morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-05-31
From: James Fry Shelter

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: few clouds

Today I walked through the Cumberland Valley. This area is mostly farmland and pastures and has been for many years. When the trail was first laid out here it followed roads because the land was all privately owned. Since most hikers get here during the summer months there were many complaints about the hot road walks. As a result of what the AT Conservancy calls an "ambitious land acquisition program" (translated it means we took it through eminent domain) the trail now wanders along the edge of fields and pastures. So now instead of walking along a two lane rural road in the hot sun, we walk through tick-infested, snake hiding, waist high, wet grass in the hot sun. Be careful what you wish for. About lunch time I got to the ATC mid-atlantic regional office in Boiling Springs, PA, one of the nicest looking towns we go through in PA. There I found about 8 thru-hikers lounging on the front porch of the closed office (it's Memorial Day). I know most of them, they did not take a day off in Harper's Ferry. I got some snacks from the gas station for lunch and then moved on. It was a hot, humid day and I wanted to try to get to the next shelter early in case of thunder storms. I made it by about 6:00, dry, although there were some dark clouds and thunder in the distance behind me. The rest of the crowd got there about 8:00 and although there was some thunder and lightning north of us we got no rain.
Date: 2010-06-01
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

Left early and got to Duncannon in time for lunch. This is the kind of town that only hikers visit. Checked into the Doyle Hotel which is where hikers, and only hikers stay. Very old and run down but the owners are very friendly. The local grocery store runs a van every afternoon from the hotel to the store and back for hikers to shop. I had lunch, showered, and washed clothes before the rest of the crowd got into town. The other evening I was talking to a section hiker at a shelter about thru-hiking and commented on how after a 1000 miles most of the jerks had been weeded out. Although there are some that I prefer to be around more than others, there is no one in my general area that I really don't like. And although I have very little in common with most of the young people other than the fact that we're all hiking (I couldn't find anyone else sad about the end of "24") I admire their willingness to put up with the hardships of spending months on the trail. I've put in some big miles the last few days. In the beginning in GA there would have been criticism of anyone doing so. Now, for the most part, the hikers have a none-of-my-business, live-and-let-live attitude about each other. After this many miles nobody cares about what someone else wears, eats, or the kind of gear they carry. A good lesson to carry back to the real world.
Date: 2010-06-02
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Stoney Mtn
Miles today: 21.2

My next mail drop is at the Port Clinton, PA post office. If I hake what might be considered normal mileage I won't get there until late Saturday. which means I would have to wait until the post office opens on Monday to pick up my package. I'm going to try to push a little and get there Saturday morning. In the meantime I went across the street to the little diner which is the only place that serves breakfast. Mistake. I ordered sausage, egg and cheese on a bagel and one pancake. The pancake was good. The bagel was one of those small ones to it did not come close to covering the other stuff. The egg was flat and greasy looking, not fluffy at all. I don't know what the meat was but it was like no sausage I had ever eaten. No spices at all. It tasted like hamburger, and not very good hamburger. The texture was very solid like someone had taken some ground beef and mashed it into a patty as hard as they could. Very hot today, luckily someone had left a cooler at about the 18 mile mark and the drinks were still cold. Stoney Mtn is just a hill top along the way, not a regular camping spot.
Date: 2010-06-03
From: Stoney Mtn

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 25.5
Weather: light rain

My plan at the beginning of the day was to go to the Penn shelter at 21 miles and tomorrow go the the shelter 8 miles from Pt Clinton, then the next day , Saturday, get up early to make sure I got to the P.O. before it closed at 11:00. At 5:15 I knew I was getting close to Penn but wasn't sure so I stopped for a break. I had been trying to ignore a low grade headache for about an hour and finally decided to take an aspirin. Break over at 5:30 and about 10 minutes later I reached the turn off for the shelter. By that time the aspirin had kicked in and what a difference it made. I was feeling good, not tired anymore no soreness. The 501 shelter was only 4.2 miles away so I decided to keep going. Got there a little after 7:00. This pain killer stuff could be addictive. Back in 2006 there was a saying, "Ibuprofen, and I be walking". It got me to thinking about the limits of human endurance. Back in my early days of running marathons there were times when I had to walk for awhile, but I've never gotten to the point where I couldn't take another step. But then I've never tried to get to that point. I can't remember ever doing more that about 30 miles in one day. There are ultra-marathons now of over 100 miles. I wonder how far a competitor in one of those could go before they break down. And how much of endurance is mental? Back in the old Army days it was said that a soldier could be convinced to go a little further no matter how tired he was, but a tired horse would just lay down and die. Of course I have a movie reference. In "Facing the Giants" the players are doing a drill where they are carrying another player on their back while they move down the field on their feet and hands (I think it's called a bear crawl or bear walk). The coach asks a player if he can go the length of the field. The player says no way. The coach blindfolds him, starts him out, and the player ends up going the 100 yards. I think that we too often place limits on what we can do, and not just physically. We talk ourselves into failing before we even start, if we start at all. Interesting subject, I think I'll do a little research into it when I get through with this hike. The 501 shelter is named after Highway 501 which is about 100 yards from the shelter. It is a fully enclosed building. Since I got here today, I can get all the way to Pt. Clinton tomorrow evening and be in town when the P.O. opens the next morning.
Date: 2010-06-04
From: 501 Shelter

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: few clouds

Got into town about 6:00. Real tired. The town has a giant picnic pavilion that they let hikers sleep in. I was there by my self. The only problem is it's only about 30 yards from a major highway. With earplugs I managed to get some sleep.
Date: 2010-06-05
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I decided to take a day off since I got here early. The only problem is that this is not much of a town. One restaurant, and a candy store. The town of Hamburg, a couple of miles away has a lot more businesses. I'm staying at the Port Clinton hotel. Shared baths, private room with air conditioning and cable TV. I would have gone to Hamburg but I want to start early tomorrow and don't want the hassle of trying to get back here.
Date: 2010-06-06
From: Port Clinton

To: Allentown Shelter
Miles today: 23.5

It seems like every few miles there's another sign saying a different club is responsible for the next section of trail. And it seems like they are competing to see who can reroute their part of the trail onto the roughest terrain. In 2006 the last few miles to this shelter were on an old dirt road. Now it's been moved up into the rocks. Three thru hikers showed up late in the evening. They said that there were a couple of dozen hikers in the Pt Clinton pavilion last night.
Date: 2010-06-07
From: Allentown Shelter

To: Slatington, PA
Miles today: 17.4

PA is known for a rough, rocky trail and it has gotten much worse since Pt Clinton. It took me most of the day to get here. When most hikers get here they go west to stay in the city hall for free in the town of Palmerton. I go east to Slatington and stay at Fine Lodging owned and operated by Ira Fine. Private room with cable TV and shared bath. Mr. Fine will pick you up where the trail crosses the road and bring you back when you are ready to continue. Within 100 yards of his hotel there are 3 restaurants, a laundromat, a convenience store, and the public library. Of course one of the advantages of being an older hiker with a pension check every month is you don't have to stay at the free places and cheap hostels.
Date: 2010-06-13
From: Highpoint Shelter

To: Waywayanda Shelter
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: haze

Saw an adult bear today less than a quarter mile from a residential area. NJ has more bears per square mile than anywhere else on the trail. A ridgerunner was telling me that there is going to be a bear hunting season this fall for the first time in many years. I'm guessing that a lot of bears are going to be real surprised and that hikers next year may not see as many. More rain this afternoon.
Date: 2010-06-14
From: Waywayanda Shelter

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

Planned on a short day today due to wet shoes and to make tomorrow work out the way I want. Didn't start walking until 8:30. Entered NY this morning. The trail in NY is very rough with some places bordering on dangerous especially if the rocks are wet. It's not the place to take a child hiking. I wonder what effect the roughness of the trail has on the membership of the trail maintaining clubs. Most trail maintenance is done by volunteers who are members of the clubs. Could it be that local residents get on one of these rough trails for a few miles and say "I don't want no part of this" and "I'm not bringing my family out here". Even though it is now summer time I don't see many local section hikers out on the trail. You would think that in these states with large populations there would be plenty of volunteers and the trail would be in great shape but that is usually not the case. And you should see the shelters up here. On the southern portion of the trail you see many shelters that have been built or remodeled in the last 20 years. Other than Vermont, most of the shelters in other states are pretty old. The Green Mountain Club in VT has built some really nice shelters and tent platforms. The situation is especially bad in NH where the Appalachian Mountain Club charges $8 per person per night to camp at their sites and you don't get anything special for the money.
Date: 2010-06-15
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: West Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 22.7

West Mtn is .6 mi off the trail but it's on the top of a mtn with a good view of NYC skyline if the weather permits. This is my second time here and it's usually hazy but you can see the lights at night. Had a interesting situation today that I'm still thinking about. There is a shelter 4.2 mi south of West Mtn. As I was walking up toward it a guy came out of the shelter wearing shorts and smoking. I saw 2 sets of gear in the shelter. Neither set looked like thru hiker gear. There were some clothes on a rock drying in the sun although there is no place to swim close by. I never did see the owner of the other pack. I said hello and kept walking but got an uneasy feeling. About 2 miles further I topped a hill with a scenic view and met 2 young women. One was very fit looking and carrying a name brand pack, in other words, she looked like she knew what she was doing. The other had a day pack and looked like she was along for the ride. As soon as I soon as I saw them I started thinking about what I had seen. Then I found they were south bound I was even more conflicted. I finally told them that the guy I saw looked kind of sketchy and that if they had any doubts they should just keep walking and camp somewhere else. I realize that I had no proof of anything and could be wrong and that I may have scared them needlessly. But I believe I did the right thing. I left a shelter years ago because I was by myself and didn't have a good feeling about the other person. In 2006 I was in a similar situation and would have left if there hadn't been a couple of other guys there that I knew. Ended up in the shelter by myself. Couple of tenters in the area. There was a Whip-o-will that kept calling off and on most of the night.
Date: 2010-06-16
From: West Mtn Shelter

To: Ft. Montgomery, NY
Miles today: 5.8

Picked up by my wife at the Bear Mtn bridge. Yes, I'm going home again, this time for Father's Day. It is Wednesday, I have not seen another thru hiker since last Thursday in DE Water Gap. I'm in a gap now which means the shelter areas are not crowded but it could get kind of lonely. I figure that I'll miss about a week so most people I know will be ahead of me. Well, maybe I'll catch up with some of them. I have less than 800 miles to go so there is not much chance that I will catch up with people I knew back in March. New photos added.
Date: 2010-06-25
From: Hwy 52

To: Hwy 301
Miles today: 12.1

I could tell something was wrong when I left Duncannon. Minor pain in my right heel. I could deal with it by stepping with the ball of my right foot instead of coming down on the heel in a normal manner. Of course this abnormal way of walking is more tiring and I had to pay more attention to where I put my foot down. It was really painful in the morning right after getting up but got a little better after walking some. I covered about 250 miles this way but it wasn't much fun. I would say my age was catching up with me but this is the third time this has happened to me, the first time being in the mid 1980's when I was running 60-100 miles a week. Self-diagnosed as a stress fracture. Previously I stopped running for a couple of months and it cured itself. I hoped this past week of doing nothing would help, but it didn't. The first 6 miles today were not bad but it didn't last. I was limping again by the time I got to Hwy 301 so I called it quits.
Date: 2010-08-18
From: Hwy 301

To: Bear Mtn Bridge
Miles today: 18.2

Back to try it again, but with no luck. I knew that I wasn't 100% when I started but if I waited much longer I might not be able to finish before the first snow. The first 10 miles were ok but things got worse as I went along. I managed to finish in 9 hours but it took some careful walking. If I only had a couple of hundred miles to go I would limp on, but with over 700 it's possible I could do serious damage. So I guess I'll have to come back next summer to finish up. How clever of me to find such a good excuse to get back out on the trail for a couple of months next year. And my wife thought that I would be home for the next couple of years. By the way, I've got a lot of hiking food I need to eat. As soon as I've healed I'm going to have to go out for a week or two down here in order to use it up. SummaryIt's been a good 1400 miles. Met some good people, had some new adventures. I learn something new every time I go out. All my gear worked pretty well. I've got a new Thermarest Neoair air mattress I'm going to try out as soon as I can get back out. I've seen enough other people using it to be willing to give it a try myself. It's almost as light as the Zlite pad and a whole lot more comfortable. Gregory Z65 pack did a good job. Some wear where the shoulder strap attaches to the bottom of the pack but I put duct tape on that area. Really liked the Railrider Insect Shield clothing. Mosquitos were never bad but I did not find any ticks once I started wearing it. The mesh material let a lot of air in. That's about it, if anybody has any questions about gear or anything else about the trail I'll be glad to answer them. My plan now is to start back about the middle of July next year. I had my pack weight down to 19 lbs. when I was ready to come back in June. I'll still be able to carry that weight for several weeks if I start in July. The insects will also be slacking off and the temps will be starting to cool down.
Date: 2010-02-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Finally set a start date of March 8th,2010! Its on! Will be meeting the parents in Cleveland,TN on Saturday the 6th to stay with friends, then headed to Amicalola S. P. Just booked a room at the lodge for Sun night (7th) and headed up Springer Mtn on the 8th to start the trail.
Date: 2010-02-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Took my parents and sister for a short hike to Laurel Falls today. They wanted to get a small glimpse of what the trail looks like. The snow was beautiful and the falls were frozen on the sides. Thermometer on my pack read 22 degrees and the tube for my camelback froze after a while. It was great to be outside in the snow and I enjoyed just hanging out with them. I havent hiked since wrecking my knee on Sugar Mountain wed.(Couldn't see in the blinding snow and skied into the snow blowing machine!)Ha! wish I had it on video. Looking back on it I'm really lucky I didnt break something. Got away with only a sizeable bruise stretching from about mid-shin to lower thigh. Stopped in at Kincora hostel on the way out, met Bob, and checked the place out. It's a really cool place and Bob was a super nice guy. Hope to see him again on my way through in about a month and a half-ish??
Date: 2010-03-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well 6 days and counting I will be heading out on this journey..plans are made, couple of mail drops sent, goodbyes said (mostly), and pack is packed (for the 80th time) and I couldn't be more excited..I am ready. Trying to endulge with as many calories as possible this week. My conditioning/hiking has really slacked off this week though. O well, I'll be hit with it soon enough. Enough with the snow already!! Shaved a few more ounces off my pack. Going to try and start with the bare minimum and add things as I think I need/want them. Really going to miss my sister and best friend. Thanks for the pizza and beer at the shroom tonight. And thanks for taking time from your well deserved spring break to drive me to the trailhead! Man, I've been through some crap lately, mostly self-inflicted, and its good to know your family will always be there for you. Anyways, I cant wait to get this thing going. Tired of the skeptics..tired of the bear question, tired of the deliverence joke, tired of the douschelord that lives upstairs, and the "into the wild" comment. Stupid movie. Hope to see y'all out there or hear from you soon!p.s. yo bigbrew, knee is all good now. was just an enormous bruise thank god. gonna be taking it slow for sure at first. I'm not in any hurry so hope to see ya out there soon
Date: 2010-03-08
From: springer mountain

To: View Entry
Miles today: 7.8

Wow, what an awesome first day. I couldnt have asked for better weather. Sunny all day with a high of around 60. Hiked with the family up to the summit of Springer after a pretty dangerous ride up the svc road. Camped here at Hawk Mtn tonight. Looks like around 25hikers. About 12 of which are thru hikers. A blind hiker named Mike is here also. Yes, the man is BLIND and hiking the AT. He doesnt even use a dog. He uses a leki pole to feel the trail in front of him. He has an amateur film maker following him making a doc. I dont see how he made it down springer with all the ice and snow. Got to talk with him around the fire for a bit and he is very motivated. He is not stopping..What an inspiration. Taking it easy tomorrow. Hoping the shelter isnt full, they say rain is moving in.
Date: 2010-03-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 19.2

"Holed" up at woods hole shelter on this cold and rainy night. Hiked 12 miles yest to woody gap and shuttled in to Dahlonega and split a motel with greg and the TX trio. Hot shower, fat burrito, and a six pack hit the spot. The mgr of the hotel even bought my beer. Feeling good but pretty sore. Felt like my calves were going to explode this morning when i stood up. Itching to knock off some big miles but holding back for now.
Date: 2010-03-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 3.7

Chillin at Neels Gap. Met up with 3 ex-navy guys and we all threw in 15 and got a really nice cabin. Looking forward to Miss Janet's country cookin tonight. Up early tomorrow. Going to try to make it to Hiawassee in 3 days. Skipped out on the pack shake down. Happy with my packweight and all my gear so far. knock on wood
Date: 2010-03-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.8

Wet day today. Ate a huge breakfast of french toast,bacon, eggs, juice and coffee at the hostel at neel's gap. Snuck out early and booked it up the hill so I could grab a spot at the next shelter. It started raining really hard and the wind was getting stronger about an hour into the hike. I decided to just skip lunch and keep going to low gap shelter so I wouldn't to stop and get cold and get all my gear inside my pack wet. Made it to the shelter around 1:15 and claimed a spot as it poured buckets outside. 2 weekend campers were there and I think I freaked them out when I had to strip all my wet clothes off. Oh well, it had to be done. Later we were all talking about how you kind of lose all sense of humility out here. You do things in order to be safe and warm. Shared the shelter with Nemo, TN Tom, the 3 Navy guys, and some sketchy character. I've started calling the Navy dudes the 3 blind squids because they missed a white blaze and got lost in the fog on the way down blood mountain. It has rained all day non-stop. I'm sitting here watching the lightning show and listening to thunder in the distance as this storm rolls through. Pea-sized hail fell for a few minutes. Going to try for Tray Mtn shelter tomorrow. Big day at 15 miles with a couple of monster climbs. Ready for some dry weather..
Date: 2010-03-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.0

Longest day yet at 15 miles. Started at 8 am and got to Tray mountain shelter around 3:30. The morning was pretty easy just walking along the ridgetops. My pants and shirt were still soaked from yesterday's downpour so it wasn't fun putting them on this morning. I stopped to talk to Broadaxe after about an hour of hiking and looked down and they were totally dry already. Stopped for lunch at Unicoi Gap and met Ron Haven, the owner of several hiker-friendly motels in the area. He offered a ride into town which was very tempting but I had enough food to get me closer to town so I kept going. Got hooked up with some trail magic on the climb up Tray mountain. A former thru hiker left a box of cookies, apples, and cheese crackers. Thanks Traveler! It started snowing about half way up the mountain.Its going to be a cold night. 7 of us are in the shelter at around 4200ft and very windy. Looking forward to a warm bed in Hiawassee tomorrow. I'm running into alot of groups of friends that are hiking together. I love the freedom I have not being part of a group. I'm able to hike when I want, eat when I want, and sleep when I want. But it is fun to hang out and socialize at night around the shelter.
Date: 2010-03-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.0

there were alot of blow downs across the trail coming down from Tray mtn. Finally got into town and checked in at the Hiawassee Inn. Learned a valueable lesson today. Never go into town on a Sunday. The laundry place was closed so I snuck into the Holiday Inn and did laundry there. Saw Dr. Evil and split laundry costs with him. Just as I was walking back to my room at the Inn the squids walked up. Apparently they had taken Ron's offer yesterday and stayed in town last night. Then they had slackpacked the rest today. We went to an all you can eat buffet and ate a ton!