morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-10-08
From: Fitzgerald Falls, NY (near Wildcat Shelter)

To: Vernon, New Jersey
Miles today: 18.9

It was another long day into Vernon, New Jersey, today. We crossed the state line between New York and New Jersey but the trail wanders across it several times further on so we are not finished with New York yet. We covered nearly 19 miles and climbed 1177m (1136m down) in temperatures reaching 30C. There was a lot of rocky clambering over steep-sided rock outcrops and we decided that the trail blazers were very keen that we should appreciate the beautiful New York/New Jersey rocks. They were, but there were an awful lot of them and we could see where others had circumvented them. We didn't do this as every time you leave the trail to go around an obstacle you are never sure you will get back on it again, so we went over them all! On Cat RockRoute off Cat Rock
Date: 2007-10-09
To: ZERO Day in Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 0.0

Here we are at the church hall in Vernon, New Jersey. What a great place to stay! We are having a zero day today, not before time too as my feet weren't going to take much more without a break and Dave needs to get rid of the heat rash on his back. They have everything you want here, including laundry, internet, a kitchen, shower and a huge carpeted space to spread out in complete with comfy chairs. It took me a while to get the password sorted out to give us access to the internet but finally someone from the office upstairs found it and here I am. It is a wet day today - that is, not really wet, but wet enough that it is very nice to be dry, comfortable and warm (temperatures have fallen too). Al-Anon is arriving tonight for their meeting to which we are invited (not that we need it) also the choir is practicing upstairs later on. Got to go and do my chore. They ask for a donation and a chore. Summer time view of Mt. Vernon, NJSt. Thomas Episcopal Church Hostel in Vernon, NJ
Date: 2007-10-11
From: Unionville, NY

To: Gren Anderson Shelter, NJ
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

It was not such an early start because Dick likes to talk and we didn't leave till around 7:30 when Butch arrived. Just for a change we took the Iris Trail, which runs parallel to the AT and it was easy going except for stretches of rocks here and there. We had a bit of rain and could hear thunderstorms in the distance. The Gren Anderson shelter had a terrific spring and a toilet without a building. We are getting quite used to sitting on a loo out in the bush. 14 miles today, 626 metres up (522m down) and the temperature ranged from 16-19 degrees. This is a huge improvement on 30C and we are hoping the cooler weather continues. Gren Anderson Privy
Date: 2007-10-12
From: Gren Anderson Shelter, NJ

To: Brink Road Shelter, NJ
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: broken clouds

Today was an easy day of only 7 miles, due to rain in the morning upsetting our motivation. Also on re-reading the AT Companion we discovered that the Delaware Water Gap Post Office closed at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and we could not make it by then. So there was no point in trying and we had some time to kill. Lee took to the road for a while being a bit sick of rocks, but Dave and I found the trail quite attractive in that area. We met up with him again at Joe to Go which is a donut shop on some road right at the trail crossing. Joe to Go has no place to sit except on his exercycle - this was the main thing I noticed about it, even though I ate one of his donuts. At present I am looking for every opportunity to take a load off my feet. Lee came with us after that, he must have found the road boring. The mist had finally dissipated and the going was easy, but the rocks were wet, which makes it harder. We limbed 381m and descended 467m. Often you could see both ways since the ridge was quite narrow in places. When we were on a rocky outcrop a huge bird flew up from almost under my feet and gave me a big fright. I'm not sure what it was and no-one else was near enough to see it. We arrived at Brink Road Shelter early and read our books for the rest of the day. Later, a man and his daughter arrived and it was a major squeeze for us all to get into the shelter even though there are only 5 of us. We have been having trouble with our trail names. We chose them because we thought it would be easy for Americans to pronounce and spell "Weka" and "Kea". Also, we wanted something New Zealand-related. Well!! Turns out we get weekrrrrrrrrrrrr a lot, or "wicca" (some sort of witch). Dave gets "kia" which is some sort of vehicle. So, we are a witch and a car! Would have been better to be Tweedledee and Tweedledum, or Plod and Clod, but there you are!Delaware Water Gap ¢ photo by DoubleRev - Jonathan PriestJoe to Go Deli
Date: 2007-10-13
From: Brink Road Shelter, NJ

To: Mohican Outdoor Center, NJ
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

Awesome! - photo by Amoeba - Marilyn BeckleyWe headed for the Mohican Outdoor Centre today - 13.5 miles. It seemed easy going except for inevitable rock underfoot but we ended up climbing 581 metres by the end of the day (down 543m). I didn't really notice it at all. We got here about 3:00 and had to camp due to there being an Irish dancing group in residence who took up all the cabins. We had showers and I rang home and caught up on the local body elections amongst other things. The temperature range was 6 - 20oC today, quite a range but very pleasant.Gorgeous Fall colors - Boo-Boo photo (Smokies)
Date: 2007-10-14
From: Mohican Outdoor Center, NJ

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA (mile 895)
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: broken clouds

We arrived at Delaware Water Gap (DWG) just inside the Pennsylvania border after 11 miles of easy but rocky travel. There was 384m of climbing (649m down) and much lower temperatures today. The last three days we've been on a long low ridge which looks out over valleys on either side, sometimes narrow enough that you can see out both sides at once from rocky outcrops. We passed the last glacial pond today - Sunfish Pond, really lovely. It is Sunday, so there are lots of people about. We came across a man with his bird scope set up on top of a rocky outcrop waiting for birds. He had a decoy on a pole. The big birds we see flying about the high tops are turkey buzzards waiting for something to die, as they are carrion eaters. We trust it will not be us! We arrived early, about 12:00, and went straight to the church which offers hiker accommodation. It is not in the same league with St. Thomas, but very comfortable nevertheless and very welcome. DWG is a quaint little place with old rundown houses fronting the streets and several closed businesses. We ate at the diner. It had very average food in my fussy view but plenty of it. There is no grocery store, just convenience stores, so the next day or two will see some food compromises. Luckily, we do not have to eat Ramen noodles for breakfast. I draw the line at that. I almost got forced into my first Poptart, but luckily managed to come up with a loaf of bread instead. It was a near run thing though.Sunfish Pond (glacial) ¢ photo by 357 MagnumChurch of the Mountain hostelTurkey Buzzard
Date: 2007-10-15
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA (1280 miles from Springer)

To: Wind Gap, PA (Gateway Motel)
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

There was a bit of a climb out of Delaware Water Gap then the trail was relatively flat along the long even ridge with the occasional view over one or other valley. Climbing was 767m (550m down). We had thought we would not get very far on the notorious Pennsylvania rocks and had allowed for a short day, but the first 6 1/2 miles to the very attractive Kirkridge Shelter was not too bad at all and we arrived at lunchtime. There were 9 miles to Wind Gap and we thought we had a pretty good chance of getting there so we filled up with water from the spigot (there is a nearby road with houses) and headed out. Our gamble paid off and after travel at about 2 1/2 miles per hour we arrived at Wind Gap. Lee had rung the Gateway Motel, which is within walking distance of the trail, and booked accommodation before we arrived so we just moved right in. The owners are very hiker-friendly and he ran us to the supermarket then came and got us afterwards. We are now relaxing in front of the weather channel (our favorite channel) and hearing about the drought conditions down south. It has reached the "extreme" level in some places where we are heading. Hmmm.Kirkridge Shelter in the summer
Date: 2007-10-16
From: Wind Gap, PA (Gateway Motel)

To: Little Gap (near Danielsville, PA)
Miles today: 15.4

Once more we are on the ridge with relatively flat but rocky going. Climbing today was 529m (down 470m). We had expected much more rock given the reputation of Pennsylvania, but on reflection I think that northbounders may have had it too easy further south and are encountering their first obstacles. I have developed a small blister between my first and second toes. Seems an odd place for one, but I recall that I got quite big calluses there on the Bibbulmun. We had carried water on the expectation there wouldn't be any and after re-supply our packs were pretty heavy. We encountered a large black snake on the trail, the first one like that we had seen. We also saw our first hunter with his gun. They are not supposed to hunt on the trail but maybe it is safer that they are there and shooting away from the trail rather than the alternative which is that they are off the trail and possibly shooting across it! 16 miles later at Little Gap we stealth-camped (ie: camped where you are not meant to) in the forest by the road to Danielsville. We thought we could hitchhike in to Danielsville to get water but it turned out that Dave and Lee had to walk all the way there as no one would pick them up. Then they walked all the way back with the water while I babysat the packs in case someone came by. I got the easy job! Our campsite is infested with cheeky little spiders, no doubt some of whom I will end up carrying tomorrow.Snake amongst the rocks
Date: 2007-10-17
From: Little Gap (near Danielsville, PA)

To: New Tripoli Campsite 
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: scattered clouds

On the way out of Little Gap we met a hunter with a black powder rifle (this is black powder season) who we talked to for a while. He was most interesting and told us that black bears were increasing in numbers. Apparently the game and wildlife managers of Pennsylvania do a survey of bears during winter and go around their dens pulling out the cubs, weighing and tagging them. He told us about some people who usually come to stay at their house over summer and did not know they had a bear den under their front porch! He also told us about the zinc smelter which over the years had caused so much acid rain in the area we were about to enter that all the vegetation has been killed. The new owners had wanted to re-vegetate the area, but the AT did not want that done on their bit so we saw it as the zinc smelter left it. It certainly was bare, just like a moonscape, with blackened ground and nothing but piles of rocks for quite a few miles. Just before reaching LeHigh Gap we crossed over some huge piles of rocks which afforded a great view down into the Gap. It turns out that this part of the trail is famous for its difficulty though we were long past it before finding this out. In retrospect we couldn't see the problem, but we are pretty used to rock climbing so maybe it is just us. On the other side of the Gap we ascended towards George Outerbridge Shelter. There is a spring there but we had thought it would be dry. In fact it had a pencil-thin trickle of water, just enough to be useful. There was no more water at all along the ridge. The springs at Bake Oven Shelter were dry. We saw bird watchers again at Bake Oven Knob - what a great view from there! They told us they were looking for bald eagles which were about to start migrating, but all we saw were turkey vultures and something else the name of which I've forgotten. On reaching Ashfield Road some kind person had left a large bottle of water which we filled our containers from, not knowing if there'd be water at New Tripoli Campsite where we were headed. Bear Rocks and Knife Edge are both huge piles of rocks which we climbed over on the way. Quite spectacular! There were views from the top but there is very heavy haze today and you can't see much through the murk. We reached New Tripoli at about 5pm after a tiring day. We covered 16.5 miles, climbed 843 metres (781m down) in temps of 14-24oC (57-75oF). It has been a day of easy travel interspersed with quite difficult, slow travel.
Date: 2007-10-18
From: New Tripoli Campsite 

To: Eckville Shelter, PA
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a short day of 13 miles because there is no convenient place to stay within a reasonable distance beyond Eckville Shelter. We have to plan around water availability, so far as we can tell from maps and trail scuttlebutt. We had what has become the usual easy going interspersed with very slow hard going over rocks. We stopped at Allentown Shelter for a bit of a break and it was very nice indeed, although Blue Spring was dry and we don't know about Yellow Spring further down. Further along the ridge Dan's Spring was dry but we'd expected that. There was a note in Allentown Shelter about a nest of yellowjackets (wasps) further along the trail and I spotted it before we got to it luckily, so we were able to get off the trail and circumvent it. We left cairns to mark the spot but how can you warn people? I wonder what the trail maintainers do about this sort of problem, if anything. After all, it is their habitat too. We left a note in Eckville Shelter so people going north have a chance of being warned. We are now ensconced in Eckville Shelter. It is privately owned and the caretaker is in residence. Lee helped him with a job and has earned a six-pack of beer which is cooling in a bucket of ice. I took a cold shower - and it was cold!! This place is overrun with huge ladybirds (called ladybugs in US). Apparently they are migrating at present. One got down my shirt and wriggled frantically till I eventually got it out. I am reminded that we have been having a plague of aphids for the last few days. I am still finding them crawling around both on me and my gear. We all are. We must be leaving a trail of them all along the way. We met Slow Joe at Eckville. He is out here to lose weight mainly and expects to do that by not carrying any food to speak of, and eating once each day at some restaurant. He says he lives on Ibuprofen (painkiller) when hiking as everything hurts. Today has been a damp and sticky day with easy climbing of 410m (down 617m) in temps of 15-24C and we are looking forward to a zero day in Port Clinton. The caretaker lives in the house, the small building behind is the shelter and can hold six hikers. There's a nice flushing privy to the right out of the picture. Across the road is a tenting area. ¢ Photo by Bama 06, our transcriber¢s hiking friend!
Date: 2007-10-19
From: Eckville Shelter, PA

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: light rain

Port Clinton is a very small place where all the houses seem to have dead vehicles and/or children¢s toys in the yard. We are staying at the Port Clinton Hotel where the food is legendary. You should see the platters of French ("freedom"?) fries! They are HUGE! All I could do was make a little tunnel in one side of mine. My beef roast dinner consisted of 2 HUGE slabs of beef of which only one could be eaten by any normal person. Looking around the packed dining room you could see the effects of this type of food in these quantities. The hikers amongst us really stood out, skinny miserable things they look too. Got to go, this computer is going to time out!Port Clinton Hotel - Look at those fries! - photo by Tell It Like It Is - Jackie BolenAlong the Schykill River
Date: 2007-10-20
To: ZERO Day in Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

It is my mother¢s 89th birthday but I couldn¢t call her because there is no public telephone in Port Clinton. That possibility had not occurred to me and I had planned to call at 8:00pm which is lunchtime in New Zealand (on the 21st, the day after her birthday). I can sometimes catch her then. No guarantees though as she is out and about a lot. However, it was not to be. We spent most of the day getting to Cabela¢s then into Hamburg to the library. Cabela¢s is a huge, I mean HUGE, store devoted to every want and need of America¢s hunters and fishers. It is decorated with the heads of lots of game, especially deer, and there is an impressive display of large game animals including polar bear, each with the name of the hunter whose ¢trophy¢ it was, and the date. Customers stood around taking photographs. Our objective was to buy some blaze orange ¢Don¢t Shoot Me¢ things like pack covers and hats. Also, we were looking for Yak Tracs (chains for boots) which would be useful in ice storms down south. I was also looking for insulated boots since I get really cold feet ¢ all of these things we have bought except for Yak Tracs for Dave, since they did not have his size. Cabela¢s has a shuttle service and they had picked us up at Port Clinton Hotel and shuttled us to Cabela¢s. After shopping we sweet-talked our driver into taking us to the supermarket, which he did very kindly. There was a hairdresser nearby and we all got a haircut. I must say the result is a big improvement on the self-service of a few weeks ago, but a mite chilly around the ears since we all got our money¢s worth! Getting from the supermarket to the library proved quite easy when someone asked us for directions and, in turn, we asked her if she was driving our way. Turned out she was, and so were her two friends in a second car, so we were chauffeured to our destination in style. I spent two hours catching up the journal and checking email. Any of you who are still with me must have realized by now that I haven't had a book to read for the past day or two. This is causing a much longer journal entry than usual as I fill in time between dinner and sleeping bag. I am hoping to find a book in one of the shelters but judging by the books we have found so far, it is a vain hope. Horror abounds, also plenty of really unpleasant slasher-type murder stories. I am reluctant to infer from this selection that it reflects a certain type of person on the trail. I¢d far rather think that these books have been abandoned as unreadable and they will simply rot or be used as fire starter. Hopefully Lee will finish his book soon, give it to me, and then the problem will be his! Getting back to Port Clinton Hotel was pretty difficult. No buses, no taxis and a huge interstate highway spell problems for getting around. We walked back to Cabela¢s, luckily only about a mile from the library, and again our faithful friend agreed to shuttle us back to our hotel. Cabela¢s ! ¢ photo by the BruiserDisplay at Cabela¢sA few trophies!
Date: 2007-10-21
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Spring near Fort Dietrich Snyder Monument, PA
Miles today: 14.8

An early start saw us back up on the now familiar ridge after a 300 metre climb. I am trying out my new Cabela's boots today despite their being cold weather insulated boots, so my feet are hot. So far I am smiling It is great to get back into boots. The rocks are not nearly as big a problem as they were when I was wearing shoes. No other problems yet, but it is early days and it often takes up to a week for problems to show up, and even longer sometimes. We had an uneventful flat day, though Dave says we climbed over 680m and dropped down 394m. How we did that along a flat ridge is a mystery. Lee says Pennsylvania has been completely forgettable. I guess that is one reason for keeping a journal, although I don't agree with him. I have enjoyed Pennsylvania. We are camping at a small stream down from Fort Dietrich Snyder Monument. The monument proved to be a tombstone on the side of the trail. Apparently the fort was one of a chain of forts built as protection from Indians and I had naively expected to see some sort of structure. There is, however, nothing there at all, only the tombstone. We did fifteen miles today in 6 hours which is pretty fast for us. Tomorrow we go to Bethel for re-supply.
Date: 2007-10-22
From: spring near Fort Dietrich Snyder Monument, PA

To: 501 Shelter, PA
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: broken clouds

A short day of 8 12 miles and 386 metres of climbing (370m down). We are staying at the 501 Shelter (i.e. next to Pennsylvania Route 501). It is very nice indeed, being fully enclosed (hooray!) with a large skylight and 12 bunks. There is a caretaker living next door and he let me use his phone to call home. We had originally planned to stay at the PA Money Pit Hostel (odd name) but Amy (who runs it) said she could only shuttle us around at this point due to other commitments. This was very suitable for us, so she took us to the local grocery store and to the post office before bringing us back to the shelter. The grocery store is one of the best we¢ve been to, quite small, but everything we wanted. It is run by Amish people and there are things there, such as dried celery and very nice powdered broccoli soup mix, that I haven¢t seen anywhere else so far. They also make great sandwiches. Amy has just showed up with lots of food which unfortunately we couldn¢t do justice to having eaten already. She works at an auction house which provides food for the patrons and we¢ve scored all the leftovers. Lee is very happy with hamburgers, hotdogs, French fries and a carafe of coffee. Right along his alley!Inside 501 Shelter
Date: 2007-10-23
From: 501 Shelter, PA

To: Rausch Gap Shelter, PA
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: light rain

Apparently we passed the 1000 mile mark today! It is also 3 months since we left New Zealand. The trail is officially 2175 miles long so we are not yet half way. This was to be expected since we started at the hardest, slowest end of the trail and are going into easier terrain ¢ at least until we get further south and back into higher mountains again. Lee reckons he did the first half of the trail in 2 months. This was, however, at a different time of year. We will have shorter days and will probably be held up with weather problems. We also have to contend with drought conditions which we suppose will be worse as we get further south. We have already been held up by lack of water which has meant staying in places where we would not have stayed if we¢d been able to count on water further on. Water may be our biggest problem. We just hope it will not force us off the trail.Today we did nearly 18 miles and climbed 793 metres (867m down). It was a muggy sort of day and threatened to rain all the time. There were a couple of very brief showers, one at lunch time as we were sheltering under a bridge in dry comfort. We saw a box turtle on the trail, one of the biggest Lee has seen. It has reddish legs which kept walking when I picked it up, just like a turtle toy I used to have as a child. Rausch Gap Shelter, where we are now, has a tiny spring just out the front. We¢d been told it was dry so had carried water up from the stream at the bottom of the hill. In fact there is a tiny trickle of water here so we need not have bothered. Maybe with luck some of the springs have started again. Dave took photos of some magnificent trees along the way. Although the drought is supposed to have negatively affected the fall colors, they looked pretty amazing to us today. At one point we were on the yellow brick road along a tunnel of the brightest yellow colored trees. Quite spectacular!Rausch Gap Shelter