morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-14
From: Hertlein campsite 

To: Eagles nest shelter
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: moderate rain

7/14Hertlein campsite to eagles nest shelter9.5 milesTentDuring the night it rained so hard that the silnylon was overloaded and a light rain started inside my tent. I stuffed all my excess gear into my backpack, then turned over and went back to sleep. It was still pouring at five so I turned off my alarm. At seven the rain slackened and I assessed my situation. Pretty much everything was damp except for what was in the backpack. The tent was soaked. My mood sucked. I got out of the tent to get my foodbag (also sodden) and noted that everything outside of the tent was mud covered. Great!  Well, that just seemed to be how this day was going. I eventually got everything stowed and headed up the hill. My goal for the day was the next shelter, 9.5 miles away. I listened to an audiobook, trudged, wiped away rain and sweat, and otherwise tried to be mentally elsewhere. So the day passed. All my athletic tape disintegrated, as did substantial portions of my feet. The leather boots I'm wearing definitely deal worse with wet than my Keens, though I think they handle rocks better. I got to the shelter around four. That's 9.5 miles in 7.5 hours, including several breaks. So while I was walking, I think I was walking at a decent clip. Especially considering rocks, rain, and my own mood. The shelter is dark and smells horrible, but fortunately there are really nice tentsites here. The tent is drippily set up. I hope it mostly dries by morning. I'm starting to think the shelter is haunted. I keep hearing voices and other sounds, but when I go look there is nobody there. Spooky.
Date: 2010-07-15
From: Eagles nest shelter

To: Hamburg 
Miles today: 9.3

7/15Eagles nest shelter to hamburg9.3 milesHotelI awoke reluctantly this morning. I slept like a log despite the spookiness of the area. At 5:30 I checked my watch, realized I had slept through my alarm, and went back to sleep. Finally at 6:30 I prodded myself upright and began the slow process of getting ready for the day. I stopped by the shelter on the way out. Nobody had signed the log. The campsite closer to the AT didn't look used either. Odd. Today's goal was town, though I wasn't sure which one. Port Clinton had food and lodging close by. Hamburg had that and also everything else (groceries and an outfitter, mainly) a good long walk off the trail. I decided to figure it out later and just walked. It was a much nicer day than yesterday, weatherwise. The terrain was a little more interesting too. My feet are definitely suffering from the wet weather. I'm not sure what to do about it. Bandages aren't sticking for very long, and the top layer of skin has come off in several places. It's owie. Maybe different socks?  I'm still using the ones I had with my Keens but maybe different would be good. Or maybe wet feet just suffer no matter what. Anyway, other than foot issues today was really nice. And I got to talk to someone!  A hiker passed me southbound and then again northbound. He slowed down so we could chat, and I found out he's currently hiking all of PA through out and back dayhikes. It's an ambitious undertaking. Larry the dayhiker walked all the way in to Port Clinton with me. He asked my plans, then offered to drive me on to Hamburg. Then he drove me to the supermarket and back, too!  He was a major trail angel today. I am happily ensconced in a motel. My laundry is running right now, and once I have clean pants I'll go to the attached pub for a burger. Bliss!  I should be able to get a shuttle back to the trail on the morning, provided my feet look okay. I'll make the call on that tomorrow.
Date: 2010-07-16
From: Hamburg 

To: Windsor furnace shelter
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: scattered clouds

7/16Hamburg to windsor furnace shelter5.4 milesShelterMy feet were enough improved in the morning for me to continue. I slowly packed up. At about ten I checked out and walked to Cabela's. It was a huge store, deceptively far away. I was relieved to see a pedestrian crossing signal on rte 61. I had not been sanguine of my ability to cross such a busy road. The store was immense. And it held very little I wanted. I eventually found a small pump bottle of deet to replace my old spray can. And I picked up a package of gummi bears. That's it. I asked a store worker where the registers were, and if they shuttled hikers. He said they didn't run a hiker shuttle. Hrm. At customer service I asked again. Good thing I didn't take no for an answer!  They got a driver for me and he immediately drove me back to the trail for free. Yay!  So I got on the trail at eleven. A very late start but I'm only planning to go to the first shelter. Rain is coming in again. I ate my gummi bears in the first ten minutes. They were good. Then I ate my fruit treats and discovered they were horrible. Note to self: avoid the Peanuts themed fruit treats in the future. I stopped at Pocahontas spring for lunch.  I had a nice chewy French demi, sheep cheese, and fresh cherries. Delish. And I got to watch an absolutely beautiful bird splash in the water and groom itself. It had a brilliant red body with black wings and tail, which were white underneath. It was a pretty special moment. I'm in the shelter this evening waiting for a storm which is taking its time getting here. I feel oddly guilty for doing short miles on a day I was planning not to walk at all. Stupid psyche. But there are a bunch of nice guys here, and Little Foot is playing a guitar. This sort of evening is one of the reasons I'm here. I love it. Pretty much the only negative about this evening is the smell of my socks. I guess you can't have it all.
Date: 2010-07-17
From: Windsor furnace shelter

To: Dan's pulpit
Miles today: 11.9

7/17Windsor furnace shelter to dan's pulpit11.9 miles plus a side trip to eckville shelterTentLast night as I lay waiting for sleep, I watched fireflies against the forest backdrop. It felt like a show put on just for me, though I know it wasn't. I woke this morning promptly at 5:25 and tried not to make too much noise packing up. I had slept poorly thanks to the heat, and was happy for the night to be over. I was walking by 6:15. It wasn't cool, exactly, but it was cooler than it would be later. There were several nice viewpoints today. The weather was clear so I could sit and enjoy looking down into the valleys. I am passing through a hawk sanctuary and there were a *lot* of hawks. They climbed thermals and generally fooled around being fun to watch. I passed a woman leading three girls on a hike and she asked me to talk to them about thruhiking, which I did. She reminded me strongly of "Aunt Mary", especially the twinkle in her eyes. One of the girls offered me Swedish fish, which I accepted with a twinge of guilt and immediately consumed. Yummy!My initial stopping point had been Eckville shelter but I got there quite early so I rested, taped a blister, and went on. Not, however, before the caretaker threw me a delicious Pop-ice. Thanks, Mike!Eckville shelter is very close to a road with lots of motorcycle traffic. Despite the amenities (shower, toilet, bunks, table, chairs) I don't think I would stay there unless the weather were bad. I spent the remainder of the day struggling up to Dan's Pulpit. The name gave me a grin, thinking of my brother. The view here is outstanding and I was thrilled to find a small flat place to put my tent. I am pretty tired from the long day and don't want to cross any more rocks tonight.  I'm camped pretty close to the trail but I hope to be up and out quite early so nobody will be inconvenienced.
Date: 2010-07-18
From: Dan's pulpit

To: Near new tripoli campsite
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: few clouds

7/18Dan's pulpit to near new tripoli campsite10.5 plus .6 getting waterTentThanks to everybody who has signed my guestbook. Every message I receive is the moral equivalent of checking my mailbox and finding that a friend has sent a hallmark card, just because. It's a mood lifter. ******The morning didn't really dawn. When I awoke the sky was a dead white color. I didn't bother trying to watch the sunrise because I knew there would be nothing to see. I was surprised an hour later to find blue sky above. It was still icky down in the valley. Must be bad air. I had to take advil to sleep due to the pain in my feet and hips. After that I slept heavily and felt groggy in the morning. My attitude was regrettably negative. The Professor pointed out that meant my day would probably go well, as everything would undoubtedly turn out better than I expected. Wise man. My first stop was a shelter at four miles. There, Skidmark told me there was a b&b / cafe in four more miles. I could get real food!  I was enthusiastic about the prospect. And the next four miles were excellent, trailwise. Hardly a rock. I got there in two hours. I ordered a coke, water, potstickers, and salad. It was all good, and the owner even gave me a taster of the local Stoudt's beer when I asked. I left there full and happy. I didn't even get a mile before my insides violently rejected what my outsides had done to them. I did eat a little blue cheese on my salad, but dang!  I wasn't expecting a strong reaction. You wouldn't think any day involving the word "explosive" and your body would be a good day, but today really was. The weather was nice, the bugs weren't bad, I had several nice conversations, and I got to eat yummy if short lasting food. Just before my planned stop for the night I came across a couple set up in a small clearing and stopped to chat. Chris had brought Amanda on her first backpacking trip! She said it was hard but she was enjoying it. I really enjoyed talking to the both of them. Amanda wants to keep backpacking. I hope they both have a blast. My planned destination was New Tripoli campsite, .2 miles downhill. I went down and got water but didn't like the vibe of the place. Lots of bugs, lots of broken glass. It felt like one too many parties had been held there. As soon as I treated the water I headed back uphill to find somewhere else to camp. And Pennsylvania, that sly vixen, brought out the rocks. Six miles of smooth treadway, but as soon as I'm tired and looking to stop, there's a boulder field.  Figures. Everywhere I go I'm told that the next section has the worst rocks in the state. Sooner or later I'm going to run out of trail for which this can be true. The Professor said friends ahead on the trail said that north of Palmerton there are 36 straight miles of boulder fields. We shall see. Might be a slow hike if it's true.
Date: 2010-07-19
From: Near new tripoli campsite

To: George outerbridge shelter
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: broken clouds

7/19 take twoNear new tripoli campsite to George outerbridge shelter10.9 milesShelterMy phone ate my earlier entry for today. That's just as well. I was pretty down. The entry included the phrase "sucked camel balls". Let's just say today was bad and leave it at that. Move on to tomorrow. Okay, the phone regurgitated two days later. Here is my original entry. 7/19Near new tripoli campsite to George outerbridge shelter10.9 milesShelterToday SUCKED. Like, camel balls. Through a straw. It was bad and I didn't like it. It started being bad last night. I lay down and started drifting off. Then a ruckus started. From the direction of my food bag. It sounded like somebody was violently shaking the tree and grunting. Then there was a crashing sound and tearing noises. I wrote off the contents of the food bag right then. I figured I'd have a huge mess to clean up in the morning, not to mention being hungry. It was hard to sleep after that. I startled at every sound. I woke up shouting after some poor squirrel rustled leaves near the tent. It wasn't restful. I woke up at 4:40 and couldn't fall asleep again. At 5:30 the alarm went off and I decided to face the day. First I turned on the phone, checked the weather, and saw an unexpected storm front coming. I did my fastest packup ever. Then I grabbed my spare stuffsack and went to clean up after the bears. I was dumbfounded to see my foodbag, intact. Apparently the bears were unsuccessful. I speculate the crashing was a baby falling out of the tree after trying to get the bag. As rain started to fall I grabbed some food for the day and stuffed the foodbag in the backpack. I started walking at 6:10. It actually got darker. I had to use my peripheral vision to look for rocks.  There wasn't enough light to look straight ahead. I came to the Knife Edge. A crapton of slanty, wet, slippery rocks. And the trail went right over them. I cursed the trail planners and worked my way over them. In one place there was no way to progress. I had to pull myself up with my arms (which hurt now). Later I came to Bake Oven Knob. Another crapton of rocks. These were less slippery, more unbalanced.  This time I fell. My right buttcheek is bruised, my pack cover is torn, and I'm pissed off. The trail doesn't HAVE to go over these obstacles. There is generally obstruction free ground nearby. Some asshole just thought it sounded like fun. As you can see, my attitude was also damaged. I am  seriously considering skipping the rest of the state. Especially as I know the worst rocks are just ahead. I'm out here to make myself happy, not to get seriously injured doing something I don't enjoy. I stopped at the last shelter before town instead of going in tonight. Between my fall and feeling Lymey tonight, I just hurt too much to do the last three miles. I'll go tomorrow, resupply, and ponder my next move.
Date: 2010-07-20
From: George outerbridge shelter

To: Palmerton
Miles today: 0.9

7/20George outerbridge shelter to Palmerton.9 miles plus about two to townHostelChris and Amanda showed up at the shelter last night. Once again I really enjoyed my conversation with them. I'm sad they were just sectioning. Last night was their last night. It was hot but I slept really well. At 5:30 I got up and got together as quickly as I could. I wanted to get breakfast in town. I arrived at Lehigh Gap very quickly but then got confused. There is trail work happening and the signs are all weird. It looked like there was a reroute of the trail to Palmerton. I headed up it, but realized in a while that the trail wasn't going back down. It was, in fact, headed right up the dang mountain. And me without food and water. I felt like I was being herded away from the town stop I desperately needed. Embarrasingly, I started crying. I sat for a minute, then went back and waveringly asked a construction worker if I could take the apparently closed trail to town. If he hadn't said yes I don't know what I would have done. So I walked into Palmerton. On the way in I noticed that the Winter Trail is also closed off, so that blows that option in case of bad weather (which we have a 60% chance of tomorrow. ) sigh. My first stop in town was at a diner. I got the eggs and potatoes I was craving, and chatted with Magnet and Buttons. Then I headed over to the borough hall to check into the Jailhouse Hostel in the basement. The rest of my day was filled with town chores. Groceries, meals, showering, recharging electronics, and downloading things to listen to. You'll notice I didn't say laundry. Magnet offered to throw mine in with his. I leapt at the offer. I hate doing laundry. On a side note, I find that the longer I'm in the woods, the less I'm bothered by scented soaps. I have a theory that constant exposure to the chemicals sensitized me to them, but I can handle them in smaller quantities. The end result is that I'm doing laundry with regular powdered detergent and I'm not getting a rash. This evening, so far, I'm at the hostel with Magnet, Bird, Slightly Inappropriate, and Yul the Mule. Magnet and I talked all afternoon but it's quiet now.
Date: 2010-07-21
From: Palmerton

To: Smith gap
Miles today: 12.3

7/21 take twoPalmerton to smith gap12.3 miles plus 1 mile to mechanical man's houseGarageIn the morning I packed up and headed over to the diner with Magnet for some last real food. Walking out of town somebody hollered across the street to see if we needed a ride. Amazing. He took us right up to the trailhead. Thanks, trail angel!The hike/ climb up Lehigh Gap was not as bad as I had been led to believe. And we lucked out with temps in the seventies. The rocks after it weren't any big deal either. I don't know why I ever listen to people. I was happy to run into the Geezer Hike again. Hadn't seen them since Tye River. In the evening I followed in Magnet's footsteps down one mile to Mechanical Man's house for water and free camping. The skies opened up on the way there, soaking me thoroughly. They opened up the garage to us for a donation, and I also got to take a shower. Nice!  It was a long way down off the trail but a great refuge from a storm.
Date: 2010-07-22
From: Smith gap

To: Wind gap
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: broken clouds

7/22Smith gap to wind gap8.1 milesMotelI didn't sleep super well in the garage. Unfamiliar noises and aching joints kept me awake. So I was pretty tired this morning.  The lady of the house gave us a ride back to the trail which I greatly appreciated. It would have been a long grim walk back up the blacktop to the gap. The walk to Wind Gap was extremely easy and uneventful. Even though it was pretty early in the day, I stopped for the day when I got there. My hips and knees are aching ferociously. I got an expensive motel room that really isn't worth the price. But it has a bed and AC. It'll do. Technically it also had a shower, but there is a giant spider in it so I'll wait for Delaware Water Gap. I had a long talk with Babalou (sp?) about podcasts today as he walked with me for a little while. I was inspired to download a bunch more. The motel has wifi. I am seriously downloading 100 podcasts of various kinds.  Podcasts R me. I'll have a night on the trail tomorrow (during which it will probably rain - wet feet are a problem again) and then I get to see JD!  He's going to drive up for an evening. I'm excited. Our 500 text messages per day are not a replacement for the real thing.
Date: 2010-07-23
From: Wind gap

To: Kirkridge shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

7/23Wind gap to kirkridge shelter9.2 milesShelterI slept very well despite the shabbiness of the room. The bed was actually quite comfortable. My hiking day was pretty unremarkable. It rained quite a bit, at times heavily. I chugged along, listening to a Laurell K Hamilton novel. A few hikers passed me, most bitching about the rocks. I didn't really mind them until I got to Wolf Rocks. They were slanting, and slippery with wet lichen in the rain. I had to take my pack off several times to get off slanted rocks. There was no safe way down on foot in the rain. But they were no big deal. I got to the shelter around 2:30. I could easily have gone on to town, but for two reasons. One, JD is meeting me there tomorrow. So no reason to hurry tonight. And two, my hips ache again. This is getting to be a regular thing.  I've taken advil and I'm waiting for my joints to shut up now.  I hope it doesn't get any worse or advil won't be sufficient. I wonder if the new pack with its frame that puts more weight on the hips is to blame. The shelter is pretty nice. It's near a retreat which provides a spigot for hikers. I haven't seen any water today so the spigot is important. The shelter has a large overhang which I will no doubt appreciate when storms roll in tonight. Some people thought about staying but moved on, drawn by the lure of town nearby. Can't say I blame them, but if nobody else arrives it will be a bit of a tense night in the shelter. Rumor has it that Blue Sky will be here. I haven't seen her since southern VA. So that would be nice. I also saw G Hippy briefly. I haven't seen him in months, either. It was nice to catch up for a few minutes.
Date: 2010-07-24
From: Kirkridge shelter

To: Delaware water gap
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: few clouds

7/24Kirkridge shelter to Delaware water gap6.4 milesMotelThe predicted storms never arrived last night. This was a relief. The tornado watch also came to nothing - an even huger relief!  There was the occasional crack of a gunshot-like sound as a kamikaze acorn dive bombed the roof. I tried to tell my subconscious to get over it but it was a startling noise every time. Fireflies came into the shelter and made little tiny indoor constellations for me. A squirrel provided some comic relief, sitting at the very top of a raspberry bush and leaning over precariously to grab individual raspberries.  I think that using a ratio of berries to body weight, he ate 100 times more than me. I'm such a slacker. But I have no tail so I'm at a disadvantage. I woke up around five. I'm waking up earlier and earlier. I don't know why. It's not like I don't need the sleep. It was dark enough that I started packing up with my headlamp on. I had no company in the shelter so I didn't have to try to be quiet. The walk into Delaware Water Gap was pretty with lots of interesting rock formations and overlooks.  I ran into an older couple who asked me questions about thruhiking. Shortly after that I found an iPod on some rocks. I knew Dancing Wind was just ahead of me so I picked it up. When I found her in town, it was indeed hers. Good deed done for the day!My first stop was at the outfitter for a new platypus bag (mine is leaking a little) and a new pack cover (leaking a lot due to the giant rip that Bake Oven Knob left in it. ). Then I headed over to the diner for food and vast quantities of icy coke. Mmmmm. JD was still on the road so I walked to the motel to try to check in. They have a firm 4 o'clock checkin time. I have nowhere else to go so I'm stinking up their lobby. Ha!  Maybe they'll rethink their policy. After he got to the motel we found a laundromat to hang out in. Because we're cool that way. And after that we went to a highly recommended Chinese/Japanese restaurant and had fantastic sushi. So the day definitely had some upsides.