morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-15
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 19.4

Fathers Day. Crossed 1,100 miles. I felt surprisingly ok last night and today despite eating a half gallon of ice cream yesterday. I woke up at 5AM and was on the trail by 6AM. It rained last night but had stopped by this morning. Even though I am not much of a morning person, now that it is summer it is nice to get out on the trail for a few cool hours before the day warms up. I hiked about 10 miles to a road crossing with a small general store 0.2 miles to the east by 10AM. I stopped there for a turkey bacon sub, which I think may have been the best sub I've had on the trail so far. After that I hiked another 10 miles or so, with the last mile or so through farm fields to Boiling Springs (so named for the bubbling spring, not because it is actually boiling hot) by 2:30PM. The last part of the day, while I was still in the woods, was accompanied by a high pitched whirring noise which I have been hearing the best few days. Must be some sort of locust or moth or something. Either way, today it was loud enough for me to hear over my Ipod. Sounded kind of like nature's alarm system. Anyways, I've been to Boiling Springs before since I used to live in this area. My friend Carrie from school met me here and took me to her parents' house for a father's day cookout. I also got to watch the last of the US Open. For dessert there was strawberry shortcake with ice cream. I politely declined the ice cream, but still had three helpings of strawberry shortcake. As always Carrie and her family did an excellent job of making me feel at home.
Date: 2008-06-16
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: Darlington Shelter, PA
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

Carrie dropped me off at the AT office in Boiling Springs at 8AM and I was on the trail by 8:15AM. It was sunny and warm most of the day but not overwhelmingly hot. I hiked most of the day through farm fields and horse and cow pastures across the Cumberland Valley. It was a nice break to be out in the open for a change. I got to this shelter by 2PM after making the climb up out of the valley and back onto the Blue Ridge. When I got here I watched a four foot long black snake slither into a hole in the base of the tree in front of the shelter. A few minutes later a mouse, holding a baby in its mouth and two other babies hanging on to it, came running out of another hole in the tree base and over under the shelter. Myself and another hiker named Seeker put rocks over the holes in the tree base to keep the snake blocked in, but not long after the snake found a way out and has since slithered underneath the shelter. It is starting to cool off a little bit up here and I'm not sure if I am going to tent or stay in the shelter (probably tent, as I do not want to sleep over a snake). Tomorrow should be a short day into Duncannon for a stay at the infamous Doyle Hotel.
Date: 2008-06-17
From: Darlington Shelter, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: broken clouds

Well two big thunderstorms came through last night at 7PM and 11:30PM. I was a little concerned by the first one because the wind knocked a dead tree branch to the ground not far from my tent. I was so tired that the second storm barely woke me up. This morning as I was leaving the shelter area a black cat darted across the trail. Good thing it was not Friday the 13th. I descended Blue Mountain and walked through some fields with grass that was up to my chest. The grass was wet so my socks and shorts got soaked. The maintainer here really needs to get out here and cut this grass. Good thing it was wet or I probably would have been covered in ticks. I ascended Cove Mt. where the trail became more rocky along the ridgeline. An omen of things to come. I took a twenty minute break at Hawk Rock, which has a good view of the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers. Then I descended into Duncannon getting here a little after noon. I stopped and had a chicken parm sub at a pizza place and then came to the Doyle Hotel. This place is over 100 years old and looks as though it has never once been repaired or renovated in all that time. But this is what makes it famous and adds to its character. As well as the fact that the first level is a bar. I think just about everyone staying here tonight is a hiker. Three of my friends from the area came out to visit me here tonight and have drinks. It was a good time and glad I got to see some people from home.** Note ** - This is the first day I met Creek Diver. I saw her the next few days until I got off the trail for a few days at Port Clinton. I hiked with her again from Manchester Center, VT to Rutland, VT, and then hiked with her again from Galehead Hut in the Whites to Katahdin.
Date: 2008-06-18
From: PA 325 Clarks Valley

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Trail angel Mary slackpacked us out to PA 325 where we hiked back to Duncannon for another night at the Doyle. Last night was a lot of fun hanging out with friends from home and all the hikers staying there. Today we got on the trail at 11:00AM and climbed up Peters Mt. From there we were on the ridgeline until dropping down to the Susquehanna River and crossing the bridge back into Duncannon. It was a little rocky up there but not too bad. The weather threatened rain most of the afternoon but we escaped with only a few drops. On the ridgeline I saw a really old shelter originally built by Earl Schaeffer of York County, the first person to thru-hike the AT back in 1948. Now I am back in the Doyle watching the Phillies/Red Sox game. Two more days and I should be back in Berks County.
Date: 2008-06-19
From: PA 325 Clarks Valley

To: Rausch Gap Shelter, PA
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

Saw Superchunk in Duncannon last night. First time I've seen him since about my 5-6th day out in Georgia. Trail angel Mary dropped us off at the trail head at PA 325 at 11AM. The trail today was fairly easy and not too rocky. The trail went through an area called St. Anthony's Wilderness. There used to be an old mining community located here in the 1800's but everything is overgrown now and there are only a few remnants of the village. Just goes to show how quickly things can return to nature I suppose. This was one of the few sections in PA that I had not previously hiked so it was new to me and that was refreshing. Re-hiking some parts I've already done in PA has been a little boring at times. I got to this shelter at about 3:30PM and decided to tent tonight. Also here are Bearpack, Bearbait, RJ, Creek Diver, Thinker, Lotus, Turtle M and Turtle D, D and J, Chief, and two flipflop hikers who started at Harper's Ferry, Shelter Monkey and Foot Juice/Snake Whisper.
Date: 2008-06-20
From: Rausch Gap Shelter, PA

To: 501 Shelter, PA
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: scattered clouds

First day of Summer. Back in Berks County. And less than 1,000 miles to go to Katahdin as of the end of today. Wow. That makes it seem a lot closer for some reason.I had a pretty good night's sleep in my tent last night and woke up to the coolest morning in about a month. It felt great. Started the day hiking through some more ruins in Rausch Gap, including an interesting limestone filtration system, before ascending Second Mt. After that I descended into Swatara Gap. Crossed Swatara Creek and I-81 for the 4th and last time on this hike. Ascended Blue Mt. for what felt like the steepest climb I've had in awhile. From there it was all ridge walking for the rest of the day. At some point I also crossed into Berks County, so close to home now.Got to this shelter a little after 3PM. This shelter is more like a hostel because it is an enclosed bunkhouse. It also has a large domed skylight, a port-a-potty instead of a privy, a water faucet, and a solar shower, which is really just two large black buckets of water that are only as warm as the sun heats it up. So it is not necessarily a 'hot' shower. There is also a park ranger who lives next to the shelter and acts as a caretaker for the area. Even with all this luxury I will be tenting tonight, should be another nice cool night. A lot of good people here tonight so it was a fun, relaxing evening. Also this shelter is close enough to a road crossing that we were able to have pizza delivered here for dinner. Heading home tomorrow once I get to Port Clinton for 3 zero days. I can use them after 3 weeks of hiking without a day off. My feet and knees need a break. Hopefully I'll catch up to everyone once I get back on the trail, but I'm also looking forward to running into some people again who I've gotten ahead of in the past weeks and curious to meet others.
Date: 2008-06-21
From: 501 Shelter, PA

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: clear sky

My 3 month anniversary on the trail today. Also the longest day of the year. And I crossed the 1,200 mile mark today. And it is Hike Naked Day. Hiked a long day from 501 Shelter to Port Clinton from 7:30AM to 5PM. It was fairly rocky today and warmer out. I ran into a man early on today at a place called Shower Steps who asked me 'Aren't you the guy I read about in the newspaper this morning?' This was the first time I met someone on the trail who had read about me. Kind of a weird feeling. Anyways I did not hike naked today, nor did I see anyone else hiking naked. Probably a good thing since there was a group of boy scouts out, not to mention all the risks of bugs, pricker bushes, sharp rocks, and poison ivy on the trail.3 months on the trail felt great, but it felt even better to be heading home for 3 days to rest, relax and resupply.
Date: 2008-06-22
From: Exeter Twp., PA

To: Exeter Twp., PA
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day. Great to be home but it hardly felt relaxing today as I ran errands from 9:30AM to 4:30PM. Decided to retire my boots as they now have over 1,200 miles on them. My trail runners that are broken in no longer fit my feet, which apparently have gotten bigger from all the hiking, so I picked up a new pair of trail runners. I'm crossing my fingers that I will not have to go through the whole blister process again. Otherwise, physically I feel pretty good. Only my feet and knees are achy and stiffen up pretty quickly if I am not moving around.
Date: 2008-06-24
From: Exeter Twp., PA

To: Exeter Twp., PA
Miles today: 0.0

Third and last zero day at home. Did some final errands this morning. It will be nice to get back on the trail where all I have to worry about is walking, eating, getting water, and deciding where to sleep for the night, and not being reminded by family 'You know you have to get a job when you get done right.' Yes, thanks for reminding me. All in all though it was really good to be home for a break and have lots of good home cooked food. Back to the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2008-06-25
From: Port Clinton, PA

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

Well I finally left home this morning and got back on the trail. I was trying not to think of it as walking away from home. Although I thought of the first part of my hike as 'Walking Home' I am going to think of the second half as On to Katahdin. The climb out of Port Clinton was a little steep and my legs, especially my calves, were feeling that I had not hiked in three days. With me this morning was Bearbait, my sister, her appropriately named dog Rocky, and Mike and Jeremy from the Reading Eagle. My own little entourage. A posse if you will. They all eventually turned back and Bearbait and I headed onto Eckville Shelter, stopping at the Pulpit and the Pinnacle, two good views. Right as we got here to Eckville we ran into Dee and Jay who updated us on where everyone was at ahead of us. If all goes well hopefully we can sync back up with a lot of people at Delaware Water Gap.The terrain today was a little rocky, but it was also some of the first places I ever hiked on the AT, before I even knew it was the AT. My new trail runners felt pretty good today, lighter than my boots and a little strange with my ankles exposed. No new blisters either. My only concern is that the soles are a little too thin. I felt that I could feel the rocks more easily through them than my boots. Or it could have been that I just haven't been on the rocks in three days.
Date: 2008-06-26
From: Eckville Shelter, PA

To: PA 309
Miles today: 11.5

Slept well in my tent last night. Woke up a few times during the night. The first time there were a bunch of lighting bugs in between my rain fly and the mesh of my tent. Kind of neat to see them all glowing green inside my tent. I woke up again and swear there was a bird sitting on top of my rain fly. I woke up again when it started to rain lightly. It was cloudy, humid, and occasionally drizzling all morning. I was soaked with sweat in the first five minutes of hiking. After leaving Eckville the trail re-ascended the Blue Ridge. There was a view at Dan's Pulpit back of the Pinnacle. The trail was really rocky today. Everything from boulders to small jagged ankle breakers from Dan's Pulpit to Allentown Shelter. At one point there was a sign for a short blue blazed trail to see 'balanced rocks.' No thanks, I've balanced on enough rocks today. Got to PA 309 at 1PM where there is a restaurant just to the left of the trail. I stopped in there to wait for my friend Amy from college. The only people in the place were hikers. My friend Amy showed up a little after 2PM and brought me back to her house where she and her husband Dan grilled up some salmon and shrimp for dinner. Excellent. I am definitely spoiled by PA and being so close to family and friends along the trail. It'll be hard to leave in a few days.
Date: 2008-06-27
From: PA 309

To: Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 13.6

Amy and Dan set off some fireworks last night since I would not be around for the 4th of July. They also gave me a small jar of Boilo, a traditional Pennsylvania coal region drink. Kind of like coal region moonshine but flavored with honey and spices. Amy dropped me off at the trail at 10:15AM. I got to Bake Oven Knob and had lunch at 12:30PM. It was a good view of the ridgeline to the north and of the farmland down in Lehigh County. Also there, rather oddly, were two girls out for the day eating sushi. Most of the day was warm but cloudy and I kept thinking it was going to storm, but by 2-3PM the clouds moved off. Met a thru-hiker named Timeless who started from Springer on 4/27/08. It always amazes me how fast some people are capable of hiking.Today's terrain was the rockiest so far. My feet were feeling it through the new shoes. I went over the Knife's Edge early on, and open exposed boulder patch sitting high up on the ridgeline. Late in the day I hiked over the part of the ridgeline where 476 goes underneath the mountain several hundred feet below. In this area the trees started becoming more sparse and I was more out in the open so I knew I was getting close to Lehigh Gap and the Superfund site. The Superfund site was placed here due to overmining and zinc smelting, which basically left the mountain barren and devoid of all life. Some people refer to it as Dante's Inferno. It was totally exposed to the elements, sun and heat. I also saw lots of blueberries as I got close to this area but I decided not to eat the Superfund berries. I finally descended down to the Lehigh River and had an interesting time getting into Palmerton on the north side of the gap. There was a blue blazed side trail that took me to a small creek with a bridge and a metal gate. The gate was closed, and said it was only open between 6:30AM and 4:00PM. I looked at my watch, it was 4:05PM. There was no way around the gate as it was completely surrounded by barbed wire on every side, even running down to the water edge. I ended up backtracking a bit, hopped over a concrete barrier, battled my way through some weeds, jumped over a metal guard rail, walked 100 yards down a highway over the creek, re-jumped the guard rail, walked through some more weeds, and got on the road into Palmerton on the otherside of the barbed wire fence. All in all it took me an extra 10 minutes. Not sure how effective that gate really is at deterring people. Anyways I'm in Palmerton tonight and staying in the basement of the Borough Hall for free. The town also provides a free shower too. Not a bad place to stay.
Date: 2008-06-28
From: Palmerton, PA

To: Wind Gap, PA
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

100 days on the trail. Woke up at the Borough Hall, packed up and went across the street for breakfast at Bert's. It was pretty foggy out and I couldn't even see the mountain I'd be hiking today. I got to the base of the mountain and began the near vertical ascent and rock scramble up the side of the mountain. Parts of the climb were hand over hand. The entire side of the mountain is an exposed rock face due to all the years of zinc mining. As I climbed the sun began burning off the fog and I could look down and see the Lehigh River and Palmerton. Even though the mining has been stopped for over 25 years and despite efforts to bring back plant life, the top of the mountain is only covered with patches of scraggly grass and bushes and gnarled trees. Most of the mountain is barren rock and dead driftwood looking trees. Very post apocalyptic looking. I'm no hardcore environmentalist or anything but it just goes to show how destructive mankind can be if left totally unrestrained. The down side to this mountain, other than the ecological disaster to the surrounding area, is that there is no shade on the mountain and even this morning it was pretty warm out. After about four miles the trail re-entered the woods and followed the ridgeline until dropping down into Wind Gap. The trail was pretty rocky most of the day and after entering the woods there wasn't a whole lot to see. About four miles out from Wind Gap it began raining and rained pretty hard for the next mile or two. However, most of my pack contents remained dry. Less than 0.1 miles from the trail at the Wind Gap road crossing is a motel. Hard to resist, especially when soaked, so Bearbait and I decided to split a room and are trying to dry our things out. On to DWG tomorrow.
Date: 2008-06-29
From: Wind Gap, PA

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: moderate rain

Left the motel and climbed out of Wind Gap at 8:30AM. Again it was a climb followed by rocky ridgeline walking until dropping down into another gap, this one being the Delaware Water Gap. At 7 miles short of DWG there was trail magic by Focus (AT '07) and his wife. They cooked up a great ham steak sandwich that helped push me over the last of the rocks. When I got into DWG I stopped in a church that has a hiker hostel and there I saw Bound! She gave me the unintentional pep talk way back in the Shennies when I was down about the heat, humidity and bugs. It was really good to see her again. Unfortunately the PA rocks have not been so nice to her dog Geronimo's paws. She is leaving her dog here with a family member and she will head south to Port Clinton and then come back here to continue heading north. Another surprise was my friend Hill calling and saying he was driving into DWG. We met up for dinner and hung out for a few hours. Having all these visits with friends has almost felt like not being on the trail at all.
Date: 2008-06-30
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Mohican Outdoor Center, NJ
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Got a late start out of town. Went to the post office and got my maildrop and then went to the Sycamore Grill with Bearbait and Bound for lunch. Finally left there a little after 1PM and crossed the Delaware River on I-80 into New Jersey, my 8th state. 7 states down, 7 to go. Once in Jersey I had a 1,000 foot climb up Mt. Kittatinny spread out over 2 miles. The rest of the day after that was ridge walking. Turns out the rocks do not stop at the state line but continue on into Jersey. I had a feeling they might. On top of Mt. Kittatinny is Sunfish Pond, one of the seven natural wonders of Jersey. It is the southernmost glacial pond on the AT. It is pretty scenic and serene. Seems out of place with most of the images and parts of Jersey I've previously experienced. The northern part of Jersey that the trail passes through also has a very high bear concentration. Roughly one bear per square mile in the northern two counties. And until recently Jersey has never allowed a bear hunt. So with that in mind I was a little more on my guard. I ended up seeing my 4th bear just before reaching the Mohican Outdoor Center. It was strolling along just off to the side of the trail and acted as if we were not even there. That convinced me to stay in the bunkhouse here rather than camp out. The Mohican Outdoor Center, or MOC (a play on the NOC) is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club as a hiking retreat. Looks like it will be a nice night out but it will be a guaranteed bear free night indoors for me.
Date: 2008-07-01
From: Mohican Outdoor Center, NJ

To: Culvers Gap, NJ
Miles today: 17.9

Woke up and was on the trail by 7:15AM. I did not sleep great and was not thrilled at the prospect of more rocky ridge walking. Throw in an early afternoon rainshower and I was more than happy to arrive at Culver's Gap and stop in at Gyp's Tavern just off the trail for some bar food. I have to say that after two days in Jersey I've noticed that it is the most ethnically diverse part of the trail in terms of day, weekend and section hikers. Most thru-hikers I've met are caucasian. A strange part of the day was when I ducked into a shelter to get out of the rain and there was a motorcycle parked out front and a Ukranian couple was looking around the shelter for mushrooms. The first motorcycle I've seen on the trail. I'm not even sure how they got it out here. My right ankle started hurting today, much like my left ankle did back in Virginia. Not a good sign. Going to try to take it easy. Hopefully Bearbait and I will still meet up with Bearpack and other hikers that we haven't seen since Port Clinton in the next few days.
Date: 2008-07-02
From: Culvers Gap, NJ

To: Unionville, NY
Miles today: 23.1

Got up this morning and went across the street to the Yellow Cottage Deli and Bakery for breakfast before getting back on the trail. But of all the random things on the trail it turned out to be the Deli where Snowplow used to work a few years ago. The employees there knew she was thru-hiking and after a few minutes conversation I realized who they were talking about was Snowplow who I hiked with for a few weeks from the Smokies into Virginia. It was good to find out from them that she was still on the trail and about a week behind us. Anyways one of the workers offered to give us a ride to the trail at High Point State park when she got off work at 1PM. This would mean yellow blazing about 16 miles of the trail, but it also meant hanging out at the deli and eating there all morning. The Deli won out. I'm kind of ok with this as Jersey has been kind of uninspiring for me so far. Granted the trail in Jersey does not feel like Jersey, but it has just been rocky and bland to me.Once dropped off at the trail crossing in High Point State Park at Rt. 23 the trail was flat and downhill for the rest of the day. Right when we were dropped off at the park some kids asked us if we had hiked for more than 4 days. When we told them we had been hiking for over three months they gave us a standing ovation. Not too far into the trail I saw a Washington Monument-like monument marking the highest point in Jersey.The last few miles before reaching Unionville, NY the trail was running along the NJ/NY border and through farm fields. Got to town and met up with Bearpack, Amanda, Shelter Monkey and Snake Whisperer who were all staying at the Mayor's house. The Mayor of Unionville allows hikers to stay at his house for free. So here I am and we all cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner. Dining with the Mayor. Just another day on the AT.