athens, Ga. with his daughter¢s family, he was skate-boarding while his 8 & 6 year old grandsons were riding their bikes. To avoid hitting one of the grandsons who was riding in front of him, he took a sharp turn off the pavement on the drive-way & fell on his face, hitting the road. The road is fine, his face is not, as seen in the photo. His daughter told him to start acting his age, not his shoe size. The boys, MATHEW & JACOB administered first aid to grandpa, that made him real proud.Swampdawg can¢t wait to get to the trail where it is safe.Stinger
Date: 2007-02-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Swampdawg came over to my house & brought his mail-drop stuff that we are mailing to Cloud 9 Hostel. We are getting excited about getting back on the trail, meeting our new trail family & maybe some we have already met in the past years of our hiking. We will spend the night at the Hiker Hostel the 15th of March, then on the morning of the 16th, we will eat that wonderful breakfast that JOSH & LEIGH prepare for the hikers. I can hardly wait.It will be nice seeing the OLE MAN & NAVI-GATOR again. I think they will be helping JOSH & LEIGH out at the hostel. After we eat, we will be shuttled to the USFS Road 42 to begin our hike. See you all up the trail.Stinger