morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-08-04
From: Eckville Shelter 

To: Leigh Gap (Jailhouse Hostel in Palmerton)
Miles today: 25.1

Start: : Eckville Shelter @0822 Finish: Leigh Gap (Jailhouse Hostel in Palmerton) @1925Weather: Sunny and hot morning/afternoon, rainy late afternoon and evening.Breakfast: Blueberry and peaches granola.Lunch: Hydrox cookies, granola bars. Dinner: Chicken Cordon Bleu, mashed potatoes, onion rings, hot fudge sundae.Trail Conditions: Flat, very, very rocky in places.Animals: Hawks, turkey vulture, squirrel, chipmunk.People: Skittles, Boy Scouts, Dave, Tombstone & Peanut.I ended up on the picnic table last night and watched the stars. I couldn¢t sleep in the hut as it was to warm, and I couldn¢t sleep outside because the mosquitoes and no-see-ems were ferocious. All in all I got about four hours of shuteye. I was very tired today.I was originally planning on doing 18 miles, however, was told of a free hostel in Palmerton called the ¢Jail House Hostel¢ in the basement of the old police headquarters. It sounded to cool to pass up so I ended up doing 25 miles.It was a another ridiculously hot day and the rock were terrible for the first seven miles between Eckville and Allentown Shelters. The trail was virtually all loose rock and it took me nearly fours hours to walk. At Allentown Shelter I napped for about an hour as I was literally falling asleep as I hiked.Feeling somewhat refreshed I plugged on. The rest of the days hike was ridiculously easy. The rocks weren¢t bad at all although there were several major rock/boulder scrambles at Bear Rocks and Bake Oven Knob. I stopped at both locations and soaked up some wonderful views. There were numerous hawks flying at both points and I actually walked up on one as it sat perched in a tree. It flew off and had a huge wing span.The Bake Oven Knob Shelter was built in 1957 and is totally ghetto. It is now inhabited by several very large black snakes and wolf spiders. There was a fully intact snakeskin in the shelter from one of them, and it was nearly a foot longer than my Leki pole!!! Needless to say, I didn¢t stay there very long.I made great time to the last shelter a mile away from town. It began raining steady about half way there. I sat at the shelter and pressed on deciding to take my chances getting a hitch in the rain. As luck would have it the first car I thumbed pulled over. Dave, a local farmer, dropped me off in town across from the police department. Thanks Dave!You have to register with the police to stay there. I enjoyed a good dinner at Bert¢s Steakhouse, got ¢booked¢ in, and claimed a bunk in the basement of their former headquarters. It was a great place to stay, especially for free. I enjoyed a nice log hot shower and washed out my clothes. The local Girl Scout Troop 112 put together goody bags for us hikers that included TP, toothpaste, toothbrush, granola bar, stamped post card, and a 5-minute pone card. Awesome! Thanks ladies, I take back my bad comments about you.I was thoroughly exhausted at the end of the day and promptly fell asleep.
Date: 2004-08-05
From: Leigh Gap (Jailhouse Hostel in Palmerton)

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter 
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Start: Leigh Gap @1255 Finish: Leroy A. Smith Shelter @1837Weather: Hi 70¢s/low 80¢s. Few sprinkles, cloudy and breezy.Breakfast: Granola with blueberries and raspberries, cookies.Lunch: Strawberry pop tarts, Oat N Honey bar. Dinner: Velveeta shells and cheese, fudge round, Starcrunch.Trail Conditions: Boulder scramble out of Lehigh. Flat. Rocky in places.Animals: Squirrel, chipmunk.People: Skittles, Tombstone & Peanut, Betty.I slept like a rock and didn¢t wake up until 0930 this morning. I got out of bed at 1000. I could have slept a few more hours if I wanted. Motivation was low this morning and I took my time getting ready. Finally around 1200 I left the hostel and went to the library. I emailed the crew back home, as no one has heard from me in a few weeks.I started walking to the gap and ran into Skittles in town. We chatted in front of a store, he stayed in the shelter last night with the huge snakes. As we talked a lady drove up and offered me a ride out of town when she was done shopping. Betty drove me right back to the trailhead. Thanks Betty!The climb out of Lehigh Gap was awesome. It was nothing more than a 1,000-foot pure boulder scramble. It was quite technical in places and the views were great to. Once on the ridgeline the hiking was flat but still very rocky. However, there were no trees so there were good views of Palmerton and the gap.Palmerton is more or less an ecological catastrophe. The entire region is in fact an EPA superfund site. There was a huge zinc mining operation and processing facility outside of Palmerton, that was the economic background for the town. But it closed its doors. The pollution from the plant was so terrible that it killed of all the vegetation on the mountains around Lehigh Gap and all that remains are the rocky and eroded surface on which we hike. There are efforts underway to re-vegetate the area but there is a long ways to go.I hiked the entire day by myself minus passing a runner and day hiker. Once again it was flat hiking and the rocks were not all that bad, although my feet are a little slow. Otherwise, there was nothing to special about today¢s march.I have the shelter to myself, as I am still in a huge void between hiking packs. It is very nice though, the recent solitude. It is a breezy night with virtually no humidity. For the first time in weeks it is actually good sleeping weather (temps in the high 60¢s low-70¢s) minus the enormous carpenter ants crawling around the shelter floor it¢s a good place. OK, off to bed.
Date: 2004-08-06
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter 

To: Church of Mountain Hostel 
Miles today: 20.2

Start: Leroy A. Smith Shelter @1022 Finish: Church of Mountain Hostel (DWG) @1846Weather: Perfect!Breakfast: Chocolate CIB, Strawberry pop tarts.Lunch: Lipton noodles, Snickers. Dinner: Mountain chowder, rolls, Reeses Peanut Butter Cup pie, chocolate cookies..Trail Conditions: Hellacious.Animals: Deer, squirrel, chipmunk, dog, birds.People: Cobal, Piss-in-the-Wind, day hikers from DWG, Atlas, Dapper Dan, Kiwi, Mickey & Mallory, Green Mountain Brothers (Swedish & Ottie), Worldbridger & Happy Hiker, Butterfinger, Wideload, Blackfoot, Terrapin.A front came through last night and temperatures plummeted down below 60 degrees. I got up around 0100 to use the tree, and took several minutes to admire the star filled sky and shadows cast across the ground by the bright half moon. The cold caught me off guard and I was slightly chilled by morning.I got another late start, but also knew I could cover the miles by dark. Once again the trail was nice and flat but was terribly rocky. It went from rocky, to very rocky, to ¢this really sucks¢ rocky, finally to ¢f--- this bull----¢ rocky. The first 14 miles today was nonstop jagged rocks that bruised your feet and rolled your ankles. It was simply the worst section of trail I have yet to travel. But I survived and shared my not so humble opinion with the trail.After my first 14 miles, which I hiked at a pace barely above 2 miles per hour, I hit Kirkridge Shelter and rested for a good hour. I cooked up a hot lunch and stretched and massaged by sore and swollen feet.After Kirkridge the rocks just literally stopped as abruptly as they had begun. There was almost a distinct line between the rocky and not rocky trail. So the last 6.5 miles into Delaware Water Gap were easy and I made good time. There were several nice viewpoints. I ran into a couple from DWG out for a day hike. We chatted for about 30 minutes and they gave me a bottle of water. Thanks guys!The weather today was the best this entire trip. It was in the mid-60¢s with low humidity and a strong breeze. I hiked all day and didn¢t break a sweat. It was splendid.I rolled into the Church of the Mountain Hostel and was pleasantly surprised to see all the Aquablazers. We had a good reunion and everyone was glad that I was feeling well. It was nice to have such strong support. This place just reopened, following some construction, and is a real nice place. Thanks Pastor Karen for your services.Any who, we all had a fun night chillin at the hostel talking and playing games but now its time for shuteye on the luxurious pleather couch.
Date: 2004-08-07
From: Church of Mountain Hostel 

To: Mohican Outdoor Center 
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: light rain

Start: Church of Mountain Hostel @1400 Finish: Mohican Outdoor Center @1800Weather: Overcast, mid-60¢s, breezy.Breakfast: Chocolate CIB, granola with blueberries and peaches.Lunch: Fudge round. Dinner: Cheesy enchilada, star crunch.Trail Conditions: Ridiculously rocky.Animals: Squirrels, birds.People: weekend hikers, Atlas, Dapper Dan, Kiwi & Char, Mickey & Mallory, Moose, Green Mountain Brothers, Worldbridger & Havin Fun, Knuckles & Underhill, Magnet, Ballsack.I slept great on the couch, although was awakened early as everyone gathered their gear for the day in the Commons room. Most of us were all only doing a short day, but several were going to squeak out 26 miles.I was definitely in no rush to get going today. I was originally going to zero here, but instead decided to hike today to make up a day from when I was sick. A bunch of us were working on a 1,000-piece puzzle that we were determined to finish. I left before it was done. I paid a visit to the local outfitter, as my platypus has a leak and trekking pole is broke, but alas they wouldn¢t acknowledge the warranty on either piece of equipment.Finally around 2:00PM I made my way out the door of the hostel. The first two miles were road walking along the interstate ¢ which is always spooky as semi-trucks whiz by so close to you. The trail passed thru the DWG National Recreational Area. I passed towns of day hikers. Once out of the park the trail got all rocky again and was just as bad as yesterday. I went from hiking 3.5 miles per hour to 1.5 miles per hour for the last four miles. My feet really hurt from the rocks. My tendon is inflamed in my left foot and my Achilles aches bad in my right foot. I want to be done with the rocks!The Mohican Outdoor Center is a nice place. We are all tenting for free. We all cooked up dinner together by the lake and shot the breeze. It is in the upper 50¢s tonight, which is cold, considering three days ago it was 82 degrees at night. I should be warm though with my sleeping garb.There is a local music troop covering folk tunes at the lodge. I am listening to them as I journal. It is very nice. When the show is over I¢ll be off to bed under my trap tent ¢ which I set up for the first time this whole trip.
Date: 2004-08-11
From: NJ94 (Vernon ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ St. Thomas Episcopal Church)

To: St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Miles today: 0.0

Start: St. Thomas Episcopal Church Finish: St. Thomas Episcopal Church Weather: Hot and humid morning, cool and breezy evening.Breakfast: Pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, strawberries.Lunch: None. Dinner: Mozzerrella & pepperoni tortellini, milk, M&M¢s.Trail Conditions: N/A.Animals: N/A.People: Snatchy & Monk, Knucles & Underhill, Swedish & Shannon, Otie, Butterfinger & Wideload, Blackfoot, Atlas, Terrapin, Kiwi, Charlotte, Margaret, SOBO¢s.I slept like as absolute champ last night I was so exhausted. I got up, ate some breakfast, and went back to bed. Then I got up again and had a wonderful second breakfast prepared by the Storm Troopers and napped again! Around 1100, David the manager of the hostel, came by and we went out to do some trail magic. He had a bunch of water in gallon jugs and we left them at every road crossing from Vernon to 17 miles up the trail. Undoubtedly, all of us hikers will find it to be very nice. After the trail magic work I did some grocery shopping and laid around the hostel like a lazy bum. I figured out while I had been feeling so lethargic. Turns out I hadn¢t zeroed in 14 days and covered over 250 miles. A good reason to be tired I suppose. In the late afternoon Snatchy & Monk rolled in much to my surprise. I started talking with them, and Snatchy¢s lower half was covered by a waist high dividing wall. Monk advised me not to look behind it, as it wouldn¢t be good. I did look and it wasn¢t. Snatchy was wearing a removable cast over his knee and running from his thigh to ankle. Yesterday he took a terrible fall in route to Gren Anderson Shelter and tore several ligaments in his knee. The swelling was so bad today he could barely walk, and made it to the first road crossing, where the got a ride to the hospital. The Doc drained a bunch of fluid from his knee and told him his hike was over. A totally depressing situation. All night they were on the phone making arrangements to get back home in South Carolina, and will be leaving tomorrow. It is sad to think how quickly their journey ended after making it so far. Everyone at the hostel had a laid back day reading, journaling, and napping. We found the movie Willow and decided to watch that and stayed up until 0100 when it was finally done. It was a good flick and had been a long time since I had seen it.With the movie complete I went to bed.It should also be noted that the hostel at St. Thomas Episcopal Church is absolutely wonderful and is one of the best I have stayed at all trail. The have an excellent kitchen facility you can use, internet access, washer and dryer, and bathroom with a warm shower. You have the entire basement to use, aside from when a group has a function then it is partitioned off. But everyone at the church is super friendly and do all they can to make sure you have a good stay. Thanks for the great hospitality! God bless.
Date: 2004-08-12
From: St. Thomas Episcopal Church

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: moderate rain

Start: St. Thomas Episcopal Church Finish: Wildcat Shelter@2022 Weather: Rain and overcast with breeze. Humid.Breakfast: Life cereal.Lunch: Bagel and frosting. Dinner: 2 pkgs Lipton butter noodles, M&M¢s.Trail Conditions: Rocky, slippery, lots of ups and downs.Animals: Hawk, deer, squirrel, chipmunk.People: SOBO¢s, Snatchy & Monk, Magnet, Storm Troopers, Terrapin, Eugene. The first day back on the trail, after a town day, is always hard, especially when it is rainy. Showers were off and on all morning and it was very muggy and hot. A real letdown following the week of cool temperatures.I took my time getting ready today and wasn¢t in a rush to leave. Snatchy & Monk are leaving for home this evening via Greyhound. All of us at the hostel took pictures with them and said our farewells. It was pretty difficult for me to take. I¢ve really enjoyed the time I¢ve spent with those two, and had it not been for the unfortunate injury they would have been standing atop Katahdin this October. I said my farewells to them and left for the trail.I had no problems getting a ride back to the trailhead. I didn¢t even need to thumb a ride, rather a truck just pulled over. Eugene, a real nice fellow, dropped me off. Thanks dude!The day started with an appreciable climb out of the gap and remained ridgeline the rest of the days hike. After about 40 minutes on the trail it down poured and my fresh smelling dry clothes and gear were sopping wet. Such is life on the trail I suppose. All day as I hiked I thought about how fortunate I have been to make it this far, and how quickly this whole experience could end. I have heard many a story of people leaving the trail due to injury etc. but had not known any of them. Snatchy and Monk are the first I have known and the abruptness of the incident has just resonated deeply within me.I hiked along rocky ridge most of the day and tackled several technical boulder scrambles. I finally rolled into the shelter at dark and discovered that it was full. So I set up my tarp for the second time the whole trip. My head lamp died on me but fortunately Butterfinger had some fresh AAA¢s so I was back in business in no time.The skies are cloudy tonight and the smell of rain is in the air. The question is when will it come and will I stay dry?
Date: 2004-08-13
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light rain

Start: Wildcat Shelter @0922 Finish: Fingerboard @1718 Weather: Rainy, overcast, hot & humid.Breakfast: Life cereal.Lunch: Apple, bagel and chocolate frosting. Dinner: Chicken noodle soup, M&M¢s.Trail Conditions: Tons of climbs, boulder scrambles, very slippery.Animals: Deer, chipmunk, duck, geese, hawk.People: 6 SOBO¢s at shelter tonight.Well the rain didn¢t come during the night, but it absolutely poured buckets for several hours this morning starting at 0600. I was very impressed though as my tarp tent kept me totally dry! Some SOBO¢s left the full shelter early so I took up their empty space and ate my breakfast and waited with the others for the rain to stop.I got occasional sprinkles throughout the course of the day, but nothing serious. It was just another super humid and hot mid-Atlantic day. Unfortunately, the flat hiking has come to an end and it¢s back to lots of steep ups and downs. Today virtually every climb was a hand over hand steep boulder scramble. Typically they are fun to do, but everything was wet, muddy, and slippery. One bad footing and you are in for a good tumble. My hiking pace was barely more than a crawl it seemed and I took several good wipeouts and had a bunch more close encounters.Today was a very tough day for me psychologically. The rain and super humid and hot conditions, plus the endless climbs, and my slow pace caused my morale to absolutely plummet. I found myself resting a lot and just not wanting to be out hiking at all. I know coming into this journey that there would be low points, but I never expected them to be so rough. When the times got rough I just do my best to think positive and get psyched up for walking. I would rather be out here on a bad day than work or school on a good day.I cut my hike 5 miles short of my original goal. It is the first time I have not met a destination goal and it is frustrating. I hate not succeeding or matching my own challenges.The shelter is nice, however, the water was at the lake a half mile down hill. I went ahead and took all my gear with me and cooked the dinner on a large rock on the shoreline and watched occasional sprinkles of rain dot the waters glassy surface. All in all it was a relaxing end to an otherwise frustrating day.When I returned to the shelter from the lake several SOBO¢s had shown up for the night, and some more rolled in shortly afterwards. Tonight is my first night that I am the only NOBO. One of the SOBO¢s is actually from Michigan and has known of me for several weeks. It turns out he used to be the assistant Crew Coach at GVSU from 1999 to 2000 and coached three of my friends that were on the team. It¢s a small world I suppose.The shelter is full tonight and everyone is already sleeping so I¢ll follow suit.
Date: 2004-08-14
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: Graymoor Friary
Miles today: 20.5

Start: Fingerboard Shelter@ 0738 Finish: Graymoor Friary@ 1754Weather: Overcast with few sprinkles, hot & humid.Breakfast: Life cereal, strawberry poptarts, dried apple.Lunch: Bagel with chocolate frosting, Coke, potato chips, donuts, cookies. Dinner: Spaghetti, M&M¢s.Trail Conditions: Numerous steep and rocky climbs.Animals: Hawk, lots of deer, squirrel, rabbit, chipmunk.People: SOBO¢s, Butterfinger & Wideload, Blackfoot, Terrapin, Yogi & Joel, Borden.There is something about the random yet synchronized croaks of tree frogs that is surprisingly calming. I find the awkward rhythm to be quite soothing and it easily lulls me to sleep, especially after a great day of hiking.I definitely had my game face on today and hit the trail early in the morning. I made great time covering nearly 3 miles per hour, which included several very steep climbs. I rested just past William Bryan Shelter and enjoyed a second breakfast. The Palisades parkway was a daunting highway crossing, as it is the main drag into NYC. I met up with Butterfinger and Wideload on the other sides of Palisades and we hiked together until the summit of Bear Mountain.I started early today with the intention of arriving at Graymoor Friary before 4:30 PM so I could get in on the dinner they provide for hikers. That planned unexpectedly changed when I ran into Yogi and his girlfriend Noel doing trail magic in the parking lot atop Bear Mountain. It was great to see Yogi again (he¢s from New York City) as he left the trail at Pearisburg and I didn¢t get to see him before he left. Terrapin, Stormtroopers, and I chilled with Yogi for nearly three hours eating snackies and catching up on the times. Thanks Yogi!Yogi offered to slack us to Graymoor, I passed on the offer, but everyone else did accept. I fell into a great walking rhythm and slammed out the last nine miles in three and a quarter hours and that included nearly two thousand feet of steep elevation gains. The walk along the Hudson River through Bear Mountain Park was cool. There were thousands of people of all different races and ethnicities, and speaking different languages. It¢s something you never see in Holland. It was a good experience. The wildlife zoo was cool too and was also the lowest point on the whole AT.I met up with Yogi and Noel at Graymoor and arrive nearly an hour before everyone without there packs. A local trail angel named Borden was there. The four of us shot the breeze for a long while. Borden is a nice guy and was fun to talk with.Word on the trail is that a hurricane is moving up the coast and will be coming inland south of us tonight. Although it is completely calm right now, we are expected to get 2 ¢ 4 inches of rain tonight with up to 70 mile per our winds. It could be interested.Because of the potential for bad weather the Friars are letting us hikers stay under the large and very nice community pavilion, as opposed to the old one typically used by hikers. So instead of sleeping on a dirty concrete floor I am styling on top of a green painted picnic table with a good roof over my head. Who knew luxury could be so simple?