morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-06-29
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Just north of midpoint marker
Miles today: 10.2

Half-way! I guess it just hit me today how long this trail really is. I've been out here almost 3 months and am only halfway, lucky me. I'm grateful to have made it this far and I can't wait to see what the second half has in store for me.   Today I, along with just about every other hiker who has ever walked past the Pine Grove General Store, attempted the half gallon challenge. The challenge is simple, you eat an entire half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. I selected Cherry Jubilee, (which I was later told was a bad choice because of how sweet it is) and sat down at a table to begin. The first half of the ice cream went down really easy and I was feeling confident. As I got towards the end I really started to hate the taste of cherries. With only 4-5 bites left, I had to stop eating for fear of throwing up. The bad part was that I wasn't full, just sick of the flavor. I actually went inside and got some fries to round out my lunch. Maybe next time. Let it be known though; Otter (James) ate an entire 1/2 gallon of Butter Pecan.
Date: 2009-06-30
From: Just north of midpoint marker

To: Boiling Springs, PA.
Miles today: 18.4

We're camping tonight in an area just outside of Boiling Springs , PA. We hiked roughly 18 miles this morning to get here and were rewarded with dinner a t a pizza place. There wasn't anything really worth writing about today other than the Boiling Spring in Boiling Springs. This spring gushes out 22 million gallons of water every single day. Just the volume is amazing to me.   So far PA is a fairly easy state. We may try to hike all the way to Duncannon tomorrow, we'll see. Tonight's campsite is right next to the railroad tracks so we'll see how much sleep we get.
Date: 2009-07-01
From: Boiling Springs, PA.

To: Duncannon, Pa.
Miles today: 25.7
Weather: broken clouds

Long Day! My feet were killing me for our last 3 miles but I guess that's just the way it goes. We made it to Duncannon, Pa and we are going to be spending the night at the Doyle Hotel. This place is pretty old and rundown but it's cheap so...   I'm getting an Ipod in the mail tomorrow and I'm pretty excited. The 4th is coming up in 3 days and we're trying to figure out where we'll be and what we should do.   Slapshot's video tour of the Doyle Hotelhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaSweghOyoY
Date: 2009-07-02
From: Duncannon, Pa.

To:  Peter's Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

After a good night's sleep at the Doyle, a hot breakfast, laundry and picking up my re-supply at the post office we finally left Duncannon. I was actually happy to get out of that town. The owners of the Doyle, Pat and Vickie, are really nice people but the town seems to be hit hard economically and people just weren't thefriendliest. No one was directly mean to us, you could just tell there was some resentment.    Since we got a late start we were only able to hike a short distance before stopping for the night. While I was hiking today I saw my first adult rattlesnake, a 4 foot timber rattler. Just before we got to the shelter it started to pour rain on us so we got soaked. To make it even better, when we arrived at the shelter it was already occupied by 5 slobs. This shelter is meant for 20 people, so it's huge and these 5 people had their stuff everywhere. What can you do.
Date: 2009-07-03
From:  Peter's Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was really uneventful. It rained all night last night so I was grateful to have been in a shelter but some of the other hikers were being pretty loud later into the evening. By this morning the rain had broken but it was still pretty gloomy. Pennsylvania hiking is a good bit different from hiking anywhere else so far. To start with, there are rocks everywhere; if they aren't giant ones you have to climb over and through, they're baseball-sized with sharp points that kill the bottoms of your feet. Then you have to deal with the fact that you aren't really in big mountains with good views. It feels like you're just walking through endless woods with rocks and it's the same everyday. So far this has been my least favorite state.   Given the bad hiking conditions, and the way we're received in towns, I've gotten in a small mental funk lately. I just haven't been having fun the past few days. Right now my driving force is the fact that I can get out of PA in less than a week. Positive thoughts...
Date: 2009-07-04
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

Happy Birthday USA! I can't think of a better way to celebrate my freedom as an American than being out here seeing the country in such a cool way. Usually that would be enough to keep me smiling all day but for some reason it just wasn't. I guess knowing that all my friends are either in Charleston at Dustin's bachelor party or at the lake makes me wish I was off the trail with my friends today.    That same rude group of hikers showed up at the shelter we were at last night and really got on my nerves again. Unfortunately I think they are going to be here tonight also. I should go tent to stay away from them. It looks like I won't be seeing any fireworks this year. I need something really cool, anything, to help me get out of the funk.
Date: 2009-07-05
From: 501 Shelter

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

Really?? How are all my bad days, negative experiences, and negative feelings coming in the same week? Last night I (all of us actually since we were all there together) had a pretty scary incident at the shelter we were staying in that ultimately led to me not getting any sleep and just basically hating every step today.   Last night around 3 a.m. everyone was woken up by another hiker who had been up all night drinking. To start with, this guy is really creepy and just puts off bad vibes in general. He hangs out with the group of people I've been so annoyed with over the past few days so I already didn't like him. Probably the most glaring sign that he isn't a very good person is the fact that he has his 13 year old son out here with him and lets him smoke and drink liquor (which that whole group is supportive of) Anyway, he came in the shelter (this shelter actually has 4 walls and a door) and was yelling at everyone and basically being really aggressive. Once we all woke up we ended up getting him to leave. The whole time it just reminded me of the stories you hear about abusive drunks who come home looking to pick a fight with somebody. I'm just glad we were there because it would have been mainly women and two other guys if we hadn't been. Just more bad vibes.   When we got to Port Clinton today we heard the cops are looking for the guy which is good. I hope he gets arrested.
Date: 2009-07-06
From: Port Clinton, PA

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

Things were better today. I had a great day hiking and am at a really cool place tonight. I had a good talk with James today and he was feeling the same way about the past week. I think we have all been pretty negative about PA and it's just been snowballing.   Positive thinking can go a long way towards being happy. Even though things have been crappy lately, I've let it get to me. I need to start focusing on the positive things again.   I'm getting to take the trip of my lifetime and even though it's hard ( my legs hurt constantly, it feels like someone pounded my feet with hammers every morning and honestly it's pretty lonely out here) it's a choice to be out here. I've just got to keep reminding myself to take the time to enjoy everything I can and find the positive everyday. My time is too valuable to waste being mad.   I think the best way to describe the AT is to say:      "There's a lot of ups and downs but you always remember the ups" It works in a lot of ways.
Date: 2009-07-07
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Palmerton,PA
Miles today: 25.1

Good day today. We did a ton of miles and it didn't seem that long, I saw Robo on the trail for the first time in like a month and we're staying somewhere with a warm shower. Here in Palmerton they let you stay in the Borough Hall basement at no charge which is great for us. Tomorrow I am going to get on the computer at the library and apply for some winter jobs in CO. I want to go out there for the winter and experience the Rockies. Short entry!
Date: 2009-07-08
From: Palmerton,PA

To: Stempa Spring
Miles today: 11.6

Finally, a nice town. Palmerton was great and they had a really nice library. I spent a good bit of time in the library on a computer and actually filled out a job application. Only time will tell how that turns out but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.   The climb out of Lehigh Gap which is where Palmerton is located, is well known for being really tough. Back in the earlier part of the century Palmerton was a major zinc smelting town and ended up polluting the area really badly. Pollution killed all of the vegetation and left a 1000 foot climb that is only rocks , no dirt or trees. The climb is bad , but not too bad. I made sure not to drink any water from the area because it is a superfund site. If you don't know what an EPA superfund site is, look it up, and then look at the list of sites.   Very litle water on this section of the trail. We actually had to walk 1.2 miles (roundtrip) for water tonight. Camping at a primitive site
Date: 2009-07-09
From: Stempa Spring

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 24.4
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a long one. I didn't make it here until 7:30 p.m. and my feet are killing me. Tomorrow we walk into New Jersey and I am honestly excited. Wow, that is something I never thought I would say. Pennsylvania has been my least favorite state and I am glad to only have 1 mile of it left.    Tonight we are staying at a free hostel that's run by a church here in town. Since we got in late we missed a potluck dinner, but it doesn't matter because we are about to get SWEET trail magic.   Family friends of James, the Greavers, live in N.J. and have offered to feed us and let us relax at their house. I'm really excited about this because I haven't sat on a couch and watched t.v. in awhile. Anyway, Mr. Greavers is going to pick us up on the morning of the 11th from the Mohican Outdoor Center which means a meager 10 mile day tomorrow. Things are looking good!
Date: 2009-07-10
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: broken clouds

Knowing I had a short mileage day ahead, it was hard to leave the cool of the church basement. I sat in the dark hostel on a recliner and read a National Geographic book until around 3 p.m. Finally I forced myself up and got on the road. N.J. is already better than PA. The trail today went past a cool pond and for once wasn't completely rocky. Tomorrow morning at 8, Mr. Greaver is picking us up and I am ready!
Date: 2009-07-12
From: the Greavers' house

To: Greavers' house
Miles today: 0.0

Now this is trail magic. Yesterday morning Mr. Greaver picked us up at 8 a.m. and drove us to his and Mrs. Greaver's home. From the moment we were picked up we have been treated great. Yesterday we had a full breakfast, ribs for lunch, shrimp and grits for dinner, cherry cobbler with ice cream, chocolate pecan pie with ice cream, and tons of other food. Between lunch and dinner Mr. Greaver drove us an hour away to some outfitters where we could get gear we needed. I mean how cool is that? Today we woke up to French toast (which was awesome,par for this house) with bacon and sausage. After breakfast we helped get the canoe out of the garage. The Greavers had offered to take us to the Delaware river to canoe so we took them up on it. Before we left for the river we had lunch, just filet mignon, no big deal. Canoeing was great and even helped me work up an appetite for our pork tenderloin dinner. I think these people might be fattening us up to sell us to some wealthy cannibals. I'm sad that tomorrow we will be heading back on the trail, but we need to walk off these calories. I can't thank the Greavers enough for what they've done. The hospitality they have showed us is some of the best I've ever received, trail or not.
Date: 2009-07-13
From: Graves' house

To: Culver Fire Tower
Miles today: 19.8

Back on the trail. Everything felt really weird today. It felt kind of like our first day for some reason. Granted Jack is back on trail as of today and we all hiked together for the first time in 800 miles and I have new shoes, it still felt really new.   We are staying at a fire tower tonight and I'm going to sleep on a platform near the top, I hope it works out. One more thing, I ended up getting a job offer today from that application I filled out in Palmerton, PA. It looks like I might be a chair lift operator in Telluride, Co. this winter.
Date: 2009-07-14
From: Culver Fire Tower

To: Secret Shelter
Miles today: 19.6

My feet hurt! I am starting to think that my shoe selection may have been bad. I ended up buying New Balance 811's at EMS in N.J. the other day and they just don't feel good now. I am going to keep wearing them and see how they feel.    I just got an awesome phone call. My sister had her baby!! It's 9:00 p.m. and I was writing this when my mom called. All I know right now is that it's a boy and has 10 fingers and 10 toes. Well let the adventure of being an uncle begin.   I'm really proud of my sister and her husband. I know they will be great parents and I can't wait to see the little guy. I wonder what's the smallest backpack they make?
Date: 2009-07-15
From: Secret Shelter (Jim Murray property)

To: Vernon, N.J.
Miles today: 13.6

Late last night I got a call from my sister to give me the details on the baby. I hope I get the weight right but I may be wrong since I was sound asleep when she called around 1:00 a.m. Alright, they named the guy Samuel Palmer Fletcher and he weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. I'm not sure how long he was but that's irrelevant. I was glad to hear from my sis and know everything was fine.This morning the hiking came easy and the trail was good. We knew that Vernon, N.J. would be coming up sometime after lunch and I made up my mind that I wanted to go into town so I could see some pics of Samuel. Once we all talked about it we all just decided to stay in town and be satisfied with the low mileage day. We are camping in a grassy area next to a pond that is beside a fire station. There some firemen there when we got to town and they were gracious enough to let us use their showers. I didn't have any soap so I just rinsed off my legs.
Date: 2009-07-16
From: Vernon, N.J.

To: somewhere north of Mombasha High Point
Miles today: 19.0

So I crossed into NY and the land of the unknown today. I messed up and didn't ask my mom to send the next section of my data book so I'm running blind in NY. ewwwww, scary!   Today was a good day and I think I walked over 20 miles, I'm not sure. There should be a package for me in Arden, NY and their post office only opens for one hour each morning so I have to hustle tomorrow to make sure I make it. The other guys don't have to worry about the post office so they stayed back at the last shelter area. This is one of the rare occasions when I'm going to spend the night alone.         video of crossing into New York http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiXv7zZdWGg   videos are all on youtube -you can do a search for "tylerhollingsworth, hiking the at" and it should pull them up. or check the video link at the side of this page.
Date: 2009-07-17
From: somewhere north of Mombasha High Point

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

My planning paid off this morning. I made it to the post office in time to pick up my packages. It's a good thing I got there because today was the last day that the Arden , N. Y. post office is operating. The postmaster told me that they would have taken my package to another P.O. and I more than likely wouldn't have found it. At least I have the distinction of being the last thru hiker to pick up a re-supply there.    After the post office I entered Harriman State Park. The park is really cool and the forest composition is interesting. It looks like a bald with oak trees and no understory. I took a lot of pictures.    Well, I almost got off the trail today; not for good, but just for a visit home. I was at the post office and heard from someone that there was a train station about a mile away that could take me to NYC. From NYC I was going to get an Amtrack to Clemson. It was really tempting since I really want to see my nephew, and also one of my friends is about to head out for training and then on to Afghanistan. It ended up (obviously) that I kept walking, but it was tempting.
Date: 2009-07-18
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Graymoor Spiritual Center
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: broken clouds

Today was short mile-wise but it felt really long because of the heat. It didn't help that I got limited sleep last night due to the nasty storm that came upon us during the night. This thunderstorm rivaled the one at the Rice Field Shelter but wasn't as scary because we were in the woods as opposed to being on an exposed ridge. I do know that the thunder was the most magnificent that I have ever heard and would have been even cooler if it wasn't so terrifying.   I did get to see a really awesome trail relocation at Bear Mountain today. When we were at EMS Outfitter in N.J. I met a guy who works on the trail crew that's building the new relo and he invited us to check it out. When we got to Bear Mt. I called him and he gave me and Jack a tour. The new trail, which will be open next year, is amazing. They have been working on the trail for 2 years if that says anything about the work involved.   After getting the tour of the relocation, we walked through Bear Mountain State Park picnic area (NYC relocated)We crossed the Hudson River and headed for Graymoor Spiritual Center to camp for the night. The Friars at Graymoor are really nice and have let hikers stay at their monastery for almost 30 years. Oh Yeah, Jack and I were the first hikers to hike the new Bear Mt. section. HISTORY!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C75aWOqKEA4 join a section of the hike on this video.
Date: 2009-07-19
From: Graymoor Spiritual Center

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I got my first really early start this morning in a long time. We were camping at Graymoor around the ball pavilion and they failed to let us know that people would show up at 5:45 a.m. to set up a food stand for the soccer game later in the day. So for the first time in a long time I was on the trail before 8 a.m.    Hiking today was boring and I just felt really drained and out of it. Since we got such an early start we finished our hike by 4 p.m. It would make sense to keep walking but oh well. We are coming up with a plan for an adventure here in the next couple days that I'll write more on when it materializes.
Date: 2009-07-20
From: RPH Shelter

To: Pawling , N.Y.
Miles today: 17.5

Hiking today was a lot better than it had been for the past few days. I felt better about my legs today ( I had actually been feeling really tired in my legs) and the confidence all came back. Granted we didn't do killer miles. I felt awesome and could have hiked 10 more miles.   Alright enough about that; let's talk about our adventure. We realized yesterday that there is a train here in Pawling that can take us into NYC so we decided yesterday to do it. Well we initially thought about going tomorrow morning but then we realized we would only have a few hours before we had to turn around and come back. Today we made the decision to take the midnight train to Grand Central Station and wander through the city for awhile until we get set up for the Today Show. That's right, TV! After that we're planning on going to Carnegie Deli and eating lunch and then coming back to the trail. Here's to hoping that this trip is a good idea. I'll keep you informed. Staying up all night in NYC sounds like an awesome idea to me.
Date: 2009-07-21
From: Pawling , N.Y.

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: moderate rain

Well I'm not going to say that NYC was a bad idea because that would be like admitting defeat. I will say that the trip would have been more fun if we hadn't gotten rained on (But what's new!!)   We got to Grand Central Station around 2 a.m. and walked to Times Square to see the lights and billboards. I haven't ever seen that so it was an experience. For the rest of the night we hung out on Broadway and occupied various benches. We were offered drugs twice between 3:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. and they say NYC is cleaned up. Anyway we went to Rockefeller Plaza around 5 a.m. to make sure we got a good spot at the Today Show. We ended up being 2nd in line so we were able to stand right at the front in the middle. Around 6 a.m. it started pouring rain so we got totally soaked. Needless to say we were ready to get out of the city and back into the woods. (editor's note: the boys were seen in two sweeping shots of the crowds in the beginning minutes of the show and probably would have been on camera more if they hung around; but they left the Plaza by 8:00)   We caught a train back to Pawling around 9:45 and arrived right at noon. Randall and Jack were too tired hike but me and James headed out to the trail. The first shelter was only 8 miles away so we figured it wouldn't be too bad. We were wrong; it rained the whole time we were walking. I got to the shelter around 5:30 and am ready to go to bed. Morale is low.(even lower for the toad- watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ermRQyBmWCc )
Date: 2009-07-22
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Stoney Brook Campsite
Miles today: 20.1

I woke up this morning and felt really refreshed. It ended up being just me and James in the shelter last night which was good since we were both asleep by 6p.m. It rained all night and the sound of the drops kept me sleeping like a baby. This morning I didn't even wake up until 9 a.m. which is the latest I've slept the whole time I've been out here. 15 hours of sleep never felt so good. I needed it though considering I had hiked roughly 25 miles, taken a trip to New York City, and been awake for almost 40 hours.   After about 12 miles of hiking we came to Kent, Ct. I had a food re-supply there so we went into town. After the Post Office we went to the IGA to get ourselves a little town snack. We decided to eat Chips Ahoy cookies and split a gallon of milk-awesome. While we were eating Randall and Jack showed up. I was glad to see they had caught us already and wouldn't be behind for a couple days.   We left and hiked about 8 more miles to this campsite right along the Housatonic River. You can tell we've gotten a lot of rain because the river is pumping.
Date: 2009-07-23
From: Stoney Brook Campsite

To: Limestone Spring Shelter
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Lot's of walking today. We are trying to get to Great Barrington, MA by noon on Saturday to pick up cookies at the Post Office, so no time to slack. Today it looked like it was going to rain all day but thankfully it held off until I got to this shelter and now it's pouring. I'm grateful I didn't have to walk in it again today. The highlight of the day was Great Falls on the Housatonic; it was awesome with the high water level. The lowlight of the day was the 3 mile road walk we had to do thanks to the bridge being out.    ( editor's note: that means the total walking miles would actually have been more like 23 miles since they don't calculate extra miles into the trip miles)