morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-07
From: Rattling Rock

To: William Penn Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

AT day 85Today we had one of our longest days planned: 21 miles. That's not long for a lot of people, as many of the thru hikers out here average 20. Jon and Steve both did 25 mile days regularly. But for me it was long. I don't have my trail legs back yet. Therefore, it seemed extra long especially when we had a huge hill to climb at about 18 miles in. I decided to go slow and let the boys take the lead in the second half of our day. I don't mind bringing up the rear. And it's much less stressful for me to go slow than to try to keep up with them. We usually meet up when they stop for a break anyways. Overall, the day was fairly uneventful. We walked, we rested, we drank lots of water and we walked some more. We did see a porcupine though! It was well camouflaged in the rocks and woods but we hear it moving and were able to spot him! I got some great photos with my big camera but none with my phone. For a minute he seemed like he was posing for us as he sat up on his butt and looked right at us! That was pretty cool! There was one other notable event. After we arrived at camp, I wanted to go bathe as usual. Our camp site was right on the trail that lead to the spring where the water was. On my way down I asked the boys to keep an eye out for anyone else trying to go get water. I like to strip down to bathe since it's easier to get everything clean that way. No sooner had I gotten completely naked and bent down to get water on my bandana, did I see a lovely man, who we had chatted with on trail a few miles back. I have no idea how much of me he saw. I quickly grabbed my clothes and held them in front of me as I asked if he could wait just a minute before coming the rest of the way to the water. There was a big tree there that I could get my clothes on behind in some amount of privacy thank god. So much for the boys looking out for me. Guess I'll have to figure out a new way to bathe from now on. After the man filled up about six liters of water, he finally went back up the hill. I quickly took my trail bath and thanked the boys for being so considerate. By then it was time for dinner and bed.
Date: 2014-07-08
From: William Penn Shelter

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

AT day 86It rained last night but we all stayed dry! It's nice to have a tent that doesn't leak! I was a little worried since Duke was in the tent with me laying against the side. But we made it through the night dry!We left camp early this morning because we knew it was supposed to thunder storm in the evening and we wanted to get to the shelter before it started. The walking was a little rough today. We finally hit the rocks everyone talks about in PA. There were little rocks that made it hard to step and get a foothold. Medium rocks that we had to step around. And really big rocks/boulders that we had to climb up, on and over. This lasted for most of our 19 mile day. It made for slow going. Our average miles per hour went way down. And our poor feet were throbbing all day. Poor Duke had to endure them to, which was heartbreaking. I took a good spill too. That was no fun. Even Jon tripped a few times. That never happens. We ran into Carmen Sandiego today! We haven't seen her in a very long time so it was great getting to catch up with her. The shelter was .3 miles off trail but it was super cool! It looked like a log cabin! While there we met a local guy who hikes this area a lot. He stayed and chatted with us while we ate dinner. He even gave us a couple beers before he left. Then another guy we had seen on the trail earlie, who was just out for the day, came to the shelter. He is following the AT north in his truck but hiking some as he goes. He's going back to the town we are headed for tomorrow and said he'd be happy to give us a ride into the next town over for our resupply! We were planning on hitching in, so that is very good news!Once the rain started we all jumped in the shelter. Thank goodness we did. Within minutes we heard a loud crack and saw a huge tree limb fall right in front of the shelter. It was crazy! I was glad no one was tenting under it. Of course Jon went out and broke it up for firewood. He managed to keep the fire going through the deluge of rain! Tomorrow we will do a short day into Port Clinton for resupply, food and some much needed recovery.
Date: 2014-07-10
From: Port Clinton

To: Ekville Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: broken clouds

AT day 88Well it rained last night and Duke and I got wet inside my tent. I guess I hadn't steaked it out well. Plus Duke pressed me and my air pad against one side while he was pressed against the other. Once the rain fly touches the bug netting, it's all downhill from there. Waking up with rain dripping on me and four dog paws in my back put me in a crappy mood. Not to mention that I didn't sleep well due to being crowded in my tent and the last minute rain accommodations I had to make in the middle of the night. I was grumpy for sure. As we were packing up, a man came up to us asking if we were thru hiking. We stated that we were and he let us know that he was doing some trail maintenance up by the next shelter and asked if we would like him to bring our packs up there for us! We jumped at the chance to slack pack! And my mood immediately improved! So we set off on our 15 mile day without packs and it was glorious! We had a huge mountain to climb straight off. It was over 1200 feet of elevation but it went by quickly. It's funny how carrying a pack can make things so much harder. The rest of the day seemed easier too. We had a steep downhill to a spring but without the extra weight it didn't hurt my knees so much. There was another big climb up to Pulpit Rock where we got an amazing view of the town below. It was rocky, but not for miles at a time which was a nice break. The last part of our day was on a gravel road. It was mostly smooth and led us gradually downhill. Such a nice change. When we got to the shelter, our packs were there waiting for us as well as a shower! It was cold water, but we didn't care! It felt good to take an actual shower- something I hadn't had since Pine Grove Furnace - a week ago? Maybe longer? The bunks were nice too. They were wood but with a pad and carpet over them. It was nice to have some extra cushion! There was also a laundry line that I was able to hang my tent and sleeping bag over to dry them out! Other hikers began to trickle in and we had lots of nice conversation. We met some new people and caught up with a couple we hadn't seen for a few days. The caretaker of the shelter was a bit grumpy but he surprised us with freeze pops! Another nice treat! Out here anything cold is a delicacy! It was a fantastic day!
Date: 2014-07-12
From: Bake Oven Knob

To: Palmerton
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

AT day 90We woke up early today and hit the trail for our short eight mile day into town! Town day is always exciting because it means real food, laundry and most of the time showers!   We were headed to Palmerton PA to stay at the jailhouse hostel! Of course we had rocks and more rocks to traverse. While I was following closely behind Jon up a big ole pile of boulders, all of a sudden, the lights went out! I mean everything went black. I remember my teeth slamming shut and being forced down. Then I realized that I had inadvertently stepped up directly under a tree limb! My head nailed the limb which stayed firmly put. Luckily, Kent was right behind me to shove me up the rock a bit as I fell back while trying to go forward because the limb was pushing my pack back. Afterwards, I felt woozy, nauseous and a lot embarrassed. I literally didn't see a tree limb that crossed low over the trail. I constantly look down at where I'm placing feet without even paying one ounce of attention to things in front or above me. I know I've mentioned before that if a unicorn passed next to me, I wouldn't see it. I wasn't lying. God only knows what else I've been missing!The rest of the walk into town was relatively easy. Still rocky but not terrible. When we reached the road that led into town, there was a guy there talking to some other hikers. Turns out he was going to give them a ride into town. He told us to go ahead and throw our stuff in his truck and he'd take us too. There were 11 of us total! But we made it! Once we got into Palmerton, we went to the police station to sign in for the hostel. It was in the basement of their municipal building just down the street. When we got there, a bunch of volunteers were there cleaning it! They only come once a year and we got lucky enough that it was the day we were staying there! I won't say it was clean, but it was much cleaner than it could have been! We thanked the volunteers and then went to find the shower. After everyone showered (they even had hot water), we started laundry and went to Bert's Diner for lunch. It was an adorable 50's style diner with pretty good food. Afterwards we went back to jail to relax! For dinner we got ice cream from an awesome creamery called Claude's. Ok well I got ice cream for dinner. The boys went to get Chinese. . While they were at dinner, I visited with SAYBAK who we hadn't seen for a while. It was so nice having someone to talk to! I wish we were able to hike with her, but she was staying in town another day and we were leaving in the morning. She fell in love with Duke and decided to write her latest blog about him! She writes for her local paper so Duke will get to be featured! So fun!A lot more hikers came in as the night progressed. The hostel got cozy as more people showed up. And quickly the hiker smell once again overtook the clean smell. It's crazy how bad our stuff smells! Even when we are clean, our gear still stinks. Soon someone turned out the lights and we all went to sleep. Palmerton turned out to be a great place to spend a "Nero"!
Date: 2014-07-13
From: Palmerton

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

AT day 91The hostel was up early this morning and once one person starts packing up (more specifically letting air out of their air pad - hiss) everyone is up. So we got packed up and started hitching back to the trail. Right before 7am a sweet lady stopped to pick us up. She was on her way to work and knew right where to bring us! We were so appreciative of not having to walk extra just to get to the trail. The first part of our day was climbing out of town up a huge rock slide! Jon took Duke around a different way so he didn't tear up his pads while Kent and I headed up! It was actually pretty fun! We were joined by Billy Goat and Spike on our climb up and out and we all had a good time putting away our trekking poles and climbing with out hands! The rocks were loose and moved easily. But they were super pretty! After the slide we finished our climb to the top of the mountain together through a field filled with wild flowers and by many black raspberry and blueberry bushes! It was very pretty from way up top. And the fruit was delicious! But that was the end of the fun part of our hike today. It went way downhill after that. The rest of the day was purely dreadful! The rocks were terrible. It almost felt like we were drunk the way we had to walk. Our feet turned and twisted. The rocks poked up and out. They were big, small and every size in between. They lasted until we got to the road that led to Wind Gap. If we even had five steps without touching a rock, it was a welcome change! But it didn't happen often. It was miserable. 18 miles of walking on hard rocks is no fun. We were so happy to finally see the road! We had to get a ride in to the town of Wind Gap where we were meeting Kent's cousins Penny, Pammy, PG and McKenzie. We started to walk towards town and a very nice lady, June, pulled over to bring us in. She knew where we were going and was sweet enough to make sure we got settled before leaving. She asked how we would get back to the trail tomorrow and we told her we'd try to hitch. She told us not to worry as she would come back to pick us up in the morning! We couldn't have gotten any luckier! People never cease to amaze us with their kindness. Kent's cousins met us at our hotel and surprised us with a huge bag of goodies! They brought us fresh grown cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, and peppers from their garden! Plus, salt water taffy, caramel corn and fudge! They even brought duke yogurt covered dog treats (which he loved)! We've already eaten some and packed the rest to go! What a treat!Seeing family made our lousy day so much better! We all went to dinner down the road at a local steakhouse. The food was amazing, as was the company! We had such a great time getting to visit! Unfortunately, it was a short visit as they had a two and a half hour drive home and poor PG had to go to work tonight. It meant the world to all of us that they came all that way to see us. Definitely one of our best and favorite trail magics yet! We can't express enough how much it means to us to have the support of everyone. Thank you!
Date: 2014-07-17
From: Rattlesnake Spring Campsite

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

AT day 95Today was nice and cool! We got up and out early from camp and the boys even had on their long sleeves! It was a nice change from the stifling ninety degree humid weather we've been having. We walked by a swamp first thing in the morning. Jon and I almost walked through it as a throw back to the Florida Trail! Just kidding, we were happy to go around it and enjoy it from a far. It was really pretty. Then we headed up to the top of the mountain as usual. It was pretty rocky again but not near as bad as some of the days through PA. We went up and down quite a bit today but nothing huge. One of the guys we camped with saw two bears just ahead of us. But we missed them On one of the downhills that was pretty steep and rocky. I stepped poorly on the foot that I hurt yesterday which exacerbated the pain which I had been holding at bay for the first part of the day. That sucked. I had to slow way down in order to walk at all. But I was still walking and that's all that mattered. About 15 miles in we came to a road crossing with a few restaurant on it, so we decided to go off trail for lunch. We ate at Gyps Tavern on the lake! Duke, Jon and Kent all jumped off the dock to cool off and clean off. But there was no swimming allowed so they had to get out. The burgers were good and we enjoyed the sunny day by the lake. After lunch I walked over to the State Park to see if I could get a shower. Turns out we were allowed to use their showers but they were two miles away! I wasn't going to walk over four miles for a shower so I was going to go back to the restaurant when the lady working called out to me to wait just a second. She said she'd close the kiosk early so the person working it could bring me to the shower! How awesome!!! She brought me to the shower, waited for me to shower, and brought me all the way back to the restaurant! I felt so nice and clean and we only had three miles to go to camp, so I thought I could stay clean!When I got back to Gyps another hiker, Cropdust" (our friend from the Shenandoah) needed my help. She had a tick in the her ear!!! It had been there for ten days. No one else would get it out did her so they boys had referred her to me. I has no problem removing it. She was very thankful. We finally headed back out to the trail and stopped at another fire tower before going to the Gren Anderson shelter. On our way up to the shelter, we heard a noise. All of a sudden we saw a bear run through the Forrest just off to our left! I was sad I didn't get a picture. He wasn't real close and was behind bushes. But I was still excited to see another bear on trail!At the shelter, there were two guys section hiking already set up. But as more of us showed up and decided to sleep in the shelter, they decided to leave. So we had the shelter to ourselves with Carmen Sandiego and Nova! Kent tented of course. We had great conversation. I like camping with other people sometimes! It's fun! Now it's time to sleep. Goodnight!
Date: 2014-07-18
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: Murray Property
Miles today: 18.0

AT day 96We slept in a little today which felt so good! It was nice having people we knew in the shelter because everyone was very polite and didn't wake anyone else up! That was so nice!Kent had tented and was up early so he took off before Jon and I. It was too bad he wasn't with us because we saw an albino squirrel and three turkey right away! It was awesome!There were lots of ups and downs again today. Nothing really hard, just short steep rocky hills and lots of them. Of course, I tripped over my trekking pole and took a good face plant. I fell right in top of a bunch of rocks. One of them left an indentation on the knot that immediately formed where a pointy rock jammed into my shin. Fun stuff. The best part is that it really flared up the pain in my foot which is now pretty swollen and very painful. I'm hoping it'll be better by tomorrow, but I still have over six miles to get to camp tonight. Ugh!At mile 12 for the day, we stopped in at a local lake where there is swimming, showers and snacks!   I got some nachos and kent got a burger from the concession stand. Jon was much smarter than us, he met some people who were grilling ribs and burgers and they were nice enough to give him some along with watermelon! The boys both took showers too, but I passed (I know this is unusual for me, but keep reading and you'll see why). After a nice long break at the lake, we had to head out for the last six miles of our day. We planned on staying at the Murray Property! It's a beautiful private piece of land with a cabin on it and lots if grassy space to pitch a tent on. Plus there's a shower! It's an outside shower with no walls and only sort of warm water, but that didn't detour us from using it! We passed through a beautiful piece of fa land and through the woods up an amazingly steep hill, but arrived before dark and wee able to enjoy being here!My foot made it the six miles, but is extra swollen now and it was brutally painful. I took some anti inflammatory and am propping it up. Hopefully the swelling will be gone tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers for me!
Date: 2014-03-22
From: Poplar Stamp Gap

To: Young Lick Knob - Sassafras Gap
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Twisted my left ankle early in the morning. Trail Magic Warrior Hike at Unicoi Gap - Hot Dogs, Pizza and Coke. Met the ridgerunner we know from 2012. Trail Magic Smalltalk at Tray Mountain Road.
Date: 2014-05-17
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Damascus Trail Days - " 34.000 Miles of Trail Stories " by 16-time AT-hiker Warren Doylesent 2 packages containing my winter gear to the Hikers Welcome Hostel at Glencliff" The Annapurna Circuit " by Bill Walker ( Skywalker )Hiker-Parade and Hiker Talent ShowFree Gear Giveaway in the campgroundJohn Seehorn ( Amplexus ) shares his 4.800+ Thru-Hike of the American Discovery TrailCoffee House at One Way Ministries with music by Ancient Men, nachos and cakes
Date: 2014-05-28
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Bald Knob
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: overcast clouds

3 heavy uphills : Big Rocky Row, Bluff Mountain with Ottie Cline Monument and Bald Knob in the evening.Cooked at Brown Mountain Creek.Trail Magic at the road to Buena Vista.Big thunderstorm and heavy rain during the night.
Date: 2014-06-08
From: Bear Hollow Creek

To: stream near Myron Glaser Cabin
Miles today: 21.2

solar shower at Jim & Molly Denton Shelter, 1 bear.Big Trail Magic : Cheese Crackers, Oreos, Chips, Coke, Mountain Dew.Sky Meadows Sate Park, giant Black Racer, thunderstorm and heavy rain in the evening
Date: 2014-06-29
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: before Buttermilk Falls Trail
Miles today: 20.0

1.st time slackpacking with the help of Miss Janet.Trail Magic - ham and fresh eggs for breakfast in front of the hostel.Sunfish Pond - very nice, hot sunny day, but swimming prohibited. The Fiest in the Forest - Hike for Mental Health. Tom Kennedy gave me a button to wear on wednesdays. Awesome lasagne, cake, melone. Carrot cake and 2 beer to take away.
Date: 2014-07-01
From: High Point State Park Headquarters

To: before Pinwheels Vista
Miles today: 21.3

no energy in the morning, missed the sidetrail to Unionville - Horler's store.Wallkill-Reservat, beautiful boardwalk, water-turtles, black-yellow snake " Eastern Ribbon " Heaven & Hill Farm in the evening - fresh fruits but very expansive !
Date: 2014-07-02
From: before Pinwheels Vista

To: Village Vista Trail 
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: broken clouds

New Jersey - New York - Border, steep ups and downs all over the day, Prospect Rock - highest point on AT in New York, ladder.Greenwood Lake- grocery store very bad and expansive .Subway and Cumberland Farms - I like it Stormwarning on facebook - thunderstorm and rain during the late afternoon and evening but I stayed dry.
Date: 2014-07-03
From: Village Vista Trail 

To: powerline 1367.4
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Trail Magic " 5 Bucks " in the morning, breakfast at " The Grill " - they allow me to leave my backpack. Nice people here in town !Heavy rain again in the afternoon. Cumberland Farms - met Terry who offered me a dry place at her home.
Date: 2014-07-04
From: powerline 1367.4

To: Greenwood Lake
Miles today: 2.2
Weather: broken clouds

Independence Day - library closed, no vacancy at the hotels.Breakfast at " The Grill ".Rain, rain, rain .....Met " Dos" at Cumberland Farms, her friend gave me a ride back to the trailhead.2.30 p.m. sitting in my tent, waiting for sunshine.
Date: 2014-07-05
From: Greenwood Lake

To: behind Arden Valley Road
Miles today: 18.6

Fitzgerald Falls, Lemon Squeezer, Island Pond. 3 times Trail Magic water. Susan & John offer a bed, a meal, shower and laundry at their home.Trail Magic socks and T-Shirts and toilet paper.Tiorati Circle for a shower and vending mashines.
Date: 2014-07-11
From: Silver Hill Campsite

To: Undermountain Road - Salisbury
Miles today: 22.4

Guinea Brook fjord, Pine Swamp Brook - I met the 1.st southbounder at the Mr. Breeze Memorial Shelter.Falls Village - outdoor shower and Toymakers Cafe.Housatonic River Falls with less water.Met Judy again, the mother of Bagger's, who invited me to their home. Great family, beautiful house, Lasagne and salad and brownies with icecream. They let me set up my tent in their back yard, shower and good breakfast in the morning. Thank you so much - hope to meet you again !
Date: 2014-07-23
From: VT 100 Manchester

To: Big Branch
Miles today: 16.0

Bromley Mountain 3260' - lonely breakfast at the ski-hut.Styles Peak 3394', Peru Peak 3429' and Baker Peak 2649' - enough exercises for the day. Big thunderstorm at 6 p.m. - I got soaked before I could set up my tent.
Date: 2014-02-11
To: Nowhere Yet
Miles today: 0.0

Hello everyone, This is a little introduction to our Trail Journal. My name is Taylor Wyatt and I'm from Marietta, GA. My girlfriend Michelle and I will be attempting a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail on March 10th 2014.This will be my 2nd attempt of the trail, my first attempt was in 2005. Here is a link to my 2005 TJ: hereI'll be using a lot of my same gear from my 05 hike. New items include: Big Agnes sleeping pad, clothes/shoes and a tent. The tent will be a nice luxury that I didn't have on my last hike. It was to much extra weight for me to justify carrying by myself so I just shelter hopped or cowboy camped. But since I'll be hiking with my girlfriend I figured it would be worth it to have our own shelter. Plus we bought this sweet tent that sets up with 2 of our hiking poles and only weighs 1 lb 9 oz! I'll do another write up on the tent soon. Michelle should be writing an entry soon so we can get this journal rolling on the main page. Thanks for reading. Taylor