morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-04-26
From: Trindle Rd crossing 

To: Stream camped
Miles today: 14.0

Weds 4/26Stopped at 1142.4 camping at stream.Weslept near Swatara Gap. I don¢t think any of us slept very well. But at least it was a warmer night than the last couple have been. Snoops and I were awake at sunrise but didn¢t really get moving till about 7. Around 8 we had the cars more or less ¢repacked¢ and I took Snoopy for a quick walk. We stumbled across a sign in the corner of the parking area that told us to call the park with a list of info if leaving a car parked overnight. So I did that and then we looked for a place to get breakfast. GPS took us to an Army base with a coffee shop/breakfast grill. It was good food at a good price. We then drove about another hour back to where we got off trail yesterday. I dropped off Abe and Snoopy and went to return the rental car. No issues there and a quick Uber brought me back to meet up with my hiking crew. A guy named Inferno passed Abe while I was gone but we caught up to him again soon enough. We first met him at the hiker feed way back in the SNP back on April 1st. He has less than 60 miles left before he¢s finished with his hike. We made good time across the first couple of miles, which had the Trail meandering around neighborhoods and across fields. We came across a small farm with a little store selling milk, eggs, honey and some other goodies. It was pretty cool. I picked up a dozen eggs and a couple of Gatorades. We passed over I-81 (again) and soon arrived at Scott¢s farm, which is and ATC area crew HQ. The buildings were all locked up but charging her phone was a gal we met about a week ago, Sarah, from Germany. She joined us hiking for a few miles. She stopped at Darlington shelter along with a couple of other hikers we met today. We pushed on a few more miles till we got to a nice camp spot along a babbling brook. Made eggs for supper and it¢s currently lightly raining (but forecasted to stop anytime now¢¦) as we are lying in our hammocks . Abe¢s ankle was bothering him at the end of the day. I hope soaking it in the creek helped.
Date: 2023-04-27
From: Stream camped

To: Clarks ferry shelter 
Miles today: 11.8

The light rain did stop last night and it was a pleasant sleep in our hammocks. Woke up by a nice stream. Had a small but mighty 600 foot incline this morning on the way to Duncannon, VA. Before the town there was a magnificent slow decent all the way off the ridge with great views of the valley and the river The trail pushed its way for about 4 miles through this small town on the edge of the river. We didn¢t move too quickly and enjoyed the town. Abe got a Cuban sandwich for lunch, I got a nice big burger. The whole time we ate an interesting fella from Pennsylvania told us all kinds of trail stories and about his distaste in trumps policy¢s. Safe to say we kept it moving. Got an ice cream on the way out, and pushed up the next mountain crossing the Susquehanna and Juanita river over some noisy bridges. People told us the rain was coming so we bunked up early at Clark¢s ferry and enjoyed our evening. Some big rock climbs and ice cream made it a fun day
Date: 2023-04-28
From: Clarks ferry shelter 

To: Peters mountain shelter 
Miles today: 6.7

Sarah (a woman we had met previously) came into our shelter and shared it with us the night before. The rain was supposed to be absolutely horrendous today so we just pushed to the next shelter (Peters mountain.) got up around 7, pushed out around 8, and creamed a little over 6.5 miles before noon. The rain was coming down so we got comfortable and took a nap; played some Yahtzee, read some books, and eventually ate dinner before falling asleep. It was nice to have a relaxed day and have the ability to take a siesta. At about 2 o clock that day we had rechecked the weather to see if we wanted to move on but made the judgement call to stay at peters mountain. The shelter itself could sleep 16 people an was great! 2 stories, an internal picnic table and gorgeous fire pit. The biggest down side was a near vertical drop via 300 (Abe counted 316) stone steps to the nearest spring. We had a gentleman from middle of nowhere Ohio come and share the shelter with us tonight as well. He went by Brad and wanted to do a thru hike as a flip flopper. He had a cool cop Stache. Heres to resting up and to a good day tomorrow.
Date: 2023-04-29
From: Peters mountain shelter 

To: Rausch gap shelter 
Miles today: 18.0

Woke up at Peters mt. And started off! Hiked all day with Sarah, and Brad said he Would be right behind us but disappeared! After tromping down the mountain and crossing PA325, we ended up leap frogging this Boy Scout troop for a few miles. Eventually we decided to grind up ahead and get to the shelter before these 12 boys got there. The shelters were based on a first come, first serve system. As we were walking, we could hear semi automatic gunfire out in the woods for a few miles. Passing through a 200 year old abandoned village was also interesting this day. Sarah has a good pace and we hope to hike with her for a few more days. We followed a large river with a nasty, yellow, acidic flow all the way to the shelter. This area featured a spring 10 feet from the shelter, a brand new privy, and a wonderful tent camping area. Another warm fire to cook dinner and stories between the three of us made for a nice night. Abe borrowed Sarah¢s kindle and read for a few hours, nice to see these kids getting their darn heads out of those phones! Found some liquor in a register box today so went to sleep with warm bellies and a happy heart. Till tomorrow.
Date: 2023-04-30
From: Rausch gap shelter 

To: Hotel Pennsylvania 
Miles today: 6.1

Today was WET. Woke up to pouring rain, and stayed in pouring rain while we hiked to the car. There is an interesting portion of this trail that crosses straight through a beaver dam flooded zone. There is a road that goes around the area but I figured ahhh, what the heck! Wilson and I scrambled over logs and tried not to fall into waist deep swamp water! Fun stuff! Abe later told me he put on his crocs and slogged through the damn errr¢¦ dammed area. He has some swamp troll on his mothers side of the family. The rest of the walk to the car was gloomy and soaking wet. Crossed a few more streams and roads before getting to the car, I decided to wait for Abe to see what we wanted to do with the rest of this drenched day. When Abe finally showed up he was coated with mud and seems to have taken a couple tumbles down the muddy slopes. We took that as motivation (and the fact that we had 6 days of muck) to find a warm place to stay. Found a cheap ish hotel room to stay at for the night. Was able to get laundered, go shopping, shower and Rest up for the days ahead. We also snuck out and did a quick escape room while in town. It malfunctioned on us so wasn¢t quite as satisfying as we had hoped. No sweat off my back. Ate some insanely spicy microwave nachos at the hotel room while watching bad boys before drifting off. Good day.
Date: 2023-05-01
From: Hotel Pennsylvania 

To: 501 shelter
Miles today: 12.8

Mon, May 1stBack at it. On trail about 11am. Met Rambler (left Springer Feb 14thish, I think. And ran into Cobra. Hiked with them for a while. Also passed two trail maintenance guys with the Blue Ridge Mountain trail climbing clubSkippy and SpotGot to 501 shelter , which is a fully enclosed, big space with a couple of picnic tables in the center and bunks along all the walls. It also has a really cool skylight. Tried to get pizza delivered but the restaurant was closed on Monday. Had some good discussions with the other hikers.
Date: 2023-05-03
From: Eagles nest 

To: Blue Rocks CG
Miles today: 15.4

5/3 got into Port Clinton in the rain. It was about a nine mile hump this morning. A crazy steep rock trail at the end. A fellow hiker told us that a few ppl had slipped and needed medical attention while ascending it. We took our time and it was fine. While in town we hit up the Peanut Shop. Packs are too full of candy and snacks! After leaving town we passed under PA61 where someone has written a manifesto on the underside of the bridge. We read for about 1/2 hr then continued to our campsite. The rain didn¢t come back with much force in the afternoon but still a damp one today!
Date: 2023-05-04
From: Blue Rocks CG

To: Stealth camp
Miles today: 19.6

Passed some day hikers, a slack packer that we saw yesterday and Duck, a last yr folio floppy who¢s just finishing (DWG to HF). pretty long day . Got to a restaurant called the Thunderhead Lodge and camped in the woods near it. Walked in and got a lovely and much appreciated meal. Today was dry.
Date: 2023-05-05
From: Stealth camp

To: BurtÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs hostel
Miles today: 15.0

Fri, May 5 Early start today. Met a cool Maintenance guy named  moondawg . He¢s hiked the trail before and had lots of good stories. Also met a Ffer JP. Trip flippers Baggins and Knot , dad daughter bear mnt to HF then North section and and last southStayed at Bert¢s in Palmerton met sushi and one shoe. Abe¢s been trying to get as many cheesesteak sandwiches as he can while in PA. It was a few extra miles to walk into town on a hot afternoon so we are ready to catch up on sleep. The oic is of a haunted house store front on town (Palmerton).
Date: 2023-05-06
From: BurtÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs hostel

To: LA. Smith
Miles today: 16.1

Sat6, Had a nice little push uphill from Palmerton back to the ridge line but all flat after that. We met Caelynn (sp) prepping for fkt in PA. It was cool talking with her. The trail is getting busier on the weekends when it¢s nice out. Saw sushi again. Good day
Date: 2023-05-07
From: LA. Smith shelter

To: Camp past Kirkridge shelter
Miles today: 14.5

SunAnother nice dayMet the following: Will C (bill)Pops, dances with ticks, jewelsMichelle (slozy mosey). This was really cool. We were approaching a road crossing and there are dozens of day hikers all around us. All of a sudden I hear a gal yell ¢hey, are you CB?¢ ¢Uh¢¦ yup, how¢d you know? ¢ I ask her back. ¢I recognize you from trail journals¢ she says. Turns out, she is a trail angel that looks for the thru hikers and she loaded us up with drinks and candy, all kinds of delicious snacks! Completely ignores the day hikers and just dotes on Abe, Snoopy and I. It was a real treat! Thank you Slowsy Mosly (Michelle).The trail is in good shape! A great day.
Date: 2023-05-08
From: Camp past Kirkridge shelter

To: MOC
Miles today: 17.7

Another state down! Still some rough rocky trail for about the S part of the trail in NJ but it feels great to get thru PA. We met some kids playing at a park just across the state line (Delaware River) and they had great questions about being thru hikers, and loved on Snoopy. We also passed Sunfish pond, which is a neat( and unique) lake . I¢ll try to put the sign pic on tomorrow¢s entry. We ended up walking further than we had to to get to MOC (Mohican Outddor Center), where we camped and swam and got a shower.
Date: 2023-05-09
From: MOC

To: Brink 
Miles today: 12.8

5/9-Got some more stove fuel and a couple of cups of coffee before departing the MOC. Later in the day, we are all chugging up a hill when we hear someone calling out our names. It was our friends from SNP , who we first met at the hiker feed , gorilla and broomhilda ( now called hot feet, but that¢s a crazy story). Anyway, due to some injuries, they skipped the worst of the rocky trail and bumped ahead of us. It was great catching up! Then, a bit later, we also caught up with team Ohio, who are Dessert Queen and Mr Rook. We ended up camping with them at muddy Brinks shelter. There were cool drawings in shelter journal . Ended up picking 30 ticks off Snoopy. He wasn¢t happy with me at the end of the day but it¢s necessary. Overall, A good day.
Date: 2023-05-10
From: Brink 

To: Rutherford shelter
Miles today: 15.1

We are getting spoiled with these nice days. The trail in NJ is a little lumpier than PA but nice. Blowdowns aren¢t too bad. Met a couple of local hikers at Sunrise Mountain , who we talked with while enjoying lunch. Things are getting to be fairly routine as far as setting up/breaking down camp, making meals, etc. The days are never the same tho. Always something new to see, someone unique to talk with, etc. Thank you to whoever puts the water in the bear box at Mashipacong shelter. It was great!
Date: 2023-05-11
From: Rutherford shelter

To: Unionville, NY
Miles today: 12.8

thurs, 5/11Caught Felix again, near High Point SP, also passed 5-6 sobo inc Cuss Mustard, started 2/31 # 500 something but stopped after Irwin and is now jacking around hiking. I don¢t know if I mentioned it in the journal but Abe (just Abe or JA) fell and his phone helped break his fall against a rock , so it was toast. Angie mailed a new one to a friend of hers that lives close to the trail so we went there . No phone but we got showers and lunch. Thank you so much, Nicole, for the hospitality. We pushed on a few miles and made it to the small town of Unionville, where we got some delicious ribs from the local watering hole. We ended up getting a rental car since we need to bump the Prius up closer to us anyway. The phone tracking finally updated and changed delivery dates to tomorrow, so we went grocery shopping and camped at the park.
Date: 2023-05-12
From: Unionville, NY

To: Warwick drive-in
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up and got an early start to get the car from where it was parked in PA . Long drive there and then up to Peekskill where we dropped it off at a service center since it mysteriously developed a fuel leak while parked. Then Abe¢s phone finally was delivered so we went and got it. Ended up driving to the Drive-in theater and falling asleep while watching some super hero movie (I think)?!?A forced day of zero miles but good to get chores completed.
Date: 2023-05-13
From: Warwick drive-in

To: Wawayanda shelter
Miles today: 15.7

I might be getting my days messed up, that¢s what I get for NOT updating this site for so long¢¦ I think this day we got ice cream and a hot dog at a roadside stand. It was HOT! And we climbed the ¢stairway to heaven¢. No music was playing. Also, the trail took us on a long route around a bird sanctuary and on a long boardwalk. Lots of day hikers.
Date: 2023-05-14
From: Wawayanda shelter

To: Fitzgerald falls
Miles today: 14.0

Sun 5/14A big happy moms day to all of the beautiful ladies in my life, but especially to my mom. Thank you for all of your love. I love you! Met Jim from Alberta, Frodo nobo, Shade Flippy floper, Oz nobo- left 2/16, Snoopy got in a dog fight. Crossed NJ/NY line, got to the highest point in NY. Found a lick of hair in a mail box (on trail journal box).
Date: 2023-05-15
From: Fitzgerald falls

To: Stealth at stream
Miles today: 15.9

NY is not a state of huge elevation gain/loss but it does have a ton of little up/downs , odd rock formations to scramble across, etc. We are enjoying it but it¢s not easy hiking. We got to this section of rock called the ¢lemon squeezer¢, where as you walk up the trail, you just get pinched tighter and tighter till you have to kinda force yourself out of the slot and onto higher ground. It¢s fun. Beautiful views. We are close to NYC but when you have views looking West you¢d never know it¢¦ just green mountains/hills as far as the eye can see.
Date: 2023-05-16
From: Stealth at stream

To: Bear Mt. 
Miles today: 11.2

we are about 1/2 way thru NY but we are headed down to Trail Days so we are taking a break for now. Bear Mountain was really neat. Could see the Manhattan skyline in the distance. The car still isn¢t ready so we got a rental for a week. More to come about our adventures in VA.
Date: 2023-05-19
From: Damascus

To: Tent city
Miles today: 0.0

Friday- Snoopy and I started the day with a talk moderated by Warren Doyle, a gentleman that has hiked the AT 18 times. Snoopy also got checked out by a vet. Thanks for providing that service! Abe and Cay got into town to enjoy some live music, Abe entered, and won, an eating contest! Lots of strolling thru the vendors areas and just chilling. Abe made the decision to come off trail. Bummer, but I¢m so appreciative of the weeks we spent together. Bitter sweet for both of us.
Date: 2023-05-20
From: Tent city

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0

Today included more talk¢s including a great re-enactment of Grandma Gatewood by Anne Van Curran, a visit to the local farmers market, more great music and the hiker parade. I missed the hiker talent show, but heard that it was a great time! Another full day and we are ready for bed!
Date: 2023-05-21
From: Damascus

To: Pine grove Furnace SP
Miles today: 0.0

snoopy and I got an early start and headed back up to get on trail again. We made a pit stop in Shenandoah NP to provide some trail magic to thru hikers. We made it as far as Pennsylvania before we were ready to find a place to sleep for the night. We stopped and got a campsite at Pine Grove Furnace state park. The museum and store were closed (again)! Maybe we¢ll have a chance to check them out another time
Date: 2023-05-23
From: Hotel Coolidge

To: Trident Col 
Miles today: 6.9

Took Snoopy and I till about noon to get to Gorham NH, re-pack after living out of a car for the last week and finally get back on trail. A 1300+ ft elevation gain of hard climbing and we were ready for bed. The weather was deteriorating all thru the day and is supposed to really start raining tomorrow!
Date: 2023-05-24
From: Trident Col 

To: Full Goose
Miles today: 14.5

Lots of ascents and descents today. Crossed the NH-ME border. Started raining in the am and was pouring when we got to the shelter. There were a couple of other campers posted up in there. I can¢t remember the guys name but the gal was Snot Rocket (great trail name)! They weren¢t too motivated to do much but either was I so early bedtime tonight!
Date: 2023-05-25
From: Full Goose

To: Baldpate lean to
Miles today: 12.0

Woke up and the stoner couple were still snoozing. Snoopy and I quietly made up our pack and we were off. Chilly morning. Had about a 3 mile hike toMahoosuc notch, which is considered the most difficult (I¢d argue dangerous, but also fun) mile on the entire AT. It probably took us about 1.5-2 hrs to make it thru the 1.1 mile valley (notch or what they¢d call a gap in the Southern area) . It was all a jumble of various sized boulders and you just pick yr way over, around or under as you see fit. We had the additional challenges of ice snow and running water . Beautiful though, as the mountain walls are sheer on either side of you as you make yr way thru the mess. A big up and little down brought us to Speck pond. A beaver has been busy reinforcing the dam and it was wet crossing the outfall but the shelter was a nice place to eat lunch. After that we had about an additional 7 miles, almost all descending to get to bald plate lean to , where we are currently cuddled up in bed.
Date: 2023-05-26
From: Baldpate lean to

To: Hall mountain lean-to 
Miles today: 15.5

Fri 5/26Even tho it didn¢t rain last night we woke up to everything still damp. Packed up and hit the trail. Started with a pretty steep uphill , then a down into a marshy bog with some stunted trees. Met an 80 yo gentleman that has been section hiking the trail for 20+ years. Lots of moose poop on the trail no sighting yet.
Date: 2023-06-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

3 day practice thru-hike. Hot, mostly sunny weather. Just finished setting up our 2nd night camp and roasting marshmallows again. We had a nice long swim this evening and washed off the 10 miles of trail we hiked today. Kids are doing well hiking, especially the older two but camping life is hard, no way around it.
Date: 2023-06-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday we realized the kids don¢t have much hiking mikes with a lot of elevation gain. Our first day on the AT is about 2,000 ft of gain in 7 miles so we wanted to give the kids a chance for steeper hiking beforehand. We headed to our local ¢mountain¢ which has a loooong and steep stair climb. We put in about an hour and a half and the kids did great despite the oppressive heat. The highlight for me was having the family run a practice drill of putting on our rain jackets and pack covers. Rain is often a daily occurrence on the AT so I wanted to be ready. Erin and the kids balked at the idea of practicing something so simple. In my past as a firemen however, I was trained to practice everything. Finally the agreed and what ensued was a complete comedy of errors. I had my jacket and pack cover on within 30 seconds (mountain storms can move in quickly) while the kids floundered and couldn¢t find jackets or had packed rain covers at the very bottom of their packs.  After about 15 minutes of what felt like a 3 stooges scene, we all had pack covers on (except Ford who declared he left it at home only to find it in his pack when we got home). Once again, we left our training hike more prepared than we began.
Date: 2023-06-23
From: Amicalola Falls SP

To: View Entry
Miles today: 1.2

We finally reached the point of no return (and it¢s more beautiful than I imagined). After years of dreaming and months of scheming we are here at the start of our journey. Our car has been picked up and driven hours north where we hope to pick it up towards the end of our journey. We have burned the ships, there is no way back but only forward. Anywhere we go from here will be on our own two legs. I¢d be leaving out the full story if I didn¢t say we were full of fears and worries at this point. Although there is a sense of peace when you realize there is no more planning, purchasing or packing to do. Just strap on your pack and start walking. Undertaking this endeavor with 4 precious little ones weighs heavy on your mind. I¢ve had many fleeting moments of panic on the drive out here, wondering if I¢ve overlooked some crucial planning element or left out a critical piece of gear. But now we¢re here, there is nothing left to do. I polled the family tonight to ask what their biggest concerns were as we step into the unknown tomorrow. These are the responses from the kids - The mountains being so steep we can¢t make it up. Bears taking our food when we¢re days from a resupply pointForgetting to pack somethingFrom Erin and I the fears were - Not sleeping wellTicksPoison ivyKids getting sick or hurtWe¢ll revisit those fears at the end and see how things played out. We also prayed with the kids about those specific fears. I think at this point we¢re all just ready to start this hike we¢ve talked about for so long.  We hiked the first mile of the approach trail without packs today so we can jump on the trail next to the hotel  tomorrow. It¢s actually 7 more miles or so of hiking to get to the official start of the AT. Weather forecast is looking favorable, temps in 70¢s with passing showers at times.