morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-07
From: rocky Run Shelters

To: Michener Cabin
Miles today: 16.2

Today was bright, sunny, warm but not too hot, a perfect hiking day, but somehow I couldn't get in to it 100%. Not sure why.Short Bus was waiting forlornly by the road to Fayetville when I passed that way. He's getting off the trail due to a very painful toe problem. There's no point putting yourself through agony to hike, you musn't lose sight of the fact it's supposed to be fun. Conversely, Slainte believes Short Bus has brought shame upon the entire Mahoney clan and is a disgrace to Florida.I am not sure if I like the person that the new 'developed' northern trail has made me. Today I walked around the amenities of the Caledonia State Park wondering if the snack bar was open (it wasn't) and trying to locate a soda machine (I couldn't). For the most part, the trail in the South never offered these opportunities and I was much better for it, especially my teeth. Tomorrow is the official half way point of the AT and day of the traditional 'half gallon challenge', when the noble thruhiker marks the milestone by attempting to demolish a half gallon of ice cream in record time. This all takes place at the Pine Grove Furnace State Park and is not a custom I intend to miss out on.I have never eaten a much ice cream in my life as on this trip, I may have mentioned before that I am now almost all the way through the entire Ben and Jerrys range. But I'm growing tired of the sticky stuff and tomorrow may well represent a high water mark, an apotheosis of ice cream, a zenith of glace, before a dignified departure from the sickly delights of that particular confection. Honestly, before this trip I hardly ever touched the stuff.
Date: 2004-06-08
From: Michener Cabin

To: Rough Camping
Miles today: 18.2

I am now a proud member of the Half Gallon Club having successfully completed the challenge. Yes, I consumed a half gallon of ice cream in 43 minutes. I'm quite pleased because all they had left was chocolate and that's not my best flavour, I was jonesing for Moose Tracks. I was sure to get my memorial spoon, which looks suspiciously like the regular, freebie spoon but with 'half gallon club' stamped on it.I met 2 British hikers whilst engaged in the challenge, Reider and ********* They left Springer in early April and have finally overtaken me here, they're doing same fairly big miles. They're from Cambridge, which I know well as it's not far from my hometown of Saffron Walden. They seemed like nice guys and I realised that I hadn't met other Brits since Wandering Nun, almost 1 month ago.After the ice cream hell we had a swim in the lake and generally hung out at Pine Grove Furnace State Park for a while. The lake had been landscaped with yellow sand and was surrounded by young families. The water was cold but a swim felt good, there was a chilled out vibe amongst the hikers. It took a while to get going again.Not long after leaving the park I hit the marker signalling the official half way point of the AT. In my mind, however, Harpers Ferry held that distinction.I'm camping alone tonight in some hard to locate spot.
Date: 2004-06-09
From: Rough Camping

To: Boiling Springs
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I thought I'd run to ground my first rattlesnake today, but it turned out not to be. It was on the rocky section known as Center Point Knob and swiftly disappeared under a slab of rock. I'd missed the photo op, so Slainte, Joe and I set about trying to flush it out the other side of the rocks with the aid of some encouraging words and gentle pokes of the hiking pole. Eventually, it made a brief appearance into the light but I was too slow witht the camera. It was beautifully coloured, quite a stumpy snake with an angled head and no rattle. It looked very viperlike to me.Today has been a real scorcher but pathetic for miles. However, Boiling Springs was too nice a town to rush. It had the look of a picturesque English village with lots of neat gardens and flower beds, all arranged around an impressively clear lake. It had an upmarket look of prosperity that has mostly been lacking from the trail towns. Not long after arrival, I went to the pub with Slainte and Jo and had 3 good local beers, which rather did for any thoughts of afternoon hiking. It was a well preserved old bar only spoiled slightly by the right wing bartender.Later, we made a visit to Aniles, an Italian place, now my No 1 Italian place on the trail. I left with a seriously distended lower intestine. We camped on the lawn of the Garmanhaus B&B for only a buck, you can't say fairer than that. A well manicured lawn for a really hot night.
Date: 2004-06-10
From: Boiling Springs

To: Cove Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: broken clouds

It was weird this morning waking up on someone's lawn. As there were no bathroom facilities provided it didn't take me long to decamp to the Lake View Cafe for a breakfast bagel and weak coffee. I hit the trail about 9.45.I walked through the Cumberland Valley today which, at 14 miles, was the longest flat stretch so far, through typical Pennsylvania farm country. It is only in the last couple of days the trail has crossed arable land rather than pasture, which was the case in Virginia, on the very rare occasions we ventured near a farm.It was the kind of rural scene where I expected to come across the Amish riding along in a 'buggy'. I believe this is the neck of the woods where they hang out. I didn't see any Amish, but yesterday we had a brief conversation with a girl one of my companions described as a 'hot Mennonite chick'. Apparently, the Mennonites are Amish Lite.There was a PA snake identification chart at the ATC crew centre we stopped at for lunch. I realised the snake we spotted yesterday was a Northern Copperhead, a venemous species. That's great, but I still really want to see that rattler.The heavens opened in the afternoon and I got a soaking. Annoyingly, I got to Darlington Shelter just a little too late to avoid the first one. At that shelter, some asshole had set up his tent lengthways across the shelter at 2.00 PM, something I haven't seen before. There was barely enough room for 4 people to sit out front.A big mileage day and well on track for the 100 mile challenge.I arrived, very soggy, at this shelter, only Slainte and Joe were here. It's a nice shelter and I decided to sleep in rather than tent. A wise choice, it's pissing down as I write.
Date: 2004-06-11
From: Cove Mountain Shelter

To: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, Pennsylvania, 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

I'm pretty glad it rained all night and day, or I wouldn't have had the psychological ammunition to call a nero, then I would have missed out on the chance to stay at the Doyle Hotel, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip.Yes, it rained and rained and rained, the only sensible thing to do was call a halt to the day at 4 miles and spent the rest of the day getting wasted on Troags, a good PA brew, in the venerable bar.And what a bar! Not only did it serve great beer, was populated by an unlikely selection of alcoholic locals and hikers even early in the afternoon, but it boasted a kicking juke box chokka with classic, 80s, British heavy metal and you really can't ask for more than that.Except that Vicky, the friendly owner also let me begin the long process of uploading photos to this site, something I have been failing at for weeks now. It was a cable connection, so much faster than my last attempt.And if you go back to the early days of this hike you can see for yourself.
Date: 2004-06-12
From: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, Pennsylvania, 

To: Shikelimmy Lookout
Miles today: 14.0

God! I felt so rough this morning, I haven't had a hangover that bad on the entire trip. In fact, I don't even remember the last time I felt so at one with the unholy joys of post-alcoholic torture. Death would have been a fine release.I missed breakfast at the hotel, wanted lunch there, but the beery atmosphere was proving too much for my delicate constitution, so I went elsewhere rather than watch in subdued silence as the desperate bunch of locals swilled their filthy brew.I was seriously considering a recovery zero day, but it was perfect blue sky hiking weather and the cable connection for the Doyle PC was down, so no more photo uploading to provide additional justification. I left town at around 2.00 PM. I saw another Copperhead today, this time I got a pic. They certainly are beautiful snakes, their skins appearing burnished in the sunlight, almost like baby pythons. This one was as placid as the first, very reluctant to strike.
Date: 2004-06-13
From: Shikelimmy Lookout

To: William Penn Shelter
Miles today: 28.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Why did I walk so far? I didn't plan to but: I wanted to go on at 15 miles when the other guys wanted to stay.   I am slightly worried I am cutting Katahdin fine with my 6 month visa up for expiry on September 12th. I should really be getting a few miles under my belt now, whilst the going is relatively flat rather than in the big mountain country of New Hampshire and Maine.I've been joking around for days with the 100 mile/5 day challenge idea and starting to get some stick from my companions for not getting going on it. I feel that I need to challenge myself more. I seem to have sleepwalked through Maryland and PA, without a clear idea of which towns I'm aiming for or how much ground I've covered. The 'middle bit' of the AT seems spread over about 200 miles and the overall effect has been to remind me how far I've walked and to dispirit me over how many miles are yet to come.So a record breaking day. I night hiked the last hour or so along a windy, rocky ridge, the eyes of deer glowing spookily in the trees. I don't think I'll do it again.
Date: 2004-06-14
From: William Penn Shelter

To: Black Swatara Spring
Miles today: 14.7

A quiet day. It's not fair to categorise PA as a busy, crowded state full of road/farm crossings, rocks and a single, lowly chain of mountains teetering on the edge of expiry, though some of it answers to that description. I have seen nobody today except Ronnie, a thruhiker who keeps a low profile and a couple of day hikers near PA 501. The highways have largely been out of earshot and there have been fine views to the opposing ridgelines, yes, the failing, spluttering Appalachians have been replaced by something a little more spectacular, if not exactly too taxing or lofty.Those rocks you hear about are all around and they can be a chore, but the non-rocky sections are more common, these are pretty flat and fast going. The rock-moaners don't tell you that. I've barely experienced an incline all day.
Date: 2004-06-15
From: Black Swatara Spring

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I eventually arrived in Port Clinton at around 3.30 PM. There was a steep descent in to town and the weather, which had been overcast and muggy on top of the mountain, suddenly felt explosively hot.I hadn't realised 'til late that the trail passes right through the little town and had never anticipated any sort of stay there, but I knew there was an outfitter so I wanted to check that out and stock up on denatured and Aqua Mira. Did they have any in stock? No, they did not, but a nice guy called Barry offered to give me a ride to Cabelas, the new, massive, huntin', shootin' and fishin' outfitters that I had read about and wanted to see.What can I say? Cabelas was one of the biggest stores I've ever visited. It contained: a mini-mountain populated by stuffed representatives of the full range of N. American wildlife, we're talking chipmunks to Moose; a shooting gallery; pre-assembled log cabins (my favourites, it was as much as much as I could do to resist snapping one up and shipping it back to England); enough guns and ammo to take Iraq; an AYCE buffet (Mexican on Tues, you bet I did); fudge; bear heads. Hell, it even had a stuffed African Elephant and a pride of lions - I don't know why.But did it sell Aqua Mira and denatured alcohol?Did it f***!I had to strap on the head lamp and night hike to get here by 9.45 PM. It began to rain, hard, with about 2 miles to go, so I arrived soaked, expecting to disturb sleepers, but there was nobody home. Just me tonight.This trail becomes more like the Bibbulmun Track every day.
Date: 2004-06-16
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: New Tripoli Campsite
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: broken clouds

A hot, sticky, smelly day. Things must be coming to a fine pass when I'm offensive to myself, but that seems to be the case. All afternoon I've been pursued by flies landing on my sweat soaked hair and bugged by those tiny flies that just want to land in your eye. My T-shirt could practically hike on its own. There's a poison ivy/oak rash slowly working its way up my arm. I got in to camp late, so there was no time to have a wash down as I'd planned.I'm adjusting to the new reality of hiking alone since I left Slainte, Meerkat and Medium Pace (Joe) on Sunday. I have been alone in my campsites and shelters since then; prior to that 4 is nearer the total number of nights spent camping alone. I haven't even seen a 'true' thruhiker in a couple of days. I had underestimated the degree that I'd come to depend on familiar companionship. Sometimes it became a bit like Carry On Up the AT, in the early days when there was a travelling circus, but it was fun.The situation now is much closer to the one I'd envisaged before I began. My previous hikes have pretty much always been solitary affairs and this one feels that way now. Things change. There is also the fact I'm taking a week off in NYC soon and I would lose contact with the guys anyway. In some respects, it's better to get ahead now, so that I stand a chance of meeting up with Selma or Slainte on my return.
Date: 2004-06-17
From: New Tripoli Campsite

To: Little Gap, PA
Miles today: 16.8

Well, my personal challenge to walk 100 miles in 5 days for the first time (I believe) has been completed, but only just: 101.3 was the grand total at sunset tonight. I'm always the first person to assert it's not all about the miles but I needed to do something to pick up the pace, restart and refocus myself. I had felt I was sleepwalking through this state, now I feel I burned through it, 229.4 miles. I think I was experiencing some kind of mid-hike blues and picking up the pace was an act of defiance in the face of that. I was also in danger of letting things slide on the visa vs Katahdin front, bearing in mind they kick my ass out of this country on September 12th. I was having visions of having to charter a helicopter from the summit of Katahdin to Boston Airport to make it.   Today was weird. There were some treacherous, slow, ankle wrenching boulder fields interspersed with long, flat, fast ridges - just another day in PA really. The morning and afternoon was hot and humid and the rocky terrain looked like great rattlesnake country, but no rattlers for me. It seems the folk with a mortal dread of them see them all over and idiots like me who check out the sunny spots and poke under logs go empty-handed. Is there no justice?A storm threatened to break as I came upon George W Outerbridge Shelter, which is less than a mile from the road to Palmerton and Slatington. I hoped to dodge the spots but ended up soaked hitching by the side of the highway. I chose to the latter town to use the library but my mood was not improved to find it closed thursdays but the Palmerton library open. Whilst I was hanging around wondering what to do on the balcony of 'Fine Lodging' a guy offered me a ride to Palmerton. This kind of thing happens all the time in the USA and yet is rare as thruhiker deoderant in England.The guy turned out to be friendly and knowledgeable but with a worrying liking for the works of holocaust revisionist historian David Irving. It's amazing the subjects tha come up when yer blagging rides.I had an enormous pizza at Joes Place in Palmerton. It was so big I ended up packing a third out for late night snacking and tomorrow's breakfast.Oh my God did it storm on my walk back to the trail. Thunder, lightning, rain and a brief burst of wind so strong I was almost blown in to the highway. What did I do? Well, I decided to walk beside the railway line which seemed a lot safer, though I'm sure it's against 6 federal statutes and probably carries the death penalty in some states. For 15 scary minutes I was stuck under the (iron) road bridge, the only dry place, while lightning flashed close by. When I climbed back on the road it was still storming so I went and hid in a bus shelter only to find that was metal too. I was starting to think, what with me clutching my titanium poles and all, it was my day to fry, but it subsided and I made the crazy scramble up the slick, zinc denuded rocks of Lehigh Gap without incident.
Date: 2004-06-18
From: Little Gap, PA

To: Wolf Rocks PA
Miles today: 22.4

A long, hot hike today. Not steep, but depressingly rocky in places, both the great rock-hopping boulder fields and the small pointy ones you have to concentrate on all the time or they trip you, they seemed to go on and on. I read in a register today that it's not true the maintainers sharpen the little ones every day as thought - it's only once a month. This stretch is pretty dry and I was foolish enough to forget to fill up in Palmerton yesterday. This morning I was reduced to dipping in puddles to make coffee, mmmmh! By the time I arrived at Leroy Smith shelter I was parched, and the spring is .5 off the trail there....I met a thruhiker called Ludicrous at the shelter, he's doing 30 miles today. Apart from him and Slick who I met in town yesterday, I have not seen another thruhiker for about 3 days and few hikers at all. They're out there, but I'm in an isolation bubble. That's a new AT word I just made up - good isn't it?The final stretch today, Wind Gap to Wolf Rock was one of the wildest parts of PA through low, close forest that teemed with deer but felt oddly claustraphobic and forbidding. The registers report many bear sightings but not for me.I pushed it late and found a scrappy, trashy spot. It got dark rapidly and my efforts to hang a bear line, which are normally OK, kept going horribly wrong. I weight the rope with my mug which spent a long while trapped up the tree this evening. Then my lighter gave up and my useless matches failed to strike. I ended up eating luke warm TVP with brown, not quite dissolved, gravy. Lovely! Then I pulled off a couple of ticks, the first for a while. Despite being nowhere near water, there were a lot of mosquitoes that soon drove me in to the tent. Yet again, I stink.I will be really glad to get the 8.8 miles over with tomorrow and procure a room in Delaware Water Gap or the town nearby, which looks a better bet. A nero of bed, showers, baths, beers (beers in the bath is good), awful TV and masses and masses of food, preferably ordered in so I can stay in the bath or bed and don't have to walk a damn foot anywhere.
Date: 2004-06-19
From: Wolf Rocks PA

To: Delaware Water Gap - Stroudsburg
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

I was on the trail by 8.30, practically unheard of but I needed that nero.It didn't take long to reach the Delaware Water Gap, the trail was flat but rocky to the last. There were a few good views as the Delaware River emerged in to view and the trail descended towards the New Jersey border but, after 230 miles, my over-riding feeling was one of relief to be shot of Pennsylvania. I wouldn't join wholeheartedly with the greek chorus of disaproval for this state that emerges from comments in the registers. It's not bad, the long section south of Port Clinton is really not that rocky. That last stretch was a bitch however....The Delaware Water Gap was not what I thought, I had expected the Troutville Interchange but got Harpers Ferry with Bakeries. The outfitters wasn't much but they did have denatured alcohol at vodka prices. I hitched to Stroudsburg with a guy who appeared to be a drunk Michael Moore lookalike and checked into the Days Inn. I had a date with a bed.   And a TV.
Date: 2004-06-21
From: Delaware Water Gap - Stroudsburg

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I took another day off in Stroudsburg. I got my photos put on to disc and then spent all day uploading them on to this site. I went to one of those computer game playing stores kids use and they had some powerful machines.So now there are over 100 pics to take a look at. Of course, I was looking for an excuse to bunk off the trail too.
Date: 2004-06-22
From: Delaware Water Gap - Stroudsburg

To: Mohican Outdoors Center, New Jersey
Miles today: 10.3

I opened the curtains at the hotel this morning to find rain streaming through the streets, the sky gray and overcast. And yet I had to leave Stroudsburg or I may as well have bought property and died there.I walked back to the Delaware Water Gap. It wasn't too far away, took less than an hour and I just didn't feel lucky to hitch. Nothing was open at DWP so I crossed the river in to New Jersey and threaded my way through some noisy higheways before disappearing in to the woods again after those little white marks.I saw a big black rat snake today, only my second. I got a photo just as it was disappearing under a rock.I went in to the Mohican Outdoor Centre and who should be there but my old muckers Stumblebum, Slainte and Medium Pace. Well, if you're going to take 3 days off it's gonna happen. The fact that I was 2 days ahead of them 'til recently and have only done 18 miles since saturday seemed to cause no end of hilarity. I expect they were just pleased to see me.The Centre turned out to have a nice hostel attached though I decided to tent for free and save myself 12 bucks. I still got to sit up late and enjoy the facilities: smokey jazz and low lights, it was kinda nice.
Date: 2004-06-23
From: Mohican Outdoors Center, New Jersey

To: Brink Rd. Shelter, NJ
Miles today: 14.3

After spending so much time alone of late it felt different to leave the Mohican Outdoor Center with a big posse of people, aswell as rediscovering Stumblebum, Slainte and Medium Pace, I also seem to have collected Gene and Eileen, who are doing a long section and Master Pain (but you can call me Betty). In addition, No Dog and No Beard were camping last night, I haven't seen them since Waynesboro, VA.It was a hot day, not too humid and good for hiking. New Jersey has surprised me by becoming very wild looking very quickly, from the viewpoints the forest seems to stretch for miles and you can't hear the traffic, but the trail is still very rocky underfoot. I had hoped to be done with that after PA, but I suppose geology cannot be expected to respect state borders.I've felt a little down today, the time I spent in town was enjoyable and made me contemplate that life need not soley be about trudging through trees for 6 months of the year. I remember, ages ago, getting a ride in to Franklin with Woods, a thruhiker from last year who told me NJ/NY were the toughest sections for him mentally. Noone really talks about this stretch; it's not very long, but needs to be done. I hope I'm not getting bored. I always said that would be the fatal thing for me.