morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-26
From: Boiling Springs Garmanhaus B & B

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

After a huge fresh fruit and muffin breakfast, I took the fresh leftovers to the local ATC Office for the staff there. I then hurried over to the Post Office and picked up my food package which was still way too heavy due to poor planning on my part. I have at least six days of food and will be passing through Duncannon, PA tomorrow so one day would have been a lot lighter load to carry. It has rained heavily for three days and today continued the record rainy trend here. It was continual heavy rain but the sun did come out a few times. Just as I was crossing a corn field over these rolling PA hills, I came across a huge rattlesnake lying in the rain across the AT. It was nearly as big around as my arm and about five to six feet long. He was not wearing a backpack so I knew he wasn't a hiker. I decided to go around him near his tail since he was not coiling up or rattling. He apparently did not like that as he flipped up in a half strike, turning around and then very fast moved out into the field out of sight. I was astounded the snake moved so very fast. If he had wanted to get me there is no way a human could move our of his way fast enough. Why a snake would be 'sunning' himself in the rain will remain a mystery to me. I hiked on. There was only one real UP today and it was just before the shelter. There was a terrific viewing spot complete with rock bench to sit on, but due to more thunder, it did not seem smart to linger on the mountain peak. I took a couple hurried photos then was off to the shelter. I made it just before heavy rain began again. Four hours later, at 8 p.m., 'Jellybean', 'Shasta', 'H-Bomb', 'Dick Tracy' and 'Tex' showed up. "Tex" is from Australia so has nothing to do with Texas thus his Trail Name. The shelter went from empty to full in an instant. It is always nice to have such great company. They had all stopped for the ice cream and that is where I missed DT apparently. Their stories of everyone getting sick from it made me glad I had hiked on!
Date: 2006-06-27
From: Darlington Shelter

To: PA 325 Clark's Creek (Duncannon PA)
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: light rain

The rain was mostly stopped today but the Trail was typical of PA, very rocky, which kills my foot and very wet too. Usually it was muddy water about 2 inches deep all day long as a million tiny springs run off down the steep mountains. Wet feet make soft skin which causes blisters. There were no outstanding vistas either, as the fog and mist covered what the rain clouds did not. At Clark's Creek we were stopped cold. They are having THIRTY YEAR FLOODS all over Pa and we are in the midst of the worst of it. Hikers had been warned that this roadway crossing creek floods and can be very dangerous. A few hikers had gotten across on Tuesday morning via front end loader, but then even the heavy commercial size loader was swinging loose in the rising raging current. By the time I got there with 'Jelly Bean', the water had gotten waist high. Way too dangerous to try, so we backed off, went up to the road which was actually closed due to flooding and caught rides back to Duncannon. Trail Angel, Mary Parry was called and she came to discuss our options. She will ferry hikers North to Port Clinton and we will hike back the fifty miles to Duncannon, where hopefully the water will have receded enough to cross safely south to north in three days. The forecast is for the rivers to crest on Wednesday night so we should be OK by Saturday. Tonight will be a 'hotel' night in the Duncannon Doyle Hotel.
Date: 2006-06-28
From: PA 325 Clark's Creek (Duncannon)

To: Hertlein Campsite
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: few clouds

Torrential record breaking rains continue creeating record breaking misery for us hikers. The newspapers are saying that it is "30 year records in PA." There is nothing to do but go via Trail Angel Mary Perry to Port Clinton and hike SOBO back to the Clark Creek that was in flood stage 5 foot above the roadway crossing; and impassible. Mary with the help of Baltimore Jack Tarlin(Hanover, NH)also treated us to an enormous if spicey breakfast. 'Jelly Bean' and I went out early and spent time putting up Trail Magic signs for Mary then refilling her coolers where you come out of the woods into Duncannon. A long car ride later, at Port Clinton we almost started NOBO before remembering we were now going in the other direction. By hiking back south we figured that the water would have receded and we would not miss any white blazes. Regretably to me, a lot of hikers decided to skip ahead 17 miles and in some cases much more, some skipping 56 miles; saying they would come back and do the missed section later. HYOH. 'Jelly Bean' and I ended up camping following some late afternoon rain after having hiked in ankle deep in water and mud all day. The bottom line is we did not cheat, and we got the miles in!
Date: 2006-06-29
From: Hertlein Campsite

To: Swatara GAP PA 72
Miles today: 17.0

Another long day of mug slogging and water as the rains abated, but the runoff is still massive in the mountains. By a fluke we passed some hikers eating burgers and ICE CREAM, so I knew 'Jelly Bean' would not pass that up. That girl thinks nothing of going five miles out of the way to get her ice cream fix! Town food at Subway, then a Dairy Queen dessert helped us make it another day towards the goal! A great hotel for cheap too. A hot tub next to the laudry down in the basement, and a new room with no smoke smells for $60. And it wasn't even in the guide at all? Mark it down if you are going in 07, this is a must stop in my opinion. Hang a left just after the big metal bridge you walk across. We got a ride in five minutes,and back again the next day no problem.
Date: 2006-06-30
From: Swatara GAP PA 72

To: PA 325 Clark Creek (Marys House Duncannon)
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: few clouds

WOW, it sure felt good seeing all of the hikers I have just been reading about in the shelter logs! In hiking back SOBO, I saw people I thought I would never see again. Jelly Bean stopped to talk to every one of them too. And she says I talk a lot.........Coming up the hill out of Swatara Gap was a creek that debris indicated had been ten feet higher the day before, but today was only an extra wet crossing. The steeper the hill the faster it floods and unfloods too. It was the first time I had to change from boots to my water shoe/camp crocs to get across on the AT. Good practice for Maine where there will be many such wet crossings. More sharp PA rocks literally cut my boots and hurt and bruised my feet, but I made it! The hitch back to Duncannon was slow, taking over an hour of waiting in the hot sun for a ride. Trail Angel Mary is to take me forward tomorrow to Port Clinton where I will be back NOBO once again! She has a few hikers staying at her place to save some bucks. Thanks Mary! The Clark Creek crossing was completely dry on the road where just a few days before had been under 3-5 feet of raging water.
Date: 2006-07-01
From: PA 325 Clark Creek (Duncannon)

To: Echville Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

First, of course, it took me until noon to get a ride to Port Clinton. Then all of the stores were closed for the July 4th Independence Day Holiday, or due to the flooding! Fifteen miles later, it was rain for the last mile, but at least it was cool. The Echville Shelter had a solar shower, only barely warmer than cold water by a few degrees, but most welcomed indeed. The old freezer had been removed so we couldn't buy ice cream or sodas, but some Trail Angel had left a small cooler of icy wet cold sodas for us! I had two frosty delicious lemonades, then an iced tea with breakfast the next morning. After dinner it was time for sleep as we had such a late start it was already 9 p.m. which is quite late in the hiker world! It is nice to stay in shelters although they are loud and hard to sleep in. At least you and your gear dry out a little. My boots are still wet when I put them on everyday though. I do not think they have been dry for two weeks now. Twenty eight days of rain in the last thirty. That is a wet year.
Date: 2006-07-02
From: Echville Shelter

To: Palmerton, PA Jail
Miles today: 25.2

Yes the heading is right. I will be spending the night in jail in Palmerton, PA. After a 0600 a.m. start, we hit the hard, rocky and sometimes dangerously slippery trail. Climbing on the wet rocks I fell three times hard. Of course the rains continue. Other hikers were not so lucky. One lady had a face that looked like she had been beat with a bat. She had fallen more than once. Frankly, PA sucks as far as the Trail goes. Little maintenance looks done, weeds,rocks, and prickly bushes cover the trail, and everyone is covered with scatches from the briers. In a few places you have to go right thru briers for ten feet at a time to stay on the Trail. One saving grace was that there were fresh blueberries all over the mountain tops. Stopping for fresh fruit added to the time hiking, but was a welcomed treat. The mileage was too much for me, but it got us to the Palmerton Jail. The old jail has been converted to a hiker hostel, so we had hot showers, a coke machine, basketball court, ball field, and wooden bunks. Sorry, no mattresses, so you just throw your thermorest down and sleep in your bag. (after all, this was a jail). There are probably twenty hikers staying in the room tonight so I expect snoring to be at its best. The best part was air conditioning as it is still wet and humid although no actual rain has fallen since early in the day. I suspect more tonight as the dark ominous rolling clouds are still with us. BIG Chinese dinner in town tonight. Yummy! Tomorrow brings Lehigh Gap, a dreaded, hard, very steep, nearly vertical rocky climb up 1000 feet to get out of Palmerton. If I can average 17 miles per day, I can finish around September first!! But, I know the average for the White Mountains section of the Trail will be hard and slow me down to ten miles a day. With less than 1000 miles to go I am getting more and more excited!!!Original thought for the Day:"You can dread the Trail or embrace it." Bare Bear AT 06
Date: 2006-07-03
From: Palmerton, PA Jail

To: Wind Gap, PA (Gateway Motel)
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: few clouds

PA is nothing, if not consistent. Rain all day and more ankle biting, rough, slippery rocks. It really should be called Rocksylvania! I fell three more times hard, but just more bruises to add to my collection. Due to the large amounts of Ibroprofen, Aspirin and Tylenol I am taking for pain, I bruise more easily. Nothing really notable today, just a long hard day and I was glad to get to Wind Gap to be able to dry out even if it is in a dumpy motel. The Gateway is not a Hyatt. It has a lot of nerve calling itself a motel. The Health Department should close this place in my opinion. If you share a room, it is only $35 per hiker including tax, however, it is a real old smelly dump! No non-smoking rooms, but right next to the AT so we all stop there versus another night of rain and being eaten alive by bugs in the woods. At least it is right next to the AT if you go the correct way, unlike me who hitched five miles the wrong way due to erroneous directions by two non-hiking citizens. It only took me an extra hour, all the way to the Gateway from the wrong end of town. The Gateway Motel deserves more description - a dribbling, barely warm, certainly nothing close to hot water shower, more or less clean sheets. The cleanliness is not important to the staff apparently as there was trash left from the last occupant, dirt in the corners of the torn , moldy carpet and a nice sized spider in the bathroom. The shower was moldy, and the floor was soft and rotted, so I wondered if I jumped hard enough, would I find a basement? Sleep Well America, Happy Independence Day! I miss fireworks, and civilization.
Date: 2006-07-04
From: Wind Gap (Gateway Motel)

To: Delaware Water Gap (Church of the Mt. Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: broken clouds

Awakening only to learn more heavy rain was expected. Another day of PA rain and rocks. The good news is that this is the last day of PA with it's rocks and lack of trail maintenance. The few vistas were misty views and most notable was the sheer devastation of a 50 yard wide gas line swatch cut through the wilderness. What an ugly scar and with these rocks it will take a generation to heal over. It's hard to believe there isn't a better place to route such a monstrosity. At the church shelter it finally stopped raining and I was able to get a ride to the next town (Delaware Water Gap has few hiker services) for laundry, lunch, and a few groceries. A kind lady from the church took a hiker group to Stroudsburg, PA. Another lady, Ms. Teri Miles, with her children Savannah and Gabriel, picked us up hitchhiking and drove us back to the church. It is so wonderful that these kind souls help us as it would be an impossible journey otherwise. After the Gateway Motel dump this is heaven. The hostel was clean, nice, with great hot showers, solid bunks, and good nearby eateries. The folks running it were top notch as always. How nice is it that these hostel volunteers help out this ragged band of hikers every year! Today was a great day as there is only 895.1 more miles to the ultimate AT goal of Katahdin. Every step is one step closer and the desire to "just finish" drives all conversations as we all check to see who is still moving on and missing those who have left for home - "Off the Trail".
Date: 2006-07-05
From: Delaware Water Gap (Church of the Mt. Hiker Hostel

To: Mohican Ourdoor Center,NJ
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: light rain

An ugly day due to illness! 'Montreal' (a 49 yr. old French-Canadian from Montreal, Quebec) advised that he had been ill for several days. Jellybean stated she had a rough sleepless night and threw up this morning. Another passing hiker and two at the Church Hostel said they had been sick as well, so it was widespread. Along the Trail today I was feeling nauseous too and we stopped frequently to rest, taking turns vomiting. It is a miracle and a testament to the hiker mentality of toughness that we made ten miles. At home none of us would have gotten out of bed. The Sunfish Pond was beautiful - a glacial leftover of sparkling clear water on top of a mountain. The sun actually peeked out for a short while so about a dozen hikers were strewn about the area resting their worn bodies in the sunlight. Physically, weakness was the worst part, utterly no energy. We all kept trying to figure out (since we had all eaten at the same DWG pizzeria last night; and had drank water from the same sources) when or what we had done wrong. Perhaps contaminated water from the flooding over the last week? It did little good to speculate, but after just ten miles of the rolling hills and nice hilltop views of New Jersey, we knew we could go no further and stopped at noon having made only 10.5 miles of what should have been easy hiking in six hours. The illness was bad enough that I nearly fainted seveal times the last mile. The Mohican Outdoor Center has a thru hiker rate for bunks of $13 including taxes. It included a bunk rack with mattress, pillow and clean pillow case, loaner sleeping bags/blankets, nice Lodge access and great hot showers. The staff was exceptionally helpful to us, providing extra towels and bedding due to our illnesses. We all slept three hours in the afternoon, sterilized tap water by boiling it in the electric kitchen just to be sure it was safe from bateria; and after a dinner of mashed potatoes and tuna that no one really wanted to eat, we all went to bed early hoping our symptoms would pass in the night. I guess that illness hits sometime in a six month trip and it was just our turn.
Date: 2006-07-06
From: Mohican Ourdoor Center,NJ

To: Culvers Gap (Forest Motel)
Miles today: 17.9

Rough day due to illness. No one feels strong enough to hike the 18 miles to the next good stopping place, but we are going anyway. No one wants to take a zero day now that the mileages are getting up and the weather is nice. At least we have flush toilets, showers, and real beds to sleep in. Having a good target stopping place always makes the day go better. Fifteen hours of sleeping helped, but I am still tired and listless. I managed to hand wash my clothes and eat some graham crackers and water for breakfast. Food is not an option right now as our stomachs are still rebelling. Another day finished and thoughts of home are closer. I am too tired to write more this evening. Even ever strong 'Jelly Bean' is listless and non-talkative. 'Montreal' didn't even make the trek, stopping short to tent alone somewhere.
Date: 2006-07-07
From: Culvers Gap (Forest Motel)

To: Secret Shelter Murray Property
Miles today: 21.6

Hiked all day today in 90F heat (at least it stopped raining). I was looking forward to getting to the fabulous Highpoint State Park in New Jersey where it is advertised there is a swimming beach, grill, ice cream bar, showers, etc. Imagine the hiker's disappointment when you get there to find twenty other dispirited hikers laying on the grass outside the "CLOSED" Welcome Center! Apparently politics and budget fights had closed the whole park. I got water from an outside spigot and trudged on another mile up to the observation deck where you are supposed to be able to see all the way to NYC. Not true, as the clouds hid the distant views. Onward more extra miles, to the "secret shelter" provided just off the Trail by AT thru hiker, Jim Murray (AT 89). A very nice shelter, small but a beautiful place, hot shower, decent tent areas, lots of wild turkeys running all over. One little problem with two mules that fought and went at each other at least once every hour all night long! They were hilariously loud all night but it made sleeping difficult. Truly a large expense to provide this shelter and a very kind gift to other thru hikers. Thank you Jim Murray!
Date: 2006-07-08
From: Secret Shelter Murray Property

To: Episcopal Church Hostel,Vernon,NJ
Miles today: 13.5

NEW JERSEY SUCKS! Today was the worst day yet on the AT. That was the opinion of every hiker I met today. Low miles, only about ten relatively minor ups and downs, but due to the New Jersey swamps and the recent flooding in the area, there were record numbers of mosquitos. Horrible! Clouds of the little blood suckers so thick you had trouble breathing. 30% DEET had little effect and 100% DEET only worked for an hour. Some hikers had no bug juice and suffered hundreds of bites. Mike and Zan from Australia had no bug spray and were literally covered in bites. You could not have placed a dime on any exposed area without covering a mosquito bite. I probably have 30 bites or so. A truly miserable day according to every hiker that stumbled into the church hostel. Thank goodness for these kind people. They ask for donations and for you to do some simple chores which we all did gratefully! It made me feel a lot better about this state. The church hostel in Vernon was super as were the people there helping out. It had a laundry, showers, kitchen, free cheesecake, sodas for 25 cents plus a nearby grocery. The Hostle even had a little Hiker Supply Box where you could buy necessary items without going to town. Six bottles of 100% DEET bug spray were quickly sold to the hikers. A nice end after such a miserable day.
Date: 2006-07-09
From: Episcopal Church Hostel,Vernon,NY

To: Warwick, NY Warwick Motel
Miles today: 15.2

Another rainy day on the AT. I think back to those first few days of perfect weather with fondness. A few misty cloudy views, nothing of great note. Another Official State Line passing as we are out of New Jersey. Thank God. I doubt that I could ever be pursuaded to hike in Pa or New Jersey again for any reason. We pass on into N.Y.(the Deli State) now, continuing rolling hills and more rocks but not the sharp biting rocks of PA, still lots of them to clumb up and down everyday. I counted nearly 20 ascents today. Fortunately only two were hiker killers. The rain makes rocks slippery and dangerous, especially when it is uphill or downhill which it usually is. I fall a couple of times a week but seem to have escaped serious injury so far. When we got to the Creamery Ice Cream stand, (which if you hang out with the Bean means you MUST stop for ice cream) at the last road before going into Warwick, as we were having milkshakes, Trail Magic. The lovely Ms. Lisa Cavenaugh came up and asked us if we were thru hiking. She offered to take us into town, but ended up giving us the town tour, obviously proud of their adopted hometown She was a very nice lady with two very polite children. The Warwick Hotel ran $66 for two sharing a room. It was OK, nice pool which all the hikers were putting to good use, a good but expensive Larry's Deli only two blocks away. The next morning we got a ride back to the Trail via a gentleman who stopped to ask us if we needed a ride while we were having breakfast sitting on the curb by the parking lot. You have to love Trail Magic.
Date: 2006-07-10
From: Warwick, NY Warwick Motel

To: Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: light rain

Jelly Bean, the Trail bossy got me to do Big miles today, but I am still too slow for her. The highlights were the Lemon Squeeser in Harriman State Park, a famous tight spot on the AT. It started raining of course and some guy day hiking with a woman just took his clothes off and put them into a bag "so they wouldn't get wet". He didn't seem the least concerned that he was in a public park, naked, with people walking all about. I think he was just a pervert. The world is truly full of nut cases. This was in the middle of the park. I sure wish a cop had been there to observe and arrest this guy. Another high point was the swimming at Lake Tiorati where we were able to get ice cream, sodas and swim for a little while in the murky cold lake water before the rain drove us on again. It turned out that I went on but JB stayed out of the rain at the beach under the cabana. I caught up to 'Sleepwalker' again, who had not seen 'Dick Tracy' for a while and advised me that DT had been having serious pain from various problems. The Brien Shelter was an ancient structure and had moldy rock walls that wept water constantly, covering it in mold in some spots. The rain continued all night.TOT "Marriage is the most important decision you will make in your life."No that does not have anything to do with hiking, it is just is one of those thousand random thoughts that go thru your head when you have lots and lots of time to think everyday while you trudge on toward Maine.