morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-11
From: Compton Gap Fire Road

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 8306/11/03 Wednesday14.5 Miles on Trail        962.2 Total.5 Miles off TrailI¢m tented just up from Manassas Gap Shelter. I made a poor decision and about 10 minutes after I got my tent set up, there was a complete deluge from a thunderstorm. Oh well, my tent is wet again. Pez and Zero are in the shelter. They arrived just before the rain. As I moved my food and cooking stuff to the shelter, and stayed dry, they were down at the spring and got drenched. The floor of my tent needs to be re-waterproofed. I don¢t know when I¢ll be able to do that. At the moment, I don¢t plan a zero day until Delaware Water Gap. We¢ll see.Terrapin Station Hostel was great. Air mattress, bunks with sheets (bottom only), pillows, a shower, laundry and a ride to town. Then I got to listen to some old favorites (Working man¢s Dead) and talk to Mike the hosteler about The Grateful Dead. He travelled with them for a long time. I thought I was only going to walk 9 miles today, but I felt good and moved on. Tomorrow looks like a big day. We¢ll see.
Date: 2003-06-12
From: Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Sam Moore Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: broken clouds

Day 8406/12/03 Thursday20.3 Miles on Trail        982.51.2 Miles off Trail (to and from multiple shelters)I feel good after a long tough day. We¢re at Sam Moore Shelter. It is full. Me, Zero, Pez, Big Red, Strappy, Pete, and Easy Does It are squeezed in here. The forest was pretty today. There were a couple of turtles, some frogs, and a snake on the trail today. A buck watched me from about 20 ft. he was in the no hunting area, but just barely. I can¢t figure out why he¢s so tame. We started a section called the Rollercoaster today. It¢s a lot of up and down, rocky, muddy, tough conditions. About an hour and a half in, it was hot and muggy. The sweat was pouring off of me, and then it started to rain hard. Thunder, lightning, the whole bit. Is this weather ever going to give us a break?
Date: 2003-06-13
From: Sam Moore Shelter

To: David Lesser Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 8506/13/03 Friday14.1 Miles on Trail        996.6 Total.4 Miles off TrailToday was the end of the Rollercoaster. Up and down, up and down, up and down. So it was a harder 14 miles than I thought. A good view for lunch off of Crescent Rock. My feet aren¢t throbbing and I got here at about 5:30. Dinner was leisurely and good. I got here just before the rain started. How many days in a row will we get rained on? I¢m in the shelter again as a result of the rain. Big Red, Strappy, Zero, and Drew were here. A couple of guys are coming in that are like Drew, moving very fast.I saw some deer today. Other than that, not much. Oh wait, the big thing that happened today is that I crossed into West Virginia. So the longest state is done, and before I reach Harpers Ferry I¢ll cross the 1000 mile mark. Wow, it¢s starting to go real fast now.
Date: 2003-06-14
From: David Lesser Memorial Shelter

To: C&O Canal Towpath
Miles today: 12.3

Day 8606/14/03 Saturday12.3 Miles on Trail        1008.9 Total1.5 Miles off TrailOver 1000 miles and past Harpers Ferry. What a good day. I¢m staying at a hostel called Inn 230. A very cool place. Organic dinner was served shortly after I got here. The place is wonderfully clean and the food is delicious. Zero, Dred, Nimble, Slow Ride and another fellow who¢s name is escaping me (Lemming) are staying here.The day was great because after a very early start I got to town about 10:15 a.m. In time to find out that my primary mail drop hadn¢t gotten here. Then a couple of hikers I hadn¢t seen since the Smokies came up with a car and took me shopping. I saw Jefferson Rock. I stopped at the outfitter and got my trekking pole fixed, and hiked here. I¢m going to get moving in the a.m.
Date: 2003-06-15
From: C&O Canal Towpath

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 8706/15/03 Sunday12.6 Miles on Trail        1021.5 Total2 Miles off TrailGreat day, no rain. Skies were overcast. The trail was alternately muddy and rocky. I¢m staying in an old, old shelter. Rocky Run Shelter. I saw a very weird flying insect today and I have no idea what it was. I¢ve got a little hot-spot right behind my big left toe. I ran into Soy Nut and her brother Tom at Gathland State Park. Thanks for the magic (sodas and nectarines). They were southbound for a short hike. Very cool to see them.
Date: 2003-06-16
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Raven Rock
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: clear sky

Day 8806/16/03 Monday19.2 Miles on Trail        1040.7 Total.4 Miles off Trail (to and from shelter)Today didn¢t turn out as planned, but it¢s good. I thought I would be at Ensign Cowall Shelter, but the water source didn¢t look good, there were no tent sites, and a non-hiker vagrant was in the shelter, so I moved on. I ended up getting water from a spring that Easy Does It read about in Wingfoot. He, Tucson, and Sweet Ass are camped a ways back. Also in a different spot are Packman, Kiwi, and Dreamwalker. All of us had similar feelings about ¢the crazy man¢ in the shelter. I was headed to the next shelter, but since I had the water I was able to stop at this wonderful little site under Raven Rocks. I also walked further than planned and my feet and legs feel fine, making tomorrow much easier and it helps me to get to Boiling Springs before the Post Office closes on Saturday. All in all it was serendipity.The major sight today was the Boonsboro Washington Monument. The first monument to Washington ever erected. It¢s an old signal tower that was dedicated. It¢s a sturdy, old, stone, beehive shaped structure. There were also a couple of cool overlooks of flat farmland. After the last 88 days, its hard for me to believe that anything is flat.This is the first time since I started that I¢ve been totally by myself in camp. Interesting feeling.
Date: 2003-06-17
From: Raven Rock

To: Rocky Mountain Shelters
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: light rain

Day 8906/17/03 Tuesday20.8 Miles on Trail        1061.5 Total1 Mile off Trail (to shelter and water)Tonight I¢m at Rocky Mountain Shelters. Yup, the shelters are twins. It must be a PA thing. Not a lot of folks come down to this one. It¢s off the trail a bit and water is even further, so I¢m the only one here. Another night all to myself.Today started off overcast, then it drizzled a little. After I made the decision at 3:00 to move on, it started to rain. Not a drenching rain, but rain. The trail bed was mostly pretty good. There were a couple of rocky sections and a couple of short, steep ups, but I made good time. I crossed into PA (and crossed the Mason Dixon Line) before lunch. Hello PA.I¢ve seen a couple of deer over the last few days, but they are much more skittish outside the Shenandoahs. I¢m falling asleep writing. More tomorrow.
Date: 2003-06-18
From: Rocky Mountain Shelter

To: Toms Run Shelter
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 9006/18/03 Wednesday19.3 Miles on Trail        1080.8 Total.5 Miles off TrailIn the past 2 days I¢ve seen one thru hiker, and he was slack-packing with his girlfriend. So, I¢m definitely not in the wave any more. Tonight I¢m at Toms Run Shelter. There are some southbound and some northbound section hikers here. We played Spades tonight.The trail was pretty great most of the day. The day was overcast most of the day. It didn¢t rain, but it did look threatening most of the late afternoon / evening. So, I¢m in the shelter again.Today my average daily mileage is 12. It¢s the first time ever. Yee Haw! Tomorrow I¢ll hit the half way point. I miss the old familiar faces to share the milestones with.
Date: 2003-06-19
From: Toms Run Shelters

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: light rain

Day 9106/19/03 Thursday19.2 Miles on Trail        1100.0 Total.6 Miles off Trail (ice cream, re-supply and shelter)I crossed the half way point today. Wow!!! Amazing. What is more amazing is how I ever thought I would be here 3 weeks ago. Those last few big mile days in a row have been pretty exhausting. I¢ve got another one tomorrow. Then I can ease off for a couple of days. I¢ve heard the going gets slow after Duncannon to the Delaware Water Gap. I¢ve re-worked my schedule to see if I can work on a visit with Betsy and Jim and a visit with Connie and then one with Wing (?). it looks do-able and it may even let Wanderer, Baby Steps and Pippi catch up.Now for today. It rained during the night so my food bag (not the contents) was wet. It looked like rain so I headed for Pine Grove Furnace General Store. That¢s the place for the half-gallon challenge. Walk 12 way, eat a 12 gallon of ice cream. Their flavor selection was down to Vanilla and 2 others I didn¢t care for. So, after swallowing a bitter disappointment I moved along to the Green Mountain Store about 9 miles further. There I ate my 12 gallon of Heavenly Hash (albeit without any company or fanfare). I enjoyed the first 34, but ate it all, then did a ridiculously hard 7 miles to get here. The jokers that routed this section had us jumping over rocks on the ridge. That, under other circumstances, probably would have been fun. Oh and the fact of the excess load in my belly and that it started raining again!!! So I¢m on a rocky ridge in a thunderstorm AGAIN!!! I want to know were and when the rule was made that if I¢m on a ridge it has to be a thunderstorm. Oh well, I got to Alec Kennedy Shelter and Sonic & Guana were here. I was good to see other hikers and good to have plenty of space in the shelter. I¢m tired.Oh yeah, about 14 the way into the last 7 my left quad started to hurt. Hope this doesn¢t persist.
Date: 2003-06-20
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Well I never did get to see if my quad had gotten worse. My back went out during the night. I had to zero in the shelter. I hope it improves enough by morning to make the 4 mile walk in to Boiling Springs. Otherwise I¢ll be out of food and won¢t get my mail drop till Monday. It rained hard all day. So at least I didn¢t have to walk in that, but the shelter is full tonight, and I feel bad that I¢m still here. Tomorrow is supposed to be wet all day too. Thanks to all the kind folks who offered ibuprofen and other NSAIDs
Date: 2003-06-21
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter

To: U.S. 11 Carlisle, PA
Miles today: 11.9

Day 936/21/0311.9 miles on trail        I¢m in a hotel room in Carlisle, PA. after a relatively tentative hike because of my back. The trail was relatively easy. There was a lot of mud. It was a slate gray sky and dripping forest but only a couple of 5 min drizzles and some distant thunder. Its weird to be in a hotel room alone. No one else wanted to stop today. All of the folks I passed came up to the shelter yesterday. Strappy, Sweet Ass, Easy Does It, Booble, and Tuscon were there along with 3 section hikers. I wasn¢t in any shape to write last night and almost decided to stay put today. Glad I didn¢t. Now I can rest in relative comfort. My pack is exploded all over the room. I did laundry at a Flying J truck stop. The truckers wouldn¢t believe I walked from Georgia, or would want to. Tomorrow I¢m playing by ear. Mostly because of the back, but a little because of the weather. It¢s been in the mid fifties at night and rainy. That¢s just not normal for this time of year. I might get all the way to Duncannon tomorrow. If not it will be Monday.        I¢ve gotten a couple of letters from the Worsichecks and Kathleen and Landon Roach. It¢s great hearing from home.        As for PA, it has been pretty forest, but rainy and no views. Some very twisted individual designed the ridge walk on day 91 it was a true maze. Blazes took me through what had to be the most torturous route. I hear there¢s more of that to come in parts of NY, NJ, and CONN. YEEHAW. Lets get my back into shape before all that.
Date: 2003-06-22
From: U.S. 11 Carlisle, PA

To: U.S. 11 Carlisle, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Day 946/22/030 miles on trailBack was bothering me, so I didn¢t move. Still experiencing some tightness, pain and discomfort. The weather looks to be making a change for the better. Sure hope I can capitalize on it.
Date: 2003-06-23
From: U.S. 11 Carlisle, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 956/23/0317.7 miles on trail        Wow a sunny day. I walked or waded through mud, tentatively at first. It was a mix between mud and rocks, and ups and down, and new young forest and field/roadwalk today. A couple of nice vistas. I went down to Cove Mountain Shelter to sign the register and 12 way down I saw a timber rattler. A big fat one with 6 or 7 segments to its rattle and a 3 inch diameter. I saw it after I had been within 2 feet of it. They really blend into the forest duff. It didn¢t coil or rattle at me so I took a couple of photos. Then it moved towards me a little, so I left. No harm to either of us.        I¢m staying in an old flea bite hotel. It was built in 1903 and was probably quite grand in its day. Its only $15/night and it sets up the rest of the week better than the other options. I¢m headed for Peter¢s Mountain Shelter tomorrow and was told there are good tent sites available. Hope its true.
Date: 2003-06-24
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

Day 966/24/03 Tuesday11.3 miles on trail.4 off trail        Amazingly beautiful day. A couple of overlooks that were OK, but the day couldn¢t have been nicer unless it cooled off faster. It is a little on the warm side for a nice change of pace.        I¢m tented just outside Peter¢s Mountain Shelter. The short day sets up the next 4 days at about 15 to 18 miles each. The water sources and camping sites are a little strangely spaced.        I got a taste, I think, of PA¢s rocks today and I¢m told it gets worse from here. My back is still tentative at best. The rocks are a challenge to negotiate. Well I am out here for the challenge as much as anything else. More Manana.
Date: 2003-06-25
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

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

Day 976/25/03 Wednesday17.5 on trail.3 off        Another glorious day ¢ that¢s 3 in a row. The forest today was beautiful. The trail bed was rocky or muddy and that made walking tough. There weren¢t any vistas today, but it didn¢t matter because the forest was stunning. The only downside for the day was the military jet over flights. I guess they use this as part of their practice range. For over 2 hours the jets were overhead. No supersonic, but they would go into a turn just as they passed. The noise was an awful counterpoint to the peace and beauty of the forest.        I¢m tented again tonight about 1/10 from Raush Gap Shelter. Hooray for my tent. The weather is so good I didn¢t even put the rain fly up. Unbelievable. My back is 90% and I¢m feeling very good. Hopefully that will last and get me through the infamous PA rocks.
Date: 2003-06-26
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: Trail to Pilger Ruh Spring
Miles today: 17.9

Day 986/26/03 Thursday17.9 on trail.8 off trail water & shelters along the way        Pennsylvania Rocks. Yes I knew it was the keystone state. The rocks are so abundant, and they only have sharp points. They are tricky too. They hide and wait on seemingly soft trail-bed and then they jump up and trip you. Then there is the section where its all fist to football sized rocks. Except there is no round side and the pointy side is invariably up. They actually bite your boots. I¢ve seen them. They also grab your trecking poles and hold them still after you have passed so it spins you around like a top. Then when you know you¢ve picked up your foot enough to clear the rock it jumps up to trip you. Then there are the ones the size of toasters to wagons that you have to hop across.        The trail was a little rocky today. Another hot sunny day. Water sources were just barely close enough together. I¢m camped about 12 mile past the 501 shelter. I thought it would be quieter and cooler than the shelter. The trail was pretty when I looked up from the trance the rocks had me in. This campsite is seldom used and I¢m alone here. That brings to mind a little story about last night. I had just finished all the daily activities including my journal when Easy Does It walks down to my tent site. They had just had a bear walk within 3 feet of Yogi (yeah quite a coincidence, yogi is a trail term meaning asking for something without asking for it directly, like mmm that pie looks good sure am hungry (some do it better than others, but everybody on the trail has yogied)). Yogi was in a bivi-sack. I¢m told that the bear then sauntered on past the shelter and down the hill. I figured it was done for the day so I went to sleep. I¢m pretty conscientious about hanging my food bag (when I¢m tenting) like a good camper. The guys in the shelter had their food hanging in the shelter (SOP). Everybody is fine, including presumably, the bear. It¢s time to sleep. Even though I¢m further from the road it is still loud.
Date: 2003-06-27
From: Trail to Pilger Ruh Spring

To: Phillip's Canyon Spring
Miles today: 19.7

Day 996/27/03 Friday19.7 miles on trail1 mile off for water and shelters        Today started out hot and muggy and very hazy and calm. There is a good wind now and some clouds. It is a lot cooler. I¢m tented at a campsite near Phillips Canyon Spring. The spring is at the bottom of the canyon. Not quite but it is a very seldom used VERY steep trail to the spring.        The mountain laurel were spectacular today and I got to eat a handful of fresh blueberries that were growing right along the trail.        I¢m camped here because I couldn¢t make myself go the extra 4 miles into town. It was an 11 hour day as it was and the rocks were almost constant. There was a nice stretch of trail for a mile or so late in the afternoon. I sure was grateful for it. The Post Office closes at 11:00 tomorrow which is why I pushed so hard today. Also I¢m not fond of PA and want to leave it behind.        Oh I forgot to write about it last night. I had my first shoes off stream crossing yesterday. We¢ve had so much rain the stepping stones were 9¢ under water. Cold and slippery.         Final note for today. I just love the weather we¢ve been having since US11 and Carlisle!!! Sure is nice not to have to deal with rain for a change. The shelter registers bear witness that these rocky trails turn into shin deep streams in a heavy rain.         OOPS, right, less than 1000 miles to go.
Date: 2003-06-28
From: Phillip's Canyon Spring

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

Day 1006/28/0310.1 miles on trail        Yet another beautiful day. Picked up my mail drop in Port Clinton, went to the outfitters, and had a terrific hamburger and mediocre fries (mediocrity not withstanding I ate the fries anyway) at the Port Clinton Hotel.        Lots more day and weekend hikers are out and about now. Some are great, some just don¢t get it. We are also much closer to roads and highway noise than I¢m comfortable with.        Daylight is fading and I have a rocky day ahead of me tomorrow. Good night.
Date: 2003-06-29
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: light rain

Day 1016/29/0316.5 miles on trail        It¢s 8:40pm I¢m in the Allentown Hiking Club Shelter. Today was hot and humid. The overlooks were mostly haze. The rocks were not present on at least 2 miles of trail. Well maybe one mile. Lube came into camp saying they ate his shoes, and then showed us the bites the rocks had taken out of his shoes. It¢s funny everybody agrees that the rocks are bad. Then you add the level of difficulty of gnats flying into your eyeballs as you are hopping from boulder to boulder or tripping on the sharp little meanies. PA is a real treat, if you are a masochist. The trail designers are a bit twisted too. They put all the shelters quite near roads. So road noise is bothersome, the privies are overused, and/or the water source is very far away from the shelter, and /or the shelter is very far away from the trail.        Tonight the shelter is in great shape and the privy gets the award for best yet, since Georgia!!! The water source is quite far away and there has already been one mouse sighting. There isn¢t a flat piece of ground for a tent (too many rocks) so I¢m sleeping in the shelter. There are just 3 of us here Lube, Simon and me. Well off to sleep.
Date: 2003-06-30
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: Lehigh River Bridge (Palmerton)
Miles today: 17.5

Day 1026/30/0317.5 grueling rocky miles on trail        I¢m in the basement of the old jail in Palmerton, PA. It¢s a great place with 14 bunks with new mattresses on them. The Laundromat is right across the street. The shower had soap and shampoo courtesy of the local Girl Scouts. The all important Ice Cream Shoppe is a real old style fountain type place and it is right across the street too!!! Nice place to stay and it¢s a packed house.        Today¢s trail was rocky in so many ways. Big ones, little ones, pointed ones and ¢¦well there weren¢t any flat ones or rounded ones. It was like blowing sandpaper up in size till the grit was as big as your fist or a watermelon or a bear. The ones that moved were sometimes as big as a single bed. The worst for me was the studded trail. The rocks stick out of the hard pack so that your boot makes contact in two or three off center places with a pointy object. I was glad to get here. If I¢m able it will only be 2 more days in PA. About 12 the folks are asleep. I¢ll be there shortly.
Date: 2003-07-01
From: Lehigh River Bridge (Palmerton)

To: Leroy A.Smith Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 1037/1/0316 mile on trail.4 miles off         Gorgeous day. Today started with a steep climb up out of Lehigh Gap. It was a rock scramble up a dead mountain. The rock scramble was kind of fun for a change. The mountain is dead because of zinc mining and processing. It¢s very startling to see a dead mountain. The devastation that takes place when we are careless with our waste is unconscionable. Proof that we allow businesses to profit by making the environment unusable. After the rock scramble we walked the ridge of the dead mountain for a couple of miles before life started to take hold.        The trail bed was rocks of one type or another for most of the day. Mostly it was the sharp pointy smaller fist size rocks. Very tough on the feet.        There are at least 12 of us tented just uphill from Leroy A. Smith shelter. Losts of people who started at Springer Booble, Sweetass, Kneepad, Lube, Burn, Easy Does It, and TLM, and some others are returning from scuttled trips in years past. There is a fire going with hopes of keeping the bugs down. Tomorrow is a big day to Delaware Water Gap.
Date: 2003-07-02
From: Leroy A.Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 1047/2/0320.2 miles on trail1 mile off trail        What a day!!! The good parts are that it¢s over and that I¢m in Delaware Water Gap. The trail today was torturous for the first 10 miles. Then it got a little better, but the damage was done. It¢s good to know that I¢ve got less than a mile of Pennsylvania left. I¢m back in a wad of thru-hikers. Tuscon, Sweetass, Burn, Dazeman, Grizzly, Booble, Kneepad, Easy Does It, Harmon, Butcher, and Freemont, plus some that I don¢t know, round out the crowd. I got news that Wanderer, Pippi and Babysteps are only about 50 miles behind. Perhaps we¢ll meet up again soon. There isn¢t a lot in Delaware Water Gap, but there is good pizza and a good bakery.        Most of the folks here are young and they stay up talking late. I¢m tired and its time for bed.