morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-07-15
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter 

To: Campsite at mile 936.4
Miles today: 20.2

2016 - Day 10Trail miles: 20.2Total miles: 22.05 Total time: 12:18Elevation gain: 3018Elevation loss: 2883Weather: sunny to partly cloudy, hot, humidStart: Leroy A Smith Shelter End: Campsite at mile 936.4I slept reasonably well even though it was hot all night. I was up a little after 5 am and on the trail at 6:50. The morning walk was through PA woods. The trail was relatively flat with only moderate rocks. The only views were just before Little Gap. I reached the gap at 12:15 and had lunch. While there I chatted with NOBO Big Red. She was in Coast Guard stationed in Boston. This afternoon the trail followed the edge of a ridge. Many views down into Palmerton and the closed zinc smelting plant. Much of the ridge was denuded of trees due to pollution from the zinc plant. The area is a superfund site. The trail had a bounty of ripe blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. I had my share. It was a tricky descent down into Lehigh Gap. It was about 1000 ft down. Several rock ledges that needed to be crossed. Some I slid down on the seat of my pants or turned around and climbed down like a ladder.  It was all in the sun, very hot. At the bottom was trail magic. I had a cold orange soda. Just what I needed. I refilled my water bottles at a great little spring, just below the Outerbridge Shelter. I'm camped 3.5 miles beyond the shelter. The last NOBO came down the trail a little after 8 pm. He would be getting to the shelter and water source after dark. It is going to be another hot night.
Date: 2016-07-16
From: Campsite at mile 936.4

To: Eckville Shelter 
Miles today: 20.7

2016 - Day 11Trail miles: 20.7Total miles: 23.2Total time: 12:08Elevation gain: 2162Elevation loss: 3080Weather: mostly sunny, hot, humid, no breezeStart: Campsite at mile 936.4End: Eckville Shelter I slept only fair last night. It was very hot. I got up a little after 5 am and was on the trail at 6:45. This morning's highlights were the views from Bake Oven Knob and the Knife Edge.  There were views of the PA countryside to both the East and West.  There was serious rock scrambling near the overlooks, but other than that, the trail had just the normal number of rocks.  I reached PA 309 at noon and refilled on water at the nearby restaurant.I reached Allentown Shelter at 2:30 and left at 2:45. After that I needed to keep the pedal to the metal to cover the last 7.4 miles to the Eckville Shelter which I reached at about 7 pm.  Along the way I spoke to two NOBOs who were hanging out at Dan's Pulpit, enjoying the view. There was both good and rocky trails. The Eckville Shelter is in Nick' s yard. It has a cold shower, which I gladly took advantage of, and flush toilet. Plus, you can unload your trash. All in all, a long distance hiker's dream. To top it off a neighbor came by with sprite, milk, and cookies. Four NOBOs are here: one from Newburyport MA, one from PA, one from CT, and one from VT. The Vermonter had worked as a caretaker at the Long Trail Shelters and Lodges. I'm in my tent.  It is going to be another hot night. This is my last night out on this trip. Just 15 miles to walk tomorrow.
Date: 2016-07-17
From: Eckville Shelter 

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 14.8

2016 - Day 12Trail miles: 14.8Total miles: 21.7Total time: 10:17Elevation gain: 2670Elevation loss: 2824Weather: sunny, hot, slightly lower humidity, a breeze at timesStart: Eckville Shelter End: Port Clinton, PAI slept reasonably well last night. I was up a little after 5 am and on the trail at 7 am. The first 4.5 miles followed a forest road. This was an easy way to gain about 800 ft of elevation. The forest was mostly mature hardwoods however a few spruce and pine were in the mix. Evergreens were almost completely absent in the northern part of this year's hike, but in the last few days they have started to reappear. At the top of the climb was The Pinnacle. There was a 10 ft high mound of rocks that people have made over the years. There is no problem finding rocks in PA! The views from this area was excellent.  Day hikers outnumbered the long distance hikers by a wide margin. There were also good views from Pulpit Rock.The rest of the hike was normal for PA. The trail alternated between easy walking, difficult with the treadway a bed of pointed rocks that are painful to walk on, and boulder hopping. There were a few very steep sections thrown in for good measure. After four days in PA my feet are very sore.  On the way down to Port Clinton there were several patches of ripe raspberries, yum!I arrived at Port Clinton at 3 pm. I visited The Peanut to buy a soda. Mostly this is a candy store. They had quite a selection but I was only in the mood for soda. I then tried to find the start of the abandoned rail bed that would take me to my hotel, but after 30 minutes of searching in a rail yard, I gave up. I investigated a cab but the closest company was 20 minutes away. I ended up just walking down Route 61 to the hotel. A couple more miles after having just hiked 185 was no problem.  I'm now safely at the Microtel in Hamburg, PA.When I get home I'll post another entry reflecting on my 12 days and 185 miles on the AT.
Date: 2016-07-21
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

This year I wore a Garmin Epix GPS watch. I had the Northeast US topo map loaded on the watch. I was very happy with how it functioned. I started recording my hike when I started out each morning and then stopped recording soon after I reached camp. Thus, the watch provided the total miles walked, elevation gain, and elevation loss. The size of screen was not adequate to determine where I was relative to major land features, however, when combined with a paper map, it was possible to match the shape of contour lines shown on the watch to the paper map, allowing an accurate determination of where I was on the trail. Especially near the end of a day, when I was trying to make it to a shelter, the watch allowed me to keep track of how many miles I had left. This was confirmation that I was going to be able to make it with the available daylight and energy.The total miles walked according to the watch was 222.6 compared to 186 official trail miles. Some of the difference is due to the need to hike to campsites/shelters off the trail, side trips to viewpoints, going off on an incorrect side trail, and the like. However, even on days with few deviations from the trail, the actual miles walked could be 10% more than the official mileage. I'm not sure if the watch's GPS has a systematic error that overestimates the mileage or if the actual distance a hiker needs to walk is greater than the official mileage.The watch would function for 12+ hours with the GPS engaged. Each night I recharged the watch with a 7800mAh battery that weighed about 7 oz. It had enough battery power to recharge the watch every night for a week.
Date: 2017-07-03
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

In a few days I'll be continuing my AT section hike.  So far, I've hiked from Mt. Katahdin to Port Clinton, PA.  This year I plan on hiking southbound from Port Clinton, PA to Harper's Ferry, VW, about 194 miles.  If all goes well, this should take about 12 days.On July 1 and 2, 2017 I was working on the AT as part of a Maine Appalachian Trail Club crew building a new privy at Logan Brook shelter, just north of White cap.  These are moldering privies about 8 ft x 8 ft in plan view.  They are framed up as "two holers", but with only one seat in use at a time.  That way one side can be composting while the other is in use.  It takes 3,000 lb of material to build a privy.  Logan Brook Shelter is about 1.5 miles from the nearest road access.  We were able to get the material up an old skidder trail to the AT corridor.  Then it was still another 0.9 miles south on the AT to the privy site.  It took an army of volunteers to haul in the material.  For me, this makes 8 days working on this privy including initial reconnaissance, pre-cutting the material at my house, hauling the stuff in, digging an 8 ft x 8 ft flat spot into the hillside, and finally building the privy.  The privy is now usable, but there is still about four hours of work to put this one in the history books.  The next one to build is at West Carry Shelter.  The material is already precut and on a trailer behind my house.  We will likely build that one in August.
Date: 2017-07-05
From: Home

To: Hamburg PA
Miles today: 0.0

I spent yesterday and today getting from Maine to Hamburg PA.  I'm in the Microtel listed in AWOL's guide.  Tomorrow I'll get an early start......  5 am breakfast at the golden arches then I'll road walk the two or so miles to the trailhead.  I'll pick up the trail where I left off last year, Port Clinton.  I can't wait!
Date: 2017-07-06
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Hertline Campsite
Miles today: 18.5

2017 - Day 1Trail miles: 18.5Total miles: 23.9Total time: 11h 44mCalories: 2345Elevation gain: 2267Elevation loss: 1830Weather: overcast, showers, comfortable temperaturesStart: Port Clinton PA End: Hertline CampsiteGreat night's sleep at the Microtel in Hamburg PA. My alarm woke me up at 4 am. I was packed and out of the room a little after 5 am. Then it was on to McDonald's for a Big Breakfast. It was still getting light as I road walked to Port Clinton. I wore my head lamp to provide a little visibility to oncoming traffic. I was at the bridge over the Schuylkill River near downtown Port Clinton at 6:20 am. Also, felt the first drop of rain. There would be a lot more of that as the day went on. After climbing up from the railyard I turned right onto the Schuylkill Trail. After walking 100 yards I decided that was wrong so I backtracked. Now turning left I found where the AT climbs steeply up the hill. I made steady progress but the rain slowly started to build. After an hour I broke down and put on rain jacket. The hiking was mostly flat through hardwood forests. Every once in a while there was an evergreen. There were a few viewpoints but no view because of rain. Since it was raining I made a 0.6 mile round trip to Eagle's Nest shelter so I could have a dry lunch. The trail surface today was mostly good. Just a few short rocky sections. I arrived at Hertline Campsite at 4:50. Since it was only raining lightly I went to work immediately setting up camp and cooking dinner. Well over 30 NOBO thruhikers or very long section hikers passed me. That is a lot of hikers.  There are three camped near me. My total miles today were nearly 24. This counts road walk to trailhead and side trip to shelter for lunch. My Garmin Epix GPS watch overestimates mileage but even taking that into account it was a long day. Still raining lightly as I complete this entry.
Date: 2017-07-07
From: Hertline Campsite

To: Campsite just south of PA 72
Miles today: 18.4

2017 - Day 2Trail miles: 18.4Total miles: 20.5Total time: 11h 35minCalories: not recorded Elevation gain: 2270Elevation loss: 2955Weather: overcast turning mostly sunny; heavy rain through 8 am; heavy shower at 5:30 pm; comfortable temperaturesStart: Hertline Campsite End: Campsite just south of PA 72It started to rain heavily at about 3 am. Water was splashing into the tent from under the rain fly so my sleeping bag and some of my other gear got wet.  It appeared to be letting up a little at 6 am so I got up. Big mistake. Once I was out of the tent the heavens opened up. Thus, I broke camp in a downpour. Once I got the tent rolled up there was literally water running out of it. I squeezed out as much as I could, but it was hopeless. Anytime the top of my pack was open it was scooping in water. I even had to empty 2 inches of water that had accumulated in the pockets of my rain jacket. The stream near the campsite rose considerably overnight. I was getting rained on for the early part of the morning but slowly it stopped. By 10 am I had enough confidence to stop and put on dry socks.Overall the trail was good with just a few rocky sections. By noon the sun was out and there were some views of the farmland to the east. The forests are very impressive with several stands of mature hardwood. Much of the undercover is ferns .... magical. I had a late lunch at the William Penn Shelter. This is 1000 miles from Katahdin so I've crossed a major milestone! While at the shelter l hung up my tent and sleeping bag to dry a little. The afternoon hiking was uneventful until just after I-81 crossing. The skies darked, the wind started whipping, and the heavens cut loose again. Fortunately it only lasted 30 minutes.  I'm camped just south of PA 72. There is a stream that is flowing fast from all the rain. I'm the only one camped here.  This is very near the road ... hopefully the traffic noise will be tolerable.
Date: 2017-07-08
From: Campsite just south of PA 72

To: Campsite at mile 1026.4
Miles today: 17.6

2017 - Day 3Trail miles: 17.6Total miles: 20.5Total time: 10h 40minCalories: Not recorded Elevation gain: 2988Elevation loss: 2142Weather: Alternated between mostly sunny and overcast; comfortable temperatures; a light breeze at times; no precipitationStart: Campsite south of PA 72End: Campsite at mile 1026.4I slept well last night. The traffic noises did not bother me. I got up at about 5:30 and was on the trail just after 7 a.m. Overall today was easy walking through mature hardwood forest. The rocks in the trail and the surrounding woods reminded me of New England. In a few places the undercover was rhododendrons in bloom - certainly not like New England.  There were just two climbs, one at the beginning of the day to the top of Second "Mountain" and the other at the end of the day up from PA 325. The flat places in between with no views got a little monotonous at times. The rapids on Rausch Creek was the best mountain stream I've seen since New England. This was the highlight of my day. The trail next passed through a former coal mining area. There is a problem with acid mine drainage. To raise the pH in Rausch Creek, they have constructed a forcing well that forces a flow of water up through a bed of crushed limestone, breaking off small particles which the flow carries into the stream. This raises the pH from 4 to 6.It is a small world ...  This morning I met NOBO Black Bear.  Her two sons are UMaine students and she has a camp on Cold Stream Pond.  Her next door neighbors are my friends Pat and Doug!I had lunch at the site of the former coal mining town of Yellow Springs. Just after PA 325 was major trail magic. They were going to have lobster and shrimp stew for dinner but it seemed to be attracting the hikers who were partying their way north. Thus, I stopped for just a quick salad.I refilled on water just south of PA 325. I was carrying 3.5 liters of water up the hill so it was a slow climb. I'm camped at mile 1026.4. There is one thru hiker and two long distance section hikers here. In total I passed some 40 NOBO thru hikers today.
Date: 2017-07-09
From: Campsite at mile 1026.4

To: Duncannon PA
Miles today: 16.1

2017 - Day 4Trail miles: 16.1Total miles: 17.8Total time: 9h 15minCalories: Not recorded Elevation gain: 1968Elevation loss: 2988Weather: Sunny; comfortable temperatures; a light breeze when on ridgetopsStart: Campsite at mile 1026.4End: Duncannon PAI slept well last night. There was a light breeze which prevented condensation in the tent. The only problem is that there is a slow leak in my air mattress. I had to blow it up twice during the night. I got up at 5:30 and could see the sunrise through the trees.  I was on the trail at 7:10. It takes me an extra 20 min to get out of camp because I'm taking great care to tape my feet to prevent blisters. The trail was relatively easy. There was just one really rocky stretch about 1/4 mile long on the initial descent coming down into Duncannon. There were several places with views. Some of the best were looking down to the Susquehanna River. I was on the bridge over the river at 3:30. For a SOBO it is unclear how to get on the correct lane of the bridge so I just walked across in the break down lane. Once I got across the bridge I could see there was a pedestrian walkway on the opposite side of the bridge. This would be very clear to all NOBOs. I walked down High Street to the Doyle arriving a little before 4:30. I had a beer and talked to a staffer for a Democratic congressman from Rhode Island. The manager from the Red Carpet Inn came into town and picked me up - great service. There are several other hikers here. I'm going to a Burger King just down the highway for dinner.
Date: 2017-07-10
From: Duncannon PA

To: Carlisle PA 
Miles today: 17.5

2017 - Day 5Trail miles: 17.6Total miles: 19.6 including 0.5 mile road walk to Super 8 MotelTotal time: 9hr 30minCalories: 1975Elevation gain: 3681Elevation loss: 3503Weather: Sunny; comfortable temperatures; a light breeze in afternoon Start: Duncannon PA End: Carlisle PAI was up at 5 am, repacked my gear, then was at Burger King for breakfast when they opened at 6 am. I had the jumbo breakfast burrito and hash browns. Neither were very good but they filled the void. The manager of the Red Carpet Inn gave myself and two NOBOs a ride back to the trail promptly at 7:30 am. He dropped me at the post office. I highly recommend the Red Carpet Inn for AT hikers. I got my resupply package at 8 am and was repacked and on the trail at 8:35. Today was a day of great variety in trail conditions and surroundings. The day started with a climb up to Hawk Rock. There were great views of the countryside to the west of Duncannon. The next section of trail alternated between OK and rocky. Taken as a whole, it was not as bad as AWOL's guide made it out to be. As advertised there were great views from the pipeline clearing which I reached a little before noon.  Here I met Walking Home who is from Gorham ME.  I had lunch at the stream crossing at mile 1049.9. So far the trail was surrounded by mixed hardwood forest. Next came recently mowed pastures. Next was a climb and descent through hardwood forests. Part way down on the descent there were great views of the Cumberland Valley. I sat on the rock bench and admired the view. After that I entered the valley and walked through wooded bottom land, hay fields, and corn fields. I took many pictures. Along the way I got stung just above my left ankle by an enormous wasp or hornet. This one was at least 5 times bigger round than the ones was have in Maine. I reached Rt 11 at about 5:30 and did a road walk to the Super 8 Motel. This is a very busy road so caution is needed. I had a good dinner at the Middlesex Dinner - great hikers food including pecan pie with vanilla ice cream.
Date: 2017-07-11
From: Carlisle PA 

To: James Fry Shelter
Miles today: 20.0

2017 - Day 6Trail miles: 20.0Total miles: 23.3Total time: 11h 40minCalories: 2036Elevation gain: 2992Elevation loss: 2660Weather: Mostly sunny; hot; humid; a light breeze at times; evening showersStart: Carlisle PAEnd: Jake Fry ShelterI slept well at the Super 8 but the person in the room before me left the alarm on and set to midnight. I was up at 4 am but was slow getting organized and out of the room. I was across the street at the Middlesex Diner at 5:45. I had the egg and pancake platter. Just what I needed. I was out and walking toward the trail at 6:30. If I was to do it again, I would stay at the Days Inn. That way I would not need to cross 4 lanes of busy traffic to get to diner. The early morning walk was through more PA farmland. Corn and soybeans were the predominant crop. I was in Boiling Springs at 10 am. This is a lovely town centered around Childrens Lake. I bought a few replacement items from the outfitter and had something cold to drink. There was also a work related call I needed to make. I was on the trail again at 11 am. First it was more farmland and then back into the woods. There were lots of ups and downs. There were two sections of "rock mazes". These were fun. There is now a lot more pine in the forest. For the first time this year the trail was a bed of pine needles. I arrived at the James Fry Shelter at about 6 pm. Also here is SOBO Nomad, and NOBOs Pappa and one more. There is also a group of 16 year old girls. I think they are trying to camp out but only have a small blue tarp.  It is raining lightly as I complete this entry. It is going to be a hot night.
Date: 2017-07-12
From: James Fry Shelter

To: Birch Run Shelter 
Miles today: 17.1

2017 - Day 7Trail miles: 17.1Total miles: 20.4Total time: 10h 25minCalories: 1869Elevation gain: 5006Elevation loss: 3976Weather: Mostly sunny; hot; humid; light breeze at timesStart: James Fry ShelterEnd: Birch Run Shelter The light rain tapered off early in the night. After that there was just tree rain. I slept well but my air mattress was completely flat in the morning. I got up at 5:20 and was on the trail at 6:55. The terrain today seemed moderate but still had over 5000 ft of cumulative elevation gain. The forest was similar to the prior day with the addition of some areas of scrub oak. I was at Pine Grove Furnace State Park at 10:30. I very much enjoyed the Appalachian Trail Museum. There were a few pictures of Lester Kenway, President of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, making and installing the new sign on Mount Kahtahdin. At the Pine Grove General Store I had an excellent wrap - grilled chicken, bacon, and ranch dressing. I did a scaled down version of the half gallon challenge - I had an ice cream sandwich.  While I was there Nomad completed the challenge. The afternoon hiking was punctuated by reaching the halfway point of the AT. Actually there were two: the halfway point from a couple of years ago (this is the one with the fancy sign) and then the actual halfway point. In both cases a NOBO was there at the same time, so I had them snap my picture. I heard a little thunder in late afternoon but no rain for me.  No views today. I reached the Birch Run Shelter a little before 5 pm. I'm not sure how it got its name as there are no birches in sight. I talked with the ridge runner, Ranger.  She thru-hiked last year. There is a camp group here. Hopefully they will quiet down by 9 pm. Temperature wise, this is going to be a hot night.
Date: 2017-07-13
From: Birch Run Shelter 

To: Fayetteville PA
Miles today: 10.0

2017 - Day 8Trail miles: 10.0Total miles: 13.5Total time: 6:40Calories: 916Elevation gain: 1345Elevation loss: 2168Weather: Partly cloudy; hot; light breeze at times Start: Birch Run Shelter End: Fayetteville PAI slept well last night except for the need to reinflate my air mattress several times. No rain  during the night. My tent was perfectly dry in the morning. I got up at 5:30 and was on the trail at 7:00. Easy walking all day. I was completely in the green tunnel so no views. There were a few stands of pine with no hardwood mixed in. I've not seen that since New England. The Ridge Runner, Ranger, crossed my path several times today. The Quarry Gap Shelter was the nicest I've ever seen. It is a log shelter with the logs freshly painted brown and the gaps between the logs filled with mortar. There were two covered picnic tables and a few tent platforms. There was even a rocking swing.   I arrived at US 30 before noon and then walked to Timbers for a burger. I sat with Journeyman who is a journeyman electrician who hales from Oklahoma. He is a NOBO through hiker. I'm at the Trail of Hope Hostel.  I'm going to be very comfortable here for the night. Tomorrow is supposed to be stormy. We will see how it goes. The forecast for Saturday and Sunday look great.