morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-09
From: Campsite by Brook at 1114.7

To: Boiling Springs
Miles today: 8.0

We slept well last night without the Ferret¢s snoring. The eight miles into Boiling Springs were not as easy as I remembered, especially with the warm temperatures. There was one section of ridge walking where the trail wandered over and around massive rock formations. We all had to take off our packs and lift them up a four-foot step and then haul ourselves up. Someone with longer legs could probably have just stepped right up it. When we descended from White Rocks, we faced three miles of walking on the edges of farmfields and farm roads, all in the bright sun. Not even Willow could charm a man sitting the porch of his house. Not even a wave. As we walked along the Children¢s Pond in Boiling Springs, we met Karen Lutz, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager for ATC and another employee Michelle. I¢ve known Karen for 21 years. She will retire after 30 years service to ATC. Sam arrived before us and went for pizza. Rocky, Willow and I went to Cafe 101. I had the summer salad with fresh fruit and perfectly grilled shrimp. It took the edge off my appetite. Rocky and I then walked 0.7 miles each way to Karms Grocery. I needed to resupply but Rocky didn¢t need to go since her hike ended today. How nice of her!Karen Lutz found an old stuffed raccoon for Rocky to hold and we posed for a group photo with our friend Day Maker from Maine, retired from LL Bean. Left to right are Day Maker, Sam, me, Rocky Raccoon, and Willow. Except for Day Maker, we shuttled into Carlisle where we have two rooms at the Red Roof Inn. Rocky¢s life partner Rick will be joining us soon and we will meet a few of Rocky¢s friends for dinner. Willow, Sam and I will share the other. It¢s okay; we¢re tramily!  Rocky Raccoon is no more now that her hike is over. Once again she is Cousin Debbie. She¢s been a great companion and I¢m glad that we get to celebrate this evening, especially with two of her close trail friends, Willow and Sam.
Date: 2018-05-20
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

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

I slept well last night and awoke with the birds a little past 5. It warmed up last night and it wasn¢t raining this morning, but I still left my pack cover on. The trees were dripping with each breeze. No more than 1/4 mile from the shelter I found fresh bear scat, a very large mound. It wasn¢t steaming, but the flies hadn¢t found it yet. I could smell a slight skunky odor that could have been bear, but I never saw it. The 1,000¢ climb up to Pulpit Rock went quickly and except for the area around Pulpit Rock, the trail was not unduly rocky and I made good time. The descent to Eckville Shelter was along an old road and super fast. I took an early lunch at the shelter, used the flush toilet, and emptied my trash bag. Almost immediately the rocks began. It was warm and I found the 1,000¢ up to Dan¢s Pulpit tiring. There had been nothing but fog for a view at Pulpit Rock but it was somewhat better at Dan¢s Pulpit but still hazy. Except for a couple of short sections, the trail was predominantly rock. The photo is typical. My hiking sticks are about four feet in length for scale. Any fall had the potential for serious injury, so I didn¢t hurry. My speed on the worst of it was reduced to under 1 MPH. About a mile from Allentown Hiking Club Shelter, I met Andrea and her son 14-year old son Connor.  Andrea is having ankle pain. She thinks it¢s a tendon on the front of her ankle.  Our friendly day hiker from several days ago showed up. Thunder Belly offered to take Andrea¢s pack, but she refused. I went ahead since she had Connor and TB for support. Sally Forth was at the shelter. The rest of my friends had started at Eckville Shelter today after a night in a B&B and continued past Allentown Shelter three miles to a road and another B&B. Baby Bird and Ulysses left word that they would buy me a beer if I made it. Not even that incentive was enough. 16.5 rocky miles is quite enough. I am sore and tired. Naturally the water is about 0.3 miles downhill, but the spring is quite grand. Gushing like a fire hydrant is too mild a description! Taking a Buff bath cheered me up. I tried a new flavor of Knorr¢s tonight, Mexican Rice, with a pouch of salmon. Yum. Cookies for dessert. SOS made it and has a fine photo of a timber rattlesnake tucked back in the rocks. I wonder how many I passed! I couldn¢t find a level tent site, so I am in the shelter, beneath Sally Forth¢s bunkWhat am I thankful for today? That it¢s over.
Date: 2018-05-21
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: George Outerbridge Shelter
Miles today: 16.8

For once, I wasn¢t the first one up. That honor belongs to Charlie Horse and Reboot, both thru-hikers who started in Georgia. Reboot is from North Carolina, Andy Griffith¢s hometown, and recently retired. He¢s looking to reboot his life. Charlie Horse is from Texas and has the drawl to prove it. His age is somewhere between 60 and death. I was the first one on the trail. The first six miles were a pleasure. Then the trail decided to follow the ridge, meaning large sharp boulders to be gotten over or around. There were two short stretches of those and then good trail again to lull me into complacency. Then came the Knife Edge, which as the name suggests is a long very narrow ridge of even larger, sharper boulders. The view of the valley below was excellent, but my eyes were focused on the Rocks. Looking down scared me and it isn¢t the kind of place where I could afford to be scared. A fall, assuming you didn¢t break your back or crack your skull, would mean a broken arm or leg. It was well blazed with the optimal trail marked, so at least there wasn¢t a need to find my own route. The trail then improved and I joined Charlie Horse and Reboot for lunch at Bake Oven Knob Shelter. They are slightly faster than I am. At Ashfield Road, there was trail magic by General Store of West Chester, PA. I enjoyed a cherry Coke, a fresh tangerine, and an oatmeal raisin cookie. I also refilled my water bottle. I really enjoyed being able to sit in a camp chair! General Store also offered a recharging station and all manner of snacks. The trail to Outerbridge Shelter remained good. Kidska and Bat Girl were here. The boys (Jelly, Baby Bird, Rizz and Ulysses) are about 1/2 day ahead. Bat Girl decided to move on to a hostel in Palmerton, but Kidska will keep me company. I expect SOS to come in as well. We are very near Lehigh Gap, the Superfund Site. Palmerton is on the Lehigh River. Several people saw rattlesnakes today. I only saw a five foot black snake, three does and a toad. I really enjoyed the sun today and give thanks to General Store.
Date: 2018-05-26
From: Tentsite at Catfish Fire Tower

To: Brink Rd Shelter
Miles today: 12.1

If Pennsylvania is the state for rocks, perhaps New Jersey is the state for venomous reptiles. Yesterday I saw a timber rattlesnake. Today a pair of copperheads were mating on the trail, oblivious to passing hikers. There¢s only one species of venomous New Jersey reptile occasionally found in the woods that I have yet to see - the politician. I was in my tent by 7 last night just drifting off to sleep when a whippoorwill decided to let blast with its namesake call. Whippoorwill. Whippoorwill. Every three seconds. Then I heard a late hiker come through. Perhaps it was just coincidence. Perhaps they stepped on the bird. Whatever happened, the whippoorwill ceased its crazed call and the rest of the night was peaceful. I slept better than anytime since the onset of this cold, and started hiking about 6:15. I started sweating and drinking large amounts of water almost immediately. It reached the upper 80¢s this afternoon. The hiking itself was rather routine with some excellent views. The rocks are tapering off and the worst of them today was still better than the best of the last four days in Pennsylvania. I enjoyed meeting a very taciturn thru-hiker who started in Georgia. Cody Coyote is from Cumberland Gap, Tennessee and this is his fifth or sixth consecutive thru-hike, including two in one year! He speaks so little that I doubt that many of his fellow Nobo¢s have a clue. He was suffering from a sore ankle tendon, having averaged 23 miles per day in Pennsylvania! He stopped for the day at a campsite about three miles before Brink Road Shelter. I also enjoyed meeting a day hiker Lisa from Long Beach Island, New Jersey. She is smitten with the idea of a thru hike, but her employer refuses to even consider a leave of absence. At about 12:15, I arrived at the Brink Road Shelter that was remodeled in 2013 to be greeted by three corpulent 30-something corporate types from Connecticut dressed in nothing more than their boxer shorts. It isn¢t a good look for them, but they told me of an easier way to access the spring than by the blue blazed trail. A southbound section hiker came in for lunch and water. Thanks to his information I can skip a side trip to the grocery tomorrow and wait until Unionville, New York on Monday. I am enjoying staying out of the heat this afternoon and resting. I bathed at the spring and washed out my hiking clothes. If I felt this way at home, I wouldn¢t even think of going to the Y to workout, yet I hiked a dozen miles this morning. The ups are hard for me with the congestion. I had planned for some easy days in New Jersey to allow my body to recover from the rocks of Pennsylvania. They are doing double duty now. Can I blame my cold on Pennsylvania?  I noticed a giant boulder setting in a grassy area today with no other rocks close by. I think it¢s my first glacial erratic, a boulder that was entrapped in the moving ice sheet and then left behind when the ice retreated. I kind of feel that way myself today, as my trail friends get further and further ahead of me
Date: 2018-05-31
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Ulysses and I were up early and left the shelter at 6, hoping to do 19 miles to William Brien Memorial Shelter. The Trail had other ideas. Even though there were no major ascents today, the total ascent was nearly 3,900¢. Unless you¢ve climbed that much vertically, you don¢t know what that means. On good trail, it would be quite tolerable. Most of the climbs today, however, were closer to rock scrambles than hiking trail. There was a lovely waterfall, Fitzgerald Falls, but water was scarce most of the day. We refilled twice from jugs of water left by trail angels. They were saints to us. The most interesting rock formation was The Lemon Squeezer. The challenge is to get through the narrow rock slot without taking your pack off. It¢s not only narrow but also slants to one side. I managed with my small pack, but Ulysses was unable. It took us a while to find a bypass trail for him. We both found it a very frustrating day, and I fear, our frustration made its way into our language. Cursing prevailed. It didn¢t help that it was overcast all day with just enough rain to assure that the rocks were slippery and our shoes and socks more than a little damp. We arrived at Fingerboard about 4:00. Neither of us wanted to go another five miles today. There were scores of pink lady slippers, orange spotted newts, toads and the occasional tree frog. I¢m thankful for Ulysses¢ company today and for the chance to get to know him. He started in Georgia but our hiking speeds and styles are similar.
Date: 2018-06-10
From: Stealth Tentsite at 1419.3

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

I slept so well last night, for 10 hours. I was up with the birds and hiking at 5:30. At first I thought that my right knee was fine and that only my left hurt, but it didn¢t take very long to figure out that it was just that the worse pain on the left was covering the pain on the right. Level trail wasn¢t bad, maybe a 3 on the 0 - 10 pain scale. Uphills were about a 6. Downhills were a 7 with spikes of 8. The trail itself was good today, with long sections following nearly level mining paths. Absent the knee problem, I would have been at the RPH Shelter before 10 and easily could have gone the 19 I had wanted to. With the knees, it took me 7 hours. Both knees are swollen, making them slow to move. I felt very insecure on rock. This problem with my knees isn¢t new. Osteoarthritis was first diagnosed 25 years ago and the dreaded prognosis pronounced, ¢progressive and degenerative.¢ It¢s called degenerative joint disease now, but it amounts to the same thing. It has caused me to curtail several hikes, including a thru-hike attempt in 2013. I almost got total knee replacements then, and again two years ago. But the last doctor sent me to physical therapy first. It worked, and I really thought I would be able to complete this thru-hike. My knees survived Pennsylvania with nary a whimper. Why now on this relatively gentle terrain are they causing me such pain?  I wish I had an answer. My knees respond to neither logic nor prayer. St. Roch (San Rocco) is the patron saint of knees, by the way. Actually he was renowned against plague, but in iconography he is often pictured with a dog licking one of his knees, so he has been awarded patronage of dogs and knees as well. It¢s obviously only a sideline with him, or perhaps I am not sufficiently devout. RPH Shelter is located in a suburban neighborhood. Amenities include a garbage can and porch furniture including two chaises. Apparently bears are not a worry. The shelter itself is like a garage with bunks and two picnic tables outside. Water is from a pump. From years of living with my knees, I know that they won¢t get better overnight or in two or three days. It takes weeks or months after an episode like this one. So absent an overnight miracle, I¢ll make arrangements to return home. That¢s a positive thing. Going off trail sounds so dismal. I am sorry to disappoint those who have been following me. Some lovely people are staying here tonight. Robbie from San Francisco and I shared a large veggie pizza, delivered right to the shelter. A mother and daughter from Wayne, PA are also here at the end of their first day of a hike that will end on Katahdin. And seven members of The Hoard, an advance guard of the NOBO bubble are here as well. A couple who live nearby came by with two coolers of drinks and boxes of peanut M&Ms and Oreo Cookies. Magic makes for a nice ending.
Date: 2018-08-11
From: Monson ME 15

To: Wilson Valley lean-to
Miles today: 10.4

8:30 trailhead-4:45 lean-toForded 2 streams!Learned to go where shallowest and slowest. Both were below my knees. Flat rocks are slick, stick to smaller one. Shuffle feet.Photos-trailhead. North Pond with island. Big Wilson Falls-impressive. Train track-active!Shaw¢s comradery at breakfast was heartwarming. There were at least 10 NOBOs.The last .7 uphill to lean-to was taxing. Overall need to drink more-feet cramped when I put my socks and shoes on after fording. Also hand is cramping writing.Motivation-thinking how the Wild Boars soccer team 11-17 year old trapped in a cave for 11 days then found and rescued buy scuba diving out. The photo of them when 1st found shows them smiling and upbeat. Amazing.1st 1/3 woods walk 2nd 1/3 some rocks 3rd 1/3 fording.I don¢t have hiker¢s legs, not by a long shot!Backpack about 28 lbs is too heavy.Blueberries!Sleeping will be interesting, I forgot by sleeping pad-it¢s in the car trunk. Note to self, attach it 1st thing when we get to a campsite on Katahdin Ironworks Rd. Ted is moral and logistic support.
Date: 2018-08-12
From: Wilson Valley lean-to

To: Cloud Pond lean-to
Miles today: 8.7

Woke about 5am a bit shivery. It was light out so I got my day started.Photos-beaver dam just north of lean-to, yes drank that water (filtered of course). Cloud Pond with tent. Barren Ledges-great view worth the rock scramble to get up there. Barren Mt. fire tower. Cloud Pond sunset.Starting to cloud when I arrived. Hope it doesn¢t rain.Drank more today and felt less fatigued. Long day tomorrow, need to pace myself.Fair amount of rock scrambling. Full shelter and tent sites, .4 mile off trail and packed! Sleeping with my food. No good trees and so many people, no one bear bagged that I could see. I love camping near a body of water, so peaceful.
Date: 2018-08-13
From: Cloud Pond lean-to

To: West Branch Pleasant River 
Miles today: 11.2

Slept will, woke about 4 at 1st light. Snuggled down and got up at 5ish. Out at 6:15 (new speed record) to hike the .4 mile to the AT.Fourth Mountain never ended! Not bouldering but big steps. Trail is really maintained, new cuts thru the woods where the old path is eroded. Nice and soft on the feet.Crazy bouldering coming down from Chairback. Butt slides and lots of hesitation and planning where to step/slide next. The trail was well blazed and easy to spot each time I had to plan my next 10 foot descent.Great views, tried and failed at a panorama shot. Need to practice before hitting the trail.Drank enough today. Even made a .4 mile out and back to a pond for water about 2 miles from my end point.Only once did gravity get a grip on my pack. I quickly grabbed a jutting rock and hoisted myself up.Ted met me at KI road and I slack packed to the river-nice. Camping here in the car camping monster tent. Ted was here last night.I attached the sleeping pad to my pack. Taking only 12 of Great Expectations-I am enjoying it-should have read it in junior high. Dropped the long sleeve shirt too and the yogurt FLAVORED (ugh) raisins. Ted will record me fording the West Branch of the Pleasant River. Pressure is on!So far no falls, just one lean on a tree and a few stumbles caught with my trekking poles. New pen, the old one I had to stop after ever line or two, undo it and blow the ink down.Fighter jet buzzed the mountain, scared me, reflexively ducked it sounded to close. Local fellow said they buzz his house in Monson. Thank goodness I wasn¢t concentrating on bouldering, I might have lost my grip. Moose! Ted had been saying that yesterday he was hoping for a moose since the campsite is near the river. We were chatting and I looked over and there was a full grown male moose! Took photos and we watched it as it watched us and ate. We moved closer to the river on a path behind the tent. Sure enough the moose started coming towards us. It had nodded its head prior to moving. We went back to the tent and watched as the moose went right by where we were. We were ready to hop in the car if he came out of the water. Very cool.Ted had all sorts of food for me-salad, fruit and sandwich fixings all very much appreciated and yummy.
Date: 2018-08-14
From: West Branch Pleasant River 

To: Sidney Tappan campsite
Miles today: 7.4

Sitting here in the tent because a) it¢s breezy and I wet with sweat so yes, a bit cold and b) occasional spits of rain. Here¢s hoping tomorrow is not raining. If it is I will have a very slow and cautious day.Videoed on cell phone me fording the river. Not too cold thank goodness. Fording was a fear of mine but it has been dry so the streams are low and slow moving. I now have another accomplishment under my belt!Easy walk except for the 1 mile up Gulf Hagas Mt. Just steep and easy footing, LOTS of stone steps. MATC has done a ton of work, newly cut trail, newish well leveled steps, new blazes and new large privies.There is no way I could do this without Ted¢s support-mostly emotional. He seems to have too much confidence in me. I bet he¢s looking at the Spot and wondering why I stopped! I¢m wiped out-hope I have more energy tomorrow. Whenever we have hiked and taken a zero I am worthless the next day. Too much time to dwell on the negatives and heavy with too much food, both in me and on my back!Controlled fall bringing 3+ liters of water up from the spring. Nothing hurt just feeling stupid.Tomorrow will be 3 steep ups, the last one 1 mile. And then of course are the downs which can be just as hard for me, large boulders and on the opposite end of the spectrum loose gravel that gives me fits. I try to be cognizant of nose over toes to keep my center of gravity where it belongs!
Date: 2018-08-15
From: Sidney Tappan campsite

To: East Branch Pleasant River lean-to 
Miles today: 9.0

Wow-made better time than I thought. Woke up with energy. Perched here at my tent site letting everything dry.White Cap Mt was a long 1 mil up. Took an few camera photos and tried to hustle myself across the open rocks. The sky was getting darker and no tress in sight. Timing is everything, showered just as I arrived and the Logan Brook lean-to.Work crew out at the lean-to (I keep wanting to call them shelters). Three employees and 3 volunteers. They were working on stone steps. Coming down White Cap there had to be over 100! One of the employees lives in the town next to mine! We¢ll look for each other on our nearby trails. Glad I decided not to push on yesterday, getting older and wiser, have nothing to prove to anyone!The rain lasted only about 30 minutes but enough to soak me then the drips and drops from the vegetation I brushed against. Watched my footing and went slowly. Thank goodness I was off the stone steps and just on rocks and roots. The steps were level, so I probably would have stayed upright.ABBAed my way up White Cap, Carly Simon just didn¢t have enough pep. Thank you, Gary and Jesse, for helping this dinosaur load music on my MP3.No view of Katahdin from the viewpoint as the clouds had rolled in. I¢ll see it soon enough.Guess I¢m glad I didn¢t know the weather forecast when I left. I hate hiking in the rain and on wet rocks and roots. But-I did it and didn¢t fall.I must reek, the files are circling me.
Date: 2018-08-16
From: East Branch Pleasant River lean-to 

To: Jo-Mary Road
Miles today: 11.8

What a great day. Ted met me at the 1st road crossing. He had super news, Carla, Adam, Gary and Jesse will be arriving Friday to summit Saturday with me! I couldn¢t have done the AT without all their help and support, especially Ted¢s.Sitting here at an established campsite on Johnson Pond at a picnic table digesting a huge dinner. It is difficult to imagine a rain soaked 18 mile hike tomorrow.Saw a spruce grouse. It popped out of the blueberry patch I was deberrying, spread its tail feathers and slowly moved off into the shrubs away from where it came.Today¢s walk was mostly a woods walk, the one up was Little Boardman with many false summits. I move faster even when I know it is not the true top of the mountain when I see daylight. Just getting to the next switchback is a victory. Tried breathing only thru my nose to adjust my pace so I don¢t wear myself out. Seemed to have worked. Three more days of backpacking then 1 slackpack then Katahdin. Section hikes within a section hike.Kahtahin-1st look at is was on the road into Baxter State Park. It was an OMG moment, it is HUGE. Ranger at the Information Center said he has climbed it about 15 times in the dark on rescues. He suggested coming down the Hamblin Trail if we have time as it adds at least an hour, better footing and views than what I had planned to come down the Saddle Trail. I don¢t like heights. Should be a mental and physical challenge.