morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-06-25
From: Rod hollow shelter 994.4

To: Campsite 1019
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: broken clouds

Got up at the shelter and was on trail by about 645. Got quickly into the rollercoaster, a 13ish mile section of trail that was supposedlu really up and down. To be honest I didn't notice much different from a regular at hiking day but I guess I was going a bit slower than usual. There was still muddy parts but the uphills of the roller coaster were pretty dry. Lots of water crossings in the morning too. The cool rocks of the bears den was a nice place to take a break and see the whole valley. After crossing the highway and getting out of the rollercoaster, all the water dried up. I had been being very cavalier about carrying much because there was so many crossings. So I did not have any entering a big dry stretch. This was alleviated by going to the PATCs Blackburn center, a trail crew building and filling up. Pretty cool building, I really like the sound of the PATC, if I ever live near here I will definitely look into joining.  After that myself az and fingerlickin pushed on to hwy 9 where we took a short detour to a deli for some fried chicken. Them we got back on trail and jumped into the first campsite we could find.
Date: 2018-06-26
From: Campsite 1019

To: Crampton gap 1035.2
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: clear sky

Got up and got on trail a little after 7 with fingerlickin and az, we only had about 6 miles into Harper's ferry so I wasn't feeling very rushed.  Crossing the wv had no real fanfare, just a very missable little sign. Right after though was a bridge over then Shenandoah river and with all the recent rain that thing was turgid and swollen. Once over the bridge it was a quick jaunt to the ATC building to have our photos taken for posterity. My photo was thru hiker 1000ish.  We met a bunch of hikers at the ATC building. Seems that a lot of people were slacking or just had taken a trip to DC or something. It was very cool to have a big meeting spot. A mother-daughter pair of hikers, lucky penny & (I forgot, sorry!) Had a car available for the last time before they were going home to return it and drove us to Walmart to resupply. While there we also ran into doc and hummingbird preparing for their 4 state challenge. I had originally really wanted to do that too but I think the recent mid and rocks really tired out my feet so I decided yesterday not to.  After resupply, we packed up, had some lunch and took off. The trail through the city is pretty cool by the river, going over Jefferson rock and many historical things. Then after the river (Crossing into md) it goes on a flat bike path for 4ish miles. I actually hiked this part iny sandals as it was super flat and kinda like a track. After the path I switched back to shoes and we had a 6 miles stretch of trail to go. Az had been contacted by a trail angel that he knew from his previous hike and we were going to meet her for dinner at the state park ~10 miles from Harper's. As I got close and was starting to look for the park, I saw her (Vicky) coming up the hill to greet us, that was awesome. She had some cold drinks and tasty spanokopita for us too. Shortly after this I noticed I had somehow dropped one of my sandals and was pretty bummed out. But there wasn't much I could do short of backtracking ip to 6 miles, so i went to dinner with them instead. The dinner at the nearby town of middle town was great, I had a Maryland burger which included some of the famous crab on a burger. It was actually really good.After dinner Vicky was going to drive me back to the earlier part of the trail so I could try to find my sandal, but we lucked into running into a hiker (Ms Robinson, named by a 2 year old kid of his friend that kept calling him that for several days) who told me that his friend tuna had it and was going to/at already the same shelter we planned to go to. This saved me from a bunch of wandering around in the dark. I got up to the shelter and sure enough he had it. I offered him of my snacks and stuff in thanks but he was happy to take anything. Whew, happy to have both sandals, not super expensive or anything but really nice to have around and would take a while to replace.
Date: 2018-06-27
From: Crampton gap 1035.2

To: Raven rock shelter 1060.8
Miles today: 25.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Got up pretty early and dry! It had been supposed to rain overnight but luckily didn't, the sky definitely looked like it was about to rain though. Got packed up and on the trail by 645 with Az and fingerlickin. Was expecting to get to a backpackers campground in about 7 miles that had showers available. I hadn't showered or done any laundry since front Royal so my clothes (especially socks) were kinda gross (mostly damp).I had 2 separate pairs of friends that were trying to do versions of the 4 state challenge (va->pa) so was looking forward to seeing them.  Shortly after I had gotten to the campground and taken a shower silverback and who arrived. They had made the same decision as I that backtracking to do 4 state was kinda silly so they had started from the Potomac (already in WV) ar 3am and were going for 40 miles instead. They looked pretty fresh and happy for having hiked 17 miles already.  About an hour north of there the skirs opened up and it started pouring. I was in a pretty dense section of trees so I made the choice to hide out under a tree for a bit. It worked out super well actually, I kept my shoes dry and hiked on after about 5 minutes when the rain got way less dense. Shortly after, as I was by the Washington monument hummingbird and poop sack came by. They HAD started from the VA border and instead of just going to Mason Dixon they were going for 50+. Hiked with them for a short while then wished them well as I got dropped.  The terrain in MD was pretty much the same as it had been mild ups and downs with lots of rocks here and there and tons of slippery mud. I'm sure all the rain didn't help with that.  Took a couple of breaks at the shelters meeting people. Looks like I had gotten ahead of everyone I knew really so most of the hikers were new, except legs whom I had met at the bears den. He had been planning his own version of 4 state that he called the 'real 4 state' (basically starting 7 miles earlier where the trail goes along the border) he didn't get to PA obviously, but had done 40+ and seemed happy.Got to Raven rocks shelter around 630, it's a huge shelter (guide says it sleeps 16) and the site was crazy full of people around in tents as well. Grabbed a spot inside (forecast was for tons of overnigjt rain) and had fun talking with a bunch if new hikers before going to bed.
Date: 2018-06-28
From: Raven rock shelter 1060.8

To: Fayetteville pa 1083.6
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: overcast clouds

For the first time in a while, I was not the first out of the shelter, the first ones got up and were out before 6. Poop sack had texted me that they hit their 50 and were going to bed. I replied that we'd have to try to catch up. With 5 miles to the pa border got started. There was a really nice park right before so got water but mostly kept going, only really stopped for some wild blackberries.  At the Mason Dixon, saw from the logbook that silverback and who had also finished their 40. Was happy for them too.  After the pa border there were a lot of cool parks and a LOT of shelters. Went by 3 in about a 6 mile stretch. A particularly good one had twin shelters one labelled for non-snorers. At that shelter, ran into a really fun family of 5 all thru-hiking. The 11 year old seemed the most excited and had the great name funshine.  PA was definitely as Rocky as advertised but the terrain was super easy. We got our 23 miles to the road by 5pm. I had a box with new shoes waiting at the trail of hope hostel, so we headed there. On the way ran into hummingbird and poop sack by the icecream shop and talked them into the hostel with us.  Was going to be a fun evening, but a little bit sad for me, Az and fingerlickin had both decided just to get off trail past the half way point and half gallon challenge. Poop sack was finishing her section there too, so after tomorrow all my current friends would be gone.
Date: 2018-06-29
From: Fayetteville pa 1083.6

To: Campsite 1105.8
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: clear sky

Great weather for hiking today. Kind of on the warm side actually but nice and not humid. Kind of like PCT weather.Got a ride from the hostel to the trail jist before 8 with hummingbird, poop sack, fingerlickin and Az. The trail was just mellow and nice throughout the day. No major climbs or big rocks just nice forest with the occasional powerline clearing. All of the shelters we went hunting were super nice today. Each one was varnished so they looked real cool and had an array of extra features, from a cool porch swing to a hammock hang structure to cooking pavilions.  Got into furnace Creek state park around 4 with Az and got ready for the half gallon ice cream challenge. The deal is you eat half a gallon of icecream and then get a wooden spoon prize. The half gallon size is actually only 1.5liters so you eat one then eat another pint. Az had said often that his only regret from his 2014 thru hike was skipping the ice cream challenge so I went ahead and joined him in it on his last day of hiking in 2018. He picked neopolitan ice cream for his big container to mix up the flavors, where as I went to orange pineapple which sounded more palatable to me at the time. Over about half an hour we both finished the 1.5liters, during this time sparrow came in and demolished 1.5 l of moose tracks ice cream, which we had both ruled out as too much work/heavy for the challenge. After that we had a pint to go, I got bananas foster instead which was real good and was able to finish. Az and sparrow finished their challenge as well. The girls had shown up while we were eating the ice cream and all decided to pass.  After all the ice cream, we went down to The Fuller lake beach where we swam in the (really really deep, possible quarry?) Lake and then I took a nice warm shower in the restroom area. Poopsack's friend arrived to take her Az and fingerlickin away so we said our goodbyes. Az and fingerlickin we're planning to rent a car and try to trail magic for us tomorrow. Hummingbird headed back to the hostel but then ice cream challenge but I decided to hike a little to a campsite. Weather looked clear for a while so I wanted to cowboy camp (sleeping out without a tent/tarp). Foind a campsite just outside the state park boundary with Sparrow and pretzel and Dracula and one other hiker who's name I forgot twice already. They had a nice fire going when I showed up so we stayed up by it for a bit chatting before we all went off to bed. It was glorious not having to put up the tarp and being confident in no rain.
Date: 2018-06-30
From: Campsite 1105.8

To: Boiling springs
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was HOT. From the minute I got up at like 545 it was warm. Started hiking a little late for me at 7. Az and fingerlickin had wanted to meet for trail magic at 11 at some dirt road at 1114, I didn't have too much to go so I took it easy in the heat. Met one wish along the way an older lady that was thru hiking with her husband who was making a pit stop, she seemed like she had a great attitude.  The trail was super flat and really nice and easy. Made it to the designated spot before 11 but after Az had arrived. They had brought beer and fruit(watermelon,kiwi and bananas) it was pretty nice. I spent about 2 hours there with them before they headed off northward in their rental car. I had hiked with Az off and on since hiawasse (~900m);and fingerlickin since Fontana dam(~700m) so I felt like losing family members.  After this there was kind of a hard stop at boiling springs after which there was a big waterless stretch. This was about 10 miles ahead so it was going to be quite a mellow day. Along the way the trail had two areas labelled in the guide as 'rock maze' which required some 3rd class rock manuevers. Afterwards there was a knob which used to be the at halfway point, and then cornfields. Luckily the local trail running club had left out a big cooler full of ice water for us because the heat was really intense.  Once arrived at boiling springs, I walked by and Immediately into this large public pool area with 3 huge pools and 3 water slides. Spent some fun time here cooking off with seemingly half the town. I asked and was told that this was the first non rainy weekend day so it was extra busy. Peach and I then had dinner with one wish and her husband jetpack, then went to the tavern to have drinks. Boiling springs is a dry town, so the only alcohol is served at the tavern. Pretty nice and scenic town though. There is a sweet pond in the center wish fishing and ducks/geese. Afterwards went back to the hiker campground on the edge of town by the train tracks and set up to cowboy camp again.
Date: 2018-07-02
From: Duncannon pa

To: Rousch gap shelter
Miles today: 29.0
Weather: light rain

July2 day 66Hot day. Left the awesome church basement of duncannon at 545. Did the road walk including a super spider filled bridge, It took 5 min to clean off all the webs. Someone had left snacks by where the trail ascended so i grabbed a builder bar, thanks. The climb was actually quite nice. Felt cooler even at 1k. Didnt botice the heat exactly but was definitely going slower than usual all day. Even hummingbird seemed a lot slower than her usual self the couple times that i saw her. Met a sobo section hiking xouple at the first shelter that told me thru jad seen forty nobos in the last 2 days. However i didnit run into many of them. Met 3 (beats handstand and i forgot the third) by the river where i went swimming and then 2 others at the rousch gap shelter, 29 miles out of town. So it wss a pretty quiet day. Paat the river it aeemed almost like it had rained, the trail was soaking wet, very muddy in spots and all the rocks were wet and slippery, but none of the plants looked wet in the slightest. So odd. Got into the shelter just about 720p met two guys that had been at Steve's place yesterday and left to hike out immediately before i arrived. Seemed cool enough.
Date: 2018-07-04
From: Pa 183 - rock n sole hostel

To: Port Clinton pavilion 1218.9
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Woke up a little late for me at the hostel in ac, got up at 710. Had amazing breakfast of bagel sandwiches with eggs and sausage and fruit with plenty of coffee. With lucky and it cowboy got a ride back to the trail and was hiking by 930. It was definitely less warm than the days before and the forecast was for up to .75 inches of rain. I did the first 5.6 miles in 2 hours but then started to slow down as the rocks got more intense. The terrain was basically the same as it had been with no major climbs or much out of the usual. It was really muddy in parts though.  Was passed by one thru-hiker and met 2 sobo section hikers, but otherwise had a quiet trip into Port clinton. I had heard about this fire station bar/club from AZ where he had spent some time during his 2014 hike. I really wanted to go in there and hang out with firefighters on this forth of July, it just seemed appropriate. When I got there and knocked, didn't get any response, luckily I just kinda stayed put and looked for other options on my phone. Within a couple minutes other people came but and sponsored my entry. As a social club in PA one needed to be sponsored to enter. Once inside it was $1.25 pints and really nice and air conditioned. I spent almost 4 hours there because it started pouring rain and lightning. Every time I looked outside it was coming down harder. I had originally planned to have a couple beers and some food then hike 6 miles to the next shelter but instead i had a lot more beers and then caught a ride to the town pavilion where hikers were allowed to sleep under the protection of a roof. There were a bunch of hikers were some that I had met before (hummingbird, legs, it cowboy, tambourine) and many new ones. Had a pleasant time while it rained and thundered. Going to get up early and head out.
Date: 2018-07-05
From: Port Clinton pavilion 1218.9

To: Campsite 1242
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: mist

Left the pavilion at 645 and started up the hill. Wasn't raining but everything was wet from last night and so my shoes and socks got soaked from the tall Grass. Rocky trail but it wasn't so bad, there were lots of nice flat sections too. Had a nice lunch break at panther Creek. Hiked the last few miles into the Allentown shelter with picky. Made a new of it cowboy, picky, bo, bearfood and myself. We hiked a couple miles past the shelter to get away from an obnoxious hiker. Set up in a decent flat spot but are expecting rain so hopefully there's a lot of drainage.
Date: 2018-07-06
From: Campsite 1242

To: Leroy a Smith shelter 1274.6
Miles today: 32.6
Weather: clear sky

Great day.Didnt rain on us at all overnight, I was woken 3 times by thunder but was completely dry in the am. During the day it got cloudy but never really rained, at most a couple drops.  3 types of wild berries: blueberries blackberries and raspberries.Lots of cool terrain: knife edge traverses, 3rd class scrambling, really nice soft trail, nice flat fire road flanked by berries, and even a ski resort.  Many people around, hiked with picky, it cowboy, bearfood and pidge more or less all day. Ran into hummingbird, tab, and pro, and a group of 3 who's names I didn't get.  Got trail magic from sparky (another hiker resting and injured ankle) and a class of '17 guy (Mack Daddy) that was going for a short trip with his son (lil Mack), as well as a couple of left out by the road snacks and fruits.  We pushed 32 miles to the shelter thinking we'd give ourselves a shot to hit the Delaware water gap PO tomorrow (it's about 20m from here) but their Saturday hours are only til 1130, so that's not happening. We'll still be in town at a nice time so that is still a plus.
Date: 2018-07-07
From: Leroy a Smith shelter 1274.6

To: Delaware water gap 1294.7
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: clear sky

No more pa!Nice day today, weather was awesome. Sticking with the bullet points for now.Wolf rock, not much of a view but pretty rocks. Mentioned this to some day hikers and they promptly turned around. Lol.More Trail magic. Met a couple that was section hiking from wind gap to wolf gap. They left cookies and drinks at both ends as they shuttled cars. They seemed super happy.  LOTS of day hikers. Saw probably somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty people hiking around for the view of the Delaware river.  Outfitter, new bug shelter ( to go under my tarp), and a new hat. My old one from before the PCT is completely shredded.  Care package from a friend back home. She even thought to include some Jameson. Water remains kinda rare, only passed one source today (started at another source).
Date: 2018-07-08
From: Delaware water gap 1294.7

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Zeroed in dwgHit up the riff Raff hiker feed. They had a ton of food was super awesome, thank you to twinkle toes and co.Swam in the Delaware river. The current was crazy strong, with my head out of the water, couldn't stay ahead of it. Good fun.Went to the old timey icecream shoppe, Zoe's. Banana split was wonderful.Replaced my broken trifold BD poles with lekis. Don't think I'll ever get the tri fold kind again as this is the second pair of them that has failed on me.  Replaced my worn through hat with ORs version of the same thing. The brim is a little thicker and solid, but it seems like it'll be ok.Visited Stroudsburg, did laundry, traded in my holey darn tough socks for new ones from the outfitter, and got a new singlet-style top to wear.
Date: 2018-07-09
From: Delaware water gap 1294.7

To: Campsite 1311.4
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

Got up early and waited at the Post office, but they did not have my package. It's lost somewhere, the tracking number suggests that it was returned but my parents haven't seen it. Gotta check more in the future.Hiked out at almost 10. The looong Bridge over the Delaware was kinda cool but very exposed and sunny. Had planned before hand to camp with picky and co ~16m outLotsa road walkThe moc- Mohican outdoor center was great, had a wonderful cold smoothie.Swam in a glacial lake - sunfish pond.New Jersey is very scenic so far. Lots of nice views. The hiking is a little less rocky but not exactly smooth.Of the group, only pidge made it to the camp, the rest are all behind at the moc.
Date: 2018-07-10
From: Campsite 1311.4

To: 1331.9 Mashipacong shelter
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: clear sky

20 fairly unremarkable miles today. The only real surprise was that there was a tavern and bunch of other stuff right by the trail at a road gap. Had a nice lunch with some beers at the tavern which was right by a really nice lake as well.  A real cool thing was that Mira and night climbed a fire tower that was currently being manned. The lookout inside was Nick, and he was really welcoming and awesome. Showed us all of the stuff he does for his job and told us about his trips west to help with fires eg in montana last year.  There also was a pavilion that we hung out in for about an hour, it's just .3 from a road so lots of day hikers came by as well. Water has been rare, and very ugly eg lots of brown pools, lots of ponds and lots of algae. Luckily there have been towns and faucets and trail magic leavings.The hikers in the area are all really cool and fun to be around. Ginger balls, prime, sparky, pidge, prime, scrapbook, cheddar, hummingbird and Mira and I all kinda spent the day and the last couple nights together.
Date: 2018-07-11
From: 1331.9 Mashipacong shelter

To: 1353.1 Pochuck mountain stealth camp
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Jersey is kinda odd in that ita hard to camp anywhere. Need to avoid the swamp obviously, but there's a lot of town area too where you're not allowed to camp. This limited my milage today and will again tomorrow. I am solo stealth camped near the top of Pochuck mountain. This is a pretty spot with a nice breeze that'll hopefully keep me bug free.  Planning on going into NYC on Friday from the tuxedo station which I intend to catch a ride to from mile 1385. Lost most of the group i had been camping with in unionville. There was a free camping area next to the post office and most of them seemed like they were planning to stay there. I hiked out about 7 miles more past it. Trail today was quite nice, rocky until the highpoint view and then fairly mellow, with lots of boardwalk type sections over a swamp presumably. After unionville though, tons of road walk. Luckily it was still quite well shaded. There was also a couple miles around a literal swamp. Blue blazed the .3 to the highpoint monument, the highest point in NJ. From here, took ALL of the stairs to the top. The view from inside was not worth it as the windows were all closed and it was quite stuffy inside, even at 945am, can only imagine it's roasting in there in the afternoons.  Trail magic: free soda from the highpoint state park hq. Thanks guys!A Also received a care package from Michaela's mom DeeDee, she had contacted me earlier expressing interest in sending stuff, wasn't sure what to expect, but it was perfect. Should not have been ssurprised since Michaela's an Ironman, but was very pleasantly so. Still have a lack of water sources, one of the sources in the guide today was an abandoned house.