morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-28
From: 1 mile before Darlington Shelter

To: Clarks Ferry Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I stayed at the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, PA last night. It is a very old hotel. I felt like I was in a college dorm. The place was full of hikers. There was a shared bathroom on the hall. We left our doors open and hung out in different rooms. It was a lot of fun. I hiked into town with 3 guys named Greenblaze, Lone Wolf, and Jabberwocky. We all decided to get 2 double rooms so we each could have our own bed, and it is cheaper. I shared a room with Jabberwocky. I feel like I need to explain something about how things work differently on the trail when it comes to sharing rooms and stuff out here. Since we all sleep together, literally side-by-side, in the shelters it doesn't feel strange to share a room and sometimes a bed with other hikers. Especially, if it cuts your cost in half. Many times, hikers will get a hotel room with 2 beds and split it 4 ways. You're usually sharing a bed with somebody, but it is totally normal out here. Even the guys will sleep with each other. So, if I talk about sharing a room with a guy, please keep in mind that there is no 'hanky panky' or anything like that going on. I am a Christian, and do not do that.On my way out of town today I stopped by an ice cream place. A guy was there with his grandson. He said, "Look, a hiker!" Then he asked me if he could buy me ice cream. Don't need to ask me twice! After we finished talking about hiking, lady came up and asked me my name. She said she over heard me talking about my hike, and she and her husband wanted to pray for me. I thought it was so nice that they are going to do that! Really took me by surprise :-)I'm in the shelter right now, and there is a really old dude sleeping in it too. He's 3 people over from me. He's snoring really loud, and having dreams. He keeps picking his leg up and kicking it out! We are all laughing about it. We shifted down so the girl next to him doesn't get kicked accidentally lol!
Date: 2013-07-02
From: Clarks Ferry Shelter

To: Lickdale, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday I took a zero in Lickdale, PA. It was unplanned. I was hiking with greenblaze, Jabberwocky, and Lone Wolf when it started raining really hard. We were originally planning on doing 25 miles. We ran under a bridge nearby and saw we were right by a road to town. We hitched a ride to town and got a room at the Days Inn.
Date: 2013-07-06
From: Lickdale, PA

To: Jail House Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

7-6-13The other day I did 25 miles...my biggest day so far. I got up at 4:30am with Shady, Jabberwocky, Greenblaze, and Lone Wolf and hiked out of the 501 shelter. We ended in Port Clinton, PA.As soon as we walked into town a truck pulled up next to me and the guy asked if I needed a ride. Again, I didn't even have to stick my thumb up for a hitch. It's so easy getting rides in town when you're a female hiker. Some guys joke about it being the only reason they let us hike with them! Lol!His name was Fred. He first drove us to his house to rinse off our legs...mine get caked in dirt when I hike. He asked me (and only me) if I wanted a shower or to do laundry. I declined. He asked me again a little later after we ate and re-supplied. It was funny because all the guys kept saying how they wanted to shower and wash clothes. But he never offered it to them. Just me. Honestly, he came off a little creepy. I was glad the boys were with me for that one. After Port Clinton we hiked to a place called the Pinnacle. It had panoramic views of PA. We watched fireworks. It was cool. Tonight, I'm staying at an old jail house hostel. They let hikers sleep in the basement. It's a full house here tonight. We're getting up early tomorrow to hike 22 miles to a place called Wind Gap. It's gonna be really hot, and there is a 17 mile stretch where there's no water. So I would rather knock out the majority of miles early before it gets too hot. I've been thinking a lot about what I'm going to do when I go home. It is a commonly asked question on the trail. I think part of me is afraid of what my "new" life is going to look like. Being out here has allowed me to run away and avoid facing the reality that I need to find a job. So much has changed since I came out here. The life I walked away from no longer exists. Friends have moved away, my roommate is gone, I don't have a job, my puppy is growing up, my brother is married, my parents moved out of the house I grew up in, and I will be different too. I was hiking with a guy who said it'll be weird to go back to the real world after an experience like this. Nobody will be able to fully understand it. After a week or so people will be tired of hearing trail stories. It's like I'm on this life changing adventure, but when it's over, it's over. There's no way to bring it back with you. It makes me sad thinking about the end. Climbing Mt. Katahdin will be bittersweet. We walk over 2100 miles to get to the top of that mountain. And then what? Go home and try to fit in with civilization? Haha...only hikers would get the humor in that. We stand out whenever we're in town. At the checkout at the store today the cashier told me I could have a free apple or orange because I was a hiker. I didn't even say anything about hiking around her. She could just look at me (or smell me) and know I'm a hiker. I should try to sleep now. It's almost 11pm!! Way past my bedtime!
Date: 2013-07-08
From: Jail House Hostel

To: Beer Stein
Miles today: 0.0

I stayed at this really cool restaurant/bar called the Beer Stein in Wind Gap, PA. They let you camp in the yard for free. Then, in the morning the owner opens the building at 9am so the hikers can cook breakfast. He let us use the kitchen as well as any food we wanted. He didn't care what we ate! I made eggs, bacon, and French toast. I also ate an avocado, apple pie, vanilla ice cream, and a piece of ice cream cake. I think it is so awesome whenever I meet people like that, who go out of their way to make hikers feel good. He doesn't have anything to gain by hosting us at his business. It was just really awesome of him to do it for us :-)
Date: 2013-07-10
From: Delaware Water Gap, NJ

To: Rattlesnake Spring
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

I finally hiked out of town. It was almost noon when I started. I hiked about 14 miles to a place called Rattlesnake Spring. I'm officially in NJ now!I'm camping with Jabberwocky, Lone Wolf and his wife Beowulf, Rosey Eagle (72 year old man thru-hiking), and a couple from the Czech Republic. I hiked most of the day with Jabberwocky. We stopped at a creek and went swimming. It got pretty deep. The water was cold and felt so good in the heat of the day. There was also a cool lookout tower that we climbed to the top of. It was really old and rickety. I figured if it was too dangerous to climb then they would have torn it down. I got a new pair of shoes in DWG. The ones I got in Harpers Ferry were starting to peel apart just like the 1st pair. This time Vasque sent me a different style. They are lighter than my other ones, which is nice. But I am worried they aren't sturdy enough for the trail. I also discovered they don't offer much traction on rocks when I slipped and fell today. My other shoes were great for walking on rocks. Very sticky tread. I'll give them a few more days and see if it gets better. Maybe the rubber needs to be broken in before they reach their full potential :-)
Date: 2013-07-11
From: Rattlesnake Spring

To: Campsite
Miles today: 0.0

Today was such a great day up until the last few miles when it started raining. Last night I camped with Jabberwocky. He had actually gone into town and back tracked a mile to stay with me. My feet were killing me and I couldn't take another step. He asked if I wanted him to read the Bible to me before I fell asleep. It was so nice. Then asked me if there was anything he could pray about for me. He's such a great friend out here!We hiked into Culvers Gap, NJ this morning. Jabberwocky said it was the most unfriendly town he'd encountered. He stopped at a place called Gyp's for a coke. There was a big sign that said hikers couldn't use the front door. Then, once inside, another sign saying hikers had to either sit outside or in the back of the restaurant. He said he felt like a second class citizen. It almost seems illegal the way they treat hikers. Anyhoo, after hearing about that I wasn't too excited about stopping in town. But I wanted some coffee and a snack before beginning our long day. We went to a place called Joe To Go. There, we met a trail angel named Snores. He asked us if we needed anything or if he could drive us anywhere. He gave us a cold Pepsi and drive me to the quickie mart down the street. I didn't really need anything, I just needed to charge my phone. It was almost dead. I plugged it in behind the registers and walked around. I bought doughnuts for breakfast and a 12pk of Coke to give Snores. He gave away 5 cans of Pepsi while we were sitting in town. I figured he deserved to get a little something in return for his generosity. After we got back to the coffee shop, he said he would slack pack me, Jabberwocky and a guy named Walking Stick (Stick for short). Slack packing is when somebody takes your pack and meets you further down the trail. He met us 5 miles down the trail. It felt so good hiking without my pack on! I was so light on my feet. Jabberwocky and I were literally running! It was great! We crushed the 5 miles in no time at all. The rest of the day was nice. New Jersey has been nice so far. But very buggy. And by buggy I mean mutated Mosquitos! You can't stop without being swarmed by them. I think it's from all the swamp lands in NJ. They even bite through your clothes!
Date: 2013-07-13
From: High Point Shelter

To: Pochuck Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: mist

Today was rough for me. It rained all night and all day today. I was actually a little cold last night. It sucked. I got a new pair of shoes that I'm breaking in. They have been horrible so far. The rain today didn't help either. I now have blisters on the tops of my toes. They are very painful. I hiked with a guy named Flavor Savor (because he gets a lot of food stuck in his beard) all morning. We stopped in a town called Unionville, NY for a resupply and lunch. We were suppose to go to a party at Garden Girl's house, but our ride fell through. So we hiked on to the shelter. I only did like 12.4 miles today. The last 5 were super painful. I don't know what I'm gonna do tomorrow. I was in such a bad mood after leaving town today. I wanted to get off the trail. I think I'm bummed because I won't get to see my friends or family for my birthday this year. It's on July 16th. I was feeling really homesick. If Jabberwocky hadn't been hiking with me I probably would've cried. I'm feeling better now. I think it was just the weather and my feet that were bringing down my mood. I'll never get off the trail because of a bad day.
Date: 2013-07-14
From: Pochuck Mountain Shelter

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I decided to do a short day yesterday because of the blisters from my new shoes. I stayed at a church hostel in Vernon. It is really nice here. They have a washer a dryer, so I actually did REAL LAUNDRY!! I can't tell you how excited I was about that! Since I got here so early yesterday, I had lots of time to hang out. I hosed down my pack and hung it to dry. It was starting to smell like it was rotting. I watched two Disney movies. Jabberwocky and I walked to the A&P for some resupply items. There was a Starbucks there. The first one I've seen on the trail! Since my birthday is this month, I got a free drink. When they handed me my drink, it was cold, and I wanted it hot. So they made a new one and handed me a coupon for another free drink! So I think I'm going to stop there before hitting the trail today and redeem it. I don't know when I'll see another Starbucks again.Occupy finally caught up with me here too! It was really good to see him again. His dog, Helga, was super excited to see me. She practically wagged her tail off :-)It's time to get my stuff packed up and start walking...I don't know why I dread it more some days than others.
Date: 2013-07-15
From: Vernon, NJ

To: Wawayander Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Tonight, Occupy hiked out an angel food cake with some mixed berry topping. I was over by my tent when I heard them calling me to the shelter. He had lit a Q-tip for a candle and sang happy birthday to me. It totally made my night. I loved the use of a Q-tip...clever. I saw a bear today too! Apparently, there are tons of bears in NJ. somebody said there is one bear for every square mile. I heard something moving in the woods. I stopped because it sounded bigger than a deer. I saw the bear like 100 yards away from me. I tried to get a pic and video, but it's hard to see because of all the trees in the way.
Date: 2013-07-16
From: Wawayander Shelter

To: Little Dam Pond
Miles today: 19.1

It's my birthday today! I had blast!I left the Wawayander shelter at like 5:30 this morning with Jabberwocky. We wanted to beat the heat. We also needed to stop in Garden Lake, NY for his mail drop. After hiking 10 miles, which included crossing the NJ/NY state line and hiking to the top of the highest point in NY state, we hitched into town. Occupy and his dog Helga joined us. While at the post office, one of the workers have us a box of donuts. He said one of their customers brings day-old baked goods. It was super nice of him to share with us. Then, we walked to a cafe for lunch. The lady who gave us the hitch happened to be there too. I invited her to join us, but she said she wasn't staying long because she had to work. After she left the cafe owner informed us that she had paid for all three of our meals! Wow! I was blown away by her generosity! I wish I'd had her name or a way to thank her. It was very kind. The two women working at the cafe found out it was my birthday. They surprised me with a big cookie with birthday candles stuck in it! They sang to me and everything :-) They were the sweetest ladies!! Before leaving the cafe, they offered to fill our water containers. The water sources, though plentiful, have been kinda gross. I drank orange colored water with my breakfast this morning. We followed up our delicious lunch with heaping bowls of ice cream at a frozen treats shop. I had birthday cake flavored ice cream (my favorite)!The only bad thing in our trip to town happened when we tried to get a ride back to the trail head. An undercover cop pulled up and informed me it was illegal in NY to hitch hike. He said he could arrest me, but won't. He suggested we move on. It was a 2 mile walk down a hot and busy highway. There were no sidewalks, so we had to walk on the black top. It felt like a 1000 degrees on the road. After about 15 minutes, a car pulled over and offered to drive us. His name was Hobbit. He had hiked 500 miles of the trail back in March and April. He was just out doing some trail magic. We were so grateful for the ride. Then, he asked if we wanted a cold drink before driving off. He had a cooler of cokes in his trunk. It was perfect!I am very happy with how my day turned out. I ended up hiking 19 miles. I got to hang out with two of my favorite people, Jabberwocky and Occupy. I am so blessed :-)We are camped out at a place by a dam. During dinner, a bear walked through the woods near us. Helga flipped out. Don't worry, I hung my food in a tree. I hope the bears don't bother us. I didn't put my rain fly on my tent just in case I hear something in the woods so I can look out and see it.
Date: 2013-07-17
From: Little Dam Pond

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This has been a hard day. NY is full of steep ups and downs. Not to mention the crazy rock climbs. I actually had to take off my pack to climb up one of the rock walls today. In addition to the crazy terrain, the weather has been blistering hot! This morning, I left the campsite thinking there was a water source within a couple of miles. But the source had dried up to a mere puddle. I started panicking because I didn't feel comfortable with the amount of water I had. I prayed for God to help make my water last until I found more. Then I got to the bottom of the mountain and there were like 30 jugs of water...a trail angel left it there! It was perfect! I filled up and went on my way. I was moving really slow today. Jabberwocky and I stopped at Island Pond for lunch. I fed the geese too. After lunch, we hiked to the next shelter. I had been planning on going to Tiorati Circle park to swim. I thought he was going too, but he said he just wanted to hike on. At the road crossing we parted ways. We'll meet up at Bear Mountain tomorrow. Occupy and a few other hikers were at the swimming lake. It was so much fun! I went in the water with all my clothes on. It was a good way to rinse them off too. This place even had an ice cream vending machine! These things should be at every mile marker on the trail! There were a lot of people at this place. It was weird because we were the only white people. They were almost all Hispanic. After swimming and eating (I got 2 things of ice cream) Occupy and I hiked out. We went 4 more miles to the William Brien Memorial shelter. I'm in my tent now. There is a large group of section hikers nearby. They are being very loud. I hope they go to bed soon. I want to wake up super early to crush some miles before the sun gets too hot. My alarm is set for 4:30.
Date: 2013-07-18
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Grayson Monastery
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I could barely stand the heat today. It was 100 degrees. There was literally a swarm of gnats around me most of the day. Even with my bug net over my head they were still able to get on the inside of my net. I eventually stopped swatting them because they drowned in my sweat the moment they landed. It was disgusting. This was a really hard day. I climbed a bunch of mountains including Black Mtn. and Bear Mtn. At one point the trail ran through a zoo! It was pretty neat. The lowest point on the trail was by the bear cages at the zoo. It was only 124' above sea level. Today, I also crossed the Hudson River. It was super hot on the bridge. I was thankful for the breeze from the cars whizzing by. Tonight, I'm camping at a monastery. They let hikers camp for free on their ball field. They also have a (COLD) shower and port-a-johns available. In the woods around the field are a ton of coyotes. They all started howling a moment ago. Kinda creepy. I'm sleeping with my food in my tent. I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm ready for bed now. The heat took it out of me today!
Date: 2013-07-19
From: Hosner Mountain Road

To: Hosner Mountain Road
Miles today: 0.0

Well I ended up having to buy a new iPhone 5. It was not ideal. $275 later I was back at the Bancroft's house trying to load all of my pictures and music onto my new phone. It took several hours, causing us to stay another night. Today, Jabberwocky and I are heading on a small road trip to New Haven, CT to visit Southern CT State University. Jabberwocky is going to grad school there in the fall. He was hoping to get some paperwork taken care of while we were in town. Bill and Amy are the most generous people ever....they let us borrow their car to drive to the university 60 miles away.In all my life, I've never encountered more generous people until I came out on the trail. This trip has restored my faith in people. This trip would've been such a bust if it hadn't been for the countless trail angels I've met.So, this morning we set out for New Haven. We were laughing about how sketchy our situation would sound to an officer if he pulled us over. We both have licenses from different states (he's from TN and I'm from NC). We were driving a car to CT that doesn't belong to us and has NY tags. It doesn't help that Jabberwocky looks like a homeless crackhead since he's lost so much weight and has a crazy beard. We got to the University, and nothing worked out the way we had hoped. His professor wasn't there, and we weren't able to get his paperwork completed. On the bright side, I was able to meet up with a friend from my first section hike back in 2010. I met Mike aka. Clotheline, back in Georgia. We met up at a restaurant for lunch. It was weird seeing him again after 3 years. I barely recognized him without his beard haha!On the way back to Stormville, NY, we got pulled over! Jabberwocky ended up getting a speeding ticket for going 5 miles over the speed limit! 60 in a 55mph zone! I've never heard of this happening. He's probably the only thru-hiker to get a speeding ticket during his hike.Looks like we're staying at Chez Bancroft for another night. I hope they don't mind. I've considered calling this portion of my trail journal "Goldilocks and the 4 Bancrofts" haha!
Date: 2013-07-27
From: railroad station

To: Mt Algo Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

I had such a spontaneous day. It was awesome! I ran into Grey Wolf and Jackson (now known as Red Tail) at the Mt. Algo Shelter last night. They told me they were going to borrow a car from a family who had taken them in similar to what the Bancrofts did for us. They planned on driving to Rhode Island for the day. Grey Wolf wants to visit every state, and figured it would be a good chance to check off another one. I said I wanted to go with them. So the next morning, we hiked into Kent, CT. From there, we left. Jabberwocky came with us too. It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive. Once in RI, we stopped at a place called the Cooked Goose for lunch. It was a pretty swanky place. There were several yacht clubs nearby. The patrons were all dressed in nice clothes. We felt a little out of place in our tattered hiker clothes and smelly body odors. The food was delicious. I even tried a bite of New England Clam Chowder from New England! I was able to convince Grey Wolf to drive us to the beach since it was only a few miles away. We were so excited to see the ocean! There was a public beach area that we drove up to see how much it would cost to park. You'll never guess how much it was...$28!!!! Obviously, we didn't go for that. We drove down the road a few more blocks and saw a sign for the visitor info place that said free 15 minute parking. Since we only wanted to wet our feet and snap a few pics it was perfect for us!I really enjoyed today. It almost felt like a vacation! We didn't get back to Kent until late. By the time I got my gear together the sun was gone. I had to night hike up the mountain in hopes of finding a place to stealth camp for the night. I found a nice flat spot at the top of the mountain big enough for the 4 of us. Once everybody got settled in, Jabberwocky and I read the bible aloud, then we all went around and prayed. It's kind of become a custom for me and Jabberwocky to do this at bedtime. It was really cool to have Grey Wolf and his son Red Tail join us tonight. I should go to sleep now. I actually have to hike tomorrow :-)