morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-05-30
From: Falls Creek

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Steve stayed with us for another day and we decided to slack-pack to make the day a bit easier. Nonetheless, we covered lots of miles. Steve was in front most of the way and kept a good pace. He was a trooper, hiking many miles on only his second day out. It was overcast and cool all day. The temperature stayed in the 40s. Good hiking weather, but it would have been nice to see the sun. We were lucky though because it didn't rain much. Other parts of PA got rain most of the day.  When we made it to Rt 30 where Steve's car was parked, he took Lucy and I to a local bar & grill for a nice meal. We really enjoyed his visit.   After saying goodbye to Steve we hiked on to the next shelter. I picked up where we left off,. Hiking in from the south. Lucy drove ahead and hiked in from the north as usual. We met Aquaman again at the shelter and got his autograph for our grandson Asa. Asa is going to be thrilled!
Date: 2021-05-31
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Most of our immediate family came in from PA and NJ to celebrate the halfway point of the trail. We all met about a half mile south of the halfway location and we hiked in together. Surprisingly, the exact location of the halfway point was not marked, so we made our best guess and took some pictures. It was really special to share this moment with the family.After that, some of us continued north for about 8 miles on the trail to Pine Grove Furnace State Park while the others backtracked the half mile and drove there. We were in a rush to get there because we weren't sure when the general store was closing. We had to get there for the half gallon challenge. The tradition is to eat a half gallon of ice cream at the half way point. Fortunately, we made it there on time.There we hung out with the four Lost Boys, Rolly Polly, Aquaman, and Boston. All of us bought a large tub of ice cream (1 1/2 qts) and an extra pint, and sat down to try to devour it. Boston finished first in an impressive 27 minutes. He said "I didn't forget how to be a fat kid". It took me 60 minutes to do it. Everyone finished eventually and we all felt pretty crappy at the end. I think it's going to take another 1000 miles to flush this out of my system.It was really great to have the family with us to share the moment. Grandkids Jadon, Karis and Asa had lots of fun playing hackey sack with the Lost Boys. Asa got to meet Aquaman and he set up a sleep-over with him some time in the future. We're so thankful the family could spend time with us.
Date: 2021-06-01
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Boiling Springs
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: clear sky

The hike today took us into Boiling Springs, PA. We did the same hike last year as a trainer. It's a relatively easy hike but there are some challenges that included a couple rock mazes that were fun to navigate through. I leapfrogged the Lost Boys and Boston a few times today. The Lost Boys were planning to go 32 miles today. It must be nice to have young legs.We're tenting tonight at a hostel away from the trail. Last year when we did this hike we rented at the designated AT campsite just south of Boiling Springs. That site was 100 feet from train tracks. We were kept awake by freight trains coming through every hour or so. So we chose this hostel, which is outside of town, to avoid that. We'll, I guess it's not far enough outside of town. As I lay in my tent writing this entry I heard a loud train coming through.  It's going to be a fun night!
Date: 2021-06-02
From: Boiling Springs

To: Pipeline Clearing
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We were awakened by another rooster this morning. We pitched our tent at a hostel in Boiling Springs which was a mini farm with lots of the usual critters. So at 4:30 AM the rooster decided to get everyone up.I don't get the rooster thing. I bet the hens aren't happy to start their day that early either.The hike today was pretty easy. The first 10 miles or so north of Boiling Springs was on flat land. It's probably the flattest section of the whole trail. I hiked 16 miles by 1:30, took a long break, and then added a few more to get to the top of the ridge.We had a nice view of the Susquehanna River from a pipeline clearing. The picture in today's post is from that clearing. It's a bit hazy because some rain is moving in. We were going to set up our tent in the clearing but they were calling for thunderstorms over night, so we hunkered down in the woods nearby. We'll cross the Susquehanna tomorrow. Moving right along.
Date: 2021-06-03
From: Pipeline Clearing

To: Peters Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Another usual day on the trail for me. We get up about 6:00am each day. Tom heads north and dependent on where the truck is, I hike out about 2 to 5 miles. But today the last 1/2 mile was through a farmers field that had these purple and white flowers growing. I'm really not sure what they were but the smell from the field was very fragrant. I don't really have a good nose for smelling things but this...this I could smell.An unusual twist today was we got off trail about noon to go eat at the Doyal Hotel in Duncannon. This was something Tom had on his bucket list to do. The place on the outside looks pretty runned down. The building itself is 116 years old.  But the owner was a hoot to talk to and the burgers were much better than the trail food we've been eating. After our lunch Tom finished his milage for the day. We met at the next parking location for me then hiked 3 miles together to the next shelter. On the nature note as we were crossing the Susquehanna River on the Clarks Ferry Bridge, at rivers edge I spied red ear slider turtles swimming and diving for food. I haven't seen turtles like this in quite some time.The Clarks Ferry Bridge is the closest point the trail comes to our home. It's about 75 minutes by car. From now on we'll be walking away from home.
Date: 2021-06-04
From: Peters Mtn Shelter

To: Stony Creek
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: moderate rain

There's a new trail angel in town. I didn't get his name, but apparently some guy just sold his business and he's walking southbound handing out $100 bills to all of the northbound thru-hikers he runs into. I didn't get to meet him, but I saw Blizzard at a shelter yesterday and he said he ran into the guy. After giving Blizzard the money the guy said he just wanted a selfie and an autograph. Blizzard said he first held the bill up to the sunlight to verify that the bill was legit. Then he agreed to the terms. Pretty nice trail magic. Lucy is going to have to up her game.The most interesting part of the hike today was the beaver pond we had to cross. Before reaching the pond there's a warning sign stating that you'll probably get wet crossing the pond and they strongly recommend taking a 1 1/2 mile detour around it. After walking many mile it's really a lot to ask a hiker to add another 1 1/2 miles. Sometimes I'll bypass springs if they're just 0.1 miles off the trail. So, over the beaver dam we went. The picture in this post shows Lucy deftly maneuvering the dam. The crossing wasn't too bad actually. We both made it across without getting wet.
Date: 2021-06-05
From: Stony Creek

To: Rt 501, Pine Grove
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: fog

Camping near the beaver dam we heard all kinds of noises last night. There were spring peepers, cicadas, and many birds.  The temperature today reached into the 90s. Luckily the trail was shaded so it didn't get that hot on the hike, but it was still uncomfortable. When we reached Pine Grove we grabbed a hotel room for a planned visit with my old college roommates Dean and Bill. We went out to a local diner and enjoyed good food and good conversation. It was fun to catch up.We now have less than a thousand miles to go. That still sounds daunting, but it's nice to be counting down in the triple digits.
Date: 2021-06-06
From: Rt 501, Pine Grove

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The terrain was mostly flat today, so I took advantage of that and put in some extra miles. I stopped after 17 miles or so and was preparing to set up my hammock at a small campsite. Then the Lost Boys passed by and said they were going to push on through to Port Clinton. The rocks had been taking their toll on my get, but like a mindless robot I followed them. It was my highest mileage to date on the trail. The last mile was down a steep hill into Port Clinton. I met Lucy in Port Clinton and we set up our tent at the hiker pavilion there.Along the trail today I came across the monument shown in the picture. The monument was in the middle of the woods at the place where Fort Dietrich Snyder once stood. This fort was used as an Outpost during the French and Indian war. From what I could find out it was a small fortified settlers cabin. Cool stuff.I also ran into another rattlesnake. This one was right in the middle of the trail. There's a picture of it in the Photos section of the journal. When it noticed me it started slithering down the trail towards me. Apparently it wasn't aware of hiker etiquette that allows the uphill hiker to have the right of way.
Date: 2021-06-07
From: Port Clinton

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: few clouds

Today was one of those days where I (Lucy) didn't need to hike to the next shelter. In Port Clinton, a WWII vet donated a piece of property on Penn Street for AT hikers. Its a big field to pitch a tent. A stream is nearby. It had picnic tables and a fire place, in addition to a large pavillion in case it rains. And, most important, I could park my truck on the property. I thought this was such a sweet deal. The picture above shows the dedication plaque in his honor.  I didn't hike today but I did run a number of thru-hikers to a nearby town of Hamburg, PA for re-supply at the local Walmart. The area is like a hikers dream. Plenty of fast food, a steak house, dollar store and a giant Cabelas store, which carries plenty of outdoor supplies for fishing, hunting, and camping. I think I ran the round trip about 15 times. I was a busy girl! On the nature front, I've seen at least a dozen salamanders on the trail in the past few days. They are neon orange in color. And not much bigger than 4 inches. Cute little buggers! A picture posted in the Photos section of this journal.
Date: 2021-06-08
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today Pennsylvania lived up to its reputation of being one of the rockiest sections of the Appalachian Trail. After a couple miles of relatively smooth trail conditions (for Pennsylvania) trail, I entered a section with multiple boulder fields separated by just regular rocky trail. However, there was a nice section or two where I was walking on a dirt road. That helped to give my feet a break.It rained off and on for most of the afternoon. That's when I entered the Knife Edge section. This section consisted of large slabs of rock oriented at an angle, making it difficult to get flat footholds. The rain made it slippery and I fell in this section, snapping one of my hiking poles in half. I've had these poles for 20 years so I guess I can't complain.We hope to be in New Jersey in 3 days. I hear there's some better terrain there.I came across another rattlesnake today in one of the boulder fields. He scurried away as soon as he saw me. Word must be out in the snake community about how ferocious I am.
Date: 2021-06-09
From: Bake Oven Knob Shelter

To: Smith Gap Rd
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: overcast clouds

The hike today was reasonably flat except for a long anticipated climb up from Lehigh Gap. This climb was a rock scramble that was kind of fun. But it was 85 degrees and humid out, so it was pretty exhausting.Along the way I was passed by Tortilla and Bananas, two young guys I haven't seen since early April in the Smokies. They were part of a group that included Stankey Leg and a couple other guys. That part of the group is now about 100 miles behind us. Lucy ended up giving Bananas and Tortilla a ride into town and we're staying together at the Blue Mountain Dome Home tonight. This home is a sweet place run by Mechanical Man, who has hiked most of the trail in the past. For $10 he puts you up in an air conditioned garage and you get a hot shower. He gives free rides to/from the trail and into Kunkletown where we had good food at the Kunkletown Pub. This is one of the best deals on the trail.
Date: 2021-06-10
From: Smith Gap Rd

To: Fox Gap
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I had two interesting critter experiences in the last couple days. Yesterday, as I was walking down the trail a little bird ran right right across my path. Then, a bigger bird a rough grouse and probably it's mother, came out of the woods making all kinds of noise and running towards me. It ran right beside me for about 30 ft until I was far enough away from its baby. I think this little birdzilla would have attacked me if I would have turned back towards the little one.This morning, I ran into a porcupine coming down the trail towards me. While I fumbled for my cell phone to take a picture, it splayed it's quills, turned around, and waddled up the trail until it found a tree.  And then it started slowly climbing up the tree.It was another day of relatively flat but rocky terrain today. We're hacking away at Pennsylvania bit by bit.We're back at the Blue Mountain Dome Home tonight. We liked it so much we're staying a second night.
Date: 2021-06-11
From: Fox Gap

To: AMC Mohican Camp
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: moderate rain

We crossed The border into New Jersey today. It was great to move on. Hopefully, the terrain will be kinder.Along the way we stopped at an apple pie bakery in the small town of Delaware Water Gap on the Pennsylvania side of the border. They had a special : a hot dog and a slice of apple pie for $2.95. I couldn't pass up a special like that, so I got two orders. Lucy got turkey pot pie and it was really good.I hiked 10 miles into New Jersey and it still feels like Pennsylvania. The locals here told me it will be a few days until the rock population declines. I can't wait for that.Seven states down, seven to go.
Date: 2021-06-12
From: AMC Mohican Camp

To: Culver's Gap
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: clear sky

I had a surprise visit from my God friend Kevin and his wife Sherry today. I was walking north on the trail and these two people were hiking towards me. I was in a daze as usual when Sherry said "Hey, I know you." I looked up and was really surprised to see them.  They had hiked in 8 miles from the north to meet up with me. It was great to see them. And they brought me a chicken salad sandwich and banana bread to top it off. Can't beat that.We hiked the 8 miles back to to the parking lot, meeting Lucy along the way. Then they opened their car and brought out cold beer for all. It really made our day to share this time with such generous friends from home.
Date: 2021-06-13
From: Culver's Gap

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Lucy drove home today to prepare for our son's wedding, which will occur next Sunday. I'll be hiking alone until this Thursday. Then I'll make the journey. I'm looking forward to the wedding and some R&R. It will be a nice break.On today's hike I crossed over Sunrise Mtn and I passed through High Point State Park, which contains the highest point in New Jersey. There were views but it was overcast and they weren't so great. I included a picture in this post of the pavilion on top of Sunrise Mtn. This stone structure would be a nice place to hold an event. The scenery would be awesome on a nice day.I met two new thru-hikers today -- a mother and her son who started in Harpers Ferry. Once they get to Katahdin they're going to come back to Harpers Ferry and head south. I've met a number of hikers over the last few days who are doing that.
Date: 2021-06-14
From: High Point Shelter

To: Stealth Site near Glenwood, NJ
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: broken clouds

The trail was very kind today. For the last 3 days I was wondering if New Jersey was just an extension of northeastern Pennsylvania, having borrowed a bunch of its rocks. But today the trail was flat as a pancake for the first 11 miles or so. About a mile of the hike was on a boardwalk as shown in the picture. My feet were happy with me again. I'm glad to see New Jersey has its own identity. The trail was so nice I wanted to hike a little bit further. But a big rainstorm was moving in, so I stopped and set up my tarp and hammock so I could hunker down.During today's hike I took a 0.3 mile side trip to Horsner's general store in Unionville, NY.  It was a nice hometown store where I bought a huge Italian deli sandwich, ice cream, and an ice coffee. A nice treat for the day. It's always nice to get real food.
Date: 2021-06-15
From: Stealth Site near Glenwood, NJ

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

I left the state of New Jersey today. Before I left, New Jersey offered one last obstacle : a 1000 ft rocky climb called Stairway to Heaven. I was cursing, not singing the song on the way up.Tick status: in the past two weeks I've pulled 5 ticks off my legs that had started to attach themselves. This is nuts!I met a couple new thru-hikers hikers at the shelter this evening : Hamlet and Blue Bear. Hamlet is about my age and Blue Bear is in his 20s. We all started at Springer Mtn about the same time. It's interesting none of us have met before. We're all hoping to finish sometime in mid August if all goes well.Eight states down, six to go
Date: 2021-06-16
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Fingerboard Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: few clouds

I hiked most of the day today with Hamlet, a guy who's about my age and hiking speed it was nice to have company.  it was a tough day. There were lots of short, steep ups and downs over large rock formations. They slowed us down considerably and even though the day's distance was relatively short compared to recent days, we were really tired at the end of the day.In parts of this section they had to install steel rungs to help hikers scale the rock. There's a picture in the Photos section of this journal.  We ran into Toboggan at the end of the day.  He"s from New Hampshire. He said that's what the White Mountains in NH are like. There just a lot more of it.We finished the day in beautiful Harriman State Park. There we had to get through the Lemon Squeezer, a narrow crevice that only skinny people can get through. That's why we had to lose all this weight.After tomorrow I'll be taking four days off for my son's wedding and some R&R. I'm really looking forward to that.
Date: 2021-06-17
From: Fingerboard Shelter

To: East Side of Hudson River
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: clear sky

I passed the 1400 mile marker today and finished the day on the east side of the Hudson River after walking across the Bear Mtn Bridge. Now I only have 785.8 miles to Katahdin. I'm really looking forward to my son Brian's wedding visiting all of the family again. The rest will be nice too.For the next 4 days I'll be posting zero miles. I plan to be hiking again on Tuesday, the 22nd.
Date: 2021-06-22
From: East Side of Hudson River

To: Sunken Mine Rd
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: light rain

We're back on the trail today after four days celebrating the wedding of my son Brian and his wife Adele. It was a great time. I wish we could have rested more, but there was lots of activity and we didn't want to miss anything.  We started driving back to the trail just after 4:00 AM. We crossed the Hudson on the Bear Mtn Bridge just before 9:00, and arrived at the trail head a few minutes later. It was a little tough getting restarted. My legs were willing but my mind had to be retrained. After all of the activity over the weekend it felt strange to be alone in the woods again.  The four day absence dropped me out of the group I was with, and I met a number of hikers I hadn't seen before. It should be fun getting to know new people and their stories.  It rained most of the day but the terrain wasn't difficult. Lucy met me at the end of the day and we tented in an open field near the trail. I don't think we're allowed to be here, so we'll have to pack up quickly in the morning to stay out of trouble.
Date: 2021-06-23
From: Sunken Mine Rd

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: clear sky

This part of New York has been fairly pleasant to walk through. There haven't been many views, but the terrain has been good. There are some rocky sections but no major hills. I'm getting my hiking legs back again. I'm back to my usual slow pace. However, I wasn't passed by any northbound hikers today. That's unusual.  I found out today that one of the guys I was hiking with last week fell and broke his arm a couple days ago. His hike is done for the year. It's so easy to slip and fall, especially when it's raining. And when you fall in the rocky areas anything can happen.  The picture in this post shows a very old white oak tree that was right on the trail. There's no mention of it in any of the guidebooks I'm using but I thought it looked pretty cool.
Date: 2021-06-24
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Ten Mile River Shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: clear sky

One of the nice things about New York is that there are delis close to many of the roads/trail crossings. Today we stopped at Tony's Deli near Parking, NY. The deli has several hiker specials that mostly contain 2 quarter pound burgers, lots of bacon, and other heart stopper ingredients.We're hanging out these days with I Spy, Maverick, Just Scott, and Houdini. We know all of these people from previous encounters in Virginia and Pennsylvania. It's good to meet up with them again. We've been told that Aquaman is about half a day ahead. We're going to make an effort to track him down.
Date: 2021-06-25
From: Ten Mile River Shelter

To: Dawn Hill Rd
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We crossed into Connecticut and completed about 10 miles so far. Like New York, there are some hills and steep rocky sections, but it appears that this state will not be too difficult. We'll only be here for a short distance -- around 50 miles.Nine states down, five to go.We've set up our tent on the back lawn of the Welcome Center in Kent, CT tonight. The welcome center has a shower ($2 for 4 minutes) and there's a laundromat nearby, so hikers like to stop here. They used to offer free use if the lawn for tenting, but apparently that's not available anymore. But quite a few hikers are hanging out waiting for darkness to stealth camp here. We want to be part of the 'in' crowd, so we're doing the same. We're hiding out. It's like being a kid again.
Date: 2021-06-26
From: Dawn Hill Rd

To: Iron Bridge near Amesville
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a different kind of day for me (Lucy). Last night we stealth camped at a local town with the idea of getting up very early and having Tom on the trail (w/ a 1/2 hr. drive) by 7:00. There were 3 other hikers who I was to shuttle to a different trail head before 6:30. When I got up to shuttle, one of the hikers ended up having an inner ear infection. It had been developing for a couple days. Long story short I got the hikers off to the trail head and returned to assist with the sick one. The closest opened Urgent Care center was 1/2 hr. south of everyone. But I stuck with the side adventure for the day. She got the meds needed and ended up taking a zero for the day. She was very grateful for the assistance. Just being able to help her made my day.On my way to meet up w/ Tom, I came across the longest covered bridge on the AT. There is something magical about covered bridges. Or maybe it just takes you back into an era when things were just simpler.On a nature note.....I hate mosquitoes. I am being eaten alive by them!