morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-03
From: Yellow Springs Village

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: light rain

From the Top of the Pack - Overcast and cool to start day. Not as nice as yesterday. Late morning it began to rain and never stopped all day. The trail was similar, a couple of good ups and downs but out of the whole days mileage only about 2 to 3 miles was rocky and slow.Some views but pretty much in the woods. We're all getting tired of the rain!This shelter is a converted building with a skylight, table, chairs and bunks. The best thing is that it's dry! There is a house next door that runs a hose for water and there is a solar shower (good on a warm day). We ordered pizza (used a thru-hiker's cell phone). Oh, Ma made me a scarf to wear so I look like a thru-hiker. Hee Hee!Nose signing off.......(where's the pizza?!) Yum yum!
Date: 2003-06-04
From: 501 Shelter

To: Port Royal
Miles today: 23.7

From the Top of the Pack - Nice stay at 501 - caught up with Timber. Hiked out with her and Rooster as far as Deer Run,Hostel where they planned to stay. It was more like the Appalachian River instead of trail today! Me and Beave were going to ask for water wings! We've never seen so much water on the trail! It was rainy and cool most of the morning then it stopped raining but remained cool. The rocks were slippery which makes the footing more treacherous. We did okay though and made it into town around 3pm. We were wet, cold and ready for a shower. We went to the only hotel and it was full! We opted to go to the next town and stayed there. We got our laundry done, ate a pizza/sub and had a nice night sleep. There was also a large grocery store where we bought some supplies. We were so glad to warm up! We'll get a late start, but worth it.Nose signing off.......Pizza again - yum yum!
Date: 2003-06-05
From: Port Royal

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

From the Top of the Pack - Got started last (9am) so decided to do a shorter (Ha Ha) day. The climb out was a pretty steady up but okay. Beautiful view at Pulpit Rock - ate lunch there. There was an observatory on the opposite side of the ridge. Evidently it is owned by amateur astrological club. It was sunny all day (great)! The last 3+ miles was walking an old road (different). This place is an enclosed building with 6 bunks, a table and even electricity! It has a flush toilet and a solar shower. For a donation you can get soda, ice cream bars and cookies. I could take this every night! Okay, okay so I'm dreaming! TIme to cook supper and have another soda, maybe another ice cream!Nose signing off.......
Date: 2003-06-06
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Palmerton
Miles today: 25.1

From the Top of the Pack - Nice night at Eckville Shelter. There were some nice hikers in for the night. Most of them were planning on a shorter day, so we won't see them tomorrow. The trail went over some rocky places today. The "cliff's" is what people called a "knife's edge". It was quite a scramble - just glad it wasn't wet. The view from the top of the Cliffs was spectacular. There were Turkey Vultures soaring above us. There were several other views as well that were really nice. We are in Palmerton staying at the old jailhouse. They let hikers stay here free. We have showers, bathrooms and bunks. We can get water from the fountain and they have the electricity on. It looks like they still use the upstairs for meetings and some of the offices are being used. Girl Scout Troup 112 made up a pack of items for each hiker including: toothbrush, toothpaste, advil, shampoo, a postcard (stamped), and granola bars. Thanks to them and the merchants who provided the items.We ate at a local restaurant (steak - yum yum!) and had a malt and rootbeer float at the local ice cream parlor. The guy said it's been open since the early 1900s.Me and Beave plan to enjoy the stay but are disappointed that there were no jail cells! Nose signing off from jail.......Ha ha!
Date: 2003-06-07
From: Palmerton

To: Wood Gap
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

From the Top of the Pack - This morning we started a 1000' climb up a boulder field. There was a lot of scrambling over some large rocks and it started to rain. Beave and I decided to stay under the rain fly so we didn't see how scary it was! When we did get to the ridge, it was similar to an Alpine Zone (like Mt Washington in New Hampshire). Parts of it reminded us of areas in the Grand Canyon. Really interesting and not like anything we'd experienced before this, although yesterday did have some similar Alpine areas, at the end of the day.The rest of the day was rocky ridges and rain, rain, rain rain!Nose signing off.......
Date: 2003-06-08
From: Wood Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

From the Top of the Pack - Left at 6:30am hoping to cover the 15+ miles in a reasonable time. We were told that the last 5 miles were really rocky. It had stopped raining but the woods were still wet. Our packs didn't dry out, nor did our boots. We planned on our zero day (tomorrow) to dry everything out hopefully. The morning was pretty rocky and we had to do a couple of good scrambles over wet rocks. We saw a Turkey Vulture at one of the views - are they ugly! Neither of us were feeling great so the first part of the hiker (9 miles) went pretty slowly. We came to a shelter where a guy was with his two children, ages 7 and 8. They hiked 6 miles from the Gap in the rain yesterday! They thought I was cute! Good judges of character! Beave was inside Ma's pack so they didn't see him. It's nice to see children starting to backpack at an early age.As we started the last 6 miles we were looking for all the rocks and after a mile or so the trail went on to an old woods road for the next 3 or 4 miles. We were surprised. It wasn't until the last mile or so that we ran into some rocky areas - not bad at all! We got in around 1pm after sitting at an outlook for a half to 3/4 of an hour talking to a couple. We'll do our town chores tomorrow and hopefully just relax in the afternoon, then Tuesday we'll start New Jersey.Beave has been talking about the dams in Vermont and I'm trying to think of a way to keep him from staying there! After losing one friend (Huggy) I don't want to lose another one!Nose signing off.......
Date: 2003-06-10
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: overcast clouds

From the Top of the Pack - Climbed to ridge and had great views all day! Not many rocks although we were told they would continue for a while. Several ponds (Sunfish is glacial) and a fire tower. We also saw an owl who was really big (neat). Beave saw a Beaver Dam and we also saw a hydro dam made with soil. The trail through here is beautiful. I hope the next few days through NJ and NY are as nice as today was. We saw two people going South and one guy out taking pictures. There was a couple doing NJ in 10 days. There is a section hiker here we met back at Eckville Shelter and one guy out doing a section from PA North. He's already done the AT. Almost forgot Pa just missed stepping on a rattlesnake today! He saw his head sticking out of the grass and stepped over it, then we watched it slip away. We didn't see any rattle but the markings were definitely right. It may have been a young one. Pa and Ma also found and removed about a dozen ticks today. Yuck! Hope none had Lyme disease!Nose signing off.......PS There were a bunch of kids from a nearby camp who were out for a day hike, who asked us a lot about our hike.
Date: 2003-06-11
From: Brink Road Shelter

To: High Point Park
Miles today: 17.9

From the Top of the Pack - The mosquitos were bad most of the night so it was a restless night, but we made up for it by stopping at a bakery after just 3.6 miles of hiking. We saw a couple of groups of college age kids around noon and a couple of groups of younger kids (young teens) after lunch. One group actually clapped for us as we went by. They couldn't believe we were hiking to Maine and had been on the trail for 3+ months already. We didn't have many views because it was overcast, foggy and it rained on and off throughout the day. We had a couple of good climbs but very nice trail overall. We stayed with four other thru hikers last night and saw Red, Chaos and Bono at the bakery. Time for supper. Yum!Nose signing off.......
Date: 2003-06-13
From: High Point Park

To: Vernon Hostel
Miles today: 20.6

From the Top of the Pack - Today was overcast with showers (what's new)? The trail had a wide variety of changes, from swampy (with many bog bridges) to pastureland where your boots sank in mud up to your ankles to a preserve that you walked completely around to some woods (of course) and finally a marshland that had a walkway that went on for a couple of miles. What a great job someone did on the walkway! I couldn't see anything sayign who did it. It must have taken many, many manhours of work. Great job! We saw deer, rabbit, turkey and horses today. For a day of high mileage it went by quickly. We ended up walking into town where the Hostel is. The Espiseop Church lets you use their classrooms to sleep, provide free showers (soap, towels/shampoo provided), free laundry, use of kitchen and even has a tv. Great place! Only bad thing was that our package didn't show up at the Post Office so we had to buy food. Time to snack.Nose signing off.......PS Due to Pa having some physical problems we are taking 3 days off. This should help by getting the weight of the packs off and seeing if that helps. Either way we'll be back on the trail on the 17th. We are anxious to resume our hike home.
Date: 2003-06-17
From: Vernon Hostel

To: Route NY17A 
Miles today: 15.0

From the Top of the Pack - Finished New Jersey today and into New York. The day was mostly sunny with a breeze - nice change from the rain. The trail changed once we hit New York. It was following a ridge above a lake for most of the afternoon and the ridge was mostly rock slabs. It was hard hiking but offered good views. Pa had to get new boots and he found out this wasn't the kind of trail you break new shoes in on. After wearing a softer "sneaker type" boot for so long, that the new "heavier leather type" boot. We will cut back on mileage to give Pa time to "break in" the boots. If that doesn't work, he'll look for a different pair when we get to Kent, CT. Saw Rooster today and Cliffdweller is just ahead so we hope to see them again over the next week. Timber is a day or two behind so we may see her as well. Beave is looking forward to Vermont and the Beaver Ponds! Depending on Pa's feet and the weather tomorrow (may rain) we'll either hike a short day or wait until Thursday, to give Pa's feet a chance to get used to the new boots.Nose signing off.......
Date: 2003-06-19
From: Route NY17A 

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

From the Top of the Pack - Tough day - muggy, hot and a lot of ups and downs. It's been a while since we've had to do elevation changes, so it seemed harder. We were planning a longer day - but just too tired, also Pa has new boots so he was breaking them in. We ended up going into Warwick to a shoe store to get a second pair of boots for Pa. The first pair were not breaking in and caused more problems, so he got a sneaker type and they are much better. Hoted taking another zero day so soon but needed to get the boots straightened out. Lots of rocky areas today, but views were abundant. The sun was out part of the day and thankfully we didn't have the thundershowers that were predicted. The shelter is stone and sits on a rock slab. It's an older shelter but nice. Timber is here (good to see her again). She't the nurse who works in the town next to ours. There's a guy hiking south also. He says he's been sick since this morning - he may stay here tomorrow to try and recuperate. The other day we saw a Turkey Vulture (nesting) on a rock as we climbed up a rocky slope. It startled us, but didn't fly off. They are so ugly! Tomorrow e head for Bear Mtn - hopefully a better day.Nose signing off.......
Date: 2003-06-20
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: Fort Montgomery
Miles today: 14.2

From the Top of the Pack - It rained (no BIG surprise) last night and most of the day today. The trail was beautiful especially in the Bear Mtn area. There were many outlooks, but because of the rain and fog, we didn't get to see much (at one outlook you were supposed to be able to see NY City). We did a lot of ups and downs again today. It was hard because of the elevation changes, especially over rocks. We are surprised at how tired we've been in the last 2 days. Our minds are in Virginia or Pennsylvania, where it was relatively flat and our bodies don't know that it's changed!! It's breaking us in for New England I guess (Hee Hee).At Bear Mtn Park they have a trailsite museum that is free for hikers. It was really nice. There were exhibits of animals, birds, reptiles etc. that you find on plaques about the trees, flower and the environment. There was an area that gave information about the AT itself. Great! We had a meal at the Bear Mtn Inn (we didn't sit near anyone else since we hadn't showered - sniff sniff).We heard the weather for the weekend is going to be more rain. Yuck!!!!! Where is summer?The next stretch is 31 miles between shelters so we'll probably have to tent. It's hard to cook and set up and pack up in the morning, when its raining. We'll hope for a break in the rain while we do these things. It also leaves everything damp as well. As you can tell we're getting tired of all the rain. We'll be doing more tenting as we head North as the mosquitos will be out. All of us want to thank those of you have been signing the guestbook. We try to get to a library every couple of weeks to read the entries. It really brightens our day and it helps to know people care. Also a special thanks to those who have been sending goodies (especially Kathleen). It's fun to get a package - it's almost like opening a present! We wish we could reply to all the messages, but it would be hard to do, since you can't just reply online. We'd have to carry all the email addresses. Just know we love hearing from you, via the guestbooks.Nose signing off.......Oh, Beave has been seeing a lot of beaver type ponds so we've had to watch him, he wants to make some dams!
Date: 2003-06-21
From: Fort Montgomery

To: Peekskill
Miles today: 5.8

From the Top of the Pack - Short day - heavy rain! The trail was fairly good, in spite of rain. Hopefully tomorrow it's supposed to clear by noon and we can get back on schedule. We won't be doing as high of mileage as previously, now that elevation is back but we should stay in the 15 mile range. Today was naked hiking day so me and Beave didn't wear anything (Hee Hee). The Poolerbears wouldn't join us - wimps! Of course we were under the backpack cover so no one could see us anyway.Naked Nose signing off.......PS Over the last few days the Mountain Laurel has been flowering and it's beautiful! The flowers are cup shaped in mostly white with a few pink bushes. We've seen fields of them since we came into New York. We're also seeing blueberries starting to come out.
Date: 2003-06-30
From: Peekskill

To: NY-301
Miles today: 12.4

From the Top of the Pack....We arrived back on the trail at 8:45 am, after a long bus ride. We were pretty tired, but ready to go. It was a partly sunny day, but muggy. The mosquitoes were out in force, no surprise. Welcome back to life on the trail. Hee, Hee There were lost of people on the trail today. We saw two thru-hikers. We also saw a grandfather, father and son on the trail who have been section hiking since the son was 5 years old. He is now a teenager. They were out for 12 days. There were also three guys who started about 1/2 way through PA and have been out for 3 weeks. In addition, we saw a couple of guys with a girl and a couple of dogs that looked like a pit bulls (I didn't like them because they were barking at us and weren't too friendly, like me!) The terrain wasn't bad, not much elevation, but after a week off our feet weren't too happy! We didn't want to press our luck and push to hard the first day back, so we are staying at a State camping ground. They let thru-hikers stay one night free. Well as it was, we ended up walking almost a mile and a half to where you camp. If we had known that we probably would not have stayed there. We thought the camp sites would be near the lake and they were on the other side of the road and near a major road of some kind because we heard traffic all night. We did get something to eat at the concession stand and took a walk to the lake, so it wasn't all bad. We plan to get some much needed sleep. The three guys that started in PA are also camped nearby. Beave and I actually could see the trail today, no pack cover!! Oh, one interesting thing was the last mile or so of the trail was raised with stones on each side supporting it. Maybe it was a road at one time, for carriages, horses. It wasn't big enough for cars. Interesting!Nose signing off.....
Date: 2003-07-01
From: NY-301

To: Route 52
Miles today: 12.0

From the Top of the Pack...After getting back to the trail this morning we climbed above the lake and had a great view from above. It was much larger than we thought. We could see the area we walked to yesterday which was at the end of the lake. The trail was really nice today and not many mosquitoes - GREAT! We got the first shelter and found that it was cabin-style and really nice. It had a door at the front and was open at the back. There were bunks and a table inside and several picnic tables outside. It also had a water pump and a big grassy area for tents, and a flush toilet. One of the nicest shelters/areas we've seen. Of course we said that we should have pushed on to here instead of the campground, oh well... We saw a group of kids with a couple of adults that were heading for this shelter and we told them how nice it was. The kids were really excited. We hiked across a couple of roads and came to Route 52 where there is a deli/pizza just .5 from trail, so we headed that way.
Date: 2003-07-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

NOTE from Nose & the Poolerbears:After going back on the trail for a few days, we had to end the journey. Pa Poolerbear's has a physical problem that he couldn't overcome. We will always remember the people, places and things we saw along the trail in the past four months. We want to thank all of you who supported us (friends, neighbors and trail angels). We know that in the future we'll never have to look back and say "I wish I had". Someday we will finish the trail, but it wasn't meant to be, this year. Good Luck to the Class of '03.
Date: 2003-09-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Looking Back ¢ ReflectionsNow that we¢ve been off the trail for several weeks, we want to share our reflections.We both felt that we made the right decision (at the time) when we came off the trail in New York, BUT it has been very hard dealing with that decision since we got back.20/20 hindsight is always reflective of what you ¢wish you had¢ done. Of course it is easy to sit here, at home, rested both physically and mentally from the demands of the trail, and say we ¢should have¢ never come off. It doesn¢t make any difference on how we rationalize our reason for coming off, we still look back and think of all the reasons we shouldn¢t have.We have no regrets as far as attempting the hike ¢ it was the hardest thing we done, both physically and mentally, but the best experience we¢ve had ¢ but we didn¢t finish.We both said it was ¢doing the hike¢ that mattered most, but we didn¢t finish.We both think about the trail ¢all the time¢ and enjoy reminiscing, but we didn¢t finish.We had the time, resources and support, but we didn¢t finish.We now both know that we do want to finish, because it is important to us.PA & Beave want to do the whole trail again (male thing ¢ according to them), and me & Beave want to either start at Harper¢s Ferry or where we left off in New York. Because we can¢t all take off the time together, we¢ll go at separate times, supporting each other, and meeting to hike a week or two along the trail.We¢re starting to get excited again about going back and feeling good about the decision.Our only advice is, if you get down physiologically; DON¢T come off the trail, unless you can live with that decision, no matter what.                                                Nose & the Poolerbears                                                        Happy Trails ¢¦¢¦¢¦.
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I just puts some more pictures of me and Huggy on our last trip to the Grand Canyon and Red Rock. Hope you enjoy, and remember, keep your eye out for Huggy!I should be heading for Maine this week to stay with the Poolerbears until we leave for Georgia. With all the snow there, I hope I can get in some hiking before MARCH!NosePS. If you got the last AT Newletter, the picture on the front is of a part of the AT that the Poolerbears maintain, in Andover, Maine. NEAT!
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well here it is the 2nd of February and only 24 days before we leave... I'm finishing up my packing (a few doggy treats) and the Poolerbears are still sorting through their equipment! Oh well, my pack IS considerable smaller! As you can see, I'm sitting on the mail drop boxes which are all ready to go. On February 27th we'll be taking a bus to Boston and picking up AMTRAK from there. I get to spend the night in a "sleeper" - I get the bottom bunk!! Of course the Poolerbears may have to sneak me onboard (being a dog)! The train takes us right into Gainesville, then it's to the Lodge at Amicalola Falls where we spend the last night before hitting the trail on March 1st! The temperatures in Georgia look like a heat wave compared to Maine! We can't wait to get started. I've been reading all the journals of those starting when we do - hope to meet you on the trail!
Date: 2002-12-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi! My name is NOSE and here is my story. I¢m the one on the right and that¢s Huggy on the left. This is one of the last pictures I have of us together. About 4 years ago Huggy and I joined the ¢Poolerbears¢ on a 10-day backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon. The picture is of us playing cribbage. We had a great time, although sitting on a pack looking over the side is pretty scary! It must be something like riding a mule, for humans! Anyway, we had an extra day, before flying home, and decided to take a day hike at Red Rock Canyon, just outside Las Vegas. Somewhere near the top of the trail, Huggy heard the ¢Call of the Wild¢ and took off into the wilderness (after all its where a ¢bear¢ really should be)! We think she may have hitched a ride with some scouts who left the top before we did. I recently move from Arizona to Washington State and have been hearing rumors that Huggy hiked the PCT last year and was heading for the AT in 03. The ¢Poolerbears¢ told me that they had decided to take a leave of absence from work and hike the AT this year, so they invited me to go along. I jumped at the chance! Here was my chance to try and find Huggy and have a great adventure, too! The ¢Poolerbears¢ agreed to carry the gear and food, if I would write the journals. I¢m no dummy, I said ¢Sure¢! I hope you can read my paw writing.I hope you¢ll follow our lighthearted journey, in search for both Huggy and adventure. By the way, if you happen to see a small reddish colored bear, or hear any rumors about her, let us know!I¢ll be flying to Maine, via US Mail, to join the ¢Poolerbears¢, where we¢ll head for Georgia, to start the big ¢Adventure¢ on 03/01/03.                                                NOSE