morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-05-05
From: Duncannon

To: Clarks Valley Rd
Miles today: 17.8

We had a nice stay at Kind of Outdoorsy Thursday night. On Friday morning, May 5, we walked out of Duncannon. This turned out to be a 17.8 mile day. There were a couple of somewhat steep climbs early in the day, and then it seems like most of the rest of the day was ridge walking. There were times when the rock fields were aggravating to walk through but then there were other times when the trail was pretty nice to walk. We met several day hikers going in the opposite direction from us, and towards the end of our day, we were overtaken and passed by a NOBO through hiker by the name of Pinky. We made camp just before Clarks Valley Road also known as Highway 325. There was no shelter here but there was a nice water source and some level tent sites.
Date: 2023-05-06
From: Clarks Valley Rd

To: Swatara Gap
Miles today: 17.1

We left our campsite just before Clark Valley Road at about 6:30 am on Saturday, May 6. There wasn¢t really a lot of views to take in during this segment of the trail, but it was a very nice section to hike. The forest scenery was nice and the grade of the trail was easy to hike. There were times when there were a lot of rocks on the trail, but there were also a lot of times when the trail was pretty easy to walk. I have to say, this last week of hiking in Pennsylvania has been some of the nicest hiking I have experienced on the Appalachian Trail. I know the rocks are coming. Pennsylvania is known by some hikers as Rocksylvania. I think we will probably encounter the rocks about halfway through our hike tomorrow. I am looking forward to tomorrow, not because of the rocks, but we will cross the 1200 mile mark. That will mean that from that point forward we will have less than 1000 miles to finish the trail. Our hike today was 17.1 miles. We ended our hike at a campsite close to Swatara Gap.
Date: 2023-05-07
From: Swatara Gap

To: PA Route 183
Miles today: 20.9

We left our campsite near Swatara Gap at about 6:15 AM. We stopped for a midmorning break at William Penn Shelter. Then we hiked about four more miles, and stopped for a lunch break at 501 Shelter. Just a couple of miles after leaving 501 shelter we crossed the 1200 mile mark. I was pretty excited about crossing the 1200 mile mark because this means that now we have less than 1000 miles to reach Katahdin. We met several day hikers throughout the day. We also saw a few northbound through hikers. I was only able to get the name of one young woman. Her trail name is leapfrog. We had been told that the reason Pennsylvania is sometimes called Rockylvania is because of all the rocks in the trail that start as you¢re heading northbound right after you leave 501 shelter. And we did encounter a lot of rocks this afternoon. The trail itself wasn¢t especially steep in most places, but stepping over all those rocks really slows down your progress. We arrived at the place where we planned to tent camp near PA Route 183 at about 4:45 PM. We had hiked 20.9 miles. Rain was in the forecast for today, but fortunately for us, we were able to get to our tent site, get our tents set up, and get some dinner prepared before it ever rained.
Date: 2023-05-08
From: PA Route 183

To: Port Clinton 
Miles today: 14.8

This morning, we got on the trail at about 6:05 AM. We were tent camped at milepoint 1205.3. There were no other hikers around where we were camped. It rained a little yesterday evening but it never stormed and I think the rain had moved out before 8:00 PM. We hiked 14.8 miles to milepoint 1220.1 in Port Clinton and then walked up to the St John¢s Church Pavilion. We made it to Port Clinton by 12:30 PM. On our way, we made a .3 mile detour down to Eagles Nest Shelter for water and a break. So that added a total of .6 to our mileage for the day. Overall, it was a nice hike. Pennsylvania is a beautiful state. We did encounter several rock fields but we were able to get through them without being slowed down too much. Somewhere along the way I lost the whole tip off of one of my Black Diamond trekking poles. I don¢t like to waste money but I need good trekking poles. So when we shuttled to Walmart for resupply, I also went by Cabelas and bought a new set. My old poles were aluminum but this new set is carbon fiber. I think aluminum may not be the best material for trekking poles. The aluminum tends to corrode just a little making it difficult to collapse them. I had gotten to where one of my poles would not collapse. I hope the new poles hold up. I had wanted to get a set of Leki poles but Cabelas does not carry Leki. So I settled for a pair of Ascent poles.
Date: 2023-05-09
From: Port Clinton 

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 15.0

We got going this morning at about 7 o¢clock from Port Clinton. We hiked exactly 15 miles today arriving at Eckville Shelter around 2:20 PM. Overall, it was a good day of hiking. There were some rock fields along the way, but they weren¢t horrible. There were a few views along the way which we enjoyed. We took a midmorning snack break at Windsor Furnace Shelter. There, we encountered a group of possibly high school students with about three adult leaders. Later, we took our lunch break at a spring along the way. Perhaps the most notable thing that happened today was when we were about 1.5 miles south of Eckville Shelter. I was in front, and I heard the distinctive buzzing of a rattlesnake to my left. It wasn¢t completely coiled up, ready to strike. It was mostly laid out straight. But Blue Bear was behind me and we were reluctant for her to move on forward and cross the path of the snake. So we waited around a couple of minutes and I guess the snake decided that he did not like an audience. So he crawled on across the trail and went down into the woods.
Date: 2023-05-10
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.4

We left Eckville Shelter this morning at 6 o¢clock. We hiked 17.4 miles and arrived at Bake Oven Knob Shelter at 3:00 PM. This was probably one of the most difficult hikes I have done on the Appalachian Trail, and was definitely the most difficult in Pennsylvania. We certainly found the rocks for which Pennsylvania is known. There have been rocks in the trail all along the way, but sections of the trail today were very long and tiring to cross. I saw some beautiful views today and even though the rocks made it difficult to hike, I still enjoyed my hike. Some of the rocks I crossed today were big enough that I could just step from large rock to large rock and it saved me a lot of time, but even then, it can cause you to expend a lot of energy. When I reached the summit of Bake Oven Knob Mountain, I had to do quite a bit of rock scrambling to get down off the mountain. When I reached the shelter, I found it to be in pretty dilapidated condition. On top of that, I found that it was inhabited by two black snakes. But there wasn¢t a lot of space around the shelter to set up a tent, so I just decided to sleep in the shelter. Hopefully, they won¢t try to crawl in my sleeping quilt with me. At least there probably won¢t be any mice around.
Date: 2023-05-11
From: Bake Oven Knob Shelter

To: Palmerton
Miles today: 8.6

We got going this morning from Bake Oven Knob Shelter at 6:15. The snakes were not a problem at all. And I was correct. There weren¢t any mice. The night would have been uneventful except we were paid a visit at 1:00 AM by a porcupine gnawing on the shelter steps. When we first heard it, Blue Bear asked if it was me making the noise. I told her no and that we needed to turn on a headlamp. I was having trouble finding my headlamp, and she got hers on first. We were able to see clearly that it was a porcupine. I figured when we turn the lights on that he would scamper off, but I was wrong. The shelter broom was on Blue Bears side of the shelter so she grabbed it and started hitting the floor with it. This caused the porcupine to withdraw. But after a minute or so, he came back. In fact, he came back about three more times. But eventually he got the message that he wasn¢t welcome and didn¢t come back. We had a good morning hiking although we did encounter a few Pennsylvania rock fields. We only had 8.6 miles to hike to Palmerton although once we reached Palmerton, we still had another 1.5 miles to get into town. We reached Palmerton by about 10:00 but it was after 11:00 before we made it to our hostel. The hostel is in the back of a steakhouse called Bert¢s Steakhouse. The price is very reasonable and it is clean and comfortable. We had access to a nice shower and towels. There wasn¢t an extra charge to do our laundry and the hostel manager, Tracy, was very nice. Overall I¢ve had a positive experience with this hostel. It is right in the middle of town. I¢ve done more town walking today than I have since I have been on the trail. I went to the barber and got a haircut. I went to an ice cream shop for ice cream. I went to family dollar to resupply. I went for a short walk in town and then I went with Blue Bear, Seadog and Tracker to dinner at a local pub. This has been an enjoyable day for sure.
Date: 2023-05-12
From: Palmerton

To: Leroy A Smith Shelter
Miles today: 15.8

We got on the trail this morning about 8:30 AM. The reason we were later than our usual time was because we had stayed at the hostel and had breakfast in the restaurant. After having breakfast, we had arranged to have the Hostel manager, Tracy, bring us to the trail head so that we wouldn¢t have that extra mile and a half walk back to the trail. Once we got on the trail we had about a 1200 foot climb that was pretty vertical. There were places where you just couldn¢t use your trekking poles. It was more like rock climbing than hiking. Fortunately, it only lasted for about an hour to an hour and a half. Once we got up past that first climb, most of the rest of the day was fairly gentle ups and downs. Of course, we still encountered some Pennsylvania rock fields, but all in all it was a good day of hiking. We hiked 15.8 miles and made it to Leroy A Smith shelter by about 4:20 PM. There are a number of hikers around at the shelter tonight. There is one lady here and we had met at Bake Oven Knob shelter a couple of nights ago. Her name is Sharktooth. One of the guys from the hostel last night, Seadog, is at the shelter with us. And there is one other gentleman who is going to be staying in the shelter with us, but I have not gotten his name yet. I think the temperature got up into the lower 80s today, and thankfully it did not rain.
Date: 2023-05-13
From: Leroy A Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 20.0

We headed out this morning from Leroy A Smith shelter at about 6:09 AM. Our hike today was exactly 20 miles. We hiked to Delaware Water Gap. We will be staying at a hostel known as the Church of the Mountain Hiking Center. We arrived to the hostel at 3:30 PM. This was another really hard day of hiking. And it wasn¢t because there was a lot of long, steep climbs; but because of all the rocks. I don¢t think I¢ve ever been so glad to get to the end of my hiking day as I was today. My feet were really hurting. When you¢re hiking on these rocks all day, it really takes its toll on your feet. The weather was nice. It stayed overcast a good portion of the day which kept the temperature from getting too hot. There were some pretty views to be seen today; but at this point in my hike, a view has to be really spectacular for it to wow me. We didn¢t see any through hikers today until we got to the hostel. At a certain point today as we crossed a two lane highway, we encountered trail magic in the form of a cooler with cold drinks inside. This was very refreshing and much-needed. At that point in the day, we still had about 8 miles to go. Among some of the hikers we met after arriving at the hostel were Luna from Winston Salem, NC, Hambone, and Daddy llama. There were a couple of others, but I didn¢t get their names. We plan to zero here tomorrow to rest our feet, do some resupply, wash our clothes, and make some long range plans.
Date: 2023-05-15
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: .4 South of Rattlesnake Mtn
Miles today: 22.2

On Monday, May 15, we hiked out of Delaware Water Gap. We had taken a zero on Sunday to rest our feet after having hiked through Pennsylvania. As soon as we left town, we crossed the Delaware river, which put us in New Jersey. No one can say New Jersey does not have any rocks. There were several patches where we had to cross over rock fields. But it really wasn¢t as bad as the last 80 miles of Pennsylvania. New Jersey is a beautiful state to hike through. There were a lot of scenic vistas along the way and the weather was perfect. While we were hiking today, we came across a working fire tower. There was a guy in the tower with the New Jersey forestry department and he invited us up into the tower and we had a nice visit with him. His name was Bob. Early in our hike today, we crossed the 1300 mile point. A new hiker has joined with Blue Bear and I. His name is Splash and he is about the same age as Blue Bear and I. He wants to hike all the way with us but he does need to take two zeros coming up this weekend. So he will have some catching up to do with us when he gets back on the trail. We ended our day at a stealth campsite about .4 miles south of Rattlesnake Mountain. We hiked 22.2 miles today. Only 877.4 miles to Baxter Peak!
Date: 2023-05-16
From: .4 South of Rattlesnake Mtn

To: Rutherford Shelter
Miles today: 17.7

Today we hiked out of our campsite near Rattlesnake Mountain to Rutherford Shelter for a total of 17.7 miles. We were on our way this morning by 6:09 AM. On the way, we stopped at Culvers Gap. We saw that there was a gas station there and assumed that it would be a convenience store. It turned out that it was only a gas station, but a little further down the street was a bait shop which did have a few snacks. So we stopped there and got a cold drink and a candy bar. Once we got going again, we came to Culver Fire Tower. It was another working fire tower like the one we had seen the day before. But this time the man that was staffing the tower was on the phone and didn¢t pay us any attention. We stopped at Sunrise Mountain and had lunch. We didn¢t realize until we got there that there is a really nice pavilion at the top of the mountain. We arrived at Rutherford shelter at about 3:20 this afternoon. I continue to be impressed with the beauty of rural New Jersey.
Date: 2023-05-17
From: Rutherford Shelter

To: Pochuck Mtn Shelter 
Miles today: 17.0

We woke up this morning to the sound of a whippoorwill. I had never noticed before how loud those things are. I¢ve read numerous other hiker¢s accounts of how annoying the whippoorwill can be. Now I can attest, it was pretty annoying. The thing showed up the night before and went on and on and on. And then again this morning he showed up shortly after 4 o¢clock in the morning and he just kept going and going and going. For the most part, though it is pleasing to wake up to birds chirping. We got going this morning around 6 AM. We hiked exactly 17 miles to Pochuck Mountain Shelter. Along the way, we stopped about 12 miles in at a little town called Unionville. Splash and I decided to take a little detour into town and go to a little tavern called Wits End to get a burger. Blue bear was feeling a little pain in her back and decided to go on to the shelter rather than join us for lunch. There were a few ups and downs in the trail today, but none of them lasted real long. The shelter where we are staying does not have a nearby water source. So I had to stop about .5 miles before the shelter and get all the water I would need for tonight and tomorrow morning. I forgot to mention in yesterday¢s journal that my new trekking poles, which I had just purchased in Port Clinton at Cabela¢s, broke on me yesterday. To be specific, one of the poles broke right above the tip. I will try to contact Cabela¢s when I get a chance and see if they will offer some kind of warranty. I had already ordered a set of Leki trekking polls which should arrive on May 22. So I will have to make do on a broken trekking pole until my new ones arrive. I am also having to get new shoes. The shoes I have been wearing for the last 500 miles are beginning to come apart on me. Pennsylvania was exceptionally hard on my shoes.
Date: 2023-05-18
From: Pochuck Mtn Shelter 

To: Vernon NJ
Miles today: 6.5

Today we hiked out of Pochuck Mtn Shelter around 6:00 AM. It was a fairly uneventful morning and we only had to hike 6.5 miles to reach Vernon NJ. We arrived at the intersection of the trail and Rt 94 from which we walked into town. Splash left us for a couple of days to be with family. Although we are hiking out tomorrow, he is going to rejoin us Sunday wherever we are. We really like Splash and enjoy hiking with him. I believe he is going to stick with us all the way to Katahdin. My new hiking shoes arrived so I get to start tomorrow out in new kicks.
Date: 2023-05-19
From: Vernon NJ

To: Wildcat Shelter 
Miles today: 17.2

We started out this morning from the trailhead at Vernon NJ at about 6:15. We had 17.2 miles to hike going to Wildcat Shelter. We crossed from New Jersey into New York today. There was a lot of boulders we had to cross and it was pretty draining. At about 2 o¢clock this afternoon, we arrived at the point along the trail where it crosses Route 17A. At this location there is a guy that has a hotdog stand called Top¢s Dogs. I stopped in there and got a couple of hotdogs and then walked just a little further over to Belvale Farms Creamery where I got a couple of scoops of ice cream too. This was a little unexpected treat. We made it to the shelter around 4:00 PM. When we arrived at the shelter there was no one else there, but a little later two female weekend hikers showed up and we shared the shelter with them. It stayed pretty overcast most of the day, but then later in the day, it seems like the sky cleared up a little bit, and there was some sunlight. There is a high chance of rain in the forecast for tomorrow.
Date: 2023-05-20
From: Wildcat Shelter 

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 19.8

We left Wildcat Shelter this morning about 6:10. We weren¢t able to make a fast pace this morning because of the rough terrain. We didn¢t get any rain until about 12:30. We crossed through Harriman State Park this afternoon and it was beautiful even with the rain. I couldn¢t get any pictures though because I couldn¢t get my iPhone to open or operate because my hands and fingers were wet. We hiked a total of 19.8 miles today arriving at William Brien Memorial Shelter at almost 5:00. There was a through hiker by the name of Dragon and two female section hikers already at the shelter when we get there.
Date: 2023-05-21
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter

To: Graymoor Monastery Pavilion 
Miles today: 16.5

We got on our way this morning at 6:30 AM. That is a little bit later than we normally head out but we were pretty soggy from the day before. And we were also a little crowded in the shelter. So it took a little bit longer to get packed up and going. Pretty soon after we got going, we were faced with a decision. We had to take new detour that the Appalachian Trail Conservancy has established or we could stick to the old way, which required a crossing directly over the Palisades Parkway. The new detour adeed over 1.25 miles to the trip, and since it was only a Sunday morning traffic situation, we decided to do the Palisades Parkway crossing. It wasn¢t difficult and quite frankly, I have had more dangerous crossings of other highways since I¢ve been hiking the trail. Pretty soon after crossing the Palisades Parkway, we crossed the 1400 mile point of the Appalachian Trail. Each time we pass one of these 100 mile increments of the trail, it is pretty exciting.At about 10:15 this morning, we were re-joined by Splash, who had to leave us a couple of days ago to attend a family event. He is now back with us and plans to stay with us all the way to Katahdin. We made our way to Bear Mountain and climbed up into the observation tower. From the observation tower, you can see a very limited view of the New York City skyline. After we came down from the tower, we walked down off the mountain, which seemed like a really long walk. But once we got to the bottom, we were at a public park, and there was a lake and a lot of picnickers. After having lunch in the picnic area of the park, we walked through Bear Mountain zoo and crossed the bridge over the Hudson River. We hiked to a convenience store/service station known as the Appalachian market. It had a little deli inside and I was able to get a hot hero sandwich and a pint of ice cream. Yesterday, as we were first heading into Harriman state park we met a young man who we later learned was from San Diego and he told us his name was Dragon. When we made it to William Brien memorial shelter, he was already there, and we were able to visit with him and a couple of young women that were there also. Today, we saw him just before we got into the bear mountain area and we also ran into him again at the Appalachian market. When we were sitting at a picnic table with him at the Appalachian market, we learned that his name is not Dragon as in the mythical creature, but his name is Draggin. As he is draggin along on the trail. But he really doesn¢t drag, he is covering a lot of miles. We will probably not cross paths with him again. After we finished at the Appalachian market, we only had about .9 of a mile to get to a pavilion located on the grounds of the Graymoor Monastery. The pavilion isn¢t anything fancy, but it did provide a roof over our head, and there was a place to take a shower and charge our electronics. There was no hot water.
Date: 2023-05-22
From: Graymoor Monastery Pavilion 

To: RPH Cabin
Miles today: 18.8

We left out from the Graymoor Pavilion at about 6:20 AM. Hiking before lunch was pretty slow going. The rocks, roots, and terrain kept progress slow. But after lunch, we were able to pick up the pace somewhat. The day went fairly uneventfully and there really weren¢t a lot of great views. I arrived at the shelter first at about 4:15 after hiking 18.8 miles. We are staying at Ralph¢s Peak Hikers¢ (RPH) Cabin. There were a number of hikers already at the site and some arrived later. As of bedtime, there were at least six tents on the site and four hikers occupying four of the six bunks inside. One hiker was ¢Junk Food¢. He had ordered too much pizza and generously shared with the rest of us. A couple of other hikers were¢Pops¢ and ¢Dances with Ticks¢. Some of these names are great. I didn¢t get everyone¢s name. I wish I could get them all written down. It was a beautiful day with fantastic weather. What more could you ask?
Date: 2023-05-23
From: RPH Cabin

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter 
Miles today: 16.8

We got going from RPH Cabin this morning at 6:08 AM. We hiked about 5 miles to NY Route 52 and walked .5 miles south to a deli where we were able get a breakfast sandwich, a pastry, and a good cup of coffee. After enjoying that treat we hiked the rest of the way to Telephone Pioneers Shelter stopping for a brief lunch break along the way. At one point today, we hiked past a really huge oak tree. I don¢t know any story about this tree but I¢m sure there is one. We hiked a total of 16.8 miles today not counting the one mile round trip to the deli. We didn¢t see many hikers today although we did see Emily from Australia stealth camping near the Telephone Pioneers Shelter. We had first met Emily at the Church of the Mountain Hostel in Delaware Water Gap. There is a young man named Jack at the shelter with us tonight. Today¢s hike wasn¢t particularly strenuous. It was a nice hike.