morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-27
From: Charles Town WV

To: Crampton Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: broken clouds

This was probably the first time I slept in a hotel and felt rested before leaving to hike. We needed to hustle out the door because the shuttle came by at ten.         Once in town we made a final stop at the post office. My package finally arrived! Nicole traded out her sleeping bag and sent some goods home. She also sent home my t-shirt that reads, ¢Hike Faster! I hear banjo music.¢ Obviously it¢s a reference to ¢Deliverance¢.        At the ATC I sent out some emails before leaving town. We actually didn¢t leave town until 11:30 and even that was delayed because everyone wanted a last ice cream before vanishing into the woods. My stomach was extremely full from breakfast and even the sight of ice cream made me feel sick. Jake and I went down the hill to speak with the Civil War rein-actors as we waited. They were fully dressed with tents set up on the grass.        We immediately crossed the Potomac River into Maryland. The following 3.5 miles were extremely flat and full of bike riders. The trail reminded me of the Virginia Creeper Trail. At one point a huge family of Canadian Geese crossed the trail in a single file.         For lunch we stopped at an overlook above the Potomac and Harper¢s Ferry. It was a hot and humid afternoon, but the view from the rocks was incredible.        The trail was smooth sailing afterward. We checked out the new two level Edward Garvey Memorial Shelter. For the rest of the day Jake and I hiked together and conversed without a pause. We¢re going to make a list of trail goals, in tune with semester goals he always works on during school. They will all be non-hiking related so it gives us something to distract us from the trail. So far we¢ve discussed 1000 pushups in a day, swimming in every submergible body of water we find, a chin up goal, a full split and some others. We have until the half way point to make a final list.        The shelter area is packed with campers. Luckily we still got into the tiny shelter. Tomorrow will be an early morning to try and beat the heat.
Date: 2006-05-28
From: Crampton Gap Shelter

To: Cowall Shelter
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: few clouds

Six O¢clock came early this morning. The sun rose immediately in front of the shelter and created an orange sky. I was tempted to roll over in my bag liner and fall back asleep. It was going to be a hot day though, morning miles would be helpful.        We hit the trail by 7:30. The trail was smooth and we quickly reached the next camp ground. This campground was a special one; it had a shower! After a quick rinse I scarfed my snacks and started practicing dumb tricks with Jay. I failed at the front hand spring a handful of times, but had better luck with the hand stands.        We planned to eat lunch at the next shelter. However the park rest area proved to be a giant distraction. Once again the soda machine didn¢t accept dollar bills. I think it¢s such a sick joke where thru-hikers are the brunt of it. Only tourists and day hikers are silly enough to carry change.         The George Washington Monument was an interesting site. It was originally build in 1827 out of pure stone. Over the years it has collapsed and been reconstructed. However it kept being rebuilt with the original stones.         The afternoon was difficult with twelve miles to cover along with the heat. We played a movie title game Jake and it distracted us for a few miles.         At the shelter there were eight people already settled in. Upon my arrival four of them left to set up tents and it opened up the shelter for us. Another late night and early morning to come.
Date: 2006-05-29
From: Cowall Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

It was more difficult to wake up this morning at six. I was mostly packed and ready to go before anyone else got out of their bags. I guess we weren¢t getting up at 6, maybe I missed the memo. Jakes friend Brad stopped by to trade packs. He claims he can carry a lot more stuff now, in the form of board games and other forms of entertainment.We came to a couple of stream crossings before lunch. The second was deemed deep enough for submerging ourselves so we threw off our packs and jumped in. It was extremely hot and humid in the morning, although it didn¢t get much hotter later in the day.For lunch we stopped at the Pen-Mar Campground. It was a beautiful facility with many picnic tables, pavilions and jungle gyms. Shane informed us we were invited to a picnic with a family. Their spread included hot dogs, hamburgers, taco haystacks, macaroni salad, deviled eggs and baked beans. It was wonderful to enjoy their company and their food.Afterwards we hung out in a pavilion. Jake gave us swing dance lessons while others lounged around. It was 4:00 before we finally ventured away from the park. This three hour lunch was definitely one of the our longer ones.The final seven miles to the shelter went by quickly. Jake and I discussed several issues and we had to wait an hour before the crew showed up. We decided to push onto the next shelter because it was only 1.2 miles away. A family made a mess out of the shelter area and didn¢t make it look very inviting. It turned out to be a good decision. The site has two shelters, one for snorers and one for non-snorers. I was banished to the snorers shelter even though I haven¢t for awhile¢¦We went down to the stream to fetch water and jump in. A group of middle aged kids started hooting at the girls as they came down. A local Hoods N¢ the Woods program was in for the night. I spoke with the leaders at length when I went back to rinse some clothes out.Another super late night, I hope I¢m well rested by morning.
Date: 2006-05-30
From: Tumbling Run Shelter

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

Let the heat wave continue. For the fourth day in a row the temperature has reached 85 plus degrees. It was 68 when we woke up this morning, meaning we were sweating three minutes into our hike. I drank close to three liters of water before I left the shelter. The next water source was 10 miles away and I didn¢t want to chance dehydration in the heat.        I¢ve been trying to focus on breathing through my nose. I¢m a mouth breather so its difficult to maintain it for prolonged periods of time.        We stopped at a state park for lunch. On the weekends a swimming pool is open, so we had to settle for bathing in a stream. We took another three hours today. I quickly ate after soaking in the stream so I could lie down. I could never fall asleep, but it felt great to relax in the shade.        At 3:00 we finally set off. It was still 85 degrees. The trail kept us in the shade, but the humidity was terrible. By the time we reached the shelter we were exhausted.        The shelter is shaped like a bunk house. It may get uncomfortable without a breeze. Thunderstorms may come in the night. It¢s only 9:24¢¦yes! Sleep!
Date: 2006-05-31
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Pine Grove Stealth Site
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: few clouds

The rain came down with fury last night. I rolled over in the morning to see a new body on the floor, but couldn¢t figure out who it was. It turns out Jake decided to bail out of the hammock. I guess a hammock doesn¢t feel too safe when lightning is striking nearby.        Most of the morning was spent on a wide and smooth trail. We crossed the ruins of an old stone bard. During World War II it was used as a prison for captured German U-Boat sailors. We rock climbed up the face of the wall and took pictures with us in the old window frames.        Ten miles in we reached the Pine Grove Furnace store, the home of the Half Gallon Challenge. Since the store is one mile from the half way point, thru-hikers stop to make their attempt at joining the club. The prize: a wooden ice cream stick with ¢Half Gallon Club¢ stamped on it. If a half gallon of ice cream sounds like a lot, it is. The record is four minutes and seventeen seconds. The even is all fun and games until you reach the last ten spoon fulls. Jake was trying to beat Shane and had it all over his face. They finished at 24 minutes. I took 37. I don¢t even like ice cream.        We hung around for two more hours and watched Crumbs, Sassparilla, Low Key, Collin, 4-Today and Felicia attempt their challenges. Their challenges turned into a female thru-hiker singing extravaganza. It took awhile to pull everyone away to go to the beach down the road.         The beach had beautiful white sand and a clear bluish water. It almost resembled the waters of the Caribbean, aside from the pine trees surrounding it. We swam for an hour and half before deciding to leave. One yards later we decided to stay. Jay and I found an open field and three the Frisbee around before meeting the group. We returned to the store for dinner goods and waited for a plan. As I waited for others to eat I went to the Ironmasters Hostel to check out the hidden underground railroad room. There was a removable floor board with a ladder leading to three small rooms. The ceiling was only five feet high. The care taker spoke to me about the houses history.         Before leaving we came back to the hostel to play on the gigantic outdoor chess board. We came out victorious as Jake surrendered his team. We continued down the trail and slept 10 feet before the half way marker. The rest of the built a fire and made shmores while I hit the sack.
Date: 2006-06-01
From: Pine Grove Stealth Site

To: Jakes House, Carisle PA
Miles today: 9.0

We broke camp early since on one cooked and we wanted to get to town. The half way marker made for a great photo op. It felt like quite an accomplishment to reach this spot. Soon we¢ll have 1000 left and a real countdown will begin. As we left the marker the group bellowed the lyrics to Bon Jovi¢s ¢Living on a Prayer¢. For those not familiar with the lyrics, a part includes, ¢We¢re half way there, ohhh oh, we¢re living on a prayer. Take my hand we¢ll make it. I swear!¢ An hour later Nicole heard it on the radio and gave it to me. Bon Jovi has never sounded so loud and horrible in the Pennsylvania woods.        When we arrived at the road crossing we needed to walk a mile to a campground to use the phone. We then waited for Jakes dad and friend to pick us up. At his house we immediately dove into the pool and played catch with a football. The rest of the afternoon was relaxing and filled with reading ¢Outside¢ magazine, watching ¢Wayne¢s World¢ and talking with his folks.        Mona made us an amazing meal with chicken, vegetables, salad, potatoes, and panera bread. It was an excellent day.
Date: 2006-06-02
From: Jakes House, Carisle PA

To: Jakes House
Miles today: 0.0

Jakes parents had a great breakfast for us this morning. We lounged around the kitchen for quite some time before planning our day. After an hour of indecision, we eventually decided to take a zero day instead of hiking five miles after dinner.        We jumped in the car and drove to an outfitter and post office in Duncannon. Jake picked up a couple of stuff sacks since his trip was a bit longer than he expected. The post office sent our boxes to the Doyle Hotel since they are open seven days a week. Nicole and I left our box there until we high through in two days. Shane picked up his new pack and took some food.        It was another relaxing afternoon at Jakes house. We ate spaghetti dinner and everyone played in the pool. We¢ll pack up tonight so we can exit early in the morning.
Date: 2006-06-03
From: Jakes House

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was another short night after a zero day. We ate a quick breakfast and said goodbye to the Lemanski household. We were on the trail by 8 and got moving after seeing Mad Dog and Pilgrim.        The climb this morning brought us through giant rock outcroppings. The trail could have easily gone through around them, but trail designers must have wanted to add a challenge. It would have been more fun if the rocks weren¢t slippery.         Before Boiling Springs we began a 17 mile stretch of complete flatness. We crossed in between farms and crop fields while spanning the valley. In town there were celebrating Founders Day so it was full of people. We ventured through the craft section and picked up food from some of the vendors. Jake got dropped on his back while attempting to climb a tree rig and the attendant ran out of rope. He was very apologetic and offered to buy us beers at the tavern. I don¢t think he could help but laugh though, since the rest of us were in hysterics.         The miles flew by in the afternoon since we could average over three miles an hour. After seeing we crossed a river we spent five miles trying to pronounce ¢Conodoguinet¢. We kept saying things such as, ¢ The Conodoguinet River is about 35 feet wide, but you shouldn¢t drink from the Conodoguinet because the Conodoguinet River is down stream from a farm.¢ We never quite pronounced it correctly; each attempt added or subtracted more syllables until it sounded like a bumbling ness.        The shelter has a couple of section hiking SOBOs who have admitted to being loud snorers. Nicole is lucky her parents sent earplugs in the last mail drop.
Date: 2006-06-04
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon PA
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Today we had eleven miles into town. We panned on re-supplying and moving out, but the distance between shelters made us change our plans. Instead we decided to stay at a campsite in town, do another 12 miles tomorrow and set up for a good day after that.         At the Doyle Hotel we had a couple of beers and played some pool. There was a free shuttle to the grocery store at 4:00, so we waited until then. When we got back we decided to a room at the hotel since it would be so cheap to split. At least it would keep us out of the predicted rain.         Nicole, Jake, Christina and I went down the street for Pizza. Two Pizzas for $12.99, you can¢t beat that deal. For the rest of the night we listened to Jake tell stories as he recovered from his afternoon.
Date: 2006-06-05
From: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon PA

To: Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

First things first, Tackle has a radio with a speaker, Jake turned it on and we¢re listening to U2¢s ¢Beautiful Day¢ while watching the sun set over an orange and red sky. You can¢t get a more fitting song for this moment.        Last night at 1:00 am a blaring fire alarm sounded from the fire station. It took a while before we could make sense out of it. Once I was sure the hotel wasn¢t burning down I rolled over and went to bed.         We hung out in the room until eleven because Shane had a package in the restaurant. It gave me time to take two showers and play boggle with Jake. We tried to get on the internet at the library but it is only open for six hours each week. We were out of luck.        Mad Dog and Pilgrim showed up at the hotel and harassed us about taking another afternoon off. Each time we leave them they think it¢s the last time they¢ll see us. Snickers and Pondwater also rolled in. We haven¢t seen them since Tennessee. We stopped at a couple of areas for breaks today, including Table Rock, where we proceeded to toss rocks off the ledge and watch them smash below.         At the shelter we walked down the 300 stone steps to the spring. Jake and I only could between 270 and 290, so we were cheated out of a longer climb. The shelter sleeps twenty people so there is plenty of room for all of us. Tomorrow we¢ll be out of luck at the shelter unless we get moving earlier and take fewer breaks.
Date: 2006-06-06
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: broken clouds

After two hours of hiking today we stopped for a snack. I estimated that we had come more than five miles. Shane arrived and said we¢d yet to reach four miles. I couldn¢t believe it. We were hiking at a fast pace, surely it was more than that. Twenty minutes later we arrived at a sign reading 6.5 miles. It relieved me to know that we weren¢t moving that slowly.        We crossed the road into a parking lot and found a stream to submerge in. The water seemed much cooler than usual. Shane swam through one of the piped tunnels under the road. It felt great to rinse off the sweat and start fresh.        We found a red blaze trail shortly after a spring. Trail Angel Mary told Shane and Jake some story about hidden treasures (of some sort) at the end of red blaze trails. Jake disappeared down it to check things out. A few minutes later a day hiker arrived and told us the trail led to the top of a steep mountain. Ooops. He returned 15 minutes later with the same news.         When we sat for lunch there seemed to be some sort of war game simulation occurring nearby. Fighter jets were whizzing by so close to our heads that we could see the wings as they banked for a sharp turn. Machine guns fired in the distance. Some planes seemed to be in a dog fight because they were following each other so closely. There was also an extremely loud and deep sound that was similar to the spaceship in Close Encounters of the third kind.        We reached the shelter at 4:30 and took another swim at Rausch Creek. At the shelter we cooked and pulled out twister for fun some intense competition. Next time we¢ll have to play before dinner because I could feel dinner coming up a few times when I was bent over.        Tonight I see a few mosquitoes flying around. It must that time of year when they pester people in the outdoors¢¦..sweet!
Date: 2006-06-07
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was a long one. It seemed as though I woke up every half hour and couldn¢t enter a deep sleep. Mowgli apparently couldn¢t sleep either. I found him at the foot of the shelter reading, due to Tackle¢s snore. Luckily it didn¢t bother me or the night would have been even worse.         Nicole, Jake and I had a rock throwing target practice. We took turns throwing and played first to 10. Jake won, Nicole came in second but I¢m not giving her full credit because she was standing AND threw bigger rocks¢¦..or at least that¢s my excuse.         A half mile down the trail we came to a giant bridge. Jake and I got a picture taken doing a simultaneous heel click. It took several attempts for a good picture, but we got one. Afterwards Jake gave Nicole and I another swing dance lesson.        We saw a lot of rocks on the trail today. Pennsylvania is famous for its horrible rocks. So far, the rocks are no worse than other sections we¢ve came through. There are some tiring sections, but it¢s never frustrating to hike through.        After lunch Jake and I ran for two miles over a nice section of trail. It was fun to stretch out the legs and use different muscles. We arrived at the 501 shelter a little after 5:00 and I got ready for the solar showers. Without a solar panel, it¢s much cooler, especially on a rainy day, but it¢s much warmer than a cold creek.         Mad Dog and Pilgrim greeted us when we arrived. They ordered pizza and said they waited a few hours hoping we¢d show up. We used Mad Dog¢s cell phone to order two pizzas, a meatball sub for Jake and some soda. While we waited we looked through National Geographics and Time magazines. After dinner we played Boggle until dark.
Date: 2006-06-08
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

It was nice waking up inside the cozy four-walled shelter. With only 15 miles to hike today, we knew we didn¢t need to hurry.        The trail was rocky for most of the day. It wasn¢t bad enough to significantly slow us down though. We found a great overlook to take a break at. Jake and Shane tossed some rocks over the ledge and we smashed come off a boulder.         For a large section today there were side trails that allowed you to stay off the rocks. It was amazing to see how smooth they were compared to the actual AT. A lot of people complain in the shelter registers about the trail location. They want it to run over smooth terrain. There¢s no reason to get upset over it. Just lengthen your stride and get through it.         Everyone wanted to take a nap after lunch so I went ahead to the shelter. I made it by 4:30 and everyone else came about an hour later. Sarsaparilla, Crumbs and Low Key left us the lyrics to ¢Ice Ice Baby¢ and ¢For the Longest Time¢ at a shelter yesterday. They wanted us to learn them before we catch up to them again. I have ¢Ice Ice Baby¢ committed to memory after an afternoon of practice.        Tomorrow: Port Clinton and the largest Cabela¢s in the country!
Date: 2006-06-09
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton Pavilion 
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: light rain

We quietly packed camped this morning. Tackle slept in so we tried not to wake him. After a half hour down the trail the girls told us to go ahead so we could get to town earlier. It was another rocky morning hike. Just before we reached town we descended down an extremely steep ridge. We ran down it to try to take some of the pressure off our knees.         Once we were off the ridge Shane, Jake and I took a swim in the river. The water was moving quick enough to begin to pull us down stream. It felt great to rinse a layer of dirt off before entering town.         We met the girls at the outfitter, which seems to be going out of business. We met Superman and decided to go to lunch at the hotel. Apparently the bar only lets hikers into the dining room if they showered before hand. It was pretty shocking and even more shocking how the waitress was. The funny thing is that if we showered we¢d still smell as bad because our clothes are the smelliest part of us! We decided we¢d just give our money to Cabellas.         We used Grey Eagle¢s cell phone to call the shuttle. The store was enormous. We ate lunch at the restaurant, played around at all of its amusements and picked up a couple of things. I found a pair of Croc sandals that fit my feet. Now I can swim comfortably without fearing I¢ll lose them downstream.        We needed to get to the grocery store to finish re-supplying, so we followed Superman down the highway. It must have been at least three miles. The girls tried to see how many trucks they could get to honk their horns. Apparently the drivers were talking on their CB¢s about girls on the highway because a man named Tricks heard it and came to find us.         He met us back at the pavilion with beers and Bluegrass music. We ate dinner and carved a watermelon Nicole bought. Later on we made a fire in a pit across the street. A lot of hikers are in the pavilion tonight, it may get crowded on the AT in the next few days.