morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-03
From: 501 Shelter

To: PA Money Pit Hostel/RT 501
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day:There's a bug going around. 1/4 Moon had it and 'Nos had an extreme variation of it. Now it seems as though I've come down with it. So, I called off sick from "work" today. I'm exhausted, my head aches, and I've got a mean case of the chills. The prospect of walking today was out of the question! Everyone who spent the night here at 501 last night was going to make the 23 miles into Port Clinton in time to re-supply this evening. Even on a good day, that seems like a longish day to end with re-supply chores, and with the way I'm feeling; it seems like a death mark!Ron, the caretaker at 501 shelter, called Amy at the PA moneypit hostel down the road. She came and picked me up, took me to town to re-supply, and then back to the hostel. She's a great hostess and the place is eclectic, to say the least. I thought that the Doyle was a deviation from an anonymous chain motel, but this place takes the cake. I'm sleeping in an RV in the driveway! In front of the RV, under the awning, is a yard sale collection of stuff including a motorcycle parked in front of the screen door. There are a billion dogs on the property -- Amy is a professional dog breeder, and the neighbor is rumored to be a psycho hiker-hater. It's a strange place. But, Amy calls all of the hikers "honey", and she's done a great job of taking me in and making me feel better. And, I'm already feeling better and wanting to walk again.
Date: 2007-07-04
From: PA Money Pit Hostel/RT 501

To: Eagle's Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It's amazing what sort of repair work the body is capable of doing in 24 hours. There was no possible way I was hiking yesterday, but today, I pulled 15.5 miles by lunch time. It's a miracle! I am healed!I really like days when I get to the shelter early. It' nice to sit around alone and have some down time. Some hikers get bored and annoyed if they're at camp before 5:00 or 6:00. But not me. I'm somehow able to fill entire afternoons fiddling around, humming, and staring at the sky. Throw a paperback book and a radio in, and I can be entertained all day. I got onto the trail fairly early today. Amy dropped me off at Rt. 501 by 7:00 after feeding me breakfast and coffee! En route to Eagle's Nest Shelter, I got to meet and walk with The Gimp who was on his way to Port Clinton for the night. The Gimp is one of a few 30-something year olds I've met on the trail so far this year. We're a poorly represented age group on the trail, because most folks our age are doing the house, job, marriage, kids thing. Anways, it was nice talking to The Gimp, regardless of his fellow thirty-something status. Speakin of under-represented groups on the trail, I also met a couple of female thru-hikers today: Shiver and Buttercup (there are 2 Buttercups on the AT this year -- the other is a week or two north of here).I've developed a talent for predicting rainy weather. My hair has been done up in two braids (Pipi Longstocking Style) since Front Royal (sure it looks silly, but it keeps the tangles to a minimum and keeps my hair from getting snagged on my pack). Well, I've noticed that the ends of my braids curl up before a rainstorm. It must be the humidity. And, when it's nice out, they flatten down again. It's like one of those "magic" fortune teller fish that curls in your palm when your hands are warm. The braid ends are curled in on themselves, so I'm expecting a doozy of a storm in the next 24 hours.The PA rocks claimed a victim today -- my left shoe. One of the rascally rocks managed to bite a hole all the way through the toe area. A little duct tape applied and all is better. Good thing I'm planning on buying a fresh set of shoes in NYC (this'll be my fourth pair -- Moabs are only good for 400 or 500 miles. Less, I guess, if rocks are involved.)
Date: 2007-07-05
From: Eagle's Nest Shelter

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

Most public health officials would cringe at the conditions out here. There's a term we use for privies that are full -- it's called "coning" (because of the cone-shaped mound of human waste that protrudes above the privy seat). The Eagle's Nest privy was badly coned, but because of the rocks, it's impossible to dig a cat hole to go to the bathroom in. So, the privy was the only option. I tried to tame the Eagle's Nest cone with a stick, but all that resulted was a poo covered stick and a badly mauled cone of human waste. The real issue here, of course, is the fact that I was trying to deal with the cone in the first place. Do I have any pride left? Any sense of cleanliness? It was only while writing a letter to a friend recollecting the cone taming, that I realized how profoundly wrong the act was. The moral of the story? Most things done out here are not fit to describe in letters to folks in civilization. This could mean one of two things:A.) If you can't write home about it, don't do it.B.) Do gross stuff then lie about it to friends and family.My vote is for "B" though there are a few folks out there worthy of full disclosure. As an aside, the clever NOS has named the whole pushing-the-poo-with-a-stick-bit "outhouse jousting". Amazing!We were hit with quite a storm last night. I heard from Numbtoe and Shadow, who stayed the night in Port Clinton, that there were tornado warnings in the valley. I managed to snore my way through most of it snug and dry in my hammock. The moisture did add an additional element of challenge to the PA rocks, making them slick.I had a pretty funny dream the other evening. Everytime I opened my mouth to speak to someone, a string of snoring sounds came out instead of words. I must have been sawing logs pretty badly, because I woke up with a post-snore sore throat.I'm here at Windsor Furnace Shelter with a really neat mother/daughter section hiking duo, Megaphone and Ashey. Megaphone is friends with Stealth, who's thru-hiking this year, and she'll be joining him to hike VT, NH, and Maine. Despite the good company here tonight, it's official: I'm in a thru-hiker void. For some strange reason, it makes me want to buy a dog.
Date: 2007-07-06
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: scattered clouds

After getting bombed by storms last night, the day was sunny and I dried out nicely. PA continues to charm and delight me. I'm sort of sad that I'll be crossing into Jersey in a few days. But, I'm not THAT sad. Jersey's going to be good times.So, one of the 2007 hikers developed a new challenge called "one night in Jersey". This challenge calls for two back-to-back 35 mile days spanning the length of the state with only a single night spent in Jersey. It's quite ambitious, but a bit sad since the Jersey AT is a nice stretch of trail -- too nice to rush through. To counter the "one night in Jersey" challenge, Mangrove, J-Beard, and Dash created the formal Bear approved "Formal 14" were hikers are required to zero at every single shelter in NJ. They've been promoting the "Formal 14" since Virginia, so I'm eager to see if they are up for the challenge. I personally think that Jim Murray's "secret shelter" should be added to the roster, making it 16 nights in Jersey. I'd definately be up for that....I wasn't the only creature out soaking up the sun today. The rocks here draw snakes out in hoards, and Shadow, who was walking in front of me, saw an alarming number of copperheads on or near the trail. Oi!!
Date: 2007-07-07
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: PA 873
Miles today: 17.4

I woke up on fire. I was practically prancing while I packed up and then I set off at a blistering (for me, at least) 4 mile per hour pace. It felt good. REALLY good.After about a dozen miles into the day, I ran into Shadow and Numbtoe and had a leisurely walk into Lehigh Valley eating blueberries. Prior to this trip, I'd never had wild blueberries, but now I'm an addict. Shadow and Numbtoe were joking about having to join "blueberries anonymous". They were concerned that they'd never get out of PA because of all the blueberry bushes. They're walking to Maine, of course, because they hear that there are good blueberries up there.Numbtoe's brother, Stephen, met up with them at the shelter before Rt. 873, and we all walked down to the gap. As soon as we got down to the gap, we saw the infamous Stealth (who's hiking partner I met a couple nights ago). Stealth was stagggering across the bridge with a case of beer, ready to share with hot and sweaty hikers pouring down the hill into the valley. Nice. Thanks Stealth!I rolled into "Fine Lodging" on Main St. in Slatington for one of their $15 hiker rooms which turned out to be one of the biggest bait and switch scams of the century! The owner, Ira, didn't even initially show me a hiker room -- he took me to one of the junky $30 rooms sans bed sheets. When I asked about the hiker rooms, he took me to a room where the flooring was ripped out, mattresses were against the wall, and power tools were strewn about. Obviously, I opted for the more expensive room --- score: Ira 1, Birdlegs 0. Then, I asked him about slackpacking, and he offered a 2 way shuttle for over $70. The only reason I'm here is because I desperately need to clean up, get rid of some rash action.One good thing came of my visit to Slatington -- I got to spend the afternoon at "The Shack", a bar full of locals (I'm the only woman and the only hiker here). Rocky Top was played on the jukebox (didn't I hike over that way back in Tennessee?). The burgers here get an A+, and I'm slowly getting a pleasant post-hike dehydration buzz on, courtesy of Coors Light. The locals are my kind of people -- relaxed working class people looking for a way to escape the Saturday afternoon heat. The Shack is a neat place full of local color and worth the visit.Slatington is a typical Pennsylvania small town...nothing fancy, just a main street full of loud cars and tired looking people. I was talking to NOS the other day, and he pointed out that these small poor towns depress him. And, I suppose it appears that way to an outsider, the crumbling facades and late model cars don't exactly generate an ideal image of the American land of plenty. But, the people are mostly good and work hard and have been more than happy to help me or even just stop and chat a while. Looking under the surface, one can see an ideal community trying to live as happily and harmoniously as possible under the given conditions. And, if that's not some sort of ideal fulfilled, I'm not sure what is.
Date: 2007-07-14
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: broken clouds

Back on the trail again....It was great visiting people in the city, but the traffic noise and general over-stimulation nearly drove me insane. I've become unusually thin-skined out here,and I felt as though my ears, nose, eyes, and heart have become too open and receptive to deal with the glut of urban stimuli. I know for a fact, that I won't be able to return to the city to live after this hike. But, I had a strong sense of that, even when I lived there. Living in the city becomes bearable to seasoned urbanites, sure, but for me, it came at the cost of having my senses numbed, of retracting fearfully deep within myself. It's as though living in the mountains has opened a zipper in my exterior, through which my previously internal life has oozed out of.Today was one of those perfect humidity-free summer days with a a blue sky dottted with giant fluffy clouds. Meteorlogical perfection.One of the pleasures of taking a few days off is discovering a whole new crowd of friends. There was quite a crew staying at the church hostel last night: Ice Man, Buffalo, Bobby, G-Force, Spock, Comet, Sagbottom, Nuclear, and Ox. I had a great breakfast discussing boat design with Spock, who's a fellow wooden boat builder. We all seemed to be in a blissful state of lolly gagging today, and a handful of us opted to stay at the Mohican Outdoor Center, and AMC-run area with cottages, tentsites, and a pretty pond. Tomorrow, I officially enter familiar territory since I've hiked the remainder of this state last season. It's hard to believe I've hike into Jersey and will hit the 1300 mile marker tomorrow!
Date: 2007-07-15
From: Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 20.9
Weather: clear sky

I got to engage in some quality female bonding today. At the top of some anonymous rock pile, I lost the trail. I looked up, and miracle of miracles, saw another female hiker ahead of me. We were asking each other where the blazes where, when yet another female hiker stepped out from behind the shrubs saying that she didn't know which way the trail went. And, this is how I met Splendora and Snack Break.Splendora and I hiked into Culver's Gap together, followed by Snack Break. We hit up Gyp's, the local biker bar for some cold beers and a greasy meal. A rainstrom rolled in as we smugly sat on the covered patio drinking beers, and a ton of bikers pulled off of the highway and flooded the bar, telling off-color jokes and asking us about our hike. Then, in walked G-Force, Ox, and Nuclear. Packs exploded, wet socks came off, and a round of cold beers were ordered as hikers and bikers mingled.Three beers and two grilled cheeses with fries later, we took off to see the fire tower and hit the shelter for the night. For a dehydrated hiker, three beers has the devastating effect of twenty-three, and the last few miles of the day went slowly.... but were pretty fun.The delightful Buffalo Bobby and Ice Man stayed back at Brink Rd. Shelter, because of Iceman's foot issue. They're a funny duo -- I lot like the odd couple, and it was great hanging out with them at Mohican last night. After we had gone to our respective tents and hammock to sleep, a lot of noises started coming from Iceman's tent. Some of the noises distinctly sounded like the clipping of toenails, then there were some ripping and shuffling sounds. Bobby yelled over, "what are doing in there?". To which Iceman replied, "building a model airplane!" Proud moment of the day: with our encouragement, Snack Break peed standing up for the first time. What an on-trail female bonding moment, I tell ya! She had such a proud look on her face afterwards. And, Splendora and I felt like we had just seen our first-born take her first step. This is the sort of stuff that AT dreams are made of.My three beers have fully worn off, I'm tired from the day's long walk, a weekender's dog is trying to slaughter a deer in the woods behind my hammock, and that means it must be time for bed.
Date: 2007-07-16
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: Jim Murray Property
Miles today: 18.3

I spent a good portion of the day sitting on a bench outside of the high point Rangers station. At one point, I thought of how perfect it would be if only the bench was in the shade rather than full sun. So, I sat there the rest of the afternoon until the sun clocked around behind a tree, putting the bench and I in the shade. It was an epic victory for Birdlegs. I enjoyed the shade for a good 15 minutes, then I felt good enough to go for a walk.During my stay on the bench, I met a southbounder named Kevin, who's hiking to Georgia, then taking a bicycle to LA. He's raising money for a good cause along the way. Check out his blog at www.coast2coastjourney.blogspot.com or at www.halfthesky.org.While I slept soundly in my hammock last night, the Gypsy moth population of New Jersey was bringing life into the world. I woke to a terrible scene -- gypsy moth egg pods in my pack and in my shoe. Oh the horror!Snack Break, Chuckles, Splendora, Backfire, Ox, Nuclear, and I are at Jim Murray's delightul "secret shelter". The donkeys in the paddock are going insane singing donkey love songs at the top of their lungs. The ladies, Chuckles, and I are talking about possilby zeroing here. We can hit close-by Unionville for breakfast and re-supply, then watch the donkey brothers and their amorous goings-on (it's better than T.V.) all day.We had an AT fireworks extravaganza courtesy of Chuckles, the pyrotechnic expert on the trail. He built an elaborate AT symbol out of sparklers (cheap sparklers that didn't light), and we all watched with bated breath as he tried everything, even denatured alcohol, to get the mess ablaze. The result was stunning (for us -- we've been in the woods a LONG time), and we applauded politely as the donkeys broke into an estatic chorus of hee-haws. It was a most excellent day on the AT.
Date: 2007-07-21
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Graymoor Friary
Miles today: 15.2

We crossed the Hudson River today, and New York's terrain just got much, much easier.After the last schlep over Bear Mountain, the trail descended into suburban weekend madness. There were people everywhere, and a lot of them were milling about on the AT (though I'd bet that most of them don't even know what the AT is). The great thing about it was that it's the most diverse crowd of people I've ever seen on the trail. But, these days, crowds of any sort make me nervous, so I hustled through with what was probably a look of terror on my face.The trailside zoo called for a slow walk-through. The animals looked a little pudgy and lackluster -- not at all what they look like on the trail. The zoo has a strong Walt Whitman theme and features a huge statue of Walt (picture a bronze made for a powerful totalitarian dictator). An excerpt from "The Song of the Open Road" is carved underneath the statue:"A foot and light-hearted I take to the open road healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.Henceforth I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune. Henceforth I wimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing. Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms, strong and content I travel the open road.Camerado, I give you my hand! I give you my love more precious than money. I give you myself before preaching or law, Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me? Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?"Reading this absolutely gave me the chills, and I became choked up in front of the throngs of weekenders.I had the pleasure of meeting up with an old friend from school, Jill, at Fort Montgomery. She, her husband, Dave, and son, Soloman, drove in to meet me for lunch. We dined at some yuppie-ridden outdoor cafe (because of my smell, I insisted that it had to be outdoors). It was good seeing Jill, seeing how she's absolutely flourished with her relatively new found motherhood.After lunch, they dropped me off near the trail head, and soon I was in the area that I'd walked so many times before this hike. I used to bring my pack to work on Friday and take the commuter rail to Garrison Station and walk to the AT in the evening. I'd spend the night at Graymoor, walk to RPH the following day, then hike out to Rt. 22 to catch a train home on Sunday evening. It was a regular ritual for me, and though I love the sense of adventure in seeing what's around each new bend, I appreciate the sense of familiarity I have with this section of trail. Every hill, stone, and gap are familiar to me. It's like a child's favorite story book that becomes more enthralling once the child has memorized the plot line and words to it. I like to read these miles of trail over and over, revelling in their dependability, delighting with the minute new discoveries made on each trip. If I had to place a finger on a map of the world saying, "this is what I consider home to be", I would put my finger here.
Date: 2007-07-22
From: Graymoor Friary

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: clear sky

There are many famous routes of travel in the world -- routes of trade, pilgrimage, and adventure. And then, there's the Birdlegs weekend warrior AT route....Today carried me up and over familiar terrain past Fahnstock State Park and Shanendoah Moutain. I walked past the 9-11 memorial and took a photograph of it -- I must have at least a dozen such photos of it in every imaginable type of weather and light. And then, I did the familiar decent to RPH, the sounds of the Teconic Parkway becoming louder and louder. I felt like walking into the RPH cabin and yelling "honey, I'm home!" at the top of my lungs. It's good to be back, especially with my thru-hiker legs which didn't feel the pain that my weekend warrior legs felt. Despite being in good shape, I walked slowly and savored it.The trial conference was in the process of building a new footbridge on the trail just south of the shelter. Work crews were gone by the time we got in , but a load of food was left over, and a bold spray-painted sign was posted outside the shelter advertising trail magic. We'd seen signs advertising a BBQ at RPH for about 20 or 30 miles (they were squares of painted cardboard hung from trees) and were seriously excited about it. Tim, the leader of the bridge project, saw that we were fed steaks, pork chops, corn on the cob, and other treats, and we ate until our belly skin was stretched taut, and our eyes were rolled back into our heads.Here tonight are Snack Break, Splendora, and I (otherwise known as "the backwoods bitches"), Spock, Waterfall, Shovel, and Chuckels. We plan on sleeping in, cooking a massive breakfast, and enjoying a relaxed morning before heading out tomorrow.
Date: 2007-07-23
From: RPH Shelter

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Splendora, Snack Break and I are like sirens of the trail. We sing men off of the mountains and force them to take zero days with us.It rained all day. And, it was cold. And, RPH still had a huge store of food from the bridge building project. Really, would you have gone anywhere else in such circumstances? We joked that it was a "survival situation" in the wilds of the New York suburbs at an intimidating 360 feet of elevation. Nevermind that we were 100 feet from a modest suburban house complete with a pet poodle, or that we can order pizza delivery here...We slept in late and cooked a 60 egg omlete. By the time we had cleaned up and digestion was well under way, the rain came on strong, and we decided to wait a while to see what would happen.I listened to NOAA (Perfect Paul is my new on trail boyfriend -- such a nice robotic voice) and the prediction was for rain all day and into the night. A zero seemed inevitable.Mr. Easy and Not Yet rolled in (they had slept 4 miles south of RPH), and we lured them into staying, eating, and napping all day. Slowly, hikers poured in later in the day, including the illustrious Ice Man and Buffalo Bobby. We cooked up another HUGE meal consisting of pork chops, salad, and every other imaginable food. A group of ATC maintainers showed up for their annual picnic and a huge crew was at the shelter.. with tons of food. One of the ATC people went on a beer run for us, and the party completely fell apart. Great times... there were over a dozen thru hikers assembled -- the most I've seen in one place since the south.And, despite the riotous party, we were all asleep by 9:30.