morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-06-20
From: Clark's Ferry Tentsite

To: Rattling Run Tentsite
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Happy Summer!!!Verge and I were both very tired, so we got a late start. Great P came down and said hello which was a nice addition to my morning.Suitably so, it was an INCREDIBLY HOT first day of summer! We got to a shelter for a break and for water but the water was down a very very steep set of stone steps two tenths of a mile straight down (and therefore straight up...) By the time I got back up it had taken 20 minutes, 1,100 steps, and about two gallons of sweat. EW.I met Even Keel at the shelter and ran into Morning Bear again. I'd been hiking by myself the second half of the day, but I waited for Verge and she was right behind me. She was going to stop to get water, so I continued on. Shortly thereafter, I saw my first rattlesnake!! It didn't even rattle--I was so scared. I was worried about Verge walking by because I heard the second or third person to walk by is usually the one who gets bit, so I waited for her. She took longer than I thought (she didn't know I was waiting) so I was basically just hanging out with a rattlesnake (I was a safe distance away but stil able to see it). It was NOT fun. She finally came and when she walked by it rattled so loudly! Freaky.We made the final push up the big hill and it was not fun. We put on some music to help motivate us. We passed a tentsite of people and got to see two porcupines! Cute! Verge and I got to the tentsite we'd been aiming for and saw our buddies, Jingle, Great P, and Training Wheels! We ended our night with having dinner with them (and the bugs made dinner out of us). We also apparently were tenting near a quarry so there was deep booming noises ("rattling") and yellow-tinted water. Cool!The solstice is always a magical time for Verge and me, so this year our solstice miracles were surviving the heat, bugs, snakes, lack of water, more heat, more bugs, finding raspberries, porcupines, and friends. Happy solstice!
Date: 2016-06-21
From: Rattling Run Tentsite

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: broken clouds

It's our Three-month-iversary!! Wow! I've been on the trail for three months?? I can hardly believe it. What's also crazy is that I've probably hiked more in the south now than in all my years and miles of hiking in the north! (Not for long though!)We got an earlier start this morning, and it seemed like it'd be a cooler, lovelier day! We ran into Jingle, Great P, and Wheels and hiked on and off with them all day. Then we ran into TRAIL MAGIC!!! Dirty Ernie is 68 years old, thru-hiked in 2007, and plans to hike it again next year for his tenth anniversary! He is very cool and his wife is so sweet. She likes to join him on his hikes (but for shorter periods of time). They had a whole tent set up with cookies, granola bars, bbq sandwiches, grapes, apples, and soda! It was delightful! Another trail angel, Doc, joined and added cold bottles of water, ice, blueberries, and cherries! Wow! Fruit and cookies?! My favorite!!!We finally got up after lots of chatting and enjoyed the nice terrain (and a second trail magic of a cooler of soda!). It dod start to get a little rocky and unmaintained, but Verge and I had a nice time. We got to the William Penn Shelter, which was our plan...but we heard the 501 shelter was really great and had a shower and possibly pizza...it was only four more miles...and we'd gotten an earlier start so it was only 5:30pm! 25 mile day here we go??It was SO worth it! We got there and even though a couple things were starting to hurt (left shin, right knee, hip flexors) we made it! We saw Chicken Feet, El Tejano, Waterfall, Conundrum, Aurora, and a couple others. El Tejano and Chicken Feet insisted we take their leftover pizza (they didn't have to insist too hard!) Pizza?? And Showers?? And Hobo laundry?? How lucky can a girl get in one day?! Heeler (Don) showed up a little bit after us as well. What a nice group. I love Chicken Feet. He's the sweetest. He was so happy to see that Verge was feeling better because he'd been worrying about her. Speaking of which, Verge is feeling WAY better! Officially on the mend. Either it was a flu that she's getting over, or it was Lyme disease and the doxycycline is doing what it's supposed to. I'm so happy things are all working out. Now my dad just needs to not have a hurt knee anymore! Okay Bombadil?? Good night!
Date: 2016-06-22
From: 501 Shelter

To: Tentsite and Dirtroad
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was fantastic.It was sunny and breezy and relatively cool. Verge and I hiked together all day, and though we didn't talk much at all, it was very pleasant and relaxing. We took a long break by a spring for lunch and figured out a tentative plan to meet my friend Kate who lives just outside of Philly! I'm so excited to see her; I can't wait! One plan has us seeing her on Monday, but she has exams Tuesday and Wednesday, so we may have to relocate and reschedule for Wednesday/Thursday. So excited!We hiked to the Eagle's Nest Shelter where we got water. Originally, we had planned to stay here because we thought the terrain was going to be strenuous and rocky, but it wasn't that bad so we kept walking! I was just about done because I was painfully hungry, so Verge shared a snack so that we could keep going. I'm all good as long as I'm fed! It's actually really hilarious to see the difference in what our bodies need calorie-wise. I need just about twice as much food as she does, and I'm STILL always hungry, whereas she eats much less and is rarely hungry. Oh metabolism, how I love you so, but seriously?? Silliness.We finally got to the tentsite, got "chores" done, and happily ate our dinner. Only three miles in the morning to Port Clinton! We almost went the whole way but decided there was no real reason to. We thought it'd be nice to go into town early and get to the post office, but it doesn't open until past 12!! What are we going to do all morning?? Especially if we were planning to do 19 difficult miles tomorrow? We shall see...
Date: 2016-06-25
From: Bake Oven Knob Shelter

To: Delps Spring
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

So, at the beginning of the day I was thinking maybe I was too harsh on Pennsylvania. It presented delicious sweet little blueberries for us all over the trail and the ferns and sunlight were giving me beautiful scenery to admire. It seemed like it was trying to apologize! However, then we entered no water zone. We filled up and hydrated at a shelter 7 miles into the day where we saw Deuces, Scooter, and met Scarfoot, and I began to be filled with dread. There would be no water for the next 10 miles and we were going to be exposed in the extreme heat on supposedly one of the hardest, rockiest climbs we've ever encountered on the trail: the climb out of Lehigh Gap. The climb was actually pretty fun for me; there was a TON of maneuvering up and over humongous boulders, but it was very tiresome and the heat was sweltering. (Pictured above: Lehigh Gap and Scooter is in the background taking pictures with his awesome camera.) After we got to the top, we found some blackberries, which distracted us for about an hour! There were SO many. We were careful of how many we took though, but every time we took a couple and moved on, there was another huge bush of them! Yum! Though berry distractions all day were fun, it stopped us up quite a bit, and we still had 7 miles to do at 5pm. Verge and I were both so spent. Dehydrated, tired, bruised, scratched, bug bitten, disgustingly sweaty and dirty, sunburnt, and, in my case, nauseous from the heat, we tried our best to eek a few more miles out. Verge giggled, and she said, "I'm kind of so miserable that it's funny."I realized that's just the theme of Pennsylvania--so miserable that it's funny.The cherry on top of the day: we got to our campsite and knew we had to go 0.4 miles down a steep hill for water, but two locals camping said, "hey are you all set with water? That spring is completely dry; you'd have to go a mile downhill to the next spring." Really PA? We thankfully had a half a liter left, so I told Verge I'd eat dry ramen and she could use it to cook her dinner and we'd use just a teensy bit for oatmeal in the morning. One of the guys there, Joker, had gone down for water and apparently it was 1.5 miles downhill so he had made a 3 mile round trip for water! Oh man! He came back with 4 liters and offered to share (so we gave him a candy bar in exchange for a little bit). The next reliable water source isn't for another six miles tomorrow, so we were very appreciative.Though I'm complaining a lot about Pennsylvania, I promise I'm still trying my best to keep a positive outlook. I'm loving the berries and ferns. Jingle and Sweets make me happy. I can't wait for our near-o into Delaware Water Gap. I'm glad my shoes are still holding on...time for some hopefully healing sleep.
Date: 2016-06-26
From: Delps Spring

To: Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

The day started out as a good day. Mediocre terrain, a little breezy, and we got to get water six miles in. It was a long, steep climb down to the spring, but we drank two liters each and stocked up for the next 14 miles of no water on trail. I even got to have a mini dance party while waiting for Aqua mira to purify my water.The day got hotter; the terrain got harder; we saw a gigantic rattlesnake; poison ivy has taken over the trail, and the bugs were relentless. Verge and I tried to stay positive and talk about the wonderful things about summer that we get to experience out here: lots of fragrant, beautiful ferns, vitamin D, butterflies, flowers, all the wondrous green, good, cold water, warm, breezy air, etc. It was a helpful positivity exercise. We got to a point where we had about 9 miles left, and we were running low on motivation, though we were doing better than yesterday. We tried chatting about our plans as we get closer to Massachusetts and the friends we'll get to see; we tried some singing; we talked about what we were grateful for, and we enjoyed talking about what things we'll do on our wonderful near-o tomorrow (that was exciting). Unfortunately, with only 5 miles left, my spirits plummeted. I didn't get the Virginia blues, but I have the Pennsylvania blues hardcore. I'm hoping this near-o tomorrow is just what I need to wash away all the things making me sad (along with a LOT of sunscreen, bug spray, dirt, sweat, other grime, etc.) Also, I feel the need to mention (because it's part of my trail experience) that I'm doctoring a bit of a sore heart. I'd like to keep it succinct, though. I had a crush on trail, turns out he had a crush on me too, the romance developed slowly and sweetly, and then came to a screeching halt, and hopefully, is just on pause, though it's up in the air and a bit confusing. Que sera, sera. However, it too is adding to the Pennsylvania blues.Thankfully, Verge and I got to the shelter (and had it all to ourselves), got water from the easy spigot in the back, and enjoyed our Dirty Rice Knorr Pasta Side. I needed that so badly. It immediately made me feel better. I was still so hungry I made another dinner! (First time I've ever done that on trail.) Verge split her last cocoa with me too. Dad called, which was nice. We're closing in! Less than 100 miles between us now! (But we're about to near-o and then a couple days zero with my friend Kate so we'll see what that does.) I'm full and happier and so excited for my day tomorrow. I'm thoroughly enjoying the feel and the sound of the wind before bed. I love wind. Goodnight.
Date: 2016-06-27
From: Kirkridge Shelter

To: Church of the Mountain Hiker Center
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: clear sky

The long-awaited near-o!We made very good time into the Delaware Water Gap, and when we got there, we were very excited to go to Zoe's Ice Cream! Heck yes, ice cream on a beautiful, sunny day!...it was closed. They're only open Thurs.-Sun. Dang! So then we were heading towards the post office and ran into Mr. Blue! We hadn't seen him in a while! Unfortunately, he's injured and taking some time off the trail. He said he might even turn it into a flip flop! Maybe we'll see him the other direction. On our way to the post office, we passed Zen Fusion, the Haitian place my dad had raved about and that we'd been dreaming of going to all week...it's only open Fri.-Sun.!! What's with this town?! Of course we had to be there on a Monday! We got to the post office, got our drop box, walked to the church hostel, and claimed a bunk. At the church, we saw Jelly who was debating zeroing! We also ran into Joker, Olive Oil, Treebeard, and Waterfall. Multiple people told us about the amazing bakery down town so we just HAD to go! Jelly accompanied Verge, Olive Oil, and me to the bakery and we saw Treebeard and Waterfall there too. We all ordered delicious lunches and desserts. (I ordered an amazing burrata salad with avocado and cucumbers and tomatoes and a balsamic drizzle and Verge ordered a goat cheese and berry salad with walnuts and a honey drizzle and we shared. Mmmmmmmm! We then each got a slice of apple pie and a scoop of ice cream--amazing!!) Jelly decided he wouldn't zero because he didn't want Jingle and Sweets to catch him; goofball! Next stop, the gas station then the poconno inn for $2 laundry! Slowly checking off things we needed to get done. On our way back from laundry it started raining, but we were still in laundry outfits (aka raingear) so it was fine! We stopped at the town outfitter on our way back and we got the couple things we needed (aqua Mira and gas) and I finally got new shoes!! Salewa was very helpful in the warranty process; I called and told them how quickly my shoes got ripped up and they said I just had to send my old shoes to them and they'd send me a new pair. I had them send the new pair home (because I needed new shoes asap) so I'll use those either after the trail or after these new salomon ones I got wear out. Sadly, the post office was closed after I bought my new shoes so I couldn't send the old ones back yet--that'll have to wait until tomorrow. We got back to the hostel and who did we run into but Jingle, Wheels, Great P, and Sweets! My favorite people!! We all decided we'd go to the Sycamore Grille for dinner and drinks to celebrate leaving the awful state that was Pennsylvania. I ate the best black bean burger I've ever had. At the bar, we ran into Mountain Goat, Peach, Splinter, and Boyardee. Such a fun group! Cheers to New Jersey!
Date: 2016-06-29
From: Kittatinny Ridge Tentsite

To: Culver's Gap
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: clear sky

What a beautiful morning! We picked a perfect spot to escape the rain: the top of a mountain with a beautiful view. After our oatmeal, we packed up our wet tent and got going. We need to try to hike quickly today because we're meeting my amazing friend Kate at 4:00pm, and we have 16.5 miles to hike and we were getting started at 9:30!We hiked for about 45 minutes before we ran into trail magic!! These three wonderful ladies who were part of the Hunterdon Hiking Club had set up a "Munch N Go" table full of delicious blueberries, bananas, oranges, cookies, brownies, hard boiled eggs, etc. We just had to stop! We chatted and munched and realized that just about 45 minutes passed! Uh-oh! Time to get going!So far, New Jersey is wonderful. Verge and I have been immensely enjoying the terrain, the weather, the people, the trail magic, etc. The environment around us is definitely starting to remind us more of home! The pine needles, rocks, breeze, and small views remind us of some parts of the mid-state trail in Massachusetts. It's terrific! Along the way, we ran into Joker and Dreamin! They were doing four days southbound because Dreamin lives nearby. We continued and also saw Chicken Feet! We couldn't chat too long because by now we basically had to run to try to meet Kate in time! We were only about two miles away now, and I was chatting with Verge and looked up and saw a huge mama bear and her cub right near the trail, staring at me. It was so cool! (And a little frightening.) I gave Kate a call to make sure she could find where we were meeting, and it all worked out perfectly with all the perfect timing! We got down the hill, and there she was waiting for us with chips and cookies! Amazing! I was so happy to see her beautiful face! We chatted and munched, and soon after, Chicken Feet emerged from the woods and we did a little trail magic of our own and gave him some cookies. We rode the 2 and a half hours to Swarthmore, PA, visited with her family, ate some pizza, and got ready to go out and meet her friends! It was really a special treat to be able to try on clothes and play with makeup. Kate and I got all dolled up and went out to meet her boyfriend and friends while Verge stayed at Kate's house, relaxing and watching Tarzan. Great day.
Date: 2016-06-30
From: Culver's Gap

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

First complete "zero day" in 585 miles!We woke up (some slower than others...aka me) to Kate's dad making us blueberry pancakes. How sweet! They were the fluffiest, best pancakes ever! We relaxed, decided to go to a strip mall nearby, window shopped, had a quick snack lunch, and made our way back to the house for the evening's fun events. Kate's sister, Liz, had baked me a cake for a belated 21st birthday party! We had swordfish, whole wheat pasta, salad, cucumbers, and it was so delicious! After dinner, we all went to "Xscape the Room: Safehouse," which is this neat new game where you get a group of people together and go to this place where they give you a mission/objective and lock you in a room full of clues for you to try to "escape the room." We had a mission impossible themed game, and it was so incredibly fun! It was high energy, interactive, and mind-boggling. They give you one hour, and our terrific crew got out in 40 minutes! The sense of accomplishment you feel afterwards is really terrific. What a wonderful idea.After going out and hanging out with Kate's friends for a bit, we came home early so that we could get enough sleep for getting back to the trail in the morning. Delightful day. I can't thank Kate and her marvelous family enough for all their love and support. Thank you!!!
Date: 2016-07-01
From: Zero Day

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Kate drove us back to the trail, and it was so hard to leave her! She even gave us more cookies: a woman after my own heart. Thank you Kate! I love you!!! We didn't get started on trail again until 1pm, and we were going to try to go 16 miles to high point shelter.Jersey was still treating us very well; we were even enjoying the pre-storm weather (severe storm weather warnings). It was breezy and relaxing and cool. Verge and I had a little bit of a rough time because it's sometimes much harder to get going later in the day, though that seems to happen to us a lot. Then came the rain. It POURED on us. The trail turned into a river; my shoes turned into sponges; it was incredible! I really don't mind getting poured on. In fact, I think I really needed that. I felt like the rain just washed everything negative away. I sloshed through the trail with a huge smile on my face.The sun came out and dried us out a little, and we got to high point state park where the headquarters gave us free soda and we met Funsize and Pie. Unfortunately, my stomach started hurting a ton and I felt like I barely made it to the shelter, but the beautiful sunset from the highest point in New Jersey certainly alleviated my pain a little bit. We didn't expect there to be room in the shelter after all the storming, but it was empty! We were soon joined by Optimistic Dreamer, Baby Chicken, and Gung Ho. Funsize and Pie also joined and tented there. Exhausted. Bedtime!
Date: 2016-07-04
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Random Tentsite
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

Well hello New York and happy Independence Day!It was nice to think about and appreciate freedom today. I am so very thankful for the freedom in the U.S. as well as the freedom I get to experience out here.So today was very hot with a blue sky, lots of rocks, and lots of people! Being Fourth of July, it was quite crowded. Verge and I don't do very well in the heat, so naturally when we saw there was a place to get ice cream right off the trail halfway through our day, we thought it was the perfect Fourth of July treat! We found the place, Bellvale Creamery, and it was SO crowded! We got in line, and a nice couple in front of us informed us that we'd stumbled upon one of the best creameries in America (so said USA today)! Wow! How fun! I got a large Meadow Muffin, which was dark chocolate ice cream with brownie bits and gobs of peanut butter. It was SO GOOD! Verge and I relaxed outside and ate our ice cream and decided we definitely needed more...so I got up and got another large (which we split) and this time we got In the Stix (French vanilla and twix pieces) and a banana. After relaxing and eating some more, we decided it would just be too funny if we went up again!! Plus, who cares?! It's our Fourth of July treat! So, I went up a third time, giggling, expecting to be judged for the obscene amounts of ice cream I've been ordering, and I realized we'd been there so long that the staff switched over! Too funny! This time we split a small of half white chocolate ice cream with a raspberry swirl and dark chocolate pieces and just plain chocolate chip cookie dough. DELICIOUS! (Oh and another banana because ya gotta be nutritious...)Finally, it was time to get moving again. We sluggishly got up and dragged out feet back to the trail, where we still had to do 8 or so more miles, and it was 4pm. It was very hot, and there weren't many water sources ahead of us, but thankfully, the trail Angels of New York know what you need! We ran into a dozen or so gallon jugs of water there for us to fill up with. Hurray! We hiked on to a random tentsite, got devoured by bugs while setting up the tent and bearbagging, and fell asleep to the sound of fireworks followed by rain. I was sad we couldn't make it to party with our trail buddies, who were a day or so ahead of us at Bear Mountain, but chilling and eating ice cream for a couple hours with my sister was a pretty darn good way to spend my Fourth of July.