morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-06-19
From: Free State Hostel, MD

To: Deer Lick Shelter 
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: haze

We made it into PA today. Now that we crossed the Mason-Dixon line, the trail is called the Appa-laa-tion trail vs. the Appa-latch-ion trail!It was in the 90's today with a heat index over 100. We were soaked in sweat. Fortunately, after a few hours we hit a park with a soda machine. There were about 10 thru hikers hanging out in the park. With popcicles at 25 cents each from the concession stand, we bought a round.We booked from the park when we heard the foreast for severe thunderstorms. Fortunately, we got almost nothing but thunder early. There may be more on the way.The shelter is packed with everyone trying to duck the rain tonight. The good news is that it has cooled off.
Date: 2007-06-20
From: Deer Lick Shelter 

To: Caledonia State Park
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: scattered clouds

...continuing from our last entry. The good news is we never did get hit with a dangerous storm but we had a very sleepless night in a shelter with someone who snored so badly the shelter almost shook.We had a very hike to Caledonia State Park. We arrived at the park around 3:00 and went directly to the concession stand for a snack. We hung-out with the other hikers for a while and then went for a swim in the pool. Pearls' knee is still not 100% so we didn't swim as much as we usually would. It was also a little chilly.We shared a camp-site at the state park with Spirit. Spirit hiked from Springer to Waynesboro in 2005. She had to stop in Waynesboro because she developed a slipped disk after a pretty serious fall. She's started again in Waynesboro a few weeks ago and is doing great. We're having fun hiking with other NOBO's and seeing some of the same hikers for at least a few days - especially, Pumpkin, the hiking wonder-dog!
Date: 2007-06-21
From: Caledonia State Park

To: Toms Run Shelters
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: broken clouds

We passed the loviest shelter a few miles from the campground this morning. The shelter was immaculately maintained complete with flower pots and games for the hikers. The PA/PA Duetch influence is clear already. We spent some time chatting with an older couple who monitors the bird breeding/nesting activity in the area. Pearls has met a few older folks recently who have reminded her of her grandfather who passed-away a few years ago. He would have enjoyed following us on our hike - though I'm sure he'd be telling the rest of the family that he thought we were nuts.We had another easy day of hiking but were rushing at the end because thunderstorms SEEMED imminent again. We shared a shelter with Spirit again. We had an early dinner of refried beans and rice on tortillas because we were trying to beat the rain. We both woke during the night hungry and longing for the good food that we be able to have all weekend.
Date: 2007-06-22
From: Toms Run Shelters

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: scattered clouds

We slept in late this morning because we only had to hike 3.7 miles! The hiking was very easy but slow because we kept stopping to pick and eat berries on the way - YUM!We passed the official half-way point - freaky!We arrived in Pine Grove Furnance at around 11:00 and immediately had egg sandwiches, coffee, OJ and danish...and then french fries at the general store. We later had ice cream while we hang-out with Spirit near the lake. It was a little chilly again, so we never got motivated enough to go for a swim.We went back to the store that is famous for the "half gallon challenge" in which hikers try to eat a half gallon of ice cream as fast as they can to earn the distintion of being the fastest and to celebrate the half-way point on the trail. Our friend Chuck picked us up around 6:00 and we headed into Gettysburg. Our hotel is very lovely! Gettysbury must be a hoppin' place because we had a hard time getting a reservation at all for Friday and Saturday night so we're REALLY enjoying our high-class digs.
Date: 2007-06-23
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Gettysburg
Miles today: 0.0

We had a great breakfast with our friend Chuck in a garden behind one of the historic buildings which is now a coffee house. We then toured the Gettysburg battlefield and saw a pretty lame-o Gettyburg film at the theatre next to our hotel. We got a few of our "town chores" done and then went to dinner at Farnsworth. Farnsworth is historic a restaurant and B&B that we had dinner at during a tandem rally several years ago. It was our primary motivation for coming to G-Burg.It is so much fun to be with our friend Chuck. As much as we enjoy meeting new people, seeing our "old" friends is a real treat. Chuck was also great in driving us around, taking us to the store, taking care of our mail, etc.
Date: 2007-06-24
From: Gettysburg

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter 
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We started the day with great breakfast from Perkins and headed back to the trail. Chuck joined us for the first mile where we saw the official midpoint marker of the A.T. (since the trail length changes every year, its not really the midpoint ).Bonnie got her new boots, so the break in process has begun. They seem good so far. The rock climb at the end of the hike today was a good test for them.
Date: 2007-06-25
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter 

To: Darlington Shelter, PA 
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: broken clouds

We finished the Blue Ridge Mountains today and made our 18 mile trek across the meadows and farms of PA to the next set of mountains. We crosed under the PA Turnpike and Rt 81. The great thing about the low elevations is all the berries -- we gorged on black caps (a.k.a. black rasberries) all day. We also made a stop in Boiling Springs which is a beautiful little town. We had a great "second breakfast" at the local coffee shop.Water is a ittle scarce in PA. Some of the springs are dry so we end up carrying a lot or going farther than we plan.Our lovely campsite was under the approach for Harrisburg Airport. It's a good thing we like airplanes!
Date: 2007-06-26
From: Darlington Shelter, PA 

To: Clarks Ferry Shelter 
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: scattered clouds

What a day!- It was incredibly hot -- the bank sign read 99 degees in Duncannon.- The forest had little cover because of the gypsy moths.- The moths were so thick that we had to hike with our mouths closed.- The gnats were all over and they are now joined by mosquitoes.- The famous PA rocks have started.- The rattlesnakes are getting more plentiful.On the good side, we had great Italian hoagies in Duncanon. And we "somehow" got a bottle of wine in town which we cooled in the spring at the top of the mountain. We ended the day with a lovely cool glass of chardonay (Bonnie's sister rocks)!Bonnie went to go to the bathroom around 11:00 and almost stepped on a little rattlesnake. Fortunately he warned her with a little rattle. I looked out the tent and saw 4 male hikers in their underwear and Bonnie looking at the snake!
Date: 2007-06-27
From: Clarks Ferry Shelter 

To: Shikellimy Trail, PA 
Miles today: 11.0

It was doughnut day!We've been hiking and camping with 3 great guys from the Harrisburg area - Mangrove, Dash and J-Beard and they have relatives that keep meeting them with food. They've been great about sharing their supply of doughnuts with us!Yesterday drove one kid we met to quit. He was doing unbelievable miles. You have to take time to enjoy it out here!We camped at a beautiful site with a great spring. We poured a lot of cool water on our heads at the end of the day.
Date: 2007-06-28
From: Shikellimy Trail, PA 

To: Swatara Gap, PA
Miles today: 18.4

It was a bit like hiking in a war zone today. They must be having some major exercises going on at Ft. Indiantown Gap., so we listened to explosions, machine guns, and had huge CH-47 helicopters flying just overhead. It was cool to see some of the equipment I use to help make in use!It was a little cooler today and we both felt good. The terran was fairly easy for PA.
Date: 2007-06-29
From: Swatara Gap, PA

To: Pine Grove, PA 
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We hit he land of shoo fly pie, tasty cakes, and splits pretzles!Pine Grove is a nice little town and we got our major chores out of the way after hiking so we can relax tomorrow. We managed to hitch a ride from the trail to town in about 3 cars and a very nice woman at the laundramat gave us a ride to the hotel. We continue to be amazed at the kindness of strangers.
Date: 2007-06-30
From: Pine Grove, PA 

To: Pine Grove, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

With our town chores out of the way yesterday, we were able to relax today. We enjoyed the hotel indoor pool, had a nice lunch at Arby¢s (Bonnie¢s favorite fast food, but they really need to bring back the pickles), and watched Forrest Gump on TV. Now there¢s a guy that did some walking!It felt great to have a day with nothing pressing. It was also nice to have our ¢Pennsylvania Snacks¢ to munch on all day.
Date: 2007-07-01
From: Pine Grove, PA

To: Eagles Nest Shelter, PA
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We got a ride back to the trail from a lovely trail angel from Pine Grove. She runs a hostel in town, but unfortunately breeds dogs. Having worked in animal rescue for a year and knowing about the millions of dogs that are killed every year because they don¢t have homes, we have a tough time justifying people that intentionally bring more into the world.Our faith in people was restored when we met a lovely couple on the trail with an incredibly sweet pit bull named Pandora that they saved from a shelter. The bad reputation this breed has is so misplaced. If you don¢t train them to be nasty dogs, they are incredible pets. Pandora was the sweetest dog you¢d ever want to meet.The highlight of our day was meeting my brother Sam and his wife Linda at a road crossing. It was so great to see them. They drove us to Shartlesville to Haag¢s Hotel where we had an awesome PA Dutch lunch. The meal included about 20 different dishes, from peppered cabbage and potato filling to shoo fly pie. We left stuffed and had a great time!The hiking was pretty easy all day with minimal elevation changes and only a few of the famous PA rocky sections.
Date: 2007-07-02
From: Eagles Nest Shelter, PA

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

For one of the few times on the trail, we actually slept in! We had a nice tent site at a shelter and it was so peaceful and quiet that we just decided to not get up right away. Since the hiking is not real difficult right now, we knew we could get our miles in anyway. It felt great.The weather was perfect for hiking. The temperature was in the 60¢s and it was a beautiful sunny day. We had lunch in a little meadow and both just thought about how much we prefer this to working! This was the kind of day I use to dream about when stuck in the office looking out the window. We feel so incredibly fortunate to be doing this hike.We passed through the town of Port Clinton, had a quick soda, and climbed back up onto the ridge. It¢s cool to be looking down at all the familiar places in this area where I grew up. But the rocks are getting rougher!
Date: 2007-07-03
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Allentown, PA
Miles today: 9.1

What a day on the trail ¢ getting picked up in a Cadillac and being handed a cold beer!Our cousin Georgia, husband Curt, and daughter Katie met us at Hawk Mountain Road to take us to Allentown for the 4th of July Holiday. We allowed an extra hour to get to the meeting point and they were just pulling up as we hit the road. Our eyes lit up when we saw the little cooler Curt pulled out with ice cold soda and beer. We headed off to Cracker Barrel for a great lunch, stopped by Cabela¢s for supplies, and then got dropped off at Sister Jo and brother-in-law Larry¢s house.The first 4 miles of the hike were very rocky today, and Bonnie¢s knee is swelling slightly again. We¢re off to see a doctor on Thursday in Allentown. The last 5 miles of hiking today consisted of a gradual descent, mostly down a dirt road.We had a great view at the top of a mountain called The Pinnacle this morning. When we turned to go back from the lookout, we saw a big rattlesnake coiled up under the big rock we just stepped across! So far we¢ve seen 3 snakes in PA and all were rattlers.
Date: 2007-07-09
From: Allentown, PA

To: Allentown, PA
Miles today: 0.0

We thought our journey was possibly coming to an end!Bonnie saw an orthopedic sports physician on Thursday and after examining her knee, he was very concerned that she had a meniscus tear (The meniscus is a C-shaped rubbery cartilage inside the knee cap. There are two in each knee). Since it¢s easier to fix when it¢s a minor tear, he recommended she get an MRI. We had that done on Friday and got the results today. Fortunately, although she might have the start of a tear, it is not something that needs to be addressed so he gave her a shot of cortisone, some anti-inflammatory pills, and a knee brace to wear while hiking. So we¢re back to the trail tomorrow!We lost about 4 days (and gained about 5 lbs.), so our finish date is probably going to be pushed out to the end of September or first week of October. That should still give us about a week of cushion before the bad weather in Maine.We were very fortunate to have this happen in Allentown. My sister Joanne and brother-in-law Larry were great to us; they expected us for three nights and got us for seven. We went to a great 4th of July picnic at Larry¢s sisters house, had great dinners at both of my nieces houses, and have my cousin Georgia and husband Curt, who picked us up from the trail, taking us back tomorrow.   In addition, we took a trip to New Jersey and saw lots of friends and our dog Molly and former foster dog Chase. It was so great to see everyone and the dogs.Everyone was so great to us while we were here. It¢s tough to leave, but we¢re anxious to get back to our journey!(We posted a new mail drop)
Date: 2007-07-10
From: Allentown, PA

To: New Tripoli Campsite, PA
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: scattered clouds

It was great to be back on the trail, but did we ever feel like crap after being off for a week! Now we know why the guys in the Tour de France go for a 5 hour ride on their rest days.Curt and Georgia gave us a ride back to the trail and we had a full load of rice crispy treats from Joanne. The day started very rocky, but ended with some easier sections. Bonnie¢s knee brace is a little hot and cumbersome, but her knee felt great all day. And with the anti-inflammatory she¢s taking, nothing bothers her right now. It¢s another example of ¢better living through chemicals!¢It was really hot and humid all day. After a week of living in air conditioning, we were suffering. We stopped by a B&B on Rt. 309 and used their faucet out back (with a really sweet stray cat) and each drank about 6 cups of water. We camped at a nice spot down the side of the mountain.
Date: 2007-07-11
From: New Tripoli Campsite, PA

To: Little Gap, PA
Miles today: 17.1

The day started with a lot of boulder climbs. The middle of the day had a lot of boulder climbs. The day ended with a lot of boulder climbs.That about sums it up! We were hopping over rocks all day and I got my first blisters on the trail which promptly ripped open. The highlight of the day was climb up Lehigh Gap which is a rock climb up the side of the mountain. You pretty much need to put your trekking poles down and use your hands to climb. About half way up, the thunder started which seems to happen on every exposed climb. I thought the climb and views of Slatington and Walnutport were really cool; Bonnie had other words for it. The top of the mountain is a total waste land from the old zinc plant in Palmerton. I never realized how far over the top of the mountain that all the vegetation is destroyed. It was a strange site, especially with the dark sky, thunder, and rain on top.We ended with a climb up over the boulders at Little Gap and camped on top. Water is really scarce in PA!
Date: 2007-07-12
From: Little Gap, PA

To: Wind Gap, PA
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: few clouds

Today was little rock day. We spent much of the time tripping and stumbling over small rocks. It wasn¢t hard hiking, but it was slow. The only water we hit all day was 7 miles into the hike, and it was at a spring 0.6 miles down the side of the mountain. We ended up staying in a dive motel in Wind Gap just so we could get water.Bonnie¢s knee continues to be doing great.
Date: 2007-07-13
From: Wind Gap, PA

To: Deleware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 15.6

We¢re finished with ¢Rocksylvania!¢There were a lot of great things about PA: We got to see our family and friends, there were some great parts of the trail, especially in the south and up and around Harrisburg, and we had some great food. But we won¢t miss the miles of pointy rocks, big boulders, and rattle snakes!Today¢s hiking was really pretty nice and we had beautiful views of Delaware Water Gap. We also ran into Comet again, a guy we met in the Smokies when we were headed south. He was part of the crew that we had such a blast with at a shelter.We planned on staying at a hostel in a church in the town of Delaware Water Gap, but it was full. So we ended up staying in a beautiful B&B called the Deer Head Inn. They are doing an amazing job re-doing this Inn. Our friends Dave and Sue met us for dinner and we had a blast. We even got a tour of the Stroudsburg area (long story!).
Date: 2007-07-14
From: Deleware Water Gap, PA

To: Blue Mountain Lakes Road, NJ
Miles today: 17.8

The hiking today was beautiful with lots of views of both sides of the ridge. The Water Gap was full of day hikers, so we had lots of company all day and we were mixed in with all the thru hikers from the hostel.We started with a great breakfast in a diner, and topped it off with fresh doughnuts from a bakery. The hike around Sunfish Pond at the top of the ridge was beautiful.
Date: 2007-07-15
From: Blue Mountain Lakes Road, NJ

To: Culvers Gap, NJ
Miles today: 10.6

We had a short but hot and rocky hike to Culvers Gap today, where Bonnie¢s dad picked us up. We waited for him at Gyp¢s Tavern on Rt. 206 where we sat by the lake with another hiker and his dog Tiva. It was a pleasant wait!We then headed back to Bonnie¢s dad¢s house, had a quick tour of the auto body shop, and then went with him Cathy and Little Guy to lunch. It was great to see them after so long!We picked up our car at Jeff and Gail¢s who were nice enough to store our car for us since March, and then went to Laura and Glens for the night. They made us a great dinner of salmon and steak, and we had a great time with them and Patrick and Steven.Tomorrow it's back to the trail. We'd normally take a zero after a week, but we want to try to make up a little time.
Date: 2007-07-16
From: Culvers Gap, NJ

To: Rutherford Shelter, NJ
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: broken clouds

We headed out from Laura¢s full of great food and full of brownies (thanks Stacy!). Bonnie¢s dad drove us back to the trail, but with re-supplying and doing other errands we weren¢t back to hiking until after 1:00. Fortunately, the hiking was fairly easy ¢ just slightly rocky with minor ups and downs. We had beautiful views off Sunrise Mountain. We also saw three NJ bears along the trail. As with most bears, they heard us and ran off into the woods. We spent the night at a shelter with a section hiker named Seeker and his 8 month old puppy lab Tiva. She is one sweet dog!
Date: 2007-07-17
From: Rutherford Shelter, NJ

To: Pochuck Mtn Shelter, NJ
Miles today: 16.7

Our day started at 12:30 a.m. with a wet black nose against our tent screen!Fortunately, it was just Tiva, the lab puppy at the shelter. Of course we let her in for a quick pet and she went back to the shelter to sleep with her owner Seeker.The hike today went over High Point, the highest point in NJ at just over 1,600 feet. It¢s so strange to be in such familiar territory and to know all the places we¢re looking at from the mountain.Sue, Tom, and Sovan met us at Rt. 519 and took us to Elias Cole for lunch. What a treat! They had cold drinks in the car, and brought us the most needed item that we forgot to buy ¢ toilet paper (a.k.a. mountain money)! There¢s no sight better sight than seeing your friends come to meet you with toilet paper!The hiking was easy and was mostly across meadows with lots of board walks to keep you out of the muck. This is apparently the area where people use to sink up to their knees in mud. A large portion of it is former sod farms that are now swamps.There is a nearby ¢secret¢ shelter off the trail run by a former thru hiker. We hiked up and saw Ice Man, Bobbie, Snack Break, Spider Legs and Splendora who all saw how nice the shelter was and decided to zero there. We had one of their ice cold beers, sat around for a bit and continued on up the mountain.
Date: 2007-07-18
From: Pochuck Mtn Shelter, NJ

To: Furnace Brook, NJ
Miles today: 16.4

¢I¢m in a New York State of mind ¢¦.¢(Thanks for the lyrics Becky!)We finished NJ today and started New York ¢ our 9th state of 15. The day started with pouring rain around 5 a.m. and it came down so hard that it splashed up through the tent screen. The tent was covered with mud, but fortunately the rain stopped around 7:00. After about 3 hours of hiking, we took a .1 mile detour off the trail to Heaven Hill Farm in Vernon for ice cream, doughnuts, pecan pie, fruit, yogurt pretzels, soda, and coffee. What a healthy lunch! We met a college student named Waterfall from Michigan. He is an interesting guy and it¢s always cool to hear young peoples views of the world.Towards the end of the day, the heavy rain and thunder storms hit. It was just in time for us to be up on some exposed rock slabs, and they got slippery real quick. It was a tough, wet final hour of hiking. It¢s also too hot to bother to wear rain gear ¢ we just cover our packs to keep our gear dry and let ourselves get drenched.
Date: 2007-07-19
From: Furnace Brook, NJ

To: Island Pond, NY
Miles today: 19.0

We headed out over more exposed rock slabs in the morning, which were still a bit wet from yesterday. At about 10:30, we headed to another ice cream place just off the trail on Rt. 17. We were crushed to see it didn¢t open until 12:00! We sat on their picnic tables to eat some early lunch with a thru hiker named Philmont who was waiting for his parents to pick him up. While we were there, an employee for the ice cream store showed up to do some work in the back. We jokingly asked him if he was there to open early for us. He just laughed, and then 10 minutes later stuck his head out and asked us what we wanted! We must have looked pretty pathetic. There¢s nothing like some Butter Pecan and Pistachio ice cream to start your day!The rains started around 1:00 and it really poured hard off and on all afternoon. In addition, the hiking was difficult today ¢ if there was a rock pile, the trail went up and over it. It was slick hard ups and downs all afternoon, and we wanted to get in 19 miles so we wouldn¢t have such a hard day into Bear Mountain tomorrow. The rain finally stopped at about 6:00 when we hit the entrance to Harriman State Park. We were wet and exhausted, and there it was ¢ trail magic! A guy named Paddy Wagon had a grill set up in the back of his pick up truck and made us hot dogs. He does trail magic as a tribute to a friend of his that he hiked the trail with a few years ago. Unfortunately, the friend later died in a car accident.The hot dogs plus a couple of beers got us going enough to make it through the final 2 miles to a beautiful campsite on Island Pond. We continue to be blown away by the kindness of strangers on the trail. Today, we had the ice cream worker open the store special for us, Philmont gave us some of his fresh bagels to eat, and then we get hot dogs and beer from Paddy wagon. It really makes a hard day like today a lot easier.We set up as it was getting dark, and then went for a quick swim in the moon light in Island Pond.