morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-06-29
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Got up and decided that a stop in town was in order. Port Clinton is right on the trail but didn't have a lot to offer. Hamburg is a 1.7 mile hike but there's a lot there. Given the distance for the day isn't too bad, I thought Hamburg would be the best choice. I did the usual morning routine and got on the trail before everyone else got going. Water was an issue today because there wasn't anything until Port Clinton except for an unreliable spring. So it was load up on water before biting the trail. The hike was really almost on the boring side because there just wasn't a lot to see. I got to the descent into Port Clinton before lunch. It was one of the steepest hills I've seen on the trail. My guide book shows it dropping about 1000 feet in about 0.4 miles. On the way down I met a couple of day hikers who were really struggling up the hill. The only folks not struggle was an older couple who were just taking their time. Their mission was to look for Chestnut trees to get an idea of how many were in the first along the trail. They also did trail maintenance further north and told me how the trail ahead was. As I got down to the bottom of the hill, "C-Spike" caught up with me. We crossed into the rail yard and say down at a pavilion. He wanted to figure out how he was going to get to Hamburg. He ended up taking the busy highway which I wasn't comfortable with. I went to use the bathroom so I had no idea where he was going to eat. I ended up hiking along a trail that connects the two cities together. When I got to Hamburg, I went to Pizza Hut because they had a buffet. After eating there, I went over to Cabelas to get gear. They had hikers set their packs in a special corner so given the fact that rhett wasn't any other packs, I knew that no one else had gotten there. All I really needed was another gas cylinder but I was interested in getting a dry sack to replace the one I was using for my extra clothes. After deciding against the dry sack, I went and paid for the cylinder. When I went to get my pack, I discovered that three others had shown up. I grabbed my pack and went outside to put the had cylinder in and throw out trash. I saw "C-Spike" coming out of the store so I figured the rest of the crew had arrived. We sat down on a bench outside the store and talked about what we each did for lunch. He mentioned that "Hamburgalur" was going to stay in town which it seemed I had heard already. We also started talking about how we were going to get back to the trail. I told him that I was ok with walking back but would rather get a ride. While we were talking, this guy comes up and asks if we were hiking the trail. When we told him we were, he offered us a ride. We couldn't believe it! We got into his car and were back at the trail head in no time. They say the trail provides but this was amazing! The rest of the hike was like the first part. There wasn't a lot to see. There was more water along the way. I got to the shelter area, set up camp and ate dinner. I hung my food and headed for the tent to go to sleep.
Date: 2011-06-30
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

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

I got up early today and got going for a change. I didn't cover a big distance in the morning because I spent so much time at the two overlooks that I came across. The views were so good that I wanted to just sit there and take them in. I also had trouble finding the trail on the second overlook so that cost me a little time also. I headed down the trail a little and stopped at the trail to eat lunch. Mike and Kelli whom I had been crossing paths with over the last couple of days stopped to join me. A little while later, another thru-hiker named "Frosty" also joined us. I was the first one done so I took off for the shelter. Given the mileage I had to cover, I needed to hike quickly. I did stop and enjoy Dan's Pulpit overlook for a while. The rest of the hike was easy except for the rocks slowing me down. I got to the shelter in a reasonable amount of time, set up my tent, cooked dinner and went to bed. Though the afternoon hike was fast paced, the whole day was enjoyable.
Date: 2011-07-02
From: Slatington PA

To: Little Gap/Palmerton
Miles today: 5.5

Last night I noticed that the rash on my left side had gotten bigger. It clearly needed to be looked at by a doctor. The only medical facility was in a nearby town called Palmerton. I decided to get my morning chores done then head over to the medical facility. I went to the laundromat and got my laundry started then went to a nearby diner for breakfast. I then needed back to the laundromat, put the clothes in the dryer and waited. Once they were dry, I packed them up, got my package from the post office then went pack to hotel and got everything packed up and got a ride to the trail head. I went ahead and hiked 5.5 miles to Little Gap. The hike up Lehigh was tough because of the rocks. It reminded me of my rock climbing days at times. Once on to of the ridge, I found a great patch of black raspberries. A little further along the trail, there was a great patch of blueberries. Both berry patches were wonderful. While in the blue blueberry patch, I met a wonderful family who gave me a ride to Palmerton. They also gave me their telephone number and made arrangements to give me a ride back to the trail head in the morning. I stayed at the Jail House Hostel. It was a bunkhouse that was in the basement of one of the city buildings. It was supposed to be the jail house when the building was built but the jail was never finished. The city of trying to build its image as a hiker friendly town through efforts such as the hostel. After getting a shower, I needed to the ER to get my rash checked out. The doctor took one look and told me that Lyme disease was probable. I didn't have any other symptoms and the rash pattern was unusual but she felt that it was still Lyme. I got my antibiotics and a cream just in case it was a fungal infection and headed back to the hostel. I was surprised to say the least. "Shaka", "A-Game", "Vegemite" and I headed to a local restaurant for dinner then, of course, an ice cream shop for dessert. We headed back to the hostel for night.
Date: 2011-07-03
From: Little Gap/Palmerton

To: Wind Gap, PA
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

"Vegemite" and I got up to get to the diner for breakfast. After breakfast, he took off for the trail and I went to the store to get some snacks then went back to the hostel to wait for my ride. While I waited, it began to rain. I felt sorry for all of the hikers who had to tackle Lehigh in the rain. Climbing on wet rocks is tricky business. My ride finally came and took me to the trail head where I got off the day before. The rain had tapered off to a drizzle when I got started. After a while, it stopped completely. Because I had a rash and everything got damp, I decided to head into Wind Gap to get cleaned up and get everything dry again. I hated to spend the money for another hotel room but I wanted to give the rash a chance to heal just in case it was a fungal infection. As it turned out, the first day on the antibiotics causes fatigue which I really felt in the afternoon. I can't say that I remember a lot of the hike because I was so tired. There also wasn't a lot to look at on this stretch, just one overlook toward the end. So maybe it was just one of the boring days of hiking where one must puts in the miles. I finally made it to town, got my room and did laundry once again. I cooked dinner in the hotel room to save a little money on the town stop. Town stops can be fun but one must remember that the food and hotel room can quickly add up to a big bill.
Date: 2011-07-04
From: Wind Gap, PA

To: Delaware Water Gap PA
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up and in the interest of saving a little money, I made oatmeal for breakfast. I packed up and headed got the trail head. As I was making my way there, I ran into several hikers who decided to go to Duncan Donuts. That sound too good to pass up.while we were there, we struck up a conversation with a lady who was interested in our hiking trip. Most of the others headed put of the restaurant leaving just 3 of us taking to the lady. We asked her if she would be willing to give us a ride to the trail head to help us save a little time. She was more than happy to help out. We piled in her car and headed down the road to the trail. Except for the climb out of Wind Gap, the terrain was very level until we got to Delaware Water Gap which was downhill. It was simply a ridge walk with a couple of good views. A bunch of us met up in the shelter before the destination to either snack or have lunch. We got to town just on time to get to the outfitter for miscellaneous gear. I had to replace the tips on my piles and get more propane. After doing that, we headed to the hostel that was run by a local church. They didn't charge but of course asked for donations. "Ladypants", one other guy and I ended up tenting. Everyone else stayed inside the hostel. We all took showers and relaxed a little before going out to dinner. A group of us went to the village farmer which served a few dinner items but had a lot of baked goods. They had pot pies which everyone got. I ended up with the chicken pot pie which was very tasty. For dessert, I had an apple turnover. Afterwards, we sat around and talked. Once we got back to the hostel and settled down, I discovered why tenting was a bad idea. There was a very bright light on the back of one of the buildings that made out difficult for me to go to sleep. I still managed to sleep well but would have stayed in the hostel had I known about the light.
Date: 2011-07-05
From: Delaware Water Gap PA

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

I got up was ready to go get some breakfast. The only person interested was "Ladypants" so we headed down to the diner. We were joined by one other person shortly after we got there. "Ladypants" and I decided to split a side order of scrapple. Neither one of us had ever had it before. Since both of us had been encouraged to try it by people we each knew, we thought we'd go for it. I could tell that "Ladypants" didn't care for it too much so I ended up eating most of it. I thought it was ok but not something I would order again. After breakfast, I got the tent dried from all of the previous night's dew,.packed up and headed down the trail. Getting out of the city was interesting because of the need to cross a major highway. Once that highway was crossed, I was done with Pennsylvania and into New Jersey. The first part of the hike was a long gentle climb back up to another ridge. On the way up, I got to see my first mama bear and cub. They were making their way up the hill to my left. The cub was obviously worried about me but the mama wasn't to concerned. Of course, I froze and just watched them until they got far away. I didn't take a picture because they were to far away. In the past, black bear pictures just tend to show them as black spots in the picture, especially when they're far away. I took my time because of the short distance to the outdoor center. Got to munch on some wild berries along the way. There was a beautiful body of water called Sunfish Pond though it really looked more like a lake. The lake was more acidic than normal so only a couple of species of fish could survive in the water. I met a couple of section hikers named "Gadgetman" and "Pyro". We had a good short talk and I headed on my way. I met them once again on top of Kittatinney Mountain. We chatted while enjoying a great view. We all got to the Mohican Outdoor Center right at dinner time. Everyone got a tent site because they were cheap. I opted for a cabin to get a shower and give my rash the best chance of healing. Later on, "Ladypants" came by to cook her dinner on the stove. We had a nice talk that lasted until past hiker midnight. I was great to get to know her a little better.
Date: 2011-07-06
From: Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Branchville, NJ
Miles today: 17.7

Well when things go wrong, sometimes they really go wrong. Not only was I dealing with the rash/lyme issue, I started to have some tough foot issues. I woke up with some very sore feet with the left foot having blisters in 3 different places. I decided that another town stop with a zero day was needed with Branchville being the place to get some much needed rest. I packed up, had breakfast and took off down the trail. It took sometime for my feet to get to the point where I could hike comfortably. There was lots to take my mind off of the issue with the feet. Of course there was my favorite, the views. It gave me several opportunities to stop and soak in the grandness of it all. Along the way I found lots of blueberries. I had seen them the day before but didn't gather any of them. Today, I got a plastic bag out to fill with berries. After picking what I thought would be enough for lunch and breakfast, I put the bag inside my Nalgene bottle to protect them from being crushed and headed down the trail. For lunch, I did the same thing that I did with the black raspberries. I put peanut butter on each half of some sandwich thins (flat bread), filled one side with berries then put it together for a peanut and blueberry sandwich. Mmmmm, what a treat. Sore feet? What sore feet. I was in heaven at the moment. After lunch, I continued on. There were berries left over for breakfast. The idea was to mix them in with my oatmeal. That was tomorrow morning's treat. I got to Culvers gap around dinner time. The hike into Branchville was long, 3.4 miles. If added to the distance that I hike to the road crossing, it was going to be a very long day! My feet were in pain at that point. Fortunately, I was offered a ride into town. I got a room at the only motel, took a shower and got into my town clothes. The first order of business was to deal with the blisters by draining them. It didn't get rid off the pain right away but I knew it would take care of it by tomorrow. I saw "20 Point" coming in off the trail and asked if he wanted to grab some dinner. We headed to the Mexican restaurant next to the motel. It was a great choice given my foot issues. It was also one of the best Mexican restaurants that I've ever eaten at. We basically hung out there until closing time which at that point, we just headed back to our rooms. I also decided to start taking Ibuprofen at night to reduce the swelling in my feet so there would not be so much pressure when I put my shoes on. The real issue was that my feet have gotten bigger. I have to get new shoes that are larger than what I'm wearing. Unfortunately, there isn't an outfitter until I get to Kent, Connecticut. So I have to manage the problem until I have a chance to get to a shoe store. I ruled out mail order because I'm not sure of the size. For the next 9 or 10 days, it will be Ibuprofen and foot massages to keep the swelling down so I don't aggravate the blisters.
Date: 2011-07-07
From: Branchville, NJ

To: Branchville Zero day
Miles today: 0.0

I got up and decided to have my oatmeal with the blueberries. I didn't want to try to keep the berries too long for fear of them spoiling. I then headed down to a diner to get breakfast. It was quite a walk but my feet held up well. I got back to the motel and just worked on trail journal entries. I've gotten very behind on them so I took the time to start getting caught back up. For lunch, I went across the street to a deli-bakery for a sandwich. I was really surprised at how rude the folks in town were toward me. I assumed it was either just the northern attitudes or dislike of hikers. In both restaurants, the people serving were guilty of this. I've always did my best to pleasant toward people during my town stops to simply let them know there's at least on person in the hiking community that's decent. They at least were ok with me staying there to work on the journal entries. Later that afternoon, I got some cookies and coffee. It would be a shame to not try out some baked goods. It also provide a good reason for me to stay there a little longer. After getting several entries done, I headed back to the motel to recharge the phone and take another shower. For dinner, I headed to the downtown area to have a look around and to get something to eat. All the walking around didn't seem to bother my feet. This was very encouraging. I wanted to get back on the trail and continue the journey. I headed back to the hotel, uploaded the entries I wrote and went to sleep.
Date: 2011-07-08
From: Branchville Zero day

To: High Point State Park
Miles today: 14.5

Woke up feeling very refreshed with my feet feeling much better. Taking a zero was definitely helpful. I made some oatmeal in the motel room with the blueberries I picked a couple of days ago then packed up and headed for the diner for second breakfast. I didn't get more that a couple 100 yards down the road before being offered a ride. The guy was willing to drive me all the way to the trail head but I wanted to get breakfast so he just dropped me off at the restaurant. I hated to pass up on the chance to get a ride to the trail. After eating breakfast, I walked the remaining distance to the trail which wasn't that bad. Once in the woods, I changed into the hiking clothes and headed down the trail. I stopped at the first shelter for a quick snack then continued to Sunrise Mountain. Since there was a pavilion on top, I decided to have lunch there. A ridge runner by the name of "Baloo" came in from the north with his girlfriend Brenda. We talked for several minutes before headed south to go get the car. Brenda stayed at the pavilion because she was a little tired from hiking. The plan was for him to drive the car to the parking area just north of the pavilion so she didn't have to hike too much more. I continued my hike with the rain in the forecast. I was hoping to get the shelter near High Point before it started raining. A little while into the hike, it began to drizzle. I don't mind the drizzle especially when it's hot. I get cooled off and the stuff in the pack doesn't get to wet. I got to the next shelter just to take a break then continued on. There were a lot of shelters along the way. This was very tempting as it would have been easy to cut the day short mileage wise just to avoid the rain. When I got to the shelter before High Point, I really thought about stopping there. I could stay in the shelter itself, keep the tent dry and get out of the rain. With just a little over 4 miles to go, I just kept going. 10 minutes later, the drizzle turned into a hard rain. At that point, it wasn't worth turning around. I just pressed on to High Point. I got to the park headquarters for High Point to see if I could find a porch to sit under and wait out the rain. There wasn't a porch there but a park official said it would be ok to stay at one of the pavilions as long as I set up my tent after the park closed. She said there was a couple already at that pavilion. "Coaster" and "Warbler" had gotten there before the rain really hit so they were fairly dry. I cooked dinner while waiting for 8pm to roll around. We passed the time talking until 8 at which time we set up our tents and crawled in for the evening. I had already spread all my wet stuff on the picnic table in hopes that it would dry before morning. Also, food bags were hung from the rafters which isn't ideal but we thought would be adequate. That was camp for the evening. Strange setup but we were not getting rained on.
Date: 2011-07-09
From: High Point State Park

To: Pochuck Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

The rain finally stopped around 9 last night. In the morning, the area around the pavilion was wet which confirmed that tenting near the shelter would have resulted in a wet tent if I didn't stay in the shelter itself. The air was damp enough to keep things from drying out completely. It was put on damp clothes and pack damp stuff into the pack. After getting everything packed and eating breakfast, I headed down the trail. "Coaster" and "Warbler" must have left shortly after I did because they caught up to me at the wooden tower on top of the mountain. I found out later that the shelter had a large group of kids staying there. It's the organization called outward bound. It is setup to work with troubled kids through outdoor activities like hiking. Last time I was at a shelter with a group like this, it was very noisy until way past hiker midnight. I guess staying at the pavilion was the right move. As I went by the shelter area, I could hear them as they packed up their gear. Most of the hike in the morning was uneventful but easy. The terrain was generally downhill and that way for most of the hike. There was a road crossing that one could take into NY which had a deli shop not to far from the trail. I headed there for lunch rather than do the normal trail lunch. The deli was great. They used very good meats and cheese that were sliced when the sandwich was made. I'll definitely will be having more deli sandwiches while in the area. After eating some ice cream, I headed down the trail. There was almost a mile of road walking on the afternoon. This isn't enjoyable to me. I don't mind the town stops but when I'm hiking, I prefer it to be done in the wilderness. The roads took me to a reserve called the Wallkill Reserve which appeared to be a wetlands area. The trail was routed around the perimeter of the area. After a while, it was back into the woods and the green tunnel that makes up most of the AT. The shelter was one of the shelters that does not have a water source. What was really odd was that the guide book directs hikers to get there water from a house that located near the trail. The closest water source is 0.4 miles south which isn't too bad. I filled up everything I had at the house and hauled it up the hill to the shelter area. I'm grateful for the water source at the house because it was a short distance from there to the shelter. While I was setting up my tent, "Baloo", the ridge runner came by to check on everyone at the shelter. We didn't talk long because he was going to meet his girlfriend at the road crossing near the house where I got water. That night, I was joined by an Australian guy named "Vegemite". I hadn't seen him for several weeks so we talked about our adventures since the last time we met. Hiker's midnight was upon us so it was off to our tents for the night.