morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-06-30
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Panther creek site
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: clear sky

We started a little earlier than usual since ibex had to get into Port Clinton before the post office closed to pick up a package (including more Indomie noodles for the group). I made fairly fast work of the nine miles down and descended to find it had gotten pretty damn hot. I strolled through the streets of another working class PA town and found the peanut shop where we had chosen as a rally point. I was astounded to find that it was one of the best candy shops I¢d seen anywhere and only by the grace of god did I walk out of there with only a soda. I could have and should have bought at least two pounds of mix-your-own jelly belly¢s. After we got the mail drop, we popped in to the Port Clinton hotel restaurant and got an overpriced and underwhelming meal. We just can¢t help ourselves when it comes to town food, any opportunity must be exercised. We were dreading the hike out in the mid day heat but we had many miles yet to conquer and port Clinton was no kind of town to stay in. Reluctantly, I carried myself up the ridge out of the highway gap and back into trail zone. The afternoon miles kind of dragged on for me after being laden down with chicken wings and creamed corn nuggets. I was struggling mightily with still 6-7 miles ahead. We stopped at a couple rocky overlooks on the way and each time I removed my pack and debated staying exactly where I was for the night. The final 3 miles were painful and I stumbled like a wounded soldier into camp. Two old Russian dudes were already set up at the tent site but I was not trying to hike any further so we made do and found adequate spots to set up. Chef pressed on a bit further because he wasn¢t seeing anything ideal here. After we got settled, the girls decided it was time to unburden themselves from the weight of the alcohol they had been carrying for a couple days. This included four personal wine boxes and two 375mls of bourbon. Guess who got nominated to take care of most of the bourbon? We sat around the campfire that I built and basically got shitfaced. Seemed like a totally legitimate way to cap off a 21 mile day. We were up waaaaayyyy past bedtime (1:30, possibly later) and prayed that our Russian friends would not kill us when we finally passed out. Good times.
Date: 2018-07-01
From: Panther creek 

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

Our beleaguered camp slept late until the warmth of the sun forced us to get moving. This was a hangover. We slowly fed ourselves and broke down camp with plans to hike 2 miles down to Eckville shelter where chef had stayed last night and there was a flushing toilet and indoor shower. The heat had set in for sure by the time I set out, it was nearly 11 already. My hope was to sweat out the booze in the next two miles and then rinse myself clean in the shower but I suspected the effects would linger well beyond that. Chef wondered at where the hell we¢d been and what had taken so long, I caught him up to speed on the previous nights shenanigans. I took advantage of the toilet and shower and promptly laid down on the grassy lawn to await the others as they followed suit. The ¢shelter¢ was a bunkhouse building behind a residential home and the caretaker was a slightly gruff but accommodating guy. We delayed departure for nearly 3 hours due in part to the suffocating heat and our collective sickness. Chef seemed unfazed and went about preparing second lunch. We eventually decided that we would shoot for the first shelter available which was roughly seven miles out and a good portion climbed up the ridge again. I suffered greatly in the climb and bourbon was oozing from my pores all afternoon. The high was in the mid 90s and the heat index read that it felt like 103. Perfect. I was drawing every ounce of strength to make camp and then set up my tent and preparing dinner was a total chore. We all made some kind of crazy vow to swear off booze for a while and it was an early night for all. I assume we will go hiking again tomorrow but it doesn¢t really matter where.
Date: 2018-07-02
From: Allentown Shelter 

To: George Outbridge Shelter 
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Feeling much revived from yesterday¢s hangover, I got breakfast done and geared up before swinging down to the spring for water and was then on my way. The heat had set in early again and they expected another run at record high temps locally. It seemed like this was to be our quintessential PA sufferfest, big rock scrambles, stifling heat and more rocks. The trail is consistently filled with jagged, awkwardly placed land mines that will either stab the bottom of your foot or twist your ankle if you don¢t give it your full and undivided attention. We got some very welcomed trail magic from One Sock who had posted up just before the climb up to bake oven knob. We enjoyed a cold drink and snacks in shaded camp chairs before being catapulted back in to the heat. The view from the top of bake oven Knob was unimpressive and further weakened by a ton of graffiti on the surrounding rocks. I took all of 4.5 seconds to soak in the glory of Pennsylvania¢s sweeping panorama before hightailing down to the next shelter for lunch. The gang sat around the picnic table in front and bemoaned the heat. Chef had put his socks out to dry while he ate and when he picked them up, they were as stiff as cardboard. The rest of the afternoon was a bit shadier in the forest save for one more exposed rock scramble through a power line swath. I made the shelter and it¢s nearby water source before descending a bit further down the trail to find a stealth site. Chef and I located a nice grassy patch a quarter mile past the spring and we estimated that we could fit seven tents there if pressed. After everyone rolled in, it turns out we could fit exactly seven tents there. Tomorrow I¢ll meet up with my sister, her husband and the nephews for some 4th of July R&R. Gotta knock out 13 miles before I see them at noon so will have to get on the trail early.
Date: 2018-07-03
From: George Outbridge Shelter 

To: Stroudsburg PA
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

After hiking back up to the spring this morning to get water and doing my daily routine, I was out of camp almost thirty minutes later than I had planned. A short descent down to the highway and on the other side awaited the climb up Lehigh Gap. Known for its scrambles up large rocks, I worried I would be running close on time if this significantly slowed me down. However, after a short ascent up steep trail, the real scrambling lasted only about an eighth of a mile. I moved quickly up it and then found the dirt trail again which gained the ridge at a tolerable pitch. I laughed to myself at how overhyped this section had been and how generally the rocks in PA hadn¢t been nearly as tough as advertised so far. Slightly annoying, yes but not anywhere near the hype and fearmongering. Once I was on the ridgetop again, I cruised. Save one more short dip and climb to a road gap and the rest of the morning was level terrain on decent trail. I turned on the jets to arrive at the agreed upon road gap twenty minutes early. After a slight confusion about my pick up point was clarified, the family arrived in their rental. I gave Laura and Jamie a quick hug but Cam and Everett would have none of it. Everett held his nose when I came near but they did remark on how skinny I look so I guess that¢s a win. We chatted for a few minutes and thoroughly enjoyed a cold drink and then we cached a couple water containers for the tramily who would be coming up later today and needed the assist due to the very strict ¢no water anywhere¢ policy in PA. We loaded up the car and drove down to stroudsburg and I heard at least once or twice more how badly I smelled. We quickly checked in to the Hampton Inn and I picked up my care package from mad dog and val (2 kinds of homemade hot sauce in light plastic bottles). I hit the shower and then walked over to the Irish pub where they had settled in for the afternoon World Cup game. I delighted in drinking pints, eating and watching foreign soccer that I care deeply about once every four years. After, we found a small bar around the corner that would sell bottles of wine to go and supplied ourselves for the evening in the hotel. Lastly, we hit a comics and game store to pick up a board game to play for the night. I got my laundry going while they set up the board game on the outdoor patio of the hotel and I drank much red wine and played a horribly lackluster round of Catan Junior. It was way past my bedtime when we finally called the game and I still managed to stay up and chat with Laura and Jamie a while after the boys went to sleep. At least tomorrow will be a zero and I¢ve insisted we do nothing strenuous.
Date: 2018-07-05
From: Stroudsburg PA

To: Winding Gap
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: broken clouds

We were in no great hurry to get going in the morning and we walked down to get breakfast. Ibex had bought fresh fruit for the Belgian waffles because that¢s now a firm tradition. It was a total zoo at the buffet and I gave up waiting for the waffle maker and opted instead to eat my weight in Cap¢n Crunch. We lingered until check out and then walked over to the outfitter. They were good enough to swap out my second pair of Darn Tough socks, gotta love that lifetime warranty. We grabbed a Lyft back into Delaware Water Gap and the others poked around in the outfitter before heading over to the bakery where glow stick had just rolled in. Realizing that I¢d need some resupply before making my way back on trail, I hopped in another car with glow stick and pathfinder who were going over to WalMart. Since it was a cheaper fare back to where I needed to get from there, it made sense. I shopped for many of the usual items and repacked my bag outside while the others finished. They called a car to get back to the trail in Delaware water gap and I called a separate one to get me back to the road gap where I¢d left off on the 3rd. It felt so strange knowing that I¢d likely be hiking solo for a few days, really for the first time since my first day on trail. I started hiking and made decent time despite my late afternoon start. I remembered someone had highly recommended the Gateway motel in Wind Gap as it was pretty inexpensive and had been recently remodeled. That coupled with heavy predicted rain tonight and I was already sold, so much for roughing it solo. I called ahead and arranged for a room and the owner told me to just let myself in when I arrived. I walked around from the road gap, found the motel and my room which was unlocked. The owner arrived a few minutes later and offered me a cold bottled water and invited me into the office to get squared away. He also asked for my help in correcting the contact number for the motel on Google pages. I got it figured out for him and then ordered a Dominoes pizza for delivery and had a shower. This would also be the first time I¢d had a room to myself in the trail and I must say it was pretty great. I gorged on pizza and candy and soda and watched Seinfeld and Office reruns in my boxers. Doesn¢t get much better than that. I¢ll hit Delaware Water Gap tomorrow (for real this time) and be done with Pennsylvania.
Date: 2018-07-06
From: Wind Gap PA

To: Delaware Water Gap PA
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: light rain

Since it was supposed to rain until early afternoon and the motel owner said I could stay as long as I felt like today, I took my sweet ass time getting out. Had one more shower before finally lighting out at 12:30. After the steep climb out of the road gap back up to the ridge, I mostly cruised and was descending upon Delaware Water Gap by late afternoon. First stop was Zoe¢s for more ice cream, this time a coffee milkshake that I downed quickly. Across the street and down a tenth of a mile was the Heart of the Mountain Presbyterian church perched up on a high grassy lawn, the high point of the quaint Main Street that runs through town. They offered bunks on a donation basis so I figured it would be a good option since lower overnight temps are expected. I grabbed one of the last top bunks and said hello to a couple other hikers before grabbing a quick shower. After, I walked across the street to the sycamore grill as I knew they had a bar and it was roughly happy hour time. Sure enough, dollar off beers until 7 meant I had time for two before the special ended. I stayed for nachos (and a few more beers) and wound up talking a while with Yodi, a northbounder who knows a couple other hikers I¢d met back in VA and was still trying to catch up with them. He¢s from the NE and was pretty excited to be getting to that part of the trail again despite having hiked most of it already or maybe because he knows it¢s great. I continue to get more and more pumped about the mountainous terrain of the final three states even though I¢ve got hundreds of miles to cover first. I chatted with the bartenders for a bit too and eventually closed out and headed back to the church hostel. Debating what to do tomorrow, the hostel allows up to two night stays and I kinda dig this little town. Really feeling like I should get the hell out of PA but it¢s tempting to stay.
Date: 2018-07-07
From: DWG

To: DWG PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I¢m a bum, I¢ll admit it. Can¢t use my sore feet as an excuse or just general exhaustion from the grind of PA, I woke up today and just didn¢t feel like hiking. So I won¢t. I slept in late even by my standards and it felt really good to get the extra rest. I walked down the hill to the bakery and got a huge donut and breakfast sandwich and then went back up to the hostel to relax. Talked with some other hikers who were hanging out including Odie (not to be confused with Yodi) of the Hiker Yearbook fame. He had the little yellow school bus out back and was shuttling hikers to Walmart and helping people slackpack up the trail to where there was trail magic going on. I knew that there was a World Cup match on at 2 so I once again returned to the sycamore and posted up. Nothing so fine as a decent bar pouring cold beer while watching sports. My zero felt like the right call. I also spotted sunshine at the end of the bar and went and sat with her for a while. She had gotten off trail after breaking a toe hiking in Chaco sandals and was now on the second pair of shoes trying to get going again on something that didn¢t kill her feet. She said it¢s been a struggle and she¢s debated leaving the trail for good quite a few times. I told her to give NJ a try now that PA is over and after a few beers I think she was feeling more positive about the prospect of pushing on. We ate happy hour apps and then closed out and walked down to the pizza place to get to-go food for later. She also grabbed some stealthy beers for her tent since the church obviously didn¢t want alcohol or drugs in the hostel. I decided to abstain from more drinking since I would actually have to hike on tomorrow despite my best efforts to apparently never leave Pennsylvania ever. We walked back up to the hostel and there was another group of hikers in for the night and I ate my sandwich and chatted with them briefly before passing out on the couch while trying to read. I put myself to bed and will do my utmost to finally get out of here in the morning.
Date: 2018-07-08
From: DWG PA

To: Ridge campsite
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: broken clouds

I awoke today and realized that, in one form or another, this was my fifth consecutive day in Delaware Water Gap. It was most definitely time to get out of this vortex and put PA behind me for good. But first, breakfast at the bakery, obviously. After I¢d eaten, I ran into Tab who¢d just arrived in town, he was stunned that he¢d caught up to us but I explained it was just me at the moment and I was heading back out. He was waiting for a package at the post office until tomorrow so he¢s going to be behind again. I was organizing my things back up at the church hostel when Odie walked in and said he was driving his bus up to the trail magic about 10 miles up the trail. He offered to drive any of my gear up so that I¢d have a lighter load hiking this morning. Yes please. I whittled the pack down to just day hiking essentials and threw the rest in his bus. I definitely planned on partaking in the bbq put on by Riff Raff later this afternoon so this worked well. I finally started hiking again and as I left town, I crossed the Delaware river and the New Jersey state line. Happy to have PA behind me, I made my way around the bend and started the gradual climb back up into the forested ridge. The rocks of PA were still present here and I had to keep my attention on the ground for most of the afternoon to avoid tripping or twisting something. The ten miles went by smoothly and after ascending to a nice view of a very lush green Jersey skyline, I was descending to the road gap where the trail magic was happening. It was pretty standard fare, which is to say totally amazing for a hungry hiker. Grilled burgers and dogs, corn on the cob, pasta dishes, fresh fruit, and cold drinks (including beer). I lingered for almost two hours and after I had repacked my full load and thanked Odie for the assist, I begrudgingly marched on to find a camp. After 5ish miles, I ran into Flamingo who I¢d bumped into frequently as of late and we decided to push one more mile to a camp a bit further on the ridge. It was getting close to sunset when we finally arrived and found suitable ground for our tents, we cooked dinner as the sun dipped behind the horizon and were able to use a bear bag hang already set up by Grey Ghost. It¢s a little strange camping without the tramily but I should be able to reconnect with Chef and Ibex in the next day or two and glow stick and pony shortly after.
Date: 2018-07-09
From: Ridge campsite

To: Mashipacong Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

I kinda overslept this morning, it was cool and I didn¢t hear the others leave camp so i was by myself eating breakfast and breaking down. I had a long day ahead if I was going to meet back up with Ibex this evening so I would have to keep a good pace and have shorter breaks. Thankfully the terrain was pretty easy and the trail mostly stuck to the top of the ridge line without much elevation drop or gain. The main problem today was water. The recent heat has dried up most springs and streams and the only reliable source was a spring down by Brink Road Shelter about halfway into my hike. I¢d read some comments on my Guthook app about heavy mosquitos down there but nothing could have prepared me for the situation. I had hiked down the short side trail to the shelter and used the privy by the shelter before searching for the spring. The water was a bit deeper into the woods and it was absolutely thick with aggressive bugs. When I found the spring, I propped my water bag under the flow to collect and then proceeded to run up and down the trail swatting like a crazy person at the onslaught of hungry skeeters. When the bag was full, I ran back to my pack and proceeded to jog back up to the main trail. A gang of them had stayed with me all the way back up and I was still swinging and cursing as I got strapped up to start hiking again. Flamingo walked up and asked how bad it was and I advised her to proceed with caution and speed. She threw on her bug net and long sleeves before attempting the water run, smart move. The rest of the afternoon was easy hiking and I had been in touch with ibex about meeting up at the Mashipacong Shelter this evening. Since she was getting dropped off by Zach at a parking lot about 3 miles before the shelter, I asked her to cache some water there so I could re-up for the night and tomorrow morning. She made the drop and I was able to get topped up before making the final three miles to camp. She was already there having dinner and we swapped stories from our time off the trail in recent days. We also chatted with The Lady and Mad Libs (from CO) who were also eating dinner at the picnic table outside the shelter. Ibex and I made a rough plan for the next few days and how we would tentatively meet up with the rest of the group. Chef would hopefully be catching up in the next day or two and we would see glow stick shortly after she got back from her time at Wine Fest. It¢s good to be getting the band back together.
Date: 2018-07-10
From: Mashipacong Shelter

To: Pochuck Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: clear sky

Because we planned to stop at the lake at High Point state park, we got out fairly early this morning. The first 5.5 miles up there were easy and the day was already starting to get warm. At the welcome center, they give hikers a free Pepsi, I guess to discourage people from visiting. I drank it anyway and then hiked another half mile up to the lake. I passed under the impressive stone obelisk that marks the high point of NJ, something like 1800 feet. Pshhhhh. I found ibex down by the shore of the lake which was teeming with little kids and families. We still took advantage of the water and went for a dip before sunning on the grass and having lunch. There was a concession stand so we also grabbed a couple gatorades. We still had 13+ miles to make so we got moving again and the afternoon kinda dragged on. The terrain was slightly undulating but not too steep and it wasn¢t all that hot but I just wasn¢t feeling my strongest. We passed through farmland and swamps before we slipped over the NY border momentarily late in the afternoon. I discovered a hidden trail to a convenience store as described by someone on my Guthook app and we took advantage of that to pop in for yet another Gatorade for camp tonight. The afternoon had heated up and I also downed a coke and ice cream sandwich. Once back on trail, we had a long hike around a swampy nature preserve before a super steep climb up the ridge to the shelter. There was an abandoned house owned by the park service just off trail that was known to have a working water spigot so we cameled up there just before the ascent. Water options in Jersey seem to be either a bog or bog outlet, swamp or swamp outlet, or marsh/marsh outlet. It¢s making our water stops far more strategic than in the past. We made the shelter and set up our tents and got dinner going while chatting with Noodles and Sara who we¢d met in Harpers Ferry. They started their hike then and will flip flop back southbound after they get to Maine. Ibex really wants to watch England play in the World Cup tomorrow so we may look for a motel option in the afternoon to do that. It¢ll also give Chef a chance to catch up since he is a bit behind us.