morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-09-04
From: Stratton Maine 

To: Stratton ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well . . .  short and longer range plans have been been made. Brighty's knee has been causing great discomfort so we decided to zero today in Stratton. A check of the forecast showed rain the next three days before clearing on Friday. This next section (lots of mountains) would not be the most enjoyable in rain (not to mention lightning) and pain so we could either wait it out here or head south. After weighing the options we decided to head south, take a little time off for knee healing and finish up  PA, etc in September. The rest of New England will have to wait until 2018. We did have a fantastic surprise when we found out this afternoon that our great friend Zen was in town - and on his 21st birthday no less!  We met him and SlimJim for dinner at the White Wolf. Celebrated with a strawberry rhubarb with ice cream dessert!  Great to catch up with Zen and meet SlimJim, a fellow North Carolinian. They're heading into the home stretch now. Best of luck to them and we'll be looking forward to getting a summit picture from Zen.
Date: 2017-09-15
From: Port Clinton

To: Windsor Furnace shelter
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: clear sky

It's time to get back on the trail!  Back to Brighty's favorite state (NOT!), Pennsylvania to finish up from Port Clinton north to the Delaware Water Gap.  Drove up this morning with a little detour into Pottstown so we could tour America's oldest brewery Yuengling. Great history, so-so tour, free tastings so overall a nice stop. On the trail about 2:30 pm and it's summertime in PA. Highs in the 80's, sunny and humid. We're both drenched climbing out of Port Clinton. As with many of the gaps in PA, vegetation is really disturbed - lots of poison ivy, lots of Japanese silt grass. Not a lot of people, one dayhiker and one weekend backpacker (starting early). Knats are abundant. A couple of miles in the trail becomes pretty springy (by Pennsylvania standards). We pick up some water from the creek about 0.3m south of this campsite and talk with a couple local folks walking their dogs. Arrive at this campsite (we've heard some voices but we seem to be the only ones camping so far) in time to eat, hang bear bags, etc before darkness overtakes us. It's 8 pm now and pitch dark. Ah, the times are a' changing. Time for a little bedtime music before calling it a night.
Date: 2017-09-16
From: Windsor Furnace shelter

To: 0.5 miles N of Eckville shelter
Miles today: 9.6

We've both realized that we probably have too much cold weather stuff for this trip - the "puffy" jackets and 15 degree bags could have stayed home. Of well, the jackets make a nice, if heavy, pillow. Nighttime lows in the 60's last night. This morning we climbed up to our two views today, Pulpit Rock and The Pinnacle. Both very nice. It's Saturday so there was a ton of dayhikers out today. Great to see. We've also are hiking about the same pace as two section hikers from Asheville, NC. Nice folks heading toward .Connecticut. About halfway between Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle  we went by an extremely healthy looking American chestnut, probably 30+ feet tall, 6-7" in diameter with lots of burrs in the canopy. Wow!  That was exciting (especially for Wreck -we posted a couple pictures of it in the photo section of the journal). North of the Pinnacles the rocks disappeared and the trail followed an old roadbed for over 4 miles. Brighty loved it!  Got to this campsite about 3:30pm. Wreck voted to go further, Brighty wanted to stay. We stayed. Camped along a nice babbling creek ( the same creek that flooded out Wrecks tent during a biblical thunderstorm in 2015). We're hoping for better weather tonight. Right now it's beautiful - the sun is setting and there's nothing but blue sky all around. Looking forward to another day on the trail!
Date: 2017-09-17
From: 0.5 miles N of Eckville shelter

To: New Tripoli campsite 
Miles today: 12.8

The lightest of rains last night - just enough to make us wake up and shut our tent flaps (and to make the rocks extra slippery this morning.) Climbed Hawk Mountain first thing  this morning. HUMID!  Walking along the top of the ridge, Wreck, who had stopped to talk with a nice dayhiker was surprised to see Brighty, who had started a good 30 minutes before him, coming up behind him. Turns out, reaching the top of the mountain, she had headed straight on the Hawk Mountain trail instead of the AT. (Brighty is always looking to do some extra AM miles). United we headed across an extremely rocky section of trail - big rocks, small rocks, medium rocks - we walked on them all. Weather was quite foggy this morning so no views from Dan's Pulpit. By afternoon the skies had cleared but the rocks continued nearly all the way to the Allentown Hiking Club shelter. By then it was nearly 3 pm and we had 6 miles to go. Things were not looking good and Brighty's heel was not feeling great. But, Wreck lightened Brighty's load and the trail gods cleared the rocks from the trail. The last 6 miles were quite easy, often on old roadbeds and we made it to this campsite by a little after 6 pm. Saw a bubble of six southbounders over the last hour of hiking. They all were quite relieved to be getting a slight reprieve from the PA rocks. Our campsite is 0.2 m DOWN from the trail. Down in a dark hollow. It's actually quite nice. We're the only ones here, nice patch of white turtleheads blooming by the spring. We've eaten, the bear bag is up and it's really dark outside. We set up the tent under a big red oak and already several acorns have hit the tent. Hoping the bombing isn't too intense tonight. We ready to hit the hay and get ready for another day through Rocksylvania.
Date: 2017-09-18
From: New Tripoli campsite 

To: George Outerbridge shelter
Miles today: 10.9

Foggy this morning in our dark hollow. We climbed up to the AT and met the rocks leading to the big (and slanted) rocks of the Knife edge. The trail in Pennsylvania is not all rocks, or even the majority rocks. It's just that the rock sections tend to be the most memorable. And as you go further north the memories tend to grow. The Knife edge is one of the most memorable sections. Not an area you'd want to be careless on. We weren't (careless) and made it though aokay although it was still foggy so no views. Fog was starting to lift by the time we reached Bear Rocks. Talked with a birder on top observing the hawk migration. Evidently the broad winged hawks are coming through now. He said it wasn't unusual to see several thousand in a day!  We saw clouds. By the time we reached the rocks of Baked Oven the clouds had lifted. It remained mostly cloudy all day, but the clouds were much higher. Probably a dozen birders at Baked Oven. The rest of the day we saw no one on the trail and judging by the number of spiderwebs we broke no one had been north of Baked Oven shelter all day. Baked Oven shelter, by the way, has to be one of the most depressing shelters on the trail. The weather would have to be pretty bad for us to stay there. Did get some needed water at the spring and pushed on. Trail improved this afternoon so we, luckily, made better time. Moved into Keystone Trail Association territory. First impressions are good. Despite the warm weather we're starting to see some fall colors - the black gums in particular are quite nice. Got to this shelter about 6 pm. Found about the only halfway decent campsite around (it's not exactly level). Finished eating in the dark (mosquitoes pretty abundant), hung up the bear bag by flashlight and we're ready to call it a day. Also ready for another day on the trail!
Date: 2017-09-19
From: George Outerbridge shelter

To: Stempa springs
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Less than great campsite last night. We were sliding downhill all night. This morning we headed down the mountain, crossed over the Lehigh River and climbed the rocks near Palmerton, Pa.  Trail famously skirts around a superfund site there (old zinc factory killed off a mountainside of vegetation and contaminated water and soil for miles). Also famous is the steep rocky climb up the mountain. They've done a nice job routing the climb but there is some hand over hand climbing with a steep drop behind you. Brighty doesn't do steep drops well so this may not have been her favorite section. But she made it over with some help from Wreck and saw a broad winged hawk and several kestrels on top. Coming around the other side of the mountain she saw several monarch butterflies. Lots and lots (whole hillsides) of white thoroughworts blooming, lots of goldenrods and a few late blooming bleeding hearts. Lots of warm season grasses blooming too (Indian grass, big and little bluestem, switchgrass) Trail had its rocks but (besides the climb near Palmerton) wasn't too bad. Nice weather all day long. Talked with a smattering of southbounders today. The theme was the scarcity of water in this section. In fact, the spring 0.6m down a steep side trail at this campsite was the only water all day. Wreck got into camp about 6 pm, quickly set up the tent and hustled down to get water (6 liters) before dark. He saw a large pile of bear scat not too far down the trail. Once again we ate under darkening skies. The bear bags are up a little higher than usual and we're ready for bed. Nighttime lows haven't been below 60 so we've been just as much out as in our bags. Looking forward to what the trail will bring tomorrow!
Date: 2017-09-20
From: Stempa springs

To: 0.1 m N of Wind Gap 
Miles today: 9.1

Had a surprise shower last night but blue skies all around this morning. In fact, weather was great all day. Up into the 80's but nice breeze. Trail rocky - surprise!  PA also has a Japanese stilt grass problem. Miles and miles of trail is just lined with stilt grass. It's really bad. On the positive side, the pipeline corridor we crossed this afternoon had been planted with warm season grasses. Felt like we were on the prairie!  Water continues to be scarce on the trail. Our solution today was to send Wreck a mile off trail into Wind Gap. Brought back 6 liters of water - plus a cheeseburger, soda, chips, and snowball (tastykake) for Brighty.  Found this nice campsite and, for the first time in several days, dinner is done with the sun still up. Brighty is very happy about that. Looking forward to what the trail will bring us tomorrow!
Date: 2017-09-21
From: 0.1 m N of Wind Gap 

To: Campsite 0.3m N of Kirkridge shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

Beautiful, dry morning. We've forgotten what it's like to hike in the rain! Blue skies all day but the last day of summer certainly felt like it - temperatures in the mid 80's?  Trail rocky but less stilt grass than previous days. Despite the temperatures, enjoying the early fall colors- especially those black gums (bright red). Nice views from Wolf Rocks, a series of large rock slabs on top that are actually not very hard to hike across. Only water of the day was from the Kirkridge shelter, a neighbor has an outside tap that they generously allow hikers to use. Thanks much!  Water is pretty scarce up on the PA mountains. We've got a beautiful campsite with a wide view of the rural, mostly wooded Delaware Valley below us. Off in the far distance are the Salem-Hope Creek nuclear power plants. Lights are just starting to come on down below so I guess it's generating well. One constant throughout PA has been the sound of traffic. The AT runs close to several interstates and, of course, there are numerous road crossings. Today, however, was the exception. Pretty quiet for the majority of the day, as far as vehicles were concerned. They have been replaced by gunfire. Evidently a lot of Pennsylvanians are gearing up for the upcoming hunting seasons. At our current location the gunfire has been pretty constant since we got here several hours ago. We suspect maybe a firing range in the valley?  Seems to be lessening now (it's after sunset). Forecast in in the upper 50's tonight. We're both hoping for a little cooler temperatures so we can get some use out of our 3 season bags.
Date: 2017-09-22
From: Campsite 0.3m N of Kirkridge shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 6.1

(Sung to the tune of ¢Smokey the Bear¢)Brighty can get lost any old time Miss a blaze, miss a sign - why don't they chime? So if you see her in the woods with a puzzled look Help her out, sit her down Give her AWOL¢s bookA memorable day - thanks to Brighty. Up a little earlier than usual - neither of us could sleep past 5 am (of course we have been going to bed a little after 8pm!). Heavy dew last night so it was a wet tent we packed up. Trail rocky but really the last 10 miles or so (past Wolf Rocks) aren't too bad. Lots of purple asters blooming today, lots of hikers (we entered Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area), and fantastic weather (a little cooler and less humid than previous days). We were making great time until Brighty, chatting with some day hikers missed a turn in the AT and headed down the fire road instead. Wreck, who was a little ahead, stopped at a rocky section of trail to make sure Brighty would be okay but after 20 minutes of waiting went to check on her. She was no where to be found and he figured she may have missed the three white blazes that marked the turn. He didn't figure that she would walk over a mile down the unblazed fire road but that's what Brighty did. Finally, when answering some fellow hikers questions about her trip and announcing she was finishing over 1400 miles on the AT, she was told she wasn't on the AT anymore. Up the Fire Road she went, back to the AT to rendezvous with Wreck who gave her quite a ribbing. Together we finished up this section of trail celebrating with sandwiches at the Village Farmer, before Entrrprise picked us up and we headed back to Port Clinton to pick up our car. We head back home now. We still want to do a 50+ mile section south of Pine Grove this year. Then we'll save New Jersey to Stratton Maine for 2018. Yahoo! Looking forward to it! (But looking forward to a shower first!)
Date: 2017-10-10
From: I70 footbridge

To: Wolfsville Rd (MD)
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: clear sky

Back on the trail for a couple dayhikers in Md and a four day backpack to finish up PA. We¢ll save the rest until 2018. Today it was one of those Md. day hikes.  Weather hot and humid. It¢s been feeling a lot more like August than October around these parts. Some colors but green still the predominant one. (We think with the dry, hot weather this may not be the most colorful of Autumns). Saw maybe half dozen backpackers today, most hiking the Old Line State (that¢s Md). Quite a few dayhikers out also mainly hiking from the 40 trailhead to Annapolis Rocks. Stopped for a break and view at both Black Rocks and Annapolis Rocks. Both have great views. Brighty¢s feet continue to bother her but she soldiered on. Next week we¢ll finish with PA before it starts to turn cold (if it ever turns cold again!)
Date: 2017-10-16
From: PenMar Park

To: Tumbling Run shelter
Miles today: 8.6

It¢s time to finish up PA. Seems like we¢ve been in that state a long time but we still need to hike a almost 40 mile stretch between PenMar and Pine Gove Furnace State Park. We put cars at both locations and decided to hike north. All quiet at PenMar on a Monday morning. (Most weekends in particular this is a busy place - lots of local family picnics). Weather finally October-like. Great blue skies all day highs near 60. The fleece only came off for a bit heading uphill. Not much climbing though. This is a pretty flat section of trail. Just a few folks out hiking although Wreck did have a groundhog pass in front of him this afternoon during one of his breaks waiting for Brighty. Lots of roadcrossings today. Also lots of shelters (five). Got to this shelter around 4:30 pm. A couple southbounders here as well. Very nicely maintained area. We¢re camping and with it being dark by 7 pm there¢s lots of tent time. Supposed to be in upper 30¢s tonight which sounds like good sleeping weather (not sure though about the waking up and getting out of the bags tomorrow morning.)
Date: 2017-10-17
From: Tumbling Run shelter

To: Quarry Gap shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: few clouds

A cool one last night - upper 30¢s?  We were warm and snug in our bags. Didn¢t exactly leap out of them at sunrise though. In fact, it was 9am before we were on the trail. Pretty good climb (almost 1000 ft) up to Chimney Rocks first thing this morning. Great blue skies, great view. Rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Weather remained fantastic - maybe up to about 60 degrees. Trail pretty tame - this is always the hardest time of year to follow the trail with lots of recently fallen leaves - good blazing in this section which helped a lot. The highlight of the day is probably this shelter. It¢s probably the most intensely maintained shelter on the trail - hanging baskets, great porch swing, multiple picnic tables, a sundial, a bear box etc etc. Thanks Jim!!!!  We are very comfortable!!!!  We¢re also snug in our bags. Sleeping in one of two shelters here. They are very nice and no one else is here so we thought we¢d give it a try. Might¢ve a little cooler without tent - only time will tell!
Date: 2017-10-18
From: Quarry Gap shelter

To: Toms Run shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: clear sky

Maybe a little colder last night (mid 30¢s). Another beautiful day today - highs in the 60¢s with a deep blue sky all day. Trail was gentle as well. Talked with six southbound backpackers today - as least one hoping to reach Georgia (but he thought it was ¢really cold¢ last night so don¢t know how things will go over the next several months) - and one nice dayhiker. Hiked through the Big Pine Flats Barren restoration area today. Interesting area they are restoring to Pine-scrub oak forest. At the end of September they had conducted a prescribed fire in the area. Looked like it got pretty hot. We¢re the only ones at this shelter area (we¢re tenting tonight). Another very nice PATC shelter area. We¢ve eaten, completed all the chores and, at 7:15pm are in the tent - it¢s dark outside! Definitely warmer tonight than the last couple nights. We¢re hoping for good sleeping weather!
Date: 2017-10-19
From: Toms Run shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Our warmest night of the week. Today, we¢ve got a short day even for us! 3.6 miles into Pine Grove Furnace State Park. No need to hurry so even though it¢s not cold at all we linger in the tent, have a relaxed breakfast (our final bars of the trip) and say goodbye to our campsite around 9:30 am  Pass by a couple of young southbounders today. As is the case with most SOBO¢ers this week, neither are sure about reaching Georgia before cold weather drives them off the trail. One was hoping to reach NC this fall. We stop at the crossing of Tom¢s Branch for a little snack and just before noon we¢re at Pine Grove Furnace. Great timing as the AT Visitor Center opens at noon. This is our second visit this year and it¢s great once more. Really nice exhibits! We pick up our car, go back to PenMar to pick up the second car and we¢re home once more.  We have one more day hike in Maryland left this fall and then we¢ll shut down for the winter ¢ with Wreck planning lots of trail, shelter and boundary maintenance outings and Brighty ¢ well we never have to worry about Brighty not having a full calendar! Tentative plan is a late spring start next year for our remaining 700 miles (Delaware Water Gap to Stratton, ME). We¢re already looking forward to it!
Date: 2017-10-31
From: PenMar Park

To: Wolfsville, Rd.Maryland
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: clear sky

Our last day on the trail in 2017!  (Not really as, especially Wreck will probably be out working or hiking many, many more times before 2018, but it's our last day of  for our 2016/17/18 AT hike)  Driving up, we stop at Lewis's Orchard for stayman apples this morning - nothing says October like a stayman!  Weather Halloween like - highs in the 50's, sunny but windy.  Started at PenMar Park (deserted on this Tuesday) and hiked south.  Still color in the woods, still some green too but this fall is not looking like a very colorful one.  We note that, while the calendar says the end of October, there sure are a lot of green leaves on the trees.  It's a late fall - the new normal.  We pass three day hikers today, all enjoying a quiet trail.  Stop at Raven Rocks shelter - one of Wreck's favorite shelters.  We'd love to have the flooring in our house!  Then a late lunch at Raven Rocks cliffs - including apples!.   Finished before 5pm and it's off to Dan's in Boonesboro to celebrate with a Halloween flight and dinner.  The trick or treaters are in full force in downtown Boonesboro by the time we finish.  Happy Halloween!!! - See you next spring!
Date: 2018-06-08
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: clear sky

Oh, happy day - and a shout out to those Washington Capitals! Wow! The final (?)(!) leg of our two year AT journey has begun. Delaware Water Gap to Stratton, Maine, a little over 700 miles. Drove up yesterday from Virginia via Enterprise Rental Car. Stayed last night at Santasha on the Ridge, nice B&B owned and operated by Leslie, sister of a friend and former colleague of Brighty. Had relaxing night, nice breakfast and Leslie drove us to trailhead (in town, by ice cream shop - we resisted) by 10:30am.  Weather warm but not hot - it was a day when you sweated but nothing got soaked. Crossed the mighty Delaware into New Jersey. Stopped at the Delaware Gap visitor center so Brighty could get her gray and green fix for the day. Trail up ridge (slightly up - we¢re in NJ) to Sunfish Pond is a popular one. Quite a few dayhikers out. Had lunch about a mile south of the Pond surrounded by some beautiful mountain laurel. Passed lots of patches of Mountain laurel in bloom today. Sunfish Pond is beautiful glacially formed body of water - we think one of the most southern in the east. Took a break later on top of Kittatinny Mountain. Nice views. Lots of wooded ridges. This part of New Jersey is very rural - lots of forest. We made pretty good time this morning but Brighty started to tire going over the rocks this afternoon (first couple day in NJ are pretty rocky - not quite to PA standards, but rocky enough.) It wasn¢t until after 7 pm that we hiked into this place run by the AMC. The camping area they sent us to was full - except for one teensy, rocky site next to two cigar smokers. No way! We found another site in the adjacent camping area. By the time we put up tent, cooked, ate, etc it was 9pm and dark. Cooling off some so we¢re hoping for a good night sleep. Then it¢s northward bound !!!!! Good to be back on the trail.