morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-06-21
From: Port Clinton

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: broken clouds

June 21It was nice staying in the same bed two nights in a row. The Port Clinton hotel was fine and their restaurant was great. Huge servings and really good food at a reasonable price.I was up and out a little after 6 and back on the trail at 6:20. The morning started great. The trail was not as rocky as I expected and it was cool and dry. At a road crossing a day hiker joined me with his dog. He kept up with me as we climbed a pretty good hill. At the top was a group of boy scouts out on a training hike. In a couple weeks they are headed to the ranch in New Mexico. They were full of good questions. I ended up talking with them for over 20 minutes. It was a lot of fun.The ridge would alternate between easy hiking and brutal rocks. I made a wrong turn at one point and got turned around. Since it was a Saturday there were lots of locals around. I got some bad advice and headed back the same way I came. Since it was so rocky I hadn't been looking around. I knew it was wrong by the sun. I was just about to turn around when the scouts came up. Bummer, added about a mile to a 22 mile day. Right after that the trail turned into an old logging road so made great time for about 4 miles.After lunch I had a thousand foot climb up onto another ridge. It was quite rocky and slow going. I ended up getting to the shelter a little before 4. There are lots of weekend hikers around. Not really any good tent sites so decided to stay in the shelter even though it is a beautiful evening. Mud showed up a little after me. He is the only NOBO thru hiker I have seen all day.Mary and Gina and her twins (my step mom and her daughter) are driving through the area on Tuesday so we are meeting for lunch at Delaware Water Gap. It will be great to see them.Elizabeth has flights to come east for the forth of July. I haven't seen her since I left in April. She is flying in to Hartford and will come find me. I got to keep moving. It will be great fun finding a local 4th celebration to participate in. Lots to look forward to.
Date: 2014-06-22
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: Danielsville, PA
Miles today: 22.7

June 22Yesterday was the summer solstice and one of the odd traditions of the AT is to hike naked on that day. I did not partake in this tradition but I heard of 3 that did. One was a young lady and being a Saturday there were lots if weekend hikers about, including 4 groups of boy scouts. I think she enjoyed the reactions she got based on her shelter journal entries.After I posted yesterdays entry a bunch of hikers showed up at the shelter, I'm pretty sure Mud was there when I wrote it, but soon after Rerun, Gargoyle, Patch, Brave and a young couple with Greek trail names arrived. It was a fun evening with 3 local weekend guys as well. There were others tenting, but they did not come by the shelter. I was the first to arrive and had gone by the road seven miles back at 12:30. Everyone else came in talking about the wonderful trail magic. Bummer, I just missed out.As Mud and I were eating at the picnic table a brown snake kept coming out of a stump and watching the goings on. He was only about 2 feet from me. Based on his head shape we figured he was not venomous, but we still kept a close eye on him. This morning most of the shelter was up and moving early. I was third one out, so didn't have to clear the trail of cobwebs. I saw Mud several times throughout the day and then caught Bacon Dog early afternoon when I stopped for lunch. I passed Rerun early and never saw any other NOBOs. I think everyone at the shelter planned to go into Palmerton, a town 18 miles in. Just after the town is a very steep climb followed by 15 miles of no water. There is a road crossing 4.7 miles in with a B&B, so I opted for that. The climb out of Lehigh Gap is an exposed rock scramble. I am surprised that they have sections this difficult on the AT. I personally loved it. I was careful to not go too fast and overheat. My sweat glands sure were working. I was like someone sprayed me with a hose. A couple of times I threw my trekking poles up to the next level so I had both hands free to climb. It was only 900 vertical feet. When I started up my feet were tired. Once I got to the top it was like I was given a shot of adrenaline. It was pretty cool how good I felt for the next few miles. About a mile and a half from my end point I realized that I was tired. I called Kathy at the Filbert B&B and she picked me up at the road crossing. The Filbert is a great place. When Kathy showed up she handed me an ice cold lemonade. Boy did that hit the spot.
Date: 2014-06-23
From: Danielsville, PA

To: random campsite
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: scattered clouds

June 23Last night was good at the Filbert. Kathy is a great hostess and does the little things well. She dropped me off at 7:30 and I was on my way. All morning I was having a difficult time staying motivated. About noon I was at a turn to a shelter. Do I walk the .2 miles down to it? Sure, why not, I'm in no hurry today. Bacon Dog was there. Shorty after, Patch rolled in, then Gargoyle came just as I was leaving. It was great to see some familiar faces. With new enthusiasm I set out again. A mile or so later I here voices up ahead and that's where I saw Skittles, Bear Juice and Go Far. They took yesterday off, that's how I was able to catch up. We chatted for a few minutes then we all took off. I tried hiking their 3.5mph pace but soon gave up. We were only a couple of miles from town at this point. When I got to the parking lot they were there with Skittles girlfriend Julie. I suggested we go to town and get some food, so the 5 of us and Julie's dog drove the 1 mile to the Beer Stein, a hiker friendly sports bar. Skittles and Julie took off to go get Skittles truck, which also had Go Far and Bear Juice's gear. We watched world cup soccer then went across the street for ice cream. Skittles brought us back to the trailhead and then was off to see his sister. The three of us decided we would stop at the first go tenting site. It was 6pm and were all tired. The trail started with a 600 foot climb then it levels off. About a mile in we set up for the night. It is a warm, but clear night. The birds are chirping away as I type this at 8pm.Since we had a meal in town I was not planning on eating tonight. Skittles dad had given Go Far a pound of venison hamburg so he cooked it up with some red beans and rice and gave me half. (Bear Juice is a vegetarian) It was really great. Thanks Go Far and Skittles dad for sharing. All three guys are between 27 and 29 and are great young men. I really enjoy our conversations. Skittles will probably catch us tomorrow. For a day that started out in the doldrums it sure was a great afternoon and evening. The trail continues to deliver when you least expect it.Tomorrow I am meeting Mary and Gina at noon for lunch in Delaware Water Gap. It is 14 miles from here. They plan to continue their drive to New Hampshire and I would like to hike 10 more miles to the Mohican Outdoor Center.
Date: 2014-06-24
From: random campsite

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 25.4
Weather: moderate rain

June 24Today was quite a day. I planned to get up at 5 and be hiking by 5:30 to give myself plenty of time to hike the 14.5 miles into town by noon to meet Mary and Gina. For some reason I did not wake up till 5:35. I did not start hiking till 6:10. Fortunately I was feeling great and moving right along, even with the rocky terrain. I arrived at the next shelter, 8 miles away at 9 and called Mary. They go a good start but had some traffic issues so this took some time pressure off me. I took a 30 minute break and headed out again. Bucketlist was at the shelter when I arrived. He is 67 and going strong. I took my time to rest my feet as I hiked into town and still made it before noon. Bacon Dog had just arrived before me. We both headed to the Farmers Market and had a hot dog and a piece of apple pie with some milk. I then walked over to a little store and bought a few things. When I got back to the oicnic table Digger was there as were several other hikers. Mary and Gina arrived a few minutes later. Great to see them and to meet the twins for the first time. They had been in their car seats for hours and enjoyed the ability to move around. Patch was now at the table outside so we got him to take a bunch of pictures.I piled into Gina's car for the mile ride back to the trail. Delaware Water Gap is a cute little town. As we are saying our good byes we hear an "AZ" from across the street. It was Bear Juice. I first met him in Georgia so he is by far my longest term trail friend that is still around me. It was fun for Mary and Gina to meet him. After M and G left I went into the ice cream shop and got a milk shake. Go Far and Gargoyle were there. Rerun came in shortly after.Bear Juice, Go Far and I took off with no specific destination. Seven miles in from town there was a stream. We decided to cook dinner there and had decided to camp there for the night. Then Skittles rolls up. Even though it was 6:45 we somehow decided to hike 6 more miles to an authorized camp site. Off we all charge. These guys can all move so even though we had already done 22 miles we are charging along at 3+ mph. After an hour (3.2 miles) we came to a good area to camp with a nice stream. We quickly agreed this was a good spot.We want to get to a town to watch the USA world cup match which starts at noon on Thursday. Trouble is we are 41 miles away. The plan is to do 28 tomorrow, then 13 Thursday morning. I'll keep you posted.
Date: 2014-06-25
From: random campsite

To: Shelter
Miles today: 21.2

June 25The day started with plans to hike 28 miles with Bear Juice and Go Far. At about 10:30 I told them to go ahead. The pace was too much for me and we had done 11 miles with 17 to go. I slowed a bit but still hear their voices so I decided to stop for 10 minutes so they would be gone and I wouldn't be tempted to try and keep up. I then climbed to the top of the next hill and there they were waiting for me. They decided to change plans so we could stay together. So we did 21 today, then will do 11 tomorrow to a road crossing where we can get a ride to a hotel to watch the US Germany world cup match. It was great for me, I enjoy the comradery. As we were making new plans Skittles caught us. He is also in with the new plan.8 miles later we came to a road crossing with a tavern. Since it was only 2 and we only had 3 more miles to go to our shelter we decided to stop for some food. Turns out the place is right on a beautiful little lake. BTW, this is day two of New Jersey and it has been incredibly beautiful. Quite surprising how nice it has been. Anyway this tavern has a floating dock. The three of us (Skittles did not catch us again) enjoyed soaking our feet in the water while drinking a beer. We ended up staying for over 3 hours. Second day in a row we did 20+ with a 3+ hour break. When we got to the shelter at just after 6 Skittles was there as was Spruce. He will also be joining us tomorrow for soccer.The forecast is for storms tonight and there is lots of thunder rumbling in the distance. I set up in the shelter but moved to my tent to get away from the mosquitos. The storms are supposed to pass during the night, so hopefully it won't be raining in the morning. My battery is almost dead, so that is it for tonight.
Date: 2014-06-26
From: Shelter

To: NJ 23 High Point
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: scattered clouds

June 26Last night the storms came in as I finished yesterday's entry. It ended up raining all night. This morning was very humid as we eere in a cloud for the first couple hours. New Jersey continues to be very nice. I am not used to hiking with others and today all five of us stuck together. Bear Juice and Skittles are faster than me, Spruce and Go Far so by late morning they would get a few minutes ahead between breaks. We took off about 6:30 and arrived at the ranger station by 11am, done hiking for the day. Today was my second shortest hiking day at 11.3 miles. We called a hotel for a ride and took showers, washed clothes, and dried gear. At noon we watched the US Germany soccer game. The US lost, but still advances to the next round. We then got a ride down to a real grocery store to get food for the next few days. It is now 5pm and all I have to do is finish this and then relax. All 5 of us have been doing 20+ miles every day and all of us are getting tired. The high humidity has been draining. Our goal going forward is to slow down a bit and to be happy with a 20 mile day. Logistically it is a little tough coming up. There are not many shelters and the guide books are not showing any tenting spots. We are hoping that there will be some good spots about 20 from here. Water is also an issue. There are some stretches with very little water so we need to be careful. Today has turned out to be nice and sunny. The forecast for the next 3 days calls for no rain, so hopefully the humidity levels will be lower as well. I am not sure who will be walking with who tomorrow. Skittles and Bear Juice have side trips planned. It will be interesting to see where we all end up.It is amazing to think we are already 250 miles past the half way point. In a couple days we will be in NY and next week we'll be in Connecticut. I have been wanting to write a recap of thoughts but have not made the time. It is also hard to know what to say that hasn't already been included with this journal. This journal has been a much bigger commitment than I anticipated. I am glad I am doing it since it is also a great record for me. If you are curious why I don't include more pictures it's because I have a Windows phone and can't upload photos to this site. Another issue is often I have a very weak signal so I can do text, but photos don't upload.If you have any comments please email me or sign my guest book. It is tough to come up with new things to share. Let me know what you want to hear about. It is pretty cool that Bear Juice, Skittles and I started within 24 hours of each other and here we are after more than 1,300 miles of walking and we are in the same place. Go Far and Spruce started a week earlier.
Date: 2014-06-29
From: Fitzgerald Falls

To: Beechy Bottom Creek
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: light rain

June 29Last nihht was just Skittles and I at a great site on a Saturday night. Fine with me. The temps were great for sleeping. I was moving just before 7, Skittles a little later. Again we planned a 20 mile day, so no hurry. The terrain turned out to be much tougher than we anticipated. New York has also been very enjoyable. Lots of short climbs. Today we hit some pretty steep spots. At one point I tossed my poles and pack up onto a ledge, then climbed myself.About 1pm we reached a state park with a swimming beach. It was .3 miles off trail, but well worth the trip. They had vending machines, so of course we hit them up before jumping into the lake. Right before the lake we caught North Star, so he joined us. It was extremely busy since iy was a beautiful Sunday. It was tough walking by all these grills full of great food. I honestly think that no one at this park knew what the AT is and that it was so close. One kid asked if I was going camping. After swimming we found a picnic table and had our lunch. Bacon Dog came in and joined us.We had a little over 6 miles to our destination for the day. The 2 1/2 hour break at the lake was great, but had to get going again. About 2 miles before the stream we were heading to, we had a great view of the Hudson River. You could also see the New York skyline.
Date: 2014-07-03
From: Wingdale, NY

To: Near Kent, CT
Miles today: 11.0

July 03Elizabeth arrived safely last night in some heavy rain and lighting storms. We stopped by the local BBQ joint where Bacon Dog, Skittles, Go Far and Spruce eating. They are staying at the same motel as us. It is fun for her to meet the guys I have been hiking with. Spruce is early 30s and the other 3 are late 20s. All four are really good guys, I have enjoyed being around them. Hopefully we will continue to see each other. This morning was very wet and cloudy. Simba came walking by the hotel. We had brought him back to the landscape center last night where he tented. He started hiking this morning then turned around and came back here to catch a train to NYC instead of hiking. Skittles decided to continue north, Bacon Dog took the day off and Go Far and Spruce did 11 miles with me. Mid morning the sun came out and it is nice now, but 88 and humid. It is only 4:30 as I write this. There are severe thunderstorm and flash flood watches out for this evening and tonight. It is also forecast to rain most of the day tomorrow. Anyway, todays hike was good. We started in CT and hiked back to NY. We passed Skittles as he was cruising north. He may get too far ahead for me to catch since I am taking tomorrow off. We will see. Since it was nice out, Elizabeth hiked back to meet us. It worked out great. She got in some good hiking. I am sealing the seams on my tent right now, got to remember to bring the tent inside before the rains start. Got everything inside and went to dinner with the boys. Had a great prime rib at a local restaurant. Don't get that too often on the trail. We all enjoyed it very much. The storms are now in progress at 8pm. The timing is great for me since I am off trail with Elizabeth. The long range forecast is good, but still hot.
Date: 2014-07-05
From: Near Kent, CT

To: Skiff Mountain Road
Miles today: 10.2

Today is Elizabeth's last full day in the east. She will be dropping me off at a road crossing tomorrow morning and heading to the airport. We have had a great visit and I am excited about seeing her in Maine in 6 or 7 weeks.I rarely look at my own journal, but since I am on an actual computer today I noticed I am shorting myself about 10 miles. As of right now I have hiked 1,466.0 miles and have 719.3 to go. Hopefully tomorrow I will get the to go number under 700. Several of us have been wondering when we will use the to go number as the primary way to identify where we are. I have a feeling once it is under 500. We shall see. 700 is still a long way to go. Saying we have been 1,466 sounds better right now.Today I did a 10 mile southbound hike and met Elizabeth for the last 2 miles at an overlook. Going south is always fun, because you see everyone heading north. The first hiker I saw was Patch, hadn't seen him since the Delaware Water Gap in PA. He is another great kid (about 30). He has been around me for the past 400 miles, so we are travelling roughly the same speed. He will be a little ahead after today, so my work is cut out for me to catch him. After that Go Far, Spruce and Wings came rocking up the trail. Good to see Wings feeling better and back with his buddies. Shortly after that came Bacon Dog. I hope to see all of them up the trail. There were also a few section hikers.Today is a great day to hike. The clouds have all moved out and the clear skies with cooler temperatures have moved in. Love the lower humidity as well. About noon I puller my phone out to see if I had any messages. As I did this I noticed there was a bear cub less than 50 yards ahead, right on the trail. I called Elizabeth as I watched and looked for moma bear. Sure enough she came out from the woods and followed the cub up the trail a bit, then they veered of back into the woods. They really are cool animals. I know western bears can be aggressive, but eastern are very docile and avoid human contact. I am sure the two knew I was there, but they did not react in any way. Soon after seeing the bears I came to a beautiful rocky overlook and saw a guy sitting enjoying the view. I asked him if he had seen Elizabeth and out of the woods she answered the question herself. We enjoyed the setting for a bit, including seeing a blue tailed lizard, then continued down the hill to the parking lot.
Date: 2014-07-06
From: Skiff Mountain Road

To: Belters campsite
Miles today: 19.5

July 06Today was a tough day. Elizabeth dropped me off at the trail just befoe 9. I said to her "now back to reality". She laghed that I am thinking the trail is my new reality. Truth is, till I get to the top of Katahdin that is how I am thinking. I have put in a lot of effort to get this far, but it is really all or nothing in my mind. I am not after a participation ribbon, I want to finish. I now have less than 700 miles to go. Tomorrow I should pass 1,500 miles hiked and also enter Massachusetts. Anyway, it was great seeing Elizabeth for the past 4 days. We had a great time. It was nice having running water, cold drinks, a bed, shower........ for the past 4 nights. I have only taken 3 zero days before this and the day after is always tough to get motivated.   I hiked 19.5 miles today, which is pretty good for a 9am start. I passed two nobos early on. I had met both of them before. They are my age but hiking slower. I then saw Saute again. He is a young guy. Today he was reading a book at a road crossing. We chatted for a minute and I moved on. After that I saw a few day hikers and 2 section hikers. After 2 I saw no one till I arrived at the tenting spot. In Connecticut you have to stay in designated spots, you can't random camp like I have been doing. Smokey Mountain national park is that way as well. There are also no fires allowed here. Tomorrow it will not matter as I will be past CT.The terrain today had lots of water. We started with a 5 mile walk along a large river. With all the recent rains the river was swollen and appeared to be full of chocolate. All day we were walking along or over beautiful streams. There were all clear. Made it great for getting drinking water. We did have one steep down on some tough rocks, but overall not too bad. I arrived at the camping area about 6. There were two guys near by so I walked over to visit. Both are doing a southbound section from Mass to Virginia. I am hoping to do 24 miles tomorrow. There are quite a few services available the next 100 miles, so I don't really need to carry very much food. Vermont is 100 miles from here, pretty cool. Elizabeth and I are trying to plan her visit for when I finish. A friend of hers will be coming along. We lived in northern Maine for 4 years, so it is familiar territory, although I have never been up Katahdin. My goal is to summit on Agust 20, we'll see how that works out. I hope to keep doing 20 mile days so I can get ahead of schedule. My brother lives in Maine, so we will certainly be getting together with him as well. I try not to get ahead of myself, but Elizabeth and her friend need to schedule work and flights.