morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-06-19
From: birch run shelter

To: campsite
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Left camp at 7. 6.4 miles into the hike we hit the half way point of the AT. We took pics and from there we headed to pine grove furnace state park. That is where the half gallon ice cream challenge is. We had sandwiches and shared ice cream. We then looked around the museum and set our tent up to dry in the warm sunshine. We hiked another mile to the swimming hole where they sell concessions and had a pretzel and sodas. We then hiked to James fry shelter and took a break with spirit. She decided to stay but we headed on. We got to our campsite. There we met 2 section hikers. They asked if we could boil them some water. Our stove messed up so we have been cooking by open fire. As I got the fire built to boil our water one of the guys was trying to help. He spilt the water and put the fire out. Thanks for the help..lol. We got the fire going again and got our water boiled for our dinners. We had a nice time talking to the section hikers. They gave us mountain house desserts of s'more and ice cream. Yummy!!! We then headed for our tent for the night.
Date: 2012-06-20
From: campsite

To: boiling springs, pa
Miles today: 8.1

Up at 5 and left at 5:30 in pursuit of all you can eat buffet at the allenberry resort inn and playhouse. They give hikers a real great discount. We had a huge breakfast. As we were getting our food we saw that easy and gravity decided to follow us out of camp and in for the buffet. After leaving camp we had to hike through 2 rock mazes. Ratman was fussing about them and I was laughing. I thought they were fun. After breakfast we had showers and went swimming. We then walked to town to get our new boots. Yeah!! Tonight we are going to dinner at the tavern with easy and gravity.
Date: 2012-06-22
From: boiling springs, pa

To: darlington shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: scattered clouds

After a great buffet breakfast we headed out to a light drizzle. After hiking about half an hour the sun came out. It turned out to be beautiful day even though it was muggy. We hiked through corn, wheat, soy bean, and hay fields. That made it feel hotter than it really was. The temp got up to 92 degrees but it felt over 100 in the fields with no shade. We stopped at Scott's Farm to fill up on water and then headed on to the shelter. The weather was calling for bad storms so we called it a short day. We sat around the fire and roasted marshmellows and made s'mores. Thank you josh and holly. We then retired to the tent looking forward to duncannon in the morning.
Date: 2012-06-23
From: darlington shelter

To: clarks ferry shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Headed out of camp around 8am. Made our way to Duncannon, PA. We stopped at the first store in town to get cold drinks. For some reason PA does not have many water sources along the trail. After a cold tea we headed to the library to download pics and update our journal. At the library we were offered drinks and snacks that were donated by a local church for the hikers. We then had lunch at the infamous doyal hotel. After 3 hours in town we figures that we had better head out so we could make it to the shelter before dark. It was a beautiful day. The climb out of duncannon was brutal with the climb and the rocks. We got to camp around 6pm. We had planned to hike a little further but after sitting and talking to fellow hikers we decided to camp with them for the night. There was a warning sign that there had been a momma bear a 2 cubs lurking around the shelter, so they had provided a bear box to store your food. Most shelters do not have bear boxes. After having supper of yet another night of noodles we headed to our tent.
Date: 2012-06-24
From: clarks ferry shelter

To: campsite near horse shoe trail
Miles today: 16.7

After a restless night of sleep from some late arrival hikers. Also who were very inconsiderate and loud. We left camp around 7am. We have been hiking off and on with 2 great hikers, Spirit and Y's Guy. We all stopped at Peter's Mtn Shelter for a short break and snack. This is where one of Earl Shaffers original shelters was built. It has been relocated to the museum in Pine Grove Furnace. The rocks are beating us up so bad. We feel like pinballs being thrown around. We made our way to PA 325. There we had lunch with Spirit and Y's Guy. After they had left us we were preparing to head out and a car drove up and 2 people got out and were talking to us about the trail. The guy got in the car and gave us a cold water and a banana. YUMMY! We don't get a lot of fresh fruit on the trail. We then started our climb of 1000ft to our campsite. We got to camp around 6pm. We had mac and cheese for supper and sat around the fire and talked to our friends. We are anticipating rain and storms for tonight and tomorrow.
Date: 2012-06-25
From: campsite near horse shoe trail

To: William Penn Shelter
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: light rain

Woke to thunder boomers this morning. No rain yet but the sky was real dark. We hurried and packed and headed down the trail hoping to stay ahead of the rain and storms. HA. No hope. About an hour into our hike the skies grew darker and lighting started striking close and then it was like the skies opened up and the downpour started. We hiked in it for about an hour. NO MORE NEW BOOTS! We got soaked. Everytime it thundered real loud I would scream. It was not fun at all. We came around a corner and found Y's Guy hunckered down under a tree. He decided to follow us, we finally caught up to Spirit before Rausch Gap Shelter. The rain had stopped and the sun came out so we went to the shelter for a break and to dry out a little. However, the shelter is being repaired so the roof was missing. No shelter for us. About 5 miles after the shelter we came to a field near swatara gap where we spread everything out for the warm sun to dry. It has been 3 days since we have seen any wildlife at all, other than smelly hikers like ourselves. At Swatara Gap we tried to hitch a ride to Wendy's in Lickdale, PA. After 40 minutes we gave up. Nobody picked us up so we had noodles for lunch, imagine noddles AGAIN! What is it with PA. It is the hardest state to get a ride. It's like people are afraid of us. We are harmless just really , really stinky and dirty. After eating we made it the last 7 miles to our shelter where we camped with Spirit and Y's Guy. Went to sleep with dreams of hiking 4 miles to the 501 Shelter tomorrow where we can order pizza for lunch.
Date: 2012-06-26
From: William Penn Shelter

To: campsite at Black Swatara Spring
Miles today: 14.7

Didn't leave camp till 8am. We only had 4 miles to 501. We hiked over a lot of rocks yet again before the shelter. We got there at 10am and couldn't order until 10:45 before we could order. We had a 16" pizza for lunch and ordered 2 subs for supper. YEAH! No noodles tonight. After 2 hours at the shelter we headed out. Spirit was leading the train and about 2 miles down the trail she stopped short. There in the trail was a 3ft rattlesnake. We stopped and took pics. with our cameras, phones and ipods. We then continued on down the trail which consisted of more rocks, more rocks, more roots and every now and then a handful of dirt. We came across our second rattlesnake when ratman was leading the pack. He was about 2 steps from being up close and personal with the 4ft black timber rattler. This time I remembered that I can video with my camera so I filmed it crossing the trail. We made it safely to camp and the 4 of us built a fire and ate our subs. Around 7pm we heard someone hollering "Hey". I first thought it was an owl. Ratman thought it was someone yelling for their dog and Spirit thought it was 2 people fighting. So about an hour later we still heard it so I hollered back and asked if they needed help. They answered yes that they were lost. So we headed in the direction of their voice. We kept yelling and he was following our voices as well. He had went for water at a spring and had gotten turned around and couldn't find the trail back to his camp. Let me just say if you are lost in the woods DO NOT yell HEY yell HELP!!! He never found water so we all shared some of ours. We then went to bed with thoughts of Port Clinton and a shower tomorrow.
Date: 2012-06-27
From: campsite at Black Swatara Spring

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

Left camp at 6am and hiked on rocks, rocks, rocks and even more rocks. Trust me PA is mostly all rocks. This is the state that they say your boots come to die. The rocks cut them up bad. We finally caught up to Y's Guy and he hiked along with us. As we were decending into Port Clinton and I mean it was a straihgt down decent we caught up to Spirit. When we saw her Ratman started jogging and he got right behind her and screamed her name. She is 63 years old and he scared the wits outta her. She hit him with her pole. It was funny. This is her 5th attempt for a thru-hike. We made it to the motel and had a nice shower and lunch before we were picked up by our friend Diane. We met her and her son B at Hilton Head last fall. She lives in PA and offered to pick us up and let us visit for a couple of days. We just want to say HI to B and tell you to hurry and get here so we can see you before we head out.
Date: 2012-06-29
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

A couple of zero's have been nice. Here is an update on our totals.Trail Magic..104Money found..37.08extra miles walked..83.6wildlife:deer..89snakes..53 with 7 rattlesnakes and 1 copperheadbear..13turkey..10grouse..4raccoon..2wolf..1falls: 1 eachslack packs..7Mileage..zeros..191-5..55 to 10..2110 to 20..4920+..11Places we have stayed:tent..60hotel..22hostel..12house..8shelter..1cabin..1hospital..1We will be heading back to the trail and toward Delaware Water Gap tomorrow.
Date: 2012-06-30
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: eckville shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: broken clouds

Left at 12:30 from port Clinton. It was a very hot day. We made a climb of 900ft outta port Clinton. We descended 500ft to Windsor furnace shelter where we took a break. We then climbed up tri pulpit rock and the pinnacle. After talking to some locals we made our way to the shelter. There were a lot of hikers at the shelter. The bunks were full and there like 10 tents. We
Date: 2012-07-01
From: eckville shelter

To: bake oven knob shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Left camp around 8am. We climbed 900ft in 3 miles to dans pulpit. We hiked another 4.7 miles where we got water at a spring and had a snack. We to PA 309 where we hope to eat but the restaurant was closed. Bummer! We refilled our water bottles the headed on. We made it to knife edge and bear rocks. The views were great but we had to rock hope and walk on pointed rocks that were high up. We made it to bake oven knob. That has to be the worst shelter on the trail and we had to walk over the mountain to get water because the first spring was dry. PA has been horrible for water resupply. We had tortillas and soup for supper. Then it was off to dream of the rocks tomorrow.
Date: 2012-07-02
From: bake oven knob shelter

To: campsite at delps trail
Miles today: 17.5

Planned to leave early but didn't leave till 8am. It was already hot and muggy. We stopped at George w outerbridge shelter for a break. We then headed for high gap. We started our climb up or shall I say rock climb. We got to the top and took a break. The breeze was so great. As walked down the trail we picked raspberries and blackberries. They were so sweet. We hiked over so many rocks. We made it to little gap road and hitched into town for ice cream. The place was closed so the guy that gave us a ride took us to the next town for pizza and cold drinks. He then took us back to the trail. We got to camp and built a fire. It was a nice evening. We later had leftovers and headed to bed.
Date: 2012-07-03
From: campsite at delps trail

To: campsite past kirkridge shelter
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We left at 640 with 10.2 miles to get to wind gap for lunch at wendys. The first 6 miles went by fast. We made it to leroy smith shelter by 830. It was a hot morning but also very refreshing hiking and listening to the birds and wind rustling the leaves. We sped up last 4.6 to wind gap in hines for a ride to town. Upon arriving at the gap boots a thru hiker who was off the trail visiting family was doing trail magic at the gap. He had fruit and ice cold gatorade. After eating he gave us a ride into town then back to the trail. The last 9.9 miles of hiking was very rocky with little clumbing. When we arrived at camp spirit and y's guy was there. We had finally caught back up so we talked about past 4 daqys then set up tents. We watched fireworks on top of mtn until about 11 then went to bed. On to Delaware water gap in the morning.
Date: 2012-07-04
From: campsite past kirkridge shelter

To: dwg church hostel
Miles today: 6.2

Left camp at 700 with a wet tent, it rained from 330 to 630 this morning. The rain stopped and we headed into town. We first summitted mt minsi then stopped at lookout rock. At lookout rock we could see people below in Delaware river swimming. We then made our way down into town to the church. When we arrived we ran straight to the shower which felt great. Then we washed our clothes out in a bucket and then hanged them on a line to dry. After spirit and y's guy got ready we headed to town for lunch. I had a sheppards pie, everyone else had hot dog special. The special came with a slice of homemade pie. After eating we went back to the church set up tents and just sat around talking to other hikers. For dinner we went to pizza place and easy and gravity joined us. We then played cards until around midnight before calling it a night.
Date: 2012-07-05
From: dwg church hostel

To: dwg church hostel
Miles today: 0.0

We decided not to hike today. We caught shuttle into next town over and we all went to the movies to watch spiderman. The movie was good. We then went back to the church for supper. Every Thursday the church feeds the hikers dinner with many different food items and tasty desserts. The church members eat with the hikers and ask questions about the hike and our home towns. We then got ready for bed with the thought that tomorrow we would cross bridge into new jersey.
Date: 2012-07-06
From: dwg church hostel

To: camp road/campsite
Miles today: 10.7

After saying goodbye to Y's Guy we headed out. We first crossed the Delaware River Bridge crossing over onto New Jersey. Another state behind us. We stopped at the visitor center in hopes of a cup of coffee, however they were closed. As we were headed up the mountain we passed a group of boy scouts. They were asking a lot of questions. They were surprised at how long we had been on the trail and that we still have a long way to go. When we got to Sunfish Pond we took a break and ratman finally got to try out his fishing pole. He caugt 2 perch. We threw them back, if we had been camping close by they would have been supper. We got to the Mohican Outdoor Center and Spirit was there waiting on us. We planned on staying there for the night but to our surprise our book and spirits both was wrong for pricing, Our book says tenting 9 dollars plus a free shower. Spirits says free camping for thru-hikers. It was 9 dollars per person. They would not honor either book. So we bought cold drinks and sat on the picnic table and had lunch. We then picked 3 bags of fresh blueberries. They were so good. We then walked back to the trail and pitched our tent in the woods. Several other hikers did the same. So the outdoor center lost a lot of money from hikers. We sat around the fire and talked and played cards and then went to bed.
Date: 2012-07-07
From: camp road/campsite

To: campsite
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

We left camp around 6am. Within our first 5 miles of hiking today we saw 2 hugh rattlesnakes. Ratman almost stepped on the first one. It was yellow with a black tail. I don't say this often about snakes but it was pretty. I loved the colors in it. We have decided that we don't want to see any more rattlers. Water supply has been very unreliable. We got to a road where there is a water pump. We sat there and waited for spirit. She never got there and we found out from another hiker that she was at a campsite about a mile back asleep. We have learned that if she gets to missing throughout the day she is somewhere taking a nap. We stopped at Buttermilk Falls Trail for a break. We saw that black clouds were rolling in and decided to head to the brink road shelter. We were hiking across rattlesnake mountain and the wind started blowing real hard. We thought we were in for a hard storm so we started walikng faster. We were wrong the storm passed and the sun returned. We didn't even get any rain. That would have been a blessing because it was so hot maybe it would have cooled us off. We got to the shelter and got water from a spring. The water was so cold. We kept waiting on spirit and 2 other hikers said she should be there because she was right behind them. We waited an hour and she never showed. We headed out to catch her. We finally caught her on top of the mountain over looking culvers lake. She was setting up her tent. She had missed the sign for the shelter. The view we had was great. We got to watch fireworks over the lake. It was a perfect evening.
Date: 2012-07-08
From: campsite

To: high point shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: clear sky

After a good nights rest we awoke to the birds and sunrise over the lake. We packed up and hiked 1.5 miles to us 206 at culvers gap and made our way up to the jumboland diner for bf. We had French toast and eggs. We then made our way up to culvers fire tower where we climbed to the top for some great views. We then hiked to gren Anderson shelter for spring water and a snack. We then went 11 miles on rocky terrain with little ups and downs but we didn't mind bc it was another great day. When we arrived at high point state park around 415 the visitor center was closed. We met a guy with his son who said he would gladly go into town for pizza and drinks for us. While the man was in town another couple pulled in and gave us cold water and pops. Trail magic is great, and the people who give it are wonderful, kind people. After eating we climbed to 1700 ft a we viewed the monument from a wooden tower which represents the highest point in nj. Finally we made it to the shelter and set up our tent. We talked with the ridgerunner and some girls who were camping before retiring for the night.
Date: 2012-07-09
From: high point shelter

To: pochuck mtn shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: few clouds

After having our coffee for breakfast we headed out. About half a mile down the trail we jumped a bear eating right beside the trail. When it saw us he took off running. We did a lot of board walking today. We went into Unionville, NY for some cold drinks. You are not allowed to hitch in NY so while we were sitting at the store a young boy came by and offered to take us back to the trail. Back at the trail we had a lot of road and field walking. We hiked past Wallkill Reserve. Going through the reserve we saw a milk snake. It was red, black and white in color. We also saw deer, several types of birds and hugh bull frogs. We took a break there and waited on Spirit. We all then headed for Pochuck Mtn Shelter. We got to the shelter around 3pm. We sat around and played cards for awhile. Later there were several hikers that came in. We had supper and then retired to out tents. Vernon, NJ tomorrow.
Date: 2012-07-10
From: pochuck mtn shelter

To: vernon, nj
Miles today: 6.5

We left camp around 6am. Ready to get to town for a shower, clean clothes and FOOD!!!! After about an hour of hiking this morning we heard something running. We thought it was bear cubs but it was 4 raccoons. They ran up a tree and watched us. They were so cute. We hiked across a bordwalk that was surrounded by cattails. It was so cool hiking in the middle of a swamp with nothing around but green. While hiking on the last board walk before the road I looked over and saw a sleeping bag in the weeds. It was in a stuff sack. I carried it out with me. It was a 20 degree and I'm sure at least 100 dollar bag. We know that it does not belong to a thru-hiker because it is clean and smells real good. When we got to the road we stuck out our thumbs and 2 cars pulled in at the same time to offer us a ride. We got to the church hostel, took showers and washed clothes. We waited on spirit and then we went to eat. I will update pics later today. Also everyone that is following please keep Y's Guy in your prayers. He called me and informed us that he has Lyme's Disease. He has gotten antibiotics and is still on the trail. We are looking forward to him catching back up with us. We will hit the New York state line tomorrow.
Date: 2012-07-11
From: vernon, nj

To: wildcat shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: light rain

We had bf before leaving Vernon at the mixing bowl. We then went to the p.o to mail some items home. We caught a ride 3 miles back to the trail around 930. We started out by hiking up to pinwheels Vista a climb of 900ft. On the way up a lady was heading back down and warned us of a mama bear and her cubs were at the top. We saw no bears at the top so we headed on bc we wanted to get to ny. It was a very hot day and we are having issues with water but we made it to ny line around 2. After taking pics with spirit we hurried 6 miles to get ice cream at the creamery in telltale. After ice cream we headed with spirit 2 miles to camp. We had two rock hops eastern pinnacles and cat rocks. We made it to camp at 8 and had hot dogs for dinner. We only have six states to go and we are looking forward to bear mtn in 2 days which is the lowest pt on the trail.
Date: 2012-07-12
From: wildcat shelter

To: campsite near arden rd
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

We left camp around 745 with easy terrain and not as many boulders. It was a very nice morning with no clouds in the sky. We came to Fitzgerald falls and filled up our water bottles. Then the terrain became more diffucult. We climbed up mombasha high point at 1280. Today we were blessed with someone putting water jugs at two different road crossings. We climber arden mtn and made it thru the grind, which is a steep downhill. We came to ny17 and were sitting by the road when a guy pulled in and gave us three pair of new darn tough socks. We were blessed again bc I was down to my last pair. He also gave Ratman and another hiker a ride into town to get cold drinks. We then started hiking again but made it 1 mile before finding a campsite. We made it there around 430 and decided to stop and rest. We feel like yesterday really wore us out. We want to thank everyone who continues to follow us and god bless.
Date: 2012-07-13
From: campsite near arden rd

To: beechy bottom brook
Miles today: 11.6

We hiked about 1 mile and stopped at island pond for 30 min overlooking the lake, it was so calm and peaceful first thing in the morning. We then went through the lemon squeezer, you have to take your pack off and pass it up to the hiker in front followed by a short rock scramble. We then made our way to lake tiorati circle. Here we showed at swam at the beach. While we were there a guy pulled up with trail magic, funny thing was he gave me a ride in 2010 into Manchester Vermont small world. We headed back to the trail when a very kind man offered to take our packs six miles up the trail we said yes. We met him at palisades parkway, he was waiting on us with our packs. Before he left he said a poem to us which is now on our guest book page. We thank him for helping us we forgive u for the hamburgers haha. After he left we were sitting there and another guy came over and fed us pb,turkey wraps, spices and drink mixes. After all the trail magic we hiked a mile more and set up our tents. God bless.