morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-03
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

The rain started at 6am as I was getting up. That made getting up even harder. Everyone was having trouble getting started except Doc, he was up and ready to go at 6:15. But since no one else wanted to leave, he waited around to just before 8am to start out. I think some of the fellows may have been moving a little slow from all the beer they drank last night. It would appear they had a hang over.I hiked all day in the rain. It was never raining hard, just a steady sprinkle. I had thought about going the 23 miles into Port Clinton but with my late start it was getting too late for me make it. I was also cold and wet from the rain. At 2:30pm I decided to head to the nearest shelter and change into dry clothes and get in my sleeping bag. I made it to the shelter just a couple of minutes before four. I thought about pushing myself and making it into town, but with the rain I played it safe. I didn¢t want to risk a fall in the rain. After getting here I found that everyone else had pushed for town. I passed two Amish couples on the trail that showed up. They did not want to stay in the shelter and headed for the next town called Shartlesville. Senator showed up shortly after the Amish couple left. He took a zero day a couple days back so he was behind everyone. He said he passed Shades of Blue but did not think he would make it here due to blister problems. Almost an hour and a half has passed since Senator showed up and Shades of Blue has not shown up. I don't think he'll make it.I definitely have to resupply tomorrow. My food planning was correct as I have one Lipton meal left, a couple of candy bars, my jar of peanut butter & honey (nothing to put it on) and Lance crackers. The candy bars and crackers will get me to town. It¢s an eight mile hike. Hopefully I can resupply and still make the next shelter tomorrow night. Now if the rain will stop so things dry out.Yesterday when I passed the William Penn Shelter the distance to Katahdin was under a 1,000 miles. I'm getting there slowly but surely, one step at a time.It¢s early but with this rain it¢s a good time to call it a night and get a good night¢s sleep.Just as I finished my entries Shades of Blue showed up. He had a longer day then any of us. He just wants to eat and get in the sleeping bag like the rest of us.
Date: 2005-06-04
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Windors Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Everyone was split up today. Staying behind yesterday and having to resupply today will put me well behind the group I had been hiking with. I got a quick hitch into Hamburg and the fellow took me right to the store. I got my supplies and had to hike back to the turn for PA16. Not much luck getting out as I waited 45 minutes for a ride. The road went right by the AT so he dropped me off there and I made it to the shelter at 5:40pm. When I got here the shelter was full with a church group. The camp sites are spread out here. It¢s a large camping site, and popular with the locals. I saw a tent just down from the shelter that had some flat spots near it and asked if it was OK to camp there. Dan from the church group said sure and then invited me to have lasagna and peach cobbler with them. He was baking it all in two Dutch ovens. It turned out great and I had a large helping of the lasagna and three or four helpings of the cobbler. The group was made up of three adults with about eight kids. They had guitars and played around the fire afterwards. I think they were worried the kids would be kids and make too much noise. I told them I missed my kids and grandkids and it was nice to hear them being just kids and having fun.I talked to my cousin John and he is going to meet me on the 15th. I'm got to call him a couple of days before he leaves and let him know what town we can meet in. I told him I should be able to pick a town with a hostel and meet there. I'll know more next week where that should be.The rocks were slippery with the rain from yesterday and I took a fall again today. I hope we don't get any more rain, this section it is very hard to make your way through without slipping and falling. I'm just glad I have my hiking poles they have prevented many a fall.Again, the trail magic was great. A much better meal than I would have had. The only thing missing was the ice cream. I did have a pint while trying to hitch, so I'll just count that.I do have to admit something today. Kind of like when Wing It threw her pot down the mountain. I got one of my socks a little to close to the fire trying to dry them out and burned a hole in the toe. I¢ll attempt to sew the hole shut. The poison ivy was real bad the other day and it was impossible not to walk in some or brush against it on the trees. Some people broke out in it before reaching the first shelter that day. Knock on wood I have not broken out yet.
Date: 2005-06-05
From: Windors Furnace Shelter

To: Allenton Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

I had a breakfast of pancakes that the church invited me up for. They also gave me some fresh fruit to eat while hiking today!I was surprised how easy the hiking was again. I made it to the Eckville Shelter in under 4.5 hours for 9.1 miles. This shelter is maintained by some previous thru-hikers. They had cold Pepsi's and ice cream sandwiches. I had three Pepsi's and an ice cream sandwich along with my tuna sandwich and snacks. I was early enough that I took an hour and a half lunch. I needed to with the full load of food I¢m carrying in my pack. I got to the shelter but was surprised to see I couldn¢t sleep there. The shelter had just been painted. I ended up camping with two couples that come out each year and hike together. They figure they only have three more trips left and they will have completed PA. The best part was they offered me dinner. We has spaghetti, fruit salad, wine and some cookie of some kind. It tasted great and as usual we sat around the fire and talked. The women were the ones that liked to camp and got the husbands interested and coming along. The one couple¢s son had completed all but Maine on a thru-hike.They were saying that anything electronic doesn't work for them and their camera was not working. I took four pictures of the group and told them to send me their email address and I would send them the pictures.They were heading south and said I will have more of the long rock sections tomorrow. Time to turn in. I'll need my sleep to get an early start to get 16.8 miles done tomorrow.
Date: 2005-06-06
From: Allenton Hiking Club Shelter

To: Slatington Fine Lodge
Miles today: 17.4

I started hiking early and had a easy hike for a couple of miles. After that, the rocks started. It was some of the hardest and longest sections of hiking yet. In places I could not use the hiking poles but instead I would slide down places.In the distance I could hear thunder. I came to what ended up being the last section of rocks for the day. It ran under a power line with steel towers. I did make it across before the storm reached me. I thought I would be smart so I found a place to pitch the rain fly so I could stay dry. I got it up and had my gear under it just as it started to rain. I planned on waiting out the storm then start hiking again. Well, it continued to rain, and even got harder. The water started to run over the fly. Before it stopped, I was sitting in 4 inches of water with a lot of wet gear.Because of the wet gear I hitched into Slatington and got a room at the Fine Lodge. The only fine thing about it is the name. I have scored another dive worst then the last one. I don't know if I would have stayed here except I found Senator, Turtle and Street Fighter already here. That¢s another story.I talked to Senator and he mentioned he saw three people catching snakes on the trail. Not just snakes but poisonous ones. While he watched they caught a couple of rattlers, two copperheads, and a black snake. I knew that there were a lot of snakes here in the rocks and will continue to be extra careful going through them. I'm not in a hurry even though I want to get out of all the darn rocks as soon as I can. It¢s helped that its still cool and rainy, I don't think the snakes are real active yet.
Date: 2005-06-07
From: Slatington Fine Lodge

To: Leroy Smith Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Some times it doesn't seem worth it. I started the day out having taken a shower and did laundry for clean cloth. By the time I was 45 minutes out of I was soaked from sweat.I was dropped off to start my hike and crossed the Lehigh River and started hiking. When I got across the river I turned right and went for about a quarter of a mile towards a wooded section and entered the trail. It was wooded and soon leads to a climb with the usual PA rocks. It was all hand hold up the rocks. Sometimes I had to back track and try another route. The climb was over 1000 feet up and was much worse than yesterday. Once I got to the top I made good time. At the top was there was a zinc mine and the smoke from the smelt had settled at the top killing everything. It looked like a scene from the moon landing.The trail lead down the other side and the rocks started again. There were no big fields to cross only three or four shot ones. The whole trail was covered with rocks so all afternoon slow going. You were always watching the trail trying not to fall.I did not see the elusive rattlesnake but did see a garter snake eating a frog, and I have the picture.Street Fighter and Turtle were slack packing and said they would see me at the Leroy Smith Shelter. Senator said he was only hiking five miles then going into Palmerton where he was going to stay in the jailhouse hostel. The city allows hikers to stay in the old police station hence the name. If I had checked further in my guide and hitched left 2.4 miles I could have stayed there instead of the dive I went to. Oh well. I got to the shelter not expecting to see anyone. There was a section hiker there, as well as Fern Gazer. I was glad he was there since Turtle and Street Fighter have not showed up. We talked and he answered some questions about some of the different ferns I've been seeing. One is called the Hay Scented Fern and another was the Wooded Fern. He also said he had identified 25 different flowers within a mile of the Kirkridge Shelter. He had the harmonica with him, but it was put away for the night. He did play a couple of songs in the morning on the harmonica. The company was nice. It would have been a funny feeling being in a shelter alone.I'm thinking real seriously about hiking all the way to Delaware Water Gap tomorrow to get out of this state and all the darn rocks. I am looking forward to passing through my 7th state.
Date: 2005-06-08
From: Leroy Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: scattered clouds

I dislike this section of the trail so much that I said if I have to hike to midnight to get out of PA I would. When I got to Wind Gap it was one and a thrid miles to a restaurant so I decided to hitch in and get something to eat. I didn't get a ride and walked all the way in. I got a sandwich and coke and tried to hitch out. Again no luck, and I had to walk all the way back. This cost me about two hours. Once back on the trail the rocks were killing my feet. So I pushed hard towards Delaware Water Gap. I didn't get here until a little after eight. With the extra miles hiked into town it was a 23.1 mile day. When I got here I went to the Church of the Mountains where they have a hostel set up. It also has a hot shower which I took advantage of. I also caught up with Doc, Wing It and Bones. Bones was on the way out for a night hike, so it looks like he'll be ahead of me again. Street Fighter and Turtle are also here.I got done with the shower in time to make it to the restaurant just before the nine o'clock closing. It was a very nice place and I decided to treat myself to a nice meal. I had seared pork tenderloin with black cherry bordelaise sauce over mustard mashed potatoes, asparagus and a caesar salad. It was an excellent meal well worth the 22.00, but only as a celebration of being over half way along in my hike. Everyone was in the bar when I was done eating so I joined them there. Street Fighter is planning on some big miles again and said he may not see me again and he wanted me to remember him. He wanted to buy me a shot of Wild Turkey since they make it where he lives. He also got one for everyone else. I turned it down at first, then said what the heck and we toasted to a successful thru hike. I downed the shot. It did take two swallows but it was a fitting toast among trail friends.Tomorrow I'll cross the Delaware River which marks the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border. That will complete state number seven. After that it will be New Jersey-New York. In all it will be 160.9 miles to get through both states and should take about ten days depending on distance hiked, give or take a day.
Date: 2005-06-09
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

My last zero day was in Pearisburg over a month ago. I needed it after getting through Pennsylvania. In Bill Bryson book, "A Walk in The Woods", it is described as the place "where boots go to die." That also means your feet are not far behind. During the last ice age it experienced what geologists call a periglacial climate zone at the edge of an ice sheet. There were frequent freeze-thaw cycles that fractured the rocks. The result is mile upon mile of jagged, oddly angled slabs of stone strewn about in piles known as felsenmeer (literally "sea of rocks"). I know because I've walked on every jagged, odd angled, sharp rock in the state. I have the sore feet to prove it. The last four days my feet needed the zero day more then I did. The problem is the rocks don't know where the PA-NJ border is. I have it on good authority, Pastor Karen Nickels here at the church says that the rocks go on for another 40 miles. I guess that means three more days of suffering, sorry feet.The church put on a supper and the members and hikers were invited. The church only asks for a $10.00 donation for each day stayed in the hostel, today the dinner was included.I made it into Stroudsburg, and mailed a CD home with the last 175 pictures from my last memory card. My son should start getting them posted before too long once he gets it. He has been real good about keeping the journal updated with entries and pictures. Thanks Stephen. (Editors note: I am billing my father at the end of his hike. $2.00 per entry and .25 cents per photo). On another note, I have now broken out with poison ivy on my feet and legs. A couple of others have also broken out so now five of us have it. We have nine hikers here tonight including Senator. He caught up with me, but like everyone getting here today he is taking a zero tomorrow. Wing It, Doc and I are planning on 17.5 tomorrow. There are no shelters for the next 31.5 miles. The weather forecast calls for afternoon showers everyday. More wet clothes and gear for awhile.
Date: 2005-06-10
From: Zero Day

To: Blue Mountain Lake Road
Miles today: 17.6

Back on the trail after a zero day. The rocks seemed easier than in the proceeding state. By afternoon it cleared up some and the hiking was not too bad. I hiked down to the YMCA camp with Wing It. The guide book said you could usually get a meal from the kitchen and they had a shelter for thru-hikers. That was all it took, even with the 1 mile walk down it was going to be worth it. The guide book said it was open in May. I'm sure you've guessed by now it was not open. They are expecting the first group tomorrow. There were some nice views at one point and I took a couple of pictures. I stopped at the Sunfish Pond which is the first Glacial Pond we'll see. It was listed as one of the seven wonders of NJ (Editors note: I really am interested in what the other six ¢Wonders of New Jersey¢ are). I also stopped at the Mohican Outdoor Center to get a coke and eat lunch. Street Fighter, Turtle, Wing It and I got there together, Doc was already there. He jokingly said there had been trail magic but he had eaten it. That was not true. There had been a cookout the night before and they left the extra hamburgers and hot dogs in the fridge for hikers. I had three cokes and three burgers. They even let us heat them with the microwave.There weather is still crummy and I got rained on three different times today. I didn't bother to put on rain gear because everything was still wet from two days ago. It¢s warm enough that I didn't feel I needed the rain gear, and it wasn't raining real hard.I finally saw a rattlesnake. Everyone had gotten ahead of me and as I walked up the trail I saw them all sitting on the ground looking at something on the side of the trail. They told me to be real quite and move slowly to where they were and I could see the snake eat a chipmunk.Street Fighter was the first one there and had seen the chipmunk run across the trail dragging its hind legs. He wasn't sure what had happened but as he watched the rattler crossed the trail looking for its prey. The chipmunk had stopped right next to the trail and laid there dying. It took about two hours for the chipmunk to die before the snake would eat it. It was amazing to see the whole thing undisturbed, in nature, as it happened. I did get some real close up shots.The shelter here at the camp is right next to the pond. It made for a great view during dinner. Street Fighter and Turtle went swimming. Doc also took a quick dip. What was a nice view earlier is now nothing but frogs croaking. It sounds like there are hundreds of them. I have never used my earplugs I brought but I may use them tonight. The shelter I'm staying in has three section hikers in it tonight. All in all, it was another interesting day on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-11
From: Blue Mountain Lake Road

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Too many rocks, too hot, too humid, and too many bugs. Not to mention my clothes are still wet. The only good news was I did not fall today. I did go into Culvers Gap and had lunch at the Sunset Grill then hitched another ride to the Dairy Queen for a shake. I also had my first tick bite. I would tent to keep the bugs off, but there are no good spots to pitch it and it is supposed to rain. It was not a good day. I guess you have to have those to.
Date: 2005-06-12
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: Murray Property
Miles today: 18.3

There was some improvement today with the rocks. There were actual places that you were stepping on the trail and not rocks. It was also a better day in that I got back to my usual mileage and there was trail magic on top of that.The biggest complain about New Jersey has been lack of water. But what they lack in water they make up for with bugs and ticks. Some of the water sources are a half mile from the shelters and the shelters are up to a half mile from the trail. There are also shelters without any water. With the hot weather, I need to be sure to carry enough water for the day. I went through four liters just for drinking water plus what I use cooking.The shelter I am at tonight is an exception to this. This is a shelter where thru-hiker Jim Murray made a "secret shelter" just for thru-hikers. It has a hot shower and water available from a well. The shelter is very nice with a big field for camping. Doc, Wing It, Street Fighter, Turtle, and myself are tenting due to the bugs. I started to think there were no bugs since I was not bothered by them all through dinner. Once dusk came it was a different story. The mosquitoes came out in droves. I have one in the tent that keeps buzzing and it is driving me crazy. I can not get it to land so I can kill it. There are so many that I hear them outside the tent and can see them on the tent.I did not have any tick bites today but did pull four off of me. Everyone else was doing the same. It¢s bad enough that I'm losing weight, and now the mosquitoes are trying to suck all my blood from me. My tent has a bug screen to keep them out so maybe I'll survive the night.Earlier in the day, five of us went to the High Point State Park to get water. There was a concession stand a mile away and were discussing who should go and try and get a ride and what to get. Just as I was ready to get up and try for a ride a car pulled up and asked if we were thru-hikers. I said yes and the lady on the passenger side asked if we would like some drinks and snacks. I said yes and before she could get out and back to the tailgate I was standing there. She said she never saw anyone move so fast for trail magic. Everyone else was right behind me. They had Gatorade, fresh fruit, snacks, ice, and cold water. They had been waiting at a road crossing but no one was coming by. The fellow knew where to look since he lives in this area, he was sure right as he found five of us. Everyone needed the Gatorade especially since it was so hot outside.Oh, yes you can change or get your trail name changed after you start you hike. The Carolina Brother are two brothers hiking together, Mike and Shawn. They were also the ones that the girl was hiking with that got lost. As a result they have new names. Shawn is now Search and Mike is now Rescue, or better known as ¢Search & Rescue".The bugs are driving me batty so it¢s lights off. Just a quick note: I never did get that mosquito last night. When I got up this morning it sucked so much blood out of me it was laying on the tent floor as big as a quarter. I was the last thing he saw, revenge is sweet.
Date: 2005-06-13
From: Murray Property

To: Veron Church Hostel
Miles today: 14.6

The day was long and hot. I got an early start and it helped. I had a liter of water before I started and continued drinking water and Gatorade all day. I know that it was my running experience that allowed me to get through the day without a problem. Today was all about a slow and steady pace. Everyone was definitely feeling it and more then one person was feeling the effects of dehydration. I've tried to let them know they have to slow down in heat like this and drink and drink more. Some are talking about taking a zero day and going to a water park.The rocks are letting up but I did have a couple sections of swamp that I walked through on boards. One section was about two miles long. It was also right in the early afternoon without any shade. It felt more like an ultra run than a hike. I was just glad I didn't have to run any of it.I picked up my mail drop in Unionville and there was a picture sent from my three year old grandson. He also surprised my brother Ted back home. When my brother asked where grandpa was he answered ¢hiking.¢ There are eight of us staying at a very nice church hostel. Doc, Bones, Search, Rescue, Wing It, Turtle, and Street Fighter are all here. We are all back together but separating again the next day.