morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-01-13
To: To Begin Anew
Miles today: 0.0

Journal entry Prep #1January 13, 2010I was on the AT for a month in 2009 before leaving due to injury. Now my foot is mostly healed and I am hoping to hike the trail this year in a couple of segments. First section is from Harpers Ferry north for 6 weeks. Then off for 4 weeks then back to finish north bound by middle of August. After a short break in August, back to Harpers Ferry to hike the southern half in one stretch, probably finish around Thanksgiving. That's my plan but everything is subject to change. It's my hike after all.
Date: 2010-01-20
To: Snow, Ice, and Rain
Miles today: 0.0

January 19, 2010As I wait out the coming of Spring and my start of the hiking season, it snowed, rained, and turned to ice today. Today was also the day the Obama camp got their wake-up call from Massachusetts' voters. Talkin' about a cold shower!! Anyone hiking thru Harpers Ferry in early May, watch out for ME :>}
Date: 2010-04-19
To: Getting Close to a return
Miles today: 0.0

April 19thA short update for Patriot's Day. I've finished the taxes and today purchased my ticket to D.C. I'll be picked up by my cousin there on May 7th and dropped off at Harpers Ferry. The orthopedic checked my foot earlier this month and although I still have some discomfort he said I was cleared to resume hiking activities but at a modified level. So I will limit my miles as I head north from HF making my way towards New England. I expect to meet some of the faster thru hikers that I've been tracking here on TJ. I'll update again just before I leave in May.
Date: 2010-04-23
To: Two Weeks
Miles today: 0.0

April 23, 2010In just 2 short weeks I will be re-entering the long distance trail life and I cannot wait. Things are shapping up around the homestead for my planned 5 week section from Harpers Ferry. My next journal will be a last minute up date on May 6. I'm going to try a new trailname, Ringer, and see if it sticks.
Date: 2010-05-06
To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

May 6, 2010I¢m packed and ready to go! Catch the AMTRAK tonight for an overnight to DC. Then Ann will drive me to Harpers Ferry, we¢ll have lunch and then I¢ll have an easy 6.4 miles to Ed Garvey Shelter. My pack without food and water is about 33 pounds. I'll be out 5 weeks hoping to reach CT and to update when I can.
Date: 2010-05-07
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

May 7, 2010Weather today is mostly clear and in the 70¢s with light westerly winds.At Ed Garvey Shelter by myself. Made $1.07 in coins left at this shelter. On my way thru Harpers Ferry, I took this photo from Jefferson Rocks. When I got home and looked at my AT Guide for Maryland and Northern Virginia there was a similar photo on the cover.There are a couple of other section hikers tenting here and they are very quiet. I met them, Jim and Dan, at Weverton Cliffs and took some photos of them there. I also passed a couple, Tinaknia and Theo, hiking SOBO with their dog who are from the Netherlands. Earlier in the day, I visited the ATC headquarters in Harpers Ferry with my cousin, Ann. She had met me after I arrived in the DC area and drove me out to HF. We walked around town and had a nice lunch before I set out on the trail at about 2 PM.After my diner of mac and cheese with chicken, I discovered I had lost my head lamp but I wasn¢t too concerned as I didn¢t plan on night hiking and that would guarantee I would be in the sack by dark.
Date: 2010-05-08
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: few clouds

In an older shelter with Oghostwhowalks, Doc Holiday and his dog, Duke.I forgot to mention I met my first thru hiker, Marine One, yesterday at the ATC headquarters. I don¢t know what became of him, as I didn¢t see him the rest of this hike. Today was a really good day for walking, also a good day for blisters. The trail is in great condition with pleasant views where there are views. The sights and sounds of spring are all around. All sorts of flowers and living things are blooming all around the trail. Other hikers I encountered are nice and friendly as well. Even though I wasn¢t that grubby, I cleaned up with a warm shower at Dahlgren Campground in the late afternoon. Hikers take what is offered to them when they can because you never know when the next opportunity for a shower will come along.
Date: 2010-05-09
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Devil's RaceCourse Shelter
Miles today: 12.2

Tenting above the shelter with Ghost, Ladybug and Rambler. A cold front moved through last night so today was a little on the brisk side and I layered up for today¢s hike which was mostly ridge walking. I met a SOBO section hiker, Pack Mule, at Ensign Cowell Shelter where I had just missed some great trail magic. A group of 5 young Mennonites had just finished cooking lunch for those who were there at the shelter. I had passed them on my way but didn¢t really engage them in conversation at the time. I learned that they had carried a large cooler over a mile in from the trailhead over a large hill and had all sorts of burgers and hot dogs going on the fire. Oh well. Earlier, I stopped for a midmorning break at Annapolis Rocks, which looked like a fine place for camping. Even though I am camped at the top of the ridge above the shelter, I still had to walk most of the way down to fetch water. Then after dinner and by the light of my cell phone I managed some needed medical care of the several blisters that had to be lanced.
Date: 2010-05-10
From: Devil's RaceCourse Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelters
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Double Shelters here so I was alone in the designated snore¢s building. Ghost was here tenting, and Derek and Whistler were in the non-snore¢s shelter. More hiking today over the Maryland ridges of the AT through Civil War country. Many monuments, battlefields, ancient road crossings, and abandoned settlements dot this section of the trail. Even though I appreciate local history, I¢m not that much of a civil war buff and I just wanted to keep on the move. I met a group of 4 section hikers (Rusty, Aires, Wolfie, Red Rooster) at Pen Mar Park that I kept leapfrogging all afternoon. By the time I reached Old Forge Road, I had gotten to know them quite well and they invited me to join them for dinner. At this road crossing, they met up with Rusty¢s husband and he drove us to an AYCE buffet in Waynesboro. Red Rooster paid for all of us and afterward they dropped me back at the AT and I waddled myself up the last 0.2 miles to the shelter. Thanks for my first real trail magic of this hike.
Date: 2010-05-11
From: Tumbling Rin Shelters

To: Quary Gap Shelters
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

Rain today. I¢m in one of these beautifully kept shelters, Ghost in the other. Today is quite cool and overcast. And by the time I reached the Rocky Run Shelters the rain had set in quite hard. I sat alone in one shelter eating lunch and contemplating the afternoon. In the other shelter a couple of other hikers were all ready laid out for the night. After a bit I put my full rain gear back on and went on heading towards Quarry Gap Shelters. At US 30 there is a pizza shop just 0.4 mile to the west and I headed for it. There I ordered a large sub for my lunch tomorrow and a couple slices of cheese pizza for tonight¢s dinner, which I devoured after getting to the shelter.
Date: 2010-05-12
From: Quary Gap Shelters

To: Tom's Run Shelters
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Cloudy and cool. Shared one of the twin shelters with Ghost and Almostthere, and a bird¢s nest with chicks. Today I met Roaring Lion, a burly young man of deep red hair with an Irish accent but living in England. He is the first NOBO who passed me doing about double my pace. I caught up to him at Birch Run Shelter where I also met Blue Moon. They are among a loosely acquainted group of about a dozen thru hikers who started in February and hiked the first month in true winter condition and were one of the first to plow their way though the deep snows in the Smokies. Note: I encountered many of this group during my time on the trail and had many great talks with them. The morning that I left the trail in Kent, I had breakfast with Mouse and Lil Budda who was doing the IAT from Florida to Labrador. The hike today was a nice uneventful walk over more ridges but I still have to rest my feet when I can, as the blisters are somewhat tender.
Date: 2010-05-13
From: Tom's Run Shelters

To: James Fry Shelter
Miles today: 10.9

This shelter did not have a water source. Shared it with Ghost and D-Quest. I walked with Ghost all day today and we had great conversation and good pace under cool and cloudy skies. Today we arrived at Pine Grove Furnace about 11 am but the store was not open so no 12 gallon of ice cream for us. I don¢t think I could eat even a 12 pint as this is still only my first week on the trail and I haven¢t developed the hikers appetite that drives them to attempting something so preposterous as the 12 gallon challenge. From reading the register many people try and some succeed while others find themselves getting sick at the dumpster. YUK! Ladybug and Rambler came up the trail while Ghost and I were at Pine Grove Furnace and I learned that they are section hikers, doing 700 miles at a time. They are planning to complete the middle third of the AT this year after doing the first third last year. They had seen some of my journal entries in the shelters last year and turns out knows a friend of mine from back in the Boston area. They are themselves from Newton and are members of the AMC, which is how they know my friend. Small world. Next year, they hope to complete the New England section of the AT.
Date: 2010-05-14
From: James Fry Shelter

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 12.2

Stayed at The Allenberry Inn with Ghost. Hiker special, $25 +tax per room, includes breakfast. Best deal on the trail. Hikers, check them out.I was up early and on the trail by 7 headed to a ¢Mercantile¢ store just 1.5 miles up the trail. There I had a take out breakfast sandwich and met up with Ghost again for the walk into Boiling Springs, arriving around 3 PM. On our way into town, the trail passes through a mile or so of farmlands and the afternoon warmed with hazy sunlight and high humidity. This is a Friday and we saw few hikers until we reached the ATC offices in town. There, we found several large groups of young hikers preparing to get on the trail for the weekend. This is also where Ghost is leaving the trail to return to his home in Gorham so he had left his car there and we rode up to the Inn. At this point I still had enough food to get me to Duncannon another 2 days out so I went to the Post Office and forwarded my food drop. I didn¢t have cell service here but I was able to use the Inn¢s IPAD to check and send e-mail. This was the first time I had use an IPAD and after some time of getting used to it I was able to do quite a bit of e-mail.
Date: 2010-05-15
From: Boiling Springs

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

Walked across the Cumberland Valley with some field walking on this clear warm day. Made good time. Ghost ended his section in Boiling Springs and headed home to NH. Just before I reached the Scott Farm, Dutch and a couple of other hikers passed me going like a bat out of hell. And at the farm I finally met Snow White and Rooster (who I had met at the ATC in Boiling Springs). They were all headed to Duncannon (25 mile day for them) to party at the Doyle tonight. There¢s no way I could do that kind of mileage in a single day so I would have to wait until tomorrow to get to town. On the AT it seems that friendships and acquaintances come and go all the time. Sometimes a few days later or a month down the trail hikers will encounter each other once again. Most of the time I hiked alone but liked to stay in or around a shelter for the social aspect of the trail. I had either hiked or stayed with Ghost every day after my first day on the trail but now he had left to go home and I didn¢t have a hiking partner anymore. Actually, I never felt that we had a real tight bond even though we hiked together and shared many experiences. I guess our friendship grew slowly over the week from a sense of convenience more than anything else. If I ever get up to Gorham I will definitely look him up. Now, even today, I met a couple of hikers that I could talk to and get to know. One of them, Foxtrot, was doing a short section before heading out to San Diego to start the PCT. PCT for me? Maybe, but some other year.
Date: 2010-05-16
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Doyle Hotel
Miles today: 11.4

Today I ridge walked over rocks, lots of rocks, and into Duncannon to stay at The Doyle, the most note worthy hotel on the trail. Still I arrived here in the early afternoon and settled into a seedy looking room with sparse furniture, no TV, and an old leaky window overlooking the street. Many thru hikers stay here on their way north or south and considering there¢s not much to do in this town, end up spending most of their time in the bar. I was no different. The beer is fresh with several local brews on tap and the food is good and cheap. Several of the Snow White group are here, Rooster, Rocker, 40, and Jaba and Actuary who I¢ve just met the last couple of days. Tomorrow I will pick up my food drop that I had forwarded from Boiling Springs and then head on North.
Date: 2010-05-17
From: Doyle Hotel

To: Peter's Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was cloudy with some rain and in the 60's. This is a very large Shelter and about 10 of us hikers. Snow White, who has taken to calling me Tinker or Tink, and some of her trail buddies are here. Gandalf and his dog, Shadowfax, came in around sunset and Gaucha was also here with her dog, Sweetie. I left town late and stopped by the Subway on the way to the trail. I usually try to take fresh food from town for my first day back on the trail but I wasn¢t that hungry for lunch so I only ate snacks during the day. That left my sandwich, a $5 foot long, to split for tonight¢s dinner and tomorrow¢s lunch.
Date: 2010-05-18
From: Peter's Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light intensity drizzle

Another day of rain and cold, 40's and 50's. In this shelter I first met a neighbor of mine from Walpole named Lovely Day. This is a small old shelter full of hikers but I squeezed in but the guy next to me snored in my ear all night long. I wish I had tented with the many others out back.
Date: 2010-05-19
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

This shelter is totally enclosed and near a road so there is easy access to all things worldly. It formerly was a potter¢s studio. When I walked in Snow White and her friends were here and Dutch was cooking up a late afternoon meal and I was immediately presented with a plate of chicken fajitas and green salad. Wonderful. I even got a shower here, a cold shower but still refreshing to be clean again. One of the features of this shelter is the ability to order out for pizza delivery. So when the others wanted to order another dinner, I added my usual foot long sub for the next day.I had a really bad night last night with the guy sleeping next to me. He snored constantly and his head was right next to mine. I should have slept with my head pointing in the opposite direction. I even nudged him all night long and he would stop for maybe 2 seconds. I don¢t think I slept for more than 5 minutes at a time. I was up just after first light and was happy to see him and his group leave, heading south. I never got his name.At the Stone Arch Bridge in the first mile or two up the trail I nearly got lost. There are several trails that intersect there and one of them uses similar blazes as the AT except they are gray. Well, after about 2 or 3 minutes I sensed that the trail didn¢t look nearly as well used as I thought it should and after consulting my map and the compass I back tracked and found the AT again. One really has to watch for the right trail markings.
Date: 2010-05-20
From: 501 Shelter

To: Camp 2.5 miles north of Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: clear sky

I went a little further today than I expected and tented at a campsite near the trail next to a small little stream all by myself. Today was sunny and into the 70's and this portion of the trail was all ridge line walking mostly under the canopy of the trees. It got warm and humid by the afternoon and more and more of the trail was rocky, little ankle biting rocks. I had bought a foot long sub sandwich last night and ate half of it for lunch. Then in the late afternoon I stopped at Eagle¢s Nest Shelter and ate the rest of my sandwich for dinner. Thus after setting up my tent here I just hung my food bag and settled in for the evening.
Date: 2010-05-21
From: Camp 2.5 miles north of Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was sunny and temps ranged from 60's to hi 80's. Now it¢s starting to get really hot. I was up and on the trail by 7 this morning and made good time into Port Clinton. At the pavilion, I met Jaba and some of Snow White¢s gang and walked up to the restaurant for a late breakfast. Back at the pavilion, I washed out some clothing and then returned to the trail by noon. In the hot afternoon, I stopped at the Pocahontas Campsite and soaked my feet in the cool spring. Someone had created some camp chairs from rocks that I enjoyed resting in as well. Now I¢m in the shelter here, by myself until a group of boy scouts showed up near dark (yes, it is Friday night when they always seem to appear.) Then 2 section hikers arrived, FreeDumb and John, and then Gandalf and Shadowfax awhile later. Just before I turned in, Snow White comes in as well.
Date: 2010-05-22
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Allentown Shelter
Miles today: 16.5

Today I saw Snow White again but she was hiking without her other friends and we got to talk some. I ended at the shelter where a group of 4 female friends were out for the weekend and a brother and sister and their dog all from Mass were hiking south. So I shared the shelter with 5 women and a dog.When I awoke this morning a body was sleeping next to me on the hard deck of the shelter. I didn¢t realize until they got up that it was Snow White. She uses a hammock but after arriving so late last night she had trouble finding a set of suitable trees that wasn¢t surrounded by poison ivy and decided to crashed in the shelter. I hope my sometimes snoring hadn¢t kept her from a restful night. I was the first one on the trail this morning and made good time to the Priest. There Snow White caught up to me then also the group of boy scouts. She and I took the requisite photos and then left before the scouts could get organized for the next section of trail. Snow White and I leapfrogged each other for the next several miles. At one point on an old logging road the trail follows a ridge for about 5 miles before reaching the Hawk Mountain Preserve. This being a Saturday morning many people were out on the trails and a couple of runners passed by with lean, tanned and toned bodies. Then further up the trail were a couple of older rugged unkempt hunters in camouflage clothing carrying shotguns. Snow White was walking with them about 100 feet ahead of me when the PA game warden came by in their truck. They stopped to question the hunters and we walked on. Snow White and I talked as we walked and she related how one of the hunters had asked her to hold his gun while he knelt down to tie a bootlace. This action made her very uncomfortable. She had been preoccupied by the sight of the sexy looking runners and didn¢t realize she was then among the hunters. Well things turned out fine in the end and there was no harm done.Up at Dan¢s Pulpit I had a cell signal and was able to call my brother, Roy, and wish him a happy birthday. Now at the shelter, I got the last spot among this group of female weekenders and a brother sister pair of SOBO section hikers. The sister was very chatty, almost to the point of annoyance. But they made a nice fire and kept it going all evening. FreeDumb and his friend, who I¢ve taken to calling Still John because he hasn¢t found his trail name yet, are here as well. FreeDumb hiked the southern half of the trail to Port Clinton last year before he had to go back to school. Still John decided to join him this year for the completion of Freedumb¢s thru hike and then he will flip flop to hike south next year.
Date: 2010-05-23
From: Allentown Shelter

To: Palmerton Jailhouse Hostel
Miles today: 17.4

Today the rocks of PA started showing up en mass. After a difficult day I decided to stay in town at the Jail House Hostel, which is actually not in a jail but in the basement of the Boro (Town) Hall, but you still have to register with the local police department to stay there. I was up and on the trail by 6:50 and walked the first 5 miles in 2 hours. Near Wolf Rocks I met up with Bluebird and Rooster caught up to us and got some photos. Go check out Rooster¢s blog at: http://benbenvieblog.com/ he has some fabulous photos of the AT. After Wolf Rocks it rained quite hard and I had to slow my pace to keep from slipping on all the rocks. Still I fell several times and the last time was on Bake Oven Knob Rocks, which left me precariously perched on a 6-foot ledge. I recovered though and hiked safely the rest of the day.I stopped by the Bake Oven Knob Shelter where I met Earl Grey and had a simple lunch. At Outerbridge Shelter I met another thru hiker named Muddy Socks. I walked down to Lehigh Gap and met up with Blue Bird and at the trailhead was a cooler filled with chilled sodas. Trail Magic! We had no trouble hitching into town where I resupplied for the next section to Delaware Water Gap.
Date: 2010-05-24
From: Palmerton Jailhouse Hostel

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was my longest mileage yet. A hot and humid day with very few water sources on the trail. Most of the trail these past few days is on the top of ridges so not a lot of ups and downs except in the gaps. This morning was a climb out of Lehigh Gap, which is wide open and over some large boulders. By the end of the day, I was so beat by the high humidity that I checked into the motel just 0.2 miles off the trail. While I was in the bathtub cooling down and getting cleaned up, I noticed that my foot hurt in a particular place over the 4th metatarsal. I was able to ice it for several hours while I watched the Celtics and the Red Sox games. Note: After I returned home it was confirmed by x-ray that bone had a stress fracture. I think it happened when I fell on Bake Oven Knob Rocks.
Date: 2010-05-25
From: Wind Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: broken clouds

This is the last day of walking in PA, as I will head into NJ first thing tomorrow morning. I'm staying in a church hostel here in DWG and can get the few things I need to get to Unionville, NY in 4 days. So I bounced my food drop from DWG to Ft. Montgomery where I expect to be in about 8 days.   The hike today was difficult with lots of what I call ankle biters and again humid so I was glad to get here and clean up with a fresh shower.I met some interesting hikers today at Kirkridge Shelter. Siron is hiking SOBO with his pet iguana, Moe, his photo is in the photo album. Moe was quite active so Siron kept him on a long leash and he would wander into the foliage looking for greens. He¢s the only known iguana with AT miles under him. Sweeper was here, I last saw him in Boiling Springs. He had been doing mega miles and for an old hiker was in great shape. He wore himself down and had to take a few days off the trail and then start out with 10 mile days until his feet heeled and that¢s how I caught up to him. Quixote with his 2 dogs, Lizzie and Sandy are also on a flip-flop having started in Virginia. I would hike with them to The Mayor¢s house.I arrived at the hostel here in DWG that is called the Church of the Mountain Hostel. Later this evening, a new hiker named Santas Helper who also is on TJ. He is starting his NOBO section from here tomorrow.