morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-05-25
From: Crampton Gap Shelter

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: fog

We woke up early, since we were technically camped illegally and wanted to pack up before anyone saw us (which was good because by the time we set off on the trail an hour or so later they were cutting the grass in the field). It was really foggy out, and the state park where we had stayed was an old civil war battlefield, so it looked kind of eerie, but pretty neat also. We had breakfast, put on clothes and (wet) shoes, packed up everything and started up the hill. We met some more people, both going northbound and southbound. It seems like hiking Maryland is a popular option, so we got to chat with lots of people. We took more frequent stops today, resting and taking our packs off when possible. By the time we got to a backpacker¢s campground, just over half way through the planned hike for the day, my feet were cramping and knees hurting. It was only 2-2:30, but we considered stopping there for the day. We ate lunch as we debated what to do, but ultimately pushed on to get to the next shelter, figuring if we didn¢t make it all the way there, we could always stop and camp along the trail somewhere. From there, the ground started to get rocky. I¢ve always heard that Pennsylvania was a rocky state, nicknamed Rocksylvania or Painsylvania by hikers, but damn the trail today was brutal on my already sore feet. We finally made it in to the shelter around 7:30, which was actually earlier than we were expecting, but was good since it was still light. The hikers we kept leap frogging with from the day before, and again today, were also there at the shelter, and we found out they came to hike all the way from Seattle! We eventually headed to bed again, tired from the long day. Word of the day: rocks
Date: 2021-05-26
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Ensign Cowall Shelter
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: clear sky

We got up from our campsite near the shelter and cooked breakfast. Originally we¢d been planning to go to the second shelter, but after yesterday, we decided to go the 8ish miles to the first one and stay there instead of pushing for the 13 mile one. When we went past the shelter to get water, our friends from Seattle said they had changed their plans as well, originally they wanted to reach the further shelter but the day before had just been too brutal to do another long day. We filtered water for the first time this morning, since the previous days, we¢d been right by potable water pumps. It started out hot, even at 9am when we left camp, and it didn¢t help that we started on an uphill. We took it slow, still slowly recovering from the past two days. We were optimistic, though, hopeful that the weather and trail would be nicer. We didn¢t get far before realizing that wouldn¢t be the case though. The trail had a lot of decently sized ups and downs, and before long they got rocky again, slowing our progress significantly and taking a toll on my knees and feet again. We stopped for a cold lunch still, since we knew we¢d drag without one, but we both just wanted an easy and early day. We switched places with our friends from Seattle a few times throughout the hike. The hardest part of the day though, was the section at the end, because, usually, there are landmarks noted in the guidebook, which you pass every mile or less, but the last part of the day was a 4.8 mile section with no landmarks. It was a lot more difficult than we would have thought not to be able to pinpoint more clearly where we were and how far we still had to go for the day. It was during this time, while we were walking on a ridge with some sparse tree cover, that we heard thunder for the first time. It was far away and almost didn¢t register for me. The second time, a few minutes later, I knew what was coming, but hoped we¢d have some time to get further, since the sky was still so sunny. Within 5 minutes though, the thunder was essentially right overhead, and of course the ridge where we were had cleared of trees, so it was just us and some big boulders and big drops of rain making the rocks more slippery. Luckily that section didn¢t last long, and we soon were able to duck under the cover of the trees once more, which was good because the next lightning strike was within a mile, close enough that we could hear the crackle before the thunder. It wasn¢t the most comfortable I¢ve ever felt during a storm, I have to admit haha. That line of storms moved past rather quickly, and we had a new fire lit under us to get to the campsite and set up before the next round could start. We finally made it to camp and got the tent up about 15 minutes before the next storm rolled in, so we got pretty lucky there. We were too exhausted to cook a hot meal, so we again just ate cold food before crawling into sleeping bags and letting sleep claim us. Word of the day: repeat (of the rain and the rocks)
Date: 2021-05-30
From: MD - PA border

To: Deer Lick Shelter 
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: scattered clouds

After 2 full zero days where I stayed at a hotel in Gettysburg, I¢m feeling a lot better. The couple of blisters on my toes are healing well, which is a relief since foot issues is one of the main causes for thru hikers to have to stop. I got a shuttle from the hotel back to Pen Mar park, where I got my shoes on, made sure my pack was organized, and set off for the day. I¢m focusing on doing at least a few short days to make sure my feet are all the way healed and I get used to my pack and everything. So today I was only going to the next shelter, which was 5 miles, and going to take it nice and slow. It was very overcast the whole day, and I wanted to get to the shelter before any rain that was going to come. I started off with my rain coat on, since I wasn¢t sure what the weather would decide to do, but it was getting too hot so I ended up taking it off and just leaving my pack cover on. I stopped for a rest at the top of the big climb for the day and met Patrick, who¢s also just starting his flip flop hike. Near the bottom of that downhill, I met Rollie Pollie, a NoBo hiker who started in Georgia. I talked to her for probably 10 minutes, hearing some of her fun stories from the trail so far, and we started walking while we talked (I realized after a while she was cooking and I was supposed to be taking it easy on my feet), but eventually we parted ways and she continued on ahead. Not too long after that, I made it to the shelter, where I put on my other set of clothes and cooked a hot dinner to try to recover some heat. It was so cold I decided to get right into my sleeping bag, even though it was only 3pm. I snoozed on and off throughout the day, so that tomorrow I¢ll have lots of energy.
Date: 2021-05-31
From: Deer Lick Shelter 

To: Tumbling Run Shelter
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: broken clouds

Today was another short hike, only 3.6 miles. I had a lazy morning and just hung out around camp, making breakfast, filling water, and soaking up the sun. I got all packed up and left around noon, taking my time with the climb out of camp. I was really in the green tunnel, so I didn¢t get any views, but it was nice and shady from the sun, there was a breeze, and the trail bed was less rocky than the previous days had been, so I can¢t really complain. I stopped for lunch at a park with picnic tables and water, and met a hiker who¢s spent a lot of time in the area, and gave me some tips about the upcoming days. She also gave me an uncrustables pb&j, which was a wonderful addition to lunch. After the park was another uphill to get to the shelter where I stayed the night, but it wasn¢t too bad of a climb. I made it to the shelter by 3:30 and just relaxed for a bit. I actually got to meet the caretakers for this shelter, since they hiked up to check on how it was doing. It¢s another shelter where there are actually 2 shelter buildings, and the caretakers put signs on them, one for ¢snorers¢, the other ¢non snorers¢. They also put a doorbell on the outside of the privy and a light switch on the inside, labeled with solar and lunar. They¢re all pretty funny additions. I set up camp and made dinner, then just relaxed until I went to sleep.
Date: 2021-06-01
From: Tumbling Run Shelter

To: Rocky Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up late again and had a leisurely morning in camp. Eventually I got everything packed up and filled up every water container I had (including bringing dirty water in my dirty water containers), since I¢d heard that Rocky Mountain shelter¢s water source was like half a mile down a steep hill. That was probably true, but what they failed to mention is that the shelter itself is also almost half a mile down and backwards from the way I just came. I was not a very happy camper, but I got all my stuff out and spent the night in the shelter, since I was there anyway.
Date: 2021-06-02
From: Rocky Mountain Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: overcast clouds

The walk from last night¢s shelter to the trail was...frustrating, and there were a lot of choice words said. Who decided that putting the shelter down that much further was a good idea? And why wasn¢t that mentioned in the guide. Anyway, after climbing a bunch just to START the day, the rest of the morning went pretty smoothly. There were a few boulder fields that I had to get through, but they were pretty short. I got to the State Park to have lunch at the picnic tables by the stream there, and filled up my water supply. Leaving the park, there was a stone staircase and a sign at the bottom marked ¢most difficult¢. It seemed like the climb took forever, and I was pouring sweat the whole time. At the top was a mercifully flat, wide, and even stretch of trail. For the last half mile of the day, I started to climb again, which is a b*tch at the end of the day when you¢re tired. It was pretty though, it was basically a tunnel through rhododendron bushes. I got to the shelter and I have to say, I¢d give it 8 stars out of 5. There are covered picnic tables, a beautiful fire pit, 2 shelters for 4 people each (and which have a roof between them as well to cover another picnic table), 2 raised tent platforms, a hanging swing, a roll down protective screen to save you from wind or rain at the picnic table, games, hanging flowers, and a flower bed next to the privy. It really doesn¢t get better than this, I don¢t think. I also got to meet some really cool people at camp. There¢s a group of 3 guys in their early 70s who have stayed friends and continued hiking together since their kids were in scouts together (those kids are in their 40s now). I also met Molasses and Proton. Proton is a thru hiker who started in Georgia and Molasses is a flip flop hiker, but she started in Shenandoah national park instead of at Harper¢s Ferry. We sat around the camp fire and talked until it got dark and then got ready for bed. It was a really good day.
Date: 2021-06-03
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: overcast clouds

With rain on the forecast for the afternoon, everyone at the shelter was trying to get out early, myself included. I hit the road by 8, which was much earlier than I¢ve even woken up the last few days. We started the day with an uphill (I see a theme forming here), which I just took slow and steady with plenty of water breaks. There were lots of landmarks to look forward to and track my progress today, which was really nice to have and really helps with motivation. The trail leveled out after that first climb and I got into a good groove. I saw some paper held down with rocks on the trail and thought it was weird, so I stopped to see what it said, and nearly sh*t myself because what it said was: ¢rattlesnake up on right of trail!!! Beware!¢ It was dated the day before (which helped me not lose my mind), but I walked veeerrrrrrrrrryy slowly for the next quarter or half mile, my head on a swivel and listening like my life depended on it. I made plenty of noise and talked aloud to let any snakes in the area know that I was there and hoping that they were having a good nap, away from me, far, far, away from me, and that they were more than welcome to stay far away from me while I just sneak past. Luckily, I saw no snakes, so eventually I sped up again. There were a few more up and down hills, but eventually I made it to camp, the earliest I¢ve done so far on the trail, and I had my tent set up by 12:30, which was about 5-10 minutes before it started raining, so I¢d say good timing. The unfortunate part of this shelter was the lack of cell service, and when you get to camp at 12:30 and are left with nothing to do while it rains, it drives you a little bit insane. The same 3 guys were at this camp site ass well, and they eventually set up another fire in the fire pit. We all stood around and talked until it got dark and started raining again.
Date: 2021-06-05
From: James Fry Shelter

To: Unnamed Campsite
Miles today: 3.9
Weather: broken clouds

My rest day. The zero day I had planned after the looonnnnggg hike yesterday. But I think we¢ve established by now that I¢m not the best at following plans. I was thinking about the long trek just to get back to the trail, and having to add that on to the next day¢s hike, and decided I should at least try to get to the campsite on the other side of the trail (which I should have just stayed at in the first place). I packed slowly and put lots of baby powder on my feet, put my shoes on, and started off again. It wasn¢t incredibly painful, so I decided I might as well try to get to the next campsite, so that I could make the next day easier. I took it nice and slow, refilled my water at a creek I came across, and eventually made it to camp. Hiker Harrison was there (I¢d met him at Rocky Mountain shelter...aka the shelter which shall not be named because we regret going downhill that far just to get to a shelter), and so were two other hikers, Ellie and Hiccup. They were similar to me, since Ellie had always wanted to do the trail, and her dad Hiccup was starting with her, then would go back home. They were also flip flopping the trail, but were making great time, since they¢d started a full week after me. There was apparently a rock concert going on just down the road from the last road we¢d crossed, so we got to listen to music for the entire evening and into the night. I also tied my first bear bag up, with Hiccup¢s help. I used a rock to throw the rope over the tree branch, and of course I was holding the sharp edge of the rock, so I sliced my finger (oops, hopefully bears aren¢t attracted to blood). But I got back into the tent and went to sleep with background music playing.
Date: 2021-06-07
From: Backpacker Campsite

To: Carlisle, PA
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: light rain

First of all...HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I hope you¢re having a good day!I woke up excited today because today¢s the day I get a real shower! I packed everything up quickly and got started. I didn¢t have much water with me, but I knew that within the first half mile, I¢d be passing one of the local ATC headquarters, which has a spigot of clean drinking water on the side of the house for hikers to refill at, so I wasn¢t worried. Unfortunately, they had turned off their water, and the next water wasn¢t until halfway through the day, just over 4 miles from camp, and it was HOT. This was the second time of running out of water, and even though there were,mercifully, no climbs to deal with, the day was spent going in and out of open fields exposed to the sun. When I finally reached the stream I was just about ready to stick my head in and start gulping, but I managed to fill my dirty water bottle and drink straight from the filter, then fill my regular water bottle and drink down almost 3 cups, and then I could finally think about refilling the water in my pack. Freshly fueled, and ready to get to the hotel, I set back off, happily drinking water this time. The next half of the trip was a pretty easy one, and before I knew it, I got to the bridge to cross rt 11 to get into Carlisle. It¢s the first town I¢ve walked into, and the first one I stopped at since Gettysburg. I got to the hotel with perfect timing, around 2:15 (check in starts at 2), got the key for my room, put all my things in, and sat on a chair. That was pretty nice. I pulled some gear out of my bag to let it start airing out, let myself stop sweating, and then, finally, got to take a shower. Jen came a little while later with the resupply and meds, and we caught up and got dinner from a local diner. It sure felt good to be clean and comfy to get to sleep!I¢m going to be in town for a few days to let my blisters recover, but I¢ll update once I start out again!
Date: 2021-06-11
From: Carlisle, PA

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: light rain

I woke up this morning around 8, which was earlier than I had intended, because I did most of my packing last night, so I had a lazy start to the day, ate some breakfast, finished packing, and checked out of the hotel where I was staying. I walked back down the road to the side trail up to the AT, retied my shoes to make sure they were snug (and hopefully not create more blisters), stretched some more, then put my pack back on and started off. As a side note, I¢d completely forgotten what it was like to have a pack with a full food bag and water, phew, I miss walking into town on Monday with what felt like a 5 pound bag! Today¢s feels like it¢s 500 pounds. Anyway, the first 4 miles were pretty flat, and it continued to drizzle and rain. Eventually, I got to the edge of the valley, and started to gain elevation. The whole uphill was about 2 miles, about a mile of which was a bit steep. I wanted to get to the shelter by around 3, because that¢s when the rain was supposed to pick up. I wasn¢t sure how fast I¢d be hiking since it was my first day back from town, but I went faster than I though I would once I stretched out some more, so I ended up at the shelter with my tent set up by 2:30. The rain really picked up after that, so I cooked dinner in the vestibule of my tent, cleaned up, put my food away in the bear box, and got comfortable in my tent. I drifted in and out of sleep, and multiple times during the night, it was raining so hard that the noise actually woke me up it was so loud on the tent. All I can say is that I¢m glad I was already in my tent and not trying to set it up still.
Date: 2021-06-12
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

Today was (yet another) day that did not quite go according to plan. The weather that I had seen most recently called for possible thunderstorms after 3, so I wanted to get in to camp with my tent set up before then. I set out early, hiking slowly, and eventually picked up some speed. I finally got to start on a downhill (and it figures that it would be on a day after rain when all of the rocks are super slippery). The day was dominated by one long uphill, and of course the only water source was right before it, so I got to climb it with lots of extra weight. When I got to the top, the guidebook noted that the trail would be rocky for the next 4-5 miles. I spent a lot of time looking at my feet, trying to make sure I didn¢t break a leg, but I thought that I was looking up often enough to keep up with my surroundings. Evidently not. From the marked beginning of the rocks was 2.6 miles to the shelter. After nearly 2 hours, I was really feeling like I¢d gone too far, but there was also a trail I was supposed to hit first, and I hadn¢t seen that either. So I kept hiking, thinking the rocks must have slowed me down much more than I thought. When I got to the steep downhill though, I knew that I¢d messed up. The downhill to the view at Hawk Rock and then down past it was 2 miles past the shelter where I was supposed to stop. I had two choices: Walk back to the shelter that i¢d planned to stay at. Keep going (essentially straight down, an equally steep uphill, then the remainder of the downhill) another 2 miles to get to the next town, Duncannon, where the AT passes right through the town center. I chose the option to continue forwards, and got into town where I booked a hotel room and went out to grab some dinner before settling back into my room for the night. It never did end up raining.
Date: 2021-06-13
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Clarks Ferry Shelter
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Leaving Duncannon, I was tired. I hadn¢t officially decided on which shelter to go to for the day. The closer was about 4 miles and the farther was around 11. I was hoping to get to the second shelter, because that would put me in great position to be in Jonestown on Wednesday for my resupply. The weather said that starting at 2 was a high chance of showers and thunderstorms, so I wanted to get out and start early, but I ended up stopping at a breakfast place called ¢Goodies¢, and got some French toast and eggs, which was all delicious. While o was there, one of the other customers was telling us that his sister lived a little bit west of Duncannon, and the thunderstorms had already started there, which meant that they were likely to get to us by noon rather than 2. I hustled after learning that, and finished making my way through Duncannon and across the bridge over the Susquehanna, then up into the mountains again. Even walking through town I just had no energy, and the initial climb from the bridge back into the mountains was just brutal and took what little energy I had left. I knew that I wasn¢t going to make it to the second shelter, since I¢d left at 10 am, and even just doing those 4 miles, took me over 3.5 hours. I resigned to the fact that I was staying there and set up my tent. Luckily, there were a few sites right next to the trail. Unluckily, those sites were all pretty rocky. ¢How bad could it be?¢ I thought, ¢it¢s just for one night¢. I¢d like to tell my future self never to challenge the universe like that again. The rocks were bad. I couldn¢t get comfortable and ended up falling asleep around midnight, then the storms finally hit around 1:30-2:00 am instead if pm, and the rain was actually so loud it woke me up. I woke up again at 3:30 and dozed on and off until 4, but couldn¢t get back to sleep. Finally, at 6, I decided screw it I¢ll just get up and get started, since last I¢d heard, there was supposed to be rain the next day too.
Date: 2022-06-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Okay, so the first leg of the bus trip ended a bit prematurely. In Pittsburgh, not Harrisburg. Apparently, the scheduled stop in Pittsburgh was the end of that driver's shift -- and there was no other driver available to take the bus further east. Hmmm. Not an entirely successful first day. But you don't bet the farm on these buses. And one thing I know for certain -- sooner or later there will be another bus coming along. Actually, I think that should be Greyhound's slogan.