morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-21
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Summer SolsticeFor those of you following along my hike in one of the standard AT references, like the Handbook or the Companion or the Data Book, you may have noticed that today I moved 32.9 miles down the Trail, but only credited myself with 16.5 miles for the day. The reason is that I skipped 16.4 miles of the Trail today.The reason for that is that my daughter will be hiking with me for two days next week. By then I will be in Port Clinton, and in the middle of the dreaded 'Pennsylvania rocks'. Not only are these rocks a continuous rock scramble, but they are rattlesnake infested as well. That is not the kind of venue I envision for having a nice walk/talk with my daughter. The gentle slopes of Pine Grove Furnace St Pk will much better fill the bill.I was lucky enough to catch three hitches around the skipped section, and was on my way again after only a 90 minute delay.The Trail today was a mix of mostly smooth, even, surface, with a couple of sharp slopes with boulder hops at the top. The woods were mostly open, and the Cicadas are thinning out so you can only hear them occasionally.Today was the Summer Solstice, the traditional 'Hike Naked' day on the AT. I would have done so, but I didn't have sufficient suntan lotion with me :-). Some of the younger hikers did, though. Right after lunch, I saw a hiker approach wearing only a (strategically long) necktie, along with pack and boots. It turned out to be N R Chi, whom I had met at Miss Janet's. He told me that two couples were hiking naked a little way ahead, Koi and Goldfish (whom I met at The Barn shelter between The Hump and Roan) and Timber and Tumbleweed (I don't remember where I met them). I hustled to catch them the rest of the afternoon, but wasn't able to :-(. When I read their register entries here celebrating their endeavor, I was truly sad.When I got to this shelter at 4, it was empty, so I was looking forward to having lots of space to sleep. But little by little, people drifted in. First Keith, a section hiker who was in his second day. Then Sox, Tree Frog (for whom I was mistaken at Miss Janet's) and Adam, whom I have been leapfrogging with since Front Royal, along with Fire Marshall. Then Bluebell, Little Bit and Moonstone, whom I met just south of Roan, along with Castro, with whom I shared a meal at Kincora. Finally, southbounders Whistler and PK (wearing only a strategically placed hat) stumbled in just as it got dark.I am anything but lonely as I drift off to sleep.
Date: 2004-06-22
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter

To: Harrisburg Pike (Appalachian Motor Inn)
Miles today: 11.9

Halfway! Hurray!!Shortly after I started walking today I passed the halfway point of my mileage on the Trail. No need for any further explanation of that milestone. However, a little ampification may be in order.Until I left Harpers Ferry I was hiking in states I wasn't too familiar with. Because of events in the '60s, particularly a couple of unpleasant incidents in VA directed toward my wife, I have pretty much avoided the South. So the first part of my walk was truly a voyage of exploration and discovery for me. I was surprised by what I saw there, and am looking forward to visiting the South again. This time my eyes will be wide open for what I find there, and I don't mean just biscuits and sausage gravy.Leaving Harpers Ferry was truly a psychological turning point for me. I have lived in 5 of the remaining states (MD, PA, NY, MA & NH), and have driven through two others (NJ & CT) at least 100 times each. So since I crossed the Potomac River I have been having the comfortable and quietly confident feeling of coming home. And because I am not so familiar with VT & ME (and have been nowhere near Katahdin), there is still a tang of adventure in my feelings as well.Today was a short day. And flat too. The only mountain we crossed was White Rocks Ridge, the northern end of the Blue Ridge. For the last 10 miles we have been walking through (or next to) fields, except for about a mile stretch through Boiling Springs (a truly lovely town fitting the description 'quaint').When I say 'us' I mean 8 people from the shelter last night plus the Pokey Puppies, a flip-flopping couple I met just north of Damascus on their second day out. We are all at the Appalachian Motor Lodge just east of Carlisle, PA, because there is no really good place to spend the night between here and Duncannon, which is too far to try to get to today. As a result, with the breakfast I had in Boiling Springs this morning, I will have four town meals in a row without being close to having a zero day.My feet sure do appreciate the smooth trail before those dreaded rocks.
Date: 2004-06-23
From: Harrisburg Pike (Appalachian Motor Inn)

To: Duncannon (The Doyle Hotel)
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: scattered clouds

The DoyleToday I reached Duncannon, PA. I have driven through Duncannon dozens of times since the early 60s, so this is the first town I can say I knew before my hike.Duncannon seems to be one of those many industrial towns that sprung up along the East Coast in the late 19th century, busy enough to be economically viable, but never quite prosperous. The Doyle Hotel is one of the tallest buildings in town, and has undoubtedly seen better days.But it has seen worse days as well. When I started reading online AT journals 4 or 5 years ago, the Doyle was already catering to thru-hikers. Its appeal was its incredibly low room-rate. But those rooms were described in terms of wallpaper hanging from the ceiling and sheets that seemed as if they had never been washed.It has been experiencing an upgrade in the last couple of years, and is run by a couple who really care for their customers. It is still incredibly cheap, so there is no telephone, TV, air conditioning nor private bath, but it is definitely a step up from many shelters we thru-hikers have stayed in over the last few months. The description I heard a couple of days ago seems apt, 'A flop-house, but a clean flop-house'. I certainly don't feel uncomfortable staying here (and the food is good).Today's trail started out easy over the level farmland of the Cumberland Valley. But then it climbed over Blue Mtn (which the Trail follows almost to NJ) and then Cove Mtn before coming into town. The top of Cove Mtn was quite rocky, foreshadowing the Trail for the next 10 days or so. The slope into town was so steep that the pair of shoes I have been nursing since Pearisburg finally gave up and ripped open. Fortunately I have been breaking in a new pair since Harpers Ferry.Tomorrow - The Rocks
Date: 2004-06-24
From: Duncannon (The Doyle Hotel)

To: Peters Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

A Taste of RocksOut of the Doyle vortex. Most of the people I have been walking with didn't make it out, and will spend another day or two there. The attraction is cheap accommodations, good food, and just lying around all day in a relaxed atmosphere with nothing to do all day, including hiking. Hey! Maybe I should go back :-)!Duncannon is supposed to be the start of the Pennsylvania rocks. It sure didn't start out that way. First there was a two-mile flat walk, winding through town and over two big rivers before starting the obligatory climb out of town. The climb was steep, but the Trail was as smooth as could be. Very little evidence of the famed rocks. I even began to have thoughts like "Oh! This is a piece of cake!" by the time I got to the top of the climb.But no hubris goes long unpunished. Within a mile, I got a foretaste of what is to come. For a half mile or so I was hopping from car-size boulder to car-size boulder where the boulders were set at an angle along the top of the ridge, very much like those in Central VA where I took my first turtle way back in March. It was actually quite a bit of fun, though my calves and feet were cramping up a bit at the end.Apparently the trail is mostly dirt and small rocks from hare to Port Clinton, but with a few boulder hops like this morning's thrown in along the way. But on the other side of Port Clinton the rocks are said to become almost continuous, all the way to the Delaware Water Gap.The shelter I am in tonight is very nice, having two levels and probably sleeping near 20. There are 8 people here tonight, 6 escapees from the Doyle vortex, and 2 southbound section hikers.Rocks - Bring 'em on.
Date: 2004-06-25
From: Peters Mtn Shelter

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

BuzzedLots of excitement today! For nearly 2 hours this morning and for a little while this afternoon we were being buzzed by some sort of military aircraft. There were lots of them and they seemed to come sweeping in right over the treetops, a plane every minute or two.Todays walk was almost completely a ridge walk, only dipping down into shallow gaps 2 or 3 times. So when the planes came over, I was right at the top of the mountain. Every time.We never did know what the fuss was about. A section hiker we met thought that they were maneuvers aimed at protecting Harrisburg's water supply. There is a military base nearby, and there is a reservoir at the base of the mountain we were walking along today. A fellow hiker, Blue Jay La Fey, thought that maybe the US had declared war on PA. Most of us didn't believe him, but these days you never know . . . In any case there is no mention of planes in the shelter register here, which is a pretty good sign they aren't an everyday occurence.Tonight's shelter is much smaller than last night's shelter. And not as nice (Except for the spring 20' from the shelter. Last night's was 800' away and about 500' down.). It says it is designed to sleep 12 people, but I think that it will be crowded with 6. So far there are only 3 - me, BJLF and Strider (who is staying in a hammock), all from last night's shelter. We are expecting 3 more from that group, but any more will cause problems. I hurt my knee again, same knee and same way as last time. This time wasn't as bad as last time, but I did take it easy on it for the rest of the day. I figured out how it happened both times. As I was going down hill, with my attention somewhere else, my foot with the weaker knee started to slip. In order to avoid a fall, I quickly brought that foot under me. But the knee was too weak to support me when it was bent so far, so I ended up sitting on my foot, stretching my knee past its comfort point. If my knee were as flexible as my yoga teacher's, there wouldn't have been any problem. My solution, I think, is to not be so attached to avoiding a fall. Both times I turtled nicely and my pack cushioned my fall, so I will just let that happen from the beginning next time.Nature note - no humming of cicadas today. This is the first day I have been totally without that sound since I first encountered it outside of Front Royal.Tomorrow is the 501 shelter, the second shelter on the Trail that you can order pizza from. But no beer :-(.Pizza anyone?
Date: 2004-06-26
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

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

Pizza AgainWalked much of the day with Blue Jay. He has thru-hiked twice and is now doing a section hike from Damascus to his home. He is from upstate NY about 20 miles from Mt Greylock in MA. We found lots to talk about.Just like the last two days, the trail today was mostly smooth dirt, or half dirt, half rocks, with a section of boulder hopping a few hundred yards long. So far the Pennsylvania rocks have not been so bad. I'm waiting for the section past Port Clinton, which is supposed to be almost continuous rocks.This shelter is the second shelter I have been in where you can order a pizza and have it delivered (the other was Partnership Shelter south of Atkins, VA). Here you need a cell phone to order.As I was firing up my cell phone to order, it informed me that I had messages waiting. Indeed there were, one from each of my sons. It seems that on her way here from Texas to meet me and go hiking, my daughter, KT, and her partner were involved in a major accident. Their car was cut off, and in the attempt to avoid a collision the car went into a ditch and rolled over twice. Both were scratched and bruised a bit, but after a quick trip to the hospital both were declared basically OK. Thank goodness!Now they are both sitting in a motel room in some small Texas town, waiting for the weekend to be over so the adjuster can declare their car a total loss. They will not be coming to the northeast this year, and KT will not be joining me on the AT.I was looking forward to spending three days with KT, but now I have a bit of a problem. You may recall that I skipped around the sweetest stretch of the AT in PA, Pine Grove Furnace St Pk, so that KT and I could walk it together. Now that won't happen so there is a hole in my hike. How to fill that hole?I could immediately skip back to PGF and do that section, but that is now 100 mi back and would take support I haven't arranged. And I have other time commitments just up the Trail.I could wait to do it after summitting Katahdin, but I want Big K to mark my completion, and don't want an annoying detail like PGF to be hanging around. The solution I favor now is with Teasenberg. T'berg's nephew and the son of a Russian friend of T'berg have wanted to hike a bit of the AT with me close to DC, but we weren't able to coordinate coordinate our schedules. Maybe now we may be able to in the second half of July. We'll see.No Cicadas for the second straight day. Maybe they're over for this year. I look forward to hearing them again in 2021.
Date: 2004-06-27
From: 501 Shelter

To: Port Clinton (Port Clinton Hotel)
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Port ClintonMileage Countdown: -987.8I pushed the mileage a bit to get to Port Clinton today, where I plan to take a full zero day tomorrow. I did it by breaking my day ino 2 parts. First, I started a bit earlier than my usual 7AM, and walked about 15 mi. I got in to the Eagle's Nest Shelter just after 1PM, took off my boots, had an early supper and took a nap. Then just before 3PM I did my morning stretches for the second time today, treated the hotspots the rocks were causing my toes, put on my boots again, and walked another 8.5 mi, getting to Port Clinton just after 7PM. That strategy seemed to work pretty well, at least for 4 or 5 miles, and I actually felt almost as energetic as I do in the early morning. But then the fatigue set in over the last few miles, particularly on the long, steep hill into Port Clinton. And I sure was feeling my toes as I was coming down that hill, and for the rest of the evening.The trail again today was a mixture of smooth and rocky surfaces, but the rocky parts made up a higher percentage than the last few days. The trail was also mostly gently sloping, though a short but very steep UP section halfway through the second part put an end to my initial burst of energy.Also for the last few days, even though these mountains are not particularly high, there have been some breathtaking vistas of the rolling Pennsylvania Dutch farmland to the south of here. You can be sure that they will be showing up in the photo section in a few weeks.The Port Clinton Hotel is just slightly classier than the Doyle, and since the hotel (believe it or not) is closed Mondays, it was a bit tricky to stay Sunday and Monday nights. But it was arranged. Downstairs in the hotel is a bar and a dining room. They serve the same food in both, but thru-hikers are required to shower before eating in the dining room. I was much too hungry for that, so sat next to the only other thru-hiker in the bar, Diesel, with whom I had shared a shelter way back south of Erwin, TN. He didn't seem to mind my hiker 'perfume', and the food was good and plentiful, so I had a nice meal.And I had no trouble falling asleep after my longest day ever.Milestones:My longest day on the Trail, at 23.7 mi. On the whole it wasn't bad, but across rocks it made my toes more than tingle.I now have less than 1000 miles to go to get to Katahdin. I expect to keep that statistic prominently visible in this journal for the rest of the hike. Yahoooo!!
Date: 2004-06-28
From: Port Clinton (Port Clinton Hotel)

To: Port Clinton (Port Clinton Hotel)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Port Clinton ZeroMileage Countdown: -987.8Today I stayed in bed until after 7:30AM and took my first real zero day since my long break. What that means is that I walked no miles on the Trail, and I walked no miles under loaded pack.But that doesn't mean I didn't walk! In this day of the auto, people think nothing of putting the only diner in town a mile away from the town center. So I walked that mile for breakfast (Worth it for the hash browns alone.). People think nothing of having the nearest supermarket 5 miles away. I didn't walk that, but I did hitch hike, and it only took about 15 minutes and being passed by a hundred (or maybe a gazillion) cars.Then a funny thing happened at the supermarket. It seems there is an hourly bus from the supermarket halfway back to Port Clinton (free for Sr citizens). And I had time to stop at a sandwich shop to get a hoagie to go. On the bus I asked the driver to let me off as close to Port Clinton as possible. Another surprise! There was a bus leaving for Port Clinton in 30 minutes from exactly the same spot where the first bus was dropping me off. In fact there is a bus makin that run 4 times a day!! Now why didn't the outfitter, and the hotel owner, and the post office lady, and the nice lady in the candy shop know that? And to Wingfoot and the people who publish the AT Companion: Are you listening? Why didn't YOU know that?So I got to eat my lunch sitting on the lawn of Cabela's, a huge, upscale outfitters (mostly for hunting and fishing), watching the customers stream in and out and looking at the mountain I came down from yesterday, and the mountain I will climb up tomorrow.I got all my food bought, and stowed in my pack. I got all the things from my bounce box I need, and have packed it up again. I packed up a bit more gear to send home tomorrow when the PO opens. So now I am heading for bed, listening to the rain gently falling in the street outside, hoping it stops in time for me to make a dry hike to the diner a mile away for my breakfast.PS - I am dropping two mail stops: Delaware Water Gap, since I will be getting there Saturday afternoon of the three-day weekend; and Bear Mountain, since I just realized they are only open 8 - 10 in the morning. I am having any mail sent to either of those places forwarded to the Kent, CT, mail drop.
Date: 2004-06-29
From: Port Clinton (Port Clinton Hotel)

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

More RocksMileage Countdown: -972.6Same mistake, but worse. Always when leaving town the pack is heavy, with several days worth of food in it. Always I overbuy and have more than enough to get where I am going. This time I was planning to have food for the three day hike to Palmerton, but find I have 5 days worth so will probably stretch it out and go all the way to Delaware Water Gap before shopping (especially since this shelter has a number of food items available, so I didn't lighten my food bag as much as planned :-(. ). It's hard to believe I'm that close to NJ.So as I headed up the steep hill out of Port Clinton, this new, lighter, backpack was holding its heaviest load ever. But since I didn't have all that far to go today, I just kept up a slow and steady pace, and eventually got used to the load.The Trail had even more rocks today than previously, but even so, there were long stretches that were nearly rock-free, and many rocky stretches had enough soil that you could walk mostly on that. On the other hand, today had many more boulder hops than previous days. And there were more rocky outcroppings where you got great view of the farmland below.At one of the overlooks I met a local fellow who pointed out the places I would be doing in the next few days - Bake Oven Knob where I expect to be tomorrow; Lehigh Gap, where the zinc smelting superfund site with its denuded hillside is; Wind Gap, just a day's walk before Water Gap. I felt a certain awe to realize I could walk to the farthest point on the horizon in 3 or 4 days.I heard cicadas again today for about 15 minutes as I was climbing one of the outcroppings. So I guess they're not quite through yet.
Date: 2004-06-30
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Yet MORE RocksMileage Countdown: -955.2I think we're finally hitting the Pennsylvania rocks. There were several extensive boulder hops today, most notably Knife Edge (a couple hundred yards of car-size rock slabs set at a 45 degree angle along the spine of the ridge), Bear Rock (which to be fair was on a side trail), and the descent from Bake Oven Knob (which also lasted for hundreds of yards). I found them mostly fun, but actually fell and got a bit scraped up on one of the minor boulder hops I was being overconfident, and leaping from boulder to boulder with abandon since the soil was less than 3' below me, but on one landing I didn't sufficiently compensate for my pack weight, so after an ungainly dance I finally tipped over and brushed a couple of boulders on the way down.As usual, the boulder hops were connected with stretches of forest road. However, today the proportion of head-size rocks was more than previously.Tomorrow is Lehigh Gap and beyond that the famous superfund site where square miles of the mountaintop were denuded of vegetation by zinc smelting operations early in the last century. I haven't yet decided whether I will spend the night in Palmerton (in the town jail which is used as a hiker hostel), which is at the bottom of the gap, or climb up the other side, pass through the superfund site and try to make the next shelter. Stopping at Palmerton is a much shorter day than I want to do, going to the next shelter is much longer.I saw a fawn today. It must have been lying within 5' of the Trail but didn't move until I was right besde it. Then it bounded away through the trees too fast for me to get my camera ready. It was far bigger than the fawn I saw in the Shenandoah just 3 weeks ago, but it still had its spots so must have been this year's fawn.Come on Rocks! Make my Day!