morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-04
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: clear sky

7:05 AMI just had to write a quick note to say that waking up in my very own shelter was wonderful! It was slightly nerve-wracking when I went to bed last night, but it was just perfectly peaceful all night long. I woke up to pure serenity. I definitely love my friends on the trail and would be so sad without them, but this one nights of solitude has been an incredible experience.9:40 PMBah! I hate rocks!!! Somehow, sitting in bed in the shelter (once again by myself), it's hard to feel quite the same rage as when I was hiking a couple of hours ago, but man, I was fuming! The last 7.5 mile stretch, from Eckville Shelter to here, was one of the worst I have encountered so far.Barring that, today was a pretty good day. I hiked 9 miles to Eckville Shelter, enjoying a beautiful view from The Pinnacle on the way. Eckville is very similar to the 501 Shelter, in that it is an enclosed bunkroom with a caretaker living right next door. There is a water spigot, flush toilet, trash can, and shower. I stopped around 1, intending to take about an hour for lunch. When I saw how comfy Hollywood was, and what a nice place it was, I decided to take a bit longer. When Lazzee (or Mike), the caretaker, invited us to his front porch and gave us grilled hotdogs and soda, I settled in for a while. As others showed up, we chatted about the trail. Lazzee has thru-hiked 3 times (I think). He showed us lots of pictures from his hike and eventually turned on some bluegrass. It was an absolutely perfect way to spend the afternoon!Eventually, a little after 4, I dragged myself away. It looked like a fairly easy hike, but of course turned out to be rock hell! Anyway, I made it here! I had dinner and then a freeze-dried ice cream sandwich for dessert to celebrate the 4th of July. Happy 4th, everyone! I have heard constant booms since sundown. I'm a little bummed that I haven't gotten to overlooks to watch any fireworks (the boys got a pretty amazing show last night, I hear), but I've also really enjoyed my solo sheltering. Goodnight moon. Goodnight rocks. I hope to get the heck away from you soon!
Date: 2010-07-05
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: Palmerton, PA (PA 248)
Miles today: 17.7

Pennsylvania, this relationship just isn't working out for me. Quite frankly, you suck. I could try to be all diplomatic and say, "It's not you! It's me!" Well, that would be a lie. It's totally you. I'm leaving you. In fact, I'm moving out as soon as possible. Unfortunately, as soon as possible is going to be after two or three more days. Trust me though, as soon as I can, I'm gone, and I'm not looking back!Today wasn't actually that bad. I enjoyed myself for much of the day, and just got dragged down by the heat towards the end. The heat is insane! When I got online at the library at about 7:45 PM, weather.com said it was currently 92 degrees. That's not okay.It was a long day, but I made it to Lehigh Gap a little after 6. It was a very busy road to hitch on, but I was soon picked up by a couple of guys just finishing a day hike. They were extremely nice and took care to deliver me straight to the Borough Hall. The city of Palmerton operates a hostel in the basement of Borough Hall, one of their two main government buildings. I checked in at the police station and then headed on over. It was cool and comfortable. I went upstairs and took a shower in the old gym-style showers. It was weird, but felt amazing! (I had the water pretty cool, of course.)I had a bit of a rushed evening, but got a lot done-internet at the library, setup a free shuttle for tomorrow, stocked up on a few groceries I needed, and had dinner. At the grocery store, the cashier asked if I was a hiker. I said yes, of course, and she said every hiker gets a free apple, sending me off to pick mine out. How cool is that!?! I don't know if I've said this, but fresh produce is one of the things I miss most out here. I now have a fresh peach, nectarine and apple for tomorrow. Yum!For dinner I went to this cool little diner called Burt's. Dinner was good and the atmosphere was homey, but the best part was dessert-I had a KILLER hot fudge brownie sundae. It was amazing!!!After a nice, long talk with Braids, I am off to bed. I have a very long, tough day tomorrow and must be up early.
Date: 2010-07-07
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Goodbye, PA! I would day I'll miss you, but that would be a lie. Yes, I'm technically still in Pennsylvania, but only for 0.2 miles of trail more. Woohoo! I hiked a long, but good day over some of the worst rocks yet. I got to Kirkridge Shelter feeling relatively good (hurting, but not too badly), and with plenty of time left to make 6.5 more miles before dark. I just couldn't resist finishing PA (for all intents and purposes) before the day's end. With great joy, I soon was hiking down into Delaware Water Gap and then strolling into the Church of the Mountain hostel. It was especially great to catch up with a few friends here. Oh, I also saw my 8th bear (on this hike) today! It was HUGE and just lumbered across in front of me, never seeming to even notice I was there.A lot of the rocks today were, in my opinion, the worst kind. The trail was almost nothing but rocks for several miles, but they were all too small to get your foot on any flat surface. The result is extreme focus on where you step, but still have jagged, sharp edges and points pushing into the bottoms of your feet all day. The strangest thing about the rocks has been that I've actually begun to get used to them. This is now the trail that I know and expect. When there is a smooth, flat trail, it seems like an unusual, incredible gift. That said, I am SO happy to be heading on to New Jersey!
Date: 2010-07-08
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Stroudsburg, PA
Miles today: 10.5

Dad¢s here!I got up fairly early this morning, left my pack, and hiked North out of DWG. It was with great glee that I hiked across the bridge and out of Pennsylvania. There¢s quite a bit of road walking getting out of town, but then the trail turned into the woods and led up beside a beautiful stream. This nice trail was a great welcome to New Jersey. It also took me around the shore of a gorgeous lake. Before noon, I arrived at a road and hiked up to the Mohican Outdoor Center. Dad wasn¢t quite there yet, so I chatted with Likely and read the register. When I heard, and then saw, Dad¢s Subaru pulling up, I leapt up and rand down the steps. We¢ve had a great reunion and have enjoyed chatting at yummy lunch and then all afternoon. We decided to find a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and ended up at a local, authentic place. When we got there, everyone but us was Hispanic. It was great! We¢re settled in at the Quality Inn, where we had a very strange check-in that ended up landing us a great rate-$70/night. Before I end this entry, I¢d like to say a FINAL goodbye to PA by acknowledging that there are, in fact, several good things about the state:* Southern PA was flat, nice trail.* There¢ve been some great swimming holes and pools.* I had some great town stops and dealt with wonderful people.* It¢s the home of Yuengling beer.* There weren¢t any big climbs.* Tons of yummy black raspberries.So, there are some really great things about Pennsylvania. That said, based only on the Northern half, Pennsylvania Sucks.
Date: 2010-07-09
From: Stroudsburg, PA

To: Stroudsburg, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Today was officially the ultimate zero day! Dad and I spent the day at Camelbeach Waterpark. It was incredible for many reasons-on all these recent days when I was hot and dehydrated, I dreamed of being completely surrounded by water. The waterpark filled this desire perfectly! This was also the first time Dad had been to a waterpark in about 20 years. I was amazed at what a blast we both had! And, of course, it was really great just spending all day together.When we got back, we were both completely wiped out! We napped (slept like rocks, more like¢¦) and later ordered pizza ad watched a movie.Today was a WONDERFUL day!!!
Date: 2010-07-10
From: Stroudsburg, PA

To: Stroudsburg, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Another great zero-I did chores in the morning, and then we drove all through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. We went up the west side of the Delaware and down the east side. When we drove by where the trail turns off of the I-80 roadwalk out of DWG, I asked him to turn off, and we walked just a little ways up the AT beside the beautiful stream that I admire a couple of days ago. Oh! One thing I left out-I¢ve been craving Olive Garden salad and breadsticks for MONTHS. I didn¢t realize there was one nearby, but when Dad¢s GPS took us on a ridiculous, out of the way route to get to a Greek restaurant for lunch, we passed right by one. Of course we stopped and had a great lunch!When we got back this evening, we had both been excited about getting Thai, but were way too full from our late evening. We just ended up hanging out a the room the rest of the evening. Do I really have to hike tomorrow morning? (Just kidding!)
Date: 2010-07-11
From: Stroudsburg, PA

To: US 206, Culvers Gap, (Newton, NJ)
Miles today: 17.9

Yay for more miles and new friends!We got up and packed up this morning not particularly quickly, but not too slowly either. Dad drove me back to the Mohican Outdoor Center, picking up a delicious McDonald¢s breakfast along the way. We got to the center and saw Boomer, who Dad (and I) enjoyed talking to for a bit. I started my slackpack around 10. Today¢s hike was beautiful! I saw no more bears, but spent much of the day up on the ridge with gorgeous views. I stared the morning off pretty well, hiking fast and making good time, but still appreciating the beauty. Somewhere along the way, however, it just hit me that a part of me would really like to hop in the car and go home with Dad in the morning. Of course, I don¢t really want the end result of that decision, but the immediate desire is most definitely there. Of course, this led to yet more tears (no new thing for me, I know¢¦). I hiked on, though. Soon, I met Jaybird, followed by the Canadian Geese. I¢ve read about all three people for weeks, so it was great to meet them! All were very encouraging. I hiked down to Culvers Gap and smiled broadly when I saw Dad stand and take a few steps my way. He was sitting there with fresh watermelon trail magic. How great!!! I sat for a while enjoying watermelon with the other three plus Wookie. Eventually Dad and I left with the Canadian Geese. Dad drove them to try to find a hotel, but since the two near the trail were pretty scary, they ended up coming on to the Holiday Inn Exprss in Newton with us, about 15 miles away.Dad had gotten us all checked in earlier while I was hiking, and all of my stuff was already upstairs waiting when we arrived. What luxury! We had a great dinner, and even better conversation, at Applebees later, and topped this evening off with an amazing maple blondie. We¢ve just spent the rest of the evening chatting and are off to bed. I¢m going to miss Dad like crazy, but today was a great day!
Date: 2010-07-12
From: US 206, Culvers Gap, (Newton, NJ)

To: High Point State Park
Miles today: 14.3

One thing I love about the trail is that when I get up in the morning, I never really know how the day¢s going to end up. I was at High Point State Park, sitting and chilling out, when Alice showed up. For about 10 years, Alice has been coming up to the park and taking hikers to her home. She asks $10 to keep it going, but gives us a shower and a bed, does our laundry, feeds us pizza, Yuengling, and ice cream, and takes us back to the trail in the morning. There are five of us here tonight-the Canadian Geese, Machete, Compass, and me. This is unexpected and wonderful!I had a tough time leaving Dad this morning, but this was expected. There¢s something incredibly comforting and homey about crying into your daddy¢s shoulder. I did have a tough time for a while, but got better and better as I hiked. The rocks were pretty bad today, but supposedly get much better soon. I took a short lunch to get to the state park by 4 for my maildrop and letter from Braids. Both were great!I planned to go to High Point Shelter, but this is a very welcome substitute!I¢ve gotten a lot of emails and phone calls from concerned friends. Apparently, my journals lately have been a bit depressing. I greatly appreciate the concern, but no worries, folks-I¢m not going to throw myself off a mountain or go home. I may not always be thrilled about it, but there is absolutely no question about what it is I need to do. Most of the time, though, I¢m also working on enjoying and cherishing it. Today, I seem to be doing pretty well ?
Date: 2010-07-13
From: High Point State Park

To: Unionville, NY
Miles today: 8.8

Hikers-do yourselves a favor-if they are still welcoming hikers when you come through, you MUST stop at the Outhouse, a.k.a. The Mayor¢s. Even if it ends up being a 2 mile day for you, stop anyway. This place is wonderful! As you can see, this ended up only being a 9 mile day for me, but I am SO glad I stopped! The place is wonderful, the people are wonderful, the food is wonderful, and on and on. I¢m still going through lots of emotional ups and downs (and probably will through the end), but everything tonight has led to me feeling like I am in exactly the right place. I miss Sarah horribly, especially in the mornings, but we have great conversations at night (we did this evening), and I know she will be there and love me when I get home in the fall. Most of all, I know that I am doing exactly what I need to be doing.There¢s not a lot to say specifically about today¢s hike. I didn¢t get on from Alice¢s until 10:00, but since it was so few miles, I was done by 2:15. On the way to the trail this morning, Alice got pulled over for speeding. There were six of us total in her PT Cruiser, four of us squeezed in the backseat. It was interesting listening to the officer¢s questions about who we were and what was going on. Having been a police officer myself, it was fairly easy to put myself in his shoes, and reminded me how insanely unusual trail life is. In the end, he took pity and gave her a verbal warning, but I know we all must have looked crazy to him.Early in the hike, we could see the High Point Monument, a rather grand obelisk that I didn¢t expect. We got some rain today, causing me to quickly discover that I have lost my packcover. Thankfully, Storm is going to REI tomorrow before coming to see me, so she¢s going to get me a replacement. The rain today, though, was really nice! No bears, but I hiked through same beautiful forest and over lots of boardwalks through swampy wetlands. As I said, I have thoroughly enjoyed Butch, Bill, Ronnie, and other hikers at The Outhouse. It¢s late now, and I¢m off to bed, can¢t wait to see Storm tomorrow!Vinchero!
Date: 2010-07-14
From: Unionville, NY

To: NJ 94 (Kenilworth, NJ)
Miles today: 11.8

In the past week, I have done my laundry 4 times. I have had a shower every day since last Wednesday. By the time I hike into New York for real on Friday. I will have hiked the entire state of New Jersey not spending a single night in the woods. This is most definitely the ¢spoiled¢ portion of my trip. Thank you, trail angels!After a delicious breakfast (Thanks, Bill!) and more good vibes at The Outhouse, I got out at a decent time. Even though I was the only one leaving at the time, Butch drove me to the trail. Today¢s hike was beautiful! On the profile, it was two incredibly flat stretches, with a mountain plopped in the middle. This was accurate, but each of the sections was really cool and different. The first flat had about a mile and a half around a man-made wetlands area that is a National Wildlife Refuge. There were birds galore, including Canadian Geese, a swan, and majestic Great Blue Herons. The misty, rainy day made it even magical! The mountain had some crazy, tough, rocky climbs and lots of old stone rains at which to marvel. The last flat consisted of the famed mile-long boardwalk through marsh land of cattails and tall, tall grasses. The whole thing was beautiful! It was wrapped up by trail that went through overgrown fields, where you often could barely see the well-worn trail through the encroaching flora, but just had to push your way through, getting completely soaked in the process.I soon met Storm at Heaven Hill Farm. In her infinite wisdom, she arrived with a bag of dry, cotton clothes and two nectarines. It was so nice to be dry, and with a bag of dry, cotton clothes and two nectarines. It was so nice to be dry, and with delightful company! (and it still is¢¦) After she treated me to a wonderful lunch at Applebee¢s and navigated the insane Jersey traffic (she only lives about 15 miles from NYC), we were soon at here home in Keniworth, NJ. We¢ve had a wonderful day, and she fixed me the most incredible dinner! She grilled veggies, big portabella mushrooms (thanks, Bonita!), and corn. She made the most delicious grilled wraps out of hummus, the veggies, and feta cheese. It was truly amazing to have fresh, homecooked food.I am having such a great, relaxing time with Storm! Thank you SO much, girl!!!
Date: 2010-07-15
From: NJ 94 (Kenilworth, NJ)

To: NJ 94 (Kenilworth, NJ)
Miles today: 0.0

She's back, ladies and gentlemen!!! I can't promise she'll stay there, but right now, I feel an amazing renewal of the magic and mystic that I felt back during the Southern part of my hike. As you know if you've read my whole journal, I've been really struggling since Harpers Ferry, perhaps a little before. I've had lots of really great, exiting moments in there, but I could hardly remember or understand the excitement for every single day that I felt for the first three months or so of my hike. Well, for the first time in over a month, I FEEL THAT AGAIN! I have Storm (GAME 2009) to thank for that. Storm, how can I ever really thank you for a deed so great? Not only has she fed me, pampered me, and clothed me, but she has shared with me endless stories of her adventure last year. We've sat around talking about our experiences, about hard moments and wonderful surprises, tears and triumphs. She's answered every question I had and talked through my anxiety about the harder climbs coming up and about the Whites. I've sat surrounded by all of her trail stuff - her 2,000 miler's certificate, her completed map. The article her mom "made" her put in the local paper, etc. It has all worked through little cracks in my homesickness and ennui. When we sat down and watched the video of pictures and music from her hike, arranged from Georgia to Maine, I finally TRULY remembered why I love this trail so very much. I am so genuinely excited to hike on tomorrow, into uncharted territory. In the Eastern part of our country, I have only ever traveled as far north as New York City. From here on out, I'm in completely new territory. I simply can't wait.   Storm, you have my very deepest gratitude, for you have touched my life and influenced my hike in a powerful way. Thank you.
Date: 2010-07-16
From: NJ 94 (Kenilworth, NJ)

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: light rain

I would like to start today's entry with a huge "THANK YOU" to Lisa Gunther for transcribing the last month worth of journals and for generally being wonderfully supportive. Thanks so much, Lisa! You rock!   All in all, today was a great day! It began in a super comfy bed, followed by a shower and wonderful breakfast lovingly fixed by Storm. She drove me back to the trail and hiked in the first little bit with me. I felt fairly crummy physically this morning, but as soon as that passed (which it did fairly quickly once I started hiking), I felt the same excitement and magic that I rediscovered yesterday. I remember thinking this morning that yesterday's journal entry should be called "How Loosie Got Her Groove Back." I spent much of the day feeling great like this. I did encounter some very difficult rock scrambles and traverses, but made it through. At one point, I wasn't sure if I'd have enough daylight to make my planned 17 miles. That, combined with the high physical difficulty of the terrain, had me nearly in tears. That soon turned completely around. About 6:45, I arrived at NY 17A and hiked the .2 mile down the road to Bellvale Creamery. It was a wonderful, welcome oasis! Part of this was the creamery itself (FI got water of which I had run out, and coconut ice cream with hot fudge. It was AMAZING!), but a large part was my trail angels, Marlene, Wayne, and Carol. They asked if I was hiking the trail and were greatly interested. We had a great chat, and they asked lots of questions (which I was more than happy to answer). Out of the blue, Marlene bought me a birch be (also made by the creamery) that was perfectly refreshing and delicious. This wonderful trio also went out of their way to give me a ride back to the trailhead. Thank you all so much! This really turned my day around!   I did, in fact, have time to hike to the shelter, and I rolled in to find several friends shortly after 8. After somewhat slowly going about all of my chores, I'm now sitting here at 10:00 journaling and trying to finish my dinner, though I'm about to give up and finish it for breakfast. After a little planning SNAFU, I am eating the very first dinner on the trail that I did not prepare ahead of time and have sent to me. I have discovered several things - ramen, peanut butter, curry powder, and chicken (cooked in town and eaten on the first night out, of course) is delicious. Secondly, I should use a little more curry powder. Third, my premade stuff is so much easier! Lastly, one packet of ramen is a BIG plenty for me! I'm stuffed. Guess what's for breakfast?   A couple of earlier things I forgot to mention - Lately, ridgetops have looked like an early fall has arrived. Leaves litter the ground in mid-July, apparently dead from heat stress. It's sad.   This morning, everyone I passed seemed to comment on my sunny disposition. One person said that I practically glowed. The general consensus was that I've got Maine in the bag. Seriously, Storm, thank you SO much.
Date: 2010-07-20
From: Graymoor

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: clear sky

There is absolutely no other way to start this entry than to say a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Braids!!! After a wonderful phone call yesterday and some quick (but brilliant) analyzing and decision-making today, she is now going to Auburn for vet school instead of UGA. I am so happy for her and proud of her, and I can't wait to join her there after the trail.As you could probably guess, many phone calls and general excitement over this new development consumed my day. Hiking was almost an afterthought. That said, I hiked my longest day in quite a while. It was really tough, but I feel great now, and very accomplished.About 3 miles before the shelter, I stopped on a mountaintop to check my phone. In addition to several texts, I found a voicemail waiting for me. It was Braids' voice, starting right into the most amazing trail song ever. As you know, we have spent a lot of time rewriting the lyrics to songs to make them hiking songs. Well, she apparently (in all her spare time...) rewrote the lyrics to "Hey There Delilah" into "Hey there OTL", essentially a musical love letter from her at home to me on the trail. It was absolutely amazing!!! By halfway through, I was in tears, but in a very good way. Thank you, Braids. It was perfect.Saw a huge turtle in the trail today! No idea what kind it was, but very cool. We ordered food at the shelter (right on the road) tonight. I made my trail dinner, but got "garlic knots" and Diet Coke, and also cleaned up a bunch of Beans' salad. Thanks, Beans!It was a wonderful day. Congrats again, B!!!