morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-05-30
From: 0

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

today was sad. my dad and sister had to go back home. early too! they dropped me and cire off at speck and slickrocks house and we said our goodbyes. i dont know when ill see my sister again since shes movin to arizona. ill have to make a trip out there when i get done on the trail. heck, ill have to make trips to a lot of places when i get done. anyways...they are gone and so we sit. though sitting is good! rest. we watched a movie and just layed around doing nothing. something ive only dreamed of! we did go with slickrock to the outfitter here in town. very nice. picked up a couple small things. definitely convenient. back at the house...we grilled out for dinner! steaks! so soo good. it was the first steak ive had since we left. it was everything i remembered! so, we sat some more and watched another movie. speck is home from nashville she got to hang out too. good times...
Date: 2003-05-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

today is the last day of our vacation. another sad day. but!!!we had to make the very best of it. and i believe we did. well, me and cire got to go out for a few hours. we borrowed specks car and went out on the town. of course it is in the middle of the day so, its nothin big! we went to borders and hung out there for a while. got a couple things from walmart. went to starbucks, got some coffee. drove around a little, cause we could! definitely fun. came back to the house and ate and ate and sat and sat. nice evening of doing nothing! watched caddy shack. classic! got tired and since we were leaving pretty early to head back to the trail i thought i would go to bed.
Date: 2003-06-01
From: harper's ferry

To: ed garvey shelter
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: broken clouds

the beginning of the end. the first day into the second half of the trip. exciting yet frightful, all at the same time. i am excited to be back on the trail, but since i know what to expect its different than the first day (march 1). i dont carry the same enthusiasm, but that is to be expected. the drive back to the trail was long, giving me a lot of time to think about the trail and what it will bring in the next 3 months. so much has happened. weve overcome so many obstacles. ive learned so much about myself its almost scary. so, im excited that there is 3 more months that will be filled with so much. the realization that this journey is not over, but really only beginning, is the main motivation. todays hike was perfect for our first day back. and with only 6 miles to do, we werent in any kind of hurry. so we took our time. the shelter is amazing. brand new, with two levels. the water is a little hard to get to but hey, thats life. the atmosphere amongst the group is somewhat comical. definitely fun. its been a nice day. oh, its not raining! a huge plus right there. hopefully it will keep up!
Date: 2003-06-02
From: ed garvey shelter

To: annapolis rocks campsite
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

for the 2nd day back, man, killer! the terrain was great and there were plenty of cool things along the trail to see, but it was just a long, tiring day. weather was beautiful though! sunny and cool. we couldnt ask for better weather. there was even a place to take a shower. for free too! some campsite along the trail had showers in the bathroom house. very nice. i just wish we had been out for a few days before we ran into it. its only been two days since we left harpers ferry. definitely not enough time to really get nasty. but it was still good. anyways...we saw the washington monument, which was definitely cool. theres so much history here. all kinds of civil war remains. old houses and stuff like that. very interesting. its all stuff that i probably wouldnt see if i wasnt on the trail. we crossed interstate 70 and headed up to here. the last five miles were killer. i thought i couldnt make it. i finally had to sit down for a few minutes and rest. after a while the girls caught up and we started goin again. turns out i was only about 100 yards from the campsite where i sat down to rest. anyways...i made it. even when i didnt think i could. and im so glad to be here. resting! the only thing left to do is use the bathroom!
Date: 2003-06-03
From: annapolis rocks campsite

To: devils racecourse shelter
Miles today: 11.2

yesterday...amazing! today...not so much! the rain is back. and it doesnt hold back. we woke up and had just enough time to get packed up before it really came down. and it came down. and it hasnt stopped. its after 8 now and it hasnt let up at all. its ridiculous. the hike today was great. it was rather rocky but kinda flat at the same time. we took a nice, long lunch break at a shelter and waited to see if the rain would let up. it didnt. so off i go into the rain headed for here. the shelter we ate lunch at was stinkin amazing. huge, seemingly brand new, and it had a dry porch. it wouldve been great to stay there! but we are here, in probably the worst shelter on the trail. we are however lucky to have a shelter, but still, its pretty bad. theres a bunch of leaks in the roof. and not to mention, theres 10 of us in here! its just small too. anyways...im on the edge of the shelter at everyones feet again. i dont know how i always end up this way. i got here in time to have a spot, but when everyone came in, i ended up here. so, ill probably be falling off the edge at some point tonight. im looking forward to it. so, im being paged to play guitar for everyone so im off...
Date: 2003-06-04
From: devils racecourse shelter

To: deerlick shelters
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

rain! RAIN! why must it rain all the time! it just doesnt stop. it stinks how the rain can slow you down so much. we really needed to get 4 more miles today, but it was just too wet! the hike was fast today. we just wanted to get out of the weather and dry. and when we got here we decided to stop. its not too bad. we just have to pick the miles up tomorrow. its really discouraging to look out the shelter and see and hear nothing but rain. though we heard that it might only be cloudy tomorrow with no rain. ill take that over this anyday. anyways...im already looking forward to our next day off just so we can get things dry. although i dont know when that will be. oh well. we just have to suck it up til then i guess. the good thing is that we are halfway. weve hiked over a thousand miles and thats pretty cool. somewhat encouraging. but now im cold and tired so im goin to sleep!
Date: 2003-06-05
From: deerlick shelters

To: campsite
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: broken clouds

aahhh...its not raining! well, it was still foggy and misty when i woke up, but not raining. and around 10 the sun started to peek out. it was so nice to see it too! however, it wasnt consistent. it never rained today but the sun wasnt exactly beaming either. but altogether it was a nice day. the trail is still a wet, muddy mess. but i think we, and our boots, are getting used to that. we booked it 1? miles to a shelter for lunch and then continued on to caledonia state park, where we got to take a shower! and man did we need it. after being wet for 3 days the mildew stench gets the best of you. so i washed my shirt, shorts, and socks in the shower with me! all but the socks smell better, but the funk that came out of em was just nasty! anyways...shower was good. and while we were there i layed the tent out to dry and what do ya know, it dried! good thing cause we are sittin in it right now. the shelter was full so we pushed on another 2 1/2 miles to here, a wonderful, clear campsite. and sites like this are very rare! theres been so many rocks all over, a good tent site is very hard to come by. its really nice to be tenting again though. with as much rain as weve had, the shelters are just much more comfortable and we are less likely to get wet there. but the bad thing about tenting, well, tonight, are the dang bugs! mosquitos and black flies are everywhere. when you walk, you just run into walls of bugs. very irritating! but i think weve rid the tent of all the bugs that were in here so we will be able to sleep soundly! well, i cant wait till saturday, goin to gettysburg with speck and slickrocks dad! and of course we get our resupply, which will have much food! ive been so hungry the past 2 days and i cant seem to get enough food. and now i dont have but just enough to get by. anyways...today has given some encouragement. and tomorrow is supposed to be sunny! so, maybe by saturday, when the rain is supposed to start up again, ill be ready to face the wet again. youd think i would be used to the wet weather, but it always seems to be irritating and miserable. i wish it wasnt so. oh well...
Date: 2003-06-06
From: campsite

To: campsite
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: clear sky

beautiful day! finally, a day of sun! it felt so nice. and we hiked rather quick today. we did 11 miles before 12, which i would be willing to say that the most miles weve done in 3 hours. the terrain is definitely mile-friendly. its still muddy, and there are still rivers running down the trail, but we are still able to move pretty quickly. anyways...we got to pinegrove state park around 3 which is the official mid-point on the a.t. this year, and also the home of the half-gallon club. this club consists of people who have willingly tried to, and finished, a half gallon of ice-cream. i knew i coudnt do it, so i didnt even try. but all the others did. and...only speck and ketchup finished. it took em 2 hours to do it, but theys not feeling to well tonight. but its another memory for the books! so, we hung out there for a few hours and picked up our boxes at the hostel and got our resupply all situated. and the plan was to hike from pinegrove to the road where speck and slickrocks dad is pickin us up tomorrow, but we decided to go ahead and knock some of those miles out tonight. so, we hiked a few extra miles so wed have less to do in the morning. i think we only have like 7 miles to do. and its supposed to rain all day tomorrow so, the quicker we can get there the better. im definitely looking forward to tomorrow, going to gettysburg. im likin all this history up here. cool stuff. the only thing left to worry about tonight is if we are gonna get wet tonight. if it rains, the chances are good, cause the tent has been leaking pretty bad lately. hopefully it wont."we can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. and...endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation."-rom 5:3-4
Date: 2003-06-07
To: Campsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: heavy intensity rain

nice, easy day. slept in til about 8:30 at the hotel. so nice and comfy! got all packed up and headed to the trail about 11:30. but we stopped and got a soda for the road. or the trail rather. we pretty much booked it to the first shelter, about 6 miles out. took a nice little break and had a little talk about the next few weeks schedule. made some decisions. definitely needed. anyways...pushed on to the campsite, only 4 miles from there. and we came up on this huge farm land. we must have walked a mile and a half through a farm. definitely enjoyable, cause it was a really different site for us. we are coming out of one mt range and heading to another one about 30 miles away, so the next 30 miles are relatively flat. this is very good! considering we are planning a marathon tomorrow. we are goin for a whopping 26.2 miles. the most weve done so far, by 4.2 miles. but with the flat terrain we should be able to do it fairly easily. well, not easy by any means. thats a lot of stinkin miles for anyone to be walkin and its gonna be hard no matter what the terrain is like. but, we are gonna give it a shot. anyways...we arrive at the campsite and are by ourselves, whic is quite nice, i must admit. and since we are only a half a mile away from town (boiling springs) me and eric decided to go and check out the town. maybe grab a coke or somethin. and its a very nice town. lots of history. small, but nice. theres a small cafe that serves breakfast at 7 that i think i might try to get to. at least get some coffee. preparation for 26 miles! but now, im back at the campsite. and i think i might play some guitar for a couple minutes. so...until tomorrow, good nite to all!
Date: 2003-06-08
From: campsite

To:  duncannon, pa
Miles today: 27.5
Weather: overcast clouds

haha...27.5 miles. totally ridiculous! i mean i just cant believe we all actually made it. and we were just gonna do 26.2, but decided hey...might as well go on into town and just make it 27.5. definitely exciting. anyways...it was dang hard! us three guys didnt get rollin until about 7:30, while the girls were gone before 7. and we stopped in boiling springs and got a bisquit and some coffee. so we really didnt get on the trail til about 9. but the first 10 miles were easy, except for the fact that we were having to almost tread water! the puddles were so deep and the mud was so slick and nasty. i cant describe it to even do it justice. we would have done the 10 miles in probably 2 and a half hours had it not been for the mud. slippin everywhere didnt make things easy. but after about 13 miles, we started climbin again. so it wasnt so muddy, which was good, but by this time we were so worn out from tryin to beat the mud, we just dragged and dragged. we finally made it to the first shelter, which was at mile 15.8, around 4. felt a little better since we were just past halfway for the day. but we still had 11 miles so we were far from done. anyways...the rest of the way was basically pushing the whole time. me and oopu both were hurtin and needed a good break if we were gonna keep goin. well we didnt want to stop until we made it to the second shelter, which is at mile 23, so we could decide if we still wanted to keep ging for the 26 miles. we got there around 6:30 and sat for almost an hour. nice break! but, if i didnt get goin soon i wasnt gonna be able to make it i didnt think, so we pushed on. only 4 miles at tis point. no problemo. and we grinded the miles out in good time. were in town at 8:15. so in about an hour we did 4 miles. but eventhough our marathon was over, the journey for the day did not end yet. to the pizza place we went! me and oopu split a large pizza and sat and rested til after 10. the we decided it was time to head to the campground that we were camping at for the night. and after a long walk through and out of town we did arrive. and now, after showering and putting on clean clothes, im getting ready for bed. and im gonna sleep in tomorrow! we are getting picked up by one of ketchups friends from harrisburg who will be hosting our zero day. excited about that, especially after the marathon. a very hard and long day, but still very good and another memory for the books!
Date: 2003-06-10
From: campsite

To: zero day- duncannon,PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

only a zero day because we pushed so hard yesterday. we had a nice morning, taking our time getting up and cookin some breakfast. we were next to the showers, so we had running water, so we were able to wash our stuff and brush our teeth with a sink! anyways...we walked back down to the post office. we kinda just chilled in town for the rest of the morning. went to lunch at the pub downtown. very nice. then, we got picked up at the post office. ketchups friend, tiffany, was so wonderful. she was so good to us! she had bought food to cook and rented movies to watch. definitely nice! the house was amazing and definitely comfortable. it was like dinner and a movie over and over. good times...
Date: 2003-06-11
From: zero day- duncannon,PA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

today is our official zero day. and we are doing as little as possible. weve got movies to watch, and im cooking dinner tonight. it was so nice to wake up, whenever i wanted, and take a shower. ate some cereal. watched a movie and waited til lunch and walked to mcdonalds. so nice! the fun began when i got back. started cookin around 4. so fun. its been a long time since ive gotten to cook. so, it was fun for me. and everyone enjoyed it so it was rewarding. and again it was just movies and relaxing. and all except for the kids that kept attacking us, it was awesome.
Date: 2003-06-12
From: zero day- duncannon,PA

To: peters mt shelter
Miles today: 11.0

definitely didnt want to wake up this morning. i mean, i didnt want to have to get up out of bed. but i had to. and i had to get my gear together pretty quick. i took a quick shower and got some cereal. not much time to chill. we were out about 10 and on the trail at 10:30. twas a nice stay at george and tiffanys. back on the trail, its not so bad. its cloudy and its supposed to be severe t'stormin, but its not that thank god! it hasnt rained all day! well, it is now, but we are in the shelter so its no big deal. just hope its not too bad tomorrow. anyways...the hike was rather nice except for the climb out of duncannon. mostly flat, but rocky. nothing too terrible. its been a good day. we got here and man theres a bunch of folks here. 22 i think. its a big shelter though so it can hold all of us. just barely though. i got to play some guitar. theres actually a journaist hiking out here from atlanta. hes putting together a slide show about hiking the a.t. ad so he took some pics of us and even recorded some songs to dubb over the pics. we recorded some worship songs and some other stuff. very cool. anyways...good times. just chillin out the rest of the evening now. nuthin to exciting goin on here. haha...
Date: 2003-06-13
From: peters mt shelter

To: campsite
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: light rain

to start, it was a little overwhelming that there were 22 people in the shelter. but it was worse when everybody was up at 5 trying to get out and on the trail, racing to the next shelter so they could get a spot. it would be nice to stay in the shelter if it were raining like it was last night, but dang...to get up that early, its not worth it. well, to me at least. anyways...we got rolling a little after 8. and we werent in any hurry. we knew we were tenting tonight so we just took our time. we met up with paul, slickrocks boyfriend, who will be joining us for the weekend. nice to have him with us. twas a nice day on the trail. very hot and humid. summer is definitely here! the ice cold streams are very nice now that i get hot. we actually covered a lot more ground than i thought this afternoon. before i knew it we were at the shelter. there was a nice creek there by the trail that we sat at for like an hour. nice and cool down by the creek. we ended up eating dinner there and decided to push on another mile or so. we heard there some good campsites up the trail a bit. and man, there was. we got this awesome spot right next to a stream. i think this was the first time i actually took a real bath in the stream. yes, i stripped down and just sat in. it was so nice! so refreshing. and so nice to feel and smell good! we got a nice fire goin, and im just chillin out, writin some journal. tisa nice night!
Date: 2003-06-14
From: campsite

To: 501 shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

tough day! got on the trail at 9 and just went and went. me and oopu hiked together this morning and we ended up getting a little lost. we crossed under interstate 81 and we were supposed to go under and up around the interstate, but we missed the blazes and ended up hiking a mile down the road before realizing we had missed the trail. so we finally turned back and did find the trail, but we were so far behind the others that we stopped for lunch. the others ended up waitng for us about 2 miles further. we shouldve just kept going, but oh well. we met up with everybody at the next water source and then went on to this shelter. there was actually 3 miles that werent in the book between the interstate and the shelter. so we were hurtin and didnt really know why until we found out that it was 7 miles, not 4. anyways...we are here now and we just ordered pizza! the shelter is right next to a road so they deliver! i know itll be good. its been so hot and weve needed this treat. probably gonna play some guitar and just chill. i got cleaned up and am comfortable so, its all good!
Date: 2003-06-15
From: 501 shelter

To: eagles nest shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

such a nice day! man o man!!! woke up kinda early, around 6. we went to a wonderful breakfast, compliments of swift sandals father. the pancakes were totally amazing. some of the best ive ever had! and the company was just the same. it was so cool to hang out at their cabin. it was almost on the trail. and the view from the living room was amazing. thank yall so much! so, we got on the trail around 11. i guess we moved kinda quickly. we took 2 breaks the whole day and wound up here before i knew it. well, the hike today was nice. it was a nice day. kinda cool this morning, warmed up alot this afternoon. but still nice. terrain was nice too. i think we are able to average a good 3 mph. pretty good i think for us as a group. anyways...me and speck got to the shelter at 6 and kinda waited for everyone to get here. we were gonna push on a couple more miles, but we found a great campsite and a good water source right next to it so we couldnt pass it up. we built a great fire and just chilled around it all evening really. a very nice night. lookin forward to getting into town tomorrow. we arent stayin there but still, itll be nice.
Date: 2003-06-16
From: eagles nest shelter

To: windsor furnace shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: overcast clouds

beautiful day! woke up with a cool breeze and a clear sky. its so nice to have a run of good days. and its supposed to be nice all week! what a change from the once wet all the time. and the trail is finally starting to dry up. well, theres still some muddy, wet places, but its much better than last week. it was such a nice hike today into port clinton. terrain is wonderful, and the rocks arent so bad. if you can just ignore them and kinda daydream, it goes rather smoothly. anyways...port clinton was nice, despite its lack of most things. no restaurant or gas station. there was a hotel with a restaurant but its closed on mondays. just our luck! but we did see some other hikers that were stayin at the hotel and they let us in to take showers and wash some clothes. very nice. then the fun started. there is some fast food places about 3 miles down the road. so, some of us thought wed try our luck getting a hitch. and what do ya know, not 5 minutes after we started thumbin we got picked up. nice guy in a small truck. but he took us to wendys. so good to have a big greasy cheeseburger. and then the same guy came back and picked us up to take us back to the trail. craziness! thanks so much robert! well, back on the trail... we had a steep steep climb up out of town. rocky too. but i think i took it rather easy. wasnt as tough as everyone made it out to be. from there the hike was breezy. kinda flat. the weather was sunny and cool. a nice breeze blowin on top of the ridge. its just a bummer we had to come down from it to get to the shelter. its a nice campsite here though. the only thing bad about tonight is there have been multiple rattlesnake sightings today. i heard one rattle at me on the trail. they saw 2 at the shelter which is only 100 yrds away. kinda scary. to me at least. we saw 2 yesterday. very cool, but very intimidating at the same time. i guess im just not a big snake fan. well, besides that, tonight is nice. we got our new tarp set up! that will hopefully keep us dry when it rains. thats very relieving. we can sleep in peace now. but anyways...a good night to be out here!