morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-06-30
From: Harper's Ferry West Va.

To: Gathland State Park/Apple Tree Campground
Miles today: 10.0

Plans do change. We talked about taking a zero day today and healing up. Well...we kind of did. We had lunch in Harper's Ferry, a huge fruit smoothie, and sat under a big oak tree by the water and rested. We decided to move on and do another 10 miles to Crampton Gap and Gathland State Park to spend the night. The walk was uneventful only one 400 ft climb and the rest was just a nice walk. We arrived at a rustic campground and went to the camp store expecting great things...esp to eat...well my supper was a small can of chicken salad and 5 small round crackers and a small bag of potato chips. I did guzzle down 3 mountain dews and 20 oz of water as well. The camp store guy...a nice young man felt a little sorry for us and dropped by a bundle of grapes for us. Nice! Getting ready to turn in...almost hiker midnight. Hey to my girls. I love you all. Body parts are kind of sore but I think overall...considering...all is well. POD out.
Date: 2011-07-01
From: Gathland State Park/Apple Tree Campground

To: Free State Hike Hostel
Miles today: 20.9

Got up early from the tree house...I mean cabin. We left the campground about 7:30 and of course started up hill. Some up and downs today but all in all not too crazy. We reached the road to Boonesboro Md about 10:35 and started trying to hitch a ride into town for lunch. Remember from last night that we didn't have a lot to eat for supper. We finally got a guy to stop and he took us into town and dropped us off at a neat little dinner. They had guns, ammo, and food. We ate heartily and drank plenty of soda. The guy who picked us up was Rudy Simmons and he also said that he had some errands to run and that if he saw us on the way back through he'd pick us back up. Well, he did see us and he did stop. He took us back to his house (which was right beside the trail) and showed us around. Very nice guy...thanks Rudy! We hit the trail again around 1 pm and stopped at Pogo campsite around 4:45 to rest and decide what to do next. After some discussion we decided to do the extra 4.8 miles into the Hostel. Made for a long day for me. My feet are sore! No blisters yet but definitely on the verge. Looking forward to a good night's rest here. The Hostel is great! It's ran by "bonepac" a thru hiker in 2006. Set up is perfect you can tell he's experienced the trail and the needs that go along with it. The hike today was not necessarily strenuous but long and no views! Oh well, we'll see what tomorrow holds. Love to my girlspod out
Date: 2011-07-02
From: Free State Hike Hostel

To: Pen Mar Park
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Another beautiful morning. Slept pretty well and Johnny and I hit the trail about 8:20. It was a day that was short only about 10 miles or so but it seemed that the ups really got the legs pumping. Lots of rocks today. Big ones...little ones...and every size, shape, and contorted position in between. Took some pictures but they won't do it justice. We stopped at Pen Mar park around 12:40 and treated ourselves to a couple of cold sodas each. We sat there in the park people watching for awhile. Finally caught a ride into Waynesboro PA and the local Golden Corral and AYCE buffet. We stayed there about 2 HRs. Then started walking towards town and the hotel. Hitched a ride and made it to the hotel around 4:15 PM. Shower was good and after a little more supper we're back in the hotel resting up for about 18 miles tomorrow. Looking forward to finishing up this section in a couple more days. Lots still to do this summer.Pod out.
Date: 2011-07-03
From: Pen Mar Park

To: Milesburn Cabin
Miles today: 25.7

Lots of rain and storms last night. Good night to be inside. We left the hotel about 7:45 ans started walking back towards the trail. After about 20 mins a couple of young guys picked us up and took us back to the trail head. They were from Greece but lived there in Waynesboro. They were marinating some lamb today. I told them I had an uncle that was Greek and they really went tpout of their way to help us...asking if we needed anything...water etc. Cool. We hit the trail about 8:30. The first 4.5 miles was really easy. Then we hit a 1000 ft up that got our attention. After the climb we took a rest and wrung out clothes. Very humid to start the day. The next several miles was mostly downhill and easy. We hit the last 3 miles before Caledonia State Park and the rocks came back with a vengence. We finished up at the park around 3. We were able to get drinks and food from the concession stand then rinse off and rest under the shade trees. Our plan was tp rest up and do the last 2.6 to the shelter. We didn't get started until about 6:45. We made it to the shelter by 7:45 feeling good. So we talked options. Seems we're always talking options. Not necessarily a bad thing. We decided to go another 5 miles and find a camp spot. That accomplished at least 3 things: (1) got a big uphill out of our way (2) we said we wanted to night hike and (3) it put us in reach of finishing tomorrow if all goes well. We did 25.5 miles today...our biggest day ever. Tomorrow we'd need to do 22.7 to finish this section. We'll see. If we good after the 13 mile stop at the hostel we may go for. If not...we'll just adjust the plan again. It's late 11:15. Hope I rest well. Love to all my girls...pod out.
Date: 2011-07-04
From: Milesburn Cabin

To: Mt Holly Springs Pa. (Pa 94)
Miles today: 22.7

Short night. It was hard to get to sleep last night after our first night hike experience. We were up and walking by 6:45. The first part of the day was pretty easy and we made it to Pine Grove Furnace State Park around noon. It seems this trip there have been a lot more places to get food and drink than in previous outings. Good for me. We sat around for about 2 hours, checked out the hiker museum and started the last part of our journey. The second part of the day was more difficult but all in all not too bad. A couple of small climbs and some more rocks. We made our way back to the highway and our stopping point around 6:45 PM. It was a long day for us... 22.7 miles. We have covered the last 48.4 miles in two days and finished 2 days ahead of our plan.The bigger days really make my feet hurt when we're done. This section has been about 240 miles and we've seen some pretty cool stuff...deer, bear, black snakes, timber rattler, and a couple of turkeys...other than the ones I was walking with It was nice to have my wife walking along for the first 52 miles. Some time together away from distractions was refreshing...at least for me. The last miles were really just making miles. Not a lot to see in terms of views etc...we did meet some nice people along the way. It's always a bitter sweet experience for me. I still say, "the only thing I hate worse than hiking is camping." Yet I continue to come back out. I don't know if I'll ever make to Katahdin or even back for another section. I can say that the experience has been real. Perspective is something that I think we all get "comfortable" with. Being out here definitely allows for a new and maybe more accurate perspective on things...especially the things that really matter.It's a symphony...IPOD out
Date: 2012-04-14
From: Mt Holly Springs Pa. (Pa 94)

To: here we go again
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Getting up and ready to head back to Pa. I know what u are thinking if you've read this far. What can I say. Hopefully by tonight I will have about 9 miles behind me and be updating from boiling springs Pa. More to say then. Pod out.
Date: 2012-04-14
From: mt holly springs, pa

To: boiling springs, pa
Miles today: 13.5

Well here we r again. I'm not even going to try to explain it. We had a good flight to carlisle pa this morning thanks to Chip Bennett. Once we got there we had no idea exactly how we where goingTo get to the trail. Having prayed for provision it came as no surprise that a nice man named Wayne rode up on his lawn mower and offered us a ride ( in his van of course). Thx Wayne we really appreciated it. Speaking of we... It's big daddy and me again. Apparently we just can't get enough pain and frustration from our jobs so we keep coming out here to get more. Just kidding...kind ofThe day was not too bad we're just in sad shape...round while being a shape is not conducive to hiking! The first couple of miles was not bad then came the hills then the last couple were downhill into boiling springs. We walked into town got some supper and are now tenting by the very active railroad tracks! Gotta love it! As always I really miss my family. Love you guys you are the best! Turning in now... Although at 8:18 I am not sure exactly why! Listening for the harmony, IPOD.
Date: 2012-04-15
From: boling springs, pa

To: Darlington shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: moderate rain

Trains, trains...boiling springs is a great place to go thru eat etc but not much can b said for the camping facilities. The trail journal does warn you about the trains but there's really no where else to camp. Oh well getting off the feet for a while is the main thing anyway. Rained off and on thru the night but had stopped by morning. We got up packed up and went in to boiling springs for some bfast. The Caffe 101 diner was right off the trail and served us well for dinner last night and bfast this am. Hit the trail about 8:30 and reached the us 11 footbridge about 11:20 not bad for us (8 miles) I should probably add that it was the flattest 8 miles I've seen on the trail over the last 1100 miles...at least that I can remember. At the foot bridge we went about .4 miles to the Middlesex Diner. It was great. Chicken gyro fries and diet coke. My kind of trail lunch. Then it was back to the trail for the last 6.3 miles most of which were flat as well. The last mile or so was up about 700 feet to the shelter. No real scenery unless you're a big farm land buff so it was really just making miles. Met a couple of nice folks today: Mike a 2010 thru hiker who was hunting mushrooms today and two real nice young men that for the life of me I can't remember their names. Sorry guys you know who u r.  At the shelter by 4:30 and letting things dry out for awhile. I hate this time of day on the trail.  Being still is not my strong suit. I know I know...why do I do it. Hard to explain. It's a nice break from the rat race and does allow for uncluttering of the mind... A chance to tap back into and remember what's really important!Listening for the harmony, 'pod.PS. Miss you girls! Love you bunches !
Date: 2012-04-16
From: Darlington shelter

To: Duncannon Pa.
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

Well where should I start ? The 11.4 miles we did today was at least twice as hard as the 14.3 the day before. Rocks galore! The first shelter we stopped at "cove mtn" was crazy... Aprox half a mile down to it... And I mean down (couple hundred feet) then another approx 250 down to the spring! Would not ever do that again unless I absolutely had to. Good shelter to miss! We did make it back to the trail and the steep downhill to Duncannon Pa. The trail was very rocky most all day and by that I mean you have to constantly look down at where to step and sometimes there's just no good place to step. We are definitely out of shape and feelings all the little "knicks" of 3 days with no preparation! Most everything is sore or hurts so I won't bother to be specific. We've got one more small day until the 18 mile day we have scheduled. Time will tell.  We will certainly be looking for better options. Staying at the Doyle hotel tonight. Pat and Vickie are very interesting and easy to talk to. The accommodations are rural but when you're used to sleeping outside I guess most anything seems better. The food here is very good and they are very hiker friendly.Thanks for all the prayers it does matter. Hoping to feel refreshed in the morning. Sometimes you just have to change the station...IPOD out.
Date: 2012-04-17
From: Duncannon Pa.

To: Peter's Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 11.2

Long night at the Doyle. In addition to the trains again my leg really hurt most all night. Not sure what is wrong just very sore behind my rt knee cap on the back of my leg. Not swollen just painful esp to bend all the way back or straighten all the way out.Anyway got up and had a good bfast across the street and began today's journey. The weather was perfect around 60 and breezy when we started. The 11.2 miles today was not too bad about 700 feet up out of Duncannon then small ups and downs to Peters Mtn Shelter. We got here about 4 and have had supper and some dessert...translation... We had a freeze dried chicken something and a few cookies. Not all that bad I guess. Not sure what we will do tomorrow yet. Playing it by ear and trying to keep going without any real damage.Shout out to Doug Wagner... One of those young men I mentioned earlier in the week. Thanks for signing the guest book on trail journals we appreciate the thoughts and prayers. Others reading feel free to sign the guest book on the bottom left of your page. The message also comes to my phone and it's always  good to hear from you. Guess that's all for now.Podman out.
Date: 2012-04-18
From: Peter's Mtn Shelter

To: Rausch shelter
Miles today: 17.8

Cold last night! My 45 deg bag with liner left me chilly inspite of me putting on most all my clothes and putting my rain jacket around my feet. I was ready to get up and get walking although I dreaded the getting up and getting ready part. The weather today was perfect I actually hiked in long pants and a long sleeve shirt and even occasionally had on my toboggan . Those of you who know me will find that hard to believe.  Speaking of hard to believe... Again those who know us best won't be surprised to hear that we went ahead and did the 18 miles to Rauche shelter( actually 17.8). I know you are shaking your heads but that same craziness is one of the reasons why you love us so much! The trail today was the best so far in terms of terrain. Rocks and roots but nothing crazy. We had one big climb (. About 1100 feet) and the rest was very manageable . We are camping by a stream and have eaten the customary dinner meal... Which is to say for me chicken with rib meat and mashed potatoes followed by a couple of cookies...wash it down with some creek water and you got yourself something....although I forget what disease they call it Looking forward to a short day tomorrow (6 or so) and going into town for food and shower. It's almost hiker midnight( 8 pm) so I am turning in to get cozy for the night. Thanks for all the prayers for big daddy and me we both made it through the day with not much worse for the wear. Hello to my wife and girls... I love you bunches and prayfor you daily!IPOD out
Date: 2012-04-19
From: Rausch shelter

To: Pa 72
Miles today: 6.1

Another chilly night but not quite as cold as the last. Camping by the creek did offer a nice gergling sound to help drown out the overwhelming silence of the woods. Got a post on the guest book from David Martin a fellow hiker we met this week saying hello and that he lives in the area and if we need anything to give him a call. It's pretty cool how the trail and those that choose to walk it have a certain comradery that crosses all other bounds. Giving that some thought I guess those of us who call ourselves Christians should be able to say the same thing about our love for our Savior and for others.  I know mine doesn't always show through!The trail today was pretty easy. We only did 6.1 miles today to Pa route 72. Then called the quality inn and they actually came and picked us up ( just goes to show you you can get a lot of things by asking). Got a hot shower and walked to the Pizza stop 2 for lunch. I had a great chicken sub and lots of diet coke to wash it down and Big Daddy embarrassed us both with an order of a large calzone that would have feed most small countries! Try as he might eating half of it was a major feat. We then went back to the hotel rested and are now washing clothes and planning the supper meal. We both are still feeling the effects of no preparation... Both of us with knee issues and lots of sore places on the feet. We will just have to wait and see  how we feel tomorrow and take it a day at a time. Hope for the best but plan for the worst. Thanks for your prayers and posts they are appreciated...'POD out.Hello to the family. Love and miss you terribly!
Date: 2012-04-20
From: Pa 72

To: 501 shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

Good nights rest at the QI. Up and caught a ride back to trail by about 9. The weather today was great high about 74 with light winds all day. The 11.3 miles we did today was pretty easy overall. We did have one big up (1000 ft) and a few boulder scrambles but nothing too crazy for too long. My leg was great today... a minor twinge late but no pain for most all the day...prayer works... My mom must have called my grandmother ...just kidding!  Johnny's leg bothered him some but he said it was better today than yesterday. At the end of the trail today we ran across some hang gliders and watched them launch off the side of the Mtn...way cool. What a rush that must be! We have hitched into Pine Grove to get BD a knee brace and r now eating a nice hot meal at O'Neals pub. The biggest piece of grilled chicken i have ever seen...and I have a lot of chicken in my day! Excellent. Not sure how we r getting back to the trail at this point but I am sure things will work out. Hopefully we will get 15 in tomorrow then about 9 into Port  Clinton for a planned zero. Rain on the way and cold temps. Will try to stay warm and dry...at least at night.Listening for the symphony...IPOD out.Love to my girls
Date: 2012-04-21
From: 501 shelter

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 23.7

Where to start...rocks, rocks, and more rocks! If I never see another rock in my entire life I will still be up several thousand on most of the planets population. It's hard to describe the trail in"Rocksellvania" I mean Pennsylvania so I'm not going to try other than to say... Well I don't use those words anymore. Ok enough whinning about the rocks. The plan was to do 15.1 to eagles nest shelter then do the 8+ into Port Clinton on sunday. When we got to the shelter it was full...a family was using it for the weekend. So we ate dinner and decided to hike on for awhile and get closer to town for Sunday. Things got a little crazy after that. We knew rain and cold were coming we just didn't know exactly when. When it started we were about 5 miles outside of town with no real options (tenting  was out because of the terrain where we were) so we put our rain gear on and trudged forward. I will spare you all the details but we finished up in a very cold rain in the dark around 9. Our miles for the day ended up at 23.7. Both BD and I faired pretty well physically. We are taking a zero tomorrow. Thanks again to all who are praying for us. It matters!IPOD out...and warm and dry!
Date: 2012-04-22
From: Port Clinton

To: port clinton
Miles today: 0.0

Restful day today. Got up and left port Clinton hotel around 8:30. Started walking towards Hamburg and the Microtel for a day or two.  Very wet and cold weather coming through and after 8 days of walking a little time off seemed like a good idea. I have asked my wife to overnight me my 20 degree bag for the rest of this section so the nights should be much more comfortable. Got showered, did laundry, and ate. Took everything out of the pack and let them dry out. Even though I had my pack cover on after hours of walking in the driving rain it was pretty wet. A piece or two of my clothing also got a little wet and it was in the pack in a "sealion" waterproof bag! Crazy. Will do some shopping tomorrow for a couple days food and other misc items. Glad I am inside tonight. Thanks again to all of you who are faithfully lifting us up in prayer. Believe me we feel it.IPOD out...in a warm bed and well fed.
Date: 2012-04-23
From: port clinton

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Zero day. Not much going on. We walked over to Cabelas outfitter and looked around but didn't buy anything. Then walked over to the wal mart and bought the supplies we needed for the next couple of days. Hopefully we will do a 15, a 17, and an 8 into  Slatington Pa. Johnny's replacement pole should be there when we arrive and we can catch a shower and a good meal. Expecting to feel stronger as we head back out.  Hopefully these first 100 miles have now worked out most of the kinks. We did pass the 1200 mile mark...which is pretty cool. Georgia to Pennsylvania...kinda redefines "within walking distance" lol )Love to all my girls. 'Pod out.
Date: 2012-04-24
From: Port Clinton

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

Back to the trail today after zeroing and letting the worst of the weather pass through. Two good sized climbs today...around 1000 each...otherwise uneventful. The temperature today was about 50 ish with winds from 10 to 20. I put the toboggan on and off throughout the day. Sounds crazy I know but on the ridges with the wind blowing and  me sweating it easily went from nice to a little chilly. Spending the night at the Eckville Shelter. It is nice. Enclosed with flushing privy and solar shower if you are brave enough...I was not. You can actually have food from a local sub place delivered here! We are taking advantage of that. Tomorrow we are planning about 17 and the weather should be the best of the week although it appears the terrain is crazy rocky.  Oh well we'll just have to take it as it comes.Love to my girls! . Pod out
Date: 2012-04-25
From: Eckville Shelter

To: bake oven knob shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: broken clouds

I'm reminded today of the great Socrates who said ,"I drank what?" Not  really I just like the movie reference. It was a long day (17.4 miles) and was really 3 different trails. The first was up about a thousand feet...I know I keep saying that but today I thought maybe I could say it was up 3 + football fields with crazy rocks and roots everywhere you try to step and oh by the way with a small child on your back. Maybe that's a better mental picture. Anyway the first 7 to the shelter was up and very rocky...boulder scramble kind of rocks...then the next 5 miles were like the park...really easy. Then the last 5 or so was over a place called "the knife's edge" and "bake oven knob" these were crazy boulder scrambles with heights very jagged rocks and steep ups and downs.  The most dangerous places I can remember on the trail so far. I think my exact words to BD after the last descent were " Dangerous and stupid". Oh well we made it through and are at the shelter at Bake Oven Knob. BD has a fire going and supper is through...which is to say I have eaten my 2 small cans of chicken salad and 14 accompanying crackers followed by a 3 musketeers and some flavored water. Going into Slatington Pa tomorrow (only about 7 miles or so )to pick up BD's trekking pole and maybe shower and stay. The weather tomorrow is 80% chance of rain with temps around 60. We'll see what happens next. Thanks again for the prayers. They are much needed and appreciated.Love to my girls....pod out.