morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-17
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

Oh, did I sleep good. I really didn¢t want to get out of bed I was so comfy. We had a bit of a late start today. Molasses decided to take the next 2 days off to let her blisters heal and is going to meet us in Duncannon on Friday. We stopped by McDonalds for a nutritional breakfast on our way back to the trail. Double A is planning on a 25-mile day into Duncannon. I¢m sure she did it with no problems since she was slacking it and Molasses took all her stuff to Duncannon for her. Daisies and I had a pretty good hike today. We spent a little time sitting under a bridge next to the river wishing we could go for a swim. Nothing exciting went on today. Just hanging around camp, ready for bed, and looking forward to getting into town tomorrow.
Date: 2003-07-18
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

Out of camp by 8:30 am. The terrain was pretty easy. The plan was to make it into town by 2:00 and we did, actually it was closer to 1:30. Stopped in at the gas station to get a soda and ran into Pipes. It was great to see her! That whole gang (Pipes, Sleepy Floyd, Moo and 42, Viking) slacked south from Port Clinton to Duncannon and was headed out today. Sorry to have missed them all but I¢m glad I got to see Pipes. Made our way down to the Doyle to meet up with Molasses. What an interesting place. It reminds me of a boarding house. Double A was still around and decided to stay another night so she and Molasses shared a room and Daisies and I shared a room. There¢s a bar on the first floor of the Doyle. The hotel rooms are pretty run down but for $15 what do you expect? We watched an awful storm come through town. The sky was actually green. Very scary! The wind was awful as well as the lightning and thunder. Daisies and I thought for sure there was going to be a tornado. I¢m sure there was somewhere but we never saw one. Foxie, Chafe Master J, Martin, and Carnathy Bob are also staying here as well as a handful of other hikers. Viking is also here. He decided to hang around another day, I guess. Foxie, Viking, Daisies, Molasses and I went down to the Italian restaurant for dinner and I stuffed myself as usual. Went back to the Doyle and worked on my mail drop. Hung out for a little bit with everyone. Went down to the payphone to call home while the gang all played blisters in our room. Not long after the game was over and everyone left, Double A came by to hang out. It¢s now after 1 am and I¢m going to bed.
Date: 2003-07-19
From: Duncannon, PA

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

I think it was about 9:00 or so when I got up this morning. Laid around for a little while and ate some donuts (chocolate Entenmanns) before getting up to pack. Since the whole gang was around, we spent some time taking pictures of us all in the hallways. We checked out by 11:00 and walked down to the P.O. to mail out our bounce boxes then went back to the Doyle to pick up our packs. We all decided we should eat some lunch before go so we went to the convenience store and bought some sandwiches. We sat around outside the store eating for probably a half hour then Molasses and Chloe, Daisies, Foxie, Double A and I headed out. As we walked across the bridge over the Susquehanna River I had the urge to go swimming. The water just looked so refreshing. I put my urge to swim aside and kept going. The climb up to Clark¢s Ferry Shelter seemed to take forever. It was a pretty steep climb se when we reached the shelter we took a short break. Double A and Foxie headed on before the rest of us, missing the funniest sight ever. As we were walking sown the trail we saw a peacock up ahead. It was also walking north up the trail. Daisies wanted to get a picture of it but the bird was moving pretty fast. The faster the bird ran up the trail the faster Daisy¢s pace got. Chloe was going crazy barking and jumping around. It was hilarious. At one point we came around the corner to see Daisies running with her camera out trying to get pictures and Chloe leaping like mad at the end of her leash. Molasses and I had to actually stop walking because we were laughing so hard. I don¢t know who wanted the bird more, Daisies or Chloe. We ended up not catching up to Daisies for probably a mile or so, until we got to Table Rock overlook. We took another break there then on to the shelter we went. Also saw a young rattlesnake today as it crossed the trail. Once in camp I set up my tent then went to get water. Holy cow! The water source was about a half mile down the trail and it couldn¢t have gotten any steeper. While Molasses and I were down there she offered to pay some kids who were also there to carry out water back up for us. They said they would do it for some candy bars and we said no problem. After the trek back up to camp, Molasses, Daisies and I dug out some candy bars for them. I¢m beat! I barely had the energy to make dinner, which was Lipton beef flavored noodles. So now that I can barely keep my eyes open I must go to bed.
Date: 2003-07-20
From: Peter's Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: broken clouds

Didn¢t sleep all that well last night. I was just too cold. It¢s been dropping into the 50¢s at night. Even with the bag liner I borrowed from Daisies again, I was still cold. Made it out of camp by 8:30, took a couple short breaks early on in the day, then an hour break this afternoon with Daisies and Foxie. When we reached the only water source we would have today (about 6 miles from camp) Molasses told us that she might be getting off at the next road crossing (PA 325). She just didn¢t want to be here right now. She ended up catching a ride with Sidewinder¢s friends who were just out for a short time and were getting off there and is going to meet us in Port Clinton on Wednesday. Not sure if she¢ll be getting back on then or not. I hope she does. Molasses getting off the trail hit Daisies a little hard and she almost got in the car with them. I talked to her for a few minutes and told her she should keep going and see how she feels when we get to Port Clinton. So we got back on and kept walking. It was a long day. Nothing interesting happened. Oh, except for all the gunfire we¢ve been hearing due to the National Guard base we¢ve been walking near all day. Almost walked past the shelter due to the sign being in a bad spot but luckily didn¢t. Got in here and set up camp, made dinner, and socialized with everyone. Looks like we¢ll all be hitting the same stops until we get to Port Clinton. There are 9 of us here tonight. Hope I¢m warmer tonight than last night.
Date: 2003-07-22
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagle's Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

Had a bit of a late start this morning. Didn¢t leave the shelter until about 9:30. Then we (me, Daisies, Double A, and Viking) got lost going back to the trail for about a half-mile. Daisies kept saying ¢I think we are going the wrong way, Chuck, you¢ve been here before, is this right?¢ and he¢d say ¢I think so¢. Turns out it was wrong. Had a couple of good climbs early in the day but nothing too bad. Stopped for lunch at the Hertlein Campsite, which was about 5.5 or 6 miles into the hike. While I was sitting there eating my bagels, it began to rain L and it lasted for quite a while. Thankfully it wasn¢t a real heavy rain, that came later in the day. The terrain was much easier the second half of the day, very rocky but much more level. The rocks are killing my feet! And I have another blister on my heel. We were about 5 miles from camp when we got caught in another rain only this time it was more of a monsoon. It came down real heavy and got pretty cool and within a matter of minutes the trail became a river. There was about 2 to 3 inches of water and at times we¢d hit spots that came to the ankles. I couldn¢t wait to get to the shelter and get warm. Made it in here at about 7:00. There were already 6 people here and with the 3 of us that makes 9 that are crammed in here. It¢s still raining, of course, or I¢d be in my tent. The first thing I did was put on my long johns, then I claimed my spot in the shelter, then I made dinner (mashed potatoes with tuna and some garlic powder). I hope it stops raining by morning but I guess it doesn¢t really matter since my clothes will still be wet. Oh Well.
Date: 2003-07-23
From: Eagle's Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a pretty good day. The worst part of the hike was the long steep downhill into town. I don¢t think the PA trail clubs believe in switchbacks. Hiked most of the day with Foxie and Daisies. At on point Daisies and I got a little ahead of Foxie, then we made a wrong turn and walked about a half mile in the wrong direction. We both saw a double blaze signaling a turn and it was right at a small dirt road so we turned. After walking a ways without seeing a blaze or any footprints we realized we did something wrong. So we turned around and went back. We didn¢t even walk back as far as we had come when we found the trail. We confused Foxie because she could hear our voices coming from behind when she thought we were ahead. Made it into town without any other problems. Hung out at the Port Clinton Hotel waiting for Molasses to get there. Had some lunch and waited out the rain. Once she arrived we all decided to get a hotel room in the next town over which was about 10 minutes away. Molasses, Chloe, and Viking got one room and Foxie, Daisies, and I got another room. While Daisies and Molasses went to get the rooms the rest of us hung out in the bar with the rest of the hikers. Molasses joined us when they came back. There was quite the hiker crowd ¢ Me, Foxie, Double A, Molasses, Viking, Zoots, Martin, Emily & Slack, Mickey & Minnie, and Super Fly. They have to have the cheapest beer on the trail. $1 draft beers. We spent several hours there before we went to the hotel. Back at the hotel Molasses made us hot dogs. She also brought us chips and dip, soda, cheesecake, and watermelon. We all sat around until 2 am chatting about who knows what.
Date: 2003-07-24
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: broken clouds

Got up around 8 am this morning and we all went next door to the diner for breakfast. It wasn¢t all that good. I had waffles, which they served me with a steak knife and that¢s exactly what you needed to cut the stupid thing with. Dropped Foxie off at the Pavilion to meet her mom (she¢s going home for a few days) then Molasses took me and Viking to the Post Office. Daisies is off the trail as well for the next couple of days to visit with her dad. It was about 1:00 before we hit the trail. Wasn¢t looking forward to the climb out of here but it wasn¢t bad at all. Made it to the shelter around 4 pm. It¢s just me, Viking, and Littlest Hobo tenting here tonight. It felt nice getting into camp so early, think I¢ll try to so that more often. My opinion of Port Clinton is not very good. It is definitely not a very friendly hiker town. And they have nothing to offer hikers other than the outfitters and the best candy store around.
Date: 2003-07-25
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: few clouds

I forgot to mention that when I was in Port Clinton I bought an emergency blanket, which I have been looking for ever since I switched over to the fleece bag. Someone had suggested that I use the emergency blanket over the fleece bag to stay warm. Well, I tried it and I was nice and warm but it¢s a huge vapor barrier. The whole underside of the e-blanket was wet as well as the bottom half of the fleece bag. Oh well, it was worth a try. Had a couple of great view today. One from Pulpit Rock and another from the Pinnacle. Between the heat and all the rocks it made for a long day. Didn¢t get into camp until about 8:00. I wanted to sleep in my tent because its warmer and much more comfortable but there wasn¢t a decent enough spot to set up. They were either full of rocks or on a major slant. So the shelter it is. Double A showed up a little after 8:30 and I didn¢t expect to see her at all. Went to get water, which was a ten minute walk forth on the AT. Why is it that they always put the shelters and the water source so far away from each other? I tell you after walking all day the last thing I want to do is walk a half mile for water. Once water was retrieved it was time for dinner and I decided on the Mountain House spaghetti with meat sauce. Sat around with Double A and Viking chatting quietly so we didn¢t wake the two older ladies who were already asleep. I¢m going to try sleeping in my rain pants tonight. Hope it works!
Date: 2003-07-26
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: Palmerton, PA / The Borough Hall
Miles today: 17.5

The rain pants worked great! I wasn¢t cold at all so I guess I¢ll be sleeping in them until I get my winter bag back. Got up this morning with the intention of stopping at the George Outerbridge shelter but the two ladies that stayed in the shelter with me started talking about the Borough Hall Hostel in Palmerton, which was only 7 tenths farther than the shelter and it sounded really good. So Double A, Viking, and I decided to go there instead. The day was long, drawn out even more by all the rocks and boulder fields. I can not wait to be out of Pennsylvania and away from all these rocks! The last 6 or 7 miles seemed to be very tough on us all and if there had been any vehicles on the last road we crossed we would have hitched in from there. It was around 8:00 pm when we finally reached the Lehigh River Bridge, the road into Palmerton. Then we had to hitch the 2 miles into town. Oh what fun that was. Here we were, 3 hikers standing on the side of the road with our thumbs out and its almost dark. We weren¢t having much luck so we sent Viking across the street to see if he might have any luck over there. Double A and I soon had us a ride with this wonderful lady on her way home from work. She told us that she never goes home this way but decided to go a different way tonight and that she wouldn¢t have picked us up except for the fact that we are hikers and she and her husband want to do this some day. She took us straight to the Borough Hall. The Borough Hall, a.k.a. the Jailhouse Hostel, is in the basement of a building that I think is the community center. It gets the name Jailhouse Hostel because if you arrive after 4:30 you have to check in at the police station. Anyway, it was 8:30 by the time we got to the hostel. Went in and immediately took off my boots. Ahh, relief. Claimed my bunk, then Double A and I went across the street to the Chinese restaurant and brought us back some takeout. Sweet and sour chicken and fried rice, yummm. A shower was next on the list. These were upstairs in the gym and because of the hour there were no lights on so I had to use my headlamp. Now that I¢m clean and have eaten I¢m off to bed.
Date: 2003-07-27
From: Palmerton, PA / The Borough Hall

To: Leroy A Smith Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

Had a little bit of a late start this morning. Went across the street to the restaurant for breakfast before heading out. Had to hitch a ride back to the trail, which didn¢t take too long. Then the fun began with the climb out of Lehigh Gap. Nothing but rocks and a vertical climb. My trekking poles were useless, as I needed my hands to pull me up and over these rocks. The sky was threatening some rain and thankfully it didn¢t happen because those rocks would have been way too slick. If it would have been raining I would have turned back. There were some great views from the top. Most people refer to this area as the desert because it is so barren and lacking of water. This was caused by the zinc mining that used to go on here. Not long after I reached the top I was ready for some shade but had to wait until I came upon a small clump of trees. It wasn¢t a lot but it helped. It was a long hot day and I couldn¢t wait for it to end. Finally made it to camp just before darkness fell. I hat getting in that late. The first thing I did was get water and what a trek that was, a half mile down the hill. Definitely not something I wanted to do in the dark. Came back up and made some dinner and sat around with Martin, Double A, Viking, Sunkist, and Froggie Pete. I finished cooking just in time before the rain started. I¢m in the shelter in my bag and very thankful I don¢t have to be in my tent tonight.
Date: 2003-07-28
From: Leroy A Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: broken clouds

Martin gave us all a wake up call this morning so we could get an early start. I had originally planned on doing 2 short days to get to town but yesterday I decided I would do the 20.2 and take a zero the next day. The day went pretty smoothly. I stopped for a break at Wind Gap and watched some camp kids getting ready to head out on a 2 night trip. I went about 9 more miles before taking another break at Kirkridge Shelter. This is an old shelter but it has a great view. It was another 6.5 to town and I didn¢t stop much. My feet were killing me but I just wanted to be there. As always I didn¢t think the last 2 miles were ever going to end. It was about 7:30 when I finally got to the hostel. It¢s a pretty nice place. The church has turned their basement into the hostel. There are enough bunks to sleep 10 and there¢s also a shower and a sitting area with some tables, chairs, and couches. Got myself a bunk then went down the street to the pizza place for some food. Back to the hostel for a shower and now some much needed sleep.
Date: 2003-07-29
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Took the day off today to get a few things done. Went down the street to the diner for breakfast. It was a pretty good place except I ordered waffles and then the waiter came back out and said I couldn¢t have them because someone forgot to turn on the waffle maker, so I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel instead. After breakfast I caught the shuttle from the outfitters into Stroudsburg so I could do some laundry. Since there was such a big group of us they only wanted to make one trip so we had to hang around until everyone was done. I did manage to get in some time on the library¢s computer and ate some Subway while I waited for my laundry. Got back from town and worked on my food drop and hung out for a bit. Double A, Viking, Martin, Superfly, Emily, Slack and myself all caught a taxi back into Stroudsburg to hang out for the evening. What a blast! We started out at some bar shooting pool and having a few pitchers then eventually went across the street to some club named Hoops where we hung out on the patio upstairs. I can¢t believe they actually sold drinks for a nickel. It was extremely late when I finally got back to the hostel.
Date: 2003-07-30
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I think it was close to 10 am when I finally woke up. I was moving pretty slow and didn¢t feel like doing much so I laid around for quite a while. I eventually got moving and Viking and I went across the street to the Trail¢s End Caf© for lunch. It was a bit pricey but the food wasn¢t bad. Later in the afternoon Jimbo Trek¢s mom and sister came up with some trail magic and had a cookout for us over at the park. After filling myself up on hamburgers, hotdogs, and soda, I spent the remainder of the day lounging around at the hostel. Pushing Up Daisies came in around 7 pm and surprised me. I wasn¢t expecting to see her foe a couple more days.
Date: 2003-07-31
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Mohican Outdoor Center 
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up about 9 am and went down to the diner with Daisies and Double A for breakfast where we ran into Free Radical and Jimbo Trek. After breakfast I went back to the hostel and packed up. Went by the Post Office and sent out my boxes. Once we were all packed up the 3 of us went across the street to the Trail¢s End Caf© to get some lunch before heading out. Not a good experience at all. Two other tables came in and sat down after us but were both waited on before us. When we asked for separate checks we were told there would be an automatic 20% gratuity added on if we did. The waitress never came to refill out drinks and when we asked her to it was another 10 minutes or so before she did it. When we were paying, Daisies nicely commented to the waitress about the gratuity being added on and she very rudely responded that it¢s not her policy. As we walked outside the other waitress followed us out to get in Daisy¢s face about it a little more. Saying that when hikers come in they don¢t always leave a tip or very much of one, then she said that when I was in there yesterday I only left her $2 on a $22 bill. Of course I wasn¢t standing there when this was said so I couldn¢t defend myself. So to set it straight, when she brought the bill to the table I asked if she could separate it and she said no so we had to get a menu and figure it out ourselves. I paid for my soup and salad and left a tip to cover my share of the bill. What the other person left I don¢t know. Anyway, this was her reason for telling our waitress to give us bad service, her words not mine. So if you are in Delaware Water Gap I do not recommend the Trail¢s End Caf©. Once on the trail the first 6 miles flew by but the last 4 seemed to take forever. Arrived here around 8 pm and decided to stay in the bunkhouse for $12 verses the tent for free. Heard it¢s supposed to rain tonight so it wasn¢t a tough decision. The bunkhouse is pretty nice, there is a kitchen and a shower. Made some dinner and hung out for a little bit with some other hikers. Now I¢m ready to crash.
Date: 2003-08-01
From: Mohican Outdoor Center 

To: Campsite
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light rain

Had a decent nights sleep considering it was midnight when I went to bed. Daisies and I laid in our bunks and talked for probably an hour last night. Woke up this morning around 8:00 when Double A came in to tell us she was heading out. Unfortunately it might be a while before we meet back up again because she was planning a 21-mile day today. When she left I went back to sleep until about 9:00 or so then got up and ate some cereal and took a nice warm shower before packing up. Daisies and I both weren¢t in any hurry this morning. We woke to rain and it didn¢t look like it would be lifting any time soon. Went up to the main building and sat around with a few other hikers while we had a sandwich and a soda before taking off. It was 11:30 before we made it out of there. The terrain was pretty easy except the rain has made the rocks pretty slick. So far I¢ve been lucky but Daisies ended up falling about 3 0r 4 different times. The rain has been a constant today as well as the low clouds. It has been cool all day, I don¢t think its made it out of the 70¢s. We are about 1.7 miles from the intended shelter. We saw this campsite and since it¢s near a water source we decided to call it a day at 6:30. Put up the tent while fighting off the mosquitoes. Then I put on my armor, my rain pants, something they can¢t bite through. J Sat out in the rain and made dinner of Mountain House spaghetti. Then the fun began as we tried to hang our food bags. There aren¢t any decent trees around here. They are all straight poles with no branches. We did manage to get them hung, just not as high as they should be. It¢s still raining and it¢s 9:30 pm. Something keeps hitting my rain fly right by my head. I wonder what it is. I¢ve shined my headlamp in that direction and didn¢t see anything but I know there¢s something out there and it is messing with my tent. It has hit the fly 3 or 4 times now and I¢ve decided to stare at that spot until I see what it is. Okay, I know what it is. A frog! I was staring at the corner of the tent that was being hit waiting for it to happen again. All of a sudden a frog jumped up and scared me half to death. I almost jumped out the top of the tent. I guess it¢s had enough of the rain as well.