morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-07-24
From: Eagle's Nest Shelter

To: Hamburg Reservoir
Miles today: 14.4

Torrential rain overnight. Very glad we stayed in the shelter rather than tenting. A moat surrounded the shelter in the morning. Tossing and turning in the wee hours it was pitch black - couldn't tell the outside from the shelter wall. A storm and new moon and complete absence of artificial light will do that.Rocketman was at the shelter, also Georgia natives Jibber Jabber and wife River Rock working on the northern half of the trail after hiking the south last year, and southbound section hiker Motel.The rain didn't let up until 8 so we slept in. The forecast improved with further thunderstorms pushed off into the afternoon so Phantump (my son) and I set off for Port Clinton around 9. Within a hundred yards the trail became a puddle, then a babbling brook, then a raging stream! Partial apologies to Vermud - I mean Vermont: storms can wreak havoc on the trail anywhere, though it did clear up much more quickly here thanks to *ahem* proper runoff control. Within minutes of trying to hop around this mess Phantump and I realized there was no chance we were getting through the day with dry feet. So we surrendered to Mother Nature and sloshed through the streams like little kids, having a great time getting soaked. Thanks to wool socks our feet still felt warm and dry (felt!). We had an early lunch at a Game Lands gravel road where the sun started to dry us out, then plunged back into the muck. Down a very steep hill into the Schuylkill Water Gap, over the Schuylkill River bike trail, past a trainyard with tourist coaches and huge chunks of local anthracite coal on display, over a very swollen confluence of the Schuylkill and Little Schuylkill Rivers, on into the little town of Port Clinton.We had been looking forward to a second lunch at the Port Clinton Hotel, but it's closed on Mondays so we contented ourselves with sodas, jelly beans, pop rocks, and chocolate pretzels from the candy store next door. Properly sugared up, we labored up the steep hill out of the gap, a thousand-foot climb. From there it was an uneventful few miles with plenty of rocks but few puddles or mud. During many short breaks we examined the fungi, inch worms, slugs, spiders, centipedes, and other critters that often go overlooked in the forest.By now the sky had darkened and thunder started rumbling. We reached the Hamburg Reservoir and our car, 41 trail miles from where Craig had dropped us off in Swatara Gap. We drove to a local motel to dry out overnight, driving right into the thunderstorm that had been chasing us the last hour and watching it drench the mountain above the road.
Date: 2017-07-25
From: Hamburg Reservoir

To: Intersection to Eckville
Miles today: 6.7

Refreshed after laundry, showers, and dried shoes, Phantump and I headed out for our last leg, a loop around the Pulpit and Pinnacle. But first we stopped by Cabela's across Rt 61, the world's largest at 250,000 square feet, and toured the taxidermist's paradise of dioramas of stuffed game animals from pine martens and snow foxes to moose, grizzlies, elephants, and lions, not to mention a massive room dedicated to displaying dozens of trophy buck racks. Back on the trail at Hamburg Reservoir, we searched out the Windsor Furnace shelter, chasing a couple false trails. Named after the old iron forge which no longer stands, it looks and smells almost as ancient. No regrets we missed staying here. So up we headed to the Pulpit. From the lot it's a 1000+ foot climb, but spread over a longer distance so it seemed comparatively easy. Chatted with some thru-hikers at the top, one of whom started way back in March. There's an astronomical park behind the Pulpit with three small domed observatories and a neatly manicured sweeping lawn in the midst of this rocky forested peak.Off to the Pinnacle along the rim trail.  Two miles of level hiking but very rocky. A massive man-made pile of rocks marks the side trail to the Pinnacle and Phantump scrambled to the top. Once at the Pinnacle we took in the gorgeous panorama of rolling farmland, forests, and the Kittatinny ridge going off to the horizon. We could see to Wind Gap, possibly Delaware Water Gap, more than 65 trail miles away. We could make out Bake Oven Knob where we'd been a few days earlier on the practice hike.We climbed down the face of the rock jumble to a cave that comes back up to the Pinnacle. The walls were still very damp from the storms and the exit was a vertical climb so we returned the way we'd come. We set up the stove and cooked up some mac n cheese right there on the rocks, which Phantump declared to be delicious. The final stretch was an easy descent over a forest road, although very muddy and puddly in many places. We left the AT where it branched toward Eckville and took the return trail to the parking lot, winding down past the reservoir.We celebrated the completion of 47 odd miles of the AT with a trip to the movies in Reading to see Despicable Me 3. Phantump was in good to great spirits throughout the four days and proved his mettle as a long-distance hiker. He also signed several shelter logs, so he is now part of trail history. This trip along with a couple prep hikes in the spring brings me close to completing Pennsylvania's 230 miles. A two mile spur near Eckville and 21 miles from Lehigh Gap to Wind Gap remain.
Date: 2017-08-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Tomorrow I return to the trail, picking up where I left off in Hanover, New Hampshire and finishing up on Katahdin. My fortune cookie tonight presciently read "Always a valley before a hill." Frankly it's the hills I'm worried about! If all goes according to plan I should summit Katahdin on August 25th. I will turn 44 ten days earlier. Seems like my midlife crisis is right on schedule!I think I will miss Sara and the kids even more on this leg. I struggled with whether to go back out at all. We have only gotten closer in the last month and I want that to continue. I hiked four days with my 11-year-old son, built a computer with my 9-year-old son, went to cub scout camp with the 7 and 9 year olds, relaxed at the shore with my daughter and the boys in Ocean City, NJ and with them and my parents, brother, sister, and their families in Harvey Cedars (thanks again for having us!), watched the kids whirl around on rides at the Kimberton Fair, and just today took my daughter and older boys to the Renaissance Faire in Mount Hope. And best of all I feel closer to Sara now than I have in years. Weeds went unattended and receipts piled up, things I usually obsess over. It's been a wonderful month, and I want it to continue. But reaching Katahdin will be a psychological capstone on this journey and I can then step away with no regrets. I will be able to refocus my energies on all the important things in life, mainly my family. There are still many things I would like to do with Sara and with the kids before winter sets in, not to mention in the years ahead.So I am all packed up, a process that took almost no time compared to all the obsessing over ultralight equipment earlier in the year. All I needed other than a normal resupply was bug spray (a bigger bottle this time, thank you) and a new pair of Lone Peaks. The old ones had lost traction and padding and were coming apart at the seams after 700+ miles, which seems to be their typical lifespan according to other hikers. The new ones already feel broken in. I'm also bringing my 20 degree quilt, convertible hiking pants, and down puffy jacket, anticipating not only the year-round freezing temperatures summiting Mt Washington but also some cold nights in Maine as summer wanes.I am excited and optimistic about the trip but with very mixed emotions being away from home. Above all I owe my incredible wife more than I can ever repay (unless she gets the wanderlust herself someday). I am truly blessed to be with her in so many ways. I love her more every day. Happy trails to all those still out there. I hope we cross paths soon!
Date: 2017-08-04
From: Hanover

To: Velvet Rocks shelter
Miles today: 0.7
Weather: clear sky

I leave the house early to catch a train to Philly, saying my last goodbyes to everyone. I miss them already! I have to remind myself we'll be reunited before month end.The Vermonter from 30th Street Station takes 9 hours to reach White River Junction. I spend some of it chatting with a bearded sixty-something pastoral counselor from Lancaster who helps ex-soldiers with PTSD, including drone pilots traumatized by the assassination of families with alleged terrorists they've been tracking for weeks or months (the attack is assigned to the night shift so they needn't do it themselves). In his youth he was a top finisher in the Boston Marathon and invited to train with the Olympic team, and still does long-distance bike rides across places like Maine and Wisconsin. Later it's a Queens artist working in Jeff Koons' Chelsea workshop churning out shiny sculptures like "Lobster Log" (exactly what it sounds like) for the famous artist's billionaire collectors. Apparently the most successful artists are more like entrepreneurs, schmoozers and self-marketers who don't have a need for smocks over their expensive suits.Andrew, a local trail angel, picks me up at the station. He also shuttled me to the motel before I left last month. He's a great guy and extremely accommodating. I hate to take advantage of his time again, but the buses stop running at 6 and there is no Uber or taxi service. So Andrew saves me from the iffy prospect of hitching five miles in an area I've already found to be agnostic at best to hikers.I get dinner in Hanover before walking the mile to the shelter just outside town shortly before sunset. Not the most grueling start to this section, but I'm sure the Whites have some surprises in store for me so I'll take it.
Date: 2017-08-20
From: The Stratton Motel and Hostel

To: The Stratton Motel and Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

My first zero day. A day without hiking. I hardly know what to do. The whole point is to rest, physically and emotionally, before making the final push to Monson and then on to Katahdin through the 100 Mile Wilderness. But I feel restless.After breakfast at the Looney Moose Cafe reading local news and listening to local gossip I wander about town. Flagstaff Lake is nearby and looks very peaceful with the Bigelow mountains - tomorrow's climb - in the background. Flagstaff is Maine's fourth-largest lake at 20,000+ acres, but it used to be a farming valley before the Dead River was dammed in 1949 to control flow on the Kennebec. Forest was stripped and burned and people and homes moved out to make room. Now it's a recreational area as well. Some of the relocated people still live in Stratton. Outside Fotter's Market the Lion's club is collecting funds towards placing service animals with disabled vets. I chat with a trainer, who raises one Labrador pup at a time. They're used for dog therapy for vet families as well as deaf and disabled assistance. I dig a little deeper than my pocket change to help out.A block away the Dead River Historical Society is open for the afternoon. It happens to be Founder's Day for Stratton, and I'm met by Caleb Stevens, the great-great-great-grandchild of the first settler, Caleb Dalton Stevens, who in 1818 bought a hundred acres of lumber tract, built a cabin, leaving his family behind further south, nearly starved to death, but ultimately made a success of it. There were five generations of Caleb Dalton Stevens. The second was also pastor of the church the historical society now occupies. The building is full of antique farm implements, old laundry machines, Stratton High yearbooks from the 20s, toys, cereal boxes, photos, news clippings and more. Quite a collection of 20th century small town Americana. Around the old church are ornate Victorian homes with wood-shingled sides and decorative eaves and turrets, now showing signs of wear. A prosperous place at one time. The afternoon passes slowly. I look for postcards but no luck. I top off the food bag at Fotter's for the three days to Monson. I move to a private room for tonight and take a long nap before dinner. I'm taking advantage of town food but feel like I'm overeating without burning it off immediately. I figure I'm storing it up for the next few days. Lazarus was inspired by my inertia to zero as well. Turtle and a few others from recent days are floating around. I also run into Falls who I last saw at Lakes of the Clouds Hut. He reminds me we originally met in New Jersey in Unionville, when I met Pilgrim outside the deli. He was off trail for a bit. But again I'm surprised to see someone from one of my previous stints on trail. I'm curious who I'll bump into in the final week.Tomorrow I hike out over the Bigelows, the last big range until Katahdin itself.
Date: 2017-08-24
From: Shaw's Hostel

To: Chairback Gap Lean-To
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: clear sky

Dawn in Monson. Time to prepare for the Wilderness. I stock up at the gas station convenience store, then head back to the hostel for the generous hot breakfast. Poet, the owner and former English lit teacher, presides over a commercial kitchen grill making eggs, bacon, and blueberry pancakes for 25 hungry hikers. At my table is a family with eastern European accents headed out for the first 30 miles of the Wilderness to an AMC hut. Twice hikers boisterously remind their teenage daughter there's no phones at the table - you have to socialize!Poet drives the family, Lucky Penny, Already Stinky, myself, and a couple dayhikers to the trailhead. He sees us off with some advice on the terrain and words of wisdom encapsulated in his own haiku. In I go. There's a sign warning of the extreme remoteness of the area, that you should carry ten days of food, and help is far away. Poet tells the thruhikers to ignore it. After all, he shuttles food and people into various trailheads within the Wilderness daily.Despite the name, there's little different from the last section south of Monson. Beautiful ponds and lakes, rocky, rooty, generally level trail. I cross several rivers the guide says to ford, but can rock hop them all. It's great weather today with cool breezes on the mountaintops. But in the 100 Mile Wilderness there are more section hikers, and even dayhikers. Seven miles in I pass people I breakfasted with at the hostel, going... south? "Poet dropped us off at the parking lot a mile off trail ahead and we're doing a short day back to Monson," they explain. Well, so much for remoteness. Maybe I'm just too close to town.I cross over railroad tracks, then woods and logging roads. Twenty miles in I run into a woman with a daypack. "There's a parking lot .8 miles off trail ahead," she explains. Well then. Maybe there's a McDonald's too?The Chairback mountain range looms up in the late afternoon. It's five peaks have some steep, rocky climbs and tough, frustrating descents. I lose my patience once I get to "Mt Three and a Half" and start talking smack at the mountain. What self-respecting mountain has a name like "Three and a Half"? It's between me and a good night's rest.But overall the day goes quickly. Despite a late 9am start I get 26 miles in by sunset, ten and half hours later. Racing sunset to the shelter stresses me as it always does. I hate to hike in the dark. When I see Chairback Gap Lean-To a few minutes past sunset I let out a Hallelujah.Waterboy is at the shelter. He left Shaw's last night and walked to the first shelter. There's also a flip-flopper currently headed south to his pivot point at Bear Mountain on the Hudson. They are the only thruhikers I've seen since leaving Monson. It seems like they should be thick on the ground this time of year. Waterboy thinks there's a bubble ahead of us. I frequently hear there's a bubble ahead or behind. I'll know if I catch up to it.
Date: 2017-12-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Three months after summiting Katahdin I've put about ten pounds back on, despite running several times a week. 15-20 miles a week makes for some good workouts but is only a tenth of what I had been hiking. Still, climbing countless mountains has improved my fitness to the point of dropping my mile run time close to seven minutes and shaving four minutes off my 5K time. Just yesterday I ran over 20 miles in three hours. Maybe I'll get that marathon in yet.I longed to return to the trail for many weeks after leaving. I had no illusions of finishing the trail this fall, but I wanted one more week, maybe in Shenandoah. I told myself it was just a psychological effect of being out there so long and like a sugar craving it would fade. It did for awhile, but I still find myself at odd moments looking for a way to get back out there. Freezing weather seems reason enough to put such thoughts aside, but spring is not far off and my subconscious won't let go. It's not as simple as a desire to finish the trail. I would be happy to hike the same sections again. The attraction is the simplicity of life, the constant activity and vigor, the personal connections, the glories and challenges of nature, the comforting daily rhythms broken by the adrenaline rush of occasional peril, the feeling of independence and control of one's destiny. It's hard to see how I squeeze this in between work and family but I need to try. This is now an important part of my life. I know that once out there I'll complain about the rain, the heat, or the cold, I'll rush to get to camp before dark, I'll feel guilty over pausing too long in any spot lest I fall behind schedule. I'll long for restaurant food and despise what's in my pack. I'll dread setting my tent up if it's wet. It's so much more comfortable curled up in a chair in my living room, reading any book I want, the fridge nearby and my car at the ready. But even knowing all that, the pull is just as strong.
Date: 2018-01-29
From: Eckville

To: Rt 309
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I hiked this section of central Pennsylvania last spring as a practice run but never logged it. Today I hike it again and make it my official time. It's below freezing when I hit the trail before dawn but once up the sun shines all morning. The thousand foot climb up to Dan's Pulpit goes quickly, except for the part where I manage to lose the trail, twice, going almost a mile out of my way. The giveaway is when I start to head downhill, to the northwest. This feels vaguely familiar, like I made the same error last time.Other than that the trail is a piece of cake. Sure, there are plenty of rocks which at one time would have driven me nuts, but now I accept them as part of the experience. No views other than Dan's Pulpit, and the forest is dormant with barely a squirrel moving, but it's extremely quiet and peaceful. I pass only one other hiker the entire day.I turn back south at route 309 after 11.5 trail miles to return to the car. At the Allentown shelter I break for lunch and enjoy the stillness. I've eaten almost every bit of food by the end of the day. At three miles per hour I'm keeping a better pace than I expected. Maybe I haven't lost my hiking legs entirely. Though the southern mountains will certainly be slower going. Whatever the pace, I better pack plenty of food.Yes, it's true, I hope to return to the AT. If possible I will pick it up from Springer and finish in Harper's Ferry this spring, hiking north with the thruhikers. There will likely be some breaks to be with the family for important events.Finishing what I started is an important part of my motivation. And I'm not just talking about the miles. This journey is therapy in a way. I've made some important discoveries, but the job is unfinished. There are more connections to be made and more barriers to overcome. I feel this journey is changing me for the better. Last summer I thought I was done because I was tired - physically and mentally. But I realize part of this was due to the demanding schedule I held myself to. I was never emotionally done. And it took only a few weeks for my physical and mental stamina to return. If last year was about peeling off calcified layers and breaking down hardened ways of thinking, there is much rebuilding still to be done.Everyone on the trail is searching for something. Something they've lost, something they've never had, something they thought could never be. It seems ironic that one would travel thousands of arduous miles to find something that ultimately resides somewhere in their own head. But if it were easy to unlock everyone would have done it by now. I look at it as insight must be earned, if only because we will value it all the more.
Date: 2018-03-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My target date to pick up the hike at Springer is April 15. For those just joining, this is the second half of my wraparound hike (Harper's Ferry to Katahdin, Springer to Harper's Ferry). I did the northern half last summer and summited Katahdin August 28th. You can read all the gory details in my previous entries. I'll take a train from Philly to Gainesville, Georgia and arrange a shuttle to Amicalola. I plan to do the approach trail like the white-blazin' carry-every-ounce purist that I am (well, except for the long hiatus here and there - hike your own hike!). Looks like a wet and cold start to the season and I hope everyone out there stays safe and warm, if not dry! I expect continued cold nights in April. Although it regularly dropped into the 30s as I approached Katahdin last August and my summer bag kept me warm enough, I plan to bring the 15 degree quilt until I am through the Smokies at least.By the way, I've stopped referring to this as a thruhike and even changed the journal type to "section hiker". The ATC says completing the trail in twelve months in any sequence counts as a thruhike. Although I'll technically be pretty close to that, maybe 20 days over, and it's true that since it's on the honor system there are inevitably some, perhaps many, recognized thruhikers who don't meet the ATC's definition (due to aqua-blazing, yellow-blazing, etc), my being off trail for longer than most people take for a whole thruhike seems like too much of a stretch. But "section hiker" doesn't feel like a good fit either. Most section hikers are out for a week or two, covering 50 or 100 miles. Several hikers I met last year were doing hundreds of miles and referred to themselves as a LASH (long-ass section hiker) or SLASH (super long-ass section hiker). Not very appealing either. When I'm done ATC will record it as a section hike because it's either/or to them, but on the trail I think I'll avoid labels and just say "I'm headed north".
Date: 2018-04-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm headed home to be with the family. Life brings many opportunities and blessings, but the one I am most thankful for are my amazing wife and kids. They are the center of my world, and I am learning they need me more than I need a long hike at the moment. If I have an opportunity to return to the trail I will continue this journal.