morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-12
From: Boiling Springs PA

To: Cove Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: light rain

The rain started almost exactly at midnight. I had my earplugs in so missed most of the fireworks. A long and loud t-storm continued until 6 AM. We were able to packup and hike before the next wave of t-storms struck. Pokey and I had hoped to do the 25 miles to Duncannon but the rain slowed us to a crawl. The trail in PA has been interesting until today. Yesterday we had fun winding around the boulders on Rocky Ridge but today was thick fog and no fun. Rainbow stayed in Boiling Springs with FancyFree and T-bot. They will head out after getting a mail drop. Fancy Free is expecting an express mail drop from home with her sneakers. She has been wearing her Crocs camp shoes ever since her blistered heal became infected after breaking in a new pair of boots. They will hike only 8 miles today to rt. 11, where they will check into a cheap motel.Did I mention that Miss Janet showed up at the restaurant last night? She was shuttling some hikers back from a party at Port Clinton, PA.I got a message from Katie saying she was in Pine Grove Furnace St. Park and now plans to hike all of PA and NJ. That a girl, Katie. I knew you have what it takes. She is behind us because she has been visiting Gettysburgh and spent extra time to explore Harpers Ferry.Well, the rain finally stopped. Sweet Leaf is sharing the shelter with us. She is retired from the Air Force not the Marines.Pippen, Cowgirl and (another hiker whose name I have forgotten) passed us running up the trail to reach Duncannon. They didn't leave Boiling Springs until 11:30 AM. Youth!!!Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-13
From: Cove Mtn. Shelter

To: Peter's Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Pokey and I met a delightful Japanese long distance hiker today heading south. He started in Massachusetts doing a section to Irwin TN. He has done north thru Maine already. He was very excited. He said that young people can do thru hikes. I told him I was 62 and was doing a thru hike. He shook my hand and said he was 67.We hiked into Duncannon and visited the Doyle Hotel where I had a mail drop. I ordered breakfast in the bar and we did a laundry. Skywalker and Chuggs were there trying to call car rental services to arrange for a car to visit her mother in Philadelphia. The bar tender offered to drive them in her car for the cost of tolls and gas.We walked thru town and then up, up, up onto Peters Mountain. There are good views from this long ridge but it was cloudy and hazy today. A good size timber rattle snake was coiled on a rock within 3 feet of my left leg when I heard its warning rattle and looked down at it. Pokey was afraid to pass by until I persuaded him to move cautiously. I got a picture of it. The shelters in this area have wonderful log entries from Heidi the paid ridge runner. She writes long messages about trail conditions and hints for the thru hikers. She was very helpful to us in Boiling Springs finding us a place to spend the night.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-14
From: Peter's Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: mist

Life Is Wet!!!We woke to thick fog and easterly breeze. I should have known it was going to be a rainy day. Pokey and I left the shelter around 8:00 AM. After an hour we heard thunder to our north and to our south. It got closer to the point that we decided to take a Rain Break. We set up my tarp and scrambled under it just as the storm hit. Chef Vegan passed by with his rain gear on. I got out a book and read for 15 minutes. Pokey fell asleep. I started to look for my radio then thought of calling Goosebump. She offered to pick us up at the 501 Shelter tomorrow and help me find a rental car so I can drive to CT to visit with Sue and attend Jill Rowin¢s wedding this weekend. It never really rained too hard when we had the tarp up.We continued along the trail until we were hungry then stopped for a short break. A short distance down the trail we came to an assortment of cold cans of soda in a stream. Trail Magic!! We each had a soda before pressing on. Then the thunderstorms began. We were hit with 4 more storms separated briefly with sunshine. Pretty soon the trail was ankle deep in water. My boots are falling apart. Mud and water flowed into and out of my boots like I was walking into a lake. They are on their last legs, so to speak.   Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-15
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: PA 501 Road Trailhead
Miles today: 17.4

Beautiful weather today. Cool dry air with few clouds made it awesome. We left the shelter at 8:00 AM hoping to meet Goosebump and her husband Rainbow Slick before 7 PM at PA 501 trail head. The trail was muddy but most of the puddles and trail rivers we encountered yesterday were gone. We met Rory Carroll with another hiker at Swatara Gap just before the river crossing. I've forgotten Rory's trail name (Gordon). She was wearing a halter top and a nylon jagged cut (handkerchief hem) skirt. She was covered with dirt and grime but looked pretty in a hiker babe kind of way. I thought she was cute. She and her hiking partner, BeatBox, were sharing a plastic jar of peanut butter and one spoon. I pointed out a bush of raspberries across the road. They added raspberries to the jar of peanut butter which made them smile. She was planning on hitching 2.5 miles into town to call her mom who was coming to the trail to slack pack her for a few days. I offered her the use of my cell phone but she was only able to leave a voice mail message since her mom did not answer.Pokey and I found a sunny spot near the footbridge where we emptied our packs and laid out stuff to dry. We had lunch and I took a short nap. I took my hiking kilt off and laid it on the blacktop to dry. That is when a couple came strolling across the bridge and caught me in my under shorts. I seem to have a knack of getting caught without my pants on. They seemed to understand the situation. They told us over 30 houses had been destroyed, yesterday, just 10 miles away by what was most likely a tornado. I guess we were lucky to encounter 5 thunderstorms yesterday instead a tornado.We headed up the next ridge stopping often to pick and eat raspberries. We moved fairly rapidly but were still passed by Puck Finn, who was doing a 30 mile day. He woke up at 4:30 AM to complete these big miles. Puck needed to reach PA 501 before 5:00 PM because his father would be waiting for him. I don't see how it is possible to walk that far or that fast. To top it off the last .2 miles was over rocks.We stopped for a break at an overlook where I checked my cell phone and discovered a voice mail message from Marybeth Carroll, Rory's mom, asking me to have Rory call her. I returned the call and told her Rory was walking in the opposite direction from us so I would not be seeing her.Pokey and I made it to PA 501 just before 7:00 PM where we found Goosebump and Rainbow Slick set up to offer trail magic. Chef Vegan was there eating a pizza and drinking soda. Rainbow asked Pokey to get her a soda but not with caffein. I guessed that she was pregnant and was correct. So, what's a good trail name for a south bounders child? We talked Gooosebump and Rainbow Slick into going to The Olive Garden for dinner. Back at their apartment they set up an inflatable bed, got us sheets and towels and set me up on their computer to reserve a rental car for tomorrow. I took a shower and we all made it to bed around midnight.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-16
From: PA 501 Road Trailhead

To: Vernon Ct
Miles today: 0.0

7/16/04Start: Whitehall End: Vernon CTDistance: 0.0 AT MilesPokey and I were up around 7:00 AM. Mark, Rainbow Slick, had to be at work by 8. He drove us to Allentown airport before 8 AM where we had reserved an Alamo rental car. We were in CT by 11 AM even after a 2nd breakfast break. I dropped off Pokey in Stamford where he would be picked up by his cousin, Steven.I continued driving toward Hartford. Cell phones are great. Sue informed me she was having lunch with her friend Diane so I was to get my own lunch. I stopped by to visit Kristi then headed to the Holiday Inn Express in Vernon, CT. Dinner, a visit to a Laundromat and some TV with Sue ended a long day of travel.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-17
From: Vernon Ct

To: Vernon Ct
Miles today: 0.0

Sue and I slept late this morning.   Sue and I were to meet Darcy and David for breakfast at Friendly's around 10:00 AM. I woke up early, had a shower and went to the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express for their continental breakfast. We made it to Friendly's by 10 where we found our kids already seated and waiting for us. While we were waiting for our server we talked about what we were going to order. Darcy announced she wanted pickles and ice cream. I took the hint immediately and got a bit teary eyed. It took one more try before Sue figured out that our daughter is pregnant. It is early in the pregnancy so we are hoping everything goes smoothly. I'm going to be a grandfather!!!!!Sue and I went to EMS to buy me a new pair of trail runners. The boots I started out with are no longer suitable for hiking. The upper parts of the boots have separated from the lower part. We did some more shopping then took a ride through Coventry, where we lived for over 30 years, to marvel at the changes.Back at the motel, I washed my backpack in the tub. It was amazing to see how muddy the water was after the third soaking. I hung the pack in the shower to let it dry and tried playing a hairdryer on it to speed up the process. It was still pretty wet at midnight.The wedding was wonderful. Jill and her husband made an awesome bride and groom. There were many friends from South Windsor High School present since Jill was a fellow math teacher. Most people would not expect teachers to be such party animals. It doesn't seem possible that I have been retired more than 2 years. We talked and joked together as if we saw one another every day. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-18
From: Vernon Ct

To: Whitehall PA
Miles today: 0.0

Sue and I slept late. We ate the continental breakfast at the motel then packed up and moved out. Leaving one car at the motel we drove to Henry Park and took a little walk. We talked and tried to use up time since I was not picking up Pokey until 4 PM. We headed to Friendly's for some lunch then back to the parking lot for our goodbyes. It is so hard to leave home and always hard to head back to the trail. Once I am hiking I am fine.Pokey was a little late meeting me in Stamford at the Filenes entrance to the downtown mall. I had to drive around for about 15 minutes until he arrived. We talked about our visits on our ride back to PA. A stop somewhere in New Jersey for gas and food at a chinese restaurant kept us talkative for the three hour trip to Allentown airport where Goosebump and Rainbow Slick were waiting for us. They knew our ETA since I left them several voice mails via my cell phone.Goose bump wanted to go back to Olive Garden for Soup and salad. It sounded like a great idea to Pokey and me. We had fun talking trail talk and eating like thru hikers. We closed the place down again tonight just like Thursday night.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-19
From: Whitehall PA

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

Goosebump got up early to drive Rainbow Slick - now Dr. Mark Erdman - to work. She returned to their apartment by 8 AM where I was still sleeping. After a shower and some breakfast she took us back to PA 501 where we said our goodbyes and headed up the trail. I needed to change into hiking clothes so we visited the shelter first. We met Katie just heading out at 10:05 AM. By 11:00 AM, Pokey and I were on our way. We both commented about being unsteady on our feet after three days off the trail. My feet were hurting in no time. The new shoes are fine. It is the same old ¢bottom of my feet feel like the socks are bunched up but they are not¢ thing. We took several breaks to rest our feet and eat. Impulse caught up with us at one point and hiked on and off with us the rest of the day. We caught Katie taking a break and spent time with her. We finally made it to the shelter after 8:30 PM in the near dark. Burnie was there. I gave her a big hug, to which she made a remark about how did she know she was going to get a big hug from Gabby. Rainbow was already in her sleeping bag and complaining about how tough the 15 miles on rocks had been. Amanda has joined us for the night. I made a mac and cheese dinner and worked on my journal. Now I'm off to bed.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-20
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton PA
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Very nice day today. For some reason my feet hurt the way they did when I was first hiking. It feels like my socks are folded near the balls of my feet after the first 2 hours of hiking. If I stop and take my shoes off, massage my feet or soak them in a cold stream they feel better for about an hour. I have to stop every hour the rest of the day to massage my feet.We had a nice hike into Port Clinton stopping often for rests/feet and views. We had a leisure lunch on the trail making it into town by 2:30 PM. A stop at the post office for mail drops was guaranteed to dramatically increase the weight of our packs. Pokey and I headed for the outfitter hoping to get some new foot liners for my shoes. They had nothing in stock. We found the pavilion where hikers are welcome to camp then walked over to the river for a nice swim and to wash the sweat off our bodies. Burnie and Katie paid $5 to take a shower at the local hotel and another three dollars to do a laundry. I repacked my food bag with the stuff I got from Sue.I had a surprise care package from Mail Angel extraordinare Linda Patton. Thanks Linda. You know how to make a hiker happy. I got a nice letter from my friend Regan Wendell GAME 2003.   And a card from Alice Vernier with photos of me and DelDoc out doing GPS readings of the AT last summer on Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire. Hope DelDoc was able to finish that monumental task this season. He is incredible. Impulse, Pokey, Amanda, Sheriff, Burnie, Katie and I all went to the hotel for dinner. We all ordered fries not knowing that this place serves you a mountain of fries with each order. We had a very filling meal. My breaded fantail shrimp was a great change from hiker food.   After dinner I walked to the post office to send a post card. I would have forgotten to mail it if I waited until tomorrow. Along the way I met a young girl in a wheelchair out on the sidewalk in front of her house. Of course I stopped to talk. She is the best thing to happen to me all day. We talked about hiking and how tough it must be for her to be laid up during the summer when her friends were out having fun. She has a wonderful smile and seems to be enduring her medical problem with pretty good spirits. As I left her I introduced myself as Gabby, she laughed and said her name is Tabby. We both thought that was a huge coincidence. She is a sweetheart. I hope I have a way to contact her again.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-21
From: Port Clinton PA

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: few clouds

Hot day today. Humid, around 85 degrees. Pokey and I left the pavilion around 7:30 AM. We headed through town and back up onto the ridge. We stopped several times for breaks. Once at Pocahontas Spring we soaked our feet and did a sponge bath. We stopped several times after that to do the same. It makes a hot day seem more doable. I used the cell phone to contact Goosebump who wants to hold a backpacker barbecue.We soaked our entire bodies in a creek for about 20 minutes at one point. I was in my under shorts when a group of 8 girls and 2 leaders came down the trail wearing orange tee shirts. I scrambled to put my kilt on before they could spot me. Burnie and Katie caught up to us at this point. Impulse also showed up. Pippin and Cowgirl stopped long enough for water but were doing 52 miles in two days so they can spend some days off the trail. I don't understand that kind of thinking. I always felt we were trying to spend as much time in the woods as possible. But many young people are hiking fast to spend as little time in the woods as possible.We took a break at the Pulpit to catch some nice views. It was a bit overcast but Pokey visited some guys using the astrological observatory just east of the overlook. After 2 more miles of hiking we got more views from the Pinnacle. There were some pretty tough boulders to cross just before the overlook. Impulse, Burnie, Pokey and I left there around 5 PM. We made very good time getting to the Eckvoille Shelter 5.3 miles down hill along an old road. Rainbow and Amanda where already at the shelter and had taken cold showers. There is ice cream and sodas at this shelter. Katie got here way ahead of us and got a ride to her cousins house for a night off the trail. I had a nice cold shower, ate three ice cream sandwiches, three sodas, and cooked a Lipton's side meal.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-22
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: broken clouds

Very hot today. Temps around 90 degrees. We were headed for th Knife Edge and Bake Oven Knob. Hikers we met heading south told us we had 3 miles of bolder fields to walk preceeded by a swamp, bog bridges, and mud. Well, I've seen way more significant swamps and bridges in New Hampshire. The mud had dried up and the bridges we very short.I started hiking with Rainbow early in the morning hoping to get a head start on the heat and to allow plenty of daylight to cover some tough miles. Once we reached the ridge Rainbow and I took a break to rest our feet and cool down a bit. Pokey, Burnie, Katie, Amanda and Impulse showed up just as we started to hike again. They dropped their packs to take a break. We hiked on taking breaks, I waited for Katie and hiked with her for awhile. We had to cross a small bolder field. Then a rocky section of trail. We arrived at Allentown Shelter around 1 PM having completed only 7.4 miles. Rainbow seemed stressed. She let us know she didn't think it would be possible for her to reach our destination with the rocks she had encountered so far today. She was afraid we would hike on without her. Pokey assured her we would not leave her behind. Rainbow took off ahead of us to get a headstart. We hiked on eventually falling behind with Pokey and Katie. But the trail got very easy following old roads along the ridge. I was very surprised how easy the trail had become. But we reached the Knife Edge. A pile of slab rocks arranged haphazardly with huge steps along the trail. Going up and along the trail was tough but climbing down was very frightning. The trail got flat again following a roadbed. Then we hit Bake Oven Knob. It was an easy hike up. I was with Katie when I reached the overlook. I could see Pokey and the others heading down. Katie and I took a break at the overlook. It was getting dark from a big cloud and it was close to 8 PM. So Katie and I headed down. Surprise, another bolder field. We struggled down through the rocks and finally to another roadway. We made it to the shelter around 8:45 PM where JT, a southbound section hiker, was thinking he had the shelter to himself. We invaded him with 7 stinky northbounders. The best part is Rainbow made it through the bolder fields with a little help from her friends.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-23
From: Bake Oven Knob Shelter

To: Lehigh Gap
Miles today: 7.7

Rain most of the day made this a tough day for hiking. We were lucky that we did not have much tricky rock walking. I contacted Goosebump and let her know there were 7 of us to hiking into Lehigh Gap. She announced a change of plans. High rainfall expected so the barbecue has been moved inside at their apartment. I hope they know what they are doing.We made it to the parking lot after taking many breaks for food and feet and a long break at Outer bridge Shelter, 1 mile before the gap because our rides would not arrive until around 3 PM. We beat him by 1/2 hour. It was pouring when we reached the parking lot so I set up my tarp and we all huddled out of the rain. Pokey entertained us with some lively camp songs. It was hilarious. Amanda did her rendition of Mr. Stomach the bouncer and some other cool stuff. Katie tried to teach Impulse how to do a cartwheel. Finally, Rainbow Slick and Underpants arrived. We piled into their vehicles and headed to WhiteHall PA where Goosebump met us at the door. We took showers, did laundry, had an incredible barbecue prepared by chef Mark, Rainbow Slick. Then we had some fun playing the board game, Brainiack. Rainbow fell asleep on the couch by 10 PM. The rest of us were sleeping on the floor around midnight.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-24
From: Lehigh Gap

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Rainbow Slick had to play Dr. Mark Erdman this morning, so Underpants and Tiny drove us to the Lehigh Gap where we began a 20 mile slack pack along the ridge. We had to climb up to the ridge via a very exposed rock slide. Rainbow chose the safer winter route. The weather was perfect with temps in the 60's and a cold breeze from the northwest. We had some great views and a lot of fun talking with Underpants and Tiny about their southbound hikes last year.We got off the trail at wind gap around 7:30 PM where Goosebump and Rainbow Slick had managed to shuttle two cars to pick us up. A quick stop at the apartment then on to The Old Country Buffet for a feast. We sang happy birthday to Amanda who will be 22 yrs. old tomorrow then headed back to the Erdman's apartment to take showers and watch slides of their southbound hike. We were all in our sleeping bags on the floor by midnight except me who is still writing this darn journal. Night All!! Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-07-25
From: Wind Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We were slow getting up this morning. Long miles yesterday had us all needing extra sleep. Rainbow Slick was up early to make breakfast. French Toast and bacon with orange juice hit the spot. We made it to the trailhead around 9:30 AM and headed north as usual. Pokey, Rainbow, Impulse, Rainbow Slick and I set a slow pace because the rest of the crew were coming 1/2 hour later. We stopped for a couple of quick breaks and a longer one at Wolf Rock where we got very close pictures of a turkey vulture. Some nice views from the ridge were available because of the unexpected nice weather. The report called for scattered showers and cloudy. It was sunny and cool all day long.We took a short lunch break at Kirkridge Shelter. Then we headed on. A group of day hikers followed by 15 Japanese students walked past us on the trail. We saw the Japanese Hikers later in town.At 6:30 PM we reached the hostel in Delaware Water gap where Goosebump was waiting. We registered and headed to a pizza joint for dinner. We sang happy birthday to Amanda again. Hugs and thank you¢s sent Goosebump, Rainbow Slick, Underpants and Tiny on their way. My tarp and ground cloth are still in Underpants truck parked in Lehigh Gap. He will bring them to me tomorrow.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman