morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-06-23
From: stealth campsite at mile 1090.8

To: Deer Run Campground
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: clear sky

I packed up, had a left over piece of pizza and orange juice for breakfast, and I Believe and I were on the trail at 7:15. We wanted to have our backpacks for photos at the official 1/2 way point and for the 1/2 gallon ice cream challenge, so we didn't slack pack in the morning. Little Spoon and Danielson caught up to us this morning and eagerly accepted Jimmy's slack pack offer. The trail was relatively flat today with intermittent rocks, but not bad at all. At mile 1,092.5 there was a small laminated sign marking the official 1/2 way point for 2014. I stopped and took a selfie. Further up the trail was another 1/2 way sign, a more elaborate one that has been there for a number of years. The actual mileage changes a little every year and I guess it is not cost effective to move the larger sign each year. Little spoon, Danielson, I Believe and I exchanged cameras and phones for photos and I signed the register. I must say, I've felt as if I were in a time warp since Harper's Ferry. There have been THREE 1/2 way points on the trail beginning with Harper's Ferry. I am happy to finally have passed them all and can say that I truly am now more than 1/2 way to Katahdin. I actually got a little choked up at the official marker. That I have gotten this far is a huge accomplishment. After the photo op, it was time to push on to the Pine Grove Furnace General Store for the traditional 1/2 gallon challenge. A "1/2" gallon of ice cream isn't really a full 1/2 gallon anymore, but close enough for me. I downed the tub of vanilla in about 30 minutes and signed the register to attest to that fact. Midway through eating the 1/2 gallon I had to move to a picnic table in the sun to stay warm. I felt well enough after that to have a hamburger and chips, but I must say I was sluggish once we started hiking. Jimmy met us at the store and took our packs so we could slack pack the rest of today's miles. I met Mrs. Sherpa while at the store. She was meeting Sherpa who is back on the trail after putting his dog down over the weekend. Later in the afternoon I came across trail magic she had left on the trail. Thank you Mrs. Sherpa. We stopped briefly at the AT Museum, located just down from the General Store. The displays describe the history of the trail and significant people who have hiked it. Early hiking gear and an early shelter are on exhibit. It was worth the stop. Tonight I am tenting at the Deer Run Campground, .4 miles off the trail. Jimmy made hamburgers on his portable grill and I Believe and I repaired my tent fly which had a tiny rip and a pinhole in it. Hopefully the crazy glue and duct tape will do the trick. The campground has showers and tonight is the first night since on the trail that I've been able to take a shower at night after a day of hiking, and get into my sleeping bag clean.
Date: 2014-06-25
From: Sherwood Drive (mile 1128.9)

To: PA Route 850 (mile 1134.0)
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: moderate rain

Today we took a nero. This morning I packed up and said a fond goodbye to Deer Run Campground. It is a campground with many permanent RV residents, a pool, playground, game room, laundry, and of course, real flush toilets and hot showers. I was tenting in the woods, but had a glimpse of the way my life was and will be again, once I rejoin the civilized world. Not that I am a RV camper, but just that it is a place where regular people do regular things. Jimmy drove I Believe and me back to the road crossing where he had picked us up yesterday and we were hiking by 7:45. With only one uphill, we were done with our five miles two hours later. Jimmy drove us back into Boiling Springs so we could spend the night at the Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse. We stopped at Walmart on the way for a small resupply. They had packets of both chicken and beef crumbles which are hard to find.   Margot and Pierre stayed at the Allenberry before they got off the trail, and recommended the Inn to me. The Allenberry offers a $40 hiker rate for rooms in their Meadows Lodge which looks to be vintage 1960's. On days that their community theatre has a performance hikers can eat at the buffet offered to theatre goers. I Believe and I lucked out. There was a matinee this afternoon, and for $10 we ate from a fairly extensive buffet table (I went back five times). Caroline, "42nd Street"was playing. I couldn't go see it since you weren't staring in it. There is also a guest laundry in this building. While I was waiting for the washer to finish, I checked out the PA Fly Fishing Museum in the basement next to the laundry room. I never knew there was so much to fly fishing! Tonight Jimmy drove us, along with No Name, Salty Hat, Geo and Owl Bear to Anile's where we had dinner. Within 10 minutes of getting back to our rooms, the skies opened up. It always feels great to dodge a thunderstorm. We are all relieved to be here, and not in our tents tonight. I relished lounging on my bed this afternoon resting my overworked legs and feet. According to Awol, tomorrow we will tackle a very rocky section of the trail.On a final note, I Believe is good about posting photos on trailjournals. If you go to her site, you can see what we've been up to.
Date: 2014-06-26
From: PA Route 850 (mile 1134.0)

To: stealth campsite at mile 1151.2
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: light rain

No Name, Salty Hat, I Believe and I left the Allenberry Resort Inn with Jimmy before 7:30. We stopped for breakfast sandwiches and then Jimmy delivered us to our respective trail locations for another day of slack packing. I felt more rested after yesterday's nero, than I often do after a zero. For a change we didn't have a lot of town chores to do, so my legs felt strong this morning. I Believe and I were anticipating slow going in the morning   after Awol's description of "very rocky" terrain. It never came. We both agreed we have been over much rockier sections many times before. We hiked the nine miles into Duncannon just after noon, and met Jimmy at the infamous Doyle Hotel. My brother said I had to have their deep fried hamburger, so I did. It looked like a breaded mystery meat patty, and mostly I tasted salt, but at least I can say I have had one. A hungry hiker welcomes salt, fat, and calories in just about any form. Kozi was with us and Sherpa, who I had passed on the trail earlier while he was taking a break, came in and joined us. After lunch, I Believe and I had eight more miles to do through the streets of Duncannon, across the long concrete bridge over the Susquehanna River and back into the woods. The afternoon turned out to be rockier than the morning. It was not so much tedious navigation over rocks or constant, but I did have to pay attention, and by late in the day, the bottoms of my feet were sore. I am at a stealth campsite tonight and barely had time to set up my tent before it started to rain. I ate dinner in my tent, waited for the rain to stop, then joined I Believe and Jimmy at their truck along with Kozi and Bison who are camping here too. I Believe and I affectionately refer to ourselves as hiker trash, and we felt like hiker trash tailgating tonight. We all watched a beautiful sunset together and it is now hiker midnight. Goodnight.
Date: 2014-06-27
From: stealth campsite at mile 1151.2

To: stealth campsite at mile 1160.8
Miles today: 9.6

Today we had planned to do a 20 mile day, but took a well deserved afternoon off instead.I Believe and I were on the trail at 7:20, slack packing. The number of miles you can slack pack depends upon the distance between accessible road crossings. Today Jimmy could only slack us about 10 miles, because the next accessible road crossing after that was 27 miles, more miles than we wanted to walk. Our plan was to get our packs from Jimmy after the 10 miles, then hike on and stay at a campsite or shelter tonight and meet up again with Jimmy tomorrow at the next road crossing. I Believe and I made it to PA 325 by 11:30 and were greeted by a family of trail angels serving up trail magic. There were hot dogs, a delicious bean salad, bananas, watermelon, cookies, candy, chips, water and more. Thank you Adrienne, Beverly, Maggie, Gary, Lauren, Betty, Beth, and Renee. You made our day. Besides us, Little Spoon, Squanto, Hot Sauce, Cowboy, Wing It, T Bird, Bison, Kozi, and Flat were there. We just chilled, and no one wanted to hike. We all wanted to sit, eat, and relax. I Believe and I looked at Awol's Guide and reconfigured our next three days so we can still get to Port Clinton on Monday and do it slack packing while Jimmy is still here. Jimmy had a truck full of packs today. He slacked Little Spoon, Squanto, Kozi, Bison, Cowboy, No Name, Salty Hat, I Believe and me. Jimmy, as always, thanks for the slack, the Cokes, and today for drying out my tent and charging my phone too. Tomorrow I Believe and I will hike more miles, but today we gave ourselves a break. Katahdin, be patient. We're coming. Tonight I am stealth camping next to a stream with lots of mosquitoes. The good news is they are on the other side of my tent netting.I saw another bear today. It heard me coming and scampered down a tree and took off. Salty Hat is right. A bear sounds like a linebacker running through the woods!
Date: 2014-06-28
From: stealth campsite at mile 1160.8

To: Campsite at mile 1179.8
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a hoot. It seemed like a nero day, but I Believe, No Name, Salty Hat, and I actually chalked up a good number of miles. Jimmy was slacking all of us and I Believe and I were on the trail at 6:45 this morning. We met a local character last evening who was fishing in the creek next to where we camped, and he told us he hunts rattle snakes and that there are a lot of them where we were headed. He spray paints their rattles a different color every year, so he knows what year he caught the snake (and released) and if he has caught it before. Rattle snakes were on our minds today, needless to say, but we didn't see any. It was fairly easy terrain today and we had hiked over 11 miles by the time we stopped by a creek for an early lunch. I took my shoes and socks off to give my sore soles of my feet a break from shoes. I hiked part of the afternoon with Zone and It was 2:00 when I reached Jimmy and the others at his truck. After a coke and a chair break, I Believe, No Name, Salty Hat and I slacked another 1.8 miles to the next road crossing with not even day packs on our backs. After picking us up, Jimmy drove us into Lickdale and dropped us off at Wendy's while he took Zone to the bus station for a needed trip home. As usual, Jimmy was slacking other hikers today as well, so from Wendy's he drove us to the 501 Shelter where he had packs to drop off. There is a crowd here tonight, a number of whom welcomed a ride into town to the Dollar General, the beer distributor and the pizza place. Jimmy, I Believe, No Name and I were in the front and Little Spoon, Salty Hat, Kozi. Wet Dog, and Cake piled into the back of the truck and off we went. It was a "clown truck."I'm tenting at the shelter tonight. There are lots of great tenting sites and It is a beautiful night, so I am sleeping under the stars without my tent fly. Tomorrow morning Jimmy will drive us back to where we got off the trail this afternoon.
Date: 2014-06-29
From: Campsite at mile 1179.8

To: stealth campsite at mile 1199.4
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: few clouds

Anyone that wanted to slack pack had to be ready with their packs on Jimmy's tailgate by 7:00, because promptly at 7:00 Jimmy headed out with No Name, Salty Hat, I Believe, and me and dropped us off at the trail. Besides the four of us, lucky slackers today were Kozi, Bison, Little Spoon, Squanto, Cowgirl and her dog, and Geo. For all the talk about the rocks in PA, once again, the rocks today were not as bad as rocks we've encountered in TN and VA. Yes the trail was rocky for extended stretches, the kind of rocks that are jagged and sprinkled the width of the trail, but there is enough space between them so you can plant your feet without slowing down. I had to pay attention, but could still move at least two mph over them. There were a couple of short boulder fields, but nothing difficult to navigate. What I hear is that the worst of the PA rocks are still ahead. I will just take it as it comes, as I have done with the trail for almost 1,200 miles. Jimmy met us around lunch time at a road crossing, so I could eat my trail lunch with a cold Dr Pepper and Little Debbie snacks. We were done hiking for the day at 4:30 and Jimmy drove us into town for dinner at the Midway Diner. It was less than stellar, and a disappointing meal especially for hungry hikers, but we eat anything. I'm tenting at a stealth site tonight. It is another warm night, and my tent fly is off. We have been extremely fortunate when it comes to the weather. The temperature has been in the low 80's, and the last several times it has rained I have been undercover in my tent, a shelter, Jimmy's truck or a hotel room. Today I officially have under 1,000 miles to hike. I can now start counting down by 100's instead of counting up. Tomorrow we hike into Port Clinton and No Name, Salty Hat, Geo, I Believe and I are going to take a zero on Tuesday at the Comfort Inn in Pine grove. Even Jimmy is going to take a zero from slacking hikers!I'm watching fireflies outside my tent. Goodnight.
Date: 2014-07-02
From: Port Clinton PA

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: scattered clouds

After a relaxing zero including a leisurely breakfast in the hotel lobby, lots of sitting on upholstered furniture, stretching out on my bed, icing the soles of my feet three times, and having lunch and dinner at the nearby diner, I was ready to get back at it this morning. No Name, Salty Hat, Geo, I Believe and I were ready at 7:00 for a ride from Jimmy back to the trail. We were hiking by 7:40. The trail was interesting today for it's varied terrain. There were ups and downs, fewer jagged rocks to go between, more boulders to hop over, and flat gravel and dirt fire roads to walk straight on. I spent much of the day hiking with Salty Hat and enjoyed the company and conversation. It made the time fly by. I hiked for a short while with Hot Sauce only to find out from him later that he saw a rattle snake right after I'd moved on. That's twice now I've been in the area of a rattle snake, but missed seeing one. A black snake crossed the trail in front of me today, but I've seen many of them. We are in a large hiking bubble and there are about 20 tents at the shelter tonight. Twelve of us piled into Jimmy's truck for a ride into Hamburg for dinner at Logan's. In the front seats were Jimmy, I Believe, No Name, Salty Hat, and I, and in the truck bed packed in like sardines were Longbow, Little Spoon, Geo, Owl Bear, Kozi, Wing It and Sherpa. Yes Chris, Sherpa caught up to me today exhausted. He woke up at 3:00 am and started hiking at 4:00 am in the dark, to try to beat the heat. He was ready for bed well before hiker midnight. Also at the shelter tonight, are Uphills, Roots, the Coyote Crew, Flats, Cupcakes, Sprinkleburst, Longhorn, Squanto, Bobcat, and a few others whose names I don't know. How far we hike tomorrow will be dictated by the weather. There is a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms and the rock scaling and hopping ahead of us is treacherous if wet.
Date: 2014-07-03
From: Eckville Shelter

To: stealth campsite at mile 1244.9
Miles today: 16.4

I Believe and I headed out of camp at 7:15 with No Name and Salty Hat a few minutes behind. We decided to stay together because of the rocky terrain. There is always a risk of injury boulder hopping and it's good to have someone in front or behind you. There were the usual jagged rocks, and lots of boulders to navigate. The weather cooperated in the morning, though it was hot and humid. We hiked over eleven miles in the morning and agreed we'd see what the forecast looked like for the afternoon, before deciding if we could hike additional miles over Knife's Edge, a short but steep and slanted rock bed. We reached the first road crossing around lunchtime to find a hiker feed sponsored by Berks Community Hiking Club. They had hot dogs, hamburgers, salads (tossed and homemade potato and macaroni), homemade baked beans, fruit, drinks, trail snacks, and desserts. It was a magnificent spread. Thank you so much for the trail magic. The sun was still shining and the thunderstorm threat was pushed to later in the afternoon, so the four of us decided to push on. After a sluggish start from stuffing myself, I became energized by my fueled body and the anticipation of tackling the Knife's Edge. It is the kind of climbing I enjoy and am used to from hiking in New England. I made quick work of it and it left me excited thinking about the climbs ahead in NH and ME. Tonight I am stealth camping with I Believe, Jimmy, No Name, Salty Hat, Kozi, Bison, Geo, Owl Bear and Storm Crow. The thunderstorm came through at about 6:00. I'd already set up my tent, so I am dry, and in it early for the night. Tomorrow Houdini comes back for a visit and some trail magic. When he first drove down to see me in Gatlinburg, it was an eighteen hour drive. Tomorrow it will take him only eight, because of all the miles I have walked!
Date: 2014-07-05
From: stealth campsite at mile 1244.9

To: Little Gap Road
Miles today: 13.7

I ended up taking a zero yesterday. We thought the rain was done after the thunderstorm passed through the night before, but it ended up raining on and off all night, and in the morning it was raining hard. From our tents which were the only dry place to be, we decided not to hike at least for the morning, because it wasn't worth risking injury hiking over wet, slippery boulders. I stayed hunkered down in my tent for a while until it was clear the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon. After I packed up everything in my tent, it was time to bite the bullet, get out of my tent and pack it up too. No Name, Salty Hat, Kozi, and Bison did the same and we loaded our gear and ourselves into Jimmy's truck. Jimmy drove us to MacDonald's for breakfast while Geo, Sherpa, and Storm Crow decided to hike out. We hung out at MacDonald's for a while, waiting for the rain to stop to no avail. We couldn't spend the whole morning there, so we all piled back into the truck and off we went. Jimmy had a slack pack to deliver and then drove around in search of hotel rooms for I Believe and him, and No Name and Salty Hat, not an easy task on the 4th of July. Houdini was on his way, and he had made a reservation for us at the Red Carpet Inn in Wind Gap, so I knew I would have a dry place to lay my head and a place to dry out my wet gear. Jimmy drove all the way to Delaware Water Gap and stopped at The Church of the Mountain Hostel. Jimmy likes to check out hiker hostels so he can share information with hikers. Kozi, I Believe, and Jimmy took showers while we were there and then we headed to Wind Gap where I met up with Houdini. The rain finally stopped early afternoon, but knowing the rocks would still be wet we decided at that point not to hike. I went to the hotel with Houdini and everyone else went back to the same stealth campsite we'd stayed the night before, having been unsuccessful at finding a hotel at a reasonable rate. This morning Houdini and I were up and out of the hotel room before 6:00. We stopped at the Travel Inn to pick up Longbow and Little Spoon whom we'd seen in town and had a beer with the night before. Houdini delivered us all back to the trail this morning after we stopped for coffee and breakfast sandwiches at Dunkin Donuts. I Believe, No Name, Salty Hat and I hiked out together. We had two fun rock scrambles, one over Bake Oven Knob and the other out of Palmerton. It was a perfect hiking day. It was sunny and breezy and only reached the low 80's by the afternoon. The air was crisp early (finally the humidity was low) and the rocks were dry. Houdini met us at the first road crossing with something cold to drink, and then we hiked on. Once atop the grassy ridge line, I stopped frequently to pick black raspberries and blueberries from the abundant bushes. The last mile or so we had gnarly rocks to deal with, but overall it was a fine day of hiking. We have only two more hiking days in PA. Wow!
Date: 2014-07-06
From: Little Gap Road

To: Wind Gap PA
Miles today: 15.4

Houdini and I left the hotel at 6:45 and stopped at Dunkin Donuts to pick up coffee and breakfast sandwiches to deliver to No Name, Salty Hat, and I Believe back at their stealth campsite. We were on the trail at 7:45. Today was a day of jagged rocks. We were able to make okay time, but not great time. The constant attention to foot placement, the jabbing of rocks on the soles of my feet, the pinching of my toes and wedging of the sides of my feet between rocks, just got tiresome. Salty Hat and I talked trivia for much of the day which helped pass the time, and Houdini met us at a road crossing late morning for some trail magic. We stopped and had lunch with him. The soda and Little Debbie cookies make a same old trail lunch more palatable. These days I'm eating lots of tuna, nuts, dried fruit, and Clif Bars. While Jimmy has been here I've been spoiled with daily town food. At the end of the day, we debate staying at camp and eating out of out food bags or going into town with Jimmy for real food. Town food wins every time. We finished hiking into Wind Gap at 3:00, and Houdini and Jimmy were there to met us. Houdini and I headed back to the hotel, then to the laundromat before meeting Jimmy, I believe, No Name, and Salty Hat for dinner at the Beer Stein in town. The owner of the restaurant lets hikers tent for free on his lawn and has a trailer in the back with showers and a washer and dryer. In the morning he opens the kitchen up to hikers who for free can cook their own breakfasts using the restaurant's food. No Name and Salty Hat are tenting there tonight. Today's bummer is that on the trail today I lost my InReach (my GPS/SOS/and satellite texting device) that I've been carrying since day #1. It gives Houdini peace of mind because he can track my whereabouts on his laptop at home and we can text when I don't have cell service. When I realized tonight that I didn't have it, Houdini got on his computer. The device is still turned on, so from his laptop map, he tracked it. Tomorrow he's going to see if he can find it before heading back to Maine. Houdini, you're awfully good to me.
Date: 2014-07-07
From: Wind Gap PA

To: Delaware Water Gap PA
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: clear sky

Houdini and I left the hotel, stopped at MacDonald's for breakfast, then drove to the trail where we met up with Jimmy, I Believe, No Name and Salty Hat. I said goodbye to Houdini, and we hit the trail at 7:45. Houdini headed south where we'd hiked yesterday to look for my InReach, but didn't find it. Jimmy has taken the search over as his latest project. He has the GPS coordinates and is going to hike to where it appears to be. The rocks were relentless today for the first 8 miles. Jimmy met us at a road crossing, and we stopped for lunch. During the afternoon there were occasional breaks in the rocks which was a welcome relief. We reached Delaware Water Gap around 3:00 and walked directly to Zoe's Ice Cream where I had 2 milkshakes! For dinner I had a delicious chicken pot pie from The Village Farmer and Bakery.I am tenting at The Church of the Mountain Hostel tonight. I'm passing up a shower since I had one this morning. It was in the upper 80's today and I sweated, but it is cool now and we are sitting outside on lawn chairs planning our next few days. Tomorrow we cross the Delaware River and say goodbye to PA and hello to NJ. In defense of PA, I did not find the rocks as bad I'd heard they would be. We have struggled over worse, and I enjoyed climbing over the boulders. I will say, that the last few days, the rocks were constant which became tedious, monotonous, and hard on the feet. I am ready to move on.