morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-26
From: 501 Shelter 1,460

To: Campsite 1,500
Miles today: 0.0

I slept okay last night, but the Mt. Dew kept me awake a little bit. Last night was warm, though, and I was really comfortable in my tent. We got up a little late this morning but got on the trail around 8:30. Once again, the skies were clear and the temps were warm and we were all excited.Hiking today was pretty warm but I realy don't mind it so far. The humidity actually makes it easier for me to hike when it's hot out. Today was pretty uneventful, except for the swimming hole! We hiked for about 6 miles and came to a pond and a dam near the trail. There was a rope so Strappy, Sweet Ass, and Booble took turns jumping in. I got everybody's picture. They said it was really cold! Pez went for a dip but got out really quick. Right On was there with Brown Dog and the dog was loving the water and wanted to fetch sticks. We ate lunch there, then Booble and I hiked the next five miles or so together and we caught up with everybody else. We took a break at the shelter and decided to go another 4.5 miles to a campsite so we only have 4.5 to do in the morning into Port Clinton.I am at the campsite now with Strappy, Booble, and Sweet Ass. Pez went on in to Port Clinton for some reason. Tomorrow will be a quick town stop then we are hiking out to the first shelter. I really want a shower but...Today was a good day and we made good time. I was able to hike faster than I had in a long time. Not sure why. People had told me a lot of things about Pennsylvania and the AT here. I had been warned numerous times about the rocks, so I took a picture of the rocky trail. It is not this bad in all places, and a lot of the trail isn't rocky. A lot of PA is also flat. We have had a few short steep climb but nothing too bad. The reason people can do a lot of miles in this state is because it is so flat. The rocks get old ,though, but my feet don't seem any worse for wear.Goodnight Oscar.
Date: 2003-06-27
From: Phillips Canyon Spring Campsite 1,500

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter 840
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Everybody got up this morning around 6:30 and awoke to a warm, cloudless morning again. Strappy left early, and the rest of us left around 7:30 with visions of Mt. Dew in our heads. We hiked the four miles into Port Clinton without talking much and headed for the outfitter. I was determined to buy a lighter tent. My venture was a huge success. I bought a Eureka Zepher and it supposedly weighs only 3 pounds. If feels heavier to me. Maybe when I throw out the rubberbands, instructions, warranty info, and cut out the warning tag, it will be even lighter!I also bought another pair of shorts because my pair from Daleville was getting too big. I kept them as a spare.After the outfitter, I went to the post office to mail home my heavy tent, get my food drop, and bounce my box to Delaware Water Gap since we weren't staying in Port Clinton. Then we went to the Port Clinton Hotel for lunch. I had a chicken parm sub that had three chicken breasts on it. I could only eat half. We also put several quarters in the juke box and I chugged two root beers. Then Booble, Sweet Ass and I hitched into Hamburg with a pizza delivery guy named Will and he dropped us off at Food Lion. I made phone calls while the boys went shopping. I also had another Mt. Dew. I already had one at the outfitter. We decided to walk to Wendy's thinking it was closer than it actually was. We stopped at a hardware store and I got a hose clamp for my walking stick so it wouldn't split. Booble asked for Tyvek to use as a groundcloth under his tarp, and no one knew what he was talking about. They were clueless. Then we got picked up by Borderline, who is a ridgerunner. He took us to Wendy's since it was a lot further than we thought and we all got Frosty's. Borderline took us back to the hotel where I paid $5.00 for a shower and it felt great! Then we had a couple of beers and left town around 4:30. Ran into EZ Does It when we were leaving. We hiked the 6 or so miles to the first shelter in almost total silence. We had a big climb out of Port Clinton but it wasn't too bad. We got to the shelter around 7:00, I think, and met Grayjay who is a retired school teacher. She is also from KY, has a tent like mine, and we have the same thermarest. I couldn't believe what we had in common. Booble built a fire, we ate dinner and laughed a lot, and now I'm writing. Once again, a great day on the trail. I feel very fortunate to have met all the people I have come in contact with so far. They have made my trail experience very rich. I think Booble and Sweet Ass and I will make it to the Big K together. I hope we will because I have a great time with them. At the outfitter today we ran into Eli again. He said he is leaving the trail for good to go back to Austin. I think that is a huge mistake. Booble and I agreed that nothing less than losing a limb would make us quit now. I feel awesome. I feel excited. I feel intense. I feel confident. I feel strong.Now if I could only feel my toes...Goodnight Oscar.
Date: 2003-06-28
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter 840

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter 1,450
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: few clouds

I got up at 6:00, got ready to go, and the three of us hit the trail by 7:30 ready for a 22 mile day - yeah, right. We hiked about 4 miles, took a break on The Pinnacle rocks with a great view on this sunny, warm day. It must have been about 90 degrees. Our break lasted about 45 min. Then we hiked on to the next shelter, only we missed it. The Eckville Shelter is on Hawk Mtn. Road and we crossed it instead. After we went about a mile, we realized what we had done, so we sat down, ate, then decided to hide our packs and go back to the shelter. The shelter has sodas, ice cream, Oreos, etc. so you understand why we walked back a mile. We ended up staying there a couple of hours, drank two Mt. Dews each, and Booble took a shower. Grayjay was there and we had our picture made together. Finally we got motivated to go, found our packs and they were just as heavy as they were before, and we started hiking again.When we got to the second shelter, we decided to stay. We were tired. I have laughed so hard since I got here I almost had Kool-Aid coming out my nose. Sugar free Kool-Aid rocks, especially the grape. My feet hurt because of these PA rocks but not as bad as I thought they would. PA has been a great state to hike through and the people are friendly to hikers. The weather this week has been phenomenal and I have gotten spoiled. On to Palmerton tomorrow to stay at the old police station. It is a free hiker hostel with a shower and I bet we can get more sodas! I need some more Bert's Bees Hand Salve for my feet. Nothing else has worked as well. To my family and friends who have asked what to send, that is all I need if you can find it. I can't find it in these small trail towns. Letters would be great too and news of the fire in Tucson. Thanks to Rob for the cookies! One package didn't even make it past the post office. I'm going to rub my feet and go to bed. Those rocks were tough today.
Date: 2003-06-29
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter 1,450

To: Blue Mtn. Summit B & B 1,360
Miles today: 4.1

Where to begin. Wow! The three of us started out today very motivated to do 20 miles. This was another sunny, hot day with great hiking weather. I left before Booble and Sweet Ass and met them 4.1 miles down the trail at a B&B called Blue Mtn. Summit. Our intention was to break there, get water, and move on. Then we realized they opened for lunch in 45 minutes so we waited. We ordered lunch and beers and it was all over. The B&B was having a clam and jam at 5:00 and we wanted to go.Here's what we did. We hitched a ride to Palmerton, PA which was 13 miles by trail, 20 minutes by car. We left our stuff at the hostel which is in the bottom of the old police station -pretty cool hostel. We decided to hitch back to the B&B, sleep in their yard, then slackpack back the next day. So we got a ride with this landscaping guy named Larry who was covered in grass. He was super nice and talked a lot. Sweet Ass and Booble rode in the back with his machinery. I believe Booble got pretty intimate with a gas can. Anyway, we had our slackpacks and showed up at the clam bake. I ordered a hamburger and the waitress Margo hooked me up with corn on the cob and a baked potato. It was all good! The band was okay and played a lot of cover music. We had beers and closed the place down pretty much. I decided I did not want to sleep outside with the bugs and no therma rest, so I splurged on a room and shared it with my cohorts, of course. The room was absolutely beautiful and the shower was awesome! This entire place is like an oasis in the middle of nowhere. The manager Mandy was so awesome and our server, Margo, rocked.There is a but to this story. After the band stopped playing, we moved over to the bar. Some of the employees were hanging around and the owner, Ken, came out and starting ripping the bartender a new one. He is not a nice man, said some very rude things about us, and made me pay $10.00 more when he realized there were three of us. I asked for a razor and he told the manager I couldn't have one even though I had a room. He is rude, nasty to his employees, and Mandy, the manager was obviously pissed off about it. It is an awesome place, but if you go, don't take crap from Ken!Had an awesome time with Booble and Sweet Ass, laughed so hard my stomach hurt today, and am not at all worried about only having a 4 mile day. Good times were had by all!
Date: 2003-06-30
From: Blue Mtn. Summit B & B 1,360

To: Palmerton PA 380
Miles today: 13.4

We woke up this morning at the B&B around 9:00 not feeling pretty tired. Had a good night's sleep but the birds woke me up around 6:00 AM. There is no escaping them, even indoors. Booble, Sweet Ass and I watched TV until 11:00 and then left. We were the only people there because they are closed on Mondays, so they told us to lock up when we left. Weird. The 13 miles back to Palmerton was brutal. We were traveling pretty slow. Ran into Little Mermaid, Lube, and Gazer and they walked with us for a while. When we got to the intersection to go to Palmerton, a guy in a pickup truck gave five of us a ride. When we got back to town, we got ice cream right away, then went to eat at Parkside Inn. I had jalepeno poppers, crab cake sandwich, and mashed potatoes and gravy, and a Mt. Dew of course. Then I came back to the hostel and showered. That was an experience. The hostel is an old police station, so the shower was for "groups." I put the trash can in front of the door since there is no lock. Then I made a phone call, did my journal, and am going to bed. I am wiped out. Someone has pizza. Goodnight Oscar.
Date: 2003-07-01
From: Palmerton PA 380

To: Leroy Smith Shelter 1,480
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Ahhh, another adventurous day in this hiking la-la land. Today is proof that the people you hike with make this trip fun. I woke up at the hostel around 7:00 and stretched for a really long time because my legs are really sore. It didn't help. Then I met Booble and Sweet Ass at the ice cream shop for breakfast. I had a Belgian waffle with strawberry syrup and it was out of this world. Booble had to finish it for me. We went back to the hostel and got our stuff, hitched a ride back to the trailhead with a little old man and climbed out of Lehigh Gap over a big pile of rocks. The view was fantastic and the rock climb was actually pretty cool - something different. After that climb, the rest of the day was flat except for a small climb out of Little Gap. I took some Advil at lunch because of my quads hurting, so I was moving a lot faster. Booble, Sweet Ass and I were hiking on this old road and they were behind me as usual. I was looking down and missed the trail marker - and it was huge! Booble and Sweet Ass just stopped and looked at each other and let me go. They didn't let me go around the corner though. Mighty nice of them. When we were one mile from the shelter or so, I was still going pretty fast and got tripped up on a limb and fell flat on my face! I mean I totally bit it. I caught myself with my hands but my knees hit hard. I wasn't hurt really but my knee will be sore tomorrow. Booble did ask if I was okay and I was impressed that neither of them actually laughed at me because I knew they wanted to. However, Booble did exactly what he did the day Sweet Ass fell in front of him. He just stood there! Sweet Ass was laughing at that, he says, and came around to help me up. I had to laugh at this whole episode. I'm still laughing. I fell two days ago, too, but I was alone. These are my first two real falls. I hope there are no more. My legs look like they have been through a mine field.I forgot to write yesterday that we saw another bear. It was a big one and we saw it running through the woods. I was with Booble, Sweet Ass, and Lube. It was awesome. Debbie, in case you are worried, the bears just run away. I am at the shelter but we are all tenting. No one is actually near the shelter. I am tenting with Lube, Burn, Freemont, Sweet Ass, Booble, EZ,, Grayjay, Kneepad, The Little Mermaid, Gazer, Grizzzly, and a southbounder named Hmm. We've been having a great time. I wasn't feeling too good so Grizzly finished my mac and cheese for me. I'm getting ready to go to bed. Tomorrow is a 20 mile day to Delaware Water Gap but I can't wait to get to town and I just left one today. I need to do laundry in a bad way.Goodnight Oscar.
Date: 2003-07-02
From: Leroy Smith Shelter 1,480

To: Delaware Water Gap Hostel
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Everybody got up early this morning - before 6:00AM. We had 20+ miles to get to town and I had a lot to do. I hiked by myself most of the way but I got to town around 4:30, just in time to go to the post office. I started hiking around 7:15 on this 10th day in a row without rain. Awesome. Temps are only in the 80's right now. Today's hike was mostly work because we had somewhere to be - town! We took a break at Wind Gap where Strappy's parents left water and soft pretzels. Grayjay joined us, then we all took off to do the last 15 miles. I walked by myself to the next shelter which was 8 miles of excruciatingly painful rocks. They weren't big, they were just jagged. How do the maintainers get all the pointy sides to stick up anyway? After the shelter, I hiked into town for the last 6.5 miles, part of it with Grizzly. The hiker hostel is at the Presbeterian Church of the Mountain and it is free for the first night. It has several bunks, one shower, a great sitting room with lots of books and magazines, and a shelter in the back yard! I tented with Sweet Ass and EZ. Booble was in the shelter but had to go in after an hour because of the bugs. He slept on the couch. I slept great in my tent until 5:30 when the birds woke me up.Inside the hostel were Gazer, Kneepad, Eric (section hiker), The Fox, Burn, Freemont, Grizzly, Dirty Harry, and I can't remember who else. It is a nice hostel. Booble, Sweet Ass, and I got a ride into Strausburg from a guy at the Pack Shack Outfitter. In the laundramat, Trish came in. Little Mermaid had called earlier about a shuttle from her and she got the message and showed up. I couldn't believe it. She drove us to the store while our clothes dried, then we stopped at Subway and she drove us back to DWG - for free. Very nice woman. She thru hiked in 1986 with her sister, so she is very sympathetic to our needs. When I got back to the hostel I got organized and went to bed! I was exhausted!Goodnight Oscar.
Date: 2003-07-03
From: Blue Mtn. Lakes Rd. 1,350

To: Camp Ken-Etiway-Pec 1,350
Miles today: 17.8

Trish drove us to the trailhead at Blue Mtn. Lakes Rd. and Sweet Ass, and Booble and I slackpacked 17+ miles today southbound. We went really fast and made the first 10 miles in 2.5 hours. We took a break at the Mohican Outdoor Center because they have sodas there! This is a cool place with sodas, sandwiches, snacks, a hiker hostel I believe and a great sitting room with a huge fireplace and a piano. We stayed there about an hour and the guys even played a few tunes on the piano. I had two Mt. Dews and called it good. I had no appetite, as has been the case the last few days. After we left, I hiked by myself mostly and stopped at Sunfish Pond for a beautiful view. I talked with a day hiker from Illinois who wants to thru hike in a few years when he retires. I met the guys about three miles before we got into DWG and we hiked in together. The longest part was over the bridge where there was a lot of traffic. Asphalt is hard on the feet when you have just hiked 17 miles.I weighed myself at the hostel. If their scale is right, I have lost 23 pounds. I'm okay with that. Hope I can keep it off.When we got back to the hostel, the parishners of the church had a potluck for the hikers. They do this every Thursday. The food was great and I loved having home cooked food and vegetables. People were very friendly and took very good care of us. After dinner Trish took us back to where we began our slackpack this morning. We hiked down to this camp and were going to sleep in a screened in shelte, but we couldn't find it. So Booble made an executive decision. We walked right into a lodge where other people were staying, went to the last room and took over three bunks. Who will ever know the difference? The only problem is the other people here are up late. I hope I can sleep. Booble is already snoring a little.I have to go to bed. I am exhausted. We are doing 20 miles tomorrow and my pack is so heavy! Goodnight Oscar.
Date: 2003-07-04
From: Camp Ken-Etiway-Pec 1,350

To: Mashipacong Shelter 1,425
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: few clouds

We all sort of slept in this morning. Booble is usually the first one up and he didn't get up until after 7:00 so we didn't get up either. The birds wake me up bright and early every day anyway but I managed to go back to sleep this morning. We hit the trail around 8:30ish in the sunshine and the heat. It had to be close to 90 today. We hiked until the first shelter, took a break, then went another 3.5 miles to a road where Worthington's bakery is right on the trail. I got a Gatorade, apple juice, and a great turkey sandwich. Nothing in my pack appealed to me and I need to be eating more, so I paid a pretty penny for a great turkey sandwich.When we started hiking again it was pretty hot outside. After I climbed out of Culver's Gap, I wasn't feeling so good, so I stopped and sat down. I was not about to lose that expensive sandwich! When I cooled down, I moved on. Today was the first day the heat got to me. It just made me really tired and not hungry at all.When we finally got to the shelter, we had planned to move on because there is no water at that shelter. As we were leaving, we ran into Eldon and Tammy. They are a really great couple and had a car load of stuff to car camp with, but the campgrounds were full, so they walked .25 miles to the shelter to see if they could camp there. We started talking to them and found out they are interested in doing a thru hike when their kids are older. They said they would take us to get water at the lake and we offered to help carry some of their stuff to the shelter. They were truly trail angels because I did not want to walk anymore!They had a five man tent, a cooler full of food, beer, and water, a watermelon, six ears of corn, a two burner stove, a lantern, and two backpacks! Sweet Ass and Booble went to get the water with them and I stayed to watch our stuff. When we got back to the shelter, they offered us watermelon and sweet corn. I had two slices of watermelon and two ears of corn after my dinner! It was sooooo good and they had sqeeze butter, too! They are such nice people and I hope they do a thru hike someday. I really needed a trail angel today and I got two!We didn't go to bed until 11:00. I slept like a rock. This shelter is okay, has a brand new privy that is really nice, but no water. Bummer.Goodnight Oscar.
Date: 2003-07-05
From: Mashipacong Shelter 1,425

To: Unionville, NY park 600
Miles today: 14.3

Another sunny, hot day. I'm okay with that. We had a short day so we weren't in much of a hurry but I had to get up anyway and use the bathroom at 6:30 after the birds woke me up at 5:30 LIKE THEY DO EVERY MORNING! I had breakfast in my tent, packed up and left around 8:15. The guys caught up with me pretty quick and passed me so I hiked alone today. That was nice. I took a break with them at the High Point State Park. There was no soda machine there at the visitors center. I just couldn't understand it. We sat there for about 2 hours watching people, made fun of most of them, ate lunch, and took off for our last nine miles to town - again! It was hot, humid, and the mosquitoes are phenomenal! They are out 24 hours a day and I am eaten up on my arms because I sweat off the repellant. They have bitten me along my hairline too and it itches like crazy. I have never seen mosquitoes like these even in Louisiana. Pennsylvania and New Jersey are the driest states we've been in and the bugs are the worst yet! We rolled into Unionville around 4:00 PM, went to Horler's Grocery and got sodas and ice cream, filled out the permit to sleep in the park like homeless people, and set up our tents in the park. Nice park, by the way, with a basketball court, port a john (the ultimate in hiker privy luxury!) and a water fountain I used to clean up a bit. Sweet Ass and Booble played basketball a while (don't ask me how), and then we went to the local Back Track Inn for food which I had no trouble putting away today. I ate most of a pizza by myself along with an appetizer we shared. I spent several dollars in the juke box as usual and watched while the restaurant turned into a kareoke bar. Fascinating. Every redneck in NJ was at this place. Sweet Ass said the 80's called all the women in the place and wanted them all back at the office. They must not have gotten the message. Very entertaining crowd and lots of laughs were had by all.We didn't leave there until 2:00 AM. We walked back to the park and I slept like a brick until the sun got my tent too warm. Good times, good times.Goodnight Oscar.
Date: 2003-07-06
From: Unionville, NJ park 600

To: same
Miles today: 0.0

Since we didn't go to bed until 2:30 or so, none of us felt very motivated to hike today. In fact, we felt like dirt. I woke up around 9:00 because my tent was like a sauna. It was hot already and sunny. We pretty much did nothing today except walk across the street to the store for sodas and sandwiches for breakfast, then we sat around the park all day. I did my journal and pampered my feet a bit while the guys played more basketball and a game called bachi ball. I don't know how they could play basketball in the sun. In fact, they are playing right now with two other guys that hiked in today. Are they insane?Sweet Ass and Booble got some stuff to make burgers and we grilled out at the park. A woman and her 14 year old son, Robbie, are camping here with us tonight. They are from Houston and are hiking from Delaware Water Gap as far as they can go in one month. Cool kid and very sharp. She let us use her salt and pepper for the burgers and got a big kick out of our stories. Robbie said she told him he could cuss as long as they are on the trail. Hikers have very colorful language and I guess she figured he was going to hear a lot of it anyway. She was right, although Booble and Sweet Ass cleaned their language up considerably in front of him.The local yahoos are back at the park. They are a group of teenagers that seem a bit unsavory but they don't bother us. This is a nice, sleepy little town with a great park, great store, great mayor, and a great pub! I'm glad we stopped here.Goodnight Oscar.