morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-07-04
From: Jeremiah's House

To: Jeremiah's House
Miles today: 0.0

Overnight I suffer from some brutal headaches, a stiff neck and mild fever. I can hardly stand the headache pain when I wake up and decide to have the kids drop me at the hospital emergency room in Waynesboroinstead of the trailhead. Jeremiah offers to take me to a walk in clinic tomorrow and stay at his house while I get sorted out. I've got my headache under control with a healthy dose of vitamin I and I accept his kind offer. I run around with the kids as they say their goodbyes then we have a great big breakfast at the hollow. I take a 3hour nap at Jeremia's and then head back to the hollow for dinner and some fireworks. Miah ( what everyone calls Jeremiah ) is having a little party for the people from work. Around 10pm Ceci takes me back home with her to crash.
Date: 2011-07-05
From: Jeremiah's House

To: Jeremiah's House
Miles today: 0.0

Overnight I have a headache, sore neck and fever but much less severe than the night before. In the morning Ceci takes me to a clinic run by Johns Hopkins. They treat me for Lyme and the doctor tells me that Lyme Disease is endemic in this area and not at all uncommon. He recommends a 10 day treatment with antibiotics rather than wait for the test results to come back. I agree and I leave the clinic with a 10 day supply of Doxicycline. Next we go down to Hold Fast, Miah and Ceci's company, so ceci could get a couple of things done. While I'm there Miah repairs a couple of tears in my pack and also my hiking pants. Then on the way back to the house Ceci ran me by REI so I could get some new tips for my poles. When we got home Miah cooked us all a great curry dinner. For a finish to the night we watched The Fighter on DVD. I started my antibiotics tonight.
Date: 2011-07-06
From: Jeremiah's House

To: Jeremiah's House
Miles today: 0.0

I finally went through a whole night without any problems. I had to take 2 ibuprophen this morning for a mild headache but nothing compared to what I've been experiencing. Miah and Ceci are both going to work today then going over to stay with Miah's grandmother overnight. She recently had a double knee replacement. They left me with run of the house and Ceci's car to go to the store. I went out to the local grocery for resupply and something to eat for today. My appitite is back! I invested the rest of the day in eating, naps and watching movies. Bim called in the evening to check up on me. Everyone here has been soooo good to me.
Date: 2011-07-07
From: Jeremiah's House

To: Deer Lick Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

I hung out at Miah's house until almost 3pm. I got some more of my chores done including catching up on my journal entries. Miah drove me out to Pen Mar Park and we could see why Andrew had such a hard time finding it in the dark, it was hard to find in the daylight. Bill the caretaker was there and asked what took me so long to get back to the trail. I finally got hiking about 5pm and walked the 5 mi. to Deer Lick Shelter by 7:30pm. After a nice dinner of Velveta Shells and Cheese I'm sitting in my tent quite content. I have a headache this evening that's easing after 2 vitamin I, other than that I feel pretty good.
Date: 2011-07-08
From: Deer Lick Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelters
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

There was a light rain overnight but my tent was dry by the time I got up. I took my time this morning, having my usual breakfast, and got hiking around 9am. I'm feeling pretty good this morning and decide to try hiking without my knee brace and see how it goes. It's overcast this morning keeping the temperature down but the humidity has me soaked from sweat anyway. By 1pm a light rain starts nad by 3pm it becomes steady and lasts until 5:30pm. Half an hour later the sun peeks out and it remains pleasant as i hike into camp around 6:30pm. Some days it's not so bad hiking in the rain and today was one of them. The doxicycline I'm taking for Lyme is supposed to make you sensitive to the sun, so rainy weather also helps protect me from sunburn. I'm feeling good this evening and looking forward to tomorrows hike. DC is smoking out the shelters so I'm camped in the laurels off by myself. Prettiest shelters so far they even have hanging flower baskets.
Date: 2011-07-09
From: Quarry Gap Shelters

To: Toms Run Shelters
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: clear sky

Today was a pleasant day overall. I'm still feeling good, probably around 90% of optimum. Skies were clear with low humidity and the temps seemed comfortable. The trail was especially easy with little elevation change and only minor rocky stretches. I,m tented up about 1/2mi. from the official half way marker and its only 3.5 mi to Pine Grove Furnace SP and the half gallon challenge. Hopefully the antibiotics I'm taking won"t keep me from completing the the challenge. There is a guy here trying to get clean and I spend some time talking to him about it. Just about the time he's pretty sure what to do another thru-hiker takes him over to someone elses campsite and they both come back after midnight wasted. The only reason I know this is the other thru-hiker wakes me up flashing his headlamp back and forth across my tent as he devours a bag of chips.
Date: 2011-07-10
From: Toms Run Shelters

To: Campsite 1100.8mi. N
Miles today: 10.8

Spent a fair amount of time talking to the guy who thinks he might have a chemical dependency problem. I suggested he might want to try out a 12 step program and told him about my experience with them.It was 11:30 by the time we finished talking and I finally got out of camp. In no time at all I was at the official halfway marker and I stopped for a picture. By 1 pm I was at the Pine Grove General Store ready for my chance at the half gallon challenge. I'm happy to report that the antibiotics I'n taking did not have any negative effect on my preformance. I ate a half gallon of ice cream (a delux vanilla with strawberries) in about a half an hour without any noticable discomfort. another hiker Banquet also took the challenge along with a side bet. 20 minutes later we were both ordering cheesburgers since the ice cream really wasn't all that filling. After lunch I stopped in at the AT Museum next door to the general store before hitting the trail again. The trail runs right thru Pine Grove Furnace State Park and the crowds were too much for me, especially since I wasn't able to yogi anything. I'm happy to be alone in the woods again enjoying the quiet, as quiet as it gets anyway. For almost all of the last 200mi. or so you can always hear planes,trains or highway traffic in the distance
Date: 2011-07-11
From: Campsite 1100.8mi. N

To: Boiling Springs PA Campsite 
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: few clouds

Today was a great day for food and an easy day for hiking. Because a 17mi. stretch of the trail is closed to camping except for the campsite at Boiling Springs my mileage was restricted to 11.7 which worked out good since today was excessively hot and humid. 2.2 mi out of camp this morning was Green Mountain Store for 2nd breakfast, an exellent sausage ,egg and cheese sandwich. Then it was easy hiking all the way into Boiling Springs, heck the last mile was on tractor paths between cornfields. I got a shower at the municipal pool for a dollar then turned on my phone as I sat at the duck pond to finish drying out my clothes, they got washed in the shower too. There was a message from the doctor telling me to call. I called them and they are changing me from 10 days to 21 days on the Doxicycline even though the test results were negative, they decided the symptoms warrant it. Next I called Pat and we talked for a while. As we were talking clouds were building. I went to Anile,s pizza and had a great antipasto and a couple of slices. When I got back to the campsite rain looked immenent but it still hasn't happened. It's so hot and humid I expect some strong storms overnight. After snacking on blackberries (they are all over the campsite) i tried listening to my Ipod but the batteries died.
Date: 2011-07-12
From: Boiling Springs PA Campsite 

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Last night's campsite outside Boiling Springs was great! I had the place to myself and there was a ton of black raspberries. This mornings town chores consisted of a trip to the P.O. to mail off my journals and a convience store breakfast. I stopped at the Mid-Atlantic ATC office for fuel and info on water conditions ahead. PA has been hot and dry so the springs are starting to dry up. Todays hiking was easy, mostly across relatively flat farm fields or in the woods next to the fields. I would have gone a little farther today but the next water is 7.3mi. and I didn't think I could do that much in the 97 deg heat and 80% humidity. There are 4 of us here tonight me, biscuit, Karl and Lance. Karl and Lance are back from long breaks. I think I've finally shaken a hiker who was getting on my nerves at Pine Grove Furnace and the shelter before it. It's 3am and I had to eat so I could get back to sleep so I decided to get this done too.
Date: 2011-07-13
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Riverfront Campground
Miles today: 13.0

The very rocky trail warning that got us to take a short day yesterday turned out to be a big exaggeration. Actually it was pretty standard for the AT in my opinion. I missed a turn on the hillside going in to Duncannon,PA and ended up on a very steep and direct route to the edge of town. My first stop was a pizza joint for a great sub to eat while doing laundry. I go across the street to the laundry and they don't have a restroom, I couldn't believe it. Where are you supposed to change clothes so you can wash what you are wearing? So the hell with it I'll wash in the next town. On to Rite-aide to pickup my prescriptionand hit the grocery next door. The hike out of town was scary!!! The road has gaurdrails and no shoulders, the cars just miss you. It's so bad the grocery provides free shuttles for hikers, I found out while shopping and took one back into town to the Doyle. Because I had eaten a big chef salad at the grocery I hung out at the Doyle for a couple of hours (it's air conditioned) before ordering a big fish dinner. Not too Bad, I ate a big sub,chef salad and a big fish dinner all in 5 hours. I'm actually full for a change. The campground is noisey, tucked in between the train tracks,highway and the river, but the price is right $3.50 and it's right before the climb out of town. Hopefully I'll be able to get some sleep tonight.
Date: 2011-07-14
From: Riverfront Campground

To: Spring Campsite
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The campground I stayed at last night is a bit of a dump but the worst thing is that it's next to the railroad tracks and trains run through Duncannon all night long. The first thing I passed this morning was The Cabin ,to my knowledge the only strip club directly on the trail, the AT really does have a little bit of everything. Hiking out this morning across the bridges really gives you a feel for how huge these rivers are. The Sesquehana must be close to a mile wide here. As soon as I get to the end of the bridges I find a running train parked right across the trail. I'm more cautious than most about trains having heard enough stories about what can happen from my friend John Jones an engineer for CSX. So I end up bushwacking up a steep sidehill to avoid the train and get back on trail. It was a good decision since some other hikers told me the train was still there hours later. Lots of rocky sections today but not much elevation change so not too bad of a walk. The weather has finally cooled down, 82 for the high and much lower humidity. Water continues to be scarce as the trail runs along the ridgetops. I was very happy to find a campsite near the spring since there has been little flat ground today. Tina and Russel are here doing the PA section of the trail. I met both of them in GA at the beginning of the hike when they were atempting to thruhike, its cool to see them again.
Date: 2011-07-15
From: Spring Campsite

To: Campsite near stream
Miles today: 16.3

I was alittle slow getting out this morning, spent some time talking to Russel and Tina. Hiking was a little easier today with less rocky trail. I had a little scare when there was no water at Rattling Run, but all the other water sources were good so no real problem. The campsite I'm at is pretty sketchy but I tented up anyway. It's 9mi. till the next water so I didn't want to camp dry tonight then have nothing for water to hike with in the morning. I'm planning on heading to the 501 shelter tomorrow so I can get cleaned up.
Date: 2011-07-16
From: Campsite near stream

To: Hertline Campsite
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

There were plenty of rocks in the trail today and it's easy to see where the name "Rocksylvania" came from. I've decided to get through the mid-atlantic states as fast and as cheap as possible. I've picked up my mileage and I'm feeling good.I was starting to worry about running out of food but I was able to order a pizza at the 501 shelter. I ate half there and carried the other half out to the campsite to eat right before bed so I don't wake up hungry in the middle of the night. The campsite is so rocky it was almost impossible to drive tent stakes in. Finally got tented up around 10pm. Todays big news, less than 1000mi to go!!! Wren packed a tent out of the 501 shelter thinking it was mine, we dont know who it belongs to.
Date: 2011-07-17
From: Hertline Campsite

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: scattered clouds

The rocks continue again today. There was a couple of sections of fast trail but it was mostly rocks again all day today. I've eaten everything in my foodbag except for 1 dinner and 2 oatmeals that I'll have for breakfast in the morning. My plan for tomorrow is to hike 8-10 miles to a campground where I can shower, do laundry and resupply at the camp store. I only need 1-2 days to get me to the next town. I was originally going to resupply in Hamburg, PA 2.5 mi away but I was sure I would blow too much money there since it has the biggest Cabelas in the country and a Cracker Barrel, 2 of my favorite places. On another note, I overheard Red Beard saying he managed to loose his tent as he sat around BSing with some other hikers outside my tent.
Date: 2011-07-18
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Blue Rocks Campground
Miles today: 9.1

Today was interesting. I ran into Red Beard this morning and told him that Cottonmouth had his tent. Cottonmouth had carried it form the Hertline campsite to Port Clinton hoping to find it's owner. Thanks to Cottonmouth Red Beard was reunited with his tent. I started out late thinking it's only 9.5mi to Blue Rocks Campground. That actually worked for me because the Peanut Shop didn't open till 10am. The Peanut Shop is a fantastic place full of trail mixes,nuts, chocolates and all kinds of candy. The prices were even good with trail mixes at $3.50 a pound. I grabbed a nice assortment of things to eat during the day today and headed out. Heat, humidity, steep climbs and rocks had me crawling. I forgot to add in the additional 2mi of hiking not on the AT in my calculations so the day seemed even longer. I finally saw my first rattlesnake, about 3-3.5ft long, of the trip today and he was kind enough to pose for a picture. I must of been nervous since it's all blurry, should have put some glasses on. Amazingly all of the springs I passed today had at least a trickle. The Yellow blazed trail to the campground was dangerously steep for the first .25mi or so then became just more rocky PA trail. The campground operators are great folks and treating me extremely well. I am indescribably happy right now, with a full belly, clean clothes and having just showered. It's been almost 2 weeks since all 3 things happened togeather. Enjoying tonight but not looking forward to the climb back out in the morning.
Date: 2011-07-19
From: Blue Rocks Campground

To: Allentown HC Shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Took advantage of water and electric at the campground to do some much needed chores. Cleaned my water filter, charged electronics and did some things online including Pat's birthday gift. I finished off the pack of hotdogs from last night for breakfast, then it was down to the store to resupply as best I could. The campstore is not well equipped for hikers, they cater mostly to car campers. I was able to find enough to eat between little powdered donuts and danish. I pigged out at the store then hiked out around 11:30am, an hour later I was finally back on the AT. Temp is in the upper 90's again today and water continues to be a problem, I have to go farther and farther downhill from the trail to find anything. Today I saw my first naked hiker of the trip, why is it always some guy in his 60's? The trail was fairly nice to the Eckville shelter, which is part of someone's private residence, then it turned to pretty much all rocks. I got into the Allentown Hiking Club shelter around dusk only to find I had a steep .5mi walk to get water. I was so beat after getting water that I just crashed in the shelter instead of tenting up. A guy named Harry was tenting with his 2 sons in front of the shelter and they had built a fire to run the bugs off, it worked, kept the bugs out of the shelter all night.
Date: 2011-07-20
From: Allentown HC Shelter

To: Jailhouse Hostel 
Miles today: 18.0

The new trail magic is water! Thanks to Blue Mtn. Summit B&B for use of their spigot and to Bruce and Bootlegger for providing water at the shelter later in the day.Todays stretch of trail included some huge rockpiles and was pretty muchall about rock all day.With the temp hovering around 100 they found a new way to make PA tougher, hide the blazes. The way they play this game is to lead you out into the middle of a big rock field then place the next blaze where it can't be seen from the last blaze. This forces you to guess which direction to go to find the next blaze while trying to keep track of the last blaze as you are stumbling around in the rocks. Just when this game is really starting to piss me off, they find a way to turn it up a notch. I come upon a sign that tells me to be careful not to confuse the markings for the state game lands boundry, a roughly 2 by 6 inch white paint blotch on the trees, with the AT blazes, a more or less 2 by 6 inch white rectangle on the trees. Now I'm required to grade the blazes for neatness in order to decide which to follow? to make it even better the AT more or less follows the boundry of the state game lands for a while, over the rockpiles in 100 deg heat with biting flies. Ya gotta love PA!!! At least I found some blueberries to snack on and I was able to get into town for supper. I had 2 choices to hike into town along a highway with gaurdrails and no shoulder for over a mile or bushwack down a small hillside to the railroad tracks and walk those into town. Luckily I ran into a local who was using the tracks and he showed me the the place to get off the tracks and up on the street into downtown. The hostel was empty when I got there but there were packs everywhere so I knew there were hikers about. On the way to dinner I ran into a fellow hiker who told me where everyone was, a bar on the corner a couple blocks away. Had a great meal and a bananna split at Bert's Diner then decided I'd see who else was in town. AAA, Stitch, Cope Redbeard and a few others were playing pool in the back of the bar when I walked in, A local girl sees me and says "I remember you I passed you while you were trying to hitch into town, I didn't pick you up because I thought you were just some wierd old man, I didn't think you were a hiker". It must have taken 10 minutes for the laughter to stop, granted the other hikers had had a few but still. It's hot in the hostel, no AC, I'm gonna see if I can get some sleep anyhow.
Date: 2011-07-21
From: Jailhouse Hostel 

To: L A Smith shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

I'm the first one up this morning, not really a surprise since everyone else was out drinking till way past midnight. Took a quick shower and headed back to Bert's Diner for breakfast. It's the first time I've had fried eggs in probably 2 months, they were great. After breakfast I went to the market to resupply then back to the hostel to pack. When i got to the hostel they were throwing Red Beard out for breaking some rules, mostly staying too long I think. I keep getting the message all over town this morning that I'm welcome here but only for 1 night. I get the feeling that God wants me to move on, I was thinking about taking a zero but oh well. It's 9:30am as I leave town and it's already 92, It's supposed to break 100 today. thankfully I get offered a ride back to the trail from Connie and her grandson who are delivering meals on wheels. They drop me right at the trail. It's a steep 1000ft climb up out of Palmerton with a good bit of scrambling the last 500ft. In the last 200ft there is some noticable exposure as an added bonus there is no shade. I'm carrying 3L of water and the next water source is 12mi total away. It's a long hot walk in the sun across the superfund site looking down on the smelter complex. I'm moving slow trying not to overheat and the trail is mostly rocky. Thank god there was a stash of water at Little Gap, I was going to have to head into town to get some. At Smith Gap I was greeted by a huge pile of empty water containers but no water. I finally got into camp at dusk and was able to get some water from Bruce to get me through till morning. Bruce had an encounter with a bear that followed him back to camp then raided his water when he went down to the shelter to check the logbook.
Date: 2011-07-22
From: L A Smith shelter

To: Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: scattered clouds

As I was breaking camp this morning I met MagicMix and his cat Sir. Broke camp and hiked the first hour with Bootlegger. Talking helped the miles go faster. Still expected to be around 100 today, so I stopped at a little motel at Wind Gap for 2 sodas and to stock up on water. I'm starting out with 3L of water right now because I'd rather suffer from the weight than run out of water in this heat. Today the rocks are ubrelenting and they are really tearing up my feet. The trail runs up Wolf Rocks to a so-called view but allI see is the tops of the trees. I get to the shelter around 7pm and eat a cold dinner, actually just some snacks.I'm so bloated from all the water I have to force myself to eat anything. I throw down my pad in the shelter and use my tent for a pillow. I need to be out extremely early to make it to the PO in the morning. I called Pat to wish her happy birthday then to bed. Bruce and Bootlegger are here also.