morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-19
From: Riverside campground- PeterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mountain Shelter 

To: Campsite North of Clarks Creek 
Miles today: 7.0

This was a tough day for us psychologically. It was hot, even our water got so warm it was like tea water. We are in the middle of PA and the going seems slow at this point. We only did 7 miles today and set down the tent. We wanted to be near a water source. We took a little nap in the tent then I got up and made supper, Spanish Rice. The little black flies were a real pain, and I ended up having to cook with my bug net on. It feels like it might rain sometime tomorrow. We hope to make 12 miles tomorrow to the shelter then one more shelter, then an unscheduled stop to town, Pine Grove, PA.
Date: 2004-04-20
From: Campsite North of Clarks Creek 

To: Campsite South of Rausch Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

It was a great day for hiking and the trail was easy, just one up and a few rocks. We saw officer Tacco and Smiley, thru hikers who left GA Feb. 9th. We stopped before the shelter because we found a great campsite. There is a stream with a little waterfall and a fire ring. We got here about 3:00, so we have time to enjoy it before we go to bed. I played my flute by the fire. Very peaceful place! We opened the big summer sausage we¢ve been carrying but now we aren¢t sure we can finish it today. It¢s an odd thin about appetite out here. It sort of goes and comes. We had plenty of water today.
Date: 2004-04-21
From: Campsite South of Rausch Gap Shelter 

To: William Penn Shelter 
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It drizzled a bit last night, and it was overcast most of the day. This made for a good hiking with a nice breeze and few bugs. The trail wasn¢t easy, 2 big ups and some rocks, but not terrible. There was a long ridge walk right before the shelter with great views of the countryside. I¢m glad we are doing this before the trees get their leaves. The trail beat us up quite a bit, my feet hurt and I have lots of bug bites. Gary is really hungry and we both need a good shower. Tomorrow we go into town, only 4 miles in the morning to get there. Yahoo! Oh I forgot to say that the military has been providing us with some entertainment as we walk the trail. First a jet kept flying in circles around where we were, then helicopters flew overhead with big boxes of something hanging under them, then last night on the ridge, one of those remote controlled airplanes-almost like a model airplane, flew by us a couple of times. It was really cool! All of a sudden you heard this slight buzz and the white plane flew by. Maybe they were using us to practice tracking people in the mountains, who knows? Both times it was really close to us.
Date: 2004-04-22
From: William Penn Shelter 

To: Pine Grove PA, 501 
Miles today: 4.1
Weather: broken clouds

We got up early, 7:10, knowing we only had 4 miles to go until we got to 501 and a hitch to town. The hitch was a bit hard to get today, and after waiting an hour we started walking. Gary would have waited longer, but I¢m not very good at waiting. Anyway, about 1/2 mile later, fortunately downhill, a nice young man named Jim stopped to pick us up. He was a really sweet guy who drove us all the way to the hotel. Fortunately everything we need is here. McDonalds, Arby¢s, and a truck stop with restaurant and laundry! So here I sit, eating strawberry ice cream while the laundry runs. I had a nice shower earlier and a McDonalds Big Mac Meal. Contentment! Sigh!Oh, talk about luck, this truck stop with coin laundry only opened two weeks ago.
Date: 2004-04-23
From: Pine Grove PA, 501 

To: Hertline Campsite 
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We had some good food before we left town this afternoon. Jim picked us up from our hotel and drove is to the trail about noon. I have no idea how we would have gotten back from town if he wouldn¢t have come for us. The trail was a bit rocky, but we got to this campsite about 3:00. We didn¢t really push it today, even took some time to enjoy a great view from the top of the mountain. It has been overcast most of the day and rain was predicted for this evening so we are ate right away and set up camp. Good thing, because it started to thunder a bit and now we are in the tent at 6:00 with the drizzle of rain on the tent. We had made a fire but didn¢t have much time to enjoy it.It was good to be in town, to call the people back home. I found out that my friend, Jackie had fallen and broken her back. I wish I could be there to help her put up with wearing a brace for 8weeks! Kristen and Jay closed on their house. I wish I could be there to help them move. That¢s one thing about the trail. When you are here, you are here, and ti isn¢t easy to help people back home. At least this year we brought the cell phone and can stay in touch better. I haven¢t been able to get my e-mail since we started because we are never in a town with a library at the right time. We will pass by Port Clinton, but that will be on Sunday. We will need to re-supply but it doesn¢t sound like they have a lot of services. I¢m really looking forward to Palmerton
Date: 2004-04-24
From: Hertline Campsite 

To: 3 miles North of EagleÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Shelter 
Miles today: 12.0

We slept in a little this morning. It rained last night so we gave the tent a chance to dry off a little before packing it. Gary has been having some problems adjusting to the food we¢ve been eating too, so he was up late with heart burn. While we were packing up, the Soul Mates, a recently married thru hiking couple came along. They started in GA Feb 1st. They said Walking W¢s had left us food and a note at the 501 shelter. I wish I would have stopped there! It is really nice to know someone is reading our journal and left us goodies even if we didn¢t get them. ? The Soul Mates and a long section hiker we met later in the day, Just John ate the oranges and said they really hit the spot. I¢m glad they got them. We hiked off and on with Just John all day. He is camped just about 14 mile south of us now. He¢s doing a long section from Duncannon to MA. Soul Mates went on ahead to Port Clinton and plan to zero there tomorrow because they need to pick up a drop box at the pot office. That means we should be in town together tomorrow night. We saw a few day hikers and short term backpackers too. I think there are about 5 people at the shelter we passed up.We saw a huge black snake slither across the trail between us this afternoon. It must have been 10 feet long. It¢s surprising how fast it could move!
Date: 2004-04-25
From: 3 miles North of EagleÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Shelter 

To: Port Clinton 
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: light rain

We got up early and got going quickly. The sun was out, but it was a bit chilly. While packing up, we saw a huge flock of geese fly overhead. They were so pretty! The trip into town was pretty easy except for a steep down coming into town. I slipped twice on the leaves and landed on my butt. I wouldn¢t have wanted to do that down in the snow or rain. Speaking of rain, the day turned overcast. Then just as we got down the mountain and reached Port Clinton, the rain started. We got to the Port Clinton Hotel and had a good lunch! They have only one room available here, not a very good one, so we are waiting for the bed and breakfast to open at 5:00. We went to the outfitters. Vern, the owner, was really great. He let us use his computer to check our e-mail. It was nice to read the notes from people who read our journal. John and Soul Mates were there too. Now as we are all eating ice cream in the Port Clinton Hotel.   After our ice cream we went to the Union House Bed and Breakfast. It¢s a quaint old place with beautiful antiques. The owner took four yeas to restore it. It has a spinning wheel at the top of the steps, chamber pot on the floor by our bed, mink coat on the coat rack in front of the bed, beautiful antique lamps and light fixtures. It was a bit expensive to stay here, but fun. We visited with the owner and his two staff members. We were his only customers tonight. He gave us two glasses of his homemade wine and we ordered two spaghetti dinners. He told the cook to fill it full and he did, I was stuffed. We enjoyed the evening in this pleasant place out of the rain. I really enjoyed the wine, some of the best I¢ve ever had.
Date: 2004-04-26
From: Port Clinton 

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter 
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: moderate rain

After packing up we left our packs at the Union House and headed off for the 3 C¢s Restaurant for breakfast. We met the Soul Mates at the hiker pavilion on our way and convinced them to come with us. It was a great meal, the sampler. It had just about everything you could desire for breakfast, eggs, toast, sausage, ham, bacon, pancakes, potatoes-Yumm! We all ate well then headed off for town again to visit the post office. We got our stuff mailed and started up the mountain in the rain. Oh, I think I forgot to mention the rain. It had rained most of yesterday, all last night and drizzled most of today. There was a big up out of town, then some rocks. We got to the shelter about 3, ate and were just sitting around when the Soul Makes showed up. They had to wait until 2:00 for the post office to re-open after their lunch break. The rain has stopped and we are just chatting with the Soul Mates. It is nice to have company tonight. They are doing big miles- plan 16 for tomorrow so this is probably the last we will see of them. It¢s been great getting to know them.
Date: 2004-04-27
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter 

To: Eckville Hiker Shelter 
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

We had breakfast then got an early start at 9:00. The day was really pretty, a little cool, just perfect for hiking. The first part was up and through rocks but the last half was a sweet walk down a dirt road then a .2 mile walk down the road to the shelter. This is a great place! The Soul Mates were here when we got here. After passing us up this morning they came to the Eckville Shelter for lunch and a break before hiking another 7 miles to the next shelter for the night. The care taker Lazee, gave us some Pepsi to have with our supper. We are tenting below the shelter. There are really nice tent platforms here. We sat for a little while in the bunk house and read, but it was getting cold. It¢s warm in here in the tent in our sleeping bags. I got to use my cell phone to call Kristen. It was almost out of charge, so I have it charging up at the bunkhouse. It has drizzled a little this evening off and on, bit doesn¢t seem like it will rain too much. It¢s good to know that we have less than 1, 000 miles to go to ME. We only have 61miles to the PA-NJ line. We¢re making progress!
Date: 2004-04-28
From: Eckville Hiker Shelter 

To: New Tripoli Campsite 
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: clear sky

I woke up about 7AM to a choir of birds. They were fantastic, all sort of different bird calls in the meadow where we were tenting. It was cold so I went back to sleep until 8, then we packed up. I discovered that something is wrong with m cell phone. It wont¢ hold a charge. The first hour of the day was spent going up a huge incline, then we spent the rest of the morning walking on, over, or climbing rocks. There were some great views though to help you forget the pain in your feet. We finally got to the Allentown Shelter about 2:00 and from then on the trail was a lot easier. E had hopes of getting a real meal at the Blue Mountain Summit Restaurant, but found they are only open on Thurs-Sun. This is Wed. It was a big disappointment but we hiked on and then 2 miles to the campsite and ate our two remaining Mountain House freeze dried hiker dinners, bad of peanuts, tea, and oatmeal breakfast bars. Now we have nothing left. We are looking forward to town. We had a chincy little fire tonight. It¢s a bit chilly, but it doesn¢t matter since we want to go to bed early anyway to get an early start for town tomorrow
Date: 2004-04-29
From: New Tripoli Campsite 

To: Palmerton Borough Hall 
Miles today: 11.8

There were some fantastic views today! Lots of fun climbing rocks too. Relentless is braver on the rocks than I am. In a couple places I scooted across them on my butt. It was a hard day with all the rocks, but the last 6 miles were easier. We got lucky and got a ride right away from the bridge.This town really knows how to treat hikers right! We are staying the night at the Borough Hall. They gave us a bag with goodies in it, (toothpaste, toothbrush, granola bar, t.p.) All thanks to the Palmerton Girl Scouts and their supporters. They have a shower and bunkbeds here. The place is really clean and comfy.We ate at Bert¢s Steak House as soon as we got here because we were totally starved. We only had some candy today on the way in. We both got big burgers, fries, milkshakes (super size) and macaroni salad. Yum Yum.
Date: 2004-04-30
From: Palmerton Borough Hall 

To: Little Gap Campsite
Miles today: 5.2

This was a really fun day! It started with a great breakfast at Bert¢s Steakhouse while the laundry was being done, then a trip to the library, post office and grocery store. I really enjoyed the town and the people. It¢s interesting how different trail towns can be. Some are sad little towns where the people are having a hard time making a living and are tired of hikers coming through. Others like Palmerton are really cheery and the people are very friendly. Some hikers don¢t do a very good job of making friends of the people. They try to sneak extra people into hotel rooms, get drunk, leave trash, etc. These trail towns are so important to us! We need to do what we can to help them our by being respectful, polite and greatful for their help. A guy named Allen gave us a ride back to the trail. Gary met him last night at the restaurant and he took time from moving to give us a ride back today. He and another local hiker kept taking the ¢winter trail¢ coming out of the gap, and kind pf encouraged us to use it instead of the White Blazed AT. I soon found out why. The AT went up and around a knob (cliff) rocky cliff! (High cliff with small edges and little else.) At one point, a good looking day hiker helped me out by lifting my pack up to a ledge for me. Gary was great, he encouraged me and talked me through it. This was his kind of hike. The views from various points on the knob were fantastic! (When I wasn¢t too afraid to look.) I took some pictures, I hope they turn out. I was really proud of myself for doing this. I would have never done it without Gary urging me along and carrying my poles for me. After the big climb we walked about 3 miles on a ridge that was really desolate because of fire and pollution from the zinc industry. There are only a few little bushes and scrubby trees left and lots of dead ones on the ground. They are trying to clean it up and get the mountain to come back. I hope they can. The lack of trees did give us some great views of the valley.We are camped close to a road. Tomorrow we start by going up again.
Date: 2004-05-01
From: Little Gap Campsite

To: Leroy Smith Shelter Campsite 
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was hot and sunny, a little muggy. I think it may rain tonight. It has that feeling in the air. We saw a lot of scouts today. First cub scouts and then tonight there are boy scouts camped down at the shelter. Getting water is hard 12 mile hikes down to springs and back. The scout master just came up to tell us they had spotted a black bear in the area. I need to go put our food up a little better.
Date: 2004-05-02
From: Leroy Smith Shelter Campsite 

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up to rain and found that the tarp over our packs had come off. They were soaked. We made good progress and got to wind gap a little before noon. Our plan was to go .1 miles from the trail to get a soda and fill up with water at the Gateway Motel, but we also knew that a pizza shop and Burger King were within a mile of the motel. Our appetites and the gloomy gray clouds overhead caused us to seriously consider the idea of a reasonably priced room at the motel. Ah, yes, a shower, a chance to dry everything out, pizza delivery and maybe even a small hike sans pack to the Burger King and laundry. Too much temptation for two dirty, wet, hungry hikers. So now we watch reruns of MASH football clips, and phone home. The weather report says thunder-storms tonight. Maybe we made a good choice.
Date: 2004-05-03
From: Wind Gap

To: Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a damp drizzly day; lots of rocks, big boulders, little foot-hurting, pointy ones too. Even with all of that we made good time and got to the shelter about 2:45. There were 3 guys, White Feather, Seeker, and Trail Boss. They were just finishing eating when we came. They said this was their 1st outing with backpacking. They went on to tent somewhere close to Wolf Rocks. We just put up our tent in the shelter when a couple of section hikers from WI came. They are staying here too. Fortunately the shelter is big enough for our tent and them or we would have had to take it down and just sleep in the shelter. It¢s warmer with the tent. Tonight is a big chilly. We are going to sleep early in the hopes of a quick start tomorrow and breakfast in Delaware Gap. Then on to NJ. We now have less than 900 miles to go to finish the trail.
Date: 2004-05-04
From: Kirkridge Shelter

To: Backpacker Site- Worthington State Forest 
Miles today: 11.2

We got up with the sun today and were on our way to Delaware Water Gap. The day was sunny and cool and the views of the Delaware River were great. We got to town by 10:00 and were eating a giant sized breakfast at the Delaware Gap Dinner by 10:30. AS we left town, the church bells were playing their noontime songs. We hike on into Worthington State Forest to the backpacker camp site. Actually we missed it at first and got all the way to Sun Fish Pond then had to go back . The trail followed Dunnfield Creek for quite a way during our travel through WSF. This is a really pretty area with lots of small waterfalls and water flowing swifly through the rocks making a deep ravine. At one point it looked like the trees on the sides were growing sideways the banks were so steep. It¢s always a net experience coming into towns. Gary was talking about it the day before as we came into Wind Gap. First there is the silence of the mountains then ever so faintly we begin to hear traffic on a distant highway, then often the town comes onto view in the distance, maybe small buildings and houses, highways with tiny cars and trucks, a ribbon of river running through the gaps in the mountains and across the valley floor. Then as we came closer the sounds start to get louder and sometimes we hear a dog bark or a saw going. Finally the cars get bigger and the highway is there. Then we are back in civilization again.
Date: 2004-05-05
From: Backpacker Site- Worthington State Forest 

To: Campsite before Blue Mountain Lakes Road 
Miles today: 12.0

We got an early start. The sun was out, but from the ridge all we could see was clouds that early in the morning. These soon burnt off and we went around Sun Fish Pond, the southern most glacial lake. It is just beautiful. AS we hiked up from the lake, it started to cloud up a bit. This hike has some of the prettiest scenery we¢ve seen. From the ridge we could see a lake in the valley to our right and river to our left. All along the ridge the valleys are filled with forms of green forests and then the mountains on the other side. We met two sisters and the one sister¢s granddaughter about 4 years old on the ridge. The sisters were 80 and 81 years old and had played in these mountains as children. Their parents had owned a farm near by. They said they wanted to get the little girl out walking young so she wouldn¢t become one of those over weight teens. It drizzled a little off and on today. When we were almost to our camp site we were passed by Enoch the 5th thru hiker we have seen this year. He started from Springer Feb. 15th and has made it this far already. He was planning to go to the shelter tonight because he doesn¢t carry a tent. I hope he made it before the rain hit. We had just finished eating and cleaning up when the skies darkened. We got everything bear bagged and secured then dove in the tent. We could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance. Yep, we were in for a full blown thunderstorm. That has passed, but it is raining pretty hard right now. It was nice of it to wait for us to set up camp and eat first. Thunder in the mountains is neat, it echos.
Date: 2004-05-06
From: Campsite before Blue Mountain Lakes Road 

To: Culvers Gap US 206
Miles today: 12.0

When we got up, we could see the clouds just in the lowest part of the valley below. It was really pretty with the sun shining on the mountains and the strip of white clouds. There were some great views today, especially the view of the lake coming into Culvers Gap. It was a lot of up and down and that made us pretty tired and hungry when we got here. We headed straight for the Sunset Grill when we got here and enjoyed a BIG dinner with apple pie for dessert. Yumm! We found a pretty good place for the tent a short way from the road and are happy and well fed. We met a few other hikers today, Big Bear, April, and Anchor. Anchor has hiked the AT and is now some sections. Big Bear is hiking sections too, she is from WY. They both stayed at the shelter last night and said Enoch made it in just before the storm came. He must really travel fast because ti took up almost all day to get to the shelter from where we camped.
Date: 2004-05-07
From: Culvers Gap US 206

To: Rutherford Shelter Campsite 
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Gary went back to the road this morning on a quest for breakfast while I slept in a bit. It had stormed last night and kept me awake. He was able to sleep through it, but I found that hard when the thunderstorm claps shook the ground where I was trying to sleep.He came back a couple hours later with an egg sandwich doughnut and coffee. It was a pretty day for hiking, but the bugs are bad. The ticks are out too. I found 2 on me today. That is a worry because of Lymes Disease. We stopped at the Mashipacong Shelter on the way here and were surprised by some trail magic from Desperado. He left cookies and alcohol fuel in the bear box there for thru hikers as well as some other things hikers might need. He also left water by the road later on which we were grateful for since the water sources don¢t seem very good. We met two hikers at the first shelter
Date: 2004-05-08
From: Rutherford Shelter Campsite 

To: Unionville, NJ
Miles today: 11.5

We saw the highest point in NJ today and some good views. The trail was pretty, lots of violets and butterflies. The trees are getting their leaves and later in the day, we passed fields ready for seed and pastures covered with yellow dandelions. Tonight we are in a little town called Unionville . We had hamburgers at the local bar and got some other food at the IGA. They let thru hikers camp in their park, so we are tenting here with another hiker, Boy Wonder. He started GA in March. He just graduated from college last year. We are on the border of NJ and NY so when we came into town I guess we crossed the line. This town is one .04 off the trail, so it was an easy stop to get something besides trail food. We will even get real coffee at the IGA deli in the morning. Boy Wonder said he heard it is supposed to rain all day. I hope not.