morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, the great day is here at last. I am leaving for Harpers Ferry this evening and will arrive there late tomorrow morning, if I can believe Amtrak. The backpack is packed, the first mail drop is mailed, the boots are waxed and I am good to go!   I am realy excited and am actively looking forward to this years hike. Slow and easy wins the prize, or so they say. The pack weighs in at 30 pounds, and that is with six nights and seven days of food and two liters of water, so I am pleased with that. Despite all of my physical training I know that I am still woefully out of shape and am hoping that the first 50 miles in Maryland will help me get my hiking legs under me again. At least I know that the first bit is flat, along the canal.   It will be some time before I post on this site again, so until then ¢Go neiri an bothar leat¢
Date: 2005-03-31
From: Harpers Ferry Hostel

To: Crampton Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I saw a man that blocked my path               And said ¢You shall not pass,               For this road leads to mystic spaces               With yellow suns and azure skies¢               But I walked past him on that road               For I knew that man was I.   I am currently post dinner at the shelter with five 15-17 yo boy scouts for company ¢ the rest of their patrol is camping out. They are the same troop that camped out at the hostel at Harpers Ferry last night.   Spent an interesting evening with a group at the hostel last evening, including the 25yo who is researching a local civil war figure at one of the local museums. Decided to have the $5 AYCE breakfast of blueberry pancakes. The warden said that he is leaving on the 4th of July and they are having a hard time finding a permanent replacement for him.   Today was a good hike. Flat along the C&O towpath with a some what subdued, but still raging, Potomac to the right and the still waters of the C&O canal intermittently to the left ¢ much like the I&M canal towpath in Illinois.   Then there was the ascent of South Mountain, well graded and I was happy to have no great problems with it. The rest of the hike was along the ridge of the South Mountain. A cold and overcast day forced me to wear the wind jacket for most of it, but at least the threatened rain never did materialize.   Saw a surprising number of SOBO hikers, I did not expect that many, but it is still the tail end of spring break. Took some photos at the Gartland State Park of the War Correspondents Monument. A very historic site replete in civil war history.   Then it was a short hike here to the shelter. I feel fine after the 8.9 miles and arrived here in the early afternoon, in time to have my PM nap interrupted by the arrival of the Boy Scout troop.   They have rigged a green tarp over the deck and have secured it with an elaborate system of ropes and knots, and with much discussion and disagreement. The troop leaders are camping with the younger scouts and this five are pretty much on their own, to their great joy. It seems that we will be heading for the same shelter again tomorrow night.   Last night I read the first of the Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis, which inspired the opening lines of this journal entry. We need to be open to unfamiliar things, and I believe that the greatest obstruction to new experiences is our own reluctance to try them. Bodies at rest resist change in direction. At the sane time we should try to keep our lives as uncluttered as possible. This may seem like two contradictory statements, but they realy are not.   Thought ¢            Keeping your life simple does not mean refusing new experiences.
Date: 2005-04-03
From: Devils Racecourse Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

The cynic said it was all by chanceThe scientist said it was the windThe natives said it was the spirit of the treesThe priest said it was GodI said it was all of the aboveSpent the night alone at the shelter last night. I realy didn¢t think that that much of my wet gear would dry out overnight, so I was happy to find that my stuff was only damp this morning ¢ not wet. So after breakfast I took a deep breath and dived back into my damp and very cold hiking gear and set out.   Early in the day I started to get a pain in my right ankle just above the medial malleous. Never had a pain there before. Finally I put some moleskin on it, which seemed to help some.   It was a very cold day with strong winds; there were even occasional flurries of snow, although no measurable precipitation. Had a tricky time getting through the Devils Racecourse boulder field, very rocky with white blazes and small white flags marking the way. Slow and steady got me through.   I stopped for a rest break at Pen-Mar Park in the blowing snow and managed to talk with KT on the cell.   Then it was across the Maryland-Pennsylvania border and the Mason-Dixon Line, and into a new state. So far I like it fine. A well-maintained trail with many streams, all either bridged or easily passable. No fording today. Water levels are way down. Lots of road crossings.   Met a young couple out hiking, and one man whose boot prints I had been following for miles on the trail, just before Deer Lick Shelter. The last stretch up here was very pretty, an easily sloping tail with many streams. I still like the streams even after my dunking.   I am very impressed by this shelter. There are in fact two shelters here side by side. One is labeled ¢Snoring¢ and the other ¢Non-Snoring¢ Nice touch. Good spring, but I suppose that they all are after all of the recent rains. No one else here as yet, and very few log entries over the past few days. I did see an entry here by Slow Barbara from late July 2004. That is the second one of hers that I have seen so far.   Today I thought on the significance of words. We use them to convey an underlying idea, but end up concentrating on the words and not on the idea. So many words mean so many different things to so many different people. It is as if the words are a spotlight that we are using to try to illuminate an underlying idea, but we end up fixated on the spotlight and not on the idea that we are trying to express.      I think that the spirit of the woods is a Goddess and not a God. So much of the environment is filled with life that it seems more fitting that it has a female creator. This is not to belittle the role of the male in the reproductive process, but it realy does pale into insignificance compared to the female role. Thought for today ¢       ¢When I use a word it means exactly what I want it to mean¢ said Alice
Date: 2005-04-08
From: Ironmasters Mansion Hostel

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: few clouds

Spoke with KT last evening. All is well. Spent some time talking with Donna R. A very nice woman, gentle and soft spoken, and a very dear person. Life cannot be easy being a warden in a hostel.      Started bright and early anticipating the forecasted showers. It had rained overnight. The trail starts smooth and easy thru the park and passes Fuller Lake. I am sure that it is a great swimming spot during the summer, but it did not look too inviting on a cold and overcast morning. The trail then leaves the park and begins to wind upwards onto Piney Mountain. The midpoint marker was a photo opportunity, but the logbook had degenerated into a crumpled mass of torn out leaves squished every which way into a very small log box.   As the morning lengthened, the sun came out and the overcast skies cleared. Soon I was hiking in summer mode again, and enjoying the sight of my shadow pacing alongside me on the trail. With the temperature and my spirits rising, I soon passed the junction with the Pole Steeple Trail and continued on a pleasant ridge walk past Limekiln Road ¢ very overgrown ¢ and surprised myself when I came to the sign for James Frye [Tagg Run] Shelter. Took a break at the stream there and then over Hunters Run road and on to the railway tracks.   As I was walking along the trail next to the railroad tracks there was a very long train standing on the other side of the tracks. Soon I saw the double white blaze, indicating that I should cross over the tracks, but how to do that with the train standing across the trail? As I approached the marker I considered walking around the end of the train, but the end of the train was not to be seen in either direction, or should I try to cross between the cars? Not a smart move if the train suddenly started to move. Imagine my delight when I arrived at the cross over point, to find that the train had been broken into two sections at that point and that the AT went between two adjacent but unconnected rail cars! So I got to hike the AT right thru the middle of the train.      Then it was a surprising steep ascent up to Rocky Ridge ¢ aptly named. On the top of the ridge there is a massive jumbled field of huge rocks and cliffs and the trail plays hide and seek between and among the rocks. There are areas where the passage between the rocks is so narrow that it challenges the Fat Mans Squeeze for width. There is also some genuine climbing over some of the rocks. All the while there were 8-10 hawks circling 10-20 feet above my head in the rising thermals. We were almost looking each other in the eyes. Awesome!      Then it was across Whiskey Spring Road ¢ the spring itself is right there but serves only water ¢ and on here to the shelter. A great day ¢ even now the sun is still shining warmly from a sparkling blue sky. The day and the miles just flew past in no time at all.   No one else here as yet, and few recent entries in the log. There is one from Greenhorn recently. A great day and a good spot.Thought for today-   Any day that you can see your shadow is a great day.
Date: 2005-04-11
From: The Doyle Hotel, Duncannon-Room 32

To: The Doyle Hotel, Duncannon-Room 32
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The day started off with a knock on the door of my room. It was Snowbird with a problem. The drop box that she had been awaiting had arrived, but her sister had sent her the wrong section of the trail guide, and now she had no information on the trail ahead. I could almost palpate her frustration, as she was ready to roll on north but was not able to go. No problem however, for as I pointed out, I had the guide to as far north as Delaware Water Gap, in my drop box. A quick trip to the PO to recover my box, and an equally quick trip to copy the relevant pages of The Handbook, and she was away on the trail by 9AM.   In talking with her I discovered that she is from Alaska, and when she started from Springer in January, she considered the weather there positively balmy, by Alaskan standards. She also admitted that she was just so anxious to start that she just could not delay any more and just ¢had to go¢ She is expecting her first grandchild in August, and so wants to finish the trail by July, so that she can be back home in Alaska well before the baby [the mother hopes that it is a girl] is born. She seems to vacillate between the pure joy of being on the trail and enjoying the experience, and the personal guilt that she is not at home with her daughter during her first pregnancy. We talked a fair bit about trying to live in the moment and not to use the old worry beads too much. A nice lady.   I spent the rest of the day, after an excellent breakfast at Goodies, in exploring the town. Took a whole lot of photos of all of the sights of Duncannon. Lots of splendid old homes and buildings here, but a lot of them are like this hotel ¢ genteel but down at heel.   Went through my box this afternoon and I figure 5 nights and 6 days [maybe 6 nights and 7 days] to Port Clinton with two 17+-mile days. We will see. The profile doesn¢t look too bad but, as I have discovered it is the condition of the trail, as much as the profile, that determines the pace. Had dinner here in the bar, which sells some of the cheapest beer that I have ever seen at $1.20 a large glass. Spoke with Pat Kelly. He and his wife Vickey, bought the place four years ago, and are trying to fix it up a little bit at a time. Also chatted with the cook ¢ a former hiker named Shrek, who finished the John Muir Trail last summer. Spoke with KT on the inside bar phone. All is well.Thought ¢    Time wounds all heels
Date: 2005-04-12
From: The Doyle Hotel, Duncannon-Room 32

To: The Doyle Hotel, Duncannon-Room 32
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The Doyle HotelI am one hundred years oldI am filed with the spirits of those yearsI touch your hair as you sit by the windowI scatter your table napkins on the floorSo that you will know that I am hereAnd make me feel young againI could not believe it when the FedEx truck passed by the hotel at 9am without stopping. I had been waiting outside since 7AM in anticipation of the delivery of my new cell phone, concerned that, since the hotel did not open until 11AM, the package could not be signed for, and hence would not be delivered. So I was shocked when the truck just rolled on by.   It was interesting to watch Duncannon come slowly to life, as the early morning sun crawled down the east faces of the buildings and dispersed the early dawn chill. The local breakfast spot [Goodies] did a thriving business ¢ so much so that it must be a social meeting spot as much as a provider of early morning meals. It cant be that that many people just don¢t , or cant, cook breakfast.   There were a surprisingly large number of school buses, and vans stating ¢School Students, passing by, and a lot of vehicular traffic. It was noteworthy however that there were almost no pedestrians. In almost four hours of watching the morning machinations only four people walked past me, and two of them were clearly dressed for an early morning exercise walk. I guess even in small towns, no one walks anywhere any more.   At 10:45AM a second FedEx truck {the ¢express¢ one} arrived with my cell phone and I spent the next several hours figuring out how it works. I think that I have, at least the basics, figured out now.   Then it was off to the PO to mail all of my discarded and used stuff home. I was also concerned that I might have missed the last little bit of the trail down from Hawks Rocks. It had recently been relocated and I worried that I had missed the last few blazes. So I retraced my steps back up the mountain and descended again, this time making absolutely sure that I passed all of the white blazes, Crazy ¢ I know, but what can I say? It makes me feel a whole lot better.   When I went down to the bar for dinner tonight, I was surprised to find Snowbird had returned. She had gone five miles north of Peters Shelter, when she decided to return to the Doyle. She seems very upset and is talking about going off the trail and returning to Alaska. I think that she misses her family and home very much. She has been hiking alone for three and a half months, and it finaly seems to be getting to her. She is going to sleep on it and decide for sure in the morning.      She did tell me that it was pretty rocky going, north of Duncannon, and coming from such an experienced hiker, I took cold comfort in the news.   So I plan on an early start in the morning. Forcast for the next several days is good and I hope to ¢Make hay while the Sun shines¢Thought for today ¢   We all need help!
Date: 2005-04-14
From: Peter's Mountain Shelter

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

Morning SensationsAbandoning the warmth of the bagMarveling at the stars while I peeWarming my hands on the coffee mugSeeing my breath in the coldPride in a well packed bagGreeting the orange-yellow ball of the Early risen sun as it peeks at meFrom among the crest line treesLong day! Had a visitor last night. One of the ¢Little Creatures of the Night¢ I felt it, as it ran over my sleeping bag. Too big and too heavy to be a mouse, maybe a skunk, or a small raccoon, or a squirrel ¢ are squirrels nocturnal? I yelled at it and kicked it off me, but by the time I had my headlamp on, there was nothing to see except the slowly swinging food bag. Got a realy early start in the cold early morning. The trail continued along Peter¢s Mountain, and just before it descends into the valley to PA325, I met So Slow again, still slack packing. We chatted some more and she pointed out to me that the motel in Port Clinton is closed on Mondays, which is when I plan to arrive there. Ah well, don¢t sweat the small stuff ¢ even if it all is small stuff!   Then it was a long smooth descent of Stony Mountain, As Restless had informed me, this is an old stage coach road, but very rocky on the ascent. Once it gets to the crest it smoothens out and I moved right along ¢ although it could use a few more blazes by my reckoning. Then there is a slight dip down ¢ then back up ¢ and I was on Sharp Mountain. At this point Horseshoe trail ends on the AT and it was a nice spot for lunch.   Then it was back on to the regular trail again. A little muddy, as forecast by Restless, but not too rocky and I continued to move along. Water was plentiful on this section and I took full advantage of it.   Got here in late afternoon. The shelter is in a little depression and has a neat spring that flows through a pipe into a metal trough in front of the shelter.   No cell signal here. Quiet here now. Will start dinner soon.Thought for today ¢            You should not feel guilty because you are happy!
Date: 2005-04-15
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

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

The Appalachian Trail Is:Hard work, not a vacationRocks and mud and ice and snow and rainAnd mist and fog and sun and windTrees and streams and creeksAnd hills and mountains and plains and meadows Camps and shelters and villages and townsAnd cities and peopleAnd knowledge and understanding And being blessed and walkingAlways in a sacred place. Solo night at Rausch Gap Shelter, but when I left early this morning there were two tents about 100 yards from the shelter near their own water source. Talk about quiet neighbors, I never heard a thing.      A nice slow early descent down to Rausch Creek and the ruins of Rausch Village ¢ nothing left now but the right of way of this old railway and mining community. Then it was up and down over Second mountain and finally on to PA443. The bridge over the stream was out ¢ only the approach steps on both sides remained ¢ so I had to take a little detour, and then of course, backtrack to the bridge again, so that I could pass all of the white blazes. Two section hikers had warned me to expect the washed out bridge, so it was not unexpected. Just after the roadway crossing at PA443 I met with Spare, who had thru hiked in 1994. As we talked, and he told me about his boots disintegrating on the PA rocks, and his suing of the Vasque Company as a result, I had the strangest feeling that all of this had happened to me before ¢ a realy uncanny feeling.   Then it was a long uphill from Swatara Gap up onto Blue Mountain. There was another detour on the trail because of new construction at the I81 underpass. The ridge walk to William Penn Shelter was alternatively rocky and smooth ¢ rather like life itself. I was surprised at how well I did, and when I arrived at William Penn I had time in hand to take a very long break.    Then it was a perfect hike on here to 501 Shelter. Lovely long summer day with an easy four miles ¢ I felt realy in harmony with my surroundings and very much at peace with the trail.      There are three people here already, eating pizza which they had had delivered to the Shelter! And which they gladly shared with me. Virginia Tortoise is here, along with just named Porcupine and temporary named Blister Feet. This is a totally enclosed shelter and is managed by a warden who lives next door and who has just paid us a visit to make sure that we are all OK.Thought for today-         There is a happy land, far, far away         Where we get bread and jam, three times a day.
Date: 2005-04-16
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

The trail goes upThe trail goes downIt will not adapt to youYou have to adapt to it.Spent a good night at 501 and had a chance to talk to KT.   Started off in the pre-dawn with another glorious day in store and with perfect weather. Took my time today but still ended up making good progress. Had a very nice mid morning break at Hertlein Campsite where two grumpy men were camping. Having learned from the grumpy hiker at the VA border, I did not press the conversational gambit, and just continued on my way.   Today there were so many hikers on the trail that it was like Grand Central Station. Mostly weekenders, but a lot of Boy Scouts, and a hiking group from the Sierra Club. I also met a trail maintainer who was repainting the white blazes along his 3.5-mile section. Interestingly, he used a can of paint and a two-inch brush; I had always thought that they would have used spray paint and a cutout.   I also saw three guys heading out for the weekend. Two of them were carrying a guitar in its case suspended from a pole between them. Very innovative.   Passed the Shanaman Marker and the Fort Dietrich Snyder Memorial Marker, so it was a Memorial Memorial Day!   So I arrived here to find three guys out for the weekend ¢ Joe and Kurt and Chris ¢ realy nice people. They have been friends since high school and spend a weekend hiking together several times a year. They all have their own particular jobs to do when they arrive at the shelter. One to clean out the fire ring, another to collect the wood for the fire, the third to saw the wood etc. They have also brought an incredible amount of food and have just started to cook. They have insisted on cooking dinner for me, and have just served the first course ¢ fried shrimp wrapped in bacon ¢ and have promised many more courses to come.   Papa Eh! [from Canada of course] has also just arrived. He is doing a long section from the Hudson River in New York south to Harpers Ferry. He says that the first 30 miles north of Delaware Water Gap in New Jersey are every bit as hard as the rocks in PA.   I got a great cell signal and spoke with KT and my daughter Julia, who were walking around in downtown Oak Park at the time, isn¢t modern technology wonderful?   The guys have cut a huge pile of firewood and clearly intend to make a night of it. Interesting the people you meet. Too much talk now for more writing. Thought for today ¢Some times the end does justify the means.The starving person who steals food from those with a food surplus.