morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-06-20
From: Dahlgren Backpacker Campsite

To: The Free State hiker hostel
Miles today: 13.7

Today was a good day. Not just one where little parts of it were good or that ended well, but an entirely good day. The good feelings from last night's trail magic and camaraderie, plus a beautiful, supportive email from Braids, all carried over to this morning.I got up and was fed an amazing breakfast of cheese and basil eggs, bacon, an english muffin, orange juice, and fresh strawberries and blueberries. Thanks again, Sanford and Aisle 9! I eventually got packed up and left around 9.Fairly early on, I came upon a copperhead in the trail. It refused to budge, and I later found out that other hikers coming along quite a while after me had the same experience. We all just walked around through the woods. This was my first venomous snake sighting of this trip, and I think my first copperhead sighting ever.After only about 5 miles (and seeing the first ever Washington Monument, built in 1827-very cool!), I took the long, steep Bartman Hill Trail to Greenbriar State Park, where I had read that there is a lake with 1,000 feet of swimming beaches. I was expecting something rather low key, picturing Lake Winfield Scott in the North Georgia mountains. This was not at all the reality. It was packed! There were TONS of people there, many of them Hispanic families who had come early to claim their spots to hang their colorful hammocks and cook elaborate picnics. I chatted with a local family and was soon joined by Scat Tracker, UniCroc, and Able. (Others showed up later.) We swam for a long time in the lovely water, laughing and trying to catch tiny fish with our bare hands. It was definitely worth the added mileage!After my very long lunch, I hiked on to the Free State hiker hostel in Smithsburg, MD. I wasn't sure what to expect because I hadn't heard about other hikers coming here. It is, however, wonderful! It's in an addition to the owner's beautiful house and consists of a bunkroom with a creative loft system (and comfy mattresses and sheets on all bunks!); a rec room with foosball, air hockey, and lots of games; nice bathroom; and community room with washer and dryer, fridge and snacks for purchase, and computers. There are two phones with free long distance. I ordered in enchiladas for dinner and have enjoying having the place to myself. After dinner, I met Bonepac and his three kids, who proceeded to whoop up on me in quick games of foosball and air hockey. What a nice break!Tomorrow I'll hike 17, ending my days in Pennsylvania. It's funny; just a couple of weeks ago, 17 miles seemed like no big deal, but now it's quite daunting. I'm definitely hurting more than I have in a couple of months, but I'm hanging in there!
Date: 2010-06-22
From: Deer Lick Shelters

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Pool entrance fee- $4; Shower- $10; Cheeseburger, large fries, and large Diet Pepsi- $10; Feeling the silky caress of the water on my skin as I dove in- Priceless.Today was all about swimming. Sure, I hiked 16 miles, but that was only so that I could swim. I left the shelter this morning with my only goal to hike the 13 miles to Caledonia State Park as quickly as I comfortable could to have as much swim time as possible. I didn't rush, but I didn't take particularly long breaks, either. I got to the pool around 2:15, paid my $4, and staked out my spot on the grass inside the fence. To much delight, I discovered that they didn't close until 7, and that left me plenty of time to hike just over 2 miles to the shelter before dark. True to my plan, I hiked out around 6:45. It was such a great afternoon!I swam every once in a while and then just lazed around in the grass, chatting on my phone, reading, and talking with another hiker who joined me for a couple of hours. I bought a delicious burger and fries (and soda!) and at every bite. It was wonderful!I then hiked the short bit to the shelter and have had a nice evening here, too, with Scat Tracker, Uni Croc, Warrior, and Wayfarer. I really enjoyed watching Uni Croc work on the chess set he's carving. It's amazing!One more thing-Body Glide is officially on my list of things ABSOLUTELY necessary for a thru-hike! I developed horrible heat rash on my butt as I was leaving the pool. A quick stop to apply B.G. stopped it completely. Amazing!!!
Date: 2010-06-23
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: broken clouds

7:20 am (as I eat breakfast)I learned a new lesson last night. When hanging your hiking clothes in a shelter, be sure to hang them on a line or a peg, rather than laying them across one of the shelter's wide beams. Apparently, the mice stood right on top of my brand new (literally, 2 days old!) shirt and had a party just chewing away. It's still wearable , but just irritating. Oh well, lesson learned! Off I go, for today is a big day!9:40 pmHalf-way, Baby! Today I completed the first half of the Appalachian Trail. I am so motivated that I just went on ahead and started on the other half. (Totally dorky thing to say, I know, but I composed it while hiking, so I just had to write it.) I have hiked 1,092.8 miles from Springer Mountain, and I only have a measly 1,086.3 miles to go. No big deal.I got to the state park around 4 and went to the lake for a glorious swim. It was in Fuller Lake, to be exact. Afterwards, I went back to the General Store to face the music-the infamous Half-Gallon Challenge. It took me an hour and seven minutes to down an entire half gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream-3500 calories worth. It was Awful! Towards the end, I didn't think I was going to make it. On the advice of the store clerk, I finally shoveled down the last cup/cup and a half as fast as I possibly could. I didn't even think I could swallow the last couple bites without vomiting, but miraculously I kept it all down! I still feel absolutely terrible, but I'm so proud of my wooden spoon!
Date: 2010-06-24
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Boiling Springs, PA/Allenberry Inn & Playhouse
Miles today: 19.2

Whew! Long day! I was a bit slow getting out of the campsite this morning, having not completely recovered from the half gallon challenge yesterday (but close!). I walked back to Fuller Lake and took a lovely morning dip. I finally started hiking around 10:30. A bit of a late start for a 19, but oh well. At the lake I enjoyed meeting some new hikers, including Hollywood, who was also an Outdoor Ed major at GC&SU. As it turns out, we know a lot of the same people. Small world! I also found out that Caribou is in the neighborhood. I haven't seen him since Franklin, NC!During my lunch break, we started to hear thunder in the distance. Before long, the sky began to grow dark. Just after I started hiking again, the sky let loose. It was storming like crazy, and we were soon drenched. I was hiking near Avatar, King Crawler, and Boomer. A SOBO couple passed us and told us that the area was under a tornado warning. Given how much I like hiking in storms, of course, I just loved that! Of course, at the moment I was terrified, but in retrospect, it was actually kind of fun. We escaped the storm by hiking .2 miles up the road to the Green Mtn Store, which turned out to be great! Had it not been for the storm, none of us would have stopped there, but it was a cool little place (with amazing cheap sandwiches, too).The rest of the hike was ice, with a bit of rock scrambling thrown in for good message. As the sun set, I hiked through fields of corn and wheat into the beautiful little town of Boiling Springs. It is absolutely charming! After a brief stop a the Mid-Atlantic ATC office, I hiked down to the Allenberry Playhouse & Resort, where Unicroc and Scat Tracker were waiting with a room. What a great place to rest!
Date: 2010-06-25
From: Boiling Springs, PA/Allenberry Inn

To: Boiling Springs, PA/Allenberry Inn 
Miles today: 0.0

This place is WONDERFUL! I have had an amazing zero day consisting of the following:-A delicious breakfast (AYCE $6!)-A successful trip to Rite Aid (thanks, Joanne!)-a couple different naps-a long session in the perfect-temperature pool, as well as the hot tub-winning a $2 Wonka Bar from Unicroc by wading 30 yards or so through Children's Lake, the crystal clear, extremely cold, beautiful, spring-fed lake in the center of Boiling Springs. (also the town's namesake) It was cold enough that my feet and legs actually hurt afterwards, but a really cool experience! (Plus, the chocolate was fantastic. Yum!)-playing lots of air hockey, ping pong, and foosball in the basement of the lodge. -having long conversations with Mom and BraidsFinally, to cap off the is great day, we went to see the Allenberry Playhouse production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which was fantastic! I love any theatre, especially musicals, but this was even more perfect, because my brother, Alex, and I used to watch the movie version all the time as kids. The actors were amazing, and this was a real highlight of the day!
Date: 2010-06-26
From: Boiling Springs, PA/Allenberry Inn 

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a beautiful day! I slept in, had a big, leisurely breakfast with friends, and lazed around for a while before hitting the trail around noon. It was tough to leave, as Scat Tracker and UniCroc were taking a second zero day, but I wanted to stick to my plan.Almost all of today's 14 miles were completely flat, going through the farmland of the Cumberland Valley. It was insanely easy hiking! I finished listening to The Poisonwood Bible on my iPod today. It was an amazing book (though Barbara Kingsolver has never let me down). I also had nice, long chats with Braids, Mom, and Dad at a couple different points through the day. All in all, the day just felt rather luxurious. One great highlight of the day was hiking up on a redwing blackbird sitting on top of a blaze post. It was so lovely, just sitting there. As I hiked up, it took flight. A redwing blackbird in flight is an amazing sight. It's completely jet black except for the bright red patch on each wing that it flashes at you with every flap of its wings. Stunning!Another great highlight was the amazing trail magic in the pedestrian walkway under PA 944. It was a cooler of ice cold Yuenglings and Cokes. The beer I had was delicious and hit the spot. Thanks, Tenderfoot!!!It's been a nice chill night with just four of us here at the shelter, and I'm looking forward to Duncannon tomorrow.
Date: 2010-06-27
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA/Doyle Hotel
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: broken clouds

Today was the day of the gnats! I had a nice, fairly quick hike into Duncannon, but the gnats attacked me all the while. They like to hover around the eyes and sometimes they fly right on in. The most exciting point was when I took a deep breath and sucked one up my nose. I sneezed ten times before I was finally able to expel the bugger. Don't let my commentary fool you, though. I love gnats. Really, I do!I woke up this morning with a bit of a sore throat and some general icky feelings. It was actually pretty hard to get myself to get up and hike but the promise of food, beer, and a bed pushed me onward. I felt fairly okay as I hiked, but feel awful again every time I stop. I got in around one and stopped right at the bar in the 1st floor of the Dolye for lunch and a Yuengling Lager. The Doyle is great and has lived up to all my expectations! It is old and sweltering, but boy, does it have character! The bar is cool and low-key, much more like the Czech pubs I remember than an American bar. Sure, the building might ought to be condemned, but it's a really cool place!I got laundry and resupply taken care of, got some pizza for dinner, and am now in my room for the night. I definitely don't feel well (have felt worse, actually, over the last couple of hours), but am going to try to at least wait until the sun goes down to go to sleep. I have a lot of writing to do, so I'll try to work on some of that.Tomorrow, I start the "Pennsylvania Rocks," I am told. Bring it on!
Date: 2010-06-28
From: Duncannon, PA/Doyle Hotel

To: Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Glad to be back in the woods!I had a terrible time sleeping last night and eventually solved this problem by taking a Benadryl around 3 am, after many sleepless hours. Part of the problem was the sore throat and head cold I've developed over the last couple of days. Part of it was the less-than-comfortable (though not awful) mattress. Part of it was the great deal of light coming in from the hallway through the windows over the door. Mostly, though, it was the heat. Throughout the night, my thermometer registered between 86 and 87 degrees. Eighty. Seven. Degrees. I was miserable!If I ever hike through Duncannon again in the summer, I will spend a good bit of time at the Doyle, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the beer and food (both cheap, and both excellent). Then, however, I will hike on out, back into the woods where I can get a decent night's sleep. This is not to knock the Doyle, because I really loved it, and the proprietors are wonderful, but it just was not a good environment for sleep. Perhaps the trick is getting ridiculously drunk so you just pass out. I was able to sleep until about 9 after the Benadryl, and then I had a great, lazy morning and afternoon hanging out downstairs in the pub. I was able to catch up on a few postcards and a special package to send my niece, Brielle, at Camp Toccoa. I also had a great time hanging out with Tree and Whippersnap.I finally hiked out around 3. Hiking while sick is no fun! The first few miles were pretty awful. I felt a bit better as I hiked, though, so I made it to the shelter just fine. There are tons of people here tonight, and it's kind of fun being with more people again.One big highlight of today was the berries. I don't know if I've written about them much, but summer on the AT has brought lots of berries. There have been blueberries, mulberries, cherries (though you have to go up in the trees to get these, so I've only had some that UniCroc collected), and my favorite, black raspberries. I didn't even know these existed before the trail, but they're wonderful! They're just the same size and shape as regular raspberries, but black when ripe. Today, they were everywhere! Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a hurry to get to the shelter, but if they're like that tomorrow, I just might gorge myself!We got into some pretty bad rocks today but I suspect that we ain't seen nothin' yet.
Date: 2010-06-29
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Campsite by Rausch Creek
Miles today: 18.4

Today was just a nice, peaceful day. I hiked along, lost in my own thoughts, leapfrogging with a few other hikers, but always hiking alone.There were some nasty rocks, but most of the trail was fine. The morning frustrated me a bit, because the rocks slowed my pace down a lot. All day I hiked through groves of Hemlocks, and almost all of them were infected with the woolly adelgid. It was very sad. I chugged along steadily today, but also took lots of breaks. During a couple of them, I sat and read. In the last hour or so of my hiking day, I saw my 7th bear of the hike. I wouldn't have noticed it at all, had it not gotten spooked as I walked by and ran from its perch, just to stop and look back at me. I love these moments, when we just stare at each other, and the rest of the world stands still.As I said, today was just a simple, peaceful hiking day.
Date: 2010-06-30
From: Campsite by Rausch Creek

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

Ladies and gentlemen, I now have less than 1,000 miles left to hike! This may sound like a silly thing to be excited about, but look at it this way-for the last almost 4 months, I have had a big 4-digit number looming over my head. Now I have a nice little 3-digit number left, 995 to be precise.Despite this great milestone ahead of me, I struggled today with homesickness and thoughts of quitting (yes, again). Not that I actually want to quit, or even see that as an option, but I still can't banish the call of home (and, yes, the call of being with Braids) from my mind. It's tough to deal with these thoughts, but I once again reach into my bag of tricks to renew my motivation. My feet continue to plague me, thought the rest of my body feels great. I know some of this is the "PA Rocks" (which were in true form today-nasty!), but I also think it has a great deal to do with my shoes, which were new in Harper's Ferry. If this continues, which I imagine it will, I may look for some sturdier shoes, maybe going back to high tops, at the next opportunity. There may be some options in Port Clinton/Hampburg in a couple of days, but more likely it'll have to wait until Dad's visit next week. For now, I'm dealing okay, though my feet literally throbbed when I took my shoes off at the end of the today.I hiked really slowly this morning and had only done 6 miles by noon. This was mostly due to lots of stops to either make phone calls or wallow in my own self-pity. After noon, I picked myself up and hiked on at a good, normal pace. I wasn't really quite happy, but I was hiking with purpose and motivation once again. I also found a motherlode of black raspberries along the way and found the first ripe blackberries I have seen.I got to the 501 shelter around 5:30. This place is great! It's a fully enclosed shelter with 12 bunks and a picnic table under a huge skylight in the center. It has a portapotty, water spigot, and solar shower. The shower was very cold, but it's nice to be clean! I ordered spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic bread, and a Diet Pepsi from town, easily delivered, as the shelter is just back in the woods from PA 501 (hence the name). Best of all, I'm here with really good people and am enjoying hiker camaraderie. This truly is one of the hardest things I have ever done, but right now, life is good. I end each and ever day with pride in myself.
Date: 2010-07-02
From: Port Clinton, PQ

To: Hamberg, PA
Miles today: 1.6

Great rest day! I awoke at the pavilion after a cold, cold night and took my sweet time getting ready. Eventually Fuzzy and I headed over to the famed Peanut Shop. Sadly, it was about 9:15 and it didn't open until 10. We had both heard great things, so we decided to wait. I went to the post office in the meantime. Among other things, I got a wonderful letter from my lady, a beautiful sketch of our river adventure by Dave Wanderer, and a sweet note and money from my mom. The note said something about her working on getting in shape to climb Katahdin with me. I immediately knew that if I were still thinking about ending my thru-hike, this would have stung me with pangs of sadness. I'm glad to be where I am.The wait for the Peanut Shop was so worth it! Inside was a dazzling array of candy and treats, including over a dozen varieties of trail mix. I somehow managed to spend less than $10. The most interesting part of my loot was a novelty I've never even heard of-chocolate covered bacon! Is that thru-hiker food, or what? I just had to try a piece of mild and ark. The dark was best, but neither was quite as amazing as I had hoped. Fun, though!We walked with Freeman the little bit of trail between Port Clinton and PA61, which leads to Hamburg. This confirmed for me that the Companion had the wrong Port Clinton mileage, but the Data Book was right. It was definitely .7, rather than 1.6, but again, here I'm listing the "official" mileages from the Companion. Perhaps I'll change them later. Anyway, on the way, Freeman taught us all kinds of stuff about flower identification. So cool! We parted ways at 61, and Fuzzy and I hiked the mile into commercial craziness. We checked into a VERY nice hotel room at the Microtel, got cleaned up, and went to Cracker Barrel for a delicious lunch. We spent most of the afternoon just lazing around watching TV and doing laundry. In the evening, we headed down to the hotel's bar, a hopping place with good bar food and live music. I haven't hung out in a bar in a while, so the people-watching and random conversations were interesting. Altogether a great day!
Date: 2010-07-03
From: Hamberg, PA

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: clear sky

Aside from not sleeping quite enough last night, today has been a good day, as well. We stayed up really late last night watching stand-up on Comedy Central, so waking up to realize that breakfast was almost over came way too soon. I had a great conversation with my niece, Brielle, and was delighted to hear that she absolutely LOVED Camp Toccoa! I've never in my life heard her talk so much on the phone. We got checked out right at noon and headed over to Cabelas.   This place was hell! It was just huge and overwhelming and almost entirely about hunting and fishing only. They had a large camping section, but not much more than the stuff you can get at Wal-Mart. Despite these complaints, this turned out to be a great trip. I got new boots! They didn't have much selection, but the first Merrells I tried on are perfect! They fit perfectly, have stiffer Vibram soles, are mids (ankle-height) instead of the low-tops I was wearing, and feel amazing. I am thrilled with my purchase, and Cabelas was even able to ship my old ones home for me. Also, Seat Tracker and Unicroc were there! It was wonderful to see them, and we had a great time hanging out at Baskin Robbins. After a quick stop at the convenience store, we walked up to hitch back to the trail. Within minutes a car pulled over with-none other than-Hollywood in the back! He was coming back from deeper into Hamburg. A big thanks to our trail angels!The highlight of the afternoon was swimming in the river in a fabulous swimming hole. Even with our super lazy day, we got there in plenty of time. The water was perfect! Both boys just swam for a bit and got out, but I swam across to the amazing jumping rocks. I went first off the short one-I would guess 8 or 9 feet. Then I went back for a couple jumps off the big guy-22 feet according to the guy who gave us a ride. It was scary, but amazing! I won't have them until this fall, but Fuzzy took some great pictures.I also now have a new hiking companion. His name is El Porke Norte (spelling???) He is a rubber pig. His back says, "Carry Me North," and his belly says, "Springer to Katahdin. Send location and pictures to TravelTheTrail@gmail.com." Hollywood has been carrying him since Pine Grove Furnace, but now he is with me. I'm delighted to have him!We eventually hiked north, and got to the shelter around 7:30. After long deliberation, Fuzzy and Hollywood decided to go on up a little over a mile to Pulpit Rock in the hopes of seeing some fireworks. I was tempted to go, also, but with it getting close to dark and not knowing what kind of crowd was going to be there, I decided to stay. So far, I have been rewarded with a peaceful shelter to myself (the first of my thru-hike) and my own display of beautiful fireflies EVERYWHERE lighting up the forest like magic. I have heard several booms, so I hope they got a good snow. I, however, am very happy to be right here.