morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-06-30
From: Sherwood Drive (PA) 

To: Susquehanna River (North end of Clarks Ferry Bridg
Miles today: 16.2

Day 81: A quick drink at the Doyle We ask our York, PA, host Francis, "Now really, how bad are the Pennsylvania rocks?" Francis replies: "I've lived here all my life. This is where I first hiked the AT, and for many years this was the only AT I knew. So when I think of the AT, Pennsylvania is what I think it should all look like. You just need to keep your eyes down on the trail a little more than usual, but you should be able to get in a rhythm with your steps and it won't be bad at all." Today will be the first day we get to check this out for ourselves, as our AT guide says expect six miles of "trail very rocky" before Duncannon.N "the human alarm clock" wakes up an hour too early, then uncharacteristically falls back to sleep, putting the Troverts behind schedule and keeping Francis from getting us back to the trail until 6:30. Our first landmark is the foot tunnel under PA 944, famous for its quick construction time (in only 50 hours) to prevent long term closure of this busy road. We also see large amounts of bee balm (which our host uses as an ice cream topping) has been planted nearby.After a short climb we are officially out of the great valley. Along the way a stone bench gives us a chance to look back over yesterday's route. We stop briefly at the Darlington Shelter to sign the log, and check out the privy which modestly bares a sign saying "the Taj Mahal." Ten miles into the day, we take Yukon and Daffy's advice not to go off trail to the Cove Mountain Shelter (too steep, poor water source) and eat some snacks right along the trail. We find the rocks not to be particularly difficult. We stop to enjoy the view of Duncannon from Hawk Rock before making a steep (some would say treacherous) descent into town. We have the Doyle Hotel on our minds but the smell of barbecue  just the other side of the US 11/15 overpass is more diverting than a siren's call. (and while the PA BBQ was good, it's not as good as the stuff back home...) Our stomachs filled, we finally reach the Doyle, which is like a thru hiker convention. As previously reported, One has set up free beers for the first 50 thru-hikers to arrive since Wednesday, and we partake. As well as say a tearful goodbye to One who is taking a few days off at home. We walk quickly through town and meet Francis on the Susquehanna River bridge where he had come to once again pick us up and take us home. He is quickly spoiling us to the rigors of the trail. And we should mention with this afternoon's clouds, we never came close to yesterday's heat.
Date: 2012-07-01
From: Susquehanna River (North end of Clarks Ferry Bridg

To: PA 325 (Clark's Creek) (PA) 
Miles today: 16.0

Day 82: Walking the ridge line of Peters Mountain (and other warm points north)Francis has us back to the Susquehanna bridge by 6:30, but he and X do a little videoing for an upcoming Association of Nature Center Administrators fund raising project before we start the climb in earnest. The first two miles are much rockier than we expected, but it is a fun challenge to navigate rather than being a "difficult just to walk" challenge.As the trail snakes around the end of Peters Mountain, we have some hazy views back down to the river. Once we start down the spine of the ridge, the open space at two power line crossings provides the best vantage points of the day. We are developing a hypothesis about PA rocks and a late start in AT thru hiking season. Coming through after most other thru hikers, we find there is a "beaten path" where the heavy foot traffic has mostly chewed up last year's leaf cover. Following this route lets you make use of the collective decisions on foot placement for all who have come before, and is a big help. The AT today is dry and hot - there is no cloud cover like yesterday and the temperature is in the upper 90s. We take breaks at both shelters we pass, but they only partly revive us. What a relief when we reach our second road crossing and our stopping point for the day. Francis pulls up in his truck not two minutes later, with iced drinks in his cooler. We're able to share them with a few other hikers arriving at the same time...
Date: 2012-07-02
From: PA 325 (Clark's Creek) (PA) 

To: Campsite south of PA 72 (PA)
Miles today: 16.0

Day 83: Hiking through old coal countryIt's 3pm and we've only done 16 miles for the day, but the guide book says it's 8.7 miles to the next water source, so it's really a no brainer: we'll camp here tonight. Not crazy about the amount of traffic noise we hear close by, but we hope it will die down after "hiker midnight" (or 8:30pm). Five other folks have joined us here, so at least we have "safety in numbers" at this rather exposed campsite. (Camping with us tonight are thru-hikers Union Jill, Count Chocula & Slim Pilgrim; and section hikers Blue Feather & Daisy.)Our morning was pleasant, temperature-wise, and pretty much a continuation of yesterday afternoon's ridge walking: some aggravating rocks between some easy walking. In the middle of the day, the heat returned (under a cloudless blue sky) and we passed through an area that saw unsuccessful coal mining activity dating back to the 1880s. Some of the scars are still visible on the landscape a hundred years later.We take a nap after setting up our tent, then set about cooking some chicken and Pasta Sides, a package we've carried for over 100 miles as with trail magic and really great friends we have had meal after meal provided for us. Once more, our particular thanks go to our friend Francis who continually amazed us with his culinary skills and hospitality as we crossed the Cumberland Valley. As we head on to New Jersey, we will miss your company...
Date: 2012-07-05
From: Hamburg, PA

To: Hamburg, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Day 86: A break in the action (But the Troverts use the rest day to bag their first moose sighting!)After three days of doing miles above our average so far, we decided to take a day off in sunny Hamburg, PA (actually the PA 61/ I-78 interchange), and plan our next week or so. X's nephew's wedding, which when we started our hike seemed so distant, now looms in our immediate future, and we have to figure out how to get to its location in the Catskills by July 14th. We are about to be helped & housed by friends of a friend (folks we don't know but want to help!), so PA hospitality continues to equal anything we saw south of the Mason-Dixon line. We are very fortunate...We also tried to stay in contact with the Charons today for updates on Tree Trunk's health. Although it sounds like his condition was as yet not completely diagnosed when we last spoke to Manula this afternoon, it sounds like he's in good hands, and will certainly remain in our thoughts & prayers.On a lighter note, after 24 hours across the street from Cabela's, we finally went over to see what all the fuss is about, and came away with our first moose sighting of the trip. Don't think either one of us would have predicted Hamburg PA for that event.
Date: 2012-07-06
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Hawk Mountain Road (Eckville Shelter) (PA)
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Day 87: Port Clinton, Pulpit Rock, and the Pinnacle - Paying dues for the views of the Lehigh Valley (And we see our heaviest used section of the AT in 1226 miles!)We met Sgt. Jen "the Kid" Jordan a little north of Duncannon when we were able to help her get back to her car at the Susquehanna Bridge, following a weekend backpacking trek on the AT. She said she lived near Port Clinton, and if she could give us any help when we were coming through to just give her a call. So on her way to work this morning, she swung by the Microtel and gave us a ride back to the trail head. She's just a few years away from retiring from the Army and doing her own thru hike. Maybe we can return the favor someday... [As it turns out, Jen is the anonymous trail angel who left the personalized trail magic the other morning. Thanks, Jen. You're the greatest!]After a Rest Day yesterday, we were happy to be back on the trail this morning. We had three nice views today and had to work for each of them. The climb north out of Port Clinton didn't seem as rough as the descent on Wednesday (and we had cool temps at 7am), but it was still a 900' climb. Once or twice we had nice views to the interstates and beyond.After some easy walking by the site of the old Windsor Furnace, we had another climb up to Pulpit Rock and the local astronomical park. There was a nice view over to The Pinnacle, but the rocks between the two places were about as gnarly as you could ask for, and it seemed to take forever to get between the two points. The Pinnacle was a great place for lunch with nearly a 360° view and we joined a handful of day hikers just hanging out and having lunch themselves. As we were leaving, a large summer youth program group (at least 75, maybe a hundred with counselors???) arrived. It was great to see this many high school age kids out in the woods, but their wilderness demeanor is still in the early stages of development. We wondered how this novice group had made it over a rocky section that would challenge any veteran, like the one we just crossed, but when we got on their approach route,  we found it to be an old fire road all the way down to the well-appointed Eckville Shelter: enclosed bunkhouse, tent platforms, flush toilet, solar shower, and water spigot. A caretaker lives on the property as well and the place is a lovely spot to spend the night. We turn in early in hopes of a cool early morning start on a day the high is predicted to be 99....
Date: 2012-07-10
From: Kirkridge Shelter (PA) 

To: Backpacker Campsite (NJ) 
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 91: Re-shod for New Jersey (Plus N survives his last PA breakfast)Today was a red letter day with us reaching our eighth state and going under 900 miles remaining (although saying "only 900 to go" does not exactly make it sound short to us). We'd had a problem with getting new shoes from our regular outfitters and decided we could wait no longer (our pairs #2 now each had 800 miles on them!). So we planned a six mile walk down into Delaware Water Gap; shopping, eating, and small scale re-supply; and a five mile gentle climb back up to the first campsite listed with water. [That would leave us one long day and one short day before our three day break for the wedding.]As usual, approaching a major road was noisy, but we did have nice views down to the Delaware River. We walked through town for a late breakfast at the diner. N had visualized ordering something else on his walk down, but his sense of reason was overcome by the menu's picture of the Belgian Waffle Sundae, which when it arrived had four times more ice cream than shown! Thank goodness there was some time to digest it before the next climb!The outfitter's shoe inventory was low at the end of this busy hiker season, but we each were able to walk out with new shoes in our size (which by the way is still the same: Eur. 42 1/2). We immediately noticed a difference in foot comfort and stability. We also arranged a shuttle for Thursday for the first leg of our trip to the Catskills. We walked across the Delaware River bridge into New Jersey and made a brief stop at the NPS Visitor Center. At first the AT followed a wide smooth gentle road and only got PA rock-like near the top. We reached the campsite about 4pm, and liked everything about it except the color of the water, (clear but a bit brown from tannic acid) but the nice open view to the west made up for it. We finished dinner and camp chores by 7 (including the luxury of using bear boxes for food protection!), and crawled in the tent shortly there after. There was just enough early rain shower to require the tent fly. The campsite is quite spread out, which we appreciate when the group of girl scouts arrive. We hope their version of Hiker Midnight is close to ours.
Date: 2012-07-12
From: Brink Road Shelter (NJ)

To: US 206, Culvers Gap (NJ)
Miles today: 3.6

Day 93: The Troverts begin a long weekend off the trailOur unexpectedly long day on Wednesday searching for water meant we had even less than the short mileage we had first planned for today to reach a road and a shuttle back to Stroudsburg, PA, where X's sisters will swing by tomorrow, pick us up and carry us to the Catskills. So, less than two hours after we start this morning, we are sitting on the Hiker Bench (we think we qualify!) outside "Joe to Go" having breakfast sandwiches, and ready to call it a day, a week, and a wedding... We note as we take our first (and hopefully only) multiple-days-off break, we have now completed 60.3% of the Appalachian Trail, and done it in 53.3% of our allotted six month time period. However, after these upcoming two zeroes and two neroes, we predict our yesterday's average mileage for the trip so far will not be reached again before the end. If conventional wisdom holds, and the last 20% of the AT requires 80% of the whole trip's energy, when we start again on Sunday, we will be just a little over 400 miles from the meat of our journey...While on the bench, we are joined by several other hikers from last night at the Brink Road Shelter. Moon Watcher, who needs to resupply, goes in for coffee and determines he needs to hitch to the east. A self-styled hitch hike expert, he pulls out his smiley face sign, pulls off his hat and sunglasses, and goes to work, predicting that at this tough location (very busy, very fast traffic), it will take him 12 minutes to catch a ride. Expert he must be, as he is gone to town within 8...
Date: 2012-07-13
From: Stroudsburg, PA

To: Kingston, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Day 94: A change of venue - From the Poconos to the CatskillsWe walk to the nearby diner for breakfast, then spend the remainder of the morning planning our hike across the rest of New Jersey and into New York, until X's twin sisters and brother-in-law swing by to bring us to our motel home for the weekend, just off the interstate at Kingston, NY. X's oldest nephew, Lucas, will be getting married Saturday at the Onteora Mountain House, a bed and breakfast located in nearby Boiceville, New York. The house was once owned by the mayonnaise mogul, Richard Hellman. While the setting is quite spectacular for a wedding, like being at an AT shelter, accommodations for a large group are not available, so most of the guests will be staying down in the valley and riding a shuttle bus to the ceremony. As most of the wedding activities will occur well past hiker midnight, we opt for an afternoon nap. Then, after their rehearsal dinner, we join the wedding party at a bar in historic downtown Kingston, the site of one of only three stockaded Dutch settlements in old New Amsterdam.Getting to see her brother Bob and his wife Candace and all three of their sons in the same place at the same time is a rare treat for X, and greatly enjoyed. It's a noisy, festive night punctuated by fireworks from a street carnival just blocks away. Although we spend much time answering questions about our hike, tonight the AT seems like a long way away...
Date: 2012-07-14
From: Boiceville, NY

To: Boiceville, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Day 95: The wedding goes off without a hitch!One final word on Onteora, the mountain house B&B wedding site: by age fifty, Richard Hellmann commanded a mayonnaise empire that stretched from New York to Florida, from Chicago to San Francisco. But his doctor's news was blunt: "You have six months to live. However, there is a chance you could live longer, if you retire now and move to the country." So that is exactly what he did!For his summer home, Mr. Hellmann chose a pine-studded promontory high in the Catskills (not far from the arts colony of Woodstock), where his Park Avenue architect took full advantage of the site to create a little gem with an unimpeded view of the Esopus Valley and the surrounding peaks. Having some experience with views of peaks over the last 95 days, we'd say if we ran into this view on the AT, we'd immediately stop and camp for the night!The centerpiece of the house is a 20 by 40 foot great room with a cathedral ceiling, massive stone fireplace, and a picture window to capture the view down the valley. Around the great room wraps the 60 foot dining porch. The downstairs features a grotto-like game room with a championship pool table. A koi pond and meandering trails around the grounds are surrounded by 250 acres of forest preserve.The Hellmanns took occupancy in 1930, and life in the mountains must have agreed with Richard Hellmann. He lived to be 94! We hope another nine weeks living on the AT will do us at least half as much good...
Date: 2012-07-15
From: US 206, Culvers Gap (NJ)

To: Gren Anderson Shelter (NJ) 
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 96: Return to the trail, barelyWe rode back to the trail with Edie, Alie, and (doing a good job of driving in spite of four separate navigators and one temperamental GPS unit) Wayne. We got to Joe to Go earlier than expected, but considering our lack of sleep over the last couple of days and the general lack of water up the trail, decided to go no further than the next shelter. Before we started up the hill, we ran into Hammer (he of the "samurai sword to Maine" fame), who we had not seen in Ages (or to be more precise "in several states"). He had taken some time off around the 4th, decided to save PA until later, and skipped ahead to NJ. He has lost weight since we saw him last, but looked good, assuring us he had put some weight back on while on his break. Near the Culver Fire Tower and the end of the climb back to the ridge top, we found a trail register on a tree that informed us that Team Chick-fil-A had passed us on Friday, while we were off at the wedding. This was sad as we had not seen them since the Blackburn Center (remember they were sleeping?), and had not spoken to Mange or Cheetah since Damascus. We would have liked a short visit and update as they breezed by, but are unlikely to see them again after spotting them a two day advantage.This shelter has a good water source so that was the first order of business. The clouds rolled in and the thunder made it sound like the heavens were about to pour torrents, so we retired to our tent to ride out (actually nap out the storm), but the threat of rain ended even quicker than it developed.Around 6:30, a more un-dodge-able line of storms comes through. We avoid the worst storms, but they are enough to drive in every hiker within a three mile radius. Our initially spacious shelter quickly becomes quite cozy. We'll see what happens later this evening, but hopefully the rain will be gone by dawn. We are planning an early start and above average miles for tomorrow...
Date: 2012-07-16
From: Gren Anderson Shelter (NJ) 

To: Jim Murray property (NY)
Miles today: 18.4

Day 97: Another landmark day for the trip! (And we reaffirm the importance of having friends in high places) (Plus we take some tentative steps into New York)Breaking camp in the shelter this morning had many aspects of a tin of sardines, but we finally got on the trail at 6:30. After all the dry conditions, it was quite pleasant hiking in the early mist. We had a chance to catch up with Johnny Walker Red before taking a break at a large pavilion. About five miles in, we took a snack break when the path went right by the next shelter. We met local ridge runner Mile Hi who had stayed there the night before. At a paved road 2/10 mile downhill from the shelter, we ran into Deb and her support vehicle waiting for the arrival of the Charons - Tree Trunk and Manula. We had hoped to see them today, but Deb confirmed they were about three miles back and would probably stop at the High Point Shelter this evening. Perhaps tomorrow then???As we had expected from reading other journals, the trail started out fairly easy, but got rockier and tougher as we approached High Point State Park (perhaps we should add "high points" to knobs and pulpits as places on the trail to be avoided?). The trail emerged from the woods right at the park HQ/Visitor Center and we stopped for a break. The Friends of the Park group provide all thru hikers with a complimentary soda as a token of reaching this northbound milestone. The sodas were much appreciated, even if all the rangers had to offer today were reduced calorie drinks. What's with that???With N more excited about it than X, we went off trail 6/10 mile to visit the actual NJ high point. This is the third such point we've passed, with NJ now joining TN and VA.After a few more downhill rocks, the trail began to ease up as we went on the edges of several ponds and fields. Tonight we are staying on the Jim Murray property which the owner makes available to hikers at no charge. It is a most excellent campsite (with "excellent" being defined as well water, a hot shower, and a place to charge a phone), and other folks: Claudia, Animal, Coach, Johnny Walker Red, Lucky Ten, and a fellow with a sick dog are joining us this evening. It is quite restful and peaceful here on a large, tree-dotted mown field after a long day and we hope to sleep well. Mr. Murray is a trail angel of the highest order.
Date: 2012-07-17
From: Jim Murray property (NY)

To: NJ 94 (Vernon, NJ) 
Miles today: 13.5

Day 98: St. Thomas' Episcopal Church Hostel ("Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, to the glory of God." -Romans 15:7)We had a couple of packages waiting for us at the Vernon, NJ, post office, so making sure we got there before it closed became our number one priority of the day. We only had 13+ miles to cover (plus a 2.4 mile hitch into town), so we felt comfortable leaving camp at 6:30am. We were also hoping to cover the distance before today's predicted record highs arrived.We crossed several roads near Unionville NY and walked on a couple of miles of two-plank wide boardwalk sections over what is normally pretty boggy land. After following the NJ/NY stateline, we ducked back into NJ, then made one final jaunt into NY before following the edge of the Wallkill Reserve back into New Jersey. The rocky climb up Pochunk Mountain caught us by surprise but thankfully the trail down the north side was much easier. We ended the day's walk by 2pm after crossing the mile long boardwalk and suspension bridge over Pochunk swamp.We caught a ride (in only 9.5 minutes) with a woman who gets our vote as Vernon NJ booster of the year, giving us the full tour before waiting for us to pick up our post office packages and taking us to the hostel in the basement of the local Episcopal Church. We shared the adjoining space with an A.A. meeting until hiker midnight, but now the room is quiet and starting to cool. Just another typical day on the AT!
Date: 2012-07-18
From: NJ 94 (Vernon, NJ) 

To: Village Vista Trail (NY)
Miles today: 12.9

[See July 28th entry for revision and update.]Day 99: Hunkered down below Prospect RockIt's amazing how quickly things can change on the Appalachian Trail. Today it took all of ten minutes. We were resting at the New Jersey - New York state line, before tackling what we knew would be a very tough four mile section. Then we heard thunder in the distance and decided we needed to move on. Shortly after, as we passed Prospect Rock (an exposed ridge and the highest point on the AT in New York), the first rain drops arrived, and we hustled to get down into some kind of cover.Our brief discussion on whether to try to get yet a little lower became moot as the storm hit with full fury, and all we could do was hunker down about ten feet below the ridge line and with at least some tree cover. This all deserves a longer, better telling, but it will have to wait until later as we are in a motel in Greenwood Lake NY tonight and really need to get some sleep. Suffice it to say, the lightning was so close and so frequent, we worried about getting sunburned from it! After two back to back thunder cells passed over us, we gingerly made our way in a light rain over a very challenging mile and a half ridge that would have been difficult even when dry. This afternoon moved ahead of Clingmans Dome as our most exciting on the AT and we will remember it for a long time to come...