morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-06-03
From: The Doyle Inn, Duncannon, PA 1040.9

To: Peters Mountain Shelter 1152.1
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We stopped for breakfast across from the Doyle on the way out...great omelets and home fries, then followed Maw and Paw out of town. The trail took us past some beautiful homes on the way out of town, then took us on bridges over the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers, then over some railroad tracks, before climbing up eight hundred feet to the first shelter. The trail alternated between rocky and less rocky, ascending another 100 feet to where it crossed PA 225 on a footbridge. Maw told us that when they had thru hiked in 2003, there was no footbridge, and the the crossing was SCARY..We stopped on the far side of the footbridge for lunch, then continued hiking. On the way up we saw Tinman and Lifesaver. Tinman and his friends had provided trail magic on Memorial Day at Dalgrens Campground ...cheeseburgers. When we arrived at the shelter we had a snack and saw Critter again, and three new faces: Nomad, "the songbird of his generation", Cat Dog, "a particularly handsome young man, Billy, who says he lives on the trail. Maw and Paw were also already there. Paw had filled an extra gallon jug...much appreciated since it was a twenty minute trek to get water today, and we were expecting a thunderstorm. So we filled our water bladders and treated them. (Random note: There were many trail maintainers out today. Thanks to you all!) Then Gary went down with the gallon jug to get water, and by the time he returned, clouds were building. The wind started blowing harder and soon a tree came crashing down. It started raining and soon Manbearpig, Dude Man, and some others came in, reporting other downed trees and across the trail. Fortunately no one was hit. It's great to be in a cozy shelter, with room for all, during a thunderstorm!
Date: 2012-06-04
From: Peters Mountain Shelter 1152.0

To: Rausch Gap Shelter 1170.1
Miles today: 18.0

We started hiking at 7:00 a.m., with an eighteen mile hike ahead. There were several new downed trees from last night's storm. We were sure glad we weren't under them when they fell. The trail today had several rocky sections, but was fairly smooth for the most part, so we made good time. The flowers we saw were all on bushes: mountain laurel and wild roses. We stopped at PA 325 for snacks and to refill our water bladders even though it was cool we had not used much so far. We stopped at Yellow Springs Village site for second lunch, thirteen miles in. It was a beautiful spot, and there was even a hikers' log. The trail then ascended gently for several miles, up Stony Mountain. All day long we wondered whether there would be a shelter, since we'd seen notices that it was scheduled to be closed for remodeling this summer. We passed Coach the ridge runner, but forgot to ask about the shelter. Coach had thru hiked in 2007 and was a retired teacher. We hiked the last couple of miles to the shelter turnoff, wondering whether to go in since it was a third of a mile off the trail. We decided to take the blue blazed trail anyway, and camp if there was no shelter, and were glad we had, since the shelter was still intact. Maw and Paw were already in the area, tenting. We set out our bags and got our water...from a pipe twenty feet away! All in all, it was well worth the extra steps. Bootstraps came in, got water and continued on another four miles. He was a nice young man taking a gap year to hike the Appalachian trail before start college at Bowdoin College, in Maine, in the fall. Then Lighting Jack and his brother Doc came in, then Sit A Bit, then Bloomer and Coach(not the ridgerunner,) filling the shelter. (Random note: We had last seen Lightning Jack back in Virginia, on a rainy night, at the Trimpi Shelter, when he set up his hammock in the shelter so everyone would fit. He and his brother, Doc, were hiking another month, then getting off to go hiking in South America, then get Doc moved to New York so he can begin a PhD program. After that, Lightning Jack, who was a very fast hiker, planned to finish his AT thru hike.) It was a congenial group. Life is wonderful on the Appalachian Trail when the shelter you thought might not be there, IS!
Date: 2012-06-05
From: Rausch Gap shelter 1170.1

To: 501 Shelter 1187.6
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow! What a day! It started out great. We were out on the trail by 7:30 and made four miles by 9:00, when we came upon Bootstraps breaking down his camp. Suddenly I realized I didn't have my front pack. Not good. Among other things it contained was my wallet. There was no choice but to go back to the shelter. Gary volunteered to do the honors since he was much faster, especially without his backpack. He made it back to the shelter, where Lighting Jack and Doc had found it and were playing "rock, paper, scissors" to determine who would carry it until they caught up with us. Were they happy to see Gary before they left the shelter! He lugged it back the four miles down the trail to where I was anxiously waiting, then we both had a snack. I was SO grateful that he had gone back, but was also grateful to Lightning Jack and Doc! Unfortunately Gary added eight miles to a 17.5 mile day, but was I ever glad to see that pack!!! The rest of the day was uneventful by comparison. There were just a few flowers ... only blackberries and wild roses, but the weather was perfect for hiking: cool and partly sunny, though we were a bit worried we wouldn't make it to the shelter before the predicted thunderstorm. We did, however, and what a shelter! It had four walls, a huge skylight, a solar shower, and running water from the caretaker's house! We were also able to call a local restaurant and have dinner delivered. Gary took a well deserved nap while we waited for dinner. Manbearpig and Dude Man Bro cooked their dinners and hiked on. Our dinner arrived from Sholls Family Restaurant a little after 8:00 and was well worth the wait: huge pieces of broasted chicken, fries, and salad. Mmmmm. It was so much food we couldn't eat it all, so we hung the leftovers and gave it to the guys still in the shelter when we left in the morning. Life on the Appalachian Trail is awesome when the lost is retrieved without blame, and the other thru hikers would have carried the heavy thing seventeen miles to return it to its owner, and the day ends with massive amounts of scrumptious town foodI am truly in awe of the goodness of people on and around the trail!
Date: 2012-06-06
From: 501 shelter 1187.6

To: Port Clinton Hotel 1211.3
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: few clouds

We got out early with the long hike planned for today, over possibly rocky terrain. It was still cool and clear ...perfect for hiking. The trail was pretty flat for most of the day, which surprised us. We had never realized PA could be so flat. At five miles we saw a huge boulder field, but fortunately the trail didn't go over it, for once. Instead, the trail went down, across a stream, then back up...far easier and quicker than crossing the boulder field. Once back on top of the ridge, the trail crossed swamps, then crossed several roads over the next five miles or so. We stopped at one such road crossing for first lunch. At 15.5 miles we passed the turnoff to the Allentown Hiking Club Shelter but we passed it by since it was off trail. A mile or so later we stopped at a campsite for second lunch. After a few minutes, Maw and Paw hiked by. We chatted a minute before they continued. We hiked on and caught up while they were visiting with Beacon and Balls and Sunshine, the father/daughter team we been been hearing about. Sunshine had broken her arm, so they were slack packing south and clearly having a great time. We continued hiking with Maw and Paw until we stopped to get water and they continued. Eventually we saw them setting up their tent. They invited us to join them, but we kept to our plan to hike into Port Clinton and take a zero day. We continued hiking the last four miles over rocky terrain and finally down a VERY steep descent. It were very slow but we don't want to get hurt. One person hiking in a cast is enough! We finally reached the bottom of the mountain, where a train was blocking the trail. We went around the back of it after checking with the railroad employee, then followed the white blazes to Port Clinton. Once in town we wandered around until we found the Port Clinton Hotel, after looking around to see how to get back on the trail. We checked into the hotel, then had lunch in the bar. While there we saw Dude Man Bro and ManBearPig. We brought our packs into our room, cleaned up, walked around a bit, then had dinner. We had what we thought were the best burgers yet on the trail. By then it was 8:00-hiker midnight. We're ready for a zero day. Life is great when the white blazes lead you to a hotel a quarter mile from the trail to with the best burgers yet!
Date: 2012-06-07
From: Port Clinton Hotel 1211.3

To: Port Clinton Hotel 1211.3
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Our first task for today was to find breakfast ...no easy task. We'd been told the restaurant was a quarter mile south on the street below the hotel. When we still hadn't found it after half a mile we turned around and went north ...no luck. Next we tried going up the hill to the main drag. We didn't find the restaurant, but we did find the post office, so we picked up our mail drop and asked for directions. We brought the box back in our room and headed for the restaurant again. As we were walking we saw Maw and Paw, also heading to the restaurant. And they knew where it was, having thru hiked before, in 2003, and again in 2007! We enjoyed their company for the walk and breakfast. The rest of the day was spent planning the next hiking segment and locating new tips for my trekking poles, which broke awhile back. Since I couldn't find them in the Port Clinton area, I searched online, and finally found the toll free number for Big Agnes. After hearing my story...all true...they said they'd mail four new tips to our next mail drop...for free! Now that was customer service! I just hoped that what was left of my tips would last the two hundred or so miles through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the first part of New York, until I could pick up my new tips at the post office in Fort Montgomery, New York. That accomplished, it was time for lunch: another huge burger at the hotel. On the way back to the room we saw Dickle and Baby Girl...(aka Runoff.) They were planning to spend a few zero days in the area, but not in Port Clinton. It was good to see them both, and we hadn't seen either of them since Harpers Ferry. After lunch, we called Cabelas in Hamburg to get the shuttle to their store. They offer this service to hikers and it really helps, especially since there are other stores in the area as well. We got more insect repellant for clothes and duct tape at Cabelas, then walked to the strip commercial area across the way to buy a few groceries. (Random note: All told, we walked about five miles on this "zero" day!) Once we got back I worked on this blog while Gary did laundry and insect repellant application. The rest of the day was spent eating and resting. (Random note: At dinner, I ordered an extra burger and fries for my breakfast the next day, since the restaurant was not going to be open for breakfast, and we didn't want to walk a mile to the other restaurant and a mile back before getting back on the trail.) Anyway, life is great in an AT trail town when you can go out for town food with trail friends, and get a ride to a store to resupply!
Date: 2012-06-08
From: Port Clintin Hotel 1211.3

To: Port Clinton Hotel 1211.3
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

When we got up, we decided to take another zero day to let Gary's ankle heal before tackling the upcoming rocks, so we ate breakfast in the room. We planned to do as little as possible in order to recharge our batteries so to speak and be ready to be back on the trail bright and early tomorrow morning. In between eating huge meals for lunch and dinner, we sat around watching television, something we rarely did, even on zero days! Life is great on the Appalachian Trail, especially when you can rest and recharge in a beautiful old hotel, with incredible food!
Date: 2012-06-09
From: Port Clinton Hotel 1211.3

To: Eckville shelter 1226.5
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: scattered clouds

We were out of hotel by 7:00 after a breakfast of the burger and baked potato which we had brought back to the room last night. We hiked out of town, along the river for a mile, under PA 61, then ascended a ridge. A few feet up the trail was trail magic: Dr. Peppers and Snickers candy bars! Thanks! We continued to the top of the ridge, back down, then up again. After six miles we passed the old Windsor Furnace, dating from the 1700s-1800s. When we stopped at the Windsor Furnace Shelter for a snack, Billy was there. We continued hiking, stopping to chat with some day hikers, then enjoyed lunch was at the Pinnacle, where there are great views of the farmlands below. While we were eating lunch, Billy showed us a copperhead snake hidden in a rock crevice. Later on we saw another one in another crevice. (Random thought: We were really glad to see a copperhead snake. Now that we know what they look like, and where they live, we can avoid accidentally confronting them.) After taking a picture of it, (using my zoom lens to avoid getting too close to the snake,) we hiked straight to the Eckville Shelter. This shelter had four sides, a shower and running water, and even had phone and internet service, and an electrical outlet! Billy was already there when we arrived and was spending the night, as well as two section hikers, Tim and Adam. (Random thought: Trail magic, especially in the form of caffeine and sugar at the bottom if a hill really helped our attitude!) By the way, we had more trail magic once we got in: the caretaker of the shelter gave us Otter Pops! These were especially appreciated on this warm day! Life is great on the Appalachian Trail, especially when the day's hike turns out to be way easier than we'd anticipated. It's also great when there's trail magic, and a place to charge my phone PLUS internet and cell phone coverage!
Date: 2012-06-10
From: Eckville shelter 1226.5

To: Bake Oven Knob shelter 1243.9
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: scattered clouds

We were out of the shelter, hiking mostly easy sections of rocky dirt road with a few very challenging sections of bouldering, by 7:20. After two hours of hiking we ate a snack and continued. After another two hours I was out of water, but Gary still had plenty, which he kindly shared. We started looking for the Allentown hiking club shelter so we could get more water. After another hour of hiking, we started hearing traffic noise, and figured out we'd somehow missed the shelter. We took out the "companion" to figure out where we were. It looked like SR 309 was the road we were hearing and it had a restaurant nearby! Once we arrived at the highway, we could see it! We had a great lunch in the cool restaurant, and even had internet coverage. We drank lots of water and iced tea and continued hiking. We soon came to some serious rocks that took some climbing along a knife edge, bear rocks, and Bake Oven Knob. Somehow I managed to fall twice, though not on the serious rocks. Somehow, I didn't even get a scratch. With all these rocks, we are definitely in Pennsylvania! Soon after Bake Oven Knob we saw a pot on a post pointing to Bake Oven Knob shelter. Well Woman and her husband Won't were there. They are section hiking and hope to thru hike once they both retire. Later on Gunrunner came in, with his trademark cigar. He was pretty fast, having started March 19. At dinner we saw the shelter bunny. He was an enormous cottontail, and appeared to live there! As we were getting ready to go to sleep, Glasses came in. He started in April and was doing lots of big mile days. So...life is great on the AT when you find a restaurant close to the trail, both for its town food and internet, and fall twice without even a scrape!
Date: 2012-06-11
From:  Bake Oven Knob Shelter 1243.9

To: Palmerton Borough 1251.6
Miles today: 7.7

Today we had a nice, easy hike into Palmerton, Pennsylvania. We started from Bake Oven Knob Shelter at 7:30 a.m., on a flat, though rocky trail. This led to a boulder field we had to cross, but it wasn't too severe for Pennsylvania. We stopped at a shelter at seven miles to have a snack and take a break, and there was Glasses, resting. Soon Gorp came through, saying he was meeting his dad in Palmerton. His dad was going to hike with him for a few days! We continued hiking down the trail, and followed the white blazes across a big river to the turnoff to Palmerton, after locating tomorrow's starting point, we walked the mile or so into Palmerton. Once in town, we first located the hardware store to buy stove fuel, this time, a bottle of yellow "Heet," which is mostly methanol, which may be used in alcohol stoves. (Random note: We usually used denatured alcohol in our stove, but methanol also works. It was interesting that the clerk at the hardware store knew exactly which kind of "Heet" worked for alcohol stoves.)Then we stopped at the police station to see about staying in the borough hall basement for the night. Since it was lunch hour, so the police station was closed, we walked across the street to Berts steak house for lunch. Gorp and his dad were there as well. We had a great lunch of double cheeseburgers, fries and hot fudge sundaes, washed down with iced tea. When I went to pay, the lady pointed to some folks at another table, and said they were buying our lunch! What nice people! Thanks! We chatted with them for a minute, then went back to our table to plan for the next couple of weeks. That done, we went back to the police station to see about lodging. They directed us to the borough hall, where we signed in, then went downstairs to the basement, where there was a hikers' room with bunks. There was a shower upstairs, and plugs for charging electronics downstairs. UHaul and Gunrunner, who we had met at Bake Oven Knob Shelter, were already there. We claimed some bunks, then checked our food. By that time, a number of other thru hikers had arrived, including Phoenix, who we had previously met at the Tray Mountain Shelter, a week into our thru hike, so we were glad we'd claimed lower level bunks. Gary went to the store to resupply while I wrote in my journal. If we had needed to do laundry, there was even a laundromat across the street, but we didn't need to do it, for once. Once Gary was back from resupplying, and we had showered, we returned to Berts for another huge meal, complete with banana splits. Once back at the town hall, we read for a little while, then went to bed at the normal 8:00 p.m. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail, especially when someone buys you lunch just because you're a thru hiker, and the town gives you a free place to stay!
Date: 2012-06-12
From: Palmerton Borough 1251.6

To: Leroy Smith Shelter 1267.4
Miles today: 15.8

After a great night's sleep in the Palmerton borough hall basement, we got up early, in order to hit the Berts Steak House, across the street, when it opened. After breakfast we started to walk out of town when a local started asking questions about our hike. We chatted a few minutes, then gave him a card. We continued walking out of town to the cloverleaf, and started to hitchhike. Nineteen cars went by, but the twentieth car stopped, about 3 minutes driven by a nice young man who enjoyed hiking in the area with his wife and dogs. He let us off where we'd left the trail yesterday, and followed the white blazes. After a few hundred yards we started up a steep, but doable hill. It was misting, so we hurried, since we knew we had a bare rock face ahead, which we knew would be more slippery, the wetter it was. Soon we reached the rock cliff. Fortunately, the rock was only damp, and not too slippery yet, so I actually enjoyed it...Gary ...not so much. We were happy to make it to the top safely in an hour or so, just before the mist became rain. As the day continued, the rain intensity increased, and the temperature dropped. We kept thinking that the day would have been pretty easy without the rain, since trail, aside from being rocky, was pretty fast, aside from the rock face we had already climbed. We put on our rain jackets, had a snack after two hours, and didn't stop again until we reached the shelter at 3:30, which was way earlier than we had expected. That was a good thing, since there were already five people in a six person shelter: Glasses, Mouse, Gato, Ol' Blue Eyes and Bamboui. We changed into dry clothes after moving our air mattresses into the spot made. Soon more people arrived: first Well Woman and Won't. They set up their tent. Then three more hikers came. Since the shelter was full, they continued walking another few miles into town. Gorp and his dad arrived next, set up their tent. Since they were wet already, Gorp offered to get water for several of us. We accepted, gratefully! Soon, two more people came, and continued into town. Just before dinner time, Uhaul and Stray Dog arrived. They put their sleeping pads down in the front of the shelter. We made dinner, then, after dinner, there was silliness and lots of photos until hiker midnight. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail, especially when you're in a shelter during a rainstorm with congenial hikers, and also when the day's hike is easier than expected!
Date: 2012-06-13
From: Leroy Smith Shelter 1267.4

To: Church of the Mountain Hostel 1287.6
Miles today: 20.2

The rain stopped sometime before we arose, after raining most of the night. Yea! With a crowded shelter, it was good to be able to pack up outside. We were hiking by seven, after changing into yesterday's wet clothes...brrr. The trail started out rocky, but not tremendously so for Rocksylvania. At 4.5 miles into our hike we crossed a road, and I saw a sign to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, bringing back memories of a summer spent in the Pocono mountains with my grandmother. After crossing the road, we climbed to the top of a ridge. We hiked along the top of a rock outcropping. This would have been scary a month ago, but wasn't now, since there wasn't much exposure and, besides, we're getting used to climbing rocks. Stray Dog caught up with us and asked whether either of us had left running shoes at the shelter. He was carrying them, and was looking for the owner. We hadn't, so he stopped for a break while we continued on. When we stopped at the shelter for lunch at thirteen miles, Blue Eyes was there. He checked his pack he found that he was, in fact, missing his camp shoes, so he left a note for Stray Dog in the shelter log. We read the log as well, while we ate, then continued hiking the last six miles into Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania. Of this six miles, several were on dirt road, with a small rock pile to climb over, and several miles were on single track trail. We met a group of boy scouts. One of the leaders had thru hiked in 1993! The trail ended up on a dirt road going past a lily pond, then turned to pavement into town. After locating the first white blaze we would pass the next day, we walked left to the hostel, located in the Church of the Mountain. We found the last two bunks, then went to dinner. We found a cafe down the hill and past the traffic light. After eating half pound burgers with fries and coleslaw we looked at each other and commented that we were still hungry, so we went next door at a bakery/fast food restaurant for dessert: two scoops of chocolate ice cream for me; a hotdog and apple pie for Gary. Back at the hostel, there were lots of familiar faces: August was playing chess; Salt Bomb was sewing patches on his pack; Stray Dog, Uhaul, Johannes, and lots of others were there as well. By then, some people from the church were hauling trash and recycling down the driveway to the road. Several other hikers helped with this, including us. We chatted with them, made a few phone calls, then called it a day. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail, especially when you end the day with the last two bunks in a free hostel and get a town food.