morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-06-03
From: Passed by Alec Kennedy Shelter After Midnight - 1117.4

To: US 11 - Carlisle, PA @ Mile 1129.3
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Continued from Just After Midnight ...We paused at Center Point Knob, the original AT midpoint. We finally hit the cornfield which was very wet. Our shoes were soaked more from walking through the fields than the streams or mud puddles on the trail. We eventually arrived at the ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office a little before 2:30 am in Boiling Springs. We rested on the porch picnic table and signed the register. After an hour we reluctantly left. It was drizzling harder. The next few miles were through more wet fields (soaked shoes again!) and Crafty was very sleepy. We had hoped to make it 30 miles to the next shelter and possibly 42 miles to Duncannon by the end of the day but it wasn't looking like we would make it and we didn't really have to go that far but for a personal desire to get there and do laundry. We had already hiked 24.9 miles since we left our tents the night before. We took a break after 6 am and Crafty asked about checking into a hotel in Carlisle, a half mile off the AT and US 11 which was just ahead. It was really early still but we decided to see if they would let us check in that early. If not, we would at least do laundry and then decide to keep hiking or wait for check in. After bush whacking our way down to the road, we played Frogger crossing the highway since there were no pedestrian crossings. We arrived at the Super 8 and were happy the clerk checked us in. Showers, laundry and breakfast before 9 am! Later that day we met Just Pete and Ironman Bill, two hikers who checked in next door to our room. Bill was having knee trouble so they had been taking time off for a couple weeks.
Date: 2015-06-12
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Blue Mountain Lakes Road
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Wookie, Crafty and I set out and soon crossed the PA - NJ state line on the bridge! 7 states down, 7 states to go! It's nice to be halfway through the states and even nicer to know we only have about 40 miles of really bad rocks left. Leaving the worst behind. We passed a small Caron garden off the trail. We took a break at the south end of Sunfish Pond where a couple weekend hikers showed us a yellow Timber Rattlesnake curled up in some bushes just off the trail. Near the pond, we saw several vibrant green and muddy frogs who could jump really far. Wookie then decided to pick up the rattlesnake with his hiking pole and bring it out into the open. It was an older snake with a long rattler. The snake was very lethargic and barely moved. Wookie set it down on the ground and we took some pics and video while it slowly moved back towards the bushes. There were plenty of frogs and we could hear bullfrogs in Sunfish Pond.We hiked to the north end of the pond where we decided to soak our feet while Wookie jumped in and swam. There was a beaver lodge across the way. It was nice to sit in the sun and relax a bit. Incidentally we also just passed 1,300 miles though we didn't realize it until later. We hiked on as the day got more humid and hotter. Crafty saw some wild blueberries under the power lines so we stopped for a few minutes and ate small wild blueberries. Delicious! We had to stop and keep hiking. Crafty wanted to stop at the Mohican Outdoor Center Store for a cold drink. We left our packs in the woods and walked 0.3 miles off trail to the store. Wookie and I ran which Crafty thought was crazy, especially since it was uphill. At least I know I can still run. Back in the trail after a cold drink and ice cream bar, we hiked a couple more miles to Catfish Tower where we planned to eat lunch even though it was after 3 pm. It was hot in the sun so I set up my rope to dry out my tent and we climbed to the tower where we had cell service and a breeze. Ox came by and joined us. We admired Wookie's rattlesnake videos. He has seen 4 and they all rattled. Our snake did not.We finally left as it was late and we still planned to hike 10 miles. Unfortunately we started hearing thunder as we passed Obsolete at his campsite. Ox decided to stop for the day so we left him and hurried on for water. We kept getting mixed weather reports online but it seemed like it was going to rain and it did. So we set up tents in the first flattish spot we saw as it poured down. I hesitated wanting to wait in case it stopped but it was hard to say. So I set up my tent in the rain for the first time on my hike which is pretty fortunate. Naturally it stopped raining as soon as we were done but wet. We decided to stay pour since it was after 7 pm anyway. As we cooked dinner, a dayhiker who section hiked the trail came by and told us we made the right move. His trail name was Reading Man and we chatted for awhile.
Date: 2015-06-13
From: Blue Mountain Lakes Road

To: Culvers Gap
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Fortunately it didn't rain again as forecasted but it was breezy which helped dry our tent rain flies at least.Even though NJ is still rocky in sections, we were able to hike a good pace covering 3 miles in a little over an hour. It's been awhile. There were also tiny orange eastern newts (look like lizards) all over the trail so we had to avoid stepping on them. We have seen one every once in awhile but we counted almost 50 in the first 1.5 miles and well over 60 in the first 3 miles. We took a break at Rattlesnake Mountain and then hiked the remaining 5.7 miles to Culver Gap. We walked up the road to Gyp's Tavern which has a great back patio and an amazing view of the lake. We ordered food and sat in the back. Ox and Obsolete arrived. Obsolete is also vegetarian so I asked him what he eats. Always looking for new culinary ideas. He makes Pad Thai from Ramen noodles (throws away the meat seasoning packet), chunky peanut butter, Knorr vegetable mix and Sriracha. Hello! I love Pad Thai! My husband's cousin's husband picked us up and whisked us away to their house where we were able to clean all of our gear, resupply and enjoy some great company!! Thanks for being wonderful NJ Trail Angels Chris, Evelin, and Lorine!!
Date: 2015-06-14
From: Culvers Gap

To: Mashipacong Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Today is the beginning of week 11 on the trail. Enjoying a Nero in NJ, we started hiking at 4:15 pm from Culvers Gap. We ran into Philip (hiker formerly known as Princess) in the parking lot of Gyp's Tavern. Chris hiked with us for the first 1.9 miles to the Culver Fire Tower where we encountered an amateur radio set up. One of the participants came over and explained what they were doing. He also told us thunderstorms are expected in 3 hours which we had not heard. Chris bid us farewell (thanks again for an awesome refresh in NJ!) and we hiked on. We met Typo, Dosu and another hiker whose posts we've read in registers at the Sunrise Pavilion. It started to sprinkle a few miles later and the rain. Fortunately we made it to the Mashipacong Shelter just as it had started to rain harder. Breakfast of Champiions, a section hiker whom we have seen 3 times in the past few days was already set up. He has seen several bears in NJ the past couple days. The other 3 hikers were also there but decided to move on in the rain. It kept pouring so we set up camp in the shelter and settled in for the night.
Date: 2015-06-15
From: Mashipacong Shelter

To: Murray Cabin Mile 1343.2
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: scattered clouds

It rained really hard a lot of the night but stopped by 6 am. We had a later than usual start after chatting with Breakfast of Champions and Prime who arrived as we were ready to leave. He told us he saw Hawkeye part way up the Palmerton climb the day after we saw him. We saw more Eastern Newts on the trail and counted 93 during today's hike. Ferris and Cliffhanger passed by while we stopped for a break. We arrived at the High Point State Park Visitor Center right before it started to rain. The concession window was closed but the office gave us trail magic cokes courtesy of the Friends of High Point State Park. We hung out inside charging our phones waiting for the rain to pass. Breakfast of Champions is a psychologist in Philadelphia and was finished with his section hike waiting for his ride. Loon & Remedy also arrived. A couple hours later we decided to start hiking again since it stopped raining. Crafty doesn't like to hike in the rain. We made it to the wooden tower where we could see the High Point monument, the highest point in NJ at 1803 feet. We moved on and stopped at the High Point Shelter to see who signed the register. By then it was 3 pm and we had hiked only 7.2 miles! We started moving because the skies also started to darken again. It started raining again and we had about 2.5 miles to go so we really hustled the rest of the way through fields and mud and finally made it to the Murray Cabin, a private cabin owned by a former 1989 thru hiker. There were already a lot of hikers there. A younger group many whom we didn't know wee already in the shelter including Cliffhanger and Ferris. And a group of section hikers from KY who hike 40 miles at a time a couple times a year for the past 11 years. Bracer shared some hummus, crackers and peanut M&Ms with us while she told us about them. There was also a shower which was wonderful!!We were debating about continuing to hike 7 more miles to the shelter, our original plan before all of the rain. We knew it would rain again so we decided to stay and set up our tents ... Just as it started to rain again!We hung out on the porch of the owner's private hunting cabin with the KY group while it poured. More hikers arrived including Gucci Baby. Finally it stopped and everyone dispersed to their tent. I enjoyed the cooler temps on the porch a little longer. The younger group in the shelter played music, talked and laughed while snoring started to erupt from one of the KY hiker tents. Should be an interesting night!
Date: 2015-06-18
From: Little Dam Lake

To: NY17
Miles today: 2.9
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we set off with hopes of a shower and laundry. Crafty had taken a photo of a card left at the water jugs which said "need a soft bed, hearty meal, shower or laundry?" with a phone number and email for John & Susan. I had called last night and they told us to call in the morning to arrange. So we hiked 2.9 miles to NY17 and called. John picked us up 40 minutes later and took us to his home where we showered and washed our clothes. He then cooked a nice meal of rice, shrimp, guacamole, and bagel chips with tomato and buffalo mozzarella cheese on top. It was delicious. We were originally only planning to do laundry and hike on but Crafty decided she wanted to spend the night when John asked if we wanted to stay. So we took an unplanned Nero. John said they started putting water out 12 years ago and would randomly bring home a hiker when they ran into one. Then Susan made up business cards and left them with the water since they live a half mile from the trail. They do it for free when they are around. They host about 100 hikers a year, most later in the season when more hikers are coming through the area. He said we are the early ones. He showed us a photo album of Mt Katahdin thank you cards hikers had sent them. We recognized Seeker, a hiker we met in the Grayson Highlands who we knew had hiked the AT before. John took us to town to resupply. On our way back, we saw GQ and Walking Man standing where John had picked us up. We turned around and pulled up. They were hitching to Walmart so Andreas got out and we drove them to Walmart. We thought they were ahead of us but they stopped in Vernon because Walking Man had a tooth issue which he thinks may have aggravated a nerve when he fell earlier in his hike. When we returned two more hikers we knew (Typo and Dosu) who had been there when we picked up GQ and Walking Man were now trying to go to Walmart so Crafty and I got out and let John graciously took them to Walmart. We sat on the road and ate our Ben & Jerry's without spins. Good thing I had practiced this in Hot Springs! Cliffhanger and Ferris passed by. John came back and got us and we returned to his house. Restless, I volunteered to weed and admire his vegetable garden while Crafty and Andreas napped. John has 10 chickens, humming birds and all sorts of wild life on his property. He showed me a Bluebird's nest with 5 baby blue eggs inside. I helped him prep and grill veggies and we enjoyed a delicious meal of veggies, pasta, hummus, naan and BBQ chicken for dinner! What an amazing trail magical day!
Date: 2015-06-20
From: Hemlock Campsite

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a little noisy with the train traffic in the valley below. The trail runs near the railroad a lot so many campsites are within hearing distance of train traffic ... Even on the ridge.Typo had set up camp near us in the middle of the night. He had gone through Bear Mountain in the middle of the night and even hopped the fence and walked the trail through the zoo after midnight. We set out and hiked our own pace today. I chatted with two weekend day hikers from NJ on top of a hill about 6.5 miles in. I met Six Pack, another AT thru hiker just as it started to rain. However I got wetter from the rain soaked bushes than rain from the sky.And two women day hikers while I was getting water at mile 13. One of them wants to hike the AT when she retires and they have done a lot of section hiking. They asked me a lot of questions about shelter, food, pack weight, etc. It was fun chatting with them and I hope they get the chance to thru hike. I had never done anything like this before so anyone can do it if they want to do it. Yes it's physical activity but it's the mental perspective that pulls you through.I hiked on and realized I forgot to eat because I had been chatting. So I stopped on a rock and ate a snack. A southbound day hikers told me Andreas was looking for me, as did Six Pack when I passed him again. Another southbound day hiker told me the same thing so I started hustling to see if I could catch him. Not always the smartest thing to do with a heavy pack. It started raining again as I crossed the road and entered the Fahnestock State Park area. Some volunteer trail workers chatted with me and also told me Andreas was looking for me. So I started moving again and finally caught up with him. I guess Six Pack had told him I was a couple hours ahead of him so he had been trying to catch up but got worried when southbound hikers had not seen me. We stopped at a a view of the lake and beach below while we ate a snack. Five miles to go to reach the shelter. We heard the weather wasn't going to be great tomorrow so we decided to try to get to the shelter instead of the tenting campsite. We passed by Ferris who was laying comfortably on the rock with the 911 Memorial Flag painting at the top of Shenandoah Mountain. It was misty and cloudy and breezy. Very pleasant. We continued on and ran into Cliffhanger the last mile. At the shelter, Bascom, one of the trail volunteers had brought some cold beverages so we enjoyed chatting with him. The RPH Shelter is almost fully enclosed with six bunks. You can also order Chinese or Pizza delivery. Prime, Trek and Hot Pants were also there. Crafty arrived later. Tomorrow is Summer Solstice which is also Naked Hiking Day. I'm not sure if the inclement weather will encourage or discourage hikers' inhibitions but it may be a good day to keep your eyes on the ground!
Date: 2015-06-21
From: RPH Shelter

To: Appalachian Trail Railroad 
Miles today: 19.9

It was another noisy night of loud snoring (no names!), rain and other night noises. Andreas and I headed out at 7 am in a light drizzle. Crafty opted to wait until the rain was supposed to stop sometime between 9-10 am. It did start raining pretty hard again and we were soon drenched. I don't mind hiking in the rain because it's cooler and no mosquitoes! I don't care for the wet shoes and gear. However Andreas was pretty miserable being wet. We hiked the 9 miles to the shelter pretty quickly and stopped for a snack and water. We ran into a local day hiker there. It stopped raining and by the time we left, it had cleared up and the sun even came out. Unfortunately so did the mosquitoes. There is one species I would love to eliminate completely .... So the Orange Newts were out all over the trail again. Given its "Hike Naked Day" we focused on taking pictures of Newts instead of Nudes. Fortunately we only passed three southbound section hikers all day so we did not have any awkward encounters. Crafty texted me that she unfortunately had some naked hikers pass her. Thank goodness we left early! We passed by a 300+ year old oak tree on West Dover Road and chatted with a day hiker couple. We made it to the Appalachian Trail Railroad stop which goes to NYC and then the Native Landscape & Garden Center which is very hiker friendly with an outdoor shower and camping. Ferris and Cliffhanger were there along with Ferris' parents whom we got to meet. I picked up my homemade cookies and banana bread Kelly (aka the "General") had sent to me! Yum! Andreas and I several cookies on the spot. Thank you General (and her niece and nephew!).I had been planning to hike to the next shelter or stay and camp at the outdoor center.
Date: 2015-06-22
From: Appalachian Trail Railroad 

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Andreas and I hitched a ride from a nice guy named Paul who took us back to the AT. We found Crafty who had camped at the Garden Center since she arrived late and didn't want to hitch alone in the dark to meet us. I shared the rest of the banana bread with her and we headed out. It was already sunny and warm. We hiked through some fields passing some wild raspberry bushes (not ripe!) and back into the woods. We stopped at the shelter for a snack break. Ferris and Cliffhanger arrived and snacked as well. We moved on and crossed the NY/CT border (for the first of three times) 1.2 miles later. The signage is nice and consistent in CT. I saw a couple of small snakes together off the trail. At Ten Mile River, we crossed the bridge and found an awesome spot to rest and soak our feet. The river was moving quickly and seemed to get deep fast so I found a log someone had laid across to another tree and Crafty and I sat on the log soaking our feet, reading our books for a bit while Andreas sat on a rock in the sun. It was awesome, peaceful and very hard to leave as there was a nice campsite nearby and it would have been easy to stay there all day. But we wanted to get to Kent so we moved along a nice path along the river where we could hear some very loud rattling in the bushes (snake?!?!) before the AT turned off and soon climbed up and up. And it was hot and sweaty again.We took another break at the top on some flat boulders where we met another section hiker. There was also a butterfly that really liked something on Andreas' pack because it didn't fly away at all when we got near it nor did it fly away into after he picked it up and put it on one shoulder. The last 5.6 miles were tougher than expected with several nice but tricky water crossings, steep rocky climbs and descents. I realized near the end it was a good test run for NH because I was tired and a little impatient with the tedious Rocky descent which seemed to take forever but we will have a lot more of this in NH so it's good training. I saw my third snake of the day. Crafty and I finally made it to the road where Andreas had been waiting. We had to walk 0.8 miles into town and were disappointed to see the Outfitter Store was closed. We had thought it would be open for longer summer hours but it wasn't. We found the grassy plot where hikers are allowed to tent. There were many hikers already there whom we knew (Obsolete, Hot Pants, Cliffhanger, Prime) and several we didn't know. There was also a cold outdoor shower and the hosts even provided towels! It's the little things in life!
Date: 2015-06-23
From: Kent, CT

To: Cornwall Bridge, CT
Miles today: 11.1

Our campsite in Kent was very nice courtesy of Carol & David Jalbert who let us camp behind their clothing store. They provided towels, outdoor shower and a port a john that was impressively clean. Unfortunately they did construction all night on Main Street so it was unexpectedly noisy all night. I met Caboose, Disco and another father/daughter section hiking team Sassafras & Kaboose. We walked the 0.8 miles back to the AT and set off again. We paused at Calebs Peak for a break where we checked the weather because we had heard it was going to thunderstorm at some point. One of the forecasts said it would start raining then so we hurried with a quick stop at St. John's Ledges view. The descent down included steep stone steps and rocks which included a pole tossing and butt sliding. Fortunately it hadn't started to rain yet. We made it down to the river where the next five miles were a nice pleasant river walk along the Housatonic River. Crafty's mom and Tim from New Mexico met us at the end of the river trail and drove us to Cornwall Bridge where we got some sandwiches at the Country Market and enjoyed lunch outside. The weather was still nice! So Crafty's mom decided to hike 1.5 miles with us which included a climb and descent but we were able to do it without packs so Tim would pick us up on CT 4. First time on the AT without even a small pack! It felt very light! Crafty's mom got a good ascent on her first hike but we made it up and over. Tim picked us up and dropped Andreas and me back at the Country Market where my husband picked us up for a zero day at my mother-in-law's tomorrow. It never rained on us but the storm hit and left where my mother-in-law lives before we arrived since we could see all the tree debris on the ground. So it turns out we could have hiked more miles today but played it safe.
Date: 2015-06-27
From: Tom Leonard Shelter

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: clear sky

What a difference a day, a little easier terrain and friends make! I wasn't sure how far I would hike today because of my feet. Fortunately after the first mile, the terrain wasn't quite as Rocky and had some piney soft sections. So I made much better time than I had expected and far better than the past two days. There were still some pretty steep climbs but then there would be rolling nice terrain. Around noon I caught up to Morgan who had left the shelter early. So we started hiking together and chatting for the next three miles making really good time and the time flew by. Someone left a note on the ground in a field that read "Almost There. Food". We thought briefly maybe there was trail magic but we never saw any. Boo! We climbed Cobbler Hill and stopped at a view for a snack. Chatted with a couple of day hikers. Then I realized I had 5.5 miles to still cover before meeting friends so I had to get moving. The AT crossed through a cow pasture where the cows just stood eating and looked at me while blocking the trail. So I had to go around them. It was funny to see all the cows staring at me as I went around them trying to avoid cow pies. I underestimated the climb up Baldy Mountain but made it up. Just after 4 pm I was met on the trail by Karen, Brett and Kellyn all the way from my neighborhood in Florida! They happened to be in the area and drove two hours to see me! We drove to Lee and enjoyed dinner at 51 Park Street, a restaurant recommendation a local weekend hiker gave me. It was really good to see them and catch up! Fueled by friendship, food and a 3 hour break, I resumed hiking at 7 pm and managed to out hike the rain and make the 3.2 miles to Upper Goose Pond Cabin just before 8:10 and before the downpour and claim the last bunk.