morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-06-13
From: Falls Creek Campsite 

To: Trail of Hope Hostel 
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: light rain

Day 81It rained pretty hard last night through the morning. I was lying in my tent, listening to the rain symphony and calculating when to get up. Thanks to my umbrella, I was able to get some chores done before the rain stopped at 7. By 7:30am I was ready to hit the trail. Between 2-4pm, there were a few breaks from the rain. In those delightful moments, I was near Buzzard Peak, far from any road crossing. In the absence of rainfall and wind, the forest was in complete quietness for brief moments. I slowed down to absorb those rare enjoyment. I hold my breath, or say something in whispering voices. The rain pool stood still, too. I didn¢t even want my trekking pole to touch the water, for it would break the perfect reflection of the trees. Then all of a sudden, the rain would drop in a forceful way, shattered everything in peace. Then it would stop as abruptly as it started, brought the complete quietness again. Intermittently, the sunshine would break through the clouds and penetrate the canopy, painted the underbrush patchy golden. Those two hours brought me so much joy. By 4:00pm, it was serious thunderstorm. The forest was as dark as 30min after sunset. Thunders kept rolling in. Shower was heavy. The wind was strong and cold. Fortunately the lightenings were not too bad. But the trail decided to be challenging at that time. Many big rocks to negotiate. Throughout today, I had to focus on my footing, trying to avoid the wet slippery roots and muddy pools. So I was tired by then. The good thing was the rocky sections were not too long. When I reached the busy road PA30, the sun came out again and stayed clear for the night. I checked into a church owned hostel, stayed clean, dry. For dinner I ordered pasta and salad delivered to the hostel. Looking at the food, I realized how big the portion was. Almost 3 times as my dinner on trail. No wonder I have lost weight! It took me some effort to finish the meal. So stuffed.
Date: 2019-06-14
From: Trail of Hope Hostel 

To: Toms Run Shelter 
Miles today: 16.2

Day 82Today was one of the memorable day on my A.T. journey. I have been anticipating this in the last a few days. At around 3pm, I passed the midpoint of A.T.! There was a post for year 2018 midpoint, and there was a stone marked 1/2 sign about half mile later on the ground. There should be another halfway sign based on year 2011 mileage. I will pass that tomorrow early morning! So officially I have completed more than half of the hike!Midway point is worth celebrating,Midway point is worth mentioning,It took a long time to get here,And every step from here is one less step to reach my destination.No hurry, no worry, just live one day at a time, and I will be there!Today¢s trail celebrated with me with super easy terrain. Almost no rocky section. At one stretch of the trail when it passed pine forest, the path was covered with cinnamon colored pine needles. Soft, spongy, and very comfortable for my feet. I bet the quality of this pine needles carpet is comparable with the red carpet fit for a king or queen¢s state visit. While I was walking on this long carpet, the birds sang welcome songs for me. And the wind blowing leaves clapped welcome chatting, too. I felt proud and happy to receive this honor.Earlier in the morning, three sightings worth my blog mentioning. One was a green tunnel of rhododendron-ish trees. Wooden and stone steps led me through the tunnel climbing up. It felt like going up a stage to receive a medal. The second scenery was the full blossom of mountain laurels. Their pink and white flowers filled the sides of the trail. Brightened the trail as well as hikers spirit. The third one was the beautiful Quarry Gap shelter. It was not just well constructed and maintained shelter. It was best decorated shelter, too. Fresh flowers in hanging baskets and pots made the shelter more like someone¢s well loved and cared for front yard. Overall all shelters in PA are in much better shape than those in other states I have walked through. The PATC really have done a great job. A few humble sticks made 1100 mile marker. It was also passed on the trail today. I felt very energetic and ready to face the challenges of the second half of my journey!
Date: 2019-06-15
From: Toms Run Shelter 

To: James Fry shelter
Miles today: 10.9

Day 83Not far from the last night shelter, I saw the year 2011 half way post. It was more artistic and much bigger than the year 2018 post. It¢s a little bit strange to see the post sign says 1090.5 miles to both sides while I was actually already at mile 1100.5. Still it is something I was very glad to see.I reached Appalachian Trail Museum in Pine Grove Furnace State Park by 9:40am. The museum has cool displays for A.T.. the one I loved most was the old sign at Katahdin Mountain and the book by Earl V. Shaffer - walking through Spring - his experience as the first thru-hiker on A.T.. At the nearby store, some thru-hikers were doing the half gallon ice cream challenge. It was a silly way to celebrate midpoint! But apparently some people can do it. I later met ¢Whity¢,  who actually completed the half gallon ice cream in this cold day! He got a tiny wooden spoon as an award for finish one large box and one small box of ice cream! My cousin and her husband came over to the park to meet me today. She brought lots of yummy home cooked food. It¢s a great treat at the halfway point. All of my favorite Chinese food and watermelon! We shared it with other young hikers: ¢City¢ and ¢Go Cool¢. Today ¢City¢ carried two red heart shaped balloons. He bought them for his father. They will meet tomorrow on the Farther¢s Day. His dad will throw a trail magic for him and hikers. How sweet this is!After we finished the meal, and I packed all the goodies my cousin brought to me, we hiked together for about a mile. They got a baby taste on what the trail and backpacking are about. I was happy to have their accompany. We walked by the lake, beautiful creek, and a small swamp area. We also climbed a little bit up through downed trees. The forest was peaceful and enjoyable. After I said goodby to my cousin and her husband, I continued for another 3 and half hours to reach the James Fry shelter. It was still early for the day. But being over stuffed with food, I was sleepy. So I settled in my tent for the night. As a day hiker passed me today said that he will pray for his god to bring me good luck and protect me, I felt very blessed by my family and the caring of fellow hikers today.
Date: 2019-06-17
From: Super 8 at Carlisle 

To: Cove Mountain shelter 
Miles today: 13.6

Day 85Passing through the valley, I see the fields. Gold is the mature wheats, green the young corns. Mixed brown is the hay feeding the cows, I also hear a rooster calls.Passing through the valley, I¢m wondering what the life¢s about. Is the work hard on your body, but good for your soul? You got it in your blood, you got it in your family. For more than two hundred years, you must have it in your heart.Passing through the valley, I¢m trying to figure it out. What¢s it like working for no one but yourself, what does it feel listening to no call but that of the Nature God? How¢s the outside world changes what you do, for better or worse on the land you own? Passing through the valley, I¢m thinking of the future. Do your children help you when they finish school work? How do they value this land vs. their video games? Will they stay or eager to leave, the land in your family that¢ll pass to them?Passing through the valley, the grasses are tall. Purple, pink, yellow and white, flowers mix-in all. My fingers¢re sliding through the leaves, touching the time of gone-by. Lives are so different, yours and mine. I¢ve not met you, or may not ever know you. But when I¢m passing through the valley, interacted we have. I peeked through your window through this land of your life.
Date: 2019-06-18
From: Cove Mountain shelter 

To: Basement in Assembly of God, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 4.0

Day 86It was hard to decide where to go for today. So my plan kept changing. That¢s the life on trail when one needs to consider weather, distance, resupply needs and own ability to walk for the day. It¢s also depends on if there is a decent place to stay for the night. So as I hiked down to Duncannon, I first decided to stay in town. Then I heard bad reviews on the hotels, so I thought maybe I would go to next shelter. Then at a gas station near the town, a lady told me and other two hikers there is a church that opens its basement to thru-hikers. That place has very good reputation. So the plan changed again. I stayed in the town in the basement of the church, on the floor with other 6 hikers. I also got my resupplies for the next 6 days, had my lunch with a sandwich and watermelon! Later in the town, I did a walk tour to see the historical buildings and ate a cup of ice cream. Duncannon is a town that needs some TLC. It¢s bordered by a beautiful river with mountain views. But many businesses are closed, there is no one hotel has a decent reputation. On the trail earlier today, I was awakened by the heavy rain in early morning a little after 3am. Then I hiked through the rain and fog for about 2.5 hours to get to town. The trail down from the mountain was steep but with nice steps built with rocks. The foggy forest is always my favorite forest, even in wet socks and boots.
Date: 2019-06-19
From: Basement in Assembly of God, Duncannon, PA

To: 3 miles after Peter Mountain 
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 87Just follow the white one,Follow the white blazes.The road is rocky,The road is curvy,But if you just follow the white blazes,You will get to your places.Be it a town to get your resupplies,Be it a camp to rest an aching body,Be it a shelter for protection from the weather,Or a place for meeting your friends.Just follow the white one, Follow the white blazes.Away from busy highway,Away from noisy world.It will bring you to a world of wonder,It will guide you in a world of your dream.You may not know anyone on the trail,But they all have the same dream as you.You may become good friends,You may become soulmates,You will truly find yourself,When you just follow the white blazes.For most of the day, it said chances of rain. But the rain didn¢t come till evening after I had find a place to camp. All of the hikers pushed beyond the Peter Mountain shelter today. We were expecting intense thunderstorm/hail/high wind tomorrow afternoon. Since the shelter for tomorrow is 18.3 miles after Peter Mountain, we wanted to hike a lot more today to shorten tomorrow¢s distance. At the end, I stopped at a ridge campsite that will be 15 miles from the next shelter. So tomorrow will be an early start for me. Last night a SoBo told us the trail condition for today is very bad. But I found he was making extravagant claims. There were a small section that was rocky. And I did use my all fours to get through that one. But it was very short. Most part of the trail were reasonably easy to walk on and keep a balance. I hope tomorrow¢s trail doesn¢t get worse.
Date: 2019-06-20
From: 3 miles after Peter Mountain 

To: Rausch Gap shelter 
Miles today: 15.0

Day 88This was the earliest day that I started hiking. By 6:20am I was on trail. Last night campsite was very nice, flat, dry, all by myself. It rained in the night. So when I woke up before dawn, I saw many large spiders hidden beneath my tent rain fly, to keep them dry. There was a chasing game between me and the spiders before I dare to unzip the tent. I had heard from at least two hikers that they got very sick after a spider bitten them, and had to got off trail for a week. I don¢t want that happen to me.Due to the rain, the forest was foggy for the all time until later of the day. Getting off Peters Mountain was pretty fast and easy. But when I started on Stony Mountain, the trail became very muddy. At first, I could still walk on the sides of the trail to avoid mud and water. But just after I finished lunch, the promised heavy shower arrived. For an hour, it¢s poured buckets of water from the sky. And the trail became a river. At many places, there were no where to walk except go through right into the mud or water. Even when the rain stopped, the river trail didn¢t change. At many places, I walked through ankle deep water or mud. It remained this way till I reached the side trail to Rausch Gap shelter. I think this mountain should be named water mountain, instead of stony mountain. Later when I read other thru-hikers notes in the shelter¢s registry, I saw the river trail was there even before we had rain today. It could be this Trail¢s normal condition. Well, my boots would not be dry over night since the humidity is so high here. So it¢s ok to hike in river again tomorrow!
Date: 2019-06-22
From: 501 shelter 

To: Eagles Nest shelter 
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

Day 90Wow, I just realized that I have been on A.T. for 90 days today. It felt like I am calling the forest my home. Also I passed 1200 miles marker this morning! From today, the remaining distance to Katahdin is less than 4 digits! According to my guide book based on 2018 mileage, I have 981 miles to go!That¢s all the excitement for today. The rest was pretty boring. The trail was either mud or rocks. Uninteresting mud and uninteresting rocks. Both made me walking as a drunken person. Thank god there was no traffic police patrol the trail, or they might send me to an alcoholic treatment center. There was a pretty pond formed by a very small man made dam. After I went to see the pond, I missed the turning sign of A.T. and got to a road. This detour cost me about 0.6 miles extra on the rocky trail. Every thru-hike said they want to get out of PA as fast as possible. Same here with me. I never feel so bored by the trail as today¢s. Can¢t wait to meet my friend tomorrow for some change. May be I will feel better when I come back to take on the next challenging week.
Date: 2019-06-23
From: Eagles Nest shelter 

To: Microtel in Hamburg 
Miles today: 9.5

Day 91It was a very pleasant day today. There was finally some break from the rain, the muddy and rocky trails. At lease for a few miles. The temperature was also great for hiking. When I was in 501 shelter, the caretaker warned us about the steep and rocky trail on the last half mile to Port Clinton. I found it was not too bad. Even though it was steep, for most part it was well constructed with rock steps. So footing was great. Just when I got to the railroad crossing in Port Clinton, there were a family doing trail magic, with hot dogs, hamburgers and shrimp pasta, plus many drinks. Since I left Tennessee, this was the first real trail magic I got. For this family, the two sons are doing A.T. thru-hike. The parents drove from their home in NY to support the boys. So sweet! After I enjoyed the lunch with them and five other hikers, I met my high school classmate/friend in the peanut shop down the street. She brought me the new boots that my son sent to her earlier. So going to the next rocky section I will be more confident on the footing. After we did resupplies and back to hotel, I said the last farewell to my old faithful boots, put them RIP in the trash can. For dinner my friend treated me with PA Dutch style restaurant, plus my favorite watermelon. Thanks for your support, my friend!
Date: 2019-06-24
From: Microtel in Hamburg 

To: Eckville shelter 
Miles today: 9.3

Day 92What a wonderful day today. My high school classmate accompanied me for a slackpacking. We had great time to hike the Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle overlooks by Appalachian Trail. The hike was a lot more easier through the rocky trail sections when I didn¢t have my heavy pack. The views on both rocks were great. I especially loved that on the Pinnacle for there was a great bird of prey (can¢t tell exactly what was it) circling around the tree tops just below the rocks. Earlier in the day, a hiker showed us pictures of venomous snakes hidden in the rocks near these areas. But I looked carefully and didn¢t see any. We had lunch break on Pinnacle rocks. Since we only carried one lunch, we pampered ourselves with lots of fruits and small tomatoes, Hong Kong pastries, fresh cheese, and many other treats. One of the most delicious lunch I have had on the trail!In the evening, I am staying at Eckville shelter where the fireflies continued to show me their magical dances in the darkened sky.
Date: 2019-06-25
From: Eckville shelter 

To: Bake Oven Knob shelter 
Miles today: 17.4

Day93There was rain at night and early morning. So when I started at 7:30am the trail was very wet. The dirt part was muddy with gathered water, rocks were slippery. Then by 9am, the rain stopped. The Sun cracked open clouds, pushed away fog gradually, played hide and seek for a long time till afternoon, and remained sunny for the rest of the day.For most part of the day, the trail was not difficult at all. Some sections were on old fire road and were very easy. Then it came to the Knife Edge Cliffs. All rocks decided to come alive. They stood up, pointing their sharp sides towards the sky. They were competing like plants to get more sunlights, one on top of another, like the young shoots push out of the soil and dead leaves at spring time. Nothing can stop them. The trail is put through these live rocks with both sides drop down vertically, therefore, forming the ¢Cliffs¢. It lasted about half mile. I went very slowly and carefully, most of the times, found my trekking poles were rather in the way. It was better going through this with my all fours. Sometimes, butt was much trustworthy than feet. And that was how it was done. Once this section was passed, I cruised to Bale Oven Knob road, found a lovely trail magic waiting for me! For many young hikers passed me on the trail, they got to the road earlier, and told the trail angels that I was coming.The trail Angels were ¢Mountain Goat¢ and ¢Chopper¢ families. The two brothers thru-hiked A.T. in 2016. They drove 8 hours from Virginia to do two days of trail magic. Immediately I got a place to charge my phone, served hamburger, a cold drink and potato salad. Later, sitting comfortably in a chair with my shoes off, listening to the brothers¢ and other hikers¢ stories, I was giving more fruits. Before that moment, I was so tired that I was thinking to find a tenting spot near the road for the night. But I was rested well, and encouraged by the experienced thru-hiker brothers to walk one more mile to Bale Oven Knob shelter - one of the original built in 1937. That one mile also had a big rocks section similar to earlier one, only a little bit easier. Not just myself wished to have longer legs today. But I made through them safely. I was so tired after 17.5 miles for the day. I fall to sleep before finishing two sentences. The rest of the journal was done in the morning at 5am.
Date: 2019-06-26
From: Bake Oven Knob shelter 

To: Near Little Gap
Miles today: 12.2

Day 94In my plan before came to A.T., I saw there is little elevation for this section, and put 23.4 miles as the expected distance of my travel today. Then there were enough warnings from my fellow hikers for the big rocks near here. My plan changed to split the 23.4 into two days, each about 12 miles. With the shortened distance, I started a little late than normal. I hit the trail 10 minutes after 8am. There were some rocky sections than I passed slowly. They were not as bad as yesterday¢s knifes edge. The big challenge was lying ahead at Lehigh Gap. It was said the worst before the Whites in New Hampshire. People warned me that I need to team up with others to get through this. Lucky, when I rested in a shelter, a ridge runner came. He told me that there is an alternative route that is being used as an alternative route for A.T. In winter! I was so relieved to hear that and immediately decided to take the. Winter trail.Since The trail was running through the previous zinc mine, the water was contaminated that it Should not be used unless it is an emergency. So in order for having enough water for a dry camping I loaded up with more than 3 liters. My bag became very heavy. It must be over 35lbs. As was walking down the rock filled trail, think about how to find this alternative route, I didn¢t pay enough attention to my footing. The last minute I realized, I was flying into the air. My knees hit some thing, my cheek kissed a rock,with a bang 14And I was lying on the trail! Fortunately I checked carefully and no bone was broken! Earlier my new hiking pole was also giving me trouble. The lower section became too loose to connect with the rest of the pole. So with these two incidents, I was in no condition to hike the Rocky ridge. The alternative route was not bad at all. Except the afternoon was very hot, so the going was slow. After it went around the rocky section, it merged with A.T. . I got a good opportunity to try many blueberries. Along a fire road that goes on forever. Finally the humid weather turned into an evening thunderstorm shower. And I hurried to find a nice camping spot in the pines, after more piles of rocks!
Date: 2019-06-27
From: Near Little Gap

To: A mile from Wind Gap
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 95Even though it was humid and hot today, the trail was almost flat. Small rocky sections, but mostly very manageable. Shortly after I left the camp area, I found more blueberries along the trail. I grabbed handful of them, their sweet juice made my complete breakfast. A few miles later, a day hiker Shara came from behind. She asked my trail name, told me that ¢Anchor¢ a fellow thru-hiker who dose slackpacking with ¢A Quest¢, mentioned to her that I had a bad day yesterday. So Shara wanted to give me home baked chocolate chips cookie, raspberries and cherry tomatoes. What a trail angel! The raspberries were so sweet and juicy. Cookie was delicious! I saved tomatoes for lunch. Thanks a lot, Shara! I wish you could fulfill your thru-hiking dream soon.The most issue in this section was water. Springs were a far from each other, and always far from A.T. down steep side trails. So I carried enough water yesterday for today, till I can reach the shelter 11 miles away. I got there at 3pm, with only 3oz of water left. The spring near the shelter was also dried up. It was a 10 minutes hike to get to the available spring. The water from the spring was cool and sweet. Really nice to quench my thirst. From the shelter, it would be another 13 miles to go for the next water source. So I loaded up again, enough for cooking dinner, brush teeth tonight, plus the demands of tomorrow. I hiked 3 more miles after ate dinner in the shelter before settling down in a campsite with nice views.Sweet dreams.