morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-08-01
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: moderate rain

51943 steps. I set out in the morning rain attempting to get six miles before 11 am. I came to a parking lot after four miles and decided that would be a better place to meet and was able to phone Kelly from there. While I was waiting for her I made some ramen noodles and instant coffee and two different people using the parking lot gave me trail magic. Some trail mix and some water and graham crackers. Kelly took me to a diner to get pancakes and eggs and I was able to charge my dead smart phone there. We had a nice visit over late breakfast. Then she took me to a truck stop to resupply and we drove my pack ahead to the 501 shelter before she dropped my off back at the same lot. It was almost 5 pm when I got started and I had 13 miles to go to get back to my pack. Sunset was at 8:30, but it wasn't so dark that I had to use my head lamp until 9pm. At dusk a deer startled and a large porcupine ambling toward me on the trail veered off into the woods. I still had two miles to go after it got dark. There were a few tricky boulder fields, but they were much easier without my heavy pack. I arrived at the 501 shelter at 9:45, just in time to order pizza before they closed. I shared the pizza with Caveman Chris, whom I hadn't seen since Daleville.
Date: 2013-08-02
From: 501 Shelter

To: Hertline Campsite
Miles today: 5.6

19453 steps. After two long days I decided to take a short day and stopped at a nice campsite I came to in the early afternoon to catch up on rest. I got to try the mosquito net with my tarp for the first time. It worked perfectly and I caught up with my paper journal for a few hours undisturbed by biting insects.
Date: 2013-08-04
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 8.6

31658 steps. Stayed at the Port Clinton hotel, right on the busy highway 60. A few miles down the highway was Hamburg, PA, with WalMart, Cabela's and several restaurants and stores, but the highway was very loud and fast and didn't seem walkable. After I got lunch and did laundry at the hotel, I phoned the Cabela's store which offered a free shuttle to their store. I got new socks and stove fuel there, but still didn't get to a grocery store for food. Cabela's also shuttled me back to the hotel after I was done shopping there.
Date: 2013-08-05
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: South of Eckville
Miles today: 13.9

40288 steps. In the morning I still needed food resupply. I again considered walking along highway 60 to Walmart, but decided to wait for the Peanut Shop adjacent to the Port Clinton Hotel to reopen and do a limited resupply there. I got peanut butter, cashew butter, and three kinds of trail mix.
Date: 2013-08-06
From: South of Eckville

To: Allentown Shelter
Miles today: 8.7

28516 steps. Another day of disappointing progress, slowed by rocks and rain. I stopped early at Allentown Hiking Club Shelter. Eventually Bomber and Bluebird arrived. I hadn't seen Bomber since Daleville, and Bluebird since before climbing the Priest mountain before 4th of July. Burgie and Elliot also showed up just before dusk.
Date: 2013-08-07
From: Allentown Shelter

To: Lehigh Furnace Gap
Miles today: 12.4

36587 steps. In the morning I sent a message to my cousin Dave who lives in Allentown. He soon got in touch and agreed to pick me up on the trail after work. I went over the Knife Edge and Bear Rocks and Bake Oven Knob in the rain, all tricky boulder fields. Dave picked me up at Lehigh Furnace Gap after his work. It was up a remote dirt road, but he had found it by using the GPS coordinates from the AT Guide in Google maps. I had a nice dinner with Dave and Laura and their kids at a restaurant, then they took me their home where we had a nice visit. I got a shower and dried out my gear in their garage overnight.
Date: 2013-08-08
From: Lehigh Furnace Gap

To: Little Gap
Miles today: 10.3

31714 steps. I awoke to Allentown train whistles, which have a beautiful complex sound, quite different from Pittsburgh train whistles. I actually thought I was listening to violins playing some modern composition at first. Dave made me breakfast and took me to a grocery store to resupply, then took me back to Lehigh Furnace Gap before he headed to work in the morning. I made the five miles into Palmerton in the morning. I was looking up admiring the rock mountain from the road before I realized that was where the trail went. It was a fun but difficult climb on all fours scrambling up the bare rocks. Later it rained and I met some Southbounders who would have to climb down it on wet rocks. Hope they had no trouble. I stopped just before Little Gap to make ramen for dinner, but then there was another sudden downpour and I set up my tarp so I would have a dry place to sit while I was eating. Then I just decided to stay there for the night.
Date: 2013-08-09
From: Little Gap

To: Leroy Smith Shelter
Miles today: 10.8

35870 steps. I was hoping to make it into Wind Gap, where I would meet my husband and dog again, but the rocks and rain kept me moving slowly again so I stayed at Leroy Smith Shelter, five miles south of Wind Gap. I found a message from my friend Sparrows in the log there. She was getting of the trail here five days ago. She said we thru hikers should remember that even in in Pennsylvania on the rocks, the trail is better than making powerpoint presentations and attending staff meetings. Right she is.
Date: 2013-08-10
From: Leroy Smith Shelter

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 4.6

29556 steps. I changed socks twice during the five mile walk into town, but still arrived with soaked socks and shoes. I walked another two miles through town and checked in at the hotel where Don and the dog would meet me. While I was waiting for them, I saw on Facebook that my friend Turtle was eating pizza nearby. I hadn't seen Turtle since Harper's Ferry. I met him at Rita's and we caught up until Don showed up. We ran into Turtle again in the evening and planned to go together to breakfast in the morning.
Date: 2013-09-09
From: Burlington, Vermont

To: Kinsman Notch
Miles today: 9.5

30688 steps. Dave had driven me from Burlington, VT to the Hikers Welcome Hostel in Glencliff, NH. There were several familiar faces there, even though I had been off the trail for two weeks and skipped more than 300 miles north. Legion from the hostel offered to drive us to Kinsman Notch, so we could hike southbound and climb the steep north side of Mt. Moosilauke, without heavy packs, and descend the less steep south side. I took him up on this offer, not sure how I would do on my healing ankle, with new boots. Several others slackpacked southbound as well, but several just backpacked north. It was a nice day, cool and clear. We could see Mt Washington and Franconia Ridge from the north side climb. We slackpackers met the northbounders who had stayed at the hostel on top, where everyone stopped for a break and photos.We continued back to the hostel and stayed there a second night.
Date: 2013-09-10
From: Kinsman Notch

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 7.5

27611 steps. This was another cool, clear, crisp day. Legion drove us to Kinsman Notch again, and we proceeded north with full packs this time. The terrain was very difficult. There were steep climbs and descents on slippery granite. Much of the walk was on all fours, holding onto tree roots, or sliding down a granite face on my kneecaps.I got to Eliza Brook Shelter in the afternoon. Boomerang and Critter were there. We had all slackpacked southbound yesterday. They had experienced difficulty with today's terrain too. Turtle, my friend I had last seen in Wind Gap, came by the shelter southbound. He was slackpacking from Lincoln south toward Hanover. This was his first day in the Whites and he was also taken by surprise by the difficulty. He was going to be very late to meet his ride at Kinsman Notch, and he was going to have to hike quite a bit of it in the dark.
Date: 2013-09-11
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 8.8

32180 steps. I got an early start. There was more difficult terrain. I fell a couple of times and slid down some more rocks. I made it to Lonesome Lake Hut by 3pm. I was early enough to do work for stay, but I wanted to get another three miles into town, so just had some soup and coffee at the hut and continued on. I got to the Liberty Springs parking lot just as a big storm was starting. I called a shuttle service and went to a hotel, where I could soak my aching muscles in a hot bath. (I'm running out of my half hour per day of computer access I'm allowed at Rutland Public Library, so I'll have to come back tomorrow to catch up more days in this journal)
Date: 2013-09-14
From: Mt. Garfield

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 1.0

20010 steps. In the morning I was looking at the AWOL guide and the AMC Franconia map for the nearest road. I didn't want to backtrack and go across the ridge again. It looked like it would be five days on the AT. I had enough food, but I wanted to get down and warm before that. I saw a trail after the shelter which ultimately led to Route 3, which goes back to Lincoln. Blast looked also and noticed that the Garfield trail also lead to Route 3, closer and shorter. It diverged from the AT near the shelter, went about five miles to a dirt road, then another 1.5 to Route 3. The rain was still falling on the tarp in the morning, but Blast observed that it wasn't actually raining. The trees were catching the moisture from the cloud we were in, and dropping it on the tarp. It was actually shaping up to be a nice day, but I was still soaked and cold, and had already decided to descend. A couple of my tent stakes were lost in the moss. After I got packed up and started, I soon saw a Forest Protection Area sign indicating that I had camped less than half a mile from the Shelter. Still it was a half mile up and down steep slippery rock steps, so I probably wouldn't have been any better hiking it in the dark. The Garfield Trail down to the road diverged before I actually got to the Shelter, so I continued on down the trail without going to the shelter. I didn't go to the shelter to say goodbye to Boomerang and Critter or to write my decision in my Northmost trail log book before leaving the trail. The furthest north I got was mile 1821.2, according to the 2012 edition of AWOL's A.T. Guide. That's where I'll have to pick up to finish the trail.As I was heading down the Garfield Trail I encountered several people going up for "Flags on the Forty-Eight". They were going to fly flags on each of the 48 New Hampshire peaks above 4000 feet on this, the Saturday closest to 9/11 in remembrance. Garfield was one of the peaks. I told some of them about my thru-hike which now wasn't going to get any further north than Mt. Garfield this year. Many gave me kudos for what I had already accomplished.I tried to call a shuttle service when I reached the dirt road, but my phone had just enough signal to connect and hang up when they answered. I sent a text message and some service converted it to a voice message to the shuttle service's land line. I walked the additional mile out to the highway. While I was waiting there some folks I had seen on Garfield trail offered me a ride back to Lincoln, but I felt like I had already ordered the shuttle out there, so should wait for it.Now that it was a weekend, the hotel in Lincoln was much more expensive than it had been on Wednesday. I eventually went to a hotel in North Lincoln, which was cheaper, but not in walking distance of anything. I really wanted a hot bath to warm myself up, or I could've just gone back to Chet's. I got that, and also got to do laundry and dry my sleeping bag and other gear. The skin on my fingertips stayed white and wrinkled until Sunday afternoon from having been cold and wet for so long.
Date: 2013-09-15
From: North of South River Picnic Area

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 0.0

12988 steps. Sunday I moved back to the hotel in Lincoln. I walked around town and bought some long underwear and another drysack for my sleeping bag. I decided to get a ride back to Glencliff and hike south to fill in the miles to the point I had left the trail in New York with my infected poison ivy in August. That's Dennytown Road, mile 1412.2 in the AWOL 2012. That way I wouldn't be just abandoning my hike and quitting altogether after one bad day. Also I would get to see Vermont, which I had really been looking forward to. I called Legion from Hikers Welcome in Glencliff and arranged the ride for early Monday morning. In the evening I went to see "The Butler". Critter and Boomerang had recommended it and I really liked it too.
Date: 2013-09-16
From: Lincoln, NH

To: Mt. Cube
Miles today: 13.0

41529 steps.In the morning I packed and went to the lobby for the continental breakfast. I got in the elevator after breakfast to go back up to get my stuff, and the elevator went about ten seconds and then suddenly lurched and stopped and went dark. I rang the alarm bell a few times. After a few minutes it drifted back down to the ground floor and the door opened. The power was out in the whole hotel. I went up the stairs and fortunately the electronic lock still let me into the room. I rounded up my stuff in the dark and went back out front to wait for my ride.The power was out in the whole area.Legion took me back to the place where the trail crossed the road in Glencliff south of Mt. Moosilauke. I got going and felt good to be back on the trail. My pack was so much lighter with everything dried out. Within the first couple of hours I encountered Bergie and Rambler, who I had last seen around Palmerton PA. They are walking home to Maine. We stopped and traded stories for almost half an hour. They offered to finish the trail with me when I come back.Later that morning I encountered several more northbounders slackpacking, some I knew, including Barter, who I had last seen in NJ. I heard that Glacier, who I had last seen in VA, had gotten injured and was driving slackpack for this bunch of hikers all the way through the Whites and Maine to the end.I stopped for lunch at the Ore Hill site.   I couldn't find my titanium spork and feared I had lost it in the power outage. I've really gotten attached to that spork, carried it the whole trip. I wrote "There is no spork!" in my memo book. The Ore Hill shelter had burned down, but there was a log book in the privy, where I wrote about my decision to flip flop from Mt. Garfield.I continued on to Mount Cube. I was heading for Hexacube shelter, but it was getting dark and I found a nice clearing before I got to the shelter so set up there. When I unpacked my cell phone I found that I had packed my spork in an unusual place, with the electronics charging cables. That was a relief! NoBos Repunzel and Ghost showed up later and camped on the same site. It was a cold night, but not rainy.
Date: 2013-09-17
From: Mt. Cube

To: Smart Fire Tower
Miles today: 6.9

29935 steps.I got an early start and planned to go to Trapper John Shelter. I met NoBo section hikers Nana and Old Turtle and thier young dog Royce. I climbed the Fire Tower in the early afternoon for the view and made lunch in the Fire Warden's cabin. When I continued south after lunch, there were several long steep wet rock descents in the trail. I was paying attention to the descents and didn't notice when the AT turned right. I went straight down onto the Smart Warden's trail. I noticed that I hadn't seen a white blaze for a long time, but the blazes had been sparse in NH, so I didn't catch on until I had gone maybe two miles of steep descent and two flat miles and started seeing blue blazes. I eventually had to admit that I was on the wrong train and turned back and climbed all the way back up. I found the place I should have turned, but by then it was almost sunset, so I continued another half mile back up to the cabin to camp there. I watched the sunset from the fire tower. NoBo Seeker also stayed at the cabin.
Date: 2013-09-18
From: Smart Fire Tower

To: Moose Mountain
Miles today: 12.4

35610 steps. In the morning I hiked the half mile down from the tower for the third time and took the turn this time. When I got to the road about five miles later, I saw on a posted map that the Smart Warderns trail I had been on yesterday would have met the AT here, I was probably almost there when I got to the Blue blazes. I stopped at Bill Ackerly's for ice cream. He was home and had a banjo in a case on the kitchen table. He said he'd heard I was coming. It was strange. I don't know if it was just a coincidence, I could believe he knew by some psychic vibrations that a banjo player was on the way. Fiddlehead and Tyrone were there, and Let's Party and her dog Easy showed up soon after I did. I had met them all in Shenandoah Park and not seen them since PA and NJ. Bahalla Na, whom I had not met before, was also there. His name means "Whatever may come". We sat around and had ice cream and tortilla chips. I asked Bill for finger picks. He had some. I played banjo for a while, but I was pretty rusty. No one seemed to care, they seemed pretty much delighted. Fiddlehead danced with Bill to Old Joe Clark. Then we went out and played croquet on Bill's lawn, which seems to be Bill's thing. It had an Alice in Wonderland feel to it. Fiddlehead said she was glad I had taken the detour and backtrack yesterday, because it meant we got to have this strange reunion and party here at Bill Ackerly's. Eventually I tore myself away and hiked on south. I passed the Trapper John shelter and night hiked to the Moose Mountain shelter, which I had to myself.
Date: 2013-09-19
From: Moose Mountain

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 11.0

33258 steps.The open wall on Moose Mountain Shelter faces to the east, so I woke up to an awesome sunrise. I had good weather hiking into Hanover, NH, home of Dartmouth College. Heading into town Southbound you come first to the Co-op store. It's like the East End Food Co-op in Pittsburgh, but larger. I picked up a grapefruit, some spice tea, and some fancy exotic ramen noodles there, then when on to the public library where they have a list of people who are willing to host hikers. I stayed with Fran. She came and picked me up at the library and was a kind and generous host.
Date: 2013-09-20
From: Hanover, NH

To: Vermont Woods north of Happy Hill
Miles today: 4.0

19911 steps.In the morning Fran dropped me off in town and I walked the few blocks of the trail I had missed between there and the library, then went to a diner for breakfast. Dartmouth was inaugurating a new University President this day, so the streets were busy with events and celebrations. I left my pack at the used book store. I went to the Hood Gallery and looked at Picasso drawings and Fan Tchunpi paintings, then to the Baker Library to look at the Orozco murals. Then I bought a few of the used books and mailed them home before continuing to the Vermont border VT in the afternoon. I ran into Nutty Buddy going northbound. He had been catching up to me gradually for several weeks in July and August and finally passed me near the NJ/NY border not long before I left the trail with the infected poison ivy. I hadn't seen him since then. We talked for quite a while before moving on. I camped in the woods a few miles short of the Happy Hill shelter. It was warmer and the mosquitoes were back, so I set up the bug net for the first time in quite a while too.
Date: 2013-09-21
From: Vermont Woods north of Happy Hill

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: broken clouds

9/21 . 36327 steps. 10.6 miles.I ran into Dixie Grits on the trail in the morning. Nutty Buddy had told me he wasn't far behind. Dixie Grits had rented a car to go ahead up to Katahdin just in case. He had already summitted, and was now continuing north from where he had left off to finish the trail. He said he had gotten lost that morning and joked "I can't die on Happy Hill!". I gave Dixie Grits the Hiker Info published and distributed in Hanover. I got to the Happy Hill shelter not much later and made breakfast there. There was a young southbound hiker there named Rambler. I had met him before at Chet's in Lincoln. Rambler was sleeping in, but passed me later in the day at the Full Belly Deli / General Store in West Hartford VT. There was also a hiker named Boulder who there was finishing the whole A.T. there and then that day. An emotional moment. He had an injury/illness like mine that had caused him to leave the trail at this point six years ago and had just now gotten back. I had a sandwich and some coffee and eventually continued on to stay at Thistle Hill Shelter. Rambler was already there.
Date: 2013-09-22
From: Thistle Hill Shelter

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 11.6

36955 steps.A drizzly day. I got some apples at the On the Edge Farm Market just after 5pm. She was driving away and saw me walking up the road and stayed open for me. I got some Macintosh apples, ice cream gatorade and yummy Vermont made crackers and continued on up to Winturri Shelter. I had to night hike the last couple of miles. It was difficult finding the shelter in the dark, but I finally did. Rambler was there ahead of me again. I gave him one of the apples.
Date: 2013-09-23
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Kent Pond
Miles today: 15.9

44067 steps.I was hoping to get to Killington and pushed on past dark to Kent Pond. There is a lodge there, and I was hoping to get a shower, but the lodge was dark and no one was around. I called the phone number and left a message and set up my tarp in the woods near the pond. It was a cold night, but I had some cover from the wind.
Date: 2013-09-24
From: Kent Pond

To: US Route 4
Miles today: 4.0

20775 steps.I hiked on to the State Park in the morning and made breakfast there and got water. I met a young NoBo couple, Rage and Storm King there and we chatted for a while. They seem well prepared for winter weather in the Whites. I got to US 4 and too the bus into Rutland. I stayed at the Yellow Deli hostel, really cool, and went to see the movie "The Way, Way Back" after stocking up on groceries.
Date: 2013-06-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

This is our first journal entry. We have exactly 10 days before we climb Mt Katahdin. Trevor will be joined by his brother Travis, and me, his father in the hike up to the top of Katahdin and in the hike through the 100 mile wilderness. We will hike Mt K on 7/4 and hope to finish the wilderness by 7/12 or 7/13.All equipment has been purchased with the exception of a down jacket that will weigh around 13 ounces. A lot of preparation has occurred. We'll be packing up our food into breakfasts, lunch, and suppers. Each of us will carry our own food. We will be utilizing a food drop on Jo Mary road about halfway through. Will share more on next post.
Date: 2013-06-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Trevor is getting very excited about this trip and is anxious to get started. We've been watching the weather and have noted a lot of rain and thunderstorms for the next few days. Long range forecast for July 4, which is our Mt K summit day, is 60% chance of rain. 10 days out isn't always accurate and sure hope that's the case here. You should see regular entries from this point forward, except while I'm hiking with Trevor through the 100 mile wilderness. Not sure whether we'll have internet connection in the wilderness. Trevor does have a charger/battery for his iPhone that holds 3 full phone charges, so that shouldn't be an issue.I will start signing off with my trail name from this point. For those reading all the journal posts in order, try guessing my father's trail name after seeing mine."I sing because I'm Happy, I sing because I'm Free"Happy
Date: 2013-06-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I have been following a number of NOBO and all SOBO who log entries on a regular basis. I'll be alerting Trevor of those whom I'm following closely so he can briefly connect with on my behalf. Trevor hopes to be able to share his "Crunchmaster" brand chips with fellow hikers, wherever possible, more likely at or right after he picks them up at various mail drops.My father's trail name: "Happy's Pappy""I sing because I'm Happy..." When I'm out in the woods and in the mountains, I'm happy.