morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-29
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Stealth Camped near White Rocks View
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

We had a beautiful day for hiking, sunny and 82.  Zigzag drove us out to the trail at Harper's Ferry and we were off!  We were meeting ZigZag and hubby Mike for a day of hiking together, or the thought did  cross my mind that they wanted to get us far enough along the trail that we wouldn't return back at their doorstep!!!  Ha! Ha!  Too much time to think on the trail.  They hiked  7 miles with us and then headed for home, Kate their Golden Retriever, had a blast on the trail.  We are meeting South Bounders, hikers that started at Mt. Katadin in Maine and are hiking south.  The hikers we met today were PegLeg, ButterBar and War Wagon.We ended up hiking further than we had planned to make tomorrow shorter.  Thank you ZigZag for being our trail angel yesterday and today for the airport pick up, for your Alaskan pictures, for the ride out this morning and the company on the trail.  See you soon!Want to let Olivia that Adaleana had a great day, she is so happy to be back hiking!!
Date: 2012-08-30
From: Stealth Camped near White Rocks View

To: Annapolis rocks campsite
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Gorgeous day for hiking mid to upper 70's, some humidity. Greenstone was still sweating pretty good!  We actually got to get a shower today at Dahlgren backpacking campsite, very refreshing, but that did not last long.  We met day hikers today and a few South Bounders.  The south Bounder  was Old Bay, we met him along with Little Jesus at Pine Knob Shelter.  Little Jesus was a young man from LasVegas, he started at Duncannon, PA and is heading south and hopes to return to the trail next year and head north to finish his hike of the AT.  Really nice young man!  We are at Annapolis Rocks campsite for the night.  We have. Beautiful views from the rocks, hoping for a great sunset tonight.  Feet a sore today but other than that I feel lots better than last night, I was whipped last night.  Greenstone says he is very tired today.  Always a challenge to get the trail legs back!
Date: 2012-08-31
From: Annapolis rocks campsite

To: Raven Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

First in this journal entry, I want to say a big "Happy 1st Birthday to our grandson, Cole.  We love you so much!Second, I want to say thank you God for the cooling breezes we had today.  Our hike today would have been much less enjoyable without them.  We both are really tired tonight.  It was a very hot day of hiking in the mid 80's.  We took our time and stopped to rest and cool frequently! We had a couple of nice springs and one nice creek to take rest breaks at!  We came up to the creek and Greenstone wondered why I was taking off my shoes and I reminded him that Flame taught us to never pass up a good feet soaking stream!!  It was awesome!  Flame I hear your voice many times as I walk down the trail!We traveled down the trail or should I say up the trail to Raven Rocks,  beautiful views from there!  We are tenting tonight at Raven Rocks shelter.  If anyone is reading this journal and taking notes, the water, the spring is .3 on the opposite side of AT, not 0.1 like AWOL says.  It is also down the mountain.  The best news tonight is that we get to go to town and resupply tomorrow!!  Some fresh food is always exciting!  ~Thimbleberry~
Date: 2012-09-01
From: Raven Rocks Shelter

To: Deerlick Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We are in PA!!  WooHoo!  Crossed the boarder earlier today.  We stopped at Pen-Mar Park for a cool down and a drink of pop!  We had a few more miles to the road to town.  We hitched a ride into to town with a nice lady and her grandson, he was cute and 4 years old just like Olivia. She said that she gives a lot of hikers rides to Walmart.  The trail had some day hikers on it and also weekenders but rather quiet.  Last night was a long night, it was hot and no evening breezes so we did not get much sleep.  One of those nights that you stick to everything.  Weather says it feels like 96 today, the humidity is very high.  We have enjoyed a nice lunch at Subway and Greenstone is now shopping and then we will leave the air-conditioning hitch back to the trail and continue hiking.  We are planning on staying at Deer Lick Shelter. Thimbleberry We made it to camp by 3:15. We met Hiker Nut & Nutty Butter? at PennMar Park this morning. They were SoBo. We are now in the Tarptent listening to thunderstorms passing through. Seems to of cooled down a bit. Greenstone
Date: 2012-09-02
From: Deerlick Shelter

To: PA 233 - South Mtn, PA
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: scattered clouds

We had a better rest last night at Deerlick Shelter as thunderstorms moved in around 5pm or so and cooled things off a bit. We got up and on the trail this morning shortly after 7. We moved down the trail at a good pace even though the air was so humid that we were sweating big time within minutes. We were motivated though: Zig Zag made an offer we couldn't refuse. She offered to pick us up and bring us back to her home for the evening. We are going to a neighborhood potluck tonight. Yum Yum. On top of getting to spend time with ZZ and Mike a warm shower and fresh laundered clothes are a real treat. ZZ is a first rate Trail Angel for sure. ThanksWe met Doc Bob today. He is northbound too, heading to 501 shelter on this section hike. It has been fun to hear from all you folks that have been signing our TJ guestbook. One Stick, Tberry says you might need an ice pick to get at some of the water by the time you get on the trail....at least the bugs will be gone.We passed Antietam Shelter today and it looked like a great place to camp. Water faucet at Old Forge park is right next to the trail and good all season. Tumbling Run shelters had a nice pavilion and is in a nice setting. Greenstone
Date: 2012-09-03
From: PA 233 - South Mtn, PA

To: N of Milesburn Cabin
Miles today: 12.5

Mr Heat and Mrs Humidity are still hanging around us today.  We got dropped off at our trail head by the shuttle driver from Berbert B & B around 8:30 AM.  She is a great lady!  Thanks again Rebecca and Mike for a great evening.We are huffin and a puffin down the trail, slowly getting our trail legs back.  I am feeling stronger every day.  We are starting to see red leaves on some trees, so even though the weather seems like summer, we are seeing hints of fall.We really increased the number of South Bound hikers today, we think we met nine.  One that we spent time talking to for a while was named Crocket,  he was a little depressed because of being so wet/hot/sticky etc.  but very nice to talk to!  We also met up with two north bound section hikers, one was Wet Noodle and the other Caveman.  We passed thru Caledonia State park,  lots of families having cook outs today and they looked as hot and sweaty as we did!As we were nearing the mileage we wanted for the day, thunder started to roll and we got to the PATC Milesburn Cabin just in time for an hour down pour.  No one was staying there, as it was all locked up, so we cooked up our supper on the porch and waited the rain out.  When the rain let up we went up the hill to a trail side campsite and have settled in for the night.  Yes, it is only early evening, but our hiker bodies say "rest!"  ~Thimbleberry~
Date: 2012-09-04
From: N of Milesburn Cabin

To: Pine Grove Furnace SP
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We had some T storms overnight but woke up to more humidity again today. We hiked to Pine Grove Furnace SP, 12 miles, and are camped here tonight with Caveman. We met Moving a nice young man from PA hiking south. He will be moving to Idaho to work for the forest service soon. The showers felt great tonight. The camp host and his wife stopped by while we ate supper and we had a good time talking with them. It's lights out time for hikers. Good night! Greenstone
Date: 2012-09-05
From: Pine Grove Furnace SP

To: Stealth Camp 5 mi South of Boiling Springs
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

We left Pine Grove SP campground around 7:45 after enjoying breakfast with Caveman. Heavy rain had been forecast overnight but luckily we one received a few light sprinkles. About mid-morning we finally felt a weak front go thru and the humidity seemed better. Sunny with a light breeze and temps in the 80's. After about 8 miles we came to Green Mt Market, .2 east, and stopped for resupply. Of course we fueled up with roast beef and BBQ pork subs, qt. of chocolate milk and a punt of Hershey's ice cream. That powered us almost 7 more miles and we are stealth camped about 5 miles from Boiling Springs, PA tonight. We only met 3 SoBo hikers today, including a nice young couple, Gray Jay & Mountain Hopper. We hope to stay at the Allenberry Resort near Boiling Springs tomorrow to rest our feet and bodies. Greenstone
Date: 2012-09-06
From: Stealth Camp 5 mi South of Boiling Springs

To: Allenberry Resort & Playhouse
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: clear sky

We headed in to Boilings Springs this morning. It is a nice little town where we enjoyed walking along Children's Lake. We made it to Allenberry's Resort by 10:30, checked in, showered and made their lunch buffet by noon. It was an amazing meal for only $10 (AT hiker special). No supper tonight. My feet and back appreciate the rest today. Greenstone
Date: 2012-09-07
From: Allenberry Resort & Playhouse

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a hot one, 90 degrees. We left the Allenberry Resort at 7 and hiked thru corn, bean and hay fields in the Cumberland Valley. After 8 miles we jumped off the trail at Hwy 11, about 10:30, and hiked down the road to the Middlesex Diner for a late breakfast. The food was great and gave us energy to move on up the trail. About 4 pm we made it to Darlington shelter area and a nice rent area for the night. Caveman showed up around 6 and is staying in the shelter. We saw 4 Sobo's today including.a young lady from Toronto who has family in Soo Canada and on St Joe.Island near where we live. My back ( Greenstone's) has been hurting all week and is especially painful in the afternoon. It will likely mean the end of this hike,
Date: 2012-09-08
From: Darlington Shelter

To: the Doyle Hotel
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

We were up early and on the trail by 7 today. A cold front was to pass thru today. We made the 11.5 mile hike into Duncannon by 1:15. We made it to the Doyle motel just before the rain cut lose. We enjoyed fresh salads, 1/3 lb cheese burgers gfor a late lunch. Zig Zag & Mike had been out hiking came in and joined us. Tomorrow morning we shuttle to Harrisburg to pick up a rental car and head home. We've endured sore blistered feet, hot & humid days on end, but a painful back for 6 days with no improvement has finished this hike.Thanks for following along!Greenstone and Thimbleberry
Date: 2014-05-05
From: the Doyle Hotel

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We enjoyed spending the winter in Arizona and Texas in our RV. We spent 8 weeks doing volunteer work with the NOMADS this winter. We really enjoy doing the projects. We've been home since just before Easter but it's time to hit the AT again and to complete some more miles. We plan to start in Duncannon around the 20th. We are headed to St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands for a week first. Our daughter has to spend a week there for work and has invited us to come along...pretty hard to turn it down! Right after we head out to PA to start the AT north again. We are getting excited. G & T
Date: 2014-05-18
From: Back Home!

To: Duncannon
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

After a week in the Virgin Islands of relaxing, swimming and snorkeling we are ready to head back to PA and the AT. Our daughter had a business trip to St Thomas and invited us to tag along. Thimbleberry says we will be going from sleeping in a comfy king size bed back to on the Neo-air pad on the ground. We will actually be more at home sleeping in the woods in our Tarptent. So here we go...
Date: 2014-05-20
From: Duncannon

To: PA 225
Miles today: 7.0

We drove all day Monday the 19th from Michigan to Pennsylvania. We had planned to base ourselves at Riverfront Campground in Duncannon but when we arrived there we found they had been flooded by a recent heavy rainfall. So we studied the map book and decided to try Little Buffalo SP about 10 miles away near Newport PA. The site here was very nice and the restroom/showers very clean. Tuesday morning we headed out to hike the trail between Duncannon and PA 225.
Date: 2014-05-23
From: PA 325

To: Swarta Gap PA 443
Miles today: 16.0

This entry is for 3 days actually. We took a day off due to heavy rain storms and drove into Harrisburg. We did some window shopping at Home Depot and Lowes followed by a late lunch at Bob Evans. The following day we started at opposite ends of this 16 mile section and met at a campsite along the stream near Rausch Gap Shelter. The next day we each completed the section continuing on in opposite ways. So far the famous PA rocks have been fairly light to reasonable. This would soon change.
Date: 2014-05-25
From: Swarta Gap PA 443

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Today we hiked the section from 443 to 501. It was a great day to hike and we did run into some serious rocks, though they only lasted a short time. We are camped at 501 and will take to tomorrow off to rest up before taking a shuttle Tuesday morning north to Wind Gap. Thimble (the shelter caretaker along with her husband Shark) have graciously allowed us to park our car in a turn around space up in their driveway for the next week or so while we hike south back to 501. We met Thimble back in 2011 at Trimpi shelter in VA.
Date: 2014-05-27
From: Wind Gap

To: Half mile north of Smith Gap Rd
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

After enjoying time off yesterday, we shuttled north to Wind Gap to hike back to 501 shelter where our car is parked. Joyce Carlin had us up to Wind Gap shortly after 10 this morning to start our hike south. We highly recommend Joyce as a shuttler in the Duncannon to DWG PA region. We hiked up the trail until we hit Leroy Smith Shelter and stopped to water up and take a nice break. We met Daddy Long Legs there and had a nice time talking with him. He was section hiking southbound as well. We headed on south and found a nice stealth site to camp at around 4. We set up the tent and had supper just before a thunderstorm rolled in at 5. The storm didn't last too long but we stayed in the tent and played SkipBo before falling asleep for the night. The high today was around 80.
Date: 2014-05-28
From: Half mile north of Smith Gap Rd

To: Stealth on the Blue Blaze near Palmerton
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we were up early and broke camp, ate and were on the trail by 0630 hrs. We hiked along the ridge top mostly and ended up in the Superfund area by early afternoon. We had walked over several rocky areas but did enjoy some nice smooth 2 tracks as well. At one point while hiking in the Superfund area as we were descending down a short drop off to our right side we were surprised by an angry turkey. She made quite a racket as she was protecting her little ones that were nearby. We had planned to camp up on the ridge but it was cold, breezy and we were in the clouds off and on. We knew it would be too cold overnight. So we did what we were hoping not to...and made the steep decent down the boulders to the road to Palmerton. What a view, but with our tired legs it was quite a challenge. We were sure glad to make it down safely. We then decided to hike the blue blaze trail toward Palmerton while looking for a place to stealth camp overnight. We found one a bit over a half mile to town and set up there for the night about 50' above the highway. Today we met Grease, Extra Credit, Raccoon, Phoenix (a cancer survivor) and Blitz all head north.
Date: 2014-05-29
From: Stealth on the Blue Blaze near Palmerton

To: Stealth Site - 1/2 mile north of Bear Rocks
Miles today: 12.0

We were up early and hiked on down into town to eat breakfast and resupply our food. It was a good 1 1/2 or 2 miles to the Subway where we enjoyed a breakfast sandwich. We also bought a BMT foot long to eat on the trail later on today. We then headed over to the County Harvest store to buy more food for the next few days. They were very hiker friendly as they told us to pick out an orange and apple to take with us for free. Thank you! We decided to try to hitch hike the 2 miles or so back out to the trail. At first we didn't have much luck...but a nice young lady came jogging by and said she would be back with her car in a few minutes. She did just that and shortly were back on the AT by a bit after 9. The day remained cool and cloudy today and we met a few thru-hikers along the way.
Date: 2014-05-30
From: Stealth Site - 1/2 mile north of Bear Rocks

To: Camping at Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 15.3

Today we hiked from 0630 to 1700 hrs. The temps were nice for hiking today (low 70's) with sunshine and a pleasant breeze. Todays trail was very rocky and we hiked our longest mileage of this leg yet. We eventually made it to Eckville shelter and enjoyed a nice solar shower after eating our supper. The tenting area was nice green grass across the road from the caretakers house. There were at least 10 tents that spent the night here. We met a lot of thru hikers along with quite a few section hikers too. With all the activity and such we didn't make it to bed until nearly 9pm. Late for us.
Date: 2014-05-31
From: Camping at Eckville Shelter

To: Pocahontas Campsite
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a nice hiking day with temps around 76 and sunny with a nice breeze. Today we hiked by the Pinnacles (one of the most photographed spots in PA) and Dan's Pulpit. Both places were beautiful views. The bad part was with this being Saturday all the weekend tourist were out hiking making the AT a very busy place. We also ran into a long distance trail race being held along part of the AT before we got to the Pinnacles. Today we met Tex and Jimmeny Cricket on the trail.
Date: 2014-06-01
From: Pocahontas Campsite

To: A mile south of Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 14.0

Up and on the trail early today as we hike 3 miles down to the highway that heads to Hamburg where we need to resupply. We tried to hitch a ride and had walked half the distance to Walmart when Dad came by and took us to Walmart. He is trying to run a shuttle of sorts in this area. He was injured thru hiking this year and is trying to earn a few $ while looking for work again. He waited while we ate breakfast at Subway and shopping Walmart. Dad dropped us off at the trail in Port Clinton and we headed up the mountain for about a thousand feet climb. We finally found a stealth campsite about 5pm a mile south of Eagles Nest Shelter. We met Grease Spot, Chamen Ramen, Cheezit and Sheila the Dog today.
Date: 2014-06-02
From: A mile south of Eagles Nest Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We were up early and on the trail by 0610hrs as we knew it was 14 miles back to the 501 where our car was parked. We got the first 9 miles done before 1100 hrs and completed the miles by 1500 hrs. It was a warm 82 and sunny today. We took nice refreshing solar showers and headed to "The Diner" in Pine Grove for a tasty supper...much better than a Spam wrap and GORP. We met Professor T, Survivorman, and Walk Worthy today.
Date: 2014-06-03
From: 501 Shelter

To: Pocono Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We quickly packed up this morning and headed up to Hamburg to do some laundry. After that we drove north to Delaware Water Gap and checked into the Pocono Inn due to forecast of heavy thunderstorms.We took a drive to find the trailhead parking lots for tomorrows hike. It was nice to give our tired, sore feet a rest today.
Date: 2014-06-04
From: Fox Gap TH

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 6.5

After eating a bowl of cereal in the motel room this morning we head to DWG trailhead and drop Thimbleberry off to hike southbound. I continue on over to Fox Gap TH parking to leave the car and head northbound. After I hike about an hour and half we meet up and exchange trail info. I came up behind a doe and fawn walking down the trail in front of me. Momma doe didn't discover me until I was nearly 50' behind them. We enjoyed a lot of nice views on this section of the trail. When I reached the DWG parking lot TBerry was waiting for me. We decided to drive north up to the DWG recreation area to look for a campsite. The only campground we found wanted $35 for a campsite and the area seemed quite buggy so we passed on it. We did stop at Dingman's Ferry to hike in to see a couple of nice waterfalls. We finally found a nice campsite at a private campground near Fox Gap for $20 dollars.
Date: 2014-06-05
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

Today we awoke to a steady rain falling on our tent. We knew the trail would be slippery and decided not to hike the last 9 miles in PA today. We didn't want to just sit around in the rain and decided that we might as well head for home. We will have to finish this segment when we come back in the future to do New Jersey etc. It was a good thing we made it home when we did as our lawn was looking like a hayfield that was almost ready to bale. Thanks for following along with us as we complete more of the AT.
Date: 2014-04-09
From: Newfound gap

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: light rain

(note: Jersey Girl is currently on the trail. These journal entries are being transcribed and any errors in spelling or translation are due to the editor!)Ron and I stayed in Gatlinburg last night. We had a wonderful meal at The Peddler with, and complements of, our friends Pat and Dick.Today we headed up to Newfound Gap after breakfast in town. It was warm in town, but became blustery and cold by the time we got up to Newfound Gap. After finally getting myself organized, I said a quick goodby to Ron and headed up the trail.It was a 3 mile hike to the shelter. It was not a difficult hike, and I took my time. I need to get acclimated to the elevation, I'm at 5900 ft now, and I also have to get used to carrying a heavy pack again (29 lbs). The pack will get lighter each day as I eat down my cache of food. As I got to the higher elevations the landscape became a winter wonderland. All the trees and vegetation were covered with rime ice. Rime ice is a thin coating of ice. As the weather warmed the rime ice fluttered to the ground. It looked like feathers. Lovely. A thin coating of snow was on the trail also. It's 5:30 now and it looks like it will be a full house at the shelter. Lots of thru-hikers.
Date: 2014-04-10
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

This was a tough day for me. The footbed of the trail was fine, but there were numerous ups and downs. As I said yesterday, the elevations (started at 6000 ft then went down and evened out at about 5000-5500), but evened-out is a misnomer. I went up and down so many times I lost track. One cool thing I saw today was a rock outcropping called "Charlies Bunion". I lucked out to arrive there when a group of thru-hikers were there, so I was able to get a picture of myself at this iconic AT location.To ad insult to injury, the shelter is located .4 miles off the trail, and it is .4 miles down a mountain. Which means that my day tomorrow starts with a .4 mile hike up the mountain. It is required that all hikers stay at shelters when in the Smoky Mt. National Park.I was one "pooped-out Perk" when I got to the shelter. Thank goodness Joey(?), a very gracious man, offered to get my water for me. The water source was an additional 1000 ft down the mountain.The shelter is full again tonight. I'm meeting some really nice thru-hikers. The views today were awesome. You could see mountains after mountains as far as the eye could see. Stunning!