morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-31
From: Hemlock Springs Campsite

To: Econolodge, Highlands Village, New York
Miles today: 2.2

After a night spent listening to train whistles, we awoke and hiked the two easy miles into Fort Montgomery. We had an easy, brief climb followed by an at times steep fall to the Hudson River. We crossed the river on the Bear Mountain Bridge, which is extremely high above the water (and made for a nice view). It was neat watching boats, and even a few small ships, navigate the river. We tried accessing the trail side park and museum, but were told we were too early. We didn't feel like waiting, so we went for breakfast about a mile away at a bagel shop. After that, we had a long, dangerous walk along US 9 -- a major highway with a minor shoulder. It could have been the end of us. A guy with a truck finally had mercy on us (he pulled over on his own without us thumbing. It is illegal to hitchhike in New York.). He drove us to the grocery store. Here in town, we restocked, went to the laundromat, and then walked all the way to the McDonald's beside West Point Academy for lunch. After checking-in to the motel and showering, we walked all the way back to a restaurant beside West Point for dinner. We sure did a lot of walking for our day off from walking. The restaurant was fair at best and, to add insult to injury, didn't even take credit / debit cards. Granted, they did not have the credit logos displayed, but they could have / should have made it clearer, especially in this day and age, that cards are not accepted. Fortunately, Halfway had enough cash to cover me and I paid him back in town. I love being clean, I love soft beds, and I love being free of bugs! As always, it will be hard getting back to the grind tomorrow. The Weather Channel is also predicting that we will get the remnants of Hurricane Isaac late on Labor Day and into Tuesday.
Date: 2012-09-01
From: Econolodge, Highlands Village, New York

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today started off the perfect way for Appalachian Trail hiking -- in a warm, soft bed. Even though I didn't exactly sleep like a log, I could tell my rest was much better than an average night on the trail. Halfway and I had breakfast at the motel then sat around our room watching political commentary concerning the recent Republican convention in Tampa (the same convention center where I took the Florida Bar Exam). Apparently Clint Eastwood created a big controversy with his surprise appearance. We could have gotten rolling, but we wanted to wait until 10 AM when the trail side museum and zoo featuring the lowest spot on the AT (at the very sad black bear exhibit) opened. We took a taxi back to where we had left off and happened to see Nail trying to hitch into town.The blazing through the park was hard to follow, and we kept getting different directions from the workers. The park itself, however, was very nice and, even in the morning, was already being enjoyed by a lot of visitors. It is Labor Day Weekend, after all. As we were trying to figure out the blazing, we ran into Silver Surfer. We saw him again on top of Bear Mountain. We told him that we were headed here, so hopefully he is coming. Bear Mountain was a neat summit with another cool tower, but the views were limited by haze. We could not see the skyline of New York City as expected. We also had nice views from Western Mountain, Black Mountain, and here on Fingerboard Mountain, so at least the scenery in New York is improving. Water remains a major concern. Halfway and I were wise in that we went down the hill at the last road crossing to a park to refill our water. Tonight, the entire area is filled with weekend backpackers. About dusk, Pawn, who I had met at Upper Goose Pond and who had hiked with Halfway before, showed up, and we had a nice time chatting. He told us that Cold Beer is also just ahead (he must have passed us when Halfway and I nearoed in West Point). The couple of weekend hikers sharing the shelter with us shared their evening snack of bacon -- they know how to win friends and influence people (at least hiker people). The shelter here is in a beautiful spot in a semi-open meadow, but the shelter itself is old and has no privy. It makes me wish for even the "show me what you got" privy at Belters Campsite (the "privy" there was just a toilet seat above a hole in the open woods).
Date: 2012-09-02
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: Wawayanda Shelter
Miles today: 26.4
Weather: light rain

Today was a marathon -- and I mean that literally in terms of mileage (26.4). That's a new record for me, at least on this trip. I am, understandably, pretty well exhausted. Toward the end, I was thinking that I would just have to stop on the spot if I had to climb even a slight hill. I should also mention today's big highlight -- we crossed another state border (New York into New Jersey). I was happy to see the Empire State fading into the distance, though I must say the scenery was much better in the last bit of the state.Today's hike featured a lot of ups and downs -- I know, a broken record for this area. We passed through the Lemon Squeezer, which lived up to its name. We also crossed over "Agony Grind," which did not live up to its name and does not compare to the agony that awaits NOBOs in New England. I have thus renamed the section "Annoying Grind." The ups, downs, and road crossings continued all day. There were especially good views at Cat Rock, the Pinnacles, and the ridges above Lake Greenwood. New Jersey has been pleasant enough so far. The water shortage continues (it has been so dry that Fitzgerald Falls just over the state line was merely Fitzgerald Cliff today), though a great trail angel couple left water jugs at two road crossings. Tonight, I am at the shelter with Halfway, Cold Beer (who came in just after us which was a surprise since we thought he was still ahead), and a female section hiker and Outward Bound employee. We are talking about a 24-miler tomorrow, which would mean 50+ miles in two days. The insanity has started!
Date: 2012-09-03
From: Wawayanda Shelter

To: Murray Farm
Miles today: 18.5

The shelter-dwellers got stirring early this morning around 6:15 AM, though it still took us an hour to get on the trail. The hike today had quite a bit of road walking and road crossings. We had a few small mountains, but nothing too special. At one of the early road crossings, we went just off trail to Heaven Hill Farm, a local dairy farm, to try their milk and ice cream. It's never too early in the day for ice cream. After that, we crossed an impressive boardwalk and passed through the Wakill Preserve. We went into Unionville (actually in New York) for a partial resupply, but the store there was closed on account of it being Labor Day. We didn't walk out of town empty-handed, though -- the pizzeria was open, so we each had a couple of slices. We were intending to press on to High Point Shelter, but Halfway decided to refill his water at a sign offering well water (never a bad idea in this region to water-up wherever possible). As it happens, the sign was a bit underselling as the well was located on the Murray Farm, which the owner has opened for hikers including a refurbished, enclosed shelter with electricity. We have spent the evening enjoying some downtime (appropriate since it is Labor Day), we took partial showers (the normally hot water is not turned on since Mr. Murray is not on the property tonight), and ended the evening by playing Spades. All-in-all a great evening despite foregoing our mileage goal.The Murray Farm, owned by Jim Murray, is 85 acres with restored outbuildings kept in historic-looking motif. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. It has been a nice night, but we are expecting heavy rain over the next couple of days (remnants of Hurricane Isaac).
Date: 2012-09-05
From: Brink Road Shelter

To: Mohican Outdoors AMC Center
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: moderate rain

I am writing tonight by candlelight, not because it is romantic, but because, very ironically based on my observations last night, my headlamp stopped working. The lens has a healthy sheen of water vapor on it, so it's water resistance was seemingly overwhelmed. The only possibility, and my hope, is that the battery simply needs to be changed as I did run the light a long time yesterday, though that is probably wishful thinking.I slept decently last night despite the rain, although it was too warm and humid from the tropics-enriched storm to truly get comfortable. The Princeton group ensured that I was awake by 6:30 AM as they kept coming one-by-one into the shelter to retrieve things they had left in their packs (they stored their packs in the shelter to keep them dry). The rain was heavy this morning, so I took my time getting ready. Just as I was about to leave at about 9 AM, Cold Beer came strolling into the shelter. He stayed there to dry off. He and Halfway had quite a long night themselves sleeping on a porch at the state park.The hike today was more akin to creek-walking. There were puddles and streams on what would normally be dry ground. Fortunately, the rain was over. The trail was rather pleasant today in terms of scenery. It followed ridgelines and had substantial views. The park police were investigating at Catfish Lookout Tower when I walked past as someone had abandoned a lot of camping gear there. I arrived here just before 3 PM. I could have easily pressed on closer to Delaware Water Gap, if not made it there, but opted instead to stay with our small group (Halfway and Cold Beer). The Money Club has built a nice facility here with a lodge, small store, cabins, and tenting. We felt a bit ripped-off because we paid $9 to camp here mainly to get hot showers only to find out that a shower is $5 more. Had we known that, we would have just camped in the woods on our own. It is a nice area, though, and the manager is a nice guy.Tomorrow we hit Delaware Water Gap, which also means crossing into Pennsylvania!
Date: 2012-09-06
From: Mohican Outdoors AMC Center

To: Presbyterian Church of the Mountain
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania --Cold Beer, Halfway, and I had a short hike today -- about 10.5 miles from the Mohican Outdoors Center. Our final day in New Jersey was again pleasant. Kittitiny Ridge and Sunfish Pond were both very scenic areas. We saw several great campsites along the ridge, which again stirred a bit of resentment that we had paid the Money Club to camp. Crossing into Pennsylvania, our eighth state, was exciting, though also very noisy as the border is on the Interstate 80 bridge over the Delaware River. Delaware Water Gap, the town that is, is right on the western bank of the river. Our first stop was for ice cream at Zoe's Ice Cream Emporium. I was embarrassed by the fact that I only had $2 in cash, and Zoe does not take credit or debit. She was extremely nice, though, and stretched my hiking dollars into a couple of small scoops. We then checked-in here where we were welcomed. Unfortunately, we were met with disastrous news. We had considered ourselves very lucky (and good planners) to have arrived at the Church of the Mountain on a Thursday, the night the church does a "hot dog dinner," which is actually a potluck dinner courtesy of the church members. The news -- the potluck dinner is only done during the summer, and the last meal of the season had been last week! For a hiker, that's the equivalent of telling a child that Santa isn't real and that his pet rabbit died on the same day. Our original plan had been to take a zero, which would have been my first zero of the entire trip, here tomorrow, but, with the potluck a no-go, we ended up taking a taxi to the next town (Stroudsburg) and taking care of all of our town chores. I think we are favoring hitting the trail again tomorrow as a result, especially since this town is a bit limited in its offerings, anyhow. In a bit of good news, my headlamp seemed to dry-out and is now restored to complete working order. We also went in together and replaced all of our Ziplock bags -- is that really noteworthy?
Date: 2012-09-07
From: Presbyterian Church of the Mountain

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: clear sky

I slept poorly in the church hostel last night -- too hot, smelly, and cramped and too much snoring. I finally drifted off the sleep early in the morning. Halfway, Cold Beer, and I headed to the local diner for breakfast. The meal was extraordinary, in quality, quantity, and value. After returning to the church hostel, I set out alone for a long day on what was ironically supposed to be my first zero day of the trip. Halfway and Cold Beer said that they would probably eventually make it out of town today, too, but would only make it to the first shelter.The hike started with a moderately steep and rocky climb out of town. There were some nice views looking almost directly down on the Delaware Water Gap. I stopped for water at a spigot at a private retreat center behind Kirkridge Shelter (the official water source for the shelter). From there, it was a long, frankly somewhat boring ridge walk with a few rocks thrown in for good measure. A lot of hikers have been raving about the Beer Stein in Wind Gap because the owner, in addition to just being hiker friendly in general, allows hikers to raid his bar's fridge for breakfast. Having just come out of town, though, I passed. After another mostly easy climb beyond Pennsylvania Rte. 33, it was another long, rocky ridge walk to here.I arrived at the shelter at about 5:00 PM. This shelter is in an odd location since it is separated from the AT by a power line clearing. It is also one heck of a walk to the spring -- the only spring that is running is the one 0.6 miles downhill from here. It seems like water is going to be a big issue here in Pennsylvania like it was in New York and New Jersey. I am here tonight with two section hikers. We've been chatting for much of the evening.
Date: 2012-09-08
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: light rain

I awakened today to fog and drizzle. It wasn't ideal hiking weather, but not nearly bad enough to make me consider zeroing. In fact, the rain held off most of the day. The hike was lackluster until I reached the Superfund site near Palmerton. Ironically, the ridge, which was cleared by slag mining, had great views of the sprawling, industrial town. It was actually quite spectacular on the exposed rocks just north of the Lehigh River Valley. Coming out of the valley, the hike was just more of the same ridge hiking. There probably were some decent views that I missed because the fog started building back in throughout the afternoon. At the crest of the ridge (notably where a tunnel crosses under the mountain), a heavy thunderstorm broke. I walked in the rain the rest of the way here. This shelter isn't all that nice as it's an older shelter. I was also disappointed to find no warm pastries awaiting my arrival. But, so far it is staying dry, which is better than some shelters out there. The rain seems to be drawing to a close. I am here tonight with a beginner hiker who, along with some friends he thinks are in Palmerton tonight, are planning to be on the trail a long time. I've been trying to give him some pointers, but it's hard to do that without being a through-hiker lecturer. I have a few options tomorrow, and since I am hiking alone, I can just do whatever I feel like doing when the time comes.
Date: 2012-09-09
From: Bake Oven Knob Shelter

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 26.5
Weather: broken clouds

Today proved to be my largest mileage day to date -- 26.5 miles. I got started about my normal time, which is a few minutes before 8:00 AM. The day's hike started out with a climb up the rest of Bake Oven Knob -- no pastries there, either, only hawk-watchers. There were good views for hawk-watching, and I suppose other forms of watching, at the rocky summit. I again had decent views from Bear Rocks and the Knife's Edge (not quite on par with THE Knife's Edge in Maine). The Pennsylvania rocks aren't nearly as bad (knock on wood) as people make them out to be, and, at times, even make for easy travel like stepping stones across a stream. So far, I think only a klutz would find the rocks terrible (though I might buy irritating). It just goes to show the power of hype -- the proverbial mountain made of a molehill. I made it to Eckeville Shelter, which is a shed behind a house that was given to the local trail club, at about 3:30 PM. I was tempted to call it an early day. Instead, I pressed on, and am glad I did since I was able to make exceptional time over the 9.1 additional miles (2 hours and 35 minutes). A good portion of the hike was on fire roads. There were a couple of nice views. I especially liked Pulpit Rock.The only other camper here tonight is a section hiker who is tenting out. Tomorrow is a town day -- look out WalMart!
Date: 2012-09-10
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

As I am writing this, I am feeling disappointed with my daily mileage. Even with a town stop, 14.7 miles is pretty low, at least for this section of trail. I would have, and perhaps should have, pressed on upon arriving here, but there were no campsites with water listed for ten miles and no shelters for fifteen miles. Today was, however, a good town day.I got going about my normal time. I completed the six or so miles to Pennsylvania Rte. 61 well before 10:00 AM. I had to walk to the shops at Hamburg, i.e. no hitch, but it was a quick mile. I got my shopping done at WalMart then headed across the shopping complex to Pizza Hut for their lunch buffet. I had intended to go to Cracker Barrel, but called an audible. I added new meaning to the phrase "to gorge oneself." And, if I didn't eat enough at Pizza Hut to cause an effrontery to nature itself, I decided that I needed to redeem my Oreo Sundae coupon I had won way back at the Rutland Burger King. I didn't even make it to Port Clinton before having to make a run for the woods (I apologize to the good people of Pennsylvania). Even after that, I still felt like a bloated cow walking around. I walked through Port Clinton, a true trail town as the trail goes right down their streets. The biggest challenge was avoiding tumbleweed as I walked. Yeah, that town has seen better days (I hope). I guess Hamburg has taken all of the economic vitality in that area.The climb out of Port Clinton was hard. Not only was it perhaps the steepest hill in Pennsylvania to date, but all I could think was, "Why did I eat so much pizza?" The pack must have also sneaked some pizza because somehow it seemed to have gained a ton, too. Once on the ridge, though, it was back to good old lackluster PA. I arrived here at 4:25 PM. I hate arriving at any shelter in the 4 o'clock hour. I probably had enough time to go on, but just barely, and it was too easy to justify staying. Maybe I'll go crazy tomorrow to make up for it. I am excited that I should hit the 1,000 mile mark tomorrow!
Date: 2012-09-11
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Non-designated campsite near Pennsylvania Rte. 72
Miles today: 27.9

Today was another red letter day on my hike as I hit the 1,000-mile mark and had my longest mileage day to date. Yet, as I celebrate a couple of milestones, I must also remember that it is a day of mourning and remembrance. It was cold this morning, but I got off to a good start at about 7:20 AM. The walk was again mostly flat and along ridges. I had a snack at 11:00 AM then took an hour-long lunch at the 501 Shelter. That shelter, like RPH and Eckeville, is located in a residential section. The shelter itself used to be the art studio of the owner and is, not surprisingly based on its past use, a bright, open space. I met a flip / tour hiker there named Wolverine (University of Michigan graduate), and we had a nice talk about the trail. Soon after the 501 Shelter, I passed Keystone, a SOBO fittingly from Pennsylvania. At the William Penn Shelter trail, someone had left rocks in the shape of 1,000 as a rough approximation of the 1,000-mile mark (AWOL places the actual spot 0.7 miles north). I could have stayed at William Penn and been perfectly happy with 19+ miles, but decided to make-up for my short day yesterday by proceeding. The ridge got a bit more challenging as it began to roll before diving down to the valley. I passed under Interstate 81 then came here to camp at the second Pennsylvania Rte. 72 crossing. The trail makes a rather silly loop up a hill then right back down to Rte. 72, though I am sure there is probably a good reason for that such as land rights. Tonight, I am camped rather close to both Rte. 72 and I-81, so I can hear traffic from both. Surprisingly, most of the noise is just constant white noise. I am making great time toward Duncannon.
Date: 2012-09-12
From: Non-designated campsite near Pennsylvania Rte. 72

To: Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: clear sky

Today provided a couple of more "firsts" for my trip. I saw my first bear today between Rausch Gap and Cold Spring, though I later in the day quickly brought that total up to four when I saw a mother bear and her two cubs near here. The hunters must really have them on the run. Tonight is another first as it is the first time I have had a shelter to myself, and a big shelter at that. [Ed. note: that first did not hold as I ended up being joined by section hikers, one with a dog, at about 10:30 PM.] It's nice to have the space, but I am certain I wouldn't like being solitary every night. Another first just came to mind -- I saw no other through-hikers today and only NOBO section hikers. I guess the down-time has started.Today was another perfect day weather-wise, although it seemed warmer (almost hot) this afternoon than yesterday afternoon. Perhaps the cold spell is over. The hike itself was, again, pretty lackluster other than the bear sightings. The pattern seems to be: short, steady climb; long, nearly flat ridge walk; an easy drop into a gap; then repeat. Water is a bit of an issue, not so much with the springs going dry as just not having very many water sources to begin with. Here, for instance, there is a spring, but it is way down and straight down the mountain. I am excited to reach Duncannon tomorrow. Not only is it a town day, but also when I get my new used cell phone and can reconnect with friends and family, at least partially.