morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-30
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: PA 94 , Mt Holly Springs
Miles today: 20.3

Day73 1077.8 miles to go.Today I crossed the halfway point on the trail, YEA! Today's hike was ok. Not too many rocks but my feet really hurt today. I don't know if it was just mental, realizing that I have walked so far, or if it is the new boots that still aren't broken in, but they really hurt today. The hike was nice though, the trail was beautiful as it seems to be most of the time these days. There weren't really a lot of views though. What was cool was that at the half way point there was a actual sign there, it was at last years half way point so it is off according to what info I have but it was still really cool to see the half way point on the trail. It was a little weird at one point, I was expecting to walk into Pine Grove Forest state park where there is a general store (home of the half gallon challenge) and the AT museum. Suddenly though rather in the park I found myself walking through a neighborhood, not really the suburbs kind but a small neighborhood in the woods with gravel roads either on the trail or crossing the trail and I'm walking almost through peoples front yards. Anyway, the big let down of the day was that the General Store was only open on Sat and Sun until after Memorial Day so no half gallon challenge, and we had all timed our hike to get there at lunch so that we would be hungry. The AT museum was also closed so that kind of put a damper on the rest of the day for me. Through the state park though the walk was very nice, paved or graveled walk ways, lakes, open fields, and other stuff that you expect in a well used state park. Then it was back into the woods and the trail. I had expected to go 25 miles today and get to the Alec Kennedy shelter but when I got to the PA 94 crossing with Mt Holly Springs just down the road I decided that my feet didn't have another 5 miles in them and with the threat of rain (which happened) I didn't want to tent, so I wimped out and went into town. Glad I did. I got a decent dinner at the hotel there and had a good breakfast before getting back on the trail. The only downside is that I didn't eat that food out of my pack so my pack didn't loose any weight overnight. It usually does.
Date: 2012-05-01
From: PA 94 , Mt Holly Springs

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: light rain

Day 74 1054.7 to go.Nice hike today, for the most part. It was raining this morning when I started out, nothing too hard just a slow drizzle. That cleared off by 10:30 and the rest of the day was great as far as weather goes. The trail today was fairly diverse as well. The day started out and ended in the hills with lots of ups and downs and some rocks, and the middle was all farm land. To start with there were two rock mazes that I had to go through. Not quite as ominous as I had thought they would be, but it was an interesting scramble to get through and around in both of them. They were about a half mile apart and each was about a tenth of a mile long with sections that required me to actually put my trekking poles down and use my hands to get through and over some of the sections. Then just before entering the Cumberland Valley I passed the original AT mid-point at Center Point Knob. After that it was down into the valley and into Boiling Springs. I stopped in there for a while and had lunch at Cafe 101, soup and a sandwich. Then it was on and across the valley. The weather was great all day but it did get a little warm in the afternoon. Also my feet were really sore again today, I guess I'm still breaking in the boots. After the valley it was back up on the ridge and into Darlington Shelter for the night. Just 11.3 miles into Duncannon tomorrow.
Date: 2012-05-02
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: moderate rain

Day 75 1043.4 to go.The hike today wasn't too bad. It started off nice but it was foggy, it rained again last night. After a walk down and through a couple of hay fields where the grass was thigh high and very wet, I climbed up onto the next ridge and the rocks started. The guide said that this 6 mile section would be very rocky and I was expecting the worst, but it really wasn't any worse or even as bad as some of the other sections I've done so far. Anyway, it was rocky from there until Duncannon and I finally got into some of the rocks that PA is supposed to be famous for. I made it into Duncannon in time for lunch at the Doyle Hotel. I had a shrimp poor boy with chips, a medium (really a lot) chili cheese fries, and a couple of beers. It was an awesome way to end the days hike. After that I checked into a room, got a shower, then it was time for laundry and resupply. That done I had some time to just relax for an hour or so before dinner and sleep. The Doyle is a cool place with lots of ... character, the food at the bar is great and they are fantastic to the hikers. The rooms though... they were clean.
Date: 2012-05-03
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Yellow Springs Village, Campsite with trail reg
Miles today: 24.7

Day 76 1018.7 to go.I slept ok last night though not great, the room was way too bright from the lights in the hall way shining through the window over the door. I went to Goodies this morning for breakfast, great food... mostly drinkable coffee. After that it was a nice walk out of town. Duncannon seems to be a very hiker friendly town and everyone I saw either waved or said good morning. Then it was a hike across a long bridge that goes over the Susquehanna River and back into the woods. It rained again last night so it was foggy and cloudy this morning again. This seems to be a pattern in this part of the country. Anyway, after a good climb back up onto the ridge I went through a very tough and technical section of rocks. The fact that they were a little slick with water made it even more fun to get through. At one point I though I would have to take my pack off to get through but didn't, one of the other guys I talked to did take his off to get through one section. After that though the rocks thinned out and the trail became more or less reasonable, meaning there were enough rocks to give PA it's reputation but not so many that it slowed me down too much. It even cleared up later in the day enough so that we could see some of the views and overlooks that we had been passing all day, not enough for pictures though. The camp site at the end of the day didn't have water so I stopped along with AMS (Asian Medical Student Mike) and Turtle and Mule to get water at a spring along the trail about 2.5 miles before the camp site. AMS and I had dinner there and Turtle and Mule moved on. I was the last to leave and about a mile from the spring it got really cloudy and dark and I started hearing thunder. I speed up, I'd been loafing, and tried to beat the rain into the campsite but about a half mile later it started raining on me. So, I stopped and put all my rain gear on, just in time to stay mostly dry, and continued my walk into the campsite. I was thinking that if it didn't stop I would have to walk another 5 miles to get to a shelter. My tent isn't one that I can set up in the rain and keep the inside dry. Fortunately, the rain let up just a little just after I got to the tent site and I was able to get set up without getting the inside of my tent too wet. So, now I am listening to the frogs and the water dripping off the leaves ready for sleep.
Date: 2012-05-04
From: Yellow Springs Village, Campsite with trail reg

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 22.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 77 996.6 to go.Less than 1000 miles to go, Yea! I woke up this morning and everything was damp. It had rained again during the night and with the ground wet where I set up my tent the air was really humid so everything is a little damp inside the tent and the outside is soaked. I packed everything up though, and it is at least 5 pounds heavier today, and headed down the trail. This mornings hike was nice though, I felt good and I think my boots are finally broken in so I made good time. There is a lot of what I think is a kind of honeysuckle so the forest smells really good. Much better than I do in fact. While I was at lunch the sun came out and it got warm, and also very humid. So, this afternoon's hike was miserable and very hot. Later in the afternoon we got a quick rain shower that cooled things off and also decided me on stopping at the 501 shelter rather than going on down the trail to camp somewhere. That means that I will have to do 24 miles in the morning to meet my friend at Port Clinton but it is raining again now and I'm glad that I decided to stop. Also, from the 501 shelter it is possible to order Pizza, and there is a solar shower so I was able to clean up a little before bed tonight. Long day tomorrow.
Date: 2012-05-05
From: 501 Shelter

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: broken clouds

Day 78 972.5 to go.Good day today, I got up and was out of the shelter by 6 am. I am meeting some friends in Port Clinton today at 4pm so I needed to be on the trail early to make it. The weather today was perfect, it was cloudy for most of the day with no threat of rain and the temps were cool. The trail today wasn't too bad either. It was really rocky for the first 5 miles or so of the trail this morning but not so bad that it slowed me down too much, it also got a little rocky at the end of the day just before Port Clinton, again it didn't slow me down too much. The climb down into Port Clinton though was ridiculously steep. If there is anywhere that I have seen that is in need of switch backs it is that hill down into Port Clinton. I don't know how you would get down other than to slide down and hope for the best if you were caught in a bad rain storm. Anyway, enough of that. The day was a very nice one and the hike was good. I got to see some views from the trail today without clouds or fog to interfere. I also got to hike with a guy named Spoon for a while today which was nice. I hadn't seen him other than for a few minutes in Harpers Ferry since Daleville, VA. Anyway, now I am snug at my friends home having been to a little league baseball game and had a good home cooked meal. I'll take a 0 here tomorrow and be back on the trail sometime on Monday.
Date: 2012-05-06
From: Friends Home

To: Friends Home
Miles today: 0.0

Day 79 972.5 to goHad a great day spent with my friends family, thier kids are great. It is so refreashing to meet polite well mannered young people. I spent the day catching up my journal, resupply, laundry, going to baseball tryouts, went to a skeet shoot, and meeting new people. Had one of the best steaks I've had in a long time, man that was a good piece of meat, then went out for some good ice cream. All in all a very busy but enjoyable day.
Date: 2012-05-07
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 80 950.3 to goTough day today. This morning started off good though. A hot shower, coffee and breakfast. I left my friends home with an invitation to return, always nice, then headed out. I got to stop into an outfitter for some supplies that I'd been wanting and then it was onto the trail.The climb out of Port Clinton wasn't too bad, it did get rockier again though and I am seeing where PA gets its reputation. After I stopped for lunch it started to rain, and continued to rain for the remainder of the afternoon. That made the afternoon trudge through the rain and over the slippery rocks. I did manage a couple of views and photos before the rain though so it wasn't a total loss. One thing that I don't want to repeat was I actually missed a shelter today. My trail guide was wet so that I couldn't read any of the notes and the shelter I was looking for happend to be on a major road. That is unusual. That particular shelter I had decided to stop at because I was wet and tired of slipping around on the rocks so I was going to stop. Normally when you get to a shelter that is off the trail, as most of them are, there is a obvious side trail with an obvious sign saying 'shelter' to let you know that you have arrived at the shelter location. This shelter, since it was on a major road only had a small sign (I found out later from other hikers) high up on a tree with the word shelter and an arrow writtin in ink. In the rain, at an unusual location, and without my notes, I'm not supprized that I missed it. Anyway, I am at the next shelter now. I got in late, around 7:20, got settled in, had dinner, and am just wrapping up before bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be rain all day again.
Date: 2012-05-08
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: PA 873, Slatington, PA
Miles today: 17.3

Day 81 933.0 to goWhat a day, lots of rocks and it rained all day, as expected. That made the rocks very slippery and hard to walk on. I even slipped and fell today but fortunetly I landed on my pack and not on anything important. A place on the trail called Knife Edge was probably the most difficult bit to get over. It was a string of boulders and well just big darn rocks sticking out of the ground in kind of a knife edge formation, so it was aptly named. Well, with all the rain and the rocks all being slippery and at sharp angles the walking was challanging to say the least. I was fortunate that the cloud layer was high enough that I got a nice view from the top and stopped to have a snack and take some photos. Bake Oven Knob was also another very tough section but not as bad as Knive Edge. Generally though today was just one long scramble across the rocks with a lot of time either stepping from rock to rock or trying to step between the rocks. PA definately earned its reputation as 'rocky' today. Tonight I am staying at a place called Fine Lodging, it seems to be low rent apartments. Once of those places with the bathroom down the hall and you just rent a single room. It is clean though and the owner is very hiker friendly. He only rents rooms for the night out to through hikers and gives a free ride too and from the trail head. I also was able to borrow a hair dryer from him to try and dry out my stuff. Everything was soaked today, glad that I wasn't trying to do more than 17 miles.
Date: 2012-05-09
From: PA 873, Slatington, PA

To: PA 33, Wind Gap, PA
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 82 912 to goNice weather today for a change. I also was able to sleep fairly well last night and got most of my stuff mostly dry. The hike today started off with a bang, elisiting a whimper from me. I had a 1000' climb out of Lehigh gap, covered in about a 1/4 mile. That means that it was very steap. The first part was just that steap but not too difficult. The top 1/3 or so was almost straight up and I had to climb hand over hand and put my treking poles away. I don't really like heights that much (and this was high) and am not a professional rock climber so when I got done my knees were literally shaking. I got through it safely though and it is now behind me, I am really glad I didn't do it last night in the rain though. Makes me think that Whites in NH might be more challanging than I had thought. After that though I was rewarded with about 3 miles of smooth even, though somewhat hilly, trail and was able to make some good time before the rocks kicked in again. The rest of the day the rocks weren't really bad enough to slow me down too much but it seemed that every step there was a rock poking me in the foot. So, my feet really hurt tonight. I also got some good views today since it was mostly clear all day. Tonight I am in a real dump, they are friendly enough but the room was not clean, there was even mold growing in the closet. If I'd had a car I wouldn't have stayed there but the next option was over 2 miles away and no one was stopping to give me a ride today. Well, I'm tired enough that I don't think it will matter.
Date: 2012-05-10
From: PA 33, Wind Gap, PA

To: PA 611, Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 83 896.5 to goToday was good all things considered. The weather was nice, dry, so the rocks weren't slippery and I was able to make resonable time on the trail. I also had some really nice views today, on the whole PA in the rain wasn't nice I think I would have been able to enjoy it more though if it hadn't been raining. I know I'm going to get rained on but when that makes walking dangerous it isn't fun. Today though was good, and I am into Delaware Water Gap which is a nice little town. I stopped into an outfitter and got some freze dried meals and some new gaters, mine were very holey. Then I stopped in at the bakery and got a good sandwich, french fries, and ice cream (what does it say when you are in a great bakery with wonderful pies and you choose ice cream?). Anyway, I got the rest of my resupply done, at a gas station, and am in a much nicer hotel tonight. It is a bit run down but it is also very clean. I'll sleep well tonight.
Date: 2012-05-11
From: PA 611, Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 24.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 84 871.8 to goThe weather today was fantastic and I got out of PA, that is half the states done. I had lots of great views today. The walk out of Delaware Water Gap was nice, across the Delaware River and into the Kittatinny Recreation area. The trail today was a nice change from PA also. Lots of ups and downs all day so I got to work more than one set of muscles all day, PA was very flat. It was very rocky though, I had a feeling that the rocks wouldn't stop at the border and was correct. The area around Sunfish pond was particularly nice, evedently you can have a pond designated a national heratage site, who knew. So, today I was able to bang my feet against the rocks all day again. Mostly it was ok though. I also found my first tics on me today, I didn't get them until I got to the shelter though.
Date: 2012-05-12
From: Brink Road Shelter

To: Murry Property
Miles today: 25.0

Day 85 846.8 to goToday's hike was tough. My feet were hurting from the start today and never really got any better, makes for a long day. The rocks also persisted for most of the day today. They did stop finally about 20 miles into my hike but by then the damage for the day was done. The last 5 miles of the hike though the trail was very nice to walk on, even though I didn't necessarily enjoy walking at that point. I had decided to keep going though because it is supposed to rain tonight and the Murry Property is the best option of a place to stay for me. All that said I did have some fantastic views today and the weather was just about perfect for hiking all day. It was sunny and warm with a nice cooling breez all day. Another cool thing was that about 3 1/2 miles into my hike this morning I stopped at "Joe to Go" which is right next to the trail. I had coffee, dounut, chocolate milk, and a breakfast sandwich, the bread on the sandwich was fantastic. After that I had a bit of a climb up to an old fire tower. On my way up I had another treat when a lovely young lady on her morning jog came by (I know I'm bad) that was my inspiration for the day. Today was hot and there was no breez to cool me, added to that was a general lack of water all day. There was a very nice treat at the Mishipacong shelter, the maintainer had hauled water up to the shelter and left it in the bear box. Much thanks to that person, I was out of water and that water was just in time. High Point State Park was nice also. Lots of nice views, good water at the park headquarters, and after the high point shelter the rocks thinned out. So now I am in the ... well cabin really, even though we are sleeping on the floor. I have had a big dinner and am ready for a good nights sleep.
Date: 2012-05-13
From: Murry Property

To: NY 17a, Greenwood Lake, NY
Miles today: 28.5

Day 86 818.3 to goToday was a long day and a long hike, expected, it was also much, much tougher than I thought it would be. Last night was great though a good nights sleep and a good water source this morning for my breakfast. I got a really early start today because I knew I had a ways to go and wanted to finnish as early as possible. Turns out that I needed the extra time just to finnish at a decent hour (i.e. before dark). The first few miles this morning were nice and easy, good treadway and easy trail. The hike around wallkill preserve reminded me of a wetlands state park that we have just outside Savannah so that was cool. After that I had to walk through a swamp area, fortunately the local maintainers put out a kind of board walk so I didn't have to trudge though knee deep mud. After that I climbed Pochuck Mountain were I ran into rocks again, nothing too daunting but a hint of things to come. After that it was back down and I had a long board walk on a proper sidewalk style decking. That lasted about a mile then I stopped in at Haven Hill at NJ 94 and had a Walnut Danish (big one) and half a gallon of milk for lunch (not my best decision ever). Right after I had that wonderful bit of gut busting lunch I had to climb (a proper climb too) Wawayanda Mountain. This was a tough climb, it was steady and fairly steep with several sections that were either boulder hops or hand over hand to get up. This was also the beginning of the rocks again and they lasted the rest of the day (about 15 miles). From then on it was rocky and constantly up or down. Nothing like back in GA but still relentlessly up and down. Considering I haven't had any days with a lot of ups and downs in a few weeks this was a wake up call for my muscles. I finnished off New Jersey and New York started off trying to prove that it was tougher than New Jersey. It took me 2 hours to cover the first 2 miles of NY, that is normally a 40 to 50 minute hike. It was one rock scramble followed by another with several climbs and decents that were hand over hand. After that it calmed down and the last 2 or 3 miles were a bit more resonable trail, by that time though I had already hiked 25 very tough miles so I was dragging a bit for those last miles. I am staying at Anton's on the Lake tonight and it is a very nice and clean place to stay. As the name says it is also directly on a lake. I think I will 0 tomorrow.
Date: 2012-05-14
From: NY 17a, Greenwood Lake, NY

To: NY 17a, Greenwood Lake, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Day 87 818.3 to go0 day! My feet are swollen today, I'm not going anywhere on them I don't have to. I'll get laundry done, update the journal, resupply, and rest. Tomorrow is soon enough to get started north again.
Date: 2012-05-15
From: NY 17a, Greenwood Lake, NY

To: NY 17a, Greenwood Lake, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Day 88 818.3 to goAnother 0 day today. My right foot looks like a sausage it is swollen so much. So I am going to give it another day of rest and maybe it will heal enough to keep going.
Date: 2012-05-16
From: NY 17a, Greenwood Lake, NY

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 88 796.6 to goGreenwood Lake was a nice area, I can see why it is an old resort town. So, I¢m off down the trail today, I couldn¢t sit around another day and my foot, though still swollen, doesn¢t hurt. I was up and had a good breakfast again this morning and then I got a ride down to the trail. The trail was tough today, as I¢ve read in other journals and books, NY and NJ are tougher than you would think. NY in particular seems to love taking you out of the way to walk across rocks and boulders. Those boulders are also very slick when they are wet so the going is tough and slow. I have to say that I am enjoying the change in the trail with more ups and downs rather than long flat sections. Two cool things that I ran into today was the Lemon Squeezer, a challenging set of obstacles to climb over or through, and a turkey that kept running down the trail in front of me for about a half a mile. So, the hike was tough and slow all day, it took me 11 miles to go 21 miles, it would normally be 8 or 9 hours. Now I am in a very dirty shelter, another thing that seems to be the norm in NY is poorly maintained shelters.