morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-03
From: Randolph, NJ

To: Trail to Buttermilk Falls
Miles today: 7.7

I got up this morning around 7 and got ready for church. I had a wonderful night's rest last night in my bed with a pillow! I sure do love pillows! Mr. Jim and Mrs. Bambi took me to their church for morning worship at Abundant Life Worship Center. We had an AWESOME service and it really revived me and I'm extremely glad that I got to go. After church, Mr. Jim took me back to get my back and then he bought me lunch and took me back to the trail. I want to say a special thank you to Mr. Jim for all of the hospitality!! I had a wonderful time staying at your home and I want to THANK YOU for allowing me to stay and treating me so kindly. Thanks! As soon as I put my pack on to start hiking, it started raining very hard. I hiked out of Culver's Gap and got on the ridge. I hiked up over Rattlesnake Mtn. When I got to Brink Road Shelter, I saw 4 more bears!!!! I first saw a mama bear, then I saw 3 little cubs come running up. These were about 30 feet from me. I stood there and watched them until they walked off. I then continued on in the thunderstorm and after I got to the trail to Buttermilk Falls, I decided to put up my tent. It quit raining for a little while and I got to put my tent up with only a light drizzle. I ate two spaghetti meals tonight for supper. About 30 minutes after I got in my tent, it started storming again. It started thundering and lightning a lot. I had to put something over my eyes to go to sleep because the lightning was so frequent that it was almost completely illuminated for awhile!
Date: 2003-08-04
From: Trail to Buttermilk Falls

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: light rain

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain, again. I cooked my breakfast from inside the tent and then finally pulled myself outside the tent and packed up my wet tent and my wet gear. I had a really nice hike all day today. It's been raining all day on and off, but very easy hike up on the ridge. After hiking on the ridge for most of the day, I descended down into the Delaware Water Gap. When I had about 2 miles to go until the end of the day, it came a torrential downpour!!! I had to walk over the Delaware River on the side of Interstate 80 and it was raining so hard that all of the cars had their flashers on and they were going extremely slow. Needless to say, by the time I got to town, I was SOAKED! When Matthew and I were hiking in the 100-mile wilderness we met Drew Eberz who lives in Stroudsburg, PA, right next to Delaware Water Gap. He had given us his number and told us to stop in when we come, so I called him and he came and picked me up and took me to his house. He and his wife, Dana, cooked a WONDERFUL meal for me tonight! It tasted very good! I also got to soak in their hot tub after the meal!!!!! This felt extremely good after a long day of hiking! I have a very comfortable bed and pillow to look forward to tonight! After my hot fudge sundae Dana just made me! When I got here, I set my tent up to dry it out and I got to wash and dry my clothes also. Drew and Dana have been extremely nice to me and I want to say thank you very much!!! I have really enjoyed my visit here! Thanks for everything! Great day today!
Date: 2003-08-05
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up this morning around 6 and packed up and Drew took me back to the trail around 7. I had a wonderful stay at Drew and Dana's house and I can't thank ya'll enough for all you did! I started off with a hike up Mt. Minsi. Once I got to the top, I stayed on a ridge almost all day long. When I got to the top, I noticed that my left leg was swollen. I stepped in a yellow jacket nest yesterday and 3 stung me. I never have liked yellow jackets! Today, my leg is swelling up around one of those bites, maybe it'll go away. It was extremely flat walking up on the ridge. The rocks started though! The entire trail is nothing but little sharp rocks poking into your shoes. But they're not as bad as the NOBO's kept saying. You just have to take things as they come and make the best of it, otherwise you wouldn't enjoy the trip! I stopped at Kirkridge Shelter this morning for a break and then continued on to Wind Gap. When I got to Wind Gap, I decided to go into town and eat at Burger King. It was delicious! While I was sitting in BK eating, it came a downpour!!! I decided to sit in BK for awhile and wait for it to pass over. It never passed over, but it did slack down to a drizzle. I finally pulled myself away from BK and hitched a ride back to the trail and continued on 5 more miles to Leroy A. Smith Shelter. It rained on me the last 5 miles and I was soaked by the time I got to the shelter. I am staying with 2 NOBOs and 8 boy scouts tonight. The shelter is packed! I had to walk .4 miles to get water. Once you get on these ridges, you have to walk downhill to get to water. I'll be heading into Palmerton tomorrow.
Date: 2003-08-06
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 15.8

I left this morning around 7. I walked on the ridge again today. The rocks would make Pennsylvania hard if it wasn't so flat! Even though my feet hurt a little because of the rocks, I love the flatness of PA!!! After passing by Little Gap, I came to a spot on the trail where all of the trees are gone! There was some kind of big fire or something and for about 3 miles, the scenery is very different from anything I've encountered yet. The ground around me is nothing but rocks and there are a few dead trees scattered in the rocks. It looks like I'm walking on the moon! After the "moonwalking," I had a steep descent down into Lehigh Gap. I came down over nothing but rocks and it was so steep in a couple places that I had to sit down on a rock for my feet to reach the next rock. It was kinda fun though. I made it down safely. A guy in a van stopped and gave me a ride into Palmerton. I am staying at the "Jailhouse Hostel" tonight. The city allows hikers to stay in one of the town's office buildings, it is actually the old jail. I had to go to the police office to check in and when I checked in, they gave me a bag that had a granola bar, stamped postcard, toothpaste and toothbrush, shampoo, Advil, and a 5 minute calling card! This is an extremely nice town and all the people are very friendly to hikers. I am going to resupply my food here. I picked up my maildrop today at the post office and it had all kind of goodies in it from home! Thank you mama! This was the best one yet! I passed Elk today. He is another southbounder that I haven't seen since Maine! When Matthew and I were in the hundred mile wilderness, we stayed with him one night. We recognized each other even though we both look different now. We both have beards and our shoes have holes in them! It was great to see him again!
Date: 2003-08-07
From: Palmerton, PA

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 25.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today has been my longest day yet! It's been a good one though. I didn't sleep well last night and I woke up around 3:30 AM feeling sick. I thought I was going to take a zero day but then I woke up at 7 and I felt fine. So I headed on out to the trail. I got on the trail around 8:00 AM. I started off with a hike up to the top of the ridge and my pack was extra heavy because I had a lot of food in it. Once I got on the ridge, the hike has been pretty flat the entire time. It's also extremely rocky! I didn't know there were this many rocks in the world! Muchless all in one place! Oh well, atleast it's flat. I almost stepped on a rattlesnake today. I was going along, jumping from rock to rock, and right when I was about to put my foot down I noticed there was a Diamondback rattlesnake right where I was about to put my foot, so I jerked my foot back and the snake went under a rock. I guess I need to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes now, I hear there are a bunch in PA. The last 3 miles of the day I did really fast because it was thundering and I wanted to make it to the shelter before it rained. I made it to the shelter around 6:00. Eckville Shelter is very unique because it is in a guy's backyard and it has electricity and bunks. There is also a refrigerator filled with cokes and ice cream sandwiches that I can buy!! Yummy! It was definitely worth the extra miles to get here! Great day today!
Date: 2003-08-08
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: broken clouds

I left pretty early this morning because I woke up at 5 AM and the bugs were biting me so I went ahead and got up. I left around 6:15. I once again walked on a ridge for most of the day until I had a descent into the town of Port Clinton. The trail went right through downtown so I stopped in for a snack. After Port Clinton, I had a steep ascent to get back on the ridge. The rest of the day was flat and rocky. I got to the shelter around 6:30. There are 6 other people staying here tonight. I'm sleeping in my tent beside the shelter to get away from the bugs! I was pretty tired this afternoon because I didn't get enough sleep last night because of the bugs, so I went to sleep early tonight!
Date: 2003-08-09
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

I slept in a little this morning and got started around 8. I hiked on a rocky ridge all day, as usual. Pennsylvania is pretty much all ridge walking on rocks. It's kinda monotonous because you can't really see anything because you're in a "green tunnel" of trees all day! It started raining really hard around 1:00 today. I got SOAKED!! My clothes felt twice as heavy because they were so wet. I got to 501 Shelter around 3:00 and I was going to go on 4 more miles, but the shelter was so nice and it was raining so hard, I talked myself into staying. This shelter is also in a guy's yard. It has a huge skylight in the top and a bunch of magazines to read. It's right beside highway 501, so I hitched into the town of Pine Grove 3 miles away. I ordered pizza there. They deliver the pizza to the 501 Shelter, so I ordered the pizza to be delivered and then asked if I could just ride with the delivery guy. They couldn't really say no, so I rode back to the shelter with the pizza delivery guy!!! It tasted VERY good too!!! I'm staying with Elk again tonight. We are both enjoying the pizza and the 2 liter coke I bought!
Date: 2003-08-10
From: 501 Shelter

To: Harrisburg, PA
Miles today: 17.0

Today has turned out to be a very good day. I started off the day with the intention of going about 20 miles and then camping somewhere, but it didn't quite turn out that way. I left around 7:15 this morning and started hiking in the rain. It's rained for so long now that I honestly can't remember the last day it didn't rain. It's been atleast 2 or 3 weeks of constant rain. I'm beginning to feel waterlogged!!! I had a flat walk on the ridge again until I came down to a gap and crossed under Interstate 81 and then I went up Second Mtn. I then came down the otherside of the Mtn. and got to Rausch Gap Village, which is an old abandoned village. It was a mining village in the late 1800's, but now all that's left are a few stone foundations. I walked over a bridge over Rausch Creek and I met a nice couple. I got to talking with them and I told them that I was going into Harrisburg the next day to take the train to Philadelphia to meet my parents at the airport. They offered to take me into Harrisburg today, so of course, I said sure! They have been extremely nice to me! Their son and nephew was with them also. They took me out to eat at Pizza Hut and then took me to the YMCA in Harrisburg. Thank you very much for all of your help Mr. Harold and Mrs. Robin!!! The YMCA was full, so I had to walk a mile down the road to the Comfort Inn and that's where I'm staying tonight. I have a king size bed all to myself!!!!!!!! I'm very excited about that! I also have a shower! Yeehaw!!! My parents and younger brother are flying up to Philadelphia tomorrow to see me so I am taking a train from Harrisburg to Philly tomorrow and meeting them there! I'm getting very excited about seeing them!!! It's been awhile since I saw them last!!! It feels good to be at the hotel where I can dry out!!! My feet were feeling pretty badly between the rocks and being wet all day, so this is a great treat! I crossed over the 1,000 mile mark today!!! I was VERY excited about that milestone!!! I cannot believe I've walked a thousand miles!!! Almost halfway!!!
Date: 2003-08-11
From: Harrisburg, PA

To: Philadelphia, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Today has been a very nice day. I slept in this morning and didn't check out until 12:00. I then walked to the train station and took the train to Philadelphia at 3:00. I got there about 5 and then I had to take another train to the airport to meet my family. I got to the airport at 5:30 and their plane didn't get there until 9:30!! I had a long wait! We were all very excited to see each other when they finally got there! We got the rental car and then went to the hotel. When I finish a roll of film, I send it home and they get it developed, they brought all of the film I had sent home and it was cool to see all the pictures I've taken. Great day today!
Date: 2003-08-13
From: Philadelphia, PA

To: Philadelphia, PA
Miles today: 0.0

This morning we woke up and took the train into downtown Philadelphia. We took a tour of the entire city and we saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Independence Hall is the site of the first government in the US. We also saw the steps that Rocky ran up in the movie. They were the steps to the Art Museum in Philly. We also saw the house where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. We ate a Philly Cheese Steak for supper and it tasted pretty good!!
Date: 2003-08-14
From: Philadelphia, PA

To: Philadelphia, PA
Miles today: 0.0

We drove out to Lancaster, PA today and saw the Amish Country. We took a horse and buggy ride around some farms and saw a bunch of farms and Amish houses. We also ate at a restaurant there and it had great food!! I ate a ton of green beans and corn and everything else they had! After the Amish country, we drove on to Gettysburg, PA. Gettysburg is the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. We took a driving tour of the entire battlefield, which is 7 miles by 7 miles. There were monuments to the soldiers all along the road. After Gettysburg, we drove back to the hotel.
Date: 2003-08-15
From: Philadelphia, PA

To: Cambridge, MD
Miles today: 0.0

We were planning on taking the train to New York City today, but they had a huge blackout yesterday and it was still blacked out this morning, so we decided to go to Washington D.C. instead. So we drove down I-95 through Delaware and then Maryland and then D.C. This was my 5th visit to D.C., but it's great every time! We took a tour and saw all of the sights and then we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Air and Space and went to the IMAX theater and saw Spacestation 3D. It was a really cool movie and it made you feel like you were on the spacestation! After leaving D.C., we drove over the Bay Bridge into Maryland's Eastern Shore. We are going to mama's cousin's house tomorrow, so we are staying at Cambridge, MD tonight. Great day today!
Date: 2003-08-16
From: Cambridge, MD

To: Salisbury, MD
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

We slept in this morning and then drove to Salisbury around noon. We got to our cousin's house about 12:30. It's really good to see them again and visit with them. We are staying with Mr. Chuck and Mrs. Judy and their two children, Chad and Haley. Mrs. Judy's sister, Mrs. Debbie is here also. They are mama's first cousins. We all went to Assateague Island this afternoon. It is an island on the Atlantic Ocean that has wild ponies running free. When we got to the beach, there were about 10 horses just playing around on the beach. It was pretty cool to share the beach with ponies. We all love the beach and we had a great time. After the beach, we drove to Ocean City, MD and walked on the boardwalk for awhile. As soon as we got back in the car, it started raining really hard! We got lucky! We then drove back to their house and had a wonderful supper!!! After supper, we sat around in the living room and looked at pictures and talked. I'll be heading back to the trail on Monday morning. Today's been a great day!
Date: 2003-08-17
From: Salisbury, MD

To: York, PA
Miles today: 0.0

We slept in a little late this morning and then we went to the Salisbury Zoo with Mr. Chuck, Mrs. Judy, Mrs. Debbie, and Haley. We had a good time at the zoo and then we went back to the house and ate a wonderful meal. After eating, we had to get going. We had a great time visiting with our cousins and we were sad to leave. Thank ya'll for all you did! After we left Salisbury, we drove back over the Bay Bridge over the Chesapeake Bay and went through Annapolis, MD, Baltimore, MD, and then up to York, PA. We decided to stay there for the night. We ate at Cracker Barrell for supper and it was great! I must be getting closer to home because this is the first Cracker Barrell I've seen! After eating, we went to the hotel and I repacked my pack because mama, daddy, and John Mark are going home tomorrow and they're taking me back to the trail. I've had a great time with my family and I can't believe they're leaving tomorrow!!!!
Date: 2003-08-18
From: York, PA

To: Peters Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 17.9

We got up this morning and left pretty early because we had an hour and 15 minutes to get to the trail and then mama, daddy, and John Mark had to drive back to Philadelphia to the airport. We could only drive to within 2 miles of where I got off the trail, and mama, daddy, and John Mark hiked in with me to the Appalachian Trail. Daddy and John Mark took turns carrying my pack for me. I really appreciate that!!! John Mark walked up to see a shelter with me and then I had to say goodbye. It was sad to see them go, but I had a great week with them! After about 2 miles of hiking, I could tell I had taken a week off! I am out of shape already and I hurt all over!!! I feel like I did way back in Maine! It took me all day to go the 17.9 miles to the shelter. I was the most scared today of anytime on the trail also. I was walking along and I looked up and saw a 3-foot Timber Rattlesnake about 4 feet in front of me in striking position and rattling at me!!!! As soon as I saw him, I stopped dead in my tracks and then slowly backed up. After sitting in striking position for a long time, he eventually slithered off. After I quit shaking and he went on, I started hiking again. I was paranoid the rest of the day because rattlesnakes are everywhere! Every rock I step on, which is almost every step, I thought a rattlesnake was going to bite my leg! I think I may be getting sick also, I haven't had any appetite all day long. I haven't eaten anything except for the hotcakes from McDonald's this morning. Needless to say, today has not been my best day. I was extremely glad to see the shelter when I finally got there and I laid down and skipped supper and went to sleep very early! Hopefully it won't take me a month to get back in shape like it did when I started the trip!!!
Date: 2003-08-19
From: Peters Mtn. Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

I woke up this morning kinda late and I still hurt from yesterday!!! I can't even straighten my legs out all the way because the tendons behind my knees are so tight. I tried stretching but it doesn't help. I ate a poptart for breakfast and then started hiking around 8:30. I stayed on a ridge all day until I came down to the Susquehanna River. The Susquehanna is the longest river that I cross on the whole trail and it is also the widest so far. It was almost three quarters of a mile across on the bridge. I still feel really bad and I was going to go on further, but when I got ot Duncannon, I felt like I couldn't go any further. When I saw a payphone, I sat down and I couldn't even stand up to dial the numbers! I sat on the ground and talked to mama and decided to stay here at the Doyle Hotel for the night. I still have no appetite at all and I hope that I'll feel better tomorrow if I just rest today.
Date: 2003-08-20
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 25.6

I woke up this morning and I felt a little better. I thought about taking a zero, but I decided that I would hike 11 miles to the next shelter. I left around 8 this morning. I climbed up on the ridge and walked up there for about 11 miles to Darlington Shelter. I got there at 1:00 and I sat there talking to a northbounder for about 45 minutes and then I decided to go on a little farther. After the shelter, the terrain became VERY flat and I walked through corn fields and hay fields the rest of the day. I got to Scott Farm Trail Center around 3:30 and I read the register there and saw some other SOBO's who had left me messages and I decided to go on into Boiling Springs, which was over 10 miles away. I got to Boiling Springs around 6:30. I did 10 miles in about 3 hours. I was very pleased with that. I went to the gas station and bought some snacks and a Dr. Pepper and I had been told to find a lady named Mother Hen here. So I asked the cashier and he told me how to get to her house. I walked to it and knocked on the door and she invited me right in. She took me upstairs and showed me my bed and shower. She had also just cooked supper, and she gave me steak, broccoli, and baked potato!!!!! I hit the jackpot!!! Mother Hen is extremely nice and this is definite trail magic!!! It's amazing at how kind and nice people are. We usually hear about all the bad people on the news, but I can assure you, there are more good people still out there than bad. The bad just make more noise. I've met so many wonderful people on this trip and I am very thankful that God has allowed me to meet them. Today has ended up being a great day and I'm thankful that it's ten times better than yesterday!
Date: 2003-08-21
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: Tom Run Shelter
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Today's been a really good day! I left this morning around 7 and walked through cornfields for about 3 miles and I then started going over some ups and downs. The terrain is still rocky in parts, but it's much better. I got to the halfway point today!!!! I was very happy about that! I did the 1/2 way, 1/2 gallon challenge when I got to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The challenge is to eat a half gallon of ice cream as quickly as you can. I ate chocolate ice cream in 43 minutes! I wasn't feeling too hot afterwards!!! I then went on about 3.5 more miles. I cannot believe that I'm halfway done with this trip!
Date: 2003-08-22
From: Tom Run Shelter

To: Deer Lick Shelter
Miles today: 29.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Today turned out to be much longer than expected. I hiked 16 miles by 12:15 today. I got to Caledonia State Park and went to the snack bar and ate a hamburger, fries and large Coke. It was very good! I then hiked on after eating. It's been very hot and humid today! It started raining about 4:00 and the rain felt good because it cooled me off. My new shoes kept my feet dry too! I was very happy about that. I love my new Gore-Tex Nike shoes!!! I was going to stop after 26 miles, but I found out that 4 other SOBO's that I know were only 3.5 miles ahead of me. So I decided to go on and meet back up with them. I got to the shelter and saw them at the picnic table out there! It was really good to see Morning Moose, Nanowolf, Smokey, and Cephus again! We caught up on all our experiences and exchanged stories. Today's been a really good day!