morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-06-08
From: Wevertown Rd

To: Chambersburg, PA
Miles today: 0.0

It was nice to sleep on a comfortable bed in a house with AC and not have to worry about rain during the night.   Oh, the joys of home living! We slept in this morning since we weren't going to be doing any hiking. We took it easy a bit and then we were called to breakfast by Lavender's sister. No, it wasn't Pop Tarts but eggs, bacon, sausage, toast with homemade jam and coffee. What a breakfast!    We then started our tasks for the day. First we both went and got haircuts to look a bit more civilized. Then we went to visit Count's parents and had lunch there. We had a nice visit but it was too short since we still had a lot of errands to run. We went to the grocery store for our resupply and then had a few other stops to make. It was a busy day, as busy as any zero day but busier as we also had personal business to handle. Being away for 9 1/2 weeks means alot of mail had to be opened. (Life on the trail is less stressful in this matter.)    We hot back to the house around 15:30 and started getting our packs ready for hiking tomorrow. We had a cook out for dinner and Lavender's niece and her family came over and ate with us. Count has missed grilling. He maned the grill and enjoyed it.We had chicken on the grill, corn on the cob on the grill, salad, fresh fruit and more food. Much better than anything we have on the trail. Then it was time to relax and enjoy family. Back to the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2015-06-09
From: Wevertown Rd

To: I-70 footbridge 
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: few clouds

We started hiking a bit later than normal as we had to drive to the start of the trail. It is always hard to start hiking after a zero day. It is even worse when you stay at a home for a zero day. We started hiking at 7:42. And of course since we were in a gap, we had to climb. And we climbed all morning. Even though the elevation is low we still climbed. We climbed almost 800 feet. And it was rocky. There was a heavy storm last night with hail (We were glad we were inside.). The trail was muddy and there were lots of big puddles. We did some slip sliding on the mud. We were near civilization today as we went through Gathland State park. There were indoor toilets with running water. Of course, we took our morning break here. We didn't even need to filter water. Oh, it is great to find such luxuries.   We had a few little ups and downs as we were walking the ridgeline. And, what does hiking on ridgeline mean? Rocks! But, at least in Maryland, the trail builders do not specifically build the trail to go over every rock in sight! We are thankful for this. One strange critter we saw today was a toad on the trail.   Finally, we left the ridgeline and descended down about 400 feet where we had lunch. As we just left Lavender's sister's home, we had sandwiches for lunch. Yum, we had Lebanon bologna on Martin potatoes rolls. All local food we grew up with. They tasted so good.    We continued to descend another 400 feet. We climbed about 400 feet to Washington Monument State park where we were treated to trail magic. A US Air Force chaplain's wife and children giving trail magic. We each had a delicious and juicy plum and a Dr. Pepper. We cannot remember the last time we had a Dr. Pepper. We were much appreciative for the break as they also brought lawn chairs to use. We continued climbing and climbed further than necessary as we went to see the first monument for George Washington. The view was fantastic as it was a clear day; perfect for hiking. However, it was hot. We were sweating and sweating. The wind was blowing and we could hear the wind blowing the high leaves in the trees. But, we were too low to the ground and felt no breeze. It was frustrating to not feel the breeze but to hear it. We continued on our way and passed a church that reminded us of an English church. We hiked on and finally crossed the bridge over US Route 70. Since we grew up in southern Pennsylvania and lived some of our adult life in northern Virginia, we have driven under this bridge numerous times. When we had talked about hiking the AT, we thought it would be so fun to cross the bridge. Over the many times we passed under the bridge, we never saw anyone hiking the trail. Today, we walked over the bridge and we waved to everyone. And, we took our time walking across. We wanted to savor the moment. Alot of people blew their horns and waved. It was so very cool. We finished our hiking day ending it very happy. We also saw lots of Civil War monuments and plaques today. Count is a Civil War buff. He was happy seeing this. He had a happy day.
Date: 2015-06-10
From: I-70 footbridge 

To: PA-16
Miles today: 21.3

We started hiking a bit later than normal as we had to drive to the start of the trail. It is always hard to start hiking after a zero day. It is even worse when you stay at a home for a zero day. We started hiking at 7:42. And of course since we were in a gap, we had to climb. And we climbed all morning. Even though the elevation is low we still climbed. We climbed almost 800 feet. And it was rocky. There was a heavy storm last night with hail (We were glad we were inside.). The trail was muddy and there were lots of big puddles. We did some slip sliding on the mud. We were near civilization today as we went through Gathland State park. There were indoor toilets with running water. Of course, we took our morning break here. We didn't even need to filter water. Oh, it is great to find such luxuries.   We had a few little ups and downs as we were walking the ridgeline. And, what does hiking on ridgeline mean? Rocks! But, at least in Maryland, the trail builders do not specifically build the trail to go over every rock in sight! We are thankful for this. One strange critter we saw today was a toad on the trail.   Finally, we left the ridgeline and descended down about 400 feet where we had lunch. As we just left Lavender's sister's home, we had sandwiches for lunch. Yum, we had Lebanon bologna on Martin potatoes rolls. All local food we grew up with. They tasted so good.    We continued to descend another 400 feet. We climbed about 400 feet to Washington Monument State park where we were treated to trail magic. A US Air Force chaplain's wife and children giving trail magic. We each had a delicious and juicy plum and a Dr. Pepper. We cannot remember the last time we had a Dr. Pepper. We were much appreciative for the break as they also brought lawn chairs to use. We continued climbing and climbed further than necessary as we went to see the first monument for George Washington. The view was fantastic as it was a clear day; perfect for hiking. However, it was hot. We were sweating and sweating. The wind was blowing and we could hear the wind blowing the high leaves in the trees. But, we were too low to the ground and felt no breeze. It was frustrating to not feel the breeze but to hear it. We continued on our way and passed a church that reminded us of an English church. We hiked on and finally crossed the bridge over US Route 70. Since we grew up in southern Pennsylvania and lived some of our adult life in northern Virginia, we have driven under this bridge numerous times. When we had talked about hiking the AT, we thought it would be so fun to cross the bridge. Over the many times we passed under the bridge, we never saw anyone hiking the trail. Today, we walked over the bridge and we waved to everyone. And, we took our time walking across. We wanted to savor the moment. Alot of people blew their horns and waved. It was so very cool. We finished our hiking day ending it very happy. We also saw lots of Civil War monuments and plaques today. Count is a Civil War buff. He was happy seeing this. He had a happy day.
Date: 2015-06-13
From: PA-34

To: Chambersburg 
Miles today: 0.0

Oh what a night; air conditioning, a soft bed and full tummies. We woke to Trail Angel, Mary Ellen, Lavender's sister, cooking eggs, bacon, toast, fresh peaches and mango. We had milk to drink. We also had cream filled doughnuts from Sunnyway (our all time favorite doughnuts.). What a great way to start our zero day!   We did our laundry, resealed the seams of our tent, washed our not so good smelling backpacks, took stock of our resupply, showered, soaked our feet in Epsom salts and relaxed. After this, we went to a barbecue at Count's parents house. It was wonderful to see his parents, brother and partner, and brother-in-law. Count cooked the meat. We had lots of good food -hamburgers, hotdogs, bratwursts, corn on the cob, fresh lettuce and onions, deviled eggs and chips. We are going to gain some of the weight we loss. Maybe we will be able to complete the trail with all this good food. We did some resupply. Then we repacked our tent which was drying from the seam sealing. And packed our good smelling backpacks. We did most of our errands today. Tomorrow should be a relaxing day two zero day.
Date: 2015-06-14
From: Chambersburg 

To: Chambersburg 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Zero day #2. Oh the joys of 2 zero days in a row. Having 2 days in a row off is good both for the body and the mind. We have immensely enjoyed the rest for our body and the fellowship with family. The time off has also given us lots of time to reflect on everything we have been through on the hike so far and how blessed we are to be able to attempt this thru hike. We are very fortunate to have a supportive family, good health to hike the trail in our fifties, good friends we have made on the trail and each other to lean on in the tough times.   We also want to thank all those who have been following our trail journal and all the encouraging words and prayers for us. Please continue to pray for us as we start the 2nd half of the trail. Pray that we will remain injury free and have sunny weather. Well, maybe a few days of rain but not 7 days in a row! We spent the day doing some last minute resupply shopping and going through our packs to be sure we have everything ready for hiking again tomorrow. We were able to spend most of the day visiting with both Count and Lavender's families which has been a good time. Now it's time to get back to hiking. Only 1079 miles to go to Katahdin!!
Date: 2015-06-25
From: Delaware Water Gap 

To: Delaware Water Gap 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Oh what a great day. A soft bed and we slept till almost 7:00. We woke to the smell of crepes being made by our trail angel family - the Koemm's. We had a great leasurily breakfast. We had good conversation and just a totally relaxing time. We sat at the table for almost 2 hours. It was wonderful.   Lavender's backpack frame is pressing on her back. She has a few bruises on her lower back. Some creative engineering was performed by Count and Ken. The Koemm's had some foam. We duct taped this over the frame to help cushion the frame. Hopefully this adds some much needed cushion.   We had a great lunch at a local sub shop, The Courthouse. We both had gyros. The owners were so cheerful. They knew Ken and Alison's normal order. If you are ever in Somerville, NJ, be sure to stop in to eat. Then we resupplied.    Oh, but wait, while walking into the grocery store, The Good Humor ice-cream truck was out for the summer promoting ice-cream. How were they promoting summer ice-cream? By giving ice-cream away. Yes, our son's favorite number - free. We all had some free ice-cream. We told the Good Humor rep to go to the trail head of the AT. He just laughed. We, of course, were totally serious.    We relaxed at our trail angel's home the rest of the day. We took our Epsom salt bath. Count's feet are torn up from blisters. He has blisters on top of blisters. Hopefully the soaking of his feet and being off his feet for a day will help. Of course we ate more. Yes, more good food. We had steaks on the grill, homemade potatoe salad, cucumber salad, corn on the cob and croissants. Yum. A friend of our trail angles came over. He has hiked alot of the AT. He was telling us about the trail ahead. We don't know if we like what we heard. Sort of scary. But, that is the AT way. And the trail ahead awaits us.
Date: 2015-07-01
From: Camp site 1395.8

To: Fort Montgomery 
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

We woke in the middle of the night to the flash of lightening. Then the rain and thunder started. There was so many flashes of lightening and booms of thunder along with torrential rain we were concerned about our little tent. We were thankful when the lightening and thunder stopped. The rain continued.    We went back to sleep for a few minutes before the lightening and thunder started again. There was more rainfall and now we were very concerned about ourselves. The storm was very near as there was no delay between the flashes of lightening and booms of rolling thunder. The rolling thunder reminded us of the hynm "How Great Thou Art". In fact, we sung it to ourselves to help calm us down. Finally, the storm passed although the rain stayed. We attempted to go back to sleep. It took a while. But, eventually, sleep came.    We woke with rain still falling. We were both still very tired from little sleep. It is hard enough to hike the AT. Add the factor of little sleep and it makes it even harder. The only thing keeping us going was the fact we were planning on neroing in Fort Montgomery, NY.    We performed our normal wet day ritual before starting our hiking for the day. We had the typical wet day trail - uphill hiking over walks in streams flowing down the trail from the rain. The rain stopped shortly after we started hiking. Not so much fun.   We did finally reach the base of Bear Mountain where we finally had a real hiking trail. Oh, it was heavenly. Instead of clamoring over rocks, we had steps, rock steps, but steps. We marveled at the steps wondering who/how these were built. The steps gave way to an open, slight incline trail. At the top of Bear Mountain, we crossed over the 1400 mile mark! It is strange in that now, 100 mile milestones aren't noted on the trail as they were when we started hiking.    We saw a vending machine at the top of the mountain. Our mouths watered thinking about having something cold to drink. We were so disappointed when we found the machine was not working. We hiked on. Now, it was a smooth trail going down Bear Mountain. We were so happy with this trail. We realized this trail was very "touristy" as we passed lots of "tourist" walking up the path. Who cared? We had a fabulous trail for once.   We entered the Trailside Museum and Zoo as the AT goes through this. We found another vending machine. This one working. We walked through the town of Fort Montgomery, stopping at a deli along the way to a hotel. We are now in a hotel doing our normal nero day chores.
Date: 2015-07-02
From: Fort Montgomery 

To: Camp site 1418.1
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

Oh, it is so nice to spend a night in a hotel where you can get fresh water from a tap, take a shower whenever you want and enjoy the comforts of air conditioning. We went down for breakfast early this morning and then relaxed in our room for an hour before going down for a second breakfast. Yes, we eat alot.    We needed the rest. So we didn't get back to the trail until 11:15 which is pretty late for us. We started our day of hiking by crossing the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge. We had great views the whole way across the river and had several cars beep their horn at us. They probably thought we were crazy walking across the busy bridge.   After crossing the bridge, we started a steep uphill that must have been at least 400 stone steps along the way. We passed some folks on the way up. They chatted to us. They had lots of questions about our thru-hike. Turns out their nephew is thru-hiking this year. Nephew, not sister or brother, but someone alot younger than us. We are sort of old people on the trail.   The trail after was actually quite nice today, not to many steep or rocky sections. There were some really nice sections of trail through mature woods. We were looking forward to our first stop of the day at the Appalachian Market which is a market/deli. The market is literally right next to the trail which is as good as it gets.    We came to the road crossing and were happy to see Outlier sitting outside at a picnic table.   We quickly caught up on how our hikes have been going. Then it was on to the important stuff, ordering food and drink. We enjoyed our food as we relaxed.    We started hiking with Outlier joining us. Our tummies were full which made us feel lazy. But, the trail was nice. This made the going a bit better. We had a few climbs and decents but nothing to bad. Count did see two snakes slithering under rocks. We also saw a fawn. We commented the fawns are growing. They still have their spots but are getting taller. We hiked on to a building we knew had water from a spigot. This was our destination for today. We filled our water containers, walked a few feet into the woods and set up camp for the night. With water from a spigot, why should we hike on? We can wash our cooking utensils, wash up a bit and resupply with water. It made life a bit easier tonight.
Date: 2015-07-06
From: Caesar Brook campsite

To: Salisbury
Miles today: 18.8

We were woken this morning by the sound of coyotes howling. The howls sounded as if they were passing directly through the camp site. Not a comfortable feeling. We did get back to sleep after laying awake a long time listening for paws passing nearby. Today was the typical hiking, uphill, downhill, over rocks, through rocks - yes through rocks - in hot humid weather. Sweat pouring out of our pores even when we were standing still. Then there were bugs, bugs and more bugs. And we even got some protein from the bugs. We ate so many bugs, we know how to eat them now. There are three stages of eating a bug: 1) taking a deep breath as you are hiking uphill and suddenly, whoosh, a bug is sucked in your mouth and you start gagging, 2) you spit profusely trying to get the little bugger out and then gargle with water trying to make sure it is gone, 3) for the next hour you swear that bug is still squirming around in your moth or worse, you swallowed it and it is trying to get out!!   We had to detour onto a road as the iron bridge is being repaired. We were a bit disappointed at first. But, we had wonderful trail magic from the Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock. As we were sitting enjoying our trail magic, a gentleman walked up and talked to us. He completed section hiking the AT in 1991. It took him 30 years to complete the trail. Hopefully, we will finish before 30 years! Further up the trail, we had another trail magic from a current thru-hiker, Red Panda. We are getting spoiled with all the trail magic. And to think, we were told there wouldn't be much trail magic in the north.   We decided to take a night in a house tonight. There is a wonderful lady in Salisbury, CT that rents rooms to thru-hikers. We decided if she had a room, we would stay with her. We called, she had a room. So, we stayed. She picked us up from the trail head, gave us ice cold sodas, allowed us to shower, took us to a local restaurant and had Epsom salts for us to soak our feet. Maria is a wonderful lady and we are really enjoying our stay here and our conversations with her. She is 86 years old and has been hosting thru hikers in her house for 17 years. At first we felt guilty not staying in our tent tonight. But, now that we are clean and fed, we aren't feeling too guilty.
Date: 2015-07-07
From: Salisbury

To: Great Barrington 
Miles today: 21.4

What a day!!!! Four climbs up four rocky mountains, rain, mosquitos and 21.4 miles to a hotel. What more can we say??? Well, we can say we are bitten, bruised and bushed.   We started off the day with a hardy three eggs each breakfast. Good thing too as we needed the protein. The day started hot and humid with a chance of rain. You know our luck with a chance of rain. It means it WILL rain. We have gone almost 2 days without rain. That is our record for continuous days without rain. So, you know how the days goes already.    We planned on hiking 17 miles and stealth camping just short of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. We had four climbs up four mountains, Lions Head, Bear Mountain, Mount Race and Mount Everett. We knew it was going to be a difficult day of hiking. The total climb of all the climbs was over 2800 feet. Of course it wasn't 2800 feet up at once, it was up over 1000 feet, down a few hundred feet, up over 500 feet, down over 800 feet, up 800 feet, down over 500 feet and up again. And, that was just the BIG climbs. Add a few other ups and downs and you have our hiking day.    But wait, you have to add in looking for those white blazes that are not very plentiful. Oh wait, add in a few hundred tons of rocks. Oh wait, add in some rain. Not some rain, lots of rain. And, shake a few hundred mosquitos on top of all that. Add in some slips on the wet leaves and rocks. Also, add in some walking through the mud and bogs. There, that was our hiking day!!   Now for the good stuff. We went over the 1500 mile mark. We finished Connecticut and are now in Massachusetts. A bit less than 669 miles to hike. Well, actually, we wouldn't call today hiking. The trail shouldn't be called a trail today. It was more, find the trail and try to crawl down the rocks the best you can. We made it down the rocks but it was BRUTAL. In fact, today was one of the hardest days of "hiking" we had done so far. If the rest of the trail is as hard as this - well, it is going to beat up our bodies. So, why did we go further than 17 miles?? Because there was a cool, dry, mosquitoless hotel room waiting for us. We couldn't even stop for our afternoon break because the mosquitos were so bad. The thought of setting up our tent made us itch from thinking about all the bites we would have. Even Deet bug lotion didn't work as we just sweated it off. We pushed hard and pushed fast. We hiked the last few miles faster than 3 miles an hour. We approached the road into Great Barrington. We stuck our thumbs out and prayed for a ride. Four vehicles passed us with the occupants not even looking at us. Guess we looked dirty and like hobos. A local bus approached and stopped. The driver gave us a ride to the hotel. Funny, this bus route was new and is a test route. We were so thankful for our trail angel. We were left off directly in front of the hotel. We checked in and cleaned up. A cool, dry room for us tonight.
Date: 2015-07-08
From: Great Barrington 

To: Great Barrington 
Miles today: 0.0

We slept late this morning. And, we must say, it felt good. We had a lazy zero day. The morning was filled with eating breakfast, chatting with fellow hikers staying at the hotel and other hotel guests, and watching mindless tv. Lavender did find that she has a blister on her left palm because she was holding her hiking pole so tight coming down the rocks yesterday. We resupplied in the afternoon. We passed a barbershop. Count though about having his beard shaved off as he is really tired of having a beard. He left that thought pass as he remembered how itchy it was growing in.   We returned to our room, packed our resupply items, and watched more mindless tv. That was our unexciting zero day. But, we were content with it.