morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-07-01
From: Deer Lick Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.8

For the second day in a row I came off the trail and immediately had ice cream - a hikers delight! It's also good preparation for the half gallon challenge that will come tomorrow. I slept later than I wanted. It seemed as if everyone was sleeping late today. Maybe it was because of the rain last night. The trail today was a mixture of wonderful flat areas and then it would take a sudden turn, go steeply up and become rocky. Hat Trick described it as a head game. Most of the day it was overcast (or dark clouds) and extremely humid - further adding to the head games. It sprinkled but never rained. There weren't many people on the trail today - especially when you compare it to the DC area. We saw Ahvoh, Ripper, and Goose. We saw the nicest shelters of the entire journey today. About 4 miles in to our hike we came to Tumbling Run Shelters that has one shelter for snorers and another for non-snorers. It also has a real clothesline and covered picnic table. Someone obviously takes great pride in this shelter because it was very clean. One of my favorite things was a face high in a tree above the shelters (see pics). About 13 miles into our hike we came to Caledonia State Park that had a concession stand so I felt obligated to get an ice cream . . . I didn't want to be rude! Tomorrow we will reach the official half way point where it is tradition to do the half gallon challenge . . . eating a half gallon of ice cream in half an hour near the half way point. I'm sure I'll get to the half way point but I'm not sure I can do it before the store closes. On the way up our final climb there was a sign warning that Timber Rattlesnakes are protected (see pics). Nice, I wonder who will protect the hikers?!?Tonight we are staying at the Quarry Gap Shelters (see pics). Again, someone takes great pride in these shelters and they have hanging baskets, a bear box, and lots of cute decorations. Most importantly, they are spotless. Goose is the only other person here and he is tenting so Hat Trick and I each have a shelter to ourself. Goose is from the area in Ohio where I was born - most people have never even heard of it. We had a nice chat over dinner. He is vegetarian so it was interesting to hear him talk about what he eats. After dark he got out some sparklers to play with and we had lots of laughs. I'm hoping to put in about 17 miles tomorrow. With any luck the storms continue to hold off.
Date: 2013-07-02
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Campsite past Fuller Lake
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Woohoo!!! Today I passed the half way mark. Soon it will be less than 1,000 miles. Hat Trick has now hiked more than 300 miles! This has not been a journey that I've done alone and I am mindful each day of the many friends, family, fellow hikers, and even complete strangers who have helped me along the way. Its impossible for me to express my appreciation other than to say a great big THANK YOU!!!!! I woke up around 5:30 and started packing up. I decided to take my time when it started raining. It seemed like it would be a brief shower and I didn't see any point getting out in the rain if we didn't have to. Just before we left the shelter Double Dare came hiking in. It's nice to see someone from my original bubble. Speaking of my original bubble, I've been told that Patriot has Lyme's disease. Patriot and I became close friends the first week of hiking. Best of luck my friend - I'm sending you healing thoughts from the trail. I'll be doing a triple tick check tonight!We stopped for lunch at Birch Run Shelter about 8 miles in to our hike. Again, just as we were leaving Double Dare showed up. Like yesterday, we didn't see a lot of people on the trail. Mostly we saw Giggles, Little Scrooge, and Double Dare. The trail today was moderately easy. The forrest was diverse with major evergreen sections. At one point I looked up and saw a deer cross the path directly in front of Hat Trick. I wished I could have gotten my camera out in time because it would have made a good picture. Many sections of the trail were flat and wide but there were enough elevation changes to have my shirt and shorts soaked with sweat all day long. There was also some light intermittent rain. The muggy conditions and wet clothes have resulted in chaffing problems for Hat Trick and me. The bugs are loving the muggy weather. Worst of all are the Kamikaze gnats that don't mind giving up their lives as they dive bomb into your eye. At the Toms Run Shelter Hat Trick saw a good sized timber rattler while he was waiting for me. Giggles got some good video of it. When I arrived we looked for it but couldn't find it. At the halfway point Hat Trick gave me a round of applause, high five, and gummies (of course). We had a round of pictures and took Giggles and Little Scrooge's pictures for them. It's nice to think that with every step I'm further along on the final leg of my journey. We arrived at the Pine Grove Furnace State Park where I partook in the half gallon challenge. Actually, it wasn't too difficult and I downed a half gallon of turtle tracks ice cream in 20 minutes. We walked a short distance to the showers and had a refreshing but painful (from chaffing) shower. It's amazing what a shower will do for your mental health!After the showers we hiked thru the state park and camped in the woods. Atlas and his son joined us shortly before it got dark. It's been an exhilarating day, but I'm exhausted. . .
Date: 2013-07-03
From: Campsite past Fuller Lake

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

Even though we went fewer miles than the 19.6 that we did yesterday, today seemed further. The trail gods continue to let us know who is boss and provided a nice downpour just as I was waking up this morning. That means packing up a wet tent - ugh. I was packed up before Hat Trick and since he is a much faster hiker than me, I decided to get started. I hiked for about an hour before he blew by me. Again, it's a muggy day with intermittent light rain in the morning. The climbs were steeper and the trail was more rocky. There were two sections called Rock Maze where it was too steep to use my poles and I would pull myself up by hand. This is the first day of this entire journey where I hiked all day and didn't see any other hikers (other than Hat Trick). NONE - not a day hiker, not a section hiker, not a thru hiker. Since most of the time Hat Trick was out of sight, I spent the day lost in my own thoughts. About mile 13 I began to struggle. When I emerged from the forrest and started walking through acres of corn fields I could have sworn I missed a blaze and ended up in Iowa! It was a nice diversion for awhile but even corn fields are boring (I know - hard to believe) when you've been walking through them for miles. We are both anxious to do laundry so we have dry clothes for a short time and to get another shower in hopes of getting the chaffing under control. We are staying at the Allenberry Inn & Playhouse. Unfortunately there is not a play tonight but it was fun to see all actors and stage crew. At dinner we had the most upbeat and fun waitress - she is great at cheering up and taking care of weary hikers. She even had a trail name - Dimples. THANK YOU Dimples for brightening our day!!!We are celebrating Independence Day by zeroing here. We'll walk the mile (2 miles round trip) into town for supplies but plan to be in bed before the firework display. I want to start earlier to beat the heat.
Date: 2013-07-04
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Happy Independence Day!!! Hat Trick and I spent the day napping, drying out our gear, and getting into town to resupply. We tried hitching into town but couldn't get a ride so we walked. Behind the tavern we found the boiling springs that the town is named after. Some locals told us that there are 950 ft of line to guide divers into the cave of the spring. I was surprised because the opening to the spring looked like it was barely big enough for a person let alone a person with a scuba tank. These same locals invited us to their 4th of July block party but we want to get an early start to we need to get to bed early. While in town we ran into several other hikers including Peanut, North Star, Alpha Dog, Gar Bear, and Bear Snack. It was so good to see them! This time Peanut and I exchanged contact info so we can stay in touch. They are 16 miles ahead of us. Sadly, I also heard that Sparky is hanging it up. On his trail journal he said he had enough of of the heat, bugs, and rocks and that it wasn't fun anymore. We had dinner at the inn where we are staying and Dimples again brightened our day.
Date: 2013-07-06
From: Cove Mtn Shelter

To: Campsite near Clark's Ferry Shelter 
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: scattered clouds

I'm going to keep today's post short as I want to get an early start tomorrow before it gets hot. I slept horribly last night. It was so hot and humid that I could feel the sweat trickling down my face and neck as laid there trying to sleep. It wasn't a big mileage day but I know my body is stressed as I had the first charlie horse that I've had in over a month. We had about a 4 mile hike into Duncannon over a rocky trail. From walking in wet shoes on rocks yesterday I have a new blister on my right heel. In Duncannon we ate lunch, resupplied, and mailed stuff home. I managed to lighten my pack by 2 pounds! Double Dare and Whirled Peas are zeroing in Duncannon and tried to talk us into staying. But alas, I feel the need to make miles if I'm going to complete this hike this year. I've been thinking a lot about the challenges the last few days and something from one of the shelter logbooks keeps coming to mind. It said: "I loved the trail, then I hated it, and now it's what I do". The trail in many ways is like going to work. There are things you love at work and there are things you hate, but everyday you get up and do it. I have confidence that I can do it and overall I really enjoy it, but it helps me get through the unpleasant parts to think this IS what I do. We climbed steeply out of Duncannon and encountered more rocky trail. We are camping and hopefully I will sleep better tonight.
Date: 2013-07-07
From: Campsite near Clark's Ferry Shelter 

To: Campsite at Clark's Creek
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

I'm dedicating today's post to my little eight legged arachnoid friends who worked so hard overnight to build their homes across the trail. It never ceases to amaze me how they can build such intricate webs overnight. Here's to you and your "in my face" attitude. I regret having to destroy your creative handiwork but I am an AT thru hiker and I must move on.Today it was Hat Tricks turn to struggle so I paced him most of the day. In the afternoon we had some great talks about life. I treasure these times! I drained my blister again last night before I went to bed. We spent most of today on a ridge with short climbs and descents with intermittent rocky areas. I was hoping the gentle terrain would allow my blister to heal but rain would destroy that plan. We stopped at the Peters Mountain Shelter for lunch and water resupply. Since I was feeling pretty good I descended the 300 steep stone steps to the spring and hauled back 2 gallons of water. After Hat Trick and I filled our bottles there was still enough water to resupply 2 more hikers. We met a new hiker, Turtle, who just got on the trail a week ago and is planning to section hike to Maine. Some of the other hikers we saw today were Goose, Weasel, Mudflap, and Beluah (sp?). Hat Trick left his phone at the shelter so today he had to do the extra miles backtracking. Late in the afternoon a thunderstorm came up quickly. We hiked rapidly trying to get off the ridge before the full brunt of the storm bit us. One bolt of lightening flashed overhead and it it sounded like someone had cracked a whip as we saw the flash and heard the thunder almost simultaneously. Both of us ducked and then hiked even faster. We reached a road and were soaked to the bone. There was a local fisherman there who offered us bottled water and sodas. He suggested we cross the river and camp there. That sounded like a good idea to us since we would otherwise climb 1,000 ft and be on a ridge again - not the best idea in a thunderstorm!. We set up in the rain so everything we have is damp and dirty. However, when you're backpacking damp is essentially dry. Hopefully we can dry thing out tomorrow. The fisherman told us that when he was younger he used to go up on this mountain and catch rattlesnakes. His record was catching 300 in one day. I'm not sure if this is a fish story or not . . . can't wait to climb this mountain tomorrow
Date: 2013-07-08
From: Campsite at Clark's Creek

To: Lickdale, PA
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today's entry is written by Hat Trick. After struggling much of yesterday I woke up this morning still grumbling to myself. While eating breakfast I dropped my banana nut bar on the ground, as I went to dust it off I knocked it out again. I decided not to risk it agin so I just ate it. Problems of the trail I guess. Hobo was packed up before me so he headed out expecting to see me soon. We were both still wet from the night before so we decided to hike in our camp shoes instead of putting on our wet ones. The 1,000 ft climb was one I was not looking forward to but as we began the ascent the sun came out and breeze was blowing. The bird's songs starting playing in my head and I could feel my mood lighten. I soon caught Hobo and could feel the pep in my step return. After the climb it was mostly small ups and downs and the trail was beautiful! We caught up to Ripper as he was leaving camp, in a beautiful rhododendron grove, but soon realized we needed water. As we went down to the creek we quickly learned we would have to wait, it was orange and foamy... Gross!! That meant we had to hike 3 1/2 more miles with little water, luckily it was still a pleasant temperature. We leapfrogged Ripper a couple more times before getting to the next spring. After we treated the water I became lost in my thoughts. I soon realized I had left Hobo behind and was by myself. About that time I heard heavy footsteps in the woods, as I looked up I saw a deer poking his head out of the bushes. About the time I saw him he takes off back into the forest. I love seeing wildlife! We ate lunch by a beautiful stream. As I ate on a rock in the middle I was entertained by a big crawdad chasing another small crawfish. Just as the big one got close enough to lunge the other one would leap out of the way. Quite the drama!Just as we were packing up the thunderclouds rolled in. We decided to head to the shelter to dodge the rain and use the privy. At the shelter we met Paul with Bunions who has hiked over 8,000 miles along the AT and various other trails. The storm never materialized and we were quickly on our way with the thoughts of town in our head. We stopped and chatted to a couple from Sweden and told them about the awesome camping spots ahead. Our pace quickened and we soon were at the last tantalizing long last few miles. After reaching the road we tried for about 10 minutes before catching a ride the 2 miles into town. It also happened that the guy was huge hockey fan and was planning a trip to Maine in two weeks. For a birthday treat we had Sbarro's pizza and Dairy Queen for dessert. The night will be full of chores like soaking our feet, laundry, and drying all the gear out. But it was a great day. Just as the trail breaks you down, it also builds you back up.
Date: 2013-07-09
From: Lickdale, PA

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: broken clouds

Happy Birthday to Hat Trick!Our ride to the trail didn't show up so I had to call him. He didn't pick us up until 9:00 resulting in a late start. Today's hike was more difficult than the last two days. This portion of the trail is the worst maintained that I've encountered thus far. The brush was thick and often thorny. The trail was also much more rocky (see pics). Two new milestones were accomplished today. First, I am now less than 1,000 miles from being done - yeah!!! Second, I saw more snakes today then I've seen in any one day so far. It was only 4, but 3 were venomous. We saw 3 copperheads in the crevice of a rock. The fisherman that we met 2 days ago told us not to worry about getting bitten because rattlesnakes and copperheads don't want to waste their venom on something they can't eat so it will often be a "dry bite". Grrreat, I feel so comforted. The daily afternoon thunderstorm started about 2:30 but the lightening wasn't bad today. Hat Trick pulled a muscle in his calf probably partially due to the cold rain. He was limping when we reached the 501 Shelter. Even though the mileage was disappointingly low, we decided it was better to call it a day then to risk aggravating his injury. The shelter is one of the nicest in which we've stayed. It is completely enclosed, has a solar shower (meaning a cold shower), and a caretaker on site. Best of all, it's close enough to town to order to-go food from an Italian restaurant. Other hikers here with us are McKnee, Burgundy, Johnny Thunder, Vas, and Chimney. Chimney is a section hiker from England and kept us all laughing with his humor. Our plan is to get into bed early and get an early start. According to the caretakers the trail gets much tougher going north due to the rocks.
Date: 2013-07-10
From: 501 Shelter

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a new mileage record for us - 24.1 miles over an often rocky and overgrown trail. To exhausted to write more. Will update soon . . . . . . It was not the kind of hiking I enjoy. The trail was very rocky so I spent most of the day with my head down watching my feet. Again, the trail was poorly maintained so we were often brushing up against thorny underbrush or whacking it with our hiking poles. To be honest I feel that Pennsylvania is pummeling my body. Just for a little variety the rain came in the morning today. At least there was no lightening. At lunch it was still too humid to dry out our socks and shoes so we spent most of the day in soggy shoes. We stopped for a mid-afternoon break at Eagles Nest Shelter and the sun was shining brightly so we could dry out our stuff. Another good point of the day is that we saw no venomous snakes!The decent into Port Clinton was steep and after 23 miles we were both struggling. Just as we reached the edge of town Hat Trick became nauseated and light headed. In the dark we moved slowly through the small town. Hat Trick said he had to sit down and I waited with him for awhile to be sure he was OK, then I walked ahead to find the town pavilion where we would camp. I left my backpack there, walked back and carried Hat Trick's backpack for him. I really think he got dehydrated. Hat Trick went to bed without eating. I had a tortilla wrap with a slice of spam and a string cheese tube - I know, yuck. But t least it gave me the calories, protein, and sodium that my body needed to recover over night. We were advised to not stay in the pavilion because of the truck noise from the nearby state highway and it was indeed noisy. It ended up that we didn't really have much choice. We were both so exhausted we slept pretty well and I used my earplugs. I'm proud of what we accomplished but we did over do it.
Date: 2013-07-11
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Campsite near Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We both slept late recovering from our epic hike yesterday. The human body is an amazing thing. With 8 hours of sleep equilibrium was re stablished and we both felt refreshed and ready to go. Since we arrived in the dark and almost everyone was asleep, I had no idea who was in the pavilion with us. To my delight I woke up to find Peanut, North Star, Gar Bear, Bear Snack, and Alpha Dog. Others in the pavilion included Lighthouse, Major Tom, Simba, Bobsled, and others. North Star is zeroing because of problems with his achilles. Major Tom is also zeroing. Island Girl gave us a ride to resupply. By the time we had resupplied, eaten, packed up, and charged our phones, it was 1:00 before we got on the trail. We are slack packing today to give our bodies a break and to take the pressure off the sores on our backs so they can heal. Island Girl is taking our packs to a shelter almost 15 miles north. We crossed under some bridges on our way out of town (see pics) and then began the steep climb that is so typical when leaving a town. We both felt surprisingly good given yesterday's adventure. The beginning of the hike was similar to yesterday - rocky and overgrown. In the middle of the hike we saw hundreds of Civil Air Patrol kids out on a wilderness survival class (see pics). They were polite and courteous, but their numbers were overwhelming. On one portion of a rocky section we took an unplanned break to allow 50 kids to scramble over the rocks as they came toward us. The last half of the hike was mostly on a dirt road and was an easier hike than we've been doing recently. As a matter of fact we jogged part of it since it was downhill, in good condition, and we wanted to get in before dark. We arrived with a half hour of daylight to spare. We set up camp and I'm now lying in my tent watching the amazing firefly display light up the forrest around me. It looks similar to all the camera flashes at night in a stadium. Wow, a day without rain!!!
Date: 2013-07-12
From: Campsite near Eckville Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Summit
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

We knew today's hike would be challenging due to the rocks. Our approach is to view it as a puzzle and try to have fun rather than getting frustrated. We will also take our time. The day was much cooler than recent days with a high around 78 degrees. I thought it might help with the bugs but they seemed to be out enjoying the cool weather as well. Our tents were wet from the dew and there was no opportunity to dry them out under the overcast sky. My feet are doing OK on the rocks so far, but Hat Trick developed several new blisters on his toes from the constant twisting and turning on the rocks.We met several SOBO section hikers today. At the Allentown Hiking Club Shelter we met a couple from Philadelphia who are out for a weekend hike. We enjoyed talking to them . . . I sense that they will be thru hikers someday We also met Dorothy (Ohio) who is a thru hiker that we had not previously met. She seems like a nice person and carries a purple ukulele with her. A light rain began to fall about 3:30. About 2 miles before our planned camping spot we came to a road crossing where there was a restaurant in sight. We decided to duck in to get out of what had become a steady rain. While we were eating the rain became heavier so we decided to check into one of the 3 rooms that they had available. It's great to be out of the rain, showered, full bellies, and have all our stuff dried out.