morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-07-02
From: Rocky Mountain Shelter 

To: Mount Holly Springs, PA
Miles today: 19.2

We passed the half way mark today. No fanfare because there wasn't a sign on the AT, just a note in our AWOL guide. It was hot and muggy most the day while we hiked but the campsite we're staying at has a cool stream nearby so we were able to wash off some of the sweat away. We were invited to and attended a camp social by a couple of kids out with their dad for the weekend. They had a fire going that they started, sticks, marshmallows, graham crackers and a chocolate bar. It was the first time we've enjoyed s'mores since before this hike. They were wonderful and we could have eaten more, hiker hunger and all, but we were considerate and stopped at one each. The kids finished the rest.PS this photo is from today 7/3/17 when we found an old sign that no longer is at the halfway mark.. each year the mileage changes.
Date: 2017-07-03
From: Toms Run Shelter 

To: Philadelphia and Harrisburg PA
Miles today: 12.1

We hiked to Mt Holly Springs PA and are staying at the Holly Inn and Tavern. We decided to take the day off tomorrow and celebrate the Fourth of July in grand style. We have rented a car and will drive to Philadelphia in the morning and visit Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell if we can get tickets, available on a first come first served basis. After that we'll drive up to Harrisburg and take in their fireworks show. They also have a food truck festival for the fourth that we're sure to partake in. We even went to Walmart and bought patriotic clothes. This should be a blast!Photo is "Just John" attempting the "half gallon challenge" at the Pine Grove Furnace State Park store. It's an iconic tradition on the AT to try to consume 1/2 gallon of ice cream in one hour at the half way mark on the trail. He succeeded. We on the other hand wussed out and didn't try it. Lactose issues you see.
Date: 2017-07-04
From: Best Western Harrisburg-Hershey

To: Philadelphia and Harrisburg Pennsylvania 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Our plan for the day worked out as well as could be hoped. In spite of getting lost, crossing the Benjamin Franklin bridge, ending up in a sketchy part of what I believe was Camden, NJ, then having to ask a hooker for directions, we arrived at Independence National Historic Park. We were still early enough that the lines at the Liberty Bell were light. In no time we were looking upon one of our nations iconic symbols of freedom and liberty. We then toured Independence Hall and had a very entertaining National Park guide share her knowledge of the historic building. After that we watched Philly's 4th of July parade. Later, we drove up to Harrisburg to be closer to the trail and ate Gyros then watched their fireworks display over the Susquehanna River. If you can't be with family and friends this was the way to celebrate the 4th. It was a special day that we'll always remember.PS I added a few more photos.
Date: 2017-07-05
From: Best Western, Harrisburg 

To: Darlington Shelter, PA
Miles today: 10.4

Short hiking day because we got started late getting supplies, looking for shoes, mailing the bump box ahead, turning the car back in, and having Five Guys for lunch (humm, that doesn't sound right). Anyways, we got to hiking around 2 PM and soon ran into Pennsylvania's version of a mini-"Roller Coaster". Steep up, then down, repeat 6 times.  There was even some rock climbing thrown in for good measure. It was a short hike but it was also hot and muggy and very tiring. Photo shows how the hike ended. You hike down the mountain and smack in to the middle of cornfields and an unidentified crop shown.
Date: 2017-07-06
From: Boiling Springs campground 

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

We camped last night with Northbound thru-hikers Avalanche, Cookie Monster, Joy Hiker and Shane. The small campground, no water but with a state of the art port-a-potti, was located 30 feet from railroad tracks. Unfortunately for all of us it was a busy section of track and no less than 6 trains came by blowing their horns, trailing a ton of cars each, aooga! Clackity clackity, clack, spaced about an hour apart starting around 11 PM. Suffice to say sleep was hard to come by. It rained lightly most the day as we crossed the Cumberland Valley and into another mountain range. Pretty easy as it was mostly flat except for the climb up to this shelter. We met "Red" along the way, the photo gives you a good idea how he got his name. A pleasant, upbeat guy doing a long southbound section hike. We also ran across 2016 Southbound thru-hiker "Lemon Lime", named because he is blonde and contracted Lyme disease at the start of his hike. He was providing trail magic: beer, soda, corn on the cob, hamburgers and delicious watermelon!! It was great.Tomorrow we'll be in Duncannon, PA to visit an iconic part of the AT, the Doyle Hotel. We're not staying there (not the best reviews) but will be enjoying a beer at the bar.
Date: 2017-07-07
From: Darlington Shelter 

To: Campsite past Peter Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained hard all night. The tap tap tapping of the rain drops on the tent roof made it almost as hard to sleep as when the trains were running by the night before. Little sleep for two nights, putting on wet hiking clothes and then hiking 6 miles on wet rocky trail, then down one of the steepest declines in recent memory put us both in foul moods. That is until we hit town and visited the Doyle Hotel bar where we downed an ice cold Yuengling Lager and a Chablis then ate delicious bacon cheeseburgers and some of the best fries ever. avalanche, anvil, and honeybee were also there.
Date: 2017-07-09
From: Red Carpet Inn 

To: Campsite near Lickdale, PA
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

We needed new shoes badly so we visited the REI store in King of Prussia. We spent a couple hours there trying on shoes and talking with their helpful sales folks. We ended up buying Hoka One One Speedgoat 2's. They've got more cushion than any other shoe out there. We hiked in them today and so far so good. My only complaint is they need a wide version, my feet felt squeezed but other than that the foam soles worked well on the rocks. Sapphire loves hers.
Date: 2017-07-10
From: Red Carpet Inn 

To: Rausch Shelter 
Miles today: 11.3

We got a late start because we needed to mail the bump box ahead and send our old shoes to Bell, and return the car. Then we had to get a ride back to where we started hiking yesterday. About 5 miles into the hike I started feeling nauseous. We didn't need that. I'm starting to get concerned about our mileage and where we are. Bottom line is we needed to zero to get new shoes as they are key to our success in this endeavor but we can't afford to take unnecessary zero's going forward. So we decided today to minimize town visits. You can visit a town daily in this area; it wasn't like that when we started. And also, sadly, to minimize extra-curricular activities. Like the Yuengling Brewery tour we had planned on visiting and taking a couple days off to see the Big Apple. We'll just have to come back to these after the hike. My brother and his lovely wife will be meeting us in August so we've got to bank some miles for that. Our goal remains to complete the hike without jumping ahead but we will if necessary to climb Mount Katahdin before it closes for the year. That usually happens in mid-October. If we do jump ahead then we'll hike the skipped portions after the Mount Katahdin climb. It will still count as a successful "Appalachian Trail Thru-hike" as long as we do all 2190 miles this year. But that option is absolutely a last resort.
Date: 2017-07-11
From: Rausch Shelter 

To: Rock N Sole Hostel 
Miles today: 17.5

Sapphire loves her shoes, no blisters and the bottom of her feet don't ache. I'm pretty happy with mine but I'm getting blisters now. Hoka's run narrow so they aren't the best fit for me but the cushion really helps over these rocks. Hopefully I'll stretch them out some and they'll fit better. We're just starting to get into the rock fields Pennsylvania is infamous for. Wish us luck. Lots of folks are staying at this shelter, sir craps a lot, many miles, pheasantmelon, and Umbrellaface to mention a few. All intend to make it to Mount Katahdin in time so we can too.
Date: 2017-07-12
From: 501 Shelter 

To: Hamburg, PA
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: scattered clouds

New shoes suck. Every step hurt as we started off today. A few tabs of Motrin made it somewhat tolerable. It was rocky, hot, still, and muggy all day. Perspiration soaked our clothes completely. Sapphire was even getting testy and she's never testy. Welcome to Pennsylvania in the summer. Fortunately, we didn't have far to hike as we had made reservations at the Rock N Sole Hostel a few days ago. We're staying in the "Trash Heap" a cool, renovated 1960's camper. Folks here are quite nice. Dinner (Meatball Sandwiches) and breakfast are included. We'll hike to Hamburg PA tomorrow.
Date: 2017-07-13
From: Rock N Sole Hostel 

To: Next shelter 
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

Wonderful trail magic today. At the end of our hike and just as we entered Port Clinton, the visiting girlfriend of a thru-hiker was making sandwiches and had ice cold sodas and chips too. Ww were talking with the other hikers when Bambi, who we just met there, mentioned to School Teacher that we were the ones who lost one of our AT thru hiker badges, given out when we registered for the hike last year. It had come off my pack while hiking one day and I was bummed. Fortunately Bambi deduced who we were and knew that School Teacher had found one. I was elated; the tag had been with us since the start of the hike and I hated loosing it.My feet hurt all day again, and sapphire has a couple painful blisters now too. After listening to Many Miles suggestion, I have performed surgery on my shoes. (See in photos) They feel way better now and I'm looking forward to hiking tomorrow to see how they perform.
Date: 2017-07-16
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Campground 
Miles today: 32.5

Whew, glad to have that one done. That's the Pennsylvania we've been hearing so much about..."nothing but boulders for miles." It wasn't exactly for miles but it was true for big long stretches on our 17.5 mile hike today. If the AT grapevine is to be believed, tomorrow will be almost as bad. 18 miles of no water, steep climbs and rocks galore.We had to take a day off a couple days ago while in Hamburg PA because of thunderstorms and tornado and flash flood warnings in our area. It was as ugly out as I've seen. We spent the day catching up on Family Feud and Fixer Upper and just resting. Cabela's Outdoor store (their Hamburg store is their largest) was kind enough to send a van to pick us up at out motel and after trying a ton of shoes, the only ones that would fit my 4x wide feet were a cheap pair of UnderArmour's. They are working out pretty well.
Date: 2017-07-17
From: Bake Oven Knob Shelter 

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 12.7

And we thought yesterday was hard.. goodness! The rocks and boulders ARE going on for miles and our feet ARE sore! But alas good reader, fear not, we're still in top shape and our spirits are as high as they have ever been. Sapphire is certainly pleased as the AT is living up to the challenge she hoped for (and more). We needed to visit the post office in Walnutport, PA to pickup the resupply box we sent to ourselves while in Hamburg. We were picked up quickly from the trailhead and given a ride to McD's where we enjoyed a large lunch. We got as many stares as when we used to buy opelu (baitfish) from Pacific Market in Waipahu, but these folks wanted to know all about our experiences hiking the AT. One lady even gave us some foot cream (unopened) after hearing Sapphire talk about her feet. After we were done regaling a group of silver haired ladies at the next table we walked over to Rite Aid and bought shoe inserts for me (aquamann) that seem to help. As we were walking to the post office a nice lady stopped us and asked us about the trail then offered to wait for us at the post office then take us back to the trail. We of course accepted. The folks in that town are the friendliest we've run across. Photo shows the steep climb up boulders that we had after lunch today. The road below (see white tractor trailer) is where we started.
Date: 2017-07-18
From: Filbert B&B

To: New Jersey!!
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Our feet feel like they went through a meat grinder today. The elevation changes were minimal after the steep climb at the start of our hike but 15 miles of rocky trail took their toll. It was hot and super humid as well, making the hike even more miserable. We hear tomorrow will be more of the same but we take comfort in the knowledge that we'll be out of Pennsylvania and into New Jersey. Hopefully NJ will be kinder to our soles. We met Mona and Wolfdog, the only other thru-hikers we saw all day.Photo shows the B&B we stayed at last night. Very cool period pressed tin ceiling in the General Store.
Date: 2017-07-19
From: Wind Gap, PA

To: NJ campsite 
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: few clouds

Pennsylvania lived up to its reputation as the jagged rock capital of the world. The last 4 days have been the toughest on our feet by far! I've already discussed the rocks in PA ad nauseam so I'll just say that we're very happy to be in New Jersey. Hopefully the rocks will be smoother. There's only 60 some miles of the Appalachian Trail in NJ so it won't be long before we are in New York. I've been asked how we know we're following the Appalachian trail and not some local trail. Local trail clubs maintain sections of the AT doing various tasks like weed-eating, brush clearing and digging water-runoff channels. They also paint vertical 2" x 6" white "blazes" on trees, rocks, roads, telephone poles, etc.. to designate the path of the AT. We get nervous when we haven't seen one in awhile. Trust me, there's nothing worse than finding out the blazes you've been following steeply downhill for the last .8 mile are actually yellow :(I've added a couple photos of the white blazes.
Date: 2017-07-20
From: Pocono Inn

To: Zero
Miles today: 13.1

We're staying at the once great Pocono Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA and will be zeroing here tomorrow to rest and resupply. This morning ubered out 13 miles and hiked south back to town. The hike in New Jersey was nice in places and as rocky as PA in others. The real challenge was the heat. It was so hot some of the rocks were sweating, we were absolutely dripping. On the way back we stopped by the Mohican Outdoor Center for lunch and enjoyed tasty short order sandwiches and sodas, life's simple pleasures.
Date: 2017-07-23
From: Brink Shelter 

To: Pochunck Shelter 
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: few clouds

My brother Tom coordinated the best trail magic so far! A friend of his picked us up at highway 206 and took us to their lovely home on 30 wooded acres for a shower, laundry, lunch and a tour of his extensive car collection. Andy and Trish are some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet. We had a great time so it was very hard turning down an offer to spend the night but we had to make some miles. We ended up hiking until 8 pm and we're still 2.5 miles from our daily goal. Good news was it stopped raining shortly after they dropped us off at the trailhead. Tomorrow will be a long one, over 19 miles so we're off to bed.
Date: 2017-07-24
From: Mashipacong Shelter 

To: Warwick, NY
Miles today: 15.5

It rained all night and most the morning. Flooding in the tent prodded us into getting up and get going. Hiking was nice except that we're learning the hard way that NJ has as many rocks as PA. We stopped in the NJ visitors center for a free AT hiker soda. The folks in there we very nice. We moved on after eating lunch. We'll be close to entering New York after tomorrow's hike. We hear the first two days in NY will be difficult. Cute bunny just stayed still for his photo op.
Date: 2017-07-26
From: Warwick NY

To: Fingerboard Shelter 
Miles today: 27.7
Weather: broken clouds

It was so nice hiking this morning and I was in such a good mood. The sun was shining and a cool breeze was blowing. The last few days have been raining and overcast. My attitude changes so much depending on the weather. Sapphire is even-keeled and is positive no matter what the weather is like (don't get me wrong, she likes it nice out too) while I get moody and glum if it's crappy out. I wonder if it's because I've lived in Hawaii so long and the weather is usually much nicer than what we've been having. Almost every late-afternoon for a long time, the clouds will come in and either a thunderstorm pops up or it rains or it just stays gloomy. Seems like it's been like this since NC. In any case and regardless we're making good progress Northbound. We crossed into New York today. That's eight states down and only six to go. Soon we'll have hiked 1400 miles. It boggles my mind to think about that distance.
Date: 2017-07-27
From: Wildcat Shelter 

To: Bear Mountain Bridge Inn, NY
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We didn't intend to hike so far today, especially with the tough terrain, but numerous and aggressive bear encounters recently at the shelter we planned to stay at gave us the energy to keep going. I guess everyone got the same memo because nobody was there when we passed by at 4:30pm. This works out better for us as we plan to stay in a motel tomorrow night so now we're 5 miles closer to town and thus 5 miles closer to a shower and a good meal! We passed our first southbound thru-hikers today: Piper, Treebeard, and John. They started hiking south from Maine in May/June. I'm sure we'll start seeing all kinds of them.
Date: 2017-07-28
From: William Brien Memorial Shelter 

To: Dennytown Road
Miles today: 10.7

So far, the hiking in New York runs in a general west to east direction over mountains running NE to SW so there are a lot of vertical ups and downs per day. Today was no exception with climbs over Black Mountain, West Mountain, and Bear Mountain in the ten miles we hiked. So we were happy to finally descend into Ft Montgomery, NY where the aroma of barbecues in the park below wafted up to greet us. When we got down I mentioned to the three Yemeni ladies that we could smell their food cooking from on top of the mountain and it smelled wonderful. They called back to us as we were walking away and asked us if we'd like to have some. Unabashedly I said yes (it smelled really good!) and they kindly provided us with delicious barbecue chicken in a savory sauce. I was secretly hoping for the kabobs I saw in one of their pans but they hadn't been cooked yet and we didn't want to outstay our welcome :) We thanked them profusely and continued hiking. The AT runs through a zoo (lowest point on the AT) where we saw all manner of forest animals and where we learned that the vulture we saw the other day on the rocky ledge was a mature Black Vulture. We bumped into "Otter" at the parks concession stand, who said he recognized us from our Trailjournals posts. Pretty cool day.
Date: 2017-07-29
From: Bear Mountain Bridge Motel 

To: Stormville, NY
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We ordered breakfast sandwiches from a breakfast deli across the street from our 1930's era motel. Folks must have been smaller back then because the rooms are small; maybe 12'x12'. Then we Ubered 14 miles North and hiked back to the motel. It was a beautiful sunny day with nice breezes, we couldn't have asked for a nicer day. And talking about nice, we met Vinny and his friend on the trail up to Anthony's Nose, a favorite climb of the locals. Vinny had been to Hawaii in the army and was so full of positive energy telling stories of his surfing adventures and how the locals thought he was "hapa" (half Samoan) because of his dark complexion--he didn't look 1/2 of anything btw :) he and his pal looked all Italian-American. Their excitement was infectious as we told them about our hike. We wished each other well and sadly were off in opposite directions. It would have been great to sit and visit with them over a pint. So far all the folks we've met in this part of NY have been great. Tomorrow we'll hike to Stormville NY and then take a zero. We've decided to rent a car and drive into NY, NY on Monday and have dinner with good friends from Hawaii, Rick and Shari, there to see a big concert at Citi field. It should be a blast.
Date: 2017-08-02
From: Stormville, NY

To: Next shelter 
Miles today: 27.3
Weather: clear sky

Service has been bad last two days so rushing to get this one in while I have some.We're back on the trail after taking a day off to visit New York City and then the next day to recuperate from that. First we visited the 9/11 memorial. The memorial waterfalls where the towers stood were impressive and the museum and memorial photos, videos, taped phone calls, fire trucks and ambulances and tons of other memorabilia from the horrific event brought back a flood of emotions. Later, we took a cab to Adrienne's Pizza on historic Stone Street where ate delicious New York style pan pizza on the street under tents. Satiated and looking for more adventure, we walked over to the Staten Island Ferry pier and took the ferry over to Staten Island and back. I got my first in-person look at the Statue of Liberty from the ferry's starboard railing. (Sapphire had been here before). I noticed a bunch of different languages being spoken all around us which brought to mind and badly paraphrased "send us your tired, and huddled masses yearning to be free". We were back on Manhattan in time to shop for a dress for sapphire because she needed one for dinner that night with our very good friends from Hawaii, Rick and Shari, who just happened to be in town ( and the main reason we decided to take time off and go into the city) for a big weekend concert at Citifield. We were treated to dinner at Tsurutontan Restaurant and had wonderful time. Rick's good friends joined us for dinner and later we went back to their tony midtown condo for a nightcap which capped off a fantastic day.
Date: 2017-08-03
From: Telephone Pioneer Shelter 

To: Next campsite 
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Thunderstorms chased us the last 3 hours of our hike yesterday. We got to the shelter just as the heavens opened up. Luckily there was room for us so we stayed dry. That was so nice! We got up early and started hiking. The miles went by quickly and we had a nice day. We're camped at a campground in Connecticut and should be in Massachusetts by the 6th. Sorry for the brief journal but I keep loosing service up here. More tomorrow.
Date: 2017-08-05
From: Kent, CT

To: Mt Everett
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: broken clouds

OMG, two more large lightning/thunderstorms!! Will they ever end?!$%!? Thankfully, after this mornings storm the rain held off most the day and we actually had a very nice hike. As we walk I have time to think, lots of time :) , anyways I think up book titles for our hike and I always come back to the title "No Easy Mile". But after today I need to modify it to "Very Few Easy Miles" and while not as catchy, a bit truer. We had almost 6 miles of soft, flat, wide trail that followed the Housatonic River north. I was surprised that the river wasn't being utilized more. We didn't see anyone swimming, fishing, or rafting the entire time we walked along it; maybe  it's too hard to access? In any case, it was a much welcomed change from only trees, roots, and rocks. Trust me, after nearly 1500 miles, you get a bit jaded. Tomorrow will be a very tough day, long miles and two steep mountains but we should finish inside Massachusetts. Wish us luck.
Date: 2017-08-06
From: Sharon, CT

To: Great Barrington, Massachusetts 
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: light rain

We had a long day, up early and just getting ready for bed now. It was a beautiful day which we appreciated. We are close but not quite to Massachusetts. Tomorrow will see us over the state line and into Great Barrington, MA. I forgot to mention that we passed Airbud and Fitbit yesterday who we haven't seen since the Smokies, it was great catching up with them.