morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-19
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagle's Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

Up at 6:00, started eating outside but it began to rain so I took everything back inside. Started hiking at 7:15 in shorts and a T-shirt in 68 degree temperatures. The rain had stopped by the time I started hiking. I stopped beside the trail around 12:30 to have lunch (4 fajita shells with 6 oz. of peanut butter spread over them - my Peanut Butter Burritos) since the next shelter is 15 miles away from where I stayed last night. The hike today was uneventful. I did see several interesting balls of bright green moss and a new pink flower. The trails are getting to be a higher percentage of rocks of all types, so greater care has to be exercised more often. I arrived at the Eagle's Nest Shelter at 3:40 pm and decided that was enough for today. The "kids" decided to move on to Port Clinton. I am here with Deja Vu, Songbird, Rest Step, Fly By, and SWIFT who just showed up. I can hear thunder in the distance and they are predicting rain for tonight. I am glad to be in the shelter tonight. It is 7:50 and most of the others are in bed. I am going, too.
Date: 2003-06-20
From: Eagle's Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: few clouds

I passed the 1200 mile mark today. It rained last night, sometimes heavy. Up at 6:00, hiking at 7:05 under heavy, overcast, dismal skies with temperatures of 65 degrees in shorts and a T-shirt. It rained lightly off and on for the first few hours, then became a moderate rain continuously at which time I put on my raincoat with hood to keep the rain off my glasses. I walked through a lush forest of white mountain laurel in full bloom that lasted for an hour or more. The laurel were everywhere. Prior to this, the predominate laurel color was pink. The trail was mostly for cruising, but broken up on a regular basis by rock-infested sections where speed had to be reduced and great care taken. I made it to the Port Clinton Hotel at 11:15, about the same time as Deja Vu and Songbird did. I got a room for the night. Deja Vu, Songbird, Dave (a section hiker), Rest Stop and I had lunch at the hotel. After dinner I got a shuttle to the Food Lion in Hamburg from a local Church Elder, Bob Breon, who provides this as a service to thru-hikers. He only asks in return that you do a favor for someone else. A very nice man who has lived his whole life in Port Clinton and has been married and lived in the same house for 49 years. It rained this afternoon, sometimes very hard. This is my rest day, so regardless of the weather, I plan to get up, have breakfast in town, and continue hiking tomorrow.
Date: 2003-06-21
From: Port Clinton

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: light rain

Up at 6:15 to an overcast, dismal day. At 6:45 I was walking West on Penn St, toward where I thought the 3Cs Restaurant was for breakfast. I had walked a ways and stopped to ask a lady who was getting into her car if I was going the right way and how far it was. She offered me a ride and I gladly took it. It was about a mile. I had 3 eggs with bacon, hash browns, a side of home fries, toast, OJ, and coffee. It was very good. A local came in and sat next to me at the counter. He told one of his friends on the other side of me that he measured 2.9 inches of rain yesterday. His friend came back that he had measured 4.3 inches of rain yesterday. Clearly, a lot of water fell on Port Clinton yesterday! The same lady gave me a ride back to town. I packed up and checked out, returning my key, towel, and washcloth, in order to get my $10 deposit back. The hotel man gave me the $10 plus 2 Snickers bars for the Trail. I then stopped at the post office to send back a third pair of socks and a used trail map. I was telling the post mistress about the rain amounts I had heard at 3Cs and she was telling me about the 1972 flood when the Schuylkill level reached to within 2 inches of the foundation of her house and she was concerned that it might happen again - especially if the rain and thunderstorms predicted for today materialize and dump the same amount as yesterday. It turns out it did not rain or thunderstorm today. I wished her luck with her house, she wished me luck on the Trail, and I started hiking at 8:45. The first part of the trail followed the banks of the Schuylkill River and, in places, the river was within a few inches of flooding the trail. In some places there was 6 inches of water in the trail. I was glad to be hiking early before any more rain came. I started hiking in shorts and a T-shirt in 63 degree temperatures. The temperature did not get about 68 degrees all day; it did not rain, and at times the sun was out for a few moments. There were a lot of different types of rock conditions to handle, but I just slowed down and proceeded very carefully so as not to trip, slip, or fall down. There were places in the trail that had become streams and this is a day after the heavy rain... Think what it was like yesterday afternoon when the rain was so heavy. I hiked through another small forest of white mountain laurel, saw some more white rhododendron, and still, at times, could smell the fragrance of the clove-scented azaleas although I did not see any in bloom. I arrived at the Eckville Shelter at 5:20. It is a bunkhouse-type shelter and the caretaker is Lazee who has thru-hiked the Trail 3 times. I am here with Hiking Viking, All Right, Bob, and Trail Frog. The no-see-ums are pretty bad, even in the bunkhouse. I need to crawl under my sleeping bag. Before I do that, I need to mention that as I was leaving Port Clinton, I was thinking again how great it is to be hiking the Trail. I was truly A-Foot Light Hearted as my friend "Walk About" used to say when we were hiking together in Georgia in April. Right now, life on the Trail is good.
Date: 2003-06-22
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Bake Oven Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: light rain

It rained last night, sometimes heavy. I was up at 6:30 and on the Trail hiking at 7:40 in a light rain and temperatures of 62 degrees. The rain became heavy during the morning and the temperatures dropped to 55 degrees - good hypothermia conditions. There were more rocks and less cruising trails. And the rocks were wet, which made the going even slower. I reached the Allentown Shelter at noon and had lunch. By then the rain had stopped and the sun shone through for a few moments - but it did not last and the rain came back during the afternoon. The morning featured a lot of slogging through and around water from last night's hard rain. The afternoon hiking was over some woods trails and a lot of rocks on some ridge trails. I had to cross the Knife Edge, a narrow, rocky ridge with lots of big boulders and some 2-hand climbing. This was made more tedious because the rocks were wet and slippery. I also had to climb over the Bake Oven Knob, which is a long ridge of slippery, huge boulders with sometimes hard-to-follow white blazes. Each of these took 15-20 min for a few tenths of a mile. I was glad to be done with them. I arrived at the shelter at 6:00 and am here with Trail Frog, Hiking Viking, Texas Jack (a retired fireman who did the 1000 miles from Springer to northern Virginia last year and is continuing this year), and Jeff, who is starting a 4-day hike to see what it is like. It is the first full day of summer and, at 8:30, I am going to bed.
Date: 2003-06-23
From: Bake Oven Shelter

To: Lehigh Gap/Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 7.7

A good night's sleep in the Bake Oven Shelter. It was too cold for no-see-ums. I was first up at 6:15 and first hiking at 7:30. Hiking Viking and Trail Frog were close behind. Hiking Viking shortly passed me and was gone. The trails were varied but a good share were various rock conditions. There was one 0.2 mile big boulder field that was not blazed very well, and in several cases I had to try different options before I could find the next blaze. At 6.7 miles, I stopped at the Outerbridge Shelter to check and sign the register, then hiked on. No one was there. I hiked to Lehigh Gap/PA248, arriving at 11:30, and decided to hitch the 2 miles into Palmerton and stay at the Jailhouse Hostel. It is run by the city and located in the basement of Boroughs Hall that used to house the old Police Station. It took 15 min to get a hitch (a long time considering all the traffic) from a lady who had the afternoon off from work and would also hike the Trail. She dropped me off and I checked in at the new police station. They gave me a bag of goodies - a nice gesture by the city. I went to the Borough Hall and selected a bottom bunk. Hiking Viking arrived 5 min later (he decided to hike versus hitch). I took a long, hot shower and fixed the toilet in the shower room. When I got back to the bunkroom Trail Frog had arrived and later Texas Jack arrived, followed by Hot Dog. (He said Wench would also be coming later.) Hiking Viking and I checked out the library and found their internet to be down, so we went next door to Tommie's Ice Cream Parlor. I had a cheeseburger, french fries, and Coke - a purchase is the price of using their internet access. Hiking Viking did his email first. I ordered a banana split for dessert, then checked my email when Hiking Viking was done. My bill came to $7.44 plus tip - a really good deal. Then I actually went to get my haircut, but found they closed at 4:00 (I got there at 4:10.) I guess my first Trail haircut will have to wait longer. Now I am in the laundromat. It is going to be tough keeping laundry fresh during the upcoming hot weather. It is 5:30 and the second day of summer. On Main Street in Palmerton, PA, it must have been close to 90 degrees. Now I can complain about the heat. And there are only 36.2 miles of PA rocks left. I will continue hiking those tomorrow.
Date: 2003-06-24
From: Lehigh Gap/Palmerton, PA

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Last night, Trail Frog, Hiking Viking, and I had dinner at the Hunan Chinese Restaurant. It was cooked-to-order and cost us $8 each, including tip. We finished most of it. I would rate it average. Today was dry rocks and hot temperatures, up to 90 degrees. Tomorrow will be more rocks and hotter. I was up at 6:15 and at Bert's Steakhouse for breakfast at 6:45. I had 2 bacon and egg meals since they had no hiker meals. It was good and I had plenty to eat, and all for $7.80, including tip. I went back to the hostel and spoke with Hot Dog who had been visiting this weekend in a car he had rented. He graciously offered to shuttle Wench, Texas Jack, and me back to the Trail before he returned. This saved us a dubious hitch or a 2 mile hike. By the way, he rented from Enterprise Rental who will pick you up and drop you off. So when he returned the car, they brought him back to the Trail. So at 8:30, Wench, Texas Jack, and I started up the bare rock face on the north side of Lehigh Gap in 65 degree temperatures and under clear skies. It was a steep, 1000 ft climb with lots of "exposure" (you can see straight down) and provided the three of us with some nice photo opportunities. Hopefully some of them will come out. It was the most demanding climb I have done so far on the AT. Once we reached the ridge, it was a path walk (sometimes very rocky, sometimes very smooth) for over 3 hours. I hiked a good portion of this with Texas Jack. We walked through the Superfund Site that had been polluted by a zinc processing plant and was still barren of vegetations. There were also some lovely open fields sprinkled with mountain laurel along the way. At noon, we had lunch at Weathering Knob. By that time, Hot Dog had passed and was hiking with Wench up ahead. The afternoon featured a lot of rock hiking and temperatures of up to 90 degrees. I arrived at the Leroy Smith Shelter at 6:30. Hot Dog, Wench, and Wally Gator (who said he had miscalculated and really had to hike faster and not slower so he had now caught up with me) were also there. The four of us stayed in the shelter. Tenting at the same site were Hiking Viking, Texas Jack, and Track-in. A ridge runner had come through earlier and reported a bear incident in the area and warned us to hang our food bags in a tree and not in the shelter. We also had received several first-hand reports of a snake incident last night at the Outterbridge Shelter located 1 mile before Lehigh Gap/Palmerton (the shelter I might have stayed at, had I not gone into the Jailhouse Hostel.) After dinner when the hikers were getting set for bed, one hiker picked up his backpack which was sitting on the ground, leaning against the shelter, and found a 3 foot Copperhead under it. (This was a big Copperhead - they said its head was larger than any of the rattlesnakes they had seen.) The Copperhead then started to crawl into the shelter. Dirty Harry took a hiking stick and managed to get it on the pole and tossed it into the woods. I'm glad I wasn't there and that everyone escaped a snakebite.
Date: 2003-06-25
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

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

Today I reduced the miles remaining to under 900 (894.8 miles) and I finished the Pennsylvania rocks. Up at 5:50, hiking on the AT at 6:55 in 70 degree temperatures and under clear skies. This was the last day of Pennsylvania trails and where the legendary Pennsylvania rocks were worst (some called them "heinous"). Well, after hiking this section (and the rest of PA, for that matter), it looks to me like a case of "The Emperor Has No Clothes." The only real difference between PA rocks and rocks in other states is that PA has a higher percent of trails in bad rocks. But all states have bad rocks, just not so many. The hike today had some long sections of them where you had to walk on top of irregularly shaped rocks. The bottom of my feet were actually sore from doing this today. So the bottom line is that PA rocks are just like rocks from other states and, as a hiker, you must slow down and exercise caution when you encounter them (even more so when they are wet.) In other words, suck it in and hike the Trail - it is what it is. The other event of note today is that, at approximately 3:30 pm, the miles remaining became less than 900. I yelled a "YEH" at the time, as did Wench and Hot Dog who were slightly behind me. We reached the Kirkridge Shelter, 6.4 miles from town, at 2:00. The mosquitoes were bad and my legs felt good. I decided to hike in and take a "zero day" tomorrow, to resupply, pick up a mail drop, and just plain relax. Tonight I had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, stewed limas, and bread pudding at the Water Gap Diner with Hot Dog and Wench. It was good - and only $11.
Date: 2003-06-26
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a zero day. After a good night's sleep, I was up at 6:45 am, had a good breakfast at the Water Gap Diner, picked up a mail drop at the post office, took a shuttle to Strausberg to get supplies and internet access, prepared packages to ship home, returned to the post office, got a haircut at a tanning salon, ate a late afternoon lunch (a steak & cheese sub), rested & relaxed, had a dinner of sausage & peppers with spaghetti, packed and got ready to hike out, and here I am at 10:20 pm.
Date: 2003-06-27
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Woods Road - Camp
Miles today: 23.4

Today: left PA, started NJ, passed 1300 miles. Up at 6:15 am, ate a continental breakfast at the motel (it wasn't very good but the price was right), checked out at 7:30 am, and started hiking the AT in moderate fog and 72 degree temperatures. Completed Delaware River and started the NJ part of the hike. It was a 1000 ft climb to the ridge, but rather gradual and it just happened. Then the rest of the day was mostly a ridge walk, with varying trail conditions. Most of the time was smooth going, but there were sections with rocks as bad as I left in PA, except they did not last very long. I reached the Mohican Outdoor Center at 1:00 and had lunch there (it is 0.25 miles off the AT.) I had 4 bologna & cheese "fajitas" along with 4 cans of Coke I purchased from them. This center is run and maintained by the AMC and is very nice for thru-hikers. As I was leaving, Three-Pack (not beer, but backpacks - the 3 different ones he tried during the first few weeks of his hike) arrived, indicating he planned to stay the night along with Truck who would arrive later. I hiked on. At 6:00 (dinner time), I reached the Blue Mountain Lakes Road where I expected to find a pump for water resupply. When I got there, Melissa, a counselor training a group of wanna-be counselors on hiking, was washing some clothes at the water pump. She finished and I started filling my water bottles and she said, "Oh, the bear is back." I did not see it so I asked, "Where?" She pointed to the trash can the bear had up-ended and was in.   My first bear sighting. I got my camera out and shot a few pictures. Eventually the bear went back into the woods. I finished filling my water bottles, wished Melissa well in her training, and hiked on. The next shelter was 7.0 miles away and too far to make in daylight. My plan was to hike partway and tent. That is what I did. I saw a spectacular sunset through the trees. The camera flash is automatic, so it went off when I tried to get pictures. I need to figure out how to shut off the flash. I'll put that on my list. I arrived here at 8:40. The mosquitoes were really bad so I put my long rain pants on and my bug shirt (that I got in my mail drop yesterday) on. They both worked well. The mail drop was perfectly timed. It is now 11:15 and way past my bedtime.
Date: 2003-06-28
From: Woods Road - Camp

To: Rutherford Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 6:15 am to blue skies, 65 degree temperatures, a light wind, and lots of mosquitoes and some black flies. I had to put on my entire complement of mosquito body armor in order to pack, eat, and even hike without being eaten alive. I started hiking at 7:30 am with 16 oz of water and the plan to fill up at the Brink Road Shelter 1.4 miles away. When I got there, I could only find surface water - no spring - and the mosquitoes were viscious. I hiked on to Calver Gap/Worthington Bakery (4 miles farther) which reportedly had a spigot. The report was true and I filled up. (The water turned out to be a little rust-flavored, but I drank it anyway.) I also had 2 Cokes and a ham & cheese sandwich, which I consumed there. I hiked on to the Glen Anderson Shelter. On the blue blaze trail to the shelter there was a deer in the path. I saw him first and stopped. He then looked up, walked a little into the woods, looked up again, and resumed eating vegetation. I walked by to the shelter, signed the register, and hiked on. I did not fill up the water there because someone had contaminated the spring by washing their Ramen pot in the spring. I hiked on to the next shelter - which had no water. This forced me to hike to the fourth shelter of the day, the Rutherford Shelter. I arrived there at 6:40 pm. There was a spring with a weak flow but I managed to scoop 3 liters with my half cup scoop. The flow was shallow and each scoop yielded only 1/5 cup. It took a while. I am all set for tonight, breakfast tomorrow, and the hike to the next water source, High Point State Park. The other highlight of the day was blueberries, that are now ripe. They are the low bush type and can be found at the upper elevations with a sunny exposure. They are very good when you pick a handful and then pop them right into your mouth. I almost forgot - yesterday I saw a turkey (full size) walking in the woods by the trail. Hopefully I will see more wildlife now that I have a quiet hiking stick that arrived in the Delaware Water Gap mail drop. It is 10:30 already and it is time.
Date: 2003-06-29
From: Rutherford Shelter

To: Pochuck Shelter
Miles today: 16.7

I entered NY State today. It was a quiet night even though the other two shelter tenants (weekend hikers Curtis and Bob) were up past 1:30 sitting around a campfire. They both also slept in a tent and were still asleep when I left this morning at 7:15 am. I got back to the AT at 7:30 and started posting AT miles (the shelter was 0.4 miles off the AT). It was 68 degrees, very humid with clouds that looked like rain. It must have gone around us because the rain did not happen. In fact, it cleared up and became less humid and sunny. I hiked to the High Point State Park to get water and hopefully a Coke, reaching there at 8:30 to find they did not open until 9:00. I filled up with water and when one of the workers arrived at 8:45, I asked. She said they did not have a machine, but that I could go to the maintenance shop in their maintenance building to get to a soda machine. I went there, could not find anyone, but after some searching did find the machine and bought a 20 oz. Pepsi for $1, went back to the state park and drank the Pepsi as I ate all the remaining chocolates I received in the Friday maildrop. They were good. At 9:20 I hiked on, signing the High Point Shelter register, and arrived at the Secret Shelter at 1:10. There I filled up with really good well water and had lunch while being entertained by the neighbor lady (Songbird) and her two children (Eric and Crystal). The Secret Shelter was built by and is maintained by Jim Murray, a thru-hiker in 1989 (?). It is very, very nice. At 2:05 I hiked on armed with directions from Sunbird on the best way to get to Unionville, NY, for resupply. I got there, bought the supplies I needed, also got an Italian sub to take out for dinner, and a 20 oz. Coke and pint of ice cream to eat there. And it was good! I wrote and mailed some postcards from NY, mailed the latest journal pages, and hiked back to the Trail, ending up at the Pochuck Shelter at 7:10. Dirty Bird and Fido were already there. I set up my tent, had dinner, and am now writing my journal in the tent. At 9:50 two more thru-hikers arrived and are now setting up their tents. I saw two deer and a rabbit today. I hiked through swamps on several long bog bridges, also called puncheons. The mosquitoes have been really bad at times today. I even resorted to putting Repel on my legs so I could hike in shorts. That seemed to work well. It is almost 10:00 and time to close for tonight.