morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-06-13
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: few clouds

M 906.4, Hightop Hut, 21.4 miles.On our way at about 7:15 am and it was socked in with fog. The views from Blacktop Mountain are supposed to be some of the best in the Shenandoah¢but here¢s what we saw: Even the spiders made it seem like there were clouds on the ground. We had a great 2nd breakfast at the Loft Mountain Store. They were great¢friendly, helpful and they had all the food and services a thru-hiker wants (even showers and laundry). Later we met Easy-Going, an ATC Ridge Runner from Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, at lunchtime. He¢s a great guy! Part of his work involves moving moldering pit toilets. We thank him and others who helped!! Here he is with his new shirt: Finder and I hit the 900 mile mark, but didn¢t have time to celebrate¢an afternoon thunderstorm rolled in and the next 6 hours were spent hiking and setting up camp in the rain. Embrace the elements!
Date: 2021-06-14
From: Hightop Hut

To: Rock Springs Hut
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: overcast clouds

M 930.3, Rock Springs Hut, 23.8 miles.After an afternoon thunderstorm yesterday and night of showers, today turned out to be one of the sunniest days of the trail so far! In fact, we actually got a nice view of the Shenandoah Valley! Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bvQv...We again stopped by a Wayside Store and stocked up on calories for immediate ingestion as well as several hundred more to go. Apparently we¢re right in the middle of a ¢bubble.¢ We didn¢t get into camp today that late and already there were very few tent sites remaining. Hike On!
Date: 2021-06-15
From: Rock Springs Hut

To: Piney Ridge Trail Junction
Miles today: 23.4

M 953.7, Piney Ridge Trail Junction, 23.4 miles.Had lots of rain throughout the night and the morning broke very foggy, but soon the sun was shining! In fact, today was probably the most consistently sunny day so far on trail! We went by this place called Skyland which not only had stablesbut more importantly it had a restaurant! Finder and I stopped for second breakfast and we each got the blackberry French toast (sorry, forgot about taking a photo). Yum! They were doing some work around Skyland and we got detoured to some yellow-blazing. However this did provide a chance to see some of the flowers around Skyland: Peony, Columbine (I think¢can someone look and write me a note in the Guest Book?) and Black Eyed Susan¢s. We ended the day at another Wayside eating burgers and blackberry milkshakes!! They say Virginia is for lovers, but I say the Shenandoah is for those who love to eat!
Date: 2021-06-16
From: Piney Ridge Trail Junction

To: Jim & Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 23.5

M 977.2, Jim & Molly Denton Shelter, 23.5 miles.It rained last night and cooled things off. Yesterday was about 10° cooler and 10-20% less humidity than earlier this week, and today is another 10° lower with less humidity. The hiking is awesome right now and the northern part of the Shenandoah National Park is just great. We¢re going to be sad to leave the Shenandoah¢s. VIDEO: https://www.trailjournals.com/...We met Easy-Going, the ridge runner, again. Today he was pruning branches near the trail. We trying to get some trail food at the mountain house but while it¢s a nice big white building they were not open. We made it to the gym and Molly Jensen shelter in this place is like a country club it has Horseshoe pits Adirondack chairs special canopy for the picnic table and even a shower awesome place stay here if you can.
Date: 2021-06-17
From: Jim & Molly Denton Shelter

To: Piney Ridge
Miles today: 20.9
Weather: clear sky

M 998.1, Piney Ridge, 20.9 miles.The weather was great again today! Third day in a row¢hope it continues :) The big news for the day is that we encountered the first cicada sounds and lots of dead bodies along the trail. Here¢s what they look like: I also saw this growth along the trail but I don¢t know what it is: And finally we got to walk quite a bit of boardwalk and then we headed into the ¢Roller Coasters,¢ a 13 mile section with 10 ¢small¢ hills and descents. We are missing the Shenandoah, but are looking forward to Harpers Ferry.
Date: 2021-06-18
From: Piney Ridge

To: David Lesser Shelter
Miles today: 18.15

M 1016.8 David Lesser Shelter, 18.5 miles.After a relatively warm night, and a warm start this morning, we were worried we were in for a hot day. Although the humidity was higher than the past two days it never really got hot today. We hit the 1000 mile marker (!)and rewarded ourselves with second breakfast! Thanks to Trail Angel Jim for a ride to Pine Grove Restaurant which had awesome food and service! We had tried to get food at the very elegant looking Bears Den Hostel but we missed their serving window. And we ¢topped¢ the day off by checking another state from the list: 4 states done, 9 to go!
Date: 2021-06-19
From: David Lesser Shelter

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 9.3

M 1026.1, Harpers Ferry, 9.3 miles.We were on our way at 6 AM trying to get into a Harpers Ferry early. The trail in was pretty good¢the kind you can love, like in Virginia. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eU18...Finder had his tent shipped to an outfitter and we want to check it out before Wendy arrived at 10 AM. Outfitted with a new 2 person tent, Finder sent his 1-person home. Wendy arrived about that time, as did Kitty Hawk and Truckstop (they caught up to us yesterday afternoon at the shelter) and we all had a great breakfast! Finder and I stopped in at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy where we had our photos taken.Typical chores took most of the afternoon, but we had a wonderful time with JetPack, Smiles and their friend Twigs who¢s birthday we celebrated. The event included venison, Alaskan salmon dip, homemade salsa, and fiddle playing. VIDEO: https://www.trailjournals.com/...A great time was had by all!!
Date: 2021-06-20
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 0.0

DAY 56 Zero Spent the day in Harpers Ferry on a zero. I opened Father¢s Day cards from my two daughters¢thank you so much girls, the cards were great¢I love you! We had lunch at the Anvil with Truckstop, his wife Jennifer, Kitty Hawk, FINDER, Wendy and I. The food and companionship were excellent.We walked over the old C&O train trestle that replaced the mule drawn carts that replaced the boats at Harpers Ferry. We saw evidence of the old locks used to carry freight up river and we also saw some newer locks. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PpQ2...The John Brown Museum was interesting¢check out that very interesting part of the Civil War. Milkshakes and malts topped off a very hot and humid day! Tomorrow we head back on trail to reports of weather filled with thunderstorms and rain. Embrace the elements!
Date: 2021-06-21
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: broken clouds

M 1049.0 Pine Knob Shelter, 22.9 miles.Wendy dropped Finder, Kitty Hawk and me off in downtown Harpers Ferry at about 7 am. We walked along the C&O tow path for about 2.5 miles and then headed up into the Maryland hills. The trail gradient and tread in Maryland has been nice! After Gathland we ran into so much trail magic we hardly had a chance to eat our own food! At one stop we noticed cicada molts on the underside of leaves¢amazing! We stopped in at the Washington Monument and got great views of the valley below. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/pUNw...Saw another rat snake just before dodging into a shelter as as a thunderstorm let loose! Hopefully it will blow over and we can set up the tents.P.S.¢pulled a non-attached tick off my right leg this afternoon and tonight saw one crawling on the outside of my tent!
Date: 2021-06-22
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Deer Lick Shelter
Miles today: 22.7

M 1071.7. Deer Lick Shelter, 22.7 miles.The thunderstorm raged for a while yesterday afternoon, but eventually we did get our tents set up. It rained on and off through the night and we woke to rain. It rained much of the day today so we were hiking in the rain. Eventually sun came out and we got a nice view from Pen-Mar State Park. Soon after we crossed into Pennsylvania meaning we had completed 6 of 14 states on the AT. We were able to set up our tents and dry them out. You could call it a tough day.
Date: 2021-06-23
From: Deer Lick Shelter

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 23.1
Weather: clear sky

M 1094.8. Birch Run Shelter, 23.1 miles.This morning started out very cool, perhaps even cold. But the sun was out so it warm up nicely. We got to an area with lots of recently downed trees. We think Tropical Storm Claudette caused the damage. Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CNjD...For lunch we went off trail slightly to the Bonfire Restaurant for burgers, hot dogs, fries, breadsticks and milkshakes¢yumm yum! In the afternoon we passed the Quarry Gap Shelter which is justifiably famous for its hanging flower pots.
Date: 2021-06-24
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Stream & campsite,
Miles today: 21.2

M 1116.0 Stream & campsite, 21.2 miles.Pennsylvania trails so far have been pretty good. Today, however, we hiked through one section that was full of standing but dead trees and another section that was full of tree roots. Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ig3C...On some trees I saw what appeared to be caterpillars, but I don¢t know if they killed the trees or if they arrived after the trees were dead. We pasted the Halfway Mark and the 1100 miles mark before accepting the 1/2 Gallon Ice Cream Eating Challenge at Pine Grove Furnace.Believe it or not, Kitty Hawk and I both ate a 1/2 gallon of ice cream and had room to spare!
Date: 2021-06-25
From: Stream & campsite,

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: clear sky

M 1138.2 Darlington Shelter, 22.2 miles.Today we entered the Cumberland Valley which is a very rich farming community. The trail was flat and unlike anything we had seen before on the AT. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/s6At...The little town of Boiling Springs was very cool¢one of my favorite trail towns so far.Caffe 101 provided Kitty Hawk, Finder and me with an awesome 2nd breakfast! Definitely worth a trip back there if I ever get the chance.
Date: 2021-06-26
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Peter Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.3

M 1160.5 Peter Mountain Shelter, 22.3 miles.Last night was warm. It was the first night in my sleeping bag liner where I didn¢t feel chilled through the night. We got going early in an attempt to beat the heat, but we knew we were going to deal with the afternoon sun because we needed to stop in Duncannon to shower, resupply and eat! As we hiked the weather started to clear. The Susquehanna River came into view. Before we got to town we got trail magic from Darren. He works on a chicken farm that produces 100,000 organic eggs a day. He did about a couple hundred miles of the AT this summer¢next year he is going thru-hike¢and he just wanted to do something nice for thru-hikers. Thank you Darren!! We showered and resupplied at Kind of Outdoorsy before grabbing a burger at The Doyle. After a fresh blueberry shake it was back to the trail. We got to camp about 7 pm¢the end of a good but long day.
Date: 2021-06-27
From: Peter Mountain Shelter

To: Trail campsite
Miles today: 23.6

M 1184.1 trail campsite, 23.6 miles.By the way, did I show you the cute little guy hanging out in the privy? Today was another hot and humid day, so much so that the rocks were ¢sweating.¢ Not really, but they were colder than the air which was saturated with moisture and with a high dew point the rocks appeared to be sweating. To keep cool, Kitty Hawk deployed his fan! In other animal news, we saw a timber rattler and a turkey today¢we felt threatened by one and appeared threatening to the other. Additionally we traversed a pond that was backup water due to beaver activity.Fortunately for us we had trail magic food and drinks several times today. First we got trail magic (lots of bats) from Z (the mom), Ang (the daughter) and Sarah (Z¢s sister). At Green Corner School Road we got trail magic from Morning Clory. Thank you Trail Angels!!
Date: 2021-06-28
From: Trail campsite

To: Black Swatara Creek Campsite
Miles today: 22.6

M 1206.7  Black Swatara Creek Campsite, 22.6 miles.Crossed the Swatara River on a cool bridge made in the 1800s. Then crossed under an I-81 overpass bridge.Later in the day crossed the 1200 miles mark. How did all of this feel?Hot. Sweaty. Humid. Stinky. Sticky. Clammy. But each day is a step forward in the process. Embrace the elements!
Date: 2021-06-29
From: Black Swatara Creek Campsite

To: Port Clinton PO
Miles today: 13.3

DAY 65 Nero 6M 1220.0  Port Clinton PO, 13.3 miles.Walked a quick jaunt into Port Clinton past a working railroad yard.  While there¢s still an active railway some of the old lines are being repurposed into rail trails. We stopped at the Mictotel motel, but our room wasn¢t ready so we went over to the Cracker Barrel for lunch. Not only was my Roast Beef dinner awesome but eating there reminded me that my Dad and Mom used to eat there regularly¢great food, even better memories!  P.S.  I got the chicken pot pie to go; 2nd lunch :)
Date: 2021-06-30
From: Port Clinton PO

To: Fort Franklin Rd
Miles today: 24.2
Weather: clear sky

DAY 66 Slackpack 1M 1244.2  Fort Franklin Rd, 24.2 miles.While heading back to the trail head with shuttle driver Mike, we made a quick decision to slackpack today. Before I tell you more about that let me back up. At 12:04 AM I felt something on the back of my leg. Believe it or not I had a tick. Not sure how it got there but I got it off and took the one of the extra doxycycline doses I got in Buena Vista. Now I only have one spare dose left. Kitty Hawk, FINDER and I shared one pack and put our food and water in it and started our 24 mile hike at about 9 o¢clock. It never rained. We got some views. We finished at about 7:15 PM and Mike picked us up. We have a great apartment that we¢re sharing with a guy named ¢Fiddy¢¢his pack weighs about 50 pounds.
Date: 2021-07-01
From: Fort Franklin Rd

To: Blue Mt. Road
Miles today: 21.0

DAY 67 Slackpack 2M 1265.2 Blue Mt. Road, 21.0 miles.Sherpa Shuttle Services, operated by Mike Sheridan, 610-246-4312, got us to the trailhead in his bus. Finder, Kitty Hawk, a guy sharing the apartment named Fiddy and I got to there at about 7:30 am  Mike is a great guy, friendly, fair and generous, and he also runs the Old Mill Hiker Apartment. I¢ve used both and very highly recommend both!On the way we went through the village of Wamamaker where there is also a General Store by the same name. This is so interesting to me because before I left for the trail I was working at Wanamaker Hardware in Arlington, MA! Seems like those Wanamakers are all over the place!Today we were a little more prepared for slackpacking. Instead of Three Men and a Pack we had 2 day packs and 1 Fanny pack. Here¢s a little more info: VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/JXzH...Just as we got to an area called ¢The Knife Edge¢ it started raining. Look at the photo carefully and you can see by the white blaze where the trail is.  This made hiking on the rocks tricky but fortunately nobody got hurt.
Date: 2021-07-02
From: Blue Mt. Road

To: Gateway Motel
Miles today: 15.4

M 1280.6 Gateway Motel, 15.4 miles.Sherpa Mike dropped us off at about 7:30 am. Boy, slackpacking is a lot easier than regular backpacking! There¢s a saying that ¢Once you go slack, you never go back!¢ I can see why that said! The rocks were much harder to navigate with a heavy pack on and even though I was being careful just after lunch, in less than 30 minutes, I stubbed my toes 3 times and did a full face plant into the ground! Fortunately I didn¢t get hurt. Going to bed early today. We have 15 miles more of rocks in PA, about 20 miles of rocks in NJ, then hopefully the trail tread turns more accommodating!
Date: 2021-07-03
From: Gateway Motel

To: Church of the Mountain
Miles today: 15.1

M 1296.1 Church of the Mountain, 15.1 miles.Noooooo! Wolf Rocks ATE my trekking pole!! We knew the 6.8 miles from Wind Gap to Wolf Rocks was supposed to be the worst rocks in PA, but nobody told me it would eat my pole! Argghh! I was hoping to pick up a pole in the hiker box at the hostel, but no luck. On the brighter side, we did meet a guy named Jeopardy who we hiked with for awhile.And on our way to Delaware Water Gap we got a view and saw a nice pond with flowering lilies. Tonight Kitty Hawk and I have plans to go to the oldest jazz club in the US, the Deer Head Inn, but the rain and fatigue may win out!
Date: 2021-07-04
From: Church of the Mountain

To: Campsite
Miles today: 22.2

M 1318.3 Campsite, 22.2 miles.Our stay at Church of the Mountain Presbyterian was great! VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Xvpd...It did rain a lot last evening and night, but it stopped before we packed up in the morning. Once on the bridge it wasn¢t long until we were in New Jersey. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/HS2X...NJ is supposed to have a lot of bears, but the first animal I was impressed by was the size of a tick on a tree! Morning light was filtering through the trees, we crossed the 1300 miles mark, and Sunfish Pond (a historic landmark established in 1935) were all great! VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZYoN...We caught some great views of lakes in the region felt really lucky to have a little scenic variety.A quick stop at the AMC¢s Mohican Outdoor Center bagged us a fantastic 2nd breakfast, and soon we burned some of it off climbing the Catfish Fire Tower (misnamed in the video) which was built in 1922.VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LKi2...A beaver lodge, black eyed Susan¢s and a return to rocks rounded out the day.
Date: 2021-07-05
From: Campsite

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: mist

M 1340.7 High Point Shelter, 22.4 miles.Today we stopped by the Sandwich Lobby and had a great bacon/cheese/egg sandwich and right after that got trail magic from Moose at 9:34 AM¢thank you!!  The weather was not as good as yesterday¢it was back to being hot and humid, but at least it didn¢t rain. It was also back to a rocky trail. I¢m not sure where I read or saw this but NJ was supposed to be rocky for the first 20 miles. Well, we¢ve done about 45 miles and it¢s still rocky¢not all the time, but more than I thought. Our shelter is near the NJ high point (1798 feet). There¢s a monument on the top of the hill. Tomorrow we turn east and skirt the border between NJ and NY. We¢ll only be in NJ another day or so before heading into NY.
Date: 2021-07-06
From: High Point Shelter

To: Wayayanda Shelter
Miles today: 24.9

M 1364.7 Wayayanda Shelter, 24.0 miles.Good morning ladies and gentlemen, today we start with a Tournament update. No, no, no, not Euro 2020¢but the TTT. That would be the Trail Tumble Tournament! Currently we have Kitty Hawk at 0, Finder at 2, and MoJoe at 6! Clearly MoJoe is running away with the lead! Of course he is from the Boston area, a.k.a. Title Town. In fact, one more tumble and I¢ll be tied with Tom Terrific for total number of Championships!We got trail magic cooler trail magic from Andrea Andrea and Rudy thanks guys! We had a lot of pasture and marshy areas to traverse today. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cMap...VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qKKD...And of course, some rocks!But the highlight of the day was ice cream at Heaven Hill Farm. VIDEO:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/VhkH...And no day would be complete without a thunderstorm in which we got totally drenched!
Date: 2021-07-07
From: Wayayanda Shelter

To: East Mombasha Rd
Miles today: 18.8

M 1383.5 East Mombasha Rd, 18.8 miles.While today had several highlights (we crossed into NY, had ice cream, and made it to a cheap motel), but the trail was tough. The trail had slabby parts, steep terrain, iron rings, and stone stairways.By the end of the day, we felt almost like we conquered a hill!
Date: 2021-07-08
From: East Mombasha Rd

To: US9
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: overcast clouds

M 1406.1 US9, 22.6 miles.Today wasn¢t as hot and humid as yesterday, but it still was pretty bad! We crossed several major highways, got our first view of the Hudson River, and saw the Bear Mountain Bridge which we will use to cross the Hudson. We dropped down from Bear Mountain using more than 1000 stone steps to get to Bear Mountain Inn. Of course, we got caught in several thunderstorms and downpours!(see video below)Are we still having fun?!
Date: 2021-07-09
From: US9

To: Dennytown Rd Campsite
Miles today: 15.1

M 1421.2 Dennytown Rd campsite, 15.1 miles.We woke up to pouring rain. Tropical storm Elsa had dumped rain most of the night and was still at it. Deferred a decision about hiking in favor of breakfast! But at 10:30 am, when no rain was falling and all +/- were accounted for, we sadly said so long to Kitty Hawk, told him to get well soon, Finder and I headed out. We immediately entered the Bear Mountain Zoo and saw several animals including the only bear we¢ve seen on the trail! Then we crossed the Bear Mountain Bridge. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jiRw...The rest of the day gradually cleared up to where it was actually hot and humid again! The trail tread and gradient were better than average AT conditions allowing us to make our campsite by about 6pm.
Date: 2021-07-10
From: Dennytown Rd Campsite

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 19.7

M 1440.9 Morgan Stewart Shelter, 19.7 miles.Hiked by Canopus Lake and beach area¢unfortunately the concessions were still closed for another half hour so we couldn¢t get 2nd breakfast.On the top of Shenandoah Mountain we got a decent 180 degree view. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/X7rS...At RHP Shelter we got trail magic from ALDHA again¢President Ken was here with Whitesides, Lou and Hiker Boy.  ALDHA has four more trail sites where they are doing trail magic¢Cheshire campground, Killington and then a couple of sites up in Maine, the last one being Abol Bridge. Thru-hikers can write to ALDHA.org at end of their AT hike to get a completion certificate and 1 year free membership!!The RHP Shelter Club was working today on the privy and a nearby trail/road junction. Both groups are awesome!!
Date: 2021-07-11
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Ten Mile River Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: few clouds

M 1461.5 Ten Mile River Shelter, 20.6 miles.At about 8:30 AM we had mid trail trail magic from Catherine and Kayla¢thank you for the Gatorade! The Dover Oak is supposedly the oldest oak on the AT. It¢s circumference is pretty impressive! Some of the trail today was incredibly overgrown, wet or muddy. Even with raised planks it was hard to navigate. One interesting thing on trail today was a railway station called the Appalachian Trail Station. Apparently one can get picked up at the station and ride into NYC. A short 3 car train came past, but it didn¢t stop much less slow down!Amazingly a trail Angel and a helper showed up with trail magic and a pair of replacement trekking poles for me! Thank you Wendy and Nikki!! You¢re wonderful! Due to a bridge that was washed out we were rerouted to a road and missed the on trail border of NY/CT, but now we¢re in a new state! Only 5 states to go!