morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-07-03
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Rattlesnake Spring Campsite 
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

We had breakfast at the hotel and then waited out front at the bus stop for the Pocono Pony (bus) to take us back to Delaware Water Gap. We got hiking around 10:30 am. Starting out we had to cross the Delaware River on the I - 80 bridge. Pretty scary. Small sidewalk with tractor trailers humming buy 6ft away at 65mph. Took us at least 10 minutes to cross. And I will tel you the bridge moved a lot! We then crossed under I-80 and into New Jersey. Lots of day hikers out for the holiday weekend. We hiked around Sunfish Pond then up to Kittatinny Mountain summit where there were some nice views. We came to Catfish lookout Tower and took pictures from the top. We ended the day at Rattlesnake Spring where there is also a tenting area. Today was a nice sunny day about 80 degrees. Trail is still very Rocky but getting better in places. We hiked 13.5 miles today. ~Robi1Good day today. Had a good breakfast and then took the bus to within a half mile of the trail. We got boots on the trail by 10:00. We had to cross a bridge coming ot of Delaware Water Gap which had the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the middle of it. It was a highway and the bridge shook alot when trucks went by. The rocks were a little less today but there were still alot. People all around us were seeing bears all day but not us. I hope to see another one soon. We did 13.5 miles today to put us over 1300 miles. We happily said goodbye to Pennsylvania on our 100th day on the trail.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-04
From: Rattlesnake Spring Campsite 

To: Gren Anderson Shelter 
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: light rain

We left our tent site around 8:30am. It started raining around 4am and we left in light rain. It rained lightly up until 2pm then started to clear. We had lunch at Brink Shelter and continued on to a road crossing US-206 where we spotted a bar so we had a beer and cheese burger overlooking a lake. We stayed about an hour then hiked 3 more miles to Gren Anderson Shelter where we are tenting for the night. Today we hiked 17.9 miles. ~Robi1Last night laying in my tent listening to some fireworks starting I heard the coolest thing. Someone played taps and you could hear it throughout the valley which was miles. Whoever played it was amazingly good. It gave me the chills. Very touching. Today was a pretty good day. We got in 17.9 miles. I did have a little mishap. I slipped on a sidways flat rock and took a couple gouges out of my shin. It should be fine in a couple of days. It was raining all morning which made the rocks very slippery. Stopped raining about 2:00 and is suppose to be a great day tomorrow. Happy 4th to everyone.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-05
From: Gren Anderson Shelter 

To: Murray Property 
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: light rain

We got going around 8:30 from Gren Anderson Shelter. We hiked a few miles and took a break at Sunrise Mountain Pavilion where there was a view. We then liked another 6 or so miles to High Point State Park, took a break and got water. A mile later we went on a side trail 0.3 miles down to the beach at the lake where we had a long wait for a lousy cheeseburger. It was not worth getting off the trail for. We then hiked past the Veterans Memorial Monument then on to end our day at what is called the Murray Property. This is a private cabin that the owner maintains just for thru-hikers. It has electricity and another small building has a outdoor shower with hot & cold water. We got in around 7:30 with 18.4 miles for the day. ~Robi1Pretty good day today. There were some tough parts but believe it or not there were some easy parts. We took a break at High Point State Park for water and ended up talking to people for 25 minutes. Then we walked about a mile and went to a pond which had a beach and concession stand so we got cheese burgers and fries. They were not good. The last 5 miles of the day the trail was mostly rock free. What a great change. We flew through them. We did 18.4 miles today. Unionville NY tomorrow for a maildrop pickup.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-06
From: Murray Property 

To: Unionville NY 
Miles today: 1.7
Weather: light rain

We left the Murray property around 10:15am and hiked a long 1.5 miles into Unionville NY where we picked up a mail drop. We sorted out our food for the next 7 or so days and got a pizza. We then decided to stay at the Town park where you can tent for free. We each had a bag of wet clothes from a couple of days ago and decided it was a good afternoon to dry everything out. Very hot and humid today. We will head out in the morning. ~Robi1We didn't do much hiking today. Left camp about 10:20 and went to Unionville for our maildrop. Got that all sorted and it was about 12:30. We both needed to dry some clothes so we decided to stay at the park in town for free. We got a huge pizza to split and a bunch of beverages. Got in a pickup game of bball and then had more beverages. Oh by the way it's not a good idea to eat alot of pizza and then play bball. We only did 1.7 miles today so we are planning an early start tomorrow to make sure we get some miles in. Lets hope it happens.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-07
From: Unionville NY 

To: Wawayanda Shelter 
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: scattered clouds

We left Unionville NY Town Park around 8:30am. We walked a couple of miles before hiking around the Wallkill Reserve. Looked like another swamp to me. We walked another swamp that had a nice Boardwalk for about 0.8 miles. It was a very hot walk in the sun. We then went over Pochuck Creek on a suspension bridge. We then crossed NJ Rt 94 where there was a farmers market type place they had ice cream and fruit. We stopped of course. We got back on the trail and had a 1,000 ft climb up Wawayanda Mountain known as the stairway to heaven. It lived up to its name and was a steep rock climb. We finally made our way to Wawayanda Shelter but not before getting soaked in a downpour just 2 miles away. The Sun came back out and all was well again. We liked 15.7 miles. Very hot and humid hiking today. ~Robi1Fairly easy day today. We hiked 16.8 miles and it wasn't terribly rocky. We did a couple of climbs but nothing too big. We went over a boardwalk for about a mile and a quarter through a marsh in the Vernon NJ area which was pretty cool. Got a delicious homemade ice cream at a farm store. We also met a few guys today doing the Warrior hike. Their trail names are Tackle Box and Dirty Hank. It rained on us pretty hard about a mile or more from the end of our day, just enough to get us soaked for the night. So goes life on the trail.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-08
From: Wawayanda Shelter 

To: Wildcat Shelter 
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

We left Wawayanda Shelter tent sites around 8:30am partly cloudy temperature high 70s soon to be 80s and very humid. We crossed over into NY and went up Prospect Rock the highest point on the AT in NY. We then came to a section which reads in our guild book despite the unimposing profile, rocks and abrupt ups & downs make this section challenging. That was correct! In one area there was a aluminum ladder to get you to the next ledge. This section beat us up a little today. We crossed NY 17A where there was opportunity to have an ice cream. And we did. We continued on to Wildcat Shelter where we are tenting for tonight. Miles today were 12.1 ~Robi1We didn't do many miles today but it felt like we did. The first 9 miles or so were alot of rock climbing. At one point there was a ladder tied to the rocks so you could get up the 10 feet of straight up. It took its toll on our legs for some reason. Maybe it was the humidity which was very high today. Anyway we only hiked 12.1 miles so tomorrow will be a big day. Three hikers, M+M, Clover and Laces ( formally Owl) came into camp tonight and we haven't seen them for 1100 miles. It was great to catch up.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-09
From: Wildcat Shelter 

To: Fingerboard Shelter 
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: few clouds

We left Wildcat Shelter around 10:30. It started to rain about 5:30am so we waited till it stopped. It stayed cloudy most of the day with some sun, warm & humid. The hiking forecast for today was for 14.4 miles. The real feel felt like we did 30 miles. Hard day with lots of rock climbs up and down. Went through the lemon squeezer rock formation. Good thing we lost weight! Passed over NY thruway 87 made our way to Fingerboard Shelter 14.4 miles just before it started raining about 7:30 pm. Set up our tents, ate and went to sleep. ~Robi1Today we got in 14.3 of very tough miles. All day was up or down. No flat parts and a lot of rocks and several parts where we had to climb up using our hands to pull us up. It sounds like fun but try it with 38lbs on your back. It's hard work. The downhills were also very steep and rocky. Oh ya, did I mention that the rocks were wet till about 3pm from the rain this morning. Still we are happy to be 801.1 miles from Katahdin and still having the journey of a lifetime.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-10
From: Fingerboard Shelter 

To: Bear Mountain 
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: clear sky

We left Fingerboard Shelter around 10:30am. We stayed a while to dry our clothes and tents. The Sun was out and doing a nice job. Turned out to be a nice day. We stopped at Black Mountain and picked some blueberries for a snack later. Then we had to cross the Palisades Parkway a very busy highway. We crossed one side to the median and walked 0.4 miles to the visitors center where we had a cold drink and ate lunch. We then walked back up and crossed the other side of the highway and back on the trail. Water sources were not the best today and miles apart. We climbed up Bear Mountain where sits the Perkins Memorial Tower where you could see the NY City Skyline. The best find of the day was vending machines with cold drinks we bought 4 Drinks each and really enjoyed them. We then started down Bear Mountain and set up camp at 8:30 pm. We were about a mile from the Hudson River and could see cargo Ships making there way up River. It was very noisy with the Ships, freight train and commuter train blowing their horns. We hiked 12.7 miles today. ~Robi1We got a late start today because it was beautiful out and we dried everything in the sun. While eating breakfast a hawk was on a fallen tree eating his breakfast that it had just caught. A cool morning eating with a hawk. We took our time today talking with hikers and picking blueberries which were delicious for dessert at supper. We stopped at a visitors center in the median strip of a 4 lane highway for lunch because they had a vending machine with cold drinks. The little things out here mean alot. We got in 12.7 miles and tomorrow will be a short day because we are meeting Scotti, Samantha and Brooke who are driving up from Georgia to visit family. Should be a great day.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-11
From: Bear Mountain 

To: Greymoor Spiritual Life Center 
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We left our campsite on the side of Bear Mountain at 7:30 we hiked 9 miles to the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center where they let thru- hikers tent. They have a shower (cold) and Portable toilets. We then walked back 0.4 miles back to Appalachian market were Hootie was to meet up with his Son, Daughter in law and Brooke his granddaughter as they were passing through and stopped to visit a couple of hours. They brought us Snacks! We ate with them they continued on there way. Back on the trail tomorrow. ~Robi1Best day on the trail so far. Nice walk down the mountain, I don't care. We crossed an awesome bridge over the Hudson river, I don't care. We got very good food at a deli market, I don't care. I got to see my granddaughter today, absolute best day so far. She even tried to pretend that we don't stink, I love that girl. BEAUTIFUL, I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK.PS. I also got to see my son and daughter in law which was really great. Keep smiling everyone.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-12
From: Greymoor Spiritual Life Center 

To: RPH Shelter 
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: scattered clouds

We left the Graymoor Center camping area around 7:30. The day was bright and sunny and reached the low 90s It was hot hiking but the humidity was down and made it tolerable. Not much in the way of views today but the trail was easy on us with mostly level or gradual climes with a few of what we call little bumps. Forgot to mention yesterday going through the Bear Mountain area we heard live mortars being launched and exploding coming from West Point. They were the same as what we heard in PA a few weeks back. From the Mountain we could see the dust or whatever where's my mom they we're exploding but could not see the mortar itself. About 13 miles into our hike we took a side trail to Canopus lake where there is a beach area with a concession stand. A cheeseburger, fries, cold drinks and a couple of ice creams were had. We then continued on to the RPH Shelter after 18.8 miles. When we arrived there was a large group working out of the Shelter doing trail work. They fed us supper and had could drinks for about 10 thru-hikers staying the night. They had ice cream for desert. That was a first for us on the trail. ~Robi1Very good day today. We got up early 5:45 and got on the trail by 7:30 to beat some of the heat. We got to a Fahnestock state park by 2:15 and ate lunch. That was almost 14 miles into our day so we took our time because we only had 5 miles to go to the shelter. When we got to the shelter there was a trail maintenance crew there who were done for the day and getting ready to cook. They feed all the crew and all the hikers at the shelter. We had pulled chicken sandwiches and salad and chips with cold drinks. Then the woman who cooked pulled out cookies and brownies and vanilla ice cream. We had root beer floats. We all ate till we were stuffed. It was a good night with good conversation. The woman who cooked invited us all to her house in the morning for waffles. We will be there.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-13
From: RPH Shelter 

To: Native Landscape and Garden Center 
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: light rain

We left the RPH Shelter about 7:30 we then Hiked 3 1/2 miles to a road crossing where we had Waffles at one of the trail maintainers house. They also offered a shower and laundry but we passed on that. Nice day but very hot for hiking. Temperatures were in the mid 90s and plenty of humidity. We took a lunch break at the Morgan Stewart Shelter and got water. Not many views today again but a very nice walk in the woods. The trail was fairly easy and not to many bumps. We passed by Nuclear lake and continued on to the Appalachian Train RR Station where on weekends it stops and goes into NY City. We are camping just beyond the RR Station. We hiked 19.9 hot miles today. ~Robi1Another good day. Started out 3 and a half miles into our hike eating waffles at the woman who cooked for us last nights' house. There were 6 hikers there when we got there. Great homemade waffles. Then the hike wasn't very hard today and we got some trail magic of cold drinks. We did 19.9 good miles and plan on another great day tomorrow.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-14
From: Native Landscape and Garden Center 

To: Mt Algo Shelter 
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We left the campsites just after the Appalachian Train RR station around 8:45. It was at a garden center were you can camp for free. We were in between a busy road and the train that went by going around 80-90 MPH, quite often. Just a bit noisy. Our hike today started out going through open wildflower fields, nice but very hot.We continued on and took a break at 6 miles at the Wiley Shelter to get water and have a Cliff bar. We then made our way to Ten Mile River where we had lunch and soaked our feet in the river. We moved on and soon got caught in a downpour. Lasted about 1/2 hour. Just long enough to soak us and the trail. There were some rock ledges to navigate through and it made slick. We got to our ending point MT Algo Shelter after 18.1 miles for the day. ~Robi1Last night we camped 50ft from railroad tracks and 25ft from the street. There was a row of trees between us and the street but only bushes between the tracks. The trains went by at between 80 and 100mph. No lie, scared us all. The trains also went by every 20 minutes or so until 10ish on there way to NYC.Today was tougher than expected. We had 4 climbs and all with rocks. The last 2 with wet rocks because of rain. It made it very slippery. My feet were a little sore at the end of the day because of the steep decents.I want to say hi to PBGAC. PB thanks for thinking of Claire and keeping in touch with her. Its greatly appreciated.Hey Eric I hope you are still holding up your end of the hiking trip. Heading into town tomorrow for resupply and a bed. Maybe a beer or 2 also.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-15
From: Mt Algo Shelter 

To: Kent CT 
Miles today: 1.1
Weather: broken clouds

We left MT Algo Shelter and hiked 0.3 to road crossing CT 341. We then walked 0.8 into Kent CT where we had a mail drop. We got a ride to Cornwall Bridge Ct where we are showering doing laundry and will spend the night. We will be back on the trail tomorrow. ~Robi1Very easy day. We walked 1.1 miles into Kent CT to pick up our maildrops and get a room for the night. We are finally in New England, yeah. We got ice creams at the outfitters at 9:45am and they were good. We got a ride to the motel and went and got lunch. At the package store they gave us a free beer because we are thru hikers but Eric would be proud because we got some rum and coke also. Got our laundry done and went back to the store for supper. Just hanging around resting which feels great. Three more days and we will be in Massachusetts. We are more than 2/3rds done the trail. 1467.1 miles and still having a blast.I hope everyone at Teranova and associates are having a great summer.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-16
From: Kent CT 

To: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter 
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

We got a ride back to the trail and got hiking by 8:30. It was a very nice day with temps starting out at 55 degrees and getting into the high 70s by mid afternoon with low humidity. We had a good climb starting out then a steep decent down to the Housatonic River where the trail went flat for 5 miles. We took a short break at Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter. We then had some rocky climbs for 7 miles before reaching Pine Swamp Brook Shelter. We hiked 17 miles for today. ~Robi1Today was a strange day. We did 17 miles and probably a little more than half was flat with no rocks and very easy. The rest of the trail was not. There were some steep and very rocky climbs. When we were done it felt like it was a tough day. I'm excited that the plan for tomorrow puts us over 1500 miles. I hope the terrain lets us stick to that plan. Today was absolutely beautiful weather and tomorrow is suppose to be the same.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-17
From: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter 

To: Riga Shelter 
Miles today: 18.9

We left Pine Swamp Brook Shelter around 8:15. Cool when we got up this morning. About 50 degrees. Nice for the start of our hike but soon it warmed up to high 70s The trail started out with a few (bumps) small climbs and was a nice walk in the woods.we passed through Falls Village CT and took a break at a small park by a hydro power plant. We continued on to Riga Shelter after 18.9 miles. ~Robi1Today was a pretty long day. We hiked 18.9 miles with a road walk of about 3 miles. The road walk was a detour because a bridge was being rebuilt. It was not fun. The rest of the trail was good with a few fairly tough climbs. I got stung by a hornet on one of the climbs. My left calf is still burning tonight. Tomorrow we make it to Massachusetts. That should be a really good mental boost for us. Hello to everyone at Eagan Chiropractic. Congrats on your new purchase Dave.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-18
From: Riga Shelter 

To: Glen Brook Shelter 
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: light rain

We left the Riga Shelter tent sites about 8:30 The weather was foggy with light drizzle but warm. Our first climb of the day was up Bear Mountain. The 700ft climb was not to bad but the decent was steep Rocky and slippery. We had no views from the top still foggy. We soon passed into Massachusetts, ?? another State down. From there the trail followed a nice Stream for 0.3 mile. We then had to climb about 1,000ft up Mt Race and walked the ridge for 0.6 miles. There were some views as the Sun was working on the fog. We then went back down and started on 900ft Mt Everett. It was very steep and Rocky. Coming down was a little easier. We then came to The Hemlocks Shelter where we are camping for the night. We hiked 10.1 miles today. Tomorrow we will hike 8 miles to get to Sheffield MA where we have a mail drop. ~Robi1Today was a small mileage day but a hard day. We hiked 10.1 miles. We did a couple of climbs that were steep and had wet flat rocks. The flat rocks aren't level, they go with the steepness of the hill and don't have much traction even when dry. We made it to Massachusetts today. It feels good to be getting closer to the finish. I'm not in a hurry to finish but it feels good to be getting close. I'm looking forward to Thursday when Claire comes to climb Mt Greylock with us.-Hooti
Date: 2015-07-19
From: Glen Brook Shelter 

To: Sheffield MA 
Miles today: 8.0

We left the Glen Brook Shelter area and hiked the 8 miles to the trail crossing at RT 7 where Jess picked us up. We got there around 1:00pm. We were glad to be done for the day with the temperature hitting 90 degrees and lots of humidity. We took showers, got the laundry done and set up our tents in the yard. We then walked a short distance to town where we ate at the Caf©. We then went back and relaxed for the rest of the day. Tomorrow (Monday) we will get our mail drop at 9am when the post office opens. ~Robi18 miles into Sheffied today. We are at Jess's home where she lets hikers stay at for a small fee. It was a very treacherous hike to get here. The hills were downhill and steep with wet flat rocks. It was very slow going to try to be safe. All the hikers said the same thing. Oh ya it was also 90 degrees. We needed to stay here to get our maildrop at the post office tomorrow morning. We should be back on the trail around 10:00 and plan on getting back to our regular mileage. Hi to all at the compound. -Hooti
Date: 2015-07-20
From: Sheffield MA 

To: Mt Wilcox South Shelter 
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

We got up and Jess had blueberry pancakes ready with OJ & coffee. They were great. We walked to the PO and got our mail drops and went back and sorted it out. Jess gave us a ride back to where we left off around 10:30am. The temperature today was not much better at 88 degrees and humid. We had some climbs today that would have been easier had it not been so hot & humid. We drank lots of water today. We had a couple of nice views today but the bugs were horrible. Went through many wet swampy areas. We made our to Wilcox South Shelter after 11.7 miles for today ~Robi1Fairly easy day today. We got our maildrops when the P.O. opened and got to the trail about 10:30. We went about 5 miles and found a rock with a beautiful view and a breeze to keep the mosquito's away and sat for a quick break. Well about 15 minutes later a hiker we haven't seen in a month (Happy) and his wife showed up. She is hiking with him for a week and has the trail name of (go lucky). Put them together and you understand. Anyway we talked with them for about an hour. So much for a short break but it was worth every minute because they are such nice people. They are from New Zealand and she is headed home in the next week or so. Back to our hike. There were a few very steep and rocky climbs which are getting us ready for the whites. It was very hot again today and something I haven't mentioned is that the mosquito's have been brutal the last week and a half. Trying to hike and swat them can be challenging. We did 11.7 miles today which is on schedule to meet Claire on Thursday. Tomorrow and Wednesday will be longer days but that's just how the shelters line up.Hello Dad it's great to hear from you. I can't wait to tell you all the stories. Keep walking and swimming.-Hooti