morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-30
From: Duncannon PA Doyle Hotel

To: Duncannon PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Liquid and I decided to take a 0 today. I needed to let the feet heal up. I got up early like I normally do and decided I would take my shower first because if the people upstairs gets in first their drain drips down on you. We hit the library today and when I went over there Donk was sitting on the front stoop waiting for the library to open. I let him use the computer and I decided to take Mary Parry up on her offer and went over to her house and used her computer.Donk, Felton, and DC left around 2pmJohnna did a little trail magic and paid for Liquid and my room. She was going to have pizza delivered to us but I think the Doyle frowned on that so she made a deal with the owner to either pay for our dinner or our room. Liquid and I decided to do the Italian down the road to find out they only do subs and pizza. So we ended up eating at the Doyle after all. Then we walked down the road to the ice cream shop and had some cold ice cream on a cold evening.
Date: 2008-05-01
From: Duncannon PA

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 28.9
Weather: broken clouds

Left the Doyle 7:50 amThe hike out of town was pretty hurtful. Walked on pavement through town and then across two bridges. On the first bridge out of town a helicopter was spraying the river for some reason. The helicopter was so close that I could see the whites of the pilots eyes. then we had to walk along the expressway until we hit the mountain on the other end. Of course we had to climb straight up. We made it to the Peters Mtn shelter at 12:00 which was a very nice shelter and the boys had spend the night there last night. Next to the Peters mountain shelter was an old shelter that Earl Shaffer (first person to thruhiker the AT) had built. There is talk that the ATC wants to remove the shelter and put it in the AT museum. Caught up with the boys, Donk, Felton, & DC at Rausch Gap Shelter.
Date: 2008-05-02
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: scattered clouds

started at 7:15 and ended the day at 2:20.Feet started the day OK but they went down hill rapidly. Trail today we had a pretty good up and many of us decided that climb was the worst climb we have had since NC.I ended up loosing the group, because of the feet and stayed behind for a good portion of the day. I called Johnna and talked with her for awhile. Even talked about getting off the trail. Figured it was just my VA blues. Because I hiked so fast I figured it was my Virginia blues. Also I remember what Robo told me about PA-CT. He told me that it gets pretty monotonous because you don't go above 2,000 feet until Mt Graylock MA. Also for us the green tunnel hit once we got into PA at the lower elevation spring sure has sprung. Almost over night the leaves came out because of the rain we had one night and the muggy days after. Part of my depression is because of me having to make mileage and the rest of the gang not having to make mileage every day. Stopped at the William Penn Shelter for lunch and caught up with the gang and they waited for me to finish before we took off as a group.Hit the 501 and immediately knew we had to stay. It's a 4 sided pole barn style shelter with bunks, 12 foot picnic bench in the middle and an octagon sky light, and we can get pizza delivered. I had my first Calzone and Spaghetti and meatballs. I also shared a 2 liter of Mt Dew with Donkey Legs.Moved to the back of the pack today and it's amazing how your brain switches gears and you start thinking about different things that you don't think about when you are leading the pack.
Date: 2008-05-03
From: 501 Shelter

To: Port Clinton PA
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Saturday Mid 60's and partly cloudyMade it to Port Clinton and there was an outfitter called the Ye Old BackPacker. They were great. They offer a ride to Cabela's for $2.50 a mile. Liquid needed the ride to get his headlamp replaced that he lost back at Duncannon. Felton and DC went as well and they had never been into a store like Cabelas and thought it was overwhelming. It didn't help that a lot of kids had those popper guns everywhere you turned. We walked across a large expressway to get to a Wendy's where we got picked up and taken back to the shelter to pick up our trekking poles to be repaired back at the Ye Old Backpacker. Now I have two good trekking poles. By the way tonight we stayed at the shelter/Pavilion in town and got water at Ye Old Backpacker. Donk decided to stay at the Pavilion while we went to Cabela's.We went to bed pretty late I think maybe around 11pm
Date: 2008-05-04
From: Port Clinton PA

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Weather low 70's, started off foggySunday 7:21 got up and had breadfast and left the pavilion around 8:12Rained all night, we got up and went to CCC restaurant. Where we had a huge plate of food consisting of eggs, pancakes, sausage links, toast, bacon, breadTrail wasn't too bad today. Made it to Eckville Shelter for lunch. The Eckville Shelter is a house that is owned by the Allentown Hiking Club and has a bunk house with games, a nice privy with an actual toilet, and shower. We filled up our water at the house and relaxed out in the sun. The bugs seemed to have wanted the bunk house where Liquid and Donk were. I used the break to make a couple videos and call the family.We then decided to move on down the trail when the guy that ran the shelter asked if we wanted to know the short cut. Seems that there are a lot of shortcuts out here and everyone is willing to offer them up. We all have hiked the white blazes and have decided to keep it that way since we did over 1/2 the trail already why change now.On to Allentown Shelter. I fell and scraped up the knee pretty good. I had took my eyes off the trail and figured my feet would know where to go but they didn't. This happens sometimes when you are in the lead. You need to know where you are going when you are in the lead.Yesterday I popped two of my blisters that have been on the feet since the beginning of the trip. They were calloused over and they had a lot of fluid in them. Donk decided to poke his little toe today but it turned out to be swollen. DC took a spill today. His pack was the root of his spill. He was trying to get under a tree when he got out of balance and fell right over. I guess Liquid took a spill as well. Don't know the details on that one. 3 down and 2 to go. Donk and Felton are the only two still standing.Started a fire tonight at the shelter to keep the bugs away. Felton had mentioned that we all walked within 5" of a snake today. I thought I had heard something but I kept my focus on where I was placing my feet rather than trying to find out what caused the ruffling of the leaves just off the trail.
Date: 2008-05-05
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: Little Gap (Hammock)
Miles today: 22.7

7:20-6:15Hit the Cliffs, knife edge, this morning around 10am and had some spectacular views and really had a spectacular morning. We stopped at the Bake Oven Knob Shelter where we had lunch. Donk stopped at the George W Outerbridge Shelter, because of a banged up ankle. The 4 of us pushed on and hit the Lehigh Gap which was spectacular. The first 15 minutes of the hike were pretty brutal on the quads but then it turned into a boulder scramble that was just plain fun. The trekking poles had to be put away for this part of the trip. We saw the American flag that was painted on the rocks and sat down and remembered what happened back on 9/11/01.We pushed on to get on top of the mountain where it was desolate and flat but rocky. We hiked for a few miles on top and then there was a reroute of the trail and by then I was spent for the day and every step was agony. When we finally hit the Blue Mtn Rd or Little Gap we pulled up camp on the north side of the road.
Date: 2008-05-06
From: Little Gap (Hammock)

To: Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: few clouds

Hit the trail about 6:25 and stopped at 6:15Hiked into a town called Wind Gap today. The book said it was a mile off trail but it was more like 2 or 2 1/2 miles off trail. We were already committed so we continued to walk down the sidewalk until we hit a busy intersection where we saw Burger King and the grocery store. We cleaned up at BK and walked over to the grocery store and started shopping. Liquid came up to me and said he scammed a ride back to the trail if we hurry. We flew through the store and quickly paid. The couple had a small compact car so they made two trips to get Liquid and I first and Felton and DC next. When we were leaving town we saw Donk hobbling down the sidewalk so we asked if they could pick him up on the way back to pick up Felton and DC and they said they would.During our mad dash to get the ride we forgot a few things. Some food items and one important item and that is water. We usually fill up in towns and we missed the chance at this one but Felton didn't forget so Liquid and I went across the street and walked through the trailer park looking for someone that was outside that might fill our water containers. DC came up behind us and found the owner of the park an he filled them for us. We waked back across the street to where the parking lot is for the start of the trail. In the parking lot was a van and the owner of the van was going to do some trail maintainance and he told us we could throw our trash under his van and he would take care of it. So we put our trash in the bags and placed them under his van.The Han's lookout was a great place to take an afternoon break. After all our water hunting we did at the trailer park the shelter tonight had a spigot behind the shelter. There is a resort that was kind enough to run some water to the trail for us hikers.901 miles left to Mt K
Date: 2008-05-07
From: Kirkridge Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: clear sky

80 and sunny todayThings just happen out here on the trail. We had planned on a lot bigger day than 6.5 miles but the Hostel was just too good to pass up. Actually my friends all talked me into it since it was 3 to 1. There is an outfitter in town and they are closed today and don't open until 10am tomorrow. I thought we should knock on the door and ask if they would open but the guys didn't like that idea. I said the owner would be more than happy to since we are willing to drop a lot of cash there. Donk needed a new backpack, DC needed a new sleeping bag, Felton needs a new tent, Liquid and I need new shoes. Oh ya by the way Donk caught back up with us. There was another outfitter in town but they are more on the rafting side of things. They do offer a shuttle to a near by town where you can do laundry. It's $2.00 per person. DC ended up going to do laundry for everyone. Thanks DCI did my second 1/2 gallon of chocolate mint chip ice cream challenge today.We stopped at the bar today for happy hour and got my first Bacardi Lemon on the trail. No one seems to have Bacardi Lemon for some reason. I decided to have a few to keep up with the boys and just kick back and relax since we weren't going anywhere today.We went out for pizza and we all order an extra large and boy was that a large pizza. Liquid bought a Bacardi drink for me. Thanks Liquid.
Date: 2008-05-08
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Brink Rd Shelter
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: light rain

New State today!! We crossed into NJ after we crossed the Delaware River.Left DWG around 11:15 because we ended up going to the outfitter in the morning. The owner said he would have opened up for us and we suggested changing his hours. Anyway Donk got a new Granite Gear pack, DC got a sleeping bag, Liquid got a pair of golite shoes, and Felton got a hat and socks.We walked by the sunfish pond today and Felton really liked it. For some reason today really hit home with Felton and he mentioned today might be the best day on the trail for him. The pond really lifted his spirits. We did lunch at the Catfish Fire Tower where the bugs were pretty bad. I climbed up the fire tower and took some pics. We ate really fast and took off down the trail. Saw a 4' black rat snake and a frog today. Also pulled 4 ticks off my legs.Had to headlamp into the Brink Rd Shelter tonight. The shelter is pretty tight for the 5 of us. We have bear boxes made out of metal that we are to use to keep the bears at bay.
Date: 2008-05-09
From: Brink Rd Shelter

To: Secret Shelter NJ
Miles today: 24.9

Rain and mud today. Donk had a pretty bad spill today. The NJ terrain treated us pretty good today but the rain was very cold and chilling to the bone. The wind was blowing pretty good when we reached the a pavilion today. Felton had decided not to put his rain jacket on because he didn't want to over heat. While we were stopped at the pavilion he put his rain coat on. We were happy to see the sign to signify the secret shelter. We were disappointed at first when we saw that the shelter was locked but when we went over to the second building we found it unlocked and that to be our shelter. The other shelter must of been for overflow. We sure could have used it because fitting 5 people in this shelter is pretty tight. So tight that Donk decided to sleep on the floor under the kitchen sink. Now this isn't any normal sink, its about 5 feet long. This turned out to be a good place for Donk to sleep because the loft had the 4 of us and the heat rose to the upstairs. It must of been around 85 all night long up there. Liquid popped open the back window and I opened the front one during the middle of the night. It really cooled off then. So much so that I heard everyone of the guys rustling in their bag. Probably getting back into their bag. There was a shower where some of us got in and rinsed off as there wasn't any soap to be had. Hot water just feels good. Walking outside in the cold rain to get back into the cabin wasn't a pleasant experience. But sometime you just have to man up.It sure is nice of Mr. Murray to open his property to us hikers and give us electricity, hot water, and a roof over our head. Thanks Jim.Trail today: We had some grassy field walks, a pond, and some rocks.
Date: 2008-05-10
From: Secret Shelter NJ

To: Warwick Turnike
Miles today: 19.1

Destination for the day is Wawayanda Shelter.Today we started off and went to Unionville NY to get some groceries. While we were there we decided to get some breakfast stuff and eat at the pavilion in the park just up the road while DC went to the gas station for something. I downed a pan of raspberry danish (4x11 pan) and a 1/2 gallon of milk. Then we had someone talk us into going to the mayors house where we spent 3 hrs and took showers. Should have done laundry but we didn't think we would be there that long.We ended up loosing DC (Double Cheese) today by accident. He had thought we left town without him and he was sprinting up the trail to catch us. So he probably decided to just push on to NYC.Did some board walking through the swamps of NJ today. Walked across some grassy fields and a long road walk that should have been a little longer. You see they had you take the first road next to a reserve and hike about a mile in then turn left and hike about 1/2 mile and then take another left and hike 1/2 mile. Just in case you didn't catch that you just hike a reverse J. We could of hiked the 1/2 longer on the road and taken the second road and hiked 1/2 mile to the trail. RRRRRGGGGGGG Oh and the day gets better just hold on.First we have to talk about the cool board walk that NJ has. The thing had to of cost around $500,000 or more. It was a real treat to walk the board walk and then climb up the bridge and head off into the woods.Got to the Wawayanda Shelter pretty late in the evening to find that 2 boyscout troops were there. These scouts were not going to move and were very inquisitive about our gear and our trip. They were way to nosy and picked up my trekking poles and playing with the packs. We packed up after dinner and hiked on a couple miles and slept in the woods somewhere near Warwick turnpike or Long House. On our way out we passed a ranger station where we filled up on water and used the bathroom. Had a second dinner and washed up with hot water in the bathroom.
Date: 2008-05-11
From: Warwick Turnike

To: Fingerboard NY
Miles today: 25.9

Happy Mothers Day. I told every lady I passed today Happy Mothers Day.Made it to NY today and we climbed up on top of a rock ridge where we could see the NYC skyline in the far distance. Then we followed the lake below us all morning long. It seemed like we would never quite get rid of the lake but we did eventually. Then we hit some nice trail walking until we hit the waterfall where we met some day hikers. Then we had a rock scramble up the waterfall, well next to the waterfall that is. Then we did some bog walking until we hit a road then walked across the street to have the trail become solid rock. Rocks that were about 6"-10" in diameter for as far as the eye could see. Jordan and I stopped to use the phone and I looked over at liquid to see that he had put his head inside his shirt to keep the bugs away. Felton and Donk must of gotten a ride into town at the last road we passed as they haven't been with us for awhile now.Highlight of the day was meeting a tail angel by the name of Paddy-O. He hooked up the crew today with Gatorade, water, v8, combos, snickers, Fritos, cookies, beer, and hard liquor. What a pick me up. We spent a little more time with Paddy-o than we should have. More on Paddy-O in future journals.To top off todays trail magic the gang made it to the Lemon Squeezer where we just acted like a bunch of kids and really let the hair down and enjoyed ourselves. Moments like today sure do make you enjoy the trail. We all took turns squeezing ourselves and our packs through the narrow rocks while someone took pics and footage of the entire thing. We had 2 miles to the fingerboard shelter. It was getting late into the evening and as usual you think you have passed the shelter some how but we finally rolled into the shelter with one person using their headlamp. There isn't a privy at the Fingerboard and it's pretty much rock all around.I haven¢t talked about our trek pole band. Liquid on guitar, me on drums, Felton on cello (who knows), Donkey on vocals. We are kind of a hair metal band. But we had practice tonight as we started to go crazy from hiking all day. I¢m sure more will come up later.
Date: 2008-05-12
From: Fingerboard NY

To: Graymoore Spiritual Center
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Monday left Fingerboard at 8amHad some views today and then we hit the Seven lakes Dr where a monument was at the top of the mountain. We didn't enjoy that too much since it was windy, cold and a little rainy. We did find a WORKING pop machine finally. Then we hiked on to the Bear Mtn Museum/Zoo. On our way to the zoo there was a park and we walked around a pond/lake until we hit the playground area. Where I decided that we should do an upper body challenge. Well our group is all about challenges and we have been talking about how our upper bodies are deteriorating while our legs are getting rock hard. We used our arms to cross the monkey bars but they were on chains. Good news is we all passed the test so we aren't as weak as everyone thinks.We proceeded to the zoo where we saw some of the animals that we have seen along the trail. we have seen black snakes, frogs, bears, deer, eagles (yet to come), and others. We hiked on through the zoo and across a river today. There were all kind of signs around the bridge for getting mental help and had an 800 # to call. Well we all felt fine so we started walking across the bridge when we finally got out away from land the wind really hit us. We were almost thrown into the oncoming traffic the wind was so hard. Yes we almost committed suicide without wanting to. The bridge was very long maybe a quarter of a mile long. There was a large ship being pushed by a tug boat under the bridge as we got to the middle of the bridge.Once on the other side of the bridge we needed to hike up and up and up the mountain then we hit some level terrain where I could zone out to some degree.We then hiked into the Graymoore Spiritual center. Getting there we had to cross a rather busy intersection that didn't have a cross walk for us hikers. Thought that to be very odd with the number of hikers that walk through here. I pretended to be playing the game frogger and we made the traffic stop and we crossed the road safely. Luckily we didn't have to use more than one life on that road crossing.At the Ball diamond (Spiritual center) we ordered up some pizza and of course 2 liters of DEW. Then we hit the sack.
Date: 2008-05-13
From: Graymoore Spiritual Center

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

Tuesday left at 7:28Today was a pretty eventful day. It was a nice sunny day and probably the pivotal day of the entire trail for me. We had lunch at the place you see pictured (or will some day). While the boys were eating I decided to talk with buddy Mark R. and Johnna on the cell. We stopped on top of Shenandoah Mtn also known as flat rock to the locals. Speaking of locals I met one on top of flat rock. We talked for awhile and he mentioned that we needed to stop at the RPH shelter because they have a big crate full of food and it's a really nice place. I told him I had a plan of hiking 4 miles past to get ice cream. Then tent out. this also allows me to keep my mileage above the 20 mile mark. Then he proceeded to yell out so all the boys could here that we need to stay at the RPH. I knew I lost that battle then and there. He felt bad so he offered to buy ice cream for us and drive it to the shelter. We each gave him $4 and took off running since he gave us one hour to get the 2.7 miles done. We made the 2.7 miles in 42 minutes. He showed up with our 4 gallons of ice cream on his motorcycle and we thanked him. So all 4 of us finished our 1/2 gallon ice cream challenge. It was the last thing that the 4 of us did together before I headed out in the morning by myself to finish the journey on up the trail.