morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-11
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter

To: Darlington Shelter - In my tent
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: moderate rain

Well, another day is done. I¢m sitting in my tent journaling, to get away from the bugs (the mosquitos are finally out¢¦ In force!). Today was a weird day, most of it hiked in fields, pastures, muck, mud, cow shit & piss, and most of it in the sun. Instead of a road walk (14 miles), this section is now a very flat pasture & field walk¢¦ It still sucks, too flat, lots of sun, and no water for 10+ miles of it (and cow crap for a big section of it). My feet hate walking flat all day, always pounding the same spots. Now back to my day. A nice hilly, then flat 3-4 mile walk into Boiling Springs for second breakfast. Bacon Egg & cheese croissants, coffee, milkshakes¢¦. Yumm¢¦.. Then we sat around the ATC office in town (rest, fill up on water), and back on the trail for more boring hiking. Sunny & flat fields & pastures, mud mixed with cow crap/piss¢¦ There was NO way around it. I was shit out of luck¢¦ After 10 more miles (and the worst of the cow crap, we took a break at an AT trail crew barn, complete with COLD well water, a six star port a john (it had it¢s own TP & purell) and a picnic table. My feet were aching from the HOT pounding today, and my head was hot (dehydrated). I drank a gallon of water so far today, but needed lots more. After our break, we hustled up the trail to the Darlington shelter (a small, crappy, dumpy shelter). Did I mention that Wench really flies up the trail? Double that on flat ground, she runs! We did 18.2 miles in 8 hours (this included a 1.5 ¢ 2.0 hour stop in Boiling Springs!). She pushed us to warp speed, wow! At the shelter, we ate quickly (bugs were out), talked a bit, then I jumped into my tent to escape the bugs, I¢m dreaming of Duncannon (mail drops, beer, a bath, beer, time to relax, beer, food, beer).Only 12 miles or so to town, maybe in time for a late lunch. Note: My head frequently got very hot today. I was overheating in the sun (the water was limited, so I didn¢t drink enough). I need to do better in the future. Drink my fill of water when it is available¢¦. I never did get the hang of this¢¦ I was thirsty all the way to Maine¢¦Yes, we made it to Duncannon on the 12th & had our beer.. It was good. I¢ll tell you about it later¢¦. Life is good!
Date: 2003-06-12
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, Doyle Hotel
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

Well, I am in Duncannon, PA. so far ahead of schedule that my mail drop schedule is now useless, without a calculator. Feet are surviving so far, life is good. Drinking .75 cent drafts at happy hour to celebrate completing half of the trail. Will be near NJ in a week or so, then will stop in to visit family & church friends for a day or so (end of June sometime). This trip is unbelievable,soon we'll be in New England!!! Well, back to the bar... Enjoy all!!6/12/03Start: Darlington Shelter (tent)Dest: Duncannon, PA (Doyle Hotel)Miles: 11.4We packed up early & raced to Duncannon, beer was on our brains! We did a rocky 11+ mile hike & got to the Doyle Hotel by 11:30. En route, we stopped for water at a shelter (a steep down hill trail, as usual.), took pictures of Duncannon at a rocky overlook, fell on a steep down hill section of rocks (I¢m so graceful.. It REALLY hurt¢¦. Sniff, sniff¢¦), and got trail magic as we came out of the woods. A cooler of ice & drinks, courtesy of Trail Angel Mary (trailangelMary@aol.com). AWESOME! It made up for turning my ankle inward (Yow!) on the rocks a few minutes before. After a ¢Rave¢ sports drink, we all walked into town, took pictures of the Doyle & checked in. A cool place¢¦. Cheap Yeungling drafts, DSL internet access, good food & cheap rooms. We ate lunch & dinner there, read the paper, Yahoo news, email, talked to other thruhikers & the Doyle owners (good people, they really like hikers. Her trail name¢¦ ¢Queen B¢ - stands for bitch she says). A busy day, laundry, beer, eat, more beer, got mail drops, fell down the stairs carrying mail drops, napped, more beer, resupply¢¦.. It was a cool town to hang out in. I sat around my room, talked to my wife about my next mail drop, organized my gear & finally fell asleep to trains & street lights.
Date: 2003-06-13
From: Doyle Hotel - Duncannon, PA

To: Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

6/13/03Start: Duncannon, PADest: Peters Mountain ShelterMiles: 11.4We got up this morning & ate breakfast at Jodi¢s caf©, then got my boxes to mail out & headed for the Post Office. I made it part way down the stairs before I over stepped on & almost fell on my ass. I slipped down a few steps on my bad ankle, a nice way to start Friday the 13th¢¦.It got better, I mailed my boxes, packed, left the Doyle, picked up odds & ends at the store & hit the trail¢¦ sort of¢¦. The trail is on the road for a mile or so, we said hi to lots of locals on the way out of town. A Methodist lady told us what they offered hikers, a local guy with a big wooden bear in his yard talked to us, told us about a friend of his that was a hiker, maybe we knew him¢¦. Funny, I forget the friends name, but it was someone I met at an ALDHA (Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association) gathering (hiker get together). Finally we got over a big bridge over the river & into the woods, headed UP hill. It was STEEP & rocky for a while, then fairly easy, but I could feel all the beer & burgers I had at the Doyle (rumbling around in my gut). We had lunch at the Clarks Ferry shelter, relaxed a bit, then moved on. At the big rocks by the power lines after the shelter, we saw Rattle snakes. Wench & ¢the Kid¢ called to me from the rocks to see if I wanted to see the snakes. I went up & looked at the 2 big rattlers, then I said, ¢And what about that one & that one?¢. There were 4 big rattlers there, and they had only seen 2. Suddenly we all started looking around us more to see if there were any close by that we had missed. Cool, we took pictures, then moved on¢¦ Damn they were big¢¦ They were on my mind a lot for the rest of the day, I was looking very close at the trail ahead as I walked! When we got to the Peters Mountain shelter, Mule Paparazzi, & B-Roc were there. They were supposed to be doing a 28 mile day, but stopped here ( at 11 miles) because there were 27 people at this shelter lasty night & they didn¢t want to have to fight for shelter space if they caught up with the group. Funny, we are 1 day behind a large group of hikers, and 7 of the people in that group started the same day we did, March 1st. ¢5 alive¢, ¢Lites Shoe¢, and one other hiker. At this shelter are: Dirty Bird, Fidodido, Mule, Paparazzi, B-Roc, Wench, Hotdog, The Kid, Sunpig & Prince William (P Willie). There is 151 Rum and some Vodka to drink, but not much drinking going on, just thruhikers sitting around & Bsing¢¦ A slow night. Thruhikers are a strange bunch, but fun. Hmmmm¢¦ There were 4 snorers on the bottom level at the shelter.. A symphony!!!
Date: 2003-06-14
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: 1 mile past Rawsch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.5

1011.2 miles to go! Almost under a thousand¢¦ Counting down is more fun than counting up. My right ankle & foot are worse, I keep twisting them. I need to slow down and take days off to let them heal (something I wasn¢t very good at on this hike). I hope they last until next weekend, no hiking for 72 hours when I go to NJ to see family. That will be a ¢time off¢ record! It will be all driving, relaxing & drinking¢¦ Well, maybe¢¦ But NO WALKING!! Today was a long, but fairly simple day. 1 major climb, not too steep¢¦ the rest fairly level. Saw 3 more rattle snakes today, sunning themselves. Got within 2 feet of 2 of them (with my head), before I saw them¢¦ Yikes!!! I jumped off the rock I had climbed up on. I was trying to sneak up on the first rattler we saw to take a picture ( I climbed up on a rock to get a better angle for the shot, but I forgot to look at the rock next to my head first.. oops..). Fastest I moved on the whole thruhike¢¦ But it was pretty cool! We saw 7 rattlers in 2 days, and 2 of them rattled at us (must not like cameras in their faces..). Paparazzi saw one up close today. He was hiking alone, and he almost stepped on it on the trail. He saw & heard a huge rattler as he was about to step next to it & put his pole on it. He hates snakes!!! He jumped back & yelled, then tried to get it to move off the trail. No luck, he had to walk around it (thinking about all its relatives waiting to bite him as he bushwhacked around the snake). He just about RAN to catch up with us, he told us he almost died. Pretty funny (well, it was to the rest of us). We all walked right past the snake I guess & never saw it. We walked through that piece of trail a few minutes before he did. Hmm¢¦ Aside from the snakes, it was a no brainer day, autopilot walking (except for twisting my foot again). We hiked to the next shelter (past slag piles & level paths (used to be a mine railroad) that was supposed to be big enough for 12, and saw it only fit about 7-8. Instead of trying to cram ourselves in, we got water and hiked another mile or so & tented in the woods off the trail (Broc, Wench & I). It may rain, but so far it¢s holding off (thunder in the distance). The bugs are thick, but the Deet is keeping them about 4-6 inches off my face & head (and I only ate a few). It was a hot humid night, not good for being in a tent, but we¢ll manage. We got in our tents at about 7 PM to get away from the bugs, so now it¢s rest, journal, read, then try to sleep. Tomorrow we will have less than 1,000 miles to go. Happy flag day Ted!!! Life is good. Note: No phone service here, can¢t tell people I am coming to NJ next weekend. I told the people at my old church (Bishop Janes United Methodist in Basking Ridge, NJ), but no one else yet. I think we must be near a harbor here¢¦ It got foggy last night, and Wench swears she heard a fog horn blast¢¦ (hmmm¢¦. did I do that?).
Date: 2003-06-15
From: 1 mile past Rawsch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: overcast clouds

We got up & hit the trail at about 8:30. We hiked up & over a mountain, then down to the big, old Iron Bridge over Swatara creek (it used to be a car/horse bridge, it was moved to this location as a foot travel only bridge). I ran out of bridge at the dirty creek, hoping that there was a spring ahead somewhere to fill up with good water¢¦ Phew, there was. I drank 1 liter the 1st 5 miles, 2 liters the next 7 miles, then 1 liter the next 4 miles (I needed lots more than that). We saw a huge snake again today, a big Rattler!! Someone left a note saying, watch out for the 2 big snakes ahead!! I hate when people do that, warning us about 2 big snakes & we can only find one¢¦ Boy did we step carefully through that section. We had a couple nice views, but otherwise the trail all looks the same, a bit boring, but OK. We hiked past a nice escarpment viewpoint, where lots of people were gathered checking out the view (Why does the trail go DOWN to viewpoints in this area? Hmmmm¢¦), then we hiked up to the pass at route 501. As we got to the trailhead parking lot, a pizza guy was just dropping off dinner for some of the people at the 501 shelter (I love delivery service at shelters). But we decided to hitch into town (10 miles), and eat at Mcdonalds (Love that dollar menu). We convinced a guy & his kid to give us a ride to town in his pickup truck. It took a while for him to say yes, he couldn¢t understand that we wanted to ride in the back (he didn¢t want us IN the truck), but he finally said yes & took us right to McDonalds. We got a little worried when we realized that there were 2-3 places on the way to town we had to turn at (worried about getting a ride back to the shelter). Smell the burgers¢¦ We are here!!! I had a double Quarter Pounder with cheese, Huge fries, a big drink, a McFlurry, 2 pies, then a soda later at the gas station across the street (after our failed first attempt at getting a ride back). I am FULL.. Sort of¢¦ It took us about a half hour after that to get a ride back to the trail, but it was from a woman & her son (in a pickup) who wants to hike the trail some day. We talked to her about the trail, answered her sons questions, then thanked her & went to the shelter (a fully enclosed building with running water, a solar shower, and a port a john. We relaxed, talked, journalled & went to sleep (bunks). My foot is feeling OK, no sprains today. Rattler total: 8 in 3 days. I missed Trail Trooper, he was drinking wine at the William Penn shelter with Jan¢¦ Darn. Oh well, life is still good. On to the Eagles nest shelter tomorrow. We have less than a thousand miles to go!! 994.8!! At the shelter: Dirty Bird, Fidodido, Sunpig, P Willie, Texas Jack, Jackie & John (¢not the Kennedys¢), Wench, Hotdog, Mule, Paparazzi, B-Rock. Boy it got cold as down approached.. Brrr¢¦
Date: 2003-06-16
From: 501 Shelter

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was another boring day, more rocks, woods, rocks, woods, but also one good view. Pennsylvania is getting sort of boring, after the Blue Ridge, SNP, Harpers Ferry & such. I¢ll always remember it though, because of the Rattlesnakes! And nope, we didn¢t see any more today. Today was a nice hiking day, sunny, cool breezes, low humidity¢¦ and rocks!! The miles just rolled by on autopilot, we were at the next shelter (15.1 miles later) by 3PM. Sigh.. Now what? Eat of course!! I think I gained back a few pounds since Harpers Ferry (when I was down 38 pounds to 184¢¦ hmm, about where I am now, in November). Now I feel like I am closer to 190 (I was wrong¢¦), but you never know. I eat all the time, but still put in the miles & use all my fat reserves up. I¢ll check my weight in NJ when I take a few days off. Can¢t wait to get off the trail for a while & stay off my feet. Too bad I¢m missing Naked hiking day, I could have given people something to laugh at. Then again, there are some places I really don¢t need to get sun burnt¢¦ Nothing exciting to report today, my right ankle still hurts (and other parts of my foot too), but mostly after I stop hiking, not during. I still smell, my clothes still smell toxic, I still eat a lot (as we demonstrated at McDonalds yesterday). Mostly the same crew at the shelter tonight, except for P Willie, Mule & BRoc, they hiked on to Port Clinton. We¢ll be there tomorrow, maybe stay there at the hotel & have a beer, maybe go to Hamburg & resupply, catch a movie, get fast food.. Who knows? I¢ll keep you posted. Note: Hitchhiking sucks, you feel like an idiot with your thumb out for 12 hour, with people staring at you. But once you get s ride, it¢s OK. You go ¢cool¢, and the people who pick you up are sometimes hikers & that¢s cool too. Life is good.
Date: 2003-06-18
From: Port Clinton, PA - Pavillion

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

Well, the hiker pavilion is located by busy route 61, so we had traffic noise all night, but I still slept well (ear plugs). It was a rainy but warm night, only cooling off at about 5AM. We finally got up at about 7:00, packed up, hid our packs & walked a half mile to 3C's family restaurant for breakfast. Y^ummm... Good coffee and a bihg breakfast. 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, 2 french toast, toast, and potatos. We finally got back on the trail at about 8:45, groaning all the way. Soon, we started our short steep climb for the day... Huff, Puff... not so bad. It was a nice cool day to hike, and no real biews, so we did it fast. We ate lunch at a shelter en-route, took a break at Pulpit rock (no view, just clouds), another view at the Pinnacle (partial view here). Lots of rocks today, with more to come, but we also had some sweet smooth trail (and that makes up for it). Hiked into the shelter (more like a 4 sided shed with bunks), then hit the snack refridge - ice cream, soda, candy. Nothing like ice cream sandwiches & soda after a days hike. Wench & I sat around a bit, then in came Sunpig, Dirty Bird, Fidodido, & Paparazzi (they slacked today, after getting trail magic last night). Then Michelle & Brian came in and we all ssat around eating & BS'ing. According to the shelter register, "Ben", who was slacking with Liteshoe yesterday, fell and broke his wrist in 3 places (he fell near pulpit rock on a rocky section of the trail). He hiked 8 miles to get to the shelter & went to the hospital. He was carrying a pack for a woman hiking with liteshoe, who was worn out. No further word yet, except that he has a cast. My excitement for the night, was sitting around reading National Geographics from 1961 - 1965. Cool car ads... But now I'm sad... Wench just left to visit with her mom, her sister, and 2 nephews (Sam & Tristen). This is really great for her, she misses her family, but sad for me, I will miss her. We've hiked together for more than 100 days, sniff... sniff... So with quick hugs from Wench & her mom, they were on the road to a hotel. It will feel funny, hiking alone, but I should do more of it. Hopefully we will run into each other & hike together again soon. I'd really like to summit Katahdin with her & Teds flag. We've been through a lot together. As I am journaling, Sunpig is killing big spiders by his bunk, and yelling like a school girl...Life goes on... We'll see what tomorrow brings. I can't wait to get my rental car & drive to NJ (it will be so weird to have a car for 3 days).
Date: 2003-06-19
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: light rain

Today I did 17.4 miles, but it felt like 40!! Lots of rocks. Big ones, little ones, sharp ones, dull ones, SLIPPERY ones, fall on your ass ones. I had little rocks under my feet, medium rocks to hop between, big rocks to slip on, huge rocks to climb... A tough day. I started out at 8:20, alone.. One of the last people out of the shelter. But I was moving pretty good, and over the course of the day, I passed everyone (as amazing as it seems). I guess Wench helps keep me from going too fast on the level & downhill sections, today I just cruised!The climb for the day, wasn¢t so bad. The views started out foggy (Dans Pulpit), and got better (Knife edge & Bear rocks). Bear rocks was a fun place to climb boulders & jump around (I dropped my pack & climbed up to check out the views). Lots of sun & no snakes, it doesn¢t get any better than that. But finally, I got up & continued down the trail (it looked like rain was coming). I got to the shelter at 4:20, 17.4 miles done. I found a book there & laid back to read for an hour or so. In a while, Dirty Bird & Fidodido showed up, then after the downpour started Michelle, Brian, Paparazzi & Sunpig showed up. The shelter is a pit, a rundown piece of shit from 1937, but it¢s dry (that¢s all I ask for in a downpour). And the spring is good, and close by. Tomorrow I have 7.5 miles to Lehigh gap (route 248) then I have to get to the rental agency (or call if it¢s rainy). Then NJ!! But now I sleep & dream of time off the trail.
Date: 2003-06-21
From: NJ

To: NJ
Miles today: 0.0

After coffee, Bacon, Potatoes & an omelet, I hit the road. Note: I weighed 181 when I got to NJ (down 41 pounds), now I weigh 188 (Sunday morning). I¢ve been eating pretty good since I got off the trail (and no walking!). I took my son to lunch, where he was amazed that I could eat more than he could. Then we shopped at an outfitter & got a new summer sleeping bag (Lafuma ¢ 40 degree down bag. One pound & a few ounces). Lets see, then we had ice cream (I ate mine and half of his), then snacks (I had pie & candy bars, he just groaned), then a movie (Bruce Almighty ¢ Pretty funny), then I had more beer & went to bed (I think I ended every day this way). A good day, but not an exciting one to write about. I went to bed very late, I may have to go back to the trail to get some sleep¢¦ LOL!! It was fun talking to my Brother & sister In-Law about the trail.
Date: 2003-06-22
From: NJ

To: NJ
Miles today: 0.0

Another ¢rest¢ day¢¦ I got up early & went to my old church for their Sunday service. I got quite a treat, an African children¢s group was putting on a concert that morning. They were children from Uganda who lost parents due to aids & war & were taken in by a Christian group & brought up with sponsor & foster parents help. They were amazing kids. Reverend Dutcher gave me honorable mention, that I was visiting as I passed through on my Appalachian Trail hike (I got to stand up to rousing applause). I got to talk to friends from church, then eat lunch with the children (I never say no to food). Later, I stopped by my sisters house & said hi to the whole family (most of the kids were leaving when I got there, to go to a local minor league baseball), talked to her & her youngest (Elizabeth) for a while, then went to my Niece¢s High School graduation (I embarrassed her a bit by yelling loud & often). The rest of the day was more food (Bar BQ) and more beer. Another late night (I really will have to sleep on the trail). Note: My brother made me more of his killer jerky (reat stuff, I ate it pretty fast, along with the steak leftovers I brought back with me)!
Date: 2003-06-23
From: NJ

To: Palmerton, PA (Borough Hall)
Miles today: 0.0

Well, everyone was up early for work, so I was on my way back to the trail early. I spent most of the day getting the lay of the land around Palmerton (where the stores & such were). I was glad I was able to help one thruhiker, while I still had my car (took him to K-Mart to shop, then dropped him at the trail). Then I shopped for my own food, checked into the Borough Hall at the clerks window (they let thruhikers sleep in the basement), journalled, & waited for Wench would show up (it turns out we are getting back on the trail in the same place). I better go through my gear to be sure I didn¢t leave something in NJ, or forget to buy something. Hikers at the Borough Hall: Hiking Viking, Texas Jack, Trail Frog (sore feet), Trog, and others I forget already. At about 4PM I said, hmmmm¢¦. Wench isn¢t here yet, I wonder if she is lost (it took me a while to find the place)? She was¢¦ I was sitting out in front of the building in the shade reading, and the next thing I knew, some tourists in a minivan were driving by gawking at the buildings! It was them! They were looking for the Borough Hall, so I waved them down. After some hello¢s & good byes, Wench checked in & we went to Berts Steak house for dinner (Chicken Ranch Wrap, Chips, French Fries, Perogies, Cherry Sundae & a cookie.. Ahhhhh¢¦.). Now I¢m worn out, it¢s journaling & off to bed for me.