morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-31
From: Crampton Gap Shelter

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 17: We awoke to a clear sky and 60 degrees. Since this is a weekend and this shelter is not far from a road, there were quite a few people in the shelter and tenting area. However, I don't think any were thru-hikers. We hit the trail at 7:10am.Since leaving SNP the trail has progressively become more rocky. There are some stretches that have few or no rocks so we can stride out, but the are becoming fewer. With a rocky trail you are forced to slow down and look where you are placing each foot. A misstep and you either trip or you twist your ankle.Unfortunately, the word on the trail is that it will only get rockier when we get into Pennsylvania. I guess this is our chance to perfect our rocky trail hiking technique.The highlight of the day was the Washington Monument in the attached picture. What? That's not the Washington Monument you are used to seeing? It turns out the citizens of Boonsboro, MD erected this tower in 1827 to honor the father of our country, George Washington, and called it the Washington Monument. I guess the folks in Washington DC stole the name for their, now more famous, one.When we visited it, we found out the Boonsboro Washington Monument was also used as a signal tower by Union forces in the Civil War. They had large multi-colored flags that they used to signal with.On one of our rest stops we heard someone walking up the trail and singing. Who should walk around the corner but Rogue, soon followed by Trillium. The last time we had seen them was in SNP at the Loft Mountain Wayside. We had shared a table at lunch and savored the blackberry ice cream together. They had gotten off the trail and done an "aqua blaze" on the Shenandoah River. They were now doing some slack-packing southbound. As I have said before, there are a lot of ways to hike the AT.We arrived at our destination shelter at 3pm. There was a guy there who we had met at the previous shelter, trailname Digger. He lives in Pennsylvania and is out doing a 40 mile section hike, starting at Harper's Ferry. There is also a lady from Maryland who was at the last shelter, trailname Morning Glory. She is doing the same hike as Digger. Both seem to be hiking the same speed and distance as we are, so we may see them at future shelters.One of the "features" of the shelters is a shelter "log". It's a place where hikers list their name, date they visited the shelter and any other comment they want to share. In tonight's shelter log, it shows that Grasshopper and Runaway stopped here for lunch and their comment was "Missing ET & Spider"...Awww!!!
Date: 2014-06-01
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Raven's Rock Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

Day 18: The day started much like yesterday, clear skies and 55 degrees. We said farewell to some of the people we had camped with the last 2 nights, since they are only going to the next shelter and we going on to the shelter after that one. We hit the trail 7am.Our normal routine is to pack up and hit the trail. Then 1-1.5 hours later we stop for breakfast. Sometimes it's just next to the trail, other times, like today, it's with a view. Today we had breakfast at Black Rock Cliffs. They overlook the Maryland countryside to the west. A local who was there when we got to the cliffs, said the city we saw in the distance was Hagarstown, MD, the third largest city in Maryland.Today's trail was just as rocky as yesterday's, but it had more ups and downs. Even with that, we made it to our destination shelter by 2:55pm. It'is a fairly new shelter, relative to the last couple we have stayed near. The disadvantage is that Spider had to hike 0.5 miles, downhill, to get water and then haul the 1.5 gallons uphill, back to the campsite. Many of the other shelters have had their water source right next to the shelter.ET had the tent set up by Spider's return. Our tent, as seen in the attached picture, is our home away from home (unless it's pouring rain, then we usually stay in the shelter). Our tent has an inner tent that is primarily made of mesh and an outer cover that is a solid, rainproof material, called a rainfly.The rainfly has wings that extend ~3 feet from the tent called vestibules. In this space we put things that we want to keep near and dry, like sandals and boots, but are too dirty to bring into the "clean" area of the tent. On rainy days, the vestibules are the wet area and the tent is the dry area. That's the way we keep things fairly clean and dry for a week on the trail.Inside the tent there are several mesh pockets to store small stuff out of the way, like cameras, books, maps, headlamps, etc. Air mattresses and sleeping bags cover the floor of the tent, with extra clothing used for padding and pillows.So that is home for most nights. It takes us about 30 minutes to set up and "move in". We each have a specific spot for each of our gear. That way it is easy to reverse the process when we pack up in the morning.Animal sighting; two black snakes next to the shelter. Bet that keeps the shelter mouse population under control!
Date: 2014-06-02
From: Raven's Rock Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: few clouds

Day 19: We awoke to clear skies and 55 degrees..I must say the weather is sure more agreeable for hiking than last year's...so far!! We hit the trail at 7am.Within an hour of hiking we came to a place called High Rock. It consisted of a rock with steps up to it, on one side and a sheer drop off of several hundred feet, on the other side. It is a jump off point for hang gliders.What we didn't know was that we would be negotiating those several hundred feet in the trail ahead via a "rock fall". A rock fall is like a water fall except it's made up of rocks. This one was nearly vertical in some places with a lot of weaving and hopping from one rock to the rock below. Needless to say we weren't very speedy through that section.The first milestone of the day was the Mason-Dixon Line and hiking into Pennsylvania. This occurred in a little town called Pen Mar. We're now in our 4th state for this hike, and 7th state overall.The next milestone was the 200 mile mark for our hike this year Only 300 to go.We saw more mosquitoes today than we have any other day so far on this hike. Hope that's not a harbinger of things to come. Unfortunately as the day warmed more than previous days, the black flies also reappeared. These little guys like to fly around your head and dive into your eyes, ears, nose or mouth. It's hard to swat them away when both hands are occupied with trekking poles!!Had a nice dinner sitting around a campfire with 5 thru-hikers. We swapped trail stories and hypothesized on what was ahead. Only time will tell.
Date: 2014-06-03
From: Tumbling Run Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

Day 20: We awoke to a partly cloudy sky and 65 degrees...the forecast for today was a 50% chance of thundershowers. Last time with forecast, we got "dumped" on. We packed up and hit the trail at 7:20am.The trail immediately started straight up the mountain via a series of steps. Not the best way to start the day, but at least it was still reasonably cool.We are trying to extend our time between breaks to build our stamina. We started out the first week with breaks every hour. The second week, because of our need to hike longer miles, we upped the breaks to every 1.5 hours. This week we are still doing 1.5 hours between breaks, but we have thrown in some 2 hours stretches to test ourselves. Next week 2 hours between breaks will be the norm, to make some of the miles planned.Today we decided to throw in a 2-hour hiking stint because we had a very important goal...pizza for lunch...and it was 9.6 miles away. So off we headed with carb overload expectations dancing in our heads. There is a saying on the AT that "you are only a half-a-day away from pizza delivery" because of all the roads we cross. We weren't waiting for delivery, we were walking to it.After the steep climb from the shelter the trail leveled out, but soon turned into the trail you see in the attached picture. Now you know what I mean when I have talked about rocky trails in previous postings. Fortunately, the rocky trail ended when we dropped off the ridge and headed to highway US 30.0.3 miles down the highway was an Italian restaurant. We made it there by 1pm. One hour later we waddled back up the highway, full of pizza and Stromboli, with the nooks and crannies filled with chocolate ice cream.Unfortunately, we still had 2.5 miles left to our destination shelter, most of it uphill. Ugh!! We finally made it to the shelter at 3:35pm.As we relaxed, thru-hikers started pouring in, beginning around 6:30pm and continued to 8pm. Most had done 20+ miles. We feel like such "slugs"!! So we ate our left over pizza and went to bed.
Date: 2014-06-04
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 21: Just as it was approaching hiker's midnight (9pm!) last night, we heard the first rumble. Soon the the lightning and thunder got closer. We were snug in our tent, but lightning flashes light up the whole tent. After the light show moved on, we could hear a distant roar that got closer with each minute, until it hit..rain!! It rained heavily for about 20 minutes then intermittently. We fell asleep to the patter of rain. We awoke this morning to blue skies and 65 degrees. Amazing weather around here!The forecast is for rain, not thundershowers, to come in tonight and last through part of tomorrow. Given that we decided to push ourselves into the longest mileage for a day so far, and get to a hiker hostel. So we hit the trail at 6am to get a jump on the day.The day started out with a tough climb. Not sure why it has worked out that way the last several days, but it has. Fortunately, after the climb, the trail was fairly level and not rocky, so we made good time, on a day we needed to.The highlight of the day was passing the half-way point on the AT, as you can see from attached photo. So what is half of 2181? It's 1090.5 miles, the half-way point of the AT.Interestingly we had passed a temporary sign about a mile earlier that said that its location was the new mid-point of the AT for 2014. The trail is constantly being changed to make it safer or more permanent, so the mid-point keeps changing. I don't know if they move the "totem pole" every year or not.We finally arrived at the Hostel at 3:50pm. We were pooped! The hostel didn't open until 5pm, but right next door was the Pine Grove Store and the "Half-gallon Challenge". All who have reached the half-way point of the AT are challenged to eat a half-gallon of ice cream.4 thru-hikers from the shelter 2 nights ago and 2 thru-hikers from last night's shelter were sitting outside, many trying the challenge. It was like a reunion! Everyone was waiting for the Hostel to open.The Hostel is a former mansion of an iron magnate. It was built in the late 1820's. It's divided into a men's and women's dormitory with common rooms like living room, sitting room and balconies. A neat place!So we we checked in at 5:00 and are now showered, laundry is done and we are full of pizza and ice cream. Best of all, we are under a roof! Tomorrow we have a ~11 mile day and into town for a day off...Wahoo!!
Date: 2014-06-05
From: Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel

To: Holly Inn, Mt. Holly Springs, PA
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Day 22: The rain started at around 9pm...thankfully, we were snug in our hostel beds. According to the hostel "hostess", it poured rain until about 3am. We awoke to a cloudy sky and 55 degrees...but no rain.Breakfast was coffee, OJ, cereal and toaster waffles...a little better than oatmeal and Tang!! We said our goodbyes to everyone and headed out at 8am.The first mile was a walk through the Pine Grove Furnace State Park. It is a beautiful park with gazebos, lakes and trails. Then the climb began...and we climbed into the clouds. Fortunately, as forecasted, the sun started to break through at 10am.It was a relatively easy hike to PA 94. We arrived at 2pm and called the Mt. Holly Springs inn, where Spider had made reservations, yesterday.. (hey offer free pick up at the AT. 15 minutes later we were picked up and delivered to the Holly Inn.When we arrived in our room, a box from Cascade Designs was sitting there with the replacement for Spider's broken trekking pole. Wahoo!While Spider took a shower (a record...2 showers in 2 days!!), ET walked the block and a half to the Post Office (yes, this is a small town!) to retrieve our resupply box. Thanks to our neighbor Ginny for sending the box!!After moving into our room, we needed a snack so we went to the tavern associated with the Inn and had a drink and a snack. It appears to be the "watering hole" for many of the locals, since there was a constant stream of people in and out.We had been communicating with our son, JT, after he figured out that his job would take him to York, PA this week,a town about 30 miles from here. From the attached picture you can see that we made it happen. What are the odds that 3 people from opposite ends of California would meet in south-central Pennsylvania?We all 3 went to dinner at the restaurant also associated with the Inn and caught up on what has been going on for the last 3 weeks. We had the Inn put a roll away bed in our room so JT could spend the night. He flies back to San Diego, CA tomorrow.
Date: 2014-06-06
From: Holly Inn, Mt. Holly Springs, PA

To: Holly Inn, Mt. Holly Springs, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Day 23: I thought I would start out with a picture of our "home" away from home for today. The original portion of the building has been a tavern and rooming house since the early 1800's. We talked to the owner and she said she has seen old flyers for the place advertising "72 rooms with 3 baths"...glad they found a way to add a few more baths before we got here!!We started the day right, by sleeping in until 7am. JT was still sleeping, so we waited until 7:40am to slip out for the continental breakfast offered by the Inn. When we returned 45 minutes later, JT was showered and already working online. He had several phone calls and other things to do for work, so the 2 of us worked on our zero-day chores; unpacking our supply box, repairing gear and cleaning things up. We also resprayed our hiking clothes with Permethrin. It's an insecticide that is supposed to be harmless to humans but hateful to ticks. We had sprayed our clothes with it before leaving California, but after 3 washings, it was time to repeat. We believe this treatment is why we haven't had much of a tick problem, while others have.At lunchtime we said goodbye to JT as we headed to lunch and he headed to the airport. It was great to see him and get caught up. We walked about 0.5 miles to a family restaurant, then went to Dollar General for a few needed items.We spent the afternoon relaxing and Spider got his golf "fix". Dinner was at a sports bar and grill, 1/2 block away.Our zero-day physical assessment has us in pretty good shape. Spider is nursing a blister on the little toe of his left foot and we both have some bug bites that are itching, but other than those we are in good shape. We are feeling stronger and have been routinely hiking 2 hours at a stretch. This will be important as we ramp up the weekly miles over the next few weeks.
Date: 2014-06-07
From: Holly Inn, Mt. Holly Springs, PA

To: Gelinas B&B, Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 8.8

Day 24: We really are hiking the AT. It just happens that we have spent the last 4 night in hostels, hotels and B&Bs!We awoke at 6:30am and packed up. We went for the continental breakfast at 7:15 and were then driven back to the AT. We hit the trail at 8:10am. The trail started out deceivingly flat. Spider really got a chance to try out his new poles.Soon we were climbing into the rocks. This just wasn't a rocky trail. It was a rock scramble. In some places we actually had to use both hands and feet to make it up and over a couple rock formations...At aces like this, ET mumbles, "Not an equestrian trail."The last hill we climbed was Center Poiint Knob. There is a brass plaque at the top of the knob, because this was thought to be at or near the middle of the AT when it was first laid out. Obviously, changes in the trail and more accurate measuring have moved the mid-point south.A mile after Center Point Knob, we exited the forest into the Cumberland Valley. It takes about 20 miles for the AT to cross this valley full of farms and towns. So off we headed across a barley field and then an alfalfa field, following a line of posts with the ATs white "blaze".Within 2 miles, we entered the town of Boiling Springs, PA. It turned out that this day was their annual Foundry Day celebration. It's to celebrate the iron foundry that opened around 1800 and that was the impetus for forming the town. It is celebrated with a craft faire. As you can see from the attached picture, lots of people attend (an estimated 30,000 this year). So we walked through the crowds, as we headed first to the outfitter in town. We stood out a bit in our backpacks vs all the other people in their short and tanktops, eating ice cream.Spider had contacted the outfitter a couple of months ago to see if he had fuel canisters that fit our stove..he said he did. But on arriving today, he was out.. We'll hope that we can get one at the next town.Next we walked, through the crowds, to the B&B where we had reservations. We checked in, chucked our packs and walked to the faire's food court to get lunch. We brought our lunch back to the B&B to eat it in their beautiful garden, away from the heat and all the people..We spent the afternoon relaxing and reading. Dinner was at a tavern down the street. As we ate, we watched California Chrome lose its chance for a Triple Crown. Darn!Major milestone: We passed the halfway mark on this hike, 250 milesAnimal sightings: a frog and 2 chipmunks
Date: 2014-06-08
From: Gelinas B&B, Boiling Springs, PA

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 25: There are good things and bad things about staying in a B&B. Of course the bed, the shower and the breakfast are the good things. The bad thing is the B&B's timing for breakfast, usually at a "civilized" hour,which is late for hikers like us. But breakfast was already paid for so we stuck around for it. Thus we woke up at the Gelinas B&B at 6am but had to wait until 8:30am for breakfast. We packed our packs and then sat around talking to the other guests of the B&B.At 8:30am we were served a delicious breakfast of fruit, juice, coffee, Italian-style egg souffle and cheesecake. Great way to start off on the trail. We finally hit the trail at 9:35am and it was already 75 degrees.As we left Boiling Springs, we expected a trail similar to what we had hiked in on: an open, fully exposed trail across farm fields. Instead we were pleased to find that the trail dipped into the trees and stayed there. The fields were outlined with strips of wooded areas usually 100 feet wide called hedgerows. The AT stayed most of time in these hedgerows. So we were shaded from the direct sun most the time. But as you can see from the attached picture, we weren't always in the trees. The mountains in the distance is our destination for the dayThe forecast was for rain to start in the late afternoonan and with our late start, we knew we needed to make some miles. Fortunately, the 10 miles across the Cumberland Valley was pretty flat. We decided to hike 2 hours between breaks. By the time we took our second break, we had crossed the valley. The remaining 4 miles included an 800-foot climb. It was already 2:45pm and the sky was completely overcast. We hustled up the hill, as much as we "hustle" going uphill, and made it to the shelter by 4:35pm. The rain started at 5:15pm...Whew!!Rather than hike with a wet tent tomorrow, we are sleeping in the shelter tonight. There are a total of 7 of us here tonight; 4 are thru-hikers.Animal sighting: a deer only 20 feet away
Date: 2014-06-09
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

Day 26: It rained on and off all night. Amazingly, thru-hikers continued to arrive, as late as 11pm.. Rain doesn't seem to affect them. We, on the other hand, were very happy to be snug in the shelter, while the rain came down.We awoke to a foggy, muggy morning with temperatures in the mid-60's. We hit the trail at 7:05am. With all the rain, the rocks on the trail were especially slippery, so we took it slowly.When we had climbed out of the Cumberland Valley yesterday, we thought we were done with our hikes through fields, but after dropping off the mountain that Darlington Shelter was on, we found ourselves walking through fields again.After 2 hours of hiking, we finally left the fields and climbed to a rocky ridge. This now was the kind of trail that frustrates us. The rocks on the trail were about the size of footballs or smaller and were spaced close enough apart that there was no clear space to place our feet on solid ground. So we were often forced to step on the rocks. The problem was that about half the rocks were loose, so they shifted as we stepped on them. This makes for slow going as you must test each step, or risk a fall or twisted ankle.After 6+ miles of rocky trail, we dropped off the mountain to the town of Duncannon, PA on the Susquehanna River. The Susquehanna River is one of the main rivers that feeds the Chesapeake Bay.The attached picture is of the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon. It is famous among hikers for its good food and cheap rooms. We had planned on staying at a campground on the other end of town, but after hearing so much about the Doyle, we decided to stay there. Our room was on the third floor with the corner "turret" as seen in the picture.The hotel has an interesting history. The original was built in 1770 as a place to stay as travelers moved up and down the Susquehanna River. The original, all wood building burned down and was replaced with the current brick building, in 1905. The owner at that time was the Anheuser-Busch Company. The building has sweeping wooden staircases, high ceilings and lots of crafted wooden molding. Unfortunately, the place is long past its heyday and now the floors sag, the carpet is threadbare and not all the fixtures work. It's a great place for hikers to crash!We arrived at the Doyle Hotel at 2:05pm. After checking in, we took showers, then relaxed until 5:30pm. Then we went to the hotel's tavern for a little "liquid refreshment" and our dinner. We both had spaghetti and it was great. The cook/owner prides himself on his homemade sauce.As we ate, several of the hikers we had met at Darlington Shelter showed up, so it was like "old home week". By 7pm we were stuffed and ready to get horizontal. It will be a big mileage day tomorrow, so it's nice to sleep in a bed before the big day.