morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-06-11
From: Deer Lick Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 80, 15.8 miles, 7 am - 3:15 pm   As for last night, it rained steady and long, and nobody else showed up. I love having a shelter to myself. I guess we are still in a hiker vacumn. Lately I have only been seeing section hikers on the trail, few at that.    The rain did let up when we started out, but there is 100% humidity and the day was very dark. Maybe I'm getting used to depressing weather because it didn't bother me so much today. It did squall on us a few times but nothing sustained. The woods here are very pretty. The trail is understandably wet and muddy, but in good shape considering.    Uneventful, quiet day, we just hiked and took a few breaks and did our thing and arrived at this shelter early. We debated going on, but it is simply so nice here. This has to be the cutest and cleanest shelter on the trail. There are even potted pansies here! Downright homey. The spring in front is clean and fantastic (I would hope so with all the rain we've had!) Even the picnic table is set up in a breezeway. It started raining again in earnest a little after we got here so it sealed the deal. It's already 6 o'clock and I've read a magazine, played solitare, made some black tea. I was tired and achey today so it was nice to relax, stop early, and duck out of more rain.    I am getting tired, but feeling good about our hike. Something about going through Harper's Ferry really changed things for me. I am sticky and dirty as hell, it's raining for the billionth time, but I don't know what will happen when I go back to the land of working, driving, doing errands, paying bills, etc. I will miss the peace and quiet and the good smells most of all. Well time for more spring water and another game of cards...
Date: 2009-06-12
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: James Frye Shelter
Miles today: 24.5

Day 81, 24.5 miles, 6:30 am - 7:15 pm   Up and out into another dark day, but with pretty woods, pine trees, white laurels, and good trail. Many times I stopped just to look into the woods.    Easy trail today gave us good time to Pine Grove Furnace SP, where we originally planned to camp for a 17.5 mile day. SOBO's we met last night told us that the SP has showers, and it's been more than a week for us since we've had a shower. However, they didn't tell us that in addition to $21 for a site the showers are back at the Ironmasters' hostel, and they cost $4 each. $21 for a site is one thing, but I wasn't paying $29 to camp somewhere, or $21 w/no shower. So no go. Unfortunately we found this out after a LOT of wandering around the park with our packs on. Oh well, we were at least able to sit out a 45 minute downpour under a pavillion.    We had gotten chips and a drink from the campstore, but decided to forgo the 1/2 gallon challange as all they had left was banana ice cream. Near 5 pm we took off for the last 7.5 miles of the day to the next shelter.    The sky, thankfully, cleared out, and it was a nice enough evening to hike. The angled sunlight turned the hillsides of laurel a blinding white, and the trail at times was smooth and covered with pine needles, which is nice.    So now I'm tired and my feet are on fire after walking more than 24.5 miles all together today. It's 8:30 and starting to get dark. Only Matt, myself, and Hotpants in the shelter. We could have tented, but we have now backed ourselves into a mileage corner, and we have to try to get out early and easily as possible as we need to do over 26 miles tomorrow! No! At least it will get us to Duncannon 1 day early, but I may arrive injured or maimed at least.
Date: 2009-06-13
From: James Frye Shelter

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 26.5
Weather: few clouds

Day 82, 26.5 miles, 6:30 am - 8 pm   Hellishly long day, and the pain, oh the pain, the worst pain I've felt the entire trip.    The hike this morning seemingly lasted forever, I felt like we were hiking as hard as we could and getting nowhere. We finally made it to Boiling Springs after some confusion in the cornfields outside of town. We sat for over an hour and ate lots of ice cream and sweet tea next to the blue green spring the town is named after. The water looks so fresh and appealing it's freezing cold. I waded around a little but it was too cold to be in for long.    After that, still 14 more miles through interstate outskirts of roads, dirt service roads, railroads, housing developments, farmer's fields, dairy and veal farms, neighborhoods, streams, bridges. All stuff you miss going 70 mph.    Saturday night at this shelter, many section hikers, and Braid who we've just met. He is a good harmonica player. Duncannon tomorrow, hopefully I won't drink too much Yuengling but I may have to to numb the pain. * * *Oh, our longest mile day on the trail. I will never do it again. The last few hours of hiking were pure agony. It was horrible. I find nothing redeming about hiking until agony sets in. Oh man. I was hurting so much that I could not even eat dinner, I was just nauseated with pain. At least it was an interesting walk, though, a unique part of the trail. Some may not like it for it's not 'wild' but it was a nice change of pace. We saw veal cattle that made me very sad. Those poor animals. Anyway, it was fun to straddle the line between town, highway, farm, countryside, and woods. Places you usually drive through we got to walk through.
Date: 2009-06-14
From: Darlington Shelter

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

Day 83, 11.4 miles, 6:15 - 11:30 am    I'm tired and a little drunk right now but I want to remember that today was a beautiful day. A red ball of sun came up, with breezes that swept out the humidity, and blue skies, and clear views of the countryside, and long shadows on the fields. Rocky trail, pines in the woods, and pink wild roses. No sleep last night as pain kept me awake and unable to relax and fall asleep, but town awaits. Admittedly I felt a little short tempered, but we were able to get chores done in good enough time. I had a great hot lunch at bar here and I've basically been drinking Yuengling since this afternoon. Lots of people here that I miss. I had my halfway picture taken with Ironman. Motor is here, too. Now it's late and I'm writing and Matt interrupting me by reading aloud from a Cosmo rag from 2008. I love this hotel. * * *Ah, the Doyle. If you take a shower on the 2nd floor with the laundry running, you will have an adventure for sure. The pipes back up and you're swimming in brown water and you think that it's going to over flow. But the water eventually goes back down.
Date: 2009-06-15
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Peter's Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 84, 11.3 miles, 11 am - 4:45 pm   A long walk out of town on a mild June day. Chores, coffee, a trip to the Subway-though I would have preferred the truck stop's Iron Kettle Restaurant--crossing the huge Juniata and Susquehanna rivers, and finally up the ridge again. Freeze caught up with us and we hiked with him for awhile, although my feet are incredibly numb/tender/painful so I had to walk slowly over sometimes rocky terrain.    Tent city at this shelter, we're officially out of the vacumn. Southern Pennsy was awesome, but already this section has a different, monotonous feel. I think it's going to be a long week. Time to put my had down, meditate over rocks, duck rain, suffer through pain, negotiate the crowds, and get 240 mile Pennsy over with.
Date: 2009-06-16
From: Peter's Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Creek
Miles today: 17.5

Day 85, 17.5 miles, 6:30 am - 3:30 pm   The day wasn't long but it was dark and gloomy, and I am completely exhausted, so things felt like they were long even if they weren't. I didn't sleep well again last night, AGAIN. Many sleepless nights in a row are wearing me thin.    Things went OK at tent city last night, Motor was our neighbor, as well as some radio-wielding section hikers. Really easy trail today, mostly on an old woods road, probably constructed for mining. Hemlocks, pink roses, and laurels. Nice woods, but mostly my eyes were trained downward on the trail as not to trip on sometimes rocky terrain.    We saw another box turtle, and a dead rattlesnake with it's head cut off! Who did that?    It's surprisingly dark and cold for June. We are tented next to Rausch Creek, in a pretty site with hemlocks. The creek is clear and rushing. It's the nicest place we've tented in awhile. Everyone else went past us to the shelter. That's fine. I plan on being in my bag by seven.
Date: 2009-06-17
From: Rausch Creek

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: light rain

Day 86, 17.4 miles, 6 am - 1:45 pm   Long night's sleep at our comfy and quiet campsite. I went to bed at 6:30! We tented alone, so we were able to get up early and talk at normal volume. It kind of helped me wake up a bit.    Dark days continue. We intentionally got out early because we knew that the rain is coming back. We passed some nice streams and trees, but quickly the trail became overgrown, dense, and brushy. I think I lost a layer of skin on rose and berry bushes. Not a pretty day. We walked quickly to beat the rain, and it was spitting on us as we got to the side trail to the shelter, with the downpour starting when we got inside. We got bunks and I crashed for awhile despite the amount of noise from 25 people in here.    I had a mini-freakout over the forecast. There is more rain coming for the next 5 days! Also I am sort of regretting bouncing some of my raingear and layers forward as it is barely 60 degress during the day and cold when it rains. And I have new socks that are not protecting my feet so I have some painful blisters. AND I am just spent, tired, I need a break from the trail so I can rest and recoup. We are still 100 long miles from being done with Pennsy. Time to go out in the rain to pee...
Date: 2009-06-18
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagle's Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: moderate rain

Day 87, 15.1 miles, 8 am - 3:30 pm   Oh, a long night. Loud rain fell nonstop so I was glad to be snug in a bunk. Everyone last night ordered pizza, except for us, but I was strangely content with our noodles. The shelter was packed, understandably, who would want to tent through the days of this crap? I think you would only stay dry if you had a mountaineering tent or something. Or maybe you would still get sucked into the mud and drainage.    I woke up early but pounding rain on the roof made getting up prohibitive. Eventually I made half assed attempts at getting ready, and we were out after 8 o'clock. Believe it or not we were the 2nd ones out. I don't think anyone wanted to go anywhere today.    I am down on the trail, which is my own problem, trying to push out of Pennsy, but today takes the cake. First off, we got turned around for 25 minutes on an incredibly steep, slippery, rocky blue blaze (Braid did the same thing, so I don't feel so dumb) and then after that the trail just morphed inot a giant lakebed/river, no shit, miles of it. At times I was knee deep in water, on the trail, mind you. The trail itself was hard to keep track of because there were so many flooded cheater trails going off in a million different directions. There was that and it also rained on us all day, nonstop, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain. Depressing, frustruating slog with I guess not much to see anyway. Not fun.    So. After walking 15 miles today without a break (no place or possibility of taking one) we decided to stop at this shelter and add 1 day onto our itinerary for this section. We will be doing 15-17 mpd through the rest of the state. I vented for awhile and then Matt told me to stop being so negative about everything. Then he made me some tea and I felt better. Now finally the rain has stopped, although everything is flooded or in standing water. It is nearly 7 pm and quiet, with only Braid, Matt, me and a chipmunk here. Everyone else went into Port Clinton. We need a small resupply there to get us to Palmerton in a few days. I'm glad the day is over. * * *That section was crazy. I started calling it the "Pennsylvania Lakes Region." I remember walking past Hertlein Campsite, and there was a river running through it. I couldn't even see where people would normally tent. Then there was the river trail, or the feeling of walking through the center of a marsh/lake.
Date: 2009-06-19
From: Eagle's Nest Shelter

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 88, 14.7 miles, 6:30 am - 2:45 pm   I had a really nice morning today. It has stopped raining for good and the fog has blown out. Braid offered to make me a cup of coffee and I said, "I can't say no to that." So he made me some real deal filtered coffee which made my day and I told him that, too.    So we set out on considerably drained but still wet waterlogged trail. Another day of wet feet. I hope they survive and don't start molting or anything. Not much to see today, muddy & rocky trail to pay attention to.    We dropped down to Port Clinton around 11 am. We crossed a neat rail station and headed into town. Our stop was faster than anticipated. The outfitter didn't have much, no resupply to speak of, not even granola bars. They did, however have an emergency poncho. I had to find it myself. I asked the kid behind the counter if they had one. He didn't bother to look up from the solitaire game he was playing and he said "Yeah." Crappy outfitter. I did get a quart of ice cream, though. I downed it outside while talking to Rolling Stone and his dog Coal. The day remained dark and cloudy. After our snack we left town and climbed back up to the ridge.    Having only 7 miles left for the day, we walked slowly. We decided to stay though it was early. The rain is supposed to start up again tonight, and I think the giant group is at the shelter ahead of us, anyway, and I think we've finally broken from them. The joy continues, sheltering again. This rain has really been a wrench in our hike. So now we're hanging out at the shelter, Matt is reading a book and will soon start dinner. Motor stopped in and we talked for an hour or so. He didn't have anything good to say about Port Clinton, either. Now a loud drunk hiker from Allentown has shown up in the meantime. Oh, Pennsy. 4 more days, rain and rocks for tomorrow. * * *I don't recommend staying at that area. It's so local people were taking their dogs out for a walk there. And, we had the pleasure of camping with Smokie the Drunk...
Date: 2009-06-21
From: Allentown Shelter

To: PA 248/Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 17.7

Day 90, 17.7 miles, 6:15 am - 2:45 pm    Synopsis, since I'm very tired but it's a loud hostel and I can't go to sleep yet--   The rain eventually stopped this morning and we hiked over rocky and easy terrain. The Knifewalk and Bear Rocks were okay, a little dicey, but we went slow. Lots of wind and black clouds, but by this time the rain stopped and I was grateful at least for dry rock.    I hiked as hard as I could, considering, I just really wanted to get to Palmerton. we had nice town and river views as we slowly came down the ridge. We got to PA 248 at 2:45 pm. I was surprised to see that it was a 4 lane divided highway. So we had to walk 45 minutes into town, but it wasn't so bad.    Palmerton turned out to be awesome, once we figured out the hostel situation. We were able to quickly do laundry and resupply, take showers, and eat excellent pizza--the real deal. Oh man it was so good. The town has a compact main street with everything you need. After dinner we sat on a bench and people watched. Many were out at a concert on the town green. I was happy and content. It was a nice evening--finally some breeze and blue sky and sun. I am so glad to have stopped here. What a nice little town.    Now I am simply tired, but at least sun is forecasted for tomorrow, so that may help me out. Pennsy will finally be finished in 2 days. This section has seemed so long.
Date: 2009-06-22
From: PA 248/Palmerton, PA

To: LeRoy Smith Tentsites
Miles today: 15.9

Day 91, 15.9 miles, 9 am - 6:15 pm   Today was a long but good day. I got up early, at 5:15, but at least I slept well. I also got my period this morning after over 3 months of skipping. At least I had indoor plumbing to wash up in.    Matt and I feasted on a huge breakfast outside: bananas, cereal, leftover primavera pizza, and takeout coffee from the diner across the street. Finally, finally a fresh blue sky morning, its been so long!    We started out of Palmerton in a great mood. As soon as I stuck my thumb out for a ride, a guy in a workvan pulled over and dropped us back at the trailhead--after doing a crazy Kturn across 4 lanes of traffic. Poor Matt got jostled around in the back seat with all the tools but he survived.    Anyway, it was up a rock scramble to the ridge, and there was the infamous Superfund site. Indeed it was weird, it was like someone killed all the plants and trees overnight. It was good for us, though, because the trail was temporarily relocated onto a ski trail that was lined with pretty grasses and flowers, and it was open, so we could see across into the town and the valley. We could also see the remains of a mammoth factory, crazy. There were also a ton of ripe blueberries to feast on, and we stopped often. Hopefully we won't get cancer. We didn't make good time on this section but we had a great time doing it.    After the trail met up at Little Gap, and it was the same boring rocky overgrown Pennsy trail I know and loathe. I kept my eyes trained down and wished the day along. Occasionally we would see carved out campsite in the trail with garbage and abandoned gear all over them. There is a lot of that sort of thing in this part of the state, along with broken glass and blacked-out white blazes.    Finally we reached Leroy Smith after 6 pm. David and Rolling Stone were already there. We got some water and set up in the tenting area. We haven't tented in a week due to bad weather, and it was strange and nice to be out again in the evening, not holed up in a shelter, waiting out the cold and rain.    The day turned out good, I'm excited to be getting out of here tomorrow!
Date: 2009-06-23
From: LeRoy Smith Tentsites

To: Kittatinny Point
Miles today: 21.4

Day 92, 21.4 miles, 6:30 am - 5 pm   I was up early and I wanted to get out of camp quick, but some mishaps with my monthly friend made for delays. Oh the joy. I tried to take it in stride, and we were back on the trail well after sunrise.    Trail today was 100% ankle-breaker for 15 miles. Add the fact that the woods seem increasingly disturbed with invasive species--thorny barberry bushes, oramental Japanese grass, Chinese honeysuckle--and you don't have an inviting hike. I wanted out of Pennsy, bad, and it was my only motivation for actually hiking through this last piece. That and never having to hike this part ever again. I told Matt like 100x today that I would never ever hike the section from Duncannon to DWG again. There have been some good views, and pink roses, and hemlock streams, but for the most part it's not worth my time. The weather this last week hasn't helped, but I think my impression would be the same regardless.    Anyway, we finally climbed over Wolf Rocks, the only waypoint in the book, and I finally felt like we were getting somewhere, and the day started to go a little faster. Finally, after our last break at Tott's Gap, I saw a brown park sign saying that we had reached the DWG Nat'l Rec. Area, and we hiked on a jeep road that would take us to the top of Mt. Minsi. It was kind of exciting because I'd been there before, and it was nice to be in recognizable territory again.    Down the switchbacked trail we went, toward the river and highway. The face of this mountain looks like that of Mt. Tammany across the way, which is interesting.    So I've finally made it. I've walked all the way from Georgia to the DWG. When we made it down, we had cookies that I had saved. We ate them on a bench in front of a pond. Then across the long bridge. I was tired, though, and the sun was setting and blinding me. But we did it. It is great to finally be in NJ! * * * Not only was that section as long as hell, I feel like it's also taken me forever to type it out.
Date: 2009-06-25
From: NJ Zero Day

To: NJ Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

Day 94Zero Day NJ   Admittedly I am not too jazzed about getting back on the trail tomorrow. I think that Pennsy and the weather sucked some of the life out of me. I had an awful moment at the Doyle when I looked at the map of PA. I thought that we had made great headway into the state, when all we had made was a dent, with 142 miles to go. I can't just bang out 142 miles in 6 days or something. This last section seemed to go on and on, and it was so boring. I really don't care about the famed rocks so much. The woods are just so ugly and boring and the trail is kind of trashed. I am relieved to be done with it, but for some reason I have great apprehension about getting back on again. I am still comitted to finishing. Hopefully the love will be back soon. * * *Oh, man, people were obsessing about PA rocks all the way back in GEORGIA. No kidding. Here's the thing--the tread is only really rocky between Port Clinton and the DWG. That's it. 70 miles of trail. Flat and rocky. Mostly it's more boring than anything else, and nothing anyone can't do. For God's sake don't obsess about it.
Date: 2009-06-26
From: Kittatinny Point

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: clear sky

Day 95, 8:30 am - 7:45 pm   I at least want to say--for such a long, slow trip, I am stunned to already have walked past DWG, Sunfish Pond, Mohican Outdoor Center, Rattlesnake Mountain, and Brink Road Shelter (which currently is a flooded mess...)   Backing up--we were dropped off at the TH in rain and darkness. So of course I started hiking in my (as yet untried) poncho, mentally stressed and anxious about the rain. The more it rains the less tolerant I become of it. We hiked nonstop up the ridge to Sunfish Pond. I haven't been here in years, but it is just as nice as I remember. There is STILL a ton of mountain laurel blooming all over the place, and the petals are a deep pink, along with pink roses, too. We made our way around the pond on the rocky trail. I had a lump in my throat as I hiked. Coming back to familiar places after a long absence is always emotional for me for some reason.    After taking our 1st break on the open ridgeline, we quickly hiked our way to MOC where we filled our water bottles. I can't believe they still have their collie! He is really old now. I'd forgotten about him. I also looked around their reading room, which is really nice.    Hiked, hiked all day, and it didn't start thundering until Blue Mountain Lakes Road. Then it darkened--I was tempted to get out my headlamp. I could barely see the trail. I might as well have been hiking at midnight. It rained torrentially on us until Rattlesnake Mountain, where is ended and cleared out a bit. The sky was really beautiful with all the inversions, clouds, rain sheets, and sunset colors in the west. It was pretty and ephemeral. I wish I could say it made up for a scary, loud, and extended 3 hour thunderstorm, but it didn't. I was still pretty agitated, and wet.    We would have stayed on top of Rattlesnake for longer, but after an hour it was past 6:30 and we still had a few miles to do. We made it to Brink Road and navigated the swampy area. Only by luck I found a tentsite that wasn't covered in standing water--extremely saturated ground, though. We hurried through chores and dinner and got settled in the tent as darkness fell.    I feel like the day has been long and stressful, but still good in the end. However, the rain is getting out of control. It's ridiculous that you can barely tent when it's stopped raining. There seasonal streams running all over the place. That I'm tired of all of it is an understatement. 1,300 miles have passed by and it is still f- raining. I mean, I'm already getting condensation between the tent floor and the thermarest--I've been in here barely an hour.    More rain forecasted for tonight, I guess if I don't wake up to a river running between myself and Matt I'll be satisfied.